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Phoenix Wright remembered the day his red string snapped.
That day, when he stood at the witness stand, it was one of the worst days of his life. Back and forth between the prosecutor and his defense attorney Mia Fey, it was all a blur to Phoenix at some point. He couldn’t remember the evidence or the arguments, the hows and whys that he couldn’t recall even if his life depended on it. All he remembered was his thread, thinning as the trial carried on, Dahlia’s hateful scowl burning itself forever into his memory. She hated him, Phoenix had realized, as the trial carried on and on. Even if they were soulmates, she hated him. Phoenix was practically ecstatic when he saw that he found his soulmate, Dahlia Hawthorne. Beautiful, gentle, kind.
Too bad it was all a lie.
She was beautiful as she was selfish, hateful, bitter, evil.
And she was his soulmate.
“Feenie…you’re such a joke.” Dahlia had said, her tone sneering, almost mocking. “How can a woman, or hell, anyone ever count on you for anything? I told you time and time again to shut your fucking mouth about that damn necklace.”
Phoenix’s heart was shattering bit by bit, into a million pieces with no hope of ever being put back together.
“You disgust me.” Dahlia snarled.
The string snapped.
Though the snapping of the string was silent, it still sounded so loud and deafening in Phoenix’s ears. With the breaking of the string, came the overwhelming heartbreak. It all came to him in a rushing crashing wave, drowning him in the emotions that he couldn’t even hope to untangle. But there was one thing he knew, he was stupid. Absolutely naïve and stupid, for thinking that she ever loved him, for thinking that life was compassionate enough to give him the love of his life. His red string, it meant nothing. It never meant anything.
He was an idiot.
Idiot.
Idiot.
Idiot.
The trial carried on, though Phoenix didn’t hear a single word of it. He shut the entire world out, trying to resurface from the crashing waves, trying not to drown in the tumultuous waters in his hearts. But it was hopeless, it had always been hopeless. Phoenix had been doomed ever since he could see the red string tied around his pinkie finger. He only realized that the trial was over when he heard the Judge’s gavel and the sound of Mia’s voice.
“Phoenix? Are you okay?” Mia asked.
“O-Oh…I’m fine…” Phoenix blinked a few times, trying to rouse himself from his thoughts. “Is it…is it done?”
“Yes Phoenix, it’s done.” Mia said, giving Phoenix a sympathetic smile. “It’s all over. You’re free.”
Phoenix simply nodded, knowing that Mia was unaware of how right she was.
He was free, free from a soulmate who would have killed him, free from a woman who only pretended to love him, free from someone who no doubt would not hesitate to hurt him.
He was free from a soulmate who hated him.
But it still didn’t change how much it hurt.
Phoenix silently followed Mia out of the courtroom and into the defendant lobby, too numb to even cry.
━━━━ ❰ ･ ❉ ･ ❱ ━━━━
Even after many years, it still hurt.
Life carried on, and Phoenix moved on along with it. He became a defense attorney, made new friends and reunited with old friends, and his life had become something he could’ve never imagined. But even then, he still thought about that day, the day that his red string of fate had snapped. In quiet moments after dates stood him up after they learned about his string, in lonely times when Phoenix laid in his bed without the presence of another person next to him. He could still hear it to this day, the snap of the string, a mocking ringing in his ears, telling himself and the world that his soulmate didn’t love him.
Dahlia had broken his heart, snapped his string, forever.
How was that not supposed to hurt?
Phoenix’s dating life had been a nightmare. Not only was he often too busy with work to even get into the dating scene, nobody wanted to date someone whose string had broken. At this point, Phoenix had accepted that it would be a while before he found a partner. Not many people were interested in people with broken strings. Even if Phoenix was lonely, even if Phoenix wished there was someone to love him…
…Even if he was in love with someone.
Miles Edgeworth.
Miles, the man that he had lost so long ago, the man that he had longed to see yet again. A man that used to be an enemy and rival, now his closest friend. Even before Phoenix had met Dahlia, he was in love with Miles, but when he discovered that Miles had no string, he quickly gave up on his romantic dreams of Miles, even though that love never truly went away. Some people had no string, and Miles was one of them. Phoenix had remembered when he was made fun of for it in elementary and high school. He didn’t seem too bothered though, often saying that romance wasn’t his priority at that moment.
And so, it was a surprise when Miles had confessed to him. After dinner together, the two decided to go out and take a stroll through the park. The night sky was beautiful, velvety expanse with glittering stars. Miles looked amazing, the light of the stars reflected in his eyes, like his eyes were little galaxies. They were just as mesmerizing as galaxies, just as beautiful and awe inspiring. Phoenix knew he could be lost in them for hours, lost in the ash gray waters of the eyes of the man he’d been in love with for years. Miles looked over at him, their eyes met. They were stood in a grass field, grass and closed flower buds swaying in the night breeze, fireflies flying all about the air.
And then Miles said it, the four words that Phoenix had longed to hear ever since he was a child.
“Wright, I love you.”
Phoenix wasn’t sure if he heard him right. Surely, this was his mind playing tricks on him, the world mocking him for ever being naïve enough to be in love with someone.
“What?”
“Love you.” Miles repeated. “I love you, I’ve loved you for years.”
Phoenix wasn’t dreaming, he wasn’t. The man he was in love with, loved him back. But…
“I love you too Edgeworth, but…” Phoenix trailed off.
Miles raised a brow. “…But?”
“Edgeworth…my string is broken.”
“So?”
Phoenix frowned. “What do you mean so?”
“What’s wrong with you having a broken string?” Miles asked, and it wasn’t mocking. A genuine question.
“Well…it’s just…” Phoenix sighed, a frown on his face. “Edgeworth, you gotta admit, not many people wanna date people like me.”
“Wright.”
Phoenix laughed, bitter. “I mean, who could ever love me? My own fucking soulmate hated me, I mean, if you don’t want people gossiping about you, then maybe you shouldn’t-”
“Wright.” Miles repeated, a little more firm. He looked determined, more determined than he’d ever been before. Phoenix had never seen the glint of resolve in his eyes shine so brightly. “I don’t care about your string, or whatever some idiot has to say when they know I’m dating you. Love is complicated, not a binary thing where you have one person you love for the rest of your life.”
Phoenix couldn’t believe it, that Miles loved him. Even if the evidence was staring at him right now, love and adoration permeating with every word.
“For years now, I was mocked for having no string, but did that stop me from loving you? No, it didn’t. And your string being broken shouldn’t stop you from loving me.” Miles continued, and his gaze softened for a moment. “I love you, and you love me…” He took Phoenix’s hands into his own, a reassuring gentle squeeze. “Isn’t that enough?”
Phoenix was smiling, smiling so much it hurt. “Edgeworth…”
“Will you be mine, Wright?” Miles whispered, his voice quivering, a small smile on his face that lit up the entire world. “Will you make me the happiest man on earth?”
“Oh, Edgeworth…” Phoenix wasn’t even sure when he had started crying, tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks. “Edgeworth, I love you!”
Phoenix suddenly kissed him, and though Miles was surprised at first, he soon melted into the kiss. It seemed that every star in the sky sparkled a little more brightly, and the broken string tied on Phoenix’s pinkie finger loosened, before falling off, fluttering in the air before landing on the ground. Red string that used to suffocate Phoenix, now laid on the ground forgotten.