This came to me in one of those bizarre moments of inspiration. This is probably one of the weirdest plotbunnies I've ever gotten, but I think it's kinda cute. I wrote this back in December, and I rediscovered it and found that it's not actually that bad. Well, I'll let you be the judge of that.

Very minor and implied GS4 spoilers, here. So don't worry if you haven't played the game.

Forgive any mistakes about fries that I've written. I'm an Australian who's trying to keep this consistent with the LA setting 8D

Disclaimer: I don't own Phoenix Wright or any of its characters. I'm just using them for your entertainment and mine.

"Here's your burger and fries, young ladies," the waiter said, laying a tray of cheap fast food on the table "Just come up to the counter when you want to pay!"

"Thanks, I will!..." Maya replied as the clerk walked away. Her cheery demeanour fell slightly as she turned to shake the girl next to her awake.

"Pearly, our food's ready!" Maya said as her cousin opened her eyes slowly, stirred by the aroma of the food. Pearl sat up from the cushiony leather seat and leaned forwards to grab a fry, still looking half asleep. Maya smiled tenderly towards her cousin, and took a chip herself.

The two had been moving around the city all day. They had woken up in Kurain at around eight thirty, and it was now ten forty and they were stuck in an all too familiar burger joint. They had started with a giddy excitement that was now a depressed disappointment.

The girls had a day of missing many trains and taxis and waiting in front of everywhere they could think of that Phoenix would be, only to find in nowhere insight. When they dropped by his apartment, Pearl swore that she could hear two people moving around inside, but when Maya listened she heard nothing. When they dropped by the police station as a last resort, all they got was vague answers to their questions of 'Where's Phoenix?". The officers kept muttering to each other 'Yeah, I can understand why he'd keep out of the public's eye', 'He's probably hiding in shame' or 'He's probably just taking care of that girl…I heard she'd living with him now"

So Maya and Pearl wandered around town, livid and crestfallen, until they ended up at the burger joint, fatigued and hungry.

As Pearl asked a passing waitress for more sauce, Maya stared out of the window, out onto the city's bright lights off in the distance. It was hard not to feel dejected and confused. Why would he hide in shame? Maya had spent more than enough time with Phoenix to know most of his secrets and fears. He had nothing to hide.

Or was the situation centred on that girl that the officers had muttered about? Did Phoenix find a girlfriend? Did he not want to upset Pearl by the news? Or did he find love in Iris again? Did he think that going out with their cousin, and half-sister, would upset them? But that would contradict the statements about staying out of the public's eye; he had nothing to be ashamed of with that.

Or maybe he did. If Iris was the case, he'd be going out with his latest defendant, and the twin sister of Dahlia, who had caused quite the stir with the media in the past years.

Maya's brow furrowed. Nothing made sense to her. She considered for a moment getting Pearl to channel Mia and help her, but then she figured 'what's the use?'

Maya reached for the burger. "Do you want some, Pearly?" she asked "It's a cheeseburger"

"Oh, yes, Mystic Maya!" Pearl said, watching Maya break it in half. Onion and cheese fell out of it when broken, but the cousins ignored that and went on eating in silence.

"Whatever it is, Mystic Maya…" Pearl said after several moments of silence "Mister Nick will come around. Nothing can destroy your eternal love, right?"

Maya stared at Pearl for a few seconds before ruffling the girl's hair.

"That's right, Pearly" she laughed between a bite of her burger "Nothing will destroy it!"