boxolawyers | Magic shows are meant to have surprises, right?

Current Location: Los Angeles

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Magic shows are meant to have surprises, right?

[Los Angeles was everything Kurt Wagner could have hoped for and then some. True, most of the touristy stuff he had seen and celebrity sightings so far were spotted in the course of work (which in this case involved checking out a potential new student for the institute) so he couldn't exactly spend a lot of time drinking them in. But that didn't make it any less awesome. And now that the work was done, it was going to get even cooler!]

[The others didn't know what they were missing. How could anyone choose to spend the night at some famous restaurant or a traveling production of a play that was better on Broadway (practically in their own backyard!) when they could be here with him instead, watching a teenage magician who was already being billed as one of the best in the business?]

[That was fine. Kurt was having plenty of fun on his own. The magician more than lived up to the hype. And after a show that incredible, you can bet Kurt was going to jump at the chance to volunteer for her final trick of the evening. He probably didn't have much of a chance, given how...height challenged he was compared to the rest of the people clambering for attention around him. But what he lacked in height he made up for with enthusiasm! (And the judicious use of his seat as a step stool.)] Hier! Hier!

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"Hmm." Kurt cast his gaze to the perfectly blue, cloudless sky as he chewed thoughtfully. "For starters, you said she works with your father, ja? Do you know how old she is? It doesn't have to be her exact age, just an estimate is fine."

Oh, well, that was easy enough to answer. Trucy nodded. "She just turned 19 a little while ago. I'm pretty sure she studied abroad to fast-track her legal career, so she's a fully fledged defense attorney at my dad's agency! Pretty impressive, huh?"

"She's a lawyer at 19? Holy cow..." He stared at her for a long beat, eyes so wide it was almost painful. "'Impressive' doesn't even begin to cover it. And you said you've seen her using her powers before. Do you know how long she's had them?"

"There are a lot of prodigies in the legal world! Trust me, I could name a few more. It's a whole thing. But anyway, I'm pretty sure she's had them since she was a kid." That in itself shouldn't be saying too much. To deter further digging in that direction, though, she added, "If you want more details about that, you'll have to ask her. It was... a tough time, I think." Though, if what Kurt implied was any indication, he probably had some idea.

The answer caused him to perk up, leaning in closer and focusing intently on Trucy. However, the rest of what she had to say dampened his enthusiasm somewhat. His eager expression slowly fell, his mouth turning down in a frown and his eyes narrowing. Finally, he averted his gaze and sat silently for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

When he spoke again, his tone was subdued. "A lot of mutants, like most of my friends, don't develop their powers until they're teenagers. It's not exactly an easy transition at that age, you know? It's hard enough to be a normal teen, let alone one who could accidentally blow the roof off the gym if things went wrong in just the right way." He was well aware that this was the first time he had implicitly referenced the darker, potentially dangerous side of their powers. He glanced up at her, almost guiltily, gauging her reaction to that little bombshell for a moment before he continued.

"Mutants like me, who know what they are from such a young age, are a lot rarer. The challenges then are different. There's basically no period of your life where you're allowed to think you might be...normal. On top of that, your powers require the kind of control that a little kid or even a baby just isn't capable of. I have no trouble believing it was very difficult for her."

As soon as his expression fell, she was certain he had some idea of what Athena had gone through. Her own smile faded as she waited for him to speak again, listening intently when he finally did.

The idea that mutant powers might be dangerous hadn't occurred to her, and surprise made itself known in the slight widening of her eyes. Kurt's powers seemed more cool than anything, as did the few she remembered him mentioning the night before. And Athena's... Well, they weren't as cool by comparison, but they certainly weren't anything dangerous...

Her surprise lasted only a few moments, though. Soon she was frowning, her fingers curling over her chest as she tried to imagine what it would be like to have powers like that, worrying you might hurt someone or, worse, actually hurting them... The thought alone was overwhelming.

As he went on, she realized he was only scratching the surface of the sorts of things mutants went through. Though his and Athena's powers didn't seem to pose a risk, she could only imagine what it was like to be a little kid and have abilities you don't understand. To think that she'd compared it to high school jerks being bullies last night... She really had no clue, did she?

"Oh, Kurt... I didn't think..." She lowered her gaze for a moment, ashamed by her ignorance. When she looked at him again, her eyes were full of sympathy. "I knew it was tough for her, but I didn't really think about what that meant before now..." And it must have been especially bad for him, knowing how some people treat kids who are even a little different.

Edited 2021-01-03 23:25 (UTC)

He watched understanding dawn on her face: first surprise and possible concern or fear as she took in the threats that their powers could pose then deep sympathy as she realized what it could have meant for her friend growing up. Despite everything they had shared so far, he still half expected some sort of blowback over how dangerous mutants' powers could be. When it never came, he was left with only a vague sense of guilt for being forced to share some measure of Athena's possible pain with her.

The idea that his own pain may have hit her almost as hard never occurred to him.

"Sorry," he said, softly. "I didn't want to upset you. It may not have been that bad for her. Every person's experience is different. It depends a lot on the nature of their powers, their support system at home, and the environment they grew up in. Maybe she had help learning to cope?"

He gave her a wan smile and spread his hands. "When my parents adopted me, I was already every bit the charmer that's hidden under this disguise." He gave a playful flip of his bangs, struggling to bring a little levity to a heavy subject. "Can you imagine what it must have been like for them to protect a social, energetic toddler who looked like a demon and could teleport away from them on a whim? I don't know how they managed it, but they kept me safe. And even though I understood the outside world may not always welcome me, I never had to question whether I was worthy of love. Family and friends can make all the difference."

Keen interest lit her face at hearing he was adopted. It wasn't often she got to meet a fellow adoptee. Although the circumstances were certainly different, she kept it in mind for later.

