It didn't actually snow here in Vegas... but it rained! So I'll escalate that a bit and pretend that's "snow". Please enjoy!
Maya opened her eyes. She did not expect to see what she saw at all. Phoenix's face was very close to hers, and his arm was around her and dangerously close to her chest. She slowly pushed the arm and Phoenix's face back to where it belonged – not near her. She pushed him back into his seat and looked around. Some people were awake, and an attendant was serving breakfast. Phoenix woke up just in time to get 3 warm, steaming pancakes on a plate with syrup, and Maya got maple-flavored oatmeal.
Maya made a small frown on her face and started to pout.
"Huh…? Maya, why are you frowning?" Phoenix asked as he took a bite off of a pancake.
"I… don't want oatmeal… I wanted pancakes…" Maya said sadly.
Phoenix immediately switched his pancakes for her oatmeal. "There you go. Problem solved."
Maya looked up at Phoenix and gave a small smile. "Thanks, Nick. You always give me what I want." She took a small bite off of the same pancake Phoenix ate from. He noticed that they've switched partly eaten food a lot lately.
Maya looked really adorable while eating the pancakes. She didn't even wolf it down like usual; it was like she was eating slowly to enjoy each bite, and was more appreciative of the food. Was there something up with her…?
Phoenix continued finishing his oatmeal while looking out the window.
"Ah! Look, Nick! There's an RV park. It seems like there's only 2 RVs in there."
Phoenix looked to where Maya was pointing at and confirmed that there was an RV park. And it did have 2 RVs parked.
"Alright, folks, we're in the state of Nevada and we're in Primm, a small community 40 miles away from Vegas! Can I hear some noise?"
The bus driver announced their current location and the whole bus did, in fact, "make some noise". Maya looked up from her pancakes, too, to cheer.
"Wow, Nick. This is gonna be so cool. I'm so excited, I'm calm!"
Phoenix smiled in agreement. Even he had to admit that this was something pretty exciting for him, too. He never traveled farther than downtown LA.
. . .
Phoenix and Maya arrived at Vegas at around 9 AM. They got off the bus and out into the Las Vegas cold.
"Brrrrr! Nick, it's really cold out here!" Maya shivered in her coat.
Phoenix handed Maya some gloves. "And that's why I made you wear pants instead of your usual medium clothing." He playfully put earmuffs on her as he put a scarf on himself. He felt extremely… responsible for her all of a sudden.
Maya smiled and picked up her suitcase. "Well, Nick, I think we should get to our hotel!" She pulled up a taxi and drove to a comfy hotel called the Marriott. It was near the Strip.
"I think we'll like this place. I looked at some pictures, and it seems pretty comfy! It's like an apartment with a kitchenette and everything!" On the way there, Maya could NOT stop talking about how "awesome" the hotel was. Phoenix didn't quite believe her, but he couldn't HELP but believe her; the tone of her voice was very convincing.
They arrived at the Marriott, and from the looks of the lobby, it was a very a nice place. It seemed welcoming and inviting. Maya and Phoenix dropped off their items in their room. The second they went outside, it started lightly snowing.
Maya breathed one word as she looked up at the darker clouds in the sky: "Snow…"
Phoenix looked up as well, and saw the snow fall, too. Well, it was more hail-like than snow-like, but it worked for Maya.
Maya smiled with wonder at the white precipitation falling into her gloved hand. Her eyes grew large at the snowflakes resting in the palm of her hands.
Then she looked up at Phoenix, and she smiled with childish delight. He smiled back with amusement. Phoenix said softly, "So do you think we should just sit here and enjoy the snow for a while…?"
Unable to say anything, Maya just nodded. Phoenix unknowingly held Maya's other hand that wasn't occupied with catching snowflakes. The girl was too occupied on the snowflakes that she didn't even notice Phoenix grab her hand.
They walked for a bit like that, hand-in-hand. They were lucky enough to find a bench to sit down and talk a bit on. The two didn't do much that day, but it felt nice to experience something as rare as snow.
Later that day, the weather started to change a bit.
"Look, Nick! The sun's shining through the clouds!" Maya pointed to a little part where the clouds break off and you could see a bit of the blue sky and a ray of sun.
Phoenix looked where she was pointing and put his arm around her shoulder. "Oh yeah, I see it. That's pretty neat. You expecting a rainbow?"
