A/N: Phoenix wright and Miles Edgeworth do not belong to me; they belong to CAPCOM. Neko!Miles x Student!Phoenix AU belongs to thisedgeysfangirl and is used with her kind permission. The thumbnail artwork is also by thisedgeysfangirl and is also used with permission. Thanks! ^_^
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October 28th
Phoenix Wright's Dorm Room
Brentwood Academy
4: 30 P.M.
Miles sat on the edge of the double sized bed, his tail twitching as he stared at the far wall, his brow creased. He had been cooped up inside for a good part of the day and he was bored but he knew that he had to remain silent lest he be discovered. He knew that the boy who shared the room with him, Phoenix Wright, was taking quite a chance in sheltering him here and he felt only gratitude toward the spiky-haired boy who had rescued him.
He smiled softly at the thought. The cat boy had been clipped by a car while he was crossing the street-he still marveled that it hadn't killed him although he supposed that being nudged on the hip wouldn't be detrimental to his continued existence-which had thrown him into the hedge of the prestigious Brentwood Academy. He'd fallen through the scratchy branches to land, with an undignified thump, on the ground.
He'd lain there for a few moments in pain from various bruises and a sprained ankle, unaware that his tail was sticking out from underneath the lower part of the hedge itself, curling and uncurling wildly. The noise had also attracted the attention of Phoenix who's room was close to the street where the accident had occurred, witnessing it from his window that looked out over the hedge.
He was initially afraid when he first saw the young man opening the hedge and peering inside; he didn't want the young man to look at him but he was surprised when not only was he not afraid, but the cerulean blue eyes that looked at him held only compassion albeit mixed with a bit of surprise at seeing him there.
Miles couldn't remember a time up until then that he was truly happy; with the arrival of Phoenix into his life, it certainly had changed and for the better.
The soft afternoon sun shone gently on his face and he closed his eyes, his tail twitching in pleasure, the black markings standing out on the grey fur, his grey hair falling in two graceful peaks on either side of his face, his pale, milky skin glowing in the soft light.
He and Phoenix had been residing together in his dorm room for the past year now and, lately, he became aware of a new feeling that was slowly making itself known to him. It had started two months earlier; he'd been puzzled, and frightened, of the way his heart was beating when he was around the student. He did note, however, that this rapid heartbeat only occurred when he was around Phoenix and he was hard pressed to come up with a reason why this was the case.
He'd sought advice from Maya Fey, one of Phoenix's close friends at school and a fellow classmate, a day or two earlier when she had come to Phoenix's room to drop off one of his Classical History books that she had borrowed from him a month before. She, along with some of Phoenix's other friends, was among the handful of people who knew that he lived with Phoenix in his room and were sworn to secrecy. He trusted her implicitly and Miles knew that he could trust her, as well.
He'd told her of the strange feelings he had for Phoenix and the way that his heart beat when he was around him. He had no idea what was causing it or even what it meant. She'd listened to him in respectful silence until he finished talking and then glanced at her expectantly, his grey eyes looking at her questioningly. She'd gently explained that what he was feeling was completely normal and it sounded like he had deeper feelings for Phoenix.
He'd tilted his head slightly to the right, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Deeper feelings? What kind of deeper feelings?"
"The kind you have when you really care about someone."
He'd thought for a few minutes and then his face brightened. "You mean like a friend?" He was happy to have become chummy with some of Phoenix's friends and classmates but he was still puzzled since he didn't feel this way about any of them, only Phoenix.
She'd chuckled. "Not that kind of love, Miles. This is a special kind of love, a much deeper one..."
He frowned, his tongue clacking against the back of his teeth. "I'm not sure I understand, Ms. Fey." He leaned forward, his hands clasped together and lying on his thighs. "What kind of deeper feelings are these?"
She was silent for a moment. "It goes very deep," she said at last, "and it isn't the kind that you have for one of your friends."
"Oh?" His curiosity was piqued an he listened eagerly, his cat ears twitching in anticipation.
She nodded solemnly. "It's the kind that you have for a special someone; the kind that makes your heart beat faster whenever you think of them and that pervades your entire being." She smiled at him. "I think that you're in love with Phoenix, Miles; that's why you have all these confusing feelings."
He blinked. "Is this common among people who have a... special someone?"
"Yes." She said it firmly and he didn't doubt for a moment that she meant exactly that. "It happens all the time."
The cat boy prided himself on his intelligence and it hadn't taken him long to get used to his new surroundings nor to the often confusing ways, and mannerisms, of humans. Once he'd picked that up-and it hadn't taken him long-he'd fit right in with other of Phoenix's friends who'd accepted him as he was.
