Disclaimer: The Ace Attorney series does not belong to me. I make no profit off of this. Phoenix Wright created by Shu Takumi.
Author's Note: It's been a while. I've had the idea for this one for a while, but I just got around to writing it.
It was another sunny, murder filled day in Los Angeles. At the Prosecutors' Office, prosecutors and detectives were rushing back and forth, carrying briefcases and large stacks of paper. The only person not doing so was Phoenix Wright. Phoenix stood at the bottom of the steps, staring at the window of what he believed to be the Chief Prosecutor's office. His hands shook nervously as he looked. His mind was a raging storm of excuses not to go inside the building.
Maybe I shouldn't go. He could be meeting with Detective Gumshoe about a case. Franziska might be back in town. Maybe he's polishing his Steel Samurai fi-
Phoenix would have continued this line of thought, but at that moment, a hurried Detective Dick Gumshoe collided with him. Papers flew everywhere as the two tumbled to the ground.
Yeesh. I feel like I've been hit by a yeti.
Phoenix rose from the ground slowly, clutching his elbow. He began to wonder if he was getting old when he saw Detective Gumshoe, staring somewhat dreamily into the sky.
Oh, it's Detective Gumshoe. Yep, I'd say he's the equivalent of a yeti. Weird how he manages that with all those noodles.
"Oh! Detective, are you alright?" Phoenix said, hurrying to help him.
"Wha? Oh, it's you, pal." Gumshoe said, taking Phoenix's hand.
"I'm sorry, Detective Gumshoe, I didn't mean to be in the way. Are those your papers? Let me help." Phoenix began frantically picking up the fallen documents.
"Hey! Be careful with those, pal! Mr. Edgeworth needs those papers in order. Let me do it!" Gumshoe exclaimed.
"Edgeworth needs these?" Phoenix questioned, ceasing his actions.
"Yeah, it's for a case we're working on...Hey! Don't think you can get any info out of me, pal! My lips are sealed tight!" Gumshoe said, stiffening and puffing out his chest.
"Heh, I think my days of grilling you for case info, are over Detective." Phoenix said, a sad smile coming onto his face.
"Huh? What do you...Oh. Yeah. You got disbarred. It's still hard to believe." Gumshoe said, deflating significantly and rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward fashion.
The two sat there in silence initiated by embarrassment. Some of the people running on the steps began to slow down and stare. The disgraced attorney and the incompetent detective. Phoenix noticed and hurriedly began grabbing Detective Gumshoe's papers again, in spite of the detective's protests. When all the papers had been gathered, Phoenix rushed Gumshoe into the building, going straight for the elevator to avoid any further attention.
"Which floor is Edgeworth's office on?" Phoenix asked, repeatedly pressing the "Close Doors" button. The last thing he needed was an elevator ride with a prosecutor who more than likely believes that he's guilty and would probably have him thrown out.
"Oh, um, it's this one..."
As Phoenix exited the elevator with Detective Gumshoe, he began to realize that he now had no choice but to see Edgeworth.
Well, that's what I came here to do, isn't it? There's no point in putting off something I'm going to have to do anyway.
As Phoenix resigned himself to his impending confrontation (Is this going to be a confrontation? I never talked to him after that trial. He might actually think I'm guilty. He might just kick me out and joke about it with his fancy, badge-wearing friends.), Gumshoe stopped walking and began looking around as though he didn't know where he was going.
"Sorry, pal, but, uh, I don't know where I'm going." Gumshoe said, casting his eyes downward in his usual self-deprecatory manner.
Phoenix was about to say something reassuring while quickly backing towards the elevator when a voice called out to Gumshoe.
"Bring those here, Detective. It's taken you long enough."
Three doors down from where Phoenix and Detective Gumshoe stood, was the newly-minted Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. He stood there with one hand on the knob of the door to his office. He stared steadily at Phoenix in particular, but made no specific acknowledgement of his presence.
"Oh, there you are, Mr. Edgeworth! I woulda brought these sooner, but I bumped into Mr. Wright." Gumshoe said this as he walked towards Edgeworth's office.
"Perhaps you should exercise a bit more caution when carrying case files, Detective?" Edgeworth said coolly, reaching his arms out to take the papers from Gumshoe's hands.
