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Phoenix liked to think that he and Edgeworth had come a long way since their mid-twenties. They had danced around their feelings for each other for several years, refusing to acknowledge their relationship as anything more than estranged-childhood-friends-turned-warmly-regarded-colleagues and disguising the strength of their bond with euphemisms such as trust and respect. Not that he didn’t trust or respect Edgeworth - he did, obviously, there was no one he trusted or respected more - but even beyond that, Edgeworth held a special place in Phoenix’s heart as an invaluable and deeply cherished friend.
As for Edgeworth, he finally loosened up enough to learn how to relax every once in a while. It had taken Phoenix months to coax him away from his desk, starting with an explanation of “work-life balance” followed by a debate where Phoenix was forced to prove to Edgeworth that no, working from home did not fall under the “life” category. He employed all of Trucy’s greatest tricks to finish the job: bribery, guilt-tripping, and - his personal weakness where Trucy was concerned - the winning smile. At last Edgeworth had broken down and agreed to come see Trucy’s magic show “just this once”, muttering something about how he supposed the debrief report for the trial that wrapped up yesterday could be put off for one more day.
Except “just this once” had turned into “alright, one more show”, until what had started out as a rare occasion quickly became a weekly recurrence. Sometimes there were even weeks where they would meet for dinner after a long day of work, or where Edgeworth would drop by the Agency to return some forgotten files and would somehow end up on the couch, sipping tea while swapping light banter as he pretended not to be paying any attention to the Steel Samurai playing in the background. If Phoenix could have told his 24-year-old self that one day he and Edgeworth would almost be as close as they used to be as kids, he likely would have objected himself into oblivion.
Phoenix was constantly reminded of how lucky he was to be among the chosen few that Edgeworth chose to spend his limited leisure time with. And he had come to realize that he was at a point in his life where, if asked, he would gladly share that yes, he did very much look forward to his absolutely one-hundred-percent purely platonic outings with Edgeworth at Trucy’s magic shows and he wasn’t afraid to admit it.
Trucy’s show had been the catalyst for this subtle shift in Phoenix and Edgeworth’s friendship, a weekly tradition that strengthened their bond and built new memories that didn’t have anything to do with murders or investigations or trials. It was a special time just for the two of them. So maybe that would explain the abrupt shock and disappointment Phoenix felt upon seeing Edgeworth standing outside the door of the Wonder Bar, engaged in awkward small talk with none other than the judge. Edgeworth glanced up as he approached, looking relieved.
"Ah, Mr. Wright!" the judge exclaimed. "Late as usual!"
As usual? Phoenix thought sourly. Edgeworth snorted and tried to pass it off as a cough. He shot Edgeworth a withering look before turning to the judge and saying, “Your Honor! I’m surprised to see you here!”
“Yes, well I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Miss Trucy’s infamous magic show!” the judge said. It was odd seeing him outside of court - the beard and long judicial robes that he was still wearing made him instantly recognizable, but he was much shorter than Phoenix remembered. Although, thinking back on it, Phoenix couldn’t recall any specific moment he had actually ever seen the judge out from behind his lofty perch. Regardless, it was extremely disorienting to look down on him rather than the other way around.
“Mr. Edgeworth and I were talking about our hobbies and the other sorts of things we get up to outside of court,” the judge said, as the three of them walked through the door. “It may come as a surprise to you that I’ve got a mean putting stroke, for example!”
“Hobbies, huh?” Phoenix said, grinning. Edgeworth shot him a dangerous glare over the judge’s head.
“Yes. Such as reading and watching TV,” he replied curtly. So he’d gone with the truthful yet vague route, it seemed.
“Any particular show? Or genre?”
The look Edgeworth leveled at him could have been enough to raize the Wonder Bar to the ground. “Historical dramas.”
Luckily for Edgeworth, the judge was distracted by a more pressing matter.
“I’ll catch up to you both in a moment, Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Wright,” he said. “I’ve found that the bladder only gets smaller as you get older, but nothing to be done for it!”
