"MISTER NICK!"

SMACK!

"Yeeeeeeow!"

Phoenix jolted upright, hitting his head on the wall behind him and causing an avalanche of papers to fall from the cabinet now swaying on the wall. He twisted around to see Pearl looking absolutely fierce, clutching a sheet of paper in one of her small hands, her other hand held high, ready to give him a second slap.

"Pearls! What was that for?!" Phoenix rubbed his cheek fiercely, noting the pile of paperwork he had fallen asleep on had a small drool puddle on it.

"Mister Nick! You've been unfaithful to Mystic Maya!" Pearl pouted, and looked so adorable, the blue-clad lawyer chuckled.

"Pearls, I've already said, many many times, it's not like that with me and Maya."

Pearl shot a steely gaze at him, and held up the paper.

"You're a bad man, Mister Nick. You're Mystic Maya's special someone, and then I find THIS on the table!"

Phoenix peered at the white sheet in her hands, and saw to his dismay that it was a doodle he'd been working on, so far, it showed the silhouette of a woman, with only the beginnings of braids to identify her. From the outline of the shape, it looked like she had no clothes on. His heart sank as he realised this, and he pulled the paper out of Pearl's hands.

"Pearly, that's Sister Iris. You remember her?"

Pearl gasped, her curls bouncing and her hand flying to her mouth. "Sister IRIS?! Mister Nick!" She brought her hand upon his face again forcefully, causing another resounding SMACK to echo around the dark office.

"No, Pearls!" Phoenix brought up his hands to protect himself. "She's not naked, I just…" he trailed into silence as he saw the fiery gaze directed at him.

"Mister Nick, there's only one solution to this," she said in a serious tone. "You must go and show this picture to Sister Iris, and you must apologise to her for drawing her in indeck…indee…indee-sunsy."

Phoenix sighed and rubbed the back of his head tiredly. "Okay."

Pearl kept her gazed levelled at him and crossed her arms.

His eyes widened, and Phoenix put the paper down onto the desk. "What, now?"

Pearl nodded, and smiled widely at him. Phoenix sighed, and stood up, knowing he'd get no sleep otherwise.

"Alright then, Pearls. Let's be off…"

***

Phoenix trudged up the path to the temple, the offending item in his left hand, Pearl's hand in his right.

"Pearl…"

"No, Mister Nick."

Pearl looked up in disapproval as Mister Nick sighed after another useless attempt to get the ten year old to change her mind. She tore her grip away from him, running up to the temple door and banging on it loudly. She heard Mister Nick protest loudly.

"Pearls! People are SLEEPING!"

"But you need to say sorry, Mister Nick!"

She shifted from one small foot to the other in the cold, clasping her hands behind her back as Mister Nick arrived next to her. She chewed her lip, hoping silently that Sister Iris would not be too hard on Mister Nick, because even though he did a bad thing, it should be forgiven because he was truly sorry.

Hearing footsteps inside the temple, Pearl looked up to the big door, then to Mister Nick, giving him a wide smile.

"I hope she's not too hard on you, Mister Nick. I've slapped you already, but I'm not sure if a sister would think that was a good enough punishment."

Mister Nick's face turned an interesting shade of white. That's when the door opened.

"…Oh! Phoenix! What are you doing here so…so late!"

Pearl looked up at the woman in shock. After almost two years without seeing her, Pearl was hit by the difference in appearance. Sister Iris seemed shorter now, because Pearl had grown, so now she could see her face properly from less than a metre away. Iris' face was framed by the soft light in the doorway, an etching of surprise on her face.

She's pretty… Pearl thought, chewing her lip in embarrassment and scuffing her feet against the ground.

"Oh, and who's this?"

Pearl was jolted back to reality by the sound of Iris' voice, to see Nick glance down at his companion and frown slightly.

"Oh, this is Pearl Fey. Don't you remember her?"

"Oh, yes!" Sister Iris crouched down so she was level with Pearl and she smiled.

"…h-hi…" Pearl said shyly, seeing her sweet smile. "It's…it's nice to meet you again."

"Same for me," Iris said sweetly, poking Pearl's nose softly. "You've grown, haven't you?"

Pearl blushed and rubbed her nose. Phoenix cleared his throat loudly, and Iris stood back up.

"Yes…Pearl is the reason I'm here actually…" Mister Nick looked down at her and narrowed his eyes. "I uh…" he thrust the piece of paper into Iris' hands, and she looked at the sheet quizzically.

"Is this…me?" Sister Iris looked at Phoenix and then at Pearl. "Why am I…indecent?"

Pearl felt a small fluttering of happiness as she realised that Iris had thought and said what she had. Phoenix spluttered in protest.

"You're not naked! I hadn't finished!" He whined, stomping his foot childishly.

Pearl laughed softly, and realised that Iris was laughing with her. Her face flushed. We're so alike! she thought, and she looked up at the pretty lady, happy to be sharing this moment with her.

Even if it was at Mister Nick's expense.

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AN: Sorry it's not too long, I didn't have much time. R&R appreciated…thanks for reading! ^__^