Prompt: I'd like to see her showing someone around the mountain, in the spring or summertime, and pointing out things about plants and insects and nature in general, and being her kind-of-odd self, and being totally comfortable and at ease with herself and her surroundings, and that someone, whoever it is, realizing they are utterly in love with her. Anon's choice of partner. Bonus points for making love out on the grass under the sun, if it makes sense for them to go that far.
Notes: Apparently, I don't know how to actually portray two couples who would go that far, so I just made this fic the fluffiest I could do without being too mushy. I believe Iris is truly an underappreciated character and she deserves more love. I thought of pairing her up with Edgeworth this time. What do you guys think?
Springtime
Spring has arrived at Hazakura Temple. Iris's favorite season had finally come after several months of waiting.
Iris was scanning the temple scenery, performing her daily morning routine as usual. She noticed that the snow had finally dried up and flowers have started blooming from the grass surrounding the temple. The trees covering the area have started growing fuller and fuller at each passing year while birds flew away from their nests as they looked for the morning worm.
"The day looks beautiful," she muttered to herself, "Let this be a sign for good things to come."
The ringing of bells shook Iris from her short prayer.
"Iris!" Sister Bikini shouts from the other side of the main temple, "You might want to check out if there are any early birds out there! Wouldn't want to keep them waiting, after all."
The nun rushed off to welcome the guests. Sister Bikini has insisted they keep up with the modern times and install a doorbell for the temple… with a twist. Since there were no doors in the temple, they've decided that they would just use an ordinary bell and place it out front for people to use. Hardly any travelers pass by their area so they needn't worry about people playing with it.
Iris caught her breath as she arrived at the temple gate. There before her stood Mr. Edgeworth.
"My," Iris placed her hand on her mouth in surprise, "This is certainly unexpected."
"I thought so." Edgeworth smiled as he took in Iris's hand to kiss it. A small blush crept up the nun's cheeks as she responded with a smile.
"I never knew you'd return here, Mr. Edgeworth."
"Well, it's quite a long story…"
"I can show you around while you tell me your story." The nun held out her hand to the prosecutor.
Instead of accepting her hand, he locked his right arm with her left. "It would be a pleasure, Iris."
"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Edgeworth."
It was funny how synchronized they moved without meaning to. Iris took comfort in it as she led Edgeworth to a small pathway heading towards the forest.
"The temple may be small but sound travels fast around here. The trees here will give us a small bit of privacy if you want to."
Edgeworth could only reply with sincere gratitude. "Thank you."
"So," Iris began, "Why the sudden interest here?"
Miles stopped walking to admire a finely-woven spider web before saying, "There was a time where I felt lost, where I didn't know what I was going to be."
"Like the spider over there."
"How come?" He turned to the small voice who spoke.
"Ever since I got here, that spider always kept weaving webs everywhere around the forest. It's like he couldn't stop until he got all the trees covered in glossy silk."
"And then what happened?"
"He fell in love with another spider and he stopped weaving all of a sudden. Weaving in copious amounts that is." The nun touched the bark of the nearest tree and stared at its branches, "Now, he just weaves webs when he wants to catch his prey." She looked at Edgeworth and tilted her head.
"The situation is quite similar. Wright helped me find what my true purpose was in this world. But before he did, I had to take on a journey of self-discovery."
"Self-discovery?" Iris led him deeper into the forest yet sunlight still shone brightly towards them.
"I went to a secluded town to learn more of what a prosecutor does in their systems. That's where I met… this girl."
"A girl?" Iris asked, "Did she help with your predicament?"
"She helped me shed some light to my problems through afternoon tea and a good deal of hiking."
There was a moment of silence as Iris took the words in. "If I understand this properly, I think you went here to clear your mind for a while, like what that girl did."
"That's exactly what I'm here for. And to look at the place for a while."
Iris took Edgeworth's hand and led him further onto a more prominent path. Lining that path walk were rows of bushes filled with pale flowers.
"For some strange reason, the forest only grows brightly covered flowers. Would you mind if I ask you to help me a collect a few, Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Not a problem at all."
The nun proceeded to show all the flowers that she knew to the prosecutor as they stopped at a nearby bush filled with white blossoms. Petals sparkled in the sunlight as the two began plucking a few from the bushes.
"We called those 'Moonlight Flowers' here in the mountain," as Iris pointed to the one Edgeworth was holding, "because they tend to 'light up' at night due to their color."
"Such a flower exists here?"
"There are dozens, hundreds more, that haven't yet been discovered here. To your left," Iris pointed her finger to a nearby bush holding pink flowers that had star-shaped petals, "We use those to strengthen an acolyte's training all-season. If we have excess, we use it for tea instead." She walked to an opposite bush, gently pulled a blue-tinted plant and dropped it in his hands, "These blue babies are very unique."
"Why is that?"
"We plant them during the winter season in order for them to grow during springtime."
