Chapter Text
It was a beautiful day outside. Trucy was practicing her magic tricks with Athena, (with Athena running away at times), Charley looked as healthy as ever, the office was pretty quiet and it was a pretty relaxing day at the Wright Anything Agency.
Well, until Edgeworth came in and bursted through the door.
“Wright, I may be of need of your assistance.”
“Oh, what’s up Edgeworth?” I asked as he rushed towards me face to face in a calm but panicked state.
“Err.. w-well… you see… she-“
“Again?!” I yelp in surprise.
I knew immediately who he was talking about, Franziska was known to have bad temper, she’s pretty calm most of the time and we get along well. But if you make her mad, she’ll go haywire. Last time she got mad at me, she whipped me till I was unconscious… that was years ago when we first became acquainted though.
I’m guessing Edgeworth came to me panicked cause she was about to break something with her whip.
Edgeworth grabbed me by the arm and rushed me outside as I hurriedly said goodbye to Trucy and Athena.
We arrived at some park with a fountain running, lots of bushes and trees, with beautiful sidewalks and benches. And then we saw an agitated Franziska standing near the fountain.
“Miles Edgeworth! You didn’t have to leave me to get that fool!” Franziska holds her whip violently. But there was a strange smug look on her face.
“My apologies Franziska, I was being irrational. I was simply… alarmed.”
“You mean you brought me here for no reason…” I said disappointed but relieved. And exhausted.
“Tsk tsk. I am not a tornado destroying beast like you imagine me to be, you foolish little brother.” Franziska said, still looking a little irritated.
“Not after I mentioned the fact that Miss Fe- NGOOOOOH!” Franziska whipped Edgeworth with a flustered look on her face.
“I’ll have you know Miles Edgeworth that it is not appropriate to disclose classified affairs of our discussions!”
“Uh… can I go?” I said nervously.
Franziska shot a sharp glare at me for a few seconds as I gulped in anxiety, and then she grabbed me by the arm.
“Phoenix Wright. You’re coming with me. You, little brother, will stay here.” Franziska shot a glare at Edgeworth who was uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, though I guess when Franziska is in this state, it’s not hard to see why.
Franziska dragged me behind a bush away from Edgeworth’s sight. We just stood there for a few moments.
“Phoenix Wright. I took you here to have a word with you.” Franziska said in a serious irritated tone.
“(What’s with the Edgeworth’s and the von Karma’s coming to me for help? …Or maybe Franziska isn’t asking me for help.) What do we need to talk about?”
“It’s about Maya Fey. She was sputtering utter ridiculous foolish statements about ‘chains’ or whatnot! You need to send her to a psychologist, I am simply concerned for her.” Franziska exclaims.
“…Oh. (Is she talking about the Psyche locks? I thought Franziska knew about it), isn’t she just talking about Psyche-locks?”
“You foolish fool! Of course I’m aware of that! She was telling me about chains of… romance! She was relentlessly telling me about chains connecting people, including us! ….Please don’t say the same exact foolish thing my little brother said.”
I tried to hold in my laughter, as Franziskas face turned bright red. But she could tell I was trying to hold in my laughter cause she-
“YEOWCH! Sorry! I’m sorry!”
“You foolishly foolish fool who only knows how to foolishly fool foolishly foolish fools! I know exactly what you’re thinking, Phoenix Wright!” She huffed at me enraged.
“Look, Maya’s probably just teasing you. I’ve dealt with- OUCH!” She whipped me.
“You didn’t see the look on her face Phoenix Wright! She was absolutely serious! I wouldn’t be coming to you distressed if I knew she joking!” She stretched her whip pulling it faster.
“I’ll talk to Maya, I’ll make sure she explains to you what she meant.” I said placing my hand behind my neck nervously.
“You better do Phoenix Wright. And talk to my little brother on the way won’t you?” She said in another strangely smug way.
“Alright then.”
I started heading on my way to Edgeworth, who was still waiting patiently in the same spot we left him. He looked a little tired and scratched his wrist as he saw me approaching.
“..Did it go well for you Wright?” he asked me.
“She whipped me here and there but yeah, what’s up with her and Maya?”
“Oh… well I’m not allowed to disclose what she accidentally told me, but I’m assuming she mentioned the chains?” Edgeworth calmed his composure.
“Oh yeah, I wondered what was that about, it’s kinda weir- ow.” I felt a sharp hot pressure around my wrist.
