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In the week before Christmas of 2029, Phoenix received Miles’ call at the most ungodly hour. The Steel Samurai theme, which Phoenix hadn’t bothered to change since the day Maya changed it in 2017, blared out in the blissful silence of Phoenix’s house at 8 am. For his part, Phoenix’s plans to sleep in were abruptly disrupted. Groaning awake after some deliberation to let the call go unanswered, he picked up the phone and grumbled a sleepy “Hullo?”
“Morning, Phoenix. I hope I didn't interrupt something important.” Miles sounded mildly amused. He definitely knew he was interrupting Phoenix’s sleep.
“Yes. Stop being an ass and let me go back to bed.” Phoenix yawned and fell back onto the pillow. Despite his mood regarding Miles’ call, it was good to hear from his boyfriend.
“Couldn’t you wait until you’re here to talk? I’m flattered, babe” Phoenix smirked. He chuckled as he heard Miles sputter on the other side.
“B-Babe? I- Phoenix Wright, th-this isn’t the time to flirt!” Miles sounded indignant, but Phoenix could hear the sly smile on his face. Oh, did he love Miles so much.
“Well, I had to get some payback for waking me up at 8 am!” Phoenix mock grumbled into the phone, a smile on his face. “How was the prosecutors’ conference?"
“Boring. Atrocious. I thought I would learn something interesting from the gathering of various countries’ prosecutors but turns out, a significantly large portion of them tend to just serve the interests of the state machinery. I don’t blame them but……” Miles launched into a long explanation about morality, some philosophies underlying the prosecutorial profession, and how literally no one had even bothered to even read them. Phoenix sighed, content on hearing Miles’ voice go on about a topic that he was passionate about.
Despite the initial ups and downs of their relationship, Phoenix definitely appreciated the timing in which it had blossomed. He had proposed to Miles sometime after the Bar Association had allowed him to take the bar exam again. Miles was right by his side and lost no time in bringing in the textbooks and mock papers, even showing up with detailed weekly plans for Phoenix. Their first few dates usually ended with both of them sitting down at the Wright Anything Agency office and going over law concepts for the exam. Phoenix still remembered the proud look on Miles’ face when he passed the bar for the second time. Something about Miles had softened over the years, a change that Phoenix would always be in awe of.
“.....And then the flight gets delayed, because we’ve been caught in what they’re calling a ‘flash snowstorm’..”
Phoenix sits up, his reverie broken “Wait, hold up, are you stuck in Munich right now? Is everything alright?”
There was a pause while Miles coughed lightly.
“Ah, yes, well……Phoenix, I have something to say.”
Phoenix sensed the seriousness in his tone and propped himself up on his elbow.
“Nothing too bad, I hope. Are you okay? Is Franziska okay as well?”
“Yes, yes, I’m safe and so is Franziska. We’re currently losing our minds being stuck in our hotel room.” Phoenix chuckled at the image of Miles and Franziska being snowed in. “It’s just that…..” Miles trailed off, clearly nervous.
“What is it?” Phoenix goaded gently.
“I might not be home in time for Christmas, this year.”
“Oh” Phoenix’s heart sank, his plans for the holiday deflating faster than a balloon.
Miles nervously cleared his throat again.
“Will you be alright, Phoenix? I promise I’ll be back for the New Year.” Miles’ voice was gentle, but still tinged with nervousness. Phoenix sighed, trying to come to terms with the delay.
At least Miles was communicating, which was a good sign on his end. They both had initially struggled to communicate the basics; plans to go out, feelings, troubles…..a good many things which led to major conflicts in the past.
Any person on the outside looking in could say that Phoenix and Miles were destined for each other. That person would have been horribly wrong. It certainly felt as though they had fallen into a relationship that was a long time coming. However, the minute they put a name to whatever dance of debt and repayment they were doing before, things got more complicated. Suddenly, they weren’t just having each others’ backs as friends, they were sharing each other's lives in ways they hadn’t before. That brought with it quirks, irritations, and more bickering.
