Attempt number 2 at making something readable. Don't question what attempt number 1 was like.

/-/ Shocks and Sick Days /-/

It was a fairly normal evening in the office for one Miles Edgeworth.

Well, it was at least supposed to be.

Certainly wasn't his idea to catch a cold. He'd also been on edge all day, thanks to some rather unsettling weather predictions which he would rather not talk about. But here he was, making a futile attempt to do his paperwork. Sighing and shutting the case file he was previously organizing, he stood from his chair and began to pack up his supplies to take home. He could easily get to the task of file-sorting tomorrow. For now, he should probably get some medicine for the slight headache he's got going for him...

Once the latch on his briefcase clicked shut, he grabbed it with one hand and strode towards the door of his office. Until the slight tremors in the ground began, of course.

How could he have been so incredibly stupid? Of course, the news that morning said that there was a small chance of a very minor earthquake, that being precisely what had him a bit worried that day. But still, those 'small chances of very minor earthquakes' didn't hide the fact that he still was terrified. Even after all those years. How pathetic of him.

There was a small thud as the briefcase dropped to the ground, being released from Edgeworth's now shaky grip.

Already feeling weak from his cold but simply feeling awful now, he held his arms against his head as he slid to the ground, trembling. Breathe in, breathe out, don't cry. You're fine. Breathe in, breathe out, don't cry. You're fine.

The previously small tremor got worse as he curled up into a ball, wishing for something to calm his panic. His vision was tunneling, he couldn't breathe as his throat constricted-

A sound, almost silent at first but louder as it broke through his mental barrier. Wasn't that… his phone? The Steel Samurai theme was indeed playing through the tiny speaker on the device.

He didn't bother checking the Caller ID. Even if he wanted to in his state of mind, it was blurred out thanks to the tears in his vision, the ones that threatened at every passing second to fall. Barely managing to press the 'Accept' button, he held the cell phone up to the ear that wasn't against the floor and tried to compose himself enough to try and take the call. It didn't work.

"Edgeworth, Thank God you picked up…" It was Wright. Why wouldn't it be? He always seemed to call at either the best or worst times, more often than not the latter. Though, Edgeworth couldn't be sure which to say it was this time.

"W-Wright, is- is that y-you?" The blind panic was enveloping him more and more as the tremors in the ground kept going, seemingly getting worse even though it could easily just be in his head. "W-why are you…" - He took a far too quick gasp of air. - "C-calling me?"

"There's an earthquake going on right now, yeah? Are you okay? I know that you, well…" He sounded awfully worried, although that must be a mistake. Wright shouldn't bother worrying over someone like him.

"I-I'm f-fine."

"You don't sound 'fine' at all."

"T-that's-" His voice was broken off when a short but large tremor came over what felt like the whole world, adding to his already huge pile of fear and changing what he decided to say in response to Wright's statement. "... t-true."

From the other side of the line, Phoenix blinked. Edgeworth never came straight out and said that he wasn't okay. The man was simply too prideful for that. He must be feeling truly distressed. "Look, I'm coming over there, okay? I don't want to leave you alone during this."

"N-no, it's f-fine, I-"

"You're not going to change my mind, I've already walked out the door. Just wait for me."

And wait he would, albeit with a feeling of guilt among the pure fear and panic. Eventually, Edgeworth's mind went into a state of something between consciousness and unconsciousness, probably to prevent at least some of the pain from being fully alert. But that didn't mean at all that he wasn't having half-conscious nightmares the entire time. Longing for something- no, someone, he desperately spoke into the cell that was still against his ear. "W-Wright." Only the name he could manage, before his throat closed up on him.

"Miles, I'm almost there. Hold on, okay?" Oddly, Wright's voice sounded scared too. He couldn't think of why it was in his state of mind.

Having a sudden longing for the strange sense of comfort that his friend's voice seems to bring to him, he endured another word. "T-talk."

He had no clue at all how Wright figured out what he was implying through that vague word, but the defense attorney on the other side of the phone line complied. "Okay. Um, today I had this case…"

He proceeded to describe whoever it was that he was defending that day, and while Edgeworth couldn't really string together the actual story, the amenity of the other man's gentle tone greatly helped the terrified prosecutor hold onto the world that seemed to be slipping from his grasp.

After minutes, maybe hours, or perhaps just seconds, the door to his office opened and in ran one Phoenix Wright. The defense attorney desperately looked around the room before spotting the curled up and half-conscious Edgeworth. "Oh God, Miles, I'm sorry I took so long…"

He couldn't say anything back, not trusting his voice enough.

Wright dashed to his side, immediately gathering the prosecutor in his arms. Usually, Edgeworth would have been against any physical contact whatsoever, but the strain of his cold combined with the panic attack actually made him rather glad for the other man being there. Of course, he'd never admit that.

"Here, let's sit, alright?" Gently, Phoenix guided him to the nearby couch where they both sat down. Immediately, Edgeworth curled up against the defense attorney's side, the warmth bringing him a small piece of contentment, a ray of light in the dark. He was shaking like a leaf, subconsciously grabbing at Phoenix's shirt desperately while trying (and failing) not to cry.

The defense attorney stroked Edgeworth's hair lightly with one hand, while having his other arm around the prosecutor in a soft embrace. He was painfully aware that this was likely the first time in years his friend had any sort of comfort for, well, anything.

Neither was sure how long they were simply sitting there as the earthquake gradually got softer before it finally stopped. Phoenix noticed that Miles had somehow fallen asleep at one point or another, still curled up.

