I Want to See Your Smile Again

Chapter 8

heyyyy

"Hey loser," Mr. Wright says cheerfully. Apollo rolls his eyes- he's literally just walked into the Agency, is there no mercy in this world?

Apollo doesn't really mind the Wrights and their teasing, he's used to it by now. It was off-putting and annoying at first, but the more Apollo thinks about it, the more he's grateful for the Wrights and their neverending chatter. It's a stark contrast to an imposingly quiet office, one he was scared to touch, one with a fittingly untouchable and imposing owner, where all it took was a glint on a pair of glasses for Apollo to fall over himself apologizing-

Apollo blinks a little. No, it's too early for this. He really doesn't want to think about that any more than he has to, especially with his weekend.

"You're one to talk," Apollo just deadpans, and something knocks into him with a squeal.

Apollo regains his footing and lost breath, looking down at a bright blue silk hat. "Hey, Trucy."

"Polly! How's Klavier?" she asks, squeezing his torso. Apollo pats her head around the hat, smiling. Sure, the teasing has grown on him, but if there's one thing he always misses from the Wright Anything Agency, it's Trucy. She's always so amazingly energetic and happy about everything, approachable and eager. It's hard to be upset around her, hard to say no to that bright smile and shining eyes. (Of course, with her past, Apollo has a lingering suspicion that it might not be the most honest expression, but she seems excited to see him).

"Uh..." Apollo runs a hand through his hair. How is Klavier? He doesn't want to lie, but he isn't even sure if he knows, himself. He decides to go with the truth as he knows it, as far as he can tell. "He's doing better. A bit under the weather, though, so he's at home."

"Aww." Trucy pouts. "I need him! He's my best assistant!"

"Hey!" Apollo cuffs her on the head lightly. "What about me?!"

Apollo's purely yanking on Trucy's chain now. They both know how he hates to help out with magic tricks. Apollo can't really help it- it's like he's anti-magical, negatively impacting every trick around him until they fail. Trucy likes to say that he's got all the magical energy of a used tissue.

Klavier, on the other hand, is the perfect assistant. At first he was playing along- he's surprisingly good with kids, as they'd found out- but now he's starting to get into it. Klavier wears the costume better than Apollo ever could, that's for sure, and him and Trucy are a natural team. They're good friends now because of it, and Apollo likes the role of audience far better.

"You're too grumpy!" Trucy giggles, trying to dodge Apollo. "and he's prettier!"

The image of Klavier flashes into Apollo's mind, hair carefully pulled to the side with one of Trucy's hair ties- in her signature style, of course, she proclaims as she winds the red ribbon around it- wearing a magician's outfit, just as attractive as he always is. Apollo can't help but snicker. "You know me too well. I can't exactly argue with that."

"You liiiiiiiiiike him," Trucy lets go of Apollo and sings, spinning in a circle. Apollo is caught between raising an eyebrow- is this really news?- and blushing- oh fuck, he's going out with a hot rockstar, why is he still in denial about this?- so he just ends up with a weird expression on his face, eyebrows skewed and cheeks heating up.

"Considering how long they've been dating, I sure hope so," Mr. Wright says dryly, reappearing from the small kitchen area. He offers Apollo one of the mugs he's holding, and Apollo takes it gratefully. Coffee.

Apollo takes a sip, exhaling and closing his eyes. Thank you, Mr. Wright. He's just realized now; that in the rush to get himself to work, this is the first cup of coffee he's had all day. The bike ride wasn't exactly forgiving this morning, there's something crazy like a 95% chance of rain- which means that it's damp, hot, and dense outside, and hell to bike through. The coffee is perfect, though, and Apollo can already feel the sleepy fog around him lifting.