Tifa & Yuffie II

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix huffed "Miles...don't give me that, something's bothering you and, as your childhood friend, I believe I am entitled to at LEAST a brief reason why you're so distracted, even if you really don't want to tell the whole story" he persisted, wanting to at LEAST hear some sort of EXCUSE from Edgeworth before he gave up asking.

[Tifa Lockhart]

But he'd pushed past a line that Edgeworth kept drawn in the sand, and crossing it meant the end of all possible conversation.
"Don't push the issue, Wright." He snapped, serving Phoenix the coldest glare he could muster, "I don't want this meeting to end in the same fashion as our last, but if you keep pestering me i'll have Apollo pull over and i'll WALK home." The moment he broke eye contact it became VERY obvious that this discussion was OVER, and there was no re-kindling it.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix recoiled as if Edgeworth had punched him rather than simply glaring. He wanted to say more but thought better of it, and remained silent, looking the other way.
Trucy sighed, 'adults' she thought 'always bickering...'

The silence lasted right up until they reached the apartment, and even then the tension was still obvious. Phoenix plucked his keys to the door from his pocket, moving forward to unlock it. He opened the door and waited for the others to go inside first.
"Thanks, Daddy" Trucy smiled, skipping inside "ah! finally home!" she sighed stretching her arms and yawning.
"yay! home!" Maya skipped in nodding a thankyou to Phoenix "Now I can watch that Steel Samurai Episode that I taped~!" she skipped excitedly to the couch, like a child running to the tree at christmas.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Edgeworth climbed from the van and corrected his hair with a quick brush of a knuckle, that done he pulled his briefcase and wheeled suitcase out of the back and silently followed everyone inside. He didn't plan on lingering long, but he wanted to at least make sure he'd farewell-ed everyone properly.

He'd never been to Wright's apartment before, preferring to conduct all visits at the offices. He wasn't surprised by its appearance though, the predictability of the place almost made it homely. The furniture was ragged build-from-a-box rubbish that one could buy at any low-grade second-hand furniture store. Every flat surface was nearly over flowing with assorted items of varying importance, and the TV crackled angrily the moment Maya turned it on.
One day Phoenix will learn to press his clients for money as well as he presses witnesses for the truth in court... He thought to himself, not noticing that a tiny fond expression had crept on to his face. There was one thing missing from this apartment that he'd always scorned at the offices, and that was the assorted take-out-food wrappers lying around. He'd not seen them around either when he'd visited Phoenix last, so he could only assume that Apollo - or Trucy - were cleaning them all up. That or they were eating less junkfood.
Believable when Maya wasn't around... not so much now. He found his eyes wandering to the TV to see what episode of the Steel Samurai it was that Maya had taped, but he quickly stopped himself, not wanting to overstay his welcome.
"I'd best be going, Wright." He announced, so his blue suited friend had no choice but to hear him, "It's very late and i've work tomorrow. The pile of paperwork on my desk will be suffocating by now."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix wasn't surprised when Edgeworth announced he was going to leave, but he didn't want to leave off the night with the two of them having just had a fight. "uh, Edgeworth? shall I walk you home? I mean surely your bags are quite heavy right?" he asked, turning to face the other man. He was nervous to ask so out-of-the-blue, but he wanted to make sure the little re-union ended on a good note, rather than the way it was at the time.

Trucy had wandered off to the kitchen to get herself a quick dinner, sitting down next to Maya to learn what it was she was so interested in, it wasn't so appealing to her as it was the Maya, but it gave her something to do. Maya hardly noticed, eyes fixed on the Television screen as the opening credits finished and the show began.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Edgeworth looked as though he might refuse at first, his glare returning and his fists tightening around the handles of his bags, but then something else crossed his expression and he looked at the floor, the muscles in his face gently loosening.
"Alright, Wright. As long as you're sure you want to be going out anywhere this late." He offered his Briefcase over to the other man, but kept his wheely-suitcase himself.
It seemed he wanted this meeting to end on a good note as well.

"Well i'm crashing." Apollo announced with a loud yawn and a wide stretch, "Nice meeting you Mr. Edgeworth." He then turned his eyes on to Phoenix, "I'll probably be in court by the time you wake tomorrow, so i'll see you tomorrow afternoon." He gave a wave and turned to disappear into his bedroom.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix was happy that Edgeworth accepted and carefully took the briefcase "It's fine, I don't mind at all" he replied, smiling slightly. When Apollo announced he was going to bed Phoenix looked over and waved to him "alright, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then" he said, then turning his gaze back to Miles.
"shall we go?" he asked, pointing to the door.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Edgeworth spared Apollo only the briefest of looks when he bid him farewell, passing his gaze straight over Phoenix and onto the doorway as he gestured that he was ready to leave.
"Don't drop that, Wright." He warned, gesturing absently to the metal briefcase as he descended the creaking decrepit stairwell that lead up to Phoenix's shabby apartment. He cringed to think that his friend could stand to live somewhere so... quaint - for lack of a NICER term.

