A/N: I do realize the scenario I wrote is very, very unlikely to happen (Edgeworth leaving Phoenix and shiz), but it's just my being really annoyed at Capcom for not mentioning even once what happened to Maya, Edgeworth and Larry in AJ. So I just decided to get my own version of the facts :D

Almost Forgotten Memories

April 9th, 3:14 pm

Wright Anything Agency

Trucy popped the bottle of champaign open and expertly filled the glasses without letting a single drop fall down. Then she poured herself apple juice – she was still underage after all – and raised her glass, imitated by Apollo and Phoenix.

"To Daddy, for acing the bar exam. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Apollo repeated while Phoenix merely smiled. "And congratulations. You must be quite happy to finally get your attorney badge back."

"Can't say I'm disappointed by the exam results." Phoenix replied as he remember the first time he had taken the bar exam, ten years ago. The second the results had been announced, he had jumped in the air and let out a cry of victory like an excited kid. But ten years had passed since then, and today it was a whole other Phoenix Wright who was standing there; it was a calm and collected Phoenix Wright, only having a toast because his daughter and his protégé had insisted on celebrating his official return to the world of law.

"Now you won't be able to dress so casually anymore." Trucy pointed out, quickly scanning her father's outfit with obvious amusement. "First, no more hat for you. And then, I want to see you again in a blue suit with a magenta tie, like in your old pictures. And don't forget to shave yourself."

"Easy, Trucy." Phoenix replied with a chuckle. "It's not like I'll have a client right on the first day."

"You never know! What if?"

"Then I'll leave it to Apollo's care."

"Hey, I'm just done with a case, let me breathe a bit!" the brown-haired boy protested. "Still, I can't believe you've actually spent the past seven years gathering evidence to prove your innocence. But I'm glad it paid off in the end."

"You're wrong, Apollo." Phoenix corrected him calmly. "I didn't gather evidence to prove my innocence, I did it to find out the truth. That's all there is to it. It so happened that my innocence was part of the truth."

"I've always known you were innocent, Daddy!" Trucy intervened before addressing Apollo: "You too, right?"

The latter shifted a bit uncomfortably in his seat. "I, um, well... I have to admit I had some doubts at a certain point, but they disappeared quickly! Sorry about that." he added hastily as he saw Trucy frown.

Phoenix patted the boy's shoulder. "No need to feel sorry, Apollo. You're not the only one who didn't believe me."

"I guessed as much, but something has been troubling me." Apollo said thoughtfully. Phoenix saw him hesitate a bit before going on: "If I remember correctly, the only person who defended you against the accusation of forgery was Kristof Gavin, right? How come... no one else tried to defend you? I mean... didn't you have colleagues who could have pleaded in your favour?"

"Apollo, are you trying to spoil the mood with your questions?" Trucy asked with a joking tone. "Today we're celebrating!"

"Ah, yes... I'm sorry, Mr Wright." Apollo scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.

"No problem at all, really." Phoenix replied with a chuckle.

He wished his thoughts matched his words, though.

Sleep refused to come to Phoenix. His eyes were staring at the darkness of the ceiling of his room, his hands crossed between the pillow and his head.

Didn't you have colleagues who could have pleaded in your favour?

Phoenix knew Apollo hadn't intended any harm with that innocent question, yet it kept echoing in his head. The word 'colleagues' brought only one name to his lips, and only one face flashed in his mind. They had never really been colleagues since one was a prosecuting attorney while the other was a defence attorney, but Phoenix had always thought he could call that man a friend.

A very close friend.

Miles Edgeworth.

Phoenix bit his lower lip at the thought. He couldn't forgive the man for vanishing from his life as he had done, and he couldn't forgive himself for having been such a fool. During his three first years as an attorney, Phoenix had kept believing in Edgeworth. Because Edgeworth was strong. An incredibly skilled prosecutor, famed for getting a guilty verdict at each of his trials, known as the Demon Prosecutor, taught by the ever renowned Manfred von Karma. The best of the best.

