October 21st, 2029, 5:57 PM
Fey-Wright Residence

Maya signed off on the last of the wedding invitations before sliding the card over to Phoenix for him to do the same. They'd spent all night hand writing the names of the invitees as well as signing their own names on the handmade cards to send out in the mail the next day. Maya had worked hard on them, wanting them to be more personal than cards you could buy, plus it saved them some money.

With his name signed, Phoenix placed the last card in the pile. He looked up to smile across the table at Maya. "They're done."

Maya sighed. "We finally have a date and a place. It's going to be great, Nick."

"Mhm."

They stared at each other over the table, each with their own smile of contentment, until Maya jumped out of her chair. Phoenix was up just as fast, gathering Maya into his arms to kiss her.

She moaned into his mouth as his hands made their way down her sides and to her behind to squeeze her butt. She pulled away, giving him a sly smile. "Maybe we should celebrate the momentous occasion of finishing our wedding invites."

He nodded quickly. "I think we should. Upstairs?"

Maya grinned at him. "How about the living room?"

"Maya, no."

"Why not?! Trucy is halfway around the world right now, and Pearly is in Kurain."

"It's unhygienic."

"That never stopped you from wanting to do it on the couch at the office where clients sit."

"The bed is more comfortable."

Maya sighed. "Oh, okay, fine, I really don't care that much right now."

He took her by the hand and together they hurried from the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later they both lay together in bed, breathless and sweaty. Maya rolled to her side and let out a laugh of disbelief. "That was quick, but so, so good."

Phoenix wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He didn't say much, he was still in the midst of catching his breath. Maya wrapped her arm around him. "Mm. I was thinking, Nick. Since we're getting married soon, maybe we should avoid sex until then? Just think about how mind blowing it'll be on our honeymoon if we had to abstain for so long!"

Phoenix snorted. "Maya, we both know that out of the both of us, you're the one who wouldn't last that long."

She sat up on her elbow, looking scandalized. "Not true."

He raised an eyebrow. "It is true, and you know it."

She flopped back down. "Only because you're an old man, Nick. Your libido is already starting to drop. I'm still young and frisky."

He laughed. "If you say so. You don't want to give it up anyway because you want to keep trying for a baby, even though you know that if you got pregnant now, you'd look like a balloon in a wedding dress by May."

Maya giggled uncontrollably at his description. "I'd still go through with it though," she said. "I'd just have to get my wedding dress altered."

"We'd have to pay extra money for all the extra fabric they'd have to use to cover you because you're so tiny now. You're going to get huge when you get pregnant."

Maya snickered again, and Phoenix was glad to hear it. It was nice being able to talk about a possible pregnancy without Maya getting upset or anxious over not having conceived yet. Lately it was a touchy subject with her. It was starting to worry him as well, but he knew that stressing over it wouldn't help. They had already passed the nine month mark, and they would pass the one year mark before the wedding in May. He just hoped he could talk Maya out of any doctor's appointments she would want to set up until after the wedding. Wedding planning was stressful enough without the added stress of fertility worries on top.

They were quiet for a few minutes, listening to each other's breathing and the wind blowing outside the window. It was starting to get cooler outside now that it was autumn, especially the further away from the city and the closer to the mountains they got. The leaves on the trees outside the windows had turned shades of red and yellow and orange and were starting to drop. It made for a nice view from their bedroom during the day time.

The rest of the house was silent. Trucy had graduated high school back in June, and as promised she was allowed to go to Khura'in for the summer to visit Apollo and Thalassa. Phoenix worried about her, but she was an adult now, and she had plenty of money from her shows to support herself while she was there. Although it was already October and the summer was over, Trucy didn't have school anymore, and had opted to stay there a little longer. Everyone missed her, but Phoenix knew it was important for her to spend time with her biological mother, as well as Apollo now that they both knew they were related. She'd assured him in their numerous phone calls that she was starting to do performances there and would probably be coming home with more money than she left with, so she would still have plenty for college when she decided to go.

