Tifa & Yuffie II

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix flinched subtly. He was expecting as much, knowing his luck, but he still had had his hopes it would be something so simple. He sighed, an almost alarmingly resigned manner to the action, "go ahead...as much as I'd rather not, I know that should listen" he replied, preparing himself for the inevitably bad news...he wished his luck would pick up once in a while...one of these days things wouldn't turn out okay for once, he just knew it...his expression made it clear that he already knew he wasn't going to like the news nor the outcome of the event, but at the same time, it was like he was as prepared as he ever would be for the news...but at the same time, Miles would likely notice the dread and fear in his eyes, obvious as could be but at the same time completely hidden from the world outside those who knew him well.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles subconsciously sought out Phoenix's hand, holding it tightly as the doctor pulled up the x-rays on a holo-screen so that they could see.
"See this here?" he said, pointing to this concerning looking black dot amidst the white of Miles' bronchial tubes. "This is a blood-clot."
Miles' expression hardened instantly, into a look Phoenix would recognise as his 'brave face', the look he got when he was staying strong for Phoenix's sake. "What does that mean?" he asked.
"Well... it's a good indication of cellular breakdown in the lungs... it's a rare condition, but i've seen it a few times, it's usually something only people with a genetic disposition get."
Miles heart thudded with dread, cellular breakdown didn't sound good, even to someone without any medical history.
"It seems to be in early stages... because this is the only clot present... but the cure rate for this condition is.... abysmally low." The doctor looked deeply apologetic.
Miles took a deep breath, trying to keep his calm facade up. "But something can be done?"
"I can give you medications that stop the breakdown, at this stage they should work, but there is a high rate of relapse, and the side-effects are numerous."
"It doesn't matter, I'll deal with one issue at a time," Miles snapped, struggling to remain calm, his voice wheezed as another cough threatened.
"Alright, i'll return in a minute, I will fetch you a perscription."
The doctor stood and left the room, and once he did Miles let the coughs out.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix managed to keep a completely straight face, even after the doctor left, but Miles was holding his hand and would probably notice the slight trembling and would easily know the minute signs of distress in his eyes. He said nothing at first, just closing his eyes as though in thought, but after a moment he glanced to the side at Miles, when the man coughed again. "...you don't need to do that..." he said, referring to the 'brave-face' which he knew was for his sake. "...I was already expecting this sort of news....I was prepared, you know...not that that makes me any less worried for you and all, but...well..." he cut off, seeming to have lost what he was going to say. He gave Miles a gentle squeeze, his expression somehow remaining flawlessly calm even if his eyes screamed the fear he was REALLY feeling...such was his way when his emotions threatened his mental state -he shut them up where he couldn't be bothered by them, though others often still noticed their presence. "...I have no cases at the moment...I'll let Esme know that I won't be going to the office for a few days, and neither will you. I'll be keeping an eye on you until you get better, understand?" he said, the way he worded the sentence leaving little room for argument. Despite this, his voice was soft as though comforting Miles, since he knew anyway that the man wasn't as calm as he was acting.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles fought to maintain his bravery despite Phoenix's reassurance, but when a second bout of coughs hit him, and were accompanied by the horrid coppery taste of blood again, he lost his composure.
"God dammit," he swore, clinging to Phoenix desperately. "Th-This is..." he choked, having trouble speaking for breathlessness. "This is what killed my mother, Phoenix."
He was trembling from head to toe, and the oxygen mask hissed as it tried to keep up with his struggled breathing.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix gently put his arms around Miles, struggling not to flinch noticeably when the man mentioned that this disease killed his mother. He maintained his calm, though, by thinking of what the doctor had said before...he only said the cure rate was low, not nill...there was a chance, and with how it had always gone each time before he still had confidence that everything would be okay. 'but...humans are surprisingly frail creatures...what if...no! I can't think like that! everything will be fine, like it always is!' he tried to convince himself, sub-consciously tightening his hold on his love.
"..." He wanted to say something to Miles, but there was nothing he could think to say, as much as he wanted to reassure him.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles managed to gather himself by the time the doctor came back, but he was still clinging to Phoenix's hand obsurdly tight.
"Is it feeling any easier to breathe, Mr. Edgeworth?" he asked, arranging several documents into a pile in front of him on the desk.
"A little," Miles replied huskily.
"Alright well, i've got you a series of prescriptions for your lungs, they should lessen the pain and stop the breakdown. I suggest some cough-syrup to lessen the cough. I'm also suggesting an hour of oxygen a day, though you may need it more often if this deteriorates."
Miles nodded with understanding.
The doctor passed the documents he held to Phoenix, and then shut off the oxygen valve and removed the mask from Miles. He then packed the cylinder up and put it on a trolley.
"I'll make you another appointment for two weeks, and we'll see how that's going. I suggest you take it easy, there's many many side-effects involved with these tablets, so the easier you take it, the better you should be."
"I understand doctor," Miles agreed tiredly, standing up, still holding Phoenix's hand. The doctor stood to get the door for them.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix knew Miles was much more afraid than he pretended but he made no motion to point out the fear, for the man's sake, he merely thanked the doctor as he and Miles then left to head to the chemists to get the prescription then on to home. Phoenix still seemed to be battling to find something to say and losing miserably for the entire time as they left the hospital and as Gumshoe kindly took them to the Chemists to pick up the things they needed and then back home, Phoenix promptly thanked the ex-detective for everything and after telling him to say hello to Maggey for him, he then went on to take Miles inside. He still seemed to be trying to think of something to say as they rode the elevator up to their apartment.

