Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the following story.
The edge of obliviousness
Phoenix Wright is an astute defence attorney but a perfectly oblivious person.
Miles Edgeworth curses him for the hundredth time this day alone.
Oblivious Wright who can search for him for fifteen years only to do what? Say hello?
So innocent. Edgeworth curses again. He is anything but. He has not been in so long. Wright may be flawed, but he himself is damaged.
He has made a habit of blocking his step-father's words from entering his mind during the day, so, particularly after that trial, they return with a vengeance, and overwhelm his dreams.
When he wakes up crying during the middle of yet another night, not for the first time his thoughts betray him.
"Wright!" he bites out bitterly because he knows Wright is too innocent and unobservant to know anything, and because, a part of him wishes he weren't. Exhausted, he tries to sleep again. This time he sees kind, warm blue eyes and black hair, and he is soothed for a bit.
The day is slow and uninteresting. He opens the Criminal Act again and begins rereading the sections. Between the sun in his office and the lack of sleep his weakened body gives in. Thin lips smile kindly at him, and those eyes look upon him with so much tenderness he nearly suffocates.
"Wright..." he murmurs in his sleep, having not heard the knock, the opening of the door or even the man in question calling out to him.
His dream continues: he is surrounded by warmth, light, love!
In the meantime, having approached him,Phoenix Wright, shifts uneasily from foot to foot wondering whether to go back out or wake him up.
A moan and then "...mmmm...Wright!"
Phoenix feels as though he has intruded on something very personal and blushes to the very roots of his hair. He makes to leave but in his rush knocks the corner of the desk with his hip and can't stifle a yelp.
Disoriented, dizzy, Edgeworth opens bleary eyes that barely manage to focus when:
"Wright?! What are you doing here?!" Did he hear anything? Please tell me he did not!
"I came to ask you if you wanted to come to dinner with Maya and me...and you...didn't answer."
Edgeworth hums in acknowledgement.
"Very well. Dinner. I shall see you at eight, exactly!" but Wright isn't moving. "Anything else?"
Wright blushes and shakes his head quickly.
"See you tonight, Edgeworth!"
The dinner is a pleasant affair with Maya and Detective Gumshoe chattering excitedly about gossip and adventure. Edgeworth is exhausted, and Phoenix is unusually quiet.
"Are you alright?" Phoenix asks as Edgeworth nearly dozes off.
"Fine, Wright!"
"You seem tired..."
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
The conversation stops there. Neither has anything more to say.
When it's time to leave Edgeworth brings out his car keys:
"You're too tired to drive!" objects Phoenix.
"I most certainly am not!" counters Edgeworth. Phoenix is not convinced.
"Let me come with?"
Edgeworth's mouth dries instantly, and he gapes in shock.
"Please Edgeworth. Let me come with? Let me drive? Or walk you home. I...I just want to know you're safe."
Still in shock, Edgeworth can only nod and hand over his keys.
Gumshoe, it is decided, will take Maya home.
Edgeworth and Phoenix spend the whole drive in silence. When at last they are at Edgeworth's address, Phoenix gets out of the car and follows Edgeworth to the door.
"You gonna be ok?"
"What...care to tuck me in, Wright?" Edgeworth says more bitingly than he intends and cringes when Phoenix looks hurt.
"Actually...would...would you like to come in for tea?" he manages to push the words through stubbornly grinding teeth.
Phoenix looks at him trying to gauge the situation.
"Is that really ok?"
"You came this far."
"Fair point. Lead the way."
The tea is brewed and pleasantly poured in beautiful and delicate porcelain cups. A simple fragrance of chamomile wafts from the cups.
Phoenix sips carefully. He can feel Edgeworth studying him carefully.
"Do...Do I have something on my face?" wondering when exactly he had begun to stammer around this man.
"Your face is fine Wright!"
Silence spreads between them like a veil.
"Edgeworth...may I...ask something personal?"
The man's eyes widen a bit, but he nods somewhat unsurely.
"I...yesterday I accidentally...I mean...I overheard...that is to say..."
"Spit it out Wright!"
