The Role of a Lawyer

Disclaimer: Seeing as this is a series about the act of lawyer-ing, I especially don't want them attempting to sue me. So, I own nothing.

This was written for Day 3 of Shipping Week over at the Caesar's Palace forum. The prompt today was 'Cry', which probably explains how these two came to mind. Enjoy! Or don't; whichever you prefer.

"Nick…"

Phoenix dimly registered the girl in front of him waving her hand. The more time she spent doing so, the more frantic her movements became, until eventually her fingers were five tiny blurs. Sleep was preferable to that visual.

"Nick…"

He vaguely heard snapping sounds. Phoenix willed one bleary eye open to see she had begun snapping those minute blurs. Only, they weren't blurs anymore. When had that happened?

'Blurs don't just become fingers without probable cause…' Phoenix thought drowsily. "Something bigger's going on here… But what could it be?' Were Phoenix in any way cognizant, he would have placed a hand on his elbow, and used the hand that elbow was connected to to cup his chin with his forefinger and thumb. That was his 'thinking pose', and he claimed it made his thoughts clearer and quicker. Mia had just looked at him funny whenever he did it.

'Mia…'

"Nick!"

Suddenly, he was fully cognizant. And his shoulder hurt.

Now fully aware of his surroundings, he could see that the girl in front of him was looking rather incensed. Her nostrils were flared, her eyebrows were furrowed, and her frown was actually impressive.

"What was that for?" Phoenix asked, rubbing his shoulder as he did so.

Maya huffed, still ticked off. "I said your name ten times!"

"Did you?" That didn't seem like a wise question to ask, as she smacked him yet again. On the same shoulder, as well.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Phoenix yelled, holding his hands up as a makeshift shield.

Maya ceased her assault, but when Phoenix dared to peek over his hands, she still appeared to be miffed.

"Why do you keep zoning out so much?" she asked, looking kind of hurt.

Phoenix lowered his left hand, and cupped his forehead with his right. "I don't know," he said, running the hand down the length of his face. "I guess I'm just tired." He sighed, then continued. "I'm not used to doing all this paperwork by myself."

Maya's face fell at those words, losing all traces of her earlier frustration. Said frustration was replaced by sadness, and her shoulders slumped. Her eyes gazed blankly at the floor and Phoenix felt a painful stab of guilt for being so careless with his words.

"Damn it…" Phoenix cursed his words, and reached his hand out to touch her shoulder to offer some insufficient comfort. "I'm sorry, Maya. I wasn't thinking."

"I-It's okay," she choked out, her voice quivering, her eyes still fixedly staring at the floor. "You didn't mean to do it."

Even still, he felt awful about it. He was reeling, and he knew she was undergoing the same grief, even if they were coming at it from different angles.

'I can't keep dragging her down with me. I'm a lawyer; I'm supposed to keep a brave face for my clients.' Even though she was technically a former client, he was determined to uphold that principle. She didn't deserve to be reminded of what she had lost by anyone, least of all him.

Besides, he knew Mia wouldn't want Maya to suffer on her account.

And yet again, his mind was assailed with memories of his mentor. Times spent out having meals or drinks, times spent in the courtroom where he intently studied every movement she made, times spent poring over evidence as she devised strategies and attempted to puzzle out the answer. Even times spent just doing pointless busywork were brightened by her presence and her wit.

Which made the sting of having her ripped away from this life all the more potent.

He felt his eyes watering with tears that had thus far been unshed. The temptation to allow them to spill was overwhelming, but one look at Maya's hunched form trampled that idea underfoot.

"Hey, Maya," he said softly, being careful not to betray his turbulent emotions. Phoenix rubbed her shoulder in an awkward attempt to make her feel better, and bring her chin back up. It seemed to work, as she lifted her head up afterward. Her eyes were sparkling, but she hadn't yet let them fall, and Phoenix was going to do his very best to prevent them from doing so.

"I can finish this stupid paperwork tomorrow. You wanna go get some grub?" he invited, quirking his lips in a small, but unquestionably genuine smile.

She sniffled before answering. "S-sure," she hiccupped slightly, though her voice thankfully wavered far less this time 'round.

Phoenix's smile became wider as he pulled his suit jacket on and stood from his desk, beckoning her with his hand when he came around to its front. Maya followed without the usual pep in her step, but her head was held high and her eyes weren't watery, so he figured he was making progress.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they were exiting the Law Offices of F- Wright & Co.

He turned back, smile still in place. "It's a surprise."

'How many of these is she going to eat?'

Phoenix could only gawk with fascination as Maya scarfed down burger after burger in rapid succession. She had to have eaten at least five in the fifteen minutes they'd been there. He had barely eaten a third of his precious chicken sandwich, though that could be explained by his inability to tear his eyes away from from the simultaneously fascinating and disgusting sight before him.

