Note: Hey y'all! Only two more chapters to go after this. As always, thanks for reading!


The next few weeks were unnaturally peaceful. Phoenix got the sense that he was being deliberately avoided, and he had very little interaction with his adversaries outside of court.

And then, one day, Athena came bounding into the office.

"Guten Tag Mr. Wright!" she said, rocking back and forth on her heels and grinning like she was ready to explode if she didn't say what was on her mind.

"Whoa, what's up?" Phoenix asked.

Athena bit her lip, her hands shaking with excitement, Widget practically vibrating off her chest. "I was asked to give a speech at the Pacific Law Conference in San Francisco!"

"Really?" Phoenix shot up. "On what?"

"I'm giving a seminar on analytical psychology and expanding technology in legal proceedings!"

"That's great!" Phoenix clapped her on the back. "I'm so proud of you. See, I knew there was a reason I chose you."

Athena squinted at him. "Uh huh. Well, anyway, I thought it would also be great publicity for the agency," she said. "You know, spreading the word up the coast."

"Very true!" Phoenix said, rubbing his chin.

"So you're coming, right?" she said.

"Well…sure, if I'm free," he said.

"You are. I checked."

He chuckled. "You're really on top of things, aren't you."

"Yes I am!" She grinned. "I'm also booking the rooms so we can stay as a group."

"Okay then," he said, laughing. "If you wanna do all the work that's fine by me."

"Great!" she opened her virtual planner and started marking things down. "So you'll be staying with Mr. Edgeworth."

"What?" he said. "Edgeworth's going?"

"Yup," she answered, scribbling on the glowing pad with her finger.

"A-are you sure," Phoenix asked.

"Yes, he's very interested in hearing about the practicality of analytical psychology in the courtroom," she said with a wave of her hand. "Also, I had Trucy ask him."

Phoenix latched onto this information. "Oh, if Trucy's going I should probably share a room with her."

"Sorry Mr. Wright, I'm rooming with Trucy. She's gonna help me get stage-ready before my big debut!"

"Tell her not to use too much glitter," Phoenix said under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Athena asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"Well," Athena continued, "Apollo and Klavier are sharing a room."

Phoenix opened his mouth.

"Yes, it's a whole thing. It's going to be a disaster. They wanted it. Don't ask."

Phoenix nodded slowly.

"So that just leaves you two. Sound good?" Athena asked lightly, flipping through pages of digital information.

"Sure," Phoenix said.

"Cool. One bed?"

She stared at him, reading his every movement, daring him to object.

The gears in his head were whirring a million miles an hour. "That's fine," he said, keeping his tone unattached. He was playing a very delicate game.

She held his gaze a few moments longer before tearing her eyes away. "Great!" she said as she marked it down on the screen. "All booked!"

"Good," Phoenix said, his shoulders a little deflated.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" she said, doing a twirl or two as she skipped over to her desk to finalize their plans.

"Yay," Phoenix said weakly, and slumped down in his chair.

That night, when Edgeworth got home, he saw that he had a voicemail. As he put his briefcase away, he listened to a most peculiar message.

"Hi it's me Phoenix so I guess you already know about Athena's thing well so I told her we'd share a hotel room and maybe also a bed so okay thought I'd let you know okay goodnight."

Edgeworth held the phone as far away from his head as he could and stared at it until his vision started to blur. It slipped out of his hand and fell to the carpet. He didn't even blink.


They drove up the coast in Edgeworth's car, the four of them in pretty good spirits despite the air of tension that hung over their heads. Phoenix could tell that Athena was nervous by the way she kept fiddling with Widget. She'd already given him a preview of her talk for critique, and even though he hadn't actually been the one to teach her about her particular brand of psychology (more the other way around, really), he still felt like a proud parent listening to her.

"You know she's one of the youngest speakers at the conference," Phoenix said to Edgeworth.

"Yes, you've mentioned that. Several times now," Edgeworth said. For all the frowning he was doing, Phoenix knew that Edgeworth was pleased to be driving somewhere other than the city, especially when they caught the occasional glimpse of a stunning ocean vista.

