Chapter Text
"Our battle... begins now... so you had better prepare yourself, Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska snarled at Miles through tears. He gave her a calm smile and a nod in response, which provoked the platinum-haired young woman to let out a shrill growl through tightly clenched teeth.
A boarding announcement for Gate 12 rang out over the airport's PA system.
"I'll see you soon, Franziska," he said as he took her into an awkward embrace, minding her wounded arm as he did so. She stiffened at first, but then returned the gesture in her own way by gripping the sides of the charcoal-colored coat Miles wore over his suit with her gloved fists before stomping off to board her plane. He watched until she was entirely out of view, then looked out the window. It had been raining all day, and still was - typical weather for this time of year. However, the rain rolled down the windows more slowly now than it did an hour ago. Perhaps it would stop completely just before Franziska's flight took off. Perhaps Miles would get a good night's sleep.
Miles left the airport and walked through its parking garage when he felt his phone vibrate. He removed it from his pocket. Wright. "Yes?" He answered. He could hear Phoenix's voice on the other end, but the cell signal wasn't clear enough for him to make out any complete words. "Wright, I'm sorry, I'll have to call you back, the signal is terrible in here." He used his electronic lock to locate his car and got in. As he put on his seatbelt and started the car, he felt his mouth dry up at the thought that Phoenix had called to tell him something had gone awry yet again. He drove out of the garage a bit faster than he should have and pulled into a space in a nearby gas station parking lot to return Phoenix's call.
Phoenix picked up. "There you are." His calm tone set Miles' mind at ease.
"Yes, what's going on? Is everything all right? I wasn't expecting a call..." Miles pressed his free hand against his shoulder and sighed as he leaned back in the driver's seat.
"Everything's fine. I just wanted to ask how you and Franziska were doing."
Miles let out a noise halfway between a laugh and a gasp. Why was Phoenix checking on him, rather than attending to his friends from Kurain village, not to mention himself? Phoenix had been through so much over the past few days. Miles and Franziska had only added to his troubles. "I'm surprised we were even on your mind after everything. I figured you were at home fixing yourself a hard drink after getting the Fey girls to bed," the prosecutor said.
"How could you not be on my mind when this never would have ended well without your help? I'll ask again - how are you?"
"I'm fine. Franziska's, ah, indignant, as expected, but I think she'll come around in due time."
"She's still awfully young," Phoenix remarked.
"My point exactly."
"There's something else I wanted to ask you about..." Phoenix continued speaking. Edgeworth felt blood drain from his face; dread slipped into his thoughts once again.
"Yes?"
"When I went to go pay my tab, the hotel staff told me it had already been taken care of. When I asked who took care of it, they just told me it was a man in a maroon suit."
Miles rolled his eyes. "And?"
"You really didn't need to do that, you know. You already helped enough!"
"Wright, I believe the words you are looking for are--"
"Yeah, I know, thank you."
"Don't tell me you're angry with me for wanting you to enjoy your celebration without worrying about the cost," Miles scoffed.
"Edgeworth, I really am very grateful, especially considering that a certain photo-journalist bought herself a new camera on my tab that would have put me in the red right now, but you didn't even take anything for yourself..."
"I have plenty of food at home. Like I said, after everything that happened, I just wanted you to enjoy yourselves--"
"That's not the point! It's not fair for you to pay for everyone and not take anything for yourself. Thankfully, Maya and I saved a couple plates for you," Phoenix explained. "Would you like to stop by on your way home to get them?"
"I see. That was very thoughtful of you," Miles responded. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to stop by. I don't especially feel up to cooking tonight, now that I think about it."
"Can't blame you there. I'll see you soon." Phoenix hung up the phone and Miles started up his car again. By the time he arrived at Phoenix's apartment, the rain had stopped. He smiled and sent Phoenix a text message that simply read "Outside."
Phoenix opened the door and invited Miles in. "Thanks for not knocking. Maya and Pearl crashed out on the couch as soon as we got back. You might have startled them if you'd made any sudden noises." He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he gestured in the direction of the kitchen. "Your food's over on the kitchen counter and I had it wrapped up for you, but... would you like to stay for a bit?"
Miles stood in the entryway and stared. "You look like you're about to 'crash' yourself, Wright."
"Oh, I'm tired as hell, but I think I have too much on my mind to sleep just yet," Phoenix said as he reached behind his head and squeezed the back of his neck in an effort to relieve a stubborn knot of tension. "Please, go sit down. I'll make some tea for you, too, if you like."
