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Contrary to the belief of his peers, Miles Edgeworth was absolutely NOT a morning person. Any rare day off he had where looking over documents was not required of his time, he spent it in bed. There was never a moment that he didn’t appreciate a good soak in the cozy and comfortable environment that allowed him to just relax and let go in such a vulnerable state.
It was perfect.
And it was a rarity.
Currently, he was facing against one of the most stressful and darker cases of the year. Prosecution was attempting to find the mother of a deceased child guilty for the murder of her own daughter, Amanda Sarchaw. Edgeworth’s client, the father, Dr. Sarchaw, was determined to find his ex-wife guilty and was constantly calling the office to see where they were on the case. The mother was arguing that her child was kidnapped and murdered, producing tears when necessary. Everything about it screamed suspicious. Miles, being partial to safety of children, threw himself into work and didn’t let up no matter how drowsy he’d become. Being a child of trauma and abuse after his father died, he understood more than anybody the abhorrent behaviors some parents and caregivers elicit onto their children. He vowed to bring justice, if it wasn’t the mother, then it was someone, and he was determined to bring the girl’s spirit to rest.
Defense, being as aloof yet successful as ever, had their own hands tied. Edgeworth knew that his opponent was struggling to work with his client. Phoenix himself admitted that he had his own doubts about the mother, yet there was ample evidence that favored her. It was more of her mannerisms and behavior that set his brain reeling. The child had died via poison, Botulinum, a toxin that can also be used for Botox. The mother used to be a biologist before she quit for an esthetician license. She also had very strong alibis.
Needless to say, Miles didn’t get much of a chance to relax. When he was in bed, he found himself thinking about the child and what puzzle pieces there might be. Even when in his pajamas and snuggled under the covers, he found himself missing the peace it once brought. This night was no different. He desperately wanted to call Phoenix and just listen to him talk, but at this hour, he needed his sleep just as much as Miles did. He groaned and turned on the light, grabbed a cup of tea and headed to his office, rubbing his slowly aching head on the way.
He missed his bed.
Miles had no appetite the next morning. As he was tying up his presentations, the images the police department delivered were gruesome. Seeing the horrible graphics of the state Amanda was left in, Miles turned away from his laptop and forced himself to maintain composure. He forced the emotion away as best as he could and took this time for a fifteen minute break. He made his way to grab a protein bar before he prepared the images in a slideshow to present as his first argument.
Those same images haunted him as he tossed and turned in bed.
It was the day of the trial; the news outlets surrounded the courthouse. This was a big case. It was going to be filmed for the public to witness. That put Miles more on the edge. He couldn’t begin to imagine how Phoenix must be feeling. The wind was cold and biting as he walked up the courthouse steps. His head was absolutely pounding. It felt like a wrecking ball had been set loose. His parietal pulsating. But he was determined. If this didn’t go well…
Well. He didn’t want to think about that. His client was seated, ready to face his murderous ex head on. There was a new look of seething hatred and anxiety burnt into his eyes. It faded to sorrow when he looked at Miles’s silent understanding face. He put a steady hand on his shoulder and gave a small pat of comfort to the grief ridden father. Five minutes left to go.
Defense appeared, Phoenix dressed in such a calming blue, followed by Maya. The officers had Mrs. Sarchaw in handcuffs behind them. He met Mile’s eyes and gave him a knowing, kind look.
Today was definitely going to be difficult. But he trusted Phoenix. With this particular case, their time was eaten up, so they weren’t able to see let alone talk about much of the case. Phoenix kept his gaze on Miles, silently empathizing with how emotionally exhausting this was and that they’d both need to schedule an appointment with their therapists. Miles felt his stomach turn.
“All rise!”
The trial began. So did his nausea. Opening statements, cross examination, and faded jargon later, closing statements were finally ending with Miles.
“Your Honor, the sample from the crime scene of the leather from the gloves matched the sample to that of Mrs. Sarchaw’s favored brand and color. Her history with the medical field gives her ample opportunity to utilize what there was around her. When she saw Amanda off to school, she went everywhere possible to develop strong alibis. Going so far as to-“ Miles was caught with the need to cough, his stomach jarring at the motion, “Excuse me, trick her friend into thinking they were at the derby at the same time, by changing the clock on her phone as she went to the bathroom. Cameras from the derby showed that the two-“he took a short pause to swallow down the remnants of his stomach. He forced breakfast down earlier that morning and he absolutely did not want to taste it again, “the two stayed for thirty minutes, but when Mrs. Sarchaw’s friend stepped away to grab them both a drink, she quickly changed the time back to what it was and let the others believe time had just flew by. She later called the police to file a missing person’s report. When Amanda Sarchaw was found, the nature of her death was not consistent with how a kidnapper operates. She was found too fast and with a poison only accessible to those with medical knowledge. The motive was to collect the life insurance gained from Amanda's death and start anew with a lover. Therefore, it is only logical that Mrs. Sherri Sarchaw is guilty.”
A total of 6 hours, 48 minutes and 38 seconds later, the trial was finally done. Miles and Phoenix were finished. All that was left was the verdict. And that would take at least another hour. Court was dismissed for recess and as soon as that gavel made contact with the wood, only the air that surrounded the prosecution bench remained. Miles fled to the bathroom, throwing himself over the sink and gagged dryly.
