Work Text:
March 12th 6:30 P.M.
Wright Anything Agency
It all started with just one question.
"Daddy, what is up between you and Uncle Miles?" Trucy went up to him one day, her hands innocently behind her back as she tilted her head and swayed side to side. He was just finishing up the paperwork of the day, and was preparing to leave, since Athena and Apollo - who came back from Khura'in some weeks ago, apparently going to stay a month or two because he wanted to see his rockstar boyfriend - were out investigating the latest crime scene. Can't believe I lost the Rock-Paper-Scissors match against both of them AGAIN...
He really didn't consider his answer much. "He's my best friend Truce, I thought you knew that?" He raised his eyebrow and his daughter furrowed hers in return.
"But... Do you... What do you feel for him?"
Phoenix sighed. "Truce, is this another one of your ploys to get you a new mommy?" He tried playing the Stern Dad by putting his arms on his hips trying to fight a resigned smirk while looking at her confused expression. "And, haven't you asked before? We're just friends babygirl, there's nothing more to it." he just shrugged before he heard his daughter gasp and her eyes opened up like saucers.
He was surprised by the noise and then confused, however the sound of rock hitting against hardwood gave him all the evidence he needed. She was using the magatama...
Crossing his arms, he felt slightly betrayed. "Truce, why are you using the magatama on me? I told you I wouldn't lie to you."
"I-I know, daddy, and I trust you, but..." her eyes glazed over and her lips were trembling before she covered her mouth in shock, "but everytime I asked you, you would... You would never show any of your tics, even though you've never been good at hiding them from me..."
She took a deep breath as he listened intently. "However I... I didn't know whether to believe you considering everything you had been through with him and so I thought 'What if I use the magatama, and I'll really know if he's lying?'" Phoenix was pouting as she was explaining it. Why didn't she trust me... "I promise I never ever want to use the Magatama on you, however I.... Daddy I..."
Trucy looked at him directly in the eyes with the most intense expression he's ever seen on her yet, and he saw her right after he almost got killed in a revolution in Khura'in. He felt his stomach drop with the feeling of something bad about to happen.
"Daddy...
"You have black psyche-locks." she gulped. "Five of them to be exact, all crossing over your heart."
His vision started spinning. Black psyche-locks? Like when Athena thought she killed her own mother...?
Phoenix started feeling himself in a cold sweat, so he tried to ground himself, until he realized he hadn't responded to his daughter yet. She was looking at him with concern. "Trucy... I..."
However he saw her demeanor change immediately, as she hid her concern behind a perfect smile. "Daddy... I'm sure it's gonna be okay!" she chirped in her performer persona as she jumped at him to hug him. "Maybe you could ask auntie Maya! She's very good at this spiritual stuff, right?"
"I-I guess you're right... I'll... I'll try to ring her up at some point babygirl," Phoenix tried his best at giving her a reassuring smile, knowing he failed once he saw Trucy's small grimace. He decided to distract her the best way he knew: "Let's get ourselves some noodles at Eldoon's, what do you think?"
She perked up immediately "Of course, daddy! You know I love the thrill of getting a heart attack from salt excess," she said (surprisingly genuinely) but Phoenix wasn't sure if he had actually been able to get her mind off of this or not...
March 13th 5:40 P.M.
Wright Anything Agency
Phoenix was pacing back and forth in his office, trying to get the courage he needed to finally start the call. He didn't have a chance the day before since after dinner he was way too busy with closing down the office and then helping Trucy with her chemistry project that he definitely couldn't do the call until now. (Or that's how he tries to excuse it at least…)
He finally pressed the call button, putting his phone against his ear. "Maya, I need some help."
"Nick! It's been months since the Sprocket trial! And you call me just to ask me for help? You wound me," she tried her best at a faux-offended tone of voice, but Phoenix could still hear her grin, "are you finally gonna ask Edgey out? You gotta hurry up, I've been spending a lot of time with him watching the Steel Samurai and cooking up a lot of theories together, I could end up stealing your man..."
Phoenix could feel his chest tightening, almost as if a chain was wounding up tighter around it and had to sit down on his office chair, "Maya I... what? No! What makes you think I'd ever make a 'move' on Edgeworth? He's my best friend in the world!"
Maya sighed over-dramatically onto the microphone, making Phoenix flinch at his shitty phone's speakers, "Nick you always try to act so oblivious whenever I bring this up... But whatever, fine, let's get serious, what is it you need? Everything okay? How's my girl Truce?"
"Everything's fine, Trucy is great, she had an amazing show last week and I actually wanted to show you," he had to physically stop himself from gushing over his daughter and went to the point, "what I wanted to ask… It's... related to Edgeworth, actually, but kinda different to whatever it is you're cooking up in your mind," he steeled himself by grabbing onto one of his pants' legs. "So Trucy tried to... Magatama some information out of me," Phoenix could feel his palms starting to sweat, while Maya eerily kept quiet on the other end, "she asked me about my feelings for Edgeworth and I..."
