As Edgeworth tried to write his report, he found himself incredibly distracted. His hands had only hovered above his keyboard for the past several minutes as his thoughts were filled with Wright and whoever he was talking to on the phone. Edgeworth tried to will himself to just push Wright out of his mind for now. He had work he had to do.

It wasn't a complete mystery who Wright was most likely speaking with. Edgeworth got the uneasy feeling that he was talking with his ex-girlfriend, Angela. He had almost wished he stood at Wright's office's door and just leaned into to hear...

No. That would have been too far. Wright had stepped out of the room to speak with her (if it was a her) and had stopped speaking when Edgeworth came into the room. Edgeworth had stepped over too many boundaries already with Wright, even if it was behind his back...or right in front of him with coffee all of him.

Edgeworth needed to work, not focus on Wright. It was almost important to remind himself that even if he was helping Wright with this case, he had his own priorities.

It was unfortunate that Wright would have to take on other cases while trying to work on this one, but that's just the way things were. As Wright said, "a man's gotta eat."

It would be strange to oppose Wright in court on an entirely different case. He would hope that Wright would have no hard feelings if the cases they opposed each other ended in a guilty verdict. Edgeworth would prefer not to oppose Wright while they tried to work through this case together, but it was almost inevitable.

Meeting Matthews hadn't served to keep Edgeworth's doubts at bay. It wasn't as if Matthews was suspicious or anything, but Edgeworth still couldn't get an accurate grasp of him, or feel he had an accurate one at least. He wished he could talk to Matthews privately so that if he pressed him Wright wouldn't get defensive.

Fat chance! The way Edgeworth had acted when Matthews mentioned his husband probably only served to make him wary of Edgeworth and opening up to him.

Wright had only seemed angry that Edgeworth had made a presumably bad impression on Matthews, not necessarily that he had a problem with him being gay. Edgeworth didn't, per se. It didn't matter to him what Matthews' life outside of this case was, but Edgeworth would certainly rather not hear about it. It made him feel quite uneasy, even if it was only because he was so ashamed of himself and almost little to do with Matthews.

Edgeworth briefly wondered how Wright would react if he came out. It made him upset to think that Wright would probably not be surprised.

Matthews was so open about his husband. It made Edgeworth feel a mix between jealousy and disgust. How could a man be so open about something like that?! The idea of professing his love to another man (in front of people no less!) was enough to make Edgeworth feel faint.

It was irritating that Wright, or any straight man, didn't have to think about coming out. They could simply introduce their partner without worrying about people like...well, people like Edgeworth himself reacting strangely. Edgeworth was envious of that.

At least he had kept his thoughts mostly to himself. Hopefully Matthews did think that Edgeworth was truly only surprised.

As Edgeworth got ready to leave his office with little to no real work done, he thought of Maya. He admired her a lot. She was very mature for her age, even if he frequently came off as the opposite. She was incredibly strong and resilient but never took herself too seriously. Wright was kind of like that too. No wonder the two got along so well.

It wasn't as if he disliked Maya but of course Edgeworth would prefer is he and Wright could work on the case mostly alone. That probably wasn't going to happen though. Maya was Wright's assistant after all, for whatever reason, so she'd be hanging around.

If it was Wright's ex-girlfriend who he was on the phone with, Edgeworth knew he would not be able to handle her being around. He could not possibly stand seeing Wright being romantic with another person. He knew his stupid, obsessive crush was on a road to nowhere, but still, he had his limits. If Angela were to hang around, Edgeworth wasn't sure how much he could be around Wright.

But that's not the point! Edgeworth scolded himself. The point of helping Wright was to HELP WRIGHT after all. It didn't really matter if Angela was around or not; Edgeworth had agreed to help Wright with this case. Case closed.

Edgeworth fell asleep to thoughts of Wright sheepishly biting his nails...

In the morning, Edgeworth was shaken away by his phone blaring next to his bedside. He swiped it up and cleared his throat.

"Edgeworth speaking," he said, his voice still groggy.

"Good morning, sir." Gumshoe. "I had some time on my hands and I just wanted to ask what you were thinking of that case you asked me about."

Edgeworth sat up, suddenly fully awake.

"Er...what about it?"

"Well, for starters, I heard Mr. Wright managed to get a retrial."

Edgeworth tried to sound casual. "Is that so?"

"That's what I heard, sir," said Gumshoe. "I also heard it'll be in a month or so."

Now, Edgeworth tried to sound surprised.

"A month? Are you sure? You must be getting wrong."

"Maybe, but that's what I heard."

"Huh," gave Edgeworth, racking his brain for something to say. "I wonder why he was given so long."

"Maybe the judge also is interested in a retrial, I dunno. Did you talk to Mr. Wright about it?"

"Why would I have done that?" Edgeworth blurted.

"Because you both are clearly interested in it?" Gumshoe said, clearly confused by his defensiveness. "I just thought—"

"No, I haven't talked to Wright about it."

There really wasn't a need to lie. Edgeworth was a little uneasy about helping Wright and Gumshoe would probably understand and keep that fact private. Still, Edgeworth would much rather not have Gumshoe know that he was aiding a defense attorney.

