It was so easy to fall into domesticity. After years of darkness and pain, it was a welcome change to enjoy the small delights of having Miles Edgeworth near. Going for lunch. Having tea at Miles'. Miles came to Trucy's magic shows every Thursday night, unless something unexpected came up. Phoenix dropped by the Prosecutor's Office to 'deliver files' at least once a week.
All of these things were common, normal. Since Miles had returned from Europe, and Phoenix had returned to court, this had become their routine; taking on an almost ritualistic quality. It was safe, comfortable.
And it wasn't enough.
Phoenix racked his brain for something to break the status quo. Having his best friend close by, and in a stable relationship was great, but it wasn't enough anymore. Phoenix wanted more. It was just too hard to walk the tightrope between hinting at a romance and pushing Miles too far, to the point where their already volatile relationship shattered completely.
Between a rock and a hard place, he thought dryly. No brain, don't go there it's not-
Ha ha. Hard place. I get it. You're frustrated. Why don't you stop thinking about this and think of a solution? The doorbell rang, interrupting his reverie. Trucy's home. She always rang the doorbell to announce herself, just in case. Not that he'd ever do anything like that, but she still lived in fear. Act like you know what you're doing! He sat up straight, resting one arm against the couch in the most relaxed pose he could manage. "Hey sweetheart," Phoenix greeted his daughter when she walked in, smiling widely. The best way to hide emotional distress from his highly perceptive daughter was to act like nothing was wrong. She probably saw straight through him, but at least she wouldn't comment on it.
Trucy beamed back at him, spinning around so her cloak flared out behind her. "Hi Daddy! Did you miss me?" She kissed him on the cheek, before heading to the kitchen, no doubt to raid the fridge. She was always hungry after school.
"Always," Phoenix called after her. He slouched back against the couch. Now that he wasn't being distracted, his mind once again returned to his dilemma.
Having fetched a sandwich, Trucy sat down opposite him. She took in his expression and tilted her head to the side. "Daddy, why are you all worked up? You have that look on your face – the 'I'm trying to think of a solution to a really stupid problem' one," she asked around a mouthful of food. Too perceptive for her own good. "So, give me the details. Maybe I can help." Looking at him expectantly, she waved a hand in his direction.
Phoenix smiled ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can't pull the wool over your eyes, can I?" Alright, here's the deal." He took a deep breath and blurted it out. "I'm trying to figure out a way to admit to Edgeworth that I want him, without getting slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit or causing him to disappear to Europe permanently." The words came out in a rush. He'd meant to ease into it, but apparently blurting it all out at once in flippant tones was how his brain had chosen to go. Phoenix raised his gaze to meet Trucy's, suddenly fearful of her reaction. She had been asking when he was going to date again, though Phoenix doubted this was what she'd had in mind. Announcing his attraction to another man so bluntly probably wasn't the best idea.
Trucy shrugged and took another bite of her sandwich. "Okay, I see your dilemma," she said, nodding and putting her sandwich down. "So, what have you got so far?" She fixed him with a studious look. Any minute now, she was going to pull out a notepad and take notes.
Blinking slowly, Phoenix took in her unconcerned posture. This wasn't how he'd expected the conversation to go. "You're not...upset or disappointed? I mean, I haven't really talked about my orientations, and you probably wanted a new mother, and-"
"Daddy, please," Trucy interrupted, rolling her eyes. "I'm not blind," she said, exasperated. "You only ever have eyes for Uncle Miles. It's not like this is a surprise." She flung her hands in the air. "The only surprise is that you're finally making a move!"
There wasn't much Phoenix could say in his defense. "Yeah...about that." Here was the crux of the matter. "I have no idea what to do," he admitted, dropping his head back to rest against the couch's back, momentarily relaxing against the soft fabric. "I mean, where do I even start? It's not like Edgeworth and I have ever talked about romance and relationships, nor do I even know if he's interested in…anything like that."
"He doesn't really seem the type, does he?" Trucy mused. "Then again, you two go on dates all the time and seem to have fun, so that's a good sign!"
