165 (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

AN: So this is a longer read like chapter 163 was – as this is the official end to the Phaya/Larris wedding arc. Hope you guys enjoy some weekend reading, as this took me three days to write! While I’m sorry in advance for that, I am unapologetic about this chapter being 100% Phoenix and Maya fluff –  and this madly in love couple has no issues “expressing” that love! 😉

There were nights when the wind was so cold
That my body froze in bed
If I just listened to it
Right outside the window

There were days when the sun was so cruel
That all the tears turned to dust
And I just knew my eyes were
Drying up forever

I finished crying in the instant that you left
And I can’t remember where or when or how
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made

But when you touch me like this
And you hold me like that
I just have to admit
That it’s all coming back to me
When I touch you like this
And I hold you like that
It’s so hard to believe but
It’s all coming back to me
(It’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to me now)

There were moments of gold
And there were flashes of light
There were things I’d never do again
But then they’d always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure
It was more than any laws allow
Baby Baby

If I kiss you like this
And if you whisper like that
It was lost long ago
But it’s all coming back to me
If you want me like this
And if you need me like that
It was dead long ago
But it’s all coming back to me
It’s so hard to resist
And it’s all coming back to me
I can barely recall
But it’s all coming back to me now
But it’s all coming back

There were those empty threats and hollow lies
And whenever you tried to hurt me
I just hurt you even worse
And so much deeper

There were hours that just went on for days
When alone at last we’d count up all the chances
That were lost to us forever

But you were history with the slamming of the door
And I made myself so strong again somehow
And I never wasted any of my time on you since then

But if I touch you like this
And if you kiss me like that
It was so long ago
But it’s all coming back to me
If you touch me like this
And if I kiss you like that
It was gone with the wind
But it’s all coming back to me
(It’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to me now)

There were moments of gold
And there were flashes of light
There were things we’d never do again
But then they’d always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure
It was more than all your laws allow
Baby, Baby, Baby

When you touch me like this
And when you hold me like that
It was gone with the wind
But it’s all coming back to me
When you see me like this
And when I see you like that
Then we see what we want to see
All coming back to me
The flesh and the fantasies
All coming back to me
I can barely recall
But it’s all coming back to me now

If you forgive me all this
If I forgive you all that
We forgive and forget
And it’s all coming back to me
When you see me like this
And when I see you like that
We see just what we want to see
All coming back to me
The flesh and the fantasies
All coming back to me
I can barely recall but it’s all coming back to me now

(It’s all coming back to me now)
And when you kiss me like this
(It’s all coming back to me now)
And when I touch you like that
(It’s all coming back to me now)
If you do it like this
(It’s all coming back to me now)

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
The Ballroom, Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
June 17, 2026, 12:29 AM

“Jesse, roll that camera!” Maya commanded the videographer as she grabbed the stage microphone. “Lotta, feel free to take as many shots as you please!”

As the cameraman and photographer assumed their positions right in front of her on the floor, along with the swarms of guests who were curious to see what the plucky spirit medium had up her sleeve, the Kurain head peered out at the sea of faces and noted with relief that Larry and Iris had left for the night. The last thing the village leader had ever wanted to do was try to upstage her cousin’s wedding!

Edgeworth had also exited the premises, but the rest of her dear ones: Max, Regina, Sister Bikini, (who’d finally stopped crying at this point) Matilda (who was holding Feyt), Luke, Pearl, Gumshoe, Maggey were still there … as was her completely beet-faced beau, who remained frozen amongst their friends on the dance floor, but appeared to be wishing he was anywhere else!

“And Nick, baby…” Maya blew him a kiss. “Wait till you see what’s in store for you!”

Phoenix had a sinking suspicion that he was going to want to drown himself in liquor when all was said and done but merely flashed his girlfriend a sickly grin in response. Then he quickly shot a hopeful smile across the room at the bartender, who simply smiled innocently and shook his head in silent refusal.

Apparently, Edgeworth hadn’t been the only one the despotic Mia had instructed the mixologist to cut off!

The pianist’s earlier buzz had long since abated, and he now had the sudden urge to swear a string of profanities, both long and eloquently, as he staggered back to his table, where he poured himself a glass of ice water from the silver pitcher and downed half of it in one gulp.

The diviner smiled faintly at his low-key theatrics, dying to right the wrong she’d done her better half that day, but uncertain how to do so. Unlike with her unofficial Maid of Honor speech, this time, she’d done no preemptive research or preparation whatsoever!

Of course, she wasn’t aware of exactly how to look up tips in this instance. What would she input into Google? How to Publicly Apologize to Your Lover When You’ve Been An Ace Asshat and Need to Prove That You Will Always Stand By Him – Without Actually Resorting to Serenading Him With The Song “Stand By Me?!”

Scanning the room, Maya spotted Phoenix, who was now standing near the back of the crowd, his arms crossed over his chest as he flinched in readiness. She had no doubt it was obviously to mask the flicker of embarrassment which had come across his face when she’d unceremoniously announced needing the video camera!

Oh well, here goes nothing! Guess it’s officially my turn to pull something out of my butt and call it a bluff!

“Hi,” she began inanely. “I am Maya Fey, Master of the Kurain Spirit Channeling technique You’re all probably wondering what I’m doing here.”

instead

“I’m here today…” she trailed off, her voice strangled with tension and fear.

The spirit medium glanced out into the crowd and saw Pearl standing beside Luke. The teen’s eyes shone with unconditional love as she nodded encouragingly at her guardian, and Maya’s strength returned.

“I’m here today to talk about something important to me,” the Kurain leader announced with a proud tilt of her chin. “I want to commence by discussing a thing or two about life. Life cannot be taught to you or coached, it can only be experienced. Emotions are always smarter than logic. We fail to know this as we are conditioned to fear the things that we cannot control.”

When Maya had begun speaking, the pianist’s first reaction was surprising that she was so poised in front of what was easily at least a good two to three hundred people with what, unlike her speech for the newlyweds, was seemingly unprepared material.

“I’m a spirit medium, as many of you know.  My entire foundation of who I am and what I do defies any and all logic and is purely based on a foundation of faith and hope that the Fey clan truly possesses the extraordinary and otherworldly sixth sense that went beyond the usual five that most of us possess, and cord, therefore, channel your loved ones from beyond the grave to communicate with you.  We did not always have the world-renowned reputation that we now do.  In the not-so-recent past, my family and I have been called everything from charlatans to imposters to frauds in the past from skeptics and nonbelievers.”

The psychic took a brief pause to collect her thoughts, while Phoenix, just like every other entranced person in that room listened intently as she went on.

“But in the past seven years since I have become Master, I have done everything in my power to since overcome that stigma and reestablish our reputation worldwide, thus proving that faith is stronger than even the most reasonable doubt.  That was because people lead with their hearts and their gut instincts rather than trusting their brains and logic, which would otherwise lead them to believe the concept of spirit channeling to be nothing but a bunch of bunkum.  And while it may have seemed crazy at the time that so many chose to risk disrupting all their lifelong beliefs and everything they had grown up thinking was logical, they still chose to ignore the odds and put their trust in the mystical abilities of me and the people of my village.  They decided to just come to me with their hopeful expectations about communicating with their daily departed, cast aside everything, and just go for it!  Therefore I decided if they can do it, then why in the name of Mystic Ami can’t I?!”

She took a deep breath and then blurted out the next words in a rush, as though she feared losing her nerve otherwise.

“That’s why I’m up here right now, despite logically knowing the stakes for what I’m about to do here. Regardless, I am about to make the biggest gamble of my life. My village elders will probably hold me in contempt for the actions I’m about to embark on, but who am I kidding? Most of them already do! Present company excluded, of course!”

The psychic winked at Sister Bikini and Matilda, who both smiled back indulgently.

“Although … guess what? I honestly don’t care! I have learned that you can’t live your life to suit other people. The last time I tried to bend over backward to people’s expectations, it literally damn near killed me! The harder you try, the more restrictions they’ll put on you, just for the funsies of seeing you jump through their hoops. Therefore, I’m done. I’m no circus tiger – no offense, you guys!”

She grinned impishly at the beaming Max and Regina.

“If there’s another thing I’ve learned in life, is that sometimes bad things happen that you can’t control. I know this better than anyone. It is also possible to make no mistakes and still fail. Such is life. Here’s one thing I need everyone to understand though. I don’t do spirit channeling for the sake of monetary gain because I do not need it! As many of you probably know, my late mother, Misty Fey was also world-renowned children’s author and illustrator, Elise Deauxnim. As her sole heir, I not only amassed great land wealth but her publishing lifetime royalties, as well. I am no Longines Beaugosse … I’m not richer than God, but I will reiterate that I don’t do what I do in the necessity of money. I do it to help people in their time of need. They turn to me because I am a trusted spirit-channeling champion.”

The Burger Queen gave a sunny smile as she came to her next point.

“The late, great Mohammed Ali said: “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

The former King of the Turnabout bit back a reluctant smile at his girlfriend’s surprising knowledge of legendary boxer quotes, but a moment later, her next words made his brows draw together in a perplexed frown as he wondered where she was going with this.

