Edgeworth had always enjoyed watching Wright in the courtroom, even if that meant losing to him usually. Even the way he would lose his calm was intriguing, because he'd always picked himself back up again. Wright wasn't always cool and collected like Edgeworth himself; he only was when he knew his hand was better than Edgeworth's. It was so obvious when Wright thought he had a trump card.
He'd be terrible at poker, Edgeworth always thought to himself.
Lately, Edgeworth had been winning all the cases. Despite his skill, he still found himself surprised. Before winning a case against Wright, Edgeworth almost thought he wasn't even capable of it. Even if he did lose the case, Wright was able to keep up with Edgeworth and he would only win by an inch.
Today though, their game went a little different than usual. This time, instead of picking himself right back up after an objection from Edgeworth, he couldn't seem to navigate through the witness' testimony and Edgeworth's objections the way he usually did. Wright seemed distracted, overly so.
"Your Honor," Edgeworth said, "The prosecution would like to request a recess."
Wright let his head fall. He was probably assuming Edgeworth had an ace up his sleeve.
"Why's that?" The judge asked.
"The witness clearly isn't prepared to appear in court currently." Edgeworth moved his eyes towards the witness, pointing his finger at her. "They don't seem to be aware of how important their testimony is! The prosecution requests a chance to prepare them properly and apologizes for the unpreparedness."
The witness looked taken back, but to Edgeworth's delight, she resigned herself with a sigh. "He's right. I need to get myself together. Please, give me a few minutes."
Now Wright, and most likely the gallery as well, probably thought Edgeworth wanted to take his witness aside and coach her. The judge, however, didn't seem to think anything of the sorts. The witness almost made it seem as if the recess was her idea, not Edgeworth's, which Wright and the gallery most likely also thought Edgeworth had planned for her to say. He slammed his gavel down and granted Edgeworth his requested recess.
Edgeworth watched as Wright's shoulders slumped when he walked out of the courtroom. He was probably wishing he had Mia, or at least Maya, at his side right about now. Edgeworth tiptoed towards Wright in an attempt for Wright to start the conversation. Instead, Wright leaned down to the water fountain, took a few sips, then took some water and splashed some on his neck.
When Wright stood up straight, Edgeworth awkwardly was right there.
"It's not a shower, Wright. Move over."
Wright smiled sheepishly. "Sorry..."
Edgeworth bent down to get water, hyper-aware of Wright next to him.
"Where's your witness?" Wright asked. "I thought she—"
Edgeworth put his hand to his mouth, wiping the corner of it. "You thought what?"
"I just figured that...I don't know, never mind."
Wright leaned against the wall. His client was standing timidly a few feet away from him and Edgeworth. Edgeworth wanted to explain that he had requested a recess to allow Wright a moment to breathe and think. It didn't mean anything to win a case if Wright wasn't trying his best. He hadn't liked calling an objection and having Wright simply retreat his pressing and move on to a different (and useless) point. He seemed lost on what to do with the case; it was almost as if hadn't known the case before he came in this morning.
Before the air could get too thick and awkward, Edgeworth nodded at Wright and moved away from him and towards his witness. He simply told her to be aware of what others would ask themselves about her testimony. And, more importantly, what Wright or the judge would ask about it.
"It doesn't even seem like he's thinking," she said. "He's got no brain in his head."
"Hmm."
"Good for you, I guess. Sucks for him though."
He wanted to give Wright some space to gather his bearings by calling this recess. Almost, Edgeworth was going to make a snarky comment in hopes of Wright admitting to what exactly was going on today. But he hadn't. He simply waited by the courtroom door for the recess to be over when he was finished talking to his client.
Even with the small break, Wright couldn't seem to get on his feet. The rest of the trial went horribly for Wright, and great for Edgeworth.
Once the court was adjourned after the verdict, Wright was almost instantly outside of the courthouse. Edgeworth brushed by the bumble and rush of people to catch up to him. Usually, Wright rode his bike to the courthouse but today he was trying to hail a taxi. Edgeworth slipped past him to go to his car.
"Wright."
Wright looked over at him, still holding his arm out to signal a taxi to pull over.
"A ride? You'll never get a taxi at this time."
Wright looked behind him as if Edgeworth was talking to someone. He gave a dubious smile.
