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When Kay Faraday, the exuberant young girl who was the so called "Yatagarasu," asked one Miles Edgeworth if they could finally meet "That Man," Shi Long Lang was expecting her request to be immediately shut down by the grumpy prosecutor like always. Lang noticed how tight-lipped Edgeworth would become at the mere mention of this mysterious and legendary man, so Lang never pushed Edgeworth for any details about him.
Besides, Lang thought it would be an inappropriate thing to do to Edgeworth, considering the latter's feelings for the former. He didn't want to make him uncomfortable in anyway. "That isn't a proper way to treat someone who is head over heels in love with you, now is it? " Lang thought to himself as he smirked quietly.
So when Edgeworth reluctantly obliged, Lang was incredibly shocked. He stood there--trying his best to seem nonchalant-- as he watched the two young cubs, Kay and Eustace, crowd around Edgeworth with excitement as the older one, Eddie Fender, remained behind the scenes and merely laughed at the display in front of them.
"So, today's the day, huh?" Lang emerged from his spot and casually walked over to Edgeworth, ignoring the loud thumping in his heart as he came closer to the slightly shorter man. "Finally get to meet 'That Man.'"
He watched Edgeworth's features closely, studying the way Edgeworth's eyes slightly softened at the mention of "That Man" and the way his brows quickly furrowed, revealing the many infamous years worth of wrinkles indented in his forehead.
"He must be worried, heh, it's alright pup, no need to stress.'" Lang initiated contact with Edgeworth, lightly tapping his upper back in an attempt to be comforting. Edgeworth glanced up at Lang with a confused look on his face--Lang just took that as Edgeworth being so flustered by him that he couldn't even control his facial features around him. The wolf cackled and spun on his heel, raising his hand as a gesture of goodbye as he began shuffling out of the room.
"I'll be waiting then, pretty boy." He made sure to add extra emphasis to the affectionate name that he had been recently favouring as of late; he wanted to stir up Edgeworth and make him fall even more in love with him. The sound of what rung to Lang as "success" filled Lang with a sense of pride as he heard Edgeworth's stuttered response:
"Uh, Alright.. Lang.." Edgeworth, as well as the others in the room, awkwardly stood there as they listened to Lang's mumblings that were echoing into the room as he departed; key words like "obsessed" and "in-love" floated into the room as everyone shared an inquisitive glance with each other.
Shi Long Lang, was utterly delusional and completely in denial about his own feelings for Edgeworth; he'd soon find out about his delusions later that day.
----
Nervousness. Excitement. A hint of trepidation; there were several emotions that were flooding Lang's senses as he trailed behind the group. His head remained low as he studied the concrete below him, counting the grains and cracks that covered the area below. Sometimes--not often but sometimes--he'd stumble upon some type of wildlife, like a worm for instance, and guide it back to safety. Did this hold the group back a bit? Yes, yes it did, but in Lang's words..
"Lang-Zi says: No one in a pack gets left behind."
"But.. that's a literal worm!"
"Kay, just let him do his thing. Arguing with him will only waste our time." Edgeworth stormed past the group, almost inadvertently stepping on the worm that Lang had just saved. Eustace quickly chased after Edgeworth, clearly not wanting to get left behind. Kay soon followed after, racing to the front so she could continue leading the pack, except for the fact she actually had no idea where on earth Edgeworth was taking them to. Gumshoe seemed to know where they were headed, but he was casually talking to Eddie Fender, who was casually strolling alongside the detective with a relaxed posture and his hands slipped into the pockets of his cream coloured dress pants.
Lang was now all by his lonesome, but it didn't bother him, goodness no. He was a leader, of course he knew what it was like to be left all alone to defend himself. He clutched his chest as he slowly rose from his crouched position, bowing to the worm as he gave it his final wishes for a fruitful journey before catching up with the others.
"That Edgeworth, tsk, always playing hard to get." Lang grinned to himself as he continued to get lost in his very delusional thoughts. "No matter, I'm used to hunting my prey down before finally sinking my teeth into their neck." He purposefully ignored the connotations of his last thought as he finally found himself--as well as the others--standing in front of what looked to be a... law office?
