A/N: With the last few chapters I feel like I've been getting too far away from the whole Narumayo aspect of this story. I just want to write about everyone! But this is an in between chapter that is purely Narumayo goodness. I guess it's a little… steamy… but only a little, because I'm not good at writing stuff that isn't just plain old smut, and I don't really want that here. I save that for the PW Kink Meme. There is a point to this chapter though, so please enjoy!


January 4th, 2029
Fey-Wright Residence

Phoenix looked up from the desk where he was pouring over paperwork and evidence for the next day's trial when Trucy knocked on the open door. She grinned at him and bounced into the room while Apollo and Pearl squeezed into the doorway together, shoulder to shoulder. Apollo took a step back, apologizing profusely, while Pearl waved her hand frantically and told him it was her fault. It was easy to spot the way she was blushing.

"Daddyyyy!" Trucy squealed, blocking his view of Pearl and Apollo and hugging him around the neck. "Polly is taking us to the movies and maybe to the mall after, so we'll be back later, okay?"

"Mr. Apollo has a car!" Pearl spoke up from the doorway. "And a licence! He can drive!" She sounded so enthused Phoenix couldn't help smiling. She'd grown up taking trains and cabs and the subway, or running like that very first time, since neither he nor Maya ever had a licence. "You should get your licence, Mr. Nick."

"I think I'm good with my bus pass," he said. "But you know, you and Trucy are old enough now to get your own licences, if you really wanted to."

Pearl bit her thumb. "I don't know. Driving is kind of scary."

Trucy on the other hand looked ecstatic. "Really, Daddy? You'd let me get my licence?! I'm going to buy one of those driver's handbooks while we're out!"

Phoenix didn't want to think about the terror his daughter would cause on the roads and turned his attention to Apollo. "Thanks for keeping them amused while you're here, Apollo."

Apollo nodded. "No problem, Mr. Wright. It feels great to do something aside from work while I'm visiting. I've barely had a day off the whole time I've been in Khura'in. I love my job, but it can get pretty tiring sometimes."

Phoenix jutted his chin towards his own desk. "Yeah, tell me about it. My holidays are officially over tomorrow. I've already got a case. The client was accused of killing her fiancé with a firecracker over New Year's."

"Sounds fun. Good luck with that," Apollo grinned. Phoenix got the feeling that Apollo was getting a kick out of him not being able to boss him around anymore. "We'd better go now if we don't want to be late," Apollo said, turning to the two girls.

Phoenix waved them out, watching again as Pearl beamed up at Apollo when he turned to say something to her. Oh, he was going to have so much fun with that later. He couldn't wait to tell Maya.

Speaking of Maya, he hadn't seen her the whole day. As the Master of Kurain she got to set her own holiday schedule, and she'd taken the end of December and almost all of January off. And yet, instead of helping him prepare for court, she'd deemed it necessary to sleep in and then spend the afternoon outside in the cold, doing who knew what. He'd wanted to spend time with her on his last day off before things got really busy again, even if said time was spent looking through evidence, but she obviously had other plans.

He sighed and went back to work, focusing on organizing the court record and making notes. It was something he always did, but the way his trials usually went, no one could ever tell. They almost always ended up being useless while he scrambled and bluffed his way through it instead, making it look like he was unprepared. He did go to court prepared, it wasn't his fault the prosecution could throw out new theories and evidence willy-nilly to catch him off guard, and he always seemed to have the least forthcoming clients, which made his job even harder. Maybe someday he'd actually get through a trial without something crazy happening. He could always hope.


As soon as Maya heard Apollo's car zoom down the road, she made her way back into the house from her spot on the back porch where she'd been trying to distract herself by reading for the better part of the day. Ever since Pearl told her they were going to the movies, Maya had been impatiently waiting for what felt like forever for them to leave. The holidays hadn't been kind to her and Phoenix's love life, what with their Christmas party and New Year's Eve get together and Apollo's visit, and the kids always being home because there was no school or training in Kurain. The family time and being able to hang out with friends they hadn't seen in a while was great, but she was craving something more intimate now, and the cold air outside was exactly what she needed while she waited for the kids to leave the house. Phoenix was probably miffed at her for not helping him prepare for court the next day, but she knew if she was alone with him in that tiny room he called an office for more than five minutes, he'd end up getting even less work done than he would if she just didn't help him at all. Besides, she planned on making it up to him very soon.

