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sleepless-in-starbucks · 2 years

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Intricate Rituals

Ao3

Summary: Every court case Phoenix works is like a dance, in a way, if it's the type of dance where both partners are constantly trying to take over leading the case and you ignore the fact that he can't dance. Most of them don't involve him actually dancing, however. Content: Unresolved (romantic) tension, dancing, parallels, minor character death/violence in relation to a case Ship: Narumitsu/wrightworth but in the pining way Notes: ‘Dan Surest’ is supposed to sound like ‘dancer-ous’, a pun on dancer + dangerous. I know, I’m a genius

“Your Honor, it is the defense’s belief that the victim’s ex, Dan Surest, is the true killer!”

“How do you propose he killed her, Mr. Wright? Multiple witnesses have testified that the two avoided each other the entire night.”

“And as we previously established, the fatal wound was dealt directly.” Edgeworth added, looking as smug as he usually did in court. “In case you were planning to claim he threw the blade at her.”

Phoenix ignored the quip. “The two may have evaded each other for the majority of the night, but they weren’t able to completely avoid each other. After all, even strangers ended up meeting… during the final dance of the night!”

Noises of shock rose from the court around Phoenix at his declaration, the judge’s eyes wide as well as he banged his gavel and demanded order. Edgeworth seemed slightly thrown off, but not as much as Phoenix wanted (he was never as thrown off as Phoenix wanted him to be).

“Mr. Wright, are you saying that Ms. Crow was killed while she was dancing?!” The judge asked incredulously. The list of things that would surprise the judge was longer than one of Larry’s every blunder, so Phoenix didn’t worry too much about sounding too unreasonable- compared to some of his other ideas, really, this one was pretty tame.

Phoenix nodded once, pulling out his file sheet on Raven Crow’s ex. “Mr. Surest is a renowned dancer. It would have been easy for him to both perform the final dance of the night and stab the victim at the same time.”

“Well, I do supp-”

“Objection!” Edgeworth cut the judge off before he could finish his thought, which Phoenix didn’t appreciate. Didn’t Edgeworth appreciate that being the defense was hard? He deserved to actually hear whatever words of support he could get. “Your Honor, this claim of the defense just shows how few straws they have left to grasp at.”

Especially if he was going to be so mean. Like usual.

“It leaves far too many questions unanswered.” Edgeworth went on, mockingly shaking his head. “Even for you, Wright, this is a stretch.”

Phoenix planted his hands on the bench. “If the prosecution would allow me to explain the idea-”

The prosecution didn’t. “The difference between dance in theory and in reality is even larger than the empty space between Mr. Wright’s ears. With no video or other form of demonstration to check this ridiculous idea against, any explanation given is useless.”

The judge closed his eyes, deliberating for a moment before he said, “Mr. Edgeworth raises a valid point. Mr. Wright, do you have a way to provide this court with an example or demonstration of the final dance?”

Phoenix wasn’t sure if there was a point in stalling the answer to this particular question. He didn’t have anything that could be considered an ‘example or demonstration of the final dance’- the scene of the crime had no cameras, and it wasn’t as if he had thought he’d need to pick up any materials to teach the court how to dance.

“If the judge wants a demonstration…” Phoenix glanced over when Maya started talking, looking thoughtful, “can’t you just give him one?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, you know, do the dance for him.”

“That… could work.” Phoenix admitted, before sighing. “If I knew how to dance.”

Maya didn’t seem discouraged. “Maybe Edgeworth does. He looks like the type who knows how to dance.”

“...I’m not going to ask Edgeworth to demonstrate a dance in front of the entire court. Especially one that is going to help our side.”

“Fine then, I will.” Maya replied, and that was all the warning Phoenix got before she was yelling across the courtroom. “Hey, Edgeworth!”

To his credit, Edgeworth merely raised an eyebrow at the sudden exclamation. “Yes?”

“Can you dance?”

That caught him more off guard. “Can I- is the defense attempting to request that I demonstrate the victim’s final dance?”

“No!” Phoenix protested, pointing accusingly at Maya. “She is! Alone! Not the defense!”

The judge shook his head. “Miss Fey is a part of the defense, Mr. Wright, and therefore she can speak for it.”

Phoenix resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. Might as well go all in, right? “Then, yes. The defense requests that Miles Edgeworth, uh, take the floor and demonstrate the dance for the court!”

The looks Phoenix got from both the judge and Edgeworth made him want to crawl into the ground. He was never letting Maya into court with him ever again.

“Mr. Wright-”

Not wanting to hear whatever remark the judge had for him, Phoenix interrupted him. “Your Honor, the prosecution is the one who made the point that the dance could not be properly considered without a visual demonstration. If Mr. Edgeworth can provide this demonstration, by his own logic, he should be required to do so!”

