Author's Note: Heya, guys! (: Thanks so very much for the reviews to the last chapter - you guys are so supportive and kind. So, just for you, here's a chapter that wasn't in the original! So much fluff...

Please continue to support me, as it does actually make me write faster - knowing that there are people who care. I do love your opinions!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

Chapter Six.

Miles smirked smugly to himself as he opened the door to his apartment. On the way back from the accident and emergency division, he had had a brilliant idea.

The problem had been staying the night at Phoenix's. So, why not simply eliminate the problem? Sure, Phoenix hadn't been too pleased at the fact that Miles had, essentially, bullied him into staying at his house, but it made Miles a lot more comfortable, and that was all that mattered.

He had argued that, if he was going to be forced to waste another day of work - yes, he really did use his work as an excuse too often - then the least Phoenix could do was to stay where Miles wanted.

The two had stopped off at Phoenix's apartment to pick up necessary items - clothing and a toothbrush - and even Phoenix was forced to admit that staying in Miles' flash apartment was for the best. His small flat had been horrendously messy, and, idly, Miles wondered why.

"Wow, your apartment is so huge!" Phoenix exclaimed, walking into the large room and spreading his arms out. "It must have been expensive."

"It was." Gingerly, Miles placed Phoenix's small suitcase on the floor beside the coffee table.

"Certainly makes a change from my cramped old flat." Phoenix mused, flopping down onto the large white leather sofa in the corner of the room.

Make yourself at home, why don't you?

"Well. We've had this discussion about your lack of pay, haven't we?" Miles frowned, chiding himself for feeling so awkward in his own home. He was standing in the middle of the room uncomfortably, fingers fidgeting slightly as he wondered what he was going to do with the man on his sofa.

"Yeah. Good thing I'm not a detective. You'd have my salary way down there." Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Though I'm not sure it's possible to earn less than me."

"Detective Gumshoe certainly manages it." Miles commented absentmindedly, sweeping past Phoenix and into the kitchen. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"What are you having?" Phoenix forced himself into an upright position, and peered round into the kitchen.

"Tea."

"Ah, I'll just have water, thanks."

Miles rolled his eyes to himself slightly as Phoenix spread himself across the sofa once more.

This is going to be a long twenty four hours, Miles, unless you stop being so awkward.

"Uh…" Miles cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say that would break the discomfiting silence threatening to overpower him. Usually Miles was fond of silence, but not like this. Not with Phoenix. "Why was your flat so untidy? There was popcorn all over the floor."

Phoenix grinned to himself. "Ah, it was nothing, really. You see, Maya was staying over last night-"

"Was she now?" Miles interrupted disapprovingly, raising an eyebrow even though he knew Phoenix wouldn't be able to see the unimpressed look on his face.

Are they-? I hadn't realised. For some reason, I always presumed that Wright was single. Didn't he state yesterday that he wasn't in a relationship? Moreover, we discussed his relationship with Ms Fey. He said he wasn't attracted to her and that they weren't 'together'.

I wonder why he didn't tell me the truth yesterday then? Though it's a bit… disappointing, this revelation, I must confess.

No, it's not. Why would it be disappointing? It's not like you were expecting him to-

Let's not go there.

Phoenix flushed a dark crimson. "Oh, no, it was nothing like that! No, no, she was just staying over because she had to go back to Kurain today, and it's just something we do. I always miss her, so it's a nice way to say goodbye. We're not… together. Remember, we talked about this yesterday!"

"It's fine, Wright. I don't care either way." Miles said, unnecessarily cool.

So, Ms Fey has gone back to her village. Is that why he's being so friendly towards me now? Is it because he's got no one else to talk to? Am I merely his second choice?

Dismissing his thoughts, Miles strode back into the living room with a cup of tea in one hand, a glass of water in the other. He passed the glass to a horizontal Phoenix with a comment of, "You're going to spill it everywhere."

Phoenix chuckled again, and sat up. "Yeah. Come sit, Edgeworth." He patted the cushion on his right as though it was his own sofa.

Miles sighed and sat down awkwardly, not really knowing what to do next. Was he going to be forced to make idle banter with Wright for the next twelve hours? He'd have to make sure the defence attorney went to bed early.

"What's the time?" Phoenix enquired, patting around on his person before sighing and saying, "no phone," by way of explanation.

Miles pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket, and peered at the screen. "It's two thirty."

Two thirty… We've still got hours.

"Okay." Phoenix nodded his head, and took a sip of the water. "What do you think we should do to pass time?"