"You have Psyche-locks?"
" Black Psyche-locks, Maya," Maya audibly gasped and he started trembling, "five of them, in total," he had to calm himself or his trembles could become more violent.
Maya was silent for what felt like hours until she finally spoke up: "Nick... You have some real trauma to go through, didn't you say you got a therapist after you got your badge back...?"
"Yes! I did! But we've never even gotten close to this, it seems, I can't even begin to understand what could be so bad that I subconsciously lied to myself about it."
There was a pause, again, "Nick I'll be there in a few hours, alright? I'll take the quickest train, and I'm taking Pearly with me. We need as much help as we can get, alright?"
Phoenix nodded weakly before he remembered he was in a call. "O-of course, Maya, thank you, you really don't have to--" Before he could start trying to convince her out of it, she groaned and hung up on him.
He sighed and looked through his phone's notifications, finding the latest ones to be from the one person he kinda really did not want to say anything about the situation to.
[5:43 PM] Miles Edgeworth:
It has reached me by way of your daughter that you seem to be in a tough situation, although she avoided all kinds of details.
Is there anything I can do to help?
Phoenix was going to get mad at Trucy at first, but before he could he started smiling involuntarily, a warm feeling going through his chest, but then he started feeling the chains tightening around him again. What in the world could these chains be hiding...?
[5:54 PM] Me:
Haha of course Trucy told you!
He paused, with his fingers on the keys, trying to figure out a way to respond without having to feel bad for hiding stuff from him.
no need to worry about me, Edgeworth, it is something that I'll probably have to work out on my own
but you buying me dinner could cheer me up :)
He snickered at his not-very-conspicuous way of asking his best friend to spend time with him. Even though they already spend enough time together, what with Edgeworth coming to Trucy's magic shows, and them meeting whenever one or both of them want some help cracking a case (Phoenix feels very surprised that Edgeworth asks for his help pretty much as often as Phoenix asks for his), or sometimes they just have some coffee or dinner together when they have the time.
He started at the almost immediate response, making his phone vibrate.
[5:56 PM] Miles Edgeworth:
Thankfully I am free tonight, so I'll be able to do my part fairly soon.
I'll pick you up at 7?
[5:57 PM] Me:
sure! see you soon! :D
He locked his phone and picked everything up before leaving his office, realizing he still had a smile on his face.
"Heya, boss!" Athena called out as he passed her by, "my paperwork for today is almost done, the case today was just so incredibly easy! I can't believe I was scared to go against one of the Paynes, " she shuddered at the memory, "at least I didn't get called a monkey this time."
Phoenix laughed out loud and put his hand on her shoulder. "You should already know by now! The Paynes are the worst at the prosecutor's office, I don't know why Edgeworth still keeps them honestly," he shook his head as he chuckled, but quickly noticed a strange look on Athena's face.
"Boss... So I know we've already kinda gone through this whole, uh, 'don't psychoanalyze your boss' situation," she bit her nails a bit and looked away "but, erm, I'm starting to feel a little worried because when you mentioned Edgeworth there was a lot of discord in your voice, like a fuckton!" she gestured with her hands to represent that metric, and Phoenix was about to retort with "language" when he felt his chest heavy, again.
She started rambling as she got nervous, "I- uh- I guess I'm just curious because whenever you speak about him your voice is filled with so much happiness but the discord is always present at the back like you don't even realize it or like you're used to it but just now it was like so much louder and I-"
"That is... And I say this as kindly as possible... None of your business Athena," at her flinch he regretted it so he tried to amend, "but... It is a problem I am going to try to solve, okay? I think I'll be fine, Athena," he smiled and even though it was a little lopsided, he did mean it, and Athena seemed to relax a little. "You can hold the fort?"
"Of course boss! That agency won't even notice who closed it!" she assured intensely as she grinned and punched her own palm, and Phoenix grinned in response before leaving for his apartment.
March 13th 6:55 P.M.
Phoenix Wright's Apartment
Phoenix thankfully had enough time to get ready before Miles got there to pick him up, as it seemed like his spikes were trying to rebel against him when he was styling them.
He decided to wear his usual button up with the waistcoat and some fancy slacks Edgeworth got him when they last went to Europe, since he has no idea how fancy the place Edgeworth might take him could be, he wanted to be at least a little well dressed.
Just as he got out of the bathroom, firmly deciding that he had won that fight against his spikes, his phone blared up with a new message.
[6:58 PM] Miles Edgeworth:
I'm downstairs.
Phoenix rolled his eyes fondly after reading the message, It's not even 7 yet, thank god I was ready , then he checked his pockets to make sure he got everything on him and went to open the door.
"Truce! I'll be having dinner with Edgeworth, be back in a few hours!" he yelled right at the entryway, hoping Trucy didn't have her earphones on.
