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“Thanks to Phoenix, I am saddled with unnecessary…feelings.”
Those were the words repeating in his mind as Phoenix absentmindedly mixed the chocolates in the mixing bowl, sighing for the fifth time since the past hour before he stopped and placed the bowl on the kitchen counter. It had been three days since he overheard those words at his internship workplace with the culprit unaware of his presence when he said those words.
And the more he thought about it, the more dejected he became as he couldn’t help but think that those words could only mean one thing.
Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth had begun to see him as a burden in his life.
That day, as his mind went blank out of shock from those words, his legs had instinctively moved to run away from the office, accidentally knocking onto his employer and her sister, Mia and Maya Fey, along his way out which he quickly apologised and continued running, leaving behind the confused sisters.
He did not know what to do other than to curl up in the corner of his room, ignoring all concerned calls and messages from the Fey sisters but mentally note to himself to respond to them when he had calmed down his feelings.
But when he did calm down, he had more questions which slowly pulled him down into the self-degradation hellhole, even today.
What did Edgeworth mean by unnecessary feelings?
Did he cause him any trouble and inconveniences due to these unnecessary feelings?
And why?
Was it because he had helped his employer win their cases against his prosecutor subordinates for the past few months as he started attending trials as Mia's intern-cum-assistant?
Was it because he chose the path of a defence attorney instead of a prosecutor?
Was it because he kept visiting him almost every day at his apartment since that fateful day ten years ago to the point he got annoyed, especially since his promotion to the Chief Prosecutor last December?
And the different possibilities caused him to sink deeper into the darkness as he realized that there were more and more valid reasons for the Chief Prosecutor to start hating him and removing Phoenix Wright from his life.
And it was the only thing Phoenix could not bear to think of.
‘Is this…going to be the end between me and Mr. Edgeworth…?’ Phoenix hugged himself and shuddered as those thoughts kept refilling his mind, trying to hold back the tears threatening to release out even though they had overflowed and stopped two days ago.
Which was probably why he was thankful for the ringtone from his phone that resonated through his kitchen, pulling him out from his depressing thoughts before they went too deep. But he still had to take deep breathes to calm himself down and slapped himself with both hands before picking up his phone, leaving the kitchen and answering it without checking the caller ID; he did not think he had the energy to explain his depressing mood.
“Hello, Wright here–”
“NICKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!” Phoenix had to pull the phone away from his ear to prevent his eardrums from bursting further from his friend's bawling. “SHE DUMPED MEEEEEEEEE!”
“Larry…” Phoenix groaned at the episode he was going to face unwillingly.
“HOW COULD SHE!? AND RIGHT BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?”
“…And what can I do to help?” Phoenix sighed as he knew that his best friend wouldn't stop shouting at his ear through the phone unless he offered to comfort him like the best friend he was supposed to be (according to Larry that is).
“I’m coming over to your place right now! Your dad's out of town at the moment right? And I’ve bought the alcohol so don't worry about preparing anything for my arrival!”
“No way,” Phoenix quickly replied while looking at the state of the kitchen, grimacing when the expected outburst came.
“WHY NOT!?” and the phone was pulled away again. “I THOUGHT WE WERE THE BEST FRIENDS WHO'S THERE FOR EACH OTHER!?”
“Urgh…” Phoenix hesitated for a while before he decided it might be a lot quicker to resolve this if he came straight honest with Larry. “Since tomorrow's Valentine, I’m still in the midst of preparing my obligatory chocolates for tomorrow. So, don't come tonight.”
“CHOCOLATES!?” and the spiked haired raven immediately regretted his honesty to his restless friend. “I WANT CHOCOLATES FROM LARA DAMMIT! WHY!? WHY DID SHE DUMPED ME ON VALENTINE!?”
“It's not Valentine’s Day yet, Larry.”
“NICKKKKK! SAVE ME!! PLEASE!!!”
“Urgh…fine,” the psychological white flag hung up in Phoenix's mind with an exasperated sigh. “But make sure you leave before eleven. I still need to work tomorrow morning.”
“Yippee! Thanks Nick! You're the best!” and finally the call ended with Phoenix heaving another exasperated sigh, before he picked himself up and headed to the kitchen to clean up in preparation for his last-minute guest.
“Good morning, Mr. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth.”
A voice ran through the Chief Prosecutor office, followed by the sound of a door closed.
Miles Edgeworth scowled as he looked up from his desk, trying to find out who had the audacity to quietly come uninvited to his office without knocking first.
He sighed as he recognised the visitor and put down the fountain pen he was holding.
“Miss. Fey,” he acknowledged the woman in front of him in response to the suspicious smile on her face. “May I enquire the purpose of your visit?”
Despite smiling ever so widely and sweetly, all that knew her on the personal level would know that smile is not anyone would like to be on the receiving end. Mia Fey continued her smile as she crossed her arms, the only sign that showed off her unhappiness in the situation.
“Oh, it's nothing important,” which both of them knew it’s not true since Mia felt the need to come personally to his office to discuss whatever she had in mind. “But you are going to tell me what is causing you to avoid my assistant, Phoenix for the past few months, hmm?”
