A/N: For those of you who have been keeping up with my series, Turnabout Ever After, you'll remember that I mention in Vacation in Kurain that Maya visited Phoenix directly after his disbarment and helped pull him out of a rut. Well, I decided to turn that event into a drabble! That's what these next three chapters will be, so I hope you enjoy my take on the events after Phoenix's final trial.
Maya rushed to the door of the Wright and Co. Law offices. Or, former Wright and Co. law offices now. She banged on the door. "Nick! Open up, it's me! I just heard what happened."
From inside the building, she heard Phoenix slur out a response. "Go away, Maya. I don't want you to see me. Not like this."
Maya shook her head. "Nick, I don't care about what happened. I don't believe a word of it. Please just let me in!"
Silence from the other side. Damn it, Nick. Stop being difficult. Maya reached into her costume and pulled out the spare key to the office. Thank god I never gave this back.
Maya put the key into the lock and turned it, allowing herself entrance into the office. What she saw made her heart drop.
At his desk, Phoenix lay slumped over, a bottle in his hand and his suit a complete mess. Even his always perfect spikey hair was disheveled.
"Nick!" Maya cried, rushing to the other side of the desk. She placed a hand on her friend's back.
Phoenix slowly leaned up and looked at her. His eyes were glazed over and Maya was now able to see the red stains all over his suit. "Maya. I told you I didn't want you to see me."
The Spirit Medium shook her head. "I don't care." She shifted her foot slightly, feeling it bump against something. She looked down to see three glass bottles on the floor. She bent down and picked one up to examine it. "Wine? What the hell, Nick!? THIS is your way of coping with this? I didn't even know you drank!"
Phoenix took a long swig from the bottle still in his hand. "I don't. Not usually. Maya, please, just go. I'm sure the Elders are already up your ass for coming to a cheating lawyer."
Maya snatched the bottle from his hand. "Not a chance in hell, Nick! If I leave, you're just gonna drink yourself stupid. Or stupider, I guess."
"What does it matter, Maya? I just bluffed my way to the top anyway. I'm no better than some poker player." He shifted his eyes to the floor, staring at one of the empty bottles. "Heh, poker. The game that started this mess."
Maya looked at the man sadly. She then set the bottle in her hand down and knelt down to Phoenix's level and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Nick. I wish I could have been there. Maybe I could have helped."
Phoenix lazily returned the hug. "Don't blame yourself, Maya."
The two sat there for awhile, not speaking. Simply holding each other.