"Athena's gonna be amazing," Trucy said. "She's gonna be the most famous lawyer at the Agency. Finally, some real talent to work with!"

Phoenix turned around from the front seat and stared at her blankly.

"It was a joke, daddy," she said with a grin.

"Hilarious," he said. "You know, Athena, I've been curious about something."

"Shoot!" she said, her voice cracking a tiny bit.

"Why didn't you invite Simon? I mean, he's all about psychology in the courtroom, right?"

"Oh, I did! Of course I invited Simon. It's just that he doesn't really do well on long trips. It's something we're working on." She started fiddling with her earring. "He's been helping me practice my talk, though. Taka too."

Phoenix stared at her.

"He's good at judging body language!" she said.

"Alright then," Phoenix replied.

The sun was beginning to set by the time they reached the outskirts of the city. Trucy pressed her face against the glass and cooed at the sight of rolling hills covered in small colorful houses.

"Cool," she whispered. Phoenix made a silent promise to take her traveling more often.

They drove through the busy intersections of downtown San Francisco, up and down impossibly steep roads as the light of day faded out.

The hotel they were staying at was recently renovated and packed with all manner of law professionals getting ready for a big conference weekend. It was clear from the whooping and hollering at the bar that the weekend had started early for many of them.

Athena checked them in and passed out their keycards. Everyone parted ways and went to find their rooms. Phoenix opened the door to their room first. A large bed sat against the far wall, and Phoenix gulped, both in worry and because it looked so goddamn comfortable after their drive that part of him just wanted to sink into it for the night.

Phoenix started unpacking his things, all the while fighting off a creeping tingle in his spine. Edgeworth had squirreled himself away in his own corner of the room, hanging up his clothes as quickly as he could so as not to wrinkle them any further.

Once everyone was settled into their rooms, they met up in the hotel lounge. Phoenix asked Apollo about how his little roadtrip with Klavier had gone, and could tell by the harrowed look in his eyes that he hadn't properly processed it yet.

Phoenix patted him on the shoulder and nodded a solemn condolence. Klavier rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone.

"What sort of cuisine are we in the mood for?" he asked the group at large.

They decided on a restaurant nearby and took off into the night.

"It's so chilly!" Trucy said as she buttoned up the jacket that Phoenix had made her bring. "Do you think it's gonna snow?!"

"Uh, no, sweetheart," Phoenix said, squeezing her shoulder. "I don't think it snows up here."

Trucy pouted. "Darn."

Phoenix laughed. "Someday we'll go somewhere snowy for the holidays."

"Promise?" Trucy said.

"Yes, I promise," Phoenix said. "I'm sure Mr. Edgeworth knows plenty of places we could go."

"Hmm?" Edgeworth said, drawing his eyes away from the colorful storefronts. "Oh, yes, I've seen many winters in the snow."

"Dad doesn't really like the cold," Trucy said, "but I wanna play in the snow at least once before high school ends."

"Hey, I'm not that bad anymore," Phoenix said, crossing his arms.

Athena laughed. "Mr. Wright, you start complaining as soon as the temperature drops below 70."

"Well what am I, an animal?" Phoenix said, pulling his scarf tighter around his neck.

The restaurant they went to was small and cozy. They tucked themselves into a booth in the corner of the room and filled up on good food after a long day.

When they were stuffed and strolling back to the hotel through the cold night air, the same nervous tingle started to creep up on Phoenix. It was starting to get late, and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to avoid the inevitable.

To his dismay, the group chose to peel off as soon as they were inside the hotel. Athena wanted to sleep early so she could be properly rested for her big talk the next day. Trucy wanted to go with her in case she needed a last minute rehearsal. Klavier had a few meetings of his own scheduled, and he'd somehow harangued an exhausted-looking Apollo into joining him on his adventure through the nightlife of San Francisco.

"I suppose I should get ready for bed," Edgeworth said. Phoenix followed after him up the stairs, biting his lip and keeping his eyes focused on the swish of Edgeworth's coat. They could be adults about it, right? Everything would be fine.

