Here's a little after-New-Year's present for you all. Ironically, the basis for this story is the result of a New Year's present too. (remember what Pearl gave Maya for New Year that started the whole thing?)
Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, aka Gyakuten Saiban, and all affiliated characters, which are the property of Capcom. I am not making any profit off this whatsoever. Any resemblance to real people and actual events is purely coincidental (except for the fact that I've volunteered in hospital and tried to use a little of what I've learned in the story).
Spoilers for game 3, case 5. Shounen-ai warning, ExP.
By the way, I'm surprised no one's messed with this scene yet. I thought that this scene had the most potential to be messed with in all the series.
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Edgeworth didn't know why he was overcome with the urge to start running as soon as he locked his car in the hospital's parking lot. Although he got the first jet available, the flight still took several hours. He didn't even go straight to the hospital, stopping at his home to work out the jet lag instead. Wright wasn't going to die in the few more minutes it would take him to walk from the parking structure to the nurse's station.
It wasn't as if he was in mortal peril anyway, Edgeworth mused as he headed down the stairs. Since that literally eye-opening call at three in the morning, German time, Larry had been keeping him updated. A little too updated, Edgeworth growled at memories.
"Edgey, the place is flooded with cops!"
"Edgey, my poor sweet Maya is stuck on the other side of the bridge!!!"
"Edgey, they think Iris did it, can you believe it?!!!!! My darling Iris wouldn't hurt a fly, much less kill anyone! And now they've got her locked up in the slammer like some sort of criminal! Can you imagine her in that environment?! It's bad for her delicate composition!!! She's like a tropical flower--"
At that point, Edgeworth hung up.
Butz did not fail to call for every little event, little happening, every BLOODY time someone even SNEEZED.
"Edgey, Nick sneezed!"
Thank goodness he plenty of time to sleep on the plane.
Edgeworth emerged from the building and halted for a passing car. He had been this close to simply turning off his phone, he remembered as he looked up into the overcast sky, if he hadn't been listening for one crucial piece of information.
"Edgey, they transferred Nick to the hospital!"
Then he turned off his phone.
The lobby was full of mothers, children, and senior citizens milling around. What they were waiting for, Edgeworth didn't know, but he turned his nose up at the disorder and strode up to the receptionist's desk.
"Good afternoon, sir, how may I help you?"
"I am here to visit Phoenix Wright. He was admitted recently."
The guard didn't even check the record book.
"Ah, yes, if you go through those doors and take the elevator, Mr. Wright is in room number…"
After receiving his visitor's sticker, the guard buzzed the automatic door open for him. He stepped through—
"Out of the way, please!"
"Excuse me, pardon me."
--and stepped back as two paramedics sprinted by with a vacant stretcher.
With their velocity, any poor sap in their path would have been squashed flat. Edgeworth peered curiously after them. Hn, wonder where they're-"Yah!" he yelped when the door shut on his behind.
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'Wright, you idiot…' Edgeworth took in Phoenix's lightly dozing body. He looked plenty alive, but was not in a good state. The brunette's hair was unspiked under some ridiculous pink and white hood, and he fidgeted restlessly on the hospital bed, murmuring something in his sleep.
Phoenix had just gotten out of critical care, Larry had told him, but the other side of the room was unoccupied. Which was a good thing too, or else Edgeworth wouldn't have anywhere to put the sunflowers he picked up in the hospital gift shop. Every available surface was overrun with stuffed animals, balloons, bouquets and Get Well Soon cards. He furrowed his brow in brief thought, before plucking a giant stuffed dog--from a Mr. and Mrs. DeLite--from the serving table and dumping it over a wicker box containing a sparkling medley of small plush critters, plastic carrots, a whistle, white roses, and one camera (with a note to "send back photos of the hot nurses for us!—Trilo"). Satisfied with the placement of his sunflowers, he turned back towards his rival.
