Phoenix Wright dared not blink as he held back tears.

His emotional state had been painfully deteriorating throughout the past hour-and-a-half as he felt more and more apologetic looks from various couples around the room. Nick had been stood up by Dahlia, and he was sitting alone at a table which was obviously for two; in a busy, fancy restaurant. He'd picked out the best place he could find, he'd booked the most expensive seats available. Somewhere inside, knew he'd resorted to bribing her into staying with him. He also knew, somewhere, that she definitely wasn't turning up, and that this really shouldn't have surprised him.

But, in a fit of denial, he snapped at the approaching waitress; "I told you, I am waiting for my date! She'll arrive any minute!"

The lady paused her step, but then persisted.

"Sir, I'm afraid you've been waiting for too-"

The sound of a small clatter cut the waitress off. "Sorry!" a man blurted.

Some couple's table had probably been knocked a little. How terrible.

"Ah, sorry, excuse me," the awkward person continued without lowering their volume. "I'm here! Hello! I was caught in the most terrible traffic jam, I do apologise! Sorry, sorry..."

Phoenix turned round to see the source of the unfamiliar voice clumsily weaving around the circular tables, apologising to everyone he accidentally nudged, and heading in Nick's direction. The man caught Phoenix looking at him from the corner of his eye, stood up straight and eagerly waved, baring a wide smile.

What on Earth…?

The stranger arrived at Phoenix's table, and leaned forwards in what the paralysed Nick thought was going to be a kiss on the cheek, but the man hid his face with his bangs as he whispered in his ear:

"Play along."

Phoenix stared at this cunning individual as he pulled away. He was gorgeous, but a little imposing.

"I… Yes, hi! I'm so glad you're here!" Nick could feel all the eyes in the room on him. He laughed nervously. "I didn't think you'd come..."

"The weather was terrible, I was unable to contact you!" the stranger stated, loudly. "I truly appreciate how long you waited for me!" He politely smiled at the waitress. "May I have the wine list?"

She squinted. She could've sworn the date her client had been waiting for was female, but whatever. "Certainly."

"Thank you."

She took Nick's empty glass from their table and left. As rest of the restaurant gradually returned to their own business, Nick felt himself relax a little. He was still grasping the situation though, and so decided to let the man opposite him speak first. The fellow sat down and leaned forwards, balancing his head on linked hands. His face was flushed red. It seemed he had actually really embarrassed himself with the risky stunt he'd pulled off.

"My name is Miles Edgeworth," he told Nick, his voice almost completely different. "I apologise if what I did wasn't the right thing. Are you all right? What's your name?"

Phoenix burst into tears.

Miles Edgeworth seemed to panic and quickly looked left and right. Keeping in mind that he had to continue the act of Phoenix's late date, he gently reached over in an attempt at a reassuring gesture.

"D-Dear… are you, er, are you feeling okay?"

Nick looked at him, and nodded. He didn't want his voice to break, so he said nothing. He gasped a little as he tried to catch his breath quietly, then held his face in his hands. He had no idea what he was feeling. He had company now, and the weight of being stood up had lifted tremendously. However, a new type of lonesomeness was emerging. This stranger cared about him more than his own girlfriend did, it made no sense, and he'd owe him big time for saving him from that huge horrible fiasco. Everything was absolutely terrible.

Phoenix knew he needed to calm down. He focussed on the sounds around him, the murmuring couples, the clinking of cutlery. Calm.

He looked at Mr Edgeworth again, took in his appearance. The man wore a white shirt with a dark green vest over it, which shaped his figure nicely from what Nick could see. Despite being rather attractive, he didn't have a particularly friendly face. But seemed to be trying his best.

"My name is Phoenix. Phoenix Wright."

The ghost of a smirk appeared on Edgeworth's face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Phoenix. Here." He took out a clean tissue from one of his pockets, and handed it over. Nick sniffed and chuckled, dried his face, and deeply appreciated the consideration.

