87 You Make Me Wanna

A/N: This will be the final Phaya flashback for a while. I’ve been splitting chapters up due to length, otherwise, it would have been done a while back…the final JFA case was loooong! Back to the future – er, present tense, next chapter!

“Three words with eight letters, “I LOVE YOU,” can make you give away everything you own in life.”

---

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Gatewater Honeymoon Suite
March 24, 2018, 8:05 PM

“I-I didn’t mean that honeymoon stuff!” Maya insisted with cheeks both puffed from annoyance and red from embarrassment. “Sheesh! Get your head out of the gutter, Old Man! I mean this hotel has to have like a pool or something awesome we can’t do at home.”

Her dark eyes lit up as they fixed on the bucket of champagne on the coffee table then.

“Oooh! I know! Let’s grab this bottle of bubbly and enjoy it someplace with fresh air and a great view! Like … the roof of this place!”

“Even if I overlook the request for the sparkling wine and don’t remind you that you still aren’t legally old enough to drink…” the lawyer began, only to be cut off with a fierce scowl in his direction.

“Come off it, you Old Fart!” She huffed. “This is supposed to be my honeymoon for Pete’s sake!”

Phoenix wasn’t about to touch that one with a ten-foot pole!

“OK fine, even if I indulge you and let your underage self partake in some bubbly this once, Maya, we’re already on the 14th floor,” he reminded her. “And I don’t think there’s much fresh air to be had in L.A. We could always just use the balcony and the view in our room.”

Truthfully, even that would be pushing it for him…but at least it was a semi-enclosed place, and he’d be all right on the terrace as long as he didn’t look down. His assistant had conveniently forgotten his fear of heights.

“But that’s so boring!” The diviner puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. “I want to live a little, you know?”

“And your only way of experiencing the joie de vivre is going atop the roof of this hotel, where am assuming it will be illegal to go?” He was beyond exasperated. ” Hell’s teeth! Why would you want to go to the roof, anyway?”

“Oh gee, could it be because I’ve been cooped and locked away like a criminal in a dank, musty cellar these past few days?” She puffed out her cheeks. “All I wanted was just some fresh air and open sky…but you’re right, it’s probably a lame thing to do anyway…”

Phoenix looked at her sympathetically. As brutal as the entire case had been on him, he could not even fathom what it had been like for her.

“OK, you win. We can go to the roof,” he conceded, wondering how he always let her talk him into these things.

“That’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” Maya bounced up and down with excitement. “You’re the best, Nick! It’ll be so great! And don’t worry about getting busted…what are they going to do, ban us from ever returning to this shi-shi, frou-frou hotel we can’t afford, anyway?”

“Fair enough. However, if I’m going to be that high off the ground, I’m going to need some Dutch courage first! Let’s crack open that bottle now!”

Twenty minutes later, each with about three glasses of champagne and about a half dozen chocolate-covered strawberries under their belts, a slightly buzzed-out and sugar-shocked pair were at the 30th-level stairwell, which was the very top stairway of the hotel. Both stared in dismay at the six-foot-high barred metal gate, which blocked the last flight of stairs leading to the roof.

The gate was locked, but that didn’t stop the lawyer’s determined, spider-monkey assistant. With a boost from her reluctant partner in crime, she deftly hoisted herself up, climbed over the iron gate with surprising ninja stealth, jumped down, and unlocked it from the inside, thus allowing a grudgingly impressed Phoenix to walk through it with comparable ease.

Not even bothering to wait for him to catch up, the psychic eagerly dashed up the last flight of stairs leading to the rooftop entrance.

As Maya flung the door open, she flinched slightly at the burst of wind that hit her, but quickly overcame it and stepped out into the open. She stood in place, her gaze roaming upwards and a feeling of wonderment overtaking her.

“Holy cow! It’s gorgeous up here! Check out this view, Nick! I’m on top of the world!”

Phoenix shook his head as he stepped outside, still astounded by her covetable energy, while briefly contemplating if the kidnapping had even fazed her at all.

Well skullfuck a duck and call me Felix!  All it took to have her forget all about the traumatic events that will forever plague my days was a mere trip to the top of a hotel! I don’t get it. After all, it’s just a roof …what’s the big deal?

In the next instant, however, as all lucid thoughts left his mind, the spiky-haired man completely understood his assistant’s desire to come up there. His tongue lay uselessly in his mouth as he encountered a scene straight out of a Hollywood film before him.

