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Phoenix finally gave up on his studies far, far later than he should’ve.
He sighed, as he clicked the light off and walked out of his home office, a bit dizzy from refocusing his eyes off a page for the first time in hours. He was exhausted, and the case he was studying was dense, and inconclusive, and why the hell was it so important in the first place?? What did it have to do with the case at hand??
He grumbled to himself a little as he entered the bedroom. This case was so fucking strange, and all of the relevant precedents set didn’t truly apply, which meant he was going to have to cobble something together he wasn’t confident in…
God, why did he have to be so hung up on the details? Most cases his defense just flowed out of him, but this one...maybe he was losing his touch. Maybe he should just quit, and start dealing drugs again, or something that doesn’t require such studying and composing and not to mention playing with people’s lives-
“Come to bed?”
He sighed, pulled back to reality by his partner’s voice, slurred a little bit by sleepiness. He took a good look at Miles, already in bed, curled up on his side under their covers. How could he not indulge such a request?
So he slid into bed and just...laid there, on his back. Anxiety swirling in his chest.
Miles lifted his sleepy head, hair mussed by the pillow, and just stared at him.
“What?” Phoenix asked.
“You have had a long night,” Miles simply observed, putting his head back down.
“Yes,” Phoenix sighed, turning over to face him.
Miles shifted himself, held out an arm, and that was what got Phoenix to crack.
He shot forward, arm wrapped around his torso, head hitting Miles’ chest the moment before his tears began.
He cried, and cried, and his partner held a soothing hand against his back as he released all of the stress into his silken pajamas.
“Yes, good, let it out,” Miles murmured in his ear, “It will kill you, locked inside without any outlet, release it all, please, my love…”
Phoenix only cried harder at the words, hands fisting into Miles’ pajamas, lightheaded and wracked with sobs.
“Yes, yes, some cases are just like this, tough enough to make one reconsider their entire career, by taking it seriously, you are doing the right thing, you are doing the right thing-”
Phoenix’s sobs were quieting, no less intense as they wracked his ribcage, but they were coming less frequently. The wave was passing, and Phoenix was so, so tired from riding it.
His spasms came fewer and farther between, and his hand, curled within the fabric of Miles’ shirt, released.
“I hope this release of emotion gifted you with some semblance of relief,” Miles said, kissing his head.
What odd wording, Miles chose sometimes, for a sentiment as simple as Hope you feel better. But the lack of trite platitudes in favor of wordy sentiments helped Phoenix absorb it, without the eyeroll of cliché.
He still felt the heavy weight of stress, as a knot in his chest. But it seemed easier to bear, now.
He settled in his arms with a sigh. He felt like he had been working out, the warmth of his body head to toe radiating out into the blankets, the mattress, and Miles, whose own body head doubled back to him.
Phoenix shifted, raising his leg to wrap around half of Miles’ hip. He wiped his face of tears, and reached up to kiss Miles on the mouth.
They kissed languidly, Miles sliding his arm down Phoenix’s back until it hooked into his leg, yanking it up even higher on his body.
Phoenix sighed between kisses. If only he were a bigger man, he could stretch himself to cover Miles with his whole body.
Miles exhaled in kind, dragging his hips and belly closer, until they were more than flush against one another.
Phoenix finally broke the kiss, leaning down and soaking in Miles’ heat, just breathing.
Then, he did something wholly unexpected, if not surprising—he fell asleep, leg and arm wrapped around his partner. Soft against the weight of him, the demons in his heart and mind were pushed aside for the pure sensory feel of it all.