Constructive Crit is appreciated, and muchly welcomed. I assumed Phoenix had just turned 27 in Mar-Apr 2019, but if this is wrong feel free to correct me.

Title: Turnabout Mindset
Author: Kat_Aclysm
Rating: PG13, for some ickyness and violence occuring later.
Genre: Romance? Dramaish. Has fluff in it.
Status: Incomplete
Pairing: NaruXMitsu in later with plenty of awkward fluff planned along the way.
Summary: Just a serious attempt at a fanfiction while having fun. To slot in between GS3 and GS4. It's Phoenix's birthday - but he's busy working on a case that he himself doesn't feel so sure about. But while working on it, he's interrupted - Larry wants to haul him and Maya out to a restaurant. It goes OK at first, but then things take a bit of a bad turn. Will update this as I work on it.




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Turnabout Mindset

Written by Kat_Aclysm
Rated PG13: For stuff.

DISCLAIMER: Phoenix/Gyakuten Saiban, the characters, the supporting cast, and the games themselves are © Capcom Co. Ltd, 2002, 2006. All Rights Reserved. This is a completely unofficial fiction-based literary fan-work written by the listed author. All legal matters in this writing piece are a work of fiction. Lawyers are not necessarily awesome people with cravats.

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Chapter 1 – “Happy Birthday, Nick!”


Phoenix Wright was quietly working at his desk and so far it had been a fairly eventful and tiring day. He had been to court that morning and had been engaged in a fairly emotional trial, defending yet another client to the best of his ability. He had come back to his office after the trial was over for the day both to rest, and to ponder the situation in full. Was the client really telling the truth? Should he continue to believe his innocence? Mia had always told him to always believe in his clients, so he supposed he should... although right now that advice felt hard to follow. Still, if the man were truly innocent, Phoenix would find a way to turn the trial around. He always did, one way or another.

His current client and the defendant in the case he was working on was a man by the name of Russ Tinayle. The man was being accused of murdering two people and wounding five others. He was an avid member of the city's gun club and believed that all of life’s problems by shooting them away, which was the main reason he was being accused of committing the crime in the first place. The other reason was that he owned an old rare handgun that no other person in the shooting club had and that it's particular size and caliber of bullets were found in all of the people shot. The man himself argued that the guilty party had stolen his gun to do the shootings and that he was being framed. Phoenix wasn't so sure if he bought that story or not though...

The defense attorney sighed as he read over the case files again. The defendant had an alibi albeit a shaky one. The gun club required members to sign in and swipe their member-cards before entering the venue, and Russ Tinayle's card hadn't been signed in at all on the day of the shootings. Police had argued against this and said that he had slipped by the security on that day in order to his shootings, and that he had enemies within the club. And then finally, there was the fact that the murder weapon itself had not been found – Russ Tinayle's own handgun had gone missing before the shooting had taken place, which only further fueled accusations of him being the prime suspect.

Phoenix pulled out the closed circuit camera TV stills he had requested from the club venue a few days ago to take another look. In the pictures Phoenix could make out the figure of a man carrying a small gun but the image was blurry and in poor light, meaning that no real significant details could be made out. The prints were blurry at best - hardly any real evidence to go by.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing. “This really isn't going well. I can’t prove this guy guilty OR innocent, not on this lousy evidence. To make matters worse, Edgeworth is the prosecutor in this case...”

When Phoenix visited the defendant in the Detention Center, even he himself began to question whether or not his client was guilty. Just by the man's words, his responses to questions, his entire demeanor suggested that he wasn't innocent – but the evidence could still suggest otherwise.

And that troubled him immensely.

Phoenix felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place right about now. He had defended a guilty client before but only because he had been held to ransom for it. He had felt bad about doing so even though it was to protect the life of a friend. While working on that case he had questioned why he had become a defense attorney. That old familiar feeling was coming back to him in this case yet again.

“Is this worth it?” He thought to himself. “What happens to my career if I acquit a murderer?”

Meanwhile, Maya Fey, Phoenix's friend and the younger sister of his deceased mentor, was dabbling around the office quietly, dusting off the shelves of her boss's 'difficult-looking legal books' as he liked to call them. She was curious to know what Phoenix was up to exactly, but she didn't want to disturb him, as he looked quite busy and serious.

The defense attorney quietly sighed in frustration and ran a hand through the left side of his gelled spiky hair, idly pulling at a couple of his hair-spikes as he thought hard. He played the described events over in his mind again and again, reading over some summary notes he had written down about the case so far. He had read the summary many times over now, but... something still just quite didn't add up. There was a lie somewhere, but he just couldn't work out where the contradiction was and it was really wearing his patience down.

