THREE MOMENTS
SECOND MOMENT
- I'm home-, Miles said, closing the door behind him.
- Welcome back-.
Phoenix's reply came almost immediately and it almost took Edgeworth by surprise; he wasn't used to having company at home, especially when he was in Europe.
He saw that Phoenix was sitting on the couch, with Trucy lazily sat beside him – she had grown so much since the last time he had seen her- trying to find something that they could watch on the TV, a difficult task, since they were in France and none of them could understand French very well.
He took some steps towards them, and sat on the armchair near the couch.
- I've spoken with the authorities-, he started to say, - they said that from tomorrow you will be admitted to the investigations-.
- I assured them that it is a good choice, even if you aren't fluent in French-.
- That's great-, Phoenix replied, with an odd expression that the prosecutor didn't fail to notice and couldn't decipher.
- What is it? - he, in fact, asked.
The other shook his head.
- Nothing, just not used to you not being "the authority"-, he said, chuckling.
- If you weren't, it would have saved me a lot of trouble back in the golden days-, he concluded, referencing those days when he had still a decent job defending people. There wasn't, however, any bitterness in his voice when he spoke those words; he was simply finding that matter funny.
Miles snorted. He couldn't tell how much he had missed that kind of humor coming from him; it was bringing him back in time. Since Kristoph Gavin had been found guilty, he looked like he had been reborn.
- Hey, Trucy, don't you think that it's time to go to bed?-, Phoenix rhetorically asked, after his daughter's fifth yawn.
- Come on, dad!-, she exclaimed, - Stop treating me like a baby, I can stay up late too!-.
- Of course you can-, he replied, with a smile still on his lips, - But if you fall asleep here I won't take you to bed since you've all grown up and heavier now-.
He knew too well that she hated sleeping on couches – she found them too uncomfortable- and in fact that simple statement had been enough to convince her to go to her room, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was going to sleep. Actually, she was probably going to text with Pearl, if she was awake, but of course her father didn't need to know that.
- Goodnight dad-, she said to him.
- And goodnight to you too, Uncle Miles-, she added, giving a tender kiss on Edgeworth's cheek, making him smile.
Once she vanished from the view, Wright let a sigh escape his lips.
- It seems yesterday when she was still a child-, he said, with a paternal sparkle in his eyes that Miles had never witnessed.
He smirked, telling him:
- You are the last person I would expect to go on "dad mode"-.
Phoenix chuckled.
- Well... A lot of things have changed during these years-, he said, and Miles couldn't agree more.
They remained silent for a while, not knowing what to say, until Phoenix spoke:
- You know... I always thought that you were staying in hotels whenever you were in Europe. It never occurred to me that you probably had a house-, he said, looking more at the surroundings than at the person he was talking to.
- Well, it's not only for my own personal use-, Miles explained, - Franziska comes here very often too-.
- This explains the presence of the guest rooms-, Phoenix said, smirking.
- You know her, she would die rather than sleeping on a couch instead of a proper bed-, the other confirmed.
- And, apparently, Trucy is following the same steps as hers-, he added, and the other nodded in agreement.
They fell silent again. Miles was trying to find a topic to break the silence with, but he had never been good at small talk.
- I suppose I should thank you for this opportunity-, Phoenix said, after a while, - I know that it took a lot of effort for you to make it happen-.
- It was the least I could do-, Edgeworth replied.
- There is no need to thank me... Wright-.
Oh, how odd that word was feeling on his lips; and to think that they had been on first name basis, at least when they were in private, some years ago...
No, it wasn't time for reminiscing. None could change the past, the only thing he had power on was the present, and he wasn't going to waste it thinking about what could have been; he was going to do his best to make things going better.
- So...-, he started to say, - What are you going to do, now? Will you take the bar exam again?-.
Phoenix remained silent for a moment, and Miles couldn't tell what his thoughts were, then he spoke.
- I don't know-, he muttered, and it was clear how conflicted he was about that whole matter.
- I see-, Edgeworth replied, not knowing what else to say.
He would have lied if he had said that he didn't want Wright to get his badge back, but of course he couldn't – and wouldn't- force him to do it, just to satisfy his egoistical desire.
- If everything ends well here... I might try it-, Phoenix muttered, more to himself, however, than to the other, but the he shook his head and got up from his seat.
- If tomorrow I'll start to take part to the investigations I should take some rest now-, he said, - Good night, Edgeworth-, he added with his trademark genuine smile, which Miles hadn't seen for a long time.
- Wright-
"I missed you"
- Good night to you as well-.
Author's notes: Hello, and happy holidays! I hadn't actually planned to publish this today, but oh well, I guess this is my present for you.
Next chapter will already be the last, but I'm happy about whathow this project is turning out to be. I'm ok with short things, I feel like I would ruin it if I added other chapters.
Talking about this chapter in particular, it's canon that Phoenix went to Europe to help Edgeworth, and I think that he brought Trucy with him; he wouldn't really leave his daughter alone, would he?
It was never said where excatly Phoenix went, so I decided to make him go to France, first of all because it's a romantic setting, secondly because I read on tumblr a post reguarding Phoenix in France and it was hilarious, so I decided yes, I can make Phoenix go to France.
And no, it's not a typo at the end, when Miles says "I missed you". He said that because he isn't referring to missing their times together as couple, at least not in this context, but he is referring to missing the old Wright. He feels happy when he says that because Phoenix is happy again, and that's the most important thing. - Feeldespair
