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Phoenix stood in the defendant's lobby, utterly shell shocked. The trial was over. He had won, sort of. So why did he feel like he'd just lost in the worst way imaginable? Mia seemed to think he'd done a good job, as did Maya. But he really wasn't sure he could agree. Yes, Godot- no, Mr. Armando- was a murderer, that much was true. But he had done it to save Maya's life... Phoenix was broken from his thoughts as Miles and Franziska burst through the doors, Miles smirking and Franziska not looking completely murderous- so by their standards, jumping for joy.
"Excellent work, Wright," Miles' smirk softened into a smile as he looked at him and Phoenix couldn't help but smile back. But before he could respond, Maya pointed at Miles, her jaw almost on the floor in shock.
"Huh?! Mr. Edgeworth? When did you get back?" she half-yelled and Phoenix realised just how much she'd missed over the past couple of days.
"Edgeworth and Franziska have actually been helping me," he smiled and he wasn't sure which one of the siblings looked more flustered under Maya's scrutinising gaze. It would always be hilarious to him that the two most cagey people he had ever met, whose emotional walls were closer to stone fortresses, crumbled completely at the sight of an angry Fey.
"Helping you?" Maya exclaimed, the disbelief clear in her voice. To be fair, Phoenix couldn't blame her. Miles Edgeworth and Franziska von Karma were not names that had been synonymous with 'help' much in the past. But a lot had changed since then.
"If these two hadn't been here on the first day of the trial, the defense wouldn't have gotten anywhere," Phoenix's heart clenched in his chest as he looked between them. He truly was more grateful to them than he could say. So of course, his sentimental moment had to be ruined by the three of them collectively teasing him about how he'd caught the mother of all colds. Not like he'd survived falling from a burnt out bridge and landing in a freezing river or anything. Phoenix sighed, letting their comments wash over him until they got it all out of their systems.
"Anyway, thank you, Mr. Edgeworth!" Maya beamed over at him, "and you too, um... Franziska,"
Franziska abruptly turned her head away and Phoenix could have sworn he caught sight of a blush on her cheeks.
"I don't suppose... there's room for me in this group hug, is there?" a timid voice asked from behind them and Phoenix turned to see Larry looking like a kicked puppy in the corner of the room.
"Oh! Larry!" Maya jumped in surprise.
"What's with the, uh... longer than usual face?" Phoenix asked tentatively, fully ready to hear about the next poor girl who had fallen victim to Larry's imaginative romanticism.
"I realised something when I was reborn," Larry sighed mournfully, "I realised that Larry was never of any use to anyone. Not even once,"
"Th-That's not true! Right, Nick?" Maya reassured him, elbowing Phoenix's ribs.
"What? You're asking me?!" Phoenix spluttered as Larry turned his tear-filled eyes to him.
"Well, Nick? Is it true? I've got a place in this world, right?" Larry almost begged him and Phoenix truly had no idea what to say.
"Umm, I... Oh yeah! Those portraits you painted! They were... really good. Isn't that right, Edgeworth?" Phoenix smiled rigidly at Miles, who stared back at him like he'd grown a second head.
"What? M-Me?" Miles floundered, eyes flicking frantically between his two childhood friends.
"Why are you making that face, Edgey?" Larry's eyes filled with tears again and Phoenix felt like burying his head in his hands; why did he think passing this off to Miles had been a good idea?
"Oh, well, um, yes, indeed... I certainly can't say that they lack resemblance," Miles nodded stiffly and Phoenix had to choke down a laugh.
"Do you really mean it? What about you, Franzy?" Larry looked desperately towards Franziska and Phoenix's heart leapt into his throat. Poor Larry seemed to have a death wish today.
"My beauty can't possibly be captured by a mere crayon!" Franziska scolded, cracking her whip for good measure. Then Maya suddenly glared at her with the force of a lightening bolt, hands balled into fists at her side. "Nevertheless, I recognise the effort you put into it and that's worth something,"
Phoenix stared, silently dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding in front of him. Maya's softening eyes, Franziska's sudden shyness, and the way Miles was looking between the two of them like he'd just solved the world's most difficult puzzle. He was pretty sure he'd never been so confused in his life. Then Gumshoe suddenly came barreling through the doors- Phoenix was momentarily surprised those doors hadn't fallen off their hinges with the amount they'd been forcefully shoved open like that over the years- and declared that a celebration was in order. At Trés Bien... Great. Maya disappeared off to look for Pearls and Phoenix found himself being gently pulled to one side by Miles as the others bickered about god-knows what.
