Five Ways to Get Someone to Fall in Love

disclaimer; as much as I'd love to own Phoenix Wright and the franchise so I could pair up him and Maya, I don't. Capcom does. I don't own any of the characters. Unfortunately.

prologue:

"Say, Polly, where did Daddy run off to?" Trucy asked the spike haired boy.

"I don't know, Trucy. He might be in his room." Apollo Justice responded, looking up from the stack of paperwork from his latest case. "Knock first, though."

"Okay, okay, Polly." Trucy rolled her eyes, tiptoeing through the hallway. She peeked through a crack, and opened the door slightly.

Phoenix was looking at his laptop, sprawled on his bed. He was in his hoodie and jeans, his beanie tossed to a side. He clicked a thumbnail, and a full sized photograph popped up.

It was of him, and another girl. The photo peaked Trucy's interest, and she pushed the door open a crack, to see the photo more clearly. Phoenix was about twenty four, in a blue suit and dress shoes. His hair wasn't as unkempt as it was now, and there was a wide grin on his face. There was a girl beside him, and she was holding a greasy bag of burgers, a grin on her face. Dressed in purple robes and with beads in her hair, she stood out next to the conservatively dressed Phoenix.

Phoenix sighed wistfully, staring at the picture again before opening another window to his email. Trucy couldn't help but wonder what her adoptive father was writing, his fingers flying over the keys. Tentatively, she pushed the door open again, but this time, the oak door made an ear splitting creak."T..Trucy?" Phoenix stammered, slamming the laptop shut and whipping around. Trucy looked nervously at Phoenix. "Wha... what are you doing here?"

"I.. I'm sorry, Daddy, did I scare you?" Trucy lied. "I was going to go to bed, and I wanted to say good night."

"Oh... oh, okay... but it's kind of early, don't you think?" Phoenix responded, breathing in relief. Trucy looked, puzzled. What was her Daddy so keen on hiding?

"I... I was tired, so I thought I'd sleep earlier. Polly's still outside, though." Trucy said, and hugged Phoenix. "'Night, Daddy!"

Phoenix hugged Trucy back, then watched her as the girl walked out of the door. Trucy went back to the living room, where she told all the details to Apollo.

"What do you think he was typing, Trucy?" Apollo questioned.

"Hey, you're the lawyer, Polly, not me." Trucy said, thinking back to the picture. "You think that picture was of Daddy's sweetheart or something? I mean, he was pretty flustered."

"Maybe, Trucy." Apollo responded, looking at Phoenix's room.

"I wonder who he was writing to. Maybe that girl. Isn't it great, Polly? If they get married, I might have a Mommy again!" Trucy grinned at the slightly amused Apollo.

"Maybe, Trucy." Apollo said simply, looking amused at Trucy's overexcited demeanor.

"Just think, Polly..."

x.x.

Pearl's feet ached from trekking up the mountain to the waterfall, and the straps of the sandals she wore left painful sores behind. She trudged up the stairs to her bedroom, when she passed Maya's room.

"Say, Nick, you want to visit Kurain anytime soon?" Pearl could hear Maya's voice from the hall, and Pearl smiled. Were Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick still special someones? Maya's voice was slightly hopeful, but anticipating a refusal all the same.

"Wh...what? Me?" Phoenix's voice sounded confused, almost alarmed. "I...I suppose. I don't do much these days, anymore..."

"Aw, buck up, Nick, and keep your head held high." Maya smiled, her cheeks slightly pink. Pearl giggled inwardly.

"I guess. What time are you free?" Phoenix responded, his voice sheepish.

Pearl saw Maya do a silent "Yes!" gesture.

"All the time. I've done all the spirit training, so I just have to attend to my duties as Master." Maya said. Pearl listened earnestly for Phoenix's response.

"Hm. Trucy has a magic show on Saturday, and her next show isn't until next Sunday. I can come any time between those days." Phoenix said thoughtfully. Pearl frowned. Who was this Trucy girl? Was she..?

"Great! You can even stay the week, if you want!" Maya grinned eagerly.

"Sounds cool. See you in a few days, then." Phoenix chuckled, and the line cut off. Maya turned her head, and saw Pearl.

"Were you eavesdropping, Pearl?" Maya spluttered, flustered.

"N..no! Never, Mystic Maya! I was just going back.. and I heard Mr Nick. Is he really coming?" Pearl jumped up and down excitedly.

"Yup. Hopefully, Pearl..." Maya smiled. Pearl still felt confused, though.

"Mystic Maya, who's this Trucy?" Pearl asked, and Maya looked at Pearl suspiciously.

"She's Nick's adoptive daughter. His dad was this magician, and he disappeared in the court trial. They never found him, so Trucy's crashing at Nick's." Maya explained, and Pearl smiled. So Trucy wasn't Mr Nick's daughter.

"Mystic Maya, do you miss Mr. Nick?" Pearl blurted out. Maya's eyes glazed slightly.

"Yeah... sort of." she mumbled.

"Well, you'll see Mr. Nick soon, right?" Pearl said cheerfully, smiling at Maya, who smiled back.

"Yeah..." she said wistfully, staring out at the dirt road, as if imagining Phoenix coming down that path.

x.x

"Nick!" Maya screeched, barreling into Phoenix, arms outstretched. Pearl smiled, peeking out from behind a wall.

"It's great to see you!" Phoenix exclaimed, hugging her back. "I haven't seen you in what, three years?" he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, that's probably my fault."

"Nah, don't be like that." Maya grinned. "Just be happy we're seeing each other now!"

"Hey, are you Pearl?" a voice came from behind Pearl's back. Startled, she whipped around to see the figure of a girl around the same age as her, in black studded dress and white knee-high boots.

"Yes." Pearl looked at the girl, with her strange blue cloak and top hat. "Are you Trucy?"

"Yeah! Trucy Wright, magician in training!" the girl smiled, extending a white gloved hand, which Pearl shook. She looked at Phoenix and Maya, who were still talking. She leaned closer to Pearl. "Don't you think they're definitely in love?"

"Yep!" Pearl responded chirpily, looking happily at her new friend. "I've finally found someone who agrees with me!"

"It's so obvious!" Trucy grinned, and she revealed a gossip magazine from inside her cloak. "Here, I've got an idea."

"What is it?" Pearl whispered excitedly. The young girl could have been ricocheting off the walls in excitement. She eyed the gossip magazine . Trucy flipped to a page that was decorated with pink streamers and heart shaped balloons.

"Here. Five Ways to Get Someone to Fall in Love." she stated proudly, handing Pearl the book. The brunette read it, a grin on her face.

"This is great! Are we going to use it on Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya?" she asked.

"If you mean Daddy and Maya, then yup! We're gonna get them to admit they love each other once and for all!" she cheered, holding up a hand to high five Pearl. Pearl looked quizzical for a moment, before tentatively high fiving Trucy. Trucy kneeled down, and put the magazine on the ground, placing an outstretched finger on the first paragraph. "Now, this is the plan..."

A/N: That wasn't too bad, was it? I wrote this in a day, so I might have missed some mistakes. It's also my first fanfiction, so I hope I did alright (: Reviewers will get a virtual cookie next chapter, which should come up this week, if not, than the next.

Edit: I completely forgot that Pearl was supposed to be extremely shy. =.=; Sorry guys! I've never actually -played- a game with Pearl in it yet, so everything I know about her is from Ace Attorney Wiki. I'll have a paragraph on why she isn't her usual shy self next chapter, I apologize for any OOCness in any characters, I'm only up to Rise from the Ashes ^-^;