I AM SO SORRY. I know it's been nearly two months since I updated! I'm so sorry! -kicks self- Ergh, there's just been a lot of drama with school, and I've been pretty preoccupied with things, among them obsessively reading the Nightfall Trilogy by Stormy. Seriously, even if you don't like Klema, you have to check it out. ANYWAY, for some reason, this chapter was unbelievably hard to write. I have no idea why. Lately, I've seriously been losing inspiration for this fic, because it's basically something I thought up of in, er, five minutes? ^-^; Anyway, that was my mistake. If you guys really want this fic to continue, tell me in your reviews. ACK, okay, I just realized I mentioned a picnic in the earlier chapter. Er, I kind of lost the file for the old chapter, so, can we pretend it says movie night instead? ^-^; anyway, shoutouts below.

kongu123: Fresh. Of course they're fresh. If they were old, I'd get sued for causing food poisoning. And I really REALLY hate doing paperwork.

Naoko Suki: Nah, they made up. Maya's always capable of being bribed with burgers. Ahem. Not that Phoenix would do anything like that, of course... I hope. -glares at Phoenix-

Silvertip37- My, you're becoming a regular reviewer, aren't you? (; Nick just has this amazing ability to attract trouble without intending to.

Secret Serendipity: I believe my shipment has arrived, now. If not, I shall go yell at the postman. ^-^

PS; Thank you to Secret Serendipity and isacullen-timeguardian for offering me their opinions on the upcoming Edgey multichapter fic. I've made up my mind- Edgeworth and Franziska will be the pairing, HOWEVER, I have a oneshot planned for Edgeworth and Kay, so don't despair! Man, Edgeworth's hard to ship =.=;

disclaimer; I don't own any of the characters in this fic, Capcom does.


Chapter Two;

Popcorn and Soda Don't Make a Good Combination

II:

You know when you just sort of ramble about things in your childhood that you used to love? When people remember the small things, it shows that they care about you enough to listen. To show your significant other that you care, try to find out what their favourite movie is. Then, plan for a simple movie night. No frills, nothing fancy- just a simple movie night. You'd be amazed how effective it can be.

"A movie?" Trucy repeated skeptically. "I guess we can try."

"I don't really know what movies Mystic Maya likes." Pearl said, crestfallen. Trucy cocked her head.

"Didn't Daddy say that Maya loved the Steel Samurai? There's a Steel Samurai film that was released a few years back, I think." the magician said slowly, looking at Pearl. The young medium scrunched her face, as if in thought, then frowned.

"If there was, I don't think Mystic Maya ever watched it. The elders are strict on their 'no electronics' rule. The TV we have is only hooked up to a DVD player- no cable." the young brunette said. Trucy raised an eyebrow.

"How boring is that? You guys are like the supernatural cousins of the Amish." Trucy declared, and widened her eyes. "No offense, of course."

"Nah, it's fine. We get that a lot from clients. Kurain's just too far away for any cable or internet service to be hooked up. It's okay, though, it's not actually as bad as you think." Pearl frowned, looking thoughtful. "And besides, when you grow up with it, it doesn't seem so strange."

"I guess." Trucy said, grinning. "So, where are we going to get the DVD? Netflix?"

"What's Netflix?" Pearl repeated, confused. Trucy opened her mouth in an o.

"It's kind of like this service that delivers DVDs to your doorstep." Trucy explained, and Pearl crossed her arms.

"I'm not sure that would work. I don't think Netflix delivers so far." Pearl said sheepishly, and Trucy nodded in agreement.

"Well, how about this?"

x.x.

"They're talking about us, you know?" Maya couldn't help but note that her best friend's voice had gotten lower. It wasn't as sarcastic as it once was, and he was more vague than before. She couldn't help but miss the Phoenix she knew before, the one with his clean shaven face and polished blue suit, briefcase in hand. The image of him in a hoodie and sweats just didn't look wright. Right, she corrected herself. Damn, I've got to stop doing that.

"I know that." she responded lightly, turning to face him. "Now she's going on about how you and I should be 'more than friends'. It's a step down from special someones, I suppose."

"I thought she forgot about that. I somehow get the feeling that those roses in that bag I gave you weren't there accidentally." Phoenix smiled. The medium liked it when she saw him smile- it made him look younger and more like when he was a lawyer.

