32 The Way We Were

A/N: This was one of my favorite chapters to write, as Phoenix and Maya never really had much courtship aside from the brief one I gave them in part one. However, that being said…

Warning – spoilers for Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game!

If you haven’t played the game, just note that the events that occurred here from the game do not affect the AA universe (only in my story for the Phoenix and Maya SL)

Here I am again
In this smoky place
With my brandy eyes
I’m talking to myself
You were the one
You were the one

Here I go again
Looking for your face
And I realize
That I should look for someone else
But you were the one
You were the one

I’m looking for comfort
That I can take
From someone else
But after all
I know there is no one
That can save me from myself
You were the only one

Me revoici
Dans ce bar enfume
Avec mes yeux iures
Je me parle a moi meme
See’etait toi
See’etait toi

Me revoici
Cherchant ton visage
Et je realise
Que je devrais en chercher une autre
See’etait toi
You were the one

Je recherche l’affection
Qu’une autre pourrait me donner
Mais apres tout
Je sais qu’il n’why a personne
Personne qui puisse me sauver
Tu etais la seule

I’m looking for comfort
That I can take
From someone else
But after all
I know there is no one
That can save me, save me from myself
You were the only one

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Patty Eclaire’s Bakery, Labyrinthia
April 1, 2018

“Could I please have one loaf of bread?” Asked the stout, middle-aged woman, while stroking her ever-present baby goat which bleated softly in her arms.

“Sure thing!” Maya replied cheerfully, dusting her hands off on her apron and turning from the counter to retrieve the requested item from the bakery shelf. She was almost back with the loaf when her partner beat her to the punch, stepping in front of the woman and proudly presenting her the loaf … in customary Phoenix Wright fashion.

“Take that!”

“Ack!” The startled woman, whose name was Mary, nearly dropped her pet and clasped a hand to her ample bosom in fright as the loaf was suddenly slammed down in front of her. A thick cloud of flour went flying into the air, making both Maya and poor Mary lapse into a small coughing frenzy.

Phoenix, oblivious to what he’d just done, smiled proudly and pointed his famous courtroom finger at Mary, going right into his well-rehearsed spiel.

“Our bakery uses only the finest ingredients! Upper crust goods for not much dough!”

“What in the world?” Gasped Mary, still shaken.

Maya was mortified.

“May I please apologize on his behalf?” She smiled benignly at the customer. “He’s still … training. This is Nick, my assistant baker.”

Phoenix beamed at Mary, pointer finger still in mid-air.

“Our bakery only uses the finest walnuts! You’ll go nuts for our walnut bread!”

“How many times do I gotta tell you, Nick?” She glared at him. “You’re supposed to say, here’s your order!”

“Forget the bread!” The shaken Mary exclaimed, clutching her goat to her chest and spinning around on her heel. “I’m out of here! There must be a normal baker somewhere in this godforsaken town!”

The raven-haired brunette groaned and facepalmed, then turned to back her co-baker, her cheeks puffed out with annoyance and fists raised as she looked sternly at him.

“Bad Nick! Bad! You can’t shout at customers like that! The boss will be all over you like butter on toast!”

“Oh, that’s right! I forgot!” He thoughtfully put his finger to his chin, then affected a sheepish grin. “I don’t why but I just get the urge to point and shout like that sometimes!”

“That’s the third customer we’ve lost this week! And it’s only Tuesday!” She shook her head in despair.

“Ugh!” His shoulders slumped, and beads of sweat formed on his brow. Suddenly, he straightened, as if something had just occurred to him, and he scowled. “Hey! How come I’m the assistant?”

“Because unlike certain people around here, I can bake bread without nearly setting my hair on fire!” Maya shot back with an impish grin. “Which I can only assume is due to whatever
gravity-defying concoction you need to put in your hair to get it to stay up?”

“They only have one thing here that comes close to holding my hair in place! But it smells weird – and attracts insects!” He sulked. “I’ve been using this homemade pomade from the marketplace to make do for my ‘do. It’s made of beeswax, olive oil, and coconut oil.”

“That’s a lot of oil! No wonder you’ve been so flammable!” She teased. “Should we just throw your head on a pan next time we need to fry something, grease ball?”

“I’m two seconds away from telling you exactly where you can stick your next batch of loaves, Maya!” Phoenix huffed, then resumed his abandoned task of kneading the dough. His knuckles dug so deeply into the soft mixture that he tore holes into it. Grunting frustration, he grabbed the gooey glob, quickly rolled it into a large ball in his hands, and slammed it back onto the floury counter.