"Wright and Co. Law Offices? Who's that?"
"You mean you don't know who Mr. Wayne is?!" Eustace enthusiastically pulled the back of his conductor's wand, letting it flick back up violently as it trembled in shock, much like Eustace's current expression. Kay shrugged her shoulders and looked to Edgeworth as she awaited a response from him. She watched as he shakily sighed and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for whatever disaster was to unfurl.
"First of all, Mr. Winner, it's 'Wright' not 'Wayne.''
"White, I see."
"No it's- it doesn't matter." Edgeworth sighed as he directed his attention to the other members of the group, taking a deep breath before continuing his sentence. "This is who 'That Man' is; it's none other than Phoenix Wright."
"WHO is Phoenix Wright?! No one will tell me!" Kay groaned as she heard a sonic laugh boom from behind her, the source being the good-hearted detective who ruffled the girl's hair, earning himself a glare from said girl.
"You don't know Mr. Wright? Heh, you been living under a rock or something?" Gumshoe stepped forward and very proudly took over the explanation for Edgeworth, who was perfectly capable and content with explaining but let Gumshoe do so regardless.
"Mr. Wright is a famous defense attorney; he's Mr. Edgeworth's lifelong rival! They've battled it out in court hundreds of times! Though, it's usually Mr. Wright who emerges victorious."
"Thank you Detective, however I'm sure you really didn't need to add that last part.." Edgeworth grumbled under his breath as he heard a meek "sorry" exit the guilty-sounding detective's mouth.
"No wonder why you're so good at defending, you've been learning from this guy, huh, Edgeworth?" Eddie came up from behind and gave Edgeworth a mighty fine pat on the back, causing a slight cracking sound to emerge from Edgeworth's back.
"..You could say that." Before any of them could say or do anything, the door to the office swung open as the figure of a spiky-haired lawyer came into sight. He was missing his signature blue suit, instead only wearing his white button up shirt and his iconic pink tie that was loosely tied around his neck--but he was still recognisable nonetheless.
"Mil-Edgeworth?" A hint of warmth could be heard in the attorney's voice as he made eye contact with Edgeworth, fighting the smile that was slowly creeping on his cheeks, "What are you doing here?"
Edgeworth quickly darted his head to the side, choosing to stare at a tiny little plant that was trying to grow from a drain in the ground--it was failing miserably. Eventually, he mumbled out a response while clutching the side of his arm, "Wright." After composing himself a little, and ignoring the wide-eyed look he was receiving from Kay, he stepped back and gestured to his "crew."
"I've come to introduce you to my.. very eager associates. I hope I'm not intruding on any important business?"
"No, no worries at all. Besides, 'no important business' going on around here; it's been pretty boring around here since Maya left."
"You mean Maya isn't here?" A slither of worry found its way into Edgeworth's voice as he voiced his concerns for the beloved spirit medium's disappearance. Knowing that girl's track record for always finding herself in very unfortunate situations due to her terrible luck, it was no wonder why Miles was concerned.
"Don't worry, Miles. She's just gone to Khurain Village so she can train. She has to become the master of her village after all." Phoenix stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on his childhood friend's shoulder, hoping to soothe the latter's unease. Edgeworth breathed a sigh of relief as he nodded, easing into more causal conversation with Phoenix.
Kay grinned mischievously as she pulled Eustace off to the side. Eddie noticed that Kay was definitely up to some scheming--or some type of nefarious shenanigans--so being the selectively responsible adult that he was, he decided to follow after them to see what they were up to, leaving Detective Gumshoe and Lang by their lonesome.
"Why are you asking poor Mr. Winner if he knows what homosexuality is, Kay?"
"Whaaat? There's nothing wrong with informing the uninformed! They've gotta know these things eventually!"
"I'm the same age as you Kay! Of course I know what homo- uh.. h-homo-sapiens is!"
Gumshoe ended up joining the conversation with Edgeworth and Phoenix, clearly looking forward to reconnecting with Phoenix after not seeing him for a grand total of 2 months. It was also nice for the three of them to catch up on everything that had been going on recently. Lang soon followed suit, making his way towards the trio before stopping when he saw something that surprised him.
