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Phoenix felt suffocated in the crowded courtroom lobby, and he wasn’t sure Edgeworth was faring much better. It was nice, though, to have so many people gathered for the defendant’s sake. Phoenix was happier than he had been in days. He’d always felt great relief at the pound of the gavel and the sound of “not guilty” echoing through the courtroom, but this time was different. The sense of relief was much stronger, and alongside it was genuine delight in having proved Edgeworth innocent—twice.
“We should go out to celebrate!” Maya clasped her hands and looked at Phoenix, then Edgeworth, then Phoenix again. She, too, looked happier than she had over the past few days. Her eyes were wide and bright, and her smile genuine.
“I appreciate what you’ve all done for me, truly, but I don’t know if-”
“Aw, c’mon, pal, don’t tell us you don’t want to celebrate.” Gumshoe and Maya shared the same disheartened look. Then Maya’s face lit up, and Phoenix felt a familiar sense of dread, the kind he felt when Maya was about to say something that would in no way be beneficial to him.
“I know! What if I said that Nick will pay for it?” Maya bounced up and down excitedly and shot Gumshoe and Larry each a conspiring look. They both nodded furtively in agreement.
“Obje-” Phoenix’s protest was swiftly muffled by Maya’s hand over his mouth.
“Did I hear that Mr. Wright’s payin’? If that’s the case, then y’all better count me in, too!” Lotta put her hands on her hips and looked expectantly at the group.
Phoenix rolled his eyes and Maya removed her hand.
“Yeah, fine, we’ll go celebrate. My treat,” Phoenix said. It was then that he realized the most important lesson he’d ever learned was something no mentor or professor could have told him: It was impossible to defy Maya, so he shouldn’t even try.
Amidst the happy ensemble, Edgeworth stepped toward Phoenix and lowered his head.
“Look, Wright, I can’t just… I, ah, have things to take care of, that is…” He kept his gaze on the floor, refusing to make eye contact with Phoenix.
Phoenix frowned. He had spent enough time in court to recognize when vital information was being withheld. What things could he possibly have to take care of? It was odd for Edgeworth to stumble over his own words as though he himself had no idea what was going to come out of his mouth, and while it wasn’t unusual for him to break eye contact, Phoenix struggled to remember a time when he avoided it entirely. Had it been naive to think that the acquittals were all Edgeworth truly needed?
“Um, you four go on ahead, okay? We’ll catch up in a minute.” Phoenix scratched nervously at the back of his head and ignored Edgeworth scowling at him.
Maya shot him a look. Everything okay?
Phoenix shot her a look in return. Yeah, I’ve got it.
As fond as he was of teasing Maya, she wasn’t stupid. She’d quickly learned to tell when something wasn’t quite right, and she was good at subtly holding silent conversations with him (even if she much, much preferred conversations to be held aloud). Though he often said differently, he wasn’t sure what he’d do without her.
“We’ll be at the usual place, Nick. Congrats, again, Mr. Edgeworth!” Maya waved before turning and bounding through the lobby doors with Larry, detective Gumshoe, and Lotta in tow. Edgeworth watched them go, an almost regretful look on his face, and turned to Phoenix.
“What is it you need, Wright?”
Instead of responding right away, Phoenix took a moment to study him. His arms were crossed defensively in front of his chest and his fingers were tapping restlessly with a mind of their own. His hair was a mess, as though he’d been constantly running his hands through it. Not that he would ever say it aloud, but it reminded Phoenix a little of an afghan hound.
He moved his gaze to Edgeworth’s face. In his peripheral vision, he could tell that Edgeworth was watching him nervously, clearly confused as to what Phoenix was doing. Phoenix ignored him. The skin below his eyes was dark, much darker than normal, and he kept biting his lip. Phoenix furrowed his brow. Edgeworth usually made every effort not to display a single emotion, and he almost always pulled it off incredibly well. For him to be showing such clear signs of distress… Something was very, very wrong.
“Are you okay?” Phoenix asked. It was difficult for him to shake the courtroom habit of knowing the answer to a simple question and asking it anyway.
“What?” Edgeworth blinked, taken aback.
“The past few days have been… a lot. I just wanna know if you’re alright.”
Edgeworth stared at Phoenix for a long moment. Then his face softened and his shoulders slumped, and he looked so goddamn vulnerable that Phoenix had to flick his gaze away. When he looked back, Edgeworth’s brow was furrowed and his mouth was pressed into a hard line.
“Must you always insert yourself into everyone’s business?” Edgeworth’s familiar mask of smugness was slowly creeping back into place.
“Y-You’re kidding, right? Edgeworth, if I hadn’t been in your business, you’d be rotting in a prison cell right about now.” Maybe that was how he would get him to finally open up— by taking a slightly more indirect route. “And… I’m sorry that the- the DL-6 incident had to be brought up. I know-”
He was interrupted by a scoff.
“I want to tell you that you know nothing, Wright, but I can’t tell you that, can I?” Edgeworth chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “You know far more than I ever wanted you to know. My past, my guilt… It’s all been laid bare.”
Phoenix longed to cut Edgeworth off with reassuring words, but he found that he had none. Nothing that he could say then would fix anything that had happened. All he could do for the moment was listen.
“That was the worst night of my life, and I’ve had to relive it every single night since.” Edgeworth’s voice faltered as he finished speaking. He stared down at the floor for a minute before looking back up. His eyes were searching for something in Phoenix, but Phoenix didn’t know what it was he needed to see.
“Wright… If I ask you something, will you tell me the absolute truth?”