"Oh. Are you planning to?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh, I just thought that—Well, never mind. Are you happy he's getting a retrial, sir?"

"Happy?" Edgeworth rasped, getting up to get himself a glass of water. "Why would I be happy?"

"Well, you know..."

Gumshoe trailed off. Edgeworth had his phone cradled between his cheek and his shoulder as he poured himself some water. He had expected Gumshoe to continue and say something further. He didn't.

"Know what, Detective?"

"Just that you were looking at it too, is all. I just thought—"

"You just thought," Edgeworth interrupted. "I was just curious of how the prosecutor got the verdict. That's all. I don't care if Wright had gotten a retrial."

If Gumshoe wasn't weary of Edgeworth's intentions, he was now. Surely Edgeworth's defensiveness only served to prove that he had in fact wanted Wright to get a retrial for Matthews.

"Oh. I guess I was wrong, sir," said Gumshoe. "Well, anyway, just thought I'd let you know that, but you don't seem very interested."

Maybe he overestimated Gumshoe.

"Not particularly."

"Well, anyway, sir, I'll talk to you later. A heads-up, though, today Ms. Skye should tell you about a robbery that happened last night at the general store." Gumshoe paused. "I'll see you at the scene in the evening, sir."

"I suppose I'll see you then, Detective."

Edgeworth listlessly wondered if there was a chance Wright would be the defense on this case. He supposed there was always a chance of that. Well, there wasn't anything he could do if that was the case.

Sure enough, when Edgeworth had a meeting with the chief prosecutor, she had told Edgeworth the same thing Gumshoe did. Edgeworth hoped that he wouldn't be put on the case as he wanted to have his focus on Wright, but...well, he didn't always get everything he wanted.

While at the crime scene, Edgeworth kept an eye out for Wright and Maya. He had not once actually seen Wright and Maya at a crime scene, as he always got there before them, but he couldn't help himself. He hoped Wright would have the wherewithal (or financial ability) not to take on a case so soon. This early, his client should be given all his attention.

Gumshoe had come up to him and explained how he saw the situation. Edgeworth listened half-heartedly, still thinking of Wright.

Part of him wanted so terribly to know who was on the other side of that line last night. He knew it had to be Angela, but he wished he knew for sure. Another part of him didn't want to know at all. Wanted to pretend that he had never heard Wright on the phone.

"Sir? You hearing me?"

"Hmm? Yes, yes I'm listening."

"Then what did I just say?"

Edgeworth looked at Gumshoe's face. "Fine! I was someplace else. Just tell me again already."

"Alright, sir," said Gumshoe. "What I was saying was there are clear shoe prints coming from the entrance, but there aren't a second set going back to the door."

"Hmm, so they realized they left prints with the dirt they tracked in and took off their shoes?"

"Exactly what I thought, sir," Gumshoe said, as if it was the most brilliant idea. "There was even one shoe left here in the trash, but one of the detectives took it back to the station already."

"Where's the other one?"

Gumshoe shrugged. "We're still trying to find it."

"Are there any leads?" Edgeworth asked. Gumshoe nodded. "Well...who?"

"One of the workers. I talked to the employee that locked up last night and she said she has someone in mind."

"Hmm. What made her say that?"

"Honestly? I'm not too sure, she said the two always had recently been getting into a lot of arguments."

Edgeworth thought for a moment. "Wasn't the victim, the owner, pretty old? How old is the employee the girl thinks did it?"

"She says he's 22."

"Hard to believe the owner would put up with him at all..." Edgeworth trailed off, mostly talking to himself. "Why not just fire him? Where's the girl?"

Gumshoe shrugged. "She hadda run, but I'd talk to her and find out more." He fished in his pocket for a piece of paper. "Here. Her phone number."

Edgeworth pocketed the small piece of paper. "Thank you, Detective."

Gumshoe nodded and moved away, towards other police officers. Edgeworth looked over the scene. Firstly, he tried to find the other shoe. Before long, Gumshoe was at his side again.

"What are you looking for, sir?" Gumshoe asked from over Edgeworth's shoulder.

"The other shoe."

"How do you know what to look for?"

Edgeworth paused and turned his head. You're joking, he thought.

"You don't even know what the shoe looks like," said Gumshoe, after Edgeworth didn't respond. "How do you know what to look for?"

"I'm not even going to entertain that with an answer," Edgeworth mumbled.

Gumshoe stayed put and Edgeworth whipped around.

"Am I supposed to believe there's just a bunch of missing shoes? I'm looking for one shoe! Who else would leave one shoe here?"

"Oh, right, sir!" Gumshoe laughed, putting his hand on Edgeworth's shoulder. "I guess I wasn't thinking!"

"I guess not."

"But I've searched high and low before you got here," Gumshoe said. "It's not around."

Edgeworth hummed, trying to will the detective to leave him alone. Other than the facts, Edgeworth wanted to think about the case by himself. Before he called the number Gumshoe had given him, he wanted to make his own deductions about the case. He didn't want her to affect what he thought before he thought whatever he thought. It was nice having the detective around, but only after he had his own thoughts gathered.

