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"Oh, they're so pretty!"
Over breakfast, Phoenix and Miles sat with outstretched hands, letting their daughter marvel at the matching golden bands they had on their fingers, which they picked out just a day prior. They hadn't done a ceremony, just signed papers at the town hall, and the least they could do for Trucy--who loved any chance for a party or celebration--was let her spend a few minutes looking at their rings.
"Do you like them? Miles picked them out."
"I love them! Wow, it's so cool that you guys are married now!"
"How is it 'cool', exactly?" Miles's smile briefly dimmed, and Phoenix was certain they were thinking the same thing, since they'd heard it so many times.
You should make your relationship official and get married!
Their relationship was plenty official without some fancy ceremony, boatloads of money, and a ton of people watching them kiss while cheering. Phoenix hoped Trucy didn't see it in that way, because then they'd have to explain their decisions and mindsets again and that was so tiring, tiring to justify your love.
"It's just... I don't know..."
A psyche-locks immediately fell into place on her heart, although Phoenix didn't need the power of the magatama to tell she was lying. She bit at her lip, eyes suddenly teary, and his heart seized in his chest.
"Come on, Truce, what's the matter? You can tell us, you know?"
"We won't be upset, it doesn't matter what you say. We're your parents, and we understand if you have any issue with the manner we decided to get married. We know we didn't really inform you ahead of time, or-"
The psyche-lock was apparently a flimsy one, because it snapped after only that gentle encouragement.
"I... it feels like you won't leave me this time. Because I lost mommy and other daddy already and... I know they were married but you guys are really happy and you want to stay together... I just... it feels permanent. I don't want to feel scared anymore."
"Oh, Trucy-baby." Phoenix was across the table and couldn't hug her, but he set his hand on top of hers, trying to be comforting. A tear slid down her cheek, sluggish, and she sniffled, wiping it away. "We'd never leave you, never. We weren't going to leave you before, and we're not going to leave you now."
"A-are you sure?"
"Of course." Miles said emphatically.
There was a brief silence after that, as Trucy tried to collect herself, drying her few tears with tissues from a nearby box and taking deep breaths. She finally spoke again, voice small and unsteady, so much like a child's and lacking her usual confidence. Because, in the end, she was just a kid, a kid who had to grow up way too fast and fit into the role of adult well enough as a sixteen year-old. She was allowed to cry, to break down. To feel sad about things that were supposed to be happy, because they brought back bad memories.
"Can I have a hug?"
And no more words were needed.
—
"Uh, hey boss? What's that ring on your finger for?"
Phoenix looked up from his clunky desktop, finding Apollo standing in front of him. He seemed uncertain, drumming his fingers against the wood of his desk with obvious anxiety.
"Oh, it's a wedding ring. Why're you asking?"
"I, err, just noticed that you had it on today and you definitely didn't have it yesterday, so... wedding ring? When did you get married?"
"Just a few days ago; just signed some paperwork at the townhall, we didn't do a ceremony or anything."
"... by 'we' do you mean... you and Prosecutor Edgeworth?"
"Yeah. Is that okay?"
"I mean, why're you asking me? I'm not the one who got married, I don't get to decide what you do."
"You seem uncomfortable."
"I-"
"Don't bother lying, Apollo. I can tell something's putting you off about this, and I want to know. You're my employee, but you're also my friend, and the way you feel is important to me. You deserve to feel right."
"Oh... uh, thanks...? It's just that... Prosecutor Edgeworth is pretty scary, and I’m kind of nervous about having him hang around here..."
"Why would he hang around here?"
"I don't know, because you're married? Married people do a lot of stuff together."
"He still has work though, and regardless, married people don't necessarily do a lot of things together. Marriage wasn't really another step in our relationship, you know, just a matter of convenience, so I don't see anything really changing."
"Umm... oh. Okay. I just... I feel like you guys would do stuff like that, but... maybe not. I shouldn't speak for you, actually... I mean, marriage isn't the most important thing ever. People can do whatever they want, you're right." Apollo looked disjointed, but not as anxious, so that was a good thing.
"But you're okay with it?"
"Yeah, why do you keep asking that? I'm fine."
"Because I want to know, Apollo. Is that such a difficult concept for you to grasp, that people would care about how you feel?"
Apollo faltered, mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
"I... I guess it kind of is?" he stuttered out, speaking as if those words were unfamiliar, with the way he forced them. And it hurt to see Apollo like this, not his usual courtroom self, but a man with insecurities and issues, but it was necessary to have him talk about these kinds of things. If he wouldn't go to therapy--not yet, at least, Athena was working at that--Phoenix could at least try to unearth the issues, the behaviors deeply engrained in him from years of mistreatment, abandonment, and manipulation from people he thought cared for him.
"And what about Miles is scary to you, anyway? I want to know."
"He's smart like that, you know...?" Apollo looked down at his feet. "Never mind, I can't lie around you. I... I just don't want you to feel bad, 'cause he's your husband now, and..."
"You won't hurt my feelings, Apollo. Go ahead, we need to work this out."
"Uh, alright... it's just that, he snaps a lot? And he has all these threatening mannerisms, and he's tall, and... he..." Apollo said something after that, but Phoenix wasn't totally sure what it was.
"Could you repeat that last bit?"
"Alright... it's just that... everything about him, or maybe not anything but some things... it reminds me of Kristoph a little bit."
"What things, exactly?" Phoenix couldn't deny the sadness those words made him feel, and the part of him that immediately wanted to object and say 'hey, he's not like that', but he pushed past it.