"For real?"
"Yes. For real."
"Oh." Wright forced out a laugh. "Alright."
Edgeworth led Wright to his car, almost feeling a little embarrassed of it. How odd was it that Wright had to ride his bike to the courthouse (and everywhere else) while Edgeworth drove around his Mustang?
"Where am I going?" Edgeworth asked.
Wright dispensed his address.
Not that he was expecting any different, but the ride to Wright's apartment complex was awkward. Edgeworth almost regretted offering him a ride.
"I don't know what happened today," Wright admitted quietly. "I feel like I was drowning the whole time."
"Is that not how it always is?"
"Actually, yeah," said Wright. "But somehow I feel like I'm always thrown a life preserver at some point, or realize something that I didn't see before."
"Hmph."
"Sorry. I don't know why I'm talking to you about this."
Unsure of what to say, Edgeworth decided to stay quiet. There was something he wanted to say, something that was lingering on his tongue waiting to be spit out. He didn't know if Wright would even want to hear it. If he were Wright, he wasn't sure he'd want his opponent mentioning what he overlooked.
"And this is me," Wright said as Edgeworth pulled up to an apartment complex. "Thanks, Edgeworth."
"Sure."
Wright stepped out of Edgeworth's car and made his way to the apartment complex door. Edgeworth was itching to tell Wright what he had overlooked. Suddenly, he rolled down his window.
"Wright."
He looked back at Edgeworth.
"The witness couldn't have heard the commotion from her apartment," Edgeworth explained. "She mentioned in her testimony that the windows are soundproof when asked why she didn't hear the defendant outside her own apartment when you mentioned the defendant, supposedly, was caught on the camera passing by her first-floor apartment. Suddenly they're not soundproof anymore? When it's convenient?"
Wright put a hand over his face. "Right..."
"She was lying. She didn't know anything. She couldn't have witnessed anything. She didn't see it, by her own admission, and she couldn't have heard it, again by her own admission. You didn't notice that?"
Wright could only shake his head, kicking himself. He let his head fall back, clearly frustrated with himself. Edgeworth regretted even saying anything to him. Before he could say anything more, Edgeworth put his window up and drove off; he didn't even wait until Wright went in.
He couldn't figure out why he had told Wright about his mistake. Perhaps he just wanted Wright to not be confused as to why he had lost. Edgeworth simply wanted to alleviate that, he figured. Though, what left Edgeworth himself confused was how the hell Wright didn't see that himself. It was simple. A gift, almost, for Wright, that the witness had made such a big contradiction. Edgeworth himself almost felt compelled to call an objection, during the trial, but stayed quiet due to the fact that he did truly believe that Wright's client was guilty. If he had doubted their guilt, maybe he would've pressed the witness about her contradiction.
Before he went home, Edgeworth stopped at his office. He wanted to review his next case for tomorrow. Normally he didn't want his schedule so booked, especially when he knew he was up against Wright, but considering Wright hadn't been winning the cases lately...well, he hadn't minded scheduling court dates so close.
As usual, Edgeworth called room service from the nearby hotel and got himself a cup of tea, and sat down at his desk. He looked over all the evidence he had, revised his opening statement a bit, and went over the witnesses' testimonies. He had already put aside the evidence he hadn't wanted to use.
Wright always made him think twice about that. He hadn't ever done that. Wright used the facts of the matter, all the facts, and still won the case.
What was happening lately?
Wright hadn't been winning any of his cases lately, Edgeworth had heard. He's been hearing whisperings of Wright all over the place. He never partook in any, only listening to what others were saying. Others were saying that Wright had used up all his good luck, or that Edgeworth had finally got his good luck back.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
"Prosecutor Edgeworth speaking."
"Edgeworth."
It was Wright. He said Edgeworth's name in a little bit of a shaky tone; if Edgeworth hadn't listened closely, he wouldn't have heard it.
"What do you need?"
"The witness," he said. "Did she really say that?"
"Were you not paying attention?"
"Well, I—"
Edgeworth couldn't stop himself from cutting Wright off and asking, "What's eating you?"
Wright made a small noise. "What?"
Edgeworth cleared his throat, "I mean...you want to go and get something to eat?"
Even though he wasn't even in the same room as Wright, Edgeworth could feel his face heating up.