“Gah! Oh, God-“ he panted. Another gag. His head was screaming. Alarm bells banging. Nothing came up, but the result of a pale, sweating face would not be lost by anyone. Miles knew he had this in the bag. He knew it was obvious, but what sent his mind in fits was the image of the girl. Her life taken, in such a painful way too. He gagged again.
*
Everyone had rejoined. Now was the big finale. Cameras zoomed in, Dr. Sarchaw fearfully picking at his nails, his ex trying to calm her tears. Miles, he was so tired. He desperately missed his bed.
The Judge began to speak. “Will the defendant please rise.”
Mrs. Sarchaw rose on shaky legs, a terrified look on her face flashed in front of Phoenix. Miles looked at his eyes, while normally Phoenix would give a comforting hand or smile, he remained cold towards his client.
“After reviewing the evidence, it is by judge and jury that the State of Japanafornia finds the defendant guilty of murder in the 1st degree of a minor…”
The judge rattled off some more guilty verdicts, but none of that was heard by Miles. His client already sobbing quietly and gripping his arm as a vice. Miles looked back over at Phoenix, he was staring at him with a beaming smile on his face that Miles began to question if he’d won instead. His stomach twisted again.
Mrs. Sarchaw was kicking and screaming, refusing to go with the officers and shouting off more incriminating phrases. Edgeworth’s client was sobbing when they were dismissed. His daughter, his baby was finally at rest. Edgeworth pulled him into a hug, his own emotion seeping out like lava as Dr. Sarchaw cried broken thank yous into his shoulder.
“Its over.”
*
Maya had suggested a celebratory meal, but this wasn’t really one worth celebrating to him. She was more in favor of the comfort than anything. And while he could agree, he was too sick. Phoenix clapped him on the shoulder, “That was amazing work as always Edgeworth, you should be proud of yourself.”
Miles gave a strained smile, his stomach turning over and over with the internal rejection of pride, “Thank you Wright, it certainly was a bit of a whirlwind, wasn’t it?” His stomach cramped hard, but he remained solid.
“Yeah, but hey, justice was served. How’s your client?”
“He’ll be fine. He just needs a lot of grief counseling. The man nearly went mad, calling my receptionist every day.” The feeling of his vocal cords vibrating to his sternum down to his stomach was agonizing. The level of his nausea made him want to curl in a ball and die right there.
“At first I thought the dad did it, given that he’s also a doctor.”
“A podiatrist.”
“Same thing!”
“How.”
“Well, you know, a foot doctor has to go through biology and chemistry courses”
“Ah Wright, clever as always.” It was burning.
“Exactly. Say if you don’t want to grab food, do you want to – “
Miles raised a hand quickly, the contents of his stomach burning like hellfire and lapping at the heels of his tonsils, “Actually Wright you’ll need to excuse me. Given the weight of the trial it seems I forgot I need to tend to an errand I’m afraid. Please take care.”
“Oh sure, text-“ Too late. Miles was gone out of sight. “-me”.
“Does he seem off to you?” Maya asked
“Absolutely. His shoulder was a little warm and he seemed pale.”
“He’s always pale, honestly he gives such Edward Cullen vibes.”
“You need to stop your addiction to that series. Besides, he’s more of a sounder minded Lestat. I’m going to go to the bathroom, can you organize the files for me? We can grab dinner later.”
Maya beamed at the prospect of a free meal and eagerly grabbed the files and the two went on their ways.
When Miles knew he was out of vision, he sprinted towards the bathroom stall. Slamming hard on his knees, briefcase forgotten on the floor, he coughed and gagged into the water of the bowl. Saliva angrily cascaded from his mouth. A couple breaths and a soft cry was all it took for his body to vomit a small mouthful of sick.
“Fuck” he cursed. He couldn’t do this. Not here. He needed to go home. Clenching his jaw, Miles took several deep breaths and swallows before forcing his body up off the floor. He wiped his mouth and flushed the toilet before trying his best to appear like a normal healthy person.
As he was washing his hands, he heard the door open. “Oh, hey Edgey! Didn’t mean to follow you, just gotta take a leak.”
“Mhm.” Miles didn’t fully trust his stomach to allow him to form words.
“Hey, you alright? You seem shook up.”
“I’m fine, Phoenix.” He spoke, making sure the use of his friend’s first name got the point across to leave him alone. “I’ll see you later.”
“Sure.”
Phoenix watched as Miles left once again, catching a glimpse of his sweating forehead. He was as if he took a nosedive since the trial. Going with his judgement, Phoenix shot a quick transfer of money to Maya, letting her know she could get whatever she wanted and they’d catchup later and quickly followed.
Miles crawled in his car, mind on autopilot. He just needed to get home. He was in pain. His head, stomach, and his heartstrings all ached. His mind was clouded. He just needed to be in bed. He allowed his autonomic brain to take him home. Thoughts focused only on not wrecking the car and not throwing up in the car. A couple of blinks later, he found himself parked in the driveway.
