Note: I had such plans for Maya and Pearl in "In Defense of the Guilty," since they didn't end up fitting in I just had to give them their own fic!
Check out vtsuion on tumblr for all of the outtakes that didn't make it in here
It's been a very long day. A very long three days. A long year.
Phoenix Wright made the mistake of letting himself fall back onto the beat-up sofa that makes up the living room of his tiny apartment, and now he can't bring himself to move even though he doesn't want to know how late it is.
A distant knocking sound jars him out of something in between waking and sleep. Phoenix groggily pushes himself upright and rubs his eyes, wondering if he dreamed the sound. Another knock shakes free some of the cobwebs, and a seed of panic that the last day of trial was just a dream and Maya is still in the hands of Shelly De Killer does the rest, sending him stumbling upright to open the door.
"Edgeworth." That's the last person he expects to see. "What are you doing here?"
Phoenix runs a hand through his drooping, sleep-mussed hair. He's still surprised by Edgeworth's new cocky smile, though it's not quite as surprising as the fact that Edgeworth is here at all.
"Wright." There's almost a mocking lilt to Edgeworth's voice, but his expression quickly turns serious. "How is Miss Fey? After her ordeal, I…" he falters, back to avoiding Phoenix's eyes.
"She and Pearl are sleeping now. It is pretty late and they've had a long… days."
"So have you," Edgeworth points out.
Phoenix shrugs and takes a step back into his half-lit apartment, making space for Edgeworth to follow him inside. They stop in the middle of the dining-kitchen-living room, Edgeworth still on the mat and Phoenix just off it.
"I thought you'd be on a plane back to Europe by now. That's why you left the party early, wasn't it?" There's something of an accusation in Phoenix's tone that he's too tired to cover up.
"If you must know, I was seeing off Franziska. She's on the plane back now."
"And you're here…" Phoenix knows he should be grateful for Edgeworth's help saving Maya and that he's there at all, but something grates deep in the pit of his stomach, and he can't help pressing his luck.
"Yes, I wanted to…" Edgeworth falters and turns away, clutching his elbow. "I know I haven't always done the right thing, but I'm trying to change that."
"Yeah, you said you figured it all out while you were away. So, why come back here now?"
Edgeworth shakes his head. "You still haven't figured it out, Wright?"
"Clearly you didn't have anything keeping you before," Phoenix presses.
Edgeworth glares at him. "I had to leave. I couldn't-" he breaks off as he sees Phoenix's sharp, sardonic smile. "Dammit, Wright, I'm trying to-"
Edgeworth stops short again in exasperation, and Phoenix expects him to turn and leave - so much for being back. Instead, Edgeworth presses further inside, so he's suddenly less than a foot away from Phoenix and then it's inches, and then nothing at all. It's more of a limp bump than a kiss, but that's just a technicality.
As Edgeworth pulls away with a smug smile, Phoenix lets out a belated, "Oh."
Edgeworth's features immediately smooth over. "You've had a long day. I should go."
"Edge- Miles!" Phoenix reaches out to grab his arm, but Edgeworth is already gone, the door shut behind him.
Phoenix stares at the closed door for much longer than necessary as his tired brain tries to process what just happened. Finally, he tears himself away to stumble back to the sofa and lets sleep take him at long last.
Phoenix manages to avoid thinking about Edgeworth for almost the whole day and has almost convinced himself that whatever happened last night was just a sleep deprived dream.
That is, until Maya says with a nudge, "So, Mr. Edgeworth's finally back from his big European adventure?"
Maya and Pearl are hanging out in Phoenix's office. Maya is perched on the desk, slurping on a large, sweet bubble tea, and Pearl is sitting upright in Phoenix's chair with a bottle of chocolate milk, her feet dangling off the ground.
Phoenix pretends to straighten the files on the shelves and manages a shrug that's close enough to casual. "I guess, for now."
"Does that mean you'll stop being so grumpy all the time?" Maya's smile spells trouble. "Fated rivals, facing off again! It gets my blood pumping just thinking about it!"
"Hey, this is real life, not one of your ridiculous samurai shows. Edgeworth and I aren't rivals, we're just…" Phoenix hesitates.
"You're friends, right Mr. Nick?" Pearl says. "Mr. Edgeworth helped save Mystic Maya!" Her eyes still water with the reminder of their recent ordeal.
"He did, but…" Phoenix tries to hedge.
"You should invite him over to hang out," Maya says, "we can all go for celebratory burgers!"
