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One of Every Color	By : Croik Category: +M through R > Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Views: 5688 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney / Gyakuten Saiban, its
characters and settings, are property of Capcom, and are being used here
without permission.� This fic is rated
NC-17 for adult male/male content and some violent material.� C&C welcome and appreciated.

One of Every Color
Chapter 10
Friday, September 20^h, 2019.� 12:13 pm

Phoenix had peeked at the address Urami had given him before
handing it off to the cab driver, so he wasn't surprised when they pulled into
a less reputable section the city.� The streets
were lined with rundown apartment buildings, dirty bars, and alleys that
managed to look dark and dangerous even at the height of the afternoon.� He was still more concerned with what Urami
might have to say, rather than the location.�
Court had gone as well as anyone could have expected, given the
case.� Anything she had to complain about
was probably not something he could fix.

Phoenix stepped out of the cab, giving the driver a few extra
dollars and asking him to stick around a while, so he'd have a ride back--the
idea of being stuck in this part of town with just Urami and no way out was not
at all appealing.� Figuring he already
knew where Urami would want to meet him, he moved down the sidewalk to put himself
in front of the burnt out shell of what had once been a duplex.

The crime scene.� Phoenix took in the sight of the dilapidated structure.� There wasn't much left of the building.� No one had bothered to make anything of the
lot in the past few years; he could even still see scorch marks on the
surrounding buildings.� There was a frame
that might have once been a window, and a bathtub near the back.� The only thing that didn't seem to have been
decimated by the fire was the phone booth on the corner that Chassie had been
in that night.� It was filthy and didn't
look like it had been used in years, but it was intact.

A single black car pulled up
behind the taxi, which must have spooked the driver.� He glanced between his fare and the man in
black stepping out of the vehicle, and with a helpless shrug he pulled away
from the curb.� Phoenix jumped, and tried to call after him, but by then the
cab was already driving away.� The driver
shot him a grim smirk as if to say "You're on your own."

Phoenix sighed, watching as his getaway vehicle sped off.� Trapped.� He reminded himself again that it was in
Urami's best interests to keep him alive as he turned to wait for her.� Sure enough, she slipped out of the car--she
must have changed vehicles along the way.�
She whispered a few words to her driver before heading for Phoenix.�

Here goes.� Phoenix loosened his tie as she approached.� "Um�Miss Urami.� You, uh, wanted to talk?"

"I thought this would
be�more convenient for you," she told him, turning to face the old
building.� "In case anyone followed you.� You're merely investigating your case with a
related party�.� Isn't that better than
coming home with me�?"

"Yes," Phoenix answered quickly.�
He wasn't sure if he was honestly thankful for her discretion, if it
could be called that, but he might as well act like he was.� "Though�we could have talked at my
office."

"I wanted you to see
this�."� Urami was still staring at
where the duplex had been, her eyes unfocused.�
He imagined she must have been remembering what it looked like
intact.� "You didn't come to this
scene in your investigation�did you?"

Phoenix frowned.� Is she saying I missed something?� "I didn't.� I read it had been completely burned
down--there isn't any evidence left here, and even if there was, it wouldn't be
worth anything.� It's been four
years."

"Yes, you're
right�."� Urami lifted a hand,
slowly, pointing towards the far corner of the rotting foundation.� "I came in through the back.� Not like Chassie."

Phoenix stared at her, his fingertips going a little
numb.� "What�?"

"Through the back,"
Urami said again.� She lowered her hand
just as slowly.� "By the stairs to
the basement.� I took the wine from Mr.
Hoff's cabinet.� He had a
collection."

She's�confessing.� Phoenix shifted anxiously on his feet.� He wasn't supposed to be hearing this, and he
knew nothing good would come of it.

"I went into the
basement, and--"

"Urami," Phoenix interrupted, his gaze sweeping about quickly in
sudden paranoia.� "You don't have to
tell me this.� I already agreed--"

"I know�what you must be
thinking."� Urami took a few steps
forward, and turned so they were face to face.�
"After today�.� But that
clinic report is real.� I know you don't
like me�but you have to believe that."

For so small a woman Urami
was certainly intimidating, and yet her words actually put Phoenix a little at ease.�
"You really care about her, don't you," he murmured.� "If you're willing to go this far to
convince me."� He felt he was maybe
coming to understand her better; in her own, twisted way, her confession was an
offering of trust.� As foolish as it was,
he was beginning to honestly believe she had no intention of harming him.

"We are each risking our
lives for each other."� Urami tilted
her head slightly, and for once her tone was sincere instead of eerie and
mocking.� "It's what friends
do�."

