Pearls

Epilogue

It had occurred to Phoenix as he was leaving the office that Miles hadn't stated what they were going to do exactly. He didn't explain much over the phone except that he wanted to see Phoenix again and end their date properly which, to be fair, was understandable since it was interrupted by an unwanted third party. But what would they do? It was only now just turning into night and as far as Phoenix knew, Miles had only planned for the day. So what could they possibly get up to...?

Making his way outside the office building, a red sports car pulled up in front of him and out stepped the man who had been on the phone just moments earlier: Miles Edgeworth. "Good evening, Phoenix. Ready to go?"

"Wasn't I just speaking to you on the phone? You know it's bad to talk and drive, right?"

"Nevermind that. I have somewhere I want to take you tonight."

"You're being awfully strange, Miles, but I'll follow you."

They both got into the car and drove off. They talked about what transpired in the hour that Phoenix was taken away, but aside from that the ride was a silent one. While Miles focused on the road ahead of him, Phoenix looked out the window and watched as the city slowly fade into greenery, the tall buildings replaced with open fields. 

Soon, it was the moon that lit up the world around them as they drew closer to their destination, although Phoenix had no idea where that was. Wherever it was it was taking almost 2 hours to reach and Phoenix found himself slowly falling asleep, tired from the day's events. When he next awoke, he was being shaken lightly by Miles who had already parked the car and turned off the lights. "Hey, we're here."

"Hrm? Where are we?"

"It's a bit unconventional to bring you out here this late at night, but I thought it'd be fun."

Phoenix rubbed his eyes hard and blearily looked out. He could see a sandy dune covered in tufts of grass, and in the distance he could hear the crash of waves. A small path was dug out some distance away to the right and as Phoenix questioned where they were, Miles came around to his side and opened the car door. "Are we at the beach?"

"We are. I've brought a couple of beach towels too for us to sit on."

"Ah, okay," was all Phoenix could manage to say as he got out of the car and stretched. 

Taking a bath towel each, they followed the dug out path down to the beach. They were careful to not get too much sand in their shoes, but that proved to be futile as they stumbled on the sandy dunes. Once they reached flat land, Phoenix stared out at the open water while Miles laid out his towel. The moon was high in the sky as its light was reflected on the water, sparkling and glowing with a coolness equal to the wind that blew by. Mesmerised by the view, Phoenix was startled at Miles' hand pulling on his own before laying out his own towel and joining his partner on the ground. 

"So... what made you decide to bring me here of all places? Not that I'm complaining, but we did travel pretty far to come here."

Miles didn't respond immediately but when he did, he spoke with a tenderness that gripped Phoenix's heart while also locking their hands together. "I wanted to be in solitude with you. In the city, we were always surrounded by other people. There were times when we were alone, but it was only for a moment until another person came along to disrupt us. Even the park felt crowded despite it being barren.

I wanted to be alone with you, Phoenix. I wanted to have some time to ourselves to really understand where we were going with this. Today, I had hoped that maybe by showing you my interests and getting to know about yours would in some way allow us to catch up from the past years and possibly further our relationship. But," he said as he looked up to the stars, watching them twinkle brightly in the sky before turning to Phoenix, "I realise now that all I wanted was some quiet time with you. I'll admit I had fun today, but there's nothing I want more than to spend time with you. Hence why I brought you here."

Every word that fell out of Miles' mouth sent blood rushing up to Phoenix's face, the thudding of his own heart making it difficult to hear what his lover was saying. The crisp, cool air did little to rid Phoenix of his flushed skin as did Miles' unwavering smile that slowly drew closer and closer to his face until their lips met.Soft sighs emitted from both men as they kissed, the world around them becoming quiet and dull. With unquenchable love, they fell on top of one another and deepened the kiss, pulling away only to smile and laugh at their unique behaviour.

Following their close embrace, they lay on their towels and stared up at the night sky. The glittering stars were numerous as far as the eye can see and while they watched the glowing moon slowly rise higher, Phoenix quietly said, "Thank you for today, Miles. Today will be one of the most memorable days I've ever had."

"I feel the same way too, Phoenix." He sighed contentedly. "Do you think we should head back soon?"

"Yeah. But let's stay a little bit longer. Tonight has been really fun and relaxing... I wish it were like this forever."

Bringing his hand up to his face, Miles kissed Phoenix and gently whispered, "I love you, Phoenix."

"I love you too, Miles. I love you too."