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“Nick! Edgey! Smile!”
Phoenix grinned wide as Larry appeared out of nowhere with a bulky camera in hand. Beside him, Edgeworth grimaced and almost managed to get a hand up to block his face, but not before the shutter snapped and the motor whirred to roll the camera film.
“Film?” Phoenix asked, recognizing the sound. “Not digital? You getting into photography, Larry?”
“Yeah, I got a friend letting me use her darkroom,” Larry said, deliberately snapping another photo of Edgeworth trying to hide his face, “At first it was just to get reference photos, but I figured I’d give the medium a try, you know?”
“That’s quite an expensive hobby to jump into,” Edgeworth said, straightening his suit. “Film isn’t cheap these days.”
“Yeah, I know. But Chantelle encouraged me to give it a try and set me up with some equipment! She’s letting me borrow her camera, and we’ll develop it in her darkroom together!” Larry put a hand to his chest and exaggerated a swoon. “And she likes my paintings. I dunno, man. She might be the one. For real this time!”
“Mmhm,” Edgeworth toned, clearly not convinced.
“Anyway, congratulations!!!” Larry continued, letting the camera hang from the neck strap and giving them both a slap on the back.
“Congratulations?” Phoenix asked, “For what?”
“Uh, for tying the knot? Getting married?”
“Larry, our wedding was in January. We’ve almost been married a full year,” Phoenix said with an exasperated laugh. “You were there! And then you helped me move out of the apartment and into Miles’ house!”
“Well, but this is the first New Year’s Eve with you two together!” Larry said, and gestured at the hubbub around them, definitely the most full the house had ever been.
New Year's Eve was traditionally the largest celebration of the year at the Wright household. Friends they didn’t see often and hadn’t kept in close contact with would come and catch up before vanishing until the next New Year. This year, for the first time ever, the party wasn’t held in the cramped apartment of the Wrights, and were instead in the much more spacious Edgeworth-Wright household.
“I suppose you’re right,” Edgeworth admitted, “although your congratulations are appreciated, they are still perplexing.” He gave Larry a look up and down. “Just like you, I must admit.”
“Thanks, Edgey!” Larry laughed. He opened his mouth to continue, and was cut off by the soft but pointed sound of a throat clearing.
“Mr. Larry?” Pearl stood to one side, fingers fidgeting anxiously with her sleeve.
“Hey, Pearly!” Larry shot a quick photo of her. “I didn’t see you there! How’ve you been?”
Pearl ducked her head slightly as Larry took a picture, but smiled all the same.
“I’ve been well, thank you. Um, Mr. Larry, I mentioned that you were an artist to Vera, and she expressed interest in maybe seeing some of your work?”
Larry puffed his chest out. “Someone interested in my prestigious work? Lead the way!”
Pearl perked up, smiling more brightly at Larry.
“Of course! Right over here…” She waved to Phoenix and Edgeworth as she led Larry away to where Vera was huddled, sketchpad in hand. Within minutes, all three were deep in discussion.
Phoenix watched with a smile, eyes lingering on them as the shy Vera laughed at something Larry said.
“Nice to see Vera coming out of her shell,” he said, “I didn’t think she’d come when I invited her.”
“Yes, I’m very glad to see her here,” Edgeworth said, his gaze following Phoenix’s. “We’ll have to keep inviting her to functions like this.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Now that we’ve got the space to entertain guests, maybe we’ll do it more than once a year.”
“Hm, we’ll see about that, especially after we assess the damage they’re going to cause tonight,” Edgeworth said.
He was nearly cut off by Simon storming past him, Bucky Whet in tow. Simon clearly was on a mission, half-dragging Bucky into the kitchen. Phoenix raised his eyebrows and watched Simon’s retreating back, Bucky stumbling along behind him.
“Uh…”
“Hm,” Edgeworth frowned and headed toward the kitchen. “Perhaps we need to make sure that our kitchen is going to remain intact.”
