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Phoenix was prepared to spend Christmas alone this year. The last two Christmases he went home and endured embarrassing family dinners, but this year Phoenix was spared due to his excuse of having work. Which was not a lie – he might suddenly have a client. He just didn’t have one currently. His family did not have to know that.
However, Maya was staying over for Christmas too. Apparently the people of Kurain didn’t celebrate Christmas so there was no reason for Maya to have gone home. She had wanted instead to soak up the Christmas cheer in Los Angeles. Phoenix agreed to take her around L.A. since he had nothing better to do and no one better to spend with.
So on the 24th of December, Phoenix was dragged out of bed at 8am sharp, by the incessant ringing of his doorbell. Maya looked at him bright and cheerful when he opened the door with a bleary glare. She wore a matching jacket over her usual Kurain dress. Her scarf was matching too. If he wasn’t so sleepy, he would make a remark on her sense of fashion. But as it was, he didn’t even have enough brain cells to formulate a question.
“Maya. It’s 8am right now.”
“Stop stating the obvious Nick!” She was still standing there too goddamn cheerful for 8am on Christmas Eve. Oh wait. It’s Christmas Eve. She was here because he promised to take her around L.A. to see the Christmas lights and stuff, but…
Oh heck, what was the word that is used to express a demand for an answer to a question…oh right. “…Why so early?” That was it.
“We need to start early if we want to do everything, Nick!” Maya had her usual earnest expression as she produced a long list from her pocket. Oh dear, Maya was prepared. He should have known she would have taken this seriously if nothing else.
Phoenix sighed, opening the door a bit wider to let her in. He wrapped his dressing gown tighter around him when the outside chill drifted in along with her. “Well, you’ll have to wait for me a bit. I have to tea and shower.” It was 8am on Christmas Eve, he was not going to be condescended by his conscience for misusing a noun as a verb!
At least Maya didn’t seem to mind it as she made her way to the countertop in his kitchen. “Yeah, definitely shower, Nick. You look like a bedraggled porcupine right now.” She giggled as she took the teapot to the sink and rinsed it. “I’ll make the tea. Milk, two sugars, right?”
At her offer, Phoenix decided to be magnanimous and not glare at her for the porcupine comment. “Yeah please.” He absently ran a hand over his hair as he went back into his bedroom to gather some clothes for the day, wincing as he heard the clinking of porcelain in the kitchen. Hopefully Maya won’t break his teapot. He could replace his mugs easily, he was probably getting another set of mugs from his family for Christmas this year, but that teapot of his was precious. As precious as that ring in Lord of the Rings.
“Ah that was a bad pun.” Phoenix laughed a bit at himself as he got into the shower, turning on the hot water to the maximum. He finished quickly and got out, pleased to see that his teapot was still intact and that there was a very hot cup of tea waiting for him. Maya was sitting on his couch with another mug of steaming tea with some cookies she’d dug out from his cupboard. He grabbed his tea, took a satisfying gulp, and sat down next to her. “Thanks Maya.” It was a good cup of tea. Maya knew how to make tea really well.
“No problem!” Maya’s excitement was palatable. If she was a little child, she’d be jumping all over the place. As she was a bit above being a little child, the most Maya was doing was bouncing up and down on his couch.
Phoenix laughed. “You know, you can’t see much of the Christmas lights during the day.”
Maya looked at him like he was crazy. “Well of course we’re seeing the Christmas lights at night Nick! Right now we need to go to the Walk of Fame! Then Little Tokyo since Mr Powers told me that they’d be doing a special Steel Samurai Christmas pantomime there! He even got us tickets! Also I want to eat dango!”
“So…” Phoenix was a bit at loss for words. “You want to go to the Walk of Fame in those clothes?”
“What’s wrong with my clothes!” Maya looked shocked.
“They match. Too well.” He wrinkled his nose. “It’s not fashionable like this anymore.”
Maya threw her purple mittens at him in protest and pouted. “Speak for yourself Mr Porcupine! Your clothes completely clash! What kind of fashion is that?”
“Hey this is the best kind! Don’t you know that GQ said that it’s fashionable for men to go for bold colours this season?” Phoenix puffed his chest out, proud of his cobalt blue jumper and bright red scarf combination.
“Not like that! It’s completely against the colour scheme! This year’s Pantone rated that blue shade as the least fashionable!”
“Pantone doesn’t rate things as unfashionable!”
They continued to bicker over their differing ideas of fashion until they finished their tea and cookies.
“Right Nick! Ready to go and see the stars?” Maya sent him a cheeky grin as he pulled his jacket on and made sure he had his keys, cell phone and wallet.
“Well considering we’re just going to go see their handprints –ouch!” Maya deliberately flipped her scarf in his face as she wrapped it on herself. She stuck her tongue at him afterwards. “I still think a white scarf would go better with that outfit – alright, let’s go, let’s go!” He dashed out the door, laughing as Maya chased after him in mock anger.
