When Phoenix Wright was eight years old, his entire world bloomed.

One misstep, one trip, and human contact, and suddenly, black and white melted away. Before him, things he'd never seen before, colours littering his vision. He was on the ground, staring at the pavement, what colour is that? and his hands were grazed. His hands - he had no idea how to describe the tone of colour his skin had become. He knew names, but couldn't put them to what he saw. A glance down at his knees, and they were bloodied by a beautiful hue. Your blood is red! his parents had told him the first time he tripped. Isn't it amazing? Don't cry, because one day you'll be able to see that colour. They put a bandaid on it and dubbed it as blue.

So this was red, Phoenix concluded. My blood is red. He looked up at the sky, and discovered, blue. The sky is blue, they said, pointing up. The sun is yellow.

They'd never told him what colour grass was, and Phoenix wished he had asked.

"Are you okay?"

A teacher stood in front of him now, and she stared down at him with a pity filled expression. "Do you need first aid?" she asked.

It was a moment, maybe two, before Phoenix finally spoke. "My blood is red," he whispered, filled with awe. The teacher's eyes widened.

Her eyes were the same colour as the grass. Everyone's eyes are different colours, his parents had explained. Yours are blue.

"What colour are your eyes?" he asked without thinking.

A large grin spread on the teachers face, and she glanced behind him at a different student.

"My humble apologies," the kid spoke.

Phoenix scrambled up off of the grass and turned to face whoever his soulmate was -

"I wasn't looking where I was going," he said. "It won't happen again."

He was met with the most gorgeous red. The colour of his blood was nothing compared to what he had seen now, and everything else seemed to melt away - the grass, the sky, the flowers which now bore many hues - this student's coat captivated his attention leaving room for nothing more.

Phoenix lived for the days where he would see this student and his red coat. He learned his colours, much to the delight of his entire family - though he wouldn't tell them who - he described his classmate in detail, from his hair to his skin to his eyes, and lastly, his coat. His beautiful coat became his favourite colour. For his ninth birthday, a set of acrylics. He decided then and there he'd learn to paint. For his parents, he recreated his favourite red, and they clapped excitedly, exclaiming it wasn't in fact, red, but fuchsia. Named after a flower. Phoenix asked eagerly to have this flower and the next day, there was one sitting on his windowsill.

Him and his classmate never spoke. Despite the attempts, it would seem Miles Edgeworth wasn't one for talking.

Miles Edgeworth was this students name. He made sure to learn the very next day during role call.

"Miles Edgeworth!" the teacher called out into the classroom.

"Present," he replied.

The brightest thing in that room was always his coat.

One day, they bumped into each other on the sidewalk. This is my chance. Phoenix was elated. I can talk to my soulmate.

But the words escaped him, and his mind drew a blank.

With Larry, and his yellow jacket (though Larry didn't know it), he walked to school.

"You would be Signal Yellow," Phoenix said, grinning. "Because it matches your shirt and your hair."

"My hair is yellow?" Larry pouted. "But dad told me piss is yellow." Phoenix laughed loudly and even snorted.

"Well there are different shades-"

But Larry insisted that his hair was the same colour, and by extension, his jacket.

And then, there was the class trial.

Thief! Thief! Thief! Thief!

"Just admit it, okay, Phoenix?

Everyone was against him. Everyone. The whole class.

"I didn't do it," he insisted through tears. (Why would he steal his soulmate's lunch money?)

But then a ray of sunshine, a glimmer of hope, even in his colourful world everything felt dark, until he spoke.

"Objection!"

There Miles stood, a determined expression on his face, finger pointed directly at the students in front of him. Phoenix marveled at him and the tears halted immediately.

"You didn't do it, did you, Wright?"

Phoenix shook his head.

"Then don't apologise!" he yelled. "Without proof, you're innocent!"

And they became friends. Slowly, steadily, they became a trio - assigned themselves the Signal Samurai, Miles didn't know what the show was -

"You're signal red!" Phoenix announced loud and clear. "It matches your coat!"

Miles blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"It does?"

And that was when Phoenix's world shattered.

"Y-Yes. It does," he said, far less confident now. "Your coat is fuchsia, and it's close to red, so-"

Miles hummed. "I had no idea. Father just has me wear the same outfit until I can see colour and choose for myself."

Phoenix bit back a sob. He felt his lip quivering. His vision blurred.

"Wright?" Miles raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

He ran away and didn't stop until he'd reached home

Next day, he pretended nothing was wrong. He didn't want to confess. Was he scared?

"Wright, what was that about yesterday?" Edgeworth had asked. I can't call him Miles anymore.