There, silhouetted against a canvas of the night sky with a full moon as the backdrop, robes, and hair billowing gently in the breeze and soft light outlining her shape, stood Maya, face tilted up to the breeze, a look of enchantment on her face. As though sensing his presence next to her, she tilted her head towards him, eyes still blissfully closed and beamed a beatific smile in his direction.

She was the most breathtaking sight he’d ever seen in his life.

Studying the pale moonlight on her visage, and realizing just how much he had missed that face the past few days, Phoenix was glad he’d braved his acrophobia. He’d never been good with heights, so it was rather odd how fine he was here on this roof. He wasn’t feeling dizzy at all. Perhaps his inability to see the ground bolstered his bravery. It had been worth the risk if it meant seeing that smile of hers. That beatific smile was what he’d been fighting for the whole time.

I often fantasize the stars above are watching you. They know my heart, it speaks to yours like only lovers do.

He cast his gaze up with hers and realized that he had never before seen the stars so clearly and brightly across the deep ebony plumages of night.

Nights of the richest blues that become the purest black embrace the brightly shining eyes of the heavens so harmoniously. And within that inky darkness with its underlying indigo hues, the balletic constellations take center stage. The glint of those shimmering stars … the way they flicker and blink and then return from their split-second shadowy hideaway… it’s all breathtakingly spellbinding.

And so would he. He wanted to be wherever Maya Fey was from this day on, and never be separated from her again.

If I could wear your clothes I’d pretend I was you and lose control.

The spirit medium shivered slightly in the night chill, so Phoenix took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders but she surprised him by still stepping back to lean against his chest, nuzzling into his warmth. He sank to the roof and placed his hands behind him to support the both of them as they just continued observing the sky, simply enjoying the moment, forgetting about the nerve-wracking, gut-wrenching moments of the trial from hell. Right now, there was nothing around him. Even the buzz of the city several stories below was muted, allowing them to bask in the calm of the night, a cool breeze, and a happy, very alive young woman contentedly seated in front of him.

She spoke finally, breaking the stillness.

“This is nice.”

What’s it gonna be, ‘cuz I can’t pretend.

“It is,” he agreed. “Thanks for getting me to come up here.” Without thinking, he leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She stiffened then, and he suddenly felt like an idiot for breaking their contented moment with his thoughtless arduous act. He belatedly wondered if it would make things better or worse if he blamed the champagne for his behavior.

Rising to her feet, she gawked down at him, although her expression was unreadable in the shadows of the rooftop.

“Wh –what was that for?”

He was relieved to note she didn’t sound angry – just genuinely confused.

Don’t you want to be more than friends?

“I’m not sure. I guess that was just my way of reminding myself you’re still here.” Phoenix got up too, keeping his gaze fixed on hers the entire time. “After nearly losing you twice in less than a year, maybe it finally hit home that I can’t take you for granted. But if that made you uncomfortable in any way, or if I overstepped my boundaries, Maya, I’m sorry.”

I often tell myself that we could be more than just friends.

“Nooo … please, don’t be!” She whispered then, sounding almost teary all of a sudden. “Don’t apologize!”

Now it was his turn to gape.

Holy mood swings, Batman! I am blaming hers on the champagne!

“I just – I’m the one who’s sorry, Nick. I’m such a burden to you. I wish you didn’t keep having to play hero and keep rescuing me…”

“Don’t be silly,” he insisted. “None of anything that’s happened has been your fault.”

“Because of me, you lost your first case though,” she stated miserably.

“None of that other stuff matters to me! You should know that by now.” He shook his head. “I only cared about you, Maya. Your safety. My blemished record is a small price to pay if that’s what it took to bring my best friend back to me.”

I know you think that if we move too soon it would all end.

She sniffled slightly, then looked up at him through her lashes. “You really mean that?”

You’re the best friend that I ever had. I’ve been with you for such a long time. You’re my sunshine, and I want you to know that my feelings are true. I really love you.

But of course, he could never have the guts to say this aloud. He hadn’t had that much to drink!

“I really do.” He cleared his throat. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner or a better friend if my life depended on it.”

She laughed then and lurched herself at him in a full-on, body-lock hug.

“You’re the most adorkable guy in the world, Phoenix Wright!” She gazed up at him fondly. “But that’s alright because you’re pretty much the best guy in the universe. You know that?”

