Heh, this is the longest one so far ^__^; As soon as I first saw this prompt, I knew I wanted to do a mock-investigation type thing with Nick having to unlock Psyche Locks with evidence. XD; I've never written a trial fic before even though I'd like to, so this was a fun small taste for me to see what it's like :D The bolded words are supposed to be like the highlighted words in the game. :P

Hopefully I didn't mess up horribly. o_O but as always, there's fluff :3

Reviews make me happy! And so do readers! Thanks everyone, and enjoy :)

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001. Evidence

"Welcome back, Nick!"

"Yes, welcome back, Mr. Nick!"

"Hey, you two," Phoenix greeted the girls as he entered the office. He'd taken a trip down to the courthouse to file some documents and asked Maya and Pearl to watch things while he was away. "Any calls while I was gone?"

"Nope! But Pearly cleaned again, if you can't tell by the sparkling toilet! She even remembered to water Charley and dusted your law books for you! Isn't she the greatest?"

The younger girl pressed her hands to her face, clearly embarrassed but pleased. "Oh, Mystic Maya, I'm not…!"

"Heh, thanks, Pearls," Phoenix said, stooping down to ruffle Pearl's hair. "Though you don't have to bother with the books next time…I doubt I'll ever actually read them."

"It's not a problem, Mr. Nick!" Pearl replied with a glowing grin. "I'm happy to do it! It's the least I could do!"

"Hey, Pearly? D-do you think I could talk to Nick? Alone?" Maya broke in suddenly, looking uncharacteristically tense.

Pearl smiled wider, clearly ecstatic. "Of course! I wouldn't dream of coming between you two, especially on this special day! But remember: no fighting!"

('Special day…?' I wonder what she meant by that…)

He was suddenly struck with the feeling he was forgetting something, but he couldn't quite remember what. He decided to just forget about it for now and focus on whatever Maya had to tell him.

"Oh, Pearly…" Maya sighed, but Pearl had already skipped out of the room.

"What is it, Maya?" Phoenix asked curiously, slipping off his suit jacket and hanging it on the coat hook. "Is something the matter?"

"N-no, not at all! I just wanted to show you something." She still seemed on edge, which only made him more intrigued. He watched her go behind the reception desk and pull something out from beneath counter. It was a gigantic goodie basket—one of the really extravagant ones, the kind found in supermarkets everywhere around holidays. At that moment, he remembered it was Valentine's Day.

"W-wow!" He was speechless. "Maya, did you…?"

"N-n-no! Of course not! I mean…no!"

(A bit jumpy, aren't we?)

"Well, then where did this come from?" he asked, rubbing his chin. "Is it really for me?"

"Yes! It…it was…delivered while you were out. And I don't know who sent it. It was brought by some random delivery guy who said it was for you."

"Wow," he said again, although he felt a little suspicious. "There's no tag or anything?"

"Nope! Looks like you've got a secret admirer," she said, smirking—though it looked forced.

He chuckled at the absurdity of the idea. "Yeah, right. It's probably a prank or something. I'll bet Gumshoe or Larry or Edgeworth is spying on us right now, just waiting to see my reaction." Without really meaning to, he shot a quick glance at the window, but there was no one there. He relaxed a little in relief.

"Hah, yeah, you're probably right…" she answered, but her laugh was half-hearted. She looked down, not meeting his eyes. It was then he saw her face seemed a little red.

He was struck with an idea.

While she was still looking away, he quickly fished around in the pocket of the suit jacket still hanging on the coat hook and withdrew the Magatama. He kept his palm curled as he took it out, shielding it from view when he faced Maya again.

"Maya?"

"Y-yeah?" She looked up quickly with a startled expression.

"I want to ask you one more time…do you really not know who sent this?"

"Of…of course not! Why would I?" It happened instantaneously, as soon as she said the words—the chains shot out and the locks slammed down. Psyche Locks, of course. And she had three of them.

"Hmm…I have reason to believe that you do."

"Wh-whaaaaaaat? Wh-why?!" With her shocked outburst, a lock shattered.

(Sheesh, that was easy…two more to go!)

"Well, look at how you're acting, for one. I'd say it's pretty suspect for a person who claims ignorance!" He had his hands on his hips like he was standing in the courtroom, and felt a tiny, familiar surge of confidence in spite of himself.

"Th-that's crazy! You…you have no evidence!"

"Evidence?"

"Yeah! You can't just go around accusing people without evidence!" Her cheeks swelled like a blowfish and her fists were up like she was ready to fight—classic infuriated Maya. "You should know that better than anyone, Nick!"

"Y-yeah…I guess you're right…" he relented, feeling a giant, familiar drop in his gut.

"Hah! Got you there, didn't I?!"

"Hold it! I didn't say I didn't have any proof." He spoke his words with a renewed assurance as he regained his momentum.