They unlocked their hotel room and stood in the threshold, staring around the room.

Phoenix looked at the bed wistfully but kept his resolve. "There's spare blankets in the closet. I'll just make up a bed on the floor. I would call up a cot but I'm pretty sure Athena would find out."

"You'll do no such thing," Edgeworth said, taking off his coat and jacket and hanging them up in the closet. "There's no reason we can't share the bed. There's more than enough room."

Phoenix gulped and nodded. "As long as you're okay with it," he said.

He stuffed his leftovers into the tiny fridge and sat back on his heels, tapping the top of the fridge.

"Hey, do you mind if I watch some TV?" Phoenix asked.

"Go ahead," Edgeworth said, his face still buried in the hall closet.

Phoenix took the remote and hopped up on the bed, scooting over to one side. He kept the volume reasonable and flipped through the channels, past various chat shows and crime dramas.

A few minutes later, Edgeworth sat on the other side of the bed. Phoenix glanced over curiously. He was stripped down to his shirt and pants, no waistcoat or frills or anything else. He looked so casual wearing what any normal person would consider work attire.

"Are…are those…" Phoenix said as he watched Edgeworth remove a pair of worn sock garters.

He looked over his shoulder at Phoenix. "Yes?"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

Edgeworth turned on the lamp next to his side of the bed and sat against the headboard with a thick book in his hands.

Phoenix bit his lip and looked back at the TV.

They sat like that for a while, quietly unwinding after such a long day, knowing the rest of the weekend would probably be the same.

Halfway through the news, Phoenix heard a derisive snort. He looked over and Edgeworth was peering at the TV over his glasses.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Edgeworth gestured to the TV, which showed a man who'd been arrested in a major scandal being escorted into a courtroom. "The defense's position is ridiculous. They'll never be able to prove that in court."

Phoenix grinned. "Sure they could. If the attorney is crafty enough."

Edgeworth eyed him. "I believe you're mistaking crafty for devious, Wright."

Phoenix crossed his arms. "And what's so devious about proving your client innocent?"

"You think he's innocent?" Edgeworth asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that," Phoenix insisted. "But if I was defending him…"

They continued bickering until well after the news segment had changed over and the news itself had turned into another late night chat show.

"I'll concede that particular point, hypothetically," Edgeworth said, pointing at Phoenix, "and…wait, is that the time?"

Phoenix checked his watch. "It sure is. We should probably think about getting to bed."

Edgeworth sighed. "You're right. We have quite a lot of elbows to rub tomorrow."

Phoenix snorted. "You do. I, on the other hand, am just going to let Athena do her thing and bask in her glorious competence."

"And how is it, profiting off the talent of your young employees with absolutely no effort on your part?" Edgeworth asked.

Phoenix leaned his head against the backboard. "It's amazing."

"How nice for you," Edgeworth said. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

"Go ahead. I'll wait until you're done."

Edgeworth grabbed some clothes from the drawer and disappeared into the bathroom.

Phoenix hummed as he watched a reality cooking contest rerun with mild interest.

When he saw Edgeworth walk out of the bathroom wearing pink pajamas, it took every ounce of self control he had not to break down in hysterics. He started hissing through his teeth.

"Is something amusing, Wright?" Edgeworth said, his voice guarded with hostility as if he'd been preparing for this moment.

Phoenix pressed his lips together hard and shook his head.

"Good," Edgeworth said lightly. He walked over to the bed and got under the covers. "The bathroom's yours."

"Great," Phoenix said, his shoulders shaking with the effort of holding in his laughter. He scurried to his suitcase, grabbed his pajamas and ran to the bathroom. He turned on the facet full blast to drown out the sound of his giggle fit but he had a feeling it didn't help much.

When he came out of the bathroom, teeth scrubbed and stripped down to his undershirt and pajama pants, Edgeworth had already turned his light out. He glanced at Phoenix from the corner of his eye, blushed and stared up at the ceiling. Phoenix went over to his side, crawled in under the covers and turned his light out.

After a few moments of dead silence, he said, "goodnight Edgeworth."

