Chapter Text
“ Eureka!”
Miles Edgeworth smirked, pointing a finger at the irritated-looking man in the long black coat standing in front of him. “Mr. Hemlock, you just said that you left this very flower shop at 5pm yesterday, correct?”
Mr. Hemlock scoffed, crossing his arms. “Yeah, what of it?”
“If you left the flower shop at 5pm, then it would have been impossible for you to have seen the victim, Miss Lavender, enter the shop at 6pm! Your testimony has a clear contradiction in it!”
A purple flower crunched under Mr. Hemlock’s boot as he took a step back. “And wh—what’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth, what’s that supposed to mean?!” asked Kay Faraday, a young woman of about twenty-five whose green eyes sparkled with excitement, from behind Miles. Miles knew this was the young Yatagarasu’s favorite part of investigating—catching the criminal and getting the truth out of them. It had been a long time since Kay had last accompanied Miles on an investigation. He figured he’d have to put on a good show for her.
“It means that you stayed in the flower shop after 5pm, and it means that you were at the crime scene during the time of the murder! Which makes you a prime suspect, Mr. Hemlock!”
“ YEAH! Get ‘im, Mr. Edgeworth!” Kay cheered. “Kay, please.” Miles mumbled, a bit embarrassed.
----
The sun was setting outside, and Miles was now sitting comfortably at a small table inside a bustling coffee shop a few blocks from the crime scene. A warm cup of tea rested in Miles’ hands, which he sipped from every minute or so.
It had been a while since Miles had gotten to go on an actual investigation—since he had become Chief Prosecutor, it had been rare for Miles to take on his own cases. The day’s investigation wasn’t planned, either—Miles had just been in the area, and a local cop had recognized him and asked him for a hand.
“That was some seriously impressive logic, Mr. Edgeworth, pal!”
Ah. The police officer in question. Detective Dick Gumshoe, a man of somewhat imposing stature, who was currently sitting across from Miles at the table and spilling his hot cocoa all over his already dirty trenchcoat. “Thank you, Detective, but really, it was nothing special.” Miles replied.
Kay, who was sitting next to Miles at the table, elbowed him in the shoulder. Hard. “Ow!” Miles exclaimed. “Wh—what was that for?!”
“Stop being modest! That was great!” Kay beamed, before elbowing Miles again in the same spot. “W—would you stop that?!” Miles complained. “You’re going to leave a bruise!”
Kay pulled back and smirked before taking a sip of her coffee. Miles sighed. It was nice seeing Kay again. It had been a while since he had last seen the Yatagarasu—she had been away travelling for a year or two, and had only recently returned to LA.
“What were you doing at the flower shop today, anyway?” Miles asked.
Kay smirked again. “Gummy gave me a call when the investigation started. Said he might need some help.”
Gumshoe grinned, slamming his mug down on the table. “Yeah, pal! I heard Kay was back in the city, so I though I’d give her a call and ask if she could help me out!”
Miles raised an eyebrow. “You called Kay before me?”
Gumshoe shrugged. “I thought you’d be too busy, you know, doing Chief Prosecutor things.”
“I think Gummy just missed me, anyway.” Kay teased.
Miles sighed. “Well, you’re lucky I happened to be in the area. I’m glad we got to have this little reunion.”
Gumshoe and Kay both nodded in agreement. “But Mr. Edgeworth,” Kay asked. “How come you were in this part of town? Isn’t the prosecutor’s office like, really far from here?”
Miles’ cheeks flushed. “Erm,” he stammered.
Kay gasped. “Mr. Edgeworth! Are you embarrassed about something?!”
Miles squeezed the sides of his cup of tea more tightly. “N—no! Of course not! I just just—I—"
Miles sighed, defeated, and set down his cup. “I was…hoping to visit…and old friend. His apartment is nearby, and while I don’t…know his address…one of his subordinates mentioned that he…stops by this very coffee shop from time to time.”
Kay and Gumshoe exchanged a glance, clearly both deep in thought.
“You’re not talking about…” Gumshoe said slowly.
