Chapter Text
“Wright,” Miles said into the receiver, voice sharp, “Do you care to explain why your daughter called me in tears to say you’ve gone missing?”
There was a rustling noise that Miles interpreted as Wright’s phone changing hands, and he heard a muttered “Shit!”
“Miles, hi!” Wright’s voice took on a sickly sweet tone that didn’t mask his nervousness nearly as well as he thought it did, “So, uh, guess where I am?”
“The answer had better be on your way to pick Trucy up from her rehearsal.”
Miles could practically hear the wince in Wright’s voice, “I… might be a little farther away than that.”
“How far away.”
“Um. Khura’in?” Wright’s words pitched upward at the end.
Miles’ expression fell flat. He promptly hung up.
The moment after he did, his phone screen lit up and started buzzing. Miles didn’t spare even a perfunctory glance its way. Wright and his excuses could go straight to message.
While the phone buzzed, Miles paced in his office, running the logistics over in his mind. He was going to have to be the one to pick up Trucy from the theater downtown. He had been planning on working late, but now he had a teenage girl and dinner to contend with, and it was already 8:00 P.M. on a work night. The irritation of it all made him want to tear his hair out.
What reason could Phoenix possibly have for suddenly flying off halfway across the world without so much as a word of warning?
Miles’ phone continued to buzz, vibrating hard enough that it seemed to be trying to throw itself off of his desk. Impatience for answers was what finally caused Miles to pick up Wright’s third or fourth call.
“What?” Miles snapped.
“Babe—” a pet name Miles was not fond of even at the best of times, something Wright seemed to realize as his voice took on an edge, desperate to plead his case before Miles broke up with him completely— “Miles, please listen to me.”
Miles glared down at the city lights below his window in mutinous silence.
“I’m really sorry I left. I promise there’s a good reason.”
Miles didn’t rise to ask the obvious question. There was another beat of silence.
“...I thought Maya was in danger.”
The familiarity of that particular statement made Miles want to bark out a mirthless laugh.
“She called me, and I heard her scream over the phone, so—”
“So, naturally you drop everything and race halfway across the planet because of a bit of background noise.” Miles pinched the bridge of his nose. Did Wright actually think that constituted a good reason? “...Is Ms. Fey okay?”
“Uh, yeah. She’s fine.”
“I cannot believe you,” Miles hissed into the phone, as if embarrassed to let his empty office overhear the other man’s stupidity. “This kind of behavior was one thing when we were younger, but you have a daughter now! You can’t be so irresponsible!”
“You’re right! You're right. I’m sorry.”
Miles took a deep breath. “When are you returning?”
“Um, well, that’s the thing. They’re working out some issues with my passport, and now that I’m over here I kind of wanted to catch up with Maya. She’s almost done with her training, y’know, and I haven’t actually got to see her yet...”
Miles’ eyes narrowed. “So you’re volunteering me for childcare duties for the foreseeable future.”
“I know you’ll do great,” Wright said, no doubt with that wobbly, awkward smile.
“Good night.” Miles said, in the kind of tone that made it clear he was shutting down all avenues of further conversation, and not in any way wishing Wright anything good at the moment.
“I love you,” Wright tried.
“Good night, Wright.”
For the second time within an hour, Miles hung up on Wright. He sighed heavily and looked back towards his desk, piled high with papers. Why did his partner pick now to act like such a complete fool? He gathered up some materials to work on at home and dialed a number, this time not Phoenix’s.
“Hello?” Trucy picked up after the first two rings. Thankfully, she didn’t sound as though she was crying now, but her voice was strangely muffled. It could just be her habit of chewing on her nail.
“I’m coming to pick you up. Expect me in fifteen minutes.” Miles was more curt than usual, not giving her a chance to respond before ending the call.
He descended the stairs quickly. The Prosecutor’s Office was empty; almost no employees bothered coming in on the weekend. As a consequence, Miles didn’t have to deal with any social niceties or pesky jokes about how late he stayed at the office. Small blessings.
His short, clipped strides echoed in the parking garage. Miles climbed into his car and revved the engine.