And determined. Despite all the rumours about his forging evidence to win his trials, despite having a corpse found in his car and killed with his knife, despite being accused of murder, despite finding out that his father had been assassinated by his own mentor, Edgeworth had always kept on prosecuting perfectly, unshakably. Oh, how many times had Phoenix feared for his friend's sanity, how many times had he expected him to break down under the constant pressure? And yet Edgeworth had always held strong. Even after disappearing from the Prosecutor's Office for a year, he had come back for Phoenix. At least that was what the latter had believed.

Now he wasn't so sure anymore. Phoenix rolled on the side, trying to dismiss the gloomy reminiscences from his mind, in vain.

He left, damn it. Get over it, Phoenix.

Seven years had passed; he wasn't going to sink into self-pity now, that was ridiculous. He had Trucy, his dear Trucy, the one reason that had prevented him from falling into depression after his disbarment and the comedown that had ensued. And now he was wearing his attorney badge again, meaning that he was finally going to resume a normal life.

Yes, he was definitely not going to complain.

June 22nd, 5:34 pm

Wright & Co Law Offices

Fate was a nasty trickster, Phoenix decided as he stared incredulously at the letter on his desk. His heart had failed a beat when he had seen the handwriting; he would have recognized it among thousands, even after so many years, and as his fingers turned over the envelope, he prayed with all his might that the name of the sender wasn't what he feared it was.

No such luck.

The trash bin was right next to him and the temptation was great to pretend the letter was but a mere, useless piece of paper. Phoenix wasn't as strong-willed, though, and before he even realized it, the enveloped was torn open and his eyes were already reading the first words. His fingers were slightly trembling when he reached the bottom of the page, where the elegant signature lay.

Yours sincerely,

Edgeworth

Phoenix smiled wryly at those last words, wondering for an instant how funny it would be to take them literally. He let the letter fall on his desk and walked to the sofa where he let himself drop with a loud sigh. Seriously, after all those years? Right when he was about to draw a line on the past and forget? What was he supposed to do? What was he even supposed to think? The easy answer was: nothing. He could simply pretend he had read nothing and keep on enjoying his return to his former life. Yes, that was the most logical reaction.

Edgeworth had abandoned him after all. In spite of himself, a wave of memories suddenly swept over him, memories he wished had remained buried in his mind forever. Seven years ago...

"You are guilty of forging evidence."

"The disbarment takes effect immediately."

Disbelief.

Anger.

Despair.

Ordeal of days spent trying to ignore the shame befalling him.

The hope of finding solace in those he thought to be his friends.

Crushed hope.

The disdain in Edgeworth's eyes.

The sight of his back as he walked away, without a glance back.

The feeling of betrayal.

The will to give everything up.

Anguish.

Saved only by the presence of Trucy, his sole light.

Phoenix snapped his eyes open – when had he closed them? - before pinching the bridge of his nose. A lump formed in his throat.

"Get over it, Phoenix." he murmured to himself. It had all happened a long time ago. There was no point in hurting himself with unwanted memories.

Still, there was one question tormenting him: why?

A knock on the door made him jump, but he soon relaxed as he saw who stepped in.

"Daddy! How was the day?" Trucy asked enthusiastically. In her hands were several envelopes.

"Quite good, until I saw what you are holding. More requests?" Phoenix sighed.

"I'll give them to Apollo, don't worry." the girl replied with a smile. "For now I'm just putting them on your desk until he comes tomorrow. What's this?" she asked, spotting the letter resting in the middle of the other papers.

"Hm? Oh, nothing important!" Phoenix stood up abruptly to stop her daughter, but it was too late.

"Edgeworth?" she read. "He seems to know you. Daddy, who is it?" she asked, blinking at her father's reaction.

"It's... He's..." Phoenix hesitated. He had never talked about Edgeworth to Trucy – why would he? – and wasn't sure how to introduce him, yet the girl seemed to notice his uneasiness. She shook her head.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me." she said, still smiling. "But try to sort your problems out with him, alright?"

