Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Miles Edgeworth loves Phoenix Wright. If he didn’t fully trust and love him, it would be completely illogical to have married him. Not that Miles wanted to marry anyone else. Their wedding day had been such a comforting memory for the Chief Prosecutor. It happened nearly 2 years ago. The smiles on his friends' faces, the laughs they shared, Phoenix speaking his vows for the thousandth time. The euphoric feeling of the whole thing… It all was immortalized forever inside the mind of Edgeworth. All immortalized within a golden ring with an embedded blue diamond that was displayed proudly on his right ring finger.

Perhaps that was why he had been staring at his ring so often that week. Miles was rarely home that week, only returning past midnight where he’d find his husband passed out on the couch. On one night, he caught sight of Trucy curled up onto his husband’s shoulder, holding in her arms a photo album that she had made for their first anniversary. Miles that night simply covered both of them with a fuzzy blanket before showering and heading to bed. 

Miles' latest case was taking a toll on him. He didn’t often take trials anymore, but this one required his attention. This was mainly due to the difficult witnesses, difficult suspects, and barely any evidence left behind on the crime scene. It didn’t help that the defense on the case might be concealing something from the prosecution. So as a result he had to work extra. He had spent many hours working on the case on top of doing his usual duties as Chief Prosecutor. Waking up at 5 AM and coming home at 1 AM had become his usual schedule, only seeing his husband when he came home and when he awoke. That was less than 10 minutes a day. Of course he’d try to text his husband whenever he had time, but he always got wrapped into something else before he sent a text.

But that wasn’t to say Miles stopped caring about his husband and daughter. Those two were always in the back of his mind while he worked, and sometimes it distracted him away from his papers. The little photo of the two that sat in the corner of his desk could attest to that. He even ordered them pizza for dinner one evening to congratulate Trucy for her stupendous show but also to apologize for missing her brilliance. Miles also got off work “early” one evening at 9:30 P.M and went home to spend time with his husband in their living room while they watched some Steel Samurai. It was easily the happiest he’d been all week. 

So here was Miles now, returning from work at 11 after a busy day in court. As he suspected, the defense was indeed hiding some vital evidence that extended the trial by another day in order to reinvestigate. Thus, he needed to spend more time revisiting the crime scene and exploring any possibilities that may pop up. That was going to be for tomorrow, but right now Miles was ready to crash onto the bed. 

Miles pulled out the keys to unlock the front door to his family’s house, and was anticipating to see a sleeping Phoenix on the couch. When he opened the door, he was met with a wide awake Phoenix drinking what appeared to be his 3rd cup of coffee. He’s awake! I can finally talk to him- His eyes disagreed with talking to anyone. They seemed to be pulling downwards even more. Come on Miles, he stayed awake for you. At least engage in a conversation for five minutes.

“I’m home, it’s lovely to see you, Wright. I m-”

“Wright huh? Going back to last names I see. Alright Edgeworth.” Phoenix abruptly interrupted. 

The last time Edgeworth called Phoenix “Wright'' was unknown to him. He hadn’t referred to his last name in a really long time. Nor had Phoenix called him by his last name in a long time, but the tone of Phoenix’s voice was one of frustration. Something’s wrong…

“Are you ok Phoenix?” 

Miles was concerned something bad happened at his work without his knowledge. 

“Why does it matter to you?” Phoenix hissed, taking another sip of his coffee and avoiding his gaze. 

“Pardon? It matters to me because your wellbeing is important to me? It matters to me because you are my husband?” Miles was mildly stunned, as he quickly took off his navy duster coat and made his way towards his husband. Phoenix rose up onto his feet, putting down his mug of coffee onto the coffee table. “Sorry” he started off sarcastically, “I forgot I had a husband, haven’t seen him around lately.”

Oh, how bitter his tone was, how his expression darkened after every word he spoke, how he was now staring directly at him with his most fierce eyes often saved for desperate moments. 

“What are you insinuating at, Phoenix? Just spit it out already.” Miles asked, trying his best not to lose his cool. The two men were at a standoff, and one that could easily transform into something much much worse. Both were clearly tired, not in the clearest of minds. Miles began this game, and was waiting on his opponent’s move. He braced himself for whatever Phoenix might say. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that my husband hasn’t been home. Hasn’t been around his family. Seemingly avoiding them. As if he doesn’t care about them anymore.” Phoenix’s voice was full of sarcasm, hate, and he was giving Edgeworth a heavy glare. His eyes that are normally handsome to the prosecutor were now changing to something more sinister. 

“You know that I love and care about you and Trucy-”

“Where’s your proof?” Phoenix interrupted. “Do you have proof that these affections of love exist? Because it is the defense’s belief that the prosecution lacks the evidence.” Phoenix was now shoving his pointer finger into his chest, a frown on his face, eyes flashing between anger and hatred. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Phoenix! Your ring finger holds all the evidence!” Miles took hold of Phoenix's hand, staring at the golden band before Phoenix flinched and forced his hand away. “And how do I know that this isn’t outdated?” Phoenix gave him a mocking smile. Son of a- Miles snapped.

“This isn’t an autopsy report! And that was just one time!”

“And somebody hasn’t answered my question yet. Well my multiple questions really!” 

“WELL SORRY, MY DEAREST PHOENIX, THAT I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH MY JOB! THAT I WANT TO SLEEP WHEN I GET HOME!” 

“WELL, MY DEAREST MILES EDGEWORTH, YOU COULD STILL UPDATE ME THROUGHOUT THE DAY! TEXT ME, OR EVEN WAKE ME UP, IT IS NO BOTHER! BUT INSTEAD YOU STAY SILENT.”

“YOU THINK I’M NOT TRYING TO DO THAT!? TO UPDATE YOU ON MY STATUS AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT OF THE DAY!?”

“THERE’S NO EVIDENCE TO PROVE YOU WERE TRYING TO, AND I SURELY WASN’T TOLD AS MUCH!” Phoenix paused just for the briefest moment. His anger that was displayed all over his body language subsided for just the briefest of moments, as if he was considering something, before it returned. “Edgeworth, you show more affection to your work than to your own husband!”

Miles was losing this argument fast. He couldn’t refute anything his husband was throwing at him. Yet the claim that he didn’t love Phoenix or Trucy back was one he would fight for, even if the fight ended in the worst way possible. 

“YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO BE TOLD! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT I LO-”

“Daddy… Papa…”

“WELL I DON’T. YOU DON’T ACT LIKE YOU LOVE OR CARE FOR ME. YOU DON’T ACT LIKE YOU EVEN LOVE TRUCY FOR THAT MATTER! YOU CLAIM YOU LOVE US TIME AND TIME AGAIN, BUT NEVER PHYSICALLY SHOW IT!” Phoenix exploded, and at this point he was pushing Miles into a nearby wall. “So I ask again Mr. Edgeworth. Where is your proof?” 

Silence. It was all he could offer. He was left utterly speechless. He grew still against the wall, fearful of Phoenix’s eyes that stared him down as if he were some murderer. “ Please let this be a bad nightmare…” he thought for once in his life. God let this be a nightmare he could wake up to. Let him wake up to his husband right next to him, prepared to comfort him after this. Don’t let this be how his husband truly feels about him. Don’t let this be real.

“I knew it. The defense rests its case. All the prosecution has is one ring…” Miles felt something tiny and warm get placed into his left hand. “And the ring wasn’t sufficient enough. Trial is adjourned. Goodnight, Mr. Edgeworth.” Phoenix finally stomped away further in the family’s house, and slammed their bedroom door shut with a loud thud. 

Silence. Miles just stood there in complete shock for a moment, before…

“Papa! PAPA! Please say something!” Trucy called out as she got up from where she was standing to go hug him. Her eyes were wide when she looked up at him, full of shock and concern. Miles stayed quiet and tense. “I’ll talk to him! I’ll talk to Daddy tomorrow morning and fix this! Pl-” she never finished that sentence as her Papa hugged her so tightly she thought she was going to suffocate. 

“Give him some space, dear. I appreciate your help, truly, but I don’t want to get you dragged into this any further.” Miles tried saying as smoothly as possible, but Trucy could easily tell how uneven his voice sounded. She also could spot her Papa’s right arm tightening, as if he was restraining himself from doing a certain gesture. Miles ruffled her hair a little bit, giving her a smile that she could tell had sorrow layered underneath it. “Let’s get you to bed… We didn’t wake you up, did we?” Miles realized they might have woken up the whole neighborhood. He would have to apologize to them later. “I… Yes, I woke up to both of you. At first, I was excited to come greet you! Then…” she trailed off, head looking to the side. “I’m sorry you had to witness that, Trucy. I…”

“Papa, I don’t need you to confirm you love me. That’s easy for anyone to see in my eyes!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, a wide grin on her face. “After all, I didn’t have to use any magic to make the pizza appear before my eyes!” Once again, How did Miles get blessed to have met such an amazing young lady he got to call his daughter. 

“I can’t say the same about Daddy however… I’ve seen him mad throughout the years, but tonight was the worst by far. Tonight he just exploded like one of my props during a show, wildly and unexpectedly.” Trucy told him as they arrived at her room. Miles quietly tucked her into Phoenix’s old bed that she inherited. He made sure to hand her two stuffed animals that she liked, and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Trucy. I hope to see you tomorrow.”

“Night Papa! I expect to see you tomorrow with a nice grin on your face! I love you!” she responded with a perfect smile before she went to lay her head on her pillow. “I love you too.” Miles quickly added before quietly closing the door to her bedroom. 

Miles went back to the living room and sat down on the couch. He pulled the tiny object Phoenix handed him before storming off into their bedroom from his pocket. It was Phoenix’s wedding ring. A golden band with a giant red diamond embedded in it alongside two regular diamonds. It was specially made, costing Miles a fortune, but money didn’t matter to him when he bought it. Sliding the ring on his lover’s finger, being able to live in a dream he’s had since forever, gaining his heart’s desire… 

Now here it was, in the palm of his hand telling him he’d messed up. He’d done something wrong, again. He had hurt Phoenix again. At first, he figured this was a sign of rejection, a sign that his husband wanted to divo- Go back to how it was before everything, he hoped . The thought terrified Miles, he didn’t want to ever believe it. But the possibility was very real… A world without Phoenix Wright… Miles sighed to himself before he began his next course of action. 

---

Phoenix woke up the next morning with nobody beside him. He hasn’t gotten the message?! Even AFTER last night!? Phoenix was mad, but it didn’t last long. Just THINKING about last night gave him a headache. He was SO out of character. Not only that, but he yelled so harshly and got so physical. But a part inside of him knew he was justified. He did indeed start to feel as though Miles didn’t love him. At the same time, it was harsh to take off his wedding ring as if he didn’t want to be married to him. Phoenix loved Miles so much which was honestly why he was so mad. Phoenix could easily admit that he missed his husband’s presence in the house. He missed ruffling his beautiful soft hair, or cuddling on the couch while watching Steel Samurai. He missed going on walks to the park with Trucy where the three rambled on about things that happened. He missed being by his side. 