"Umm..."
"Come on, let's talk about it. It's okay... it's okay to tell me."
"I mean, I... I don't want to hurt you, but... alright."
—
"So are you and Edgeworth hitched now? Cool." Athena brushed past him in the office's hallway, barely even glancing at him before moving on.
"Uh, yeah..." Phoenix trailed off as he watched her walk away. And that was pretty much the last time they ever really spoke of it, if that even really counted as 'speaking' at all.
He supposed he appreciated her nonchalant attitude.
—
"Herr Edgeworth, I brought you the file," Gavin proclaimed, sauntering into Miles's office with his usual swagger. He set it on the desk, flashing his rockstar smile, and then turned to leave--
before doing a double take.
"Is that a ring on your finger?" he asked, leaning back over. Miles wordlessly offered up his hand for inspecting, allowing his employee to look his new golden band up and down before retracting it and picking up the manila folder he'd brought. He didn't think that Gavin would discuss it anymore, though. But he did, because that was just how he acted, apparently.
"So, are you married now? Is it Herr Wright? I would guess it would be, ja?"
"Yes, me and Wright signed the papers a few days ago. It was a formality, mostly."
"Mm, I expected that. You don't strike me as the kind of person to have a big ceremony. Well, I'm happy for you! I'd love to chat, but I've got to get back to working."
Miles sighed in relief, glad to have an easy-to-handle discussion about the ring after the stress of telling Trucy. Gavin was a very suave, laid-back man, though, so he shouldn't have really been surprised at his reaction.
He was glad it was easy.
—
"Edgeworth-dono. Have you subjected yourself to the ordeal of marriage, or is that ring there for another matter?"
"Yes, I have gotten married. It was an ordeal, getting the paperwork signed and all."
"You and Wright-dono didn't have a... celebration... was that on purpose, perchance?"
"Indeed. Weddings are quite the hassle and we wanted to avoid that."
"Understandable. I have never been a fan of going to such frivolous gatherings."
"I certainly agree."
—
"Did you get married to that Phoenix Wright guy?" Skye looked over at Miles from the vending machine as he waited for his own tea to brew; both machines had been purchased solely for the two of them.
"Yes, I did."
"Everybody's been talking about it. I think marriage is overrated, honestly. I could care less."
"I'd agree with you on that point, but tax benefits are not to be scoffed at."
"Hmm, really? What other benefits could you get?"
"Better health insurance and lowered stress levels, I believe."
"Well, if somebody'd like to marry me, I'd love to be able to buy more snacks."
Somebody had her priorities in order, it seemed.
—
"Hey, sir! What's that ring for?" Gumshoe picked up Miles's hand—quite intrusively—and starting inspecting the ring; he yanked it away.
"Don't just grab my hand, detective... and I have that ring because I got married."
"Married...? I didn't know you... I never knew you were dating someone, Edgeworth!"
"... excuse me?"
"Yeah, I never knew you ever dated! So, who's the love of your life? I wanna know! Man, I've been out of the loop, I guess... oh, is it that... Larry Butz guy? I saw you-"
"No, absolutely not him."
"But you did karaoke together that one time at the bar! And you sang Chasing Cars together! That's a pretty romantic activity to do with your pals, I think. But who else could it be?"
"Phoenix Wright, of course... have you not seen him and I engage in romantic activities before? We have been dating for years now, did you really not notice?"
"I mean, I thought you guys were being just really good pals, you know? I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to assume anything."
"I... you've seen us kiss before, I'm certain. Hold hands, hug... raise a child together..." Miles paused between each suggestion, hoping for a sound of recognition, but it was naught.
"Wow! I can't believe you married Mr. Wright! But... why wasn't I invited to your wedding? I would've loved to be there..." Gumshoe trailed off, looking down at the ground dejectedly.
"There was no ceremony, Gumshoe. Don't worry yourself."
"Oh, there wasn't? Then I guess I didn't miss out! Well, congratulations, sir! I'm happy for you!"
—
"Exhausting day?" Phoenix asked his husband as he walked into their house, dragging his feet and sighing every few seconds as he undid his shoes.
"The amount of questions I received... communication is exhausting, and so is explaining the same thing over and over..."
"Well, I'm making macaroni and cheese!"
"... and?"
"It's macaroni! How can you be tired when you've got my famous Phoenix Wright mac n' cheese to look forward to, eh? Smoked paprika is the secret ingredient!"
Miles chuckled at that, taking a careful seat at the table as Phoenix gave the pasta on the stove a quick stir. His idle hands wrung together, fingers quickly finding their way to the wedding ring and sliding it up and down; the small pink diamond glimmering in the kitchen's fluorescent lights, and his eyes snuck down to take a peak at the way it flashed. It was a beautiful ring, truly, and it was worth the three days of ring shopping he and his husband had undertaken. He wasn't big on marriage, but something about the rings... perhaps it was the fact they'd spent so long searching for them together, happy memories made from the experience.
It still felt strange to say that, though: husband. Phoenix was his husband. Their relationship was no different, but the status was, he supposed. He looked back up at him again, humming and dancing in place as he grated cheese for their dinner, and for some strange reason, he felt as if he was going to cry.
He loved Phoenix, whether married nor not. He didn't need a ceremony to prove that. He didn't need to justify his love with money. All he needed to confirm his love was a plate of slightly-overcooked macaroni with an incessant amount of paprika mixed in, a goofy smile flashed at him from across the table, and fingers laced together over their plates.
All he needed was him.