He scurried off in the direction of the bathroom, leaving Phoenix and Edgeworth to secure their seats.
“I really hope I don’t turn out like him when I’m older,” Phoenix said, shaking his head. “Not just because of the bladder thing.”
Edgeworth grimaced. “Don’t talk to me about your bladder, please.”
“Hey, the judge started it!”
They made their way over to their usual table near the front of the stage. It was the perfect spot for both of their purposes: for Phoenix, so that he could support his supremely talented daughter in all of her glory, and for Edgeworth, so that he could try to deduce her tricks for their post-show debrief. Trucy always dared him to see if he could figure out how they were done, and Edgeworth was never one to back down from a challenge.
"Just don't rile him up more than you already have," Edgeworth said. "I, for one, am still hoping to enjoy my evening."
Phoenix groaned and slouched in his seat. "I barely talked to him and he was already making me feel like a guilty schoolboy."
"That's what you get for leaving me to entertain him until you arrived. And don't slouch like that, it's bad for your back."
“Ugh. You’ve always been the favorite,” Phoenix grumbled. He slouched further out of spite, until his traitorous back gave a twinge that forced him upright. Edgeworth smirked and pushed his glasses up his nose.
“I can't help it if the judge has good sensibilities, Wright.”
Ah, so it was back to “Wright”. Phoenix had gotten used to the informal first-name basis that they usually fell into during these sorts of outings. It was something else he looked forward to about this...thing they did, as friends, but it seemed that since the judge was here they’d have to return to a professional distance.
“So, how’d the judge find out about Trucy’s show tonight anyway?”
Edgeworth glanced at him curiously. “You didn’t invite him?”
“Uhh, no…”
“Well, he seems to be under the impression that you did.”
Phoenix wracked his brain for any interaction with the judge that might possibly have been misconstrued as an invitation, and suddenly remembered one particular debate about whether or not a girl could fit in a suitcase, which led to Edgeworth bringing up the suitcase trick that Trucy had performed at the last show they saw together, which led to the judge badgering Phoenix about being left out, which ultimately led to a situation where Phoenix may or may not have explicitly stated that he could come to the next one.
“I - I didn’t invite him on purpose ,” he amended. “I was only saying that to be nice!”
“Then you have no right to complain,” said Edgeworth, completely unsympathetic. “You can’t say things you don’t mean if you have no intention of following up on them."
Phoenix grumbled something about how it was Edgeworth’s fault in the first place for using their outings as a logical basis for refuting his arguments in court.
“And did Trucy finally bar you from your pre-show fatherly duties, or does the judge have you so addled that you forgot?”
“Ack, shoot,” he said, checking his watch. Edgeworth was right, it was getting close to showtime, and he never missed the chance to give her a patented pre-show Dad™ hug. She swore it helped “make the magic juices flow better”, whatever that meant, but he thought she was just trying to humor her ol’ Dad. “Don’t rat me out to her later. I’ll be back!”
He rushed to the small storage room that passed as a green room during show nights, where Trucy was busy sifting through piles of props scattered over every horizontal surface within reach.
“About time you showed up, Daddy!” she said. “I was starting to think Uncle Miles kidnapped you or something!”
“I mean, not too far off…” he replied. At Trucy’s bemused expression he clarified by adding, “Well, replace Edgeworth with ‘the judge’ and ‘kidnapped’ with ‘distracted’, and you’ve basically got the same deal.”
“The judge? Oh wow!” Trucy’s eyes lit up with excitement. “I don’t think I’ve had the chance to perform for him before...maybe I’ll have to start coming up with some law tricks and pull in more of the court crowd. I could be like the Gavineers of magic with my legal-themed illusions!”
Well, that was certainly an image. And not one that Phoenix was inclined to entertain. “For what it’s worth, honey, I pull enough stunts in the courtroom to last us both a lifetime.”
“Good point. It’d be rude to steal your schtick. Besides, even I don’t know how you manage those half the time.”