“Hmph. Are you alright Wright? Did she whip you around the wrist area as well?” He clutched around his wrist as well, while mine felt seemingly flared and burned.
“Er… yeah kind of. It’s kinda flaring up.”
“I see. I apologize for dragging you out here, it doesn’t seem like me to irrationally be distressed like that and I deeply apologize for that, Wright.” Edgeworth bows apologetically.
“Ugh, I told you not to work so much Edgeworth, I think that’s taking a toll on you.” I looked worriedly at him.
He’s been working non stop, barely getting any sleep and well- he’s just not very good at taking a break.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Wright. I’m quite alright. You don’t need to worry about me so much.” Edgeworth tried reassuring me but I still felt like he wasn’t really fine.
I may tease him a lot, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about him as his friend .
“I’ll be on my way back to the office. I’ll see you later.”
Edgeworth turns around to walk away as he tries to pull himself together and muster his thoughts. After he went a short distance, I wanted to follow after him to make sure he’s alright, but I think he’s best left alone for-
“Ow ow ow ow ow!” I screamed.
My wrist started to feel tighter and there was a lot more force. I felt a tug and it hurt even more than awhile ago, I suddenly saw Edgeworth in the distance, and he stopped at his tracks. I could hear a faint “Ngoooh!” In the distance.
I ran to him to check if he’s alright as well and I see him clutching his wrist just like I was.
The closer I went to him though, the less the pain hurt. I could tell Edgeworth was feeling relieved as well when I arrived cause he slowly let go of his wrist when I made it in front of him.
“Are you alright, Miles?” I slipped my tongue.
Edgeworth looked a little flustered, probably cause I called him Miles out of panic, but he eased and relaxed his shoulders and put a reassuring face.
“I’m alright, Wright… my wrist just pained all of a sudden, it felt like a tug on my hand, as it flared up.” Edgeworth was gesturing his wrist.
“Huh? W-Wait me too… does it still hurt?”
“No… as soon as you came, the pain dissipated.”
My mouth opened, I was having multiple theories in my head. But I shook my head and thought, ‘that’s a crazy idea’, but I knew I had to test it out to make sure I wasn’t crazy.
Edgeworth shook his head too, he was probably thinking the exact same thing as I did.
“I’m gonna try something, do you trust me Edgeworth?” I looked him in the eyes, hoping he knew what I was thinking.
“Mm, I trust you, go ahead, do what you must do.” Edgeworth looked back at me, and nodded, telling me he knew what I was thinking about.
I turned around and started running on my feet, I reached a few miles and felt that pain and tug again, I looked back, and I could see Edgeworth feel a tug as well, he was in pain, and I hurriedly ran back.
I was panting and Edgeworth gave a serious look.
“What is the meaning of this Wright?! I don’t understand, what does this mean?!” I looked at his surprised worried face as we both figured out what was going on.
Something was attached to our wrists, even worse, it connected both of us. And even more worse, nobody including us could see it.
We only knew two people we could ask about this, so we headed on our way to one of them.
—————————————————————
Phoenix and Miles enter the Wright Anything Agency where they met with Trucy.
“Trucy, we need to speak with you.” Miles spoke in a serious tone.
“Papa! I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
Miles tumbled back in surprise, flustered. And Phoenix just looked curiously at Miles.
“Papa? Since when did you call Edgeworth that?”
“Trucy! I told you not to call me that in front of your father!” Miles regained his posture, still very flustered and hiding his face.
It remained silent for awhile as Miles tried to calm down.
Trucy was chuckling a bit and was also looking curiously as to why she couldn’t call Miles Papa in front of her Daddy.
“What do we need to talk about Papa?”
Miles shot a glare at Trucy, but didn’t have any effect on her. He then let out a huge sigh.
Phoenix continues “Well, do you know anything about invisible ties between people..?” He asks nervously.
“Oh, Daddy, really? You feel the chain’s??” Trucy opened her mouth is awe and shock, her face also looked like an ‘it worked!’ face. Huh.
“Ch-Chains..? Y-You mean….” Edgeworth sounded a noticeable gulp.
“Yup! Auntie Maya told me about the chains and how people that are close are connected by it until they resolve a major part of their relationship!” Trucy explained.
“The solution can be platonic or romantic, so maybe you two need to solve what’s wrong with your relationship!” Trucy exclaims with joy.
“Euh… b-but, there’s nothing concerning in our relationship, is there? Wright?” Miles voice suddenly went soft with a hint of anxiety.
