Hey guys. I can't believe it's been almost two months since I last updated this. This chapter is pretty much a filler, but at least it's something, right? Some good stuff will definitely be happening in the next.

Also, you will notice that I really suck at/hate writing trials. And so, I just don't write them at all.

It's also come to my attention that I have never mentioned before that a murder occurred during the robbery, and that's what Phoenix's client is accused of. I could have sworn I mentioned that detail in a previous chapter but now I don't believe I ever did. So yeah. It's not a big thing since the trial isn't really a big part of the story, but just in case you're confused, that's what's going on.

"Good morning, Sleepy Head."

A groan is all that comes out of the disheveled and rather pale looking Maya as she shuffles from Phoenix's bedroom into the kitchen. She sits down heavily at the kitchen table and drops her forehead onto the cool surface. At some point during the night she's apparently rummaged around in his dresser to find something other than her clubbing outfit to wear, as she's now in baggy pyjama bottoms that are so long on her they're flopping off her feet, and one of his t-shirts, the collar of which is hanging off a shoulder.

Phoenix has to contain a laugh. Serves her right for getting so hammered the night before. He pours a glass of water for her and sets it on the table. "You look like a zombie," he observes.

Maya turns her head so her cheek is pressed against the table and scowls at him. "Coffee, Nick. Need coffee."

"Water is better for bad hangovers," he tells her.

"Ugghhh."

He heads out of the room for a few seconds and comes back to find Maya guzzling her water down. "Whoa, save some for these," he says, setting two ibuprofen tablets on the table. "They might help your headache."

"How did you know I had a headache?" she says, picking up the pills and popping them into her mouth to swallow down with more water.

He goes back to the kitchen counter and gets two coffee cups out. "Well, with how drunk you were last night, I figured you'd have a pretty bad hangover today."

She groans again. "I'm never going out with Ema and Kay again." She sniffs the air. "That coffee smells really good. I drank my water, so you better bring me a cup."

He already has it poured, and as soon as he's finished making up his own cup, he brings them both to the table and sits down, pushing Maya's across to her. "Here."

She wraps her hands around the cup gratefully and leans down to sniff at it. "Mmm." She takes a cautious sip and closes her eyes. "Blissful."

Phoenix smiles at her. He thinks he prefers her this way. Dressed in his way too big clothes, hair messy from sleep, makeup smeared across her face. It's so much more Maya than how she'd looked the night before.

She opens her eyes and sees him staring at her. "You're looking at me funny," she says.

He blinks. "Sorry. Your makeup… It's kind of all over the place."

She rubs at her eye with her index finger, which comes away smudged with mascara. "Well that's embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than needing me to carry you to bed last night?"

Maya flushes and puts her head down on the table again. "Did you really?"

"Yep. Ema walked you up."

"Then no, this isn't more embarrassing than that."

Phoenix is almost tempted to tell her about how she tried to kiss him, but clearly she doesn't remember, and it's embarrassing for him too. Embarrassing, and a little confusing if he's being honest with himself. Did she really only want to kiss him to 'practice' their little act, or was there more to it than that? Looking at her now, perfectly sober and acting like her normal self, it's impossible to tell what's going through her head.

"When's the trial?" she asks, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"A few hours. Trucy's already off at school, and I'm good to go, so the shower and bathroom are all yours."

She nods and sips at her coffee again. "I'll go take a shower as soon as I'm finished, then give Pearly a call to let her know I'm still alive and not in prison or anything, then we'll still have time to get to the courthouse."

"That works for me. Did you want something to eat? Toast or something?"

She shakes her head. "If I eat anything I'll probably puke in the middle of the trial today." Maya grins suddenly. "How grossed out by that do you think Molly would be?"

"Pretty grossed out, but I wouldn't be able to blame her for that. Everyone would be grossed out."

"Hmm, good point." She leans back and stretches, lifting her arms above her head and reaching for the ceiling. "Ah, I feel gross. Guess I'll go get in the shower now."

