Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He’d begun selling paintings before he even got into university.

At that time it was all fine art stuff. Stuffy looking acrylic paintings - he couldn’t afford oil paints, even though he liked to work with them more -, and shitty graphite sketches. It was what he thought art was supposed to be. Looking back at it now, he was pretty bad. He supposes that’s what every artist thinks when they look at old works. Still, it was good enough to sell to some generous old ladies at small art exhibits and to strangers on facebook marketplace. It was good enough for him.

Most of what sold well were landscapes, forests, and fields, and such. He preferred drawing people, designing characters, and working on dynamic poses. However, he had bills to pay and he didn’t want to embody the role of “starving artist”. He liked painting with vibrant colors, but realism sold the best so that’s what he did. A lot of flower fields and old cottages. It felt like he had it down to a pattern. He felt a bit like a printer.

He made sure to have some works that were more personal. An old playground from his elementary school depicted in a dream-like colorscape, another one with a vague silhouette of his mother’s garden, and a painting of the old courthouse he’d visited as a kid when his friend’s dad let them tag along. He didn’t manage to sell the last one, so he decided to keep it. It was colorful and way too saturated, it felt like looking at a kids memory. He supposes that’s pretty much what it was. Every person was blurry and the perspective was bad, but it made him think about something special so he kept it.

When he began studying art at Ivy university he started selling more kinds of paintings. He felt a lot more confident in his abilities. This time there were some more paintings depicting people, but mostly just different spots around town. A café he liked, a duck pond in the park where he’d stop on his way to school, and a familiar courthouse.

He drew a lot more in his freetime as well. A lot of it was original characters, most of which never got a story, or fanart for whatever show was currently occupying his mind. Some were of an old friend who’d recently shown up in the newspaper. He started drawing less realistically and focused more on making the drawings dynamic and how it was supposed to feel. This led to his artstyle leaning more and more into comic-book and manga styles. Realistic, sure, but with a decisive personal touch.

During his third year, during Dollie, a lot of his paintings were inspired by her. He liked drawing people; he liked painting her. She was his entire world for a few months. It was only natural that she filled his sketchbooks too. Later he’d look at those sketches and paintings and he’d weep. Most of them would be thrown away the same night he got home after the trial.

He stopped painting for a bit after that.

Law school was rough. He’d known that going into it, but still. Knowing that it was difficult didn’t stop it from actually being difficult. Mia helped a lot. She’d stay up quizzing him before tests, and she helped him figure out how to study with his unmedicated ADHD. They figured out a reward system that ended up carrying him through most of his studies. Then when time came she offered him an internship.

She caught him doodling while she was going through some files. “What are you drawing?” She asked, no judgment in her voice, no annoyance at him not spending his time correctly, just curiosity. Mia was good like that, unlike a lot of teachers and mentors in his life tended to be.

“Just- whatever comes to mind really” He showed her the scrap paper he’d been drawing on. It was a drawing of the office plant in ballpoint ink. Not his best work, but the chief looked impressed. After that he began drawing a bit more again, just small doodles in the margins of his notes. Still, he was drawing after what felt like forever.

His drawings cluttered the desk where he worked. Mia would occasionally compliment the ones she liked the most, she said it added a much needed personal touch to the office.

“Ever thought about selling your works?” Mia asked one day. She said it so casually, but the answer felt so complicated. He was gonna get his answers about the bar exam soon, he imagined that if he passed there might not be time to focus on art. Maybe he just wouldn’t have the energy. Maybe he didn’t want to? He didn’t say any of this.

“Not really” he lied. “ never crossed my mind I guess,” It was obvious she knew he was lying, but she didn’t pressure him too much. Mia was good like that.

“Well, maybe consider it? Being a defense attorney doesn't pay that much, you know. Could go weeks without a client so it might not be a bad idea to have another income you enjoy” She was right of course. He’d been interning long enough at the Fey and co law firm to know that. He promised her he’d consider it and they left it at that.

He passed the bar first try.

He’d been working on a painting for a few weeks now. It was a painting of Mia behind the defense desk, she was pointing at some off canvas prosecutor, her eyes focused and determined, and the colors helped frame her like an action shot. It was what he’d seen during his own trial, how determined she was to prove his innocence despite his own dumb mistakes. It didn’t look realistic, the colors were too vivid and the lines too sharp, but it looked like Phoenix’s art. It looked and felt personal.

He handed it to her before they went out to celebrate his blooming law career. She hugged him and smiled so proudly. That painting sat in her office for months. To some it might’ve looked egotistical, but Phoenix knew she wanted to show off his work as much as anything. Mia gets him a pack of studio quality alcohol markers as both payment for the painting (that phoenix insisted was a gift, but winning an argument against her was impossible) and as a congratulation for passing the bar.

–---

Phoenix is the one to take down that painting eventually.

Mia’s murder and subsequent trial goes by so fast, neither he nor Mia’s sister Maya has any time to process it all. When they get back to the office, it’s spotless. You’d never known there’d been a corpse lying under the windowsill a few days ago.

It feels surreal having to go about things as if nothing happened. They start moving a few things around making sure that the newly re-named Wright and Co. Law offices look as good as they can. They try to sort through some of Mia’s things, but most of it just stays where she put it.

Maya stays late most days, she conveniently misses the last train home quite a few times, she conveniently stays over night, it becomes routine.

Maya gets the painting of Mia, it's taken to Kurain and Phoenix doesn't see it again. He doesn’t tell her that he made it. A lot of drawings he made for Mia get put in a drawer and they're not seen for awhile.

Mia was right. Being a defense attorney, especially one just starting out, didn’t make you that much money. So a little over a week after that case, he starts drawing and selling again. Some paintings of places and nice views ( stick to what you know ) but also more dynamic poses of people in interesting clothes. He can’t deny that some characters might be a bit inspired by witnesses, but nothing too obvious.

Nothing gets sold at first, things like these take time. Still, it's nice to be able to try and make some money instead of none.

Maya stays late again one night and Phoenix asks if she’d like to sleep in his apartment rather than on the office couch. It’s a casual offer but Maya lights up.

His apartment isn’t big or special, but he does have a sleeper sofa on account of how often Larry needs a place. So he supposes it’s good enough. Maya seems to think the same, she looks around with big eyes at the cramped space that is his, and promptly plops down on the sofa.

His apartment is cluttered, there’s law books in piles on the floor, drawers overflowing with documents, and most noticeably half his living room is currently being taken up by art supplies.

“Wow Nick, I didn’t know you could draw” She’s looking at a paper full of small thumbnail sketches depicting a random street in the city of Los Tokyo. “Holy shit” she holds up another paper and he can’t see what is on it.

“Dude, this looks like something straight out of the Steel Samurai!” He’s not sure what that means.

She runs up and shows him his own drawing like it’s a prized possession. It’s a comic of a fight scene between two characters he made up as a kid. They look to be in the middle of a showdown and the villain is just about to get stabbed in the chest.

“Thank you? I mean, I really hope I didn’t go to art school for nothing you know?”