Although Maya said that nothing had changed with regards to that, Phoenix was annoyed at Miles at least 3 times a week when they started dating, which was definitely more than seeing him in court on a regular basis. He was never going to let Miles live down the time when he had left the house without a word, leaving only an ominous stick-it note on the fridge simply saying “Leaving”. Phoenix’s resulting doom spiral was in part handled by a relatively calm Trucy, and by Miles coming back with groceries. In retrospect, Phoenix and Trucy had a good laugh over the incident (to Miles’ never ending embarrassment), but in his heart of hearts, the thought of Miles leaving still terrified Phoenix to no end. Three years of their relationship had mellowed out the two of them, as they learned to just be around each other.
This year’s Christmas, however, was supposed to be special. Phoenix had finally felt that he had his life together and was back in the courtroom, Miles was in his 3rd year of being Chief Prosecutor, Trucy was going to college for a degree in theater, and the Wright Anything Agency had two extraordinarily talented employees. Phoenix glanced at his bedside drawer, his thoughts drifting to the gift he hid there. He could wait until the new year…..but would he?
Phoenix wasn’t able to shake the disappointment in his voice.
“I’m not going to lie, I was really looking forward to seeing you be the life of the party this year.”\
Miles chuckled at the quip “Life of the party? I’m a wallflower at best and intend to remain that way."
“Yeah, well, I like admiring this wallflower, so it’s all the more reason for me to mope about you not being here.”
Miles’ voice was serious again.
“Really, Phoenix, are you sure you’ll be alright till I’m back?”
“Heh, I’m-” Phoenix stopped as he heard Miles groan (and possibly roll his eyes) from the other side.
“I’m always All Wright. Ha!” Phoenix chuckled at his own pun.
“Phoenix…..” Miles sounded unconvinced.
Phoenix softened his voice, reassuring him. “Don’t worry, Miles, it’s fine. Just focus on staying safe.”
Miles sighed.
“I’ll do that. As much as I loathe to miss this years’ Christmas with you, I guess I’ll have Franziska with me.” Miles paused.
“Take care of yourself, dearest”
Phoenix’s breath caught in his throat at the endearment. Oh, Miles was really playing up the dearest game to win him over.
“And Give all my love to Trucy.” Miles added.
“Always. Love you, Miles.” Phoenix nodded, feeling a slight pang as he cut the call.
He leaned back into the pillow, intending to sleep again. He closed his eyes, but all he could think and feel was a sense of disappointment weighing him down. He tried to not feel so, but his body seemed to have other plans.
Sighing, he dragged himself off the bed to make himself and Trucy some breakfast. His mind was running faster than a frenzied horse, which meant his sleep had vanished entirely.
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Trucy walked into the living room with a bright “Good Morn-oh” She stopped on seeing Phoenix, a coffee in his hand and chewing broodily on a toast.
She raised an eyebrow.
“I thought we were doing Super-Stackable-Super-Fluffy-Secret-Recipe-Pancakes today?”
“Morning, Truce.” Phoenix leaned his head towards the kitchen counter “I got the batter ready, didn’t want to get started without you.”
“And you? You’re not having any?” Trucy took out the pan and placed it on the stove. Phoenix shook his head. Trucy frowned. Phoenix stopped mid chew and sighed.
“Fine, maybe just one”
He got up from the table and fished out a spatula from the drawer.
Trucy’s face lit up with a smile as she turned to take out pancake toppings. Phoenix poured the batter and let it cook for a bit.
“Alright, what’s going on, Daddy? Are you okay?” Trucy asked, a concerned look on her face as she settled on the counter. “You never refuse pancakes on Super-fluffy pancake day.”
Phoenix sighed. “Well, Miles called in the morning to tell me that he’s stuck in Germany, because of a snowstorm and all I can think about is how much longer I have to wait until he’s back!” Phoenix threw up his hands.
“I mean it’s a snowstorm. Uncle Miles really cannot risk that kind of weather. You’re brooding again, dad.” Trucy pointed a fork at him. “We gotta magic that spiral away, like whoosh!” She waved the fork around like a magic wand.
Phoenix chuckled.
“It’s going to be fiiiiiiiine, Daddy. You’re getting anxious over something not in your control. Even if Uncle Miles is not able to make it, we’re definitely going to have the greatest fun there is!” she said,
“I know, Truce. It’s just…. I thought things were stable, you know?”
Trucy went silent for a minute, nodding in agreement. She leapt off the counter and gently hugged Phoenix. He patted her hair.
