“Uh, I think the answer is ‘See you in Hell, Evil Magistrate!’ It is!? Really? I win!? Woo-hoo!” Maya Fey, Ace spirit medium/ law assistant, jumped for joy and hung up the phone, then dashed over to her Phoenix Wright, her boss and best friend.
“Nick! Nick! Ohmigod, Ohmigod, I can’t believe it! Nick! Guess what?” She screamed, unable to control her excitement.
Phoenix, who was going over his paperwork to ensure he didn’t miss anything, sighed. “What is it, Maya?” Most of the time, when Maya was this excited about something, it was usually about burgers or samurais. And since they had just eaten, it was probably the latter.
“I just got us two tickets to THE Steel Samurai Live Action Theatre on Friday!” Maya announced. Nick groaned.
“Maya, didn’t I just take you to a Steel Samurai Convention last month?”
Maya made her classic shocked face. “Nick, this is totally different! The play is going to go through all the events of the Steel Samurai! It’s probably 12 hours long!”
Nick almost shuddered at the prospect of being forced to watch the Steel Samurai for 12 hours straight. “I’m sorry Maya, but I think I’m all Steel Samurai’ed out.”
“Oh…Ok.” Maya sunk to the floor, resting her head against Phoenix’s desk. Maya was genuinely disappointed, she was really hoping Nick would go with her.

Although she loved the Steel Samurai, she also loved hanging out with Nick. She loved Nick, really, but she had never worked up the confidence to tell him. So going to see the Steel Samurai play with Nick would have been a dream come true. As a matter of fact, she had literally been dreaming about it this morning. She had dreamt that she was at the event and the first act of the play had concluded with the Steel Samurai being surrounded by the Five Ninjas of the West. She reached her hand into the bag of popcorn, which landed on top of Nick’s hand. She and Nick looked into each others’ eyes, and Nick slowly leaned in for a kiss…and then she woke up.

“Well,” she sighed, “I guess I’ll just go with somebody else.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Pearls would love to go!” Nick told her, trying to cheer her up. Nick hated to see Maya sad and felt pretty bad for turning her down, but he really wasn’t in the mood to see a Steel Samurai play.
“Nah, Pearly isn’t really in to that stuff. Maybe I’ll ask Mr. Edgeworth.”
“What? Why Edgeworth!?” Nick asked, getting noticeably tense. Maya didn’t know it, but Nick had a rather large crush on her, and he wasn’t too happy about the idea of her going out with Edgeworth.
“Well yeah, he’s totally a Steel Samurai fan! He’d love to see the play.” Maya said.
“Oh, ok,” Nick said, relieved now that he knew why Maya was going to invite Edgeworth. “Well, go ahead. I won’t mind just as long as you don’t take Larry.”
Maya smiled, planning to get payback at Nick for not going with her. “Hmm, Larry huh? I guess I wouldn’t mind going with him either…Thanks for the suggestion, Nick!”
“What? Oh, no, no, no. You are not going out with Larry. I’ll go with you to the Live Action Theatre, or whatever it is, ok?”
Even though Maya would have liked nothing more, she decided that she was going to make Nick work for it now. “Oh, so now you want to go with me, huh?”
“Well, yeah. I guess.”
“Well, too bad. You’re going to have to convince me to take you now.” Maya said sternly.
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Oh, you’ll see.” Maya whispered slyly. “Well, I’m going to bed.”
“Now? It’s only 7 o’clock!”
“I know. I’ve got some planning to do.” Maya skipped off happily upstairs. Nick began to worry. Nothing good ever happened when Maya began scheming. He sighed, then got back to his paperwork, trying to block out the frequent thoughts of what Maya could possibly be planning.
---
The next Day…
---

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Nick jumped out of his sleep to the sound of his alarm, before silencing it with a swift chop applied directly onto the snooze button. Groggily, Nick got out of bed, heading to the kitchen for his morning cup of coffee. He passed Larry and Edgeworth on his way to the kitchen, and said “Hey guys” absent-mindedly. It wasn’t until Nick had begun to drink his coffee several minutes later that it occurred to him that Larry and Edgeworth were in his office. Nick ran back to where the two were standing, wondering what in the world was going on.
“What the heck are you guys doing here!?” Nick yelled. Before anybody could answer, Maya appeared, who was for some reason wearing Nick’s jacket, which was definitely too big for her.

“Oh, you’re all here. Good. I’ve gathered you 3 gentlemen here today because I’ve got quite the dilemma. You see, I have an extra ticket to the Steel Samurai show on Friday, and I can’t decide who to bring. So I’ve decided to interview each of you, and then in the end I’ll decide who I’m bringing with me.”
Nick begins to protest. “Maya, is this really necessary?”
“Absolutely! Now then, I’ll start with Larry. Please, come in to my office. The rest of you, to the kitchen!” Maya shooed Nick and Edgeworth into the kitchen, then sat down at her “office”, which was really just Nick’s desk with an extra chair on the other side. She took out a clipboard to make her seem professional, even though the only things on the clipboard were some of Pearl’s doodles, all of which were drawings of Nick and Maya kissing. Larry sat down, and Maya began the questioning.
“So, why should I take you to the play?”
Larry laughed. “Oh come on Maya, I think we all know you want to take me. And guess what, it works out pretty well with my plans, too. You see, my ex-girlfriend Vanessa is planning on going there too, and I figure that if I went with you, I could make her jealous, and she’d want to get back together with me!”
“Wait a minute, you want me to go on a fake date with you so that you can make your ex jealous?”
“Yup.” Larry said, putting his shoes up on the table.
“Uh, I don’t know how I feel about that.” Maya admitted, confused.
“Oh come on, you’ve never gone on a fake date? Everybody’s doing it, it’s the latest fad!”
“Well, I’m not into fads that much.”
“Oh come on, it’ll be great! I’ll buy you popcorn and everything! And Vanessa will get back together with me! It’s a win-win situation. Now then, you go ahead and interview Edgey and Nick, and then we can work out the details.”
Larry got out of his seat and walked into the kitchen.
“Your turn Edgey. But you should really just give up now, I’ve totally won her over.”
Edgeworth got up triumphantly and walked out of the kitchen.

Miles Edgeworth sat down in his designated seat, slightly giddy. Edgeworth had been a Steel Samurai fan for some time, and he had called some of his connections in hope of getting a ticket to the sold-out Steel Samurai Live Action Theatre, but so far none of them had called back. Wright’s assistant Maya was probably the only hope he had left. Maya began the interview.
“So, you’re Mr. Miles Edgeworth, correct?”
Edgeworth chuckled and went along with Maya’s charade. “Yes Ms. Fey, that would be me.”
“Very good. And please tell me, why I should take you to the play?”
“Well,” Edgeworth said, trying to recite the lines he had been practicing in the kitchen, “If you’re looking to go to the Live Action Theatre with somebody that knows his Steel Samurai stuff, you’ve come to the right guy.”
“Is that so?” Maya asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Yes ma’am. You can quiz me, if you like.”
“Ok then. How did the Steel Samurai beat the Shogun of the Shadows?”
“With the Shadow Saber, since the Shogun had tossed away the Samurai Spear.”
“Good. Ok, next one. In which episode did the Steel Samurai finally woo his true love?”
“Episode 126, by playing the anthem of Neo Olde Tokyo for her on his Samurai Flute.”
“Impressive. Which episode does the Steel Samurai take his mask off in?”
“Trick Question. The Steel Samurai never takes his helmet off; it’s against the Samurai code.”
“Ok then, how is the Evil Magistrate finally defeated?” Maya asks.
“Well, I’d say that’s a two-part answer. I’d start off by describing the 9 Trials of The Samurai he must endure to reach the Magistrate…”

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Phoenix was about to snap, Larry was driving him insane.
“Yeah, I really felt a connection during the interview. I’m pretty much a shoe in, I mean, what girl wouldn’t want to go out with me? I kind of think she was flirting with me, you should have heard her when she said ‘So why should I take you to the play?’. She’s kinda cute too, maybe if I wasn’t trying to get Vanessa back, I’d take her out on a real date-”
“Larry!” Phoenix yelled, fed up. “Shut. Up. OK!!?”
“What’s the matter Nick? Jealous?”
“Of you! Of course not! There’s no way Maya’s going to pick you.”
“Pfft. Denial is such a tragic thing. Ok Nick, whatever you want to believe. I just want you to know that I promise I’ll take good care of your assistant when we go out on our date.”
Phoenix began tapping his fingers on the table, resisting the urge to strangle Larry.
“So, did you and Maya break up, or something?” Larry asked.
“Huh? We were never dating.”
“Oh please. I’ve seen you two together, and I find that hard to believe.”
“Larry, I’m telling you that we never dated!”
“Mmhmm. Look Nick, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. I know how hard it is to talk about break-ups.”
Phoenix remember a lesson his law professor had told him about how murderers often pleaded temporary insanity to get a lesser sentence.
Pleading insanity is looking pretty good right now…

“…And then, and only then, is the Evil Magistrate finally vanquished…or is he?” Edgeworth concluded dramatically.
“Wow, awesome!” Maya said, applauding.
“So what do you think?”
“Unless Nick can pull off something amazing, then you’re pretty much a shoe-in for the extra ticket. And Nick’s been pretty lame lately, so you don’t really have much to worry about.”
“I don’t know, Wright is the King of Turnabouts. Anyways, thank you for the interview, Ms. Fey.”
Edgeworth got up and walked back into the kitchen, where Larry was bugging the hell out of Phoenix.
“Get up Larry, we should probably leave before Wright pops a vein.”
Edgeworth dragged Larry out of Wright & Co Law Offices, and Phoenix walked over to “Maya’s” office and sat down. Maya cast him a harsh glare, probably still bitter from Nick turning her down yesterday.

