A/N: Whew, well! This is so long compared to the other two chapters! I had to write something for Halloween though, because they totally celebrate that in Japanifornia.
Enjoy!
October 31st, 2028, 6:00 PM
Wright Anything Agency
"Hey. Maya. Look."
Maya's hand slipped, and a splotch of the black nail polish she was applying ended up on the surface of the coffee table instead of on her fingernail. She scrunched her eyebrows together in annoyance and turned to the voice.
"Darn it, Nick! Look what you made me-" The sight of her boyfriend standing in the doorway caught her off guard, making her stop her sentence in its tracks. Looking at his new choice of clothing, any annoyance she felt at messing up her nails vanished, and a loud laugh escaped her mouth instead.
Phoenix stepped into the room, crossing his arms and tapping his finger on one arm, his nose in the air in an almost snooty manner. She grinned as he switched poses, into a shrug and a head shake, then tapped the side of his head with a finger.
"This is what you're wearing to the Halloween party?" she said, still trying to stifle her laughter. "How did you learn to imitate him so well? Have you been practicing?" Phoenix nodded, clearly proud of himself for this idea. He didn't even want to dress up for the police department's annual Halloween party, but with Maya's prodding he finally agreed he would think of something. When he finally did say that he had a costume idea in mind, he refused to tell her what it was, no matter how much she begged.
She had to admit she was impressed. He was dressed in an almost perfect copy of Miles Edgeworth's famous black, white, and red garb. The blue waistcoat and suit Phoenix normally wore were replaced with the black and red versions of Edgeworth's clothing, cravat included. He was even wearing glasses, which Maya found incredibly attractive for some reason. She filed that thought away for future reference.
He grinned. "Pretty good, right?" He cleared his throat and spoke again in a deeper and more gruff sounding voice. "Mr. Wright, please save your shenanigans for after the trial! We all know you're just bluffing!"
Maya couldn't contain her laughter. "Where did you get all of this stuff?" she asked between giggles. "He's going to be so mad at you."
"That's the point. And would you believe you can pretty much buy Edgeworth's entire wardrobe at thrift shops? This cravat thing is itchy though," he said, scratching at his neck. "Give me a tie over this any day. I can't believe he insists on wearing this all the time." Maya put a finger to her chin as he spoke. As good as the costume was, there was something off about it. Phoenix noticed her pondering and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
"Hmm. There's something not quite right." What was it? She let her eyes roam over the costume. Phoenix had almost every detail perfect, from the colour to the amount of buttons on the waistcoat to the length of the jacket. It wasn't until she finally reached his face again that she realized the issue. That trademark Phoenix Wright hairstyle. People would recognize that hairstyle no matter what he did with the rest of himself.
"It's your hair, Nick. You look like Edgeworth, but that hair. That is all Phoenix Wright."
"Oh, I guess you're right," he said, absently running a hand through his spikes. They were surprisingly soft and the only hair gel he used was to keep his bangs and any stray hairs in place, aside from that one pesky lock that never seemed to stay put. Otherwise, they were totally natural. "I'm not sure I can do anything about that. You know it's impossible to get my hair to go flat," he said, running a hand over his head to demonstrate that point. Any spikes he pushed down popped up again, as if gravity didn't apply to them.
"Not to mention your hair is black. Edgeworth's is that pretty grey colour…"
"Pretty? And here I was proud that I somehow don't have any greys yet, even after all the stress you've put me through over the years."
She stuck her tongue out at him, but couldn't deny it. "What about a wig?"
"No way. I wouldn't be able to get one on such short notice anyway."
"And Edgeworth never wears hats…" She got up and approached him, waving her hands around to make sure the nails she did manage to paint were already dry. Then she reached up to run her own hand through his hair. She pushed the lock of hair that fell across his face back, only for it to fall back down. Her eyes lit up, and she started threading her fingers through it again, pulling his pushed back hair down in front of his face instead. He assumed she was attempting to mimic Edgeworth's high bangs.
He stood in front of her waiting for her to finish. There was no way to get Maya to stop something once she got an idea in her head, it was better to just let her do it. When she was finished messing with his hair, he could hardly see her through the bangs she had pulled out of place and down in front of his eyes.
She took a step back and put a hand on her chin to observe for a moment before her mouth curled into a look of distaste. "No. That looks way too weird. Put it back!" she exclaimed, jumping towards him again to push his hair back out of his face.
"Maya! Stop it!" he waved her away and ran his own hand back through it, managing to fix it perfectly with one swipe. "I'll just leave it. I don't have to look exactly like Edgeworth. I think the clothes are enough. What are you, anyway? You're not even dressed yet."
"I already told you I'm going to be a witch!" She pointed to the couch where a black outfit was laid over the back of it. "I've never done anything for Halloween before because we didn't celebrate it in Kurain, and you never wanted to do anything but watch old horror movies on TV when we were younger!"
"Oh, that's why you're so excited to dress up even though you're 28 years old? You know we're not going trick-or-treating, right?"
"Yes, I'm aware! Besides… I already asked Pearly if I could go with her and Trucy, but she gave me a weird look." She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "I'll just make her share her candy with me."
Phoenix wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Aw. Do you want me to buy you some candy and a little treat bag so you don't feel like you missed out?"
She nudged him with her elbow. "Don't treat me like a little kid. I can buy my own candy and treat bag, thank you very much."
He rubbed his side and she went back to the couch to sit down again, grabbing a tissue and her bottle of nail polish remover to scrub at the now dried spot on the coffee table. Once it was clean, she went back to finishing her own nails.
Phoenix shrugged out of his Edgeworth coat and took off the cravat and glasses before sitting down beside her, jostling her in the process and again making her miss her fingernail. This time the splotch only ended up on her knuckle, and she wiped it away quickly before shooting him a glare.
He raised his hands. "Sorry. I'll sit still."
He watched amusedly as she concentrated, tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. If she was having this much trouble using her dominant right hand he couldn't wait to see how she did with her left. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she finished her left hand and held it out. It wasn't perfect, but it would do for a one night Halloween costume. She switched hands, and he watched her left hand slowly and shakily paint the nails on her right hand. He had to wonder if they would make it to the party at all at the pace she was going.
When Maya was finally finished her right hand, she blew on it and waved it around to dry. It was nowhere near as good as her left, but it would have to do. She looked over to Phoenix to show him, but he was fast asleep. She rolled her eyes. It was just like him to fall asleep at 6 PM in the evening. She decided to leave him alone for now, maybe a quick nap would make it less likely that he'd be grumpy or tired and try to drag her home early from the party. She only managed to get a few days away from Kurain Village this week, and aside from spending time with Phoenix, she was excited to see some of her old friends at this party. It was an annual thing the police department started doing a few years back, but this was the first year she was actually able to go.
She took her costume from the back of the couch and went upstairs to the bedroom to change into it. As she passed by Trucy's bedroom door, Maya heard the muffled conversation of Pearl and Trucy inside getting their own costumes ready for their night of trick-or-treating. Trucy had insisted they were both young enough (or looked young enough) still, and Pearl was excited to go. Like Maya, she never celebrated Halloween in Kurain Village.
