Work Text:
> September 20, 2014, 10:05 PM
> Fey & Co. Law Offices
Mia had given a soft hum in response to Phoenix’s question. Granted, she hadn’t really been listening to what he had said, but it was probably his 50th question of the night, and she was getting tired.
“O-oh! And what about-” The college student had squirmed in his seat while continuing to ramble. He was usually rather excited when it came to discussing law, and tonight was no different. “I mean, as long as I get to see him again I think it will be worth it,” Mia looked up from the thick law book she was scanning when he said this, and it reminded her of a question she had been meaning to ask for a while.
“Switching majors was a pretty tough process though, I wonder if-”
“Phoenix?”
“Huh? Yeah, Ms. Fey?”
“Who is he, the man you’re always going on about? The one you want to save.”
The office was dark, and neither had bothered to turn on a light besides the one lamp that illuminated the single desk they were both working on.
“Oh, uh. him? He’s an old friend…” Phoenix trailed off, his mind switching gears to the new topic.
Mia rested her arms over her book. “What do you need to save him from?”
He rested his hand behind his neck while frowning in what seemed to be contemplation. “I just know that he isn’t happy. There’s something that’s forcing him to be so awful. I know it!I can’t just stand-by and watch him hurt people! T-There’s something about letting him be like this that just scares me...”
“But what makes you think that-”
“I can save him?” Phoenix’s face had sobered at that. He now wore this hard, determined expression that made him appear years older.
“I might not be d-dependable, but nobody else is going to help him. So it has to be me. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. I... would probably have just thrown myself into a new relationship instead…”
Mia softly cringed at the remark. After all, she had been given a front row seat to all his trauma.
He continued. “...I’m becoming an attorney because I want to protect people who have no one on their side. If I find the truth, it’ll be the best tool for saving those people! For saving him.”
“It’s not your job to save people, Phoenix. You’re not studying to become a superhero. You’re studying to become an attorney.”
Phoenix didn’t give a response outside of looking away from Mia as a way to disregard her words.
Mia sighed. She knew what it was like to put other’s weight on your shoulders. To name yourself responsible to fix others misfortunes.
But, if there was anything that her sister taught her, it was that you can always drown out your problems with food.
Phoenix looked emotionally and physically exhausted from his rant, but after Mia had come back from heating up the leftover ramen from the previous night, Phoenix decided he could worry about re-reading the “Demon Prosecutor” article for the 67th time later.