Author's Note: Hi, guys! Chapter two of the edited version is up! Please, guys, continue to read and review! I was pleased with all of the reviews I got last time, but it seems as though you're not as enthusiastic this time round! (: A special thanks to Sheryl E W for your lovely review!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop x

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

Chapter Two.

Phoenix sat at his desk, sighing in frustration as the ancient computer in front of him struggled to wake up from its slumber. Impatiently, he tapped his foot on the floor, stomach growling loudly.

Narrowing his eyes at the screen in front of him, he got out of his office chair and stalked off into the small kitchen. He opened the fridge in a futile attempt to find some sort of edible snack amongst the food that Maya bought because she thought that it was healthy, and the food that they were supposed to eat yesterday, but didn't quite get around to it. He sniffed half-heartedly at a half-empty can of spaghetti, before wrinkling his nose and tossing it in the bin.

Why is there never anything to eat in this place?

After a few more minutes of searching, Phoenix managed to locate a large slice of not-mouldy cheese and bacon pizza. Not quite the healthy breakfast he was going for, but it would do.

He took a large bite and returned to the computer, smiling triumphantly as the screen lit up blue; a message popping up telling him to type in his password. He typed said password out with an exaggerated caution – getting one letter wrong meant having to delete the entire password and start again.

He glanced at the little white numbers on the right-hand side of his computer screen - the time was nine thirty in the morning. Maya was supposed to be coming to the office at ten.

There's not much point in her turning up. I'm meeting Edgeworth at twelve, and she won't do any work by herself.

I guess I should call her and tell her not to bother coming before she turns up at the door.

Phoenix got out of his chair - half-eaten pizza discarded - and started scouting around the office for his cell phone. Upon locating it, he opened his contacts menu and found Maya's name.

She picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Nick! I was just leaving!" Maya's happy-go-lucky voice rang out over Phoenix's phone's speakers.

"Hey, Maya. I'm just calling to say that you don't need to come into the office today because I'm not going to be there, and I know that you won't do any work if I'm not with you."

Phoenix could imagine Maya's cheeks puffing out as she announced, "I do work, Nick! And why aren't you going to the office? Are you sick? Did you fall down the stairs or something? I told you that stairs were dangerous for the uncoordinated, but you didn't listen!" she said, barely-concealed laughter creeping its way into the conversation.

"Maya, your empathy amazes me." Phoenix replied, both face and voice deadpan.

"Aw, thank you, Nick!"

"It was sarcasm, Maya. Sarcasm."

"Oh. Okay. Why won't you be in the office then? Are you ill?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, I'm not ill. I'm meeting someone for lunch." Phoenix revealed, absentmindedly running a hand through his spiky hair.

"Aw. How cute, Nick! Are you meeting Iris?" Maya questioned.

Iris. The girl I was in love with during my college years. It's such a pity that she deceived me, even if it was kind of for my own good.

I thought that I would find love again her after I found her for the second time. Why is the spark not there anymore? Am I too scared of falling hopelessly in love again after having my heart broken?

Could I ever love Iris again? Or would I just love the girl I thought she was?

"Well?" Maya asked, causing Phoenix to snap out of his thoughts. He didn't particularly want to drift down that exact line of thinking anyway, because the situation confused him, and he'd rather keep a clear head.

"Er, no. It's not Iris. She's still at Hazakura, anyway, isn't she?" he asked, wondering what she'd told him in her last letter.

"I don't know! You should know, Nick. You're the one in love with her~"

"I'm not in love with her, Maya." Phoenix said, licking his lips slowly.

Because he thought it was true. And even if it wasn't, it was easier to deny it than it was to accept it.

"Sure, Nick. I believe you." Phoenix could almost hear Maya smirking down the line. "Anyway, if you're not meeting Iris, then who are you meeting?" Maya asked, curiosity weaving its way into her words. "A new girlfriend you haven't told me about? Niiiick!"

"Calm down, Maya. You don't need to be so melodramatic. I'm only meeting Edgeworth." Phoenix commented, trying to force his voice into an unnatural state of boredom, when, really, he was quite excited, because he'd never really spent that much time with Edgeworth.

"What? Like, Miles Edgeworth?" Maya asked, sounding slightly shocked.

"No, the other Edgeworth we know." Phoenix muttered sarcastically. "Yes, the pink-clad, emotionally unattached prosecutor who was once my best friend."

"Oh. Why are you meeting him? Is he ill?"

"For God's sake! No one's ill!" Phoenix said, exasperated. "I'm just meeting him because we're friends."