Once in Phoenix's bedroom she slipped her Master's robes off and put her costume on instead, then went to the mirror over the dresser to apply her makeup. She rarely wore so much makeup, but for Halloween she could wear as much as she wanted without feeling overdone. Once happy with the way she looked, she made her way back downstairs. She approached the couch where Phoenix was still sleeping, and nudged his leg with her shoe to wake him.
When Phoenix opened his eyes and his gaze drifted to the woman standing in front of him, he could have sworn he was dreaming. Maya hadn't really embraced the scary aspect of Halloween like he expected her to. In fact her costume was of the much more sexy variety.
The womanly curves she had developed over the years were usually hidden beneath her flowing Master's robes, but the shiny satin fabric of the tight black dress she now wore clung to her in all the right places. It fell to about mid-thigh and the plunging neckline revealed the modest swell of her breasts. Her legs were covered with fishnet stockings that stopped just above her knees, leaving a strip of bare skin between them and the hem of her dress. She was also wearing black high heels so high he had to wonder if she would actually be taller than him once he stood up. Her silky hair was hanging freely down her back, and a pointy witch's hat was perched on her head.
She put her hands on her hips, which accentuated her curves even more. "What are you staring at? Like what you see?" she said. She was wearing bright red lipstick and dark eye makeup too. She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Nick, stop gawking. You're catching flies."
He closed his mouth and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Maya. Are you trying to torture me?"
She smiled. "Maybe."
He got up, glad to see that even with the high heels she was still a good few inches shorter than him. He wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her against him and whisked her hat off with the other hand.
"Hey! You're gonna mess up my hair!" she complained, reaching up to flatten any wild strands.
"I don't know if I'll be able to handle you dressed up like that all night," he said, leaning towards her.
She raised her hand and put a finger to his lips before he managed to kiss her. "Hey. Remember the girls are just upstairs. Besides, we're going to be late if we don't get a taxi soon. And you need to fix your costume." She stepped out of his embrace and grabbed her hat from his hand, putting it back on.
Phoenix groaned as she turned back to the coffee table where the glasses and cravat from his costume were, purposely leaning over to reach them.
"What's wrong, Mr. Nick?" a small voice said from the hallway behind him. Maya straightened up quickly, and he turned around, glad now that Maya had pulled away when she did. Pearl never missed an opportunity to gush if she saw them doing anything even remotely lovey-dovey, and she could still be pretty embarrassing, even if they really were a couple nowadays.
"Nothing, Pearls. I like your costume." She was supposed to be an angel. The white gown and homemade translucent wings sprouting from her back, along with a halo held above her head by a wire, made that obvious. She looked more like she belonged in a Christmas nativity scene than trick-or-treating on Halloween, but who was he to judge costumes? He was going as his courtroom rival after all.
"Thank you," she said, covering her face to hide her blush. She peered around him when she noticed Maya was in the room as well. Her blush got even deeper when she caught sight of her cousin. "Oh wow! Mystic Maya! You look beautiful!"
Maya brought over the pieces of Phoenix's costume and handed them over to him, then grinned. "Thanks, Pearly!"
"Oh, Mr. Nick, doesn't Mystic Maya look beautiful?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. Pearl was also fond of fishing for compliments on Maya's behalf.
Phoenix glanced over quickly as he fumbled with the cravat. Tying a neck tie was one thing, his dad taught him as a teenager and he had tons of practice, but this had taken him forever to learn and he had to concentrate to get it right. He almost wished he'd just purchased a fake one he could easily clip around his collar. "Of course," he replied dismissively. He was trying his best not to think about how hot Maya looked in that costume. How he was going to make it through the whole night with her he wasn't sure.
Pearl puffed out her cheeks in a perfect rendition of Maya's famous angry face, clearly not happy with such a half-assed answer. At one point in her life she would have been elated to have him agree with her on that, but now the bar was set higher.
He finished tying the cravat and slipped the glasses back on, catching sight of Pearl's face through them. To better convince her, he slipped his arm around Maya again. "She looks absolutely amazing." He looked down appreciatively and saw Maya's cheeks tinting pink. She drank up the compliments when they were alone, but in front of others, even someone as close to her as Pearl, she always seemed embarrassed by his attention.
Pearl nodded seriously, and he got the impression that she was silently telling him "that's better".
"Where's Trucy?" Maya asked, happy to focus the attention somewhere else again. She pointed Phoenix in the direction of the couch where the coat part of his costume was still laying. "She's not ready yet?"
"She's almost done, I think."
"Do you know what she's going as?" Phoenix asked, putting the jacket on. "She wouldn't tell me. Please tell me it's age appropriate."
"You don't trust me not to pick out a good costume, Daddy?" Trucy entered the room just in time to hear his comment. Phoenix and Maya recoiled at the sight of her. "I'm the only one here who actually tried to get into the spirit of Halloween by making my costume scary!"
Pearl knew what to expect, but the costume still made her grimace. Trucy's blouse was probably white at some point, but she had the front of it drenched in so much fake blood it was a dark red colour now. She also wore an old skirt, which she purposely ripped and tore some holes into and apparently smudged dirt all over. Her knees looked dirty and scraped too, and she replaced her regular white boots with a pair of dirty old sneakers. Across her neck was a very convincing looking gash; it was even glistening as if she really were bleeding. The rest of her visible skin she had painted a ghastly greyish colour, and the makeup on her eyes was so dark that when she closed them it almost looked like there were two empty holes in her face instead.
Phoenix was looking at his daughter in surprised horror. She caught the look, and put her hands on her hips. "I'm a murder victim," she said simply, bouncing over to Pearl. Their costumes were so intensely different that they looked almost comical standing side by side.
"Wow. Good job, Trucy," Maya said.
"Thank you!" she beamed. "You look really pretty too, Maya! You're a lucky guy, huh Daddy?"
These girls never let him miss an opportunity. "Yeah, I am."
"Oh! I need to get us some pillow cases for our candy! I'll be right back," Trucy said, running back up the stairs to the apartment. She came back with two pillow cases from the closet and handed one to Pearl. "Now we're ready!"
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Pearl gushed. "This is the first year I wasn't needed to help train the acolytes in Kurain so I can finally go with you. People are really going to just give us candy… for no reason?"
Trucy nodded excitedly. "That's the beauty of Halloween."
"Okay, girls," Phoenix interrupted. "Just make sure you're back before 11, okay?"
"Aw, Daddy," Trucy pouted. "We don't need a curfew, we're practically adults!"
"Adults don't go trick-or-treating, Truce. So be back before 11. Maya and I probably won't be back until later, but I'll still know if you were late."
Trucy waved her hand at him. "Okay, okay. You guys should get going; doesn't the party start at 7?"
Phoenix glanced at his watch. "Yeah, Maya we'd better head out. We'll probably be a little late."
"Have fun girls!" Maya said, grabbing Phoenix by the arm and dragging him out the door.
Pearl glanced at Trucy once the door had shut behind them. "Are you sure we shouldn't have told them we're going to a party later?"
Trucy looked at her like she was crazy. "Tell my dad that?! No way! Besides, we'll still be back before 11. In this neighbourhood it'll only take us an hour or two to fill these pillow cases to the brim! We can head to the party after and still be back with time to spare!"
Pearl bit at her thumb. "If you say so."