"Alright daddy! I think I'll be going out with Jinxie later!" he heard her yell back, and since he has to be a dad, he made sure to yell once more "Take care babygirl! It's getting kinda late, take your throwing knives just in case!" he heard her groan and he snickered before closing the door, not letting Trucy yell anything in response.
As he said, Edgeworth was downstairs and had his luxurious (and very visibly red) sports car parked right in front of the entrance of Phoenix's apartment building.
"Heya, Edgeworth!" he crouched and greeted with a huge grin into the passenger side's window right before entering, seeing Edgeworth look as calm and collected as ever, wearing a more casual version of his courtroom attire, deciding to switch the cravat for a bowtie, making his neck fully visible and Phoenix had a hard time taking his eyes away from it.
Once Phoenix got into the car thankfully he didn't miss the way Edgeworth's lips turned up into one of his usual smiles that he's been doing quite more often lately and always made Phoenix feel warm inside.
"Good night, Wright," Edgeworth turned his eyes to the road and his smile transformed into his signature courtroom cocky smirk, "I see you've decided to make me wait tonight."
Phoenix's jaw dropped, "What! It barely took me like 5 minutes to get here since you sent the message!" he tried to sound affronted, but he really knew Edgeworth was just fucking with him.
Edgeworth huffed and decided to ignore him as he started his car back up and started their trip, "Where're you taking me tonight, Edgeworth?"
"You remember that Zhengfaian restaurant that I took you to some years ago? The one that one of my old colleagues owns?" Edgeworth would glance at him occasionally while driving as he explained.
Phoenix scratched his chin thoughtfully "Uhhhh... Oh! Yes, I remember him now, he was the wolfman that referred to me as, uh, what was it, "The Dude"? Or something like that, right?" Once he mentioned that, Edgeworth's cheeks colored slightly, cute.
"Erm, yes, I had a craving for some Zhengfaian food, so I think that's a pretty easy choice, unless you'd rather have something else?" his cheeks were still colored but he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable or tense, so Phoenix decided not to worry about it.
"No, actually Zhengfaian food sounds great!" he smiled again and Edgeworth smiled back once he glanced at him.
The rest of the car ride was just each talking about their day, apparently Franziska has been back in the country for a few weeks now and she wanted to surprise Edgeworth in his office, except it failed when Gumshoe mentioned it to him a few days prior, Phoenix was silently praying for that man, thankfully Edgeworth didn't seem to want to ask more about Phoenix's conundrum and he was grateful for that, but sometimes his glances seemed a little more concerned.
Phoenix then started to talk about his own day and how Trucy tried to get Apollo to assist her on one of her tricks for the hundredth time and he almost got set on fire, the retelling making Edgeworth chuckle fondly while Phoenix gestured wildly and tried to make it as dramatic as possible.
Once they got to the restaurant they were greeted by a man in a black suit and sunglasses (really, sunglasses inside?) who led them to a nice table adorned with some yellow flowers (lion lilies according to the server) and pretty fancy yellow and black furniture.
They had just ordered their food when a really sudden and loud interruption took them out of their conversation.
"MISTER EDGEWORTH!!!" was all Phoenix heard before a flash of raven hair and pink clothes crashed into Edgeworth, who responded in a pained " nghooooh ".
Phoenix was trying (and failing) to hold his laughter while the raven-haired girl rambled into a stunned Edgeworth's shoulder saying things like "oh my god it's been so long I missed you" before having to unfortunately interrupt the sweet reunion, "Uhm, hi? Can I get my best friend back?"
The girl gasped then jumped up away from Edgeworth, then pointed right at Phoenix's nose "You!"
"Me?" Phoenix pointed at himself, feeling like he was being accused of something.
"Don't you remember me? I'm Kay! Kay Faraday, Edgeworth's assistant?" the girl- Kay- explained, "Although he's also kinda like my dad I gotta say," she grinned as she put her hands on her hips while Edgeworth choked on spit while groaning "Kay!"
Phoenix's mind drew a blank before he suddenly remembered and he snapped his fingers, "Oh! You're the girl that broke into Edgeworth's apartment when we were staying in Europe! Multiple times actually..." his eyes were wide as he remembered, "long time no see! Sorry I didn't remember you," he scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"No worries! I'd never be able to get mad at 'That Man' anyway," Edgeworth angrily sputtered at this and she just snickered in response, "Anyways! I was just leaving, Wolfy there just wanted me to bring him some files since he had some shit to work through with Interpol, see you later! Hope your date goes great!" Kay left, just as quickly as she appeared, and Phoenix almost didn't notice Edgeworth's bright red face because he started feeling the chains around his chest tighten again A date, huh? he sighed inwardly Goddamnit, it feels like ever since I discovered those darned black locks they've just been haunting me the whole day, I hope Edgeworth doesn't try to ask about it tonight.
Edgeworth seemed to recover fairly quickly from whatever funk he was in, and Phoenix decided to not dwell too much on what Kay said while their conversation continued as normal as they were getting their meal, Phoenix gesturing wildly as he usually does.
