#ler!phoenix

Basically, Wright invited himself over for a 'movie night', and now they were here.

Miles felt a smile tug at his lips as he chuckled and shook his head at the utter ridiculousness of this situation. Phoenix looked over at him when he heard the noise, meeting his gaze.

He cocked his head to the right, not unlike a confused puppy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that before, Edgeworth,” Nick said, grinning softly. “What kind of thought just popped into that head of yours?”

Miles sighed and dramatically rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance at the ace attorney’s comment.

“I smile plenty, Wright. You just tend to annoy me more than you make me happy, so you don’t get to see it often.”

Phoenix blinked with a smirk, resting his chin in his right hand.

“So... I make you happy sometimes?”

Miles ignored the heat that rose in his cheeks and opted to answer Wright’s first prompt instead of his most recent one.

“I was just thinking about how childish it is that this is happening right now,” he said matter-of-factly. “Having a s—sleepover, I mean. It’s like we’re kids again.”

Nick giggled at how Miles stumbled over his words and turned away from him when he said “sleepover”.

He was kind of cute when he was embarrassed.

“Wow, I didn’t expect an honest answer from you.” Wright beamed. “I thought you were going to say something witty and then tell me to shut up and forget that you are capable of feeling positive human emotions.”

Edgeworth turned and looked at him again, silent but clearly amused.

“…I feel the same way, though,” The pointy-haired man said after a moment. “It’s a funny feeling to be doing this, but it’s nice, too. It’s like we’re making up for lost time.”

Edgeworth nodded. “Yeah. It is.”

Phoenix leaned forward and reassuringly squeezed Miles’ knee. However, he didn't expect the reaction that he got.

“Whoa! Whohohoa!” Edgeworth squeaked, jumping under the attorney's touch and inadvertently launching forward. He placed both of his hands over Phoenix’s in an attempt to keep him from moving again. “Ihihif you do that, I—I’ll kihihick you by accident.”

Nick’s face lit up as Miles turned his face away, still firmly holding the other man's hand in place on his knee.

"I—I'm really—"

"You're ticklish?" Wright interrupted, surprised glee spiking his tone.

A wobbly smile plastered itself onto the prosecutor’s face, and he hesitated before he answered. “…Yes, quite.”

Wright looked at him for a moment, almost as if in admiration. He had never seen Miles’ features look so… soft before. It was almost a shock, given the fact that the silver-haired man’s face was perpetually solemn most of the time.

Phoenix snickered before he speedily took his free hand and clung to Edgeworth's other knee, earning him a startled squeal.

"H—Hehehey!" Miles bubbled, attempting to choke his own giggles back and keep them locked in his throat. He released Phoenix's hand that he had been holding tightly against his knee so that he could cover his face. He couldn't let Wright see him like this. He was sure that he looked completely absurd.

"D—Did you nohohot hear me? I said that I would kihihick you!" He tittered from behind his palms, lightly tapping Phoenix's leg with his foot as a warning.

The defense attorney smirked.

"You must be really ticklish," he remarked with a toothy smile. "I haven't even moved yet, and you're practically in shambles already!"

"I am really ticklish!" Edgeworth whined, continuing to gently kick Phoenix's legs in protest. "Thahahat is what I have been tehehelling you this whole tihihime! Do you nehehever listen?!"

Wright raised his eyebrows and giggled at Miles' attempt to keep his tough-guy façade in place, despite the fact that he was clearly crumbling under the surface.

"No, no, it's not like that at all," Nick said, clear genuineness in his voice. "I hear you loud and clear. You just don't really seem like the ticklish type. Definitely not the type to fall apart at a tiny little touch, that's for sure!"

The prosecutor, at this point, felt his blush seeping into his neck and ears. He'd be surprised if Phoenix didn't notice it, despite the fact that they were sitting in very minimal light.

"So..." Wright continued, standing up from the love seat and plopping down on the floor next to where Edgeworth was still resting his back.

He took the bottom of the prosecutor’s shirt into his fingers and began fiddling with it, as if he was threatening to lift it up and reveal the man's belly.

“Can I hear you laugh some more?"

Edgeworth slowly uncovered his face after hearing Wright’s question, suddenly overtaken by a bout of courage.

Completely unfounded courage, mind you.

In retrospect, Miles had no idea why he said what he was about to say — maybe it was because he knew how it would end.

Still as red as a rose, Edgeworth hesitantly placed his arms behind his head and straightened his previously-bent legs, now laying down comfortably on the love seat instead of being huddled into one corner of it.