“You said Simon volunteered to handle dinner?” Phoenix asked, following him.
“Yes, he said that he was going to bring in a friend to help…” Edgeworth trailed off as he entered the kitchen. Inside, Simon was arguing with Eldoon, who was already working over the stove, ramen noodles boiling in a pot.
“Your noodles are garbage, old man,” Simon growled, “step back from the stove.”
“You wouldn’t know good ramen if it came up and bit you on the ass!” Eldoon retorted, doing no such thing and stubbornly working on whatever salt-drowned concoction was on the stove.
“The only reason I know what ass tastes like is because of your damn noodles, old man,” Simon snarled, “get out of the way, Bucky’s gonna take over.”
Eldoon, despite being shorter than the towering prosecutor, still managed to look down his nose at the man, then shifted his disdain to Bucky.
“And what is he expected to do?” Eldoon sniffed. Bucky shuffled a little to the left, hiding further behind Simon.
“Make noodles,” Simon snapped, “something you clearly forgot how to do years ago.”
“Too late, stove’s taken,” Eldoon turned on his heel and went right back to work.
“Miles, this is going to escalate…” Phoenix murmured.
Edgeworth sighed, walking over to Simon and Eldoon.
“Mr. Eldoon, I understand that you wish to practice your craft, but I did promise Simon that he could help provide a main course for tonight. I request that if you continue to use our kitchen, that you at least share it with Bucky.”
“I know your process, Guy. You only use the one pot,” Phoenix added, “and the kitchen’s sure as hell big enough.”
Eldoon looked between his hosts, then shot Bucky a calculating look.
“Well, if I’m not gonna get pushed aside…”
“Don’t you dare interfere with his process,” Simon growled. “I’ll stay here to supervise.” He folded his arms and stepped back, looking quite ready to make good on his threat.
“Don’t you interfere with my process, either!” Eldoon shook a ladle at him threateningly, broth dripping to the floor.
“Great!” Phoenix said, and clapped his hands together, “So you can each make dinner, and people can just choose which one they want more!”
“A competition, eh?” Eldoon asked and gave Simon a sideways look. “Your cowering noodle boy against my experience and skill?”
“Wait, no,” Phoenix said, “that’s not what I—”
Simon snorted, sneering at Eldoon. “Bucky could make better noodles than you while drunk and asleep. Bring it on, old man.”
“I didn’t—”
“You’re going to regret that!” Eldoon sneered and dove back into his work, though this time he left enough room on the stove for Bucky.
“But—”
“Get to work,” Simon said gruffly, slapping Bucky on the back.
Edgeworth sighed and turned toward the door. “Perhaps we should get out of the blast radius while we can.”
Phoenix sighed and followed Edgeworth out of the kitchen. “Maybe that’s for the best…”
“I should have guessed Simon would be going on about those soba noodles again,” Edgeworth grumbled as they made it back out into the main hubbub. “Should have just had the whole thing catered.”
“Something to remember for next year,” Phoenix said, grateful to leave the kitchen behind them. They wandered into the living room, where a crowd had gathered around the table that had been initially set up for card games.
“Alright, Powers! Let’s see if those Hollywood muscles are just for show!” Athena dropped down into a chair and put her arm up on the table. “You and me, let’s go!”
“I-I’m not really sure, I mean, I don’t wanna hurt you,” Will said, reluctantly sitting down across from her. “I’m also not really into competitions…”
“It’s just a little arm wrestling!” Athena grinned and she glanced around at the other men nearby. “Unless we want to make it a competition…”
“Of course we do, pal!” Gumshoe enthused, “I wanna wrestle the winner!”
“Woah there, big boy,” Lang said, patting Gumshoe on the arm, “who says you’re next up?”
“Doesn’t matter, because I’m beating all three of you!” Athena said, eyes bright, “C’mon, Powers! Show me how tough the man under the costume is!”
