Struggling Against Gravity

Chapter 12

Edgeworth's face was a troubled shadow as they made their way back to the guest room. As the prosecutor remained lost in private contemplation, Phoenix found his own thoughts moving on what, he assumed, were similar lines.

He'd long gotten used to dismissing Pearl's tirades about his and Maya's relationship, but it had never occurred to him that the misunderstanding could take such a horrific form. Hearing the two women talk about—and to—Maya like that had made Phoenix feel detached from his own body, like he was watching them talk through a distant haze. It had been a dangerous feeling that simultaneously electrified him and frozen him in place at the time. He knew that Edgeworth's intervention had, in all likelihood, stopped him from doing or saying something extremely stupid.

By the time he opened the door for both of them, he was certain Edgeworth's expression of distracted concern mirrored his own almost perfectly.

"So…" Phoenix trailed off, unsure of how to bring up what had happened in a way that wouldn't leave Edgeworth morose and defensive.

"I'll need to apologize," Edgeworth murmured. The tips of his fingers worried at the ends of his cravat, which had become unruly during their lengthy walk; it gradually came undone in small, tortured increments.

"No," Phoenix said, "you didn't say anything wrong." If anyone needs to apologize, it's them, not you.

Phoenix considered his futon, still spread out with cover askew. Finally, he flopped down, but found himself shifting nervously, like the inside of his clothing had been lined with sand.

"They aren't the ones I was referring to, Wright," Edgeworth said. The long fabric finally came fully loose from his neck. The base of his throat looked oddly vulnerable. "I'm certainly not concerned with their opinions."

Phoenix waited. Edgeworth swallowed once. "Whether or not what I said was accurate, it wasn't the time or place with Pearl Fey listening."

Of course… the one he's worried about is Pearls. Even though it had been about two years by now, Pearl was still sensitive when it came to the subject of her mother. Phoenix felt annoyed at himself for being so caught up in his own lingering resentments that he had missed the obvious.

Still...

Knowing exactly how brusque and uncompromising Edgeworth could be in the courtroom, especially when it came to the truth, Phoenix could only shake his head slightly in wonder.

"Look," he said, "I know you haven't spent that much time with her, but Pearls is a good kid. I'm sure she understands you were just trying to defend Maya..." He took a deep breath as Edgeworth's grey eyes moved fully onto him. "So—you haven't ruined anything, or broken anything, or whatever else is going through your head right now."

"Don't be melodramatic, Wright," Edgeworth snapped.

Look who's talking! It's not as though I've brought him home to meet the family...

Phoenix frowned.

Actually... that's sort of exactly what this turned out to be, isn't it?

It was a stretch to think of Kurain as a second home, but the village—and Fey Manor in particular—had still become a familiar sight as the years had passed. The long bus ride and the sight of the thatched rooftops were fixtures in his life ever since he had first reunited with Maya here, years ago.

And even if Kurain itself didn't quite qualify as home—Maya and Pearl were probably, without question...

The closest thing I have to 'family'. Phoenix felt something odd jar in his chest with that quiet revelation. No wonder he's been so jittery. I really don't want to think too hard about going on a trip to Germany to spend 'quality time' with Franziska von Karma, either...

Especially with Pearl's odd fixation on Phoenix's romantic prospects, it was understandable that he'd be particularly attentive of causing offense to her.

But it really wasn't as bad as you think, Edgeworth. He thought back to Pearl's intent stare and small nods of quiet evaluation. I'd say you actually managed to make a good impression, all things considered.

"You were worried about what Pearls thought of you, right?" he asked. Something warm colored his inflection—it was amusing to think of what Edgeworth's legal colleagues would make of him fretting over an eleven- year-old's opinion.

"Worried isn't the right word," Edgeworth muttered, and a pointed glare told Phoenix his internal mirth had been given away. "You don't understand, Wright."

Phoenix's head gave a slight incline. "Okay. I'm listening."

Edgeworth ran his free hand through his bangs; the action only made his hair even more lopsided than the wind had caused.

"This village is..." the prosecutor trailed off, his voice strained. The unfurled cravat dangled loosely from his hands, like a white flag to signal surrender. "What those women said wasn't wholly incorrect, Wright. As an outsider, I know nothing about this village's history or its traditions."

Yeah, well, I'd be more surprised if he was an expert on Kurain traditions and culture… That was beside the point. Phoenix tried to keep any traces of exasperation from his voice as he spoke. "Edgeworth..."

Edgeworth ignored him, continuing his thought. "...but regardless, I of all people should know—" He shook his head.

The heaviness in his voice caught Phoenix's attention. He leaned forward, a frown touching his face. His fingertips brushed lightly against Edgeworth's wrist—just within arm's reach. Not enough to grip, but enough to touch.

"What is it?"

"I should know how it feels to have... a parent disparaged by an authority figure, while you're in a position to—do nothing to argue against it." A smile so thin it could have broken with a pin drop adorned Edgeworth's face. He lifted his hands away from Phoenix's to begin painstakingly retying his cravat.

Phoenix paused—the pieces finally falling into place.

Manfred von Karma... Phoenix's gut twisted in some incomprehensible combination of disgust and something dangerously close to hatred. It felt like an echo of the strange tension he felt back at the construction site when confronted with those women, but murkier, deeper. Edgeworth probably had to listen to his opinion of Edgeworth's father too many times to count.

Unconsciously, his fingers dug into the mats below.

Their situations are different, but still... he probably does understand how Pearls feels better than almost anyone else...

"Edgeworth, that's not something you can—"

"Nonetheless," Edgeworth said, quickly—unwilling or unable to let Phoenix finish his intended sentiment. "I still intend to apologize when I have the opportunity. It's the right thing to do, Wright."

"...all right." Trying to argue further against Edgeworth would be a pointless endeavor. If offering an apology would ease his worries—Phoenix knew Pearl would be understanding—it was probably best to just let it go.

Besides, not all families are like the von Karmas. If it came down to a comparison as to whose surrogate guardian had supported them better after the loss of a parent, the question wouldn't even get off the ground. After Morgan Fey's conviction, Maya had taken up the reigns of looking after her cousin without a single visible misgiving.

Like so many other things, Phoenix hadn't thought a great deal of it at the time, but upon reflection, it was an enormous responsibility to undertake. Moreso, even, considering Pearl's adoration of her.

And people give her grief about it… The unfairness of it nearly made him clench his eyes shut, but he thought of his assistant, rushing in for the save—and dismissing the villagers making her cousin uncomfortable.

How often has she had to do that?

"Maya's..." Phoenix said, and in his peripheral vision, he saw Edgeworth's head turn slightly. "She's really incredible, isn't she?"

Not just in regards to Pearls, either.

A pause, and then an answer: "Yes, she is."

Phoenix leaned back. "I guess I didn't really... get it. I know she's been through a lot, but to me, she always just seemed..."

Like the same old Maya. He had even taken comfort in that fact when the other aspects of his life had gone awry—including the turmoil of navigating his and Edgeworth's feelings for each even before then, as his name and the Wright and Co. Offices had grown in demand and renown—he was still at least able to roll his eyes at Maya Fey nagging him about food and stepladders, treating him like the "same old Nick."

Just like as she had when she was only a seventeen-year-old medium in training, and he was twenty four-year-old rookie fresh off the bar.

"If she didn't let the pressure of her responsibilities color her time with you... then all the more so," Edgeworth murmured, finally letting himself sit adjacent to Phoenix. His body seemed to come down even more heavily than Phoenix's onto the waiting futon; Phoenix thought he caught his shoulders slumping, briefly, before stubbornly righting themselves. He really must be tired.

Somehow, he'd missed the signs of Maya's stress—no, that wasn't quite right. He'd caught glimpses in her concerned tones over the phone in the hallway leading into the office, and the way her hands worried against her chin as she came up with vague answers about how she had been doing. But every time, Phoenix had been perfectly content to leave it at that.

"I can see why Pearls was so mad at me."

Edgeworth's eyes remained on him, a silent invitation to continue airing out his thoughts.

"I never asked about what things were like for her here. I mean, I knew she was Master now, of course, and that she did things like teach classes, but... she always made it sound like none of it was a big deal. All of this stuff about fighting with half the village, trying to make things better for everyone; she never really said anything about it. So, I guess... for Pearls, it was like..."

Like I didn't care enough to find out. The thought was more than sobering; he leaned forward to rest his forehead against the knuckles of his right hand.

"Maybe she was waiting for me to figure it out..."

Just like you did.

"I don't think it's quite that, Wright," Edgeworth murmured, and almost imperceptibly, he inched closer towards Phoenix. "I don't mean to speak for Maya, but it's probably more that... she valued what you had to the point that she didn't wish to risk it."

Phoenix lifted his head slightly. "Risk it?"

Edgeworth frowned, but Phoenix's view of his eyes was obscured.

"You and Maya have spent almost five years now as partners in your law office. You've been through a great deal together. You once told me she was the person closest to you." Edgeworth sighed slightly, his head tilting back. "Fitting in such a—difficult new element into what you've established, so to speak... it's understandable that both of you would feel reservations."

So that was it.

His eyes lifted back fully to Edgeworth, who had put a halt to his quiet advance just short of actual contact with Phoenix. His gaze had taken on that now-familiar haze of distraction, fixated and staring through an odd spot at the wall.

So... that's it.

Ever since their confrontation in the hospital, a part of Phoenix had still been trying to make sense of Edgeworth's tacit accusation of Phoenix being "forced" into their relationship. They had worked it out without too much escalation back then, but his implications—and his obvious shock at Phoenix's confession—still sometimes cropped up in the back of Phoenix's mind. A knot tightened within him every time he recalled Edgeworth's melancholy, almost resigned, expression.

It had seemed especially nonsensical to Phoenix when, on reflection, Edgeworth had been quietly trying to push him into becoming open with the Feys for some time.

But he thought he was getting a grasp on the whole picture, now.

Much like Maya's new duties in the village, Edgeworth held something else in mind as a 'difficult new element' that could cause unwanted tremors in the cornerstones in Phoenix's life; the things he could call home and family.

One way or another, he had wanted to see if it was possible for him to fit into Phoenix's small world. And Phoenix himself had been avoiding the question, which Edgeworth, being Edgeworth, likely interpreted pessimistically.

He remembered what Edgeworth said, lying in the hospital bed, face drawn and pale.

"If this situation is going to have such a negative impact on your relationship with her, I'd rather just—"

His hand finally curled fully around Edgeworth's, fingers interlocking.

You idiot.

No—when it came down to it, that wasn't quite it either. It went beyond just the infuriating, ingrained assumption that he would, as a matter of course, come as second priority.

Whether it was some combination of the various other scars being raised by Manfred von Karma had left upon him, or Phoenix's myriad mistakes and regrets as to how he had handled things early on—or even some measure of simple, genuine insecurity—

Edgeworth had never dared to hope for anything beyond exactly what they had at the present moment.

Were you really that afraid that I was going to end it at any time?