He’s home now. He’s standing at the front door. He’s staring at his hand. The images of the girl, the case, the poisoning, the mother that hated her child. The twist and turn of his stomach and exhaustion in his gut. The storming headache pulsating with every beat of his heart. It was overwhelming. He feels it all, every inch of his aching body and heart. He fights the tears at first, but his mind and heart just can’t keep it up. He crouches down, hand still on the key in the lock and breaks down. His throbbing head rests on the wood of the door, he sobs against it, saliva dripping with how upset he is and how sick he feels. He doesn’t notice the bike with its lights off, being set on the lawn.
The view from Phoenix’s perspective kills him. He had followed the oddly slow speed of Miles’ car. Thanking his lucky stars he went unnoticed. As he was about to call out to Miles for having a staring contest with the door, he watched him break. His chest clenched in sympathy and worry, he suddenly wanted to cry with him. He made his way up to him quietly and gently brushed a hand over Miles’s shoulder.
“Hey-“
“AH!” Miles whipped around, adrenaline pumping. When he realized who it was, he turned around and quickly grabbed a handkerchief to clean himself up as he entered his house. “Please leave, now!” he barked.
“Miles, hey! Come on, talk to me.”
“No! How dare you follow me?”
Phoenix grabbed his shoulder. “Miles, please, you’ve been off all day, something isn’t right. Just come on, talk to me."
Miles holds a palm over his eyes to steady himself. “Just go home Wright, I need to be alone.”
Phoenix grabbed his body and pulled Miles into a bone crushing hug. “No, I’m sorry I’m violating your boundaries like this, but you aren’t okay. You feel really warm too, are you sick?”
“No just leave!” no part of Miles wanted his friend to see how worse off he really was, he felt his stomach acid rise in the base of his throat. “I don’t need you here to…” his throat bobbed, “-to…fuck.” He ghosted a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes.
“Woah, hey what’s up?”
“Nothing, just…just-“ The game was won. Not by him, but his stomach. There was no holding on anymore.
“Don’t ‘nothing’ me Miles Edgeworth!”
While Phoenix prattled, Miles’s nausea reached an all-time high, they were only a couple feet in the living room, the bathroom was further away than Miles liked at the moment. He settled for the option he hated, he dashed for the wastebasket under the lamp stand table and immediately threw up into it, knees crashed hard once more on the living room floor.
“Woah man Jesus Christ!” Phoenix kneeled down with Miles, one hand rubbing his back, the other holding his fancy lace away from his chest.
All insecurities and embarrassment were forgotten, Miles couldn’t help but thrive on the attempt at comfort his friend was providing. His stomach groaned loudly as he panted and then clenched once more, bringing up food that should have been digested long ago.
“Grk…Gah..Fucking hell!”
“Hey its okay, just breathe. It’ll be over sooner than you think.” Phoenix whispered.
Miles panted, exhausted, barely able to get another breath before another wave hit him back over the wastebasket. Four rounds of heaving and it still wasn’t over. He whimpered, tired, hurting, done with it all.
He just wanted to sleep.
His stomach though, was wide awake. The sound was painful to hear, a deeply pitched whine from within Miles’s chest as he began to sharply dry heave left Phoenix feeling helpless.
“Honey, easy. You need to breathe. In and out. Follow my hand. Breathe in…” Phoenix’s hand went up Miles’s back. “Hold.” It paused, the thumbs rubbing the spot his hand paused at. “Now breathe out.” His hand slowly slid down.
The pet name wasn’t forgotten on Miles as he dry heaved long and hard. Phoenix could only continue his ministrations. Pretty soon, his body had calmed down enough to resort to just spitting. He leaned his head on his hand, still hovering over the basket.
A heartbeat of silence made its way.
“I’m- I’m sorry. Truly. I-I had-“
“Don’t you dare worry about it. It’s okay. Do you think you’re done enough to move?” Phoenix asked.
Miles sniffed, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Yeah, yeah I think so.”
Phoenix helped him up, “Come on, let’s move to the bathroom.”
“You really shouldn’t be doing this. I can’t imagine how disgusting I am right now.”
Phoenix deposited him right in front of the toilet, “Shut up, I don’t mind at all. How are you feeling right now?”
“How do you think?”
“Okay smartass, how about we try a real answer?”
Miles took a minute to assess how he felt. In all honesty he still felt very full. Acknowledging the sensation made him sick again. “Honestly, I think it might be safer to just stay put where I am right now. I don’t know how done I actually am. You may go, I’ll be fine.”
Phoenix nodded, noting his flushed face took on another hue of pale green. “Alright, I’ll sit with you.” He said, completely ignoring the dismissal.
Having no more energy to argue, Miles just leaned against the wall of his bathroom. Arms wrapped around his stomach. He closed his eyes, focused on breathing. In, and out. In, and out. In, and out. His stomach maintained a pattern of angry nausea, but not enough to activate any vomiting. Phoenix had left a moment ago to change out the basket liner and grab a pair of comfy clothes. A plain white T-Shirt, and maroon pajama bottoms. Fitting. He also grabbed a matching maroon robe he found in the closet that looked cozy, but not too heavy. Meeting Miles back in the bathroom, he poked him awake.
“Hey, come on Sleeping Sicky, want to change?”
Miles blinked, “You’re awful sometimes.”
“Only the best for you!” Phoenix winked, “Do you want help changing or you got it?”
Hiding a blush that appeared, Miles turned away, “I can do it just fine thank you. Now please, my privacy?”
