Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Phoenix wandered aimlessly around his living room, more rested than he had been in months but restless all the same.

The kids had been at Mia’s since Friday night to enjoy their three day weekend at “the longest sleepover ever.” Mia had volunteered to take them after Phoenix’s grueling week with four projects due in just as many days. Knowing Phoenix well enough, Mia had offered to take the kids so Phoenix could crash after he turned in his final project and sleep for as long as he needed. 

And sleep was exactly what he did. He slept most of Saturday and even went to bed last night around the time he normally tucked in his kids, which was early for him.

Now it was Sunday morning and Phoenix felt more awake than he had in months. It was a good feeling, something he rarely experienced, but would hopefully retain now that he had significantly less projects to work on going forward. The rest was refreshing, and he cherished having some time to himself.

Except now that he had all this energy, he didn’t know what to do. Normally he’d spend time with his kids, but they were gone for the weekend and the empty, deafeningly silent apartment was driving him crazy. He wasn’t used to the quiet or being alone. He enjoyed it sometimes, but when there was too much, he felt lost.

He’d already thought about showing up at Mia’s place, but she would kick him out before she even opened the door.

Phoenix wrinkled his nose, making a face at the too-quiet apartment, and dialed the one number he had learned by heart.

What he was about to do was technically a bold move for him, but sometime during his sickness, he’d decided to step up his game and start testing the waters. There was a lot on the line, but there was also a lot he would lose if he didn’t even try.

It rang four times before the line picked up. For a second, Phoenix thought no one would answer, but then there was a small clicks and he smiled into the receiver.

“Good morning, Wright,” Edgeworth’s voice boomed in his ear. Phoenix jerked the phone away, wincing at the volume. He’d forgotten his phone had gotten stuck on speakerphone days ago. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call at...eight in the morning? Wright...aren’t you supposed to be sleeping in?”

“Uh, well, I was, but then I slept like fourteen hours yesterday and then went to bed probably around nine thirty or so? Something like that?” Phoenix said. “Good morning, by the way.”

“It’s possible to sleep for fourteen hours?” asked Edgeworth, astonished.

“Yes? You’ve never done that before?”

“No. The longest I’ve ever slept was nine hours and that was only once,” said Miles.

“Rookie,” joked Phoenix.

“If you say so,” said Miles. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, right.” Phoenix paced around the couch, not sure how this was going to go over. He almost decided not to ask and immediately hang up the phone, but with one large breath, he steeled his resolve. He could do this. “Wh-What are you doing today?”

There was a telltale pause before Edgeworth spoke. “I...currently do not have plans. May I ask why?”

“Do you want to do something together today? I mean, I know Franziska isn’t there since she’s also at Mia’s for the sleepover. Not that I’m trying to say you have nothing to do, but Franziska is gone and you normally spend as much time as you can with her or you’re over here or-“

Wow, he was really butchering this...

“Wright,” Edgeworth interrupted. “You’re rambling again.”

“Right, sorry.”

“I am alone today, as I told you every day this week at dinner. It’s rather...quiet,” said Edgeworth. Phoenix raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t sure, but he might have sensed a little sadness with the word “quiet.”

“Edgeworth, are you lonely?” teased Phoenix.

“What? I am not lonely,” lied Edgeworth. “How could you think that?”

“Aweeeee, Edgeworth is loooooonely.”

“I am-I am not!” exclaimed Edgeworth, flustered.

“Sure, sure,” said Phoenix, trying not to laugh. “Then I guess I’ll let you go and get back to reading alone at the table with a cup of tea.”

“How did you know that’s what I was doing?! And I am not lying about not being lonely,” said Edgeworth, huffing and failing at arguing against Phoenix.

“Uh-huh. You’re not. Well, then goodbye, Edgeworth, I’ll see you -”

“Wright, wait,” cried Edgeworth, a little louder than he meant.

Phoenix chuckled. He hadn’t even tried hanging up the phone. It was always funny when he was able to make Edgeworth lose his composure. “Yes?”

It was silent on Edgeworth’s end, except for the sound of a sharp breath followed by a long exhale.

“Fine. I’ll admit it is a little odd without Franziska here -”

“AHA! I knew it!”

“Quiet down, Wright,” said Edgeworth. He waited until he knew Phoenix wouldn’t speak again before continuing. “As I said, Franziska away from home is different and I...I would not be opposed to spending time with...with you.”

“Really?” Phoenix didn’t know why he was so surprised. He had a feeling Edgeworth would say yes, but maybe deep, deep down, he was afraid Edgeworth wouldn’t want to spend time with him when the kids were gone. After all, without the kids, it would just be the two of them. 

Oh god, what was he doing? It would just be the two of them. No kids, no distractions. Just him and Edgeworth and nothing else. They hadn't done this since their accidental coffee excursion the second week of school.

“Yes, really. You know me well enough by now to know I don’t agree unless I am absolutely certain,” said Edgeworth.

“Ah, yes. I do know that,” said Phoenix, blushing. There had been many times over the past month where Edgeworth had given him the same response every time Phoenix questioned if he really did want to help out as much as he had been.

“Good. So, what will we be doing?” asked Edgeworth.

“Uhhhhhhh…” Phoenix scratched his head. 

“You didn’t think that far ahead, did you?” asked Edgeworth, his tone both amused and exasperated at the same time.

“No…” admitted Phoenix, flopping down on the couch and rubbing his forehead. “But I will by the time I pick you up!”

“Phoenix Wright,” said Edgeworth. “I will not , under any, and I mean any , circumstances, get into that death trap of a van. I’ll pick you up instead.”

“You’re just mad you can’t open the doors,” teased Phoenix, unable to hide his giggles at Edgeworth’s offended huff.

“They told you about that?” Edgeworth grumped.

“You bet they did,” said Phoenix.

There was a moment before Edgeworth spoke again. “Did they tell you...anything else about the day you were sick?”

The question itself normally wouldn’t have set off Phoenix’s curiosity, but the almost hesitant way he spoke pinged Phoenix’s interest. Phoenix sat up straighter on the couch.

“Mostly just that you’re terrible with hair and sometimes an impulsive driver. Why? Should they have told me something else?” Phoenix prodded.

“No, of course not,” said Edgeworth hastily. “Anyway, what time shall I pick you up?”

Phoenix bit his lip at the abrupt subject change. What was that about?

“Uh, ten? How does that sound?” 

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then,” said Edgeworth.

“See you then,” said Phoenix. 

The line went dead before Phoenix could even finish speaking. Weird. Edgeworth wasn’t one to end a call like that. Something must have happened while he was sick that the kids hadn’t told him about, which was odd. They always told him everything.

Phoenix sighed. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be bad. The kids would never hide anything that they were uncomfortable with from Phoenix. Edgeworth must just be worried about some other embarrassing thing he did while in charge of the kids that day. He was always so self conscious about the way he presented himself, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was trying to hide something silly from Phoenix. It shouldn’t be anything to fret over.

Besides, Phoenix had a bigger problem: What were he and Edgeworth going to do today? And more importantly, what was he going to wear?

_________

Two hours later, Phoenix scrambled to find his phone buried somewhere in his bed as it rang for the third time.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” he shouted. Not that Edgeworth would hear because Phoenix couldn’t answer his phone to tell him that. Frustrated, he tore his bedsheets off and shook them until he heard a satisfying clunk.

“Aha!” He held his phone up triumphantly in his hand before realizing no one was around to witness his success, and then rushed out the front door. He was halfway down the stairs when he noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes so he had to run back upstairs to grab them, making himself even later than he already was.

Finally he burst out of the apartment complex, waving his hands at the vibrant red car idling at the curb. It wasn’t until he tried to open the door that he realized his shoes were still in his hand instead of on his feet, and that he’d been waving those around like a lunatic. Using his free hand, Phoenix opened Edgeworth’s car and gracelessly flopped onto the smooth leather seat.

“I see you’ve finally made it,” said Edgeworth dryly, smirking while Phoenix put his shoes and backpack on the floor.

“I’m sorry! I lost track of time and then you were here and I couldn’t find my phone,” said Phoenix.  

Though, he hadn’t really lost track of time. It was more that he hadn’t been able to figure out what to wear or how to tame his hair, which refused to look good no matter what he tried. But Edgeworth didn’t need to know all that. He certainly didn’t need to know that Phoenix was attempting to look good for him.

“Typical,” teased Edgeworth. “Now that you’ve graced me with your presence, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” said Phoenix, winking.

“Then how am I supposed to get us to our destination?”

“I’ll give you directions. I printed them out.” Phoenix dug in his back pocket, having to awkwardly shuffle and twist to pull out a crumpled stack of papers. Edgeworth looked at them with distaste.

“Wright, no one uses paper directions anymore. Besides, do you think I’m going to take directions from someone who got lost in a mall?”

“I didn’t get lost! You know that better than anyone else. I just pretended to get lost to help Franziska,” objected Phoenix, slumping in his seat.

“Sure. Pretended,” Edgeworth replied, a glint of humor in his eyes. Phoenix fought back a smile. It would ruin his pout, and he couldn’t have that.

“Traitor,” he mumbled instead.

“I’m still not letting you give me directions. Just give me the address and I can use my phone to get us there,” said Edgeworth.