After they were done and while they were waiting for their dessert, Phoenix thought back on Kay calling Edgeworth like a dad and found himself smirking, but it quickly melted into a soft smile once Edgeworth raised an eyebrow at him.
"I was just... Thinking," Phoenix took a small pause, "you really are like a dad to Kay, I have seen it in the way you two interact, it's really sweet," he felt himself smiling even wider as he thought of his next words, "reminds me of how I haven't really had a chance yet to thank you for all the help you've given me while raising Trucy."
Edgeworth smiled back but shook his head, then took out his hand on top of Phoenix's since he left on the table after his usual gesturing, making Phoenix feel warm inside, "Wright, don't start with this, you were the one most involved in her upbringing, everything she has become is thanks to you."
"Miles! Don't you start with this," he warned him, not even realizing he called him with his first name as Edgeworth's eyes widened slightly, "you helped me so much while I was on that godawful depression all those 7 years, feeling like Kristoph was right there breathing down my neck all the time, and even when I would try to reject your help out of my stupid stubborn pride you would find a way to help me anyway,
"Whenever money was tight, or whenever Trucy needed some sort of school material, or even whenever you took me to Europe to help you with cases and to figure out a way to get the jurist system to work which really helped as a way to get some time away and let my daughter sightsee... You've always been there, even when you were far away… you're kind of like another dad for Trucy, to be honest."
Miles sputtered indignantly with his brows furrowed, "Wright I-, I don't think that's right, I'm just like an uncle for her."
"Miles, she loves you, come on, she practically begs you to go to her shows!" He ignored Edgeworth's try at retorting with " Not begging " as he continued, "she visits you in your office like, every week, to tell you about school while I'm at the office working on my cases."
Edgeworth sighed, pushed up his glasses and almost gripped his elbow in a really old tic before aborting, "I guess you're... Right..."
"Of course I'm Wright." he had no way of stopping himself as he grinned and Edgeworth glared at him in annoyance.
"I just don't... feel adequate for it... And I wouldn't ever dream of stealing your place or something like that..."
"That is not at all what I said, you are not going to replace me, plus, I am very certain you are very adequate for it, believe me if Trucy didn't think you were doing good she would've already like done something about it," Phoenix smiled reassuringly, and it seems to have worked, as Edgeworth's shoulders eased up.
The conversation died down a bit after that, it wasn't necessarily awkward, although Edgeworth looked really deep in thought while they ate their dessert, but Phoenix didn't mind it.
Edgeworth scrunched up his eyebrows for a moment, then started "Phoenix, I--" before he got interrupted by the sound of the Steel Samurai theme song blaring loudly from Phoenix's phone.
"Ah goddammit, I must've forgotten to silence that, wait," he gestured a bit to Edgeworth and sent him an apologetic look before picking up his phone, before getting his eardrums blasted.
"NICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"OW! Maya what the hell?" Phoenix looked around the restaurant hoping he hadn't disturbed any of the patrons.
"What the hell I say to you!! We got to your apartment building but neither you or Trucy are home, I thought you wanted me to help!" Phoenix immediately felt his stomach drop as he remembered Maya was coming, or well, had come and was already at Phoenix's apartment building.
"Maya I'm sooooo so so sorry I was having dinner with Edgeworth and I completely forgot you were coming," he looked at Edgeworth with wide eyes while he bit his nail, "I'll be right there." he said before hanging up and sighing, "Edgeworth I'm sorry but I forgot Maya was coming over and now she's at my apartment building with no one to bring her up so I'll have to cut our dinner a little short," Phoenix scratched the back of his neck in shame and bit his lip in frustration at his mistake, whatever Edgeworth was going to say will have to wait for now.
"It's perfectly okay, Wright, we had already finished the dessert anyway, let me pay for our meal and I'll take you to your apartment," Edgeworth said then stood up from his chair, and was about to leave before Phoenix called out to him.
"Thank you so much for the ride, Edgeworth, you're great," Phoenix felt himself relax and smiled at Edgeworth in gratitude, who nodded and gave a small smile before walking to the counter while Phoenix stood up.
They went back to Edgeworth's car pretty quickly after and the trip back to Phoenix's apartment was pretty quiet, as Phoenix was hoping Maya wasn't too mad at him that he'd have to buy her a year's supply of burgers to pay her back....
Once they arrived Maya bounced up to the car and yelled through the passenger window, "Edgey! Hey!" as she waved at him, Pearl also waved at them and said a quick and polite "Hello Mister Edgeworth" before retreating to the building's entrance, probably deciding she didn't want to get involved in Maya's madness right now, "If Nick had been doing anything else I would've been so mad at him, but since he was with you I'll let it pass!"
"Thank you, Miss Fey, that's certainly very merciful of you." Edgeworth responded in a perfectly solemn voice as he nodded at her, and she chuckled.
"Come on, Edgey, I've told you to call me Maya!" but she couldn't get another chance to remind him since Phoenix forcibly pushed the door open pushing Maya back with it.