He looked into Phoenix’s giddy eyes as he attempted to stabilize his voice as much as he could.

“I—If you can make me laugh, sure.”

Wright scoffed at Edgeworth’s offer, mouth agape. “Are you being serious?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Miles, you’re acting awfully confident for the man who busted into giggles from someone touching his knee a few minutes ago. If you challenge me to make you laugh, I won’t have any mercy. I am being serious.”

Edgeworth didn’t think that he could get any redder than he already was, but he was proving himself wrong with every passing moment.

“C—Can you just start, already?!” the man growled. “I want to prove that I can beat you at your own childish little game.”

Nick shrugged, his whole face taken up by his smile. He was obviously looking forward to this, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“Whatever you say.”

That being said, Wright lifted Edgeworth’s top up, exposing his slightly-chubby belly and his lower ribs.

“Hmmm…” Phoenix cooed, looking over at Edgeworth’s face and studying his expression as he spoke. “I wonder where else you’re ticklish besides your knees… is your tummy bad for you?”

Miles looked down at the rival lawyer, unable to wipe the grin off of his lips or the dark flush off of his skin. He didn’t respond — he just pursed his lips with a grumble.

“Either you can tell me, or I can figure it out myself!” Wright chirped, abruptly wiggling his fingers around just above the prosecutor’s skin. Miles sharply inhaled and instinctively sucked his belly in when he saw Phoenix doing this — it was as if he was attempting to avoid the tickles that were inevitably coming.

“T—That’s not fair!” Edgeworth complained. “You’ll find out my worst spots no matter what I say!"

“Ah, you caught on quick!” Nick said with a tsk. “I shouldn't have expected any less from you."

Miles huffed at the compliment, anticipation clearly eating him alive.

“...But, think about it… if you just tell me instead of making me search, maybe I won't be as ruthless.” Phoenix purred, finally making contact with Miles’ skin. The prosecutor jolted away from the touch with a startled gasp. “Who knows?”

Edgeworth took an unsteady breath, preparing himself for his upcoming quip.

“I dohon’t think that you have a problem with searching, Wright," he said, more steadily than he expected. "Y—You do it all of the time — even unlawfully, at points.”

Nick shrugged nonchalantly. He was right.

"You've gotta do what you've gotta do, Miles!" He proclaimed. "And I suppose that means that you're not going to make this easy for me, huh?"

Edgeworth's eyebrows twitched upwards, surprised that the defense attorney even asked him such a question. “When I have I ever made anything easy for you, Wright?"

Phoenix chuckled lightheartedly.

“You know, it’s obvious that you’re putting on a brave face right now,” he noted astutely as he began lightly tapping his fingers along Miles’ ribs and enjoying the uncharacteristically squeaky sounds that he made. “It makes me look forward to seeing you melt into a puddle once I get you to break. You look really cute when you laugh.”

Miles whimpered through his giggles, exasperatedly flustered. The teasing made everything one hundred times worse — not to mention the flirting. What the hell was that about?!

To be fair, he didn't mind… he was just a little surprised, is all.

Phoenix began slowly circling his pointer finger around Miles’ belly button, resting his opposite elbow on the rose-colored cushion that the prosecutor was laying on.

The light-haired man squeezed his elbows forward in a feeble attempt to hide his dorky smile behind his arms.

He could already feel himself quivering under Nick’s touch and couldn’t believe that he had appointed himself into this competition that he was obviously going to lose.

Wright slowly spidered up Edgeworth's sides, intently listening to the quiet snickers that the prosecutor was clearly trying to suppress.

"Oh, come on, Miles. You know that you want to let those giggles out for me!"

"I—I dohon't know whahat you're talking about!" Miles denied as stiffly as he could. "It dohohoesn't even tickle that much!"

“Oh, it doesn’t?” Phoenix grinned, halting his feathery touches for a split second. “I think I may have to change that, then.”

"Wahahahait! You dohohon't have to—"

Before Miles could finish his statement, the ace attorney straightened his posture so that he could utilize both of his hands to drill directly into Edgeworth’s hips through his soft, flannel pajama pants.

The silver-haired lawyer barked out a surprised cackle before removing his hands from behind his head and quickly covering his face with them once again, obscuring his expression and muffling his laughter.

Phoenix rolled his eyes with faux annoyance as Edgeworth bucked and twisted wildly under his touch, occasional squeals emitting from behind his palms.

“Oh, please!” Wright teased. “Let me hear that laugh! Don’t try and hide the fact that this is killing you. You said it yourself — you’re very ticklish.”