"I want to discuss this previous trial, Wright."
"Oh," said Wright. "Uh, sure."
"How's seven-thirty?" Edgeworth asked. "That Italian place by the courthouse."
"Yeah, okay. I'll see you then."
"Alright. See you then."
Edgeworth lifted his arm and checked his watch. He made a quick call to the restaurant and placed a reservation. It was only a little after four, but he knew that he would be thinking of Wright all the way until dinner with him.
Again, he looked over his next case. He wanted to make sure he was completely prepared. Again, he looked over the witnesses' testimonies. He was completely and utterly sure that the defendant was guilty. Only when he was completely sure about the defendant's guilt would he overlook evidence. After his own trial, Edgeworth had tried to stop picking and choosing evidence in hopes of proving the truth, not his side correct.
But old habits die hard. It was always there, the option of ignoring evidence or maybe even forging evidence. Always lingering, hanging off the tree, the forbidden fruit of the courtroom.
He had always felt Wright was like that. Forbidden fruit.
Edgeworth closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair. He crossed his legs and put his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. His mind was drifting to Wright, as it always was. Or rather, maybe more accurately, he allowed Wright to bloom into full focus. Wright was always on Edgeworth's mind, it felt like, it was only a matter of how apparent Wright was in his thoughts.
Right now, Wright was all he was thinking about.
What was going on with him? Of course losing cases was normal, as Edgeworth had unfortunately learned when he first faced Wright, but today had been different. Wright seemed like some third-rate defense attorney plucked from off the street today in court. Edgeworth had felt a small gratefulness that Wright was so aloof because he got a guilty verdict for someone he believed, without a doubt, to be guilty. However, he was aware of how personally Wright was affected by his clients and their cases. Perhaps he knew they were guilty too and didn't know how to handle it.
In all the cases Wright had won, his clients were proven innocent. With defense attorneys, that wasn't always the case. That wasn't even usually the case. In a way, Wright had gotten lucky that he had clients who were innocent. That wasn't to say that Edgeworth thought Wright was untalented and was riding off of pure luck alone, but...ultimately, there was a winner or loser in the case. Someone wasn't truly innocent until proven guilty. They were always guilty if they did the crime and always innocent if they didn't.
Edgeworth sipped on his tea that was growing cold.
He supposed that Wright was taking on clients who weren't innocent and that's why he was losing. Still, that didn't explain today...
When Wright had called him...he must have been mulling over the trial still. Edgeworth couldn't believe what he had asked him. Was that all he wanted to ask? All he wanted to talk about? Even though he was going to see Wright in a few hours, Edgeworth itched to call Wright and speak with him further. He hadn't, of course, that would only serve to make Wright uncomfortable.
Moreover, he shouldn't allow himself to be consumed with Wright. There was a trial to prepare for.
When Edgeworth finally pushed Wright to a back-burner in his mind and allowed himself to finally focus solely on his work, time went by smoothly. It was around six o'clock when he had considered himself finished with his work, and that was when he called Detective Gumshoe. The two spoke for a little over an hour.
"You got somewhere to be?" Gumshoe asked.
"What makes you say that?"
"You're givin' me the bum's rush, sir," said Gumshoe. "If you're in a hurry, just holler at me to shut up."
Edgeworth paused. He had called the detective because even if he wasn't the head detective on this case, Edgeworth still valued his opinion any evidence he had. Gumshoe always came to all of his trials if he wasn't busy at work. Though they had already talked about that, Edgeworth was stalling. He wanted to discuss something else; Gumshoe could tell Edgeworth was running out of things to say.
"I'm...I'm not busy, per se, but—"
"There's only one thing I wanna ask ya, then I'll let you go."
"I...Alright. What is it?"
Gumshoe was quiet for a few moments. Then, "What did you make of today's trial?"
Edgeworth went quiet. He lowered the phone as if Gumshoe wouldn't notice his pause if he did so. He tried to figure out when Gumshoe was looking for Edgeworth to answer, or why he was really asking about today's trial. What did Gumshoe make of today's trial?
"I think things went smoothly," said Edgeworth. "For the prosecution, at least."
"Right. Seemed like Wright has his head underwater."
"Hmph. What makes you say that?"
