Chapter 1

Miles sat at a bench near Gourd Lake waiting for Phoenix. He knew Phoenix tended to be late, usually because he didn't own a car or a license. He checked his watch for the time again, the expression on his face was not of agitation, but of deep concern. With the cases that Phoenix seemed to get himself tangled up in, Miles worried about his safety sometimes.

Although, maybe I should just save some of that worry for myself…Miles thought, finding it ironic that he, himself, was no stranger to death threats.

To tell the truth, Miles had thought he was late and had rushed to get ready and get there. He had forgotten his scarf and gloves. Not only that, he grabbed a lighter coat. The coat was warm and all, but this night was unexpectedly colder than he anticipated. His hands were getting the worst of it.

Phoenix puffed in exhaustion as he ran into Gourd Lake Park, knowing he was much later than usual. As he approached the lake, he saw Miles already waiting for him on a bench in front of the lake.

"Miles! Sorry I'm late..." Phoenix puffed out, taking a seat next to him, trying to catch his breath.

"Quite." Miles gave him a rare smile as he subconsciously rubbed his hands together for the millionth time. "For a second I thought you wouldn't show. Or worse." He gave a caring look at Phoenix, a look that would probably only be seen by the spiky haired attorney.

"Hey, I'd never leave you hanging." Phoenix said, smiling back at Miles.

Phoenix then realized that Miles was rubbing his hands together, trying to keep them warm in the chilly air.

"Oh, your hands are cold." Phoenix said, taking his hands out of his coat pockets, and enclosing Miles's icy hands in his.

"I was actually worried I'd be late and ended up forgetting a few needed garments." The warmth coming from Phoenix's hands felt nice against Miles's freezing ones. He wasn't sure why, but he seemed to feel a lot more easygoing ever since he started dating him.

What Phoenix didn't know was that he was followed. The followers being Maya and Mai.

"Hurry up Mai we don't want them to see us! Nick sure is mean, not telling me why he was going out!" The first reason being she thought Nick was going out to eat without her, but seemed impossible as he was in a rush to leave. So she was sure to see what events would unfold between the two as she now saw that he was on some kind of date with Miles. "Did you bring your camera Mai?"

"Yes, I did, but should we be spying on Phoenix and Miles like this? I don't know if this is such a great idea..." Mai said, holding her camera in her hands.

"Of course it is! Didn't you want to know where Phoenix was sneaking off to?" Maya said, a determined look on her face.

"Well, now we know, so maybe --" Mai started saying, but she realized Maya was no longer listening, since she was too busy watching Phoenix and Miles.

For a second Miles thought he had heard familiar voices, but disregarded it. It wasn't that late out and he knew couples liked going to the park when there was fresh snow.

"It's cold, but nice out." He referred more to the actual scenery than the temperature. Although Phoenix's warmth made up for it.

Mai had the distinct feeling that her camera would be used more than once. Scratch that, more than ten times.

Phoenix examined their surroundings quickly, deciding the coast was clear, and he slowly reached his arm around Miles, hugging close to him, affectionately rubbing his face against Miles's cheek.

"Give me the camera!" Maya whispered urgently to Mai, not even waiting for Mai to hand it to her, basically snatching it out of her hands.

"Oh, this is so cute!" Maya whispered as she clicked a few shots of Phoenix cuddling with Miles.

Mai just shook her head, realizing she was an accomplice to a blatant invasion of privacy.

Meanwhile, Miles scooted closer to Phoenix, letting the warmth from all the contact warm his body. He didn't realize how cold it really was until now. He couldn't help but think the way Phoenix expressed his affections were childish sometimes, although he didn't mind anyways.

"You know it's the Holidays for most people so they'd either be home or on some exotic vacation, Phoenix." Of course being with Phoenix was worth more than anything in the world, which included exotic vacations.

Mai really wanted to groan as she watched her film being used for spying. Maya must be proud. If she fails at being a spirit medium, she'd do great if she was part of the paparazzi. The only thing keeping her from making noise was because she didn't want to get caught nor deal with Maya for being angry at her for screwing up her chance at spying.

