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“Ach! It’s cold!”
“Don’t be a wuss, Nick! The water’s great!”
“You just run hot-blooded.” Phoenix Wright throws a long-suffering look toward his boyfriend, who is already splashing in circles through the waves. Phoenix experimentally dips his toe into the water once more, only to jump back in discomfort.
“U-um, am I wearing these water wings correctly?” A woman in a white floral one-piece adjusts the rubbery appendages. This elicits a loud squeak from the floaties.
Phoenix gives her a once-over. “Looks right to me.”
“I’ll say! Your swimsuit looks /just/ right!”
“Larry, that’s not what Iris meant.”
“Aw, you look pretty great in your suit, too!” Larry directs his way.
Despite himself, Phoenix preens under the praise. He hesitates, then goes to join his boyfriend in the icy ocean water. Iris wades in much more cautiously.
Larry turns to rest a hand on Iris’s goosebumped shoulder when a rough wave washes over the trio. “I can’t believe this is really your first time at a beach.”
“There wasn’t much opportunity to venture out of the mountains when I stayed at Hazakura Temple,” she explains. She gratefully leans into Larry’s grounding touch as another wave rocks them.
Phoenix reaches out to take her hands in his. She instinctively begins kicking with her feet as they drift further from the shore. “I’ll help you with your swimming- I’m pretty good at it.” His eyes travel upward in remembrance. “Actually, speaking of Hazakura Temple… Last time I was there, I managed to swim myself to land after falling into the Eagle River! Before I passed out on the side of the river, anyway.”
Both Iris and Larry turn to glance at him in utter silence.
“Wh-what?”
“NICK! That really freaked me out when you fell like that! Why’d you have to remind me??”
“It was rather distressing, Feenie… I couldn’t even visit you while I was in jail… I just imagined you getting worse and worse…”
Phoenix sweats. “It’s alright, you guys, I only got a cold. And I’m all better now! Sorry for mentioning that… l-let’s just put it behind us.”
Larry grumbles for a moment more but obliges him.
Iris’s grip on Phoenix’s hands tightens a bit, then she draws in a breath as though preparing for her swimming lesson. Phoenix walks backward, slowly at first, as Iris takes in the feeling of floating. She swings one leg, then another. Fear loosens its grip and her limbs stop seizing up as she holds onto her lifeline, Phoenix’s hands.
Time passes, and her comfort level increases. Phoenix grows more at ease the more comfortable Iris seems- despite the frigid water prickling his bare skin and the sunburn he feels growing on his shoulders, seeing Iris release his hands and doggy paddle over to him brings him satisfaction. As she begins to tread water on her own, her face splits into a bright smile. “I think I’m starting to get it!”
“You definitely are. You’re a really fast learner.”
Larry suddenly surfaces inches from Phoenix’s face. “Hey, no fair, teach me too!”
“You already know how to swim.”
Larry grabs one of Phoenix’s hands anyway. Iris reaches her boyfriends and takes Phoenix’s other hand, then Larry’s free hand. Phoenix immediately flushes. They must make quite the sight to the other people on the beach- the three of them holding hands in a circle, just sort of wading and staring at one another. But when he meets each of their gazes, seeing the pride in Iris’ eyes and the contentedness in Larry’s, the rest of the world seems to melt away. He can’t think of somewhere else he’d rather be. All he wants is to waste time with them.
Thank God for vacations.
---
Iris watches the man in front of her in almost a trance. She had been rather mundanely straightening up the hallway portraits when he had caught her eye. In a strange sort of mood, she stands still, bewitched by his every movement. She watches him tap his pencil against the table, watches his pupils distractedly dart around the room. He reaches up one long, slender feeling to slick back a strand of hair that hangs over his forehead.
Iris exhales and turns fully to him. She thinks she could watch Phoenix forever. She approaches him at the table, but he seems not to notice.
The man in front of her is one she has always known and always loved. At the same time, this is not the same man she met all those years ago. That man had been an artistic, idealistic college student, who spoke whatever was on his mind with no filter. He’s different now than before. He has harder edges. He’s still earnest, but without such an open look in his eye. He’s more grounded in resolve rather than flitting about for something to cling to, someone to identify himself by. The years have transformed him, and she still loves him like the day she first took him out and tasted a kindness and affection she never had before.
