Chapter Text
Edgeworth leaves his office late into the night, locking the door behind him before striding down the corridor towards the stairs. He isn’t aware of the stranger emerging from down the hall, now tailing him. The prosecutor slips his hand into his pocket, withdrawing his phone when the stranger strikes, grabbing him and knocking the phone out of his hands before dragging him backwards.
Miles struggles in the assailant’s hold, nearly breaking free when the culprit abruptly sends him stumbling forward into an open, ringing elevator. The attacker chuckles darkly, watching Edgeworth’s face grow sickly pale, the panic and fear stretching across his face.
"This is what happens to you when you lead a corrupt life, Chief. You ruined my life by taking someone dear to me, so now I’m going to ruin yours. Have a good night, sir. " The assailant hits the “close door” button, the only working button on the shattered panel. He steps back as the doors begin to close, then simply walks away.
Edgeworth struggles to breathe as the doors slide shut, the alarm ringing louder in his ears than it should as the elevator stands still. He closes his eyes tightly, hands trembling as they grasp onto the handle bar behind him, the man attempting to clear his head and calm himself down. However, the nightmares, the trauma, the terror from that time come crashing down on him, Miles gasping for air as his chest tightens and squeezes.
He wants to scream, to pound on the doors, to call someone for help, but he’s paralyzed. The panic nearly suffocates him, his heart aching in his chest. Is this his fate—being trapped in an elevator with no possibility of ever being saved? Is this is a new form of torture? He sure feels like it is, and it’s enough to put him in tears. The prosecutor weeps in despair, pleading in his head for someone to rescue him…
Hours pass and the man is now sitting in the corner of the elevator with a vacant look in his puffy, bloodshot eyes. His glasses have been discarded along with his coat, his hair frazzled from running his hands through it constantly. He’s given up on help, –conveyed by the way he sits–having screamed and pounded on the walls and doors until his voice gave out and his hands throbbed, only to earn nothing in return. He accepts his fate, fully aware that no one is coming for him, and he’s fine with that now. He deserves this.
The ringing of the elevator has become a mere buzz in the back of his head at this point, his thoughts loud as they circle in his head, drowning everything else out. His head tilts, thumping against the wall of the elevator, staring at the wall but seeing nothing. He distantly registers grunts over the alarm before the doors are pried open, light flooding into the elevator. Miles doesn’t lift his head to spare a glance at his apparent savior, he merely continues to look at the wall.
He isn’t aware that he’s being lifted and carried out of the elevator, his savior clearly his investigative partner rushing to take him home, mumbling out “you’re okay, pal” as he does so. Everything blurs and fades throughout the journey until his body is meeting the bed, not quite hearing the frantic questions from his partner.
Miles simply curls up on his side, staring blankly at the wall, the conversations happening beside him only a hum to him.
Phoenix knows Edgeworth like the back of his hand, and while he knows that the man tends to stay late at the office, something about tonight had felt off, so when Detective Gumshoe shows up at his door with a dazed Chief Prosecutor in his arms and a surprisingly angry look on his face, Phoenix feels the dread thicken in his gut. Never in his years of knowing the bumbling detective has he ever seen him so angry, and rarely does he ever see Edgeworth in such a state, so he’s almost scared to know what happened.
They carefully lay the prosecutor on the bed, the attorney’s heart shattering as his husband rolls onto his side, not even bothering to look at them. Judging by the way his eyes seem to have glazed over, Edgeworth is merely a shell of a man at this point. Phoenix swallows past the thick lump that formed in this throat, fighting back the tears that start to burn. “What… What happened, Gumshoe?”
Gumshoe sighs heavily, heartbroken eyes drifting to his boss. “I had called Mr. Edgeworth earlier, but his phone wouldn’t even ring, like it was disconnected, so I tried calling his office phone, but no one picked up. I got worried, because I saw how late it was, so I stopped by the office and found this in the hallway.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out Edgeworth’s shattered phone, handing it over to Phoenix. “Mr. Edgeworth never loses his phone, so I went to look for him and heard the elevator ringing. I called a couple of security officers to help me pry the doors open and we found him inside.” Gumshoe inhales sharply, clearly trying to keep his emotions at bay as well, but finding his boss like that hit him hard.
