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Gregory Edgeworth was a single parent with an only son: Miles Edgeworth. The man did his best to be part of his son’s life and help the young boy develop. From an early age, Miles had found ways to take care of himself when his father was away. Even though Gregory arranged babysitters when he had to leave town, Miles would read a book in his room and barely interact with his sitter. Gregory was proud of how capable his son was, though it did cause him some concern. After all, a child shouldn’t have to be that independent at only nine years old.
Miles’ studious habits advanced him beyond his years. The boy was mature in a way that other kids could not understand. Miles was also shy, but he wore a mask of indifference to hide his feelings. Gregory encouraged his son to socialize, but Miles had shrugged off his father’s words. Gregory respected his son’s wishes, but he was awfully concerned that the boy didn’t have any friends.
His son didn’t have many interests outside of books. Miles had never been athletic, and when he tried sports, he never found something he enjoyed. Plus, after getting a concussion from a baseball at six years old, Miles insisted that ‘sports were out to get him.’
The kid didn’t enjoy a lot of children’s television shows and was fascinated by law dramas and historical documentaries instead. Miles was one of the few kids willing to watch a news channel over Saturday morning cartoons.
Miles was just a different kid, which Gregory was fine with. The lawyer didn’t think that his son’s traits and interests were bad. Gregory just thought Miles would be better off with some friends. All Gregory cared about was his son’s happiness.
One day, after returning home from work, Gregory noticed that his son was acting differently. Miles wasn’t intently reading a book and was instead sitting on the couch, patiently awaiting his father’s return. The boy seemed to be lost in thought, his eyebrows scrunched together, his lips pursed. Upon hearing the sound of the door, Miles flinched and jolted his attention to his father.
“Good evening, father,” Miles blinked. “How was work?”
“There wasn’t much stress at the office this time around,” Gregory answered, slightly wary of his son’s strange antics, “after concluding the trial yesterday, I didn’t have much work to do.”
“Another client will come by soon,” Miles nodded. “Dinner is ready.”
“What did you make?” Gregory asked, as he took off his trench coat and hat.
“I cooked the thawed chicken in the oven and I steamed the vegetables over the stovetop. You can serve yourself up.”
Most kids who were Miles’ age wouldn’t be using a stove. However, Miles was incredibly resourceful and took precaution every time he used the appliances. Gregory usually recommended Miles to use the microwave or heat up leftovers rather than cook on his own, but the kid insisted on cooking homemade style. So, Gregory made sure to inform his son on the basics of kitchen safety, which Miles always abided by.
Gregory grabbed a plate from the cupboard and got himself a plate of chicken and vegetables. Miles followed suit and sat down across from his father at the kitchen table. Dinner was normally quiet in the Edgeworth residence, but Miles was unusually silent. The boy was barely even eating the dinner he made.
“You’re barely eating your dinner,” Gregory commented. “Did you poison it?”
“N-No, I would never!” Miles stuttered.
“I’m just joking, kid,” Gregory smiled. “Something’s on your mind.”
“You thought right, father,” Miles admitted, averting eye contact.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Gregory gave the boy his full attention.
“Well…” Miles began. “My lunch money got stolen today.”
“Oh,” Gregory frowned, worried that his son was being bullied. “It’s alright, I’ll add more money to your account tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Miles insisted. “The teacher promised to pay it back.”
“Really?” Gregory’s eyes widened.
“The class suspected that another kid, Phoenix, stole my lunch money. So, they threw a foolish class trial against him. Everyone was accusing him of theft, but they had no evidence! I stood up for him and called out that class trial for the ridiculous farce that it was.”
Gregory smiled. “I’m proud of you, son. You were just like a defense attorney.”
Miles shrugged, smiling shyly. “It was just the right thing to do.”
Over time, Gregory kept hearing about this ‘Phoenix’ kid. Miles talked about the boy quite fondly. Miles had found a solid companion in the other kid. The boy also mentioned another kid named Larry, who caused all sorts of misadventures. The three boys had formed a trio of sorts, and Gregory couldn’t be happier for his son.
One night, Miles politely asked if he could invite his friends over for a sleepover. Gregory had obliged with a ginormous smile on his face.
Friday afternoon couldn’t come soon enough.
Gregory looked up from his desk. He had decided to work from home today, so he could keep an eye on the boys and take care of them tonight. When he heard the door open, he looked up from his desk to see two boys: Miles and a spiky-haired boy. Gregory assumed the latter was Phoenix.
“There you are,” Gregory smiled. “I thought you two got lost on your way here.”
“Well, we did get a little sidetracked,” Phoenix admitted, holding up a grocery bag.
“We were later than usual because Larry dragged us off to get snacks for tonight,” Miles crossed his arms. “He ran into his girlfriend there and ditched us with the food.”
“Well, that’s… unfortunate,” Gregory winced.
“Well, since he’s gone, we don’t have to share our snacks with him,” Phoenix grinned.
“And, I suppose we don’t have to deal with a ridiculous game of truth or dare,” Miles muttered.
“You just don’t like the truths,” Phoenix nudged him. “Remind that one time–”
Miles started blushing all red. “Shut up or I’m kicking you out.”
“Miles, don’t be rude to the guest,” Gregory reminded him.
“I-I won’t!” Miles stuttered.
Gregory smiled, turning to the other kid. “You’re Phoenix, right?”
“Yep, I’m Phoenix Wright,” the boy grinned.
“I’m Gregory Edgeworth, but you can just call me Miles’ dad,” Gregory smiled back.
“Okay, Miles’ dad,” Phoenix nodded.
“Do you have any allergies or food restrictions?
“Nope.”
“Do you like pizza?”
“Yes!”
“Any preference?”