"Ahaha… thank you."

The waitress arrived, silently placed two menus and wine lists on the table, then left.

"Cheers," Phoenix called. He watched her go, then turned to his apparent new date.

"I, oh, my gosh, thank you so much," he spluttered. "You've done all this for me and I don't even know you… you totally saved my ass. It's so good to see there's still some very kind people in the world. I think I really needed a reminder of that. Thank you."

The man seemed to flinch at the use of the word 'ass'. Nick made a mental note about what language he ought to use in front of him, despite how he knew he'd forget it soon.

"You are most welcome," Edgeworth said. "We'll have to continue this façade for the rest of the evening though, and for that I apologise. It'll surely become tiring."

"But then, why did you decide to help me in the first place?"

The man avoided eye contact. "I'm not really certain. Second-hand embarrassment, maybe? You looked so dire, through the window. I decided to help you in a spur-of-the moment decision. Those, I must say, are quite uncommon for me. I'm a little surprised." He looked like he realised something. "Ah... again, I apologise if I've said something upsetting. I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

"What, conversation?"

"Er, yes?"

Another chuckle escaped from Nick. "I honestly couldn't care less, considering what you've done for me this evening. Thank you so much."

"You don't need to keep thanking me..." Miles seemed very composed, yet very uncomfortable. Perhaps he didn't want to insult Phoenix, and was treading lightly.

"Do you even want to be here, Mr Edgeworth?"

"I..."

"Let's go," Nick told him. "Let's just act like we've cancelled our date due to it getting too late, and once we're out of sight, we can part and never see each-other again. C'mon, let's do that now." Phoenix pushed out his chair, but this seemed to make Mr Edgeworth look even more uneasy.

"No," he said, "I'd rather not waste this. Like you told me; I saved your, er, your ass, which is something I don't really do very often. Well, at least, in any context similar to this one. I'm not exactly romantically attuned, but at least let me try to redeem this evening for you." He waited for Nick's response, looking at his lap. "...If you wish to do so, of course," he added.

Phoenix's heart told him fuck it. Miles Edgeworth seemed good-natured enough, and Nick had already paid for the meal. Life was short, and with everything that had happened so far that evening, he was finding it difficult to bother with agonizing over any consequences involved. He hoped the guy wasn't a stalker or something creepy, put as much effort as he could into pushing Dahlia out of his mind for the time being, and went for it.

"All right," he said with a grin, "let's order some wine."

Mr Edgeworth showed a polite smile back before he hid his face behind the tall menu.

Phoenix excitedly picked up his and scanned the contents. He had no idea what all the French stuff was, got bored quickly, and made conversation instead. "I like the look of the char-donnie stuff here," he mused. He had absolutely no idea what he was saying. "The chabliss one. I think I'll go for that."

Miles peeped round the side of his menu, and raised an eyebrow. His hair fell in curtains that overlapped his eyes ever so slightly, which had given him this attractive habit of side-glancing. Phoenix hoped he wasn't projecting his lost feelings onto him,he could already feel himself becoming emotionally attached.

"It's chardonnay, and chablis. Shar-don-ay, sha-bli. And no, don't order that. Goodness, just look at how cheap it is! Instead, please try the billecar-salmon rosé. It has a similar refined taste, but is… well… much nicer."

Considerate, and clever. That was very impressive. "But..."

"I'll pay for the wine."

Too considerate. "Mister Edgeworth, you don't have to-"

"No no, it wasn't I who was stood up this evening. Tonight is probably not the best of nights for you. At least let me try to make it better."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Phoenix stared at him in awe. Edgeworth, he was making Dahlia seem... unhealthy. All of the romantic things she did for Phoenix were so blatant or dramatic, like almost anyone could do it. There was a lack of little things, small gestures that showed the love was always there. She was never like that. She was sweet, but she'd never been charming. She didn't love Nick. It was so obvious. It always had been. Was she even a good person? Nick used to think so. She would never say something as selfless as what Edgeworth had just said to Phoenix though. No way would she see a stranger looking lonely through a window and decide to help. Was she mean? Or was Mr Edgeworth just nice? Was he interested? What was going on? Everything was up in the air. What was Nick feeling? It was new. He wanted to think things through without his emotions getting in the way, but the man opposite him was screwing it all up.

