Risenfromash: I have a headache, so if any of this seems blatantly odd I apologize.

PART VII

The early morning light crept from between the slats of Josh's Venetian blinds. Miles sat up in bed and felt guilty. He rarely remembered his dreams after he woke up, but he remembered this one. He had dreamt about Franziska and he had woken up with Joshua. Miles tried to remind himself that the subconscious mind couldn't be controlled. Many people talked about having dreams of flying yet they didn't wake up with wings.

But it felt weird not to be at the mansion. Other than on those rare occasions when he went on vacation Miles hadn't slept anywhere but there in years.

"Miles?" Joshua was a light sleeper and had roused when his boyfriend had sat up. Miles said nothing. Guilt was eating him up. Did he not love Josh after all?

"Hun, what's wrong?" Josh put his hand on Miles back and Miles marveled that somehow Josh knew he was upset without even being able to see his face. "Did you not like it?"

Josh knew this was new for Edgeworth and he remembered his first time with a guy. It had been great…and weird at the same time.

Josh cozied up to Miles' back and gave him a gentle kiss on the shoulder. "Come on. You can tell me what's wrong. It's ok."

Miles turned around and pulled his legs back up on the bed so he could face his lover. "Josh, I really like you-"

"Ok, so what's the but? Cause I'm not an idiot…"

"I think I'm…"

"Still in love with Franziska?" Miles gapped at Joshua.

"You knew?"

Josh shrugged. "Yeah, I do my research. I'm an attorney too, as you might recall. Anyways, the two of you weren't exactly the secret you guys might have thought you were."

"Gutzberg." Miles groaned. Damn that meddlesome detective. Josh nodded. "But he's not the only one." Joshua got close to Miles once again; close enough for their bodies to touch in intimate ways. "And, um, these scars all over your back are pretty much a dead giveaway." Josh traced the crisscrossing scars with his fingertip, which Miles found erotic despite the irony.

"I've even heard some rumors of in office antics. Why don't we do that?"

Miles laughed in spite of himself. "That was only once…and it's a long story."

Josh smirked. "I bet."

"Does it bother you that I live with her?" Miles asked. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd do if his boyfriend said it did, because there was no way in hell Miles was willing to move into this slum Josh called his flat.

Josh shrugged. "It's a little weird, but you don't actually sleep with her anymore do you?"

"We never slept together. Well, not routinely. We have our own rooms, our own wings of the estate."

"Posh. Too bad I can't come over."

"You could! She has no power over me. It's my house, too."

"Dude, I'm not into whipping. She gets me enough in court."

"Josh, I'm sorry." Miles felt torn. He loved Joshua. He knew he did, but he was having a hard time moving on after breaking up with his sister. He felt terribly selfish because he didn't think Joshua should have to help him figure out how to let go, but here it was. The truth was he was in love with Josh and he still had feelings for Franziska. He wasn't sure what those feelings were, but they were there nonetheless.

"Don't be sorry. I'm not completely over Greg either. These things take time. I'm willing to wait."

Miles reached up and kissed him. Josh was spectacular.

"Then again, maybe I'm not." He had Miles pinned within a moment.

"Hey, you said you're not always on top! This was my turn…you…you…oh, god!"

~xxxx~

Franziska knew that Defense Attorney Walker and her brother had been spending a lot of time together and she knew what that meant; Miles Edgeworth had moved on.

Sitting in her office she gazed out the window looking at the blue sky and the puffy clouds. This was one of those rare occasions when she had no work to do. She'd won her morning trial easily, reclaiming her record for the fastest prosecutorial victory. In days gone by she would have marched into Edgeworth's office to gloat and in more recent years this would have inevitably led to him locking the office door for a few moments to steal a kiss or two from his sister.

It had been months since they had spoken to one another about anything other than murderers, autopsy reports, and the stupidity of their boss. She wished she could turn things back to how they had been years ago just so she could once again have him in her life. She considered visiting him and trying to pretend that the last few years had never happened but she knew that she couldn't forget the intense passion and physically intimate moments they had shared and she was bound to beg for his love.

So instead, she decided to get out of the office and go for a walk. This was the first sunny day they had in a week; she may as well take advantage of the opportunity to get some Vitamin D, as she was probably deficient. She needed to take care of herself. She had criminals to prosecute, after all.

She walked a few blocks away to the little park where many of the local businesspeople came to eat their sack lunches or purchase bento or other refreshments from carts. She was just wondering why on earth she was so hungry today when she saw them, Miles and Joshua.

Miles and Joshua were sitting on a bench eating sausages in buns. Miles took a bite and a big glob of condiments fell out the end of his bun and landed on his cravat. She could hear him cursing in a mixture of German and English as Walker laughed and dashed back over to the bratwurst stand to grab a handful of napkins. Miles set the rest of his hot dog down and was untied his food-splattered cravat.

Walker was laughing and Franziska could hear him teasing Miles about how he was going to be forced to show his neck today and then Walker leaned forward and kissed it long and sensually. Miles wrapped his arm around him and kissed him back.

Franziska began to quiver. It had been one thing to suspect that they were seeing one another romantically. It was quite another to witness their affection and to know that the only man she desired was in the arms of another person. Their lips were locked as they stood holding one another, their lunches sitting forgotten on the bench. Franziska was beginning to cry, but she clutched her whip to her and ran the leather between her fingers the way she did to comfort herself as she glared at her brother and his lover.

"I know. Makes you sick doesn't it?" Franziska was startled out of her grief by the hoarse voice of an elderly woman who had come to stand by her. The senior was also watching the public display of affection in front of the sausage stand. Why was this woman jealous of them? With Franziska's brain fighting against the haze of jealousy it took her too long to realize the true cause of the woman's disgust.

By the moment it dawned on Franziska the grouchy woman was gone having marched over to Joshua and Miles apparently with the intent of complaining about their behavior. Franziska started to run after the woman, but she was too late. The senior had already shouted something at the two men. Franziska gasped. How dare this woman! She stretched her whip ready to dash toward the grey haired woman and lash her unmercilously for insulting her brother and his boyfriend, but then Franziska heard Miles' unmistakably commanding voice.

"We won't be the only people judged. So bugger off, bigot."

The old woman sputtered in surprise and muttered something else before wandering off. Franziska smiled despite her tears. "Good for you, Little Brother," Franziska said to herself as she turned away from Miles and Joshua before they could realize she had witnessed the scene.