A/n: Yay! I'm back! My friend lent me the Phoenix Wright game (I've only played the first) and I loved Edgey… and Phoenix… together… So I decided to "wright" this fic! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just pretend that the DL-6 incident never occurred, so this involves Phoenix and Miles as teenagers! Warning: may contain boy love!

Repayment

"It wouldn't be right for us to discuss things so intimately, Wright." - Miles Edgeworth

"*sigh* I was ready to hug it out with him, but he's just the same, prideful Edgeworth" - Phoenix Wright

I'd never imagined Miles to be overly sensitive to many things. I'd grown up with him, helped him survive when his mother died. He liked to say he wouldn't have gone on if he didn't have me for a friend. I tell him he would've, but he always denies it, brushing me off, telling me I was too modest.

And then he would jokingly say I should become a clown…

Miles himself wanted to be a defense lawyer. His father was a famous one and Miles often watched the trials. Class debates or trials, Miles won all of them. Larry and I quickly learned to pick him on our team (not that Larry was any good). On the weekends I would spend time with "Edgey" at his place, fixing up debate cards or having Miles lecture me on the importance of remembering how to cross-examine witnesses. Those weekends were the best, until one afternoon…

Mr. Greg, as he had us call him, usually locked himself in his study readying himself for trials until I left the house. I bearly saw him at all, ever. Then on that afternoon he came downstairs in a nice suit, better than the ones he wore to trial, and was rushing around like a headless chicken. Miles was as stumped as I was as to the reason behind it. Then he answered the door and in stepped the reason. The only reason.

Her name was Lilith and Mr. Greg was going to go on a date with her.

Miles nearly choked on his tea when his father announced this. I didn't mind. She seemed nice enough and if it made Mr. Greg happy, it should be fine.

Later, upstairs, Miles was angry. He threw a tantrum which was not at all unusual for teenagers at one point or another, but this made me question how I saw Edgey. He wasn't usually the type to get angry or throw tantrums that lasted longer than I could sleep (which was fairly long) and he never usually talked about things that bothered him. Least of all was he angry at his father.

This was the summer of our thirteenth birthdays. Sure, Miles and I both thought Lilith would be here one day and gone the next. But she wasn't. The next summer, she was still there. Finally, the summer after that they got married. Edgey had just turned fifteen.

The wedding was a beautiful affair, and since Edgey had no one else to bring (he didn't date), he brought me, his best friend. Larry often cried to me that he wasn't invited. I explained the crying was the reason. And also the fact he had another girlfriend. Her name was Alice and she was nice. A model in training… I was starting to wonder why Larry got all the good ones.

Edgeworth never changed as much as he did in the year after the wedding that was for sure. He wore long sleeved shirts and jeans, even when it was boiling outside. He'd often complain of a headache and not show up for school. He'd blow off debates and trials (though thanks to him I was getting pretty good, but I missed him at our table). The last straw came when he began distancing Larry and I. No longer did I come over to his house to play PS3, or talk about cars or discuss career options. Every time I called, Lilith would answer the phone and say he wasn't home, that he was out with this girl or that girl. I worried about him night after night, wondering what on earth would happen to make him hate me so much.

I figured it out just in time. And that is what led him to end up here, in my house, in my bathroom, in my bath tub, asking me to "not let him go home."

It was nearly twelve thirty and both of my parents had "retired" (as they liked to say) to bed at about half past nine. It was a Saturday night and I was sure they were expecting me to go out. They'd heard the stories from Lilith of Edgeworth dating this girl and that girl and getting home late. They probably thought I was a failure, never going out with anyone. They went to bed with their normal, "if someone wants you to go out tonight, don't worry, just leave a note and call us in the morning if you aren't back!" Some days I wished people would ask me. Others, I just wished Miles would call me.

"Miley," I smiled, remembering the childhood nickname and laughing at its relation to the "Hannah Montana" star. Don't ask me how I know about Hannah Montana; blame the girl next door, Pearls. Lying back on the couch, I turned to the first music channel I found. "Ugh, is Hannah Montana everywhere!?" I snapped, quickly flicking the television off and going to stare out the living room window. In the distance I saw a figure walking with a slight lean that was proceeding towards my driveway. I blinked once. I blinked again. The figure still came closer, though it looked like it was going to fall over. I knew it was probably just some drunken guy who wanted cash for a cab, but I still looked anyway.

I turned as the figure came closer to my door, but before I could leave to answer it came a knock and small, strangled voice saying "Nick!" as loud as it could, which wasn't very loud at all. Then came the scratching of a key in the lock. I couldn't believe it. Who else knew my name, where I lived and had my key…?

I could only think of one person.

Rushing to the door, I flung it open to reveal Miles Edgeworth, looking tired, sick, drunk and unhappy. I was about to say something when in he fell.

I caught him in kind of a hug, still in a daze by the fact he was here, in my house, in my arms. Okay, maybe not that last bit. "Nick," he mumbled into my shoulder. I exhaled. It wasn't that seeing Miles had made me winded or catch my breath… I just didn't know how long I'd been holding it for.

"Nick, I'm sorry." Okay, that took the carpet out from under my feet.

"Miles, why are you sorry. You don't have to be! You're here, aren't you? That is apology enough. Here, can you walk?" Miles chuckled drunkenly into my shoulder.

"You always were the only one I could trust to forgive me."

"What do you mean?" I was definitely confused. Miles looked up at me and smiled a worn out smile.