"Is that even remotely possible? Hardly anything grows during winter."
"Hardly anyone survives witnessing gruesome things when they were a child, Mr. Edgeworth." Iris looked into the prosecutor and gave him a gentle smile. "We plant these specific flowers because they can endure the harsh season. But when they bloom after the cold and stormy winter, they are the ones who bloom the brightest." She closed Edgeworth's hands around the flower, "The flower is just like every one of us. We endure hardships in our life, maybe to the point where we just want to crawl back into our hole and die, and it's important that we never learn to give up."
The nun further led the prosecutor to a small clearing at the center of the forest where a giant round stone lay in the center, circled by a garden of smaller flowers. Sunlight perfectly hit the center of the rock, illuminating the rest of the clearing, showing where the grass mixed with a flurry of dandelions, and where tall trees surrounded the clearing as small animals ran about with their own business.
Iris knelt down in front of the stone and laid her hand on its surface. A sad smile played up her lips as she spoke, "We use this clearing as a sanctuary of some sort. We go here so that no one can disturb us while we recollect with our departed loved ones."
Edgeworth knelt beside Iris as he placed the bouquet of flowers near the stone, tucking it safely where it won't be blown away from the wind. As the nun leaned on his shoulder, he took her hand and took in comfort from the silence that passed.
They weren't like most people who spent their time communicating with others through mindless chatter. Silence, in itself, was communication between the two. As the birds sang away their songs, as the wind rolled by them, as the animals continued about their day, the two spent the time reflecting.
Edgeworth touched the stone, marveling at its polished state, and suddenly remembered his father's kindness. His smooth words and loving smile gave him happiness, as short as it was, every time he encountered problems in his life. As he recounted on those memories, the prosecutor's hands lingered on the petals of flowers, savoring each sensation it brought, and slowly brought itself to Iris's fingers.
The gentle beauty, with her troubled eyes and warm smile, calmed Edgeworth. It was funny how those eyes resembled the girl who helped him before, only this time, it held the weight of a burdened past. Still, she carries her life on in the temple in order to purify her soul. This sheltered nun, who has been through so much, still finds the courage in the little things in life, like the flowers in the mountain or helping around the trainings.
It was through this reflection, this moment of silence in the clearing where Edgeworth has realized it.
He was in love with her.
They ran through the forest, passing by tree after tree without a care in the world. Racing through the grass, they saw light at just the outskirts of the ring of acacia trees nearby. Heartbeats racing, hair flying, faces giddy with joy, they ran and ran and ran until they were once again bathed in the warmth of the sunlight.
A field of luscious grass and a battalion of flowers welcomed them from outside the forest. Stopping to catch their breath, the pair marveled at the scene before them. During the winter, all a person could look at would be cold, snowy mountains and a stark, gloomy atmosphere. Not a pleasant sight in any angle you would look at it.
But spring is a different story. Mountains and valleys spread out before them, coloring the landscape with shades of green and brown. A cerulean sky beholds them as clouds pass by in various shapes and sizes. Edgeworth had to laugh as one of the clouds reminded him of Gumshoe, Phoenix, Maya and all of his other friends back in the city.
A shower of petals fell over his head. He quickly brushed them off and quickly gave chase to the young nun, running around in circles across the field of flowers, its fragrance wafting through the air. There were marigolds, orange blossoms, tulips, dandelions, daffodils, stargazers, tiger lilies, gerberas, so many he lost count as he ran through all of them. They were only a blur of colors and scents in sights while he was catching up with the nun.
For a while, they felt young and wild and free. They spun and danced and ran and wasted no time in enjoying what nature offered.
Iris, however, made a mistake as she slowed down to catch her breath and to savor the cool breeze that was passing by. Before she knew it, Edgeworth had tackled her down to the ground. They both laughed as Iris struggled in fixing her hair from the force.
They both stared into each other's face under the sun, letting their eyes do all the talking. Butterflies flew by them, where one landed at Iris's hand for a brief second, and their eyes locked once more.
"Mr. Edgeworth, I have a confession to make," the petite woman spoke softly, her face contorting to a worried mask.
"What is it, Iris?"
"It might seem all so sudden but…"
"You can tell me anything you wish." He smiled, a genuine smile, for the first time in a while. He flicked off a few petals from Iris's hair before facing her again.
"Mr. Edgeworth, I… I think I'm in love with you." She winced as she said those words, preparing for the worst.
Edgeworth only took her hands in his and stared into her eyes, "Iris, you can call me Miles."
"Miles…?"
He moved his face closer to hers, careful to still give the lady some space.
"Because that name is special to me. And I would want all the ones I love to call me that."
Still not getting the point, Iris stared at Miles in confusion, tilting her head to the side.
"Iris, I think I'm in love with you too," he said as he placed a chaste kiss upon her lips.
It was right then and there that Iris was happy that she chose Spring as her favorite season.