“You’re Mr. Wright, correct?”
“Maya, can we stop playing games?”
“…Fine. Alright then, tell me why in the world I should take you, Mr. ‘I’m all Samurai’ed out’.”
“Look, I’m sorry about not wanting to go with you before. I guess, well… I didn’t realize how much it mattered to you. But I want to make it up to you.” Nick said, trying to look as serious as possible. To be honest, he wasn't really sure if he believed that story himself.
Maya returned the same seriousness in her gaze, but then began smiling. She didn't believe him.
“You know what I think? I think you’re jealous!” she said as she leaned over the desk.
“What!? O-of course I’m not!” Nick replied, but was unable to prevent himself from blushing.
“You are! You want me all to yourself, huh?...Well, you had your chance. You’re going to have to convince me to take you.”
Phoenix decided to do the only thing he could think of. He got out of his seat, leaned over, and pressed his lips up against Maya’s. It’s really only a peck on the lips, but it seems to do the trick. When he pulled away, Maya was blushing.
“How was that?” he asks.
“N-not bad. It’s a good start, but you’ll have to do better than that…” Maya said, smiling. Nick could tell that she was enjoying it, and he wasn’t going to stop now. He stood up from his chair, and Maya doid the same. They both placed their hands on the desk, staring each other down.

“Are you going to make a move, or what?” Maya asked, getting flustered. After all of that waiting Nick had finally kissed her, and she wanted more. Without warning, Phoenix ran around the desk, chasing after her playfully. Maya tried to run, but Nick was too quick and before she knew it she was up against the wall, with Nick placing delicate kiss along the side of her neck. Maya began to giggle at the tickling sensation, but what began as giggles slowly shifted to soft moans of pleasure as Nick worked his way up to her lips. Nick kissed Maya’s soft lips once again, savoring the moment. He had made it this far, and he wasn’t going to stop until Maya was completely satisfied. He was working far too hard to lose the competition to Larry or Edgeworth at this point. Nick wrapped his arms around Maya’s waist, and he continued to kiss her, admiring the unique taste of her lips, which seemed to taste a lot like orange juice and chocolate chip cookies for some reason, which was surprisingly good. But for all he cared, Maya’s lips could have tasted like garlic and onion, it wouldn’t have mattered. All he cared about now was that he was finally kissing Maya, and it was good.
Because she was pressed up against the wall, Maya had to push Nick away so she could break for air. Exhausted, she sunk to the floor, panting.
“What do you think now?” Nick asked, also panting. He hadn’t made out with anybody like that for a long time.
“Yeah…you win…” Maya admitted in between gasps of air. Maya knew she could be pretty headstrong at times, but there was no way she could resist that. There might have been a chance of her dream coming true after all.
“That’s good,” Nick said, “Because if that didn’t work I’d probably give up.”
The 2 lovers broke into laughter, in a state of bliss now that both of their hopes had simultaneously been realized.
---
Several Days Later…
---

Maya was having the time of her life, sitting at the Steel Samurai Live Action Theatre while cradled in Nick’s arms. Act 1 had come to a close, leaving the audience at a cliffhanger as the Steel Samurai was surrounded by the Five Ninjas of the West. The play was even better than she had expected, and the fact that she was there with Nick, her official boyfriend, amused her to no end. She reached into her bag of popcorn, incidentally resting her hand on Nick’s. Maya looked into Nick’s eyes, and he into hers, and Nick leaned in to give her a kiss. Maya hoped that this wasn’t the part where she would wake up again. And as Nick’s lovely lips met hers, she realized that this time, it wasn’t just a dream.
---

---
February 9th, 2019
7 pm
---

The food sucks.
The last few days must have been a nightmare.
And yet she’s still smiling. I don’t know how she’s been able to keep it up for so long, especially after all that’s happened. Who knows, maybe she’s just glad too be back. I’m glad she is.
I’ve probably been staring at her since we arrived at Tres Bien. Part of me just wants to pick her up and kiss her. For a moment, I thought she really might have been dead. I don’t know what I would have done if she was.
You love her.
Definitely. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner.
And you can’t manage without her.
I know, I know! I just don’t know how to tell her…
“Hey pal, I’m a bit short on dough, so would you mind helping me out? I promise I’ll pay you back…eventually…” Gumshoe asks, his booming voice bringing my train of thought to a halt.
“Huh? Yeah, sure, whatever.” I absent-mindedly pull out a $20 bill and hand it to him. Gumshoe pays the bill, and we leave the restaurant.
“You girls look rather tired,” Edgeworth says to Maya and Pearls, “would you like a ride to Wright’s office?”
“Yay! A car ride!” Pearl exclaims.
“Ooh, that sounds fun!” Maya says, cheering. “Can Nick come?”
“Well, if you insist, I suppose Wright can come along.” Edgeworth says smugly.
Gee, thanks buddy. What would I do without you?
I get in the passenger seat of Edgeworth’s car while Maya and Pearl sit in the back, and we begin to drive. I have to admit, it’s a pretty nice car. I wish I could drive…
Maya and Pearl are staring out of the windows, clearly enjoying the ride. Edgeworth begins got speak quietly, so that I’m the only one who can hear him.
“I saw you in court today, Wright.”
“And?”
“You love her, don’t you? Ms. Fey, I mean.”
“…Why?”
“I might not be an expert on girls, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she harbored feelings for you as well. Make sure you take good care of that assistant, Wright. She’s one of a kind.”
“…I know…”
I stare out of my window. Is it that obvious that I like her? Does Maya know too?
“Here we are, ladies.” Edgeworth announces. “Wright & Co. Law Offices.”
Maya and Pearl hop out of the car, Maya yelling “Thanks Mr. Edgeworth!” as she runs inside. I get out of the car and turn to Edgeworth.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome. Now remember what I told you.”
And with that, Edgeworth drives away.
---
One hour later…
---

“Ok, Pearly! Time for bed!”
“But Mystic Maya!” Pearl whines.
“Now Pearly, you know that if you want to grow big and strong like me, you have to get a good night’s rest, right?”
“Oh! Of course Mystic Maya! Ok, I’ll go to bed, and leave you with your special someone.” Pearl runs upstairs, and Maya sighs.
“What are we going to do with her?” Maya says, laughing.
I’m not in a very joking mood. “Maya…” I want to tell her. I need to tell her. But I’m not sure if it’s the right time.
“What is it, Nick?” Maya asks. Her smile is gone, replaced with a look of worry. I guess she knows me a bit too well.
“I…” I stare into her eyes, but what I see in them isn’t what Maya’s been showing for the last few hours. She’s hurt after all that’s happened these last few days. I can’t bring myself to tell her, I think she’s had enough dramatic changes for a long time.
“I’m sorry about today. In court.” I say, changing my intended subject. “I know you didn’t want me to press Godot, but-”
“I know Nick. You were just doing your job, after all. It’s Ok.”
“And I’m sorry everything that happened. I should have been more responsible, I should have gone over to the Inner Temple with you, especially knowing how dangerous the course was.”
“Nick, don’t say that. If you had, you would have just been risking your life too. And you and Pearly are all I have left…” Maya begins to blink back tears. I pull her into a hug.
“It’s Ok. You’re safe now. You’re with me.”
“…Nick, you didn’t really try to cross that bridge, did you? That was a joke, right?”
“No, I was worried about you, so I tried to cross the bridge. Pretty stupid of me, in hindsight, but at least I didn’t die, I guess.”
Maya begins to cry. “You’re such an idiot!” she says between sobs. I know she doesn’t mean it, she’s just upset. I hug her tighter. “What if…what if you had died? Then what would’ve happened?”
“I’m sorry…”