"How long have you been dreaming of me?"
A look of shame crossed the prosecutor's face. Of course, it had to be that even his dreams were something to be responsible for.
"What does it matter to you?"
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have pried."
"No, you should not have! However, I dare say...you've been in my dreams longer than I care to admit."
Phoenix stares.
"I don't set out to dream about you, Wright!" he bites out.
With his heart pumping wildly, and not yet fully understanding why or wherefore, Phoenix puts the cup on the table and grasps Edgeworth's hand gently.
"You've been really tense lately. Tell me about it. You...I...We are friends aren't we?" Edgeworth blushes till he becomes the same shade as his suit.
"You and me...like the old days!" Phoenix squeezes Edgewoth's hand a bit tighter.
"I have two types of dreams..." Edgeworth confesses softly. "Nightmares about von Karma and my father's death...and you..." he takes a deep breath. "You...because you're my dream."
"What do you mean?"
Edgeworth pauses for a moment.
"You're more than a friend for me."
Phoenix looks puzzled.
"Like...a...best friend?"
Edgeworth sighs.
"Nevermind. It doesn't matter." Phoenix won't let it go that easily.
"It matters to you, and I'm your friend, so it matters to me." he says simply, innocently, completely obliviously.
"Wright!" Edgeworth grinds his teeth and tries to escape his grasp.
"Tell me Edgeworth, anything. Everything. I promise I will listen. I promise I will try to help."
There is so much sincerity, so much love in these words, that Edgeworth has to fight back tears.
Of course he wouldn't understand!
Phoenix's kind eyes are pulling him apart.
"I would like to kiss you." he murmurs and the blush etched on his face tells of how difficult it had been to bring these words out,
Phoenix nods.
"Will it help you feel better?"
"I don't know."
"I have to warn you...I'm...I haven't..." It's Phoenix's turn to blush.
"You don't have to do it to appease me, Wright." He lowers his head. "You don't have to pretend you feel what you do not. Deception has never been your forté."
Phoenix isn't listening though. He is slowly leaning in. Edgeworth feels his heart pounding so fast he is worried that not even his cravat can hide it. Exhausted, dizzy from the closeness, and more than a little affected, Edgeworth closes the gap between them.
Phoenix is, indeed, awkward, and Edgeworth is shy, but the kiss is pleasant. They keep moving, in sync, pressing their lips together with more persistence. Edgeworth feels the coil of lust begin to tighten.
"Stop...Wright."
The man in question looks confused.
"What's wrong?"
"This! You, me! It's all wrong!"
"Why?"
"You don't want this, Wright. You don't want me. You've always loved women, and that's fine. I...I knew that. Forget this ever happened."
"I don't want to."
"What are you saying?"
"I don't know this, Edgeworth. Any of this. As you've said, I've always loved women. However, I spent over half my life searching for you and I know beyond any doubt that I want to make you happy!"
Edgeworth can only stare.
Then...?
"I think it's ok. If it's you. I'll do anything."
"I can't accept that, Wright!" Reality is slowly suffocating all of Edgeworth's hopes.
Of course he couldn't! He sees you just as a friend! You should be satisfied with that! Esurience!
"Edgeworth, please...please don't make me lose you again."
"Wright, I'm not going anywhere."
"You're hurting, so much, and I can't do anything to help. I'm always useless." Phoenix looks down, ashamed. "You've...you've never needed me have you?"
"Wright..."
"I'm sorry I'm such a terrible friend."
"Wright."
"If you want me to leave you alone, I will. At least that much I can do."
"Wright!" Gently grasping the other man's chin, Edgeworth pulls him close and looks into his eyes.
"Wright, you have saved me, many a-time. You don't understand. I need you."
Phoenix just looks at him.
"I want you. I want to kiss you until we are both breathless. To see you moving underneath and above me. To wake up next to you in the morning. That's what I want. That's what I need!" He pauses for a short moment. "I know it is unreasonable, and inappropriate. I would appreciate it if you never mention this night again."
Phoenix doesn't reply. He seems very deep in thought.
"Wright...?"
"You want me to be your partner?"
