After Office Hours

- - -

"Maya, we're done for the day. Could you flip the sign, please?"

Maya nodded while yawning. Detective work started to catch up once more as Phoenix received another case on his hands that were just itching to solve cases since the past few weeks have been nothing short of boredom. But now that all the work have been piling up on the lawyer, she wasn't so sure if Phoenix was so pleased anymore. He had dark circles beneath his eyes from the lack of sleep and no amount of coffee she had offered him seemed to help with his fatigue. She tossed a glance in his direction and watched as he swept his hands across his long spikes in a seemingly combination of both frustration and exhaustion. He rested his elbows on his desk and groaned into his palms with scattered papers and evidences thrown haphazardly across the tabletop. It was a busy day indeed.

Maya flipped the 'Open' side around so that the clients who had no idea how much effort and dedication Phoenix placed into his job could acknowledge 'Closed'. Dimming the lights in the corner, she moved in small and quiet steps towards the tired lawyer. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she tugged gently, half making sure that he had not passed out and half just bugging him the way she did everyday. Well, never intentionally anyway, sort of. Sometimes she liked annoying him for fun, but never when he was truly distressed, like tonight.

"Thanks Maya," Phoenix groaned, trying to rub the sleep out his eyes as he took in the comfort of the dimmed lights. He could go to sleep right now if only he-

"Nick? You okay?" Maya whispered lightly, somewhat scared to break the peace that lingered in the office. As soon as the sign was flipped and the lights became faint, the atmosphere was transformed from a hectic one to one that was tranquil but loomed with anxiety, tension, and pressure for no one knew what new trouble tomorrow may bring. At that moment, Pearl walked into the office with her precious blue ball in her tiny hands. With wide eyes, she glanced up at Phoenix with a concern look that rivaled his assistant's.

"Mystic Maya? Is Nick alright?" the little girl asked, detecting that Phoenix was not his usual self.

The trio was almost like a real family since they were always so close-knit to each other. After the death of Mia, Phoenix saw that it was his responsibility to look after his assistant and they have been established as an amazing team ever since then, always supporting each other in every way possible. They had their little arguments here and there but it was never anything serious. He could always count on Maya to lighten the mood when he became too cynical and he was always there for her whenever she was about to lose some marbles. All in all, they were there for each other. They had no other family to go home to and when little Pearl came along, Phoenix couldn't help but take in the little girl under his guard. Pearl was just too adorable and plus she had nowhere and no one else to turn to ever since she left the village and her mother was no longer around for her because of what she sacrificed for her daughter, which was completely stupid in Phoenix's book. But overall, he couldn't be happier than where he was now.

"Aww, I certainly hope so. He does seem out of it…" Maya extended her index finger and gently poked the back of Phoenix's head. When she got no response, she prodded him a couple of more times before Phoenix lifted his head and knit his brows together in slight annoyance. "Yay! He's awake!"

"Yay!" Pearl cheered as well. "So what would you like to eat for dinner tonight Mr. Nick?" the spirit medium asked sweetly with her ball tucked beneath her small chin.

"Hm…I'm not too sure. I'm not really hungry. How about I just give Maya some money and she can run to the diner down the block to get some burgers?" Phoenix suggested dryly as he reached into his suit pocket for his wallet. There was still an ample amount of work that needed to be done and food was honestly the last thing on his mind. "Afterwards, you guys can just go upstairs to the apartment and relax. How does that sounds, Pearls?" He forced a small smile for the girl's sake.

"What?" Maya objected rather loudly and in surprise. "But Niiiicckk!" she whined. "We hardly just do take-ins. We always have fun cooking or going out to eat! You know we all look forward to that because it's so fun and it's a great way to end such a tiring day! We're closed!! Y'know! The sign outside reads C-L-O-S-E-D! That means we're supposed to be off duty too and relax a little!"