She removed her shoes and coat at the back door and stealthily tip-toed by his office. She peeked in for only a second to see him with a pen gripped in his hand, but he was staring at the wall, probably day dreaming. About her, she hoped. He didn't hear her at all as she passed by. The house was quiet as she made her way upstairs. The kids would be gone for a good few hours, which meant the house would be completely empty save for her and Phoenix. She had plenty of time, and what she needed to start things off was a nice, hot bath.

She shed her clothes in the bedroom, bringing only a fresh towel with her into the bathroom. She drew the water and when the tub was full she added a bath bomb that smelled of jasmine, ylang ylang and clary sage. She smirked to herself as she watched it fizz and turn the water a deep purple colour. She'd purposely purchased that particular scent from the local bath and spa store a week or so ago, because according to the label all three scents were considered aphrodisiacs. Not that they would need any help after a two week dry spell, but it'd at least lure him upstairs.

She twisted her long hair up into a bun on the top of her head, and then stepped into the water. She settled down into the tub, immersed herself up to her chest, and closed her eyes to wait.

She was drowsing comfortably in the tub still when she heard the slight creak of the bathroom door opening. She opened one eye to peek at the door and smiled when Phoenix poked his head inside. His eyes widened almost comically when he saw her.

"So this is what smells so good. I didn't hear you come inside."

She lowered herself further into the water. The colour of the water already concealed her nakedness, but she knew that lowering herself so her shoulders were covered too would frustrate him. "Shouldn't you knock before coming into a bathroom someone's using?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, but it still echoed a bit in the large bathroom.

"Shouldn't you lock the door if you don't want someone to come in? It wasn't even closed all the way, you were practically inviting me in here," he said, making his way inside and closing the door behind him. "I can see why. You used one of those fancy bath bombs."

She lifted her arm slowly out of the water to run her fingertips over the top of it, causing ripples to erupt around her. "I just wanted a hot bath since it was so cold outside. The bath bomb is nothing special, it just smells good. I have a bunch of them."

She watched him approach her silently. The holidays meant no work, which in turn meant her lazy boyfriend didn't bother shaving every day, resulting in a few days worth of stubble. That combined with the black t-shirt stretched taught over his chest and the jeans he was wearing reminded her so much of the scruffy, but somehow oh so sexy, secret lover that she would sneak into the city to see once or twice a month during the time he was disbarred. It excited her just to think about those times. She loved the domestic thing they had going on now, it was great to finally be a family and not have to hide anything from anyone and she loved her clean cut lawyer boyfriend too, but sometimes she found herself fantasizing of the times she'd sneak him into Kurain Village and then out again before the morning or he'd sneak her into his apartment if Trucy was sleeping at a friend's house. It always seemed so dangerous and bad, it never failed to get her going.

The corner of his mouth pulled up in a smirk as he approached, perhaps noticing how she was staring at him open mouthed, her eyes raking up and down his body. "Do you see something you like?"

Her eyes snapped up to his. "What?"

"I said, do you see something you like?"

She shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant. He grinned at her, that shit-eating grin he usually saved for the courtroom when he knew he had a witness backed into a corner, ready to confess everything. It still made her weak, and he knew it. "The girls aren't here so we don't have to be quiet," he reminded her. "It almost feels like you planned this."

He was doing a much better job at staying casual than she was. She was supposed to be the one seducing him here, but all she wanted to do was jump out of the water, push him back into the bedroom, and have her way with him… or let him have his way with her, she didn't really have a preference at this point. They had hours alone together and she wanted it to last, but she wasn't sure she could keep things moving this slowly.