October 31st, 2028, 7:20 PM
L.A.P.D. Annual Halloween Party
The party was more like a nighttime carnival, Phoenix observed as he and Maya climbed out of the taxi in front of the hotel the police department had reserved for the event. There were no rides, but the parking lot was filled with things for the general public to do. Games were set up for the trick-or-treating children out front and there were plenty of booths selling all sorts of food. They even cleared out part of the lobby and dining area near the main entrance to set up a haunted maze that people could walk through for free. The hotel was no Gatewater Imperial, so they were given a bit more lenience with what they could do.
Only people somehow related to the police department were allowed inside the ballroom area, where tables, a stage, a bar, and more refreshments were set up, and Phoenix somehow managed to drag Maya there without her insisting on getting food outside first. The officer letting people in recognized him and let them pass without delay. Maya held onto his arm as he pushed his way through the throngs of officers mingling by the door.
"Oh! Mr. Wright! Mr. Wright!" The voice cut through the noise of the lingering people and music of the sound system. Phoenix glanced around, trying to find the source.
Maya finally pointed off to her left. "I think I see Athena over there," she shouted to be heard over the noise.
Phoenix followed her finger to the unmistakable orange ponytail bouncing up and down as Athena jumped into the air to catch their attention. She waved, so he sent a wave back and they made their way towards her. She was standing with Simon Blackquill, who looked just as bored and grumpy as ever.
"Hey Athena," he said as they approached.
"Boss! Your costume is great!" Athena said. "It's a good thing you and Mr. Edgeworth are such good friends. You're probably the only one who could get away with that. And you look awesome too, Maya!"
"Thanks, Athena!"
Phoenix nodded his thanks and glanced over his protégé. "You look… nice." If not for the cowboy hat on her head or the boots she had on he wouldn't have known what she was. She was wearing short shorts and a crop top that showed off her toned legs and stomach, and he had to resist the urge to hand her his jacket to cover up with. What was with women's costumes these days? Half the ladies there were showing more skin than at a pool party, and Athena was only a year older than Pearl for goodness' sake! He looked at Blackquill, who didn't appear to be dressed as anything. "Prosecutor Blackquill," he nodded at the other man.
"Wright-dono."
"I don't think you've met," Phoenix gestured to Maya. Talking to Blackquill was difficult, and he really wanted to see how Blackquill would handle a conversation with Maya. "Maya, this is Prosecutor Blackquill. He was the prosecutor on a lot of our cases last year. Prosecutor, meet Maya Fey."
Maya held out a hand. "Nice to meet you. What are you supposed to be dressed as anyway? Some sort of samurai? I like your ponytail." Maya was at least a foot shorter than him, but she didn't seem intimidated by him like most people were.
Blackquill gave her hand a quick shake. "Nice to meet you, Fey-dono. These are actually… my normal clothes." He looked away from her and over at Athena nervously. Athena seemed to notice something, and stomped over to grab something out of Blackquill's other hand.
"Simon! I told you, you have to wear these! This is a costume party for Halloween!" she reached up on tip toes to stick the item back on Blackquill's head.
Phoenix had to resist the urge to burst out laughing and brought his fist up to cover his smile, but Maya couldn't hold in her snort of laughter. Blackquill looked about ready to kill someone and go back to serving his old murder sentence. Athena stepped back. "He's a panda bear!" she announced. The little ears on the headband she just stuck on his head looked more like floppy dog ears to Phoenix, but at least the rest of Blackquill's monochrome coloured clothes matched the colours of a panda bear. "This was all I could get him to wear," she said. "Don't take them off again, Simon!"
Blackquill crossed his arms. "Hmph. Don't tell me what to do, Athena."
Athena stomped her foot and took him by the arm. "Let's go get drinks! Boss, Maya, have a good night. If we don't see you again tonight, I'll see you at work on Monday!"
When they were out of earshot Maya and Phoenix both burst into fits of laughter. "A panda bear!" Maya wheezed. "That's adorable."
Phoenix wiped the tears from his eyes. "I can't believe Athena managed to drag him here at all," he said. "I've never even seen him outside the courtroom. I guess it is good he's hanging out with Athena after everything they've been through, though."
Maya straightened up and dabbed at her makeup to make sure her tears hadn't ruined any of it. "What happened with them?"
"Ah, that's a very long story. I'll have to tell you later."
"Okay," she shrugged, then grinned. "Panda bear…" she said, starting a fresh wave of laughter.
"Wright, have you been hitting the bar already?" Phoenix turned around at the British sounding accent (which he was still at least 85% sure was fake) to find Miles Edgeworth standing behind him, a smirk on his face.
"Not yet," he replied, "but now that you're here I think I'll need one."
Edgeworth gave him a once over and his eyebrows practically shot into his hairline. "What on earth are you wearing, Wright?"
"Oh, do you like it…? Wait." He frowned. "What are you wearing?!"
Maya put her hands up to her head. "I should have brought my camera!" she yelled.
Even Edgeworth was in costume, but he apparently had the same idea as Phoenix, because he was dressed in a blue suit similar to the one Phoenix usually wore. Edgeworth picked at the cardboard attorney's badge attached to the lapel. "Why, I'm dressed as the most famous bluffing attorney this side of L.A."
"No way you thought of that on your own! Who gave you the idea?!"
"It was Miss Kay Faraday, who insisted I get a costume for this ridiculous party and wouldn't let me pick my own. And then she called me and said she couldn't come anyway, but not until after I'd gotten dressed up. And so here I am." Phoenix didn't know Kay personally, but he did know that she assisted Edgeworth years ago similarly to how Maya had helped him. He didn't realize they still kept in touch so much that he would even invite her to a party like this.
"Well may I just say, Mr. Edgeworth," Maya cut in, "you do cut a handsome figure in that outfit."
Phoenix narrowed his eyes at her, and Edgeworth's widened slightly as he took in the outfit Maya was wearing. He coughed awkwardly into his hand. "Thank you, Maya. You look nice as well. As for you, Wright, well, you don't pull off the cravat as well as I do."
"You know, I really do need a drink now," Phoenix said, ignoring the remark. "Do you want anything, Maya?"
"I'll go with you. I want to see what kind of food they have." She looked back at Edgeworth. "Did you want anything, Mr. Edgeworth?"
He shook his head. "No, thank you. I'm going to go find the detective. You may join us after if you'd like, there are some tables set up over there."
"Sure thing, we'll be there!" She followed Phoenix to the refreshments, and spotted the food right away. "Hey, Nick. Order me a drink. I'm gonna grab some food." They hadn't skimped on providing plenty to eat inside too. Most of it was snack food, but that didn't matter. She took a plate and started piling the food on. Cupcakes decorated as pumpkins, pumpkin pie, cookies, cheese and crackers, and a few scoops of roasted pumpkin seeds to name a few things. By the time she was done her plate was piled high, and she found Phoenix again, who was already a quarter of the way through a beer. He held onto her drink for her as they made their way to the tables Edgeworth had indicated before.