Phoenix smiled grimly.�
"Since we're being honest," he attempted, "why don't you
tell me the real reason you did it?"

Urami rolled her eyes to the
side.� "I was protecting her�."

"From Hoff?"

"�Yes�."� Urami folded her
hands in front of her.� "Chassie�is
a poor judge of character.� She loved
him.� When she called me�I knew she would
never forgive Mr. Hoff for what he had done to her.� She would never leave him alone�."

Phoenix's brow furrowed.�
Nothing like a woman scorned, I
guess.�

"But when Mr. Hoff
starting seeing Ann�he connected himself to Mr. Arky, and Bluecorp," Urami
continued.� "He could have used
Bluecorp's power against her...which was once quite a bit, as you know.� I couldn't let that happen to her."

"Urami�."� Her explanation approached actual reason, but
Phoenix still couldn't be satisfied with an answer like
that.� "You need to stop this,"
he told her seriously.� "This isn't
about you, and whatever you think you had to do.� It's about Chassie.� Right?"�
He was treading dangerous territory, but Urami's continued pressure was
only frustrating him in what could have been a much simpler case.� "I already
know you're a murderer.� I believe that
Chassie is innocent.� All right?"

Urami returned his gaze
calmly.� He liked to think he was getting
better at reading her, and she didn't appear offended.� "All right�" she finally
conceded.� She lowered her head slightly.� "I will not meddle."

"Good."� Phoenix sighed, glancing over the ruined building one last
time.� It's just rubble now.� There's nothing left here.� "Then�can you at least drop me off at my
office?� I'm not hitch-hiking out of this
neighborhood."

"Of course�."� Urami turned, smiling faintly as she led the
way back to her car.

They sat together in the back
as her driver pulled away from the sidewalk.�
Phoenix kept as close to the door as he could manage, staring
out the window.� He wasn't interested in
anything else Urami had to say.� Of
course, that didn't keep her from talking.

"The police�they are getting
better, you know," she told him slowly.�
"I would know.� Their lawyers
are more careful.� Pretty soon�they won't
make so many mistakes."

Phoenix frowned at the buildings passing by.� "What's your point?"

"If you remain so picky
about your clients�you won't be able to keep your practice up for much
longer�."

"I know what you're
offering me.� The answer is
no."� When they arrest you for setting fire to the Prosecutors' building, it
won't be me defending you, Phoenix thought bitterly.

Urami chuckled. �"Maybe you should start a civil practice
instead.� I'm sure it's much
less�stressful."

She dropped Phoenix off at his office, as he'd asked, and said only a
polite goodbye before driving off once more.�
As Phoenix watched her leave, he couldn't help feeling that
there was still something he was missing.�
Urami had certainly gone out of her way to further convince him of
Chassie's innocence, which didn't seem necessary given how much effort he'd
already devoted to her case.� He hadn't
even thought their first day of court went that poorly, considering it was
Miles they were up against and Hotta's limited credibility.� She could have just been nervous for her
friend, but something was sticking at the back of Phoenix's mind.

Edgeworth said he was going to try and find the doctor
that worked on Chassie.� His testimony
would make the case absolute.� Since I
have all weekend, I might as well do what I can to find him, too.

Phoenix stopped for a bite to eat before heading out once
more.

*****

"Is that so�?� I see.�
Thank you, Detective."

Miles hung up and frowned
down at the report he held in his hand.�
He was still getting over the surprise of discovering it, so it wasn't
difficult for him to accept the other news Gumshoe had to tell him: Dr. Hotta's
clinic report was legitimate.� They were
able to match the handwriting on it to other, older reports issued by the same
doctor, and there were no signs of any kind of forgery.� It was a solid alibi.� Chassie could not have set the fire.

But there's still something very wrong with this case.� Miles tugged
thoughtfully at his cravat as he read this new report over again.� He had been right to bully it out of Dr.
Hotta, and though it still had to go to the lab for processing, he was already
trying to find an explanation.

This is what Urami didn't want me to find, he told himself.�
It certainly complicates things.� But why
did she risk Gander's freedom to
hide it?

He was still considering when
he heard a car door close, and paranoia made him glance up.� He wasn't surprised to see Phoenix climbing out of a taxi.� What
perfect timing.� He probably could
have avoided him, keeping the evidence to himself as Phoenix had done, but it didn't seem worth it.� Phoenix would probably get the truth out of Dr. Hotta anyway.

"Wright!"� Miles waved to him from where he stood
leaning against the side of his car.�
"Over here."