“No!” Phoenix said, a little too loudly. He smiled sheepishly at Edgeworth before continuing. “It would ruin the surprise. Give me your phone. I’ll put in the address.”

“Do you even know how to use it?” asked Miles, glancing at Phoenix’s phone, which had fallen to the floor of the car.

“Yes! Well, maybe? I used Maya’s once.” Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. He didn’t have to know that Phoenix had gotten them lost somehow, even with Maya’s fancy map app.

They stared at each other for a solid minute before Edgeworth sighed, clicked a few buttons on his phone and handed it to Phoenix.

“Please don’t break it or get us lost,” he said.

“I won’t, I promise,” said Phoenix. His tongue stuck out as he typed in the address with one finger, using the paper as a shield to hide their location. “Okay. Got it. Let’s go!”

Phoenix almost dropped the phone when it first started spouting directions. He smiled at Edgeworth, chagrined, as he switched it right side up again and pointed Edgeworth in the right direction.

They drove in silence for a bit, the low tones of classical music filling the space between them - Phoenix had tried to change the station, but that resulted in a gentle slap to his hand and an impressive scowl.

It wasn’t until they were starting to get to the outskirts of the city that Edgeworth spoke, breaking the comfortable silence between them. 

“Wright, are you taking us to the tea gardens?” asked Edgeworth, eyebrows high.

Phoenix gasped, almost dropping Edgeworth’s phone a second time. “How did you know?”

“You forget that I’ve driven there countless times. It wasn’t that hard to deduce.”

“Oh...yeah. That’s true.” Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck. “Athena did tell me you used to come up here all the time with your dad. It’s where I got the idea, actually.”

“Yes...we did,” said Edgeworth. The peaceful warmth filling the car dissipated with Edgeworth’s somber, soft spoken words. Frowning, Phoenix twisted to face Edgeworth.

“This is a good idea, right?” Phoenix asked, uncertain.

Edgeworth cleared his throat and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. “Yes, it’s a perfect idea. I apologize. Talking about my father sometimes makes me melancholic, especially in tandem with the tea gardens. We spent a lot of time there together before he passed.”

“He passed when you were still pretty young, right?” asked Phoenix before he could stop himself. He’d always been so careful not to pry into Edgeworth’s personal life, but now his stupid mouth was at it once again, saying things it shouldn’t.

Instead of avoiding the question like Phoenix expected, Edgeworth sent a sad smile in his direction. “I was only ten. He died a few days after Christmas during an earthquake.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Phoenix didn’t know what else to say. Edgeworth had been pretty young when he lost his father, and that must have been really hard. Wanting to comfort him in some way, Phoenix reached out and set a tentative hand on Edgeworth’s knee. It was the only thing he could think of to do, and he hoped it would help.

Edgeworth startled at the touch and blinked a few times. To Phoenix's relief, he didn’t push him away.

“Thank you,” said Edgeworth. “Anyway,” he added after a moment of silence, “I know I’m fond of this place, but I didn’t think it was something you were interested in.”

Rolling with the topic change, Phoenix squeezed Edgeworth’s knee one more time before letting go and shrugged in answer to Edgeworth’s question.

“I’m easy. I don’t mind where we go as long as it’s with you.” He blushed as soon as he realized what he said and looked away, refusing  to glance in Edgeworth’s direction. “Besides, Athena’s been obsessed with koi fish since you took her up here. I wanted to see them in case I could draw something since Chr- the holidays are around the corner. Either that or see if there’s anything koi fish related in the gift shop.”

“She liked the koi fish that much?”

“Yeah. She really has been obsessed. She constantly talks about her Magical Fish Filled Day with Mr. Miles,” said Phoenix.

“Oh.” The corner of Edgeworth’s lip twitched upwards, hinting at a smile. “I didn’t realize she enjoyed her day that much.”

“She definitely did,” said Phoenix. “Which reminds me...Trucy’s been complaining it’s not fair that she hasn’t had a special day with Mr. Miles yet. Since Athena got to come here with you and Apollo and Yuty get swim lessons, she wants to have a day that’s just you and her. I told her I’d ask you, though.”

“She wants to spend a day with me?” asked Edgworth, incredulous.

“Absolutely. You’re a hot commodity in our household,” said Phoenix.

Seriously, really, really hot, provided Phoenix’s mind.

“Even to you, Wright?” blurted out Edgeworth, surprising Phoenix.

“Why do you think I called?” Phoenix shot back. He cringed inwardly at his overly-candid response.

“Oh.” Edgeworth’s face flushed red. “Er, anyway...I’ll think of an activity acceptable to her interests.”

Phoenix smiled. “She’ll love that.”

Edgeworth’s phone chimed, announcing that they had arrived at their destination. The drive had passed by much quicker than Phoenix thought.

Edgeworth found a place to park near the entrance and they both got out of the car, squinting into the morning sunlight.

Phoenix took a deep breath of fresh, clean air and strolled to the front gate while Edgeworth locked the car, backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Two tickets to the Gardens, please,” Phoenix said to the cashier manning the booth, pulling out his wallet. 

“I can pay for myself,” Edgeworth said as he came up behind Phoenix.

“Nah,” Phoenix waved him off and paid the cashier. “I invited you. It’s on me.”

“But Wright, I -”

Phoenix rolled his eyes and grabbed Edgeworth’s arm, gently tugging him towards the entrance. He tried not to have his heart explode from the close contact.“Relax. It’s fine. And if you’re really going to make a big deal about it, then you can buy us some snacks inside.” Phoenix pulled them to a stop right inside the gate. “Wait, there are snacks inside, right? I don’t actually know.”

“Yes, Wright. There are snacks inside,” said Edgeworth, exasperated.

“Sweet!” Phoenix pumped his free fist. “Now where should we go?”

“You’re the one who invited me. You tell me,” teased Edgeworth.

“Hey,” laughed Phoenix. “Mean! You’ve been here more often than I have, so give me a tour or something.”

“If I must,” said Edgeworth, followed by a fake sigh. Phoenix couldn’t help but grin. He always had the best time with Edgeworth.

“This way.” Edgeworth bent his elbow in the most gentlemanly way possible and adjusted Phoenix’s hand so it was on the crook, the light touch sending tingles up Phoenix’s arm.

Edgeworth led him away from the gate, saying something about the flowers or the ponds, but Phoenix didn’t hear a word for at least the first five minutes. He was so shocked that Edgeworth hadn’t tugged away his arm that it was all he could think about.

By the time he came back from Planet I-Am-Holding-Edgeworth’s-Arm, they were in a completely different part of the gardens. Phoenix had no idea how they got here.

“...and when we round this corner, we’ll come upon Athena’s Koi pond,” said Edgeworth.

Phoenix perked up at the word “koi,” craning his neck to see. “Ah, the infamous koi ponds.”

“Indeed. Come on.” 

Together they walked to a shaded edge of the koi pond, Phoenix drinking in the way the sunlight rippled on the water and the varying shades of the garden plants, fading from green into brown as the weather became cooler.

Phoenix reluctantly let go of Edgeworth and crouched down to peer into the water. Dozens of koi fish swam just under the surface, and as soon as Phoenix’s shadow touched the water, a group of them swam towards him. Delighted, Phoenix pointed to them.

“Look! They came to say hello,” he said.

“They probably think that you’re here to feed them, Wright. It’s hardly extraordinary,” replied Edgeworth, sitting down on the stone bench behind Phoenix.

“How do you know they aren’t happy to see me?”

“They’re fish. They don’t have emotions.”

“You don’t know that,” pouted Phoenix playfEdgeworth sighed dramatically. Phoenix grinned. Edgeworth had been spending far too much time with Trucy and Athena. They were rubbing off on him.

Phoenix turned back to the fish and pulled his sketchbook out of his backpack. He studied the fish closely as they swam, taking in the way they moved, how many fins they had, the way the light glinted off their scales. He’d gotten a few sketches in when he noticed a white fish with an eerily familiar scowl.

“Hey, Edgeworth. This one looks like you! Come look,” he said.

“What? Wright, a fish couldn’t possibly look like me.” Edgworth stood up anyway and joined Phoenix at the edge of the pond.

“That one right there. It has your scowl.”

“My scowl?” Edgeworth peered at the white fish swimming lazily in the water. “Its eyes do look fierce and it may be the same color of my hair, but it doesn’t mean it looks like me. It’s a fish.”

“But it does! I swear,” Phoenix insisted. Edgeworth tilted his head and gave Phoenix the strangest look. “What?”

Edgeworth bit his lip and then slowly admitted, “I had this exact conversation with Athena over this exact same fish.”

Phoenix couldn’t help it. He burst into laughter. “Like father, like daughter, I guess.”

“I still don’t see the resemblance,” muttered Edgeworth.

“Here,” chuckled Phoenix. “I’ll show you.”

Tilting his sketch page away from Edgeworth, Phoenix hastily drew a picture, unable to hide his giggles and wondering if this was the stupidest thing he’d ever done.

Drawing complete, Phoenix turned it around to face Edgeworth. “Tada!”

On the pad was a cartoon koi fish with Edgeworth’s hair and the fiercest glare he could put to paper. For a moment Edgeworth just stared blankly at the page. Then his face did this weird thing that looked like he was trying to swallow a lemon while also fighting a smile.