“Ahahand you’re very annohohoying!” the prosecutor retorted, uncovering his face in order to irritatedly glare at the perpetrator of this tickly onslaught.

He didn’t succeed in actually looking irritated, though. He looked like an insurmountably happy man who was pretending to be irritated.

Miles… looked like he was having fun. He was unable to keep some of his childlike giggles from spilling out as he spoke, despite how hard he tried to stop them. It made him sound significantly less intimidating.

What else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t just continue allowing Wright to talk to him like this without at least trying to fight back! His situation was already compromising enough!

Nick grinned, removing his nimble fingers from Edgeworth’s hips in order to gain his full attention. “You just dug your own grave.”

Miles gulped shakily. “W—what do you mean…?”

“Don’t you think that you should be nicer to the person who has complete control over whether or not you laugh until you cry?”

Edgeworth’s eyes widened. He quickly slammed his arms against his sides, presumably protecting his worst spots.

He’d be surprised if his blush hadn’t leaked into the tips of his fingers by this point. Was Wright trying to kill him?!

“W—wait! Hohold on a second!” He blurted, his usually—unemotional eyes already sparkly with mirth and his smile genuine.

There it was.

That… soft expression again.

The gray-haired man’s features looked so… happy. It was like all of his callously cold edges had never been there.

Phoenix blinked as he stood up and began maneuvering himself onto Miles’ lap, the latter completely burning up as he watched.

"W—Whahahat are you doing, Wright...?" Edgeworth uttered breathlessly, looking up at his spiky-haired rival.

“Giving myself better access to you and all of your most sensitive spots, obviously!”

Miles exhaled as he shifted under the defense attorney’s weight. He was still smiling, though.

“D—do you have enohough room? This seat is a little small, especially for yohohour shenanigans.”

Wright chuckled. Edgeworth was quite the host — making sure that his assailant was comfortable before tickling him into oblivion. “Yes, I am fine. Thanks for asking.”

"Anyways, is this alright?" The ace attorney continued, resting his unmoving hands gently on Edgeworth's twitchy torso. "Do you want to keep on going? I'll give you the win a bit early, if you want. You've already lasted much longer than I expected, given how ticklish you are!”

Miles huffed, making eye contact with the man that was now sitting on top of him.

He wasn’t going to say it, but it was clear that he was appreciative of the fact that Phoenix asked if he was okay with what was going on.

To be honest, he was very okay with it.

Maybe slightly too okay with it, for that matter.

“I am fihine, Wright," Edgeworth chuckled. "...And I—I dohon’t want your pity win.”

Realistically, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to win this battle any other way. A pity win may have been the easiest way out.

If he wanted this battle to be over, that is.

Miles continued, finally catching his breath enough to speak steadily. “But…”

Wright nodded, indicating that he was listening. “Hmm? But what?”

“I don’t think that I’ll be able to handle having my hands behind my head anymore. I want to be able to fight back a little bit. We want this to be a fair match, right?"

Edgeworth kept looking up into Wright's eyes, almost impatiently.

Now it was the defense attorney's turn to blush.

Miles... had really pretty eyes. A cool, deep shade of gray.

Nick grinned softly, drumming his fingers gently on Mile’s top ribs through his shirt. The prosecutor let out a surprised, choked-out giggle before lightly smacking at the other man's hands.

“Of course we do. I'm ready when you are."

Edgeworth's eyes began darting between Phoenix's face and his hands — which were now hovering over his torso again, fingers wiggling — unsure of what the man's next move would be.

“I was being serious about having no mercy, you know. Don’t think that I’ve forgotten that you called me annoying, mister.” Wright remarked, quickly slipping his hands under Miles’ top again and taking hold of his waist. He immediately began kneading his thumbs into the area right below Edgeworth’s ribs, resulting in a loud yelp from the silver-haired man.

Miles shakily attempted to grab Phoenix’s wrists through the fabric of his own shirt, surprised by his sudden attack. “Yohohou’re evihihil!” He wheezed, his hair flopping out from behind his red ears as he bent his head forward to hide his face.

“Come on! Let me see you! I want to see the face that you make when you laugh!”

Edgeworth shook his head fervently, giggles tumbling past his lips as he petulantly swatted at Wright’s ever-moving fingers. “Nohoho!”

The defense attorney pouted, smoothly avoiding Edgeworth’s attempts to hinder his tickly progress by moving further up his ribs — an area that had already proven to be very ticklish. “Aww. Maybe this’ll knock you down a peg, then…” he cooed, firmly massaging his fingers into the sensitive bones.