"No way, Nick, really?" she opened her mouth in mock astonishment, and Phoenix grinned again. Maya liked this. Sometimes, the twenty-seven year old could forget reality- that she was the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique and that her best friend and most successful defense attorney in LA had been disbarred and now lived life as a piano playing hobo. It kind of felt like she was eighteen again.

"So, how are you holding up without your daily burgers, at my expense?" Phoenix questioned, amusement in his dark blue eyes. Maya faked indignance, puffing out a cheek.

"Horrible, Nick! The elders won't let me buy from that burger joint on Eighteenth! There aren't any burgers, there isn't any soda, there's no junk food whatsoever! We practically live off homemade bread and ginseng tea! Do you know how revolting ginseng tea is?" Maya fumed, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at Phoenix's greatly amused expression.

"I know perfectly well how nasty ginseng tea is. You sent at least ten gallons of the stuff when Meraktis hit me with his car. I lost track of how many times I got up from my bed to use the bathroom because of that stupid diuretic they call a tea." Phoenix grinned, hands stuffed into the pockets of his grey hoodie. Maya burst into giggles, waving her hands frantically in front of her.

"Hey, Nick, too much information, alright?" she choked out between peals of laughter. Phoenix smiled.

"Hey, you brought it up. Immature." he grinned, and Maya could see the traces between his younger counterpart and the man before her.

"And in my defense, the elders said it was good for healing stuff." Maya added, her laughter fading.

"I think they meant sore throats. Not sprained ankles." Phoenix said slowly, smiling. Maya stuck out her lower lip childishly, her eyes bright.

"Details."

x.x

"Hey, what's this?" Maya frowned, holding up a disc. It didn't come with any case, and there was no writing on it to indicate what it was.

"Looks like a DVD disc to me." Phoenix said. Maya sweatdropped.

"I know that." she snapped, thumping the ex-attorney on the head.

"You're violent. Violence is bad." Phoenix laughed, rubbing his head. Maya's eye twitched.

"I'm only violent towards knuckleheads like you." she answered, smiling.

"Good morning, Mystic Maya!" the young medium bounded in, her eyes bright. Trucy followed, wearing her normal magician's clothing, aside from the cloak and boots, which she swapped for gladiator sandals.

"Hey, Pearly. Do you know who sent this?" Maya asked, showing her the blank DVD. A knowing look passed over both Pearl's and Trucy's faces. Phoenix had a feeling that he knew what this was about. Judging by Maya's small smile, she had put two and two together as well.

"No, I don't. When did you get it?" Pearl answered, pulling on the sleeve of her outfit. Phoenix shrugged, watching Maya curiously. He knew Maya well enough to guess that she didn't want to crush whatever plan the two teenagers had come up with so quickly.

"Just now, but the mail doesn't come until tomorrow." Maya answered, feigning confusion.

"Pearl and I were out back, so we couldn't see anybody." Trucy answered, and Maya nodded.

"Er, can I talk to you?" Phoenix stood up, despite knowing that it'd only serve to fuel their suspicions. Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Sure." she answered slowly, and followed Phoenix out the door. She leaned against the wall.

"How long are we going to pretend that we don't know anything?" Phoenix questioned, his hands in his pockets. Maya rolled her eyes.

"It's obvious this means a lot to them. Just let them have their moment." Maya scolded, and Phoenix felt a twinge of annoyance. He was seven years older than her and he was getting scolded? That wasn't right. "Just pretend you don't know anything."

"Maya." his voice was dead serious. "I can't act if my life depended on it."

"I'm sure you're fine." Maya said nonchalantly, waving a hand. Phoenix grabbed her wrist.

"No. I was the only one in eighth grade who wasn't in the school play. The English teacher rejected me as soon as he heard my line. I was the only one auditioning for the part, too. In the end, they chose to scrap the part instead of accept me. I can't act." he repeated, and rolled his eyes as Maya stifled a laugh.

"Why is it, Nick, that you can survive falling off a bridge and getting hit by a car, but something like acting has you quaking in your shoes?" Maya demanded lightheartedly. The man shrugged.

"Knowing how stubborn the two are, I'd actually rather take getting hit by the car. Hell, I'd rather take drinking ten gallons of ginseng tea." he admitted, raising his eyebrows.

