#now is phoenix the one pushing him away and Miles just stays there... waiting

[midorikawawas]

Edgeworth/Disbarred Phoenix gotta be one of the most "Cinnamon girl" by Lana del Rey -coded ships I've ever seen, because it's about loving someone that isn't in a place to be loved, getting pushed out yet finding the way back in

[theharddeck]

california coast in your green eyes || chapter 4/5

Pairing: Jake Seresin x Julie Floyd (OC)

Synopsis: Jake makes it through the uranium plant mission, and when he's back stateside, has a conversation with Bob about his sister.

Warnings: none

Length: 3.3k

Tagging: @wildbornsiren @winterrebel04 @blue-aconite @double-j @javihoney @daggerspare-standingby @glccmreid @gigisimsonmars @ssprayberrythings @anotherr-fine-mess next chapter is the last one, so lmk if you do/don't want to be tagged! 💙

chapter 1 / chapter 2 / chapter 3 / chapter 4 / chapter 5

Jake wasn’t surprised when Maverick chose Rooster. 

It was inevitable, really, old debts and new beginnings, and when Jake stayed behind on the carrier as they took off, he found he wasn’t simmering in resentment as much as he was hoping like hell that Maverick had chosen right. 

He was, at first. 

From an FA-18 on standby on the deck of a floating warship six miles away from where his team needed him, Jake heard it all. 

He heard when the plant exploded, heard the disbelief and relief in everyone’s cheers.

He heard Phoenix’s gasping breath as she pulled nearly 9 Gs to keep them from crashing into the side of the mountain, and he knew she was thinking about the last time she was this close, and how that time the plane went down. 

He heard when Mav broke above radar, when the sky exploded around his team. 

He heard when the second dagger team joined them, other SAMs firing off, the frantic communication between pilots and WSOs and the nervous beat after a too-close explosion. 

He heard when Rooster ran out of flares. 

He heard Fanboy yelling a warning, he heard Rooster saying he couldn’t shake it and Jake heard when Mav put his plane in front of a missile locked on Rooster.

He heard everyone checking, hoping someone else had seen a parachute. 

Command called everyone back and he knew Rooster wouldn’t leave a wingman, but he couldn’t leave Maverick, and Jake knew, when they told him he couldn’t fly in, that Rooster was going down too. 

He heard when it happened. 

He heard Bob’s shaky breath when Rooster’s mic went offline; he could practically hear Phoenix and Payback exchanging a look, pushing their shock down and following orders, back to the ship.

It was silent, then, the guilt and the disbelief in the stillness.

Jake wanted to rip his helmet off, punch the control panels, but he flipped his mic back on and requested to fly out, waiting 20 seconds after every time “negative” before he asked again. 

Fuck, it should’ve been me. 

It wasn’t even about being named team lead, or flying the mission a certain way, or knowing that he could’ve outrun the SAMs because he flew with less of a damn than Rooster.

It was that Rooster would always fly with something to prove, and so Rooster would go down for someone who believed in him without proof. 

Rooster would follow his hero complex and leave two two-seaters unprotected so he could chase down ghosts. 

And now Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy and Bob had to fly themselves back to the ship, wondering what they’d done wrong, and if they could’ve saved their friend.  

And Jake was mad, then, livid that the thing that he had seen, Maverick hadn’t wanted to hear, but as soon as anyone came back, they would all act like there was no other way it could’ve gone. 

Phoenix landed, then Payback. There was the flurry of the support team checking their planes, and Jake watched them from across the deck. Phoenix hopped down and waited for Bob; when he dropped to the deck, he pulled her into a hug, and she went quickly. 

They stayed there for a long moment, support running around their bird, just breathing, and Jake looked away eventually. Command had gone quiet over the communications channel, probably processing intel about the attack. 

Payback and Fanboy came over to the Dagger Three zone, arms around each other’s shoulders and their faces grim. Phoenix held out an arm and the four of them huddled together; Jake’s F-18 felt like it might as well have been on the other side of the ocean. 

“Dagger Spare,” a voice crackled over the comms and Jake jumped in the seat. 

“Dagger Spare,” he repeated back into his mic. 

“You are support,” a voice said sternly, and Jake straightened, recognizing Admiral Simpson having taken the mic from the normal operator. “You fly where I tell you and if you try to be a hero, I will take your wings myself, Lieutenant. Understood?”

“Understood, sir,” Jake said, immediately. 

The line was quiet for a moment, and Jake could practically hear the admiral trying to decide how much he wanted to trust him with. 

“Rooster’s headset is online,” he said, finally. “In a plane that Maverick might be the only active American aviator able to fly.”

Holy shit; they’re alive. 

Jake looked over at the huddle by Dagger Three, to see if they were hearing this, but their helmets were at their feet, their expressions somber as they talked with each other on the tarmac. 

“I’m ready, sir,” he said, strapping on his oxygen mask.

“I know you are, son,” Admiral Simpson said. “We don’t have radio contact with them yet, but radar clocked a hostile a couple knots away from them. Get them home.” 

“Yes, sir,” Jake said, signaling to the Support crew. 

They hooked him up to the shuttle, positioning him behind the catapult, and raised the jet blast deflector. The shooter completed his checks and started letting steam into the catapult cylinders. As Jake felt the F18 tremble with the contained pressure, he looked back to check the Dagger Three tarmac again. Bob had his headset held up to his ears, eyes wide as he relayed to the team whatever Command was telling him. He saw Fanboy grip one of Bob’s shoulders and Payback’s eyes close. Phoenix’s hand was over her mouth, relief swimming in her eyes, and then she broke away from the others, spinning in a circle on the tarmac, before finding his plane. She froze, her hand falling from her face, and from a distance, he could see her nod. Payback came up behind her, pointing to Jake’s plane and then clapping his hand across his chest. 

Jake saluted to them, and Fanboy saluted back before, swooping down to grab the others’ headsets so they could hear. 

“Dagger Spare,” Jake said, as the shuttle backed away from his plane on the runway. “Ready for launch.” 

“Dagger Spare,” came the reply, back to the normal Operator, “you’re cleared for takeoff.” 

Jake pressed his head against the headrest, and turned his engines on. They hummed to life, and the plane shook with the held energy. The ground crew saluted him, and he saw the tow bar disconnect from the shuttle and the pressure grew even higher.

Here goes nothing…

The cable cracked and the plane shot forward, Jake pulling hard on the stick as soon as he felt the deck disappear under him. There were a few brutal seconds where the plane rejected the momentum shift, and then he was cutting a path upwards. 

“Dagger Spare, away,” the Operator said. 

Jake knew better than to look back at the deck. 

He settled into the chair, focusing on the nav screen as it charted him towards Mav and Rooster’s projected course. 

He would make it to them. 

They would make it back to the carrier. 

And then they could all go home. 

“So,” Halo called from a few rows up on the bus, facing backwards on her bench seat and sliding her sunglasses a smidge down her nose as she grinned at Phoenix, before looking back at Jake, “did I miss my chance to see the sister?”

Now that the mission was over and they were all stateside again, they were being loaded onto unmarked buses to ferry them from the carrier back to Base. The officers who had family locally were exempt from mass transit to meet loved ones at the harbor, due back to base in the morning, same as everyone else.   

Bob was the only one of their crew who had family in San Diego, and Jake had been doing a pretty good job of pretending not to notice that the WSO was missing, until Halo decided to point it out.

Jake tried not to look, he really did. 

It was bait, and a sloppy lure at that, but call him a salmon because when Halo tipped her head towards the bus window, Jake found himself scanning the group of civilians and servicemen. 

He found them quickly, of course. 

Bob standing like he always did, like his height surprised him, shoulders slightly scrunched, head bent, but searching through the crowds. There was a blur of brown curls then, and Julia cut through the gathered group, launching herself at her brother. From his seat on the bus, Jake watched Bob drop his duffel bag so he could catch her, staggering back a step or two from the impact as her arms latched around his neck.

Bob’s back was bent slightly, bending to accommodate his sister’s height and his hand patted at her back awkwardly, like he was trying for an approximation of comfort. Jake watched Julia pull back slightly to look at her brother, and a smile flashed across her face before she pulled him back into her arms. 

Shit, what is this? 

Jake balled a hand into a fist, rubbing at the buttons in the middle of his chest, where it felt suddenly tight. It felt like he was choking, or pushing Gs, and Jake knew he was fine, but something like an ache clawed at his chest. 

“Guess not,” Halo said quietly, amusement on her voice as she dropped back into her seat, but Jake couldn’t look away from the Floyd siblings. 

How Julia couldn’t seem to let go of her brother. The brightness of her smile, confirmation that he was okay, and that he’d come back to her. The relief they both so clearly felt, at being back where they’d hoped they would be. 

If that’s what it’s like, being missed looks nice.

Jae didn’t know much about it, not from that side of things. Not being the one someone wished desperately were near, instead of the one wishing for that proximity. 

The bus shuddered to life, and Jake sat up quickly to keep his head from ramming into the window as the bus jolted. 

When he looked back to the Floyds, they were standing next to each other, Bob’s arm lazily around Julia’s shoulder. Bob was pointing, and Jake realized too late that he was looking through the buses for their detachment. 

For an insane moment, Jake considered ducking out of the window, or switching across the aisle. 

But then Bob’s face lit up as he found their bus, and Jake watched him point out those Julia knew in the windows – Phoenix, Payback, Rooster, and him. 

“Give us a wave, bagman,” Phoenix said out of the side of her mouth, as she cheerily waved from her window. 

Jake waved. 

He saw when Julia followed Bob’s direction and found their bus. He saw her wave excitedly at Phoenix and Payback, and politely to Rooster, and then she saw him. 

She didn’t change, not externally, kept her arm raised in the same friendliness, her smile bright and wide as she greeted her brother’s friends. But something about that expression settled differently when it was directed at him. 

Jake waved back, it was only polite, and her smile didn’t drop, but it did shift. Julia drew in a quick breath, and her expression shifted for a moment, and her eyes seemed to go a little softer. 

If he didn’t know better, he’d say she looked relieved. 

But he did know better, and that wasn’t it, couldn’t be it. 

She barely knew him, and what Phoenix or Bob had told her couldn’t have been great. Certainly not enough to be looking through bus windows from halfway across the harbor parking lot, hoping to see him. 

No, he was tired, still coming off the emotional roller coaster that had been this mission, and that was all it was. 

The bus pitched forward, and Jake sank back into the seat, trying not to think of the last time the worn leather had been sanitized, or if Phoenix had somehow developed x-ray vision, to be able to see him through it. 

He could certainly feel her eyes, like at The Hard Deck by the bull, curious and observant. 

The bus rocked its way back to base, the journey jarring after the mechanical steadiness of the carrier, barging through crests of waves. 

When they got back to base, the group split up, quietly. They’d regroup in the morning, debrief the mission and get new assignments, likely back to their previous postings. There’d be time to  talk through all that, and Jake guessed that for tonight, everyone just wanted space to reorient to being back on land. 

Not Jake, though; his quarters felt too quiet. 

He found himself changing out of regulation clothes and keying into the gym, setting up for a workout, rather than endure that silence. He ran a few miles on the treadmill rather than warming up with stretches, then started racking weights and his sets. 

He lost track of time, working for the sake of working, not to finish. There was a comfort in a good set, in the mindless repetition that working out could bring. 

Set the weights high enough, every other thought quieted to focus on lifting. Switch between stations quick enough, there was no time to lull back to memories between. 

Jake was re-racking the bench press bar when he heard the door open. He lifted his head from the bench to see who’d come to join him, surprised by the lanky figure in the doorway. 

Bob lifted a hand apologetically, pointing to a pile of foam rollers in the corner. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” he called across the gym, “just wanted to grab one of those.”

Jake shrugged, taking the opportunity to sit up and grab his water bottle by the foot of the bench. “Yeah, no worries.”

Come to think of it, Jake didn’t really remember seeing Bob in the gym as much as he did Payback or Coyote, but maybe he came at a different time, with Fanboy or Phoenix or something. He watched in the mirror as Bob crossed the gym quickly, grabbing a roller from the top of the pile. 

Bob put the roller down, picking up another from farther down in the pile, and Jake took a long drink from his water bottle. He was running through what set he wanted to start next when he realized Bob was watching him in the mirror.

“Help you with something, Bob?” he asked, wiping his forehead on the shoulder of his tshirt.

Bob shook his head sharply, but then turned to actually face Jake, rather than his reflection. He tapped the roller against the palm of one of his hands, and he shifted on his feet.

“Jules asked for your number,” Bob said, finally. 

If Bob hadn’t said it in such a dismal tone, Jake would’ve thought he’d misheard him.  

That was…surprising. 

Exciting? Hopeful? He wasn’t sure the word for it, but he felt like if his face reflected the way the sentence made him feel, he’d be wearing the dorkiest smile. He glanced in the mirror to confirm his expression was unaffected before looking back at Bob, who was watching him closely. 

And from the look on his face, Jake wasn’t so sure he’d kept his expression as veiled as he’d thought.

He was supposed to say something, he was sure Bob was waiting for it, but Jake couldn’t think of anything other than, “Why?”

Bob raised his eyebrows, looking down at the roller as he shrugged. “That’s what I wanted to ask you.”

Not that Jake had an answer.

How was he supposed to say that he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since he met her in the infirmary? Or how much of a gift her trust had been at The Hard Deck, or how endearing he’d found her concern when he’d stepped in for Phoenix? And that wasn’t even touching on the reaction he’d had to seeing her again, just a few hours ago. 

Jake shook that train of thought; he could continue down it for a while. 

“We talked a bit, before the mission,” he said, frowning as it sounded like an oversimplification. “She was worried about you; I was there.”

Bob seemed to process that, tucking the roller under his arm so he could cross his arms across his chest. It was hardly intimidating, but it did feel serious. 

“We’re probably sent back to our squadrons tomorrow,” Bob said. 

“Yeah,” Jake nodded, very aware of the grains of sand left in the North Island hourglass.

Bob was waiting for something, but Jake had no idea what. 

“Are you asking me my intentions toward your sister?” Jake asked, but his joking tone felt flat at the earnestness on Bob’s face.

“I guess you could say I am,” Bob said, and he held Jake’s gaze steadily. Jake could see the tightness of his shoulders, the nerves he was trying to suppress, and he respected the hell out of Bob for this confrontation, necessary or not.

“Obviously I’m in no position to try to intimidate you,” Bob said, gesturing at himself and then back at the rack Jake had been pressing. Jake didn’t know about that; Bob had that vaguely wound energy of someone who was terrified of their own strength, and unleashing that would probably do more damage than someone like Jake or Rooster coming unhinged.

“I’m not going to do the ‘here’s what I’ll do if you hurt her’ thing,” Bob said. “Even if it were plausible, I don’t want you to be afraid of the consequences, and try to avoid them.”

Jake thought that was a very reasonable perspective, but Bob wasn’t done.

“I do want you to think about them, though,” he continued. “The consequences. Namely, if it’s worth it.”

Well, hell.

It was more words than he’d probably ever heard from Bob, and Jake had to admit they were pretty well chosen. It felt damn serious, and Jake didn’t want to think about what Bob was asking him to – that if Julia had an ounce of reciprocated interest in him, that that meant he could hurt her.

Especially, to Bob’s point, if they went back to their previous assignments tomorrow. 

Jake wiped his forehead again, standing up to face Bob, even if he didn’t cross the room to stand in front of him. 

“If you’re not doing the intimidation thing, I won’t do the ‘I give you my word’ thing,” he started, then he remembered who he was talking to. “Although, if Rooster’s to be believed, my word isn’t shit anyways.”

Bob shook his head. “It’s no secret I like him more than you, but I don’t give a damn what he thinks when I’m asking you.”

Jake could respect that. 

“I think Julia’s something special,” Jake said, and it was more honest than he’d planned to be. “Enough so that if you don’t want us to see how this plays out, I’ll drop it.”

Bob was quiet for a moment. 

Then he sniffed, pulling the roller out from his arms as he uncrossed them. “I didn’t expect that.”

Jake capped the lid on his water bottle. “Yeah, well, every now and then I have unexpected depth.”

Bob snorted, looking carefully at Jake. 

Jake didn’t know what he was hoping to find, so he figured the best he could do was look back. Bob nodded, more to himself than Jake, and shifted the roller again, pulling out his phone. He typed into it for a moment, then pocketed it again. 

“Well, she has it now,” Bob said. “I guess what she does with it is up to her.”

Jake resisted the urge to dig around for his phone, turn sound on or watch for notifications. Instead he nodded stoically back at Bob, who dropped the pretense of needing the foam roller, and took his exit quickly. 

Jake sat back down on the bench. 

He should finish his set, or stretch it out, or at least run a cool down. 

What he did instead was sit on the bench, staring at the gray rubber on the gym floor, wondering if Julia would reach out, and why it mattered so much. 

[snezfics-n-shit]

Sicktember Alt 3. - Cuddling On The Couch

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Larry Butz, Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright

Notes: I promised myself to make some yhnrmt crumbs so here they are. Married!Wrightworth mutually dating Larry. The three of them are sick, and there’s no sense in working out who gave this cold to whom; they’ve tried that once and it only exhausted them. What matters now is they have a cozy cuddle puddle on the couch.

     Miles was fast asleep on the right end of the couch, snoring like an old man, at the expense of the sleep of his husband and boyfriend. If he hadn’t been in such rough shape for the past two days, Phoenix and Larry might have held a grudge, but instead they both simply sighed. 

“I don’t think you’ll be getting up any time soon.” Larry whispered as he leaned his head on Phoenix’s shoulder, careful not to create too tight a squeeze between him and Miles. “I hope you’re comfortable where you are.” He laughed as softly as he could.

“As comfortable as I can get when swallowing feels like sandpaper.” Phoenix wiggled himself free enough to be able to kiss Larry’s forehead. “Mm, you still have a fever, so maybe you should be staying put, too.”

“How’s he doing?” Larry glanced over to Miles. “We kept him up all last night, so he can’t be in good shape.”

Phoenix wiggled a little more so he could reach Miles’s forehead for a gentle kiss. He was impressed by Miles’s ability to sleep so soundly and snore so loudly, though he didn’t exactly appreciate the snoring directly in his ear.

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely not doing great.” Phoenix observed with a frown. “I’m glad he’s finally resting.” He rested his head on his husband’s chest, and Larry leaned over to make himself comfortable against Phoenix’s side. “We should probably keep it down.”

“Good ide– Hh!!”

“What was that?”

“I had to sneeze,” Larry whispered, “but it went away.”

“Better you than me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, it’s just you’re less likely to wake Miles up if you sneeze while he’s sleeping.”

“I bet I could–”

“A’ashhchHUH!!” Phoenix’s sudden and very loud sneeze prompted a laugh from Larry, and neither of the two noticed their volume was waking Miles. 

“You two seeb to be feeli’g better.” Miles observed before coughing into the palm of his hand. There was no sense worrying over proper covering, since it was just the three of them at home with Trucy now away for college. “Also, bless.”

“You’re awake!” Phoenix quickly sat upright, accidentally pushing Larry off of him. “Sorry about waking you,” he turned to Larry, “and sorry about pushing you.”

“Edgey, baby, we both mean the most respect when we say this, you really gotta do something about your snoring.” Larry pleaded.

“What do you mean ‘both?’” Phoenix raised a brow.

“You’re the one always comparing Edgey’s snoring to that of an old man, Nicky. It’s true, anyway.”

Miles pinched the bridge of his nose. Even with their colds having a firm hold on their voices, Phoenix and Larry still spoke with more volume than Miles could handle right now.

“I guess you could probably benefit from a decongestant.” Phoenix conceded. He looked over to Larry expectantly.

“Oh no, I’m way too comfortable right here. You said I had a fever, too.” Larry protested. “You suggested it, so you get up.”

“I would, but I’m stuck”

“Cahd we just… go back to sleep?” Miles sighed. “You two are probably dead tired. I’ll wait for you two to fall asleep to avoid waki’g you. How about that?”

“You’re so good to us, babe.” Phoenix kissed his husband on the cheek. 

Larry made a small whine, and got a kiss as well.

Miles watched the two as they made themselves comfortable again, smiling as he watched the two most impressively drift off so easily. As he waited for a good time to close his eyes himself, his gaze wandered around the room, noticing all the medicine wrappers and used tissues scattered on the floor. 

What a mess…

He hoped at least one person in this trio would recover soon, just so someone could tidy up.

[katoktm6]

Barcelona

The adventures begin. June11, 2022

I have no idea how many hours I have been awake… I know I was up at 3:45 Saturday morning in Phoenix and it is now 7:00 p.m. Sunday night in Barcelona. We flew through Montreal, and raced to make a connection to Toronto and then literally ran to make our connection to Barcelona…I would like to think I am ready for the Amazing Race as we were pushing people aside to get down the people movers…at one point Elyse went to check the time on her phone, (rather than asking me what my watch said) and she dropped it over the side of the escalator onto the one below us…as we were racing to the gate. Of course I screamed, “GD it Elyse!”Made the flight and managed a few hours of restless sleep. Somehow we arrived to Barcelona two hours early after departing 30 minutes late?!? We arrived at 10:00, but our prearranged driver wasn’t due to arrive until 12:00! So we waited…then the debacle of finding him..we were where we were supposed to be but he wanted us to go up to arrivals and out to find him, all through a dispatcher…we left the airport around 12:20, and then our driver could not find the hotel in the winding narrow alleys and streets of the La Rambla neighborhood. What was supposed to be a 20 minute trip ended up over an hour…eventually he told us to get out and pointed us in the direction the hotel should be. Fortunately, it was only a block away…check in smooth…hotel room clean but rustic…we were just glad it was ready for us. We dropped our bags and headed out for tapas and wandering. To prevent jet lag we knew we had to stay awake…so we walked miles of beach, saw lots of sculptures, rode the gondola across the harbor, walked gardens,and found out way back at 6:00. Rested only because I needed a bathroom break that wasn’t a public beach bathroom, and grabbed our journaling tools and came out on the plaza where live music is playing. We are drinking wine and ordered more tapas…potato omelet (a staple in Spain) chicken croquettes, calamari, and bread. And more wine. We are trying to stay awake until at least 8:00, or dark…so we can deep sleep and be on Spain Time tomorrow. Exhausted, sore back, sore feet, sore head…doing great! Also…what a luxury to travel with someone..in the airport or anywhere to be able to say, “here, hold this, I will be right back…” rather than lugging everything in and out of stores, bathrooms, etc.. tomorrow we head to Blanes, Spain…Airbnb for two nights, but we are brewing other plans….stay tuned!