“I don’t feel like there should be anything concerning in our relationship, maybe it’s just something platonically small. You know? Don’t worry about it Edgeworth.” Phoenix tried to reassure him.
“Ooooh, does that mean papa gets to stay at home with us for the time being until you crack the chains?” Trucy jumped up and down excitedly.
“Errr, I’m sure we’ll be able to crack this chain in less than a day, right Edgeworth?” Phoenix looked at Miles nervously.
“If you don’t though Daddy, then papa’s definitely going to stay.” Trucy enthusiastically but also seriously says.
Miles shifted a bit and Phoenix looked at him concerned. He hopes that this’ll be over in a jiffy cause he knows well enough how busy Miles is. And he’s determined to fix it.
—————————————————————
2 hours later, we were still trying to brainstorm ideas. Edgeworth was shifting uncomfortably the longer this took. I was getting really worried about how long this was gonna take.
“Wright, what’s the matter with our relationship? Do you have something you resent against me?” Edgeworth laid his back on the couch deep in thought trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
“No! You’re one of my closest friends Edgeworth, I’d never resent you for anything.” I reassured him
And then it hit me.
‘I’ll talk to Maya, I’ll make sure she explains to you what she meant’
What she meant by the chains! Maya, the second person who could possibly now what to do.
“I think we should pay a visit to someone’s house.”
Edgeworth knew who I was talking about immediately. “Alright.”
We started heading on our way out, carefully making sure we don’t stray far from each other. I accidentally got distracted by something Maya wanted to buy that was at the shop, and Edgeworth was straying farther.
I felt the pain and tug and I could hear Edgeworth scream again.
“NGOOOH! …….Wright! I told you to stay close to me!” He had a flustered look on his face as we both clutched our wrists and walked towards each other.
I let out a nervous laughter. “Hehe.. I’m sorry Edgeworth, I got distracted.”
“What got you so distracted that you’d rather be tugged in pain by your wrist?!” Edgeworth said angrily.
“Sorry! There was an item that Maya wanted me to buy before and I was contemplating buying it… hehe.” I let out another nervous laugh.
Edgeworth let out a deep sigh and started walking the other way.
It was a pretty awkward silence until we reached his car, I entered in, buckled my seatbelt and Edgeworth started the car.
We were in silence for awhile until Edgeworth wanted to start a conversation.
“….What do you think of this.. this whole ordeal?”
“Huh? Well, I think it’s kind of strange to be honest. I just feel like we’re already close enough, I didn’t think there were any problems. Unless there’s a secret we’re keeping from each o- OW!”
As soon as I said secret, my wrist started flaring up and then left an unbearable pain a few seconds later, I think Edgeworth felt it too cause he was panicking on the steering wheel.
“What the hell was that?! We’re not even far from each other.” Edgeworth exclaimed.
“I-I don’t know…. Hopefully Maya knows when we get there. This is all too confusing.”
“I really hope Miss Fey can provide an answer to this, I can’t take a few more hours of this…” he gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“….Do you… not like being together with me?” I said in a soft tone.
Edgeworth was taken aback and immediately responded.
“N-No, my apologies, I didn’t mean to say it in that way… I enjoy your company, Wright. I just feel anxious about… what’s wrong with what we have now?” Edgeworth relaxed his shoulders a bit while his voice got softer.
Silence filled the air in the car for a few moments, with some cars beeping at traffic in the background. It was nice to think Edgeworth was worried about what was the problem, he knew as well as I do that we don’t want anything wrong in our friendship. I wanted to tease him to lighten the mood but the words couldn’t come out… I was worried too.
“You know, should the chains matter about how we treat each other as friends? If we feel like there’s no problem, then why should we worry..?” I said to Edgeworth, hopefully cheering him up.
“…Wright-“
Suddenly Maya showed up in the side of the car, waving hello to us.
“Nick! What’s up! Oh hiya Edgeworth!” Maya said enthusiastically while Edgeworth rolled down the windows.
“Oh hey Maya, can we speak with you?” I said, getting out of the car. Edgeworth following after me.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Miss Fey, you discussed with Franziska about chains, am I correct?” Edgeworth’s voice sounded determined again, I guess what I said did the trick. Hopefully.
“Oh yeah. I’ve been reading about it and I wanted to talk to Franzi about it! She was blushing hard heheh.” Maya said smugly.
