Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Contrary to popular belief, Larry Butz is not a social butterfly.

Sure, he’ll chase a new girl every week or join the other boys for a quick game of soccer, but most of the time he really just hangs off of Nick’s shoulder and vice versa. That’s how it’s been for years, and they’ve still been going strong. Just Larry and Nick, Nick and Larry.

They’re polar opposites really, Larry being loud and reckless and Nick being sensitive and jumpy, but they’d always make it work. They didn’t really need anyone else in their little world, and that’s alright with them. Larry had a designated plate at the Wright household and an ongoing pun competition with Nick’s mom, while Nick had pyjamas ready at Larry’s house and unofficial art lessons with Larry’s uncle. It was comfy, to say the least.

At least until the class trial.

The day after the Trial of Trauma (Nick’s words, not Larry’s), Larry was sitting under a tree in the school field, reading the new Signal Samurai issue. He already showed it off to Nick in the morning, preening under his looks of awe and envy, promising to lend it to him once he finishes (if he didn’t forget by then).

He heard Nick call out to him, and when he looked up, he saw him with the boy from yesterday (Mark? Mason?). Nick had the widest smile on his face, while the other kid looked like he’d rather be anywhere but on this planet. It was kinda funny.

Nick dropped down and sat in front of Larry, patting the space next to him, gesturing for the other boy to sit. The boy did, with a wary look on his face, and fiddled with the ends of his shirt.

“Larry! You remember Miles, right,” Nick said excitedly. “From yesterday?”

Larry gave a wide smirk. “How could I forget, when it was the only thing you talked about yesterday?” He turned to Miles. “You wouldn’t believe how Nicky here acted after that trial. Kept going on and on about his ‘saviour’ and how ‘oh so cool’ he was-”

Larry kept going despite Nick’s mortified screaming, giggling madly at how Miles’ face slowly reddened to match the bowtie he wore.

“Oh man,” Larry said wiping tears from his eyes, he felt like he’d die if he laughed anymore. “Don’t be nervous, Miley. Soon you’ll see how fun it is to make fun of dear Nick here.”

Miles looked baffled at the nickname, while Nick glared at him through the hands covering his face. “I hate you so much, I can’t believe you would make fun of me for my misfor- miss fort-”

“Misfortune,” Miles piped in, then blushed.

“Yes, that. You’re the worst,” he said, sticking his tongue out.

“Aww Nicky, I’m sure you don’t mean that,” Larry shot back, rubbing his nose with a grin. “I mean, if we’re not friends anymore, I guess I can’t lend you the new Signal Samurai issue-”

While Nick yelled for the umpteenth time that recess, Miles’ head perked up at the mention of Signal Samurai.

“You guys like the Signal Samurai?” He asked, eyes wide.

Larry huffed. “Well yeah, it’s only the best show ever made!” he said, waving his arms around for emphasis, nearly smacking Nick in the face. “Do you?”

“Yeah, I’ve liked it forever! Who’s your favourite?”

“Well, Signal Yellow is obviously the best, funniest, and the most powerful of course, so he’s my favourite.”

Nick jumped up at that. “That isn’t true, Signal Blue is the nicest and bravest one, he’s obviously the better one!”

“Well I like Signal Red,” Miles said, crossing his arms. “He’s calm and confident, which makes him cool. His relationships with the others are also really interesting to see, especially Signal Blue-”

He cut himself off immediately, flushing, while Nick stared at him with wide eyes. Larry whistled. “Wow, you really like the series, huh?”

“...Maybe. I know it’s probably weird to like it that much.”

“Hey, that’s not true! I think it’s really neat that you care so much!” Nick said. “You can point all these things out to us now when we see each other next time, it’ll be fun!”

Larry nodded. “Yeah, Nick’s right! Speaking of pointing things out, have you read the new issue?”

“Noooooo, don’t talk about the new issue,” Nick wailed. “I still haven’t read iiiiiiit-”

Larry didn’t know how to describe it, but Nick and Miles just… clicked that day. He couldn’t really put his finger on what exactly made them get along so well. Miles was quiet and a bit harsh sometimes, and Nick cried after stepping on a flower. It was all very confusing.

But he didn’t have the time to think it all over, after all he was supposed to be making a card for Melissa, the prettiest girl in class. He put his heart and soul (and some chocolate to sweeten the deal) into this card, so she’d definitely go out with him! He was definitely gonna blow everyone else’s valentines out of the water, he was sure of it!

