Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Midnight found Phoenix Wright still at the Wright & Co. offices, lazily tapping at the keyboard's tall plastic keys, staring blankly at the case files scrolling by on the glass computer monitor. Silver moonlight, full and merciless, stabbed through the cloudless night, chased away only by the golden glow of Phoenix's desk lamp.

It had been a long night preparing for this next case, the odds were stacked against the Defence more than usual this time. It would take everything Phoenix had to win this one and he was determined to stay up all night if he could emerge victorious. He could sleep after that.

Maybe the fog of restless nights was why Phoenix didn't notice the woman in red sitting atop the windowsill, her long, white hair like a bolt of pitiless moonlight. Between two delicate fingertips, she balanced a long cigarette holder like an old-fashioned movie star.

"Hello, Mr. Wright. I see you are a night owl as well."

Phoenix leapt up from his seat, the chair clattering to the ground behind him.

"Who are you? What- how did you get in here?"

The woman took one languorous drag from the cigarette and blew a stream of silver smoke in his direction.

"You are asking the wrong question, Mr. Wright. You are asking who I am and not what I've done."

He waved away the cloud of smoke, willing himself not to cough.

"Fine. What have you done?"

"Did you know that when a person experiences true, euphoric love for the first time, the body creates a completely unique blend of chemicals and hormones that it never will at any other time?"

"Wh-why are you telling me this?"

Another long, slow, unhurried drag of the cigarette. Another noxious, listless cloud of smoke.

"Because that rapturous concoction is the one and only antidote for the poison settling in Mr. Edgeworth's veins right now. Your love alone can save him."

Phoenix's heart dropped into his stomach like a stone, pulse pounding like a sounding bell.

"Wh-what?"

"You have three hours until the poison takes hold and the death of Miles Edgeworth is simply a headline in tomorrow's paper."

"Wait- why are you doing this?"

"Maybe, just maybe, if you succeed, you can try and catch me and bring me to whatever you may call 'justice'. Farewell."

Before he could race towards her, she had already leapt out the window and was gone.

Phoenix's breath was ragged in his lungs, his heart a timpani of terror. A moment passed before he remembered his moments were now precious and few.

"Miles!"

He raced out the door, shouting the man's name into the night.

"MILES!"

Chapter Text

Midnight found Miles Edgeworth wearing a tread in the floor as he gnawed on his thumb in thought. This next case... something wasn't adding up and he wasn't sure of what. He poured himself another glass of red wine, a gift from a client, and took a heady sip.

Phoenix raced through the night, willing himself to ignore the icy grip of the frigid night and the burning in his lungs. No time to call a taxi. No time to waste. Through the twisting alleyways, dodging between idling cars, stumbling up the stone steps, Phoenix only stopped long enough to fumble for his emergency key inside, shoving open the doors, and thrusting himself inside.

"EDGEWORTH!" he roared, his voice echoing against the marble pillars and sounding floor tiles. "EDGEWORTH!"

Finally, he made it back to the office of the man himself, shoving the double doors of Room 1202 open with a reckless push.

"Wright?" Miles cried, his eyes bewildered, "What are you doing-"

His last words were snatched away by a choking in his throat, his heart tearing from his chest, leaving him clutching for purchase. The wine glass in his hand tumbled to the ground, drops of lurid wine staining the wooden floor like blood.

"What- what is happening-!"

"Mi- Edgeworth! I've got you!"

All at once, Phoenix gathered him in his arms, leaving his convulsing form splayed across his lap as they collapsed to the ground. A square of moonlight spotlighted their tragic scene as Phoenix struggled to keep him still in his embrace, the tears already on his cheeks already silvered in the light.

"I've got you."

"I-it... hurts...!" Edgeworth gasped before cursing lowly in German.

"I know, you've been poisoned! A strange woman came to my office and told me that she had done this, she admitted it and everything."

"Well, it seems you will have no difficulty in..." he cringed hard against the pain, "A-avenging... me..."

"That's not going to happen, Edgeworth! You're not going to die!"

"I- I'm not certain I've been... given a choice..."

"There's a cure for it, she said so, but you have to listen to me! I- I love you, Miles!"

"Wh-what...?"