Phoenix blinked, but he wasn't startled by seeing Miles there
at the clinic, either.� As he drew
closer, Miles noted that he looked exhausted, even though it was still fairly
early in the afternoon.� He frowned.� "Are you all right?"

"Hm?� Yeah, of course."� Phoenix straightened his suit front.� "I thought you might still be here.� Any leads on the doctor?"

"He's overseas,"
Miles admitted.� "We won't be able to
subpoena him for testimony.� But I did
find this."� He handed the paper
over.

Phoenix took it, scanning its contents.� His face underwent a more animated version of
the transformation Miles had experienced earlier: confusion, shock, and more
confusion. �His crooked eyebrows drew
together.� "This is a birth
certificate."

"I noticed."

Phoenix read over it again.�
"For�is this real?"� He
looked back to Miles, the fatigue deepening the lines in his face in light of
this new discovery.� "Chassie had a son?"

Miles nodded grimly.� "It hasn't been confirmed in the lab
yet.� We'll have to check the document
for forgeries, and of course do a DNA test.� I've already asked
Detective Gumshoe to put in an order to have the bodies exhumed."

"Wait--wait a
minute."� Phoenix shook his head doggedly.� "You think the baby�that little boy that
died in the fire, that was Chassie's son?"

"If this document is
real, Chassie has a son," Miles reasoned.�
"He had to have ended up somewhere.�
When we pulled the bodies out of that building four years ago, we tested
the baby against Mr. Hoff--it was his son.�
We couldn't find any documentation on the birth so we assumed Ann was
the mother."� Miles plucked the
certificate out of Phoenix's hands; he was too bewildered to stop him.� "Dr. Hotta
kept this hidden.� But now that we have
it, we can reexamine the baby, and check it against Chassie's DNA."

Phoenix's body wavered, and he turned to lean his back
against the car Miles was also using.� He
really didn't look very well.� "I
take it she didn't tell you," Miles surmised.

Phoenix rubbed his eyes wearily.� "She's still lying to me."�

Of course she is.� Miles nearly chastised him for
his naivety, but from the look of Phoenix's troubled face, he was doing enough of that
himself.� He wondered how much of a
burden it must have been, to be that trusting.�
"Wright�."

"Which means�Urami was
trying to distract me."� Phoenix shook his head again.�
"She's only badgering me because she's hiding something else."

He looked to Miles, and his
face was so tired and distraught it could have softened a heart even harder
than Miles'.� "What am I doing,
Edgeworth?� Really.� I don't know what to think anymore�."

Miles folded his new
evidence, tucking it into his coat.� Only
the inks on it would serve useful, so he wouldn�t have to worry about
preserving any fingerprints.� "I
can't tell you what to think, Wright.�
But if it makes you feel any better, the clinic report you presented in
court today turned out to be legitimate."

Phoenix snorted.�
"No kidding?"

We can't talk here.� Miles glanced around.� Though the clinic parking lot was half empty
and devoid of people at the moment, they were still too out in the open for his
liking.� He patted Phoenix's shoulder.�
"Get in," he instructed.�
"Let's take a ride."

"A ride?" Phoenix echoed.� He
watched, puzzled, as Miles moved around to the driver's side.� "A ride where?"

"Just get in the car,
all right?� We need to talk."

His wording must have caught Phoenix's attention, as he blushed a little as he finally slid
into the passenger seat.� Seeing it almost made Miles redden in return.� Now
still isn't the time to worry about things like that.� But�it's
not exactly easy to forget, either.�
He himself had spent most of the night before over-thinking the
encounter, trying to determine what it meant and what he intended to do about
it.� If it were anyone else but Phoenix, it would have been so much easier.

Miles took his seat behind
the wheel and pulled them away from the clinic.�
First things first.� "The clinic report is real," he
told Phoenix, figuring they should at least give conversation
precedence to the case at hand.�
"Our lab wasn't able to find any evidence that Dr. Hotta faked any
of the information on it.� It's�a sound
alibi."

It was a sobering admission
for him, as his friend must have realized.�
Phoenix watched him as he relaxed in his seat.� "What are you going to do?"

"Keep looking,"
Miles said immediately.� "There's
more to this case than just whether or not Chassie started the fire
herself."

"You won't find
anything," Phoenix replied glumly.�
"She's covered her tracks too well.�
They're both going free."

Miles frowned.� "That doesn't sound like you."

"I took this case
because I wanted to save an innocent woman."� Phoenix's voice was tipping defensively.� "And I have, haven't I?� The report is real--that's all I need to
prove she didn't do it.� That's
enough."