"Heh, maybe."
As Edgeworth and Gumshoe resorted all of the documents (Really, Detective, you must learn the importance of order.), Phoenix stood silently in the corner, desperately wishing for Edgeworth to dismiss him, and rather impatiently waiting for an opportunity to speak with him all the same.
When Edgeworth and Gumshoe had finally finished reorganizing the papers, Edgeworth gave the detective one last lecture on tidiness before sending him on his way. He sat down behind his desk, pulling out what must have been the first page of his documents.
Maybe I can just sneak out with Detective Gumshoe and Edgeworth won't noti-
"Did you come here for any reason in particular, Wright?"
Damn.
"Oh, um, I was just, ah, just walking in the...neighborhood?" Phoenix replied nervously, regretting every word the minute he said it.
Edgeworth said nothing, only raising his eyebrow in a truly Edgeworthian manner.
Is that a word? Eh, it should be.
There was silence between the two for some time. Phoenix thought very hard about how to communicate what he wanted to say.
"Wright, would this have anything to do with your disbarment?" Edgeworth asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Uh, well, yes, actually, but it's not for the reasons you th-" Phoenix stumbled over his words again as Edgeworth interrupted him.
"Honestly, Wright, do you think I don't notice what's going on around me? Obviously, I don't think you're guilty. There are some rather...disturbing trends going on in the legal world. That trial concerning Mr. Gramarye was somewhat fishy from the-" Edgeworth now was interrupted by Phoenix.
"Wait. You...don't think I forged that evidence?" Phoenix said, confused and, yet, feeling the stirrings of something positive.
"I'm not going to repeat myself." Edgeworth said, not appreciating the interruption.
"Oh, uh, sorry. Thanks, though. That...makes me feel a lot better." Phoenix said, realizing that the feeling he had was relief. "Um, that's not why I came, though."
"It isn't?" Edgeworth said, puzzled.
"I need, um, legal advice."
"Legal advice?"
"Yeah. After...Um, after the trial, I sort of, um...How do I explain this? I kind of..." Phoenix trailed off.
"Wright, if you're not going to come out with it, I've much more pressing matters." Edgeworth said.
"Okay, okay. I...sort of became a...father. She wasn't just born...I sort of, uh, found her, I guess."
Maybe this wasn't a good idea...
"Wright," Edgeworth began, taking off his glasses very slowly and deliberately, "Wright, this wouldn't be a...result of your relationship with the late Ms. Hawthorne, would it." He said.
Phoenix blew through two very strong blasts of emotion within one second: confusion and embarrassment.
"Wha...WHAT?! You think I...that Dollie...well, Iris..." Phoenix's face turned the very shade of Edgeworth's jacket.
"I'm merely asking a question. There's no need for such a reaction." Edgeworth said, putting his glasses back on.
"But, but...you think I had a kid with...Iris...I think I would have known." Phoenix said.
"Would you?" Edgeworth asked, raising his eyebrow again.
"Um..." Phoenix was deflate from the high of emotion he'd been on only a moment ago.
"Wright, what is this legal advice you require?" Edgeworth changed the subject rather swiftly.
"Uh...I wanted to know if there was any, uh, legal stuff I had to take care of for Trucy." Phoenix had begun rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Trucy?"Edgeworth questioned.
"My, uh, daughter." Phoenix said, smiling shyly.
"I see. I can recommend you to someone who specializes in family law. She's not very picky about who she helps, so your...record won't be an obstacle to her." The Chief Prosecutor stood up, buttoning his jacket.
"Really? Oh, thanks, Edgeworth. This...this means a lot to me." Phoenix said, looking significantly calmer than when he had entered.
"I can tell." Edgeworth smiled slightly, seeming a bit less like the Demon Prosecutor, and more like the boy Phoenix once knew.
"Um, Edgeworth, I know it might be bad for you to be seen with me, but...Trucy's a magician, so, if you're ever near this place called the Wonder Bar..."
"I will, Wright."
"Um, okay. Really, though, thanks again, Edgeworth."
Phoenix gave that awkward smile of his one last time before turning towards the door. He felt much less self-conscious leaving than entering. He felt...solid. Like maybe he could make it through whatever life threw at him, as long as he had people he could always count on, like Edgeworth.