“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” Edgeworth said, a few garbled chuckles escaping him. Kneeling down, he pointed to another fish. “What about that one? If we’re playing this game, then that one looks like you, I suppose.”

Feeling like he just received the greatest question in the universe, Phoenix immediately started sketching, drawing himself as a cartoon fish. By the time he was done, Edgeworth was no longer able to contain his laughter at the sight of the two of them as koi fish. 

“There, now the Edgeworth fish has his Wright fish best friend to keep him company,” said Phoenix, reveling in Edgeworth’s laughter. He did that. He made Edgeworth laugh.

“Indeed he does,” said Edgeworth, practically glowing with delight. “What about their children fish?”

“Good point.” Cheeks hurting from smiling so much, Phoenix drew all their kids as koi fish with Edgeworth pointing to koi fish in the pond, knowing this was absolutely the strangest thing he had ever done but loving every minute. 

When at last they had all of them drawn, Phoenix held up their artwork. “There we are. The koi fish family is complete, don’t you think?”

Edgeworth didn’t respond right away. Worried, Phoenix glanced at him. Instead of a frown or disapproval, Phoenix found the softest smile he’d ever seen. His heart started hammering in his chest.

Realizing Phoenix was looking at him, Edgeworth cleared his throat. 

“Yes, it is. It’s quite wonderful, isn’t it?” asked Edgeworth tenderly.

Phoenix gulped, certain with every fiber in his being that Edgeworth was not just talking about the picture. 

“Yes, it is,” breathed Phoenix, mind spinning.

What did this mean? It was very clear that Edgeworth was thinking about all of them as one big family, or at least he hoped it was. Did this mean that Edgeworth might actually think of Phoenix as family? But in what way? Like brothers or like...like…

Phoenix’s stomach growled, startling them both.

“Hungry already, Wright?” asked Edgeworth.

“Uh...ah, yeah I guess so,” said Phoenix, mentally struggling to come back to the present. “I did eat early.”

“Then why don’t we finish our tour of the gardens and then order a few snacks and tea. Though snacks are hardly substantial…” Edgeworth stood up from his crouch and offered a hand to Phoenix.

Dizzy and buzzing with hope, Phoenix let Edgeworth pull him to his feet. “Actually, I packed us lunch.”

“You did?”

“Yep. I figured we could eat it over tea,” said Phoenix, stowing away his sketch pad. 

“You don’t like tea,” stated Edgeworth, eyebrows raised.

“But you do. Plus, you said they had snacks and that’ll be perfect for me. Now, lead the way, Edgeworth.” Phoenix took his arm again.

“Alright.” Edgeworth led them down the path. 

“Do you have a favorite spot here that you liked to go with your father?” asked Phoenix as he walked. Internally he cringed. Edgeworth’s dad was a touchy subject and here he was just asking about him.

Edgeworth thought a moment. “I’m not sure. We spent time in all different parts.”

“So you have memories of him all over the gardens?” Phoenix really should stop this line of questioning.

“Yes.”

“What about over there?” asked Phoenix, pointing to a bamboo fountain.

Edgeworth’s cheeks turned cherry blossom pink. “Er, well. One time...I tried to fill up a teacup there and ended up tripping into it instead,” admitted Edgeworth.

“I don’t think that’s what they’re for, Edgeworth,” laughed Phoenix, letting Edgeworth steer him away.

For the next hour, Edgeworth led them around the gardens, telling Phoenix stories of him and his father at all the spots they stopped at. A lot of the time, they weren’t even stories that took place in the tea garden, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Edgeworth had opened up, letting Phoenix into his childhood, deepening their friendship even more. Phoenix just wanted to know everything about Edgeworth, and he was finally heading in that direction.

The entire time, Phoenix couldn’t help but enjoy watching Edgeworth as he spoke about his father, eyes gleaming with humor and lips twitching up in fondness. Phoenix felt unimaginably lucky to hear Edgeworth talk about things he wouldn’t normally tell other people. 

At last they made it to the tea house and ordered tea for Edgeworth and snacks for the two of them. As promised, he let Edgeworth pay while he scouted out the perfect spot to sit with an incredible view of the gardens. While he waited, he took out his sketchbook to draw the scene before him. 

He was so focused on his drawing that he didn’t notice Edgeworth return. It wasn’t until Phoenix sat back to study what he’d completed so far that he realized Edgeworth was seated and had been watching him for at least ten minutes, given that some of his tea was already gone.

“Ah, whoops. I didn’t see you,” said Phoenix, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sometimes I get so into what I’m drawing that I don’t always notice my surroundings.”

“I know. It’s endearing,” said Edgeworth. Phoenix’s mouth dropped open the barest amount, and he could feel his cheeks heating up as Edgeworth rushed on. “I have been around a lot when you’re drawing.”

Phoenix desperately wanted to comment about the whole “endearing” thing. What did that mean? That definitely was not something you said to just a friend. Or was he reading too much into it?

Instead he blurted, “Oh yeah, you have. I forgot.”

Which was stupid because Phoenix had in no way forgotten how much Edgeworth had done for him the past weeks.

The first week after Phoenix had gotten disastrously sick and thoroughly embarrassed himself by emptying his stomach multiple times in front of Edgeworth, Edgeworth had shown up twice to make them dinner or bring take out. He’d stopped by to make sure Phoenix’s health was improving and to take the weight of making dinner off his shoulders. It had been incredibly sweet, and more helpful than Edgeworth could know.

But it didn’t stop there. Edgeworth continued to show up twice a week, constantly checking on Phoenix and helping out around the house. He’d somehow found out when Phoenix’s projects were due and wanted to make sure that Phoenix didn’t overwork himself when he had more clients than he could handle, especially so soon after getting sick. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Phoenix to struggle under the deadline pressure while also fulfilling his Dad Duties, as Athena liked to call them. To their surprise, Edgeworth began showing up even more , somehow knowing without Phoenix having to say anything that he needed all the help he could get . Edgeworth started picking up the kids three times a week and either taking them back to his own apartment or returning to Phoenix’s. Even if he brought them back to Phoenix’s apartment directly after school, he stayed and kept them out of Phoenix’s hair while he focused on completing all his projects. On top of that, Edgeworth continued to make them dinner with enough leftovers to last on the nights he wasn’t there. 

On top of that, whenever he could, Edgeworth organized days on the weekends where he took all the kids out of the house so Phoenix could work or catch up on sleep without interruptions. It had stunned Phoenix speechless - which wasn’t hard to do, honestly - the first time he offered. After seeing how harried Edgeworth had been after the day Phoenix had gotten sick, Phoenix was sure Edgeworth would never put himself in that sort of position again. But he did, constantly. He’d spent just as much time maintaining Phoenix’s kids as Phoenix did the past weeks.

Phoenix couldn’t even begin to describe how grateful he was for Edgeworth.

Edgeworth gave an adorable, tiny snort. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you actually did forget, but knowing that sappy look on your face, you most definitely did not.”

Phoenix grinned sheepishly. “No. By the way -”

“Wright, you’ve thanked me profusely every day the past week. You do not have to thank me again.”

“But you picked up my kids every day this week and made us dinner and did the whole bath time routine.” Phoenix flopped on the table at Edgeworth’s blank stare. “How’d you know I was gonna say that, anyway?”

Edgeworth’s expression softened considerably. “You had that expression.”

“That expression?”

“You know,” said Edgeworth, searching for words. “Your thank you expression.”

“There’s a specific expression?”

“Yes,” said Edgeworth.

“I don’t understand,” said Phoenix, wanting to see how far he could push this.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” said Edgeworth. “Your eyes crinkle a bit at the corners and you get this...sentimental smile, I suppose.”

“I didn’t know you paid so much attention to my face.” Phoenix rested his chin in his hand and sent Edgeworth his most charming smile.

God, I hope this doesn’t look stupid .

“Er, well,” said Edgeworth, flustered. “You’re very expressive.”

Phoenix’s smile widened and he chuckled as Edgeworth suddenly became very interested in his tea.

Deciding to give Edgeworth a moment, Phoenix dug out the lunches he packed and silently handed one to Edgeworth. He took it with a quiet, “thank you,” his ears the faintest pink.

They both started eating, Phoenix with gusto, and Edgeworth with his usual, precise bites. Phoenix quickly slowed down, his mind running over the past few weeks and settling on the one question that he’d been forcing himself not to think about while he was busy. But now that he was sitting here with Edgeworth, the question was more present and begging to be asked.

Phoenix carefully set down his fork. As if sensing Phoenix’s mood shift, Edgeworth paused and set his own down as well. He didn’t say anything, knowing Phoenix well enough by now to know that he’d blurt out what was on his mind at some point.

“Will you...still be coming over all the time? Like you have been?” asked Phoenix, eyes glued to the water rippling in front of him, afraid of Edgeworth’s answer.

Edgeworth took a moment to respond and it felt like one of the longest moments in Phoenix’s life.

“If...If I am welcome, then I would l-like to,” Edgeworth finally replied, voice quiet.

“Really?” breathed Phoenix.

“Yes,” said Edgeworth. “Am…” He swallowed and his shoulders tightened visibly. “Am I welcome?”

