(a/n: I had this one stashed away, and I like it. (: Its based off of the movie Overboard, so if you've never seen it, you may be a bit confused. It's pretty AU but I love the concept. Enjoy. (: Review if you'd like. They make me happy :D)

Overboard

The neighbors would complain, he was sure of it. He would be reported…as if he hadn't had enough problems with law enforcement before. This many people living in an office that wasn't fit to house people in the first place? It was surely illegal. He didn't want any more…incidents on his record.

It had all started with one Trucy Enigmar, whom seven or eight years ago had come to live with him. The circumstances were strange, in the least, but he couldn't just turn the little eight-year-old girl out on the street. He felt he owed it to Zak to take care of his daughter.

After Trucy, Apollo Justice appeared at his front door. What initially started out as a job ended up being a bit more complicated. After the events that had transpired in the past year or so, Phoenix couldn't turn Apollo away either. And, as the singing goddess Lamiroir wasn't ready to reveal herself as the long-lost magician Thalassa Gramarye, Apollo really had nowhere else to go. The best thing for him now was to be near the only family he had: Trucy.

And finally, it came to this. Phoenix was surprised when he got the phone call; he just couldn't turn people down these days, as if he ever could.

Not terribly long ago, one Maya Fey struggled with the only telephone in Kurain Village to try and get a hold of her ex-lawyer friend. After describing the details of her predicament, Phoenix agreed to the deal. Maya had to go on an unsuspected, long trip on account of her becoming the new Master of Kurain, and since Maya was the only family the young Pearl Fey had left…well, despite Pearl being sixteen, Maya wasn't really keen on letting her run the mansion while she was away. This is why Phoenix had gotten this call: Maya wanted to know if 'Mister Nick' could take care of Pearl, just while she was gone.

As if his living accommodations weren't cramped enough.

Both of the original tenants had gotten a new roommate: Apollo was to stay where Phoenix slept, and Pearl would sleep on the couches with Trucy. Hopefully, these new boarders could atleast help with the rent…

However, Phoenix Wright's whole perspective changed as he saw a special news broadcast one morning…on which he saw a very familiar face. He paused in his morning routine to listen to the monotonous voice of the anchorwoman:

Earlier this morning, a man was found washed up on Venice Beach. He was found by beach-goers, who eventually reported whom they found to the police. Upon questioning, it appears as if the man has suffered from amnesia and cannot remember anything about himself, including his name and where he has come from.

If you have any information regarding this man…

The television clicked off. That was all Phoenix needed to hear, apparently, and a malevolent grin spread across his face. "The police station is where they'll be keeping him, I'm sure of it. Time for a little payback…"

--

The police station was miles away from Phoenix's office, but he opted to walk. He had no other choice, really; he had never gotten his driver's license and he hadn't ridden his bike in eons. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the police station. Maybe walking hadn't been such a great idea; he was extremely tired and out of breath by the time he reached the station.

Unzipping his hoodie, he pulled it off along with the knit stocking cap he always wore. A breeze had picked up, cooling him off indefinitely. He sighed with relief, leaning up against the station's entrance. After a while, he opened his eyes (which he hadn't realized that he had shut) and walked into the police station.

He made a beeline for the reception desk. He hadn't been fond of this place ever since the Lana Skye trial; Damon Gant had left a strange impression on him, and the station didn't help these matters. However, before he reached the desk, a large, olive green obstacle appeared in his way.

"Hey pal! I haven't seen you in forever!" A familiar voice reached Phoenix's ears, and he looked up. Scruffy black hair, scruffy chin stubble, and scruffy, worn out clothes (but he couldn't really be one to talk anymore.) Most definitely Detective Dick Gumshoe.

"Hey, Gumshoe. Long time no see," he said nonchalantly, trying to get out of what he could see to be a very long conversation. After a few questions, Phoenix just decided to spit it out. "You know that man they found today?" Gumshoe nodded in response. "Well, I'm here to pick him up. You know, claim him."

With that, however, the detective looked confused. "But I don't remember seeing you with that guy ever. And you can't just come along and pick up any person we find, we need to verify that you actually have a basis for coming to get him." Wow, Gumshoe actually sounded professional today.

He had to think up something quick. To tell the truth, he wasn't actually sure he would get this far, and being the usual Phoenix, he didn't think this far ahead. "Hm…well, it's not something I go around flaunting. But, if you insist, I'll tell you." The detective nodded a bit too fervently, obviously curious as to what reason Phoenix had for claiming this man.

With the straightest face possible, Phoenix simply said, "He's my husband."

And this is where the lies began to unfold.

Gumshoe was silent for a minute, letting what Phoenix had just said soak in. And then…he burst out laughing. "Oh, gosh, I knew you were always a fan of bad humor, pal, but this one takes the cake!" Phoenix said nothing, letting the good detective laugh for a while although the scene attracted a good amount of attention.

After Gumshoe settled down, he wiped the tears from his eyes and let out a few small chuckles before he began to speak. But then he noticed Phoenix's extremely serious expression. "Whoa…you're really serious, pal?"

"When am I not, Detective?"

Suddenly becoming a bit uncomfortable, Gumshoe absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck. "Well, pal, protocol is protocol. I can't just hand him over to you without an official marriage license stating that you really are married. I'm not gonna take the heat just for you, pal."

Well, it had seemed a little too easy…but then Phoenix thought of something. He didn't like to lie this much, but he was almost desperate for this payback. He really didn't have anything else to do these days; why not screw up an amnesia-plagued man? He thought of his old motto: bluff to the max, speak and then think.

"Well…see, that's the thing, Detective Gumshoe. I'm sure you know of my daughter, Trucy, right?" Again, Gumshoe nodded in agreement. "Well, as you know, she is a magician. And…well, one day while she was practicing, she accidentally set fire to most of our official documents."

"Wow, pal, that's pretty unfortunate! I remember just the other day my Maggey almost did something like that before I—"

Phoenix quickly interrupted him, stopping what he could see to be a very long story. "And…well, I've been trying my hardest, staying up all night on the telephone trying to replace those documents. It's so coincidental that our marriage license would get burnt right when I needed it to prove it…" To make his act all the more convincing, he stared off into the distance, almost wistfully.

Gumshoe said nothing for a while, thinking. Finally he spoke, sounding a bit miffed. "You better be glad you have friends like me in the police department, pal!"