“DADDY! COME QUICK!” Trucy cried out from somewhere in the house, putting Phoenix on alarm. He quickly grabbed the nearest thing he had, a razor, and darted out his bedroom prepared to beat the crap out of whatever was bothering Trucy. If the air conditioner wasn’t blowing, it’d get the classic Phoenix Wright kick. But all he was met with was Trucy holding a familiar wedding ring in her fingers. Miles’ wedding ring he noted. Her expression was visibly sad. Miles what did you do to her- I SWEAR if he-

“Daddy, don’t you dare get mad at Papa! You are the one that did this!” She angrily told him, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. Stupid Miles and his influence on glaring at people. “Papa left something for you. Go look on the counter.” she softly spoke, dropping the glare and her anger. Phoenix placed the razor down on the counter, and anxiety filled him. There was a note. 

“No…”

He rushed to read the letter, praying to anything in the universe that this wasn’t a repeat of the past… He wouldn’t do this to me again. He wouldn’t-

My beloved Phoenix Wright,

I shall be staying at my office for the time being to give you the space you require. I’ve swapped rings for reasons I shall not discern here. My deepest apologies to Trucy, I won’t be seeing her and giving her that grin she wished to see the previous night. 

I’ll be back whenever you want me to come back home. I understand the words you’ve said, and my current course of action is going against everything you’ve said, but I need some time. At least a day to reflect on everything. 

I now know this means absolutely nothing to you, but I shall still add them here. 

I love you, and I hope to see you again very soon. 

Sincerely and forever yours,

Miles Edgeworth

“Daddy, I think you hurt Papa last night- Really really badly.” Trucy expressed, handing the wedding ring to him. Phoenix shakily held the tiny ring in his hand, as if just holding it would make it disappear. “He’ll be back, right Daddy?” Trucy questioned, beginning to hug him softly as he still stood there. Phoenix didn’t really know how to answer that. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “He’ll be back, Truce. Not tonight, or maybe even the upcoming week-”

“Great! And you will apologize to him when he gets back! That’s my version of the apology you owe me for telling Papa that he quote ‘doesn’t act like he loves me.’ That’s some false testimony you gave there, Daddy.” Trucy cut him off before heading back towards a hallway. 

“HOLD IT!” Phoenix sternly yelled, catching his daughter’s attention immediately. “Truce, be honest on this next question. Do you think that Edgeworth, without any of the words he says, actually loves you? If he didn’t say he loves you, do you think he-” 

“Daddy, I haven’t known Papa as long as you, and even I’m not that blind to understand he struggles at showing emotions. More often than not he tries to hide these emotions. I’ve seen him hide sadness away from me, hide happiness, what’s stopping him from hiding his affections towards us?” Trucy instantly rebutted. “We all have some feelings we hide. Like I have to hide my feelings of nervousness before performing. You Daddy often shield me from your worries. It’s all natural. Yet nobody can truly bottle these emotions up, no matter how much they try. Papa especially struggles understanding this. But all it takes is a ‘little further investigation’ in your terms.” Trucy smiled as she finished explaining. 

Of course, Phoenix knew Miles struggled with emotions. He’d known that fact even back in 4th grade when Miles struggled to explain his feelings towards a certain subject ( signal samurai) . He always struggles to find the right words, or express how he feels about something truly. The only exception was if it was about his work, as that was a  subject he could ramble on and on about for days. 

“Daddy, that’s the reason I’m really mad at you about this whole affair!” Trucy angrily told him before crossing her arms. “You’ve known and thought of Papa for nearly your whole life! You should know by now that he struggles with these kinds of things!” Trucy paused for a second, a pained look on her face “But mainly, I’m mad at the fact that you think he doesn’t love you.” She spoke quietly, looking down at the floor. Phoenix placed the ring on the counter before finally moving, worried she was about to cry right then and there. He kneeled down quickly and cupped her face. Her eyes were watering up, and she let out a quick sob. 

“I know… I know Papa loves you more than anything in the world. It’d take an ignorant blind person not to see that. Yet you- Daddy- You seem to fail to realize that. Fail to see past his words how much he c…cares for you. S… So then…” Tears were rolling down her face, and another few sobs made their way out. “I…If you’re this unhappy with him… Then…” Trucy tried her best to form a smile, but the tears kept coming down. 

“I… I don’t want to say goodbye to Papa, Daddy!” she choked out loudly before clinging to Phoenix, staining his pajamas with wet tears. “ Please! Papa does love you! He does!” She begged and cried, not restraining her tears anymore. She kept trying to reason with Phoenix as they sat on the floor, begging him to understand. 

This was what bothered her so much. Phoenix rubbed circles on her back, trying to get her to calm down. He was getting some deja vu to when his husband was rudely awakened from a nightmare and believed his father wouldn’t love him anymore. Everytime it happened, he would be right there, willingly ready to comfort him on their bed. 

Phoenix did his routine of how to calm people down. Stroking their backs and hair, letting their tears dry and their sobs die. Helping them regain their breathing, he was used to all of this by now. He didn’t speak until he knew they were ready for whatever he was about to say. 

Phoenix didn’t start talking until Trucy was breathing normally and wasn’t crying. 

“Baby girl, I promise I’m not saying goodbye to Papa Miles. And I’m sorry for last night’s argument that made you think this way. I don’t plan on divorcing him over this, or ever really.” Phoenix apologized, muttering the last bit of what he was saying. “Truth is I already feel extremely guilty over last night. Thinking back, I was extremely harsh on him last night, and acted in the ‘least sophisticated manner known to man’, as he would describe it. I do plan on apologizing to him soon, but I’m planning to give him 3 days. Partially because I need to calm my anger. I haven’t fully forgiven him-”

“I understand Daddy, but I expect you to give him the most genuine apology! Because I still think you hurt him a lot last night.”  

Phoenix couldn’t help but agree, sadly. “Of course, I’ll try my best. Now Trucy, you better go prepare for that magic show of yours. I think Papa would be upset if you weren’t 100% prepared for it.” Phoenix insisted. Trucy laughed at the last bit, gave him one giant hug, then went off into her room. Phoenix quickly got off the floor then headed back to the counter where the note and ring was. He decided to hang the note with a magnet on the fridge. He wasn’t a fan of any paper notes such as this one, but it was still an important reminder for the time being. As for the ring, since it was Miles’ ring he couldn’t exactly put it on his finger for the time being. Phoenix did, after all, have larger fingers than Miles. He opted to place it on his nightstand near his bed so he wouldn’t lose it.

“This whole mess could’ve been avoided” He thought to himself as he got out of his room to heat up some leftover brunch. “Hopefully you are okay, Miles.”

---

When Miles said he was going to be staying at his office, he truly meant it in the literal sense. He didn’t feel like paying for a hotel (and didn’t deserve room service), and his office did offer him the privacy he yearned for. He only left his office to finish up the troublesome trial that was causing him unexpected problems. Miles always kept an emergency bag full of supplies such as extra clothing and food inside a hidden trapdoor in his office. Can never be too prepared. Although Miles lacked showering supplies that he preferred, once Franziska heard of the situation that her younger brother was locking himself in his office, she demanded he take a shower and clean himself at her old place.

“Only a foolishly foolish fool who foolishly ignores basic hygiene can be called a foolish fool. Go wash up before the Defense wins from cleanliness, Miles Edgeworth!” she whipped a towel at his head before leaving him. Although he loved Franziska more than he lets on, she still scares him with that stupid darn whip. After all, whips are a fair punishmen-

After receiving the proper hygiene that he felt was up to his standards, he went back to working in his office. He’d wake up on his red sofa, stretch, make a cup of tea, then begin working immediately. He would then review recent trials, reply to any important emails, fill out documents regarding evidence, and keep his phone’s ringer volume on high for a certain text. He’d take a 10 minute break for lunch, then go back to working before dinner. After dinner, he’d work till his eyes and brain gave up trying to stay awake and head to the sofa. There, he would pull out a certain oversized wedding ring that he kept in his back pocket and try putting it on his finger. It obviously was very loose, but he slept with it on. 

Or, try to sleep with it on. After all, since the fight, he’d begun having nightmares again. They’d disappeared for a while, but now they were back to haunt him. Pictures of dead corpses, the gun, the stupid elevator… They were back to smite him as if he wasn’t already suffering enough. He’d wake up in a cold sweat, struggle to breathe, expect something…. Someone to hold him, remember the current circumstances, then cry himself back to sleep, clutching the loose ring and hoping nobody heard him. 

Well this was what he deserved. This was the karma he got for making his own husband believe he didn’t love him. It was retribution, payback, retaliation, any word that meant he deserved punishment. Was he that cold? That unloving of a person? Did he really not show his affections? He tried recalling what Trucy told him. “ I’ve seen him mad throughout the years, but tonight was the worst by far.”

Miles has never really seen Phoenix angry in any scenario. Or bitter for that matter. The worst time Phoenix got that mad was when he ‘came back from the dead’. Even with that, that night he was more than a bit physical and didn’t allow a moment of respite for reasoning. At certain points, Miles was sure Phoenix would’ve punched him. This was most likely due to the sleepiness, but it still stung. 

But the more something stung the more he’d just have to work. He dove deeper into his work, doing his best to forget the situation. Any thoughts including self-hatred or the fight was instantly met with a quick slap of his hand. It only ached for a second before the pain numbed out. 

This was going to heal! Phoenix would call him, right? Phoenix would apologize and they could go back to soft rubs of each other's wrists. They’d go back to holding each other in their arms and never letting go just like they had dreamt for so long. This fight wouldn’t dictate their relationship forever! Right?

Right!?...

---

The house was quiet every afternoon. Trucy seemed to be a lot more quiet recently, but she had repeatedly told him she was piled up on homework, so nothing to worry about there, right? She still came out to wish him a goodnight, giving him “A Magician’s Magnificent Hug” and a few jokes that he would always laugh to. Then she’d disappear off into her bedroom not to be heard till the next morning. On normal days, this was the point when he and Miles would begin discussing their own days in more depth and anything they were stressing over. What they needed to get done the next day, plans of attack against opposing lawyers, any thoughts in their head was normally given out by this point. 

Sometimes they’d put on a movie and sit on the couch, arms intertwined and legs pressed firmly against each other. Phoenix would blow at his husband’s face to annoy him, and in return his husband would tickle his side with that irritating but ridiculously handsome loving smirk he had. Moments like that were what they had both yearned for. What their brains would come up with while they slept (assuming Miles doesn’t get one of his nightmares), except this was no dream. Reality gave them what they had wanted after years of going up and down hills that would later become thorny mountains. They had survived the harshness of the mountains which led them both to open plains waiting to be explored. Plains of boundless opportunities and memories…

Now, Phoenix was sitting at the messy and empty dining room table, alone. The room was so quiet, and whenever there was downtime, there was time for his thoughts to run rampant. There was no rush, his mind didn’t need to go at the speed of sound to find a solution. Here, Phoenix’s mind could think of the finer things his normal busy schedule wouldn’t allow himself to indulge in. 