Mr Edgeworth sheepishly looked him up and down. "...What is it?"

"I don't even know you..." Phoenix murmured.

"Yes...?"

"I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done for me this evening."

Edgeworth shifted. "That's fine. Let's move on from all the thanking now."

The pair ordered their wine and meals, and got talking. Mr Edgeworth mainly asked pretty obscure questions, but Nick thoroughly valued someone taking an interest in him personally.

"I'm a mess! I don't know what's wrong with me..." he complained. "I keep going back to her. She says all these cruel things sometimes, I don't know if she means to, but she always tells me to forgive her and I always do, because I'm a huge moron who is so crazy for her. Well, actually, I don't know about that any more. I get surprised whenever she does something like this though, like leaving me here all by myself, but I really shouldn't be. She's been acting like this for so long now, and lately, even worse than usual! She's the only girlfriend I've ever had. If I'd had others throughout my life to compare her with, making a judgement on her actions would probably be so much easier."

"The girl who discourteously left you here alone this evening?"

Phoenix realised he had been rambling. "Yeah, her. Sorry. Oh, but I like dudes too, don't worry!"

"I… right."

Why did this guy get so uneasy over the littlest things?

"Mr Edgeworth, We really don't have to continue this, you know."

Edgeworth shook his head. "Wright, no-"

"Call me Phoenix. Or Nick."

"...Phoenix, we may as well. I've paid for the wine now, and you have paid for the table. Which I will gladly pay you back for, by the way."

Pay him back? Just how loaded was he!?

"N-No, don't do that."

"All right."

So gracious and accepting. Phoenix tilted his head and smiled. "I don't know what it is about you, but I feel weirdly homely with you already, Mr Edgeworth. Maybe I know you from somewhere?"

He thought for a second. "What an interesting word choice. Homely, eh? And I don't believe so. At least, it's nothing I can think of."

"Maybe you recognise me from work or something! What do you do for a living?"

"I'm, erm, an attorney."

Edgeworth's occupation rung only very distant bells for Nick. "No… Maybe you bought one of my paintings?"

"You're an artist?"

"Ah, Yeah." Nick felt like he was admitting a dirty secret. He was so humbled by this man, this wealthy, profound lawyer. "I'm freelance. I've got my degree and all, but it's just so hard finding work."

"I see."

"And… I probably shouldn't make the whole thing worse by buying all this stuff for a girl that doesn't actually like me. But here I am. She doesn't even appreciate my paintings for her."

"Wright," Edgeworth didn't seem to want him meandering off into another depressed tangent, as he was speaking with a little assertion. "I may not be fully informed, but I suggest you rethink your stance on where you want to be with this woman. Maybe you should talk things through with her, and find out what she's been thinking. She might be willing to do something about this. Honesty is underrated, you have to remember that every successful relationship will need it."

"Yeah. Thank you. You're so full of wisdom!"

Miles smiled genuinely for the first time. "I try."

Their wine arrived. Phoenix completely forgot about his worries and became eager to try the fancy rosé stuff. As soon as it had been poured, he gulped a large portion of it down and had to hold back a spit-take. He coughed and spluttered, whilst Edgeworth sipped his drink and watched, along with the waitress. They both had completely straight faces, and Nick had no clue if he'd amused or disappointed them.

"Sorry..." he mumbled.

"You don't like the wine, then?" the lady asked ironically.

"No no," Phoenix fibbed, "the wine was great! I just drank too much at once."

