Phoenix found himself trudging reluctantly through the snow, clutching in his left hand the case files he was bringing to Edgeworth's house on behalf of Apollo, who, unfortunately, didn't seem to take to cold weather well and was currently at home sick. Phoenix sighed, knowing he had originally wanted Trucy to go for him but she had insisted on staying at Apollo's side. The ex-attorney chuckled to himself, stuffing the files into his pocket as he remembered who he was visiting. A grin spread across the man's unshaven face, a relieved yet sentimental grin that was obviously due to not having seen his old buddy in a while, and being grateful for his company, if only for a few hours.

As he approached the front door of what seemed to be a museum - but was so undoubtedly Edgeworth that he couldn't find it within himself to not smile fondly at how well it suited the guy - Phoenix felt sure there were butterflies trying to ram holes in the walls of his stomach, and he bitterly tried to force them to settle down, to no avail. He knocked on the door and heard a very familiar voice calling out from somewhere inside "Come in," obviously signalling that the door was already unlocked. Stepping inside, the butterflies sped up, increasing their attempts at freedom. Sighing at his own lack of patience, he slammed the door moodily behind him. But Phoenix instantly regretted this action as a loud noise, like someone dropping a rather large towel, sounded outside the door. Miles quickly snapped his head around from where he was sitting reading the newspaper in the next room, his grey eyes a storm of anxiousness as they glared at the all-too-familiar face that had just intruded his home... and his peace. He sighed, almost not asking for fear of the answer that would follow. "Wright, I hate to say it but what on Earth was that noise? You better not have broken my door, or so help me you'll be paying for it."

Laughing, Phoenix scratched the back of his neck with that familiar sheepish grin that made something inside Edgeworth flicker with a small, happy spark. After his little spot of unsettling (for Miles) laughter, he proclaimed "Nah, your door's fine but I think there's still reason to worry... y'know how this snow isn't forecast to stop until next week?" sighing, Miles leant his head on his hand as he braced himself for what was to come out of his irritating friend's mouth next. "...Yes?"

There was an awkward pause as Phoenix shot his patented "Am-I-thinking-or-ignoring-you?-You-figure-it-out" look at the ceiling, then seemed to decide what to say before he opened his mouth and stated matter-of-factly "Y'know, you really should get all that snow off your roof as soon as you can, or someday someone's going to slam the door a little too hard and uh..." there was a slightly nervous gulp from Wright's direction and then he continued, grinning inside at how annoyed Edgy was going to get from this. "Well, fact is, we're snowed in. Got a spare bed Miles?" He saw something in his old friend and rival's eyes snap, and chuckled to himself. Although Phoenix never liked to admit it, even to himself, he was fairly sure at that moment the pathetically affectionate side of him was silently saying "I hope not." as a reply to his own question. Surprisingly, Miles didn't completely freak out at this question, only looked shyly away while saying "...No. I don't."

Wright suddenly remembered the whole reason he was there in that house, and with frustratingly unsure, slightly twitchy hands, walked over and hastily handed the case files to Edgeworth, who nodded and hurriedly took them and shoved them into his magenta suit pocket. Although neither of them really wanted that slight brush of hands to end so quickly, they simply didn't have the courage to take themselves up on that offer, and ended up just smiling to each other, their hearts beating passionately yet unknowingly in unison.

Clearing his throat in a vain attempt to hold back the red flush that desperately wanted to escape through the route of his face, Phoenix said "Guess we're stuck, eh? Dammit, I don't even have any spare clothes... but I think I'd rather wear these for a week than parade around in whatever pink monstrosities are hidden away in your house, Edgy." he winked playfully, desperate to lighten the mood between them. As he had expected, Miles stated the argument that had been going on for as long as they could both remember: "For the last God damn time, Wright, it's magenta. I don't even know why I'm having this pointless conversation with you." resisting the overwhelming urge to giggle like a schoolgirl, Phoenix put on an extremely forced innocent "puppy eyes" face and pouted, mumbling "I didn't mean to annoy you, Edgy-poo." He knew full well this would really get to Edgeworth and he couldn't suppress an amused glint in his blue eyes as he watched Miles struggle between affection, anger and letting out yet another exasperated sigh.

Yet again, Phoenix couldn't help breaking the awkward silence by thinking out loud. "That said, I don't have any PJs either." he raised an eyebrow expectingly at Miles, who suddenly became a whiter shade of pale and looked a little taken aback. Stepping back just the tiniest bit and looking at the floor, Phoenix stumbled on his words as he said "I-Incidentally, how many people is your bed built for...?" he was slightly unnerved by the fact that Miles shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. Phoenix slumped down in a separate sofa and sighed loudly, muttering "I'll take that as a one, then. Great." sarcastically under his breath.