Of course, Apollo and Trucy would both be coming home in May for his and Maya's wedding, which Phoenix was excited for. He missed both of them more than he could even put into words.

Maya hummed happily beside him, jolting him from his thoughts. "Nick, will you do me a favour?"

He turned his head to peer down at her. "What sort of favour?"

She smiled up at him. He didn't like that smile one bit. "Well… I need you to come to Kurain with me sometime this week. The Elders want to have a meeting with both of us."

He groaned. "What for?"

"Because you're my soon-to-be husband and you need to support me when the mean old ladies I have to deal with bully me."

He shook his head, smiling at her. "Okay, yes, I will always support you, Maya. But why do they want to meet with both of us? Is it about the wedding?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Probably?"

"Well, I may not have told them that we already have a date and a location set. They probably want to talk to us about when we want our Kurain Village wedding to be. They still think we're having a traditional wedding there."

He heaved a sigh. "So they're going to be really mad when we tell them?"

"Probably. Or at least, Daisy and Petunia will be. Lily is so ditzy, half the time I don't even think she knows what's going on. Rose will be on our side though, luckily for us." She hugged him. "I'll deal with them, Nick, I just need you there with me for it."

He squeezed her shoulders. "Alright. Of course I'll come. This Saturday, so long as I don't have any cases come up?"

"Yeah, that works. Thank you, Nick!"

"You don't have to thank me, Maya," he said, turning to kiss the top of her head. "We're in this together, right?"

"Right."


October 24, 2029, 9:34 AM
Fey Manor, Kurain Village

When they called to let Pearl know that they would be visiting her on the weekend, she was ecstatic, and promised to have a room ready for them when they came. True to her word, when Phoenix and Maya arrived in Kurain Village and climbed off the bus, Pearl was waiting outside the manor, ready to lead them to their room.

The room she had set up was smaller than Maya's original Master's chambers. The bed was only a double, much smaller than they were used to, but it looked cozy enough. Pearl had lit some white candles and placed them on the bedside tables, which Maya quickly extinguished when she saw them. There were incense burning too, and Maya put those out as well. She shot him a look that told him she would explain later. He had to assume it was just something Pearl had done to make the room more romantic for them.

He couldn't help noticing that Maya seemed a little more tense after that, but she tried to keep up with Pearl's excited chatter anyway. Eventually, she had to interrupt.

"Pearly, I know you're happy that Nick and I are staying overnight and I'm sure your dinner is going to be awesome, but we're tired. We need to rest a bit before we go see the Elders. You know how they are. If I'm tired I'll be grumpy already and they'll just make it worse."

"Oh, okay, Mystic Maya! Have a good rest! I'll see you later."

Maya waved her out, then turned to Phoenix with a sigh. "So," he started, "what was with the candles and incense?"

"Pearly is forgetting about our talk. It's all just stupid Kurain superstition, but these candles are specially made fertility candles, and the incense is supposed to help too. She's trying to help us get pregnant."

Phoenix sat down heavily on the bed. Maya crossed her arms, her lips pursing. "Honestly, Nick. People are starting to feel sorry for us, even Pearly knows it's been too long!"

"It hasn't been a year yet, Maya," he tried to soothe her. "We can't give up yet."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know, you're right." She shook her head and sat down beside her. "It's just frustrating."

He put his arm behind her to rub her back. "I know it is. Trust me, I know. But let's just focus on the wedding for now, okay? Just you wait. The moment you forget we're trying, that's when you'll find out you're pregnant."

She leaned into him. "Yeah, maybe."

"Hey. You should rest. Wedding stress and nerves about this meeting aren't helping either. Take a nap."

She nodded. "Okay. Wake me up in an hour." She shifted onto the bed, not even bothering to change into pyjamas or take her robes off before lying down. Phoenix got up, turned out the overhead light, and left the room to go visit with Pearl.