"That's commitment, Nick." she laughed, but for some reason, to Phoenix's well trained ears, it sounded fake. Forced.

"Are the lovebirds back?" Trucy asked, hearing the click of the wooden door shutting.

"Back, wouldn't say lovebirds, exactly." Maya answered lightly, widening her eyes at the paused TV screen. Her eyes lit up, clasping her hands together. "IS THAT THE STEEL SAMURAI LIVE ACTION FILM?"

"Yeah. We played that blank disc you got in the mail, I guess someone accidentally mailed it here." Trucy shrugged.

"There's no harm in watching it." Maya said slowly, grinning. She stared at Pearl expectantly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Unpause the thing so we can watch it!"

"I guess some things never change." Phoenix mused, heading to the kitchen. "Well, I'm off."

"Where do you think you're going, Nick?" Maya questioned almost dangerously. Pheonix held up his hands in surrender. "You sure as hell better watch it. You've missed four essays in the past two weeks, you can pay that off here."

"Did Mystic Maya just curse?" Pearl gasped, but the medium ignored it.

"Okay, okay, just relax, Maya. I'll go pop some popcorn." the ex-attorney said, heading off to the kitchen.

"If you try to escape, I swear, I'll beat you up 'till you're black and blue, you hear?" Maya grumbled under her breath. Phoenix chuckled.

"You really have to do something about that anger management problem of yours, Maya." he chided, almost uncharacteristically, and Maya puffed out a cheek in indignance.

"NICK, POPCORN. NOW."

x.x.

"How much soda did you give them?" Phoenix sweatdropped, eyebrows raised.

"Er... maybe six cans? Each? And a Red Bull?" Maya answered sheepishly. Phoenix rolled his eyes, looking curiously at the two teenage girls. Trucy leaned against the ottoman, her head drooping to a side. Pearl was curled up on the other side of the couch, sleeping.

"I think they had a caffeine crash." Maya observed, and Phoenix rolled his eyes.

"You think?" he answered, looking at the two girls. They'd had their crash around ten minutes ago, fifty minutes into the movie.

"Don't be a smartass, Nick." Maya smiled, leaning back on the sofa.

"I never knew the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique cussed." Phoenix grinned cheekily, and Maya rolled her eyes.

"All things have to change, eventually." she said matter of factly, thumping her friend on the head. "And that's a stereotype."

"Geez, when'd you get so violent?"

x.x.

The Steel Samurai live action film had finished, and was now at the main menu screen, the theme music looping again and again. The light seared Pearl's eyes slightly, but the teenaged girl rubbed her eyes and grinned.

Pearl opened her eyes groggily, before her eyes widened. She slapped a hand to her mouth, muffling the giggle she was holding in. She prodded Trucy, and the brunette's eyes opened. She yawned, a questioning look on her face, replaced by a look of victorious amusement when she saw what was making Pearl giggle.

Phoenix and Maya had both fallen asleep, in, er, shall we say, intimate positions. Phoenix leaned against the arm of the sofa, an arm around Maya's shoulder. The medium was pressed close to him, resting her head and hands on his chest.

Trucy clicked off the TV, and fished out a cell phone, a dated Samsung Galaxy S II. She opened the camera and took a quick picture. Pearl frowned- it had been years since she'd seen a phone, and when she had, it was an old flip phone that would have been deemed prehistoric now. She shook her head- she really had to get back in the loop.

"I think it worked." Trucy observed, and Pearl agreed, smiling. They had faked their caffeine crashes, but eventually fell asleep as the Steel Samurai movie droned on.

"Yeah. I think so."


A/N: k, guys, I AM SO SORRY. I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN TWO MONTHS. don't hit me!

the thing is, i kind of lost inspiration for this story. it seemed so awesome played out in my mind, but transferred to paper... i don't know. but, i'm determined to finish it. expect an update in around a months time, maybe less.

i am incredibly sorry that this chapter is like, really cruddy. i wanted to update as quickly as i could, so, er, yeah. it'll get better soon, don't worry! and i added in a fluffy moment to apologize, so, yeah. please to not kill me? ^-^;

ginseng tea to reviewers!

no, i'm only kidding. reviewers get a nommy cupcake! so, review!

-NaruMayoi