A/N: Well, here you guys go. I have read this chapter over and over again, even making changes to it late last night, so I hope it's okay. I'm posting it from school and have only skimmed it over, so any mistakes will be fixed when I get home. I just couldn't wait any longer to post it since I have school until quite late today, but I have a two hour break right now. Also wanted to thank the reviewers I didn't get around to replying to for the last chapter! Thank you for your support!

Enjoy!

Fey Manor is quiet when Phoenix enters the foyer. Off to one side of the room is the old Channeling Chamber, where he once managed to break down a thick wooden door held together with tempered iron. Thinking back on it, he has no idea how he managed the strength to do so, until he remembers why he did it. Maya had been inside, he heard a gunshot, and the only thing he could think about was getting to her and making sure she was safe. He supposes it's similar to stories about mothers lifting cars off of babies. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug when someone you care about is in possible danger.

It's been a long time since he's visited Fey Manor, but the way the manor is laid out means there's really only one way to go. He heads down one of the long hallways, sees a door that he knows leads to the Winding Way and one of the side rooms, and passes it by. The main living space where Maya and Pearl spend their time is further in.

He can hear some faint music ahead, and someone humming along to it. He immediately recognizes the voice as Maya's. She doesn't sound upset, the song is upbeat and from what he can hear she's enjoying it. When he reaches the doorway, he stops and listens to her. He can hear her murmuring the chorus of the song, the only words she knows, before going back to humming.

He turns to look around the corner. Sure enough Maya is there, kneeling on the floor in front of the coffee table, pieces of a puzzle spread out before her. He watches her bite her lip in thought and tilt her head slightly as she stares down at the table, and smiles to himself. She's even adorable when she doesn't realize anyone is around, and it's almost funny to see her working on something so tedious.

She seems to sense that she's being watched, and looks up suddenly. Her eyes widen when she spots him, and she jumps a little in surprise. He steps out into view to calm her. "It's just me," he says quietly.

She stares at him, eyes wide. "N-Nick. What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you," he says, taking a few steps into the room.

She stands up, a puzzle piece still in her hands, but doesn't move towards him and doesn't invite him closer either. "I told you I would tell you when I was ready to talk to you again. You shouldn't have come here without telling me."

"Would you have let me in if you knew I was coming?"

"Probably not," she concedes.

He sighs. "Maya, I honestly don't know what I did to make you leave so suddenly. I want to know what's wrong so I can make it better. Please. I miss you. I know it hasn't even been two days since you left but…You didn't even say goodbye."

"I couldn't say goodbye," she says. "Nick, I couldn't. I was mad at you but I was also… sad. Seeing you before I left wouldn't have been a good idea. It would have been too painful. I understand why you'd want her but I just need some time to process it, is all."

He furrows his eyebrows. "Wait, Maya, stop. What did you just say?"

She looks at him skeptically, turning the puzzle piece in her hands. "You don't need to keep it a secret, Nick. So what if we just spent a week pretending to be together to scare her off? She's beautiful and I'm just me, so it's really a no-brainer that you decided to give her a chance even after everything…"

"What on earth are you talking about, Maya? Molly? I don't want Molly, and I'm not giving her any chances!"

"I saw you kissing her, Nick!" Maya snaps, throwing down the piece of the puzzle onto the table, where it bounces once on top of the others.

Phoenix stops, his mouth halfway open. "Oh. Oh no. That's what this is about…?" He'd had no idea. How could he be so stupid?! It made sense now that he thought about it, how Maya had told everyone she'd seen him at the hospital and how she somehow knew that he was okay. That was how she knew. She did see him at the hospital, at the worst possible moment, too.

"Yeah," she says bluntly, turning away and bending to pick up the puzzle piece for a second before putting it down again, this time more gently. "I thought… I thought me and you…"

He sees a tear slip down her cheek and feels his heart constrict. The last thing he ever wanted in this world was to be the source of Maya's unhappiness. He moves forward and tries to take her hand, but she jerks it away from him. "Maya, let me explain, please."

She wipes hastily at her eyes. "You don't need to. I just want you to be happy, Nick, and I've always known I'd lose you to another woman eventually. I really did mean what I said about you being a catch, and it was only a matter of time before someone else figured that out," she says, smiling sadly. "This whole thing was never real anyway, so I don't know why I thought anything would come of it. I should never have let myself think—"

He reaches out hesitantly to put a hand on her shoulder, interrupting her before she can say anymore. He doesn't want her to finish that sentence.