"Bye Edgeworth, thanks a lot for the meal!" Phoenix waved back at the car as Edgeworth chuckled at their antics before leaving, as Phoenix dragged Maya inside.
---
March 13th 8:34 P.M.
Phoenix Wright's Apartment
After putting all of their stuff away and bullying Phoenix for making them wait, Maya and Pearl sat across from each other on the seats along the coffee table, both turned in Phoenix's direction, while also holding the magatama together.
"Okay, Nick, are you ready?" Maya asked with a serious look on her face looking him directly into his eyes, he tried to look away but found Pearl doing the same thing.
Phoenix bit his lip for a moment, "I am."
"Are you sure, mister Nick? It's okay if you're not ready!" Pearl looked like she was trying not to bite her nail, while also giving Phoenix a very intense look to make sure he understands what she's saying, making him sigh.
"Yes, Pearls, I'm sure I'm ready, I'm gonna be okay," he tried a reassuring smile before he hesitated, "... right?"
Maya nodded, "this is dangerous, Nick, but we'll make sure to not push if we see it's not having an effect on the locks."
He couldn't stop himself from sighing again, "alright guys, I trust you, let's do this."
Maya nodded, and then the question came:
"What do you feel for Edgeworth?"
"He's my best friend in the world, and I trust him more than anyone, that's it." As soon as he finished the sentence he could feel the locks spinning around his heart, even though he couldn't see them.
Pearl seemed to hesitate, then her eyes lit up in a familiar way, "do you want mister Edgeworth to be your special other, mister Nick?" Once Pearl's question reached his ears, he couldn't even think of a response as he felt like he was going to vomit, a strong aching feeling in his chest enveloping him all at once.
Phoenix had to calm himself down, he tried to count to 10, and do deep breaths, and it seemed to do the trick. What the hell was that…?
Maya whispered into Pearl's ear, but Phoenix could still hear the words "ready" and "yet" Which means she probably said something like "He's not ready yet" ...
"Oh, I see, I'm so sorry mister Nick!" She was going to move the hand on the magatama but stopped herself and instead brought her other hand to her mouth to bite her fingernails.
Maya hummed thoughtfully, "I think we gotta go back first, Pearly, this is probably something old, right?"
"Uhm, is it really? I can't think of anything from the past could be bothering me," Phoenix scrunched up his brow and then heard the chains shake as he saw Maya's eyes widen slightly.
"... Nick, when was the last time you've dated?" she asked, even though she already knew the response.
Phoenix had to pause for a moment, trying not to shrink into himself, "Dahlia, of course, or well Iris I guess? That was very confusing." he responded, and Maya fist pumped into herself.
"Nick, don't you think you might be... Upset at what happened?" Phoenix gulped, as he started feeling his arms getting a little sweaty.
"Why would I be? That happened a long time ago Maya, I'm over it."
"Nick the chain is trembling like an earthquake right now," she looked at him intensely, hoping for a response, but then decided continue despite Phoenix's silence, "Dahlia used you, Nick, she used you as a way to hide evidence, and then tried to kill you when she saw no more use for you." she paused, as if waiting for the chain to break, but Phoenix didn't hear the sound while he started to shake violently in his seat.
"Mystic Maya, if I understand the story correctly... It wasn't just Dahlia that hurt mister Nick, right?"
"That's right Pearly, I almost forgot," Maya took a deep breath before continuing, "Iris lied to you, too, even if she loved you, she still lied to you and went along with her sister's plan," Maya was probably trying to find his gaze but Phoenix had a hard time looking up when he felt like his heart was about to thrash out of his body, "Nick there is no way you got over that because you immediately started chasing after Edgeworth, and then once you saw Iris on that Oh! Cult article you freaked out because you thought Dahlia was dead but she wasn't Dahlia."
"But, I've made up with Iris already, she got out of parole some years ago and we've hung out sometimes, I feel like we're friends now."
"Doesn't mean you're not hurting anymore, Nick." and that's what broke him or well... It.
"You... You're right..." he heard a chain snap as it unlocked one part of his heart and he felt dizzy, he knew if he tried to stand up he'd faint, shaking uncontrollably and hyperventilating nonstop. "She… she hurt me real bad, didn't she? Iris…"
"Nick... Nick... Hey, let's do some breathing exercises, okay?" Maya said as she led him through the exercises, and she looked very tense and concerned while Pearl had her eyes wide open and like she didn't know what to do, frozen on the spot.
After he calmed down Maya put a blanket on him and made him some chamomile (Edgeworth is to blame for its presence in his apartment) which he drank while Pearl pressed close to his side and hugged him.
"So... We broke one out of five... But that was definitely a lot for you Nick, we might have to continue this tomorrow." Maya said solemnly as she sat next to him.
"Mystic Maya, I'm not sure if we're the ones that should break these next locks..."
Phoenix finally felt ready to speak again, "What do you mean, Pearls?"