She gave Will a reassuring wink and her voice softened. “And don’t you worry about hurting me, I’m one tough cookie!”
“Well… well okay,” Will said, relaxing a little. He rolled up one sleeve and rested his elbow on the table. “Let’s do it, then.”
Athena clasped hands with him. “One… two… three!”
Arms strained as the match started, and Phoenix wasn’t surprised to hear bets being placed by the cheering onlookers.
“Looks like we walked away from one competition right into another,” Phoenix said, eyes dancing with amusement. He winced in sympathy as Athena slammed Will’s hand to the table, though the man had put up a good fight.
“Alright, who’s next?” Athena asked, grinning like a shark, and she spotted them across the room. “Mr. Wright! Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth! You two want in?”
“No thank you,” Edgeworth said politely, adjusting his glasses, “I need to use my arm later.”
Phoenix held his hands up in surrender. “Yeah, I’m going to have to decline, too. You guys have fun!”
“Your loss!” Athena said cheerily. “Gumshoe, you’re next!”
“Hell yeah, pal!” Gumshoe said and plopped down in front of Athena. “Bring it on!”
Edgeworth narrowly avoided Gumshoe’s bulking form, moving past him to a more open area of the living room. Maya and Kay were sitting on one of the couches, chatting quietly with each other. Phoenix did a double take as they passed the pair, wondering what on earth they could be talking about that would make the two loud-mouths talk in hushed tones. Subtly, he slowed his steps and tried to eavesdrop.
“So, like I was saying, Kay,” Maya shouted, her volume changing so fast that Phoenix jumped, “with Trucy in school and both Nick and Edgeworth in court, the house is definitely unoccupied and unsupervised for most of the day…”
Perhaps Phoenix hadn’t been as subtle as he’d hoped.
“That would be the perfect time if you happened to want to be able to wander the house all by yourself,” Kay replied to her just as loudly. “As an expert thief, I can offer you professional advice!”
“Alright, alright!” Phoenix surrendered, “I’m sorry, my bad.”
Kay finally broke into laughter, grinning wide at Phoenix.
“I can give you some stealth pointers if you want, Phoenix! Though Maya is my first pupil.”
“Nope, I think I’m good. You two go back to… to whatever it is you’re plotting.”
“Thanks, Nick!” Maya beamed.
“I will hold you both accountable for loss or damage to this house and our belongings,” Edgeworth said as he continued on.
“That’s assuming you notice what’s missing!”
Phoenix laughed and followed Edgeworth to the sitting room, where a familiar voice caught his attention.
“Are you watching closely?” Trucy asked, holding a silk scarf taught between both hands.
“Yes!” Rayfa reported firmly, staring intently at the scarf, “I am watching!”
“Good! If you blink, you might miss it!”
Trucy ran the fingers of each hand over the scarf, one by one, while dancing the silk back and forth in front of Rayfa’s eyes. Phoenix smiled and paused to watch. He’d seen this particular trick hundreds of times, but was still amazed at how much Trucy’s sleight of hand had improved over the years. She used to rely on verbal cues for this trick, but now her fingers created a mesmerizing pattern along the silk, distracting her audience from the wire she’d slipped around her left thumb.
Rayfa was a very attentive audience, even as Apollo and Nahyuta watched with far less intensity.
“I… I am striving to not blink!” Rayfa updated Trucy, her hands balled into fists in front of her as she concentrated.
“Perfect! Ready? Three… two…” Trucy drew out her countdown, waiting until Rayfa’s eyes were watering, then the scarf vanished with a twist of her hands. “...one!”
From Phoenix’s angle, he could see the barest flash of silk as the wire snapped the scarf inside her glove, and even then he only caught it because he was looking for it. From Rayfa’s perspective, Trucy’s free hand would have seamlessly hidden the entire motion.
Rayfa’s mouth dropped open and she let out a cry of surprise.
“It disappeared! It is gone!!” She tilted her head to inspect all around Trucy’s hands and arms. “Witchcraft!”