Phoenix watched as Edgeworth finished tugging on the last fold of his cravat. Regardless of how far his willpower had taken him, his eyelids were now unmistakably heavy. Phoenix closed the remaining gap of space between them, and lifted one hand. The weight of a cheek pressed a little against Phoenix's shoulder, and a few loose bangs slid diagonally across Edgeworth's face, fluttering briefly with a soft exhalation.

"Edgeworth," Phoenix murmured. "You..."

He was answered with the soft thud of Edgeworth's hand slipping onto the tatami mats that made up the room's floor. The other man's lips moved briefly, as though intending to apologize, but he was already rapidly, finally, slipping away.

"Just how long have you been awake, anyway?" He sincerely hoped it hadn't really been since yesterday morning, but knowing Edgeworth, it was a distinct possibility. He shifted his posture to be more accommodating, and pulled a strand of loose hair from the corner of the prosecutor's mouth.

"You really stuck it out, huh." Driving all the way out here, and then traipsing around the countryside for Pearls's tour too...

Edgeworth offered no reply.

Phoenix slid his arm—carefully, so as not to disturb—upwards, trailing Edgeworth's back, before letting his hand come to a rest on his opposite shoulder. Breathing still soft, Edgeworth quietly settled in to the more comfortable position, his weight resting gingerly against his partner's.

Even knowing the other man wasn't listening, Phoenix murmured the words against his hair.

"Thanks for everything."

The television buzzed. Phoenix's shoulder had gone numb some time ago, and his legs were beginning to ache, but he'd managed to keep relatively still since Edgeworth had nodded off. Being in this position was refreshing, though. Thinking back, it was always Phoenix who had been comfortable enough—or careless enough, as he'd often heard Edgeworth mock-grouse—to steal a quick doze on his partner, rather than the other way around.

He had shifted to reach for the television remote about an hour ago, but Edgeworth's head had nudged insistently after him. Even if he had wanted to, there was no way Phoenix could disturb him after that.

So instead he did his best to stay put. He found he could more than live with his viewing angle towards the screen being slightly off, under the circumstances.

Not that the news proved particularly interesting—just some talk of a new corruption scandal unfolding at the precinct. He was considering turning it off to just enjoy the sound of soft, low breathing against his ear, when the coverage swung to breaking news at the courthouse, and he caught a flash of a woman in a familiar red scarf.

Lana?

She was exiting the building, greeted by a modest number of reporters, case files folded under her arm in the model of professionalism. Though Phoenix had gotten to know her warmer side better since her trial with Gant, he felt a vague chill reminiscent of when he dealt with her as the steely Chief Prosecutor as she brushed the inquisitive media aside with a short, clipped wave.

Following in her shadow was a young man with reddish, slightly messy hair and a two-toned green suit. Lana turned to give him brief instruction before continuing on her way. Phoenix didn't recognize him, but he certainly recognized the nature and tone of the interplay between them.

She's doing well enough to have a subordinate of her own, huh? It was nice to see, even if the young man himself seemed irritable as he trailed after her, batting at invading microphones like he would a swarm of flies.

As his fingers idly worked a gentle path through Edgeworth's hair, he recalled walking down those same stairs himself, his own legal assistant at his side, chattering away eagerly about the details of the case in between pointed questions about their next meal and the surrounding burger shops.

Neither of us wanted things to change.

As Lana finally escaped to the safety of her car, another memory flickered in his mind, like a match sparking—returning to the office where Maya had been, alone, and with Lana's number pushed to the forefront of his contacts.

Come to think of it, I never did ask Maya what that was all about, either...

He was about the turn the volume up when he heard the door sliding open, slowly and cautiously—though that just made the scraping noise of wood against wood even louder.

"Nick, are you in th—oh!" Maya stopped in her tracks, eyes widening. One of her hands made a jerking motion back towards the door, as though to slam it in her own face.

Edgeworth shifted slightly against Phoenix, but otherwise remained at rest. Phoenix's arm was still around him. It wasn't hard to tell how strange the sight of them seemed to her. A familiar, embarrassed warmth began to bloom in his face—but as the instinct to pull away and make excuses rose up, a different resolve settled like a weight within him.

Rather than avoid her gaze, he lifted his head slightly to meet it.

She raised both hands, palms outward. "Sorry, Nick, I didn't mean to..."

He kept his voice level, with some effort. His hands found the remote again, and he turned the television off with a single click. "Hey, Maya."

If anything, the casual response seemed to fluster her even more. "H-hey, Nick..."

"What's going on?"

"Um…" She fidgeted badly, looking back and forth from one wall to another. "Well, dinner's about ready, finally. It should just be a few more minutes. Pearly is putting the finishing touches on now…"

Finally, with an air of inevitability, her gaze fell back on to Phoenix in the center of the room, along with the person he was cradling. "But, um, if you want to wait…"

"It's okay, Maya," Phoenix said. The longer he held his ground, the more the panic—the same burst of white that had erupted inside him at the hospital, when Maya teased about flowers and favoritism—ebbed and faded away. "But..."

Maya looked uncertain, even anxious. "But?"

Phoenix studied her face. He was never as good at reading her expressions as she was his, but looking closely, he saw the stress and strain around the corners of her mouth and the tired gloss to her eyes.

I wonder what Pearls told her...

"What happened before… are you okay?"

Maya blinked, apparently not getting the follow-up she expected. "Huh? Me?"

"Yeah." Phoenix felt his confidence waver slightly; his instincts rebelled at bringing back something so hurtful in detail, but he forced himself to go on. "At the construction site."

"Oh… that." Some of the stupor seemed to shake from her demeanor, and her eyes moved fully from the dozing Edgeworth and squarely back to Phoenix's face. "That was… I really am sorry about that, Nick. I didn't mean for you to get caught up in it."

He shook his head. "Maya, you don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault."

Maya swallowed.

"Does that kind of thing happen a lot?"

"No…" Maya sighed a little. Phoenix could have sworn she was channeling her older sister, looking weary in the face of a difficult case. "W-well, not like that, anyway."

In other words, not to her face. But it was obvious from Maya's loaded tone that she was well aware that sort of talk happened behind her back, where it couldn't be opposed.

Maya seemed to notice the ghost of wrath on his expression. "Um, Nick, don't... I don't want you to get the wrong impression of our village, or the people in it," Maya said, her head hanging slightly. "Please."

"There's no excuse for what they said," Phoenix said, his voice soft. "Not to you or to Pearls."

"I know, but… it's complicated, Nick," Maya replied, and her volume lowered to match his. Her eyes flickered once again to Edgeworth, distractedly.

I don't see what could be complicated about insulting her like that, Phoenix thought. That's more like lacking basic decency.

Maya searched for the correct words to appease him. "There's a lot of things going on. People like Vivian and Elaine, they're really scared of losing their way of life. To them, it's like their whole world is changing around them." She exhaled. "And maybe... they're not totally wrong about that."

Phoenix hesitated. It felt as much of an invitation as Maya had ever given him, but even getting this far was new territory for both of them.

"Um," Maya said, suddenly. "is Mr. Edgeworth… okay?"

She still seemed reluctant to look directly at him. Phoenix felt the shape of Edgeworth's head shift slightly against him, and raised his own hand to support him better so that he didn't slip to the ground.

"He's just tired," Phoenix said. "You know how he gets."

Maya grimaced. "That workaholic part of him will probably never change, huh..."

Phoenix nodded, adjusting his grip on the other man further. He didn't really want the topic of conversation to derail, after they had come this far. It's not about Edgeworth, he repeated in his mind.

"I didn't know being the Master was this bad, Maya. You never said much about it..." Although he didn't intend for it to come across as accusatory, he wished he could have rephrased the words as soon as they left his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to shut you out or anything..." Maya laughed shakily. "I just..."

"No, I know." I wasn't trying to shut you out, either. It's just like Edgeworth said… we were both scared. "It's my fault, too. I didn't ask." Not even when I noticed you were stressed out. "And there were things I haven't been telling you. Obviously."

"Nick..."

Phoenix went on. "When Pearls took us around, it was because she wanted to show us everything you've been doing for the village. It helped me understand what's been going on a lot better. You talked to her about it, right?"

"Y-yeah. She was pretty upset, too, about what happened back there." Maya fiddled with one of her hair beads, polishing the sheen on one of them with her thumb. "Things have been hard on her, too."

Even Phoenix had been able to tell that much.

So what can I do? There wasn't much Phoenix could offer with village administration. Besides, if there was one thing the girl sitting across from him and the man sitting against him could agree on, it was that he could barely operate his own office on his own, let alone contribute meaningfully to the intricacies of running a place as complicated as an entire village.

Still—

I can always listen, right?

"...can I at least help you get stuff off your chest?"

"W-well… it's hard to know where to start, really..." She folded in on herself, briefly. The way her shoulders sunk reminded Phoenix of a child trying to work up the courage to reach towards the warmth of an open flame.

"Kurain Village... lost a lot of prestige because of what happened with my mother. You know that whole story." Maya raised her hand to worry with her left earlobe as she talked. "It's been almost twenty years, but there's finally a feeling that maybe we're starting to bounce back. But, I guess you could say there's a lot of disagreement about where we should go from here."

"They don't want to modernize, right?" And they don't want tourists, either...

"That's a part of it." Maya leaned back slightly, lost in thought for a moment. "...Nick, you have to understand. Kurain Village was basically the same place with the same values for their entire lives, and a lot of spiritual power is believed to come from ritual… you know, tradition, not losing our roots. So it feels really offensive and dangerous to them to move away from that and more towards the outside world.

"Saying Kurain should be 'modernized'… inviting more outsiders in... well, to them, it's like the same thing as saying you want to destroy it." She stared down at her free hand. "I mean, it's not like their fears are coming out of nowhere. My mother ended up that way because she got involved in outside politics, they say, and the village was almost ruined for it."

"...so when people like me and Edgeworth show up..."

"It's not fair, but they're probably sort of projecting that on you. It's not really personal." Maya's voice was apologetic again. "It's not just you two, though. Or even just the idea of visitors in general. There's Claire and the other kids, too."

Phoenix searched his memory. "You mean those kids in the city clothes? I think I saw them in your group."

Maya's eyes widened. "Y-yeah. I'm surprised you noticed... Their parents dropped them off here… abandoned them. Claire and Maria were the first. We've been having this big debate on whether to turn them over to the police, or to try to integrate them into the village." She sighed. "But even that's turned out to be really... complicated."

Phoenix waited.

"Is it the right thing to try to raise them here? Where do they stay? What kind of precedent are we setting if we start taking in strangers?" She leaned back. "How do we allocate our budgets? What bridges do we repair first? Who's responsible for the community gardens? What about the spiritual training? Everyone has something to say about it. And how it ties into the direction Kurain is going in."

"So in other words, they're oversensitive," Phoenix remarked.

"I think it's more like they feel like Kurain Village is almost under siege, between all the changes and, well…" A rueful chuckle escaped from her lips. "...me."

You? Phoenix shook his head in disbelief. "Just because of the time you spend in the city?"

"That's part of it," Maya trailed off. "I don't think people here think a lot of good comes from the outside. They don't want someone in charge that they feel is compromised by 'outside interests'."

