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Miles couldn’t help but stare. Just a little bit.
Phoenix was yet to notice, though. Last few days of constant stress, mixed with a big, fulfilling meal, seemed to work on Wright like a strong sleep medicine. He looked like an awkwardly tall, sleepy cat; slowly blinking, curling in on himself to preserve warmth in the March night. (“I forgot it at home” he admitted, when Maya pried about his jacket. It was endearing, to watch his friends either scold him or try to come up with ways to help.) Inside his own head, Miles allowed himself to admit that Phoenix looked… nice. With messy hair, red cheeks pinched by the cold air, humming something to fill the silence. He even dropped his
client smile.
Wright tried - badly - to conceal a yawn before turning his head towards Miles staring.
Caught red handed.
“If I have something on my face, you could just say so, y’know?” he huffed, but before Edgeworth got a chance to even open his mouth, the man also tripped on what appeared to be his own foot.
Miles stepped forward, catching that fool.
"I could. But you could try not to break it. It's not a good look for a lawyer. You look like a mess enough, as is."
To his surprise, Phoenix laughed out loud.
"I really do, don't I?" he let out a long sigh. "Especially today. Yeesh."
Edgeworth turned his gaze away, unsure what to say.
"Awh, don't get all bent out of shape, Edgeworth. I mean, it all turned out well, hasn't it? Engarde's got what he deserved. Everyone's relatively safe and sound. Nothing to sulk about.”
“I suppose.”
“Then what’s going on?”
Edgeworth stopped walking, the street lamp bathing him in bright yellow light. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were planning to do?”
Phoenix paused as well, and turned to look at him, almost incredulously. “W-what?”
It was as if there was an invisible force, pushing Miles’ eyes away to not look at the other man. He just couldn’t look at him, why not look him in the eye, is it because you know it’s all on you-
“You didn’t tell me that you were stalling for a reason.” it came out more harsh, yet somehow also more pathetic than he wanted it to. “I didn’t think you’d actually try to get Engarde acquitted, but… it was confusing, regardless.”
Silence.
“I’m not heartless, you know.” he added, a soft whisper carried by the wind. “I’d do- I’d keep it going longer, have you needed it. If I knew that’s what you needed. As opposed to just assuming it was your regular stalling.”
Silence.
“Wright, say something. I’m starting to feel like a fool for bringing it up.”
At this point, Miles was fully ready to just run away. Once again.
“I wish I had a good answer, but I don’t.” said Phoenix, finally. “I probably should’ve. You knew about Maya. And I knew Engarde was full of shit. I- I don’t know.”
A thought popped up in Edgeworth’s head, and as he was voicing it, each word felt like a thorn he had to forcefully pull out of the bottom of his stomach.
“Does it have to do with my-” he winced, “my disappearance?”
“...Yeah. I guess it did.”
The stretching silence was becoming unbearable to Miles. He wanted to say something, anything to make this better, anything-
“I mean…” Phoenix let out a short, breathy laugh. “You just showed up, after we all thought you were
dead
, Miles.” He couldn’t remember last time Wright called him by the first name “And I didn’t even have time to process it all. I actually haven’t been processing shit for past few days. I just had to go along with whatever’s going on. Maya got kidnapped? No time to take it in, gotta save her. You coming back from the grave, and not even in the way I’m used to-” was he… crying…? “And even though you helped us, it was actually so terrifying to face you, back in court. For all I knew, you could’ve been the same Edgeworth as a year ago, coming back to haunt me.” It was difficult to tell if he was laughing or sobbing at first, and it terrified Miles.
Phoenix was right. At least to an extend. There was no way that over the course of last year he got rid of the same emotionally constipated, prideful jackass he was so ashamed to bring up now.
He wanted to do better. He wanted to be better.
“I’m sorry.” it was the only thing he could think of.
Phoenix looked up at him, wiping his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his suit jacket.
“Say what now?”