Edgeworth sighs.
"Forget about it."
"Will it make you happy if we sleep together?" Phoenix asks softly.
"No Wright, because you don't want to do any of these things. I want you to want these things and share them with me."
"Edgeworth...I have kissed a handful of women in my life time. Slept with even fewer." He rubs his head sheepishly. "I've just never really thought about men in that way."
"You need not excuse yourself Wright! One cannot chose their orientation."
"I'm not choosing. I'm telling you. I liked the kiss. I want to give this a try. I want to wake up next to you in the mornings, too. More than anything though, I want to make you happy."
Overwhelmed by emotion, Edgeworth collapses onto the ornate chair.
This isn't real! It...It can't be! Wright...is mad! I don't...don't deserve...
He looks at Phoenix,who is smiling at him patiently.
"Edgeworth...may I kiss you?" Shy, gentle, and so very innocent, the phrase takes Edgeworth's remaining breath away. He nods.
Phoenix approaches and leans in to kiss him. This time innocence melts before a feeling of hunger for the other. Spurred on by this feeling they move together ardently kissing with less and less restraint.
"Wright!"
"Phoenix, please."
Edgeworth can't help the groan that escapes his lips.
"...Stop."
"What's wrong?"
"I can't do this."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"..."
"I...I wanted...that is...I want...but I can't. You, I...this cannot happen Wright!"
"Phoenix, please."
"Wright!" Edgeworth stresses the name even more. "You're mad. You can't sleep with someone just because you want them to be happy. You can't keep trying to fix me. I will not be...I will not be a charity case."
Phoenix just smiles his infuriatingly innocent smile.
"You're not."
"You don't want this."
"I do."
"Because you think it will make me happy!"
"Not just that." his smile turns roguish and he brushes against the other man. Edgeworth can feel it, just near his own, so very hard, and so very real.
"Wright."
"Phoenix, please..."
"Wright." he enunciates once more. "Do not trifle with my emotions."
"I am not. You said you want me to want you. I do. You said you want to sleep with me. Here I am!"
"Wright..."
"I see no reasons why we cannot proceed."
"Wright..."
"Unless...there's something else..."
"Wright!"
"Yes?"
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the problem is me?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Has it?"
"I cannot say it has."
"It is a lot when the person from your dreams walks into your life and coaxes you into sleeping with them."
"I'm not coaxing. I'm just saying: it's an option."
"Wright!"
"Phoenix, please!"
"I cannot do this. It's beyond my capacity!"
"Edgeworth, listen to me. I want you to be happy. I want you to be happy. If you think that happiness is with me, I have no objections. I want you to know I am here for you."
"Wright..."
"No matter what! My body seems to like you very much."
"Yes..." he said dryly. "But what about your heart?"
"My heart?"
"Yes. I do not want to sleep with someone who doesn't...care for me"
"You don't think I care?"
"Not like that."
"I can learn."
"What?"
"For you...Edgeworth, please. Trust me. I will learn to care for you the way you want to be cared for."
He raises a hand to Edgeworth's cheek and caresses it gently.
"I will give you all I am. One day at a time. One step at a time. Everything for you."
The tempest that has been pounding at Edgeworth's temples for several months unfurls completely, and he is overwhelmed.
Tears crest his face and sobs wrench themselves from his lungs. He has not known this much feeling in so many years.
Not since his father died and he was adopted into an empty house devoid of emotion and warmth, not since he had to say goodbye to his best friends and leave for a country he had no familiarity with, not since his whole life had been shattered so many years before.
He cries all the tragedies that he has lived since that fateful day, all the loss, all the pain, all the hopelessness.
Phoenix's heart breaks seeing the man before him so completely broken. Tears spring to his own eyes, and he reaches out.
"Edgeworth..."
His arms encircle him, nestle him to his own chest. His heart thrums with emotion, and suddenly he realises what Edgeworth had been talking about, what he needs.
Phoenix understands with resounding clarity what it is he feels for Edgeworth.
He realises it had been there all along, in the recesses of his heart, wrapped around all his memories of the other man.