"That's the most ridiculous..."

"I do think Kurain Village shouldn't close itself off to the world, though." She shook her head. "And I don't think we should turn our backs on people who need our help. And it's not like everyone disagrees with me, but... I've had to give big speeches in town meetings and everything." She cracked a self-depreciating grin. "Maya Fey, ace politician, right?"

It was almost impossible for Phoenix to imagine—but that was probably true for Maya, too, he realized. Observing the mask's existence couldn't be as jarring as actually putting it on.

"...I used to get so mad about it," Maya went on, her voice becoming quieter. "I thought they were being so heartless… but it's not that simple. Like I said, Nick, they're scared, and they're a part of Kurain Village too. And they do love and care about this place, in their own way… they just have a different vision of how they want to protect it. And it's my responsibility to see that their needs are met, too… not to treat them like the enemy."

Phoenix hesitated. "If it would make things easier for you if Edgeworth and I didn't visit the village..."

"No! No. No, no, no," Maya said, with a fervor that startled him. She nearly sprang to her feet. "Please, Nick… honestly, that would be the worst for me."

"But if you—"

"I'm serious, Nick. Being with you and Pearly… I don't really know how to say this, but… with everything that's going on, sometimes it feels like..." Her voice faltered again. "...like it's the only thing that keeps me being 'me', I think."

"Maya..."

The fact of his own absence from her life the past few months hit him deeply, like an aching wound. I'm sorry, Maya.

"So, the last thing I want is for you to stay away." She lifted her head. ""You're my best friend, Nick. You're really like family to me." She made the declaration without reservation, meeting his gaze.

It's the same for me, Phoenix thought.

"If the stuff they said is the worst they've got when it comes to you coming to see me and Pearly…" She inhaled sharply—before raising a pair of fists, and finally meeting him with a sharp, familiar, cheeky grin. "Well, they can bring it on!"

Edgeworth had told Phoenix that Maya was strong in the aftermath of Hazakura, but at the time, Phoenix had found it hard to fully comprehend what he meant. Now, though, it seemed plain as day to him.

I've been a real idiot.

"Nick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you wonder for so long if—" A pained sound came in place of the end of her sentence. "But I… really don't think any differently of you. Either of you," Maya said as her gaze moved towards Edgeworth. "You're right… I was just… so overwhelmed, I guess. I've had so much on my mind it was just like… I couldn't really process." She bit her lip. "But… I'm still sorry."

"No," Phoenix said. "I'm sorry for not telling—for hiding it from you."

"It's okay, Nick."

Maya's gaze once again moved slightly to the right, to the third body in the room. She smiled. "I've never seen Mr. Edgeworth so relaxed."

"It's a pretty rare sight, yeah," Phoenix admitted. He was practically beaten into it today. But that's usually what it takes, for him.

Maya looked contemplative. "It somehow feels like you've grown up a lot, too." Her smile broadened. "I don't really know how to describe it. 'Grown-up Nick' just feels totally wrong even to say… boy, I guess you really are over the hill now! Soon you'll be yelling at the local kids to get off your lawn!"

I live in an apartment building, Maya. I don't even have a lawn.

"I guess I'll just have to rely on you to keep me from becoming a geezer before my time," he said, lightly.

An unreadable expression crossed her face for a second. The moment passed and a look of warm affection took its place, spilling out of her mouth in a warm chuckle. "Right?"

It wasn't long before Phoenix felt his own laughter, bursting with relief, joining hers.

As the laughter died, Maya's fingers twisted around each other, her palms facing the floor, before she took a deep breath. "Nick, um, there's actually..."

A groaning sound came from beside Phoenix. Maya's entire body shot straight up as though a ruler had been inserted into her spine. Edgeworth's neck twisted somewhat awkwardly as his eyes fluttered.

"M-Mr. Edgeworth!"

Maya started to turn away, as though to give them privacy, then re-thought it. Edgeworth stirred under two pairs of eyes and shifted against Phoenix with another groan.

His vision focused ahead of him, on Maya, first. His head lifted in two distinct jerks—one upon recognition of who was staring at him, and the other to clear space between himself and the makeshift pillow he had made out of Phoenix.

"Uh, good… good morning, Mr. Edgeworth," she said, but the greeting sounded more like a tentative question than anything. "How are you feeling? If you need more sleep..."

Edgeworth pushed further away from Phoenix's shoulder with an indignant sort of firmness that was almost charming. Phoenix thought he caught a quick glare in his direction as he reached up to smooth the fabric of his shirt where Edgeworth's cheek had left a distinct impression.

"No," he said. He took a deep breath. "I've rested enough, don't worry."

Still a liar, Edgeworth. But Phoenix wasn't going to argue.

"Is everything all right?" Edgeworth said, brushing off both of his arms in turn. The motion reminded Phoenix of a particularly defensive cat, but it was clear from the way he was looking at both of them that he was trying to discern as much information as quickly as possible about the current emotional climate.

"Yeah," Phoenix said. "Everything's fine."

Edgeworth looked at him, absorbing the words.

Maya turned towards him.

"Mr. Edgeworth…" She hesitated, briefly. "I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable before. I'm glad you're here." Another pause, then, a bit tremulous: "With Nick."

Edgeworth's mouth opened, before his eyes flickered away. Phoenix was able to successfully predict the hand that briefly clenched self-consciously at the opposite arm before it happened. "You don't need to apologize, Maya."

"Geez, you both keep saying that." Maya laughed a little, again. "You've definitely been spending too much time with each other!"

Edgeworth squirmed rather visibly. Phoenix wasn't sure if that confirmed his best, or worst, suspicions. Probably both.

"Um, we're probably keeping Pearly waiting by now. Why don't we head down to dinner?" Maya's hands clasped in front of her mouth in a tentative motion as she rose to her feet. "…if you're sure you don't need more rest, Mr. Edgeworth. It's really okay if you do, though."

"You and Pearls worked hard, right?" Phoenix said. He exchanged a glance with Edgeworth for confirmation, who gave a short, almost imperceptible nod. Plus, if we keep her waiting too long, she's liable to panic and burst in here trying to channel Mia again or something… "I'm pretty sure we're both hungry by now, especially after that walk earlier. Let's get to it."

Maya led the way for both of them through the manor with a somewhat off-tune hum.

It might have been his own weariness affecting how he processed things, but watching Maya's bun bounce rhythmically a few paces ahead of him was nearly hypnotic. Nobody spoke, but Phoenix found himself just enjoying the moment—simply being flanked by two of the most important people in his life, and knowing that neither of them were in any danger of going anywhere.

After what felt like a lengthy walk, their own shadows trailing even longer behind them, Maya finally came to a stop in front of a dark, impressive-looking set of doors. Phoenix hadn't come this far down in the manor often, but he recognized the banquet hall immediately. It was where the Fey family hosted village gatherings and other official business. This was a bit of a surprise. When he visited, they usually ate in his room, Maya's crumbs spreading without any particular shame all over his belongings. On prior birthdays, they had eaten in the regular dining room.

Last time he'd taken the full tour, he remembered the way the air had thickened on the inside, the massive Greater Magatama looming over anyone who dared to step past the threshold. Even now he felt a muted tingle. To be honest, it wasn't exactly his first choice of venue, but he wasn't the one throwing the party.

He glanced to Maya, waiting for some sort of cheeky comment, but she remained still in front of the door, fingers gripping the handle, as though in the midst of some intense internal debate.

We're not committing sacrilege by eating in here, are we?

"Maya," he said, and like he had pressed some sort of alert button—or pushed her off of her mental fence—she spun around, a wide grin back on her face.

"Ready, Nick?"

She pushed open the doors with a flourish—all three winced slightly as the doors slid with a little too much force, and banged once against the opposite walls.

"Whoops," Maya said, a little too casually.

Why do I get the feeling those have had to be repaired more than once? Phoenix pondered, before turning his attention to the arrangement revealed before him.

If this room had seemed ominous before, that impression was snuffed out the second he saw the giant magatama decked out in various national flags and a lopsided, home-made party hat. Along the walls, coating the sacred scrolls, streamers were tossed in a haphazard way that suggested the decorator had been too short to do anything more precise than give a rough fling.

At the low table in the center of the room, Pearl was seated, surrounded by platters of steaming food and mugs of tea. Her hair had been done up in its usual style since Phoenix had last seen her. Directly above her, hanging crookedly off the hooks where torches would normally be set, was an enormous paper banner reading "HAPY BIRTHDAY, MR. NICK!" Each letter was in a different color, and the entire line was just as off-balance as the material it was scrawled on.

"Surprise, Nick! Happy birthday!" Maya said, waving her hand at the banner. "Don't mind the flags, we, er, sort of lost the ones we originally bought. So these ones ended up being last minute replacements, but—" She stopped, blinking. "Ah, Pearly, what are you waiting for? The poppers, the poppers! Like we planned!"

"O-oh!" Pearl exclaimed as though rising out of a stupor, and her hands sprung out from beneath the table. She fired all five poppers in her grip at once. Three successfully fired, but the confetti spread mostly over the dishes, some mixing impressively with the sauce platters. What managed to clear the table just short of Phoenix's face, descending onto the floor at his feet.

The spent poppers fell to the ground as both of Pearl's hands flew to her mouth.

"Aaah!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"

Maya burst out into peals of laughter. Meanwhile, Phoenix resisted the urge to rub his eyes in response to the stinging sensation growing behind them, and drew a deep breath instead.

Just how long did they spend setting this up?

"Thanks, Pearls. That was great," Phoenix managed, but even the words were too watery. "Everything looks really great."

He hesitated after that, feeling like he should say more, or do more, or offer more—Maya was settling down next to Pearl, her old smile beginning to warm her features; Pearl was still fussing with the dud poppers, and Miles Edgeworth was at his side.

He had no idea something so simple and obvious could hit him so hard, and yet mean the entire world to him.

Phoenix sat down across from Maya, and gestured for Edgeworth to join him.

"What's first?" he wondered aloud.

By the time Phoenix sat down, the scent of food was nearly unbearable. It occurred to him that had barely eaten anything today aside from a light snack, shortly before their walk with Pearl. He doubted Edgeworth had had much substantial—if anything at all—before driving up to Kurain, either.

The platters were markedly different from when he usually ate with the Feys—not a single burger was in sight. Instead, something more savory and earthy filled his senses from the steaming heaps of vegetables and fish spread out before him, and he imagined that the bulk of what was being offered came from the village gardens Maya had mentioned. Somehow, it made the feeling all the more special.

Almost like a tradeoff, he thought bemusedly. Maya's time in the city versus his time in the country, each with food to match.

Phoenix showed little restraint in quickly loading up his plate. In what appeared to be almost purposeful contrast, Edgeworth seemed more reluctant—even once they had picked out most of the confetti. His eyes flickered across the table of Japanese-style fare, most likely inspecting each dish for any remaining colorful flecks of paper. Phoenix had to restrain a laugh. Don't like confetti as a seasoning?

"You guys really did make a lot," Phoenix said. "You must have been scrambling."