The streets were quiet on a drizzly Sunday night. Miles pressed down on the gas harder perhaps than he should have. By the time he got on the highway, he was almost certainly speeding. Letting his emotions get the better of him while driving was not exactly Miles’ best quality, but he found he could not control his immense frustration.
It was a busy time at work and in Trucy’s life, what with the end of the year coming and the time to start looking at colleges. A completely terrible time for Phoenix to go gallivanting off wherever he wanted, least of all to Khura’in. Did he even know what they did to defense attorneys there?
A smaller part of Miles’ brain understood Phoenix. This was the same concern that drove Phoenix’s feet across a burning bridge, and the same concern that caused Miles to charter a plane across the world when he so much as suspected a loved one was in danger.
No, that’s not the right comparison, a snide voice in Miles’ brain whispered. Leaving all of a sudden without telling anyone a word? He’s acting just like you did when yo—
Shut up.
The rain was falling heavier now.
So this was how Phoenix felt, all those years ago.
If he knew how it felt, why would he ever abandon me?
He was off the highway, still at a stoplight. Miles’ grip on the steering wheel was so unknowingly tight that his knuckles were paling. The light flashed green. He turned left. After a few feet, he turned on his hazard lights and pulled into the fire lane in front of the Penrose Theater.
Trucy appeared to be using Mr. Hat as an impromptu umbrella and sheltering under the theater’s baffling awning. She spotted his car and ran over, white boots splashing in puddles. She wrenched open the passenger’s side door and tucked Mr. Hat away so she could enter.
She sat down, breath coming in short pants, visibly cold and miserable and dripping. Miles couldn’t help but cringe at her getting water all over his pristine seats. Trucy seemed to notice, and her shoulders slumped. “Sorry.”
Now Miles felt like he was the one who had done something wrong. “It’s nothing.”
He pulled away from the curb and flicked the windshield wipers to their fastest setting. He had to squint to see. Trucy was unusually quiet; the only sound was the loud drumming of rain on the roof.
“Where would you like to get food?”
“McDonald’s sounds good...”
Miles curled his lip in distaste. If it wasn’t so late, he would prefer to make Trucy something at home. Given the circumstances though, fast food would have to do.
At least McDonald’s were everywhere; Miles was quickly able to locate one and pull into the deserted drive-through. Trucy’s stomach grumbled, which Miles tactfully pretended not to notice while he relayed her order for chicken nuggets. After paying a stunningly low price, Miles handed the soggy bag to Trucy, and it was over. He pulled back onto the highway entrance ramp.
“Thanks for doing this, Mr. Miles,” Trucy said, crinkling through the bag to ensure that her greasy bounty was all there.
“Ah, you’re welcome.” Miles wasn’t sure about her manner of address. Only a few months ago, she would have called him Uncle Edgeworth. They’d steered her away from that once they’d begun dating. The consequences of Miles being Trucy’s uncle were… disturbing.
Though it was a long time coming, Miles’ relationship with Phoenix was still in its infancy. Everything had been driven to a head after Prosecutor Blackquill’s trial four months ago. Wright, relieved from the ordeal and slightly drunk at the time, had confessed his feelings over a salty bowl of Eldoon’s. With the exception of tonight’s truly tremendous mishap, Miles was over the moon with how the relationship had been going.
Trucy though… she was an unknown. She was a lovely girl, but Miles had always felt somewhat awkward around her, especially since he had begun dating her father. He found himself wishing he’d spent more time around her while Phoenix was disbarred.
Now she was almost an adult. What was he to be to her? A distant family friend? Another father? Was she going to call him “Daddy” too? He supposed she could, but wouldn’t that be quite confusing?
Trucy’s stomach growled louder and Miles looked over in confusion. The crinkling had stopped. Trucy stared out the rain-patterned window, seemingly determined to ignore her food.
“You can eat, you know,” Miles said, nonplussed.
Trucy glanced over, “Really? But your car’s so… fancy.”
That was true. Miles internally shuddered at the thought of crumbs on his floor and sticky fingerprints on his armrests. But if he was going to try to bond with Trucy, he needed to trust her.
