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Gregory sighed as he leaned against the wall, across from the bathroom door. He had his car keys dangling from his pocket, held his digital camera in hand, and his arms crossed as he tapped his foot impatiently.
“Miles, hurry up, you said you wanted to be at Gourd Lake in fifteen minutes,” Greg said. “Come on, now…!”
“One second, I’m almost done!” Miles called from the other side, the hissing of hairspray following his response.
He opened the door and stepped out, his hair slicked entirely back, pressed against his scalp, and his brand new black browline glasses askew. Both Edgeworths held their bated breaths, careful not to move a single muscle.
Finally Miles spoke up, “Can I have a glasses rag?”
Gregory nodded and handed him his spare when suddenly, Miles’ bangs escaped from being gelled and shot forward, splattering the excess gel in its wake, much to Miles’ disappointment.
“Seriously?! It took me forever to do this!” Miles huffed. “Now I look ridiculous !”
Gregory snorted, “Miles, it’s just homecoming, not a wedding…!”
“Objection!” Miles pouted. “ You’re the one who made a big deal about me going to homecoming in the first place!”
“Objection! You didn’t go to your freshman or sophomore year homecomings!” Gregory retorted. “You can’t blame me for being a little excited!”
Miles grumbled and huffed while crossing his arms; his pout intensifying by him scrunching his nose and drawing his lips tight, making it look like his cheeks were puffed out.
Gregory chuckled and rubbed some more excess hair gel off of his son’s hair, “You used to make that exact same face when I told you that we couldn’t bring Santa to court for breaking and entering.”
“I did not !”
“Oh yes you did!” Gregory added, waving the camera around. “I have pictures saved onto the computer…!”
Miles groaned and covered his now beet red face, “Oh my god, please don’t show everyone my embarrassing baby pictures!”
“I actually think they’re adorable baby pictures…”
“Still!”
“Alright, alright, no baby pictures, Scout's Honor,” Gregory chuckled. “Need help with the bowtie?”
“Yes please,”
Gregory chuckled and took the blue bowtie and let Miles pop his collar up. Miles’ suit definitely fit him through and through. The day that Miles said that he was going to the homecoming dance, Gregory had taken him shopping.
It was a custom burgundy suit with a black waistcoat, it had definitely cost a pretty penny, but Gregory paid it no mind.
I know Miles, he’ll definitely use it for other things, Gregory reasoned. There’s no harm in letting him have a suit in his favorite color!
As soon as Gregory finished tying the bowtie, he ruffled the back of Miles’ hair, right by the cowlick, and kissed his forehead.
“You look great, Miles,” Gregory said. “You and Phoenix are going to have a great time.”
Miles grinned crookedly and shuffled his feet, “I hope so too…”
“Alright, ready now? Got the boutonniere?” Gregory asked. “We can’t forget the boutonniere!”
“I already put it in the glove box!” Miles replied as he practically flew down the stairs. “Come on! We can’t be late!”
“That’s what I was saying!” Gregory reminded his teenage son, following closely.
Gregory and Miles weren’t the only ones who decided to meet their groups and take pictures at Gourd Lake. There were already a handful of groups along the beachfront and wooded hiking trails; teenagers dressed to the nines with enthusiastic parents gleefully taking pictures while younger siblings stood off to the side, positively bored out of their minds.
Miles looked eagerly, trying to find his boyfriend, Phoenix, in the crowd, or even Larry and his date.
“You see them yet, Miles?” Gregory asked. “You want to check by the beachfront?”
“I told everyone to meet by the hotdog stand, it’s right in front of the entrance!” Miles replied, running his hands through his hair.. “Oh my god, what if they all ditch me…?!”
“Miles, how long have you been friends with Phoenix and Larry again?” Gregory asked. “Besides, with all the effort Phoenix put in asking you here in the first place, I think it’s pretty much unlikely that he’ll suddenly change his mind…”
“But it’s nearly fifteen minutes since we agreed to meet up!”
“Son, there’s a lot of people here, not that I blame them, it’s gorgeous,” Gregory placed a hand on his son’s shoulder reassuringly. “There’s probably some traffic, give them a few more minutes before you call them, okay?”
Miles huffed but nodded, still checking his phone periodically for any texts.
Before the two Edgeworths could realize it, there was a flash of yellow bolting towards them, nearly knocking Miles down in its wake.
“Edgey! Dude, what’s up?!” Larry grinned while ruffling Miles’ hair, he was dressed in a yellow waistcoat and orange pants. “You’re gonna love this, it’s gonna be great!”
Miles huffed and fixed his glasses, “Larry, you almost knocked me down, please be careful,” He said. “Where’s Phoenix and Devika?”
“Devi’s dad is stuck at a red light, Phoenix’s mom is parking right now!” Larry answered. “Dude, I am stoked ! You’re not pouting alone during homecoming!”
Maybe he’ll consider going to prom too? Gregory hoped.
Soon enough, a girl dressed in a sparkling aquamarine dress, followed by her father ran up giddly to Larry and kissed his cheek.
So this is Devika… I didn’t know Larry had broken up with Tara, Gregory thought.
Miles just looked at him, shaking his head and rolling his eyes while shrugging his shoulders, as if to say ‘don’t think about it too hard’.
Evidently, Miles lost count as well… Gregory reasoned.