"We made most of it ahead of time, actually," Maya explained, her own plate already heaping. "But putting it all together took longer than we expected. Plus, we had to put up the decorations too! And, well, by the time we go that done, the food had cooled down, so we had to re-heat it again..."

So in other words, they did things completely out of order?

"Neither of us were tall enough to put the hat on the Greater Magatama," Pearl added, a bit despondent, "so Mystic Maya had to go get the ladder..."

In the interest of peace, Phoenix manfully bit back the temptation to correct Pearl's inaccurate terminology.

"Anyway, well," Maya said, "I hope you two weren't bored or anything sitting in there while we were working on it."

"Nah," Phoenix said. "I think we both needed the chance to relax a little. Right, Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth was still experimentally browsing the food as though the platters were a set of small animals prepared to bite. His head turned slightly to Phoenix. "Er," he answered. "Yes, very much."

"That stack of papers in Nick's room was yours, right, Mr. Edgeworth?" Maya asked. "I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see you without a load of casework. First to the hospital, now here… what's next, working at the spa? On a beach vacation? Maybe a skiing trip?" She made a downward sliding motion with one forearm, while mimicking holding a clipboard to her face with the other.

Edgeworth had the grace to at least look mildly embarrassed by Maya's light jab. "If it's necessary..."

"According to him, it's always necessary," Phoenix added, in between pondering the tiny croquettes that had certainly been formed by equally tiny hands. His own palm dwarfed one of them by at least double. "That's what happens when someone insists on taking on a dozen cases at a time."

"Unlike some of us, I keep a regular work schedule, yes," Edgeworth said.

Maya laughed. "Yeah, we're lucky if Nick keeps the office open a full eight hours a day. Never mind working on more than a single case at once!"

"So I noticed." The sour note to Edgeworth's voice turned to something far dryer. "That's probably for the best. Knowing Wright, he'd simply get the evidence mixed together, and we'd end up with a murder weapon being presented for a civil case."

Maya's contemplation had a distinctly exaggerated air about it. "I get the feeling that could happen even if he was only working on a single case..."

If a part of Phoenix felt indignant at being the butt of their combined jokes, it was washed away with the relief of seeing the two of them exchanging them so easily.

"Sis was always busy when she was running that office, you know?" Maya said. "Every time I talked to her, she had some case going on or something she was working on. Now Nick, on the other hand… well, we should probably give him a pass for today, anyway. It is his birthday..."

"Edgeworth's been giving me plenty of commentary on the state of the office, don't worry," Phoenix said.

"Oh?" Maya looked surprised; a piece of food nearly fell from her grip. "You've visited the office, Mr. Edgeworth?"

A sudden wave of self-consciousness rose from somewhere beneath Phoenix's collar. I don't think it's that surprising… he doesn't even come by that often, really...

Maya's face wasn't her usual expression set to tease, though. "Nick hasn't changed a whole lot since it was Fey and Co. Law Offices…" She tilted her head. "What have you noticed?"

Edgeworth hesitated, and after a quick glance at Phoenix—who shrugged—went ahead and spoke.

"To begin with, it's fairly obvious which files Wright has taken it upon himself to organize," Edgeworth said, "as opposed to relying on outside help."

Phoenix winced; he wasn't sure whether or not to comment on that reflecting Maya's absence. I probably shouldn't put more pressure on her...

"Yeah," Maya said, seemingly unfazed, "it feels like we're always running way behind… that's just the Wright and Co. way, I guess!"

"I do find it curious that the bathroom was the single place there that was spotless," Edgeworth went on, gaining confidence. "But the list of contacts needed re-organizing as well. The phone book was at least five years out of date. Wright's penchant for hoarding random bits of evidence is about as irritating displayed in his workspace as it is in the courtroom." He shook his head.

Maya took in his feedback with a surprisingly thoughtful expression.

"Additionally," Edgeworth said, fidgeting once again under her gaze, "the coffee machine is malfunctioning."

Yeah, Fey magic is the only thing that's been keeping that thing operational under any definition. Edgeworth's attempt to deal with it had ended in a soaking cravat and a barely suppressed had been meaning to replace it for—at least years?

"Wow, Nick is lucky to have you there," Maya said, "to show him how it's really done."

Well, I don't know if I'd go that far. Generally, it was true that the prosecutor was stickler for organization. He always had something to say about Phoenix's spaces—whether it was his office or the apartment. But judging from what he had come to see when Edgeworth was particularly stressed, Phoenix had a strong suspicion Edgeworth hadn't left his office in the best state himself when he had made the decision to drive up to Kurain. Good luck to the poor sap covering for him, I guess.

He noticed that Edgeworth had been so busy talking that the only thing that had made it onto his plate were a small pile of green beans. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing—in fact, it was nice to see Maya and him exchanging words so naturally again. As natural as Edgeworth gets, anyway.

Still, he opened his mouth, but Pearl got there first.

"Mr. Edgeworth," Pearl said, leaning over enough that the sleeves of her robes threatened to drag into one of the bowls of rice. She had been watching the exchange, but seemed to be satisfied at last that things seemed to have been put right between the three adults present. "Can I help you?"

"No," Edgeworth said. "I'm just—"

"No, let me be of assistance!" Pearl said, her voice rising. She stood and rolled her sleeves back determinedly. Before Edgeworth could protest further, she had stood up and ran over to the other side of the table, where Edgeworth was sitting. She took possession of his plate and began systematically moving it across the spread, narrating as she went.

"The vegetable stir-fry is, um, very good! We pulled the ingredients freshly out of our community gardens. I made sure the main ingredients were leafy greens, so it's also very nutritious! But it's probably best if you start with the kenchin soup, Mr. Edgeworth. Oh, if you eat meat, Mystic Maya always enjoys the grilled fish. I made the croquettes myself, so if you'd like to try one of those..."

Edgeworth looked just as bewildered as he had on their tour as Pearl mercilessly loaded him up with a serving of about everything there was to be had on the table. Phoenix resisted the urge to lean forward, chin in hands.

This barrage of attempted hospitality seemed a little forceful even for Pearl. She's probably feeling bad about grilling Edgeworth earlier. I guess force-feeding him is one way of trying to make up for it...

Edgeworth surveyed the spread that had materialized on his plate as though by magic. After a moment of consideration, he took a small bite of the fish and inclined his head slightly in appreciation. Pearl's smile in reply was radiant. Edgeworth then reached for his steaming cup of tea and raised it to his mouth.

"Oh, do you like the tea, Mr. Edgeworth? It's from Hazakura!" Pearl exclaimed immediately after Edgeworth swallowed. Then, shyer: "D-doesn't it remind you of the taste of winter?"

At least tea's always a safe topic as far as he's concerned.

"Yes," Edgeworth said, with a nod of—to Phoenix's faint surprise—what looked like sincere approval. "I would say that's an apt description, actually, Miss Fey."

Pearl nodded furiously. "I'm visiting the temple again next week, so I can bring back more then, if you like it! Though I can't brew it quite as well as Sister Bikini..."

"I—"

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that, Pearls," Phoenix said, thoroughly enjoying the glare that earned him. The strange, glowing feeling that had hit him when he stepped into this room spread like sunlight over his skin. Pearl looked pleased that her offer had been accepted, even indirectly.

"Mr. Edgeworth," she continued, a hint of shyness apparent now, "if you're stressed from work, Hazakura Temple is a place for spiritual training, too. It's a wonderful place to learn r-relaxation techniques. If you're interested..."

Edgeworth's face stayed impressively level. "I'll… pass, but thank you for the offer."

"Have things gotten any better, Mr. Edgeworth?" Maya asked, around a bite of food. "The last time we talked, you said things at the office were really bad."

"Mm," Edgeworth said. "Things are getting done, at least, even if we're still overwhelmed. Being hospitalized didn't help matters, but some of the staff on leave are finally returning to work, which is… a boon, you could say."

"Still dealing with all those talented defense attorneys?" Maya asked. "You know, the ones not named Phoenix Wright?"

"Er," Edgeworth started, "more or less." He considered, then remarked: "With all the casework we're dealing with, one would think he'd have managed to find some work, but..."

Hey, what happened to being nice to the birthday boy? Phoenix protested."You're mad about me not adding to your workload?"

"Don't be egotistical," Edgeworth said. "Though I have no idea how you keep the rent and bills paid, with the hours you keep."

Actually, sometimes I'm not sure, either.

Phoenix sat back, patiently waiting for Maya to chime in, but nothing came. Instead, Maya's eyes were focused on a point past anyone sitting at the table—as far as Phoenix could tell, some nondescript section of the far wall.

"Maya?" Phoenix said. She startled.

"Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed "I'm listening, I'm listening. Like Mr. Edgeworth said, I'm just tired…" She laughed a little. "Geez, and I'm not even the one dealing with defense attorneys or cases these days!"

It might have been Phoenix's imagination, but something about her response seemed off—like a faint light trying to break through dense fog. He shook his head, dismissing it as paranoia. It's been a stressful day for everyone.

That does remind me, though...

"By the way, Maya, have you heard from Lana lately?"

"Lana?" Maya twisted her head fully to face him. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been in touch with her, right?" Phoenix stabbed a piece of stir fry with his fork. "I saw her on the news just before you came to get us."

Maya's widened, flustered eyes was answer enough to his first question. It was hard to suppress the smile that came at the light flush on her face. "O-oh, she must have been wrapping up another case… well, that's what you'd expect from Sis's old friend. Always staying busy."

"Adding to Edgeworth's headaches, I'm sure." Phoenix's peripheral vision managed to catch a roll of the eyes and the hint of a smirk from the man in question.

Maya's lips quirked. It apparently hadn't escaped her notice, either. "Ha ha, yeah…"

Pearl's puzzlement was open on her face, twisting towards each of them in turn.

"Lana's the one who came to visit us a couple of months ago, Pearly," Maya explained. "Remember? The woman in the red scarf, with the long hair."

Phoenix's smile broadened. I knew it.

"Oh!" Pearl said. "I remember her. She was very nice. Why was she was on television? Is she famous?"

Maya gulped down her mouthful of food down before answering. "She used to be a prosecutor, like Mr. Edgeworth, but now she's a defense attorney, like Nick. Not just any old prosecutor, either. She was Chief Prosecutor! That's like… the final boss of prosecutors."

So what does that make Edgeworth? A henchman? Phoenix wondered.

"I… I wouldn't have ever guessed," Pearl said. "She seemed so kind..." Her lips pursed and her chopsticks worked in an uneven circle across her vegetables, leaving a swirl of multicolored pepper shreds in their wake.

Next to Phoenix, Edgeworth was absorbed in a clumsy attempt at performing surgery on his fish, if his prodding at it was any indication.

"Prosecutors can be nice people," Pearl said abruptly, "Can't they?"

"Huh?" Maya blinked. "Of course they can, Pearly."

Pearl's head lowered at the same time her eyes raised, slightly guiltily, to 's chest gave a squeeze of sympathy. Meanwhile, Edgeworth had seemingly given up on fish and had moved to chasing vegetables around on his plate. With some effort he managed to extract a single green bean.

