Selfish

Disclaimer: I don't own Phoenix Wright or any of the characters. They belong to Capcom.

Note: This fic contains SPOILERS for all three games, so don't say I didn't warn you.

After excusing themselves from Hazakura Temple, Phoenix, Maya and Pearl headed to Très Bien, where the others had been waiting for them for a while. Edgeworth and Franziska were sitting across from each other, obviously trying to ignore Gumshoe and Larry, who were sitting next to them. And judging by the look on Franziska's face, she was obviously resisting the urge to whip Larry to death.

Oh no, Larry… Were you hitting on her all night?

Phoenix shook his head and crossed the room, followed by Maya and Pearl, to join the others at the table in the back.

Edgeworth crossed his arms, his index finger tapping impatiently against the fabric of his jacket. He looked over at Phoenix and smirked.

"About time, Wright. I thought you said you wouldn't keep us waiting."

Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… Sorry about that. Maya wanted to-"

He was suddenly interrupted by Maggey, who had come to take their orders. She was as loud as ever, and seemed very happy to see everyone again. Phoenix took a glance at Gumshoe. He had suddenly stopped talking and was now staring at Maggey.

Phoenix smiled.

At least this'll save Gumshoe the embarrassment of sharing one of his… interesting life stories.

They continued talking about everything and nothing until the meal arrived. Oh, the horror. It tasted even worse than Phoenix remembered. No one said a word, though, cause Maggey was now sitting next to Gumshoe, watching them expectantly.

"This is really good, Maggey!" Maya commented, smiling widely.

Wait… Is she serious?

Phoenix looked down at his plate.

This can barely be considered food.

"If you like it that much, I guess you won't mind finishing mine, then?" He smirked and pushed his plate towards her.

Maya glared at him. "Nick! I'm not a pig, you know? Besides, it's rude not to finish your plate!"

I knew it. Even Maya couldn't be crazy enough to like this.

Phoenix grinned. "Oh, I beg to differ."

Maya puffed out her cheeks. "What's that supposed to mean!"

"Well, with all the burgers you-"

"Mr. Nick!" Phoenix looked over at Pearl, who seemed pretty angry with him. "You can't say things like that to your special someone!"

"S-sorry Pearls…" Phoenix smiled sheepishly.

Defeated by a nine-year-old again…

He sighed and went back to eating.

Thank God I'm not paying for this…

Phoenix crushed the remains of his meal with his fork, thinking he might be able to fool people into thinking he ate more than he actually did.

Gumshoe's gonna kill me. How is he even going to afford those instant noodles, now?

His train of thought was interrupted abruptly when Edgeworth stood up.

"It's getting late. I should probably go. Thank you for the meal, Detective."

Phoenix stared at him in disbelief.

It's only seven o'clock. It's not even close to Pearls' bedtime yet!

"No problem, sir!"

Edgeworth nodded and set off for the exit.

Phoenix kept on staring until he disappeared behind the door.

Why does he always have to do that? He barely says anything all night, and then he leaves without a word. And he seemed to be in a good mood after the trial, too. What happened?

Shouldn't he be glad everything turned out okay? I mean, at least he didn't risk his job for nothing.

He sighed.

Damn it, Edgeworth! Why can't you be happy for once?

He stood up and started walking quickly towards the exit.

"Nick! Wait! Where are you going?" Maya called.

Phoenix ignored her – he would have time to apologise later – and pushed the door open, before heading for the parking lot. Edgeworth was standing next to his car.

"Edgeworth!" Phoenix shouted, now walking at a more reasonable pace.

Edgeworth turned to look at him. "What is it, Wright?"

"Where are you going?" Phoenix asked, sounding a bit more annoyed than intended.

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "To my office. Why?"

Phoenix frowned. "At this time of night?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

Of course, this is Edgeworth… I suppose it was a stupid question.

Phoenix sighed. "Can't this wait till tomorrow? What could be so important that you can't stay and have fun with your friends for once?"