“ Of course ,” said Phoenix vehemently, taking Edgeworth’s hand in his own and squeezing it harder than intended. “You’re always welcome in our house. You can come over anytime you want. Just say the word. And you don’t even have to do that. You could just show up without any warning and that would be perfectly fine. We love having you over. Really.”

Phoenix clamped his mouth shut. After all this time, he was still just a bumbling fool when it came to Edgeworth.

“That’s good to know,” said Edgeworth. Phoenix wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but it seemed like Edgeworth was relieved by his answer.

“Besides,” said Phoenix, trying to alleviate some of the tension. “The kids like your food way better than mine. I’m sure there would be a revolt if you stopped coming over to cook for us.”

Edgeworth paled. “You joke but I know full well that they would actually stage a revolt if given the idea.”

“Yeah, they would.” Phoenix shivered too at the thought of it. “I can’t blame them though. You cooking dinner was always the best part of my day.”

It really was. No matter how busy Phoenix was, he always stopped what he was doing to spend time with Edgeworth in the kitchen. Edgeworth, of course, wouldn’t let him help cook at all, saying something about “taking breaks are good,” or something along those lines. Not that Phoenix minded. Having the chance to sit and chat with Edgeworth was more than anything he could have asked for.

And he may or may not have appreciated the significant amount of time where he had a full view of Edgeworth’s backside…

Edgeworth glanced to the side before quietly admitting into his teacup, “It was my favorite as well.”

Phoenix glowed, feeling that inescapable bubbling in his stomach. “Then I guess that means we’ll still see you frequently.”

“Yes. I would...like that,” said Edgeworth. “However, I don’t think I can keep picking up the children from school as consistently as I have been.”

Startled, Phoenix sat up straighter. “You haven’t been getting in trouble because of me, have you?”

“What? No,” said Edgeworth. “On the contrary, they’ve been oddly excited that I’ve stopped working overtime and allotted more time for my family.”

“Well, you’re the one who’s been telling me to accept clients without overbooking myself, so it makes sense,” Phoenix said, rolling his eyes. “Wait...family?”

Edgeworth jerked in place. “Er...you know, Franziska...school...and…you know…”

“Hm? What do I know?” asked Phoenix innocently. Normally he wouldn’t push Edgeworth on something like this, but he was curious to see if Edgeworth would elaborate.

I’ve got to try to figure out what he’s thinking…  

“Y-Your family…” stuttered Edgeworth.

Your family. What was that supposed to mean? Did he mean “your family” as in Phoenix’s family being separate from Edgeworth's own? Or was Phoenix’s family considered part of Edgeworth’s family?

Feeling like he was starting to push a little too much, Phoenix backed down.

“Well, if you can’t pick them up, that's okay,” he said, switching topics. “It’s my turn so I’ll pick up Franziska. Just tell me what days and it’ll be no problem.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Mmm, I think I do. Besides, she’ll be my hostage that I’ll exchange for dinner,” said Phoenix with a wink. 

“You will not take my daughter as hostage,” said Edgeworth, mock offended.

“Try and stop me. You’d better prepare your oven mitts, mister.”

“I don’t need to bring any. You have an entire drawer of different patterned ones,” reasoned Edgeworth.

“Not if I hide them.”

Edgeworth couldn’t hold a straight face any longer. He chuckled. 

“No wonder your kids are so mischievous,” Edgeworth said.

“They do learn from the best,” agreed Phoenix, grinning from ear to ear. “You know…”

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow as he trailed off and motioned for Phoenix to continue. 

“You seem…more confident with them now,” Phoenix said carefully. “N-Not that you weren’t good with them. Just you seem to have your bearings compared to when I was sick. And, again, you were fantastic with them that day. I just,..what I mean to say is -”

“Wright. You can stop rambling. I know what you’re trying to say and I am not offended,” said Edgeworth in such a gentle tone that it stunned Phoenix into being quiet. “As you know, when you were sick, I did feel out of my depth.”

They’d talked about it the morning after by accident, actually. Phoenix had woken up before everyone else, needing to go to the bathroom and finally hungry for some light food. His rummaging must have woken up Edgeworth because he trundled into the kitchen soon after Phoenix, hair mussed from sleep and still wearing his silken maroon pajamas. 

Phoenix had stared a full five minutes at Edgeworth while he blearily blinked at the kitchen table. He’d never seen Edgeworth in pajamas before and it had made his heart pound first thing in the morning. Luckily, Edgeworth had been exhausted enough that he didn’t even notice Phoenix’s outright staring.

After rubbing his eyes and pinching himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream, Phoenix set the kettle on the stove and continued his search for food.

It was a testament to how exhausted Edgeworth was that he hadn’t even flinched when the kettle blared to life. Phoenix had been able to eat a light breakfast, oversteeping Edgeworth’s tea in the process - which should be fine, right? - all while sitting in the chair in front of Edgeworth.

Setting his bowel aside, Phoenix reached across and tentatively poked Edgeworth’s hand resting on the table. At the touch, Edgeworth blinked and focused on Phoenix.

“Everything okay, Edgeworth?” asked Phoenix softly.

“Yes,” said Edgeworth after a moment. Phoenix frowned, not believing it for a second. Something was clearly bothering him. He had his “stewing face,” as Nahyuta called it.

There were a lot of ways to approach whatever was on Edgeworth’s mind, but Phoenix decided to wait it out, hoping he would speak in his own time.

It worked because eventually Edgeworth broke the silence.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Edgeworth whispered, as if speaking any louder would shatter the most delicate glass.

Phoenix sat straight, worried where this might lead. “Do what?” he asked, just as quietly as Edgeworth.

“Take care of four kids.” Edgeworth’s gaze lifted briefly from the table to Phoenix’s eyes before dropping back down. “Don’t...Don’t get me wrong, they’re wonderful. They’re just…”

“Overly energetic, chaotic, loud, brash, mischievous, and many, many other things,” Phoenix filled in for Edgeworth. Edgeworth’s gaze jerked back up to Phoenix’s, surprised. “Yeah. Yeah, they are.”

Phoenix studied Edgeworth, noting the hesitation to speak, the uncertainty and guilt that diminished his usual grand presence. Yesterday had been Edgeworth’s first full day alone with all four of his children. Phoenix knew from experience that it was in no way easy. His first day with all four kids had been one of the most hectic days in his entire life.

Phoenix took a breath. “Sometimes…” he swallowed, hard. “Sometimes they are too much for me, too. Even now. Some days they overwhelm me and I...I wish that I could get a moment away from them.”

“Wright…”

“I haven’t really ever told anyone before, but sometimes it’s really hard being a single dad with four kids. Sometimes at night, I panic because I don’t think I’m doing it right or that I can’t...can’t do this,” admitted Phoenix.

“But you are doing it right. Anyone can see that,” said Edgeworth, grasping Phoenix’s shaking hand. This was the first time he’d ever admitted his darkest thoughts out loud. Not even Mia knew, and Mia knew everything.

“I know that,” said Phoenix, trying and failing to smile. “I do. I just sometimes feel like that and...and I just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one who feels that way, I guess. They can be a lot, but I saw you last night and you were perfect with them, even though they were, well, not behaved at all. You actually got them to behave more than I can.”

“I’m not so sure…” started Edgeworth.

“Believe me, you were,” said Phoenix, fiercely. “You really, really were.”

Edgeworths cheeks tinted pink and bit his lip, another question on the tip of his tongue. At Phoenix’s gentle squeeze of his hand, Edgeworth cleared his throat.

“How do you turn your thinking around when it feels like too much?” he asked.

“I think of all the good things they bring me and how much I love them. Despite how crazy they are, they’re still the best things that happened in my life. Every time they hug me or tell me they love me, I feel like I’m floating and I hold onto that and when that dark feeling returns, I remember all those times. Sometimes I even pull out my sketchbooks of them and it helps chase the bad feelings away,” said Phoenix.

“Of course you would have sketchbooks of them,” said Edgeworth with a tiny smile.

“Practice, too,” added Phoenix. “Lots of practice helps. It got easier taking care of them with time. You should have seen me a year ago. I was floundering like a fish on shore.”

Edgeworth gave a tired chuckle. “I have to admit, I’m not surprised. I can also imagine what that looks like, especially after the disastrous sleepover.”

“Hey!” Phoenix stuck his tongue out, delighted when Edgeworth chuckled once more, easing their tension a little more.

Phoenix sat back and shoved Edgeworth’s tea toward him. “Really, you did great. Just drink your tea and enjoy the calm before the little adorable monsters wake up. Even with the oncoming storm, I know they’ll still make you smile.”

“Yes,” said Edgeworth, recalling a memory as he took the proffered tea. “I believe they will.”

Edgeworth took a sip of his tea and set it down. “Two more things, Wright.”

“Yes?”

“First, you are not alone,” he said, confidence returning enough for him to stare down Phoenix. “If you ever feel overwhelmed again, please call me. I’d like to help diminish future moments where you feel unworthy.”

Something warm and bright bubbled inside Phoenix at his words. He didn’t know if Edgeworth knew how much his offer meant to Phoenix, but it meant so much more than Phoenix could even begin to describe.

“Thank you,” he said brightly, eyes crinkling in the corners. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And the second thing.” Edgeworth delicately shoved the tea toward Phoenix. “Please never, ever make me tea again. This is the absolute worst cup of tea I have ever had in my life.”

