TMG, you're like this story's biggest fan. I really appreciate that.

I apologize for non NaruMistu/Phoenix x Miles fans.

Chapter 8: Miles Edgeworth

The letters that were sent every year were received by someone other than Miles Edgeworth. It wasn't until a few years after his first case against that other rookie, Mia Fey, did he finally caught wind of what von Karma was hiding from him. Manfred had deliberately thrown out every instance of mail that was written by Larry Butz or Phoenix Wright. A child in the von Karma household didn't have time for those below them, after all.

Mrs. von Karma however, had snuck each letter from their grim fates and kept them in a box. When Manfred ordered the staff to simply throw any hand written letters addressed to Miles to be thrown away, Mrs. Manfred secretly told them to give those letters to her instead. She would have to wait for Miles to be collectively mature enough to handle the situation. It wouldn't do for a child or teen to lash out against von Karma at all.

It had been a few years since Phoenix had written a letter to Miles, as he had promised Larry. But with the floating news of the demon prosecutor and the claims of falsifying evidence, Phoenix had to break the promise. In his letters, Phoenix inquired about Miles's wellbeing. What living in Germany felt like. It was like his old letters to the silver haired one, except now there were also questions of Miles's job.

I still trust you were the gist and repetition of many themes of the letters. Do you really believe this is the truth was another. Miles arrived home early one day, so he decided to take in the mail. A commonly easy and simple task that he never liked the idea of butlers or maids handling. Miles's line of vision suddenly caught a distinctly familiar looking envelope. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the return address. Sticking that one single letter into his jacket, Miles reentered the von Karma mansion, with the other mails and bills in tow.

He delivered the important ones to the desk of the head of the house, before quickly retreating into a secluded corner of the mansion where he wouldn't be interrupted or distracted. It was a letter from Phoenix Wright. He remembered her. A strange girl that looked and acted like a boy. Strange character befitting a strange name, he supposed.

He never told her, but he liked her. Liked liked. It was embarrassing for him to be so enchanted by such a simple person. To why embarrassment though was a mystery, even to this day he had no idea why it was embarrassing in the first place. It was embarrassing now though, as sometimes Miles dreams of her. Dreamed of scenario after scenario of what ifs. What if he had told her? What if his father never died? What if she didn't like him back? The letter started off with no breaks whatsoever.

I had surgery today.

His heart skipped a beat.

Or was it a day before? Hard to tell anymore, I'm so damn tired.

Why the surgery though? Was Phoenix alright?

Don't worry, it wasn't nothing life threatening. It was just the top surgery I told you about a few years ago.

What.

My dream came true, and I now no longer have weird fat bags hanging off my chest. Even though it hurts to move right now.

What was going on? There was a lump in his throat. There were too many pieces missing. But one thing he could tell was that he didn't receive any other letters from Phoenix. That would mean that someone had prevented him from receiving them. He skimmed the rest of the letter.

I miss you, Miles.

Now the lump in his throat was threatening to burst. His eyes started to tear up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but only to see that it was Mrs. von Karma, and not her husband.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," he muttered, wiping his eyes.

"Oh, Miles. Come here, I have something to show you."

She led Miles to the pantry, a place he was banned from going to after he caused some harmless mischief with Franziska. For a toddler, the young girl was a very fast runner. Mrs. von Karma then gave him a box. It wasn't heavy, nor was it light. He looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Read these in your room, Miles. Keep your emotions in check, and don't make a scene," she cupped the side of his face. Read. Letters. Miles's heart began to pound again. He nodded frantically and before he left her in the pantry. In his room, Miles slid down with his back against the locked door with a giant sigh. With shivering fingers he lifted the top off to reveal envelops. Dozens of them. He shifted through them. At first, there were so many of them, barely days apart. From both Phoenix and Larry. Afterwards, Larry stopped sending, and Phoenix has started to send only in rare spurts. Annually from what he could tell. And then there was a gap. A gap of years of nothing. But the year that the letters started coming back was the year that he started prosecuting.

He began to read. The first letters were of Larry and Phoenix, harmlessly asking where he was and if he was alright, and that they were sorry. Why were they sorry? They had nothing to do with his death. It was him...

When Larry stopped, Phoenix continued.

I'm actually a girl.

Miles expected that.

Me and Larry are dating now.

That, not so much.

Today, I found out that I'm transgender.

