lucathia

Title: All it Takes is an Earthquake
Fandom: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney / Gyakuten Saiban
Characters: Gumshoe+Edgeworth
Rating: PG
Word count: 1037
Summary: Gumshoe thinks Edgeworth is not as cold as people think he is. The detective is determined to make Mr. Edgeworth smile.

This was my second submission for

yaoi_challenge. I wrote it very, very quickly, unlike the other fic. Here's the fic again with some more editting, as I really didn't get a chance to edit it before submission. The first fic is still under editting. ^^

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When Dick Gumshoe first meets Miles Edgeworth, his first impression is one of awe. At the mere age of 20, Miles Edgeworth is already a ruthless prosecutor. He comes out of every case as the victor, not once letting the defense best him. Despite this, the detective has not seen Mr. Edgeworth smile happily. Not even once.

Those who have worked with Edgeworth tell tales of his unrelenting digging, of his meticulous prosecution. Edgeworth stops at no boundaries and has no qualms with digging up even the nastiest of histories. In the courtroom, Edgeworth is like the devil, some say, and even Gumshoe is wary of Mr. Edgeworth's wrath despite not being the one Edgeworth is prosecuting. Edgeworth just has that kind of presence. He appears to others as an unbreakable man, always presenting to the world a calm and confident facade.

Gumshoe however, is one of the few who is privy to Mr. Edgeworth's secret fear.

He is handing Mr. Edgeworth evidence for his latest case when it happens, when their entire world starts shaking. One moment, Gumshoe is looking at the frills on Mr. Edgeworth's cravat, noting how the frills shake like new born kittens out in the cold, and the next he is staring at Mr. Edgeworth's huddled back.

"Mr. Edgeworth?" ventures Gumshoe hesitantly.

When no answer comes, Gumshoe blinks. He tries calling his name again, but Edgeworth does not move from his huddled position.

The earthquake is long over, but Mr. Edgeworth continues to shake.

If it had been anyone else, they might have continued to stare at Edgeworth's back, gleeful for discovering Edgeworth's secret fear, or they might have just stared confusedly, not knowing what to do. But Gumshoe is not like anyone else. He kneels down next to Mr. Edgeworth and places a comforting hand on the other man's back.

"There, there," says the detective. "The earthquake is over! No need to uh, be afraid anymore. Yeah, that's right!"

The detective is not the most eloquent of men, but his heart is always in the right place. Edgeworth comes out of his daze at the feel of the detective's warm hands. He stands up quickly, knocking away the detective's hands, and snaps out "Not a word to anyone!" before hurrying out of the room.

Gumshoe answers with a loud "Yes sir!" even though Edgeworth is already far from hearing range. The detective is left staring at nothing, not Mr. Edgeworth's frills, nor his huddled back. He wonders if the event has happened at all sometimes, for the next time Gumshoe sees Mr. Edgeworth, it is in the courtroom when he's giving testimony against the defense. When Gumshoe slips and says something that is contradictory, Edgeworth calmly asks whether Gumshoe is seeking to have his pay lowered.

Just like always.

Mr. Edgeworth is not as cold as people think he is, Gumshoe has realized. Mr. Edgeworth's calm exterior is partly something he uses to protect himself. Gumshoe is still as awed by Mr. Edgeworth as always, but in addition to that, Gumshoe is overwhelmed by the need to do something for Mr. Edgeworth.

Quite soon afterwards, Gumshoe receives proof that the event was not just something he thought up on his own. One day when a group of elementary school kids came to visit the courtroom, it is as if a stampede has taken over. With all the kids running through the hallway, the entire place shook. Gumshoe looks on fondly until he sees Mr. Edgeworth gripping the sides of the doorframe tightly, unwilling to take a step further. The detective blinks stupidly for a few moments until a lightbulb goes off in his head. He turns around and grabs the nearest kid.

"Hey kid, no running in the hallways!" He says gruffly.

The kid gives off an "eep" before nodding. Gumshoe smiles widely and pats the kid on the head.

"Good boy. Tell the rest of your classmates too!"

As the detective and the boy round up all the students, the shaking finally stops. The teacher, a pretty woman in her late twenties, comes over to thank Gumshoe, her relieved voice almost drowned out by the loud chattering of the kids. The detective grins, saying that it was no problem. He did it for Mr. Edgeworth, after all.

When Gumshoe glances back, Mr. Edgeworth has finally let go of his death grip on the doorframe. His lips are pursed in a thin line that turns downwards ever-so-slightly, and Gumshoe wonders again what could ever make Mr. Edgeworth smile. He tries catching Mr. Edgeworth's eyes to reassure him that the courtroom has stopped shaking and that everything's going to be fine now, but the other man quickly averts his gaze and leaves Gumshoe there alone to deal with the boisterous kids and their tired teacher.

Gumshoe brings in a short story by Murakami Haruki to read to Mr. Edgeworth one day. The story is called "Super Frog Saves Tokyo." In the story, a giant frog appears in the main character's house, asking for Katagiri to help save Tokyo by stopping an earthquake that is about to happen.

"The earthquake is caused by Mr. Worm," reads Gumshoe, pitching his voice higher to play the frog's parts. "When he gets angry, the world shakes."

The detective hopes that the story can lesson Mr. Edgeworth's fear of earthquakes, and maybe even bring a smile to his face, but before Gumshoe even finishes the story, Edgeworth stops him with a frown.

"That story is utter rubbish," declares Mr. Edgeworth. "I don't have time to waste right now."

Gumshoe leaves Mr. Edgeworth's office feeling dejected. It is only later that he realizes he's forgotten his copy of the story in Mr. Edgeworth's office. When he heads back to get it, he notices that Mr. Edgeworth is reading the end of the story.

Gumshoe leaves happily without retrieving his story.

The next time Mr. Edgeworth has a case, Gumshoe brings lots of strips of colorful paper with him. While he watches Mr. Edgeworth prosecute, he cuts the paper up into little squares, stars, and even frogs. At the end of the case, Gumshoe gleefully tosses the confetti into the air.

"Congratulations Mr. Edgeworth! For winning brilliantly once again!"

Edgeworth berates him for the mess and walks away, but Gumshoe thinks that he saw Mr. Edgeworth's lips turn up ever-so-slightly.

The detective counts his efforts a success.

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