[queen-ofsunflowers]

DadWorth AU: Part 2 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)

More DadWorth AU! And here we finally get into the details of the games, so the parts that remain the same will be briefly touched upon. This is gonna be longer than the last post, so here we go!

 < Part 1  | Part 3 >

Turnabout Sisters

Things actually start a bit before the game does, and its with Kay at age fourteen and ready to start high school. (to me her birthday is in December, so she would be fourteen by the time the school year begins). And she has a certain one in mind.

I’ve mentioned before that Kay ends up idolizing Mia and follows her cases. Being surrounded by law for the past couple of years and wanting to help people (because Kay has yet to learn about the true Yatagarasu), Kay decides that she wants to be a defense attorney like Mia as opposed to a prosecutor like her dad and Miles (I am one of few people that I think subscribe to the idea of Defense Attorney!Kay... but that’s where we’re going here.)

Miles hestiates when he learns that Kay “wants to be a lawyer”, but after pressure from both Franziska and Gumshoe, he agrees to the idea. After studying and working hard, Kay ends up getting accepted to Themis Legal Academy in the defense attorney course -- something she hides from Edgeworth because she’s afraid that he’ll disapprove. But this is something that she really wants to do. i have an idea, shhh--

So, Kay’s first day of school just happens to fall on September 6. If anyone recognizes this date, it means Edgeworth is going to be home late, as he almost always is when he’s working on a new case. Because this is where we hit Turnabout Sisters.

Kay’s first day of school goes pretty well. It’s all getting to know you stuff, so it’s gonna be easy. Everyone tries to keep Kay from finding out about the details of Edgeworth’s newest case throughout the course of the day, but this fails because Miles doesn’t know that Kay looks up to Mia. So he gets very much confused when she gets upset upon learning Mia Fey had been murdered when he goes about their usual conversation about his latest case the next morning.

So, she’s upset and Miles has no idea why. On his side, he finds out the defense attorney for this case is Phoenix Wright. So he’s not doing so well because the past is coming back to bite him in the butt, and Kay goes to school feeling like crap. And things only start to get worse from there when two students in the prosecutors’ course decide its a good idea to mess with one of the students in the defense attorney course.

Enter Sebastian Debeste and Klavier Gavin. (i know klavier’s a good guy, but he still needs the character development to happen) They are not the nicest of people when Kay first encounters them. She’s down, and they decide its a good time to kick her while she’s down.

She confides in this to Ema, who gets super mad about this. She knows that she needs to tell an adult about it, so she somehow manages to tell Gumshoe about this (how they know each other, i’m not sure, probably happened after she met Kay.) And then Gumshoe goes to Miles while they’re investigating the next day and tells him that Kay’s been having a tough time adjusting (Ema had left out the bullying bit, since Kay had made her promise not to tell, thinking it would make things worse.)

Miles takes things into consideration a little bit (he’s too focused on his case), and promises to pick Kay up from school the next day if Gumshoe drops her off (an idea that came up from Gumshoe mentioning it would be a good idea to have someone she trusts there after a bad day.)

The date is September 9, Gumshoe drops Kay off at school as planned while Edgeworth goes to trial. And everything for both of them goes downhill from there. Edgeworth gets his ass handed to him by Phoenix and gets his first loss. Kay’s bullying continues. Too absorbed in his loss and the repercussions of it, Miles forgets about Kay entirely. Kay’s left outside of Themis, heartbroken and her trust in Miles barely even remains. After about an hour or so, she calls Badd to come and get her since she knows he’ll always be there if she needs him.

Miles hears Kay come home, and gets confused when she runs past him and up to her room. Badd explains everything and how Miles is an idiot.

So, Badd’s pissed at Edgeworth. Gumshoe gets mad at Miles when he finds out about what happened with Kay. von Karma is pissed at Edgeworth for losing at case to a rookie of all things. Kay’s upset with him because of what happened. Franziska’s mad at him on both fronts. The media is having a field day with his record being broken. It’s the second worst day of his life.

Turnabout Samurai

So, time goes on since the horrible, no-good very bad day. Miles is trying to deal with everything and everyone being mad at him. He’s becoming emotionally unavailable and Kay’s not helping at all since she’s pulled away from him. Since he forgot about her, she thinks he doesn’t care about her anymore. She just stays out of his way.

Miles is emotionally out of the window and does just what he needs to do to keep Kay happy or so he thinks. He’s too absorbed in his work and stressed out from his previous loss to try and reverse the damage caused to his reputation. Meanwhile, Kay’s bullying at Klavier’s and Sebastian’s hands continues. She doesn’t know what to do about it (even though Ema continually tells her to tell someone, Kay doesn’t want to make things worse.)

Things come to a head for her right around the same time that Edgeworth gets assigned the Steel Samurai case against Phoenix Wright. Kay’s absolutely done with Sebastian’s and Klavier’s treatment of her and remembering Ema’s words, she acts.

Kay ends up punching Klavier in the face when he pushes her over the edge, much to everyone’s surprise. They both get dragged down to the office by a teacher after the fight escalates a little (if it even can be called that, only physical blows traded was Kay’s punch.)

They’re in trouble, they start arguing over who started it, etc. The teacher (who I should note is Courte) puts an end to it, believing that they are both to blame for what happened -- Kay for retaliating the way she did and Klavier for antagonizing her in the first place. With the principal’s agreement, both of them are sent home for the day after their guardians are called.

For Kay, she immediately gets called back by Edgeworth while waiting. Edgeworth is in the middle of the Steel Samurai case, so he can’t do anything. He actually grows irritated over what Kay did, not listening to her explanation over what happened and only saying that they’ll talk about it when he gets home. Kay tries to find someone else who 

Meanwhile, Courte takes Klavier aside and tries to find out what happened to cause the whole mess in the first place. Something got into his head that this was how it was supposed to be with defense attorneys and prosecutors (what this is or who that was that planted it is up for debate). He’s told that he’s wrong. They’re both on the same sides of the law, and they’re both there to find the truth -- not to fight about it until there’s a victor. They are allies. Not enemies.

And then Klavier comes back and overhears Kay’s conversation with Edgeworth with Courte’s words echoing in the back of his mind. Klavier’s just like... “okay, she may be a defense attorney, but i don’t think she’s that different from me at all”. Kristoph is a terrible guardian, but the only one that can take care of Klavier, and he understands a bit of what Kay is going through right now because of that.

And immediately feels like shit for how he treated her prior. So when Kay goes to apologize to him from ya know... punching him, it’s him that starts apologizing. And after a very, very long conversation, they decide to start over and Klavier invites Kay to eat lunch with him and Sebastian the next day and even offers to see if he can get her a ride home. Kay reluctantly agrees.

And so their friendship starts there.

It takes Sebastian a bit longer to warm up to Kay like Klavier has, but eventually takes to her when she doesn’t hesitate to point out the mistakes he makes. She corrects him without missing a beat. Kay’s not hesitant to call him out on bullshit when needed. As a result, Sebastian’s a bit smarter than compared to canon.

So, the chaotic duo of Ema and Kay grows to include Klavier and Sebastian. (ema has no reason to hate klavier yet, that’s not until phoenix is disbarred if my theory is right, but his attitude does tick her off sometimes).

Things are starting to get better for Kay, that’s for sure. Miles, on the other hand... not so much.

We all know what happens with him. Unnecessary feelings, questioning just about everything that you know and who you are, etc. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Kay, who wants to try and do something to help. What that is, though, she doesn’t know yet.

Turnabout Goodbyes

Winter break is coming up, and it’s pretty clear at this point that Sebastian and Klavier (the latter moreso than the former) are in tight with Kay and Ema. Kay wants to do something to fix her relationship with Edgeworth, leading to a suggestion of being honest with him about how she feels. If he listens (unlike their guardians), then that means things could turn around.

Kay declines this idea as the first thing they decide Kay should do is tell Edgeworth that she’s in the defense course. She’s still wary about what he might say or do if he finds out she’s going to be a defense attorney rather than the prosecutor he thinks. She does, eventually, agree to talk to him about how she feels. Confessing to being in defense does still linger in the back of her mind.

Christmas starts to draw nearer and nearer, and the two usually spend it together (a tradition born from the first one they had. As bad as that time of year is for Miles, he tries to not let it show for Kay’s sake. Kay doesn’t know about DL-6 and he wants to keep her as far away from it as possible.) So Kay is confused when he heads out Christmas Eve.

Kay has no idea who to turn to... except for one person. So, Christmas morning, while Gumshoe does his best when it comes to figuring out the truth with the investigation, Kay runs all the way down to Wright & Co. Law Offices. (Edgeworth had talked about Wright before in conversations that Kay overheard. That, and it was talked about that he was the only one who managed to take down Edgeworth at school.)

This is the first time that Kay meets Phoenix face-to-face, so he’s pretty confused about as to why a teenager is banging down his door on Christmas asking for help. But, he’s not someone whose going to say no, so he and Maya head down to the detention center with Kay.

Imagine their shock when they learn that the person Kay was talking about is Miles Edgeworth. Who immediately turns around and refuses their help. At all. Because he wants them as far away from this as possible.

Phoenix and Maya leave with Kay, and two out of three are not about to give up so easily. So, yeah. Kay’s finally part of the main storyline.

She helps Phoenix and Maya on their investigation and in the process does learn about DL-6. And her heart just breaks when she learns that her guardian went through all of this. Which is why Kay is relieved when Miles finally 

In the meantime, Phoenix and Maya are trying to figure out what Kay’s connection to Edgeworth is since neither of them explained. And all they can get Gumshoe to say is that Kay is someone that knows Miles rather well. (something that’s supported with Kay knowing about Edgeworth’s fear of earthquakes.)

Kay’s in the audience during this case, primarily because Miles expresses that he doesn’t want her anywhere near von Karma (especially for something that would technically be her first trial). But she’s also not going to leave, so she just watches. Kay gets excited when Phoenix starts tearing von Karma’s case apart. (at this point, Kay only vaguely knows von Karma from Reminiscence. She knows that he’s Miles’s mentor and nothing more than that.) 

She helps with the DL-6 investigation. The one thing I should note  surprises her the most about it is the date which it takes place. Added angst for this whole case (primarily comes from my headcanon birthday for Kay) -- It’s revealed that Miles was careful on December 28th to not let Kay know what was going on with him since it was also her birthday.

Kay has only known Larry for two days, and he’s already giving her a headache (and making her question how Miles and Phoenix are friends with him a little bit). But she’s super excited that he was able to help in the end. She also finds the story about the class trial super sweet, remarking how it reminds her about how Edgeworth used to be like when they first met.

She ultimately is incredibly worried about Miles as the case goes on. Especially with how he thinks that he killed his father. The man Kay knows would never do that -- even on accident. She wants to help as much as possible, even if she can’t stand with the defense. She also wants to stick it to von Karma after everything he’s done. Especially after the confrontation in the evidence room, where Kay lets loose more information than she should, so von Karma (along with Maya and Phoenix) end up finding out about Kay’s relation to Miles.

Phoenix asks her about this later, and Kay explains everything. She begs him to get Miles a Not Guilty verdict since she doesn’t want to lose yet another father of hers. He promises her that he’ll try.

So we get to the final trial day. Kay thinks that Phoenix calling the parrot as a witness is one of the most hilarious things ever later on, but in the moment, she thinks he’s gone crazy, but it works. Miles is declared innocent and she couldn’t be happier... until he flips the switch and confesses to DL-6 after von Karma brings up

Kay gets so mad and upset about this. She corners him in the defendant’s lobby, which is not a pleasant conversation. She knows that Miles is innocent. They’ve been fighting this whole time and he’s just willing to give up that easily? Kay feels like she’s being left behind all over again. She doesn’t understand why Miles won’t “believe in me, who believe in you”. And she storms out. So there’s a bit more guilt on Miles’s shoulders, and a small bit of incentive for him to actually get a not guilty.

So, it cuts to Kay in the hallway making her way back to the gallery. She’s relaying to what’s going on to her friends over a text conversation (understandably, they’re all pissed) when she bumps into someone on her way back.

Yeah... Kay runs into von Karma again. And knowing what she does about him, Kay’s just fucking pissed. There’s a confrontation between the two where Kay comes to understand why Miles is so afraid of this man. He puts an immense amount of fear into her. She just wants to get away.

Kay hits his shoulder by accident in the process and notices the amount of pain it causes him after she runs off. So, long story short, Kay manages to figure out where the second bullet is before Phoenix does, and the trial concludes similar to how it does in canon, but with Kay’s intervention. She’s beyond relieved that Miles is free and von Karma is arrested.

She also feels horrible about yelling, and decides to take her friends’ advice to heart. She almost lost Miles once, and if that ever happens again, she wants him to know the whole truth.

The first thing Kay does after Miles is declared innocent is confess everything to Miles. She’s stammering and nervous and is barely through it when Miles cuts her off because he already knows Kay’s studying to be a defense attorney. She’s not as slick as she thinks, Gumshoe had mentioned multiple times that Phoenix could be someone Kay could learn a lot from, etc. That, and he is Kay’s guardian. He keeps in contact with the school.

He’s not disappointed in her either, which is the one fear that Kay had. He understands not following in your father’s footsteps. If it makes her happy, then that’s fine with him. He is surprised that she finally told him the truth, though. Kay promises not to keep anymore secrets from him. She wants to trust him again.

Things end well between them... as well as they could be after that whole mess, but their relationship is steadily on the mend and all is right with the world.

...until February.

Rise From the Ashes

IF YOU ALL REMEMBER SOMETHING THAT I MENTIONED IN PART 1, THEN YOU KNOW THAT THIS CASE IS GOING TO GET WORSE FOR ONE MILES EDGEWORTH THAN IT ALREADY IS. 

Kay gets dragged into this one by Ema when she comes by in tears over Lana getting arrested. Kay mentions what happened back in December and says that Phoenix might be able to help, so Ema drags her down there. Phoenix is responsible for two teenagers rather than one. Again.

let’s just pretend that they don’t have school for whatever reason

Not much changes other than Kay’s involvement in SL-9. People keep bringing up the fact that Ema was not alone. And Kay’s thief skills starting to show up a little bit. Again, she won’t discover the truth about the Yatagarasu until later down the line. 

She also wants to kick Gant in the shin more and more as the case progresses.

When it gets to the point where they find out that Miles is going to resign,

It’s only during the last day of the trial that Phoenix (and by extension, everyone else but Maya) finds out about Miles’s connection to Kay when he brings up the fact that there was another witness present when Ema was attacked. And Miles isn’t able to hide who it is any longer.

So, Kay has to testify. And it’s not fun. It all ends with her asking them to leave Edgeworth alone, since he didn’t do anything wrong (or he didn’t know that he was doing anything wrong -- something that is later provable.) So, this case is full of family feels, and Phoenix feels like shit for having to do this.

But in the end, Kay’s memory is a bit more clearer than Ema’s, which leads to Gant’s arrest being a bit easier. Ema still leaves the country to study forensics in Europe, and there’s a tearful goodbye and promises to stay in touch between her and her friends. But the impact that the case leaves on Edgeworth does not change. He feels like he isn’t fit anymore -- as a prosecutor or as a guardian for Kay since he couldn’t protect her.

So, the night of February 25, Kay’s woken up in the middle of the night by Miles. She’s half-asleep, and really doesn’t understand what he’s saying at the moment. He’s saying that he has to leave for a while, and tells her that he cares about her. She’s just like “okay” and ends up falling back asleep.

The next morning, Kay wakes up and the house is just about empty. She can’t find Miles anywhere. She just thinks that he’s busy with a new case that needed him in the office early, or they needed him to help clear up what happened yesterday or something, so she doesn’t think much of it.

That is until Gumshoe picks her up from school early. He never does this. No one really does this without warning, like if its a doctor’s or dentist appointment or something.

Her entire world falls apart when he tells her about the note that they found on Edgeworth’s desk that morning.

Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death. 

And that ends Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Kay doesn’t interact with the story all that much, but we already have Egdeworth’s perspective on the game for the most part. A lot of this takes place from Kay’s POV... including Justice for All. Which I have some... interesting things in mind for.

[smolfoxbab]

okay here’s the Narumitsu angst (with a happy ending)

its my blog and i get to choose the hyperfixation to post about

((1,830 words //tw for injury + blood// hope u enjoy!))

Phoenix Wright wasn’t the type of person to make enemies. At least, not on his own. His selfless nature and optimistic personality made him a likable man to be around, even if he was often clumsy and oblivious at times. However, being a defense attorney was a different circumstance, one that brought a certain set of unspoken dangers with it. In proving his client’s innocence, the guilty verdict was placed onto another. While most of these people posed no threat behind the bars of their sentences, there was no guarantee a grudge wouldn’t push them to seek vengeance.

Miles Edgeworth had plenty of experience with this concept already. He was a prosecutor-- The Demon Prosecutor. Among the death threats and various other attempts on his life, he was all too aware of the risks that came with his job. But he had learned to shoulder them, right alongside the other burdens he carried. He also knew that Phoenix didn’t consider these things, didn’t consider his own safety as much as he considered others. Concussed, tazed, nearly drowned and beaten to a pulp in an infamously deadly river... none of it seemed to phase him. He never slowed in his pursuit for protecting others, and that... that concerned Miles more than anything.

“You need to be more careful, Wright,” he had said once in passing after a trial where a guilty offender nearly wrung Phoenix by the neck, the defense attorney standing just a little too close when the verdict was handed down.

“One of these days something... serious, might happen to you, and you won’t be able to just laugh it off.”

Phoenix only flashed him that dopey grin and said, “I’ll be fine, Edgeworth. For an unlucky guy, I’m pretty lucky.”

Miles wanted to believe that, truly. The man seemed to get off easy in dire situations more often than not, so perhaps he had a point behind his foolish reasoning. Even so, his worry lingered. Luck always tended to run out at some point.

---

Then one afternoon, his phone rang. He had already been driving towards Phoenix’s office, having been called over earlier on the premise of having an “important discussion.” He’d left as quickly as he could, but the traffic seemed to determined to keep him from reaching his destination. It was slow, and he seemed to be hitting every red light possible. It was at one of these prolonged red lights, as he sat impatiently tapping the steering wheel, that a familiar tune sounded off in his pocket. Sighing, he slipped his phone out and checked the screen, not too surprised to see Phoenix was the one calling. Forgot to tell him something in the first call, most likely. He hit “answer” and brought the device up to his ear.

“What is it, Wright.”

There was a raspy breath on the other end before Phoenix spoke, his voice just as hoarse.

“M-Miles, I... I-I uh...”

Miles’ brow furrowed, and he found himself straightening in his seat, grip tightening on the phone.

“Wright? Is something wrong?”

There was another breath, followed by a rather nasty sounding cough. There was then a sound that could have been a laugh, if it wasn’t so strained.

“Ah... s-something like that... I w-was trying to call... hhhah... I guess it d-doesn’t mmmatter... a-are you almost... here?”

The light turned green, and Miles pressed on the gas. Harder than he should have, perhaps, but he was uneasy now.

“Yes, I am. What is it, Wright? What happened?”

There was a grunting sound, and the rustle of paper. 

“W-well... fffunny story, ah... there was s-ssomeone at the door and it t-turns out it wasn’t... w-wasn’t you and ahm... shit-”

The hiss was sharp and pained. Miles turned a corner a bit too hastily, nearly catching a street sign as he swung around it. Before he could say anything, Phoenix continued.

“I’m not... I’m nnnot doing too hot, Miles... It’s getting... k-kind of hard to... focus...”

Miles clenched his jaw, trying to hold his composure. He was on the final stretch of road, he just had to get there.

“Stay with me, Wright. Stay on the phone. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah...” came the reply, but the strength in it was fading, “yeah... Miles...?”

“I’m here, Wright.”

He turned into the office parking lot as he said that, haphazardly parking and exiting the car in record time.

“.....what I w-wanted to... tell you... I... I love... you.”

Miles’ breath hitched as he ascended the steps. He would’ve have stopped completely if not for the adrenaline fueling his movement. A lump formed in his throat, which he heavily swallowed as he pressed on. Damn it, why now did he- Damn that man. 

“J-Just hold on, Wright. I’m coming up on the door now. Wright? Wright?”

Silence filled the other end of the line as he approached the door, which sat unlocked and ajar. A red smear stained the door handle, while more splashes led across the floor and deeper inside. Miles only hesitated a moment before flinging the door open, rapidly searching the room for the other man. It didn’t take long.

The defense attorney was slumped against a bookshelf near his desk, various papers and books scattered around him, along with his still lit up phone. He wasn’t moving. Miles sucked in a breath as he practically slid to Phoenix’s side, one hand clasping his shoulder while the other went to check his pulse. Thankfully, he could still feel it, though it was weakening.

“Wright? ...Phoenix, can you hear me?”

He tried to get some kind of response, lightly shaking his shoulder, but got nothing. He shifted his gaze downward, where he couldn’t help but spot the dark stain soaking underneath his jacket. He lifted the blue fabric slightly, trying to get some assessment of the damage. It looked too wide a tear to be a gun wound. A stabbing seemed more likely.