“Take that!” He stated, to no one in particular.

Maya watched this with barely concealed mirth.

“Easy there, big guy!” She admonished. “You’re supposed to be kneading the dough, not pounding it!”

He glowered at her and opted to ignore her ribbing, focusing back on the daunting mission before him, while still using the same forceful technique.

“For Pete’s sake Nick, you’re kneading it, not having sex with it!” Maya giggled, her dark eyes twinkling mischievously.

He stopped abruptly and glowered at her.

“What?!”

“You heard me. Why so rough?” She jibed, arching an eyebrow. “Imagine that dough is a woman’s breasts…is that how you’d go about kneading, or rather, massaging them?”

Phoenix felt his face turning bright red. He wasn’t about to get into a loaded conversation about his bedroom prowess while handling baked goods. And especially not with Maya Fey!

“Shall I take your silence as assent that your treatment of that poor dough is indeed identical to your manhandling of the fairer sex?” The brunette appeared to be enjoying his obvious discomfort. She shook her head in mock sadness, then affected her best Mr. T voice. “Well then, I pity the fool who gets into bed with you, Wright!”

“My God, will you please shut up, Maya!” The baker exclaimed, his face now so hot he was sure his head was going to explode. “For your kind information, I happen to know very well what I’m doing here! In and out of the bedroom, if you must know!”

“Oh really?” She derided, shooting him a wicked grin as she sauntered over to him. “Is that so? Well, regardless of your alleged masterful handiwork in the sack, I’m not seeing any evidence of applicable handiness here at all! You’d think after five years of doing this job, you’d no longer need my extreme tutelage! However, it appears you’re getting complacent, Mr. Wright.”

Without warning, she came and stood behind him. Phoenix nearly jumped at the startling sensation of her tiny, firm body pushing against him, her soft breasts pressing tightly against his back. She reached around him and placed her small hands over his, allowing him to admire the contrast of her pale, graceful hands against his tanned, larger ones before she moved them aside and placed her palms onto the dough.

“Watch me,” she instructed, expertly folding the messy glob he’d been working on, and then gently, but steadily, kneading the dough with her dainty, agile fingers. “Do you see what I’m trying to do here?”

Besides give me a complete woody underneath this damn apron, where I hope and pray it’s well hidden?

The baker couldn’t believe the effect the innocuous contact with Maya was having on his body, on his psyche. But the intoxicating scent of her vanilla perfume, coupled with the heated feel of her lush curves pressed against him, along with the satiny smoothness of her bare skin brushing against his forearms as she worked that dough into a frenzy… made him long to work her body into one as well! Not to mention bloody well prove to her that he handled the female form just as well as he could that damn dough, if not better!

This was crazy. She was his assistant! Or rather, he was hers…in this bakery, if nowhere else! It was obscene, these lewd thoughts he was having about her. What the hell was the matter with him?!

He gruffly cleared his throat.

“OK, you can move now, Maya, I think I got this now.”

She shook her head stubbornly.

“I don’t know if you do. How about if I come around and stand in front of you and have you place your hands over mine…”

His eyes widened in panic. He could just imagine the hay-day Maya would have if she were to step before him right now and took notice of his arousal.

“Hey Nick, is that a loaf of bread in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

“No!” He yelped, feeling beads of sweat forming at his temples again. “Er, I mean, I’m fine. Really! You should um, go take that next batch out of the oven or something…”

Suddenly the bells over the door chimed, indicating someone had entered the bakery. He felt his shoulders sag with relief.

Saved by the bell! Literally!

“Ah … Professor, it’s the smell of freshly baked bread!” A young boy’s voice, with a distinctly British accent, exclaimed.

“Indeed Luke. It’s certainly whetting my appetite,” replied a pleasant male’s voice, with the same unmistakable English intonation.

“I bet the staff here are really talented!” Luke enthused.

Phoenix took the convenient appearance of these customers saving his bacon – and thus preventing further embarrassment by his horny adolescent reactions – as a sign from the heavens.

“Welcome!” He boomed, slapping his hands on the counter and creating a heavy gust of flying flour everywhere as he did so. Both actions were apparently done with a tad more force than he’d intended, as it resulted in the gentleman and boy jumping slightly, while both clutching their respective headwear – a top hat on the former and a newsie cap on the latter – as if to prevent them from flying off.

Phoenix all but raced to the door – and away from Maya – to meet his guests as fast as his legs would carry him, and went into his practiced routine, courtroom pointed finger extended in readiness.

“Our bakery uses only the finest ingredients! Upper crust goods for not much dough!”