“Alrighty then!” Phoenix shut the bathroom door and waited outside. He was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to help the other change. But he wasn’t here to be selfish. Miles allowing him to be here, even reluctantly, was enough.
“You alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I come in?”
“No.”
Miles came out of the bathroom, holding his folded clothes and looking absolutely adorable. Phoenix was granted the rare view of the other’s neck and it was stunning, muscular yet delicate. He could feel himself start to warm up at the sight, but now wasn’t the time. He shook it off.
“So there really is no vampire bite under there huh?”
“What are you going on about now?”
“Just your vampire energy. I’ll explain later, do you want to watch something or try eating?”
Miles huffed, “God no. But I’m alright enough now to be on my own.”
“Nah, not happening. If you don’t mind then how about a little bit of Steel- “
“Alright. You win.”
A couple episodes and a few coughing fits later, it was nearly 8pm. Miles slumped his head into Phoenix’s lap. Not a care in the world about what the other thought. He had just started to doze off when the alarm bells rang once again. His eyes shot open, not paying attention to the screen in front of him. The hands playing with his hair didn’t seem to notice just yet. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to deal with it again. Throwing up fucking sucked and knowing this, he tried to breath the sensation away.
Phoenix on the other hand did in fact notice the changes in breathing pattern. He continued to pet his hair, but Miles was angled just right to where he could feel the jaw clench and his throat tighten. All he could do was warily eye the basket that was beside him.
Another minute passed. His salivary glands were angrily filling his mouth. It was thick, sticky, readying his throat for the dam that was going to break. Miles sat up, pushing the blanket wrapped around him off and headed to the bathroom. With a sympathetic sigh, Phoenix paused the show and followed. He opened the door and peeked in to see Miles slumped against the sink trying to breathe through it.
“Hey don’t try to force it down man. Just let it happen.” Phoenix placed his hands at his shoulders and carefully eased the other man down to kneel at the toilet. “Come on now, it’s alright.” He comforted.
Miles’ throat gave a few clicks as it wanted to gag but he swallowed. His gaze was focused on the toilet bowl. The position, the sight of the water, and crippling nausea pitched him forward with a cough.
“There you go, come on.” Phoenix began to pat his back.
Another click, a gag, a heave. He threw up once, twice, three times before raising his head. “Fuck” he gasped, and then he threw up again.
“Jesus what did you eat to do this to you?”
He gave another gag, “I don’t think – its what I ate” Another gag, “I-I don’t”
“That was rhetorical, don’t talk, just get it out.”
The gags and heaves he let out began to turn dry, it was burning his throat something fierce. “Fuck it fucking hurts” He whimpered.
“I know honey, I know.”
One particularly sharp heave turned into a gurgle and he threw up what was beginning to turn into stomach bile. Phoenix began to feel sick himself as the sounds took a more violent turn. Luckily, after another minute of dry heaving, Miles's body finally understood that there was nothing left to expel from its system and let him take a break. He flushed the toilet and allowed himself to rest on the lid.
“Holy crap that seemed awful.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you want some water?”
Miles shook his head as he flushed the toilet. “No, I’ll just throw it up again. I just want to go to bed Wright, honestly.”
Phoenix took note of everything he could see written on the prosecutor’s body. Obvious fever, vomiting, glazed look in his eyes, flushed cheeks with fever and strain. He was being put through the wringer. He carefully leaned his friend back and got him to lay on his shoulder. “Do you want to try to shower?”
“No.”
“Okay, we can wait on that one. Come on, rinse your mouth and I’ll get everything ready okay?”
Miles's voice cracked a small, “Okay.” And if Phoenix’s heart could break any more it would. He quickly snatched up a couple bottles of medicine, water, and the wastebasket from the living room just in case. He then went back into the bathroom to collect the other man and guided him to his bed. “I’m going to go grab your thermometer, there’s a basket for you in case you can’t make it to the bathroom.”
Miles hummed an acknowledgement and snuggled into the warm covers. When Phoenix returned, it was the cutest sight he’d ever seen. He snapped a picture for later. Blackmail was his excuse.
“Hey, open, under the tongue.” He instructed.
As soon as the cold metal of the thermometer hit his frenulum, Miles weakly gagged.
“Shit! That wasn’t even on your gag relex!”
“I’m aware.”
“Okay, one more time. I’ll be gentle.”
Miles obediently opened his mouth again and held back the urge to gag the offending metal away. After a moment, he was finally free.
*beepbeep* *beepbeep* *beepbeep*
“39.2celsius, 102.6 Fahrenheit. Not enough for a hospital, but enough to be concerned.”
Miles slumped back down into his covers, “Mkay.”
Phoenix poked him, “Hey, don’t go to sleep yet. I want you to try to take some medicine.”
The prospect of anything entering his digestive tract sent shivers down his spine but he was 35, he could handle it. One pill of Pepto, two acetaminophens, and half a Benadryl to help him sleep it all off. He regretted not buying any liquid version. The pills set heavy in his stomach. He whimpered, becoming increasingly overstimulated by his discomfort.
“Hey, you alright? What’s going on?”
“I just, feel everything.” He croaked, willing his eyes to stay dry.
“Do you want anything on or off of you?”
“No, its all internal.”
“Oh I see, we’ll-“
Miles interrupted by pitching forward and regurgitating all of the medication and water he’d just swallowed.