Russ Tinayle was offering him a very healthy payment if he won. This was another reason that Phoenix had taken the case – his financial situation had become dire lately. He was two months behind on the rent in his apartment and he had other utility bills to pay - a couple of them were nearly three months overdue. He had really felt the pinch of being broke lately and had been surviving mostly on cheap unhealthy food such as instant ramen noodles. Phoenix furrowed his brows in concentration and read over the summary once more from the top. He just had to get this right...

He was completely unprepared for the sudden loud intrusion into his office that occurred within the next few minutes that followed.

“Happy Birthday, Nick!” Larry Butz happily declared in his loudest shouting voice as he barged open the door to the Wright and Co. Law Offices, causing Phoenix to nearly jump out of his chair in fright. Larry waltzed across the floor to his old friend's desk and promptly deposited a smallish gift-wrapped box right on top of Phoenix's work papers. “Open it and tell me what you think.” He said with a wide grin.

“What?!” Maya squealed and dropped her feather duster, initially in shock from the loud intrusion. Within a heartbeat however, her attention was sharply on her 'boss' and she looked furious. “Nick!” She glared at him in an accusing manner. “Is this true? It's your birthday today? Oh my gosh, happy birthday! Why didn't you say anything!?”

The thought had vaguely crossed the defense attorney's mind. He remembered seeing it marked on the wall calendar in his apartment that morning before taking the train to work, but he had paid it no further attention. While birthdays had been exciting for him when he was a child, he was a grown man now and a birthday felt like any other ordinary day. Besides, he had much more pressing issues to think about – such as his current client for example. It had almost completely devoured his thoughts in the last week or so.

“Um... ah...” Phoenix started nervously. “Sorry?”
“That's all you can say?” Maya continued to glare at him. “You should be out celebrating! How old are you anyway?”
“Twenty-seven.” Larry replied with a wide grin before his friend could get another word out. “I got you a gift, Nick. Now open it before I make your arm numb with birthday-punches!”
“Okay, Don't do that! I need my arm to write.” He whimpered. “I'm going to open it now.” Phoenix picked the gift wrapped box up and began to open it as ordered, not wishing to receive more wrath from his friends. Inside the wrapping paper was a clear plastic display case containing an expensive-looking metal click pen.

“It's a pen,” Larry began immediately, stating the obvious. “And it's got your name engraved in it, so people know who it belongs to. There's a digital watch near the top too, so you know what the time is. Cool, huh? I figured you'd like it because you're always writing and stuff. You know, your lawyer business and all.”
“Great,” Phoenix said as he subtly plucked up the pen he had been writing with before, stuffing it in the top drawer of his desk. He took the new pen out of its case, depressing the top end of it to make the ballpoint come down. “I have a million pens, why do I need another one? And who looks at the time when they're writing, anyway?” He thought to himself as he examined it more closely.

“That's a really nice gift, Nick! I bet you're really pleased!” Maya stated in a happy voice, trying to peer over the desk to get a better look at the pen. She turned her attention to Larry and grinned at him. “So have you got something special planned for Nick today?”
“Oh you bet I do,” Larry declared happily, sticking up his thumb. “I'm going to take you guys to dinner later this evening. You know that new fancy high-class restaurant that just opened across the other side of town? It's called 'The Blue Lion'. Well I already booked a reservation in advance, so you can’t bail out of it.” Larry grinned from ear to ear as if he had just announced an achievement to be proud of. “You're more than welcome to come along, Maya. Any friend of Nick's is a friend of mine. Oh, and Nick? Edgeworth is coming along too.”
“What?” Phoenix looked up from his work again, blinking for a moment, seeming to be genuinely surprised. “Edgeworth? You asked him to come along?”
“Yeah, I already asked him this morning.” Larry replied, tilting his head. “He didn't seem too interested at first but that's Edge-head for you. He was real busy though so maybe he was just involved with that lawyer stuff like you. Still, when I mentioned it was your birthday and what I was planning, he simply said he would come. Didn't put up much of an argument and didn't make a sarcastic comment about it either. Probably just his way of being friendly, I guess. Still, could have been nicer about it. What a grump.”
“That's odd,” Phoenix mumbled. “Edgeworth...”

