Magic shows are meant to have surprises, right?

[fuzzybluegecko]

[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!

Comments

[sleightadvantage]

She chewed thoughtfully on a mushroom and swallowed. "Mmm, I don't think so. I mean, I guess it depends on what you think is relevant, but... oh!" Her expression brightened suddenly, as if the proverbial light bulb had gone off, and she aimed a grin at him. "She speaks German! I bet you guys could bond over that!"

[fuzzybluegecko]

He brightened immediately, beaming at her across the table as if the embarrassment of the last few minutes never happened. "Oh, right! You never told me how she learned it!"

[sleightadvantage]

She beamed back at him excitedly. "I have no idea! She's a super genius when it comes to languages. She knows German, French, Spanish, Italian..." She ticked them off on her fingers as she listed them, pausing at the end to think, before splaying her hands with a shrug. "...and those are just the ones I know of! I'd say maybe it's a lawyer thing, but my dad and Polly can only kind of speak one language, so."

[fuzzybluegecko]

Kurt laughed at that, all traces of nervousness apparently gone. "To be fair to them, English is a little ridiculous."

He abandoned his noodle catch again, not ready to take anymore bites when he was in the middle of talking and coughing uncontrollably would put a damper on the conversation. Tapping the tops of his chopsticks on his chin, he mused, "I wonder if she's ever visited my country." Trucy had mentioned she fast-tracked her career in Europe, hadn't she? Given that and the number of languages she had under her belt, it wouldn't surprise him if she had traveled a lot. "Hey, that reminds me. I've been meaning to ask you where you learned German! I haven't encountered that many people here that know it. Did Athena teach you?"

[sleightadvantage]

"I'm sure she's been there, but she isn't the one who taught me. My dad's friend is! He grew up in Germany, but he knows a lot of other languages, too." She paused, frowning in thought. "...Now that I think about it, I do know an unusual amount of people who speak German."

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Ja, especially now that you've met me!" He jabbed his thumb at his chest, grinning. "I gotta say man, I'm a little jealous I'm not the only German speaker you know. At least tell me I'm the only authentic German person you know."

[sleightadvantage]

"Weeell..." The way she drew the word out was probably answer enough. She gave him a small smile. "Sorry to disappoint you. Daddy's friend I mentioned? His sister's from Germany. Oh! And there's also Klavier Gavin." Her expression suddenly intensified, and she balled her fists tightly as she added, "Even if his dumb critics say he's a phony!"

[fuzzybluegecko]

As soon as the word 'well' began to stretch on far too long, he was readying his arsenal of teasing, mock lamentations. However, she interrupted them before he could even deploy them.

"Klavier Gavin? You know the Klavier Gavin, international superstar?!"

[sleightadvantage]

Her annoyance at his detractors vanished, and she instantly brightened. "Are you a fan, too!?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Isn't everyone with decent taste in music?" He sat up in his seat, palms splaying out flat on the table as he leaned over his bowl. The next words were whispered as his eyes darted around at the people milling about the area. "Tell me for real...do you really know Klavier Gavin? As in, can-call-him-up-to-hang-out know him?"

[sleightadvantage]

She grinned slyly. "Well, he is in my contacts..." Not that she'd ever gotten to hang out with him one on one, though she kind of had the feeling he'd agree if she ever asked! (To abuse that power or not to abuse...) "You know he's a lawyer, too, right!? That's how I got to meet him! He went up against Polly, one of my dad's other employees!" Well, former employees... but Kurt didn't need to know that part or any part that wasn't immediately relevant.

[fuzzybluegecko]

"That is so cool," he hissed, settling back on the bench. Was there any part of Trucy Wright's life that wasn't cool? He was really starting to wonder. "I knew he was a lawyer and lived in Los Angeles, but it never occurred to me that you might have met him. Got to admit I'm totally jealous here. And ready to admit you really do know a lot of Germans and German speakers." Though judging by her initial reaction, he was going to have to keep his thoughts on Gavin's German-ness to himself. He had heard enough interviews to be pretty certain that the accent was put on. Still, he would have been happy to be proved wrong.

"For that matter, you know a lot more lawyers than the average person. Do you often hang out at your dad's office or do all lawyers just like to party together?"

