A/N: This story takes place after the events of AA and the Kurain case in JFA, but before the Max Galactica case and all that. I know the Nickel Samurai isn't introduced until the last case, but the Pink Princess ended, and I like the Nickel Samurai. And I also know that Larry is not in JFA, but I SAY HE IS. You just didn't know about it. xD. This fic was also originally based off a piece of fanart by my favorite PW fanartist, CURSOR: . They really have awesome art, and do a lot of Phoenix/Maya, for those of you who like this pairing D Check them out at: .. Anyway, I'm out. Enjoy the story.
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The door opened briefly, the frigid air outdoors blowing into the small apartment before two figures rushed inside and quickly closed it, cutting off the current. Phoenix blinked a few times, eyes adjusting from the bright sunset outside, before letting out a sigh and turning to flick on the lights. Beside him, the petite spirit medium shivered, pulling off her scarf and gloves and throwing them onto the couch. Phoenix grimaced.
"Give them to me to put away, at least..."
"Whoa, so this is your apartment, Nick? I have to say, I expected it to be a bit..." She cast a glance at the kitchenette, the small table and doors that led to the only other two rooms. "Bigger."
"As my assistant, I'd expect you to have a fair knowledge of my income," Phoenix began, "but with you, I know better than to assume that."
He exhaled deeply. After a long day of helping Larry handle his Samurai Dogs stand over at Gourd Lake (as compensation for the time when Missile, the K-9 police dog, had ransacked the place last year), Maya had complained to Phoenix that a marathon of a new TV show called "The Nickel Samurai" was on that night.
"Can't you watch it in your apartment?" He had asked, a pained expression on his face.
"As strange as this may sound, Nick, I don't have a TV at my apartment. Which is why I'm always at the office. And if I go all the way back to Kurain, by the time I get there I'll have missed most of it. So we're going to your apartment to watch it."
You don't have a TV in your apartment? YOU?
Phoenix had been incredulous. But in the end, he had caved in to her whining, and here they found themselves, Maya running about his house and making herself right at home.
"You keep your TV in your room, Nick?" He heard a loud giggle from his room. "How typical! I bet you fall asleep watching it."
Don't you do just that nearly every day at the office?
Abandoning the coat rack and shedding his coat next to Maya's, he walked into his bedroom to find her sitting in the middle of his bed, wrapped up in his blankets and already flipping channels. He felt a pang of embarrassment, realizing that he had neglected to make his bed that night.
This feels so weird, having a girl make herself at home on my bed...but, well, it's Maya. Maya's different.
"It's cold, Nick," She suddenly quipped, not tearing her eyes from the TV screen.
He rolled his eyes and walked over to the space heater sitting against the wall of his not-so-spacious room. He fiddled with the knob, turning it so that its heat quickly filled up the room. Maya let out an audible sigh and dropped the covers. "Ahh, that's better...Eeek!! This is it!"
On the screen a tall figure with a mechanical arm and a flowing hakama stood on top of a dark rooftop, its eyes gleaming behind its mask. A flute played an ominous, traditional Japanese-sounding tune in the background.
"Far into the night, in the kingdom of Neo Olde Tokyo..."
Phoenix sat down on his bed behind Maya, unbuttoning his jacket and dropping it on the floor at the foot of the bed. "What is this then, exactly?"
"Shh! Shut up and watch!"
"There lived a simple tea shop girl, so beautiful and fair--the maiden Sayo. Many longed for her love in return. But there were three brave citizens who would do anything within their power for her love! They were named thus: The Tin Samurai! The Aluminum Samurai! And the most heroic of all...THE NICKEL SAMURAI!"
The silhouette leapt into the moonlight, striking a battle pose and holding his spear aloft, as the theme song began its signature quick-paced melody.
This is even weirder than the Steel Samurai and the Pink Princess.
"Ahh, that heat feels so good after being outdoors." Maya sighed in content again, pulling off her kimono jacket and throwing it on top of Phoenix's on the floor. He blinked, observing her tiny, delicate frame underneath the robe she usually wore. Really, there was something about her that was just...
