August 21st, 2030, 6:30 PM
Kurain Village Bus Stop

Maya felt like she was waiting for a long lost lover rather than her husband who she hadn't seen for a single night as she sat on the bench at the bus stop. Phoenix was texting her the whole way, telling her which landmarks he was passing as the train sped towards the mountains. Some of them made her smile; they were things no other traveler would understand but the two of them. They'd made that journey together so often that they were able to pick out things like a certain spot on the mountains in the distance that looked like a face, or a copse of trees growing in a spiral motion, as if they'd been planted that way on purpose.

When he finally texted her that he could see the Kurain Boulder in the center of town, Maya looked up to wait for the bus to come into view. Sure enough, a minute or two later she could see the bus speeding down the paved road, only slowing once it reached the gravel road. A cloud of dust followed it, and Maya stood up from the bench when it finally approached and stopped.

She wasn't surprised to see that Phoenix was the only person on board. Not many people came to Kurain Village unless they had an appointment for a channeling. They weren't famous enough yet that people would come simply to visit. Their tourism came purely from their channeling.

Phoenix stepped off the bus with a bag in hand, only to drop it on the ground when Maya jumped into his arms. He caught her around the waist and held her tight while she kissed his cheek.

"Niiiiiick, I missed you!"

He laughed and set her back down. "Wow. I wasn't expecting that greeting."

"I'm just glad you came. I'm really, super sorry—"

He held up a hand to cut her off. "Thanks, Maya, but it's okay. Everything is forgiven. We'll talk more about everything later, okay?"

She looked down at the ground. "I don't deserve you."

He took her chin in his fingers to tilt her head up to look at him. "Yes, you do."

She smiled. "Pearly's almost got dinner ready. Rose is here, too. Wanna head inside?"

"Yeah, let's."

He picked up his bag again and followed Maya across the road to Fey Manor. As soon as they entered the foyer he could smell whatever Pearl was cooking, and it smelled delicious. Pearl only came out of the kitchen long enough to give him a hug and say hello before she was gone back into the kitchen. Maya took his hand. "Come on, Nick. You can bring your bag to our room."

He followed her down a less familiar hallway than the one her old Master's Chambers were in to the guest bedrooms. Maya entered the room ahead of him and held the door open. He walked past her and threw his bag haphazardly onto the floor while looking around. It'd been a while since he'd stayed in one of the Fey Manor guest bedrooms. Back when he and Maya were still just friends he would stay in one when he visited her, but that only lasted a few years before he started sleeping in her room with her, all the while trying to keep quiet so no one, Pearl in particular, would realize they were together.

He turned around, opening his mouth to say something about it to her, only for Maya to quite literally jump on him. She caught him off guard and he was thankful the bed was so close, because he fell backwards onto it, instinctively wrapping his arms around her so she wouldn't fall. She landed on top of him instead and he was grateful she wasn't very heavy. She shifted to straddle him and leaned down, capturing his lips with hers.

He kissed her back, but only for a few seconds before pulling away. "Maya. What are you doing?"

She kissed him again, desperately. He couldn't help laughing through it, which only made Maya pull away with a pout. She got off of him and sat cross legged on the bed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Phoenix pushed himself up on his elbows. "You trying to make amends or something?"

"Hmph. Maybe."

He snickered. "You already apologized, Maya. You don't need to do anything extra."

"Maybe I wanted to... because I missed you."

He chuckled. "Come on. It's been one day. Besides, Pearls and Rose are just out in the kitchen."

She pouted again. "I'm all pent up..."

That made him laugh out loud. "I think you can handle a few more hours."

She whined. "Niiiick."

He grinned at her and reached over to grab her waist, tugging her over to tickle her. She shrieked. "Stop it, Nick, you know I don't like tickling! I will pee on you!"

He stopped. "You are gross."

"You know how ticklish I am! It makes me panic, I can't help it!"

He smiled at her as she leaned over him. "Pearl is going to call us for dinner soon anyway. I don't think it's something she wants to walk into."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She flopped down, resting her chin on his chest. "You're comfy though."

"Is that a way of telling me I'm getting fat?"

Maya brought a hand up to pat his stomach. "Nah. Still nice and hard, don't worry. But I would still love you if you ended up with a dad bod."

"Good to know."

She scooted forward just enough to press a kiss against his chin. "Have I told you I love you yet?"

"I don't think you have, actually."