Phoenix knew that the scenery around Gourd Lake was exceptionally nice and romantic when it had just snowed so he decided he wanted to share that with Miles.

He got up from the bench and offered a hand to Miles, saying, "Wanna take a walk around the lake?"

Miles grabbed the offered hand.

"I think I'd like that very much." He stood up smiling softly. However, it was during this time of year he couldn't enjoy everything to the fullest. It was around this time I was convicted of murder...and also the same time I lost my father. Although his nightmare seemed to have stopped recurring, it always seemed to come back during this time. Maybe I should tell Phoenix this... Edgeworth didn't want to hide secrets from him anymore after all. He was so deep in thought he forgot for a second where he was located and why.

When Phoenix pulled Miles up from the bench, he noticed the slightly troubled look on his face.

"Miles...is something wrong?" Phoenix asked in some concern.

Miles felt himself suddenly pulled back to reality.

"Actually, yes. Do you remember when you defended me in court I told you about that nightmare I kept having?" He had started it so he might as well end it too. "Well, I still get it sometimes, even though everything had been resolved." He really wondered why he still dreamt of it.

"Oh, Miles..." Phoenix said, looking at him sympathetically.

Phoenix got up close to Miles and gently hugged him, not knowing how else he could provide comfort.

"It'll take some time to get over something like that…" Phoenix said quietly as he embraced Miles.

Miles wrapped his arms around him, surprised that he was already feeling a little bit better. He had realized why the occurrences hadn't been bothering him as much since he'd been with Phoenix. He knew he could rely on Phoenix in case he needed him. If he was ever in need of help, all he had to do was call. Dream or not, he decided wouldn't let his time with the person he loved go to waste.

"You know, Phoenix…We can't walk around the lake unless we move." The tone in his voice seemed to be a lot lighter than earlier and seemed to sound more relieved.

Phoenix smiled and said, "Alright, let's go."

As they began to walk around the lake, Phoenix nervously reached down and hesitantly took Miles's hand.

As they started walking, Miles felt Phoenix's hand take his hand. He returned the gesture by tightening the grip.

"Mai they're on the move! Come on!" Not waiting for Mai to say anything, she grabbed Mai and followed the two, making sure she wasn't seen nor heard. "Isn't this the cutest thing ever? I never thought Nick would be such a romanticist." Maya grinned happily watching the two.

"Maya...I think we should leave. They obviously want to be alone. We shouldn't be spying on them like this." Mai said as Maya dragged her after Miles and Phoenix.

"Oh, come on, Mai! You're no fun!" Maya said, not letting Mai go, trying to make sure they were behind trees and bushes so they wouldn't be seen.

Miles and Phoenix walked in practical silence, hand in hand, just enjoying the scenery and each other's company. Suddenly snow started falling out of the sky, making Phoenix feel like they were walking in a postcard. As they walked, a lovely clearing in the woods caught Phoenix's eye.

There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, and the snow covered trees framed the clearing perfectly. Phoenix tugged Miles over to the clearing and smiled at him.

"Wow...this is nice, isn't it?" Phoenix said softly in wonderment, realizing that he really didn't give nature enough credit as he examined the beautiful scene around them.

"So it is." Miles looked at the trees. It had been awhile since he had paid attention to his surroundings merely just to see and not for a case of any kind. It truly was a beautiful scene before them. Miles moved closer to Phoenix, laying his head on his shoulder. For once everything seemed perfect around them.

Maya watched the scene before them intently. "I hope they don't intend to just cuddle all night. You'd think Nick would try to kiss him by now." Mai held back the need to roll her eyes.

"Can we leave yet Maya?" All she got from Maya was silence as the other continued watching the two lovebirds.

Phoenix closed his arms around Miles and embraced him tightly, nuzzling Miles's head with his own. Even if it was freezing around them, Phoenix felt completely warm inside. In these rare times where he got a moment alone with Miles, the rest of the world dissolved away, leaving only Miles in front of him.

"I love you." Phoenix whispered in Miles's ear with a sigh.

Miles turned his head so that their lips were barely apart.

"I love you, too." Miles replied softly as he closed the gap between their lips, starting a passionate kiss.