“Miles! Mr. Edgeworth!” Phoenix waved, trying not to trip on the slate gray hemmed suit pants he had on. “Hey, Larry!”
Larry whistled, “Looking like a million bucks, Nicky!”
Miles, who was already pink, simply nodded and nervously fiddled with the black box the boutonniere was in, “You… look nice!”
Phoenix flushed and smiled crookedly as he smoothed his spikes back, “Thanks! You look great too!”
Ah young love, glad I’m never going through that ever again, Gregory thought, melancholic of his departed wife, Sophia, ‘Hi I’m Meetory, nice to Greg you…’
“Phoenix Ryuuichi…” Phoenix’s mother, Anita, called out, holding a small black boutonniere box. “I think you forgot something…”
Phoenix squawked and rubbed the back of his neck, “Oops… sorry Mom!”
Gregory chuckled and pressed the power button on his camera, “Anita, how’s everything been?”
“I’m good, even though this one made me dig into the closet for his father’s old suit,” Anita chuckled while ruffling Phoenix’s hair. “I had to hem the pants, but it looks great despite not having seen the light of day in fifteen years…!”
“Mom!” Phoenix squawked. “My hair !”
“I was fixing your cowlicks, you had more than I remembered,” Anita replied. “Now you two get together, I want a picture!”
Miles and Phoenix shuffled awkwardly together, their shoulders pressed and neither of them entirely sure where to rest their arms; Phoenix’s arm wrapped around Miles’ shoulder and Miles’ around Phoenix’s waist. They grinned and stared directly at Gregory and Anita’s cameras.
“Oh my god, you boys are just handsome…!” Anita cooed. “Go ahead and pin on the boutonnieres!”
Gregory smiled as the boys mumbled amongst themselves regarding the logistics, whether they were going to attempt to try and pin them at the same time or take turns, and who would go first if then. Miles’ pale skin was tickled pink, but Gregory’s heart soared at the smile that was etched in, knowing that it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
About time you asked Phoenix out… Gregory thought. God, to think that class ‘trial’ was so long ago… now they’re nearly grown…!
Or maybe I’m just getting old, Gregory added.
Phoenix went first, pinning a baby blue rose boutonniere on Miles’ lapel, it was the same color as the blue waistcoat he was wearing. Just as it was securely pinned, Phoenix gave Miles a chaste kiss on the cheek, causing the latter to turn bright pink and look like a deer in the headlights.
“Hah! Got it!” Gregory shouted as he snapped as many pictures possible.
“Same here!” Anita added.
“M-Mom!” Phoenix gaped.
Miles covered his face and groaned, “ Poppa !”
“You’ll thank me later, it’s adorable,” Gregory retorted.
Miles huffed and took his boutonniere, a light pink rose to compliment the one Phoenix had pinned onto him. He smoothed the lapel down and made sure it was pinned securely, placing his hands onto Phoenix’s shoulders and inspecting it carefully.
“Phoenix was so excited about this, nervous too,” Anita said. “This is the first dance he’s going to since that nasty breakup with that Dahlia girl… or was it Iris…? Ugh, I could never tell the difference between those two…”
“It was Dahlia, you won’t believe how many times Miles complained about her, despite insisting, ‘No way! I don’t have a dumb crush, he’s just my friend, Poppa!’,” Gregory replied before mulling over the events of the previous year once more. “Actually… I think it was technically both? They kept doing that switch thing twins do in movies?”
“One of them was nice enough, I guess, but I’m still pissed about that outing bullshit they pulled,” Anita huffed. “I had half a mind to march over to Misty’s and find out where her hellspawn sister lived…!”
Gregory grimaced as he found a bitter taste forming in his mouth, “Thank God for the GSA…”
“Cheers to that,” Anita nodded.
Miles and Phoenix paid no mind to the conversation the adults were having, they were still off in their own world, figuring out how they wanted to take pictures.
“Hey, Mom, let’s go over by this willow tree!” Phoenix said. “It would look really nice!”
“And it’s right by the lake too,” Miles added.
“You two are the bosses,” Gregory chuckled.
“He gets into AP art, and aesthetic is all that’s on his mind,” Anita giggled.
As soon as Miles and Phoenix settled right at the trunk of the tree, they wrapped their arms around each other’s waist. Before their parents could aim their cameras, they fished around in their pockets, holding out two twin keychains; the blue and red signal samurai.
Anita and Gregory howled in laughter, Anita nearly buckled over and Gregory had to take off his glasses to rub his tears.
“Oh my god, this is a formal dance!” Anita cackled. “Did you plan this?”
“How long did you have those in your pockets?” Gregory asked.
“It’s a part of us!” Miles protested. “They’re what made us friends!”
“And we match with them!” Phoenix huffed.
“Greg, our boys are nerds ,” Anita laughed.
“I don’t know if I’m one to talk, but I have to agree,” Gregory chuckled.
The sixteen year olds both rolled their eyes and still posed for a few more pictures, all while their parents gossiped among themselves. They had taken plenty of couples pictures when Larry came and pulled them over to join in group photos.
Gregory couldn’t stop smiling as he watched the teenagers chat and joke with each other, their own inside jokes that only kids of their generation could understand, and pose gleefully in front of the cameras. They were living their own dreams of spotlight for a night.
It’s wonderful to see you act like a kid again, Miles, Gregory thought. You’re going to have a great time, you both are…