She rose out of the water just enough to give him a glance at her cleavage, and reached out with a hand to grab him by the wrist. She tugged him gently down to her level so he was on his knees beside the tub and leaned out to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her further out of the tub and against his chest, not caring that the water in the tub was sloshing over the edge onto the floor or how the water from her body was getting on him and causing his shirt to cling to him. It didn't matter anyway, because Maya was already trying to tug it over his head. They broke apart just long enough for her to do so, then she was kissing him again, letting her hands roam over his chest and his arms, then tangling her fingers into his hair.

"This is kind of... uncomfortable... and hard on the knees," he said between kisses.

She smiled against his lips and pulled away, then stood up slowly. The water cascading down her body in rivulets was a sight to behold. His jeans were already starting to feel a little tight, but suddenly he wanted out of them very badly.

"Hand me my towel," she said. "I don't want to get the floor even more wet."

He got up and passed it to her, never once taking his eyes off of her. She lifted one foot to rest it on the side of the tub to dry her leg, agonizingly slow, then finally stepped out. She repeated this with the other leg before setting her foot down, and wrapped the towel neatly around herself.

She looked at him, catching him with the same expression she had earlier, and repeated his words back to him. "See something you like?"

"God, yes. You're so beautiful, Maya," he breathed, stepping forward to kiss her again.

She raised her finger to his lips. "You're not too bad yourself, for an old guy." Though teasing, her words weren't untrue. He'd managed to keep his physique relatively the same as what it was in his 20s despite being mid-30s now. He'd never been super sculpted but he always looked hard and strong and when he wrapped his arms around her she felt like nothing could hurt her. Nothing could get through him, not when it came to her. He would always be her protector.

She hooked her finger into one of the belt loops on his pants and tugged. "Come on." He followed her like an eager puppy back into the bedroom and across the floor where she pushed him down onto the bed and crawled on top of him to straddle his waist. She leaned down to kiss him again and he reached up and took a hold of the hair stick that was keeping her hair up. He pulled it out gently, letting her hair spill from its bun to cascade down around her shoulders. It was so long now that it fell like a silky black curtain around the two of them. He buried his fingers into it, using his hand on the back of her head to pull her closer and deepen the kiss further.

"Mmm… You sure you're up for this right now?" Maya managed to murmur against Phoenix's lips. "I know you have that trial tomorrow to prepare for... Maybe we should stop."

"Seriously, Maya?" His hands moved to the small of her back, pulling her tightly against his body so she could tell just exactly how turned on he was.

She smirked and wriggled her hips against his. She loved to tease him whenever she could. A time like this was no exception; if anything it made it even more fun. "Yes, seriously Nick…" she dipped her head to glide her lips over his throat and to pepper kisses across his chest, eliciting a quiet groan from him. "You don't want to go to court unprepared."

"That can wait," he said as he ran his hands down her behind to the edge of her towel and traced a few circles on the outside of her bare thighs with his thumbs. She pulled away from the kiss, holding herself up with her hands on either side of his head, and quirked an eyebrow at him.

He smiled again. "It's been like, two whole weeks, Maya."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh no! Two weeks without sex!" She wasn't about to admit that the whole reason she was happy the kids were gone was because she missed it too.

He closed his eyes in exasperation "Maya, we both know we're not going to stop. You do this to me every time! Why do you tease me like this?" he asked, voice thick with fake emotion.

"Because it's fun—ah!" She couldn't help the squeal that escaped her when he flipped them over, switching their positions so he was on top, nestled between her legs. "Nick!" she giggled.

"You're so mean to me," he said, quieting her giggles by kissing her again, harder than before. Any thoughts of teasing him further left her mind. She ran the fingers of one hand through the hair at the nape of his neck while he planted kisses down her jaw, the side of her neck, her collarbone and her chest before he reached the edge of her towel where it was still tightly wrapped around her. He sat back and looked at her. She gave him a slight nod and he dug his fingers under the edge to pull it open, baring her completely.

She watched his eyes, filled with admiration and desire, roam over her naked form. A long time ago she was shy about her body and would have been blushing and attempting to cover herself from his gaze, but Phoenix had never looked at her with anything other than complete and utter fascination and love, and years with him only helped to strengthen her self esteem. Now she liked it, watching him look at her, so clearly enjoying what he was seeing. She hoped he would never stop looking at her like that. When he met her eyes again she could only give him a sly smile and pull him back down against her.

