Ｄａｔｚ Ｐｏｓｅ

It'd be hard for a while, with Trucy finishing school and organizing for her next shows. And touring! Well, if she did end up touring (once she was famous enough), the first stop would have to be here. Like she'd miss the chance to have Apollo be her assistant visit, and also put on a show for the people here. But that was a ways off.

"Oh, it was. He was all teary and snotty and demanding to know what mafia guy had abducted me! Only to find out it was Mr. Hat!" To illustrate for her new best pal, Trucy puts on her saddest expression, batting her eyes and faking a teary waver in her best approximation of Apollo's voice. "There are some things you just don't do, Trucy! I'm pressing charges!"

Ah, the good old days. Trucy missed them.

Trucy beams proudly, nodding. "Doin' my best, yeah! You met my Daddy, so I know all his tricks. And I got to teach Apollo a few of my own to boot, back before Daddy really got back to being a lawyer."

She laughs as Datz does, the cab of the truck filling with sound. "Polly and I got up to loads of stuff!" She starts naming them off almost as if she wanted to fill Datz in, counting along with her hands as she does so. "There was that first trial with the noodle cart murder and the creepy guy who stole my Magic Panties, and then the concert with the spies and the smuggling, and then the special trial where Polly got to work with Daddy about his special mission, and then he got to visit my friend Jinxie's town and solve a murder about a bunch of yokai! And—"

The list of Apollo's escapades with Trucy was mostly new to Datz, but he nodded along with each bullet point. The cases sounded silly and complicated in just the way that Apollo's exasperation with the silly and complicated seemed to attract, and that he was likely appreciative of Trucy's assistance coping with. He nodded again, but more solemnly, as if giving her permission not to explain, when she wavered and clearly decided to gloss over something important. He didn't know much about the details of the space centre case, either, but he did know that Apollo had been deeply hurt by the death of a friend who was an astronaut, and he could fill in the blanks. Apollo and Datz had both lost the men closest to them, not so far apart from each other, and in bonding over the fact, that was one of the few parts of his life abroad that Apollo had found the time to share.

Perhaps it was a strange line to draw, while they were both fully indulging in teasing the young man behind his back and joking fondly about the less-proud moments that he surely would rather remain private, but it filled Datz with a swell of respect to hear Trucy temper herself from blabbing to him about darker topics. Clay Terran's death and its impact on Apollo were hardly secret (his portrait was prominently placed on the altar in the office, for one thing), but if she had the awareness to wonder if something that caused him so much pain wasn't hers to share, or if Datz was someone who couldn't be trusted with it, that was a good sign that Trucy really did have Apollo's best interests at heart.

"Well! Good to hear he returned the favour some. Wouldn't be right if it was just you 'n' your old man teachin' him your tricks 'n' savin' his cases, eh?"

Not that Apollo was ever the type to take advantage or renege on something he owed, but outside of his capacity as a lawyer, it was a little hard to imagine him being of much use to Trucy as an entertainer. "So he's been playin' his assistant's assistant, too, huh? Gotta say, I'm a little surprised! If I had to compare, seems like you and PW got more'a the stage in your blood than he does..."

send 🍻 and a question for drunk klav to answer!

Klavier maintains eye contact with Datz for a long moment, before turning his attention to the subject of the question, sitting across the room and speaking animatedly with the others who had come over to celebrate the lates big win for the Justice law Offices. With the strong Khura'inese alcohol, Klavier's carefly constructed facade fades more than usual, and it would be extremely difficult to hide the soft fondness in his gaze. It's not often alcohol gets the better of him, not after so many years.

With a slightly foreign sense of slowness as he focuses on forming the right words, he finally answers. "In his eyes? Friend. Good friend…I hope. Guess…guess he fin'lly decided to like me after a while. Rival before that, sorta. 's complicated."

He closes his eyes and tilts his head, and were he sober he knows he wouldn't be having this conversation. But of all the things he's learned sicne he and Apollo finally were on the same page about their friendship…being open and honest helped. So maybe, finally, he should say what he really feels.

He cracks open an eye and points at Datz, accusingly. "You…cant say a word bout this. 'Spec'lly to him. But…he's my type. Becuz 'm a—a glutton fer punishmint. An like people who're mean to me." He sighs too wistfully, his gaze going back to Apollo, watching his gesture wildly while he recounts some story for the crowd around him. "'e pulled me outta my slump…back inta the light. More'n once. An…he's funny. Pass'nate. Vib—vibr'nt." He struggles to actually say the words he wants to, his expression briefly turning frustrated before he sighs heavily.

