Wrightworth Oneshots

Farewell, My Turnabout CODA

Written after finishing the second game, no idea what happens in the next one

Phoenix was dozing off over some paperwork when he was startled awake by the Steel Samurai theme song coming from his pocket. His brain took a few seconds to register that his phone was ringing.
Once he'd more or less returned to reality, he answered his phone, not bothering to check the number on the display. He didn't even introduce himself properly.
"Hmmyeah? Wright here..."

"Wright," a pleasant voice on the other side said.
"It's Edgeworth."

Now Phoenix was fully awake. Edgeworth never called him. A thousand possibilities shot through his head, awful things that could have happened to one of their friends. Or even...

"Hey Edgeworth... why the call?", Phoenix asked.
"You- you're not leaving again, are you?"
Please don't leave again, he thought. It took me so long to forgive you the first time.

But to his relief, Edgeworth chuckled.
"Don't get all worried now just because I'm calling you. No, I'm not leaving. I was filing paperwork when some old cases from last year fell into my hands. And it got me thinking..."

"Thinking? You?", Phoenix joked, trying to hide his relief and his curiosity.

Edgeworth sighed, but Phoenix could almost hear the fond smile through the phone.
"Yes. As I said, I was thinking... it's crazy how much... how much I used to hate you."

"Gee, thanks," Phoenix replied, "You called just to tell me that?"

Another sigh from Edgeworth, probably paired with an eye roll.
"Just... listen, Wright..." He sounded nervous.
But then his voice suddenly got serious, almost sentimental.
"It's crazy because... I had no real reason to hate you. Hold it before you say anything. Let me talk. I... I guess I didn't hate you because of who you were. I hated you... because of who I was. Because I was never good enough to beat you. Because... you were so much better than me in so many ways... and I was too weak to accept that."

"Edgeworth," Phoenix said breathlessly.
"What-"

But Edgeworth interrupted him.
"Wright. I know we've talked about this before, but... I never apologized. I was wrong, Phoenix, and I'm sorry. You... you don't deserve to be hated. By anyone."

Phoenix couldn't believe what he was hearing. An apology from Edgeworth?! And he was pretty sure he'd called him by his first name. The thought made Phoenix's heart skip a beat.

"Well, say something." Edgeworth's voice sounded nervous again.
"Phoenix, don't leave me hanging."

There it was again. Edgeworth had called him Phoenix.
Phoenix pinched himself to check if he was dreaming. Ouch. Definitely not a dream.

"Edgeworth, I- you- uh..." he stammered, searching for the right words.
Don't make a big deal out of it, he thought. Don't overwhelm him.
"Thanks. I... I accept your apology... and I really appreciate it."
But he couldn't help himself.
"By the way, I was thinking-"

"Thinking? You?", Edgeworth interrupted him.

"Heh. Yeah, who would have thought, huh?" Phoenix huffed out a short laugh.
"Anyways, I was thinking... we should grab a bite after work some time, you and me. Since you had to leave early when we all went out for dinner."
Phoenix had spoken before his overthinking could stop him again, but now he was worried.
What if he says no?, he thought. That would be so awkward...

"Sure," Edgeworth said, much to Phoenix's relief.
"I'm about to finish up for today. Call me when you're done. Since you still don't have a driver's license, I guess I'll have to pick you up."

Phoenix's head spun. Edgeworth had said yes. And not even 'some time'. Today.
"Sounds good," he replied, trying to sound casual. Trying to hide the fact that his heart was beating out of his chest.
"It's gonna be at least two more hours for me here, but I'll call you. See you then, Miles."