ACE ATTORNEY AU

[enigmaster]

Comments

[agoodname]

At the very least. They should absolutely be giving me a raise.

[enigmaster]

Mhm, honestly. [And Edward will just listen to Oswald complain about work. It's weirdly nice...? And it makes for a good thing to talk about during dinner. Until that's through, anyway...]

[agoodname]

[good thing Edward likes to hear about this, because it's also nice just to be able to vent a bit. But yes, that'll easily take them through dinner and clearing up--not just complaining, though, he'll idly talk about a couple cases in vague terms. He's got one that's murder, and another that's illegal parking.

So.

Bit of mood whiplash with those.

Eventually, though, they'll be able to settle on the couch with the last two glasses of wine from the bottle.]

[enigmaster]

[Edward settles close to Oswald, becoming more and more comfortable with that lately. It's starting to feel just... normal. Which is nice. Edward sips his drink and... is quiet, for a moment. Not sure how to bring up the, ah... the thing from before...]

[agoodname]

[Oswald seems to be well into relaxed, at least. He lets out a bit of a sigh as he settles on the couch, reaching up to finally loosen his cravat and pull it from off his neck, tossing it carelessly on the coffee table.]

Well? What shall our evening activity be?

[enigmaster]

[Mmmmm and Oswald isn't bringing it up. Which makes Edward wonder if he should or not. Maybe this isn't quite long enough after and he should give it a few days. Or maybe Oswald just really doesn't want to talk about it at all or... ...So Edward ends up. Kind of quiet. Lost in thought about this issue.]

[agoodname]

[No answer. Oswald blinks at that, turning his head, looking up at Edward] Edward?

[enigmaster]

[Edward blinks and looks up again.] Huh?

[agoodname]

Everything alright?

[enigmaster]

Oh, um... Yes. I'm fine. [He is...] Sorry, I was just... [He trails off and is quiet for a moment. But...] ...Is... everything alright with you?

[agoodname]

...you mean, aside from my office woes?

[enigmaster]

...Yeah.

Aside from that.

[agoodname]

[Oswald frowns, slightly, looking down into his wine glass]

Is this about dinner?

[enigmaster]

...Yeah.

[agoodname]

[and Oswald goes quiet for a moment, staring down at his wine. Where to even start?] ...I've never lived anywhere without my parents. I never moved out. I always stayed with them, because it was my home. And we're....we were close. And after they died, I...that was the first time I'd ever lived alone. [his chest hurts, stomach twisting into knots, and he's starting to blink perhaps a bit more than he needs to.] And having you here, too, it's...it's wonderful. [his voice sure is getting a little wobbly though] It reminds me, sometimes, of how much I've missed that, since they died. Having someone else around.

[enigmaster]

[Edward's quiet for a bit, as he just listens and then does his best to take it in. This is something that's harder for Edward to understand. Never having had that... trying to imagine losing it... It would just feel inevitable, if he did. But it had been like that, always, for Oswald. Until suddenly it wasn't.] I'm sorry, it... um... It must be difficult. Missing them like that...

[agoodname]

It's--[and he stops, sucking in a bit of a breath, because it is difficult. And he sniffles a bit]--it's a bit difficult, yes. But they're...they're still here! [he tries to force some kind of brightness into his tone, but it falls a bit flat] Kind of.

[enigmaster]

...Yeah. [They are, still. Except...] ...Does that help, though, if... if you can't see them? [That's even harder for Edward to imagine. Not seeing the dead is just... he has no idea what it's like. Just... not seeing ghosts. He can't imagine the feeling of knowing someone is there but not being able to see or hear them. What that would feel like.]

[agoodname]

[that's....a difficult question to answer] ...yes and no. [he swallows] On the one hand, it's comforting to know that they're there. That they're with me. That I can tell them things and they can answer. But...it's like they're almost within reach but aren't. Because I can't...I can't see them. Or hear them. [his voice wobbles again, precariously, and he sucks in another breath, lifting a hand to scrub at his eyes] I can't touch them. I can't hug my father or kiss my mother goodbye, I--[his voice breaks, then, and he stops, looking away, trying to compose himself. Then, after a moment, in a small voice:] --I just miss them.

[enigmaster]

Oh... Right... [Yeah. That... makes sense. And it sounds kind of awful, actually. Not even being able to see or talk to someone you miss so much, even though they're right there...] ...I wish I could do anything to help with that...

[agoodname]

Edward--[and Oswald turns on the couch then, to face him, reaching out thoughtlessly to take his hand] Edward, you do help. I wouldn't even know that they were there if it weren't for you. [he's...very earnest about this] I really, truly appreciate what you've done for me. And I'm sorry that I reacted so badly about it the first time, when you were just trying to help.

[enigmaster]

[Edward looks up, blinking a little.] Oh, that's... No, that's fine, really. You didn't know that it was real or anything...

[agoodname]

Perhaps not, but it was really no excuse to treat you that way. [he smiles a little, squeezing his hand] I'm just...very glad you're here now.

[enigmaster]

I'm... glad I can help, then. [It doesn't feel like enough. But he'll just... make a note of that.] Really, don't worry about it, though.

[agoodname]

....if you say so. [Oswald looks down--at which point, he abruptly realizes he's holding onto Edward's hand. He immediately lets go, flushing] So...would you like watch a movie?