Fire and Spice (Part 3)
More Fire and Spice. This one's rather short, and has a lot of gumshoe in it. And Miles being a snarky grouch :).
Title: Fire and Spice
Pairing: Edgeworth/Phoenix
Theme: Romance, Comedy, Hurt-Comfort, Fluff, Fantasy
Warnings: Somewaht AU (tries to slot into cannon as well as it can), Fantasy, Shapeshifting, Age Reversion (not shota!), Character "death", Emoworth
Summary: When Phoenix gets shot from behind by an unknown gunman, Miles is left distraught... until he discovers that Phoenix is much more than he ever appeared to be.
Part 1 Part 2
Part 3: Another Day
In the end, Phoenix went upstairs to take his own shower, while Miles called Gumshoe. He told the story they'd come up with and only barely heard the detective's reply, as a wave of fatigue washed over him. The day had been thoroughly exhausting, full of stress and grief and confusion and relief, and now the second wind he'd had ever since he smelled Phoenix's scent outside his door was thoroughly spent. No matter how much of a workaholic he was, even Miles was at his limit after twenty-four waking hours.
He barely had the presence of mind to bid goodbye to Gumshoe and put the phone down as he felt his eyelids flutter. He couldn't even find the strength to walk upstairs - he just slid down until he was lying on the sofa, blacking out before his head even hit the cushions, just as his alarm clock started to go off upstairs.
The sleep he fell into was dreamless and deep, the pure oblivion of true exhaustion. He was unaware of passing time, of anything at all save the clinging black lethargy that dragged him down and held him tightly.
It could have been seconds or years later that he heard the thunderous pounding and ringing echoing through his house. Blinking and shaking his head, he slowly sat up, as something slid from his shoulders. Someone had pulled a blanket over him and tucked his feet onto the couch. He stared blearily at the wall as he started to remember why he felt so exhausted. The problem was that pounding on his door, it wouldn't let him concentrate.
Suddenly, Miles saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. There was a teenage boy standing in the doorway of his kitchen, wearing his pajamas, frantically waving his arms at Miles.
Oh, right. My boyfriend's a mythical bird and he turned into a kid... Miles rubbed his eyes and blinked at the clock - 11:14 AM. So he should be about fifteen by now. Well, he does look it.
Miles was always a bit slow before he had his first cup of tea in the morning, so it took him a few moments to decipher Phoenix's spastic waving as he gestured first at the door, then at himself, then drew both hands across his throat.
[i]Answer the door, don't mention me,[/i] Miles nodded and tottered to his feet, wishing that whoever was banging on his door would stop. After a straight 24 hours of wakefulness, five hours of sleep were not enough to cut it.
Yanking the door open, Miles almost found himself hit in the face by Gumshoe's knocking fist. He ignored the detective's yelp and sheepish expression, just glaring up into the irritatingly bright light the detective had brought with him.
"What. Do. You. Want." He ground out, feeling the tightness behind his eyes.
"Well, pal - I mean sir -"
Miles glared again and the detective fell silent. "Skip the preamble and tell me."
"Wright might actually be alive!" Gumshoe grinned at him, holding out a folder in shaking hands, "The forensic team just put together this report, and I thought you'd want to know right away, sir!"
"Gumshoe," Miles frowned, taking the folder, "I already told you he was alive last night."
"Yeah, sir, but..." Gumshoe looked distinctly uncomfortable. "You sounded so out of it, and everyone knows you and Wright are... We thought you'd snapped or-"
"Snapped?" Miles drew himself up, his intimidating look only slightly diminished by rumpled clothes and bedhead. "I was perfectly in control last night as I am now. Wright contacted me and is currently in a safe place, waiting for the criminal to make a mistake."
"I-I knew that you were telling the truth! Honest!" Gumshoe was a terrible liar, and Miles looked down at the folder in his hands instead of at the stuttering detective.