“Damn it. Damn you,” Miles cursed under his breath, shucking his jacket off and moving to put pressure on the wound. He set to call the authorities at the same time, his now-shaking hand nearly dropping the phone entirely. He stared at the unconscious man before him as the phone rang, mumbling to himself before the responder picked up,

“If you die, you fool, I’ll... I’ll bring you back and kill you again myself.”

Emergency services responded quickly, and an ambulance was sent with haste. The police force arrived as well, with the ever-diligent Gumshoe heading the charge. Ever-diligent, and ever-emotional, as the detective seemed to blast through one emotion after the next while Phoenix was being prepped for the drive to the hospital. Miles was given the assurance as he boarded the ambulance himself that, no matter what, the culprit wouldn’t get away with it. In the tense silence of the ride that followed, Miles let that statement repeat in his head- let it hold him together. They wouldn’t get away with this. He would see to it personally... Once he was assured that Phoenix was going to make it out of this alive.

---

Several hours of absolutely nerve-wracking waiting in the hospital lobby followed after, but all well worth it when he was informed that Phoenix was in stable condition. That didn’t stop him from nearly throwing the recovery room door off its hinges upon arrival, however. He needed to see it for himself, confirm with his own eyes that the other was alive. 

A tired smile greeted him from the bed.

“Hey Edgeworth...”

Miles stood in the doorway for a moment, silent and stiff. Then, slowly, he drew in a breath, let his shoulders relax, and stepped inside with the door closing behind him.

“Wright.”

Phoenix winced at the tone of Miles’ voice, like a child about to be lectured by his parent.

“Look, before you get m-”

“You are an absolute moron, Phoenix Wright. I mean really of all the idiotic- Not only do you call me as you’re bleeding out, rather than contact the authorities-”

Phoenix attempted to interject.

“To be fair I was actually trying to call the-”

But Miles didn’t let him finish.

“But then you have the gall to go and declare- to tell me that you- in such a dire circumstance you decide to claim-”

“Miles-”

“Not seconds before I walk in on what could have well been a murder scene- And what would I have done then? Knowing you had said such a thing before I could even have a chance to process it let alone-”

“Miles if... if you don’t feel the same I-”

“Reciprocate.”

Both of them fell silent then. Phoenix, slack-jawed and staring straight at Miles while the prosecutor locked his gaze to the floor, feeling the heat begin to burn in his cheeks. Phoenix blinked rapidly, beginning to flush a bit himself despite his currently paler complexion.

“Y-y-you mean you-”

Edgeworth huffed and turned towards him, closing the distance between himself and the bed before closing the distance between the two of them. It was an impulsive kiss, and not the one either of them imagined would be their first, but it was real. Phoenix was real, and still here, returning the kiss like it was the most natural thing in the world. A wince and a hiss broke the moment though, Phoenix pulling back to sink into the mattress he’d started to push off of. Miles pulled back hastily, rubbing at his arm with an awkward clearing of his throat.

“A-apologies, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no- my fault, really. And look I... I’m sorry for worrying you and... how I said that really wasn’t how I meant to go about it-”

Miles cut him off again before he could start losing himself in his rambling.

“I... I know, Wright. I would be far more concerned if your plan had been to confess to me by having a near death experience.”

Phoenix chuckled nervously and looked elsewhere, giving Miles the chance to take up the seat next to his bedside.

“Yeah that’s... a little far out there... even for me. But Miles, you really...?”

Phoenix looked back with a start as Miles took his hand, his grip cautious but protective. Miles attempted to play it off as if he was exasperated, rather than jumbled mess of feelings he was grappling with. The mess of feelings he had been grappling with for some time.

“Honestly, I would have thought just now made it clear enough, but. If I must say it to convince you. Yes, Phoenix. I... I love you, too.”

There was a pause, far too long yet far too short, before Phoenix smiled. Still tired at the edges, but warm and genuine. 

“Okay then. I’m... I’m really glad to hear it isn’t just... I’m glad.”

Miles couldn’t help but smile faintly himself, gently squeezing the hand in his.

“...As am I. Now... why don’t you tell me how you got into this mess?”

[abluescarfonwaston]

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Here, my dear, is the sum of the fic as it exists in its 9k glory. Fun fact Edgeworth's pov is 11k so far. Omegaverse au - Wrightworth. Currently Teen and Up rating.

“Why do you two insist on doing that?”

“Cause it’s fun!” Larry laughed above him, rolling off of him and onto the playgrounds woodchips when he pushed him.

Miles slid off the jungle gym he’d been observing them from. Offered his hand to help him up.

He took it and let him pull him up. “It is! You should try it!”

“No thank you.” Miles swept his hands over Phoenix’s shirt, dislodging some of the dirt. Not that it made a huge difference. It was just a t-shirt after all.

“Come on Edgey!” Larry wrapped an arm around his neck, leaning heavily on him. “I’ll even go easy on you if you want! Or are you just scared you’ll mess up your fancy clothes?”

His cheeks flushed red as he stammered out a protest, picking a chip from Larry’s hair. “I just don’t see the point of rolling in the dirt!”

Larry laughed. Crowed like a chicken, grinning as Miles face grew hotter and hotter. He never knew if Miles would cry or get angry. He wasn’t sure if Miles knew either right until the moment the emotion burst from him.

So he did what any reasonable nine year old would do: tackled Larry to the ground. “You’re upsetting him!” Larry just laughed as they twisted and wrestled, having achieved exactly what he wanted.

Larry pinned him again- it was unfair how much better at this Larry was. He wiggled and tried to dislodge him but Larry remained firmly atop his stomach, grinning.

He sighed and dropped his head back. Another loss to Larry Butz. Miles was staring at him from his playground perch. A goofy smile started on his face.

Miles tilted his head just a hair smiled, one of his tiny rare smiles, right back.

It didn’t feel quite so much like losing then.

“First!” Larry posed his hands on hips and puffed out his chest. “We’re going to build a pillow fort!”

Miles held the remote, not turning the television on yet but clearly posed to if Larry responded poorly. “Why?”

“Because I have it on good authority this movie’s real scary!” Half his mouth pulled upward in pride at his secret knowledge. He jabbed a finger at Phoenix. “And we don’t want the scaredy cat making us go home early!”

“Hey!”

Miles set the remote carefully down on the table and nodded. “Alright. What do we do?”

At Larry’s direction, they made one. It was remarkably well made and comfortable inside. They laid on the carpeted floor on top of a blanket and pillows and peered up at the screen from under the fabric canopy.

Larry and him yelped and jumped back into the fort. Clinging to each other. Listening to the clashing of swords and tense music.

Miles stayed. Eye’s trained on the screen.

He inched forward. Larry clung to him, eyes squeezed tight. He didn’t move far enough to see the screen. "Are they winning?” He whispered weakly.

Miles face was tense but unwavering. “No.” He did not look away. He squeezed the pillow tighter against his chest. “They’re not.”

He reached out and took one of Miles clenched hands in his. It was shaking. He squeezed it. “Not yet.”

Miles squeezed back. “Not yet.”

Miles was more than happy to outline the entire fight in dramatic hand motion for them once the movie was over.

“Bedtime boys.”

“Okay Mom!”

Larry climbed out of the fort and stretched his arms up into the air. He followed after.

Miles didn’t follow them out. “Can we sleep in here tonight?”

“You scared Edgey?” Larry grinned sleepily.

“No.” It wasn’t the sharp no that really meant yeah. It was just a no. “It’s just. Nice.” His cheeks flushed.

“We could drag one of the futons in and sleep on that!” He proposed.

“Yeah.” Larry yawned. “Okay.”

It was way too small for the three of them. Mostly cause Larry spread out like a starfish and took up half the bed.

Miles curled up on the opposite side, his back pressed into the couch. Rubbed his cheek against the soft fleece blanket.

Phoenix flopped down next to him, sharing the same un-Larry filled third. “I don’t want Larry to kick me again.” He explained, hoping Miles wasn’t annoyed at how close they were. Their hands were almost touching.

He just made a happy noise and sank heavy into the pillow.

It was nice in here.

The first boom of thunder had him jumping out of his skin.

The second and he was running back into the building.

He did not like Thunder. Hated how loud it was and how it rumbled and it – it – it.

It was scary.

“Phoenix!” His wrist was trapped in Miles firm grip. Yanking him to a halt. “Where are you going?”

He couldn’t swallow the yelp at the next boom or the way his shoulders drew up to his ears while he desperately covered them.

He held his breath. Unable to breath in or out.

Miles tugged him forward. Pulled him down onto one of the library’s bean bag chairs shoved into the corner of the kids section.

He pulled his knees to his chest and pressed his hands tighter against his skull.

The chair shifted as Miles curled up next to him, shoulder to shoulder.

“Um. We can wait here until it stops. I don’t think my umbrella would work right now anyway.”

He nodded into his knees and tried to hide the tears that were escaping.

“Do you…” The fabric of Miles jacket shifted over his arm. “Want a hug?”

He nodded. An arm wrapped around his back and squeezed his shoulder.

He twisted and buried his face in Miles shoulder. Clinging to the soft cotton of his buttoned shirt. Trying to swallow the sobs.

He really didn’t like thunderstorms.

Miles hands slowly came up and held him. Cradling him to his chest.

He choked on a wobbly inhale and cuddled in tighter.

“Do you want me to read something?” One hand disappeared and the zipper of his bag sounded.

“S-sure.”

Miles read quietly to him, chin hooked over his shoulder. The soft cadence of his voice easing the mountain of tension from his shoulders. He snuffled trying to keep his nose from running. Miles just handed him a tissue without pausing.

His nose honked loudly when he blew it and that did make Miles pause to glare at him. He just smiled sheepishly in return.

He didn’t need to stay in Miles lap. He should probably get up and move next to him. But he didn’t want to. And Miles didn’t ask him to. Hummed warmly when he tucked his head back into his shoulder.

“You smell nice.” He nuzzled against the collar of his shirt and the bowtie there.

He did. He couldn’t put his finger on what he smelled like but it felt the same way blankets pulled warm from a dryer did. Warm. Comforting. Soothing.

The pounding rain and even the occasional boom of thunder was muted by that gentle warmth wrapped around him

He didn’t even notice when he drifted off to sleep.

Not until a librarian was shaking them awake a while later, worry and amusement lining the soft lines her face.

“Mmghn.” He moved the horsy again. “Can we do something else?”

“Like what?” Miles moved the castle.

Rain beat against the window. Rattling it. He moved a pawn. What a waste of their day off. Trapped inside by a storm.

He bet Larry was having fun. Or maybe he was just trapped in a hotel room with the rest of his family.

He flopped back on the bed. He heard the pieces rattle. Miles made an annoyed sound so some of them must have fallen. “I don’t know.”

He grumbled and picked the board up. Set it on his desk. “You didn’t have a better idea!”

“I didn’t think chess would be boring! You made it sound fun!”

“It is fun.”

He put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. It didn’t seem that fun to him. “We could play signal samurai?”

“Without Larry?”

He had a point.

“Your Game Boy?”

“The batteries are just as dead as the last time you asked.” He crossed his arms and frowned at the window. “And we’re not going out for replacements in this.”

“Courthouse?”

“Still a person short. Who would we defend?”

“Uh… Rescue?”

Miles shook his head. “All our games are for three people.”

He sat up. “I don’t see you suggesting anything!”

“I suggested chess but you don’t want to play that!”

“… Then if I suggest a two person game you’ll try it? Even if you don’t think you’ll like it? Cause I tried chess!” He pointed out.

Miles narrowed his eyes. “… Fine.”

He grinned and jumped to the edge of the bed. “Great! Then we’re wrestling!”

“What?! No!”

“You said you’d try it!”

“But- But…” His eyes flickered around the room. To the floor. “We’ll get hurt on the wood.”

“We’ll play on the bed!”

“We’ll hit the wall! Fall!”

He looked back at it. “We can put cushions up!” Miles stared down at the floor. Sour expression. “Come on! You promised you’d try.”

That got him a glare. “I didn’t promise.” The scowl deepened. “Fine.”

He’d stalked out of the room before he realized Miles had agreed.

He dashed after him.

Miles pulled the cushions off the couch and some spare blankets from a closet. Shoved them into his hands and grabbed some more.

Miles frowned when they reentered the room. Climbed up on the bed and shoved the cushions between the wall. Took the blankets and bunched them out on the edges of the bed. Shoved the pillows against the headboard. Sat in the center of the bed considering it.

“Good enough?”

His scowl deepened but he didn’t rearrange anything.

“Good enough!” He decided, tackling Miles.

It got him a yelp. Miles wiggled in his grip and they twisted and rolled on the bed until he let Miles pin him.

He grinned up. Miles sat on his heels and huffed. “There. I win?”

Miles hair was all rumpled and out of place. He was always so careful about his appearance. It was nice to see him rumpled.

His smile just got bigger. “Sure. You win.” Nodded. “Round one.”

He lunged upward and flipped Miles onto his back.

Miles blinked up at him. He pressed down on his shoulders waiting for Miles to try and throw him off.

Miles stared at him. Reached up and-

Rearranged his hair. Carded through his spikes.

“Your hair got messed up.”

That wasn’t how this game was supposed to go.

But…

He leaned into the motion. A purr starting.

He drifted so far into the motion he fell over. Off to the side.

Miles propped himself on his elbow. Staring at him.

“Does that mean I win again?”

“I pinned you!”

He stifled a yawn. “Tie game then?”

“Okay.” He looked at the spare blankets on the side and the raised sides the couch cushions made. “Wanna build a fort?”

Miles eyes lit up almost like they did when he talked about law.

He dragged one of the blankets up and shoved one end behind the cushion, making a little triangle tent. Larry would have made something better. He knew how to make the best pillow forts.

Miles eyes shone. He stared up at the fuzzy ceiling. Reached up and pet the fleece. His chest didn’t rumble but it stuttered a quite purr.

Miles liked it. He did good.

His chest swelled with happy. His purr making him unsteady with its unintentional volume.

Miles was staring at him and his face was heating up but it wouldn’t stop. He covered his face with his hands.

“Do you… want to read?”

He nodded. Listened to Miles shuffle out. Come back with a stack of books. He grabbed one off the top and buried his face in it.

Miles scooted next to him. Shoulder to shoulder. Opened up a large tome.

A few chapters later there was a heavy weight on his shoulder. Miles. Sleeping. Small contented noises escaping.

He rested his cheek on the crown of his head. Miles smelled nice.

He closed his eyes to the sound of beating rain and Miles soft breathing.

Blinked blearily awake to Mr. Edgeworth’s soft chuckling. “Time to eat boys.”

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and they climbed out together.

And then Miles was gone.

He showed Larry the heart shaped necklace. Recounted the entire tale with waving hands and hearts in his eyes. They were Soulmates. Maybe even True mates. Fairy tale or not - he just landed in one.

“Sounds like one hella cute omega.” Larry grinned up at him.

“Hey!” He smacked his shoulder. “I didn’t say she was an omega!”

Larry snorted and rolled onto his back. Stinking up his bed with his stupid alpha scent. “You alwaysfall for omegas Nicky.”

“No I don’t!”

“Yeah you do! Your nose is just too shit to realize!”

He growled. “My nose is not shit!”

Larry sat up. Pointed at him. “Twenty bucks says she’s an omega just like every other chick you’ve had a crush on.”

“Hey you can’t prove that!”

He started listing off names. His face heated.

Pointed his objection. “Racheal wasn’t an omega!”

“Dude. Bro. My man.” Larry clapped his shoulder. Eyes pitying. “She totally was. She just used a shit ton of blockers. An omega gives you the time of day and you’re done. You’ve always been like that.”

“Oh yeah?” He was three seconds from yanking him to the floor for a tousle on the rug.

“Yeah. Even before we presented. I mean, Lucy, Lucia, Matilda, Samantha-”

“Stop!” He shoved his face into his knees and covered his ears. “Lucy transferred! That one’s not even fair!”

He laughed that annoying Larry laugh. “She was totally going to present as an omega dude!”

“You can’t just assume!”

“It was so obvious though. She was an omega, we were going to be alphas. It was practically carved into grade school stone.”

“You can’t tell until someone presents. You’re not a doctor Larry.” You weren’t even a high school grad.

“PFT. You know for someone so smart you’re really dumb sometimes.” Larry kicked his leg. “You don’t present out of nowhere. Those instincts are always there. You’re just too dumb to look.”

“I’m not dumb!”

“Twenty bucks your girlfriends an omega!”

“You’re on!”

He smacked the twenty into Larry’s waiting hand. “Shut up.” He growled. “It’s not like you’re any better.”

He smirked. Waving the bill and shaking his head. “Unlike you, my hearts not so fickle as to limit itself to omegas. Any beautiful lady can steal my heart!”

Yeah that sure seems true. You tried to date every girl in our high school class.

“Why I’ll have you know Clary is an Alpha! She pinned me last week and I’ve never been more in love!” His eyes filled with tears. “We’re gonna be together forever!”

“Sure Larry. Sure.”

“You swallowed glass?”

He curled into his bed and pillow. There were still whiffs of her left.

She’d tried to kill him. She said she hated him.

Why do you think she’s actually been dating you all this time?

“Shut up Larry.”

“You wanna fight? I mean you have to be pissed right?”

He pressed the pillow harder to his face.

“… Yeah alright.” The bed creaked and Warmth pressed into his back as Larry laid down behind him. “Glad you didn’t die bro. I always knew that omega was shit.”

“Did you?”

Come on Wright. It’s obvious she’s just using you. You were just the perfect rube.

An arm wrapped around his waist. Larry’s head pressed against the back of his neck.

“… Nah man. She always seemed really nice.”

By the time Edgeworth joined them for the celebratory party Larry was already several drinks ahead of everyone else. Edgeworth eyed him worriedly.

“Come on.” He slid his beer over to Edgeworth and aimed for a reassuring smile. “You’re a free man now. You could stand to relax and enjoy it a little.”

He slowly reached out and took the drink. Cheeks still flush from the December air outside. “Right.”

He grinned and it felt very silly in his cheeks. That only made him grin more. Scooting closer to him at the bar. “That’s my name!”

Edgeworth’s sharp eyes glared at him over the rim of the glass. “How many have you had Wright?”

He drifted closer. Elbow supporting him on the bar as he gazed upward at Miles. At his eyes that liked to hide behind his bangs. One of the ceiling lamps haloed his hair and made it shine. “Not that many.”

Miles didn’t pull away. Didn’t shove him away. Just stared right back. Like a painting. The amber liquid held in his hand. Maybe he could pull out those old paintbrushes and capture the image forever.

“Edgey!” Larry’s arms wrapped around Miles neck. Yanking him slightly off kilter. The beer sloshed in his glass. “There you are! We’ve been waiting for you!”

A tiny rumble of annoyance escaped the prosecutor. He shoved Larry slightly, elbowing him. “That’s a blatant lie.”

“Haha yeah. But you know I saved you yesterday so I think you owe me!”

“I think you’re more than adequately intoxicated.”

“I’m fine!” He whined, nuzzling against the increasingly irate Miles. “No fair Edgey, help a brother out!”

“You’re more than capable of making a spectacle of yourself without my help Larry.”

Larry stopped rubbing his face against Miles suit jacket, brow drawn together in a brief moment of something. Which was good because he knew firsthand how irritating that felt. Stupid facial hair. He was half tempted to yank Larry off him just for the sake of keeping the peace.

He reached over to do exactly that. “He said no Larry, come on.” He really needed to learn boundaries. Like don’t touch Miles.

He wanted to growl it.

Larry tightened his grip and hooked his chin over Miles shoulder. Eyes unfocused and staring at the bar wall.

“Yeah yeah fine. You can repay me by drive me home then.”

Miles shoulders drew up. “If you think I’m letting you into my car-“

Larry whispered right into his ear. Over the drone of the bar he couldn’t make it out.

His shoulders tensed impossibly tighter. His face turned further away. Considering Larry. The soft pink flush of his cheeks draining away.

The glass connected harshly with the bar and he stood. Larry sticking like a leach to his back. “Fine.”

“Wha” He stood just as suddenly. Reaching out to grab his sleeve. “But you just got here!” His hand wrapping around Mile’s wrist. “Just call him a cab!”

Miles stared at the point of connection. His hand wrapped around his wrist. For one heartbeat.

Two.

Three.

“Edgey…”

He pulled his wrist free. Rubbing it with his free hand. He hadn’t been holding it that tightly. He didn’t look at Phoenix. “He’ll just get into more trouble if we do that. Excuse us.” He bowed slightly, which seemed difficult to do with Larry the leach and turned. Walked out of the bar.

He took the discarded drink back and grumbled. It wasn’t fair of Larry to kidnap Miles like that.

He paused halfway through an irritated sip to wonder when Edgeworth had become Miles again.

He couldn’t find his suit jacket before he biked after Maya. It was probably just hidden somewhere under the piles of cans and take out containers strewn about the office. He was in a rush. He didn’t have time to look.

It was weirder that it didn’t show up after he’d finished cleaning.

… Well hopefully he wouldn’t need to go to court until it turned up. He didn’t need to add a new jacket to his expenses.

It showed up a week later in the arms of a faux apologetic Larry.

He snatched it back. “I was THIS close to buying a new one Larry! Of course it was you. It’s always you!”

“Hey man that hurts! And I swear it was for a good cause!”

“Oh yeah? And what was that?”

Larry looked away. Rubbed the back of his head. “Uhhh. To help out a friend.” Sure Larry.

“Which friend?’

His eyes stayed trained on the wall. Sweat starting. “You don’t know em.” He lied. Like a liar.

“And how did my jacket help them?”

“That’s not important.”

He growled. “Larry…”

“Anyway! It’s been dry cleaned so you’re not even allowed to get mad! It’s totally fine!”

“I should be getting mad!?” What the hell did you do to my suit jacket?!