“Uhh, Maya, I think me and Edgeworth got stuck together in chains…” I said nervously.
Maya looked at us shocked, “REALLY,” she said strangely beamed with joy and also a ‘it worked’ face. “Wow.”
“Please Miss Fey, have you any idea of what Wright and I should do to be rid of it?” Edgeworth shifted a little bit.
“Well, how long have you known this for?” Maya asked.
“About 4 hours now, I think. We’ve been brainstorming ideas how to remove it but we got nothing.” I explained.
“Oh, why didn’t you come to me immediately?” Maya looked at me disappointed.
“We came to Trucy first, she explained about a platonic problem that could be why we’re chained.” I said.
“She only said platonic?” She made a thinking look.
“…Sh-She also mentioned there could also be a romantic problem or solution but, me and Wright are positive it’s something platonic.” I could hear Edgeworth gulp nervously, I wonder what that’s all about.
I felt the pain again for a second.
“Ow!” “Ngoooh!” Edgeworth and I screamed.
“Edgeworth! There! You said something that could be connected to your problem!” Maya quickly pointed out our pain.
“Ngoooh?” I answered and then let out a laugh.
“No you dummy! Before that.” Maya huffed angrily.
“I was kidding ahaha.” I put my hand behind my neck.
“..What could possibly be the problem? I only mentioned that we were positive that it was platonic… maybe it really is a platonic problem?” Edgeworth piped in nervously.
It went silent as I realized he said something else other than that, ‘there could also be a romantic solution.’ No… maybe it’s just platonic… right?
Maya looked at us both furiously.
“You guys are idiotic fools, heehee.” Maya giggled at her Franziska impression but she continued talking.
“Can’t you see, you both have the same problem with each other!”
“Each other?” Edgeworth and I synchronized.
“Yeah, you two are so oblivious, considering you both are truth seeking lawyers.”
I tried to hold in my chuckle cause I could tell she was trying to do a Franziska tone, but… does she mean what I think she means?
“Miss Fey, don’t be ridiculous. This is nothing but a platonic problem and nothing else of the sort, come on Wright.”
“Woah hey!” I yelled as Edgeworth took me by the arm and dragged me away.
“Good luck Nick and Edgeworth!” I heard Maya say in the distance.
We were walking away from Edgeworth’s car for a good while, in an awkward silence. I could tell Edgeworth was in really deep thought as we walked a few blocks through the street, with cars strolling by every once in awhile, people gossiping nearby, and just the two of us walking together down the sidewalk with the sun setting down.
I wanted to attempt a conversation but I didn’t want to ruin his focus, he’ll be surprised that I’m there cause he’s usually alone most of the time but since we’re “chained” together, we had no choice but to stay close by to each other.
And then Edgeworth spoke.
“Wright… I think… we need to have a serious conversation…” he abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me.
I gulped in anxiety and prepared for whatever he wanted to say to me.
“We need to discuss our… relationship as friends…. If there really is a problem between us, then I want to fix it.” Edgeworth sighed.
“Is there something you dislike of me, Wright?”
I looked at him dumbfounded, and then in a serious face.
“Of course not Edgeworth, what would I dislike about you? I looked for you since you left school for god knows what.” I walked closer to him.
“I wanted to see how you were doing, I wanted to know if you were okay. Does that sound like someone who’d change their mind about someone they care about that much? Let alone disliking them?”
Edgeworth looked at me with teary eyes, but he tried to hide it and I kind of laughed. He got a bit flustered, then looked at me again.
“Is there something you dislike about me?” I asked him.
He just gazed at me calmly and let out a soft smile. And then sighed.
“I don’t have any reason to dislike you.” And then his eyes widened and exclaimed. “B-Besides your awful banters and your immensely annoying bluffs… and how you work in court… I can’t think of any other reason to dislike you. Everyone likes you… well, perhaps not the criminals you put to justice.”
I just looked at him with a soft smile on my face and I kind of chuckled a bit while Edgeworth looked at me flustered.
But then Edgeworth’s smile disappeared.
“Th-Then… what’s the problem with our relationship? Is there something we’re missing?” Edgeworth said softly.
“Who cares about some dang chains Edgeworth, I don’t see anything wrong with our friendship, maybe the people handling the chains got the wrong people.” I exclaimed.
“I don’t think they’ll just chain random people Wright! I don’t get what’s wrong! I just don’t understand.. I-“
I hugged him close as he was panting and then calmed down in my arms.