After a few minutes, he became desperate to change the subject. To fix this, he stared around the elegant living room while musing, almost to himself but purposely loud enough for Edgeworth to hear, "Wow, who'da thunk it?" and after a confused and slightly suspicious glare from Miles, he went on to say "I mean the fact that you actually have a house. I thought you just lived at your office." Try as he might, Phoenix couldn't suppress a childish giggle as he removed his shoes, upon finally realising he was treading snow and mud into Edgy's spotless home. It appeared as though the butterflies had somehow found their way up to his chest and were squeezing the ever-loving hell out of his heart. He stopped himself just in time from cursing under his breath for being so stupid.

Glancing up, Phoenix realised that Edgeworth was staring at the floor, his hands nervously clamped together in his lap, looking very much like he just wanted to jump off a bridge and get the hell out of this situation. Phoenix couldn't help but feel hurt and apologetic as he stared at his friend, and at all the built-up uncertainty causing tears to prick the corners of his grey eyes. "Miles..." he started, seeing the prosecutor jump as if he'd forgotten he was in the room. Smiling, he reluctantly continued, "Look, the fact of the matter is, we're stuck here. Moping around for a week isn't going to be much fun, is it now...?" a pause as Miles clenched his hands together tighter, clearly willing Phoenix to somehow get out, until his knuckles turned white. "Miles! Look at me, for God's sake!" Wright was obviously getting anxious, and against his own better judgement he walked past Edgeworth to sit beside him on the other sofa, grinning at him like a giddy drunken idiot until he saw the satisfying image of the corners of his courtroom rival's mouth twitching in the beginnings of a warm smile. This was a very rare thing, since this was Miles Edgeworth. Edgeworth! The man known as "The Demon Prosecutor". The man who had gone through so much pain and suffering, just to become something he had despised from the beginning. But Phoenix knew that whatever it took he would take that away, and get to see innocent playful Miles as he remembered him from all those years ago... those six months in school had been some of the happiest and most memorable moments of his life, and he wasn't about to let Miles forget them.

Edgeworth mumbled something under his breath, reluctantly - very reluctantly - shuffling a little closer to Phoenix. "Sorry, what was that...?" Phoenix asked innocently, honestly not hearing what he'd said. Edgeworth inhaled deeply and sighed through his nose, before repeating himself. "Why did you come for the case files? I thought you weren't a lawyer any more." Phoenix looked at the half-hidden loneliness in those misty grey eyes and said quietly "I didn't think coming here would bother you that much. And I'm not, it's just that... Apollo is ill, and Trucy insisted that I go and let her stay and look after him." he noticed it was getting dark, and decided to change the subject yet again, as he'd found it helped ease his fluttering insides just a little. But maybe, he thought, I don't want to ease it. Pushing the thought away, he smirked, grabbing Miles' hand and running upstairs, looking in every room until he found his bedroom. He couldn't ignore the fact that the simple gesture of holding hands was making Miles' face match his suit. Hope flickered in his chest as Phoenix swooped into the room, making sure to let go of Edgy's hand as he did so, and launched himself into the office chair in the middle of the room. He wondered briefly why he was so excited about this; probably because it was like the sleepover that his parents would never let him have as a kid. Except it lasts for a week! If only Miles would stop being so damn sheltered about it. He couldn't blame him though, not really. Phoenix swung around in the chair, using his legs to push against the floor in different directions and swing left and right, left and right, all the while facing Miles - or at least his general direction. He intertwined his hands behind his head and shot Miles a smirk as he tried to make himself momentarily believe, like he always did, that this was Miles' hand he was holding, that he'd finally overcome his shyness and made Miles his, and was going to spend the rest of his life with him by his side. Just the thought sent contended shivers up Phoenix's spine, but unfortunately – like always – it wasn't actually true. The ex-attorney had always hated the reality of their situation, and promised himself right there and then that he would be able to call Miles his at long last at some point before this week was over. And this one wasn't like the other million promises like this he had made himself.

Because this one would be kept.

A/N: Phew! Sorry for the long paragraphs, I like rambling way too much for my own good. I hope that was enjoyable to read, and hopefully more will come soon enough. I know it wasn't really a cliffhanger ending, but it's close enough, right? Don't worry, there will be at least one more mention of Apollo and Trucy at some point during this story. :) I don't know where this idea came from any more but I really like the result. And if this really doesn't make sense in the Apollo Justice timeline, I apologise. I haven't actually played past the investigation of the second case (is it just me sucking at logic, or is that thing needlessly complicated?) but I know about the spoiler between Trucy and Apollo, don't you worry about that. I just don't know the specifics (like where the hell Miles ran off to)... please don't spoil any more for me though XD.

Don't forget to review! I'd love some feedback on this! :D I'll probably try to make my paragraphs considerably shorter - no matter how much it hurts me to do so when I'm so used to rambling... which you can probably tell already - in chapter 2. Same goes for my sentences, JEEZ those things are long!