Maya gasped when she saw the table and bounded over to it, spilling some of the crackers and pumpkin seeds from her plate. Sitting around the table were people she hadn't seen in years. Beside Edgeworth sat Detective Gumshoe, and beside him was Maggey Byrde. Maya slammed the plate down at one of the empty seats and pointed across the table. "Detective Gumshoe and Maggey! I haven't seen you guys in forever!" When Edgeworth had mentioned finding the detective, Maya had assumed he meant Ema Skye, but she didn't seem to be in attendance.
"Hey, pal!" the detective cried, standing up when Maya came around the table to hug him. "You grew into a real beauty didn't you?" he said sincerely.
Maya smiled and waved her hand in an 'oh you' gesture. She went to Maggey next, who smiled and squeezed her tight. "It's great to see you again, Maya."
"I heard from Mr. Edgeworth here that you were off training! I guess you're back now, huh?" Gumshoe said, sitting back down. Phoenix approached the table and set Maya's drink down for her beside her plate, then pulled his own chair out to sit down beside Edgeworth. Gumshoe grinned. "Still hanging out with Mr. Wright, here, huh? I don't know what I expected. You two were practically inseparable back in the day."
Maya went back to her seat and sat down. "You bet!" she reached her arm over and pulled Phoenix to her by the neck. "Still are! Right, Nick?"
He nodded his agreement and Maya placed a quick kiss on his cheek, leaving a trace of her lipstick there.
"Maya, your lipstick," he complained, getting a napkin to wipe it off.
Gumshoe and Maggey watched this exchange in silence, until Gumshoe tilted his head in confusion. "You two really are the closest friends I think I've ever seen. I didn't even kiss Maggey until we'd been dating for months! Not even on the cheek! I guess that was mostly because I couldn't work up the courage, but you two have always been pretty affectionate from what I saw at all those crime scenes."
Phoenix and Maya raised their eyebrows first at each other and then to the couple across the table. "Wait, Detective. You didn't know about Maya and me? We've been in a relationship for almost two years now." Well, two years officially. The seven before that were complicated and aside from very close friends, not many people knew they had been seeing each other secretly long before Kristoph Gavin's arrest.
Gumshoe looked shocked. "I had no idea! Mr. Edgeworth, you never told me about that!"
Edgeworth shrugged. He was one of the few people who did know about Phoenix and Maya's escapades during the seven years Phoenix had been disbarred, but it wasn't his place to talk about his friend's complicated relationship, and at the time it was dangerous for too many people to know anyway. "You never asked."
"Well, I always knew you two would end up together anyway," Gumshoe said, nodding to himself. "It was pretty obvious to everyone."
"Never mind us," Maya interrupted through a mouthful of pumpkin seeds. "What's this about you and Maggey?! We had no idea you guys got together!"
"Actually, I did know about that," Phoenix told her.
She smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Why didn't you ever tell me?!"
He shrugged and repeated Edgeworth's line. "You never asked."
Maggey smiled. "It's been quite a few years for us now. We dated for a few years and then got married."
"I finally managed to work up the nerve to ask her," Gumshoe explained. "Best decision I've ever made!"
"That's so great," Maya said. "Oh, and I love your costumes, by the way."
"Thanks!" Gumshoe said. "I'm Frankenstein, and Maggey is the Bride of Frankenstein, of course."
Edgeworth cleared his throat. "Actually, Detective, you are Frankenstein's monster. Doctor Frankenstein was the scientist that created the monster."
"Oh, right, sorry, sir."
Maya waved her hand. "Well, you both look awesome! Maggey, what do you do for work nowadays?" She remembered Maggey was usually between jobs. Thanks to her terrible luck, she was always being fired from them.
"Technically, nothing," she said.
"Because she actually has the hardest job in the world," Gumshoe cut in. "Taking care of our little tyke!"
"What?!" Maya cried. "You have kids?!"
"One," Maggey said. "A boy. He's five now. I decided to be a stay-at-home mom after having him, but I may go back into the workforce once he's been in school a bit longer. My luck isn't nearly as terrible as it used to be."
"Aaw. I'll have to meet him someday!"
"Any time you want," Maggey agreed. "You and Mr. Wright don't have any kids yet, do you?"
"Not aside from Nick's adopted daughter, Trucy. And I was my cousin Pearly's legal guardian for almost ten years, before she turned eighteen. But no kids of our own yet, no."
Maggey nodded. "Well, it's a lot of work, let me tell you."
Phoenix began to tune out the conversation, turning instead to Edgeworth. "Anyone else coming that you know of? Maya was looking forward to seeing everyone she hasn't seen in a while."
"Who else is there besides the Detective?" Edgeworth asked, watching as Phoenix waved one of the servers over to the table to order another drink.
Phoenix shrugged after the man had walked away. "Ema Skye?"
"Maya just saw Ema last month during the Sprocket case," Edgeworth pointed out. "But in case you're curious, Ema is once again assisting Prosecutor Sahdmadhi in Khura'in, so she won't be here tonight. It seems he's taken quite a shine to her."
"What about Miss von Karma?" Phoenix asked. "Even I haven't seen her in ages. What's she up to these days?"
"Franziska is busy prosecuting overseas. Unfortunately, I don't think she'll be joining us tonight either, unless she plans to charter a jet to fly all the way here just to attend this poor excuse of a party."
"That's too bad. But at least Maya got to see Gumshoe and Maggey again."
"Yes, and Mrs. Gumshoe is already filling her head with the thought of babies. Is the world really ready for a bunch of spiky-haired offspring of yours running around? Maybe they'll be lucky and take after Maya's looks more than yours though," Edgeworth said, but he was smiling and Phoenix knew he was only teasing, in his own weird way.
The thought of having more kids didn't bother Phoenix, but he didn't think it was in his future anytime soon. "I think we have our hands full with Trucy and Pearl right now. Even teenagers can be troublesome."
Edgeworth didn't look convinced. "I think you and Maya have the most well behaved teenagers in the world, Wright. In all the years I've known them, Trucy and Pearl have never once been in any sort of trouble that was any fault of their own. I don't believe you know how lucky you are. I remember teenaged Franziska! She may have been a prosecutor at age thirteen but when she wasn't in the courtroom she was like any other teenaged girl. You met her when she was 18; imagine that but ten times worse as a younger teenager."
Phoenix laughed. "Maybe you're right; I guess we are pretty lucky that way. Trucy took care of me more than I did her when she was younger, not that that was very responsible of me at the time, but she's always been wise beyond her years." The server from before brought Phoenix his drink and he took a sip of it.
Edgeworth grimaced. "How can you drink that vile stuff? And not even in a glass?"
"Not all of us can afford fancy schmancy wine. You should get one, maybe it'll loosen you up a bit."
"No, that is quite alright. Besides, I have to drive home later."
A voice came over the loud speakers, interrupting their conversation. "Please make sure to get your couple's costume contest nominees in before 10 PM! We will be announcing the winners at this time! Thank you."
Maya moaned. "Aw, Nick! We should've come in matching costumes. Steel Samurai and Pink Princess would've been perfect!"
Phoenix thanked his lucky stars that Maya hadn't known about the contest beforehand. "Too bad. Maybe next year."
"Yeah, I guess so." He managed to catch the playful glint in her eyes before she stood up from the table. "I'll be right back."