"Good," Miles said, nodding a little, then his tired brain caught up with Gumshoe's words. He stopped dead, and when he spoke, his voice was colder than ice. "Everyone knows Wright and I are... what, exactly?"
"Er, everyone knows you're... close?"
"How. Close?" Miles's voice was dangerously soft. "Am I right in inferring that you have betrayed the confidence I have previously shown in you?"
Not that it had really been confidence in Gumshoe... More like bad luck and Wright forgetting to lock the door before jumping Miles for an office blowjob. After they had revived the detective from his faint, he had sworn to keep their secret, but given his nasty habit of handing out important evidence to all and sundry... This was just the final straw, Miles was going to dock his pay so much, the big galoot would be paying the district for the right to work!
"N-no! No sir! I didn't say anything!" the detective cringed back in fear from the shorter man, eyes wide in panic as he realized how much danger he was in. "I mean, the number of cases you've had together, and the way he visits you at work... and that case two years ago... and last year, and six months ago. I don't think anyone knows you're ga- I mean, people know you're friends and all..."
Gumshoe trailed off, mumbling something about secretaries and fanfiction, but Miles was too tired and too irate to listen. The detective backed up, likely deciding to flee while he still had a salary, but he paused at the edge of the steps.
"Is he really alright, sir?" There was genuine concern in the detective's voice, which took the edge off Miles's anger. He looked up into worried brown eyes and mustered a small smile.
"Yes. He's going to be fine."
"Thank god, pal!" Gumshoe beamed in relief, seemingly forgetting the earlier tension. "How he managed to escape this time... that guy's like a cat, he's got nine lives or somethin'."
You have no idea, Miles thought, then frowned. "How did you know that Wright is still alive? what did they find?"
"They tested the blood, pal." Gumshoe puffed out his chest importantly, as though he had run the key tests. "The water made it tough, but they found out it wasn't his blood!"
"What?" now Miles was thoroughly confused. "Whose blood was it?"
Gumshoe shrugged. "Dunno. We don't actually have a sample of Wright's blood on file, but it can've been him, sir; the blood wasn't human."
Title: Fire and Spice
Pairing: Edgeworth/Phoenix
Theme: Romance, Comedy, Hurt-Comfort, Fluff, Fantasy
Warnings: Somewaht AU (tries to slot into cannon as well as it can), Fantasy, Shapeshifting, Age Reversion (not shota!), Character "death", Emoworth
Summary: When Phoenix gets shot from behind by an unknown gunman, Miles is left distraught... until he discovers that Phoenix is much more than he ever appeared to be.
Part 1 Part 2
Part 3: Another Day
In the end, Phoenix went upstairs to take his own shower, while Miles called Gumshoe. He told the story they'd come up with and only barely heard the detective's reply, as a wave of fatigue washed over him. The day had been thoroughly exhausting, full of stress and grief and confusion and relief, and now the second wind he'd had ever since he smelled Phoenix's scent outside his door was thoroughly spent. No matter how much of a workaholic he was, even Miles was at his limit after twenty-four waking hours.
He barely had the presence of mind to bid goodbye to Gumshoe and put the phone down as he felt his eyelids flutter. He couldn't even find the strength to walk upstairs - he just slid down until he was lying on the sofa, blacking out before his head even hit the cushions, just as his alarm clock started to go off upstairs.
The sleep he fell into was dreamless and deep, the pure oblivion of true exhaustion. He was unaware of passing time, of anything at all save the clinging black lethargy that dragged him down and held him tightly.
It could have been seconds or years later that he heard the thunderous pounding and ringing echoing through his house. Blinking and shaking his head, he slowly sat up, as something slid from his shoulders. Someone had pulled a blanket over him and tucked his feet onto the couch. He stared blearily at the wall as he started to remember why he felt so exhausted. The problem was that pounding on his door, it wouldn't let him concentrate.
Suddenly, Miles saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. There was a teenage boy standing in the doorway of his kitchen, wearing his pajamas, frantically waving his arms at Miles.