She bit her nails again, before responding, "Mister Nick, I think you should talk about this with Mister Edgeworth... There must be some things that are related to him that we mustn't know..."
"Pearly... He's... Not very good with emotions---"
"I... Think I might trust him enough for this, though, Maya," he turned to face her, feeling very unsure, "this is... Dangerous, but... I know I can trust him with anything, and I know I can trust him to be careful... But I don't know how I'll be able to bring it up..."
Maya smacked his shoulder, and smiled reassuringly, "Nick, I'm sure he'll understand what he has to do, he's able to take things seriously when need be, so maybe you could talk to him then, since you trust him to be able to do this."
Phoenix sighed, "I'll think about it..."
Maya then decided the mood was way too serious so she decided to scream at Phoenix to get her some snacks so he groaned but complied, smiling to himself feeling glad that he had such chaotic but sweet people in his life.
March 15th 4:02 P.M.
Chief Prosecutor's Office
Phoenix took deep breaths, trying not to look too obviously nervious in front of the secretary sitting in front of Edgeworth's office, before he knocked on the door, immediately getting a reply.
"Come in." was all he heard, he didn't sound annoyed, hopefully he's not too busy...
"Hiya, Edgeworth!" The man's eyes widened as he saw his visitor, Phoenix walked up to the cushy little sofa and sat on it as he had done hundreds of times before.
"Wright? What's wrong? You don't usually visit during work hours, unless you're working on a case, but I already talked to ms. Cykes and mister Justice about theirs, so I know you don't have any." Edgeworth was concerned as he stood up from his desk and sat across from Phoenix on the chair. I guess there's no point in pleasantries…
"Okay, so, I have something to ask you, Edgeworth." Phoenix looked pleadingly at Edgeworth, but he couldn't say anymore, trying to stall for time to get the courage he needed to ask this.
"Wright, out with it, what do you need?" he tried not to wince, Edgeworth is probably very worried and Phoenix didn't want to cause him any trouble.
"Do you remember the 'issue' Trucy mentioned?" At Edgeworth's stern nod, he continued, "Okay, do you also remember about Psyche-Locks?" At this question he pulled out the magatama and showed it to Edgeworth to jog his memories.
"Ah yes, this stone, am I safe to presume that your problem has something to do with those... Psycholocks?" Phoenix leaned forward and put the magatama in Edgeworth's hand.
"Psyche-locks Edgeworth, and I think it's best if you find out yourself," he steeled himself, as he had to force himself to push the next words out, "ask me what I feel about you." Phoenix said, feeling nervous as all hell, and Edgeworth's hand tensed slightly as he pursed his lips.
He took a deep breath before looking him into the eyes, "Okay, Wright...
"How do you feel about me?"
"You're my best friend, nothing more."
Edgeworth flinched, he probably saw the chains wrapping around his heart very rapidly, and furrowed up his eyebrows.
"Why... Why are the locks... Black?" there was confusion painting his voice all around.
"Those are a rare kind of psyche-lock, actually, they represent a secret so, so deep... That whatever you're hiding, you're lying to yourself subconsciously," he felt himself tremble slightly, as Edgeworth peered into his heart, "they're hard to break, and very dangerous if you ask the wrong questions too many times."
"But... Why would you want me to do this, Wright? I could hurt you!" Edgeworth looked really scared as he raised his voice.
"Because... I trust you, Miles," he decided to use his first name on purpose this time, to make his message clear, "you've known me through some of my worst times... I know I can trust you with this." he put as much conviction as he could on his words, and Edgeworth looked away, conflicted.
"Alright, Phoenix, if you're so sure... Then, how do I start?"
"Well, Maya and Pearl have already started a bit, there were 5 locks before, the first one was... my... trauma, regarding a certain redhead... or well, a pair of them," he saw recognition flashing through Edgeworth's eyes and he nodded, Phoenix feeling relieved he didn't have to explain anymore.
"So... What you're hiding has to do with me, then?" Phoenix nodded and Edgeworth hummed, "do you have some sort of... Resentment? Or hatred? Some sort of negative feeling towards me?"
"What? Of course not Miles, you're my best friend, I trust you more than anything in the world."
Edgeworth seemed unsure, "When a lock shakes... Does that mean anything?" And Phoenix felt his stomach drop, what?
"B-but you've always been great to me, I'm not hiding anything when I say I don't feel resentment towards you!" his voice rang through the sound of chains shaking chaotically.
Edgeworth gripped his elbow with his other arm and he looked down onto the floor, "Wri-- Phoenix... I think I have an idea what it could be..." he suddenly looked up back at Phoenix's eyes, "is this about the note?" Phoenix felt his eyes bug out, he knew exactly what note he meant immediately.
"W-what? That was so long ago Edgeworth, plus, you came back so quick! It was nothing, honest." his breathing started to pick up, his heart in a very tight grip.
"Phoenix... I'll never be able to apologize enough for it, you... I... I was going through a lot at the moment, and I didn't think through my decisions… In the end it helped me to get that time for myself and find my own path... But I know it hurt you, the way you talked to me at the Criminal Affairs department... I'm sorry, Phoenix."