“Just…don’t do anything like that again, Ok?” Maya demands as she pulls out of the hug. “After all, if something happened to you I wouldn’t have anybody to pick on.” She begins laughing a bit. It’s great to hear her laugh again, and still…
“Maya…I’ve almost lost you 3 times in the last 2 years…”
“What’s wrong, Nick?” Maya sounds worried again. I think she might know what’s coming next.
“Well…Maybe you’d be safer in Kurai-”
“No. It’s not like it’s your fault that I almost died, you’re the one that saved me.”
“But I could’ve stopped them from happening in the first place…”
“Who do you think you are, Superman? There’s no way that you could have known that stuff would have happened! I’m not leaving you Nick. The safest place for me is with you, you always look out for me. Besides, you can’t manage without me.”
I sigh. “Maya, this isn’t the time for goofing around.”
“I’m not! Mr. Edgeworth told me that you didn’t take any cases for months when I left, and that was when I had promised I would come back! What do you think you’d do if I left and I didn’t come back? Face it Nick: I need you and you need me, probably more than you’re willing to admit.”
I’m fighting a losing battle here; she’s right and we both know it. “Fine Maya, you win.” I say, annoyed.
“What’s gotten into you Nick? You caught the criminal, you saved the girl, why aren’t you happy?”
“I don’t know if I can always protect you! What if one day I slip up, and make a mistake?”
“… Then I guess I’ll just have to take care of both of us.” Maya says, fiercely.
“Maya-”
“Nick, shut up.” Maya moves in and kisses me. As much as I want to give in and return the kiss, I struggle to resist. I have to get my point across, but Maya beats me to it when she pulls away.
Before I can utter a word, she speaks. “I love you and I’m not leaving you. And that’s that.”
I’m taken back a bit by Maya’s sudden confession, but I keep on arguing. “…You’ve got responsibilities as the Master, you know.”
“Well fine, half the time I’ll be the Master of Kurain, and the other half I’ll be your assistant.”
“Are you sure that’s going to work?”
“I’ll make it work. Please Nick, I need you.”
I can’t think up any arguments. “Ok then. If that’s what you really want, we’ll do it.”
“It’s what I really, really want. And I know that it’s what you want, too.”
“Right as always. And I love you too, Maya.” I whisper, kissing her lips delicately. It feels amazing, as if all of the trouble I’ve endured since I the day we arrived at Hazakura Temple is being lifted away. Nothing can spoil this…
“Yeah, I know.” Maya says, anticlimactically. Well Ok, maybe that spoil it a bit.
“Wow, way to ruin the moment.” I say sarcastically, but can’t help from chuckling a bit.
“Well, sorry. Start over.” I raise my eyebrows at her, but decide to go along with it.
“I love you too, Maya.”
“Kiss me, you big stud!” Maya yells dramatically. I burst out laughing.
“Hey! You’re not supposed to laugh!” Maya whines.
“Uh, what do you say we try again tomorrow?” I say between giggles. Big stud? Really?
Maya sighs. “Fine! I’m going to bed.” Maya says, pouting.
“Good night.” I place a quick kiss on her forehead, and she storms off, pretending to be angry with me.

What a night…And it figures, Edgeworth was right after all. He’s not going to let me live this down…
But then again, as I remember how great it felt to have Maya’s lips pressed up against mine, I realize that all of the Edgeworth gloating in the world won’t be able to take away the magic that happened tonight.

“Fs her, or to be more specific, me being with her. Her lips taste like mint chocolate ice cream. Looks like somebody went for a midnight snack.
Maya breaks away for air. “I love you.” She blurts out. The look on her face after she says it is hilarious, but I’m far too in love with her right now to tease her.
“I love you too.”
“Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”
In response, I kiss her again. I feel her melt into my arms, and it feels incredible. Take that, Larry! I wouldn’t mind if this night never ended.
“Does this mean you’re my boyfriend?” Maya asks when we break apart again.
“Do you want me to be your boyfriend?” I ask. I already know the answer; I just want to hear her say it.
“Well duh! I mean, totally.”
“Are you going to be my girlfriend?”
“Most *yawn* definitely.”
“You know, you seem pretty tired; maybe you should get some rest.”

December 24th, 2019
---


“Daddy, when are they going to show up?”
“They’ll be here soon Trucy. The train was just a bit behind schedule.” Phoenix assured his 8-year old daughter. Maya and Pearl were coming down to celebrate Christmas that weekend, which had been the tradition for years. To be honest, Nick was excited about Maya coming to visit too; he hadn’t seen her for months.
“I hope so…Oh! I should go find my dolls so I can show Pearl when she gets here!” Trucy said, running up to her bedroom. Several seconds after, the doorbell rang. Nick ran to the door and opened it as fast as he could to open up the door. In front of him stood Maya and Pearl, both grinning from ear to ear.
“Nick!” Maya yelled as she leapt into the building and hugged him, planting a friendly kiss on his cheeks. “How’s it going?” she asked.
“Good, now that you guys are here.” Nick said, smiling back. They both smiled at each other without saying a word, but Trucy broke the silence.
“Oh, hi Maya! Are you and Daddy getting married yet?” She asked hopefully.
“What? Trucy!!!” Nick protested, slightly embarrassed.
“Er…nope.” Maya said, pulling out of the hug. “We can’t get married unless your dad proposes to me first.” Maya said, laughing.
“Daddy, you have to propose to Maya! What are you waiting for!? I expect a new mommy soon!”
“Yeah Mr. Nick, you have to propose to Mystic Maya soon!” Pearl chipped in, rolling up her sleeves. Nick took a few steps away from her. Getting knocked out by Pearl again was not on his Christmas to-do list this year.
“Oh, hi Pearl. Great to see you again…I, er, love what you've done with your hair? Um, Maya? Can I get some help here?”
“Sorry Nick, but they’re right, you’re missing out.” Maya said playfully, although Nick wasn’t totally sure if she was joking or not.
“Oh, Pearl! You have to see my new dolls!” Trucy said, saving her daddy from getting a beating.
“Ooh, new dolls! Let’s go! And maybe we can come up with a 'plan' while we’re at it.” Pearl said, turning her attention away from Mr. Nick.
“Sounds good!” Trucy said, leading her upstairs.
---

“Well…that was…”
“Entertaining?” Maya asked.
“Embarrassing.” Nick finished.
“Please, you should try living with Pearly. All she ever talks about is when I’m going to come see you again. Now you know what it feels like.” Maya told Nick. “So, what are we doing this weekend?”
“Well, we could probably go out later and play in the snow, and I was thinking that we could make a gingerbread house later, but other than that, it’s an open book, I guess.”
“Sounds cool. Hmm…now what to do first…Oh! Nick, you forgot to put the star on top of the Christmas tree!”
“Hmm? Oh, I guess you’re right. Do you want to do it?” Nick asked, remembering that Maya always loved decorating the Christmas tree.
“Sure, I guess.” Maya reached into the box labeled “Christmas Decorations” and picked out the star, then got on her tiptoes and tried to place it on the tree, but she wasn’t tall enough.
“I can’t reach!” she said, disappointed.
“No problem, I’ll lift you up.” Nick declared as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Maya placed the star at the top of the tree, and Nick pulled her back down, but his arms were unable to leave their current position. The last time he had held her was at the train station a few months ago, and he realized that he had really missed the feeling since then. Maya didn’t seem to mind it either, so his arms stayed around her waist, and they both stood their, enjoying each other’s company without saying a word. Unfortunately for them, Trucy and Pearl were sneaking downstairs to snack on some gingerbread cookies at that moment, and upon seeing Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya in their lovely embrace Pearl let out a fangirl-ish shriek. Nick and Maya pulled away instantly, blushing.
“P-Pearl!” Maya screamed, surprised. “It’s not what you think!” she said, her face redder than a tomato.
“Oh, there’s no need to deny the truth. Well, I’ll just leave you alone with your special someone, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your passionate love!” Pearl said, skipping into the kitchen. Trucy followed her while singing “Daddy and Maya, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage…”
Maya looked over at Nick, and said “We really are going to have to do something about those two.”
---
“Scissors.” Pearl said, completely focused. Trucy placed the scissors in Pearl’s outstretched hand, and got back to her own work.
“Red marker.” Pearl said about a minute later, holding out her hand yet again, Trucy complied, once again returning to her work. Pearl let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s 4 down, I think we need 50 more to be sure.”
“This is going to take forever!” Trucy whined.
“Yeah, but it’ll be worth it if it gets Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya together, right?”
“Well...Yeah! Let’s keep going!” Trucy declared, returning back to work. Trucy new that if she and Pearl did a really good job, she’d be getting a mommy very soon.
All of a sudden, Maya burst into Trucy’s room, catching the girls in the middle of their operation.
“Hey guys, what are you…Actually, I’m not sure I want to know.” Maya told them as she stared at the construction paper, markers, and tape that were spread out across the room.
“Uh…” Pearl said, trying to come up with an excuse, “we’re just making some crafts!”
“Well, how about you take a break and we can go play in People Park instead!”
Pearl and Trucy exchanged glances and both said “No thanks.”
“What? But Pearly, you always love going to the park! Come on!” she pleaded. It didn’t snow much in Kurain Village, and Maya wanted to get out into the snow as soon as possible.
“But Mystic Maya, we’re really busy!” Pearl said, desperate to work on the project. The fate of the holidays depended on it!
“Pleeeease!” Maya begged, crossing her fingers.
“Fine…”Pearl sighed. Her and Trucy got off of the floor, and walked downstairs to get dressed. The girls got dressed in their snow pants, coats, and mitts, while Nick retained his regular apparel, and then the group of four set out for People Park.
---

Upon arriving at the park, Trucy insisted that Phoenix help her make a snowman, which Nick reluctantly agreed to, despite wanting to chat with Maya a bit more. Due to Maya being the Master of Kurain, she rarely got to visit him anymore, and so he cherished any time they spent together. Maya had gone to great lengths so that she could spend Christmas with Phoenix, who the Elders had labeled as that “despicable forging lawyer”, and Nick wasn’t going to let the vacation go to waste. While Phoenix and Trucy began rolling snowballs through the snow to make the snowman, Pearl and Maya went to work on their own creation.

