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A cool spring breeze accompanied Miles Edgeworth on his stroll through the streets of Los Tokyo and to Wright & Co. Law Offices. It was hard to believe that he didn’t need an excuse to visit his oldest friend, most trusted partner and dearest ally. Since the conclusion of Iris Hawthorne’s trial, they were able to meet as friends, inanity a staple of their interactions.
Or, rather, they could meet for no reason. To do so would be, in Miles’s opinion, far too revealing of the intensity of the feelings he harboured for Phoenix Wright, and so he always ensured he had an excuse when he visited. Nonetheless, it was an important distinction.
Today’s excuse consisted of a potential client. Miles had heard of the case as it filtered through the hierarchy of the Prosecutor’s office, and the seemingly hopeless outcome for any Defence Attorney was exactly the sort of case Phoenix endeavoured to take. Miles couldn’t deny that he admired it. It was the reason Phoenix had been so eager to help him, after all.
(At least, that was the explanation Miles had conjured for the steadfast certainty Phoenix had in him during the DL-6 ordeal.)
Miles entered Wright & Co. to the usual chime of the bell and was greeted with the sound of familial bickering from the office’s kitchenette. Through the gap in the door, he could just make out the forms of Phoenix and Maya, the latter highly invested in eating a burger and pointing a finger at Phoenix with aggression.
The pseudo-sibling relationship the two had reminded Miles of his own sister. He suspected Maya had learnt a few pointers from Franziska.
Miles headed closer, the sound of Phoenix’s teasing laughter guiding his way and lighting a path forward, as the man so frequently did for him. It was only when he reached the door that Miles took note to listen to the argument Phoenix and Maya were having before alerting them of his presence.
“I’m onto something here,” Maya was saying, swinging a leg from her perch on the counter to push Phoenix’s torso. “Admit it.”
“No you’re not!” Phoenix said, laughter audible in his tone. “You can’t walk into Burger King in the staff uniform and steal burgers. It’s illegal.”
Maya stuck her tongue out in retort.
“Nick, your homophobia is showing,” she said with an air of finality, pausing Miles in his tracks.
Phoenix’s what?
The file completely forgotten as a brew of unpleasant and panic-inducing feelings began to swell in Miles’s throat, he turned on his heels and retreated back down the corridor. The taste of bile rose in the back of his throat.
Phoenix is homophobic, his mind kindly confirmed. The man I’m in love with despises my own identity.
The journey from Phoenix’s office to his own house was one Miles hardly remembered making. He wouldn’t be surprised to find himself issued with a parking ticket with the dazed state in which he drove back.
Eventually, Miles slumped down onto his sofa, a weighted dejection hanging over him and taking physical form in the presence of his dog, Pess, lying across his lap and pinning him to the sofa cushions.
Miles had, perhaps foolishly, never considered Phoenix’s potential response to his feelings being prejudice. Despite the progress in public opinion of the LGBTQ+ community, Miles was all too aware that he still lived in a hostile world.
He had never in a million years imagined Phoenix Wright— kind, compassionate, loyal, steadfast, loving Phoenix Wright— to be one of those so behind the times.
Another wave of dejection hit Miles and, unable to do much else due to the presence of a dog on his lap, he picked up his phone and called Franziska, hoping her harsh way of expressing care would be somewhat comforting, in his present state.
Franziska picked up almost immediately, which generally meant she was angry.
“Kleiner Bruder,” Franziska said, tone as harsh as Miles had been expecting. “Was ist das Problem?”
“Why do you always assume there’s a problem, Franziska?” Miles said in response.
“You are sighing down the phone like a fool. Is it that foolish defence attorney? I will return to the States and whip him, if I must.”
“I can sigh about things aside from Wright,” Miles said with a scoff, making a mental note not to reveal the reason behind his call.
“Ja wirklich?” Miles could practically hear Franziska rolling her eyes. “Go on- surprise me, Miles Edgeworth.”