Edgeworth flinched for a second upon those words; he had hoped that this wasn't the topic they were going to touch on despite having his suspicions. He heaved a deep breath before he eyed the woman in the office and spoke with a heavy heart.
“For you to come personally to my office uninvited and ask me this…did something happen to Phoenix?”
And that was where the sinister smile on the defence attorney turned into an out-blown glare.
“How about just answering my question, Edgeworth?”
And all remaining politeness was gone as Mia addressed him with no salutation, clearly indicating her impatience. Edgeworth had learned from first-hand experience to not face the wrath of a woman from the Fey clan.
Despite that, he still did not have the courage to be fully honest with her. “…I have just been busy since my promotion, which I have explained to Phoenix before.”
And with that, all pretences in the situation were immediately dropped.
“Are you serious!?” Edgeworth remained still upon the slam on his desk; immune to the sound due to the many trials he had with her when he was just a prosecutor. “You avoided Phoenix for the past few months and the only excuse you can afford is that you’re busy!?”
“Which I can assure you that is the truth.”
“Bullshit!” Mia Fey rebutted; Edgeworth's eyes widened in surprise at her unusual choice of word. “You must be blind to think that Phoenix believed those words of yours wholeheartedly without an inch of suspicion!”
“…Did something happen to Phoenix, Miss Fey?” Edgeworth asked as he felt cold upon hearing those words.
“Like you care since you're only interested in swallowing yourself up in self-pity while Phoenix is in self-degradation for being kept in the dark wondering what he did wrong!”
Mia Fey held her glare as she finished her words, rendering Edgeworth unable to form up new excuses to explain himself. It took all of his willpower to pull down his panic and take another deep breath again, reminding himself that his priority right now should be something else.
“Miss Fey,” Edgeworth spoke up as he determinedly held his stand against the woman glaring at him. “I would very much appreciate it if you can explain to me what happened to Phoenix that compelled you to storm into my office abruptly during this time of the day when you should be busy with your next case with him.”
But it seemed that Mia Fey refused to let down her defences and her over-protectiveness on her assistant.
“…As if you'll concern yourself with the well-being of a defence attorney and her assistant.”
“Which I believe you need not me to remind you that said defence attorney is someone I am eternally indebted to for saving my life and said assistant is someone I have cared for since he was a child,” Edgeworth replied and paused, looking away from the brunette. “…even though he's already at the legal adult age since last October.”
When he was met with a silent response, Edgeworth observed that the brown-haired woman started blinking her glare away upon hearing those words, as if the wheels in her mind started spinning as she started flipping the whole situation around to understand and solve a case.
And he internally cursed at his blunder.
“…Is that why you've been avoiding him?”
“I do not have the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” perhaps he had responded far too quickly as he began to realize that the defence attorney, with her great observational and quick-thinking skills, might have figured out the reason behind his avoidance behaviours towards her poor assistant.
“You brat!” and he did jerk this time when Mia slammed her hands on his desk again. “Do not attempt to fool me, you know it doesn’t work.”
“…How many of them?” Edgeworth could only ask as he figured out the meaning behind those words.
“Three,” Mia responded as she clutched on the violet magatama on her chest. “Which I believe I do not need any physical evidence for me to break them.”
“Which I shall disagree as I do not think that you have the sufficient facts to break them apart,” the chief prosecutor replied confidently, but he definitely did not like the seconds of silent response and the knowing stare after that.
“…if you’re thinking that your feelings for Phoenix is not obvious at all, you’ll do well to think again.”
And Mia smirked as she saw how the grey-haired man widened his eyes in shock and recoiled at her words this time, finally getting the response she wanted, just like their past trials against each other.
“H-How–”
“Really?” Mia raised an eyebrow looking at Edgeworth in disbelief. “You actually think that no one will figure it out?”
“Urgh…” Edgeworth leaned forward as he covered the lower half of his face in embarrassment, pondering on the new information he had heard from the woman in his office.
“And for your information,” Edgeworth definitely did not like the return of the sinister smile on Mia's face. “All three psyche-locks are successfully unlocked.”
And Edgeworth could only bemoan and rest his case.
Phoenix fidgeted as he kept staring at the prosecutor office building, trying hard to fight against the flight instinct.
He knew that he really should quickly enter the building, find the Chief Prosecutor office, fulfil his purpose and bolt out as fast as he could before he changed his mind. But he knew that the chances of success were slim.
He groaned at the realization that entering the office without getting caught was highly unlikely; the Chief Prosecutor usually in his office most if not all the time handling the paperwork, even during the lunch hour. The workaholic prosecutor would always immerse himself in his work till he ignored his empty stomach most of the time.
He turned, thinking that this was a really bad idea but stopped when he looked at the gift bag of chocolates clutched in his sweaty hands despite the cold February weather.
“Nick, stop sulking already and do something!”
“B-But Maya–”
“No more buts! You got to stop being scared already and face your feelings straight on! No more hiding from Mr. Edgeworth and there’s no way I'm seeing you getting stuck being miserable for the rest of your life!”