She flinches at his touch, gentle as it is, but doesn't pull away this time. "Maya, I need to explain, because it's not what you think. This is all one huge misunderstanding."

She turns to him, that hopeful look in her eyes again; the same look she gave him when he asked to kiss her at the restaurant. Seeing that, he knows he's been hesitating for no reason at all. She does feel the same way, he's sure of that now. She probably has for a while, and he's never noticed. So oblivious. How can he not have noticed? Edgeworth is right about him. He's so, so dense.

"Molly kissed me, Maya," he says. "She forced it on me. And yes, it took me a few seconds to push her away because she surprised me. I could hardly comprehend what was happening at the time, but I did push her away. I never wanted it, and I definitely didn't kiss her back."

"Why was she even in the room with you?" she asks softly. "Why did you put your arm around her?"

He feels awful knowing that Maya witnessed that. She really couldn't have shown up at a worse time. He takes a breath and starts to explain.

"She was at the bank with me when it was hit. They started shooting and I instinctively covered her, I didn't even think about it, so the bullet fragments hit me instead of her. She had a near death experience and she was getting emotional and trying to thank me for saving her, even though it was just a little graze. I thought she was acting the way a normal person would act after going through something traumatic like that, so I was trying to comfort her. I didn't realize she was just using it as another means of trying to get close to me. I doubt she was scared at all by then, she was just playing up her emotions, and I was dumb enough to fall for it."

He takes a breath. "Please understand, she kissed me. And afterwards, I told her not to come near me again, not to come near us again, Maya... I told her that I'm in love with you."

Maya doesn't react the way he's expecting. She just keeps looking at him sadly. "Nick, I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend anymore, it's too confusing—"

He reaches out to run a knuckle lightly over her cheek, cutting her off mid-sentence. She stares up at him as his hand stops to rest below her ear. "Maya... I really do love you. I mean it, no more pretending. It's real."

Her eyes widen, and more tears well up as she reaches up to grip his wrist. She closes her eyes, letting the tears fall. "I love you too, Nick," she says, her voice shaky with emotion. "It's real for me too. It's been real for a long time, I think…"

He smiles and brings his other hand up, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. Hearing her say that, hearing her return his love, he doesn't think he's ever felt happier. "I think it's safe to say our no kissing rule is off the table for good now?" he asks.

She laughs through her tears and nods. He brings his face closer to hers, feeling the warmth of her breath on his lips, the softness of her skin as he holds her face between his hands, and finally the press of her lips on his.

He slides his hands down her sides, over the curves of her waist, and circles around to the small of her back to pull her closer. Maya melts into him, her arms coming up to rest comfortably around his neck. And like their kiss at the restaurant, she's also the first to deepen it, inviting his tongue into her mouth to taste her sweetness, and using her own to press playfully against his.

It feels different than the kiss at the restaurant, though. It's so real this time. There's no hesitation, no uncertainty about what it actually means, and no one around to put on a show for. He's kissing her because he wants to kiss her, because he loves her, and not for any other reason.

Maya finally pulls back and looks up. She locks eyes with him, and smiles, and it's one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen. She slides her hands down his chest down to play with the buttons on his jacket.

"Hey," she says. "I haven't eaten yet today. Let's go get something to eat." He snorts in amusement. It's just like Maya to ask for food right after an emotional moment like this… but he wouldn't want her to act any other way.

Maya raises her eyebrows at his amusement. "What?"

"Nothing," he says, taking her hands in his. "I'm just… happy."

She steps forward, hugging him around the waist. "Me too… And Nick?"

"Hm?"

"I'm really sorry," she mumbles, her words muffled as her cheek presses against his chest.

"What for?"

She sighs. "I was so dumb. I should have just talked to you, but I was so upset. I guess my emotions got the better of me."

He runs his fingers through a piece of her hair. "Hey, you're not dumb. It's understandable, given what you were feeling, but how about from now on, communication is key, okay? I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is."

She smiles and nods, and they're silent for a few seconds. He revels in the feeling of Maya's arms wrapped around him, the scent of her shampoo in his nose and the warmth of her body against his.