"Okay…" He didn't like that look. She was up to something. He hadn't planned on getting well and truly drunk tonight, but things always seemed a lot more amusing when he was three sheets to the wind, even if it was at his own expense. He was already feeling a buzz from the one he already had, he was such a lightweight.
"What do you think she's doing, anyway?" Phoenix asked Edgeworth.
Gumshoe piped up from across the table instead. "I'd say getting more food, seeing as she already finished off the plate she had."
Phoenix looked at Maya's empty plate, which sure enough had naught but crumbs left on it. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly she could inhale her food, and he figured Gumshoe was probably right. The casual conversation around the table continued until Maya made her way back. She didn't have more food.
"Where did you go?" Phoenix asked.
"Ladies room…" she said, smiling sweetly at him. She took note of his drink, now almost gone as well. "Nick, let's go to that haunted house maze thing before you're too drunk to walk through it."
"This is only my second drink! …But a haunted house? Really?"
She started pulling on his arm. "Yes, really. They were letting little kids into it, it can't be that bad! Stop being such a scaredy cat. Mr. Edgeworth, will you come with us?"
Edgeworth looked a little surprised at being invited, but shrugged. "If you wish."
"What about you guys?" Maya said, looking across at Gumshoe and Maggey.
Maggey shook her head. "I think we're okay. We'll save the table."
"Suit yourselves. We'll be back soon." Maya gave Phoenix's arm another yank and he reluctantly dragged himself out of his seat. Edgeworth got up as well, and they made their way out of the ballroom and into the main lobby. They found the entrance to the maze, and the officer allowing people inside stopped them before they entered.
"Please hold hands."
"What? It can't be that scary inside! We're adults!" Phoenix protested.
The officer frowned and repeated himself. "Hold. Hands."
Maya grabbed Phoenix's left hand in her right and Edgeworth's right in her left, then held them up. "Like this?"
The officer nodded. "Perfect. It's very dark inside so make sure you keep hold of each other. We've set up some temporary walls inside so it is a real maze. There's nothing to guide you except some glow-in-the-dark tape on the floor, which branches off in different directions. If you make it through within ten minutes, you'll get a prize."
Perfect. Making it a competition was a sure fire way to get Maya to take something way too seriously, especially if there was a prize involved. She squeezed both of her companions' hands. "Did you guys hear that? I want that prize."
Phoenix snorted. "It's probably just a Blue Badger stuffed animal or something, Maya. You already have three!"
"Hush, Nick!"
Edgeworth stayed quiet. He always found it rather amusing to watch Phoenix attempt to manage his girlfriend, even though it was clear who actually wore the pants in their relationship, and always had.
The officer held open the dark curtain that kept the light from the lobby from entering the maze. "You can head in now."
Phoenix was in front of their little line, so he headed in first, wishing he wasn't. He would be the first one to get scared and he had no one to hide behind. Maya and Edgeworth followed him. Once the curtain was closed again it was pitch black inside. All three looked down at the floor to find the tape and began walking along it. There was loud music and sound effects blaring inside, making it impossible to hear each other if they spoke.
They followed the tape around the first corner, where a flashing strobe light lit the hallway they were standing in for a quick second, just long enough for them to get a look at the fake blood spattered walls, and what seemed to be severed heads and other body parts hanging from the ceiling. Phoenix also caught a glimpse of something standing at the end of the hallway. Maya squeezed his hand a bit harder as he continued moving forward. Knowing they were approaching something at the end of the hallway that would probably jump out at them made the anticipation worse.
The strobe light flashed again, but the figure was gone. When they reached the end, the tape on the floor branched off in two different directions. Maya tugged on Phoenix's hand to indicate she wanted him to go left.
The next hallway was lit up with coloured bulbs that bathed everything in dim red light. They walked past a makeshift jail cell where an actor in a prison jumpsuit and mask jumped at them from the shadows and rattled the bars of the cage. They all flinched back and picked up the pace, eager to get away from him. At the end of that area Maya again tugged Phoenix's hand, this time going right, into another pitch black hallway.
The sound effects seemed to be quieter here, and they could hear the distinct sound of footsteps, but it was impossible to tell whether or not they were coming from in front of or behind them, so they continued bravely forward. The next time the strobe light flashed, Maya was met with the grinning face of a clown. It somehow bypassed Phoenix in the wide hallway and was standing right beside her instead. It roared and then reached for her just as the lights went out again.
She let out a shriek when she felt a hand on her shoulder and despite herself, wrenched her hands from Phoenix and Edgeworth's grasp to shrug out from under it. She slammed into Phoenix's back when she tried to run forward, who had stopped to stand still after Maya let go of him.
"IT TOUCHED ME!" she yelled loud enough for them all to hear her over the now loud again sound effects.
"Maya, you should take my hand again, it's too dark!" Edgeworth was heard yelling over the noise, the first words he'd spoken since entering. Instead he felt something touch him as well, yanking on the tail end of his jacket. He instinctively moved forward to get away, himself now running into Phoenix's back, who was still standing stock still, not sure where Maya or Edgeworth were in the dark. Maya had seemingly disappeared from between them somehow. Edgeworth pushed on Phoenix's back to get him moving again, hoping Maya had just followed the tape out of the maze ahead of them in her fear.
Phoenix felt the hands press into him from behind and assumed that Maya had found him again and was now in a hurry to get out. It was impossible to say anything loud enough for anyone to hear and too dark to see, so he had to hope Edgeworth was still behind her. If he wasn't, he'd have to find his own way out. He started forward again, following the tape in the direction he thought was correct. There were a few other areas to pass through where they had to walk by more actors reaching for them and clawing at them, but luckily there were no other roaming actors. They made a few wrong turns, ending up at dead ends where fake bodies were strewn in various positions, only visible when the strobe lights flashed and only for a few seconds.
By the time they made it out Phoenix was sure they lost the ten minutes allotted to win the prize. He blinked as he emerged from behind another curtain back into the light of the lobby. Maya was leaning against the hotel desk and chatting to a female officer in a skin tight black jumpsuit. The ears on her head and tail pinned to her behind indicated she was supposed to be a cat, but for some reason she still had her police badge pinned to her chest. Both Maya and the officer looked over when they saw the two men emerge.
"Oh, you guys finally made it out! Aw, don't you two look cute," Maya said.
Phoenix looked over his shoulder to see Edgeworth slowly raising himself up to his full height as he unfisted his hands from the back of Phoenix's jacket. Now that he was no longer inside the maze he didn't need to use Phoenix as his shield. Phoenix only stared at him open mouthed.
"You were the one holding onto me that whole time, Edgeworth?!"
Edgeworth cleared his throat, trying his best not to look too embarrassed. "Yes, well… I didn't want you to get lost by yourself after Maya ran away."
"You're both blushing," Maya pointed out. The officer she was with was grinning ear to ear. "And by the way, I did not run away. I just wanted to win the prize and Nick was going too slow, so I went ahead."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? I'm pretty sure you screamed in my ear that something touched you and then bolted."
Maya put a finger to her chin. "Hm, no, I don't think so. You must have misheard me over the sound effects."
Phoenix looked at Edgeworth, who shrugged. "Well, did you at least get the prize?"
Maya reached behind the desk and produced her prize. "I did!"
"Wow, a pink Blue Badger."
"It's just the Pink Badger," she said.