“Phoenix Wright was also once a champion – a virtually undefeated courtroom champion. He was acclaimed for being a defender of the people, because of his unbending will, his tenacity for turnabout, and his unwavering belief in his clients. He was exactly like me because of his desire to aid the defenseless, and his desire for justice. His sole motivation was to help the people of this world, and he wasn’t in his profession for the money, either. A lot of his work was done pro bono. People trusted him with their lives the way they trust my village to resurrect the lives of their dearly departed to give them the closure they urgently need. Mr. Wright was a hero and inspiration to so many. Including me.”

The poker champ couldn’t take his eyes off his swain’s angst-ridden face and plaintive vocal intonation, his heart beginning to hammer in deep, aching beats.

“Then the unthinkable happened to that heroic courtroom champion. And these past seven years, I could only helplessly stand by and watch as society snubbed him for illegalities that I know he never committed! Even worse, my loyal alliance with him was forced to be clandestine, because of the narrow minds of others who feared the ascendancy of my Master’s name and reputation would drag through the mud along with his. This ridiculous belief was shared by even Mr. Wright himself!”

Phoenix closed his eyes, caught between torment and tenderness over what he was seeing; Maya’s agonized face and her soft voice as she pleaded his innocence.

“How could anybody possibly want to see a man who was unjustly accused of forgery get disbarred? I don’t know how the Bar Association Review Board ever convicted him of this, but I do know he’s no more capable of deceitful corruptibility or cheap tricks than I am. If he had been anything but the indisputable King of the Turnabout whose track record was founded on anything but real talent, grit, and belief in my innocence, I would not be standing here now as a free woman.”

He was overcome with admiration at how the Master maintained her dignified poise while scrupulously avoiding saying anything even remotely incriminating that could be used against him.

“I’m here today to say I don’t give a damn about what anyone thinks anymore! I am not only committed to believing in this man’s innocence, but I will shamelessly use my considerable resources and influence to help clear his name and prove it! I shall do so freely and publicly, and feel no ignominy, not only because this man has repeatedly saved me from execution by proving me innocent of erroneous charges, just as he has for so many others, but because: I love him. Moreover, I trust him, and I have unrelenting faith in him.”

Phoenix watched Maya hesitate for a moment, then she lifted her eyes to the cameras, smiled softly, and spoke her next words without a hint of guile.

“After all, what is love without faith?  Is faith not what makes us human?  A trust, and an underlying belief that goes beyond any kind of evidence but without which nothing of any phenomenon could ever be achieved.  Without faith, we would never let down our guard and risk the vulnerability of love. Without faith in the perspicuity of the universe, we would not do science. Without faith in our fellow citizens, we would not have a free society. Without faith in the unknown, I wouldn’t have my illustrious lineage occupation! People come to me with nothing but faith – moreover, blind faith! – that I can help them. Mind you, my faith and my trust in this one-time courtroom champion are not blind. He’s earned it. And he has it for life.”

When she started going down this path, I panicked and wondered if this entire speech was going to be dismissed as the inane ramblings of a besotted woman who was blindly in love…

“I was there when Mr. Wright was on top of the world. I shall be by his side when he’s fallen. And I will remain there when this Phoenix rises from the ashes again.”

… In its place, all I saw and heard was dignity and courageousness … the things I’ve always loved about her. Maya’s the real deal. She’s real, and she’s mine, and she’s just broadcasted that she’s always loved me, even when I had nothing to offer her except life in hiding with a public disgrace., all I saw and heard was dignity and courageousness…the things I’ve always loved about her. Maya’s the real deal. She’s real, and she’s mine, and she’s just broadcasted that she’s always loved me, even when I had nothing to offer her except life in hiding with a public disgrace.

“Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness. Phoenix Wright is a man with such a heart. I fell in love with his valor, his sincerity, and his everlasting desire to help out the underdogs of the world and it’s these things I believe in, even if the whole world indulged in critical suspicion that he isn’t all he should be. I love him, and that’s the beginning and end of everything. There are just some people in this world that you can love and love and love no matter what. I love and am grateful for everything on this changing, burning Earth, but I am most grateful to you, Nick. If they’re gonna hang you for loving me, they’d best be tying two nooses to that tree. What we have done, we did together, and if our love is a capital offense; I’m ready.”

A stupefied silence filled the room as she concluded, but Maya didn’t even pause to gauge the reactions of the assembly. Instead, she nodded at Jesse and Lotta, whose cameras were still poised for action.

“Consider these next words to be my wholehearted consent to send all the footage from this impromptu performance to every single media connection you both may have. My only caveat is you
must include this encore with it! It’s only fitting, as seven years ago, Nick publicly won me over with his silvery vocal talents. Let’s hope I have the same luck!”

She winked at the still thunderstruck crowd, then turned and smilingly snapped her fingers at The Pink Tacos.

“Hit it, fellas!”

Wait, what the heck? Encore?! Phoenix, along with everyone present, was still reeling from his lover’s passionate, magnificent public outcry on his behalf. There’s more?! Maya’s going to sing? Since when does she sing – never mind publicly?!

Without further ado, the spirit medium leaned into the microphone, eyes closed in concentration as she began to serenade them with vocals that sounded as though they’d descended from heaven.

Know all about, yeah, ’bout your reputation
And now it’s bound to be a heartbreak situation
But I can’t help it if I’m helpless
Every time that I’m where you are

Her voice was in perfect harmony and grace. Her hand went to her heart, and her head rose as she belted out the notes.

You walk in and my strength walks out the door
Say my name and I can’t fight it anymore
Oh, I know I should go
But I need your touch just too damn much

A haunting sense of déjà vu washed over Phoenix as his ears immediately recognized the soprano lark who’d sung by his bedside.

Loving you, that isn’t really something I should do
Shouldn’t wanna spend my time with you, yeah
Well, I should try to be strong but baby, you’re the right kind of wrong
Yeah, baby, you’re the right kind of wrong

He shut his eyes as those sweet chorals enveloped him and permeated his very being.

Might be a mistake, a mistake I’m makin’
But what you’re givin’ I am happy to be takin’
‘Cause no one’s ever made me feel the way I feel
When I’m in your arms

Music is what feelings sound like. Next to love, music is the best solution to any problem. Music feeds the heart with what it needs in the moment.

They say you’re something I should do without
They don’t know what goes on when the lights go out
There’s no way to explain
All the pleasure is worth all the pain

Phoenix’s cheeks warmed a tad as a few people hooted slightly at this particularly revealing point in the song, while the incorrigible Maya flashed a very telling, saucy wink in his direction.

Loving you, that isn’t really something I should do
Shouldn’t wanna spend my time with you, yeah
Well, I should try to be strong but baby, you’re the right kind of wrong
Yeah, baby, you’re the right kind of wrong

…And music has made my girlfriend feel the need to lyrically decree just how I’ve managed to make it all worth her while! Boy, those lewd media mongrels are going to have a field day with that bit of juicy info!

I should try to run but I just can’t seem to
‘Cause every time I run you’re the one I run to
Can’t do without what you do to me
I don’t care if I’m in too deep, yeah

The divulging lyrics swam through Phoenix’s cerebral cortex like a wakeful dream, the notes relaxing him, enabling the sweet song notes to call to his entire being.

Know all about, yeah, ’bout your reputation
And now it’s bound to be a heartbreak situation
But I can’t help it if I’m helpless
Every time that I’m where you are

The ex-defense attorney blissfully closed his eyes again so he could fully absorb the melodious crooning of the angel on the stage.

You walk in and my strength walks out the door
Say my name and I can’t fight it anymore
Oh, I know I should go
But I need your touch just too damn much, yeah

It doesn’t matter how revealing these lyrics are – she chose a great song to punctuate that speech, even though some in the crowd might think it’s merely an exorbitant tune from the Coyote Ugly chick flick! But music could never be something superfluous to me. It is soul medicine delivered in the most divine way.

Loving you, yeah, that isn’t really something I should do
I shouldn’t wanna spend my time with you, yeah
Well, I should try to be strong, I should try to be strong
But baby you’re the right kind of wrong
(Right kind of wrong)

Never before have I ever felt such sublime blessedness at having my personal history repeat itself in such a manner. She already won me over with that speech but after this song… Maya baby, here I am, signed, sealed, delivered… I’m yours!

Baby, you’re the right kind of wrong
Baby, you’re the right kind of wrong
Yeah, baby, you’re the right kind of wrong

As the band wrapped up the final chords, Maya lifted her chin, stepped back from the microphone, squared her shoulders, and gallantly raised her virtuous face to the masses expectantly.

Pride exploded in Phoenix’s battered being, because, somehow, despite humbling herself and denouncing her nearly royal standing in society in the name of love, Maya still managed to stand as proudly – as defiantly – as if she were an actual queen.

In the next instant, thunderous applause broke out across the room, and the beaming spirit medium made a big show of bowing grandly, even lifting the skirts of her long gown in a mock curtsy as she blew a kiss to her adoring new fans. But as soon as she straightened up again, she seemed to forget the rest of the room and lifted her clear, truthful eyes to scan the room, frenziedly seeking her lover’s face for his reaction.