Phoenix had squawked like Apollo, then apologized profusely and spent the entire morning being teased about improper tea methods until they were both laughing too hard to get another word out.

As if sensing Phoenix’s mind lay elsewhere, Edgeworth squeezed his hand, bringing him back to the gardens and the fresh air lightly dancing across his skin..

“ Welcome back to the present, Wright,” said Edgeworth

“Sorry..”

“Like I was saying, I was out of my depth,” said Edgeowrth.

Phoenix shifted in his seat but remained quiet.

“However, like you said…I am more accustomed to their ways and it is easier to keep up with them. It’s still exhausting, but at the end of the day I find I have nothing but good memories, even amidst the arguments and the shouting.” Edgeworth shivered a little at the thought of their shouting. Phoenix had to agree. They could get very loud.

“It’s good to hear,” said Phoenix with a smile. “I was worried they were maybe wearing you down a bit too much. Especially when bath time is involved.”

“Don’t remind me about bath time,” said Edgeworth with a shudder. 

“What?” teased Phoenix. “Last time you were only almost drenched instead of fully drenched. I’d say that was an improvement.”

“I don’t know if I’d qualify that as an improvement.”

Phoenix laughed. “Well, at least you found the squirt guns before the bath last week.”

“Why did you buy them squirt guns in the first place?” grumbled Edgeworth.

“I wish I knew,” said Phoenix, chuckling to himself as he remembered Edgeworth’s horrified face at the sight of squirt guns.

Edgworth scoffed quietly to himself and remained silent for a moment.

“They’re really good kids,” Edgeworth said fondly. “Probably because they have your heart.”

Phoenix’s head snapped in Edgeworth’s direction. “Wh-Wh-What? Heart?” Phoenix squeaked, ears burning.

Edgeworth twitched and he let go of Phoenix’s hand - wait, had he been holding Phoenix’s hand this entire time? -  to smooth his already perfect hair. “D-Did I say that outloud?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Edgworth fiddled with his cravat and tugged on the ends of his sleeves. “Well, I, er, I mean, they, er, love like you. And they’re so kind, and well, er.” Edgeworth cleared his throat. “Ah, were we going anywhere else today? As much as I enjoy the gardens, it seems to me that you had other ideas…”

Reeling, Phoenix’s mouth flapped open and closed a few times. Edgeworth had just complimented him. That had happened before, but this time something felt different. Especially when Edgeworth used the word “love” in relation to Phoenix. Well, he was talking about his kids but also Phoenix and oh my god did Edgeworth just compliment him on how much he cared? But using the word love?

Scrambling, Phoenix forgot how to breathe for a second until his lungs demanded air. He sucked in a huge breath, desperately searching for the answer to Edgeworth’s question amidst the repetition of the word love over and over again in his head.

“Uh, um, yeah. Someplace else, yes. I did have another location in mind, yeah. Um, yes…yeah,” said Phoenix, blinking rapidly in time with his racing heart. “Uh, Later, well I guess now, well, uh, actually what time is it?”

“Time?” asked Edgeworth, using the excuse to bury his flaming face in his phone. “Almost one.”

Phoenix shot to his feet, barely noticing Edgeworth clutching at his heart both in surprise and from whatever emotions he was trying to hide from Phoenix.

“What? Already almost one?” Phoenix screeched louder than intended. If there were birds around, they would have all flown away in terror.

“Yes,” said Edgeworth, attempting to yank Phoenix back down. “Now please stop screaming. People are staring.”

They probably were, but Phoenix was too frazzled to pay them any attention.

“We better get going. We’re going to be late,” said Phoenix, packing up their leftovers and collecting all their garbage into a pile. In his hurry, he almost knocked the trash into the gardens, but managed to keep it from falling with a spectacularly over dramatic lunge. 

“Late?” asked Edgworth, taking over cleaning up before Phoenix could knock anything over and make an even bigger mess. “To where?”

“It’s a surprise, remember?” said Phoenix, simultaneously winking and sticking his tongue out at the same time, which could not look pretty at all.

Somehow though, Edgeworth both blushed and tried to hide a laugh at the same time. There was no way that had worked.

But maybe…

“Let’s go,” said Phoenix, once again looping his arm with Edgeworth after slinging on his backpack, pulse still vibrating under his skin. 

Without waiting for a response, Phoenix dragged Edgeworth toward the exit, only slowing down when Edgeworth patted his hand and mumbled something about falling into bushes or a pond at this rate. Phoenix definitely did not want to do that.

Back in the car, Edgeworth reluctantly handed over his phone once more and Phoenix hid the screen. After triple checking the address multiple times with his crumpled, useless directions to make sure it was correct, they were finally on their way.

The drive was longer than their drive this morning, but as the tension and embarrassment from the end of their lunchtime conversation fizzled out, they fell into easy chatter with occasional outbursts from Phoenix to distract Edgeworth any time he saw something that might hint at where they were going.

Miraculously, Edgeworth still had no idea where they were going by the time they parked. Phoenix, in a moment of pure impulsivity, raced around the car and opened Edgeworth’s door for him with a graceless bow.

“We’ve arrived,” he said, straightening and inching to the right to block Edgeworth’s view of their location. 

“Yes, I figured that based on the fact that the GPS said we’d arrived at our location and that I’ve parked the car,” said Edgeworth.

“Well, now you have absolutely no doubts,” said Phoenix, gesturing grandly into the air. “Also, I’m going to have to ask you to close your eyes.”

“No,” said Edgeworth, in a tone that left no room for argument. “We both know that’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“But Edgeworth,” pouted Phoenix, hoping to weasel past his defences. “It’s a surprise.”

“Wright…” sighed Edgeworth.

“Pleaaaaase.”

“Alright, fine.” Edgeworth closed his eyes. “Lead away.”

“Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. You can trust me.” Phoenix placed his hands on Edgeworth’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

“I know,” whispered Edgeworth, making Phoenix’s stomach flip a few times as he took Edgeworth’s hands.

In an ideal situation, Phoenix would have led the way flawlessly. In reality, they only made it exactly four steps before Edgeworth tripped on the curb, making Edgeworth almost swear - which he rarely did - and Phoenix apologize profusely. It took him another few minutes and swearing on all four kids' lives that he wouldn’t lead Edgeworth astray to convince him to close his eyes again. 

After - shamefully - whacking Edgeworth’s forehead on a door frame and an awkward moment of leaving a blind Edgeworth standing alone, Phoenix finally led him inside the room.

“Okay,” said Phoenix, stepping away and rubbing his sweaty hands on his pants. He had no idea if bringing Edgeworth here had been a good idea or if it was maybe too much, but it was already done. “You can open your eyes now.”

“I hope all this was worth it, Wright,” mumbled Edgeworth.

He opened his eyes and whatever potentially sarcastic comment he was about to make disappeared.

“Tada?” Phoenix wiped his hands once more on his pants and gestured to the empty Steel Samurai animation exhibit behind him.

Edgeworth didn’t know where to look. His eyes kept flickering from Phoenix to the artwork, signs, and flashing videos. 

Finally after an excruciating silent seven minutes, Edgeworth finally spoke.

“H-How? This isn’t supposed to open until next week,” breathed Edgeworth, taking one halting step forward.

“A friend owed me a favor, “ said Phoenix, rubbing the back of his neck. “Pro bono project that took a long time and all that.”

“Wright, this is…” Edgeworth struggled for words. “I don’t think I have any words.”

Well, that almost never happened. 

“You don’t have to,” said Phoenix, nervously taking Edgeworth’s hand and leading him to the first part of the exhibit. “Just enjoy it. We have until the rest of the museum closes, so...”

Whatever Edgeworth was going to say to that flew away when his gaze landed on one of the posters on display. His eyes lit up and one of his rare, breathtaking smiles broke out onto his face. “The original Steel Samurai design. I remember seeing this poster for the first time as a kid.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. My father and I were passing by a storefront when I saw it in the window,” said Edgeworth. 

“Tell me about it,” said Phoenix.

And he did. Edgeworth told Phoenix everything he knew about the Steel Samurai as they walked through the exhibit. It was more than Phoenix ever needed to know, if he was honest, but watching the way Edgeworth spoke made every moment worth it. It was one of the rare times where Edgeworth let his pure delight and inner nerd shine past his outward facade, and Phoenix wanted to witness every moment of it. Phoenix didn’t care that he was learning about something he wasn’t particularly interested in. All he cared about was that Edgeworth was talking about something he was passionate about with no walls to hide behind. Phoenix never wanted it to end.

They spent an indiscernible amount of time making their way through the exhibit, with Phoenix hardly saying a word. At one point he ended up losing Edgeworth because Phoenix had stopped to watch a short video of how animations were created. By the time he’d watched it a few times, Edgeworth had disappeared around the corner somewhere.

Phoenix found him watching old episodes with commentary from some of the creators. After a while of enjoying Edgeworth’s studious delight, Phoenix wandered back to the beginning of the exhibit to start sketching.

As little as he remembered from the kids’ constant exclamations about how cool the Steel Samurai was or explanations of the plot of the most recent episodes, he did enjoy the artwork. Any chance he had to study different styles and designs was always valuable, and this was no different. It was interesting to see how a single character could evolve over time based on changing art styles and the Steel Samurai had been around long enough to have gone through many renditions.

