[A/N] This is a request for Ravenfire2023, my favorite internet sibling. It contains spoilers for the Ace Attorney series, especially Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice. There is a very brief mention of a character from Investigations II, as well (and no, Evie, surprisingly, it's not the one you think). Enjoy!

This case was interesting to Miles Edgeworth– or at least, it very much should have been. An eclectic man in his sixties had been murdered and several of his possessions stolen. The suspect was one of his friends from an antique collecting club; the present theory was that the suspect wanted certain items of the victim that he refused to sell. Miles found this a smidge too obvious, and somewhat looked forward to working with the defense attorney to find the real truth.

Even so, he couldn't think. He nearly scrunched up a paper out of frustration before getting a grip on himself. He sighed, sat up straighter, and smoothed out his jabot. The clock ticked at a mercilessly slow pace. Perhaps he needed a small break to play a game of chess. But with whom would he compete? Playing against himself was rather dull. He had half a heart to call Mr. Shields, but dismissed the thought quickly; even if he were free, it would take far too long for him to arrive here from his own law office. Though he would like for his father's old friend to visit soon.

Speaking of visits... the incident sending his mind into a silent storm was this sixth visit of that man to one Sister Iris within the last month. It was September 2019, five months after Phoenix Wright had been framed and disbarred for presenting false evidence. For the same length of time, he had been caring for Trucy Wright-formerly-Gramarye. It made sense for him to be attending to Iris more frequently. That little girl called Wright, "Daddy." Given his fondness for the young woman he fought so hard to defend less than a year ago, if Trucy made a peep about desiring a mother, she would be the ideal candidate.

The two had their history together. She had done her best to protect Wright, and then Maya, from the accursed Dahlia Hawthorne. Even if her methods were not the most moral, she clearly cared so deeply. She was gentle and emotional and vulnerable... everything that Miles knew himself not to be.

An odd lump formed in Miles's throat and he bit hard on his lower lip, brows furrowed. He took a deep breath in, groaning in a manner very unbecoming of himself when his breath quivered. He withdrew his phone from his pocket and made a call to Wright. Despite his prior engagements, he picked up on only the second ring. "Edgeworth?"

"Wright. My sincerest apologies for interrupting your visit with Sister Iris. However, I have a request to ask of you."

"Name it."

"Might I come over once Trucy has gone to bed? I have a particularly nice bottle of wine and I'd rather partake of it with company."

He heard an oh-so-familiar chuckle on the other end of the line. "You're ridiculous. Asking for a favor and then telling me that that favor is to let you give me wine? Yes, Miles. That would be great. I can't exactly afford much for myself these days, anyway. Ah– Iris says hi, by the way."

"Pass along my greeting."

"Trucy goes to bed at nine. If you want, you can come at eight and spend some time with the both of us."

"I-I might just take you up on that offer. Now, I will leave you be. Bis dann."

"Tschüss!" The call ended. Miles struggled through a few more infuriatingly unproductive hours of work, but soon enough, he was headed toward the Wright Residence.

Little Trucy was delighted to see him. For about half an hour, she showed off her magic tricks. He oversold how impressed he was; he wasn't unimpressed, per say, but was more curious about her methods than anything. Fortunately, though his tone hardly wavered, it was enough to satisfy her. Afterwards, she got into soft-looking pajamas, brushed her teeth, and tugged on Wright's sleeve. "Ah. Miles, do you want to help me read a bedtime story?"

"Err, yes, I suppose so." Trucy squealed and applauded delightedly, dragging Miles off toward her bedroom. Of course, the hero was a wizard. Trucy wanted Miles himself to play the wizard, and for Phoenix to play the evil king. It was a rather thrilling story, for a children's book.

As her consciousness dimmed, after a hearty yawn and a lost battle to keep her eyes open, she murmured. "G'night, Daddy. G'night, Uncle Edgeworth. I love you." Phoenix stroked her forehead, with a look of such affection in his eyes that it made Miles's breath hitch. Ah, damn. This was that unfortunate knowledge, that feeling he had been in such denial over for years. He wished he could bury it, but the simple truth of that matter was that, as long as Wright– no, Phoenix, was in his life, Miles would love him. He hoped that somehow, confirming for himself that Phoenix had feelings for Iris would somehow bring him peace of mind.

With Trucy safely tucked in dreamland, the adults were free to have their own time together. Miles poured wine for the two of them, in regular glasses, for Phoenix didn't have wine glasses anymore– he had to sell them to scrounge up money in his brief period of unemployment. It seemed to bring a bit of ease to his demeanor. The two lounged on the couch in satisfied silence for a while, content in one another's company.

But Miles still needed what he came for. "Wright."