Phoenix had mixed feelings about the Prosecuting Attorney known as Miles Edgeworth. They had been the best of friends in elementary school but then Edgeworth left the school abruptly one day with no explanation given. It had practically broken his heart when he was a child and he had never completely gotten over it. Miles’ abrupt leaving had left Phoenix always wondering what had happened to him as he grew up.

It wasn't until many years later when Phoenix was in college that his question was finally answered - he began to hear about Miles Edgeworth again in the news. He discovered that the man had become a prosecuting attorney, and sometimes the reporters on the TV would even label him as the 'Demon Prosecutor', because he had never lost a case. That was, at least, until Phoenix himself went up against him in court.

That was three years ago now, and their relationship had only improved just a bit since then. These days, Edgeworth mostly seemed to tolerate Phoenix but treated him with mild disdain. Phoenix still liked the man and had helped him out quite a bit. But he still felt that at times, they were on rocky grounds. He genuinely liked Miles Edgeworth though, and sometimes thought that their old friendship could be reconciled one day. He had certainly been working on it, and hoped that they one day could repair the rift between them.

“Oh don't act like you dislike him, Nick.” Maya pulled a face at her boss, quite snapping him out of his thoughtful daze. “You guys get along fairly well when you're not screaming 'Objection!' at each other or trying to tear at each other's throats in court.”
Phoenix frowned. “I know, but still. I didn't pick him for the socializing type. I wonder why he wants to come along. I mean...”
“Oh give the guy a break, Nick.” Maya firmly stated. “He just wants to wish you a happy birthday. You have good honest friends. What's so bad about that?”
“Nothing! I guess...” Phoenix replied, scratching the back of his head, something he tended to do absentmindedly when he felt awkward. “It's just... I don't know...”
“So what time shall I expect to see you guys?” Larry asked.
“Well I usually finish around five,” Phoenix said thoughtfully. “So I guess any time after that is fine.”
“Great, I'll be back here on the dot at 5:00PM.” Larry grinned, heading for the door. “Edgeworth will probably meet us at the restaurant. I'll go talk to him about it now.” He said and with that, he disappeared out the doorway and was gone again.

“Great, Nick!” Maya said, clapping her hands together. “I'm excited! I haven't been to that new restaurant across the other side of town. I heard about it though and it sounds like it's going to be nice. Though, I wonder why they call it The Blue Lion? That sounds a bit funny, doesn't it?”
“I guess they thought it would sound fancy.” Phoenix offered, shrugging.
“It does sound fancy, and regal too! The lion is a really proud animal.” Maya's face fell suddenly. “Oh no! I just realized something. Should I go downtown right now and go buy you a gift? Should I go put on something nice to wear? I mean, it IS your birthday and all.”
“No, that's all right, Maya.” Phoenix told her with a dismissive wave of his hand, giving her a small grin. “It's just the thought that counts. Now,” He continued, leaning forwards in his chair again. “I better get back to reading over this case report so I can save my client. The bills don't pay themselves you know.”
“I know, Nick.” Maya nodded. A wide grin appeared on her face before she moved away to pick up the feather duster, wanting to resume cleaning. “Jump into it. You're a great lawyer and once you've got what you need. I've seen you in court - you get all fired up once you're into it and you don't stop at anything to save your clients. I know you'll do good on this case.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Maya.” Phoenix replied, and then returned his attention to his work. He swallowed a lump in his throat, frowning. Confidence was the last thing he felt right about now.

After the interruption he couldn't stay nearly as focused as he was before. His thoughts were divided now and he thought about what might possibly transpire once the clock hit 5:00PM. Edgeworth was the prosecutor on the current case he was working on, so the man seemed like more of an enemy right now. So why would he come to the restaurant to wish him a happy birthday? Would he bring up the court-case in the restaurant? Phoenix didn't know. All he knew was that part of him wished he could stop time completely so that 5:00PM would not come at all.

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I've got quite a few chapters, so will post em up in a bit.

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Chapter 2 – A Restaurant And Hostility

“Come oonn, Nick, hurry up!”
“Hey, don't rush me!” Phoenix protested. “I'm still working here!”

Maya grabbed her boss by the arm and began to drag him away from the desk. The swiveling office chair that Phoenix was sitting in had caster wheels, so he rolled away with it quite easily. Maya managed to drag him at least four feet away from his desk and towards the door before the defense attorney protested.