“And thus vanquished are all my previous lessons and lectures, up in a white poufy cloud!” He heard Maya mutter. “Here we go again…”

“If you’re determined to face death, then you’ll find a way to live.”

Phoenix Wright
Rouge’s Tavern, Labyrinthia
April 2, 2018

“Maya! Nooo!”

Phoenix jerked up on the hard wooden bed, drenched in sweat, his heart thumping so loudly in his chest, he was momentarily worried it would awaken Luke and Espella in the bunks above him. Luckily, however, neither his sudden jolt nor muffled cry had stirred the children whatsoever; he could tell from the deep, labored breathing from the bunks above him that they were still sound asleep.

How he envied them. Despite his mentally drained mental and fatigued physical state, sleep completely eluded him.

Because every time he closed his eyes, he was drawn back into the same horrifying nightmare his mind would not allow him to reprieve from, even in slumber. Asleep or awake, it didn’t matter. There was no escaping the horrible actuality.

Maya was gone. That was reality. Everything else up until then had been one gigantic mind cluster-fuck.

Phoenix still hadn’t been able to wrap his head around the series of unfortunate events that had brought him to this medieval British town, and into this dank tavern, where he and his friends were now sequestered into hiding, targets of the unrelenting, pursuing village knights.

His last conscious memory before arrival in Europe was that he and his assistant had decided to participate in the League of Attorney Exchange program to see the different legal systems abroad. The excursion had taken them to England. After suffering the horrible kidnapping ordeal at the hands of Shelly de Killer, Phoenix had no issues with his friend tagging along on the trip. It was the least he could do for the bubbly, vibrant girl-child who had nestled her way into his heart. He’d always felt a special fondness for the Chief’s baby sister, but those feelings of friendly affection had steadily been blossoming into something quite different when Maya had been abducted. Something more.

Something he yet couldn’t, and wasn’t quite ready, to investigate or identify further. But all he understood was that when she’d been gone during the Engarde trial, it had been the longest three days of his life. A part of him had felt like it was missing, dead. Maya was more than just his assistant – she’d become his friend. His best friend. She was the person closest to him in the entire world, and life had ceased to have meaning for him until that day had come when she’d been safely returned to his side.

He’d been so happy about going away on this trip with her. It was a chance to soak up some culture and spend some time together outside the office. A getaway from the everyday. An escape from LA, where crime and danger loomed. What could possibly go awry on a trip to merry ol’ England?

A whole lot, it seemed.

Phoenix couldn’t remember how he and Maya had wound up in this tiny village where life was lived in the manner of the days of yore. He had no recollection of even coming to Labyrinthia, beyond being sucked into a strange book left behind by the mysterious Espella Cantabella, as if by magic.

After that, it was as if he’d been lobotomized and had had recollections embedded into his brain, as though he were the lab experiment of an evil mad scientist. False reminisces had been somehow placed into his mind, via some invasive magic spell, convincing him he had spent five years living in this fantasy world with a girl he had only known for two, as a baker in the tiny village of Labyrinthia.

For a man who’d suddenly been dragged into the mystical paranormal world of ghosts and spirit channeling two years ago, magic wasn’t that much of a stretch!

The implanted recalls and the backstories had been counterfeit visions, but the emotions he’d felt for the lovely young woman at his side had remained. The feelings invoked that had stirred within him as Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, had been identical to those of Phoenix Wright, Ace Baker.

For instance, the spell hadn’t been able to erase the pleasure he got from the familiar, sweet scent of her. The racing of his pulse whenever their bodies would have even the most innocent contact, such as their hands brushing when they simultaneously reached for the last piece of bread in the basket. The endeared amusement he felt watching her staring as if mesmerized, at the knights in their metal suits of armor whenever they would practice their defense and joust moves in Town Square because it seemed to remind her of something…that she evidently liked to watch, very much…

Then there were the more poignant emotions that swept over him, identical to the ones he’d felt in LA, just in different scenarios: the feelings of achievement and pride when they’d first created those golden loaves of perfection; the calm serene peacefulness he’d felt sitting with her at the dinner table, literally breaking bread together; the blissful happiness he’d felt when she would cozy up next to him on the living room rug afterward, drawing warmth from the roaring fireplace as well as the closeness of her body.

There was no point in denying it anymore. Somehow, with Maya gone, quelling feelings that had been burgeoning for years made no sense now. There wasn’t a single soul on the planet who had meant more to him than Maya Fey. Phoenix, at last, acknowledged what he’d long since been denying, not only to the world but to himself: he was in love with her. And despite coming to this mystical town, with his memories erased, and new ones put in their place, he’d fallen in love with her all over again.

