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Christmas was fast approaching. Investigations into IS-7 have finalized, and Gregory and Manfred both expected the trial to be scheduled for shortly after the holiday. After a long year of relentless investigation into the conundrum of a case, Gregory was happy that in a week or two it’ll all be over with. He was sure Mr. Tangaroa would also be happy that the mortifying ordeal will be coming to a close. He was confident in his client’s innocence in the murder case, but that confidence just wasn’t enough against von Karma. This time, he told himself, this time he would win.
But Gregory didn’t want to think about all of that right now. When it came to this time of year, he ensured that time spent with his son came first. He always felt an ever-present guilt in the back of his mind with each moment he couldn’t spend all the time in the world with Miles. Bless his heart, Miles always understood that he was always so busy, but Gregory nearly always felt that he was failing at parenthood. So, when the holidays came around, he always swore to maximize his time with Miles, and that meant being in the present.
“What do you think, father?” His son asked, peeking around the Christmas tree in their living room. It was a fake plastic tree that Gregory could easily take out from the box in the basement every year. He got it shortly after Miles was born, not wanting to endure the hassle of getting a real tree in the living room every year. Miles never complained, neither of them were really outdoorsy enough to want to go chop down a tree every year anyway. His son insisted on helping with the tree decorating this year, so Gregory carefully handed him the plastic decorations and was planning on putting up the more fragile ones when his son was finished.
“Well, let’s take a better look,” Gregory replied, stepping away from the tree to view it from the middle of the living room. Miles followed, happily skipping over to his side. Gregory pretended to inspect it thoroughly, putting his hands on his hips and loudly humming as he tilted his head.
His son looked at him in anticipation, eyes wide.
“I think it looks perfect,” Gregory concluded, to Miles’ joy.
Miles ran around excitedly as Gregory shuffled after him, the latter showing the former how to set up the holly around the house, and how to arrange various holiday items within the glass vase at the center of the dinner table to make it a beautiful centerpiece.
When they were all finished decking up the house, Gregory was exhausted. He watched Miles bounce around the house with a smile. Sometimes he had trouble remembering his son was just a boy, but it was times like these when he got excited over doing something for the first time or coming home after an especially exciting day that reminded him that he was just a nine-year-old kid, despite his personality quirks that made him look and act like a little adult.
As Gregory sat on the couch trying to catch his breath (being old was the worst), he idly wondered what Manfred and Franziska were doing for Christmas. Did they even celebrate Christmas? Manfred never mentioned having close family or friends, so it would probably just be the two of them on Christmas morning, just like how it was in the Edgeworth household…
“Hey buddy,” Gregory called out to Miles, who stopped jumping around to listen. He was so well-behaved. “How do you feel about having the von Karmas over for Christmas?”
Miles gasped, a big smile spreading across his face.
Before Miles could say a word, Gregory but in, “I haven’t asked them anything yet, I wanted to check with you first.” Ultimately it was just a nice thought he had on the spot, but his son didn’t need to know that.
“Yeah! It would be wonderful to have them over!” Miles replied happily.
Well. It looks like Gregory had a phone call to make.
—/-/—
Even though the two of them had developed some kind of friendly relationship, asking Manfred if he'd want to join the Edgeworths for Christmas was a very awkward conversation. It felt different to the frequent times he'd invited him over for tea to talk about the cases they were both working on. This felt more intimate, since he was specifically inviting him over for leisure.
"Why in the world are you asking me this?" Manfred seemed equally confused. Gregory didn't really know how to explain his thoughts to him this time around. How is one meant to ask the world's most strictly business-oriented man to voluntarily waste valuable time furthering a friendship he barely wanted in the first place?
"Well, Miles really enjoys having both you and Franziska around," Gregory started, since talking about the kids seemed easier than talking about the two of them, "and it's usually just the two of us. Big Christmas gatherings are always more enjoyable, don't you think?"
"Not particularly," Manfred grumbled into the reciever. "However… you may have a point. Franziska feels similarly. Miles is her only peer worth speaking to with the way children are." Gregory stifled a laugh at that.
"However! As you surely know, IS-7 is going to trial soon, and thus I refuse to fraternize with you at this point in time. I will crush you in court, and it will be swift so that I may move on to more important matters. This case has dragged on long enough."
After a moment of digesting what those words really meant for Gregory, he replied, "so as I understand it, you don't want to talk about the case with me if you were to join us on Christmas day?"
"Dense as always, I see. I meant that I do not wish to see you at all. Refining my perfect strategy always holds my upmost attention prior to any trial, and thus I do not wish to sully my time with inconsequential meetings."
"Oh, I see…" a hint of disappointment entered Gregory's voice, despite his best efforts. It was understandable. Gregory would be similarly busy. The court date wasn't set in stone quite yet, since they still needed to appoint a judge who was available during the holidays and a courtroom to preside in, but they both knew it would be very soon.
Manfred paused for a moment. It was about two and a half seconds, which for most people would mean next to nothing, but when it came to Manfred, that may have been the most hesitant Gregory had ever heard him. "Hmph. You're useless."
"Excuse me?" Gregory blinked, more confused than offended.