Phoenix just stared at her, not moving or speaking, although she could see the muscle working on one side of his jaw. For one horrible moment, the Kurain head worried she’d gone too far, and that in her act of trying to prove how nothing in the world mattered to her but him, regardless of his profession, she had irreparably embarrassed her boyfriend and lost him forever.

He began nudging his way through the crowd to come closer to the stage, and that was when the Master could make out his expression at last – the beholden glimmer in those mesmerizing depths, the bashful smile slowly forming on those lips.

And that was when she also saw he was reaching out his hand for hers, an unspoken gesture that unmistakably conveyed his wholehearted pardon of everything.

The newly forgiven spirit medium felt tears of gratitude and relief stinging her eyes as she began rushing forward through the crowd, walking fast then sprinting … right into the arms that were opening wide to her. As she finally reached him and extended her trembling hand, feeling the warmth of his fingers as they enclosed around hers before abruptly yanking her forward into his strong arms, holding her as though he’d never let her go.

The anterior Ace Attorney wrapped an arm around her with stunning force, his free hand cradling her radiant visage against his chest, shielding her from their audience as he bent his head and buried his face in her neck while she slid her hands around his shoulders, her cheek pressed tightly against his chest, holding him fiercely to her.

“Dick, Maya is incredible,” Maggey choked, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. “That woman loves Phoenix so much that she doesn’t give a damn that many people will think she’s a fool for still wanting him even after all his fall from grace. She doesn’t care that in doing this public alliance, there’s a risk her name will be mud. All that matters to her is that he loves her.”

“I know,” Gumshoe replied softly, gazing into his wife’s misty eyes. “I recognize the feeling.”

“So that was no dream at the Hickfield Clinic earlier this afternoon!” Phoenix blurted out as he raised his head and gawked at her flushed, triumphant face. “You were the golden-throated songbird crooning How Do I Live at my hospital bedside when you thought I was unconscious, weren’t you?”

Mindless of everyone around them, Maya flashed an impish grin.

“I guess now we’re even, Nick! I was lurking there in the crowd for your New Year’s debut of Shape of My Heart, which I think we both know was your cloaked love song for me!” She laughingly gave a playful shrug as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “And hey, what can I say? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right? Besides, I love Leann Rimes!”

Shaking his head in wonder, Phoenix turned slightly so his broad shoulders blocked her from view, then he turned her face up to his, uncaring of the fact that this entire time, Jesse’s camera continued to keep rolling.

“You’re absolutely crazy,  do you know that? You wonderful, crazy, woman/child, zany girl of my dreams. God, I love you!” He whispered ardently, right before he seized her mouth in a smoldering kiss, and Maya was blissfully lost to everything else.

One touch of those lips is all it takes to sweep me off my feet; make me feel as though I am walking on a cloud. I am the air, bodiless, weightless as I feel myself soaring towards the starlit skies, towards the heavens. Surely my corporal being would be joining my buoyant soul in this ascending skyward flight, were it not for these bands of steel around my back and that rapacious, addictive mouth…

The flash of several raised guest cameras, along with Lotta’s, exploded somewhere, followed by another and another. Somebody started to applaud, and the clapping became an all-out standing ovation, followed by whoops and cheering, yet still, their searing embrace continued.

Maya was mindless to it all – the laughter, the clapping, the whirring roll of the video camera, and the flashes from raised cameras. She was too busy kissing him back, unabashedly moulding herself so tightly against him that it was nigh impossible to tell where her body ended and hers began.

Nothing else mattered.

The only thing that was of any significance, which the world was free to see, was that she was where she belonged … in Phoenix’s arms. Which meant she was already halfway to paradise.

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Presidential Suite, Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
June 17, 2026, 1:00 AM

“I know we’ve had it rough, but in the end, we were still so lucky, Nick.” Maya’s eyes were rapidly welling. “Through the sediments of tragedy and despair that initially would bind us, and then keep following us over the years, still we managed to find our way to each other. We saw each other, we loved each other … but then at some point, it got taken away.”

“I know.” His voice was a raw mixture of veneration and wonder. “Nevertheless, some mystical powers that be, which are bigger than both of us, somehow, someway, kept bringing you back to me. For that alone, I am the luckiest man alive. I – I know that may sound like an overused term, perhaps even trite, but I have never been very good at talking outside of court. Whenever I try to express the musings that whirl within my soul, all too often, my throat tightens, blocking me from saying anything properly. Try as I might, I am not always the best with words…”

He shut his eyes as a wave of emotion came over him, unable to continue.

“Neither am I, Nick. It’s one thing when I’m giving a speech or a lecture on spirit channeling, but it’s another when it’s one-on-one. Even the Master herself has been known to say either not enough to suffice for what the occasion is called for or say too much while in the heat of anger, and then live to regret it.”

Her tone was laced with lament.

“That’s why I knew a simple apology just wouldn’t be enough for the pain I caused you with what I said to you in my dressing room, Nick. I’m so, so sorry about that. I hope to God you know I didn’t mean it! Tonight was a real wake-up call in realizing I may have done something truly irremediable. I recognized I’d have to try to show you, not tell you how remorseful I was. That if my invectives made you wrongfully feel I am amongst those who see you as the inferior specimen you can’t stop feeling that you are, I had to prove to you that if such was the case, it mattered naught to me.”

The aching regret he heard in her voice made his eyes snap open in surprise and he tipped his chin down, staring at her.

“We live and breathe words. I now see that words can hurt … but can also nurture, heal … and reveal more than one could ever imagine. I remember how, even though I wasn’t school educated, I used to love discovering things about the world as I got older – and not just entertaining myself with samurai comics! By reading actual books. It made me feel akin to my mother, and her wonderful children’s stories. It made me think perhaps I should write more, myself, even if just in a journal. To give me strength. To be more in touch with things that I’m normally not. To explore all the things I’m afraid of.”

Maya paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, then regarded him with her heart in her eyes.

“Hearing, and then later, reading the words in your love letter, and seeing what you wrote, how you were lonely sometimes and afraid, but always brave; the way you saw the world, its colors and textures and sounds – I sensed every bit of it within my soul. I saw – I felt – the way you thought, hoped, felt, and dreamt. I felt I was dreaming and thinking and feeling with you. I dreamed what you dreamed, wanted what you wanted –and then I realized that truly I just wanted you.”

He gazed down into her limpid eyes as he processed everything she’d just said. Her head was already slanted upward, dewy lips parted ever so slightly, beckoning his in an unspoken invitation.

“I’m sorry, Maya, but no.” His eyelids were tightly shut again while his heart, which had been latently aching from her barbs up until then, slowly, oh-so-slowly began to mend. “I – I can’t just yet.”

She rubbed her cheek against his chest, and his stubborn defenses began to crumble while his dormant sense of self-worth began resurfacing. And even though his brain was screaming that there were still the scant residues of doubt remaining, his voice seemed to have a will of its own.

“Lose that godforsaken rock on your hand this instant!” He commanded at last.

“What?” Startled, the Master glanced down at the glittering gem on her left hand; she’d been completely mindless to the fact that she’d still been wearing the token of her engagement to Longines until that instant, which she had every intention of returning. “Why?”

“Because there’s no way in the name of Shakespeare’s codpiece that I’ll make love to you while you’re wearing another man’s betrothal ring!”

There was a sharp clacking sound as a knuckle-crushing, 5-carat, heart-shaped pink diamond, appraised at one and a half million dollars, bounced callously onto the glass-top end table without even another thought.

“Maya Fey!” He emitted a laughing groan. “You’re the only woman on God’s green earth who would do such an outrageous thing to such a priceless piece of jewelry!”

“I’m the only woman in the world for you.”

With a soundless sigh of amused acceptance, and an indulgent smile playing on his lips,  he reached out and slid his fingers into those beloved raven tresses, tilting her face up so their eyes met. Reflected in those entrancing Hessonite jewels was her soul, baring the kind of beauty that expanded a moment into a personal infinity; a nirvana that he wished to always be a part of. Recollecting the cold desolation and purgatory that had been his life without her, Phoenix also knew theirs was a paradise that he could never, ever be separated from again.

“I know you are,” he whispered, gently wiping away the liquid bead rolling down her cheek. “It’s always been you, Maya. There never has been, nor ever will be, anyone but you.”

“I love you.”

“You know how I feel about you.” He kissed another droplet away. “You know how much I love you. Everything I’ve ever done, everything I do, I do it only for you. You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t ever do to keep you safe, don’t you?”

She nodded, never pulling her gaze from his, even for a second.

“More than anything in the world, I needed that from you too, my love. I never realized, up until now, how badly I needed to know you loved me like that, too.” His voice shook with emotion. “So, when you made that promulgation tonight, for the whole world to see, uncaring about what the risk or ramifications of what such a thing could do to you because you were trying to prove how much I meant to you…”

His voice broke slightly, and he was too overwhelmed to even go on. But she understood. She always instinctively managed to be in tune with what he was feeling; whenever he was too overcome to express what was in his soul.