Always does Phoenix know that the first thoughts will always be about Trucy, his beacon of light. Her wellbeing is one of the most important things in his life. He knows that Trucy wants Miles to be back at every given moment. It was like that during his disbarment, and that fact remains unchanged. She wants them to hurry up, reunite, apologize, and then be so grossly in love that it hurts in the best way possible. His daughter can try and hide her wishes, but Phoenix’s is an alright poker player who simultaneously married a man who hides quite literally everything when necessary. 

The eyes that allow for vision to occur reveal everything. Even when you’ve mastered keeping a steady face, like his husband or daughter, your eyes will always give a sliver of emotion. Every blink, every way your pupil or iris moves, it’s all pieces of a puzzle that when solved tell you a person’s emotions. Phoenix may not be Apollo or even Trucy levels of perception when it comes to body language and slight gestures, but he isn’t blind enough to ignore a person’s eyes. 

With every given moment which included the current situation, everytime Phoenix talks to Trucy he would observe her eyes. Normally, she’d look at him with very little problems. Her pupils focused directly on him, her iris color was the normal shade, and they never wavered. Now, however, Trucy’s eyes seemed to be wandering around the room far more than usual. Her pupils never looked directly at her Father’s, despite the way her head was facing. Her irises seemingly appeared darker, and her eyes as a whole moved back and forth softly. 

The next question to ask is why? What might be the reason she might be doing this? Normally this is the part where Phoenix struggles, but this time around the answer was simple. 

She was bothered by the absence of her Papa, eyes wandering as if she’s looking for him. She hadn’t even brought up Miles to Phoenix since their last heartfelt conversation. Phoenix suspected this probably was a result of her previous Father leaving, and now she was worried she lost a second parental figure. One whom she idolized and loved wholeheartedly. With Zak, Phoenix learned that he wasn’t nearly as “forgiving” as Phoenix was. For periods of time, Trucy would be left home alone while Zak performed magic elsewhere around the world. She made clear that Phoenix and at the time Uncle Miles were clearly the better Fathers, and she thanked them both for just being there. Phoenix… Wasn’t even in the best condition at the time, struggling to feed Trucy some nights, stressing about every single action he did and how the world even saw him. He’d like to think of himself as a good father, but if he was being honest with himself he could’ve done so much more for her. Help her with more of her shows, take her to places she wants to visit around the world, feed her better, anything. 

So Phoenix wasn’t the best father for Trucy, but Miles on the other hand… Every time he’d enter the room she’d light up like never before. The two hit it right off the bat despite his at the time best friend’s fear of being bad with children. Before the two even started dating, everything felt oddly domestic. So much so that when they did start to date, Trucy exclaimed to them both that literally nothing changed. 

His husband is an amazing father despite what he may claim. Trucy was feeling down? Miles would brew her some hot cocoa and himself some tea as they huddled underneath some blankets while watching some TV show. Homework issues? Mr. Edgeworth shall lecture and teach till you understand the unit. Trucy needs a ride? Wants to buy something? Have a restaurant in mind to eat at? All of those things Miles could provide alongside twenty other things. It’s everything Phoenix could dream of and more. Truly it was no wonder why she kept avoiding his gaze. ‘ I want him to come home already, Daddy!’ was left unsaid in every conversation they had. 

I’d let him home, but I’m not ready yet. After the things I’ve said to him, I don’t even know if he will forgive me. I deserve it, but… Ugh, why did I have to say all those things-! Thanks a lot you big mouth of mine. 

In his head, he could easily picture his husband’s voice whispering to him. Can easily see him kneeling down and placing his soft hand on one of Phoenix’s legs, stroking up and down in a soothing motion. His eyes… his deliciously wonderful strong as steel eyes… look at him with no hesitation. No wavering or hidden emotion. Those orbs would display concern, worry, but softness and love all at the same time. Moments like those reminded Phoenix exactly why he fell in love with him in the first place.

“It doesn’t suit someone especially like you to cry useless tears, Wright.” that rich deep voice in his head told him. 

“...I hurt you…” Phoenix decided to start off with, ignoring the fact that he was near the verge of tears. 

“...So you did.” he lightly responded, voice still stern but ever so slightly shaking. 

“ Aren’t you going to lecture me? Explain with your usual professionalism standards how much you hate and despise me for what I-?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Huh?” Phoenix could feel the confusion swell in this imaginary scenario that was only one possibility out of infinity. This was just the outcome he’d want the most. 

“I already forgave you, Phoenix. I forgave you of everything long ago, the same applies here.” 

“But, Miles, I…!”

His head continuing down the best course of action ended up conjuring the image of his husband placing his finger against Phoenix’s dry lips, shutting him up. 

“You talk too much, save that voice for court. Just… Don’t worry, Phoenix. I’ll be right here, as long as you’ll have me…” Miles fingers moved carefully to the side of his cheek, carefully caressing the little bit of stubble that remained on his face. His eyes full of adoration and devotion. A smile that could truly convey his emotions freely adorned his face… And as if in slow motion, he leaned forward…!

Only for the pain of reality to slap his brain in reminder that, no, none of that was real. Miles was still somewhere, but not here in the house directly. Not here by his husband’s side nuzzling him like a cat. The quietness once again lingered in the seemingly thin air. Breathing felt difficult, like something was stuck in his throat. His chest ached like it had during his disbarment, a burning sensation that grew more intense with every passing minute. All he could hear was his unsteady breathing, and eventually something cold rolled down his cheek.  

I’m… Crying? No more tears followed after the one, but still a single tear had managed to escape him. As quietly as he could, he sat up from the dining room table and shut off all the lights. After making sure the doors were locked and secured, Phoenix made his way to his and Miles’ Bedroom. There, he opened up a nightstand drawer to grab a cold gold ring that was too tiny for his finger. 

Back when Miles left the… when he went to find himself, he left a few things behind. A photo of the two as kids, old journals, and a lot of boring other things. The only thing those items had done was make the pain worse, and as a result it made Phoenix hate himself more. One item however did help Phoenix cope during that year, that being the blue signal samurai keychain. It gave him hope that Miles, whether alive or… with Mia, was in a better place than he had been. That his decision was helping him in some way despite Phoenix’s failures. That his friend was truly still there and trying. The keychain had reminded him of that, gave him a sense of hope during that dark time, thus it became a daily coping mechanism when his mind went too far. Most notably, he fell asleep with it in his hands, holding to it like it was providing him warmth. Like it was Miles being there and telling him the world was truly a better place. The little toy gave him the strength to keep defending clients, just like his friend did all those years ago. 

Naturally, when Phoenix fell asleep holding the precious metal ring in his hands like the keychain, hope that everything was going to be okay and that they could recover was the thoughts he held. He fell asleep thinking of his one and only husband, and some messy plans of action on how he was going to fix this whole ordeal. 

---

About 5 days after their fight, Miles couldn’t take it anymore. To say it got worse would be an understatement. He noticed himself becoming more short-tempered, and his progress on work was slowing down fast. Said work also wasn’t the utmost quality that he normally produces. That was most likely due to the lack of sleep. The nightmares of course increased in intensity with each passing day, as they became more and more realistic. 

The entire time he had hoped Phoenix would apologize. To say it was just pent up stress that made him act the way he did. No random knocks ever came, no worried texts ever made his phone go off, no friends or family ever came to him in his husband’s stead. Instead, he spent his time trying to work but ended up feeling extremely guilty. This needed to end before he lost more of his mind. 

Holding the ring in hand, he began typing up an apology letter for all he had done. Whether or not he would say the letter verbally to his face was up for debate. Even so, Miles just needed to get his point across, even if Phoenix didn’t believe his words anymore. At this point Miles probably sounded like a broken record to him. 

Phoenix Wright,

It has been nearly 5 days since I last heard from you. I’m writing this letter to apolo-

BEEP BEEP!

A loud noise interrupted him as he was beginning to type his apology letter. Opening the drawer of his desk and brushing aside his precious Signal Samurai keychain, one notification was being displayed on his phone. Text message from Phoenix. Forgetting everything, he quickly unlocked his phone to read the text. 

Message Received, 6:02 P.M: Phoenix Wright <3

If you are ready, you can come home tonight.

Miles didn’t hesitate to go home. He closed his laptop, cleaned up his office, and packed his briefcase. He made sure to lock his office before going to the stairwell, in which he ran down those stairs like there was no tomorrow while maintaining a sense of professionalism. He knew barely anyone takes the stairs, but just on the off chance someone did, they would do well not to disturb him. He rushed to his car, turned on the radio to the classical channel, and sped his way back home. 

---

Miles almost didn’t see Trucy in the driveway, but thankfully he had slowed down enough to stop the car. Miles you blatant fool, you almost ran over your daughter! To say he panicked frantically for a moment would be accurate. He was already stressed about seeing Phoenix again, but seeing Trucy outside didn’t calm his nerves. What if he changed his mind about me coming home, and sent Trucy to let me down easier?

“Welcome home Papa! We missed you!” Trucy happily told him before engulfing him in a large hug. He wasn’t even inside their home and he was feeling more warmth than he had for a long while. Miles ruffled her hair before returning the hug. He made a note of a hole in the back of Trucy’ cape that he would probably stitch back together later. 

“Where’s your father, Trucy?” he asked, noticing the lack of a bike on the porch.

“Oh! He went to visit Aunt Frazy! I think-” Trucy instantly told him, before Miles interrupted.

“Oh, Aunt Fran- HE WENT TO VISIT WHAT!?!” Miles was already fearing the absolute worst. 

“Don’t worry Papa! Auntie Maya will probably protect him from any harsh unnecessary whippings. I don’t know why he went to visit them, but he says he’ll be home later on tonight.” Trucy assured as they began heading for their front door. Miles wasn’t too excited, especially after the last visit to Aunt Franziska’s house leading to a late night stitching session after she whipped his husband too roughly on the arm. It still left a little scar on his arm. 

Unlocking the door to their house revealed an absolute mess of the living room that Miles was and wasn’t expecting. Papers were scattered about, props lying all around the wooden floor, and don’t let Miles get started on the kitchen. If this was his home, he would assume somebody robbed them. However, his security notifications didn’t go off, so nobody robbed them. 

He spoke nothing of the state of their home, hanging his jacket on the coat rack and placing his shoes neatly near the entrance. Trucy was already making space for him on the couch as she set up what appeared to be the canonical 6th Steel Samurai movie in the series. The Steel Samurai and the Deadly Love Clan.

