Without You

Tears streamed down Phoenix's face as he knelt by his lifeless body, mourning in the dark, alone, cold. His despair was a but a claw, grabbing his heart, ripping it apart, tearing it to shreds. He couldn't deal with the pain, no, not anymore, not without him.

~Flashback~

Phoenix carefully tucked the velvet square box into the pocket of his jacket. He bid the owner of the store goodbye, and strode out of the shop at a quickened pace, glancing at his watch. 4:47. He told Miles to pick him up from court at five, but the murder trial went surprisingly well and ended just a few hours early, giving Phoenix some time to visit the nearby jewelry store. Twelve minutes later, he arrived, gasping and panting for oxygen, in front of the Wright & Co. Law Offices, checking his watch again. 4:59. Not bad, he thought, just as the red Italian sports car pulled up neatly along the curb. He wrenched the passenger's seat open, situated himself inside, and slammed the door. "Never really been one for tardiness, have you, Miles?" He imitated the prosecutor's elegant speech, smirking.

"Try to be more careful with the door next time, if you will."

"Awwww, sorry Miles. I know you love your car a lot, but you love me a lot more, right?" As he said it, the prosecutor turned pale pink, then dark pink, then red. "You're so adorable, Miles. Especially when you're embarrassed," he said, causing the man to turn another few shades of red darker. He leaned over and gently brushed a few loose strands of hair out of Edgeworth's face and tucked them behind his ear.

"Mmmm? I'm driving, try not to distract me, please," Edgeworth's tone serious, although a small smile was tugging at the ends of his lips.

Phoenix groaned. He loved Edgeworth a lot, but their safety was more important, anyway. He busied himself instead by examining the car's luxurious interior, one which he had been in far too many times, not that he was complaining (it smelled just like Miles, too). A mischievous but perfect idea popped in his head. "Hey, what does this do?"

"Hmmm? We're here," Edgeworth announced, and braked at the side of a small creek, out in the middle of nowhere.

"You haven't answered my question!" Phoenix pulled the lever in question, lowering the back of his seat. "Oops. Help me!"

"No, Wright," said Edgeworth, gracefully exiting the car. "And come on, I want to show you this before it's too dark."

"Mhmm. I can't do that like this. See?" Phoenix made a weak attempt at sitting himself up. "Help me!"

"You aren't even senile yet. Heck, you don't even have gray hair."

"Can you fix the gosh darn lever already? Pleeeeeaaaase?" Phoenix pleaded, with an "innocent" smile.

"Pfffffffffff. Fine." He had no choice, anyway. It felt like he was walking straight into a trap, knowing Phoenix, but he agreed anyway. He climbed up on the seat, inches from Phoenix, feeling the side of the seat for the lever.

Two warm, blue-sleeved hands put their hands on either side of his face, making his breath hitch. They slowly pulled him in, closer, wrapping themselves around the back of his neck.

Miles's soft, gray bangs gently tickled Phoenix's ears, but he made no effort to push it away. After all, he liked the way his hair smelled (pfffff he probably used some expensive designer shampoo but it suited him well), and it was softer than silk. They both leaned in, hearts aching to close the gap, and so they did.

The world was just the two of them, lost in each other, nothing else existed anymore, nobody else mattered anymore, just each other. Phoenix's lips tasted like cinnamon, and vanilla, like happiness and honesty, like… friendship and love, and everything Miles had been deprived of since von Karma entered his life, and left. Neither had any desire to break apart, and they stayed like that, wrapped around each other, one hand on Edgeworth's shoulder, the other stroking his hair, and they remained like that for seconds, minutes, heck, maybe even several evenings, but they weren't counting and they didn't care. They wanted that moment to last forever, together. They were two pieces of a puzzle, and without the other…

"Without you, I'm nothing," whispered Edgeworth softly into his shoulder. Phoenix smiled weakly.

"Promise me one thing, will you, Miles?" It was the quietest Miles ever heard the other man speak, and when he stepped back to look at him, he noticed his eyes were full of tears, reflecting in the moonlight. It took him several moments before he realized that it applied to him as well.

"Anything."

"Promise me… you'll never choose death again."

"I… Wright… Phoenix… I…"

"Shhhhhhh," came the gentle reply. "I just want you to know that there's people here who care about you. And If you think it isn't true, would I be here with you?" He laced their fingers together, and squeezed his hand. "I love you, Miles Edgeworth, more than anything else in the entire world. Please… do it for me."

"I-I'll try." The muffled reply, though doubtful, was enough for Phoenix, and they stared into each other's eyes, standing like that, foreheads touching, forever.

Well, almost, if Edgeworth hadn't betrayed him, for the third time.

~Present~

What a coward, Phoenix thought. I should have known better than to trust him. And here I was, thinking he actually shared my feelings. If he truly loved me, would he have still hung himself? And then he realized. All this time, he wasn't doing it for himself, was he? It was for me. It was to protect me, it was to protect the truth, as a prosecutor should always do. Phoenix knew what he had to do.

He walked back to his apartment, shaking, shivering, though the weather hadn't even been cold. He sat on his bed, knees pulled up to his heart, lost in thought. And then, as if he made a decision, he strode over to his desk, and pulled out three things, a pen, a sheet of paper, and a length of rope.

Dear Maya, Trucy, and others,

I want you to know that I care about you. You're the most meaningful people in my life, and without you, I would not have been the same. I realized that I cannot live a life without Miles Edgeworth, however… I just can't. I know you'll never forgive me, but… you'll always be special to me, even after death. Sincerely, Phoenix Wright

There was only one thing left to do. Though atheist, he prayed that the angels in heaven or the demons in heck would let him reunite with Miles wherever he was. With trembling fingers, he picked up the rope, and tied it into a loop.

"I'm so sorry," were his last words.

.:The End:.