A few days later, Trucy came skipping through the door, fresh from school. "Dad!" she said, bouncing over to him. "Daddy daddy daddy!"
"What is it, Truce?" Phoenix said, hunched over a case file on his desk.
"Can we go to the circus? Please, pretty please?"
"The circus?" Phoenix looked up from his work. "When is it?"
"This weekend. Klavier told me that someone gave him tickets and he said I could have them. Please, dad? My friend Frederick the Fantastic is going to be there and I haven't seen him in years. He's headlining just for the weekend, please please please!"
Phoenix chuckled. "Well, I guess if Klavier's giving us tickets it would be silly not to go."
She threw her arms around his shoulders. "Thank you, daddy!" She sat against the edge of his desk. "He's giving me four tickets. Polly's busy this weekend, so I thought we could take Athena and Mr. Edgeworth."
Phoenix balked. "Edgeworth? Uh, Trucy, I don't think he's the circus-going type."
Trucy frowned and crossed her arms. "Well, I think he is. And besides, he could drive us there. I think we should ask him."
"Honey, you know he's gonna be busy. It's short notice and he always has work to do."
Trucy put her hands on her hips. "We won't know unless we ask."
"Trucy…" he said, trailing off at the pout on her face. He sighed. "Alright, you can call him."
Trucy did a little fist-pump. "I'll do it right now!"
She ran to her room to put her bag away, and was already on the phone when she came back.
"Uh huh. Yeah, we'd love it if you could come. You can meet Frederick! Yeah, it's not that far out. I just thought it would be nice if we could all go together, you know? Awesome, thank you so much Mr. Edgeworth!"
She tucked the phone into her pouch. "He said yes, daddy!"
Phoenix's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. "He what?"
"He said it would be nice to take an evening off," she answered.
Phoenix drummed his fingers against the desk. "Huh. Well, that's great, I guess."
Trucy squirmed with happiness. "I'll call Athena and let her know. She's gonna be stoked!"
With a crooked smile, Phoenix pulled his chair in and went back to his work.
On Saturday evening, both members of the Wright household were busy getting ready. Trucy took note of the care that Phoenix put into making sure that his hair was spiked to perfection, and that his shirt didn't clash with his scarf. With the first knock at the door, Phoenix looked like he'd just heard a gunshot. When Athena walked in, he wiped his brow. Another knock came ten minutes later, and this time Phoenix ran back into his room to adjust his clothes one last time. Trucy laughed to herself and opened the door.
Mr. Edgeworth was wearing a sleek gray coat and a soft cream colored scarf. He gave Trucy a small smile and she welcomed him inside.
"We're just about ready to go." She twisted around, cupping her hand to yell across the room. "Daddy, Mr. Edgeworth's here!"
When her dad came out from his hiding spot, she heard a soft intake of breath behind her. Turning just a fraction, she could see the subtle part of Edgeworth's mouth, and a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. She stifled a laugh and took her father's hand.
"Let's go, daddy. The show starts in an hour."
Phoenix nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, Edgeworth. You look nice. I like your coat."
Edgeworth coughed. "You too, Wright," he said to the floor.
Widget let out a muffled noise from inside Athena's hands, which were clutched tightly to her chest. She smiled and ushered everyone out the door.
They filed down the stairwell to Edgeworth's car. Athena gasped as she crawled into the backseat. "This is incredible," she whispered. Trucy sat next to her and watched with amusement as Athena stroked the pristine leather seat.
Trucy and Athena chatted happily as they drove off towards the circus. The front seat was the exact opposite, silent except for an occasional murmur, exchanging shy glances every so often.
At the circus grounds, they were able to bypass the line with Klavier's VIP tickets. When they took their seats, Trucy's fingers were already stained a rainbow of colors from the giant cloud of cotton candy in her hand. She and Athena sat in their own row, with Phoenix and Edgeworth perched just behind them. Phoenix leaned forward without asking and bit a piece off the top of Trucy's cotton candy.
"Daddy!" she said, batting him away. "You don't even like cotton candy!"
"It's part of the experience," he said with bright blue lips.
"You don't need cotton candy to enjoy the circus, dad."
"Objection! That's literally the first thing you said when you saw the concessions."