"Hmmm." Miles chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully, his tail unconsciously swaying from side to side on the navy blue bedspread as he mulled over the situation. "So, all of these different, and very confusing feelings that I'm experiencing around Phoenix are because he's my special someone... which is a deeper feeling than those I have for my friends."
Maya smiled gently, nodding in approval. "That's it, Miles; that's exactly right. Phoenix is your special someone."
"What do people who have special someones do?" He still wasn't sure about what to do with these confusing feelings and wanted to know how other humans dealt with them.
"They usually spend time together in one way or another, either by themselves but sometimes in a group with other people."
"Hmm." Miles mulled over this in his mind for a time, digesting the information. He still wasn't quite sure what then proper way to go about it but he supposed that he could ask Phoenix about them since he was, after all, his special someone.
He'd thanked Maya for both her kindness and explanations, asking her if she would mind picking him up some books that dealt with the subject from the Academy library. She nodded, a secretive smile on her face as she left but dropped by later that day with the books that had had asked for. He thanked her and, once she had left, he closed the door, locking it behind him. He walked over to the far side of the room, hopping up onto Phoenix's bed, opening the books and scanning the pages quickly, his tail swishing about in excitement.
He couldn't wait for Phoenix to come back and, when he did, he would have a lovely surprise waiting for him.
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October 28th
Brentwood Academy Quad
6 P.M.
Phoenix dragged himself wearily across the campus and headed for the relative safety of his dorm room. For the eighteen year old, it had been a very tiring day and he was very glad to see it over. Chemistry had been brutal and P.E. Had been even worse since Coach Wendy Oldbag seemed bound and determined to whip these whippersnappers, as she was so fond of calling them, into some sort of physical shape. Phoenix marveled at how good of physical condition she was in and couldn't help wondering how she managed to do so.
Probably chasing after us whippersnappers, he thought with a crooked smile, chuckling softly as he plodded through the rapidly darkening twilight.
He remembered how she had chased one of his classmates around the gym at least a dozen times before she finally caught him, wheezing and out of breath, and marched him to the Headmaster's Office. He heard later on that he'd been given a thorough dressing down and a warning from Headmaster von Karma himself to behave in the future or he would find himself out on his ear. Much to everyone's surprise-especially Phoenix's since he had had many unpleasant encounters with the young man in question before-he behaved himself after that, a fact widely touted about campus as being a miracle.
He stopped for a moment out in the quad and looked up seeing the first stars in the soft velvety black of the rapidly approaching night sky, the last remnants of rose scattered in thin slashes of color across it. He sighed, his eyes drinking in the beauty that he saw above his head, marveling anew at how beautiful it looked as the color faded to be replaced by a soft ebony that, as he well knew, would soon darken.
He had always loved the night and found in it inspiration for his various art projects that his teachers were praising his originality and insight on; they had also encouraged him to enter various art competitions and he was proud of his success, taking six out of seven prizes. He remembered that Headmaster von Karma had been very pleased which went a long way of negating his mediocre performance in his academic studies.
He couldn't help but wonder where this dash of creativity had come from and then he found his thoughts wandering to Miles whom he knew would be eagerly awaiting his arrival back in his dorm room. He smiled softly at the thought of the handsome Neko, reflecting on how lucky he had been to have him drop into his life in the most literal way possible.
He remembered when he'd heard the crash and rushed off to investigate and being stopped by Officer Gumshoe on the steps, asking him where he was going. He'd told a little white lie at that point: that he was going for a walk. He kept casting nervous glances out of the corner of his, fidgeting nervously; he didn't know if whatever had been hit had survived but he wanted nothing more than to find out and see if he could be of some help. He'd forced himself to walk at a normal pace after Gumshoe let him go and, once he was out of sight, quickened his pace.
He'd heard some rustling in the hedge near his room and he sighed in relief; whatever had been thrown into them was still obviously alive and that made him feel much better. He'd rounded the corner and had seen a grey tail, with black markings, sticking out from underneath, swishing back and forth before it was yanked back, disappearing into the thick and lush greenery.
Curiosity was nearly eating him alive as he thrust his hands into the hedge, pushing it aside and froze in his tracks, unable to believe what he was seeing in front of him. There, lying on the ground in obvious pain, was a young, very handsome cat boy, with pale white skin, grey hair that split into two sharp bangs that fell gracefully in a soft waterfall on both sides of his face and half-open grey eyes that looked fearfully back at him; he was dressed in a light pinkish-white shirt with a white collar tied at the throat with a black tie, a maroon sweater over that with black pants and shoes, a black trench-coat which lay open and crumpled about him like broken wings and a black fedora, the latter lying askew so that Phoenix could clearly see the cat ears perched on top of his head.