“Calm down Edgeworth. We’ll figure this out, together. I promise. How about, we just go back to your car and continue talking there?”
Edgeworth was getting comfortable around my arms, but he sighed and pushed me away.
“Alright… my apologies for the outburst. It’s difficult to believe that there is a flaw in our friendship. It’s frustrating…” he walked two steps backwards and put his hand on his arm.
“It’s alright Edgeworth, I’m as frustrated as you are. I wish I could find what’s wrong, but we have to wait till we figure that out, OK?” I reassured him.
We walked back to his car in silence, side by side. The street was really quiet and the sky turned navy blue. We could hear some crickets come from different bushes and we could see some shops that close around 7pm shut down. It wasn’t too late but it felt like midnight.
We arrived at the car and Maya was out of sight, she probably went home to Kurain and Pearls. We entered inside in silence and we both sighed deeply.
“Where are we sleeping?” I started.
“I’m alright with either mine or your place. As long as I don’t need to feel excruciating pain in my wrist.” Edgeworth said in an annoyed tone.
It was just silence in the car for a moment. We both were deep in thought and we were wondering when it would be over.
We decided to go to my place and we finally started driving. The whole time it was even more silence. We’d usually have a lot to talk about, but just like Edgeworth, the fact that there is a problem with our relationship was eating me up inside. I felt miserable.
We went to Edgeworth’s place first to grab a few things for him to sleep, like his pajamas and his toothbrush and stuff.
Then we arrived at my house and Trucy was already asleep by 8pm. Which I found surprising since she’s usually a night owl.
I went to the kitchen to prepare something for me and Edgeworth to eat, and Edgeworth went to the dining room to prepare the table.
I could feel a little ache on my wrist, since Edgeworth was sort of in another room, but it wasn’t too extreme. So I just continued to quickly cook something up for me and him to eat.
But Edgeworth couldn’t take the ache and went to the kitchen to check if “I’m doing everything right.” I think that was just his excuse to stay close to me.
We cooked together and finally finished it quickly.
It was a pretty quiet dinner as well, we just ate and immediately got up to get ready for bed. Which was also awkwardly quiet.
Once I lied my head in bed, Edgeworth sat down next to me on my bed and he figured he had no choice but to sleep in the same bed as me. It was strangely comfortable knowing Edgeworth was next to me.
We lay quiet for a few minutes until Edgeworth shifted facing me.
“Wright… I can’t sleep.” He said sleepily
“Why?”
“I keep thinking about… when Miss Fey pointed that something I said was connected to the problem… it happened earlier in the car as well.” He sat up to explain to me.
I started to sit up as well as I perk up my ear to listen.
“What about it?” I said stupidly.
“Wright! You know what I mean… I mentioned…” and then he hesitated.
“I’ll head to the bathroom to freshen up a bit, if it’s alright with you.” He said as he stood up.
“Oh sure.”
He exited and went to the bathroom, I just sat there in the dark for a few moments waiting patiently for him. He worries me a lot sometimes.
A few minutes later, he came back from the bathroom.
He had his hands behind his back which I thought was strange but didn’t think anything of it. I was just exhausted from today.
Edgeworth sat down next to me and faced his body towards me. And then he gazed at me seriously.
“Do you want to talk about something?” I asked him.
“I want you to answer this honestly Wright. Or I will turn you to the hands of the goddess of law.” He said in a serious demanding voice.
“Huh? What’s going on?” I asked nervously curious.
“…Are you… hiding any secrets from me?”
I was taken aback from that question and raised my hands to my head nervously, sweating profusely.
—————————————————————
I had a feeling Wright was hiding something from me… was it…? No, no irrational conclusions until you have enough evidence to prove it. That’s how it goes in court… but…
Wright stayed silent while he was foolishly sweating and being anxious. But, I was just as anxious as he was. I was nervous of what would come out of this mans mouth.
“N-No. I wouldn’t keep a secret from you. How c-could I anyway?” He said nervously.
I felt a little guilty for the man, seeing as I had in my possession the thing he calls the ‘magatama’, 4 Psycho-locks appeared before me.
Even stranger, I could see the chain that connected us both. It was tied up to my right wrist and Wrights right wrist. And even more stranger, that chain was connected to the middle psycho-lock. What a strange occurrence…
“Look Edgeworth, why don’t we just go to bed.” He shuffled a bit.
“Wright. Is there really something you’re not telling me?” I tensed up myself.