Polishing off her sixth one, Maya let out a long and satisfied belch. Thankfully for Phoenix's embarrassment levels, the joint they were dining at was practically abandoned, with the remaining staff of surly college students making up about eighty percent of the current populace.

"I love this place!" Maya said as she wiped her mouth with her forearm and picked another burger up from her tray. "How did you know about the burgers here?"

'You might've mentioned it a million times. I could be miscounting, though.'

In the physical world, Phoenix just shrugged. "Lucky guess."

"Really?" And now she was talking with her mouth full. Lovely. "That's weird…"

He quirked a brow. "Hmm? How so?"

Maya swallowed before responding, much to Phoenix's delight. "I just thought Sis might have told you about it…"

Like clockwork, her face became an image of downcast hurt once again. She placed her food back down onto the tray and stared at the tabletop.

Phoenix sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. 'Jesus Christ, really!? Of all the places I could've gone, I just had to pick this one…'

Keeping his hand in place, he began to apologize yet again.

"I'm sorry. If I'd have known, I wouldn't have-"

He felt something touching his hand that was still on the table. Phoenix removed his hand from in front of his eyes and saw that Maya had placed her hand atop his, and was looking at him with understanding and gratitude swimming in her eyes.

"You don't have to apologize, Nick," she reassured him, her voice watery, but still firm. "I know you're doing your best to make me feel better. It's working, too."

'It is? I thought I was making it infinitely worse.'

"Still," he said, putting some humor in his tone, "I really am sorry. I'm still getting the hang of this whole 'comforting' thing."

Maya giggled at that. "You're doing better than you think. But," she said, her expression becoming more wistful as her eyes seemed locked onto something far, far away, "you wanna know what would really help?"

"...Yeah?"

"Could you…" Maya trailed off as her voice became smaller, as if she was afraid to ask her question. "Could you tell me what you remember about her?"

Phoenix was about to inquire as to why, but she clarified just as he opened his mouth. "I hadn't seen her in so long. Not since I was a kid…" She swallowed, and continued onward. "I miss her, but it almost feels…" Maya stopped speaking, and she began to shake slightly. Phoenix, sensing she was on the verge of breaking down, swiftly rose from his side of the table and moved over to her side, pulling her into a hug. Maya, after a moment where she seemed shocked and unsure of what to do, returned the embrace by tightly wrapping her arms around as much of Phoenix as she could (she really was a tiny thing) and burying her head into his chest. Sobs then began to wrack her body, and she clutched him even tighter.

Phoenix was going almost entirely on instinct; he hadn't often had to comfort a crying woman before. For his part he didn't seem to be doing anything wrong. He rubbed her back and whispered calming reassurances into her ear.

It didn't matter that members of the the staff were looking at them oddly. It wouldn't have mattered if the entire place was packed wall wall and gawking. All that mattered to Phoenix was trying to pull this poor, innocent girl out of the quagmire she was stuck in and back towards the sun. She was too bright, too effervescent to leave behind in such misery. Even if she was exhausting after awhile, she was too good-hearted to be so sad all the time.

Eventually, the sobbing subsided, and her breathing regained a normal speed. Maya pulled out of their embrace and looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her nose was running just a little, but he had only a smile for her. She sniffled a little before speaking again.

"It feels like I didn't really know her," she said quietly, though she kept her eyes focused upward, thankfully. "That's what hurts the most. I… I wanna know more about her. I wanna feel like I knew her." She looked up at him pleadingly.

He was only too willing to acquiesce.

He began by telling her how he and Mia had first met one another, and all the heartbreak and confusion that came with it. Recalling his trial always made him a bit emotionally unstable, but as he sat there, telling Maya the tale, the memory of Mia served to keep him from succumbing to his own crying fit. After all, the role of a lawyer was to keep smiling in the face of certain defeat.

"Phoenix? Are you okay?"

Phoenix started, disoriented after being pulled out of the realm of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

Mia stood in front of his desk, looming over him from her current position. He didn't feel intimidated, however. Her eyes were void of anything but concern, and she knelt down closer to his level.

"You're crying."

He hadn't even noticed, and unconsciously rubbed at his eyes to dry them.

"S-sorry about that," he said, embarrassedly.

She responded by placing a hand on his shoulder, startling him momentarily. "Don't be. What's wrong?" Her voice was pure honey to his ears: soft, sweet, and caring.

"It's…" He sighed, looking down at his lap. "It's the anniversary of when Dollie- Dahlia and I had our first date."

"I'm sorry, " she said, rubbing her hand along his shoulder. "I'm sorry you ever got drawn into her web."

"Don't be," he said, not understanding why she seemed to blame herself. "It's not like you could have prevented it or anything."

Mia grimaced slightly, something Phoenix found strange. 'Could she have…?'

He didn't intend to ask, but she answered his unspoken question anyway.