An unknown number of hours later, Phoenix had sketched his way through the various designs and wound up back at the animation exhibit, lost in thought while attempting to create his own flip book on the corner of his pages. 

He was putting the final touches on the last image when a hand fell on his shoulder, scaring him so badly he face-planted off the bench he was sitting on.

“Are you alright?” asked Edgeworth, stunned at Phoenix’s sudden relationship with the floor.

“Of course I’m all- Wright ,” said Phoenix, unable to miss out on a terrible pun of his own last name.

Edgeworth gave the tiniest groan. It was so cute that Phoenix blushed and forgot he was still sprawled on the floor.

“I was going to assist you, but after that pun I don’t think I’d like to,” said Edgeworth, crossing his arms.

“What? Come on,” said Phoenix, wiggling his fingers at Edgeworth. “Please help me. I’m stuck on the floor.”

“No you’re not. You are a perfectly capable adult.”

“But I’m stuck,” said Phoenix.

The two of them stared each other down, Phoenix continuing to wave his arms about until Edgeworth relented and hauled him to his feet.

“Fine. Happy?” Edgeworth grumbled.

“Yes,” said Phoenix, grinning broadly. “Very.”

Edgeworth looked away, fidgeting. 

“How was the video?” Phoenix asked, sitting back down on the bench and straightening his sketchbook.

“Fascinating. I really enjoyed it,” said Edgeworth, joining him on the bench. “I’m sorry I lost you. I didn’t realize you stopped following me.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I knew where you were,” said Phoenix.

“What were you doing? I hope you weren’t bored…” said Edgeworth, concerned.

“No! Not bored at all,” said Phoenix, frantically shaking his head. “I like artsy kinds of things. I’ve been sketching, and look! I made a mini animation!”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Let’s see if I can get it to work.” Phoenix adjusted his sketchbook, leaning in close so Edgeworth could see the little drawings in the corner. For a moment, Phoenix forgot what he was doing as he felt Edgeworth’s arm and knee press against him. 

Phoenix gulped. They were really close. No matter how many times this happened, his heart always started racing.

“How does it work?” asked Edgeworth.

“Oh, um. I just grab it here and then…” Phoenix grabbed the pages and used his thumb to flip through them as fast as he could.

Edgeworth’s eyebrows lifted in astonishment. “Is that me fighting the Steel Samurai?”

“Um, yes?” said Phoenix, wondering if his choice of who to draw had been wrong.

“Cool,” said Edgeworth, the casual word coming out of his mouth sounding strange to Phoenix. 

“You think so?” asked Phoenix, embarrassed.

“Yes,” said Edgeworth, so enthralled that Phoenix forgot how to exist.

“Y-You can have it,” said Phoenix, shoving the whole sketchbook into Edgeworth’s arms.

“Wright, this is your entire sketchbook. I can’t take the whole thing,” said Edgeworth, amused.

“Oh…right….but I can cut out the corners of the pages when we get home and then give it to you,” said Phoenix. “It wouldn’t cause any problems for any of the other drawings in there.”

Well, at least I hope it doesn’t, thought Phoenix. He did have the tendency to draw on the backs of pages as well.

“You don’t have to,” said Edgeworth.

“Too bad. I want to,” said Phoenix. “I’ll do it when I get home.”

Phoenix felt his phone buzz and checked to see if it was anything important. He was startled to find he had a number of missed messages letting him know their time in the exhibit was almost up. 

He hadn’t realized time had flown by so fast.

“What?” asked Edgeworth, noting Phoenix’s sour expression.

“We have to go soon,” Phoenix sighed, shoving his phone into his pocket.

“Oh,” said Edgeworth. Phoenix was unprepared for how crestfallen Edgeworth looked, and started to panic.

“But-But we’ll come back!” he exclaimed, patting Edgeworth on the back with more force than necessary. He cringed at how terrible he was reacting to this. He’d seen Edgeworth sad before, but somehow this was worse. “You know we’re going to have to bring the kids. They’ll probably kill us as soon as they find out we went here first without them. I’d pacify them with things from the Steel Samurai gift shop, but it’s closed…”

Edgeworth froze. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Don’t worry,” said Phoenix. “I already bought tickets for all of us next weekend. That should hopefully keep them from tossing us out of the house. Hopefully.”

“You bought us tickets?” asked Edgworth.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Phoenix said sheepishly. “I was gonna surprise you and Franziska next weekend, but, uh, then this happened. I figured you wouldn’t mind coming twice, though.”

“I don’t,” said Edgeworth. “However...I also...bought us tickets…”

Phoenix couldn’t help it. He laughed. Taking Edgeworth’s hand, he meandered forward through the exhibit. “Well, we’ll work something out. We’ll bring Maya and Kay and Pearls. They’ll probably want to come anyway, and I honestly may have accidentally forgotten about them…”

Edgeworth winced. “You want Maya and Kay in a public space together with all our children?”

“Probably not.” Phoenix shrugged. “ But I have a feeling it’ll happen even if we don’t plan it.”

“I wish I could say you're wrong,” said Edgeworth.

“Don’t we all,” said Phoenix. “Now, why don’t you point out your favorite Steel Samurai things as we slowly walk out.”

“Why?”

“Because I love listening to you talk,” said Phoenix, stomach swooping at the admission.

“Oh, er, well, er, so, this-this version of the Steel Samurai...” stammered Edgeworth, his hand subconsciously tightening in Phoenix’s as he pointed out something on the wall. Phoenix blushed and bit his lip to keep from smiling at how cute he was when flustered.

With every step, Edgeworth gained more confidence, but the pink tint in his ears never went away and his grip on Phoenix’s hand stayed the same. 

They took their time leaving the exhibit, but thanks to Edgeworth’s practical time keeping skills - something Phoenix was horrible at - they made it out by the time the museum closed. They walked back to the car, still hand in hand which had Phoenix feeling like he was soaring.

He didn’t exactly know what this was or what was happening, but Edgeworth hadn’t said anything. He wasn’t about to point out that they were still holding hands unless Edgeworth jerked away in surprise, or worse, disgust.

Next to him, Edgeworth unlocked the car, but paused before walking to his side.

“Should we get dinner before we go home?” Edgeworth asked, fiddling with his keys.

“Sure, I’d love to,” said Phoenix. “Although…”

Phoenix checked the time on his phone, noting out of the corner of his eye Edgeworth’s sudden worry. Was he afraid Phoenix would say no? Did he...want to spend more time with Phoenix?

The pit of Phoenix’s stomach glowed in a warm, slow burn.

“Would you mind if we got take out? The kids are supposed to call in a bit and I’m afraid it’ll be in the middle of dinner or something,” continued Phoenix.

“Oh,” said Edgeworth, relieved. “We can pick up dinner on the way back to your apartment, if you don’t mind. We could also go to my apartment, but it seems to logistically work better if we go to your place.”

“That sounds good. Where should we eat?”

“I have a place in mind,” said Edgeworth, a little too quickly. “I hope you won’t mind that it’s nothing like Eldoon’s Noodles.”

“What? You don’t like Eldoon’s?” asked Phoenix.

“No,” said Edgeworth flatly. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened his card door.

“What’s wrong with Eldoon’s?” Phoenix asked, climbing into the passenger side.

“A lot of things.”

“What are you talking about? Eldoon’s is great! Classic! The absolute best! It’s some great fine dinning!” said Phoenix, trying not to laugh at Edgeworth’s sour expression

“It is not fine dining.” Edgeworth started the car and backed out. 

“Really? What would you classify as ‘fine dining’?” said Phoenix, grinning.

“A number of places,” said Edgeworth.

“Like what?” pushed Phoenix.

Like a dam cracking, Edgeworth launched into a long winded speech about “actual” good restaurants and his version of upscale restaurants, most of which Phoenix would never really eat at, thanks to having four kids and all. It was by far one of the most amusing tirades Edgeworth had gone on. Phoenix had a hard time not interrupting his every other sentence.

Before he knew it, they’d driven to their restaurant, and one glance at the outside made Phoenix thankful that they were getting take out, because he was severely underdressed. The entire time they were there and the whole way back to Phoenix’s apartment, Edgeworth hardly stopped his long-winded rant about fine dining. 

Maybe Phoenix would have to take him out to one of those places...if he ever managed to figure out if Edgeworth even liked him enough to go on a date. Though, if today was anything to go by...maybe, just maybe, it was possible?

Phoenix opened the door to his apartment and took off his shoes, making a show of putting them on the shoe rack. After tripping over shoes for the millionth time, Edgeworth had begun badgering Phoenix every day for the past few weeks to make sure everyone put their shoes away properly. It really was something Phoenix needed to be better about, but he enjoyed Edgeworth’s huff of indignation every time Phoenix was overly dramatic about putting his shoes away.

True to form, Edgeworth huffed and rolled his eyes before making his way to the kitchen. Phoenix chuckled and tossed his keys somewhere in the living room, more concerned with the smell of food making his stomach growl.

Going straight for the box marked for him, Phoenix opened it up, letting the smell of chicken parmesan wash over him. Picking up the fanciest fast food container Phoenix had ever seen, he grabbed a fork and headed toward the living room.

“Wright, what are you doing? Edgeworth asked.