Around an hour later, he was nudging Maya awake again. "Maya, the meeting is in fifteen minutes. You need to get up."

She groaned and buried her face in her pillow. "I don't want to do it, Nick," she whined.

"Let's just get it over with. Once we tell them, we can enjoy the rest of our stay with Pearls. I'll be with you, remember?"

"Alright, fine." She held out her hand so he could pull her up. "Can you get my brush out of my bag?" she asked, beginning to take her hair down so she could brush the tangles out of it from sleep. Phoenix went to the bag she brought and rummaged through it. He found the hair brush and brought it over, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Here, turn around."

She smiled at him and turned, letting her long hair cascade down her back. Even after sleep it wasn't that messy, but he parted it carefully with his hands to brush any tangles out of it anyway. Maya hummed as he brushed it out gently, liking the tingly feeling she got whenever anyone touched her hair.

When he was finished, he set the brush down and leaned forward, placing his hands on her shoulders and a kiss on her cheek from behind. "There. You'll have to do the rest. Sorry, but I don't know how you get your hair into that topknot."

"It's not a topknot," she said, picking up her hair tie.

"What do you call it then?"

She thought for a moment. "A bun."

"But it sticks straight up on top of your head."

"Only men wear topknots," she said, her fingers winding the hair tie around said bun.

"Whatever you say." She huffed and slid the beads into the hair she parted from the sides, then stood up. Phoenix got up too. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Ready as I'll ever be, at least."

He gathered her in his arms for one last hug. Maya seemed so nervous about this meeting, but he was sure she would do fine. "Let's go."


October 24, 2029, 10:03 AM
Kurain Village

Maya led Phoenix down the road to the small building they called a City Hall. She took one last deep breath before they entered the meeting room together, hand in hand.

As the oldest, Rose was the first to stand up and welcome the Master back to Kurain Village. The others followed suit, though they were all much less enthusiastic. There was nowhere for he or Maya to sit, not even pillows on the floor, so they simply stood in front of the long table the Elders were sat behind on an elevated stage, so that he and Maya had to look up at them.

Daisy cleared her throat as soon as Rose had the welcoming out of the way. "Mystic Maya, we've called this meeting with you and your fiancé today because you've been engaged for almost six months now and we have yet to hear any of your plans." Phoenix didn't miss how the word fiancé was dripping with contempt. She really didn't think highly of him. Daisy continued. "All of us here are assuming you're having your wedding here in Kurain Village, to honour tradition. Is that correct?"

Phoenix glanced down at Maya. He shook his hand from hers and instead wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hoping it would give her more confidence.

Maya crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, but Nick and I have discussed it already. We're having our wedding in the city."

There it was, out in the open. Phoenix glanced back up to the panel of Elders, hoping their reaction wasn't as bad as he and Maya both thought it would be.

Elder Daisy harrumphed from her spot above them. "Mystic Maya, the Master's marriage is a momentous occasion. It's only proper for you to have the wedding here, in Kurain, where your people can witness it," she said.

Maya only shook her head. "You and the rest of Kurain Village are more than welcome to make the trip into the city for the wedding, but the wedding itself will not be held here. I have people in the city as well. Friends and others I consider my family. Not to mention, it's Nick's wedding too, and he's not from Kurain. I'm sorry, but we already have a location, it's a really beautiful park with plenty of room for anyone who wants to come."

The other Elders whispered to each other, but it was Daisy whose face was beginning to turn purple. Phoenix attempted to step in, hoping to calm the situation before it got bad. "What if we make a compromise? We could have the actual wedding ceremony in the city and the reception here?" The wedding ceremony itself was already booked for the park, but they had yet to rent a hall for the reception.

Maya frowned at him. "That makes no sense, time wise, Nick. Kurain is two hours away from the city. We can't expect people to take the train or find rides to or from Kurain after the wedding. It's just not logical. They have to be in close proximity."

