Pairing: Phoenix/Maya
Prompt: "No one can hurt me like you can."
Word Count: 2,633

Notes: Again, I'm sorry in advance. And also, I don't even know where this came from. It was all I could think of?

The hug he shared with Maya on her return from de Killer's grasp was when Phoenix realized the extent of his feelings for her. He was hesitant to tell her given his past relationships. He had a tendency of falling in love too fast, and though he'd known her for two years, it was only in the past year that his feelings had really developed.

Still, he also wasn't one to deny his feelings. He admitted it to her, and she said she felt the same. It was the beginning of an intense relationship. He knew she was young, he knew what people probably thought about him dating his 18 year old assistant, but that didn't matter. He truly did love her, and he wanted to hope Maya loved him back.

The thing was, Maya was different after her experience with de Killer. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but there was something about her. She had always been a risk taker, always the one talking him into doing things he deemed too scary or too dangerous, but after de Killer she seemed to have no semblance of self-preservation at all. It worried him.

She also went out a lot. Not back to Kurain Village, just… out. Sometimes he wouldn't hear from her for days at a time, but they did spend a lot of their time together, and the last thing Phoenix wanted to do was be a smothering or controlling boyfriend. Besides, when he brought up his concerns, Maya always waved them away and told him not to worry, she was just out having some fun with friends. Friends he'd never met, nor did she seem to want to introduce him to. He wasn't worried that she was cheating, but he did worry for her general safety.

Then one day, after spending a romantic night out together and after a session of love making in which Maya had initiated more than once, he woke up to her side of the bed empty, and all of her things gone. She'd disappeared, leaving nothing, not even a note. When he called her, the number was out of service. He'd even gone to Kurain Village hoping to find her, only for one of the old women in charge to tell him they hadn't seen Maya for over a year and had assumed she had given up her training to be with him permanently in the city.

He went to the police first, trying to report her as missing. Of course, Maya was a legal adult now, and there was no indication that she'd been taken. Her things were all deliberately packed after all, clearly evidence that she'd left of her own volition. He'd begged them to look, especially since Maya had been used against him in the past, but no ransom ever came. There was no word from her and the police weren't going to help find her. He had to accept that she was gone, and that she'd probably left him because she wanted to, for whatever reason.

He was heartbroken, to put it lightly. He quit working; he just didn't have it in him to bother when Maya wasn't around. He stayed home, living off of his dwindling savings, and alcohol became a necessity. Larry and his womanizing, partying habits also became something Phoenix embraced more often. He was still young after all, he might as well enjoy himself. Drinking, and other women, became a sort of comfort to him, or at least that's what he told himself.

Two years went by that way. Eventually he had to get another job. He didn't want to be a lawyer anymore, it wasn't the same without Maya there, but he also didn't want to end up losing the law firm that was once his mentor's, and that he had so many good memories in. His new job wasn't glamorous and didn't pay a lot, he had to give up his apartment in order to keep the office, but the office had a mini fridge and couches. It had all he really needed to live.

Despite all the other girls and the drinking to forget, he still missed Maya. His heart ached when he thought about her, wondering where she was and what happened to her. Hoping beyond hope that she was okay, even if that did mean she had abandoned him on purpose. He just wanted to know that she was okay.

He found out just how okay she was when he least expected it. It was one of those rare days where he hadn't thought about her much. He was focused on his card games in the basement of the Borscht Bowl Club, just trying to get through the day without losing a game, when she appeared.

She looked incredibly different, but he still recognized her. How could he not? Her beautiful long hair was cut short, barely falling past her chin. She was wearing tight jeans with black boots, and a simple white tank top with a hooded sweater over top. She sat down in front of him at the table, not a hint of a smile on her face.

He was shocked, to say the least. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, ask her where she'd been and what happened and why she was here now, but he couldn't. Besides the shock of seeing her again after so long, there was something off about her. There was no hint of the happy, bubbly Maya he'd known. Her face remained a mask, her eyes staring blankly at him as the dealer dealt them their cards.

He swallowed down all of his questions and played her. She won. It was his first loss ever. She left the room without saying a word, and despite knowing that he was already in danger of being fired for losing, let alone for abandoning the game when there were still others waiting to play him, he got up out of his seat to follow her.

She was fast. He had to rush to keep up, and when he called her name she ignored him. She just kept walking. He continued to follow, refusing to let this be the last time he saw her. There had to be a reason she had shown up again.

She rounded a corner, and when he got there he turned to stare into a dark alley. It was almost black, the only light coming from a lamp post down the street and the moon itself. He squinted into the darkness. He couldn't see anything, and he wasn't keen on the idea of going that way, but he couldn't leave her. Besides, what if something happened to her?

He ran down the alleyway, intent on finding out anything he could from her, only slowing when he reached the dead end. Maya was nowhere to be found. He turned, staring into the darkness, wondering where she could have gone.

"Maya?" he called. "I know it was you. Where did you go?"

He jumped as she rushed forward suddenly, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, one hand reaching out towards him. She grabbed him by the neck, pushing him back into the brick wall behind him. She was so fast he barely saw it, but he felt it; the cool metal of a knife against his throat.

He swallowed, staring into her dark eyes as she looked up at him. He would probably be strong enough to fight her off if he tried, but something in him told him not to.

"Nick…" she whispered.

It felt so good to hear that nickname from her lips again, even under the circumstances. "W-What are you doing, Maya? Where have you been?" he asked.

"With him," she said. "Training. Learning."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Who?"

"De Killer."

"What?"

