A/N: Most of the fic will revolve around these two becoming lawyer dads and but there will also be a little romance (think romantic comedy) between Phoenix and Miles. This story takes place two years after the DL6 retrial. I usually don't do AU's but I will try to keep this one as canon as possible aside from some of the age changes and a few dates pushed around but it will follow some of the main game storylines.

Ages and Main Characters for this story are as follows:

Miles, Larry and Phoenix: 26
Maya and Franziska: 19
Simon: 21
Apollo, Athena, Clay, Ema and Klavier: 11
Pearl: 8
Trucy: 6

"This has been on my mind for awhile now, are you saying it hasn't been on yours? It had to be with what you said about 'dealing with feelings' when you saw me again."

"It's not that simple, Phoenix. I'm…quite different than the little boy you remember growing up with. And even then we didn't know each other for very long. There's no rush."

"I-I'm not trying to rush, I've just missed you Miles. All those years I thought about you. Maybe I should have realized that it wasn't normal way back then huh?"

"I'm flattered that I meant so much to you, but why don't we rebuild our friendship first and then we will see what happens from there, alright?"

Twelve months later

Miles let out a sigh as he looked out of the window of the plane as they were landing. A year in Europe had done wonders for his mind, he thought. It was often the place he retreated to when he needed a break. He didn't consider it a vacation as he always seemed to find some kind of work to do when he was over there, but it was a different atmosphere.

Phoenix hadn't been happy when he heard about the planned trip, for good reason. He thought he would drop off the face of the earth again, just as they had begun building their friendship. He assured the other man that this time, he would stay in touch and he kept that promise through daily phone calls and texts. It was actually a nice change for him, something about the constant communication made him feel like a teenager again.

And truth be told, Miles needed to put a little space between them. Phoenix wasn't shy about wanting to extend their relationship beyond friendship and while he knew he was partially to blame for the other man's clinginess to him, it had begun to stress him out. It's not that he was completely opposed to the idea of being more than friends but things were moving too fast for him. They had gone from not seeing or speaking to each other, to reconnecting in a little over two years and he wasn't ready for that yet. It didn't surprise him that the other man was like that. From the short time he had known him as a child, that's exactly who he was. Not afraid to jump in head first, taking life on without over thinking or making any plans, the complete opposite of his own methods.

The physical distance seemed to calm Phoenix down as well. In their nightly conversations, he hardly brought up them furthering into a more romantic venture. It was appreciated at first, allowing Miles a welcome distraction from having to evaluate his feelings, something he was never really good at. But after six months, he began to miss the man's nagging for the discussion of feelings and he couldn't explain why.

He wanted to date me so bad before I left and now he doesn't even bring it up. Maybe I've pushed him away for too long and he's lost interest? What if there's someone else that he hasn't told me about? I never told him no, just that it wasn't the right time. Clearly he had to realize that I was still interested right?

Always afraid to face things head on, that was his problem. Too careful and worrying too much about the 'what if's' instead of enjoying what was there in front of him. It was the same kind of thinking and attitude that led him to cutting off his best friends for 15 years and he wasn't ready to do that again. He had missed Phoenix and he wanted him to stay in his life this time.

I'm ready Phoenix. It may have taken me a year longer than you, but I'm finally ready. I just hope you'll still have me.

Miles retrieved his luggage and headed outside of the airport, grabbing a taxi. Everyone he kept in touch with knew he was coming back this month, but he decided not to indulge them in a specific date. He didn't want anyone to meet him at the airport; he didn't want anything that could possibly deter him from his current mission. He directed to the taxi driver to Phoenix's address. It was early evening, so certainly not inappropriate.

He chuckled to himself as he looked at his bags. He was headed to Wright's apartment before going home to unpack, it almost seemed needy, but he didn't want to give his confidence a chance to dwindle. If he had gone home first, there was a possibility he'd give himself enough time to back out of the current situation.

The taxi ride was much shorter than he had expected it to be, though maybe he was just hoping he had more time to try and prepare the speech he would be giving in his mind. He paid the driver, leaving him a rather generous tip as he now stood outside Phoenix Wright's apartment.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. He's going to laugh when he finds out I came directly from the airport without even stopping home" Shaking his head, he stood there for a few more moment, giving himself one final chance to chicken out. Instead, he walked towards the door knocking.

The lights were on and he could hear some sounds coming from inside. When the door opened, he was met with a young boy wearing red shorts, matching hoodie and slick brown hair with the exception of two pieces that stuck up in the air in front.

"Can I help you?" The boy asked, looking over him intently, trying to identify the man.

"I…er, is Mr. Wright here?"

"No, he's not back from work yet. Do you work with him?" Making a slight gesture at the suit Miles was wearing.

"Yes, I'm an old friend of his." He stated.

"Apollo, who is at the door?" He heard a voice from the other room say, though this was a voice he recognized. The door pushed opened more and there was a loud squeal. "Mr. Edgeworth!"

That shriek could only belong to one woman, Maya Fey. Before Miles had a chance to respond, she enveloped him in a hug. "It's so good to see you! Nick didn't say anything about you coming back today, does he know?"

Miles offered her a stiff pat on the back, embraces were still awkward things. "Hello Ms. Fey and no, I decided to leave my exact date of return a surprise, to build the suspense. I see you are still working as Wright's assistant?"