"Yes, goodnight," was the response he got. He heard the small clack of Edgeworth setting his glasses down on the side table.

Despite his nerves, his eyes felt heavy as soon as his head touched the pillow. In just a few minutes, Phoenix had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

The bed was comfortable. Edgeworth knew that much because he'd been laying in the darkness for about an hour. It wasn't anything new. Sleep troubles had haunted him since he was a child. And this time, at least, he had a good reason to feel uneasy.

He kept his focus on the ceiling, absolutely not thinking about the giant lump of attorney breathing softly beside him. He wasn't thinking about Phoenix's gently frazzled hair or the practically see-through undershirt he'd worn to bed, nor the inexplicable pajamas with whimsical gavels all over them (and he had the audacity to laugh at Edgeworth's clothes). No, he wasn't thinking about any of that. His mind was a perfect blank, enveloped in the blackness of the ceiling as his eyes focused and unfocused, blinking heavier and slower and- dear god was Wright moving towards him?

The unmistakable warmth of body heat entered the perimeter of his personal space before any contact was made. The next moment, an arm was flung over his chest and Phoenix was snoring right next to his head.

Edgeworth couldn't move. His heart was beating a hundred miles an hour and when he felt one of Phoenix's legs slide over his hip, he whimpered and pushed back, silently begging Phoenix to move so he wouldn't have to wake him up and make everything that much more uncomfortable.

Phoenix just laid heavy against Edgeworth's side, clinging to him with each of his limbs like some kind of sea creature, his face pressed against Edgeworth's shoulder. Edgeworth could hear the slow, steady sound of Phoenix breathing and he sighed.

What could he do? He tried to wake Phoenix up as a last resort, unsurprised to find that Phoenix slept like a brick. The only reaction he gave was to situate himself closer to Edgeworth and mumble in his ear.

Finally Edgeworth decided that he might as well try to get comfortable. He turned onto his side, facing away from Phoenix.

In a second, Phoenix had plastered himself against Edgeworth's back, his arm wrapped firmly around Edgeworth's waist.

It…wasn't terrible.

Edgeworth closed his eyes. The extra warmth was actually quite nice. Phoenix's nose pressed into the back of his neck, his breath tickling the fine hairs there. Edgeworth sighed and allowed his arm to slide down and lay next to Phoenix's.

He fell asleep in minutes.

When he woke up the next morning, he was alone. He noticed the absence by a lack of warmth first. A small part in the curtains revealed the dull light of a cloudy morning. Edgeworth sat up in the bed and yawned, stretching out his shoulders. A realization slowly dawned on him as he blinked through the dim light, a creeping chill that clawed its way into the panic center of his brain.

He had never slept so well in his life.

He covered his face and groaned. He'd known all along that this was a terrible idea. What was he supposed to do with this information? What could he do?

The front door opened and Phoenix shouldered his way inside carrying a small cup tray.

"Oh hey," he said quietly. "I just - I had to go find some coffee. I mean, coffee fit for humans."

Edgeworth nodded slowly. Phoenix brought the tray over and set it down. "I got you some tea. I know it's probably all wrong but I tried." He took off his coat and laid it on one of the armchairs, revealing a ratty pair of sweatpants underneath.

"I'm sure it's fine. Thank you." Edgeworth took the paper cup from the holder and smelled it. He smiled and held the warm cup between his fingers. Phoenix sat down on the edge of the bed and sipped his coffee.

The silence in the room felt natural at first as they both started to wake up, but steadily grew more palpable.

"Well, uh, I'm going to take a shower. You want to use the bathroom now or later?" Phoenix said, setting his half-empty cup on the side table.

"I'll brush my teeth if you don't mind. Then the shower is yours."

"Great," Phoenix said, crouching down over his suitcase to find his toiletries.

A few minutes later, Edgeworth's teeth were sparkling clean and he felt marginally more conscious.

As the sound of the shower started up, Edgeworth began to change into his business attire, forgoing some of his usual morning routine for the sake of convenience. He thought idly about Pess and hoped she wasn't kicking up too much of a fuss for her sitter. He dropped into one of the armchairs to get in a bit of reading, and he found that his hand itched to reach down and pet her for comfort. He shook his head and tried to immerse himself in his book.

