Well... hey there. It's been a long time, hasn't it? So this one is quite a short one but I'm hoping this is going to kick start this series again. As always, I don't own any rights to Ace Attorney. Enjoy!
Gregory had always been worried about Miles not being able to make friends. His son seemed to prefer spending time by himself getting lost in a book than socialising with other children. While Gregory knew Miles' education was important and his drive for expanding his own knowledge was something to be encouraged, he also knew that children needed to build social skills. But Miles had never shown much interest in such a thing. At least, that was until today. Miles had arrived home from school on time, just as he always did. Gregory had been stood in the kitchen when he heard the front door open then close, announcing his son's arrival. But half way through opening the kitchen door to go out and greet him, Gregory paused with his hand on the door handle when he heard the sound of voices. The voices seemed to belong to children, but he didn't recognised either of them as Miles.
"What's the big deal? It's just your dad," one of the voices whispered, although he wasn't really being all that quiet at all.
"Yeah, I thought you wanted us to meet him?" the other voice said.
"It's not that simple," Miles whispered and a smile began forming on Gregory's lips as he figured out what was happening on the other side of the door. Deciding to save his son any more grief, Gregory opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
"Miles- oh, hello there," Gregory smiled at the two boys stood either side of his son, pretending to act surprised at their presence. The two boys grinned first at Gregory, then back to Miles who was smiling sheepishly.
"Hi Dad, these are my friends- Phoenix," Miles said quietly, pointing to the boy on his right who smiled up at Gregory "and Larry," the boy on his left who waved happily.
"It's nice to meet both of you. Though, I must admit, Miles hasn't made much mention of either of you before," Gregory chuckled good-heartedly. Before Miles had a chance to even open his mouth to explain, Larry happily butted in.
"Well, that's not the same for us, sir! Edgey almost never stops talking about you and how he wants to be a great lawyer one day too," Larry smiled and Miles softly elbowed him in a vein attempt to get him to be quiet. Gregory's smile widened at the sight of his son's cheeks slowly growing pink.
"I'm glad to hear that Miles has been able to share his enthusiasm with you. Please come in, I was just cooking dinner," Gregory turned and led the way to the kitchen. Miles glanced back at Phoenix and Larry, mostly to make sure they weren't about to wander off and nose around the house somewhere else, before following his father with his two friends in tow. Despite himself, Miles felt his body relax once he smelt the delicious aromas coming from inside the kitchen.
"That smells wonderful, sir!" Phoenix exclaimed, his mouth already watering.
"Well, I hope you're all hungry. There's enough for everyone and more," Gregory announced, placing bowls down on the table. Everyone ate in a content silence. Once everyone was finished- and Larry had helped himself to everyone's leftovers- Gregory ushered them all into the lounge. All three boys flopped unceremoniously onto the couch as Gregory took his usual place in the armchair. They began talking amongst themselves, Phoenix and Larry good-naturedly teasing Edgeworth about his previous nervousness. Gregory smiled to himself before picking up his newspaper and the noise of the boys slowly faded away from his awareness. Hours passed by, the three boys chatting, playing, and generally messing about. Gregory's body relaxed further into the armchair as his heart lifted. He hadn't needed to be worried about Miles after all- it seemed like these three were going to become fast friends. He just hoped, for Miles' sake, that they would stay friends for a while to come.