It was going to be a good day.
The Walk of Fame was crowded with like-minded tourists. It was decked in a lot of Christmas reds and greens, with a huge Christmas tree at the end that towered over the long strip of boardwalk. Twinkling lights that had already been turned on, even though they could not been seen clearly, lined the sides. There were a lot of children dressed up as deer or Santa or other Christmas-related characters.
Maya and Phoenix tried to weave in between the crowds to find the handprints of their favourite stars. “Who’s the one you want to find?” Phoenix asked, his voice louder than usual in order to be heard over the din.
“Lob Sterboling!” Maya shouted back excitedly. Phoenix halted all of a sudden, causing Maya to bump into him. “Ouch! Nick?”
He turned back at her. “What? Boiling lobster?” He was pretty sure there wasn’t someone like that at the Walk of Fame.
Maya looked offended as if he’d called her a boiling lobster. “Not a boiling lobster! Lob Sterboling! Lob’s the main actor of the Silver Soul Samurai series! It’s a spinoff to the Steel Samurai set in a futuristic Edo with aliens!” She put her hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture. “How could you be so ignorant, Nick?”
He snorted. Why anyone would name their kids like puns was something he would never understand. “Are you sure your lobster would be here? He doesn’t sound famous enough to get on the Walk of Fame.”
“Nick, don’t be so mean!”
“Okay, okay! We’ll find your lobster.” He laughed as he could almost hear her pout behind him. “This place is a mess though.” The handprints weren’t organized alphabetically, for all he could deduce. So…it was probably organized chronically? According to when they shot to their fame? Then, if Lobster boy really was here (well his handprint), then it would be right at the end. He sighed.
“Oh Nick, Nick!” Maya grabbed his arm all of a sudden, startling him.
“What is it Maya?” He looked back over his shoulder at her.
She was pointing excitedly at a hotdog stand nearby. “They’re selling Samurai Dogs here!” Indeed there was a sign that boldly declared ‘Samurai Dogs’ on the roof of the hotdog caravan. Maya looked at him with puppy eyes. “I really want one, Niiiiiiick.”
Phoenix sighed again. It did smell good though, and he was feeling a bit hungry. “Okay,” he gave in, hiding his smile as Maya cheered and bounded over. “Get one for me too!” He called out as he hurried after her.
Hotdog in hand, they finally made it to the end of the boardwalk. Phoenix was surprised (and slightly relieved) to see a rather fresh-looking plaque with two big handprints imprinted in the middle of the grey stone, with gold lettering on the top that declared LOB STERBOLING. Maya cheered again and got Phoenix to take photos of her with the plaque.
“You too Nick!” She yelled happily as she grabbed the camera and shoved him onto the plaque. He was glad he had just finished the hotdog or it would have made a mess. Putting his slightly dirty hands into the grooves made by the handprints, he suffered through a photo for Maya. “Now a selfie!”
“What?! I don’t do selfies!” Phoenix protested, feeling that he at least had to put up a token fight. It was a matter of self-dignity. A small part of his brain muttered that with all the shenanigans he got into in his youth and even now, he had no right to mention self-dignity. The larger part of his brain just shut that part up.
Maya ignored his protests, crouching beside him and turning on the selfie mode of the camera. “Say long live the Steel Samurai, Nick!” She chirped before pressing the shutter button.
“That was way too long. People usually say cheese, you know.” Phoenix grumbled as he got up, knees creaking slightly. He winced. Was he getting old already? “Also, isn’t this guy supposed to be, what, Silver Soul Samurai? We’re being a bit disrespectful to Lobster guy.”
“For the last time, Nick, it’s Lob, not lobster! And this photo is for Mr Powers! Once we get this on a computer I can Photoshop it to say Will Powers! Do you think he’ll like it as a card?” Maya looked really happy at the idea. And then her expression fell, her hand going to cover her mouth, a gesture she did often when she was depressed. “It’s really terrible that they didn’t invite him for a handprint because of his looks…”
Phoenix felt a bit depressed too at the thought, since Will Powers was a genuinely nice person, if not a bit overemotional and dramatic. Just because he could look a bit scary when he was quiet did not mean the entertainment industry could do this sort of thing to him, but Hollywood was Hollywood. “Yeah I think Mr Powers would appreciate it, Maya. That was nice of you.”
The next destination on Maya’s list was Little Tokyo. They had some time before the show so they decided to grab some food. The ramen place was a small hole-in-the-wall type of place, and Phoenix learnt of Maya’s love for ramen for the first time. She practically inhaled her Shio ramen when it was placed in front of her, slurping appreciatively.