Phoenix shrugged, “I’ll just have whatever Miles’ favorite is.”
“Alright then, Hawaiian it is.”
Phoenix grinned, then started to tug Miles away, unable to properly end a conversation. Miles muttered a ‘thank you’ to his father before leading Phoenix away down the hall to his room. Gregory watched the boys, smiling fondly to himself.
About two hours later, Gregory was pulling a steaming Hawaiian pizza out of the oven. He set the pizza off on a cutting board, cut it up into pieces, then left it to cool. He decided to check on the boys and see how they were doing. The lawyer headed down the hallway and opened the door to Miles’ room.
Miles and Phoenix were sitting in the bean bag chair, engrossed in something they had created on a clipboard. There were some scattered wrappers in the trash can. The boys had already broken into their snack bag. Phoenix seemed to be drawing something while Miles added words. There was a small stack of neatly organized paper – courtesy of Miles – on the desk. Upon a quick glance, it was clear the two were creating a graphic novel together. Clearly, The boys were so engaged in their work that they didn’t notice that Gregory had walked in.
“Kids?” The two boys instantly looked up at him.
“Oh, hi, Miles’ dad. What’s up?” Phoenix grinned as Miles set the clipboard off to the side.
“Pizza’s ready,” Gregory told them.
Phoenix grinned and was clearly ready to bolt. Miles’ excitement was more reserved, and Phoenix opted to stay by his side rather than dart off like a bullet. The three went back to the kitchen, where they got their pizza slices.
“Hey, Miles’ dad?” Phoenix looked over at the man. “There’s a new episode of the Signal Samurai airing. Do you mind if we ate our pizza over by the couch, so we could watch it?”
Miles seemed startled – he would have never asked to eat pizza on the couch, nor would he have even asked to see the show…
“Sure, that’s fine. Just take some napkins with you,” Gregory shrugged. “If you need help with the TV, just give me a holler.”
“Thank you, father,” Miles smiled graciously before heading off with Phoenix.
The Signal Samurai? Gregory had never heard of that show. It didn’t sound like anything that Miles had talked about in the past. Still, he noticed how Miles’ eyes lit up as soon as the show was mentioned. It seemed to be a shared passion between the two boys.
Perhaps Phoenix enjoyed historical documentaries like Miles did?
It was about ten o’clock. Gregory had finished his paperwork and emails, even getting ahead for the week. He really should’ve kept a better track of the time. The boys should’ve been in bed hours ago. Gregory got up and headed down to the living room to check on the boys’ status.
Upon entering the room, Gregory heard the sound of some kind of theme song. He looked up at the TV screen, seeing that it was the typical storyline of the kids’ show. He looked down to see that Phoenix and Miles had passed out on the couch. Gregory smiled endearingly, and he didn’t have the heart to wake them and tell them to change into pajamas and brush their teeth.
Gregory noticed that there were two keychains on the nearby coffee table – a red one and the blue one. He looked up at the TV screen and quickly realized that the keychains symbolized two of the main characters from the show. He inspected the keychains, realizing the red one had an ‘M’ on it while the other had a ‘P’ on it. Gregory smiled at the boys.
They really were quite the pair.
“Your dad… he was really cool,” Phoenix smiled softly, squeezing Miles’ hand.
Miles didn’t respond, swallowing down a lump in his throat and closing his eyes. A frosty winter breeze bit at his cheeks. It was mid December, and vast amounts of snow had fallen all over the world.
“Do you remember…” Miles began, barely able to let the words escape. “Do you remember how father made cookies with us?”
“Oh yeah, on the first day of winter break! I started chugging the frosting by the end.”
“Your unsanitary habits only evolved over time,” Miles muttered, breaking contact with Phoenix to cross his arms.
“I still keep the house clean,” Phoenix nudged him. “Surely, I have the right to chug frosting at least once a year.”
Miles muttered some snide comment, his eyes straying from Phoenix’s. A stone weight rested in his heart, and he was once again reminded of their situation. Phoenix’s expression fell.
“He was really proud of you,” Phoenix told him.
“I doubt he’d be proud of the man I’ve become,” Miles felt himself shaking slightly. “I strayed far away from his values.”
“No, he’d still be proud,” Phoenix insisted. “You still hold his values, y’know? You just want to find the truth. Even though you didn’t become a defense attorney, you still upheld the honor of the law.”
“...I was arrogant,” Miles’ glasses misted over him, and he had to take him away to wipe away the fog. “For years, I was listening to the words of a man that was my father’s biggest rival.”
“You’ve always been so hard on yourself,” Phoenix murmured. “Even back when you were nine, you had incredibly high standards.”
“I had to make my father proud of me.”
“Do you remember how wide he smiled whenever we hung out at your place after school? Even though your math grade went down to 88 percent, he never told me to stay away.”
“Gregory was always a kind man.”
“...Sometimes, he’d call me and tell me to come over when you were upset.”
Miles blinked in surprise. “That explains all of those strange meetings.”
“Your dad said I made you happier.”
“He wasn’t wrong,” Miles smiled at him, his fingers rubbing against his ring.
“Has it been getting easier?” Phoenix whispered to him, almost afraid to ask the question.
“It’s been over twenty years. Every day, I am reminded of him. After that trial, some of my guilt started to fade. We both know I still have nightmares, but you never saw the worst of them. I’m… better than I was before.”
Phoenix’s hand squeezed his. “We’ll get through the end of the year.”
Miles squeezed back. “Together.”
Phoenix nodded.
Miles kneeled down and placed the flowers next to the stone.
The prosecutor got back to his feet and turned to Phoenix. “Let us leave this place.”
As the two men walked away, a ghostly presence smiled.
They really were quite a pair.