Confused, Phoenix turned and cocked his head. “I’m going to eat dinner? On the couch? Because the kids aren’t here and it’s a perk of being an adult?”

“You’re going to eat this on the couch and in the take out container?” Edgeworth asked, incredulous.

“Yes?”

“Wright, we are not eating a dinner this expensive in a take out container. At least please put it on a plate.” Edgeworth held one out for Phoenix.

“Um, okay?” Phoenix went back to the counter and took the proffered plate. “Can we still eat on the couch? It’s comfier?”

“And highly inelegant.”

“But there’s a TV,” said Phoenix. “Not that I don’t want to talk to you or anything…”

For a second it looked like Edgeworth might say no, but then he admitted. “I’ve never eaten on the couch before. Aren’t you worried about spilling on your furniture or your clothes?”

“Not that I like pointing out how unclean my place can sometimes be, but with four kids, nothing in this apartment isn’t stained,” admitted Phoenix. 

“Ah, of course…” said Edgeworth, glancing around. It was no secret Edgeworth was sometimes unsettled at how cluttered Phoenix’s place could get, but Phoenix always did his best to tidy up when Edgeworth was coming over. It was the best he could do, because he wanted Edgeworth to keep coming over. If trying to keep a cleaner house helped, then Phoenix would do everything in his control to at least attempt to clean.

“Come on. It’ll be fun,” said Phoenix, taking his dinner to the couch.

“Sometimes I feel your definition of fun is very different from mine,” grumbled Edgeworth, tentatively taking his plate and following Phoenix.

“And yet you still love me anyway,” teased Phoenix, belatedly realizing what had slipped out of his mouth this time.

Behind him, Edgeworth’s plate clattered. Phoenix looked back, holding his breath and praying he didn’t just scare Edgeworth away.

“Er, yes,” said Edgeworth, face hidden from view as he bent down to pick up his fork. 

Yes? Yes, what? Screamed Phoenix’s brain. What did that mean? Did Edgeworth just admit that he... loved Phoenix? By accident? There was no way. But he had said yes! He agreed with Phoenix. He agreed with Phoenix !

Phoenix’s heart raced and he held his breath, mind reeling. Could this be it? Could this be the moment that Phoenix had both been afraid of and hoping for? Had his subtle testing hints all day led to this moment? Even if this hadn’t been his intention for the day at all? Even if all he had tried to do was see if Edgeworth had the potential to like him, maybe?

Not that he’d wanted to ever admit to Edgeworth that he liked him and was maybe hoping to try dating in a scenario like this. In an ideal world, he would ask Edgeworth to date him and it would be super romantic, with art and candles, maybe even at one of those restaurants Edgeworth was raving about just minutes ago. But if things happened this way, it wouldn’t be that bad. Right?

Phoenix’s grip on his plate tightened, hard enough to crack, and he swallowed. Phoenix opened his mouth.

And then Edgeworth spoke again.

“Yes, er, yes this-this could be fun, yes. Eating on the couch, that is,” sputtered Edgeworth, face still hidden. “Let’s try this, yes.”

Every spark of hope Phoenix had had crashed, and what little air was left in his lungs flew out like he’d been punched in the gut. Reality came beating down and Phoenix felt his heart drop, depression a heavy cloud.

Of course. Of course Edgeworth was only thinking about the couch. How could Phoenix expect Edgeworth to be actually thinking about love. They were just friends after all.

Taking a deep, rattling breath, Phoenix closed his eyes and shoved his sorrow away with pure force of will. Focusing on the task at hand, Phoenix set his plate on the coffee table.

“Are you okay?” asked Phoenix, a little afraid to know the answer.

“Yes. Just dropped my fork,” Edgeworth said after a elongated breath, setting his plate on the coffee table next to Phoenix’s. He adjusted his cravat and smoothed down his hair. “So, er, what are we watching?”

“Watching?” asked Phoenix, dumbfounded.

“That’s the reason we’re eating on the couch, is it not?” Edgeworth sat down on the couch, composure returning and looking like nothing had happened.

“Oh, yes!” Phoenix dug around in the couch cushions from where he was pretty sure he threw it earlier this morning. 

“Aha,” he exclaimed in triumph, holding the remote like a sword. “Found it!”

Edgeworth chuckled at Phoenix’s stance and a small bit of discord eased in the pit of Phoenix’s stomach. 

Maybe...maybe he was overthinking things. Maybe he was projecting his feelings onto Edgeworth, so much so that he was reading into every little possibility and making up things that may or may not be true.

Yeah, that had to be it. Edgeworth had just never sat on the couch with dinner before, so it made sense that it was on his mind. He probably barely even heard Phoenix’s comment.

That had to be it, yeah. Which meant Phoenix still had a chance. Maybe a kind of good one, too. Edgeworth hadn’t pulled away from Phoenix all day, and he had requested they have dinner together. This was a good thing right? He could still maybe figure out if Edgeworth felt anything deeper for Phoenix. 

It might take time, but he could do this. Yes, Phoenix could do this.

Nodding to his own thoughts, Phoenix plopped down on the couch half a foot away from Edgeworth, laughing maybe a little too hard with his nerves and jumbled thoughts at Edgeworth’s complaint.

Sticking his tongue out, Phoenix flipped through the channels until they settled on Phoenix’s favorite overly dramatic law show about a prosecutor and a defense attorney who only become closer with every case.

He didn’t pay much attention to it at first like he normally would. Instead, he was way too amused watching Edgeworth figure out how to eat off a plate with no table. The minutiae of his facial expressions from disgruntled and confused to pleased when he somehow managed to successfully eat some of his dinner was fascinating. Phoenix was enraptured.

Phoenix was in the middle of wondering how Edgeworth managed to make eating on a couch look elegant when his phone rang. Phoenix jumped and slid his plate onto the coffee table, spilling a little in the process. He’d clean that up later.

After scrambling to get his phone out of his pocket and accidentally throwing it a few feet, Phoenix finally answered the call. 

“HI DAD,” screamed four different voices on speaker phone. Phoenix jerked the phone away from his ear, knocking Edgeworth’s elbow, causing him to drop his fork.

“Wright, what are you doing? My pants might stain because of this!” said Edgeworth, dabbing at his pants with a napkin. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It was an accident!” said Phoenix, setting his phone down and racing to the kitchen to get a damp cloth.

“Why is your phone even that loud in the first place?” complained Edgeworth.

“The speakerphone button has been stuck down for a few days and I can’t fix it.” Phoenix handed Edgeworth the damp cloth, wanting to help but also needing to answer the incessant questions blaring from his phone.

Deciding against trying to help Edgeworth, Phoenix picked up his phone.

“Hi, I’m here, guys. I’m here,” said Phoenix.

“Daddy are you okay?” asked Trucy.

“Yeah, I’m okay. We just had a little spill.”

“We?” asked Nahyuta.

“Was that Mr. Miles we just heard?” asked Athena.

Oh. Yeah. He hadn’t thought about that.

“Uh, yes? Say hi, Mr. Miles.” Phoenix held the phone closer to Edgeworth and belatedly realized he had just sort of basically called Edgeworth Miles. Phoenix then wondered if he’d ever be able to call him Miles. Would they ever be close enough for that?

“Hello, everyone.” Edgeworth frowned and gave up on the now giant wet spot on his pants.

“Hi Mr. Miles,” they all chorused.

“What is Mr. Miles doing there?” asked Apollo, suspicious.

“Wait,” came a faint voice over the phone. “Is my father there? With Mr. Phoenix Wright?”

“Apparently,” said Nahyuta.

“Why is he there?” asked Franziska, voice louder.

“Yeah!” added Trucy. “Why does he get to see you and we don’t?”

“You’re supposed to be resting,” said Nahyuta.

“Oh, well, I was and I got a lot, especially yesterday. But then I woke up and uh, this was mostly spontaneous. Out of the blue,” rambled Phoenix, feeling a little bit guilty that he didn’t get to see his kids this weekend. The sleep was necessary though.

“Yes, he called this morning. It was unplanned,” agreed Edgeworth.

“Daddy called you?” asked Trucy.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Hmm..” said Trucy.

“Did you have a good day?” asked Athena. 

“Yes, of course. It was amazing,” said Phoenix, unable to stop from grinning. 

“And you Mr. Miles?” asked Nahyuta. 

Phoenix darted a nervous glance at Edgeworth before focusing back on the phone.

“It was delightful. Your father is always good company,” said Edgeworth.

Phoenix bit his lips to keep from smiling too wide.

“What’d you guys do?” asked Apollo.

They both fell silent. Broaching the topic of the Steel Samurai exhibit was dangerous.

“We went to the tea gardens,” said Edgeworth calmly. 

“Oooh! Did you see any koi fish?” asked Athena.

“Of course. I even found the Edgeworth fish.” Phoenix puffed up his chest in pride.

“The Mr. Miles fish! See Mr. Miles! I told you it looks like you!” exclaimed Athena. In the background a few of the others were asking what the Mr. Miles fish was.

“Did you do anything else?” asked Nahyuta.

They fell silent again. Lying to them was impossible, even over the phone. 

“Father, you did something else, didn’t you?” accused Franziska.

“Er, well,” stumbled Edgeworth.

“Father, what are you hiding?”

Phoenix gulped and took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. “We…went to the…Steel Samurai exhibit…”

As expected, the kids complained uproariously. Phoenix had to hold the phone far away from them both.