"All right," Miles agreed. He took the plates from the counter to the table and sat down to eat. Phoenix sat down with him shortly after with a set of utensils for Miles and two cups of tea - one for Miles, one for himself. The melancholy look on Phoenix's face was enough to reveal his true intentions behind his invitation. Of course Phoenix wanted to continue the heartfelt discussion they had started in the courthouse lobby. This wasn't quite what he bargained for when he decided to sit down, but he resigned himself to the consequences of his decision.
Phoenix leaned forward in his chair and rested his cheek against his hand as he waited for his cup to cool. "...Edgeworth. I really can't thank you enough for everything. I'm so sorry I tried to reject your help at first, you were right, I never would have been able to pull it off--"
"We went over this already. I was only doing my job. Though, I never did properly thank Maya for holding on to that bullet last year. Helping to ensure her safety was the least I could do, I suppose," Miles said as he removed the plastic wrap from his plates and picked up a slice of steak with a fork.
"She was right about you coming a long way, you know," Phoenix said before following his words up with a sip of tea. "Maya, that is."
Miles couldn't think of anything to say in response, so he occupied himself with the meal in front of him as it dawned on him that he hadn't eaten in nearly twelve hours.
"I think I owe you an apology for assuming the worst of your intentions for leaving last year, Edgeworth. I see now that you did it to give yourself space to grow, both professionally and personally. I'm sorry about everything else I said, too, like how I wished you never came back. It just... It felt easier to be mad at you than to be hurt by you, and I was stressed and running on fumes when I first saw you again. But, after seeing how you've grown, and after letting you help me, I think I can move past those things. I want to move past them. I spent so much time trying to help you that, when I saw you doing the same for me, I just couldn't throw all that away," Phoenix rambled with his gaze furrowed and trained on the floor. The longer he talked, the more his words grew sticky in his throat with tears. He used an opportune yawn to conceal them, but the shift in his tone of voice gave everything away to Miles.
Miles blinked and swallowed what he had in his mouth. "I'll do my best to be worth your forgiveness," he said while making firm and sincere eye contact.
Phoenix returned the eye contact, and then continued speaking casually, glancing in the direction of the living room every so often. "I saw how you interacted with the girls back at the hotel, talking about the Steel Samurai with Maya and trying to explain our work to Pearls... I think the last time I saw you smile that much was when we were still in school. I'm really happy for you."
Miles looked off to the side. "I just wanted to help take their minds off the past few days, that's all. I suppose I can relate to their experiences, in some ways..." His tone was weary, but the soft gaze he aimed at the wall betrayed his sincerity.
"See? Even that's an improvement. I don't think that kind of thought would have even crossed your mind a year ago."
"I suppose not. I believe I owe those changes to you as well," Miles said before picking up a forkful of shrimp.
"Does it always have to be about what we owe one another?" Phoenix leaned forward with both elbows on the table and a dull expression on his face. "In my opinion, I think it's because you've gained a better understanding of what you went through and how it affected you. With that comes a better understanding of other peoples' experiences. And I didn't make the choice to pursue that understanding for you, you know. That was all your doing."
Miles' brow twitched, and he tensed up in his seat. "Well, regardless of the outcome of my time away," he spoke up as his face grew sullen and he stared into his lap. "I should have been more transparent about my intention to leave, and my reasons why. I could have spared you much unease and anger if I had."
Phoenix reached across the table and placed a hand on Miles' shoulder, which prompted Miles to look back up. His gaze must have been fearful or shocked, as Phoenix retracted his hand right away. "I appreciate it, but this is no time for regrets. I'm glad you're doing better - that we're all doing better now. It's been a rough few days..."
Miles nodded. "Absolutely harrowing." He tilted his head and closed his eyes. "Though, I wouldn't say we're all doing better when Franziska's still caught up in the Von Karma family myth. I know that she's the only one who can save herself from that in the end, but I still worry. I was lucky enough to cross paths with you and have you point me in the right direction, but she doesn't have anybody like that in her life."
"Well, why not make a point to keep in touch with her, hopefully on some kind of regular basis? You could be that person," Phoenix suggested.
Miles laughed softly and started on one of the small cakes from the dessert plate Phoenix had saved for him. "We're both terrible with every aspect of that and you know it."
Phoenix smirked. "It can't hurt to try."
"You're right. I'll write her once a month and hope for the best, I suppose."
"That's all you can do," Phoenix affirmed as he looked off into the living room, where Maya and Pearl continued to sleep on the couch. "I'll be right back." He got up to turn off the TV and fetch a blanket to put over the two of them while Miles finished his meal. Miles looked up at the clock on Phoenix's wall. It was nearly midnight, and the weight of the nearly seventeen hours he had been awake bore down on him more with every passing second. He sipped at his tea, hoping the small amount of caffeine in it would keep him alert at least long enough to wish Phoenix a good night and to drive home.