"I love you! I have loved you s-since we were children together. I never stopped loving you!"

"Liebe ist nur für den verdienten, törichten kleinen Spatz bestimmt..." he muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"I don't... deserve it."

"That doesn't matter! You may not love yourself, but that's not your decision to make. It's mine. And I love you."

"I... I... why... are you telling me this?"

"Because it's the truth!"

Phoenix leaned down his forehead to Miles's, tears dropping on his pale cheek as they shook.

"I love you. And you can't stop me."

"I don't... understand... how you possibly could..."

"All you need to do is accept that there's someone in this world who loves you. And that someone is me."

Miles let out an agonizing roar of pain, clutching at his chest and doubling over as the poison made its last stand.

"It's- it's too much!"

"Please, Miles! I love you!" he chanted it like a plea, like a desperate prayer, "I love you, I love you, I love you...!"

It stilled his panting from seething, desperate gasps to low, rhythmic huffs.

"You just said... my name," he breathed, "No one calls me... by my name any more. P-please... say it again?"

"I love you, Miles. I love you so much."

Before he could be stopped, Phoenix leaned in and gently pressed a kiss against his rough-bitten lips, soft and lingering. Miles sounded a shocked cry against his mouth before surrendering to Phoenix's love, returning the kiss with tender affection. At last, they parted, quivering from more than the evening's chill.

"I... I never thought- n-not for someone like me..."

"I love you, Miles," Phoenix replied with a gentle finality.

Exhausted at last, Miles collapsed into a dead faint in his arms, Phoenix's panic only steadying when he felt for the man's pulse beneath his own trembling fingers.

Only asleep. This must have taken a lot out of him, and I don't blame him.

Phoenix began to rise, sliding his arms beneath Miles's knees and supporting his back as he deposited his browsing form on the couch a few steps from the resolute wooden desk. Fetching Miles's trademark crimson coat from the back of his office chair, he gently draped it over him like a blanket, admitting wryly to himself that he had more than once imagined them working on a case late at night together, taking turns napping on this very couch until the sun rose.

Only once he was certain Miles was somewhere safe and resting comfortably did Phoenix collapse to sit on the floor beside the couch in a watchful vigil.

I've never seen Miles so... relaxed before.

The furrow was gone from his anxious brow, his jaw released from its sharp point. Long, slender hands that clenched so easily into fists now lay limp on the couch beside him. Phoenix slipped his own hand into the man's clutch, hoping that even in sleep he knew he was there, refusing to let him wake alone.

Only once he left Miles's side and when daylight finally began to clamber over the hills of the city, ready to dawn with new revelation.

"Maya, it's Phoenix," he murmured lowly into his phone, "When you wake up, call me, okay? We have a new case on our hands."

Chapter Text

For all that Miles wanted to appear as stoic and steady as ever, it was obvious all was not well. He leaned heavily on his desk, the tea sloshing a little in his trembling hand, what colour may have originally been in his pale face long since drained away.

Maya peered up at him with uncertainty.

"...Mr. Edgeworth, are you alright? You look kinda..."

He raised a single eyebrow like a sabre, daring her to continue. It twitched precariously as he glared.

"N-Nevermind...!"

"I assure you I am perfectly well, thank you. Is Gumshoe on his way?"

The door slammed open, a huge, hunched figure filling its entire frame. The surprise startled Edgeworth so suddenly that the tea leapt out of his cup with a violent jerk. It looked oddly dark and fizzy when it hit the wooden floor.

"Oh, uhh, sorry, pal!" the detective mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "Seems I don't know my own strength. Sorry I'm late, I always get lost in all these hallways."

Miles pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to regain a steady heartbeat.

"That's- that's fine. There is reason to believe the culprit was this bottle of wine that was allegedly gifted to me by a client."

"I've got a solution here that will clear things right up!" Gumshoe said, a vial of a colourless liquid in his fingers, "Phoenix told me your symptoms and I narrowed down what kinda poison it coulda been. If there's anything on this here cork, it'll start fizzing up in a jiffy!"

With a pair of forceps, Gumshoe dropped the wine cork into a small zip-top baggie and he squeezed a measure of the solution inside. Before he could seal the pouch and give it a cursory shake, the entire thing erupted into bubbles.

