[RL: After Dinner - Friday, 7:00PM | Phoenix; Edgeworth]

[attorneyatlol]

As they exited the restaurant, Phoenix fell in line behind Edgeworth, dreading everything from the walk to the parking complex to the ride in the car and especially the ultimate arrival at Edgeworth’s apartment. He had somehow managed to convince the other man to share a glass of wine with him before the night was over—one last celebratory gesture for an occasion Edgeworth seemed to care little for. Unbeknownst to Edgeworth, though, a throng of people were expectantly waiting for him there, standing in his living room, sitting on his couches, possibly eating his food… using his facilities…

Stomach twisted in knots, Phoenix tried very hard to focus on the bright side: dinner had been pleasant enough and thankfully affordable; despite knowing very little about sushi, he had managed to locate a restaurant that was both ‘decent’ (according to Edgeworth’s standards) and reasonably priced (according to Phoenix’s), and while their encounters were never perfect, Edgeworth had at least seemed to be enjoying himself. …As much as he ever allowed himself to, anyway.

…Which just made the whole thing that much worse.

Phoenix sighed, and for the umpteenth time that night, he wondered how the hell he had let Larry talk him into this.



((OOC: Post-dated to tomorrow evening. ...or would that be this evening? Oh well. Whoo~))

Comments

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth set an uncharacteristically sedate pace as they walked. The evening so far had been surprisingly pleasant, despite the awkwardness of Wright's invitation. (The hour of the event wasn't the most convenient of times to invite anyone to anything, as far as Edgeworth was concerned, and he'd almost refused on principle alone. Only a lack of excuses and the nervous earnestness of his companion's offer had persuaded him to accept.) As with all of their previous encounters there had been moments of strained interactions or uncomfortable silence -- particularly on Wright's part, the man had been acting rather strange throughout the evening -- but overall the meal was a genial one.

As they neared the parking structure Edgeworth fished his keys out of his pocket, while his mind idly roamed over his wine inventory in search of a suitable bottle to top off the evening with.

[attorneyatlol]

When Phoenix heard the jingle of Edgeworth’s keys, a fresh wave of panic settled in. What would Edgeworth say? What would he do? Phoenix struggled with the prospect of coming clean; at least Edgeworth would know what to expect, then. But what if he decided not to show up at all? All those people…

All those people.

Phoenix shuddered. He was dead either way, really.

With a sigh, he made his decision. “Edgeworth,” he said, grabbing the other man by the crook of his arm.

[samuraiprosecutor]

The sudden touch startled him, and Edgeworth pulled up short to stare wide-eyed at the hand gripping his arm, then up. Wright's face wore an ominous expression of near terror that made Edgeworth's breath catch in his chest. Whatever had been bothering the man all evening -- the unnamed trepidation that he had assumed Wright would share if it was something he was meant to know -- had apparently just been deemed 'something he was meant to know.' With a sense of foreboding, Edgeworth frowned and replied, "What?"

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix’s grip tightened. “I just wanted to say… I had a really good time tonight.” A pause as he swallowed. “But…”

[samuraiprosecutor]

A chill crept down Edgeworth's spine. His eyes narrowed, though his voice remained calm.

"...But?"

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix swallowed again, his mouth gone dry. This was a lot harder than he thought it would be.

Forcing himself to keep eye contact, he continued, “…but I had ulterior motives.”

[samuraiprosecutor]

Ulterior... Edgeworth's mind went blank for several seconds, then filled with dozens of rather horrifying possible scenarios. Struggling to quash the fear spreading through his chest, he raised a brow and continued to glare at Wright.

[attorneyatlol]

Holding his breath, Phoenix stared back for a few, panic-filled moments before mentally knocking some sense into himself. It was best to be straightforward, wasn’t it?

“Larry’s at your apartment,” he exhaled, finally letting go of the other man’s arm and dropping his hand to his side.

[samuraiprosecutor]

With those simple words over half of Edgeworth's 'horrifying possible scenarios' were trumped. His voice became dangerously calm. "'At' my apartment or 'in' my apartment?"

[attorneyatlol]

“Uh… i-in it,” he stammered, and then hesitantly added, “…with other people.”

[samuraiprosecutor]

"What?!" And there went the rest of the scenarios, effortlessly trounced. A slow panic began to leak into his mind, quickening his speech and slightly raising the volume of his voice. "You let Butz into my apartment with--" his eyes widened, "...Who did he bring?"

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix cringed and backed up a step, throwing his hands up in defense. “I-I don’t know. People from the community…? I tried to stop him!” he quickly added. If he was going to die tonight, then damn it, he was taking Larry down with him!

[samuraiprosecutor]

"The community?" The possible outcomes of such a situation flashed through his mind, each one a more elaborate disaster than the last, and most of which involved destruction in some form or another. He fixed Wright with a fierce glare, and struggled to keep his voice level as he nearly growled, "He let them into my home, and you simply allowed it to happen?"

[attorneyatlol]

“I… er…” There were no excuses he could offer (none good enough to placate Edgeworth, at any rate). At a loss, Phoenix lowered his hands and simply slumped forward with another sigh, averting his eyes to the ground.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Wright's suddenly dejected posture gave Edgeworth pause; he bit back on another heated reply. It wasn't worth it, not without even a half-hearted attempt at defense, and not while unknown havoc was already being wreaked in his apartment. After treating Wright to another furious glare he turned on his heel and continued towards the parking structure at a near jog.