"I… About a year before were put on trial, I had my first one. I was defending a man named Terry Fawles…"

From there she recounted the tragic tale of how close she had been to putting Dahlia away before she manipulated an innocent man into taking the blame and committing suicide right there in the courtroom. Phoenix was horrified to know that yet another man had fallen due to Dahlia's wickedness, and was painfully aware of how close he had came to sharing poor Terry's fate.

"I was distraught after that," Mia continued, her voice heavy with emotion.

"I can imagine…" Phoenix said, wincing as he registered how insensitive his choice of words could sound. They sat in silence for a spell after that, neither of them moving. Phoenix, despite having some trepidation, was curious about something.

"How were you able to keep it together during my trial? Because of me, she almost got away again."

Mia shot him a watery smile. "Because a lawyer is someone who smiles no matter how bad it gets."

At Phoenix's confused expression, she explained the creed's origin. "After the Fawles trial, I was beside myself. I was crying right there at the Defense's side. I couldn't stop myself." She sighed heavily. "But my mentor, Diego Armando," (she said his name with such fondness). "He told me to stop, and when I asked why, and how he could expect me to do that, he said that to me. I've lived by it ever since."

Phoenix exhaled, a bit overwhelmed by how much of herself Mia was revealing to him. Just then, a light went off in his head. "Wasn't he the one that she… Poisoned…"

As soon as he had mentioned that, Mia's eyes grew dark, and lost their signature warmth that never failed to captivate him so.

He began ushering out panicked apologies in the hopes of repairing his verbal blunder, but she didn't seem to have any response. Phoenix hastily began thinking of ways to comfort her. One such thought made him blush at the idea, but he could conjure nothing better. Steeling his nerves, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

He began nervously tracing circles on the back of it, all the while saying anything he could think of to drive the pain she was feeling away. For a few minutes, it seemed like his efforts were all for naught, but after he fell silent, fresh out of words to say, she squeezed his hand and looked back up, a grateful smile painting her face.

"If you only take one lesson away from me, Phoenix, remember to keep smiling no matter how hopeless it gets." As if to entice him further, she widened her own smile and squeezed his hand harder.

Phoenix squeezed back and gently traced a pattern as he replied.

"I will, Chief. I will."

"She sounds so awesome…"

Phoenix laughed wistfully, recalling all of the times he had watched her raise an objection and shatter a prosecutor's point with a piece of evidence, and how many times she had managed to convince even the most terrified clients that everything was going to be alright.

"Yeah… She was."

He had told Maya about how she was always there to either make a wisecrack about his antics - all of which he deserved - or to offer glowing praise on the rare occasion he didn't screw something up royally. He had said just how flustered she could get if Charley wasn't watered at the precise time he was supposed to. He mentioned how absent-minded she could be when it came to people's names and some parts of paperwork.

He'd neglected to mention how a smile from her always brightened his day considerably. He'd conveniently left out just how radiant the late afternoon sun made her skin look. He'd conveniently forgotten how cute she was with a pen cap in her mouth as her face showed just how excruciatingly dull all the paperwork really was. He didn't say how often he had been near her and felt the urge to cradle her face and kiss her sweetly.

Maya didn't need to hear the wistful recollections of a lovesick weirdo.

Those were his secrets to keep and divulge to absolutely no-one.

Phoenix's brain was exhausted from all the memories he had pulled in an effort to paint as clear a picture as possible for Maya's benefit.

Maya finished her eighth burger around that time, and looked to her right with a smile.

"I feel a lot better now."

"Don't worry about it," Phoenix replied, happy to see that she looked mostly like her usual, carefree self. "I think I needed that just as badly."

Maya reached for her drink and drained it in one gulp, causing Phoenix to once again marvel at her ability to consume things. Slamming it down upon the table, she let out another belch, just as loud and obnoxious as the last.

Phoenix chuckled in spite of the ludicrously poor hygiene on display. "I take it that means you're full?" At her enthusiastic nod, he inquired, "You wanna get outta here, then?" She responded by standing up from her seat, and Phoenix did the same shortly thereafter. As he rose, she looked at him shyly before wrapping her arms around him another hug, though this one was much looser than the previous one had been. She also released him a lot sooner.

They walked out of the burger joint and into the parking lot, where the Law Offices were but a few blocks away. Before they began trekking back from whence they came, Phoenix felt Maya tap his shoulder.

"Hey, uh, Nick," she began unsurely. "I… I don't wanna be alone tonight. Would it be alright if you stayed with me?"

Phoenix simply grinned at her. "Sure thing, Maya. Let's head back."

Before he could take a step, she burst into a run, taking his hand in hers as she zoomed past him. They ran all the way back to the office, with Maya rattling off a list of everything she wanted to do that night.

Phoenix still just smiled, glad that he had lived up to his mentor's words. He'd kept a smile on for her, and it had worked beautifully. He'd fulfilled the role of a lawyer.

A/N: ...I don't know who I'm supposed to be shipping with whom after that... Tell me what you think, please. I'm hopelessly confused.

Read, review, and I'll see ya next time.

-TheNotSoTalentedPoet