The Smile of You

A Phoenix Wright fanfiction by Lywinis

The train clacked on in the setting sun, the fading light lining the petite teenage girl by the window in an orange glow. It caught and played on the sparkling trails of tears that traced down her cheeks, as she looked out the window with a small smile on her face. Maya Fey hadn't realized how hard it was for her to leave one of the closest friends she had ever known. There was her sister, and the other village children, but Mia was gone now, and the other people who had grown up with her looked at her with something like awe now that she was slated to become the next heir to the Fey family's legacy.

Her hands twisted around a small plastic bag. As the material bunched and crumpled in her slender fingers, the words "DL – 6" could be made out in blocky, black marker letters. The weight of the small, misshapen bullet rested in her palm, and she thought again of the train station, and Nick.

"I could get in serious trouble for doing this," he had said, pressing the small packet into her hand. She remembered him, standing there, that confident smile on his face as he grinned at her, waiting for her to realize what it meant.

"A bullet…?" she asked, staring down at the bag and its cryptic coding in confusion. It had slowly dawned on her, but she let Nick explain it. She wasn't slow, by any means, but she liked it when Nick explained things. He made them simple and easy for even a layman to understand. And he liked explaining things pertaining to his job. He enjoyed it immensely when his help was required.

"Von Karma was convinced he had taken all of the evidence pertaining to DL-6, but you were the one who rescued the last piece of evidence we needed! This was the bullet that put an end to von Karma, and you were the one who gave it to me!" he said, his hand warm on her own. She could see that he was stretching, trying to convince her, but she didn't think it was the way he said it was. Still, she hadn't the heart to shoot him down, not with the way his eyes were looking at her. He had never looked at her that way.

"Nick…" She took the bag containing the bullet, tucking it into a fold of her robes. She could already feel her eyes stinging as she sniffled. He couldn't be serious. He really thought she had saved him! Along with the stinging in her eyes, a new emotion welled up, tightening in her chest and making her warm all over.

"Thanks, Maya. I couldn't have done it without you." He hadn't lost the grin he was wearing. If nothing else, it had grown wider when she had taken the bag. He lingered, his hand at the back of his head, worrying the hair there, as if he were unsure what to do. She looked at her feet, and then stiffened her resolve.

"I'll be back soon."

"Huh?" He looked shocked, like someone had dealt him a blow to the solar plexus.

"I'm going to complete my training and come back!" she said, her hands tightening with resolution. She looked at him, and se knew that if he asked her to stay right then, she would have. She would have helped him in any way possible, because he was her friend, and he needed her. She finally knew that. She thought he knew it too, by the look on his face. Confusion, then resignation swept his features, and for a terrible moment, she thought he was angry. Then he smiled, his cheerful face breaking into his familiar pleased expression.

"Okay. I'll be waiting." He had taken her hand again, his eyes alight with confidence in her, and she had felt that warm feeling in her chest spread to every part of her body. She was sure it would come leaking out of her fingers and toes if she didn't leave soon.

"Of course you will. You can't run that office by yourself! You're hopeless!" she said, teasing him gently.

"Uh, I don't know about that…" He was still smiling, though, and that was what mattered.

"So…bye."

"Bye."

Thank you, Nick. She had whispered it, getting drowned out by the tones of the PA system and the bustling crowd, but she knew he heard her, somehow.

She rolled the bag over in her hand, inspecting the lettering. Had she really been that much help to Nick? She wondered, trying to recall the jarring moments when Manfred von Karma had hit them with his stun gun in the evidence room. She remembered reaching out to stop him from getting to Nick, and snagging something small and plastic wrapped. After that, she had given it to Nick and forgotten it. Had it really been the crucial piece of evidence they'd needed? She wondered.
Nick hadn't written, but she had news of him from Detective Gumshoe, who had charged into Kurain village in a huff, demanding the DL – 6 bullet back. She'd given it over, reluctantly, but she was cheered up when Gumshoe had told her about Nick's string of victories. She knew he was working hard, then. Gumshoe declined to stay for supper, even though he looked like his pay had been docked severely lately. She bid him goodbye, a plan working its way through her mind in a warm ribbon of that hope that bubbled just beneath the surface.

That warm feeling refused to leave her. She still had that hope almost a year later when Dr. Turner Grey paid her a visit. She smiled to herself as the plan resurfaced in the back of her mind. She sent him to bathe in the hot springs and enjoy Kurain's hospitality while she worked out the details of her scheme.

The next day, Dr. Grey had come back, pushing his glasses up his nose and looking irritated as he carried an umbrella. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining brightly on the village, and everyone else looked at each other and the umbrella in confusion. Maya knew the reason he carried it, and it became apparent to everyone else as he tossed the umbrella in the corner violently, snarling something about a weather girl. Morgan, her aunt, had looked particularly offended, but she held her tongue, as she felt it improper to speak since Maya was the true heir to Kurain's power.

"Dr. Grey," Maya said, smiling cheerfully at him as she offered him a place at the table where breakfast was being served. "I hope you've found your accommodations to your liking." In her time at Kurain, she'd been diligent in her studies, and Morgan had been the most adamant teacher she'd ever had, stressing propriety and manners before everything else. When she assumed the mantle of responsibility, she became almost a new person. But her heart still tugged her back to the offices of Wright and Co.

Grey had been muttering under his breath, but assumed a semblance of respect for Maya, eyeing Morgan and her disapproving scowl. He shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the tip of his finger, and nodded. His glasses slipped down again.

"It was fine, very fine. Now, about summoning that spirit, Mimi Miney –" he was cut off by the noise of a clearing throat, sounding from the corner where Morgan sat, helping Pearl with her letters. "I-I mean, Mystic Maya, would you do me the honor of summoning my nurse's spirit?"

Maya nodded slowly, unaware of the glare Morgan shot her when she spoke again. "On one condition. I will only summon Mimi Miney if you bring the lawyer Phoenix Wright to the channeling."

Grey looked baffled. "Where am I going to find this man? It would be like finding a needle in a haystack in that huge city!" He was too angry to note the shocked looks that rippled through the small group of mystics in training.

"Relax, Dr. Grey," Maya said, a genuine smile lighting her features this time. "I know just where you can find him."

Author's Note: Fluff that grew from a one shot to a two shot, and then evolved into a two shot with an epilogue. I blame the Gyakuten Saiban comm on LJ for gefrierpunkt's adorable drawings. He slapped up Phoenix/Maya, and I had another plotbunny.

Next chapter teaser: Phoenix's PoV.

Lywinis