“Well. That sucks.”
He spat out the last of the now pink saliva. “Yeah, it really does.”
“Okay, we’ll just take it by priority. When Trucy was sick last season, she needed to take her medicine in increments. Let's just try that.”
The top of the list was getting Miles’ fever down. Phoenix forced him to take another dose of acetaminophen. If it stayed down for twenty minutes, he would move on to the Pepto. For now, it was a waiting game. Fate was such a terrible player, here he was, in the bedroom of his longtime friend and crush, and he couldn’t even crawl into the bed with him to hold him like he wanted to. Phoenix resigned to set a timer and leave Miles alone, letting his body process the medication.
*
Fever dreams were such a curse. Miles hadn’t had one since his college days with Von Karma. And even then, he was forced to suck it up. He was stuck somewhere he couldn’t exactly visualize, and the feeling was even worse. Suffocating even. The feeling of being alone, trapped, slow to react to any stimuli. He glanced behind him and saw a small light. Going towards it, he noticed the opening of an elevator, an old enemy of his. No way out but forward, looking back at the dark landscape behind him, Miles crawled into the elevator and as soon as he pressed the button to go to the ground floor, it dropped. His stomach going with it. He didn’t know how long he fell until he hit the ground with a thud.
“Fuck!” he screamed. He was panting, his head and body were iced cold, his stomach pulsed and forced him over the edge of the bed, weakly spiting up more water. He gagged over the basket liner, breathing uneven, eyes unfocused.
“Miles? Are you- oh shit.”
The sight alone was heart wrenching. It was like watching a strong beast reduced to a neglected sickly pup. Phoenix rushed over to help his friend; he steadied him from falling off the bed. Miles weakly grabbed onto his arm for support. “Phoenix, I can’t. Please make it stop.” He whined, suddenly pitching forward again to vomit more stomach bile and water.
“I know baby I’m so sorry. I know, it’s the worst. You got this, its going to be okay, just breathe through it as best you can alright?”
Phoenix reached up and massaged Miles back in small circles as he gurgled up more liquid. Only a couple minutes went by and Miles was finally able to sit back panting. His eyes were still heavily glazed over with fever and exhaustion.
“Let me guess, you’re the type to never get sick but once you do, it hits you hard.”
“Maybe.”
Okay, still coherent enough to make a reply. “Wait here just one second.” Phoenix moved to run to the bathroom and retrieve a damp washcloth. He wiped off the sweat and saliva that stuck to Miles’ face. He was still catching his breath from the exertion. “What spurred that on? It was kind of aggressive.” He noted, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Mmm” was all Miles managed to reply. Too tired from it all, he curled on his side, holding Phoenix’s arm in his hand and quickly falling back asleep.
A blush mixed with emotional frustration crept into his face, maybe he could indulge a little. Just once? He brought a free hand up to caress back a few strands of bangs that fell in that beautiful face. No matter how sick, argumentative, or sweaty, he was still the most gorgeous man in the entire world to Phoenix. Once the silver strands were out of the way, Phoenix’s hand found itself cupping the flushed cheek of the Demon Prosecutor, his thumb lightly brushing it as if to wipe it away. He sighed. Heartache finding its way into his chest he let go and forced himself to get up.
“Wait…”
“Miles, you’re awake?”
Despite his brain being cooked from the inside, there was something knowing, something understanding behind his eyes, “Can you please stay with me this time?”
If he were a dog he’d be wagging his tail left and right until it fell off. Play it cool.
“Absolutely, if that’s what you’d want.”
“Mhm.”
Phoenix, already dressed a bit down crawled into bed beside the man. Miles sought after the warmth that had just appeared and snuggled right into the arms of the defense attorney. He could blame it on the fever later. Phoenix, growing tired himself, began to play with the silver locks and petting the arm that latched around his chest under the covers.
“God help me,” he prayed, “I’m too in love with this man.”
*
Only a few hours of sleep had passed for both men that Miles woke up suddenly to chug the bottle of water on the nightstand Phoenix had set down for him. In his feverish haze, he knew he was dehydrated and those poor osmoreceptors had him gulping down water, bringing some relief to his dry throat and mouth. Over half of the water bottle was gone before he came up for air. He sat up, taking in some of his surroundings, but remained unmoving. The rustle of the sheets and stir of cold air brought Phoenix out from his sleep cycle. Blinking away the remnants of a dream, he softly touched Miles arm.
“Hey, you awake? You don’t do the whole sleep moving thing do you?” No response. He sighed and sat up with Miles, watching his glazed eyes. He placed a hand over his forehead, “Jesus Christ, I could fry an egg on your body! One second, I’m going to take your temperature again.” Moving to get up, he noticed the singular water bottle that was nearly gone. Warily noting that, he grabbed the device and held it under Miles tongue. He was starting to shake. Phoenix placed a hand on his friend’s warm head, a silent gesture of comfort. Miles leaned into him, eventually leaning his upper half into the other man. When the thermometer beeped, Phoenix grew a little worried, only one degree higher from before, but as long as it was managed maybe it would be okay.
“How are you feeling right now?” he asked.
“Sick.”
Phoenix stood still, holding his friend in a hug. “I know, the bane of humanity’s existence.”
“No, sick.”