Miles paused for a moment to formulate a plan of action.
“I wanted some advice on how you’d handle a situation of prejudice.”
There was a pause before Franziska spoke again.
“Miles Edgeworth, if I need to catch the next flight to your country, I will do. What has happened?”
All traces of mockery had vanished from her voice and Miles felt a surge of warmth towards his sister.
“I’m fine, Franziska. Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I merely encountered a case of what I suspect to be homophobia from someone I considered a close acquaintance. The situation rattled me more than I’d anticipated, and so I wondered how you’d address the situation if it were your own.”
Franziska hummed down the line in thought and Miles could almost hear her brain working to conjure a response that wasn’t ‘Whip the foolish fool until he can no longer stand upright.’
“Have you considered, Miles Edgeworth, confronting this person on their appalling views and primitive mindset?”
“Confronting him?” Miles echoed before his brain had caught up.
“If this is the ridiculously foolish fool I suspect it may be, he might listen to you,” Franziska continued. “Tell him how backward you believe his views to be. Put him in his place. Live up to the name Von Karma.”
It was quite the ironic thing to say, given how her late father had felt about the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, but Miles understood the sentiment and what it meant to Franziska.
“I’ll consider it,” he said in promise. Franziska scoffed down the line.
“Consider? You will march over to his office tomorrow morning and put that fool in his place or I will do it myself. Klar?”
“Crystal,” Miles said with a sigh.
He supposed Franziska had made his mind up for him. Miles would take the file he’d intended to give Phoenix to Wright & Co. Law Offices the following morning, and he would discover the truth directly from the man himself.
By the time morning arrived, Miles was fairly certain pure, unadulterated rage was the only thing spurring him on. He called his secretary to inform her he’d be delivering some files before coming into the office, jumped into his car and ran nearly every red light between his house and Phoenix’s office.
When he eventually burst through the door, out of breath and more ruffled than he’d typically allow himself to appear in public, Miles paused at the scene in front of him.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but Maya Fey was sat on the desk, cross legged and eating a burger, laughing at something Phoenix was saying. At the sound of the door opening, the two turned to it, faces morphing into expressions of surprise.
“Oh hey, Edgeworth. Are you okay? You look a bit—“ Phoenix said in greeting, trailing off as his eyes scanned Miles’s body.
“Frazzled,” Maya supplied with a proud grin at her linguistic competency.
“Yeah, that,” Phoenix agreed, eyebrows furrowing in concern that Miles didn’t have time to dwell on
“Wright, are you homophobic?” Miles blurted out. Maya’s mouth dropped open in shock before quickly twisting up into a crazed expression of glee. Phoenix, however, looked horrified.
“I— Edgeworth, I’m bisexual! Where did this come from?” Phoenix asked in a splutter.
“He’s avoiding the question,” Maya said in a failed attempt at a whispered hiss. Miles nodded in agreement.
“I’m aware you ride a bicycle. What I’m asking,” he said, eyebrows furrowed in anger, “is if you have anything against gay people.”
“No! Of course not! Edgeworth, what is going on?” Phoenix asked, his face the picture of utter confusion.
Maya jumped off the desk.
“Starbucks orders! I am not sticking around for this conversation,” she said, grabbing Phoenix’s wallet and appearing at the door behind Miles in a movement he’d completely missed.
“Iced caramel mac with oat milk, please. Just get a herbal tea for Edgeworth- he doesn’t like coffee,” Phoenix said with a bat of his hand, not removing his eyes from Miles.
The door slammed open and shut, leaving Miles alone with Phoenix, the both of them stood staring and unmoving.
“So, uh,” Phoenix said with hesitance, “why don’t you sit down? You can tell me where this idea came from.”
It took the absence of Maya for Miles to look at Phoenix and realise that not only had his assumption been based on a minimal amount of evidence, but his response had been one typical of Franziska, not himself.