"Well, there ya have it. Were I to guess, the cork was soaked in the poison."

"Is your wine bottle... supposed to look like it's melting?" Phoenix asked, peering at its dripping neck.

Miles sighed.

"Yes, every bottle of that variety of wine is hand-dipped in red wax to seal it. Each bottle is somewhat unique in that way."

"Sir, ya think this wax is kinda unusual?" Gumshoe remarked, rubbing a fleck of the stuff between his fingertips.

"Whoa, it's like it's melting away instantly!" Phoenix said.

Miles quirked an eyebrow.

"That is unusual, they wouldn't use that sort of wax on a bottle that needs to be transported and sit on a store shelf for a long time."

"You're right, it's already smudging!" Phoenix nodded.

"That might indicate that the bottle was resealed by someone who didn't have the right kind of wax on hand. There's also a napkin underneath it that's very...interesting," Miles remarked, sliding it closer with delicate fingertips.

A large blue kiss mark was left behind, secreted beneath the glass bottle.

"Blue lipstick?" Maya wondered, "That's a daring shade!"

Memories of a figure silhouetted in moonlight and a slice of a cerulean smile flashed through Phoenix's brain.

"That's hers, she was wearing that kind of lipstick when she broke into my office!"

"Whoa, the lipstick- it must be pretty expensive!" Maya gasped.

Miles tilted his head to one side, "How do you know that?"

"Cheap makeup is made with lots of oils and filters, it would leave a big smudge or at least a lot of residue spread out on the napkin. More expensive makeup is made with more pure pigments and would stay put, like this!"

"Are there any other clues on it?" Phoenix asked, delicately turning it over with a pair of tweezers, "Aha! A logo! This came from... oh don't tell me."

"Surely you must be joking," Miles sighed.

Phoenix considered making an old movie reference but he suspected it would be lost on this crowd so he simply shook his head.

"Yep. The Gatewater Hotel. Right across the street. Man, they're really playing up this 'true crime' thing. You think they sell special packages to actual aspiring killers?"

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised. What do you suppose we should do?"

"I know!" Maya cheered, "We get some napkins from the hotel and then we go to the expensive makeup store in the city and we see what matches!"

Maya set down what seemed to be a dozen lipstick tubes in various shades of blue, which nearly made Phoenix flinch away. He didn't know they even made that many lipsticks to begin with!

"With the price point we're looking at, it's probably one of these! But you said it was an older lady, though, right?"

"I think so, it was all kind of a blur..."

Maya began to swap and switch, sliding the tubes across the table's surface.

"So it's probably not a newer brand. Women when they get older tend to find a brand they really like and stick with it, so it can't be something that came out recently. It’s gotta be one of these three kinds!"

"Fantastic, we can figure this out quickly and finally be on our way," Miles said, immediately grabbing the trio in his fist.

"Wait- no!"

Without any hesitation, he scrawled the trio of lipsticks in his fist across one of the Gatewater napkins, leaving thick, crayon-like smudges.

"Maya, this looks nothing like the original mark," Miles whimpered, eyes dizzy with confusion.

"Well, yeah, that's because you smeared it on there really heavy. The best way to find out what matches is to repeat the circumstances as closely as we can!"

"You can't possibly mean..."

"It's the only way!"

Phoenix threw his arm around Edgeworth's shoulders and gave him a cheesey grin, waggling his eyebrows, "Yeah, Miles. It's the only way."

The arm was shoved aside as Edgeworth took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Let's get this over with."

"Pucker up, Mr. Edgeworth!"

He screwed his eyes up tight and tried not to think too hard about the strange, sticky stuff being smeared across his face.

Gumshoe shoved his fists in his pockets and hunched his back against the late November chill. Who would want to hurt Mr. Edgeworth? He was such a great guy, helping put the bad guys behind bars, working tirelessly day and night in the name of justice… 

As he passed by the vintage movie theatre, something caught his eye, making him stop.

In the centre of the movie poster was a woman in a long red dress, her hair silver and sleek like a knife. Just behind her, a man in a dark cloak spread sinister arms wide, the fabric of the garment circling her in shadows and setting her starkly apart. Surrounding them both were dozens of crimson candles, their wax dripping like lurid blood.

