A/N: I do not own Phoenix Wright or Miles Edgeworth, worse luck; CAPCOM does. The plot, however, is mine. I love vampires, I love PxE and the amazing Vampire!PxE fanfiction of Attalander on y!Gallery was the inspiration for me to write my own! Thanks! :)

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From the space of two centuries, Phoenix reflects on his life and remembers the good times that he and Miles had together...

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...And here's the downer, fic #41. This was born out of an afternoon of listening to 80's power ballads by Air Supply [Lost In Love], U2 [With Or Without You] and Barry Manilow [Even Now] at various time on repeat on my iPod. Let this be a lesson to you: NEVER listen to 80's power ballads! It gives you weird, tragic ideas although 80's music in general is my favourite era of music-and what I listened to when I was a teenager in the 1980's-and the majority of what I listen to.

I sat down at the computer in the beginning and began writing but having no firm idea of exactly what I was writing for; the words poured out of me without direction at that point. it wasn't until after I went for a walk and playing songs by Air Supply, U2 and Barry Manilow that the idea finally clicked in my brain as to what I would do: a Vampire!PxE tragedy/angst fic. It was originally intended to be a oneshot but it didn't work well that way once I'd finished it; when I decided to make it a multi-chapter fic, everything fell into place.

So here it is: the first of three, and possibly four, chapters. I have some things I need to fix in the second chapter before I post it so it may be awhile before its updated. *Sets out boxes of Kleenex.*

Hope you enjoy.

Thanks to my readers and all those who have favourited, reviewed, story alerted, favourite author or author alerted me. I appreciate it more than I can say!

Special thanks to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his help, support, advice, nagging (when necessary) and encouragement! I appreciate it more than I can say! Love you!

Thanks to my beta, Pearls1990, for her critique! Much appreciated! :)

Comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated! *I'll probably change some things at some point; always room for improvement! :) *

The title is a Barry Manilow song of the same name.

Rated Teen, Tragedy/Angst, male/male relationships, Vampire!Phoenix x Vampire!Edgeworth
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I walked the path in the woods to the home that Miles and I had once shared, my shoes crunching over dried leaves that had fallen from the trees in the dense underbrush. I looked up, my eyes gradually adjusting to the gloom that had always seemed the thickest in this part of the forest.

I still don't understand why it was here that Miles chose to build the home we lived in for so many years; I guess its because he liked the perfect solitude that it offered and he had a secret that he had to guard because, if it were revealed, he would be in jeopardy and quite possibly I would be as well.

He was my beloved and I miss him every day as I have for the past two hundred years or more; I no longer know how much time has passed. I miss his smile, I miss his love but, most of all, I miss him. He was my life and mine effectively ended when he died.

I closed my eyes, savage satisfaction flowing through my body. The ones who murdered him and the one who ordered it are all dead and I don't feel one iota of remorse that I killed them.

I heard the distant boom of thunder split the silence in the forest but I barely acknowledged it as I continued my slow lope down the path, pausing very now and again to think of the time we had together which was so short compared to the time that I've been alone. I am content to stay alone and, although it does get lonely sometimes, I really don't notice it much anymore since I've retreated from the world, preferring to remain where we were once the happiest.

Some might think that I torture myself needlessly-and, in fact, a few friends did tell me just that and encouraged me to try to get on with my life-but I decided to separate myself from a world I no longer understood nor cared to be a part of. Most of those I once knew have long since passed from this world and yet I'm still here, never aging, never changing, forever ageless and outside of time.

I reach out and touch a sturdy oak tree, my fingers gently caressing the rough bark and I close my eyes and think of how Miles and I would come to this tree, once a small sapling, and spend lazy weekends building our home, boating on the nearby pond, taking long evening walks through the woods, lying on our backs on the forest floor, looking up at the stars as we snuggled together.

Memory after painful but precious memory paraded through my mind and I could feel the lump in my throat start to get larger as the moments passed. Sometimes I wondered if what my friends told me so long ago is really true, that I was torturing myself by continuing to live year after year, decade after decade in voluntary solitude, living in limbo with my beloved ghost.

I could feel the gentle caress of the rain as it began to fall but I still walked slowly on, keeping that same slow, loping pace even when the rain picked up. I didn't care if I got wet and, since rain has no effect on me, it's not something I needed to think about or even guard against.

The gloomy silence comforted me and, as I walked, I remembered more of the good times that we'd had together from the space of two centuries ago: Miles and I swimming in the pond; long walks in the woods and romantic nighttime picnics in the forest on our property and near our home; quiet time in the library, our fingers interlocked as we cuddled on the couch reading our respective books, moonlight pouring through the frosted windows; days and nights of bliss, enjoying each others presence. How could either of us have known what was to happen that wild, stormy night?

Miles knew... somehow, he knew that we were being pursued and he knew that they were coming. I stopped in front of a large maple tree, my fingers reaching out to caress the rough, crumbling bark. I swallowed hard before I turned and continued my solitary walk. In the distance, I could see the shape of our private retreat in the woods in the intermittent flashes of lightning that cracked overhead.

It was a night much like this that it happened and I couldn't stop the tragic memory of what happened that night from invading my thoughts... and breaking my heart. I shoved my hands down deeply into my black trench-coat pockets, rain spattering on the ground before me as I stroll, turning right at the corner and setting my feet directly on the path that leads to the house, cloaked in eternal sepulchral silence.

I walked on, losing myself in memories, looking up at the honor guard of trees, as I liked to call them, that made a thick canopy of foliage that spread out over the path, feeling the gentle kiss of the rain on my pale skin. Miles used to like to tease me about my love of trees and I took his good natured ribbing in stride, for the most part.

It was the place of my greatest happiness... and my greatest tragedy.

Miles...

A soft sigh from my right caused me to turn my head in that direction, fully expecting to see Miles standing there beside me but it was just the sound of the wind blowing gently through the trees, rattling the leaves as it passed through. There are times, after the sun has set, that I can hear whispers coming from the shadows and it comforts me; the sound of his voice echoes in the silent hallways.

I can feel his presence most strongly here in the autumn; he, as I, loved the season and enjoyed the long, cooler nights, shorter days and changing colors of the leaves on the trees that surrounded our home. I can feel a sharp stab of pain in my heart as I walk up the steps to the house and, even though I haven't been here for awhile, it still feels like home and the place I feel most comfortable being.

I reach into my pocket, bringing out an old iron key and place it in the lock, twisting it once until I hear a soft click coming from the other side. I reach for the doorknob and twist it, pushing the old oak door gently open, the old, rusted hinges groaning in protest as I do so, entering the foyer quickly.

I'm home.

The door closes behind me and I'm once again reminded of what happened that terrible night, a night much like this one with the lightning cracking overhead and the pounding rain.

I close my eyes and remember...