( but perhaps there's a place for her after all )
Happy Father’s Day, and if you don’t celebrate it I hope you have a great day anyway!
Yes there is a Princess Bride reference here. Edgeworth is a nerd.
I think this takes the position of my longest one-shot.
Also if I haven’t made it clear enough, the Japanese honorifics etc for family is because Kurain was settled by Japanese immigrants and they’re still very traditional, so.
I tried searching for punny shopkeeper names and gave up and named her Circe Jewell.
I did think about doing a companion one to the Mother’s Day one for Verdict. Maybe next year.
This entire fic was planned for approximately four days, full-formed. Mostly. I did not plan for the bear.
Main Points:
Ace Attorney AU (Turnabout Histories)
Summary: Miles and Phoenix travel to Kurain for Maya's ceremony to become the Master, but as usual they discover something unexpected along the way.
Word Count: 4982
Rating: T
SPOILERS for Turnabout Histories
Pairing: Phoenix/Miles or Wright/Edgeworth or Narumitsu
( a place to belong )
( the answer isn't what he expected )
( different paths )
defense attorney (turnabout histories) miles in the steel samurai case. You’d expect him to be a fanboy disaster. But he is 100% focused and so is maya and they manage not to have a million discussions about how we’re meeting will powers this is so cool until after the fact.
But, like, penny doesn’t have the super rare card cody is looking for. They’re briefly stumped, until Edgeworth has an idea. He brings his rarest card to cody, like, that is a treasure, it’s really hard to collect those cards in their tiny town, it’s from a rare printing and mia bought him the pack and, like, there were literal tears in his eyes and he hugged her and everything. It was super emotional. Mia never gets it, even after she’s a ghost.
And cody’s all dismissive, like, “I’ve already got one!”
and miles does his smug smile, the one he does in court that makes phoenix want to punch him, and is like, “yes, but is yours signed by will powers?” because he took a detour to the jail to get it signed.
And then cody goes “wait, you’re giving this to me?”, like, all suspicious, and miles explains that this is a plot to bring down the steel samurai by framing him for murder and if cody doesn’t tell what he knows the evil magistrate will win. And while it’s a heavy loss, he will mourn this lost card, sometimes those who fight for justice have to make sacrifices for the greater good (like, he mentions a specific episode and probably actually quotes the show, the nerd).
( Let us move forward; don't look behind. )
( Part VI )
Phoenix Wright was a man of many surprises. Edgeworth certainly hadn’t expected him to be so thorough, nor to choose the activities he had. Caroling was an activity that was…well, more old-fashioned, more ‘upper class’, than he would have thought Wright was aware. At least Larry had declined to show up, since he thought caroling would be ‘lame’ and was busy with his new girlfriend anyway. If it hadn’t been so depressing, Maya had admitted she’d been considering a betting pool on the next time a girlfriend would end with Larry on trial for murder once more. Edgeworth believed the less time spent thinking about Larry, the better.
It’d been a long time since he’d allowed himself to sing in public, and it was remarkable that he was still fairly good. Phoenix, again, was unexpected, with a large vocal range, an enthusiasm (which was more expected), and at least some actual knowledge of music (which was astonishing, considering the idiocies he’d perpetrated on Gregory Edgeworth’s piano). Maya was…well, she had enthusiasm and managed to not be utterly discordant. With all the chanting back in Kurain, you’d have thought she would have learned more, but then, she was very good at not paying attention when she was bored. Pearls was amazing even though she did not know all the words, or indeed many of them. Gumshoe was awful until it was suggested that he should provide backup tones, rather than trying to sing the songs themselves. Maggie, as was suspected, was a decent singer, though walking between houses was as dangerous for her as was anything else, really.
Ice skating. He found himself getting annoyed, frustrated, even angry, but Maya and Phoenix managed to calm him down, and once he actually was calm it came back to him. Childhood memories, even a very similar smile and “Stop showing off, Miles!” when he skimmed past with ease as Wright is still trying to get away from the side of the rink properly.
