Author's Notes:
Hey guys... This chapter is a little shorter than the previous ones... sorry! I have more written up, but since I'm an ass I thought it would be more suspenseful to end it where I did LOL. *is bricked to death* But the following chapter is longer so wahey! :D
Also, drunk!Larry is like the most fun character to write ever.
Thanks again for all the lovely reviews! ^_^
Disclaimer: The characters and settings created by CAPCOM that are featured in this story are solely owned by their creators. I do not claim them as mine in any way, shape or form. I am not recieving monetary profit from having written this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
"Jumping to Conclusions"
*~Chapter Nine~*
***
The celebration had ended before it had gotten too late; everyone who upheld an important job found it of high necessity to leave because the next day was sure to bring an early start with their work. Detective Gumshoe was thankfully less tipsy than Larry, who was busy slurring romantic confessions to a light post by the time the others had packed up.
"Cut that out, Larry!" Phoenix had muttered to him in shame, dragging his friend by the collar and half-flinging him into the taxi that Franziska had called. A surprisingly caring gesture made by the otherwise callous young prosecutor.
"Nick... shay that I love her, 'kay..." The brown-haired man said slowly, his voice dragged by the near-abundance of alcohol that was flooding his veins.
"Um... Who...?" Phoenix questioned with a strange look. That pole?!
"Franzishka... Y'know... the girl with the hair..."
"..."
Why, god. Why.
"The PURPLE hair, Nick."
"Um... I-it's actually more of a turquoise hue..."
"SHHHHH! She might hear ush!"
"She's busy whipping Gumshoe, I'm pretty sure we're safe for now." Phoenix put his hand to his forehead and motioned for the taxi driver to pull out of the parking space. "Get him home safely, please. He tends to be overly talkative when he's drunk so pay him no mind. Don't let him distract your driving."
Just to make sure, the defense attorney took out a pen and scribbled on the back of an old receipt from his back pocket. "Here's his address." He handed it to the driver, who nodded and gave a reassuring confirmation that he wouldn't drop Larry off on the side of the road for the vultures to encircle come tomorrow morning.
"I'll shee you later, Nick!" Larry chided stupidly, shutting the taxi door as the driver took off. Phoenix merely waved after the vehicle with an exasperated sigh.
No matter what we celebrate, he always seems to end up in that state.
Phoenix looked around and saw that Franziska had finished assaulting Gumshoe with her dreaded whip near the park gates and was now conversing with Maggey whilst wearing an impatient expression. Maya and Ema had somehow managed to find sparkle wands and were entertaining Pearl a small distance away. As for Godot, he had either evaporated or had managed to leave by means of another method without anybody else noticing. He was nowhere to be seen.
Mysterious as ever. Phoenix laughed in his head.
Standing there near the edge of the road quietly, the attorney let the cool night breeze wash over him, breathing in the scent of the fresh pine and charred kebabs from the local bistro across the way. The mixture of smells mingled in the air and distracted him for a short moment, before he was brought back to earth by an all-too-familiar grab of his sleeve.
"Ready to go?" Maya asked him, now at his side. Pearl looked sleepy standing next to her now.
"Yeah... Should we walk? Or do you want to catch a cab?"
"Walking is refreshing." Maya said pleasantly, sounding unlike her usual whiny self when it came to matters such as walking further than one hundred metres.
"Okay. But what about Pearls? She looks tired."
The little spirit medium suddenly became alert, rolling up her sleeves. "Mr Nick!" She squeaked, "You're talking to the girl who ran all the way from Kurain to the courthouse, remember?"
Oh, yeah. I forgot.
"Everyone's gone now." Ema interupted, coming up to them. Sure enough, in that short time span, Gumshoe, Franziska and Maggey had left. "They said "bye" to you, Mr Wright... but I don't think you heard. Anyway... it's just us, now! Let's get a move on before we get mugged or something."
"Let's go." Maya dragged Phoenix behind her as she walked, taking exaggerated steps to give the impression that Nick was more of a heavyweight cargo being pulled behind her as opposed to another human being. Pearl trotted close behind, holding Phoenix's presents in her tiny arms.
"L-let me carry those, they look heavy..."
"No! I can do it, Mr Nick! It's your birthday! You get to be lazy."
"... O-okay... sure."
---
Lana Skye waited patiently for her younger sibling who had called her a few minutes earlier, saying that she was "walking back from the lake with her friends" and would "see her soon". In the meantime, Lana had gone to sit in her car since she had finally finished work for the night, and was now taking the time to write Phoenix a celebratory birthday card - almost signing it off professionally before she remembered that it wasn't a work-related business file.
