Chapter Text
At first, Mia thought she was just dealing with some poor washed-up college kid. One who'd maybe drank too much over his spring break, gotten into a little too much trouble. So she didn't think much of it when she waved him—blue beanie, grey hoodie and all—into her office.
"Come on in," Mia said, unlocking the door. It was just past nine in the morning. She wondered how long he'd been waiting.
The kid followed her awkwardly, hovering by the door until she gestured to one of the client couches, settling herself onto the opposite one.
"So," Mia said once they were both situated. She tried to give her best comforting smile. "Could you tell me what happened?"
Mia watched as the kid's eyes widened. They were two different colors, she noticed—one brown, the other blue. A moment passed, and then he seemed to realize that Mia was still waiting for an answer because he said, "I'm not here for representation."
"So then you're here because..." Mia said, watching as he dug in his pockets for something.
The kid glanced up at her. "Um, well..." He went back to searching his pockets. It took him a good minute to find whatever he had been looking for, which he held loosely in one fist. Then he blurted, "Are you taking any junior associates right now?"
"What...?" Honestly, Mia was flabbergasted. The kid didn't look anything like an attorney. But sure enough, he opened his hand, revealing that bright, sunflower pin.
"I know you probably have lots of people asking and if you wanted a junior, I'm sure you'd have one by now, but uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I have a resumé? If you wanna see it?"
Mia blinked at the kid a few times. She'd actually never thought about a protégé before. Maybe it would be nice, having someone besides her and Diego around the office. "Sure kid, I'll take a look."
The smile he gave her was blinding. It was almost like a more genuine version of one of those thousand-watt movie star smiles.
"Give me just one second," he said, pulling a folder out of his satchel. Mia hadn't even noticed he'd been wearing it, before. But then he handed her the sheet of paper, and Mia's jaw actually dropped.
"No way," she said, looking from the paper to the kid in front of her. "No freaking way."
"I guess it was too much to hope you wouldn't recognize the name," he said, taking his hat off and shaking out his hair. Now that it was free, it was taking on a distinctive, spiky shape. Mia wondered how she hadn't recognized him before. "But yeah. I'm Phoenix Wright, former actor, current attorney-at-law. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Fey."
"This is what you were doing for three years?" Mia exclaimed. She couldn't believe it, this was just insane. Not even the conspiracy theorists could come up with this stuff. "You quit acting and went completely off the grid so you could go to law school?"
"Yes...?" Phoenix was smiling nervously now. He started running his thumb over his attorney's badge absently.
"Okay, but why? Don't you already have lawyers?"
"Ms. Fey," Phoenix said quietly. He seemed to be searching her face for something. "Why does anyone become a lawyer?"
To get rich quick, Mia's mind supplied. But she got the feeling that wasn't what Phoenix was after—the kid had been a pretty successful actor before he ran off to law school.
"To save people," she said. That was why she was a lawyer, anyway. "To stand up for them, even when nobody's on their side."
"Well, there you go," Phoenix said. There was a glint in his eyes now, determination and...something else. "There's someone I need to save, and I couldn't trust anyone else to do it. I don't think that anybody else would do it, even if I asked."
Mia gave a low whistle. "Damn. And you didn't even try asking?"
Phoenix shook his head vehemently. "My friend—nobody would think there's even a point in saving him. You know Miles Edgeworth, right?"
"The Demon Prosecutor?" Mia asked, noticing the way Phoenix grimaced. "You could say we've met. Wasn't exactly pleasant. But yeah, I see where you're going with this."
"Right, so to save my friend Miles from the Demon Prosecutor...I need to be able to face him in court," Phoenix said. Mia felt a pang in her chest. Apparently, not even celebrities were safe from Edgeworth. "And Ms. Fey, you're the only one who's ever gotten something other than a 'guilty' verdict against him."
Mia sighed. "And you're really serious about this? You could probably get a job at any other firm—hell, you could go back to acting—and you'd be set. Is this really what you want?"
"Yeah," he said, nodding. "This is what I want. I already told you, I need to save him, Ms. Fey. And you're the only one who can help me do it."
"Alright, well..." Mia stuck her hand out. Phoenix grasped it firmly. "You've got my approval, kid. You might want to go home, make yourself a bit more professional before Diego gets in, though. He's a lot harder to impress."
"Oh! Oops!" Phoenix laughed, looking down at his hoodie. "Forgot I was wearing this. It's a lot easier to avoid press if you just look like some random dude off the streets."
Phoenix unzipped his hoodie to reveal a crisp white dress shirt, paired with a navy waistcoat and periwinkle blue tie. As he pinned his badge to his now-exposed lapel, Mia found herself asking, "How did you do that, by the way? It's been three years, and I don't think the paparazzi got a single shot on you. Are you like, a ninja or something?"
