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"How's your sister enjoying getting to sleep at a decent time?" Phoenix asked as he finished using zipties to restrain an unconscious mugger to a street light.
"Oh it took me ages to convince her to go to bed," Maya noted, her voice exasperated. "She does realize it's pretty much impossible to kill you, right?"
"Considering how you two first met me, I think she's well aware."
Maya sighed. "It's probably the retirement thing getting to her, y'know? She knows you can handle yourself, since she trained you and everything, but she can't go out herself to keep an eye on you or help people like she used to. The best we can do is show her you've got this, and eventually she'll chill out and calm down."
Phoenix sighed. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, I'm heading back now."
"I've got a nice selection of post-patrol snacks," Maya announced cheerfully. "And I promise to let you have at least a third of them since this is your first patrol."
He laughed at that. "Your generosity is appreciated, Mystic."
It took him several minutes to find his way back to the apartment he shared with the Feys, since he was still getting used to things like how high up he was on the buildings oh god. But, eventually, he climbed in through the fire escape right as Maya finished shutting down her set up.
"Hey Nick!" she greeted cheerfully. "Ready to go raid the pantry? I've got a box of Oatmeal Cream Pies with your name on it."
Which led to the two of them lounging on the couch, eating snacks and watching Halloween Wars on his beat up old laptop.
"So, you're probably wondering the purposes of this ritual," Maya declared, and Phoenix laughed at how serious she was acting. "And to start, I must take you back. Back to when the Defender, may she rest in peace-"
"She's sleeping right down the hall," Phoenix noted, and Maya waved him off.
"Semantics. Anyway, back when she was just starting out, the Defender would return from her nightly quests for justice and attempt to go immediately to sleep. However, she was always too wired up, even if she was exhausted, because of the adrenaline and stuff from the night. But then, her magnificent and incredibly smart sister began this ritual."
Maya held up a Cosmic Brownie dramatically, and Phoenix bit back a snort.
"We would take at least another hour after patrol, and we would eat snacks and watch dumb shows. That way, the Defender could go to sleep relaxed and having properly destressed from the events of the night."
Then, she tapped the brownie very gently against Phoenix's shoulder, continuing, "And now, I pass this tradition on to you. As Mystic, it is my job to help you investigate and keep you posted on info you need. However, as your informally adopted sister, it's my job to take care of you and make sure you're okay. So, even on the worst of nights, this will be our tradition, with time allowed for crying if you need it. Okay?"
"I..." He smiled a little watery smile at that. "Thank you, Maya."
"No problem, Nick."
Eventually, they finished their snacks, and Maya gave him a hug before sending him off to bed.
And, ultimately, she was right. It was easier to sleep.
Phoenix climbed in through the fire escape to see Maya giving him a concerned look as she finished shutting down her set-up.
"Mr. Edgeworth is joining us for destress time tonight," she declared, and he blinked. "He's currently sitting on the couch right now and he can't sleep."
Phoenix nodded in understanding, heading to the bathroom to shower quickly and change into his pajamas before going to the living room.
Miles was currently sitting on the couch, staring distantly at the wall. He looked...well, he looked exhausted. And so Phoenix plopped onto the couch beside him.
"Too loud?" Phoenix asked, and Miles nodded quietly. "Yeah that makes sense."
Miles sighed, grabbing his arm in that same gesture he always did when he needed to reassure himself. "I do not want to be alone, but the noise...it's almost unbearable at times." He grimaced. "I...I don't want to make it seem like I'm not appreciative-"
"It's okay," Phoenix assured him. "You're allowed to be upset with the whole situation. The things that happened to you were pretty terrible after all. If von Karma wasn't in prison right now, I think Maya and I would have punched him."
Miles snorted, the smallest of smiles coming to his face. Then, quietly, he admitted, "It's not so bad when you or the Feys are around. It gives me something to focus on."
Phoenix smiled at that, unable to help the affection welling up in his chest. And Miles flushed with embarrassment, giving him a look.
"You're such a sentimental fool, Wright," he muttered, though it didn't sound as much like an insult as he may have wanted it to.