"…but. Can't be." Klavier actually sounds fairly defeated as he admits it aloud—it's something he's thought about for ages, mulled over any time he considers the depth of his feelings for Apollo. "I…hava lotta things I love 'bout him. But…but. 's not meant to be. Fer…lotsa reasons. An Im…" Klavier's not fine with it, not really. But he can't find it in himself to say it. "…gonna be fine widdat."

He glances back at Datz, reaching out and sluggishly patting the other's shoulder.

So far, vetting Apollo's foreign acquaintances had been easy. His relationship with Ema Skye was respectful and one of mutual support, looking out for each other as expats both adjusting to a new culture. And it had been clear as day that the adoration he felt for Trucy Wright was reciprocated, the moment she had arrived to visit. But his relationship with Klavier Gavin felt different. They would take phone calls from each other at all hours, but when asked, Apollo just gave a laundry list of nonsensical complaints about arrogant Europeans and foreheads instead of explaining any of the events in their shared history. He was a performer, but Apollo hadn't said a peep about his shows, in contrast to how often and enthusiastically he gushed about Trucy's. There was an unevenness there that Datz couldn't gauge, that made him anxious something was amiss, so when Klavier finally turned up in the country, he took the first opportunity that presented itself to interrogate him while his guard was down.

(And maybe he had lied about how strong the drinks they were toasting with were, to help make that happen.)

But when Klavier, sodden beyond the ability to uphold a mask, gazed at Apollo across the room, Datz understood. He couldn't watch the way the younger man's expression softened with anything other than empathy; he knew instantly, before being told out loud, the strength of the feelings he was holding onto, and that he didn't believe they would be requited.

"He's a pretty special kid," he agreed to Klavier's rambling list of Apollo's good points. The distrust melted away hearing that Apollo was still appreciated as much as he deserved to be (even his mean streak), despite there being a line between them that Klavier had already decided not to cross. A bit more seriously than usual, but with a sort of camaraderie, he instructed: "You hold onto that, got it? Men take care of the ones we love, whether it's meant to be or isn't."

Datz's regular good-natured expression returned when he was drunkenly patted on the shoulder and threatened with various multilingual lawsuits should he violate the privilege of their conversation. Man, he loved lawyers. Their threats were so much more creative than his.

"Verstanden, verstanden," he replied with a chuckle. It had been a good few years since he had used it, and he could only speak in simple, poorly-constructed sentences, but Datz had a good enough command of German from his past travels to be able to keep up when Klavier switched. (Forget about the French parts, though.) And sharing a language between them that no one else in the room spoke gave it much more satisfying impact when he promised cheerfully in kind:

"I'd love to help you figure something out! And—well, I'm still not that great with knives yet, but I'm getting better! Handcuffs I have down…but I'd love it so much if you'd teach me what you know no matter what!! A little piece of the Gramarye Miracle is more than fair in exchange! I'll have to give it some thought, or maybe we can brainstorm together, deal?"

She did miss Apollo, having grown so used to seeing him on almost a daily basis while he worked for the Agency, and she intended to make up for lost time while she was here, no doubt. But surely Datz would be fine working on this if Apollo got dragged into some other sort of mess, the way he inevitably always was.

She is jolted back to reality when he presses her to fasten her seatbelt—and of course it was Apollo's insistence at the root of it. She can't help her little chuckle. "Well, that's our Polly for sure.

"You're our guest, though, remember. So we'll leave it up to you: whatever tricks you wanna get old Datz to show ya, and whatever little trick you think I'll have the most fun with in return." He gave her a wink as he started driving out of their parking spot and towards the road home. "And if it turns out you're too busy for knife-throwing practice while you're here... you'll just have to come visit again!"

It didn't seem like it would be a hard sell, considering how pleased Trucy seemed to be here already, but for Apollo's sake, if he could give her any more reasons to make the long trip to Khura'in and light up his office for a while, he'd take what excuses he could.

Datz gave a hearty laugh at Trucy's story, with no indication at all that he might think a staged kidnapping was unorthodox or extreme outside of what Apollo's opinion must have been. "You're right, that kinda excitement in court sounds like just the kinda thing I wish I could'a seen! Bet the look on his face was worth gold, har har!" As glad as he was that Apollo was here now, it was a bit sad to think about all of the moments and milestones he -- and Dhurke -- had missed while the kid was growing up and starting his career abroad.