His concentration was only broken with the sound of the bathroom door opening. He glanced up to a billow of steam and Phoenix's naked back standing at the open closet, with nothing but a towel covering his lower half.

Edgeworth sputtered quietly and just managed to avoid dropping the book on his feet. He lifted it up to his face just in time to escape getting caught, thankful that the light was faint and the color in his face probably wasn't too visible.

Despite almost getting caught, he found himself peering over the top of the book to catch just the barest glimpse of Phoenix's broad chest, his wet hair plastered to his neck. He thanked the blessed stars that the sound of the bathroom door closing covered the strange noise his throat had produced.

Phoenix emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later dressed and ready to go. Edgeworth marked his place, set his book down and put on his coat. Phoenix grabbed his briefcase, checked for his wallet and pressed a short kiss against Edgeworth's lips.

Edgeworth stood stock still in the middle of the room while Phoenix held the door for him.

"Are you coming?" Phoenix asked.

Edgeworth didn't answer.

"What's wrong?" Phoenix said, wedging himself in the doorway. "Is it something I….oh."

Edgeworth raised both eyebrows. Phoenix turned beet red.

"Heh. Uh, sorry, force of habit I guess," he said. "You know what, I'm pretty sure Trucy's already downstairs so I'm just gonna," he pointed to the hall, "I'm just gonna take the elevator."

Edgeworth was thankful for the sharp, cold air in his lungs as he made his way down the stairwell alone.

Athena and Trucy were already waiting for them in the lobby. Trucy recounted their early morning jog in horrifying detail. Neither of them seemed to notice the awkward air between Phoenix and Edgeworth.

While they waited for Apollo and Klavier, Trucy started to list all the places she wanted to visit before they left.

Phoenix stopped her after the fifth one. "Uh, sweetheart, you know we have to leave tomorrow."

"Yeah, but the day's just getting started!" she said, turning towards the breaking light streaming in through the windows.

"Uh huh, but we're gonna be at the conference for most of the day," he said.

"Athena's only giving one talk!" Trucy argued. "Do you expect me to stay inside when there's a whole city to explore?"

"Trucy…" Phoenix said, "I don't know how I feel about you going off on your own."

"Dad, back home you let me go wherever I want," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

Phoenix sighed. "But we're not familiar with this city and…" Trucy stuck her bottom lip out and sniffed. "…okay, fine. But don't go too far from the convention center. And make sure you have your cell phone on you. And ANSWER when I call."

"Yay!" Trucy said, hugging her father. "But, um, there's a famous magic shop I wanted to visit…it may be a little bit far…"

Phoenix chewed his lip and then had a revelation. "Apollo can go with you!" A moment later, Apollo appeared around the corner and Trucy clapped him on the arm.

"We're gonna have an adventure!" she said. Apollo looked at Phoenix, baffled.

"Later," Phoenix said.

Before Apollo could object they started walking out the door.

The convention center was just a couple of blocks away. Athena got them their passes and they filed inside. Trucy looked around wide-eyed at the number of attorneys packed into one place.

Phoenix picked up a booklet and started to thumb through it. "We're gonna look over the schedules for a while. Since Athena's talk doesn't start until later, you could walk around with Apollo for a bit."

"Me?" Apollo said. "But…"

"I'll go with you too!" Klavier said. Apollo's face scrunched up, still haunted by the events of the previous day.

"Actually, Prosecutor Gavin, I was hoping I could have a word with you about some of the guests," Phoenix said.

"Ah, I suppose I should stay and help Herr Wright. My apologies, fraulein."

"Maybe later!" Trucy said a little too loud.

"You know, we should probably head out now if we wanna see, uh, the good stuff," Apollo said, practically shoving Trucy towards the door. "See you guys later!"

Phoenix chuckled and started browsing the schedule, highlighting any familiar names he saw.

