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Phoenix let out a heavy sigh as he lifted his coat while looking on the mirror. The suit was- well, filled out, and the buttons strained around his newfound softness. He looked down at his bare stomach.
"What am I going to do with you?" He lightly squeezed his developing muffin tops.
Miles walked past behind him and hugged his shoulders from the behind. "I didn't know you were a tummy talker. Cute."
"Am not." He shot back.
"What's all the fuss about? You seem unhappy."
Phoenix grunted.
"Fussy Feenie." Miles hummed and smiled at his supposed wordplay and reached around to kiss Phoenix' cheek.
"Stop it.." He complained.
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing. Just.. body issues, I suppose." He pinched his hips.
"Really? You're perfect to me, darling."
"Yeah, but--"
"No buts."
"No whats no coconuts?" Phoenix finished.
"Precisely." God, he loves his boyfriend. So much.
He smoothed his fingers through his hair and lightly rubbed his scalp. He melted into his touch.
"Please tell me," Miles cooed. His voice was too swaying to resist.
Phoenix had let his coat fall back over his bare skin at this point, but he huffed and pulled his layers back up to expose himself. It felt tremendously vulnerable with how soft he'd gotten.
"I don't see what the problem is." Miles scanned his body in the mirror. "Perfect and lovable as always."
"But look. My .. um, stomach has gotten softer."
"Okay.. what about it?"
"And my hips.. it all just kinda pudges out and over my belt and waistband. It's getting a bit difficult to button things, let alone my undershirt for trials. I feel gross."
"We can go shopping," Miles offered.
"That's not the issue, Edgeworth." Despite being lovers at this point, they still carried the habit of calling eachother by last name thanks to their work.
"You're playing dumb. Can you just be honest? What do you really think?"
Miles smoothed his hands lower from his shoulders to the center of his abdomen.
"Mr. Wright."
"Yeah?"
"I told you what I really think. Why would I ever mind?"
"Because I'm.. all this being disbarred and not biking to and from places and being lazy around the house.. it's starting to catch up from me. And my stupid appetite from my medication."
Phoenix sighed. "And you? You're perfect. You have the perfect physique, like straight from a modeling newspaper. You're gorgeous. I think about it all the time."
Miles crinkled his eyes.
"Perfection really doesn't exist, my dear. There will always be something that's considered more ideal than the next, and with such a mindset, perfection cannot exist. Nothing can ever measure up because it's simply unnecessary. It isn't something tangible that you can grasp and compare."
"I'm gonna be honest honey, I lost you in the second half."
"Standards are ever changing and shouldn't influence how you live your life and I am going to beat anyone up who says otherwise."
Phoenix pondered it, his finger tapping his chin as he would in deep thought during trial.
"Isn't that right, Trucy? Pearls?"
Trucy dropped the plastic mini cars she was wheeling around the carpet and stumbled into the other room. Pearls reluctantly followed suit : she didn't want to unglue herself from the new Pink Princess episode airing.
"Papa, what is it?" Trucy hugged Miles' legs, just barely reaching his torso.
"Hi Uncy!!" Pearls exclaimed, staying close behind.
"That is a ridiculous nickname."
"Foolish, huh? You're beginning to sound like your sister." Pearls huffed.
Miles looked offended. "Why, you.."
Pearls scurried away as he pretended to chase after her, his arms outstretched and his fingers curled like claws. "I'm going to get you!"
She squealed and hid behind the couch.
"What's it you needed?" Trucy tugged his coat ends.
"Hey-- don't play with that, this coat was expensive..!"
"You gonna answer?-"
"Wanna hear what we were playing Mr. Miles?" Pearls piped up as she poked her head above the couch.
"Alright."
"We were making the cars get into accidents and some people died or got crazy injured then we put up a billboard that says Wright Talent Agency and it said "Are you suffering from emotional strife and grievances? Visit Wright Talent Agency to help!" And we did all that to reel in more clients and it was perfect and we were making more money."
Miles was stunned.
"Yeah!" Trucy waved her arms in the air. "What she said! It was very successful."
Phoenix bursted out laughing as he walked in the doorway. "Gaahahahaha! I take it you two took inspiration from watching our trials, hmm?"