This will have to do for now. She sealed up the envelope, just as a group of talkative people started to approach her from a short distance away . A few seconds of wary silence invaded her before she realised it was just Ema, Phoenix Wright, and his two younger assistants.
Once they had met up with her in the parking lot, Lana handed the card to the other lawyer as Ema got into the car; a luxurious-looking, rich-brown sedan.
"I apologise once again for not being able to attend the party," Lana said earnestly, as she got into the driver's seat and buckled her seatbelt.
"Heh, it's no problem! Ema said you were busy. I understand." Phoenix assured her, grinning as he half-leant on the open door of the car. Ema smiled from the passenger's seat on the other side.
"It was fun, Mr Wright! We should hold another party like that for you next year." The younger sister said, excited.
"Ahaha... Ah..." The awkward laugh that followed spelt out that a different method of celebration was preferred for the defense attorney's twenty-eighth.
"By the way," Lana intervened seriously, "how do you three plan on getting home?"
"Walking!" Maya answered brightly.
"It's late out. Would you all like a lift? I don't mind... and there's plenty of room, if that's what you're worried about."
"No, no! It's fine." Phoenix shook his head and held up one hand. "Maya here needs to work off those burgers, anyway." He received a swift whack to the side after stating this.
Lana smiled. "Are you sure? Well, if that's the case, then I suppose I will see you later, Mr Wright." She smiled at Maya and Pearl in kind. "Bye, now."
Both sisters waved as the car pulled out and drove off, leaving the younger attorney and the two spirit mediums alone with the bundle of gifts from the birthday party.
"No point in loitering around then. Come on, we have a warm apartment to go to."
"Awww, now I wish we HAD gotten a lift, Nick."
"Maya, I swear to god..."
"Pshh. Fine."
The trio set off for home, throwing playful punches at one another along the way.
---
Maya and Pearl had fallen asleep in the living room after their shower later that night. Phoenix was curled up on his thick duvet, tired from the celebration, yet unable to sleep... despite it being almost 2:00am. He reached over to his night stand and snatched up the small jar of tiger balm from Franziska, laughing to himself.
Why did she even bother to give me such a thing. Oh wait, the whip burns. Right.
As he turned the jar over in his hands, amusing himself with the small, foreign writing on the label, he remembered what the young woman had told him earlier.
"I'm sure he is thinking of you, though..."
Me?
"...Like the fool he is. You're all he keeps talking about, for some reason."
As if something was correlating his thoughts to his cell phone, Phoenix was startled by a sudden ringing.
Wh... where is that phone...?!
He dropped the balm, rummaging around absently for the source of the ringing. Finally managing to yank it out of his shirt pocket off the floor, Phoenix pressed the "talk" button and held the communicative device to his ear without bothering to check the caller identification.
"Hello?" He said in blunt surprise as if it was his first time using a phone, not noticing that he had abandoned all formal introduction. Whoever was calling him at this hour probably wouldn't pay it second thought anyway.
"... Wri - Phoenix...?"
He knew that voice. Even if it was slightly hard to hear.
"Wait... Miles?!"
"Yes. I'm sorry, did I wake you? I know now isn't the best of times to call, but..."
Phoenix was far too awake now, even more than before, to even think of falling asleep.
He sat bolt upright and pressed the phone to his ear as much as it was physically possible without blocking off sound completely from the pressure.
"N-no! I was awake! Wow... I... What time is it over there?"
"It is almost nine in the morning. I am guessing it is around two am where you are, correct?" The prosecutor's voice made it sound as if he were feeling bad for calling at such an hour.
"Yeah!" Phoenix was beaming, thrilled that he was speaking to the other man. He felt the need to look presentable and straightened his pyjama shirt and flattened his spikes, before remembering that they were not actually conversing face-to-face. By this point he felt more than a little stupid.
"Phoenix... I am deeply sorry for not calling you on the actual DAY. But... I just wanted to wish you a belated "Happy Birthday." I hope it went well, despite the fact it was also... um... April Fool's." The name of the occasion was uttered with a bitter tone, as if Miles wanted nothing more than to pretend that April Fool's didn't fall on the same time as his friend's birthday.
"It did! Thanks..."
The chuckle on the other end of the line was low and amused. "I am currently free at the moment. But I have to go in for an appointment at the head offices at ten am. Now is the only time that I could call you, since I was caught up last night with work."
Phoenix smiled warmly, even though his friend could not see it. "Miles... it's perfectly alright. I understand completely. I'm just thrilled to hear from you now."
"... I'm glad."
"How are things in London?" By now, Phoenix's heart was beating at a speed faster than should be at resting position. Ignoring it, he fiddled with the washing-instructions tag on his pillow case as he waited for the response.