"Can't tell his ass from a hole in the ground." Detective Gumshoe snorted, "Usually he presses and presses until he squeezes out a lie. He did get a lie out...that soundproof window? You pick up on that?"
"Of course I did."
"I'm surprised Wright didn't. Or, actually, I'm not. He's been out of it lately, he's losing cases left and right."
"That's true," Edgeworth mused. "Or so I've heard."
"Guess beginner's luck ran out on him."
Edgeworth went quiet again. He hadn't wanted to agree with that. As much as he was ashamed with himself for losing cases against Wright, he wouldn't ever truly call it "beginner's luck." Wright had an innate talent in the courtroom.
"I'm seeing him in..." Edgeworth looked to his watch, "Fifteen minutes. I'm going to ask him about today. Something tells me there's something we're not picking up on here."
"Like what?" Gumshoe asked.
Edgeworth made a small noise of hesitation.
"You know what, sir? Figure it out with him. I knew I could tell you had someplace to be," mumbled Gumshoe. "I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow, right?"
"That's right."
"Alright. I'll let you go, Mr. Edgeworth. Let me know what you find out?"
"Hmm. We'll see."
Gumshoe gave another snort. "Figures."
The two said their good-byes and hung up. Edgeworth gulped the last of his tea, leaving the teacup and saucer on his desk. He moved towards the staircase (never opting to use the elevator), feeling as if a stone had just been placed in his stomach. He was...nervous about seeing Wright. Firstly, because of the intense feelings seeing Wright always brought onto him. A mix of so many feelings would bloom in his chest, making it swell uncomfortably when he was with Wright. And, secondly, he was nervous to try and get to the bottom of what was going on with Wright.
Fortunately, he was in the stairwell alone the entire way down. He could allow himself to breathe and try and soothe himself before he left the office building.
Once Edgeworth was in his car, he felt remiss for not offering to pick Wright up and drive him to the restaurant.
Edgeworth arrived at exactly seven-thirty. He was surprised to see Phoenix leaning next to his bike looking down at his cell phone.
"Wright," he said.
"Oh, Edgeworth. Hi."
"Shall we go in?"
"Yep." Wright grinned and Edgeworth couldn't help but feel like it was forced. "Let's."
So, the two went in. Instantly, the host recognized Edgeworth.
"Ah, Mr. Edgeworth...right this way."
Edgeworth almost felt a little embarrassed. His reservations were always completely useless, he knew that, but he still always made them.
"How often do you come here?" Wright asked when the two sat down. "They seem to know you well."
Edgeworth pulled his shoulders up in a shrug. "I don't know, once a week?"
"Huh." Wright picked up the menu and eyed it over. "Once a week, huh?"
Edgeworth looked up at Wright. Wright leaned over, looking under the table.
"Burning a hole in your wallet, yet?"
"Huh?" Edgeworth checked the pocket his wallet was in. He looked back to Wright. "Oh. Ha. Ha."
Wright smirked. Edgeworth felt a small patch of warmth in his chest.
"So, what's good here?"
"The fettuccini," said Edgeworth. He took notice of the price for once. "My treat...if I didn't say so before, so don't worry about...ah...you know..."
"Don't have to tell me twice," mumbled Wright. "Alright. I'll get that."
Edgeworth could feel his heart pumping and fluttering in his chest. There was a looming, gnawing feeling that his nerves were from something other than being anxious about asking Wright about today's trials (and past trials he had been losing). He felt the urge to numb that...
"Want any wine?"
"Sure," said Wright. "You pick. I don't know one from the next."
Edgeworth nodded. He kept his eyes on the menu, already knowing what wine he wanted, but he hadn't wanted to look at Wright's face. When the waiter came, took their order, and then their menus, Edgeworth kept darting his eyes around the restaurant to still avoid looking at Wright.
"Are you expecting someone else?" Wright asked.
"I'm sorry?" Edgeworth turned his head to Wright. "What makes you say that?"
"You're looking all around like you're waiting for someone to come in, or to see if they're here."
"No, no. I...I—Well, Wright, I wanted to talk to you."
"I know. I figured as much," said Wright. "Besides, you said that on the phone."
When Edgeworth scanned Wright's face, he seemed to be almost clueless. He blinked at Edgeworth stupidly, but Edgeworth felt maybe that he was only playing dumb. And, that he was doing so only in hopes that the conversation wouldn't be so serious. It only made Edgeworth antsier to figure out what was going on Wright.
