A/N: Happy September 5th, a.k.a. Phoenix/Maya Day. Here's yet another fic I wrote in light of the occasion, right now I only have the first part written but I'll be sure to finish it soon.
"So I'm thinking that tonight, we could try something new for dinner." I suggest as Nick and I are getting ready to go out.
"You mean you don't want burgers?" He asks, sounding a little bit too hopeful.
"Don't be silly, of course I do!" I gasp, appalled that Nick could even consider such a thing. "I was just thinking that sometimes I eat my fries before the burger, and sometimes I eat my burger, then fries, but what if I ate both at the same time? What if I put fries in my burger? I'll call it a fryburger. Or maybe it should be a burgerfry. What do you think, Nick? I bet it'll taste awesome!"
Nick sighs. We're about to walk out the door when the phone rings.
"I'll get it." Nick says. He heads over to his desk and picks up the phone.
"Wright and Co. Law Offices, Phoenix Wright speaking. Oh... hey Mom- Maya, this might take a while- nice to hear from you, yeah. Sorry I haven't called in a while, the firm's been pretty busy-"
Nick's mom? You know now that I think of it, Nick doesn't talk about his parents much. What does he mean, he's been busy? We haven't had a client in weeks! Must just be trying to impress her.
I sit down on the couch, feeling equal parts hunger and curiosity, and listen in to the conversation while secretly hoping it finishes soon so we can get burgers.
"Oh, I've been great, really great. I think I'm really starting to make a name for myself here. How are things on your end? Oh really? That sounds great. How's dad? Ah, excellent. What? Oh... A girlfriend? Uh, yeah I've got one."
My heart stops. Wait, what? Nick's dating someone? Since when? How did I not notice? Why didn't he tell me? It's not Iris, is it? It can't be, she's still in jail! I mean, I saw the way he was looking at her back then, but I didn't think he actually... Oh, whoever it is, I swear when I find out who they are I'll-!
"Her name? Um, it's Maya. She's my legal assistant."
Suddenly my heart is right back in place. Girlfriend? Does Nick really think of me that way? No, he's probably just lying to his mother again, I tell myself. Of course, it's flattering that Nick chose me when he had to think up a pretend girlfriend.
"Wait, what? You want to meet her? But, but you're all the way in... You're coming here? When? Two days! You guys have to tell me these things in advance! You know I don't like surprises!... Yes, of course I'm glad you're coming. Tell dad I said hi. Love you. Bye."
"Girlfriend, huh? Why Nick, I had no idea you felt that way." I tease as he sits down beside me on the couch. But as soon as I take a good look at him, I can see he's not in a joking mood.
"I am so sorry, it's just that, well, my parents never really seem to be satisfied with anything I do. I think they always wanted me to be a doctor; they never said anything, but they don't seem too impressed with me being a lawyer. Every time I bring up a case I won, or how well I'm doing, all they ever ask is 'So do you have a girlfriend yet?' and I guess I just got so sick of it that I lied and said I did. I wasn't expecting them to come visit..." Nick explains, looking extremely panicked.
"Oh Nick, I'm sure that they're proud of you. I mean, how could they not be, you're the best lawyer in the country! No, the world!" I exclaim, trying to cheer him up. It seems to work, since a tiny smile appears on his face.
"Don't be silly, Maya." He chuckles.
"It's true!" I protest. "And I'm sure they're only asking about a girlfriend so much because they really want you to be happy."
Nick smiles at me sadly and then sighs. "Maya, can I ask you for a really big favour?"
"Yeah, anything!" I promise.
"Could you... Could you pretend to be my girlfriend! I mean, just while my parents are here. They're really excited to meet you, and if I told them that I didn't really have a girlfriend...well-"
"Yes!" I reply, probably a bit too quickly and with a little bit too much enthusiasm. Nick's asking me to be his girlfriend for a day, and do girlfriend-y things like meet his parents? Which one of us is doing the other a favour, again?
"Really? Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Nick exclaims, nearly crushing me with one of his adorable (even if they are somewhat painful) bear hugs.
It occurs to me that I should probably take advantage of the situation. "You owe me for this one though, Nick." I laugh.
"Anything." Nick swears.
Anything, huh? Better keep that in mind.
"Well... You can start by finally taking me out for those burgers already!" I grin.
"Alright, alright. Let's get going then." Nick agrees.
…
Two days later...
