This computer SUCKS.

I'm so sorry, guys. I tried to update earlier, but the internet over here fails majorly. Please forgive me...

Thanks for all of your lovely reviews! I finally figured out what to write in this story, so updates should be much more frequent.

THANK YOU!!! Enjoy. :)

Chapter 7

March 16

6:15 P.M.

Miles Edgeworth's House

Miles stared at the man who had been on his mind for the past several hours, sheepishly holding a few packets of tea leaves.

"What the hell do you want, Wright? I must warn you, I'm in a foul mood. The old ba - Ms. - Ms. Oldbag sent me more flowers today, with several obnoxious love notes attached."

A wicked grin crept onto Phoenix's face.

"Oh, so Edgey-poo's still a bit under the weather? Aww..." he cooed. A vein appeared to bulge on Miles' forehead. "What are you so mad about? You kept the other gifts she sent you in the office."

"That wasn't me!" sputtered Miles. "Lana keeps telling me to be polite and keep them!"

"Not to mention that Pearls said something about you two having feelings for each other... Ema, too..." mused Phoenix, smirking.

Miles' mouth twisted into an ugly snarl.

"Where did they get that idea, Wright?" he challenged.

Sensing he had gone a bit too far, Phoenix stepped back slightly, blue eyes widening.

"Not from me!" he protested, shielding himself with his hands. "Which reminds me - she wanted me to deliver these." He shoved the tea into Miles' hand and whirled around, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Phoenix."

The use of his first name from his friend stopped Phoenix in his tracks. Slowly turning around, he locked gazes with the prosecutor, nearly losing his breath at the intensity in his eyes. The little voice in his head mentally nudged him suggestively, but his mind swatted it away. A slight blush crept to his cheeks.

The redness on the other man's cheeks confused Miles. Unless...

'He feels the same way?... No, you're a fool. He could never... it's best not to...'

"Thank you," Miles said, and retreated into his house.

March 17

11:30 A.M.

Street

Phoenix sighed to himself as he walked to the nearby grocery store. The contents of his fridge no longer qualified as food, and he figured that he might as well buy something healthy before Gumshoe tried to sneak in more instant noodles, or Maya started begging him for burgers. He flushed yet again as he recalled the last time that they had eaten burgers together, and were interrupted by Miles Edgeworth.

'Why do I feel this way?' he wondered, exasperated with himself. 'Do I... no... I...'

'You love him,' teased the nasty little voice.

'Shut up!' Phoenix retorted.

'Ooh, not denying it?' his mind taunted.

Phoenix pondered this for a while, then sighed in defeat.

'No, I'm not.'

The voice chuckled.

Phoenix sorely wished he could talk to Mia at times like this. She would know what to do. In fact, if he pictured her in his mind, he could sometimes hear her voice. He did so now, not able to wait until he saw Maya or Pearls.

'Phoenix...'

There it was.

'Follow your heart... you may be surprised... What seems bad can become... a blessing...'

Phoenix's eyes shot open, and he sighed again. Mia liked to speak in riddles. As he mulled this over, he heard a loud noise from a nearby alleyway.

'Wh-what?! That sounds bad! I hope no one's hurt...'

He dashed toward the alley, a sinking feeling in his chest. The sunlight flashed off a silver surface, and he gasped at what he saw.

A figure, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, stood over a lifeless woman, a knife clasped tightly in its hand. As the figure turned to regard the stunned defense attorney, dark hair fell over its face. Phoenix stepped back, but the attacker dashed over, pulled out a wrench, and bashed him on the head, nodding in satisfaction as he crumpled to the ground. Knowing that the commotion would attract somebody, they looked around nervously before beginning the set-up. This would have to be quick.

March 17

11:40 A.M.

Street

Miles Edgeworth had shopping to do. He forced himself to leave the warmth of the house and look around for a gift to give to Phoenix, as a thank-you for the brush.

'He didn't have to blow his salary on that hairbrush,' Miles thought. A commotion brought him away from his musings.

"Oh my God!"

"Somebody call the police!"

"Aah!"

A throng of people was crowded around the entrance to a small alleyway. Pushing his way through, Miles discovered what had caused the commotion: the body of a woman, holding a wrench. She was surrounded by a puddle of blood.