The day of Christmas shopping is the worst. He half suspects that it’s mostly for Phoenix’s benefit and the man hadn’t known what to buy him. Still, he puts up with it for Wright’s sake, because the man had been patient and helpful enough before now. Larry shows up (Edgeworth is half convinced the words ‘free food’ summon the man like some sort of arcane ritual), and Maya’s certainly not complaining about stopping at random food carts herself. Halfway through, Phoenix notices how overwhelmed he is by the crowds, and buys him a decent cup of coffee and leaves him in the half-deserted food court. It’s a gesture Edgeworth appreciates.
There’s apparently a cookie decorating contest later, and Phoenix is babbling something about a gingerbread house court competition between prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, bailiffs, anyone else involved in the courtroom (for which Edgeworth’s already considering recreating the courtroom, if it really is going to happen, because simple houses are nothing but mundane, ordinary) when he returns, filling in the silence with comforting noise. Edgeworth would be utterly unsurprised that a snowball fight is scheduled for later, and is startled by the smile that appears on his face. By his friend’s expression, Phoenix is shocked too.
“What?”
“Thank you for this. You’re managing another turnabout, it seems.” Phoenix has relaxed upon seeing that he wasn’t aware of the specifics, even though he knew something was happening. And it’s more relaxing personally, not having to pretend anymore.
Phoenix smiles. “You're welcome, Miles.”
“Get your coat. We’re going out.” All right, it’s not much of a start, but Phoenix wants to keep it a surprise for as long as possible. It’s not out of the question that he’s a coward, and staving it off as long as possible isn’t a means of increasing the suspense as much as it is not having to face the disappointment, or worse when it’s meant, when words bite deep, ridicule of a childhood friend.
All Edgeworth has to do in response to that statement is raise an eyebrow, and Wright flushes. “Geez, Edgey, you’re such a jerk sometimes.”
The twitch of a smile shows that Miles is playing games again, and he holds up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, Phoenix.”
Phoenix usually isn’t the one reading people easily, but he knows the hesitance is Edgeworth realizing he’s still in his pajamas. He places warm trousers and a long-sleeve shirt beside the man. “Maya wants to go to a few holiday things, and she’s a bit of a handful on your own. I’ve been dealing with her for a while, but I’m somewhat exhausted. I don’t think I could keep up by myself.”
The eyes narrow. He knows it’s a change from his earlier behavior, but on the other hand there’s no way he can retain his early behavior and pull this off. Still, without a word he takes the clothes and heads toward the nearest bathroom.
When he comes out, he looks almost human. The utter exhaustion shows on his face, but there’s a strength there that he hasn’t seen in ages. Even the ironic, somewhat haughty look in the eyes had been absent. It was something that Phoenix had never thought he’d say, but he’d missed it. In fact…the gaze is so knowing, that…
“Miles. Do you know what’s been going on?”
“Really, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the man states quietly, but there’s just the slightest hint of amusement in the face, somewhere.
Yes, the old Miles Edgeworth is still in there somewhere, in all his annoying competence. Still, it’s still his friend in there, too. The soft, grateful smile is enough to make it all worthwhile.
~Dreamer~
Edgeworth prides himself on his observational skills. It’s helped him solve many cases, kept him alive. He has other traits that he likes less, but in general it’s very difficult to keep a secret from Miles Edgeworth.
That’s why he’s shocked it took him this long, and pleasantly surprised at how motivated Wright must have been to bring it this far.
Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t Gumshoe who let the secret slip, despite his clumsiness potentially serving as a clue that something was going on in the first place. (Edgeworth still isn’t sure whether that was a partial truth Phoenix offered or if it just served as an excuse. It is highly plausible if nothing else.)
