This is a Wright/Edgeworth/Maya V-ship fic. I actually don't think I've seen a poly fic done with these three, and yet it feels like one that would fit well, as all three have a good rapport, and both absolutely have strong ties to Phoenix.

Honestly, what made me think of this was that in the first game, I was very much in the Wrightworth camp, but as the rest of the trilogy played out, I found myself gravitating to Maya as Phoenix's partner. She seems to have taken the full on role by the end of the third game while Edgeworth vanishes until the final case of each sequel.

I hadn't really seen anyone try to do both ships at once, so I'm going to make the content I want to see!

Never tried to write a poly fic before, so I'm taking my shot here. Here's hoping you enjoy!

(PS I'll get into it in later notes, but this takes only the original trilogy into account. No 3ds sequels, no Apollo Justice, no Investigations, not even the case they added for the DS rerelease. I'm going based on only the original core story.)

Chapter 1: Narumayo

Chapter Text

Phoenix Wright was having a relaxing drink of green tea as the work day came to a conclusion. He had spent most of the day resetting his file cabinet full of old cases and found himself fairly stressed out after reminiscing about the old days.

As he sipped, he thought about how he'd be chided for not drinking coffee had Godot still been practicing, and how his tea-brewing technique would be turned into a lesson if Edgeworth was present.

He laughed to himself. After all these years, it astounded him how much it put him in a good mood to think of his time with his prosecutor friend. It was one of those friendships that seemed to extend well past the boundaries of other friendships.

Where Larry was insufferable for… a litany of reasons… Miles Edgeworth was never one to impose. It was always an emotional affair when they crossed paths, but not a particularly unwelcome one. The difficulty was never in speaking to each other; rather, it was the circumstances in which they found themselves.

Phoenix sighed. In truth, he knew that Miles was a special person in his life, but for various reasons - Miles' difficulty in talking about his emotions, their desire to focus on work, even Phoenix's own cowardice - they had not spoken about the larger nature of their relationship.

"NICK! Why'd you have to be so particular with your ramen order today?! It took them an extra ten minutes to make the food and I'm starving!"

And there was the other reason he had struggled to talk to his prosecutor friend. In truth, the feelings he felt weren't just going toward one person.

"Maya, I'm trying to avoid the herbs they use after the last bowl had been suspiciously browned. My stomach was not ready for rotting vegetables."

"Pffft. It was a bad batch, Nick. They aren't trying to poison you. You need to have the same faith in your local ramen vendor that you have in your clients."

Phoenix had known Maya since the night after he debuted in court. At the time, she was simply the grieving younger sister of his mentor, Mia Fey. Within a day, she became his second-ever client when the police had mistakenly decided she had been the one to kill Mia. And after that trial, she became his assistant, as well as his second during trial proceedings.

It was hard to believe how different their lives were today compared to all that time ago. By the time they saw each other again after she'd begun her Kurain master's training, not only was she able to channel spirits at will, but she also was more than capable of running her own life… as well as his.

It's funny how in a short two years, she had become indispensable to him. In spite of her quirkiness, Phoenix now relied on her for case prep, office maintenance, and even keeping tabs on his own personal affairs. Any time she had to return to Kurain Village to train made his work day feel far emptier. She probably knew Phoenix Wright better than Phoenix Wright at this point.

And maybe that is why she noticed his out-of-sorts behavior.

"Nick, are you okay?" she asked after a few minutes of him staring off into space.

"Huh? I'm sorry… I was… lost in thought."

"No kidding. The last time I saw you this spaced out was when we went to Hazakura Temple and met your ex."

"I didn't know she was…" he stopped when Maya gave him the side-eye, "well, I had my suspicions, though even I couldn't have predicted exactly how it was I knew her."

Maya looked back to her ramen and had another bite. It was astounding how nothing seemed to wipe out her appetite for ramen. Finally, she turned back with a sympathetic look. "So what is it that's bothering you, then? I think we're at the point where denying there's something off is pointless."

Phoenix knew she was right, but he had to admit: He had no idea where this conversation would go. Still, it had been weighing on him, and it wasn't going to suddenly get easier.

"I guess I've been thinking about the last couple of years. It's funny; before that day when I defended Larry in court, I'd had a pretty singular focus."

Maya nodded, "You had wanted to become a defense attorney to finally confront Edgeworth about why he'd become a corrupt prosecutor instead of a defense attorney like his dad."

"Exactly. He had started law when we were both 20, and I was an art student at the time, not really knowing what to do with my life."

Maya raised her eyebrow playfully. "I can only imagine what kind of art you'd end up making. You could have ended up joining your buddy, "Laurice" on an art journey through the mountains!"

At this, Phoenix pinched his nose. "Please don't say that! I'll have nightmares about "Living like Larry" for weeks now.… Anyway, his reputation for being a 'demon prosecutor' developed almost immediately, and there I was - a junior with no discernible talent, and no way to help the friend who saved me all those years ago."

"And that's when you started auditing law classes, right?"