“Pft! Thanks for the vote of confidence, kiddo.”
“So... “ Trucy bounced on the balls of her feet, grinning. “Do you think he’ll be a new regular?”
“Ah,” said Phoenix, “maybe.”
Trucy halted mid-bounce and cocked her head. “You don’t want him to be, then.”
Oof. She read him like a book. “I mean...not particularly. Honestly, I didn’t even intend to invite him here tonight in the first place.”
“Oh Daddy…” she said, and sympathetically patted his shoulder. “I hate to say this, but...it’s kind of your fault for not being able to say no to people.”
Phoenix sighed. Edgeworth had basically said the same thing, only less delicately.
“Well, it’s only one night! And you like the judge, don’t you?”
“I guess,” he conceded. In an obligatory way. “It’s just weird, is all. I’d rather keep my work contacts out of my personal life.”
“Isn’t Uncle Miles a work contact, technically?” she pointed out.
“Edgeworth’s different, you know that,” Phoenix said. “He’s - we go way back. Since before work stuff.”
“Hm, that’s true. Well!” Trucy said, clapping her hands together. “I’ll try to make tonight extra special to impress our surprise guest! And then maybe in your next trial he won’t go so hard on you.” She winked and flounced out of the room, and Phoenix was left wondering which of them was actually the one doing the pre-show morale boosting around here.
Now that she mentioned it though, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to hang out with the judge on a personal level. Phoenix could think of quite a few instances where he would have appreciated a more lenient penalty during a trial.
His determination to enjoy a pleasant evening with the judge quickly dissipated when he returned to their table, however, where he found the judge currently occupying his seat next to Edgeworth. Swallowing his annoyance, he shoved himself into the seat on the other side of the judge with a tad more force than necessary.
“Welcome back, Mr. Wright,” the judge said. “How is Miss Wright faring with her preparations?"
"Just fine."
Edgeworth peered at him from around the judge, and he realized that maybe he'd been a bit too curt.
"Well, you know how it is. A magician can't reveal her secrets, not even to her dad." Phoenix scratched his neck absently. "And she was excited to hear that you came tonight, Your Honor. She said she'd make it extra special for you."
The judge sniffed. “That’s very kind of her. She truly is a wonderful young lady, Mr. Wright.” Phoenix felt a rush of warmth at his praise and was about to reply with a heartfelt thanks when the judge added, “It’s a wonder she turned out so well what with your manners!”
And there went his good mood again. You’re one to talk, he thought crossly, before the spotlight flashed upon the stage to mark Trucy’s entrance.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” she cried, her voice booming out over the audience. “Are you ready to make some magic?” She raised her arms and confetti and sparks burst from her palms. Claps and cheers arose from the audience - most of them Trucy’s regulars - followed by a few whoops from some less-than-sober Wonder Bar regulars.
“Wait!” Trucy’s voice called again, coming from somewhere behind them. The Trucy onstage looked puzzled, as though she hadn’t meant to say anything. Phoenix never ceased to be impressed by her ventriloquism skills. She had really come a long way since the days where Phoenix’s biggest poker face challenge was pretending he hadn’t seen her lips move.
“Halt, imposter!” the voice from behind said, while Trucy squinted through the lights to frown at the accuser. “How dare you try to steal my limelight tonight!”
By this point everyone had turned to look at the commotion behind them, and Phoenix was surprised to see that the disembodied voice was accompanied by none other than a perfect duplicate of Trucy herself. She had her hands on her hips and an over-exaggerated pout on her face as she addressed the Trucy on stage.
“I-Imposter?” onstage Trucy said. “We’ll see which of us is the real imposter around here!”
“Oh-ho, we really will see, won’t we?” At this point offstage Trucy turned to the audience and raised her hand. “Who thinks I’m the real Trucy?”
Half of the crowd cheered, while the other half seemed unsure or were too confused by everything that had happened up until this point to react.
