sirenspull_logs | My irreplaceable you Just to look at you

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My irreplaceable you Just to look at you

Who: Diego~~dot~~ Armando and Mia Fey
When: 3rd July, around 4pm.
Where: Diego and co.'s apartment.
Summary: Sometimes reunions can come as quite a shock... especially when they're unexpected. Diego comes home to find the last person he ever expected sleeping on his couch.
Warnings: Angst. And a lot of confusion.

[Mia's headache was beginning to wear off several hours after she had woken up in the middle of the baseball field and even after meeting up with Maya and beginning to let some of the situation sink in, she still couldn't get past the impression that everything was spiralling out of control in some way. It was one thing finding out you weren't dead and stranded in the middle of a thoroughly unorthodox island in Canada, it was quite another to discover that you had family in same situation.

After Mia had managed to pick at some kind of light lunch- the residual nausea hadn't gone away fully even after all this time- she had finally given in to the urge to fall asleep on the sofa. It had been too inviting not to, and on top of everything that had happened that day, she was utterly exhausted. At some point, her lap had been invaded by a small, purring ball of fur, who was doing his level best to be hospitable. Mia, however was far too deeply asleep to mind or protest.

The clock reads 3.55 pm. Mia is asleep, Maya had vanished on an errand and all is still in the apartment.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ha...! Yeah, he does that from time to time... but cats wouldn't be much fun if they didn't have claws. That's one of my rules.

[He sits beside her and wastes no time in taking a long sip of coffee. Even with just a sip, it feels like the tension is leaving him as the warmth slides down his throat.

Here he is. Sitting on the couch, having coffee with Mia Fey. There's something he never thought he'd get to do again.]

Must have been Yumeno. He's a good guy.

[Mia doesn't need to know how Diego knows him just yet. He thinks they'd both better take it slowly. Both of them being alive, conscious and well is enough of a novelty for now.]

You're-- welcome to stay here with us, of course. That should go without saying.

[Mia is still waiting for her coffee to cool, and as she continues to pet Mir with one hand, she's also watching Diego from beneath half lidded eyes. Diego Armando with a cup of coffee in hand. Even though it's not the same, even though his face has changed and that visor is still new enough to be surprising when she catches sight of it.]

Dr. Yumeno... I think that's what he said his name was, he was very young. I liked him though, he seems like a very good doctor.

[She blows on the surface of her coffee and then lifts the cup to her lips, taking her first sip of the drink she hasn't touched for over five years. It's cool enough to drink, and the familiar, full-bodied flavour is deliciously nostalgic. She hums her approval as she feels that first gulp warm her entire body. Before she puts the cup down on the nearest surface, she inhales the scent again, deeply appreciative. No one makes coffee like Diego Armando.

That's why she couldn't drink it.

At his proposal that she stay, Mia smiles and tilts her head, her smile playful.]

Do your rules allow for you to pick up stray kittens off the street when they can't even help out with the rent?

He is. [And he'll leave it at that.

He watches her take the first sip to make sure he still remembered how to make her coffee properly, and he does. With a weak smile he sips his own cup again, leaning back to relax on the couch and glancing over at her.]

That's the same way I ended up with both Maya and little Vladimir. I don't see any reason to make an exception for you.

[Ahh, so this is his apartment. Now she has a better handle on the situation, Mia can't help but feel grateful to him for everything he must have done for Maya.]

Thank you. Not just for me, for Maya too. I'm glad you two found each other, it felt like the loneliest place in the world when I didn't know a soul here. I still can't believe that there are so many people from home who were taken here.

[He looks better now, less stunned and knocked for six by everything. She doesn't blame him, she's still a little stunned herself by everything. But it's going to be okay now, they're both here and that's what matters.

There's so much she's going to have to figure out; she'll need to find out exactly what's happening in this city, find work, get some more clothes... it's a daunting task, but one she's looking forward to. ]

It won't be rent free for long, I'll try and find work by the end of the week. I guess a place like this is crying out for lawyers, right?
It's going to be nice to get back to work myself instead of having to watch from the sidelines.

[She picks up her coffee and takes another sip, before changing her tack.]

So come on, you're holding out on me. I want to know everything, what have you been doing with yourself since you woke up? Did Grossberg take you back or did you set up on your own? And what have you been doing here, you must have made a name for yourself, knowing you.

[It's presumptuous of her to assume he went back to the law, but she can't imagine him doing anything else. He's Diego Armando after all, he was the best.]

[He smiles sedately at her thanks, nodding his head.] I never got to meet her with you, but... I couldn't just leave her to fend for herself in a place like this.

[And he shakes his head at her worries about paying rent.] You don't need to worry so much. We've got everything under control while you get situated. It isn't as though you'll be a burden or anything so silly.

[And then... she asks that. He looks like he's about to answer, but he goes quiet. There are a lot of questions in that little statement, and not all of them are easy to answer-- several of them he doesn't even want to answer. But it's not as though he can smoothly avoid such obvious questions, like what he does for a living or how things went for him since waking up.

His silence must be telling, so it's only after a moment or two too long for it to be natural that he answers.]

It's a long, boring story.

[And he knows very well that's not going to work for long.]

[Mia waits.

And waits.

The way he goes so completely still and quiet after she asks that, the way he doesn't even attempt to answer and leaves her hanging... Mia takes another sip from her coffee to fill the silence and is sure that he'll answer soon.

...only he doesn't.

The non-answer surprises her and she frowns a little, confused.]

Well how about a condensed version?

[Yeah. He should have known better than to even try that. He smiles a bit sheepishly at her for even attempting. He goes quiet for a moment, trying to come up with the way he wants to answer, finally taking a breath and leaning his head back.]