Maya beamed proudly. "That's right Mr. Edgeworth! I went back home for a little while but now I'm back, because we both know Wright couldn't run the office without me."

Phoenix can't run his own law office without assistance from an overly excitable 19 year old? Sounds like an accurate description.

"But as you can see, I'm not assisting him today. I've got my hands full as you can see." She smiled gesturing down to Apollo. It was only then that Miles noticed a small girl clinging to the back of the young woman's robe, peeking at him over so often. "This is Apollo and this little one over back there is Trucy."

He extended his hand to the young boy, since the girl stayed hidden. Apollo eyed the hand for a moment before shaking it. "Hello Mr. Edgeworth."

"Er…Hello. And hello to you as well, madam."

Trucy let out a giggle and quickly ran back into the house. "Nick should be back in a little while. Do you want to come in and wait for him?"

Wright is messy enough on his own. I can only imagine what it must look like with all these little unruly children running around. "Ah, that will not be necessary, could you just please tell him that I dropped by?" He offered a small smile to Maya and retreated as she nudged the boy back into the house.

Miles got to his own home half an hour later, setting his bag against the couch as he made himself some tea. "It figures Wright wouldn't be home the one day I show up unannounced." He chuckled softly. He did wonder about the children though. Perhaps they were members of the Fey clan? Though the young boy wasn't wearing a robe and he couldn't see what the little girl had on. Maybe boys didn't dress the same as girls at that village. It wasn't entirely shocking though, this was the same man who let a teenager with no interest in law serve as his assistant in murder trials. He probably wouldn't oppose to anyone that was brought to his home.

Phoenix had gotten home about an hour after Miles left, Maya expected him to look more thrilled than he was currently looking at her announcement.

"Miles…was here? You didn't invite him in did you?" He sighed looking up at her as Trucy climbed on his back.

"Well I offered but he didn't want to come in. I thought you'd be happy to know that he came over to surprise you!"

"Daddy! I want a piggy back ride!" Trucy bounced, wrapping her small arms around his neck.

"It's not that I'm not….excited he's back, because I am." He mumbled, though his face didn't change.

"Sure. I can see you bursting with excitement alright." Maya replied, rolling her eyes.

He was about to speak but Trucy's arms were nearly choking him now. He grabbed her pulling her into his lap. "Hey, why don't you go ask Polly for a piggy back ride okay?" He smiled when she bounced off his lap running into the other room.

"Polllyyyyy where are you?!"

Phoenix laughed as he could hear the older child's groan from where he sat before turning his attention back to Maya. "I didn't…..tell him about, you know."

Maya tilted her head, staring at him for a second. "About wh-…NICK! You didn't tell him you have kids!?"

He looked down at his hands. "It never came up in conversation….."

"You spoke to him every day and in the six months you've had them, you never thought to say 'oh hey Miles, while you were gone I became a daddy'? No wonder he didn't seem to know them."

"I didn't want to do it over the phone. I wanted to sit him down and tell him in person so he could scold me face to face."

Maya laughed. "I can just imagine it now. 'Wright! Are you mad? What do you know about children or…responsibilities' Can I be there when you tell him?"

Phoenix glared at her. "No, you can't!" He got up grabbing his phone going into his bedroom, closing the door to shut out any background noise Trucy and Apollo were making.

Come on, you've been waiting to see him again for a year. Why are you suddenly so nervous? Because things have changed and are more complicated now. He's not going to want a guy with kids

Shaking his head, he dialed Miles' number. It rang a few times before he picked up.

"Edgeworth."

"Why do you answer your phone so formally when you know it's me calling?"

"A force of habit, you should appreciate it. It's better than the burps and other bizarre noises I have been sometimes treated with from you, Phoenix."

He laughed softly running his hands through his hair. "I heard you stopped by for a surprise visit?"

"Yes, forgive me. It was my fault for not checking before dropping by to make sure you'd be there." And I really wanted you to be there. Miles thought. "You had quite a full house though, not that I'm surprised. You always seem to have a mini arsenal of teenagers and such at your disposal."

Change the subject! "So, was there any particular reason you were dropping by or did you just want to let me know you were home?" Phoenix asked.

"Err…I, I wanted to see you and there were some personal things I wanted to talk about." Miles whispered, trying to contain his anxiety.

Phoenix could hear the nerves in his voice and felt his own heart speeding up. "Oh, well….I just wrapped up my latest case today and as you know, it usually takes a little while before I get another one, do you want to meet up tomorrow?"

There was silence on the other end initially. "Sure, we can meet at my place and order in. I'd…prefer the privacy."

He wants to meet at his house, not a restaurant. He had to brace himself against the wall before he collapsed to the floor. "Sounds great, I'll see you there!"

"Wonderful. See you tomorrow Phoenix." There was an obvious hint of relief in Miles' voice and the phone disconnected a few seconds later.

Phoenix tossed the phone down on the bed, still smiling. Was it going to happen? He'd waited over a year for Miles to get comfortable enough for them to start talking about their feelings. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard shouting in the hallway.

"Trucy! I told you not to pull my hair when I give you a piggy back ride!" Apollo yelled.

"But you have horns!" She whined in response.

He sighed softly. This talk was certainly going to be different than the one he expected a year ago.