“...The defense is right.” The judge conceded after a long moment, much to Edgeworth’s chagrin, if his murderous look was anything to go by. “Mr. Edgeworth, can you perform the dance?”

The sound of Edgeworth grinding his teeth together echoed through the entire courthouse. “It is a… simple waltz mixer with an end alteration. I can do it easily, but not without a partner.”

“In that case-”

“Mr. Wright,” Edgeworth continued on, ignoring the judge, “shall we?”

Should Phoenix have seen this coming? Yes. Yes he should have.

“What?! But I- I can’t dance! Much less a waltz!”

But Edgeworth was set on his revenge. “As I said, it’s a simple dance. I’ll lead.” When Phoenix remained silent, only staring in disbelief, Edgeworth smirked. “Unless, of course, you don’t want a chance to make your point?”

Infuriatingly, unsurprisingly, Edgeworth had Phoenix cornered. This demonstration was his only chance to prove Surest not only could have been the killer but was, and therefore his only chance to make sure justice was served. If that meant he had to dance with Edgeworth in front of a courtroom full of people, then… Phoenix would do it. Begrudgingly.

“Fine.” Phoenix forced himself to stay, stepping out from behind the bench. Still smirking, Edgeworth did the same. They each made their way across the courtroom floor until they were standing in front of each other at the center.

“Put your arms out.” Edgeworth ordered, and Phoenix did so despite how silly it felt. He waited for the inevitable insult from his opposition, likely some sort of jab at his posture, but none came. Instead, Edgeworth just arranged Phoenix’s arms as necessary, touch gentle as he placed one of Phoenix’s hands on his own shoulder. The other hand he held, lifting them together until they were fully stretched out, his free hand coming to rest on Phoenix’s hip.

“The majority of this waltz is just a matter of walking circles.” Edgeworth told him, voice low enough Phoenix wasn’t sure if even Maya could hear. It made the situation feel more like a private dance lesson than a public showing, and for some reason, that made it harder to breathe.

And then Edgeworth began to move, and Phoenix did his best to match him, stepping forward when he stepped back, tilting to the side when he tilted. The first few rotations were more squiggly ovals than circles, and more than once Phoenix stepped on Edgeworth’s toes, but he got the hang of it faster than he expected.

“Most waltz mixers end there, with the partners separating and joining with someone else,” Edgeworth explained, voice still too quiet, the word ‘partners’ catching on Phoenix’s ears even as Edgeworth practically whispered it, “but since this dance was performed at an event largely attended by skilled dancers, they added an extra element: a dip at the end.”

Phoenix barely had a chance to prepare himself before Edgeworth was moving their joined hands towards the back of his neck, leaving Phoenix’s hand to rest there as he braced his now-free hand against Phoenix’s back, leaning forward to dip Phoenix in one smooth motion.

Phoenix wasn’t nearly as sleek, knees buckling to adjust to the new position and his feet sliding across the floor. The end result had Edgeworth supporting nearly all his weight, which he managed… without any clear hassle. Alright.

They remained like that for a few seconds, at most, but the time seemed to stretch infinitely longer for Phoenix, as if he were suspended in more than just Edgeworth’s arms.

And then it was over, Edgeworth helping to pull Phoenix back to his feet. He once more held Phoenix’s hand, stepping away from him as he did so, finally speaking loud enough for the court to hear. “The dip ends, the dancers part, and they swirl into dance with whomever else is next to them.”

Edgeworth released Phoenix’s hand as he finished his sentence, and Phoenix curled his fingers around the empty air. The distance between them was shorter than it usually was in court, but somehow, after the dance, it felt too far. Phoenix was left staring at Edgeworth, mouth partly open as if he had something to say but didn’t know how to choose the words. In turn, all Edgeworth did was stare back, silent, no scathing comments about Phoenix catching flies gracing his lips.

The judge clearing his throat- loudly, as if that wasn’t the first time he had- finally dragged Phoenix’s attention away from Edgeworth. “Thank you for that demonstration, Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Wright. If the defense would now like to make their case against Mr. Surest, you two may return t-”

Edgeworth, having dismissed himself from the center of the court before the judge began to, was halfway back to his bench when Phoenix called out, “Wait!”

Incredibly, Edgeworth actually did stop, glancing back to see what Phoenix wanted. He didn’t look angry, or annoyed, just… tense.

After a moment of staring too long, Phoenix turned towards the judge. “Your Honor, the defense requests a second demonstration, to properly highlight the exact moment and manner of the murder!”