"So you've been haulin' his butt outta the fire since the start, eh, Trooper? Guess we owe you 'n' Hat a big thanks for lookin' out for 'im for us!" He briefly took a hand off the wheel to bump his gloved knuckles against her shoulder. "Things've been so busy since Apollo came home, he ain't said a whole lot about what kinda adventures he was off havin' in California. Or were they misadventures? Har har har!"

She's beaming proudly as Datz voices his approval of her Panties, and even moreso her light and quick pickpocketing. Truth be told, while she was halfway decent at making lifts, there was always room for improvement.

"Aww, I'm so glad you like them! This was my bread and butter when I first started out, you know! Besides everything I did with Mr. Hat." She giggles, almost embarrassed. "And I just got lucky this time, really--I can't keep vanishing only Polly's badge, that's too easy."

And also the fact that he nearly had a heart attack every time she did it.

"Here ya go~" She hands over the keys without much fuss, stowing the Panties away and folding the knife closed. Trucy clambers in with no hesitation, thinking over the question. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, these are a little hard to come by...but maybe I can help you find something like it?"

"Tell ya what: you help me workshop somethin' to make Apollo's badge disappear--" (really, he was more interested in brainstorming ways to annoy his loved ones than anything else) "--And I'll show ya some tricks of my own. A magic pro like you prob'ly knows all about unlocking handcuffs and throwing knives already... maybe I can get you makin' cherry bombs, or give you a crash course in guerrilla self-defence!"

Not that he expected Trucy to have much time for that sort of thing while she was busy catching up with Apollo, but it felt important to offer some form of camaraderie beyond the niceties of chauffeuring her around. She was important to Apollo and had a healthily mischievous nature, and that was enough for Datz to want to show her that she was as good as family.

"You all buckled in, there?" He did up his own seatbelt and turned on the engine. Normally he was too reckless to bother worrying about passenger safety, but, "AJ's real particular about that. Made me promise him three whole times I'd drive the speed limit while you're in the car and make sure you were buckled in... don't know how he became such a worry-wart!"

Trucy's mouth twitches a little at Datz's comments about Mr. Hat--it made sense he probably didn't realize he was just a puppet. She hadn't originally planned on bringing him along on the trip, but it was an extended stay and who knew if she'd have to use him to get out of trouble again! She winks and taps the side of her nose in a quaint sort of way. "Well, his performance is always a bit wooden, if you asked Polly and my Daddy. I think he'll be alright being a stowaway for a teeny bit longer, in any case."

Considering she was mostly used to riding a bike all over creation (when Athena wasn't driving her teeny little car), so she doesn't even look twice at the pickup. In fact, she seems excited to be going for a drive--her energy had been flagging on the plane, sure, but the crisp mountain air as well as seeing Apollo again and getting to chat with Datz so much was enough to restore her energy levels. (Though, as soon as she hit a horizontal surface she'd probably be snoring.)

Any thoughts of a nap are out the window when Datz shows interest in her Magic Panties. Her smile turns a little mischevious, and she adjusts her hat on her head before turning directly to Datz.

"The thing is, I can't just tell you about them--you have to experience the Magic Panties! Observe!" She's already set down the bag she was carrying, and in a blur of color her prop bloomers are in hand.

"Yikes! Apollo wasn't kidding -- you're a real pro, whippin' out tricks at a moment's notice!" He was impressed before he even knew what the frilly panties did. It seemed that, as he did himself with knives and skewers of fried lizards, Trucy always kept what was important at-hand... even fresh off the airplane!

And speaking of his knives, Datz broke into a proud grin when he realized that the contents of the panties were things she had stolen from his person, completely undetected. Considering how hypervigilant years of being a revolutionary had made him, that was no small feat.

"Haaar har har! Would'ja lookit that!"

"You really are somethin'! Been a while since anybody gave my sticky fingers a run for their money... and the first time anybody's used their underpants to do it!" He couldn't imagine how Apollo could have gushed so much about Trucy's magic without mentioning a trick like that! "You know? I think we're gonna get along alright."

He held out his hand. "You can keep holdin' onto that knife for me if you want, but I'ma need those keys back if you ever want outta this parking lot." He unlocked the doors and gestured for her to get in and get comfortable. "Any chance you can spill the beans on where I can pick myself up some panties like that?"

Her smile widens to absolutely beaming as Datz goes on about Apollo's praise. She had not said it directly to him as much as she should, but Apollo's endless positivity about her act bolstered both her mood and her confidence to a degree she can't quite put into words.

So, she just smiles more, nodding.