"Not tonight, Maya…" the lawyer spoke patiently. "I just have way too much work on my hands." He watched as his assistant's eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the point where Phoenix thought it might literally hit the ground.

"What do you mean not tonight? We do this every night! It's tradition. I can't even recall the last time when we all just ordered in because we were too lazy to do our own cooking or go out and have fun!"

Phoenix smiled sheepishly. "Well, I kind of have to remind you that you do most of the cooking. You know very well I have no culinary skills."

"Yes!! But you were still there to support me!" Maya argued.

"And not to mention, you always like to throw food at Mystic Maya when she's not looking!" Pearl chimed in.

Phoenix sighed in defeat. It didn't look like he was going to win this argument. Placing the wallet back into his pocket, he threw his hands up in exasperation. "Okay okay. How about this? Why don't Maya do the cooking tonight and you can help her, Pearls? How does that sound to you two?"

"But Niiiccck!! It won't be the same without you!" Maya shook her head and placed her hands on her hips with a small scowl on her sweet face.

"I'm sorry, but there's just too much work that needs to be done tonight, Maya," Phoenix tried to reason, hoping that she would understand where he was coming from. He shuddered from just staring at the work piled on his desk. If he was going to be anywhere near done with this case soon, he needed to give a hundred and ten percent of his attention to it.

His assistant, being the persistent and stubborn girl that she was, refused to give in. Instead, she tried another tactic. "Awww…Niiicckkk..please…" she begged softly, her previous angry features softening into a sad pout as she tried to make her voice as pitiful as possible. There was no way he could resist that.

"No." His answer was simple and terse.

Well, he never resist that BEFORE anyway.

Maya, slightly taken back but still being the stubborn person she always was and is, tried again. "But you have been working all day! Don't you think it's about time you took a break? We were walking all around today trying to gather evidence!"

Phoenix resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was tired, frustrated, and he wanted sleep more than anything, but his work right now took precedence over everything. "Yes I know, and now we have to finally do something about the evidence we found. We have to somehow connect them." He couldn't sacrifice what little time he had left in the remainder of twenty-four hours for anything, especially not for something as trivial as making dinner and goofing off with Maya in the kitchen. That was when he had no work to do, but this was too important. Someone's freedom was at stake here! Sometimes Maya was a little dense, but surely she understood the importance of these cases, right?

"I know that, but you really look like you could take a break! What good will it do you if you just sit here trying to put everything together if you don't even have the energy or concentration to do so?" Maya argued boldly with concern prevailing in her voice, though she wasn't too sure if the lawyer could even stay awake to realize it. "Pearly and I are worried about you! You barely left the desk since we got back here around noon! Don't you think it's about time you take a break?"

"Maya…do you realize how important this is? You should know out of everyone! You've been with me on a lot of cases and you know how desperate some of the victims are, right?" Phoenix countered in the most collected voice he could muster.

"Yes, but…-"

"No buts, Maya. There's not much time left and for some reason, I am having a very difficult time piecing everything together."

"But I have faith in you, Nick! You know you always save the day in the nick of time!" Maya smiled widely, amused by her own little joke. "Get it…Nick of time…"

"……"

Pearl let out a small giggle but instantly shut her mouth and hid her face behind her ball when she saw Phoenix's cold hard glare.

"Aw, come on! Nick! Don't be such a party pooper!! You look so glum and miserable!" Maya's dark wide eyes wandered to the poster placed right behind Phoenix's chair. It was a poster of the Steel Samurai, the one Phoenix so graciously allowed her to stick it up in the room despite the fact it made the office look less professional with all the large tomes surrounding it. "I know!" She clapped her hands together. "Why don't we go watch an episode of the Steel Samurai? I have an episode recorded from last week! It's the one you never got a chance to see because you fell asleep so I decided to record it for you!"