"Well, I do."

They were interrupted before he could say it back by a knock on the door, and Pearl's voice. "I hope you two aren't doing what I think you are. Dinner is almost done."

Maya laughed. "You can come in, Pearly, unless cuddling is too much for your innocent eyes to see."

She opened the door and peeked in slowly, as if she thought Maya was lying. All she saw was Maya sprawled out against Phoenix's chest. He sat up, and Maya fell into his lap with an 'oof' noise where she again got comfortable.

Pearl put her hand against her heart. "Aaw, you two are adorable, but dinner is almost done."

"Thanks, Pearls," Phoenix said, feeling more like the child in this situation than the adult.

Maya sighed and sat up. "We'll be right there. You know I would never skip dinner, even if cuddling Nick is almost as good."

"Only almost?"

Maya grinned at him and jumped off the bed to follow Pearl out to the kitchen. Phoenix followed behind and entered the kitchen to find Rose on one side of the table. Maya was sitting down across from her, and Pearl was already starting to spoon out their dinner. Phoenix took a seat beside Maya, but not before bowing slightly to Rose.

"I'm happy you could join us, Mr. Wright," Rose said with a smile.

"I've told you before, Rose, you can call me Phoenix. You've only known me for ten years," Phoenix said.

Rose smiled but waved a hand. "Oh, it's not proper. A man of your intellect and position should be referred to respectfully."

Maya snickered. "Intellect?"

Phoenix frowned at her. "Like you can talk."

"Sssh," Pearl interrupted. "It's time to eat. No more arguing at the dinner table."

"Yes ma'am!" Maya said, saluting her before digging into her meal.


Dinner went well, with conversation staying light and casual. Phoenix was grateful that both Rose and Pearl seemed to understand that the last thing Maya wanted to talk about right now was the pregnancy issue, so neither brought it up.

The food Pearl had cooked was delicious as always, and though he was pretty full just from dinner, the dessert she'd made looked so good Phoenix had to have some of that as well. Maya, of course, didn't fail to eat twice the amount he did. He still had no idea how she managed to stay so skinny.

After clearing the table they stayed in the kitchen talking with Rose for a bit longer. Eventually Pearl said goodnight and wandered up to bed, and soon enough Maya was yawning and tugging on Phoenix's sleeve too.

"Nick, I have to get up early for a training exercise with the younger acolytes tomorrow. We should probably head to bed now."

"I didn't realize it was so late already!" Rose said, looking up at a clock on the kitchen wall. "It's past my bedtime."

Maya looked over at the sink and sighed. "We didn't do the dishes yet though. I'll get on that, I guess."

"Oh, no need," Rose said before Maya could stand. "You've both had a long day. I'll get those dishes done for you and then head home for the night."

"Are you sure, Rose?" Maya said. "It won't take me long."

"I'm quite sure," she said with a smile. "You should head to bed."

Maya nodded gratefully and stood up. Phoenix followed suit. "Thank you, Rose," he said, turning to follow Maya out of the room.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix stopped and turned back from the doorway as Maya went on ahead of him. "Yeah?"

Rose smiled softly at him. "I just wanted to thank you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Thank me for what?"

She gestured for him to come closer. He turned from the doorway and entered the kitchen again, watching as Rose placed her hands on the table in front of her where she sat. "I wanted to thank you for being understanding about Master Maya's… predicament," she said. "She must have told you about Kurain's unfortunate luck with men, yes?"

Phoenix nodded. "She told me about that years ago."

"She would never admit it, but I think she's still scared the same thing will happen to her someday. I don't doubt that she loves you, or that she knows you love her, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's worried about external factors driving you apart despite the love you have for each other. That something will force you apart. Something like this in particular."

"No one has to thank me for staying with her through this," he said. "I love her, no matter what happens. It's not her fault anyway. I'd never blame her, and nothing will ever be able to force me away from her."

"I know," Rose said. "And I think she knows it, too. But I still think there's a niggling thought in the back of her mind, a little tiny 'what if?'" She thought for a moment before speaking again. "You know, you and her remind me very much of Master Maya's mother and father. They were just as in love as you two are, but he still left."

Phoenix sat down at the table across from her, rubbing the back of his neck. "You can't compare me to some man I've never even met."

Rose smiled. "I'm not trying to. I'm just letting you know; Maya might not have known her father very long before he left, but she does know her family history. She knows about her mother and father's romance, and she knows that he still left. Make sure she knows you're not him."

