Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Gumshoe was always a bit of the oblivious sort with his feelings. On top of that, he was surrounded by sharp, observant people who always seemed to figure out who he had a crush on before him, though luckily the person he was crushing on rarely noticed themselves.

He'd admitted to a coworker he had a crush on Maggey, who said they'd known for weeks. Gumshoe had only realized the day before. People had teased him about Edgeworth for over a year before he realized why he was so gosh darn puppy dog loyal around him. He hadn't even known he liked guys! How'd they figure it out?

So it was a surprise one day when he was babysitting Pearl (while Phoenix and Maya were on a case he wasn't assigned to for once), that she looked at him seriously and said, "Mr. Scruffy Detective, you're not going to come between Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya, are you?"

Gumshoe stopped halfway with instant ramen noodles trailing from his chopsticks, confused for many reasons, not least of which was that he was pretty certain Maya and Wright weren't an item.

"N-no? Ma- uh, Mystic Maya - " Gumshoe corrected himself; Pearl had been quite stern at him regarding Maya's title and angry little girls were scary, "She's kinda young for me, pal."

Pearl sighed exasperatingly. "Not Mystic Maya! Mr. Nick!"

It was at that exact moment Gumshoe actually considered the thought for the first time. Having people figure out his crushes before him was humiliating enough, but hearing it from lil' Pearly -- just bury him now.

Did he have a crush on Mr. Wright? "Uh… Why d'you think that, ha ha…?"

Pearl, despite her personal shipping preferences, clutched the sides of her face in dreamy excitement. "The way you light up when you see him! The stolen glances! The blushes! Rushing to his defence when someone is mean to him!" She huffed, certain in her small stature. "All things that the Gold Samurai described as being in love in the most recent episode!"

Ah… Gumshoe knew Pearl was an unreliable witness filtered through the writing of a children's TV show, but…

Come to think of it, he did find himself grinning when he spotted Phoenix Wright, his heart beating a little faster. But they were friends, right? It makes sense that you would be glad to see your friends! Even if there was a murder and you're investigating to nail the sucker who did it and the guy was there to defend him, and you're still happy to see him. That's normal! First charge, handled.

Second charge - stolen glances. Well, he did find himself looking at Mr. Wright a lot. He figured it was because if that lawyer was going to hover around his crime scenes, he should keep an eye on him right? Except he gained a Phoenix Wright radar, head swinging around to look when he spotted blue suits and spiky hair. Maybe it was because he didn't want to be fooled by an imposter again. That was it, that's why. Perfectly platonic to gaze at Wright when he was talking to Edgeworth in the criminal affairs department, wondering how he got his suit to fit him so well.

Third charge - did he really blush? He can't see his own cheeks go red. They did get pretty warm the other day when Mr. Wright asked him to babysit Pearl and that he trusted Gumshoe - but anyone would be glad to be told that! And so they got kinda warm just thinking about the guy, which was happening more often, particularly when Gumshoe had a moment's peace and his mind started to drift. And that time Wright handed him a piece of evidence to look at and their hands touched. Okay! Maybe the witness had a point about that one.

Last charge, rushing to his defense, huh? When had Pearl seen him do that… Maybe it was earlier that day when Phoenix and Maya dropped her off at the station and one of the other officers made a joke about him having a little girl collection. Well that was just rude! Of course he had to spend five minutes lecturing the guy about how much Phoenix cares for his clients and would never leave a sad little girl on her lonesome!

Or wait, maybe it was that other time she was there and someone made a comment about Wright's hair and Gumshoe insisted it suited him. Or that time a witness said he was irritating and Gumshoe had loudly claimed he was a wonderful man he would gladly die for.

Gumshoe's face was scrunched up at this point. It was still hard to think! Was it platonic or was it romantic?

"Mr. Scruffy Detective…?"

He jumped, spilling ramen broth on his coat. As he wiped it up he stammered, "You - you really think that I got a thing for Mr. Wright?"

Pearl kicked her legs. "I'm never wrong! I can tell! You want Mr. Nick to be your special someone, don't you?"