"Seriously Nick, you could do this as a profession” Maya begins looking through his pile of shitty doodles like they’d crumble if she wasn’t careful. He’d practically shoved them onto the coffee table a few days earlier, but she handles them with so much care it’s a bit strange.

“I’m actually trying to sell some paintings again, in case we don’t get a case soon. Been selling some on ebay for really low prices, and mostly the paintings of landscapes, but at least they sell” He scratches his neck, not really sure what to make of the sudden praise.

“Nick, we need to get you an art Tumblr or something immediately!”

"A what?"

–---

Maya helps him set up some social media. “You really need to get a new phone” she says, they struggle to get the wifi to work with Mia’s ancient computer. “That could make this so much easier!”

“You also have a flip phone!” Phoenix complains.

“Well, mine is more for the aesthetic, and besides I have a laptop”

He realizes he probably has his old school laptop laying in some drawer too, but it’s too late to tell Maya that. It takes a bit, but they get him onto a few more social media sites. When it comes to picking a username Phoenix has no idea what he wants. Maya tells him to just keep it simple, or to base it on something he likes. After what feels like hours they finally land on “Signal-Blueprint” a reference to his favorite character from his childhood show and also something to do with drawing.

Phoenix doesn’t really understand how most of this works, but Maya assures him she’ll teach him. She’s eager to help, he notes. It’s honestly really nice that he’s not alone now after Mia, and he suspects Maya might be in the same boat.

He starts uploading more. It’s difficult because he has to actually use a proper camera and then upload it to the computer. Maybe Maya had a point about that newer phone. Maybe he should at least look into getting a new computer for the office because this one seems like it’s about to fall apart or maybe take off like a plane with how loud the fans are getting.

He’s starting to get what people talk about when they say social media is addicting. His fucked up internal reward system might not be helping with that, but it’s nice to be able to show people his work without having to put his face to it. He signs artwork with “ Signal-Blueprint “ and that’s all he is online. It’s nice.

He puts up art for strangers to see, and weirdly enough it does get seen. He gathers a small crowd of around ten people who seem to genuinely enjoy his work, sure it's not a lot and it's all online but still! He makes some posts about what he's selling, but most of what he uploads are doodles and sketches.

He shows off his characters, those that were never seen as “real art” by his old teachers, he shows his scenes and short comics. He even puts out a piece of fanart of the signal samurai trio. That one gets the most attention.

Some bigger online creator known for their media analysis on various tokusatsu shows reblogs that drawing and it takes off. He supposes he just got lucky, it’s not a lot but his little following reaches thirty-something people soon enough.

His works don’t sell that great, it’s worse than it was in uni. He supposes that’s what happens when you have to start networking from scratch again. In the month since his last case he sells two paintings. He’s running low on money for rent if they don’t get a client soon.

That day Maya had been showing him some kind of kids show. It led to her spinning around a broom and nearly knocking him in the face with it as she tried to convince him how awesome the Steel Samurai is. From what he understands it’s another bad cash grab of a show much like what he himself watched in grade school, but Maya seems adamant that it’s good. So he promises to give it a shot and they plan a “Steel Samurai marathon” the next weekend.

That evening he checks on his Signal-Blueprint account and he sees a private message.

SteelMetaMe:
I am aware your bio does not mention anything about commissions.
However, I really like your artstyle and I was wondering if you’d be open to take on a Steel Samurai related commission? Of course I understand if you don’t

Commissions, huh? Maybe it’s the poor financial situation or his friend's hyperfixation, or most likely a mix of the two, but he responds almost immediately.

Signal-Blueprint
Yeah, I’m down. Let me know what you’re thinking and we can discuss price and payment

Chapter Text

The next few days Phoenix learns more about the Steel Samurai than he ever wanted to know.

Will powers is accused of murder and Phoenix and Maya take on their first case together. He messages SteelMetaMe (or Meta as he's started referring to them as) that they'll have to wait a few days to get started since things came up at the last second with his job.

They go toe to toe with prosecutor Miles Edgeworth again, this time he doesn't seem nearly as sure of himself. He objects without real reason and he seems nervous as Cody takes the stand. He treats the kid as if he'll break if Phoenix asks him anything too aggressively.

It's almost sweet to see him try to talk to the kid, if it weren't for the fact that Cody was having none of it.

Phoenix makes some mental notes and takes a few photos of props and sets while they're at the studio. He says they're for evidence, but most of them are for references.

In the end it's apparently a much bigger story than anyone guessed. Edgeworth ends up stepping up and helping them put Dee Vasquez behind bars. He sees a little more of the Miles Edgeworth he knew.

Outside in the defendant lobby Phoenix feels like he can finally breathe again. He thought the anxiety would be easier after his first two trials, but apparently it was just the same. No one else seemed to notice his distress during the trial at least. Maybe he's actually putting those improv classes to good use.

He and Maya talk with Powers, it seems like he had been holding his breath for most of Vasquez's testimony as well. His shoulders seem far less tense than before and he's smiling brightly as he pats Phoenix on the back. Phoenix feels like Powers could probably snap him in half, he nearly falls forward when the star pats him, but he doesn't say anything.

In the middle of their conversation he hears the clicking of dress-shoes approach. Then suddenly Maya goes quiet and then- “N-Nick! Edgeworth!”

Just like that Miles Edgeworth is standing in front of him again. He looks like his head is full of thoughts clashing like lightning in a thunderstorm, yet he holds himself as proper as ever. He's glaring at Phoenix and neither of them say anything for a moment.

“Say something, Wright” the prosecutor demands. “I'm not good at small talk”

“Huh? What?” Says Phoenix and realizes that he'd just been staring at the other man for nearly a minute. “That was too bad Edgeworth!”

“You don't waste any time gloating, do you?” Way to go Phoenix, just insult him immediately. It's not like this is the first chance you've gotten to talk with the man for nearly fifteen years.

“No… I really want to thank you” Edgeworth's eyes flicker to him for a moment before they go back to studying the floor. “Vasquez would have gotten away if you hadn't stepped in”

"Ah uh pleased to meet you, I'm Powers” The silence is broken as the actor found his voice again.

“Ah, er, Edgeworth” Did he sound nervous? No. No way. “I'm a big fan of your work. Mr.Powers” Liar! He was prosecuting that man less than five minutes earlier. Phoenix doesn’t entirely believe that ‘the demon prosecutor’ is a steel samurai fan, but it is a funny mental image.

Once again he's reminded of the commission he needs to work on when he gets home. In all honesty he feels like he wants to lay down and sleep for twelve hours after that trial. While Powers and Edgeworth are talking he looks over to Maya.

The girl is looking at Edgeworth like he may bite her at any given moment. Probably fair considering he tried to get her charged with murder about a month ago.

“Hey Maya, remind me to message my client when we get back to the office” She looks puzzled, but there's no way he's gonna say he's taking art commissions in front of Edgeworth. She nods sharply just as Edgeworth turns his attention back towards him.

“A client lined up already, Wright?” Phoenix doesn’t know how offended he should feel at Edgeworth's genuine surprise.

“Yep” He doesn't elaborate and he really hopes he won't ask.