Was it? "If you say so, then I guess it must be true." Were they really dates if they'd never discussed potential romantic prospects? Phoenix had always considered them as just friendly outings, but looked at another way; he supposed they could be described as dates. In that case, maybe this wouldn't backfire horribly. "Still, that doesn't help me admit any of this out loud." He drew patterns on the arm of the couch. "How would you react if your friend suddenly announced they had romantic feelings for you?"
"It would depend on whether I felt the same about my friend, Daddy," she informed him, crossing her legs and tapping a finger against her cheek. "I think it's safe to say he likes you, seeing as how you're his oldest and dearest friend," she quoted. "Whether that extends to wanting something less platonic well…" Trucy chewed her lip, shifting her weight and avoiding his gaze. "I can't be sure, but judging from how he acts around you, I think he does." She raised her head, spreading her hands in front of her. "I can't be sure though. Uncle Miles is hard to read," she huffed.
Phoenix couldn't help the increase in his heartbeat at the thought. "You really think so?"
"It's the way he does that half-smirk thing; it hides what he's really feeling. It's annoying!" Trucy crossed her arms and flung her head back.
Not what I meant Trucy, but thank you for clarifying. "That gives me hope."
"Good. Now you just need a way to tell Uncle Miles you want to be his boyfriend." Trucy said, absently toying with a strand of hair.
"Don't say it like that!" Phoenix shrieked, standing up and pointing at his daughter. "I'm not going to just blurt it out! This has the potential to end really badly. How would Edgeworth even react to me suddenly admitting I find him attractive and wish we were something other than friends?"
Trucy hummed to herself, thinking. "Hey, what if you worked up to it? Change up your dates a little. Instead of doing your normal, try making a few comments or maybe do something that signals 'romance' rather than 'friendship'." She leant forward, her eyes sparkling. "Next time you see him, bring a gift! Something personal that says you pay attention to what he likes. Or go to new locations. Try something new." Gasping, she sat up straight and clicked her fingers. "I know! How about you start calling him by his first name?" she suggested. "It's a lot nicer to use first names, and a lot less formal. Plus, it'll help you be closer, and might help him think of you differently. Less professional and more personal,don't you think?"
"You might have a point," Phoenix said. "It's a good start, anyway. Maybe I can ring him tonight and ask him out somewhere different. Go for a walk, maybe? Something outside the norm." He winked at her and stood up. And hopefully it doesn't backfire in my face. "How did you get so smart, anyway?"
"One of us has to be," Trucy sighed.
Phoenix couldn't think of a counter-argument to that. "Alright, well, that's settled." He ruffled her hair. Now that he had a plan of attack, Phoenix retreated to his bedroom to make a phone call. How do you go about asking your long time friend/rival/childhood crush on a potential date? Should he emphasise the possibility of wanting more, or stay super casual? Casual, Phoenix decided. No sense pressuring Miles into something awkward. Besides, friends went on walks through the park all the time. Sure, it was something he and Miles normally didn't do, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities. Stop procrastinating and ring the damn phone, Phoenix told himself, grabbing his old, faithful phone and pressing the speed dial.
"Hello Wright," Miles Edgeworth's smooth voice greeted him.
Phoenix was thrown already. "Wait, how did you know it was me?" He frowned, trying to remember if he'd promised to ring at this time.
Miles sighed. No doubt rubbing his temples or reaching for a teacup handle. "Caller I.D., Wright."
Of course. "Okay you got me," Phoenix laughed, rubbing his free hand down his pants in an attempt to wipe off the sweat. He was running the risk of his phone slipping out of his hand.
There was a pause while they each waited for the other to talk. "I assume you had a reason to call?" Miles asked finally.
"Oh uh...yes!" Phoenix crossed his fingers and said quickly, "I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me through the park tonight." Good one, Phoenix. Real casual. There was silence on the line. "I mean, if you're not busy or anything! I was just thinking I need to get out more, get some fresh air and exercise, and I figured that you should probably get out of your office too." He broke off, slapping his cheek. "Not that I mean you're unfit or anything just that fresh air is good for you and you're always working so-"
"Wright!" Miles interrupted his rambling, sounding amused. "I would be happy to accompany you for a walk. You just have to give me a time and a location because saying 'the park' is too vague."
