A/N:
Superjay45: Well when you think about it, almost everybody had an unfair advantage that round. Detective Gumshoe is a detective, so he's been trained to be observant (in theory, at least), Kay's lifestyle is based around her ability to snatch things that don't belong to her, and Phoenix and Maya had an extra person working for them. Really, the only person who didn't have an advantage was Larry, but he ended up cheating anyways.
So here it is, the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who's been reading the story, and an extra special thank you to the super nice readers who wrote reviews too! Enjoy!
"Nick... Nick..."
"Huh? What is it?" I mutter as I lift my head up quickly, disoriented from having just woken up. The first thing I notice upon opening my eyes is the TV, which we must have left on since at the moment its bright screen is blinding me. I feel around for the remote on the ground and, after finding it, turn the TV off.
After that, I notice Maya, lying on my side with her head on my shoulder as we rest on the couch. I figure out that at some point through the fourth season DVD set of the Steel Samurai, we must have fallen asleep.
And only after that do I figure out what was calling out my name. "Nick..." Maya whispers softly.
"Uh, Maya?" I ask, just checking to see if she's awake. No response. She must be dreaming.
Wait... Maya's dreaming about me?
"Oh Nick..." Maya mutters, slightly louder this time.
Feeling like I'm intruding on something that I really shouldn't be spectating, I decide that I should probably get off the couch. Unfortunately, as soon as I start to inch away, Maya wakes up.
"...Huh? Nick?"
"Yeah, it's me Maya." I answer in my most reassuring tone. Suddenly Maya's arms, which I hadn't even noticed were wrapped around my waist, tighten.
"Mmm... Don't leave...Stay here for a while." She mutters. "You're so warm... and soft."
"OK." I agree, not entirely sure if Maya's still half-asleep or not. But she seems to be listening to me, since once I consent to staying her grip loosens and her head sinks from my shoulder to up against my chest.
I have to admit, it feels kind of nice. Comforted by each other's embrace, we both fall back asleep.
…
Maya's shifting wakes me up. As my eyes open up in the sunlight-filled room, the first thing I see is Maya's lovely face looking back at me. I could definitely get used to this.
"Morning, Nick." Maya greets me with a lazy smile spread out across her face.
I return it eagerly. "Morning, Maya. Sleep well?"
"Yup!" Maya says, getting up off the couch. "Last night was fun, we should do it again."
I get up and follow her into the kitchen, where she starts toasting some frozen waffles. "The Steel Samurai part, or the sleeping together on the couch part?"
"Both!" Maya replies, searching in the cupboards for syrup.
"Yeah. Yeah, we should." I nod. Before I can further continue the pleasant conversation, the phone rings.
"Wright and Co Law Offices, Phoenix Wright speaking."
"Finally! I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours, Wright!" Edgeworth complains on the other end of the phone.
"Sorry Edgeworth. Maya and I were sleeping in." I explain, exchanging glances with my assistant.
"Very well. The last round of the competition will take place at Gourd Lake at 2 PM. I expect both you and Ms. Fey to be there on time."
"Don't worry, Edgeworth. We'll be there.
…
Gourd Lake
2:00 PM
…
"Firstly I'd like to congratulate you all for making it this far. You all performed reasonably well in the other tasks, and I can seriously say I'm amazed that you've all made it this far." Edgeworth announces, smirking at his thinly veiled insult. "But unfortunately, this is the last round, and only one of you can be the winner."
Edgeworth walks down to the lakefront, pointing down to the far end of the beach. "As you may notice, I have set up a sort of finishing line for you all." Off in the distance, two small white flags were placed parallel to each other on either side of the lakefront, clearly meant to symbolize a finish line of sorts.
"Not very fancy, is it Edgeworth? I would think that if you could afford to give away your car for free, you could at least buy some new flags to use for the finish line instead of re-using the ones from yesterday." I laugh.
"Very funny, Wright. Have you considered being a comedian? I'm sure you'd make more money in that career than the one you've chosen now. Of course, it would be almost impossible not to." Edgeworth retorts.
Before I can open my mouth to give a comeback, Edgeworth interrupts.
"As I was planning to say before I was so rudely interrupted, the final challenge is a race. Race from here to the finish line, and whoever crosses first gets the keys to the car." Edgeworth concludes. "Now on your mark, get set-"
"Hold on, hold on. If we drove go-karts to teach us about the importance of driving ability, and went on a flag hunt to teach us that being observant is important while driving, what is this supposed to teach us? That speeding around places while driving will get us what we want? I'm not a driving expert or anything, but I don't think that's such a good id-"
"JUST GO ALREADY!" Edgeworth shouts. Larry and Gumshoe take off down the track, and Maya hops onto my back.
