Work Text:
"Last stop, Los Angeles," a voice announces over the speakers. "All passengers please disembark at this time."
Maya clutches her bag to herself as the train scooches to a stop. She did it! She told Aunt Morgan that she could. She made it all the way to Los Angeles herself, and she didn't drop her stuff even once.
She waits for everyone else to get off the train before standing. She's a big kid, but she's not used to crowds like these. There were more people on the train than can fit in the entire Training Hall! They'd carry her away before she could blink. Better to wait until it's emptier and get out on her own.
The station is big and loud and weird, but it's got signs everywhere, so Maya is able to find the gates no problem. She focuses so hard on following the signs that there's no brain left to feel nervous with.
Not that Maya has any reason to be nervous, of course. It's Mia! Maya may not have seen her in months, but that's still her big sister, the one who's loved her all her life. Just because she's spent so much time away from the village, surrounded by all these bright lights and fancy people, doesn't mean she'll have forgotten Maya. Not like mom—no, that's mean, Maya shouldn't think about the Master like that.
It doesn't matter anyway, because Mia is standing right outside the gate. She looks a little different than Maya remembers. Maya wrinkles her nose trying to figure out why. Mia has bags under her eyes, sure, but there's also something new about the way she's standing. She takes up more space.
Also her clothes are, like, super weird. Her jacket is black and shiny, and she's wearing pants! Maya's never seen her do that.
The way she smiles when she sees Maya is exactly the same, though. It sits warm and content in Maya's chest, stored for next time Aunt Morgan tells her she'll never be as good at channeling as Mia.
Maya launches herself at Mia, squeezing as hard as she can. "Big sis!"
"You made it!" Mia squeezes back just as hard. It doesn't hurt at all, though, because Maya's tough like that. "It's so good to see you again. It feels like it's been forever."
"Yeah!" Maya doesn't even mention that that's Mia's fault, because she's the best sister ever.
Mia steps back and looks Maya over again. "How was the train?"
"It was amazing!" Maya bounces in place. "It went super fast, and the village vanished like right away. And then we got to watch the mountains go by like whoosh!"
"It's pretty impressive," Mia agrees. "And you didn't have any problems?"
"Nope!" Maya does a flourish with her sleeves. It maybe knocks over her suitcase, but she picks it up really fast, so that's fine. "'Cause I'm mature," she finishes.
Mia says, "You sure are," but she says it like she's trying not to laugh, which is rude. She holds her hand out for Maya to take, though, so Maya will forgive her this time. "Now, come on. There's so much I want to show you, and we only have a few days."
"Okay!" Maya's about to say something else, probably something really cool and interesting, but then her stomach growls.
Worse, Mia hears it, and she laughs! "Or maybe we can get you some food first."
Maya wants to be clear: she is not pouting! She is mature, and she can take the train all by herself, and she is not at all pouting when she says, "But I want to see where you live! I don't want to waste time getting stupid food."
"Right." Mia nods. "Have you heard of fast food?"
"Of course," Maya says. "But you should tell me about it anyway, since it matters to you so much."
"I think it would be quicker to show you, actually." Mia smiles. "They call it fast for a reason."
Mia takes them through some doors and then down a staircase. They come out underground absolutely surrounded by people. Maya steps a little closer to Mia.
She couldn't tell you which way they went next. Everywhere she looks is full of color and sound and even smells, overwhelming but impossible to look away from. Shop windows display everything from impossibly-light clothing to screens three times as big as the biggest TV in Kurain. Mia really sees things like this every day?
She must, because she doesn't hesitate before bringing them to a small shop that smells of oil and meat. Maya's stomach growls again, but this time she can't bring herself to be mad, because she's about to eat what must be the best food ever.
She squints up at the menu, but Mia heads straight for the counter, so Maya lets her order for them both.
In what feels like no time, they're sitting at a plastic table, and Mia is unwrapping what seems to be a meat sandwich of some kind. "I wanted a hamburger," she explains. "You can try some of mine, and if you don't like it, we'll go somewhere else."
"Okay." Maya takes a bite, not sure what to expect but unwilling to back down in front of Mia.
As it turns out, it's the best decision she's ever made. She's had meat before - the Kurain Channeling School doesn't require strict vegetarianism except for the super fancy ceremonies - but never any that tasted like this. It's greasy and salty and she can't get enough of it.
Mia laughs. "Well," she says, "I guess I'm getting a new burger for myself, then."
She comes back with what she calls french fries, and those are amazing too, but it's the burger that Maya will dream about when she's back in her futon after a hard day's training.
(It's the burger that, years later, will come to represent a visit to Mia. A chance to get away from the strictures of training, away from the weight of the Master's chilly gaze. A place where the only thing the Fey name means is a sister who loves her, fiercely and unconditionally.
Equally importantly, it will represent a really good meal.)