“Wright. I must say, I hadn't expected to meet you again after all these years.”

“Again?” Maya whispers.

“In retrospect, it would have been better had we not met. Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessary…feelings” Edgeworth doesn't meet his eyes when he says it and Maya gives him another questioning glance.

“Unnecessary feelings?”

“Yes. Unease… and uncertainty”

“Aren’t those kind of necessary?”

“They only serve to get in my way.” The prosecutor states. He looks up at Phoenix and his nowadays usual scowl is once again firmly in place. “You listen to me, Phoenix Wright. Don't ever show your face in front of me again. That's what I came to tell you.”

Edgeworth turns on his heel and walks away while he's left to process what just happened.

He and Maya talk a bit more with Powers before heading home. Phoenix doesn’t really process anything they talk about.

“So. What was that?” Maya asks as soon as they walk through the door to the office.

“What?”

“That thing with Edgeworth! What was that?” She looks at him determined and stubborn. “You know him?”

“Not really.” He doesn't know if that's a lie or not. “Besides, he made it pretty clear he doesn't want anything to do with me”

“Eh, he seems like an asshole anyways. Wouldn't worry too much about it, Nick” Her words are supposed to be encouraging, but they're met with silence.

Maya stays at his place that night saying that the last few days were so busy and that she doesn't wanna deal with the train. Phoenix lets her stay, he would have let her stay even without any excuse.

Later he pulls up his own laptop from uni, it's just been laying around since he bought it from the school. These last few weeks it's been seeing a bit more use.

He opens up his chat with his oh so important client and types out a message.

Signal-Blueprint
I'm sorry you had to wait, this is more of a side hobby you kmow?

He types fast and is somewhat aware of his spelling mistakes, he doesn't care enough to correct anything so small after the day he's had. He gets a reply almost immediately.

SteelMetaMe
It's really no trouble, would you have time to talk about the commission right now perchance?

Phoenix snorts out a laugh at that, who the fuck uses ‘perchance’? You can't just casually use perchance.

Signal-Blueprint 
Yeah, totally. What you thinking?

They go back and forth a bit, he draws up a few thumbnail sketches before they find one that fits Meta’s idea. It's a sketch of the Evil Magistrate and the Steel Samurai standing in front of each other staring into the other's eyes with their hands on their weapons. Neither weapon is drawn yet, but more of an unspoken threat. It's all simple shapes, but he explains the idea to Meta and they like the vision.

Signal-Blueprint 
Okay. So. two kinda complicated characters, fully coloured and inked, and the sketch battlefield background. Should we say like 70?

He didn’t really know how to price these things, but that seemed good enough. He'd sold paintings for less.

SteelMetaMe 
70 dollars now and 70 when you've made the lineart? That seems fair enough. You said you took PayPal right?

…what?
Now, a smarter man would have taken the money and smiled. Sadly Phoenix wasn't that man.

Signal-Blueprint 
No I mean yes. Fuck.
Okay yes I take PayPal. But I meant 70 for the entire thing?

He saw the three dots pop up and disappear over and over. Seems like they were retyping their message a few times. Had he charged too much? Was there some kind of mistake?

SteelMetaMe 
Blue, you are making a fully coloured piece of two complicated mech-like figures. I sincerely do not think 70 is enough. I've seen people take more for far less difficult requests and I am willing to pay enough to compensate you properly. I insist that you charge more. Art is a luxury item and you should price it as such. Honestly I'm not sure 140 is even fair.

Signal-Blueprint 
You do realize that you're the one paying? I can't charge you 140 dollars for this??? That’s insane?  What about 85

SteelMetaMe 
200, I insist.

Signal-Blueprint 
Okay back to 140

SteelMetaMe 
Deal.

Phoenix thinks this is the strangest haggling he’s ever done. A few minutes later he gets exactly seventy Japanifornian dollars with the message “Upfront payment”. He spends an hour just sketching some ideas before he actually gets some sleep.

Phoenix goes back to the office almost everyday. He doesn’t know why exactly, it’s not like he has any actual clients right now, but he sits on the couch and he works on his commission. He sits on the couch, the same couch where he and Mia would sit during the evenings before his tests. She made flashcards and quizzed him, he hated those cards but they worked surprisingly well.

He sits on the couch, the same couch where he’d spent a few nights after Dollie, the same couch where Maya had spent a few nights after Mia.

Maya joins him. She waters Mia's plant and provides some pretty good background noise. She's still not ready to properly head home to Kurain. That's alright, Phoenix understands. The sleeper sofa remains a bed and Maya remains a near constant companion.

He's a few days into working on the commission, but he's stuck on the sketch. Normally he just goes with what feels right, but now that there's someone paying for a specific request it all feels so much more professional. Maybe it also has something to do with how his thoughts keep wandering back to that conversation after Powers’ trial.

Nah, it's probably just the nerves.

He'd never done commissions before. Well, he'd drawn stuff at the request of friends but nothing he really expected to be paid for. He'd sold paintings sure, but there was never someone waiting for a specific piece to be made. He honestly feels a bit nervous about messing it up.

He knows it's ridiculous, the person he'd been messaging with had already assured him they liked his art style as it was, but Phoenix felt the need to polish it a little extra. He had started with thumbnail sketches, small little rectangles mapping out basic shapes and layouts. Then he'd started to actually sketch on bigger pieces of paper. He'd sketch something, look at it for a minute, erase something, redraw it, decide that the entire thing looked wrong, and promptly throw it in the trash.

He was currently in the middle of that process. He throws another one to the trashcan, it bounces on the wall behind before it goes in and he can hear Maya’s hushed yell “Score!! and the crowd goes wild!”

He lets out a snort. “Don't you have important spiritual training stuff to be doing?” He starts another sketch.

“Probably, don't you have important defense attorney stuff to be doing?”

“We both know the answer to that” he's drawing the basic blocks of what will hopefully look like the Steel Samurai. “This drawing will be the end of me” Phoenix is practically melting off of the couch as he speaks.

“What's the problem?” Maya plops down beside him.

“I don't know! I know something is wrong, but I don't know what... just look at this real quick” He holds out the sketch.

"They're certainly shapes" Maya confirms with a hum. "I think the Evil Magistrate is too tall"

"what?"

"yeah, like, he's always portrayed as this big and menacing guy, but when they're beside each other you can tell that the Steel Samurai is about the same height. It kinda shows how even if the magistrate seems like a big threat they tend to be evenly matched. Hold on-" She goes to grab the poster she got after the last case. The same poster that Phoenix kept denying her to put up in the office. He's sure she's just waiting for a chance to sneak it up anyways.

Phoenix and Maya spend some time working together on it. Well, it's more like Phoenix sketches and Maya points out things to adjust and tells him more information about the characters he never needed to know.

Apparently the entire show was full of unintentional gay undertones and Maya is making sure his art captures that too. "It's what Sal Manella would have hated, so it seems like the right thing to do" she states. A sentiment he can get behind after actually meeting the man.

