Phoenix dresses quickly in one of the rare black suits he owns, leaving the tie off. He remembers wearing it for one of his parent's friend's weddings a few years ago, but hasn't touched it since, so it's basically brand new. He takes his locket from the pocket of his other suit jacket and places it into the new one.

His thoughts drift to Maya in the shower… naked… Getting out of the shower… naked. He wonders if she'll need help with her dress again. She'll probably just ask Trucy though, which he finds kind of disappointing.

He blinks at himself in the mirror as he fixes his cuffs. Where are these thoughts coming from? They really need to stop. This isn't real, he reminds himself again, even if it does seem to get easier to pretend as each day goes by. He wonders briefly what Maya's reaction would be if he did ask her out on a real date. Knowing Maya she would laugh, thinking he was joking.

He goes to the top of his dresser to dab some cologne on. Maybe Maya would laugh, but she had also told him straight up that she thought he was a catch, she'd even tried to kiss him. Granted, she was drunk, and he still doesn't know if she had reasons for wanting to aside from 'practice', or if she remembers at all. She's shown no sign since then that she has any interest in him. It's all so confusing. But one thing he can't deny anymore is his feelings for her are becoming… well, confused. If she hadn't been drunk last night, he's not so sure he would have denied her.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He still needs to find Trucy to talk to her about helping with the party, which he supposes he has to throw now that he's told Edgeworth about it. When he steps out into the hall he can still hear the shower running, so he decides to ask her while Maya is still busy.

He finds Trucy in her bedroom, practicing some sort of trick with Mr. Hat. She smiles at him when she sees him lean against her open doorway. "Hey Daddy! Lookin' good! Miss Maya is one lucky lady," she says, winking teasingly at him.

Phoenix rolls his eyes. Trucy is almost as bad as Pearl nowadays. "You know it's not like that, Truce."

She shrugs. "Well, still. I hope you two have fun together."

"Right. Anyway, Trucy, I need a favour."

She looks at him skeptically. "Last time you needed a favour I had to ride my bike an hour away to a crime scene to find evidence you didn't get during your investigation, while you were in the middle of a trial and stalling."

"Okay, yes, that was bad planning on my part. But it's because of you I won that trial and I do recall giving you extra allowance that week, right?"

She purses her lips. "Yeah, you did."

Phoenix crosses his arms. "Well, there's more money in it for you if you do this. I think you could have fun with it anyway, especially if you invite Pearls…"

Trucy's face immediately lights up. "Yes! We haven't hung out for a while. I'd love to invite her down! What do you need?"

Phoenix glances down the hallway again, ears straining for the noise of the shower. It's still on, so he doesn't worry about Maya overhearing. "I wanted to have a party in the office, for Maya, while she's here. We never did have a homecoming party for her like we wanted, and we did just win our case. I think it'd be nice to celebrate, you know?"

Trucy grins. "That's a great idea, Daddy! I'll call Pearl as soon as you both leave and we'll start the planning right away! How much time do we have?"

"Just a few days, I'd like it to be hopefully this weekend?"

Trucy stands up straight and salutes him. "It shall be done!"

"Great."

"Who should I invite?"

Phoenix shrugs. "Edgeworth said he would come. Athena should be back from her trip by then too. She'll be flying back to the States on Friday. You could see if Prosecutor Blackquill wants to come, too. It doesn't have to be a big thing, just a few people is fine."

"Okay, noted!"

Phoenix can hear the shower shut off. "Maya will be done soon. It's a surprise, so don't tell her, alright?"

She nods. "It'll be our secret, and I'll make sure Pearl doesn't blab either."

"Good girl," he says, smiling at her.

She darts forward to hug him. "Have fun tonight, Daddy. I know you say there's nothing between you and Miss Maya but I have my doubts, even if you won't admit it. You're always happiest when she's around."

He squeezes her in his arms and brushes off her comment with a laugh. He can't admit to her how true that is, or that he's starting to have his doubts too.

After talking with Trucy he goes to the living room to wait for Maya. The minutes tick by, leaving him wondering what on earth is taking so long. He's about to get up to go check on her when she calls for him anyway. He goes to the bathroom door and knocks hesitantly.

"Uh, Maya? Did you yell for me?"

The door opens a crack and Maya peeks out. "I need you to zip me up again."