“That’s very considerate of you, but you must be starving. Eat.”
He half-regretted it as soon as he said it. He had seen Trucy in eating competitions with the likes of Maya and Athena, slurping up endless bowls of noodles greedily. Miles looked straight ahead down the highway, hoping not to see the carnage. Those loud smacking noises never came. Miles dared to look out of the corner of his eye to see Trucy eating neatly, almost timidly, and not spilling even a morsel. She seemed to gain more life as she ate.
“So where’s Daddy?” She finally asked when she was through polishing off the last of her highly-processed chicken.
“He’s flown to Khura’in to visit Ms. Fey,” Miles fought to keep his tone even. Trucy didn’t need to know how upset he was with her father, “You’ll be staying with me for the time being.”
“Oh. How long is the time being?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“...Is Daddy going to miss my magic show?”
Miles’ blood froze. Trucy was making her world debut at the Penrose Theater in six days. She’d been working on the performance intensely for almost a year. Surely Phoenix realized how important this was to her. Exiting the highway, the only noise in the car was the steady clicking of the turn signal.
His silence must be doing nothing to assuage Trucy’s fears. In his peripheral vision, Trucy sat unnaturally still. Miles’ heart clenched and his jaw was held much too tight.
“I will talk to him,” Miles promised.
“Yeah! Totally!” Trucy’s enthusiasm sounded forced. “Um, and what about school?”
“School?” Miles had forgotten about school. “Ah, of course I’ll drive you to school as well.”
“Thanks,” Trucy said, fidgeting with her seatbelt.
Trucy’s school was hardly nearby. He had to somehow get there and back before his 9:00 AM meeting tomorrow, and all during his peak allergy season. Resentment towards Phoenix prickled at him as Miles pulled into his condo’s parking garage.
Thankfully, Trucy didn’t complain when he opted against the elevator to walk up five flights of stairs to his apartment. He opened the door and turned on the lights, eyes flicking around the apartment to see that it was acceptable.
...I’m sure it’s less dirty than what she’s used to.
Trucy stood, wet and looking uncomfortable, on the welcome mat. She didn’t seem to want to move.
“There’s a guest room and bathroom down the hallway,” Miles pointed, “I’ll lay out something dry for you while you take a shower.”
Trucy nodded and fled down the hallway before he could even ask if there was anything else he could get her.
Miles sighed. It was already ten now. A pain in his stomach reminded him of how hungry he was. He probably had time for pasta, and that was about it. He bustled about the kitchen setting out a pot and filling it with water.
As he waited for it to boil, he left to go find pajamas for Trucy. He was able to locate it quickly; despite what his underlyings might joke, the only women’s clothing he had was from whenever Franziska visited. Miles folded a pair of blue pajamas that looked around Trucy’s size and set it on the guest bed before returning to the kitchen.
He put the pasta in the boiling water and set a timer. Rummaging through his refrigerator, Miles found some leftover spaghetti sauce to heat up. Across the apartment, he could hear the shower running. At some point tomorrow he was going to have to return to Wright’s place to pick up some of Trucy’s clothes. The microwave beeped, and Miles used a pot holder to pull out the heated spaghetti sauce.
If they left early, Miles could stop by Wright’s office on his way back from dropping off Trucy at school. He drained the spaghetti and put both it and the sauce in a bowl. He set his dinner on the table.
Reading while eating was generally something Miles disapproved of, but he didn’t have much time to do anything else. He went over the points he had to say for tomorrow’s meeting, careful not to spill a drop of sauce. The content of his job was bloody enough; he didn’t need the paperwork looking like a crime scene. Somewhere in the time he ate, the shower turned off, but Trucy did not return to wish him goodnight. When he was finished, he set dishes in the sink to deal with tomorrow
Even crawling into bed, Miles couldn’t allow himself to relax. He was stressed out and seething at Phoenix. Worse, Trucy had been acting strangely ever since he picked her up, and he wasn’t sure what he could do to make it better. To his horror, Miles realized he had no idea how to be a parent.