Miles being the mature adult he is, played the 6th movie many times whenever he felt he needed background noise while he worked. Which often made him procrastinate from his work. Its plot, while confusing on the first watch, made total sense after the climax. It was foreshadowing many elements of this hidden clan, their tricks and secrets. This movie also made a big impact on the relationship between the Steel Samurai and the Evil Magistrate, having the Evil Magistrate go missing from Neo Olde Tokyo for nearly half a year. So of course when he made his return to assist the Steel Samurai towards the end everyone was ecstatic. He even attempted to help the Steel Samurai take down the clan in his own way. Doing further research revealed that the two were now being considered a romantic couple even more than before.

“Papa, are you coming to watch or not? Daddy skipped movie night this week and I was excited to watch this one!” Trucy called out, patting his spot on the couch. Smiling, Miles took a seat next to Trucy on the couch, and the two of them watched the movie. Though it saddened Miles that his husband wasn’t there with them. 

---

“Phoenix Wright, what has your foolish mouth done this time? You wouldn’t visit me without a reason, so spit it out.” Franziska sternly told him while sitting across from him in her living room. It had been awhile since he last visited Franziska since she now lived in Kurain Village. From what he understood, she was in town prosecuting a case while Maya was out doing research for her training. Due to Franziska’s role as interpol police, Maya got to explore the world and gather information from loads of different people. That was just one benefit to the two of them being married, he supposed.

“How do you handle fights between you and Maya?” he stated bluntly, preparing himself for the whip that was to follow. Franziska’s eyes widened, and she stared at him speechless. The moment ended once her face filled with rage, as if he said some baseless conjecture in a courtroom. Oh boy, this is turning into a lectu- REEE!

The whip hit him directly on the top of his head, and he was sure he’d just lost a few strands of his hair. Franziska stood from her seat, marched to where Phoenix was sitting, and stood angrily over him. Her whip was raised over her head, preparing for what he was sure to be a “whip foolish fool Phoenix Wright into oblivion” moment. He gulped. 

“Who is to say I have had a fight with her? I would have to be an utter fool to do that!” she started, before letting her whip snap at the floor. That poor floor must get a lot of abuse. He was expecting her to put her whip back over her head, but she kept it down to her side. She clutched her arm that held her whip, a pose reminiscent of her father and brother. “We may disagree over some things, but to call it a fight would be ridiculous! The highest level of tomfoolery that a foolishly foolish fool could even foolishly commit! I would never dare dream of seriously yelling at her. I don’t have to agree with everything she says, and neither does she. It’s an easy fact of life that every being is different. After all, some of us are even bigger fools than others, such as yourself.” she said, voice staying firm. 

“So hypothetically speaking-”

“Foolish Defense Attorney Phoenix Wright, I want realistic speaking. Don’t bother me with foolish thoughts that may never occur or happen.”

“Right. So…” his mouth quickly became dry, and words became hard to say.

“I don’t have all night, Mr. Phoenix Wright.” she expressed with a voice of monotone.

Deep breath… You can do this… Just say it. 

 “What would you do after having a fight with your brother?”

The already tense atmosphere grew as the silence stretched out longer. Phoenix observed how her eyes seemed to darken at the sentence, how her pupils shrunk and irised moved in disbelief. 

“… Repeat that again.”

“What would you do after having a fight with your brother? Like… How would you make it up to him? Or apologize-”

Phoenix stopped himself after he realized Franziska dropped her whip to the floor. She was as still as a statue, barely even breathing. She merely stared at him. 

“Are you alright, Ms. Von Karma?” He blatantly said, worried she might be going through something. She really is similar to Miles- Not the time for comparisons, Phoenix. She didn’t respond. Wasn’t responding. Phoenix began to slightly panic, worried her nervous system shut down or… or something! He was about to go call 911 to take her to the hospital (his brain wasn’t functional enough to think of a better solution), but the slam of a door stopped him. 

“Franzy! I’m back from the waterfall! Sorry that took so long, went to get some bur-” Maya stopped mid-sentence once she saw Nick. However, that didn’t seem to be her main concern. 

“Franziska!” she dropped the bags she held as they clattered against the floor and rushed to her wife’s side, picking up her whip. “Nick, what did you do this time!?” she whined while helping her wife sit back down on the couch.

“I don’t know!? She just suddenly froze up like this while we were discussing-”

Suddenly, Franziska jumped out of her seat like she had just reconnected to reality and lunged forward. She was gripping Phoenix’s right hand. Specifically, she was looking at his ring finger as if it were some mythical creature. 

“What did you say?” she ordered gripping his hand even harder. Phoenix was sure in a few moments his hand would just shatter from the amount of pressure she was applying. “What did you say to my younger brother? I demand to know, Phoenix Wright! This isn’t rhetorical, answer my question, RIGHT NOW!” she shouted, yanking Phoenix’s hand which made a crack. She is going to actually kill me!

“OK! OK! PLEASE JUST LET GO OF MY HAND! OWWW” Phoenix choked out, feeling his hand grow more numb the longer she held on. Maya had to make Franziska sit back down on the couch in order for her to let go. Franziska still sent him daggers with her glare. 

“I may have led Miles to believe that I think he doesn’t love me anymore-”

FWISH! The sharp sound that sounded like a bullet returned as the whip was let loose again. This time from Maya. It just barely missed him.

“Nick! How many times have we discussed this matter!?”

CRACK! This time the whip hit his thigh. It was a miracle the clothing didn’t tear. 

“Need to improve on your aim, dear. BUT AS FOR THIS BLUFFING BUFFOON, WHAT WERE YOU POSSIBLY THINKING?!” Franziska yelled, trying her best not to just whip him unconscious. “For a man who beat me, YOU ARE RIDICULOUSLY FOOLISH!” 

Maya stopped her from whipping him again thankfully , and turned to face Phoenix. 

“Before we start scolding him, Franzy, let’s hear his point of view. Nick, what made you think this? I’m asking as someone who knows about your crush for the last decade or so and is concerned about… Whatever this whole thing may be.” Maya inquired, trying her best to act relaxed. Of course, since the moment Phoenix saw Edgeworth back in 2016 in the trial that involved his beloved Mentor, Maya had noticed his “pinning”. She only brought up her suspicions after the DL-6 incident ended. Since then, she’s been there to support him in his times where he needed to vent. He felt guilty about all of this, until she started her teasing about his crush. Come on, Nick! I bet Edgeworth would buy me burgers- Even through the years of teasing, she was always loyal to him about this and was ecstatic to be there for their wedding. He knew he could trust her, and that there was no point hiding anything or else he’d have to take her to an expensive 5-star noodle shop. 

“To be honest, I only yelled at him because I miss him. I might’ve let my rage blind my judgment in spur of the moment, and it may have made me say some feelings I’ve hidden away on purpose.” Phoenix truthfully told Maya while trying his best to avoid eye contact, feeling a little embarrassed and guilty. 

“I won’t lecture you again on how bad it is to repress emotions. Although just to be sure, you aren’t divorcing him, right?”

“YOU BETTER NOT EVEN THINK OF THE MOST FOOLISHLY FOOLISH THOUGHT OF DIVORCE. IF YOU EVEN CONSIDER BREAKING MY YOUNGER BROTHER’S HEART PHOENIX WRIGHT I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET-” Phoenix was sure that if she were closer, she’d drive that finger into his chest. 

“NO! Where would you both even get that idea from!? I would NEVER want to divorce Miles for as long as I live!” Phoenix instantly answered not hesitating for even a second. Maya gave him a confused look, before finally speaking again. “Then if you aren’t going to divorce him, where’s your wedding ring? I know you wouldn’t just take it off-”

“It’s with Miles. I did hand him my wedding ring to make a really harsh point last night, but he seems to have swapped them out. I have Miles’ ring right here in my pocket if you need further proof.” Phoenix explained, which thankfully put Franziska off her edge. Phoenix gave a long sigh before running his hands through his hair. 

“I haven’t spoken to him in 5 days, and haven’t heard if he is okay or not. Before I came, I texted out to him, informing that he could come home today. I just want this whole thing to end, but I don’t really know how.” Phoenix told them, saying his thoughts out loud for them to understand. The couple took a second to think of how to respond as the room finally went quiet for a few moments. Phoenix tried to focus on his breathing, he could feel himself beginning to have a panic attack over a certain topic he’s been avoiding. 

“Something is still on your mind, isn’t it Mr. Phoenix Wright. Your leg is shaking as if there’s an earthquake. Mind sharing?” Franziska questioned. Phoenix felt his hands start to tremble, the world was beginning to spin, and his breathing became very loud in his ears. “I…” was all he could get out. 

Calm down… Calm down and explain yourself… Now’s not the time to panic…

“Nick?”

He’s not going to leave… He’s not going to Europe… He’s Chief Prosecutor. Miles wouldn’t just leave… right? 

“Phoenix Wright.”

Miles wouldn’t leave him for his outburst… But what if he did- Did he go too far this time? Would he be the reason for him abandoning all he’s been striving for? All because he couldn’t close his mouth? No… Miles would absolutely leave Phoenix over this. He deserved this. He’d gotten lucky with avoiding death, but not this time. This time he screwed up. Now he wouldn’t be able to call his husband his husband. Trucy would have to say farewell to another Father who was the best one she’s ever had… He’d leave for Europe, forgetting everything they’d been through. Forget everything relating to Phoenix, including that he existed in his life. He was the biggest fool in the entire world. Oh god what had he done-

CRACK. 

“OUCH!!!” cried Phoenix as the pain registered on his shoulder.

“Phoenix Wright! You were spiraling, breathe for the court, would you?” 

“Franzy! Hold the whip for a moment please. It isn’t going to help right now.”

Maya was sitting by his side, holding his hand and tissues. The wetness of his face finally became apparent to him. He’d been crying? Maya turned her attention back to her friend. 

“Nick, you aren’t thinking of Mr. Edgeworth leaving you again are you? We’ve been over this so many times.”

Always right on, she had read him like a book. The fear that Miles would just leave for Europe leaving him and Trucy alone scared him more than anything, even his fear of heights, bridges, and poison. For all of those, he could normally rely on Miles to help him overcome those pesky fears. But this? He didn’t know what exactly he would do should it come to this, nor did he ever want to. 

“Come on Nick, the day Edgeworth leaves you for good is the day I seriously say the scariest line of ‘I hate hamburgers’.” Maya teased trying to lighten the mood. It made him chuckle. 

“So never?” 

“Exactly.”

The fear would never truly leave him, strengthening and weakening depending on his mood, but as long as it wasn’t in full throttle he could handle himself. Maya hugged him, whispering reassuring words to help calm him down. They sat there for a few minutes, until his breathing was back to normal and before his brain exploded in complete disarray. 