He presses his cheek against the top of her head. "You know," he says, breaking the silence, "the other night on the balcony, before Athena interrupted us, I was trying to ask you out."

"Really?"

"Yeah. On a real date, mind you. If I had known all of this was going to happen after I left that night, I would have just let Trucy and Pearl drink the wine."

Maya laughs. "I really am sorry."

"Hey, it worked out, right?" he says. "I'm just glad you feel the same."

She sighs and pulls away. "Of course I do." She takes him by the hand and moves towards the sofa in the room. She sits and pulls him down beside her, never letting go of his hand even once. "Nick, I should have told you sooner. I guess I was afraid you'd want to stop pretending, and I liked pretending, at least until the end there when I thought… Well, you know." She smiles. "I've always had feelings for you, I guess, I just never really understood them, but this last week made them a lot more obvious."

He squeezes her hand. "I didn't want to stop pretending either. That's why I didn't tell Edgeworth about Molly sooner. I knew if he put a stop to it, there'd be no reason for us to pretend to be together anymore, and I liked it too. Imagine how much easier it would have been if I'd just admitted how I felt..."

She swipes her thumb over his knuckles. "Well, like you said, things worked out anyway. Now, come on, I'm starving. There aren't any take out places in Kurain, so we'll have to actually cook something."

She gets up, finally letting go of him, and heads out the door. He stands up and stretches, watching Maya leave the room ahead of him, her puzzle left forgotten on the table. He follows her out into the hallway, catching up to her quickly with his longer strides, and reaches out to grab her wrist. "Maya, wait."

She turns curiously at his touch, and yelps in surprise when he pulls her back into his embrace, leaning down to kiss her again. She smiles against his lips before returning it, and when he pulls away again, he rests his forehead against hers. Her bangs brush against his skin, and a flyaway piece of hair tickles his cheek.

"I could get used to this," she says quietly.

"Not me," he says, capturing her lips to kiss her once more for good measure, just a quick peck on the lips this time. "Every time feels just as amazing as the first."

Maya laughs and pushes him away playfully. "Alright, alright. Seriously, I'm really hungry, so come on." She takes him by the hand and starts leading him down the hall.

"We should probably go get Pearls too," he says.

"Where is she?"

"She said she would wait outside while I talked to you."

Maya grins. "Then let's go get her."

They make their way back to the foyer and peek out the window on the front door. They can see Pearl sitting across the road at the bus stop still, her legs swinging as she looks around. Maya opens the door and steps out, still hand in hand with Phoenix.

Pearl looks over at them when she sees the door open, her eyes immediately landing on their clasped hands. She jumps off the bench and crosses the road in a hurry, a huge smile on her face. "See, Mr. Nick?!" she says excitedly. "I told you Mystic Maya felt the same."

Maya rolls her eyes. "Okay, okay, you were right, Pearly. You've always been right."

She nods proudly, putting her hands on her hips. "Yep. So, Mr. Nick… Are you staying the night? You brought a bag and everything," she says, pointing back across the road to the bus stop where his bag is still sitting.

Maya splutters beside him, and he can feel a flush creeping up his own neck. "O-Oh, um… I don't really know yet, Pearls. For now we were just going to make something to eat."

Pearl smiles. "Okay! I'll help you. Mystic Maya is a terrible cook."

He nods dumbly at her as she heads into the house. He turns to Maya. "I'm just gonna… go get that bag…"

She nods. "Yep…"

He jogs across the road to fetch his stuff and is back beside her in less than a minute. Maya holds out her hand for his bag after they make their way back inside. "I'll go put that away for you," she says. Her cheeks are still bright pink, and she can't seem to meet his eyes. Pearl probably didn't even mean her question in that way, but he knows they both thought about it anyway.

He can't lie to himself, he obviously wants that to happen eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later. He can't help it. Now that they've finally crossed the hurdle of confessing their feelings, his mind has immediately moved on to the next big thing, but he's definitely not going to rush it if Maya isn't comfortable. She's still inexperienced despite her age, and it's been years for him too. The last thing he needs is to hurry into something they're not both comfortable with or ready for.

He can feel the heat creeping up his neck again and reaches up to loosen his tie a bit, pulling at his collar. It feels stifling all of a sudden. Maya comes back a minute later, composed and smiling again. She sniffs the air, and he realizes that he can already smell something cooking.

"Wow, Pearls is quick," he says.