Her expression grew soft and her eyes filled with compassion. She laced their fingers together and placed them over their hearts, stroking her thumb against his hand, as with her free one, she soothingly reached up and caressed the soft spikes in his hair in a calming motion, silently conveying her heart to his without another word needing to be spoken.

The overpowering phenomenon of love and comfort rushed through him, and he let out a long, shuddering sigh as he leaned his head back into her palm, unable to keep his eyes open.

“Open your eyes, Nick,” she whispered, moving her hand from the back of his head to stroke his cheek, her eyes soft and filled with an undying love. “Look at me.”

The pianist tipped his head forward again and stared into Maya’s entrancing visage, just inches from his. It was the easiest thing he’d ever been asked to do because she was the most breathtaking, exquisite creation he’d ever set eyes on.

Her tiny hands were reaching for his now, and he clasped both in a firm hold. She caught her breath as she felt the warmth of his heated skin as they touched, souls entwined and hearts aflutter. She gently lowered his hands so that she could get a better look at his mien, then closed his fingers over the magatama in his palm, the very one he’d abandoned in her dressing room, whispering that she was returning something which rightfully belonged to him.

Pearl had elucidated what’d happened with Phoenix’s gemstone earlier. When charging the sacred charm, the spirit medium had put a little bit of her soul in there, as she was the one who’d used her own spiritual energy to do so. Then the magatama’s powers had used a bit of his soul, which she’d needed to be able to enter to see psyche locks. However, he’d also been using his perception to a certain degree. Ultimately, the reason it automatically absorbed part of his spiritual energy was that he was an honorary Fey – not just Maya’s other pillar of strength whose photo was in her Master’s talisman, but her kindred spirit as well.

“You can only sense memories associated with yourself, Mystic Maya, but the reason you could see his memories so clearly, like a movie, is because Mr. Nick’s your soulmate,” Pearl had explained merrily. “If someone equally important to him, like Trucy, were to touch it, she might sense recollections associated with her, but all she’d probably feel were emotions like kindheartedness and love. Since she doesn’t have our type of spiritual power, the experience would only be minor and be hard to pin down. It’d just feel like a warm glow of contentment.”

Even though the psychic had tried to explain to her swain what she’d experienced with the mystical gemstone – the vibe of his emotions churning within her, the lonely chaos she’d briefly sampled earlier in her dressing room and how it’d partially stemmed from the anomaly that despite being male, he had his own set of spiritual powers – she knew he still didn’t quite comprehend the whole Fey esoterica.

After all, how could he?

The Kurain leader herself had zero feasible explanation for Phoenix’s mystifying capacity with the magatama that seemed to go beyond merely seeing psyche locks, as Miles had been able to do when he’d borrowed it that one time. Her lover truly had his own inexplicable sense of psychic powers – the visions of seeing spirits and hearing Mia’s voice were unheard of for anyone who wasn’t from the Fey line.

Cautiously, Maya lifted her gaze and lost herself in those navy orbs. Her heart pounded harrowingly, making it difficult for her to breathe. For the first time, she was afraid of what she was going to do. What if she couldn’t bring him into her spiritual world? What if she made things worse?

Nevertheless, she had to at least try.

Because what if I can make things better? What if I’m able to show him what’s in my soul, so he can, at last, see for himself how we’re not just connected by heart, but also on a spiritually, otherworldly level? And he will then hopefully never have doubts about me, about us, ever again.

All she could focus on was the wonderful, feather-light impression of Phoenix’s fingers on hers. Every touch, every twitch felt like fire and sent little jolts of excitement through her skin. It caused her to shudder in want and anticipation; she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight.

Even though she’d had a decade to feast her eyes on him, she still couldn’t get enough. The man simply radiated an allure of tentative gentleness that never ceased to make Maya stop and stare. He was so incredibly handsome – at least, to her. In spite of all he’d endured, she could still make out that distinct boyish charm about him, that sweet and earnest air he continued to exude when around her, which he’d had as a young attorney. Even though he was now in his early 30s, and had developed some telltale smirk lines, Phoenix honestly could have passed for late 20s – 30, max.

She was lost in a bewitched trance as she took in every feature of his visage; of those, sultry, yet soft features: those kind lazuline eyes; the jagged line of his brow, his squared jawline, that sexy stubble; those delectable full lips of his.

Her Nick. Phoenix was both an open book and an enigma: the diviner noticed that there was an increasing vulnerability and air of dependency around him when they were together. Especially now.

Sweet, lovable, a little naive, and honest – this was the Nick she loved. This was the man who’d had spent all these years hiding away in the glazed, lonely eyes of a hobo. The Kurain head couldn’t even fathom how much hell he’d endured, especially for the past year they’d been apart. He’d had to be strong for Trucy, force his biggest smile, and pretend everything was alright. Miles had still been away, so while at least she’d had Pearl and Longines to dry her tears, Phoenix hadn’t really had anyone.

There is nobody that’s earned a right to a happy ending more than you, Nick. You deserve nothing less. You are a phenomenon; a blessed miracle. Despite everything you’ve endured all this time, you haven’t turned virulent. You haven’t become cold-hearted. Like a reticent turtle, you’ve simply retreated into your shell and become a bit world-weary, but that’s alright. Because as much as I once joked about being your Sugar Mama who would support you through the hard times, I’m now taking on the aptly named Fey role and becoming your fairy godmother; here to put a soothing balm on your inner wounds and do everything in my power to make your every heart’s desire come true.

Aspiration flooded through her. A desire to help him …but also so much more. To be with him, love him, and take away his chaos. To make everything in his world alright again.

The village leader stared into Phoenix’s wide, despondent eyes that were filled with longing, and felt his world collapse and rebuild itself around them, like an imago that housed the sacred vision of an eternal present – no regrets, no consequences; only the warmth of two souls. Years of repressed pain and loneliness begged for salvation; they called out to her and more than anything, she wanted to protect this man, shield him from the storm and the shadows of his own self-loathing.

You can do this, Maya, she assured herself. You need to feel your man’s trustable presence before you will open your heart and body without any guard. It’s a step-by-step process of learning. He learns to be more present; you learn to be more open if this is going to work.

“Don’t look away again.” She took his hands and placed them on her magatama, her gaze never leaving his. “I want you to be able to not only hear my next words but sense what’s in my heart, in my soul, while you touch this mystical gemstone which is as much a part of me as you are, Nick. Even if you can’t see the same projections I could, I want you to feel everything I’m about to tell you.”

He nodded his silent agreement.

“Do you remember the night of our first kiss?” She whispered. “From the very second that your lips met mine, you stole a piece of my heart.”

You stole a piece of mine, too.

“The first time finally confessed that you loved me, on my 21st birthday, because you weren’t ready to tell me those three magic words up until then? Those words stole another piece of my heart.”

I’ve loved you forever, in lifetimes before, my love. I loved you long before I had the guts to let you know. I loved you so damn much.

Phoenix opened his palm and pressed it flat against her chest, feeling Maya’s everlasting love with every heartbeat. But it was more than that – he could literally sense what she was feeling – like radiation waves swarming his psyche.

“Remember the time I was kidnapped? When I was all alone in that wine cellar and I drew that picture of you? During what I thought might be my last moments on earth … that was when I came to terms with how much you meant to me. I wanted to cry because I needed you there with me so badly. I knew in those darkest moments, while thinking of you, as that brightest light in my life, that I’d fallen hopelessly in love with you. That I would always love you, no matter what.”

His mind whirled with confusion as reverberations from this declaration penetrated his consciousness. Maya’s love was there, of course, but this was something different he was undergoing. Something unfamiliar, which went beyond anything he’d ever experienced before.

What is this? What’s happening?

It was like an uncontrollable perceptive sensitivity of sensations flooding over him like a deluge. All of his beloved’s emotions …love … but also serenity, and unadulterated happiness. That was also nothing new – despite the strife they’d both endured over the years, the two had always managed to experience elation with one another. What was new was the absence of anything else … no remorse. No regrets. Just a tranquil feeling of a soul utterly at peace.

In a flash, Phoenix suddenly understood what was happening. He was sensing all of Maya’s emotions and memories because they were being projected to him through the gemstone.

It’s because the mind remembers the words, but the heart remembers how it feels. A mind will forget, but the heart never will. I’m actually experiencing, firsthand, everything that’s in her heart and soul right now.

“That Christmas, when you gave me the promise ring … knowing everything it represented … it was even bigger than when you gave me my locket. Because that was when I truly felt our love was aeonian – ageless, eternal, and unceasing. Then you took me in your arms, held me as if you’d never let me go, and promised me how with that ring, you were promising yourself with it.  That was when I truly knew, Nick. I fully comprehended that no matter what happened with my life, you and I were truly endgame. You stole the biggest piece of my heart that day.”

I didn’t steal it, my love. You gave it to me. You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I’ve ever known, and that is an understatement.

“Right now, I know you can feel what’s in my heart and what’s in my soul, can’t you Nick? This orenda – the mystical force present in all people. It is your power to do things, and affect the world, or affect change in your own life.”

Maya’s umber eyes glowed with the warmth of an everlasting fireplace; as if they were the kindling that could blaze with flames of gold, yet be forever perfectly entire.