"What did I do to deserve you, Maya?" he whispered into her ear before nipping playfully at her earlobe.

"You did everything, Nick," she said, closing her eyes as his kisses traveled southward. "I should be asking what I did to deserve you." She felt his lips glide past her belly button. "A man who defended and believed in me after just meeting me…" She took a sharp breath in when his mouth finally reached its destination. "Who's put his life on the line countless times for me since then… Oh, God, N-Nick…" He was making it very difficult for her to finish her sentences or even think coherently. "Mm… Your life would've been… much easier without me in it… Ah!" She tried not to cry out as his ministrations pushed her over the edge for the first time that night, but she couldn't help it. Hard as she sometimes tried to stay in control, she easily came undone and she always ended up a moaning, whimpering mess beneath him, completely at his mercy.

He let out a short laugh, the puff of his breath tickling her skin, and lifted his head to look up at her. Her chest was heaving as she caught her breath. "My life wouldn't have been nearly as interesting though," he said, turning his head slightly to kiss her leg. The feeling of his stubble against her inner thigh made her shiver. "I prefer it this way," he continued. "And I'd do it all over as long as I ended up here with you again..."

"Mm, me too..." She beckoned him with a finger. "Now get back up here." When he was hovering over her again, she reached down between them to undo the button on his pants with practiced fingers. He sighed in relief and started to reach towards the drawer in the nightstand for protection. Maya grabbed his wrist to stop him. "In a hurry, are we? You don't even have your pants all the way off yet."

"Not at all." He dropped his face into the crook of her neck to kiss her again. "Just getting prepared..." he mumbled against her skin.

"Nick."

"Mm?"

"Look at me."

He lifted his head to gaze down at her quizzically. "What?"

"I don't want to use one tonight."

"But... You're not on the pill, are you? I thought you stopped a few months ago because of the side effects?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I did..."

He furrowed his eyebrows and she stared up at him, waiting for his brain to catch up with the rest of him. "Oh… A-Are you positive?"

"Well not yet, but hopefully in a few weeks," she said, grinning at her own little joke.

"You know what I mean. You're really ready? You're sure?"

She had to be serious now. "Yes. I want to start trying, at least. Are you okay with that?"

His mouth pulled up in a lopsided smile. "You know I am."

She reached up to cup his face lovingly, holding him still so she could just look at him. That silly lock of hair curled in front of his face like always, and those dark blue eyes peered down at her still, waiting for her to say something. She really hoped their baby would inherit those eyes. They were beautiful. Looking into them reminded her of the few times they'd gone to the beach and stayed until after dark. They were the colour of the ocean at nighttime. Yes. She had known ten years ago and she still knew then that he was the only man she would ever want to father her children.

He tilted his head at her. "What are you thinking about, Maya?"

She brushed her thumb over his bottom lip with a feather light touch and smiled sweetly at him. "I was just thinking about how terrible it'd be if our kid inherits your hair." He rolled his eyes at her, but the smile never left his face. "Kiss me again, Nick," she whispered, wrapping her hand around his neck to run her fingers through said hair as she pulled him back down to her mouth.


Maya was breathing heavily, sticky with sweat and other things but completely spent and satisfied, when Phoenix rolled off of her for the third time that night. He'd always had stamina, but that night was something else. She supposed that's what happened when you went through a two week dry spell and then had the house to yourselves for a few hours. She shifted onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow to walk her fingers up his still rapidly rising and falling chest with her other hand.

"I think I'm done for real this time, Maya…" he said, draping an arm across his face.

She snickered. "Right. We don't want you to have a heart attack in your old age."

"Ha ha."

She patted his cheek. "Seriously though, Nick, I think that was some of the best sex we've had in a while. I mean, whoa. It reminded me of when we'd go weeks without seeing each other and then when we would, well..."

"Find the nearest semi-private place we could, yeah. Trust me, I remember."

She flopped down onto her back. "Would it be weird of me to put my legs up against the wall?"

He was still trying to catch his breath, and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Huh? Why?"

"You know, so there's a better chance I'll get pregnant."