“Hey, stop it!” Phoenix yelped as he was dragged along in the chair, finally moving to stand up and stop himself from moving further. “I was working you know. What happens if I miss something valuable? If I screw up here, my client goes to jail. And maybe she'll face execution.” He lightly pried Maya's hands off his arm then began to wheel the chair back to its proper place at his desk.
“You won't screw up,” Maya said determinedly. “But it's time for you to stop now. It's 5:00PM and if I don't stop you now, you'll stay here all night working if you were allowed to. I've found you asleep on the floor of this office before and I'm not going to let it happen again. You need good healthy food and rest and don't you deny it! After all as they say, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Phoenix had to grin slightly. “Who is that Jack guy anyway?”
“Oooh!” Maya reached up suddenly, lightly bopping her boss on the head. “Come on Nick, enough with the stubborn act already! Larry is treating you to dinner. It would be rude to pass up his nice offer, especially on your birthday!”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” Phoenix said finally with an air of resignation in his voice. He rubbed the side of his head, knowing when to give up. “Ow... Hey Maya? Can you not hit me so hard next time? I kind of need this head to think and I don't exactly have a spare.”

As if on cue, Larry appeared in the doorway of the office.

“Come on, we better get moving.” He said hurriedly. “Edgeworth said he'll be waiting at the restaurant shortly after five. We better beat him there or else he'll get impatient and angry with us. You know what he's like, don't you? Such a damn stiff all the time.”
Phoenix tiredly sighed.
“Well?” Larry moved halfway out the door, seeming impatient himself. “You don't want that, do you? Old Edge-head can be quite unfriendly when he's cranky and he has to wait.”
“That is an understatement...” Phoenix thought to himself. “Sure. Let's get out of here.”

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The trio vacated the Wright and Co. Law Office area and Phoenix made sure the door was properly locked and secure before walking out of the building and onto the street. It was only a few minutes after 5:00PM but the sky was already quite dark as the sun set early. It was the middle of spring, but the night air was already chilly. The spiky-haired defense attorney shivered slightly at the cold air and the sudden change of temperature from his nice warm office to the street and for a moment he wished he didn't have to go anywhere at all. He walked briskly in an attempt to stay warm and made a mental note to bring an overcoat along with him to work tomorrow.

Traffic on the streets was thick and heavy which was to be expected as it was rush hour. However, the small group was walking to the restaurant and so they didn't need to contend with it at all.

“This is going to be fun! I love fancy eating places.” Maya grinned as she walked along with Larry and Phoenix. “Do you have any idea what this Blue Lion restaurant is like, Larry? Oh, I hope they have steak!”
“I've only heard about it. I've never actually been there myself.” Larry replied. “This is going to be my first time too. But I heard it's classy. It's popular. And it's where all the beautiful women in the city go, so it's gotta be something.”
“Really.” Phoenix raised a brow at his friend, suddenly wondering if he had ulterior motives behind inviting them out to the restaurant this evening.
“Really, really!” Larry replied with enthusiasm. “Why, two attractive young men like us could pick up really easily if we're not careful!”
“Yep,” Phoenix thought to himself. “He definitely had something else on his mind when he set this up...”

The small group reached The Blue Lion Restaurant after several more blocks of walking. A small crowd was gathered out the front of the building, and loud music was playing out to the street and the people passing by, mostly for advertising purposes. The light cast onto the sidewalk outside of the restaurant was a deep electric blue and this caught Phoenix's attention, his curiosity piqued. He glanced up at the roof, spotting a bright neon blue light in the shape of a rather proud looking lion, one paw on a ball.

“It looks more cheesy than regal...” He thought to himself. “But I guess it stands out.”

Larry stopped once near the doorway and glanced around, frowning, seeming to be slightly unhappy with the turn of events.

Phoenix's attention was turned from the sign to his friend, eyebrows raised. “What's wrong, Larry?”
“Edgeworth isn't here yet.” Larry sighed. “We rushed all this way for nothing. Now we're the ones that are early and we have to wait for him.”
“He probably got stuck in traffic,” Phoenix offered. “I mean he has to drive over here all the way from the Prosecutor's Office. Then he has to find a car parking space on top of that. Parking in this city isn't always the best in downtown Los Angeles you know, and especially not at this hour.”
“I know but sometimes it's better than walking. And besides, it would be fun to sit in the front seat of a lawyer's fancy sports car and drive through the streets.” Maya grinned. “Just one time, I'd like to ride down Sunset Boulevard in a fancy car while wearing sunglasses. You know, the window down, the wind blowing in my hair. Wouldn't that be cool, Nick?”
“Uh...” Phoenix scratched the side of his head. “Not really...”
“Oh phooey, you're no fun. Having a fancy car would be so much more glamorous than taking the train everywhere.” Maya grinned. “When are you going to get your driver's license, Nick?”
Phoenix flinched, gritting his teeth. “Ugh, don't remind me about that... I don't even have enough money right now to pay for rent right now, let alone a car.”

