A/N: Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth do not belong to me; they belong to CAPCOM. The plot, however, the florist shop staff and the angry man are mine. :^)
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Based on an incident mentioned in "Little Place of Forgetting," chapter 3. Miles, on the way back to work from lunch, sees some bouquets in the window of a florist's shop down the street and decides to buy Phoenix some flowers. Little does he know what misadventures await him inside...
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A sweet, silly and fluffy fic. Hope you enjoy! :^)
Thanks to all of my readers for your reading, reviewing, favouriting and alerting! I really appreciate it very much and I hope that you will continue to enjoy my stories!
Thank you to Lyrical Rawr & ShadowSuzaku [past] and Midnight-hunter [present] for betaing this piece. Thank you all! :) I appreciate it a bunch! :)
Special thanks to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for his unfailing love, support, nagging (when necessary), for helping me to stay grounded during the writing process so I don't end up tearing my hair out and for suggesting the title. Love you, babe, and thanks!
As always, comments and suggestions are appreciated and welcomed! :)
Rated T, Humor/Romance, Phoenix & Edgeworth
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It was a nice, cool fall afternoon the day that I was walking back to my office from lunch at the quaint little Italian restaurant I frequently visited. I was in a good mood since I'd just finished enjoying a fine repast that had done a great deal to repair my shattered nerves from the disaster that had been my day up until then. It had been one of those days and I'd been in an absolute lather when I'd left-stormed out of, really-my office earlier that afternoon but, by the time I'd finished my meal, I felt considerably better and much more human.
I smiled as I walked down the street, thoughts of Phoenix filling my mind, making for an exceptionally pleasant mental diversion.
Wright can be a handful at times, I thought wryly, a grin playing about my mouth as I walked, a rich, low chuckle emerging from my lips. Then again, I have no doubt that he probably says the same thing about me on a regular basis.
I loved Wright dearly and I was very happy to be with him. He brought me joy I hadn't even known I was missing into my life and, now that we had been together for some time, I couldn't imagine life without him.
I watched impassively as a leaf skittered across the pavement, its manic flight driven by the wind. It was chillier than it had been when I had first arrived downtown and I pulled the corners of my collar together. Despite the cold, I was warm inside as I walked down the sidewalk and crossed the street, my head lowered against the wind.
I had walked down a block or two when I looked to my left and came face to face with a florist shop. The bouquets that were in the window were beautiful, the roses artfully arranged. Queen Anne's lace was tucked in between them, with the greenery peeking in and out from inside the bouquets with silver ribbon shot through. My breath caught as I looked at them, thinking that one of these would be the perfect thing for a surprise gift for Phoenix.
I smiled as I turned and walked back to the shop, reaching for the door handle, grasping it and pulling the door open, soft chimes sounding musically above my head as I walked in.
Warm, moist air greeted me as I entered the florist's shop, the hum and bustle of customers coming in and out, the din of voices ebbing and flowing, the sounds of the clerks rising and falling in tandem with the customers greeting me as I walked in. It was controlled chaos, the kind that I felt comfortable with. My smile brightened considerably as I looked over the different kinds of floral arrangements, trying to decide which one Phoenix would like best.
I stood there for some time, my finger lying gently on my lips, deep in thought as I debated on one form over another and wondering which one he would prefer.
"May I help you, Sir?" a soft voice behind me inquired and I jumped a little with surprise, quickly covering my discomfiture by clearing my throat hoping that she wouldn't notice the red color rising in my cheeks..
"Yes... yes, you can," I replied briskly, gesturing at the floral arrangements assembled neatly on a table in front of me. "I'd like to purchase a bouquet."
The young woman's face brightened.
"Very good, Sir!" she chirped, walking over to stand beside me. "Have you made up your mind as to which bouquet you'd like?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Not yet," I said, looking over at the display once again, my eyes narrowing as I mentally reviewed the pros and cons of each, chuckling as I did so, thinking of what Phoenix would do if he saw me taking so long to pick out a bouquet.
I don't think Wright really cares if it isn't perfect, I chided myself mentally. Some things had simply become ingrained in my personality and Wright would be the first to tell me that I really needed to lighten up. No matter which one I choose, I know that he will love it. My lips curled into a soft, dreamy smile. He's just that way.
"Ummm... excuse me, Sir?" a slightly hesitant voice beside me intoned some moments later, breaking rudely into my thoughts. I turned and looked at her, annoyed at having my mental calculations interrupted.
"Can't you see that I'm busy?" I snapped, making my annoyance crystal clear in my tone and she backed away from me a few steps, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"Errr... I..." she stuttered, backing up a little further, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. My eyebrow raised slightly, my mouth turning down at the corners as I let my displeasure show not only in my tone, but in my expression as well.