"Well, look again," said Edgeworth. "Spread out."

"Good idea, sir."

And finally Gumshoe moved away so that Edgeworth could be alone.

As Edgeworth poked around, looking for the missing shoe, his mind drifted to Wright. He ached at the thought of Wright speaking to Angela and talking like that to her. If she had offered to get back with Wright, would Wright go for it? He seemed to be quite pleased with whoever he was talking with on the phone and clearly had known the conversation was going to be private, which was very telling the way he ran out of the room to answer the phone.

The thought of Angela possibly sticking around made Edgeworth's skin crawl.

After several minutes of looking hopelessly for the shoe, Edgeworth decided it was time to talk to the employee instead. He took out his phone and the small slip of paper Gumshoe had given him. He moved to a quiet corner of the store and dialed the girl's phone number, but got her voicemail.

"Figures," he mumbled to himself.

Edgeworth went back to Gumshoe.

"There's no one else to talk to?" he asked.

"No, she was the only employee today," replied Gumshoe. "Try calling her."

"Already did. You get into contact with the owner?"

"Not yet, but we sent some guys to his apartment to talk to him. Girl gave us the address."

"How about the employee she thinks did it? Got his number?"

"I do, sir."

A pause.

"Well, may I have it please?" Edgeworth asked impatiently.

"Oh! Oh, sure." Gumshoe fished in his pockets for his notepad. "Here. His name is Jack Stewing. Be sure I get that back. I haven't given him a call yet."

Edgeworth leaned over the read the phone number, dialing it without taking Gumshoe's notepad. He walked away from Gumshoe with his phone to his ear. Thankfully someone picked up.

"Yes, hello," said Edgeworth. "Am I speaking to Jake Stewing?"

"Jack Stewing, yes."

"Right, well, my name is Miles Edgeworth. I'm a prosecutor and—"

"Yes, I've heard of you," said Jack. "In the papers a few times. Can I ask why you're calling me?"

If you'd stop interrupting me, thought Edgeworth. "Yes. You work at Smyth's General, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"There was a crime last night," said Edgeworth. "If you have the time, I'd like to speak with you about it."

"Sure."

"I'll give you the address to my office. Can I meet with you tonight?"

"Sure," said Jack again.

Edgeworth dispensed his address. "Six o'clock alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Edgeworth. I'll see you then."

Edgeworth pulled out his own notepad and wrote the time down. He went back to Gumshoe.

"Alright, I'm going to talk to him tonight. I have some paperwork to finish up. Let me know when you get in touch with the owner."

"You got it, sir!"

Edgeworth gave Gumshoe a nod and headed for his car. Almost without thinking, he pulled out his phone and went to Wright's contact. His thumb hovered over his phone. He wasn't sure why he wanted to call Wright as they had nothing to talk about.

Before Edgeworth could hit the call button, he pocketed his phone and saved himself the embarrassment.

Back at his office, Edgeworth put his phone on silent and forced himself to put Wright out of his thoughts.

Edgeworth was confident that if he and Wright were on opposing sides for any cases and he lost, there wouldn't be any hard feelings. He wasn't sure if Wright felt similarly. If Wright did lose, he probably wouldn't feel anything negative towards Edgeworth, but Edgeworth hoped that Wright wouldn't lose confidence. Wright's confidence had already been down the drain, and losing would probably do nothing but make that worse.

There was little Edgeworth wanted more than to spend time with Wright, but the thought of talking to him was making his heart pound. Edgeworth would just about lose it if Wright were to bring up Angela...never mind if he announced that the two were getting back together. But, wasn't part of having feelings for Wright wanting him to be happy? If Angela did that for him...?

Edgeworth still had half a mind to back out of Wright's case and forget he had ever offered his help.

So much for putting Wright out of his mind. Still, he had gotten his report done thankfully and move on. He picked up his phone.

Two missed calls from Wright! It barely took any time though to call him back.

"Hey, Edgeworth," Wright said. "I was—"

"You didn't get a case just today did you?" Edgeworth asked. "The one at Smyth's?"

"What? No. I don't even know what the hell you're talking about. I only called to say hi."

"Oh, uhm," Edgeworth stumbled. Obviously Wright didn't get the case. There wasn't even a defendant yet. "Hi."

Wright laughed and Edgeworth's heart jumped. "And ask if you wanted to grab lunch?"

"Sure. What'd you want to go over?"

"Go over?" Wright replied. "Oh, the case? No, I just wanted to grab lunch with you."

"Oh, uhm..."

Edgeworth's voice gave out. He felt like they were back sitting as his office before he had kissed Wright. His mouth was dry he could barely speak.

"Unless you're busy," added Wright.

"No! No. I'm not busy." Edgeworth stood up. "Where are you? I'll pick you up."

"I'm at my office," said Wright. "I'll see you soon?"

"Sure," Edgeworth said quickly before hanging up the phone.