“Good enough for me!” she said cheerily. She snapped her fingers, and a puff of smoke obscured the Trucy onstage. The smoke disappeared, revealing a familiar tall and wooden face that was miraculously standing on its own.
“Mr. Hat!” Trucy cried, with mingled reproach and amusement. She hopped onstage and put her hands on her hips. “What’s all this about?”
“I’m sorry, Trucy,” Mr. Hat said in a deep, mushy voice. “I wanted to show off my tricks today. I’ve been practicing them quite a lot.”
“Oh, Mr. Hat,” she scolded, shaking her finger at the puppet. “I’ll let you open for me one of these days. But you still need more practice!”
“Practice like this?” said Mr. Hat. Trucy twirled the puppet away from her, and from the vortex of blue and brown another perfect Trucy clone reappeared in Mr. Hat’s place. Trucy held out her hand for the other Trucy to take, and the two of them bowed to a raucous applause.
Phoenix clapped the loudest of all. He glanced over to see Edgeworth’s reaction to Trucy’s stunning performance, but instead was met with a faceful of the judge’s beard.
“A-Amazing!” the judge exclaimed, grabbing Phoenix’s shoulders. “Mr. Wright, how did she - There were two of her, I-I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“Y-Yeah, she’s pretty incredible, huh?”
The judge didn’t seem to be aware of how tightly he was gripping Phoenix’s shoulders, or that he was shaking him back and forth in his excitement. Phoenix’s teeth clattered in his skull and the room spun in his vision. Since when was the judge this strong?
Thankfully the judge released him as Trucy moved into her next act. Phoenix shook his head to clear the dizziness and tried to focus on the rest of Trucy’s show.
Except that was proving to be more difficult than expected. The judge kept making little sounds of surprise and grabbing Phoenix’s arm whenever Trucy did anything - which, on the one hand, was flattering because Trucy was very talented and deserved every bit of admiring exclamation she was able to pull from the judge - but, on the other hand, was also incredibly distracting. And not the good kind of distracting either, in the way that Edgeworth was when he would mumble to himself during a particularly complex trick, or when a soft “aha” would escape him whenever he spotted a solution. Half the fun of coming to Trucy’s show was being able to watch Edgeworth’s face shift between dumbfounded concentration to confident realization to unadulterated amazement - expressions that Phoenix rarely saw outside of court, if at all. He kept trying to cast glances in Edgeworth’s direction in the hopes of catching one of those expressions, or even to share an exasperated look over the judge’s head. But every time he did, something new would shock the judge into jumping out of his seat or twisting over to shout in Phoenix’s face.
This time, it was the magic panties act that did him in. The judge turned to Phoenix, scandalized.
“Panties, Mr. Wright?!”
“I never encouraged it, Your Honor, I swear!” Phoenix whispered back in defense. “But it’s a fan favorite so Trucy won’t listen to me!”
As if on cue, the crowd cheered when Trucy brought out the offending bloomers. She reached inside to reveal a basketball, a sword, and increasingly larger and longer items that had no business being hidden inside a pair of panties. She then moved on to pulling out various audience members’ possessions, finally ending with Phoenix’s badge.
“Did my Daddy ever tell you he’s a defense attorney?” she said, presenting his badge to the audience. “Because if he didn’t now you know! And now you don’t have to tell everyone, Daddy!” She flashed a shit-eating grin and tossed his badge back down to him with a wink. For some reason the judge thought that was hilarious.
“Oh ho, she beat you to it, Mr. Wright!” he chortled, slapping Phoenix on the back.
With that, Trucy released the audience for a quick intermission. Edgeworth pushed his chair back and straightened the cuffs of his jacket. “I’m going to grab some refreshments. Any requests?"
