Home felt empty. It was their apartment, they'd moved in together and it was going to be their family home.
The nursery, the spare room, was there. Mia hadn't had the heart to pack away any of the furniture. Not yet. She was sure time would make it a little better, a little easier to walk into the room and look at the décor and furniture that she and Maya had put together.
Mia had had 2 weeks of maternity leave and had taken an extra week off work to just… process. She spent most of her days pottering around her home, finding something to do with her hands and when she couldn't find anything to do, she just cried. She liked to have time to properly mourn and cry all day so she could be as focused as possible when she went back to work.
Diego had gone back to work this week, hoping to ease the number of questions that would undoubtedly get asked of both of their return to the Grossberg Law Office. For him, it was something to occupy his mind, keep his day busy. Until he returned home to his girlfriend – only his girlfriend, not his girlfriend and his daughter.
Diego knew now that grief cuts deeper than any blade.
Diego wouldn't wish this grief on anyone – it hit at the oddest times and left him struggling to breathe, wondering how he'd gone from a casual conversation over lunch to quickly excusing himself to the bathroom where he could try and hide his sobs. He would come home and hug Mia and desperately blink away the tears that threatened to run down his cheek so that he could be strong for Mia. Mia was his light but she was grieving just as much and he would do anything to ease her pain.
It was a wonder either of them ended up making it through the first three months.
After that, it got easier. Mia would smile a little more, Diego would crack a joke now and then. But they would never forget their little Isla. They felt her presence all the time – Diego saw her in Mia's eyes, in her smile, in the way she stroked his hand; Mia felt her in Diego's laugh, in his strong arms, in his appreciation of hot coffee. For a child they barely knew, neither Mia nor Diego knew why so many things reminded them of Isla.
Diego knew one thing though – he would never let Mia go. He would never lose her like he lost Isla, he'd be sure of that.
He loved her so much – Mia was his entire world.
"Do you ever want to try again?" Mia asked one morning over breakfast, six months after the birth. Her voice was quiet – Diego wasn't even sure if she'd meant to say it out loud.
"Try what, Kitten?" He was sure he knew what she meant, and her flushed face confirmed it.
"Having a-a baby. Again." She bit her thumb, nervously, averting his gaze. He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
"Not yet, there's something I want to do first." He said before standing up and walking to their room. Mia sat still, unsure whether she should follow him or not. He quickly came back holding something in his hand. Pulling her out of her seat, he stood in front of her in their lounge room, his hands on her waist.
"Mia, you are my whole world." He said looking into her eyes. "There is nothing I wouldn't do without you beside me. These past months have been difficult, but I don't know how I would have pulled through without you." Mia opened her mouth to respond before he kneeled on one knee in front of her.
"There is no one else I would spend my life with or have a family with." Tears brimmed in Mia's eyes and Diego's. "Will you… Mia… will you marry me?" His voice was thick with emotion as he held up a beautiful sapphire ring in a neat white velvet box.
Mia nodded, wordlessly, as she knelt down kissing him deeply. As long as they had each other, there was nothing they wouldn't be able to face.
Phoenix loved Maya's acolyte robes but he loved her formal Master of Kurain robes even more – brilliant white, floor length robes, with ornate stitching in light purple on the sleeves and a matching shawl. The jacket was the usual purple but with similarly ornate white stitching along the edge of the jacket. Truly she looked like the Master of Kurain.
Phoenix was in a similar outfit – a royal blue set of robes with white stitching that mimicked Maya's. As always, he was hit with the acute realisation that he was probably one of few men who witnessed the ceremonies in Kurain Village. As the Master, Maya had insisted on his presence, just as she insisted on raising both children equally – even if their son would not be a spirit medium.
"It's time we allowed families to be whole." Maya had instructed to the elders who were frankly aghast.
Now, it was time for the Naming Ceremony. Phoenix wasn't really one for pomp and ceremony, but the elders had been kind to them in the lead-up to the twins' birth and in letting him stay the entire time with Maya. In any case, this ceremony marked the end of their lengthy stay in the village and by tomorrow, they would drive back to Japanifornia.
