Miles Away from Wright

Summary: Edgeworth is a well-known bartender residing in the town of Fey. One day, the famous Phoenix Wright enters the tavern and orders Edgeworth's best drink. Butz eagerly engages into conversation with Wright, revealing a surprising truth about the drink Edgeworth had made Wright. What will come of the two?

Note: Ace Attorney belongs to Shu Takumi.

The tavern was as lively as it had ever been in the little town of Fey. Cowboys and rich folk passing by that time would stop by for a drink at the famous Von Karma tavern where a famous bartender served the most excellent drinks. This bartender's name was Miles Edgeworth.

Edgeworth took pride in his craft; mastering the art of the shaker and managing to concoct four drinks maximum at any one time should there be an absolute need to. He was the talk of the town.

Fey was a peaceful town; hardly were there any criminal offenders, especially with the watchful eye of Sheriff Dick Gumshoe who made his rounds every so often while calling out in a loud voice, surely what most found likely found to be tolerable in volume.

One morning, there arrived a stranger from out of town. He had spiky hair that miraculously stayed that way even while he was wearing a tall hat. A cowboy by the looks of his attire. As he walked down the street everybody turned heat at the new arrival. This was mostly because the color of his clothes was quite a display compared to the bland colors of brown, white and black. His flannel shirt was a dark color blue, and his vest a nice bloody red. The stranger stopped in front of the saloon doors of the Von Karma tavern before promptly entering, again making practically all of its occupants turn head.

Edgeworth raised his eyebrow at the new customer, not having seen folk dressed as fancy as him in a long while. Eagerly he shooed away one of his regulars from one of the stools as the stranger approached. "Can I get you anything sir?" he asked.

Tipping up his hat, the stranger nodded. "I'll have a glass of the best drink you can make," he replied.

"Right away," came Edgeworth's reply, heading off to make his special drink.

The goofy man seated beside him, Larry Butz, grinned. "Say partner, you don't seem to be from around here! Mind introducing yourself?" he asked jovially.

The stranger returned his gaze for a moment before smirking. "Name's Phoenix Wright. I'm looking for Sheriff Gumshoe," he introduced.

The tavern was brought to a temporary standstill as the stranger introduced himself. The people playing billiards paused and the band playing a hoedown abruptly stopped as well. All eyes were on the newcomer Phoenix Wright.

"Bless my soul…." Butz breathed, pointing at him. "YOU'RE PHOENIX WRIGHT?" he exclaimed.

"You know me?" Wright asked in surprise.

"Who DOESN'T know you?" Butz continued, eager as hell now, practically bouncing in his seat as Edgeworth moved up to him with his drink.

"I didn't realize I was well-known…" Wright admitted sheepishly, grinning and scratching his cheek.

"You were the one responsible for bringing that Dee Vasquez gal to justice before! Everyone in town didn't want to believe that Mr. Powers over there would do such a thing like commit murder!" Butz said, pointing a finger over to Will Powers who shyly waved.

"OH, you meant about that… It wasn't that much of a big deal really," Wright pointed out.

"Were you sent here to replace Sheriff Gumshoe then?" Edgeworth inquired, setting the drink down in front of the newcomer.

"Huh? Replace? No no no, I just came here for a visit! A visit!" Wright insisted.

'…That's too bad,' Edgeworth thought with an inward frown when he learned of this. "Then I hope you enjoy your drink Mr. Wright," he said with a bow.

"Oh come on Edgey, no need to be so formal with this guy!" Butz cut in with a grin, pressing his thumb against the side of his nose.

Furrowing his brow to shake off the forming blush on his cheeks, Edgeworth glared over to Butz. "Mind your own business Butz," Edgeworth said in a steel tone before glancing at Wright before stalking off to the other side of the bar to entertain the other guests.

His interest piqued, Wright watched Edgeworth for a while. "So who's that stubborn fellow?" he asked Butz.

Again, Butz gaped his mouth in surprise. "YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT EDGEY?" he exclaimed before getting a hit to the back of the head with a spare shaker.

"I never gave you permission to call me that!" Edgeworth warned.

"Geez, and you thought you knew a guy…" Butz muttered.

"Miles Edgeworth is one of the best bartenders around," Powers piped up, moving up to take the empty stool on Wright's other side carrying his drunk with him. "So I guess it's a surprise that you don't know about him.

'Actually, he was the one I was looking for…' Wright thought in embarrassment, his gaze unable to leave Edgeworth unless he glanced his way, causing him to avert his gaze down at the drink made for him.

"Hey, this is a new kind of drink!" Butz suddenly supplied, leaning closer to the drink now that he saw it.

"Wha?"

"Yeah! This is new!" Butz furrowed his brows and glanced over to Edgeworth. "Hey Edgey what's the big idea?" he complained.

Edgeworth walked back up to them, causing Wright to shrink down in embarrassment and set his gaze on the surface of the drink. "What are you blabbering about Butz?" he demanded crossly. "And I thought I told you to not call me that?" he added.

Butz pointed at the drink Wright was holding. "This is a new drink isn't it? I've been coming here ordering every single drink on your menu for 5 years and you never served anything that looked like that!" he accused.

"Just because it looks different doesn't necessarily mean that it is different you dolt," Edgeworth reprimanded with a frown.

Puffing his cheeks, Butz turned to Wright. "Hey partner, do me a favor and drink that for me would you?" he asked, pressing his hands together as if he was praying. "I beg of you!"

"I... already did," Wright answered, pointing to his now empty glass.

"YOU FINISHED IT IN ONE GULP?" Butz proclaimed.

"What? No! Of course not! I was really thirsty!" Wright defended.

"How was it?" Edgeworth asked, causing the two to look over to him.

"Excuse me?" Wright asked.

"I asked 'how was it'?" he repeated himself, distractedly looking away.

"Oh… right… the drink…" Wright realized, blushing slightly as he glancing down at the glass before grinning. "It was incredibly tasty~" he answered.

"That's it? Tasty?" Butz interrupted.

"Shut up for 20 seconds would you?" Edgeworth retorted with a dangerous glare towards the man. Clearing his throat, he bowed his head to Wright. "My apologies, Mr. Wright."

"Oh no, it's all right. I've seen a lot of squabbles from where I come from," he reassured the bartender. "But I really do have to compliment you for the excellent drink you gave me!"

With a blush reforming on his cheeks, Edgeworth stiffly looked away. "I-It wasn't anything…" he managed to say.

"Hang on…" Butz suddenly said after counting to 20 with his fingers, stroking his cheek. "Edgey never makes something new unless…"

"Unless?" Wright asked in curiosity.

"UNLESS HE WAS IN LOVE! HA!" Butz accused triumphantly, causing the tavern to fall silent again, their attention turned to their famous bartender who seemed to redden even more.

Wide-eyed, Wright turned to Edgeworth, a similar shade of red on his face. "I-Is that true Mr. Edgeworth….?" he asked carefully.

Shutting his eyes and clenching his fists thankfully hidden under the counter, Edgeworth nodded. "…It is."

There was a long silence that followed this confession. With a silly grin, Phoenix Wright got to his feet and jumped over the counter and pulled Edgeworth into an embrace. "Looks like I was right to come back Miles," he said loudly as the crowd erupted into much fervent cheer.

Amongst this cheer, Edgeworth, past the shock of Wright's actions, realized something crucial: He had been in love with Phoenix Wright ever since their childhood. But an unavoidable incident forced Wright to skip town with his family. And now, after 10 years, they reunite… and fall in love all over again.

THE END