"Call the police!" he bellowed, scanning the scene for anything that could point to the killer. "Now!"

Someone whipped out a cell phone and started dialing. A flash caught Miles' eye, and he walked to the source. What he saw made him weak in the knees.

Phoenix Wright lay motionless on the ground, holding a large knife. The cheerful defense attorney looked pale and empty.

'No...'

"Ambulance!" he nearly screamed. "Call 911!" He knelt beside Phoenix, frantically fumbling at his wrist, and sighing with relief as he detected a pulse. 'Then…'

"What's going on here, pal?!" A frantic Dick Gumshoe pushed his way through the crowd. "This is insane! It's - is that Mr. Wright?!"

"The paramedics," Miles choked out. "Where are they?"

"Right behind us, pal," stammered Gumshoe, a bit startled by the pain he saw in Miles' eyes.

"Excuse us! Doctors coming through!" a female voice commanded, her partner bringing a stretcher. They shoved Miles to the side and lay Phoenix on the stretcher, then began to leave.

"W-wait!" Miles puffed up indignantly. "You have no right to treat me like that!"

"You were in the way," the nurse snapped. "Unless you want to prevent treatment for this man?"

"No!" Miles shouted. Then, "Let me come with him... I want to be there to yell at him when he wakes up."

The nurse started to reply, but Gumshoe put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go," he muttered. "There's something going on between those two. Best friends, yes, but... maybe... WHOA!" Another person had discovered the truth, and Gumshoe stepped back, his eyes wide.

The nurse smirked.

"So it's like that, is it? Very well. This way, Mr. Big Shot." The paramedics carried Phoenix toward the ambulance, and Miles followed, in a daze. He sat down in the ambulance and didn't move the entire drive to the hospital, which was thankfully not the Hotti Clinic.

"We're going to take him in for a CT scan," reported the nurse, "just to make sure that there isn't any brain damage. There is a bruise on his skull, near the occipital lobe. When he wakes up, he'll probably be dizzy, with a severe headache. However, we don't know until we perform the scan. Wait here for now."

March 17

12:00 P.M.

Miles Edgeworth's House

A cheerful group of three girls and one man walked along the well-kept sidewalk to a certain prosecutor's house. Larry had recruited them for "The Quest to Find the Gay Pink Slippers," and he had needed some moral support. They arrived at Edgeworth's house and rang the doorbell, but the lights were off, and nobody answered.

"Guess he's not home," Maya said, disappointed. As she said these words, the Steel Samurai Theme Song started playing. "Oh! My phone!" She quickly flipped the top open. "Hello?"

The confused look on her face quickly changed into surprise, then panic.

"Yes, we'll be there right away! Hang on!" She snapped her phone shut. "Nick – head injury - let's go!" She ran in the direction of the hospital, her worried company following her.

March 17

12:30 P.M.

Hospital

"Mr. Edgeworth?" A different nurse walked up to him, clutching a clipboard. "You're a... friend of Mr. Wright's, correct?"

"Yes..."

"We just wanted to let you know that Mr. Wright has suffered a concussion, but it should heal in time. He is not conscious as of yet, but in a few hours, he will probably wake up, although he'll be a bit confused." She smiled as Miles nodded and expressed his thanks.

"MR. EDGEWORTH!!!"

"Maya..." Miles turned around, acknowledging the quartet's presence. "You've heard, then?"

"Y-yeah... is he gonna be okay?"

The nurse smiled.

"He should be fine. This man is fortunate to have friends like you. We're going to keep him overnight, just to be safe. Only one visitor at a time," she added, as Maya opened her mouth. "Sorry, hospital policy. Who's it going to be?"

All eyes turned to one person.

March 17

2:00 P.M.

Maya Fey's House

"Sorry to bring you here, Detective," said Maya, "but we were wondering if…"

"If I've noticed that Mr. Edgeworth loves Mr. Wright?"

Everyone was stunned.

"How…"

Gumshoe rubbed his head uncertainly.

"I just realized it myself, pal," he admitted. "But with all the evidence... it's pretty decisive."

"But this is the hard part..." Ema mused.

"What?" Maya asked.

"Getting them together, of course!" A spark came to Ema's eyes as she slipped her sunglasses on. She tapped them twice, then pulled out her notebook and a pencil. "Any ideas?"

Larry grinned. "Well..."