He understands that it is something that goes beyond admiration, that it is a deep friendship, a strong, solid, sturdy, and very real emotion.
He thinks on his feelings for the women he has dated, and becomes aware that those feelings pale in comparison with his feelings for Edgeworth. He wonders at his own obliviousness.
It needs rectifying. Edgeworth needs him. He has said as much.
"...pathetic outburst" Phoenix hears before Edgeworth pushes him away.
"Edgeworth." Both of them are rubbing their eyes to make the sting of tears subside. "Edgeworth...listen to me." He grasps the other man's hand and kisses it softly.
"You needed this. I'm glad I could be here for you." Edgeworth grabs his own arm, desperately trying to reign in the feelings that are threatening to swallow him whole.
"Wright..."
"Phoenix, please!"
"Wright..." Edgeworth says, but his tone is gentle. "I thank you for tonight. For your kindness. For your selflessness. For your friendship. Rest assured I will be fine.
I will content myself with being a part of your life, and having the occasional dinner together as old acquaintances. My secrecy you need not doubt, and I have faith that I may put trust into your secrecy also."
"I think people will figure it out though." Phoenix smiles broadly.
"How do you suppose that?"
"Well, when I kiss you breathless in the court building, of course. Or maybe when they see us holding hands on our day off...or..." his smile widens "or when they see our rings."
And just like that Miles Edgeworth's awareness comes to a complete halt.
The next thing he becomes aware of is Phoenix's gentle hands wiping his face with a wet cloth.
"Wright...What happened?"
"You fainted."
"Preposterous! Why would I faint?"
Phoenix looks sheepish.
"I think I broke you. Sorry!"
"Wright, you are not making any sense."
"Well I kinda joked about kissing you in court...and..."
Suddenly the memories of that moment return and Edgeworth groans.
"Wright!"
Phoenix ducks his head again.
"I am sorry! I didn't think you would faint!"
"If you feel you have had enough amusement at my expense, kindly leave me alone!"
"Edgeworth..."
"I mean, I have already been humiliated in front of you so many times, I hardly needed tonight's experiences."
"Edgeworth..."
"And really Wright, I had you pegged for a decent human being." then so softly that Phoenix almost doesn't catch it. "I believed in you."
"Edgeworth!" Clasping his hand on top of Edgeworth's one, Phoenix squeezes gently. "I want to kiss you right now. To quieten you anxieties. To tell you how much I care about you, and I do. Can you forgive me? For taking so long?"
Edgeworth doesn't know where his tongue went, but he cannot utter a word so he just nods. Phoenix leans in and kisses him once, twice, thrice. He moves on to his cheeks, nose, forehead and hair before returning to his mouth and taking it with so much gentleness and care that tears spring to Edgeworth's eyes anew.
"I'm yours Edgeworth." Phoenix murmurs between kisses, more and more certain with each one, about his own feelings.
"Wright..." Edgeworth draws away, still dazed, barely daring to hope that everything is not some cruel cosmic misunderstanding.
"Phoenix, please."
"What is going through that head of yours? I swear there is no fathoming you."
Phoenix grins. "It's coz I'm so complex!"
And suddenly they are both laughing, laughing happily, innocently, fully, as though they have never been separated, as though neither of them have ever lost a loved one, as though their biggest worry is still handing in homework the following day.
Slowly the spasms of laughter subside, and they are once more eye to eye.
"Edgeworth, I want you to know that everything I have said tonight is true. I care about you very much. I like you as a person, and, I am pretty sure I have made my point about how I feel about you as a man. Whether you want to enter in a relationship with me is entirely up to you. As for me, I will continue to stay right where I am. I will continue to do my hardest to make you happy."
"Wright..."
"Phoenix, please."
"Wright..." Edgeworth continues stubbornly. "This feels...like a reverie. Are you actually here? Will I wake in my office alone again?"
"I'm here Edgeworth. I will always be here if you allow it."
Edgeworth raises himself and suddenly Phoenix is on his back being kissed wildly, unrestrainedly, unabashedly, by none other than the Demon Prosecutor himself and it feels more than right. It feels perfect!