Miles frowned. "It depends on a great number of things."

Phoenix looked blank. "Like what?"

"Like what time you usually go to bed, or how hungry you are now, or how tired you are, or-"

"Okay, okay. In answer to your questions, I usually go to bed at eleven-"

Christ, eleven? I'll have eight and a half more hours with him.

"I'm starving, and I'm only kind-of tired." Phoenix finished.

"Well, perhaps you should go to bed early tonight to, er, give your concussion the best chance at recovering." Miles hinted. "Would you like some food now?"

Phoenix grinned at him. "What do you have?"

A bag of crisps, two chocolate chip muffins and a bowl of ice cream later, Phoenix was still a little bit hungry and it was only three o'clock.

"You're going to eat all of the food in this house." Miles grumbled as he searched his kitchen cupboards for the requested honey.

"We'll have to order dinner then, won't we?" Phoenix commented from where he was stationed in front of the toaster. He was keeping a keen eye on the bread in said toaster - making sure that it was just the right level of brown-ness was a very intense task.

"Are you going to want dinner?" Miles asked incredulously, handing Phoenix the honey he hadn't realised he had. "Surely you won't be able to fit it all in your stomach."

Phoenix shot him an equally incredulous look. "Uh, of course I will."

Miles sighed. "Do you always eat this much?"

"If I have the money, yes." Phoenix grinned, and then hurriedly hit the button on the toaster that made the toast pop up early. "Look, isn't that just the best toast you've ever seen? It's a delicious golden brown, soon to be slathered in butter and honey." He hummed happily to himself.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you should give up your work as a lawyer and start working for an advertising company."

Phoenix chuckled. "But then I wouldn't have a reason to see you anymore, because you'd think of some excuse to avoid me."

Miles folded his arms across his chest self-consciously, even though he knew that Phoenix was only teasing him. "I would see you willingly if you were an important part of my life - someone I genuinely wanted to share things with."

Phoenix glanced up from his toast, his dark eyes confused. "What does that mean, Edgeworth?"

"Nothing. It means nothing." Miles murmured, wondering why he had ever opened his mouth.

How is he going to take that? As me telling him that he's not important to me now because I don't feel comfortable enough to share things with him? Or as me telling him that I want him to be important in my life - a simple and clear cut 'I want to trust you'?

Surprisingly enough, Phoenix didn't push the subject, and continued buttering his toast in silence.

Oh, Jesus, I haven't offended him now, have I? This had better not start an argument.

"Wright, I-" Miles started, wanting to explain himself before Phoenix got the wrong idea. Though, in all honesty, even Miles didn't know what the wrong idea was.

If I was given two options - the first being to have Wright stay away from me forever so that I could get on with my life without the cloud of confusion and emotional muddle that he brings with him, and the second being having to see him and his charming smile every day of every week without fail, which would I choose?

"Look, I was just trying to say-"

Phoenix turned to him again, his clear eyes unreadable. "Don't bother explaining yourself, Edgeworth. I'm not going to stop doing lawyer work, so I don't think it matters, do you?"

He sounded slightly petulant, so Miles kept his mouth shut for fear of making the situation worse in the way he normally did.

"No, I suppose not."

"Good."

Miles continued watching Phoenix as the man ate his toast, his dark brown eyes averted.

"So." Miles attempted to start up another conversation; anything to turn the tension in the air from hideously uncomfortable to something slightly more bearable.

"Well, my toast is finished." Phoenix suddenly announced, glancing up and smiling at Miles with his stupidly adorable face. "Where am I going to sleep? We should sort all that stuff out."

Miles breathed an inward sigh of relief at Phoenix's happy attitude.

He doesn't like to stay upset for long, does he? He's never one to hold a grudge.

"Well, I have only one bed, and I didn't have time to sort something else out." Miles started, his brain wondering how everything was going to work out. "So you'll have to sleep on the leather sofa."

Phoenix was quiet for a second. "Or, I could sleep in your bed-"

Miles flushed a deep crimson, and hastily interrupted Phoenix's suggestion. "Uh, I don't really think that's appropriate, Wright. I mean, I understand that I've known you for a long time, but-"

"-And you could sleep on the couch." Phoenix finished, raising an amused eyebrow. "Why, were you hoping that I meant sharing a bed?"

"Uh, no, no. You're quite right. Separate sleeping areas, definitely." Miles ran a hand through his hair, flustered. He cleared his throat subtly, and ignored the positively delighted look on Phoenix's face.