"Right. Very well, I guess I'll just say it, or...ask it."
Wright nodded, "Okay...go on."
Before Edgeworth could ask about today's trail, there was a lump in his throat. He cleared it, feeling uneasy almost instantly, and could it radiating off of him. Wright could probably very easily sense his unease and discomfort.
"What happened today?" he asked.
Similar to Edgeworth's unease was obvious, Wright's embarrassment was also obvious. He had both of his arms on the table, leaning on the table. Wright looked away. Edgeworth stayed quiet, giving Wright a few moments to think of his answer.
Wright moved his gaze back to Edgeworth, smiling sheepishly.
"Well, I wasn't paying attention," he said. "For starters."
"That much was obvious, but...what else were you paying attention to?"
"What do you mean?"
"Clearly something else was occupying your mind, Wright," said Edgeworth. "What was it?"
"Oh, well..." Wright rubbed his neck, embarrassed.
"Furthermore, I can't even recall the last case you won."
"It was your case, Edgeworth."
Edgeworth felt his face heat up. He instantly wanted to get their focus away from him or that case.
"It was actually a case after that. The man with the knife collection, remember? Someone stole one of his knives?"
"Oh, that's right. Funny that you knew about that since you weren't involved in that case, and," Wright looked into Edgeworth's eyes, "thought you said you couldn't recall when I last won?"
Edgeworth dragged his gaze away from Wright, but when he looked back at Wright, he was still smiling softly.
"I'll be honest with you," Wright started. "I, uh...went through a break-up."
"A wh-what?"
"A break-up. You know, with a girl?" Wright laughed. "I'm sure you're aware of what a break-up is."
Again, that heat in his face...
"I'm aware...I'm just surprised that one could affect you so."
"I'm not sure if it was only that," said Wright. "Not all of us can have a winning streak that lasts four years."
"Hmph."
Wright sighed, "I'm okay, really. Just going through it."
Edgeworth felt unsatisfied. He wanted so badly to press further, but his pride wouldn't let him. He decided to just drop the issue in hopes that maybe Wright would maybe continue to talk about his past relationship on his own accord.
"So, that's all. Nothing to worry about it," said Wright.
Perhaps hoping wasn't enough, maybe he needed to do some pressing.
But...he'd sooner get up and leave rather than pry into Wright's personal life. As badly as he wanted to know more about Wright, he wasn't going to ask him any more questions. Edgeworth had already not gotten a response he liked; he almost didn't want to hear about Wright's relationship. Past or not. He wasn't exactly crazy about the idea of listening to Wright talk about someone he had feelings for.
"Hmph."
Wright laughed, "Is that all you say? You think I'm lying?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Huh, you always seem to say that too."
"Well, I haven't given you a reason to think that. Now I'm starting to think you're lying."
"Hmph," mocked Wright. "What makes you say that?"
Edgeworth blinked at Wright. "Is that supposed to be me?"
"Well, yeah." Wright playfully rolled his eyes. "But seriously, that's all it was."
"It's just that you seemed...ah, never mind."
"No, what?"
Wright's voice was light, almost encouraging Edgeworth to simply be honest.
"It's just that you seemed overly distracted this morning," said Edgeworth. "That witness was..."
"I know, it should've been a lay-up."
Anytime Wright (or anyone else) used that phrase, Edgeworth was always a little confused. He wasn't exactly sure what Wright was referencing, and he'd never ask. Though, he always knew it could be swapped with "a piece of cake."
"So, what happened?"
"I don't know, honestly. I really was just off."
"Seems like you've been off."
"Like I said, we all can't win every case for the first four years of our career. I've just been losing, it happens."
"But I—"
"Have you been, like...thinking about this?"
Edgeworth paused. He figured if he was going to pry (although, admittedly, he hadn't pried that much), then Wright was most likely going to ask him something like this. He would rather die than admit that he had allowed Wright to occupy his mind.
"Well, no, I mean..." Edgeworth knew his face had to be getting red from how hot it felt. "It's only that it's good to know who you're up against."
"Oh, I thought maybe you were worried about me," said Wright. "But of course that couldn't be the case...right?"