"Alright. I'll get everything ready so we can leave for the trial right away. We don't want to be late again."

Maya smiles. "Not that the judge will care, since we're so in love and all. Apparently that gets us out of certain penalties."

"Yeah, but we probably shouldn't push it."

"I know, I know," she says, waving her hand at him. She gets up, pausing for a second.

"Are you okay?"

She nods. "Yeah, just felt a little dizzy there. I think a nice shower will make me feel a bit better."

"Go ahead. I'll be waiting."

"Mhm. I'll try to be quick."

He eats as he waits for her, and when she finally emerges from the bathroom she's dressed back in her Master's robes, her hair back up and the makeup from last night wiped off, with the exception of the light lip gloss she's taken to wearing lately, which she's reapplied neatly. Now she looks like his Maya. He smiles at her. "Ready to go?"

She nods. "Let's do this."

They make it to the courthouse on time and stand around discussing the case for a few minutes. When Molly makes her first appearance, for once she says nothing to them. Maya raises an eyebrow at him when she all but ignores them, and he can only shrug in response. She still says nothing as they make their way into the courtroom, apparently keeping all of her focus on prosecuting.

The trial is long, and exhausting. Molly seems to pull out every witness possible, but in the end Phoenix is able to pull the truth from each and every one of them. Unlike most of his trials however, the real killer isn't among the questioned witnesses. All they manage to prove is that his client isn't guilty. Even though it's a victory, it's almost anti-climactic, knowing that the real killer is still out there somewhere, probably hoping that Mr. Nodme will take the fall for their actions.

Phoenix is almost certain that now the real robbers will strike again. He just has to hope that this time there won't be any casualties.

When they emerge from the courtroom after hours upon hours of testimony, both he and Maya are tired, and his throat is sore from all the talking. He knows he gets loud during trials, he can't help it, but the trial had been so long that by the end of it it was all he could do not to keep his voice from cracking with exhaustion.

He's ready to go home with Maya and spend the rest of the day just sitting around watching movies or whatever Maya decides to do. He wants to just be normal around her for a little bit, and hang out like the friends they are. Unfortunately, he must have used up all of his good luck in the trial, because Molly follows them from the courtroom and clears her throat to get their attention.

Phoenix turns around with a sigh, and Maya stops beside him. She looks just as tired as he is.

"Hi Molly. I hope you're not here to tell me that I was wrong. I think we proved pretty well in there that my client was innocent," he says, hoping to curb any annoying remarks before they even start.

"I can concede defeat, Phoenix," Molly says, sounding a little annoyed. "I'm not sure what other kinds of prosecutors you've defended against in the past but I'm able to admit when I'm wrong. The man was innocent. You did your job defending him and I have no doubt now that I was wrong about him."

Maya and Phoenix exchange a glance, but Phoenix decides to take the easy route and simply nod at her. "Thank you."

"Of course the only problem is, we don't have a suspect anymore. Which means the real killer is still out there, and they will most likely rob another bank soon enough. I'm sure the only reason they haven't yet is that they wanted your client to take the fall, and robbing a bank while he was in custody would have proven he was innocent."

Phoenix nods. "But putting an innocent person in jail wouldn't have helped. Now we know the real culprit is still out there and the police will have to continue looking, so we find the right person."

"I agree," Molly says, raising her hands. "I'd hate to put an innocent man in prison. Like I said the day we met, I'm not interested in winning streaks. I don't consider today a loss, we prosecutors and defense attorneys have to work together, and we did. I didn't lose and you didn't win, we simply got to the truth together."

"Not the full truth though," he says.

She shakes her head. "No. I hope the police are able to find some more leads."

"Me too. Now, Maya and I are going to head home," he says, putting an arm around Maya's waist to lead her away.

"Wait," Molly interrupts. They both turn to look back at her. "I wanted to ask you out to dinner."