"Right. I was taking a trip to the courts to observe for the first time when I met… Dahlia… so in hindsight, it feels kind of incredible how intertwined our stories were even before we faced off in court that first time…"

Suddenly, he realized Maya had put her bowl in her lap as she stared off to the window. She took a moment before responding. "He… really means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Phoenix nodded. "As I said, simply seeing him again had been my main focus for years after that. It got me through law school. But then, when the day finally came that I'd waited so long for, suddenly, I found I didn't have just one focus anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I had a client in that trial - the sister of my mentor. And even after that trial ended, that sister stayed with me as an assistant, helping me through some of the toughest cases I'd even heard of."

Maya blushed a bit. "I wasn't all that helpful… at least not in the beginning."

"I disagree. I'd have been beaten by von Karma on the first day had you not stepped in and helped me. Even so, I don't think I'd realized your true value to me at the time."

"M-my true value?" Maya wasn't sure where this conversation was going anymore, and it was getting unnerving.

"I remember being really excited to see you again in your village, but some time after that trial, something felt… different. I think I sensed it when we were at that circus, and I felt it for certain when you were kidnapped. I'll be honest: I probably owe Franziska a lot for bailing me out of that case."

"Where are you going with this, Nick?"

"I guess, at some point, the one person I had focused on more than any in the last few years… had become two people. And now I… I don't know what that means or how to handle it."

Maya's eyes had widened to probably their maximum point. "I… I see." She collected herself, and then looked away. "So you're saying you… with Edgeworth… and me?"

Maya turned back to see his response, but he had turned away, now apparently having a hard time facing her. She did notice a clear nod, though.

The pause in the room seemed to exist outside the bounds of time. It could have been 30 seconds or 30 minutes. However long it went, eventually it was Maya who broke the silence.

"Well, I mean, you and Edgeworth have known each other longer. And your jobs are the same. And you'll be able to stay around each other easier, what with me needing to finish my training and all…"

"Maya…"

She sounded like she was choking something back. "It's okay, Nick. Really, I don't want to be in the way."

"That's what you said during Edgeworth's trial. And you were wrong then too."

Phoenix walked over to Maya and lifted her chin to face him. He was taken aback that she had started to tear up. Finally, he spoke.

"You have so much worth, and not just to this office, but to me. Part of the reason I didn't want to bring this up is because you two are both indispensable to me.

"And watching you react this way, it's only proven to me that I never want to hurt you or take you out of my life. Ever."

Maya almost couldn't believe what she had heard. Nick was such an amazing presence in her life ever since he'd defended her the first time. She could still remember raving about him and his exploits to Pearl (though in hindsight, that may have been a mistake).

She hadn't even realized feeling had developed until later on, and even then, she never thought she'd be seen as anything but the little sister of the lawyer who mentored him.

As she watched Phoenix agonize over this decision, she knew he'd have a similar experience with Edgeworth. Maybe it was time to suggest something. Something that she honestly considered unlikely until this very moment. She figured it would sound like she was forcing herself into a picture where she didn't belong, but now, having heard Phoenix's dilemma, maybe it was the road they were all meant to travel.

"I have a thought. It's not an idea you've probably considered, but if you think you could handle it, I think I could."

"Go ahead," Wright said apprehensively.

"What if you got together with both Edgeworth and me?"

"What? Like date you both at the same time?"

"It's not like it's something that's never been done before. I've seen people around the city have multiple partners successfully, and I know celebrities have done it before."

Phoenix sighed, "You really should stop reading those tabloids."

"Don't change the subject. From what I can tell, the most important things in a relationship like this are the same as in a one-on-one relationship - communication and respect for each other's boundaries. Well, you know I'll communicate, and no one's better at setting boundaries than Edgeworth!"

"Wait, so would you and Edgeworth be together in this setup too?! I'm… not too sure Edgeworth will go for that."

Maya shook her head. "I'm very aware Edgeworth would not be interested in me. But the fact is we do care about each other greatly. We've both saved each other's lives and care about each other… and we both care about you, Nick. I think he might be willing to at least hear this idea out.

"The question is: Could you handle this setup, Nick?"

Phoenix thought for what felt like an eternity. Could he handle dating Miles and Maya at the same time? How would he even approach Edgeworth with something like this? He'd have to think hard about how he wanted to ask. But Maya did have a point: The three of them had a great deal of care for one another. If he had to ask two people to put up with him, these would be the two.

Finally, he spoke. "I'll have to think this over, but I'll talk to Miles about it this week. Most of Miles' scheduled cases are wrapping up so there should be a chance to talk it over. Maya, you never cease to amaze me."

Maya smirked as she tossed out the empty ramen bowl. How did she even finish that?!, Phoenix thought.

"Yeah well, I can be pretty amazing. Don't forget that, Nick!" Maya then, awkwardly, stepped over and kissed Phoenix's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay, Nick."

She then left the room. "Yeah, see you tomorrow," Phoenix said, as he stood, trying to process the last few minutes and what the rest of his week was now going to entail.