"What makes you think there are problems between us?" Phoenix inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not good at hiding your emotions today, Daddy." Trucy's smile softened. "And I don't like seeing you so sad."

Phoenix blinked in surprise, but by the time he reacted, the brunette was already at the door, waving goodbye at him.

June 25th , 5:02 pm

Wright & Co Law Offices

Phoenix glanced at the clock on his desk absent-mindedly. Lying next to it was Edgeworth's letter, which for some reason Phoenix had failed to discard. His eyes landed on that particular line again: I wish to meet you at 5 pm at People's Park. Well too bad, the wish wasn't mutual.

Or at least that was what he wanted to convince himself of. He didn't have time anyway, too much work, too many requests, too many years to catch up for his career. Too many excuses.

Well, excuses were made to be used, weren't they?

He flipped a page of the folder in his hands, a pen between his fingers. The current case was rather delicate and would probably require thorough investigations from him; therefore he couldn't afford getting distracted by unnecessary feelings. As he was writing down some notes, a knock made him raise his head. The door didn't open immediately, making him deduce that it wasn't Trucy. Apollo, probably.

"Come in." he said as he resumed writing on the folder. However, he soon raised his head again as the newcomer hadn't spoken a word nor made any noise, and the pen fell from his hand.

His face stiffened while the rest of his body turned completely tense. Surely, he was hallucinating.

"Good afternoon, Wright."

Surely, he was hearing things. Yet the probability for both his eyes and ears to be fooled was pretty low, and Phoenix soon had to draw the unavoidable conclusion that the man standing in front of him was the very same man who had abandoned him seven years ago when he had needed him the most.

Miles Edgeworth, the cause of his torments.

The prosecutor had barely changed from the last time Phoenix had seen him. The same ash grey hair, the same naturally haughty bearing, the same faint frown creasing his forehead and the same piercing dark eyes which Phoenix had adored so much, a long time ago. Even the frills around his neck looked the same as ever. His suit was the only feature that was different; instead of the former magenta, it was now a dark crimson.

Not that it mattered to Phoenix what colour Edgeworth was wearing. That would be missing the main point. He stared at the man silently, unsure of how long both of them would be able to keep eye contact. In the end, it was Edgeworth who gave up first. Looking away, he finally spoke:

"I figured you wouldn't bother going to People's Park so I came here directly." he said wryly.

Phoenix would have smiled under other circumstances. Did Edgeworth know him so well? He shook his head mentally. Now wasn't the time to get nostalgic. Lowering his eyes back to his file, he waited for Edgeworth to add something. After several seconds of awkward silence, the latter said:

"Congratulations on retrieving your badge."

Phoenix almost choked at those words, but managed to remain impassive as he replied:

"As you can see, I'm quite busy now that I'm back to work again. If you don't have anything else to say, I'd be grateful if you could leave."

Edgeworth wasn't even surprised by the cold tone. "I understand. I'll be quick then." A short pause, then: "I came to apologize." As Phoenix was still reading his paper, the other man went on: "I apologize for what I've done, Wright."

Now that got Phoenix's attention. He closed his folder and slammed it back on his desk, then stood up and planted himself in front of the prosecutor, arms crossed.

"That's a bit too easy, Edgeworth." he said dryly, and saying the man's name out loud for the first time in years left a strange feeling on his tongue. "You disappear for years and suddenly, here you are, right after I got my badge back, apologizing for 'what you've done'? You actually thought it'd work?"

"I never hoped it would be that easy, Wright." Edgeworth replied, gazing straight into Phoenix's eyes. "I... I simply wanted you to know that I'm not proud of myself. I acted stupidly at that time."

Phoenix forced a short laugh. "Stupidly? Now that's quite the euphemism. Edgeworth, you freaking let me down when I needed you the most." he stated acidly. "Do you want to know how I felt back then? I simply couldn't believe it. I simply couldn't believe that losing my badge would also make me lose my friends. But maybe I was wrong since the beginning. Maybe I was the only one to think I had friends."