“Ok, Pearl, you start to make our snowball supply, and I’ll make the Fey Snow Fortress. They won’t even see it coming. When I give the order, we launch our snowball attack, and since they’re unprepared they’ll have no choice but to surrender!”
“Ok, Mystic Maya!” Pearl said, saluting. “But once they give in will you admit your love for Mr. Nick?”
“Pearly!” Maya protested, feeling her cheeks grow hot despite the cold weather. “Keep it down, Nick might here you!”
“That’s the point! Why haven’t you told him yet?” Pearl demanded. She couldn’t stand the fact that Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya weren’t together, even though it was so obvious they loved each other.
“I’m working on it!” Maya said in an assuring tone. “I just need to find the right moment to tell him.”
“Well, maybe I’ll be able to help you…” Pearl said mysteriously.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maya demanded, but Pearl didn’t respond. Although Maya was slightly worried about what Pearly had up her sleeve, she turned her attention back to making their fort. She was going to get Nick good…

“There we go!” Nick announced as he placed the final snowball onto the snowman, while Trucy placed some sticks into the body of the snowman for arms. Nick drew a face on the snowman, giving him a bit of life.
“Hmm…he’s missing something…Oh, I know! Daddy, give him your hat!”
“But you gave this to me as a present...” Nick whined. He really did love the hat. He had gotten it from Trucy when he first adopted her, and he cherished it as much as he did his magatama.
“I know what I did! Now give him the hat!” Trucy commanded. Nick reluctantly placed the hat on top of the snowman. “Perfect!” Trucy yelled. “We’ll call him Mr. Snow…do you think he’d get along with Mr. Hat?”
“Probably, but I think I wear the hat bet-Ack!” Nick cried out as the back of his head was hit by snow. He turned around to see Maya with a snowball in her hand, preparing to launch another attack at Nick. Uh oh… He thought to himself, knowing what was coming next. “Trucy, time to hide.”

“Bullseye!” Maya declared as the snowball hit Nick in the back of the head. She couldn’t have had a better shot. Nick whipped his head around, annoyed, and muttered something to Trucy, and the girl began running. “Ha ha, one down, one to go.” Maya said smugly. She knew that she would beat Nick and Trucy, but she didn’t think it would be this easy. “Pearl, prepare to fire!” Maya ordered, but all of a sudden Trucy stopped running, turned around, and began charging at her own snowman. What in the world is Trucy doing? Maya wondered, firing off some shots at Nick, which he was dodging. Nick was agile, but Maya had engaged with enough snow fights with him to know that once she wore him down, he was defenseless. Unbeknownst to Maya, it was really Trucy she should have been targeting.

“See ya Mr. Snow! It was nice knowing you!” Trucy said as she charged at Mr. Snow. With a great tackle she knocked the snowman over and dived behind it, creating a makeshift fort. She loved the snowman, but Trucy was also determined not to lose the fight.
“Daddy! Get back here!” Trucy cried out to her daddy, and he quickly made a slide behind the fort and started making snowballs.
“Ok Trucy,” Phoenix said, quickly creating perfect snowballs mainly due to how much he had practiced. “We both knew that this would probably happen. This is what we’ve been training for. We’ve got the home field advantage, and we’re going to beat them!”
“Yeah, let’s do this!” Trucy exclaimed. Her daddy had been teaching her the art of snowball fights since the first snowfall came, and she had become a prodigy of sorts by this point.
“I’ll go for Maya, you go for Pearl.” Nick said, reminding her of their game plan. “I don’t imagine she gets much practice at this, so she probably will be easy to beat. Once you get Pearl and make her surrender, all we have to do is take out Maya, and then we win.”
“Ok.” Trucy said fiercely, grabbing a couple of snowballs. She wasn’t going to let her daddy down.
“I’ll get Maya’s attention, and once she starts attacking, flank around the side and take out Pearls, ok? On 3. 1…2…3!” Nick ran out from behind the makeshift fort and launched a snowball across the park, hitting Maya square in the shoulder. It was game time.

“Hey Maya, stop hiding in that fort and come out here!” Nick said, dodging the barrage Maya was launching at him, all the while grabbing the crisp snow and tossing it back at her. “Unless you’re afraid!” he taunted.
“Grrr!” Maya said. She had been called out, and she wouldn’t back down. Now it was personal. “You stay here and hold down the fort, I’m going to take on Nick.” Maya said to Pearl, and then ran out of the fort and into No Man’s Land. Maya and Nick circled around the area, waiting for the other to make a move. It all came down to skill now, and though both of them thought they had the upper hand, only one of them was right.

Meanwhile, Pearl was frantic, trying to mass produce as many snowballs as possible in the event that an attack might occur. But because of how focused she was with making the snowballs, Pearl was unaware of Trucy, who was quickly making her way around the fort, several snowballs in hand. Without warning, a snowball hit Pearl in the face, completely knocking her off guard. “Mercy!” yelled out a young girl in a magician’s hat, holding another snowball aimed at Pearl’s face at point blank range. Pearl dropped her snowballs and bowed, showing her surrender. There was no way she could stop Trucy, she had barely even thrown a snowball before! I’m sorry, Mystic Maya. I’ve failed you.
Trucy took her captor and put her in the jail spot, which was really just a square far away from the forts that had been traced in the snow, and returned back to the Fey base, planning on using the snowballs Pearl had made to her advantage.

Nick made the first move, grabbing some snow and quickly launching it at Maya’s face as a distraction, then formed a snowball and whipped it at her, which Maya quickly deflected. She formed a crude snowball and tossed it at Nick, hitting him square in the chest. He quickly recovered, moving from side to side.
“You should give up now Nick, you never could beat me.” Maya said, launching another snowball at him. He ducked.
“Yeah, but I’ve gotten better.” He informed her, throwing a snowball at her head. She moved her head out of the way and dodged it, some of the snow brushing her hair.
“Oh really? Not good enough!” Maya yelled, forming two more snowballs and throwing it at him. Nick dodged the first , but the second hit him, knocking him down to the ground. Maya took advantage of the moment, leaping onto him and pinning him to the ground with all her strength. For a woman of such petite stature, Maya was rather strong. Back in the old days, she had used this same technique to make Nick take her out for burgers.
“Surrender now, or prepare to eat snow!” Maya ordered. Nick just grinned back at her.
“Never.” He told her. “It’s not over yet.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve got you pinned Nick, you’re not going- oof!” Maya uttered as she was hit by a snowball from behind. She lost her power over Nick and Nick used the opportunity he’d been given, flipping the situation around and grabbing Maya’s waist and holding on with all his strength.
“I got her, Daddy!” Trucy yelled from the fort, proud of herself.
“Way to go Trucy!” He yelled back.
“Ugh! Let me go!!!” Maya demanded, kicking and screaming. This couldn’t be happening! How could Nick beat her? Although she had certainly enjoyed Nick’s arms around her just hours before, she certainly didn’t love it now.
“Not happening, Maya.” Nick said sternly. “Time to give it up.”
“No! Pearly, help!!!” she cried out, but it was futile.
“Sorry Mystic Maya, I’m in jail!” Pearl declared. She felt bad for being captured so quickly, but there was nothing she could do.
“No! This can’t be happening!” Maya said, realizing her beautiful scheme had been destroyed right in front of her eyes.
“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘I give up’.” Nick said. Now he was in control, and he loved it. All that practicing had paid off; he had finally beaten Maya.
“Fine, you win. But this isn’t over! I’ll get you yet, Nicky! You and your little daughter too!” Maya said, defeated. “Can we go home now?” she whined.
Nick chuckled and released her. “Alright, let’s go.” Nick got up and went to get the younger girls, while Maya followed behind them, her arms crossed.
---

“Here you go girls, 3 cups of delicious hot chocolate.” Nick dished out the cups of hot chocolate to warm the girls up. Pearl and Trucy took theirs quickly; eager to get their hands on Nick’s cocoa, which had quite the reputation. Maya took hers grumpily afterwards, still bitter from her unexpected loss.
“Oh, cheer up Maya.” Nick said happily. “There’s no point in being grumpy during the holidays.”
Maya’s response was a couple of muttered words, and a sip of hot chocolate. Nick leaned in and gently kissed her nose. Trucy and Pearl both giggled gleefully, while Maya’s cheeks went red. She turned her gaze away from Nick, suddenly staring down into her hot chocolate to stop Nick from noticing that she was blushing. It didn’t work. Nick chuckled to himself and stared out the window, examining the blizzard that had kicked in several minutes after they had returned to the Wright Anything Agency. Pearl and Trucy exchanged knowing glances, and then excused themselves, running back up to Trucy’s room to continue their mission.

