Chapter Text
Phoenix had had enough.
It wasn’t what was happening, but what wasn’t .
The living room couch comforted his back, but the sight of the bland white ceiling did little to ease his impatient mind. He was tired of this. Phoenix had known Edgeworth for the better part of thirty years now, and every time they were separated, reunion brought them back to the same place as if nothing had changed. Of course, things had changed, they did every time. Phoenix quickly shunted away the memory of one such time: the shock of seeing the dead prosecutor walk back into his life, a man reborn.
But now, Phoenix had more to think about than just betrayal and anger. He had time to think about his happiness, his daughter, his prosperity.
…His advancing age.
Phoenix wasn’t old , but 36 isn’t young, either. One only has so much life to live, so you may as well use it.
…
And that was exactly what he was going to do.
Tossing his feet over onto the floor, he got up, took a jacket off the hanger, and began to walk.
Phoenix would probably never stop occasionally thinking about all the pains that stuck around in his mind, pains accumulated over the course of a rollercoaster of a lifetime, but the older he got, the more he began to understand the meaning of it all. What was that Nietzsche quote? “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering”? Well, Phoenix fancied himself a bit more of an optimist than that , but there was a hint of truth in it. Suffering doesn’t happen without meaning, even if it is for no good reason, or for no justifiable reason, or with no bright side, or with no apparent cause. It’s not the causation that’s important, but the impact, not only on you, but… yourself . Phoenix Wright, the same man now as he was at 24, walking into the courtroom for the first time? Certainly not. But not only was he a wiser, different man, he was a more learned man, in more ways than one.
And one thing he’d learned is to just… do it.
It’s one thing not to care about anything, but it’s another to not care. Sooner or later, you find out that the world is a more malleable and free-flowing place than you once thought. You can’t put a flag on top of it and claim it as your own, for it’ll just wash away, and soon you and your work will be just another forgotten part of history. But what you can do is ride it as best you can, and to do that, you’ve gotta go . To do that, you’ve gotta have a degree of ease, of relaxation. Get up and try your best, and let come what may, and maybe try again.
And that was exactly what Phoenix was going to do.
Much of getting older, Phoenix had come to find, was getting back to having the wisdom of a child. Not overthinking things, not defeating yourself before the battle has already begun, but either doing or not doing things. Leaving or staying. Learning to navigate an alphabetical world in what are often A-or-B choices.
He’d done just that throughout his whole life about the decision to talk to Edgeworth. He’d overthought it, considering every possible approach to the issue and trying in vain to calculate every possible outcome. He’d defeated himself: surely, Edgeworth could not feel the same way about Phoenix as Phoenix did about Edgeworth. Did he really want to destroy their friendship just on the minute hope that… that…
That part of him had matured a little, and now his thoughts were clear. He would figure it out, one way or another, like he always did. Like he’d made a career of doing.
And now that life was in a state of some kind of stable normalcy, Phoenix Wright would not be withheld anymore.
The first snow of the year crunched under his feet. People Park happened to be on the way to both the High Prosecutors’ Office and Edgeworth’s apartment complex, though Phoenix wasn’t quite sure which one he was going to head for first. Edgeworth technically worked regular hours on regular days, but Miles Edgeworth was anything but regular. The guy could have been in Antarctica conducting its first ever legal battle, for all Phoenix knew.
…
But very quickly, he learned otherwise.
There stood the man himself, about ten yards away. From the direction in which he was walking, it looked to be that he’d come from home. The two men stopped dead in their tracks, making eye contact, their expressions matching their sudden surprise.
Edgeworth’s mouth twitched at the corners ever so slightly, and Phoenix couldn’t help but smile.
He was thinking the same thing as Phoenix, but didn’t know how to say it.
Phoenix let out what his 20-something year old self would have panicked at the mere thought of in one, easy breath.
“Wanna get lunch?”
Edgeworth’s eyes widened a little bit, and through them, Phoenix could see him taking in the true meaning of Phoenix’s words.
But after a moment, they relaxed, and Edgeworth actually let himself smile a bit.
“Yes, let’s.”
***
“So, how have you been?”
The other man shrugged. “No different than usual. I suppose, in a way, that is significant per se . The more I think about it, the more I think that things are always whirlwinding around me. Perhaps it’s unusual that they aren’t, for a change.”
Phoenix chuckled. “Yeah, I can’t argue with you there. You live quite the rockstar lifestyle, in your own sort of way.”
Edgeworth flashed him an unimpressed, raised-eyebrow look, but Phoenix just chuckled. The stern sting of his icy gazes had long since failed to intimidate Phoenix anymore, at least, out of the courtroom.
“Well, if nothing’s new with you, what about… Gumshoe? How’s he doing these days?”
Now it was Edgeworth’s turn to chuckle. “You’re going to laugh when I say this,” he began. “But he’s about to marry Maggey Byrde.”
Phoenix’s eyes went wide and he grinned. “Really? Wow . Never thought I’d see the day,” he said. “I mean, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the two of them together, but he’s sweeter on her than icing on a cake. I had a feeling he might make a move, but marriage? ”
“You’re not the only one who noticed it,” Edgeworth commented, smirking. “Unfortunately for them, they don’t have enough money between the two of them to have a wedding, let alone a honeymoon. It looks like the extent of their wedding vows will be held before a judge.”
“Aw, that sucks. I’d throw them a buck or two, but I can hardly keep my own rent paid.”
“Well… they did receive an… anonymous donation ,” Edgeworth explained, looking away as his voice got a little quiet. “But in their case, it was better spent on a down payment on a house they’re looking at.”