…
"How do I look?" I ask Nick as he paces back and forth around his apartment, making last minute preparations for his parents' arrival. Hoping to make a good first impression, I decided to ditch my acolyte's robe and in its place threw on what I think is a very pretty black dress.
"Great, great." Nick says distractedly, going around and adjusting some picture frames to make sure they don't seem crooked.
Not exactly the response I was hoping for, but I suppose he is kind of in a panic... "Well, you look pretty handsome yourself." I add, trying to get a bit of Nick's attention.
"Really? Are you sure? My tie isn't crooked, is it?" Nick asks worriedly. I grab him by the shoulders and shake him.
"Nick, will you calm down already? Everything's going to be fine, you really shouldn't be worrying so much!" I reassure him. It seems to work.
Nick lets out a deep sigh. "You're probably right," he admits, then adds "You really do look good, by the way."
"Awww, thanks Nicky!" I cheer, hugging him.
"Uh, Nicky?" Nick questions.
"Oh yeah. Since we're 'dating' I figured I needed a different nickname for you. Isn't it adorable?" I tease him.
"You're going to make sure to embarrass me, aren't you?" Nick accuses me.
"What? I can't believe you'd even think I would consider that!" I defend myself unconvincingly. "I'm just trying to be the most devoted fake girlfriend you've ever had, is that so wrong?"
Before Nick can come up with a response, the doorbell rings.
"Oh man, they're here. They're here, they're here, they're here..." Nick points out the obvious, his anxiety coming back at full force.
After using all of my strength to push Nick across his apartment, we finally reach the door and he opens it to reveal his parents.
…
The first thing I notice is that Nick looks almost exactly like his dad. He definitely got his spikes from him (and to think I didn't believe Nick when he said the spikes were natural), although his dad's spikes are a bit shorter and a lot more gray. Nick's also a few inches taller than his dad, and his suit's not as nice (not that I mind, I love his ridiculously blue suit), but all things considered, looking at his dad is like looking at Nick in the future. It's so cool.
With her blonde hair and tiny figure, Nick's mom doesn't look much like him (except for her eyes, which look exactly the same), but she's really pretty. Even though she must be around 50, she doesn't seem to be a day over 30 and everything about her is bursting with so much energy that it seems almost impossible to believe that she's the mother of boring old Nick.
"Phoenix!" Nick's mom squeals, hugging Nick as soon as she sees him. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"
"Uh, hi mom-" Nick begins.
"Oh, is this her? Oh you're the one who's dating our Phoenix, aren't you? You are just positively adorable!" She declares, quickly getting of Nick and hugging me instead.
"Oh! Hi, I'm Maya. It's so great to finally meet you, Mrs. Wright!" I say, flashing her the sweetest smile I can bear. Even though I'm just pretending to be Nick's girlfriend, I really am glad to meet his parents. Nick doesn't usually talk about them, so I've always thought of them as a bit mysterious. And after hanging around Nick for so long, I guess I've developed an obsession for solving mysteries.
"Oh please, just call me Martha. And this," Mrs. Wright points to her husband, "is Paul."
"Hello there!" Paul greets me. "You have no idea how glad we were to hear that Phoenix finally found himself a good girl. It's been what, 5 years since you've dated, right son?"
"Dad..." Nick grumbles.
"Oh, you should have seen Phoenix the last time he was in love!" Martha continues. "Simply could not stop talking about her. Just mad about her! Always going on about her mini breakfast food or something like that. Almost a bit obsessed, to be honest-"
"Mom! Seriously!" Nick protests.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just... Oh, I'm so happy for you! And just looking at you two, I know you make such a good couple." Martha says.
"Aww, did you hear that, Nicky? Your parents already see how perfect we are for each other!" I exclaim, leaping at him and hugging.
"Uh... Um..." Nick stutters, sounding equal parts embarrassed and confused.
"Oh, did you hear that, Paul? 'Nicky'! They even have pet names for each other! How cute!" Martha squeals again.
"Yes dear, very cute." Paul agrees, his enthusiasm much more subdued than his wife's.
"Oh Phoenix, what's your nickname for your lovely Maya?" Martha asks.
"Um... Uh..." Nick mumbles, obviously unprepared. "I call her... my little May-May." I stifle a laugh. I really should be getting this on video.
"Oh! 'My little May-May'! Did you hear it, Paul? I think I'm going to be diabetic after all of this, because you two are simply too sweet!"
Nick hangs in head in shame. I would feel bad for him if this weren't so much fun.
…