“I said- I said I’m sorry.” he repeated, with slightly more conviction this time. “For leaving you in this way. And for breaking whatever trust we might have built a year ago. And for-”
He got interrupted by something running into his arms, causing him to let out a soft “oomf-”. Phoenix wrapped arms around him, for just a moment, before letting go with one of them and lightly punching him in the arm to accent every word leaving his mouth, still sprinkled with tears and shaken by disbelieving laughter.
“You’re - such - a fucking - idiot - Miles.” Once again, he was being held in a tight embrace. The chill of the outdoors seemed to amplify how warm and soft Phoenix felt in his arms. Before he even had the time to worry about his actions, Miles hugged him back; wrapping arms around Wright’s waist, letting himself push his face into the other man’s shoulder.
“I missed you, you dumbass idiot.”
“I don’t think dumbass is an adjective.”
“Shut up.” he felt Phoenix let out a long, contented sigh before he shivered. “You’re the worst.”
“I’m sorry.” He awkwardly pulled the other man closer to keep both of them warm. In response, Wright melted a bit against him, seemingly drinking it all in like this was his last chance to do so.
“I don’t actually mean it. You’re just- you have no idea how fucking long I’ve been wanting a moment like this with you. And then you just- argh. I’ve said it already.” He looked up at Miles, with an expression Edgeworth couldn’t quite name; in a vacuum, he’d say it was determined. But that didn’t make sense, did it?
… hold up, what did he say just now?
“Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“What do you mean- I mean- how long?”
Phoenix’s face softened, before turning even redder than it was before.
“Long.” he took a step back, “Like, embarassingly long. Like, you’d think I was insane and you’d run away if you knew how long.”
“I already question your sanity on a daily basis, Wright. I truly don’t think that ever stopped you before.”
Miles’ heart jumped in his chest at the grin he was gifted with.
“That makes two of us.” the taller man let out a short laugh, and rested his forehead on Miles’ shoulder with this mix of lighthearted exasperation and embarassment that felt fitting, and strangely reassuring to Edgeworth.
It was short lived though, because Phoenix suddenly jumped away from him.
“Sorry-! Sorry, I don’t think you’re very touchy. I should’ve asked before splaying out on you like that.”
Edgeworth almost instinctively took a step towards him, chasing the warmth and safety and familiarity that just escaped him. “It’s alright! Truly.” he didn’t want to look down, and be put face to face with a fact that he grabbed the edge of Wright’s sleeve in an attempt to keep him from running away entirely.
Phoenix didn’t seem to share that sentiment, because he looked down before his gaze climbed back up to his…friend’s (? rival’s?) face.
“Would you be angry if I did an insane thing for a change?” his voice was so soft and quiet and shaking in the wind even more than both of them, that if they stood any further apart, Phoenix probably wouldn’t hear it. He took the tiniest step forward.
Phoenix shook his head.
Quickly, before he got an opportunity to push the breaks and back out, he closed the distance between them.
For first few seconds, Miles was terrified to move even the slightest bit, even though his brain was running a hundred miles an hour. The odds seemed stacked against him; Wright will probably push him away and this time he’ll be the one running off, and he most likely just ruined everything
again
and… and…
Phoenix kissed him back.
It wasn’t just him kissing Phoenix. Phoenix kissed back. Oh god.
He tasted like sparkling fruit juice they had with dinner. He almost immediately put his hands up to hold Edgeworth’s face, as if for some inexplicable reason he wanted to keep him close. He moved slowly and gently, and Miles - inexperienced in every relevant meaning of the word - was grateful for him setting the pace. If he didn’t, Miles wouldn’t be able to stop the thing sitting deep inside his chest; clawing and howling and reaching blindly for these feelings he thought were unnecessary.
When Wright moved back, he was breathless and giddy.
“I wouldn’t put this in the top ten insane things I thought you were talking about.”
Edgeworth took a step back, nervously shifting his weight from one leg to another. “I would”.
A laugh- earnest and lighthearted. “Of course you would. Do you wanna go inside, if you were kind enough to walk me all the way back?”
Miles stumbled on his own words, before Phoenix added: “I’m not going to force you, man. I just-” Wright sighed, “I wish you’d stay.”
He understood.
“I’ll stay.”