Edgeworth instantly went into full blown panic mode. Wright was asking him to lunch? Would Maya be there? Maybe it would be better if Maya was there. She could at least soothe some of his nerves by being there. Then again, it would be nice if it was just the two of them. That was, as long as Edgeworth could get his heart to stop from pounding out of his chest.

Friends went out to lunch all the time. This was no big deal, but that didn't stop Edgeworth from practically skipping down the stairs and to his car.

As nervous as Edgeworth was, he was brimming with excitement. Moreover, it would be nice to enjoy lunch with Wright without having to talk about Matthews. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure how he felt about him yet—going out with Wright tended to be both a chore and a blessing because of the case. Hopefully like the two's first time going out together, he wasn't going to completely ruin it.

Before allowing the memory of the kiss to sour his mood, Edgeworth tried to push it out of his mind. He realized, though, that he hadn't even given himself the chance to really think about the kiss. Sure, he had given himself chances to kick himself over it, but he never really thought about the fact that...well, he had actually kissed Wright. All that time spent yearning for it had actually happened. It wasn't in the way that he would have wanted, of course, but at least it had still happened.

It was extremely difficult not to feel incredibly guilty about all of it. Wright had only brought it up once, jokingly, and that was all. Was it all possible that Wright truly hadn't minded it? Was it possible it meant anything?

No! No, that wasn't possible whatsoever. He had to stop allowing himself to think like that.

Of course, now thinking about the kiss between the two, Edgeworth had made himself more nervous than excited. And it was too late to relax himself.

Wright was waiting by the front of his office. He was in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and when Edgeworth eyes came upon him, his heart skipped a bit. He shamefully took a dull delight in the image. Edgeworth felt embarrassingly overdressed, which did not go unnoticed by Wright.

"Same suit, different day," said Wright with a smile. "Is there a day in your life you don't wear that suit?"

"I..." Edgeworth trailed off, looking down at himself. "I just came from the office."

"Well, maybe I'm underdressed," Wright said, and then he laughed.

Doubt filled Edgeworth's mind. He tried to push those thoughts aside and allow himself to just enjoy his time with Wright—however much anxiety it caused him.

As usual, Wright's hand floated to the radio. He turned it on and kept the music low, looking out of the window. Edgeworth waited a few moments for Wright to tell him where the two were going to have lunch.

"Oh, I'm not sure," said Wright when he asked. "Where ever you want is fine with me."

Edgeworth looked at Wright. He was always so easy-going. That was nothing new, but it always surprised Edgeworth.

"Alright," said Edgeworth, scrambling his mind for a good place to eat that Wright wasn't dressed inappropriately for. "Sure."

As Edgeworth began driving, he had expected Wright to stay silent. He assumed that Wright wouldn't have much to say, considering he wasn't here to talk about the case with Matthews. But, no, Wright was very easily able to strike up conversation. As always.

"What were you talking about on the phone?" he asked. "The thing with Smyth's?"

"Nothing. Nothing I can talk about anyway."

"Oh...I see."

Edgeworth glanced over to Wright. "No, Wright, I mean there's nothing to even discuss yet."

"'Oh. Oh. Think it'll be anything interesting?"

"Well, it's a robbery, but still, I don't know. I already have so many questions." Edgeworth paused. "There was a shoe left at the scene though."

Wright laughed, "Really? A man or a woman's?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't get to see it."

Wright gave a hum. Edgeworth supposed this was a non-response to say "I hear you, but I don't have anything to add". Edgeworth didn't want the conversation to end so...

"I looked for the other shoe and Gumshoe asked how I could find it if I never saw the shoe. I—"

"Oh, that's true," interjected Wright.

Edgeworth glanced over at Wright. When Wright didn't speak any further, he quickly turned his head to look at him and then looked back at the road.

"You're serious, Wright?"

"Um...?" Edgeworth glanced over to see Wright smiling sheepishly. "Yes...?"

"I was just about to tell you how daft Gumshoe was for saying that! If I found one singular shoe, couldn't I assume that shoe was missing other one in the pair?!" Edgeworth gave a frustrated huff. "Am I the only person with a brain in my head?"

Wright laughed, loudly. "Oh, right! I guess, well I guess I wasn't thinking."

Edgeworth could only roll his eyes.

Wright moved his hand again to the volume knob and turned the radio a little louder. Edgeworth felt a little sad, assuming Wright didn't want to talk anymore. He questioned why he always had to be so mean all the time.

"Alright," said Wright, motioning to the radio. "Let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"You claimed your singing was better than mine, so I'd like to hear it."

Edgeworth felt heat rise to his cheeks. Had it said that?! Sometimes it felt like there was nothing stopping the thoughts from his brain coming out of his mouth.

"Well, uhm." He paused. "Well every time I won a case my mentor would take me and his daughter to karaoke."

"Your mentor?" mumbled Wright. Then, loudly, "Von Karma?!"

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot you knew of him."

Suddenly Wright bursted out laughing. For what felt like no reason at all, Edgeworth was embarrassed. Maybe it was because Von Kamra was someone who he would rather not Wright not know, but well...it was too late for that. Wright knew him and knew him pretty well.