"I'll tell you, but first, is there any chance you have a cold bath?"And that is when I knew he was definitely drunk.

I helped Edgey into the bath, slowly, noting all of the black and blue dots that lined his usually pale skin. He blushed once he realised what I was doing, but you could barely tell under the flush of his cheeks from the alcohol.

"Still can't hold your alcohol?" I tried to lighten the mood. Miles simply mumbled a reply. I remember at the wedding, he managed to get drunk off of one glass of spirits. I had him laughing all night until we ended up back and his place and he curled up in a ball on his bed.

"I'll take that as a yes." I said. Miles had his eyes closed. I knew he could probably fall asleep like that, but I wasn't going to let him get out of explaining that easily.

I filled a small jug with cold water and flung it over his head. He sat upright with a start.

"Wright!" he said, glaring at me. I smiled my trademark cheesy smile.

"Edgeworth," I giggled back, poking him in the rib. It wasn't until he flinched ever so slightly that I realised what I had poked. The splotch under my finger had turned a nice shade of black.

"Edgeworth…" I whispered, tracing the outlines of the bruises as carefully as I could. "What happened to you?" Miles grabbed his elbow and looked away. He turned back to me and smiled like he was thirteen again.

"What else happens when you put a gang member in jail?" he said. I frowned.

"Miles, please, tell me, what is wrong? Why is this… why are you… Miles!" I could feel myself going to cry. Miles simply slumped in the bath.

"I'll tell you once you get me out of this bath, but please, promise me, after this, you won't make me go home."

I rubbed at my eyes while promising not to do the last thing that I would've done.

Thank God I was still roughly the same height as Edgey. I lent him a pair of my pyjamas and placed him on my bed. He looked so small and fragile after I had seen the bruises. He was tall, I'd give him that, but he had no muscle on him or any meat at all really. He curled up his usual ball and I sat next to him on the bed.

"Miles, are you able to tell me now?" He nodded into the pillow. It took him a few minutes to come out of his hunch and turn to face me. He looked deadly serious now. I gasped.

"Lilith."

It was all he said. In that one word, I felt anger and rage like I never had before. Lilith… hurt Miles? She beat him and made him give up his friends? She pressured him into dating girls? She…

"Miles! Why didn't you tell your father?" I questioned, shocked. But then I realised. Miles wouldn't tell his dad because Lilith made him happy and he wouldn't do anything that would get his Dad in trouble.

"I'm sure you worked it out." Edgeworth stopped talking for a while. I could hear his laboured breaths which made it sound like it was really hard to breathe. Like his heart was heavy. I wanted to release his burden.

"It all started after the wedding. At night Lily would come into my room and hit me, telling me how stupid I was. How I'd made my father miserable. That I should just die. She called me a fag, saying that I never dated girls and all my spare time I was with you… She said maybe she should hurt you and then I might date girls. I had to Phoenix. I had to do whatever she said. She said she'd hurt you and I couldn't let that happen, I wouldn't. She made up stories that I was dating girls and around the same time she said she'd cure me of my "gayness". That's when she started making my life miserable. She keeps me home from school the day after her beatings and then again after we had sex. It hurt and I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to think I was weak. I didn't want to hurt you…"

It was all said in a rushed breath that ended with sobs. I was in shock. Lilith had driven Miles to drink, to push me away… I looked at Miles. He was shaking like a baby and was in the foetal position, crying. I felt and urge rush over me and I gave in to it. I hugged him as tightly as I could against my chest, letting him cry all over my shirt, clinging to it and repeatedly saying that he was sorry. I patted his hair and his back.

After what seemed like hours he stopped.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Miles. Anything that lady did, she should be sorry for it. Not you. It wasn't your fault; you don't have to punish yourself!" Miles' pale eyes looked up at me, glistening. I smiled at him. Then I glanced at the clock. 3.00 AM read the lights on the display. The door was still open and Edgey didn't look like he was going home any time soon (not that I would let him).

Unhinging him from my shirt, I got up to cross to the door, when I felt a weight on my back. Edgeworth wrapped his arms around my waist placing his head between my shoulder blades. I gasped in shock.

"Thank you," was all he said and he slumped back to the bed. I continued my quest for the door and closed it before jumping back into the bed.

This set up reminded me of our sleepovers we had when we were about 9. Except it usually wasn't this late, Miles wasn't crying and he certainly wasn't this close. His head lay on top of my chest and he appeared to listening to my heart beat. I smiled, playing again with his hair. I didn't know he was still awake.

"Wright," Edgeworth said sternly. I stopped playing with his hair.

"What is it Miles?" I said, shocked. He turned his face up to me and stared me in the eyes, like he was judging my reaction. He suddenly got up, leaving me cold because his body was very warm as it was lying on top of mine. Then suddenly I felt a weight on the bed, his legs were to the left of mine yet his arms were on either side f my head. I barely had time to notice his face before it came crashing down on mine.

Edgeworth was kissing me…

And I liked it.

I reached up my arms and wound them around his back moving them up to his head, fighting back with as much force as I had. Edgeworth, clearly surprised by this outburst, fought back harder. I felt his body collapse on mine. Our breathing was jagged in the same rhythm and I finally understood:

Edgeworth pushed me away because he loved me. And tonight had given me the chance to repay him for his suffering.

A/n: Please tell me if you want another chapter or something… I have planned this to be a one-shot, but you can review and say you want more. Phoenix Wright has officially ended my 1.5 year hiatus… Hooray! Please review! TSA