“NO!”

He tackled him. Pinning him to the ground. “Larry-”

Was pinned to the ground a moment later. Larry’s weight distributed so efficiently he could hardly wiggle. Arms held firmly to the floor above him.

“Why are you still so much better at this than me?!” He demanded trying to break free.

He grinned that stupid guileless grin. “I win. So now you have to forgive me!”

“Tell me what I’m forgiving you for!”

“Taking your jacket. Obviously.”

“WHY!?” He crunched. Arms lifting an inch off the ground. Larry’s balance shifted slightly and-

He was pinned back to the ground.

“Nuh uh. Losers don’t get to make demands.” Shook his head. “It was for a good cause Nicky. I swear. Your sacrifice really helped out a friend in need.”

“…” He let the tension drain from his arms. “You’re not lying to me?”

Larry let his wrists go and leaned back on his heels. Crossed his heart with his hands. “Edgey boy levels of honesty.” He smiled. Sleeves slipping over his hands. “Besides I smelled that thing when I took it. You should be thanking me. I’m the reason it finally got cleaned!”

He lunged upward for round two.

Every time Ema and him entered Edgeworth’s office he felt a little more trapped. On edge. Desperate. Like he needed to do something. Fight someone. Not Edgeworth. Never Edgeworth. But someone.

Edgeworth he wanted to pin to the ground. Squish into the pink sofa until all the pain left him. Until he was asleep and content in his arms. Until things were all right again.

This case just kept getting worse and worse for him.

“Mr. Wright…” They waited for the elevator. She worried a shape into the pad of her notebook. “Is Mr. Edgeworth going to be alright?”

A letter of resignation.

“His office. It just smelled so…”

Larry said he had a bad nose. Maybe if he had a good one he’d be able to identify what it was.

His gut was a tight ball. His hands clenched in his pockets.

Just because he couldn’t smell it didn’t mean he didn’t feel it.

“Let’s just focus on the case for now.”

“R-right.”

A note on a desk.

“No.” No. He spun around- ready to lash out. To draw blood. This room- this room-

Gumshoe pulled him into his coat and arms. “I’m sorry pal.”

“No.” His fingers dug into the older Alpha’s shirt. Nails pulling the fabric apart at the seams. “No. I was supposed to save him.”

Gumshoes arms held him tighter. Chest roaring with the mountain of distress. “That’s not how it works pal.”

He buried his tears into Detective Gumshoe’s painful purr.

Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death.

“Nick.”

He didn’t need a good nose to know she was upset.

He wrapped his arms around her. Rubbed his cheek against the base of her neck. She pressed her head up into his hair.

“It’s going to be okay Maya. I got this.”

A high pitched noise. “I knew you were special someone’s!”

Maya pulled away, turning to Pearl. “Pearly that’s not!”

“It’s really not.” Way to make this weird.

“It’s time.” A bailiff told them.

“Come on. We’ve got this.”

Franziska didn’t even have the politeness to pretend to apply scent blockers. No. She let her Alpha rage roll off her like ocean waves.

The courtroom isn’t your personal battlefield Von Karma.

Grow up or Get out.

Honestly, she was just making the rest of them look bad. Playing into every angry alpha stereotype.

Of course she had a whip. Of course. Wasn’t that just perfect?

Maya was gone. Maya was gone.

In the hands of an assassin.

He coated on scent blocker. Closed his shaking hands into fists and did what needed to be done.

Go get Matt Engarde a full acquittal.

How dare you come back. How dare you.

“Franziska-” Edgeworth reached out his hand to her. She watched it. Flinched away.

No blockers meant even he could read her.

Anger. Anger and distress. Distress.

Edgeworth wanted to comfort her.

She snatched the tulips from his hands. “I think visiting hours are over.” Retreated.

Edgeworth’s hand stayed aloft for a moment more. Fell.

“Wright. Tell me what’s going on. You clearly didn’t want trial to be adjourned today.”

“Wright.” He jolted. Head jerking to Edgeworth. What was?

“What are you doing here? You left… hours ago.”

He was collapsed in a chair. Pearl, sleeping between his lap and a second chair pulled up next to him. He wanted to look at Edgeworth but his eyes kept drifting back to Maya. Where she and Larry and Lotta and Gumshoe were dancing across the Gatewater floor.

“Yes. I… Managed to catch up with Franziska. Thank you for giving me her whip.”

“Oh that’s…” This thumb drew small circles on Pearl’s shoulder. Maya beamed as Larry twirled her. Safe. Safe. They were safe. “Good.”

“Wright.” There was a hand on his shoulder. He should jerk away from it or lean into it or something. But all he could do was watch Maya. “My room’s a double.”

“Good for you.”

The hand stayed for a few moments more. “I’ll tell Maya it’s time for bed.” The hand went away. His shoulder was cold.

He kept drawing little circles on Pearl’s shoulder.

Edgeworth moved out into the small cluster of people. Maya grinned and grabbed his hand. Spinning around him with that brilliantly bright smile of hers.

Edgeworth let her but he could see his mouth moving. Maya looked over to him. Waved. His arms were leaden exhaustion but he raised one to weakly wave back anyway.

She turned back to Edgeworth. Spoke animatedly. Punched him in the shoulder.

Began skipping over. Edgeworth slowly trailing behind.

“Nick! Guess what!”

“Hm?”

“Edgeworth said we can stay in his room! We get to stay here! In the crazy nice hotel!”

“The office is literally next door.”

“A mattress! With like thousand count sheets! Instead of that busted old couch! Come on Nick!”

“The couch isn’t busted.” Edgeworth leaned down to touch Pearl- pick her up probably.

He growled.

Maya’s eyes went wide. He covered his bared teeth. Edgeworth stopped and watched him.

“Sorry.”

Miles levered himself back to standing. Pushing up on his knees. “Come on Wright. Time for bed.”

The bags under his eyes had a physical weight to them. He tried to pick Pearl up without waking her. She made a small sound and cuddled into his shoulder. Dragged his body upward. To standing.

Maya tucked herself into his side. He put his arm around her shoulder. Tried not to make obvious how much he was leaning on her for support.

Edgeworth held open the door for them. Maya barreled in. Belly flopping onto the mattress. Rubbing her face all over the blankets as she rolled in them.

“Nick these are SO nice!”

The door closed behind Edgeworth. He heard the lock softly click. Watched Edgeworth slide the gold door chain lock into place. Step back. He stared at the lock for a few moments more.

Was that really enough? What if someone came in and took Maya again? Or Pearl this time? That tiny chain wouldn’t stop anyone. There had to be something more he could do-

“Wright.” Edgeworth. “We can put a chair in front, if it would make you feel better.”

Stupid Alpha. It’s fine.

He nodded anyway.

“AH HA!” Maya triumphantly announced. “The nest is done! Give me Pearly Nick!”

She’d already rearranged the blankets and pillows into a small nest pressed against the headboard. He walked over and handed Pearl, who blinked awake briefly as they passed her, over the fabric walls of the nest.

Maya curled around her. Wrapping Pearl up in her scent. Safe. They were safe.

Edgeworth jammed the door with a chair. He paced the outline of the room. Listened to Maya and Pearl purr.

Safe. They were safe.

The water turned on briefly in the bathroom. The purring began to stutter and fault as they fell asleep.

He paced the length of the room.

The bathroom door opened. Edgeworth stepped out in a set of pink pajamas. Neck bare. Some other night he would have enjoyed that.

“You’re going to wear a tread into the carpet.” He warned. Watching him pace. Back and forth. “Either get in the nest with them or lay down.”

“I can’t.” I have to protect them.

Stupid stupid alpha. They’re fine.

“Wright.” Edgeworth cut his path off. A hand pressing into his chest. “Your pack is safe. Close your eyes and breathe in.” He ordered.

He resisted. For a moment. Edgeworth’s face, as hard as always, did not waver.

He closed his eyes and breathed.

Maya. Pearl. Contentment.

Safe.

He fell forward into Edgeworth. The man effortlessly supported his weight.

It was faint under the fresh change of clothes and whatever blocker it was he used. But it was still there. That scent like warm blankets fresh from the dryer.

“At least get in the bed before you collapse on me.” He complained, maneuvering them to the spare bed.

“I’m still mad at you.” He mumbled into his shoulder. They flopped down onto covers. He stayed half on top. One leg slotted between Miles’. Nose pressed to his beautifully bare neck.

“Save that for tomorrow morning.” A hand was carding through his hair. A quiet rumble pushing up through Miles chest into his. “For now, just rest.”

Finally. He slept.

He woke up alone. Well. Not alone. Maya and Pearl slept on in the bed next to him. But Edgeworth was gone.

He listened to the shower run.

Here. Not totally gone.

He burrowed further into the blankets and tried not to growl.

Couldn’t even let me have this Edgeworth? Couldn’t even let me have one morning where I wake up with you in my arms and knew for sure that you’re safe and alive?

He buried his face in the stupid pillows. Chased after that barely there scent.

Asshole.

The second time he woke up the room smelled like breakfast. To Maya jumping right onto him.

“Breakfast! Room service! Nick!”

“Ooof!’ He groaned in protest. “Ooow. Get off me!”

She laughed and scrambled off him. Towards the small table lined with food.

Edgeworth sat on the couch. No bed head in sight. Brushing Pearls hair as she ate.

Your pack is safe.

“Wright you should hurry if you want breakfast. I doubt Maya has any qualms about cleaning the remaining plates.”

“I do not!”

He rolled out of bed with a groan and shuffled over to the table.

“If you’re trying to bribe your way to forgiveness,” He took a bite of the quiche. Stopped. Savored it. That was good. “… It won’t work.” He finished, far less certain than when he’d began.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Stood. Grabbed a pastry. Stared at him as he shoved another bite in.

“… What?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” He scolded. His hand came up. Carded through his limp spikes. Arranging them back into position.

He froze. Stuck between irritation and the almost overwhelming urge to lean in.

The hand disappeared. Taking jacket on the chair behind him and pulling it on.

“Have a good day.”

“You’re going to work?!”

He glanced back over his shoulder at them. One eyebrow raised. “Yes?”

“… Have a good day.”

There were phone calls across the ocean. He’d drift off to the sounds of Miles readying for the day.

“When are you coming home?” He mumbled, half asleep into his pillow. Listening to Miles put on his cravat for a new day.

He imagined instead he was listening to Miles take it off. Neck bare. So he could lay down in the bed next to him. Warm, sleepy and he’d snuggle into the softest fleece. Purring.

“… Do you need me to?” Was the soft reply. The rustling halting.

“I miss you.”

“… I miss you too.”

It wasn’t just that Iris looked so familiar. It wasn’t just that she felt familiar.

She smelled familiar too. Like that sweet omega he’d loved.

That had betrayed him.

Her hood. It smelled just like her. He pressed the cloth to his nose and inhaled it.

Really it just made everything that much more confusing.

“Wright.”

Edgeworth?

“You’re alive.”

At the door to his hospital room stood a man in a rumpled jacket with deep bruises under his eyes. Ruffles disheveledly ruffled around his neck.

Edgeworth.

“Yeah I’m,” A cough interrupted him. “Not that easy to get rid of.”

The chair next to his bed was pulled out. Edgeworth did not sit perfectly straight in it. His elbows rested on his knees and he leaned in close.

“Larry said you fell off a bridge and drowned.” A low rumble- a growl? Nah. Edgeworth wouldn’t growl. That’d be improper. He giggled at the notion. “I’m going to strangle that man with his own sleeves.”

“No that parts true.” Edgeworth looked upset. “It was only a little on fire.”

Because there hadn’t been much bridge left.

Edgeworth got even paler. He didn’t think his reassurance worked.

“Why would you-” There was a strangled sound.

The bridge.

Maya!

“Maya! She’s still trapped over there!” How had he forgotten? She was trapped over there and it was so cold out and they didn’t have food and- “I have to go help her!” He started to untangle himself from the stupid tangle of blankets.

“I’ll make sure it’s handled Wright.” A hand was on his shoulder. Slowing him down. “Lay down.”

He believed him. Let that hand start guiding him back down when. “Iris.”

“What?”

He twisted towards his laptop. “Iris. She not. I know she didn’t do it. I have to-“ Something stuck in his throat as he twisted and that urge to cough became unbearable. He curled forward and hacked. Coughing and coughing and coughing and he couldn’t stop to breathe in and when he tried there was something there and no air would come in and he was so scared he wouldn’t be able to and Maya and Iris and poor little Pearl-

The bed creaked but he only felt it depress under him over the sound of his own coughing. Warmth blanketed his back and then the rumbling started. Deep and strong it vibrated through the whole of his chest.

He hacked once more and something dislodged. Inhaled. Fresh air filled his burning lungs. He coughed a few more times and tasted slimy mucus on the back of his tongue.

“Ew.” He complained, hand blindly searching for the tissues.

One appeared in his hand and he spit the snot into it. The rumbling did not stop and he eased back into it.

Edgeworth’s arms were wrapped around his chest. His legs splayed out on either side of the bed. His chest was warm and vrring soothingly like hum of a car engine.

He leaned back into it and tucked his forehead into the junction of Miles jaw and neck. Shivering despite the blankets and hood. Despite his warmth.

“I can’t smell you.” He whined. Nose clogged. “You used to smell so good.” Like. Like blankets still warm from the dryer. He wanted burrow into them and wrap himself up in that scent.

“Used to huh?” The motor slowed to half a hum.

“Noooo. Don’t stop. It helps.” He could breathe. The urge to hack out a lung made distant by Miles soft engine.

“Ngh.” The vibration stuttered and restarted.

He drifted there. Tucked into Miles shoulder. Drifting back towards sleep.

“Iris.” He snapped open his eyes and grabbed for the laptop again. “I need-“

Miles pinned him back to his chest with one firm hand. “To sleep.”

“No- No she’s innocent. I know she didn’t do it. I have to. I have to clear her name.”

“Well you’re not going anywhere in this condition Wright.”

Gods. He just need a second body. One that wasn’t ill. That could go investigate for him.

Oh. He had an idea.

“Miles.” The rumbling stuttered and then roared and he could physically feel the sound vibrating through their chests. He tried to angle his head to look at Edgeworth but he’d bowed it and his face was hidden by a curtain of hair. “I need a favor.”

“What now Wright?”

He reached over to the side table again but grabbed something else instead.

“Take this?”

One of the hands around his chest released, palm up.

He set the golden defense attorney’s badge in it.

“W- and do what with this?”

“The rumbles!” He complained about their sudden stopping.

“No I’m not going to purr myself into being alright with this- I’m a prosecutor not a defense attorney!”

“Yeah. I know. A brilliant one. Please. I need you to defend Iris for me.”

“I can hire someone to defend her for you but I can’t just-“

“NO! It has to be you!” He tried to twist in Edgeworth’s grip to plead with him directly. The grip around his ribs tightened. Making it impossible. “You care about stuff. Please. You’re the only one I’d trust with this.”

Miles head tucked into the crook of his neck. His arms shaking.

“I know you can do this. Please Miles.”

His hand closed around the badge and the rest was history.

“Wooh bro you should lay back down.”

He glared at Larry – Laurice – from where he’d fallen from the bed.

Okay so he wasn’t quite as stable as he thought yet. But he was good enough. He could go investigate.

Larry picked him up by the armpits and dragged him back off the floor onto the mattress. “Just let Edgey handle it. Your mate did great today!” Thumbs up.

“My what?! Larry! We’re not!” His face was definitely bright red and not from the lingering fever.

Larry blinked at him. Tilted his head and crossed his arms. “You sure man? Cause you smell hella claimed.”

“Don’t you think I’d know if we were?” (Besides how would we? He keeps running away.)

“Hmm, I don’t know. You’re not always the brightest bulb in the six pack.”

(What does that even mean? And I don’t want to hear that coming from you!)

“I mean he flew halfway around the world to check on you.”

“What? No he said he was already here for work.”

Pity. Why was Larry looking at him with pity?

“Well whatever cuddle party you two had,” He interjected. “That was just because I couldn’t breathe!” Larry ignored him. “You stink. You’re all sickness and distressed omega. You need a shower.”

“I’m not an omega.”

“Didn’t say you were bro.”

The shower was nice. He felt significantly more human after. The steam even cleared his nose for a bit.

It clogged back up by the time he finished getting dressed but it had been nice to breathe clearly while it lasted.

“How could I have done that..?”

Still beating himself up over letting Iris run away during the earthquake it seemed.

“Edgeworth?”

“Aaah!” He jumped and turned like he was going to make a break for it over the fence.

“Hey! Don’t you dare run away!”

He was so sick of Miles running.

He grit his teeth. Held himself. But turned back to him all the same.

“What do you want Wright?”

“What do I want?”

“If you came here to laugh at me, then get on with it. Go on. Laugh.”

(Edgeworth…)

He sighed.

Pulled his hands out of his jacket.

“Fine.” He stepped forward. The snow crunched under his feet. “Come here.”

Miles was nothing but sharp edges and tension when he wrapped his arms around him.

“W-what are you…?”

“You’re stronger than you think. So stop it with all the self-pity okay?”

Between the frigid cold and the cold he still couldn’t smell anything. But he didn’t have to have a working nose to soothe with his own scent. You’re Safe. Loved. Protected.

He wasn’t sure it was working.

Not until Miles melted like spring snow into his arms. Nose tucked into the space between his jacket and scarf.

“I’m sorry for letting her get away.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” He ran his fingers through the soft strands of his grey hair.

“I’m still sorry.”

“Then you’re forgiven.”

Miles sighed into his jacket. Squeezed him back. “You’re ridiculous Wright.”

“… You went back to the criminal affairs department right? Because you wanted to look into something about Iris?”

His jacket was released and both stepped back. Not that he wanted to. “Yes. I thought I had seen her before, in court. So I went back and looked.”

“What’d you find?”

His cheek ached. The imprint of Pearls hand turning it red.

Edgeworth squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll handle the girls. Take your time.”

He sent a grateful smile back. Squeezed the hand on his shoulder in return.

“Mr. Edgeworth?” Iris called after him, as he was halfway out the door. “I wanted to thank you for your advice.”

Edgeworth’s lips were a tight line. He nodded.

“I think maybe it’s time you took it yourself.”

“Huh?” He looked between them.

“… I’ll take it under consideration.”

The door closed behind him. “What was that about?” He asked her.

“That’s the Edgeworth you always used to talk about right Feenie?”

Feenie.

Swallowed glass.

It dug into his throat.

“Yeah. I guess.”

“I’m glad you found him at long last.”

“Y-yeah I,” He looked up at her and stopped. What was that expression? Wait. “Hold it! We’re not!” He slammed his hands down on the table. “Not together!”

She smiled. Tittered. “Okay, okay. I believe you Feenie.”

“… Could you not…?”

Her eyes widened. Head tilted down. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

“No- its fine.”

They both stared at their hands for a while.

“I know it doesn’t mean much now but… I really did love you. I wanted you to be happy. I still do. So… Even if you hate me…”

Hating you would be easy. It wouldn’t have hurt so much if I hadn’t loved you.

“I’m really glad you found each other. I know that omega really loves you.”

“…” He lifted his head to frown at her. “Maya’s like a sister to me.”

Her eyes widened- gods he could see Pearls in that motion. Morphed into a weak smile. Like they’d just shared a joke that had stopped being funny years ago. One that left her a happy recollection but was mostly sad. “You never had a very good nose did you?”

He almost argued Yeah I still have a head cold from falling in the Eagle River thanks. But he stopped. Searched her.

“… No. I guess not.”

Maya and Edgeworth were speaking in hushed tones in the waiting lobby. Pearly bounced over to him with a can of juice in her hand. He smiled and they neared them together.

“He’s already done far too much for me.” Edgeworth with that worrying self-sacrificial tone.

“Yeah I really don’t think he’d mind.” Maya with a cheeky one.

“Mind what?” He asked.

They both jumped.

“Nothing.” Edgeworth might have said. It was drowned out by Maya’s, “NOTHING!”

And then the sliding of locks over their hearts.

“… I still have the magatama on me.” He warned both of them.

“It isn’t my secret! Pearly and I are taking the bus home! Good night!”

They both watched her go.

Real natural Maya.

“So.”

Edgeworth gripped his elbow and turned away. “It’s not something you need to concern yourself with.”

“Yeah well, too bad. I’m already concerned so save us both some time and just tell me.”

He mumbled something that was definitely not meant to be audible. He leaned in and cupped his ear. “What?”

“I’m in pre-heat! There! Does that satisfy you?” Edgeworth snapped. Face bright red as he glared down at him.

Oh.

Um. “Anything I can do to help?”

“No.” He looked away again but the flush on his cheeks remained. “Franziska has already made it clear she is willing to aid me,” He forced down the irritation that bubbled up. They were siblings. She’d probably helped him through plenty. Somehow that made it worse. “And worst case I can always ask Larry again.”

Again? The growl broke free. He stepped forward. “You asked Larry before me?!”

Edgeworth blinked blankly at him. “Wha- He helped me through the last one I had in LA yes. Why are you?” Miles took a step back into the wall. He matched it.

“Why Larry and not me?! After everything you’d choose Larry over me?!”

“That’s not-”

He couldn’t smell the pre-heat yet but this close he could smell Miles every time he dragged a breath in around his teeth.

“You should have asked Me!”

Miles looked a little dazed where he pressed against the cement brick walls. “I-I couldn’t.”

“Why not?” Yes the alpha growl was still rumbling through his vocal cords and throat. It was impolite. But he couldn’t stop it. Larry. Larry got to be there for Miles. Got to share his nest and hold him and- and-

Miles gaze kept flicking away but the growl, his demand for attention, always drew it back. “Because it wouldn’t have been platonic with you.”

The growl died.

You smell hella claimed dude.

