[RL: Sunday, Noon - Lunch [Freud!Virus] | Phoenix; Edgeworth]

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix stared at the piece of paper in front of him. The prospect of eating raw fish didn't seem as appetizing as his lunch companion made it out to be, and the fact that he didn't recognize a single item on the list only served to make him more skeptical. Magura? Hamachi? Kani kama? Perhaps if there had been some kind of explanation, he may have been less inclined to set the paper aside in favor of the regular lunch menu, although that was a very large if.

As he scanned the selections, he sighed in relief. At least you couldn't go wrong with a teriyaki beef bowl, right?

Comments

[samuraiprosecutor]

At his words Edgeworth finally deigned to look up at his companion. He held his gaze for a few moments, then picked up his napkin and cleaned his fingers with a few quick, careful swipes. "You haven't yet told me your reason for bringing me here. Doesn't this violate some sort of...unspoken rule?"

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix stopped chewing, brows furrowed as he quickly surveyed the restaurant before his gaze fell back on Edgeworth. He swallowed. "What do you mean? I thought we both agreed to come here."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth blinked at him, his expression blank. "I agreed...?" A small wrinkle crossed his brow momentarily. "I agreed under the assumption this would be a professional meeting. Anything else lacks a certain...propriety." He leaned back in his chair, gesturing open-palmed across the table. "Now that the pleasantries have been observed, was there something you wished to discuss outside of our sessions?"

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix frowned, somewhat taken aback. If this was supposed to be a professional meeting, it was a fact that Edgeworth kept him blissfully unaware of until now. "Our sessions?" His eyes briefly flicked to the flask that set between them and he forced a short, apprehensive laugh in hopes of alleviating the sudden tension. "Maybe you should lay off the kanzake..."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Brows furrowing more deeply, Edgeworth eyed the flask suspiciously, then turned a glare on his companion. "You're slipping. By now you should have made at least some attempt to mine my emotional depths. You've yet to even bring up past traumas. It's quite unlike you."

[attorneyatlol]

At a loss and becoming increasingly uncomfortable, Phoenix simply stared. While digging was certainly a habit of his, he liked to think he knew when and where it was appropriate; past traumas weren't exactly on his list of ideal lunch topics. "Mine your emotional... what? Edgeworth, I don't..." His frown deepened as he considered his friend more closely. "Are you feeling all right?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

"A loaded question. Hardly up to your usual standards, but at least you're making some attempt." He shook his head dismissively. "I'm feeling as well as I generally do during our sessions."

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix looked around the restaurant once more, as if it would somehow provide him with a clue as to what was going on. As expected, he came up empty and immediately returned his attention to Edgeworth, further tensing under his companion's distrustful glare. He shifted in his seat and glared back out of habit. Was it getting warm, or was it just him? "What are you trying to say?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

"I haven't made it plain enough?" He crossed his arms, his glare fading to a cold disinterest. "You've obviously brought me here to discuss something. You're aware I'm not one for evasive tactics so stop employing them. Is this about the two...colleagues we discussed? Or perhaps Wright. He seems to be a subject you enjoy visiting. And revisiting. At length."

[attorneyatlol]

"Wright?" Whatever frustration had been mounting was quickly diminished by that single word, and Phoenix soon found himself tense for a completely different reason. He leaned forward, searching the prosecutor's eyes for a hint of something. Anything. "Edgeworth, it's me. What's going on?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

That was an...unexpected reaction. Eyes widening, Edgeworth leaned further back against his seat, carefully studying his associate. "Is there a problem? You're acting...strangely."

[attorneyatlol]

Edgeworth seemed entirely lucid, a fact which only served to worry Phoenix further. "Other than you're talking to me like I'm not here?" He leaned back and ran a hand over his face, pausing to cup his chin in thought. "Maybe we should get you to a doctor..."

[samuraiprosecutor]

An acidic glare met that suggestion. "Amusing."

[attorneyatlol]

Once more, Phoenix matched the glare out of habit, but it quickly softened to its prior concern. Edgeworth was certainly acting normal, but something clearly wasn’t right. "I’ll get the check,” he decided. Sitting up, he searched the restaurant and tried to flag Kim down a second too late; the waiter disappeared into the kitchen and Phoenix sighed, drumming his fingers on the table.

After a moment, he looked at Edgeworth, trying not to let his worry get the best of him, even as he asked, “Are you feeling okay? I mean, are you dizzy? Blurred vision? Anything?”