“You’re just saying that because it’s true!” He joked, returning the hug. “Although I have no plans to change my business cards to Phoenix Wright, A Dork At Law. It might make people look at me funny.”

“Nah, not if they know you!” The psychic tittered, then clutched his jacket more tightly around her and shuddered as a cold breeze washed over them. “Let’s go back to the room, you old fart! I’m freezing! And I know that chill up here can’t be good for your old, brittle bones either!”

Phoenix shook his head at her but was grinning as he raced her to the stairs.

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Gatewater Honeymoon Suite
March 24, 2018, 10:35 PM

A couple of hours– as well as about a dozen or so emptied mini-bottles from the fridge later – the now very tipsy duo were zoned out in front of the ginormous television set in the living room. Two empty trays from the room service they’d ordered for dinner cluttered the coffee table, along with several emptied snack containers from the minibar as well.

Phoenix figured he had to be at least somewhat inebriated at this point since he was completely unfazed by the fact that the nosebleed prices from the minibar’s consumed goods would result in his final hotel bill being even sky-high than the rooftop had been!

Oh well…

The other reason he was glad that he was buzzed out at nearly maximum capacity was there was no other feasible way he could have withstood watching Steel Samurai reruns, even on an impressive 80-inch plasma, while on his honeymoon, otherwise!

He sighed as his assistant flopped down back on the plush sofa from her umpteenth trip to the bathroom – she’d long since ‘broken the seal’ and had made at least three trips in the last hour alone! The defense attorney watched her reach for the remote and eagerly start flipping through TV channels while finding himself yet again questioning her completely unchanged demeanor from the kidnapping whole ordeal. He should have been grateful that she’d gone back to her normal, cheery self, so surprisingly quickly…but still, something wasn’t right. He was sure of it.

“Boring… old… boring… hey, it’s a Pink Princess rerun!”

It was an episode Maya had taped, and she’d had him sit through it several times in the past. The spiky-haired man sighed even more deeply.

Halfway through viewing the episode, or at least, he watched Maya watch it – she knew this one so well she could actually recite the dialogue along with the on-screen actors – Phoenix had to admit that this time, he wasn’t paying attention. His mind was elsewhere.

I love you, he wanted to say. I was losing my mind without you – and it’s driving me crazy that you seem so unfazed by this all! Either you’re heartless…or hiding something! I don’t know which is a worse possibility!

But of course, he didn’t say anything of the sort. Apparently, he hadn’t loosened up enough from the alcohol to be that brave! However – and he was going to blame the booze for this second act of inhibition since the roof – he couldn’t stop from reaching over and brushing the spirit medium’s bangs out of her eyes before he realized what he was doing. It didn’t take long for him to process what had happened when Maya’s expression became as flustered as it’d been when he’d kissed her on the rooftop. She jerked her head in his direction, eyes wide and questioning.

Cursing himself, he quickly withdrew his hand as though he’d been scorched.

Stop touching her, Phoenix! Can’t you see it makes her get all awkward and uncomfortable?!

A tense silence arose between the pair, and he immediately regretted the action.

“I apologize – um, sorry.” His face felt hot. “I just…I missed you.”

I live in misery when you’re not around.

A heavy silence followed, and he was uncertain what to say or do next to ease the awkwardness he’d unwittingly created.

“Don’t worry about it!” Maya replied brightly, avoiding his eyes and turning back to the show. “My bangs are getting way too long, and I look like a sheepdog! I so need to trim them! Thanks for looking out for me, Nick!”

Phoenix glanced at Maya out of the corner of his eye. Even though she was acting the same as she always did, and he knew he should be thankful for the reprieve he’d just gotten, he was having a bit of difficulty believing it.

He’d only managed to prolong the trial and rescue her by the skin of his teeth, with the assistance of Edgeworth and Franziska’s perfect timing, and had gone through mental stress- complete and utter hell – beyond contemplation…And on the flip side, there was Maya, happily tipsy and giggling at children’s shows as though nothing had happened! This was yet another strain in itself on his psyche. He was going to lose his mind if he stayed silent about this for another minute.

And I won’t be satisfied till we’re taking those vows.

Not caring that she’d be annoyed by the action, without warning, Phoenix hit the power button on the remote and turned the TV off.

“Nick!” She shrieked as though he’d set her hair on fire. “What gives?!”

“I can’t take it anymore!” He cried, running a flustered hand through his spikes. “You and me, we need to talk.”