“I’m sorry. I swear I don’t mean for this to change anything. I just. I can’t share a heat with you. I can’t pretend like I won’t try and jump you.” He squeezed his eyes tight. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I don’t want to do that to you.”

That omega really loves you.

He touched the hand digging into Miles elbow. Watched the heartbreaking spasm of pain across his face. “What if I want you to?”

“…” Miles eyes blinked open. Studied him. Confused. “What?”

He moved in a breath closer. A mere inch or two between them. He could feel Edgeworth’s body heat. Smell that comforting scent like fresh blankets pulled from the dryer.

And something else. Something that made his mouth water.

“What if I want you to jump me? Want to share a heat non-platonically?”

Cause really, the idea he could share a heat platonically with Edgeworth was absurd. Frankly it hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“W-wha- Then I…” He pressed up against him. One hand pushing him into the wall. The other caging him in. He watched Miles groan, eyes fuzzy as his hardening bulge pressed into his hip. “Think we should continue this conversation elsewhere.”

Oh. He glanced around at the waiting room. “Yeah okay. That’s fair.”

“This seems wildly unnecessary.” He complained laying on the office couch. Phone pressed to his ear.

“I will not have either of us rushing into this simply because my hormones are making us…”

“Too horny?”

“Please Wright.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay so what. We’re supposed to like. Share medical history? I had a test after my last partner. I’m clean. I can probably figure out how to email that to you.”

“I’ll take your word for it. I can’t actually review it right now. I’d send you mine but…”

“Wooh do you actually have something?”

“No! I’m clean. I just. Can’t use my laptop right now. And I’d really rather not have Franziska digging through my medical history.”

“Why not?”

“Why don’t I want Franziska digging through my medical history?”

“Why can’t you use your laptop?”

The line crackled. “Ah. I have quite bad light sensitivity during pre-heat. And occasionally during.”

“Does that mean you’re buried under a pile of blankets right now?”

The silence was telling.

Aww.

“Shut up Wright.” He could almost see the blush tinging his cheeks. “I also want to make it clear you may leave at any time. Just let Franziska or Larry know if I become too much for you.”

“Yeah I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Wright.”

“Okay, okay. Promise.”

“Additionally, it’s a stress heat and I’m on birth control so you needn’t worry about that.”

“Yeah I figured. Neither of us exactly seem ready for pups.”

There was a drawn out exhale. “Uh… What else?”

“You okay over there?”

“I’m fine. It’s just. Getting hard to focus.”

His fingers clenched around the phone. I should be there. With you. Not Franziska.

“Don’t growl at me.”

“Sorry. Is that a rule during or just-”

“Just. Right now.”

“Right. Um. No on mating bites?”

“I’m not… opposed. But I agree it wouldn’t be wise.”

Not opposed? He could sink his teeth into the back of Edgeworth’s neck and claim him and keep him. He could almost feel Edgeworth’s teeth sinking into him. Mine. Mine. Mine.

He exhaled and ground the heel of his palm against his trousers. “Fuck.”

There was a quiet whine on the other side. “Behave Wright.” Came the weak protest.

“Sorry. Uh. Boundaries?”

“No derogatory language. At least at the start.” Yeah okay. “And… don’t call me perfect or any iteration there in.”

“Huh? But-”

“That one’s a hard rule. Please.”

“…” Perfect. Perfection.

Von Karma.

“Yeah. Got it.”

“Hm… I can’t think of anything else. Sorry. I haven’t spent a great deal of time thinking about this.”

“Well that makes one of us.”

“… Did you even know I was an omega?”

“Well. No. That wasn’t. What I meant.”

“I see. Yes well.” He coughed. “Fantasy is one thing. The actual mechanics are another. What are yours?”

“My fantasies?”

“Boundaries.” Miles deadpan replied.

“Oh um. Don’t threaten to kill me?”

“That may be difficult depending on how irritating you are in bed.”

“Ha. Ha. Uh… Don’t convince me I’m dating you when it’s actually your secret twin?”

“… Wright are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Yeah no I’m totally fine.” He laughed nervously. “I mean that happened years ago.”

“And you just got closure yesterday.”

“I’m fine. It’s just fresh on my mind. I really do want this.”

“This won’t be my last heat Wright. There’s always next time.”

“Edgeworth. I’m sure.”

“… Alright.” There was the distant sound of Franziska yelling. The phone was muffled as Edgeworth yelled back a reply. “… Anything else?”

Swallowed glass.

“Don’t… Call me Feenie?”

“Why would I call you that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well. I won’t.” There was a pause. “Anything else?”

“I got nothing.”

“Well. If you’re still certain-”

“I am.”

“Don’t interrupt.” He rolled his eyes. Sorry. “You may ask Franziska for the address.”

“You’re not just going to tell me?”

“I’d prefer to give you a few minutes to attempt to think this over. She won’t respond until she’s done at very least.”

“As much as that annoys me I guess that means we won’t run into each other. Little victories.”

“Quite. Alright. Then… See you soon Wright.”

“Phoenix?”

“… See you soon. Phoenix.”

Yeah. This was going to be all right.

Miles apartment was nice. Really nice. Like someone might call the police on him for being here levels of nice.

It was kinda nerve wracking.

Then there’s the multi paragraph directions Franziska sent him. Where the fridge was. Where the food was. What he should order as takeout during if they need more and exactly what exactly he should order.

Where the laundry was. How to run it. How often he needed to change them out or else she’ll whip him for mistreating her brother.

Strongly worded reminders about how he is to make sure Miles is eating and drinking because he hates to eat during heat and-

It’s a lot.

But he pushes open the bedroom door- even he can smell the cloying scent of Miles drawing him in – and the room is empty. A neat bed perfectly made. An open bathroom door. Curtains drawn over the windows.

A pile of water bottles, blankets and towels right next to the closet door along with a laptop, plugged in.

“Edgeworth?” He tries. “Miles?”

“If your nose is still running you should grab some tissues before entering.” Came the response from behind the closed closet door.

He picked a box up off the nightstand and knelt down next to it. “Uh… Omega can I come in?”

“This isn’t porn Wright.” The door cracked open. Edgeworth’s back to him. His head covered by one of Franziska’s blouses. “I hope you don’t expect anything exciting. My head hurts and I just want to sleep.”

He slowly climbed in. It was a beautiful nest. With soft canopy ceilings that must have been attached to the clothing rack and a plush mattress floor covered in soft blankets and towels. The walls intricately weaved together.

“Fuck. Miles its perfect.” Shit. “Sorry.” Messing up right at the gate.

“Yes, It is. Franziska made it.”

“Wha- wait what really? But she’s an alpha.” Although. It did definitely smell like her. He sat down on the floor and stared up. Admiring the handwork. The smell was only… a minor irritant.

Okay it was super annoying. But soon enough it would smell like the two of them and it wouldn’t matter.

“Close the door Wright.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“I don’t know how to make nests. Franziska’s always made them for me. Or Larry, that one time.”

“Really? Isn’t it supposed to be instinctive?” A small noise escaped him. “I mean there’s all those tutorials online, right? Maya even made me help her a few times.”

“I could learn. I choose not to. It’d would never be as nice.”

“Why not?”

“… Because I’d have made it.” A growl built in the back of his throat. “Will you lay down?”

He did. “You’d make a great nest Edgeworth. You’re great at pretty much everything you try.”

“Paper cranes.” Well shit. He remembered all those crumpled pieces of paper. Edgeworth’s tear stained face as another one crumpled into recognizable garbage. “Even if I became a master I would only see the imperfections. It’s better for me if someone else makes them.”

Miles rolled over and tucked himself into his chest. Into the sweatshirt he’d pulled on for the trip over. In the darkness he reached out and found the soft grey hair of his head. Stroked it. “Yeah. I guess that makes sense.”

A purr started. He yawned. Alright. He was more tired than he thought.

He nestled into the nest and let Miles purr carry him off.

[lunar-wandering]

Heist time? Heist time!

me?? writing a crossover between Monkie Kid and Kaitou Joker that only a few specific people will probably read?? its more likely than you think.

Word Count: 1.5k

read on ao3

---

"You received a what?" MK asked, staring at Mei in shock.

"A...heist notice?" Mei said, "It's not for anything important really, just some amulet no one in my family really cares about, but we are required to defend it, so I was wondering if you would come along."

"Are you kidding me?" MK asked, jumping up off of his chair in excitement. "You got a heist notice from Kaitou Joker, Mei! He's world renowned! Of course I want to help you defend your treasure from him!"

"...Do you think Red Son will want to come too?"

"Even if he doesn't, he'll probably still come anyways."

---

"I don't understand how you forced me into this." Red Son complained, as the three of them leaned against the wall in Mei's Family's Treasure Room, waiting for the time on the heist notice to arrive. "I mean, it's just one thief. How hard could fending them off be?"

"I'm pretty sure it's harder than it seems." Mei said, "I googled him when we got the notice. The list of things he's managed to steal is about three miles long."

"And the list of things he failed to steal?" MK asked.

"Non-existent. Either he always succeeds, or he covers up his failures really well."

"Well he better hurry up and get on with it." Red Son said, "I don't exactly have all day after all."

"You do know that you don't have to stay in this room right?" Mei asked, "You can go and investigate other parts of the mansion if you're bored."

"Oh thank fuck." Red Son whispered, standing up and walking out of my room. "Shout if he shows up!"

---

Of course, as fate would have it, Joker and his assistant, Hachi, just so happened to jump down through one of the windows on the roof not even ten minutes after Red Son left the room. They landed on the ground in a crouch, proceeding to stand up-

And come face to face with Mei and MK's weapons.

"We aren't going to let you take the treasure, thief." MK said, before excitedly whispering under his breath; "Man, I've always wanted to say that."

"Oh, you think you can stop me?" Joker said, a smirk on his face. "Sounds fun."

And just like that, Joker suddenly slammed a smoke bomb down onto the floor, causing Mei and MK to back up and shield their eyes so that the smoke wouldn't get in them. During the haze, Joker forcibly bumped into MK, making him drop the staff. Joker bent down to pick it up-

Only to find that he couldn't.

"Huh. Weird." He said, trying again, and giving up when it wouldn't budge. "I'll have to get back to figuring out how to steal that later."

"You'll have to what-" MK started, but was cut off by Mei, who rushed pass him, aiming to swing at Joker. He dodged at the last second, maneuvering behind her and hitting her on the back, causing her to stumble.

Joker swiftly and casually took the sword out of Mei's hands, proceeding to jump on top of a nearby statue to be out of her reach for a few moments.

"Oh now this is interesting.~" He said as he observed the sword, "Maybe I should send out a heist notice for this as well-"

Joker suddenly paused, and a tense atmosphere filled the room.

The spirits of the past dragons had surrounded Joker, and they were all glaring at him angrily.

"...You know what?" Joker said, tossing the sword over his shoulder, causing the dragons to vanish, and for Mei to scramble to catch it before it could hit the floor. "I don't need this sword, I've got plenty already. Hachi, are you ready?!"

"Yes sir!"

"Wh-" MK whirled around, to see that, while he had been distracted, focusing on Joker, his assistant had taken the amulet from it's stand. "Hey, give that back!"

He lunged at Hachi, and the ninja gave a little shriek, hurriedly side stepping and tossing the amulet to Joker, who caught it and proceeded to turn to run out of the room, Hachi moving to follow close behind.

"Oh no you don't!" Mei yelled, immediately chasing after them, with MK quickly joining her.

They ran through the hallways, twisting and turning. They almost lost sight of Joker a few times, what with him using his image gum to try and disguise himself as various statues, but MK's true sight always let them spot him rather quickly, and then the chase would be on again.

It was during one of the points when they were running after him that Red Son happened to see them from his position of sitting up in the rafters.

"Oh for the love of- I told them to shout if he showed up." He muttered to himself, before sighing. It seemed like he was going to have to step in.

"You won't get past me!" Red Son said, jumping down into the thief's way, his hands on fire. Joker didn't even blink.

"What are you, some relative of Phoenix? The fire trick is so old school y'know." He said, not even bothering to stop. He vaulted over Red Son, who, faced with the fact that the thief wasn't afraid of his fire, had frozen in place in shock. Hachi quietly ran around him as well, muttering a quiet "Sorry." As he did.

"Wh- Hey! Get back here!" Red Son yelled as soon as the shock wore off, turning and joining Mei and MK in chasing after the thief. Joker just laughed in response.

"A larger audience just makes the chase more fun!" He shouted over his shoulder-

And then suddenly he came to a complete halt, Hachi bumping into him from the unexpectedness of the sudden stop. MK, Mei and Red Son stumbled, barely stopping themselves from also running into him. MK looked over Joker's shoulder to see what had made the phantom thief pause.

There was a cat in the hallway.

MK, confusedly, looked back at the thief, wondering why a cat of all things had made him stop. He got his answers as soon as he got a good look at him.

Joker was genuinely trembling, the bit of his eyes that MK could see under the hat were filled with fear.

From his side, Hachi sighed.

"Seriously, Joker?" He asked, a bit deadpan, but still with some concern in his voice. "I assumed you'd gotten over your fear of cats after so much exposure to Hosshi."

"Well excuse me for not recovering from my childhood trauma." Joker said,  causing Red Son to stifle a laugh.

The cat meowed.

"Shit." Joker hissed, backing up and practically scrambling to climb on top of the nearest person, which happened to be Red Son, who shouted indignantly in response, struggling to pull him off to no avail.

"..While I hate to use a fear against anyone, since I know what it's like first hand." MK started, "Would you. Give us back the amulet if we get rid of the cat?"

"Fine, fine!" Joker yelled, "I'll give you the amulet okay?"

Red Son finally managed to push Joker off, the thief landing with an "oomf" on the ground, and leaving the amulet behind in Red Son's hands. Mei made swift work of picking up the cat and quickly herding it into a nearby room. MK reached down and lightly patted Joker on the shoulder.

"There, was that so hard?" He asked, a bit of smugness in his voice. Hey, he had technically just bested a world renowned phantom thief, he could be a little smug. Joker just sighed.

"Whatever." He said, before quickly jumping up, grabbing his assistant in his arms, and turning to take off down the hallway without another word, laughing once he'd reached a good distance away from them. MK was confused for a moment, before-

The amulet in Red Son's hands suddenly popped, like a balloon, leaving only a card, the Jack of Hearts, behind.

The three of them stared at it for a moment, in silence.

"Oh that fu-"

---

It was rather late when MK finally walked into the Noodle Shop, practically dragging his feet. Pigsy glanced up as he walked in.

"There you are, MK. What took you so long, your shift started two hours ago." He said. MK sighed.

"Sorry Pigsy, I was busy....." MK trailed off as he suddenly noticed the other two people in the restaurant, at the exact same time they noticed him.

MK, Joker, and Hachi stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Welp, that's my cue to go!" Joker said, picking up the bowl he'd been eating out of and carrying it with him as he ran past MK and out of the shop, Hachi quickly throwing some money on the counter before running off behind him. MK didn't even try to stop them. He stood there for a few minutes, registering what just happened, before moving to sit at one of the stools by the counter.

"Long day?" Pigsy asked.

MK put his head down on the counter and screamed.

[twilitty]

Moonlit ch.2

This is the second chapter in my new fic Moonlit, it will be posted on Tumblr, ao3, and ffnet. New chapters uploaded every week and a half. Message/comment to be added to my tag list.

3.9k words

previous chapter

big thank you to my beta reader @effervescentlyirrevocable who has given me the absolute best criticism and helped make this chapter so beautiful :)

Bella Swan is introduced to a possible new friend and receives a gift. The doctors new family may not be as well adjusted to small town life as Charlie would like.

Chapter Two

The next morning I wake up to a growl of thunder beating against the inside of my skull. I had a night of thankfully restful sleep for once, only waking up to get a glass of water. My hands are clasped against my chest, fingers knotted in annoyance as I hold back what likely will be a spill of expletives. Why must there always be noise? Why can I not sleep soundly and awake soundly, just once?

I open one eye experimentally, hoping the sun has already arisen and I won’t be missing out on any leftover sleep. My room is shrouded in darkness. The expletives, swear words crude enough to make a priest gag, spill out in a muttered breath and my hands squeeze against each other once more before reaching for my alarm clock. The red numbers blink back at me and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the light before I read the time. Nine in the morning. I look back to the window where my blinds are drawn closed, but still no light, even filtered through the canopy of clouds, peaks at the edges. 

The thunder, which had gone quiet after waking me up initially, rolls again for a moment before silencing itself. Only, was it thunder? It sounded heavy, like machinery but with a deeper growl. Was there construction nearby? I didn’t recall any on my few trips up and down the street, and I question why there would need to be any construction anyways. It’s not as if this is a booming neighbourhood with a subdivision being built. 

Charlie knocks against my door, quieter than yesterday. “Bella, it’s time to get up.” You’d imagine that with my age being nearly twenty and my status as a legal adult I’d be allowed to choose my own time to wake up. My annoyance dies down quickly when my thoughts bounce back to Phoenix, waking up early each morning to drive Mom into her early morning classes. Nine in the morning really isn’t that early, in fact, it allows me time to get some chores done before class. “Someone has dropped by.”

My lips contort into an annoyed pucker. Who would have stopped by? Mom had warned me before the move that nothing but rumours and nasty mold comes from Forks. Apparently her quick marriage to Charlie, and even quicker pregnancy with me, was enough gossip to fuel conversations for years. I remember a trip to Forks at eight years old, a woman had stopped my mother in the grocery store and asked her over for coffee. “They just want the inside scoop,” Renee had told me afterwards, “Give them anything and they’ll find a way to make it ugly.”

My bare feet brush the ground and a flash of cold spreads up my shins. Apparently, even in spring, the weather is dangerously cold. I tell Charlie I’ll be downstairs in a moment, pulling on a pair of jeans and thermal socks. I was hoping for a relaxing day alone, just me, my sweatpants, and the laptop. I compromise on the socks, regardless of who is downstairs, my toes will not be cold today.

I pull the blinds open, the lawn stretching out beside the house is bathed in shadowy darkness despite the morning hour. The forest that lines our property, secluding us from the neighbours, is eerie and mysterious. The green tones that I initially found alien and too bright are now gone and replaced with navy. I wait a moment, staring into the trees, my thoughts rambling into fairytale imaginations. 

My brain conjures an image of a man, tall and insidious, stepping out of the tree line, long claws attached to his fingers and a nasty grin revealing pointed teeth. His shirt is ripped in the front, a long tear reaching from throat to navel and from inside the shirt tufts of hair stick out. No, not hair, fur. He growls menacingly. 

I close the blinds quickly and blink against the pictures my brain throws at me. 

The landline rings downstairs and startles me, a jolt of anxious adrenaline surging through my cold feet and up into my heart. Maybe one of the reasons I enjoyed Phoenix’s barren, plain landscape was that I would not be subjected to such terrible thoughts. I remember being twelve and watching Scream with my mother, she was on a horror movie kick and had rented a whole stack of DVDs for us to watch. That night when I was tired but my eyes refused to close as I didn’t want to imagine what could be lurking outside my bedroom window. Crawling into my mother’s bed, she ran her warm palm against my forehead and hummed a song until I calmed down. 

“Bella,” she had said quietly, the nurturing lilt of her voice expanding my heart, “We live in a desert. You can see for miles and miles and miles, if some bad man was coming we’d see him from forty minutes away.” I giggled quietly into the comforter, our bodies pressed against each other in near sleep and my mother’s hands maneuvering through my hair with expertise. 

Now, I look out at the grassy lawn from a crack between the blinds. It resembles the set of a slasher movie, the forest borders it with every possibility my imagination can muster. I can see a man from four seconds away, not forty minutes.

There's a chorus of male laughter from below and I sigh, assuming this is my cue to go downstairs and meet with whoever has stopped in.

Charlie is sitting in the living room, facing me and his back to the television which is decidedly blank. On the couch is a head of glossy, black hair. Beside him is a wheelchair with an older man sitting in it, a mug clasped between dark hands. I curse whatever forces brought these strangers into the house so early, I am not in the mood for interaction. I was hoping for a bowl of oatmeal and a quiet morning. 

“Hey!” Charlie braces his hands on his knees and pushes out of the armchair. His face is split in half with a grin. I can’t recall him smiling this large in the past week of my stay. The two men turn, facing me with warm smiles.

One of them is older, perhaps Charlie's age, his mouth creased with smile lines and his eyes wrinkled with sun damage. His skin is a warm russet brown, his eyes deep-set behind pronounced brows and a large smile. Bright white teeth stare back at me as my brain picks over his features, how do I know this man? I know almost immediately that he’s Quileute, from the Reservation to the west of town. I vaguely remember trips to the beach with Charlie and eating hotdogs over fires with some of the children from the area. 

“Do you remember me, Bella?” He asks in a deep, commanding tone. His voice transports me back to the beach, collecting colourful rocks with the other kids and being called to dinner. Billy Black. He lives in a small, red house with a large kitchen perfect for gatherings. He’s older than I remember, but my last time being here for any substantial time was nearly four years ago. 

“Dad, c’mon,” the boy says with a sarcastic eye roll. He stands from the couch, his height towering mine by a few inches and his broad shoulders slumped forward happily. I wonder how tall he’d be if he stood to his full height. His voice is deep, not as deep as his father’s, but still an indicator of the family resemblance. Where his father is strong and sure, this boy is aloof and casual. Jacob Black. “She hasn’t been back in ages, she probably blocked your nasty attitude out of her memory.” 

I bite back a smile, but Billy laughs and shoots Charlie a look that says, kids, am I right? I step forward and extend my hand to Jacob, who takes it gratefully in his own and gives a soft shake. His hand covers mine and is most definitely a few degrees warmer than I am. “Jacob Black, we used to make mud pies together.”

“Best in town,” Charlie adds in from the back of the room. I smile. 

“No, no, I remember you guys,” I tell the Blacks. “It just took me a moment.” Charlies sits back down in his chair and motions for me to take a seat. 