And Phoenix knew that Maya was right.
He knew that he had to come straight to the man about his feelings rooted within him since ten years ago when the prosecutor defended his father and saved his life; his hormonal pining of the man and the loneliness he felt every time when he couldn’t feel his welcoming presence worsened when he realized the true identity of those feelings during his years of puberty.
He knew from his first wet dream, without a doubt, that he had fallen in love with Miles Edgeworth.
And he knew that no matter what comes after, he had to face the music no matter how he tried to deny or run away from his feelings if he were to ever move on with his life, with or without the person whom he looked up to and then come to love unconditionally since his childhood.
With his newfound determination, Phoenix closed his eyes and heaved a doubly deep breath and turned back, opening his eyes and moved his legs quickly into the building before he could have any second thoughts on this.
“Who would have thought,” Mia spoke as she sipped on her tea, offered minutes ago by Edgeworth. “That the ever-popular Chief Prosecutor wooed by many women including an elderly Oldbag, would actually fall for a man who is twenty years younger than him.”
“…It's fifteen years, to be correct. There is no need exaggerate our age gap,” Edgeworth sighed as he placed his tea down onto his coffee table, unamused at the comment from the defence attorney. “And I do not believe that I am being wooed by many.”
“Oh really? Because the evidence is saying otherwise, Mr. Prosecutor,” Mia replied with a raised eyebrow while pointing towards the mountain of bouquets, gift bags and boxes of chocolates at a corner in the office.
And Edgeworth started removing his glasses, rubbing the space in between his eyes and groaned as he was trying so hard to ignore the existence of the mountain of decorative sacs in the other corner of his office since morning; he was planning to get his secretary to remove them once he left his office for lunch. He was also getting uncomfortable because he could tell that the woman sitting in front of him was also enjoying his troubles as well.
“How about ignoring those…evidence, and get back to the main topic?”
“Oh?” And Mia placed her cup of tea down this time, indicating her seriousness. “So are you finally telling me what are you planning to do with Phoenix?”
“As I already told you,” Edgeworth leaned back on his couch, trying to get comfortable as he talked. “I am not planning to do anything. Phoenix and I will just carry on our lives as per usual and I’ll treat Phoenix as I always do.”
“Avoiding Phoenix like a plague is not the usual, Edgeworth,” Mia rebutted and watched Edgeworth flinch at the correct observation. “And not doing anything is not going to make those…unnecessary feelings go away.”
“I assume that Mr. Armando has shared with you the details of our private conversation a few days ago?” Edgeworth said and frowned, realising that he shouldn’t be so surprised that the defence attorney duo from the Fey & Co. Law Offices shared a lot of work and private matters with each other, especially since they’re engaged with each other as well.
“Then don’t make such private conversation about your love interest in the very office the person is working in.”
“I see no harm since you and Phoenix were in a trial that morning,” the Chief Prosecutor explained as he sat up and took his teacup from the table, intending to take another sip while continuing.
“…We managed to finish that trial thirty minutes earlier due to decisive evidence we found in the crime scene,” Mia started, deciding to drop the bomb as she believed Edgeworth needed to know. She took the cue to continue as she observed Edgeworth's hand had frozen in place with the teacup near his mouth. “I sent Phoenix back to the office first without me and Maya as my sister was hungry after the trial.”
“…Come again?” Edgeworth replied as he slightly pulled back the teacup in his hand.
“And since it takes about twenty minutes by taxi from the courthouse to our office, I believe it was about the same time you came to discuss another case with Diego.”
“…” Edgeworth had to slowly put down his untouched teacup as his mind began to do the math, figuring out the implication behind the words of the defence attorney. “Are you saying…?”
“When Maya and I came back, Phoenix was dashing out of the office, almost knocking off the crepe in Maya's hand. He apologised and took the rest of the day off, saying he wasn’t feeling well but we knew that it was out of character of him to also take the next day off too. So, we visited him in his apartment, uninvited, to check on him.”
“…And? How was he?” Edgeworth hesitated to ask. His eyes meet Mia’s, seeing the hesitation even by the defence attorney herself to share the last piece of knowledge which would definitely crumble the Chief Prosecutor.
“He was crying in his room, all alone, Edgeworth.”
“Urgh!” Edgeworth groaned as he covered his face with his hand in shame, realising the consequences of his heedless words in the midst of his avoidance behaviours towards Phoenix. He began to start thinking logically of the ways he could remedy the situation, but none came.
“Edgeworth,” Mia said after minutes of silence from the grey-haired man, pulling him out of his internal conflicts. “Don't panic; you still have some time left.”
“…Some time left?” Edgeworth couldn't help but notice the choice of words the brunette was using.
“Ah, I guess you wouldn’t know since you've been doing everything in your power to avoid Phoenix,” and Mia dropped the final bomb. “Phoenix will be leaving the country soon.”
“What!?” And Edgeworth could no longer swallow in the panic in his heart as he quickly stood up, the teacups on the table clattered as his legs knocked onto the wood. “When will he be leaving!?”