Telling her the truth will make Edgeworth homicidal, and when he's homicidal is never really a good time to tell him what he's doing wrong when it comes to love.

"That sounds boring." Maya replied, her voice monotonous. "Can I come?"

"…No. I thought you said it was boring?" Phoenix questioned, stifling a chuckle.

"Free food, Nick!" Maya enthused.

"Still a no, sorry. You weren't invited, so it would be rude if you came."

Maya huffed into the phone, before sighing. "Okay, fine. I'll stay here. Alone in Kurain. Well, apart from Pearly. I'll be bored, Nick. Bored and hungry."

"I'm not giving you any sympathy, Maya. I have no money now, thanks to you."

"Have fun, Nick!" Maya said, carefully edging around the accusation.

"I will. Bye, Maya."

"Bye!"

Phoenix pushed the 'end call' on his phone, and rubbed at his temples. No matter how fun talking to Maya was, he always ended conversations with her with a slight headache.

He glanced over at the ever-growing pile of papers by his mouse pad which needed typing out, and screwed his face up.

What's the point in actually working? I'm going to be meeting Edgeworth soon, anyway.

Phoenix pondered what he could do to make it look like he was working, but without the effort, before grinning to himself.

I really need to type out that IOU list between myself and Maya. Make it an official document and all that.

After locating the discarded IOU sheet, Phoenix opened up Microsoft Word, and started typing. Unsurprisingly, all of the debts were Maya's.

What does she spend all of my money on?

Burgers, ice cream, lemonade, burgers, chocolate, lip gloss, burgers, hair ties.

…No wonder why I never have any money.

At the end of the task, Phoenix counted up the total amount of money Maya owed him.

Seventy five dollars.

Phoenix sighed in defeat, and shook his head. He only owed Maya six dollars, and that was to help pay for the electricity bill.

Go figure.

He saved the document under the title "IOU LIST, DON'T LET MAYA SEE IT OR SHE'LL DELETE IT", and smirked to himself.

Take that Maya! Next time you try to use your usual excuse - the "Oh, I'm sorry, I seem to have lost the IOU list. Oh well, I don't think you owed me that much, I'll let it slide' excuse, I'll present you with this!

Phoenix looked up at the clock; frowning at the revealed time.

"Well, that seems to have killed ten minutes," he muttered to himself, "What to do now?"

He glanced back down at the pile of reports that he was avoiding like the plague. He was sure it had gotten bigger since he had last glared at it.

I should do those reports. Come on, Phoenix. Think like Edgeworth.

Maybe I'll chill. Maybe I won't do anything until I have to leave.

Or, maybe I'll be like superman, and get through all those reports super quick?

Phoenix glanced down at the desk, and located a clean sheet of paper. He picked up a pencil that really needed sharpening - but they'd lost the sharpener in that tragic accident with the pretend snow and the kittens - and proceeded to spend twenty minutes drawing a picture of himself as superman.

After finishing the masterpiece, he labelled it 'Ace Attorney', and signed it just in case.

They should make a cartoon out of me as superman. It'd be awesome! "Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright speeds through the air at one hundred miles an hour, fighting for justice, saving innocent lives, capturing evil criminals, and generally being great."

Yeah. I'd watch it.

Phoenix started laughing quietly to himself; a gentle humming noise in the endless silence of his office.

He glanced up at the clock again. Ten fifteen. Not too long until he had to meet Edgeworth, but he didn't feel he could justify spending the rest of the day on the sofa eating chocolate biscuits and attempting to watch something on their crappy little television.

Instead, Phoenix glanced at the mess on his desk. He couldn't actually remember what colour the surface underneath the papers was. Brown? White? Speckled?

He couldn't actually find things on it most of the time, and decided that, in order to avoid the pile of paperwork for another day, would clean said desk and make it organised.

Phoenix sighed, and started to go through the loose sheets of paper on the surface of the mess, dividing them into two piles; 'Keep' and 'Shred'.

"Old report, old report, old report, un-paid bill, old client details…" he muttered to himself, watching as the 'Shred' pile grew and grew and grew.

After he had finished 'sorting', he gathered the 'Shred' pile and located the paper shredder.

He sited the 'on' button, and grinned to himself as the machine started whirring; a distinctly machine noise that would surely rid him of all of his unwanted papers. Sure, bits of the machine were held together by dusty duct tape, but it still worked. Usually.

He grabbed the pile of discarded papers, and started shoving them into the paper shredder with an unnecessary amount of force. It was strangely satisfying, shredding paper; seeing the once-important notes ripped apart and left to grow dusty in the bottom of the machine.