"I will." He sighed. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

Rose nodded. "Of course."

He lowered his voice before speaking, just in case Maya came back to the kitchen. "…Maya cares about this whole thing a lot more than I do. I mean, I care about it because I care about her, her health and her feelings, but having more kids was never a priority for me. I had nothing against having another kid or two if it was what she wanted, but if she didn't want to have any, I wouldn't have minded that either. So this news… it really only hurts me because it hurts her. She seems to think she doesn't deserve me or she let me down or something because she can't have a child with me, but I don't care about that at all."

He leaned back in his chair. "I don't want to tell her that, though. I'm afraid she'll take it the wrong way."

Rose leaned forward to pat his hand. "All you need to do is support her, Mr. Wright. Continue doing that and I think you'll both be fine."

"That's one thing I can definitely do," he said.

"Good," she said. "You should get going now. Master Maya has not been known to be patient, and I'm sure she missed you this past night."

Phoenix smiled at her. "Right, I should go."

Rose winked at him. "Try not to wake Pearl."

Phoenix laughed, though he felt slightly awkward given the obvious meaning to Rose's words. "We won't."

"Good. I'll head out as soon as I'm finished these dishes."

"Do you want me to wait and walk you home? It's so dark out."

"No, I'm fine, dear. My home isn't too far away and Kurain Village is quite safe."

"Alright. Goodnight, Rose. And thanks for worrying about Maya. I'm glad at least someone here has her best interests at heart," he said.

With that he left the kitchen, heading down the hallway to the bedroom Maya had brought him to before. It wasn't as big as her old Master's chambers, but it was cozy, and all that mattered was that Maya was there.

He entered the room quietly, and sure enough when he looked, Maya was already passed out on the bed. She had a nightgown on, but it looked like she'd simply laid down on top of the covers to wait for him, and had fallen asleep in the short time he'd been talking to Rose.

He smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed, lifting a hand to run his finger over her cheek, and brushing some of her hair from her eyes. She shifted, her eyes opening to blink up at him.

"Mm, Nick. Why'd you take so long?"

"I was just talking with Rose. Nothing important, really."

Maya closed her eyes again. "Okay."

"Here, Maya," he said, standing up and pulling the covers back. "Get under the sheets."

She sleepily crawled beneath the sheets and allowed him to tuck her in. He placed a kiss on her forehead before he started getting undressed himself. By the time he was finished and was crawling into his spot beside her, Maya was fast asleep again.

Unlike what Rose assumed, it was obvious nothing was going to happen between them tonight. Maya had a long day, and all Phoenix really cared about was getting into bed with her so he could just hold her again.

It was strange, he thought. Back when they first got together, they sometimes went weeks without seeing each other, let alone being able to kiss or cuddle or have sex. Of course he always longed for her back then, but it wasn't like now. Now that they were finally married and living together, and coming home to each other at the end of their days, it was worse when they were apart, even for a single night. He could hardly stand it.

He wrapped his arm around her middle and shifted close enough to her that her back touched his chest. Maya only wriggled a bit to get more comfortable, one of her hands automatically coming up to hold his wrist where his arm was around her.

He fell asleep with the familiar smell of her shampoo in his nose.


August 22nd, 2030, 8:30 AM
Fey Manor, Kurain Village

Phoenix woke the next morning seemingly having switched positions with Maya, though when he thought about it, it was the same almost every morning. She woke up first and snuggled up with him while he was still half asleep, until his alarm woke them, or in today's case, he woke naturally.

She seemed to sense that he was awake and lifted her head to look at him. He tightened his arm around her shoulders, not wanting her to get up from the position she was lying in yet.

"Hey," he said.

She smiled. "Hey to you, too. Sorry I fell asleep so early last night. I was exhausted."

"I can imagine," he said. "You slept okay last night though?"

She put her head back down on his chest. "Yeah. Especially with you here."

"Mm. You weren't lying when you said these beds were really small."

"They're comfy though," she said. "And I like being close to you."

He smiled. "Is it just me or did that one night apart feel like a month?"

She chuckled. "It's not just you. God, what are we going to do if one of us actually does have to go away somewhere for a few days without the other? It'll be awful."

"We've done it before."