Phoenix rolls his eyes and Maya can't help the audible sigh that escapes her lips. "Molly, why do you keep doing this? Maya and I are together. I won't go out with you."

She clears her throat. "You didn't let me finish. I want to invite the both of you out to dinner. I understand that you're together but I'd still like to treat you both to dinner as a… truce, I suppose. I already have a date for tonight, so I won't be third-wheeling you two."

"You have a date?" Maya says, raising her eyebrows. "You've been so focused on Nick lately I'm surprised you had time to find one."

Molly shrugs. "Yes, well, when you look like this it's not that difficult," she says, gesturing to her general self.

Phoenix can hear a quiet growl starting in Maya's throat so he taps his fingers lightly against her hip to distract her. "Fine then, we'll come to dinner with you. Tonight?"

Molly nods and smiles pleasantly. "That'd be great. I already made reservations," she says, handing over a card with an address on it to Phoenix. "It's a fancy restaurant, so try to look nice."

Phoenix doesn't miss how Molly looks directly at Maya when she says this. He wonders if it's just his imagination, or is the air directly around Maya getting hotter? When he chances a look at her face, Maya is fuming. He rubs her arm comfortingly, and though it doesn't do much to calm her down it at least stops her from lashing out.

"We'll see you later," Phoenix says, pulling Maya away from the conversation.

When they're safely outside of the courthouse and Molly is nowhere in sight, Maya huffs. "She always has to get in a dig at me, Nick. I don't believe her when she says she understands we're together. She's planning something."

"I have to agree. She's not the type to give up so easily. Who do you think her date is?"

Maya shrugs. "Probably some loser who only dates people based on their looks. Molly is model hot. I believe her when she says it's not hard for her to get a date. Except apparently, when you're her target." Maya pats him on the back. "I'm proud of you for resisting her, uh, charms, Nick." He doesn't say anything, and Maya side eyes him. "Why did you reject her anyway? I know before you said you don't want to date just for looks, but how do you know you wouldn't have gotten along with her if you'd gotten to know her?"

There are any number of reasons he can tell Maya, but while it is true that Molly had rubbed him the wrong way from the start, mostly due to her overly flirtatious personality and her inability to take no for an answer, there is one main thing that had kept him from accepting.

"She has red hair," he says quietly.

Maya looks confused for a second, before understanding dawns on her face. "Oh, I see."

"It's stupid, I know," he says. "It's been years, I should be over it by now, and I know that Molly isn't Dahlia. But that hair… it reminds me too much of her."

Maya's fingers find his hand and she grips it tightly. "It's not stupid, Nick." She smiles up at him and he finds that smile more comforting than anything. "Maybe we'll both be wrong and this will be a normal dinner."

"Yeah, hopefully. Let's try to enjoy it."

Maya squeezes his hand. "Hey uh… want to come shopping with me? I didn't bring any fancy clothes with me so I'll need to buy something."

"What about that outfit you were wearing last night?" he asks, smirking down at her. Maya lowers her head and he can see her cheeks reddening.

"That was a clubbing outfit, not a fancy outfit for a double date at a nice restaurant. Looking at it when I woke up was sort of embarrassing."

He would never admit to her that he wasn't exactly a fan of the outfit either. To him, it didn't match her. It was like she was trying to act like someone else, someone she isn't. Then again, he never knew her to wear anything other than her Kurain robes. Maybe that is the style Maya likes to wear when she's dressed casually.

She looks so embarrassed. He knows the next words out of his mouth might embarrass her more, but for different reasons.

"I think you looked nice," he says. It's not a lie, she did look nice. She looked… well, rather sexy, in a provocative way, not that he would admit that to her. That's exactly the reason he didn't like the outfit. It made him think about her in that way, and he's trying to avoid doing that at all costs, but that's getting more and more difficult the longer this scheme goes on.