“I wonder what those two are up to…” Nick said, taking a seat beside Maya on the couch.
“I’m still mad at you.” Maya mumbled. After that little kiss, there was no way she could stay genuinely angry at Nick, but she wasn’t planning to let him know that.
“Oh really?” Nick asked, raising his eyebrows. “That’s too bad, because I was hoping to watch a couple of old Steel Samurai episodes with you.”
Maya began glaring at Nick, and Nick returned the stare, although his much more playful. They engaged in a staring contest, both expecting the other person to give in. For the second time that day, Maya lost.
“That’s no fair!” she whined. “You know I can’t say no to the Steel Samurai!”
“Yeah, I know.” Nick said, laughing. He popped a Steel Samurai DVD that Maya had sent him earlier into the TV and sat back down on the couch. Unexpectedly, Maya pulled him into an embrace.
“I missed you, Nick.”
“I missed you too, Maya.”
---
Part 1 complete

Phoenix yawned and stood up as the final episode on the DVD finished. “It’s getting late, I’ll go make dinner.” He announced, heading to the kitchen. Maya’s stomach growled.

“I could go for something to eat. What are you making?” She asked.

“It’s a surprise.” Phoenix responded. He walked into the kitchen and got to work, while Maya kept herself occupied by checking out the videos Nick had. Fortunately he had kept Samurai Summer since the days when she was his assistant, and she decided to watch it until dinner. Maya was soon unable to focus on the film, as a delicious and familiar scent began to carry throughout the building. It was unforgettable to Maya; she recognized it instantly.

“Burgers…” she muttered to herself absently, and then the realization kicked in. “Burgers!”

She leapt out of her seat and made a mad dash for the kitchen, and sure enough she found Nick cooking those delicious beef patties in the kitchen, a look of amusement on his face, most likely from hearing Maya scream about burgers.

“Yes!” Maya declared, pumping her fists in the air. “Burgers! Are they almost done? I’m starving, Nick, hurry up…”

“They’re almost done!” Nick said, laughing. It was always funny to see the look Maya had on her face whenever burgers were around; her eyes widened, and she had a giant grin that would spread across her face. Nick had never met anybody that took food as seriously as Maya. “Would you mind going to tell the girls that dinner is ready?”

“Alright.” Maya ran upstairs heading towards Trucy’s room.



“There we go!” Pearl said, finishing her 10th piece. “I’ve got 10 done so far, how much do you have?”

“I’ve got eight.” Trucy responded. “That’s pretty good, right?”

“Yeah! Now we’ve got..twelve..fourteen…eighteen done so far, Trucy! We’re almost halfway there… Uh oh.”

“What is it?”

“Mystic Maya’s coming, we’ve got to get out of here!”

Pearl and Trucy quickly ran out of the room and stood outside the door, blocking Maya from seeing inside. Maya eyed them suspiciously.

“What are you two up to?” she asked.

“Nothing! We’re just…coloring!” Trucy said, unconvincingly. Clearly she hadn’t developed her father’s skills of deception just yet. “We’re just keeping busy, we’re not doing anything wrong!”

“Right…Anyways, dinner’s ready, Nick made burgers!” Maya didn’t bother worrying about the trouble the girls were getting into, she just wanted to eat. She quickly ran back downstairs, and the girls quickly followed.

---

Maya sat down at the table eagerly as Nick dished out the burgers. Pearl stared at Mystic Maya’s burger, giggling. Nick was the first to notice.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing’s funny, Mr. Nick. I just thought it would be really romantic if you made Mystic Maya's burger heart-shaped to show your love for her.”

“Oh, that would be so cute!” Trucy chipped in. Nick sighed.

“Pearl, I’m not going to confess my love for Maya over burgers.”

“Well you have to do it eventually! What are you waiting for Mr. Nick? It’s sooo obvious that she’s in love with you.”

Maya nearly choked on her burger. “What!?”

“Don’t lie, Mystic Maya! You talk about him all the time, and you’re always saying ‘I wish Nick were here’, and you even dream about him at night!”

Maya’s face turned redder than the ketchup on her burger. “Pearly! I…I…”

“Really?” Trucy asked eagerly. “That’s so lovely!”

“Uh huh!” Pearl confirmed. “I swear it over Mystic Ami’s Sacred Urn!”

Phoenix smirked to himself. That urn had been dropped so many times that Charley the plant was probably worth more than it, and yet for some reason he had the feeling that Pearl wasn’t making this up.

“Seriously?” He asked, turning his gaze to Maya. He had to admit, he was kind of surprised. He would never have thought that Maya dreamt about him, although it was rather flattering.

“I…it’s not like that!” Maya protested, her face growing redder by the minute. “Look, I stayed up really late one night and watched a lot of episodes of the Steel Samurai, so I had a dream that you were the Steel Samurai and I was princess Kimiko. That’s all!”

“Oh, alright then.” Nick said. He was kind of disappointed; he was hoping that if Maya was dreaming about him then it was possible that she really did like him. It would certainly make it a lot easier for Nick if he was able to work up the courage to ask her out.

“Are you sure, Mystic Maya? Because I’m pretty sure that you said you kissed Mr. Nick in your dream. You seemed pretty happy about it, too…”

“ENOUGH!!!” Maya screamed. “Can’t I just eat my burger in peace!??”



At that point, Phoenix, Pearl and Trucy silently agreed to stop pressing Maya about the dream. Maya was upset at this point, and Phoenix was pretty sure that the next person to open their mouth about Maya’s bizarre dream would likely receive a face-full of mustard as compensation. The girls finished their meals quickly afterwards and returned to Trucy’s room, claiming they were going to play with dolls. Nick began to wash the dishes, and after a few minutes of awkward silence, he decided that he might have had a better chance of talking to Maya now that they were alone.

“So…” he began, but was unable to think of something to say that wouldn’t increase the risk of having something thrown at him.

Maya knew what Nick was thinking, however, and took a deep sigh, then stood up and began to help him wash the dishes. “Look, it was one stupid dream. Yeah, we kissed in it, but it’s no big deal, Ok? I don’t even know why I bothered telling Pearly that in the first place.”

“That must have been kind of weird. Kissing me in the dream, I mean.”

“Well, not really. I mean, it’s not like we were making out or anything, it was just a tiny kiss. Like…this.”

Maya pressed her lips up against Nick’s innocently, merely demonstrating what her dream kiss had been like. It wasn’t until she pulled away that she fully realized what she had just done. Nick’s cheeks turned pink, he had not been expecting Maya to randomly kiss him. He was speechless, an unusual thing for Phoenix Wright.

“Uh…” Maya mumbled, trying to get on a different topic. “What do you think those girls are up to? My guess is that they’re making a plan to rule the world.”

Nick laughed. “Nah, Trucy’s not really into that stuff. I think they’re finding a way to merge their powers, to make some sort of spirit version of Mr. Hat, or maybe a magical kimono or something.”

“A magical kimono? What’s the use in that?”

“I don’t know, maybe you can pull a rabbit out of your sleeve.”

Maya burst out laughing. It was good to be back.

---

Pearl finished cutting out the last of her crafts. She placed it delicately on her pile and then she stared down at her mountain of mistletoe-like crafts. Of course, the girls didn’t have enough money to go out and buy a bunch of actual mistletoes, so they figured that making their own was the next best thing. Trucy and Pearl’s plan was halfway done, now all they had to do was wait for Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya to go to sleep, then part two would commence…

“Pearl, are you sure this is going to work?” Trucy asked, also finishing her mistletoes.

“Absolutely!” Pearl replied confidently. “Think about it, Mr. Nick wants to spend lots of time with Mystic Maya, right?”

“Well yeah, Daddy was really excited about spending Christmas with her.”

“Exactly! So that means they’ll have to stay close to each other, right?”

“I guess…”

“And that means that once we put the mistletoes up, they’ll have to kiss each other! And once they kiss, I’m sure that they’ll both finally admit their love for each other!”

“You think so?” Trucy asked, unsure.

“I know so! True love always prevails!” Pearl declared.

---

Meanwhile, Nick and Maya had finished cleaning the dishes and had sat down, sipping on some grape juice. The girls had gone upstairs to work on their project, whatever that was, and now Maya had Nick to herself. Now was the perfect time to catch up with him, Maya thought.

"So what have you been up to?" she asked her best friend. It occurred to her that she had no idea what Nick had been doing since he was disbarred.