“Why did you tell them?” asked Edgeworth, a little pale from all the screaming and whining.

“They were going to find out eventually anyway and at least we can sort of control the volume level this way,” said Phoenix.

“I’m actually a little impressed,” admitted Edgeworth.

“Thank you,” said Phoenix with a small bow. 

“I’ll admit, I am glad we didn’t do this in a restaurant,” said Edgeworth, uncomfortable with all the noise.

“Same here.”

Faintly, over accusations of unfairness, Phoenix heard another voice. Beside him, Edgeworth stiffened. 

“What’s going on over here kiddos? Everyone okay?” asked Maya.

Oh no. If she found out…both about the exhibit and the fact that Edgeworth was sitting next to Phoenix…

This was going to be bad.

Sure enough, Nahyuta told Maya of Phoenix and Edgeworth’s considerable offense.

There was a moment where all the voices died down.

“WHAT?” shouted Maya into the receiver. “YOU WENT TO THE EXHIBIT WITHOUT US? AND WHAT’S THIS? EDGEWORTH IS AT YOUR HOUSE? RIGHT NOW?”

The deafening complaints started up all over again and Phoenix sighed. 

“This might take a while,” he said, setting his phone on the table.

“Should we try to stop them?” asked Edgeworth.

“Nah, they’ll wear themselves out eventually.” Phoenix grabbed his plate. “Might as well finish dinner before it gets too cold in the meantime.”

“Are you sure?” asked Edgeworth, picking up his own plate.

“Yeah.”

“I feel strange just letting them rant without addressing their concerns…” he admitted.

“They’ll be okay, I promise.” Phoenix patted Edgeworth’s knee, delighted that he was always so worried about his kids. “Subtitles okay?

Edgeworth nodded and Phoenix turned the subtitles on for their show. They didn’t have much of their dinner left, so by the time they finished and moved the dishes to the kitchen, the kids were finally running out of wind.

They sat back down on the couch and Edgeworth grabbed Phoenix’s phone, then paused, realizing he had Phoenix’s phone. Before Edgeworth could panic, Phoenix motioned for him to continue.

Swallowing, Edgeworth did. 

“Are you all settled now?” asked Edgeworth.

There was a spattering of “yeah”’s and “I guess so”’s. 

“Good.” Edgeworth nodded to himself. “Now, if you would have been a little more patient in the first place, you would have known that we have tickets already purchased for next weekend.”

“You do?” asked Franziska.

“Yes.”

There were exclamations of celebration and after a few minutes of excited chatter, they settled down again.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” said Phoenix, scooting closer to Edgeworth to be heard better. “How was your guys' day?”

That question opened another floodgate and they talked about their day, giving a minute by minute explanation of everything they did. Phoenix relaxed, soothed by their chatter and excited descriptions of all the fun they had. It was rare that they weren’t at home, so being able to hear their voices always made Phoenix feel more upbeat when the house started to get too quiet.

Though Phoenix himself hadn’t been home all day to experience the silence that came with no children in the house, he still missed them and their smiling faces. Hearing them calmed a part of him he hadn’t even really known was unsettled in the first place.

By the time they finished, Phoenix and Edgeworth could hear multiple yawns from the other end, and Phoenix himself had slowly slouched against Edgeworth’s shoulder, warm and happy.

They began their goodnights and I love you’s, but before they hung up, Phoenix spoke up.

“Apollo?”

“Yeah, Dad?” came Apollo’s sleepy voice.

“You sleeping all right over there?” asked Phoenix.

“Yeah. I had a little nightmare the first night, but not a super bad one. Last night was okay,” Apollo said.

“Good.” Phoenix let the last of the tension in his shoulders fall away. Apollo was notorious for being unable to sleep anywhere else besides his apartment. The first time Mia had taken them for the night ended in a late night visit where Phoenix had to pick them up and take them all home. After that, they slowly worked their way toward making Apollo more comfortable in Mia’s house. Knowing that he was doing fine this weekend blew the last of Phoenix’s worries away.

“I’ll still have my phone on if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Dad,” mumbled Apollo, yawning again.

“Athena? You doing good too?” asked Phoenix.

“Yup. This week is a good week. Nothing above level three,” answered Athena.

“Perfect,” said Phoenix, unable to hold back his own yawn. “I’ll let you guys go. We all need some sleep.”

“Goodnight, Daddy,” said Trucy. “And Mr. Miles. Thanks for playing with Daddy today.”

“He gets lonely without us,” said Athena. Phoenix made a face at the phone. He hated that they were maybe, possibly right.

“Of course. I’m very glad I was able to,” said Edgeworth.

“Me too,” added Phoenix, ears roaring as blood started pounding in his veins, pleased that Edgeworth enjoyed their time.

“Goodnight, everyone,” said Edgeworth.

There was another round of goodbye’s and then the scraping of the phone being passed hands.

“Yo, Nick,” said Maya. “We’re gonna get the kiddos to bed now. Before you go, Mia wants to know what time she should drop them off tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, Probably around five or so. I’m not doing much tomorrow, so whenever works for you guys,” said Phoenix.

“Sure thing. Now, one last question.”

“Sure,” said Phoenix, not suspecting a thing.

“Soooo…how was your date?” Maya asked slyly.

“Oops, got to go!” Phoenix tore the phone out of Edgeworth’s hand and tossed the phone across the room.

Edgeworth blinked at his empty hand, a frown beginning to form.

“Date?” he asked, slow from being tired.

“Want to watch the next episode?” Phoenix scrambled for the remote and upped the volume, first until it was too loud, and then again until it was a manageable volume.

Deep down, Phoenix desperately wanted today to have been a date, but he’d never broached the topic and didn’t really even ask Edgeworth out anyway. He wasn’t trying to, as much as he wanted to. Today was mostly to see where Edgeworth stood, so it wasn’t a date and he didn’t want Edgeworth to feel pressured that it was.

Hopefully Edgeworth hadn’t even noticed what Maya had said.

“What was Ma -”

“What episode were we on,” interrupted Phoenix, praying that a distraction would work.

Edgeworth paused. “That’s a good question.” His brows furrowed in thought. “I think the last thing I remember was something about a space station.”

Huh. Phoenix couldn’t believe that had actually worked.

“That’s right. I think I remember now.” Phoenix flipped back to the proper episode. “You, uh, want to watch more? I didn’t really ask…”

Edgeworth yawned and settled further into the couch, his arm pressing more fully against Phoenix. “One more and then I should probably head back home.”

“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” whispered Phoenix before he could stop himself.

“Me too,” said Edgeworth, yawning again.

Wait…Did Edgeworth just admit that he wanted to stay longer? Phoenix glanced up, his cheek still pressed against Edgeworth’s shoulder. Edgeworth blinked sleepily at the TV, not noticing Phoenix’s attention.

Phoenix didn’t think he’d meant to say that outloud. Either way, he said it and Phoenix felt butterflies flutter and hum through his body.

Edgeworth wanted to spend more time with him. With him . Phoenix Wright, the dorkiest, most unclean human in existence. Well, not really the most unclean, but at least untidy and disorganized…

“Are you going to press play, Wright?” mumbled Edgeworth.

“Oh, yes, sorry.” Phoenix pressed play and snuggled in close to Edgeworth. To his delight, Edgeworth didn’t comment, nor did he move away.

The two of them fell quiet, the episode flickering in front of them. It passed far too quickly for Phoenix’s liking, but when he turned to see if Edgeworth was going to go, he found Edgeworth fast asleep, breathing long, even breaths.

Phoenix debated on what to do. He could wake him up or he could…

Careful not to disturb him, Phoenix slowly pulled away and stood up. Edgeworth did little more than twitch once, so Phoenix gently positioned his legs on the couch and carefully pulled until Edgeworth was laying down. Then, he took one of the blankets on the couch and tucked Edgeworth in.

Phoenix stepped back, smiling softly at Edgeworth’s peaceful face. God, he was so beautiful. Phoenix wished more than anything that he could see Edgeworth like this every day of his life.

Man, he was so far gone for Edgeworth. 

Phoenix sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. He probably should wake up Edgeworth so he could go home…but if he didn’t, Edgeworth would still be here in the morning. 

It felt a little like he was taking advantage of Edgeworth…

But Edgeworth did admit, whether he meant to or not, that he wished he didn’t have to leave, and him sleeping here was not leaving so…

Besides, Edgeworth looked exhausted and driving home while tired wasn’t safe, so it was better that he would stay the night here.

Yeah. Better and safer. That’s right.

Phoenix turned off the lights in the living room and headed towards his bedroom, satisfied and reliving every moment of the day.

Phoenix almost couldn’t believe it. He’d spent an entire day with Edgeworth and it had been one of the best days in his life.

On top of that, he’d started testing Edgeworth’s boundaries in small ways - taking his arm, taking his hand, pressing close on the couch - and not once had Edgeworth pulled away or asked him to stop.

In some cases he actually pressed back. Did this mean…that maybe Edgeworth…

Phoenix rubbed his face and collapsed in bed, head spinning.

There was so much he didn’t know. He had a lot to figure out, but if he learned anything today, it was that maybe, just maybe, there might be a chance.

And if there was, Phoenix had to take that chance when it came.