The clerk became even more flustered, if that were at all possible at this point, her face turning redder as the seconds ticked by. She stood there in embarrassed silence, her hands clenched into fists at her side and I could see her eyes beginning to shine with tears.
She must be new here, I thought, feeling a twinge of conscience as I looked at her. How would I be feeling were I in her situation? I groaned inwardly. I really have to work on my patience.
To tell the truth, I was feeling bad about the whole thing and was ready to apologize but, before I could even open my mouth, a large, burly male with an ugly expression on his face was making his way quickly toward us.
My eyes widened, my mouth snapping shut as my brain took in this new situation. The clerk, still sniffling softly, looked as surprised as I did, her green eyes meeting my grey, both of our faces sporting equally perplexed expressions.
The man, however, was angry; I could see this through his body language: jaw set, eyes narrowed, hands clenched into fists and quick stride with wide, heavy steps.
Oh... damn, I thought as the man quickly approached, feeling sweat starting to bead on my forehead. This doesn't look good. Oh, hell.
It was soon apparent as to the reason that he was barreling over with an ugly snarl and that would have been me upbraiding the clerk for interrupting me when I was looking over the bouquets. It was a grievous error on my part since this gentleman was obviously-from my point of view-taking the young lady's side and intended to make me pay, and pay dearly, for the insult.
"Hey, you!" the man yelled as he shouldered his way in between us, the surprise in the clerk's eyes mirroring my own.
I forced myself to calm down and met the man's gaze squarely.
"Are you speaking to me, Sir?" I asked coolly though cordially, my feet planted firmly on the floor, my arms crossed defiantly over my chest.
Let's see what you make of that, you big gorilla.
He glared at me, my eyebrow quirking upward slightly.
"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!" he growled, his index finger jabbing the air in front of me; I had to make a concerted effort not to flinch. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"At the moment, Sir," I replied breezily, looking him straight in the eye, "I was merely trying to decide which bouquet to purchase."
My eyes were narrowed in a hooded, predatory look that had never failed to quail even the most hardened criminals who appeared before me in court. It worked in this situation as well, the anger in the man's eyes slowly begging to recede, his steps faltering slightly. Though he was still noticeably angry, he had backed down from when he had initially approached us.
Which is all to the good for me.
The poor clerk looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole at this point and I really couldn't blame her.
"Is there a problem with that?" I asked, bringing us back to the original point of the conversation.
The man looked sheepish, shuffling his feet uncertainly.
"Well...no, I suppose not," he said hesitantly, embarrassment plainly clear in his voice. "But... that doesn't give you the right to yell at her like that, either, you know!"
My eyebrow rose. "Really? I don't recall myself actually yelling at her. In fact-" I continued, looking levelly at him and he backed away a little further. "-I did not raise my voice to the young lady in question at all."
"No, Sir," she piped up in a faint voice. "He didn't yell at me. He just... growled... at me."
I looked at the man, spreading out my hands. "See? Even the young lady backs me up."
He plainly didn't like that response but there was nothing he could really do since, with the mounting evidence to the contrary, he was in the wrong and he knew it.
"But... still..." he began to say before I quickly cut him off.
"In fact," I put in smoothly, turning to the clerk standing quietly beside me who was doing her level best not to draw attention to herself, "I was about to apologize to her for my rather boorish behavior when you arrived."
Gratitude and relief filled the clerk as I turned to face her. "I do apologize for my actions," I said quickly, my face softening in true contrition, "and I am sorry that I was so rude. It wasn't your fault."
She blushed and accepted my apology, grateful for the escape hatch I'd given her, scurrying to the back of the shop, probably feeling like she had just narrowly escaped being verbally skinned alive; I wasn't far behind her in feeling that I also had had a narrow escape.
Once she'd disappeared into the back, I turned back to look at the bouquets once again and the man, presumably annoyed at not getting to play the gallant, left without another word. Once he had left, I sagged with relief, letting out the breath I was holding with a soft wooshing sound.
That was close, I thought, taking out my handkerchief and mopping the sweat from my brow, folding it neatly before I pushed it far down into my pocket once I was done. Too close! I took a quick look at my watch. It's nearly one o'clock so I had best choose a bouquet and then head back to the office. I looked at the display once again, thinking hard, before I reached out and plucked a bouquet from the shelf, the sweet scent of the roses filling the air with a beautiful perfume.
This is perfect! He'll love it!
Pleased that I had now found the perfect bouquet for Phoenix, I turned and quickly walked toward the front of the store, a happy smile spreading across my face.