He rolled to his side to get a better look at her, still naked as a jaybird and glowing in the aftermath of her pleasure. "Um, go ahead, if you think that'll help?"

She turned herself around on the bed and lifted her legs against the headboard, placing her pillow under her hips to help with elevation. He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"You look ridiculous. But it's cute, too, how much you want this."

She reached down to grab his hand. "You know we'll have to keep trying until I get a positive test. I've kind of already started tracking my ovulation and everything too, so I'll know all the best times to try, but really, every few days is best." She grinned. "That gives you a few days to build up some more little swimmers in between each time. Men can run low if they do it too much, you know."

He made a face. "Uh, okay. Just tell me when you want to go at it. I'm hardly going to protest." He sat up and turned around to lay the same way as her. He placed a hand on her stomach. "I just hope it doesn't take long."

She placed her hand over his. "Me too."

They lay in silence for a few minutes until a thought occurred to Phoenix. "Hey Maya?"

"Hm?"

"I can't believe I've never thought about this or asked before but… What happens if we have a boy?"

"What do you mean, 'what happens'?" she said, turning her head to look at him. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I mean, boys don't have spiritual power, right? So they can't be heirs to Kurain."

"Nick, nothing happens. They grow up with their families. As the main family, normally we'd have to keep trying until we had a girl, but since I've named Pearly as my heir, it doesn't really matter. I don't want any of our kids forced into the role of Master like Mia and I were, so Pearly will take over no matter what we have."

"Oh."

She laughed. "What did you think we did? Set them outside the village walls to perish because they weren't 'fit' to run Kurain?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I've known you for twelve years and I don't think I've ever once seen another man or even a little boy in Kurain."

"Sheesh. I know we have some weird traditions, but we aren't that crazy. Most boys born in Kurain live in the city with their fathers, which is why you don't see many male children around."

He frowned. "That's just… sad. Don't their mothers miss them? Don't the fathers miss their daughters that stay in Kurain?"

"It's always been normal for me but it is sad when I think about it too much, which is why I try not to. They visit sometimes but… not always. Or they stop showing up, like Pearly's dad did."

"I can't even imagine you and any future daughter of mine living in Kurain while I stayed in L.A. No way is our family ever going to be separated like that," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. "It was bad enough when you and Pearls lived so far from Trucy and me."

"I know, Nick." She sighed. "When I was younger I used to worry that when I got married, he'd leave like so many others, but I never have to worry about that with you, and it doesn't matter whether or not we have a boy or a girl either." She paused. "But to be honest, I think us Feys have some sort of ability that makes it way more likely we have girls, so you're probably going to end up in a house full of women eventually anyway."

"That's okay with me," he said. "I am used to girls thanks to Trucy and Pearls, but I'll be happy with either, of course."

She reached over to run her fingers along his cheek. "You will be amazing either way." She turned on her side, removing the pillow from under her, and kissed him again. "I've always loved you for treating Pearly so well, Nick," she said after pulling away. "You never had to do that. You didn't have to adopt Trucy either, but you did. You've been stepping up for other deadbeat fathers for a long time, so I already know you're a good dad. I'm not worried about that at all."

He smiled. "What about you? Are you still nervous about being a mom?"

"Not as much. I know a baby will be different for both of us, but at least we have some practice being parents. And like you said before, there are lots of people I can rely on for help."

"I'm glad. I know you'll be great."

She pushed on his shoulder to roll him onto his back and then snuggled in against him, resting her head on his chest. "I love you, Nick."

"I love you too, Maya. I always will."

She sighed contentedly. She was happy to lay there with him the rest of the night, that was up until they both heard the loud grumbling of her stomach.

Phoenix laughed. "Someone's worked up an appetite."

She sat up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. They'd been up there for hours and it was nearing dinner time now. No wonder. "I'm hungry."

"No kidding." He sat up as well and swiped a hand through his hair. "The kids'll probably be home soon too."

"Remind me to thank Apollo for taking them out," Maya smiled.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you!"

She raised her eyebrows at his excited expression. "What?"

"I'm pretty sure Pearls has a crush on Apollo."