If he thought he looked bad before, it was nothing compared to up close. The blinds were drawn, and illumination from the overhead fluorescent lamp reflected horribly off the perspiration on his face. Paired with the unusual, ruddy flush across his cheeks, Wright seemed more like wax than flesh and bone. However, no one could mistake him for dead—Phoenix's head tossed from side to side, and his arms twitched so violently it was a wonder his IV didn't come out. His breathing was labored and uneven as he continued his strange mutterings.
So, he took a headlong plunge into a freezing river because he tried running across a burning bridge? At first, Edgeworth wrote it off as one of Larry's misunderstandings or poor communication abilities, but after seeing the defense attorney again for the first time in a long time…
'I'd forgotten what an utter simpleton Wright can be.'
The fashion disaster covering his head only confirmed it.
Even after his delayed flight to LAX, getting a ride back to his house from Gumshoe, changing his clothes, driving his favorite car and nabbing a quick meal from an old haunt, it wasn't until this moment that he felt like he was home. With a small, unconscious smile on his face, Edgeworth reached out a hand to brush some sweat-soaked hair back under Wright's headdress.
Ugh, man-sweat. But if he rested his palm there, he could feel the brunette's forehead burning under his touch. Were these nurses taking proper care of him at all? Frowning, the prosecutor could just make out the other's delirious ramblings.
"Iris … how ... Dollie … who … my … Dollie … Iris … miss … Pearl … no … why … always … Maya … Maya …"
Chocolate-brown eyes blinked open.
"Miles."
Edgeworth's hand snapped back and he crossed his arms. 'Shoot! I hope he didn't notice that!'
"Ah, Wright," he said, expression one again stony. "Why is it that every time I turn my back you get yourself into another mess?"
"Miles… the temple… Maya… I have to hurry…" Phoenix lifted his head, the hood slipping off and exposing his mussed hair. Before he could raise himself on his elbows, a gentle hand on his chest pushed him back down.
"Don't be an imbecile. The police are handling the situation."
Confusion flickered across the other's face. "The police? When…? What about Iris? Is Iris all right?"
Edgeworth stared. "Hold on, Wright. Start from the beginning. Who's Iris?"
"There's no time, there's been a murder…"
"Wright, it's being taken care of. You're not about to go gallivanting off in the snow until you've properly recovered."
"Maya's not safe! She's at… the…"
It was then that Edgeworth realized the other man was slurring more than speaking.
"Inner… Temp--" whatever he was about to say next dissolved into a fit of coughs.
Oh boy, this was not going to be fun. Sighing, Edgeworth pulled up a chair (after removing a gift basket from Adrian Andrews—Fransiska mentioned something about her being released, hadn't she?) hung his coat on the back, took a seat and waited for the brunette to stop coughing.
"Do you know why you're in the hospital Wright?"
Lowering his hand from his mouth, Phoenix looked at him blearily. "I'm in… the hospital…?" His eyes caught the IV plugged into his left arm. "We were at… Hazakura…."
Wow. It was worse than he thought. But with Wright, that was usually the case.
"Yes, you were. Until you fell through a burning bridge, narrowly missing boulders to hit freezing water at who-knows-how-many miles per hour, and somehow got tossed ashore by the river rapids instead of drowned. Even then, no one knows how the rescue squad got to you before you froze to death." Edgeworth winced. The situation suddenly seemed a lot more real when he said it out loud. "I guess your rookie luck doesn't only apply in the courtroom." Thank God.
"It's not luck. It's because my clients are innocent!" he replied automatically, accompanying it with his customary indignant glare.
Now there was the Wright he knew, Edgeworth thought with some satisfaction. Out loud, he continued, "Either way, you're stuck here until that fever of yours goes down. Lots of people are pulling for you to get better, look," he pulled a random bouquet off the bed behind him. "This is from Lana and Ema Skye. Ema says to get better soon and Lana says…"
'We'll find out who did this. Don't you worry, I'll put my best prosecutor on the job.'