“For your information Phoenix Wright, my younger brother did visit me twice to come shower. The foolish fool thought he could get away without proper hygiene.” Franziska commented, “He was noticeably more quiet, but at the time I assumed he was just overworking himself as he normally does. I do remember him having his hand often in his right pocket, fidgeting with something inside.”

There were two things he could be fidgeting with inside those pockets. One being his Prosecutor’s Badge. Despite Phoenix’s efforts, his husband always refused to wear it on his lapel. He always insists on putting my badge onto my lapel, why can’t I do the same for him? The other item he could think of was his wedding ring… Why did Miles trade rings anyways?  

“You probably should apologize to him, Nick. Take some responsibility. After all, you were the one that initiated the situation. It’s only fitting you should be the one to put an end to it. Then knowing you two, things will go back to normal!” Maya explained, planning as if this were some mission. Franziska agreed, before going full lecture mode on how to speak a perfect apology.

“Make your message crystal clear. You don’t want any other misunderstandings to occur when you are trying to end one. Your voice shouldn’t hesitate or waver, be firm and show no hesitations. If necessary, show how sorry you are through physical actions. A hug is more like you, but bowing before him would be the more respectable and honorable thing to do.”

Franziska and Maya even demonstrated how to do a “proper” apology, even mimicking their voices. Just don’t allow Phoenix to suggest for them to take a career in theater. As a former art major and theater kid, he couldn’t say it was baddd, but…

“Any more questions Mr. Phoenix Wright? If I hear no objections, you shall now march with your head up high all the way back home and give my brother the most spectacular and as close to perfect apology he has ever seen. It may not be as perfect as my apologies, but in your situation it will suffice fine enough.” She pointed her finger towards her door. She also shoved in his hands a nice bouquet of flowers that Maya had actually bought for her. Then the lovely wife duo pushed him out of their home. 

“Good luck Nick! Update us on how things end up going!” Maya cheerfully waved him off before slamming the door on him. He stood awkwardly in the hallway, checking the time on a nearby clock wall. It was already 9:02 P.M. It would take him a good 38 minutes to get back home. 

So, Phoenix quickly undid the locks to his bike, made sure his belongings were all safely stored and accounted for, and started making his way back home. Preparations were already in place, all he had to do was mentally prepare himself. 

---

After making sure his bike was on his porch, and that he didn’t lose anything on the way home, Phoenix made his way to the front door. The flowers he held had definitely seen better days. He couldn’t even tell any of the flower types except for a single red rose in the direct middle of the assortment.

Creakkkkk…

The door gave out a hefty sigh as Phoenix walked in. He quietly closed the door assuming Trucy was already asleep in her bed. The mess of his house was still all over the floor, but that wasn’t his main concern. Over in the living room, he could barely make out a mysterious figure sitting there quietly. A shadow representing a human seemed to be sitting on the couch. Who’s that!? Did I enter during a robbery!?

Phoenix paused and assessed what he could do. Only one option entered his mind, and that was to disarm whoever it was. Due to the lack of light, there was no telling what this person armed themselves with. Quickly, Phoenix did his best to recall a self-defense book he read when studying to become a lawyer ( the law book claimed self defense might be necessary if a witness lashed out.) With what he had on him, he readied himself for combat. 

3…2…1… NOW!

With as much strength as he could muster, he threw the bouquet at the person sitting there, with the intent to distract him. They made a noise of confusion and seemed to fumble a bit. Phoenix then quickly turned on the lights and charged to tackle the person to the floor. Phoenix leapt over the couch and tackled the person to the floor. They kept squirming, but Phoenix was able to keep a hold on their arms and legs, pinning the person to the ground. 

“Name and occupation, right now before I break something of yours.” He hastily threatened, trying his best not to appear absolutely terrified in front of this person.

“M-Miles Edgeworth, y-your husband- Occupation… Prosecutor… and p-please don’t break an-anything ” 

Oops- 

“Miles!? What in the- Are you okay!?” Phoenix quickly got off of him, noticing his husband struggling to breathe. Looking a little closer, Miles seemed to have changed into his maroon silk pajamas. In his peripherals, he could even see his matching red night cap. God I forgot how cutely he slee… Not the time Phoenix. 

“I’ve been better. Thanks for the warm welcome back, anything else you wish to do to me tonight? Like for instance, do you just want to punch me next? Laugh till your own lungs hurt? Then hurry along and do it.” Miles calmly replied, gripping his elbow again. Something’s troubling him. Is he feeling responsible for that night? I’m going to have to fix this fast!

TAKE THAT!!

“I see you still have my wedding ring…” Miles mumbled silently. Observing his movements as if this were a game of Poker, Phoenix noticed his hand starting to fidget with something inside his pants pocket. Bingo, I was right. It was his ring after all!  “I still don’t understand why you swapped them. I tried to find any hidden symbolism, but nothing came about. So do you mind explaining why you switched our rings?” Phoenix asked while handing Miles his ring back. The room grew quiet, with the occasional snore in the background as the two men sat in their messy living room. 

“...piece of you.”

“Huh!? What’d you mumble, Miles?”

Finally, Miles pulled out Phoenix’s ring from his pocket and straightened himself. His shoulders were still tense. “I just wanted to have a piece of you. I didn’t know how long we were going to be separated…” Miles looked as though he was going to say something else but stopped himself from admitting so. “ I’m not going to push him on that.” Phoenix quickly thought to himself. 

They sat there, an awkward silence filling the room. Phoenix began to feel uncomfortable as Miles kept picking at his ring, not once looking him in the eyes. Phoenix opted to scoot closer towards his husband, one scoot at a time. Eventually, they were sitting right next to each other, no extra space in their personal bubble. Phoenix slowly lowered his head to rest on Miles’ shoulder. The smell of tea flooded his senses. The temptation to just cuddle right there was what his mind wanted to do, but first was the apology. In through the nose, out through the mouth, Phoenix. 

“I’m sorry for the fight. I didn’t mean to get angry at you like I did, and it was foolish of me to push you up against a wall.” Phoenix started out by saying, trying his best to remember all of Franziska’s advice. “I… I hope you can forgive me for that fight. I’m really sorry, but I do miss you so…” Phoenix trailed off before a cold hand covered his mouth. 

“I forgive you” Miles quickly said, not giving room for any ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’. Phoenix knew just by looking at his husband that he wasn’t lying about what he said. Nor would Phoenix doubt he’d lie to him about forgiveness. Yet, one single glance at the man’s eyes showed some hidden pain. They still seemed sad, a little foggy. 

Grrrrrrrrrrr

“...Did you not eat at my sister’s? I’m surprised, she normally feeds her guests.” Miles fondly said, a little smile creeping on his face. He’s definitely hiding something from me. I don’t exactly know what it is, but if I had a hunch I’d say it’s about the fight. 

Miles got up off the ground, taking some time to also help Phoenix get up since his back was dying after his “self defense” attempt. How Trucy was still asleep after all their ruckus was still a mystery to be solved. They also very quickly exchanged their rings back to each other, placing it on their respective fingers. I’ve missed you little ring. They stared at the sight on both of their hands before Miles ended up breaking the trance. “I’ll go prepare some food, it’ll take about 15 minutes. Think you can wait that amount of time, dear?” Miles firmly asserted once they finished putting each other's rings on, and began to make his way towards the kitchen. Phoenix gave him a little smile, gave his thanks, and went to his bedroom for a moment. 

Miles is definitely trying to conceal something from me. He just called me dear! He’s already established his stance on pet names-- Something abnormal is happening here, but I don’t know what it could be! Phoenix was tempted to pull out his handy dandy Magatama to get to the bottom of this, but he trusted Miles. He hadn’t done anything wrong, he was just moving a little fast. If he was hurting, he’d be getting signs by now. Or Miles would’ve said so since he was making progress of opening up more. So Phoenix decided against using the Magatama for now. Finally things were going to be back to the way it was before all of this happened. 

---

“I should’ve used the magatama on him the night he forgave me.” Phoenix thought to himself as he rolled over in his empty king size bed. Miles insisted the night he apologized to sleep on the couch in the living room, claiming he wasn’t fully ready to sleep in their shared king sized bed yet. Not wishing to go over any of his boundaries, Phoenix allowed him to sleep on the couch. He DIDN’T expect him to sleep on it for the next 2 weeks! Every night, once Miles knew Trucy was asleep in her room, he would head to sleep on the couch, with no pillows or blankets. Only with his pink pajamas and nightcap to keep him warm.

But that wasn’t the only strange behavior he was displaying. Whenever Phoenix got home from work everyday, the house seemed to get cleaner. First he came home to their bedroom with the sheets being freshly cleaned and their bed being made. Then was all the bathrooms in their house, all thoroughly bleached and sanitized. The toilet even sparkled if you squinted. Scattered papers that littered the floor were reorganized into the bookshelf full of old law books and binders. The dishes were all cleaned and put in the dishwasher. Trucy’s props were all organized inside her now very clean bedroom. Everything Phoenix normally did cleaning wise was always done when he got home. Only problem was he didn’t know how. Trucy claimed that if her magic could clean the house like it was now she would have done that years ago. 

Well Miles wasn’t the only one acting strange. Trucy herself was acting amiss. A week after the apology, she seemed more distant from her Father, only saying the necessary things to him and nothing more. She didn’t tell him school stories, or talks of magic. Just the basics a family would say to each other. 

Regardless of Trucy’s strange behavior, that only left Miles to be the one to clean all of this, but the question was when? When in that man’s schedule did he ever clean the house? And why? Phoenix knew that Miles found cleaning an annoyingly frustrating process, so why was he doing this? The question bothered him, and Phoenix was going to have to confront his husband about it tomorrow morning before the man might need to leave for work. With that, Phoenix fell asleep alone with a determination to end whatever was happening. 

He wasn’t prepared for what would end up happening. 

---

“This is all for him. You need to show your love for them somehow, Miles!” 

That one singular thought repeated in his head as he began the cleaning process of his house. Miles Edgeworth was not a man who enjoyed cleaning. He didn’t mind organizing, but sanitizing is where he fell flat. Most of the time, a Von Karma servant would do his chores of sanitizing his room and making the place appear perfect. Way before that, his own father would always be there next to him to clean up his room. Thinking back, there was always a smile on his father’s face when they were cleaning, and it was a lot of fun back then to just spend time with him. 

But that was the past. Current Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth despised cleaning. The clouds of dust would cause him to sneeze, the revolting germs inside the bathroom grossed him more than it should, and having to throw things into a trash can, for some reason, bothered him. As a result, Phoenix is the one who cleans the house. To Miles’ credit, Phoenix is the one that often makes the mess, so it’s only logical that he cleans up after himself. Right?