His eyes widened and he stared in shock at the detective, ice encasing his heart and making his blood run cold. “Why was he in there?! He never goes near elevators.”
“I don’t know, pal, but I’m gonna head back to the office and look over the security tapes. I’ll call you when I find anything.” With that, the detective gives his boss one last look before leaving.
Phoenix swallows thickly again, then he turns to face his traumatized lover, the attorney’s hands trembling with anger and terror. How could this have happened?
He sets the broken phone down on the bedside table, then he sits next to Edgeworth, heart crawling up into his throat as he studies him. Edgeworth’s hands twitch every so often, and from where he sits, Phoenix can hear how hard his heart pounds with the fear that continues to cling to the prosecutor.
“What happened, Edgeworth?” He mumbles, a tear disobeying his wishes and rolling down his cheek, dripping onto the bedsheets below. He sniffles, then he sighs slowly before shifting to climb onto the bed, laying beside his partner. “I… I don’t know how this could’ve happened, and I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now, but if you can hear me, I just want you to know that I love you, Miles, and I’m here for you, always. We’re… We’re a team, and we’re always gonna stick together.” The tears roll down his face faster now, but his words remain firm. “Gumshoe left to investigate and we’re going to figure this out together. Whatever happened to you, we’ll save you from it, I promise.” He finishes, sniffling increasing, then he leans back against the headboard, not expecting a response. Judging by what went on these past several hours, he didn’t blame Edgeworth for not wanting to function.
Phoenix grabs his phone and keeps it in his lap, tears blurring his vision, sobs crawling up into his throat, threatening to unleash themselves. How could this happen to Edgeworth? Why? Didn’t he suffer enough? Hasn’t he gone through enough?
The turnabout lawyer sighs shakily, then turns his head to look at Edgeworth, watching him. He bites his lip, then he slowly reaches out, resting a hand on his husband’s shoulder. He gives it a comforting squeeze, then he leaves it there, dropping his head back against the headboard, closing his eyes.
Half an hour passes and Phoenix feels his phone buzz in his lap, startling him. He jolts and quickly grabs it, answering it without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Pal! I found something!”
“Gumshoe! What is it? What did you find?” He asks, sitting up instantly, heart kicking up speed.
“According to the footage, someone had grabbed Mr. Edgeworth and locked him in the elevator. I don’t know what the motive was, but they seemed angry.”
Phoenix freezes entirely, his blood chilling his veins again. The statement strengthens the anger and the dread and he debates with himself, not wanting to believe what his heart tries to tell him. The horrifying word bounces around in his head again and again, becoming louder each time. He struggles to deny it, to pretend that his heart is wrong for once in his life, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t avoid the truth. Not the truth about Edgeworth.
“Torture.” He breathes, finally mustering up the ability to speak, the word heavy and poisonous on his tongue. “They wanted to torture him.”
Silence rings on the other side, then a sniff comes through. “Why?” Gumshoe isn't taking it well either, and despite how awful it sounds, Phoenix takes comfort in it. At least he isn't alone in his anger and disbelief.
Phoenix shakes his head, the tears gathering again. “I don’t know, but it had to have been. Why else would someone do that to him? Everyone knows his history, everyone knows about his trauma with elevators and earthquakes, so this person must have done this to be cruel. There's no way this was an accident.” His gaze travels to the traumatized prosecutor, wishing desperately that he can take this pain and injustice away. The man didn't deserve this, no matter what he did. Miles Edgeworth may not be perfect, he may not be a saint, but he didn't deserve to be tortured in the worst possible way.
After a while, the two finally hang up after confirming an official investigation for the next day, then Phoenix sets his phone aside before scooting closer to Edgeworth. He gingerly lays an arm over his waist and nuzzles his neck. While he’s aware that he won’t earn a reaction, the least he can do is make his lover feel safe and loved. “You’ll be okay, Edgeworth. We’ll find the guy who did this, and we’ll bring him down,” he tells him, then he briefly kisses the area he nuzzled before snuggling up with his partner. “I won’t leave you alone, I’ll stay by your side, no matter what. I promise.” He vows, then he falls asleep, holding the prosecutor in his arms.