Phoenix must have been staring, because she turned, raising an eyebrow and uneasily said "Uh, what is it, Nick?"
He blinked and gulped, loosening his tie. "Nothing. Sorry."
"It's fine..." Maya shrugged and turned back towards the TV, where the Nickel Samurai was busy having an argument with his brother, the Aluminum Samurai. He still cast a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Her head cocked to the side, dark eyelashes batting whenever she blinked...it was actually really cute. He wondered why he hadn't noticed that bout her before. She was interested in watching the television show. But Nick was interested in watching...Maya.
"Maya...is it okay if I touch your hair?"
She turned again to look at him, puzzled by his sudden request, but nonetheless nodded and said "Um...sure."
He raised his hand and touched it to Maya's head, gliding it down her long, raven-black hair. It was every bit as soft and silky as it looked. He pulled the beads out of her hair and took it down from its topknot, combing his fingers through the newly lowered cascade of dark tresses.
"You take pretty good care of your hair, don't you, Maya?"
"Well, I have to. It's so long and all..." She shook it a little, leaning back and spilling her newly loose hair onto Phoenix's lap. He stroked at her hair, caressing the long strands with both hands now. He was keeping his eyes on the screen, but not watching. His senses were entirely focused on the strangely enticing feeling of Maya's hair between his hands.
...What the hell are you doing, Wright? ...And why are you enjoying it so much?
His thoughts were interrupted my Maya's sudden hum of content. "Mmmm...that feels nice."
Phoenix jolted back to reality. "Ah...um...does it?" Awkward!
Maya giggled. "Keep doing it, will you?"
He stayed silent, but his hands continued to move, fondling her hair. He held the fine strands to his face and brushed them against his cheek. What am I...?
"Evil Strawberry Clan Ruler! Today is the day that I will take your daughter for my own and save her from your cruel reign!" The Aluminum Samurai on TV was confronting the antagonist. But Maya had actually torn her eyes away.
"Hey, Nick..."
"Yeah?"
"Is it okay if I touch your hair?" Maya pivoted slightly to look up at the defense attorney, smiling playfully.
Phoenix stiffened. He normally hated having people touch his hair. It killed him when they messed it up, usually on purpose. Even though his spikes were natural, he didn't like to get them messed up...but, well, he was sitting here, grooming Maya's hair. It was only fair, really.
He nodded. "Okay...sure."
Maya didn't seem to need to be told twice. She climbed behind him and reached up. He heard her tsk. "This isn't going to work. Nick, lay down. I can't reach."
"Lay down?!" He swiveled around, staring at her. "Why?"
"So I can touch your hair, obviously. I've always wondered what those spikes feel like, you know."
He sighed and lowered himself, lying flat, stomach-down on his bed. Maya promptly laid down next to him, hoisting herself up and settling one elbow on either side of his back before entwining her fingers in his inky hair. She combed through it with her fingers, defining the spikes even more, caressing it as he had been doing to hers.
He closed his eyes, taking in the sensations. It really wasn't that bad...he could swear that he was actually...
On the screen, the Nickel Samurai had Sayo in his arms, and was whispering something to her. As he leaned in close, the camera suddenly panned up to the sky at the last minute, hiding the actual moment of romance.
"Aw, why would they do that!" Maya was suddenly irked. Phoenix looked up warily at what had stopped her hands. He had been enjoying it. "You don't see the actual moment of the kiss, how lame is that?" She propped herself up to see the screen over Phoenix's hair, pouting.
Maybe due to the fact that the Nickel Samurai is wearing a mask...?
"I mean, that's so fake! They're supposed to do something romantic ON SCREEN, like...he runs his hand through her hair, they stare into each others eyes...he takes off his mask...and they kiss! That's how it should be done."