Oh. And then there were paragraphs of explanations. Of what it meant, of how Phoenix felt/ Miles felt that Phoenix hasn't told anyone but him about certain passages of the letters. Miles smiled at that. So he read about Phoenix's life in spurts. He read about the processes Phoenix had to go through, how Phoenix had started to worry about passing. How there were ignorant people at school, how there weren't. The last one before the hiatus of letters ended on a sour note. To Miles at least.

Goodbye, Miles. I really liked you back then.

Oh goodness, if Miles had had read the letters as they come, he would have had a mini heart attack from the lack of letters. But then again, if he had actually received them, he might actually have replied back. Maybe. At least to this one he would have. Miles frowned. He would have asked what Phoenix meant by like. As a friend? As...something else? He went onto the next letter, it was sent a few weeks after he debuted with his first official case.

Before reading it, Miles had a small flashback of that triumphant part of his life. His first case that he was actually in court with was Mia Fey, yes. And although it was traumatic for him as well as the defense attorney, he at least had kept practicing. The death of the defendant was too sudden, no one could have seen it coming. But the one before that, the one that involved Calisto Yew. Was that one a really wild ride. Also, there was a brat that got snot on his cravat. But no big, he had a letter from a childhood crush to read. Not that he'd actually admit that it was a crush anytime soon.

Demon Prosecutor? Really, Miles?

He had to admit, it was a pretty...interesting name. As Miles continued to read the letter, his heart went through a roller coaster of emotions.

I got accused for murder.

I ate the necklace.

It was actually my girlfriend.

I changed my major. Going to be a law student. Wish me luck!

I really need to talk to you about something, but I want it to be face to face.

There was even a post script.

P.S.

When I said I really liked you back then. I meant as more than a friend. Like "I would like to swap cooties with you" like.

Miles chuckled at that. It was hardly funny, but the childlike comparison in less than stellar handwriting was just the tip of the iceberg that brightened Miles's day up. He then read the rest of the letters in quick succession, as more and more of Phoenix's letters had come into the mansion without his knowledge had piled up.

After he had finished, he had more or less the backstory of what had happened to Phoenix in the last couple of years. He slowly got up from his seat at the door and walked over to his desk. There, he sat down and took out a blank piece of paper and his fountain pen. He hovered the pen over the parchment for the longest time, thinking of what to say. Dear Phoenix? Was that too personal for someone you haven't met since grade school? Dear Wright? Too distant? What would he even write about? Sorry I didn't get your letters my adoptive father is a dick? In the end, he put the pen down. He waited for the anger to rise for von Karma. But nothing came.

But at least he had an inkling of what he needs to do.

Much to Manfred's dismay, Miles's preferred living accommodation involved a simple apartment. A nice one, yes, but a simple one at best. Nicely furnished and recently renovated. But nothing compared to the von Karma residence.

"Who'd heard of a von Karma living in such a state?" he had said

Miles was not a von karma. Besides; a giant house was best when shared. And one as big as the von Karma's needed a lot of sharing. Emptiness in a household led to loneliness. Edgeworth learned that the hard way for seven years.

But with the isolation of his own space, he could hear himself think. The best part is that Phoenix's letters are finally being sent to him. Even though the address on the envelopes were still that of the mansion's, they were forwarded to Miles before Manfred could even look at it. When Phoenix passed the bar, he packed his suitcases immediately.

America was just as he remembered it. Specifically, California was just as he remembered it. At the most microscopical level, Los Angeles was the same. When he was face to face to Phoenix, he wanted to reach up to the man and hug him. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to confess everything to him. He figured that he could do all that after he defeated Phoenix in court. But when it was him that was defeated, he didn't have face and absconded after the verdict was declared. He hadn't heard that words "Not Guilty" come out a judge's mouth in the longest time.

When Phoenix showed up at the detention center, he wanted to curl up in a ball. When von Karma showed up to be the prosecutor, he wished himself dead. But Phoenix won and he was grateful. Phoenix found out that Miles didn't kill Robert Hammon. Phoenix found out that Miles didn't kill his father.

After the celebratory party with Gumshoe, Miles drove Phoenix and Maya home. With Maya tucked away in Phoenix's bed, the attorney came out rubbing his hair.

"What a day, huh Edgeworth?" Were they back to last names already?

"Quite a day it was, Phoenix," Miles admitted. The use of his first name drew the attention of the raven, who stared at him with unexpected eyes. "Oh come now, that's your name, is it not?"

"W-well, yeah..but.." the lingering silence was deafening. "Okay, can I ask you something, Miles?"

"What is it?"

"The letters that I wrote...that I sent...have you...?"
"Receive the? Yes, but only until recently."