That had been real, even though every other occurrence was fake.

Tragically, Maya’s untimely demise wasn’t one of them.

In his mind’s eye, the horrific scene played out in front of him, over and over again, like a film stuck in rewind mode.

Phoenix could feel his hapless, impotent struggles against the merciless knights clamoring on top of him, preventing him from rescuing the helpless girl trapped in that steel cage, her eyes wide with panic as she felt the scorching heat of the fiery pit of hell beneath her. All the while, he had been forced to watch. Watch alongside the jeering, cheering masses who sought to spectate this as their sick form of entertainment. Of justice.

“Help me, Nick!” She’d screamed, just before the steel contraption had dropped the cherished treasure that Mia had left him, right into the relentless, surging flames that greedily engulfed their victim.

Those had been her last words. The final words out of the mouth of his beloved Maya, who’d been no longer a girl, but not yet a woman. Still just a teenager. 19-years-old. Just over two weeks away from her 20th birthday.

She trusted me, she had faith in me. She believed that I could save her like I always had before. But I let her down. I failed her. Phoenix clenched his jaw and stifled back a sob. I let her die!

“No!” He’d frantically cried out to the uncaring and ruthless knights who had pulled the lever, sealing Maya’s fate. “You’ve got to stop! Maya! Nooooo!”

A soft whimper escaped his lips. He rose from the bed and bit his fist to muffle the sound, quietly creeping to the doorway leading to the upper-level hall above the tavern, where he could hopefully cry his heart out without waking his two companions.

“Mr. Wright?” A voice whispered.

Phoenix whirled around, startled. There in the shadows of the darkroom, with only the beam of the moon streaming through the windows as brightness, stood Espella Cantabella.

“Espella,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s alright,” the pretty blonde smiled gently. “I know how hard today was for you…believe me, I wish I’d taken Rouge up on her offer to slip some of that laudanum into my milk before bed as she did for Luke!”

Phoenix turned his head in the direction of the upper bunks that Espella had come down from.

“She drugged Luke?”

“It’s only a mild sleeping sedative we use sometimes for insomnia,” she explained. “So he’s out like a light. He needed it. He hasn’t been sleeping much…has been suffering from nightmares since you know…he saw the Professor…”

Phoenix nodded and tried to pull himself together. He couldn’t be so selfish in his grief. He had to stay strong for these kids. After all, Maya had sacrificed her life so Espella could live. That had to be quite a heavy cross to bear for a teenage girl. And her mentioning the death of the dear Professor was a painful reminder to him that he wasn’t the only one who had lost someone close to him.

“Right. Well, I’m glad he’s resting. He’s a growing boy, he needs it.”

“So do you, Mr. Wright,” Espella reminded him quietly. “You’ll need your strength, and you can’t do that without any rest.”

“I’m exhausted,” he admitted. “But I can’t keep my eyes shut! I just – feel so hopeless! I need to protect Luke! And protect you! You’re in an even deeper mess than you were before, now that you’re a fugitive! But I’m so scared, Espella. I’m terrified that I’m going to fail you both, the way I failed to protect Maya.”

“Mr. Wright, please stop doing this to yourself. This wasn’t your fault!”

“But Espella, if only I’d moved faster, and gotten to her sooner…”

The blonde shook her head, her flaxen braids swinging around her ethereal, porcelain face.

“Maya told me you’ve been her knight in shining armor in the past, but ultimately today, you were up against real knights…and grossly outnumbered. There was nothing you could have done.”

She placed a comforting hand on his arm.

“Blaming yourself for Maya’s death won’t bring her back, Mr. Wright. And she never would have wanted you beating yourself up this way. She cared about you too much. Just the same way I know you…cared about her.”

Phoenix didn’t miss the slight pause before she’d finished the sentence. Espella knew. Everyone who saw them together appeared to, so it seemed. No matter how much he’d tried to hide it, and make excuses, he’d never fooled anybody else, any more than he’d ever fooled himself.

His voice broke.

“…I – I never told her.”

Espella’s smile was warm and kind as she regarded him with a knowing look.

“I think she knew.”

He stared at her, hopeful but uncertain.

“What makes you say that?”

“Women’s intuition. But also because I’ve seen you two together, and I’ve honestly never seen two people who loved each other more. I’m certain that Maya recognized that you loved her, Mr. Wright…even if she didn’t quite get the depth of how much. But more importantly, just know that she loved you as well. And cherish that memory always, to give you the strength to get you through all this.”