"What really happened between you two?" asked Wright, his tone suddenly (and uncomfortably) serious. "He took you under his wing to, what? How long was this guy planning that whole thing?"

"I don't know," mumbled Edgeworth. "And I don't want to talk about it."

He knew he was being curt but when it came to Von Karma...that wasn't something that he felt like sharing nor did he feel like explaining why that was. Though, Edgeworth felt a little badly once he saw Wright's face of shame.

"I wasn't trying to pry, or something like that," said Wright. "Your relationship with him just seems...never mind. Sorry."

"It's fine," Edgeworth said shortly. "Just forget it."

Well, so much for a nice lunch. God forbid Wright ask a question about Edgeworth's past. It was like Edgeworth couldn't help but be a jerk.

Still, Edgeworth's past with Von Karma he would ever want to reveal to Wright. The whole thing was so shameful—and humiliating—the whole thing was. Edgeworth would sooner admit his feelings for Wright before he ever told Wright the full story about Von Karma.

"I'm sorry," Edgeworth blurted, feeling the tense air. "It's just not something I like talking about."

"Nah, you're fine," said Wright. "You don't have to tell me."

Edgeworth glanced over at Wright, who was looking over at him with a slight smile. Why did Wright even put up with him at all? What was the point? If Wright hadn't asked Edgeworth to grab drinks after they had dinner all that time ago, he would have thought Wright was just using him for his help on the Matthews case. Well, Wright had probably gotten the request to defend Matthews already and...

No. He may have gotten it but that was probably not the reason Wright had asked Edgeworth to grab drinks. Probably. After all, he had asked Edgeworth to lunch and it wasn't to go over the case, so says Wright.

Still, after he had kissed Wright and was so often a jerk to him, it was a wonder why Wright even bothered with him.

As much as he was ashamed any time he was with Wright, Edgeworth couldn't get enough.

Once they were at the restaurant, Edgeworth was feeling the urge to make an excuse to leave. He knew he would never do that. He would never make Wright second guess asking him to lunch, or never want to. Maybe he had already done just that.

When Edgeworth locked his Mustang from his fob, Wright glanced back at it. He turned to Edgeworth and rose a brow.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"What does what mean?"

Wright motioned with his chin towards Edgeworth's car. "Your plates. What the hell is it supposed to say?"

Edgeworth moved his gaze to his license plate that read "PRSEQTR" and felt a twinge of embarrassment, even if he was the one who picked it.

"It's...well, it's supposed to read 'prosecutor" but that was too many letters."

Wright looked again at Edgeworth then back to his car. He threw his head back laughing.

"Really?"

Edgeworth nodded.

Wright laughed some more and grabbed Edgeworth's shoulder. "Edgeworth, you never fail to surprise me.""

"I'll try and take that as a compliment," mumbled Edgeworth.

"Well, I meant it as one."

Wright opened the door and motioned for Edgeworth to walk in first. Once the two sat down, Edgeworth felt that familiar comfort. No matter how Edgeworth humiliated himself, Wright always brushed it aside and made Edgeworth, or tried to, feel good about himself.

"Oh! Lunch is my treat," Wright said with a smile. "As a thank you for all your help so far."

"Wright, it's not that big of a deal."

"Neither is paying for one meal," said Wright. "Just let me do something nice."

Edgeworth knew that he was going to pay. Of course he wasn't going to allow Wright to.

Before Edgeworth could say anything else, a waitress came over to the table. Wright instantly sat up and looked up at her. Edgeworth recognized the look on his face.

"What can I get you guys to drink?" she asked.

"I'll have a coke," said Wright in a voice that sounded awfully similar his voice when he was on the phone the afternoon before. He looked at Edgeworth.

"Uh, water," Edgeworth stammered. "I'll just take a water."

The waitress gave a smile. "Alrightie. I'll get those for you and give you a few minutes with the menu."

"Thanks," Wright said. Was he blushing? It certainly looked like Wright might be blushing.

Wright watched as the waitress left and let out a low whistle. He spoke without taking his eyes off her.

"Isn't she something?"

Edgeworth didn't move his gaze. He didn't need to look at her to know that Wright already thought she was something and didn't need Edgeworth's approval. He felt an annoying prickle of irritation hit his cheeks, probably forming a similar flush to the one Wright was wearing.

"Sure," Edgeworth mumbled.

Wright slowly took his eyes off her, practically peeling them off.

"She kinda reminds me of Angela," Wright said quietly. "God, she is breathtaking."

Now Edgeworth decided to take a glance at the waitress and have a good look. If Angela looked anything like her...well, Wright was a lucky guy to have been with her.

Edgeworth felt hot jealousy zip through him. The same jealousy he felt toward Maya because of her relationship with Wright. The same jealousy he felt whenever Wright brought up Angela. He wasn't sure if the heat in his cheeks was from the jealousy itself or if it was from the same came along with it.

When Edgeworth looked back at Wright, he was looking back at the menu. Edgeworth's heart felt like it was thumping harshly. How was it possible to have some intense feelings for someone who just saw you as a friend?