"Well, the hat definitely helps. I don't think it's a stretch to say my hair's my most distinctive feature," Phoenix said, running a hand through his spikes. "I've got a few wigs at home. Some colored contacts. You can never be too careful, y’know?"
"So you spent that whole time wearing different disguises?"
"Yup! Although, it was really one main disguise that I used for school and stuff. D'you wanna see it?"
"Um...sure?" Mia said, not sure what to expect. If it were any other celebrity, it'd probably just be a hat and sunglasses. But, well...Phoenix did not act like a normal celebrity. He seemed nice and all, but the kid definitely had a few screws loose.
"Alright, just give me a second," Phoenix said, grabbing a comb from his pocket and running it through his hair. After a few minutes, he'd flattened the spikes down and tied the hair into a loose bun. Then he pulled out a contacts case, slipping the grey colored lenses over his eyes.
Phoenix blinked a few times and and grinned at Mia. "So? What do you think?"
"How did that even work?" Mia asked, dumbfounded. She had been staring at Phoenix the entire time, but now she barely recognized him. Was his hair magic or something?
"You know, I'm not sure," Phoenix said, shrugging. "For some reason, nobody seems to recognize me without the hair."
"Three years of law school, and not a single person recognized you?"
"Nah, I took my classes online. I just showed up to audit every so often."
Just as Mia was about to answer, the office door creaked open, interrupting their conversation.
"Hey Diego," she called. She could think about Phoenix's (improbably effective) disguise skills later. "Get over here, we've got a baby lawyer looking for a job."
"We've got a new kitten, huh?" he asked, sauntering over. He was carrying a cup of coffee from that café by the courthouse they always went to. "Who's the..."
"Um, hi…?" Phoenix said, waving sheepishly at Diego.
"Nick, you should've told me you passed the bar, kitten," he said, grinning lazily.
"I only just found out last night," Phoenix informed him. He took out what looked like another resume. "But I came here first thing this morning. I wanted to talk to Ms. Fey before I talked to you."
"Two and a half years, and this is what I get. I can't believe you'd do this to..." Diego trailed off as he finally looked at the resumé. "Acting? This is what you've been doing for three years?"
"Yeah," Phoenix said with a wince. "Um. I'll let you guys talk. I can uh...go fix my hair. Yeah. I'll be right back."
As soon as the bathroom door closed behind Phoenix, Diego asked, "Since when was the only decent barista from our café a missing celebrity?"
Now that Diego mentioned it...Phoenix was definitely their favorite barista, the one who somehow knew all the interesting courtroom gossip. Mia wondered how she hadn't noticed before. "Since he went missing, I guess. According to Phoenix, it was how he kept people from recognizing him."
"Well, it worked," Diego said, snorting. "What's he doing here, anyways? He just decided to fuck off to law school one day on a whim?"
"He says there's a friend he needs to save," Mia said quietly. "Edgeworth is the one who got the verdict, so Phoenix felt like he didn't have a choice."
Diego grimaced at the mention of Miles Edgeworth. "Unfortunately, that does make sense."
"Yeah, so I was thinking we should take him in. If nothing else, it'll be nice to have a fresh pair of eyes around."
"I guess we could give the kitten a chance."
The bathroom door creaked open, revealing a nervous-looking Phoenix Wright. "Hi again," he said, running a hand through his spikes. He looked straight at Diego. "I'm Phoenix Wright, attorney-at-law and uh...I also know how to make coffee? Nice to officially meet you, Mr. Armando."
"Nice to meet you too, kid," Diego said, clapping Phoenix on the shoulder. "So if you wanna be a lawyer, why'd you come here?"
"You gave me your business card," Phoenix said, pulling out the offending card. Diego took it with a bemused expression. When she peered over, Mia could see little doodles all over it. "But also Ms. Fey is probably the best lawyer in the city."
Mia felt her face flush. "Flattery won't get you anywhere," she said, trying to muster up a scowl. "Especially when it's not true. There are plenty of better lawyers than me."
"No, there aren't." Phoenix shook his head. There was a quiet determination in his voice as he continued, "Because those other lawyers don't believe in their clients like you do. I've seen your trials, Ms. Fey. You fight tooth and nail for your clients, and I've never once seen you give up. And that's the kind of lawyer I need to be. I'll never be able to reach him, otherwise."
"Phoenix..." Mia said, feeling that pang in her chest again. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "With convictions like that, I know you'll be able to save your friend one day."
"You really think so?" Phoenix asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.
Mia looked at Diego, and then back at the kid in front of her. "Yeah, I really think so. Welcome aboard, Phoenix. We've got a lot of work to do."