"It's very cold. And it's not even winter anymore, which makes me wonder. Usually I am used to this weather but for some reason it's more chilly than I expected."
Listening to his words, the defense attorney settled back down, leaning against his pillow as he took in that wonderful voice, delighting in each spoken syllable like it was the last he would ever hear. He felt stupid for wanting to hear Miles so much, but he didn't know how to stop that desire. They talked for quite a while, and Phoenix relayed the information of his birthday celebrations to the prosecutor, laughing at the other's expected reactions. Particularly the reaction towards Larry's drunken behavior.
"For heaven's sake. Butz even had the nerve to confess an attraction towards Franziska?!"
"... Ahaha. Yes."
"I'm quite sure that if he actually said that to her face, he would be on the receiving end on that god-forsaken whip she always has by her side."
"Oh, he already got whipped more than once at the party."
"Serves him right."
They both laughed. Phoenix's laugh was merry, whereas Miles simply let out another low chuckle.
…
…
"I miss you, Miles."
…
Oh damn, why did that come out NOW.
…
"... I... "
"... ?"
"...Phoenix, I have to leave soon. I'll talk to you later, if opportunity arrives. If not, then I shall see you when I get back to America."
The attorney blushed in slight humiliation. I hope I didn't shock him by saying that. Was it too straight-forward?
"Okay. I'll... yeah. Bye, Miles."
"Take care, Phoenix."
Their conversation ended shortly afterwards with the click of a button. Phoenix sighed and placed his phone on the night stand, hugging his pillow and wondering whether or not he had somehow offended his friend.
He didn't SOUND angry. Maybe he really was running out of time because of that appointment, after all.
At least he called me.
---
It was Sunday, and Maya and Pearl were back in Kurain yet again. Of course, it was to be expected. Maya and Pearl had many responsibilities to uphold in their hometown.
Phoenix kicked off his shoes after having returned from the local supermarket by himself, clutching several full bags of groceries. It was during Maya's absence that Phoenix preferred to stock up on food with what little money he had left, all simply because of the fact that it was hard enough for himself to get a decent bite to eat at home whenever the nineteen year old was staying over.
Since she was such a good friend, however, he hardly got angry at her.
After putting away the items, the defense attorney decided to watch television. He soon realised that nothing worthwhile was being broadcast at this time, so instead he got up again and made his way out, thinking it would probably do him some good to go for a stroll or something.
Outside, he just walked wherever his feet took him. It wasn't long before he ended up in the same park where Maya and he had walked together on that night after playing Monopoly. Today, the park was abundant in children running in all directions as their parents fought to keep up. It was a Sunday, after all.
Sitting on a nearby bench, Phoenix watched fondly as a pair of ducks argued over a bread crust that one of the children had dropped in a hurry. The first duck looked as if it was in the advantage – the second duck was smaller and seemed a little too shy. Eventually, after much quacking, the first one waddled off with the prize, leaving its rival looking distraught and offended. It went off in the other direction, head bent down in a way that made it appear lonely.
Phoenix sighed. He felt lonely too. Stupid that he should be comparing himself to that simple, web-footed bird, but hey. He looked up at the sky in thought again – something he had a tendency to do these days. The cirrostratus clouds drifted lazily in the troposphere and their slow movement made the man feel at peace. That was until a certain person entered his mind. And even though this certain person hadn't called him back since after his birthday party, Phoenix was looking forward to seeing him again.
Miles is returning tomorrow...!
It wasn't a miscalculation. Nope. Miles would be catching his flight back to Los Angeles sometime later that night. Either then or tomorrow morning. He'd have to check with Gumshoe if he knew.
The spiky-haired man dug in his coat pocket for his cell phone and dialled the detective's after-hours number, receiving a gruff: "Gumshoe speaking," in reply.
"Hello, it's Phoenix Wright," he said to the other man, hearing him preparing something in the background which was unmistakably another bowl of old instant noodles.
"Oh, hiya pal! How are things? Did you hear that Mr Edgeworth is coming back tomorrow?"
"Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually," Phoenix said, as he listened to the detective whisper a curse word after accidentally stabbing his free hand with a fork, "d-do you know what time he'll be at the airport?"
"Which one, pal?"
"Ermm... the Los Angeles International Airport." Phoenix wondered what reason Gumshoe could have to think that he was referring to the one in London instead, but never mind that.
"Ah! He told me that he would be catching the 6:00am flight. And since it takes around... uh... ten or eleven hours to get from London to here, then he'll back at around... uh... wait, let me think."
"Somewhere between five and six pm, detective."
"Yeah, that sounds correct, pal!"
Phoenix sighed.