He may have been the first one to show her care, but her network of friends and family has expanded greatly, and still Phoenix holds a special place in her heart, as does Larry. She feels a smile overtake her to think of all the times her boyfriends have been there for her- if ever Iris feels down about herself, her devoted partners who look at her at though she hung the stars in the sky help her to feel better.
Phoenix interrupts her musings by placing one hand over hers. “Hey, you alright?”
“Yes. Just lost in thought.”
He smiles. “You seem to daydream a lot.”
“So do you!”
He chuckles and turns his head, apparently unable to deny it. Just as she thinks about changing her plans and spending the rest of the day with him, he stands. “Well, I’m gonna go grocery shopping.”
She quickly adapts. “Oh, I’ll come with you!”
“You will?”
“I’ve barely seen you this week, between your new case and my visiting Sister Bikini. So of course I’ll join you, Feenie~.” She draws out the syllables in his nickname in that rhythmic way he likes. His cheeks dust pink, and he presses a short kiss to her lips.
“Well, if you’re sure, then I’d enjoy that, too.”
“Plus, someone has to make sure you don’t buy too much grape juice.”
“Aw, come on, I don’t get /that/ much.”
Larry isn’t home, but Iris can practically hear him answer in unison with her, “Yes, you do!” in that synchronized manner they seem to have whenever it comes to scolding Phoenix.
He ignores the entirely valid comment, and merely holds the door open for her and walks her to his bicycle. She mounts it behind him. Iris feels her heartbeat quicken as she links her arms around his torso and presses against his back.
They set off, and the crunch of the gravel begins to lull her. She looks in every which direction, takes in the brilliant blue of his suit, which blends with the baby blue of the sky, and the glittering royal blue of the sea they had just visited off in the distance. It’s almost breathtakingly beautiful.
Iris sees new things every day now that she has descended from the mountains, but when her darling Feenie is the one to accompany her, everything looks even warmer and lovelier than before.
She giggles into his back at this revelation.
“What? What is it?”
“Nothing.” She presses kisses to his neck, which causes him to swerve unexpectedly. They both yelp. When he regains control of his bike, she apologizes. She vows internally to save up her affectionate urges and only shower them upon her boyfriend once they’ve safely stopped at the store.
---
“What is this about, Larry?”
“Nothing! Nothing, man! I just really wanna get home in time to catch that documentary on stepladders!”
Phoenix sighs, but allows his boyfriend to lead him by the hand down the long, winding streets of Japanifornia. As they reach the familiar streets surrounding their apartment, Phoenix’s mind wanders to his earlier troubles. Finally, /finally/, he has his attorney’s badge back. His feeling of completeness and renewed sense of purpose have hit him full force.
Yet, shortly after the announcement, Phoenix’s worries had surfaced. Trying to get back into the swing of things after so long out of the game, wondering if it’ll be like starting from scratch, or if a reborn greenhorn like himself will be really be any use to his clients… He’s been drowning in stress from the “what if”s.
He’s so lost in thought that he hardly notices climbing the apartment steps. He only comes to his senses once Larry throws open their apartment door and a chorus of voices cry out, “Congratulations!”
Phoenix blinks once. Twice. He steps hesitantly through the doorway to take in the sight of Iris, his daughter Trucy, and a congregation of his friends. Colorful streamers hang from the bookshelves, framing a tall cake in the center of the room.
“Congrats, pal!” A burly man rushes forward to throw his arms around Phoenix. When he pulls away, Phoenix finds the man’s goofy smile irresistibly contagious. “I wanted to get you a trenchcoat as a present, but y’know, with my paycuts and all…”
“It’s okay, Detective Gumshoe. Thank you for stopping by and congratulating me.”
“Well, you deserve it! You’re one of the most dedicated lawyers out there, pal!”
Phoenix flushes and accepts another hug from the eager man. Almost as soon as Gumshoe lets go, four more arms envelop Phoenix.
“Maya! Pearls! All the way from Kurain?”
“Obviously, Nick! We wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“But what about your training?”