“Sounds like a breakup speech,” the brunette joked. “I’d be worried if we were actually dating! Luckily, we aren’t, except in Pearly’s imagination!” She lightly nudged him in the ribs to punctuate the quip, but then the smile died on her face when he continued to regard her with a somber expression.

He caught the bewilderment in her eyes and sighed inwardly. This was going to be harder than he’d thought, and apparently, his assistant did not intend to make things any easier.

“I’m worried about you, Maya. I feel like you’re not leveling with me since…this all happened. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, grandpa, for the 100th time, I’m fine, so stop worrying about me!” She grinned and gave him a playful punch in the arm. “I mean, I may have some gut rot in the morning from mixing that tequila with the rum shots earlier but…whatever doesn’t kill me, can only make me stronger, right?”

“That’s not what I meant!” He was fully agitated now, and it was evident in his sharp tone. Maya looked at him with the expression of a wounded puppy, which only made him even more aggravated. “I meant you – not your stomach – you, Maya. Are you sure you’re totally fine?”

“Of course I’m fine! What answer are you looking for here, Nick? You think I have some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder from being abducted and need to see a shrink or something?” Maya exclaimed, words slightly slurred. Her eyes looked slightly dazed, although it wasn’t clear if it was from the copious amount of alcohol consumed, fatigue, or the unexpected turn of conversation.

“Goddammit, Maya!” The easygoing attorney finally erupted like a volcano. “During that trial, this whole ordeal…I fucking went through in seven bloody hells! I was willing to throw my morals, my ethics, and my values out the window and let a madman go free if it meant that you would live! At one point…I wasn’t even sure if you were still alright or not…until I found your letter. So then, I was able to persevere, because as long as I knew you were okay, I knew I could keep fighting.”

He buried his head in his hands then.

“I thought I’d have to choose between justice and obeying your last wishes…that I’d have to play God with your life until Franziska arrived with the evidence that allowed me to save you and ensure justice was served for Engarde at the eleventh hour.”

“I had no idea, Nick,” Maya stared at him, lower lip quivering. “I’m so sorry…you must think I’m some heartless, unfeeling jerk…”

“No, don’t be sorry! I’d do it all again in a heartbeat! Because you mean that much to me!” He cried, his voice heavy with emotion. “I was so lost without you…missing you…worrying about you…and now it’s just…here’s you, acting all carefree and merry and dandy, as though nothing happened at all!”

What’s it gonna be ’cause I can’t pretend?

He saw those mocha eyes well up slightly and hated himself for having upset her, but there was a reason booze was labeled as truth serum, after all – he’d been unable to hold back the tide any longer.

“Nick, I am so sorry you had to endure all that because of me.” Maya’s eyes were on her lap, where her palms were clenching and unclenching into fists. She bit her lip. “The only way I got through being locked up in that dark room, was because of my unshakable faith in you. I just knew that in the end, you’d save me, like you always have. B-because you’re my hero…” She raised a hand to her quivering lips then and stopped, unable to go on.

Phoenix let out a long breath. As horrible as it sounded, he’d needed to hear this from her – to know she wasn’t acting glib out of complete indifference. Feeling about her the way he did, had that been the case, it would have killed him.

Don’t you wanna be more than friends?

Now that he knew he wasn’t in love with a heartless, unfeeling automaton, he would just turn her brain-numbing show back on and they could go back to –

Suddenly, he felt slender shoulders shaking against him.

“M-Maya?” He looked at her hunched-over form with alarm.

Phoenix put his hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him, astounded by the sight of the tears he’d noticed earlier forming in her eyes and silently rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t cry very often, and he felt terrible that she was now because it was his fault.

“Oh, Nick!” Maya wailed then and suddenly flung her arms around his neck.

He sat there, stunned, uncertain of how to react.

“I missed you too, Nick. I missed you so much!” Her voice broke.

Hesitantly, he returned the embrace, enveloping her in his arms, and tightening his hold. He buried his head in her shoulder, inhaling her sweet vanilla scent. He’d ached to hold her like this when she was first returned safely, but he’d held back. It was never the right time, or there was an audience, or it would have given little Pearl more ammo for her whole Special Someone’s beliefs … Although, considering how he felt about Maya now, the little girl wasn’t so far off!

Hold me tight and don’t let go.

Maya burst into tears and wrapped her arms more tightly around Phoenix’s neck, crying into the stiff shoulder of his suit. Stunned, Phoenix slowly pulled Maya closer to him and hugged her awkwardly, not entirely sure how to comfort her but eventually figuring that silence would be the best company.