"We already had a celebratory dinner at the Gatewater Hotel, remember?" Phoenix can still feel the gaping hole in his wallet. "Anyway, it's not like I have Edgeworth's number."
"What!? You don't even have his number?" Maya says like it's an outrage. "I thought you wanted to be friends with him."
"I don't-" Phoenix attempts to protest.
He should, however, know better; Maya Fey is not to be deterred. "Let's go, Pearly! To the Prosecutor's Office to get Mr. Edgeworth's phone number! And we can finally see his fancy office!" She leaps to her feet and has dragged Pearl halfway to the door before Phoenix stops her.
"By the time we get there the workday will be over. No one will even be there."
Maya gives him a look. "Do you really think Mr. Edgeworth has left the office on time ever?"
"Mr. Nick, you should show Mystic Maya the fancy office," Pearl declares authoritatively.
And so, Phoenix is left with no choice but to follow Maya and Pearl out to catch the bus to the Prosecutor's Office.
As predicted, by the time they arrive, the building is quiet and mostly abandoned, so there's no one to stop them from going all the way up to Edgeworth's office. Maya doesn't even wait for Phoenix to bang on the door, loudly enough to interrupt anyone on the whole floor who's still trying to work.
Of course, Edgeworth is still there. His expression quickly morphs from polite disinterest to genuine surprise as he realizes who's standing in front of him. "Miss Fey and… Miss Fey, it's good to see you again." He hesitates. "Wright."
Phoenix involuntarily remembers the press of Edgeworth's lips against his, maddeningly fleeting.
However, neither Maya nor Pearl seems to notice the strange electricity in the air, or how Edgeworth still hasn't looked away - and Phoenix refuses to break his gaze. The girls push their way obviously inside, oohing and aahing at Edgeworth's ridiculously fancy office.
With an exaggeratedly courteous gesture, Edgeworth finally invites Phoenix inside and he obliges, accidentally-on-purpose brushing against Edgeworth's side.
"What brings you here?" Edgeworth asks, the very image of composure, as Maya pokes her way around his office, prodding this and that. Pearl stays close to her, staring at everything with wide eyes.
"Nick wanted to get your phone number," Maya says without even glancing over her shoulder.
"Did he?" Edgeworth asks, looking at Phoenix in measured disbelief.
"Not exactly…" Phoenix hedges.
"It's ridiculous that you don't have each others' numbers already!" Maya insists, finally turning to face them, her arms crossed in a scary imitation of Mia Fey.
Edgeworth glances at Phoenix again and says pointedly, "Wright?"
Phoenix shrugs and hands over his old flip phone so Edgeworth can put in his number. Edgeworth looks at the device like it's an ancient artifact, possibly cursed, but gingerly accepts it.
Satisfied, Maya turns to other matters, "Hey, Mr. Edgeworth, why don't you call him Nick? You did go to school together."
Phoenix interjects to spare Edgeworth from answering. "Edgeworth never called me Nick; it was always Phoenix."
"It is his name," Edgeworth adds drily.
Maya turns on Phoenix with an audible eye roll. "And I'm sure you always called him Edgeworth."
"Well no, but-" Phoenix attempts.
But Maya is on a roll. "Or did you call him Edgey like Larry Butz?"
"No, of course not, that was just Larry. He had nicknames for everyone."
"Why does he get to be Larry and not Butz?" Maya presses. "Were you better friends with him than with Edgeworth?"
Phoenix just gives her a look.
However, Edgeworth dignifies her with an answer, "Larry is just an old acquaintance, hardly a friend. I call Wright by his last name out of respect for the opposing counsel."
"You're not in court now," Maya points out.
Edgeworth glances at Phoenix out of the corner of his eye, silently questioning, as he says, "That's true…"
Phoenix's heart does a strange stuttering thing in his chest that feels like it can't be good for his health. He has a distinct feeling Edgeworth's late night visit wasn't just a dream after all.
Still, Phoenix feels like he's in court, about to make some big statement he doesn't know how he could possibly back up with evidence, when he says, "I guess so, Miles." The name - his best friend's name, which used to roll off his tongue so easily - now feels weighty and uncertain.
For an instant, Edgeworth's eyes widen in surprise, but smugness quickly wins over, like he's just led Phoenix into a trap and made him incriminate himself, but Edgeworth stumbles a little too as he replies, "Indeed, Phoenix."
"Now, was that so hard?" Maya says, looking unreasonably proud of herself.