One look into those deep brown eyes, and I can see my definition of heaven, right here and now.

Overcome with emotion, he swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

“Keep your eyes on mine, Nick.” Her face was just inches from his. He mutely obeyed, his cobalt gaze locked onto hers. “I need you to keep them open. Look into my eyes, and you will see just what you mean to me, as I give you the very last piece of my heart and soul.”

This moment. Right now. It’s worth every ounce of strife and agony I’ve ever had to endure.

“What I experienced with your letter was like a less intense version of when I touched your magatama this evening. Mark my words, Nick, when it comes to you, from this day on, I never again will have a moment’s doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.”

She took his hand, which was still resting over her heart atop the magatama, and squeezed it hard.

“Everything I’ve ever said to you: about how nothing’s changed for me since you lost your badge, how all that matters is you, how I have no regrets, nor reservations about you, about us – I know you’re sensing it all for yourself as I speak. You believe me when I say I have zero trepidations or second thoughts now, don’t you?”

In that very instant, Phoenix felt the last lingering apprehensions regarding the love of his life vanquishing like a puff of smoke, even before she spoke her last words.

“I’m glad you finally acknowledge what I’ve been trying to tell you for so long. I love you, Phoenix Wright, and that’s the beginning and end of everything.”

The former King of the Turnabout had to turn his head away so she wouldn’t see the burning tears in his eyes that were threatening to fall.  He couldn’t find the right words just yet. His heart was too full.

Maya Fey, your unwavering love and compassion was the bridge, it just took time to trust my weight to it. All these years, you’ve extended your hand and stayed while I showed you the scars, the mess, the fear. You let me come close, let me hide, let me return without shame. Every time I thought you’d had enough; I was met with only patience which I never felt I’d earned.

He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

I never wanted to be this way; I have pride. I needed to be seen as strong, though I haven’t been and am still so far from achieving. While true healing takes time, and there are no magic wands for deep pain, there is something about you completely giving yourself to me like this that makes my heart burn all the brighter and ignites my soul; that’s not a common gift, my love – yet it is yours, and you have managed to do the impossible. Because you’re simply the best. Better than all the rest. My heart knows now what it should have known ages ago, Maya Fey. Without a doubt, you are the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.

His hands were trembling as he reached into his trouser pocket for the velvet case Max had pressed into his palm at the reception.

“I have desperately needed this reassurance, which I didn’t even realize until now when you finally give it to me tonight. And now that I have it, I only have one thing to say to you, my love.”

His fingers clicked open the jeweler’s box, revealing the gold chain and heart-shaped pendant, and promise ring inside. He held up the first token of his commitment, noticing the halcyon smile on her face at the realization that he’d kept it this whole time.

“While this heart doesn’t have the same twinkle of those baubles you were wearing around your throat tonight my love, now that you have removed them, I think that beautiful swan-like neck of yours looks a bit too bare for my liking. Would – would you wear this again?”

Maya was already lifting her hair out of the way and turning around so Phoenix could once again put on the chain which she had essentially never taken off, beaming more brightly than the sun as she did so. It wasn’t the gift that made her smile. It was the proof that he’d never stopped thinking of her, even throughout that agonizing period they’d been apart.

She lovingly ran her fingers over the braided necklace the locket was dangling from, relishing the familiar feeling of the cool metal against her collarbone once again as her shining gaze met his.

“How did you know to bring that tonight?”

“I didn’t!” He chuckled, unspeakable exultation coursing through him at the sight of her elated smile. “Max Galactica presented it to me before we left the ballroom, but wouldn’t give me any details because he claimed a magician could never reveal his secrets. The last time I saw either one of these symbols of my love, they were hidden inside the drawer of my night table at home, where I thought I was the only one who knew of its existence.”

“Well, you thought wrong!” She giggled. “The real mystery would be how your Sherlock Holmes snoop of a daughter managed to sneak it to Max without either one of us noticing! Obviously, she’s been in cahoots with Pearly tonight since she knew exactly where to have the items delivered!”

“I’m assuming your jewelry was carted right along with my overnight bag, bearing my toiletries and customary sweats – which were last seen in my room at The Hickfield Clinic! I noticed my luggage happened to already be in the closet next to yours while you were changing out of your dress,” he informed her with a wry smile. “The question, of course, is do we have your sister to thank for keeping my meddlesome but mirific daughter in the loop, or your daughter?”

“Does it even matter?” Maya flashed a cheeky grin. “It all goes under the umbrella of those aforementioned powers that be acting in our favor to make sure things always work out for us in the end!”

All traces of humor vanished from her face as she saw the somber intensity in his orbs then. He was now holding up the promise ring between his thumb and forefinger and her eyes widened as she noticed it for the first time.

“I can’t believe it,” she whispered, her eyes welling up. “I thought I’d never see that ring again after I hurled it at you that night…”

“I caught it.” Phoenix’s voice was raw. “I – I was risking you questioning my motives by making such a telling gesture but I just couldn’t imagine losing it into the dark shadows of the night from hell. Despite everything, I couldn’t bear the thought of this ring being lost forever – it was torturous enough having to deal with thinking that I’d lost you forever. And though I had little choice about the latter, at least I could choose about the former. I kept it, my love, because I thought it was all I’d ever have left of you.”

Misty dark blue orbs met melancholy dark ones as he gently brushed his knuckles against her cheek.

“You are everything I never even knew I always wanted, Maya. Somebody with a sharp intellect and a heart from hell. Somebody with eyes like star fire and a mouth with a kiss like a bottomless well. You are all that and more – everything I could have ever dreamed of in a life partner, along with something else that I didn’t even realize I’d so urgently needed. Someone who would love me, even when I did not know how to love myself.”

“Nick…” she swallowed back the sob building in her chest as he dropped to one knee on the carpet and took her hand.

“My love, I wish I had done everything on earth with you. I want to know you moved and breathed in the same world as me. You made me realize that I would rather be with you in hell than without you in heaven. Night and day, you are the one. Only you beneath the moon and under the sun.”

His tenor was textured with emotion as he gazed up at her beseechingly.

“You did something for me I couldn’t do for myself. You loved me for who I am. You could do anything you wanted with me and I would let you. You could ask anything of me and I’d break myself trying to make you happy. I belong to you, irrevocably and unequivocally. I am blown away by how happy you make me. Thank you for being there for me when I’ve been stupid enough to think I’d rather be alone. But just know that I did not fall in love with you out of boredom or loneliness or impulse. I loved you because the desire for you was stronger than any happiness. I love you, Maya Fey, because I have literally seen your soul.”

She was breathing heavily, not looking at him. She was feeling ecstasy. Her soul was flooded with happiness. She had never anticipated that the utterance of love would produce such a powerful effect on her.

Yet she remained unable to speak.

Phoenix was still staring up into her eyes as he tentatively pressed the ring against the third finger of her left hand.

“I know you used to wear this around your neck on a chain, but that necklace is presently broken. Do you think there’s any way to convince you to wear this symbol of my promise to you … on your actual finger now, for all the world to see?”

Maya nodded silently, droplets of joy spilling down her cheeks as he slipped the infinity-shaped gemstone ring onto her finger, which was still a perfect fit. Then she reached down, helped him back to his feet, and stood smiling at him with her heart in her eyes, clasping his hand in hers, a mischievous smile now playing on her lips.

“Such beautiful prose, worthy of poets, to convince me to wear your ring again, Mr. Not-Good-With Words … as if!” The Master began in a jocoserious lilt as she tipped her head to the side questioningly. “Yet it brings me to the query of why we always ‘fall’ in love. One falls down steps, off ladders, into rivers, and down mountains. If love is so wonderful, why don’t we soar in love or climb in love?”

Phoenix blinked, uncertain he’d heard correctly at first, then threw his head back and laughed uproariously at her infallible, rapier wit, even during his attempt at romantic moments like this. He buried his face in his palms to muffle his derisive snorts, while encouraged, Maya continued, her cadence taking on a less jesting overture now.

She took his face in her hands and regarded him adoringly.

“Nick, you have made me feel in ways I never knew existed. Tidal wave emotions and avalanche explosions. You have lit tempers in me, yes, but also ignited passions unlike any I could have ever fathomed. Above all, you taught me how to fly, with no wings and heavy gravity.”

His mirth faded as he saw the unmasked glowing love in her eyes while she tenderly spoke the next words.

“What I’m trying to say to you is: Phoenix Wright, I’m forever yours. Faithfully.”

Her sentimental echo of his initial ring declaration filled both their hearts with cherished memories … and a burst of ardor. Phoenix was positive he was going to lose his ever-loving mind if he didn’t kiss her right then and there.

“Maya.” His voice was a husky whisper, and suddenly his eyes were smoldering as he reached out his hand. “Come here.”

Of its own accord, her hand lifted, his fingers closed around it, and suddenly she was hauled forward as arms like steel bands encircled her without another word.

I love that you are taller, that I can reach up and let my arms hang softly about your neck, resting on those strong shoulders as I draw you closer. 

Locked in his strong embrace, Maya melted against him, savoring the deliciousness of his propinquity.