"Right. You don't already have that one, do you?"
"Nope!"
"How did you get out here so fast?" Edgeworth asked. "Thanks to Wright we made quite a few wrong turns."
"Aside from the fact that you were running so fast because you were so scared," Phoenix said, bumping her playfully with his shoulder.
She stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to Edgeworth. "I'm glad you asked, Mr. Edgeworth! The lobby and dining area are just one big room, and the walls inside are only temporary so I knew which way the exit was. I just kept going the way I thought was right."
"So basically you had no strategy and just guessed based on how you thought the lobby was laid out, and got lucky?"
"Well, she did make it out well before we did, Wright," Edgeworth said. "We can hardly criticize how she did it."
Maya beamed. "Yeah, Nick."
"How about we head back to the ballroom?" Edgeworth suggested. "They'll be announcing the costume contest winners soon."
"Oh yeah! We have to see that!" Maya exclaimed. She said goodbye to her officer friend and they made their way back inside.
"Did you have fun?" Maggey asked as the three took their seats again.
Maya plopped her Pink Badger in the middle of the table. "Yes we did! Although Nick and Mr. Edgeworth took some extra time to bond in there without me."
"Because you got scared and ran ahead," Phoenix said. His drink from before was still there and although it wasn't as cold now, he didn't want to waste it, and he downed what was left in one gulp.
Maggey giggled, and Gumshoe grinned. "Hey, that's okay, pal," he said to Maya. "You couldn't drag me through one of those haunted things anyway, at least you were brave enough to go in in the first place."
"I can deal with real spirits just fine," Maya said. "I was just surprised because it was dark one minute and the next there was some creepy clown standing beside me."
"Clown? I'm really glad I didn't go with you now," Maggey said.
Maya nodded and turned to Phoenix. "Hey, Nick, what time is it?" Before waiting for his reply she reached for his sleeve and pulled it up herself to look at his watch. "Forty-five minutes until the costume contest! Will you come outside with me to get food until then?"
"There's food in here."
She pursed her lips. "But it's just snack stuff. They have really yummy things outside like deep fried apple slices, and apple fritters, and apple cider, and candy apples-"
"A lot of apples, I get it." He sighed. "Okay, let's go."
"Do you guys need anything?" Maya asked the table, always eager to have Phoenix foot the bill for their friends.
"Could you get me one of those candy apples you were talking about?" Gumshoe said.
"And I'll take a bag of caramel corn if they have any," Maggey put in.
"Sure thing!" She looked at Edgeworth, who shook his head. "We'll be back in time for the contest."
Together they went back through the main lobby and outside into the parking lot. There were still lots of kids in costumes running around with their parents and playing games, and a few of the food booths had long line ups.
"Hey Maya, why are you so excited for the costume contest anyway?" Phoenix asked as they made their way towards a booth where a few attendants were slicing apples, dipping them in some sort of batter, and dropping them into boiling oil for a few seconds.
"No reason," she said as they got in line. "It's kind of chilly out now, isn't it?"
He noted the quick change of subject, but didn't bother pressing her. "Want my jacket?"
"Won't you be cold?"
"I have a long-sleeved shirt and pants on. You have… barely anything on," he snickered.
"Haha. Okay, fine, give me your jacket. You won't be able to look at all of this anymore though."
"That's okay. It'll also keep other men's wandering eyes off of you," he said, looking around like he was trying to spot these other men.
She lowered her voice, getting closer to him so the people walking around them wouldn't overhear. "You're the only one who gets the privilege of seeing and touching what's underneath though, so don't worry…"
"Don't start talking like that out here, Maya," he said, looking above her instead of down at the view she was giving him down the front of her dress. "You really are torturing me." He stepped back and took off his jacket, helping her into it quickly. It wasn't his regular suit jacket so it was much longer, the hem falling almost to her knees.
"Mmm warm." She wrapped it around her, covering up her assets, thankfully for him.
Phoenix looked around, spotting another booth where the candy apples and caramel corn was being sold. "Maya, I'm going to head over there to get the Detective and Maggey's stuff. Do you want anything from that booth?"
"I'll have a candy apple too, please. Can I have some money?" she said, holding out her hand.
He dug out his wallet and handed her a twenty, then wandered off to the next booth. Maya stood in her line. It was by far the most popular booth there and she had a bit of a wait. By the time she was third in line all she could smell were apples and her mouth was watering, waiting for a bite of the deep fried slices covered in icing sugar. She was daydreaming about the first bite when an officer approached her. He was dressed in a regular uniform, not a costume.
"Excuse me, are you Miss Fey?"
She snapped out of her daydream and turned her head to him inquisitively. "Yes, that's me."
"You're here with Phoenix Wright, correct?"
"I am."
"Do you happen to know where he is? We got a call about his daughter, and another young girl she was with."
Maya's heart rate sped up. Had something happened to Trucy and Pearly? They had gone out alone after all. Maya stepped out of line, the food forgotten in her worry over the two girls. She looked over at the booth where Phoenix went, but he wasn't there anymore. "I'm not sure where he is now," she said, hand over her heart. "But please tell me, are they okay? The other girl she was with is my cousin Pearl, and I think of Trucy as a daughter."
The officer looked guilty. "I'm so sorry, oh no, they're both fine!"
Maya let go of the breath she had been holding. "Oh, good. You had me scared!"
"I'm sorry about that," he said. "Er, actually, they're fine physically but a few of our on duty officers were called about a noise complaint earlier tonight and had to go break up quite a large party at one of the foreclosed mansions near Global Studios. Your two girls were there along with a lot of other kids. They were taken in for trespassing, and they're currently at the station waiting for their parents to come pick them up. The older one is eighteen apparently so we did tell her she could leave, but she wouldn't go without Miss Wright, and we weren't able to get ahold of Mr. Wright at his agency. Someone mentioned he'd probably be here with you."
Maya's mouth dropped open. It was almost unbelievable that Trucy and Pearl would do something like this, especially the shy and so well behaved Pearl. "Are you going to charge them?"
The officer looked uncomfortable, possibly realizing that he was talking to the girlfriend of a famous defense attorney known for only losing one case in his entire career. Not to mention said girlfriend was the Master of Kurain Village and had connections of her own. "There were a lot of kids there and they were two of only a handful that weren't drunk, so they weren't drinking underage either. I'm sure they'll be let off with a warning."
Maya smiled innocently, having no idea what her or Phoenix's status meant to this officer. As far as she was concerned, he was just being nice to a couple of young girls that made a mistake. "That's good to hear. Only, Nick and I can't drive, so we can't really leave to pick the girls up. Is there any way you could arrange to have them dropped off back at the Wright Anything Agency? We'll take care of it once we get home." Maya was doing them both a huge favour by deciding not to tell Phoenix right away. If he knew he would insist on leaving the party straightaway to deal with them both. They would owe her a lot of Halloween candy after this.
The officer tipped his hat to her. "I'm sure we can work that out. You'll tell Mr. Wright about this, I assume?"
She nodded. "I will. Thank you so much, officer! We'll be home soon to discipline them!" She tried sounding like the grown up she was supposed to be, but it came out sounding like she was joking around.
The officer either didn't notice or didn't care. "Great. You have a nice night then," he said, waving as he walked away.
