Pairing: Phoenix/Maya
Prompt: Oh, my God, I thought you were going to die. Please don't ever scare me like that again.
Word Count: 1,639


"This is the last time something like this is going to happen. I swear it right here and now. The last time. If I have to take her somewhere, just leave everything and go somewhere with her to keep her safe, then I will."

Larry looked over at his friend worriedly. Phoenix was sat on the red leather couch in his law office, his head in his hands as he mumbled to himself.

"Nick, buddy, calm down—"

"How can I calm down, Larry?!" Phoenix snapped, looking up at him. "How can I when someone has her again? When I know for a fact that she's been hurt?"

Larry winced at the memory of the phone call they'd gotten not long ago, before Edgeworth and Gumshoe had run off with the co-ordinates to Maya's location, hoping beyond hope the kidnapper didn't have sense enough to move locations after phoning. It had been Maya, crying, pleading for them to help her, and then a scream as the line went dead. It was chilling.

"She could even be dead, for all I know," Phoenix said, putting his head back in his hands.

Larry sat down beside him on the couch. He wasn't that good at cheering people up, and this situation was far out of his comfort zone. "Edgey is doing everything he can to get her back—"

"He's not doing enough," Phoenix snapped again. "And I should be helping. Maya is… she's my… damn it, I don't even know what she is to me anymore, but I care about her more than anyone else in the world. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her…"

Larry stared as Phoenix put his face in his hands to attempt hiding the fact that he was crying. It was all too much for him; the emotions, not being able to help, and what Larry thought were possibly his confusing feelings for his friend. Phoenix never outright stated that he was in love with Maya, but 'caring about her more than anyone else in the world' seemed pretty close to love, in Larry's opinion.

Larry put a hand on Phoenix's shoulder, trying his best to comfort him. "Nick… Edgey didn't want me to tell you this, but there's a reason he wouldn't let you help."

Phoenix glanced at him. "Why? Doesn't he realize how much I care about her?"

"Of course he does. That's the reason you couldn't help… He said he was scared what you would do if something happened to her and you found the guy who did it… He said he wanted to believe you'd never purposely hurt another human being, even someone who deserves it, but that when it came to Maya he just couldn't be sure. He said, and I quote, 'Wright throws out all logic when it comes to Maya Fey'. That's why he told me to stay here with you."

Phoenix swallowed hard, blinking back more tears. He put his face in his hands yet again. "He's right," he said. "Even I don't know how I'd react. Maya… she's the sweetest girl, Larry. And she's funny, and charming, and always so optimistic, I don't know how she does it. She's doesn't deserve any of this."

"I know she doesn't. I'm her friend too, remember?"

Phoenix laughed half heartedly. "Yeah. But you don't really know her. Not like I do."

Larry looked down at the floor. Phoenix was right, after all. At one time he would have considered himself Phoenix's best friend, but that place had clearly been taken by Maya. Not that Larry blamed his friend for that. When two people spent as much time together as Phoenix and Maya did, it only made sense they would become such close friends.

"That's true," Larry said. "I guess I'm not in love with her, either."

Phoenix's head snapped up. "What?"

Larry looked at him. "Come on, Nick. You have feelings for her, it's obvious."

"No, I don't… she's just my friend…"

Larry frowned at him. "Really? You just said you care about her more than anyone else in the world. If that's not love, then what is?"

"I-I don't know…"

Larry reached over to squeeze his shoulder again. "It's okay, Nick. She's going to be okay, and when she gets back you should tell her how you feel."

Phoenix only nodded meekly, putting his face back in his hands. At least it seemed like he'd calmed down a little bit, and Larry congratulated himself on making his friend feel a little better.

They both jumped when Larry's phone began to ring on the table. Larry made a swipe for it before Phoenix could grab it. "Hello?"

"Larry, it's Edgeworth."

"I know, I have Caller I.D." He glanced towards Phoenix, who was staring at him. "What's going on?"

"We found her," Edgeworth said. "She's on her way to the hospital now. She's in rough shape, but she'll live."