“Who doesn't have enough money for what now?” Edgeworth's voice stated impatiently from somewhere in the crowd a short distance behind the trio. “Because if you are inviting me to this restaurant and then expecting me to bail you out of it because you don't have enough money, I am going to turn around and go home right now.”
Phoenix flinched a second time, looking rather frustrated now. “Edgeworth...”

“Happy Birthday, Wright.” Edgeworth stated blandly, forcing the rest of his way through the crowd to the group. He thrust a small envelope into Phoenix's nearest hand and stepped back again, looking rather impatient. “Shall we move inside now? I for one do not want to stand out here and idly chat. It's cold out here and I am not fond of the types that come out onto the streets after dark. I’d rather not meet them out here. I have all the time in the world to see them behind bars in the Detention Center tomorrow.”
“He's really quick and to the point, isn't he.” Maya stated quietly.
“That's Edgeworth for you...” Phoenix replied in the same low tone.

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes slightly, reacting like he had heard everything the two had said. “Well if we are going to stand around and socialize then you should at least open the card, Wright.” He folded his arms and began to tap his left foot on the concrete pavement. “Unless of course you would rather be inconsiderate and not give it a glance at all.”
The spiky-haired defense lawyer sighed. “No, I'll open it now. Thank you for the card, Edgeworth.”

Phoenix glanced down at the simple envelope in his hand, pondering what kind of message could be inside. He quickly shrugged off his thoughts and ripped into the top edge of the envelope with an index finger, taking out the card that was inside so that he could read the message inside, written in Miles Edgeworth's neat articulate handwriting. Taped to the inner left side of the card were five crisp newly minted one hundred dollar bills. Phoenix's first reaction was utter numbness. Then his blue eyes widened, looking quite surprised.

“What the...?”
“I could not think of anything to buy for you,” Edgeworth began to explain flatly before Phoenix could say any more. “Butz gave me the entire day to think about it and I had ample time to visit a department store when I wasn't gathering evidence for the case that I...” He stopped himself, scowling. “The case that we are working on. But I could not think of anything to buy. I hope this is acceptable instead.”
“I...” Phoenix frowned, going silent. “I can't accept this.” He said finally.
“Judging from the comment you just made about the state of your rent, I think you have to.” Edgeworth stated, the faintest hint of an amused smirk forming on his face. “Can we move inside now? I don't think you would fancy being attacked or murdered for your gift.”
“You have a point,” Phoenix frowned. “Come on, let's all go inside. I'm hungry and we probably need to wait for our table. Plus, It's cold and dark out here.”

The group of four headed inside the building. They didn't have to wait long to be shown to their table. With Larry's reservation booked in advance, they were seated almost immediately. Once seated and comfortable, Edgeworth picked up the wine list and began to quietly ponder over it. Maya snatched up the menu to look through it, wanting to know what kind of good things they had to eat. Larry's attention was drawn to the tables around the restaurant floor, scouring the other tables for attractive women.

Meanwhile, Phoenix subtly took out his card once again and took the money out of it, placing it into his wallet for safekeeping. He sighed to himself and wondered why Edgeworth had given him so much money. He knew that the man was a prosecuting attorney and had a much larger income than he did himself, but still. The amount was just too much...

“Oh boy!” Maya exclaimed happily, knocking Phoenix out of his thoughts. “They have steak! And not only that, they have all kinds of different ones. Like T-bone steak, filet mignon, rump roast, chuck steak... I don't know what to have, they all sound delicious.”
“No way, steak?” Larry's attention was returned to the table. He grabbed up a menu of his own and quickly looked through it. “Hey you're right, they do! I know what I'm gonna have now.” He glanced off to the side once again and flashed somebody one of his biggest grins. “Say guys... I'll be back in a few minutes. One of the lovely ladies on table three is winking at me and I think she wants me to go over there. Call me back when we're ready to order, I already know what I want.”

Phoenix sighed as he watched Larry go. He picked up a menu of his own and began to glance over it. There were many nice things on the menu, including the impressive list of steak cuts that had made Maya happy. He just idly sat there and pondered over the list of meals until the waiter came to the table to take their order.