"Well, what if we have the honeymoon here? It's quiet, peaceful, romantic—"

"No frickin' way," Maya said.

"Yes, I have to agree with Master Maya," Rose spoke up from the bench. "Having the honeymoon in Kurain is not a good idea."

Phoenix didn't miss the grateful look Maya shot Rose, or the disdainful look Daisy shot her. "Erm… alright."

"I'm not sure why you're not protesting this more, Rose," Daisy said. "At your age, are you really going to be able to travel to the city for Mystic Maya's wedding?"

Rose smiled. "Of course. I may be old but I'm not decrepit. I'll be at the wedding, no matter where it takes place."

"You don't have to worry about that anyway, Daisy," Maya spoke up. "As you know, Rose practically raised my sister and me once our mother left. She'll be taking the place of the mother of the bride and she'll be provided a ride to and from the wedding."

Daisy only glared at Maya, ignoring what she'd said, though it was obvious by Rose's expression that she was ecstatic at this news. It was news to Phoenix too, and he hoped it hadn't been a split second decision made just then simply to make Daisy angry. He was sure Rose deserved it, but he didn't want Maya making such big decisions just to get a rise out of the rest of the Elders.

"What about the rest of you?" Daisy said, looking around at her other companions. Lily simply shrugged, but Petunia was nodding her agreement.

"I have to agree with Mystic Daisy, Master Maya. It's only proper to have the wedding here, the way tradition dictates."

Maya's face hardened. "I've already done away with one of your precious traditions," she growled. "I'm willing to get rid of a few more."

Phoenix had to try not to smile. He absolutely loved seeing Maya stand up for herself. She'd grown one shiny spine since becoming the Master. He was almost sad he wasn't there more often to witness it.

There were a few seconds of silence before Rose clapped her hands together. "Well, I guess that's that. The Master has chosen to have her wedding ceremony outside of Kurain Village. I for one, am happy for her. So long as Master Maya is happy with Mr. Wright, I don't think it matters where they get married."

Maya smiled. "Thank you, Rose. Nick and I will take our leave for now."

She took him by the hand and led him out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind them, Phoenix could hear raised voices. Maya simply ignored it and led him outside where she took a deep breath, like she'd been holding it in.

"You okay?" he asked.

Maya nodded, taking his hand again. "Yeah. They just frustrate me so much, it's exhausting. At least it was fast. Rose will deal with them now."

"I can't even imagine how you deal with them every day."

She shrugged. "I'm used to it, and Rose helps a lot. Without her, I probably would have abandoned this place years ago, taken Pearly, and left it to whatever fate they had in store for it."

He squeezed her hand, leaning down slightly to murmur to her. "You know, if you ever did want to run away, I'd go with you. We could take Pearls and Trucy."

She smiled. "Don't let them hear you say something like that. We'd have another Kurain Village murder on our hands, because one of them would kill you for trying to convince the Master to abandon the village."

"Hey, I wasn't trying to convince, simply letting you know that I'd support your decision if you did."

She giggled. "Yeah. Thanks, Nick."

"Mhm. So, can I ask why it'd be such a terrible idea to have the honeymoon here? Assuming we were left alone, I think it could be relaxing."

"Oh God," Maya said. "No way, Nick. They'd probably force you to endure some sort of weird ritual where they would examine you to deem you worthy of having sex with the Master," she said. "Not that it would really matter since it wouldn't be our first time together. They'd just be using it as an excuse to humiliate you."

"Are you serious? What sort of examination? Like would they measure my—"

"Nick!" Maya interrupted.

"I'm just wondering."

She frowned. "I don't even know for sure but I do know that I don't even want to think about those wrinkly old ladies touching you, or looking at you, or anything! They'd enjoy it too much."

"Oh."

"Not to mention," Maya continued, "they know we're trying for a baby, and Kurain has a lot of traditions surrounding trying to conceive as well. Although, at this point I'd actually be willing to try some of them if it meant I'd actually get pregnant," she mumbled. "Just not on my wedding night."