"I think that's exactly why it's so hard now," Maya said, echoing his thoughts from the night before. "We spent so many years in a long distance relationship that now I don't want to be away from you for even a day. When I left the other night I didn't realize how it'd feel."

He squeezed her shoulders. "We're together now. That's all we need to think about."

Maya sighed, pulling out from under his arm and sitting up. "We should shower and get dressed. I have that class I need to get to."

Phoenix sighed. "Do you have to? Won't the acolytes be happy if you cancel and give them a day off?"

Maya smiled down at him. "Afraid not. Most of them really enjoy their training. They'll all be disappointed if I cancel."

"Ah well," Phoenix said. "It can't be helped then. I don't want all those little girls to hate me for keeping their Master from them."

"Thanks, Nick. But hey, the class is only two hours. It won't even be lunchtime by the time I'm done. And afterward I want to go back up to…" she lowered her voice, "our super secret hot springs."

Phoenix perked up a bit at that. "I'm definitely up for visiting them again. You know I'm not usually an outdoorsy type but…"

"But we have some nice memories up there now, right?" she said, grinning down at him and walking her fingers up his chest. "Maybe some memories you'd like to revisit?"

"I'm not opposed to that at all."

She paused for a second as she absentmindedly traced circles into his skin with her finger. "That's not the only thing I want to do there though," she said, looking up at him. "We need to have a talk, and it's the most private place I know of."

He started to sit up a bit. "Are you sure, Maya?"

"Yeah. I don't want to keep running from it, and I think I'm okay now. I'm ready to talk about what else we can do."

"Okay," he said, reaching forward to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. "You're so strong, Maya, you know that?"

She smiled. "Stop."

"I'm being serious!"

"Don't get all mushy on me right now," she said, jumping off the bed. "Come on. Let's share the shower."

After breakfast Maya headed off to her training session, leaving Phoenix to laze around Fey Manor alone. Pearl was off training a different class of older acolytes, so he was alone in the large house. There was a TV in the living area, but because of where they were located there was no TV service, and all Maya still kept at the manor were old Steel Samurai DVDs, so he went in search of a book to read instead. After finding one about Kurain's history, he made his way out to the Winding Way. It was a nice day, and if he was going to be stuck in Fey Manor without Maya, he might as well try to relax.

Relax he did, at least for an hour and a half before he started to get bored. Maya said she'd be finished her class before noon, and it was approaching 11:30 already, so he closed his book and headed inside. Pearl had come back from her own class not long ago, and he found her reading a book of her own in the living area.

"Hey, Pearls?"

She looked up. "Yeah, Mr. Nick?"

"Do you know where Maya's class was today? I want to go meet her there. She said she'd be done before noon."

"You know where the training waterfalls are?" Pearl asked. "It's just outside of the caves there. The littler girls can't go under the falls yet so Mystic Maya just sort of lets them splash around in the river there while they train."

Phoenix smiled. "So it's really like a fun swimming day, huh? No wonder Maya said they'd be disappointed if she cancelled."

Pearl nodded. "Yeah, they all really look forward to it. But it should be ending soon. Sometimes the girls convince her to stay longer, so maybe it'd be a good idea for you to go get her."

"Thanks, Pearls," he said, already heading out of the room to find his jacket and shoes.


He found the small river ahead of the caves where Maya trained relatively easily. He could hear splashing and shouting before he even got there, and when he did finally emerge from the path heading towards the river, he saw a group of about six young girls, and Maya, splashing around in the water. It certainly didn't look like any sort of training he'd ever heard of.

He recognized most of the girls from his other times visiting, and it was the youngest of them who spotted him first. He knew her by the name Sierra. She was only four years old, a tiny girl with light brown hair in braided pig tails, and big green eyes. He never saw her without a smile, despite Maya telling him in private that her mother was a sickly woman fighting off an illness that would most likely kill her in the future, and who was often away from Kurain Village staying in the modern hospital in the city for different procedures.

The old saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' couldn't have been more true in Sierra's case. When her mother was away, different people in the village would take care of her. Maya, being childless herself, took her into Fey Manor on more than one occasion during her mother's times away, and Phoenix knew Maya had a sort of attachment to her. Sierra hadn't even shown any signs of spiritual power yet, but Maya made sure to include her in the training sessions anyway, just so she wouldn't feel left out.