Unable to stop himself smiling, Phoenix punched the air. Step one is a success! "Right! What about People Park at half past six? I'll wait at the southern entrance." If he left at six, he'd have plenty of time to walk from his apartment to the park.
"Very well, I shall see you then." His voice grew sharp, his words becoming more clipped. "Was that all you had to speak to me about? There is a matter that requires my attention." Hopefully, his impatience was directed at whoever was bothering him.
"Yeah, that was it! I'll let you get back to work now. See you later!" Well, it would have been nice to chat for a while, but Miles did have a job to do.
"Goodbye, Wright." Miles hung up.
"That went well," Phoenix said to empty air, breathing a sigh of relief. Somehow, he'd managed to convince Miles to do something outside of their normal. "Now just to hope this doesn't go horribly wrong," he muttered to himself. And somehow deal with the time between now and later.
As the time grew closer to six-thirty, Phoenix anxiously checked his phone's clock every few minutes.
"Daddy, you're being ridiculous!" Trucy collapsed onto the couch, leaning back and picking up the television remote. She pushed her hat back so he got the full force of her glare. "Stop getting so worked up about it! It's just a walk with your friend." She threw her legs over the arm of the chair and looked over at him. "He wouldn't have said yes if he didn't want to go, and it's just a friendly date," she tried to reassure him. "You're fine! Take a deep breath, grab a glass of water, and then go and get changed!" She waved a hand in the direction of his bedroom. "Off you go! I'm going to watch inappropriate movies while you're on your date, so you'd better get lost!"
Phoenix wondered if he should object to that, but his daughter put up with a lot of his silliness. She deserved a break from time to time. The second his clock read six, he raced out the door.
He made it to the park without incident, somehow managing to be a few minutes early. He smoothed down the white dress shirt, wondering if he should have worn his waistcoat over it in an attempt to look respectable. Then again, Miles had seen him in his whole hoodie phase, so it probably didn't make much difference.
Miles, of course, arrived right on time, wearing a trenchcoat over his usual ensemble. He had Pess on a lead, the dog immediately straining to sniff Phoenix as soon as he came close. "Hello, Wright," he greeted. "Were you waiting long?"
"Nah, just got here myself!" He grinned, and reached down to pat Pess between her ears. Phoenix always found it amusing that Miles had ended up with a dog, especially one that was as enthusiastic as Pess.
"I hope you don't mind that I brought her along," Miles asked, seeming somewhat uncomfortable. "I thought she might enjoy a different walk to our usual one, and I haven't had time to take her out lately." He looked fondly at Pess, before raising his gaze to Phoenix's.
Grinning at both dog and owner, Phoenix stood back up. "Not at all," he reassured. Gesturing to the park, he asked, "So, ready to walk?"
Adjusting Pess' lead to his other hand, Miles smirked. "That is why you invited me, was it not?"
There was a fine line between amusement and sarcasm and Phoenix was having trouble figuring out the distance. When in doubt, take it at face value. "Sure is!" No, actually, I had an ulterior motive. Now I just need to work out how to announce this. "In that case, let's go." Phoenix waved a hand, and they started walking. The first few moments were in silence, allowing for the minute adjustment of pace so they could walk comfortably next to each other. Apart from Pess trying her best to trip them over as she sniffed everything along the way.
"I'm glad you asked me to do this," Miles said eventually, turning slightly to send Phoenix a soft smile. "You were right about the fresh air. It makes a pleasant change from the usual scents of the city." The wind chose that moment to pick up, ruffling Miles' hair and blowing back his trenchcoat.
Phoenix suppressed a shiver, wishing he'd worn something warmer. He knew once he'd walked for a bit he'd warm up, but for now that wind was chilly. I knew I should have worn the waistcoat.
Of course Miles noticed. The man was too observant for his own good. "Is something wrong, Wright?" He stopped, looking at Phoenix with concern. "We can stop if you prefer, and do something else," he offered.
