Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, its characters and settings, are property of Capcom, and are being used here without permission. This fic contains adult male/male content.

Unfortunately, this part might not make as much sense if you're unfamiliar with case four of Gyakuten Saiban 2. But in short, Miles came back and won an important case. In the process of helping him Gumshoe was involved in a traffic accident (not seriously hurt). The whole gang went out to celebrate afterwards but Edgeworth disappeared halfway through. And that's where this part picks up….

Steady Inhale

Part 3/4

Gumshoe drummed his fingers nervously against his knees as the taxi hurried him to the airport. With all the fuss being made by Lotta snapping everyone's picture, and Phoenix trying to keep Maya from eating everything in sight, it had taken him a while to notice Edgeworth's absence. It wasn't like him to just slip away like that, especially when they were celebrating his victory. The only explanation he could come up with was the one he'd feared all along.

As soon as the cab stopped Gumshoe shoved a handful of bills at the driver and all but jumped out. The sudden movement started his head throbbing again but he didn't care. He sped through the airport lobby, up the escalators and down long halls, stopping only long enough to get directions from a staff member. There was a flight leaving from gate A14 for Europe. The announcements he caught over the loudspeakers were indicating he was already too late—they had finished boarding. But he ran anyway, until he was pressed up against huge window at gate A14, watching the plane being taxied away.

Gumshoe gasped for breath, staring past his own pale reflection at the departing aircraft with profound disappointment. His hands fisted tensely against the glass. He could have… His shoulders sagged with a long sigh. He could'a at least said goodbye….

Gumshoe pushed away from the window, feeling sorry for himself, and was about to leave when he caught a glance of a familiar bright-colored fabric only a few feet away. Too afraid to hope, he lifted his gaze very slowly. But he wasn't mistaken—standing across from him at the window was Miles Edgeworth.

The prosecutor must have felt Gumshoe's heavy stare, as he turned, regarding him with just as much surprise and confusion. "Gumshoe?"

"M…Mr. Edgeworth!" Gumshoe hurried over to him, still a little breathless and half convinced he was imagining things. "I thought…weren't you on…to Europe…?"

Edgeworth's brow furrowed as he puzzled out Gumshoe's stuttering. "I came to see Mei off," he explained. "She wanted to head back to her old district as soon as possible."

"Oh! Oh, I see…" Gumshoe shifted his weight and grinned in embarrassed relief. "I thought you'd run out on me again."

It wasn't until Edgeworth frowned, looking puzzled, that Gumshoe realized how odd that must have sounded. "I mean, you know, left town again," he tried to correct himself. "Since you were just in town…to help Miss Karma…."

Edgeworth sighed, and shook his head incredulously. "You worry about me too much," he scolded lightly. He turned away and then paused, as if waiting for Gumshoe to follow. "Honestly—running around like that when you're injured."

Gumshoe blushed a little as he fell into step beside Edgeworth. "It's, uh, not that bad." In truth his head felt several sizes too large and was throbbing pretty badly, but he was able to block it out.

Edgeworth snorted doubtfully. "I'll take you home."

"Thanks, pal…"

Once they were in Edgeworth's rental car, heading back into the city, Gumshoe allowed himself to finally relax. It had been a very long couple of days and he was still trying to go through exactly what had happened. He poked gingerly at the bandages around his forehead as Edgeworth drove them to his small apartment on the south side of town. "Think I'll get reinstated again?" he asked with a chuckle.

Edgeworth smirked. "Of course. Mei put in a good word for you, you know."

"She did?" Gumshoe winced as he pressed a little too hard at his temple. "She's…uh…quite a woman."

"Yes, she certainly is."

"Quite a family you got, in fact…" Gumshoe glanced over hesitantly, fearing he may have said something inappropriate, but Edgeworth's thin lips were still curled pleasantly. The expression made Gumshoe happier than he would admit—he hadn't seen his old comrade in such good spirits for a long time. "I'm glad," he murmured.

"Hm?" Edgeworth titled his head attentively but didn't take his eyes off the road. "Well, of course. You're a good detective, Gumshoe."

"No, I mean…" He grinned brightly. "For you, pal. You finally won a case."

Edgeworth glanced at him, and then laughed—openly, with more honest humor than Gumshoe could remember hearing in him before. "'Finally'?" he echoed with mock indignation.