Miles had forgiven Phoenix for the fight. That was easy. He’d always forgive Phoenix, always. Yet, the next logical question was what caused the fight in the first place? Miles showing more love towards working, Miles not spending time with his family, Miles not showing any signs of love to either of his family members. If Miles had been more open to showing his love, it wouldn’t have caused Phoenix to get that mad. It would have avoided the whole affair. 

He was the one at fault. 

So for 2 weeks, Miles did his absolute best to show his family he did care for them. Whether or not they got the message didn’t matter. Sure now he slept on the uncomfortable couch, but it was a small price to pay. Late at night, when everyone was probably having joyous happy dreams (like they deserved), Miles worked on cleaning the house. He only got 3-5 hours of sleep every night due to this. Whenever he was legally required to take a break from work he would continue working on his atonements. 

It was 19 days later since the whole fight occurred. The whole house was sleeping peacefully, meaning it was work time for the Prosecutor. Miles was taking a break on the couch after making preparations for dinner tomorrow. Faintly he could hear distantly Phoenix's breathing begin to slow down. He was falling asleep, Miles noted as he let out a long exhale. Suddenly he noticed how heavy his eyelids were, how his body ached for a break, how relaxed he felt on the couch….

“NO! You have to stay awake!” His mind was setting off all sorts of alarms, trying it’s best to stay active and sharp. “ You gotta clean… your mistakes…Show…” Was all he thought before the heaviness in his eyes finally gave out. 

.

.

.

.

.

He was on one of the many grassy hills overlooking a nearby courthouse. The wind softly blowing his hair and the nearby purple hyacinths following the flow of the breeze. It was oddly peaceful. A moment of respite from an awful week. If Miles had the option, he would’ve stayed there for the rest of his life. Well.. It did lack one thing that would give him a reason not to stay there. It lacked the most brilliant, stupendous, wonderous friend he got the chance of marrying. With a scene such as this, he wished his husband was there with him to witness it. He wished he could gently hold his hand, as the two just look around and view the world for its beauty and not always have to look at the worst in life. Just the thought of that made him smile and gleeful. 

But of course this wasn’t gleeful. This whole scene was a facade. A mask to something even deeper.

In the distance from where he calmly stood was a man in an expensive blue suit with stunningly beautiful spiky jet black hair. But something was… off. His head was faced towards the ground, his walk was more of an angry march, and his overall presence was something akin to a raging storm. 

Miles blinked for just a second, and the scenery changed. Those hills full of flowers now an eerie black void surrounding him and Phoenix as the two stood facing each other. It didn’t take long for Miles to realize that the Phoenix before him was crying. 

“Phoenix! Are you alright? What happened!?” Panic flooded him as he quickly moved to comfort the man he adored. Reaching out an arm, Phoenix suddenly slapped his knuckles, the area becoming bright red. Miles was stunned. His face once puffy red and trailed with tears became what he could describe as a cunning look. An enormous smirk plastered across his face, eyes telling of deception and trickery. This wasn’t Phoenix.

“What’s it matter to you, Edgeworth? A demon prosecutor such as yourself wouldn’t care about my wellbeing.” his once warm and confident voice now sounding slippery echoed in the void. Miles was feeling deja vu to the fight he had earlier. Don’t talk, it’ll only make things worse like it did already. Learn from your mistakes, Miles. That’s all you’ve done for your entire life. 

Miles bit his tongue so as to not say a single word. Phoenix meanwhile kept observing every movement he made, every sign for something. Then, out of nowhere Phoenix suddenly disintegrated into ashes. Chills were being sent down Miles’ spine, but he was committed to not react. To avoid making the same mistake again.

“You know, I could suddenly disappear- die … And you wouldn’t give a care in the world. You would shed no tears , show no signs of grief… You would just forget me . All in an attempt to appear strong” Phoenix’s voice hung over his head, taunting him. Miles was about to start arguing with Phoenix. Tell him how much he would hurt, how much he would suffer if he lost his savior. His best friend. His first and only love. His husband. However, something cold and tight gripped his wrists suddenly. Looking down, a steel chain was holding him down. More chains appeared shortly afterwards, holding tightly at his ankles, and eventually he was being held in the air by the chains. When he tried to speak, nothing was said. He was now a sitting duck, and he could do nothing but watch his husband helplessly.

“You never cared for me, did you?” Phoenix’s voice sweetly said, the tone hiding the true pain and meaning of the words he spoke.. “I might as well just leave you here to reflect. Maybe then you won’t just appear to be a reflection of Manfred Von Karma . His perfect project. One that forced his own daughter to get ignored of her intelligence and future. Why? Because of you.” 

Stop… Please stop… Franziska- 

“And you know what’s truly pathetic?” Phoenix’s voice was louder than it had been the entire time. It was a voice that demanded attention. That was when Miles saw his lover, his husband suddenly reappear before him, except something was missing on his finger. Not only that, but his figure was also more shady and sinister. A finger found its way on his chest, over his heart, and it pressed forcefully against the fabric of the clothes he was wearing. Miles got a good look at his beloved’s face, and found nothing but a frown and eyes angrily looking at him. 

“The fact that I married you. I have never in my life returned the feelings for your sad, lonely, pathetic heart.” Miles felt his heart break in two. “How could anyone truly fall in love with you? You pretended to be dead for a year, you’re a pain in the behind for anyone who works or speaks to you…” Phoenix paused for a moment to walk up to a hanging Edgeworth, heart now broken into 5 pieces. “You never show how much you care or love something, choosing to hide it in fear of how others will think of you…” Phoenix stepped away for a moment before pulling out a familiar keychain from his pocket. 

“Finally , you betrayed your friends and family… Yourself.” 

SNAP!

It seemed to happen in slow motion as Phoenix crushed the symbol of their friendship like it was an apple. Crushed into thousands of pieces, just like how he felt his heart looked. Shattered. With just the palms of his hands. His chest ached in pain, and he could feel the tears stream down his face rapidly. His mind was screaming. Crying. His throat was beginning to constrict. He wanted to start spilling apologies. He wanted to say a million words, but he knew they wouldn’t do anything. Phoenix had told him earlier. He could claim his love all he wanted, but it was meaningless to him. 

“Oh? Is the Demon Prosecutor showing his tears? Too late for that, now you know how it feels.” The chains unshackled him as he fell to the ground and held his knees to his chest. He was so scared of what might come next. Scared of the idea of being divorced, alone…  

Please… Stop… Phoenix… I’m sorry… I’m sorry-

“You’ve made a deal with the devil, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. I hope you burn in his domain, and that your sins for the lives that you’ve ruined hold an ax over your head for as long as you still exist. It’s not been an honor meeting you. Farewell forever.” Phoenix gave him a pity bow before walking away calmly. 

He was leaving. Leaving him. Forever… 

Not again…

Miles quickly got to his feet to chase after his light, his shining sun, his everything. He is his friend- best friend . He is an amazing father. An amazing defense attorney, rival, a great mentor. Most importantly, he was a man who always believed in him, and loves him. This is a man who he can call his husband, and Miles wasn’t going to lose that. He ran as fast as he could, tears filling his vision. If that man left… He had to stop him. He’d sacrifice anything for that man, the one who saved him. Changed him for the better. Always believed in him. Was always there to comfort him. Who loved him, changed careers for him, married him…!

“ PHOENIX…!” He called out, not caring anymore about past mistakes. His voice was  cracking and shaking as he reached his hand out in front of him in a desperate attempt to grab onto his husband’s shoulder…! 

…But it was too late. Phoenix took one final step before turning again into burnt ashes, leaving Miles standing alone in the void once again. Alone. He was back to being a lonely prosecutor with nobody. Kay was off exploring the world, Sebastian went back to law school, Franziska was too busy being a prodigy and wife to Ms. Fey, Gumshoe was taking care of his newborn child… Nobody was left… 

He collapsed on the floor and began wailing his lover’s name into the void. The name of someone who had filled his heart with hope and love. The name of a man who stole his heart, set it aflame, and made it explode into nothing but a lonely void. 

After a while his cries became sobs. In between sobs, he’d whisper to himself in an attempt to calm him down, but nothing worked. Miles layed there shivering to himself. 

“Phoenix…”

“I love you so much that…”

His breath shuddered before finishing…

“ It’s a frigid heart without you here.” 

---

Miles awoke in his living room with his heart feeling extremely heavy in his chest. He felt cold, especially since his face was soaking wet with sweat. Unlike the last time he woke up with a nightmare ( which was yesterday night ) he could hear Phoenix snoring in the background. Due to him just waking up, his brain didn't notice or register that his feet were hurriedly walking to his bedroom.

---

Phoenix had fallen asleep so easily that night and was greeted with a dream. He vividly remembers seeing Miles in it and the two of them just playing in the clouds before Maya came in and started throwing snowballs at the two of them. Then Franziska appeared beside her and started whipping a hiding Larry in the clouds- It was an odd dream.

But no matter how invested he was in a dream, Phoenix would always awake to any sound or movement he felt. This time was no different. He was tossed from soaring high above the clouds back down to Earth in a king sized bed. At first, he was confused as to why he was waking up. The night light in the room wasn’t helping him see either. However, his mind suddenly took notice of the figure grasping at his back and holding onto him for dear life. A violent sob made him wake up faster than  coffee ever did for him, and suddenly Phoenix’s concern grew to an all time high. They’d been through these enough times… But recently they haven’t occurred. 

“Miles?”

“ I’m so-sorry.”

His husband whimpered, voice sounding like a frail small child who just did something bad. Phoenix turned his body around to get a good look at his husband, and holy mother Miles’ face was all red and scrunched up. It didn’t take long for Miles to press his face against Phoenix’s chest making his shirt all wet. Miles hugged him as if letting go would make him evaporate into thin air. 

“I’ve been an awful husband to you. An awful father , terrible friend … You must find me the most pathetic person you’ve ever met, es- especially since I’m crying all over you in the middle of the night-” 

Miles held him tighter and let a few more sobs escape before continuing. 

“Y-you probably want to take T-Trucy a..and leave me… I kn..know I don’t deserve you, not in the slightest… You d-don’t have to f…f…fake love…loving me.” One shaky deep breath, as if he had to tell his mind how to breathe. “B…But P-please P-Phoenix… please don’t leave me…!” 

The dam of tears broke sending a whole tsunami, and what Phoenix would describe as his husband’s heart crying out, this man who was once bent on appearing perfect in every single way possible was now falling apart in his arms. This strong, stubborn, incredible man who was the Chief Prosecutor was nothing more than a mere frightened child in pain seeking comfort. 

Phoenix rested his chin on top of Miles’ head, rubbed circles in his back, and waited patiently for his husband to let everything out. If Trucy were to come in, he’d painfully tell her to head back to bed. This was something they both needed to do in private and fix themselves, and he knew his husband wasn’t appreciative of the idea of Trucy comforting him when he was crying. When he was weak- Not weak, when he gave a moment of vulnerability would be more accurate. 