[attorneyatlol]

“Edgeworth?” Phoenix looked up in time to see the other man retreating. All he could do was watch, frozen on the spot while visions of confetti-filled chaos flashed through his mind. After a few moments (in which he imagined himself and Larry being punted off Edgeworth’s balcony or possibly being torn to pieces by Edgeworth’s hellhound), he finally gave chase. “Edgeworth, wait!”

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth's only response was to quicken his already fast pace.

[attorneyatlol]

Before they reached the car, Phoenix made another grab for Edgeworth’s arm, intent on turning the other man toward him. “Hold it for a second, will you?”

[samuraiprosecutor]

As Wright caught his arm in a firm grip Edgeworth halted and spun around in one sudden movement. "Wright, they're in my home. Whatever you wish to say can wait until after they've been evicted and the damage has been tallied."

[attorneyatlol]

He held Edgeworth’s gaze, ignoring the other man’s protests. “He just wanted you to have a good time,” he said sincerely. “We all did.”

[samuraiprosecutor]

The response prompted the increasingly familiar sensation of something twisting painfully in his chest. 'Damn you, Wright.' Edgeworth roughly extricated his arm from his companion's fingers then turned and hurried to the car. On the way he remotely unlocked both doors; as soon as he reached the car he slid heavily into the driver's seat, and sat with both hands clenched around the steering wheel.

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. The fact that Edgeworth hadn’t peeled out of the parking lot was as good a sign as any, he figured. After a moment of hesitation, he made haste to the car and slid into the passenger’s seat as quickly as he could.

Once the door was closed and his seatbelt fastened, he turned to Edgeworth, a meager apology on the tip of his tongue. At the sight of Edgeworth’s tense demeanor, however, the words refused to budge and he immediately snapped his jaw shut. Anything he said now would likely aggravate the situation.

With a heavy sigh, he folded his arms and leaned against the door, eager for the night to be over.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Despite Wright's haste the wait seemed interminable; as soon as the man was safely settled Edgeworth turned the key in the ignition, though he paused to determinedly ignore Wright's sigh before he drove out into the parking structure. At the exit booth he paid the fee without a word to the attendant, and the moment the bar was raised he turned onto the street with a slight squeal of tires.

[attorneyatlol]

The silence was quickly becoming oppressive, especially without any music to serve as a distraction. Phoenix frowned, casting a sidelong glance at Edgeworth every so often. The man was absolutely rigid, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as he stared intently at the road ahead, completely motionless.

“For what it’s worth,” Phoenix began before he realized he had anything to say, “I really did have a good time tonight.”

[samuraiprosecutor]

His anger didn't completely deflate. His fingers were still wrapped tightly around the steering wheel and his gaze remained fixated on the road ahead...but the tense line of his shoulders loosened somewhat, and his knuckles faded from white to his natural pale tone.

[attorneyatlol]

As Edgeworth visibly relaxed, Phoenix felt the tightness in his own muscles ebb away. It wasn’t much, but it was a start, he thought.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth allowed the silence to drag on a while longer before breaking it. "It was a...pleasant evening." The words were softly spoken, and he flicked his eyes to the passenger's side as he said them.

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix turned to Edgeworth, a bit surprised by the sentiment but no less grateful. He smiled. “Maybe we can do it again some time.”

[samuraiprosecutor]

A stoplight granted him the time to spare another, longer glance at his companion. "...Perhaps. It will depend on the night's other events." A smirk briefly flashed across his lips, but was gone by the time he returned his attention to the road. "It might be difficult to share another meal if I'm incarcerated for the murder of one Larry Butz."

[attorneyatlol]

“We can always dine in prison,” he joked, unable to keep the smirk off of his face, “should you find yourself in need of an accomplice.” He still couldn’t believe that he had allowed himself to be talked into this, that he’d even entertained the possibility that this could be anything close to a good idea. At least Edgeworth seemed to be a bit calmer.

Thank goodness for small miracles, he thought.

[samuraiprosecutor]

"You'd be willing to go to prison on my behalf? How touching." His smirk returned and this time it remained in place. "Unless it's less for my benefit and more for Larry's detriment."

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix’s grin turned mildly sheepish. “Er… how about a little of both?”

[samuraiprosecutor]

"As long as Butz is made to suffer, that will suffice." Edgeworth fell silent as he turned off of Sepulveda; his home was minutes away now, and a chill seeped through his limbs in nervous anticipation.

[attorneyatlol]

The turn caused Phoenix to look out the window, and upon realizing where they were, a knot twisted his stomach anew. There was one last thing…

He reached into his pocket. “I’ll, uh… I’ll call him and let him know we’re on our way.”

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth's only response was to glance at Wright, his brows furrowed slightly, then return his attention to the road. Prospects for the evening seemed grim. Socializing wasn't something he was completely comfortable with when it was by his own choice; when it was all but forced on him...

With a resigned sigh and a growing feeling of dread he turned in to the complex.

Continued here, open invitation!!