"Oh. Um."

"von Karma was hiding them from me, as he saw you and Larry were a distractions to my studying of becoming a prosecutor."

"Oh." Oh, crap. After a few years of no response, he didn't think Edgeworth would have actually read them. There were things written in there, feelings. Emotional bogus.

"I liked you too," Miles said.

"Bwuh?"

"I said I liked you too, way back then. You were the most interesting girl I've ever met and I really liked you for that. Now you're before me as a man, and I-" Miles's voice faltered at the end.

"You knew I was a girl?"

"Yeah, anyone with half a brain could tell that you were one. But that's wrong terminology we were just using there, weren't we?"

"More or less."

"Come now, Phoenix, I'm trying to be serious here."

"How about a date?"

"Excuse me?"

"Date. Me. You. Dinner. Movie. Something," Phoenix shrugged at the last thing.

"But you're not...and that Dahlia girl," Miles continued to say incoherent fragments of his thoughts. His face and ears were probably beet red by now.

"Larry."

"Oh, but that was before..."

"But it still means I don't mind, I really liked you Miles. And seeing you before me again after all these years, I think I'm starting to fall for you again."

"Oh, come now. We've been in each other's presence for a handful of hours."

"But for the last few ones, I really started to get to know you again. Larry kept saying how both of us kept looking at the other when he wasn't looking."

"I did no such thing." Miles lied.

"Come now, Miles," Phoenix said with a quiet voice. He put his hand on Miles's and the magenta prosecutor let him. Soon, their hand were intertwined and Miles never felt happier. It was then that suddenly remembering his sudden state of hygiene made him push the other man away.

"I need to use your shower," he said.

"Wow, aren't you moving a bit fast there, tiger."

"Phoenix," Miles said with reddening ears.

"Alright, alright," Phoenix held up both his hands in front of him in faux defense before telling his friend the directions to the bathroom. "Now are you sure you don't want me to join you?"

"I'm sure."

The shower helped him clear his head, and when he came out, he saw a change of clothes on the counter. It was a t-shirt and some sweat pants, alone with a pair of briefs. Although it wasn't as silky as his own pajamas, Phoenix's own clothes had to do. Besides, it smelled just like the attorney.

Quietly making his way to the living room, Miles sat next to Phoenix.

"Miles, what do you think about us?"

"What do you mean," Miles turned to face the other man, who was facing straight ahead from the sofa.

"Do you think we can make it work?" Phoenix said, now turned to look Miles in the face.

"We haven't even tried yet."

"But do you think we can?"

There was a slight hesitation.

"Yes. I think we can."

"Goddamnit Miles, I said casual, not semi formal," Phoenix said when he opened the door.

"This is my casual," Miles replied stiffly. He had on a pair of slacks, a dress shirt, and a low cut vest. It wasn't his formal clothing at all. Phoenix in turn was wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a zippered jacket that was currently unzipped. The collar was surprisingly double breasted for whatever reason, but it looked good on him.

"You look..." handsome, gorgeous, "nice."

"And you look simply ravishing," Phoenix winked. "What, three dates too soon?"

"More like ten if you keep this up," Miles said with flushed cheeks.

"I didn't know you wear glasses," the dark haired lawyer commented as they made it to the parking lot.

"I usually wear contacts," Miles said. Phoenix hummed in approval as they entered the sports car.

The both of them decided to each pay for their own things tonight, and that it was all going to be focused on the aspect of having a good time together. It also meant nothing fancy, for Phoenix's wallet's sake. The restaurant they chose was a simple family diner, with decently priced hamburgers, greasy fries and agonizingly sweet milkshakes.

"I don't know how you survive when you eat things like this diabetes awareness plate," Miles replied as he poked at the burger.

"I told you that you can order the salad if you wanted," Phoenix said. He was resting his head on one of his hands, eating a fry with the other, and looking at Miles's struggle with commoner's food with great amusement.

"It looks like they just wash prepackaged mixed vegetables and drench it with a vinaigrette, and no, Phoenix, that's not just what salad is."

"You could have fooled me," he teasingly said. "Just eat the damn burger, Edgeworth, before it goes through an ice age."

"With the chemicals they put in these, I won't be surprised if it survives a nuclear apocalypse," Miles muttered before he finally gave in and took a bite. It was surprisingly decent. Actually, it was quite good.

"Come on, the worse thing I can think of that exists in these is olestra."

"I'll charge you my laundry bill."
"Aw, come on. I'm sure you can hold it in if anything happens. And really, Edgeworth? You don't even go to laundromats?" Phoenix asked as he popped another fry into his mouth.

