(A/N: Another of my many crackfic challenges. Enjoy the fluffy goodness!

Phoenix Wright and related characters belong to Capcom…who are nice people who don't want to sue me.

Challenge: Write Phoenix/Mia involving the dinner from 1-1)

When Mia had said they should have a celebratory dinner, Phoenix hadn't thought much of it. The thrill of a "not guilty" verdict had completely blocked out the implications of such a statement. He had come out of the courtroom repressing the thrill of success until the guards had shut the door of the Defense Lobby, after which he promptly swept Mia off her feet into a rough bear hug and spun her around, grinning like a maniac.

Mia had laughed at his enthusiasm and after he had stopped spinning her around (but hadn't let her out the bear hug) had simply said, "Congratulations, Phoenix!"

Phoenix grinned at her, "Thanks Chief, I couldn't have done it without you!"

It slowly dawned on him that he was holding his boss in a somewhat suggestive manner, and he blushed furiously as he gently set her down. Phoenix had started to stammer an apology when, Larry (for once in his life Phoenix thanked god he was loud and overdramatic) burst into the Lobby talking about how his life was over. Somewhere in the midst of trying to calm Larry down (as he'd had another fit of depression leaving the courthouse) Phoenix would later remember that Mia had said they should go out for dinner to celebrate later that night.

Of course it didn't click in his head that DINNER equals DATE until there was an hour or so before they were done for the day. So Phoenix found himself in a panicky state somewhere between bed-wetting and a near death experience as the clock slowly marched towards the end of the office day. He'd avoided dating after the Dahlia Hawthorne debacle and had thrown himself entirely into his education and, more recently, his job. Really, the only interaction with a woman he'd had in those two years was with Mia, and Phoenix often found his thoughts running in directions they most likely shouldn't, considering Mia was his boss.

After trying to occupy himself by wearing a track into the floor of the office, Phoenix finally decided to try and look at the positive. Sure, this was a date, but he didn't need to get so worked up about it. If Mia enjoyed the evening, then he'd be happy.

As the evening light pored into the offices of Fey & Co., Mia stepped out into the reception area, and locked the door to her office. Phoenix watched her form, cloaked in the tones of the sunset, in admiration before remembering she was his boss, and mentally berating himself. He didn't notice Mia's approach until the warmth of her hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his mental tirade. He looked up and blushed at their close proximity.

This, of course, made the situation worse, as Mia leaned closer and said, "Nick, are you feeling alright? You look rather flush."

Phoenix figured at this point it'd be prudent to back up and try to respond without making a total ass of himself. As he backed up a few steps, he said, "I'm fine Chief. You ready to head out?"

Mia frowned for a moment before brightening up a bit, "Yes, actually. I thought we could go to that Chinese place downtown."

As Mia drove to the restaurant Phoenix found himself once again watching her. Mia, for her part, was unnaturally quiet as she drove. Generally, when she gave him a lift to or from work, the car was filled with their amiable conversation. Tonight, however, there was a tense silence, each waiting for the other to speak. Phoenix finally cleared his throat, making Mia visibly jump.

Phoenix chuckled, "You seem to be jumpy tonight, Mia." So am I though, he added silently.

Mia blushed, "What makes you think I'm jumpy, Phoenix?"

Phoenix tapped a finger against the armrest, "Well, lets see…you physically jumped a bit in your seat, you're blushing like crazy, and you called me Phoenix." He ticked off each of the reasons on his fingers, ginning at Mia.

Mia found herself smiling, even as she tried to glare at her impudently grinning employee, "What's wrong with me calling you Phoenix?"

"Well, you don't usually call me Phoenix unless we're in a professional situation or you're nervous."

Mia smiled, "That's true isn't it? Is it that obvious when I'm nervous?"

Phoenix nodded, "Not really, but you drop into professional mode when you get nervous. It's not a very big shift, but I've known you long enough to pick up on it."

Mia was quiet for a moment and her tone had softened considerably when she spoke again, "I didn't know you paid attention to me that closely, Nick."

Now it was Phoenix's turn to be nervous as he loosened his tie a bit and said, "We've known each other for three years now, Chief. I made it a point to know how to read what you're feeling."

Mia glanced at him and said in a somewhat reproachful tone, "Now you're being formal, Nick."

Phoenix ran a hand through his thick hair, "Sorry, Mia."

He laughed and, as Mia pulled up to a stoplight, extended a hand, "No more formality tonight, deal?"

Mia smiled at her protégé and friend, and grabbed his hand in a firm, sure grip, "Deal."

The rest of the way to the restaurant was fairly relaxed, but that slight undertone of tension remained, like a coiled string waiting to be played. The restaurant itself was a small, but clean, family run place. Most of the decorations were limited to paper lanterns, two dragon carvings and a phoenix carving on the back wall, and a Buddha by the cash register.

After they had placed their orders, Phoenix said, "So how did you find this place Mia? I thought you didn't eat out much."

Mia leaned forwards and crossed her arms on the table. As she spoke a fond smile tugged at the corner of her lips, "My sister and I came here last time we got together. She generally wants to go out for burgers, but I insisted we go somewhere else for once."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

Mia's smile widened, "Yes, her name is Maya and she's about ten years younger than I am. What about you, Nick?"

Phoenix slouched a little in his chair, "I'm an only child, so Larry's probably the closest I've ever had to a brother."

The evening went by relatively quickly, far to quickly in Phoenix's mind. After that bought of awkward tension in the car on the way over, it felt like all the tension had faded out of the evening. One thing still bothered Phoenix, however, and as Mia pulled up to his building and turned off the engine, he decided get an answer.

He cleared his throat, "Mia something's been nagging at me this entire evening. Why were you so tense when we were driving to the restaurant?"

Mia watched him open his door before she responded, "Why do you ask?"

Phoenix leaned against the car frame with his back to Mia, "Well, in the two years I've known you, you never get tense except before a trial. I'm just curious what about tonight made you jumpier than usual that's all."

Phoenix couldn't see Mia's shake of the head or the slow smile that spread on her face. He did hear her close the driver's side door, however, and he turned to see Mia walk over to him.

"Mia…?"

"I guess you could say it was a lot of reasons, Nick. While we're worked together for a while now, we don't really interact a whole lot outside of that environment. It was more I didn't want to make things awkward, especially since this could almost be a date…"

Phoenix was suddenly very aware of her proximity and, while his mind screamed at him to move away and lessen the chance of doing something he might regret, he moved a bit closer.

His voice was quiet and Mia had to strain to hear him as he spoke, "When you say 'almost'…how so?"

Mia paused for a second, unsure where he was going with the, "Well. To be an official date there'd have to be a kiss-"

She was cut off by Phoenix's lips on hers. It was a brief but intense kiss that left Mia out of breath and leaning her weight on the car frame. Phoenix's face was still inches from hers and she could feel his breath on her face.

Phoenix leaned closer to Mia's ear, and she shivered at the feeling of his breath on her neck, "I'd say this is a date, wouldn't you?"

Mia smiled, but didn't respond, as Phoenix moved in to kiss her again.

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