“What do you mean?” Looking down, Miles hand shakily made its way up to cover his mouth. “Oh, you meant sick. Shit!”
Phoenix quickly grabbed the trashcan and thrust it into Miles lap. Hovering over it, he let his mouth hang open, too exhausted and just wanting it to be over already. He was already a little short of breath from the pressure buildup in his diaphragm. Drool was beginning to hit the liner. He brought his arms up to rest on the lip of the receptacle and waited.
“You woke up thirsty and drank all that water too fast, didn’t you?”
He spit into the bin, “Mm…” he whined before readying himself for the small gurgling gag that brought up only a little bit of the water and leftover remnants of his stomach. Phoenix once again, rubbed small circles into his back as Miles coughed and threw up the water he’d just consumed. It wasn’t much, it didn’t even last more than a minute. But to them it seemed an eternity had gone by with nothing but suffering. With a final cough and clearing spit into the wastebasket, Miles allowed Phoenix to take it away from him and collapsed back into bed wrapping his arms around his middle. When the other returned, the sight was pitiful. Miles’ face was all scrunched up in pain as his insides continued to cramp and ache. Joining him on the bed, Phoenix resumed their previous position, making sure to guard the water bottle on his side. He ran a soothing hand up and down his friend’s arm. In all his fever ridden glory, Miles knew the action was made with the utmost care. And it was for him. He was doing all of this for him. There were no ulterior motives, no deadlines to face (not that he’d be allowed to anyway), nothing was allowed to come disturb him and he knew his dearest friend was making sure of that. Crippled with emotion and physical pain, Miles began to latch onto general market store bought work shirt Phoenix still wore and began to cry into it.
“Hey, hey hey what’s the matter hon? What’s up?”
The pet name. Oh god the sweetest one off of those lips. It made him cry harder.
“You just must not feel good I bet. That’s alright, let it out.”
The permission. Not just to cry, but to be vulnerable. The last time that happened was when he was a small child with the common flu passed around by his classmates and his father taking off work to care for him.
“There you go, that’s it, its alright. By tomorrow everything is going to be loads better.”
Miles eventually cried himself back to sleep, dreaming of peaceful nothingness.
*
It was around 8 in the morning when Miles’s fever finally broke. The downside of that was that he was covered in sweat and freezing cold. He was at least back to being coherent and focused. It had been around seven or eight hours since his last vomiting episode, and he was able to hold down small sips of water without gagging. Phoenix sent him to shower while he made breakfast. Plain dry toast with half a container of yogurt spread onto it, a couple squares of melon, and water with a vitamin C packet. Phoenix wasn’t sure how medically sound it was, maybe it was more of a placebo, but either way it looked pretty and easy to digest. When Miles appeared from the bathroom, he dressed in the fresh clothes laid out for him and appeared in the kitchen where he found a small plate of food just for him.
“You really did not need to do this, I don’t even know if I can eat it all.”
“Everyone knows that if you can hold down water you should try to eat! This was what I had Trucy eat when she got the 24 hour bug. Don’t worry if you can’t eat it, only a few bites is enough.”
“Well,” he eyed the plate with caution, “very well.” Seating himself at the table, he took a nervous bite of watermelon. When it didn’t seem to have any adverse effects he forced himself to try the toast. That was a little harder, but at least it settled in a few minutes.
“Try to eat in increments of three minutes. And like I said, you don’t need to eat it all.”
Going off his advice, Miles slowly picked at the food until almost half of it was consumed. He gingerly watched the other man clean up.
“How’s your stomach?” Phoneix asked.
“Honestly, its probably fine, its just my muscles that are killing me. And I feel like a block of ice.”
“You want a blanket?”
“No, its probably best I sweat it out. Have you eaten yet?”
Phoenix nodded, “Yeah, I had some of your tea and made avocado toast with some eggs. Figured I’d eat first just in case it set you off or something.”
“Thank you, honestly. It -, it truly does mean a lot that you cared enough to do all of this. With von Karma out of the picture, its hard to accept any form of vulnerability, especially with others. If anything, I’m just thankful it was you that came to my aid.”
Hiding a blush at the appreciation, Phoenix attempted to brush it off with a wave of his hand, “Nah, don’t mention it. No biggie really.”
Knowing that he was disagreeing with a prosecutor should have been his first sign to shut up and take the thanks, now he was in an argument about it.
“Don’t tell me its no big deal! You stayed up a good portion of the night dealing with my fever nonsense, stayed by my side during all those incredibly disgusting displays, and did everything you could to assist my comfort. Whatever would make you think it isn’t a big deal? And don’t use being a father as an excuse.”
“I mean, yeah a good portion of those skills did come from helping Trucy and panicking when she was sick. But I mean, who wouldn’t be worried about their friend puking their guts out?”
Miles shook his head, “Whatever, we can discuss this later. I don’t fully believe you.”
“Ouch!” Phoenix placed a hand over his heart, “how you wound me good sir!”
“Mocking a sick person, where on earth did your bedside manners go?”
“In the trashcan with your stomach.”
“Low blow Wright.”
He shrugged and smiled, a playful look in his eyes gleaming as he took another sip of tea. “Think your done with that?” he nodded over to the half-finished plate and beverage.
“Yes I apologize, I couldn’t do any more.”