Is my embarrassment really so entertaining?

"Though, I don't know why you think you should be the one with the bed. You're the guest here." Miles raised an arrogant eyebrow, and followed Phoenix into the living room. "You're the one eating all of my food."

"I'm the one with a severe concussion!" Phoenix protested, moving to clutch weakly at the back of his head.

Miles sighed to himself; defeat evident. "Fine, fine; you can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the sofa."

Suddenly, Miles was hit with an unexpected image of his friend. An image where Phoenix was in his bed, sprawled out sleepily across miles of crisp cotton sheets, his strangely fascinating dark hair damp from the shower he would presumably have. His tanned, naked skin was vaguely veiled by a thin sheet; always tempting, but completely untouchable.

In this unanticipated daydream, Phoenix's eyes were half-lidded and dark; watching Miles' every move. He was stretched out across the bed like a sick sort of offering - seductive and unbelievably sexy; his impossibly long limbs entwined around a thin magenta blanket. His pale pink lips were parted around husky whispers of "Miles, Miles, Miles…", and the image sent chills down Miles' spine.

Even in reality, Miles had to admit that it was certainly a breathtaking image.

Where… did that image come from? Why was my mind envisaging something like that? Wright, stretched out naked across my bed…? I couldn't possibly picture something worse… could I?

Why am I even thinking about this horrible scenario? It's not like I've ever given anything like this any thought. And I definitely don't need to, because I don't feel anything stronger than friendship for Wright, and I doubt I ever will.

…You wouldn't be having this conversation with yourself if everything was as it used to be. Something has changed, but you're too stubborn and too scared to admit it to yourself.

Oh, shut up, Miles. This isn't important at the moment. What's important is making sure that Wright's concussion doesn't get the better of him.

Though, despite Miles' stern dismissal of the situation, he couldn't stop the strange tremor that ran through his body at the thought of his closest friend lying, naked, in his bed.

Stop it, Miles. This isn't something you want to think about.

"Edgeworth? Edgeworth?" Phoenix's sing-song voice made Miles' head snap upwards. "You're really distracted today. Are you sure you're okay?"

Miles huffed a sigh, and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "I'm fine, Wright. I've just… got a lot going on at the moment."

Phoenix's gaze softened, and his lips turned upwards in a sad smile. "Stressed about Kay's party?"

Miles paused for a second. He hadn't really given Kay's birthday party too much thought, and had, instead, been concerned with the ordeal of finding a partner. No, the actual party wasn't something Miles was particularly bothered about, but more the emotional discomfit that it was making him endure.

"It's such a waste of time." Miles muttered by way of explanation. "I'm tempted just to forget about finding a partner and take you up on your offer."

Phoenix looked momentarily confused. "What offer?"

It seemed as though Phoenix didn't remember his offer to allow Miles to take him as a partner instead of some random, anonymous woman. The thought that Miles had specifically remembered the offer whilst Phoenix had not made Miles flush.

"It's, uh, nothing. Nothing to worry about."

"Do you think you'll need anything else?" Miles asked, watching as Phoenix made himself comfortable in his bed. "More water or extra painkillers?"

It was ten o'clock at night, and, after a long day of talking about nothing in particular, eating delicious Chinese food and watching - frankly horrifying - films on the television, Miles had managed to convince Phoenix that he needed sleep.

About time.

Phoenix smiled. "No, thank you, Edgeworth. I'll allow you to go to your comfy leather sofa now. See you in, what, two hours?"

Miles nodded his head in agreement. "Two hours, yes. If you do wake up before twelve and you need something, you know where I am."

Phoenix smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Goodnight, Edgeworth."

"Goodnight, Wright."

With that, Miles flicked off the light and padded into the living room.

A small part of him was hesitant about being so far away from Phoenix - if, for some reason, the man needed urgent help and couldn't speak loud enough to let Miles know, then they could both be in for a lot of trouble.

Even though he had already dismissed the situation, Miles had thought about suggesting to Phoenix that the two share a bed - surely he would understand? Miles highly doubted that Phoenix was going through that same emotional turmoil as himself, so, surely he wouldn't have suspected an ulterior motive?

Not that I have an ulterior motive…

It's just, I don't want anything bad to happen because I read into things too much. Sharing a bed with Wright for one night wouldn't change anything, and, besides, he's going to be dead to the world for most of the night.

The doctor did say that I should be near him at all times.