Apollo stood beside Nahyuta, arms folded, and squinted at Trucy. “She’s wearing short sleeves and I was watching her arms…”
Trucy beamed and held her arms out wide for Rayfa’s inspection. Rayfa looked her over very intently and even squeezed her sleeves for a moment before huffing.
“I demand you tell me how you did it! Are you a sorceress? Who trained you in your magical ways?! I must know!”
Nahyuta chuckled, holding his teacup delicately.
“Don’t be rude, Rayfa. Trucy offered to show you her magic, she does not need to indulge your every prying question.”
“Besides, a magician never reveals her secrets!” Trucy bowed with a twirl of her hat, then held the top hat out to Rayfa, showing her that the hat was empty. “Though perhaps I can pass on some of the magic to you, too!”
Trucy twirled the hat once more, hiding the way she slipped the scarf back out of her glove and into the hat, then placed it on Rayfa’s head. Rayfa reached up to delicately touch the hat, carefully removing it from her head. She let out another cry of surprise as the scarf spilled out over her head.
“Incredible!! You are truly a sorceress of great power!!”
“Aw, you say the nicest things, Rayfa!”
“Okay, I know it wasn’t in her hat!” Apollo gestured toward Trucy and looked at Nahyuta with disbelief. “Her hands weren’t anywhere near her hat!”
Nahyuta let out a soft laugh.
“I would have thought that helping Trucy out with some of her magic would make you more adept at figuring it out.” He took a sip of his tea. “It seems I was wrong.”
“Just because I give her a hand doesn’t mean I have any idea what she’s doing,” Apollo said. “She keeps those secrets under lock and key.”
“As well she should,” Nahyta said with a smile.
“Sure, but I wouldn’t mind if she’d give me a little more info when she says I’m gonna get sawed in half,” Apollo said dryly, “especially when—”
He cut off and looked abruptly toward a loud conversation on the other side of the room.
“Sorry, Nahyuta, it looks like I need to go rescue my boyfriend…”
“Better hurry, Ms. Skye is definitely a lot more scathing when inebriated.”
“No kidding,” Apollo muttered, and he headed over to where Ema and Franziska were ganging up on Klavier.
Phoenix laughed and his eyes wandered back to Trucy, watching her fondly as she performed another trick for Rayfa.
“I know I say this all the time, but she’s gotten damn good,” Phoenix said.
“Indeed she has,” Edgeworth said, wearing an affectionate smile. “It’s rare to see someone as dedicated to their craft as she is.”
“She’s going to go so far,” Phoenix smiled wide, bursting with pride.
“Agreed,” Edgeworth said, opening his mouth to continue but stopped as he heard a very distinctive laugh. “Oh dear, it seems Franziska must also be inebriated.”
“Who is more foolish?” the sharply dressed Franziska was asking Apollo, “the fool who fluffs himself up like a foolish peacock, or the fool who falls for the peacocks fluff?”
“I refute your logic that dressing fashionably is tantamount to foolishness,” Apollo argued. “The basis of your argument is grounded in logical fallacy!”
“Ohmygod, Apollo. You really are a nerd,” Ema rolled her eyes. “Fashionable and foppish are two completely different things!”
“I’m fashionable!” Klavier protested, looking quite distressed at the accusation.
“The two are not mutually exclusive,” Franziska said matter-of-factly.
“Your argument is still fallacy!” Apollo shook a finger at Franziska, who looked incredibly unimpressed by the display.
“Your sister is unarmed tonight, right?” Phoenix asked, leaning in close to Edgeworth.
“I did my best to assure she was, though I’ll admit that she’s been able to sneak things past me before,” Edgeworth admitted.
“Perhaps we’d best leave before she turns her sights on us,” Phoenix said, “I’ll make it up to Apollo later.”
“It bemoans me to say so, but we might want to check in on the crew in the kitchen,” Edgeworth replied. “I am worried about how our kitchen is going to be tomorrow.”