Gumshoe could feel his cheeks flushing, which wasn't helping his argument. "I don't know! I haven't thought about it!"

"You should find someone else, Mr. Nick has Mystic Maya!"

That was right, Pearl had bad judgement. There's no way she could be wrong about those two but right about him! "I'm not - -"

A sound stopped him. The lock on the Wright & Co office door was turning. Then the man himself entered. Gumshoe immediately noticed he looked tired. His shoulders slouched and he had bags under his eyes. He looked stressed. Gumshoe worried that his case was taking a toll on him. But then he looked up and saw Gumshoe and smiled, and Gumshoe's heart just about did a whole circus routine with how hard it flipped.

Oh.

"Hey, thanks, Detective Gumshoe."

Gumshoe would walk on coals for a tired, exhausted 'thanks' again. "Don't worry about it, pal!"

"Mr. Nick! Mystic Maya! You're back! How did it go?"

Oh yeah, that was right, Maya was there too. Gumshoe hadn't even noticed her, he was so laser focused on Wright.

"Pearly! We think we found enough evidence to help. Uh, hopefully." Maya glanced at the lawyer.

"We'll have to see in court tomorrow. It'll be the third day, I'll have to make it work somehow."

"Don't worry, pal, you always do!" Gumshoe had already cut up the confetti, he was so certain. Phoenix Wright could do anything.

He passed over his charge and left them to it and got out of there. But instead of heading home he went to a nearby park, sitting on a giant plastic orange half as the evening started to get dark.

Did he really like Phoenix Wright? Did he want him to be his "special someone"? He thought about holding hands and his cheeks instantly got warm. Going on a date, Phoenix's hand enclosed in his, Phoenix smiling. His heart thumped. Just the two of them! Alone! What an exciting thought!

And then maybe - and Gumshoe's heart started racing thinking about it - maybe at the end of the night when he dropped Phoenix off he could lean down and - lean down and - oh, it was embarrassing how exciting the thought was. Kissing Phoenix Wright.

Sweet and gentle and then the man would kiss him back harder, pushing him up against the wall and they'd stumble for the keys to open the door, eager to be alone - well, now wasn't the time or place to continue that train of thought.

"Detective, what are you doing alone in a park with a dopey look on your face?"

Gumshoe started, that voice sending him into an instant salute as a Pavlovian response.

"Sir! Just thinking about some stuff, sir!"

Miles Edgeworth, of all people, walked up to him. "I happened to be passing by - do you usually sit alone on playground equipment?"

"No, sir!" He looked at Edgeworth now. "You almost look as tired as Mr. Wright, sir."

"I managed to scrounge up a decisive witness -" Oh no. "-and a new piece of evidence that may cinch this case." Oh dear.

"I'm sure you'll get the guy, sir," said Gumshoe, visibly deflated.

Edgeworth paused, looking down his nose at him. "... If I didn't know better, detective, I would think that you're siding with the defendant."

"No, sir! It's just, uh, Mr. Wright seems to be having such a hard time with this case, sir."

"Ah, Wright, of course. As if he ever has a case he doesn't have a hard time with."

Edgeworth's tone was dry, but somehow his point reflated Gumshoe. "Yeah…! Yeah! That's right, sir! I'm sure he'll pull it off last minute like he always does! Er, not that I don't think you'll do a bad job, sir, I'm sure he's guilty -"

"Enough, trying to listen to you attempt to side with both of us at the same time is giving me a headache," said Edgeworth, rubbing a temple, "At least this isn't your case this time. Aren't you on leave?"

Gumshoe rubbed the back of his neck. "They said I hadda take my vacation time. Can't afford to go anywhere so I've been helping Mr. Wright out by taking care of the little missy, since the crime scene, you know…"

"Yes, I imagine a gentleman's club is not welcoming of young girls. It's… kind of you, to do that."

A few months ago, a compliment from Edgeworth would have sent him over the moon. But he'd made the choice to move on, and apparently it worked. It still made him happy, but not overly happy.