“Billy and Jake just stopped by,” my father explains. I sit beside Jacob on the couch, a cushion between us. But, even with the provided space and the lack of physical contact, I feel heat come off of him in waves like a radiator. I wonder if he’s sick. “Jake here is a mechanic.” A furious blush settles under the boy's brown skin as his mechanical skills are brought up, this is my first time hearing of his expertise. I remember his sisters being twins, both tall and beautiful with matching smiles. They were almost two years older than me, Jacob had followed closely behind and was only born in the same six months as me. Of course, now that I try to remember, the date falls short in my memory. It’s possible he has a career as a mechanic somewhere on the Reservation, but he mustn’t work in Forks. I hadn’t seen a single mechanics garage in town. 

“No, no,” he looks between me and my father with an apologetic smile, “it’s just a hobby. Something for fun.” Billy tsks at his son, shaking his head in a way that makes me believe this conversation has occurred before. 

“Hobbies can bring in money, hobbies can turn into jobs,” the older man says with a scolding tone. Jacob just shakes his head crookedly, not responding. Charlie takes this as his cue to interrupt the trajectory of the conversation, and I’m grateful. I haven’t spoken to these men in nearly four years, that last place I want to be is in the middle of a family feud. 

“Well, now, there was a reason I brought up Jake’s skills,” Charlie interjects with a wave at the large boy next to me. “Bells, go take a look outside.” My fingers twitch anxiously in my lap at being thrust into the center of the conversation. I was hoping I could slide under the radar here, not end up in the middle of it. 

It takes great restraint for me to get up from the couch and not stumble over my ankles in the act, my clumsiness reaches new heights when I’m being watched by a room of people. Even if there are only three people in the room. The window at the end of the room is open, the curtains pulled to the side, and when I reach it my gaze falls on a group of kids biking down the street with a rainbow of helmets. Apparently, the dark sky doesn’t scare them the way it does me. 

They pedal quickly, little screams of delight just barely audible through the thick glass of the living room window. They pass the porch and disappear behind a large red truck parked out front of the house. I blink. It’s still there, rounded fenders and shiny door handles, long bed, ancient grill adorning the hood. It’s beautiful. “Is that your truck, Billy?” There’s a chorus of laughter behind me, the men’s baritones mixing and producing a flaming blush starting at my neck and creeping up into my face. I turn to look at them, my stomach clenching as I turn away from the beautiful vehicle. “What?” 

“It’s yours, Bella,” Charlie tells me. The breath I was holding leaves my lungs through my gaping mouth, I struggle to close it and take an experimental inhale. “Bella?” I turn and look back out the window, the glorious truck still sits there staring at me from across the dark lawn. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the sunlight.

“I- it’s mine?” I ask. Another series of laughs echo through and then footsteps come up beside me, Jacob stands looking out the window. “You made it?” I question, looking up at him. 

His shoulders shake silently and his lips press together as he tries to compose himself, I’m not sure why he finds my comment so funny but it reignites my blush. “I fixed it up, yeah. But, don’t get too excited. The thing runs at sixty miles max, push her further than that and you’ll be walking home.” 

We all go outside quickly, me leading the pack with an excited skip in my step. It’s a miracle I didn’t fall on my face or stumble over my words as I spoke my thoughts aloud. “It’s so pretty, I love it! Jake, I have no idea how you could make it look so perfect.” The truck sits against the curb, its red paint flaking in places around the tires, but even more perfect than I could have imagined. 

The sky is a disturbing shade of grey, a fact that irritates me more outside than it did in the house. Why does the weather have to ruin such a perfectly good moment? But I spend the majority of my time on the vehicle, petting its sides carefully like I might damage it. Finally, seemingly having had enough of me quietly admiring the vehicle, Billy tells me to hop in and check it out on the inside. 

Jacob produces a set of keys, no automatic locking mechanism, and twists it in the truck's door handle. He holds the door open for me, producing a hand to help me in. I take it gratefully, stepping up into the driver’s seat and letting myself sink into the seat. Jacob closes the door on me, but my thoughts are lost and focused only on how much I love this truck. 

“So,” he says after opening the passenger door and climbing up next to me, “You ever driven a truck before?” I shake my head, fingers curving experimentally around the thin steering wheel. I can see myself now: driving down the empty highway, the sun blinding against the dry pavement, window down and hair blowing, radio blaring. It’s exactly what I needed, a way for me to get around without needing to borrow the cruiser (which, yes, is illegal) or have Charlie drive me around. 

“I can give you lessons,” Jake offers, fingers clasped in his lap, drumming a tune against the opposite knuckles. “If not that’s cool, but she drives a little funny.” “She?” I ask, eyes leaving the steering wheel momentarily to watch his face. He notices, the serene expression dropping from his face and replaced with a quick upturn of his lips. 

“Uh, yeah.” He palms the back of his neck roughly and seems almost apologetic. “I have a thing for cars, y’know, so naming them is kinda part of the deal.” I can barely make out a faint red tinge over his cheeks. “Wait, hold on,” I can’t contain the giggle that slips out but firmly press my lips together before trying again. I can only imagine the toothy smile I’m giving him, a girl all too excited over some old truck. Only, this is the perfect old truck. “What’s her name?”

“Betty,” he responds sheepishly, his hand still massaging the back of his neck. “But if you tell anybody that I’ll have to kill you.” 

“That’s okay, Betty is our secret.” 

And, just like that, I now have a secret with someone. Does this make us friends? Regardless of whatever it makes us, my heart sings happily from within my chest, excited to think that maybe Forks won’t be as lonesome as it’s been this past week. Maybe Jacob and I will become friends and bond over Betty and I won’t only have Charlie and school and books. 

“Well, before you accept her turn the keys,” Jacob instructs. I oblige, setting the keys in the ignition and giving them a gentle twist. A roar of mechanical thunder envelopes us. I nearly leap out of my seat in surprise, the loud rumbling of the engine settling in my ears and blocking out all other noises. Jake says something but I can barely hear him from over the thunderous growl of Betty. I turn the keys back and the truck dies down with one last rumble. “She’s loud,” he says obviously. 

“She’s perfect.” 

Jacob hands me a spare set of keys after we get out, telling me that he’ll be back the day after tomorrow to give me my first driving lesson in the truck. Charlie was all too excited with that idea, even though I already have my license and know how to drive. In fact, other than illegally borrowing the cruiser with Charlie’s permission, I have never committed an illegal act involving a vehicle. If memory serves me correctly, Charlie has two speeding tickets from his youth. 

But, I don’t argue against Jake's offer. In fact, I thank him profusely and promise to pay him for the lessons. “Bella,” he says in an exasperated way, as if we’ve known each other for years and I always say such supposedly outlandish things. “Why would you pay me for something I’m offering to you?” 

We’ve stopped in front of the Blacks vehicle, a large brown and beige truck which seems to only be a decade newer than the red one. This isn’t saying much for the brown vehicle as the red one could be from the fifties. Billy is wheeling his way down the driveway with Charlie walking beside him, laughing emphatically at something his friend had said. 

“That’s crazy,” I respond with a shake of my head. “That’s like me not paying you for the truck.”

“Yeah, I know.” I take pause at this, the words welling up inside my brain and the meaning lost to me for only a moment. Then, like finally finding the missing puzzle piece under the table, I understand what this means and the picture is clear. 

“You- I- This truck isn’t free.” The words stutter out of me, the first two the beginnings of messages I abandoned immediately after starting them. This truck, though old, is not cheap, and neither is Jakes’s skill. I should pay him for labour if nothing else, but I know he doesn’t want to include that in the bill. He doesn't want to send me a bill. 

“It’s a gift,” he states simply with a shrug of his wide shoulders. Billy pulls up beside me, slapping away Charlie's hand as he tries to adjust his chair for him.

“Careful, Swan,” the older Black warns with hostility. “I have more muscle in these arms than you do in your entire body. Touch the chair and you’ll get what’s coming to you.” 

Jacob helps Billy into the passenger seat, folding up the wheelchair and securing it into the truck bed with quick hands. Charlie stands beside me, shooting fiery threats back and forth with his friend until Jacob climbs behind the wheel. “Storm coming through,” Jacob says with a wave towards the dark sky. “If you need any help with anything, tying stuff down or moving let me know.” Charlie thanks him for the offer and I lean in to thank him again for the truck and the lessons. I also assure him that the argument over billing is far from over and that he’ll get an earful the next time we meet. 

The rest of the day is spent restlessly. I log into my online classes but my attention is continuously claimed by my truck in front of the house. The sun never shows itself, content with hiding behind the cloud coverage. I’m sitting in the living room when Charlie gets home for dinner, my book discarded on the couch somewhere beside me. I reach for it once I see his cruiser pull into the driveway, deciding it would be better to look busy than to look like I’m obsessing over my new means of transportation.

“Bella?” He calls, the door shutting behind him with a creak. At some point I’ll have to oil all the hinges in the house. It’s that or I go clinically insane from the constant noise. 

“Yeah, just in here.” 

He comes in bearing a brown bag with the Forks Diner logo written on the side. “I brought dinner, it’ll be on the stove.” I nod and thank him, telling him that we can eat together once he’s down and out of uniform. “Well, actually, I won’t be eating until a bit later.” His moustache twitches irritably and he disappears into the kitchen to drop the food off. 

“Are you meeting with Billy?” I ask, knowing this isn’t the case. It must be an issue with work causing him to feel stressed. And when he comes back into the living room from the kitchen I’m able to see the tension holding his shoulders in place. “Did something happen at work?” “It’s nothing to worry about,” he assures me, but his words do anything but. So much for police chief being a boring job. “Just those new kids in town, the doctors children,” he waves a hand in the air as if trying to gather his thoughts. “Kicking up trouble in their first week here, something about racing.” 

“Oh.” I pull my knees under me and turn to face him fully, my arms hanging over the back of the couch like a child. 

“Anyways, no big deal I’m sure they’re just used to city life or something.” But, my fathers tone indicates that he most definitely does not believe his own words. In Charlie's books a bad apple is always a bad apple, and he’s probably dreading all the other trouble these kids will kick up. “I’ve just gotta go check-in with them, make sure it doesn’t happen again.” His hand moves towards my arm, as if to pat me goodbye but it stutters midair, falling back to his side awkwardly. 

I pull my bottom lip into my mouth, biting on it as he mutters a goodbye and leaves through the front door without looking at me again. I wonder when this will get any easier. 

Renee left Charlie a year into their young marriage, taking me away to live with her in Arizona. She had given me partial reasons over the years for her leaving, talking of them being too young, the weather too wet, how she wanted a life where she could be free from responsibilities. I’m not sure whether it dawned on her that a child constitutes a responsibility, but she took me to every yoga class and rarely left me with a babysitter. 

My mother was never too keen on Forks, not that I fault her for it, the weather leaves much to be desired and there’s virtually nothing to do. But, because of her disliking I rarely visited my father, my first extended visit being when I was twelve and stayed the entire summer as Renee travelled with her then-boyfriend. I came back to a scrapbook of kissy photos and pressed leaves from her travels, all I had to show for my trip was a runny nose and a strong distaste for hamburgers. One can only eat so many burgers before the novelty wears off.

taglist: @musingsofvenus @maybesandohnos​

[fourthwallhateclub]

Help me

Description: Emma is with Phoenix when she is kidnapped, can Bravo set aside their emotions in time to save her, or will they be too late...

A/N: I wrote some things like this over on Ao3 under “FourthWallHateClub”, this will eventually have a second part but with my ADHD I don’t know when that will happen 🙃 please feel free to send feedback on the fix, I know it’s shit but I live for shit so 🤭

@rebelreblogs

Emma's POV

Darkness... Floating... Silence... My eyes fluttered open and started to adjust to the light... where was I? The door slammed open,

"You're awake!" Was that... was that an Afghan accent? Then it all came back to hit me like a freight train...

48 hours before hand

"Sup Dalton." I said.

"Shut it Hayes." He said pissed off.

I turned to Mac with a questioning look, "Who pissed in his coffee?"

Mac smirked, "Don't take it personally, he's not pissed with you, he's pissed with Maddie. He was on his way to a football game with one of our old delta buddies when he got the call."

"It's..." I glanced at my watch, "1300 hours?"

"We we're gonna have a few beers!" Dalton groaned.

'More than a few.' I mouthed to Mac, he just coughed to stifle his laugh.

Matty walked in, tapping the glass creating a privacy screen, and clicked a button bringing an image up on screen. "Amir-Botzwat-Asharu."

"10 of clubs..." I breathed out in disbelief.

"International arms dealer, drug trafficker-"

"and grade-A prick." Jack stated matter-of-factly.

Mac snorted, "You can say that again."

"The guys been evading Phoenix since it was OPS, us personally for years, why are we concerned about him now?" I wondered.

"What's this got to do with us, CIA took over the case, why now?" Jack asked.

"If you’d let me talk, you’d know,” Matty said sarcastically, “He recently kidnapped and murdered an American. Phoenix have had him on our radar for a while now as you’re aware but the higher ups refused to green light the op to take him out, saying CIA had it handled. That all went to hell when their undercover agent was exposed, they shot him and put a bounty on everybody CIA affiliated."She said.

"We're on their SOS list Matty, we outrank some shitty little 'bounty' list." I said.

"Regardless, you, Dalton and MacGyver leave for the Middle East at 1600 this afternoon so you arrive at night, get your affairs in order because the big men upstairs say you don't leave till the jobs is done. You'll be properly briefed on the plane, but there are more pressing issues, you guys have up to date parachute qualifications right?"

"I don't like where this is going..." Jack mused.

"Me either..." Mac agreed.

"As much as I hate agreeing with you two shmucks, me three..." I said.

"Well whether you like it or not your jumping from that plane, there's no where for it to land where you'll keep your cover. Unless you want to walk 13 miles to where you'll be staying?" She challenged.

"WE'LL JUMP!!" We said in unison.

She smirked, "That's what I thought."

"Okay... where exactly are we going in the Middle East, and where are we staying?" I asked.

"You are going to Afghanistan."

"Fucking Trashcanistan?!? You've got to be kidding." Jack screeched.

Ah Dalton and his hatred for that place... he would get along with Uncle Sonny, man has a fear of bloody everything...

"SHIT!!" I yelled.

All heads snapped to me, "What's wrong Hayes?"

"Um... where exactly would we be staying?" I asked biting my lip.

"Navy base in J-"

I laughed nervously, "Would that be in J-Bad by any chance?"

"Yes, why?" Matty asked.

"We have a little problem..." I mumbled.

"And what would that be..." She mused, raising an eyebrow.

"My uh- my family was spun-up there a few weeks ago." I said.

"What do you mean Em?" Mac asked.

"I mean my family, is Bravo team. They are currently in the Middle East, and are stationed in J-Bad for the foreseeable future. What do we do?"

"I'm assuming that they were not among the people you told about your job?" Matty asked.

"No ma'am. Mac, Dalton, Bozer and Riley are the only ones who know..." I answered.

"You arrive at night anyway, you cover your tracks and stay as hidden as possible, don't talk to anyone and stay away from the sailors. Nobody is to know what you're doing there or who you are... to them you three are Black Rose, Hunter, and Eagle." Matty said.

"Yes ma'am."

"Well... get out of here."

We didn't need to be told twice, we were running out the door and to the squad room.

"What the fuck do I do?!?" I yelled as we entered the room.

"Want a hug?" Mac asked opening his arms. I nodded and walked into him tucking myself into his figure, "You'll be ok."

Jack's POV

"Wait! Is your dad the Jason Hayes, like Bravo 1, the legend?!?" I screeched.

"Uh- yeah.." Emma said pushing away from Mac and scratching her head.

"That explains a lot..."

"What do you mean?" She was confused.

"I mean, having worked with your father, I see where you get it from."

She laughed, "You are so old."

I gasped, "You mean we are so old. Mac and I worked together in the Army."

“No. You? You're old enough to be my dad. Mac? Is old enough to be my big brother." She laughed.

"Yeah, and we'll protect you like it too." I said hugging her shoulder.

"You won't have to do anything if my family spots me. I'll be on the first plane out of there and back home, complete with a tracker and navy seal protection detail. They'll never let me out of their fucking sight." She grumbled.

"You'll be ok. Let's get ready to rak out." I said.

"You're right."

I walked into my office and grabbed my rucksack and duffel. I met them back in the main room.

"List it Hayes."

She groaned, "Why???"

I smirked, "We're acting like the older brother and dad we are."

She rolled her eyes but spoke anyway, "I made sure my camping gear, fatigues and survival gear was in my bergan, along with Guns, ammo, knife and spare phones," we looked at her weirdly, "What? I'm sick of Mac breaking my shit. Dalton and I spend way to much fucking time at the Genius Bar creating new and inventive covers to explain what Mac does as is."

Mac raised his hands, "You got me."

She smirked, "I know I do, anyway, I grabbed my go-bag, passport and fake ID's."

"What's in your go-bag." I quizzed.

"Toiletries, Clothes, Cash, Raincoat, Matches, Lighter, Laptop, Flashlight, MRE's, water purification tablets, rope, duct tape, whistle, batteries, knife, and First aid kit. Why do we keep doing this?"

"Good, and we do it because we care." Mac said kissing her head.

“Ugh! Let's go." We headed out to Mac's truck and dumped our stuff in the back. She hopped in the back and we drove to Mac's place.

"Bozer!" Mac called.

"Sup guys." He said bro hugging Mac.

"We're heading out, I need you to take care of some stuff for us." Mac asked.

"Yeah ok, let me grab some paper." He said.

We walked into the kitchen and told him what we needed, Mac didn't need to worry because he lived with Bozer, so Em went first, "My rent is due first of the month, it auto pays but I need you to check on the seventh if I have mail just in case it didn't go through. I need mail collected on the 7th, 14th 21st, and 28th. Plants need to be watered but that can be done when you grab my mail, if anything happens there is a contact sheet folded in the draw of my desk, it'll tell you who to call, in what order. You good with that?"

"All good Em." He said with a smile.

"Thanks Boz."

"Your welcome, Jack anything you need." He questioned.

"I live next to Emma so same as her just no plants to water, if you could check on my place when you water Emma's plants that would be great, and there is a contact list in the box on top of the CD rack."

"Cool, I got it."

“Thanks Boz." Mac said walking back into the room with his bag.

"It's all cool man." He said.

We walked to the door before he called out, "Be safe, I want you back in one piece."

"We'll try Boz."

~Time skip brought to you by Sonny’s Bam-Bam~

We'd been briefed and where currently in our hammocks grabbing what sleep we could before we hit the ground running.

"Drop zone is up in 35."

"Let's go kids." I commanded with a laugh.

We packed up our hammocks and pulled on our jump suits. I strapped my duffel to the bottom of my bergan and grabbed my chute. Strapping my Bergan to my back I pulled the parachute over the top. I walked over to the ramp and waited for Mac and Em to join me.

"2 minutes to the drop zone"

"Ready ladies." I yelled over.

"We're coming." Mac laughed.

We attached to the central line and clipped in, we watched as the light turned on and the ramp lowered,

"5...4...3...2...1..."

The light turned green and we jumped. My drill instructors voice went through my head. Breathing Dalton... in for 2... hold for 4... out for 3... parachute in 3, 2, 1. Pull the cord. Release the parachute. Move your body vertical. Feet pointed down. Legs slightly apart. Hit the deck in 3...2...1. Land crouched. Bend knees and run forward 20 yards. Unclip and pull.

Emma and Mac landed next to me and we packed up our chutes.

"Base is roughly 1 click 228 degrees north east." I said.

"Comms up?" Mac asked.

"Yeah they are." Matty answered.

"Good." I said. "Let's go."

We moved our bergans to our fronts and held our duffel bags. We broke out into a jog eager to get out of the heat. Arriving at the 'base' we were met with our assigned CIA handler.

"Agent Jayden Riggs." He said offering his hand.

I shook it, "I'm Eagle, this is Hunter and she's Black Rose."

"Real names?" He asked.

"That's need to know." Emma answered.

“What do you mean, I'm your handler?"

"Look Riggs, we don't like spooks ok. We work alone, off our own intel. It's important our identities remain a secret." She answered shortly, that's my Hayes.

"Alright then, let's get you set up in cabins, Black Rose, you'll be separated from the men." He said as he started walking away.

"What?" I said.

"Gender sensitivity. Men and women are separated." He said like it was obvious.

"Yeah no, she stays with us. We don't care about gender sensitivity." Mac said before I could, reel in the big brother before you get yourself in trouble Mac.

"It's protoco-"

I cut him off, "Screw protocol, Black Rose stays with us."

"Of course." He relented.

He led us to a cabin as a humvee pulled up, out climbed 6 men and a dog, all in fatigues, before I could see anything else Emma pushed us into the cabin and slammed the door shut behind us as we collapsed onto the floor.

"What was that??"

"That! Was my family." She helped us up.

Jason's POV

We were on night patrol in a neighbouring town to J-bad, we'd been out for 6 hours and it was 0300. I decided it was time to head back.

"Let's move out."

We walked back to the humvee and climbed in. We'd been driving for about 15 minutes when we saw three figures drop from the sky.

"What the hell is that?" Sonny asked.

"I'll find out." I said keying my comms, "Havoc base this is Bravo 1, we've got three parachute jumpers coming towards base."

"Copy that Bravo 1, I'll find out." Blackburn answered, a few minutes later he keyed his coms again, "Stand down, their friendlies."

"What do you mean their 'friendlies'?"

"I'll find out."

I rolled my eyes, cryptic much. We watched as they landed about 5 clicks ahead of us and packed their chutes away, then started running towards base.

"We're not far out now. We'll talk when we get in." I said.

We got to the base gate and rolled through, getting out I saw three figures standing outside a cabin glance at us before one pushed the others into the cabin and slammed the door. Weird. After we dumped our gear in the shed. We walked into the team room where Eric and Mandy were waiting.