“T-bone steak for me, sir!” Maya said with enthusiasm. “And add another order of that for our friend, Larry. He's... somewhere around here.” She turned her attention to the surrounding area, sighing as she could not spot the mousy haired man anywhere.
“I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the ladies room trying to pick up.” Phoenix thought to himself, shaking his head. “I'll have the fish, please. What about you, Edgeworth?”
“I'm going to order a bottle of Merlot to go with this meal.” Edgeworth stated, sounding bored. “Any objections?”
“No, not from me.” Maya blinked. “Because I don't even know what it is.”
The edges of Edgeworth’s mouth turned up slightly in amusement. “It's a full-bodied rich flavored red wine. If you were of legal drinking age, I would suggest you try some.” He turned his attention to the waiter. “As for my meal, I would like to order the veal.”

The waiter took down their orders and curtly nodded before walking away, leaving the group again. Within a few more moments, Larry had returned to the table, looking defeated.

“They flat-out rejected me, Nick.” He said gloomily as he sat back down, resting his head in his hands. “They called me over, they chatted me up. And then when I asked them out on a date, they said no...”
“What were you expecting?” Phoenix sighed.
“Well, anything is better than that!” Larry grumbled, taking his seat once more, folding his arms. “Hell, even getting a fake phone number is better than being completely shut down!”

Within the next half hour, waiters had come to the table to serve the group dinner. Maya almost immediately hacked into her T-bone steak with her cutlery, while Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Phoenix ate in silence for most of the meal.

“This steak is really great!” Maya said happily, breaking the silence. “You should have ordered it, Nick. I still don't know why you ordered boring old smelly fish. Yuck.”
“Come to think of it, I don't know why either.” Phoenix replied, poking at his partially eaten white fish fillet with a fork. “The vegetables were good, but this fish tastes kind of funny.”
“All fish tastes funny if you ask me,” Larry suddenly spoke up. “There's no way in hell I'm going to eat something that swims around in it's own crap.”
Phoenix could only stare at him for a few moments before finally replying. “Thanks for that, Larry.”
Meanwhile, Edgeworth just rolled his eyes and continued to eat in silence.

“Hey, after dinner, why don't we all go out somewhere as a group?” Larry suggested. “The night is still pretty young. How about we go to one of those nearby clubs in the city and have some fun? You know, dancing, great music, drink some alcohol and pick up some lovely women?”
“I don't think you realize this, Butz,” Edgeworth spoke, annoyed. “But Maya is under age. She would not be able to attend some of the clubs in this area. And I am more than sure she would not be interested in picking up some ‘lovely women’.”
Phoenix had to snicker at that.
“Besides,” Edgeworth continued. “I do not think she would appreciate some of the things that go on in clubs, anyway.”
“Nonsense!” Maya told him, grinning. “I love karaoke bars. Why don't we go to one of them?”
“I hate karaoke...” Phoenix groaned to himself.
“If you must absolutely take us somewhere after this meal, I do know of one place.” Edgeworth grunted. “It is family oriented entertainment. It is just a social club in which people of all ages go to, and there are many activities there to participate in. It would be suitable for all of us, and appropriate for somebody like Maya.”
“Wait,” Maya blinked. “What do you mean by that?”
“Sure, sure,” Larry waved a hand, shrugging. “We can go there. It's settled.”
“Wait, don't I have a say in any of this...?” Phoenix shook his head and thought to himself.

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Chapter 3

After dinner, Larry paid the tab and the tip as promised. The group headed out onto the street and Miles led them to the family-oriented entertainment social club that he had spoken of over dinner. It was a multiple-leveled venue, and it was quite crowded. The main level entrance area was almost swamped by the cacophony of people of all ages playing in the nearby arcade area. Edgeworth led the group to one of the higher floors and into an auditorium-like area where older people were gathered at tables, socializing amongst themselves. Off to one side of the area were a dozen billiard tables and towards the front of the auditorium was a dance floor where people were dancing to slow gentle music, some of them couples. At the far end of the giant room was a bar and a few people were seated at it, drinking. The atmosphere of the entire area was calm and not at all chaotic like the lower level when they had first come in.

“Uh...” Larry seemed unimpressed with the area. “Edgeworth, tell me again how you found this place?”
Edgeworth snorted in response and folded his arms. “Von Karma used to take Franziska and myself here when we were younger and in the city area. Sometimes he would take clients here and talk with them in an attempt to bleed more information out of them.” He scowled. “Sometimes people say things they don't mean to after they have had a number of alcoholic drinks.”
“Ooh, that sounds sneaky!” Maya grinned, seeming impressed. “Hey Nick, maybe you should try that on some of your clients one day. I bet some of them could tell the whole story when they're nice and drunk.”
“... No.” Phoenix replied, his face faltering. “I can't really do that... I meet most of my clients when they're in the Detention Center. And somehow, I don't think the guards would appreciate me getting their charges drunk.”