“Don’t worry about, I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
While Phoenix moved to wash the dishes, Miles watched as his friend rolled up his sleeves. Remembering that he came over in his work clothes, Miles felt inclined to offer a pair of his for the other to wear despite it being awfully attractive the way the muscles in his forearms and hands moved with his work shirt.
“I have some casual pants and shirts you could borrow if you’d like. I think we’re about the same size.”
“You have something casual?” he laughed.
“Just take the damn offer. I don’t have the energy for you.”
“Aw thanks Edgy!”
Bounding away, the only reason that Phoenix took the offer of fresh clothes wasn’t for comfort, it more so had to deal with the prospect of him being surrounded in the other’s scent. As creepy as it sounds, there’s really nothing like smelling the clothes of one’s crush. Pheonix found a dark purple-ish red sweater and black sweats. They smelled divine. Reappearing in the kitchen, Miles was entirely caught off guard due to the view those sweats provided. It almost appalled him how no matter how sick he may be, he still found that primal need to devour what looked amazing.
“What? Are these fancy? Should I change?”
“Oh, No, not at all they look fine.”
“Well then what was that face for?”
“Just surprising to see you in it is all.” Miles looked away, face flushing.
Hiding a smirk, Phoenix plopped himself in the chair right across from Miles, his foot placed where it could graze the other’s leg should they shift just right. Falling into conversation, their feet wound up touching at some point, but neither made the effort to correct the position.
“Um, I’m sorry to bring it up and you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m just curious. What brought this all on? Was it related to the case?”
Miles sucked in a deep breath and took a moment to think about his answer. The lightbulb in the kitchen needed changing he noticed. “Well, I think a large part that affected me was stress. Dr. Sarchaw told me that being stressed, especially chronically will increase our risk of illness. Cortisol inhibits the immune system so that our bodies don’t overrespond to whatever the stress may be as a way to protect it in case of a fight or flight situation. He called it a survival theory and despite him harassing my staff for updates, he was kind enough to try to remind me to eat and not overwork.”
“Which you didn’t do.”
“Naturally, I’ll admit.”
“Stop doing that.”
“No. Anyways, a week before the trial when I was at my wits end putting everything together, my secretary needed to call out because her child was sick from school with the stomach bug. Of course, being a mother, she caught it and possibly infected me. Coupled with the entire trial it festered.”
Phoenix took a patient sip of his drink, silently asking Miles to open up about the mental health portion of it even more.
“Of course, I think the topic of the trial truly got me. You’re well aware of the upbringing Manfred von Karma led Franziska and I, I think just seeing a case of such hatred and disdain for an innocent life… well it hurt more than I imagined it could. Forced to maintain such composure, listening to others be able to cry at the injustice Amanda faced finally caught up at the same time that I was sick. I just can’t fathom the idea of losing a child, and I don’t even have one.”
Phoenix nodded, completely understanding, “I’ll admit, when I first got the case I sent Maya out for an errand just so I could break down and cry about it. I imagined Trucy in that situation and it turned my insides left and right. I’ll never understand how people’s brains can do this kind of stuff. When I realized my client was guilty and I was representing her, I actually threw up once myself because she sickened me so much. Instead of the normal grief you’d expect she literally started talking about how her daughter didn’t want to do junior gymnastics and had dyslexia so she wasn’t the star student like her parents.”
“Christ Almighty! That’s absolutely heinous! Thank goodness we put her away. I wondered how you felt being her lawyer.”
Phoenix began to tear up at the thoughts of his daughter, “I can’t possibly understand people like that. If anything happened to Trucy…” he took a breath to steady himself, “I don’t know how I could keep living. I mean we’ve both seen so much, been through so much, she was only 8 when she lost Thalassa. She’s just 17 now, she’s got so much to do in life. If someone were to take her from me…”
Phoenix let a few tears slip out, ducking his head and covering his eyes with one hand, clutching his now cold cup of tea for security. It strained Miles’ heart to see him like this. He reached over and pulled Phoenix’s hand away to look him dead in the eyes. “Trucy is a remarkable young woman, she’s witty, she’s never met a personal foe, and she’s intelligent just like her father. I sometimes wonder what kind of person I would be if I had her strength and energy.”
Phoenix gave a wet laugh, “Sorry, I know I’m overthinking. People out there are crazy. I think I’ll make her take taekwondo after this.”
“Perhaps have her carry bear spray as well.” Miles smiled. “And you are not overthinking this, you’re extremely protective of her as any parent should be. You are a wonderful, amazing father. I remember when you piggybacked her all the way to one of Maya’s dinner meetups because you didn’t want her to get a rock in her shoe. That showed her from a young age what kind of people she should surround herself with. She extremely perceptive to the ‘vibe’ as most kids say nowadays.”
Slack jawed and flushing at the praise, Phoenix didn’t know what to say. This time, his tears manifested into ones of happiness and gushy emotions. Muted by the overwhelming appreciation, Phoenix returned the hold Miles still had on his hand and gave him a big smile.
“Thank you, Miles.”
“No need.”
“You know, she’s asking me to take her to get her driving permit….”
“No.”
“Come on! You’re the best driver out there!”
“And the only driver you know.”
Phoenix rolled his eyes. “So?”
“So, you expect me to give her driving lessons for free?”
“Well if you’re offering…”
“No!”