"Okay," he says, maybe a little too eagerly. "But you do know Trucy is home, right? She could have helped you."

Maya nods but says no more, just opens the door so he can come in. It doesn't look like she's even attempted to zip it this time. The zipper is down as far as it can go, which is… quite far. He can see that little scar on her back again in the fluorescent light of the bathroom, and decides he quite likes it.

Maya taps her foot. "Earth to Nick, come on."

"Right, sorry." He quickly zips her up, and Maya turns around to smile at him. Her makeup looks the same as usual, maybe with more mascara or eyeliner, but he's no expert on cosmetics, he just knows it's a lot less than what she was wearing when she came home from that club. The thing he notices the most is her hair. It's piled on top of her head in an extravagant looking bun, a few strands strategically placed to frame her face. That must have been what was taking her so long.

She hands her magatama necklace to him silently, and turns around again. He drapes it around her neck and clips it closed. The magatama really does tie the outfit together, the golden hue is the pop of colour that it needs.

He smiles at her when she turns around. "Are you ready? We have to leave soon if we want to get there on time."

She nods and follows him out of the bathroom. "Just have to get my shoes, then I'm good to go." She stops and twirls in her spot. "Do I look good? Will I show up Molly?"

He holds his arm out and she takes it. "You look great, Maya. It wouldn't matter if Molly showed up naked, you'd look better."

Maya laughs. "Well, you don't look half bad yourself. Classy, actually."

"Why thank you."

When they enter the living room together, a flash goes off, and they both stop to blink. Trucy lowers her phone, smiling. "A picture for the memory," she says. Phoenix rolls his eyes while Trucy observes the picture. "Hm. You're both blinking. Can I please take a proper one?"

"We have to go, Truce," Phoenix says, attempting to get to the door. Trucy is quicker than him though. She steps in front of it.

"Pleaaase, Daddy? Miss Maya is part of our family, I want more pictures of her."

Phoenix looks at Maya, who shrugs. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. We do both look pretty awesome so we'd better preserve the evidence, right?" she says.

"Yay! I knew Miss Maya would see it my way." She holds her phone up again. "Get ready."

Maya moves in closer to him, wrapping one arm around his waist and resting the other on his chest. His arm is already around her, and he stares down at her as she smiles for Trucy's camera. Such a pretty smile. It's like she's actually happy to be so close to him, like she's not just putting it on for the camera.

When Trucy's flash goes off again, he isn't even looking up. He expects Trucy to ask for another where he's looking at her instead of staring down at Maya, but instead she just stares at her phone, a small smile on her face. "It's perfect," she says quietly. "You guys can go. Have fun."

Maya leads the way out of the office and down to the street where they hail a taxi.

When they arrive at the restaurant, Phoenix and Maya wait for a few minutes while other well dressed and probably more well-to-do guests are led inside. Phoenix can only hope his credit card will cover the cost of two dinners in a place so swanky. When the host finally gets to them, Phoenix gives him Molly's name and tells him they have a reservation. The host nods graciously and leads them to their table. Molly and her date don't appear to have arrived yet. They both slide into one side of the booth beside each other while the host slides two menus onto the table and tells them that their waiter will be around soon.

"Molly's late," Maya says once the host has gone. She sounds satisfied that they're the first to arrive, even though Phoenix knows it's only because they're early.

He doesn't say so to Maya. He doesn't want to do anything to shatter her confidence tonight. Instead he turns to her, leaning his elbow on the table, and simply stares at her as she peruses the menu. He wasn't lying when he told her all eyes would be on her. He's well aware of all of the men whose eyes had darted away from their own dates to follow Maya as she walked past their tables on the way to theirs. Aside from how beautiful she looks tonight, her presence seems to demand attention. It's like she's putting on an air of authority tonight, and Phoenix can't help admiring it. He wonders if he's seeing a glimpse of Maya, Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique tonight, instead of just Maya, his funny assistant. He feels oddly proud of her.

Maya turns to him and catches him staring. He looks away quickly, as does she. "Um… What are you going to get, Nick?"

He hasn't even picked up his menu yet. "I'm not sure," he says. "Do you think we should wait for Molly and her date before ordering?"

He looks back at her, catching a look of disappointment on her face. "I guess so, but I'm starving. I hope they don't take much longer."