Edgeworth stared at him for a moment, before looking away. "I should go."

Phoenix crossed his arms. "Not before you tell me what's going on."

Edgeworth sighed. "Fine. Get in the car." He unlocked the doors and they both slid into their seats. "We'll talk in my office."

The car journey was completely silent. Edgeworth seemed uncomfortable enough already, so Phoenix didn't insist. All he could think about was what the other man had to say.

When they finally got to the Prosecutor's Office, Phoenix felt a bit uneasy. It wasn't exactly his favorite place to be, especially since he had gotten so famous, but thankfully, there was barely anyone left at this hour.

They took the stairs up to Edgeworth's office. Phoenix vaguely wondered how Edgeworth could stand doing this every day.

Well, I guess it's slightly better than having a panic attack in the elevator.

When they finally reached the twelfth floor, Phoenix followed Edgeworth down the hall to his office. Edgeworth took out his keys and unlocked the door to let them in. Phoenix crossed the room and went to lean against the desk. He snorted at the look Edgeworth sent him.

"Don't worry. I'm not that heavy."

Edgeworth rolled his eyes, before crossing his arms and looking down at the floor.

There was an awkward silence.

I better say something…

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Well…?"

Edgeworth lowered his left arm, his right hand still holding tightly onto it, and turned his head to the side. "Maybe this was a bad idea…"

Phoenix sighed. "Look, Edgeworth. I know you have a hard time expressing yourself, but I've had more than enough of this stupid silent treatment."

Edgeworth sighed. "There's… something I've been meaning to tell you."

Finally, we're getting somewhere…

"I'm listening."

Edgeworth kept looking off to the side. "When I left, two years ago, I didn't actually… disappear."

Phoenix gave him a puzzled look. "…What? What're you talking about?"

"This whole year, I kept in touch with Gumshoe. I was… worried about you, and I kept asking him to help you with your investigations." He paused. "I suppose it was my way to redeem myself for leaving."

Phoenix stared at him.

So he was worried about me all along? He didn't leave for his own selfish reasons?

He got off the desk and took a step forward. "You could have told me before, you know?"

Edgeworth turned to him. "I was afraid you'd be mad at me for not keeping in touch with you directly."

Phoenix sighed. "Well, at least I would have known you cared." He shook his head. "So is that it? Cause I fail to see what all of this has to do with you leaving the restaurant without saying a word."

Silence.

Here we go again…

"Look, if you're not going to say anything, I'll just-"

"Don't go," Miles cut in. "Just… sit down and I'll explain everything."

Phoenix nodded slowly and made his way to the couch.

Edgeworth just stood there a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts, before sitting down next to him.

"When Larry called me three days ago and told me your life was in danger, I panicked. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you while I was gone, so I took the first flight home." He paused. "When I learned you only had a cold and would be fine, I was so relieved… But I still felt guilty for not being there, so I decided to help you any way I could."

Phoenix blinked. "It wasn't your fault, though. You had a good reason to be out of the country." He smiled. "And if it weren't for you, who knows what would have happened to Maya… You were the only one I could trust with this."

Edgeworth lowered his eyes. "It's funny you'd say that, seeing how useless I was."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Edgeworth stood up and took a few steps towards the window. He let out a sigh, before looking down at the floor.

"I let that girl escape… I stupidly passed out and nearly messed everything up. I'm useless."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! Don't bring that up again! I already told you it wasn't your fault."

"It is my fault, Wright." Edgeworth sighed again. "After all these years, you'd think that I'd be able to handle a stupid earthquake."

Edgeworth…

Phoenix stood up and walked up to Edgeworth. He put his hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Edgeworth turned around abruptly. "No, it's not 'okay', Wright! You don't understand. You have no idea what it's like to feel so powerless. I usually try not to think too much of it, because I know it's just something I have to deal with, but this time, I really let you down. If only I could have controlled myself just this once, I-"

Phoenix threw his arms around Edgeworth, making him flinch.