"How was your meeting last night?"

"What meeting?"

"The meeting you said you had yesterday," said Wright, confused. Hed put down his menu. "When you left?"

"Oh! Oh." Edgeworth looked down at his menu to stall. He had totally forgotten that he had lied about that as an excuse to leave. "It was fine. the chief prosecutor just wanted to ask me for details about some case."

"Sounds exciting," Wright said sarcastically. "Well, I know what I'm getting. How about you?"

"Not sure."

Wright only shrugged and closed his menu. For the time being at least, it seemed Wright was over the waitress. When she had come over with their drinks, he had only let his gaze drop to her body for a few moments. He dispensed his order and handed her his menu. Edgeworth ordered the first thing his eyes landed on. He noticed that Wright had also not followed her with his eyes like last time when she walked away.

"So," Wright started when she away from the table. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" Edgeworth asked irritably.

Noticing Edgeworth's impatience but not his irritation (Edgeworth assumed), Wright chuckled and said, "Relax. It's not bad."

Edgeworth sucked in a breath and let it out as a soft sigh. "What is it, Wright?"

"Well, have you..." Wright trailed off and laughed awkwardly. "This is so weird to ask, but uhm, have you gotten any of my letters?"

Edgeworth quirked up a brow. "Letters? What letters?"

Wright looked away sheepishly, if Edgeworth didn't know any better. He wore a coy smile on his face. "I sent them to a while ago before we ever met again."

Edgeworth wracked his brain for what the hell Wright could be talking about. If he had gotten any letters from Wright, he surely would have remembered it. Never mind the fact that he would've kept them right in his bedside drawer probably.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Wright frowned. "Really? You never got them? I starting sending them to you when I read about you in the paper. I just was so shocked you were a prosecutor and I was even more shocked about the things I heard about you."

"I thought you said it wouldn't be bad," mumbled Edgeworth. "You really want to ask me about all the ways I messed up as a prosecutor?"

"What? No! I was just wondering if you had ever gotten my letters after all this time. I thought it was weird you never mentioned them."

Letters? Letters?! Edgeworth could hear his mind shouting. What letters?!

"I never got them," he said as calmly as he could manage. "What did they say?"

Wright waved his hand, looking back at Edgeworth. "It doesn't really matter. I wonder why you never got any of them...I get for one to be missing, but all of them? I must have wrote at least a dozen."

Now it was time for Edgeworth to look away. At least a dozen? But of course he wouldn't have gotten them if...

"If you sent them to the address I lived at when we were kids," said Edgeworth. "I wouldn't have gotten them."

"Well, I didn't think you still lived with your mother after becoming a prosecutor. I sent it to your office."

"No, I wasn't," Edgeworth said, leaving out why that would haven't lived with his mother whether or not he became a prosecutor at twenty. "But I never got them. There's no way you sent them to my office."

"I think I would know whether or not I sent letters and where I sent them," Wright said, laughing. "You've been in the same building, right? Even if not the same office. I mean, it said your name after all. Surely someone could have given it to you."

"But—!" Edgeworth frowned. "I never got anything."

"That's weird, considering how many I sent, but I guess I'll choose to believe you."

Wright's tone was playful, but was it possible he thought Edgeworth was lying? What would be the point of that?

Never mind that. Not important, thought Edgeworth. What was important was what was written in all those letters. But, how did Edgeworth ask what they said for the second time without seeming desperate? Did it matter? Edgeworth was desperate to know what was written in them.

"I would have replied to your letters if I saw any of them," he said. Then he asked again, "What did they say?"

"Like I said, it doesn't really matter now. I just wanted to see why you decided to not be a defense attorney and if the things the papers were saying about you were true."

"Hmph."

"Now I know it wasn't," Wright said quickly. "By the way."

Edgeworth stayed quiet. Had everything in the papers been true? No. Still, it wasn't exactly untrue. He would have done anything to get a guilty verdict, and Wright knew that all too well.

"Remember the Steel Samurai case?" Wright asked.

"What about it?"

"Remember how I missed when Dee Vasquez contradicted herself?" Wright asked. "And you pointed it out?"

"Yeah?" The again, "What about it?"

Wright smiled. "That's when I knew that the things in the papers couldn't be true."

Edgeworth wanted to smile too but hadn't.

Wright's letters to him was still the most important thing on his mind. Wright had been thinking about him? Even if he had just thought about him after seeing him in the papers, the thought of Wright taking the time to write letters to him (even after he never responded) was heartwarming. Edgeworth wasn't delusional. He knew that this didn't inherently mean that Wright had feelings for him. But, it clearly showed that Wright thought a lot more of Edgeworth than he had originally thought.

"Anyway," said Wright. "I was just always curious if you had gotten them or not. I guess now I have my answer."

But Edgeworth didn't have all his answers. He didn't not believe that Wright had sent him letters nor did he believe that Wright had somehow sent them to the wrong office building or address. So where did they go? If Edgeworth hadn't read them then who had? Even if the letters were just out of curiosity on Wright's part, he still wanted to read them and have them. He also wanted, mostly, to know where they had gone. Edgeworth didn't regularly have his mail go missing. At least not that he knew.