"Ack!" She gulped audibly, her fists quickly falling back to her sides.

"I don't know exactly what it means…but why did you ask Pearl to leave before you showed me the basket?"

"Um, well, that's…"

"Clearly, it was because you didn't want her to find out about the gift."

"…!" Maya put a hand to her lips, not replying. Another lock was smashed.

(Phew…just one more…!)

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

She stayed silent for a few seconds longer before a grin suddenly creeped back onto her face. "Hah! Well, of course I wouldn't want her to find out!"

"H-huh?" His shoulders slumped when he heard her remark. "What do you mean?"

"It's simple! After all, you know how she thinks we're in love. She'd be really upset if she saw you got a Valentine's Day present from another woman!"

"Objection! What makes you think it was a woman?After all, you said there was no tag!"

"Oh, objection yourself!" Maya shouted, getting into it just as much as he was. "I highly doubt you'd get a Valentine's Day present from a man!"

"Objection! But earlier you agreed when I suggested it could be Larry or Gumshoe or Edgeworth!"

"O-objection! I…" She trailed off, looking like she'd finally run out of steam—and yet, the third and final Psyche Lock wasn't budging. "Y-y-you're being ridiculous, Nick! You've got it all wrong!" Her cheeks were once again puffed out and set aflame.

"Argh! Just tell me who it is already, Maya!"

"N-no!" She paused and bit her lip as if she were deliberating. "I know! If you're so sure, why don't you tell me who you think did it?!"

(Who I think did it…? How would I know?)

(…Oh, come on, Phoenix. Just look at the evidence! It's right here in front of me, I know it!)

"Take that!" he cried, thrusting out his finger towards the culprit. "It's got to be…you, Maya Fey, of course!"

"Gaaaah!" And with that, the final lock broke and the chains slid out of view. (Unlock Successful. Yes!) "Nooo! You're wrong!"

"Oh, give it up, Maya. I know it was you. I just broke your last Psyche Lock." He pinched her pink face with both hands and stretched it out, her embarrassed expression morphing into a comical one. "Just look at how red your face is! It was definitely you!"

"Wh-what? You used the Magatama on me?! How dare you!" She reached up, grabbing his cheeks and mimicking his actions. "I won't forgive you, Nick!"

They stood frozen in a stalemate. He refused to stand down before she did, and knew she would be just as stubborn if not more.

"…How come you didn't want Pearls to find out?" he asked finally, still pinching and pulling her face.

"Be-because…! It's embarrassing, of course! Plus, if she knew, I doubt she'd ever give it a rest—and she's bad enough already."

He had to agree with that. "But…why'd you lie to me about it?"

"Oh, Nick," she huffed, scowling as best she could with her face still temporarily warped. "I just said, it's because it's embarrassing, you dummy! Isn't that obvious?!"

For the first time, he felt a blush heating up his own ears and neck. "W-well…I guess I didn't think of that. You're right. Sorry."

"…" She stared at him, the mood turning suddenly serious. "Nick?"

"Y-yeah?" He felt himself break out into an anxious sweat, anticipating her next move.

"My face is getting sore."

"Oh. Right."

But before either them could release their grip, Pearl burst back in the room.

"Sorry, but I just couldn't wait any longer! I had to see what you two were up to—oh!" She stopped, one hand flying to her mouth when she noticed their strange positions. "I-I…I didn't realize…" She suddenly put on a conspiratorial grin. "I didn't mean to interrupt a moment between you and Mr. Nick, Mystic Maya."

(What the heck does Pearls think we're doing?!)

He let go of Maya's face at the same time Maya let go of his and he gave Pearl a sheepish grin. "It's okay, Pearls…but it's not what you're think—" He halted abruptly, considering what he was about to say, because technically, it was what she was thinking this time, sort of. That is, if Maya's gift meant what he thought it meant. And based on the evidence, he was pretty sure it did.

He looked quickly back at Maya, deciding to let her answer. She smiled at him, still looking flushed, and then turned to Pearl.

"It's all right, Pearly! But do you think you could give Nick and I a few more minutes alone?"

"Certainly, Mystic Maya! It's Valentine's Day, after all. And you and Mr. Nick seemed to be getting along so well!" Pearl punctuated this with a vigorous nod and a giggle before taking her leave

Nick stared at Maya, waiting to see what would happen next.

(If I hadn't had sufficient evidence before…)

"Hey, come down here for a second," Maya said, yanking roughly on his tie and forcing him to comply with her demand.

But he couldn't have cracked a joke about her nearly choking him with his own tie even if he'd wanted to, for he was silenced by a whisper in his ear and a quick peck on his cheek.

Which, after a shocked pause, he happily returned with a slightly lengthier peck on her mouth.

(…I certainly do now.)

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