stand up for it. (Miles Edgeworth x gender neutral Reader)

investigation: day one

"First there was silence. Comforting and calm like every other night shift I spent at the offices of the animal shelter.

Then there was a crash. A glass window breaking and cutting through the quiet night.

A scream. Shrill and horrific, I knew it was Alice immediately. Yet I was too cowardly to help. I was frozen in place with fear.

Two gunshots. Followed by a thud and a ringing in my ears.

Finally, the silence returned. Only then it hung heavy in the air, suffocatingly thick. I could hardly breath for fear of being heard and found by the killer.

Whoever it is either didn't know I was there, or only had one target. I only saw them for a moment but if they found out I cought a glimpse of them, I'm sure they'd come for me!

I couldn't bring myself to leave the closet for at least half an hour. But when I did the sight was worse than I'd imagined. But you saw the crime scene so you know that,"

The memories come rushing back to me as I recount the events I witnessed. And suddenly the room is too small. Just like the closet I was in when my friend and coworker was killed. Everything starts to spin. I feel like reality is slipping away from me as the realization that Alice is gone and never coming back crashes down on me.

A heavy hand lands on my shoulder, grounding me at least for the moment. "Y/n, look at me. You're in witness protection, no one will hurt you," I look over and up to see detective Gumshoe looking down at me. He's obviously concerned. I don't blame him, I know for a fact that I look like a wreck.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you detective," I smile weakly at him and he gives my shoulder a squeeze before letting go.

"I'll need to ask you some more questions regarding very specific details. But for now I think we should take a break," Gumshoe decides, not leaving any room for argument. Not that I would argue with him, I need this break.

"I'm sorry, I want to help its just hard," I sigh as Gumshoe hands me a cup of herbal tea. I'm guessing he picked it to help me calm down. Coffee would make me more jittery and nervous.

"You dont have to apologize. You're extremely brave to share this information with us," Gumshoe compliments and this time it's not as hard to smile at him. "I'm sure Alice would be proud of you,"

"I hope so. But she should still be here! Some heartless bastard took away her life! And to add insult to injury, Alice funded the shelter herself. Without her it'll get shut down!" I clench my fist. Alice was nothing but kind. Why would someone ever want to kill the director of an animal shelter? "I just want whoever did this to face justice!"

"Well I can give you some good news in regards to that," Gumshoe says, quickly gaining my undivided attention. "I have a couple suspects we're taking to court,"

"That's a great start!" I feel a spark of hope at his words and Gumshoe brightens at my enthusiasm. No doubt he's pretty proud of himself for finding the lead suspects.

"But the good news doesn't stop there, because not only do we have suspects and evidence, we've got the best lawyer out there!" Gumshoe can hardly contain his enthusiasm now. Suddenly there's a knock on the door and he jumps to his feet. "That must be him now!"

Gumshoe practically runs over to the door and unlocks it. When the door swings open, none other than the Miles Edgeworth steps into the room.

"Good afternoon detective," Edgeworth nods to Gumshoe. Then he turns to me and extends a hand. "You must be y/n l/n,"

"Yes, that's me. I want to help however I can," I reach out to shake his hand and my heart leaps into my throat.

"Excellent. Because I will need you to testify in court tomorrow," Edgeworth cuts right to chase and in my state of shock I let go of his hand.

I should have seen it coming but still, "I don't know if I can. I could hardly get my report out to detective Gumshoe. How would I be brave enough to face the court?" I bounce my knee nervously. There are so many ways this could go wrong. I could make a fool of myself. Or worse, I could become a target for speaking out!

Sensing my discomfort, Edgeworth pulls up a chair to sit next to me. Once he's down at my level, he clears his throat and waits for me to make eye contact before he speaks. "You are our primary witness. Without you we don't have a solid case. This isn't a matter of whether or not you can do it, but how you will do it," Edgeworths tone is firm. And though he lacks warmth, something about his words are inspiring and encouraging.

"Please, we need you on the stand tomorrow. Myself and everyone else on my team will protect you," Gumshoe adds which also helps soothe my nerves.

"And as long as you testify, I can do everything else and ensure your friend gets their justice," Edgeworth promises. There's a look of determination in his eye that I cant help but trust. "We can do this together y/n. Im willing to take on the case. Are you going to stand up and fight beside me?"

I can't seem to tear my gaze away from Edgeworth as the spark of hope I felt turns into a blazing fire, "Absolutely,"

A/n: I started playing ace attorney a little while ago and really wanted to try writing a little story about it so I made this account. If you like it so far please let me know! I plan to add more chapters. Thank you so much for reading!