"Nothing," Phoenix forced a smile. "It was nothing."

When Larry won the Signal Samurai keychains, Phoenix was elated. He took the blue one eagerly. "These are awesome!" he exclaimed. Edgeworth held the red keychain in his hand - not that knew which one he'd received - and seemed unsure what to do with it.

"Sense the enemies I do, so be careful, will you? Signal YELLOW!" Larry held his keychain in the air, despite not even knowing what yellow looked like.

Phoenix jumped up to join Larry and exclaimed, "Kick enemies to the curb, and sally forth! Signal BLUE!"

Phoenix and Larry both turned to face Edgeworth, expectant expressions on their faces, and he blushed, blushed a deep red. Blushes are red.

"You're facing me and I shall stop thee… Signal Red."

Larry clapped and jumped up and down on the spot, "Way to go, Edgeworth!"

"So you watched it?" Phoenix grinned from ear to ear.

"Well… it wasn't bad."

Even if I'm not his soulmate, we can still be friends. We can still be close.

Right?

He asked his parents when he got home, on the verge of tears, if his soulmate could still love him if he wasn't his soulmate's soulmate.

He cried into his mother's arms that night.

"Of course he can still love you, Phoenix. But… you are his soulmate, right?"

They had to explain to him. They had to explain that, sometimes, rarely, feelings aren't reciprocated.

"I want it to go away," he sobbed. "I don't want him to be my soulmate. I want to see in black and white."

"I'm sorry, Phoenix," his father had whispered in his ear.

He threw his fuchsia plant in the trash.

Eventually, it became Christmas. The tree was decorated, decorated in so many colours, green leaves with beautiful sparkling lights, along with the presents wrapped up in rainbow paper (as per Phoenix's request).

He receives mail from Larry, and it's a poorly drawn Signal Blue on a card folded in half.

'I had to ask mom which colour to use for Signal Blue, and I hope she wasn't lying!' Phoenix grinned.

More paints from his grandparents, five dollars from his aunt, and - at the end of all the new exciting presents, something from Edgeworth.

He didn't want to open this one in front of anyone else. He whispered in his mother's ear, "Please, can I open this one later?"

After dinner, when everyone had gone home, Phoenix sat in his room (newly decorated!) with the present in his lap. It was wrapped in pink polka dots, and attached to it, a card with the neatest handwriting he'd ever seen.

Wright,

It has come to my attention that you can see colours. I feel obliged to wish you and your soulmate happiness for the rest of your lives.

I see that you have a fascination with colour and its wonders, and while I cannot share this experience with you, I asked my Father to assist me in selecting a colourful gift for you. I have also drawn you a flower with all the textas I own, but I do not know which colours I used. Perhaps one day you could teach me, Wright?

Kind regards and a very Merry Christmas,

Miles Edgeworth

He didn't realise he'd been crying until a teardrop fell onto Miles' flower.

"Mum, dad, about that flower I threw out..."

Miles' gift sat on Phoenix's windowsill next to his new flower. He marveled at it everyday. He would wake up in the morning, and always, the gift would be the first thing he would see - it captivated him (so much so he opted to doing schoolwork in a different room).

There, next to his new fuchsia flower, sat a rainbow bonsai tree. All the colours at my fingertips.

It was the 28th. Merely three days after Christmas. Phoenix had been happy… Phoenix had been happy.

An earthquake. The lights flickered. And then, his room, engulfed in darkness.

"Just a blackout," father explained, "They'll have it back on soon."

Candles were lit, and his mother surprised him with candles of different hues. For a moment, Phoenix was glad for the blackout. He placed a red candle next to his bonsai tree and-

And it disappeared. It all disappeared. The colours, the shades, the arrangement of beautiful hues. Phoenix screamed.

When his parents came to his aid, the colours had returned.

"They went away," he sobbed into his mother's shoulder, "The colours went away."

"But they're back now, you're okay, your soulmate is okay…"

"He's hurt," Phoenix cried. "He's hurt. He needs help. He's dying. I can't breathe-"

Miles Edgeworth disappeared. Not dead. Phoenix knew he wasn't dead.

"Say, Nick, you never told me who your soulmate was!"

Phoenix didn't answer.

Miles Edgeworth had moved away. He had no idea what happened. All he could remember was the colours flickering on and off and on and off. He couldn't breathe, he was choking and gasping for air-

"Nick, come on…"

"My soulmate is dead," Phoenix said.

Larry never asked again.

Authors Notes: When I get off my lazy ass, there will be a second chapter. In the meantime, please submit Wrightworth prompts for me to write!