In that proximity, we are still in our hearts and in this private Garden of Eden of ours, we are natural and free; the bedlam of the world no longer exists. I am enraptured by everything about you, from that familiar gentle smile that is my salvation to the unearthly blissfulness that I experience every time we kiss because I always feel your eternal love for me every time you press those sweet lips against mine.  Our kisses will forever symbolize something imperceptible, otherworldly, yet exclusively yours and mine: that we love one another down to the very depths of our being – a sacred bridge between two minds, two bodies, and two souls, but two hearts that beat as one.

All her thoughts were obliterated in the next instant as Phoenix’s warm, searching mouth descended on hers. Parted lips, tender and insistent, stroked hers, moulding and shaping them to fit his, and then the kiss deepened abruptly while his hands tightened on her back and shoulders, caressing and possessive.

A soft moan interrupted the silence, but Maya didn’t know the sound came from her; she was reaching up, her hands grasping broad shoulders, clinging to them for support in a world that had suddenly become exquisitely sensual, where nothing mattered except the body and mouth locked hungrily to hers.

When he finally dragged his mouth away, he kept his arms around her, and she laid her cheek against his crisp white shirt, feeling his lips brush the hair atop her head as she steadied the rapid thudding of her frenetically beating heart which she could feel matched his own.

As she raised her head and her blazing gaze met his searing one, she knew she wasn’t alone in feeling as though her body had been set aflame by that sizzling embrace.

Phoenix treated her to a wicked grin.

“As much as I appreciate you were keeping this on to prevent me from being improperly distracted while we had this much-needed heart-to-heart,” he murmured. “It still seems like one of us is a wee bit overdressed…”

And I am now quite in favor of a part-to-part! Maya added silently, already trembling with anticipation as he reached for her.

He drew back slightly and, with painstaking deliberation, as though relishing how he was torturing her with his slow, methodical actions, untied the sash on her robe, revealing the wispy sweet nothings she wore beneath.

Maya was too lost under the hypnotic miasma of his burning indigo gaze to speak.

“You’re exquisite, my love.”

He reached over and touched his finger very delicately to the edge of one of her bra straps, by her collarbone, although instead of pushing it down and off her shoulder as she thought he would, he ran his finger slowly along the upper edge of her brassiere in front and then traced it down around the bottom. Maya breathlessly watched his face while he did this. It seemed more intimate than kissing him had. By the time he’d finished outlining the whole thing, he’d barely touched her, and yet she was so turned on her knees felt wobbly.

Phoenix’s gaze was filled with intensity as he slowly slipped the dressing gown from her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. He ran his hands down the length of her arms, his fingers entwining with hers. Then he kissed her long and deep, pressed so tightly against her, it practically stole the breath from her lungs.

As soon as he released her hands, she lifted them to eagerly rake them through his midnight hair. He feathered kisses down her neck to her collarbone, and her breath caught in her throat. He smiled against her skin, acutely aware that this was her sweet spot. She felt his hands unclasping her bra, adding it to the pile at her feet. He bent his head and left a trail of kisses across the top of her breasts, his hands traveling up to cup them gently, the touch of his heated fingertips on her body nearly making her come out of her skin.

She lunged at him then, pressing feverish kisses against his fervent lips as the two moved together across the room while she struggled to remove his shirt.

“Maya, don’t rip this thing, please!” He protested with a laugh, already unfastening the final remaining few buttons on the clothing article before she flat-out tore it off of him! “This, along with the suit, are a limited edition loan, not a gift, courtesy of the exclusive Miles Edgeworth collection!”

He vigilantly stripped off the garment and tossed it onto the adjacent sofa, and as she finally took the first sight of Phoenix shirtless in forever, she found her knees shaking again as she ravenously eyed his supple physique.

That firm, velveteen skin appeared as impossibly smooth as she remembered. Every inch of her lover appeared delicate to the touch; yet those tight muscles, she noted, as she raked her eyes over his chiseled bare torso, were nothing short of formidable. Gorgeous. Michelangelo himself couldn’t have sculpted a finer specimen. It was astounding: seven years had passed, yet he’d managed to keep looking so divine, even though this could be Maya’s lusty bias talking!

Nevertheless, she couldn’t curb the growing admiration or longing building within her as she took in every fine contour and muscle, her eyes burning invisible marks of ownership upon his golden, unblemished flesh. It beckoned her like a siren and she was powerless to resist its song.

Despite all the countless times she’d seen Phoenix undressed, she still found herself unable to peel her ravenous gaze away from the flawless curve of a tanned neck … that glorious collarbone … those delicious pink nipples that were straining for her nibbling attentions … that trail down to the gap between that smooth, sculpted chest. She wanted to massage those washboard abs with her tongue, then dip her fingers past that adorable belly button and continue giving him a tongue bath. Then she wanted to reach around him around and trace her fingers over the fine arch of his lower back and stroke his perky ass while her lips went down the happy trail low on his tummy. She planned to take that trail as far as she could…

All her senses were stirred as she breathed in Phoenix’s musky cologne and shuddered in pleasure. His masculine scent was intoxicating. She wanted to bathe in it, drown in it, fall straight through until he didn’t know which way was up and down.

He noticed her staring and blushed shyly. “What are you staring at?”

“You, Nick.” She stepped up to him and brushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead. “You’re so damn beautiful.”

“No, my love.” She felt his hot breath tickle her ear as he bent down to nuzzle it. “You’re the beautiful one in this room.”

It was her turn to flush slightly. Beautiful? No one had ever called her that and made her believe it before. It made her feel like she was all woman. Like a wanton seductress who was overcome with love and yearning to feel more of this passionate man; explore every part of him. She ran her fingertips lightly across his chest, then lower onto his flat stomach, loving the feeling of his muscles rippling from the gesture, and he let out a blissful groan.

They stood just inches apart, and she bashfully realized her scantily clad, perhaps too slender from bridal diet body was being scrutinized. She tried to cross her arms over her breasts but he caught them, holding them out to the sides so he could continue to let his eyes roam across her skin.

While Maya was a tad thinner from when they’d last been together, she’d still managed to keep those lush, feminine curves he’d always loved. Her obvious, but unnecessary modesty about her magnificent figure only aroused him further.

My love, you’re a temptress, and you don’t even know it. Slender hips, tiny waist, flat stomach, and those shapely legs – legs that were made to wrap around a man’s waist. You stand there in nothing but silky undergarments which hug and complement every curve they’re nestled in, folding your arms over your chest like that just brings more of my attention to those pert breasts, as if taunting me to feel their fullness in my hands, to taste their sweetness with my tongue until you’re begging for me to take you.

Maya saw the covetous flames in his gaze as he eyed her hungrily, and the color heightened in her cheeks, but this time with pride, knowing she could still bring out that look of unmistakable prurience after all these years.

Phoenix took his time and continued to admire his lover’s beauty, visible even in the low lighting: the arch of her cheekbones, the pout of her mouth, her large, expressive eyes. He lifted her chin and brought their lips together. It was the kiss of a fervid lover, communicating with his mouth that he wanted her. He pressed his tall body against her petite one, his fingers tangling in her glorious obsidian mane.

“Beautiful,” he breathed again, returning his hands to her body as she placed her palms on his hard chest, lingering for a few moments before going south to his abs, biting her lip as he shivered from her touch, before allowing her fingertips to slip down into the waistband of his suit pants.

He shook his head.

“You first,” he insisted. He began walking her backward toward the bed and their hands and kisses became urgent again. Maya knew she only had seconds left before she was going to be powerless, and since she was already down to just her panties, she wanted him significantly more naked than he was now.

She turned the tables at the last moment so he was the one with his back to the mattress, pushing him back onto it then quickly tugging at him until his hips were toward the edge of the bed, squatting down to her haunches so that her face was level with them.

Then she reached down, deftly snapping open his button and unzipping him before he knew what she was doing. Sitting up, his eyes widened as she slipped one hand inside, found what she was looking for, and gave him a gentle but insistent squeeze.

“Maya . . . ” he moaned, buying her a few more seconds, which was all she needed.

She slithered his trousers down his legs. He gave in, kicking off his shoes and allowing her to continue to slide them off. She knelt in front of him before he could stop her, and as she finished removing them, she chanced a quick peek upward. He was staring down at her with such an expression of lust and want, it almost made her rock back on her heels.

His black boxer briefs hugged his lower body as if they were made to be there. She could see his excitement underneath, her fingertips lightly fluttering and massaging him through the fabric with one hand while with her other, she ran her nails up the insides of his thighs.

She smirked up at him as he gasped from the touch, running her hands up along his firm bottom before grasping the back of his boxers firmly. He quivered in anticipation, knowing what was coming.

Maya shimmied back up his body, dipping her head and placing searing, open-mouth kisses down his neck, stopping to nip, lick and suck on the pulse point.

Phoenix felt like he was drowning in a cloud of euphoria, uncaring about any telltale marks he’d have afterward. He wanted to be claimed by her, wanted to feel those lips and teeth scrape every inch of his flesh. He tightened his grip on the duvet, twisting the fabric tightly in his fists as she leaned over and worked her way down his body, leaving feathery kisses across his taut abdominals while slowly working her way south.