Phoenix felt a lock break, but most importantly, he felt himself break, and a dam in his eyes, as he started crying uncontrollably, and couldn't talk very clearly and yet he tried to talk through the sobs.
"Y-you... You left me! Miles! You left that stupid-- that-- that stupid note and I really fucking thought you were d--" his crying didn't want him to say it but he had to continue, "I thought you were dead, Miles! A fucking suicide note! You know how broken I felt? I thought I... I thought I..." his voice wasn't more than a whisper after this but Miles seemed to have heard when he said: "I thought I failed you..."
Phoenix felt shattered, his loud sobs breaking through the Chief Prosecutor's office, his whole body trembling, and he didn't realize when Edgeworth moved to sit beside him until he felt a heavy but warm hand on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly, and he just cried louder, leaning his whole body weight on Miles' side, then he felt the prosecutor stiffly put an arm around his back.
Phoenix wasn't sure how long he was crying, but once his sobs died down, Edgeworth's voice filled his ears. "I think we should stop for today, Phoenix, I-"
"No, Miles... Please," he pulled away (regrettably) from Edgeworth's embrace, and he looked up at him, "please, I... I want to do this, I need to know what my heart is hiding from me, please."
His pleading got to him quickly, and Edgeworth sighed in resignation, "Okay, Phoenix, but... How do we move on from here?"
The man just shrugged in response, "I'm not sure either, I guess, maybe it was something which happened after the note...?" his eyebrows knit together as he saw Edgeworth's gaze darken, probably already knowing the answer.
"Kristoph..." and immediately Phoenix felt sick, his stomach dropping as he felt a cold shiver down his spine.
"W-well, what about him? He got executed, we got him, that's all, right?" Phoenix tried an optimistic smile, but failed, as he already had a feeling the answer wasn't as easy as that.
Edgeworth shook his head, "Phoenix you... You were in a really bad state during your disbarment, and Kristoph... He was always there, watching, keeping control of your every move."
"Okay but, I had it all under control, I kept up my façade of seedy underground establishment work pretty well, everything was fine!" his heart was definitely trying to beat out of his chest, and it probably would've if it wasn't tied up by those locks.
Edgeworth seemed to think for a moment, considering his words, "Except it wasn't, wasn't it? You didn't have everything under control."
His lower lip trembled, he struggled to get his words out, "w-what, are you doubting me? I'm the poker face master, undefeated for 7 years at the Hydeout!"
Edgeworth bit his lip, and Phoenix felt compelled to look at the motion, "Phoenix you were in danger for those seven years... Trucy was in danger for those seven years, you must've been terrified out of your darned mind the entire time." At Phoenix's stunned stare and silence, Edgeworth realized he had to say more, "you're allowed to feel despair, Phoenix, I know you had to keep up the façade because Trucy is your child but... I'm your friend, you're allowed to tell me about your troubles, you were most definitely scared as all burning hell during that entire time, weren't you?" Once again, Edgeworth hit the bullseye, and Phoenix felt himself break down, as he heard the sound of chains snapping. This sound is getting a little annoying...
"Miles, Miles, I-" he was hyperventilating, and still, he couldn't stop himself from speaking, "I was terrified Miles, I didn't stop being terrified until I saw him hanging, I had nightmares, Miles! I couldn't escape him even in my dreams!" Just as he thought he was finished with the trembling it started all over again, Edgeworth taking this time to wrap his hands around him again, deciding to help him calm his breathing as well.
It felt like an eternity had passed, but after that was done, Phoenix was tired as hell, yet he knew he had to keep on going or he would lose his courage, so he pulled away from Edgeworth's arms again, "Come on, we have two locks to go now, right?"
Edgeworth sighed, probably very tired as well, "Yes, however what more can I ask...?" Edgeworth's brow furrowed, as he seemed to go through the information in his head, thankfully he also said it out loud, "So we know you were betrayed, then abandoned, then manipulated, right? Maybe... You're scared of relationships?" Edgeworth tried, worried he could say something wrong.
Phoenix did a raspberry with his mouth and spoke confidently, "Scared of relationships? Come on Miles, they're easy, you just gotta love someone and that'll give you the energy you need to put the effort into the relationship!" his confidence immediately sank, at the familiar noise accompanying the feeling in his chest.
"Are you... Scared of being abandoned?" Phoenix couldn't breathe, he was stuck in time and space, "are... Are you afraid of being abandoned... By me?" One lock shattered, Phoenix felt his hands clamming, his heart racing, he couldn't stop himself from nervously shifting his legs.
"W-well, I guess that could be it but... Why would I be scared of you leaving me? It's- it's been years… s-since the note and-and I'm very confident in our friendship, we-we trust each other, so w--whatever could ruin that?"
Edgeworth kept silent for a while, maybe too long, as his eyes were wide open, with a hint of... Hope?