“Christmas this year was supposed to be different. Everyone was going to be here, and it would have been such a great time to prop…..” Phoenix trailed off, his eyes twinkling at the thought of the surprise he had planned. “Oops.” he smirked.
Trucy caught his meaning quickly and gasped, looking up at him “Dad, don’t tell me you were going to-”
Phoenix shushed her “You have not seen or heard me say this at all”
Trucy laughed. “Can’t guarantee my silence!” She clapped her hands together excitedly. “But this is great news! It’s about time as well, I can’t stand you two dancing around the topic.” Trucy rolled her eyes and stopped, her wide smile frozen on her face.
Wait a minute……did Trucy have a similar conversation with Miles before?
“Did you just……” Phoenix slowly turned to look at her in the face.
“Nope! You heard nothing, haha!” Trucy’s smile was cheeky, her stage persona quickly turned to its maximum possible level.
Phoenix decided to let it go and not pry. After all, it might have just been an innocuous question Miles would have asked her. Future planning, probably. For sure, it was nothing.
But if it wasn’t…….oh boy, did Phoenix have questions for Trucy.
He flipped the now thick pancake over onto her plate. “Anyway, I hope you won’t leak this to Pearls yet. She’d be all over my case.”
Trucy’s smile was still wide. Too wide.
“No can do!”
Phoenix sighed dramatically and turned to add more batter to the pan.
Oh boy.
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Christmas Eve arrived within the blink of an eye. Phoenix had thrown himself into doing post trial paperwork for Apollo and Athena’s recent trials, trying to focus on finishing work over indulging his anxiousness.
Apollo stared at him as he furiously typed away at the documents. His expression clearly read ‘Am I imagining things or is Mr Wright actually working? On PAPERWORK?’. Athena too, stared in equal dumbfoundedness.
“He’s going to set that keyboard on fire. Look at him, Athena, have you ever seen this shh-”
“I can hear you, Apollo.” Phoenix shot him a look and went back to obsessively typing.
Apollo smirked “Consider this: Maybe I wanted you to hear me.”
Athena chuckled at Apollo’s quip. “It’s really cool watching you do paperwork, boss! Maybe you should do this more often!”
Apollo ribbed back “Betcha that it won’t last past the new year, huh, Mr Wright?” Phoenix didn’t answer and instead finished his work with a whoop.
“Alright! We’re done here!” Phoenix steepled his fingers and gazed at Apollo and Athena. “I’ve sent the paperwork to both of your emails.” He looked at their shocked faces. “What? You guys can leave for your break. Merry Almost Christmas!” Phoenix chuckled as he booted down his computer.
“Didn’t know it took the holiday for you to do paperwork, Mr Wright.” Apollo stacked a few papers back into his desk. He locked it up and grabbed his bag. “Anyway, see you at the party tonight!”
“Hold it! I thought you were going to drop me to the bus stop!” Athena pointed an accusatory finger at Apollo, who had his hand on the door, ready to dash out.
“Ah, well, change of plans, Klavier picking me up today.” Apollo seemed desperate to hide the subsequent blush. Phoenix pointedly ignored this but saved the detail to tease him about on a later date.
Athena was still wrapping up her belongings. She paused for a moment. “Oh hey, boss! Mind if I ask you something?”
Phoenix, who was trying to organize some papers into the right files, looked up at her. “Uhuh, go ahead.” He looked back down and continued to organize the files. His mind was already fixated on getting back home and getting some shut eye, before he had to prepare his tiny apartment for the onslaught of people. He wished Miles was with him, he could really use his meticulous planning habits to keep Phoenix grounded. Without Miles the party planning fell onto him, Maya, Trucy, and Pearls. It felt……overwhelming.
Athena seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Well, I just wanted to ask- have you been okay?”
Phoenix paused, an excuse ready to wave away her prying question. “Athena, have you been using the mood matrix again?” he chuckled “Now, I thought we had a policy on using it on co-”
“Oh no, I didn’t need the Mood matrix to know this. You’ve been nervous all week. And you’re never really nervous when it comes to Christmas parties, so it’s not that.”
Phoenix chuckled nervously. “It’s nothing a nap wouldn’t help, Athena. I appreciate your concern, but I think-”
Phoenix was cut off by the Steel Samurai theme blaring out from his ancient phone. He shot Athena an apologetic look and saw the caller ID. It was Maya. He took the call.