Phoenix was about to offer to go with him when the judge beat him to it. “Allow me to join you, Mr. Edgeworth! I thought I spied someone with one of those ‘alcoholic bobas’ on the other table over there, and would like to see what all the fuss is about. I’ve been told it’s ‘quite poppin’!” He began following Edgeworth to the bar before turning back to Phoenix. “Oh, and would you mind watching our seats, Mr. Wright?”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Phoenix muttered dryly, but they were both already out of earshot. He instead focused his attention on frowning at the names carved into the table and wishing a special curse upon whichever person stuck gum on the edge closest to where he was sitting.
Phoenix knew he was being a poor sport about all this. The judge was just being the judge, and Phoenix had never had a problem with that in court. But tonight everything was rubbing him the wrong way, from the offhand comments to the constant shaking of his arm. He really needed to keep his temper in check before he said something he’d regret. He couldn’t bear to ruin the rest of Trucy’s night, or risk Edgeworth noticing his foul mood and peering at him with furrowed brows and unwarranted concern for the remainder of the show. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hoping to drain away some of this funk by the time he opened them.
The trick worked, somewhat. He heard a rustling and scraping next to him and saw Edgeworth returning to his seat, conspicuously lacking the judge in tow. Phoenix wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but found that it at least made for a pretty adequate conversation-starter.
“Where’d the judge go?” he asked, sliding into the seat next to Edgeworth so that they could finally have a normal conversation.
“Bathroom,” Edgeworth replied. He held out a glass full of a pale golden liquid. “This is for you.”
Phoenix took the glass, eyeing Edgeworth suspiciously. He sniffed the rim and caught a whiff of tangy, cloying sweetness. Definitely grape juice. It didn’t bode well if Edgeworth was trying to placate him with his favorite drink. “What’s this about?”
“Trucy informed me that you were...sulking.”
So he’d already noticed, then. And worse, his own daughter ratted him out. Phoenix huffed and hunched his shoulders. “I’m not sulking.”
“Oh?” Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. I’ll make sure to update my assessment of your moods, then.”
Phoenix glowered at Edgeworth. Was he even bothered by this at all? He certainly seemed as nonplussed as usual, if the teasing was anything to go by. Maybe he didn't cherish the sanctity of these outings in the same way Phoenix did. Somehow the thought made him even more annoyed.
The judge returned with his own drink, something equally as fruity and filled with glistening, white pearls.
“Mr. Wright, I believe that’s my seat you’ve taken,” he admonished.
It took every ounce of Phoenix’s willpower not to lose it right there. “Ah. Sorry.”
The rest of Trucy’s show passed in much the same way as the first half, which meant a resounding success on her part (as usual) and an increasingly frustrating experience on Phoenix’s part. The judge continued to yelp and chatter at every twist and turn in the performance, made only more annoying by the sticky chewing noises he made with every sip of his drink. Just get through it, Phoenix willed himself, gritting his teeth.
The show ended at last with a final flourish from Trucy and whooping cheers from the audience. Phoenix felt relieved in spite of the guilt of not having paid much attention at all to the second half. He figured he could get the run down from Edgeworth at some point after the judge left, anyway.
Trucy bounded over to them immediately, covered in glitter and confetti and smelling a bit like a campfire.
“Did His Honor enjoy himself?” she asked, tipping her hat in his direction.
“Absolutely, Miss Wright! Your performance was simply exemplary!”
She beamed at him and then turned to Edgeworth.
“Uncle Miles.”
Edgeworth nodded back, a small smile on his face. “Trucy.”
“And what was your assessment of tonight’s performance?”
“I would echo the judge’s comments. You truly outdid yourself this time.”
“But…? I know you know something about the opening routine. You were staring at the stage the whole time!”
“Well, I believe I know the moment, but not the method,” Edgeworth said. “The trick was done when everyone looked towards the door. It’s classic misdirection - distract your audience into looking where you don’t want them to look. And I know that you used that moment for the switch, and that at that point in time the real you was behind us, with a replacement onstage.”
“Halfway there, Uncle Miles!” she admitted, laughing.
“Perhaps,” he replied. “But the secret of the perfect Trucy lookalike remains. Only knowing a piece of puzzle without the full solution makes the delivery that much more impressive.”