You have the right to lose control.

“It’s all an act, Nick,” Maya mumbled into his chest. “I’ve been trying so hard to put it behind me, and stay strong…for you, for Pearly…but all I did was make you think I didn’t care! It’s not true! Please, please forgive me!”

Don’t let go.

“For what?” he cupped her face in his hands, gently wiping away her tears with his thumbs. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

You gotta make the sacrifice.

“I was … I was so terrified,” she wept, looking at him with liquid chocolate brown eyes. “I was so scared I was going to die. I was afraid that I wasn’t going to see you or Pearly ever again. That was all I could think about when I was in that wine cellar … never seeing your faces again…”

Her words trailed off as she dissolved into a fresh bout of tears.

Somebody’s gotta choose.

“It’s all right.” He drew back so he could peer into that ethereal, tear-stained visage. “It’s all over, Maya. You’re here with me now. And you’re safe.” He pulled her tightly against his chest as she buried her head in his neck while she cried. He stroked her satiny hair. “I’m… I’m just glad you’re safe.”

We can make it if we try.

Just as she had done with Pearl the night before, the attorney rocked her back and forth in his arms while soothingly rubbing her back. After a few moments, the spirit medium’s tears were reduced to quiet sniffles.

“Alcohol…bringing out the truth in its consumers since the beginning of mankind,” he laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood. “There’s a reason I barely drink. And I’m not letting you again, either, Miss Fey. At least, not for another year, when it’ll be legal then!”

Not a sound from the girl as he cradled her tiny form against his.

For the sake of you and I.

“I’m glad you finally opened up with me. Sometimes, even clowns take off the mask, Maya. You don’t always have to put on a brave or funny face around me. Maybe with strangers, but not with me.”

She’d stopped crying entirely, so Phoenix kept talking as she listened in captive silence.

Together we can make it right.

“You and me, Maya, it’s hard to believe there was a time that we ever were strangers. But were we ever, really? I’m not too sure. I recall the day our bond was forged. It was like being let into the warmth after a lifetime of winter. That day I first saw you there was something even then, though I didn’t know what it was at the time,” he mused aloud, absently running his fingertips in small circles on her back. “However, it was some sort of connection; granted, under the worst circumstances possible! Yet I still felt this…affinity with you, even though I wasn’t able to put it into words. I wonder if you ever felt like that too.”

Maya was breathing softly and steadily against him now, still not responding, but Phoenix was barely mindful of that as he went on in his hazy liquored monologue.

“I wonder if there’s an element of time that allows us to feel such emotions, like an orange glow bursting over a dark horizon. From the darkness of losing Mia…I forged this bond with you, and it brightened up my world. I hope it was the same for you too. It was like this warm, comforting light.”

He rested his chin atop her head as he mulled this over.

“This light…it’s like it was for our eyes only, something to carry us through this life. It was the dawn of the person I am today, the person I was destined to be. If that’s being your hero, so be it. If it’s being a good lawyer and an even better man, then so much the better. If I had to do it all again, Maya, I wouldn’t do a damn thing differently. That means I would defend you with my life even if the odds were insurmountable. I would do anything to keep you safe. I would give up anything in the world for you. Because you’re worth it. Even though at times I’ve had to work hard to keep you comfortable and secure, in the end, I’d rather be poor in money than ever risk losing you.”

Phoenix took a deep breath before speaking his next words. He uttered them as quickly as he could before he lost his nerve.

“You are the greatest treasure of my life, Maya Fey. The one, the only one.”

There was no answer. Time stretched on and there still was no response from the object of his affection. Phoenix felt a tad apprehensive with the uncustomary silence from the normally overly talkative girl. How stupid could he have been to ruin the whole evening, maybe even their whole friendship like that? He’d said too much. She was obviously unsure of how to respond to his impromptu declaration of affection, and he was certain he’d overwhelmed her.

Biting back a curse, he drew back slightly to study her expression, wondering what her reaction would be to his speech, and his eyes widened in surprise.

It looked like the champagne and liquor had taken their toll. Maya’s head was buried against his chest and she was fast asleep – or more than likely – passed out!