Gumshoe was suddenly flustered. "Well…well yeah. I mean, y'haven't since before Mr. Wright…."

Edgeworth laughed again and shook his head. "What did you think I've been doing this past year?" he asked. "I'll have you know, Detective, I've won many cases since I joined the District Attorney's office in Paris."

"You…huh?" Gumshoe's brow furrowed as he tried to picture Edgeworth standing up in any court but their own, with little success.

"Don't think about it too hard," Edgeworth advised. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I…hey!" Gumshoe crossed his arms and slumped down in his passenger seat. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn't help feeling…somewhat jealous. Though glad to hear he was still working, he didn't like the thought of Edgeworth getting along with an entirely different group of prosecutors, different detectives…

They arrived at Gumshoe's apartment a few minutes later—Edgeworth smirked most of the way—and despite his protests Edgeworth insisted on seeing him inside. His place was small and always a mess, covered in old papers he'd forgotten to file, carry-out boxes, laundry… He cringed at Edgeworth's disapproving expression and did his best to kick the clutter out of the front hall as they entered.

"Sorry, Sir," he said sheepishly, tossing an old carton of Chinese food into the trash. "I didn't know you were comin', y'know?"

"It's all right." Edgeworth slipped out of his suit coat and folded it over the back of a chair in the tiny kitchen space. "Stop fussing—you should be laying down."

"Let me get something for ya," Gumshoe suggested, still bustling about. Seeing Edgeworth in his filthy apartment in his good suit was making him nervous, and he couldn't sit still. "You wanna beer? No, wait, you prob'ly don't drink plain old beer. How about—"

"Detective!" Edgeworth took him firmly by the arm, surprising Gumshoe with his strength as he led him away from the refrigerator. "I told you not to worry about me. Now lie down."

Edgeworth gave him a shove—the edge of the sofa caught him by the calves, and with a grunt he thumped down heavily on the lumpy cushions. He blinked dumbly. "Sir?"

"Don't make me knock you out myself," Edgeworth warned. He pushed at Gumshoe's shoulders, forcing him onto his back. Gumshoe was too startled to fight, and soon he stretched out on the extra long sofa. "Now stay there. I'll get something for your head."

"Huh…?" When Edgeworth stepped back Gumshoe instinctively started to sit up after him, but was quickly glowered back into place. "Um, thanks. Something cold…?" His scalp was beginning to itch beneath the bandages, and he couldn't help but scratch, even if it hurt.

"All right. And don't touch those bandages," Edgeworth called as he headed back into the kitchen. Gumshoe quickly lowered his hand with a guilty chuckle.

The apartment fell quiet, the only sounds those of Edgeworth rummaging through his refrigerator. Every slight shift of a box or carton made Gumshoe curious; he craned his head back so he could see what the younger man was up to. It was such a strange image, especially with Edgeworth out of his coat. The black vest was fitted much more tightly to the shape of his body, making him look younger than Gumshoe was used to. When Edgeworth turned back towards him he quickly lowered his head again.

"Your ice trays are empty," Edgeworth reported. Gumshoe followed him with his eyes as he knelt down next to the sofa, and pressed a chilled beer can to his forehead. The cold spread instantly through his body in welcome relief. "And it doesn't look like you eat very well."

"I keep most of the food in the cupboards," Gumshoe tried to explain. "Mostly instant stuff…" It was embarrassing having Edgeworth looking after him like this. Though with the prosecutor leaning over him like that, it did afford him a better view of his face. He looked very different than he had that afternoon almost seventh months ago at the prison… The color was back in his skin, and there was something sharp and almost bright in his gray eyes—the vitality Gumshoe had seen in him the first time he appeared as his witness in court. Just seeing Edgeworth having regained that spirit made him feel years younger.

"It's not good for you," Edgeworth was saying, and Gumshoe quickly cut off his reminiscing. "All that artificial so-called food. You and Wright have to get off of that diet." He took Gumshoe's hand, moving it to hold the can in his place.

"Well, at least I try to get a variety…" Gumshoe replied with a frown, relaxing into the sofa cushions.

"You ought to have something more substantial," Edgeworth continued to lecture. "Something with real vegetables, and protein." He reached down, beginning to undo the man's necktie for him.