She blinked at him. "He told me things, when I was trapped in that basement. I'd always planned on leaving you, you know," she said. "Once things had calmed down I planned on leaving and going to him. He was going to make me his apprentice. He's getting older, you know, he wanted someone to fill his shoes when he was gone. I learned so much, Nick," she said, smiling, though it wasn't a pleasant smile.

She was brainwashed, he realized. Whatever had happened to her in that basement… de Killer had gotten inside of her head. Convinced her to go to him, to learn his ways. It was strange. Phoenix had been a defense lawyer whose clients were all innocent. Even if he wasn't in that line of work anymore, he still believed that people guilty of crimes deserved to be punished. And yet here was Maya, a would-be assassin, pressing a knife to his throat, and all he could think about was how relieved he was to know she was alive.

"Then why did you come back?" he asked. "Why would you risk yourself by coming here?"

She tilted her head, the knife at his throat digging in ever so slightly. It was sharp, and he could feel a bead of blood beginning to dribble down his neck. "It was my test," she said.

"Your test?"

She nodded. "De Killer wanted me to kill you, to prove my loyalty to him." She leaned forward slightly. "I didn't mean to fall in love with you, you know. I didn't plan on that. But he knew anyway. That's why he's given me this assignment. To kill the man I loved… that would truly prove my loyalty."

Phoenix took a breath. "Are you going to do it, then?"

She stared at him. "I want to."

He closed his eyes. "No one can hurt me the way you can, Maya. The way you did when you left. So do it, if it'll make you happy. I have nothing left to live for now anyway, and in a way, I'm glad it's you."

He could have sworn he saw her eyes soften ever so slightly, but it was gone as quick as it came. She leaned forward again, pressing the knife harder into his throat. One slice would be all it took to open his neck up.

She took a deep breath, and he closed his eyes to think about how strange life was. Who would have thought the woman he loved, only for her to disappear for two years, would appear again in order to kill him.

He waited for the pain to come, for the spurt of blood, but it never did. Instead Maya lowered the knife, and when he opened his eyes she had her head down.

"I can't do it," she whispered. She looked up at him then, and he was surprised to find she was crying. "Nick… I can't do it. I still love you…"

She dropped the knife, the sound of it clattering on the ground seemed so loud in the quiet darkness of the alleyway. Her hand instead came up to clutch his shirt.

He reached out to grip her wrist. "Maya. Let me help you. Don't go back to him. You can be safe now."

She shook her head. "No, Nick. It's too late for me. I… I've already killed people," she said, so quietly he almost didn't hear her despite how close they were standing. "You can't defend me anymore. I'm a killer for real now."

He shook his head. "No… I refuse to believe you wanted to do any of this. De Killer brainwashed you… the police will understand if you go to them for help."

"I can't, Nick. I knew what I was doing when I killed those people. It's too late for me, but not for you. Leave the city. Go somewhere else, I can tell him that I couldn't find you, that you were gone already. Please, Nick. You won't be safe if you don't go."

"Maya…"

"Please."

He reached forward to caress her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "I still love you," he murmured. "I never stopped. Two years have passed and not a day went by that I didn't think about you. I always wondered why you left, if you were safe and alive…"

She bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, Nick. I wasn't strong enough to resist him."

She moved to pull away, but he reached forward to grip her wrist and pull her back towards him.

"At least let me say goodbye properly this time," he said.

Maya looked up at him, her eyes darting back and forth between his. He leaned forward, bringing one hand up to push a lock of her short hair behind her ear, and tentatively brought his lips to hers.

He closed his eyes as her lips meshed with his. It was like no time had passed at all. He could almost imagine it was two years ago and they were at his apartment, or in the office, sharing a kiss before getting to work or before going to bed. None of the other women he'd been with over the past two years had ever come anywhere close to how he felt for Maya. How he still felt for her.

She brought her arms up to wrap around his neck, standing on her toes to deepen the kiss, the fingers of one hand threading into his hair and the others curling against his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both quiet. Maya's hands rested on his shoulders as their foreheads touched, neither of them wanting to break the quiet calm they both felt.

Phoenix swallowed. It was time to let her go. If it was what she really wanted, he would do it, and he would never tell anyone he'd seen her. "I'll always love you, Maya," he said, brushing his nose against hers. "I'll do what you said. I'll leave."

She let out a shaky breath. "Thank you, Nick." She opened her eyes to gaze up at him. "I'll always love you too, you know. I'll never forget you or everything you did for me."

He nodded, and finally Maya took a step back, removing her hands from his shoulders. "Go tonight," she said.

He nodded again. "I will."

"And I know it'll be hard, but try not to contact any of your friends here. De Killer… he'll find out where you are if you do."

"Okay."

She bit her lip as tears welled in her eyes again. "I'm going now. Love you, Nick."

"Love you, too."

With that she bent to pick up her knife and slid it back into a holster around her thigh that he hadn't noticed before, and turned to walk away. He stayed where he was, watching her back fade into the darkness as she left the alleyway.

He stayed there for a while, back against the wall, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. He felt like crying, but couldn't.

After a few minutes had passed, he pushed himself off the wall and began to walk home. He would gather up any necessary items and get on the first bus to the next city over. He'd have to wing it from there.

He had no idea where he was going to go or how he was going to afford it, but he knew Maya would be in danger if de Killer found out she had found him but hadn't killed him. And even if she was now a trained assassin who had admitted to him that she'd killed people, the last thing he wanted was to put her in danger.

After all, he was willing to forgive her for anything. He would always love her, even knowing what she was.