“…that man, are you?!” Kay interrupted in excitement.
Miles nearly choked on his tea. “Ngh—what do you mean, ‘that man’?!”
“You’re always talking about him, aren’t you?! ‘That man’, that ‘incredible man’, the ‘man who saved me’, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!” Kay shouted.
“Kay, please don’t raise your voice,” Miles mumbled. “People are staring.”
Gumshoe shook his head. “No, pal, she’s right. You’ve gotta have a pretty big crush on this guy.”
Kay nodded, leaning back in her chair and taking a long sip from her coffee. “Yeah, and whenever we ask you who he is, you get all dramatic and don’t tell us anything.”
Miles fidgeted with his hands on the table, outraged. “I—Kay, Gumshoe, I can assure I don’t have a—a ‘crush’ on anyone! My relations with—with—with the person in question are strictly professional. End of story.”
Kay and Gumshoe exchanged another knowing glance. “Stop that!” Miles yelped, his face feeling uncomfortably hot.
Miles crossed his arms with a huff. “It—it’s unimportant, regardless. I’ll admit…I was hoping to see this…person…today, but as I didn’t arrange proper plans to meet with him, I doubt we will—"
The door to the coffee shop opened with a slight creak, and a spiky-haired man in a blindingly blue suit stepped inside.
“Hide me.” Miles groaned, burying his head in his hands.
“HIM?! IS THAT HIM?!” Kay shouted, loud enough to attract the attention of half the coffee shop.
“Ngh—Kay, I—please, you’re causing a scene—”
“Pal, isn’t that—Phoenix Wright? Like, the defense attorney?”
Miles groaned. “Gumshoe, please…”
“YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON P—”
Miles covered Kay’s mouth with his hand. “MPH!”
It seemed Kay had caught the man’s attention, even from across the room. He seemed to do a double take, then his face broke out into that stupid grin that Miles was all too familiar with.
“Edgeworth?!” Phoenix Wright exclaimed, rushing towards the table. “What are you doing here?!”
Miles straightened in his chair and awkwardly sipped his tea, avoiding eye contact. “I’m…only here on business, Wright. Detective Gumshoe and Miss Faraday here were assisting me in investigating a murder case nearby.”
Wright nodded and looked down at Kay. “So, you must be the famous Kay Faraday, then! I’ve heard a lot about you! My name’s Phoenix. Phoenix Wright.”
Kay beamed, holding out her hand for Wright to shake. “Nice to meetcha, Mr. Wright!”
“And is that you, Detective Gumshoe? It’s been a long time, how are you?”
Gumshoe grinned. “I’m doing great, pal! I got a raise recently!”
Miles cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, Gumshoe was recently promoted. It was long overdue, really. He doesn’t have to live off cup noodles anymore, anyway.”
Gumshoe nodded. “Nope! Now I’m living off noodles that don’t come out of a cup!”
Miles winced. “Yes, er, congratulations.”
Wright cleared his throat and looked back at Miles, who continued avoiding eye contact. “It was nice seeing you here, Edgeworth. I haven’t seen you since the wedding.”
Kay seemed to choke on her coffee. “ Wedding?!”
Miles’ face flushed again. “It—it was—I…accompanied Wright to a wedding a few months ago. The defendant of a…particular trial Wright and I were involved with…was the bride.”
Wright nodded. “The Sprockets. Very nice people.” Edgeworth nodded in agreement. “Yes…very. Nice. People.”
An awkward silence fell over the table.
“A—anyway,” Wright stammered. “I should get going—I was just going to order a coffee for myself, and then I have to go pick up Trucy from rehearsal for her new magic show.”
“Ah, that’s right—Trucy has a performance next week, right?”
“Yep, that’s right. I was…worried she wouldn’t feel up to it, considering how her…last magic show went…but she’s a resilient kid, and I don’t think she’s particularly worried about it.
Miles remembered now—during Wright’s daughter’s last big performance, she had been accused of murder—framed by another magician with a grudge against Trucy’s birth family. It must have been a very traumatic experience for her, especially since Wright was away in the kingdom of Khura’in at time time—Wright had told Miles that he wasn’t even aware she’d been arrested until after she was already proven innocent.