When they met up for lunch later on, Trucy talked a mile a minute about the things they'd seen while Athena tried to pretend she wasn't nervous. When it was finally time to speak to the coordinators and get ready for her talk to start, they all offered their support.

"You're gonna be great, Athena!" Trucy said. "You know this stuff inside and out!"

Phoenix squeezed her shoulder. "Just take a deep breath, let your mouth take over and look at your notes once in a while. It'll be over before you know it! They'll be asking you on the world tour!"

"This isn't a concert, Mr. Wright," she said, biting her lip. "But thanks. I know I can do it!" She punched the air. "I'm gonna do it!"

"That's the spirit!" Phoenix said. "Go get 'em!"

Athena turned and immediately walked into a chair, but she limped along and soon disappeared out of site.

In the end, the talk went smoothly. Athena was professional and charismatic, and she knew her topic like nobody's business.

When she met with them afterwards she was blinking back tears of happiness.

"I feel like I should have gotten you flowers or something!" Phoenix said, pulling her into a hug.

"Congratulations, Ms. Cykes. It was most enlightening," Edgeworth said as he gave her a firm handshake.

"I told you that you were gonna do a great job!" Trucy said. "Everyone loved you and no one even fell asleep or anything!" They all looked at her. "Uh, not that that was a concern. I guess you guys really eat this stuff up, huh."

Phoenix released Trucy into the wild after that, giving her full access to Apollo if she needed it.

When it got towards the evening, collective exhaustion and hunger pushed them to leave the conference early. The discomfort between Phoenix and Edgeworth was all but forgotten. Phoenix gave in to Trucy's request for a touristy evening and they all took taxis to fisherman's wharf for dinner. They ate at a packed restaurant overlooking the harbor and the quickly darkening sky. Afterwards they took a walk down the pier, stopping at various shops and filling up their pockets with souvenirs.

At the end of the pier, they sat and looked out over the ocean, just barely visible in the faint glow of a fading sunset as boat lights passed over the water like ghosts. In the dying light, Phoenix nudged Edgeworth and they walked to the edge of the pier, in sight of their friends and family, the wind whipping all around them. Phoenix leaned over and kissed him, lingering just for a moment before pulling away and linking their arms together. Edgeworth blinked at him, unprepared, always unprepared and never responding quite the way he intended to.

Back at the hotel, Phoenix made Trucy promise to save most of the sweets she'd collected throughout the day. He gave Athena one last pat on the back, and everyone trudged back to their rooms, wiped out from the long day.

The first thing Edgeworth noticed when they stepped into their room was just how many of Phoenix's personal effects were already strewn all over the place, despite the fact that they had only been staying there for a day. He was half tempted to raise a fuss about it, but the thought of bickering over something so trivial made him yawn to think about.

They got ready for bed in tandem. Phoenix watched the news while Edgeworth took his shower. They got under the covers and discussed their favorite seminars, and gossiped about some of the more controversial guests. Soon their eyes were heavy and they turned out the lights. Edgeworth turned over and quickly felt sleep overtaking him. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was an arm snaking around his chest and a comforting warmth at his back.

The next morning, Edgeworth woke up to a pleasant, familiar smell, his arms stretched around something bulky. The large thing in his arms moved. His eyes blinked open, adjusting slowly to the smattering of morning light filtering in around the corners of the heavy curtains. He looked down and saw something black squirming around. It took him another second to realize that it was Phoenix's head buried in his chest.

Panic shot through him before he realized that Phoenix was still asleep. They had time to sleep in, so he relaxed into his pillow.

His hand brushed against Phoenix's neck. After a breath of hesitation, he finally, at long last, gave in to temptation and buried his hands in Phoenix's hair. He stroked over the fine black spikes with his thumb, sighing pathetically. He knew that in all likelihood this would be his one and only opportunity to do such a thing. As he leaned down just a few inches, feeling the very top of Phoenix's scalp brush against his chin, he breathed deeply, contentment blooming in his chest.

He nodded off like that, fingers still tangled in Phoenix's soft spikes, and didn't wake up again until Phoenix started to stir in his arms.