“You know I won’t last if you do this!” He rasped. “Please, don’t test my restraint. It’s been far too long…”

She pulled back slightly, placing both palms on him and giving a few teasing strokes.

“Who was talking about testing anything?” She asked innocently, then gave his inner thigh a playful flick of her tongue while a tremor went through him.

“My love, what are you doing to me?” He moaned quietly, tracing his fingers lovingly around her face.

“Stop moving those sexy lips of yours, Nick,” she purred. “And leave all things mouth-related to me…”

Without further preamble, she yanked downward and divested him of the underwear entirely. Then she closed her fist over him, and as he gasped again, she swiftly replaced her questing hands with her mouth.

At the first touch of her tongue, he bucked up from the bed so violently, Maya had to use both hands to hold him down, a devilish glint in her eye.

“No, Nick, you aren’t going anywhere,” she admonished him, then bent her head again.

“Oh, God, Maya. . . Jesus,” he groaned, his fingers winding in her hair. The feel of her hot breath against him was almost his undoing. Her hands gripped his hips, angling him so that he was completely vulnerable to whatever she wished to do to him.

Hearing that beloved voice in the throes of lust was a heavenly sound. She smiled inwardly. This was exactly where she’d wanted him; every impressive, granite-hard, spectacular inch of him. Pleasing him like this after so long would be nothing short of heaven.

Phoenix drew in a sharp breath of ecstasy from her virtuoso techniques, falling back helplessly against the mattress as she went on to give him what he knew was going to be the most earth-shattering explosion he’d ever experienced in his entire life.

Oh, sweet lord.

He threw back his head and groaned – loud, long, and sensual. The sound went straight to her core, and she precipitously fought down the urge to speed things along as the sounds piqued her own excitement, while she continued her titillating actions.

One of the things that she’d always loved about Nick was how even in the act of receiving gratification, he could make a simple act of expressing his pleasure so damn sexy. She couldn’t get enough of him, his responsiveness. It was teasing, sensual, a sight for the eyes and all her senses.

As Maya’s divine lip service began ascending to its fevered peak, bringing him closer and closer to the edge, Phoenix began to tremble and moan beneath the expertise of her skilled attentions. She continued to work him to the point of crazed delirium, and then, at last, his head fell back against the mattress, and he cried out her name over and over until he was completely and utterly spent.

Or so she thought he was!

This was why Maya was so surprised when she suddenly found herself being lifted effortlessly from her kneeling position on the carpet and landing on her back on the bed with such force, that pillows were thrown all over the room, while he practically tore off her panties in the process.

Lying down beside her, propped up on one elbow, Phoenix laid his other hand upon her and moved over her. His hands were surprisingly gentle, given the voracity in his eyes, as he traced the lines of her collarbone and ribs, curved over the swell of her bosom, and trailed onto her stomach.

Her heart beat faster and faster as his face came down towards her own, his lips a breath apart, long lashes dusting his flushed cheeks, their hot, shallow breaths mingling. His unsated fervor for her was evident. He wanted more, and so did she.

Although she’d initially felt as shy and awkward as she had the first night she’d been confronted with his bold sexuality and gently coaxing expertise, Maya closed her eyes and let the dream begin, only this time it was a reality, and far surpassed any fantasy she’d ever had.

I already feel worshipped and adored.

A soft moan escaped her as she tilted her lips upward, and he closed his eyes as those dewy petals came in closer proximity to his.

Phoenix brushed his lips over hers for several moments, his mouth tormenting and enticing hers, his tongue sliding up on her lips, licking at the crease. When her lips parted, he deepened the kiss. Their breath mingled as their tongues stroked against one another’s. She was gasping when he drew his mouth from hers and began to kiss his way down her neck, taking special care to linger over the delicate skin at the base where it met her shoulder.

She moaned inwardly with a combination of awakening arousal and reoccurring inhibition and slid her trembling hands onto his firm chest while his palms shifted endlessly down her sides, sliding with provocative languor upward towards her breasts, coming within tantalizing propinquity of her rapidly rising and falling bosom, but still not touching.

Just when she thought she would die from the aching need, he shifted back up, drove his tongue into her mouth, and his hands finally took possession of the heaving mounds that had been yearning for his touch. His tantalizing fingers teased and fondled her nipples, feeling them harden into taut buds while the soft globes seemed to swell to fill his hand, and the cry Maya had been suppressing erupted, while at the same moment, her restraint broke. Her body rose and pressed against his and she ran her hands feverishly down his muscled biceps, welcoming the invasion of his tongue and surrendering her own in return.

He tore his mouth from hers and she moaned in protest at the loss, then shivered in delight as he kissed her ear, sliding his lips down her neck before finally making their way back to her breasts, the erotic licks and nips of his heated lips on her sensitive peaks driving her to a frenzy. His exploring and tormenting fingers continued roving downward, teasing her throbbing core and making her arch against his intimately caressing hand. Her fevered moans, while she writhed against him, were music to his ears.

His thumbs slid downward, playing over her ribs and grazing her hipbones before gripping her hips and leaving a trail of heated kisses down her stomach. She sucked in a breath as his tongue dipped into her belly button and swirled around teasingly before holding her hips and lifting her, settling between her legs. Big hands spread her knees apart until there was enough room for his shoulders. There was no mistaking what he wanted. Her eyes fluttered shut because she didn’t think she could handle it all after being apart from him for so long; the exquisite sensation of how it would feel again … the rapture experienced by this most intimate kiss.

Phoenix didn’t give her much time to further ponder before giving her a direct reminder.

His head lowered and he swirled a lap around her already tingling clit with his tongue. Then again for another round, gently covering the whole sensitive nub with his mouth.

She instinctively bucked her hips, pressing herself even harder against his face.

It was too much and not enough at the same time. She was already so, so close but it also felt like time stretched out as she danced along the point of release.

He was so finely attuned to her needs that she didn’t even need to guide him. With one hand firmly holding her against his fervent mouth, the other languidly slid off her thigh, inching towards her entrance.

Maya rocked against his palm as he expertly began stroking within her, first with one finger, then two, pumping in unison to each plunge of his eager tongue. She whimpered louder and louder as she felt her body begin to soar and reach while her inner muscles began to clasp tighter around his skilled digits.

“Nick!”

The sound of his name being radiated as an untamed, almost broken prayer did something to him. His entire body jerked and suddenly he was delving deeper, quickening the pace. His tongue went in and out, a sinfully plundering that had her squirming against the pillows, tugging at his hair, her knees gripping his shoulders. One final swipe of his tongue against her sensitive nub was all it took for her to finally go over the edge.

“Nickkkkk!”

She keened loudly as she pulsated against his mouth, her head thrown back and legs wringing the sheets as the aftershocks rolled through her.

Phoenix held onto her ankles, making sure she didn’t clip the side of his head as she slumped and sprawled out, her limbs feeling like jelly.

He went to his knees again, naked, hair deliciously messed, tongue licking the taste of her off the bottom of his lip. The bunched muscles in his arms were twitching.

He shifted on top of her, his hips insistent, his lips tender against the curve of her neck and cheek as his legs wedged between hers, and that was when Phoenix knew the exact moment she relinquished her body to him entirely. He felt the straining of her bowed back abating, and her legs relaxing, then parting for him against his nudging thigh.

The nostalgic sweetness of her well-remembered surrender sent salacity raging uncontrollably through him. It made his heart thunder and his body throb until even his limbs began to tremble as his mouth claimed hers again, his tongue tangling with hers, withdrawing and plunging deep. And then he stopped.

Cradling her face between his palms, he whispered hoarsely, “look at me.”

Somehow, Maya managed to surface from her sensual daze; she forced her lids open and stared up into his scorching sapphire gaze, the flames in her dark orbs reflecting her own need.

Along with so much unrestrained love and intense passion that it nearly took his breath away.

Gone were his hazy aspirations of prolonging this unbelievable, momentous joining; all that mattered was being a part of her again. The veins in his arms stood out as he held himself above her, his eyes clenched shut, easing himself forward slowly and carefully, fighting the overpowering need to bury himself full-length into her incredible warmth, to devour her with his hands and mouth.

His control began to slip as she rocked her hips frantically with his and she slid her hands over his shoulders while chanting his name over and over again. But it was when he opened his eyes and looked down at her that Phoenix was hopelessly lost.

This was no longer a figment of his fevered imagination – the girl he’d loved for so long was the woman now in his arms; the beautiful visage that’d haunted his dreams was inches from his, flushed with desire, shining ebony hair spilling over his pillow as they moved as one.

Maya had been willing to endure the hollow emptiness of a sexless marriage, in spite of the fact that he’d broken her heart, and unknowing of his noble intentions, she still had never wanted another man’s touch on her skin, ever again. Because for the rest of her life, she had always wanted to belong to him, and only him.

The realization was overpoweringly poignant, and even then Phoenix might have been able to continue rocking slowly and steadily within her if Maya hadn’t chosen that moment to run her fingers through the spikes at his nape, press herself up to him, and whisper, “Please, Nick.”