"But... what about that frilly prosecutor that bullied you, Mystic Maya?" Pearl said. "Even if someone is just doing a job, they don't have to be so mean..."

"Bullied?" Maya's hand rose to cup the side of her face as she considered Pearl's words.

"Frilly…?" Edgeworth mused in an echo, as though trying to riffle through a mental portfolio of every prosecutor in his office. The dawning look of realization on his face was charming. "Do you mean Franziska von Karma?"

"Yes," Pearl exclaimed, as though the name summoned the offending prosecutor before her in person, "she was so horrible! She never even apologized for what she did! Mystic Maya looked like she was about to cry! "

I think I did cry after the whipping she gave me, Phoenix thought.

"Pearly," Maya said, more pleading than scolding, "It's okay. Franziska isn't a bad person."

Edgeworth, after the surprise had passed at her outburst, finally found his voice. "That year was…a very difficult one for her. I won't excuse her actions towards Maya, but she's grown a lot since then."

"Then she should apologize," Pearl said, clearly less than impressed with Edgeworth's tepid defense.

"I…" Edgeworth trailed off. The line of his back took on a slightly defeated slump, like a milder version of when he was particularly thrown off in court. "That… might prove difficult. Franziska is very prideful, so it's hard for her to admit when she's wrong."

She's not the only one. Phoenix smiled to himself, remembering a particular, stuttered "tell her to watch herself in court" from several years prior. Perhaps his grin wasn't quite private enough, judging by the subsequent irked glance he earned from Edgeworth.

Pearl lapsed into a rather thoughtful silence. When she spoke next, her voice was heavy with suspicion. "Mr. Edgeworth, you're very protective of Prosecutor von Karma."

Ah, I already know where this is going. I should probably step in, Phoenix thought.

"Pearls," Phoenix said, "Prosecutor von Karma is Edgeworth's younger sister."

"Sister…?" Pearl's hand flew to her mouth in surprise.

"Yes," Edgeworth affirmed, as Pearl turned towards him.

"So Mr. Edgeworth has a younger sister…" Pearl mused, half to herself. Then, as though something finally clicked into place: "You both are frilly…"

That's one way to put it…

"Older," Edgeworth said.

"Huh?" Phoenix replied. Pearl's head also tilted slightly, inquisitively.

"Older sister," Edgeworth muttered. "Best you get used to her preferred appellation now than have her 'correct' you later."

"Why does she say that, anyway?" Phoenix said. He had always vaguely wondered; Franziska was slightly eccentric, but insisting someone nearly seven years her senior was younger than her seemed odd, even for her.

Edgeworth shrugged. A tiny, affectionate quirk of his lips appeared; Phoenix was rapidly coming to recognize it as being unique to all things related to Franziska von Karma. "You would have to ask her for the particulars. Though, when you think about it, it's not an entirely illogical perspective. She does predate me as a disciple by three years."

Yeah, that makes some amount of crazy von Karma sense, I guess. A vision of Franziska brandishing her whip in court abruptly surfaced. Phoenix shuddered. I think I'll pass on asking her for the specifics of how it works, though.

On the other side of the table, Pearl shook her head. "That's not right. She doesn't act like a big sister at all…"

"She'd be quite cross if she heard you say that." Edgeworth's voice was warm.

Trust Franziska von Karma, of all things, to be the subject that puts him in a better mood.

"Big sisters are supposed to be kind, and gentle, and show you how to do things," Pearl went on, "like making origami, or pouring tea..."

"Well, Franziska..."

"...and they're supposed to tuck you in at night, and read you stories, and make you feel better when you're sad!" She rolled up her sleeve aggressively to punctuate the statement.

Phoenix looked to exchange a knowing "we both know who she's thinking of" grin with Maya, but startled slightly when his expectations went unfulfilled. Maya's expression, though not unhappy, reflected some subdued, ambiguous emotion, as though Pearl was reflected in a distant mirror.

Maya…?

"Oh! Mr. Edgeworth!" Pearl exclaimed, as another piece of food fell from Edgeworth's precarious grip. "That's not how you hold chopsticks, let me show you..." She appeared next to Edgeworth's right hand before any objections could leave his mouth.

Maya snorted lightly, but she remained in the background, watching the scene play out before her.

"Should we get you a fork, Edgeworth?" In spite of his resurfacing worries, Phoenix couldn't resist. Upon reflection, the one time they had dined Japanese, Edgeworth had ordered mostly skewers. "Chopsticks really don't seem to be your thing. Have you even used them before?"

"Of course I have," Edgeworth snapped back, as Pearl continued rearranging his fingers. "I have traveled abroad, you know."

"I don't think most of Europe is that big on chopsticks..."

"Please, Wright. One of the places I did extensive work in was the Republic of Zheng Fa." His scowl was open, and Phoenix took it as a sign he was finally beginning to relax. "I've had my fair share of the cuisine there."

Zheng Fa? The image of Edgeworth clad in Asian-style clothes came to mind. The premise sailed right into the absurd, but at the same time, the picture of Edgeworth in loose-fitting robes caused an odd, appealing spark to flicker in Phoenix's head.

Edgeworth's look in response to Phoenix's daydreaming was remarkably similar to the expression he would make after ingesting a lemon.

He glanced at Maya again, but in lieu of adding to the teasing, asking about the particulars of Zheng Fa cuisine, or even paying much attention at all, she seemed more interested in very carefully piling a third helping of food onto her plate. Even as she ate, it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere.

Something's wrong, a tiny voice hissed in the back of Phoenix's mind, much more definitively than before.

"There you are!" Pearl said, finally satisfied. "There, try it like that!"

"Er," Edgeworth said, not without dignity, "…thank you very much."

When she noticed Phoenix looking at her, Maya grinned, jutted her tongue out at him and reached over to steal a piece of fish from his plate.

As she chewed exaggeratedly, making sure he caught every sound, Phoenix couldn't help but scrutinize his earlier impression. Was it just my imagination…?

As they cleaned the rest of their plates - despite how overwhelming the spread had seemed, they'd managed to put most of it away - Pearl began to dutifully gather up the dirty dishes. Maya rose to help her.

"Thanks again, you two," Phoenix said. "It was great."

"Yes," Edgeworth agreed, "it was very good."

"We can help with the cleanup—" Phoenix began, bracing himself against the table to stand, but Maya made a pressing motion downward with both hands, signaling for him to stay down.

"Don't get too excited, Nick," Maya chided. "We're not done yet. It is your birthday, right? That means presents and cake, too."

Presents…? As Pearl whisked his platter from before him, flashing him a shy smile, Phoenix thought back to birthdays past—and the various Steel Samurai memorabilia that dotted his bedroom as a result, including an alarm clock. "Hey, it's practical and everything! Don't complain!" Maya had laughed, shoving at him as they listened to the familiar theme belt out at them.

"Will you be okay, Mr. Edgeworth?" Maya asked. "Sorry to keep you up even longer, but…"

"What?" Edgeworth said, but he couldn't entirely disguise the motion of his head jerking up. "Of course. Please don't mind me."

"It won't be too much longer; then we can hit the hay!" Maya promised. Then, to Edgeworth: "Not literally, don't worry. We're not that backwards."

Like an instrument that was just slightly out of tune, her voice rung a half-note too high, even as Edgeworth winced. Maya spun on her heels away from the table.

"We'll be right back!" she said, taking about half of Pearl's burden from her, and the two of them vanished through the door. This time, Maya saw fit to use her foot to spring them open, and the wood practically yelped as it smacked once more against the walls.

Phoenix and Edgeworth were left alone. Phoenix's eyes darted to Edgeworth again—but the prosecutor's mind, still, seemed to be in a different place than Phoenix's.

Edgeworth lifted his mug of tea to his lips.

"I suppose I never said it myself," he said, abruptly. "Happy birthday, Wright."

"Oh, uh," Phoenix said, slightly startled, "thanks..."

I hope he isn't feeling bad for not getting me anything…

Edgeworth shifted slightly.

It's fine. Just him coming up here is more than present enough…

He looked after where the two girls had left.

"So you spoke with Maya."

Phoenix paused in idly picking at the ends of one of the dud poppers. "Y… yeah, we talked."

"It… went well, then?" The tentative vulnerability that rose in Edgeworth's voice felt like a blanket being pulled back to expose someone huddled underneath.

"Yeah," he said. "I think so." Didn't it? Phoenix thought back. Maya had smiled, he had nearly collapsed in relief, and they had finally updated each other on Maya's situation—I was sure we cleared the air…

"I'm… glad."

It was a strange day when Phoenix felt he had picked up on certain undercurrents that it looked like Edgeworth had missed. He supposed Maya did seem normal compared to earlier, before Edgeworth had fallen asleep in his room, but…

He still couldn't entirely squelch that gnawing feeling of misgiving. Something about the way she had smiled, or spoken, or…

"Although," Edgeworth added, "I would have been willing to leave the room if you had woken me up."

Phoenix grinned as Edgeworth rolled his eyes, obscuring most of his face behind the bottom of his tea cup.

Meanwhile, it's obvious that Pearls isn't mad at him. That had been obvious from the start to Phoenix, but knowing Edgeworth, he was still mulling over how to best formulate his intended—and probably overwrought—apology.

As though on cue, Phoenix heard the doors opening again. Pearl was bearing a somewhat lumpy package in her arms. No one else accompanied her.

"Mystic Maya is getting dessert ready," Pearl explained, "But she said you can go ahead and open your present! We picked it out together, Mr. Nick. I hope you like it!"

His best guess, from the size of shape of the package, that it was probably some kind of blanket, or maybe clothes—he internally resigned himself to spending his nights from now on enveloped by the Steel Samurai's embrace—as he gingerly took the package from her and set it on the table in front of him.

"Nah, Pearls," Phoenix said, "we'll wait for Maya."

The three of them sat together for a minute that felt far longer. Edgeworth fidgeted—adjusting his cravat as subtly as possible with one hand, while Pearl twined and untwined her fingers together. Phoenix watched the two of them exchange glances, but never quite managing to hold.

They're both probably figuring out how to break the ice… I imagine me being here isn't helping matters.

Phoenix glanced behind him, at the door. It remained closed, as though cutting them off to whatever void had swallowed his assistant outside. One minute stretched into several. Next to him, Pearl had progressed onto fiddling with the tea pot, making warning motions towards Edgeworth's mug. So far, the prosecutor worrying with it hadn't seemed to have caught on to her intentions.

As oddly entertaining it was watching the two of them tread water, Phoenix's growing concern overshadowed his amusement.

"Maya's taking a while, isn't she?" he asked It takes this long to get a cake?

"N-now that you mention it..." Pearl said. Her lips also pursed in doubt.

Like a shadow cast from candlelight, the flicker of misgiving rebounded back into his mind, even stronger than before.

She's not making dessert from scratch, is she…?

Pearl glanced back at the entrance. "Everything was put together ahead of time in the refrigerator. I…I wonder what could be taking her so long?"

Another few seconds passed.

