Chapter Text
The decision to take a vacation had actually come from Maya, both Phoenix and Edgeworth were either too proud or too worried about what would happen if they went away to consider it themselves. But from everyone else’s point of view, the two of them clearly needed some time off. To rest, get their mind away from work, and to be together now that they (much to everyone’s relief) had finally decided to go out, dissipating some of the constant sexual tension present whenever they were in the same room.
Going to a calm, touristic city in the mountains was Edgeworth’s idea though, once Maya had convinced them, he had decided that a destination like that would be the most practical. Going to a city that was small enough not to be overwhelming, but big enough to have the resources for them to get back quickly in case anything happened seemed like a good plan and it left them both at ease.
Once there, they knew they had made the right choice on location, it was a beautiful place with clean air and clear skies that were framed by the snowy mountain peaks that gave the city its “touristic attraction” status. For the first time in a while, both of them felt like they could actually rest properly, the possibility of being involved in work related shenanigans had been left far behind in Japanifornia, and now they could concentrate on being a regular couple, at least for the duration of the vacation.
The churches and chapels were the second main attraction that this place had to offer. They were nowhere as big as the cathedrals one pictures when thinking of beautiful catholic architecture, but even being small, the amount of detail and work that had gone into each of them was astonishing to say the least.
With churches there usually comes a religious community, and this city was not the exception, but neither Phoenix nor Edgeworth thought much of it, even if they were publicly a gay couple, there should be no reason to worry, though catholicism had been known to be disapproving of homosexuality in most cases, this didn’t necessarily mean that they would get trouble from anyone. Indeed they hadn’t had any problems up to this point, and even if one or two locals whispered about it among themselves, it didn’t concern the attorneys, not that they even noticed that sort of thing, they were so lost in each other’s company that the outside world became a pleasant blur that smelled of pine trees and fresh air.
The third night they spent in the city, Phoenix suggested they could maybe drink and have a bit of fun in their hotel room (he said fun while wiggling his eyebrows, just to make sure his boyfriend got the message), just to try something different, Miles was reluctant at first, mostly worried about the possibility of breaking something or bothering the people in the rooms next to them. Being a rather solitary person, Edgeworth had never gone out drinking with friends or a romantic partner, but the idea of something new was attractive enough to get him to consider casting his worries aside. Besides, having his boyfriend next to him gave him a sense of security that he hadn’t felt in who knows how long, this feeling was what made him finally decide against his usually cautious nature and convinced him to let loose, at least this one time.
And so they drank, a lot. And they definitely did have fun, but neither of them would remember the details of what happened that night before drunkenly passing out together on the bed at about 3:00 am.
It was now 5:00 am.
Miles woke up startled by a scream and a crash in the room next to them. Panicked, he looked at Phoenix, who was snoring beside him and still profoundly asleep. Deciding that he had probably imagined the noise, the prosecutor was about to go back to sleep when he heard footsteps running through the hall towards their room, and then, the door handle started shaking violently, there was someone trying to get in. Miles jolted up ignoring the dizziness he felt from the sudden movement, realizing he was naked, he put on some pants as quickly as possible and ran to the door, but when he got there and peered through the peephole, whoever was on the other side had run away.
Conflicted on what to do next, Edgeworth stood in place until he heard another door slam shut. Judging by the place where the noise came from, the person who had been trying to get in a few seconds ago had just escaped through the emergency stairwell, which he remembered because he had been using it all the time instead of taking the elevator, something he still couldn’t do and had resigned himself to never do again.
Glancing at Phoenix one last time, Miles decided to go outside and investigate. Though the rooms were pretty spacious, the hotel itself was small. There were three rooms by floor, all lined up on one side of the hallway while the other side were windows to the beautiful scenery outside. On one end of the hall were two elevators and on the other was the emergency stairwell. Their room was the one closest to the stairs, and the room next to theirs, the one in the middle, had its door wide open.
He knew what was coming next, it was almost too obvious. Still, he approached the now ominously silent neighboring room as if on auto-pilot, and by the time he knew what he was doing, he was standing in front of what seemed to be a dead body.
The man lying in front of him was unremarkable, but seemed vaguely familiar, someone he had met at some point at work most likely. He had a stab wound on his chest but there was no knife on sight, Miles knelt down to examine the victim more closely, yes, he was most definitely dead, he let out a sigh, why did death have to follow him everywhere he went? But this was no time for self-pity, he needed to call the police.
But just as he got up, he was startled by a piercing scream that came from the door behind him. Looking at the source, he realized that a small crowd had gathered on the entrance to the room. Miles opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by one of them he was holding a cellphone.
“Don’t move! I already called the police!”
His stomach sank as he realized what was going to happen next, there was only one thing on his mind now.
“I just ruined Phoenix’s vacation”.