“Heeyyyyy, Maya, if you’re looking for the key to the apartment, it’s with me, and you’ll have to wai-”
“Uhh, no, I’m not at the apartment. I wanted to call you over to Gourd Lake.”
Phoenix paused. “Why?”
There was a brief pause and a shuffle over the line. “Oh, you know, your co-workers have informed me that you’ve been pretty tense this week.”
Phoenix raised an eyebrow and turned to Athena, who was seemingly not meeting his eyes as she packed her bag. Phoenix did, however, notice the ghost of a smile on her face.
If there was one thing Athena was bad at, it was hiding plans for ‘pranks’. Phoenix had a weird feeling about this situation. Just how many members of his closest circle were in on some kind of conspiracy?
“I’m coming there, Maya. But I swear if this is some sort of weird prank you have planned-”
“Oh shut up and get your butt here already!”
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Phoenix’s feet couldn’t stop as he briskly walked in the direction of Gourd Lake. His mind was occupied with thoughts of why Maya would call him there, and whether he could hope it was nothing prank related.
Knowing Maya, it definitely had something to do with a prank. Phoenix knew Maya had a propensity to get bored fast, and in those situations, her favorite brain to pick was his. Not that he was remotely annoyed at her, in fact, he probably needed the company. Just……not the pranks.
Phoenix walked straight to the lakeside. The winter had set in and the trees around the lake had laid bare. Couples, families, and dog walkers walked on the paths at different paces. The park seemed somewhat empty, owing to the holiday. Phoenix took in the crisp air as he slowed his brisk pace to a stroll.
A cold wind blew in his direction. Phoenix shivered as he wrapped his coat a little tighter around himself. Maya had told him to meet her at the only gazebo in the park. He noticed someone already standing there, someone with unmistakable gray hair, someone who said that he would not be there.
Phoenix gasped.
“Miles? What-” Phoenix couldn’t breathe. Instead, his jaw dropped open, an expression of absolute dumbfounded joy.
“Oh Phoenix, you should have brought a scarf.” Phoenix did not get over his shock fast enough to notice a pink scarf draped around his neck and how close Miles had come to him.
“Miles……” Phoenix breathed. “H-how? When did you-”
Miles cupped Phoenix’s face gently. His gloved hands warmed Phoenix’s cheeks.
“It was……unconventional to say the least. Although I was grateful that the blizzard had subsided enough for Franziska and I to leave Munich ”
Phoenix paused, thinking about how in the world they’d have made it out of a blizzard.
“Don’t tell me it was snowmobiles.”
Miles stayed silent, a smile playing on his face. “They may have been involved at one point.”
Phoenix snorted, bursting into loud laughter. The thought of Miles and Franziska on a single snowmobile, making their way through the snow packed streets was hilarious.
“Was it your idea or Franziska’s?”
Miles opened his mouth to say something when someone behind them cleared their throat loudly.
“If you fools are done canoodling, I’d very much like to get to the point of our gathering here.” There was a snicker nearby and Maya’s voice saying “Ugh, yes, this is getting too sappy.”
Phoenix laughed as he turned around to see Maya and Franziska, walking into the gazebo ,with Pearls and Trucy giggling right behind them. Pearls ran up to him and gave him a hug. “Mr Nick! Happy almost Christmas!”
Phoenix chuckled and hugged her back, somewhat confused.
“Uhhhh, I love this gathering, guys, but I’m so lost right now! I wasn’t told why we’re here…….except for maybe-”
“Phoenix”
Phoenix turned around to see Miles on one knee, a hand stretched out to hold his. Phoenix’s eyes widened.
“You’ve got to be-HOLD IT” Phoenix began to choke up. “I-”
“Shhhhh Phoenix, just let me have my say.” Miles took a deep breath. For a while, silence fell over the group, save for the sniffles that Phoenix tried (and failed) to suppress.
“Phoenix, you’ve been the shining star to the lost soul that I was-” Phoenix opened his mouth to say something “for a long time, I sincerely thought that I didn’t deserve your love in my life” Miles looked like he was about to weep. Taking a deep breath again, he continued.
