Disclaimer: Ace Attorney and all characters are copyright by CAPCOM; I'm just a fan imitating. The stories presented are influenced by the multiple games as well as the comic (Manga written by Kenji Kuroda).

25 Reasons We Didn't Know We Loved Miles Edgeworth

#10- Born Romantic

"How come you never wear shorts? Shorts are totes in right—"

"Will you stop, Larry?" Edgeworth paused and rounded on the other man so suddenly Maya ran into Larry and Pearl bumped into her.

"I just..." Larry grinned sheepishly as Edgeworth turned away from him and headed toward the buffet table, "Why do you got to be so mysterious, dude?"

"I would hardly call myself mysterious," Edgeworth said as he studied the contents of the table, "Now whether I feel the need to flaunt all of my private endeavors to the wide world is another story—but I don't. Simple as that. I've never lied about whom I purport to be, but you've never asked. So I never felt the need to bring it up."

"So what else do you do?" Maya piped up so suddenly that Edgeworth spun around to stare at her, she cringed slightly, "Er, I mean, what else do you do, Mister Edgeworth?"

He frowned and sighed before replying, "Well, there's this job. There are a few others like it. I have a few investments—real estate, stocks... things of that ilk. But working for the district attorney does take up a significant amount of my time."

Maya shot him a scrutinizing look and smirked, "A few other 'jobs'? Like, other modeling jobs?"

Edgeworth glared suddenly unwilling to share any more, Maya waggled her eyebrows at him and he bit his lip.

"Dude," Larry interjected, "Do you model underwear too?"

Edgeworth turned his glare toward Larry, his mouth parted in shocked silence.

Suddenly Pearl jumped in and stood in front of Edgeworth, separating him from Larry and Maya, "Stop being rude! Mister Ed-ji-worth does what he needs to and he doesn't need you to mock him!"

Maya covered her mouth and giggled into her hand. Larry frowned and tugged at his goatee. Edgeworth groaned and turned to look at the food laid out on the table, obviously attempting to pretend the conversation they were having hadn't happened. He grabbed a couple of kiwis off of the table and stalked toward the chairs to wait.

"We're not leaving?" Maya stared at him with her arms out in exasperation, "Aren't you done?"

"That was the first shoot," Edgeworth said fumbling with the kiwis in his hands, "I've got three more. If you don't like it, perhaps you should tell Wright not to leave you with me with such little notice. If I'd known in advance that you'd be my guests, I'd have rescheduled all of this. I'm sorry if you're bored with me."

"It's okay, Mister Ed-ji-worth," Pearl smiled at him one hand covering each adorable cheek, "It's not your fault. You're not boring at all!"

"Dude, no way!" Larry added.

"Uh... Guys...? This is pretty boring," Maya looked at each of them in turn, eyelids drooping disdainfully.

Edgeworth shot her a sidelong glance and then took a bite of his kiwi.

"Eww!" Maya spun around and pointed at him so suddenly he nearly dropped the fruit, "You eat the skin? What?"

"What?" Edgeworth shot back defensively.

"Aw man! I bet it's like making out with a llama!" Larry started laughing.

"First of all," Edgeworth said, "I've never 'made out' with any animal, llama or otherwise—by the way, that is oddly specific—and second of all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the rind of a kiwi."

"It's fuzzy..." Larry pointed out, "That's kind of gross."

"Peaches are fuzzy," Edgeworth replied.

"Your face is fuzzy!" Pearl jabbed her finger at Larry.

"But it's the worst part!" Maya demanded, "Just peel it off! Why would anyone put themselves through that kind of suffering? Do you really hate yourself that much?"

Larry put a hand over his mouth and took a step back. Pearl gasped audibly. Edgeworth stared mutely at Maya.

After several moments of heavy awkward silence, Edgeworth cleared his throat and then took another bite of his kiwi—skin and all—his glare never moved from Maya's face. She started to blush and looked down at her sandaled feet.

"What I meant to say was—" she started.

"I know what you meant to say," Edgeworth interrupted, "Life is too short to waste time peeling away the parts you find bitter or disgusting just to enjoy the sweet. You may as well take them together and enjoy more of it."

"Actually, that's not what I meant to say at all…" Maya muttered under her breath and scratched her head.

Larry was beaming at Edgeworth, his eyes glittering with emotion and he seemed near to bursting with profound realization, "Edgey! Wow!"

Edgeworth made a face at him and finished his kiwi.

"Wow Mister Ed-ji-worth!" Pearl's eyes too sparkled with admiration, "You're so smart!"

Edgeworth looked at Pearl and then at Maya. Maya only offered a shrug in reply.

"Ah, yes. Well, I should go," Edgeworth stood and handed the other kiwi he had to Larry, "The sooner I finish these shoots, the sooner we can get out of here."

Larry and Pearl both leaned in to watch Edgeworth walk away. Maya crossed her arms and frowned.

"You guys are being weird," Maya said.

"I never knew he was so deep," Larry quipped, stroking the kiwi in his hand like it was a small animal.

"He's so romantic," Pearl had her hands clasped together and nuzzled them dreamily against her cheek.

"Seriously?" Maya glared at each of them in turn, "What just happened? All he did was eat a kiwi with the gross fuzzy skin still on it…"

"Yeah, but don't you see? He totes had a reason for it! It was to illustrate the depth of his feelings—all the emotions, good and bad, that he's experienced. He knows that it's made him the person he is today. So why waste time cutting away all of that negativity when it's still a part of your life and stuff, dude. I mean, the sweet isn't quite so sweet on it's own, man. Like, the light wouldn't be so bright without the dark. Yeah…"

"Mister Ed-ji-worth is a romantic," Pearl repeated.

Maya frowned, "It sounds like he just didn't have time to peel the kiwi and eat it too… "

Larry held the kiwi up in front of his face and grinned at it beatified, he closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue to lick it.

Maya and Pearl stared at him—for differing reasons—but they stared.

"ACK!" Larry dropped the offending fruit, "Pbbbt! Pbbt! It's totes like making out with a llama! Oh wow! Pbbt!"

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Yeah, he's a sloppy romantic... (Sally said sarcastically)

Also, no kiwis were harmed in the making of this…

25 May 2016

All caught up! This means new chapter! Also, what's up with Larry and llamas?