The exquisite sweetness of his name on her lips and the stirring shift of her body reaching for his tore a silent groan from him. He covered her lips with his, and with infinite gentleness, began to move with her, first with slow depth, but then steadily increasing the pace of his ministrations, until she was thrashing wildly beneath him.

Her fingernails bit into his buttocks and hips, clutching him to her, while the passion raging inside her built along with his own. They were reaching together for it… Finding it in the same moment, exploding together then shattering together in a long burst of extravagant pleasure, when she completely consumed him and he completely consumed her and Phoenix had no idea where his love ended and hers began.

Limbs entwined, heart thundering, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, unable to stop the need to keep moving with her, wanting to release over a year’s worth of yearning. Maya clung to him, her body beginning to convulse again until her rhythmic spasms had finally drained them both of everything except a feeling of overwhelming joy and peace.

He collapsed against her, his skin fiery, his breathing labored, and then he moved onto his side to keep himself from crushing her, taking her with him, his arm around her back, his fingers buried into the bunched silk of her hair. Silent, floating, still one with her, he let his hand drift up and down her spine, reveling in the warm brush of her lips against his collarbone.

Gathering her into his arms, he pulled her tightly against his chest and felt her breathing even out, and realized she was falling asleep. He smiled to himself, a little embarrassed his lack of restraint had worn her out so completely and so quickly, but grateful that she was at least falling into a satiated, blissful slumber.

He closed his eyes, savoring it, filled with reverence for all the things she was and for all the things she made him want to be. Almost a year and a half ago, he’d been cheated of heaven; but somehow, fate had smiled down upon him and he’d found it again today, and there was nothing that he wouldn’t do to avoid losing it again. He was well aware that right now, he had nothing to offer Maya except himself, and that tomorrow there might be consequences for the huge sacrifice she’d just made, but he also knew they’d get through it; that together, they could and would get through anything and everything.

But right now, at that moment, nothing in the world mattered to him except holding the love of his life in his arms.

After hundreds of courtroom and real-life battles for both his life and her own, the greatest moment of triumph he’d ever known had come to him when this brave, irrepressible, fearless woman had decided, for all the world to see, to cast aside everything that’d ever mattered to her to publicly prove her unwavering love and belief in him, regardless of what it might cost her.

That morning, his life had seemed nothing more than endless despair; one barely worth living. Yet tonight, his arms were encircled around his most priceless treasure once more. Some sort of higher power took mercy upon him for all his afflicted sorrow. And then that same divine intervention had blessed him beyond his wildest dreams and ensured that his Maya had been given back to him.

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey. They were meant to be together. They had always been meant to be together.

Feeling as though he was about to burst with joy and gratitude, Phoenix brushed a stray onyx lock off his quiescent soulmate’s cheek and brushed a tender kiss upon it.

Dear God in heaven. He thought. Thank you.

And just before the drowsy pianist’s heavy lids shut, within his heart, he could have sworn he heard an unknown yet unmistakable murmur in response.

“You’re welcome.”

Detective Tyrell Badd
Somewhere in Europe
June 17, 2026, 8:30 AM

Jumping Bald Headed JESUS! Not this dad-blasted tune again!

In my solitude, you haunt me
With reveries of days gone by
In my solitude, you taunt me
With memories that never die

The burly man looked up from his computer monitor and groaned loudly as he heard the familiar melancholic strains of the piano, followed by the lugubrious song blaring from the speakers in the next room – yet again!

I sit in my chair
I’m filled with despair
There’s no one could be so sad
With gloom everywhere
I sit and I stare
I know that I’ll soon go mad

He facepalmed. Hard.

I love Nina Simone as much as the next guy, but not the same song for the third time in a row in the past half hour! If I were more tech-savvy, I’d rearrange the wiring and fry the damn stereo! Maybe I can just riddle it with bullet holes until it finally dies of long overdue, untimely death?!

In my solitude
I’m praying
Dear Lord above
Send back my love…

“Will you quit listening to that depressing stuff already?” He bellowed to the occupant in the next room. “Get your butt in here and check out the latest scoop! It’s on that celebrity online news channel Kay introduced me to! You’ll never guess what latest video has gone viral, even though it was just uploaded a few hours ago!”

The music abruptly switched off so his companion could answer him.

“Humph! I have no interest in such banal frivolities!” The occupant in the other room replied tersely. “Have you been net surfing when you are supposed to be screening all those thousands of hours of captured footage for Lang?!”

“Aw, give me a break, all-merciful warden! Even prisoners are allowed time off for good behavior!” Badd guffawed loudly. “Just trust me – you’ve got to see this! Your tedious, never-ending data mining can wait for a few minutes!”

The Detective’s ‘warden’ came to his office doorway and scowled at him.

“At least I am doing my job and I do not allow my recreational indulgences to interfere with my work, unlike some people! If you are so averse to my favorite crooner, may I suggest you get earplugs? Since you only have one good ear, you would only need to worry about the other side!”

“You’re just a big old ray of sunshine today, aren’t you?” Badd goaded, completely unaffected by the lofty words of his cohort. “I didn’t call you for a lecture! I just wanted you to see something I thought might be of personal interest.”

“How very unlikely.” A contemptuous sniff. “Fine, I shall indulge you this one time, despite your asinine bellyaching about my favorite singer daily! Let us see what drivel has got you so distracted. But I would like to make it clear that if you continue shunning your duties of going through the surveillance footage for this cocoon investigation, I will unplug the internet!”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an incredibly pushy hellion?” Badd popped a fresh lollipop into his mouth and arched a derisive, bushy eyebrow. “I’d think you’d have a slight soft spot for a recovering old man who was injured in the line of duty! The same one who provided refuge for you this past year!”

“Spare me the self-pity story – I am hardly squatting here! Somebody had to play nursemaid after you nearly got yourself blown up to smithereens!” His colleague grumbled as they came behind him to stare at the monitor. “Since you have me here now, go and show me what piqued your attentiveness, and made you believe it was something I would care to see as well?”

“Well, assuming you ever ceased playing forlorn music while being moved up in the guest room, and planned on resurfacing back to the land of the living, perhaps this could be a person of interest to you.” Badd waved his tootsie pop at the screen, where a beautiful young woman was singing her heart out, on what appeared to be a luxury hotel stage. “It’s that famous spirit medium girl, isn’t it? She was pals with Miles – but wasn’t she friends with you, too?”

The second pair of startled eyes were now riveted on the video footage, which showed Maya singing a nearly flawless performance of the famous Coyote Ugly soundtrack song, and then racing from the stage, right into Phoenix’s waiting arms, with the obviously reunited lovers sharing a passionate embrace in front of hundreds of witnesses.

Well millions of spectators now, since the video had gone viral worldwide! The incident had only happened a couple of hours ago in California and was already streaming in Europe!

The caption running in huge letters across the bottom of the video screen read: Stand By Your Man! Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, Maya Fey Severs All Ties That Bind Her To Be Village Leader To Support Lover, Former Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright!

“Only time will tell if that was a romantic or idiot move on her behalf,” Badd speculated. “Nowadays, in this tell-all age of the media and internet, is there ever such a thing as bad publicity? Either way, I don’t think Maya needs to worry if ultimately, her loyalty to Phoenix, who was also a friend of Miles’s if I’m not mistaken, ends up slowing down the spirit medium racket. The gal’s got quite a set of pipes on her – she could always be the next pop star!”

“Maya Fey was always foolishly reckless, even as a girl. I see womanhood has not changed her in the least, but perhaps that’s the way things were meant to be.” A nostalgic smile played on his coworker’s face. “But she and Phoenix Wright have always deserved one another. Good for them, having worked things out. At least they have one another at the end of the day.”

The figure abruptly turned and headed for the door, stopping briefly to lovingly pet the gorgeous golden retriever who had been sleeping next to the entrance, before waving their finger warningly at Badd.

“Now, thank you, we’ve had our fun, but there’s much to be done! Time to get back to work! Or your next lashing will not be of the verbal, but the whipping variety!”

“That’s hardly the kind of TLC a recovering old man needs, Nurse Ratched!” Badd called after her retreating back, then shook his head at the dog, who cocked her head inquisitively at him. “That’s one mean Mommy you’ve got there, Pess!”

“Quit bad-mouthing me to my daughter!” The dog owner’s amusement was palpable despite the attempt at mock indignation, while the sounds of Nina Simone once again began playing from the other room. “You know your recovery since the accident has entirely been due to the benefit of my bedside manner, you stubborn old goat!”

“Whatever you say, Miss Bossy Pants! You know you’re still the same bad-tempered firecracker you were as a young kid, right Franziska?”

“You know you love it, you foolish fool!”

AN: who wants to see Maya’s promise ring? Imgur.com/a/o1khh
Also, thanks so much to my loyal readers, friends, and FF writers TheFreelancerSeal for the Celine Dion tune pick and Ilet Moratar for the Nina Simone song suggestions!

Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
Celine Dion – It’s All Coming Back To Me
Leanne Rimes – The Wright Kind of Wrong
Nina Simone – Solitude