Edgeworth twitched and put the flowers back without reading the rest. Instead, he plucked up a Steel Samurai toy that was tied to two foil balloons. "This one's from Will Powers. He says to get well soon, and he promises to take you and the girls out when--"
"Maya!" Edgeworth started at Phoenix's shout. "Maya's alone at that temple with a killer on the loose. It's not safe." With a groan, he rolled to one side and pushed himself up to a half-sitting position. "And Iris… Sister Bikini said something about Iris… please, Iris can't be in trouble. I still haven't asked her…"
"Wright? Wright, get a hold of yourself." Edgeworth held the other man's chest and back and tried to lower him onto the bed again, but Phoenix fought back.
"No, Ms… Deauxnim's been… killed…Sister Bikini was there. She said something about Iris. I have to see Iris," he said, frantically trying to slap Edgeworth's hands away. "I have to…"
"Phoenix, look at me!" Edgeworth's hands grasped the sides of the brunette's face, and chocolate brown met smoky gray. Phoenix's gaze was panicked and unfocused, and Edgeworth tried to keep his voice under control. For his sake. "We're taking care of it. The police are there right now, and they'll rescue Maya just like they rescued you."
He wasn't sure if it was working, but the other lawyer didn't protest when Edgeworth laid him back down and drew the sheet up.
"Miles…what about Iris?"
Iris? Larry mentioned something about an "Iris," didn't he? He frowned and tried to fix the hood now hanging from Phoenix's neck. However, a hand reached up and stilled his fussing.
"She…gave me this hood. It wards off demons. If I didn't have it now, then maybe…" he tightened his grip on Edgeworth's hand before releasing it. Slowly, as if it took all of his concentration to move, he fumbled a bit before undoing hood and removing it.
He held the slightly damp cloth out to Edgeworth. "Here. This will probably do you some good. And…do you have my stuff?" he asked weakly. His previous outburst probably exhausted him.
The prosecutor took the hood and headed over to the closet to check. After Fransiska's "accident," he had some familiarity with the layout of a hospital room. Sure enough, in a clear plastic bag on the bottom shelf, was a badly wrinkled blue suit. He brought it back to his bedridden companion.
"Give me my jacket."
Edgeworth laid it down over him, and Phoenix rummaged around in the pockets. He found what he was looking for, and sneezed.
"You're going to need this. Here, give me your hand."
The sandy-haired man raised an eyebrow, but obliged. An oddly shaped green rock was slipped into his palm. "That's the Magatama. You use it to…"
His voice was fading. Edgeworth scooted his chair forward and leaned in closer to hear what he was saying.
"…lying. You can see the secrets in people's hearts…just hold it out…the Psyche locks… Iris had them…probably in… trouble…"
Huh? Edgeworth looked at him incredulously. That fall must have really done a number on him for Wright to be spouting this mystic mumbo-jumbo. But to oblige the sick man, he dropped it into his pocket.
"And Miles…" Wright made a vague motion, and with an exasperated sigh, Edgeworth held his hand out again. He was surprised when, instead of receiving another piece of junk, Phoenix clasped his hand in his and held it.
"The head nun… with me when…found…"
He was almost whispering now, and Edgeworth leaned his ear so close to Phoenix's mouth that he could feel the warmth from his fever.
"…body… ask… Bikini… Sister Bikini. You have to help them. I know I can depend on you, Miles."
He felt warm lips press to his cheek, and Edgeworth's heart stopped.
"You… always save me… Miles…"
The grip on his hand slackened, and Phoenix's head tilted to the side, asleep. Disbelieving, Edgeworth straightened up. Blushing as though he were one with the high temperature, he used his fingertips to brush where Wright had kissed him less than a minute ago.
Well, the man wasn't thinking rationally. The fever was probably frying his brain. In that case, even if he were awake, the buffoon wouldn't remember this.
He planted a small kiss on Phoenix's forehead.
'Hah, take that. Now we're even.' With a funny little half-grin, Edgeworth squeezed Phoenix's hand one last time before pulling away.
Revealing the attorney's badge sparkling innocently in his palm.
Edgeworth cursed.
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Hey, Edgeworth said that Phoenix was delirious and drifting in and out of consciousness. You didn't honestly think they could really get it on with him in that state, did you? I hope you enjoyed! Read and review, and all that jazz!