It seemed that Wright hadn't decided to press Edgeworth on why he had chosen to be a prosecutor instead of a defense attorney. He had explained why he hadn't switched, but he hadn't explained why hadn't become one in the first place or where his passion for defense went. If Edgeworth had answered Wright's question about what happened with Von Karma, he would have gotten his answer.

Another question still lingered on Edgeworth's mind. Although they were young when they met, Wright had never mentioned anything about going to law school or any interest in being a defense attorney—even if Edgeworth constantly spoke about his father or his own aspirations.

"You alright?" Wright asked. "You seem distracted."

"I'm just thinking," replied Edgeworth. "Why did you decide to become a defense attorney?"

Wright laughed. "Why's that on your mind?"

What Edgeworth wanted to say was: "Because you had just told me you wrote to ask why I didn't become one", but he didn't want Wright to ask about it.

"I don't know," he lied. "I'm just thinking about it, is all."

Again Wright wore that coy smile and looked away. "Well, if you must know, it really had a lot to do with Mia."

By Wright's face, Edgeworth knew there was more to that answer.

"How's that? How did you meet her before she was your boss?"

"Remember how you said you don't wanna talk about Von Karma? Well, I'd rather not talk about this," sadi Wright quietly. "Let's just say we had a way of meeting. I was in art school at the time and—"

"Art school?" Edgeworth couldn't help but blurt. "You were in art school?"

"I know. I almost can't believe that's why I was gonna do with my life," said Wright, laughing. "But I was going to say was I was actually in art school and already was trying to study for law school on my own. I had read about you in the papers and—"

Edgeworth opened his mouth but quickly shut it when Wright stopped talking.

"No, I'm sorry, go ahead," he said.

"No, what?" asked Wright.

"Nothing, nothing. Just continue."

"Well," started Wright. "I was going to say that I read about you in the newspaper and—"

When Wright cut himself off, Edgeworth was ready to lose his mind.

"Is that you're phone ringing?" he asked.

Edgeworth groped for his pocket and felt it vibrating. It just began to hear it ringing? Had it not even noticed it? Begrudgingly, Edgeworth took out his phone and flipped it open. He recognized the number as the one Gumshoe had given him earlier. He'd rather just ignore it and call her back later but...

"I have to take this, I'm sorry."

Wright shrugged.

Edgeworth stood up, his legs feeling wobbly. What was he so nervous for? Clearly Wright was calm and perfectly fine to have their conversation cut off. It couldn't be that big of a deal. Wright's eyes moved towards the window as Edgeworth made his away outside.

"Miles Edgeworth speaking."

"Hi, Mr. Edgeworth," came a cheery voice from the other line. "It's Angela. I work at Smyth's store? I got a voicemail from you."

Angela?! It couldn't be Wright's Angela?!

No, probably not. That was a common enough name. Besides, she wasn't Wright's Angela anymore, at least Edgeworth hoped.

"Hello," Edgeworth said. "Detective Gumshoe had mentioned that you said you have an idea who might've robbed the store."

"I know, you said in your voicemail."

"Right, well, I was hoping to speak with you about that. Do you mind coming by my office so we could talk it over?"

"Yeah, of course," she said. No, Edgeworth corrected in his head, you don't mind. "Does tonight at five work alright for you?"

"Yes, that works," Edgeworth replied curtly.

He dispensed his address and exchanged quick goodbyes. He just wanted to get back to Wright already. Even though he wanted to bolt back to their table, Edgeworth kept his walk slow and made his back inside and back to Wright.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You were saying?"

"I was going to say that I thought that maybe I should be a lawyer," said Wright. "When I read about you in the paper, I started studying law, like I said."

Edgeworth felt his throat get tight. Wright had studied law...for him?

"When did you decide to law school?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"When I was studying it. Then when Mia defended—" Wright cut himself off and shook his head. "Well, anyway, when I met her, I thought I should be a defense attorney. I realized the importance of having someone believe in you."

Edgeworth stayed silent, unable to even produce a sound. His mind was swimming. Had Mia defended Wright at some point? For what? Secondly, and more importantly, he was shocked that Wright had began studying law and started thinking about law school after he heard what Edgeworth was up to. He could only nod slowly, hoping Wright would continue.

"I was wasn't really interested in law," said Wright. "But I began reading and I remembered when you defended me when we were younger..."

Wright trailed off and gave a weak grin, shrugging. How was he so nonchalant?! Was he pretending to be?

"So, you went to law school because of me?" Edgeworth couldn't help but ask.

Wright flushed. "If you wanna put it like that...I guess that's true."

This was all too much. With the letters and then this. Wright had done a lot of thinking about Edgeworth in the past. Maybe he didn't think about Edgeworth as much as he thought about Wright but as far as Edgeworth knew before, Wright hadn't even remotely thought about him. To think, if Wright hadn't went to law school the two would never have seen each again most likely.