"I..." Miles stared. "Is this appropriate for girls her age? Both of them?"
"Well.. not every trial is a homicide.. right?"
Miles gave him a deadpan expression.
"Okay! Sheesh! Just about.."
"Hold it." Phoenix pointed and grinned. "Show me this billboard, we may be able to take notes from it!"
Pearls picked up the tiniest cardboard, crudely scribbled in with markers and the best nine-year-old handwriting they could muster, scrawled in tiny text. There was a poor attempt at scribbling Phoenix, Miles, and Trucy holding hands.
"Hmm. Brilliant graphic design!" Phoenix smugly grinned. "She gets it from me."
"Exactly my thoughts." Miles squinted closer. "Wait.. I shouldn't be on here. I'm a prosecutor, I don't defend people-"
"Too bad! We needed to pair you up with Daddy."
"That's my baby girl." Phoenix ruffled Trucy's hair and picked her up to kiss her head. He was met with a cheesy grin.
Miles snorted. "You really are such a dad."
"Mhm!" He puffed out his chest proudly before slowly spinning Trucy in circles while holding her up, sending her into a laughing fit. "Da-addy, put me down!!"
"Okay. Only cause you asked nicely.. wait, where was that please? The magic word?" He gently plopped Trucy onto the ground. "That hurt." She pouted. "Thank you."
"Now where were we?-"
"Uncy, what was that you were trying to ask and saying 'right' to?" Pearls chimed in.
"That's what I was getting to. What did I tell you about that name?"
Pearls pressed a hand to her mouth and suppressed a giggle.
"What is it, papa?" Trucy stood on her tippy toes.
"Isn't Phoenix perfect? He's fretting over his body, but I tell him everyday that he's perfect." Miles hummed and kissed his cheek.
"Yeah! He's very ham-some." Pearls patted Phoenix' arm and hugged it.
"It's handsome, dear. Like hand, then some." Miles gently smiled.
"I love you daddy, please don't feel bad about yourself!!" Trucy hugged his waist. "You're the perfect dad."
"I'm being swarmed by babies," Phoenix pretended to gasp for air. "I give in! I swear!" He slumped to the floor on his knees and raised his arms in defeat.
"Now DETAIN him!!" Pearls declared while the two put him in plastic handcuffs.
"Where did you learn that word from..?"
"Gumpshoe." Pearls said.
"Same man who tried to show this little girl a genuine pistol. Good grief." Phoenix sighed. "It's gum-shoe. Like the gum-tree."
"He's a tree?"
"Sure, Pearls."
Miles cackled. "God Wright, you're so perfect with children."
"Thank you." Phoenix was dragged and scooted across the carpet as the girls tried to move him. They pushed him into a wooden chair that just so happened to be there and shined a light into his eyes.
"Gahh!" He winced.
"You're under arrest! Own up to your crimes." Trucy pointed her finger indignantly. Another habit picked up by her two dads.
"I don't know! What does it say in the case files?!" Phoenix pleaded.
Pearls picked a magazine and squinted. "Self deprecation! And not feeling good about yourself!" She declared one more.
"You got me, okay?! Put me away!"
"No." Trucy was stubborn and stomped her little foot.
"Miles Edgeworth, please step forward. This is the only way to bail your husband out."
Miles stepped forward with his hands raised to prove his surrender. "We aren't married.. yet."
"Don't care!"
"Now squat down and kiss him and tell him he's beautiful!" Trucy shouted.
Miles complied. He kneeled and rested a warm hand on his cheek while tilting him to a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. "You're beautiful, Phoenix." He smiled with his eyes.
"I'll believe it so long as it's coming from you." He nuzzled him.
"Good."
"Can I be released now?"
Trucy scurried away to find the plastic key to unlock it.
"Umm.. Uncy.. Fee-nix.."
Miles emotionally prepared himself for whatever bad news was about to come.
"Pess chewed up and ate the key.. I was too afraid to tell anyone. I'm so sorry!"
Miles slapped his forehead. "Of course she did."
Pess often came over for playdates. They absolutely adored his dog. Maybe more than him..
