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Miles Edgeworth’s string of bad luck seemed to reach no end.
He had been desperate to get home after his trip to Europe but, as fate would have it, his first flight had been delayed for three hours as a result of miserable weather conditions. This had the knock-on effect of causing him to miss his connecting flight to Los Angeles.
Miles had then had to wait at the airport for six hours before the next available flight, which ended up being a gruelling 12-hour affair. No seats had been available in business class, so he was relegated to economy, where a young child sitting behind him had been wailing and kicking the back of his seat for the better part of six hours. Miles couldn’t blame the child - he also hated flying - but it hadn’t made for a very pleasant journey. When the turbulence kicked in, he found himself wondering exactly which past misdeed of his had warranted this level of torture.
He wasn’t sure if he had ever been so glad to be back in America.
That was until Miles had gone to collect his suitcase from baggage claim, only to discover that all of the luggage on his flight had been sent to the wrong destination and wouldn’t arrive in Los Angeles for another couple of days. He might have found himself caring more about this recent development if it hadn't been for everything else he had already endured up to this point, as well as the intense jet lag he was currently feeling.
Miles had been texting and calling Phoenix to keep him updated on the entire sorry saga, from the time of the first flight delay up until his flight to Los Angeles took off.
“Alright, we’re going to be asked to turn our devices off soon,” Miles had said over the phone to Phoenix. “It will be 1:30am by the time I land, so I most likely won’t be home until 3am. As agreed, I will take a cab back home.”
“Hey, I didn’t agree to that,” Phoenix protested. “Our reunion has already been pushed back by all these damn flight delays. I wanna see you as soon as possible.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Wright, really,” said Miles, feeling his face flushing. “I want to see you too. But it’s going to be the middle of the night when I land and you can’t drive. I don’t exactly want you to cycle on the highway in the dark.”
“I’ll just take a cab,” said Phoenix. “Come on. You know I’ll wake up when you get home anyway. I might as well meet you at the airport so I can see you sooner.”
“I simply won’t allow you to waste money on a cab that could be better spent elsewhere.”
“Ugh,” Phoenix sighed dramatically. “Then I guess I’ll use the money to treat you to a nice dinner instead.”
“That is not what I was trying to imply.”
“Too bad, it’s happening.”
“Ngh. We’ve just been asked to turn our phones off, so I am unable to discuss this matter further. I will see you back home.”
“See you later, babe. Have a safe flight, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As Miles entered the arrivals area now though, he was greeted by the sight of a man so familiar, he would recognise him better than his own reflection. The man was the sight of home.
Dressed in his grey hoodie, black sweatpants and his beloved blue beanie gifted to him by Trucy, Phoenix Wright was the ultimate picture of comfort. His work had been restricted to the Wright Anything Agency over the past couple of weeks rather than inside the courtroom, so he hadn’t bothered shaving, made apparent by the stubble on his face. The beautiful bouquet of red roses in Phoenix’s hands distinguished him from the throngs of people in the arrivals area.
Though to Miles, Phoenix stood out anywhere, no matter what.
Miles couldn’t help himself - he ran towards his husband, suddenly revitalised by the man’s presence and not caring about his surroundings.
“Hiya, stranger.” Phoenix beamed at Miles. “Whoa, watch out for the flowers!”
“Phoenix,” Miles said breathlessly as he collapsed into his husband’s arms.
The stresses of the past 24 hours melted away as Miles was held tightly in Phoenix’s warm embrace. Nothing else mattered.
Finally, they were reunited. After two weeks of being in different timezones, on different continents, practically in different worlds, they were finally together again.
This had become somewhat of a tradition over the years whenever Miles travelled abroad without Phoenix. Miles would tell Phoenix that he didn’t need to meet him at the airport. Phoenix would insist otherwise but eventually give in reluctantly. And yet, every single time without fail, he would show up at the airport anyway. Sometimes he would be joined by Trucy, Maya, Pearl, even Larry at one point - that had turned into an interesting evening.
But right now, this moment was just for the two of them.
Miles pulled away slightly from his husband’s embrace to kiss him on the lips.
No matter how many times they had kissed each other, the electric feeling of excitement and passion that bubbled in Miles’s very being never dissipated. He felt Phoenix’s fingers running through his hair, probably messing it up after he had just combed it in the bathroom, but he couldn’t care less. Miles placed a hand on Phoenix’s face, never wanting to let go now that he could finally touch him again. He would probably end up begging him to shave later, but right now, he was over the moon to feel his husband’s scratchy stubble again.