"Oh, I have this gig playing piano down at some Russian restaurant in town."

"You play piano?" Maya thought aloud. She was sure Nick had mentioned that he used to take art classes in universit, but he had no idea he was musically inclined. In fact, she had figured quite the opposite.

"Yes, I do play piano. Just...not very well." Nick muttered, laughing in spite of himself.

"It figures." Maya said, giggling.

"I bet I could play better than you." Nick replied. He decided not to tell Maya about his other duty at the Borscht Club; there was no use in having her worried about his life as a poker player. It wasn't the most desirable job in the world, but as long as it kept Trucy fed it really didn't matter. "So how's life in Kurain?" He inquired.

"Ugh, don't even get me started." Maya complained, a disgusted look appearing on her face. "It's just so much work. There's so much training all the time, and I almost never get any breaks. It's exhausting. I guess I should consider myself lucky that the Elders even let me have a Christmas vacation, but boy, did I need it...I know it doesn't do me any good in complaining, but I wish things could just be, well, how they used to be." Maya finished, looking down at her juice.

"Don't we all." Nick said sadly.

Maya tried to lift the mood. "But you said that you were trying to figure out who framed you, right?"

"Well, yeah," Nick mumbled, "But I'm kind of at a dead end right now."

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out! After all, you're Phoenix Wright, seeker of *yawn* justice."

"Getting tired, are we?" Nick remarked, grinning. There was something about Maya's ability to always keep confident that could bring a smile to even the saddest of people.

" Well, it's been a long day.." Maya answered, stretching her arms.

"Then you should probably get to bed, besides, you don't want to sleep in for Christmas, do you?" Nick joked. Maya returned a smile.

"I guess not.."

"Alright then. The guest rooms down at the end of the hall-"

"Uh... can I sleep in your room?"

"Huh?"

"Uh, sorry. I know it's probably stupid, but when I was a kid my sister always let me sleep in her room around Christmas, because our mother disappeared really close to Christmas time, and I guess I just..."

"No, no, it's fine. Of course you can sleep with me." Nick said, blushing. It wasn't really a problem; his bed was big enough for the two of them and Maya had slept in his bedroom before, on the night after the Engarde case. But this time, things were different. Nick's feelings for Maya were much stronger now than they used to be, and the thought of being in bed with her created butterflies in his stomach. Maya grabbed her bag and went into the washroom to get changed, and Nick quickly ran up to his room, got changed, and hopped into bed, shutting his eyes.

Ok, this isn't too bad. You're not going to look like an idiot. Just don't say anything stupid, and don't stare at her. You'll be fine...Nick thought to himself. He seemed to have a habit of getting lost in Maya's eyes, despite how cliched that sounded, and a lot of times he would just completely blank out and stare at her. He hated when he did that. He was pretty sure he had done that when he first saw Maya this afternoon, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Nick..." Somebody whispered beside him. His eyes flew open, startled. Maya was lying next to him in bed, her petite body curled up under the blanket for warmth, She looked beautiful, and Nick could slowly feel himself drifting off into the staring trance that he loathed so much. He quickly brought himself back to reality by starting a conversation.

"You look nice." He commented.

Maya blushed. "Well you look...hmm..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well wearing that hat over your head all day has made your hair flat." Maya said bluntly. She ruffled with Nick's hair quickly, and when she was content with its appearance she placed her arms around Nick as if to pull him into a hug and buried her head in his chest. Nick, unsure of what to do, put his arms around her waist.

"Mmm...Now this is the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve..." Maya said, her voice being slightly muffleddue to her location."

"Trapped in a strange room miles away from home, lying in bed with some strange hobo, with no way to escape?" Nick asked cynically. Phoenix Wright was a lot of things; romantic probably wasn't one of them. Fortunately, Maya happened to be a bit more open with her feelings.

"No, silly! I meant with the people you care about the most." Nick was unsure of how to respond without sounding like a complete sap, and so he remained silent. Maya lifted her head off of Nick's chest and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and then returned to her previous location, a secretive smile appearing on her face.

"Good night, Nick." Maya whispered.

"Good night, Maya."

The would-be lovers remained silent for the rest of the night, slowly drifting off to sleep.

---

"...I think they're asleep." Pearl whispered, turning to her partner-in-crime.

"Alright then, time to move." Trucy replied.

"Agreed. Operation Misletoe is starting!" Pearl cheered, excited. She grabbed the pile of misletoes and tiptoed downstairs, while Trucy grabbed some tape and followed behind her.

For the next couple of hours, the girls would tape misletoes throughout Wright Anything Agency, and when finished they returned to Trucy's room and fell asleep quickly, exhausted by their day of hard work. It was most certainly worth it though, as they now knew that there was certain to be a miracle for Christmas this year.

December 25th, 2019
Phoenix Wright's Room
7:00 AM
---
It was a bright Christmas morning, and Phoenix Wright was enjoying a wonderful dream.
"Ho ho ho! I know you've been a very good boy this year, Phoenix, so I've got a very special present to give you!"
"What is it Santa?" Nick asked eagerly. For some reason he was giddy beyond belief.
"It's an attorney's badge!" Santa declared as he held out the familiar golden badge that, up until April of that year, Phoenix had been wearing on his beloved blue suit.
"Yes! Thank you Santa!" Phoenix yelled in excitement as he ran to gave Santa the biggest hug he could muster.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"
"Uh...Merry Christmas to you too, Nick. Now can you let go of me before I break?" Maya asked, laughing.
Nick's eyes flew open and he realised that his dream had ended. He quickly withdrew his arms, blushing. "Sorry about that, I was, uh, having a dream."
"Yeah, I figured as much. Now come on, those girls have probably opened up their presents already." Maya grabbed Nick's hand and led him out of the bedroom, but froze as soon as she got a look at the building. Crude cut-outs of misletoes were strewn across the building, and Pearl and Trucy stood at the bottom of the stairs, grinning. Pearl pointed her finger at Maya and Phoenix, and declared "Now you have to kiss each other!"
Maya was the first to notice. Those clever little girls had put a misletoe directly over the bedroom door, in the hopes that Nick and Maya would come out together. Phoenix followed Maya's gaze, and stepped backwards, noticing the misletoe.
"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Trucy cheered.
"Is this what you two were up to all night?" Phoenix demanded. He knew that Trucy was sneaky, but he hadn't imagined something like this.
"Less talking, more smooching!" Trucy yelled.
"Oh come on, can't you just give this a rest already?" Maya sighed. "Nick and I aren't dating, and we're not going to kiss. Now can you please let it go?"
"No way, Mystic Maya! We refuse to move until you two show your love for each other!"
Now Phoenix sighed. "Look, will you leave us alone if we just kiss?"
Maya turned to look at him, surprised. "Hey! You can't just give in that easily!"
"Yep, we promise, Daddy!" Trucy said, getting on her knees and making a begging gesture.
Nick turned to face Maya and pressed his lips up against hers, while also wrapping his arms around her to further convince the girls. The sound of them shrieking in delight and scampering off was his cue to stop.
"W-wow..." Maya said as he pulled away. Lost for words, "wow" was all she could think of saying. Christmas morning was off to an awesome start already, and she hadn't even been near the presents yet.
"Um...We'd better go open our gifts, right?" Nick said sheepishly, cursing himself inwardly. 'We'd better go open our gifts'? Nice going, Wright. Real romantic.
"Oh r-right...gifts..." Right now, the only present Maya really wanted was the feeling of Nick's lips against hers one more time, but she decided to suck it up, and she walked downsaris with Nick. As they reached the main floor, Pearl and Trucy began giggling again.
"What's so funny?" Nick asked cautiously.
The two girls pointed above Nick and Maya's heads, towards yet another misletoe.
Phoenix and Maya groaned.
---