Gumshoe's attention was quickly drawn. Though the tie was already loose Edgeworth clearly wasn't as familiar with the knot as he was those on his own neckpiece, and his fingers kept brushing against Gumshoe's chest as he tried to tug it apart. His brow, furrowed in concentration, was almost comical. But it was his hands that made Gumshoe hold very still and tugged his pulse up into his throat.

Edgeworth finally separated the knot with a tiny snort of accomplishment. As he start to tug the necktie off, however, Gumshoe couldn't take any more—he wasn't used to being cared after like this, and it made him a little uneasy. He covered Edgeworth's wrist intending to urge it away. "Uh, y'don't have to do this, pal," he said, voice coming out quieter than he'd intended. "Making a fuss over me…."

Edgeworth paused, and for a long moment their eyes met, both falling still. Something in the contact of warm, bare skin struck them both sharply. His hands were still trapped against Gumshoe's chest, forearms pressed along his stomach so that he was shifted a little whenever Gumshoe breathed. The silence was thick and awkward but Gumshoe couldn't bring himself to push Edgeworth away as he had intended.

"I…." Gumshoe's words fell short. The longer Edgeworth watched him, looking suddenly so puzzled, the more aware he became of that thick knot in his stomach that tightened whenever they were together. He had for so long mistaken it for admiration and concern that when he tried to speak again and felt his cheeks darken with a childish blush, it surprised even him. His hand tightened helplessly against Edgeworth's wrist.

Edgeworth's eyes narrowed on his companion's flustered expression. All at once he was struck with the same strange recognition Gumshoe had been, and in his face reflected the gears in his mind spinning to life. Gumshoe imagined he could almost see the figures passing through his brain, calculating explanations, exchanges, possibilities he had not considered until that moment. He didn't move or speak but his stiff, unwavering gaze was somehow dizzying.

The detective gulped, telling himself to let go and apologize—for anything, just to get Edgeworth to stop staring at him with such intensity. But then Edgeworth's lips moved. Gumshoe held his breath as Edgeworth smiled, and then leaned forward, closing the already short distance between them. Paralyzed, he could only stare in disbelief, until…a soft, fatherly kiss was pressed to his forehead.

"You're a good man, Detective Gumshoe," Edgeworth said quietly as he began to straighten once more.

"Mr. Edgeworth—" Strength flooded back into Gumshoe with a tiny gasp, and he dropped the long-forgotten beer so he could fasten his other hand onto Edgeworth's shoulder before he could get too far away.

They paused again, this time only a few inches apart. Gumshoe shivered at his own boldness and had to look away. "I'm…I'm sorry," he murmured. "I know…I know you probably gotta go again, huh? You were just here, 'cause'a Miss Karma…" Edgeworth shifted, and he licked his lips and continued before he could be interrupted. "I'm sorry for the way this city's treated ya. But…"

His hands tensed. "But I just wanted you to know, Sir, that I'm glad," he blurted out. "Glad you an' I got to work together, for a while at least. And I hope…all the good luck in the world to you."

Edgeworth didn't answer right away, and his silence made the other man cringe. Gumshoe's stomach was tight as he felt Edgeworth shift against him and lean forward. Long, firm fingers pressed into his jaw to urge his head to turn; and then a wide, warm mouth was pressed to his, touching their lips in a kiss he hadn't realized he'd been waiting for.

The muscles along Gumshoe's stomach tightened as he swelled up faintly into the kiss, head lifting off the sofa's armrest. He was too afraid to really kiss him back—could barely move at all as if everything would dissolve away into smoke and fantasy. But then Edgeworth's hands were pressing into his chest, and his tongue was brushing lightly over his trembling lips. With a tiny murmur of surprise and relief Gumshoe slumped onto his back once more.

Edgeworth separated then with a thin gasp of his own. His usually pale complexion was flushed and his breath a bit faster than it had been minutes ago. He looked incredulous at his own actions, which Gumshoe could sympathize with well enough. He couldn't believe that what had just happened was real.

"Sir…?" Gumshoe stared up into the other's face, and this time the knot from his stomach tightened a little lower. It was suddenly hard to remember the last time someone had hovered over him like that. Distracted, his hand began to slip from Edgeworth's shoulder. "What…"

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Edgeworth replied. His cool smirk made Gumshoe's insides melt a little. When Gumshoe's drifting hand reached his elbow Edgeworth shifted, nudging it down to his ribs. "Though you really should be resting…."

