This is just a one-shot of how I think Diego Armando and Mia Fey first met. If you haven't played Trials and Tribulations, you might want to be careful when reading this, although there aren't any big spoilers in here.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!
The Kitten and the Coffee Addict
"Alright. I think that's everything. Just one last appearance check in the mirror, and I'll be good to go!" A 23 year old woman walked over to a full-length mirror and stared intently into it, scrutinizing her reflection for any flaws, subtle or glaring.
Not completely satisfied with how she looked, she ran her hands to smooth her brown hair and over her black suit and skirt, making sure to not leave a single wrinkle unwrinkled. She tugged at her beige scarf, ensuring it was snug around her neck. Also around her neck was necklace, and hanging off of it was a lavender-colored translucent stone that was in the shape of the number nine.
Her brown eyes finally landed on the circular, golden badge on her lapel. She grinned proudly as she saw it shining brightly. Alright Mia! This is it! Your first day at the office as a defense attorney! This is going to be great! With that, Mia Fey marched out of her apartment and made her way to her new workplace.
When Mia entered the office building, the first thing she noticed was the smell.
Coffee. It's not a bad smell, but the only places I've ever smelled this strong of a scent of coffee is in a coffee shop. …I'm pretty sure I walked into Grossberg Law Offices, but maybe I entered the wrong building?
Her gaze wandered around the office, and she took note of everything there. What stood out most to her was the color. Everything seems so…orange. Or brown. Maybe a combination of the two colors. And there's a lot of fancy, expensive items here. Not that I'm clumsy, but I should watch my step. The last thing I want to do is break something valuable here. Not the best first impression.
"Ah-HHHHEM!" A loud clearing of the throat came from Mia's right, and turning, she saw a relatively short but quite plump man standing there. He had a small pair of circular spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose, a wavy gray-haired mustache and a matching mop of hair.
"Mr. Grossberg! It's nice to see you again!" Mia greeted him rather cheerfully, although her voice revealed her nervousness. No. I need to present myself more confidently! I can't let anyone think I'm scared! No. I'm a strong woman, a strong woman who just so happens to be a defense attorney now. She saw the attorney's badged pinned to the lapel of Marvin Grossberg's red suit. Mr. Grossberg has defending people for a long time… I'm just a rookie! No! I can't think like that!
"Ah hah! Mia Fey! You're right on time. Excellent! Welcome to my-excuse me. That would be our office now." He chuckled when he saw the light blush come across Mia's cheeks. "It's so nice to finally have you here as a part of the group, m'dear."
"Thank you. It's nice to be here, Mr. Grossberg."
"Yes. I can see the excitement sparkling in your eyes. It's a great feeling, being able to wear that badge and after years of tireless studying and education, you can call yourself a defense attorney. It takes me back." He inhaled deeply then continuing on. "Ahh…the days of my youth, like the scent of fresh lemon."
Mia stared him with wide eyes before smiling weakly at him. "Right. Of course." Okay then…that…wasn't weird.
"Please, make yourself at home. As I said, this is your office too now. I'll just be through that door if you need me."
"Thank you again, Mr. Grossberg. I will." She watched as the man left the room. She let out a small sigh. Well Mia. What's the first thing you're going to do here at your office? Searching around the room more carefully, she noticed an elegant wooden desk. There weren't a lot of items on it. Just a couple of books, a desk calendar, a small cup filled with pencils and pens, and a lamp. What caught Mia's attention was the nameplate. She made her way to the desk and picked it up. On a gray background, written in white capitals, was her name.
Wow. My own nameplate. This is great. My first day is going off to a wonderful start!
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the newest kitten in the litter." A deep voice rumbled from behind her.
Lifting her head up, Mia glanced over her shoulder. Standing a few feet away from her was a man. He was wearing a red dress shirt, over which he was wearing a striped button-up vest. A black tie completed the outfit. His hair was black and spiky, and Mia noticed that his left ear was pierced.
Who is this guy? I don't see an attorney's badge anywhere. Is he a client? Could be, although I…wait a second. He just called me a kitten!
Neither smiling nor frowning at the man, Mia stated, "I have a name, and it's not Kitten."
"Oh!" His eyebrows went up as his brown eyes widened in apparent surprise. "A feisty kitten."
