"Wright, I have no idea how you can be so calm about this whole ordeal."

Edgeworth shifted uncomfortably, far too used to being in the middle of his bed – not to mention without the presence of another human being, and a male one at that – and not squashed up on one side against the wall as he was now. True, right now there wasn't another man in his bed... but, his mind fully processed for the first time, there soon would be. He felt the now-familiar nervousness creep up on him again, and tried unsuccessfully to shake it off.

Trust Wright of all people to appear unexpectedly in my house, and manage to trap us both here for an entire week before he'd even had a chance to greet me, he thought with a smirk. He really hasn't changed at all, has he?

"Hey, at least I'm not crapping myself over it," Phoenix chuckled in response as he raided the other man's room for some form of decent pyjamas, before he ended up having to sleep in his underwear... coincidentally, that same suggestion had earned him a slap around the head earlier that day from the prosecutor, "anyone would think you'd never had a sleepover or anything like that... hey, didn't we have one in fourth grade? At Larry's house?" The ex-defence attorney glanced up at Edgeworth for a moment before looking back down at the clothes he was searching through and furrowing his ridiculous eyebrows at them. "And while I'm asking questions, do you own anything that isn't pink?"

Miles cleared his throat before answering. "I-I assure you, it's not all pink," he half-lied. Some of it was magenta, after all, not pink. It wasn't his fault if Wright wasn't very fashion-smart, "and... I think I vaguely recall that. Didn't it include me having to clean a pizza-covered kitchen while you two bums lounged about on the sofa?" He raised an eyebrow at the other man and crossed his arms, tapping his right index finger out of pure habit.

A short, nostalgic laugh burst from Phoenix's mouth as he recalled that particular part of the night. "Oh yeah... sorry about that," he scratched the back of his head through his beanie with his free hand, a hint of the old, familiarly sheepish grin returning briefly to his lips out of habit, "trust you to remember your least favourite parts. You mean to tell me you've forgotten that game of Mario Kart? You weren't even trying, and you totally thrashed us!" He smiled absently down at the pale pink pyjamas – apparently he'd given up trying to find something more masculine – as he held them up against him, trying to see in the mirror if they would fit before he decided to put them on. Fortunately, the height difference between them wasn't large enough for there to be much of a change in clothing size.

An openly warm smile almost managed to sneak its way onto Miles' face, but as soon as he noticed what he was doing, he hastily forced his expression back to normal before Wright could see. What am I doing? The last thing I need right now is him thinking I'm enjoying his company... he sighed quietly. Especially since we're about to... he didn't trust himself to finish that silent sentence without blushing again – why had he done that earlier? – and honestly, he would rather have hell open up and swallow him into the ground forever than have to suffer Wright's reaction to that embarrassing display.

The other man spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Try not to peek if you can help it, Edgey, I'm changing." He smirked in amusement, as if he could never get enough of embarrassing Edgeworth.

For a moment, Miles thought he hadn't heard what was said, but eventually it caught up with his slightly reverie-dazed brain. "...Huh? Oh- for Christ's sake, Wright, I'm not going to look. And can't you just go change in the bathroom or something?" He immediately knew trying to win this petty argument was a lost cause, and took to staring intently at the ceiling instead of anywhere near the ex-attorney. This, frustratingly, earned him another eerily satisfied chuckle. While briefly wondering what was so funny, he belatedly realised his face was heating up. Oh, for the love of... he hastily turned his head to the wall on his right. Not now! I swear, sometimes I think my body is conspiring against me...

"Pfft, where's the fun in that?" Phoenix mumbled over the rustling of fabric. Miles didn't even have to look at him – thankfully – to know there was a stupid grin on his face. Sometimes I wonder if it's unhealthy to know someone this well...

"I'm glad you find this so entertaining." Something in the way the other man had hurriedly shut up after his response told Edgeworth he wasn't supposed to have heard that. He couldn't suppress a victorious grin at the wall.

"Done!" Beamed that persistent other voice, his tone similar to a proud toddler who felt they'd just accomplished something amazing.

"Wright, for your own well-being, I sincerely hope you're not trying to trick me."

"Aww, Miles! I'm offended that you would even think such a thing!" Phoenix said, with extremely fake drama dripping from his speech. "Nah, I'm serious, I'm changed. How the hell do you wear this without feeling weird?" A small pause as he turned to look in the mirror again. "I look ridiculous!"

Sighing, Edgeworth turned to look at the other man. "What, you mean more than usual? I didn't think that was possible." He commented as he took in the contrast between Wright's stubbled face and the pale pink he was currently sporting.

An eyebrow was raised. "Have you looked in a mirror lately? Or ever?"

Edgeworth felt himself flinch slightly. Touché...

Phoenix sighed, approaching the bed. "Shuffle over, then."

He glared. "I have."

A short, uncomfortable silence followed. "...Ah. This isn't going to be easy, huh?" Phoenix scratched the back of his head again, and Edgeworth noted the slight flinch of his hand as it actually met hair instead of ridiculous blue beanie material for a change. He had to admit he had slightly missed that stupid hairstyle of his... he hadn't been back in the country for long really, maybe around a year, but hadn't seen it since eight years ago. How it stayed spiky under that hat, he would never know.

Wait... wh-what am I thinking? Ugh, this is seriously messing with my head... and somehow I don't think I'll be sleeping like a log tonight. He abruptly stopped himself there, before his thoughts could wander off along that road, into places they really didn't need to go.