“I’m glad that she hasn’t lost her desire to do magic. I know how much she enjoys it.”
“Yeah,” Wright nodded. “I’m glad too.”
Wright cleared his throat. “A—anyway…I’d better be on my way. How about we…catch up some other time?”
Miles nodded. “Y—yeah. Sure.”
Wright smiled. “Bye, Edgeworth.”
“G—goodbye, Wright.”
Wright walked away towards the door.
“Did he forget to order his coffee?” Kay whispered. Gumshoe shrugged.
Miles sighed, slumping back in his chair. “Nghhhhhhh…” he groaned.
“So, it’s him, isn’t it?!” Kay asked with a grin.
Miles sighed, rubbing his temples. “I—no, of course not, there is no ‘him ’. Wright is just a friend, and nothing more. In fact, I—I don’t have any… romantic feelings for anyone . I’ve never been interested in things like romance.”
“But—”
“Can we please drop this topic? This is—I don’t—I don’t have any feelings for Wright, and that’s final. There’s nothing to debate.”
Kay winced and sipped her coffee awkwardly. “…sorry, Mr. Edgeworth.”
“Yeah,” Gumshoe mumbled. “Sorry.”
Miles sighed. “It’s fine.”
----
Miles decided to stop by his office before returning home that night. He had some paperwork he needed to file, and he decided it would be best to get it done sooner rather than later.
Before sitting at his desk, Miles paused, his eyes catching on his chessboard, which rested beside his bookshelves. Two rows of chess pieces, red and blue, neatly arranged and almost begging to be played with.
Miles sighed, running his fingers along the cold wood of the board.
He hadn’t lied to Kay and Detective Gumshoe, of course. What did he have to lie about? He didn’t have feelings for Phoenix Wright. He didn’t have feelings for anyone . He never had, and never would.
So…what was it about Wright that…made Miles feel so strange?
Every time Miles saw that man, with his ridiculous, overconfident smile, it was like Miles fell apart—he could barely manage to put sentences together around him. Anxiety was the only word Miles could think of to describe how he felt around Wright—though it wasn’t like any anxiety he had ever felt before.
Maybe Kay and Gumshoe had a point—Miles did act differently around Wright. And sure, he did…think about him a lot. But of course, he did! Wright was a very dear friend to him—he had saved him all those years ago, after all. Not a day went by when Miles wasn’t grateful for all Wright had done for him. There was no one else Miles trusted or cared about more.
But of course, this wasn’t romantic. Not in the slightest. Of course not.
Maybe it would be best to take a logical approach to this predicament.
With careful precision, Miles picked up a blue pawn from the chessboard and moved it one space ahead.
Wright had saved Miles, all those years ago.
Switching sides, Miles moved an identical red pawn forward one space.
Miles feels closer to Wright than any of his other friends.
Miles hesitated, unsure which piece to move. What was he even doing, playing chess with himself?
Kay and Gumshoe believe that Miles is romantically attracted to Wright.
Miles ran his fingers along the ridges of a blue knight.
Every time he meets Wright, Miles feels a strange sense of anxiety.
Miles groaned in frustration. None of the evidence he had made sense or fit together. Wright was…a friend to him. A close friend, one he trusted. So why did Miles feel so anxious and uncomfortable around him? It didn’t make any logical sense whatsoever.
Did he hold some sort of subconscious grudge against Wright? That was one possible conclusion he could draw from this, but it didn’t make sense—what sort of grudge would he possibly have against Wright? Wright had done nothing but help Miles.
No, it…didn’t make sense.
And yes, there was still that one possibility…but it couldn’t be true. Because Miles knew Kay and Gumshoe couldn’t be right about Miles having feelings for Wright. Hell, Miles didn’t even know if he was capable of romantic love. He wouldn’t know what it felt like, anyway.
Defeated, Miles walked away from the chess board, not bothering to move the pieces back to their original places on the board.
He feared this game of chess was one that wouldn’t be easy to win.