Once they figure out a rough sketch Phoenix goes onto polishing it. They end up with an image of the two characters standing about fifteen feet from each other. Unlike the first sketch, they are at the same eye level. The only difference being the magistrate holding his head higher while the samurai looks at him with determined eyes.

The background is a cityscape taken from a screenshot Maya choose from the show and he must admit it looks quite pretty. The pale moonlight over the traditional looking buildings fit surprisingly well with the characters, and it adds a bit more to the dramatic, romantic, feel of it all.

He decides to get some new fine-liners for this project. His old line-art pens are running low and considering he not only just got paid by Mr. Powers, but apparently is getting paid more than he expected for this drawing. He thinks it's only fair that he gets some better supplies.

He and Maya head down to a nearby craft store the next day. The little bell clinks above them as they step in. The walls are covered with small murals depicting various landscapes. Some seem to be professionally done, but he also spots a few child sized handprints near the register. Everything smells like craft glue and paint, there's a small old man with a kind face behind the small front-desk. He too, smells like craft glue and paint.

The store isn't big by any means, it's only two small rooms and seem to be self owned, but Phoenix prefers it like that. Those stores tend to have more random bits and bobs that you wouldn't find in any big brand outlet. He scans the boxes of black pens while Maya looks at the plastic jar full of erasers in weird shapes.

They're the only costumers in the shop at the moment. It's peaceful. He tries out a few pens on the little piece of paper taped to the shelf, already full of doodles, when he he hears the bell. He nearly drops the pen he's holding when he hears Maya speak.

"Hi Mr. Edgeworth!"

You got to be kidding me, Phoenix thinks. He's no longer staring at the box of pens, his gaze wanders over to the other man. Edgeworth honestly looks like he's contemplating just walking out of the shop as soon as he sees Maya, before finally he says.

"Hello Ms.Fey." He's wearing his usual magenta suit and those weird neck ruffles that Phoenix never bothered to learn the name of. It looks a bit out of place in this small shop, but to be fair so does Maya with her robes. Phoenix starts to think maybe he's the odd one out with his t-shirt and jeans.

Edgeworth and Maya stare at each other for a moment. "So, how are you?" Maya asks finally.

"Fine."

"What are you looking for? Me and Nick are looking for pens" She informs him as Phoenix practically feels the prosecutor freeze up again. He looks at Maya briefly. Traitor, he thinks.

"Hi Edgeworth" He holds up one hand in a halfhearted wave.

"Wright." He nods curtly, never making eye contact. He looks Phoenix up and down and he's suddenly very aware of his own incredibly casual clothing, that's probably being scrutinized by the prosecutor.

Neither of them are sure of how to continue the conversation. Luckily Maya has no such problem.

"I didn't expect to see you here. I don't know why, but seeing you outside of the courtroom feels weird."

Edgeworth startles like he already forgot Maya was there. "It's kind of like seeing a teacher at the mall, you know?" She continues thoughtfully. "Anyways, what are you looking for?" She repeats. "Maybe we can help"

Phoenix is about to argue that there's a man who works here that is fully capable of that, but when he looks towards the desk the old man is nowhere to be seen. Traitor, he thinks.

"That won't be necessary" The prosecutor insists, still standing in the doorway.

Phoenix sends her a pleading glance and whatever stunt Maya was about to pull came to a stop. She walks over to him when Edgeworth finally walks into the shop properly. He sees the magenta in the corner of his eye dart over to the notebook shelf.

"Maya" He's whispering but he hopes his tone still portrays a bit of frustration.

"What," She whispers back "I wasn't gonna do anything" He gives her a look. "Okay, I wasn't gonna do anything too bad. Nick that man tried to get us both sent to jail for a crime neither of us committed, I think some fuckery is allowed."
He can't really argue with that, but still. He doesn't want the other man to hate him more than he apparently does. Why does he care about this so much?

He grabs a pen identical to the one he has in the office, the line art one that's currently two lines away from being nothing more than a dry sponge. Then he grabs the more expensive brush liner he tried out earlier, it was nice to use and with the extra money he has at the moment he feels like he deserves a treat.

He grabs one of the purple butterfly erasers that Maya was looking at earlier and turns to the counter. He has to stand there awkwardly waiting for the man to come back from the backroom.

Maya pokes him in the side. "Nick!" She's whispering a bit too loudly. She's also pointing at the Prosecutor who's now standing where Phoenix was standing moments ago. He's looking at the pens, or maybe he's looking at the piece of paper used for testing them. Phoenix really hopes he doesn't pay too much attention to the doodles.

When they get home he goes back to working on the drawing. He has to use the office window as a light-table to refine it, he hopes no one is staying in the hotel room opposite the office. He sees the bellboy once, but he just waves awkwardly.

He makes two tries at the line-art, one with each new pen. He finishes the second draft the next day. He sends pictures of them both to his client, who responds with a thumbs up emoji. Maya claims that the guy types like either a professor or a dad and honestly he can see that.

Signal-Blueprint
Do you have a favorite?

SteelMetaMe
Not really? I think they both look fantastic.

Signal-Blueprint
Well you gotta choose one, I'm not coloring both

SteelMetaMe
Oh of course.
I like the second picture. I'd like that to be the final piece. I'll send you the rest of your payment in a bit.

Signal-Blueprint
Great! before I continue, is there any other changes you want to it?

SteelMetaMe
I'm afraid I don't know enough about art to critique your work. I'd say it looks good.

Signal-Blueprint
You sure? Did I do the characters justice? I had to mess around with the heights a bit and i don't know if this looks good

SteelMetaMe
It looks great. I love how the background looks too. It is a version of episode 14 season 2's final fight, correct? I cannot wait to see it colored.

Signal-Blueprint
I think it is? hold on let me consult the expert
...
She says you're right, apparently the pose "would have worked perfectly for that scene" so she thought it fits here.

SteelMetaMe
The expert?

Signal-Blueprint
I've never watched the show but a friend of mine loves it so she's been my steel samurai consultant. Anyways, I don't know how long this is gonna take but probably not more than two weeks?

SteelMetaMe
That is incredibly efficient, thank you. I'll send you the rest of your payment momentarily.

He gets seventy dollars with the message "Final payment."
Time to start coloring.

Chapter Text

He gets the drawing done in early november, it takes about three days after that to actually send it off. Which shouldn't take too long, he's not even sending the physical drawing, but for some reason he's determined to scan it in properly instead of just taking a picture. He still doesn't have a newer phone than the brick in his pocket and his camera was just about as old.

He knows Meta doesn't mind if he just uses his camera, they told him that as long as the quality is good enough to print they'd be happy. Thing is, he's not sure his camera's quality can count as "printable".

However, he knows that the precinct has a scanner. It's used to digitize handwritten notes and it is the same type he used in school to digitize his works. It's a bit too perfect of an opportunity.

A piece of technology that he actually knows how to use, and within reach as well.

He's allowed to use it for work, but he has to ask for permission. Now, he'd seen Payne use it to digitize drawings from his son so there shouldn't be a problem with him doing what's practically the same thing. Right?

