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Phoenix Wright practically raced away from the courtroom lobby with glee, grateful for the day’s end. His opponent in court today had been Winston Payne, making for a mind-numbingly dull trial. Of course he was relieved that his client had been found innocent without a trace of doubt, but the case had been one of the easiest and most tedious that he had taken on in his entire career as a defense attorney.
As the elevator descended down to the underground parking lot where Phoenix’s bike was parked, he couldn’t help but ponder over the case. Although he had won in only a few hours with ease, it felt like the case had dragged on for much longer, with Payne practically quivering in the corner at the Turnabout Terror. How Payne was still employed, Phoenix had no idea. There were much worthier courtroom opponents out there.
Such as the man he could see ahead of him in the parking lot now: Miles Edgeworth.
Phoenix hadn’t expected to see him today, standing by his sports car, which was a much brighter shade of red than his signature suit which he was currently wearing. Many people would call - and have called - the car garish, including Ema Skye before discovering who the owner of the car was. Although they wouldn’t be wrong in their judgement, Phoenix secretly admired the car. He liked that Edgeworth had the confidence to own such a bold car.
“Hi, Edgeworth.” Phoenix smiled at his courtroom rival, holding his hand up by way of greeting.
“Wright. I hear that you did good work in court today.” Edgeworth nodded in Phoenix’s direction, briefcase and car keys in hand. How had news travelled so fast? “It’s pouring with rain out there. Surely you’re not cycling home?”
“I can’t drive, Edgeworth, and cabs cost a fortune. Not to mention the nearest taxi rank is at least a ten minute walk away from here either way. I don’t exactly have another option.”
In lieu of an umbrella or hood, Phoenix began inelegantly pulling his blue blazer atop his trademark spiky black hair. He wasn’t sure if the blazer would stay in place on his head while cycling, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.
Edgeworth sighed, as if Phoenix’s mere existence was a colossal inconvenience.
“Wright, you look foolish. A lawyer should not present oneself like that. Get in the car.”
Phoenix blinked in disbelief. Edgeworth, offering him a ride home? That wasn’t like him at all. The old Edgeworth surely would’ve left him to cycle home in the pouring rain. The Demon Prosecutor might even have pointed and laughed at him, purposely driving through a puddle and splashing him.
Unless Phoenix just wasn’t giving him enough credit.
He hesitated before stepping closer towards the car.
“Hurry up before I change my mind, Wright!” Edgeworth snapped.
Ah, there was the Edgeworth he knew and…somewhat tolerated.
Before he could irritate him any further, Phoenix headed over to the car with his bicycle in tow, reluctantly accepting the favour.
Edgeworth opened the trunk of the vehicle and helped Phoenix lift the bike inside. What a gentleman.
“Is this the same trunk that stored a dead body a couple years ago?” Phoenix couldn’t help but ask as Edgeworth closed the trunk.
“I had my entire car professionally cleaned after that incident, I’ll have you know!” Edgeworth retorted. “I wasn’t exactly going to buy a new car just because the trunk was dirtied once!”
“A dead body in your car is a pretty good reason to buy a new one, in my opinion,” Phoenix pointed out. “But to each their own.”
“You’re impossible, Wright.” Edgeworth rolled his eyes.
Phoenix had assumed Edgeworth was impossibly rich, to the point where buying a new car would be nothing but a drop in the ocean for him. The von Karma family were certainly wealthy; Franziska had often spoken of her lavish childhood, not even realising that most children weren’t raised in such luxury. Plus, you only needed to take one look at Edgeworth’s daily attire to see that the man had money to burn. Maybe the car had sentimental value.
“I didn’t realise you were prosecuting a case today,” Phoenix said as he slid into the passenger seat. Rather embarrassingly, he kept up with all of Edgeworth’s cases. It was a routine he had established when he was working towards becoming a lawyer to see Edgeworth again, a habit which he had never seemed to break.
“I wasn’t,” said Edgeworth, elegantly turning the keys in the ignition. Phoenix watched as the man put the car into reverse, admiring his aptitude at driving. “There was a meeting in the courthouse that I needed to attend. Nothing important, but it was imperative that I showed my face.”
Phoenix nodded, feigning understanding, even though he’d never really had to attend all these important meetings that Edgeworth seemed to.