Edgeworth gave a small, slightly nervous chuckle – which sounded much less nervous than he actually felt – "Heh, no. What, did you expect it to be?"

A small, honest smile. "I guess not."

What the... I could've sworn my heart skipped a beat ther- oh, no way... NO! That's so stupid! What's wrong with me today? If Wright is somehow telepathic – and his idiocy is contagious – I might as well bid farewell to all of my remaining sanity right now. He shook his head, dismissing the oddly... romantic thought before it had a chance to start properly. Grr... too late... no, it couldn't be. I just need sleep, that's all.

His thoughts were once again interrupted as Phoenix sat down on the bed, shifting the balance of the mattress considerably, making Edgeworth jump slightly. Reluctantly, with shaky hands, he shuffled forward and adjusted the pillows so that they were more flat on the mattress than resting upright against the headboard, as they had been before when Miles had been sitting up.

Their uncomfortable, questioning blue and grey gazes locked for a moment, before hastily looking away again and wordlessly sliding down – not without brushing arms a little, it was a single bed after all – so their heads were on the pillow and they were lying on their backs.

There was silence for a few minutes after the covers had been pulled up so only their heads and necks showed. Edgeworth stared at the ceiling yet again as he tried desperately to keep his panicked breathing in check, and noticed in his peripheral vision that Phoenix had closed his eyes. He's probably trying to sleep. Heh, good luck with that, it's not going to happen. As if he was indeed telepathic as Miles had stupidly started to fear, his eyes half-opened and began to stare at nothing in particular, dull and unfocused. It would seem he was deep in thought. Don't strain yourself... he suppressed a chuckle at his own joke. About five more minutes passed.

Okay, this silence is getting ridiculous. I have to do something to make this less awkward... that's when a previously untouched thought entered his mind. He took a silent, deep breath and turned his head to look at the man lying unsettlingly close to him, and said quietly, "Wright, will Trucy and Apollo be okay back at the office? I mean, he's sick, isn't he?"

Phoenix was still for a short moment longer, but as he processed what the other man had said, his eyes widened slightly and seemed to focus back into reality. He turned his head to face Edgeworth and replied, at the same volume, "They'll be fine. Trucy's taken care of me before when I was worse than that, and it's not like they're kids... as much as I hate to admit that she's grown up so fast... god, I sound like such a stereotypical parent," he laughed, running his hand absent-mindedly through his dark hair.

Miles let a small smile – it would've been almost invisible if they weren't in such close proximity – lighten his face a little at that. He decided it was a good idea to keep the conversation going, as things had certainly gotten much less awkward since they started talking. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you thinking so intently about just then?" He subtly chewed on the inside of his bottom lip as he wondered if that was too personal a question to ask. Wright didn't look too bothered by it, though, so maybe it was fine.

Wait, why do I even care in the first place?

Phoenix shrugged. "I was just thinking that I haven't been in contact with Maya for years. Unless they keep up with the news here over in Kurain, she might not even know about..." he bit his lip and Miles saw his eyebrows twitch. "...that I'm not a lawyer any more." He finished lamely.

Miles felt his gaze soften sympathetically, before snapping to attention in his head and hurriedly returning it to normal. Ugh, this really needs to stop. He cleared his throat a little. "I'm sure she's fine. She's the... um, the Master or something now, right?" He winced at the unfamiliar feeling of uncertainty in what he was saying; he really needed to start paying attention to these things. Nevertheless, he continued. "She's probably really busy these days, being responsible for a whole village and everything. I bet she doesn't have time to worry about you."

He earned a grin and a mutter of "Yeah, I guess you're right." from the other man.

That grin... dammit, that grin...!

I wish I knew how to stop this... I swear my pulse just doubled.

A cavernous yawn and a blast of toothpaste-tainted breath in his face did a fantastic job of stopping that thought from going any further. Not even bothering to move or turn over, Phoenix mumbled "I'm exhausted... 'night, Miles," and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed steadied, and it seemed he was finally asleep. Now that he wouldn't be interrupted, Edgeworth really didn't want to continue with those thoughts, especially not now...

...now that he looks so helpless. He smiled to himself.

God, what the hell is wrong with me? Am I...

Wha-NO! ARGH, what's going on? This can't be good... he's not even doing anything and my heart is still pounding like crazy.

I just need sleep. Yes, that's it. I'll go to sleep and this inner torment will all be gone tomorrow.

...why do I suddenly feel like... like I want to wrap my arms around him an-OH GOD STOP IT! Miles, get a hold of yourself, you sound like something out of a crappy romance novel! Besides, if I did that he'd wake up and then what the hell would I do? There's no suitable excuse for that.

Okay I seriously need to go to sleep. Good night to you too, Wright... and with that, he closed his eyes, and was at peace for the first time since the ex-attorney had appeared in his home earlier that day. He slipped into a surprisingly peaceful sleep, certainly better than how he'd been sleeping recently. For one thing, there was no nightmare. The absence of that horrible elevator and that gunshot that rang through his ears and cut him to the core like nothing else was very much welcomed.

"But why had it disappeared now?" Said a nagging voice at the back of Miles' otherwise very much still mind. He wouldn't discover the answer to that question for a little while yet, but part of him didn't want to find out. For all he knew, that knowledge might bring it back... anything might bring it back.

And the week was only just beginning.