Hi! This is my first Phoenix Wright fic. :D I hope it's readable! Reviews are much appreciated! This will probably be a two-shot. Possibly three, if it turns out well.
PxE fluff in the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Phoenix had been feeling off since he'd woken up that morning. A headache pounded in his temples and forehead. He shivered with cold as soon as the blankets on his bed were kicked off to prepare for work.
My room must be cold. I'll warm up when I take a shower. Despite his growing desire to crawl back into his bead, most likely still warm from his body heat, walked to his bathroom to warm up the water for his shower. He put a pot of coffee on to brew in the kitchen while he waited to bathe.
After his shower, a still shivering Phoenix turned off the water and dressed himself, noting the steam in the bathroom. I guess the water was hotter than I thought… Why am I still freezing? He moved the question to the back of his mind and moved the kitchen once more.
He put the coffee in a to-go mug with a handle and hopped in his car to go to work, ignoring his body's clear warnings against it. He was starting to feel worse by the minute, and it wasn't even 7:30 a.m. This was going to be a long day.
When he finally arrived at the office, it was pouring rain. Not just pouring. More like torrential downpour. The kind of rain that soaks through the clothes of any unlucky sap that forgets his umbrella. Today that sap was Phoenix.
Feeling tired, freezing, and now thoroughly drenched, Phoenix walked through the door of his office and was greeted by a cheerful Maya.
"Morning, Nick! How're you?" she called, not looking up from the papers she was filing.
"Fine, you?" He replied, noting for the first time the slight scratchiness in his voice.
"I'm great! You'll never guess what happened on Steel Samurai this morning! It was a new episode, and it was amazing! The samu- hey, why are you so soaked?" she inquired, looking up from her paperwork for the first time since he'd walked in.
"Haven't you noticed? It's raining cats and dogs." He answered simply as he attempted to towel off what little water he could from his suit and hair. Finally giving up when he achieved the point of heavy dampness, he hung his suit coat in the coat rack and sat in the chair behind his desk, next to Maya.
"You're shivering. You must be freezing, being so soaked and all…" she thought out loud, receiving a wordless nod from Phoenix as he attempted to focus on a new case file. She stood and walked over to a closet across the room, pulling out a small space heater and plugging it in close to the pitiful looking man. It hummed, but didn't produce any heat. Maya hit it with her fist, hoping that would miraculously fix whatever inner mechanism was broken, only managing to produce a dust cloud that made her eyes water.
"That doesn't work. Hasn't in years. It's usually not this freezing in the office, so we haven't needed it." Wright said when he finally noticed Maya struggling with it.
"Oh, shoot. Why keep an old broken thing like this?" She asked while lugging the useless hunk of metal back to its place in the closet. The attorney only shrugged.
"You okay, Nick? You seem really quiet." Maya pointed out. He shrugged again.
"I'm fine. Just cold." Maya didn't need to be a lawyer to know that was a lie, but she didn't say anything. She pretended to get back to work, but couldn't keep her mind from wandering. She couldn't figure out Phoenix's mood for the life of her!
Flustered, she opened her mouth to ask again what had the man so out of it, but he cut her off. A few coughs, harsh and dry, were all the evidence she needed to make her accusation:
"Are you… sick?"
"Me? Don't be silly. I'm perfectly fine. I've already told you, I'm just cold because I'm soaked and it's freezing in this office."
"It's not cold in here, Nick. It's the same as always. I think you're hiding something."
"Maya, I appreciate your concern, but it's unnecessary. Don't worry about me, alright?" he looked at her with a convincing smile. Well, a smile that would have been convincing, had it not been for the fact that he was shaking like a leaf. She took that chance to study his face… pale, with a slight red flush to his cheeks. He was definitely sick, he looked terrible; he was just too stubborn to notice.
"Well then, we'll have to find you some heat. I'm going to make a call, I'll be back." He nodded and she left the room. Phoenix stayed buried in his work.
I'm not sick, am I? Of course not! Anyone would feel terrible sitting in a cold office room after being drenched in rain. I've just got to deal with it until my clothes dry, which can't be too terribly long… I hope.
After a few minutes, Maya re-entered the room.
"Who did you call?" the spiky-haired man inquired.
"You'll see in a few minutes." She responded simply. He gulped. I'm not sure I like where this is going… knowing Maya. He sipped his coffee, still surprisingly warm, and worked as much as he could without giving too much thought to the suspicious phone call.
A few long minutes passed without event. Maya had grown bored of watching Phoenix read and was organizing the pens in his office into two piles-ones that worked, and ones that didn't. She'd throw the second pile away later. After exactly nine and a half minutes of waiting, there was a knock on the door.
'Wow. He said ten minutes… he sure is precise,' Maya thought.
Phoenix stood to welcome their guest and cursed under his breath at the unexpected pain in his muscles. Maya turned away from the door to help him.
"Something wrong?" she asked concernedly.