Miles glanced at him; Phoenix's slumped posture and heavy eyes were unfamiliar, and
raised in him a strange sensation of anxiety.�
They drove on a few minutes in silence until he spotted an
opportunity.� Miles turned hard into the
driveway of an old, abandoned restaurant.�
Phoenix grabbed at his chair against the inertia as Miles'
sports car swerved to the back of the lot.�
The property was closed in by a high wooden fence on one side, and tall,
thick shrubbery on the other.� It wasn't
much, but it was the closest to privacy Miles could rely on at the moment.

He shut off the engine and unbuckled,
and turned as much as he could in his seat so that he was facing his
passenger.� "What happened when you
left court today?"

"Geez, Edgeworth, are
you trying to--"

"Talk."

Phoenix glared at him in an attempt at stubbornness, but he
was no match for Miles' interrogation face.�
He relented with a quiet sigh.�
"I talked to Urami."

Miles' fists tightened in
sudden protectiveness.� "Did she
threaten you?"

"No--no,
not�exactly."� Phoenix scratched the back of his neck.� "She might, if I tell you what she told
me."

So that's how it is.� Miles studied his friend's
face, drawing out the clues he needed from it.�
There were only so many things that could upset Phoenix so visibly.�
"You really are no good with criminals, are you," he said
thoughtfully.

"How can you be good with criminals?" Phoenix asked loudly.�
"I don't know how you deal with these people."� He shifted in his seat, clearly agitated, his
gaze fixed on the dashboard.� "I'm
doing everything I can for Chassie, and she's still lying to me!� And I know that's not what matters.� I know it's the fire she's being tried for,
and that she couldn't have done it.� That
should be enough.� That's all a defense
attorney is supposed to do."

"You're wondering,"
Miles hazarded carefully, "if this new evidence will somehow lead us to
the real arsonist."

"Why else would she hide
it?� It certainly proves Chassie's
innocence even more--why would she set fire to a building her own son was in?"� He snorted irritably.� "Urami's only protecting herself now. �Somehow."

I'll pretend I didn't hear that.� "It's
not your job to catch criminals, Wright."

"I know,
but�."� Phoenix shook his head in frustration.� "I can't stand watching her go
free.� She's only going to hurt more
people, and I can't forgive her for that.�
Not for�what she almost did to you�."

Miles' eyes widened slightly
as he watched Phoenix, and the distraught expression he was making.� His sincerity and concern were touching, in a
way Miles only felt when around him.� He
reached out, closing his hand over Phoenix's and holding it against the seat between them.

"Listen, Wright,"
Miles told him seriously.� "You've
been lucky until now.� Even most
detectives aren't as good at finding the truth as you are�well-meaning as they
might be."� He shook himself
slightly and continued.� "But you
can't do everything. �You just worry
about doing your job, and I'll worry about mine.� Do you understand?"

"But�."

"You trust me, don't
you?"

Phoenix's hand turned and tightened around Miles', and he met
his stern eyes with greater conviction.�
"Of course."

"So trust me."

Phoenix nodded slowly.�
His bright blue eyes darted briefly down to their joined hands,
prompting the same from Miles, reminding them each of the contact of skin
against skin.� It was foolish of them to
be so easily distracted from their serious talk.� There
was another reason I wanted to talk to him, Miles recalled as he reached
out with his free hand to undo Phoenix's seatbelt.� It doesn't look like he knows what to think
about yesterday, either.� But he
didn't feel like "talking" about it at the moment.� Phoenix's fingers had already gone stiff against his, his
tongue feathering quickly over dry lips.�
He was vulnerable and much too tempting.

Miles leaned in.� It was awkward in the front of his car, but Phoenix shifted, too, and they were able to meet in a tender
kiss.� Each was soft and almost hesitant
in their affections.� Miles wasn't used
to the slow pace, but it was�charming, in a way.� He could feel that Phoenix was testing him.�
Neither was as emotional as they had been the day before, and it allowed
them greater objectivity.� Miles
wondered, briefly, if Phoenix would finally come to realize it was a man he was
with and change his mind�.

But Phoenix didn't retreat.�
He even shivered a little as he tried to lean in for a deeper kiss.� And though Miles had feared his own interest
would turn to uncertainty when faced with this second chance, he found himself
more eager than ever.� There was honest
admiration in Phoenix's gentle kisses, so unlike the lustful advances of
his former lovers.