"Wright, I–"

"One accusation." Phoenix went on, not caring about any attempt from Edgeworth to defend himself. This had been on his heart for too long and there couldn't be any more suitable time to let everything out. "One accusation of forgery was all it took for you to believe I wasn't worth talking to anymore. Now that I think about it, I had also been in the defendant's chair once, under the charge of murder. If I remember well, you seemed quite happy to be the prosecutor in that case. Had you been disappointed when I finally got a not guilty verdict?"

"Don't be ridiculous–"

"I've always supported you, Edgeworth." Phoenix cut him in again. "Always. When you were charged with murder, never once did I doubt you. Even when you yourself were convinced you had killed your father, I was ready to prove you innocent. Even when you lost your self-confidence, I never stopped believing in you. And what did I gain in return for that?" Now there was obvious bitterness in his voice. He sighed and turned his back to Edgeworth, leaning his hands on the table. "Don't get me wrong." he went on. "I'm not trying to look like a victim here. I'm way past that stage now. But honestly, I didn't expect you to dare show your face to me after all this time. It's like my badge is the only thing that matters to you."

Silence followed his words. Phoenix wasn't certain it had been a good idea to suddenly let all his repressed feelings pour out like that, but at least it felt good speaking them out loud. For a moment he wished Edgeworth would simply walk out and never come back again, making today a simple disturbance in his routine.

Liar. You want him to stay. You want him to apologize again and to tell you he'll stay by your side from now on. Phoenix bit his lower lip. Damn his subconscious. No matter how many times he convinced himself he didn't need Edgeworth, there was always that tiny part of his brain which enjoyed contradicting him.

"If you wish me to leave right now, then look at me and tell me straight. If you do, I swear you'll never see me again." Edgeworth finally said, and the hint of dejection, no matter how slight, didn't went unnoticed by Phoenix.

Oh, cruel temptation. Phoenix turned round and opened his mouth, the words ready to come out; and yet at that exact second, his unreasonable brain refused to respond and comply. He swallowed, inwardly furious against himself for being so weak.

"I–" he started, but was interrupted by a knock and the door opening to reveal an ever-cheerful Trucy.

"Hello Daddy! I'm bringing some more req–Oh, sorry for the intrusion. Good afternoon, sir!" she bowed to Edgeworth and walked to the desk to put the mail before turning to the two men. It was at that moment that she seemed to realize the awkwardness of the atmosphere.

"Thank you, Trucy. But next time, I'll be grateful if you could give them to Apollo." Phoenix made an attempt at lightening the mood, but the girl wasn't fooled. She eyed Edgeworth with narrowed eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked suspiciously.

Phoenix shook his head, smiling. "Nothing. Our guest here was about to leave, am I wrong?" he addressed Edgeworth.

The latter glanced at Trucy with an obvious troubled expression before nodding back at Phoenix. "Indeed." he said with a neutral tone. Phoenix smirked mentally. Of course he didn't know about Trucy; it had surprised more than one to learn that he had a daughter – even an adopted one.

The prosecutor turned round and grabbed the handle of the door. Before stepping out though, he spoke one last time:

"If you ever change your mind, my phone number is still the same, Wright."

As the door closed, Trucy immediately inquired, both fists on her hips:

"Was it Mr Edgeworth?"

"Why do you even ask when you have such an intuition already?" Phoenix asked back, smiling softly at his daughter. Trucy's ability to read people's heart had helped him a lot those past years, but sometimes it could be quite troublesome, he mused.

"Apparently, you don't look like you solved your problems with him."

"It's not that easy, Trucy." Phoenix sighed.

"Do you think you can tell me what happened between you?" the girl asked with concern. "Maybe I could help."

"I doubt it, but I guess it won't do any harm to tell you. Let's sit on the sofa." Phoenix suggested, and as the girl complied, he made her the shortest summary ever of the situation: "Edgeworth was my best friend. Then after I lost my badge, he decided I was nothing to him anymore. End of the story."

Trucy grabbed his father's hand and squeezed it sympathetically. "I see. But Daddy, I think you're wrong on one point: the story doesn't end there."

