The flames of the humongous parade of harmonious colours danced alluringly, crackling with life in order to cheer the ecstatic audience on, presenting themselves proudly, each member of the crowd readily lapping up the performance as if it were a sweet remedy. Phoenix's widened eyes flitted past the colourful display to the members of the large party, an unprecedented warmth washing over his senses as he noticed that all of the drunk people he'd wrongly dismissed at the start were each holding up their own multi-coloured pride attire. Flags, t-shirts, hats and painted masks all laughed and sung in unison, waiting for the main event; the whole place, covered in the colourful mess though it was, was astonishing.
"W-Wow... P-Pretty big t-turnout, huh.."
"I guess." Clementine shrugged as the defence attorney spoke up again.
"O-Oh no.." The spiky-haired man stiffened as his bright blue eyes locked onto another's own lifeless, hazel-brown, ones in the crowd, cautiously shying away behind the scrawny police-officer, his heart pounding to the rhythm of the churning blood in his ears.
"What? What's wrong?" Clementine swiftly turned around to face Phoenix, his face creased with concern.
"I-It's that g-guy..." The shorter man cowered, shakily gulping as he continued to whimper in uncertainty.
"F-From earlier... H-He's seen m-me..."
"What - the drunk, gay, one? The one who tried to take you home?"
"H-How do you k-know he w-was gay?"
"You're not likely to find a straight person within five miles of here. Plus, he went for you - and you're clearly a guy."
"B-But he c-could be bi... S-Straight people c-can support LGBTQ+ t-too... Right?" Phoenix mumbled in a subdued manner, still preoccupied with attempting to get the other, foul, man to look away from him by using a series of tactics - most of which included averting his own gaze, which appeared to do little more than make him blind to the ogling that was going on.
"I guess... I guess I hadn't thought of that, actually. Yeah. You're right." The scrawny police-officer nodded before hastily adding to his earlier statement with a brief lick of his lips;
"But he still went for you, so he's definitely not just 'straight'. He's probably bi or gay or something," Phoenix sheepishly shrugged, turning away from the man to face Clementine's neutral expression head-on.
"A-Anyway, if we j-just ignore him h-he might just g-go away,"
"You're right."
"S-So... W-What's the p-plan?" The spiky-haired man gestured towards the erratic scenery behind him, his poised finger lingering around the fire's flames.
"What do you mean, 'what's the plan'?" The scrawny police-officer creased his brow questioningly, his eyes occasionally drifting over to the drunk homosexual, taking in the view of his spaced out, beer-clutching, self before flitting back to the shorter man.
"W-When does the d-display start..?" Clementine glanced at his right wrist - where there was, presumably, some sort of watch hidden beneath the cuff of the scrawny police-officer's shirt-sleeve.
"Any moment now,"
"O-Oh," Phoenix chuckled tentatively, tracing a minuscule circle upon the park's grassy earth with the tip of his foot in order to try and combat his shyness.
"P-Perhaps they h-have a delay o-or something,"
"Probably..." Clementine languidly stretched his thin, slightly frail-looking, arms out in front of him (where there was space, of course) and yawned in a bored manner.

"Hey, I was wondering about something."
"Y-Yes?" The defence attorney perked up at the prospect of a new topic to take his mind off of the more troubling matters.
"How's life with Edgeworth?" Phoenix blinked, staring dumbly at the scrawny police-officer as if he wasn't entirely there.
"I-It's... Great. W-Why wouldn't it b-be?"
"Nothing to complain about?"
"W-What would there b-be to complain a-about? E-Edgeworth's perfect... H-He's all I-I could ever h-have hoped f-for and m-more," The spiky-haired man bleated, pausing before continuing as if unsure as to where the conversation was going - something which was truthfully portrayed;
"I-I mean, h-he cooks, h-he cleans.. H-He calls me u-up every d-day we're a-apart... H-He loves me, a-and I l-love him s-so-"
"Interesting." The scrawny police-officer's thin lips suddenly quirked upward, forming a triumphant smirk, his arms folding until they became crossed.