After spending the next few minutes dodging all of the misletoes plastered around the house, Nick and Maya finally made it over to the Christmas tree and began to open their presents. Pearl's gifts seemed to benefit her more than they did them: she had given Maya two tickets to the Winter Love Festival, causing a rather annoyed expression to appear on Maya's face. For Nick, Pearl had bought him a book on ways to impress a girl, as well as a burger cookbook. Rather than saying anything, he turned towards Trucy's presents. Trucy had bought her father a warm sweater and the Piano playing for Dummies instruction book, which caused laughter from everybody. Trucy gave Maya several tickets to the Wonder Bar, as Maya always loved watching Trucy's magic acts.
"Thank you, Trucy. I'll be sure to come visit soon!" Maya said cheerfully. The embarassment that Trucy and Pearl had put her through just a few minutes before seemed to have been forgotten.
"You're welcome! But daddy, I was, um, wondering what this is." Trucy said, holding up a pair of giant blue bloomers, with small hearts surrounding them. "I think they might be a bit too big."
Maya burst into laughter. "Ha ha ha! I always knew this day would happen: Nick has officially lost it."
"No I haven't!" Nick protested. "They're...they're magic panties! When I went to go buy Trucy a new wand for Christmas, the shop owner told me that they were a one-of-a-kind trick. I think you can pull stuff out of them, or something. I'm not exactly sure how it works, to be honest..."
"Hmm..."Trucy said thoughtfully, examining the panties carefully.
"Nick, you're so naive. He was probably just trying to con you out of your-"
"Got it!" Trucy declared, pulling Nick's signature blue hat out of the magic panties, and handing it to her daddy. She then proceeded to pull out the new clothes Pearl had got for Christmas, the Christmas decorations that Phoenix had put outside, and the last slice of cold pizza in the fridge. Maya was dumbstruck. Nick grinned.
"You were saying?" He asked smugly.
"H-how did you do that?" Maya begged. "That was so cool!"
"Mystic Maya! You should know that a magician can never reveal their secrets! Right, Trucy?"
"That's right, Pearl. I can't tell you." Trucy said, enjoying her new magical gift. "Thank you, Daddy!"
Now it was time for Nick and Maya to exchange gifts. Maya saw her gift at the side of the Christmas tree and dashed for it, quickly examining the package before ripping through the wrapping paper viciously. "Let's see here....Oh. My. GOD! NO WAY!!! It's an autographed copy of the Essential Samurai Collection DVD! Nick, how in the world did you get this!? It's not supposed to come out until next month!"
"Well, I called in a really big favor from Mr. Powers."
Maya practically leaped on to him in excitement, hugging him and screaming thank you over and over again. "This is the best gift ever!" She announced when she had stopped thanking Phoenix. Suddenly realizing that Nick still hadn't recieved his gift, Maya snatched a gift from beneath the tree.
"Um...Well, this might not be as awesome as the Essential Samurai Collection, but I worked really hard on it..." Maya said quietly. She held out the gift and averted her gaze, unsure of what Phoenix would think. Nick took the present from Maya and opened it gently to discover a home-made book of some sort, and was taken back at what he found inside. It was a scrapbook of all the times Phoenix and Maya had shared together. She had kept almost everything, from a reciept for their first night out for burgers to a picture of them taking the Special Course together. The book was half full of pictures, drawings, and memorabilia. The other half was blank.
"It's our scrapbook. I was watching this movie where a guy and a girl decided to make a scrapbook together, and I thought it would be a pretty cool idea." Maya explained. She decided to leave out the tiny detail that thanks to spending time together on the scrapbook that the two people fell in love, after all, Nick didn't need to know that. "I left half of it blank...You know, for all the memories that we're going to have." Maya blushed while saying the last part. It sounded a lot less cheesier when people said stuff like this on TV.

Nick smiled. "Sounds good to me. Thank you Maya." Nick pulled her into a hug, and neither of them said anything. Pearl gave Trucy a signal which meant something along the lines of "Let's leave Mystic Maya alone with her special someone", and the two dismissed themselves. As Phoenix pulled away from the hug, Maya looked down at her Love Festival tickets dissapointedly and picked them up, closely examining them.
"So...got any plans for January 11th, 2020?" She asked sarcastically. How Pearl had even got the tickets was a mystery to her, but they probably were expensive. Maybe I should ask Nick to it... You know, just so the tickets don't go to waste, Maya thought.
Nick smirked. "I'll have to check my calendar."
Maya tossed down the tickets, annoyed. "Pearly just isn't going to stop, is she?"
"I don't know. I'm starting to get worried, I wonder how far she's willing to go just to get us together..."
"Try not to think too hard about it. This is...this is kind of my fault...Um, I'm not really sure how to tell you this, but when I returned to Kurain for training 2 years ago, well...I might have kinda suggested to Pearl that I had a crush on you...sort of."

"And Nick's really strong too, and he's got the coolest hair I've ever seen, oh, and he's so nice, he gets me burgers all the time, he's great."
"Mr. Nick sounds like a perfect gentleman. Are you in love with him, Mystic Maya?"
"In love? I don't know about being in love, but he is really cute...and he's funny, and handsome, and, well, I don't know!"

"Really?...What about now?" Nick asked, somewhat flattered, and also surprised. He had no idea Maya had felt that way about him back then.
"What?"
"I mean, uh, do you still have a crush on me?" Nick repeated, and as if on cue one large psyche-lock appeared in front of Maya. It certainly brought back some memories for him, but since he was no longer a lawyer he didn't exactly have a habit of wandering around with a pile of evidence. However, he thought of another way to break this psyche-lock.
"I have a crush on you." He admitted, now positive that Maya's feelings were reciprocal.
"Y-you do!?" Maya asked, probably a little too excitedly. Getting control of herself, she whispered "I have a crush on you too", breaking her own psyche-lock.
Without warning, Nick quickly kissed Maya. What started as a tiny peck on the lips was soon reciprocated and it escalated into an exhilirating, passionate kiss. Maya tossed her arms around Nick, mumbling "I love you" in between kisses. Nick pulled her closer, not wanting to let her go. He had spent far too long waiting for this. He could feel tears running down his cheeks, but he soon realized that the tears didn't belong to him. He pulled away.
"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing that Maya was crying.
"Nothing...I've just wanted to do that for a really long time." She replied, laughing. "It looks like we didn't need the misletoes after all, huh?"
---
Later that day...
---

"Uh, my email is lovely_little_pearl12@hotmail." Pearl told Trucy at the train station.
"Mine's trucy_ace_magician01@hotmail. I'll make sure to e-mail you soon, ok?"
"Ok. See you soon, Trucy!" Pearl gave a hug to her friend (and if things went really well with Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick, relative) and hopped onto the train heading back to Kurain. Meanwhile, Phoenix and Maya were having an emotional goodbye.
"Are you sure you can't stay one more night?"
"Nick, you know I can't. I'm the Master of Kurain Village, and the spirit mediums need me!" Maya said. She wished she didn't have to go yet either, but she couldn't afford to stay any longer. Saying goodbye to Nick never seemed to get any easier.
"I need you too..." Nick muttered quietly, hoping Maya wouldn't hear him. She did.
Maya lifted up his chin, forcing him to look at her. "I know, and I need you. But unfortunately we have to be apart for now, like the Golden Samurai and his true love the Princess of Silver. I promise I'll visit you soon though, ok? After all, that scrapbook's not going to fill itself." Maya gave Nick a sad smile, trying not to cry. Nick returned a tiny smile.
"Goodbye Nick." Maya whispered, kissing him gently.
"See you soon, Maya."
Realizing that the longer she stayed, the harder it was to leave, Maya picked up her suitcase and walked towards the train, stopping to give Trucy a goodbye hug. She boarded the train and took a seat beside Pearl, staring out of the window. Nick and Trucy waved goodbye, and Maya returned a half-hearted wave as the train began to move. As she looked down at the floor, Maya noticeda piece of paper sticking out of her suitcase. She tugged it out: it was one of the tickets for the Winter Love Festival. Hiding it from Pearl, Maya quickly put it in her Master's Robe.
It's a good thing I kept these, she thought, I might just use them after all.
---

After Trucy had returned home and taken all of the misletoes down in the Wright Anything Agency, she skipped upstairs and went on her computer. She logged in and sent an e-mail to Pearl:

Dear Agent Pearl,

Subject "Daddy" has spent the entire afternoon drawing hearts in the scrapbook Subject "Mystic" got him. I also saw him giving Subject Mystic a kiss at the train station, and I don't think I saw any misletoes around. When I asked him about it, he just smiled. Operation Misletoe was a complete success. Now we just have to get Subject Daddy to propose to Subject Mystic, so we need to come up with a plan. I can probably use my Magic Panties to get a ring, so all we have to do is convince Daddy to propose. Any suggestions?