Phoenix glanced at her then shrugged. "Well, he certainly showed up today after seven years of silence, but this doesn't change anything."

The brunette shook her head. "That's not what I meant. Daddy, did you try to know why Mr Edgeworth came back?"

"Should I care?"

"You should."

"Trucy..." Phoenix sighed again. "There is nothing to care about in this matter. I made him understand quite clearly he's not welcome anymore, which means that neither you nor I will hear from him again. And I'm more than fine with that."

The reaction he got from the girl wasn't quite what he expected: she hopped off the sofa and stood in front of him, her arms crossed and her expression severe.

"You can't hope to fool anyone with such blatant lies." she said. "Not while you look in so much pain. Not while the both of you look in so much pain. And don't give me that surprised look. I know you saw it too; I know you saw how Mr Edgeworth looked after you told him to leave."

Phoenix didn't reply immediately. Instead, he stood up and went to the coffee maker, pouring himself a full cup. Yes, he knew. After all, he had spent the past seven years sharpening his emotion-reading skills in order to win all of his poker games.

So what? He'd like to convince me that he suffered too? I wonder who between us has suffered the most from this case. There was still that rational part in Phoenix which kept whispering to him to get over it once and for all. He could forget about Edgeworth one more time, as he had already done.

It was the most reasonable choice.

Reason was definitely not Phoenix's forte.

'If you ever change your mind, my number is still the same, Wright.'

What had Edgeworth been thinking, suggesting that Phoenix still had his number? If that wasn't arrogance, then what was? And yet, here he was, staring thoughtfully at the screen of his mobile, biting his lower lip and his thumb ready to press the call button. The name displayed on the contact list was 'M. E.' He had never been able to stand seeing Edgeworth's name after the 'incident'.

His finger was drumming nervously on the phone. For heaven's sake, he was supposed to be stronger than that! And yet... yet he was letting emotions he had spent years to bury take over him again. Clicking his tongue of annoyance, he pressed the fated button.

June 28th, 11:30 am

People's Park

People's Park was as pleasant a place as ever, and under other circumstances, Phoenix would have enjoyed a walk there with Trucy. Today however, tense was a better adjective to describe him. It hadn't been hard for him to spot Edgeworth waiting for him, seated on a bench under the shadow of a tree, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Phoenix felt his heart beat faster against his chest as he walked closer, unable to move his eyes from the handsome prosecutor.

"Edgeworth..." he murmured while he was still a few meters away, and as surprising as it could be, the man slowly opened his grey eyes, as if he had heard Phoenix calling his name.

"Wright. You came." he said, standing up, and there was relief in his voice, even if he tried to hide it.

"Of course I did. I was the one who contacted you, after all." Phoenix replied as he took a seat on the bench, soon imitated by Edgeworth.

"With you, I expect anything." the latter retorted with a faint smirk.

"At least, you don't get any bad surprise that way. Unlike me." Phoenix replied quite acidly, in spite of himself.

Silence followed, during which Phoenix felt like hitting himself for his loose tongue. He was about to apologize but it was Edgeworth who spoke first:

"Wright, I... I'm sorry. I really am." he said, looking at the ground.

"I want an explanation. I want to know why." Phoenix demanded. "Why did you leave me back then? And why are you coming back now?"

Edgeworth's laced fingers contracted. "I guess I owe you that much." he said with a low voice. "Wright, I... I was stupid back then." He paused. "At that time, when I learnt that you had been disbarred, I didn't believe it at first. But the news went fast to the Prosecutor's Office, and what I thought to be only rumours proved to be true."

"And you didn't hesitate to believe that I actually forged evidence." Phoenix said flatly, but much to his surprise, Edgeworth reacted quite fiercely:

"No, of course not! I've never believed it, not even for a second, Wright."

"Then why? Why did you act as if I was a criminal?"

Edgeworth shook his head, annoyed at himself. "I didn't–It wasn't like that, Wright." he snapped dryly. "It's not that easy!"