That's because it doesn't take a genius to calculate the time. "Thanks, Gumshoe. Are you going to meet him there?"
"Nah, I want to, believe me. But I can't! I have to work extra hours at the precinct because Miss von Karma wants me to make up for the time I lost the other day when I went home early because of an appointment I had."
"Oh. Well, better not argue with her then, she's scary."
"I know, I know... heh. So I'm guessing you're gonna see Mr Edgeworth when he gets back then? Tell him I said 'hi'."
"Yes... And I will. Thanks, detective!"
"No problem, pal. Bye!"
Phoenix ended the call and felt relieved that he had received information about Miles' time of return. But he also felt nervous about tomorrow. Probably because he was worried that he would be tempted to hug Miles or something else that would probably cause embarrassment on both of their behalves.
Whatever the reason, he pretended to ignore it and made his way back to the apartment.
---
The next day, at around 3:45pm, Phoenix knocked off work early and locked up the office, carrying his briefcase in tow and throwing his blazer jacket over his shoulders with little care. Since the traffic would probably provide a prolonged obstruction from reaching the Los Angeles International Airport in less than half an hour, the attorney decided to leave early. He also needed the extra time to navigate the airport when he got there - to make sure he wasn't waiting outside the wrong terminal when Miles arrived.
That would make me look like even more of an idiot than I already am, he reminded himself harshly.
Glancing around, he saw that it looked like he wouldn't be getting the chance to hail down a taxi where he was standing. The next bus was due in forty minutes, and he didn't want to waste any more time.
Looks like I'll have to go to that taxi depot near the service station, then. It should take me less than fifteen minutes if I walk fast.
Walking with quick strides down the path, Phoenix frantically checked his watch every few seconds as if afraid the minute hand would suddenly slide forward more than it was supposed to.
What I would give to have my driver's license right now.
If there was any motivation for him to finally muster up the courage to sit behind a steering wheel and learn how to press the acceleration and brake in the right order, this was it. Especially since the thick clouds looming overhead promised rain any time now.
Splish.
Coincidentally, water fell from the sky as if it had been waiting for this very moment to spite the lawyer.
"Damn..." Phoenix wiped the fallen drop off his face and scowled. I swear even nature likes picking on me. I swear it. Please don't let it get heavier.
No sooner had he thought those words, the rain fell heavier.
I hate you, rain.
He must have looked like one of those rushed businessmen who usually forgot their umbrellas on a day like this, as he picked up the pace and tried to pull his blazer over his head with little success. Oh well, as long as he thought positive he would be at the depot in no time. The rain suddenly deciding to fall even more strongly at that moment reminded him that he was wrong to let even the prospect of optimism enter his head.
By this point he was very tempted to take refuge beneath an awning, at least until the downpour became less heavy. But if he did that, who knew how long it would take till mother nature decided to switch off the tap? No, he would have to keep going.
Why am I doing this anyways. It's not like I promised Miles I'd meet him upon arrival. He doesn't even know I'm going to be there!
It was so tempting to just stop running and go under cover.
I want to surprise him though. Make him feel like someone's always there for him even though he thinks he's alone.
Surely, Miles would appreciate that. Wouldn't he?
The rain on the pavement splashed beneath the soles of his shoes with every step he took. His old briefcase had a crack in it that was sure to be the death of the paperwork he kept inside it, since he hadn't bothered (more like couldn't afford) to buy a new one. No doubt some of his files would end up soaked if the weather continued to keep this up.
Suddenly, before he could move out of the way, a car tore past him and disturbed a puddle at the edge of the road. Phoenix was drenched by the small wave that washed over him, spluttering loudly and coughing. His trademark spikes were now completely soaked through and dripped limply past his ears. Passing people with umbrellas tried not laugh and Phoenix frowned, feeling disconcerted. He was more wet than before – a sneeze shortly after the ordeal left him thinking that there was a fair chance he would receive a cold.
Great. Just what I need.
Trying to pretend the whole thing never happened, the attorney took off again, trying not to slip over.
How the hell can I show up to see Miles looking like THIS? No, Phoenix, stay positive...
Lost in his thoughts, he was stopped only when the sound of a boy's voice cut in.
"Hey, LOOK OUT!"
"...?!"
Phoenix looked up quickly just in time to see what looked like a high school student on his bicycle, one hand clutched around the handle of a black umbrella. The boy panicked and a millisecond later, had tried to steer out of the way. Unsuccessful, he had collided with the lawyer at full speed – a resounding crash accompanied the sound of traffic in the background and the voices of people murmured in shock.
At that moment, Phoenix saw nothing but white. The sensation of blinding pain struck him almost immediately afterwards, before his vision faded and his consciousness slipped from the grasp of his physical self.
