Phoedgeworth #2 ~ Turnabout Trust

Dead

I lost interest at first. I mean, there were no INTERESTING news stories on.

'Must be a slow news night, huh?'

I was about to change channels when the reporter's bored, sullen face lit up with new life.
'Ah! We have some breaking news just in! A young man by the name of Griffin Shellberg has been murdered!'
"Huh?!" I spluttered, suddenly sitting up ramrod straight.

'GRIFFIN?! No... H-he... He didn't listen to me!'

My heart pounded and I felt blood surging through me. "Here we are..." Edgeworth casually walked in, carrying a wooden tray with an ornate china plate lounging on top of it. A delicious smell wafted in the air, coming from it. He gingerly bent over and handed it to me. "Oh... Th-thanks..." I half-heartedly mumbled, my attention on the screen. "I'll just go and get mine.." He dashed back off into the kitchen. I stared blankly down at the plate. My hunger had long gone and been replaced by nausea. It looked so succulent and juicy though, as if he put his heart and soul into the presentation (which he had) and I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I forced myself to lift the glimmering fork and make it spear a sliver of salmon, using the knife to cut the delicate fish. Edgeworth came back in and sat down neatly on the sofa, looking up at the screen. "What's this?" He saw the headline. "Just a.. Murder." I numbly stated, pushing the fish into my mouth and chewing, feeling the soft flesh flake on my tongue and letting the irresistible taste spread across my senses, the slightly sour sauce oozing across my tongue and perfectly complimenting the sweet flesh. I loved it, but I wasn't hungry. Nevertheless, I allowed it to seamlessly slip down my throat. "Oh." Edgeworth nibbled a piece thoughtfully. "Do you like it?"
"Mm?" I jerked my head up from my OWN thoughts and stared at him, registering what he'd just said. "Oh, yes! I love it!" I grinned, gritting my teeth. "Heh... Thanks. I was worried."
"Nah, anything you make is perfect."
"I'm sure it's not as perfect as you..." He smirked, staring dreamily into my eyes as embarrassment blossomed on my skin. After a few moments, we continued to watch the news and eat.
'Now I hand over to our news correspondent, Julia Clarke.
"Thank you, Juniper. As you can see, I am at the scene of the crime where the local authorities are hard at work investigating. They have revealed an autopsy report to us and these are the details:
- Reason of death: Murder
- Murder method applied: The victim was pushed out of a window inside the house
The body was found outside the building, on the concrete pathway. There is currently one suspect - Violetta Jgearl."'

'Her surname's Jgearl....? Never heard that one before. Is Violetta just another fake name? Almost certainly.'

I glanced at Edgeworth once I'd finished. He didn't notice and was just finishing up. I continued to listen:
'"The murder occurred on 21 Mallaby Lane at approximately 4:45pm earlier today."'

'It fits... It damn FITS! She finished up the questioning with me, went off and murdered him and then instantly came here at 4:55pm...'

I clutched my stomach and rose, not wanting to see any more. "Hm?" Edgeworth directed his attention to me as he finished. "Oh I-I'll take the trays in..." I stuttered, but Edgeworth wasn't having any of that. "No no, it's fine. I'll take it."
"Plea-"
"Honestly, Phoenix... Make yourself comfortable. You're not my slave." Edgeworth airily laughed. "Yeah, but... You're not mine either!"
"Nn..." He sighed and gently put the trays down on the oak table, composing himself in front of me afterwards. "Huh...?" I mumbled, taken aback as Edgeworth suddenly jerked forward and the familiar sensation of his soft, alluring lips against mine came flooding back. At first, my shoulders went rigid and I lifted my hand to pull away, but Edgeworth had playfully batted it away. After a few minutes, I let out a small moan as I realised this was going to be a long kiss and let my guard down. I allowed my body to go limp as his hand firmly held mine in place and as he endearingly kissed me over and over. A little while later I was allowed to pull back and stumbled over the table, feeling extremely dizzy. Edgeworth stood there, not looking fazed in the slightest; "Phoenix, I love you..." He shyly smiled. "Sorry... I don't know what overcame me.." He gritted his teeth and his eyes wouldn't meet mine. Before I could respond, he hastily grabbed the trays and half-walked half-sprinted to the kitchen. "Nngh..." I felt drunk and groaned slightly.

'Hm.'

I hadn't exactly MINDED the kiss (in fact, I'd kind of liked it!), it just had come as a shock. Edgeworth hesitantly walked back in, apologising over and over; "Phoenix, I'm really sorry..."
"It's ok! To be honest, we're boyfriends so it doesn't really matter. I kinda enjoyed it, actually..."
"Oh. That's a relief because I did too... It was a spur of the moment thing, I guess..."
"Aha..." Edgeworth switched off the TV. "So, want dessert?"
"S-Sure, but I was kinda wondering if..." I paused. It was a stupid idea.
"Yes?" Edgeworth persisted.
"Never mind."
"No, go on."
"Nngh... I kinda wanted to maybe..." My voice quietened; "Go to the crime scene of this murder...?"
"Oh, sure. Are you taking the case or something?" He cocked his head slightly. "I-I don't know. I just want t-to go."

'AM I taking the case?!'

I wasn't sure. I didn't PARTICULARLY want to DEFEND Violetta and it wasn't like I could go around playing prosecutor, despite what Edgeworth did to save my life. "Well, after dessert we could go, I guess..?" Edgeworth pondered. "Yeah! I-I mean sure.." I gritted my teeth.

'Stop sounding so EAGER!'

Edgeworth nodded and smiled. "Ok, let me get it out of the fridge.." He rushed into the kitchen and I heard the fridge door open, but didn't bother to follow him. I threw myself back on the sofa carelessly. There was no TV to distract me. It was off. I sighed and constantly shifted. Approximately 5 minutes later, Edgeworth reappeared carrying two ornately decorated china bowls which were filled with 2 slices (1 slice in each) of mango cheesecake with a 'marble effect' and a dollop of whipped cream and 2 strawberries in each next to it. Once again, Edgeworth had exceeded my expectations by a mile.

"Enjoy."