"That lawyer and Edgeworth, huh. They're standing really close to each other.." Lang focussed his sharp, wolf-like eyes that were usually trained to spot intricate details in crime scenes, to instead intensively study the dynamic between the pair.
Standing close to each other, constantly looking at the other one, soft smiles when the other one is talking, touching each other subtly enough for it to fly under other people's radar but be noticeable for the other person...
It just screamed "more than friends," but not to Lang. He simply chuckled to himself as he shook and lowered his head, muttering quietly to himself.
"Heh, he wishes that was me so badly." Lang sighed, but it wasn't a sigh of annoyance or disappointment, but a sigh of understanding. He understood how Edgeworth was feeling. Lang was definitely wishing that he was Phoenix right now, wishing that he was the one receiving such soft looks that were laced with hints of love and warmth from Edgeworth, looks that sent rapid waves of giddiness through his heart, much like how he imagined that Edgeworth was wishing that Phoenix was Lang so that he could receive such looks from Lang. He shrugged his shoulders as a way to say "well, if you insist," and began making his way over to the talkative trio.
Before being stopped once again--not by the sight of something, but by the sound.
"Mr. Edgeworth?" A somewhat timid voice was heard as the adults lowered the heads, finding Eustace standing there--looking a bit clueless.
"Yes, Mr Winner? How can I help you?" Edgeworth crossed his arms and fixed his apprentice with a stern glare, sending a chill down the boy's back as he struggled to find the right words to ask his question.
"Prosecutors who stutter will never succeed in their career, Mr. Winner. You know this."
"C'mon, Edgeworth, aren't you being a bit harsh on the poor guy? He's your apprentice, isn't he?"
"Don't butt in, Wright." Edgeworth continued staring Eustace down, who had gathered the courage to say what was finally on his mind.
"Mr. Edgeworth, are you gay?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"PFFT-" Phoenix immediately lurched over as his hand flew to muffle his hearty laugh; he used his other hand as an anchor by placing it on Edgeworth's shoulder to stabilise himself. Edgeworth, on the other hand, was absolutely flabbergasted as he struggled to string a single coherent sentence together without stopping himself from the amount of shock and embarrassment he was feeling.
"Woahhh, this got personal fast." Eddie joined the circle as he smiled, clearly finding the situation highly amusing. Kay hid behind him, using him as a shield from Edgeworth's eventual wrath as she smiled devilishly in glee. Poor Eustace on the other hand anxiously flicked his conductor's wand; he knew he had said something to surprise his mentor greatly, but he didn't know exactly what it was he said that was so shocking.
"Uhh.. Mr. Edgeworth?" Eustace anxiously said, trying to gauge Edgeworth's reaction.
"Ah, don't worry about him, pup." Lang stepped forward, placing a tentative hand on Edgeworth's shoulder as he lightly squeezed it, receiving a slightly suspicious look from the now composed Phoenix Wright who was eyeing him with a hint of jealousy and slight intrigue.
"Lang? What are you-"
"Shhhh." Lang pressed a slender finger to Edgeworth's soft lips, lulling his protests away. "Don't worry, pretty boy, I've got this."
"'Pretty boy?'" Phoenix's eyebrows raised as he glanced at Edgeworth for some sort of explanation, receiving a slight grimace from the man as he struggled to explain this bizarre situation.
"Now, you shouldn't usually ask someone those types of questions, it's pretty personal and invasive." Lang pushed his fingers through his hair, subconsciously trying to make the spikes even more pointer than the other spiky-haired man in close proximity to him, "But I can tell that it wasn't your idea to ask him that question." Lang gestured with his hand to the thief, who was currently hiding behind Eddie Fender and trying to make herself seem smaller than she was.
"Kay.." Edgeworth spoke through gritted teeth as he glared at the teenager, she quickly cleared her throat before sheepishly stepping away from Eddie and revealing herself.
"Mr. Edgeworth! Heh..." She rubbed underneath her nose as she tried to brush off the whole situation, however her attempts were unsuccessful. She was expecting to feel Edgeworth's wrath, but she instead felt Gumshoe's as he stepped Infront of her, shoulders raised in anger.