Sincerely,

Agent Trucy
---

March 9th, 2019
11:00 PM
---
10 Chapters down, 4 more to go...I'll read one more chapter and then head to bed, it is getting kind of late. Now then, on to Chapter 11: Illegal evidence. Although I doubt I'll have to worry about this...
"Nick?" A soft voice asks from out of the blue, pulling me out of my train of thought.
"Huh? Maya, I thought you went to bed?" Why is she still awake?
"I was worried about you. You've been working way too hard lately, Nick." She says, yawning. She looks pretty concerned. "You haven't had a client for a while, why have you started working so much all of a sudden?"
"Well, I've been studying my law books again because I want to be a better lawyer." I answer, trying to comfort her. I feel a bit guilty about making her worry about me.
"But you're already a great lawyer!" Maya argues passionately. "You always get the bad guy, and you get your clients off the hook! You're practically a superhero, Nick! Like the Steel Samurai, only instead of a Samurai Spear you have a briefcase!" Surprisingly, despite how sleepy she is Maya's still able to sound fierce.
"I know I'm good, but I can be better. I want to stop winning these cases on the edge of my seat, if I study just a bit more I'll be able to win these cases easier."
"But Nick..." Maya protests, but is unable to think up another argument.
"Maya, I'll be alright. Now go back to bed, I can tell that you're tired."
"Fine. But you have to promise me something."
"What is it?"
"You have to take a day off tomorrow." Maya says in a matter-of-fact tone. "You have to spend the day with me."
Now it's my turn to protest. "But I've got to-"
"Forget it! Nick, you never hang out with me anymore!" Maya whines. I hadn't really thought about it, but she might be right. I guess I've been so indulged in these law books that I haven't had much time to take her out for burgers, or anything like that.
I sigh. "Fine, I promise I'll spend the day with you tomorrow."
"The entire day?"
"Yes, the entire day. I promise."
"Good. Now I'm going to bed, but if I come down in half an hour and you're still reading, I'm dragging you to bed myself, you hear?" Maya demands. Knowing her, she's probably serious.
"Ok, ok. Good night, Maya."
"Good night, Nick."
---

March 10th, 2019
7:30 AM
---

Something tells me today isn't going to go very well for me. Then again, things never seem to go well whenever Maya's in charge.
I get out of bed grumpily and head into the kitchen and make some coffee to wake myself up. I'm only in the kitchen for a few minutes before Maya skips in, full of her over-the-top enthusiasm.
"Well, you're up pretty early." I mutter. Maya doesn't usually get up so early on Sundays, since apparently none of the good shows are on until 8:30.
"Yup, we've got a busy day ahead of ourselves, Nick!" Maya announces, grinning.
"Oh really? And what, might I ask, are the plans for today? Acolyte outfit shopping? Steel Samurai Live-action roleplaying? Making a fort out of burgers?" As ridiculous as those ideas may seem, Maya has made me participate in all of those events in the last 3 years that she's been my assistant. I can only imagine what she's planning next.
"Hmm...All good suggestions, but I've got something special planned today."
"A Samurai movie marathon? Showering under the waterfalls? Stay in bed and do nothing day?" I cross my fingers for the last one.
"I'm not telling! Now put on this "I love Pink Princess" t-shirt and this Steel Samurai hat, and then we'll get going."
...Did I mention that I have a feeling today's not going to go well?
---

"Ok, open your eyes...now!"
I obey Maya's orders, but as soon as I take a look around I wish I hadn't.
"...Where are we?"
"Samurai-Con 2019, duh! It's only THE biggest convention of the year! I had to get us tickets months in advance! Today is going to be SO cool!" Maya says, unable to control her excitement. I know I have a tendency to be sarcastic a lot of the time, but after seeing her so happy about being here, I decide to try my best to sound like I'm glad to be here too.
"Um...yeah! With all the Steel Samurai stuff...like the posters...and the toys...And all the fans..." I mutter. Ok, maybe I don't sound like the most excited man in the world, but I tried!
"Yup! Ooh, Samurai Dogs! Nick, Nick, can we get Samurai Dogs? Pretty please?"
"Maya, it's only 9 am! Besides, we ate before we left, remember?"
"Yeah, but that kid over there is getting a Samurai Dog!" She whines. Typical Maya.
"If that boy jumped off a cliff, would you jump off too?" I ask, crossing my arms. Oh man, I sound like my dad.
"Well knowing you, you'd probably be at the bottom of the cliff waiting to save me like you always do, so yeah, I'd do it!"
"That's not the-bah! Maya, I know you're going to be bugging me to buy you things the whole day, and you don't need a Samurai Dog right now! We can get Samurai Dogs later!"
Maya pouts and folds her arms, but I don't budge. Then she changes her tactics. She lets out a girlish giggle and wraps her petite arms around my waist.
"Niiiick..." She whispers in a sing-song voice. I can feel my cheeks going red. What is she doing? "If you don't buy me a Samurai Dog right now, I'm going to make the rest of the day a nightmare. Ok?"
"O-one Samurai Dog, coming up." I stutter and rush off to buy her an overpriced, unhealthy hot dog. I hear Maya whisper something along the lines of "It works every time."
That girl is devious.

After I get Maya her Samurai Dog, she devours it in a manner so fast that it's both fascinating and slightly disturbing, and then we head off to look at the convention stuff. Maya seems to be in heaven; she squeals at every Samurai poster and manga, and examines every toy, or "action figure" carefully. We walk on through the convention until Maya comes to a complete halt and stops at a comic booth.
"Oh. My. God. Nick, come here! Look, it's the Steel Samurai comic Issue 41! That's the last one I need to complete my collection! Quick, give me 40 bucks!"
"40 bucks for a comic book? That's waaaaay overpriced!" I object. "It's probably only worth $10, tops."
"Nick, please!" Maya begs. "If you let me get this, then you'll be my hero!"
I sigh. If I don't learn how to say no to Maya soon, I'm going to end up bankrupt. "Fine, here's 40 dollars. Go buy your comic." I hand over the money painfully, silently apologizing to my wallet.
"Yes! Nick, you're the best guy ever!" Maya declares, giving me a quick hug. She then dashes over to the counter to buy the comic, and I feel a finger tap on my shoulder. I wheel around to see...some Samurai fanboy.

"Sorry dude, but I have to tell you that the shirt you're wearing is, without a doubt, the lamest shirt I have ever seen. Period." The guy seems to be about the same age as me, except he's covered in acne, a bit on the chubby side (probably from eating one too many Samurai Dogs), and he could really, really use a shower.
"Hey!" Maya shouts, coming back with her comic. "I made that shirt myself, you know!"
The fanboy scoffs. "It figures that a GIRL made it. I mean, 'I love Pink Princess'? How much more tacky can you get! Leave the Steel Samurai shows to real fans like me, and go watch a rom-com or something. That's what girls like, isn't it?"
I suddenly feel the urge to punch this guy, but I let it go for now. How would you know what girls like? After all, with BO like that I can't imagine a girl's ever had a conversation with you that's lasted more than 5 seconds. "Hey, who do you think you are?" I ask the jerk, trying to bring his ego down a notch.
"The name's Liam, but all of my friends call me 1337_Samura1_Sk1llz." He says smugly.
Maya gets really angry now. "You're stupid, that's who you are! I bet I know more about Samurais than you do!" Maya declares viciously. The surrounding crowd "ooh"s and gathers in a circle. This isn't going to end well.
"Oh yeah? That sounds like a challenge to me. Ok wannabe, how many love interests are there for the Golden Samurai in the 'Rise of the Samurai' movie?"
"That's easy!" Maya answers. "He has 5 love interests, and it makes a love star. And before you ask, he ends up with Takumi, the poor tea girl with a heart of gold. How many allies does the Silver Samurai have?"
"Three. He starts out with none, but in his quest he gets help from a talking fox, his ex-sidekick, and a ninja-in training. How is the Dark Samurai defeated?"
"The Dark Samurai appears to be invincible, but when the life of his one true love, Ayame, is endangered, he is no longer controlled by the darkness and he becomes a good Samurai so he can save her life." Maya says. I have to admit, I'm impressed. She sure knows her Samurai stuff. "What is the Bronze Samurai's true name?"
The fanboy scoffs. "That's a trick question. The Bronze Samurai never reveals his true name, he gives out a fake one to his foes to throw them off guard. You better step it up, wannabe, because that question was easy!"
"Oh really?" Maya says, smiling. "Then why did you get it wrong?"
The surrounding crowd gasps, and Liam's stupid smile is wiped off completely.
"W-what!?? You're bluffing!"
"No I'm not. In the limited-edition Bronze Samurai Issue 143, he reveals his name to his true love!"
"W-what? No!!!!"
"That's right! You just got beaten- by a girl!" Maya says confidently. All of a sudden Liam starts to get creepy.

"A...A girl! Who knows more about Samurais than I do?...I think...I think I'm in love..." He moves towards Maya, but she steps back behind me.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I...I'm seeing somebody!" She says, grabbing my shoulders.
"What, you mean this square? Oh please, forget about him!"
"Nick's not a square! He's my, uh, boyfriend! Yeah, we're totally in love!" Maya replies unconvincingly. Well, at least Pearls isn't here. She'd be having a fit right now.
"Oh come on, babe! Date me and we'll have a romance so passionate it will put that of the Nickel Samurai and his beloved flower girl Himiko to shame!"
"I'm not interested!" Maya protests, "Nick's the only guy I need!"
"But he's a total washout! He wouldn't know a Samurai Spear from a Samurai Javelin!"
I decide to get this guy to shut up once and for all. "Well guess what? I might not know what a Samurai Javelin is, but I definitely know how to Samurai Kick your butt!" I yell, startling him.
Liam backs off. "W-whatever, noobs!" He cries before running off into the crowd. Maya lets out a sigh of relief.
"Well, we shouldn't be running into him anytime soon." I assure her. Maya grins.
"Nick...That was so cool! That was like something the Steel Samurai would say! You rock, Nick!" Maya squeals as she hugs me and plants a quick kiss on my cheek.
Maybe I was wrong. Today might not be so bad after all.
---

Love how Maya handmade his t-shirt.