Unfortunately, he starts to realize as he stands there with his drawing in a folder under his arm and his laptop under the other, he's not very familiar with any of the officers around. Some walk past him without another glance, another few give him curious looks, one guy tips a cowboy hat to him when he walks past. The precinct isn't busy per say, it's just a few too many new people. Maya didn't come with him this time either.

The precinct feels like any other office building in a way, but there's also the lingering knowledge that it very much isn't. The white walls reminds him a bit too much of a hospital, the blinds are closed today so no natural light is getting in, it's only that terrible buzzing white light, and the broken flickering light in the corner that keeps grabbing his attention isn't helping.

Maybe he should have just taken a picture and be done with it.

He's just about to turn around and walk out when he hears a familiar voice.
"Hey pal, what are you doing here?" The scruffy detective has never been such a welcome sight.

"I- uhh. I need to scan in a document."

The other man just smiles at him. "Alright, want me to unlock the room for ya?" Phoenix just nods. As they walk down the corridor he's clutching the folder and his laptop. The corridor lacks personality and the florescent lights don't help. They walk for a bit and he sees a few more members of the force he doesn't recognize, most of which stare at his badge. It doesn't take long before Gumshoe starts talking.

"It was really good you guys got that Vasquez lady" Phoenix doesn't know what to say to that so he simply doesn't say anything. The detective doesn't let himself be discouraged though. "So, what are you up to?"

"Not a lot since the Powers trial" He answers honestly.

"Mr. Edgeworth mentioned you had a client lined up imminently, did that go well?"

"Yeah! It was mostly paperwork" He continues a little less honestly. Although maybe paperwork is kind of what he has been doing.

"What you working on now? Some new case?"

He's about to answer when they stop abruptly and he crashes into the back of the detective.

"Sorry pal, at least we're here now!" Gumshoe unlocks the door.

Inside there's a few printers, scanners and various paper related machines, Phoenix doesn't really know what most of them do. There are shelves stacked with various types of papers and card stock and the entire room smells kind of like a sanitized bookshop. It reminds him of the storage room near his classroom in uni. The one with cheap brushes, weird fabric bits and thick paper. This one is just a bit better organized.

He walks over to one of the scanners, plugs in his laptop, and start setting up. Gumshoe is still standing in the door, it's becoming increasingly obvious that the man has no intention of leaving. Worse than that he takes a step in, and then another, and then another.

It's hard to try to scan in a drawing secretively when a homicide detective is looking over your shoulder.

"Detective Gumshoe, do you mind...?"

"Right, 'course " Gumshoe takes a step back. Still not far enough though. "What is it that you're scanning in anyways?" and there's that dreaded question.

"i'm- I, uh" Fuck, why is his brain giving up on him now? He takes a little too long to respond and he sees Gumshoe connect the dots.

"Oh-" Phoenix isn't sure exactly what dots he's connected however. "Is it private business?"

"...yes?" What dots has he connected?

"Alright, want me to leave you alone pal?"

"Wait- you can just do that, I can just do this?" If he'd known it would have been this easy he'd have just asked.

"Well, don't say anything okay, but i tend to use these printers more than I should too" The man smiles sheepishly and scratches the back of his head.
"Look" He pulls out a picture of a small dog from his wallet. "This is one of the K-9s we're training right now, I print a picture of every dog we have and they sit on a wall at home! It's a lot cheaper than doing it at a library or something, do you know how much they charge for just three pictures these days?"

"He's cute" Phoenix remarks, then Gumshoe puts back the picture.

"He is! Anyways, I'll stand outside the room so just come out when your done. I trust you to not make a mess." How did a man so trusting become a homicide detective, Phoenix finds himself wondering as the door clicks shut.

At least that problem was solved.

When he gets home he sends off the commission and gets a quick 'Thank you.' in response.

He starts getting more involved in the fandom, mostly thanks to Maya. He posts doodles of characters he finds interesting when Maya finally gets him to sit down and watch the first season. She also tells him more about her own account now that he "knows enough about the franchise to appreciate her content".

It's a lot of incorrect quotes, character discussions, and links to fanfics she's written. He's not allowed to look at those apparently. She interacts a lot with other people and seem to be a relatively large voice in the community.

As he scrolls further back he notices a bit of a gap in posts, about a month. It started right around when she started working with him. Right after Mia.
She's back to posting now and he tries not to dwell on it. She's changed her username, he doesn't know what it was before, but the first post after her break talks about how she needed a fresh start. So now she's Pink-Princess-MF.

He's not sure it MF stands for Maya Fey or Mother-Fucker.

Meta's content is different. Phoenix takes some time to read through some of their most recent posts. It's all breakdowns of characters with names he doesn't recognize and scenes he hasn't seen yet. In all honesty he probably isn't going to watch more of the Steel Samurai unless Maya forces him to. Still, it's interesting to read anyways.

There's more depth to the characters of this kids show then he'd thought. He finds one post about the Signal Samurai. Meta talking about the series and comparing the characters to their modern counterparts in The Steel Samurai series.

There's something nostalgic about reading it. It reminds him of when he was a kid and he and his friends would theorize about where the plot was headed. After every new episode they'd talk the next day in school and try to figure out how the next episode was gonna go.

Shows like that have a habit of ending nearly every episode on a cliffhanger, but that made it perfect for his little friend group. Maybe he should re-watch it? He wonders if Maya's ever seen it.

He doesn't remember how the show ends, both he and Larry stopped watching it as often soon after Miles left.

"We gotta do this more often" Larry says with a mouth full of popcorn.

He's sitting on the sleeper sofa, which once again has been folded back into a couch, and staring intently at Phoenix's shitty tv screen.

Maya just nods, fully glued to the equally shitty fake explosion on said tv. She reaches over to Larry and grabs another handful of popcorn, most of which ends up on the couch. She knows damn well that she's gonna be the one sleeping there later so he doesn't care about the crumbs that much.

He invited Larry over for a movie night after digging through his old DVD collection, finding all the old Signal Samurai movies he saved. When he brings up the idea Larry insists on bringing his season one VHS as well so they can give Maya some context. Phoenix doesn't own a VHS player.

Larry had shown up with a VHS player and several tapes he recorded himself while the show was airing.

The show was terrible. The effects were bad and the fight scenes were nothing more than an exaggerated fistfight with fire in the background.

Needless to say, the movie night was a success.

"Get him!" Maya shouts suddenly as Signal Yellow hits this episodes bad guy with his over-sized hammer. "Wooo!"

"Look right, look left, then look right again!" Is heard from the tv, the villain gets hit from the right, left and right again.

This show really is stupid, Phoenix thinks. It's nice though, as both Maya and Larry cheer on the characters he finds himself doing the same. It's so familiar it almost hurts.

He remembers them all going over to Miles' place to watch it some evenings. His house always smelt of coffee and newly printed paper documents. Both smells that tended to linger around the Wright and Co. law office these days.

Miles would always insist on making them tea because that's what his dad did when clients came over, but most of the time his dad ended up making it so he wouldn't have to miss the beginning of the episodes. Phoenix has never liked tea, but that one was actually pretty good. That might be in part because Mr. Edgeworth let him have a bit too much sugar with it. He never learnt the name of it, maybe he should ask Edgeworth about it?