A woman in a red dress with white hair, Gumshoe wondered to himself. Now that's familiar...

He went to the box office, leaning against the glass with an elbow.

"Hey, pal. What can ya tell me about the movie playin' here today?"

"Oh, uhh, The Phantom of the Music ?" the young man inside asked, cowering a little at Gumshoe's overbearing presence, "It's an old movie about a man who falls in love with an opera singer and kidnaps her to convince her to love him back. It's really famous for old movie buffs, partly because the main actor and actress genuinely fell in love and were married for thirty years!"

Gumshoe whistled lowly.

"That's some true love right there. Do you know the actress's name? Is she still alive?"

"Yeah, she has one of those big mansions in the hills like all the other movie stars but she famously never leaves, not after what happened to her Phantom."

Gumshoe blanched.

"Wh-what happened to him?"

"Maybe two years ago, he was working on a Western movie when the gun he was holding went off and killed someone. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He- he very famously jumped off of the Gates of Gold bridge before the state could carry out their sentence."

"Whoa. You sure seem to know a lot about this!"

"Oh," the young man chuckled nervously, "I just like old movies."

"Ya think I could get a ticket in?"

"I cannot believe I am doing this," Miles grumbled, his petulant, perpetual pout only emphasised by his cerulean lips.

Phoenix's brow furrowed with determination over his azure mouth, "This is important, Edgeworth! We can't let a killer like her go loose!"

Maya threw her arms around them both and grinned a Kool-Aid grin.

"I think you guys look great! Let's get kissing!"

If the two boys shared a crimson blush at that moment, Maya didn't notice, already pressing her mouth to the paper napkin. Miles sighed and the two of them followed suit.

"There! It's the one you're wearing, Phoenix!"

He turned it over to read its label, "'Blue Myself’? That's uhhh... quite evocative."

"I couldn't possibly comment," Miles replied, utterly unamused. 

“If we get ahold of the manager, I bet they can tell us who bought this lipstick last!”

After what felt like an hour, Maya finally flagged down the manager, a cheery woman in her late 30s with a youthful sprinkle of freckles dusted across her nose.

“Can you look in the computer and tell us who bought this kind of lipstick last?” Maya asked.

“This one?” The woman seemed mildly startled, “Oh no, I know all about this particular shade. About once a year, we get the same order, a private delivery to one of the fancy mansions up in the hills. Every year, they order every tube of this exact blue lipstick that we’ve got in stock. All done in secret on a credit card with no name so no one knows who it’s really for, only that they must be pretty wealthy.”

“Why would you say that?” Phoenix asked, scribbling notes in his silver device.

“Well, it’s always on the same Black Centurion card, which is the no-limits credit card fancy rich people have. And the total order comes out to about $600.”

“Six?” Phoenix squeaked.

“HUNDRED?!” Edgeworth roared, his jaw dropping.

Maya tapped thoughtfully on her chin as she pondered a few numbers.

“So that means you must have about ten in stock.”

Phoenix was practically wheezing from the shock, “Who spends sixty dollars on a tube of lipstick?” 

“There isn’t much call for blue lipstick, so yeah, we keep only about ten in.”

“Only?” Edgeworth whimpered.

“This is really helpful, thank you so much!” Maya said to the manager as she waved goodbye, taking the boys with her out the door.

“Let’s hope Gumshoe had a better day of investigating,” Phoenix whined.

Chapter Text

"Hey pal! I think I found your killer lady!" Gumshoe announced with a cheery grin.

In one sharp jerk, the dark movie poster in his hand unfurled, the crimson figure at its centre like a stab from the shadows.

"That's it!" Phoenix cried, "That's her!"

Miles tilted his head to one side, his steely eyes narrowed.

"Anniki Galatea?"

Phoenix was started.

"You know her?"

Miles blushed a little, and tried to avoid everyone’s curious gazes, especially Phoenix’s.

"I- Well- The Phantom of the Music is a classic film."

"And look! She's wearing the blue lipstick, even in this poster!" Maya said.

"Guess it's her signature look..." Phoenix mused. "And she's surrounded by all those candles!"