He watched as a smile broke out on her face and she splashed to the shore to climb out of the water. She didn't even stop to grab her towel before she ran for him. Phoenix braced himself. She was soaking wet, but that wasn't going to stop her from tackling him. Luckily she was small, and all she managed to do was wrap her arms around his leg.

"Mr. Nick!" she cried. Phoenix smiled at her use of his nickname. The other girls who knew him all called him Mr. Wright, but Sierra always pronounced it Mr. Wight, so Pearl had suggested she use the nickname she and Maya always used. He didn't mind if it made it easier for Sierra to say.

He bent down to give her a hug. "Hey, long time no see. Are you having fun here with Master Maya?"

Sierra nodded quickly. "Yes! Master Maya is the most funnest person ever!"

Phoenix looked over her head to where Maya was climbing from the water and helping the other girls dry off. "She is pretty great, huh?"

Soon enough Maya approached them, leaving the other girls to dry off themselves. Her own hair was still dripping, but she had a dry towel in her hands for Sierra. "Come here you," she said, throwing the towel over the girl's head.

Sierra laughed, and Phoenix stepped back while Maya took over. She looked up at him as she patted the towel over Sierra's hair. "Sorry Nick, I know it's already almost noon. We were having too much fun."

He smiled at her. "I'm sure this is very important spiritual training. It's fine."

"Don't mention this to anyone," she murmured. "Pearly's the only person who knows."

"Don't mention this, Mr. Nick!" Sierra repeated.

He patted her on the head. "I won't."

Maya stood up, and Sierra reached up to slip her hand into Maya's. Maya looked down and smiled before she turned back to him. "This is just something for the littler girls," she explained. "They all work so hard at their regular classes, they deserve some time for fun, too."

"It's great, Maya," he said, leaning in to peck her on the cheek.

Sierra squealed. "Eew!"

Maya laughed. "Let's take you and the others home, Sierra. Girls!"

The other girls who were still playing near the shore turned at Maya's voice and came running. They had towels wrapped around themselves but their clothing was still soaked. The ones who knew him greeted Phoenix, the others simply looked at him shyly. They all knew who he was—the Master's new husband—but Maya hadn't personally introduced him to everyone in the village yet, and probably never would but people knew him simply from the fact that he was married to their Master.

They all began to head back, the older girls running ahead, but Sierra stuck by Maya's side, holding her hand until about halfway through when she stopped suddenly and began to rub at her eyes. Phoenix glanced down at her just in time to see her yawn.

He bent down to her level. "Sierra, do you want to ride on my shoulders?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yes! Please!"

"Here, I'll help you up," Maya said, bending to lift the girl into her arms.

She settled on Phoenix's shoulders easily, and she was so light he had no issues lifting her. Her hands settled on his head and he made sure to hold onto her legs. Maya fell back a bit with the other girls, watching Phoenix lead the group with Sierra. It felt almost nostalgic to her; she could still remember the way he would lift Pearl up like that, and then eventually Trucy as well. They were both too old for things like that now, but Maya always knew eventually Phoenix would have the chance to do things like that again, with his and Maya's own son or daughter.

That wouldn't be possible now, at least not biologically, but as Maya watched Sierra giggle atop his shoulders Maya knew that that didn't mean it was impossible.


It just so happened the home Sierra was currently staying in was the last stop on the walk home. They brought the other girls home first, and eventually Sierra wiggled her way off of Phoenix's shoulders. She squished herself between Phoenix and Maya, taking one of their hands in each of hers. They swung her between them, causing her fits of giggles. By the time they reached the house where she was staying they were all laughing and smiling, and Maya was almost sad to be dropping her off. She would have to volunteer to take care of Sierra at the manor the next time her mother was in hospital.

Maya patted Phoenix on the arm when they reached the house. "Nick, can you wait here while I talked to Mystic Rei?"

"Of course."

Sierra stayed where she was, watching Maya head up to the door but being immediately distracted by Phoenix saying something to her. Maya knocked on the door, and it was answered right away by a woman in Kurain acolyte robes, her straight black hair falling down her back, almost as long as Maya's. She had no children herself, so she often volunteered to take care of Sierra in her mother's absence.

"Master Maya," she greeted, bowing slightly. "How is Sierra?"

"She's wonderful," Maya said, glancing back. Rei looked too, watching as Phoenix lifted Sierra as she clung to his bicep.

"Your husband seems to think so as well," Rei said.

Maya chuckled. "He's so good with kids."