“Phoenix,” Miles repeated when he eventually pulled away from the kiss reluctantly, finding himself wondering how he had survived two whole weeks without this. “What are you doing here? It’s 3am.”
“Heh. Come on, Miles,” Phoenix said with a grin on his face. “You should know by now that something as trivial as time isn’t going to stop me from seeing you.”
Before he could respond, Phoenix grabbed one of Miles’s hands in his free one. “You told me not to waste my money on a cab, but I need you to know that it’s not a waste. It’s never a waste when it comes to you, Miles. You’re always worth it.”
“Phoenix…” Miles could feel his face heat up. “Thank you. I hope you know that you’re always worth it too.”
“Course I do. You spent at least seven years convincing me of that, remember?”
“Mmm yes, and I’ve never been quite sure whether you have truly absorbed the message. Fortunately, I am not a quitter and I will continue doing my utmost to drive the point home.”
Phoenix laughed. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. I really did,” said Miles, resting his head on his husband’s shoulder. “Thank you for ignoring me and showing up here.”
This hadn’t even been their longest separation by far. They had struggled through numerous difficult years of only being able to see each other for torturously short periods of time. Before they were married - before their relationship was even official - they would alternate between Phoenix visiting Miles in Europe, accompanied by Trucy if she hadn’t decided to stay with the Feys in Kurain, and Miles visiting Los Angeles.
But since returning to Los Angeles and being promoted to Chief Prosecutor, Miles’s trips abroad were much fewer and farther between than they had previously been. His years of frequent travel were behind him - he wouldn’t trade his comfortable domestic life with his husband and daughter for anything.
“I never thought I’d see the day where you would thank me for not listening to you,” Phoenix smirked.
Miles rolled his eyes. “Don’t get used to it. Now, who are these flowers for?”
“Just a little something to welcome you back to America,” said Phoenix, sheepishly presenting the bouquet to Miles.
“Thank you so much,” said Miles, accepting the bouquet and breathing in the aroma of the roses. “They’re beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as my husband.”
“You’re so cheesy,” said Miles, his cheeks turning scarlet.
“See, this is what happens when we’re separated - I get all sappy,” Phoenix smirked. “I’ve gotten too used to you sticking around.”
“I’ve gotten rather used to it too. And I must say, I much favour being in America with you and Trucy to travelling abroad.”
This time it was Phoenix’s turn to blush. He kissed Miles on the cheek in response, a small smile spreading across his face.
“So, how was your flight?” Phoenix asked.
“I would sooner forget the whole sorry ordeal.”
“Roughing it in economy was that bad, huh?”
“Don’t be so ridiculous. The flight was woefully turbulent and I’ve probably developed chronic back problems as a result of the screaming child kicking my seat. And to top it all off, the luggage from the flight was mistakenly sent to New York instead of Los Angeles. I’ll have to come back here within the next couple of days to collect my suitcase when it eventually arrives.”
“Damn. That’s about as bad as a flight can get.” Phoenix couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.
“I’m glad that my misfortune is so amusing to you,” said Miles sarcastically, his eyebrows shooting up to his forehead.
“Well, you not having a suitcase will just make it easier for you to ride home on the back of my bike,” Phoenix joked as he laced his hand in his husband’s and began to head towards the exit of the airport with him.
“That joke is never funny, Wright.” Miles rolled his eyes at Phoenix again, although he couldn’t stop his mouth from twisting into a smile.
“Yes it is. Oh by the way, Maya’s staying over. She’s dying to watch the Steel Samurai reunion special with you. I mean, she already watched it while you were away, but she wants to rewatch it with you.”
A smile flashed across Miles’s face. “The two of us had agreed that we wouldn’t watch it so we could wait to watch it together. Honestly though, I knew Miss Fey wouldn’t wait, so I took the initiative of watching it without her.”
“Hmm, so it had nothing to do with a certain prosecutor also not being able to wait?” Phoenix teased.
“Ngh. Not at all,” Miles denied. “Anyway, it’ll be nice to rewatch the episode with Miss Fey. And with you and Trucy, of course.”
“You’re really going to make me watch it?” Phoenix groaned playfully.
“You know I am.”
Still holding hands, Miles and Phoenix walked out of the automatic doors together towards the taxi rank. Miles couldn’t wait to return home with Phoenix and fall asleep in the same bed together, holding each other, nothing else in the world mattering apart from the fact that they were finally reunited.
Maybe today hadn’t been such a bad day after all.