Oh, right. My boyfriend's a mythical bird and he turned into a kid... Miles rubbed his eyes and blinked at the clock - 11:14 AM. So he should be about fifteen by now. Well, he does look it.
Miles was always a bit slow before he had his first cup of tea in the morning, so it took him a few moments to decipher Phoenix's spastic waving as he gestured first at the door, then at himself, then drew both hands across his throat.
[i]Answer the door, don't mention me,[/i] Miles nodded and tottered to his feet, wishing that whoever was banging on his door would stop. After a straight 24 hours of wakefulness, five hours of sleep were not enough to cut it.
Yanking the door open, Miles almost found himself hit in the face by Gumshoe's knocking fist. He ignored the detective's yelp and sheepish expression, just glaring up into the irritatingly bright light the detective had brought with him.
"What. Do. You. Want." He ground out, feeling the tightness behind his eyes.
"Well, pal - I mean sir -"
Miles glared again and the detective fell silent. "Skip the preamble and tell me."
"Wright might actually be alive!" Gumshoe grinned at him, holding out a folder in shaking hands, "The forensic team just put together this report, and I thought you'd want to know right away, sir!"
"Gumshoe," Miles frowned, taking the folder, "I already told you he was alive last night."
"Yeah, sir, but..." Gumshoe looked distinctly uncomfortable. "You sounded so out of it, and everyone knows you and Wright are... We thought you'd snapped or-"
"Snapped?" Miles drew himself up, his intimidating look only slightly diminished by rumpled clothes and bedhead. "I was perfectly in control last night as I am now. Wright contacted me and is currently in a safe place, waiting for the criminal to make a mistake."
"I-I knew that you were telling the truth! Honest!" Gumshoe was a terrible liar, and Miles looked down at the folder in his hands instead of at the stuttering detective.
"Good," Miles said, nodding a little, then his tired brain caught up with Gumshoe's words. He stopped dead, and when he spoke, his voice was colder than ice. "Everyone knows Wright and I are... what, exactly?"
"Er, everyone knows you're... close?"
"How. Close?" Miles's voice was dangerously soft. "Am I right in inferring that you have betrayed the confidence I have previously shown in you?"
Not that it had really been confidence in Gumshoe... More like bad luck and Wright forgetting to lock the door before jumping Miles for an office blowjob. After they had revived the detective from his faint, he had sworn to keep their secret, but given his nasty habit of handing out important evidence to all and sundry... This was just the final straw, Miles was going to dock his pay so much, the big galoot would be paying the district for the right to work!
"N-no! No sir! I didn't say anything!" the detective cringed back in fear from the shorter man, eyes wide in panic as he realized how much danger he was in. "I mean, the number of cases you've had together, and the way he visits you at work... and that case two years ago... and last year, and six months ago. I don't think anyone knows you're ga- I mean, people know you're friends and all..."
Gumshoe trailed off, mumbling something about secretaries and fanfiction, but Miles was too tired and too irate to listen. The detective backed up, likely deciding to flee while he still had a salary, but he paused at the edge of the steps.
"Is he really alright, sir?" There was genuine concern in the detective's voice, which took the edge off Miles's anger. He looked up into worried brown eyes and mustered a small smile.
"Yes. He's going to be fine."
"Thank god, pal!" Gumshoe beamed in relief, seemingly forgetting the earlier tension. "How he managed to escape this time... that guy's like a cat, he's got nine lives or somethin'."
You have no idea, Miles thought, then frowned. "How did you know that Wright is still alive? what did they find?"
"They tested the blood, pal." Gumshoe puffed out his chest importantly, as though he had run the key tests. "The water made it tough, but they found out it wasn't his blood!"
"What?" now Miles was thoroughly confused. "Whose blood was it?"
Gumshoe shrugged. "Dunno. We don't actually have a sample of Wright's blood on file, but it can've been him, sir; the blood wasn't human."