"Come on, hurry up!" Maya can hear the whine in her voice, but listen. It's been a long four days. She thinks she's earned this.
"I am hurrying," Nick grumbles, not hurrying at all. It's like he doesn't even care that Maya hasn't had a hamburger in months, or that she thought she would never have one again. Do they have burgers in prison? She has to assume not.
Finally he makes it to the entrance. Maya follows him inside, because she's not exactly in a position to pay. It also means he doesn't see when she freezes, one foot in the store.
Which is stupid, because she's had plenty of time to think about her situation. She's more or less accepted the fact that this used to be her and Mia's thing, and now they'll never do it again. It's awful and unfair, and not even Ami Fey could do anything to change it, so what good is freaking out? She shouldn't be tearing up over smelling some stupid french fries.
Nick finally notices her hesitation, so Maya pastes on a smile. Sure, he's Mia's protege, not to mention the man who saved Maya when everyone said it was impossible. He's also basically a stranger. Maya isn't going to dump all of this on him out of nowhere, especially not when he should be celebrating.
"Come on," she says, "You've gotta try the milkshakes here, they're so good."
"They're milkshakes, how impressive can they be?" Nick grumbles. He gets out his wallet, though, so Maya is counting this one as a win.
They place their order. Nick gets a fountain drink instead of a milkshake, the traitor, and heads off to figure out the unnecessarily fancy drink machine. Maya takes the opportunity to scout out a table.
"So," Nick says when he gets back. "I've been meaning to ask. Why hamburgers, anyway? They don't exactly fit with the whole..." He gestures with the hand still holding his drink, then has to scramble to keep it from spilling.
Maya snorts. "Yeah, that's kind of the point. I can't get this at home, so I have to seize the chances I do get, right? Especially now that..."
Nick coughs. "Right," he says, too fast. "And this place is your favorite?"
Maya jumps on the chance to change the subject. "Not really," she says. "I mean, I don't have an actual list or anything, but this would be somewhere around number seven. But my favorite is an hour away by car, and that sounded like way more work than I wanted to do right now."
"Not to mention more cab fare," Nick mutters.
...Does he not have a car? Maya thinks very firmly about the hilarity of that, and not at all how it affects her chances of ever making it to her favorite burger joint again. She doesn't know if she could bear to eat there without Mia anyway.
Nick shakes his head. "So what makes one hamburger better than another, anyway? They all taste pretty much the same to me."
Maya's gasp is only a little exaggerated. It's one thing for him to take burgers for granted, inevitable and yet tragic as that thing may be. It's another for him to never give them any thought at all.
"Obviously you have to start with the patties," she says, and launches into her hamburger thesis, refined through years of arguments with Aunt Morgan and wistful phone calls with Mia.
It's possible she's also playing it up a little. It's nice to have something to think about that isn't—and anyway Nick could probably use the distraction too.
"And that is the structure of the perfect hamburger," she concludes. Then she takes a bite out of her own burger, which has been sitting neglected the entire time she's been talking. It's possible her priorities need adjustment.
Nick's eyes are wide and vacant. Exposure to a deep truth of the universe will do that to you. "I... see," he says at last. "Right. So hamburgers are the perfect food, then."
"Pretty much," Maya agrees.
She could leave it there. It would be easier for everyone, she knows. But she's in the one place she's allowed to be selfish, and despite the fact that she still doesn't know him, there's something about Nick that makes him feel safe. Like Pearl, maybe: family without fangs.
"Also," she continues before she can talk herself out of it. "It reminds me that there's more to me than Mystic Maya Fey. It's hard to look spiritual and dignified while eating a hamburger, you know?" She attempts a smile. "As long as I'm here, I'm just another teenager eating junk food and trying to decide if I'm too old to get a kids' toy." She takes a long, loud sip from her milkshake before daring to look at Nick.
He's rubbing his chin, looking at the ceiling with thoughtfulness that has to be exaggerated. "Probably," he says slowly, "but after the last few days, I think you've kind of earned it."
Maya blinks. She hadn't meant that one literally, and in fact she's pretty sure the toys right now are tie-ins for a movie she's never seen. On the other hand, now that it's an option, she can't deny the allure of a pointless piece of plastic.
"I have, haven't I?" She slams her hands on the table the way Nick kept doing in court. "Come on, Nick!"
Tomorrow, she knows, everything will be exactly the same. Maya will still be the next Master, and Mia will still be dead. Some good (or, well, decent) food and a cheap trinket aren't enough to fix any of it.
But they can't hurt, either. Neither can the look on Nick's face when Maya gives puppy dog eyes to the exhausted cashier. She'll tuck them close to her heart, evidence of Mia's final gift.
She'll get through this. And someday, she resolves, she will take Nick to her favorite burger place, and they'll talk about Mia without flinching.
Maybe, if Nick is good, Maya will even consider paying.