"I lead a busy life, Wright. I don't have time to do my own laundry."

"Fair enough," the defense attorney said before swiping a fry from his date after he finished his own. Miles discreetly scooted the plate closer to him. They might cause him health problems later in life, but they were good. Phoenix chuckled at that.

"Hey, they're mine. Also, are we really going to watch an animated film on our first date?"

"Of course! Some animated movies are the best movies out there. And they're masterpieces that can be enjoyed by everyone of all ages. Ooh, here comes the pies!"

"Wright, don't tell me you still have room for food?"

"Of course I do. Their pies are the best and the AMC's curly fries are to die for."

"You're still going to eat overpriced theatre food."

"Hell's yeah I'm still going to eat overpriced theatre food." The way that Phoenix said that, Miles didn't know if it was the emphasis or the pacing or just the words itself. But it made Miles chuckle. Phoenix was a loveable idiot, and he was his.

"Dude, Larry, don't tell me you lost the job selling objects of ambiguous origins by Gourdy Lake already?" Phoenix questioned his friend.

"Nick? And Edgey! Oh goodness you two are on a date. About time," Larry winked.

"Larry, what a somehow unsurprisingly surprise to see you here," Miles said with crossed arms.

Larry Butz was behind the counter of the concession stand, smiling like he had not a care in the world.

"Anyways, give me your best curly fries. And a white cherry slushie, the biggest size. What about you, Edgeworth?"

"I'm fine, thank you." In the corner of his eye, he saw two teenage girls. One of them was blatantly obscuring the other one from Larry's view as the other smuggled some thin mints into her purse. Miles bit his lips. "Actually, a small cola will do."

"Right on it," Larry said, sticking his tongue out. Miles wondered if he should tell Phoenix. The teens were still in the line right behind him, talking about a video game or something, oblvious to the fact that he just saw them steal the box of candy.

When Larry was gone, he decided to tell Phoenix. The teenage girls were young, but stealing was still a wrong thing to do. Phoenix just blinked at him for a bit, "That's why the movies are so overpriced, Edgeworth. The staff knows that movie gowers steal the candy on the outside."

Miles felt like he was slapped with the face of reality. Phoenix saw his discomfort, and took Mile's hand in his. As if on instinct, Miles allowed Phoenix to put his fingers between his. "But usually it's only teenagers that do so, they'll grow out of it," he lifted their laced fingers up to his lips and kissed Miles on the back of his hand. The two girls behind them let out a small squeal. Phoenix simply looked back at them and winked.

"My, I can't leave you two alone for a second before you go lovey dovey on me," Larry said when he came back. Miles looked at the smaller of the two cups, mouth gaped open in disbelief.

"That is so not a small," was all Miles could say.

The drive home was full of small talk. Short , sweet, conversations that made the two smile, laugh, and once even giggle like small children.

At his door, Phoenix invited Miles in, who took the time to walk him to his apartment.

"No, thank you, it's late, and I have a case to work on tomorrow morning," Miles said.

"Oh, did I...?"
"Oh no, it's a new case, I just it, actually."

"Miles Edgeworth, you did not just check your text messages while you drive," Phoenix said, resting his hand on his chest in a dramatic manner.

"I got it when we exited the theatre," Miles said, rolling his eyes.

"And you even took the time to walk me up here," Phoenix smiled, holding Miles's hands in his.

"Of course I did," Miles said. Phoenix was really close to his face now. But Miles did not push him away. Their lips soon pressed against the other's as they kissed. The moment in reality could have lasted for just a few seconds, but it felt like hours before the broke free from each other. The two of the lawyers left with a smile on their faces, content with the night.

"Mr, Edgeworth, you sure are in a happy mood today," Dick Gumshoe inquired.

"I just had a good time last night with someone close to me," Miles smiled back. Mr. Edgeworth was never in a good mood! Something really good must have happened last night. Gumshoe decided not to press his luck and let it be. The two lawyers continued to date for several months. Their relationship was then put to the test with the SL-9 incident. The two of them eventually teamed up to expose Damon Gant. But something had been festering inside of Edgeworth. Not wanting to drag Phoenix into his self-pity fest, he left America.

Unfortunately for Miles, the next time he would meet Phoenix would be under ill circumstances. And Phoenix would have nothing but contempt and betrayal in his eyes for him. While Phoenix's heart broke when Miles flew out of the states, Miles's shattered right there on the spot with just one look.