Her cheeks puffed out. "My name is Mia. Mia Fey. And you are?" She did a thorough once-over of him and pursed her lips, clearly unimpressed. At least he looks okay. Makes up for his lacking attitude.
"Don't tell me you don't know who I am?" He almost appeared to be hurt. Almost.
I must've bruised that huge ego of his. Can't say I'm not pleased. Crossing her arms, she smiled almost sympathetically. "I'm afraid I don't. Sorry." So not sorry.
Before he could respond, Mr. Grossberg joined them. "Ah, it looks like the two of you have finally met." Diego didn't even acknowledge the presence of the older attorney, but just stood there smirking at Mia. "This is Mia Fey, Diego. Our newest recruit."
Mia gaped at Grossberg. "D-D-Diego?" She turned to Diego. "You're…you're the Diego Armando?" The finest defense attorney here at the office…is this guy?!
His smirk only grew. "That would be me. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Mia…Fey."
"But…where's your attorney's badge?!" was the first thing out of her mouth. She wasn't able to stop herself from asking, even though she meant for it to only be a part of her internal monologue.
The attorney reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a badge that looked exactly like the one she and Grossberg were wearing. "Right here. I just don't like to wear it. I think I look cool enough without it, wouldn't you agree?"
While Grossberg let out a hearty laugh, Mia just stared at the ground, an almost helpless expression on her face.
First day in the office, and you decide to spar with the most popular attorney here. Good start, Mia. She glanced up at Diego, seeing him smirk. He winked at her, and she averted her gaze, scowling. Ugh. The finest attorney here had to be this guy? I wonder if I should be worried about that. Hm…maybe I should use that to my advantage. I could use the extra motivation to be a great attorney, and who knows? One day, I might surpass him and become the finest attorney of Grossberg Law Offices. That'll be the day.
She once more looked up when she heard someone else enter the office. It was yet another man, also with black hair, but it was slicked back, unlike the lion's mane of a hair style Diego was sporting. He had his nose in what was obviously a case file. "Ah, Hammond. Good timing. This is our newest recruit, Mia Fey," Grossberg introduced her.
"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Hammond." She flashed her most polite smile to her new colleague.
The man was disinterested, only removing his gaze from the file briefly. "Yes. Welcome. Nice to meet you." He quickly retired into the other room.
Wow. How rude. The least he could've done was actually make eye contact with me. Are all the employees here such jerks?
Grossberg let out a weak chuckle. "Sorry about Hammond. He's a bit preoccupied with a case of his. Speaking of which, I need to have a word with him. Excuse me, you two."
Mia watched as Grossberg followed after Hammond, shutting the door behind him. Robert Hammond…the defense attorney who defended Yanni Yogi for the DL-6 incident. Even got him a not guilty verdict. I hope I'll be able to get some more information about that incident...
"From what I can tell, you came here with a purpose, a goal in mind."
Thanks for interrupting my thoughts. "That's none of your business," she replied swiftly, shooting a sideways glare at him. It was only then that she realized he had a coffee cup in his hand. She could also see the steam rising from it. So he must be the one that has this place infested with the scent of coffee. Hm…I wonder how he'd look with that hot mug of coffee dumped on his head. That would certainly get rid of that annoying, smug expression of his. Mia had to suppress a smile as a mental image appeared, only for both to fade as he spoke up.
"I guess it's not my business, is it? I just thought I'd try and see if you'd tell me. Guess you've got some secrets you're keeping, huh?"
"Everyone has their secrets, don't they? And just to clarify, my secrets are hardly bad ones. I have only good intentions in mind."
"You didn't lead me to think otherwise, Kitten. Like I said, I wanted to see if you'd tell me what's going on in that noggin of yours." Diego motioned to the coffee machine. "Want some coffee?"
Her brows furrowed, wondering why he rather suddenly made the offer. "Er…no, thank you. I don't drink a lot of coffee."
"Don't you? Well, I guess I'll have to change that, won't I?" With another sip of his coffee, he added, "You know how many cups of coffee I drink per trial day?"
No, nor do I care how many cups you drink, but I guess I should be a little nice and entertain you. "No. How many?" She asked with clear disinterest.
"17."
Mia didn't mean to react as dramatically as she did. "17?! You drink 17 cups of coffee?!" She stared at him incredulously, her mouth gaping and eyes wide. When he nodded, she shook her head. "That can't possibly be beneficial to your health or your performance in court."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. They don't call me the finest attorney here for nothing."