Phoenix ignored that. He didn't want to get into pregnancy talk yet again. "Daisy was pretty angry," he said. "You don't think she'll try to do anything to sabotage the wedding, do you?"

Maya pursed her lips. "I doubt it. We already sent out the invitations so there's no way she could do anything about that. Since I don't live in Fey Manor anymore, I don't think there's anything she could do. Aside from coming to the wedding and trying to ruin it the day of."

"Do you even want her to come? It's our wedding, Maya. Anyone you think might ruin it, or who you think will make you anxious just by being there, could put a stain on the memory. Rose is obviously welcome, and Lily seems okay, but Daisy and Petunia? I don't know. The two of them together? Maybe they'd conspire together."

"I don't know. As terrible as they are, I'd like to hope they wouldn't try to ruin my wedding, even if they do hate everything about it. I'd feel bad not letting them come."

"Maybe we should hire security. If they do come, knowing that there's security keeping tabs on people might make them behave themselves. Could we afford that?"

Maya shrugged. "We could always ask Gumshoe for a discount. He'd probably be able to pull some strings in the police department nowadays. He's nowhere near the clumsy detective he used to be. People respect him now."

"I'll talk to him about it," Phoenix said. "I think it'd give me peace of mind to have at least someone there to take care of troublemakers. Plus, it's us," he said with a grin. "With our luck something bad is bound to happen."

"Oh, don't jinx it, Nick. Remember poor Ellen and Sorin's wedding? I don't want something like that to happen to us, too."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his side. "Sorry. It won't. It'll be perfect."

She smiled, wrapping her own arm around him. It made walking a little difficult, but they managed. "So, when are you going to ask Edgeworth to be your best man? I mean, you're going to choose him, right? Not Larry?"

"Actually, I already asked him, before I proposed. I'm going to ask Larry to be a groomsmen, and Apollo already knows I want him to be one too."

"Have Apollo and Trucy booked their flights home yet?" she asked hopefully. "They should do that soon and they should come home about a month before the wedding, so Trucy can go to her dress fittings and be part of the bridal shower and all that. And I'm sure Apollo will want to be a part of your bachelor party."

"I'll call him later and see if we can set up a video chat or something soon to make sure he and Trucy are prepared. What about you? I know you haven't asked Pearls yet about being your maid of honour because she would be freaking out about it. You know she'll be in charge of the rest of the bridesmaids, and she'll have to plan your bridal shower, but I think she'll be good at it. She'll be efficient."

Maya giggled. "Athena and Trucy will hate her by the end of it. I'll ask her soon. She'll need time for all the planning."

The walk from the City Hall to Fey Manor was a short one, and when they were standing outside their wedding talk ceased. Maya sniffed the air. "It smells like Pearly is done lunch. I'm starving. Let's go eat. Then I have something else to show you."

"You never told me you had something else planned."

She smiled, pulling on his hand. "It's a bit of a surprise. It's a good one though, I promise."

"Okay then," he said, following her into the house. Maya's surprises were not always as good as she promised them to be, but he decided to have faith in her this time.


October 24, 2029, 1:36 PM
Kurain Village

They ate lunch with Pearl, who chattered on and on about wedding plans and told Maya about things that were happening in Kurain Village while she wasn't around. Apparently one of their distant relations recently found out she was pregnant, and a little girl just down the road was starting to show signs of being able to channel, seeing as her mother had walked into her room one day to find her daughter gone, and a little boy wearing her clothes in her place instead. After freaking out and calling the manor, Pearl had headed down to the home to explain to the mother that it was normal, calm the scared little boy, and help him leave the girl's body. Phoenix was glad to know this little fact, seeing as he was currently trying to have a child with the Master of the technique, and a Fey of the main family. If they had a daughter together there was a good chance that would happen to her someday too, and he could see himself having a similar reaction to the mother of the little girl.