Miles crying didn’t make him weak. It just meant he had been strong for far too long. That he needed a moment to be vulnerable. 

And that moment to be vulnerable lasted a solid 30 minutes. 30 minutes of letting Miles express everything that weighed on him. Whether that be tears or the thoughts in his head, he let them come crashing down. Phoenix sat there watching as his darling kept apologizing for everything. As Miles kept telling him over and over again how much he loved him. How he knew that his words meant absolutely nothing to Phoenix but were the best that he could offer. How he tried to clean up the house to show his love. How isolated and alone he was beginning to feel. Everything came out like a witness confessing to a crime after being found guilty. Yet, Phoenix knew that this was all due to the thought of him leaving Miles. To leave his beautiful husband. 

“Miles dear, may I say something?” Phoenix attempted to finally say something while trying to sit up. Miles noticed and let go of him to allow him to readjust. His eyes were still sending tears down his cheeks, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Phoenix cleared his throat before addressing Miles. 

“I wasn’t going to ask this originally, but I have to know. Did you have a nightmare? Is that why you are here?” 

Miles crossed his arms over his chest and his shoulders tensed visibly. 

“It was the worst one yet …”

Yet. That meant this wasn’t the only one…!

“Yet? How long have you been waking up from these?”

“Every night since the fight.”

Bang. Suddenly Phoenix felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Miles had been experiencing nightmares like this every night. He’d been waking up every time he fell asleep in a cold sweat. He’d wake up with nobody to comfort him… 

“Oh Miles…” Phoenix quickly pulled Miles into a tight hug. On his shoulder he felt Miles bury himself. “Sweetie, I’m sorry you’ve been having these again-”

Miles pushed Phoenix away and out of the hug. His expression was clearly hurt, and Phoenix hoped he hadn’t pushed a boundary too far. Phoenix put a hand out to the side and rubbed one of Miles’ legs with the other. 

“P…Please- I…If you desire a divorce….” Miles shuttered as he shivered where he sat. The thought clearly frightened the almighty Chief Prosecutor. “Just tell me, Phoenix. I’ll accept it, I’ll adapt to it… I just… Just tell me how you really feel- About how awful I am-” 

His head was tilted to the side, and the nightlight in the room illuminated that normally stunning face that was now full of self-hatred. Phoenix brought a hand up to Miles’ cheek as he looked him straight in the eyes. Heterochromia of brown and blue meeting glassy gray eyes. “You want to know how I feel about you Miles?” 

Phoenix smiled looking at the man’s nervousness, but he was able to give him a little nod signifying a ‘yes’. Phoenix leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before he got his main point across. 

“Miles Edgeworth, I feel so enamored by you. I enjoy being with you, hearing you, relishing every moment we spend together to make up for lost time. You say you are awful, but you are awful at being a bad father and husband because you are an amazing father to our daughter. You make sure she is doing ok, you attend any of her events, and you make her smile even on her worse days. Even when you are busy with your work you still check in on her.” Phoenix took one of Miles’ cold hands and rubbed his thumb. “Then you claim you are an awful husband, but that ain't true. You may be busy, but then every free moment you get you always spend with me. You deal with my shenanigans daily, and you let me cuddle you every night before bed…

What I’m trying to say is that I wouldn’t ever want to leave you, dear. Nor do I hate you. I’m sorry about the fight we had when you came home. Truth is, I yelled because I had missed you and wanted to spend more time with you. However, I’ve clearly been causing you distress.”

Phoenix let out a lengthy yawn, and his eyes were heavy again. Now isn’t the time to sleep yet, Phoenix! “Heh, it’s funny. You claim you're an awful husband, but I’m the one who yelled at you that night. Not only that, but I haven’t been there for you in your distress. On multiple occasions.” Phoenix gave a sad smile, thinking back to a young Edgeworth in Von Karma’s estate suffering from daily nightmares. Made his head feel light because oh how Phoenix just wanted to shield this man from the harshness of reality. Phoenix repositioned himself on the bed, leaning back on the headboard to turn on a lamp near the side of the bed but never once letting go of Miles’ hand. In that moment, when Phoenix finally got a good look at his silly husband, any anger or resentment was washed away. Any doubts that the man didn’t reciprocate the feeling was thrown into a fire of impossibilities. 

Trucy was definitely right when they held that conversation. And Phoenix definitely held a blind eye to his beloved’s affections. None of this was new (as Maya would likely testify when talking about the two’s interaction and how the two are literally ‘pining for each other, hurry up and get married, Nick.’) he sadly had to admit. Miles was a person Phoenix could never fully read or understand based on words and facial expressions alone. Even his eyes didn’t give out the full truth of how he felt. That’s how complex his emotions and feelings can get. That was even the case when Miles confessed his love so many years ago. Despite all the courage and clear nervousness on his lover’s face, Phoenix only knew he wasn’t lying when no locks appeared thanks to the Magatama. Phoenix didn’t tell Miles his own feelings until he knew he wasn’t lying or deceiving him. “ Perhaps that devil of a woman has screwed me over again” was what he thought at the time, but even then it was wrong not to trust his oldest friend. One who was reliable when he was around.

Although if Phoenix had any superpower, he’d probably choose to read the minds of other people that way he didn’t need to rely on a magical rock and could get to the heart of the problem right away. So he could understand what thoughts were going through his husband’s massive brain…

“Phoenix-- Did you hear anything I just said?” Miles interrupted his train of thought, startling Phoenix. “Huh? What?” was all he could muster. Was Miles talking? Well if that glare said anything, it told him ‘you are a ridiculous man’.

“I’ll tell you again in the morning, but… Can-- May I stay here tonight?” he hesitantly asked, bringing a light Steel Samurai blanket that was knocked onto the floor up to the bed so Phoenix could see. 

“Of course, this is your bed after all! Although I did kick off most of the blankets in my sleep, so we’d probably have to remake the bed.” Phoenix expressed, scratching the back of his head at the last part. To say Phoenix kicked and tossed in his sleep would be an understatement. Mia used to report his sleeping habits when she mentored him, and she labeled his sleep kicks “Fiery Kangaroo Kicks.” How Miles deals with him sleeping is a mystery to this day, with all the snoring, tossing, turning, and kicking.

“Alright, thank you, I’ll make the bed.”

“I’ll help!” 

So as quietly as they could, the two sleep deprived lawyers made their bed. Normally, Phoenix would just toss all blankets onto the bed and call it a day, but he knew Miles liked his beds to be made like hotels, thus he made their bed in that format. Although if someone were to judge their work on the bed, they’d notice that one side was more crisp and well made compared to the other. 

When their work was done, the two made their way into their usual sleeping positions. Finally Phoenix could go back to sleep. His pillow was nice and cold, the blankets nice and hot from laying on them, everything was ready for him to crash. 

On his left, he felt something cling to him. A head laid on his chest, and followed by that was soft snoring. The sight made his heart flutter. His husband’s face whenever he fell asleep always started off soft, and Phoenix would tell everyone if he wasn’t sworn to secrecy that his husband had the most squishable face. Sure, his face was still a little wet from the moment, but truthfully Phoenix didn’t mind. 

Phoenix didn’t really have to rush into work the next morning since he didn’t have a case at the moment, but he didn’t really know if Miles had something in the morning. That just meant he would have to wake up even earlier! He still wanted to talk about some things, but those things could wait till morning. 

Phoenix quietly grabbed his phone and set his alarm for 6:35 A.M. After making sure his phone wasn’t on silent, he shifted back into a comfortable position with Miles still sleeping on top of him, expression and face free of stress. Phoenix leaned forward to give him a soft kiss on his squishy cheek before falling back asleep. 

---

BEEP…! BEEP…! BEEP…! BEEEEEP!

Phone alarms were a shared enemy that both lawyers knew would one day end with them breaking their phones. For Phoenix, today was not going to be the day he breaks his phone due to being groggy and half awake. Shifting slightly so as to not wake up his somehow still knocked out husband, he turned off the blasted alarm and silence was back in the house. Well almost. Tiny footsteps were fastly approaching, and their bedroom door creaked open. 

“Daddy? I know you have no work today, so why is your alarm going-?” Trucy trailed off before locking her eyes on the bed. Phoenix didn’t need to be fully awake or a bracelet to see her expression and demeanor change. She went from half awake to fully awake faster than any coffee in the world could ever dream of doing (whether thrown or drunk.). “Papa’s back to sleeping in here!? Finally!” Trucy screamed quietly enough to not wake her Papa up. Soon after she began crawling up their bed and sat towards the end of the bed. But something in her statement caught Phoenix’s attention-

“Truce, sweetheart, what do you mean he’s back to sleeping in here?” 

“Oh… That…” She paused to take a deep breath, “I woke up one night thanks to some strange gargled noise. Sounded like someone choking. I was a little scared, so I went to check and ended up linking the source to the kitchen. That’s when I saw Papa collapsed on the kitchen floor wearing his silly pink apron.” Trucy paused so as not to laugh too hard about the silly pink apron. Although, she went back to being serious after a few seconds. “This was at 3:04 A.M according to the stove which was oddly open. I was a little confused, but I ended up moving Papa to the living room couch hoping he’d get some rest, using some easy magic to remove the apron. But that choking noise didn’t stop, and he kept repeating your name for some reason…” 

Trucy took another deep breath, scaring her old man even more with whatever she was about to say. “At first, I thought you two got into another argument after just resolving the last one which would explain why he was having unpleasant dreams. But giving you the benefit of the doubt Daddy, I came to the conclusion that you two never fully resolved your argument. After all, Papa was still hurting…” She stopped the conversation to start crawling again. This time she sat right next to him, right over Miles. Slowly, she raised her hand and started rubbing the back of Miles’ head. A certain gesture Phoenix learned from Mia that often calms him, so he started using it to calm Trucy and well his husband. 

“I knew Papa wouldn’t like me waking him up, especially since he was looking really tired recently and was doing his sleep deprived tics. Yet, he began crying as he continued to make choking noises, Daddy. Still reluctant not to wake him up, I started petting his hair. I would’ve whispered to him, but I was scared he was going to wake up angry at me-”

“Trucy he wouldn’t wake up angry at you ever-”

“His old alarm clock says otherwise, Daddy.” Trucy naturally responded, smiling. She was referring to the time the clock went off in the middle of the night and Miles punched it, which ended up breaking it. As a result, he was almost late to work the next day. 

“Anyways, he calmed down after a few minutes of rubbing, and he went soundlessly back to sleep, looking more relaxed than before. I proceeded to go back to my bedroom after making sure everything was back to normal and that Papa wasn’t going to burn down the house.” she finished explaining before she laid down between the both of them and stared at the ceiling.