Edgeworth moved his gaze away mechanically. "Wright."
Wright smirked. "Of course I'm right, cause God-forbid you worry about a friend."
"No, Wright. As in your name, Wright."
"Oh, uh...what?"
"I was only asking because you're usually a pretty open guy. I thought it odd I didn't know what was going on."
Wright shrugged, "You didn't ask, so I didn't tell."
Edgeworth nodded, embarrassed. He had wished he just hadn't brought anything up. He was so petrified of simply letting Wright know that he cared about him. He felt like if he admitted to the one feeling, Wright would be able to know all of his feelings towards him.
"Right. Well, anyway...it was hard not to notice a difference."
"Don't concern yourself with me, Edgeworth," Wright said. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible. You don't need to worry...or notice a difference in me."
"Well, I...aright."
Wright smiled. "I'm sure you have enough on your plate without having me on there too."
Edgeworth shifted uncomfortably. Wright, on the other hand, seemed to be completely fine. He was always so easy-going. He almost never came off uneasy. Edgeworth could only hope the same for himself, never coming off as uneasy, but Wright always seemed to read him like an open book. That was, even if, Edgeworth desperately tried to keep himself closed.
"Let's talk about something else, yeah?" Wright smiled that soft smile again. "I don't wanna just talk about myself here."
"Oh, uh..."
"How have you been, Edgeworth?" Wright asked innocently. "What's going on with you?"
Edgeworth was antsy for the waiter to bring their wine or food. He wanted something to divert Wright's attention; he didn't particularly like it when the attention was on himself.
"I, uh...well, I—"
"Relax," said Wright. "I'm just asking a casual question, not trying to pry."
"I know that," Edgeworth spat. "I'm just...very busy, is all."
"Aren't we all?" laughed Wright. "What's got you so busy?"
Edgeworth narrowed his eyes, "What do you think?"
Before Wright could come up with something to say, the waiter came with two glasses and their bottle of wine. The pair watched as the waiter filled their glasses, put the wine bottle on the table, gave a nod, and slipped away.
"It's good," Wright said, sipping on his wine.
"Would you know if it wasn't?"
"No. Probably not." Wright sat back, his wine glass still in his hand. Edgeworth wanted to reach over the table and fix how Wright was holding his glass; his wine was going to get warm. "Well, any interesting cases?"
"I'm not at liberty to share that with you."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"Well..." Edgeworth trailed off, his shoulders slumping. "There's no interesting cases. Honestly. Unless it changes when I get to trial."
A pause.
"As it usually does with you."
Wright smirked. "That's not exactly always the best thing."
"Hmph."
Then, the pair was quiet. Wright sipping on his wine, looking around at the decor of the restaurant, while Edgeworth was almost squirming in his seat. He wanted to talk to Wright badly, but couldn't think of anything to say or ask him. Certainly, he wasn't going to talk about himself either. He wanted the food to come quickly so he and Wright had something occupy their mouths with and it wouldn't be such an awkward silence.
"I kinda think it's because Maya isn't here," Wright mumbled. "Why I'm doing so poorly, I mean."
"Hmph. What makes you—I mean...why do you say that?"
"Well, it's only that she's usually a big help. Not to mention how nice it is to have someone in your corner."
"You're in your client's corner, and Maya's in your corner," said Edgeworth. "Hmm."
"I know it's kinda stupid, she has no real knowledge of the law, but I...I don't know."
Edgeworth thought briefly (and uncomfortably) that maybe the break-up Wright was referring to was possible Maya. After she had left after Wright had defended him. He dismissed it after realizing how daft even the idea of that was.
"I think I understand," Edgeworth replied. "Sometimes even if you don't believe in yourself, it's still nice to know someone does."
"Yeah..." Wright trailed off. He shook his head. "Never mind. I just have to get myself together, ya know?"
Edgeworth nodded.
Wright had gone to speak further but the waiter had brought their food to the table. Edgeworth had partially hoped that Wright would continue what he saying because he was divulging things about himself without Edgeworth having to press. Instead, Wright had only thanked the waiter and ducked his head to start eating. Edgeworth did the same, avoiding eye-contact.
"You should've gotten this," said Wright. "Why'd you get a salad?"