Maya nods. "Yeah. She's probably got a full course dinner going on in there. This is a special occasion after all," she says, smirking at him.

"I suppose it is. Probably even more so for her than for us."

Maya snickers. "Let's go see if we can help her."

They help Pearl out with the meal, though she does most of it. She even sets the table for them, and Phoenix can't help noticing how she only sets the table for two, even going so far as to get out candles. By the time she has the rest of the table set he's pretty sure she's not going to be joining them.

Pearl eventually tells them to go sit at the table where she's lit the candles. They do as she bids and sit across from each other quietly, waiting while Pearl finishes the food. Finally she brings them two plates of food and sets them down in front of them.

"I hope you two enjoy this. Dessert is in the oven, you just have to take it out when you're finished eating."

"Wait, where are you going?" Maya asks. "You made all this food and you're not even going to eat with us?"

Pearl shakes her head. "Nah. Mara from down the road invited me over earlier so I'm gonna go to her house. We're going to get pizza. I won't be home until later tonight."

Maya raises her eyebrows. "Oh, alright. Well, thank you so much for making the food, Pearly. It looks delicious."

"Yeah, thank you, Pearls," Phoenix says.

Pearl smiles, looking back and forth between them. "You're more than welcome. Please enjoy yourselves."

She waves as she leaves the dining room, and a few minutes later they hear the sound of the front door closing. They're left alone in the manor, their food sitting in front of them, the candles flickering and making patterns on the wall.

Phoenix picks up his fork. "I guess we should eat."

Maya smiles. "Yeah, I guess so."

Dinner is delicious. Pearl is an incredible cook, and dessert is even better. When they finish, Maya stands up and blows out the candles, picking up their plates. Phoenix stands and helps her clear off the table, carrying everything to the counter and placing it all in the sink. He runs the water and starts filling the sink.

Maya looks at him. "What are you doing?"

"We should wash the dishes," he says, taking his jacket off to hang it on the back of his chair. "I'd hate to leave them for Pearls to do after she cooked us that meal."

Maya sidles up beside him, glancing over at him as he rolls his sleeves up and takes his watch off, lying it on the counter away from the water. "Nick, I never asked... you hurt your arm at the bank, right?"

"Oh, yeah." He rolls his sleeve up a little more, to just past his elbow. The bandage is off now, with only the little black stitching visible. The swelling has gone down a bit too. "Stitches and some antibiotics were all I needed," he says. "I'll have to go back sometime next week to get them removed."

Maya reaches out to trace the skin around the stitches with a finger. "Does it hurt?"

"It's a little tender, but otherwise, no. I'm fine," he says, trying to reassure her with a smile.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you got back. I feel terrible for not making sure you were okay."

"Maya, seriously, it's okay. You got my message and you saw me, so you knew I was fine."

She smiles at him gratefully. "Okay. You wash, I'll dry?" she asks.

He nods. "That works."

They work mostly in silence, he washing the soapy dishes and handing them over for Maya to rinse and dry before putting them in the rack. It's a comfortable silence, and Phoenix is lulled into a sense of calm, even as his arms start to get itchy from the hot water and soap combination.

He isn't paying much attention as he washes off the last plate and hands it over to Maya, so when he turns to dry his hands on the hand towel and turns back, he's not expecting Maya to attack him with a handful of bubbles.

He tries to jerk his head back, but her palm gets him across the chin, smearing bubbles across his face. He splutters, trying not to get them in his mouth as Maya laughs.

She steps closer to him to peer up into his face. "Saint Nick," she says.

He rolls his eyes as he grabs the dish cloth to wipe them off. "Very funny, Maya."

She snickers, standing on tip-toes to kiss his chin once he's wiped the bubbles away. "I couldn't resist."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. Well, I can't resist doing this."

He bends to grab her around the waist, hoisting her over his shoulder. She's not very heavy at all, and she shrieks and starts to laugh. "Put me down, Nick!"

He heads into the living room, setting Maya down on the couch gently. She gives him a look, which only makes him grin. His smile makes her smile in turn, and she simply shakes her head and pats the cushion beside her.

"So, what were you making before I showed up?" he asks as he sits down. He gestures to the table. "Looks pretty complicated."

Maya shrugs. "It's just an old puzzle I do whenever I need something to distract me. Mia used to do it with me. You can't tell now, but when it's finished it's sort of like a medieval fairytale theme. It's for little girls, really, but like I said, I've had it for years."