"Nothing, just get the door." He ordered gently while sitting in his chair again. The teen did as she was told.
"Welcome, Mr. Edgeworth! I can't thank you enough for bringing that space heater for us. Especially with the weather as it is…"
"It was no trouble. When you said you needed it, you sounded rather desperate. And, being finished with my work for the day, I thought I'd grace you with my presence and have a visit. Besides, the rain cleared up quite some time ago."
"Did it? That's good. And I'm really glad it was no trouble. Please come on in, I'll take the heater."
"Thank you." Miles Edgeworth stepped into small office. "You're putting a heater in here? I don't see a need; it's a comfortable temperature already."
She gestured over to Phoenix, who was watching their conversation silently from behind his desk. Maya noted to herself with dismay that he looked worse than before. While his clothes and hair were much dryer than they had been before, he was shivering much more now than earliar. The dark red in his cheeks was plainly visible against his pale skin. He leaned his head heavily on his hand (A/N: :O look at that alliteration!) and stared blankly into space with tired eyes.
"Mr. Wright, long time no see. How have you been?" Edgeworth asked politely, not allowing any hint of concern show through in his voice. Phoenix alerted when he heard his name.
"I'm fine, thanks. And yourself?"
"Are you… I'm well, thank you. I'm guessing you are the reason behind the request for the space heater?"
"For the record, I had no idea who she was calling. I know you're busy, and I'm sorry to interrupt your work like this." Phoenix apologized.
"Well, as I've already stated, my work for today is finished. This was no trouble."
"Oh, if that's the case… I'm glad. Thank you very much. We'll return it soon."
Miles smiled courteously, but Phoenix had already started his work again.
Meanwhile, Maya had gotten the heater plugged in and working, set on high. Before long, the area around Phoenix and then the whole office was uncomfortably warm, but the spiky-haired man still shivered like he was freezing to death.
"Maya, could you help me turn it higher? It's still so cold."
"Nick, it's on full heat. It doesn't go any higher. Miles and I are practically sweating; will you just admit that you're sick?"
"I'm fine. Just a little damp is all. I'm a bit sensitive to the cold, anyway, so don't worry."
She turned to Miles, who was frowning at the pitiful-looking man.
"Mr. Wright, anyone can see that you're clearly not in good health. Just tell us what's troubling you."
"Nothing, I'm fine." He insisted. The argument was worsening his headache, and he winced against the sharp pain. He took a deep breath, which made him cough several times, and closed his eyes, hoping to get rid of the pain. When that didn't work, he started rubbing his eyes gently with his fingertips.
"Does your head hurt?" offered Maya helpfully.
"Mhm," was the only answer received. Miles silently noted that Phoenix wouldn't outright admit that he was sick, but seemed to have less trouble answering specific questions. Maybe he didn't like complaining?
"How about the rest of you? Do your muscles ache?" Miles asked, and Phoenix nodded. Edgeworth could get much more information by having Phoenix confirm or deny specific symptoms of common ailments!
"And your throat?" Phoenix shook his head. Guess that's not hurting, then.
A silence followed, as Miles tried to think of more questions. Phoenix was coughing again, this time worse than the last few. That lasted several moments before Phoenix was able to catch his breath again. Miles wanted to help, but didn't know what to do. He looked around for Maya, but she was nowhere to be found. After a minute or two, the teenage girl returned with a cup of water for the still coughing man. Once he finally caught his breath enough to put the water to his lips without spilling it, he drank it appreciatively, then rested his head, eyes closed, in his hands.
"Tired, Wright?" Miles asked casually. "Mmm," the man confirmed.
Miles made a mental note: chills, headache, cough, muscle aches, and fatigue. Sounds like he's got the flu; he's just being stubborn about it.
"Go home and rest, Nick. There's nothing more for you to do here. There's no cases, so we'll be fine even if you have to take a few sick days. Just go home and sleep." Maya urged. She was attached to Phoenix, like a father, and hated to see him like this.
The attorney stood up, accepting defeat, and swayed a bit in dizziness, leaning against his desk for support. Miles instinctively lurched forward to assist him, but sat back when Phoenix steadied himself.
The still shivering man walked across the room to fetch his coat, blinking against the black dots that had made their way into his vision. The room spun sickeningly, and he began to feel lightheaded. The black dots took over more and more of his vision until he couldn't see anything. Extremely dizzy and practically blind, Phoenix knew what was next. He stumbled a few steps, right into Miles.
"What's wrong?" the man in the pink overcoat shouted frantically.
"Feel faint…" he muttered before his knees gave way.
"H-hey!" Miles yelled angrily, instinctively breaking his fall.
An unconscious Phoenix, a shocked Miles, and a terrified Maya waited in the uncomfortably warm room for whatever would happen next.
End Chapter One
I think this turned out satisfactory, if I do say so myself. Second chapter will probably be out very soon. I'm still deciding if there will be a third or not, I'll see where the second chapter takes it.