Okay, that's cute. I can't just not admit that… He couldn't help but smirk. After a bit, he tried to stand and let Edgeworth sleep but was stopped. "No… don't leave… me like… everyone else..." Miles had managed to keep his grip on Phoenix's shirt, even in sleep, and was effectively stopping him from completely standing. The prosecutor's face was flushed with fever, his body still shivering a little even though the earthquake was over.

"Miles…" Phoenix felt a cold hand close over his heart. 'Don't leave me like everyone else.', he had said.

His mind couldn't help but jump back to the memories of his childhood, when Larry, Edgeworth, and himself all promised to be best friends forever. That dream was shattered when Edgeworth's father died in a traumatic incident, with a young Miles being in the very same elevator at the time the murder took place. Then, the boy was forced to move in with none other than his father's rival, Manfred Von Karma. By that point, neither Phoenix nor Larry had even seen Edgeworth since the day, and while Larry had managed to move on, there was just something about Miles that Phoenix just couldn't drop. That was half the reason he dropped art to follow his friend into the world of law. He solely wanted to know what happened to the boy with the Signal Red keychain and the bright smile, the boy who defended him in that class trial when nobody else would.

Now, that same person was here with him. But he was clearly still suffering, and seemed to not be letting anyone even know about it, much less help. How the tables have turned, huh? Now it's my turn to help you, Miles.

He smiled sadly, and sat back down. That seemed to make Edgeworth relieved, but it didn't stop the effects of the obvious sickness that he seemed to have. Making a quick decision in his head, he gently took the prosecutor's hands and carefully pried off their grip on his shirt. "I'll only be a minute, don't worry. I'm coming back." He wasn't entirely sure why he had to clarify that. Maybe it was the words the other had spoken just moments prior.

He stood, Edgeworth surprisingly not making any sleep-protests. Then, he walked to his bag which he had set down earlier when he first came into the office. Rummaging around, he pulled out the emergency cold medicine he always had (Coldkiller X, he thought with eyes narrowed. Kills colds, but also his good mood by bringing back unpleasant memories) along with a clean handkerchief.

Finding no sink in the office, and really why would there be one, Phoenix briefly left it to find the washroom. While he did feel extremely hesitant to leave the sick and probably still scared Miles alone, he knew he needed to get water. It was to help, and he'd be back almost immediately afterwards.

Pushing open the door, he briefly caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror. There were small dark circles under his eyes, thanks to him staying up late because of the case he had that day. At least he won a 'Not Guilty' verdict. Before he'd even left his own office to head to the courtroom, he had heard on the T.V. that there were chances of earthquakes. That only added to his pile of stress, as his thoughts instantly turned to Miles.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he took a disposable cup from the nearby dispenser and filled it with water from the sink. Once it was full, he carried it back down the hallway and to Edgeworth's office. His heart dropped when he opened the door and saw the prosecutor shivering more than he was before, and seeing the small tears running down his burning cheeks.

He got to work immediately by dipping the handkerchief in the water and laying it across Edgeworth's forehead, then measuring an adequate amount of medicine and pouring it into the cap. Now he just had to wake him up.

Taking one of the prosecutor's hands and squeezing it, he then lightly shook his friend. "Miles, wake up. Hey, can you hear me?"

The hand in his was shaking weakly, but it did squeeze back. "I- … Wright?"

"The one and only."

Eyes slightly glazed over as if he was still stuck in whatever sad dream he must have been having, Edgeworth seemed to relax. "What did you wake me for?"

"I just need you to take this medicine. Is the cloth temperature okay?" Phoenix grabbed the cap of the medicine bottle, which was already filled, off of the coffee table where he had temporarily placed it. The prosecutor, meanwhile, seemed to only just be noticing the cold cloth on his forehead. "Um, yes. It's fine. But how… did you know I had a cold?"

The defense attorney turned to him, eyebrows raised. "Miles, your cheeks were flushed with fever and you were shaking like a leaf even though the earthquake is long gone. I did have good reason to assume something was wrong."

"..."

"Here, take this. It'll help." Phoenix moved the hand with the medicine in it, about to feed it to Edgeworth, when the man stopped him. "Unlike what you may think, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." With that, he stole the medicine cap out of Phoenix's hand and drank it with the smugness he sometimes had in court.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was a little concerned. "You know, you probably shouldn't be in the office. You really ought to get home, where you can properly rest-"

"Th-thank you."

"Huh?" The defense attorney blinked.

Edgeworth was blushing, but not entirely from his cold. "Before I, uh, regret telling you. Thanks f-for taking care of me. I'm not worth- …you didn't need to, but you did. S-so-" This time, he was cut off. But not by words.

Phoenix had his arms wrapped around the prosecutor, tender yet fierce at the same time. "You were about to say 'I'm not worth it', weren't you?"

Silence.

"Of course you're worth it. Y-you mean the world to me, you know. I'd never not take care of you, Miles."

"I- um- you're going to catch my cold." He blurted, face even redder from Phoenix's unexpected remark.

A laugh. "It's fine. I won't have any cases for a little while, since I did just finish one today."

"Y-your job doesn't only entitle s-simply winning court cases, you know."

"Shhh. Let me ignore that part."

That made Edgeworth choke, as Phoenix grinned. Neither, of course, let go of the other's embrace. So who knows, Miles thought. Maybe things aren't so awful today.

/-/ End /-/

Probably the most unoriginal idea in this fandom, but I wanted to take a shot at it. Thanks for stopping by!

(P.S. If anyone happens to be here from my other running story Tears of a Butterfly… well, the update is coming eventually. I just saw today that the story received 100 followers, and I can't express how grateful I am. That does give me motivation.)