ACE ATTORNEY AU

[enigmaster]

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[agoodname]

"...I'm afraid we missed what happened." [he looks a bit concerned]

"Are you alright?"

[enigmaster]

[Okay, well... That's kind of a relief, almost?] ...Perfectly fine, yes.

[agoodname]

[. . . . . . . .]

"...oh dear." [MMMMMM YEAH this all looks really really fine. Elijah clasps his hands in front of himself, looking rather more concerned]

"Whatever it was...it was quite bad, then."

[enigmaster]

... [He doesn't... really want to talk about that again. Especially not with Oswald's father.] Just a little. Is Oswald still up?

[agoodname]

"I'm...afraid not. He feel asleep a bit ago, though it hasn't been very long. No more than fifteen minutes or so."

[enigmaster]

[Edward isn't sure if he's relieved or not. He's gonna go with yes.] Good. [He's a little surprised at how bitter he still sounds.] I'm going to get some sleep too, then.

[agoodname]

[...oof. Elijah blinks, a bit startled at that. Yes, he'd said it was bad, but....that confirms it.]

"Ah. Yes, of course--"

"Edward." [but of course, it couldn't be that easy. Gertrude's appearing now, too, wringing her hands, looking rather worried] "Edward, what did my son do?"

[enigmaster]

[Edward is already starting to move, when Gertrude appears and he freezes. Ah. Hell.] ...Do we have to talk about this right now? [He really, really doesn't want to.]

[agoodname]

"If you do not, I will spend all night worrying." [yeah she seems pretty worried honestly] "I have not seen Oswald like this since he--" [she cuts herself off, glancing at Elijah, who glances back at her, and there's that split second of shared communication and concern] "--well, in a long time. Please, I know it is difficult, but if you could just tell me what he's done..."

[enigmaster]

[Edward crosses his arms, glancing away. He really doesn't want to talk about this. At all.] He told someone something about me that he shouldn't have, alright?

[agoodname]

[Gertrude frowns at that, brow furrowed] "And you fought about this?"

[enigmaster]

I guess, yeah.

[agoodname]

"I see." [Gertrude wrings her hands a bit more.] "And...you are leaving?"

[enigmaster]

[There's a question. But... Well, he... ...] ...No.

[agoodname]

[and there's an exhalation there--relief] "Oh, that is good to hear, from the way Oswald was going on, we thought for sure--"

....Edward?

[quiet and groggy, from the living room.]

[enigmaster]

[Edward swallows. It'd be easy to ignore it. Just... keep walking. Pretend he didn't hear it. It'd be so easy.] ... [He approaches the living room.] ...Hey.

[agoodname]

[Elijah and Gertrude glance at each other again as Edward steps past them and towards the living room--and Gertrude looks about ready to say something before Elijah lays a hand on her arm, carefully drawing her back until they both fade out. Oswald is...in the process of extracting himself from the corner of the couch where he seems to have managed to cocoon himself into a ball and is now, unfortunately, tangled in the blanket he is trying to get out of. There's, additionally, a large scattering of used kleenex on the coffee table, which explains the two empty boxes of tissues there as well. Oswald himself looks...well, he's wearing his pajamas, and perhaps like he took a shower, considering his hair is now free of its usual gel. He's as pale as ever, which makes his red and swollen eyes stand out starkly. His nose isn't fairing much better; obvious abuse from the tissues. He nearly stumbles as he finishes extracting himself from the blanket rather awkwardly. He glances up at Edward, meeting his eyes for a moment, looking almost stricken before immediately glancing down at his hands, clasped in front of him] Hi. [he swallows, then, pressing his lips together for a moment.] You...came back. [he sounds almost like he's not entirely sure of this, much less its permanence.]

[enigmaster]

[Edward takes in the scene in front of him and is immediately conflicted again. Because this whole time there's been a part of him that's felt angry and a part of him that's felt bad. The former is what's been calling the shots so far. Bitterness and spite have kind of been doing that for a long time anyway, but more so, he tries to keep his feelings bottled up so much that they kind of... get away from him, when he lets himself feel. Now, the other half is pushing against that and... now he just doesn't know how to feel. He's quiet for a few seconds, trying to figure out... what to do now, exactly.] ...Well. Yeah.

[agoodname]

Are you staying? [he's...trying to keep his voice steady and calm. It mostly succeeds. He mostly keeps that slight bit of nerves out of it.]

[enigmaster]

[And, honestly, he almost wants to say no. Because there's that part of him that's screaming at him to get the hell out, screaming see, I knew this would happen, knew that if something seemed too good to be true it really had to be. But Oswald is in such a state and... And he doesn't... want to leave...] ...Yeah. I... [He hesitates.] Yes.

[agoodname]

[and there's...oddly no release of tension at that answer. It remains in that tightness in his shoulders; in the way he's not looking at Edward.] Do you--[his voice cracks a bit, and he clears his throat]--would you prefer that I leave? That is, if it would make you more comfortable, I could...

[enigmaster]

What-- No. [If it was a matter of just not being around Oswald, he wouldn't have come back, he would've just... figured something out. There's no point to him being here if Oswald is just going to leave.] No, don't do that.

[agoodname]

Oh. [That answer was, apparently, not entirely what he expected. It's not obvious, exactly, but it is there. And finally his eyes flick up to Edward's face, like he's looking for something.} Alright. [he presses his lips together, gaze darting away once more as he toys with the cuff of his sleeve almost nervously] ....I really am sorry, Edward. I was very out of line.

[enigmaster]

[Edward just... looks at Oswald. Not looking away, as tempting as it is.] It's-- [He swallows. Stops himself, for once, from just saying it's fine, because it's not. But he doesn't really know what... to say, right now. No one's said sorry for doing this before. It's new territory.] ...It's pretty late. You should probably go back to sleep.

[agoodname]

Edward, I-- [his fingers curl hard into his sleeve, and he looks up, then--but his eyes flick over Edward's face once more and he immediately quiets. Whatever he was going to say, hushed.] ...yes. Okay. [and he simply nods, gaze dropping away again] Goodnight, Edward.