'That's very nice of you, Maya but-"

"Come on, Nick!! You can't even concentrate on your work because you're so tired! You're gonna get sick like that!" Maya grabbed his arm with both her hands and attempted to tug him out of his chair, but it was not working no matter how much strength she exerted. She wished that at that moment she had the strength of someone…say, Gumshoe so she could just yank him out of his seat in one fluid motion and maybe toss him on her back and FORCE him upstairs. Unfortunately, being a spirit medium does not quite give you that ability…

The REASON why I cannot concentrate right now is because you're bugging me, Maya… Ignoring her protest, the lawyer pulled his arm away from her grasp and picked up his pen from his desk, preparing to scribble some more notes. "I would love to, but there's just too much that needs to be done. Why don't you go with Pearl?"

Pearl blinked a few times in surprise. He had always addressed her as 'Pearls' because he had always thought it was cute and playful. Hearing him say 'Pearl' was awkward and foreign. Perhaps Mystic Maya was truly going too far. "Mystic Ma-"

"But Pearly and I already watched that episode! I was hoping you'd want to see it with me! Come on, Nick!!"

"……"

"Niiiiiiiccckkkk! It'd be fun! Just a small break and then you can get right back to your work! Where's the harm in that?"

"……"

"Niiiiiccckkk!!"

"……" She was really trying his patience. All he could hear in his head was a distorted faraway voice of Maya whining to him, which was becoming extremely aggravating with each passing moment…

"Niiii-"

"ENOUGH!" Phoenix snapped harshly, his voice cold as steel. He flicked the pen into the air and all three people in the room watched it land back on the desktop with a loud thud that resonated across the silent room save for Phoenix's gruff breathing and the sound of Pearl's ball bouncing away from her. The little spirit medium dropped it in shock for she never expected Mystic Maya's lover to raise his voice at the older girl.

Realizing that she had probably driven him over the edge of his patience, Maya bowed her head apologetically, her long thick bangs cascading over her eyes, shielding away the emotions and regret that harbored deep within her sparkling depths. "I'm sorry, Nick. I-"

"Just shut up-"

It was too late. He couldn't catch himself before he let those words roll off his lips so easily and carelessly without ever thinking what consequences they would bring. His heart became heavy as it pounded against his chest, threatening to burst with each passing beat. The sound of his thundering heart filled his ears and he felt like he was going to drown in his own fear and regret. His hands trembled slightly and he felt numb all over. Everything seemed so surreal to him. He felt like he was frozen in time as each second transpired. He could see Pearl's eyes watering and the corner of her mouth slightly parted as she let out small sobs, but for some reason Phoenix couldn't hear that. The only thing that filled his ears and head was the sound of his heart trying to leap out and consume him. He hesitantly turned his head towards Maya and found that she hadn't flinched at all and wondered if she was frozen just like him. Her long black locks of hair fell over her shoulders, shrouding almost all of her face and emotions in pitch darkness, but in the midst of the shadows, Phoenix saw trails of bright teardrops making their journey down her face until they made small splashes against the shiny surface of his desktop. His throat was dry and coarse, but he forced himself to say something, anything to stop the continuous flow of her tears.

"Ma…Ma-ya…I'm so…sorry." This time it was his turn to apologize. The pounding of his heart hit a critical peak before slowly reclining to its original tempo as he watched Maya slowly lift her head, the bangs and long locks of hair departing from her face like curtains being reeled back to reveal the next unknown. He held his breath and waited for her reaction in agonizing anticipation, feeling slightly hopeful that she would consider his apology. After all, he hadn't meant it like that all. It was just by impulse and circumstance, not his choice. He could never…no, he would never intentionally hurt her.

He never did get the chance to see her face. Just as he was about to catch a glimpse of the remnants of her usual happy and spirited self, she hastily turned her back towards him and bolted for the front door. In a flash, a streak of pink and purple blazed before his eyes and then disappeared as quickly as he had witnessed it.

And then all he was left with was the sound of the 'Open/Closed' sign rustling against the pane of glass, the letters O-P-E-N mocking him, daring him to go back to his work.

- - -

To be continued…