"Oh really?" She grinned mischievously. "I'll do my best not to embarrass her in front of Apollo — not that she ever did me any favours like that when it came to you — but she's going to finally get a taste of her own medicine."

"Exactly what I was thinking." He got up and started gathering his clothes to get dressed. "Anyway, wanna go make dinner?"

She swung her legs off the bed and found her towel from earlier. She wrapped it back around herself. She felt a little tacky now that they were finished, and it was starting to feel more gross than sexy. "I'm going to clean up a bit first, maybe take a quick shower. Can you start it?"

"Yeah, no problem," he said, approaching her and reaching out to move a piece of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear for her. "What do you want?"

"What else? Burgers of course."

"Of course." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be downstairs."

She nodded and headed into the bathroom.


Phoenix was just finishing dinner when Apollo's car pulled into the driveway and all three of the kids made their way noisily into the house. Trucy sniffed the air. "Yum! Something smells good!"

"How was your movie?" Phoenix asked as his daughter ran into the dining room.

"Pretty good, but Polly and Pearl wouldn't stop talking throughout it," Trucy said, putting her hands on her hips. Pearl who had come in behind her blushed.

Apollo shrugged. "It was a bad movie, Trucy."

"Well I was enjoying it! Next time you two can go by yourselves."

"Fine with me," he replied.

"Did you guys go shopping?" Phoenix asked, changing the subject before Trucy and Apollo got into an argument only siblings could have. They may not have known about their relation but that didn't stop them from truly acting like brother and sister.

Pearl held up her shopping bags. Since they moved into the new house she'd had more chances to go shopping for what she called 'city girl' clothes, and more chances to wear them. "Yes! I got some new dresses and sweaters and shoes." She sighed. "They're all so pretty. Did you and Mystic Maya have a good time while we were gone?"

He set the plates down on the table. "We sure did…"

"What did you do?"

He paused. "We… just went over the evidence for tomorrow's trial."

Pearl made a face. "That's not very romantic."

He shrugged. "It was fine. Would you mind telling Maya that dinner is ready? She's upstairs."

Pearl nodded and headed to the stairway. Trucy and Apollo took their seats at the table to wait. It didn't take long for Pearl to come back with Maya in tow. She was dressed in her regular old yukata again, with her magatama around her neck and her hair all back up in her top knot and separated with her beads.

"Mmm burgers. The only thing Nick knows how to cook!" she said, sitting down at the table.

"Only because I've had so much practice, thanks to you."

"This will be the first solid food our baby learns to eat, Nick," Maya said unthinkingly. There was silence at the table as Apollo, Trucy, and Pearl all took her meaning. Phoenix stared at her. They hadn't discussed telling the kids yet.

Pearl was the first to clamp her hands over her face. "Are you pregnant, Mystic Maya?!"

Maya started waving her hands frantically. "No! At least… not yet."

Pearl gasped. "But you're trying! That's what Mr. Nick meant when he said you had a good time while we were gone!"

Phoenix dropped his face into his hands while Trucy set her food back on her plate. "I really don't need to hear this. I think I'm gonna go eat in the basement," she said.

Apollo got up with his plate. "Mind if I join you?"

She shook her head and they left the room together. Maya just shrugged and picked up her burger again. "Oh well. They all know what making a baby entails, and they were going to find out eventually."

"I can't wait to have a little brother or sister!" Pearl gushed.

Despite the embarrassment, Phoenix smiled at her. "You'll be a good big sister, Pearls."

She beamed at him and ended up staying in the dining room with them for the rest of dinner, even happier than she had been after her shopping trip.


A/N: So I saw someone actually recommend this fan fic in the Narumayo tag on Tumblr and it really surprised me and made me happy, so it sort of motivated me to finish this half done chapter and get it posted. The next (most likely) two chapters will be focused on something else that I REALLY hope happens in the next game. :(

Thanks for reading!

Guest Reviews:

RaritySunset (not really a guest review but I couldn't reply since you have PMing disabled): Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, it was definitely one of my least reviewed chapters and I believe the pairing was why, but I'm glad it came across as slightly believable and likeable to some people. I swear I didn't use any magic to get you to think so. ;)