His heart had started beating faster when he first looked at Miles which did startle him since he wasn't certain as to the reason why. The poor Neko looked frightened and he really couldn't blame him for that, really; being clipped by a moving vehicle was not a pleasant experience and he could see that he was in pain so he used soothing tones to speak to him and he could see the cat boy slowly start to relax.
He gently took him into his arms and hoisted him onto his back, carrying him to his room where he looked after him for the next few months, caring for him until his ankle healed. He stayed on after that and Phoenix was very happy to have such a handsome, though a most unusual, roommate.
Over time, the feelings he had grew and he wasn't quite sure what to make of them or even what Miles himself thought. As far as he knew, he didn't have feelings one way or the other but he did catch glimpses of what he thought might be attraction whenever the neko looked at him in recent months but he really couldn't trust them, given that his own feelings were in free fall so much lately.
He shook his head as he walked into the dorm building, chuckling as he opened the door and quickly strode inside, the door clicking shut behind him.
I'm being silly, he thought as he quickly made his way down the hall, turning right and going up a flight of stairs. Why I am giving this so much thought when he probably doesn't have any feelings one way or the other?
Then, he wondered as he reached his dorm room and touched the doorknob, why did his heart beat so rapidly in his chest whenever he thought of Miles? And why did it really matter so much to him?
Does he mean more to me than I realize?
He paused for a moment and then shrugged, fishing in his right hip pocket for the key to his room, brought it out, put it in the lock and twisted it quickly once to the right, hearing the click and the soft "pop" as the door unlocked. He grasped the doorknob tightly in his hand and, turning it quickly, opened the door.
"I'm home," he called out as he tossed his book bag on the floor before he closed and locked the door behind him. He had turned when suddenly he froze in his tracks, his mouth dropping open in surprise at what he saw: Miles, dressed in black jeans and a blue shirt, holding a bouquet of flowers, wrapped in silver lame paper, a blush staining his cheeks.
Phoenix stood in stunned silence for many moments, his mouth working but no words emerged, thoroughly caught off-guard.
"H-Hello...Phoenix.." Miles said, stepping hesitantly forward, clutching the bouquet close to him, biting his lower lip, his tail swishing nervously. "I'm... happy to see you. Welcome home."
Phoenix stared at him for a few moments before he shook his head hard, clearing his throat multiple times before he could speak.
"I'm...happy to see you, too, Miles," he replied, his own cheeks flaming red, scratching the back of his neck self-consciously as he managed a wan smile. "It's good to be home."
Miles took another three steps forward, his grey eyes intense. "I... missed you, Phoenix."
"I... missed you, too, Miles." His cheeks felt even warmer than they had previously and he noted, with embarrassment, that his heart was beating even faster, and harder, than before.
What's going on here?
He couldn't help but wonder what had prompted the change although he couldn't take his eyes off of Miles who kept moving toward him step by slow step. He looked even more nervous than Phoenix felt and he was curious as to what the reason for it might be.
Miles took a few more steps until he was inches away from him. He stopped, took a deep breath and held out the bouquet, his slim hands trembling slightly.
"This is for you, Phoenix," he murmured softly, his voice quivering, his eyes shining with an emotion that Phoenix couldn't quite make out.
"F-for me?" He was stunned and it was plain by the poleaxed expression on his face.
Miles nodded, his own expression anxious.
"For you..."
Phoenix didn't move for a few moments; it seemed like he was mulling over something in his mind and seemed to come to a decision as he slowly reached out and took the flowers from the cat boy. The latter's face broke out into a delighted grin as Phoenix held the bouquet against his chest, his cerulean blue eyes swimming with emotion.
"Thank you, Miles." Phoenix's voice was soft and reflective, a tender, loving smile spreading over his face as he looked down once again at the bouquet he was holding, a soft pink rising in his cheeks.
Miles was ecstatic, his face shining with happiness as he threw his arms around Phoenix's neck and laid his head on the other boy's shoulder, purring loudly. They stood that way for many moments before Miles nuzzled the side of his neck, whispering "My special someone..." in his ear before he lifted his head, looking deeply into Phoenix's eyes.
Phoenix stood there again in mute silence for a few moments before he put down the bouquet on top of the desk that was beside the door and wrapped his arms around Miles in turn, a dazzling smile on his face as he held him close, his heart pounding in his chest.
Miles... my precious Miles...
"You're my special someone, too," he whispered with emotion before he gently pressed his lips against Miles'; he could feel the cat boy start for a moment but it wasn't long before he returned the kiss, and eagerly deepened it, their mouths moving sweetly together as they held each other close.
The last rays of sunlight had vanished and the world was draped in a soft blanket of black velvet, a pale, thin sliver of moon in the sky as Phoenix and Miles continued their embrace, their hearts beating as one at last, long into the night.
.:FIN:.