I wasn't wrong, Phoenix realized. Edgeworth was looking sidelong at him. Something's…

"Maybe someone interrupted her," Pearl suggested, but the growing worry was more or less unmasked in her face. "Sometimes that happens, with village business..."

That was possible. But in the back of his mind, Phoenix recalled Pearl's description of Maya when she had greeted her this morning. It was easy to imagine Maya rolling over, meeting her cousin with her usual smile and cheerful voice.

"But I think she had been crying," Pearl had said.

"I'll go check on her." The sentence wasn't even fully out of his mouth by the time he was on his feet. Pearl and Edgeworth's heads both rose at his motion, but he thought he saw a glimpse of silent approval in both.

He left the scene of his birthday celebration behind as he made his way past the doors and down the hall.

The last time he had seen Maya cry—voice shaking, tears streaking down her cheeks—was in the courtroom, begging Phoenix not to make her testify against Diego Armando. But as hard as that was on her, as soon as the doors of the courtroom had closed, her 'usual smile' had been back, inviting Phoenix to banter with her as though she had never been hurt.

He hadn't been able to understand it then. Edgeworth had tried to explain it to him—that it was for Pearl's sake—but it was still difficult for him to wrap his head around. So he had just played along—at the time, it seemed like the best course of action. If that was what Maya decided, all he could do was to help her with it.

But she was still crying.

Looking back, it was a weak justification—and a weak justification now.

He hated the idea of continuing to be the friend who kept looking the other way and carrying on like everything was normal for his own benefit. Even if he was barking up the wrong tree entirely—even if it was just him being paranoid and this ended with Maya rightfully laughing in his face at his concern—

It hit him that he didn't want to be that friend anymore.

The kitchen was—predictably—empty. Even knowing that before he stepped in, Phoenix's insides clenched at Maya's decisive absence. A glance into the refrigerator rewarded him with a guilt-laden jolt as he saw the bright, lopsided cake with multicolored letters: Happy Birthday, Nick! Enjoy Being Old!

He stepped onto the outer walkway. Rows of rooms stretched out next to him and across the way, beyond the garden. All of them dark and empty—except his, glowing warm in contrast to the cool night air. Keeping it in his sight as he moved along the Winding Way, the light felt like a beacon leading him onwards.

The sound of the door opening must have alerted Maya. She jerked to her feet from where she was kneeling on the floor.

"N-Nick?" She swallowed visibly before a grin suddenly stretched across her face, corners tight. She clapped a hand against her chest. "Don't scare me like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," Phoenix found himself saying. From what he could tell at a glance, Maya's face didn't show any evidence of tears. He took a deep breath. "You didn't come back, so we were getting a little worried."

"Oh, um, yeah…." She motioned to a pile of bedding at her feet. Her smile turned distinctly sheepish. "I could tell things were winding down, so I figured I'd spread out Mr. Edgeworth's bed for him before we had cake. But then I couldn't remember where we put the other guest futons that matched this room, so I had to go dig them out of storage and, well…"

That makes sense. As Maya bent back over to retrieve a pale, thin sheet, Phoenix wondered again if he hadn't been tricked by the large, unfamiliar space of the banquet hall—looking at her in the confines of his room, nothing seemed particularly amiss. He shook his head. If there was one thing the years of being a lawyer had taught him to trust, it was his instincts.

"Here, let me help," he said, moving next to her and reaching out.

"Ah—no! It's fine!" Maya tugged the bedding from his grasp and wagged a chiding finger at him. "Don't you think Pearly and Mr. Edgeworth are going to get worried about you if you don't go back and tell them everything's okay? Besides, I don't think you even know how to lay out a futon! You sure don't know how to put one back…"

I didn't know I was supposed to, Phoenix inwardly groused. Besides, it's not like putting down a sheet and mattress is rocket science.

"I told them I was going to go look for you," Phoenix finally replied, refusing to be dismissed so easily. "Besides, twice the people, half the time, right?"

He was too close to Maya's face to miss the darting motion her eyes made towards the door, but her expression smoothed itself over so quickly he could almost believe he was mistaken.

She's gotten so good at this. The revelation was depressing. And I never even noticed her learning.

Maya sighed a moment later. "More like twice the people, twice the time, when it comes to you, Nick." She held out one edge of the sheet. "But if you insist, grab those other corners."

Despite Maya's pessimistic outlook on his bed-making skills, they managed to set down the sheet and unroll the mattress in short order. As Maya expertly snapped the comforter back to relative downiness, he caught a faint trace of incense, and wondered if it was the same scent that reminded Maya of her sister during the trial that ended up with Morgan Fey behind bars. If it was, Maya gave no sign as she motioned for him to help her spread the blanket over the top of the mattress.

"Oh," Maya exclaimed as she stood next to him to inspect their handiwork. She flushed lightly. "S-sorry, give me a second."

She pushed both his and Edgeworth's futons together so that they resembled a single bed instead. Something about the way her head hung slightly low as the corners came together finally caused the words to trip out of his mouth of their own accord.

"What's really wrong, Maya?"

Phoenix saw her throat tighten. The gesture reminded him of their earlier talk yesterday, right before she had burst out of his room. His heart began to race.

Maya stood and turned around to face him. "I'm sorry, Nick. I've been a little distracted because of what we talked about earlier." Her ensuing smile felt small. "I didn't mean to worry you again. Today was meant to be your day, after all!"

She's been doing it for so long it's like…

It was almost like she couldn't stop, even if she wanted to.

He resisted the urge to rub his temples in frustration. Iris's trial rose to his mind again—how difficult it had been to pry through Maya's barriers to get to her true testimony underneath.

But she'll only lie to protect her loved ones and the people they care about, like she did for Mia…

Mia hadn't been surprised by Maya's behavior, at least. Last night, her smile had been confident, even ruefully fond, in her certainty that everything would be all right. After all, she said, she had been through this with Maya herself—

She did say that.

Phoenix felt his thoughts jar, seizing some half-formed observation about that statement.

But in that case…

When Mia had left, Maya had just been a child—Morgan was the one mostly tasked with running Kurain. In other words, Maya's behavior towards her sister certainly couldn't have been explained with the stress about the responsibilities of village leadership, as she had laid out for Phoenix earlier in this same room.

Phoenix tried to replay the scene at the graveyard in his memory.

"You know, I went through something similar with her." Mia had said.

Then: "I told her about how things were going, Phoenix. My studies, my friendship with Lana... the life that I was making for myself."

It is me. The realization was distant, hazy, like viewing a heat mirage from far away. I was right. I did hurt her. She just didn't want me to know.

"Nick?" Maya walked over and waved a hand in front of his face. "You in there? You don't look so hot." She rolled her eyes at him. "Why don't you head on back and I'll finish up in here?"

As he looked at her without replying, an expression of confusion—then something else, something more complex and almost morose—began to bubble up under the surface of her features.

A wisp of the night breeze brushed against his forehead; a crisp and cold distraction. He hadn't realized how hot he'd gotten. He motioned towards the open door and, instead, said, "Come on. Why don't we sit outside for a little bit?"

Maya seemed to deflate slightly. "Okay."

When they reached the walkway outside, Phoenix sat down. His feet dangling over the threshold didn't quite reach the ground. Maya stood next to him for a moment, so he patted the spot next to him. She sat stiffly, as though waiting for a blow. Past the overhanging roof, the night sky was unusually clear.

Phoenix spoke first. "I don't think I mentioned it before, but I talked to Mia last night."

"Sis?" Maya's head turned towards him. Whatever she'd expected him to say, apparently it hadn't been that. "Really?"

"Pearls called her," Phoenix explained.

"Oh," Maya said. In what was becoming a familiar movement, she knotted her fingers before her in her lap. Like a meditation pose, Phoenix realized—a motion to calm herself. "...I should have been more thoughtful to Pearly. She was looking forward to this party for so long, and then… I went and made things awkward. I didn't think she would go that far, though..."

"It's not your fault, Maya," Phoenix said. It felt like the hundredth time he'd had to say it, but he hoped with each repetition, it got through to her a little more. "She was just worried about both of us. I'm the one who got her upset."

Maya made a vague noise, as though she wasn't quite convinced, but wasn't up to arguing it out, either. Just as Phoenix was trying to put together how to move forward, she spoke first.

"How…" Maya swallowed and tried again. "How was Sis?"

Phoenix looked at her. "She's doing okay. She still always seems to know exactly what to say."

Maya's voice was thick. "That's Sis for you."

"It's funny," Phoenix said, "I didn't even really have to explain what was going on. It was like she had already seen it coming."

Maya's expression tightened. "Yeah… I-I probably should have, too, huh?" Her head bowed, shoulders hunching slightly. "If I wasn't so wrapped up in my own problems..."

"Maya, that's not what I meant," Phoenix said. He could almost hear an echo of Edgeworth: Take it one step at a time, Wright. "She told me that you two had gone through something similar when she first left the village."

"Huh?" Maya seemed to search for something mentally—and rather than bafflement, the lines of her mouth settled into recognition. "Oh… that. That was a long time ago..."

"From what she said," Phoenix went on, "it didn't seem to have anything to do with being the Master."

A moment passed. Even without spiritual powers, Phoenix could almost feel Maya processing—and grasping—what he was saying to her.

Maya's reply, when it came, was so quiet he wasn't sure he heard it correctly. "…Sis never…would have been Master to begin with."

The weight behind those words startled Phoenix into looking at Maya anew. It was subtle, but her jaw was held slightly firm as she stared straight ahead. It wasn't anger—more like an old, bone-deep ache.

She took a deep breath, then continued. "It's not really like that, Nick. Sis was only doing what she thought was right. It's just that… none of us saw it coming. And then, I was the successor."

Maya…

She had been so young in the wake of DL-6. Thinking about it, that it was doubtful Mia had consulted her younger sister in any meaningful way before leaving her as the sole remaining Fey successor.

"So all of a sudden," Maya went on, "Aunt Morgan was talking about 'my duties' and that I needed to take training 'more seriously', and… a lot of things changed. Sis made an important decision for herself, and then—" She stopped. "And then Sis would call, telling me all about her classes, all the things she was learning, and all the new people she was meeting. It felt so different from the life I had here."

It was hard not to interject with reassurances. Just listen for now, he instructed himself.

"...I did act like a brat about it sometimes. I guess I felt like… we were drifting apart. But it wasn't her fault. And it's not yours either."

"Not mine, either?" Phoenix echoed, but Maya continued staring straight ahead, into the dark expanse of garden. "You felt like it was the same with us; that we were drifting apart?" His own throat tightened, painfully. He didn't want to verbalize this next part, but Maya had made it clear without saying the exact words. "...like I was leaving you behind?"

"It's not…" Maya shook her head, but Phoenix could see her hands tightening against each other. "It's not like that, exactly. It's just…"

Phoenix waited, holding the feeling of growing dread at bay.

"Nick." There was an unmistakable tremor in her voice. "It wasn't… everyday, but… that guest room at your place was like..." Her teeth worked at her lip, as though fighting to keep the words in and get them out at the same time. "...when I could spend days, weeks, with you in the city… it was just as much home to me as Kurain. Even more, in some ways."