Nick didn’t have anyone to give a valentine to, nor did he think he would get one that year beyond simple “I’m glad we’re friends” cards. He seemed pretty bummed about it, but tried to not look too upset over it.

Miles on the other hand was sure to get a bunch from the girls in the class, after they overheard some of them talking about what they would get him. For some reason though, he didn’t really seem excited about it, claiming that there was no point since they didn’t know him at all and just thought he seemed cool.

“Besides,” Miles had said then. “Why do you have to wait for one specific day to care about someone? Seems like kind of a dumb holiday to me.” He glanced over at Nick.

“Mm, true. But I think it just feels nice, you know?” Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “It makes you feel special, I guess.”

“Huh.”

Miles looked thoughtful at that. “I guess you’re right.”

The three of them walked into class, Larry and Nick immediately rushing to their mailboxes to see if they got anything yet. Sadly, both were empty. Larry wailed as Miles finally joined them after putting his backpack down. Nick turned to him with a wounded look on his face.

“How many did you get?”

“Uh, three.”

Larry dramatically fell to his knees, whining the entire time, while Nick just looked resigned. “Don’t worry Nick, I’m sure you’ll get one eventually.” Miles looked a bit nervous while he said it.

“Hey! What about me?”

“Um, there there, Larry…?”

Nick’s laughter could be heard even as the teacher called for attendance.

During Art, Larry saw Miles slip something into Nick’s mailbox, and during Lunch time, he caught Nick doing the same with Miles’ box. That’s when it made sense.

Miles and Nick are incredibly similar, just not on the outside. They’re passionate about the things they love, and they’re so equally supportive of each other and their interests.

Their eyes light up when they find something in common, and it’s hard to distract them from their conversations when they really get going.

They both get embarrassed and easily flustered, like when they find the valentine's cards in their box, painfully aware of who the culprit might have been but far too pleased to say anything out loud.

Miles and Nick, Nick and Miles, they were their own duo, huh? It kinda made sense how they fell into place, but Larry isn’t really bothered about it as much as he thinks he should. He knows that they care about him too as a part of their little trio.

Because after class, when they run up to him with blue and red Signal keychains with a matching yellow for him, he knows that there’s always a place for him. There’s just an extra plate on the table and a new set of pink ( “Rose-!” ) pyjamas in the drawer.

But if he can make fun of those two for the nervous stuttering and over-the-top blushing, then he’ll take the mantle as their best friend of all time to tease them for the rest of their years together.

After all, what else are friends for?

Chapter Text

Mia Fey came to one of many conclusions a week after the State vs. Wright trial, when Phoenix stumbled into Fey & Co. bleary-eyed but determined, begging her to take him under her wing: Phoenix Wright is a very strange person.

She could see it in the way the bags under his eyes had exponentially darkened the week following that trial and figured that this man was basically only surviving on energy drinks and his newest goal. She quickly sent him off with an “I’ll consider it,” an order to get some well-deserved rest ( “-or so help me, god-” ), and an arrangement to meet her at the office in a few days to talk it over once he wasn’t running on marker fumes and instant coffee.

It’s Good Future Boss Etiquette, you see.

Then, as any good boss would, she grilled him on the sudden change of heart from art to law because, well, you’d have to be-

“-absolutely insane, whatever possessed you to think this was ever a good idea?”

Phoenix just gave a weak grin. Mia sighed in exasperation.

“You better have a really good reason to want to put yourself through hell like this…” She paused and glared at him. “Did you get another girlfriend?”

“What?! No! No, absolutely not, I’m not doing that for a long while, oh my god, no thank you-”

Mia squinted at him, thumbing her magatama. No locks, huh. Well, it was worth a shot. She sighed.

“Enlighten me then, why exactly do you want to be a lawyer? I don’t think my defence would have been that much of an inspiration for you to derail your future career path.”

Phoenix looked down at Mia's desk, looking like he was trying to figure out how to word his answer.

“Well, that was part of the reason, I guess. It reminded me of someo- some thing , from a long time ago.” He fell silent. Mia gestured for him to continue.

“I saw something the other day. A friend of mine, they just… I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like they became a completely different person, and I- I know that something happened! Something had to have changed them!” He rubbed the back of his neck. “They look like they’re in a really dark place and… I want to pull them out of it. I need to.”