Athena grinned at her. "Trucy, you should know better than to argue with your dad."
"Yeah, fine. Just keep your mitts off my candy," she said with a glare.
Edgeworth gave Phoenix an unimpressed look.
"What?" Phoenix asked, innocent as anything. He licked his lips to get all the candy off. Edgeworth blushed and looked away.
The lights dimmed overhead and a familiar face stepped out into the spotlight. Phoenix cringed the moment his blue clown friend came into view
The jokes were as bad as ever, if not worse, and Phoenix covered his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes in slow circles. He heard a snort and turned to glare at the offender.
Edgeworth was smiling at him.
"I'm sorry about this," Phoenix mouthed. Edgeworth just shrugged and glanced over at Trucy, who was clapping and laughing away. Phoenix's heart did an inexplicable little twirl in his chest and he forced himself to focus on the stage. Blessedly, Moe was ushered off by Regina and her tigers. Despite being nine years older, Regina still had a soft childlike face, and he felt a pang of nostalgia.
After Regina's act had wrapped up, Trucy stood and started cheering. A young man in a bright blue cape walked out onto the stage, followed by his shimmering assistants. He didn't wear the garb of the Troupe Gramarye, but there was a certain resemblance in the design. Phoenix recalled Trucy telling him that this Frederick was a friend of the family - a member of another troupe from several states over – who had occasionally joined the Gramarye for joint routines and camaraderie.
It was easy to see the similarities in Frederick's performing style. Phoenix could feel the energy radiating off Trucy as she hollered with the crowd and clapped loud enough to draw stares. Before they knew it, Frederick's act ended with a brilliant illusion of sparks and jets of light filling the big top like the starry sky. Trucy squealed and Phoenix had to keep her from running down to the stage.
When the whole show ended to thunderous applause, Trucy rushed down the bleachers to the backstage entrance. The circus members keeping watch seemed hesitant to let her through despite her insistence that she knew their guest, but when they saw Phoenix they waved her inside and gave him a respectful nod.
She found Frederick and pulled him into a tight embrace, already raving about his performance. He grinned and they started catching up on their lives since they'd last seen each other. It wasn't long before Trucy forgot about her companions.
"It looks like she might be here for a while, Mr. Wright," Athena said, leaning against the wall. "I'll stay here with her if you guys wanna go take a look around."
Phoenix watched his daughter flail her arms around, in the middle of a passionate re-enactment of her favorite performance story, completely oblivious to everything else around her. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He turned to Edgeworth. "If you don't mind?"
"Not at all. Let's leave Trucy to her colleagues."
They waved goodbye to Athena and snuck out of the room. The lights were up in the tent as they made their way around to the exit, performers and stagehands running around while the stage was cleared for the next day's show.
Just outside of the big top, a dense, noisy crowd had gathered. Phoenix knew right away what it meant.
"Uh, let's go another way," he stammered, grabbing Edgeworth's sleeve and pulling him in the opposite direction.
"Phoenix! Is that you?!"
Phoenix cursed and tried to walk faster, but Edgeworth refused to pick up the pace and as soon as Max could push his way through the crowd he was able to catch up with them.
"Phoenix Wright, it is you! I haven't seen you in ages." He hugged Phoenix around the shoulders. "You're certainly looking handsome. How've you been, sweetie? Where's your darling little companion?"
From the strained look on his face, Phoenix knew that Edgeworth was trying to hold in his laughter.
"I'm doing well, thanks. Maya moved back to her hometown, I'm afraid. I'll be sure to tell her to visit next time she's in town."
"Please do," Max said. "I'm sure she's dying to see the great Max Galactica in action once more."
This time Edgeworth's snort was audible. Max turned as though he'd suddenly noticed that someone else was standing there.
"And who's this? A new assistant?"
That shut Edgeworth up.
Phoenix laughed. "No, this is an old friend of mine." Max extended his hand to Edgeworth. "Miles Edgeworth, Chief Prosecutor," Phoenix continued.
Max recoiled instantly. "Oh. I can't say I'm a big fan of prosecutors."
"Don't worry about him." Phoenix winked. "He's one of the good guys."
"Hm. Well, I suppose I trust your judgment." Max reached his hand out once again, and Edgeworth shook it, if only to maintain civility. "At least this one doesn't have a whip."