The prosecutor paused to wait for Phoenix after his feet had hit the pavement, but once the blue-suited man was beside him he started his brisk walk down the path to the more... upmarket part of town where his apartment was located. He was just WAITING for Phoenix to start badgering him again, after all, it wasn't in the former defense attorney's nature to let something go.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix might have gone on to do so had he not been pre-occupied thinking of ways to ask -nicely- how Franziska was. He was also contemplating whether to ask at all, but decided he would "so...how's the...'Wild Mare' was it?" he asked, looking over to Edgeworth, hoping to lighten to obviously tense mood with some conversation, though it would probably be short-lived.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Edgeworth's immediate reply was a strange bark that might have been a laugh, though it couldn't really count as one. There was then several seconds worth of silence before he went on to actually answer the question.
"She's well, and her reputation grows quite strongly in Germany." He tugged at his lapel a little, "Her struggle for perfection is largely superficial these days, her ability to cope with losing in improving, though she remains impossible to speak to when dealt a loss." The tiniest of smiles crossed his lips. Despite all her faults, Edgeworth was very fond of his little sister.
"She asked about you often, something like "Has that fool returned to the REAL world yet?"" He spared Phoenix a side long glance of murky grey briefly. "She'll be glad to hear you're returning to law."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix was surprised to hear that Von Karma had been asking about him "really? that's surprising, I would have thought she'd be somewhat glad to hear of me being kicked out! you know, I could swear she hates me, but there are times that leave me to wonder..." he remarked, looking somewhat confused "there are some times when that woman really confuses me" 'in fact, that's most of the time...' he added silently.
"Dare I ask how work has been for the two of you?" he ventured, half-expecting Edgeworth to mutter "don't go there" or something along the lines...knowing Franziska, arrogance fights had probably made life difficult for the both of them...each trying their best to be better than the other in any way possible.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"She considers you her only worthy rival... your return to law will probably be the trigger that brings Franziska back to America." He looked at Phoenix again, as if waiting for the terrified look he expected to cross his face. When Phoenix asked about their time together he winced, his expression darkening for a moment. He thought about not replying, but he didn't want to kill the conversation.

That, and whenever he was alone with Phoenix, he found himself able to talk about the things he would normally keep quiet. It was a little annoying.

"The case she was struggling with is a messy one." He admitted, shaking his head a little, "It would seem the defense is being paid to turn the blame off of the defendant onto their brother, though the brother is innocent of any crime." The look of disgust that came on to Edgeworth's face whenever he spoke of criminals was even darker than usual now. "She's in a tight spot, trying to prove the defendant did it, while also bringing the defense to Justice." He glanced across the road as another person - sillouhetted by the lamp post they were passing - walked in the opposite direction to them. "But i think we got the ball rolling well enough that she can handle it herself."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix shuddered when Edgeworth suggested that the whip-wielding Demon might return to America, he'd always hated facing her...she was just really annoyingly good at being a prosecutor...and a royal pain.

When Edgeworth, in turn, winced at the mention of their work, Phoenix couldn't help but chuckle.
"sounds like a tough case, but I'm sure She'll be right...after all this is Franziska we're talking about, if anyone can get a guilty verdict it's her or you!" he remarked, slipping his free hand into his pocket, making sure he still had a firm grip on Edgeworth's briefcase.
"Attorney's who can be easily bribed to bringing injustice just aren't cut out for the job" he sighed, shaking his head.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"And there are an increasing number of them on both sides of the court." Edgeworth replied, glancing down at his watch, only to find it was too dark for him to see the numbers, so he gave up. The two of them fell into one of their awkward silences, the kind that even Edgeworth - who favoured peace and quiet over meaningless banter - found uncomfortable. Miles frantically searched through his database of meaningless questions to try and find something to talk about before the conversation could stray back to a topic regarding his thoughts and feelings.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix yawned as they continued walking "must be getting pretty late, huh?" he stated "but I suppose it's a nice night for a walk, not too cold at all, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, looking up at the night sky, a sleepy look in his eyes. He could just about fall asleep on the pavement, if he didn't have any common sense nor dignity at all.