The group was soon seated at one of the empty tables towards the bar. Within moments of being seated, Larry was on his feet again and walking around the other tables, trying to catch the eyes of ladies seated nearby. Phoenix watched him and sighed, shaking his head.

“If you will excuse me,” Edgeworth said calmly, rising to his feet. “I am going to order a drink. Would either of you like anything?”
“Ooh, do they have cream-soda?” Maya said happily, licking her lips. “I love cream-soda.”
“Aren't you full from dinner?” Phoenix blinked.
“No, silly,” Maya grinned. “I have a separate stomach for steak, remember? I still have plenty of room left for a soda! What are you going to have, Nick?”
“I'll pass,” Phoenix said, leaning back in his seat. “I don't feel so well any more.”
“Oh no! You ate too much at dinner, Nick?”
“No, no,” Phoenix shook his head, placing a hand over his stomach. He felt a little bit queasy, but it was ignorable for now. “I don't know. I was fine when I left the restaurant. Suddenly I'm not feeling so great.”

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow at the spiky-haired man and merely shook his head, turning away from the table, heading off for the bar. Maya just sat there and thought for a few moments, suddenly rising to her feet as a solution came to her.

“Stay right there, Nick.” She told him. “I'll be right back!”

Phoenix nodded in response, and then leaned forwards, putting his head down on the table, turning his attention to the area around him. He watched couples dancing at the front of the auditorium, dancing to some slow unfamiliar music tune. He watched half-drunken men and women play billiards, laughing amongst themselves. And then he saw Larry, seated on the tables towards the other side of the area, chatting up a woman in a dark blue gown, who appeared to be with nobody else.

“That's so typical of him...” Phoenix thought to himself, blue eyes narrowing slightly, feeling jealous of his friend. “I wish I could just go up to people and chat with them like that. Then again, that's not really my style... I don't like to meet people like that.” He sighed. “Besides, I haven't been with anyone since… well…. her...”

“NICK!”

Phoenix nearly jumped out of his seat. He jerked upright at the sound and stared up at Maya, wide eyed and shocked by the sudden noise. Meanwhile, Maya just shook her head and grinned at him. She placed a glass down on the table nearby, which was filled nearly to the brim with carbonated reddish liquid; a fancy striped straw sticking out of it.

“Gosh, you must have been a mile away that time,” Maya shook her head. “Still worried about that case? You'll be fine, Nick. Don’t worry, you can do it. Anyway, drink this." The girl said with mild concern in her voice, sliding the glass across the table to the spiky-haired man. "I told the bartender about your problem and he went and made this for you. It's cherry soda with some Alka-Seltzer dissolved in it. It should help calm your upset stomach."
“Thanks,” Phoenix sighed. “But I'm really not interested...”
“You'd better be, for all the effort she went through to get it for you.” Edgeworth said as he took his seat at the table again. “Where's Butz?”
Phoenix moved a hand and idly pointed in some random direction behind him.
“Typical...” Edgeworth muttered as he took a sip from his own drink.

The group stayed in the auditorium for the next three hours or so. Partway through the night, Maya left the group to go dancing when some more lively music started playing. Edgeworth moved between the table and the bar and then later had gotten up to watch some of the billiard games at the back of the auditorium. Meanwhile, Larry had returned to the table, beaming with pride and happiness, acting like somebody who had just won the lottery.

“Cara gave me her phone number, Nick!” Larry said as he sat down next to Phoenix, elbowing his friend in the side. “Oh man, what a hot babe she was. And she wants me to call her as soon as I can tonight! Woo, I'm gonna go on a hot date! Whooo!”

Phoenix just made an unintelligible groan in response. As the time passed, he had begun feeling worse. He had sat at the table the entire time, occasionally sipping the soda and Alka-Seltzer drink Maya had gotten for him, but it hadn't helped very much at all. In fact, the dull queasiness in the pit of his stomach had grown in the last few hours and now he felt nauseous.

“Anyway Nick, I should call it a night - it's 10:30.” Larry said, getting to his feet, patting his friend on the back. “I gotta get home and call Cara before she goes to bed. If she has tomorrow off work we're going to go out and catch a movie or something. Anyway, see you around, buddy. Hope you had a happy birthday.”
“Thanks, Larry.” Phoenix replied quietly.