They drew apart as slowly as
they'd come together.� Phoenix was blushing darkly, and Miles held back his own
comments to wait for him to say what was on his mind.� From the look of it, he was struggling with
difficult thoughts.� "Edgeworth�."� Phoenix licked his lips again as his brow furrowed.� "I don't know how to handle this,"
he confessed.

Miles continued to watch him,
uncertain if the sudden weight in his stomach was a feeling of
disappointment.� Not that he knew how to
handle this situation any better than Phoenix.� "You've
never been with a man," he surmised.

"Well�no."� Phoenix gulped.� His
eyes lowered to their hands once more, making Miles wonder if they were easier
to look at than his face.� "I never
had�the inclination, really.� Or the
opportunity�."

Miles let go of him.� He knew that Phoenix's reaction towards him and this unexpected attraction
was only natural, but it reminded him of the situation they were really
in.� He was still too pragmatic in his
relationships to be fooled by one afternoon of sweet kisses.

But Phoenix didn't let his hand get far.� Something about the contact must have drawn
his attention; his eyes narrowed in curiosity as he drew his fingers along the
back of Miles' palm.� It�tickled, a
little, enough that Miles was content to let him do as he liked.

"Wright."� Miles watched with his own interest as Phoenix explored the contours of his hands with light
fingertips.� "I'm really not very
good at this sort of thing, you know."

Phoenix smiled.�
"I know."� He traced
Miles' fingers with his own, and the softer web of skin between each
knuckle.� "Neither am I,
remember?"

Miles shivered, not sure if
it was because of Phoenix's caress or the quiet, amused face he was
making.� How either could be so
effectively enticing was beyond him.� "I'd
like to think we're�good friends by now," Miles continued, though his
mouth had gone dry.� "And you know I
can't say that about a lot of people--"

"Is this the 'let's not
ruin our friendship' speech?" Phoenix interrupted cautiously.

"It's�no.� It's not."� Miles pursed his lips, dissatisfied with his
own inability to communicate his jumbled thoughts.� He blamed his trembling hand, and finally
took Phoenix's once more to still them both.� "Honestly, I'm not sure which speech it
is."

Phoenix chuckled, and the sound of it helped put Miles at
ease.� "For two lawyers, we're sure
awful at expressing ourselves."

Miles sighed.� "True enough," he agreed with a
thin smile.

They met each other's gaze
again and, thankfully, Phoenix found a way to speak his thoughts.� "We are
good friends," he assured.�
"I trust you.� And after
yesterday�"� He blushed darkly.� "Well, I haven't been able to put it out
of mind, that maybe�it's more than that.�
Would that be so awful, if it were?"

"No," Miles
answered too quickly.� "It
wouldn't."

I just don't know what to do about it.� Watching Phoenix now, he felt he understood the real problem hanging
between them and this tenuous attraction; he had never had a lover like Phoenix before.� Those
he trusted and those he went to for pleasure were not one and the same in his
mind.� Phoenix was already so close to him now he wasn't sure what
would happen if those lines finally blurred, let alone�how it might change
him.� The thought was as intimidating as
it was exciting.

And Phoenix is just as
inexperienced.� What if�I make a
mistake?� Miles' fingers
tightened.� What if I just end up hurting him?

As he considered, Phoenix leaned forward again, and his lips erased some of
those fears.� Phoenix was already gaining confidence with each new
kiss.� The added pressure coupled with
his partially-restrained enthusiasm was almost enough to convince Miles that
inexperience wasn't so terrible a hurdle after all.

Still isn't the time for this.

Miles pulled back
reluctantly.� "We still have a lot of
work to do," he murmured, stretching his cramped fingers.� Phoenix finally let him go.�
"And we're still in a parking lot."

Phoenix chuckled as he buckled himself back in.� "I guess this'll have to wait."

Miles buckled as well, thinking
things over as he started the car back up.�
"I'll come over tomorrow," he decided.� "There will still be too much press
around both our places tonight.� It
should be all right, by tomorrow evening."

"Really�?"� Phoenix sounded so much like a teenager then it was almost comical.� He smirked.�
"You gonna bring dinner and make it a date?"

A date?� Miles frowned as he pulled out of the parking
lot.� "I don't 'date'," he
protested.� "But�I will bring
dinner."

"Huh?� I was just kidding�."

"I said I'll bring
something," Miles insisted.� He
never backed down from his word.�
"I'll be there at six."

Miles cast a quick glance at Phoenix as he merged back into traffic; the defense attorney
was blushing again, and looking very pleased with himself.� If not still exhausted.

"All right.� I'll see you then."
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One of Every Color