Edgeworth’s laugh shot up an octave as he jaggedly tossed his head back, effectively revealing the expression that was previously hidden by his curtain of light hair.

What a sight to behold.

“Dahahahamn ihihihit!” Miles squawked, flailing under Wright's weight and taking handfuls of the man's t-shirt into his fists. It was as if the prosecutor was attempting to establish any sort of stability for himself as he continued to fall apart.

"You should know better than to defy me by now, Edgeworth." Phoenix teased cheerfully. "All I wanted was to see you smile, and you just had to be stubborn!"

As the spiky—haired man spoke, he steadily inched closer to the prosecutor's underarms — which was seemingly driving him increasingly mad, if his squeaky pleas had anything to do with it.

“Okahahahay! Okahahahay! I gehehet it! You—You’ve knocked me dohohown a peheheg! Stohohop this mahahahadness before I—!”

Just as Miles was about to finish his sentence, a loud sound rang through the air.

The prosecutor’s eyes widened as he slapped his hand over his mouth. “No. No, no, no. That didn’t happen. That didn’t just happen.” He thought frantically before looking up at Phoenix, who had stopped moving.

The ace attorney was attempting to look mischievous, but he really just looked overjoyed.

“Did I just hear what I thihink I just heard?” He beamed, incapable of holding back a fond chuckle.

“Nohohoho! No! I—I dohon’t know what you’re tahahalking about!”

Wright removed one of his hands from under Miles' shirt, his shoulders shaking as he giggled with delight. He pointed a playfully accusatory finger towards his very ticklish friend.

"You snort when you laugh."

"Whahahat? Thahat's ahahabsolutely preheheposterou—AH!"

Before Edgeworth could finish his response, Phoenix used his hand that still laid comfortably in the prosecutor's shirt to knead at his bare armpit — causing another snort to tumble out of the man.

"Shihi—hihit!" He exclaimed, haphazardly hiding his face in the crook of one of his elbows. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Loud, unadulteratedly boisterous laughter freely drifted through the room.

Snorts and all.

"No, I don't think it's preposterous at all. I just heard it loud and clear! A few times, actually." Wright grinned, leaning over the uncontrollably giggling Edgeworth to turn the lamp next to the loveseat on.

With this, the room was bathed in golden light. Phoenix ceased his movement at last.

Noticing that the tickly sensations previously plaguing his skin were subsiding, Edgeworth uncovered his face once more to look at his court rival.

His kiddish laughter was still bubbling past his lips. Tears of mirth pricked at his eyes.

Phoenix felt like his heart had stopped. He removed his other arm from under Edgeworth's shirt and placed both of his hands firmly on the prosecutor’s chest.

Miles' cheeks were tinted a rosy, playful pink.

His hair, instead of its usual neatness, was unkempt due to how much he wiggled under Phoenix's giddy hands.

His smile was so pretty. He looked so... pretty.

“W—Whahahat is that look on your fahahace for, you chihihildish dohoholt?” Miles attempted to snarl through his chuckles.

Nick gulped, letting out a forced giggle in an attempt to hide his blatant adoration of the man that laid underneath him.

“Your heart is just beating really fast, that’s all.”

Edgeworth scoffed, wiping his eyes with his shaky hands. “Wh—Whahahat did you expehehehect?! You juhuhust tihihickled the hell out of mehehehe, you ahahasshole!”

Wright nodded. “Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.” He said, tilting his head towards the ceiling and avoiding eye contact with Miles. “Is that the only reason, though…? The only reason that your heart is pounding like that…?”

The prosecutor was quiet for a moment, not including the leftover laughter that still occasionally slipped past his lips.

Even though Wright wasn’t looking at him, he could feel Miles staring.

“What kind of question is that…?” Nick said after a few moments.

He shouldn’t have said any of that. That was stupid.

“Obviously that was the only reason. Ignore me. I’m sor—”

“Nohoho.”

Phoenix slowly looked back down at Miles, who was still smiling and laughing. The prosecutor shook his head and gently placed his hands on top of Nick’s.

“You’re truhuhuly hopeless if you… reheheheally thihihink that the tihihickling is the only reheheason.”

The ace attorney’s face fell into a humungous grin, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

“I think that I know what you mean, but can you tell me bluntly…?” The spiky-haired man asked bashfully. “I don’t want to do something and then regret it because I misinterpreted your words, you know?”

Miles rolled his eyes, his smile still so large that it overtook his whole face. “Yeheheah, I get that.” This being said, Edgeworth firmly grabbed the collar of Wright’s t-shirt.