Her expression then settled into a small but warm smile. "They sound amazing, Kurt. I'm really glad you ended up with people like them. Nobody should ever have to wonder if they're worthy of love, especially a little kid." Her smile tightened but only for a second; there had been a time that she had wondered it herself, but her daddy had made sure it was a brief, insignificant period in the scheme of things.

She went on, "I know Athena had a lot of people who loved her growing up, too." That was all she could really say; she wasn't at the courthouse when the info came out, but the transcripts gave the impression that Athena had mistaken her mom's support for something sinister... And again, that was for Athena to talk about, if she even wanted to. "She seems really comfortable with her abilities, these days." Her smile brightened as she added, "And they've been a real asset to my dad's team, that's for sure!"

His personal anecdote seemed to have had the desired effect. Trucy seemed to relax a lot upon hearing about the positive influences in his life and, even better, related it back to her friend's situation. Kurt could hold out hope that Athena's childhood had been better than his own. Either way, everything he had been told about her seemed to point to her being in a pretty good place now. Maybe this case wouldn't present as many problems as most of their 'outreach' cases did.

Kurt smiled warmly. "Yeah, my Mutter and Vater are pretty much the best parents a kid like me could have asked for. I'm glad that Athena may have had people like them in her life."

The last things she had to say segued well into another one of his questions. "Is there anything else you can tell me about her powers? You said she can hear emotions and tell when people are lying, ja? I can see how that would be a killer advantage for a lawyer to have!"

'Not to mention a protective sister type looking out for her boss's daughter...'

Trucy mirrored his warm smile, grateful on his behalf. She had a feeling there was a lot more to his own story than he was letting on, but it wasn't a subject she was eager to press on, even if she was curious. Besides, he was already moving on himself.

She folded her arms thoughtfully, leaning against the table. "Well, she knows when people are lying because she can hear emotions. Like..." She thought about how best to explain it, when it occurred to her how similar it is to catching a person's tells. "--Oh! You know how some people are really good at reading body language? I think it's like that. Like, if someone is talking about something sad, but their emotions read as happy, that's a red flag that needs investigating! So she doesn't immediately know someone's lying, but she has a good idea when something's off. Unless she's holding out on me, I think that's the gist of it."

"Huh," he said, tapping his chin as he mulled it over. "So she can hear all the nuances in someone's voice even if they're trying to mask their emotions? Is it because she has more acute hearing than other people? Like, she heard me whisper last night even though I was really far away. And she heard me in your dressing room." He gave her a chagrined smile before he had to avert his gaze for a moment to recover from a wave of embarrassment. "She probably didn't even have to intentionally eavesdrop on us, huh?"

"Hey, I don't think we were that loud!" Though, they probably could have toned it down, just a little. She didn't seem quite as chagrined about the incident, if at all, as she explained, "It's my fault. She said I sounded 'uncharacteristically nervous' when I was talking about the watch. Then, when I took too long getting back, she came to check on me and heard you, so... In that case, I don't think it had anything to do with heightened hearing, but in general? I think that's probably the case."

Kurt didn't know why that made him feel any better about the whole 'secret boyfriend' thing, but it did. Shaking his head, he offered, "You shouldn't blame yourself. I was asking you to keep a lot of really big secrets last night. Of course a lawyer with super hearing who's an expert in dragging the truth out of liars was going to pick up on it. I'm amazed you were able to keep anything from her!"

That earned him an impish smile. "I have a few tricks. I am a magician, after all. Keeping really big secrets is part of the trade! And I don't mind keeping yours." Grin now bordering on devilish, she added, "...Secret boyfriend."

Groaning theatrically, Kurt buried his face in his hands. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Nope!" As if to emphasize, she reached across the table to pluck the other egg half out of his bowl and pop it in her mouth. "You're doing great, by the way."

"Huh?" he squeaked. For one moment of madness, he thought she meant he was a great secret boyfriend. Before the idea could melt his brain, though, he realized what she was most likely talking about. "Oh, the chopsticks?" He chuckled nervously, guilt warming his cheeks. He could only hope it wasn't showing on the hologram. "Thanks. I had a good teacher."

Oh, it was showing, and Trucy was absolutely tickled by it. "Oh, that too! But I actually meant at being my secret boyfriend." She grinned. "You already bought me lunch and everything!"

"Uhhh..." Panic shut his brain down. All he could think to say was, "I didn't know lunch was a 'secret boyfriend' thing."

"It is if it's a tryst!" Which this definitely wasn't, but she couldn't help teasing him just a bit.

On the hologram, his cheeks grew even darker. One might be inclined to marvel at technology that's so very advanced. "What does 'tryst' mean?"

"...Oh!" It hadn't occurred to her that he wouldn't know the word. Explaining the joke often ruined part of the fun, but she'd give him some slack, being German and all. "You know..." She waved her hand by way of explanation. "A secret romantic rendezvous?"

"I-is that what this is?" His voice cracked embarrassingly, and he giggled awkwardly, nerves on full display. He was about 99.99% sure by now that she was just teasing him to draw out a reaction, but even then he was at a loss for how to process the situation, much less how to respond. "If that's the case, I feel like I should up my game."

"Well, you could always buy me dessert," she teased, but her tone had softened. He looked really nervous, even if he seemed to be joking back. Suddenly unsure, she waited for him to respond again, to see if she needed to clarify...

"What the lady wants, the lady gets." He smiled at her, sheepish and unsure. With his experience on the dating front being absolute zero, he found it impossible to be certain whether she was totally joking or not. She had to be, right? He could never be so lucky. "I've heard that's a good rule of thumb whether you're a secret boyfriend or a really good friend."

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