Maya turned back to the line for the apple slices, but she had lost her place and even for something so delicious she didn't want to have to go to the back of the line, so she headed back towards the main entrance of the hotel instead. She would have to be okay with the candy apple Phoenix was getting her.
When she made it back inside Phoenix was already back at the table. "Thanks for waiting for me, Nick!" she scolded as she approached. He turned to her, and she could tell by the way he was smiling and the flush on his cheeks that he had somehow gotten into even more alcohol in the short time they were apart.
Edgeworth looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Maya. I tried to tell him not to go overboard, but you know how he is."
"Yeah, I know," she sighed. She didn't really mind, if she wanted to keep Trucy and Pearl's little secret, it would be easier if he was blitzed, since he'd go to bed as soon as they got home and she could deal with them on her own. How he had ended up in such a state in the 20 or so minutes they were apart was beyond her.
"There was a booth out there selling hard cider," Phoenix spoke up, as if reading her mind. "It's so good! It's like apple juice… but with alcohol. Do you want some?"
"No thanks, I'm good."
"Oh, I got you your stuff though."
"I saw. Thanks, Nick." He must have forgotten what she actually wanted by the time he made it to the other booth, because there were a few extra things on the table. Her candy apple was there, along with a bag of cotton candy, her own bag of caramel corn, and a paper tray of the battered and icing sugar covered apple slices she was waiting in line for. She scrunched up her eyebrows.
"Nick, how the heck did you get these? I was waiting in that line for like fifteen minutes and I didn't even get any because it was taking so long!" She picked one up and shoved it into her mouth. They were still hot, too.
He looked almost as confused as her as he watched her eat them. "I don't know?"
She couldn't hold back her giggle. Phoenix was one of the smartest people she knew, but when he drank he actually reminded her a lot of their good friend Larry Butz. "Well, thanks anyway. I really wanted some!"
"You're welcome, honey." He leaned towards her, nuzzling into her shoulder.
"Oh God," she mumbled, patting his head. He only dragged out the pet names at times like this, or in bed. Maggey stifled a laugh from across the table.
There was a loud buzzing and a screech over the speakers, and a man dressed in a hot dog costume walked onto the stage. He held up the mic to his face, his lips practically touching it as he spoke.
"We're going to announce the winners of the costume contest now. There are individual categories as well as couples. We'll begin with the individual categories."
The table sat quietly while the man on stage called out random names and different people approached the stage. Most of the winners Maya didn't recognize, except for Simon Blackquill who climbed the steps of the stage with a scowl, winning the "cutest costume" category. She had a feeling that was all Athena's doing. There were a lot of categories and each winner had a picture taken, so it took almost an hour before they got to the category Maya was really waiting for.
"Alright, the last category is the best couple's costume." He unfolded a piece of paper like he was presenting a very serious award. Anyone sitting close enough would have caught the look of confusion on his face, and he was heard mumbling "is this right?" to someone off stage. He shrugged at their response. "Well, whatever. Best couple's costume goes to Phoenix Wright and Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, dressed as… Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth and Phoenix Wright?"
Phoenix choked on his newest drink, and Edgeworth sat bolt upright in his chair, looking around at the table. Maggey and Gumshoe both looked confused, but Maya was grinning.
"Well, go on, guys. Everyone is waiting," she prodded.
"Ah! This was you!" Phoenix pointed a finger into her face, almost poking her cheek. "You nominated us!"
She swatted his hand away. "Can you blame me? You guys looked like you were wearing each other's clothes the whole night. You looked cute! Oh and here, Nick." She shrugged out of the Edgeworth jacket he gave her earlier and handed it back to him.
Edgeworth clapped Phoenix on the shoulder. "Let's go, Wright. This is all fun and games anyway, and they never said the pair that won had to be in an actual relationship." Phoenix got up, stumbling a bit and leaning onto Edgeworth for assistance. Edgeworth grimaced. "I hope you're a little more sober before you get home. Maya won't be able to carry you inside, you know."
"I can walk just fine!" he said, pushing off of Edgeworth and attempting to make his way towards the stage. Edgeworth followed closely behind him.
Gumshoe and Maggey sat giggling to themselves as they watched them go. "I was kind of hoping we were gonna win, Mags," Gumshoe told her.
"Maybe next year. This is way more amusing, I think."
The room erupted into cheers and wolf whistles as the two men took the stage. They took their prize, a small plastic trophy, and a camera flashed, and they made their way back to the table as quickly as they could. Phoenix put his head face down in his arms on the table.
Edgeworth sat down gingerly, and handed the polaroid to Maya. Surprisingly, they were both smiling in the photo. The side of Phoenix's mouth was pulled up in a half smirk, like he was trying not to smile but couldn't help it, one arm thrown over Edgeworth's shoulder for balance. Edgeworth had his arms crossed and eyes closed, but even he had a small smile on his face, making him look amused by the whole situation.
"I'll make you a copy, Mr. Edgeworth," she stated.
"Er, alright, thank you, Maya."
Gumshoe yawned. "Well, I think Maggey and I will head home now. Our babysitter is probably getting a little tired. We should get home."
Phoenix turned his head to Maya, still resting it on his arms. "Maya, can we leave too? I don't feel that well."
"This is why you shouldn't drink when we go out, Nick. You're such a lightweight." She still needed to talk to Trucy and Pearl, so going home now would actually be a good thing, in case they tried to go to bed early to avoid a talking to. "But yes, we can go."
"Detective, Maggey, have a good night," Edgeworth said as Gumshoe and Maggey stood up to take their leave.
"It was so good seeing you guys again!" Maya hopped out of her seat to give them both another hug. "Maybe I'll see you at a crime scene one of these days, Detective! I have a lot of work nowadays myself but I still like to go with Nick on investigations when I can."
"Sounds good, pal. I actually kind of missed you and Mr. Wright pestering me at crime scenes."
Edgeworth frowned. "You're not still giving extra information to the defense now, are you, Detective?"
"N-No, sir!" Gumshoe said quickly, slapping a hand to his forehead in a salute.
Maggey cut in. "Maya, make sure you come visit us someday! I'd love for you and Mr. Wright to meet our boy."
"We'll be sure to. Have a good night! Get home safe!" They waved as they left.
Edgeworth turned to Maya. "Do you two need a ride home? As long as Wright doesn't throw up in my car, I can take you."
Maya put a hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Nick, you're not gonna puke are you?" He shook his head slowly. "Okay. We'll take you up on that offer, Mr. Edgeworth. But if you don't mind, I need to make a phone call first. Can you watch him?"
Phoenix pouted. "I might be drunk but I'm not a kid, Maya."
Edgeworth nodded to her and she moved over towards the refreshments stand where the music was quieter. There weren't many people around since most of the food was gone now. She took out her cell phone and dialled the number for the Wright Anything Agency.
"Wright Anything Agency, Trucy Wright speaking."
"Hey Trucy."
There was a beat on the other end. "Heeeey, Maya…" She could hear some shuffling, and then another voice came over the phone.
"Mystic Maya! I'm so sorry!" Pearl shouted into the phone. "We were bad! You and Mr. Nick are probably so disappointed in us!" She heard her cousin make a sobbing noise. "We're going to go to jail, aren't we?! Mr. Nick won't even want to defend us because our guilt is so obvious and he only defends good people!"