"Hey, pal! Kay! You think it's funny to press Mr. Edgeworth's buttons like that?" Kay shrieked as she began running away from the towering detective, who soon sped after her. Everyone else watched the silly exchange before returning back to the matter at hand.
Eddie pulled Eustace aside to try to explain the situation to the very confused boy; Lang, on the other hand, turned towards Edgeworth and Phoenix, only to see that the two of them were quietly conversing together.
"There's definitely something going on between the two of them," is what any normal person would have said--but Lang was far from normal. Somehow, his mind had conjured up the idea that Edgeworth was talking to Phoenix so that he could ask for advice on how to ask Lang out. He based this assumption because the two men were constantly exchanging looks with each other and Lang. In actuality, the conversation sounded incredibly different to how Lang imagined it.
"I don't know why does that but he does, don't think too deeply about it, Wright." Lang watched their hushed conversation closely, noticing the way that Edgeworth subconsciously moved closer to Phoenix. He tried to think nothing of it, passing it off as Phoenix having poor hearing and Edgeworth being considerate of that fact by moving closer. That feat made Lang's respect and love for Edgeworth rise.
"Oh, I wasn't thinking too deeply about it." Phoenix moved closer to Edgeworth, raising his head a little as he continued to whisper close to Edgeworth's ear. The other man responded in the same way--lowering his head until their faces were just barely apart, their breaths mixing together due to the close proximity. "Is that so? I could've sworn I saw a jealous look in your eyes, perhaps I was mistaken."
By this point, anyone should have gotten the picture that there was something more going on here, but this was Lang--an incredibly stubborn man who could be incredibly clueless at times.
"Maybe they both just have bad hearing and need to be that close?" Lang smiled and closed his eyes, "Wow, Edgeworth, you have my utmost respect. Even though you clearly harbour strong feelings towards me, you still step out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to get that close to a man you don't love just so that you can get your message across. You compromise your comfort just to make sure there are no misunderstandings between the two of you, that's something Lang Zi would do."*
The two men moved impossibly closer, but Lang's expression didn't even falter. He continued to mentally shower Edgeworth with compliments and words of affirmation, "Don't worry, Edgeworth. I won't get jealous, you can be close to him. I understand that its for effective communication and there's nothing else going on."
"Well, maybe I was feeling a little jealous. Sue me." Phoenix's eyes quickly glanced to Edgeworth's lips, but fearing that he would ruin this deep-seated moment, he forced his eyes away. To his surprise, he saw Edgeworth's eyes linger on Phoenix's lips as well, before eventually doing the same thing and averting his gaze.
It didn't go unnoticed by Lang; finally, the man started to realise that something wasn't quite right.
"Did.. they just stare at each other's lips? No, it must've been my imagination. Even if they did, maybe they just had something on their lips like a bit of food?" Lang's reassurances fell through once he saw the two men stare at each other's lips once again, but this time their stares lingered. They didn't look away.
That's when it clicked.
"Not so fast!"
Kay and Gumshoe's little feud was abruptly stopped, Eddie and Eustace's small conversation was put on hold, and Phoenix and Edgeworth's flirtatious banter was halted by the cry of a wolf. Shi Long-Lang pointed a finger at the two of them, using his other hand to clutch his heart. He couldn't believe it; for one, Lang felt betrayed by Edgeworth's behaviour--did that mean that everything they had just gone through together meant nothing to the prosecutor?
But most of all, he was mad at himself. He couldn't believe he wasn't trustworthy enough for Edgeworth to divulge such personal information to him.
No matter, it was fine. Shi Long-Lang had figured it all out, and he wasn't mad at all.
"Lang-Zi says: To have a truly formidable pack, you must be able to stake everything upon the leader's shoulders."
"Lang? What does this mean? What are you going on about?" Edgeworth stepped forward and directed his own finger in the direction of the wolf. Lang smiled and shushed Edgeworth once again, smiling.
"Don't worry, pretty boy. I understand now." Edgeworth's brow furrowed as he struggled to understand what sort of mental gymnastics Lang's mind was currently doing. He somewhat feared what was going to exit the man's mouth after how he had been acting as of late.
