A/N: Hi, everybody, sorry it's taken so long, but I've been busy! Between work, friends, RP games and family, things have been crazy! Don't own Phoenix Wright, but I do own Brandon. If you want to him or any other of the characters I created for this crazy case, you have to ask permission. Enjoy!

The next morning, both lawyers got up, bleary-eyed as their night had been long and sleepless and for one defense attorney, full of head banging, earning him quite a headache. Phoenix was contemplating getting out of his office to go purchase some tablets at the drugstore when his phone rang, startling him out of his reverie.

"Hello?"

"Uh… Mr. Wright?"

"Yes? Who is this?"

"Brandon Verdant. Do you remember me?"

"Brandon… Verdant… uh… Right! You were in my university regular courses… How have you been?"

"…"

"Brandon? Is something wrong?"

"You remember my wife, Phoenix?"

Phoenix gulped, not liking where this was headed one bit.

"… Yes."

He heard Brandon bite back a harsh sob.

"She's dead… Some bastard raped and killed her on our bed and…" A sob came through. "… the police thinks I've done it…" Brandon was now crying openly on the phone.

"WHAT??!"

Phoenix was flabbergasted. Brandon would never hurt a fly. He was one of the calmest person he ever knew.

"Do you think you could defend me? I've heard about your perfect record and about your most recent victory."

'Edgeworth… Was this the case you were called about yesterday?' He barely resisted the urge to bang his head against something as the memory replayed yet again in his mind.

"Will you help me?" Brandon's voice broke through his jumbled thoughts.

"Of course I will help you. I'm coming."

"Thank you."

He sounded really grateful. He hung up, letting Phoenix alone with his swirling thoughts.

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Phoenix sighed in relief as the tablet worked its little wonders on his throbbing head just as he entered the detention center. He asked for his client, wondering who would be the true murderer, this time.

"Hello Brandon. How are you?"

He winced as he saw Brandon's gaze fill with pain and sadness. The urge to bang his head came back with a vengeance.

"Er… sorry, you know I've always felt more comfortable with a foot in my mouth," he said sheepishly.

Brandon chuckled bitterly. "Yes, I do recall something to that effect."

He smiled though it was a strained smile at best.

"Aw, come on! I'm really sorry, OK? I didn't think, as usual."

"That too comes back to me rather easily." His chuckle sounded a bit happier now.

"Har! Har! And the fact that you're still teasing me after all this time too, right?"

"And the fact that you can still make me laugh in my dark moments," Brandon's face was wistful and sad.

"Oh, Brandon… I'll do what I can to make them see the truth about you. I'll make them see that you couldn't have done that. You're too peaceful, too calm for that. I know you." There was the usual sparkle of determination in Phoenix's eye that defined his character and person.

"Thank you," said Brandon quietly. "I appreciate the fact that you are willing to defend me after all I did to you. I was afraid you wouldn't want to…"

Phoenix smiled sadly. "I thought you knew me better than that. Yes, you did and said hurtful thing to me, but I got over it, with time. I understood even though it hurt."

Brandon looked ashamed of himself. "When I hear you, I realize I've harmed you worse than I thought. I'm truly sorry about what happened. If I had known, I never would have…"

Phoenix held up a hand to silence him. "Enough of that! You couldn't possibly have foreseen the consequences that night would have on both of us. I consider us even."

"Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me."

There was a few minutes of embarrassed silence between the two.

-flashback-

Both lay entwined on the bed, enjoying the afterglow. "I love you…" He whispered in Brandon's ear. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest in trepidation and in fear. He felt Brandon's body tense up brutally. This didn't bode well. He wrenched himself from his loving embrace, beginning to search for the discarded pieces of clothing strewn about Phoenix's bedroom.

"Didn't I tell you that if we fucked, it would be nothing more than that, hot mindless fucks?" Brandon turned towards him so that he could see his anger.

"Yes, but…"

"No buts! If you're stupid enough to fall for me even though I made it very clear from the start that it was only lust, This. Is. Over!" He said as he put on hastily all of his clothes. All Phoenix could do was to try not to break down in front of the person he admired so much. The door slam that echoed through his empty room broke his heart on the spot. He didn't even notice the twin rivers on his cheeks as he looked blankly at the door.

- A few months later-

He stared blankly at the crimson drops staining his bed sheets. He hadn't felt anything since that door slammed brutally in his room. Except… for… Amy. Oh God… He shouldn't have taken the car with that much alcohol in his system. The only time he remotely felt something now was when he saw those pretty crisscrossing lines on his arms. It was such a shame that he had to hide them but no one would understand. They wouldn't understand the fact that it was the only perfect thing left in his life. Ever since that night… The blade made yet another mark on his no longer flawless wrists. This one was a bit deeper than the one before that, making him feel more alive. He craved that feeling so much that he began slashing deeper until he was starting to get dizzy. Black slowly edged in the corners of his vision. He felt himself falling backwards in slow motion. When his body hit the bed, he felt as if there was a whole world inside of him and it was dying. It filled him with sorrow. He felt terribly sad. Finally. How ironic that he needed to be dying to feel something… Just as he was losing consciousness, he heard a knock on his door and it being opened. He never thanked God enough for making his neighbour so invading of his personal space at that moment. He just had the time to hear him scream frantically his name before being engulfed completely by darkness…

- End flashback-

"We should get back to the case," Brandon's voice cut through his morbid thoughts.

"Yes, we should."

A/N: Me again! So... Loved it, hated it? I want to know! R&R!