[RL 35: Just making sure; Edgeworth, Phoenix][Backdated]

[samuraiprosecutor]

((OOC: Backdated to Friday evening, 8-28-09 comm time.))



By the time Edgeworth turned up at the apartment, the sun was close to setting. He stood before the door for several moments, facing away, and watched as shadows crept slowly along the courtyard, snuffing out the glittering of sunlight on the water of the fountain. In spite of the oncoming darkness, the complex was still alive with sound. Canned laughter and the obnoxious hawking voices endemic to infomercials were audible through most of the open windows that lined the second floor, but when he turned back around, the door before him was strangely silent, and the thin windows that framed it were strangely dark.

Edgeworth frowned at them a moment longer, before hesitantly reaching up and rapping his knuckles on the door, just below the brass ‘2B.’

Comments

[attorneyatlol]

More than a minute had passed before there was an audible click, and the door slowly opened to reveal a tired-looking Phoenix, idly rubbing the side of his face as he gazed at the man before him. It didn't take long for him to register who was there, however; the changes in his demeanor were almost immediate, his back straightening and his eyes widening with surprise.

"Edgeworth," he said, stating the obvious. The hint of a question lingered, though, both in his tone and the curious look he was giving the other man.

[samuraiprosecutor]

It had only been a matter of hours since he’d heard the familiar voice, but the voice carried by a phone is an imperfect reproduction, a distorted shadow of the original, hardly a substitute. The sound of his own name brought a vaguely unnerving twinge to his chest; he ignored it and focused instead on the figure in front of him, on his carelessly rolled up sleeves, his open shirt, and his weary eyes. The last traces of sunlight were fading from the complex, darkening Wright’s features and leaving his large eyes an intense, deep blue. Edgeworth studied them intently, an odd light in his eyes.

It had been a long, long time.

[attorneyatlol]

...A long, long time for Edgeworth, maybe, but to Phoenix's mind, only a day had passed, and the memory of their last conversation--as well as what prompted it--was still fresh in his mind. He quickly tore his gaze away and cleared his throat, determinedly ignoring the heat that was rising to his face and hoping it wasn't visible in the darkness.

"Hey, uh..." He scratched the back of his neck, shifting his weight slightly. When he finally looked back at his friend, he had managed an awkward smile. "I didn't expect to see you here."

[samuraiprosecutor]

The awkward reaction jarred Edgeworth to attention. He was quick to avert his gaze, allowing his eyes to roam the darkening apartment as he answered, in a pragmatic tone, "Neither did I. I was planning to have dinner at Bucci’s. Since your complex was already on my route, I thought I’d...make sure you hadn’t disappeared again."

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix blinked. "Oh," he answered lamely, still rubbing his neck. His smile may have grown a tad more awkward. "No, I'm... I'm still here."

He held Edgeworth's gaze as well as he could, watching him expectantly as he resisted the urge to retreat back into his apartment; this kind of encounter was exactly what he'd wanted to avoid. Why on Earth did he answer the door again?

[samuraiprosecutor]

“Obviously.” Edgeworth’s smirk softened the jab (slightly). Apparently unaware of his companion’s discomfort, he broke eye contact again to survey the room a little more closely, taking in what little detail he could make out in the rapidly fading light.

The apartment—at least, what he could see of it from the doorway—was much as he’d last left it, not completely a shambles but still in a noticeable disarray. Some of the most glaring messes had been cleaned up, but the bookcase was still disordered...and there was a large, cardboard box on the floor before the closet, half hidden behind Wright.

The unfamiliar silence of a home without the constant, subconsciously registered hum of electricity settled in around them.

[attorneyatlol]

The lack of electricity may have been unfamiliar, but the silence surrounding them was anything but. Phoenix unconsciously drummed his fingers against the door and quietly cleared his throat again.

"So, anyway..." Glancing over his shoulder, he followed Edgeworth's gaze into the apartment and stared at a random, innocuous spot for a moment before slowly turning back, no longer making eye contact. "I was thinking of calling it a night soon, but..."

[samuraiprosecutor]

“Ah,” Edgeworth replied, quite content to keep his gaze on the apartment still. The evening was quickly settling in, and the darkness continued to diligently strip the interior of color and detail, though the clutter was still obvious.

“Given the progress, it seems a bit early to abandon the project, but I suppose there isn’t much that can be done at this point. Not unless you thought to pick up some battery-powered lanterns.”

[attorneyatlol]

...Battery-powered lanterns?

"Uh..." The nervous drumming stopped. He met Edgeworth's gaze again and shrugged, the lopsided, sheepish grin he wore all but speaking for itself. "I have candles?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

The reaction was so characteristic, so Wright, that Edgeworth might have predicted it. His eyes lingered on that familiar grin, a soft, almost fond smirk quirking the corner of his lips.

"At least you’re not flying completely blind. For once."

[attorneyatlol]

"I have my moments," Phoenix answered with a soft chuckle, his grin settling into a more comfortable smile. Maybe he could do this, after all. Heck, maybe this was what he needed.