“Is Mr. Blackquill insisting on noodles again?” Nahyuta calmly asked.
“Ah… yes, he is,” Phoenix said, looking at Nahyuta with surprise. “I didn’t know the two of you were well acquainted.”
“I’m not sure I’d go that far,” Nahyuta said, setting his teacup down on the coffee table. “Though if you’d like me to check in to be sure he isn’t laying waste to the kitchen, I’d be happy to oblige.”
“That would be appreciated, if you don’t mind,” Phoenix said, “last I heard it was devolving into a competition.”
“Hm, how interesting. I’ll be sure that things are going smoothly.”
With a small bow, Nahyuta headed toward the kitchen, and he paused as Simon emerged from the kitchen.
“Ah, Blackquill. How are things faring in the kitchen?” Nahyuta asked.
“Terribly,” Simon growled, “I’m done dealing with that washed up hack of a cook, I’m gonna—”
“Is he not making the noodles out of bamboo, how the picky panda likes?” Nahyuta asked, hints of condescension in his tone.
“At least I know what good food tastes like, unlike a monk who only drinks morning dewdrops and munches on moonbeams!” Simon snapped back.
“Okay, guys,” Phoenix said, holding his hands out placatingly, “no need to get worked up. We can all calm down…”
“Stay out of this, Wright-dono,” Simon said grumpily, whirling back on Nahyuta, “go preach some of your stupid sermons to that old man in there and maybe he’ll stop causing so much strife with his damn noodles.”
“I would be happy to speak with him,” Nahyuta said calmly, “I would enjoy learning how to so easily get under your skin.”
As Simon puffed up his chest with another angry reply, Edgeworth rested a hand on Phoenix’s arm, gently pulling him back.
“Probably best to leave them, darling,” he said underneath the noise of their continued arguing. “I suspect they enjoy the confrontation.”
“Oh… well…” Phoenix let Edgeworth pull him away, “I guess. Some people, am I right?”
Edgeworth chuckled, taking his hand and sidling in close with him. “As if you don’t enjoy our courtroom banter enough to bring it home with you sometimes.”
Phoenix laughed and his ears turned pink. “Okay, okay! I get your point! I can’t help it. You just look so good when you’re on a roll…”
“And you look irresistible as you’re executing one of your plans,” Edgeworth said, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. His lips curled up into a sly smile. “I suppose we just don’t have the energy to argue nearly as much as we once did anymore, hm?”
“Nah,” Phoenix said, and his eyes glinted mischievously, “we’re not that old yet. We just find better ways to burn some energy.”
“Mm,” Edgeworth toned noncommittally. “And do you think you’ll have any energy after this party is over?”
“Depends on how late it is when we finally kick everyone else out.”
Edgeworth looked out over the party, their house full of friends and family, a smile finding his face. He squeezed Phoenix’s hand and gave him a much more tender kiss on the cheek.
“They’re quite a handful, but I’m glad they’re all here.”
“Yeah,” Phoenix said, mirroring his smile, “all the friends we’ve made over the years.”
“Hey, everyone!” Maya shouted loud enough for the whole house to hear. “Countdown’s about to start!”
Edgeworth leaned on Phoenix a little as the whole room began chanting along with the countdown.
“Ten! Nine! Eight!”
People poured into the living room, where a news program played a countdown on the TV.
“Seven! Six! Five! Four!”
Phoenix slipped an arm around Edgeworth’s waist and leaned in close. Edgeworth smiled at him as the countdown continued.
“Three! Two! One!”
Cheers rang out around the room, heralding in the new year, and Phoenix turned to claim Edgeworth’s lips in a tender kiss. Edgeworth returned the kiss happily, his lips curled up in a small smile until they parted. He looked at Phoenix with slightly shimmering grey eyes, a warmth there that filled Phoenix’s whole soul.
“Happy new year, Phoenix.”
“Happy new year, Miles.”