Before Phoenix could say anything, Maya hurried in, several boxes of snacks piled in her arms, and she declared, "It's destress time, motherfuckers." And Miles looked slightly scandalized as she dumped the pile onto the table, practically throwing herself on the couch next to Phoenix. "Hey Nick, go get your laptop so we can watch Cupcake Wars."
"You got it," Phoenix answered, smiling. Then he looked at Miles and explained, "Welcome to the most important tradition of the night."
And if, when Miles fell asleep on the couch against Phoenix's shoulder before the hour was up, Phoenix's heart picked up a bit, well, that wasn't something he needed to worry Miles with.
He'd probably figure it out before long anyway.
"I miss destress time," Maya admitted as Phoenix climbed in the window of his new apartment. "And before you say some stuff about how we both still do it, that's not the point. It's just...not as fun when we're doing it in two different places?"
"...Yeah, I know what you mean," Phoenix agreed quietly, keeping his voice down so he wouldn't wake anyone. "Still, the apartment was getting crowded. And living in the same apartment as my boss probably wouldn't have helped with the already crazy situation from last month."
Maya sighed. "Yeah, I know. We need to do a sleepover sometime, you know? Then we can have destress time like we used to."
"We can discuss it in the morning," Phoenix told her. "I need to go shower, okay? Goodnight."
"Yeah yeah, go cuddle with your man, nerdlord," she told him, and Phoenix flushed a little and laughed. Then, quieter, she added, "Night, bro," before disconnecting.
Phoenix sighed, heading silently to the bathroom and starting his shower.
Now that he no longer lived with his "guy in the chair", destress time was something he usually did alone. Normally, he drank some juice, ate a couple of snacks, and either read or watched something he couldn't get too invested in on his computer until he finally went to bed.
Tonight, however, when he grabbed his box of Oatmeal Cream Pies and his cup of grape juice and headed to the living room, he found a frankly adorable sight waiting for him.
It was Miles, sleeping soundly on the couch, cradling Trucy in his arms as he did. On the TV, it was showing the main menu screen to one of the Barbie movies Maya had insisted Trucy would love, playing soft instrumental music.
Phoenix smiled, and he set his things on the coffee table and quietly shook Miles awake, and Miles blinked slowly, looking at him with tired eyes.
"Hey Miles," Phoenix whispered. "I think sleeping in our bed would be much more comfortable, don't you think?"
Miles looked at him, before smiling sleepily. "Trucy wanted..." He yawned. "She wanted to stay up to see you when you returned."
Phoenix's smile grew so big it almost hurt, and he moved to kiss the top of Trucy's head and then Miles' cheek. "I love you both so much."
With a pleased hum, Miles closed his eyes again at the gesture, and this all felt wonderfully domestic.
"I'll take Trucy to bed," Phoenix told him quietly. "Then I need to destress, but I'll be in bed after that. Sound good?"
"...I suppose," Miles mumbled, though the smile on his face reassured Phoenix that yes, it did sound good. And Phoenix gently picked Trucy up, holding her close as Miles finally stood, kissing Phoenix quickly on the cheek before stumbling to bed.
Phoenix carried Trucy to her room, which was still a little empty but gradually becoming more and more full of all the things a six year old girl could ever need, and he pulled the covers back and laid her in bed.
Then she stirred, her eyes opening the smallest amount as she mumbled, "Daddy?"
He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to that.
"Hey Truce," he whispered, kissing her on the forehead. "Go back to sleep, okay? There will be pancakes in the morning."
Trucy hummed happily at that. "'Kay." Then her eyes shut and she quickly fell back asleep as Phoenix tucked her in.
He went through destress time as normal, watching two episodes of Cupcake Wars and eating his snacks, before he finally put everything away and went to his room, where Miles had fallen back asleep in bed. And he cuddled up next to his boyfriend and eventually fell asleep.
This was more than he could have asked for.
"Alright Bellona, Firebird, it's time to turn in for the night," Maya declared over the earpiece, and Phoenix could hear a groan from Franziska at that. "And before you complain too much babe, I know you wanted to watch Forged in Fire with me while we cuddle and eat snacks."
"...This is foolish," Franziska muttered, though Phoenix could hear the fondness in her voice. "Fine, I suppose you are correct. I will return home at once, Mystic."