“When his internship finished. You remembered Mr. Wright, Phoenix's father?” of course Edgeworth remembered. “He was recently offered a position in his company office in Europe and he accepted.”
“And Phoenix will be leaving with him?” Edgeworth couldn't believe it as Mia firmly nodded her head to answer him, sending the chief prosecutor in another bout of emotional turmoil. He had to sit down back onto the couch as he felt his legs started to weaken out of shock.
“There is still time, Edgeworth,” Mia knew she had to make her point across clearly to Edgeworth before he regretted too late. “There is no point in further delaying the inevitable. You have to make things right, now.”
“B-But how? I can no longer see any way to save this,” Edgeworth surrendered, no longer be able to function and think like how he always saw a problem in a crime case and solved it using logic and evidence.
“Stop thinking as if this is a crime scene, you idiot. There is no logical way out of this,” Mia reprimanded. “This is an affair of the heart, not the mind so it will not work no matter how you flip or connect your logic.”
Sometimes Edgeworth really thought that the woman in front of him is actually a psychic instead of a spirit medium as she claimed, the prosecutor still having a hard time comprehending her non-scientific abilities even till today. She could sometimes read his thoughts so accurately that it scared him sometimes.
But Edgeworth knew that she was right. There was no way Edgeworth could remedy the situation through his usual methods, driven by logical reasoning and assumptions. He understood that well and managed to stop panicking. For now, there is one thing he had to do immediately.
“Miss Fey, I need to see Phoenix,” Edgeworth finally pleaded with guilt as he hoped that Mia had lowered her protectiveness over her assistant. “…Please.”
“…” Edgeworth swallowed his nerve as he received the silent response, telling himself that he cannot rush the defence attorney for an answer since the whole troubling situation was started by his own cowardice and uncertainty in his feelings towards the child they had both come to care for with sincerity and dedication as they watched him turn into a full grown adult with pride and respect.
And he almost cursed when the alert sound from his desk phone resonated through his office; both occupants in the office jumped in surprise at the sudden interruption to the lingered silence.
“…Miss Brett,” Edgeworth sighed as he recognised the intercom from his secretary, highly possible that there was a new urgency in work that required his immediate attention for her to disrupt him during the lunch hour. “Is something the matter?”
“I apologise for the interruption, Mr. Edgeworth,” her voice was left in speaker mode for the whole office to hear her message. “But you have a sudden visitor who did not make a prior appointment. He goes by the name of Phoenix Wright. Would you like to see him, or should I send him away?”
Edgeworth's eyes widened as he looked up to the defence attorney sitting on his couch, a small smile spotted on her face as she finished her tea, as if she had expected this would happen.
“Mr. Edgeworth?”
“…Send him up, Miss Brett, I'll speak to him. Send away all other visitors after him.”
“Understood.”
“I guess I should take my leave then, Mr. Chief Prosecutor,” Edgeworth was still in shock as he released the intercom button on his desk phone, staring at the brunette who began to stand up and prepare to leave.
“Miss Fey,” the chief prosecutor definitely did not expect this turn of events. “Did you…?”
“One last thing, Edgeworth,” Mia said and turned, making sure she could see Edgeworth's eyes as she gave her final advice. “Either be a man and admit your feelings to Phoenix, or be the coward who you really are. Your choice, Miles Edgeworth.”
And with that, Edgeworth was left alone in his office, appreciating the few minutes he had left to himself to ponder on his move once his love interest arrived.
The door was already left ajar when Phoenix reached the Chief Prosecutor office, wondering if it was okay for him to enter without knocking. Decided to be polite, the law intern peeked inside the room, finding the only occupant in the room at his tea set table. Phoenix took one last deep breathe before knocking on the door, alerting his arrival.
“Mr. Edgeworth?”
“Phoenix,” Edgeworth placed his teapot down and gestured to the couches. “Please, come in and have a seat.”
Phoenix approached the couch as he was told to, but hesitated as he got closer.
“I’m sorry, but were you busy?” Phoenix asked as he hid the gift bag behind him. “I-If you are, I can come back later–”
“Please, Phoenix, have a seat and relax,” Edgeworth said as he brought over two teacups to the coffee table. “I insist.”
“Okay…” Phoenix finally sat down on the couch, thanking the chief prosecutor as he was offered a cup of tea and watched Edgeworth taking his seat at the opposite couch.
And a few minutes of silence started as Phoenix unwrapped his scarf and removed his winter jacket, folding them nicely and placed them onto the couch beside him, knowing how peculiar the prosecutor was when it comes to neatness in his office. The awkward silence continued as none of them knew how they should start any conversation within the room.
“Phoenix,” Edgeworth, as the older adult, decided to take the initiative and started speaking while Phoenix sipped his tea, hoping it would help calm his nerves. “I believe I owed you an explanation.”
And that was where Phoenix had his full attention on the older man as he widened his eyes and quickly placed down his teacup.
“A-Ah, no! Wait!” Phoenix quickly replied, not ready to hear the next words from Edgeworth yet. “B-Before that. I-I-I’M SORRY!”
Edgeworth stunned in surprise at the sight as Phoenix bowed down and apologised.