Maya looks off in the distance. “Weeeeelll, we may not have exactly asked permission from the village elders…”
Phoenix gulps. He feels a stab of secondhand apprehension at the trouble the spirit mediums are sure to be in when they return.
“Mr. Nick! Congratulations on getting your badge back!” Pearl’s death-grip around Phoenix’s neck tightens. He can feel tears squeeze out of the girl’s eyes and land on his shoulder. She releases him, then puts her hands on her hips in a big huff. “When were you planning on telling us?? We had to hear it from your special someones and then rush right over!” She plants herself between Iris and Larry, and they mirror her posture.
Phoenix throws his hands up. Privately, he’s pleased to see Pearl getting along so well with his partners. When he first entered this relationship, he worried Pearl would be displeased that his special someone were two people other than Maya, but she had reacted very well to the news. She has now warmed to them so completely that she teams up with them to scold him sometimes. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t want to say anything until I knew that I got it.”
“Typical. As if there were any way the court would /not/ give you your badge back. Especially with myself aiding the process.”
Phoenix smirks wryly. “Good to see you, too, Edgeworth.” He brings in his friend for a prolonged hug. He turns to the woman by Edgeworth’s side and throws her an inviting smile. She huffs, but joins them in the embrace.
“Do not think this means I have grown soft, Phoenix Wright. It is merely proper that they have restored your badge so that I may face you again in court and reclaim my perfectly perfect status as a prodigal prosecutor.”
Phoenix stifles his chuckles so as not to anger the woman before him. Same old Franziska. Seeing how she treats him the same- how everyone does- comforts him.
He turns to the last visitor. “Tru…” He barely gets the syllable out before his daughter races toward him in a flutter of her blue cape. He relishes the feeling as he embraces her- it hasn’t been that long since he’s seen her, but he realizes this is just what he needs right now. It hadn’t been easy for her to convince him to let her live on the outskirts of town. Even to stay with a family friend. Even so she could be closer to her new magic studio. Since magic is her passion, of course he eventually gave in. But on a day like today, he definitely wants his daughter by his side.
“Daddy! Congratulations! I knew you could do it!”
At Trucy’s words, the dam breaks. Phoenix feels tears prick his eyes. “Thank you, Trucy. Thanks, you guys…”
“Uh-oh, here come the waterworks,” Larry teases. He passes his boyfriend a tissue, which Phoenix promptly blows his nose into. Iris rubs soothing circles into his back all the while.
Phoenix continues fraternizing with the guests for a while. As he trades barbs with Edgeworth and tears into decadent chocolate cake, he notices that his mind has stayed off his work worries ever since he got back. He feels so much more relaxed than before.
After he says goodbye to all of the company, he turns to his boyfriend and girlfriend. “You guys arranged this?” he mumbles.
“Yup!”
“Yes. Did you enjoy yourself, Feenie?”
“O-of course I did!”
“Aw, Nick, do you want another hug?”
He thinks Larry is teasing him, but Phoenix pulls him into another hug anyway. He extends one hand for Iris to join them. He thinks he’s gotten more hugs today than he has in the past month. Phoenix feels the tight ball in his chest begin to unravel. All the stress he’s holding onto slowly slips away from him at Iris’ beaming smile, Larry’s booming laughter.
“Well, the celebration’s not done yet.” Iris winks. Phoenix suggestively looks toward the bedroom, and Larry follows his gaze with a smirk. But before they travel to the bed, Iris takes his hand and makes a pitstop in the corner of the room.
Phoenix gets pulled to a stop in front of Charley. He shoots his partners confused glances, and then has to double-take when he sees an attorney’s badge, handmade from cardboard, pinned to one of the plant’s leaves.
He can’t help but burst out laughing.
“Meet the newest lawyer joining your agency at the same time as you: Xin Eohp Junior, Botanical Attorney,” Iris manages, barely suppressing her own giggles.
Phoenix stares into her eyes only a moment for dipping down to kiss her. He twirls Larry by his other hand and smooches him as well. His partners don’t waste even a second before they pull Phoenix toward the bedroom for some more ‘celebration.’
---
She sits unmoving, unfettered, in the midst of chaotic beauty.