"No, no!" Phoenix shook his head emphatically, holding up both hands and waving them. "I'll be fine, I promise. You want to keep walking, don't you Miles?" His name slipped out. Phoenix stopped breathing, his heart sinking into his stomach. Well, I guess that's about as casual as you can possibly get.
Opening his mouth to respond, Miles paused, a strange expression crossing his face. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to do that," he asked, raising one hand and pointing at Phoenix.
Grimacing, Phoenix ducked his head. So much for finding the perfect time! Backtracking, he kept his voice neutral and asked, "What do you mean?" He ran a hand through his hair, glancing around the park. If he acted like it wasn't a big deal, maybe it wouldn't be one.
"Calling me by my first name," Miles explained, brushing his hair out of his face. "I thought for sure you would have done it much sooner than this. I have been back in Los Angeles for nearly two years now, we have been in constant contact, and you refer to me as your best friend. It's perfectly acceptable for you to use my first name, and yet you never did." He crossed his arms, one hand gripping the fabric of his sleeve. "I was beginning to think you wanted to keep that distance."
Phoenix gaped at him, trying to sort this new information into his conceived notions of their relationship. "Wait, so you're okay with it? Why didn't you ever say anything?" He glared at Miles, irrationally angry that that this wasn't going according to his plan. Here he was, freaking out about crossing a line, and Miles just changed the rules. Then again, he had wanted a closer relationship. This was a step in the right direction, right?
"While in the courtroom, it is better to keep a professional distance from my opposition. Outside of court, however, you chose to keep using my last name, so I assumed that was what you were more comfortable with. I do understand why you would prefer that." He scowled, crossing his arms. "I haven't exactly been a paragon of friendly behaviour in the past." Looking back at Phoenix, Miles tapped a finger against his arm, expression slipping from self-deprecating to thoughtful. "Although, that does raise the question of why you would choose to change your form of address now. I find myself curious as to what precipitated this sudden willingness to call me Miles." Raising a silver eyebrow, Miles waited expectantly.
His mouth suddenly dry, Phoenix swallowed and tried to find an answer that wasn't going to screw everything up. "I...uhh...I was thinking-" He started, licking his lips and glancing around, desperately seeking inspiration. In the distance, a child walked under a tree, giving him the perfect excuse. "I was remembering when we were kids. We used to have sleepovers all the time, and we used to play in the park." Yes, good one Phoenix! You even managed to tie it back to current activities. "Back then, we didn't care about being formal, and I guess I miss that. So I was hoping we could go back to using first names, you know, like friends do." He took a breath, and finally dared to look at Miles.
Miles' expression softened, a small smile tilting the corners of his lips up. "It seems so long ago now," he said, staring off to the side. "But I remember those days as some of the happiest of my life." He laughed then, and his expression turned rueful. "I especially remember the time we fell in the lake, after Larry Butz thought it was a great idea to run along the rocks."
Phoenix blinked, a smile of his own appearing on his face. "I remember that! You were furious because the water ruined your bow tie."
Chuckling to himself, Miles gestured to the side. "You stood there and laughed, until I stormed off. You followed me and apologised, even though it wasn't your fault." He trailed off, staring off to the side. "You were the first friend I ever had," he said quietly, facing Phoenix. "I don't think I ever thanked you for everything you've done for me over the years, ever since we were kids right up until now." The smile he gave Phoenix was radiant. "So thank you, Phoenix."
Phoenix beamed like an idiot, unable to form words in the time it took his brain to comprehend Miles Edgeworth using his first name. "You- you're always welcome, you know that, right? I mean, that's what we do, we help each other out. We're partners!" The words came out in a rush, Phoenix trying not to trip over his tongue in his haste.
"Partners?" Miles echoed, eyebrows raised. "An interesting choice of word." His lips tilted up ever so slightly. "And what exactly do you mean by partners?"
Internally gulping, Phoenix held up his hands and shrugged. "You know, we just work really well together and we constantly help each other out." More like drop everything for each other because you think you have a debt to me and I'm madly in love with you. "I mean, 'friends' works just as well but partners just sounds…" Yeah, how are you going to answer that, Phoenix? "Cooler!" He resisted the urge to slap his forehead. "Plus it works for the whole courtroom battles thing. You know…Partners!"