“…What?”
“I-I don’t really know what I did, but I think I probably did something wrong and Mr.Edgeworth got angry, right?” Phoenix quickly explained as he sat up.
“No, wait. Phoenix, I–”
"And because I'm so stupid that I still do not know what I did wrong and I'm really sorry for this but," Phoenix tried to fight so hard against his instincts as he looked up and finally looked straight into Edgeworth's eyes, ignoring the surprise within those eyes and pushed on. “I-If you’re okay to explain to me about my wrongdoing, I-I’ll try to correct it or maybe change myself.”
And this time Phoenix had to look away to fight back the tears forming in his own eyes not to look even more silly and embarrassing.
“J-Just…please don’t,” Phoenix began to whisper, as he crouched down and covered his face to hide his tears in shame as he tried to form coherent sentences so that the chief prosecutor could hear and understand; he had not planned to cry in front of Edgeworth. “P-Please don't make me go away.”
“He was crying in his room, all alone, Edgeworth.”
Despite his efforts to hide the tears, there was no need for Edgeworth to cross-examine on Phoenix to know that he was crying. And the sight of Phoenix crying caused his heart to stop for a moment as he started realising his errors.
How could he have run away like a coward from his feelings as Phoenix suffered alone, wrongfully wondered what he did wrong to Edgeworth?
How could he have ignored all the obvious signs for the past few years as Phoenix suffered alone, wrongfully cared for Edgeworth unconditionally while hiding his own feelings?
How could he have done nothing all these time as Phoenix suffered alone, wrongfully cried while being afraid that one day Edgeworth would cast him aside cruelly without reciprocating his feelings?
And that was where Edgeworth finally decided that he had to start pushing aside all logic and listen to his heart, determined to make things right for the child in front of him who had loved him with all his heart and sincerity.
No, that was wrong again.
For Phoenix Wright was no longer a child anymore.
For he was a full-grown adult that Miles Edgeworth had fallen in love with, probably since many years ago.
And it was time for him to face that truth and make his choice.
“Either be a man and admit your feelings to Phoenix, or be the coward who you really are. Your choice, Miles Edgeworth.”
Edgeworth cursed at himself for getting to the truth far longer than necessary and causing so much torment for the man crying silently before him. He stood up and moved over to the opposite, sitting down beside Phoenix as gently as he could so as not to scare away his love interest.
“Phoenix,” Miles called out as he softly put his hand on Phoenix's shoulder, causing the raven-haired man to twitch upon the contact, being aware of his closeness. “Please, look at me.”
But Phoenix shook his head, not ready to face the chief prosecutor whom he wrongly assumed that he was going to chide him for crying in his office.
“…Please Phoenix,” but instead of the angry words, a hand was gently placed on top of his head with pleading words. “Let me see you.”
A pat on his head, just like how Phoenix always liked it when Edgeworth praised him for all his hard work and good deeds he had done to help others since his childhood. Hesitantly, Phoenix slowly but surely sat up, but still refusing to face directly at Edgeworth as he wasn't ready to show him his shameful and tearful face.
But before he could wipe away his tears with his hands and sleeves, a gentle hand was suddenly on his cheek, causing Phoenix to jump and then freeze upon the contact. The foreign hand then gently tugged to prompt him to turn his head, finally facing the chief prosecutor who was actually smirking and chuckling as he started wiping the tears with his thumb.
“Twenty years old already but you're still the usual cry-baby, aren't you, Phoenix?” Phoenix blushed as he realized he was being teased, trying to look away again only to be stopped by Edgeworth, whose hand remained firmly on his face and joined by the other hand at Phoenix's other cheek.
“Please, Phoenix,” and Phoenix was further immobilised as Edgeworth gently placed his forehead against Phoenix’s. “Listen to me.”
“M-Mr. Edgeworth? W-W-What are you—”
“I am sorry, Phoenix,” Edgeworth finally said as he pulled back slightly to directly see eye-to-eye with Phoenix, hoping to convey his sincerity in his apology. “For making you feel this way and putting you through all these. You did not deserve it. And to answer your question, you did nothing wrong.”
“H-Huh?” Phoenix genuinely looked confused. “B-But I thought—”
“If there is anyone that has done any wrong…it's me,” Edgeworth explained as he picked up a handkerchief from his pants pocket and began to wipe Phoenix's face. “I was the one, that selfishly decided to not see you till I sort out my feelings, without considering how it could have affected you.”
Phoenix closed his eyes tightly as Edgeworth pinched his nose and rubbed the snot off, the chief prosecutor chuckled thinking how adorable the younger man was.
“When I realised the possible feelings I have for you on your twentieth birthday, the first logical thought I had in mind was how…wrong these feelings are,” Edgeworth felt Phoenix froze in response at those words. “You are fifteen years younger than me after all. You have a longer future ahead of me, and that became an excuse for me to try to kill off those emotions, which I’ve done it before.”