“You know, I was really scared that you Daddy was going to divorce Papa even after the talk we had.” Trucy whispered to the ceiling, still not looking at Phoenix. “That maybe you lied to me about never divorcing him. That you pulled one of your trademark magical bluffs, except I was on the receiving end of it.” His daughter grew quiet beside him, only breathing as she continued to stare up. That’s when he felt her reach an arm over him and hug him in an awkward position. 

“I’m glad it wasn’t a bluff.” was all she said while hugging him. Phoenix could feel her heartbeat thud slowly, her breath landing on his neck. She finally looked him in the eyes, and she looked relieved, proud, and happy. 

“I love you Daddy.” she whispered to him before getting off of him and the bed. Sadly, all the movement didn’t go unnoticed by the pink hatted menace beside him. 

“I’m off to go shopping with Mr. Klavier! You two better have a nice relaxing day, and I expect some sort of bickering when I get home! Call me if you need anything or if you are worried!” Trucy quickly told them before running out the bedroom door and presumably out the front door before Phoenix could ask anymore details. She’s an adult by now, Wright. She’ll be fine. 

“Nrghh… p… Phoenix?” his barely awake husband muttered. Some light got through their window which displayed for Phoenix his husband’s messy hair and still slightly red cheeks. The aftermath of last night still evident based on his husband’s eyebags.

“Morning Miles, how did you sleep?”

No response, and his husband seemed more alert. He shifted upwards on their bed, back now resting on the pillows as he carefully watched Phoenix. Slowly, he placed his hand against Miles and gently stroked his knuckles.

“I don’t need an answer. Come on. Trucy already left for the day and I plan on spending this day off with you assuming you have no work. I’ll make some breakfast an-”

“Breakfast is already prepared in the fridge for you, a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut in triangles. I can quickly assemble a pastrami sandwich, but it c-”

“Wait, you made breakfast last night?”

“Sorry that I didn’t finish making dinner. I heard you sleeping in here and I ended up falling asleep listening and I-”

“You fell asleep to me sleeping all the way in the living room!?”

“You sounded peaceful sleeping, and I could imagine in my head your chest rising slowly up and down as you peacefully slept. It just reminded me of some things…”

Holy Mother his husband is such a dork and Phoenix loves him anyway.

Amused, he leaned over to rest his head against his husband’s shoulder. The smell of faint cologne flooded his nose, his hair tickled his skin, he could feel the stare of his husband’s eyes…

“I missed you so much. I’m still very sorry for causing you all this pain.” he quietly whispered into the world, just a little scared of the upcoming conversation they might both be having. To his side, he watched Miles slowly lean against him, heads resting against each other with hands firmly grasping each other. They were so close, something that felt so foreign yet so natural. 

“What you said during that… argument I’ll call it despite not being the proper terminology… Did you mean it? Truly?” 

A beat. Maybe even two. 

“... What I said was true that night, yes…” he admitted feeling shame rise within him. Never did he ever want to tell his husband that, nor did he think any lover should. How is one supposed to know what happens afterwards? How their lover reacts to what they think? They could be understanding or they could be offended. Worst case scenario is that they can leave now that the truth was revealed. 

I… I trust him…

“I see…” was all that he said before the room grew quiet once again. Only their breathing could be heard, both shaky and too big of breaths to be normal breathing. Neither man wanted to break the silence, but eventually Phoenix did, remembering Franziska’s words and the crack of a certain whip.   

“Please take what I said that night with a grain of salt. I promise that the issue I spoke of wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be.” 

“But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t an issue.” 

“Your work is important to you, and I know people show affection differently than others. I just find myself worrying over whether or not you ever regret marrying me…”

“Phoenix-”

“And I know that pushing you against the wall was wrong and probably makes you want to leave me even more, especially if you would’ve started to have a panic attack…”

“Phoenix lis-”

“I know that you love me and Truce! I swear I do! There is evidence, and even if there wasn’t your testimony would suffice! I swear Miles, I do-”

“Phoenix!!” 

That shut him up quickly as he realized his husband sat up from their previous position and was now looking directly at him, eyes fired up and shaking ever so slightly. One moment ago he was just sleeping peacefully, and now he was fired up. Wonderful thinking there, Phoenix. So much for trying to do preparations for today. 

“Please, answer my next question honestly. Were you okay when I was away?”

There were many ways Phoenix could have answered that seemingly simple question. First option was to joke it off and be like when am I ever okay when you are away, haha. His husband wouldn’t like that choice as it was him sort of deflecting. Phoenix could lie, but that wasn’t a good choice either. Not to mention his husband could probably see through him like glass, especially this close up. Telling the truth that no, I missed you really badly and felt as though I was going to drown from grief would make him worry. Switching subjects was too obvious, and refusing to respond to the question would only prolong the inevitable for a short while.

“Phoenix… You should’ve told me sooner.”

“Huh?! Wait what?” he managed to get out, completely lost on what his husband was on about. Did I say something funny?  

Then suddenly a pair of warm and soft lips were touching his own. It wasn’t intense and fiery, it was more light and caring. A kiss meant to spread warmth throughout one’s body and make the world seem better with one gesture. Phoenix felt two cold hands gently cradle his neck and the breath of his lover cold as ice landed on his face. 

“I’m sorry as well for causing you to feel that way. If I had known I would’ve put everything aside and come back home sooner to comfort you.”

“Wait Miles, I-”

“I’ll briefly repeat what I said last night to you again. I mean it when I say you deserve the world. You, my love, have done so much good for everyone around you. I simply adore you, and I hate that you felt as though you were drowning from your actions.”

“Can you blame me? I did something aw-”

“You were letting your emotions that were over me out after they had been building up for days. You felt hurt and acted out against it. I did something similar to you during DL-6 if I recall…”

Miles didn’t continue on after that, and the two sat in relative silence in their bedroom once more. This time however it felt as though the fog was clearing. That things were finally, undoubtedly, going back to how they were before this whole thing started. A smile spread across his face as Phoenix’s laughter filled the master bedroom. The look of confusion was on his husband’s face as Phoenix got up off the bed and urged his husband to get up alongside him.  

“Phoenix, what are you possibly laughing ab-” he never finished the sentence as Phoenix suddenly picked him up off the floor and spun him around in his arms, ignoring the painful protests from his back. Phoenix at this point was ready to just let go, and move on. The fight? They had both forgiven each other, wasn’t that all that was needed? Who cares? They both were at fault, they both were hurt, and they both were forgiven and loved at the end of the day.

Phoenix pulled Miles closed to him, resting his head on his husband’s shoulder. Hands remained firmly at his husband’s perfect waistline, tired from lifting this man. Phoenix caught his breath again before he spoke,

“My back hurts, why are you so heavy?”

A snort escaped the definitely not dizzy Miles. “Typical of you to do something so rash. To answer your question, your arms are just not built for this kind of weight, most likely from you just waking up moments ago.”

“Or you are just too heavy.”

“Says you, Mr. Takeout. Or Mr. I don’t have time for a gym.”   

“Hey, I know for a fact that you order more takeout Chinese food than I do! Don’t even try pulling that one on me!”

“Regardless of weight and takeout, you claimed your back was hurting. Do you need me to help you take some pain meds and set up a heating pad in the living room?” 

“That would be nice, especially if you carried me bridal style like at our weddi-”

“You twisted your ankle trying to trip me during our slow dance, of course I was going to carry you off the dance floor to treat the injury.” 

“So I just have to twist my ankle to get that rare style of carryment from Miles Edgeworth? I’ll keep that in mind.”

He received a glare with no heat or malice behind it. 

“You are verily a ridiculous man.”

Phoenix smiled and let out a chuckle, “Thanks, I wouldn't want it any other way.”

Phoenix watched as the glare evaporated and a real genuine smile formed on Miles' face. His ridiculousness earned him one quick peck on his cheek. 

“Me neither… Me neither.”

---

Trucy arrived home later that day. Shopping with Klavier had been exciting, especially when they entertained a crowd of people at the mall. She bought some clothes for herself, and some little gifts for her fathers that she thought they might like. 

For Papa, she bought him a fancy pair of white gloves that would go good with any of his suits. She noticed that his usual pair of white gloves he used for work and dates were getting used less and less. Inspecting the gloves closer showed that the fabric was stained from usage and they were stretched. Hopefully this pair will replace the old one. 

For her Daddy, she bought him a scarf and a new winter jacket with the one particular shade of blue that suits him. His old winter jacket was sadly destroyed due to Aunt Maya wearing it while doing training underneath a freezing waterfall, so he’d been needing a new one. This one had plenty of pockets and the scarf complimented the blue well. Since her fathers often went walking in the winter night, she knew Daddy would probably wrap the scarf around Papa when he got too cold. 

Then, since the two got into a fight, she had made a contingency plan if things got too desperate. A last resort to remind them of the good times. For the both of them, she picked a custom music box she specifically commissioned someone for. You could wind it up, and the little statues of her fathers dancing would start moving along a circular track while a little song would play. She once caught them slow dancing in the living room to this song, and found it the most precious moment in the world. Just thinking of her two dads looking each other in the eye with nothing but pure fondness for one another while they slowly danced made her heart burst and do somersaults. She didn’t know the origin of the song, but it was something that seemed special to the both of them. Something that was reminiscent of young elementary school days. 

With this Trucy hoped that the two of them would be reminded of that bond they shared for one another. That this memory would reignite them both and put an end to this whole affair. Thankfully they sorted it out on their own and now this could be a celebratory gift of sorts. 

Trucy magically made the keys to the family’s house appear and she slid it in the keyhole. Unlocking the door and opening it, she announced to what she assumed was empty space, “Daddy! Papa! I’m back from shopping with Mr. Klavier! Where are you guys?” 

Instead of a head peeking out around the corner, a small snore revealed a sight she never wanted to forget. 

On the couch were her two Dads, heads leaning against the other, hands intertwined, and both sleeping. She noted the heating pad that was on for her Daddy, meaning he probably did something extensive for his poor back. 

I’ll have to be sure to give him one of my famous homemade massages later to make it feel better. 

Papa’s glasses that he refused to wear for seeing things far away were falling off his face, Daddy was drooling, and both of their hairs were messy. However, on the living room table were two plates, both empty. Her Daddy’s locket was opened on the table in the corner showing the picture he kept of her on one side and Papa on the other. If she had to guess, her Papa was probably bickering about how unprofessional he looked in the photo only for her Daddy to laugh it off as if proving the point of why it was there in the first place. Underneath the locket, there were some doodles of her Papa presumably drawn by her Daddy. Then the TV was playing some reruns of Steel Samurai, volume turned heavily down. 

Looks like everything turned out okay after all. 

Trucy smiled to herself as she placed the gifts she bought down on the kitchen counter and proceeded to move to go sit with her Dads. She carefully leaned up against Papa, making sure not to wake either of them up. She pressed up against his arm, and rested comfortably, closing her eyes and relaxing. Later, she ended up falling asleep with them, making soft noises while she slept knowing that things were truly going to be fine.