He sat next to Phoenix on the couch and did his best to maintain an air of propriety, despite his sudden desire to sink into the couch cushions and never be perceived again.
“Yesterday,” Miles said before pausing to consider how to phrase it.
“Yesterday,” Phoenix repeated somewhat dryly, raising a humoured eyebrow at Miles.
“Perhaps you wouldn’t feel the need to mock me if you allowed me to finish a thought,” Miles said back.
“My apologies,” Phoenix said, tone light. “Do continue to tell me how the concept of ‘yesterday’ as a whole convinced you that I was homophobic.”
It was ridiculous to think their rapport could continue even when the two were confused and frustrated with each other (or, at least, when Miles was confused and frustrated). Willing himself not to ponder it further, Miles provided his explanation.
“I came to deliver a file when I overheard yourself and Miss Fey talking in the kitchen. I don’t recall the specifics of the conversation, but I distinctly remember Miss Fey turning to you and informing you that your homophobia was showing. Naturally, I was rather disgusted to think someone I consider such a… an adequate friend had such hostile views.”
“An adequate friend,” Phoenix mimicked, unable to keep a grin off his face. Miles’s cheeks felt hot.
“A good friend,” Miles said in a snap, throwing his arms up to disguise the redness of his face. “A close friend. Why else do you think I was so enraged? Surely you know I hold you in high esteem by now.”
Phoenix blinked at him, mouth slightly agape. Miles took the time to calm his breathing and avert his gaze. If he wasn’t careful, Phoenix was going to uncover the precise reason why Miles had been so upset to overhear what he had.
“I, uh, hadn’t? Y’know, because of the constant ‘you’re a fool, Phoenix Wright’ behaviour,” Phoenix said after the brief pause.
“I believe you may be confusing me with my sister,” Miles said with a wry smile. Phoenix chuckled and then, much to Miles’s dismay, burst into peals of laughter.
“Sorry, sorry,” he apologised through his laughs. “It just suddenly hit me that you thought I was homophobic from that conversation.”
“Ah,” Miles said, recalling that he’d yet to receive an explanation on whether Phoenix held any contempt for him or not.
“Okay,” Phoenix said, calming his laughter with an exhalation. “So, first up, Maya’s a lesbian.”
Miles nodded, unsurprised by the new information. She always had been far more interested in the Pink Princess and Crystal Ronin than anyone who was a fan of the original Steel Samurai had a right to be.
“And I’m bi, right? So because we’re both some flavour of not straight we have a sort of in-joke where we call each other homophobic when one of us tries to stop the other doing something that’s, like, illegal,” Phoenix continued.
“What does breaking the law have to do with your sexuality?” Miles asked, feeling vaguely incredulous, before he finally comprehended the information Phoenix had been attempting to provide him. “So you’re… not homophobic at all, in that case.”
Phoenix shook his head, failing to remove the smirk from his face.
“Not in the slightest.”
Miles’s sigh of relief wasn’t subtle. Phoenix’s face turned serious rather quickly.
“You, uh, seem relieved. Did it matter to you that much?”
Miles cleared his throat, unsure how to answer. He knew the most appropriate response to give would be to tell Phoenix that he was gay, given that Phoenix had come out to him (and wouldn’t that just fuel Miles’s dreams for the next few months?), but Miles had never actually told anyone before.
The people in Miles’s life had either come to the conclusion themselves (Franziska) or weren’t people he cared to know his sexuality (everyone else, present company excepted).
Miles had been bold enough as to confront Phoenix about this, so he could be bold enough to provide the answer Phoenix was awaiting.
“It mattered to me,” Miles said hesitantly, unable to meet Phoenix’s eyes, “given that I myself am only attracted to men.”
“Oh, good,” Phoenix said, tension dropping from his shoulders. Miles’s cheeks flushed.
“What do you mean, ‘good’?” he asked, voice increasing in pitch. Phoenix stalled.
“I just meant it’s a relief,” he said, looking all too similar to how he appeared when bluffing in court.
