A/N: My chapter organisation is severely wacky.
Pairing: Phoenix/ Iris
Prompt: from Gravaja Umbros
Disclaimer: I own not these recognisable characters.
A Heart Could Heal
If anyone had asked, 'Feenie' would have said that he didn't know a heart could break like that.
At the time, his heart felt like it was stronger than ever. Stronger than anything. Swim the oceans? Easy. Climb a mountain? Ha. A murder investigation thrown into it? He could do anything as long as she was there.
As long as his Dolly was there.
When he had found out who she was underneath all her lies he was dumbstruck. How could he have not seen the monster behind her innocence? Phoenix felt the weight of his ignorance on his heart every day after that. He hadn't been able to save her first victims, certainly, but her last ones? Had he listened to Doug Swallows, then both he and Diego would have been alive. So what if it would have cost his life? He had no family and Dahlia certainly wasn't going to miss him. Mia wouldn't have endured any more pain, she would have fallen even more in love with Diego and they'd have worked their cases together as partners and as lovers. She wouldn't have had to take on anybody by herself.
As much as he tried to forget it as the years went on, he couldn't forget her. He drove away the pain of losing Mia by helping everyone he could; he took in her little sister and became her best friend, he worked for free. But Phoenix still hadn't forgotten the woman that he would always hate, the woman that he was doomed to love.
So when he saw a picture of her in Maya's acolyte article he knew he had to see her. She had the same face, the same sweet voice, only there was something different about her: the girl in front of him wasn't the girl he'd had nightmares about; there was nothing but sincerity behind her eyes. This was the girl he'd been in love with in college.
When Iris had told Phoenix who she really was to him, he felt a weight shifting. He had never loved Dahlia, he had loved Iris, and she was exactly the person he'd always hoped she was.
On that day, if he'd been asked, Phoenix would have said that he didn't know a heart could heal like that. He didn't know that after all this time his heart could be beating as strongly for her as it did back then. But even after all this time- even though his heart wanted nothing more than to love her again, his head couldn't stop him from seeing the face of a monster.
Sad ending, I know.
In no particular order, the upcoming chapters will be Apollo/Ema, Lana/ Edgeworth, Lane/OC+Ema and Regina/Matt or Max.