Larry hesitates to step into the room, as he always does. The air has such a sense of undisturbed serenity, as though his making any sound would shatter the barrier between the normal world and the one his girlfriend currently inhabits.
Once he passes the boundary line with silent footsteps, he evades hanging Magatamas and prayer beads before stopping a distance from Iris’s mediating form. He exhales lightly, letting any residual tension leave his body. Then, he sits on the floor beside her. He watches her, takes in every detail of her- how long her eyelashes are, how her toes curl when she sits cross-legged.
Iris takes some time every day to meditate. It makes her feel closer to her upbringing. Larry likes to just be near her sometimes when she does this. The whole experience is very calming- in fact, it’s one of the few times he actually remains quiet. He had thought he had gone unnoticed during the first several visits he made, but she turned to him later on one of those days and thanked him for joining her. She said that even when he’s quiet, he brings a certain energy to the room.
Nick’s not spiritual and Iris is very spiritual… Larry doesn’t know how he feels. All he knows is that he believes in something more. Or at the very least, he believes in fate. And sure, he’s called every relationship he’d ever had “fate”... but with Iris and Nick, he really feels something akin to belonging. A sense of home, as though no matter how far any of them were to stray, they could always find their way back home by some guiding light.
Larry thanks that light, takes in his girlfriend’s visage once more, and quietly steps back across the barrier.
---
“Meow!”
“Oh, isn’t she just precious?” Iris clasps her fingers around the cold metal of the cage. She croons once more as the snowy-furred feline in front of her stretches and nuzzles its head against the crate floor.
“She /is/ pretty cute…” Phoenix concedes.
“She’s just a Goddess!!” Larry squeals. He skilfully unearths his phone from his bag and begins to snap dozens of photos of the cat.
“She really is… Look, her name is even Artemis!”
Phoenix eyes the Adoption Information card with skepticism. “Artemis? That’s so pretentious for a cat… they may as well call her Lady Artemis the Third or something like that…”
“Feenie, that’s a great name!”
“I- I was /joking/!”
“I’ve always wanted a kitty,” Iris sing-songs.
She sees a smile tugs at Phoenix’s lips, and her expression soon mirrors his. She knows that Phoenix himself isn’t that fond of animals, but she also knows (and admits to herself with some embarrassment) that he and Larry will go along with anything that will make her happy. She’d do the same for them, of course.
“You hear that, Lady Artemis the Third?” Larry reaches through the bars, earning himself a scratch on his finger for his efforts. He persists anyway. “You get to go home with the most beautiful lady in the world, and her awesomely talented boyfriend! And Nick.”
“Hey!”
Iris scampers over to the cat’s foster owner in order to sign papers and finalize the adoption.
…
Artemis has integrated herself almost seamlessly into her humans’ dynamic. She is an overly affectionate cat. She follows Iris absolutely everywhere, nuzzles herself against whoever happens to be closest, and “mewls” as sweetly as she can whenever someone stops petting her.
Iris chuckles as she watches Artemis worm her way into Larry and Phoenix’s hearts. Just as Artemis has begun burrowing herself a little nest in the hall closet, so too does she seize permanent lodging in each of her owners’ lives.
She physically marks her new living quarters as well. Cat fur pervades every surface in their apartment- although none of them are particularly neat freaks, Iris still furrows her brow to find short white hairs decorating the cooking utensils.
Artemis’s claw marks litter the apartment, on both the furniture and her humans, as well. Larry is the most likely to squeeze Artemis and shove his face near hers, and so he bears the brunt of this treatment. While Artemis’s claws are not especially sharp, Iris still frets when she sees the little red crescents running up and down her boyfriend’s arms.
“It’s really fine, Iris! I told you, they’re like little love scratches!”
Iris runs her fingers lightly over the bandage on his thumb. “But don’t they hurt?”
“Yep!”
Iris blanches. As if to illustrate Larry’s point, Artemis hops from the top of the couch onto Larry’s back, digging her claws into his shirt.
“Yeowch!”
Iris hastily removes the feline. “Larry, if she’s hurting you, then…”
He shakes his head, then clenches one fist. “It’s A-okay! You and Nick love her, and so do I! Sometimes we get hurt for love, isn’t that right, Nick?”
