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Phoenix gets tired faster than most people he knows – even Trucy and Pearl, who are teenagers, even more than Miles, who loves to overwork himself, and even more than Apollo, who lives on nervous tension – but he doesn’t understand why. He eats well and has a stable family dynamic going on, so why does he get so drained when everyone else seems fine?
One day, Phoenix returns to the Wright Anything Agency with a miserable Apollo in tow, having had to go and pick him up when he fell off of his bike and broke the front wheel. And whilst Apollo is sulking and has minor injuries to his hands, it is Phoenix who immediately flops on the couch, totally drained.
He pulls off his hat and runs his fingers through his hair, leaning forwards in his seat and letting out a sigh. When Apollo and Trucy start bickering about his broken bike, their voices seem so loud and he grimaces. Phoenix groans, wondering how he can be so tired after a trip that wasn’t that long or too difficult, other than the row with another driver when they cut him off at the crossroads.
“Daddy?” Trucy says, sitting down beside him. “Are you okay?”
Phoenix looks up and smiles a strained smile. “Just a bit tired, sweetheart.”
“You look exhausted,” Apollo says. “And you weren’t this tired when you came to pick me up – thanks again for that, by the way. You really do get drained quickly, don’t you?”
He nods, appreciating Apollo’s tendency to state the obvious. “I certainly do.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Apollo says. He frowns, and Phoenix realises that he is genuinely concerned.
He doesn’t want them to worry about them; he has always been like this, crashing after things that most people can do easily. It’s normal for him.
So Phoenix just shrugs and says, “I don’t think so. But thanks for the offer.”
“Can I hug you, Daddy?” Trucy says.
He smiles and nods, and his daughter hugs him tightly. When he realises that Apollo has joined the hug, Phoenix laughs, but it’s quite nice. And it doesn’t make him any less tired, but it is very pleasant to be hugged by two of his favourite people in the world.
That night, Phoenix snuggles up beside Miles in bed, pressing his face against his husband’s shoulder. He is so tired, his movements sluggish, his speech hard to force out of his mouth, and he just wants to sleep for days.
“I was informed by a certain daughter of ours that you are feeling very tired, Wright,” Miles says, his voice comfortable and soft. “And I assume she wasn’t lying.”
“Yeah, it’s true,” he mumbles. “I’m exhausted.”
Miles hums thoughtfully. “If I recall, you were like this even when we knew each other as children.”
“Yeah, I‘ve always been like this. Can we talk tomorrow, Miles?” Phoenix says, hoping he doesn’t offend Miles. “I’m just so tired.”
He expects Miles to say something sarcastic, but instead he simply raises an eyebrow and gives phoenix a kiss. “Very well. We can conclude this conversation tomorrow.”
Phoenix smiles, and they cuddle closer and switch the light off. He falls asleep snuggled up with Miles, his head resting against his chest.
The next day, Miles sits with Phoenix on the couch in the Agency, both of them drinking tea. Apollo leans against the desk and Trucy sits on the arm of the couch, shuffling a deck of cards. And they all talk about Phoenix’s fatigue, and how this has been an issue for as long as he can remember.
And that is when Miles raises a very interesting point.
“Could this be related to your autism?”
Phoenix looks at him. “I dunno. Could it?”
“Well, autistic people are more likely to get tired, due to the stresses of presenting in a neurotypical way and dealing with sensory issues,” Miles says, and Phoenix realises that Miles has obviously done some research in the last few hours. He smiles, glad to have such a caring husband. “So it makes perfect sense why you get tired more easily than the rest of us.”
“That’s a really good point,” Trucy says, smiling. “Daddy is always doing his stimming thing and getting sensory overloads, so it makes sense that he’d get tired quicker than us.”
Looking up, Phoenix realises that Apollo is scrolling through something on his phone.
“Yeah, I think you’re onto something here, Miles,” Phoenix says, reaching for Miles’ hand and squeezing it. “Thanks for caring.”
Miles raises an eyebrow, but he’s smiling. “Whatever.”
“Hey, I think I’ve found something!” Apollo says, looking up from his cell phone. “I was doing some Googling about fatigue and stuff, and I came across this thing called the Spoon Theory.”
“What?” Phoenix says, spluttering with laughter.
Apollo grins. “I know it’s got a silly name, but it’s for people who get tired easily because of chronic pain or stuff like that, and it’s basically about keeping track of your limited energy so you don’t overdo it. And it can be useful for autistic people, so I think it might be worth a look.”
Phoenix smiles. “Thanks. I’ll do that.”
He looks at his friend and his daughter and his husband, and Phoenix knows this lot are such lovely people. He’s so lucky to know people like them.