"Then what was it?" Phoenix pressed him, raising the tone. "You decided that since I didn't have a badge anymore, I was worthless?"

"No!" Edgeworth retorted as he stood up abruptly in front of Phoenix. His fists were clenched and his head slightly lowered, eyes not meeting Phoenix's. "You don't understand." he murmured, as if talking to himself, before repeating with a more audible voice: "You don't understand."

"That's why I asked for an explanation, Edgeworth." Phoenix stood up as well. His hand reached the prosecutor's shoulder hesitantly. He felt the latter tense up slightly at the contact. "Make me understand."

Edgeworth bit his lower lip, obviously struggling against himself. But Phoenix wasn't so patient. As he was getting no reply, he shook his head in resignation and removed his hand from Edgeworth's shoulder.

"I guess I was hoping for too much." he said as he got ready to leave, but then:

"Damn it, Wright, I panicked!" Edgeworth let out angrily.

Phoenix froze at those words, not really sure he had heard correctly. Turning to the other man, he asked, confused:

"You... panicked?"

"Is it that hard to believe?" Edgeworth smiled bitterly. "Since the beginning, no matter how much I was annoyed by you, by your naiveness and your ridiculous stubbornness, I knew I could rely on you to always find out the truth. I knew that in court, I could rely on you to watch my back whenever I strayed aside." A part of his face was hidden by dark grey strands of hair, preventing Phoenix from deciphering his expression. "I knew that no matter what I did, you would be there to catch me if I slipped. At every trial, you would give it your all until you got the right verdict, even in the most desperate cases. That's why... when your badge was taken from you, I panicked. You wouldn't be there anymore if I made a mistake, that's why–"

"Wait, wait, wait." Phoenix interrupted him, now looking at him with disbelief. "Edgeworth, you're renowned to be a genius prosecutor, the best of the country. Heck, you were taught by von Karma to lead perfect cases! At every trial where I faced you, you always looked so sure of yourself, so confident, and now you're telling me that you actually doubted yourself?"

Edgeworth forced a chuckle. His usual frown was creasing his forehead. "And whose fault is it? Who was the one who kept breaking all my arguments, one by one? Who was the one who managed to shake off all my certainties, to make all my beliefs crumble?" His tone wasn't really reproachful; it actually sounded nostalgic to Phoenix, but he didn't let himself be fooled by it.

"Don't try to put the blame on me, Edgeworth." he said.

"That wasn't my goal, Wright. My point is, at that time... I learnt to rely on you much more than what I'd have wanted."

"Too bad I couldn't say the same about you."

Edgeworth finally decided to meet Phoenix's gaze, and the pain Phoenix read in the prosecutor's eyes made his heart sink.

"I'm sorry, Wright." he murmured.

"Tell me, Edgeworth." Phoenix's tone turned kinder in spite of himself. "Why did you choose precisely the moment I got my badge back to come back?"

"I felt that if I didn't do it now, then I never would." Edgeworth lowered his head again. "To be honest, I tried to forget about you, because I knew I had failed you. I flew back to Germany, hoping to put you out of my mind. Years passed, and I thought I had managed, but..." He paused.

"But what?" Phoenix asked softly. Something was starting to get loose inside of him; he wasn't going to admit it out loud, but Edgeworth's words were affecting him more than he thought. Still, he couldn't bring himself to forgive that man so easily. He had abandoned him, for heaven's sake! But did it still matter now? Now Edgeworth was there, wasn't he?

"... I've actually kept taking news from the Prosecutor's Office. I saw the reports of the trials where you were involved last year. Though I didn't follow the cases closely, I read just enough to know about the truth on the forgery. The fact is... I've never been able to get you out of my mind."

Phoenix felt his cheeks warm up for whatever reason. Maybe it was the closeness between the two men which was slightly embarrassing, or maybe it was simply the last words Edgeworth had just pronounced. And before he even noticed it, his hand was on Edgeworth's shoulder. The gesture surprised even himself. But what surprised him even more was when he felt a hand over his, slowly closing around his fingers.