"Eureka..." Edgeworth breathed out, and his lower lip was trembling, "Phoenix Wright... Are you... In love with... Me?"
Phoenix felt everything shatter, like the world was falling around him, and finally, the last lock... Broken.
He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe. Edgeworth is going to book the quickest trip to Europe and he's going to leave he's going to leave me .
Phoenix stood up, unable to speak, hearing a confused "...Phoenix?" softly come out of the stunned prosecutor's mouth, but he couldn't stay there he couldn't stand and let Edgeworth break his heart into pieces just like all those locks around him he couldn't.
So he ran.
March 15th 5:12 P.M.
Wright Anything Agency
Phoenix arrived, panting, at the office, silently thanking the Holy Mother or anything or anyone that was listening that Athena wasn't in the office so she couldn't hear whatever is happening with his heart, and Apollo seems busy enough with paperwork that all he gets as a greeting is "Hey, Boss." before he goes back to what he was doing.
Phoenix locked himself in his office and then collapsed on his chair, holding his head in his head as he tried to control his breathing.
He was in love with Miles Edgeworth, his childhood friend, and when he looks back on it... He's always been. The way his laugh was so soothing and calming to Phoenix, the way his heart broke in a hundred million pieces when he found out about that note at the prosecutor's office, the way he would feel his heart clench in fondness whenever Miles would let a 10 year old Trucy sit on his lap and show him her newest trick like it was the most important thing in the world to him...
He was in love, and Miles knew, Miles Edgeworth fucking knew because he walked right into him to figure that out because apparently he was too traumatized to figure it out on his own! And now he could leave, he could disappear again, he could decide Phoenix was disgusting, he could decide Phoenix was trying to take advantage of him, that his reasons for saving him from DL-6 weren't pure, that...
He couldn't stop crying, thankfully sparing any important papers from catching the worst of it, but the tears just won't stop, it was like he had been holding these tears ever since he was 9 and just found out his best friend in the world suddenly moved out without a trace and he wouldn't see him because he left and now he's gonna leave for good because he's disgusting he's---
Phoenix's self deprecating thoughts were interrupted by some really violent knocking on the door, followed by a concerned yet firm voice flowing through it.
"Phoenix! Please open the door! We need to talk about this." Phoenix tried to act like he didn't hear him, like he wasn't there, "I know you're there, Mister Justice told me you locked yourself in your office for the last 20 minutes, please Phoenix, open the door!" some more silence "Would you rather me break open this door?" Phoenix sighed and stood up, convinced by the concept of not having to pay for a broken door in his office, trying to prolong his walk to the door as much as he can, which sadly wasn't much, considering his office wasn't that big.
As soon as the door stood open, there was Edgeworth, arms crossed, with the most concerned yet... Open, soft, hopeful? look on his face.
He pushed Phoenix out of the way and closed the door behind him, then looked into Phoenix's eyes.
"So... I guess you know my secret now, huh?" Phoenix scratched the back of his neck, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, "Funnily enough it was a secret even to me, but uh-- look I understand if this makes you uncomfortable but I promise this doesn't have to change anything and I---"
"Phoenix," the man's mouth fell shut instantly at the other's tone, "stop talking, please." Phoenix nodded, and once Edgeworth saw he was going to keep silent, he leaned in and pressed his lips against Phoenix's.
The world stopped, everything was just them at the moment, nothing else was happening, he couldn't believe it.
The kiss was short and chaste, but Phoenix could feel it burning as he put his fingers on his lips, trying to figure out if what happened was real, while his eyes were trying to get out of their sockets.
Thankfully Edgeworth spoke first, with a soft smile and rosy cheeks, "Phoenix, I'm been in love with you, too," Phoenix's heart was definitely going to leave his body somehow, "I've been in love with you since you saved me, since you believed in me when no one else would, since you became my friend even after all I did to you... You're a brilliant, ridiculous, and amazing man, and there's nothing I wanted more than to spend my life with you, thinking that the limit our time together would have was that we would never go past friends, and I was perfectly content with that."
"B-but... You never... You... You never showed any signs?"
"Phoenix, why do you think Lang and Kay won't stop calling you 'that Man'? You're a very frequent topic of conversation with them because... I can't help but feel an immense amount of gratitude and love and awe at everything you do," Edgeworth's voice held no trace of hesitation, and Phoenix felt himself tear up again, as he covered his mouth to prevent himself from sniffling too loudly, "In fact, I was going to confess to you during our dinner the other day, since Franziska had a talk with me when she came to my office and… well, I decided she was right, but it's probably for the best I didn't say it back then, considering the...locks.
"But now… Phoenix, I would love to try and deepen our relationship... If you're amenable to it?"
"Objection! The prosecution needs to present its case with some evidence," Phoenix tried, his smirk being betrayed by his voice breaking for a second, and he got a smirk from Edgeworth back.
"The prosecution would like to present some evidence... Onto the defense's lips."
"Evidence accepted."
And it was.