Work Text:
He honestly should have let Phoenix handle the laundry like always. But with how Phoenix couldn’t stop sneezing every five seconds, Miles worried that Phoenix trying to do laundry would only result in it needing to be done a second time. He insisted on letting Phoenix rest on Sunday, and he would take care of the laundry. He knew how to do laundry for normal clothes at least. But how was he supposed to know that Phoenix’s favorite sweater was made of a wool blend? It looked like a normal hoodie that could be tossed in with the rest of the colors, not some sort of magic material that now was in his hands, sad and shrunken past a point of redemption.
Miles wondered if he could buy Phoenix a new sweater, one that was the exact same as the one in his hands before it was shrunken. But he distinctly remembered Phoenix recalling that all of his wardrobe besides his court attire was bought from secondhand shops, and instantly discounted the idea.
“Miiiiiiles, I’m cold!” Phoenix’s voice called from the bedroom. Miles’ mind raced for an idea on what to do. He could fix it, surely there was a way of stretching it back to its original size. So he folded it up in the rest of the laundry and carried the basket back to the bedroom, hoping he could throw the sweater in the back of the closet to hide until he figured out how to fix it.
“Finally,” Phoenix sniffled. He looked pathetic, but Miles was sure that was on purpose. He was sitting up with a pile of pillows behind and around him, and he clutched the blanket up to his chin with his bottom lip out dramatically. Phoenix never had lost his touch for theatrics, which Miles was reminded of almost every day. Miles set the basket aside and sat down next to Phoenix, who wasted no time in snuggling up to him.
Miles sighed and wrapped an arm around his husband. “You had better not get me sick.”
“I can’t control what my germs do.”
Of course. Miles sighed and stood up to grab the laundry basket, much to Phoenix’s dismay. Phoenix whined about being cold again while Miles made sure to shield the laundry in the basket with his body while he quickly put everything away.
“Oh, my hoodie was washed wasn’t it? Can I have it before it cools off?”
Miles tensed up and kept his back to Phoenix as he thought of an excuse quickly. “It..had something on it that refused to come off in the first wash, so I had to wash it again.”
“You’re--” Phoenix paused for a moment to sneeze. “You’re a terrible liar, Miles.”
He should have known he couldn’t lie to Phoenix. They had been over this too many times. After being together for so long, and knowing each other for even longer, their nervous habits and tics were all too visible to them.
“What happened to it?”
“Nothing.”
“Edgeworth.”
Miles looked over his shoulder with a deep set frown, recognizing Phoenix’s “lawyer voice”. Phoenix stared back with a steely look, but the moment was broken when he had a sneezing fit that almost lasted for a minute. The two stared for another moment before Phoenix broke out into laughter, and Miles couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. Phoenix’s bright and cheery laugh was contagious, hopefully more than his cold, and it lightened the guilt on Miles’ shoulders.
“But really, what happened to it? Did it shrink?”
Miles couldn’t help but stiffen at the question hitting the nail on the head a little too well. He sighed. “No point in hiding it, I suppose.”
He pulled out the beloved sweater, and presented it to Phoenix, who almost seemed impressed by it.
“Huh. So that’s why it said to let air dry.”
“Wh-- Did you not know that this entire time?”
“No. Trucy said that that’s what it said on the label though, so we have to follow what it says because it’s so important.”
Important. Miles felt the guilt come back thricefold. “I can find a new one that is similar--”
“No need, it was getting kind of ratty. Though…” Phoenix pursed his lips, deep in thought. He tilted his head to the side and turned the sweater every which way. “Hey Truce, can you come in here a moment?” he called out.
Trucy showed in the doorway a moment later, her right hand up in a salute. “What do you need daddy?”
“Come here a sec.”
Trucy came over, and gasped when she saw the sweater. “What happened? Want me to fix it with magic?” She looked strangely determined. Miles was a bit curious to see this, actually. The teenage girl, almost an adult now, had an odd knack for magic, though he had thought it was all simply tricks and deception.
“No, I think it’s something that is fine the way it is.” Phoenix held it up to Trucy, sizing it up, before easily folding it up and holding it out to her. “Here, an heirloom from your dying father on his deathbed.” As if to make his point, he sneezed, which turned into a coughing fit.
Miles couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He wanted to point out that Phoenix was not dying, it was only a cold after all, but he was cut off by Trucy’s gasp.
“I’ll treasure it forever!” she promised, a strange fire in her eyes as she clutched the shrunken sweater to her chest. “I’ll wear it while I track down the one that gave you this disease and avenge your memory!”
Phoenix laughed and ruffled Trucy’s hair. “That’s my girl.”
“Please do not make me prosecute you for murder, Trucy,” Miles spoke up, a small smile on his face. “I think being framed once is enough, don’t you?”
Trucy slipped the hoodie on and her hands curled into fists. “Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to be careful and leave no evidence behind!”
“Trucy that’s not-- that’s not what I meant.” Miles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as Phoenix laughed in between coughs.