There was a moment of silence in which Maya realized that she had absentmindedly started running her fingers through Phoenix's hair again. It dawned onto her what she had just been describing. "...Oh!" She quickly let go and rolled back onto the bed next to him, keeping her eyes down. "Sor--"
She was cut off by Phoenix gently placing a hand on her shoulders and flipping her onto her back as he raised himself up and over her, their bodies a scant few millimeters apart, his legs straddling her body.
"...Like this?"
Maya stared up at the lawyer for a few moments, not daring to do or say anything. He stared intently at her, searching her eyes for some small indication, a glimpse of hope, something--
--and there it was, flickering ever so slightly across her gaze, a look of desire. He didn't need anything else to tell him what to do; his mind was set enough on it already. He leaned his face down, mouth open ever so slightly, and pressed his lips to hers passionately, his arms wrapped around her from behind, pinning her to the bed with his bulk. She seemed stunned, dumbfounded, but when he broke apart for a breath of air and quickly recaptured her lips, she gave a soft moan and sank into the kiss, her arms clawing at the back of his shirt, begging for more.
On the TV, the Nickel Samurai was exchanging blows with the Strawberry Clan's soldiers, but swordplay had long since been forgotten.
Phoenix's lips moved down to her neck, kissing her in the groove between neck and shoulder. Maya groaned, grasping at the back of his shirt, ripping off his tie from behind his neck, reveling in the sensations coursing through her body. He ceased his affectionate nibbling on her neck and looked up, eyes shimmering with love and anticipation.
"N-Nick..." Maya grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him. "...How?"
He smiled down at her, genuinely, hiding no more emotions from his young partner. "I think it started...the first time I touched you."
The lights were already off, the TV still on, but the lawyer and the spirit medium paid no attention to these minor details, for they were already off in their own world, continuing to humor each other until sleep crept upon them and they drifted off, still tangled in the other's arms.
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Noises, muffled noises, and bright, white light met Phoenix's senses when he stirred. He buried his face in the pillow. He felt something, or someone warm beside him, and didn't feel like moving.
"You are crafty, Samurai. But can you withstand the...electric chair!?"
He blinked a few times, hoping what he had just heard didn't have much to do with last night's events. He opened his eyes slightly and saw the TV, still blaring. Oh.
Phoenix raised a hand to his head and scratched it. He looked down halfheartedly and saw Maya lying there, arm still wrapped around his waist, head resting on his chest.
He stared down at her for a few seconds, nonplussed, remembering what happened. They were watching that TV show when...ahh. He started to laugh, quietly at first, then louder, until his laughter was enough to wake Maya up. She shifted a little, squinting and rubbing her eyes before looking up at him. He smiled, leaned over and kissed her on the lips, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Good morning, Maya."
She gazed up at him for a moment before beaming and leaping onto him, hugging him tightly around the neck. "'Morning, Nick!"
He held onto her with just as much enthusiasm, smiling wider than he had in a long time. "How're you feeling?"
"Like I could run twenty football plays, do a hundred squats, and run fifty more."
Phoenix laughed. "Well, there won't be any need for that." He glanced up at her, a mischievous expression crossing his face, and before she realized it he had pinned her down again, his hands on her face, his lips claiming hers. Wow, am I glad nothing's going to happen today...
There was a bang from the other room quite suddenly, a rush of cold air, and an all-too-familiar voice screaming out from the doorway. "Niiiick! Wake UP already! Didn't you say you'd help me the entire weekend? Come on, we have to go pick up Maya, too..." Footsteps signaled the approach of the voice's owner, and Phoenix's blood curdled.
He stood in the doorway to Phoenix's room, stopped dead in his tracks, mouth slightly agape as he gazed at the scene in front of him--The defense attorney, half-shirtless, his arms wrapped around Maya, who was still almost fully-clothed minus her jacket. The two partners remained silent. Larry opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out.
He suddenly seemed to have regained composure, for he straightened up, saluted once, and disappeared behind the door. But not, they noticed, before shouting behind him into the small apartment, "I expect you to tell me everything tomorrow, right, Nick? Everything."
And Larry, the wrong idea embedded into his mind, left Phoenix and Maya sitting there, humming to himself as he marched away.