Maya pushed against the door as silently as the very midnight that struck her throat as she breathed it in. A green deckchair stood sentry on the rooftop, a newly hollowed glass bottle to attention by its side.

"I thought you were afraid of heights?" She said.

Phoenix stirred languidly. "Maya?" He said, "What are you doing here?"

"I was up late talking to Pearl and I went to the bathroom and noticed the study door was open, so..." The pair had decided to sleep at the office after spending way too long examining evidence.

"Ahh, okay." Phoenix had another bottle in his hand. He navigated the rim with his finger, like he was setting the time. "How is Pearly?" He asked.

"She's fine."

Maya paused and scanned the rooftop. There was no other deckchair. She folded her arms tightly and stepped towards the edge.

"It's called the gradual exposure method, by the way," said Phoenix, grinning, "the agency building isn't too tall, so I'm getting acclimated to it." Maya bit her lip. "Nick, I'm-" Once again, a decade of holding back the tears faltered. "I'm older than Mia was when she died. And Pearl is..."

"Oh."

"The same age...

"Oh..."

She twitched with the effort of holding them in. Phoenix twisted out of his chair and hugged her.

"I just keep seeing that same clock. But it's coming for me."

"It's okay. It's okay."

"And I just keep hearing the time, in that horrible voice."

"No-one's coming for you. You're safe."

"You can't promise that," she said quietly. "You can't promise that." They were surrounded by concrete. No New York, but not quite Washington either. The stars were like a mirage at the end of a kaleidoscope.

"It must be great in Kurain," said Phoenix, "you can look up and see the stars whenever you want."

Maya stepped back and sniffed. "Since when have you ever been interested in the stars, Nick?"

He laughed. "I guess since I became a boring old man."

"Since before our first case, then?" Maya surreptitiously claimed the chair. "What's it like turning thirty, anyway?"

"I dunno," he scoffed, "for me it was a big milestone, for you it'll probably be the same as ever." They were already laughing by the time he'd finished speaking. He stood beside the chair and looked at his former assistant. She looked back and smiled.

"Look at you," she said, "facing your fears and coming up here. See? You won't fall if you're careful."

He looked back into the night. "You've always got to be careful," he said, "even if you know you're gonna fall." Maya looked down the other side of the chair and saw two more empty bottles.

"I'm tired," said Phoenix.

"I guess there's a little room on this deckchair," said Maya.

"No thanks, I think I'm gonna just head back down to bed."

"Are you sure?" She asked slyly, "are you sure that's why?"

He sank his brow in confusion before twitching away with a grimace. Maya laughed.

"Ugh," he said, "don't even remind me."

"I know," she reached for the half-bottle her old boss had left behind, "biggest mistake of my life."

"If Mia was here to know about that, my next courtroom appearance would be as the victim!"

Maya cackled. "It'd be worse if you told Pearl," she said.

"Oh man, we'd never hear the end of it!" He shook the memory away with his head. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry, Maya."

"What? It took two people to make that stupid, horrible decision. Don't blame yourself."

"Yeah, I know, but... I'd lost my job, I was miserable..."

"Hey." She stopped his train of thought. "The important thing is that we're still friends."

"Definitely a miracle," he nodded, looking back at the stars. Maya took a swig of beer and did the same.

"You know, Apollo still thinks that's soda," said Phoenix. He heard a wet snort from the deckchair.

"Soda!" laughed Maya, "Don't tell me he still thinks you have grape juice?!"

Phoenix grinned.

"Ah!" she cooed.

"Now it's just you and Athena versus him and Trucy," he said, "and don't you dare tell them."

"Oh no, they've got to find out for themselves!" She drank the last gulp from the bottle.

"Do you want me to go down and get some more?" Said Phoenix.

"No, no, this is fine."

"Maybe I want to get some more."

"I know."

The wind punctuated their silence. "You know..." Phoenix frowned self-consciously, skirting the words he already knew he was going to say. "I never say it, but, uh... I do, y'know, love you. As, like, a friend, and everything."

Maya cringed. "Aw man," she whispered. "There you go," she said, "laming everything up again. But, yeah… I love you too, Nick."

Phoenix exhaled calmly and looked down. It was too dark to see the street number on the sign below, but if you were to look it up in one of the dusty phonebooks in his desk, it'd direct you to Fey & Co. Law Offices.