"Edge–"

"There wasn't a day that passed without my regretting what I did." he murmured. "Those years I spent in Germany served only one purpose."

"A-And what was it?" Phoenix asked, now completely unsure of where things were going.

"To make me realize I should have stayed here. With you." The last words were barely audible, but as they had been whispered right next to his ear, Phoenix heard them as clearly as day. He felt as if his heart had stopped beating for a minute. And the fact that Edgeworth wouldn't let go of his hand didn't help either.

"Edgeworth... You should mind your choice of words." he managed to articulate, failing at taking a joking tone. "This could be taken... quite ambiguously."

But as he felt a pair of lips delicately brush against his, all ambiguity was removed. Definitely not expecting it, he jumped and stepped back, startled. Rationality would have wanted him to turn angry at Edgeworth for the completely inappropriate act, yet for some reason he found himself unable to find any resentment in him to throw at the prosecutor. Conflicting emotions clashed in him within the span of a second, making him head dizzy – even more than what it already was – and rendering him unable to say a word.

Amid his confusion, he still managed to hear Edgeworth apologizing hastily:

"I-I'm sorry, I acted without thinking. You most certainly already have someone else in your life, I shouldn't interfere. That was very uncalled for."

But then Phoenix was looking at him with rounded eyes. "Someone else in my life? What the hell makes you think so?"

It was Edgeworth's turn to look surprised. "Your daughter, of course."

"You mean Trucy?" Phoenix sighed before smiling faintly. "Edgeworth, she's sixteen. I'm thirty-three and I swear I didn't have a secret child when I was seventeen. What do your deduction skills tell you?"

The other man frowned. "Is she... adopted?"

"Yes she is. You'd have known beforehand if you had followed the cases more closely." Phoenix chuckled. "But I think we are missing the actual point here." he went on, barely able to keep a cool tone.

An embarrassed silence set between them. They were still standing barely a foot away from each other, their gazes not crossing, until Phoenix grew tired of waiting.

"Edgeworth I beg of you, say something. Anything." he let out with a hint of nervousness.

The answer was immediate. "I love you, Wright."

Brown eyes met dark grey ones. Pulses got faster. Hope on a side, genuine yet pleasant surprise on the other. Lips moved closer, as if attracted by an invisible force. Eyes closed. And finally came the sweet feeling of holding and being held into a tight embrace. Edgeworth slipped his fingers in Phoenix's raven hair, stroking it gently while the defence attorney hesitantly snaked his arms around Edgeworth's neck. Warmth seized his whole body despite the shivers that ran down his spine when he heard Edgeworth murmur 'Phoenix' against his lips. He felt strangely happy to hear his first name coming from that man and as they pulled back, he gave it a try as well:

"Miles..." He quickly forgot what he was about to say next as his lips were captured again.

Not that he minded.

Edgeworth was finally back.

September 3rd, 10:38 am

Courtroom n°2

"Objection!" Phoenix pointed his finger at the witness. "It was impossible for the witness to see the defendant at that moment! It was night and there was a power outage from 1:49 am to 2:12 am!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth slammed a hand on the stand. "The witness may have failed to see the defendant the first time at 2 am, but not the second time at 2:30 am! The power was back at that time!"

"Objection! The witness was supposed to be making his round in the archives area which is nowhere near the crime scene!"

"Objection! Due to the power failure, the witness must have changed his routine and try to get the power back!"

In the audience, Trucy watched the battle of wits with an amused smile. Next to her, Apollo – who for once had managed to let Phoenix handle the current case – was staring incredulously at the exchanges of blows between Phoenix and Edgeworth.

"Do they hate each other that much?" he asked Trucy. "They look ready to jump at each other's throat any time now."

"Oh, don't be so sure. My two daddies are actually having a lot of fun." the girl replied happily.

Apollo almost choked himself to death.

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A/N bis: As requested by a certain someone who will recognize themselves, I tried to put some angst and some fluff. Hope I managed to achieve something decent :]