He says nothing, just continues looking, and Maya fidgets, finally resting her elbow on the table to cover her face with her hand. She's blushing, he can see it in the light. "Nick, stop it," she mumbles.

"What?"

"You keep looking at me."

He raises his eyebrows. "So? I can't look at you?"

He can see the corner of her mouth twitch, trying not to smile. "No."

He turns in his seat and picks up his menu. "Well, fine then."

Maya suppresses a laugh at his pouty face. "You know, I kind of wish Molly wasn't coming tonight," she says suddenly.

Phoenix looks at her again. "What do you mean?"

Maya shrugs. "Well, I'm not sure I believe her that she's given up on you yet. But even if she has and she's perfectly normal tonight, I wish it was just you and me having dinner together, dressed up all fancy. Just because."

Just because. Right. Phoenix smiles. "That'd be nice. I'm afraid I won't be able to afford another restaurant like this for a while though, so you'd better try to enjoy it even if Molly is here."

"Yeah, you're right. Look at these prices. Can you even afford tonight?"

"My credit card is going to take a hit but I should be okay."

Maya switches arms, resting her other elbow on the table, this time so she can face him. He glances away from his menu at her. "Now you're looking at me."

Maya smiles. "I'm just… grateful."

"Grateful?"

"I don't deserve half the stuff you do for me, Nick."

He shakes his head. "Not true. You're doing this as a favour for me, it's the least I can do."

Maya blinks. "Doing what as a favour?"

He turns to her, eyebrows furrowed. He lowers his voice before he answers. "Pretending to be my girlfriend?"

"Oh! Oh right," she laughs nervously. "Yeah that. You're right! I do deserve this meal, it's what a good fake boyfriend would do, right?!" She picks up her menu again and sticks her face into it, seemingly very interested in it all of a sudden.

Eventually the waiter appears to take drink orders. Maya teases Phoenix about getting wine but ultimately ends up with a glass of water once she glances down at the wine prices. He gets the same. As the waiter is leaving with their drink orders, they can both see the host enter the room again. Molly's red hair and equally as red dress are easy to spot behind him.

Maya leans over towards Phoenix, trying to get a good view of who her date is. It's probably no one either of them know, but he's curious too. Maya must see him first, because she smacks Phoenix hard in her excitement, causing him to wince.

"Oh wow," she whispers harshly to him. "No way. Molly could do so much better…"

Phoenix cranes his neck and Molly's date finally comes into view. "Oh, damn it."

Maya giggles madly as the other couple makes their way to the table. Phoenix isn't exactly in a giggly mood, he has no idea why Maya finds this so funny. Molly slides into the opposite side of the booth so she's sitting across from him. Her date slides in beside her, opposite Maya, and grins at them.

"Hey Nick! And cute Maya, of course! Oh!" Larry Butz places his hand over his mouth. "I guess I shouldn't flirt with you anymore, now that you two are a thing, huh?"

"I think maybe you shouldn't flirt with her because you're here with someone else," Phoenix says bluntly, looking at Molly. "So where'd you find him? You could do better, you know."

"Nick! Don't be so mean to me!" Larry protests.

Phoenix ignores him, and Molly raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she says. "Larry is a sweet guy. We met the other day at an art gallery."

"Oh please, I've known Larry since I was four years old. You can't tell me you didn't know he and I were friends?"

"Of course I didn't! I just said we met at an art gallery. It's a total coincidence, right babe?" she says, turning towards Larry.

Larry grins and nods. "Isn't she just the hottest thing you've ever seen, Nick?"

Phoenix can't help rolling his eyes. Of course Larry would be absolutely smitten with her. She's exactly his type. But there's no way she didn't know about his and Larry's relationship, and there's no way this is just a coincidence. Maybe she's trying to make him jealous by dating one of his friends? Well, that's not going to work because first and foremost he could never be jealous of Larry, and secondly, with Maya sitting beside him, he has no reason to be jealous in the first place.

Phoenix ignores Larry and wraps an arm around Maya's shoulders. She's been relatively quiet since they got to the table, still deep in her menu trying to figure out what she wants to eat. She looks up at his touch. "Maya, what do you want to get?"

"I think I'm going to go for the lobster, if you don't mind, Nick."

"Of course not. Anything you want."

Molly sets her menu down and calls over a waiter. The action annoys Phoenix. Her and Larry have only been at the table for a few minutes, would it kill her to be patient? The waiter comes over anyway and starts to take their orders. Maya gets her lobster, and Phoenix decides to get the same. Larry and Molly order their food as well.