"It's okay, Edgeworth," he repeated softly. "I understand."

Edgeworth seemed a bit hesitant at first, but finally gave in and slowly wrapped his arms around Phoenix, albeit cautiously. They stayed like this for a moment.

Edgeworth eventually pulled away and looked Phoenix in the eye, now that they were only a few inches apart. "Can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"Did you…" Edgeworth paused. "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

Phoenix's eyes widened. "Um…" He looked down at his feet. They were way too close and he was getting uncomfortable. "I guess so… But at least, you kept in touch this time. It's not like you disappeared again."

There was a long silence.

Why would he ask something like that?

Then he remembered that Edgeworth was only there because of the incident. He looked back up at him.

"When are you going back?"

"I'm not sure…" Edgeworth seemed to ponder for a moment. "Maybe I should stay here."

Phoenix frowned. "What? But what about your studies?"

Edgeworth smirked. "It seems you have this habit of getting yourself in trouble every time I'm not around to stop you."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny, Edgeworth." He blinked when Edgeworth didn't respond. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Edgeworth nodded slowly. "Unless you want me to leave."

"No, that's not…" Phoenix trailed off.

So that's it? He's not leaving?

But is it really okay to let him stay because of me…?

I don't really want him to leave, but… Am I being selfish?

Why would he base such an important decision on me? I don't get it…

"Edgeworth… I-"

Phoenix didn't get a chance to continue. Edgeworth grabbed him by the lapels and pressed his lips against his. Phoenix's eyes widened in shock, but strangely, he found he didn't feel the urge to push the other man away.

Edgeworth pulled back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" He turned around to look out the window. "I know you still have feelings for that girl."

Phoenix blinked.

What? Is he talking about Iris? Why the hell is he bringing her up now?

One thing was for sure, though, he needed to calm down. He took a few steps back and leaned against the desk again. This was way too confusing.

"Edgeworth… I'm not sure why you're bringing Iris up when there's clearly something else we ought to be talking about, here…"

Edgeworth turned to him again. "There's something you need to know." He looked down for a moment, before looking back at Phoenix again. "Before I accepted to defend Iris in court, I told her I would only take her case if she told you her secret afterwards. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I knew it had something to do with you, so I wanted her to tell you so you would stop suffering." He paused. "But at the same time, I was afraid of what her secret might be." He sighed. "Turned out I was right."

Phoenix just stared at him.

What is he…?

"So you wanted to know why I left earlier?" Edgeworth continued. "I was disgusted with myself. I couldn't accept the fact that you liked someone else, while I was still stuck with all these unnecessary feelings." He looked away. "I'm sorry I'm so selfish."

Phoenix blinked. It was a lot of information to take in all at once.

So, all this time…

He stood up again and walked up to Edgeworth. He put his hands on his shoulders.

"Hey…"

Edgeworth looked down at one of Phoenix's hands, before looking back up at him, a frown on his face. "Wright, I-"

"It's okay." Phoenix bit his lip. "I don't know what's going on here, and I have to admit I'm more than a little confused, but listen to me." He looked Edgeworth in the eye. "You're not selfish. For Christ's sake, you took a jet back here to make sure I was okay, you risked your job to help me with a case you had nothing to do with, and now you're willing to stay here for my sake?" He chuckled. "How is that even close to being selfish?"

Edgeworth brushed Phoenix's hands off his shoulders. "That still doesn't excuse me putting my stupid feelings first."

"Edgeworth… There's nothing between me and Iris."

Edgeworth blinked. "But I thought…"

I have no idea what I'm doing, but…

Phoenix shook his head. "You know, it's okay to put yourself first sometimes."

Edgeworth studied his face for a moment, before cautiously wrapping his arms around him. He leaned in and kissed him again, slowly. He didn't seem to have any intention of letting Phoenix go anytime soon, but he hopefully no longer felt selfish about it.

Fin