Miles was just about to turn back around to tell Phoenix of his insecurities, when said man's voice rang out from the bedroom.

"Hey, Edgeworth?"

Miles smiled slightly to himself, but quickly wiped his face of the rare emotion. He strode back into the bedroom, turned the light on, and raised an eyebrow at Phoenix.

"Yes, Wright? What do you need? I'm trying to sleep on my comfortable sofa."

Phoenix grinned to himself, surprised at Miles' good humour. "Well, I was just wondering…"

But then he paused.

Miles raised his other eyebrow. "What is it?"

Phoenix flushed slightly, and wriggled further down into the duvet. "It's nothing."

Miles was silent, but it was the kind of silence that demanded explanation.

"Okay, fine. I was just thinking that maybe it would be easier for the both of us if you were to… sleep here. In the bed. With me. Just because, you know, it'll be… yeah. Easier. But not if you don't feel comfortable with it."

"…Of course. If it would make you feel more at ease here." Miles allowed, secretly pleased that he wasn't the one who had to ask the embarrassing question.

"Really?" Phoenix perked up, seemingly surprised. "I thought you'd say no. What, with your personal space issues and all that."

Miles scowled, switched the light off, and made his way to the other side of the bed in the dark. "Well, as long as you stay on your designated side, I will be fine."

Phoenix chuckled lightly, and shifted to the right to give Miles enough room. "Deal."

Miles slid into the already warm bed, and tried desperately to act nonchalant and casual as he lay down next to his friend. A small part of him spoke up and told him that this is what it would be like if they were to ever become a couple.

Miles ignored that part of him, because why would he ever want to be one half of a whole when Wright was involved?

"Are you warm enough?" he asked, clearing his throat inconspicuously.

Phoenix wriggled down further, and his arm brushed Miles'. Miles tried to ignore the strange, strange tremor that ran down his body at the touch.

Don't do this to me now.

"Yeah. Especially now that you're here."

Miles could almost feel Phoenix grinning into the dark, and the thought brought a smile to his lips.

I think you're good for me, Phoenix.

After lying awake for two hours, Miles sat up. It was incredibly distracting having another body sleeping next to his, and Miles had found himself listening to Phoenix's gentle snores instead of attempting to sleep.

His mind kept asking him questions that he didn't want to answer, and he was utterly confused about the image his mind had conjured up mere hours ago.

Perhaps… perhaps I actually enjoy spending time with you, Wright. Who would ever have thought that out friendship would bloom again after fifteen years?

Gently, Miles prodded Phoenix in the shoulder. "Wright. Wake up. It's twelve o'clock. Please don't make me have to call an ambulance."

Phoenix gave a muted murmur of sleepy agreement, and stretched out across the bed like a cat. This change in movement caused Phoenix's foot to run down the length of Miles' leg, and Phoenix sprung up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Sorry 'bout that, Edgeworth. Forgot I wasn't in my own bed." Phoenix yawned, and stretched his arms out. "And hey, guess what? I'm not in a coma!"

Miles snorted quietly, and decided to completely ignore the strange feeling of butterflies low in the pit of his stomach. "You make it sound like you're proud of the fact."

"Of course I am. You should be too." Phoenix advised. "How long do I have to stay awake for?"

Miles glanced at the dim light of his alarm clock. "Only a few minutes. The doctor told me to ask you some basic questions, so, what's your name?"

Phoenix rolled his eyes in the darkness. "Phoenix Wright. I'm a defence attorney. You're Miles Edgeworth, and you're a prosecutor. This really isn't necessary."

"Perhaps not, but you wouldn't like it you fell into a coma, would you?"

"True, true." Phoenix lay back down, and pulled the duvet up to his chin. "I was having a good dream, too."

Miles dreaded to think what about.

"How much have you slept?" Phoenix asked. "You sound like you've been awake for a while."

Miles paused. "Uh, no, I've only just woken up." he lied. "I've been quite tired recently, what with all of this extra work I've had to do."

"Ah." Phoenix muttered, shifting in the bed to face away from Miles. "What does this tell us? You need to work less and sleep more."

"Perhaps. I think you can go back to sleep now." Miles said, his own eyes feeling slightly tired.

"Hm. I'm not actually that tired now that I've woken up. Why don't we chat?" Phoenix questioned, fidgeting around again to face Miles.

Just because we haven't done enough of that in the past few hours.

"If you want to." Miles sighed, saying goodbye to any sleep that he might have had.

There were a few seconds of silence before Phoenix spoke up. "Hey, Edgeworth?"