"Will that be all?" the waiter asks after writing down all of their orders.

Molly squints and makes a show of looking around the table. "Actually, could we get some wine? The best you have, please." The waiter nods politely and leaves with their orders. Molly sits back in her seat and smiles. "I couldn't help noticing you two hadn't ordered any. What's a nice dinner without wine? Though I suppose defense attorneys do make less money."

Phoenix starts to defend himself, but Molly continues. "Oh! I never did ask. What is it that you do, Miss Fey?"

Maya takes a sip of her water and sets her glass down. "I'm the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique," she states.

Molly raises her eyebrows. "And what exactly does that mean?"

"I'm a spirit medium and I run the village I grew up in."

Molly actually manages to look impressed. "That's quite interesting."

"Thanks," Maya says, shrugging. Phoenix has to smile. At one point in time Maya was so scared of becoming Master. She didn't think she could handle it. But now she's earned that title, and it's no longer some monumental thing for her, it's just her job.

Larry rests his elbows on the table and puts his chin in his hands. "I have to ask. How long have you two been dating? I don't remember you being together back in September for the Sprocket case. Can't really say I'm too surprised though."

Phoenix glances down at Maya again just as she looks up and smiles at him. His arm is still around her so he squeezes her shoulders, pulling her in closer to his side. "Not long," he says. "A few months, right Maya?"

She nods and looks over at Larry. "It just felt right."

Larry nods in understanding. "I'm surprised it took you so long." He turns to Molly. "Did you know that Nick here once tried to cross a burning bridge just to get to Maya, to make sure she was safe?"

Molly raises her eyebrows. "That's very brave."

Larry continues. "The bridge was on fire, and I tried to stop him, but he just ran." Larry grins at Phoenix. "You didn't make it though."

Phoenix laughs. "No, I didn't."

Maya rests her head on his shoulder. "But the point is, you tried. I can't even count everything else you've done for me." She turns her head to glance up at him. "Is it any wonder I love you so much, Nick?"

He smiles down at her, and she looks away, that blush appearing on her cheeks again. She sits up, shrugging out from under his arm. Phoenix glances across at Molly just in time to see her roll her eyes at them. Good. If this cutesy romantic stuff annoys her, all the more reason to keep it up.

"I always knew, you know," Larry continues, stroking his goatee. "Ever since I saw you two together at Gourd Lake all those years ago."

Phoenix smiles. Maybe Larry being here is actually going to work in his favour. "Of course you did, Larry."

"I'm being serious. I have a knack for these things, you know."

"Well, he was right," Maya interjects. "So maybe he really does have a knack for it?"

Larry points at her. "See, Nick? Maya knows what she's talking about. Good thing you have her."

"I am lucky," Phoenix nods.

Their conversation veers away from relationships when Molly interrupts to ask Larry something about his upcoming book. Phoenix can tell it's a way of getting off the topic of his and Maya's oh so obvious love for each other. He doesn't mind. This is a fancy restaurant that he's paying top dollar for, so he does want to enjoy the food if he can. He's willing to put up with Molly's surprisingly normal small talk while they wait for their food if it means it'll make the night more enjoyable.

When the food finally does come, the table goes mostly quiet while they eat, only stopping to comment on the quality of the food or the wine. When they've finished eating and the waiter comes to ask if anyone wants dessert, Maya is the first to say yes, ordering some sort of fancy chocolate cake. Larry and Molly both order crème brûlée, and Phoenix gets strawberries and cream.

Maya digs right into hers and her cake is gone in record time, well before anyone else is finished. Though Phoenix tries to ignore her, he can see her practically salivating over the strawberries in his bowl from the corner of his eye.

The next time he sees her glance over, he puts his spoon down and turns to smirk at her. She glances up at his face and smiles sweetly. "What?" she asks.

"This is my food, Maya," he says.

"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about. Look, I already ate mine!" she says, gesturing towards her empty plate. Even the leftover chocolate icing has been scraped clean. "I won't lie though, yours looks pretty good, Nick."

He rolls his eyes. That's Maya's go-to for when she wants something he has. "Do you want some of mine?" he asks, already knowing the answer. Maya grins and nods sheepishly. "Here," he says, picking up one of the strawberries by the end. He holds it out to her and Maya gives him a sly look, then leans forward and opens her mouth. He raises an eyebrow at her, but she just stares expectantly.