“I learned lots of things from watching daddy in his trials! I’ll keep the murder weapon after, and destroy it the first chance I have. Oh I should use a knife, that way there aren’t ballistic markings from a gun, and I’ll transport the body somewhere else and keep it cold so the time of death is off, and--”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough honey.” Phoenix stopped her and put a hand on her shoulder. Miles had to admit, it was oddly terrifying how much she had picked up. Instead of learning that murder is bad, she only learned how to not commit a murder. The thought of that information being in a very determined teenage girl’s mind was not a comforting one.
“Enjoy the new family heirloom,” Phoenix joked, a grin on his face. “Do you mind making daddy some of your world famous hot chocolate?”
Trucy lit up at the request. “Of course! Do you want some too Mr. Edgeworth?”
“That sounds delightful, Trucy,” Miles agreed.
The two men watched with smiles as Trucy saluted and raced out of the room, clinking of mugs and bowls coming from the kitchen a moment later.
“I’m glad Trucy likes you so much,” Phoenix muttered with a cough. “When she was younger, she openly disliked anyone that tried to flirt with me.”
“Really?” Miles smiled. He already knew how much Trucy liked him, but it still brought a warmth to his chest to know he had the approval of his husband’s daughter. He moved to sit next to Phoenix, wrapping an arm around him as he got settled under the sheets with him. Phoenix wasted no time in burying his face in the crook of Miles’ neck as he sniffled.
“I’m sorry about the sweater,” Miles muttered.
“Don’t worry about it,” Phoenix assured him. “Trucy always stole it from me anyways, and now it fits her better.”
Nonetheless, Edgeworth grabbed his laptop off of the nightstand and opened it up to start looking around at nearby stores for a new sweater, despite Phoenix’s reassurances that really, it was okay, he didn’t need a replacement, and not one made out of cashmere, Miles don’t you dare--
A scuffle ensued for the laptop, which was only stopped once Trucy came back in with three mugs topped with whipped cream and a wafer stick. She plopped down on the bed between the two, still wearing her new sweater, and distributed a mug to her dad and Miles so she could sip at her own. As Phoenix relished in the warmth in his hands, Miles took a small experimental sip. He had to admit, it was quite good.
“This is better than some hot chocolate I had while I was in Switzerland. This truly is worthy of being called world famous,” he mused, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see Trucy lighting up at the compliment.
“Of course it is, I put some magic in every cup!” Trucy declared with a puff of her chest.
“Magic, you say?” Miles asked with a quirked eyebrow. “Doves are not going to fly out of this mug, are they?”
“Don’t be silly, doves can’t have chocolate!”
“I see. What about a rabbit?”
“No!” Trucy laughed and bumped Miles with her shoulder. “Daddy have you been corrupting Mr. Edgeworth?”
“I’m innocent,” Phoenix defended, though there was a smile on his face as he munched on the wafer stick.
“I don’t know about that, I think I am quite corrupted,” Miles said with an equal smile.
“See? He confessed, you’re guilty!”
“That’s not how it works.”
“Come on Trucy, let’s let Phoenix get some rest,” Miles suggested, standing up and beckoning Trucy out of the bed as well.
“Daddy can rest plenty with his favorite daughter and husband with him,” Phoenix protested with a pout.
“Perhaps, but daddy’s husband would like to see his favorite daughter perform some magic for him,” Miles said, knowing that Trucy couldn’t resist showing off some new tricks she’s been practicing. Trucy practically glowed at the idea and bounced out of the bed, somehow managing to not spill any of her hot chocolate.
“Yeah! I have a show coming up I need to practice for!” she agreed. Miles set his mug of hot chocolate aside for a moment so he could rearrange the blankets over Phoenix and even tuck him in slightly. He pressed a kiss to his forehead as Trucy faked a gag in the background.
“Sleep well,” Miles murmured.
“I would sleep better if you stayed here with me.”
“Gross,” Trucy heckled, though she couldn’t hide the grin on her face.
“Yeah I know,” Phoenix chuckled. “Have fun.”
“Everyone always has fun watching my magic!” Trucy declared. Miles had to agree, it was impossible to not have fun while watching Trucy’s magic shows.
“We’ll check up on you later,” he promised as he took his mug and followed Trucy out of the room.
True to her word, Trucy’s magic practice was entertaining, so much so that Miles had completely forgotten he had left half of the laundry in the basket.
He only remembered this fact when he went to check up on Phoenix and found him out of bed and at the closet, slowly trying to put everything away. Miles ungracefully scooped him up, much to Phoenix’s protests, and hauled him back to bed to take care of the clothes himself.
Phoenix continued to complain that he was perfectly fine to put the laundry away, but quickly quieted down again when Miles climbed into bed once the rest of the clothes were in their rightful spot. He wasted no time in curling up against his husband’s side as before, his eyes closing in content as he kept his arms around Miles’ waist. Miles waited until he was very clearly dozing off before he slowly moved to grab his laptop once more, and opened it back up to go back to checking for a replacement sweater.