((hope that's okay, do tell me if it's not XD I don't actually know whether I have interpreted the situation correctly ))

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles could think of nothing to say either, he stood in a semi-zombie mode, staring at the elevator door. He felt strange, dragging an oxygen tank on a trolley behind him. He felt like age was finally catching up to him and backing him into a corner. He walked down the hall towards their apartment, opening the door and heading inside, still without saying anything. He then threw himself down onto the couch and hung his head in his hands, choking softly as another cough shook his frame.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix paused as he watched Miles immediately just threw himself on the couch, looking rather upset and tired...it worried him to see Miles so ill, but he convinced himself not to let it get to him and after a momentary pause, he headed to put his briefcase away in the office before heading to the kitchen to turn the kettle on, instinctively making Miles a tea which he knew the man liked whenever he was stressed out, and making himself a coffee, as always. He glanced up at the clock on the wall, noting that Cearan would be returning from school soon enough and after sighing softly he carried Miles' tea out to him, placing it down on the coffee table, wordlessly. He then went to let Pess out of the laundry, who obviously knew something was wrong and immediately said a not-so-happy hello to Phoenix before heading straight to Miles and settled at his side, her head on his lap. Phoenix spent the next few minutes just leaning on the kitchen doorframe, drinking his coffee and pondering what could happen and trying not to imagine what would happen to him and Cearan if Miles...

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles murmured a thankyou for his tea and picked it up, taking a sip before popping out one of his tablets and taking it with a swift movement of his hand. He then focused his attention on Pess, stroking her between the ears softly. This only lasted a few moments before he gathered the dog up in his arms and held her close to him.
"I'm sorry Phoenix..." he muttered into her fur.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix didn't hear the apology from where he was, but then again, even if he had been nearer to Miles he probably wouldn't have heard. He was deep in thought, and trying to fight off tears at the thoughts which were presenting themselves to him...thoughts and memories...he remembered what he had become for a long time after his mother's murder...he was afraid he'd go back to that if he lost Miles...and he didn't want that...either of those things; to go back to that or lose Miles...

Cearan was nearly home by now, wondering if Miles was okay...and Phoenix for that matter...even though he hadn't been living with the two men for long, he already knew how much they meant to each other and if anything happened to either the other would fall apart...he was currently walking down the street just a while south of their apartment and would be home in about 10 minutes, give or take a few.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles sat silently for a moment, wishing Phoenix would SAY something. He didn't know what to do, he was scared. It didn't matter how many times they'd encountered hardship, he still didn't like the idea of not being in control of a situation, and this was one of those times only so much worse. He was only very young when his mother died, and though he didn't remember the specifics of her illness, he knew she'd suffered greatly though, and even his father had said that in the end death had been the kinder of two evils.
Miles hated to think that might be him down the track... that there might not be any coming back from this...
Pess gave a loud whine just as his chest throbbed painfully and another fit of barking coughs came over him. He shielded them with his hand as always, and once they'd passed he glanced down, his heart pounding with remorse at the red droplets that stained his palm. At that moment however, his resolve hardened.
Just in case he didn't beat this... he had to spend every moment he could with Phoenix. So much of their time together had been wasted, he didn't want to miss a moment more.
So he stood slowly, and walked over to where Phoenix stood in the kitchen door. Wordlessly he gathered Phoenix up in his arms and buried his face into the defense attorney's shoulder, holding him with a grasp that was desperately tight.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix jumped when Miles appeared, having been particularly deep in his thoughts, but settled as soon as he realised who it was. He immediately put his arms around Miles as well, knowing all too well what was going through the prosecutor's head. He completely agreed with the decision but....he really didn't want to think that perhaps Miles might not beat it...he wanted to believe that everything would be fine. '...we've fallen down elevstor shafts and lived, I've lost my memory and nearly died in a plane crash and lived, I've been kidnapped by a group of complete lunatics before and got back fine...surely this time will be the same...it's always okay...' he tried to convince himself, closing his eyes and tightening his hold on Miles.

When he walked through the door, the first thing Cearan noticed was that it was eerily quiet and that Pess was sitting beside the door waiting for him, looking rather upset. He guessed immediately that something had gone wrong, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to confront Mr Edgeworth or Phoenix about it if Pess was this upset, since they might need some time to come to terms themselves before speaking to someone, so he just quietly disappeared down the hall to his room for a while and figured that one of them would go to him when they were ready.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Miles stayed where he was, even as he heard the door open and footsteps head down the hallway past them, Pess's light paw-falls following close behind the feet. Obviously Cearan was home, and that filled Miles' breast with an even heavier feeling of depression.
"How am I going to tell Cearan?" he asked Phoenix quietly, not lifting his face from its place on the defense attorney's shoulder. The prosecutor found that he could feel Phoenix's heart beating from where he was, and he liked the calm that its steady rhythm gave him, it was definitely the main thing keeping him from hysterics.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix was silent a moment, as though deciding his words, before he spoke quietly. "I don't know...if you would prefer, I could tell him?" he suggested, one hand moving to gently stroke Miles' silver hair.

Cearan was now sitting at his desk doing his homework, having already nursed today's bruises. Pess was laid down on the floor beside his chair, looking rather melancholy. He wondered how long it would be before Miles or Phoenix came and talked to him, but he wasn't expecting either to come to see him for a while at least.