"Wright," Miles said, then lowered his voice, "Phoenix, my love. You seem to be uncharacteristically puzzled. I suspect you are wondering how Maya can be so cheerful despite all that has happened?"
"Y-Yeah," Phoenix replied, trying and failing to stop the blush crawling up the back of his neck at Miles' term of endearment. Since getting together nearly a year ago now, they had promised each other that they'd keep their personal and professional lives separate. But seemingly this rule could be broken when the occasion arose.
"I think I understand how she feels," Miles' eyes suddenly turned sad and Phoenix couldn't help but reach out and intertwine their fingers, professionalism be damned, "Maya is a much wiser person than she appears, and I think she realises something. Now is exactly the time when she needs to be as strong as she can. She wasn't the only one that was badly wounded by this incident. In fact, there was someone that was hurt far more deeply than she. I believe it's for that person that Maya is trying her best not to cry,"
"You mean Pearls, don't you?" Phoenix bit at his lip; the poor girl had been through so much, all because she loved her cousin.
"I do," Miles nodded, the sadness in his eyes lifting ever so slightly, "but both of them have something that can hold them above water during times like this... you,"
"Miles..." Phoenix's heart wobbled in his chest as he felt himself fall just that little bit more in love. But before the growing temptation to kiss him got too strong, Miles' gaze shifted over his shoulder and he suddenly straightened his back. Although, he refused to drop Phoenix's hand as they both turned to see Maya slowly walk back into the room.
"Oh, Maya. What's wrong?" Phoenix asked her worriedly.
"Nick," Maya looked up at him tearfully, "What do I do? Pearly... I can't find her anywhere,"
"As I figured," Miles sighed, "she has been badly hurt by this incident. She feels responsible for the tragedy that has befallen you, Maya,"
"But none of this was her fault! What... what should I do?" she looked pleadingly between the two of them. Phoenix paused for a moment, considering their options. Then he turned back towards the rest of the group.
"Detective Gumshoe," he called out.
"Yeah, what is it, pal?" Gumshoe looked over at them and did a wonderful double-take of his and Miles' hands.
"Could you guys go on ahead?" Phoenix asked, his mind already ticking through the list of places Pearls could be hiding.
"But what about you?" Gumshoe frowned in confusion.
"Maya and I will... we'll join you guys once we find Pearls. Don't worry about us. We may be a little late, but we'll definitely be there. We have a lot of celebrating to do tonight," Phoenix smiled at them all, one by one, until his gaze landed on Miles and he added a quiet, "I wouldn't miss it for the world,"
"Very well, Phoenix Wright. We'll go on ahead," Franziska nodded primly and Phoenix found himself distantly amazed that he hadn't been whipped into the ground for the way he was looking at her brother. Maybe she was finally starting to accept him? He could hope, at least.
"Don't keep us waiting, Wright," Miles said softly, slowly letting go of Phoenix's hand and moving to stand between Franziska and Gumshoe.
"We won't..." Phoenix promised before linking his arm with Maya's and gently pulling her towards the door.
"Where should we look? Where could Pearly have gone?" Maya asked, looking up at Phoenix with a furrowed brow. He looked down at her and his smile widened into a grin.
"There's only one place I can think of that Pearls might have gone to..."
Miles was almost certain he was breaking the law by cramming this many people into his car; the thing was built for speed and tight corners, not to ferry groups of people around town. Franziska sat next to him in the passenger seat, because she 'wanted to keep an eye on her little brother's awful driving so he didn't run them off the road and kill them all' and definitely not because Miles knew she got car sick if made to sit in the back. Gumshoe and Larry were squashed together behind them. He drove a lot slower than usual, so only a little above the speed limit, with Gumshoe yelling out partially helpful directions to the restaurant he'd made reservations at. A fancy French place, apparently. But given the detective's tastes, Miles wasn't holding out much hope. Eventually they reached their destination with only two near-physical altercations between Franziska and Larry, which Miles considered to be some kind of miracle. He parked up right outside the doors and the four of them piled out. As he locked the car and put the keys in his pocket, he looked up to see Maggey waving enthusiastically at them from the doorway. Gumshoe ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her. Larry promptly burst into tears and started wailing about his horrendous love life but Miles just smiled at the two of them. He'd known that Gumshoe had been pining after her from the moment he had met her, and he was glad they finally had the chance to be together. Catching Miles' expression, Franziska suddenly grabbed the edge of his sleeve and pulled him to one side.
"Little brother," Franziska said with a hint of warning in her voice.
"Yes, Franziska?" Miles looked down at her, completely unfazed, having long given up on reminding her that he was the oldest out of the two of them.