Phoenix shouldn’t have been stunned– after all, these last few nightmarish days, he’d barely gotten any sleep, so he should have expected this. As her head lolled on his shoulder, her eyelids tightly closed, the rest of her body slowly leaned into him, completely limp. He studied her sleeping form with a tender smile. She was quite cute in her sleep, he noticed. Her long hair, devoid of its usual ornaments, hung in loosely strewn waves behind her, and the gentle snuffles and rhythmic rise and fall of her chest were oddly soothing to him, even though he knew that if she was in such deep slumber, more than likely, she hadn’t heard a word he’d said!

He blinked as that realization sank in, not sure if he was disappointed or relieved that his innermost feelings were still his own secret. Well, for now, anyway. More than likely, they’d remain that way, as long as he never consumed another drop of ‘truth serum’ in the presence of Maya Fey ever again!

With a sigh of resignation, he carefully hooked his arms underneath her knees, scooped up her slight form in his arms, and headed to the bedroom, where he stared at the mammoth bed in contemplation.

Well, getting the two of them on that colossal thing certainly wouldn’t cause any awkward or accidental brushing or contact in the middle of the night! He observed with amusement. The mattress was about the size of a football field – the entire Raiders team could fit on it without ever once being in want of space, never mind an average-sized lawyer and a pocket-sized spirit medium!

He gently placed the girl onto the bed, lifting the bottom of the covers up and over, tucking them securely around her until she looked as snug as a bug in a rug before carefully adjusting the pillow underneath her head.

She didn’t even budge once.

Phoenix brushed a strand of hair off her face, looking down at her peaceful form with a soft smile on his lips.

Love. When your heart melts like butter on hot toast at the sight of someone. When you feel lightheaded and free. When you ache to be with them, to look at them, to touch them. That is love.

Phoenix reached into his pocket and opened up the jeweler’s box holding the locket, admiring how the shiny metal gleamed in his hand as his fingers traced over the engraved words on the back as he looked at her. He’d hoped he’d have the opportunity to give this to her tonight, but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be.

He leaned over and lightly pressed his lips against her soft cheek.

“Someday, when this time is right, I hope I’ll have the courage to say these words aloud to you when you can hear them,” he whispered. “But for now, I’ll just be content to have you in my sights, where I know you’re safe. I love you, Maya Fey. Sweet dreams.”

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Gatewater Honeymoon Suite
March 25, 2018, 1:30 AM

“ I love you,  Maya Fey.”

The brunette sighed contently at the warming sensation creeping over her as his strong arms wrapped around her waist and she tilted her lips up to meet his. What a wonderful sound, hearing Nick say those words she’d been longing to hear for so long. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, having him love her. His mouth came closer and closer, and she could feel his warm breath on her face as she leaned in.

“ I love you, Phoenix Wright.”

At least, that’s what she wanted to say. However, she couldn’t make herself say it! Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, as though glued in place, and her throat felt parched!

What the hell?!

As Maya reluctantly felt herself awakening, her mind swam with intense images of that glorious dream. She groaned, reluctant to banish it, and rise from the bed.

Huh? Bed? I don’t remember coming here…

The light of the full moon shone into her slowly opening eyes from an open crack in the thick bedroom drapes, and she brought her hands up to guard them. Everything about her felt heavy, from her arms to her feet. She let her head loll from one side to the other, eyes closing one more time as she enjoyed the brief darkness. How she yearned to sleep on, conjure that wonderful, vivid dream anew!

However, nature was calling and her parched throat, which demanded that she fetch a drink of water …was all too real.

Crap on a cracker! It was all a  dream?!

The reality sunk in. That meant there had been no kiss or love declaration from Phoenix after all!

Man, reality bites the big one! And, as my lousy luck would have it, I can’t even kiss Nick in my slumbering fantasies, for crying out loud! Maya groaned as she rolled over onto her back. Instead, I get C-blocked by my own overactive bladder, which stemmed from overdoing the sauce last night, no doubt! Just… kick you in the crotch,

She turned her head to the side and saw her love interest snoring softly on the other side of the bed – the same one she couldn’t recall getting into! The last thing she remembered was crying for his forgiveness, and then him holding her in his arms and stroking her hair.

How she loved it when he’d play with her hair, even briefly…

And the next thing she knew, she’d awoken on this huge hotel bed, next to her best friend, with a head that felt like it was stuffed with popcorn. Dammit, it was still night! Wasn’t it too early to be hungover?!

The necromancer turned her head towards the window where the small sliver of moonlight was streaming in and winced at the contrasting glare against the dim room.