Edgeworth said in his late-date voice, "there's no need to lie, Nick. Everyone has understandably different tastes."

Phoenix ordered some water.

Their meals arrived, and the pair tucked in. Miles seemed to loosen up after a glass or two.

"So, Phoenix," he said, "if you don't mind me asking, what's the current situation with the one who stood you up? How long have you been dating her for?"

Nick put down his cutlery, and thought of how to explain. "Well, her name is Dahlia."

"She has an irritatingly pretty name."

"I know, right? And we've been dating for exactly a year now, although we've been on-and-off since college. I've been in love with her for so long. Today was our first proper anniversary. But she's been acting so sour lately, and I have no idea why. I don't know if we're still dating or what any more, to be honest. She hasn't even moved in, but half her things are at my place! What stage in a relationship even is that? My flat is way too small for her stuff anyway, she really took advantage of me there. Man, I was head over heels for her! But now… of this evening, it's weird. When I think about her, I just feel empty, like I don't even care. She's a huge part of my life, she's my Dolly, and I just don't care right now. I don't know..." he trailed off.

"I'm sorry for touching on such an intimate subject, Wright." Miles shook his head. "I mean, Phoenix. Nick."

Phoenix smiled. "It's fine! But I've been talking about myself all evening. What about you, Mr Edgeworth? What is your love life like?"

He sipped his wine. "Non-existent."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."

The lawyer frowned. "Everyone tells me that exact thing. They're sorry for me because I'm not going through with all these pointless romantic rituals, but if I were to do those, it would be for no reason other than 'it's what you're supposed to do'. There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm perfectly happy."

"You are?"

"Yes. I have people who I care about. And my dog. That's enough for me."

Nick felt something sink in his stomach. "Okay," he said simply.

"However," Edgeworth continued, "I don't mind attempting things such as this. It's not something I feel like I need to do, but there's also no harm in doing it."

"Dating?"

"I suppose this is a date, yes."

That thing that had sunk floated right back up again.

"And…" Edgeworth added, "I'm enjoying myself. So this is fine."

The thing exploded.

"How's your food, Mr Edgeworth?" asked Nick.

"Delicious. I haven't had shrimp in such a long time. I honestly don't know why, shrimp is very enjoyable. My hands are becoming a bit slimy, though. That might actually be why." He picked up a napkin. "What about your meal? Oh, and there is no need to call me 'Mr Edgeworth'. Simply call me Miles."

Phoenix grinned. "Miles, oh my God, I have no idea what I'm eating because the menu was all in French, but it's great."

"You're eating squid."

"What, really?"

"Oh, you've never had squid before?"

"No. I'd definitely have it again though." Nick immediately realised what he said could've been taken as some sort of hint. He felt heat rise to his head, and pressed his hands against his lap. After a moment of building up the courage, he anxiously looked at Edgeworth to see if he'd spotted it.

Miles was still dealing with his sticky fingers. "Hm?"

Never mind.

"Where do you live?" Phoenix asked.

"Within the city," Edgeworth told him, "not too far from here, I believe. I have my own flat above Edgeworth&Co Law Offices, so for business I'm not too far from the high street."

"Ooh, I've probably walked by your office a few times, I live close by too!" Nick immediately realised he may have stated that a little too happily. Edgeworth gave him an attentive nod, and didn't seem to think much of it.

They continued eating in a comfortable silence for a while. Nick had been trying to stop himself from developing feelings for this stranger – he still had Dahlia to consider after all – but he had failed miserably.

Actually, no, his failure was not miserable. It was joyful. Fantastic! It was like he had been completely emotionally torn from Dahlia in the most positive of ways, and was having a brilliant time. He was reluctant as he finished his meal. The evening would have to end.

"Phoenix?"

"Yeah?"

Miles neatly laid his practically unused cutlery down neatly on his empty plate, and refused to look at Nick again. "Would you be willing to drop by my office sometime?"

