Taking apart the pieces of the puzzle
Because they don't fit the same without you.
I don't cry as often, but I'm not ready to say goodbye
I love this pain; It keeps you alive inside my heart.
There will never be another you,
And I never will be ready to say goodbye.

.com/s/2838005/1/I_Wont_Say_Goodbye

I couldn't find a quote about taste that fit the mood of this fiction. So, I've included a part of a stanza of a poem that I've written recently. You can find the whole thing at that address. Still not beta-read, but I have gone through this and I might warn that both Trucy and Pearls might be OOC.

Taste

"Papa? Papa!" Trucy was shaking Phoenix who was sobbing in his arms on the desk. "Please Papa? I don't want you to cry anymore."

Phoenix lifted his head and blinked. Trucy had a hesitant look on her face. Phoenix suddenly picked her up in a bear hug.

"My goodness!" She choked out and patted him on his back.

"Oh Trucy, I'm sorry." He said after he sat her down. "I've been avoiding these letters for this very reason. I was hoping this would happen when you weren't home." He tapped the letter for emphasis.

"Papa, when are you going to tell me the truth about Miles? He seems to evoke such strong emotion from you and he's not even here!" Her bottom lip was trembling. He embraced her, more softly this time, and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Soon my dear, very soon."

"But Papa.."

"Shhh...no Trucy, I'm not ready yet." Phoenix said matter-of-factly as he placed two fingers on her lips.

Trucy pouted for a moment. But an idea hit her.

"Oh! I know! Lets go to the noodle stand!" She was beside herself with glee. Phoenix couldn't help but smile and chuckle at her. He patted her on the head and agreed.

*****

After twenty minutes of walking and listening to Trucy's exciting day of getting hired and preforming at Wonderbar, they arrived at Eldoon's noodle stand. Phoenix rubbed his chin and regarded the figure at the stand with a careful eye. The trench coat was unmistakable, and something he hadn't encountered in six years.

"Whats the matter Papa? Do you know that man?" Nothing got by Trucy as she watched her papa watching the man.

"I think I do." The figure turned from the noodle stand and had a double take at Phoenix and Trucy.

"Hey pal, you look like that defense attorney, what's his name, Pharoe Light, or Feenie Bright..."

"Phoenix Wright." Trucy interrupted the shifty man.

"Yeah, yeah..." He paused, looked around, then back to the pair standing in front of him. "Hey, pal, is there a murder or trouble around here? Cuz, I remember trouble following you, and your sidekick, Freya, Maria...

"Maya Fey."

"Wait I'm Trucy!" She stood with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"No, we are talking about a former sidekick and good friend of mine, Maya Fey." Phoenix chuckled. Trucy continued to scowl.

"Hey pal, so wait, did she get kidnapped again? Where is she?" Gumshoe looked around again, huffing.

"No, no. Maya is...somewhere, more than likely at Kurain Village. This bright young lady is Trucy. Trucy say hi to Gumshoe, Dick Gumshoe."

"Ahh...nice to meet you, Gumshoe!" She politely shook his hand and Gumshoe blushed.

"So, theres no murder or kidnapping?" He almost looked disappointed.

Phoenix chuckled, again. "Gumshoe, you look like you want a murder! Is business slow?"

"Hmmm...you could say that. Ever since that Skye chick took over investigating and there are too many fresh faces in the prosecutors office, I've become almost obsolete."

Skye chick? Phoenix thought. Could it be?

"Anyway, I gotta get back to Maggey and the kid, they're probably starving by now! Take it easy pal!" He patted Phoenix on the back and lumbered off.

"He seems like a nice guy." Trucy stated as she stepped up to order and make small talk with Eldoon.

"So, Papa...who was Maya Fey?" Trucy asked after they ordered and settled on the picnic table that was near the stand.

"Hhmm...she was my assistant and good friend while I was a defense lawyer." Phoenix recalled between slurping noodles. "She left to live in Kurain Village to complete her training to be the master of the Kurain Channeling Technique.

"The...Kurain...wha-?" Trucy's face twisted into a curious look.

"Its an ancient power passed down through generations of women in the Kurain village." Phoenix patter her on her top hat and chuckled when he saw her eyes light up.