“I don’t know how many times I’ll say this, but I will absolutely say it with conviction every time- you saved me. Quite literally. The manner in which you did as well……..I am still and will forever be in awe. But more than that, you showed me what justice is, and even further than that, you showed me what love is.”
“You took a chance on a child who spent his life in fear and gave him closure. You took all that fiery, brilliant passion and defended me. I will easily say that I’ve loved you forever, since I had seen you that day in class, but truly I had come to realize that I had fallen headfirst for you when you pushed past my-” Miles chuckled a little “-Foolish decision to admit my guilt to my f-father’s death.”
Phoenix sniffed a little, and not from the cold.
“For all the trials life has thrown at you, you’ve prevailed. And……I understand, I had some role in hurting you as well.” Phoenix made a small indignant noise “ Somehow, to me, your passion does not just shine in the courtroom……..it is a passion for life itself.”
“Miles, I-”
Miles squeezed his hand gently and brought out a jewelry box. Opening it, he presented it to Phoenix. The ring that lay in the box gleamed brightly, a ruby the color of Phoenix’s work tie, and MIles’ suits nestled in between two small diamonds.
“The prosecution has a proposal for the defense. Phoenix Wright, will you grace my life with your brilliance for the rest of our lives? Will you…….” Miles trailed off, a blush forming on his face “Will you marry me?”
Phoenix closed his eyes, taking in Miles’ speech. A few stray tears escaped him. This moment was the culmination of his wildest dreams. If he was younger……he’d have been ecstatic beyond comparison almost immediately. But now, almost 10 years’ worth of their relationship weighed on him. It had been 10 years of being rivals across the courtroom, of supporting each other, of sweet bickering and dancing around the idea of ‘settling down’. He was overwhelmed with so much love for this man who had stubbornly clung to his morals, and had stood steadfastly by his side in some of the darkest moments in his life. Phoenix watched in awe as all his efforts to simply contact Miles turned into a companionship that blossomed, with all that Miles had gone through. It was the change, in both themselves as well as their relationship, that brought them to this point. Phoenix was ready to bawl his eyes out at the surge of emotion that had built up in his chest, emotion that threatened to spill out at any second.
“Phoenix? Are you-”
“Miles, yes.” Phoenix breathed, finally. His chest was still clenched as he opened his eyes, as he sniffled loudly.
Miles’ hands shook as he slipped a beautiful magenta coloured ruby ring onto Phoenix’s finger. Phoenix took thirty whole seconds to register the moment and was overwhelmed as Miles, tears in his eyes, held both his hands and stood up.
A cheer rose up from Maya, Pearls, and Trucy. Franziska walked up to the two and pat Miles on the back, while smiling lightly.
“You foolish fools, you’ve finally done it.”
Phoenix could not hold back anymore. He threw his arms around Miles’ neck and kissed him on his cheek as he nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Tears spilled out of his eyes with abandon.
“Oh Phoenix, I didn’t know-”
“Sh-Shhhh Miles, I’m just feeling the moment.”
“Hm.” Phoenix could feel Miles shake a little as he held him.
Maya reached out and shook Phoenix’s arm gently.
“Did Edgeworth really bowl you over so fast that you forgot everything?” saying this, Maya slipped Phoenix’s ‘secret gift’ into his hand. Phoenix gasped and broke away from Miles.
Phoenix quickly opened the box, exhibiting the sapphire laden ring as he got down on one knee.
“Miles, I-”
“You fools are taking too long, Maya and I could have had our honeymoon by the time you two even started planning your wedding.” Franziska said with a good natured scoff. Maya looked as though she was about to swoon at the implication of their potential marriage as she grabbed Phoenix’s arm (to his chagrin).
“Nick, Nick, you have to be fast about this, I need to start planning!”
Phoenix blinked for a minute, but gently took Miles’ hand into his as he carefully slipped the ring onto his finger. Miles blushed furiously, but a soft smile played on his lips. Phoenix pulled him into a hug.
Trucy let out an excited whoop as she rushed forward to join their hug. Phoenix pulled her in between him and Miles and gently kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you for this, sweetheart.”
Trucy shook her head. “You deserve to be happy, Daddy, I just wanted you two to stop the moon eying and finally move on!”
There was nothing more that Phoenix wanted in his life. At that very moment, his entire world stayed in that small huddle in the gazebo in the midst of softly falling snow.