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Back when Phoenix and Miles were nine years old, they at first didn't really notice the other, until the class trial. Miles had been proud of his knowledge of the law, and he admired the passion in his father's eyes whenever he had talked about work.
To be able to be just like Gregory was a dream come true, even if it was “just” a class trial.
And after justice had been served, Phoenix didn't stop trying to talk to Miles.
At first, Miles had tried to get away from him. Hiding in a corner in the library every break, asking a random person in their class to work on their assignments together during partnered classes and ignoring his usual routine after class by just throwing his stuff into his back before sprinting home. But after a while, he knew he had to give up.
Getting to know Phoenix came with a lot of surprises. Phoenix was a very lively and loud kid, who more than once complained about being called careless and being accused of jumping into conclusions. But he could also be quiet and careful, if he wanted to be. He noticed whenever Miles was upset or sad, asking him what was wrong and tried to either give advice or just listened to him, shielded him from others pestering him about school work or his choice of clothing… Or took care whenever everything around Miles had felt too much and needed a break.
For the first time, he had let someone outside his family be near him, and he appreciated it.
But then his father passed, and he had to leave Phoenix for good, and both his dreams, world views and feelings had changed. Everything had changed, and to Miles, nothing really mattered.
Edgeworth’s grief and trauma made him cut out his past completely, trying to forget everything that once was and didn't plan on confronting it anytime soon.
After being able to avoid everything for 15 years, seeing Wright on the other side of the courtroom was… unexpected. This time though, he didn't feel regret or grief only. His heart was speeding up, and his breath hitched the first time he had laid his eyes on the now adult Wright, catching himself immediately before anyone could notice. And his presence distracted him. Sure, Edgeworth had the trial perfectly prepared, he had his traps for the defense and enough experience in the courtroom.
But he was still distracted, and then lost, blaming himself, his stupid feelings and thoughts and most importantly, Wright for suddenly appearing in front of him.
Then Lana Skye denied his request to not assign him cases Wright was involved in and gave him the next case Wright was going to work with.
And worst of all, he couldn't properly think about the upcoming trial, Wright stealing both his productive time at work and sleep.
So, he tried to take matters in his own hands, trying to tell Wright to stay away from him right after the trial had ended.
He had avoided all feelings and thoughts of his past for 15 years, and he wouldn't let himself be caught by them now.
Edgeworth never really thought that he was ever going to stand in the clothing store, making none other than the Phoenix Wright play dress-up for him. But here they were, after waking up in the same bed, deciding today would be a great day to go out shopping, and having dinner reservations for the evening.
“Edgeworth, I don’t know… don’t you think the waistcoat is too much?”
Wright left the dressing room and spun, trying to show off the suit Edgeworth had picked out for him. After seven years, Wright was finally allowed back into the courtroom as a defense attorney, and after arguing about how his old suit was still fitting him, he finally shut his mouth the moment he tried it on and it ripped.
“No, Wright.” Edgeworth walked towards Wright, adjusting the suit a little before resting his hands on top of his shoulders. “You look perfect.”
Wright blushed at that, something that had never changed about him, and tried to hide his face. Edgeworth smirked at that, before letting his hands slide down to his waist.
“It fits you perfectly.”
“Alright alright, enough with the compliments, geez”, Wright finally said, trying to push the prosecutor away from him. Instead, he was pushed to Edgeworth's side, making them both look into the mirror in the changing room Wright was in.
It had been over 20 years since they first met, and almost 10 since they met again in the courtroom. Edgeworth had thought a lot about their meetups and still couldn’t believe so much had happened to both them together, and to them by themselves. They both grew a lot, both physically and mentally. They’ve both had their ups and downs, in their private lives or at work, alone and together.
And yet, they were both standing side by side, holding the other's hand.
“Hey, Phoenix?”, Miles murmured. Phoenix squeezed his hand, showing that he did hear him.
“Let’s visit my father today.”
It was quiet between them for a second, before Phoenix looked at Miles, a little surprised. “Are you okay with that?”, he asked carefully. Miles never had been able to actually visit his father after the funeral.
At first, he just couldn’t handle the grief and shut down.
When he became a ruthless prosecutor, he was scared that Gregory would have been disappointed in him and wouldn’t want to see him.
In the end, after he figured his feelings and thoughts out, he was too scared to go at all.
He had struggled to accept the past, all his feelings and thoughts and memories, denying all to reach him until he actually couldn’t cry anymore, only to have Phoenix intentionally stepping back into his life, and in true Wright fashion causing a mess in his head and heart.
But to now see himself in the mirror, with his past, present and future literally standing right next to him…
Miles nodded.
“I’m confident.”
And as they stood there, Miles, mesmerized by the picture the mirror gave him, suddenly asked “Did we change that much over the years?”
“I don’t know”, Phoenix replied with a soft smile on his face.
“I mean, I’ve been disbarred, adopted Trucy and spent the last 7 years playing piano and playing poker. And look, I’ve got a few grey hairs already too, while you’ve started wearing glasses, which, by the way, suit you a lot. You look gorgeous.”
He smiled.
“So, I don’t know, did we?”
Then Phoenix raised their intertwined hands and pressed a kiss right onto Miles’ ring finger.
“Or did we maybe just go to the place we were always meant to be in?”