Wright was apparently thinking the same thing. "I knew I would bump into you," said Wright. "I didn't think it'd be my first case and I certainly didn't think it would a trial for Mia's murder, but I knew we would meet again."

Edgeworth's breathing hitched. "Is that what you wanted?"

Wright nodded. "Well when you were answering my letters..."

Wright had an embarrassed smile but he didn't seem ashamed by his admission at all. If the roles were reversed, Edgeworth have never told Wright why he decided to be lawyer, or he would have lied about it completely. Edgeworth almost didn't believe it.

"I had no idea," he rasped. "I thought it was just...by accident."

Wright laughed. "Nope! It's all thanks to me. I would have never thought we'd be friends again but as hard as law school, it was all worth it."

"To see me?"

"To...be with you again, I don't know." Wright spoke quietly now. "I didn't like the way things ended. That you had just left so abruptly. Of course I had no idea about your father but it still felt like something was left unfinished."

Edgeworth had to watch his own expression and disposition. He didn't want to make Wright feel uncomfortable, especially after admitting something Edgeworth thought of as vulnerable. To say that Edgeworth was shocked would have been an understatement and he found himself wondering what Wright thought was unfinished. Wright had done all the legwork to see Edgeworth again and Edgeworth had just thought it was a weird coincidence the two had both become lawyers.

"I had no idea," Edgeworth said again slowly.

"Well there ya go," replied Wright. "Now I have Maya and everything, so I would say my life turned out pretty well."

Edgeworth couldn't hide a smile. He covered his mouth his hand, pretending the rub his chin. His chest felt so warm and he knew he had to be blushing. Edgeworth put his hand down and let Wright see his smile.

"It's a little embarrassing to admit," said Wright, "but it's my reason why."

Edgeworth felt himself swooning. He swallowed thickly.

"Well, Wright, I appreciate you telling me," he said. "I really am just surprised that I...that you..."

He trailed off. He couldn't very well just say that he didn't know that he didn't know he meant so much to Wright. He didn't really know what to say. His heart was beating so fast it was making him dizzy. No chance Wright felt similarly but how could he be so calm about all this? Hadn't he realized what he just confessed?

Edgeworth opened his mouth to speak again but the waitress had come back. Wright paid little attention to her.

"Who called you before?" Wright asked casually around a mouthful of food.

The idea of asking if the Angela that had Edgeworth had spoken to and the Angela Wright dated was the same person came to Edgeworth's mind. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to really know. Moreover, he would barely be able to speak with her knowing that she dated Wright.

"Just someone from that store," Edgeworth mumbled, "that had the robbery. I'm meeting with her tonight."

Wright nodded, chewing and putting his head down. Edgeworth didn't touch his food. He only kept his eyes on Wright. He was still so shocked at what Wright admitted. He wanted Wright to know how he felt so badly it hurt, but that wasn't possible. Wright would probably regret telling him anything and he didn't want that. He just wanted to tell Wright that he also felt the want to meet each other again but if he admitted that, it felt like admitted everything.

Wright glanced up at him. "You alright?"

"I'm fine. Why do you keep asking me that?"

"You haven't touched your food," he said. "And you really do seem distracted."

"I guess I'm just thinking about that store, is all, I don't know. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Wright replied.

Edgeworth grabbed at his elbow. He looked away from Wright. God this was torture.

"You sure you're okay?" Wright asked. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just..." Edgeworth looked back at Wright. "Wright, I can't believe you did so much for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Just everything you did. We never would have saw each other again if you hadn't done all that."

Wright gave a grin and Edgeworth's chest bloomed. "That was kind of the point, but isn't it nice it turned out that way?"

Edgeworth nodded. "I just can't believe you did it. For me. And then you defended me...after everything you read."

"I told you I didn't believe it was true after that case," said Wright. "Do you...think that you didn't deserve my help?"

"I didn't say that," Edgeworth said quietly, even if he did think that. "I just don't understand how...or why you did all this work to see me again."

Wright sighed. "Because I didn't want things to end the way they did with you just leaving. I knew that wasn't you, 'the demon prosecutor.' I really couldn't believe any of that could possibly be true. I wanted to be in your corner cause you were in my mine."

"We were so young..."

"I know! But we weren't even really friends before that and you still stood up for me."

How was Edgeworth supposed to tell Wright he had really defended Wright to make his father proud. Besides, he was well aware that Wright had not stolen his money before Larry confessed 15 years later.

"Wright, I..." Edgeworth's voice gave out.

"What?"

"Thank you," he rasped. "Thank you for believing in me."

Wright smiled. "Of course. And listen, I like the way my life turned out. Thanks to you, and Mia, I realized my passion for defense. I would've been some broke artist. otherwise."

Wright laughed and went back to his meal. Edgeworth slowly picked up his fork and put his head down.

Edgeworth didn't deserve anything Wright had done for him. Before meeting Wright again that was all Edgeworth had wanted. Without Wright deciding to go to law school, it would have never happened. Edgeworth could almost cry he was so thankful to Wright. Even if being with Wright was almost torture every time, he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.