"What? Maya, this is no time for a piggyback ride!" I exclaim.
"You know I can't run in these sandals!" Maya argues. "Besides, you're strong enough to lift me. Now hurry up!"
Not willing to waste any more time arguing, I take off down the beach. Larry, who has never been very good at running is only a little bit ahead of us despite our slow start, and we're gaining on him fast. Unfortunately, Gumshoe is ages ahead of us, being much faster than I would have expected.
"Nick, we have to speed up! We're gonna lose!" Maya shouts.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" I protest.
In what I assume must be an attempt to motivate me, Maya pulls on my spikes. "OUCH!" I screech, but the pain has the desired effect. My pace picks up, and pretty soon we're passing Larry. But even with the added boost, we're still too far behind Gumshoe to catch up. He's almost at the finish line...
"HOLD IT!"
Gumshoe turns around to look at the source of the noise.
So do I.
"Detective Gumshoe, man! Stop!" Larry calls out, panting.
"What? No way! I need that car!" Gumshoe declares.
"Wait, why do you want it?" I ask. "If you get a car, you're just going to end up paying more money on gas. You probably don't want that, since you're living on instant noodles as it is."
"Well yeah, I know that pal! I'm going to sell the car! And then, I'll get loads of money! I'll be able to buy the real noodles, and not just the instant kind!" Gumshoe explains.
"He's not very ambitious, is he Nick?" Maya mutters.
"What if I offered you something better?" Larry asks.
Gumshoes eyebrows raised. "I'm listening."
"I'm the Steel Samurai, man! (At this point Maya blurts out "WHAT?") I can hook you up with loads of Samurai Dogs! I can... I can give you a life's supply of Samurai Dogs!" Larry promises.
"A... A life's supply?" Gumshoe stutters. By now it's clear that Larry has him hook, line and sinker.
"Just stop Nick from getting to the finish line and let me pass, and they're all yours." Larry grins.
"Deal!" Detective Gumshoe agrees, and before I can register what's going on Gumshoe is acting like a human barricade in front of Maya and I, and Larry is running past us towards the finish line.
"Nick, we have to beat Larry! Tackle Gumshoe out of the way, or something!" Maya orders me.
"I can't! Look at him, he seems so happy about getting Samurai Dogs!" I cry out. Gumshoe has the biggest, stupidest grin I've ever seen on his face.
"WOOOOOT!" Larry shouts from across the beach. I don't even need to look over to tell that he's reached the finish line.
"No!" Maya shouts. Furiously, she hops off my back and storms away from the lake. Edgeworth and Gumshoe walk over to congratulate Larry as I run off and chase after Maya.
…
After searching for her for a while, I finally find her sitting on a bench near the exit to Gourd Lake, crying.
"Maya?" I ask softly.
As soon as she notices me, Maya wipes her face on her sleeve and turns away. "Go away, Nick."
"Look, Maya," I start, sitting down beside her, "I know you really wanted to win the competition, and you wanted the car for burgers or whatever, but honestly we probably wouldn't have used it that much-"
"It's not about the stupid burgers, Nick!" Maya shouts.
"Then what is it about?" I ask. Also, did you really just call burgers stupid?
Maya lets out a big sigh. "Look... I'm going to have to be Master of Kurain soon, and I'm worried that I'll have to, you know, go back to the village. And I know that even if I do, you'll try to come visit me whenever you can, because you're a really great friend, but it takes at least two hours to get there by train, which is a lot, so I thought that maybe if you had a car, you could come visit me more often, since it probably wouldn't take as long. And now that we lost, I'm worried I won't get to see you as much since the village is so far away, and I... I don't want us to be far away!" Maya chokes up. "I-I want to stay with you!"
Maya begins to sob into my shirt. I put an arm around her and give her shoulder a squeeze. "Maya, it doesn't matter to me how far away Kurain is. It could be days away, and I'd still come visit. It doesn't matter how far I have to travel, as long as I get to see you."
"S-Seriously?" Maya asks.
"Absolutely." I tell her, wiping the tears off her face.
There's a small pause when neither of us say anything.. Then we both speak at the same time.
"I love you."
"I love you."
"You do?" I exclaim, amazed at how things are turning out.
Maya nods, laughing. "Of course! Nick, I don't care if you lost us the race today. In my heart, you'll always be in first place."
Sure that there's nothing else left to be said, I kiss her, not stopping until I'm sure her worries have slipped away.
Who needs a car, anyways?