Without even thinking he reaches forward and lifts it to Maya's lips. She leans towards him to take a bite from it, somehow managing to be delicate about it. Her lips just barely graze his fingers. She smiles as she swallows.

"Mmm. They're so good! You gonna eat the rest of them?"

He slides his bowl towards her. "Nah. I'm good."

Despite Maya's attempt at delicacy and being polite, she's still ended up with a dollop of whipped cream on her cheek. She hasn't seemed to notice yet, and Phoenix knows he should say something, but he finds it oddly endearing, so he just watches her continue to eat the rest of his strawberries. He's been doing that an awful lot lately, he realizes. Watching Maya, looking at her when she doesn't know and just taking her in.

Larry turns to Molly on the other side of the table. "You want me to hand feed you, honeybuns?" he asks, holding out a spoonful of the crème brûlée.

Molly looks at the spoon, a piece of the white custard dripping onto the tablecloth. "No thank you."

Larry shrugs and goes back to eating. Phoenix is still turned in his seat towards Maya, completely absorbed in watching her eat, when he feels something touch his leg. He turns his head to look across the table at Molly, who smiles at him.

He stares at her as she runs her foot up his leg, biting her pouty lip as she does so in an attempt at making a sexy face. Phoenix glances at Larry, still obliviously eating his dessert, and realizes why Molly brought Larry as her date. She wasn't trying to make him jealous by dating one of his friends, she was counting on Phoenix not to say anything about her flirting to Larry, so as not to hurt his feelings.

The joke's on her. He's not going to make a scene in the middle of the restaurant, but Larry will find out about this eventually. For now, he just needs to find a way to deter her. He starts by attempting to move his leg away, but Molly just shifts in her own seat, her foot reaching out again to touch him, sliding further up.

He glances at Maya, happily eating her strawberries. That dollop of whipped cream is still there on her cheek.

He leans down to her, lowering his voice, but not enough that Molly won't be able to hear him. "Maya, sweetie?"

She turns to him. "Hm?"

"You have something… Here, let me." He swipes at the whipped cream with a finger, effectively removing most of it from her face. She looks a little embarrassed at not noticing it there and picks up her napkin to wipe any that's left, a light blush staining her cheeks.

"Thanks, Nick," she says, looking up at him just in time to see him raise his finger to his mouth to suck the whipped cream from it. Her mouth falls open and her blush only gets deeper before she turns back to her strawberries.

The foot sliding up and down his leg under the table stops immediately. Phoenix doesn't look across the table at Molly, much as he wants to see the look on her face. Instead he keeps himself turned towards Maya, smiling at her, watching her eat the rest of her strawberries hurriedly, being more careful now about the whipped cream.

Molly is blessedly quiet for the rest of the night, but Larry keeps up a conversation with both Phoenix and Maya, leaving her out most of the time. If it were any other woman other than Molly, Phoenix might feel bad for her given how much Larry is ignoring her, but in this case he's happy to let her sit and stew in her anger.

When dinner is over Maya and Phoenix leave the booth first. Phoenix makes sure to rest a guiding hand on Maya's back. Larry attempts to do the same, but Molly steps away from him and stalks her way out of the restaurant behind them.

Outside in the cool night air they find that it's started to rain. Molly had the foresight to bring an umbrella, and stands on the sidewalk under it, tapping her foot, waiting while Larry attempts to hail a cab, getting soaked in the process. Phoenix pulls Maya away to stand closer to the building underneath the protection of the protruding cover at the front of the restaurant. Molly watches them go, not hiding the fact that she's watching them while she waits for Larry.

Phoenix tries to ignore her as he turns to place his hands on Maya's shoulders. "Maya, can I ask you a big favour right now?" he asks, lowering his voice so Molly won't be able to hear them.

"Sure, Nick," she says, tucking the stray strand of hair framing her face behind her ear.

"I want to break one of our rules."

Her eyes dart up to his and she swallows before answering. "Which rule?"

He doesn't break eye contact with her. "The no kissing rule."

Maya looks unsure at first, but there's something else there too, something he can't place. Her eyes dart down towards his lips as she takes a deep breath. She turns her head slightly to glance towards Molly. "Because of her?"

