(A/N: An AU (?) where Phoenix does eventually get his driver's license, but still wrecks havoc on the road. You get no further context... yet.)

Prompt/s: Road Trip
Type of Gen: Group (Found Family)
Characters: Phoenix, Apollo, Athena, Trucy, Pearl

"Guys, will you PLEASE keep it down back there?!"

Apollo groaned as a trio of high-pitched giggles answered him from the backseat. He was pretty sure he heard one apology mixed somewhere in there, but it was loudly overshadowed by Athena's yelling.

"It's not our fault your music is trash!" she insisted, sticking out her tongue.

"I can see you without turning around, y'know," he shot back, glaring into the rearview mirror.

"Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it, silly?" Trucy piped up. "I mean, that'd be like me doing THIS—

Apollo yelped and scrunched up his neck as his sister blew on it from behind—

"—and you telling me, 'hey, I felt that!'"

The girls again broke out into giggles at Trucy's "impression" of Apollo; a deep voice she often used to make fun of the fact that her brother's wasn't.

"Mr. Wright, can I give them pay cuts?" Apollo asked, glancing now to the driver that sat beside him. His mentor, clad in his old beanie and hoodie but now clean-shaven, simply laughed.

"'Fraid that won't be for quite a few promotions yet, Apollo," he responded, veering the car into the next lane over.

"Daddy, you forgot to use your turn signal again!" Trucy pouted.

"Your driving is pretty bad, Mr. Wright," Athena agreed, frowning and furrowing her brow.

"Hey, watch it. I can still cut your pay, y'know."

Athena's shoulders jolted as she bowed in apology, already grabbing Trucy by the shoulders and asking her if she'd be a witness to her case. Apollo shook his head and stared out the window, letting their conversation drift off into white noise. At least Pearl was being quiet.

However, it wasn't too long after that he was jolted out of peaceful nothingness once again by his sister's breath on the back of his neck.

"Hey! Quit it!" he yelped, turning helplessly to his boss.

"You did choose to sit shotgun," the driver pointed out with a smirk, looking over at Apollo. "Fought tooth-and-nail for it, too."

"Please just keep your eyes on the road," Apollo sighed. Although he'd never dare say it out loud, the Turnabout Terror lived up to his name both in the courts and on the streets, which was the reason he'd bargained so desperately with Athena for the shotgun seat to begin with.

"I wouldn't exactly say we fought tooth-and-nail," Athena piped up helpfully, digging out a bag of Snackoos from the seat-pocket in front of her. "If there had been any actual fighting, I would've won."

From in-between the other two in the backseat, the quietest girl clasped her hands together in awe. "You're so strong, Athena!"

"Awww, you're too sweet," Athena replied coyly, wrapping her arms around the slightly-older girl. From her quiet demeanor, it was often easy to forget that Pearl wasn't the youngest of the group.

"Pollyyy," Trucy whined, poking Apollo's shoulders with winter-gloved hands.

"What?"

"Can you pass me my magic cards now?"

"No," Apollo replied firmly. "Mr. Wright is right, they'll—"

It took remarkable self-constraint not to comment on the snickering in the next seat over at what hardly even counted as a pun.

"—they'll make you carsick."

"But I'm booooored!" Trucy complained.

For once, Apollo wasn't forced to be the lawman.

"We'll be stopping for lunch soon, Truce," Phoenix replied from the driver's seat. "You'll feel better once we get some food into you."

"Ehhh." Trucy stuck out her tongue, knowing it wouldn't land her in any trouble with her father, but relented into quiet solitude after that, choosing to amuse herself by playing with Pearl's hair. (Apollo never understood why she was so willing to let people do that—he hated when people messed up what took a good half-hour to do every morning.)

"Whaddya guys want for lunch?" Phoenix asked, practically slamming on the brakes to avoid a stray tumbleweed he probably could've seen coming far sooner if he was paying attention.

"SOOUBWAY!" Athena exclaimed, while at the same time Trucy yelled "NOODLES" and Pearl mumbled something Apollo couldn't hear.

"I don't want to pull this thing over three different times," Phoenix called back. "You're going to have to pick one."

"Didn't we bring food?" Apollo asked. Phoenix hitched a finger behind him.

"It's in the trunk. If you want to climb back there, be my guest."

Apollo couldn't really argue there.

"I'm fine with eating anywhere, as long as it has coffee," he sighed.

"Amen to that," Phoenix agreed with a smile.

"Daddy," Trucy piped up after a minute of quiet discussion, "Pearly and I both want ramen."

"Ramen it is, then."

Apollo clutched the door handle, and the girls clutched onto each other, as the car sharply veered off the exit, creating an unpleasant SCREEEEEECH! as it did.

"Daddyyy," Trucy groaned. "You don't have to make every turn last-minute, you know!"

Phoenix grinned, barely glancing to the left before turning onto a surface street. "Sorry, kid. Your papa dodges the road the same way he dodges Uncle Edgeworth's questions."

"MR. WRIGHT," Apollo and Athena chorused in exasperation, while Pearl fell into a fit of giggles.

"See? Pearls thinks I'm funny," Phoenix said smugly.

"Noo! Trucy is— AHAHAHA— ti-tickling m-me-he-heeeee!"

"Trucy," Phoenix reprimanded gently, but not before Athena had joined in the match, causing more shrieking in the backseat than ever before.

Apollo rolled his eyes in annoyance, but then noticed his mentor grinning over at him and shaking his head.

"Girls," he simply said, in that can you believe it? tone of voice. Apollo couldn't help but grin back.

"I know, right?"

And just like that, he was actually glad to be on this road trip.

For now, anyways.