"Who were they?" I asked.

"Apparently they work for some government agency, they're following a lead on a case." Mandy said.

"Which agency?" Brock asked.

"I don't know guys. I don't know..." Eric said.

"Why did they jump Eric? Why not just land on the airstrip?" I quizzed.

"Apparently they're meant to be discreet. Nobody was supposed to know they're here." Mandy said.

"Well they did a crap job of that." Ray said.

"Actually Ray, you guys weren't meant to be out tonight, had base been on routine nobody would have seen them come in." Eric spoke.

"Well that's creepy." Clay said.

"What do we know about these guys Mandy?" I asked.

"Two guys, one girl actually." She stated hint of amusement in her tone.

"A girl?!?" Sonny yelled.

"What? Don't think women can do the same jobs as men? Or are you just worried she's going to outshine you." Lisa interrogated.

"No but if she gets snatched we'll be the ones collecting her." He grumbled.

"So? If she's snatched it's going to be for bad intel, and unfair conditions. Not because she's a woman." Lisa challenged.

"Enough! What do we know about them?" I yelled.

"Their handler couldn't tell me much, mainly because he didn't know a great deal. However, their code names are Black-Rose, Hunter and Eagle. Their handler doesn't know their real names and I suspect that's by design." Mandy spoke.

"Ok. First off those why do those code names ring a bell, Second what do we know about the organisation they work for?" Clay asked.

"Honestly? Nothing. None of my bosses know who or what they are and the further up I went the more I was told to stop digging." Mandy said.

"So what do we do?" Trent asked.

"We stay away. We don't talk to them, not only for your safety but for theirs too. You see them walking you say nothing, although I suspect given all the trouble they went to so they weren't seen while getting here, we won't be seeing an awful lot of them." Eric mused.

"Alright then." I said clapping my hands, "We need to sleep." I turned to Eric, "I trust if you find anymore information that could be of use you'll speak to us?"

"Of course." Eric said nodding curtly before walking out of the room.

[synnefo-nefeli]

5 and 15 for the ask meme?

5. Favorite Head Canon I like to use:

Klavier and Franziska are distantly related and there is a Gavin / von Karma blood fued going on because the Gavins became defense attorneys to rival the von Karmas. Klavier is the first prosecutor in generations, further alienating him from his family while simultaneously earning him *some* respect with Franziska. Miles stays out of it.

Bonus: Apollo the Disney Adult and all my indulgent SoCal references

15. WIP snippet

Was debating between Fumbling, Strange Days and Heard Your Heart Beating but then I realized I don’t want to spoil the penultimate chapter of Fumbling, and The only thing I’ve written for SD are spicy scenes so I’ll keep those for another time. The scene from HYHB next chapter is actually pretty sad ( Apollo’s birthday + grieving over Clay) so I’m going to post a snippet from another chapter after that. Sorry that it’s rough- it’s an early draft.

————

“Are you free right now, Mr. Justice?” No matter how much time he’d spent with Miles outside of work at game nights and other informal functions with Miles Edgeworth, a part of Apollo still withered under the Chief Prosecutor’s gaze.

“Uh yes, I was just going to process these documents” he indicated the folder that was neatly organized in the brief case Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth had gifted him for his birthday, “and then I was going to see if Mr, Wright was ready to go back the office-“

:read more:

“Good, come with me,” the other man practically commanded, turning towards the courtroom exit, “Wright will be meeting us upstairs.”

“Oh that’s good, that’s where I was going-“ Apollo said lamely as he shoved the rest of his court documents into the briefcase (hoping Edgeworth didn’t notice), and hurried to keep up with the other man.

Several flights of stairs later, Apollo thought his legs were going to give out- how could ride his bike through traffic but stairs could wind him? Mr. Edgeworth looked unphased, the man’s usual placid expression in place, as they climbed at the fast clip Mr. Edgeworth set for the.

Come to think of it, Mr. Edgeworth seemed to be in a hurry and the back of his shoulders were tense.

“So, where are we going?” Apollo attempted to ask as the door on the landing above them,as if on cue, slammed open to reveal his boss who was looking especially harried despite him winning his case.

“Oh good you got him, we got to hurry they office is going to close in fifteen, and there’s a lot more paperwork- I’ve been trying to get it all filled out for us.”

Apollo pushed himself up the final steps, “uh- where are we going? Is everything okay? you both look nervous”

Mr. Wright gave him a wide grin, “Nothing’s wrong”, and rubbed the back of his neck. Apollo knew that tick well enough- something was up.

“Nothing is wrong, Apollo; the officiant requires us to have a witness,” Edgeworth said primly pausing a moment to adjust his fiancé’s tie, before taking Mr. Wright by the hand and pulling him into the hallway at a brisk pace.

Apollo blinked, “Officiant?” As he scrambled after the pair,and then he realized where they actually were- the 7th floor.

The Office of the County Clerk Recorder. To be more specific.

“YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED??? NOW?!” Apollo yelled, “ On a Tuesday?!”

This wasn’t good. They had been doing so much prep; Apollo had finally planned the bachelors party (well, Klavier had done that. Apollo just had to convince Chief Gumshoe and Larry that they had contributed).

He did not just spend his Sunday evening convincing Wright and Edgeworth’s best friend from childhood, that booking VIP rooms at various strip clubs in North Hollywood, was not going to go over well with either groom, for the pair to just go and essentially elope before the end of the work day.

“Wedding planning is a terrible headache and we’re sick of it,” Mr. Edgeworth said hurriedly.

Phoenix gave Apollo a nervous smile, “His sister has completely taken over the planning- what was the final straw this time, babe?”

“ Apparently Franziska doesn’t approve that the cumberbunds don’t match some other inane item-“ the Chief Prosecutor snapped, “Apollo whenever you get married, tell your partner you want to elope. And do it immediately after you announce your engagement.”

Mr. Wright now looked more amused than sheepish, “Last month when we were on the Judge’s spring boat soirée , Miles almost had the captain marry us when Fran texted us about runner material. Apparently the one we picked makes distracting noises and looks ‘cheap’. Thank god Gumshoe was there to guikt him out of it; apparently he’s never been in a wedding aside his own and he really wants to be Miles’ best man”

Apollo felt his cheeks heat unexpectedly. This was all too much, “Wait. wait...but still..you can’t get married today- I mean the wedding’s only two months away-“ he was finding it difficult to not lag behind the taller men as their pace picked up.

“Why on earth did I allow us to get talked into June? Only five months to plan-foolish“ Edgeworth muttered.

The Clerk-Recorder’s office loomed in the distance. Apollo was frantically trying to come up with something to make them reconsider. Prosecutor von Karma and Maya would have his head if Wright and Edgeworth went through with this.

Guilt. Chief Gumshoe had done it...maybe Apollo could too:

“Are you seriously going to get married without Trucy being here?” Apollo blurted a little too loudly.

It had the intended effect though; Mr. Wright nearly slammed into his fiancé as Mr. Edgeworth suddenly stopped short.

[ask-ace-attorney-mpreg]

You know how they always have that moment where the mother is wheeled off to deliver her baby but for some reason the father isn’t allowed be with them? How do the main couples handle it? Who would be ok with it and who wouldn’t be?

((Ooh this is a tough one but let’s have some fun with it))

Phoenix and Miles:

“I’m sorry sir we can’t let you past this point, we can only allow medical personal”

“Wait what!? But why!?” Miles processes “I’m his husband. Phoenix needs me there!”

Phoenix is too busy panting through contractions to protest. This baby is a big one and it’s coming out faster than his body can manage.

“We can’t let you in sir!” The doctor said again. “We need full medical attention on this delivery”

Miles looked desperately at Phoenix and his mind started to panic. He promised Phoenix he would be with him, but if their child was as at risk as they were implying then this had to happen. Once Phoenix’s contraction ebbed, Miles talked to Phoenix and explained the situation.

“I know I promised to be by your side but-“

“Ok...

“Ok?”

“I’ll be ok Miles... I can HNGH hah-hah-handle this... just make sure! That you’ll be with me SOON!!”

Miles nodded solemnly and kissed Phoenix’s forehead and hand. Phoenix had gone back to panting, slowly easing the baby into position.

Miles held onto Phoenix until he was wheeled away. His heart filled with fear and a prayer.

Apollo and Klavier

The defence attorney did not take the news they were going to be separated well. He was already terrified about giving birth and now he was being told he had to do it without Klavier!?

“No please!! I can’t do this without him!! Please I can’t!!!”

“Apollo, breathe!”

“No! I can’t! I can’t I CAAAAAAAAN’T” Apollo screamed through another contraction. His chords of steel ringing true.

“Schatz breathe! I know this is horrifying, but we have to think about our child” internally Klavier is screaming with panic, but he knows that the doctors are doing what they can to make sure both Apollo and their baby pull through.

He kisses Apollo’s forehead “I’ll get disinfected and be with you as soon as I can! Ok, Schatz?”

“Wait! No! Klavier don’t leave me!!!”

The doctors started to wheel him away with Apollo screaming and begging for Klavier to be with him.

Klavier wiped a few tears away and hurried to find medical staff that would help him.

Clay and Nahyuta

“No... not without Clay! Please! Reconsider!”

“I can’t let Nahyuta do this alone!”

The doctor took a deep breath and collected their thoughts “I understand that but unfortunately with the prince’s condition and our delievery ward being so small I have to insist that you wait out here”

“Is it really so bad that I can’t be there?”

“I won’t sugar coat it... the baby is in a dangerous position. We can’t have any distraction...”

“That bad huh...” Clay looked down to Nahyuta who was trying so hard to hide how scared he was.

“I....ok”

Clay held Nahyuta close one last time and kissed his forehead “I believe in you!”

“Thank you...”

They’re hands slowly slid apart and they kept looking at each other as the regent was wheeled away.

Bobby and Simon

Bobby groaned as he had to hold back on pushing. His babies didn’t seem to like that at all but in fairness, he was following the doctor's instructions.

Simon’s stoic facade had broken at this point as he held onto Bobby’s hand, desperate to comfort him. The turnabout samurai was very anxious about the detective’s health.

“Si-Simon, you have to let go!” Bobby huffed.

“Wh-what? Are you sure!? I thought you said--”

“I know I said... I can't-- do this alone but-- mmm we don't have much of a choice” he panted grunting at the building pressure. “I'll be fine-- because I know you'll always be with me!”

Simon sighed and kissed the detective tenderly “you always were very hardy”

Simon watched as Bobby was wheeled away. Anxious and concerned.

Sebastian and Kay

“No no no no! I can’t do this alone!! I can’t I can’t!!”

“You won’t be alone Sebastian. The medical staff will be with you! Remember what we talked about? You can do this!”

“I can’t! I can’t!! AAAAUGH!! Kay it hurts it hurts!!”

“I know but you can do this!!” Kay assured “you’re stronger than you think!! You’ve gone through so much you can do this!!”

“I can do this... I can do this! I can do this! I CANnnnngh do this!”

Kay gave Sebastian a nod and Sebastian looked back, eyes fueled with a new found determination.

He was going to prove he could handle it.

Diego and Mia

“Wait you can’t!” Mia begged “please! You have to let me be with him!!”

“I’m sorry Ms Fey but only the patient is allowed from here” the doctor said calmly.

“But—“

“Don’t argue with them Kitten...” Diego huffed as he looked up at her. “I’ll be alright”

“But Diego!” Mia held onto her hand with a firm squeeze “I can’t let you go through this alone!! I... I’m scared I’ll lose you again”

“You won’t kitten... I don’t plan on letting our little one grow up without a padre.... just promise me you’ll wait for us..”

“I promise...”

As Mia watched her husband go she looked to the sky and said.

“Don’t you dare try to take him from me again”

Franziska and Lang

“How dare you fools! Let me pass!” the Interpol prosecutor demanded.

“Please... We've gone through so much together. A pack stays together to the end” Lang grunted through contractions.

The doctors were unsure about this. They weren't allowed to let anyone else in but these two seem insistent.

“Prosecutor Von Karma, the best we might be able to offer is to take you to the observation area. You won't be able to stand by your husband’s side, but you’ll be able to watch the birth.”

Franziska’s grip tightened on her whip. She knew she couldn't raise her weapon in the hospital, but her patience was being tested.

“That will be fine...” Lang groaned. “If that’s the best you got then it's enough. Lang-Zi says “when the storm is at it's worst, any port will do”

Franziska gently stroked his hair and trailed it to his cheek “I’ll be with you in spirit, Alpha.”

“I know you will be. Thank you for being with me, Tigress.”

Franziska was escorted to the observation area. She couldn't see much because of the doctors crowding around her partner but every now and then she would lock eyes with Lang, who would give as an assuring a smile as he could.

Ray and Kate

Both of them were a little caught off guard when they were told Ray would have to go in the delivery ward alone. It seemed both the former actress and the attorney wanted to raise an argument until the doctor informed them that it was for the child’s sake.

Ray looked at Kate who stroked his face tenderly and tried to hide the worry in her eyes. “This isn't my call to make love... What should we do...?”

Ray paused, trying to think through the contraction. Eventually he looked up at her “do you trust me Kate?”

“Always my love”

The two gave each other one last hug and a kiss before Ray was wheeled off. Kate was watching him go with the most encouraging smile she could muster.

[magentasky234]

Gregory Edgeworth Week 2021- Day 3: Summer

Phoenix, Larry, and Miles get bored on a summer's day at the Edgeworth household. Gregory takes them to the beach to cure their boredom.

Gregory Edgeworth Week is ran by @digitalstowaway!

Gregory looked at Miles, Phoenix and Larry who were sat on the sofa, bored out of their minds. It was a hot day, and they were all just inside. That needed to change.

"Who wants to go to the beach?!" Gregory offered, causing three heads to look at him with excitement.

"Yes please!" They chirped simultaneously.

Gregory looked at  and nodded.

"Then it's settled, let's go to the beach!"

"Yay!" the three friends cheered.

"But before we go, we need to put some sunscreen on." Gregory informed, causing the kids to groan.

"Whinge all you want, but I don't think your parents and I want to see you three looking like tomatoes."

After everyone had applied their sunscreen, they all went to Gregory's car.

"I'm going to sit in the back with my friends, father." Miles told Gregory.

"That's okay son." Gregory said as they all got into the car. Once everyone had strapped in, they drove off.

As Gregory drove, he put on a CD of summer hits. The beach was a short while away due to them living in the city. During the ride, the kids talked amongst themselves about a multitude of things; from the recent Signal Samurai episode, to what they were going to do on the beach. Occasionally they would sing along with the music during the during. Larry's singing however, sounded more like a dying seagull than singing. Gregory hummed to the music and tapped his left index finger against the steering wheel to the beat as he drove along.

When they eventually arrived at their destination, they felt hungry. It had been a while since lunch and dinner was a while away yet, so they decided on getting some ice-creams. Gregory chose a mint chocolate chip ice-cream and the others chose the a flavour of the special Signal Samurai ice-creams each. Miles had the Strawberry Signal Red ice-cream, Phoenix went for the Bubblegum Signal Blue ice-cream, and Larry chose the Vanilla Signal Yellow ice-cream. After they were finished eating, Gregory gave the others a wet wipe to wipe the mouths with.

"Thank you for the ice-cream!" the three kids thanked Gregory.

Gregory and the kids went back to the car to get the beach stuff out of the car. Two boyboards and the beach toys bag were carried between Miles and Phoenix, Larry carried a beach blanket and two bodyboards, and Gregory carried the tent and deck chairs. Each of them had a swimming bag with swimming trunks, a swim shirt, a beach shirt, waterproof shorts, goggles, a wetsuit, a towel, and a swimming hat in them. Gregory two backs around his shoulder. The first one  was a backpack filled with snacks, drinks, wipes, and a summer crime novel in it. The second bag was a big bagfulled with wetsuits zip-up fabric cases. He had made sure to pack Miles' spare swimming stuff because Phoenix and Larry hadn't brought theirs. They then walked down onto the beach and found a nice area in the shade. Gregory set up the tent, with a little help from the others holding down the other three pegs, and set up some deck chairs.

Everyone took turns to go in the tent and get into their wetsuits. Gregory helped to zip up the wetsuits, as the others couldn't reach backwards far enough to reach the zips.

"Are we ready to learn about bodyboarding?" he asked, to which the others shouted "Yes!"

The kids ran down to the ocean, chatting to each other as the ran. Gregory walked briskly behind them, trying to keep up without falling over any rocks embedded in the sand. Once he caught up with the others, they all waded out into a shallow area of the ocean.

"Now then." Gregory began, " For now we shall learn how to ride waves at waist height, to make sure you learn how to bodyboard in a safer area." The others nodded, eager to learn.

"Seeing that you are all excited to learn, let's get started." he continued, "First, hold your board straight out in front of you."

The others held out their boards ou in front of them.

"Good! Onto the next step!" Gregory instructed, "Next, make sure to look at the waves behind you as you hold your board." The others once again followed Gregory's lead.

"Before I explain how to get on the waves and ride them, first we need learn about keeping our balance when a big wave comes along."

A groan came from Larry, which was shortly interrupted by Miles elbowing him in the rib and lecturing him to stop being rude.

"As I was saying..." Gregory carried on, "When a big wave comes that you don't want to ride, jump up into the air, you won't feel as much force from the wave pushing you. Please try jumping over some of the slightly stronger waves that approach you here."

The children waited for the waves and began to jump over them. Larry struggled a bit at first, but Gregory helped him get the hang of it by explaining timing.

"Now, onto the step you've all been waiting for!" Gregory announced, "Riding the waves!"

The kids cheered in excitement.

"When a big wave you want to ride gets close, keep an eye on it." Gregory explained, "Right before the wave reaches you, jump flat onto your bodyboard, face forward, and kick your legs really fast. If done correctly, the wave can carry you back to the shore."

The others slowly nodded, slightly lost.

Gregory noticed this and offered to demonstrate it.

"I'll have to go slightly further into the water because I'm taller than you all and need deeper water so I can get on the board easier."

The kids agreed to watch the demonstration and Gregory waded slightly further out. Once Gregory found a wave approaching, he notified the others to keep watching, and the demonstrated what to do as the wave was about to reach him. He walked back to the others after he reached the shore.

"I shall give you the signal what to do when a good wave gets close." Gregory told the others. The others readied their boards.

"Good wave approaching!" Gregory called, "Keep an eye on it for now."

Everyone watched the wave approach.

When the wave got close, Gregory called out, "Face forward, hop on your board, and kick!" The others followed his instructions and managed to catch the wave rather well.

Gregory walked over to the three children who were now at the shore.

"That's was amazing!" Larry shouted.

Phoenix nodded his head, "I know right!"

"I agree!" Miles added, "That was fantastic!"

Gregory smiled at the excited chatter from the others.

"Wanna do some more practice runs?" he asked.

"YEAH!" the trio shouted in unison.

Gregory chuckled lightly.

"Let's go then."

An hour of practicing bodyboarding in the shallow waters and correcting simple mistakes later, they were ready to go deeper.

"Let's go further into the water." Gregory said, "Make sure to jump over bigger waves as you go further into the water, and stop a bit before your shoulders, so you're not in too deep."

They then waded out to a depth that was a bit below shoulder height for the children.

"Make sure to use more momentum when you jump and kick your legs harder out here." Gregory explained, "The waves are stronger here, which means you have to jump and kick harder."

He then guided them on riding the waves at the deeper depth until the others were more confident. The four spent the next few hours bodyboarding in the ocean and the occasional water splash fights.

When they were done, everyone walked back to the tent.

They got the towels out of their bags and wrapped it around themselves. Everyone

took turns to go in the tent to get out of their wet ocean clothes and into their dry shirts and shorts. The wetsuits were left to dry on the bodyboards, and the other wet clothes were wrapped up into each respective towel to keep them dry.

Gregory and the kids wiped their hands over and had some snacks and a drink. The afternoon was drawing to a close, so they only had an hour two on the beach to go.

The kids spent the next two hours making sandcastles and playing with beach toys, whilst Gregory kept a close eye on them and read some of the summer crime novel he had brought. At the end of the day, everyone helped to pack away the beach toys and the tent. Gregory packed away the wetsuits and the deck chairs. They all carried the same items as before back to the car.

Gregory's stomach grumbled, followed by three other stomachs grumbling. "Shall we get fish and chips from the fish and chips shop by the beach?

"Yes please!" the three kids cooed.

They went into the fish and chips shop, bought the fish and chips, and sat down on the small wall nearby to eat their food.

Within minutes, there was no evidence that food was in the cardboard boxes.

They stayed on the wall for a short while, watching the sun go down.

"It's a beautiful view out there." Miles spoke up.

Gregory smiled softly, happy to have had such a lovely day, "It sure is."

[browniefox]

The Spectral Turnabout 1/?

I did it. I’m writing a lil fic for an ace attorney and paranatural crossover

oOo

Okay, Phoenix thought, I’m having a mental breakdown. That’s fine, this is fine.

To be fair, it’d been a stressful few hours. It wasn’t everyday you walked into the office and found your boss dead with her sister sitting next to her body, and then stayed there as the body became cold, the scent of blood so strong and present that at some point you stopped noticing it. To be so close to death, and of someone you knew...

Then there was the questioning after the police arrived, going over the same facts again and again and again. It dragged on for hours, caught in that system, cold and judging people staring at him. He’d been on the scene, it was natural he might've looked a bit suspicious. It was morning by the time he was let out, a weariness weighing him down from not having gotten any sleep that night. The original shock had worn off at some point, but there was still this numb disbelief. Mia… Mia was dead.

There were also the hallucinations, and what made him conclude he'd lost some marbles sometime over the night.

For the few days, Phoenix had sworn he’d been seeing things. It had started small, just flashes of pale-purple at the edges of his vision. They’d started to appear with increasing frequency, and no rest seemed to solve it. Phoenix had figured it was just stress from work.