“Relief?” Miles repeated, somehow equally as confused as he had been upon entering Phoenix’s office, yet with a far faster heart rate.
“Wait, no, I just mean that I’m glad we have something like this in common, right? Ha,” Phoenix said in a shout, his voice trailing away at the end and his cheeks flushed.
“Ah, quite,” Miles said in agreement, wondering if Phoenix really had meant it like that. If there was a chance he’d been glad to hear that Miles was into men because he was into Miles—
Before either could say or do anything else, the door burst open.
“Oh,” Maya Fey said, frowning slightly as she held three drinks in a holder. “I half expected you to be making out, by now. You did establish that Nick isn’t homophobic, right?”
“MAYA!” Phoenix hissed. Maya shut the door and placed the cups on the counter as Miles blinked at her, cheeks red from her… suggestion.
“Miss Fey, could you explain why you would expect such a thing?” he requested.
“Maya, don’t you dare—“ Phoenix tried to say, but Maya ignored him, turning to face Miles.
“Alright, I’m done leaving you two to figure this out. Nick’s had a massive crush on you basically his whole life. He straight up changed career paths for you— it’s not subtle and I’m honestly surprised you’ve never noticed. Maybe it’s because you’ve been too busy having a crush on him and don’t protest— Fran’s told me everything,” Maya said, holding up her hand as soon as Miles opened his mouth with a flushed face. “You’ve been gone on Nick ever since he defended you and pretty much everyone except Nick knows it.
“So,” Maya continued, ignoring the horrified expressions she was receiving, “that’s why I figured clearing up the homophobia thing would lead to the inevitable confessions and a full on make out fest. Good news for me, though—“ she walked over to their drinks and began taking them out of the holder “—now, who wants coffee?”
Miles blinked at Maya, turned to look at Phoenix, saw his equally mortified expression and returned his gaze to Maya, unsure how he was supposed to continue when she’d just spilled his feelings in front of the object of his affections and claimed some ludicrous tale of reciprocity.
A loud slurping noise broke Miles out of his daze. Maya continued sipping her iced coffee obnoxiously loudly, looking between the two with innocence. Miles needed to damage control, he realised, or else Phoenix truly was going to hate him.
“Wright, could we perhaps talk in your office,” Miles said.
“Yes, absolutely, definitely, let’s go there,” Phoenix said in immediate agreement, standing up and shepherding Miles through the door, closing it behind him to block Maya out of their conversation.
There was a second of awkward silence as Miles wondered how best to cover the truth until Phoenix beat him to it.
“Look, Miles, I’m really sorry Maya said all of that. She had no right to put words in your mouth or to unload all that stuff about me onto you and I’m really sorry for making you uncomfortable—“
“Now who’s putting words into my mouth?” Miles asked, his heart having skipped a beat the second he finally put the pieces together.
- Phoenix was bisexual
- Phoenix had said he was relieved that Miles was into men
- Phoenix’s apology was not refuting what Maya had said about him in any way whatsoever
Miles felt as though he’d won a court case, although the joy that accompanied this realisation far outmatched any feeling a win in court could conjure.
“I— what?” Phoenix asked, pausing his spiel.
“I never claimed to be uncomfortable. Was what Miss Fey said about you true?” Miles asked, his voice steady in comparison to the wild beating of his heart.
“Uh—“ Phoenix drew the syllable out. “Sort of?” He averted his gaze. “Yeah, yeah it was true.”
The feeling in Miles’s stomach was akin to floating on air.
“Who knew Miss Fey was so well informed on both accounts? I’m surprised but admittedly pleased about the outcome,” he said. Phoenix nodded in agreement before his eyebrows furrowed together and the realisation dawned.
“Wait, WHAT?” he said, voice raised and mouth agape. “You like me, too?”
“Of course I do,” Miles said with a huff, looking to the side and willing the blood in his cheeks away. “You’ve saved me in more ways than I can count and you have an utterly frustrating habit of lodging yourself in my mind and refusing to leave.”
