trace (vestiges)

If he could have any superpower, he would choose the ability to become invisible; or, perhaps the ability to teleport would be more to his liking. The Steel Samurai's skill in speedy escapes would be ideal as well at this juncture, he thinks.

Anything, realistically, would be better than having to suffer this smug, contented scrutiny from Maya Fey.

Her chin sits comfortably in her cupped hands, her smile absolutely infallible. "So… Nick, huh?" she murmurs, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

Instantly, he groans, massaging his temple. He had meant dinner to be an intimate affair between him and Phoenix; how in the world had Maya come into the picture?!

I shouldn't have let him give her my address, he thinks bitterly as he watches her eyes finally leaving him, roving around his dining table with completely earnest eagerness. She is captivated by each thing she sees, her face lighting up constantly as she notes new details about his home; what she is so engaged by, he does not know, nor does he truly want to find out. He can already feel a headache coming on.

And yet, he cannot deny that he needs to play nice as thinks back to the resolution he had quietly made for himself that morning (had it only been that morning? God, it feels like a lifetime earlier for Miles) to befriend Maya Fey. He knows that Phoenix cannot imagine a life without this young woman, so she is a fixture that is truly here to stay. So, while Phoenix picks up their dinner from the delivery man outside, he remains here with Maya, waiting for her to cause havoc- or worse, to mock him for his affections towards Phoenix Wright.

Clearly, she has neither in mind. "So you and Nick are finally together, right, Mr. Edgeworth?"

He hates how easily those words cause him to flush, his face heating up unbearably, his ears burning. "I- I suppose so, yes," he says stiffly, sipping his tea. "Will that be an issue for you?"

"Oh, heck no!" To Miles' absolute surprise, she cheers at his words, clapping her hands delightedly. "Oh my god, I cannot believe Nick finally got the courage to confess! Do you have any idea how long he's wanted to ask you on a date?!" Lowering her voice, she says suggestively, "Did you two have fun yesterday at dinner?"

A gear in his brain seems to stop functioning at that thought- whether it is a defense mechanism to avoid acknowledging the fact that she is most certainly old enough to understand what the two men had done that night, he'll never know. He's… wanted to ask me out for a long time? And she's known about it? In hindsight, it makes sense considering how it was her who had spurred Phoenix and Miles to go for dinner the night before, but the idea that she has been complicit in joining the tumultuous feelings sparked between the two men is baffling. "So," he begins clumsily, "you've known all along, is that it?"

She snorts, waving a hand dismissively at him. He blinks at this shift in her manner, for he remembers her being utterly uncomfortable with him ever since their first meeting. To see this level of ease and comfort in her, this level of camaraderie, is strange, unknown. "Of course I've known, I was the one who told him about it!" she laughs, leaning her elbows upon the table to move closer to him in a decidedly unladylike fashion. Her voice drops to a stage-whisper as she says, "You're welcome, by the way! Miles- I can call you that, right?" When he splutters at the sudden use of his name, she simply winks at him, carrying on freely, "Miles, I've been teasing him about it since we finished up the DL-6 case, you know."

This news is absolutely stunning. How long has it been since Phoenix had defended him in court? It feels like it had happened decades earlier, with all of the sudden changes in their relationship as of late. "I- I didn't realize," he replies at last. "Did he tell you about his… feelings… back then?"

"Pfft. No. As if Nick knows how to tell anything apart. I'm amazed he doesn't lose his attorney's badge more often, he's so scatterbrained!"

Miles flushes at those words, but doesn't say a word.

She continues, completely unaware of his sudden embarrassment, "No, you should've seen him after we finished the case!" Her eyes soften as she plops back down in her seat, swinging her legs childishly. Miles watches the shift in her demeanor, this immediate gentleness which overwhelms her aura, in wonder; to think that this girl is actually the same age as Franziska is unbelievable. Gently, she murmurs, "He cried, you know. I think he was so scared he wouldn't be able to save you that he just kept on going throughout that entire case without even sleeping, but when we came back to the office after dinner with everyone, he just sat on the couch and cried." Her smile wobbles a bit, and Miles realizes in horror that her eyes are misting over with tears of her own. "I've… never seen him do that, y'know? So I kept bugging him about it, and finally he just told me he was scared to lose you again, and it all made sense."

Slowly, Miles exhales, feeling the tension and discomfort which has filled his shoulders thanks to her sudden arrival at his home finally ease away. "…Thank you, Miss Fey-"

"Maya," she cuts in. Her eyes shine, glassy with emotion and joy. "You're Miles- I'm Maya. Okay?"

Despite all of his earlier trepidation, he relaxes in his chair. It is easy to smile back at this girl, he finds. His heart feels lighter than before, although his head still swims with the knowledge that Phoenix had been so caught up in his case that he had wept after the trial was done. "…Alright, Maya."

Just then, the front door clicks open, Phoenix's irritated voice calling, "Maya Fey, how many damn burgers did you order-"

"Enough for leftovers!" she immediately cries, perking up excitedly.

"If you're going to abuse my wallet, can't you buy something healthy for once?" he groans back, the sounds of him shuffling to get his shoes off in the foyer filling the air.

Miles raises his brows in wry amusement as Maya leaps to her feet, running across the spacious house to reach Phoenix. "But it takes so much more salad to fill you up than it does junk food! You should be proud of me for economizing."

"'Economizing' is a pretty big word for you. What the heck have you been watching?"

"I'm not dumb, okay! But if you really wanna know, the new Pink Princess episode was about them taking down a corrupt businessman, so-"

Miles laughs. That is all he can do as he listens to them bicker and whine at one another with a liveliness and love that he himself has never experienced; and as the duo walks into his dining room with paper bags in hand, still pushing each other gently and teasing one another, he cannot help but smile while he gets up to help them distribute the food. He does not enjoy fast food, but he needs to get used to it, he supposes; now that Maya is more comfortable with him, he has a feeling he shall be buying it a lot more in the future.

At first, the idea fills him with slight dread. However, when he teases Maya for her messy habits over dinner, then informs her that he, too, had caught the newest Pink Princess episode, much to her delight, Miles catches sight of pure affection and gratitude shining in Phoenix's eyes. With that confirmation, Miles knows that he doesn't really mind the whirlwind which is Maya Fey.