That was high praise, coming from Edgeworth, and Trucy practically glowed.
“Well, I’ve got to finish gathering my things,” she said. “But I had to stop by to thank my special guest!”
She made her way back to the green room, stopping along the way to say hi to some of the regulars or to sign napkins and flyers. Her unique method of signing involved making the object disappear first, only to reappear a second later with a looping signature and doodle of Mr. Hat. Phoenix chuckled as he watched one particularly unsuspecting couple nearly fall over in shock at the trick.
“So,” said the judge, clasping his hands together. “Same time next week, then?”
Phoenix’s stomach fell and his mouth went dry. “Next week?” he squeaked.
“Yes, Mr. Wright. I take it this is a weekly performance?”
“A-Ah, well, it is, but, um, it’s kind of…”
“Good, good. I’m hoping to bring my grandson next time. He loves these sorts of theatrics, I’m sure he’ll be quite entertained!”
“O-Oh. Y-Your grandson, too?”
The judge narrowed his eyes at Phoenix’s less-than-enthusiastic tone. “Do you have a problem with my grandson, Mr. Wright?”
“N-No, of course not! I’m sure he’s a...a perfect angel, Your Honor, and I’d be honored to meet him, really, it’s just that…”
“Mr. Wright.” The judge glowered at him with the full force of a harbinger of justice. “I know one of your classic stalling tactics when I see it. If you’ve got any objections to me or my grandson’s attendance, spit them out!”
Phoenix felt the last of his resolve draining. “No that’s not...Of course you and your family are always welco-”
"If I may say so, Your Honor," Edgeworth interrupted, and slipped his hand into Phoenix's in a maneuver that made Phoenix nearly jump at the unexpected contact. "As much as we enjoyed your company tonight, I think Phoenix and I might prefer to keep our date nights uninterrupted.”
"Oh? Oh? OH!" The judge looked back and forth between them, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping. "I see! Well then, next time I shall have to invite the missus, and we'll make it a double date! Oh, how I've always wanted to do one of those…"
"Date?" Phoenix repeated, staring at his and Edgeworth's entwined hands and trying to parse whether or not this was actually happening or if it was just one of his hallucinations again. Did wishful thinking have the power to make things happen in real life? He couldn't be sure. But Edgeworth gave his hand a squeeze that made his heart flip and suddenly he couldn't think of any else.
“Perhaps we’ll take you up on that another time, Your Honor,” Edgeworth said smoothly. Phoenix had no idea how Edgeworth managed to be so eloquent when his own brain was fixated on the illuminating fact that Edgeworth’s knuckles were just as knobbly as they looked and that his fingerpads were surprisingly callused. Too much writing, probably, which was definitely the right issue to be pondering right now.
“Well, I had a wonderful time tonight, Mr. Wright,” the judge said, and the sound of his name jerked him back to reality. “Your daughter is incredibly talented. Thank you again for sharing your lovely evening with me!”
"No it's...been a pleasure Your Honor…" Phoenix replied weakly.
The judge nodded at the two of them. “I hope to see you two soon, and please do get in touch if you ever want to go on that double date!”
Phoenix didn’t know how to respond to that, but the judge didn’t seem to expect one in any case. He watched as the judge’s robes swished further and further away until he disappeared out the door. At some point Phoenix realized that Edgeworth was still holding his hand, and he stared down at it in an attempt to absorb as much of the moment as possible.
“I...apologize,” Edgeworth said, suddenly refusing to meet Phoenix’s eyes. “I’m sorry if I made things...if I made you uncomfortable.” His hand loosened and began to slip away, and Phoenix scrambled before he lost what was likely to be his best chance.
“No! That’s not - Miles.” Phoenix gripped Edgeworth’s hand tighter until he turned back towards him, surprised. “That's not it at all. It's just...Date?"
Edgeworth’s shoulders tensed. “It was only a suggestion. To get the judge off your back.”
