AN: I don't own PW. I hope you like it, it takes place during AJ:AA. Yeah.

The Beginning

I always felt horrible about doing that to her. After all I made her cry.

"What happened? I wish… I wish I could have been there for you…"

I was angry and depressed after I got disbarred. I said awful things. I didn't mean any of it and it only sent me into more despair.

It took me eight months to build up the courage to go and apologize; I have Trucy to thank for that… She was the one who gave me pep talks.

When I went to Kurain Village it was like… Maya had forgotten all those terrible things I said. I was please to be welcomed with open arms. After that we exchanged correspondence. Most of the time it was her sending me old 'Steel Samurai" DVDs. I visited as often as I could.

7 Years Later

March 23-

Today was the day Trucy was leaving on an end-of-the-year school trip. It was a long weekend trip and it sure hurt Phoenix's budget but, Trucy looked so happy. He waved to his daughter on the bus and watched it leave the station. Phoenix went into the train station since he had his own little vacation planned as well.

Once he got off the bus in Kurain Village Maya and Pearl were waiting for him. Maya threw her arms up and ran over to hug him right away. Pearl blushed and put her hands on her cheeks when Phoenix hugged Maya back. Pearl then shyly hugged Phoenix. Maya then grabbed his hand and brought him inside. "You have to tell us all about your daughter's trip!" She smiled brightly, as she usually did.

Soon it was well into the night and Pearl went off to bed since she had to wake up early for training. Once Pearl was gone Maya jumped on Phoenix which almost caused him to fall on the floor. "I've missed you! I'm happy you can spend the whole weekend." She kissed him and smiled. He laughed. "Well I'd like to spend more time here but… I do have a daughter."

Maya pouted and her cheeks puffed out. "Speaking of daughters, when am I going to meet her? You're not keeping her away from me on purpose are you?" She asked accusingly. "No no! We've just been kind of busy getting things together." Phoenix replied in defense. Maya blinked for a few moments. "Oh! Your idea… You wrote about it…" She smiled, pleased that she had remembered.

"Actually… I wanted to talk to you about that." Phoenix said looking up at her. There was a loud bell sounding. Phoenix was a bit startled by the sudden noise but then Maya kissed him. "No business now Nick, it is your birthday!" He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her in return. "Then can I request a birthday gift?" He asked with a smirk. Maya cheeks were tinted pink. "Of course, whatever you—" She was cut off by another kiss.

Maya woke up a little bleary eyed. She looked over at her alarm clock and gasped. She quickly started to shake Phoenix. "Nick! Wake up! Oooh… why didn't my alarm go off!?" She got out of the bed and started to rush around the room. Phoenix was awake by then and watching her, he had secretly turned her alarm off since they were up late. Maya saw him staring and frowned. "Hey lazy bum! Now we can't even shower!" Phoenix just laughed when Maya went into the bathroom. She wet a small towel and started to clean her face and arms. Maya put on her old acolyte uniform and she peeked out and found that Phoenix was dozing.

Maya then got a devilish idea. She tiptoed over to the bed and leaned over Phoenix. She held the wet towel over his face. She started to wring the towel so it dripped on his face. Phoenix woke with a start. He reached up and grabbed her pulling her down on top of him. By now Maya was laughing. Phoenix put his forehead to hers and smiled. "Why do we have to get up? Why can't you just stay in bed with me?"

Maya looked up at him with a smile. "What will Pearly think?" Phoenix laughed. "If she saw this she would probably say, 'I knew you were soul mates!' or something like that…"

All of a sudden Pearl burst through the door. "Mystic Maya!" She froze when she saw the two of them on the bed. She blushed and stammered, "I-I always knew you were soul mates!" She then rushed out of the room. Phoenix and Maya looked at each other before they started to laugh.

Maya had to stop since her sides were hurting. "Wow, I didn't know you were a mind reader, Nick!" She poked his forehead. "Now you have to get dressed." She got off the bed and put on her purple coat. She combed her hair while Phoenix got ready. She didn't wear her hair in a 'top knot' anymore; she had some of it in a loose bun just below the crown of her head. She didn't wear her two purple crystals anymore either. She wasn't an acolyte any more. She was the master and most of the time she had to wear a full length kimono. She proudly hung the master's talisman on her obi.

Maya hummed as she attached her magatama to her coat. She saw Phoenix in the mirror and smiled. "So let's go get breakfast!"

The weekend progressed on in this fashion; minus Pearl bursting in on them. It was enjoyable for Phoenix and very relaxing. He sat outside the train station waiting for Trucy to get back from her trip. Some of the other parents were there as well. He got up when the bus came into sight. The students got off and the parents grabbed their luggage. Phoenix had Trucy's bag in hand even before she got off the bus.

Trucy ran up to him excitedly. "Daddy! Daddy look at what I bought!" She held up a small plastic box. "It is a magic trick…" She looked a little solemn. "It is really easy to figure out." Phoenix smiled and patted her head. "Maybe you can think of a way to make it better." Trucy smiled and looked up at her father. "Daddy, you look happy! Did you have a nice weekend too?" He just smiled down at the girl.

AN:You take the train and then get on the bus to reach Kurain Village. I'm not sure when Phoenix's birthday is but Court-Records said it is probably between 3/24 and 4/10 so I picked the earliest one.

This won't be v ery long maybe 7 chapters at the most.

Edit: Added in one Ini Miney detail.