just-an-average-fan

i am cringe and you cant take that away from me :]

hi! i draw stuff (sometimes) 🩷 i like a lot of stuff! hence the name 🩷 cis girl, but any pronouns are fine! 🩷 minor

215 posts

Miles & Pearl + An Act Of Kindness

Miles & Pearl + An Act of Kindness

Miles shifted in the stiff hospital seat as the girl sniffled beside him.

Wright had left her, frightened and alone, right there on the bench as he darted into the room to tend to Ms. Fey (she'd just been rescued, after all, and the hospital refused to allow more than one person in while she was still waking up).

All events conspired to leave one antsy Miles Edgeworth accompanying one weeping Pearl Fey.

He wasn't sure how to comfort her. How could he bring comfort to such a young person, who likely had no idea of object permanency and couldn't understand that her cousin was not gone, but simply recovering in the other room?

(It occurred to him that, perhaps, he did not understand children as well as he thought.)

The girl hiccuped again, silent tears trailing down her face, as her clumsy hands tangled in her shoelaces.

His fists automatically tightened their grip on one another as she scrubbed an arm across her face. "Everything alright, Ms. Fey?"

Pearl shivered through another batch of sniffles, still glancing to the side as she mumbled to herself. "M-Mister Nick always… ties my shoes for me."

He really should have asked. Miles couldn't explain what led him to act.

But he slipped to the floor in front of the girl anyway, kneeling on the rubber flooring in his suit pants while lifting her small foot to his thigh, taking her laces in hand. "I suppose he hasn't taught you, either. It's alright," he reassured her, looking up with sincere confidence. "The way shoe-tying is traditionally taught is really not as effective for little fingers."

Quitely, with patient words that his father used to whisper to him, he showed her how to tie her little sneakers, making small loops and twisting them up, double-knotted so they wouldn't fall loose. Then, she replicated his work on the opposite shoe, slowly and carefully working to follow his exact instruction.

When she was done, it was not neat or perfect. It likely wouldn't hold itself together for the hour.

"That's a wonderful job, Ms. Fey," he praised, smiling up at her. "It will take practice, but you won't need any help, soon enough. However, it's always alright to ask."

Miles worried he said something wrong when her lip wobbled, and he scrambled to pull out an apology that would stave off more of her sorrow.

Her tiny arms locked around his neck, and she buried her face into his jacket. "Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth."

-----

Phoenix shuffled out of the room, still agonized by Maya's condition and her lack of progress so far.

She would be alright, he urged himself. Everything would be alright.

His thoughts stalled completely when he caught sight of Pearl, snoring softly with her head resting against Miles' thigh.

He blinked a few times as the prosecutor met his gaze. "Wright! Is…" His voice dropped in volume as he startled awake, shifting his hand to cradle the girl's head for a mere breath. "How is she?"

Phoenix stammered his way through what the doctors shared while Miles nodded in silence. Then, still silent, he leaned forward and lifted a styrofoam cup from the ground.

"I got you… coffee. Well, Ms. Fey and I got you coffee, and I also got her a hot chocolate because she seemed rather… distraught, and I really hope that's alright-"

"Miles." The prosecutor's hand was almost frigid where Phoenix laid his own atop it, his knuckles bony and chilled, but somehow still warm underneath all those layers. "Of course it's alright. That's… It's wonderful. Thank you."

Miles blinked at him, stars shining below his brows, before his worry-tight lips shifted into something akin to a smile.

"Of course," he murmured, casting his eyes down to where their fingers curled together.