"Glad to hear it," Maya answered, her grin practically audible. "I'm going to sign off and get everything set up. Love you. Say hi to the family, Nick!"
"Will do," Phoenix called just before Maya disconnected. "Have a nice night, Bellona."
"You as well, Firebird."
The two of them then split off, and Phoenix hurried back home, climbing in through the fire escape and closing the window behind him.
Then, he turned to see Apollo standing there, his eyes red and his expression utterly relieved.
"Apollo?" Phoenix asked, concerned. "What's going on?" Then, the realization hit. "Oh. Nightmare?"
Apollo nodded quietly. "I...I don't remember what happened in it, but I woke up and I...it's stupid, but I needed to make sure you were okay because you weren't back yet and I already checked and Mr. Edgeworth and Trucy were okay but...but..."
"Hey, it's okay," Phoenix assured him. "No worries, I get it." He had had plenty of nightmares in the past that had led to him scrambling to check to make sure the people he loved were okay. "Listen, I need to shower, but you can hang out with me for destress time if you want, okay? If it'll help you feel better."
"I...are you sure?"
Phoenix smiled, "Of course. It'll be nice to have some company for it anyway."
And, after a moment, Apollo nodded.
After a quick shower and gathering everything needed, he and Apollo were sitting on the couch, watching Nailed It! together, and Phoenix glanced over occasionally as the sixteen year old boy slowly began to relax.
Ever since he and Trucy had found Apollo (and it was at the park around Gourd Lake too, which had been way too familiar of a situation for Phoenix), it was clear that, whatever had happened to the poor kid, he had been through way too much already.
Phoenix, Maya, and Franziska were still trying to track down this mysterious Devil guy, the one Apollo could only vaguely recall and who Vera had told them about. Maybe then they'd get answers as well as justice for Apollo.
"Uh...Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked, and Phoenix glanced over at him. "I just...you let me start staying with you and you've been helping me try to find out what happened to me and everything and I...you didn't have to do it, so..." Then, he moved, quickly pulling Phoenix into a hug, and mumbled, "Th-Thanks."
And Phoenix smiled and returned the gesture. "Of course, Apollo. It's no problem."
"Nice job, Polias!" Phoenix called, and Athena gave him a thumbs up once she was done restraining the attempted mugger against a street light.
God, he was still completely unnerved by the fact that she was fourteen and spending her nights chasing supervillains, but all his attempts to talk her out of it hadn't worked, and so he and Franziska had had to start training her to give her a fighting chance. And she took to it like a fish to water, proving herself more than capable each time.
He was still terrified though. She was only two years older than Trucy.
"Alright, Boss, where to next?" Athena asked, grinning brightly at him.
"Actually, it's the end of the night," he answered, and she pouted. "Now come on, you know it's not a good idea to stay out later if it's not an emergency. Besides, you know what the best part of the night is."
And Athena visibly lit up at that. "Destress time!"
"Get a move on, you two!" Maya called over the radio, sounding only a little annoyed. "I have cuddles with my girlfriend to get to!"
"You got it, Mystic!" Athena declared. "C'mon, Firebird! First one back gets first shower!" Then, she turned and bolted, and Phoenix laughed before taking off after her.
By the time he made it to the window, Athena was already scrambling inside, silently cheering at her victory, and he shook his head before following her in.
As Athena showered, Phoenix checked his phone, smiling at the selfie Klavier had sent to the group chat of him, Apollo, and Clay. It looked like the photo was taken in a booth at a McDonalds, and Clay was stealing Apollo's fries, Apollo glaring at him as he did. Trucy had sent a crying laughing emoji in response.
He loved his kids.
By the time he was done in the shower, Athena had already set out the snacks and the laptop, with Cupcake Wars ready to play, and she had already opened up a pack of Zingers for herself.
"Alright, you ready to roast a bunch of really good bakers?" Phoenix asked quietly, and Athena grinned as he ruffled her hair.
After a couple of episodes, Athena began to yawn practically on cue, and so he sent her to bed in the room she shared with Trucy before cleaning up and heading to bed himself.
And, as he tucked himself into place beside his fiance, Miles stirred a little, glancing over at him and smiling softly.
"Go back to sleep, Miles," Phoenix mumbled, and, together, the two of them fell soundly asleep.