As Edgeworth finished wiping Phoenix's face and pocketed his handkerchief, he began to explain how he had become a demon prosecutor in the early years of his career, aimed to prosecute every defendant mercilessly regardless of their innocence or not, killing off all human emotions as much as he could in order to punish every criminal he met, until he was saved by Mia Fey and her partner Diego Armando by defending him in his own trial. He was taught since young that human emotions would get in the way of a prosecutor after all.
“Hence I had thought that…It's better for us not to meet each other for the time being, till these feelings faded away, or till I can sort and control them, only to hurt you in the end like this,” and his hand went back to Phoenix's cheek. “And for that, I’m truly sorry, Phoenix.”
“T-Then,” Phoenix said as he looked up at Edgeworth, blushing upon his touch. “Those unnecessary feelings you mentioned the other day, are they…?”
“…Unease, and uncertainty,” Edgeworth sighed as those words from Phoenix confirmed his suspicions that he had overheard those hurting words the other day, sending Phoenix into the resulted confusion and despair to face alone for the next three days. Edgeworth then guiltily moved his hands to place themselves on top of Phoenix's on his lap, hoping to soothe the younger man’s uneasiness. “As I have explained, I had logically thought these feelings were wrong, but…my heart felt differently. No matter how hard I think things through, how much logic I forced upon myself, my heart still seeks you out. The opposing feelings between my mind and my heart cause so much unease and uncertainty, it was beginning to affect me and my work negatively, and that made me more determined to avoid seeing you in hoping that these feelings would fade away.”
Edgeworth began to be reminded of the past agonizing four months, where he began to lose focus on his work, making more mistakes and misjudgement that he would usually never make, and then immersing himself in his work in much more longer hours to catch up. He had ignored all hunger and fatigue throughout as well, which was then noted by Diego when he visited their office to discuss on a case, being remarked that he had looked worse than before with his increasingly paling face and heavy eyebags under his glasses.
And that was where Edgeworth had replied in all his fatigue and blurred logic that it was thanks to Phoenix that he became saddled with so much unnecessary feelings of unease and uncertainty, thus landing himself into the weakened state as described by Diego.
“I-I knew it,” Edgeworth suddenly felt Phoenix's hands shaking as he finished with his explanation. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?”
“Phoenix?”
“I’ve been nothing but a burden, haven’t I?” Phoenix exclaimed to himself as he removed his hands from Edgeworth’s warm ones and tried to scoot away.
“Phoenix, that's not what I'm trying to—"
“I’ve caused nothing but troubles for Mr. Edgeworth. I-I-I'm just, I can’t—"
Realising that his words weren't getting through, Edgeworth groaned in frustration at himself for wrongly wording his explanation and quickly grabbed back Phoenix's hands firmly before he could escape.
“No, Phoenix, you are not,” Edgeworth firmly replied as he looked into Phoenix's eyes, which seemed to begin to tear again. Edgeworth cursed as he had told himself seconds ago that he would not make Phoenix cry again today. “You are most definitely not a burden to me, never.”
“B-But,” Phoenix tried protesting, but Edgeworth knew he had to push on if not he would regret for as long as he lived.
“In fact,” Edgeworth scooted himself closer to ensure Phoenix would not run away again. “I have come to terms that you're definitely needed in my life now. The episode this time has shown me the evidence that I can’t function well without you, Phoenix.”
If he had confronted Phoenix earlier or perhaps from the start, both Edgeworth and Phoenix would not have needed to suffer to their own feelings of unease and self-degradation alone. By now, they could have been enjoying each other's company during their own lunch date, talking about work and catching up about their other lives when not with each other.
But it was all delayed by Edgeworth's cowardice towards his own feelings for Phoenix.
And it's time to make things right.
“I’m sorry that it took me so long to realize my errors, Phoenix,” the chief prosecutor gently rubbed his thumbs over the younger man's hands before bringing them close to his lips. “So please believe me as I'm about to disclose the undeniable truth to you right now.”
Edgeworth looked up straight into Phoenix's heavily flushed face and widened eyes as he decided to finally say those words.
“I love you, Phoenix Wright,” and he kissed the back of the younger man's hands to seal the deal. “And I'm never letting you go again.”
Phoenix's eyes widened further and body froze in place upon hearing those words, the blush on his face darkened to the point his ears and upper neck reddened as well. Edgeworth was about to chuckle and comment that Phoenix's face was turning into the same shade as his suit jacket, but paused as he saw new and fresh tears flowing out from Phoenix's eyes again, this time the younger man made no initial effort to stop those tears.
“…Phoenix?”
“A-Ah, I'm so sorry!” Phoenix blinked himself out of his shock and quickly used his hands to promptly wipe away his tears to no avail, as the tears wouldn't stop.
“Are you alright?” Edgeworth asked, but this time did not make any effort to touch him, for he did not know what the tears meant as a response to his confession. “Are you…hurt somewhere?”
“N-No…” Phoenix sniffled, failing to make proper sentences in his words. “I-It's just…”
“Just?”
“It’s just that…I, I had planned to say those words myself first before you say anything, Mr. Edgeworth.”
And Edgeworth smiled as he pulled the younger man closer, silently overjoyed at the positive response from his confession.