Well, Mia’s death had officially pushed him over the edge.

Ever since the police had taken Phoenix in for questioning, the purple figures had resolved into full-blown monsters. They ran around, seeming to only occasionally care about things like doors and walls when it suited their need. Some just stayed up at the ceiling, looking down with mild interest, while others were more active. And absolutely nobody else seemed to notice them.

“What the hell?” Phoenix hissed under his breath as an odd gecko-looking thing skittered across the room, going right over his foot. He swore he’d felt the weight of it as it’d done so, and the creature had paused for half a second and looked back at him before continuing on its way. He shook his head. Just his imagination. After he talked to Maya, he’d go home and get some sleep, and if the problem persisted then he’d probably see a doctor about it…? No, he couldn’t do that, not when he was probably out of a job now! Okay, he’d just ignore the problem then. Maybe it’d go away eventually.

Maya entered the visiting room looking just as glum and sad as when Phoenix had last seen her, but that wasn’t much of a surprise.

“Oh, it’s you. The lawyer.” She said, clearly surprised at seeing him there. Phoenix nodded. She sat down in the chair on the other side of the glass. He’d followed Mia to meetings with defendants before, he was vaguely aware of how this went.

“G-good morning!” He rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake, and also trying in vain to make the hallucinations go away. There was a particularly strong one hanging around Maya, a dark-purple mist seemingly coming off of her and falling to the floor like dry ice. All of his hallucinations seemed to carry with them some form of that mist, although the color changed from figure to figure, and there was something about Maya’s that was just… sad.

Then, suddenly, she perked up a bit, looking him over. Phoenix flinched back a bit at the sudden interest in her eyes.

“Mia didn’t tell me you were a spectral.” Maya said.

“I-, uh, I’m an a-attorney?” Phoenix corrected.

“I did know that, but you’re a spectral.” Maya insisted, brow furrowing a bit, and gestured to Phoenix. He looked around himself, trying to pinpoint what made her think the word ‘spectral’, whatever the hell that was. He was in his suit still, he’d stopped by the bathroom to make sure his hair was still in decent enough condition. His hallucination did seem to extend to himself, indigo-vapor that wasn’t really there floating off of him in spikey and nervous waves. He looked back at Maya, still very much confused.

“I- you’re, uh, I’m an attorney, and I think you might need one…?” Phoenix fumbled awkwardly. She was still looking at him oddly and it made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. The mist coming off of her started to morph and shift, and right before Phoenix’s eyes it formed the words ‘Can you read this?’

This was starting to get a bit too weird for him, but Phoenix was tired, and probably still in the denial part of the mourning process which wasn’t doing him much help, and before he knew what he was doing he’d opened his mouth and said,

“Y-yeah, how’d you do that?”

“How long have you been seeing things?!” Maya demanded, sitting forward now and close to the glass, and Phoenix flinched back.

“For a couple days, but it’s gotten really clear since sometime last night.” He admitted.  Maya gasped.

“Oh my gosh, you don’t know.” She said.

“Know what?” Phoenix was sitting forward now, because he wasn’t going crazy, except he still sort of felt like he was, and his boss was dead, and he was talking to his boss’ sister who was being accused of murdering her, and he was hallucinating but hallucinations couldn’t really be shared and Maya clearly understood what he was going through, and it had been a very long night.

“You’re a spectral.” She repeated.

And then she explained.

oOo

The details were a bit hard to take in, but Phoenix managed to grasp the gist of it - Maya had been a little quick during her explanation, but that wasn’t too surprising considering the whole ‘murder trial’ they were both preparing for.

So, he was now something called a ‘spectral’, which meant he could see spirits. Yes, ghosts did exist. No, spirits weren’t really ghosts per se. Maya and Mia were from a long line of spectrals who doubled as spirit channelers, capable of pulling ghosts from wherever ghosts went when they died and allowing them to speak through them. It was probable that he’d become a spectral due to being around Mia, but there were several factors that went into it. Colors of spectral energy - the mist he’d been seeing - didn’t mean anything he needed to worry about, and she’d promised to show him some tricks to it when the trial was over.

Actually, Maya had offered to show him some tricks before the trial, but Phoenix had insisted that they wait until she was declared ‘not guilty.’ She’d looked away from him at that moment, but Phoenix had insisted again he’d get her free.

He couldn’t let Mia down like that.

Seeing Miles in court was a shock, but in another way, Phoenix had to admit he'd badly wanted to. If only it wasn't such a high-stakes case like this. The bigger surprise was the spirit that stuck around Miles.

It looked a bit like a borzoi, but much longer to accommodate an extra pair of legs and an insanely long and fluffy tail. The back two pairs of legs were more like a bird’s instead of a dog’s, and its ears were replaced with wings. It had wrapped itself around Miles, head near one of his shoulders and then spiralling around him. A muted purple spectral energy poured from the spirit in calm and steady waves, and it kept its eyes on him.

Miles didn’t react at all to the spirit, although it seemed to be fairly in sync with him, responding to Miles’ moods and such. Phoenix wasn’t sure how normal that was. There were spirits everywhere. Not enough that any place felt crowded, but more like mice or spiders, always there somewhere. So far, though, none of them seemed overly concerned about people other than watching the trial like the rest of the spectators.

Well, again, none other than the dog-like spirit who seemed intent on hanging around Miles.

During the recess, Phoenix asked Maya about it.

“Well, sometimes a spirit will hang around somebody they find interesting, especially if that person is a spectral.” Maya told him.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Phoenix sighed, shaking his head, “Edgeworth didn’t seem like he even realized it was there. And he doesn’t have spectral energy.” The spirit had floated off of Miles when he’d left for the recess, landing on the floor and following at his feet. On his shoulders, it’d given Miles the illusion of maybe being a spectral, but separated it became clear the essence was coming only from the spirit. “Could it be the ghost of one of someone he knew?”

“No, ghosts always look like they did in life. Occasionally, they’ll have minor changes in their appearances depending on how they perceive themselves, especially if it’s been a while since they died, but I’ve never heard of one changing shape that much.” Maya shot down.

“Well, no reason to dwell on it,” Phoenix shook his head, “We need to stay focused on proving your innocence.”

oOo

Being a spectral was, surprisingly, not all that different from not being a spectral. Having magic ghost energy didn’t mean he didn’t have to pay rent, and he still needed to eat, and he couldn’t fly or anything.

Maya kept her word, and they spent most of the days in the office teaching him the ins and outs of the world he was now a part of. She was a pro, easily able to create ‘compressed spectral energy burst shots’ - or ‘spec-shots’ - while Phoenix fumbled his way through the motions. It was a bit odd at first, being taught by somebody younger than him, but Maya was a surprisingly decent teacher. She was clearly experienced in the craft, having been raised a spectral.

He found himself thinking a lot about how Mia had been one too. Some late nights, when they were eating in the office, waiting for a client, Phoenix sore from the training, they’d talk about her. Apparently, Mia had noticed that something was up with Phoenix and had suspected he might be becoming a spectral. She’d planned to talk to him about it the night of her death.

Well, the best laid plans and all that.

“So, can things really be haunted?” Phoenix asked her one day while trying to focus his energy into a specific shape. He was trying to make it look like a dog, and it more closely resembled how he used to draw them back in kindergarten.

“Oh yeah, that happens all the time. Here, I actually have a tool on me.” Maya pulled a jade green gem from somewhere in the folds of her robes. She handed it over to Phoenix, and he turned it over in his hands. It was smooth to the touch, and shaped like a teardrop or a comma with a perfect hole in it, big enough for Phoenix to fit his pinky through. “This is my magatama, and you could say that it’s ‘haunted’, although the technical word is that it’s now a tool. A spirit was injured long ago, and now they live here! They’ve been passed from Fey to Fey for years.”

“Huh.” Phoenix said. It didn’t look particularly special. He handed it back to Maya.

“You probably won’t have to worry about that, though. Tools are usually used by people who are fighting spirits and stuff!” Maya smiled.

“Yeah, I think I’ll stick to being a lawyer.” Phoenix gave a small laugh.

oOo

So, maybe Phoenix had come to the conclusion about Miles not being a spectral a bit too quickly.

[starshine583]

Prompt 6: Bus Rides

(sort of on time? this just means prompt 7 won’t be written till I get some sleep I guess lol)

@felixmonth

Felix glared out the bus window, cursing his mother’s “helpful” nature. What kind of parent forces their child to go to a summer camp? Why is it necessary? It’s just sleeping in rotting cabins and practically rolling around in dirt for a full week. If his mother truly wanted him to “learn about the outdoors”, Felix could have read some books on the subject. But no. Of course he had to experience it himself. Of course he couldn’t just stay in the comforts of his home where it was nice and quiet, unlike this smelly bus full of rowdy, maniacal teenagers. 

A boy with Chestnut hair slid into Felix’s seat, smashing into Felix and proving to him that the teenagers were rowdy and ignorant of personal boundaries.

“Hey! My name’s Claude. What’s your name?” The boy asked.

“My name is none of your business.” Felix grumbled, pushing himself further against the bus wall.

Claude went to reply, when a girl with blonde hair popped up in the seat in front of them. 

“I think the instructor said his name was ‘Phoenix’ during roll call.” She said, crossing her arms over the back of her bus seat.

“It’s Felix.” Felix corrected with a glare, before pushing on Claude’s shoulders. “And get off of me-”

“Felix?” Another boy asked, his green cap poking out as he looked over the back of the blonde girl’s seat. “That’s an interesting name. I’m Allan.”

Felix scoffed. “It’s a perfectly normal name. Now leave me alone.”

“Not very friendly, are you?” The blonde girl mused. “This must be your first year here.”

“We’ve been coming here since we were kids.” Claude explained, despite the fact that Felix didn’t ask or care. “It’s kind of a tradition for us now.”

“I’m Allegra.” The blonde girl added as she touched the sleeve of his button-up, collared shirt. “ You’re not gonna last long in this.”

Felix yanked his arm away. “Tell me when I asked, you-”

“BUMP!!!”

All of the kids on the bus screamed with delight, and before Felix could wonder what that meant, their vehicle jolted from hitting a bump on the road, causing Felix to fly into the air and hit his head on the roof of the car.

“Gah!” Felix growled, rubbing the top of his head. 

“That’s what you get for sitting in the very back.” Allegra remarked, a sly little smirk on her lips. 

Felix scowled at her. “How long is this bus ride exactly?”

“We’re actually almost there.” Allan answered, glancing out the window for confirmation. “That bump is normally a mile or so from the camp.”

“Yeah, and if you stand up just right-” Claude said, standing up a bit from the bus seat “-you can see it.. Right over there!” 

At the shout, several more teenagers clambered over to Felix’s side of the bus and pressed themselves against the windows to see the camp.

Felix sat there, more squished against the bus wall than before, plotting ways to get revenge for his mother’s betrayal. 

Thankfully, the bus arrived at the camp a few minutes later, and the teenagers that had huddled to the left side of the bus quickly flooded outside to look around.

Felix wanted to wait for the rest of the people to get off before exiting himself, but the trio of ‘veterans’ had other ideas.

“Come on! We’ll show you the grounds!” Claude said eagerly, pulling Felix out of his seat. 

“I can see them fine on my own!” Felix tried to say. Of course, none of the others listened as they pushed him out of the bus. 

Felix stumbled a bit on the last step, causing him to run into another camper that was already outside.

“Oh, sorry!” A girl squeaked.

“Not your fault.” Felix mumbled, glancing up at the poor victim. Her blue eyes were wide with worry, and her freckled cheeks were tainted with a pink blush due to embarrassment.

“Y-You’re not hurt or anything, right?” She asked, fiddling with her raven pigtails as she did.

Felix shook his head. “No, I’m-”

“Enemy campers!” Allegra abruptly yelled, pulling Felix back towards her. “Stay away from our Felix you Dupont scum!”

“What?” Felix blanched, staring back at Allegra as if she’d grown two heads.

“Same to you!” Another girl- this one with auburn hair -bellowed, coming up to pull the pig tailed girl back as well. “Our Marinette is too pure for your wretched ways.”

“Wretched? Wretched?!” Claude gasped dramatically. “I’ll show you wretched during the games tomorrow!” 

The auburn-haired girl only smirked. “We’ll pound you into dust.”

Allegra stepped forward to continue the argument when the counselors started calling the campers over to their respective groups.

“This isn’t over.” Allegra stated haughtily as they started to walk off. “We’ll be continuing this tomorrow.”

“I’d lose all respect for you if you didn’t.” The auburn-haired girl replied smugly, before walking off herself. 

The groups stalked off to their respective counselors, giving each other glares the whole way.

“Did you hear those comments?” Claude asked once they were out of hearing range. “That was awesome. I can’t wait to see what insults she has for the rest of the week.”

Allegra nodded with a grin. “I always loved arguing with Alya.”

“Okay, what is going on?!” Felix nearly yelled. First they’re all insulting each other, now they are complimenting the other for insulting them? What did he miss?

“Oh, right. You’re new.” Allan mused from behind him. “There are two camps here: Dupont and Rosemary.”

“You’re at Rosemary.” Allegra commented.

“The two camps don’t have a lot of money, so they share the same campgrounds. Because of this, the two camps decide to start competing against each other as part of the camp spirit, and now, whichever camp performs best by the end of the week wins a trophy.”

Felix paused to take in the information. “..so you’re rival camps?”

“Exactly!” Claude beamed. “It’s a blast. You’re gonna love it.” 

Felix very much doubted that he would, but at this point, there was no use in telling them so. It was clear that these maniacs intended to drag him around everywhere they went during the rest of their time there. 

Therefore, he merely nodded and went to listen for the counselor’s instruction as to which cabin he’d be staying in for the week.

[nerdingz-prompts]

Iced Out

Summer of Whump Day One

overheating/freezing

[Hello- This is my first OC writing in forever- maybe ever on this blog- and it's for the summer whump challenge I reblogged here. Anyway, uhh here ya go? ]

The cavern that they'd once sought safety from their enemies in now threatens to take their lives as the icy cold nips at their remaining heat. Porter pulls his wings in tighter around Maddi as his hands hold pressure on the gash that’d stained her pants. The cold and the wound both threaten her small form now, inching her farther and farther from light.

He glances down at Maddi. She’s stopped shivering and her eyes have slipped closed.

"No, wake up, you've gotta stay awake," he tells her, shaking her gently.

Maddi moans quietly, pushing closer to what comfort Porter is able to offer, but she doesn't wake.

"Wake up, come on," Porter tries, tapping her face.

He can feel sleep taunting him as well, dragging at his limbs. He takes a deep breath of frigid air and huffs out much warmer air, focusing on Maddi.

Maddi flinches at the warmth on her face, opening weary eyes.

“-tired," she whispers, her words hardly audible.

"I know," Porter says, a bit too firmly. "I know, but you've gotta stay awake, okay? Tell me something, tell me something good. Something fun. Something you can't wait to see once we're back home."

Maddi looks around the ice-stained cavern, gaze skittering past the places where her blood stains the frozen floor. She looks up through the small gap in the cave, far above them, where pinprick stars dot the sliver of the night sky. Finally, she settles on Porter’s face.

"You," she whispers. “You're something nice and warm." She pushes up closer to Porter.

Porter looks up from her. Both of their eyes staring at the stars above. He lifts a hand and holds it above her, igniting a small flame. It’s so small that its light barely changes the appearance of their icy tomb. He focuses on making it larger, warmer and it grows.

Maddi whimpers and his flame goes out.

“D-don’t. It’s cold.” She grabs his shirt tightly.

Porter focuses his heat to his body again. “I can get us out. Melt that hole some, fly us to any nearby town, a port. There should be one just a bit north of here.”

Maddi doesn’t answer. She knows, of course, between the bleeding to death in a cave and at least trying to survive that the latter is the better option. But the freezing temperatures of the planet, her wounded leg, and the lack of an exact destination terrify her.

“I can wrap it, cauterize it.” Porter offers when he catches Maddi’s glance at her leg.

She nods and slowly and the two sit up. She turns to give Poter a better angle to work with, although she doesn’t go too far. Maddi grabs her leg, staining her hands, as Porter tears the sleeves from his shirt.

Maddi’s eyes widen in panic. “Porter you’ll fr- freeze.”

Porter doesn’t answer this time. He helps her roll up the pant leg to reveal the nasty wound. He places one of his sleeves above it, wraps it, then ties it agonizingly tight around her leg. Maddi clenches her teeth and eyes shut as the pain radiates through her body. She can feel it everywhere, her chest, her head, and for a moment the cold doesn't even exist. However, Porter takes her lack of a yelp or cry as a sign to continue. He places the second sleeve below the opening, then tightly ties the sleeve around it. Maddi yelps.

“Sorry.” Porter says.

His hand hovers over the wound, Maddi whines as she feels his body heat shift down his arm. "I'll try to be quick, but I need all the heat I can get okay?"

She only nods, clinging to him in anticipation.

He takes a breath. Then presses his hand firmly to her leg. Her scream rips through the cavern. She jerks to get away and Porter has to use his other arm to hold her. Her hand latches to Porter's arm, tears streaming from her eyes.

Then he moves his hand away. It's a sloppy job, the blood on her leg burnt into her skin. His hand print permanently on her lower thigh. He moves his eyes away at the thought.

Then she's sobbing in his arms, shaking in pain.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Maddi." Porter forces his warmth back to his middle, straining to keep her from freezing.

“Are we going to- to try and get out?” She whimpers.

Porter looks at Maddi. Her face screams to let her stay, to let her sleep, although her words said differently. Porter silently commends her bravery.

"We should go, sunrise should come any second now," He says, pointing up to their escape hatch where blue has begun to seep into the darkness.

Maddi nods and doesn’t object when Porter once again ignites a flame, this time hotter and more inspired than the last, and sends it to the sky. He holds his hand to it, forcing the flame to remain burning near the ice for as long as he can. Water begins to run and drip from the hole, the gap widening. Porter pants as the flame dies out.

“Think we can fit?” He huffs a laugh, for Maddi’s sake.

“I sure h-hope so.” She says lightly, though shivering against him again.

He puts one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders and lifts her from the ground.

“When we get out there, keep your face into me and try to stay awake okay?”

Maddi only nods into his chest.

Porter takes a deep breath and in a few flaps, he's off the ground and hovering in the icy cave.

“You’re still good with this right?” He asks, not necessarily for permission, he was getting her out of here now.

“Yeah, yeah," there's a small rise of panic in her voice. "I promise I won’t puke on you.”

He feels her smile against his chest as her arms grip around his neck, clinging for dear life.

“Alright, I’ve got ya, Smalls,” and with a swift flap of his wings and a delicate maneuver through the hole, the two are out. Miles away from any relative safety, but more hopeful than in the icy tomb they’d left behind.

…

Finally, the shiny metallic walls of the region's spaceport came into view.

"Hang on, almost there." Porter tells Maddi, pushing his wings hard.

"Do- do you think that we can call the others?"

"Anything you want."

There's a commotion on the ground below him as he lowers to land. People scatter as he lands on the concrete.

"I need a medic! Warm blankets! Move!" He forces himself through the growing crowd, headed towards the hospital.

He bursts through the doors, making the doctors and nurses inside jump. One of them, an alien with blue skin and four arms, approaches the two.

"She's freezing, she needs help." Porter tells the doctor.

"May I?" The doctor extends their lower arms.

"No. Lead me to a room, I'm the only thing keeping her warm."

The doctor looks confused at first, but acceptance sweeps their expression. They lead Porter to the first room. Some tech inside is human, others alien. Porter hesitates at the door.

"Lay her here. We'll get an IV in her and warm her up, inside out." The doctor says, prepping an IV drip.

Porter does as he's told. As he sets her down, Maddi clings desperately to Porter.

She tries to form a sentence, but it's only a quiet plea, "Porter?"

"It's alright, we're gonna make it better, okay?"

Maddi nods, releasing Porter and sliding her hand into his. His eyes meet the doctors.

"She is wounded?" The doctor asks.

"I cauterized it, it's a poor job, but I couldn't let her bleed out." Porter answers.

The doctor takes it upon themself to cut away her pant leg. They suck in a breath when they see the handprint on her leg.

"You are the Phoenix then," The Doctor says. "This was dangerous, and we'll need to do proper work to make sure it doesn't get infected. But it quite possibly saved her life."

They press a button on the wall. They call for a team in their language and then look back to Porter. "Go, call your team. My own can handle it from here."

Maddi squeezes Porter's hand. Her eyes scream fear, uncertainty, but she nods, silently telling him it's okay.

…

"She's okay now though right?" McCoy asks through the hologram.

"Yeah, she just came out of surgery. Asleep right now, but she wants to talk to you guys." Porter answers, glancing over to Maddi on the bed.

"Of course! As soon as she's awake, call and we'll drop everything." Brooke says.

Jaylyn turns away from her camera, then says, "I'm going to bring you two back. You deserve a break."

"No!" Maddi nearly shouts from the bed. "I mean- you can't, not yet."

"Well, good to see you're up at the best time," Jaylyn says.

"Maddi, you nearly froze to death and almost lost your leg. If Jaylyn can get you home, then you're going." Porter tells her.

Maddi shakes her head. "We were close to something, Porter. We have to see it through. And now I know what to expect."

"By the time you're able to run again, they'll have moved," Jaylyn says. "We can send Brooke and Cheyanne to help Porter, but I can't let you do anymore. You've done enough, take a break."

Maddi frowns. "Fine, but at least let me stay on the planet with Porter until they're done."

Porter turns to her. "Why? You'll just be sitting here."

"Because you're my partner. I'm staying with you."

"I nearly got you killed."

"But you didn't. I'm staying. That's that."

To Porter's surprise, the others laugh.

"You heard her, Porter," Brooke laughs, "she's staying with you."