Phoenix noted how quickly Edgeworth punted the blame onto him, as if Edgeworth also hadn’t been hoping to get the judge off his back. “Don’t say things you don’t mean if you don't intend to follow through, Miles.”
Edgeworth was still trying to tug his hand away, but Phoenix refused to let him go.
"Don’t turn my words back against me,” Edgeworth said churlishly.
Phoenix smirked. “What, can’t take your own advice?”
Edgeworth glared at him. "Be serious.”
“I am serious! Miles -” Phoenix squeezed his hand and took a deep breath. "I want this to be a date," he said. "I want all of it to be dates. Trucy's shows. The dinners. All of it. And -" he continued, as Edgeworth continued to look stubbornly unconvinced, “- maybe I’m reading this all wrong, but I think you want that too.” He lifted their hands up to eye level to hammer home the point, because if there was one thing Miles Edgeworth loved almost as much as the Steel Samurai it was evidence, and he had conveniently handed Phoenix all the evidence he needed.
“I -” Edgeworth looked like he was about to argue, but then he swallowed and ducked his head. “I would like that, very much.”
Phoenix was trying to figure out something to say in response, but was distracted by noticing how adorable Edgeworth looked while attempting to hide his embarrassment. He was just about to say as much, but luckily Trucy arrived in time to save him from the inevitable verbal lashing if he dared to call Edgeworth “cute” to his face. She stopped short when she saw them and glanced at their entwined hands, hesitating only for a moment before a mischievous glint flashed through her eyes. She looked up to them, beaming, and like any good improviser took it in stride.
“Are you ready to go home, Daddies?” she said.
Edgeworth made a strangled choking sound and did let go then, much to Phoenix’s disappointment.
“I - er - yes, I can drive you home,” Edgeworth said, electing to ignore the plurality.
“Great!” she chirped. She linked arms with them and pulled them off in the direction of Edgeworth’s car before Phoenix’s brain had time to catch up to anything that had happened in the last five minutes.
Even the car ride home was too short for him to fully process the events of the night. He tried starting at the very beginning, from when he first spotted the judge outside the door of the Wonder Bar to the moment that Edgeworth grabbed his hand under pretense. But no matter how many times he cycled through it, he still had no idea how it had come to this, with Edgeworth’s hand somehow finding its way back into his while Trucy pretended to sleep in the backseat.
As soon as Edgeworth pulled up to the apartment Trucy dashed out of the car and raced up the stairs, citing a sudden and uncharacteristic need to de-glitter her face immediately. Phoenix stepped out from the passenger seat and felt a fluttering thrill when he saw Edgeworth follow after him.
“Come to say goodnight?” Phoenix said.
“Well.” Edgeworth stepped forward and shrugged in an attempt to appear nonchalant. “Considering that our plans went somewhat awry tonight, I figured it was the least I could do.”
So he had missed their alone time together too, then. Phoenix’s face broke into a wide smile at the thought.
“Well then. Night, Miles.”
“Goodnight, Phoenix,” Edgeworth replied, and the soft fondness in his voice knocked the breath out of Phoenix’s chest.
“See you next week?”
“Of course.”
“On our date.”
“Y-Yes, we’ve already established this.”
“Just making sure,” Phoenix said. This was going to be much more fun than before, if Edgeworth’s blush was anything to go by. “No take-backsies.”
Edgeworth rolled his eyes and stepped away. “Good night, Wright.”
Phoenix watched him walk back to his car, then grinned when Edgeworth flinched in surprise to find him still waiting and made another exaggerated show of rolling his eyes. Edgeworth waved to shoo him into his apartment, and Phoenix could just imagine all of their dates ending like this, with the tumultuous giddiness of lovestruck teens mingled with the steadfast comfort of lifelong partners.
“So…” Trucy said, confronting him as soon as he came through the door. His cheeks ached and he realized he hadn’t been able to stop smiling.
“Alright. So it went better than expected.”
“I’ll say!”
“And you know,” he mused, “I might just have to thank the judge after all.”