"Well...I'm lucky to say that Polly's my biggest fan! He always has been. And I like being able to help him as much as he's helped me!" Literally, she owed Apollo quite a lot. She had a funny way of showing it sometimes, but. She loved him like family and treated him as such. Simple as that. "I'll have to do a private show for you and Polly where I can go all out and show you my stuff! Mr. Hat's itching to stretch after the flight, and wait 'til I whip out the Magic Panties!"

"Ah, you brought an entourage, didja?" Datz felt like he had heard the name 'Mr Hat' once or twice in an excited ramble about Trucy's magic shows, but a glance back towards the arrivals area revealed no other passengers deserving of that moniker. Already aware of Trucy's previous travel methods, though, he tilted his head towards the suitcase balanced on his shoulder. "He stowing away?" Then shrugged, like the possibility of him lugging a bag with an uncomfortable human man hog-tied inside was neither unusual nor a cause for concern. "Well, yer shuttle to town's only a two-seater, so he'll hafta wait a little longer for that stretch."

Trucy's 'shuttle' was Datz's modest pick-up, a light-class truck model like was ubiquitous in Khura'in for being practical and manoeuvrable on the country's narrow, winding mountain roads. But there was no mistaking which one in the lot was his, as only one looked like it had been chewed up and spat out. It was barely visible beneath the thick coating of mud, but a stencil of a dragon had been spray-painted along the side of the bed, which already had several boxes in it along with Trucy's luggage.

"Hop on in, Trooper! We're still a little ways outta the city, so you've got time to take a nap on the ride if that flight tuckered ya out." Not that Datz's style of driving was particularly restful, but it would be a shame if Trucy was too tired to properly enjoy her reunion with Apollo when she was finally delivered. "But if you can stay awake, I'm dyin' to hear what these Magic Panties are all about! AJ never mentioned anything about those..."

Datz' energy is unexpected infectious, though--the tired thrum in her body seems to vanish almost instantly and her suddenly she's raring to go all over again. She remembered him better now, too, though she'd heard significantly less about him than he must have heard about her. But Trucy knows pretty quickly that he's good people--always had a good nose for such things, after all.

"Yeah!" Trucy giggles very faintly, offering quiet applause as he posed again. "It's very nice to meet your properly this time, now that we're not all so busy. I'm sure Polly told you, but I'm Trucy Wright--" Feeling the urge to mimic him a little, she twirls on one foot and then bows, doffing her hat. "--the heir to Troupe Gramarye!" But she bounces back upright quickly, hat securely back on her head. "And Polly's assistant! At least, before he moved here."

He returned the favour, giving a little clap and a thumbs up at her twirling self-introduction. He liked her energy already. "Air troop Gramarye, eh? Don't know much about that one myself, but 'Polly' did tell me you do magic tricks -- and they gotta be a sight to see, the way he goes on about 'em! Gets talkin' so fast, I can hardly figure out a word he's sayin', har har har!"

"Don't worry, he should be all ready to see ya by the time you get settled in in town... if you thought he was busy before, you should'a seen how hard he's been working to make sure his schedule's free while you're here!" It was clear in his tone just how well Datz was endeared to Apollo's affection for Trucy, and that he had no intention of sparing the man the embarrassment of sharing the details. "Don't think I've seen him this excited since he was a li'l tyke! You must be some assistant."

He laughed genially at Trucy's claim to be stronger than she looked, leaving her the smallest of her bags as asked and hauling the rest over one shoulder with a wink. "Me, too!" He pointed her to the signage with directions to the parking lot. "Ready to bust this joint?"

The entire whirlwind of events leading up to the trial in Khura'in that led to Apollo opening his own firm here was still slightly jumbled in her mind, even now. So it takes her a minute to recognize the man with protective goggles, holding a near impossible pose.

He's got a sign with her name on it, though! And he was the funny guy who knew Apollo. Trucy finds herself beaming with delight, almost wishing she'd brought Mr. Hat along to pose along with him.

Now that she was back in front of him, Datz recognized Trucy's bright smile easily, and was able to start connecting more solidly in his mind the girl who'd delivered his passport and gotten him out of detention way back when, with the absent assistant Apollo kept talking about.

"You remember me? Last time I saw ya, I was pretty busy rustlin' feathers for the Dragons and we didn't get properly introduced. But now I'm--" (He resumed the Datz Pose again, just briefly, for effect.) "The Razor-Sharp Chauffeur of Justice Law Offices, Datz Are'bal! And I'm at yer service!"

"Apollo got tied up with sommat and couldn't make it... he was all torn up that he didn't get to meet ya right off the plane, but I promised to take good care'a ya." He pointed to her luggage. "So, you gonna let me carry those for ya?"