She doesn't look up at him. In fact she keeps her face pointed straight down at the sidewalk, but he can still see how her already red cheeks flush even further. Has she gotten so embarrassed when he's complimented her in the past? Or did he not compliment her enough and now that he is, she doesn't know how to react?

"Really?" she says quietly.

It feels like a repeat of their conversation from the other day and he realizes that Maya is a lot like him when it comes to compliments. She either doesn't believe she's worthy of them, or wants to make sure he's not joking; that he really means what he says.

"Yeah, really. But I know what you mean about it not being a date outfit. It's more the type of outfit you'd use to get a date."

She smacks him on the arm. "Nick!"

He laughs. "Sorry, sorry. I know that's not what you were doing last night. I don't think you'd cheat on me after all," he says, giving her a sideways glance.

"Of course not. I'm not that kind of girl," she says, finally smiling up at him. "So, shopping?"

He sighs. "I guess so. Am I buying?"

"Nah. I mean yeah I'll make you buy me a burger or two sometimes but I won't force you to buy me an entire outfit. Unless of course you want to. You are my boyfriend after all, don't boyfriends do that sort of thing?"

He leans closer to her to whisper. "Not the fake ones, they don't."

They only go back to the Wright Anything Agency long enough to drop off their case files from court that day. Phoenix tells Trucy that Maya needs to buy a new dress because they've been invited out for dinner with the prosecutor, but makes no mention of it being a supposed double date. Since it's not an outright lie, Trucy doesn't notice anything off about his explanation.

An hour later, he's with Maya at the mall, following her around while she peeks into every store she sees a cute dress in. It's starting to get tiring already; he's not really one for shopping. Being a lawyer at least has its perks when it comes to formal wear. He has everything he needs already and doesn't need to buy anything for himself. And he supposes it's probably a stereotypical man thing to think, but he doesn't get why Maya won't just go into a store, find something half decent, try it on, and buy it.

"Hmm…"

"Maya, why don't you go try it on instead of standing here looking at it through the window?" he says, shifting to his other leg while he stands beside her, waiting.

Maya rubs her chin thoughtfully as she stares at the dress on display in the window. "That mannequin has way bigger boobs than me."

"I'm sure they have smaller sizes!" he says, trying not to sound too flustered.

"No, I need something that'll make my boobs look great, because Molly has awesome boobs."

"Stop saying 'boobs', please."

Maya looks at him with that grin that tells him she's been doing it on purpose to bother him. "Let's go to the next store. I promise I'll go in and try something on."

He shrugs and follows her to the next clothing store in this section of the mall. It certainly looks more promising. The styles are for younger women and he's sure something in there will suit Maya. She seems to think so too, because she takes his arm and drags him inside.

One of the workers smiles at them from behind the cash register. "Can I help you two find anything?"

Maya shakes her head. "No, I'm just looking, but thanks!"

She spends a few minutes looking through racks and on shelves for things to wear, turning to him for his opinion on every other outfit she finds. He's not sure why it matters what he thinks. He's not an expert on fashion. On the fifth or sixth one, he finally tells her so.

"Nick, I know you're not an expert but come on… You have to think something would look good on me, don't you?"

"I don't want to tell you what to wear, Maya. It's your decision."

She puffs out her cheeks. "But I want your opinion." She holds up one of the dresses against her front. "Just tell me honestly, do you think I could pull this off?"

He sighs and looks it over. He's sure she probably could. "Why don't you try it on?"

She smiles at him and nods, taking it and a few others with her to ask the saleswoman if she can open a change room. He expects her to let him wander the store while she tries it on, but instead she takes his arm again and leads him to the back. "Wait here while I change," she instructs.

She goes inside and shuts the door behind her. He sits down on the cushiony bench placed outside the change rooms to wait for her. It takes her a few minutes, and just as he's starting to wonder if he should ask her if she's okay, she opens the door to the change room.

"Well?" she says, stepping out shyly from behind the half open door. "I don't know about this one…"

The dress she's wearing has a tight white sequin bodice that hugs her waist and a short black chiffon skirt. It looks pretty, but it just doesn't seem fancy enough. It looks more like something she could wear to a casual party.