Larry holds out the bowl of popcorn towards him. He grabs a hand and focuses his attention back to the screen just in time to see the Signal Samurais do their winning pose with a cheesy "Safety first!" line.

"Alright, one more episode then we're gonna have to call it." He really is starting to sound like an old man. Maybe Maya has a point.

"Booooo!"

"We didn't even get to the movies dude!" Larry complains.

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" He points out and Larry bolts upright, the (thankfully) almost empty popcorn bowl clatters to the floor.

"Shit! Can't be late on the first day again" He runs up and starts grabbing his jacket and putting on his shoes "I'll leave the VHS stuff here for next time okay? Also thank you for cleaning up for me Nick you're the best- Bye!!"

Phoenix is about to say something, but the door already slams shut. "I guess that's it for tonight? You fix your bed and I take care of the floor and tv?"

Maya groans and throws her head back into the sofa, but stands up to start removing cushions to fold it out again. Cleaning goes pretty fast, it's too late in the night to use a vacuum cleaner in an apartment so they settle on brushing as much popcorn into the trash as possible and calling it a day. He puts back the DVDs and put Larry's tapes in the same box.

He realizes that he's already looking forward to their next movie night.

They don't get any new clients during the entirety of November, he's not sure he's even surprised at this point. Rent is cutting it a little close again and with Christmas coming up he knows he should probably look for something to do.

Sadly getting a case wasn't as easy as walking up to and asking people "Hey! Have you or a loved one recently been accused of murder?". However, he has another way of earning money.

His presence within the Steel Samurai fandom has been steadily growing within the last month. He been uploading a lot of art for it, some doodles at Maya's request, but mostly it's studies of character design. Drawing any mecha-character was always interesting. Normally you had human anatomy to go after and while diverse that could only go so far. With the different metal samurais could look very varied.

Sure all of them had the basic structure of a person due to an actor having to wear the costume, but with all the sharp angles and extravagant clothing it made for some interesting drawings.

He redrew some more scenes from the Signal Samurai, inspired by their now weekly movie nights. Those didn't do as well with his audience, but he finds he doesn't really care all that much.

Meta seemed to like his art. Their account, that was previously nothing but meta analysis with the occational art reblog, seemed to be filled more and more with reblogs of phoenix's drawings. It drew attention to his work so he wasn't complaining.

Maya also brought in a lot more attention to him, unlike Meta's reblogs that didn't really add onto it, her tags were full of commentary. Some of Phoenix's persona favorite tags of hers were "LET ME EAT THIS" "art by friend :D" "SIGNAL YOU'RE KILLING ME" and "I love these metal blobs way too much" .

He felt like he was really getting the hang of this social media thing.

All of this attention led to a snowball effect of more and more new people seeing his posts, by the end of november he had just under three-thousand followers. That's way too many people for his little doodles, in his own opinion.

All this to say, networking was going great!

He's now sitting with Maya trying to figure out proper commission prices. Something that would have been a lot easier if either of them knew how this was supposed to work.

"Gonna be real with you, I have no idea how to price these things" Maya says leaning back against the couch. "I've seen different artists take different amounts you know?"

"I thought I should price it like a painting, but with Meta's comment I'm not sure"

He'd drawn up a full body shot of the Steel Samurai and taken progress pictures in different states of completion. Phoenix tried to do some research into how he was supposed to do these things, most people seemed to have different prices depending on how polished it was. That seemed fair enough to him.

Now's only the issue of the prices themselves. They're getting nowhere like this, so he picks up the laptop from where it's lying on the paper covered desk.

Signal-Blueprint 

Hey, you've commissioned several artists right?

It takes a bit for a response. After a bit more procrastinating he hears the notification.

SteelMetaMe

Yes, how so?

Signal-Blueprint 

I'm trying to work out prices for my commissions and considering that you insisted on paying me more than I asked for I feel like you'll probably not fuck me over

SteelMetaMe

Oh. Alright, what type of commissions? Full body characters? characters and backgrounds? Fully rendered?

They go back and forth a bit before they find a price range that is both fair and won't make Phoenix feel like he's robbing someone.

It's early december when he finally opens commissions, two slots, Meta is the first one to respond.

SteelMetaMe

Hello. I would like to take one of the commission slots if they are still available?

They sent that message mere minutes after Phoenix put up the post about it.

Signal-Blueprint 

Yeah they're available alright! What you thinking this time?

SteelMetaMe

Another Steel Samurai thing I'm afraid.

Signal-Blueprint 

Alright, what are we doing this time?

He wonders vaguely if he's being too friendly with this stranger.
Once again they sit and talk ideas back and forth for awhile.

Meta wants another thing with the Steel Samurai and the Evil Magistrate. A softer picture looking over the Steel Samurai's shoulder as he offers his hand to help the wounded villain up. A gesture of peace, uncertainty in the Magistrate's eyes, and a quiet battlefield.

It's one of those things where Phoenix can practically see it in front of him when he reads the description. He suggests some color combinations and sketch up the basic shapes. Finally they settle on something and he gets half of the decided payment upfront.

Maya is staring him down the entire time he's drawing. They're once again sitting on the couch in the office, Charley the plant is looking a bit healthier these days now that Maya figured out how much water is too much. He's no longer being waterboarded, Phoenix has no idea how the plant survived that.

He has a few sketches where he's trying different shades and light directions. He's been doing this for what feels like hours. The one big thing he always hated about making art was the way it took so much to make it look even remotely like what he had in his head.

Also perspective. Not a big fan of weird perspectives.

Sadly this thing had both issues. He decides to take a break when he hears Maya sigh dramatically.

"What?"

"Oh nothing" she says.

"Alright then-"

"Can I help?" She interrupts before he can get another word out.

"What?"

"Like- I feel as if I'm just sitting around whenever we don't have a client. Could I do something to help with your art stuff?" Maya's standing up at this point. His sketches are thrown over the coffee table and so are the pens, she looks at him like a lost dog. "I could sort the pens or something? Or maybe I could help with ideas like last time?"

"I'm fine" He answers.

"or I could go down and copy something for you? do you need to copy anything?"

"I'm fine"

"I could try to sketch something or-"

"Maya." He says it slightly louder than intended. "I'm fine, just having a moment with this " he gestures to the heap of papers "you don't have to help me with anything right now"

This seems to be the wrong thing to say. She goes quiet for a moment clutching her necklace, twisting the beads like she does sometimes. He thinks it might be a nervous habit or maybe a self soothing thing.

"I know" She mutters finally. "but I want to help"

"huh?"

"I want to help. Nick, I don't like feeling useless you know?" She says it in a bit of a joking tone, but there's something more to it.

Thing is, she has been helping him!

She's been cleaning, she's been brainstorming ideas, she's helped with shopping, and so much more. She's not even had the chance to meditate or focus on her spiritual training lately.

She's always been doing something at all times and whenever he brings up that she could take a break or work on her training he's always hit with something like "No I'm fine" "i can do that later" or even "I don't feel like meditating today".