He smiles. "I'm sorry I made you get out your I-feel-bad puzzle."

She chuckles. "It's fine. Now that everything is cleared up, I don't really have to finish it."

He slides to the floor to sit in front of the table. Maya has a bit of it done, mostly the edges where she was able to easily pick out the pieces with flat sides. "Let's finish it," he says, looking up at her.

"Why?"

He shrugs. "I want to see what it looks like when it's done. Plus it's something to do."

She slides to the floor to sit beside him. "Okay. I guess it would be nice to change the meaning of the puzzle."

"What do you mean?"

"It was something I used to distract myself from bad feelings, but if I finish it with you, I can make it into… the thing I do whenever I want to remember the day we became more than friends."

He's already sliding the pieces around, trying to find what might fit where. "That sounds good to me."

They work quietly, enjoying the comfortable silence, and every time their fingers brush as they slide the puzzle pieces around, Phoenix swears he can feel electricity between them. It's actually quite distracting, but he attempts to keep his focus on the puzzle.

It starts to come into view eventually. As Maya said, it has a fairytale-like quality given the fairies and what looks like a witch in one section, but the main things that catch the eye are in the centre; a knight sitting tall on a white horse, and a princess dressed in a deep purple dress reaching up towards him, as if he's going to pull her up with him to carry her off into their lives together. It's a rather beautiful piece of artwork, he thinks.

Maya uncurls her legs from under her to sit closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He leans back against the couch, putting an arm around her. "It's really pretty, Maya."

"Mhm. I always thought so." She snuggles a bit closer. "I'm always sad when I have to take it apart again."

"Let's leave it together for the night then," he says.

Maya is quiet; he can hear her soft breaths through her nose. "You always were my knight in shining armour, you know," she finally says.

He smiles. "I never did anything anyone else wouldn't do."

Maya looks at him. "You really think that, Nick? You think just anyone would risk their careers for someone like me? Or run across a burning bridge, or fly halfway across the world just because he heard a scream over the phone?" She smiles. "No, only you would do something like that. You're such a good person though, I guess you would want to assume the best of others, too."

He wraps an arm around her. "Well, I know you'd do the same for me. Even if no one else would."

"Mhm."

It's quiet again, until he hears Maya giggle lightly. He looks down at her. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nick… were you planning on staying the night tonight?"

"Er…"

"I mean, you did bring a bag. What if I had refused to see you?"

He sighs. "I only brought it because I didn't want to have to take the train home at night if you didn't want to see me. I was just planning on staying the night and heading home in the morning if that was the case. That's all."

She tilts her face up at him. "Of course that's all."

"It was. I would never assume…"

"Nick," she says, laughing a little, "it's fine. I know you're not that type of guy."

"But, I mean, I wouldn't be opposed—"

"Nick!"

Maya sits up, frowning at him. He raises his hands in defense. "I'm kidding!"

"Are you though?" she asks, getting up to sit back on the couch. Phoenix follows her up, hoping he hasn't offended her.

"Yes, I swear. It was a bad joke," he says.

"Hmph. Alright, well… Let's play a game or something."

He gestures to the TV. "You go ahead, I'll watch. You're always pretty amusing when you play your games. And hey, I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For insinuating, you know. I don't want to push anything on you or make you think you have to just because we're actually dating now."

She smiles as she starts to change the TV to the proper source. "Thanks, it's fine. We're both adults, right? I can take a joke about sex, it's no problem."

He has to hold back a laugh. He can see how red her face is, and how nonchalant she's trying to be about it is kind of cute. She gets up to grab her controller from near the TV and sits back down, scooting closer to him and settling in. "I'm close to a boss battle," she says, "so this'll be good, trust me."

Phoenix isn't sure when Maya gets bored of the game, though he thinks it's probably sometime after the sixth or seventh time attempting that boss battle she told him about, but at some point she ends up in his lap, her arms thrown around his neck as they kiss, the game stopped on a pause menu. Though Maya might not be very experienced, she seems to have a knack for teasing him with light, gentle kisses. Her lips brush against his with only slight pressure, tickling and leaving him wanting more, but Maya pulls away each time he tries to deepen it. He doesn't even know if she's doing it on purpose or if she's just shy and unsure, though he doesn't know why she would be. She doesn't seem the type, inexperienced or not.