"Um, a little help?" Phoenix kicked his legs.
"..I'll get the scissors. Pearls, go get a knife. A sharp one."
"WHAT?!"
. . .
Phoenix went as pale as a ghost the second Miles approached him and slowly slid the scissors around the fake cuffs.
"Now what is going on!?" Phoenix yelped.
Snip.
"I'm trying to get you out of these, hold still!"
"Trucy, come over here and use those saw skills of yours! Rescue your father- with this knife!"
"Huh? Okay." Trucy didn't give it a second thought.
"Oh, shit.."
Gasp.
"He swore!!" Pearls determined and covered her mouth.
"Bad." Trucy tapped his nose, now that he was at eye level. He felt like a miserable cat getting scolded with a spray bottle.
She now sawed at his cuffs to the best of her ability.
"AGGHHH!!!" Phoenix yelled.
"Hold still, daddy!"
"I don't want to!! What is wrong with you all?!"
Snap.
"There!" Trucy rubbed her hands together.
"Yay Trucy!!!" Pearls hopped up and down.
"I'm outta here!!" Phoenix scurried off to his bedroom.
"Where are you going?!"
Miles laughed out loud. A good, hearty laugh. He was genuinely enjoying himself, despite their tender moment being stalled by his unwise decision.
"Phoenix and I .. I think we need some time alone, okay?" Miles looked down at the little ones.
"Don't do weird stuff." Pearls pointed at him with an accusatory tone and frowned.
"Um..." Miles felt his ears burn. Just what did these kids think they were doing?!
"Is cuddling weird?" He offered.
"I will allow it." Trucy confirmed.
"Let's kill some more pedestrians!"
Miles dramatically dragged a hand down his face. Christ. Just how does he do it?
He turned on his heels and slipped into the bedroom, softly clicking the door shut and turning the lock.
"As we were saying.." Miles dipped the mattress by plopping down on the edge.
"Mm?"
Phoenix sprawled out on the bed with his shirt riding up, exposing the very thing he's insecure about. Miles couldn't help but be distracted.
Phoenix tugged his shirt down to the best of his ability, much to his disappointment.
"You know I love you all the same."
"It still never gets easier." Phoenix sighed.
"You're beautiful."
"I get that often.."
"So believe it."
Miles reached out to touch him as gently as he could. His heart twisted at the way he flinched.
"Sweetheart.."
Phoenix' inconspicuously sniffled.
"Is it okay?" He hovered his hand over him, looking softly at him for permission.
"Yeah .. I don't understand how you could appreciate it, though." Phoenix was glum. He bit his lip.
"Okay." Miles smiled. "I'll just have to show you."
"Hmm?"
He led him upright with his hand and hugged him against his chest. He then lightly pulled his shirt up.
"What are you doing..?"
"Shh. You'll see." Miles gently squeezed his stomach.
He tensed up. "Huh.."
"Shhh. It's okay."
He ran his hands along his softened hips and traced the budding of stretch marks decorating his sides, moving his hand toward his middle.
"Warm.." he referred to his hands, but could hardly form a coherent thought with the way he was melting in them.
"Mhm."
He appreciated it for some time, alternating between giving him gentle rubs and affectionate squeezes. All of the tension lifted from Phoenix.
He closed his eyes.
Then Miles sweeped his thumb lower, tracing his light trail down and across his navel and below it. Phoenix shivered.
"Hm..?"
"I didn't realize you've gotten fuzzy." Miles lightly teased him. "I suppose I've never really appreciated it enough in the past."
"Mm.." Phoenix mumbled.
"I ought to call you a teddy bear."
"I wouldn't object to that.."
Miles continued to sweep his thumb back and forth, making Phoenix lean into him further and let out happy sighs.
"Do you still feel undesirable?" He rested his hands there.
"I guess not." Phoenix tipped his head back to look up at Miles, tickling his chin with his spiky hair.
"Stop that." Miles laughed.
"I guess it's just.. you seem so perfect to me. You're so pretty and handsome and-"
Miles tapped his nose just as Trucy.. or was it Pearls? Did earlier.
"Hush. The same could be said to you. You're devilishly handsome, you know. You don't know how often I get lost in thought during trials."