"Yes, but…" Gumshoe was cut off by another unexpected kiss, and this time he pushed past his insecurity to return it. He wasn't maybe the most experienced of his officer peers but he was used to his lovers being more aggressive than him, and he knew how to respond. At first there was a hint of almost virginal curiosity in Edgeworth's clever lips; he hadn't imagined this scenario as often as Gumshoe had in his dreams, and his kiss was hesitant and explorative. Testing himself, even, to see if this was what he wanted.

That didn't last very long. Edgeworth adjusted quickly to his new partner, shifting up on his feet to lower more of his weight against Gumshoe's broad body. There wasn't enough room on the sofa for them both but Gumshoe pressed his hand into Edgeworth's ribs—had he placed it there anticipating this?—to better support him. Despite the awkward positioning Edgeworth managed to fit them together perfectly, enabling him to focus instead on their meeting lips.

Gumshoe hadn't known it was possible to be so affected by another person. Now that Edgeworth seemed to have gotten over the initial shock his mouth was hot and demanding, and Gumshoe couldn't help a strained groan of pleasure as Edgeworth rubbed his tongue possessively against his. Every muscle in his body felt tight with excitement, his pulse so heavy against his temples he thought he might faint.

When he realized that dizziness was actually a lack of breath broke the kiss with a regretful murmur. Edgeworth's body rose and fell with his as they both gasped for much needed air. Even then Gumshoe was a little unsteady, and he finally let go of the captured wrist to rub at his forehead. What a horrible time to be injured…

Edgeworth watched him, his eyes half lidded and heavy, making Gumshoe wonder if they'd been that way the entire time. It was vindicating to fell the man's hands tightening reflexively against his chest—to know that Edgeworth may have been just as effected by their brief, shared fervor. Gradually, their breath began to even out.

Edgeworth licked his lips. "Is your head all right?" he asked, reaching up to smooth his thumb gently over the bandages.

"Yes!" Gumshoe replied quickly. "My head is…." He blushed darker and did his best not to look guilty for where those words had taken his mind just then. "…just fine."

Edgeworth smirked again, and as Gumshoe looked away in embarrassment began to lean back. Though he hated to let him go Gumshoe's hand tensed only briefly against his ribs before falling away. Is…that it…?

"Sorry I got you riled up," Edgeworth apologized, almost…coyly. "When you're injured." He retrieved the fallen beer can, dropping it abruptly in Gumshoe's lap.

"Ah!" Gumshoe jumped and quickly reached for it—the cold shot through him again, but it couldn't quite erase the burning heat from his face and ears. "H-Hey—"

Edgeworth chuckled as he stretched and pushed to his feet. "Get some rest, Detective," he suggested. "Now's not the best time for that."

Gumshoe frowned as he dropped the offending can back onto the floor. "But…" He grimaced a little in embarrassment and shifted discreetly to face the sofa's back. He expects me to sleep after that? "You're right, but…are you leaving?"

He craned his neck back, watching as Edgeworth fixed himself a glass of water in the kitchen. The sight of the prosecutor moving about his apartment so casually, which had once made him nervous, now looked so natural it made his chest ache.

"Do you want me to?" Edgeworth asked, turning back as he sipped the water.

"Well, no," Gumshoe replied instantly. "I mean, unless you want to."

"I don't have to go anywhere." Edgeworth returned, and handed him the glass. "I'll stay until you're asleep."

Gumshoe was touched by the offer, and he grinned meekly as he took a long gulp of the water. It helped calm him down a little, at least. "Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth. I'd…like that."

"All right." Edgeworth accepted the drink back when he was finished with it, carrying it with him to the chair in the kitchen that was Gumshoe's only other piece of sitting furniture. "Let me know if you need anything."

"No, I'm…fine." Gumshoe settled himself, still facing the back of the sofa—just in case. "Goodnight, Sir."

"Goodnight, Gumshoe."

The apartment went quiet again. After a moment Gumshoe tipped his head up one last time, watching Edgeworth, who was reading an old newspaper off his kitchen table. Though he could have been disappointed by the abrupt passing of those brief, intimate moments, he wasn't. Not with Edgeworth watching over him.

Smiling shyly to himself, Gumshoe lowered his head and relaxed.