Phoenix met Mia’s eyes, a determined fire blazing behind blue-brown eyes.

“They saved me, a long time ago. I want to do the same.”

They sat in silence. Mia sighed.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“ Okay, as in get your shit together. We’ve got a lot to catch you up on.”

Phoenix looked stunned for a second, but then gave her the widest grin she’d seen from him in weeks.

She smiled back.

The transition from client to weird mentee figure went quite smoothly, to be honest. Mia was never one to take responsibility too seriously, and they worked well together. Phoenix was a quick study, if not a bit distracted sometimes, and his enthusiasm made Mia mourn the days when she was a bright-eyed law student, completely unaware of the hell she’d signed herself up for.

Phoenix made the office seem somewhat lived in, since Mia was its only occupant for so long. Piles of notes covered in bright highlighters and silly doodles made their home among the shelves of legal documents in Mia’s office. A new schedule was taped to the wall, dictating who did the chores that day. Pictures and posters lined the walls, along with a hidden cork board containing notes on an ongoing investigation into the possible length of the stick up Manfred von Karma’s ass.

One thing Mia noticed is how Phoenix always seemed to be doing… something or the other, like he was allergic to sitting still. It was a cause of much irritation on her part, because the kid would work himself to the bone three days in a row and show up at the office running on three hours of sleep. It’s because of him that they had rolled up sleeping bags stashed in one of the cupboards along with some snacks for impromptu nap times.

Mia did enjoy Phoenix’s company in her office, long story short, and she would frequently take him with her on investigations or as her co-council in court. Unfortunately, this specific day was not one of these days as Phoenix had a paper due soon and needed to stay back at the office to finish it.

The trial itself went smoothly, there wasn’t much tying the defendant to the murder once she established their alibi as solid. She made her way to the defendant’s lobby and gave her congratulations to the defendant, who thanked her profusely. As they left, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her messages.

As she opened the app though, one of the other courtroom doors opened, revealing Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth in all his ruffly glory. It took all of Mia’s willpower not to stick her tongue out at him.

They caught each other’s eye. She sent him a nasty glare, which he responded to with cool indifference. God, she hadn’t even talked to him yet and she felt like she was about to bust a vein.

She turned her attention back to her messages. The first one was from Maya.

Maya ;P (1:57 p.m.)

hey mi-mi when can i come over its so boring hereeee aaaaaAAAA

Mia chuckled, she missed Maya so much.

Mi-Mi :) ( 2:08 p.m. )

i’ll try and schedule some time in the next few weeks to invite you over again, you can even meet my new employee :)

i think you’d get along haha

The next message was from Phoenix. The guy was a bit of an avid texter apparently, every now and then, Mia would catch him messaging someone with a tense look on his face; when questioned, he’d just say that he’d been trying to get ahold of someone, but they weren’t responding. He didn’t seem to want to discuss it more than that, so she let the topic drop. Unfortunately, she didn’t have her magatama on her at the time, so she couldn’t exactly push for more answers.

Rookie (12:08 p.m.)

heya chief! um when your trial is over can you call me

i have a bit of a

um

problem aha

Her eyes narrowed. She clicked on the call button.

“Heyyyy chief! How did the trial go, did you ge-”

“What did you do?”

“Haha, what gave you that idea?”

“Kid, what did you do?” She felt her right eye twitch.

“Hey, I'm not that much younger than you-!”

“PHOENIX WRIGHT.”

Mia heard a crash, when she looked towards the source of the sound, Prosecutor Edgeworth was staring back at her like a deer caught in headlights, his briefcase on the ground. He looked like he wanted to say something, but shook his head and walked away.

Huh, weird.

“-I mean I didn’t mean to do it, it was totally an accident I swear-”

She sighed in exasperation for the tenth time that day. “Phoenix, can you please repeat that? I don’t have enough caffeine in my system for this. What did you not do on purpose?”

Silence on the other end.

“Well… I, um, might have broken the coffeemaker by accident. ”

“...”

“...please don’t kill me?”

“Sleep with one eye open tonight.”

“Wh- WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? MIA-?!” She ended the call.

She loved the guy, really she did, but one of these days she was going to wring his neck until he turned blue in the face.

One morning, Mia walked into the office and noticed Phoenix asleep, slumped over the reception desk, drooling onto his notes for the bar and her old case files. An idea popped into her head.