“I-I was p-planning to say them first, and then quickly escape because I thought that you’ll n-n-never feel the same way about me,” and Edgeworth patiently let Phoenix calm down first as he began to hug him close, allowing Phoenix to cry onto his shoulder. “Y-You were being so…distant since my birthday, I thought that you had grew tired of me now that I am at the adult age. I thought I was being a b-b-burden. I-I thought that—"
“Shhh…” Edgeworth soothed the younger man as he rubbed his hair, gently pushing Phoenix slightly to look at his face as the raven-haired man began to calm down.
“I-I…” Phoenix tried calming his breathing and holding back more tears as he spoke, despite failing slightly.
"Yes, Phoenix?” but Edgeworth was patient in waiting for Phoenix with an assuring smile.
“I, l-love you too, Mr. Edgeworth,” Phoenix finally declared too as he looked into the Chief Prosecutor's eyes. “P-Please tell me this is not a lie.”
“I already told you Phoenix,” Edgeworth chuckled as he pulled Phoenix close to him again. “That this is the undeniable truth.”
And a kiss to Phoenix’s forehead this time, sealing the deal once more.
“So now that we got our relationship established,” Edgeworth exclaimed as he crossed his arm and tapped his finger, Phoenix getting confused over the scowl on Edgeworth's face. “We have an issue to discuss.”
“Huh?” Phoenix was wiping his face with a face towel this time, having been to the washroom to clean his face after crying his heart out few moments ago.
“First things first,” Edgeworth began as he pointed a finger at Phoenix who flinched back in surprise as he felt he was currently under a cross-examination. “We are going to establish a valid reason and our plans for you to continue to stay in this country.”
“…Stay?”
“I was informed by Miss Fey that you have plans to leave the country for Europe,” Edgeworth explained while watching Phoenix widened his eyes in surprise at the information.
“Ah! I'm sorry! I forgot!” Phoenix said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “I was planning to tell you, but I haven’t been able to see you for the past few weeks so…”
“…I understand,” Edgeworth sighed as he realised that he was probably to be blamed for this as he was the one that kept his distance away to prevent any form of communication from the younger man. “Nevertheless, I would like to try to speak to your father to convince him of letting you stay, perhaps under my care?”
“Huh? Wait a minute, Mr. Edgeworth—"
“Although things might be going too fast, but I should suggest to your father to let you reside with me in my apartment at least for the rest of the years he’s going to spend there—"
“H-Hold it!” Phoenix hadn't meant to shout, but he realised he probably need to do this in order to understand the situation. “What are you talking about, Mr. Edgeworth? What do you mean by letting me stay with you?”
“…You don't want to?” Edgeworth asked in surprise to the younger man, beginning to wonder if what had transpired between them was real or not to be rejected to live together after that.
“I-I mean, I-I would love to b-b-but first,” Phoenix blushed hard as he replied, quickly explaining things as he heard the obvious hurt in the older man's voice. “Why do we need to convince my father to let me stay?”
“…You don't want to stay?” Edgeworth’s fist began to tighten on the sleeves, unable to believe that Phoenix was still being compelled to leave the country for good without Edgeworth by his side.
“I mean of course I'm staying,” Phoenix explained as his hand went to his chin and started thinking. “I mean I don’t see the need to convince my father since I’ll just be leaving for two weeks after my internship, and I’ll come back to complete my degree and then—"
“HOLD IT!” and this time it was Edgeworth’s turn to shout. “You…just said you'll just be leaving for two weeks?”
“Huh? Yeah, I just said that.”
“…And you'll be back after that?”
“Ah, yes. In the first place, my father is already there,” Phoenix explained as he placed the face towel on the coffee table and looked back to Edgeworth. “My plans were to join him after my internship for a two-week vacation and then I’ll come back in time for my new school term to continue my degree.”
“…And after you graduate?” Edgeworth went back to his posture with his arms crossed and fingers tapping on this upper arm. He was beginning to realise where this was going.
“Well, I haven’t thought that far but,” Phoenix began thinking again with his hand on his chin. “I’ll most probably be going back to Miss Fey's office and then do more assistant work as I study for my bar examination and then become a full-fledged defence attorney under Mia’s office too, if she is okay, I mean.”
“…” Edgeworth silently absorb in all information from Phoenix and began to connect all the logic, covering the lower half of his face as he started to realise the whole truth of the misunderstanding. “One last thing, Phoenix. Was Miss Fey aware of your travelling and future plans?”
“Huh? Of course she knows,” Phoenix replied as he tilted his head to a side indicating his confusion, unaware of Edgeworth's inner conflicts. “We were discussing the whole rough plans the other day before I contacted my father in Europe.”
“Urgh…!” Edgeworth bemoaned, surprising the younger man beside him who had no idea what was going on.
‘T-That woman!’ Edgeworth thought in irritation as he realised what had happened. ‘She really had me completely fooled. Damnit!’
“M-Mr. Edgeworth?” Phoenix could only freeze as he was stopped by Edgeworth's hand which was raised towards him to silently request Phoenix not to say anything for the time being while he overcome the irk and shame upon realising how he had fallen into the defence attorney's trap into reconciling with Phoenix.