Pearl was excited about the baby news but Maya was mostly quiet about that. She did get excited at the prospect of another new spirit medium though. Not all the women in the village were capable, and if they weren't part of the main Fey family, it was never a for sure thing that a female child would be able to spirit channel.

Maya made sure to take the girl's name so she could talk to her mother about it. As the Master, it was her job to educate the citizens of Kurain who didn't know much about channeling, and to ensure her that training her daughter's ability would help her control it.

After lunch, Maya told Pearl that she and Phoenix had plans. It was the perfect way to get Pearl out of their hair, seeing as she never wanted to do anything that would interrupt quiet time between special someones.

Maya told him to wait with Pearl while she packed a bag for wherever they were going, and after a few minutes she finally appeared again with a large bag full of stuff. All he could see was some sort of fabric sticking out of the top.

"Let's go, Nick!" She waved to Pearl. "We might not be back for a while, Pearly, so don't wait on us to make dinner for yourself or anything."

Pearl smiled and nodded. "I hope you two have fun!"

"Oh, we will," Maya said quietly.

Outside, Phoenix stopped her. "I'm worried, Maya. Where are you taking me and what's going to be so fun about it?"

She grinned at him and walked ahead. "You just have to wait and see. Come on, it's a bit of a hike."

He hurried to catch up to her. "A hike? While you're wearing those shoes? And aren't you cold?"

Maya shook her head. "I had to take this walk every day when I was training so I'm used to doing it in my sandals, and no. I'm used to the cold weather out here, unlike you."

Phoenix crossed his arms. She was right. He was already getting chilly, even in a long sleeved shirt.

"Don't worry, Nick, you won't be cold for long!"

He followed her up the path, grumbling all the way about how steep it was and how out of breath he was already getting. Maya just ignored him and continued up the mountain, not stopping for a breather even once. The higher they went, the colder he got. Eventually the sounds of the wind whipping through the trees and the birds chirping began to be replaced by the loud rushing of water.

Maya stopped in the middle of the path and looked around. There didn't seem to be anything, but that rushing sound of water indicated there was a waterfall or a stream somewhere. Maya peered through the trees, then pushed some branches out of the way and started to struggle through them.

"Maya. Where are you going? There's not even a path that way."

"Just trust me, Nick. Come on, no one else knows about this place so I never made a path. I try to go in a different way each time so I don't push down a path. No one can tell I've been going in here."

He sighed and moved forward to help her. Leaves and twigs were getting caught in her hair, but she pressed on. "What is this place, Maya?"

"I come here to relax. No one can bother me. I wanted to share it with you."

They struggled through the brush for a few more steps until Maya stepped out into a clearing. Phoenix looked around as he followed her out. There was no waterfall, but he could still hear that rushing water. It must have been close by, but the pools in front of them were clear and smooth, with steam billowing from them. The rocks surrounding the water were smooth as well. Maya set her bag down beside the pools.

"Hot springs?" he asked.

Maya nodded excitedly. "I told you it'd be worth it! They're natural. I think maybe a really long time ago the people in Kurain used to use them because there are parts of it that seem like they were maybe carved into the stone, but everything is so eroded now that it's hard to tell. They're beautiful though, aren't they?"

"They really are," he said, gazing around the area.

She smiled, taking his hands. "Let's go in."

"I didn't bring anything to swim in."

Her smile only widened. "We don't need anything, Nick. This area is closed off, and no one knows about it. No one will see us. Are you really a 36 year old man because I swear sometimes you're still as clueless as a little boy."

She bent down to rummage through her bag. She pulled out some candles, which he noticed looked strangely similar to the ones Pearl had put in their guest bedroom, and a few matches to light them with. She set them around the edge of the pool and lit them.

"I brought towels and stuff, so nothing to worry about there," she said, waving the match in her hand to extinguish it. "I thought this would be romantic."

He shifted. "It's the middle of the day, though."

"No one knows where we are," she assured him. She shook her head. "Well, I'm going in, with or without you."