I'm a prosecutor now.

Oh.

[That... is not exactly what she was expecting to hear from him, nor is it a career path she'd ever imagined he steer himself onto. She looks at him, tries to get a read on his posture and body language. It's so much harder to do with his face behind that mask.

Why is the most pressing thing right now. He loved being a defense attorney, he loved what he did and he was good at it, why would he give it up?

And why would he take so long to answer her?

She doesn't feel entirely at ease, something feels strange, but it's been so long that maybe she's being paranoid. Finally she answers.]

Prosecutor Armando? It has a nice ring to it.

[She looks at him again, and can't help but ask the question she suspects she may not get a straight answer for.]

Why the change?

[Sometimes he's still in disbelief at himself, too. Defense was his passion-- and it still is. But how can he explain it to her, his protege, the reason why he was no longer worthy to practice it?

And that's not even mentioning his petty, childish other reason for switching sides in the courtroom-- the one where he swore vengeance on Mia's protege for something so stupid it still bothered him that it had ever been his own delusion.]

I just... didn't feel up to it anymore. But I wanted to stay with the law.

[He looks down at the carpet for a moment. He can still see her out of the corner of his visor, but it looks like he's looking elsewhere.]

I'm sure you must be disappointed in me.

[Not up to it?

She puts the coffee down and looks at him. Not feeling up to it anymore?

It had to be Dahlia and the coma. After what he'd been through... she couldn't blame him for wanting to get as far away from that as possible. It would be impossible to go into work without reliving that.

She puts her hand on his shoulder and squeezes gently.]

I want you to answer me one thing. Are you happy, Diego?

[That was what he kept telling himself. After suffering the way he had, all in the name of his job, how could he possibly stand up and defend people again? But part of him kept reminding him that he'd never cared before. He'd defended the worst criminals imaginable, all because he believed they had a right to that defense.

Of course, there was one person he believed didn't deserve it. And that shook his confidence enough to make him turn his back on defense.

But that's something he'll have to figure out how to tell her later on. To her question, he just goes quiet.]

Well now... that's a bit of a vague question. Right now?

Right now. Being a prosecutor.

[She looks at him carefully, looking for a sign or a hint, any suggestion that he might be trying to wriggle out of answering her.]

Are you happy with what you do?

Mm.

[He smiles at her, one of his cryptic ones. The infuriatingly cryptic one.]

I've been able to do good with it. That's all that especially matters to me.

[She doesn't need to see his eyes to recognise that particular smile. There's a smile that used to drive her crazy, and she reacts accordingly with an exasperated sigh and an answering, elusive smile of her own.]

Oh don't give me that smile, now you're going to make me second guess everything you've just said and I'm not on top of my game right now.

Ha...! I wouldn't be a very good lawyer if you could tell exactly what I mean so easily.

[He smiles at her and lowers his head a bit.]

It's not what I'd be doing in a perfect world. But I'm doing well enough at it, and I've helped people.

I'm out of practice, give me a break. This isn't a courtroom, Mr. Armando, it's your living room.

[With her hand on his shoulder, it's the easiest thing in the world to reach over and lightly brush her fingers through his hair by his ear.]

Tell me why I'd be disappointed in you if you're doing what you've always done?

[He laughs softly, and finds it all too easy to lean into her touch automatically, tilting his head to the sign.]

You might have your reasons.

[He cracks a little grin and closes his eyes under the visor, taking a deep breath.]

I'm out of practice too.

I might have, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I'm still just happy to be sitting here having a conversation with you that's not one sided.

[Her fingers in his hair still, but she doesn't take them away. Her eyes are thoughtful.]

I really did miss you, you know.

Yeah. I imagine that's a novelty at this point. [She's known him longer in a coma than out. It dawns on him immediately how sad that is.

He looks up at her again with a quiet smile on his face.]

I missed you too. More than I even know how to say.

[Mia smiles, and then brings her hand down to cup his cheek. For a moment she considers what she's doing before she moves to take his cup of coffee from him.]

Can I-?

[He holds still, easily giving to her touch. She reaches for his coffee and he knows he doesn't need to even think about it.]

Yes.

[She puts the coffee cup down, then leans in without a moment's further hesitation. It's been so long since she's kissed anyone, and right now it feels like it's been far, far too long as she gently presses her lips against his.]

[It's amazing how some things come so easily to him, while others-- simple words and explanations-- are so hard he doesn't know how to even begin. Kissing her, though... that hasn't changed, not in five, six, seven, eight years, however the hell long it's been since they were torn apart.

And with it, there settles a lot of fear that he has been carrying around all this time. Fear that he thought more of her than she did of him. Fear that he'd sacrificed all this, dedicated the very meaning of his life to something that only he could see.

No. He was never wrong about Mia. He can tell now.]

[Mia shifts a little, tilts her head and... then it's really happening. He's letting her kiss him and it's been so long and so much has changed but... nothing's changed. He's kissing her back.

His lips taste of coffee and of him, and it's at once intoxicating and familiar and she's missed him so much, so much more than she can ever articulate really, and while it's strange doing this with cold, hard metal pressed against her nose, it's something she can adapt to.

She's waited too long for him to let a little thing like metal ruin it.]

[It's been so long. A lifetime, it feels like, and though he hates how awkward it is tilting his face so as not to bonk her face with the stupid visor on his, for a moment it's seven years ago and they're both young and carefree, kissing like it was their very first time.

He breaks away slowly for a breath and looks at her, though she probably can't tell that he is. Then he grasps her hand and squeezes it.]

Don't let your coffee get cold, kitten.

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