“…My apologies, Phoenix,” Edgeworth heaved a deep sigh to calm down. “Please do me a favour and ignore my words about convincing your father a few moments ago.”
“…O-Okay…” Phoenix agreed, even though he still had no idea what was going on at all.
And the silence returned with Edgeworth still sulking that he was tricked by Mia and Phoenix still unaware of Edgeworth’s turmoil. However, he had to break the silence soon.
“Mr. Edgeworth?” Phoenix said as he started to stand up. “I, I wish I could stay but I need to get back to the office, there’s a case Miss Fey and I are currently working on.”
“…I understand,” Edgeworth reluctantly agreed as he too, didn't want Phoenix to leave so soon as well but there were some works for himself that required his prior attention too. “I’ll assist in explaining to Miss Fey about your delay in return.”
“Thank you, Mr Edgeworth. Oh, one last thing,” Phoenix turned and bent down to retrieve the gift bag hidden below his folded winter jacket and scarf, before shyly turned back towards the Chief Prosecutor with a small grin. “This is for you, Mr. Edgeworth. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Edgeworth froze for a moment in response, staring at the simple dark red gift bag in Phoenix’s hands. His hands slowly reached towards it and hold it, which he then pulled back to inspect the bag.
“…Chocolates, I presume?”
“Er, yes. Sorry, you probably received a lot of those already,” Phoenix said as his eyes panned towards the mountain of gifts in one corner of the office. “B-But I hope that you’ll still like it.”
“Yes, I do,” Phoenix's heart jumped as he saw Edgeworth beamed in delight at his gift bag. “Thank you, Phoenix. In fact, would you like to have one with me now?”
“Huh?” Phoenix blinked in surprise at the sudden question, Edgeworth’s smile fading into a full-blown smirk as he gently opened the gift bag. Not knowing what Edgeworth was planning, he could only stare as Edgeworth took a piece of the heart-shaped chocolate from the gift bag, smiling at the shape causing Phoenix to blush hard before putting the piece into his mouth. “Mr. Edgeworth, what—"
And Phoenix was definitely not prepared for the sudden arm at his back as he was pulled towards the older man, who gave him no chance to speak further as he landed his lips onto Phoenix’s. Initially frozen in response at Edgeworth’s lips on his, Phoenix’s eyes widened and clutched onto the red suit as he was kissed, lips remained closed until he could feel something wet licking at them and he closed his eyes and gasped, giving the reaction Edgeworth wanted as he pulled Phoenix even closer to him.
And because it was his first kiss, Phoenix could only moan as he felt Edgeworth’s wet tongue entering his mouth, the chocolate piece sliding in together and melted as Edgeworth's expert tongue continue to explore his mouth without shame. He tightened his hold on the red suit further as he was lifted up from the floor, being pulled even closer again to the older man with the arm at his back and the hand on his hair to manoeuvre him to move his head to change the angle of Edgeworth's mouth on his, causing excess saliva flowed out.
And despite finding himself difficult to breathe, Phoenix made no effort to stop the passionate kiss, moaning continuously and shamelessly because it felt too good to stop, and he continued to let Edgeworth kiss him like there’s no tomorrow.
But of course they eventually had to stop and breathe, the two men pulled apart from each other with a string of saliva linking them till it broke, followed by harsh breathing from both men with Phoenix panting more than the older man.
“W-W-What, was that, for?” Phoenix tried asking while still panting, the chief prosecutor wiping away the saliva trail from the corner of his mouth while beaming at the resulted state of Phoenix after their kiss.
“I apologise as it had just occurred to me that you probably haven’t had your lunch,” Edgeworth explained as he slowly placed Phoenix down for him to stand on the floor. “Which reminds me, do you have any plans tonight?”
“Tonight?” Phoenix's breath began to calm as he was able to start thinking of his schedule in his fogged mind. “No, I don't think so. Why?”
“If that's the case I would like to invite you to dinner tonight, Phoenix,” Edgeworth said as he moved his lips to Phoenix's ear. “As a thank you for the chocolates.”
“Y-You don't have to—"
“I insist, Phoenix,” Edgeworth pulled back and his hand moved to Phoenix's and threaded their finger together. “After all, since we are in a relationship now, shouldn’t we celebrate Valentine’s Day together?”
Phoenix blushed harder as he heard those words; it’s probably going to take him quite some time to get used to this, but nevertheless he loved it.
“Y-Yeah, okay. I would love to.”
“Excellent. I'll pick you up from your office after work,” Edgeworth declared as he reluctantly released his hand from Phoenix’s and walked back to his desk. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah,” Phoenix replied as he began to put on his winter jacket and scarf. “Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth.”
And Phoenix opened the door, turning and waving with a smile to Edgeworth as he exited the door. “See you tonight, Mr. Edgeworth!”
And with that, Edgeworth was left alone in his office, appreciating the few hours he had left to himself to ponder on his plans tonight once he met his new lover.
‘This is going to be a great dinner tonight,’ Edgeworth thought as he got back to his paperwork, looking forward to leaving work on time for the first time in four months.