"Are you planning on having any of your own?"

Maya felt a quick jolt of disappointment go through her. "We don't have any plans to yet," she said, not wanting to get into any details. She hadn't even spoken to Phoenix yet about everything, they were going to head to the hot springs after dropping all the girls off.

Rei nodded, not noticing anything amiss. "Take your time to enjoy being newlyweds first. There's no going back once you have a baby."

Maya laughed nervously. "Yeah, you're right. Anyway... I wanted to ask if you'd heard anything about Sierra's mom lately? She's been gone almost a week this time, right?"

"Yes. I haven't heard much today, but the other day Elder Rose told me that she's in bad shape this time. It may be an extended stay."

Maya sighed. "Alright. Thank you so much for taking care of Sierra while her mom is gone, Rei, but I don't want you to miss too much training. I'll take her next week if her mother isn't back yet."

"As you wish, Master Maya."

Maya turned. "Sierra!" she called. "Say goodbye to Nick, it's time to go inside with Mystic Rei."

Sierra stamped her foot beside Phoenix. "Don't wanna! I wanna stay with Mr. Nick!"

Phoenix knelt down beside her. "Be a good girl, Sierra. I have to go with Master Maya right now anyway. I promise I'll come visit you more often."

Sierra pouted, then threw her arms around his neck. "'Kay."

Phoenix patted her on the back before she let go and ran up the sidewalk to Rei's side. "Bye bye Master!" she said, waving at Maya.

"Bye bye, Sierra," Maya said, then looked up to Rei. "Have a good afternoon."

Rei took Sierra's hand. "I'm sure we will."

Maya turned and made her way back down the sidewalk to Phoenix, who was just rising from his kneeling position. She took his hand and quickly led him away from the house.

"Let's go back to the manor, Nick," she said. "We can grab some things and then head straight up the mountain."

He squeezed her hand as she dragged him along. "Sounds good to me."


They made a quick trip back to the manor to grab some food and blankets, and this time Phoenix insisted on changing into swimwear despite Maya's teasing protests. They let Pearl know they were going out for a "picnic" and wouldn't be back for a few hours before heading out and towards the mountain where the hidden hot springs were.

Phoenix had to follow Maya's lead most of the time. Even though he'd been there once before, it was a well hidden area, and Maya had purposely gone in a different way each time so as to not flatten down a path that others would find. They did eventually make their way through the trees, though by the time they both stumbled into the clearing their hair was full of twigs and leaves, and Maya had stubbed her toe on a rock at some point.

She breathed a sigh of relief as they made their way into the clearing where the steam from the hot springs rose into the air, and the sound of a far off waterfall could be heard. She reached up to pick a leaf from Phoenix's hair.

"I'm starting to think maybe we should make at least a little bit of a path somewhere where other people won't notice it off the main path."

Phoenix smiled. "It might be a good idea, yeah. We're going to get hurt climbing through all those trees one of these days."

"Oh well," Maya shrugged. "We'll think about that later. For now, let's get in that water," she said, wiggling her shoulders with excitement.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow as Maya quickly dropped her robes unceremoniously on the rocks. "I thought you wanted to skinny dip again?" he asked.

Maya turned to show off the dark purple bikini she was wearing. "Well, since you insisted on wearing swim trunks I thought I'd wear this. I saw it at the store the other day and decided it'd be a nice way to tease you. Do you like it?" she asked, playing with the strings on the bottoms. One yank on that string and she'd no longer be wearing them.

"Obviously," he said.

She grinned at him and turned to step into the pool. It was a stunning sight to behold, the image of Maya stepping into the water as the steam from the hot springs rose around her, her long hair hanging loose down her back. She was breathtaking.

She sunk down into the water with a sigh and looked over to find him staring at her unabashedly. She smiled. "Come join me, Nick."

He blinked out of his stupor, and Maya watched appreciatively as he lifted his shirt over his head, then climbed into the pools with her.

She let herself bob over to him, and he reached out for her, putting his arms around her to pull her closer as he rested back against the rocks. Maya settled herself over his lap and leaned in to kiss him.

He kissed her back, but when she pulled away he stopped her from initiating again. "Maya. Tell me if you've changed your mind... but the reason we actually came out here today was to talk about things, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," she sighed. "I honestly forgot, I'm not trying to delay this time. You're just so sexy is all," she said, running her hands along his shoulders.