“Why don’t you have your drivers’ licence anyway, Wright?” Edgeworth asked as he drove out of the underground parking lot and onto the sprawling streets of Los Angeles, merging into traffic nearly instantly.
“Why do I need it when I have you to be my chauffeur, Edgeworth?” Phoenix joked, plastering on his most charming smile.
“Nrgh,” Edgeworth groaned inelegantly. The sound reminded Phoenix of when Edgeworth was cornered in court, clawing his way to turn the situation back in his favour. Phoenix liked it when Miles did this - he was showing some normality. He hadn’t been completely changed by von Karma after all. “This is a one-time offer, Wright!”
Mind wandering all over the place, Phoenix couldn’t help but wonder what Maya would think if she could see him in Edgeworth’s snazzy sports car now. She and Pearls had been in Kurain Village for the past few weeks and he wasn’t sure when they would be back. Not having them around was admittedly lonesome, but he got by just fine. He was a grown man. He shouldn’t have to rely on others.
He couldn’t help but worry about the pair of them. Especially Maya, with the burgeoning weight of familial pressures and responsibilities on her shoulders - being the Master of Kurain at a young age, looking after Pearls, grieving the very recent loss of her mother, as well as the not-as-recent loss of her sister, Mia; Phoenix’s mentor and friend forever, no matter what.
He could only hope that the people of Kurain would look out for Maya and Pearls - and that Maya wouldn’t yet again be falsely accused of committing any murders.
At least Edgeworth was still around. His swift return to Los Angeles upon hearing of Phoenix’s recent ill condition had been extremely surprising, to say the least. He had expected the man to return to Europe soon afterwards, but he hadn’t. Larry was still around too, trying to make it as an artist, although Phoenix didn’t hang out with him much these days. In a strange twist of fate, it seemed that Edgeworth was now more tolerant of Larry than Phoenix was. Go figure.
Things weren’t like they were a couple of years ago, when Phoenix felt well and truly alone for a while. With Maya back in Kurain, the wound of Mia’s loss cut him deeply in a way that it hadn’t quite done before, as if reality was finally setting in. Nothing could distract him from the unspeakable pain he was experiencing. Larry had gone to Japan to chase after his “true love”, and Edgeworth… Well, that was better left unsaid.
“I wanted to ask - how is Miss Iris Hawthorne doing these days?” Edgeworth asked after a moment, cutting into the silence. The windscreen wipers were thrashing, fighting uselessly against the torrential downpour. If Edgeworth wasn’t such a skilful driver, Phoenix might feel worried about being in a moving vehicle in these weather conditions. Instead, he could allow himself to sit back and relax.
Phoenix could only guess that Edgeworth had used Iris’s full name to differentiate her from her deceased sister, Dahlia. Phoenix certainly didn’t have pleasant memories of what turned out to be his brief time with Dahlia. He couldn’t help but remember what Edgeworth had said only a few weeks prior - that he had taken the liberty to read up on the case in which Phoenix had been the defendant rather than the defense attorney. Phoenix Wright, art major at Ivy University, was a completely different person to the man he was now - Phoenix Wright, defense attorney at law. He still cringed looking back on his past behaviour. He and Edgeworth had never discussed the case in detail, and he hoped they never would. Edgeworth knew what it was like to grow and change as a person, so maybe he understood, even if only on a microscopic level.
“Oh, she’s doing pretty well, thanks,” Phoenix replied after his moment of reflection, caught somewhat off guard by the question.
“And…proceedings are going well between the two of you?” Edgeworth queried, voice strained. His knuckles gripping the wheel seemed to turn whiter.
“What are you talking about?” Phoenix asked in confusion. Sometimes Edgeworth’s long-winded ways of speaking could be so puzzling.
“I am aware that Miss Hawthorne is…detained at present. Nonetheless, the two of you are…seeing each other, correct?”
What? Was Edgeworth insinuating what Phoenix thought he was?
“I visit her in prison sometimes with Maya and Pearls, yeah…” Phoenix sputtered, Edgeworth’s assertion causing him to practically choke on air. “But I’m not seeing her as in…dating her. No way. That would be way too weird after everything that happened. I moved on from Dahl- Iris- a long time ago. And…that case was the final straw in moving on. I don’t have feelings for her.”
“Oh. I’m-I’m sorry for making such a rash assumption,” Miles apologised profusely, his face reddening, practically matching the colour of his car.