Larry breathed a sigh of relief. "And the guy?"

"He got away."

"Oh."

"But the important thing is, Maya is safe now. You can tell Wright. Drive him to the hospital too, I'm sure he'll want to see her as soon as possible."

"Yeah, of course. Thanks Edgeworth."

At the mention of Edgeworth's name, Phoenix immediately perked up. "Let me talk to him!"

Larry hung up before Phoenix could grab the phone from him. "Nick, calm down."

"Maya… Is Maya okay?"

"She's okay," Larry said. "She's on her way to the hospital now."

"We have to go," Phoenix said, already standing and looking for his jacket. "Please, Larry. Drive me."

"I'm on it. Let's go."

They made it to the hospital in record time, and for once Phoenix didn't complain about the speed Larry was going. In fact Larry had barely managed to put the car in park before Phoenix was flinging open the door and running inside the hospital. Larry followed behind him, feeling for once like the responsible friend who had to make sure no one else got into trouble. Phoenix could be intense when things like this happened, and he didn't want some poor nurse or receptionist to bear the brunt of Phoenix's temper if they didn't tell him what he wanted to know right away.

By the time he made it inside Phoenix had already spoken to the nurse at the front counter and was heading down a hall towards where Larry assumed Maya's room would be. He made an 'I'm with him' gesture and followed.

Maya's room wasn't very far. She was on the first floor and luckily for her, her injuries—despite looking rough—weren't actually life threatening. She'd already been through emergency, had x-rays and any other necessary tests done, and had been given stitches along her arm where a knife had sliced her. When they found her room she was resting inside, tired but awake.

Phoenix didn't even knock, and she looked up when he entered the room. Larry saw her eyes widen in surprise at how quickly they'd come.

"Nick…" she said, her voice a little hoarse. "You're here."

"Of course I'm here."

With that, he bent down to hug her. "I thought you were going to die. Please don't ever scare me like that again."

"Ow, ow, ow, Nick, you're hurting me…"

Phoenix pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm just so glad you're okay."

Maya smiled tiredly. "Me too. I was scared, Nick," she said, tearing up.

"I know." Phoenix took her hand in his, holding it gently this time to make sure he didn't hurt her again. "But you're safe now."

Maya smiled, and finally her eyes turned to Larry. "Hey Larry."

He smiled. "Hi. I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah. Edgeworth and Gumshoe were pretty amazing; they bust into that room like a two man SWAT team." She laughed before wincing. "It's funny because Mr. Edgeworth isn't even a cop, but he looked pretty awesome." She looked down for a minute, thinking before she spoke again. Then she looked back up to Phoenix. "Why didn't you come, Nick? I thought for sure you'd be the one to burst in there and save me."

"I wanted to, Maya—"

"Edgey wouldn't let him," Larry explained. "He was afraid Nick would kill the guy who hurt you."

"I'm sorry, Maya. I wanted to be there," Phoenix said.

Maya gripped his hand a bit tighter. "It's okay. I guess Mr. Edgeworth had a point. You can be scary when you get mad."

They went quiet, and Larry watched as Phoenix and Maya stared at each other. Words weren't needed between them, he realized. All they had to do was hold hands and look into each other's eyes and it was like they both knew what the other was feeling.

He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like a third wheel. "I should go. You two probably want to be alone."

"It's alright, Larry," Maya protested. "You can stay."

He held up his hands. "Nah. I think you guys need to talk. Right, Nick?"

Maya looked to Phoenix curiously, and he nodded. "Yeah… I'd like to talk."

"I'll come visit you again later, Maya," Larry said. "I'll bring flowers."

"They'd better be really pretty!" Maya called after him as he left the room. As he closed the door he took one more glance inside and found himself a little bit envious of the way they were looking at each other. He'd had plenty of girlfriends in his life, but none that looked at him the way Maya looked at Phoenix.

He smiled as he closed the door. Well, Nick deserved someone like her, so long as he worked up enough courage to tell her how he felt. Larry had faith in him.

This would hopefully be the last close call Maya would have before knowing how Phoenix really felt about her.