I'm glad, Maya. He wanted to reach out to her—her hands now nearly had a vicelike, painful-looking grip on each other—but he continued to restrain himself.

"Um… to be honest… when we first met, and Sis asked me to help..." The tremor grew worse as Maya went on, even as her gaze remained fixed like a stone ahead of her. "...with you and the office, I was—I was really… relieved. ...not just for you, but for myself, too."

It meant she had a reason to get away from Kurain Village and her duties. It made sense to Phoenix; it was only human. She never asked to be the future Master…

"And, uh..." She exhaled loudly, and her line of vision finally dropped down towards her hands. "Even though I lost Sis… it felt like… I found family and, uh—uh, a kind of… new safe haven in spending time with you. Looking after you. That sounds dumb, doesn't it? Sorry, I'm… I'm kind of talking myself through this at the same time. I'm probably not saying it right..."

"It doesn't sound dumb," Phoenix said. "I'm listening."

"And, um…" The hitch in Maya's speech nearly broke through; with obvious effort she pulled it back at the last second. "I… guess… I guess it's like..."

"Maya," Phoenix said, softly. "I won't get mad at you."

The words came in strained bursts. "I mean, it's not a big deal, but it's like… I hadn't seen you… in months. And… you didn't call me, you know?" She looked reproachful towards herself for daring to point it out. "I-I always called you, and…"

The dread within Phoenix began its inevitable conversion into renewed, raw guilt. He did his best to keep his gaze steady as Maya continued.

"...it somehow felt like… I was being a bother, I guess. I mean—sorry, that's not fair." Her teeth ground against each other briefly, anticipating Phoenix's interjection. "But you always sounded… busy. I could tell you were out places, sometimes."

A memory darted in Phoenix's mind—taking more than one of Maya's calls when he was out with Edgeworth, surrounded by the bustle of streets and the sound of people. Her disbelieving laugh whenever he explained to her where he was. It was true that he didn't exactly hit up the town often before he had started dating Edgeworth.

"I mean… that's okay. That's more than okay! I was really surprised, but… I was happy you were going outside and… living well, I guess, even though I couldn't be there as much. But it's like..."

She was happy, but at the same time, she wasn't. He finally realized what that constant refrain of 'you're hopeless without me,' always delivered with that familiar grin, really meant. If that's not true… then that means that 'you don't need me.'

Looking at Maya, seeing her still fighting to hold back tears, he felt he was finally, finally, beginning to really understand.

"Maya," he said, and his words came out unsteady. "You're not a bad person for feeling that way."

Maya stiffened, even her breathing going still. Her eyes took on a distinctly glassy quality. Phoenix put a hand on her shoulder. After a few moments, she opened her mouth, lips somewhat pale.

"You know, when Sis first left, she used to call every Friday. Then, she started getting busy and she would miss weeks sometimes. She was studying for a law degree, so, of course, that makes sense, right? But at the time, to me it just felt like… maybe we weren't as close…or…" Maya trailed off. "It really is the same, isn't it..."

Of course she felt left behind. He had been looking at it through the wrong lens the entire time. It wasn't about her judging me at all. I had it backwards...

Maya sniffed again. She abruptly toppled backwards onto the walkway with a light thump, spreading her arms as wide as possible like a child getting ready to make a snow angel. Her hair laid spread around her face, a dark halo against the polished wood and white of her robes.

"I keep doing this." She closed her eyes. "First Sis, then you... and even Pearly."

"Pearls?" For better or worse, they had covered the first two, but that addition came as a surprise to Phoenix. "Is something wrong with her?"

"No," Maya said. "Aside from, you know… what she has to deal with in the village because of me, she's doing well. Better than well, actually." Maya's voice in the darkness was both warm and bittersweet. "Every time she talks about seeing Iris, she gets the biggest smile on her face."

He'd long since noticed the same thing, but that was something that had always warmed Phoenix when he saw it. All this time, he was certain Maya was on the same page, but he thought back to the banquet hall—when he had noticed her oddly mixed reaction to Pearl inviting Edgeworth to Hazakura. He'd had no idea what to make of it at the time, but now he was beginning to get an inkling.

"You'd never know they hadn't grown up together," Maya continued. "I think Pearly would spend all her time at Hazakura if she could…"

Phoenix shook his head. It was best to tread carefully here. "There's no way that's true, Maya." He kept his voice low. "Not if it meant being apart from you."

Maya laid there in silence for a long moment. When she spoke, it was as though she hadn't heard his words. "I'm… I'm so happy for them. Pearly has this great sister she never even knew she had! They get along so well… and…"

Maya rolled onto her side, her back facing Phoenix. Her dark hair shone with an almost silvery quality beneath the light of the moon.

"Iris is really amazing, you know? She's beautiful, and elegant, and smart. It's not hard to see how compatible she is with Pearly. Pearly's always loved the kinds of things they can do together… tea ceremony, flower languages… they have so much in common. I know she's missed having someone to share all of that with since Aunt Morgan went away..."

"Maya..."

"It's wonderful. It really is." As Maya spoke, whether she was aware of it or not, there was an almost rehearsed quality to her voice— and Phoenix wondered how many times she had repeated this same mantra to herself, over and over, invalidating her own feelings.

"Maya, it's okay," Phoenix said, with a fevered quality that he hoped reflected how deep the feeling ran behind the words. "Pearls doesn't love you any less just because she loves Iris. I promise."

"I know," Maya said. Her voice was slightly strangled. "I'm being so stupid. I know Pearly loves both of us. I really do know that."

Her legs swung loosely from where she lay, cheek pressed against the floorboards, sandals falling askew.

"It's just frustrating. Even though I know it's stupid… it just keeps feeling like the people I love… the only people in the world I really love..." She lifted her arms to press her fists against her forehead where she lay. "They keep… drawing away from me… and finding lives apart from me… like… everyone keeps slipping through my fingers."

Another breeze swept through the garden. It was cold—even frigid—but Phoenix didn't move.

"And… it's my fault. That's a normal thing, right? That's a totally healthy thing. But I got so stupid about this, I almost totally ruined your birthday, Nick…"

Even though he knew she couldn't see it, his head shook in denial, as though of its own will. My birthday's been great, Maya… I couldn't have asked for a better one...

"I don't want you or Pearly to blame yourselves, or feel like… like I'm saying you can't have anyone else in your lives. That thought… makes me feel sick inside. But..."

She hiccupped. "...I keep wondering… what's wrong with me, why can't I just be happy for all of you?" Even with her back turned, Phoenix could see her arms tense in frustration. "And then it's like… no wonder this keeps happening, when I act like this. Even when you and Mr. Edgeworth were talking about the office, it was just like… I kept thinking..."

The hiccup disintegrated into a more fragmented, broken sound.

"How... great it is that you have someone to really help you with that stuff, instead of someone who doesn't… really know anything about legal practice." Phoenix's mouth snapped open to reply, but Maya went on. "I really haven't… grown up at all since Sis left, have I? I'm still that brat, needling her about being lonely when she has bigger things to worry about..."

The last sentence came out with the force of Maya slamming the stocks down onto her own neck.

"I just… I'm awful."

A thousand things, thousands of responses, all vied for Phoenix's brain and mouth at the same time. How many times he had counted on her, how despondent he was every time she'd had to leave, his appreciation for all of the things she was dealing with under her usual smile—it felt like a whirlwind, briefly, storming into hot static inside of him.

But in the end, the sight of her shoulders shaking as she wept stripped him of all of those half-formed, pleading objections.

"You're not awful," Phoenix said. "Maya, you're not."

Maya didn't answer, but he could hear her gulping for breaths of air.

Phoenix looked up at the sky. A cloud that had briefly drifted across the moon cleared its path, leaving the ring of silver in its original place in the sky. Another breeze wafted around them, but made no real sound.

"Hey, Maya," he said, slowly, sounding out the words, "Did Pearls tell you about what happened with Edgeworth earlier?"

Maya's head rolled back towards him. Her eyes were still bloodshot. "Huh…?"

"It was when we ran into those two women at the construction site. Edgeworth was really having it out with them—you should have seen him. I thought he was going to press charges." He leaned back, feeling almost lightheaded.

Maya awkwardly pushed herself back up into a sitting position, scrubbing at her eyes with both hands. "...Y-Yeah… Pearly told me." She exhaled, blinking rapidly. "It was… hard for me to imagine Mr. Edgeworth losing his cool like that..."

"He was doing that because they were badmouthing you, Maya."

He sensed, more than saw, her reaction as the words hit her.

"He did that because he respects you." Phoenix looked at her once again. "Trust me, I can say this much about Edgeworth. He wouldn't have acted that way just for anyone. I think you know that about him, too."

Just as she seemed to have finished wiping them away, the tears were welling up in Maya's eyes again. Her voice was tight and knotted. "Y... yeah. He doesn't go easy on people, does he...?"

The affection in his own voice felt a little startling even to his own ears. "He's just as hard on himself. He was actually worried he made a bad impression on Pearls, because her mother came up during the argument." He's probably fumbling through his apology right now…

"I always worry about that, too," Maya said, pressing a light finger to her forehead. "But… I'm sure Pearly isn't angry at him. She seemed to really take to him at dinner..."

"I know," Phoenix said. "Things will be fine with them, I'm sure. If anything, Pearls is worried about you."

Maya's pensive frown made it clear that Pearl's concern wasn't a new consideration for her.

"She feels helpless when she sees you so unhappy."

Her expression crumpled slightly again. "I know..."

I said it wrong, Phoenix realized immediately. "Maya, sorry. That's not what I meant. It's not a matter of seeing it or not—Pearls knows, even if you try to hide it. Especially that you try to hide it." The words felt like they were barely being spun before they came out of his mouth. "That's part of why she feels helpless. It's not your fault for letting things slip."

When he didn't get a response, he wondered if he had misstepped again, but Maya's expression was more contemplative, if dubious, than anything. He went on. "I know you're doing your best for her—for all of us. But Pearls is getting older, too, and… she doesn't want you to hide what you're going through, or just be protected by you."

"But..." Maya ran a hand over her mussed head. "But Pearly shouldn't have to..."

"It's not a matter of having to," Phoenix insisted. "Look… the point is, that's what Pearls wants. She feels bad that she can't help you as much as she wants to." He continued, feeling more sure of himself, before she could interject. "Maya, Edgeworth and I want the same thing. And we're not the only ones."

"What do you mean, Nick?" Maya asked, sounding almost dazed.

"Iris, for one," Phoenix said. "Yeah, she's Pearl's sister, but she's your cousin, too. I might not know a lot about how Kurain works, but I bet she does. And she's good at listening." He knew that full well, himself. "When I talk to her, she always asks how you're doing. I can tell she worries about you—and not just because of Pearls."

Maya sounded uncertain. "I guess so, but..."

"She's not taking Pearls from you, Maya," Phoenix said. "It doesn't have to be that way. It's the other way around. Pearls is bringing her to you."

Maya's lips parted, rather than speaking, she buried both hands in the opposite sleeves in a huddling motion.