Phoenix barely lifts his head from his work laptop. “Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, Larry…”
Iris frowns, but she can’t keep the expression for long. She breaks into a smile just as she throws herself forward and hugs Larry. Her head fits perfectly in the crook of his neck, and his hands slide into place behind the small of her back.
They stay like that for a while, even as Artemis whines for attention beside them. She seems to give up on the distracted duo and instead travels to Phoenix’s side.
Phoenix yelps when the cat walks across his keyboard, then hops to the mantelpiece and bats one of Phoenix’s legal plaques off of it- he just manages to stop the plaque’s descent to the floor. He sighs, but obliges the feline. He takes her into his arms and goes to join his partners on the couch.
Larry extends one of his arms to welcome Phoenix into the cuddle pile, and soon all four are resting on the battered, cat-scratched sofa. Artemis gets her fill of the physical contact after a while and hops out of Phoenix’s hold. This leaves just the trio, each in various stages of dozing off. Phoenix yawns, making a noise not unlike a feline. Iris giggles, pokes his nose, and asks, “Who’s a good cat?” Phoenix is too tired to even protest the gentle ribbing.
Larry whines at them to quiet down without opening his eyes. Only seconds later, his loud snoring fills the room. Iris and Phoenix muffle their laughter at him, but find themselves slipping into a dream just moments later.
---
“Geez, not again…” Phoenix exhales lightly, letting a small smile overtake his features. There, across the empty expanse of the room, lies his boyfriend fast asleep on the couch, leaned over his sketchbook. Larry’s cheek presses into the spiral binding of the notebook, leaving his snoring slightly muffled by the thick pages.
Phoenix carefully eases the sketchbook to the side and slips a throw pillow under Larry’s head instead. He lets his hand dust lightly over Larry’s temple. He caresses the man’s cheek, then smooths an errant strand of hair back into place. When he has relieved his urge to stroke the man’s overly innocent sleeping face, he spares a glance toward the abandoned sketchbook. The page is mostly empty, minus a few doodles, and a small patch of drool. Phoenix chuckles when he spots a rather idealized doodle of himself and Iris.
Unfortunately, his chuckles stir his dozing boyfriend.
“‘...Wazzup” -yawn - “Nick? Admiring my artwork?”
“Yeah, actually. Just how many drawings of the three of us do you have in here?”
“Lots! I’ve been documenting our relationship with these.” Larry pounces on his sketchbook and flips rapidly through. “Look, here’s us on the Ferris Wheel. Your face was so green! And when you taught us how to play poker.”
Phoenix stares at the warm pencil lines. The art pieces seem almost to jump off the page as they mix with Phoenix’s own memories of the events depicted. They stir up a sort of latent feeling in him, and suddenly Phoenix has nothing but inspiration.
“Mind if I draw with you?” he asks, surprising both himself and his boyfriend. “I’m sure I’ll be rusty, but I did used to be an art major, after all…” He scratches the back of his head.
“AWESOME! Then you /have/ to draw with me!” Larry grabs his pencil and grows quiet. He is almost entirely focused on the canvas, as though he has forgotten Phoenix is even there. Phoenix grabs an unused sketchbook buried in the bookcase and joins him.
After a while, Larry sets down his pencil. He yawns and stretches himself out over his chair.
“How’s it going?”
“Good, good. I’ve been working on this same piece for a few days now. I’ve had plenty of time to since I lost another job, haha…” Larry’s boisterous laughter fades into a sort of pitiful misery. Phoenix is immediately on edge- Larry’s face is not the usual one of whining overreaction. Surely enough, Larry’s smile drops completely, and he sighs. “I thought I could really make it work as a pro artist! But I guess I really am kind of a loser.”
Phoenix smacks the back of Larry’s head.
“Ow!! What was that for??”
“For talking badly about my boyfriend.” Phoenix furrows his brow, but begins rubbing the back of Larry’s head anyway. “Larry, you’re not a loser. I can’t say you’re the most skilled at holding down a job or putting effort into things you don’t care about… but you’re as earnest about your passions as I am. As Iris is. As Edgeworth, or Maya, or anyone else we know is. Just because it took you longer or it doesn’t pay as well doesn’t mean your path is any less worthwhile than ours.”