Phoenix groaned and stretched his neck, pushing himself away from Edgeworth's chest. A moment later, Edgeworth woke up and Phoenix opened his eyes. They stared at each other, Edgeworth's hands caught under Phoenix's weight. Then, quick as a flash, Phoenix rolled away to the opposite side of the bed.

"Sorry, sorry, oh god," Phoenix whispered, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Don't worry about it," Edgeworth said softly in the darkness.

"Sorry, I just get really clingy in my sleep. Ugh, I should have warned you before. I'm sorry."

"Wright, it's fine," Edgeworth said, raising his voice just a bit.

Phoenix paused, leaned against his pillows and studied his hands.

His head rolled back and he laughed darkly. "You know, whenever I fell asleep with Trucy, she would pinch me until I woke up. She said I held her like I thought she was gonna disappear."

Edgeworth didn't say anything.

"Nevermind," Phoenix said, shaking his head. He got up and put on a jacket. "You want anything?"

"Tea would be lovely," Edgeworth said, his voice hoarse.

"Same as yesterday?"

Edgeworth nodded.

"Alright, I'll be back later," Phoenix said with a wave.

When the door closed, and Edgeworth was alone, he sat up against the backboard, the blankets pooling around his feet. His head was racing. It had been for days now. Weeks. Months. Years. He couldn't even remember when it had started.

He shook his head and held his face. He couldn't keep doing this. His life was different now. He was happy with the man he had become. At least, something close to happy. Edgeworth stared down at his hand, the same hand that had been stroking Phoenix' hair just a couple of hours ago, and slammed it against the wall, the corners of his eyes prickling uncomfortably. He knew the time had come to make a decision.

When Phoenix came back, Edgeworth was already dressed and halfway through packing.

"Whoa there, we don't have to leave yet, do we?" Phoenix said. "I'm still waking up."

"No, I'm just getting a head start," Edgeworth said.

"Ah," Phoenix said. He came over and handed Edgeworth his tea. Edgeworth nodded and accepted it graciously.

Phoenix sat on the chair and watched as Edgeworth finished folding the last of his clothes and zipped his suitcase shut.

"I saw a bookstore down the road that I'd like to peruse," he said as he put his coat on. "I'll leave my suitcase with the front desk. Please let me know when everyone is ready to leave."

"Oh! Would you like some company?" Phoenix asked, grinning at him

Edgeworth turned his head just a fraction but avoided his eyes. "I'd prefer to go alone," he said.

Phoenix stared at him in surprise. His tongue felt like sandpaper when he swallowed. "Oh. Okay, I get it, no problem. I'll text you when the girls are ready."

"Thank you," Edgeworth said. Pulling his suitcase behind him, he walked out the door without a second look.

Phoenix stared at the door for a long time, an unexpectedly powerful hurt stuck deep in his chest. He released his grip on the chair and started the long process of tracking down all his things.

The ride home was a little quieter, a little less electric than the ride up. Phoenix and Edgeworth seemed stuck in their own worlds. Athena and Trucy looked over some of the knick knacks they'd acquired, but after a while the conversation petered out and they were ready to be home.

Edgeworth stared out at the road ahead, alone with his bittersweet thoughts. The memory of their weekend was burned into his mind, probably forever. It sent a pang of sadness and longing through his chest. And yet, if it was the only such memory he could have, well, he would cherish it.

When they finally got back to Los Angeles in the late afternoon, they dropped Athena off first, and then Trucy and Phoenix. Trucy leaned over Edgeworth's window and let him know that he still needed to come over for dinner sometime. They set a date, and Edgeworth promised to send Trucy over some recipes that he thought she might like to try.

When they were inside Phoenix slumped against the door behind them, his body limp.

"What's wrong, daddy?" Trucy asked as she set her bag down on the couch.

"Nothing, Truce," he said, tilting his head back against the door and blinking up at the ceiling. "Just tired."


Edgeworth closed the front door behind him and let out a sharp whistle. Pess came running up and he kneeled down on the floor to greet her. He scratched her neck and held her close to his chest, and let out a sob that echoed off the walls of his large, empty house.