Wright looked at me nervously and then sighed.
“Whatever my secret is, it doesn’t concern you, okay Edgeworth?”
After that man said that, the chains shook, and the chain connected to the middle Psycho-lock pulled up, which led to a pain to our wrists.
“Ow!” Wright inevitably screamed.
I tried to hold in my pain but I ended up holding my wrist.
“Wright, please… if there’s anything concerning you, I want to be able to help you. Perhaps this could be the problem to our chains..” I said softly.
Wright shifted uncomfortably and I could see him blush a bit. It was a strange movement from him but, I guess he really is going through a difficult time.
“Do you have a secret you’re keeping from me as well?” He immediately turns the situation around to me, just like he does in court.
I felt really uncomfortable. I do have a secret I’ve been keeping from him… but I don’t want to say anything until I confirmed that… he feels the same way.
“And what if I do, Phoenix?” I formed a plan in my head to make sure this goes how I want it to be, whether or not the answer I’m searching for is incorrect or not.
Wright was taken aback from calling him by the first name basis, but he brushed it off.
“Well… I wouldn’t force it out of you, you have a lot of things going on. But if the secret is anywhere concerning, I’ll try to help without knowing what it is.”
Wright was intelligent when it’s necessary, and I wish he didn’t know how to use his brain at this very moment.
“…Seriously Wright, I- *sigh*”
I took a few deep breaths and organized my thoughts.
My last resort was to ask him of his feelings. I’m not as oblivious as Miss Fey thinks of me to be. Every part that happened today, were all connected. I had to piece it together but I wanted to deny it cause I was… afraid. Afraid that this would ruin our relationship as friends.
So I decided to make it subtle.
“Wright, are you interested in anyone at the moment?” Wright looked taken aback, but relaxed after awhile.
“…I am.” then a Psycho-lock broke.
“Have been for a long time Edgeworth.” He gazed at me for awhile then looked away.
I was taken aback as well from that response, but I kept my poise and relaxed.
“How much do they mean to you?” I continued questioning.
“They mean a lot to me very much. But, I don’t think it’s ever gonna happen.” He looked down in hopelessness.
“And why not?” I questioned curiously.
“Well, I just don’t think they’re that kind of person to be interested in having a relationship, let alone with me.” He said, still looking miserably.
That’s one check… but I’m keeping my hopes low.
“Well… how do you know they aren’t interested in you? Or wouldn’t want to have a relationship with you?” I pressure him more.
Phoenix shifted uncomfortably but he still replied.
“W-Well… he- They always talk about how disinterested they are in romance or something. L-Like you! You two would get along.” He said nervously.
That checks another box…. Unless this person he’s interested in really does acts like me and we’d probably get along. (Author: COUGH COUGH Leona)
“Hmph, how come I’ve never heard of this friend of yours before?”
I could tell his eyes were frantically looking left and right for answers. It seems I’m heading somewhere. I confirmed it more when another Psycho-lock broke. Three more to go.
“I-I…. Come on Edgeworth can we talk about this tomorrow?” Phoenix tries to take control of the situation but of course I won’t give up easily.
“No, I’m not going to sleep until we finish this conversation.” I shot a glare at Phoenix, telling him that I was serious.
He stared at me, eyes wide, and then put his arm behind his neck nervously.
And then he let out a deep sigh.
“Look… I just don’t feel like you should know this secret. I just… don’t. So please Edgeworth, I-“
“Phoenix.” I looked at him again.
He could tell, there was no budging on this one.
He let out another sigh. “Continue with your questioning then.” He said in a serious tone. I was beginning to feel anxious. Was I pushing this too far?
“…How would you have felt if they had the same feelings as you did?” I felt my stomach drop as I questioned it.
“I’d be surprised, honestly. It just feels like to me that I have no chance with him…”
“Him? I daresay, it is quite of a shock for you to be interested in a man.”
I felt a little more confident knowing it wasn’t his past girlfriends again.
A Psycho-lock broke and Phoenix was sweating more profusely.
Two more…
“I-I meant they! She! Please Edgeworth, I can’t do this…”
I looked at his face and I could see I was pushing it too far. But I couldn’t stop now, not when I’m this close… so I dialed back my questions to more simple ones.
“My apologies Phoenix, if I made you uncomfortable… when did you start being interested in this person?”
“No, I’m sorry Edgeworth, I’m just feeling really tired, it’s probably that… I started liking them back when I was a chi- when I saw them during college.”