He studied his friend for a moment before dropping his gaze, idly drumming the door a couple more times in thought.

[samuraiprosecutor]

“However rare they may be,” Edgeworth conceded, his smirk widening. The apartment behind Wright was nearing total darkness now, but the last traces of light outside still made it possible to pick out the familiar figure of the man himself. Edgeworth returned his scrutiny, unconsciously relearning details, until the loss of eye contact and the rhythmic, distracted drumming of Wright’s fingers brought his attention uncomfortably back to the present.

Quietly clearing his throat again, Edgeworth began to study the door instead.

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix glanced back up at the sound and then, after a moment, cleared his own throat, as well.

"So," he began, sounding a little unsure of himself. He settled Edgeworth with a curious, almost hesitant look. "Do you... maybe want to do something?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth met his gaze at that, his eyes a bit wide and bright in the dim light.

“I suppose dinner can wait, for a while,” he answered, hesitantly. “Did you...have something in mind?” After a pause, the smirk returned to his lips. “...Preferably something more engaging than staring at each other across a sputtering candle.”

[attorneyatlol]

"Actually, I had dinner in mind," Phoenix responded, ignoring the quip. He averted his gaze again and idly scratched the side of his neck. "I mean... There's a lot you can miss in a couple months."

At that, he offered Edgeworth an almost guilty sidelong glance and added, "It'd be nice to catch up."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Eyes widening slightly, Edgeworth hesitated only a moment before answering with a quick nod. He took a step back out of the door, turning as he did to glance over his shoulder at the dark courtyard below.

“It’s late. I assumed you’d already eaten,” he remarked, his tone as casual as his manner had suddenly become.

[attorneyatlol]

Visibly relaxing, Phoenix shook his head and laughed a little sheepishly. "Well... Remember that thing you said about a trip to the grocery store?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

“That you’ll probably need to make one? Yes, I remember that quite well.” He turned back to his companion, an easy smirk crossing his lips. Careful to cultivate a strong note of teasing in his tone, in the hopes that they could avoid a repeat of the rocky end of that earlier conversation, he continued, “Did you actually do any of the things you planned to, or did you take advantage of the situation to afford yourself a free day?”

[attorneyatlol]

"Hey, I got some stuff done!" There was an obvious defensive note in his voice, though he did his best to make it clear that he wasn't upset. "I cleaned up most of the stuff lying around, and I even started working on the fridge before it got dark!"

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth gave him a conciliatory shrug, the smirk still curling his lips.

“Fair enough, considering. I suppose the trip would have been pointless anyway, as you didn’t get around to contacting Edison yet.” He turned his attention to the courtyard again, taking a moment to survey the entrance to the complex, then looked back at Wright expectantly.

“You don’t have any objections to Bucci’s?”

[attorneyatlol]

"Not that I know of," Phoenix answered with a shrug. "I've never been there before."

He turned to head back into the apartment and then stopped just before leaving the doorway, throwing a glance over his shoulder. "And I did call Edison, by the way," he said, then followed it up with an ironic smirk as he continued, "...but for some strange reason, they won't actually turn my electricity back on unless I pay them."

[samuraiprosecutor]

“How odd,” Edgeworth replied, his demeanour remaining casual, aside from a hint of concern in the furrowing of his brow. “And when did you plan on doing that?”

[attorneyatlol]

"As soon as I settle things with my landlady." He glanced into the darkness of the apartment and then looked over his shoulder again. "Do you mind waiting a second? I need to grab some shoes."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth gave him an off-handed wave of assent, his attention clearly elsewhere as he turned back to Wright with a questioning eye.

"'Settle things?' Was there a problem?"

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix disappeared into the apartment, calling out from somewhere in the living room, "Well, it has been two months. I'm kind of surprised she hasn't slipped an eviction notice under my door..."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth’s eyes followed him as far as they could. When Wright’s form all but disappeared in the darkness, he distractedly peered about the shadowed interior.

“Then you haven’t spoken with her since you returned?” he replied, after a few moments of hesitation.

[attorneyatlol]

When Phoenix returned, keys in hand, he looked much the same as when he left (blue suit pants and a work shirt, sleeves rolled up and front unbuttoned to reveal his white undershirt), with the addition of brown sandals and, perhaps, having run a comb through his hair.

"She wasn't in today," he answered, trying to brush back a couple stray strands that didn't want to stay put.

[samuraiprosecutor]

“Ah.” Edgeworth wasted no time in backing away from the door to give Wright room. In fact, his quick strides to the top of the staircase, where he paused and looked down into the empty courtyard as he waited for his companion to lock the apartment door, might almost have been described as hurried.

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix didn't seem to notice. He locked the door behind him and then slipped the keys into his pocket, joining Edgeworth at the top of the stairs.

"Are you in the back or the front?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

"The front," Edgeworth called back over his shoulder as he started down the stairs. The muffled clicking of his loafers on the pebbled steps and the occasional creak of the iron frame mingled with the television sounds still spilling into the quiet courtyard and the bubbling of the fountain at its center. Edgeworth stopped as he reached the cement path, waiting expectantly for his companion to catch up.