Phoenix's thumb slides comfortingly over her shoulder. "Partially, yeah."

"Partially?" she says, looking back up hopefully.

He smiles at her and nods, but says no more. Maya smiles back at him. "Then I guess… we can break that rule, just for tonight."

Maya just keeps smiling a little smile that she can't quite make go away. When she looks up at him again it strikes him that her eyes are brown. To think he'd never really noticed before, he wasn't even able to tell Molly when he was describing Maya to her that first day. They're lighter brown than most, like milk chocolate, and quite big. He can almost see his reflection in them.

Her hair has already fallen out of place so he brushes it back behind her ear and rests his hand against her neck beneath it. That gives her the confidence she needs, and instead of waiting for him to initiate it she lifts her hands to his face and lays them gently on either side to pull him down to her level. She presses her lips against his quickly. They're soft and warm and her arms circle around his neck, pulling him closer, lips moving gently against his.

He doesn't want to go too far, he's not sure what she's comfortable with, but when she parts her lips slightly in invitation, he moves one of his hands to the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, letting his tongue caress the inside of her mouth. She tastes like strawberries and cream mixed with a bit of the wine they'd had at dinner.

She can't help letting out a quiet moan as she drags her hands down his chest to grip the lapels of his jacket in her fists. He could kiss her forever, he thinks, wrapping an arm around waist to rest his hand on her back, but he's jarred from that fantasy when Maya presses her fists into him, pushing him away. It's as if she has to push him away, like she's fighting the urge to do exactly what he'd been imagining and has to force herself to stop before they get too carried away.

When he opens his eyes, Maya's are still closed, her breath coming out in little puffs. As he watches her, a smile begins to pull at the corner of her lips. "I can't believe I just kissed Phoenix Wright," she says in a whisper, her smile stretching into a full fledged grin.

He pushes his forehead against hers, smiling as well. "Yeah. Kinda weird, huh?"

Maya shakes her head. "No… It was nice." She raises her face slightly, causing their noses to brush. "I liked it," she whispers. "Was it… okay?"

She sounds so unsure of herself. She may not have had a boyfriend in Khura'in, but he has to wonder if she's ever kissed anyone before. He wouldn't be surprised if he was her first. "Yeah, Maya," he reassures her. "It was better than okay."

She smiles as her fingers stroke the back of his neck. It tickles, but he loves it. He loves having her hands on him. It makes him want to kiss her again. He's going to kiss her again, leaning down towards her again.

"Good God, can you two get a room?"

The voice jolts them both out of their stupor, and Phoenix turns his head to look over at Molly. He'd quite honestly forgotten she was standing there. Everything around them seemed to stand still when they kissed, but now it's moving again. The moment is gone.

They take a step apart, but he lets his hand slide down Maya's arm to clasp her fingers in his. He doesn't want to stop touching her now. "Sorry," he says, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. "The romantic atmosphere and all… Kind of got carried away."

Molly huffs and looks to Larry. "Hurry up, will you?" she hisses.

"Sorry, babe!"

Phoenix and Maya watch with amusement as Larry finally manages to hail a taxi. He's drenched now from the rain, but he opens the door for Molly. She turns back to Phoenix and Maya before getting in. "I hope you two have a nice night," she says. Phoenix can practically hear the tightness in her voice. She is not happy.

She steps into the cab, closing her umbrella on the way in. Larry turns and gives them a wave, then climbs in behind her. Once the taxi pulls away from the curb, Phoenix sighs. "How much you want to bet Larry thinks he's getting laid tonight?"

Maya laughs. "Yeah, right. She was using him to make you mad. She'll drop him off on the curb and go home alone to her big fancy penthouse apartment."

He nods. "Yeah. Sorry for springing that kiss on you, by the way. You guys couldn't tell but she kept touching me under the table."

Maya raises an eyebrow. "Touching you?"

"She kept rubbing her foot against my leg." He scowls. "Ugh. I loathe her."

Maya wraps her arm around him to rub his back. "Well, after that kiss, she should stop. By the way, it was no problem."

"Thanks."

They're quiet for a few seconds, neither one of them wanting to be the first to talk about what it meant between them. One thing Phoenix does know is that he doesn't want that one kiss to be their last. He doesn't want it to end here like a curtain closing on a perfect performance and he knows that nothing is going to just fall into place over night, but he wants to try. He wants to date her for real, to call her his girlfriend without it being a lie.