After ten minutes of shredding, he had stopped categorising everything into 'Keep' and 'Shred' piles, and was simply shredding everything he could get his hands on.

Ah, if it's really important, it'll be in the folder.

When he had shredded everything he could, he looked down at the surface of his desk with a smile.

Brown's the colour, then.

He picked up the pen tin which lay, discarded, on the off-white carpet underneath his desk, and placed it gingerly on top of his clean desk. Phoenix then started to heap his pencils and pens into it, surprising himself with the number he had.

Maybe I should throw some of them away? They barely fit into the tin… I mean…

Phoenix started to count his pens with an eager haste.

…I hardly need nine blue pens, twelve black pens, five red pens, two green pens - all of dubious ink levels - and twenty three pencils, do I?

Phoenix hopped off the bus and started heading towards to pizza place. He was shivering slightly in the cool air - his thin grey t-shirt and black jeans doing nothing to keep his body warm.

As he walked, he wondered idly what Edgeworth would be wearing.

…Probably his pink work clothes. I must remember to tell him that cravats didn't feature in 'The Sexiest Items in Your Wardrobe' magazine article.

Phoenix chuckled to himself nervously, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

To his surprise, he was nervous about meeting Edgeworth. To say they were friends, they really didn't spend that much time together. In fact, the last time that he had knowingly and willingly met Edgeworth out of court was, well, never.

Phoenix turned the corner of the busy street, and noticed the large sign practically screaming 'ANGELO'S PIZZA RESTAURANT" at him.

He wandered into the shop and looked around; trying to catch a glimpse of the pink-clad prosecutor.

Phoenix finally located him. He was sitting alone in a booth at the back of the room, eyes closed and fingers against his temples.

Phoenix felt a small stab of sympathy for his friend. He knew how much of a deal this was to Edgeworth; how far they were going to go out of his comfort zone, and how much he must subconsciously trust Phoenix to let himself be taken out this far.

Phoenix smiled to himself, and strode over to Edgeworth, plonking himself down on the red-cushioned seats.

"Hey, Edgeworth. I must say, I'm actually surprised you turned up. I thought you'd chicken out!"

Good job, Phoenix. Make sure that the first thing you say to him is an insult. Just to, you know, make sure you're on his good side.

Miles opened his eyes, his pupils focusing on the face in front of him. "Good afternoon, Wright." he said, a scowl on his usually handsome face.

"How long were you waiting?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"Twenty minutes. Though, I wasn't actually expecting you to be on time." Miles muttered, hands moving to rest gently on the tabletop.

"Yeah, sorry about that. You know how it is. Public transport and all that."

"No, no, I wouldn't know. I own a car. And a legitimate driver's license. Something you wouldn't understand."

Phoenix frowned to himself, and decided to ignore Miles' comment.

"So, how have you been?" he asked instead.

"Busy."

"…Me too…" Phoenix murmured; a dull lie barely concealing the obvious truth.

"I'm sure."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes; Phoenix pretending to admire the interior of the restaurant, and Miles just looking unimpressed.

Well, this is awkward.

"Okay, well, when is this birthday party?" Phoenix asked, getting straight down to it.

"She hasn't decided on a date yet."

That's helpful.

"Right."

Silence.

"Um, let's just get over this awkwardness. Let's start with how you dress-"

"What's wrong with how I dress?" Miles demanded, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well, there's an awful amount of pink going on." Phoenix edged around the question. "And cravats aren't exactly sexy, Edgeworth."

Miles scowled. "First off; it's not pink, it's magenta. Secondly: it's not supposed to be sexy, Wright. I work in it. I don't do anything… inappropriate in it." he argued, cheeks glowing slightly.

Phoenix resisted the urge to snigger.

"Do… things like that disturb you, Edgeworth?" he enquired, asking the question delicately so that Miles wouldn't get uncomfortable and leave.

There was silence from Miles' side of the booth, and Phoenix was considerate enough not to push the subject.

Edgeworth is always the exception to the rule.

"Okay, well, whatever. Let's not go there. I think you should lose the cravat. And the magenta - which is actually a shade of pink - suit. It doesn't exactly scream, 'I'm masculine, take me to bed.'"

"I don't want it to scream 'Take me to bed'." Miles spluttered. "I'm a respectful, chivalrous-"

"Virgin?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Please don't go there, Wright." Miles said darkly. It sounded like more of a threat than a plea.

