The Manny Named Miles

❥ chapter four: and to all a good night

Phoenix woke, on Christmas morning, to the pain of not one, but two small girls jumping on him. He hissed through his teeth.

"Daddy, get up! It's Christmas! Miles is already up, you sleepy-head!"

Phoenix groaned and pulled himself upright. Sure enough, the space next to him in bed was empty. He was still groggy, but he had a vague recollection of a conversation the night before. Something about Franziska bringing an extra visitor? He'd only been semi-concious, so very little of what Miles had said had registered. He'd have to ask the man for details. Trucy dragged him out of bed and Pearl ran ahead of them, wearing something Christmas-colored that she'd borrowed from Trucy. Her hair was done up in an elaborate bun and fastened with a green ribbon. Was that Franziska's doing? How long had the others been awake?

"Nice of you to join us," Miles chuckled when Phoenix made it into the kitchen. Larry, with purple rings framing his eyes, was enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. Franziska, an early riser, was already getting the cookie dough ready. Pearl watched her work, enraptured.

Phoenix wandered over to Miles, who was standing by the stove and doing something to the goose with a baster full of water.

"Merry Christmas, Miles." He leaned in to whisper. "Hey, what was it that you were saying last night? I was half asleep. I don't remember."

Miles raised an eyebrow at him, and then he smirked.

"You don't? ...I'll leave it to you to figure out, then. It should prove to be amusing." Miles looked past Phoenix to the counter, and once he confirmed that Franziska was still there, he leaned in and gave Phoenix a quick kiss. Phoenix flinched.

"H-Hey, we're supposed to—"

"Not keeping anything hidden from me anymore, I see," Franziska cackled. Phoenix turned to her, bewildered.

"Wait, you know?!"

"I do indeed, Nick. As of last night."

Trucy screamed, nearly startling Franziska out of her seat.

"Wait, wait! If Aunt Fran knows— I don't have to keep it a secret anymore?!"

"No, sweetheart," Miles confirmed. Trucy let out an exaggerated groan of relief and collapsed on the floor. "Now, Trucy— you don't want to get your dress all dusty."

Franziska took a moment to recover from being addressed as "Aunt Fran" before she said anything more. Phoenix tried not to chuckle at her. He also didn't comment on the fact that Miles had cleaned and scrubbed the entire kitchen again. The floor was sparkling. Trucy's dress would be fine even if she rolled around on the peeling edges of the cheap linoleum for about an hour.

"We ought to get to know one another more properly, Phoenix Wright," Franziska finally asserted. "If I am to trust you with my little brother's heart, that is."

"He's older than you are."

"And what of it?!"

"...Never mind."

While Pearl and Trucy were already full of Christmas spirit, it took the adults longer to adjust and catch a bit of that wondrous holiday feeling. It also took at least one cup of coffee for each of them. The previous day had been draining. But they managed to wake up, in time, and then the smiles spread.

Breakfast was made up of breads and cheeses and jams paired with homemade hot cocoa. Phoenix had never seen such a variety of cheese. He tried types of bread that he'd never heard the names of, and Miles laughed as he made an unpleasant face at the taste of sourdough. Trucy had to be stopped from eating the apricot jam with a spoon, while Pearl dabbed tiny little dollops of strawberry jam on her toasted bagel and ate it more happily, perhaps, than any child had ever eaten anything. It was kind of sad. Larry ate most of the cheese by himself when no one was looking, even the stinky ones, and earned a swat to the head from Franziska.