“That’s okay,” said Phoenix, blinking quickly, still taken aback. He couldn’t believe Miles thought he was dating Iris. He and Iris were sort of friends now, but he meant it when he said he didn’t have feelings for her anymore. The recent case had provided the two of them with some much-needed closure.
“So, you asked about my love life. How’s yours?” Phoenix teased, half attempting to lighten the mood and half asking out of genuine curiosity.
“Wright!” Edgeworth exclaimed, a bead of sweat forming on his otherwise spotless brow. “You’ll make me crash the car.”
“Your love life is really that disastrous, huh?” Phoenix chuckled. He couldn’t believe he was talking about this with Edgeworth right now.
“Nrgh,” Edgeworth groaned. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Hey, you asked about mine first.” Phoenix shrugged, trying to keep his composure as much as possible, not understanding the sudden increase in his heart rate.
After a moment of silence, Edgeworth uttered out with much difficulty, “As of right now, there is nothing going on in that particular…aspect…of my life.”
Phoenix nodded, his heartbeat eventually returning to its regular pace. He decided to ignore it as a random shift in his body and decided that he didn’t need to visit a doctor. Which was a relief - his health insurance was abysmal.
He was shocked that Edgeworth had actually answered the question, a rare demonstration of vulnerability. “I guess we’re both on the same page in that regard, then.” For some reason, Phoenix felt it important for Miles to know this.
“Yes. I suppose we are.”
Phoenix wondered why Miles had broached the subject of his love life in the first place. Dating and relationships had never seemed to be an area of interest for the man. Law was his love.
No clues could be found by searching Miles’s facial expression. He was a master of stoicism, an unreadable look plastered on his face as his hands gripped the steering wheel on the 10 and 2 positions, eyes not straying an inch from the road stretched out in front of him.
The two fell back into a somewhat pleasant quiet. Phoenix began drumming his fingers on the dashboard, wishing to break the silence despite it being a comfortable one, at least to him. He guessed it wouldn’t go down well if he started messing around with the radio in Miles’s car.
Unsure of what to talk about, he was half-tempted to bring up a childhood memory, but he knew that could be a sore subject for Miles. So much had changed since those carefree days which Phoenix looked back on so fondly, giving him a sense of nostalgia.
Out of the corner of his eye, Phoenix noticed Miles giving him the side-eye. Before he could reprimand him, Phoenix stopped drumming his fingers and decided to enjoy the soothing silence, the only noise being the rain pounding down on the car. The sound of it put him at peace; if he wasn’t careful, he could fall asleep to it.
Phoenix’s apartment wasn’t too far from the courthouse and Miles knew exactly how to get there without any direction from Phoenix. Phoenix had hosted various game nights there, which he had only anticipated to be attended by Maya and Pearls, and possibly Larry if he was at a loose end without a date. However, at Maya’s request, he had extended the invitation to Edgeworth, Franziska and Detective Gumshoe. He hadn’t expected them to accept but, astonishingly, they did. It had been reminiscent of the rare occasions when the group would enjoy dinner together after a victorious court case - fun, lively, and just…right. The last time Phoenix had felt such a sense of belonging within a group of people was fourth grade, when he became inseparably close with Miles and Larry.
Miles pulled up outside of Phoenix’s apartment complex. The rain had eased up slightly in the duration of the drive, so Phoenix could make his way to the front door of his building without getting completely drenched.
“Thanks for the ride, Edgeworth,” said Phoenix, flashing a warm smile at his friend. “I really appreciate it.”
“Ah. It was on my route home, in any case,” Miles mumbled, not quite meeting Phoenix’s eyes.
Phoenix was met with the dewy smell of rain on grass when he opened the car door and climbed out of his seat. He gave Miles one last grin before closing the door of the vehicle behind him. This time, Miles awarded him a small smile in return.
Phoenix had planned to watch Miles’s red sports car drive off into the distance, but it looked like he wasn't going to drive off until he saw Phoenix enter his building. That was sweet.
Phoenix twisted his key in the lock, praying that Miles wouldn’t remember that his bike was still in the trunk. That way, he’d have an excuse to text him (if he could remember how to send one) later that evening and ask Miles to drive him to work tomorrow morning. Phoenix could be quite convincing when he wanted to be, and he had enjoyed Miles’s company on what otherwise would’ve been a lonesome, rainy commute home. Phoenix suspected that Miles might have even enjoyed his company too.