Looking away from him, Phoenix couldn’t tell what Edgeworth’s reaction was, but he could feel his eyes still on him, likely trying to kill him with a look. Phoenix didn’t really blame him.

“I’ll allow it.” The judge decided after a moment. “But only once more! This is a court of law, not tomfoolery.”

Phoenix disagreed with that assessment of the court, personally, but he knew better than to voice it. Instead, he simply nodded, turning back towards Edgeworth and reaching out his hand. “Once more?”

“It seems I have no choice.” Edgeworth replied sharply, though he didn’t offer any other form of protest as he once again approached Phoenix, accepting his hand and placing his other at Phoenix’s hip just as he had before. Phoenix put his on Edgeworth’s shoulder, and the dance began again.

“Surest couldn’t have done it during the spinning,” Phoenix murmured, his usually internal monologue drawn out by the closeness in the dance, mirroring the way Edgeworth had spoken the first time, “the pain would have distracted Crow, thrown her off, drawn attention to the pair.”

They completed their spinning in silence that didn’t feel quite that silent, Phoenix now following Edgeworth’s lead with ease, as if he had practiced a hundred times and not just once. Again, Phoenix’s hand was left to find support against the back of Edgeworth’s neck as they fell into a dip, Phoenix sliding more purposefully but still finding much of his weight held up solely by Edgeworth.

“So he stabbed her during the dip?” Edgeworth prompted him, as if he wasn’t even trying to make sure the rest of the court could hear him, as if the only person he cared about hearing him was the only one close enough to do so.

“She was stabbed in the side, just above the hip.” Phoenix replied, and Edgeworth’s hand tightened where he held Phoenix just there. It was barely anything, considering how many layers of clothing were between Phoenix and Edgeworth, but Phoenix could have sworn he felt the touch directly against his skin, burning. “It makes sense that’s when he would have acted.”

“Wouldn’t she have noticed him reaching for the weapon?”

“It was a razor removed from its handle, he could have hidden it down his sleeve until the right moment. He wouldn’t have needed to reach for it.”

Edgeworth hummed in acknowledgement of Phoenix’s logic. “And the pain? Surely she wouldn’t have missed that?”

“She didn’t. She just thought it was something else.” It’s a tacky way to phrase it, something he’s supposed to use against an entire courtroom, to get the laypeople listening and keep the judge awake, but the only audience he’s entertaining now is Edgeworth, who’s never been impressed any of his slick words in court, who’s never been impressed by anything of Phoenix, who Phoenix is always trying to impress. “That’s why she had scratch marks on her back- Surest made her think he was just digging his nails in, nothing else.”

“She didn’t realize why the pain was lingering until it was too late.” Edgeworth helped finish for him, and Phoenix was reminded of the position they were in, in the deadly dip that had sealed Raven Crow’s fate, the final dance of her life, their mimicry of her death stretching on too long as Edgeworth showed no signs of letting Phoenix fall.

“Miles…” Phoenix starts, and even he doesn’t know where he’s planning on going with it.

“Phoenix.” Miles echoes, and Phoenix barely has a chance to react before he’s being pulled to his feet once more, face too close to Miles’s and then not nearly close enough as he completes their dance, fingers interlaced as he steps away.

“Your Honor, in light of the defense’s argument, and further review of the circumstances of the night, the prosecution requests that Dan Surest be called back to the stand!” Miles says to the judge, eyes still on Phoenix.

The judge seems confused by Miles’s request, and Phoenix has the strong suspicion that he has no idea what argument was just made, that the only one who had heard it at all was the one letting his hand linger in Phoenix’s.

But he still nods, acquiescing. “Very well. Bailiff, fetch Dan Surest! Mr. Wright, Mr. Edgeworth, you may now both return to your benches.”

Phoenix thinks the judge should ask them if they even want to go back at this point, because he wants to know what Miles would do. But he doesn’t, and Miles lets go of his hand so that they can both walk back to their usual spots, an entire courtroom and a case and verdict and pasts neither of them asked for stretching between them once again.

But the distance between doesn’t erase the burn of Miles’s hand at his side, of the support against his back holding him up, of their fingers brushing even as they stepped away from each other. Maya looks at him funny as he presses the tips of his fingers to the spot just above his hip, like a mockery of the murder.

Across the court, Miles studies the grain of the prosecutor’s bench as he squeezes the back of his neck.

#narumitsu #wrightworth #phoenix wright #miles edgeworth #ace attorney #pw:aa #i need a writing tag hm #the cryptid writes #there we go #anyways <3 brainrot #'you construct intricate rituals which allow you to touch the skin of other men' spinning around in my head like a runaway top

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