She leaned out the front door, looking for the newspaper. Once she spotted it, she rolled it up and tiptoed her way behind Phoenix’s desk. Then, she swatted him in the back of the head hard, yelling with a chipper voice, “RISE AND SHINE, ROOKIE!”

He jolted up with a scream, practically falling out of his seat while Mia cackled behind him. “This is employee abuse, I can’t believe you’d do this.” Mia just laughed harder.

“It’s your fault for falling asleep at the office long after I tried to shoo you back home, I saw a golden opportunity and I took it.”

Phoenix pouted as she ruffled his unkempt spikes. She then plopped down on the couch, unrolling the newspaper and immediately making a face. There on the front page was another article about Edgeworth’s latest win. “Pompous bastard,” she muttered under her breath.

“Hm?”

“Oh, not you, just this stuck-up prosecutor here. He probably rivals von Karma in both unfriendliness and ruffles.”

Phoenix paused, and tilted his head. “What’s his name?”

“Miles Edgeworth, honestly ‘demon’ is the best way to describe him-”

“Don’t call him that.”

Surprised at the tone, Mia looked up. For the first time since she'd met Phoenix, he actually looked mad.

She slowly closed the paper, a wary look on her face. "What's got you all worked up? It's not like you know him."

He flinched, his posture becoming defensive. Interesting.

She shook her head. "None of that matters though. This man has probably sent so many innocent people to jail, all for the sake of a stupid win record, it's pure evil-"

"STOP IT!" Phoenix yelled. "You don't know him at all, you don't get to decide whether-"

"Phoenix," she walked over to the desk and slammed her hand on it. "Do you know Miles Edgeworth or not?"

"I…" his anger shifted to anxiety for a split second before he responded. "I did. No, I do! I know that this isn't him!"

"Is he the one you're trying so hard to save? Well, let me tell you, I don't think he deserves it!"

"Since when were we the ones who got to decide that?!"

"Since I learned that you can't save everybody!"

"Then what the hell is the point of our job if that's the case?!" Phoenix was yelling at this point. "What's the point in continuing on this path if you can't save the one person who needs it most?"

"Phoenix, it's not a matter of helping everybody, sometimes you just have to know when to step back and accept that it's a lost cause-"

"SO WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THAT'S WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF ME?"

Mia fell silent, stunned.

"What if I had never met you?!" Phoenix screamed, eyes wild. "No one else was willing to take my defence, if you hadn't decided that I was worth saving when everyone else gave up on me, what would I have done?!" He gripped his hair. "Maybe I would have succeeded in succumbing to that damned poisoned bottle and I-"

His eyes widened, then dulled. His hands fell back to his sides.

"I can't let him feel like that. I don't care if I'm the only one who believes in him, I will pull him back from the dark. I… and I'm sorry you can't understand that."

Phoenix stormed out of the office.

She found him sitting on the pavement, near the entrance to the office building. He glanced behind after hearing the sound of Mia’s heels on the pavement but said nothing.

They sat together in silence, watching the cars drive by, until Phoenix spoke.

“Have you heard of his dad, Gregory Edgeworth?” Mia nodded. Who hadn’t honestly, he was a legend amongst defence attorneys.

“Miles idolised his dad, y’know? Wanted to be exactly like him when he was older. He even defended me from the rest of our class when we were kids.” He turned to Mia. “It was actually his dream to become a defence attorney.”

She was stunned. “What the hell happened?”

Phoenix chuckled, a bitter sound. “I don’t know. One day in the fourth grade, he just disappeared. Moved away. We were told that he went to live in another country.” He looked up. “It was only years later when I found out why. His dad died, a victim of murder. I wouldn’t have ever known if I hadn't decided to look up Miles’ name after the ‘Demon Prosecutor’ articles.”

“I tried to get in contact with him for years, but he’d never reply. It’s just… he looks so different. Tired, almost.”

“Hm.”

Mia kicked a stray pebble. “Phoenix, tell me one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you doing this out of some weird obligation, or is this something you want to do?”

Phoenix didn’t miss a single beat. “I want to do this.”

In the absence of chains and locks, Mia let out the breath she was holding in and gave him a tired smile. “Alright, I believe you.”

Phoenix looked surprised. “You do?”

“Mhm, it’s what I do best, right?” She stood up. “Come on, let’s go get some grub. I need some coffee and you need some breakfast.”

“Sure. Eldoon’s?”

Mia grinned. “You read my mind.”