I was quite taken aback at that, I know it isn’t… her, but, I didn’t see him during his college days, but I still kept my hopes up a bit.
“Do I know them?” I asked interestingly.
He was sweating a bit more. But I noticed one last Psycho-lock was remaining. The one that connected us both… this is all making more sense now. But I think Phoenix was reaching his breaking point.
“Edgeworth… can we please go to bed…” he said nervously.
“Phoenix, please.”
“Edgeworth, I can’t do this, I really can’t.”
“It’s a simple question, Wright. Do I know them?”
“Edgeworth, I can’t…”
“Do I?”
“….maybe. But…”
“Who are they?”
“Edgeworth. Go to bed.”
“Not until we finished here!”
It starting heating up here.
“Edgeworth, please understand, this is a secret that I have to keep for myself, I can’t let you know, it’ll only hurt you and me.”
“Phoenix, this might be the solution, the solution to our problem!”
“Edgeworth.” His tone more serious.
“Don’t worry about the problem for now please? I know you’re worried about the flaw in our relationship but can we please do this tomorrow?”
“Phoenix…”
I went to my last resort.
“….Do you have romantic feelings for me?”
He was taken aback with his eyes wide, as expected. But I felt my face get hot and quickly hid my face. The room was really quiet, just like what happened throughout the day.
“I’m really sorry to have put you through all this, but…. I wanted to ask you this. My logic brought me to this conclusion….”
He just gazed at me. I probably went too far in terms of bringing the truth out. But I just… had to… for our sake.
He relaxed a bit, and let out a sigh.
“Edgeworth… is that really what your conclusions brought you?” He looked at me intensely with his shining dark blue eyes.
“Y-Yes… I-I apologise… for not asking you sooner.”
The chain hasn’t broken yet, I was a little anxious, but I kept my head high.
We gazed at each other’s eyes for awhile, and I could feel my face heating up. Suddenly… I felt my hand being held. I looked down and Phoenix was holding my hand tightly.
I felt my face being red hot, and Phoenix just stared at me for a few moments.
“Miles…” he spoke in a soft tired voice.
“Are you infuriated at me?” I added.
“Hm. What do you think?”
I just looked at him and let out a laugh.
The mood settled down quick.
Phoenix sighed.
“Miles, I know you took the Magatama.”
I got flustered a bit.
“I didn’t have any other way I’d get this out of you. But… there’s still a psycho-lock.”
Phoenix was taken aback, but he quickly relaxed again.
“Psycho-locks?- Never mind. I think there’s still something you haven’t told me either.”
I haven’t told him my feelings, but he hasn’t told me his either.
“Phoenix… come to think of it, you haven’t answered my question…”
“Oh. Well. Do I have romantic feelings towards you? First, let’s go back to your deductions.”
“Phoenix-“
“I’m not saying my answer until I hear why you concluded that.”
Hmph. I have no other choice.
“Well… first, the story about chains. Was it a platonic or a romantic soution that was needed to resolve the problem was the next question. We’ve been through a lot and I’ve never felt a flaw in our “platonic” relationship. And then we went to the car, before we talked to Miss Fey, you mentioned secret, and our wrists hurt. The same thing happened when I mentioned… romantic solution. As far as I know… it isn’t a platonic solution.”
When I finished explaining, he was looking very intensely at me.
I felt our hearts beat as one.
“And your secret?” Phoenix said.
“I…. I…” I struggled to say it. I’ve been planning the whole thing until this very moment. This is what I wanted, but I couldn’t say it.
“Miles. Do you love me?”
Our hands gripped tighter as he leaned towards me.
I felt a rush of heat on my face.
“Answer my question first.” I told him.
“Hmm.”
Our face was slowly getting closer, our lips almost touching.
I heard under his breath, “I’m in love with you, Miles.”
Our lips finally touched and he started kissing me. And I kissed back, our breathes hitched as we took a few seconds of breath and started making out again.
Our hands still holding as we took a few more seconds of this feeling.
We pulled away taking a few breaths and said.
“I love you too.”
And at that, the final Psycho lock broke, freeing both of us from the burden of the chains.
Perhaps, even after the chains that connected us both broke, we’re not truly disconnected.
We felt a sting at our wrists for a second, and it quickly diminished as we pressed our lips together once again.
He asked me to be his romantic partner later that night. And I said.
“…absolutely.”