The whole village had gathered in the village's centre – a beautiful garden courtyard behind the Fey Manor, bordered by Fey Manor as well as a number of houses and footpaths. At its centre was a giant weeping willow tree, a small bamboo platform had been set up at its base while the courtyard was shaded by its boughs. The crowd had gathered in front of the platform, leaving a wide aisle for the procession. It was a pleasant day.
The elders proceeded to walk down the aisle towards the platform, followed by Trucy (who was also donned in formal robes that were similar in colour to Maya's), then Phoenix and Maya, each holding a sleeping twin. Various people oohed and aahed at the babies, who were just two weeks old, while Phoenix and Maya just smiled proudly. Once they reached the platform, Phoenix, Maya and Trucy all stood together in the centre, facing the crowd – Pearl was standing proudly at the front.
"Mystic Maya has given birth and the Holy Mother has blessed her with two children." One of the elders announced to the village, much to the cheer of everyone. "As her mother and her mother before her, Mystic Maya will now name her children so that the Holy Mother may watch over them and bless them with her spiritual power." The elder bowed and indicated for Maya to step forward.
"People of Kurain," she started. Her tone was formal but no less friendly or warm. "It is my pleasure to introduce the twins that were born to our family." Holding up the sleeping baby in her arms,
"This is our son, Jasper Fey-Wright." She beamed, although Phoenix could have sworn there were some gasps in the crowd in amongst the polite applause.
Times are changing, people, come on. Phoenix thought to himself before Maya nodded her head towards Phoenix and he joined her at the front of the stage, side by side.
As Phoenix held up their daughter, Maya announced,
"This is our daughter, Maeve Fey-Wright." A round of applause broke out again for both twins in celebration.
As part of the naming ceremony, the elders brushed a thumb dipped in ochre paint over the sleeping twins' foreheads – ceremonially bestowing the spiritual power of the Holy Mother on the both of them, even though by all accounts Jasper would not be trained as a spirit medium.
Once the Holy Mother's blessings had been given to the twins, the elders declared Phoenix, Maya, Trucy, and the twins as the main family of Kurain Village.
"Praise the Holy Mother! Praise Mystic Maya and her family!" The village chanted as the Fey-Wrights stood together.
1 year later
It had been Athena's idea to organise a joint first birthday party for all the babies in their little circle. It made sense – they were all born within a month of each other. So, the Blackquill apartment was nominated to host the birthday party and was bustling with the Fey-Wrights, the Gavins, Apollo, Trucy, Pearl, Aura, Lana, and Edgeworth.
This wasn't just one infant's first birthday party – this was five first birthday parties, so Athena had one rule: one cake, as many presents as you want. To say Athena was excited for the party was an understatement – she had never hosted an event like this and these kids would only turn one once. She had organised the cake, decorations, food, and was now pottering around her very busy apartment, giving everyone their drinks.
Phoenix found himself sitting on one of their plush couches beside Edgeworth, with Jasper on his lap as he desperately tried to keep his son away from the small mountain of presents that sat on the large circular coffee table in front of them.
"Dada, dada." Jasper said as he stood on Phoenix's thighs, bobbing up and down. He reached out a hand towards Edgeworth who just looked at him impassively, as he opened and closed his hands. Athena set their drinks on the coffee table, shifting some of the presents to the side.
"Thanks, Athena. Looks like it's time for cuddles with Uncle Miles," Phoenix smiled, passing Jasper to Edgeworth. There was the faintest hint of a smile on Edgeworth's face as he sat Jasper in his lap. Jasper's tiny hands grasped Edgeworth's pinkie finger as he looked up at the grey eyes, his eyes wide with wonder.
"Hey there, little man." Edgeworth said in a soft voice. Phoenix had to admit, he never thought he'd ever see his childhood friend like this. It had been interesting when Edgeworth had first held the twins – as Chief Prosecutor, Edgeworth was intimidating at the best of times and entered every room with gravitas. Maeve and Jasper were a month old when Edgeworth met them for the first time – they looked so small in his hands and he treated them as if they were his most fragile tea set, apt to drop and smash at any point. Over the course of a year, he had slowly become more comfortable. Naturally the twins adored him, preferring to be held by Miles rather than their own parents.
"I never thought your kids would be so taken with me." Edgeworth looked at Phoenix as Jasper decided to stick his hand in his mouth.
"Are you kidding?" Phoenix smiled as he sipped his grape juice, "Trucy was your biggest fan from the start. Really, these two are just following in their big sister's excellent taste of character." Edgeworth leaned his head back from Jasper as his small hands attempted, not for the first time, to grab the silver bangs that hung above his head. "Besides, you're really good with them." He said as he let Jasper hold his finger instead of Edgeworth's hair.
Edgeworth relaxed, safe in the knowledge that his hair was out of reach. "I must admit, Wright, I didn't think that I would ever be comfortable around children. Well, children that weren't Trucy or Miss Pearl." He reasoned with himself. "But the twins appear to have proven me wr-"
Edgeworth grunted sharply as Jasper had found a wisp of hair to pull with all his might as he giggled.
"Alright, time to hop off Uncle Miles' lap now." Reaching over the arm of the couch, Edgeworth plonked Jasper on his feet so he could run around away from the coffee table. Running his hand through the hair that remained on his head, he turned to Phoenix. "As I was saying, your twins seem to have proven me wrong. It's… quite nice being Uncle Miles." There was the faintest hint of a smile on his face as he looked at Phoenix.
"I know Trucy is excited for our dinner party next week – although I don't whether that's because she wants to see you or because she's thrilled we finally get to meet your boyfriend." He elbowed Edgeworth with a cheeky smile. Edgeworth rolled his eyes, muttering something about regret as he picked up his cup of tea from the coffee table, but Phoenix saw the pink tinge on his cheeks.
"Don't make me regret this." He started sharply, before taking a breath, "It means a lot that you all want to meet him so much." Edgeworth muttered, not looking at Phoenix. "I mean, you've met him that one time in Germany, but maybe I should prepare him for Trucy's boundless excitement."
"Oh, if he's not already prepared to witness a great magic show, you should warn Agent Lang that he'll likely be, uh, encouraged to participate." Phoenix chuckled as Edgeworth gave a small sound that could have been a laugh.
While Phoenix and Edgeworth continued chatting on the couch, Jasper wandered over to his big sister. Trucy and Pearl were playing peekaboo with Maeve and Atlas to roaring success. The laughter was infectious. Maeve was rolling on the ground, laughing while Atlas clapped, absolutely enraptured. Noticing Jasper joining the group, Pearl reached for Jasper to come towards them.
"Where's Jasper? Where's Maeve? Wheeeeeere's Atlas?" Trucy said in a singsong voice, her eyes covered. Three sets of eyes were on her, in anticipation.
"There they are!" She said, hands off her eyes as she grabbed Maeve and pulled her into a cuddle, while Maeve just giggled endlessly. Athena walked by with a smile, ruffling Atlas's ginger hair, as she handed a drink to Apollo.
Apollo took the drink in one hand as he balanced his godson, Theo, on his hip. He sipped his lemonade as he swayed slightly, as a mother would when holding her child, while he talked to Klavier. Apollo had been the first person that came to mind when Klavier and Ema thought of who they wanted to be the godfather. Like all things, Apollo took this role very seriously. Despite being in Apollo's arms, Theo maintained a strong grip on his father's finger.
"So Klavier, I hear you're on the Thibault case." Apollo said, as he bounced Theo, keeping his drink out of arms' reach.
"Apollo, it's Theo's first birthday." Klavier said gently, "Relax - he's only going to turn one once. Look, he seems to be enjoying himself." He chuckled as Theo looked up at Apollo with his big blue eyes and reached up for Apollo's spikes.
"Ta." Theo said as his little hands stretched upwards, "Ta."
"No, you can't grab my hair, bud." Apollo muttered to his godson, turning his head so his spikes were out of reach. "Hard to believe Theo is only a year old."
"And now he's taken his first steps and said his first words, hey my little rockstar." Klavier kissed his son on the forehead, "Yes, you did. You think saying 'ta' gets you anything you reach for, mein Bärchen." He said in a sing-song voice.
Apollo didn't know why he had hoped that fatherhood would change Klavier's proclivity for German nicknames. If anything, Klavier's nickname vocabulary had only increased. It was really quite endearing, to see the suave, cool, Klavier Gavin turn into a doting father who was not afraid to bring out the baby-talk.
"Ja, Schnucki, and then you're going to play the guitar just like your papa." Klavier nodded expectantly at Theo. Apollo just kept bouncing him gently, continuing to sip his drink and keep his hair away from Theo's determined hands.
"Papa." Theo said, looking his father in the eyes with a smile, as he turned to reach for Apollo's spikes again.
"Klav, you better not be convincing Theo to become a guitar player." Ema said from another couch, behind her husband. "We agreed to let Theo choose, and we know he'll be a great detective like his mama."
"Ja, schatzi."Apollo watched as Klavier rolled his eyes, before whispering to his son, "Don't tell mama, but we know what you really want, Bärchen."
From her spot on the couch, Ema turned to look at her husband, son, and Apollo suspiciously but they were engrossed in conversation again.
She turned her focus on to Maya and Lana's conversation.
"So, what were the twins' first words?" Lana was asking Maya.
"Well, Nick thought that since Jasper was born first, he would have the first word. I mean, he was the first to start crawling and pulling himself up. But Maeve said 'Mama' first." Maya smiled triumphantly.
"I'm sure Phoenix loved that." Lana laughed, "So what did Jasper's first word end up being?"
"Dada." Maya shrugged, "Not gonna lie, I was hoping that both kids' first words would be 'mama' and then I would be the superior parent, but not yet." She sighed as she watched Maeve and Jasper play with Pearl and Trucy. "They both adore Trucy though, sometimes it seems like Nick and I are totally forgotten."
"You should take advantage of those and have a date night!" Ema chimed in. "Klavier and I thought we were nailing the whole 'first-time parents' thing, it was bringing us closer, blah blah blah. Then we cashed in our reservation that Mr. Edgeworth made for us at the 6-month mark and, wow, did we really need a night together with just the two of us."
"I still can't believe that Edgeworth didn't do that for us! I mean, Nick is practically his oldest friend – look at the two of them." Maya gestured across the large coffee table and the present mountain to the two lawyers, engrossed in conversation. "Between Mr. Edgeworth and Trucy, the twins are in safe hands. Maybe I should convince Nick to steal away for a date night."
"Now you're making me think of Mr. Edgeworth trying to wrangle your twins into some kind of order and failing miserably." Ema laughed in hushed tones. All three women chuckled to themselves as Athena placed a jug of water on their side of the coffee table.
"What's Mr. Edgeworth wrangling?" Athena asked as she joined the women, sitting beside Maya on the edge of their long couch.
"My twins." Maya said with a gleam in her eye.
"If he survives, I'll happily have him look after mine." Athena laughed, mischievously, "Once you've looked after twins once, they're all the same, right?" The four women chuckled together – the Chief Prosecutor unaware of their scheming from across the coffee table.
"So, Lana, what are you up to at the moment?" Athena asked, as she poured water for all four of them, desperate to hold a proper adult conversation for as long as her children were entertained.
"Well, I just finished up as Chief Prosecutor over in Chicago – been there for about 3 years but obviously I visited regularly, especially after Theo was born." Lana explained, "But I've transferred down to San Diego to become Chief Prosecutor there. It'll nice being close to home again, and close to Ema and the family." She squeezed Ema's hand with a smile.
Athena nodded enthusiastically, about to say something when she felt Simon's hand on her shoulder.
"My love, have you seen Xanthe anywhere?" He spoke in an even voice, but the fear in his heart was unmistakeable and his eyes searched the room. Aura stood behind him, equally nervous.
Athena shook her head – she'd only seen Atlas being thoroughly amused by Pearl and Trucy. All the other kids were accounted for – Theo was still on Apollo's hip, Maeve and Jasper were still enraptured with their big sister.
"Have you guys seen Xanthe around?" Athena turned to the women on her couch. Lana shook her head.
"She'll be around here somewhere, Athena – she could only be in here, all the other rooms are shut." Maya sensibly pointed out.
"If she's cheeky like Theo, have you checked under things?" Ema said thoughtfully. Simon, Aura, and Athena all looked at each other.
"What about…" Aura said to no one in particular, before kneeling on the floor and bending so she could see under the coffee table. "Miss Xanthe! What are you eating?" She said in a half-exasperated, half-amused voice.
Sure enough, Xanthe was sitting under the coffee table, licking something off her hands like a dog with peanut butter. At Aura's voice, she giggled and crawled towards her aunt. Once she could no longer see the coffee table above her, she went to stand up before-
thud*
Xanthe hit her head on the coffee table, immediately bursting into tears.
"Oh, baby." Aura said sympathetically, picking up her niece and bouncing her gently to soothe her but Xanthe kept fussing and reached for Athena.
"Here, baby, kiss to make it better." Athena said, kissing her daughter on the head before cuddling her tight. "All better." She said, happily as Xanthe's crying subsided as quickly as it had started. "Back to Aunt Aura?" She held Xanthe towards Aura, who held her for a moment before Xanthe wriggled against her in an attempt to be put on the ground again.
As Xanthe walked off to join her brother, Aura sighed, "Guess Aunt Aura isn't her favourite at the moment." She'd been out of jail for almost a year and she and the twins had a slow start. She saw Metis in both twins and the first meeting had lasted 10 minutes before Aura excused herself and left, hiding tears. The second time, she'd been able to hold both of them, tears streaming down her face the whole time. She absolutely loved the twins, almost as much as they loved her. Desperate to be a part of their lives, she was always crushed when anything happened to the twins, even more so when they wouldn't soothe for her.
"Don't give it a second thought, Aura." Simon said quickly, "You know she's energetic and sometimes just needs a cuddle from her mother. She'll run back to you for a hug soon enough." Simon said with a nod, "She asks for 'Aura' every day." Aura managed a small smile at that.
And Simon was right, as Xanthe toddled back over to Aura, reaching up to be held.
"She clearly loves her Aunt Aura," Ema smiled as she watched the raven-haired infant snuggle into her aunt's shoulder.
"Do we think it's time for cake?" Athena asked Simon, who merely nodded.
"Yeah, might as well capitalise on the kids' energy before they get too tired from Trucy and Pearly's efforts." Maya agreed.
Calling everyone over to the large coffee table, Athena set down a large tray, holding a thin rectangular chocolate cake with white piped icing that read:
Happy 1st Birthday Atlas, Jasper, Maeve, Theo & Xanthe
The cake was longer that it was wide, with the idea that all the babies could sit/stand in front of it for a picture/cake eating.
"Ok, it's time for cake and pictures!" Athena announced, clasping her hands together excitedly.
"Get those kids in front of that cake and, Simon are you ready with the camera?" She loudly hissed to her husband as she shuffled Atlas and Xanthe in front of the cake.
Simon, Apollo, Trucy, Pearl, and Lana were all standing on the other side of the coffee table, facing the children with their phones poised. Trucy was already getting the 'candid shots' in – which were mostly comprised of Ema, Klavier, Athena, Phoenix, and Maya shuffling around and bumping into each other.
When all five children were standing in front of the cake, Athena said "Go! Grab that cake!"
Cameras at the ready – Theo reached out to the cake and poked his finger in the middle, unleashing chaos.
Xanthe banged a fist into the cake. Jasper planted both hands into the top like he was on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Theo poked another finger into the cake. Maeve grabbed a fist of the cake and started eating it. Atlas leaned close to the cake and took a huge bite, face-first, chocolate cake all over his face.
It was exactly what Athena was hoping from a first birthday cake and it was a smashing success.
250 photos later (on Trucy's phone alone) or 5 minutes later, the parents tore their children away from the cake which was mostly demolished and not very eaten. The coffee table was mostly spared, thanks to the large tray that the cake was sitting on, although Atlas's face-first eating created a trail of crumbs off the table, onto the floor and all over his cheeks, mouth and nose.
"Alright everyone, dig in!" Athena said with a smile as she stood up.
Everyone froze, hesitant, looking at Athena.
"Aw, I wanted to see if anyone would fall for that." Athena huffed with her hands on her hips, "Don't worry, I made another cake." She rolled her eyes, grabbing a circular cake with "1st Birthday!" piped on the top.
It had been a long road over the past year and a half for all of them, but if it was up to Athena & Simon, Klavier & Ema, and Phoenix & Maya, they'd do it all over again.