He stood where he was, watching as she slowly began to untie her obi. She smiled coyly at him and turned her back to him so she could fold it up and set it on the ground. When she straightened back up, he watched her open the robe and begin to slip it down her shoulders. She was teasing him, moving slowly and sexily to entice him.

He watched appreciatively as her shoulders and back came into view, and then her buttocks and legs. She looked back over her shoulder before stepping into the shallow part of the hot springs and slowly sinking down so she could get used to the temperature. She submerged herself up to her neck before she turned around. He never got a glimpse of her front, and he found himself a little disappointed.

Maya sighed. "It feels great, Nick. Come on. You always complain about your bad back. This'll definitely soothe your muscles. Plus you said you were cold! The water is so warm."

He looked around. Maya was right. The trees were thick and they were pretty high up on the mountain now. He doubted anyone would be up here peeping on them, if anyone else even knew about this place.

He groaned and started to pull his shirt over his head. Maya cheered, which only made him embarrassed. "Shush, Maya," he mumbled.

"What? I'm just enjoying the show. You're hot, Nick."

"I said hush."

She grinned but kept quiet until he was undressed and finally in the water with her. She reached out for him, pulling him closer to wrap her arms around his neck. "I brought blankets and food and wine," she told him. "We can spend all day here."

He pulled her over so she could sit on his lap. "I feel like a nudist."

Maya laughed. "Come on, Nick. It's nice! I brought towels and bath robes for when we get out to eat and stuff. It'll be fine."

"Since when are you so romantic?" he asked. He was actually sort of impressed that Maya had planned all of this without him knowing. When had she bought wine? When did she make food to bring? He had no inkling she had something like this planned.

She shrugged, moving in even closer to cuddle him. "I just wanted to make this trip worthwhile for you."

"Maya, thank you. I appreciate it, but I hope you know you don't always have to try making it up to me when I come to Kurain with you. Neither of us like it, but we're partners. Spirit channeling is your thing, but I'm always happy to support you."

She leaned forward to kiss him quickly. "I know you are." He smiled at her, running his hand up her shoulder and pulling her in for a deeper kiss.

They spent the afternoon up on the mountain in and around the hot springs, kissing and chatting and then kissing some more, until Maya got hungry and they were both pruned up from the water. They dried off and put on bathrobes, sat on their blanket to eat and drink, and then laid down together on the blanket, in each other's arms.

The candles Maya had lit earlier were burned down to nubs, and the sun began to set around them. Maya turned on her side, smiling down at Phoenix. His eyes were closed but she knew he was awake.

She leaned down to kiss him, felt him tense with surprise before melting into her kiss. Before long they were shedding their bathrobes again, and he was pushing her down beneath him. They were quiet as they made love. In the setting sun it seemed more appropriate to keep quiet. The only noises were the sounds of the rushing water coming from somewhere nearby, and Maya's quiet gasps beneath him.

When they finished they managed to take another dip in the hot springs to clean up before getting dressed. It would be full dark soon, and they had to make their way back down the mountain before then. Phoenix was almost sad to leave the little area, but as romantic and nice as it was, it was still out in the wilderness, and he didn't want to stay to find out what sort of animals would come out in the dark.

As they were leaving the little thicket, Maya took Phoenix's hand. "Don't tell anyone about this place, Nick," she said quietly.

He gripped her hand tightly as they maneuvered through the brush and back onto the trail. "I won't."

She smiled, leaning up to kiss him one last time. "It'll be our place. Just for us, where we can come whenever we don't want to be disturbed. When we just need some alone time away from work and kids and Elders."

"I think that sounds great, Maya."

She nodded, taking his hand again to start the trek down. They were quiet for a few seconds, until Phoenix spoke up again.

"You know, I don't think I've ever had sex outside before. I guess I can cross that off my bucket list."

Maya laughed. "It may have been the first time, but it certainly won't be the last."