"W-What..?" The shorter man's body became stiff with premeditation, his subconscious mind noticing how devilishly the stars above his spiky head were twinkling, how they were jeering and watching at his every move, as he struggled to read Clementine's vocal tone and facial expression; it seemed as though learning people's intent through these methods was still beknownst to the clueless defence attorney outside of the realms of law.
"Are you sure everything between you two is as great as you say it is? Come now, you know you can tell me everything."
"W-Why was w-what I  s-said interesting..?" Phoenix's timid voice shook precariously.
"I don't know... I just found it interesting how you mentioned that Edgeworth loved you first. Do you really love him back, if you mention something like that before your own love for him?"
"W-What are y-you saying..? I-I... O-Of course I-I love E-Edgeworth... I-I love h-him so s-so much.... I-I...." The shorter man's glittering blue eyes scrunched up, fear overcoming trepidation, his entire body seeming to be in favour of shutting down all reasoning and common sense, desperate - insanely desperate - to convince itself of its true feelings.
"W-What are y-you trying t-to do t-to me...?"
"Huh?" The scrawny police-officer eyed Phoenix carefully, quietly watching as the peaceful outer-shell of the man began to unfold and reveal the turmoil beneath - the unstable, emotional, turmoil of nine months ago; the wounds which would never heal, no matter how many temporary bandages were forced upon them in order for the spiky-haired man to maintain his sanity.
"Y-You're..." The shorter man staggered backwards, protectively clutching the chest area where his heart lay, his eyes narrowed and glistening with pre-empt, fresh, tears;
"Y-You're trying t-to do s-something to m-me again... Y-You..." The defence attorney pointed accusingly at Clementine, his outstretched arm tittering uncontrollably, stepping away from the slender man.
"Y-You...! Y-You're trying t-to split m-me and E-Edgeworth up a-again...!"
"Phoeni-"
"W-Well, I-I have s-something to s-say to y-you too..! Y-You'll never e-ever split u-us up... N-Never ev-"
"Phoenix." The scrawny police-officer snapped - more aggressively than he had intended - in his moment of fury, grabbing the shorter man by the shoulders which, subsequently, caused the spiky-haired man to freeze, once again blankly staring at Clementine as if unaware of what was transpiring outside of his mind's realm.
"Phoenix," The scrawny police-officer spoke more softly and subtly this time, aware that every word could have an entirely different impact on the defence attorney when he was in this vulnerable state.
"I'm not trying to do anything of the sort; I promise,"
"B-But..."
"I know you and Edgeworth love each other dearly. I just wanted to find out whether something had happened between you two because I care about your wellbeing," Phoenix gently rubbed his dampened eyes with his knuckles.
"But I used a method I shouldn't have, and I'm very sorry," Clementine bowed his head apologetically, discreetly keeping an eye on the shorter man through his floppy, curly, strands of hair from his new position. The shorter man hesitated before commenting;
"O-Oh.. M-Makes sense... I-I'm sorry f-for flipping o-out on y-you.." The defence attorney looked away ashamedly, silently wishing to take back his rudely spoken words.
"Think nothing of it. I would have done the same." Clementine slid his hands into his pockets absent-mindedly, gently rocking backwards and forwards on his heels and staring into a distant area of the crowd as he elaborated upon his previous statement.
"So, are you sure that everything's alright?"
"U-Um.." Phoenix's voice trailed off with a faint squeak.
"If you're concerned that everything will go back to Kristoph, then let me ease your worries. I'm a changed man."
"H-How does t-that help..? T-There's no p-proof..."
"How do you think they let me become a police officer again? I've become passionate about keeping Kristoph locked up for what he did to you." The spiky-haired man's cheeks flushed a slight pink at the mention of the previous events.
"I've become a good per-" The scrawny police-officer stared behind the shorter man, shocked.
"Phoenix! Look out!"

"W-What..? W-What's wr- A-AAH!"