"Oh, I bet she knows some really neat magic tricks!"

"Well, you could say that." Phoenix slurped his noodles and smirked as he thought of the times that Maya would channel her sister, Mia. "Anyway, she became my assistant after her sister, and my mentor, Mia died. She helped me with a lot of my cases and got into trouble a few times herself. She was... quite the young lady..."

"How come you don't visit her or she come to visit you? Kurain Village is only a short train ride away and I bet she'd be thrilled to see you!" The young girl clapped her hands excitedly. "We could go tomorrow! That would be a fun day trip! Can we Papa? Please? Oh and Eagle Mountain isn't too far away, we can go pick wild-"

"No, Trucy," Phoenix said, a little too shortly. "We aren't going to Eagle Mountain. Something happened there...and now...it's, uhhh...haunted."

"Ooohhh...even better! An old haunted temple! Fun!" She slurped the last of her noodles.

"But, Kurain Village doesn't sound too bad." Phoenix pondered as he returned their noodle bowls. "Maybe Pearls has forgiven me..."

"Oh, Mr. Nick," Pearl had her hands crossed in front of her and was looking down at her feet. "I'm going to miss you, alot! But you are coming to visit often, right? You can't be without your sweetheart for long!"

Phoenix glanced uncomfortably at Maya as she nodded knowingly at him.

"Uuhh..Pearls, listen, um there's something I need to tell you about Maya and I..." Phoenix knelt to be eye-level with the precocious little girl. They were saying their goodbyes on the platform while they waited for their train. Maya and Pearls were headed back to Kurain Village so Maya could complete her training.

"Nick, are you sure you want to do this?" Even though he didn't love Maya the way Pearl wanted him too, he still cared for her, and Pearl for that matter, very, very much and he didn't want to hurt Pearl. However, her view of what true love should be and who should be in love was based on lies and fairy tales and Phoenix wasn't sure he was prepared to tell her there wasn't a happy ending.

"Ahh..you two should kiss! Its only appropriate!" Pearl blushed.

"Oh Pearl, whatever are we going to do with you?" Maya blushed as well and wrapped her arms around her little cousin as she stood behind her. Phoenix took Maya's hand and rested on Pearls shoulder.

"Oh... Oh! Mystic Maya! I think Mr. Nick is going to propose to you!" Pearl looked up at Maya and bounced in glee. Phoenix groaned and closed his eyes to collect his thoughts.

"Um, Pearls? I...ah...Maya and I don't ... love each other like...like you think we do..."

"Oh, Mr. Nick. You love her more!"

"No, Pearls, please listen to me." Phoenix placed both hands on her shoulders and looked into her bright eyes. The truth, that's all he had to speak was the truth. "I'm not in love with Maya, and I don't think she's in love with me. I do however, love both of you equally..."

"I-I... you don't ... love Maya?" Her eyes started to water and she sniffed. "How can you not love Maya? How can you say that you aren't in love with Maya!"

"Pearly, he just sai-"

"No, let go of me! You are in love with someone else aren't you? You've been cheating on Maya!" Pearl smacked Phoenix harder than she ever had before and burst into a full on sob. "I hate you, Mr. Nick, I hate you! I don't ever want to see you again."

Those hurtful words echoed in Phoenix's mind even now, as he rubbed his temples. Trucy had been going on about their plans for Kurain village and hadn't noticed that Phoenix wasn't paying attention. She hoped off of her stool at the Noodle stand, and took Phoenix's hand to lead him back to the talent agency.

Cinnamon still lingered in the air as they walked into the former office. Trucy draped her cape on the couch and turned on the CD player. Strains of Beethoven slowly floated through the air as Phoenix took off his cap and rubbed his head with it. He could feel a terrible headache coming on as he walked over to Trucy to hug her.

"Goodnight Trucy, I promise I will feel better tomorrow." He took off her top hat and kissed her on the top of her head.

"You better Papa, we have a wonderful trip to take tomorrow!" She smiled her wonderful smile and Phoenix returned it as best he could. He patted her shoulder and turned to walk into the inside office. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the letter from Miles, and took it in with him. He shut the door and flopped himself onto the futon he had moved from his old apartment to his office. He couldn't keep up the rent on both places so he had sold most of his possessions and moved into his office.