Hello and welcome to + Nine Hours! It is officially the first narumitsu fanfic I have ever posted on here, so hooray! *parties*
It's really, really short and it's a one-shot, so I hope I don't disappoint you- I just needed to write some OTP. :3
As always, enjoy, have a great day, and review if you want to! :D

Phoenix lay wide awake on a quiet Monday morning, his eyelids drooping and frustration cascading through him. He had a case that day and he needed some sleep, and he could scarcely say that sleep was coming to him.

Perhaps it was bad luck, he thought, as he watched a flicker of light shining out from between the curtains, or perhaps he had drunk too much caffeine before kissing Trucy goodnight and preparing himself for his own beauty sleep a few hours ago.

Now that he thought about it...

A small sigh escaped his dry and chapped lips as he fidgeted about under his soft blankets. There was nothing he could do if he really couldn't sleep other than count to ten over and over, but even as a child that didn't work. Waking up would do nothing helpful other than hinder his ability to sleep again, and he was comfortable nonetheless where he was.

There was no-one to talk to, either. Trucy was asleep, Apollo was at his own home, and besides it was past midnight by now. No-one would talk to him at this hour. Not even Miles, who-

Who was not beside him as he always was, but abroad studying German law, and suddenly Phoenix felt alone, too alone. Sitting up and grabbing his mobile phone from the bedside table, Phoenix rearranged his blankets and called the first number that came into his head, the only number that he needed now.

A couple of rings went through until Phoenix heard a familiar tone, a slight hint of seriousness to their voice which made him smile like nothing else. "Hello? Who is this?"

"It's meeee." Phoenix whispered quietly. "Hey, Miles."

Phoenix could almost sense Miles' annoyance through the phone. "It's almost one o'clock in the morning where you are. Phoenix, you need to sleep-"

"I know, I know." Phoenix chuckled. "I was lonely."

"Then go find some evidence, quick, before the police return." Miles laughed slightly under his breath, trying his best to whisper even though he could talk as loud as he wanted. "It's not as if they would be there at this time, anyway."

"No, definitely not."

A small period of happy silence came and went, Phoenix making himself more comfortable.

"So how are your studies of German law going? I mean, you do know a lot of it already, right? Must be boring."

"It...it does get a little banal, but I wouldn't say it's that boring..."

Miles paused for a moment in an awkward silence before speaking.

"Alright, alright, I'll say it: it's boring me out of my wits. Nothing has changed. I could just waltz into a courtroom right now, take over from someone, start speaking in German and I'd have that defendant guilty within the space of an hour. Good god..."

Phoenix laughed again, a little louder this time, and so he covered his mouth with his hand in fear of waking Trucy up. "I'm so glad you're coming back soon, though! You can finally get away from all the boring German law stuff and stay with meeeee..."

Phoenix noted that Miles had gone completely silent.

"Miles? Hellooo?" No answer. "Wait...you are coming home this week, right?"

Miles' frown was evident, even on the other side of the phone, and something felt terribly wrong. "Right?"

Phoenix braced himself for the worst, looking down at the bed sheets that covered him. He didn't want to be away from Miles for much longer, but it could happen...the painful feeling was worrying him now and he didn't think it could stop.

".. It's okay, you can tell me..." Phoenix muttered. "When are you back?"

Phoenix needed to know, needed to get this over with, and fast. Another week was a longer time to wait than usual, but he was sure he could manage it with Trucy and everyone else. It was just an awful feeling of loneliness, that was it, just a terrible feeling he couldn't shake. That was all.

Oh no oh no oh no...

"Tuesday." Miles responded, without a word more. And then burst into laughter. "Tuesday, Phoenix! Do you remember what day that is, you idiot?"

"That's...uh..." Phoenix now sat confused in the darkness of his room, until he realised the reason Miles was laughing. "Oh my god. That's tomorrow!" He couldn't hold back his laughter either, but he covered his mouth so as not to wake Trucy, grinning. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Surprise," Miles said, and the happiness was overpowering.

"...Hey. Y'know what?"

"What is it?"

"Of course it's cheesy, but..." Phoenix paused, letting out a relieved breath. "I could just kiss you right now." Phoenix was beaming, and he knew Miles was doing the same somewhere in Germany. He was probably in his hotel room, lying on the bed talking to him on the phone, his hair tousled slightly due to the cushions, but that wasn't what was important.

Miles chuckled under his breath, something that Phoenix thought he would never get tired of hearing. "Well, you can't. Yet. I'm over here, you're over there. And besides, you need some beauty sleep."

Phoenix nodded quietly to himself, and as to not make a sound, he slowly lowered himself so he was lying on the pillows and not sitting up, the phone held close to his ear. "You get some good sleep too, okay?"

"Phoenix, it's ten in the morning over here. I'm wide awake now."

"Oh, right." Phoenix laughed quietly before falling silent, a warm smile on his face. "I love you very, very much, Miles. Remember that."

I love you. I love you. I love you. The words seemed to resonate through their minds, an unforgettable sentence, an event, a memory.

"I love you too, Phoenix. Now go to sleep."

"Right on it!" And Phoenix hung up, smiled to himself, put his phone down, and stayed true to his word.