"Yes?"

"What's your greatest fear? Is it earthquakes?"

Miles paused, his face flushing slightly at the intimacy of the question.

Why must you persist in making me think about my feelings, Wright?

"No. No, it's not." Miles said slowly, hoping that Phoenix would simply accept the statement and not push the subject.

"What is it, then?" Phoenix asked, obviously curious.

Of course you couldn't not push the subject.

"I suppose… my greatest fear is becoming one of those I hate." Miles admitted, staring up at the dark ceiling with blank eyes.

There's no going back now, Miles.

"What do you mean?" Phoenix inquired, his amusing eyebrows furrowing.

"It's just… It seems as though everyone believes that I'm a bad person; that I am willing to forge evidence in order to win a trial. You know more than anyone that I would never do something as dishonest as falsifying evidence, but it doesn't stop people from speculating. There have been rumours about me from day one, and sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve such… malice.

"Even during our re-trial of the SL-9 incident, Gant's last words to me were, 'You despise criminals. I can feel it. You and me… we're the same.' What if his assumptions are correct? Like he said, we both despise criminals. But then he did the unthinkable, and took someone's life. Twice. And it scares me, Phoenix, it really does."

Did I just call him Phoenix? Christ.

"What if my abhorrence of criminals grows so much that, I too, feel compelled to take someone's life? What happens to me then?"

Phoenix inched slightly closer to Miles, and gave a hum of sympathy. "You're too honest to turn out like Gant, I promise. You're a good person, Edgeworth."

"Thank you, Wright. But then there was von Karma. He was my mentor; everything I aspired to be. I studied below him in the hope that I could be the prosecutor he was. He was as good as my only father figure. But then it turned out that he was a cold-blooded murderer. That he falsified evidence. That he murdered my father, and took me in as a disciple of von Karma purely so that he could turn me into everything that my father wanted me not to be.

"He was everything that I despise, and it hurts me to think that I wanted to be exactly like him." Miles finished, closing his steel-grey eyes for the briefest of moments.

Why did I have to go and spill everything?

There was silence for a few minutes before Phoenix spoke up. "I… I hadn't realised that you were so worried about things like this. I mean, I know you keep everything locked up inside, but… Don't worry, Edgeworth. You won't turn out like Gant or von Karma. You're too honorable, and you've got one thing that they both never truly had."

"And what is that?" Miles swallowed thickly; suddenly highly aware of the close proximity between the two.

"You have friends who care about you."

Miles smiled to himself in the dark; the large blanket suddenly feeling very heavy. "…Thank you, Wright. But it still worries me."

Phoenix yawned, and moved his arms so that they rested beneath his head. "My greatest fear is a little less… original than yours." he revealed.

"Why? What is it?" Miles asked, genuinely curious.

"My greatest fear is losing those I love."

Miles nodded to himself. "I suppose you have a lot of people you love - a lot of people to lose."

Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Yeah, well, it certainly seems to happen enough."

Miles sat up, and frowned at his friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first there was Dahlia Hawthorne. I was absolutely smitten with her in my college years; I was completely in love. But then she tried to murder me, and things kind of went downhill from there." Phoenix chuckled again. "I was devastated back then when I realised she hated my guts. Because even though she had tried to kill me, I still loved her. You don't think straight when you're in love. But, obviously, I got over her. I grew up.

"And then I met Mia. She really helped me to understand what it meant to be a good lawyer. She was my mentor; one of my closest friends. And then I lost her too. All because she was doing her job - fighting for the truth. But, I suppose something good came out of Mia's end." Phoenix mused, more to himself than Miles. "Her death made me meet Maya.

"Maya's my best friend, and I love her so much. She's always there for me, and she never lets me down. But now that she's the Master of Kurain, I never get to see her. Sometimes she visits me for a week, but then I don't see her for another month or two. It used to be the other way around. I don't even get to see Pearls anymore…"

"I'm… sorry, Wright. I didn't know how many people you had lost in your life." Miles murmured, idly wondering if he would ever make it onto the list of people that Phoenix had loved and, subsequently, lost.

Phoenix smiled to himself. "Nah, it's fine. You get over these things, right? Maybe, one day, I'll find someone who'll prove me wrong. You know; someone who won't just leave me; someone will stick around during both the good and bad times. …Someone who will love me just as much as I love them."

And, strangely enough, in the deepest, darkest corner of his mind, Miles was slightly hurt that Phoenix didn't consider him to be that person.