“Yes,” came Phoenix's immediate reply, though he had no idea what question Edgeworth could possibly have left. Surely everything he wanted to know had already come out in court?
“Why?”
“Why what? Edgeworth, I don’t… I don’t understand.”
“From the very beginning, I told you I was guilty. I told you I was guilty and that I didn’t want your help. I believe I was quite clear on both accounts, and yet you stopped at nothing to prove me innocent. Twice, as a matter of fact, and you went so far as to put a parrot on the witness stand in order to do so. I need to know why.” Edgeworth’s face was still guarded when he added, “Please.”
Phoenix hadn’t really considered the answer to that question until that moment, but as soon as he was asked it, he knew exactly what the answer was.
“There are two answers to that question, and both are the truth. The easiest answer is that I just couldn’t let you—or anyone else—believe that you were guilty when it was so clear to me that you were innocent. I was willing to do whatever it took to defend you because fighting for the innocent when nobody else will is what you taught me to do.”
And with that, Edgeworth folded. The faux arrogance he’d been clinging to vanished. The emotions he could no longer contain surfaced and suddenly he looked as though he might simply collapse at any moment.
“What I- What I taught you to do?” He held onto himself so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“I know you remember the class trial. You were the only one who believed me.”
“Oh,” Edgeworth whispered.
“Yeah.”
They stood in silence for a moment, and Phoenix took the opportunity to watch Edgeworth’s emotions play out on his face. There was blank disbelief, then the realization of the implications of what Phoenix just said, and finally something unidentifiable that only showed itself through a small, sheepish smile.
Phoenix couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a genuine smile on Edgeworth’s face. It was wonderful, so why did it make Phoenix’s heart hurt so much?
“Wright," Edgeworth said after a moment.
“Yeah?”
“What’s the other answer? The more difficult one?” His smile faded, but not entirely, and there was a kind of sadness in his gray eyes. It was as if he was hoping for something, and expecting disappointment at the same time.
Phoenix took a deep breath. Edgeworth had just been incredibly vulnerable with him, and so it was only natural that Phoenix would have to respond in kind, but he was… Terrified. He had no choice but to tell the truth because Edgeworth would know if he lied, but couldn’t the truth still be wrong? What if it undid everything that Phoenix had just accomplished?
“The difficult answer is that I fought so hard for you because you’re…” There were so many things Phoenix could say, and every answer he thought of was equally true. “...because you’re you .” He shrugged.
“I’m really not sure what you mean by that.” Edgeworth shook his head and watched Phoenix warily as he waited for him to elaborate.
"I don't know how else to say it."
"Try."
Phoenix huffed a sigh. He wasn't sure that he could form a more detailed explanation that would make any sense, but Edgeworth was right. He had to try.
“I- I mean that… I mean that you're my friend, and my rival, and you make my job so much harder and you make everything so much better , and… and you frustrate me more than I ever thought possible, and I’m happier when I’m around you!” Phoenix hadn’t meant to talk so quickly or raise his voice to the point where he was practically shouting, but it seemed that he had just sort of lost control of the situation. He raked his hands through his hair anxiously and ducked his head to avoid eye contact. He was being a coward, he knew, but he didn't really care.
“So- So there. There’s your explanation. The whole truth, Edgeworth, and nothing but.” Phoenix spread his hands and tried to ignore how warm his face felt as he waited for Edgeworth to say something. Anything would be better than no response at all.
"Look at me, Wright."
Phoenix remained perfectly still, his gaze fixed stubbornly on the floor.
"Please stop being a child and just look at me." Edgeworth’s voice was tinged with desperation.
Phoenix slowly met his eyes. Edgeworth adopted another searching look until he found whatever it was he was looking for, and his steel gray eyes softened. Satisfied with what he saw, a slow smile spread across his face and Phoenix could've sworn that yes, the 'demon prosecutor' Miles Edgeworth was in fact blushing, just a little.
“I can’t help but think that it would be foolish of me to waste energy attempting to deny that I… I feel the same, Wright.”
They stood there for a minute, just smiling at each other, before Phoenix decided that as wonderful as it had been, he wasn’t sure he had the energy for any more strong emotions. He and Edgeworth would talk more later, he was certain of that, but all he wanted right then was to fall back into their usual rhythm of banter.
“Hm, what ever will you do with all your new ‘unnecessary feelings’ and whatnot?” Phoenix asked with a teasing grin. Edgeworth frowned at him.
“What?”
“That’s what you said after our first official trial together, that thanks to me, you were ‘ saddled with unnecessary feelings ’. Don’t tell me you don’t remember.”
“I do not sound like tha-”
“Maya immediately assumed you were my ex-boyfriend after you said that, you know.” Phoenix crossed his arms and watched with smug satisfaction as Edgeworth’s cheeks turned a darker shade of pink.
Edgeworth quickly changed the subject.
“Speaking of your assistant, I have to imagine that if we don’t leave soon, she’s going to come back and drag us out of here.”
“Aha, so you were lying when you said that you couldn’t go out with us because you had things to do?”
“Do stop talking, Wright.”
They turned to leave, side by side, and Phoenix felt a hand brush against his own. It was slightly warmer than he’d imagined it to be… Not that he’d ever imagined it before. When he gave no protest, Edgeworth sheepishly took hold of his hand.
With his free hand, Phoenix gave his pocket a quick pat as he always did before leaving the courtroom for the day. When he felt nothing, he froze, causing Edgeworth to pause beside him. Without missing a beat, Edgeworth laughed.
"Maya stole your wallet, didn't she?"