"Well, thanks," he said, smiling at her. "But really. We have to talk."

She nodded. "Yes, okay."

"So... what are your thoughts?"

"Alright." She took a minute to gather her thoughts before speaking, but she knew this was the right decision. "I don't think I want to get the surgery anymore."

Phoenix raised his eyebrows at her. "Are you sure? You didn't just change your mind because of me, did you?"

She shook her head. "No. I did think about what you said though. It might not even work, and if it does work there's still a chance things could go wrong with the pregnancy, and I really don't know how I would handle that. I think it's just a lot of risk to take when there are other ways to go about this."

She sighed, one of her thumbs stroking his neck. "I won't lie, I'm really disappointed that I'll probably never get to have the experience of being pregnant. I really wanted that, and I also wanted to create a life with you, you know? But then I thought… there are so many kids in the world who don't have parents. And I know we'd be great parents, Nick, to any child who doesn't have any. We already are, right?"

Phoenix smiled at her. "Yeah, we are. You're sure this is what you want?"

Maya nodded. "Yeah. I think we should look into adopting a baby. I know it can take a while, but by now I'm used to waiting."

Phoenix pulled her closer, hugging her tightly to his chest. "I'm sorry, Maya."

She curled her arm around his neck and leaned in to press her face into the crook of his neck. "You don't have to apologize, Nick," she said softly into his ear. "It's not like this is a step down or anything. Sure, there'll be things I won't be able to experience, but we'll still have a baby. A baby who, without us, wouldn't have anyone."

"Yeah, you're right."

She sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder. The hot water around them was soothing, and Maya felt content with her decision, so she didn't cry. She'd done too much of that recently.

"You know something, Maya?"

"Hm?"

"All those little girls today… they really look up to you. You might not be their mother, but you're still a role model to them. Particularly Sierra."

Maya smiled. "She is adorable. I feel bad for her given her family situation, but that's part of the reason I always include her even though so far she doesn't seem to have any channeling abilities."

"It's the right thing to do. Do you think she'll ever be able to channel? How early do you normally notice it in Kurain girls?"

Maya shrugged. "Her mother can't channel, and as far as I know they're not even distantly related Feys, so it's a small chance."

"There is still a chance though? Even if she's not distantly related to you at all?"

"Yes. Girls born here all have a chance of gaining spiritual power, even if they're not part of the Fey family tree. I don't really know how it works, to be honest. It might have something to do with being Mystic Ami's resting place, or just the fact that the Fey family has lived here for generations, so it's just a more spiritual place than other towns."

Phoenix hummed. "Why was there such a shortage of spirit mediums here when I first met you then? There are a ton now, but you and Pearls were the only two I knew back then."

"It's just a theory I have, but I think it's because my mom was gone for so long. She was the Master and her not being here made the village itself lose some of its spiritual powers. When she died and the role of Master was finally transferred to me, girls being born here started exhibiting spiritual power again."

Phoenix blinked. "Huh."

Maya chuckled. "I know. It sounds like complete B.S. but hey, we can channel dead people, so anything is possible right? Besides, like I said, it's just a theory. Kurain Village is really a mystery nowadays, so who knows."

"Isn't there a library here with all sorts of history and knowledge about Kurain?" Phoenix asked.

Maya waved a hand. "As if I have time to read all of that stuff."

"It might not be a mystery if you felt like researching it."

"Mm, nah. Maybe I'll tell Pearly to do it."

"You can't make Pearls do everything you don't want to do."

Maya grinned. "Fine, I'll just suggest it to her."

"You know she'll do it just because you asked. Pearls is nice that way."

"Yep, exactly."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Sneaky."

Maya settled her chin on his shoulder again, getting quiet. The warmth of the water made her feel a little sleepy, but Phoenix's fingers pressing into her back reminded her that they were all alone…

She turned her head a bit to press her lips against his neck, and even in the heat of the hot springs she felt him shiver. His arms tightened around her, pulling her impossibly closer.

"Maya..."

"Ssh," she said, pressing another kiss lower, towards his collar bone. "I don't want to talk about anything anymore. I want to just... love you, Nick, without the constant hope or worry about anything else in the back of my mind, okay? I just want you."

She pushed herself back using his shoulders for leverage and looked at him to find him smiling, and felt his fingers run up her back to play with the strings of her bikini.

"Okay, Maya."

She smiled and leaned forward to press her lips to his.