"Oh yes, sure," Phoenix said with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. He hoped he didn't seem desperate, but he knew he and Edgeworth were thinking the same thing. Probably. Didn't people usually need time though, to get over other people? Were Nick's emotions trying to defend themselves or something?

"That's much appreciated," Miles recited. "Here, take my business card." He held it out in front of Nick between two fingers.

Phoenix did his best to hide his excitement as he took it. It felt weirdly slippery.

"It has my address, open hours when you can drop in, and my email should you need to contact me prior. Oh, sorry about the grease from the shrimp! I should probably use this napkin again..."

Miles fumbled his hands clean.

It was almost hilarious how adorable this man was. He was practically humiliated by his shrimpy fingers. Either that or he was an incredibly lightweight drunk.

"Miles, you sound like you're inviting me over so I can hire you," Nick said with a grin. Was this going to be considered flirting? He had no clue.

"Ah, apologies..."

Phoenix was oddly relieved that business wasn't the case, despite it being quite obvious anyway.

"Force of habit," continued Miles. "I would like to arrange an entirely casual meeting with you."

Entirely casual seemed like a bit of a stretch. However, Nick was almost determined to see Miles open up some more. He had no clue what he was in for, and was deadly curious. Currently, it was almost impossible to imagine Edgeworth doing something silly, like dance around or stick his tongue out menacingly. Phoenix wanted to know if that could change. "Superb," he said delightedly.

"It's getting late. It may be wise to call it a night."

"Okay."

The pair tucked out their chairs, and headed towards where their coats were being kept. Nick slowed his step and seized the opportunity to get a good look at Edgeworth's figure from behind. His shoulders were almost ridiculously broad. Mm.

"Ah, mine is the burgundy one," Miles told the attendant.

The streets were wet from rain, but the sky was clear. Edgeworth had to flick his hair out his face in the breeze. The street lights gave the cold evening a warm yellow glow.

"Thank you, Miles," Phoenix said. "I have realised, because of you, that I finally need to end my toxic relationship. My feelings for her aren't what they should be. Dahlia has really harshly battered my self-esteem without me even realising it. There are people in this world much better for me than her, and I need to stop telling myself she's what I deserve. She isn't. I'm looking forward to seeing you again."

Miles was almost surprised he'd influenced such a decision on this man, despite often helping determine much greater decisions with his job. From their evening together, he'd gathered that Phoenix's character wasn't a very affirmative one. Or so he'd thought. "I see," he said, "I hope all goes well. Feel free to contact me should you need help."

They walked for a while, until Phoenix stopped and rubbed the ground with his shoe. "I guess this is farewell for now," he said, swinging his arms. "My apartment is just down this road. It's really close to the high street. Man, I wish I owned the bottom floor so I could make a gallery or something. Anyway! I really needed this evening. Thank you so much."

"Cheers! I have thoroughly enjoyed myself!"

Miles smiled one last time, turned and started walking. He held up a hand to politely wave to his date as he left. He then realised he had no idea if Phoenix could see him doing so, and that he'd also totally forgotten to offer to walk Phoenix to his door, which was the courteous thing to do. Where had his manners gone?

He felt water seep into his shoe as he accidentally trod in a puddle. Dammit.

Why was Miles so concerned with Phoenix? The man was innocent and naive, which was not something Miles considered endearing. He was very easily emotionally manipulated too. Weak. On top of that, the fact that his artistic abilities reaped almost no business suggested his paintings weren't that great.

Then what was the problem? What Miles appreciated was talent, knowledge; sturdy and passionate emotions! Not the loose cannon he'd just eaten a meal with. Maybe he was drunker than he thought. Or it was the confusion and stress from his current case catching up with him. Perhaps having a break after so much work made him link his relaxed and careless feelings with whoever happened to be nearby.

Oh, what use was it?

Miles Edgeworth had accidentally fallen for Phoenix Wright.