More shuffling, then Trucy's voice. "Give me that, Pearl! …Sorry about that, Maya."
"It's okay, Trucy. Tell Pearly that Nick doesn't know yet."
Trucy spoke to Pearl for a moment, then back into the phone. "Okay. She's calming down. But why didn't you tell Daddy?"
"He's a teensy bit drunk so I figured I could wait a little longer, but I'll talk to you two when we get home, so make sure you're not in bed when we get there. And don't say anything to your dad about what happened, okay? Make sure you tell Pearly."
"Alright, will do. Are you guys coming home now? It's still pretty early."
Maya sighed. "Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth is going to drive us so we won't be long. I'll see you then."
"Bye!"
Maya hung up and made her way back over to Edgeworth. "We can go now. Come on, Nick." She touched the back of his neck. "Let's go."
He got up, again reaching for Edgeworth for help. Edgeworth rolled his eyes but complied. He couldn't very well let the slight Maya attempt to hold the much heavier Phoenix up on her own. Maya gathered up the food she hadn't eaten yet and carried it out with them to Edgeworth's car.
October 31st, 2028, 11:30 PM
Wright Anything Agency
"Edgeworth… You're a great friend, you know that?"
Edgeworth attempted to hold back his smile as he walked down the hall towards the office with Phoenix leaning on him. "I'm aware, Wright. You told me that about ten times just on the ride home."
"I really mean it."
"I know you do."
Maya walked behind them, carrying her food and smiling at the sweet scene in front of her. Phoenix would never be that open with Edgeworth while sober, but she knew that he meant what he said, even if he was saying it while drunk. Edgeworth stepped aside when they got to the door so she could open it for them. Trucy and Pearl were both seated on the couch inside, watching an old horror movie on the TV, their bags of Halloween candy on their laps. Both of them were changed out of their costumes and into pajamas.
"Daddy!" Trucy squealed, getting up to go to him. Pearl stayed where she was, avoiding all eye contact. "Did you have fun?" she asked knowingly.
"Oh, not now, sweetie," Phoenix slurred, holding up a hand before she could hug him. "Daddy's gotta go to bed." Edgeworth let him go, but Phoenix had to grab onto the doorframe to steady himself.
Maya put a hand on Phoenix's back and looked at Edgeworth sheepishly. "Mr. Edgeworth, do you mind?"
"I suppose not. Come on, Wright. We don't want you killing yourself on the stairs."
Trucy, Pearl and Maya all watched as the two men made their way upstairs, then Maya sat down on the couch beside Pearl, dumping her food onto the coffee table and helping herself to a mini chocolate bar from Pearl's bag.
"M-Mystic Maya…" Pearl started.
"Just wait, Pearly. Let's wait for Mr. Edgeworth to leave." Trucy sat on the other couch opposite Maya and Pearl and dug back into her treat bag.
Edgeworth did come back eventually, looking a little flustered. "I think he'll manage." There was a loud bang from upstairs, causing everyone in the room to look up at the ceiling. "Well, I'll be going now," Edgeworth said quickly. "I'm sure he's fine." With that he left, closing the door behind him.
Maya got up, just to be sure. "Nick, are you dead?" she yelled up the stairs.
"Nnnnoo," was the muffled reply.
Satisfied with that, she went back to her seat on the couch. "Alright, girls. Let's make a deal."
Pearl looked confused. "A deal? Don't you want to punish us? We deserve it! Did you tell Mr. Nick yet?" Her eyes welled with tears. "He'll be so disappointed!"
"Calm down, Pearly," Maya said, patting her cousin on the back. "I'm not going to tell him. You just made a mistake and it's your first offence, as far as I know at least. And the officer I talked to did say you guys weren't drinking, so I'm proud of you as far as that goes. Besides, Nick and I used to get into all sorts of places we weren't allowed to go. The trick is to not get caught," she said, smiling at the girls' expressions. She didn't mention that all of these times were actually after Phoenix was disbarred and not for the sake of any investigations, unless investigating each other counted.
Trucy leaned forward, steepling her fingers in front of her face like she was making a very serious business deal. "What do you want in exchange?"
Maya grinned. "Half of your Halloween candy. From both of you."
Trucy flung herself back into the couch cushions. "You drive a hard bargain, but fine, I'm in."
Pearl nodded quickly. "Me too. I feel a little bad lying to Mr. Nick but… what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
"Right!" Trucy said quickly. "Thank you, Maya! You're the best!"
"I know, I know. Now I'm going to go make sure Nick didn't hurt himself, and go to bed. You two finish your movie. Make sure I have my own bag of candy by morning."
The two girls nodded furiously at her as she made her way upstairs.
November 1st, 2028, 10:04 AM
Wright Anything Agency
Phoenix groaned, rolling over and burying his face further into his pillow. He went overboard last night, that was for sure. He did remember the haunted maze and going outside to get food with Maya. Everything after that was a bit of a blur, including how they got home and up the stairs, let alone how he managed to change out of his costume and into a t-shirt to sleep in.
He rolled onto his back again. The little bit of light making its way through the curtains made him squint, and he sat up, groaning against the headache growing between his eyes. He needed coffee, badly. He was about to get out of bed when the door opened, and Maya walked in, two cups of it in her hands and a bag hanging from her wrist.
"Look who's awake!" she said, a little too loudly for his hungover self.
He lifted a finger to his lips. "Ssh, Maya, please."
"Oh, sorry," she said, voice dropping to a whisper. She handed one of the coffees to him and sat the other one on her side table. She pulled the bag onto the bed with her as she sat down cross-legged beside him.
"What's that?" he asked after taking a sip of his own drink.
"Oh, this? Pearly and Trucy just decided to be nice and share their candy with me."
"Huh? How did you convince them to do that?"
"I didn't have to convince them, they both just love me so much, and they felt bad that I never got to go trick-or-treating when I was a kid."
"Oh… okay then."
Maya smiled. "How are you feeling, mister?"
"Like absolute crap."
"I figured."
"Why didn't you stop me? What the hell did I drink last night?"
"Well, you found a booth selling hard cider outside and after that you just sort of kept ordering whatever for the rest of the night. By the way, do you remember this at all?" She picked up the polaroid of the costume contest that she had laid on the bedside table the night before.
He took it from her and squinted at it. "I got nothing. Why did we have our picture taken?"
"You won a costume contest. Best couple."
"You're joking."
"Nope."
He handed the picture back to her and sighed. "I'm never drinking that much again."
"You know what else you didn't get to do because you were too drunk last night?"
"Hm?"
She gave him a sultry look. "Help me out of my costume."
He stared at her blankly for a moment, then reached out to lovingly stroke her hair. "You know how much I love you, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
He pouted. "So you'll wear it again for me?"
She laughed. "We'll see. Just work on feeling better today."
He nodded. "Fine. Got any ibuprofen?"
"I'll go get you some."
"Thank you."
She got up and left the room to go to the bathroom cabinet. He put his coffee on his side table and laid back down, closing his eyes against the streaks of sunlight again. "I'm really not drinking that much ever again," he mumbled to himself.