Phoenix returned and sat back down. Before Miles could excuse himself for the evening, Phoenix spoke up. "So, I've gotta ask... How is it you know so much about teddy bears, anyway? That doesn't really seem like your thing."
"...Wright, you do know what time it is, don't you? I'm sure you don't mean to keep me here at this hour to talk about teddy bears and how I know what I know about them," Miles answered as he leaned forward in his seat and massaged his brow in an effort to stay awake. "You seem to want me to stay as long as possible, so I imagine there's something important you want to discuss with me. If you don't intend to, I believe I'd best be going."
Phoenix paused for a moment, stared up at the ceiling, then looked back at Miles and sighed. "Fine. When the judge read that fake note, it made me wonder about something, especially when I thought back to when you were needling Ms. Andrews and how you used the same words you used in your note. Why did you word your note the way you did?"
With these words, Phoenix had effectively vacuum sealed the room as far as Miles was concerned. Scrambled, blurry memories of that day pierced the corners of his mind. He must have gone completely pale in response, as Phoenix rushed to his side and looked him directly in the face with concern tightening his brow. "...Hey, I'm sorry. You don't have to explain that right now if you don't want to, but..." Phoenix blinked and swallowed. "I'm worried, okay? I can see you've made great strides, but nobody can just get over everything you've been through after one year. I spent all of that time thinking I had lost you, and..." He trailed off before inhaling deeply. "I don't want it to happen again the moment something else goes wrong."
Miles stretched his arms out in front of him, then looked up at Phoenix. "Well, I do plan on leaving the country again within the next few months to continue some studies of mine, but this time, I'll let you know. And, I'll do my best to keep in touch." His fingers twitched with lingering anxiety and shame from Phoenix's question as he set his hands back down on the table.
Phoenix smirked, but his eyes gave away his dissatisfaction with Miles' response. "You helped me learn a lot about teamwork over these past few days. I'm guessing you've learned it's okay to ask for help, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to remind you."
"I appreciate the sentiment, Wright. I'll keep that in mind." Miles said as he got up. His exhaustion was apparent in how he dragged his feet as he walked over to the trash to discard his now-cleared plates. Phoenix gently gripped the cuff of Miles' sleeve, and Miles turned his head. "What is it now?"
"You must be at least as tired as I am. Are you sure you're okay to drive? I wouldn't want you to fall asleep at the wheel." Phoenix's solicitousness knew no end, it seemed. He had a point, however - Miles' residence was a solid half hour away, and his vision had started to blur from sleepiness even without the hypnotic effects of driving to a familiar destination.
"And what do you expect me to do? Stay here? You already have two other guests," he pointed at the living room couch. "I wouldn't want to impose."
"I do have an extra room that I use as a study here, you know. It's not much, but there's a small couch in there. You don't even have to stay for the whole night, but..." Phoenix paused as he stared at Miles' face - the heaviness of his eyelids and the furrows in his brow caused by his ongoing struggle to keep his eyes open. "I'd feel a lot better even if you just rested for a few hours, just enough that you'd be able to drive home safely."
Miles nodded. "I appreciate it." He knew it wouldn't be the most comfortable arrangement, but he couldn't argue with Phoenix. He was a terrible driver when he was tired, and the small cup of tea he had finished moments ago was no match for his caffeine tolerance.
"Thank you, Edgeworth. Come on, follow me," Phoenix said as he led Miles down the hall and opened the door to a barely-used study just across from Phoenix's bedroom. "Here we are, the cleanest room in my apartment," he joked. "I'll get you a pillow and a blanket if you want."
"Yes, thank you, I think that would be...useful," Miles remarked as he ran a hand over the cushions of the couch he sat down on. It was in nearly perfect condition, but the stiff piece of furniture was clearly built for sitting and reading books on rather than resting. He removed his jacket and vest, hung them over the armrest, then took off his shoes and laid down. He would have to curl up a bit in order for the couch to accommodate his height, but he usually slept in such a position anyway.
Phoenix returned quickly with a pillow and a blanket he had grabbed from his bedroom's linen closet. As he was about to hand them to Miles, he noticed the other man's eyes were closed - was he asleep already? "Edgeworth?" He asked softly.
Miles opened one eye and accepted the pillow and blanket. "Thank you, Wright," he said as he made himself as comfortable as possible. "If I leave before you wake up, I'll send you a message," he mumbled with the corner of his mouth pressed against the pillow.
Phoenix nodded and smiled at him before switching off the light. "Good night, Edgeworth."