He shakes his head. "You look great," he says, not wanting to say anything that will hurt her self-esteem, "but I just don't think it's the one that'll make Molly jealous, you know?"

She nods thoughtfully. "Yeah, I didn't think so. I'll go try on one of the others!"

He smiles and sits down to wait for her again. She has a few dresses in there to choose from and again it takes her a few minutes before she says anything.

"Hey Nick?" she calls.

"Yeah?"

"Here uh, can you ask the lady if they have a size smaller in this one?" she says, throwing one of the dresses over the top of the change room door. "I think it's a bit too big."

He reaches up to pull the dress over the door and folds it as neatly as he can in his arms. "Sure. I'll be right back."

There are only a few other customers browsing the store, so he finds the woman that initially greeted them rather easily and holds the dress out to her. "Do you have this in a size down?"

"Let me go check," she says, taking it from him. "I'm sure we probably have one somewhere."

He follows her over to the rack where Maya originally found the dress and while she rifles through the hangers, she glances at him. "I know this isn't really any of my business but can I just say how sweet I think it is that you're in here helping her out? Not many husbands do that sort of thing anymore."

"I'm not her husband actually," he corrects.

"Boyfriend then," the woman says. He doesn't correct her again. "Most men won't even come in the store, let alone actually help their girlfriend pick something out. And you wouldn't believe how many guys I hear complaining loudly about how long their girlfriend's take, or completely dismiss her when she asks for their opinion. I feel embarrassed for her."

He scratches the back of his neck. "Well, it's nothing really."

She pulls out another one of the dresses and smiles. "Here. This one should be her size. Sorry for complaining to you about my customers. It was just nice to see a guy in here voluntarily helping out for once, and taking their girlfriend seriously. I had to say something."

"Thank you. It's okay, I appreciate the compliment."

He heads back to the change room and knocks on the door. Maya shyly opens it a crack, and he tries not to notice how her shoulders are bare. "Here, Maya," he says, slipping the dress through the tiny crack in the doorway.

"Thanks."

She closes the door again and gets to work changing. A minute or so later, she opens the door just a crack. "Um, Nick… I need help."

"Alright? Help with what?" She opens the door wider and turns around. He can see that the back is a zipper that she's only managed to get about a quarter of the way up. "Can you zip me up the rest of the way?"

"Yeah, no problem." He reaches for the small zipper while Maya holds her hair out of the way and slowly zips it up. Just two days ago he was smearing sunscreen all over her, so why does he feel so awkward again?

He steps back from her when he's done, and Maya drops her hair and turns to the mirror to check herself out. When she sees her reflection, a small smile grows on her face, and he can tell she's happy with herself. He can see why. The dress is a simple black, but formal enough for a dinner date without coming across as trying too hard to be sexy. And yet it is sexy, in a different sort of way. He can't explain the difference but somehow there is one.

It fits her snugly and falls to knee height, so the length doesn't seem too revealing, but at the same time it's off the shoulder, so it shows off her bare shoulders and neck wonderfully. There's a split in one side that shows off a bit more leg, and a keyhole cut out that reveals a small patch of her skin on her stomach, just below her breasts. Even that somehow still looks classy on her.

She turns away from the mirror to look at him and finds him staring at her. He starts when he notices her smirk. "Do you like it?" she asks innocently.

"You look… beautiful." He can't find it in him to reign in his compliment even a little. It's how he feels and he can't lie and tell her it just looks good because it's so much more than that.

She grins at him and turns to look at herself again. "Yeah, I think this is the one."

"It is," he confirms. "Every guy in the place will be looking at you."

"I'm not sure I'd go that far, Nick. Molly is still Molly. She's got everything going for her."

"She's not you though."

Maya turns her back to him again to hide her shy smile. "Unzip me so I can change back. I just need to get some shoes after this. You don't need to get anything?"