"Stop it."
"I'm serious, Wright. I think about it all the time. And what was that I told you about perfection, hmm? Did my speech go through one ear out the other?"
"Mnoo.."
"That ideals are stupid and-"
"I get it, I get it!!" Phoenix shoved his face in Miles' chest.
"Good." He kissed his forehead.
"I'm not perfect either." He air quoted and unquoted the word perfect. "I wear a corset, for crying out loud. For my back. If you think I have no body fat--"
"Old man." He rested a hand on Miles' cheek.
"We are the same age." He huffed indignantly.
"Ooooold~"
Miles squished his cheeks to shut him up.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Miles."
"Yeah?"
"To the moon and back."
"Hmph. Well, I love you to the widest stretches of the ever expanding universe and back."
Phoenix groaned.
Miles ignored that.
"Get up for a second."
Phoenix reluctantly obliged.
Miles pulled his corset off to reveal himself and blushed. The pink dusting across the bridge of his nose and freckled cheeks was very, very dear to Phoenix. Only he got to see it.
"Well? Is this a fatal flaw, Wright?" Miles shyly retorted.
"No, because you're.. you."
"Hardly a valid argument. I expected better from a defense attorney." Miles tsked and wagged his finger at Phoenix.
"Try again."
"I mean it. Everything I find attractive on you seems.. unattractive to me." Phoenix ran his hands along Miles' sides and stroked the white stretch marks that marred his hips, then swept them back over his belly.
Miles exhaled softly. "Wright, you can't put me on a pedestal. I'm not perfect."
"You are."
"Wright." He sounded a little colder.
He tilted up Phoenix' chin and gazed into his eyes.
"Listen closely."
Phoenix swallowed and gently nodded.
"It's unfair to yourself to find things about yourself ugly, while they're beautiful on me."
"I-"
"Shush." He stroked his jaw.
"To hold me up to some standard-- sweetheart, our bodies.. what's so different about them?
Miles cut him off again as soon he parted his lips to speak, gently pulling him into a tender kiss. Phoenix moaned against his mouth; he swore he could trace them and memorized each curve and the sweetness and softness of his lips. Yet there wasn't a shred of sexual frustration here, only honest to god love.
He put his hands on either shoulder. "Phoenix.. listen." Miles' throat tightened. "Our bodies.. they carry us. They're just vessels for us to navigate the world in. They allow us to experience everything we do. And god, Wright, it allowed someone as beautiful as you to exist."
"But even then, how is there so much to appreciate? How could you love--" he gestured to his stomach and thighs. "This?" Phoenix' voice broke.
Miles patiently pulled him into his lap. He swept his hand up and down his back.
"Your legs, they allow you to run and play tag with Trucy and Pearls - they carry you to those playgrounds and open fields.."
Miles paused. "That sounds a little stupid, huh..?"
Nonetheless, he continued. "They're sturdy and nice to rest on. And this?" He squeezed his sides and stomach lightly. "All it means is that you're taking care of yourself and enjoying food. There's no shame in that at all. You've become comfortable, and you're so, so warm. Your softness has only served to make you even more pleasant to cuddle. It.. matches your personality, in a sense."
Phoenix blinked away a budding tear.
"You're so.. charismatic. You're charming, but so sweet and so caring. You make others feel whole, myself included. You feel safe. Like you're a home that I would've liked to grow up in."
His bottom lip trembled.
"I like resting my head on it." Miles sighed. "And it's nice to pet and trace whenever I get anxious or overly stressed. It's cozy."
He pulled Phoenix against his chest. Phoenix hiccuped.
"These.." Miles took his soft hands and gingerly kissed the tops of them before rolling his thumbs over his knuckles and rubbing his palms. "You can pick flowers with them. I know how much you love putting them in my hair, and Trucy's." He tucked a stray hair behind his ear. "They're perfect for holding and soothing." He cupped his face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together. Phoenix shakily took a breath.
"I'm glad I met you."
The dam broke. Here came the waterworks.
Phoenix teared up and let out a slightly strangled noise as he buried his face in Miles' shoulder.
"Thank you.."