Honestly, it’s Larry that serves as the biggest clue. Despite his atrocious taste in garments, the man didn’t usually make a habit of ugly Christmas sweaters, yet here he was, more often than normal, tracking in mud and almost everything else, nearly breaking through Edgeworth’s apathy by his presence. In the end, though, Edgeworth remains in place on the couch. Maya takes Pess for the necessary walks, with none of her usual complaints in sight. After a little while, Phoenix had begun to fall asleep, utterly exhausted, when he joins Edgeworth, a silent pillar of support, late in the night. Of course, dealing with Larry is exhausting in itself, never mind taking on multiple cases (which Edgeworth suspects, though the man never talks about them), but it’s hardly the only thing that’s weighing on Phoenix’s mind. Normally, the man is extremely chatty about his problems, to the point of good-naturedly complaining, but none of that is obvious here. Of course, he could just be reading his friend’s mood, but when Larry of all people is suddenly uncommunicative, even when he’s there all the time—that speaks of conspiracy.
Christmas decorations appear, seemingly overnight. A catalogue had been left, seemingly by accident, but when Phoenix had seen him actually reading it suddenly it became a rather common mistake. The one day he could drag himself upright to make the Christmas cookies, he’d noticed that some of the baking sheets and cake pans hadn’t been put back properly, but given that the house hadn’t been burned down and they’d actually been cleaned properly (or very nearly), he decided not to say anything.
He suspected the truth, that Phoenix had taken it into his heart to give him a Christmas to remember, and to that end had recruited everyone he could think of to do so. Given Wright’s tendency to pick up strays, it’s not especially surprising, that he’d managed to get what amounts to a small army for such a silly cause, that man capable of turning a silly, lost cause into the latest win. The last evidence for the court would be a confession from the man himself, but for the first time in a long while, Miles finds himself feeling just the slightest bit…alive, this month. It’s worth the price of his silence, this time.
It’s early in the late-December stage that Edgeworth begins suspecting something’s going on. Phoenix walks in and nearly changes the channel. (He hasn’t learned the pattern yet, but he’ll get enough evidence shortly.)
“I’m watching that,” Miles states in a growl, barely looking up from his laptop. He’s exhausted, but doesn’t want to fall asleep. Nightmares are even worse when there are others in the house. With Maya on the other side of the house, and not even all the time, he’d gotten to the point concealing it wasn’t an issue, but Wright often saw more than he was anyone supposed.
“Sorry.” Phoenix is taken back, probably because it’s been a while since Edgeworth has been that rude.
Miles is tired. Tired of the month, already, tired of this, this weakness that he can’t seem to shake no matter how hard he tries.
He massages his forehead. “It’s all right.” It’s the Steel Samurai Christmas Special. It’s both one of his favorite and least favorite episodes. The first couple were all right, but this one feels personal on a level that never fails to touch his heart even as it puts him on edge. The nemesis has banned celebrations that are suspiciously Christmas-like, despite the timeframe. The Steel Samurai is pulled into helping out the village and celebrating in secret. Even the good hearted hero is a little impatient, finding this a waste of his time, until he gets to see the joy on the faces of the children. This episode is one of a few (in the latest season) that has the music of a famous musician, Klavier Gavin (whoever that is).
Phoenix joins him cautiously on the couch, earning a slight smile. “Von Karma is the real life version of the Evil Magistrate,” Edgeworth states, refusing to look at his friend. “I identify, perhaps a little much sometimes, but it helps to see that someone else has overcome, so I may do so as well.” He knows that Phoenix will be looking for all the similarities now, but if he’d just kept that a secret, well, that would hardly have helped either.
Phoenix opens his mouth to comment, but a crash interrupts him, and he blushes a little, looking utterly sheepish. “Gumshoe mentioned something about moving things around. Maybe I should go check on him, make sure nothing’s broken.”
“Phoenix, would you do me the honor of not lying to me? Thank you.”
The guilt mixes with fondness on Wright’s face, and he spares a goofy grin before running off at top speed.
( Part III )
( Part II )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeasmymeasure