Cause no way would I ever be doing that with some close platonic male friend.

:Everyone is invited to a party just follow Wright and we'll be their soon.

Well, it may have taken till 3-5 for the weight of evidence of this pairing to convert me from the super hot and touching Phoenix/Edgeworth, but.. actually it was the whole Iris plot which played a huge role in convincing me. Quite ironic for Iris... And believe me, I certainly did not start 3-5 thinking I would ever ship Phoenix/Maya. Well, okay, I liked their friendship, a lot by this point, but of course I was taking the route of every Phoenix/Edgeworth fan and telling myself that it was just a family relationship and all that evidence wasn't enough to prove anything.

Phoenix's reactions in the trial in 3-5 can only be interpreted as one thing - he genuinely loves Maya, I don't think it's deniable. And all Maya's actions [2-4 especially] indicate it's almost certainly mutual. Sure, it's not necessarily romantic love - but it's genuine love between them and it's beautiful. A relationship I'd never want them to lose. The fact they so obviously actually love each other is so cute it even eclipses the hot of Phoenix/Edgeworth.

Parallels of Phoenix's behaviour and loyalties with the Iris plot was what convinced me that Phoenix's love for Maya can easily be interpreted as entering into the 'romantic love' category. Oh, and the whole Dahlia incident? Great explanation for supporting this pairing. Since Phoenix was still traumatised over the poisoning, he was reluctant to enter into romantic relationships during the games, so would have not acted on/internally denied his romantic feelings for Maya. Now it's resolved and he has closure.. well...

The way their relationship is developed through the games, I admit it would be the type of romance where physical attraction is a secondary development to the 'falling in love with personality' route. And in 3-5.. well, I'd say they're pretty much already in love with each others' personality. This makes the pairing even more attractive really, their love is based on so much more than only superficial physical attraction. [Though they're not bad looking either, though it will never be as hot as Phoenix/Edgeworth]. They're so devoted to each other and believe in each other so utterly. It's so cute.

Those two are made for each other. [Literally. She's designed as his sidekick..] I can't bear them to be apart! The thought of them getting together makes me so happy. [Conversely, the flipside of this is that thinking of them not being together and forceably parted depresses me.] They do genuinely seem to complement each other and both appear to achieve maximum happiness and performance with the other there as support. [And they genuinely miss each other when they're apart.]

Also, they are my 2 favourite characters in the game so.. yeah. [People don't like this pairing if they don't like Maya.] Took me about 2min into 1-1 to become hopelessly besotted with Phoenix. Maya.. I loved her after 1-4, she earned my respect, though I think I might have liked Edgeworth better after game 1 - but I think my attachment to her steadily increased throughout 2 and 3. She does grow and mature as a character throughout the series, even if some of the Phoenix/Edgeworth fans choose to deny it. I was impressed by the way she handled things and her positive attitude to Pearl [a lesser person would have projected their anger at the Morgan Fey thing onto Pearl.] In 3-5 when they drag poor Maya to the stand after that happened to her.. well I realised exactly how attached I now was to her. I was rabid with worry and I didn't care she wasn't real, I just wanted to hug her.

the part where Nick risked his life to go across a burning bridge just for Maya indicated that he loves her like more than a sister (imo at least ;D)

: A party? Cool! Am I invited?!
: I better be invited or else I'll give you all penalties for rest of your courtroom days!

:Of course your invited everyone is invited!

My Dear, Dear Maya:

...You may be wondering why I'm writing this letter, or why I'm writing this by hand instead of typing it or emailing it to you. In a sense, I'm wondering that myself -- wondering why I can't seem to muster up the courage to stand strong in front of you and say these words to your face. I guess this letter is a way of letting loose the emotions and feelings I have been storing deep in my heart ever since that forsaken day, in which one of the most important and loved persons to the both of us, your sister Mia, left the world of the living. Seeing you there, crouching beside the body, whispering desperate pleas to her lifeless body, tears trickling down your cheeks, your voice breaking... An image that broke everything I was up until that moment. Even before we met in the detention center, when you finallt agreed for me to be your attorney, I had already instinctively decided I'd do it. Not for me, not for Mia, but for you, Maya. For you.

With time, I'd come to learn that the concept of "death" within the Fey family was... "Unique" (for lack of a better word), as sharing my life with you after Mia's passing showed me (and repeatedly at that!). Seeing your sister's soul being channeled through your body gave me a whole new outlook on spirit mediums and how I considered them to be a sham, and, to be honest... It gave me peace of mind. Because that way, I was assured that your sister knew that you were safe, which, at the time, was the most important thing for me to do...

Still... Seeing you being accused of murder in a courtroom, and how you humbly accepted what was becoming you gave me the mere idea of the immense strength you held in your heart, and made me do my best effort, made me surpass myself, made me turn the entire trial on its head... For it was simply unacceptable, in my mind of minds, to see a poor girl who'd lost what I'd later learn was the last member of her direct family crying the way you cried. When you asked to hear Mia's voice again, recorded on your cell phone, each tear you shed gave me strength, each subdued sob you let silently escape gave me spirit and determination. I could not let it end like that. I was NOT going to let it end like that... And indeed, with the eventual help of our dear Mia herself, finally, Justice was served.

The trial being over, we grew attached... Logical, really, given what we both had experienced in the past few days. But still, I felt the need to be near you, by your side, to protect you. If I had been unable to protect Mia, I silently swore to myself as I felt her blessing my takeover of the offices along with you, I'd devote myself to protecting you as the most important jewel of the crown entrusted to me. If destiny was against me, I'd defy fate and make sure, over every other thing, that you were alright...

More cases came along as the weeks and months went by. Movie stars, wanting to make a glorious appearance for a standing ovation... Ghosts from a murky past I never thought possible, and your heroism and self-sacrifice against that monster of a man, just to help a friend in need... And with that, much to my chagrin, you were gone. For the first time in my law career since I'd met the Chief, I was alone... Completely alone.

Granted, it was stupid of me to depress myself the way I did those days. It was thoroughly stupid, and I later realized why: I still had your cell number, I could contact you anytime. Months later, even, I discovered you hadn't even been that far away from me! But the sheer feeling of not having you by my side those days made me go into a dark slump, asking myself, day after day, why I felt the way I felt.

...Then, along came a girl. Spunky, enthusiastic, determined... Very much like you; frighteningly so, in fact. She was in trouble: her sister, in whom she trusted more than anybody else in the world, had been accused of murder, a murder this young girl swore to me ("cross my heart, Mr. Wright!") her sister could never have committed. Seeing her, seeing her situation, reminded me of you... And the memory was painful. Painful, but at the same time, warm and soothing. And thinking this, I decided to help her.

You probably cannot imagine the hardships and loopholes we had to go through to prove the innocence of the girl's sister... (Although, on second thought, scratch that -- you know I don't mean it in bad blood, but you later proved yourself a human magnet to the most outrageous problems... Haha...) And, upon the declaration of the verdict, relieving this girl of her pain and her stress, I witnessed in her sister one of the most astounding emotional transformations I've ever seen -- from ugly duckling, trying to protect herself, her sister, and those around them by lying and ensnaring, to majestic swan, smiling proudly and warmly, aware of her faults and willing to pay for them, but with the terrible weight of a years-long lie lifted from her shoulders... For the first time in years, a true smile illuminated her soft lips... And with that, I, along with everyone else, was gone.

And then that strange doctor showed up on my office door. To be perfectly honest, I did not register most of what he said that day -- it was much too whiny about a weather girl for me to care. But a single word thundered against my ears like an explosion, an explosion I could feel as warmth spread through my heart: Maya.

Turned out he was, at your very specific request, asking me to come along with him to Kurain Village -- your hometown... And more importantly, the place where I could return to you now. Needless to say, I accepted immediately, and we set off. Upon my arrival, however, my yield and resolution were once again tested by the relentless waves of fate -- placing you as the accused party in yet another murder I was sure you could never have been responsible of. And just as the day I first told myself, resolute in the heart, that I would protect you, I came victorious this time again... And I was granted the greatest treasure I could ever have asked for: a view of your smile. That day, through little Pearls (a true pearl in her own right if I've ever seen one), you were reunited with your sister, forcibly and untimely taken from you... And your tears of joy were brighter than the most beautiful diamonds.

Then, as we spent our days together, solving cases, eating burgers, and enjoying our mutual company... You were forcibly snatched from my side, in the least imaginable way possible.

As was to be expected, I panicked. I panicked in a way I had never panicked before. I panicked in a way I (thought I) would never panic again. You were in the hands of an ASSASSIN! A trained killer! What would I do? What COULD I do?! My mind drew blanks... All I could think of was you, and your safety. Were you okay? Were you wounded? Were you drugged? Were you unconscious? Had that despicable kidnapper done anything to you? Millions of questions stumbled upon each other inside the confined space of my brain, unable to hold that many worries at once. I needed absolutely all the support I could get, and once again, a little Pearl among the jewels I carried along shone for me, illuminating my path... To be frank, I can't really remember what happened with that case... Or rather... I don't WANT to remember. All I remember was receiving you in my arms, your warmth, your trembling... And all I could do was thank the heavens for your safety. All I could do was hug you tight, uselessly try to hold in my tears of relief, and whisper in your hear that all was okay now, that you were safe, that you were with us, Pearl and I, the two people that loved you most in the world... And cry... Cry in sheer happiness, knowing that you were safe, by my side... And laugh... Laugh at the ridiculous idea of miracles not ever happening... How could I have ever been so dense... so... close-minded...? How could my faith had ever faltered and lingered on the thought that you might never return to us again?

(As a curious note, at the time I write down these lines, my mind recalls those feelings, and my eyes start to sting a bit... I guess these things are too deeply ingrained in my heart for me to ever forget them, even though so much time has passed...)

Another year went by, and we continued our success. Not unexpectedly, with you, there was never a dull moment... Somehow we got involved in the strangest of adventures (a practically triple-agent thief that not even his own wife believed?) with the most unlikely of people (poor Maggey, after the passing of her boyfriend, seemed to still attract the worst luck on the face of the earth)... And on each and every of those moments, I shared the joy of being near you. I laughed with you at how fantastic life was, I shivered at the things you were capable of coming out with, I joked with you over a bunch of burgers, I argued with you over ladders and stepladders... And it was bliss. It was also then that I started to discover what my heart hid inside, and to understand those strange runes called "feelings" that were growing steadily in numbers in there...

Unfortunately, the fortune of our days together was suddenly shadowed by a spectre of my past.

Iris was there, and I had absolutely no idea why... Until a little voice told me in my sleep, "Don't fret, Phoenix... She's not here to hurt you..."

I could have swore I knew that voice... Sultry, sensual, yet firm and elegant. I kept mulling over it for the next few days... Until once again, you were cruelly stolen from my side, in a plot to assassinate a gentle woman we had met as a picture book writer... Whom we later discovered to be your mother, thought lost since so many years ago...

It's a bit ironic, how life works, isn't it? Me, with my incurable fear of heights and fire, ignoring the threat that BOTH, combined, represented at the time for me, all for the sake of knowing YOU were okay. As I fell, my mind went only to you -- I did not think of myself for a single second (until about the time when my body actually hit the waters -- the damn cold forced me to land my thoughts a bit on my own body). Thinking back, it's quite amusing -- I even made poor Edgeworth play a temporary role as a defense attorney -- something neither of us would have ever even dreamed of... But it happened... And partly thanks to that, you are here with us. And it was only then that it dawned on me. You were more than just a coworker, you were more than just a colleague, you were more than just my ex-boss' sister, you were tens, hundreds, thousands, millions of times more than just a friend...

...You know? Remembering not only Edgeworth, but Franziska Von Karma and even Godo-- no, Diego Armando himself, it's curious how I can't stop the tears from flowing from my eyes. But this is not the place. Nor the time.

And now, fast forward almost eight long, hard years. I'm sitting here, in what used to be a law office, writing this letter to you... I'm no longer an attorney, I have a daughter and a pupil now, and I have long since somewhat forsaken my past life...

Yet, there is something from that life that I cannot forget. A spark of incredible light in the darkness that surrounds me. A presence of mind, strength, beauty and wisdom that I have never been able to forget. A flash of hope... You.

My dearest... No. My BELOVED Maya... No matter what happens, I have decided to let the feelings that have been overflowing from my heart, from the very essence of my soul, run free, wild, unrestrained, within these lines. Maya, you were the bright, beautiful sun in every day, that shone for me, and for me alone. You were the moon, delicate and elegant, that illuminated my nights. You were the air that refreshed my being from inside out. You were the water that cleansed my body of its impurities. You were my sweet, my sour, my this and that -- Maya, you were the only irreplaceable thing I have ever had in my entire life.

You were my one and only true love. You stole my heart, and being hopelessly in love with you as I was, I was only too happy to relinquish it to you. I still am, and have NEVER regretted it ever since.

I don't know if this letter will ever reach you. (Once again, blame my cowardice.) Even if it reaches you, I don't know whether you'll ever read it. However, no matter the outcome, I have poured in here every single drop of what I feel for you. I don't know if this is even nearly enough (I, quite honestly, don't think it is), but it's all a poor, battered, tired heart can offer you.

There's a saying that goes, "if you love something, let it free; if it comes back to you, it's yours; if it doesn't, it never was". Maya, I have set you as free as you have set me. I WANT to go back. I WANT to be by your side... I am yours, and yours only, to command.

True love is feeling unending happiness for seeing the one you love happy. Seeing you smile happily was the absolute best and only gift I could have ever requested from this life.



Always yours, forever,

In AJ Phoenix dismisses Maya like he does. Maybe it was just easier to say it like that? But even that implies they still have contact with each other...

APOLLO: Gee Mr Wright. You're attempting to be some cryptic, omnipotent mentor archetype, shrouded in mystery and my superior! [Sure, you still refer to yourself as 'boku' but whatever]. Uh. What is that stupid show you're watching. It's a kids' show! Agh! It's for 5 year olds!
...You have 100 DVDs of it????????????????????

PHOENIX: *sweatdrops* (So much for the superior mentor thing. I can't trust Kristoph Gavin's somewhat oblivious student with the details of my life aka the most important people in my life. Still, it seems Maya and I's lives are so much entwined, some evidence slipped anyway..)

APOLLO: Why are you watching every single episode of a kids' show???

PHOENIX:*embarrassed* (I can't say the Master of Kurain sent them to me..)

etc