Okay, so here's my third and final PW fic for now :P Unless inspiration randomly strikes!

As I said in the summary, it's random NickxMaya scenes of varying lengths. I'm using the first set of 30 prompts from the 100_prompts livejournal community, so eventually there will be thirty "chapters" in all. Each one is a numbered prompt, but they don't have to be done in order.

So...first up, prompt #4: puppy love :D This one ended up being longer than I thought, mostly because of Gumshoe XD but I really wanted to include him in something. :3 Please enjoy!

Oh yeah, and reviews are majorly appreciated. :O

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004. Puppy love

Phoenix was trying to get more information out of Gumshoe about the results of the current investigation, and, as usual, the detective wasn't being as cooperative as he would've liked.

"Come on, Gumshoe! I promise Nick will buy you all the burgers you can eat if you tell us what you know!" Maya chimed in when it looked like things were going nowhere.

(U-urk! That's not your money to promise, Maya!)

Sweat ran down his face as he wondered just how many burgers the poor, starving Gumshoe could eat, and it made him want to cry. "M-Maya…let's not get hasty…" he said quickly, before Gumshoe had a chance to respond.

"Oh, Nick! Don't be stingy! It's for the good of the client! We need this information!" She had her hands pressed together and a giant grin on her face: full-on charm mode.

But Phoenix wasn't falling for it. "I'm not being stingy! If I spend all my money on Gumshoe, how am I supposed to afford your burger consumption habits?!"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you? If you don't give a little, you can't expect to get anything back!"

(Ouch! Way to make me feel guilty, Maya…)

(But then again…it'd be nice to be on the receiving end for once, instead of always giving my money away.)

(Come to think of it, when will it be her turn to give?!)

(*sigh* But it's useless to think that way with her.)

"W-well, I'll think about it…" Phoenix conceded, knowing that Maya had already won.

"Ohohoh, I remember puppy love," Gumshoe suddenly interjected, his shoulders shaking with his enigmatic signature chuckle. It was always hard to tell if he was being ironic or idiotic.

"Wh-what was that?" Phoenix asked, feeling clammy again. He stared at Gumshoe with a half-lidded grimace; he had a feeling he already knew what he meant.

"Heh, you know what I'm talking about, pal. Puppy love. Like you and Maya, always going at it when you're really…." He trailed off, his eyebrows jumping up suggestively.

(I knew it!)

"That's—" he began, but Maya interrupted him.

"Huh?! Are you calling Nick a dog?" she exclaimed, clenching her fists and puffing out her cheeks.

(He would be calling you a dog, too, Maya, if that were the case.)

"Yeah…in a way…" Gumshoe replied, looking off to the side with a wry grin.

(But…that's not what you were saying at all…)

(Ugh. Whatever.)

Suddenly Phoenix was socked in the arm. "Hey! Are you gonna let him talk about you that way, pal?!" Maya cried, though he couldn't tell if she was actually upset or just trying to start trouble. He figured the latter.

(After all, it's always the latter, it seems.)

"Just forget about it, Maya. Gumshoe doesn't know what he's talking about."

Maya paused, seeming to consider it. Then Gumshoe was next to be given a punch.

"O-ouch! What was that for, pal?!"

"Are you gonna let him talk about you that way, pal?!"

"Well, I'll let it slide this time." Another chuckle.

Phoenix sighed wearily. They'd gotten so off track—and Gumshoe and Maya were to blame, as usual.

(At least those two forgot about Maya's all-you-can-eat burger offer. I hope.)

Though he tried to push it out of his mind while he steered the detective back to the original topic, he couldn't help but think about the comment Gumshoe had made. In fact, he kept thinking about it, even long after their conversation was over.

(Puppy love, huh? Is that how it looks?)

(I wonder…)

(No, no, wait! There's no way I'm taking Gumshoe's word for it when it comes to romantic matters! He probably doesn't even know the meaning of 'puppy love'…)

He heaved another sigh and thought of Maya's reaction. He wondered if she'd just been playing dumb with Gumshoe, and if so, was it to hide something? She'd done a good job of it, if that's what it was.

And even though he felt silly, he wondered what she really thought about it.

And then he let himself consider the possibility, just for a few seconds.

His face reddened.

(Puppy love, huh? I wonder…)

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