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth watched the display with a growing uncertainty that was reflected in the slight wilting of his glare. The situation was quickly taking on a sense of surrealism that was disconcerting. When his companion turned his attention back to Miles, he responded with a clipped, "I feel I should be asking you the same thing." Sweeping his gaze pointedly across the table, which was still covered with half-eaten (and quite expensive) dishes, Miles' brow was raised questioningly when he looked back up.

"Our lunch is unfinished and you've yet to explain why we're here. Until both of these are rectified I plan to stay." As emphasis he calmly lifted his bowl of rice and resumed eating.

[attorneyatlol]

It was obvious they were getting nowhere. With yet another defeated sigh, Phoenix glanced down at his own food and frowned; it seemed decidedly unappetizing now, but with little else to do, he retrieved his chopsticks and quietly mixed the contents of his bowl. "What did you mean before?" he asked after a few seconds of silence, affording Edgeworth a curious glance. "About me- I mean, about Wright being a subject we... revisit."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth paused, chopsticks halfway to his mouth, and glanced up curiously at his associate. "Just as I said. In the past you've seemed inordinately interested in him. One might almost say you were fixated."

[attorneyatlol]

"Fixated?" Phoenix paused and fixed Edgeworth with a more level gaze, brows furrowed. "How so?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

"You think it's normal to speak of him so often? Despite what you seem to believe, my life doesn't revolve around Wright. There are other, more relevant matters we could be discussing." As he spoke a mild irritation had bled into his voice, and when he reached for another bite of rice he stabbed the chopsticks into the bowl a little too forcefully.

With his food halfway to his mouth he stopped again, his brow furrowing slightly as he shot a brief glance across the table. "There has been a...recent development in the situation." Hurriedly he stuck the rice in his mouth, though not quickly enough to prevent the loss of a few grains that fell back into the bowl.

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix was about to ask what Edgeworth would rather discuss when the other man spoke again, and Phoenix quickly found himself tense once more. Suppressing the urge to whip out his cell phone and call for help, he swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a bit light-headed. "What... what kind of development?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

"A minor kind, though I'm sure you'll ascribe more importance to it than is necessary." A sharp glare at his associate before Edgeworth leaned back in his seat, setting the chopsticks on the side of his rice bowl. "It came to my attention recently that he's an...he's rather attractive. It was never anything I considered before, but in the nature of such things once it's come to your attention it's difficult to do anything other than acknowledge it."

His voice was uncharacteristically hesitant, and inwardly he halfheartedly cursed himself. It was a simple matter, really, and foolish. Whatever Ellison thought of it wouldn't change the reality of the situation. With an imperious tilting of his eyebrow, Edgeworth quickly added, "Before you jump to the conclusion I'm sure you're about to, the sentiment means nothing. For me, there's a distinct separation between idle fantasy and actual desires. Base urges are natural, but unlike some I attribute no more importance to them than they deserve."

[attorneyatlol]

As Edgeworth spoke, Phoenix could feel his face prickling with discomfort once again and his eyes wandered the restaurant nervously. The place was still relatively empty and no one appeared to be paying attention, though it did nothing to slow his pulse nor quell the sudden hitch in his breath. He hadn't realized his jaw was clenched so tightly until a dull ache throbbed in his temples when he opened his mouth to speak. "Edgeworth..." He began, uncertain, as he brought his attention back to the man across from him. "I- I'm sure he understands that, and so do I, but... Why are you telling me this?" Eyes briefly flicked as the host walked by, leading a couple to a table near theirs. "And do you really think you should be telling me here?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth shrugged; the gesture was far more nonchalant than what it was meant to hide. "I'm not advertising anything. My voice isn't raised and there's no one close enough for privacy to be a concern." He gave Ellison a measured look. "As for why, that's how this," he gestured between them, "works. It's unlike you to be questioning the release of such information. This is the sort of thing you usually hunt for."

[attorneyatlol]

For a moment, all Phoenix could do was stare until his tense muscles protested and he slumped, defeated, against the back of his seat. He brought a hand to his forehead and shot a desperate glance at the kitchen, but as expected, Kim failed to appear, and Phoenix hesitantly brought his gaze back to Edgeworth. He was at a complete loss. "Who do you think I am?"

[samuraiprosecutor]

"Supposedly someone who's meant to help me. Currently you're not managing it well."