Miles hummed in response and struggled to blink away his own tears.
"We're not put here to look pretty, Wright. We're just here, and that's the best we can do. And I'm so glad that you are here. You have no idea how handsome you are."
The arms wrapped around him only squeezed harder. Miles leaned to lay flat on his back, coaxing Phoenix to lay beside him. He peppered his neck with kisses and trailed them all the way down his trail and his thighs. He traced his stretch marks between his thighs and hips, eyes glistening as he recognized how they glowed in the afternoon light filtering through the blinds. They looked golden.
"You're like a tiger." Miles murmured. "You see how the light hits your stripes? They're practically golden, darling."
"So are yours.." Phoenix splayed a hand over his broad chest and tangled their legs together. "You're gorgeous, Miles.
"As are you, and I'll repeat it as many times as I need to."
They both laid in silence only broken by the contact of bare skin and gentle kisses, exploring each other's bodies and each new freckle or stretch mark or scar that budded. Miles especially enjoyed connecting the dots of freckles on Phoenix' shoulders and back and arms, pointing out whatever shape or animal it resembled. He never failed to remind him how much they reminded him of constellations against the canvas that is his body, just made to be decorated with life's experiences. His self harm scars, he took special care in tracing, telling him how proud he is and how far he's come. And of course, he returned the favor to Miles. The white lines that striped their shoulders, arms, anywhere, were kissed and each individual one was reminded of just how beautiful they really are.
"You've grown so much."
"So have you, Phoenix."
"You look so much healthier now."
Miles smiled. He knew he struggled with caring for himself and his body image, but Phoenix' patient encouragement and praise over the years had finally paid off. He was kinder to his body. He took care of it when he needed to. It's true, he does look far healthier; but he also seemed happier. He had more strength, more energy to offer.
"It's all because of you."
Phoenix brushed his fingertips along Miles' softest, sensitive spots. His shoulders, his waist, tummy, and thighs; he took care in fully taking in and appreciating each part of his partner. His skin was soft and supple.
Eventually, his eyes were lulled shut while their bodies were pressed against eachother. Their shirts and pants were kicked off a long time ago.
-
A crack in their door woke them from their light sleep. Blue light trickled in from the cartoon reruns in the front room, and Trucy nervously peered around the corner.
"Daddy..?"
"Hmm?" Phoenix half opened his eyes. Miles rustled next to him.
"Pearls went home early. Can I nap with you and Papa..?" Trucy rubbed her eyes and let out a tiny yawn.
"Of course, Truce."
Trucy crawled into bed and nestled herself between Phoenix and Miles before she decided that her dad would be the perfect pillow. She curled on her side, kicking her legs onto Miles and then plopping her head down on Phoenix' belly.
"Wfhh." The wind was partially knocked out of Miles with the sudden pressure, but Phoenix himself didn't seem to mind. Trucy let out a content sigh as she nuzzled her father.
Miles tenderly gazed at Phoenix' freckles once more, and the birth marks delicately painted on his body. He traced each one until he mapped out a starry sky. He knew him so well that, even when his eyelids squeezed shut, he could remember it like the back of his hand.
-
"What did I tell you?" Miles murmured after he heard Trucy doze off. Phoenix roused from his light sleep.
"About what?"
"Pillow."
"I suppose you're right." Phoenix looked down fondly at his daughter.
"What do they call that? A... dad bod..?"
Phoenix slightly snorted. "When do you ever use pop culture terms?"
"I just heard of it and think it defines you quite well." Miles kissed his cheek and scrunched his nose at the tickle from Phoenix' light stubble as he pulled away. Phoenix smiled.
"Just like Truce and Pearls said. You're a wonderful father." Miles prodded his side.
"Gahh! Miles!" He nearly squeaked.
Miles couldn't stop laughing at his boyfriend's sudden reaction.
"Shh, keep it down! Don't wake the baby." Phoenix silenced him with his finger against his lips. Miles' cheeks puffed as he tried to restrain himself.
Trucy stirred in her sleep and the two exchanged knowing glances. Phoenix rubbed her back and soon, all three of them had settled into a comforting nap.
Of course, Trucy would ask for pancakes later.