She's been keeping herself busy since they met, and now when Phoenix tries to force her to take a break, she doesn't want to sit still. He takes a breathe.

"Could you pose for me so I can figure this thing out?"

"Hold still"

"I'm trying!"

"I've seen you meditate in worse positions!" It's weird how they so quickly fall back into bickering. Neither of them want to linger too long on what the previous conversation might be holding, so it's nice.

"Yeah well, when I meditate I don't have to be aware of anything else" Her hand twitches a little and she shifts her position to be a bit more comfortable.

"Can't you meditate like this?" Once again the wrong thing to say.

"I haven't been able to meditate properly lately" She says it so quietly he doesn't know if he was supposed to hear it at all. "Can't you just sketch faster?" She complains a bit louder.

With Maya's help it is admittedly easier to figure out the perspective, but it's still bothering him a bit. He's not sure if it's the drawing or the spirit medium that is bothering him. Maya adjusts the magistrates pose slightly to what she thinks is more accurate, and easier to hold for longer, Phoenix just accepts the help.

After less than fifteen minutes they stop, they take a break, and they start again. They continue like this for a bit until Maya's stomach decides it is time for dinner.

Later that evening he get's a message.

SteelMetaMe

Hello. I wanted to inform you that I may not be able to respond much during this month. I will of course send you the rest of the payment when the line-art is done, but I may not have the time to chat.

Signal-Blueprint 

Yeah don't worry about it! The holidays tend to be hectic for most people so I totally get it, just respond when you have the time and energy

SteelMetaMe

Thank you.

Chapter Text

December continues. Phoenix finds himself with an issue he hasn't had to deal with in awhile.

Christmas gifts.

He had always wanted to get Mia things, but being a law student barely scraping by didn't allow for many festivities. He wanted to try to make her drawings or paintings for it, but he never really had the time.

During the first few Christmases Mia would often be out the entire day, he'd assumed it was with that sister she talked about, but asking Maya about it he found out that apparently she'd been visiting someone in the hospital. However, these last two years they'd celebrated together.

Celebrated might be a bit of a generous word. Mia would take a short visit to whatever friend it was, she'd politely refuse Phoenix's offer to come with. They'd save up money together to go out to an expensive restaurant Mia liked.

He thought about bringing Maya there this year to continue the tradition. Unless they got a client soon he wouldn't have the money to go out to that restaurant.

Maybe he could draw Maya something? She did seem really interested in his art. How is he supposed to ask her what she wants without spoiling the surprise? Plus he still has that commission to work on.

"Are you staying for Christmas?" He asks from the kitchen where he stands keeping an eye on the rice and fighting for his life to not get the wok sauce stuck to the pan.

"Huh?"

"Are you staying for Christmas" a bit of zucchini flies off of the pan and the oil nearly hits his hand. With a quiet curse he decides that it's well cooked enough and he shifts it away from the stove as Maya comes in.

"Yeah, I think so? Why?" She says with a head tilt.

"Just thinking about what I'm gonna do this year"

"I don't really celebrate Christmas" She shrugs and starts setting the table. It's weird how this is all practically routine. It's like a weird surprise roommate only she doesn't pay rent, but channels the dead sometimes. He's doesn't know enough about the cost of channeling sessions to know if this is really a fair trade.

"Oh right. Do you want to? I don't really celebrate it properly, was thinking maybe we could find some horrible Christmas movie to make fun of and stock up on snacks?"

"Hell yeah! OH Have you seen the horrible Steel Samurai Christmas cash-grab they made a few years back? It's so bad!" She lights up. "I think it even got a sequel, but I haven't seen it for the sake of my own sanity"

"I don't know how much more Steel Samurai I can take before it kills me"

"Are you gonna deny me my special interest on Christmas Nick? Damn, can't believe you'd do such a thing to me. The horror! The ableism!"

"Shut up" He motions towards the food and Maya grabs her plate.

Different versions of this wok has been a staple for Phoenix for years. His moms used to make it when they were low on money. It's one of those foods where you gather what you have at the moment and somehow it still feels special in a way.

It was becoming more and more of a staple lately with two mouths to feed. Somehow it still managed to make him think of home.

"Should we get each other Christmas gifts?" Maya asks between mouthfuls of noodles and vegetables.

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah" She decides after a moment. "We could get something for Mia too"

The line art was finished and he sent a picture of to Meta. Honestly it looked a lot better than the sketch which felt like a rare occurrence. Nonetheless it looked good!

Signal-Blueprint 

Alright, anything you want me to change?

There wasn't a response for two days.

SteelMetaMe

It looks nice. I'll send you the rest of the money shortly.

That was the extent of their conversation.

It's the thirteenth december and every store is decorated fully. To be fair they'd been full of glitter and fake snow since november, but now it actually felt festive.

Phoenix and Maya decided to take today to shop for gifts. The plan was to get into town, find a meeting spot, split up, and meet up after an hour. After that they were going to find something for Mia together.

They decided to meet up at the cheap burger restaurant they frequented, it's bad color scheme and bright neon sign was easy to spot.

Phoenix walks through the streets doing a bit of window shopping. It's pretty with the lights everywhere, stars painted on windows, displays full of ornaments and small fake gifts. He's not as big of a fan of the different Christmas songs blasting from every speaker. "Jingel-bell rock" trying to overpower "All I want for Christmas" while he walks through crowds of people.

It was all a bit overwhelming.

He wasn't sure how long it's been, he put an alarm so he wouldn't miss their rendezvous, but he didn't feel like pulling out his phone to check, he's been in and out of too many stores at this point.

He's not even sure what he's looking for. Something for Maya, something for Mia. What was that supposed to be? What did he like at seventeen? What do you get for your dead mentor who you only can meet through possession?

He walks past a few places. One place that catches his eyes is a toy shop. In the window sits dolls and figurines, but the thing he's looking at is the stuffed rabbit.
Maybe it was a bit patronizing to get someone who's nearly an adult a stuffed toy.

Regardless he walks in to look. The store is colorful and once again there's way too loud music blasting through the room. That coupled with the various groups of kids begging their parents for things and stressed grandparents buying the newest toys for their grand kids, it's practically as overwhelming as the streets outside.

He soldiers on. Through the toy car isle, past the legos, even past the Steel Samurai things. He's a man on a mission.

The plush shelf reaches the ceiling, it's stuffed with cute little critters from floor to roof. It takes him a bit to find what he's looking for.

A stuffed rabbit with pink fur and long floppy ears. It's the perfect size for Maya to hold in both arms, and as he picks it up he notices that it seems weighted. Oh that is perfect!

He knows Maya has a specific thing about texture and weight to blankets, it's been a bit of a problem now that it's getting slightly colder, he knows she likes putting a pillow on top of her own chest when she sleeps purely for the pressure. This is perfect!

Sadly "perfect" is also expensive.

Fuck. If anyone takes his second commission slot then maybe he could justify it, but right now there's no way. So he puts the rabbit back.

"Don't look at me like that." He says quietly. The rabbit, of course, doesn't respond.