"Ah, you meant it platonically." Miles nodded, a flicker of something crossing his face. Was it annoyance? Relief? "I was hoping you were going to say you were romantically interested in me." He raised a shoulder, busying himself with winding Pess' lead tighter around his hands.
The words were delivered so casually it took a moment for them to register. It hadn't been annoyance; it had been disappointment he had heard. Rocking back on his heels, Phoenix knew his jaw was somewhere near the floor. "Wait, what?" he said eloquently. I cannot have heard what I thought I just did.
Miles sighed, expression resigned. "I have always found you attractive, and I have long found myself wishing we were more than friends." His fingers were clenched in his sleeve, knuckles turning white. "I see now that this is not the case. I apologise if this knowledge discomfits you." Miles' face was bright red, clearly uncomfortable with saying this out loud. "This…knowledge…does not have to change our personal relationship. I will remain professional-"
Phoenix kissed him, effectively cutting off any further protests. The kiss was warm, soft, and more than a little hesitant. And it was the best kiss of Phoenix's life. "And what if I want our relationship to change?" he asked when they broke apart. "It's not like I've been in love with you for years or anything."
Miles' eyes widened at the confession, but he didn't interrupt.
"And don't forget you're practically my daughter's other father. There's also the fact we go for dinner and lunches and to Trucy's magic shows all the time," Phoenix continued, resting his hands on Miles' shoulders. "I don't know about you, but I've always considered that a date!" Well, since this afternoon, anyway. He took a breath and bit his lip, wondering if he was going too fast.
Miles just stared at him. "I don't know what to say," he said finally. "I've spent all this time worrying about how I felt, and all this time you have felt the same way?" Incredulity was evident in his voice. "To think of all the time we wasted dancing around one another." Miles shook his head, though he was smiling in dazed relief.
"It wasn't a waste," Phoenix argued, slipping his arms around Miles to pull him closer. "We had to get to this point in our lives first. We couldn't have done that unless we went through all the experiences we did." He pressed his forehead against Miles' for a moment, finally allowing himself to run his hands through silvery hair. "We're older now, and wiser. Well, you're wise. I'm sort of still winging it."
Miles rolled his eyes, though his lips kept twitching into a smile. He raised a hand to stroke Phoenix's cheek. "You aren't supposed to admit that out loud, Phoenix," he whispered against Phoenix's ear.
Phoenix shivered, and poked Miles in the side in retaliation. "Why do you keep saying my name, it's doing things to me." And sending his mind down highly inappropriate tracks.
"Oh, I just like your name and all its connotations. Phoenix," he said again, grinning wickedly. "And besides, you were the one who wanted to return to a first name basis." Miles smirked, leaning in close once again. "Phoenix."
"You got me," he admitted, pressing a soft kiss to Miles' lips. To think, after all his worry and stress, Miles was technically the one who'd made the first move. For a moment, they just stood in silence, Phoenix marvelling at the turn his life had just taken.
The moment was broken by Pess furiously tugging at the lead and whining.
Miles stepped away from Phoenix's embrace, looking down at Pess with a combination of exasperation and fondness. He untangled Pess' lead from where she was twining around his legs. "I believe Pess wants to walk now."
Shrugging, Phoenix grabbed Miles' free hand and pulled him along. "That's fair. I did invite you here for a walk, after all." He reached down to ruffle Pess' ears. "Isn't that right, girl?"
Pess barked happily and tugged at her lead again.
Miles' eyes crinkled as he gestured forwards. "Who am I to deny Pess her walk?" He sent Phoenix a sidelong glance, a smile playing about his lips. "Perhaps we can even make this a regular occurrence?"
"I'd like that." Phoenix winked at him. "Of course, there are other things we could make regular occurrences…" He quickly kissed Miles' cheek.
His statement was met with rolled eyes and a derisive sneer. "I'm sure there is, and I'll think about it. For now, I would prefer to enjoy the moment."
The moment, Phoenix thought, was pretty damn perfect.