The British lass now wore a sympathetic expression as she gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

“You have to move past all this self-blame. Pain can only persist in the absence of acceptance and forgiveness. The past can only guide you. You must not allow it to lead you. Go gently embrace your destiny and look forward to the promise of a better tomorrow.”

The sage advice hit home hard. Swallowing hard, he nodded bravely.

How was it that a young girl was wiser than he was? Phoenix wondered. But while he fervently hoped Espella was right, he couldn’t help but wonder … had Maya truly known how he’d felt about her? Hell, he hadn’t even known! Not until it was too late.

He’d never taken the opportunity to vow to Maya Fey that he was going to love her for the rest of her life. But he swore from that day onward, that he would go on loving her for the rest of his.

happy moments, and making the best of every situation.”

---

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Underground Witch’s Cavern, Labyrinthia
April 4, 2018

“Professor!” Phoenix exclaimed, filled simultaneously with both shock and joy. “You’re alright! He looked at the top-hatted gentleman hopefully. “Um, Professor, what about Maya? I…um…thought I heard her voice too?”

“Ah, yes,” Layton smiled. “Not to worry Mr. Wright. Rest assured, Miss Fey is just –”

At that precise moment, Maya herself bounced in, as if from nowhere, and in full stereo.

“Yoooo Niiiiiick!”

Phoenix jumped, startled. He gaped at the girl standing before him, hoping his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

“Hey, Nick?” Maya’s eyes held their familiar playful sparkle as she grinned at him. “Niiiiccck!”

Well, my ears definitely aren’t, anyway…

“M-Maya?” He whispered, still in disbelief. “Am I dreaming? Or is it really you?”

“Yup, yup!” Maya smiled gleefully and clasped her hands together as if in prayer. “The professor and I are as real as real can be!”

How can she look so carefree and merry?! Doesn’t she know what utter and complete hell I’ve gone through when I thought she was gone forever? How in God’s name can she be so… blasé about this all? Well never mind, two can play at that game then!

“You have no idea how relieved I am. Really.” His tone was uncharacteristically calm as he coolly placed a hand on his hip and rearranged his expression of stunned incredulity into one of more neutrally pleased relief. “I’ve never been so happy to see you!”

As if seeing through his façade, the psychic’s cheerful demeanor faded, and tears formed in her eyes.

“I uh, I’m really sorry Nick. You must have been worried sick.” She dropped her eyes guiltily, as if no longer able to meet his. It’s just…I wanted to do something to help Espella, you know?”

Now it was his turn to be shame-faced. Why on earth had he been putting on this ridiculous pretense in the first place? Maya, his Maya was alive! Nothing else mattered!

“No, no, it’s not your fault, Maya. It’s mine!” He cried, desperately hoping his eyes conveyed the words his lips wouldn’t allow him to speak. “If only I’d helped you sooner, none of this would have happened…and you wouldn’t have been dropped into that pit of fire!”

Maya’s lip quivered as she looked at him, her eyes still glistening with tears.

“I, I thought I’d never see you again, Nick.” She sniffled. “I…I’m really sorry!”

Phoenix felt his heart lurch at the anguish on her lovely face. He wasn’t even sure what either of them was apologizing for anymore. But for him, it was easier than saying what was in his heart at that moment. Was it the same way for her as well?

He peered searchingly into her eyes, looking for answers to things that Maya possibly was unaware were even questions! The only thing he could grasp was at that moment, more than anything in the world, all he wanted to do was take her into his arms and –

“Come now,” Layton interjected smoothly. “Everyone did the best they could.”

Phoenix and Maya both jumped at the sound of his voice. They’d been so transfixed in each other’s gazes, they’d completely forgotten they weren’t alone – in fact, they had a full audience witnessing their reunion; Luke, Layton, and Espella!

They both hastily agreed with the words of wisdom and platitudes Layton went on to say, but deep down, Phoenix’s thoughts still drifted back to the same premise – the whole how to let her know/did she know his true feelings.

There was so much he needed to say to Maya. So much she needed to hear. But it wouldn’t be now. At this moment, the timing just wasn’t right. But he recognized that somewhere, somehow, someday down the line, they would both know when that time had come.

“The real world is not about happy endings. It’s about taking the life you have and fighting like hell to keep it.”

He hoped that day would come soon. Because he had no idea how he’d ever go on if he lost her again.

Barbara Streisand – The Way We Were (chapter title)

Billy Joel – C’Etait Toi (You Were the One)