"Oh yeah, they were all over the movie, I saw 'em in every scene," Gumshoe said.

"Just like the red wax on the wine bottle!"

Miles shook his head.

"That doesn't prove anything at all, it's only a movie."

"What happens in the movie, anyway?"

"Uhh, well, it was hard to follow with all the singing..." Gumshoe mumbled, rubbing anxiously at the back of his neck.

Edgeworth, the only one sitting, crossed his arms and a leg over his knee with a sigh, tapping irritatedly on his elbow. 

"The Phantom kidnaps the singer he loves and takes her to his secret lair beneath the opera house where he already has her lover captured. The Phantom tells her that he poisoned her lover and will only give him the antidote if she confesses her love for him instead.”

“Did- did you just say poison?” Phoenix gulped.

“Indeed.”

“This lady’s go quite the M.O!” Gumshoe proclaimed, “But what’s the motive? I mean, besides…”

“Besides?” Edgeworth asked with rising annoyance. 

“Well, I dunno if this is connected, but two years back, her husband was prosecuted for killing someone but it sounded like an accident, and he was the Phantom in the movie!”

“Was he prosecuted by Edgeworth or someone connected to us?” Phoenix wondered.

“I dunno about that, but does it matter? To some people, you’ll always be tools of the system instead of individual people. Same with cops, honestly. Most people see you as a badge and a uniform.”

“So Ms. Galatea here wants revenge on the new legal system that took her husband’s life,” Edgeworth said, “But why now?”

“Is it the anniversary of something? Maybe her husband’s conviction?” Phoenix pondered.

Maya crossed her arms, brows twitching with irritation.

“No, you morons! What day is today?”

“February… 12th?” Phoenix answered before pulling out his PDA to confirm, “The 13th, actually!”

“So she poisoned Mr. Edgeworth last night, guessed that we would investigate today and track her down and have her arrested for a trial tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, Nick!”

“Okay, okay! Sheesh! It’s not like I’ve really had anything to celebrate in a while…”

If Phoenix’s eyes fell to Edgeworth’s for even a moment, no one reacted.

“So we have a motive, a modus operandi , and a suspect,” Edgeworth listed, “We connected the lipstick clue to an astoundingly expensive brand of makeup as well and it’s delivered under the cover of secrecy to an anonymous mansion in the hills and Ms. Galatea is famously reclusive and wealthy. I believe this would be enough to take her in for questioning.”

He nodded to Gumshoe who stiffened immediately to a salute.

“Y-yes, boss!”

With that, he took off for the door. And silence… dreadful, nauseating silence fell over the room in an all-encompassing hush, so tense it could be sliced clean with a knife.

Maya tried at first to liven things up.

“So, uhh, Mr. Edgeworth did you see the new episode of Pink Prin-”

“No, I did not, and I am not here to engage with any further antics from you two. Perhaps I could encourage you to try to grasp the pleasantness of companionable silence or instead find something useful to do.”

“Antics?!”

Phoenix nudged his knee against hers and nodded towards the kitchenette in the back. Mr. Edgeworth may be choosing to be prickly right now, but they didn’t have to put up with it.

“What’s his problem?” Maya grumbled in a low voice.

Phoenix shrugged as he started to reach for his daily dose of emergency biscuits at the top of the cupboard.

“Beats me. Could be just social batteries running low. Or something’s bugging him. Probably a mix of both, were I to wager a guess.”

In fact, ever since last night when we finally shared our feelings for one another, Miles has been acting really upset. Maybe he just wasn’t happy to feel that vulnerable or to feel any emotions again… I guess it was too soon, but it wasn’t like we had a choice.

“What do you mean, ‘social batteries’?”

He began arranging the shortbread on a trio of little plates as he spoke.

“Some people just don’t have as much energy to be social or be out in public for very long, especially if it’s a new place or has a lot of new stuff going on. Mi- Edgeworth was a lot like that growing up, sometimes he would even wear headphones on our class trips if it was somewhere loud or new.”

“Our trip to the makeup store must have been a lot, huh?”

“Yeah, especially for someone like him and who has never experienced anything like that before.”

Grabbing two cans of Samurai Cola from the fridge, Phoenix headed back out, balancing everything expertly in hand. He set down one of the plates, the sound startling Edgeworth a little, who seemed lost in thought. 