"Aw, it's easy. Kids are cute. Innocent, see? And it helps out Mr. Wright. He was so grateful when I said he'd do it, and thanked me when he came back -"

"You like him, don't you?" Edgeworth asked lightly.

Gumshoe just about fell off his orange. "Wh-wh- what?! Why - why do you say that!?"

Edgeworth, clearly taken aback by that overblown reaction, looked confused. "I meant, you must consider him to be a friend."

"Oh!" Gumshoe was blushing again, something he was hyper-aware of now it had been pointed out. "Oh yeah! Of course! I like him as a friend! A good friend! Just… just a great ol' guy! Love 'im. I - I mean like him! As a friend! The normal amount."

Edgeworth was silent.

"Yup, just a couple of pals. Heh heh."

Edgeworth stared at him a moment before sighing. "I'm glad you never try lying on the stand, detective. Even Winston Payne would tear your testimony to pieces."

Gumshoe's shoulders drooped. "Yes, sir."

"Your personal life is none of my business, and I would really rather prefer not to pry." Edgeworth adjusted his cravat, looking uncomfortable. "But are you and Wright involved?"

If Gumshoe was standing, he would have bolted from this conversation. Just run. Out of sight. As was, there was no easy escape. "No, sir. Not like that, sir."

"Hm," said Edgeworth, who seemed to be considering something, "No, I suppose not."

Gumshoe was more confused than anything. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wright is almost as bad as you at keeping his emotions in check. I'd like to think that I would have noticed. He must be oblivious, is that correct?"

" I was oblivious, sir, until about half an hour ago." There was no use denying it; Miles Edgeworth was one smart cookie.

One could almost see the lightbulb go off in Edgeworth's eyes. "Hence you sought out a quiet place to think."

"Just needed to sort out some thoughts."

They stood in silence a moment as Edgeworth looked off into the distance, his thinking face on.

"If I could give you some advice, Dick."

Pulling out his first name; Edgeworth was having a real heart to heart with him now. "Uh, shoot."

Edgeworth folded his hands behind his back. "The relationship between the police, the prosecutors, and attorneys like Wright is tenuous . If you decide to pursue anything, it may cause some friction for some in the department, as they may think you're liable to pass information on to the Defense."

Gumshoe gasped in indignation. "I would never! Do you think that sir!?"

Edgeworth's face was deadpan. "I would assume you would pass on the exact same amount of information you already do."

There wasn't really a lot he could argue with that. "So you're saying that I should keep my trap shut about it and never tell him?"

"Not necessarily," said Edgeworth, looking uncomfortable again, "I'm only suggesting that you consider your options carefully and not to leap in without thinking about it first."

Gumshoe gave a hollow laugh. It was rich hearing this from Mr. Edgeworth, considering he had to think about a similar sort of conundrum when he was thinking about his feelings for him.

"Don't worry, I know, sir. I'm sure I'll get over it anyway."

Edgeworth opened his mouth ready to say something before closing it, taking a moment. "If you say so, Detective. My car's parked nearby, if you would like a ride home?"

"That's really sweet of you, Mr. Edgeworth," said Gumshoe, surprised, "But a walk is what I need to clear my head."

"Alright. Good night, Detective Gumshoe."

"Good night, Mr. Edgeworth! And good luck with the trial tomorrow, I'm sure it'll go well!"

--

Confetti rained from the audience as the judge banged his gavel and boomed out the words "Not Guilty."

Sweet relief flooded Phoenix until his knees wobbled and he had to grip the table to keep steady. Another win, another client proved innocent by a hair.  Soon everyone filed out of the courtroom.

"That was a really close one, Nick! I can't believe it was Chad Itcomin's wife who was the real murderer!"

Phoenix shook his head. "Neither did I - he was so disliked it could've been any of the witnesses…"

"Way to go, pal! I knew you could do it!" That booming voice had to be none other than Detective Gumshoe, with Pearl in tow.

"You did wonderfully, Mr. Nick!" Pearl bounced on the heels of her feet. "Though, what kind of dance uses a pole…?"

"Uh, I'll tell you some other time, Pearls," said Phoenix, feeling himself start to sweat.

"I can't believe you pulled it off, Mr. Wright!" Gumshoe was about as enthusiastic as Pear was.

"Haha, yeah, thanks?" said Phoenix, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why don't we all go out for burgers to celebrate!" said Maya, with just as much energy as the others.

"Oh, uh, sure. I actually got paid pretty good this time so I'm sure I can afford it…"

"Well, you guys have fun!" said Gumshoe, chuckling.

Phoenix looked at him, confused. "You're not coming?"

The detective blinked. "Oh, uh, was I invited?"

Phoenix gave a half smile. "Well, you've been taking care of Pearls so it's the least I could do…"

Gumshoe beamed at him. "In that case, let's go!"

"Yeah!" said Maya, "Burgers!"

"Burgers!" echoed Pearl.

"Oh, but lemme go to the bathroom real quick before we go, pal."

It turned out Pearl wanted to go too and since Maya went to help her, soon Phoenix was left alone in the hall outside the courtroom to wait for them. But it wasn't long before he was approached by someone else.

"Wright. You've won again."

Phoenix turned towards the prosecutor. "Sorry about your win record, Edgeworth."

"I've come to expect you to make your dents in it," said Edgeworth. He looked oddly thoughtful. "But that's not why I wanted to speak to you."

"It's not…?"

Edgeworth gave a glance over Phoenix"s shoulder before focusing on him again. "Detective Gumshoe said he has been assisting you with babysitting."

"Yeah, with Pearl. Is there something wrong with that?" Phoenix was a bit thrown by the unexpected angle to the conversation.

"No, no." Edgeworth shook his head. "But… Hm. What do you think of the detective?"

"What do I think of Gumshoe?" repeated Phoenix, increasingly confused. "I dunno, he's a pretty good guy I guess. Why?"

Whatever Edgeworth was calculating behind those eyes, none of it reached Phoenix. "Just be careful, Wright. He's… sensitive. But if you're clear, he'll accept it."

Now Phoenix really didn't understand what was going on.

"Okay? I don't get it but sure?"

"You will," said Edgeworth, and looked around at the returning Feys. "I should be going. But please don't mention to Gumshoe that I spoke to you about this."

"Spoke to me about what?"

Edgeworth gave a little chuckle and turned around to go. "Exactly."

"No, really, what are you trying to say?" Phoenix half-yelled at a retreating Edgeworth.

"Trying to say about what?" asked Maya, now caught up with him and holding Pearl's hand.

"I don't know," said Phoenix, scratching his chin, "Something about being careful with Gumshoe?"

"Weird," said Maya.

At that moment, the man himself came bounding back. "Hey, you didn't leave without me!"

Maya stuck her tongue out at him. "Why would we leave without you, silly?"

They left, walking to a nearby burger joint. Maya was telling Pearl and Gumshoe a (censored) version of the case, while Phoenix hung back a little and watched them.

He tried to figure out what Edgeworth meant, but he was drawing blanks. The best guess he had was that Gumshoe was hiding something, but he couldn't imagine what kind of thing the big guy would hide. Or even could hide, since he had the subtlety of an alarm clock. It wasn't a bad trait, though.

Phoenix liked how easy Gumshoe was to read. His job involved so many people who were lying to him or being secretive or cryptic, Gumshoe's brand of boisterous honesty was refreshing. Even on the stand, most of his contradictions were human error rather than subterfuge. When he was happy, you knew it. When he was sad, you knew it. When he was trying his best, he threw his whole self into it even if it was misguided. Maybe that was what Edgeworth meant by "sensitive" - maybe he was warning Phoenix to be easy on the guy. That wasn't hard.

Phoenix smiled, watching the detective with the girls. There was no way Gumshoe was keeping something from him.

They arrived at the restaurant and sat down, Phoenix next to Maya and across from Gumshoe, next to Pearl. They chatted about stuff and had burgers and celebrated the case.

"Hey Gumshoe," said Maya, "what's with you and Edgeworth anyway?"

Gumshoe blinked. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well back at the courthouse -"

Phoenix remembered at the last second that Edgeworth had told him not to tell Gumshoe about their strange conversation, but he realized with a start that he had not passed the message on to Maya. He kicked her lightly under the table and interjected with the first thing he thought of.  "You were congratulating us instead of cheering up Edgeworth! Isn't he your boss?"

Maya puffed out her cheeks at Phoenix, but he gave her a slight shake of the head.

"Well, yeah, pal, but he doesn't need it. I think he gets that if Mr. Wright wins a case it means we got the wrong guy. "Gumshoe leaned his head on his hand. "Don't get me wrong, used to hit him pretty hard. I'd try all sorts of things to cheer him up…"

"Oh…" said Phoenix, regretting his choices.

"Besides! You've been working hard too, pal!" Gumshoe gave him a wide grin. "You deserve it!"

"Oh! Th-thank you." Phoenix hid his embarrassment by taking a long drink of his water.

Maya was swirling around her milkshake with a straw. "Aw, I always thought that you had a crush on Edgeworth, Gumshoe, but I guess I was wrong."

Phoenix choked on his drink and spat it out, right at the same second Gumshoe said, "WH-WHAT?"

Then Pearl said, "Oh no, Mystic Maya, he likes -"

Gumshoe patted Pearl on the head, interrupting her. "Hey now, little missie, finish your burger."

Phoenix figured he didn't want Pearl to spill the beans on Maggey and pretended he didn't see. But Edgeworth?

He turned to Maya. "Why do you think he - I mean, Edgeworth ? Really?"

"Oh come on, Nick! With the way he always talked about him?" She waved a finger in the air. "I thought that for ages! But why would you leave your crush hanging like that?"

"That's really not -" Phoenix shook his head, smiling incredulously and turned to Gumshoe. "Sorry she has a very active im--" He stopped mid-word.

Gumshoe was beet-red, half-covering his face with a hand, mouth twisted.

"... Gumshoe?"

Gumshoe mumbled something.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said I got over it, okay, pal!" Gumshoe said, louder than necessary. "I mean - who hasn't got a crush on Edgeworth one time or another?! But when I tried to bring it up he was all 'you don't need to like me, Detective! You just need to work with me!'"

"Ah," said Phoenix.

"Ah," said Maya.

They exchanged a look.

"The confession went right over his head, didn't it?" said Maya.

"Completely didn't get it," said Phoenix.

He was still reeling over this new information. Gumshoe and Edgeworth? Why did that make him feel like there was a weight in his stomach?

Pearl slapped the table like Phoenix did so many times in court. "It's not over, Mr. Scruffy Detective! He might not have got it last time but you should try again! Do something - do something romantic!"

"H-hey, I told you, I got over it…"

Now Phoenix was thrown for a loop again. If Pearl thought Gumshoe liked someone else, why would she encourage him to pursue Edgeworth again? Then again, she did have a tendency to get caught up in the moment… she probably just got invested in this new side of the story.

"Let's let Gumshoe have his privacy, okay? Uh! Hey so that new episode of the Gold Samurai, huh?"

Phoenix forcefully changed subjects but it worked for the rest of the dinner as they discussed the Steel Samurai and Nickel Samurai spinoff. As they started to head home, the girls saw an old fashioned style arcade, and they managed to scrounge up enough cash so Maya and Pearl could play some pinball. Phoenix and Gumshoe hung back, watching them.

"They're good kids," said Gumshoe fondly.

"Yeah, well, Maya's an adult now so she really should know better…"

"Huh? Know better?"

"Earlier?" said Phoenix, feeling embarrassed at having brought it up again if Gumshoe had already forgotten. "You don't need to have your feelings advertised…"

"Oh, that." Gumshoe squirmed a moment before laughing it off. "Nah! It ain't a big deal. I wasn't gonna bring it up ever, probably, but she doesn't need to advertise my feelings, pal." Gumshoe slumped a little. "Everyone always seems to know."

Phoenix bit his lip before suggesting, "Like with Maggey?"

"O-oh, you noticed that one too? See? That's my point, pal. I had a thing for her and everyone knew."

Past tense, huh? "Not anymore?"

"Nah, she got a boyfriend now. I'm no homewrecker!"

"No, you wouldn't do something like that," said Phoenix, "You're too good of a guy."

Gumshoe's mouth seemed to wobble a little before he settled into a smile. "Thanks, pal."

"But if it wasn't Maggey," said Phoenix, thinking aloud, "Then who does Pearl think you like now?"

He didn't realize his mistake until a familiar clanking sound that wasn't a real sound hit his not-ears and the chains rattled into place, before three locks came crashing down in front of Gumshoe.

Psyche-locks?

"Oh, uh, you know kids," said Gumshoe, laughing a little, "Making up stories in their heads."

"Right, yeah, sorry." This wasn't a case, those Psyche-locks weren't any of his business. He wanted to know, though. He was surprised by how much he needed to know. Was he so invested in gossip?  "Talking with Pearl and Maya make me feel like I'm in middle school again," said Phoenix, "All who-likes-who. We're adults, we should be above that kind of thing."

Gumshoe slumped, looking like a sad, big puppy dog. "... Above love, pal?"

Phoenix blinked. "Ah, no, I mean, above gossip and teasing about it."

Gumshoe, ever easily pleased, visibly revived. "Nah, everyone gossips. Even Mr. Edgeworth gossips. And the teasing -" Gumshoe rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, they do that too, they just change up the language. I kinda prefer the way the girls talk about it!" He laughed. "Like it ain't something to be ashamed of."

Phoenix wondered what the other officers down at the station were like, and what they had said to Gumshoe. "I don't think that you have anything to be ashamed about."

The detective grinned. "Yeah, that's right, pal!"

Phoenix smiled back. "And it's nice, talking about this kind of thing. Normally when I talk to you there's been a murder!"

Gumshoe looked at him with a strangely pained look on his face - or at least, Phoenix thought he did, before it was replaced by his normal smile. "You know you can talk to me outside cases, pal. If there's - if there's anything you wanna get off your chest, I'm your man!"

"Huh." Socializing? Outside cases? What a concept. But not a bad one, really. "I should take you up on that sometime. And, uh, same for you, Gumshoe."

The detective smiled sheepishly and stuck his hands in his pockets, looking down and glancing sideways at Phoenix. "Thanks."

There was a sound of a throat being cleared. Maya and Pearl had finished their game. Maya was looking between the two of them, her mouth twitching. Pearl, meanwhile, was staring daggers at Gumshoe for some reason. What was that about? What did he do to earn the girl's wrath?

"It's getting late and I bet Pearls is getting tired," said Phoenix. That had to be it. "We should probably get going."

They said their goodbyes and started to head home. Gumshoe waved them off and went his own way.

Maya was looking at Phoenix sideways. "Gumshoe sure is nice, isn't he Nick?"

"Yeah, he is," said Phoenix, feeling a bit of déjà vu.

"But not as nice as Mystic Maya, right?" piped up Pearl.

"Well…" Phoenix said, scratching his chin. "I don't know about that…"

For the rest of the walk home, Phoenix had to deal with two very indignant Feys. But his mind kept drifting back to those Psyche-locks.

He had thought Gumshoe wouldn't keep anything from him, but then - it wasn't any of his business. Or was it?

Later, after everyone went to bed, Phoenix lay awake. Gumshoe had liked Maggey, he knew about that. Now he knew he liked Edgeworth too - how did he miss that one? Not that Edgeworth knew - or did he? Phoenix sat up in bed. Maybe that was it. Maybe Edgeworth knew that Gumshoe had confessed and realized he'd upset him. Then he told Phoenix to be careful because the man wasn't over it yet.

He lay back down, trying to be satisfied in his theory. Why was this bothering him so much?