[sleightadvantage]

She giggled. "Prosecutor Gavin's the only lawyer I know who likes to party. Well, and maybe Athena." Though, if the Gavinners performed at a lawyer party, they might actually let loose a little... "But no, I just spend a lot of time there. In fact, I pretty much grew up in that office!"

[fuzzybluegecko]

Now he was going to spend the next two weeks daydreaming about attending a party where Klavier Gavin was the guest of honor. Maybe someday Trucy would invite him to one...not.

"Yeah? That's kind of cool, actually. I bet you met a ton of interesting people, heard a bunch of crazy stories, that sort of thing." He propped his chin on his hand and watched her as he finally shoveled a small clump of curry noodles in his mouth. Hopefully she would share an anecdote or two while he wrestled down the urge to cough.

these are the kind of anecdotes you were hoping for, right, Kurt?

[sleightadvantage]

"Does it get more interesting than Klavier Gavin?" She put on an affected, dreamy sigh, chin propped up on her fists, as she seemingly envisioned the rock god in her mind. However, her glassy-eyed expression vanished a moment later, when something that apparently rivaled Klavier's interest popped in her head. "...Oh, but there was that time Polly defended the heir to a crime family! In fact, they live right over there." She pointed in the direction of the park's entrance, though the Kitaki residence wasn't visible from here. "Oh, and that was the same time my panties got stolen!"

These are the anecdotes he didn't know he needed.

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Probably not," he replied at first, also dreamily. Well, it would have been dreamily if he wasn't fighting to contain his coughing at the same time, straining his voice and making his eyes water.

All of that struggling seemed to suddenly clear up, though, when he heard the rest of what she had to say. "They what?!" He swiveled his head, craning his neck in the direction she had indicated. "How... Wait, back up. You can't say stuff like that without giving a guy more details, man!"

[sleightadvantage]

"Oh, sorry!" As she frowned thoughtfully, she slid him her milk carton, which he would find more than half empty if he drank it. "Which part, the crime family or my panties?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

Though he was horrified on some level, he also couldn't help himself. "Let's go with everything. Was all of that stuff connected?"

[sleightadvantage]

She brightened, appearing very eager to tell the story. "Actually, the whole park is connected to that trial, even Mr. Eldoon's noodle stand! It's a really long story, but here's the gist: Polly defended the heir to the Kitaki gang, who was accused of murdering a doctor in this very park! But it wasn't him, and the panty thief's intervention in the whole thing blew the case wide open!" She gestured dramatically as she went on, "The case had it all: love, betrayal, and a man's curiosity about what's hiding in a magician's panties."

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Wow..." He boggled at her for a moment, taking all of that in. The Cliff's Notes version of the story was not enough to understand it all, but he suspected even the full story may still leave him feeling lost. "You really know how to sell a story. I have so many questions now."

[sleightadvantage]

She cocked her head to the side, a smile playing at her lips. "Is one of those questions 'Can I see them?'"

[fuzzybluegecko]

Look at that. Even with his inducer on, it's possible for Kurt to look a little blue around the gills. "No! No, none of the questions involve...those. Except maybe 'Did the guy who stole them go to jail?'"

[sleightadvantage]

"He was arrested on petty theft charges, but I don't think he did any time..." She appeared to be thinking it over for a moment, before her gaze slid back to Kurt again, her smile widening. "Are you sure you don't want to see them? I've got them right here!" She held up her closed hands, as if holding something tightly in them.

[fuzzybluegecko]

'That's all? For that?! How messed up are the laws here?' He could only hope that maybe she didn't mean what he thought she meant when she called them panties. Especially since she seemed so eager to show them to him.

Blushing furiously again, he shook his head emphatically and held up his hands in front of him as if warding off a threat. "I'm cool, thanks," he said, forcing a nervous, toothy grin.

[sleightadvantage]

"But you haven't seen what's inside them, yet!" Finger by finger, one of her hands opened smoothly to reveal...

...absolutely nothing. Gaping at it in shock, she turned to her other hand, which was similarly empty. "But they were right here... Wait a minute!" Suddenly she gasped and turned her wide eyes towards him. "Kurt! You're not a panty thief, too, are you!?"