“We’re gonna be in the back office until Gumshoe comes back. Feel free to grab anything you like out of the fridge, and there’s a pot of coffee from this-”

They were interrupted by Phoenix’s work phone ringing. He startled a little seeing the name on the screen.

“Someone from the jail…?” he muttered, half to himself. He set down the other two plates. “Must be a new client. Hey, I gotta take this, you guys!”

“Of course,” Edgeworth nodded.

Something about this was suspicious, though, and Maya was keen on getting to the bottom of it. She locked eyes with Edgeworth, pressed a finger to her lips, and quietly followed Phoenix just inside the open office door.

“...Yes, I understand- of course, all will be handled exactly as it should be. Thank you, Ms. Galatea, I’ll be honoured to lead your defence.”

Maya let out a sharp gasp and raced back into the front room, hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.

“What is it now?” Mr. Edgeworth asked, not even looking at her.

The door slammed open.

“Ohh uhh…sorry. I need to get better about these things,” Gumshoe said before regaining his cheer, “We got ‘er, folks! Ms, Galatea is in our custody!”

“Hooray,” Miles grumbled, as if he’d never had an ounce of cheer to begin with.

“The boys have her in for questioning right now, seems she somehow already got herself a defence attorney and everything, too. Always the rich ones with the lucky breaks, huh? Meanin’ no offence, sir.”

“Have they cordoned off her mansion?” Phoenix asked.

“Yep! Active crime scene a’ brewin’!” Gumshoe replied with a proud grin.

“Why don’t you guys start getting ready to head over, we’ll be right behind you.”

“But-!” Maya started to protest, but Gumshoe’s big hand on her back quieted that.

“Wanna see the inside of a patrol car?” he asked.

“Oooh, I’ve only been in the back of one!”

With that, Miles and Phoenix were alone.

"I wanted to talk to you, Miles, about the trial tomorrow."

Phoenix sat down in the chair beside his and took both of his cold, thin hands in his warm grasp, peering up at him with the gentleness one would give a child. Not that Miles would know.

"I've been asked to be Ms. Galatea's defence attorney."

Miles stiffened, then tore his gaze away, only chancing the occasional glance from the corner of his eye.

"I should have known. And I'm guessing you're taking the case? Foolish. Always protecting those most undeserving of you."

"Now, hold on! That's not why I said yes-"

Edgeworth stood up so violently the chair clattered lightly on its stubby legs.

"I don't need to hear your excuses. I don't know why I expected better from you, and after everything that woman put us through."

His words were only half as cold and piercing as his eyes.

"Good day."

"W-wait, please!"

But Phoenix couldn't get up fast enough. Edgeworth was already gone. His outstretched hand collapsed to a trembling fist at his heart, his lip trembling with unsaid words. He remembered this feeling, as familiar as the return of the chill of winter in his heart. He remembered being told his best friend in the entire world was gone and not coming back. He remembered telling himself as he did now that it was pointless to cry.

“I’m leaving,” Edgeworth growled over his shoulder to whoever may be listening, “I don’t have to deal with this skulduggery if I choose not to.”

"Mr. Edgeworth!" a young voice cried as he shuffled into his coat. "Sir! Please wait!"

Wright's little assistant, as untrained and hopelessly sanguine as her master.

"Don't you have paperwork to file?" he shot over his shoulder.

"Sir, you have it all wrong. He's doing this for you, you know?"

The words stopped him mid-sleeve, but he couldn't know for how long.

"What happens when a defendant claims that they have been improperly defended by their legal counsel?"

"I don't have time-"

"Tell me!"

That got him to turn.

"A mistrial could be declared. The case could be tried again with new attorneys or thrown out entirely on technicality."

"Then why would Phoenix Wright, one of the best defence attorneys, try and defend the woman who hurt you?"

A moment passed, a moment where words didn't materialise.

"I’m sure he thought you would understand. He's putting the absolute best defence together to be sure Galatea is brought to justice. For you."

"Not if he wins."

Instead of waiting for her pithy emotional pleas, Edgeworth pulled up the tall collar of his coat and stepped into the cold.