He had good reason to.
"Understand what?"
"What... this," Lang gestured to Phoenix and Edgeworth--they both quickly stepped away from each other which proved his point; Kay and Eddie both exploded in laughter as Gumshoe quickly chastised the two of them for laughing, "is."
"Hey, pals! I don't like that you guys are laughing at Mr. Edgeworth! So what if he likes Mr. Wright?! I like Mr. Edgeworth! So go on, laugh! I bet you won't." Gumshoe smirked smugly as if he had just shut them down, but his response only made Kay laugh louder.
If there was someone who was more out of the loop and confused than Lang, it was Gumshoe--but at least he was somewhat on the right track.
"Guys?? I don't get what's so funny??" Eustace's pleas for clarification fell on deaf ears as Phoenix and Edgeworth were too gobsmacked to explain, and the other two were too busy laughing to respond to his inquiries. In the end, Eustace just started laughing with them so he didn't feel left out--even if he STILL didn't understand what was so funny.
Lang remained straight-faced and sincere, his expression didn't falter as he continued with his very incorrect train of thought. "Edgeworth, you're scared, aren't you?"
"And what am I scared of?" Edgeworth's expression hardened.
"Commitment, you're scared of committing to this." He gestured to himself and then back to Edgeworth; Kay was on the floor trying to breathe while Eddie wiped a stray tear from his cheek. Both Eustace and Gumshoe collapsed to the floor to tend to what they thought was a dying Kay.
"....Pardon?"
"I get it. I'm a bit nervous myself." Lang turned on his heel, lifting his head to gaze upon the picture-perfect sunset that coated the sky, "Which is why I'll give you time, and practise."
Edgeworth and Phoenix shared an incredulous glance.
"You're using your childhood friend, someone whom you've trusted since you were just a young pup, to practise and make sure that you get everything right. So that when the time comes," Lang looked over his shoulder at Edgeworth, "You know you'll be perfect for me, for us."
"Lang-"
"Don't worry, I'm not mad, pretty boy." Lang paused for a moment, letting the words soak in before dipping his head, "If anything, I'm mad at myself for making you think you couldn't be upfront with me and tell me that you needed someone to practise with."
Not even Kay's laughs or Eustace's cries could be heard, that's how silent it had now become. No one dared to utter another word as they watched Lang's movements. His intentions and thought processes were completely beyond them. They didn't have a single clue as to what on earth Lang was talking about, only that no matter how hard Lang tried, he couldn't hide the hint of pain in his voice as he spoke.
"Lang Zi says: Practise does not make perfect. Perfect practise makes perfect."
"I'm pretty sure that was another guy-" Eddie covered Eustace's mouth as he let Lang continue on.
"I respect you even more for following my ancestor's teachings. Even though you may try to hide it, I can tell you're obsessed with me." Lang fully turned around, watching as Edgeworth and Phoenix shared yet again another incredulous look--but unlike last time where it was Edgeworth with the furrowed brows, it was Phoenix.
"So, I'll wait. I'll wait until you're ready." Lang approached Edgeworth and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder, letting his hand linger there for a moment too long--in Phoenix's opinion anyways--before eventually stepping away and departing from the scene.
It was a tranquil scene, one that tugged at the heartstrings but also felt freeing for Lang as he felt the breeze rush past his face and listened to the sounds of the wildlife. Eventually, he had disappeared from everyone's sights.
...
Silence was all that followed. Everyone was too starstruck and dumbfounded to even say anything--regardless if it had something to do with the situation or not.
"Mr. Edgeworth I think he likes you."
"Eustace, not now." Edgeworth quietly hushed Eustace from pointing out the obvious-- there were just some things that were better left unsaid, especially when it came to complex matters like love.
"So..." Phoenix started, clapping his hands together and facing the crowd of confuddled people before eventually focussing on Edgeworth--he was going to have fun with this one.
"I didn't know you were boy-crazy about that wolf looking detective."
"Wright, don't start." Phoenix raised his hands in a placating manner, stepping back as he mirrored everyone else's body language of just standing there awkwardly.
...
"...So you are gay..."
"Eustace, no."