“Ugh, you don’t play fair. How else is she going to learn? Please Miles, I’ll pay for any damage to your car!” Phoenix stared at him with big puppy dog eyes.
After a moment of careful consideration, Miles smiled back with a soft laugh, “Very well. But only if she knows the law of the road like the back of her wand.”
“Thank you so much! You’re the best teacher out there, she’ll be ready for a license in no time!”
Miles turned away from the compliment. Their conversation settled down for a moment, lapsing into a comfortable silence.
“Where is Trucy?” Miles finally asked.
“I had her stay with some friends after the trial. She’s too perceptive, I didn’t want her to be therapist to my worries if she heard me cry. Its not her responsibility.”
“Do you want to see her now?”
Phoenix sighed. “Yes, but while I was making breakfast she sent me a mall selfie with Pearl and Apollo. Next week though we plan to go see a movie of her choosing and then we’ll just be hanging out whenever I’m not working.”
“Sounds lovely.”
Another lapse of silence. They were still holding each others hand.
“You kinda scared me you know. Jerk.”
“Well you were the one to barge in like a madman.”
Phoenix laughed. The crinkle in his eyes, the hearty laugh, the larger sweater Miles owned exposing the muscles in his neck that flexed every turn of his head. He was so beautiful. Miles appreciated the other man in front of him so much, he unconsciously began the rub his thumb on Phoenix’s hand.
“I am sorry that I frightened you. I haven’t been that ill in years.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“Just exhausted.”
Phoenix stood up from the table, discarding the cup that contained the tea. “Well, how about back to bed then?”
“I think I will. I just need to brush my teeth first. And, I truly am feeling much more capable than earlier. I do not want to trap you here any longer. I feel terrible exposing you to this illness as I have.”
Brushing it off, Phoenix waved his hand. “Bah don’t worry about it! I’ve got a strong immune system. Trucy has had every contagious illness from school you can think of, I’ll be alright. If I do, you’ll just have to nurse me back to health.”
Miles made his move towards the bathroom. “Can’t begin to imagine what a child you must be when you’re ill.”
“Offended.”
As Miles got ready to go back to bed, Phoenix quickly tided everything up a little bit as best as he could. He changed the sheets, throwing everything to the floor, and replacing the comforter. When he finally finished wrestling the bedsheet, he flopped back panting at the frustration of it. Why can’t changing the sheets be easier? At that point, Miles walked into the room to find the pile. He looked between it, Phoenix, and the new bed. He stared at the other’s eyes with a playful scolding look.
“Hey man I literally just finished this for you! Shut up.”
Miles never responded. Instead he ignored the pile and crawled in beside Phoenix.
“No comment on the pile?”
“Just leave it. It’ll get taken care of later.” He yawned.
Taken aback, he quickly placed a hand on Miles’ forehead, “Holy crap are you still delirious!?”
“Quit your dramatics. I’m not a clean freak.”
Arm thrown and resting on Miles’s shoulder instead, the hand resting on his head, the way Phoenix was hovering on top was very intense.
“But you are high maintenance.”
Given the position, the circumstances, the TENSION. Miles gave a lazy lidded look back up at Phoenix, meeting his eyes with just as much ferocity.
“Maybe one of us needs to be.”
Phoenix’s gaze flickered down to Miles lips, Miles doing the same back.
“Yeah, maybe.” He whispered, bringing a hand up to pet those silver bangs. There was no anxiety, no fear of rejection. The body language was telling enough. Phoenix’s eyes searched all around in Miles gaze before they both moved slowly at the same time forward. It was incredibly slow, soft, lips barely pressed together. Phoenix leaned over more gently cup Miles’ cheekbone with his fingers, the other hand caressing his hair. Miles had one on Phoenix’s arm and the other on his neck. As they continued, the kiss moved from nervous testing to full on passion, hums and soft moans at the simple enjoyment of it. Miles made a move to sit up more, in turn angering the muscles in his torso.
“Shit!” he grimaced.
Phoenix immediately broke away, “I’m sorry! What’s wrong? What happened?”
“No, you didn’t do anything I just moved wrong.” Miles said, rubbing his stomach.
Deflating in relief, Phoenix breathed a sigh and placed his forehead on his make out partner. “Are you alright?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good, you startled me.” He said, arching his neck up to kiss Miles’ forehead. “We won’t push it today. But you have no idea how long I’ve been dying to kiss you.”
“Likewise.” He smiled, moving to give Phoenix one more. “Terrible timing of it all though. You’re going to get so sick.”
“Doubt it, but don’t worry, we’ll just save it all for later. You should sleep though. I’m probably not helping.”
Phoenix rolled off Miles and sat up, ready to leave the bed, but Miles grabbed his shoulder and used his remaining strength to slam him back down.
“You don’t get to kiss me and then up and leave.”
“Thank god I didn’t want to.”
Miles curled up onto Phoenix in a half spoon position, letting him card his fingers through his hair. Phoenix hugged him tight, making him feel so safe and secure as he gave occasional kisses on his crown. Miles had severely missed his bed. He hated getting up in the morning to leave the warmth. And now, he had more of a reason to stay in it instead of working or doing anything else. He felt safe, comfortable, cared for, and no amount of illness could ever keep him from enjoying every last bit of his bed and the person added on to it.