"But still. Do you really drink 17 cups of coffee, or are you pulling my leg?"
"Heh. As crazy as you may find it, it's true. I make sure to drink 17 cups of coffee the day I have a trial. That's one of my rules."
Does it seem like I care about your rules? Stupid Coffee Addict. But still…17 cups of coffee? This guy must have some serious insomnia issues. "You've got some strange rules."
"My rules wouldn't be so bad for a kitten like yourself to follow, especially now that you're wearing that attorney's badge."
"Well, I live by my own rules, not ones other people impose on me or suggest I follow." And by other people, I really mean you, but to say that out loud would be rude of me.
He lowered his coffee mug, an inquisitive look on his face. "Is that so? Well, then you don't follow the rules that the government enforces? I mean, they aren't your rules, now are they? Not exactly something you should be saying as a lawyer, you know."
Ugh. That's not what I meant, and I'm sure he knows that, given the way he's smirking behind that cup of his. I swear. This guy is asking to get punched…but you can't do that, Mia. He's your coworker, and I really don't think Mr. Grossberg would be too appreciative of that.
"What I meant, Mr. Armando," she began sternly. "Is that in terms of how I carry myself, I follow my own rules. I don't like to let others force me to be or act some way. I am an independent human being, and I am more than capable of determining for myself what I should and shouldn't do. Besides, as you said, I'm a lawyer, so of course I would obey the laws. Laws, for the most part, are meant to keep us safe, and it just so happens that the laws coincide with how I like to carry myself. Therefore, I follow laws. That's...one of my rules."
For the first time since their interaction began, he let out a wholehearted laugh, not a small chuckle of smugness, but a genuine laugh. "You're interesting, Kitten. Definitely quite the oddball of the litter."
"Then you've obviously got to get out more, because I am not an oddball, or a kitten for that matter. I'd really appreciate it if you would stop calling me that, Mr. Armando."
He took his final sip of his coffee. "We'll see…Kitten." He busied himself with making more coffee, so he missed Mia's reaction.
The rookie attorney groaned and rolled her eyes. Shaking her head, she turned away from him, muttering under her breath. I find it just a little hard to believe that this guy is the best attorney of the office. Maybe he's different in court than he is here? Hm…for some reason, I don't think that's the case. Oh well. Maybe I'll be able to see one day for myself if he really deserves the praise everyone gives him. Until then, I'll have to deal with his calling me Kitten and his presence here. At least I'll have something interesting to tell Maya when I call her to tell her about my first day. Maya… She brushed her fingers against her magatama, before wrapping her hand around it.
I'm sorry I had to leave you with Aunt Morgan all by yourself at Kurain, but…I need to do this. For you, and for me. I don't want to fight with you for the Master seat, like Mom and Aunt Morgan did. No. I can never let that happen. I know you'll be a wonderful Master of Kurain, so long as you keep up with your training and don't chow down too many burgers and get yourself sick. Me…I'm on my path to defending people, and one step closer to finding out what happened to our mom. So until I figure everything out, please hold on and stay strong.
As Diego stood by the coffee machine, hands in his pockets, he shot a sideways glance to Mia's desk. He had caught her frowning and gripping tightly onto the stone around her neck, and he couldn't help but be curious to know what she was frowning about. Looks like the Kitten is a bit troubled with something. I wonder what. I should ask her.
Before he could open his mouth to pose a question, he saw Mia shake her head and smile a little before she started rearranging things on her new desk. He seemed to be smirking at her, but hidden behind his smirk was a smile of admiration.
I was right. Quite the fierce one, this kitten. I only hope you're as fierce in the courtroom as you are in here with me… Mia Fey.
Yeah…so…I can't say I did very well with this. I know that weird argument Mia makes towards the end is…weird. Nonetheless, this was my idea of what Miego's first meeting was like. I know the characters are probably OOC. Writing characters in-character is not my forte unfortunately, but I'm looking to improve. I also apologize if there are any typos. If you do find any, I would be really appreciative if you could point them out to me! Also, if you have any suggestions for me, or if you'd just like to leave a review about what you thought of this one-shot, that would make me quite happy! Constructive criticism is always welcomed! You can also private message me too, if you're more comfortable with that! Thank you for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it!