Maya nodded. "Yeah! That would be cool, since it's still raining, and then there's this random rainbow."
Phoenix laughed and continued on walking down the street. He then knew the word that he was missing on that crossword puzzle: love. [Love can also mean "zero", like in tennis.]
"Nick… I like snow. I like it a lot.
Yeah, I do too."
xXxXx
Franziska woke up with an odd thought. She knew she was on the bottom bunk of the bunk-bed of the RV, but it felt like there was more than one person on that bed. Then she realized she felt something warm and firm on her back, like a body. Then she realized there was an arm around her stomach. It's not… is it?
At about the same time, Miles woke up as well. He realized he was pressed against the wall. He saw blue in front of his eyes and smelled a hint of fruit. Then realized that he had his arm around Franziska von Karma, the woman whom he treated as a sister. He slept with Franziska, basically his sister. He quickly pulled his arm away from her stomach and started to think.
Wh-What?! Was this the oddly firm pillow that I moved over last night? Why was Franziska so light? Why-
He suddenly felt Franziska turn around and face him. She looked up at him with wide, surprised, eyes. Then their faces both turned red all over and Franziska jumped out of the bed.
"G-Good morning, M-Miles E-Edgeworth."
"G-Good m-morning, F-Franziska. H-How well did you s-sleep?"
"…F-Fine."
They tried starting off the morning normally, but the whole morning was practically ruined once they found they just slept with each other.
"I-I'll go prepare breakfast." Franziska quickly ran out of that area, and closed the separator behind her. She sighed and was glad to get out of that imperfectly embarrassing moment. She knew how to cook one thing for breakfast, and one thing only: scrambled eggs. Franziska was never good at cooking much; the one meal she can cook the most is for some types of desserts. So, she cooked scrambled eggs and put together some slices of bread topped with a little butter. She also set out some orange juice in tall glasses and put them on the shiny, marble table.
A little while later, Miles came out ready for breakfast. He quickly wolfed down the food and headed straight for the driver's seat. He said that they were a little delayed in their schedule, and that they'd have to leave right away for Vegas. They'd already crossed the border and are in a little community outside of Vegas called Primm. Vegas was in about 40 miles from Primm, and they were no closer to reaching Vegas.
Miles stepped on the acceleration pedal and the RV lurched forward a bit. Franziska, instead of sitting in the front like usual, sat in one of the back sofas and looked out the window. She saw a rather large bus pass by. "These fools," she muttered under breath, "don't have enough money to get to their destination themselves." She sat at that spot looking out of that same window, in her pajamas, the whole time to Vegas.
. . .
Miles rented a car once they got there and parked the RV at the rental place. They drove over to the hotel they were staying at, the Marriott, the one near the Strip, and dropped off their luggage. They stepped outside, and it was snowing.
Franziska stared at the snow and followed its movements as it went down from the sky to the ground. She breathed, "The first snow…"
Sometimes, she would catch some in her hand. Her hands were always gloved anyways, but she wore two today, because it might snow. She stared at the snow in her hands, and looked up at Miles. Her eyes had a child-like sparkle to it. Her eyes seemed bigger than usual, and one corner of her mouth lifted to form an innocent smirk. Miles gently put a hand on her shoulder, and he asked her with a childish tone, "How do you like the snow, Franziska?"
She barely managed to choke out, "Ho-me…" She hadn't visited Germany for a while, and the snow was making her homesick. She started to cry; she was holding it back at first, but soon it started to fall as freely as the snow did, and the tears mixed in with the snowflakes in her hand. Miles guided her to a bench. He hugged her and let her cry on him. He helped soothe her poor soul by tenderly stroking her hair and saying reassuring words.
She let go, stopped crying, and looked up at the sky again. She smiled and leaned back on the bench. She started to talk about her memories in Germany, and Miles joined her in her reminiscing. They even started to speak in German again. The taste of German on their tongues was interesting; Miles hasn't said anything in German for a while since he was in Germany, and Franziska missed speaking in German.
Pretty soon, the sun started to shine through the clouds. They both looked up, and saw a rainbow forming in the sky. They leaned on each other and enjoyed watching the rainbow together.
"Kleiner Bruder… Danke."
[Little Brother… Thank you.]