Larry flops his head onto Phoenix’s shoulder, the customary waterworks dripping onto Phoenix’s suit. “B-but! I’m always causing trouble! You and Edgey even say that when something smells, it’s usually the Butz!”
Phoenix sucks in a breath- he can’t exactly deny saying or thinking those things, after all. But, perhaps due to his affections for the man, the counterargument is clearer to him than any contradiction he’s ever found in one of his cases. “But you make me happy, and you’re always here for me when it counts.” Larry looks up at him hopefully. “You’ve been a reliable friend for me since I was a kid, and I know Edgeworth feels the same way. If anything, we’re the ones who failed to reach out. Who’s the one who contacted me and got me off my ass after I lost my badge?”
Larry sniffs into Phoenix’s lapel. “Me... Y-yeah, I guess so… I was pretty cool then, wasn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“But you know, Nick, it’s not like you were slouching in the friend department. You defended me from murder and paid for my meals when I was unemployed and comforted me after I got dumped and stuff… And you’re the one who convinced me to act on my feelings for Iris. You got me, you, and Iris all together in the first place!” Larry hums contentedly into the crook of Phoenix’s neck. His hot breath sends shivers down Phoenix’s spine.
Phoenix angles his head to press a kiss to Larry’s temple. He struggles with the words to respond to Larry, because their relationship has always just… been. Through the relationship’s ups and downs, Larry has been a constant for Phoenix. Which is why such heart-to-hearts, in which they analyze their friendship and subsequent romance, have never felt necessary. Nevertheless, it’s nice to hear these things explicitly from Larry’s mouth. It’s nice to verbally communicate his own feelings to the other man, too.
Phoenix is rescued in his quest to respond by Larry’s light snoring. Phoenix feels even breaths on his shoulder. He doesn’t even need to look down to picture Larry’s dopey dozing face.
He supposes he /had/ woken the man up in the middle of a nap, after all.
Phoenix sits there with his partner a while longer before easing Larry’s head onto the couch cushion. He leaves the room with a spring in his step.
---
/Ding!/
“Bread’s done. Iris, you have the program queued up?”
“Yep! Larry?”
“Way ahead of you! Lights off, chairs reclined… We’re all set for my Steel Samurai Live Action Special: Neo Olde Tokyo Boogaloo!”
“I can’t believe they let you reprise your role as Steel Samurai after all that trouble you caused in the stage play.”
“Hmph, Nick! You’ll know once you see me perform. A talent like me doesn’t come around every three-and-a-half months!”
“Three-and-a-half months?”
“The average amount of time between entries in the Steel Samurai franchise.”
“Boys, boys, settle down! Well, I’m excited to see it.”
“Ahh, Iris, you are an angel~! …. … Oh my god, Nick, this bread is delicious! Have you been holding out on us??”
“Heh heh… baking is just sort of a skill that I stumbled upon.”
“I’m putting it on! Feenie, Larry, can you both see?”
“Mostly…”
“Well, scoot a little closer! I don’t bite.”
“What about last night, then?”
“Larry!”
“Wow, your face is as red as those Christmas lights above the doorway.”
“Shhh, it’s on!”
“...”
“.....”
“.......”
“Whoa, Larry, you’re not half-bad in this.”
“What did I tell you! Were you doubting me?”
“You /are/ really great, Larry!”
“Hee hee, y-you think so?”
“Hey, why do you respond so differently to her than to me?”
“Don’t be a sore loser, Nick. Here, you get a kiss of gratitude, too.”
…
“It’s over! What’d you guys think??”
“I loved it. I mean, of course I did. I’d love it if it had just been 2 hours of you prancing about in a costume… which it kind of was.”
“I loved it, too.”
“Thank goodness! That’s GREAT!!”
“I’m pretty tired- and comfy- now. Can’t we just stay here on the couch for the rest of the night?”
“Feenie, don’t you have to wake up early for work tomorrow? And you too, Larry?”
“Aw, don’t mind it, Iris~. I wanna stay right here with you and Nick.”
“Alright.. Well then, good night, Larry. Good night, Feenie.”
“Night, Iris, Larry.”
“Good night, my loves!”