He walks back into the streets without a stuffed animal in his hands. Maybe it's back to the drawing table, literally. He makes a mental note of the toy stores name and he moves on.

He walks in and out of a few more stores. None of them have anything good enough within his price range.

An obvious thing would be something Steel Samurai themed, but some stubborn part of him really didn't want to do that. He wanted to get her something that showed that he actually listened to her, something that could help her or that she'd really enjoy, something that wasn't so surface level, or maybe he just didn't want to deal with any steel samurai merchandise in his own home.
That is also a very real possibility.

His mom always talked about how a good gift should be thought out. She really took ' It's the thought that counts ' to heart and he suppose he must have done the same.

His thoughts are interrupted by walking straight into someone.

"Shit- sorry" He looks up to see who he crashed into, instead he is met with the curious face of a dog.

There's a man behind it, but the dog is standing in front of him almost as a barrier between the man and Phoenix himself.

That's when Phoenix notices the vest the dog is wearing. A red vest with small pockets on either side, black bands around, and written in big bold letters 'Service Dog'.

Oh.

Not only did he just walk into someone aggressively enough to knock them over, apparently he walked into a man WITH HIS SERVICE DOG. Good going Phoenix. Just great.

"I'm sorry" he starts again as he stands up. "here let me help you-" then he actually get's a good look at the man. Grey hair, winter coat, a practiced and familiar glare on his face. "Edgeworth?"

"Wright?" He seems equally as surprised. It takes a moment of both of them standing there before the prosecutor accepts his hand.

Standing at his full height looking Phoenix in the eyes would be a lot more threatening were it not for the big fluffy dog between them. The prosecutor looked from the dog up to Phoenix, the dog still standing like a protective wall between them, he looks almost embarrassed when he meets Phoenix's eyes.

"So uhhh, come here often?" That actually gets a smile from the other man.

"Not particularly," Edgeworth glanced at the store they crashed in front of, namely the same toy store Phoenix was heading back towards after everything else had failed him.

"Right. Are you Christmas shopping too?" Edgeworth just looked at him with the same unreadable gaze. "Well, I'm just looking for something for Maya" Phoenix should really shut up right about now "and trying to figure out something for Mia too, but we were gonna look for that later together" anytime now... he should shut up at any moment "so I suppose I'm just looking for something for Maya-"

"As a matter of fact, I'm in a bit of the same boat."Edgeworth, thankfully, cut him off.

"huh?"

"Looking for something for my sister." He had a sister? Phoenix never knew about a sister. Although if she's young maybe she was born after the Edgeworths left town? How long ago was that again?

"I found a nice weighted plush in there if you don't mind the price" he motioned towards the toy store.

"Right. Thank you."
There was still a tension in the air "I should get going."

"Right, uh okay. See you around?" With that yet another awkward interaction came to a close. He was not looking forward to seeing the other man in court next time if all their conversations outside it went like this.

He looked as the dog started to lead their way through the street, creating a clear path for her owner to navigate the crowd. Then they were gone, just another person in a sea of faces.

Phoenix returned empty handed, not that she would know. He's sizing up his options and planning on going back some other day. Maya meets him about ten minutes after the dedicated time she pokes him on the shoulder just as he's considering calling her.

"So, ready to go look for something for Mia?" She asks smiling sweetly at him as if she didn't just cause him to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Yeah, do you have any ideas?"

"Nope!"

"Great."

They spend the better part of two hours just going in and out of stores. They find nothing. What do you even get someone who's dead? What would she find useful these days?
Apparently neither Phoenix nor Maya knows the answer to that. Maya seems to be less and less excited as the number of shops they haven't checked slowly dwindles.

When they get home Maya flops down on the couch, face landing on a pillow with a sizable thud.
Fuck. So much for Christmas spirit.

"We can go back tomorrow" Phoenix breaks the silence.

"Yeah... I guess" Her voice is muffled.

"You okay? I'm sure we'll find something"

"yeah," She rolls around and meets his eyes. "Can't talk to her and can't find a gift for her. It's just kinda hitting me like a brick. This is gonna be my first Christmas without her"

"I thought you didn't celebrate Christmas?" Phoenix asks with about as much grace and subtlety as a creaky floorboard.

"I've never celebrated it really, but Mia would when she moved out and we'd send gifts to each other and call for hours"

"...and now you can't really talk to her" Phoenix filled in after she went quiet

"or find her a gift"

He sat down next to her and she just quietly sat up to lean her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a while just not saying anything, because what was there to say.

December continued on. The weather got colder, the streets got more and more crowded from people doing last minute Christmas shopping. Phoenix is one of these people.

His conversation with Maya from a few days prior gave him an idea for a gift, something cheap but still meaningful. Maya and Mia had written letters to each other before after the last cases, but he knew first hand that there was something special about hearing a persons voice. Watching old videos with his grandmother in them always meant more than re reading the old birthday card from her.

Now he knew Maya could probably just record her voice on her phone, but once again it's the thought that counts. He thinks of this as he looks around the tech area of a second hand place he used to frequent.

Till he sees it. A micro cassette player and recorder, black and silver and dustier than it had any right to be. Perfect size to hold in one hand or put in a pocket.

The old woman at the front desk greets him with a smile, her teeth are yellow and she smells like cigaretts. She's been working here for as long as Phoenix can remember. She rings it up for him, 3 dollars, says that she doesn't know if it works properly, but Phoenix knows that worst case he'll find a way to make it work.

December continues on and Maya decorates the office and his apartment despite his protests. Larry is more than happy to help Maya with it when their next movie night rolls around.

"Nick, we should watch a Christmas movie" Says Larry while balancing on a chair trying to put up fairy lights across a door frame. Lights that Phoenix wasn't aware he owned.

"Ooooh do you have any good ones?" Asks Maya cutting out a snowflake out of some expensive watercolor paper.

"I have Die Hard"

"Nick that won't do"

"What? it's a Christmas movie" He defends

"No it's not! Elf is a Christmas movie or like The Grinch" Larry objects. They've been having this same argument since they were both sixteen.

"Takes on place on Christmas"

"I've never seen any of those movies" Maya chimes in.

"Welp, then it's settled" Phoenix says, putting down his current commission and getting up from the couch. "We're watching Die Hard and Maya gets to make her choice"

They end up watching both The Grinch and Die Hard, they forget to ask Maya if it counts as a Christmas movie or not.

December continues on. Christmas finally rolls around. They head to the office as usual, Maya insists that they're gonna open gifts at dinner. She says it with that knowing smile, the smile that tells Phoenix that either she's got a secret plan or that his gift may possibly be a bomb. He's finished the colors on his drawing and just needs to scan it now.

"Hey, Hey, Nick! Do you know if there are any good waterfalls around here?"

"Waterfalls... dare I ask why?"

Their banter continues on and Maya says something about spirit training and he says something about the fire department, but that morning has all kind of blended together in his head.
The news anchor on the TV is a constant rumble in the back of their conversation before suddenly it's talking about a murder, then it's talking about...

"...the suspects name is Miles Edgeworth, age 24."