When he feels the flick of her tongue against his lips he thinks she's finally going to kiss him properly, but again she pulls away. He opens his eyes to see her practically grinning with glee.

"Maya."

Her eyes pop open, her hands slipping from around his neck to rest against his chest. "Yes?"

"Are you teasing me like this on purpose?"

"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

She smiles coyly, and he feels that wonderful comforting feeling over his heart again. It makes him forget all about her teasing, and he shakes his head disbelievingly as he stares into her eyes. A look of concern passes over Maya's face. "Is something wrong, Nick?"

He shakes his head. "Absolutely nothing." He absentmindedly takes one of her hands and runs his thumb over the top of it, back and forth across her smooth skin. "I just can't believe it took me so long to realize. It seems so obvious now."

"What?"

"How much I love you," he says, looking down at their hands. "When you said earlier that you'd always had feelings for me… I think I always have for you, too. I just never really knew what they were or what to call them, especially because you were so young back then. You know, back in college, when I thought I was in love, it didn't feel the way this feels. I guess even now fifteen years later I was still expecting some sort of, I don't know, sign? Something that made it clear. But that's not how it really works; it's more a gradual thing. I guess that's why it's called falling in love. You fall, but it's not always fast."

She smiles. "Our circumstances definitely didn't make love at first sight very probable anyway."

"You're right about that."

"Mm." She leans in to kiss him again, and this time she does deepen it, pressing her tongue into his mouth to massage his, and all he can do is close his eyes and savour it. Her taste, the feeling of her hands against his chest and her weight in his lap, and the way the muscles in her back move each time she shifts.

The next time Maya breaks the kiss, she circles her arms back around his neck, leaning in to rest her chin on his shoulder. He can hear her sigh into his ear, and she sounds so content. He presses his face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of her hair. He doesn't want to let her go, but it's getting late, and he's getting tired, and if Maya's deep, slow breaths in his ear are any indication, so is she.

"We should go to sleep, Maya," he murmurs to her. "It's getting late."

She grumbles. "I don't want to get up."

"Neither do I, but we can't exactly sleep on the couch."

"I know." She sighs. "Alright. Let's go."

She climbs from his lap, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. Phoenix stands as well, wrapping her in another hug from behind. Maya leans her head back against his chest.

"So, do I get a guest room?" he asks, speaking into her ear.

Maya turns in his arms to face him, hands going to his loosened tie to play with. "You can sleep in my room, if you want, but only to sleep," she says seriously. "So no funny business… I just don't want to be away from you right now."

"That's fine."

"Thank you, Nick. I mean, we will do that eventually… Just not right away."

"Whenever you're ready, Maya."

She nods. "I um… I put your stuff in my room earlier," she says. "I figured you might need it in the morning."

He chuckles. And after the grief she gave him about even bringing a bag, she'd brought it into her room, knowing full well that he was most likely going to be there by the end of the night. "Very thoughtful of you."

She smiles shyly, and leads him down the hall.

She pulls him into her bedroom, and he realizes as he looks around, that he's never been there before. He's been in Fey Manor plenty of times, but never Maya's own chambers. Of course, why would he have been? Sure, Maya has slept in his bed before, but only because she's been drunk or she decided she was going to make him take the couch for once while she was visiting. In Kurain, there is no way that he would ever have been allowed in her bed, even if she wasn't with him. He's pretty sure the Elders would have killed him if they found him in there for any reason, given there are plenty of guest rooms to choose from in the Manor.

But now Maya is in charge, and she can invite anyone she wants into her bedroom and subsequently, her bed. It's kind of funny to think that even though he'll be in her bed with her, nothing is going to happen except maybe some innocent cuddling.

Maya takes her pyjamas to the bathroom to get changed while he puts on his own in her room. When she comes back she's dressed in a nightgown that falls to her knees. She smiles shyly and pulls back the covers on her bed, patting the other side to invite him over.

He crawls in beside her, and she waits for him to get settled before nestling herself under his arm, resting her head on his chest and slinging one of her arms across his body.

"Mm. Good night, Nick."

"Good night, Maya," he says, kissing the top of her hair.

"Love you," she mumbles, already half asleep. She always was quick to fall asleep.

He smiles and strokes his fingers through her hair. "Love you, too."