Phoenix smiled. “That was really good of you to do. You’re a lot more kind than you let on.”
Edgeworth just ‘hmph’ed. “Where are we going to eat?”
“Ahhh, yes,” said Phoenix loftily. “Tell me, have you ever heard of a place called Eldoon’s?”
“I can’t say that I have.”
He chuckled a little. “Well, I hope you like your noodles salty. Really salty.”
***
There wasn’t a lot more chatting once they’d gotten their food. Both men swiftly found out that they were surprisingly hungry, and they dove into their noodles without so much as a word. Phoenix was glad to see Edgeworth enjoy it so much, even though it did come as somewhat of a surprise: you’d think the guy was a little too uppity to eat food like this. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or, would it be his cover?
Bzzzzzzt… Bzzzzzzt… Bzzzzzzt…
The eyes of both men were drawn to Edgeworth’s pocket. “That would be my phone,” he explained, digging it out.
“Who is it?”
“It looks to be… Detective Gumshoe.”
“Put him on speaker phone! I haven’t heard from him in a while, I’d like to say hello.”
With the barest huff of a chuckle, Edgeworth held the phone between them and pressed a button. “Hello, Gumshoe,” he greeted. “What-”
“ M-Mr. Edgeworth, sir!!! ” shouted Gumshoe through the airwaves. “ P-please! You gotta help us!! ”
“W-what’s wrong, Gumshoe?!” said Phoenix, getting himself closer to the phone.
“ M-Mr. Wright?? You’re there too?? ”
“Yep… sure am.” He scratched the back of his head a little awkwardly, not entirely sure of what to say. “How are you… uh, doing?”
“ We’re in a real pickle here, Mr. Wright! ” explained Gumshoe. “ Y-you remember Maggey Byrde?? ”
“Yeah, actually, I just heard the two of you are getting married! Congratulations!”
“ Thank you, Mr. Wright!!! ”
Yep, that was definitely the voice of one Goddess of Misfortune.
“ W-we’re here at the courthouse to get our marriage licence, and we were just talking to the judge! That’s all! ” said Gumshoe. “ But then, there was a chicken, and a gas furnace, and I think I saw Robert E. Lee- ”
“ It wasn’t because of me this time, I swear! … W-well, maybe a little bit… ”
Edgeworth sighed. “Where are the two of you now?”
“ We’re just outside the courthouse! The firemen won’t let us back in until all the acid is cleared up! ” answered Gumshoe.
“All the…? N-never mind. Wright and I will be there in a few minutes.” With that, Edgeworth hung up. He huffed another sigh as he turned to look at his companion. “I apologise for dragging you along for this. I doubt that that was what was on your mind when you set out for your walk this morning.
“Heh, I guess you could say that.” He reached out and grasped Edgeworth’s hand. “But there’s no one I’d rather do it with.” He smiled openly, something he could only have imagined doing in front of this man like this.
The Chief Prosecutor jumped a tiny bit in surprise at the sudden contact, but his stiffness didn’t last. Completing the hold, and he returned the smile. “I concur.”
***
where are u???? uve been gone all afternoon!! im getting worried!!!
Phoenix smiled a little at the sight of Trucy’s text. It had taken a couple of groans to roll over to grab his phone and look at it, but now knowing the contents, he was glad he’d made the effort. Grasping the device in both hands, his thumbs took to the screen for his reply.
Sorry!! I’m at Edgeworth’s place… probably going to stay the night. You OK for supper?
It didn’t take long for the next message to come in.
👀
im ok! have a good night with uncle edgeworth!! tell him i said hi!!
With a little chuckle, Phoenix turned his head to face the man beside him. “Trucy says hi.”
The man beside him said “ hrrmph ” into his pillow.
Phoenix looked back at his phone, a little smirk on his face.
Edgeworth says “hrrmph”
lol
ill leave you guys alone now. dont stay up too late!! behave yourselves ;)
Good Lord . Trucy Wright, making a sexual innuendo about her own dad? Apparently, it’s more likely than you think.
Ha ha very funny
;))
Well, that was enough of that. Phoenix put his phone on the bedside table and let himself relax under the blanket. It wasn’t like they had, as Trucy would have said, misbehaved . Okay, they’d kissed a couple of times (they’d kissed a couple of times!!!!!!!!!!). Yeah, maybe they made out a little bit… Okay, yeah, they’d both ended up topless by the end of it. They had definitely misbehaved.
But whatever. Phoenix was sleepy and shirtless but he was in Miles’ amazingly comfortable, amazing-smelling bed (because it smelled like him, of course) next to the absolutely amazing man next to him… who was now snoring like a hacksaw. Phoenix couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to himself a little; the thought of Miles being a snore-er had never been something he’d considered before, but despite how difficult it was going to make falling asleep, it made for a charmingly endearing quality. He’d probably get sick of it before long, but for the time being, it was kinda cute.
He sank deeper under the covers, snuggling up to Miles’ back. The man’s skin was as smooth as glass, and feeling his rhythmic breathing against him was oddly comforting, like the kind of feeling you get while sleeping in a moving car as the noise and vibration relaxes you. Only, here, it was much more tranquil. Tranquil was pretty nice. After a lifetime of total chaos, having a moment like this to just be still and quiet with the man he undoubtedly loved was nothing short of precious to Phoenix.
Content, he let his forehead rest against the back of Miles’ neck, holding onto his side as his eyes drifted closed.
Miles carried on snoring.
Phoenix resolved to buy some of those silicone earplugs sometime. He was going to need them.