"It's the same with Mia, right?" Phoenix pressed on. "Even though it hurt at the time you heard about it… Lana came up to visit you. Right? You guys were able to meet, and talk."

"That's true..."

"What did Lana tell you?"

"She..." Maya looked almost embarrassed. "She said that Sis would be proud of me. And that I could call her if I needed anything."

"See?" he said, encouraged. "It took a little longer, maybe… but even Mia is bringing more people to your side, who want to help you." He paused, briefly. "Just like you've helped all of us. Edgeworth came to your defense earlier because he felt that strongly about it."

Her protestation was fainter this time. "Still—"

"Think about the evidence, Maya. Your house is huge," Phoenix said. Normally, Maya would roll her eyes at that—but she waited, eyes glued to his. "That means traditionally, the Master had a ton of help from other people—the rest of the Fey family."

"Nick…"

"I know Edgeworth and I aren't exactly Feys." And who knows Iris's exact status according to the village, but... "Still, what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to do it alone. You're not alone. We're all on your side. Me, Iris, Lana, Pearls, Edgeworth… all of us."

With that declaration, he waited for Maya's reaction, breath held.

"…thank you." The words seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her, like she didn't even know they had existed in her core.

They sat for another long moment. Phoenix began to slide his hand towards Maya's, still and pale in the night air, but she began talking again, drumming her fingers in thought as she spoke.

"I didn't want Pearly to worry," Maya said. "I want her… to be free to be herself and be happy. If I'm being honest… I was maybe projecting a little, wishing she didn't even have to worry about all this Fey stuff. To even be in position of heir right now. I took this on for her."

"I think she knows that," Phoenix said, soft.

"But I don't want her… pushed into a corner," she said. Like me, were the unspoken words. "She should get to choose whatever she wants to do. It doesn't matter if there's no Master after me." Her words had a low gravity to them. "If Pearly doesn't want it, the title can rot for all I care."

He didn't know whether frustration or admiration was the stronger emotion growing within him. You say that, and still believe you're 'awful'…?

"Pearls can't be happy at your expense, Maya," Phoenix said.

Maya stared down at her hands.

"You shouldn't have to do it either," Phoenix said. "You don't have to do this."

"Nick, that's—" Maya's voice faltered again. Her hands grasped each other in her lap, out of his reach, but Phoenix continued regardless.

"If it ever gets to be too much, you always have a place with me." Even without looking at her, he could sense her tension. "I know Edgeworth would say the same thing if he was here. You don't have to be afraid to let go of something you hate."

"I don't…I don't love it," Maya said. Her voice was colorless, as though afraid of injecting further emotion. "It is an obligation. But… there are things I love about it. I'm not afraid of being the Master…"

"Then, what are you afraid of?"

She bit her lip, as though trying to avoid answering.

"I guess… I guess it's a lot of things. Letting people down. Getting so wrapped up in the parts I don't like about this village I lose sight of the parts I love. Or..." Her eyes drifted upwards, towards the night sky. "Maybe I'm afraid that being the Master will mean I can't be 'me' anymore."

"Maya, none of us would ever let that—"

"Nick." With a start, Phoenix realized Maya was facing him. "Part of the reason I called you to the village for your birthday was because I had something I needed to tell you, too."

Even with the tear tracks faintly visible upon her cheeks, something implacable seemed to settle over her expression, like the surface of water smoothing flat after a disturbance. Phoenix's heart began to thud in his chest.

She stood, the folds of her robes descending downwards like a waterfall.

"What is it?" He had been so certain of himself as he reassured her, but now his voice felt nearly timid to his own ears. Maya noticed the shift, too; her brow creased in concern.

"Nick?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, Maya. I'm listening."

"Right." Her hand snarled in her hair in a short, nervous motion. "I've… been putting off telling you for a while, honestly. So it's not like you're the only one." She closed her eyes. "Part of the reason—not all of the reason, but part of it, that Vivian and Elaine feel like they can act out the way they do is because I'm not actually the Master. Not yet."

"You're not… huh?" He searched his memory—Pearls had called her the Master; Maya had clearly said a few years ago that she would have to balance her duties as Master with being his partner in the office. Have I been misunderstanding something else, all this time?

"I'm sort of…'the officially acting Master.' Like Aunt Morgan was."

"Officially acting?" he echoed, trying to understand what Maya was saying—and what she wasn't.

"There's a lot that goes into being the 'Master'. Even after my mother left, she still held the title. Aunt Morgan may have been running things, but she wouldn't have…she didn't have the qualifications to be Master." Maya was visibly trying to measure her words. "But I do. That's why I'm still the biggest authority in the village. But I haven't done everything required to be recognized as the full authority on the Kurain Channeling Technique. Um, in other words…"

Phoenix paused for a moment to try to puzzle things out. I assume it has to do with the ability to channel…if Morgan couldn't do it, no matter what…

"So… there's some sort of ritual you haven't done, or some training you need to finish."

"Yeah." Maya looked surprised he'd managed to come to that conclusion. "That's pretty much exactly it."

He tried not to sound too relieved. "If it's hard for you to make it to the office for a little while, that's fine, Maya. I don't mind visiting you instead."

She had me almost scared there for a second. It's only a two hour train ride. Now that I know, I can make more time to come up and see her, make sure things are okay…

"You don't understand, Nick," Maya hedged, staring down at the hand still knotted in her hair. "The training isn't in Kurain Village."

Like a line of frost creeping up a window, the apprehension returned. "What do you mean?"

"It's sort of a pilgrimage, followed by an exam. My mother went through the same thing."

"Pilgrimage?" The word was foreign and strange, bringing to mind equally alien images and associations. "You have to go on some sort of holy tour?" At Maya's expression, he finally filled in the clarification for her: "Far away...?"

She nodded, slowly. "There's a country overseas in South Asia. It's known as the birthplace of spirit channeling. You probably haven't heard of it, but, um, long story short…" Her shoulders sank. "I'm expected to spend time there. A long time."

"…how long?"

Maya hesitated.

"I mean, if you need someone to look after Pearls," Phoenix said, quickly, "that's no problem. She could stay with me, or I could stay here for a couple of months… if it won't upset the village…"

A part of him felt guilty offering his services as a live-in babysitter without consulting Edgeworth first, but he had a feeling Edgeworth would at least understand, if not approve.

"Nick." Maya was shaking her head. "The training takes at least two years."

What?

Phoenix stared, but Maya made no indication that she had misspoken.

Two… years?

At least?

As the lump rose in Phoenix's throat, he wondered, faintly, if this was how Maya had felt when he dropped his own news on her, without any prior warning. With his mind rendered temporarily blank, the only response he could verbalize was a soft, "Oh…"

"The elders wanted me to go right away as soon as… the previous Master's passing was confirmed. I'm really getting on their nerves at this point, with all my excuses." She smiled with a bitter tinge that didn't suit her at all. "But what it comes down to is… I can't just leave Pearly here alone. You already saw why, Nick."

"But… they're piling the pressure on you, too..." Unable to stop himself, Phoenix repeated again, still trying to even begin absorbing it: "Years…?"

"I'm planning on trying to wait until Pearly is older," Maya said, her tone becoming firmer—and resigned. "As long as I can, hopefully until she can mostly take care of herself…but..."Maya's head bowed, her bangs drifting forward to obscure her eyes. "That's why it's such a good thing that Iris and Pearly are getting along so well. If things get really bad and I have to go, I know I can trust Iris to take care of her..."

The revelation colored their earlier discussion about the two sisters like a grey veil falling over snow.

At Phoenix's prolonged, stunned silence, she turned her back to him briefly, backing back down into her sitting position, at his side. She leaned forward, her fingers intertwining into a bridge for her forehead to rest on.

"...Pearly… will be okay. And now I know you'll be okay, too." Maya took a deep breath. "But…when I think about leaving… I just…"

Her voice faded to a hoarse whisper.

"...what if I come back after I become the Master, and there's no place for me…? Time isn't going to just freeze while I'm gone. You and Pearly and Mr. Edgeworth and Iris are all going to be living your lives, doing things I can't be there for. And it's like… it's already started..."

"Nothing—" he started.

"You can't tell me nothing is going to change, Nick," she said, almost sounding angry for the first time that night.

It sunk in, resentfully, that she was right. Even living a couple of hours and an easy phone call away, she had still been totally blindsided by his confession that he was dating Edgeworth. The thought of what thousands of miles of distance had the potential to do to their relationship made something in his chest rasp, like it was being crushed.

I don't have any easy answer for her, Phoenix realized.

As the misery slowly screwed itself onto her face at his silence, he frantically tried to build up the proper words, the right speech to give her, the right way to frame the situation, the right reassurances.

But they blurred together, scrambled—things he had thought during their discussion in his room, things that had run through his mind on his way back here, how important she was, how much she was needed, that she wasn't just Mia's little sister or his assistant, or…

Or maybe it was better to ease her fears, that they would be all right, that she could focus on her training without worrying, or maybe—

None of it fit. It was all a transparent attempt to place a band-aid over this situation, and both of their fears, and hope Maya would be fooled—or pretend to be fooled—by it. Just like she always had.

Instead—

All I have is—

He opened his mouth.

"I don't want you to go."

Beside him, Maya stiffened.

A loud sniff came from his right, the sharp crack of something finally breaking. Maya pressed the palms of her hands tightly against her eyes as though she could block the tears from escaping. Her next words came out a sob: "Nick…"

"I'm sorry…" Phoenix said. But it felt, strangely, like there was almost nothing more that he could add.

It was just the truth.

Maya opened her mouth as though to say something, but her words were pressed down by a gasp. She pulled one hand away from her eyes by force, bringing her left arm to cover her face. The empty hand she thrust towards Phoenix, as though she was teetering at the edge of a cliff and needed him to pull her back.

He took it.

"I…" Even in the dark, he could tell she was clenching her teeth.

"It's okay." Phoenix wasn't sure she could even hear him. You can say it to me, even if you can't tell anyone else.

"I don't want to go, either," she ended in a whisper.

He squeezed the sweaty palm beneath his and felt a tiny, almost involuntary, convulsion in response. With that small confession, it felt like something integral had shifted.

You really are amazing, Maya.

"Nick..." Her voice was still thin, but more stable than it had at any other point in the night. "...thanks for letting me talk… about this."

Her hand tightened in his. Phoenix took a deep breath. There was still something he had to make clear.

"Maya," Phoenix said. In the dark, the words felt heavy. "I know I said it earlier, but I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for having a life, Nick," Maya said.

"No." Phoenix shook his head. "I'm sorry for making you feel like you had no place in it, because…you do. No matter what else changes."

Maya's voice trembled at the edges. "Be careful, Nick. If you say something like that, I'm gonna hold you to it. You'll never get rid of me."

"Then it's a promise."

Maya finally allowed her arm to drop. Her smile profiled in the moonlight had a sense of serenity it hadn't before. As she lifted her head, Phoenix felt his own mirror the movement as they took in, one more time, the expanse of the night sky above them, glittering with starlight.