"I... while I cannot say I understand what you see in him at all, I am willing to concede that Phoenix Wright is good for you," she said through gritted teeth.
"Really?" Miles blinked in surprise.
"Yes. I doubt I will ever approve of your taste in men but I gave up on the idea of that a long time ago," Franziska sighed dramatically.
"Thank you," Miles bowed his head, trying to hide his smirk.
"I can see that he cares for you deeply and while no one will ever be good enough for you in my eyes, I suppose you could do a lot worse for yourself than him. Although, if he ever hurts you I will whip him until he is nothing more than dust on the wind," Franziska said fiercely.
"That is quite possibly one of the nicest things you have ever said to me," Miles smiled down at her and anger flashed across Franziska's face.
"Do not test your luck with me, Miles Edgeworth," she hissed and Miles' smile widened into an almost Phoenix-esque grin.
"Unfortunately for you, dear sister, the man I am in love with does nothing but test his luck in every situation and I fear it might be rubbing off on me. So I am telling you now that you need to pull yourself together and admit your feelings to Maya Fey," Miles teased her lightly.
"I do not have feelings for-" Franziska protested, her fingers wrapping tightly around her whip, but Miles swiftly cut her off.
"You should know better than to lie to me. I saw the way you were working on those trick locks when you thought Maya was trapped on the other side of them. You stayed there all night trying everything you could, just because you thought she was in danger. And I saw how you looked at her in the defendant's lobby before we came here. I also saw how she looked at you in return," he said pointedly, and the pale blush on Franziska's cheeks was all the evidence he needed to know that he was right.
"You think... do you really think it would be wise to tell her how I feel?" Franziska asked in that timid voice she only used when she and Miles were alone, when no one else in the world could hear her.
"I have found my happiness, sister. It is about time you allowed yourself to do the same," Miles smiled softly down at her in the way that Franziska always used to hate but had recently stopped commenting on, which Miles considered to be a win. She bowed her head and looked away from him, but even in the low evening light he could see the hopeful gleam in her eyes. Wordlessly, he offered his arm out to her. After a moment of hesitation, she linked her arm with his and together they joined the rest of the group just as they were entering the restaurant. As soon as they stepped inside, Miles' vision was assaulted from all sides and he almost winced as he looked about the room. Well, the decor was certainly... loud.
"Hey, Edgey! I bet you love it here, don't you? This place looks like it was made for you, pink and frills as far as the eye can see," Larry laughed loudly, nudging his shoulder. Miles could feel his cheeks burning as a waiter led them over to their table, but made no attempt to deny it.
Miles sat down in a seat by the wall, Franziska sitting opposite him. Larry sat diagonally across from her at the other end of the table and Maggey sat down opposite him, with Gumshoe finally taking a seat at the head of the table. The three middle chairs were left empty, two between Maggey and Franziska and one between Miles and Larry, ready for when the rest of their party arrived. They placed their drinks order and quickly fell into what Miles considered to be shockingly polite conversation; he was certain the other patrons thought they all looked like they were on the verge of murdering each other, but there was a distinct lack of whip cracks or loud sobbing and anyone that knew them would know just how impressive that was for this group of... what were they, exactly? Colleagues, friends... family? Miles wasn't really sure, but nothing could stop the smile spreading across his lips as he looked at them all gathered here in this questionable restaurant, celebrating their collective win together- even after Franziska's foot collided sharply with his shin under the table and she told him to 'wipe that foolish expression' off his face. But he didn't miss the way her lips turned upwards into a smile as she spoke. Maybe they were both just soft-hearted fools. And maybe that was a good thing.
"Hey, guys! We found Pearly!" Maya's voice chimed from the doorway and Miles shifted in his seat to see the trio walking over to them, all smiling.
"You made it!" Gumshoe cheered, beckoning them over. Maya took Pearls' hand as the two of them sat in between Maggey and Franziska. Phoenix slipped in to the last remaining seat between his two childhood best friends and for a brief, blinding moment, Miles almost felt like he was nine years old again. But then Phoenix reached out under the table and held Miles' hand in his and he was brought back to the present day. A lot had changed in the past 17 years and not all of it had been good. In fact, an awful lot of it had been hell. But, as Miles looked from his partner, to his sister, to his almost sister-in-law (who had subtly hooked her ankle around Franziska's leg under the table), to the rest of his friends, Miles felt as though his heart could burst from his chest.
"You good there, Miles?" Phoenix leaned over and whispered in his ear once everyone else was distracted.
"I was just thinking about how wonderful it is to be surrounded by family," Miles smiled, turning to look at the man who held his heart. And with the way Phoenix's eyes were dancing, he could tell they were both thinking the exact same thing.