Phoenix snorted this time. Before he had a chance to explain what was so funny, someone yelled out Max's name from the crowd behind them.
"Well, the public calls," he said with a small bow. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, mister attorney. I do hope you enjoyed the show."
With a flourish of his cape, he disappeared back into the crowd.
Edgeworth was still staring at his hand. Phoenix sighed. "Well, that just happened." He glanced at Edgeworth, his eyebrow raised. "Let me guess: you're never gonna wash that hand again."
Edgeworth curled his lip and wiped his hand on his coat before stuffing it petulantly back into his pocket. "Shut up."
Phoenix grinned and they ambled along the perimeter of the circus grounds.
"Just what was the nature of your relationship with your client?" Edgeworth asked.
Phoenix squinted at him. "What are you talking about?"
Edgeworth smirked. "I believe he called you 'sweetie' back there."
Phoenix sputtered and crossed his arms. "Shut up."
They made their way around the outside of the tent, gazing up at the lights strung up and down the fairway.
"I take it everything has been going well at the agency?" Edgeworth said after a while.
Phoenix nodded. "Everyone's settling in nicely. It's been a tough year for my junior partners, but I think they're really starting to come into their own.
Edgeworth nodded. "It's heartbreaking when people so young must face such tragedy."
Phoenix looked at him. The reflection of the lights swayed in his glasses as he walked. "Yeah," he said softly, looking down at his feet. "It's a shame."
They looped back around to the front of the tent and decided to wait there. Athena peered out of the tent and waved when she saw them. Minutes later, she and Trucy emerged from the big top. Trucy had a wistful smile on her face.
The crowd surrounding Max was smaller, but still pulsing with noise. Trucy noticed the commotion as she walked towards Phoenix. "Oh, it's Max!" She stood on her tip toes to get a quick peek, and then joined her father.
"I'm a little surprised you're not over there yelling with the rest of them," Phoenix said.
Trucy glanced back at the crowd. "Honestly, he's a bit too much with the flashy and not so much with the talent. But I admire the effort he puts into his showmanship." She clapped her hands together. "Now Frederick, he's got what it takes! That's a magician worth his salt. He could disappear a rabbit from twenty paces while blindfolded."
Phoenix laughed and patted her back. "I'm not sure what that means, but I'll take your word for it."
They made their way back towards the car, past the few remaining stragglers milling about as the night descended into a cold, peaceful stillness.
Trucy shivered and rubbed her arms, letting out a shaky breath. Before Phoenix could say anything, Edgeworth had shrugged his coat off and placed it over Trucy's back.
"Oh, thank you Mr. Edgeworth." She hugged the coat around her shoulders. The bottom of the coat swept along the muddy ground, but he said nothing about it.
He smiled and readjusted his scarf. "Of course."
Phoenix stared at him wide-eyed and just barely avoided walking into a lamp post.
The girls climbed into the back of the car and they sped off through the night back to Phoenix's apartment.
In the parking lot, Phoenix got out and opened the door for his daughter and Athena. Trucy went over to Edgeworth and handed him his coat back. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Edgeworth. I'm glad you could take the night off."
He folded the coat over his shoulder and nodded. "Thank you for the invitation, Ms. Wright. It was a nice change of pace."
Trucy was quiet and contemplative for a moment. Then she stood up on her tip toes and gave Edgeworth a small kiss on the cheek. She grabbed Athena by the hand and hauled her up the stairs, leaving both Phoenix and Edgeworth staring after them in bewilderment.
Phoenix clucked his tongue. "The kid's got guts, I can say that much."
Edgeworth, a small blush on his cheeks, narrowed his eyes at Phoenix. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Come on, I'm pretty sure most people would think twice about smooching the Chief Prosecutor," Phoenix said, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
Edgeworth stammered and Phoenix slapped him on the back.
"I mean, you're a pretty intimidating guy," he said.
"It was a sweet gesture," Edgeworth said, his jaw stiff. He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm afraid I should be getting home. I had a good time, Wright." He awkwardly patted Phoenix on the shoulder and got back in his car.
"Goodnight, Edgeworth," Phoenix said with a smile, watching him drive away into the din of the city.