Phoenix let out a wet laugh, tears in his eyes as he shook his head in disbelief.
“And you’ve really— since I defended you—?”
Miles’s cheeks flushed again.
“There was, perhaps, something there in childhood, although I admit seeing you behind the defence desk, fighting for me with everything you were… it’s not a sight I’ll easily forget; it’s not a sight I’d want to.”
Phoenix had stepped forward as he spoke. Instinctively, Miles attempted to move backwards only to find Phoenix’s desk far closer than he’d realised. With no other option, Miles looked forward and felt his breath catch from the heated intensity Phoenix looked at him with.
“You mean it?” Phoenix asked, his hand moving to the side of Miles’s face, cupping it tenderly. Miles could have moved away if he’d wanted to.
He didn’t.
“Of course, you ridiculous man,” Miles said, his voice no more than a murmur. Phoenix glanced between his eyes and his mouth. It was the last warning Miles got before a pair of soft lips covered his own, dragging any last dregs of hesitancy from Miles with their slow, intoxicating pull.
Phoenix kissed like he defended: recklessly, enrapturing, with his whole heart and soul. Miles gripped the desk behind him as Phoenix’s hand tilted his head, thumb holding his hair aside as eager lips moved against his own.
A swipe of tongue against Miles’s mouth had him moving his hand to hold Phoenix’s waist; to pull him closer. Phoenix hummed in contentment, leaning the length of his body against Miles and suddenly Miles felt far too hot in the air conditioned office. Logically, he knew he could draw back and give himself a second to catch his breath and composure.
He still didn’t.
Miles couldn’t risk doing anything to change the way one of Phoenix’s hands was gliding down his side, over his hip. Miles wondered if he intended to hoist his leg up— to pull them closer yet. He surprised himself with the lack of complaints his mind had about the prospect.
“Alright, guys, the ice is melting and Edgeworth’s tea’s going cold. How long is this conversation going to— oh.”
Maya Fey cut herself off as a small, wet sound filled the office at the parting of Miles’s and Phoenix’s lips. If asked only minutes prior, Miles would have denied that his cheeks could become redder than they already had that day.
He was proven incorrect as he watched Maya’s mouth fall open in horror, his hand still around Phoenix’s waist with Phoenix’s own halfway down his thigh.
“Finally,” Maya said, the shock quickly parting way for glee. “Can’t believe I had to tell you how the scene’s supposed to play out. Alright, have fun, you crazy kids. Careful with the paperwork on the desk, Nick, because I know you’ll complain to me if you lose it. I’m going to steal a Burger King uniform. Bye!”
With that, the office door slammed shut and Miles was left to confront what had just transpired.
“So,” Phoenix broke the silence, his hair slightly askew and his face flushed. Miles attempted to commit the sight to memory, “do you want to go get our drinks, or—“
Miles chuckled, practically breathing a sigh of relief at the normality of it all. The Earth hadn’t collapsed. Phoenix hadn’t grown an extra head. It was just them— feelings in the open, for once, but still them.
Because he could (and wasn’t that an inconceivable realisation?), Miles leaned forward and pressed one last lingering kiss to Phoenix’s mouth.
“Yes, let’s,” he said as he pulled away. “I’m not overly fond of lukewarm tea.”
Phoenix flashed him another smile and the two moved out of the office, just in time to find Maya tugging her hair into a hat that bore incredible resemblance to the Burger King cap. Miles blinked in confusion. He’d been so sure she was joking that the revelation she was deadly serious was jarring.
“Maya, NO!” Phoenix cried out, voice cracking. Like a deer caught in headlights, Maya’s eyes widened and she sprinted for the door, shirt under her arm.
Miles shook his head as he watched Phoenix attempt to tackle her, sipping his unfortunately tepid tea. He was looking forward to needing less and less self-made excuses to visit Wright & Co. Law Offices.