"Well, come on, Edgeworth. You're in your thirties. It's ridiculous! Maybe if you weren't such a pompous arse, people might actually be interested in you!"

Phoenix didn't really know why he was suddenly attacking the things that he knew made Edgeworth uncomfortable. He knew that he should stop while he was ahead - mocking Edgeworth was all well and good until it got personal.

"Just leave it. You don't know what you're talking about, Wright."

"I know enough to know that never having had a girlfriend or boyfriend at your age is completely stupid. Haven't you ever wondered what all the fuss about love is about?"

"No, I have never wondered. I have my work, and, perhaps, that's where I should be now. It is preposterous that I was foolish enough to believe that you could help me." Miles got up from his seat and made a move to leave.

Phoenix grabbed his arm, and held onto it; his grip strong and unwavering.

Good one, Phoenix.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Phoenix hastily apologized. "Please don't go. Let's just leave that subject altogether. Just… Remember, I'm the one who knows what to do in these sorts of situations. You have to listen to me."

Miles, who was obviously still smarting over the attack of his personal life, sat back down and smirked in response. "Do you, Wright?"

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, 'course I do."

"Then why don't you have a partner at the moment? Because it rather seems as though you're in the same situation as me - without a significant other, that is. If you're so bloody good with these things, why haven't you got someone?"

Phoenix hesitated, the accusation stinging.

"I've had my fair share of relationships, Edgeworth. I've had experience with these things." he said slowly. "I am currently not in a relationship because I haven't found someone I like enough."

"What about Ms Fey? Is she not your best friend? You love her, do you not?" Miles seemed smug, and the expression on his face irritated Phoenix.

"Yes, of course I love her. But she's my best friend, Edgeworth. It's a platonic love. That's not all I want in a lover."

"Surely you can alter your perception of her to something more intimate? I don't see why there should be a difference."

"Because when I look at Maya, I don't feel like I did when I looked at Dahlia. Or, rather, Iris." Phoenix said, exasperated.

Why can't he just see? Why is he always so goddamned obtuse when it comes to love?

"And look how well that turned out, Wright. You feel madly in love with her and she tried to kill you. Yes, you're a real expert when it comes to relationships." Miles finished vehemently.

That bastard.

"Leave her out of this. Leave that out of this." Phoenix all but snarled, the wounds he had thought had recovered torn open because of the latest case at Hazakura.

Because it did hurt. Even after all of this time, it hurt. He had loved Dahlia, at least, he thought he had. She was everything that he wanted - someone to love, someone to care for; a beautiful angel sent to him because someone up there knew how much he longed for love.

"Look, you can find your own partner on your own. I'm not going to bother anymore." Phoenix said hotly, standing up. "I tried to help you, Edgeworth. I wanted to help you. But you're too much of a jerk. I'm wasting my time; you'll never find someone to love you, and it's your fault."

With that, Phoenix stormed out of the restaurant, and ignored the judgemental stares of the other diners; their muted whispers still reaching his ears.

'Lover's tiff', 'overdramatic', 'what's wrong with him?'

Stare all you want. I won't be seen with that man again.

Phoenix stomped all the way to the bus stop without stopping, wiping angry tears from his eyes as he went.

He had to admit it, he was disappointed. He was hoping that this meeting could have encouraged more encounters between the two - and perhaps they could have regained just a fraction of the friendship they had back in the day.

He'd never met another person, save for Maya, who had affected him this deeply. To be longing for a friendship that ended decades ago - surely he was losing his mind. But there was just something about Edgeworth that made his grin wider than usual, made his laugh louder than normal. He hadn't figured out exactly what made his heart race at the sight of the prosecutor, but he knew that it was a friendship-of-sorts that he didn't want to lose.

A gentle, hesitant touch on his arm made Phoenix jump. He turned around to stare into the dark grey eyes of the very man on his mind.

"What do you want?" Phoenix asked dully.

"I want… to apologise. Bringing Dahlia into our conversation was wrong of me, and I wish to express regret of my lack of etiquette." Miles murmured, both his voice and eyes low.

"Yeah, it was." Phoenix replied sharply. "But… yeah, I'm sorry too. For, you know, the… things I said."

Yeah. I think my apology was almost as elegant as Edgeworth's.

"Would you mind going back to the restaurant with me? I will try to stop being insensitive, and start being more… accommodating." Miles said, eyebrows furrowing as he glanced up at Phoenix.

"Uh, sure. We can… We can just pretend that this argument never happened." Phoenix said brightly, the more optimistic part of him instantly forgiving Miles. "Besides, I'm starving."