“What do you think would be better: a ramen-flavoured burger or burger-flavoured ramen?” Phoenix couldn’t help but ask as he ate his noodles slowly, careful not to burn himself. The question made Maya pause. She bit on her chopsticks as she contemplated.
“I honestly can’t decide! Oh no Nick what do I do?” Maya’s concern made him laugh. “Nick! It’s not a funny matter! What if I was kidnapped and made to choose between the two?”
“Pretty sure no kidnapper would be so nice as to offer that type of food, Maya.”
“You never know!”
“Okay, so what if you had to choose between only having one for the rest of your life, what would you pick?”
“What kind of world would that be if I had to choose between ramen and burger!?” Maya looked devastated as she thought about it.
“Well with global warming and stuff, we could have a food shortage…” Phoenix knew he should stop before Maya had a meltdown, but it was too fun.
“Nooooo!” But Maya recovered fast. She quickly turned to Phoenix. “Well you know what this means then, Nick? This means you should treat me more often to ramen and burgers!”
“What sort of conclusion is that?”
“This is what the evidence points towards! Take that!” Maya mimicked his usual pose when he was presenting evidence in court with a smirk.
“Objection!”
Of course Phoenix’s objection was overruled, and he paid for their ramen. Maya got him (and herself of course) dango as thanks. Whenever Maya was around, they were always eating, Phoenix reflected. It was how he got his nutrition these days, he guessed, since if he was working by himself he would neglect to eat. Maya acted like a food alarm when she was around the office, reminding him that they both need food.
Even Phoenix had to admit that the show was pretty good, although most of the patrons were children and their accompanying parents. Maya was amongst the most excited of the audience, cheering whenever the Steel Samurai defeated his foes. They didn’t go backstage to meet the performers since it was completely crowded, and Maya said Powers promised them an autograph from everyone, so they left when the show ended.
It was dark when they left the theatre so the lights had been turned on. Maya ohh-ed and ahh-ed at them as they walked back. She had her camera out constantly.
“I’ll get prints after and we can put them in the office!” Maya looked happy as she flickered through the photos in her camera. “Sis used to have a wall in her office where it was all photos. She said Mr Grossberg said it was unprofessional for clients to see her private life, plus dangerous, so she got a curtain to hide them whenever a client would visit her. We can do the same!”
Phoenix felt a bit sombre as he thought about his mentor. “Did you go around LA during Christmas with Mia before?”
“Yeah! Even if she had a case she’d take out time to have dinner with me.” Maya smiled in memory. “Once I had to cook since she fell ill.”
“But you don’t celebrate Christmas?”
“Well, Kurain doesn’t, but we like to take advantage of every celebration for a family gathering. Though I have a favourite cousin whose mother is really strict so she doesn’t get to celebrate Christmas. It’s really sad.”
This was the first time Phoenix heard Maya talk about her other family members, except for Mia, so he had wanted to talk more, but they had already arrived to the apartment complex that Mia used to live. Maya had inherited it after Mia was gone, so she stayed there.
“Oh it’s watering day for Charlie tomorrow! I’ll go back to the office.” Maya said after she gave Phoenix a quick hug.
“I was going to go back to finish up some paperwork. I can do it.”
Maya gave him an incredulous look. “Nick! It’s Christmas Day! Don’t you have anything better to do than work? You shouldn’t be working on a holiday!”
“Not really…” He didn’t find it strange to be going back in the office on a holiday; Mia and an old mentor of his back at university used to do that on holidays too. “And it’s good to get paperwork out of the way.”
“Gosh Nick! Don’t you have other friends you can meet? And there’s not much paperwork left anyways.” There was always Larry, but he was either busy goofing around with some new girl or being miserable by himself. Either option wasn’t favourable for Phoenix. Maya sighed when she saw Phoenix struggling to recall someone. “I honestly thought you had plans for Christmas! Or else I would’ve offered earlier. Grossberg offered to buy me lunch tomorrow, but I think he just wants advice on his daughter. Did you know we’re the same age? Come with me!”
Phoenix didn’t think Marvin Grossberg would buy Maya lunch on Christmas Day. Or that he had a teenage daughter. “He has a daughter?”
“Yep, but she lives with the mother since they’re divorced.” Maya informed him conspiratorially. “So?”
“Oh, right. Yeah sure, I hope he doesn’t mind though.” Phoenix scratched his head absentmindedly.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t! I’ll see you at the office tomorrow then. Good night, Nick! Merry Christmas!”
Phoenix smiled. “Good night, Maya. Merry Christmas to you too.” As he walked home, he was suddenly grateful that he did not have to spend Christmas alone.
Of course, Christmas Day ended up with Phoenix going to the precinct to visit Edgeworth who had been arrested, and the whole case with DL-6 and von Karma and the parrot ensured that he definitely was not alone.