A/N: Here's a domestic slice-of-life series of vignettes I've been thinking about lately. Let me know what you think!

keep a window open for me

"I just feel like we're drifting apart," he mumbles, laying his forehead flat against the bar counter. The movement itself is enough to cause his neck to crack, each segment of his spine protesting at the motion. He persists anyways, though, for what is he going to see if he looks up? The judgement of the owner? The pitying looks of the other customers who have long become accustomed to listening to his rants, these desperate monologues growing more and more frequent as of late?

The cool wood does nothing to soothe the ache in his heart, however; even as Mia reaches over the counter to pat his shoulder, he does not move, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even react. "There, there, Phoenix," she murmurs, ruffling his hair. "C'mon, just tell me. Are you sure nothing's happened between you two that could cause all of this?"

Immediately, Phoenix groans, covering the back of his head with his hands to protect it from her teasing ruffling. "No!" he insists without hesitation. "Nothing's happened, it's just-"

"It's just?" He can hear her shifting to lean her elbows onto the counter, readying to listen to him yet again.

With a sigh, Phoenix finally straightens up once more. He sniffles, gratefully accepting the fresh coffee Diego pours for him before the tall, confident man swaggers back into the kitchen; Mia smiles at her partner briefly before she gestures for Phoenix to continue, raising a thin, prim brow in wait.

Phoenix sighs. "Look… it's just- he's so successful-"

"As are you, Mr. Attorney," Mia responds right away.

"-and I'm just…" He gestures frantically to himself. While he understands that he is an imposing figure in the courtroom, the man who Phoenix knows he presents himself as outside of the courtroom is anything but; his favourite hoodie and beanie and sandals are far too comfortable, far too familiar, far too easy to slip into the moment he gets home after a long, grueling trial, after all. There's no one left to impress in this little café and bistro below his apartment building; Mia and Diego are more than comfortable with him crawling in looking like he has just escaped the depths of hell, so showing up in loungewear is the least of his sins.

But, even after all these years, in comparison to Miles-

"Oh, speak of the devil," Mia replies dryly when Phoenix runs out of things to say. She stands, immediately setting up a fresh teapot; Phoenix recognizes it immediately, wincing at his own feelings of pathetic torment as he hears crisp footsteps make their way to their usual seat.

"And the Demon Prosecutor shall appear," Diego chimes in as he steps out of the kitchen. The man casually brings over Phoenix's dinner- rice and potatoes and roasted chicken that is always so much juicier than when Phoenix cooks it in their own little kitchen upstairs- before flashing a teasing wink at Miles.

Phoenix doesn't even need to look at Miles' expression to visualize the single raised brow, the slight sneer in place of affection upon his face; it is all apparent through just his voice as Miles murmurs, "What happened to you, Wright? I thought you won your case today."

"I did," he sighs, picking up his coffee idly. Taking a sip, he immediately recoils as hot liquid scalds his tongue. Pouting, he adds, "But it's not about my case."

For a moment, Miles is silent. Phoenix is accustomed to his partner's quietude, but when no words come even after Phoenix is finished half of his mashed potatoes and Miles is nearly done his first cup of his favourite Earl Grey, the defense attorney can hold it in no longer. Straightening up, he asks, "Hey, Edgeworth? What's on your mind?"

Miles does not respond, merely taking another prim bite of crisp puff pastry.

Phoenix sighs, leaning over to rest his beanie-covered head onto Miles' shoulder. "I… did I do something wrong? What's wrong? You're ignoring me, even more than when we were kids!"

That comment seems to pique Mia's attention. From her spot at the sink, she strolls over, wiping down a glass with a dishcloth. "Oh? I didn't know you've known each other since childhood. I thought you met in law school."

"I know!" Phoenix replies instantly. "He's so detached! You have no idea how hard it was getting him to open up- even when we started dating properly…" He pauses, looking over to Miles for an answer.

Without lifting his eyes from his dish, Miles, in all his exhausted, yet still pristine glory after a long day at the Prosecutor's Office, replies, "Fifteen years ago."

"Fifteen years ago!" Phoenix affirms. "Fifteen years, and he's still so…"

Mia rolls her eyes, but her smile is good-natured, curious. The well-endowed woman collects the plates of the customers seated at the other side of the bar with a wink and a quiet thank-you before looking back to Phoenix and Miles, the latter still just as focused on his meal as ever. "Fifteen years is quite a long time. You're no longer rookies in this relationship, I see." With a wicked grin, she asks, "So, how did you two get together anyways?"

Miles makes no move to respond, moving onto the fresh cup of tea and scone brought to him by Diego. So, Phoenix sighs, resting his elbows onto the countertop, chin in his hands. "Um…"

"Go on, spill. Secrets aren't fun, Mr. Trite," Diego calls as he heads to the back.

Phoenix doesn't respond to the teasing- he had stopped responding probably seven years back, although Diego insists on not using his real name still- as he formulates an explanation in his mind. Then, he takes a deep breath and lets out in one long, wearying go, "We were best friends as kids but he moved away, and then we got reunited in high school, and we ended up running away together after graduation when his father and my parents rejected us as a couple, so we got each other through law school and we've kind of been together ever since."

Mia's younger sister Maya, who had been sitting at the back table of the bistro focusing on her homework, slams her hands onto the desk. "I'm sorry, your backstory is that dramatic and you're sharing it like that?" she cries, indignation clear as day, her eyes sparkling with the scent of new gossip.

Phoenix shrugs, holding up his hands innocently. "That drama was fifteen years ago!" Slouching over again, he sighs heavily, turning to look over at Miles. "Hey. What is it? You're so quiet."

The prosecutor finishes up his scone and places a neatly-folded napkin onto his plate. Placing it upon the bar where Mia shall be able to reach it easily, he adds his teacup and pot to the side as well before standing. "Wright," he says simply.

Phoenix perks up. "Yeah, what is it?"

Finally, Miles looks over at Phoenix. "Let's break up." And with that, he turns on his heel and walks out the door, leaving nothing but shocked onlookers and the tinkling of the bell above the door in his wake.

In the midst of this stunned silence, Phoenix merely groans and points at the door where Miles' maroon suit had just been. "See?!" he exclaims. "He keeps saying that these days, but he doesn't mean it- like, he isn't moving out or anything, so I think it's not serious- and I don't know what the issue is!"

Maya looks two seconds away from an apoplexy, the girl utterly shocked by the entire affair. Luckily, Diego intercepts her; grabbing onto her shoulders firmly, he guides the girl into the back of the bistro before she can begin interrogating Phoenix for more details about the entire affair. Meanwhile, Mia merely sighs, pushes her long dun brown strands out of her eyes, and pouts, "Hey, Phoenix?"

Glumly, Phoenix replies, "Yeah, Chief?"

"Go talk to your boyfriend. And when you're done, you're telling me all the details, okay?"

Quietly, he mutters, "Yes, Chief," as he taps the credit machine with his card, covering both his and Miles' meals without comment. Then, he dejectedly leaves the small, cozy café. He's got a man to interrogate of his own, after all.

He just wishes Miles Edgeworth wasn't such a good prosecutor. Phoenix is an excellent lawyer; when Miles wants to hide something, though, Phoenix worries he will never be good enough to find the truth.