He starts unzipping her, unable to keep his eyes from following the curve of her back as it comes into view with every inch the zipper goes down. "I have everything I need at home."

"You're just going to wear your suit, aren't you?"

"I do have other clothes you know." He stops when the zipper reaches its end, and his eyes fall on a small mark on her back. He reaches a finger out to touch it without thinking, and Maya freezes.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Oh, sorry," he says, pulling his hand away. "I just noticed you have a small scar on your back. Guess it just surprised me."

"Oh that," she says, turning around. She's holding the dress up against herself so it doesn't fall forward. "I fell off a swing when I was little," she explains. "Right onto a tree stump."

"Ouch."

She shrugs. "I was so little, I can't even remember it."

"I guess that's a good thing… Here, I'll let you get changed." He steps back, and Maya closes the door. She's a lot faster at putting her robes back on, even though he assumed it would take a few minutes, given all the wrapping and tying she has to do. But she's used to it, and it only takes her a minute or so before she's coming out of the change room with a handful of dresses. The one she's decided on is hanging over her arm, still attached to its hanger.

She sighs and looks at the other one she'd tried on. The white bodice and chiffon skirt. "I really like this one too, but I can't afford both. I'll go put it back."

He doesn't know how much it costs. He doesn't really care. Just looking at her longing stare makes him give in. "I'll buy that one for you."

She looks up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. You looked really pretty in it. And you never know, you might need it."

She grins and gives him a quick hug. "Thank you, Nick! Now I just need to get some shoes."

"Those heels you wore last night aren't good enough either?"

Maya makes a face at him. "They would be… if my feet weren't already killing me from wearing them all last night. I need to get something with a way smaller heel for tonight."

They go to pay for their purchases and once they have bags in hand, Maya heads for the shoe store.

By the time they get home it's already approaching 4 o'clock, and the reservations written on the card Molly had given them say they need to be there for 6:30. Maya pushes him into the bathroom, telling him to hurry up and take a fast shower so she can use the bathroom to get ready when he's done.

He does need a shower after the trial and walking around the mall, so he does what she says without any complaints and when he emerges again, Maya is right there waiting in the hallway. If she's at all embarrassed to see him standing there in just a towel, she amazingly doesn't show it.

"What the heck, Maya?" he says. "I thought I'd at least be able to get to my room with some privacy."

Now her face does show some semblance of embarrassment. "Sorry, uh, I just really need to get in there. Perfection takes time, you know, especially if I'm competing against Molly."

Despite his almost overwhelming urge to get to his bedroom and away from her roaming eyes, which she is having a very hard time controlling, he still feels the need to reassure her. "You don't have anything to worry about. Trust me, all eyes will be on you." Just like your eyes are all over me right now, he thinks. He's not sure whether to be flattered or not, as he can't really tell at all what she's thinking.

"I could say the same to you," she mumbles.

"What was that?"

She looks up at his face and he suddenly understands every woman who's ever had to make a "my eyes are up here" comment to someone. "I just mean…" she gestures at him. "Wow. I mean, I've always thought you had nice arms I won't lie, but I didn't realize… the rest of you was so… nice."

He blinks at her, then finds himself laughing. She puffs her cheeks out. "Stop laughing! You just surprised me that's all!" She rushes into the bathroom with her dress, shoes, and another small bag, and slams the door shut behind her.

A minute later he hears the shower starting again, and goes to his bedroom to get dressed. At least he knows he doesn't have to be too worried about his looks. Maya was clearly impressed. It actually gives his mood a little boost, and he finds himself looking forward to the dinner, even if Molly will be there with whoever her date is.

It doesn't really matter, because like he'd told her earlier, everyone's eyes will be on Maya tonight. Including his own.

Thanks to my readers for sticking with this story, even with the long gaps between chapters. I really appreciate all the reviews and favs/follows.

If you noticed any major mistakes or typos, let me know.