"Edgeworth."

"How was your visit with Iris?"

"Really nice. She's a good conversationalist. Even months later, we still have more to talk about. We spent five years apart, and it's not exactly like she got to talk about her childhood while we were dating."

"Does she... err... well... Agh, I cannot beat around the bush here."

Phoenix snorted with that damned smirk. "The last time you tried to put something delicately, you phrased Dahlia's death as, 'her metabolic processes being of interest only to–"

"Yes, Wright, we all know what I said!" he cut in, heat rising to his cheeks and palms becoming ever more clammy. How dare this man have such an effect on him! Letting this anger carry him through the words, he blurted out, "Are you dating Iris again? Or do you intend to?"

He jolted to attention, straightening his spine and cocking his head at Edgeworth in a peculiar way. "No? Why do you ask?"

"You know I am rather unversed in these sorts of affairs. I do not even have an abundance of friends, so I do not know what constitutes a rekindled friendship versus... well, signals. Why have you spent so much more time with her recently?"

"Well... you and Maya are really busy lately, and my law friends are stuck between a rock and a hard place now. Iris is pretty lonely, too. Being held up in the Detention Center with her only familiar face being her witch of an egg donor can feel pretty bleak. And Sister Bikini tries to visit as often as she can, but Hazakura Temple is far, and she's not exactly the image of health. Basically, it's just easy for us to confide in each other and keep each other company. But even though I care about her immensely, I could never love her the way I did in college again. Besides, I– I owe her a lot."

"For protecting Maya?"

"That, yes. I guess a lot of what I owe her for is what I actually owe Mia for, but... I can't exactly thank Mia. Maya hasn't channeled her in months now."

"Explain."

"Because of Iris... because of Dahlia, because of Mia, I was able to fully dedicate myself to becoming a lawyer. I was kind of bullshitting around in high school and some of college, but because of the way that Mia defended me, and because of the way the twins forced me out of complacency, it reminded me of what I wanted to do. I worked my butt off to become a lawyer because I needed to save you. If it hadn't been for them, I don't think I could've worked up the discipline to do it in time."

"Wh-Why?! I don't understand how I was worthy of that! Phoenix, I defended you in one class trial! We were friends, and then when my father died, I completely abandoned you! You were but a fleeting thought in my mind!" He clutched at his own head and couldn't bring himself to look at this man, this one man who would risk life and limb for him every time.

"That wasn't your fault. You know it wasn't. Von Karma wasn't exactly the type of man to let you call up an old buddy. It's just– I was so happy, as a kid, when it was just us and Larry against the world. This might sound dumb, but I always thought you were super cool and brave back then. When I heard about you, the Demon Prosecutor, I thought, 'That can't be Miles.' All the passion in your eyes was gone. You protected me when I was sad and alone and drowning, so I needed to return the favor. If anyone is worthy, it's you, Miles!" In an effort to soothe the troubled soul, Phoenix had gently gripped his wrists, still held tight to his head.

Startled, Miles blinked and lowered his hands. Phoenix didn't let go. In fact, it seemed like the two were getting a bit closer, drawn into one another's orbit. It was like that childhood game where two fingers held apart would invariably move toward one another. "I don't deserve you," he repeated in a near whisper, leaning his head forward to softly bump it against Phoenix's.

Phoenix let out a shaky sigh. "Honestly, I feel the same way. In reverse, I mean. I'm tired, Miles. The world is such a scary place."

"Hey. We've... erm... this is sappy. Apologies if it takes me a moment to get my bearings straight."

"Mhm?"

"Well. We always were better as a team. We can get through any nightmarish scenario, as a team. Nothing has ever stopped us before."

"We really are the best partners, huh?"

Partners. Such a detrimentally unclear word. "Do you ever mention me to her? What do you tell her?"

Phoenix bridged the gulf between them, that seemingly endless canyon that had kept them out of each other's arms for far too long, and suddenly their lips were meeting gently and slowly. Initially, Miles' eyes were wide open in shock, but they soon shut, fluttering softly. Phoenix's lips were slightly chapped but tasted subtly of coconut chapstick. After their first kiss, Phoenix's forehead wrinkled and he smiled before smattering Miles with quick kisses along the side of his face. Miles giggled far more boyishly than he'd ever be comfortable admitting. Soon, they'd wiggled enough so that they were cuddling on the couch.

"Well. That is a burden off my shoulders," Miles commented, voice toned upward airily.

"Good. I never want to be someone who distresses you. Even for the most benign reason."

"It will be okay, Phoenix. We will figure this out. All of it."

"It's a relief to have you right at my side. You're just as brave and cool as you were back then."

"As are you."