With that, Larry left the auditorium, heading down the stairs to walk onto the street, intending to catch a cab home. Maya soon returned to the table to check up on Phoenix and sighed as she discovered that he didn't look any better. She placed a hand on his forehead, frowning down at him with concern.

“Well, you don’t feel hot. But maybe you're coming down with the flu or something,” She said, thinking hard. “Oh I hope you don't, Nick. Now would be a really bad time for you to get sick, especially considering you're in the middle of a trial right now. You don't want to let your client down.”
“What is all the fuss about?” Edgeworth grunted as he finally returned to the table. “And where the hell did Butz go?”
“He went home...” Phoenix muttered.
“Nick's still not feeling well.” Maya told Edgeworth. “I think he needs to go home and sleep it off.” She gently patted the side of the spiky-haired man's head, running a hand through his spikes, which were still stiffened with hair gel, although now the gel had gone dry and hard. “You don't want to get sick in the middle of a case. Especially considering you need the money right now.”
“Indeed.” Edgeworth raised an eyebrow, seeming curious, although he did not comment on it. “Perhaps it is time to call it a night then. Maya – how are you going to get home?”
“I, uh...” Maya frowned, scratching the top of her head. “I hadn't thought about it. I guess I was just going to walk, and catch a train or something.”

Edgeworth shook his head, and then fumbled through his pockets, taking out his wallet. He handed the spirit-medium in training a $50 note, and then placed his wallet back in his pants pocket.
“Go hire a cab. There is no way in hell you're going to be walking the streets of downtown Los Angeles at this time of night. I simply will not allow it.” He said, his voice firm. “Tell the cab-driver to keep the rest as a tip.”
“Are you sure?” Maya blinked, staring down at the money for a moment. “Thanks, but... what about Nick? How is he getting home?”
“I'm sure. And do not worry about Wright. Something can be arranged.” Edgeworth replied, folding his arms. “I don't particularly want him getting sick either. His current client is either guilty or innocent. I do not care which, but I intend to get to the bottom of it all and discover the truth. Murder is a very serious offense indeed and must be dealt with in the appropriate manner.”
“Alright...” Maya sighed. She headed for the door, waving back to Phoenix and Edgeworth. “See you in the morning!”

Phoenix waved to Maya, watching her go. He glanced up at Edgeworth, frowning slightly, wondering what he had planned. He knew better than to ask right now though, Edgeworth would probably make fun of him or something. He usually did whenever opportunity presented itself.

“Come on then, Wright.” Miles grunted at the defense attorney, placing his hands on his hips.
“What..?” Phoenix replied, raising an eyebrow. He slowly got to his feet, placing a hand over his stomach. He wished he hadn't stood up – doing so made him feel a whole lot worse. He felt like he was going to be sick now, and he grabbed the glass Maya had left for him, downing the rest of the contents. It made him feel a little better.
“If you act like that and try to catch a cab, you will fail. No taxi-driver in the entire of Los Angeles would let you ride in their cab like that.” Edgeworth grunted. “Anyone would think that you are a drunkard. They would also assume you are going to throw up in the back of their taxi and they wouldn't allow you to ride in the first place.”
“Oh, I see...” Phoenix sighed. “So what are you planning?”
“I have a passenger's seat in my car.” Edgeworth stated flatly. “You are going to ride with me. I am going to take you home.”

Phoenix immediately opened his mouth as if to object the statement, but quickly closed it again. Why was Edgeworth doing this? It totally and utterly confused him. Besides... the man had made it sound like more of an order than a suggestion.
“Why?” Phoenix finally said, thinking of no other way to state what was on his mind.
“Because I want to ensure you actually get home, Wright.” Edgeworth grunted. “As I said before, I don't particularly want you getting sick during this trial. It is an important case, and it must be completed. Thus, I am going to take you home.”
“But...”
“It is not negotiable, Wright. Now, follow me.”

Phoenix sighed in resignation. He just didn't have it in him to argue with the prosecuting attorney right now.

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Okay, that's it for now. Let me know what you think.

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I like it. :D Quite a lot, in fact. There were one or two typos/grammatical errors here and there, but they were minor, and weren't that noticeable.

I love Edgeworth's speech pattern; he sounds so rehearsed and formal, it's just like how he'd really talk. XD

Ooh, Edgeworth's taking Phoenix home; what's gonna happen~?

XD

Can't wait for your next update.

Glad you're enjoying it ^__^ I'll post more soon enough <3

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Yay! I liked it! I can't wait for more!!

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