Yup, I’m already in the makings of a wicked hangover! Classic! I spent my night in the romantic honeymoon suite with Nick getting shit-faced and watching Steel Samurai videos, and at some point, I dissolved into a hysterical weepy mess and drunkenly passed out, prompting him to carry my sorry ass to bed. How romantic – NOT!

Maya moaned in mortification and clapped a hand on her head.

At least she had the chance to take advantage of one rare opportunity though. Scooting across the bed so she was a little closer to him, the spirit medium propped herself up on one elbow and allowed herself the indulgence of finally seeing her friend in his sleep.

In slumber, without the complex workings of his conscious mind, he looked so vulnerable and childlike, almost cherubic, with his long, sooty lashes nearly brushing his cheeks. Maya couldn’t help but feel envious. She couldn’t achieve lashes like his even if she caked on a whole tube of mascara!

Phoenix’s breaths were even and calming, the expression on his face was no longer stressed but relaxed. A lock of hair had fallen forward across his forehead, simultaneously making him look younger, and like an adorkable Superman. Her fingers itched to brush it away, as he’d done with her bangs last night … the gesture was so sweet and natural … until she’d ruined the moment with her awkward stupidness, as usual!

“I know you looked after me last night, so that’s yet another thing to thank you for,” she whispered to the sleeping lawyer. “You’re always taking care of me. I-I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you in my life. You and me…even though I make fun of you for being a big dork and you call me The Burger Queen…somehow we just work, you know? Like we belong together. At least that’s how it was in the dream I just had. I was so sad when I woke up and realized that fantasy Nick and Maya from my dream weren’t actual reality.”

A tear rolled down her cheek inexplicably then, and she brushed it away impatiently.

“There were a few times last night where it seemed like you felt that way too…and that you and me…it could be more than just a thing in my dreams. I wanted that so much! Nevertheless, we’d both been drinking…and I have no experience with guys, Nick. And I just couldn’t trust my judgement to tell back then what was real, and what wasn’t. Were you looking at me differently last night, and touching me more than usual, because of me, or was it beer goggles talking? I couldn’t tell the difference.”

Maya bit her lip and gave in to the urge to gently brush Phoenix’s stray bang off his forehead. Luckily, he was in such deep sleep, he didn’t even stir.

“I really wanted it to be the former…but what if I’d allowed something to happen and you didn’t remember it in the morning? Or worse, regretted it? Then what would I do? I’d lose you. And I can’t have that Nick! Since Sis died, you’re all I’ve got. I need you. My – My life would suck without you!“

With a heavy sigh, she gave up on her last ounce of courage as she stared longingly at the handsome sleeping man next to her, noting how peaceful he was under the blanket of shadows. The bedside digital clock told her it was half-past one.

Whatever magic had potentially been there a few hours ago was long gone. She’d missed her only chance.

In the morning, he’d have forgotten all about the romantic rooftop moments and how they’d had a small window of almost opportunities the night before. The splinters and cracks that had formed in their impenetrable wall of friendship would be resealed, and they’d resume their comfortable friendly regime as usual.

It was just as well. She knew he’d never feel the same way about her; even remotely coming close to the way she’d been feeling since she’d first met him. For her, Phoenix Wright was just meant to remain her teenage dream.

Except now, she was almost twenty and she loved him even more now than she had then.

“Last night, I dreamt you told me you loved me.” Maya swallowed against the lump in her throat. “But I couldn’t say it back for some reason! Not even in my dream … even though my loving you is very much a reality. When I was kidnapped by De Killer, my biggest fear was never getting the chance to tell you how I felt about you…so I’m going to tell you now.”

She took a deep breath.

“I love you, Phoenix Wright. Each day, I keep falling in love with you more and more, and each time is harder than the last to not just blurt out and tell you. Every time I’m with you, the feeling gets deeper, more complete, and more bewitching. There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you. Don’t ever think you have to ask for my affection because you don’t, and you never did. The more love I give you the more I have bursting inside of me … crazy, huh?”

She placed her fingers to her mouth and kissed them, then softly placed those fingertips against the slumbering attorney’s lips.

His eyelids fluttered briefly, but he seemed too out of it to notice.

Maya smiled sadly, then tiptoed to the bathroom, did what she needed to, chugged back three glasses of tap water, and then crawled back into bed, making herself comfortable and waiting for sleep to retake her.

Tomorrow would put things back to normal.

Whatever that was.

Usher – You Make Me Wanna

En Vogue – Don’t Let Go