He wants to tell her all of that, but he swallows the words down. Maybe another time, but not here. Not in the rain, outside of a restaurant with people walking down the sidewalk with umbrellas and cars honking on the street.

He takes her hand again. "Let's go home, Maya."

Her eyes brighten at the sound of that; at the word home. She nods at him. "Yeah."

"Stay here. I'll get us a taxi."

He braces himself for the cold droplets as the rain pours down around them and steps out from under the cover to hail a taxi for their ride back to the apartment.

When they arrive home, Trucy is waiting.

"Hey! How was your night?"

Maya looks at him, a little smile on her face. "It was great, Trucy."

Phoenix nods his agreement. "Yeah, we had fun, and dinner was really good."

Trucy smiles knowingly. "I'm glad to hear it." She bounces on the balls of her feet for a few seconds, her hands held behind her back.

Phoenix makes a face at her. "Did you need anything else?"

"Oh! No, I'm okay! I'm going to go to my room now to wind down for bed, though. Good night, you two!"

They bid her good night and she heads down the hall to her bedroom, leaving them alone. Phoenix sighs and starts to remove his tie. "I guess it's too early for bed, huh?"

"Not for an old man like you," Maya says, moving to sit down on the couch. "If you want to head to bed, go ahead. I've already got my bed right here!" She stretches her legs out on the couch and rests her head against the arm rest, closing her eyes.

Phoenix smiles, placing his tie across the back of the couch and then taking his jacket off and putting it down too. He walks around the couch. "You say that, but look who's already 'resting her eyes'," he says.

"What? I'm not asleep."

"Move over."

"Mmm, no."

"I want to sit down too."

She smirks, still keeping her eyes closed. Phoenix stands in front of the couch looking down at her. She can be so stubborn, and he knows she tries to get on his nerves on purpose, but in this case it's not working. All she's doing is making herself seem even more endearing.

He bends slightly to grab her ankles. Maya yelps as he pulls her legs off the couch, making room for himself to sit. He manages to sit down beside her, and she huffs, sitting up properly and pushing on his shoulder with hers. "Niiiiick, I was comfortable."

"You can get comfortable again," he says, picking up the TV remote. "What do you want to watch?"

"It doesn't matter. You can choose."

"Wow, I get control of the TV for once?"

She smiles. "Just this once."

Maya sits up to pull her hair from its elaborate bun and brush it out with her fingers as Phoenix channel surfs. He finally finds an old movie and sets the remote down. She settles in beside him, pulling her legs back onto the couch and leaning into him. He absentmindedly wraps an arm around her shoulders.

"Molly looked really beautiful tonight, didn't she, Nick?"

"I guess so." He looks down at her in time to see her sad smile. He squeezes her shoulders. "Not as beautiful as you though. I told you everyone in that place would be looking at you, and they were. I swear Maya, every guy you walked by turned his head."

She chuckles. "I doubt that."

"They did," he assures her. "I saw them. Besides, we made Molly jealous. That's what we should be happy about."

Maya shifts, pressing herself in closer to him. "Do you think she'll stop? After seeing that kiss… She has to be convinced, right?"

He shrugs. "Who knows?" Secretly, he almost hopes Molly doesn't stop. He tells himself it's just not the right time to ask Maya out for real, so as long as Molly continues to pursue him, the more time he and Maya will get to spend together.

Maya is quiet after that as they settle in and start to pay attention to the TV. By the time the movie is over, Maya is asleep against him. He gently lays her down on the couch and gets her blanket, draping it over her. It's the second time in two days he's tucked her in, but he doesn't mind.

He stares down at her sleeping form, watches her chest rising and falling with her breath through slightly parted lips, and feels a surge of something in his chest that he can't quite recognize.

He bends to brush her bangs out of her face and places a soft kiss on her forehead. "See you in the morning, Maya."

Long time no chapter. Just a warning, it may be another long wait til the next chapter, as I'm attempting to actually finish this story before I post more. Look on the bright side, once it's finished my updates will be waaaay closer together.

Once again, thank you so much to all my readers and reviewers! I love you all.

Fun Fact: The kiss was written a long, long time ago, for another fic I started writing before I'd even finished all the games. I'll never post it, so I recycled the kiss, since I was kind of proud of it.