"Oh, I don't know—"
Edgeworth looked up to Wright to see him slurping his fettuccine. The excess sauce left cream all over his lips and Wright cleaned it with a quick swipe of his tongue across his lips. Edgeworth sucked in a breath.
"I just felt like it...I suppose," he rasped.
Wright quirked a brow. "Man, are you missing out..."
"Yeah..."
Wright shrugged and continued eating, repeating the same motions: slurping his pasta and his lips darting out to clean his mouth. Edgeworth couldn't pull his eyes off Wright, he was completely mesmerized by him. He sipped his wine, trying to feel more relaxed, but his eyes were glued on Wright.
"So," Wright started, licking the corner of his lips. "I told you about my break-up, you tell me about your love life."
"I—I—Wright, I think that's quite personal."
"I shared with you!" Wright laughed. "And I hardly think something that doesn't exist could count as too personal."
"Just what are you insinuating?"
"What do you think?"
Edgeworth finished his wine, antsy for more suddenly. This wasn't the type of back and forth he wanted with Wright. He hardly liked being the topic of conversation at all, but it bothered him especially so when his love life (or lack thereof) was brought up. He was filled with intense dread.
"You don't really talk about anything in that, er, department," said Wright. He took a sip of his wine. "You don't really talk about anything in any department."
Edgeworth poured himself more wine and took a gulp. "There's nothing to talk about in that department. Next topic."
"Nothing to talk about," Wright leaned forward, holding his wine glass loosely, "Or nothing you want to talk about?"
Another gulp of wine. "I...does it matter?"
Wright frowned. "I'm just kidding, Edgeworth, that's all."
"I knew that," said Edgeworth. "Of course I knew that."
"Sure..." Wright hinted at a grin. "Okay..."
The two resumed to eating...or Wright had resumed and Edgeworth had simply only picked up his fork. Again he could only watch as Wright ate in a way that was just so...
Edgeworth quickly averted his gaze. He shouldn't be looking at Wright in such a way. How would that make him feel?
Guilt and shame washed over Edgeworth. Now he couldn't bring his eyes back to Wright, fearing that somehow if they made eye-contact then Wright would know all of his thoughts. He knew that wasn't possible, he knew that, but it still felt so real and so possible. Edgeworth wanted to leave suddenly; he wanted to jump right from his seat and to the safety of his car. He shouldn't have asked Wright here. Wright was going to find out—
"Hey, Edgeworth," Wright said. Edgeworth dragged his gaze to Wright. "You feel okay?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
"You hardly touched your food," said Wright. "You okay?"
"Yeah I'm...I'm okay." As if to prove it, Edgeworth took a bit of his food. "Just um...I don't know."
Wright put his fork down and wiped his face with a napkin. "What's the matter? It's not what I said before, is it? I promise I was joking! I was—"
"No, no, it's not that," Edgeworth said. "It's not anything."
Wright didn't look satisfied.
"It's not anything," said Edgeworth again. "I'm a little preoccupied, I think, thinking about how busy I am the next coming days."
Wright seemed satisfied by that answer at least. Edgeworth was pleased to not have Wright press; that was the last thing he needed right now.
"Why don't we go grab drinks?" Wright grinned. "Blow off some steam."
Edgeworth held up his glass of wine. "We do have drinks."
"No, drink drinks," Wright said. "My treat?"
He was torn. Half of him was desperate to spend as much time as possible with Wright as he could while the other half simply wanted out, to be able to breathe and relax. Edgeworth also thought it better that Wright be out of his gaze. Though, it was very hard to turn down Wright. And if Wright was treating...
"Fine, but no funny business."
"No funny business," echoed Wright. "Let's go."
Edgeworth decided against mentioning that the two should probably wait for the check because Wright had practically jumped from his seat. Edgeworth finished his glass of wine and slowly rose to his feet, groping his pocket for his wallet. He left more than enough in cash and nodded at Wright to walk out.
Partially giddy from spending time with Wright, but mostly from the wine, Edgeworth felt a soothing, pleasant buzz as he walked out of the restaurant. He realized hadn't had alcohol in a while.
"It's just down the street," said Wright. "Let's walk."
Edgeworth glanced forlornly at his Mustang but followed Wright down the street. He let Wright lead the way, feeling a weird mix of anticipation and dread.