"You have gotten too complacent in your duties as a defense attorney. Honestly, why would you even consider inviting me over at this point in time? Should you not be preparing your case to go against the prosecution? The evidence is stacked against the defendant you know, and with myself representing the state, I will not show mercy. Are you underestimating me?"
Gregory rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm not. I've gone against you before."
"And you always lost. You'll continue to lose with how frivolously you spend your time."
"I work very hard most of the year, but if there is one time of year that I choose to forgo my career to spend time with my son, it is during Christmas holidays. Do you not spend time with Franziska at all at this time of year?" He asked incredulously.
"Of course I do! How dare you—"
"Come over then!" Gregory yelled. He cleared his throat, returning to regular volume, "if you're so perfect all the time, then taking one morning off won't do anything to change the outcome of the trial." He smirked, "or are you scared that the next time we face off in court, you're going to lose?"
"That is ridiculous. Your reasoning is entirely foolish, and—"
"Prove it then," Gregory interrupted. "If you're so confident, you shouldn't need that extra time."
"Of course I don't need that time! Your argument will likely be so nonsensical, it will take but five minutes to crush it like an ant under my boot," Manfred scoffed.
"You probably wouldn't need the day before, either, if you're so perfect," Gregory pushed.
"I could win against any of you defense attorneys in minutes even if I was assigned to a case the morning it went to trial!" Manfred replied confidently.
"Evidence is everything," Gregory taunted the same way Manfred had done to him so many times. "Prove that you can beat me in court without that time."
"You'll regret challenging me," Manfred replied smugly. "I'll be over at six in the afternoon on Christmas Eve." Before Gregory could reply, he heard the telltale dial tone that had indicated Manfred had hung up.
He slowly put down the reciever, and began to giggle in disbelief. He could not believe that just worked!
What a strange man he ended up falling in love with.
—/-/—
As promised, Manfred and Franziska were both on Gregory's doorstep at six o'clock on the dot. Even though at this point Gregory tended to think of Franziska like a mini Manfred, it still felt significantly easier to invite her in than her father. It might've been because she still had the childlike energy that burst out of his own son every now and then, seeming significantly more jolly than her father at times.
The von Karmas entered, and Miles and Franziska yelled upon seeing one another. They both were practically talking over each other as Miles talked about how much decorating he did and Franziska talking about the apparently eventful drive to their house, before they both ran off toward the living room. It made Gregory smile to see the two of them getting along so well. That girl was like the sibling Miles never had.
"Edgeworth," Manfred acknowledged as he removed his very expensive-looking leather boots and shuck off his coat.
"Thank you for taking the time to come over," Gregory replied, doing the best he could to stop a smug grin from appearing on his face. He was sure that Manfred realized at some point after their phone call what Gregory had pulled, possibly even directly after he hung up. If that certainty wasn't enough, Manfred looked particularly pissed off today. Gregory mused it probably wouldn't be noticeable to most people since he always looked pissed off, but he noticed that the man's dimples were more defined than normal, his eyes narrowed impossibly further than his usual staredown.
Geez, these feelings of Gregory's were getting out of control. He's noticing way too many things about this grumpy old man to be normal.
He took Manfred's coat and hung it in the front closet, and escorted him to the couch before he excused himself to prepare some tea for the two of them. He was right that this entire thing was far more awkward than his usual visits, but maybe the man will soften his glare a little as he settles in. He's clearly resigned himself to his fate of staying over for Christmas (probably for Franziska's sake, which warmed the defense attorney's heart), so hopefully they could be somehow pleasant this evening and tomorrow morning.
Gregory returned with a tray of tea for Manfred and himself. In hindsight he should've asked the kids if they wanted any, but he was kind of desperate to leave the room at the time.
"Mr. Edgeworth, why isn't your fireplace going? It is very cold!" Franziska bellowed, irritated. It was rather cold outside, the warmth would probably be appreciated by their guests. But…
"It's not burning because of Santa, Franziska," Miles replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If we burn logs in there tonight, Santa won't be able to visit without getting injured."
Manfred gave Miles an odd look from the couch. Hold on, did they not—
"Who is this 'Santa'?" Franziska asked, looking baffled. "And why are they stupid enough to injure themselves in the fireplace?"
Gregory leaned over to whisper to Manfred, surprised, "you never told Fran about Santa?!"
Manfred huffed, rolling his eyes and replying normally. "Of course not, why would I tell her such a strange lie? I'm honestly surprised your son believes it, I thought he was smarter than that."
"Every kid believes in Santa, Manfred!" He whisper-yelled.
He shrugged, "I never did."
Gregory sighed wearily. Okay, they were going to unpack that later. For now, they were in a very serious situation. If Fran never even knew about the myth of Saint Nick, there was no way she was going to believe it if Miles told her all about it. Plus, she would probably ask her father about it and there was no way Manfred was going to start doing this now. He walked over to the two of them, kneeling down to try and stop this conversation.
"Okay kids, why don't I make you some hot cocoa?" He asked nervously, hoping they would take the bait.
Unfortunately, he had some smart cookies sitting on his carpet who weren't that easily distracted. "Hold on father. Franziska, you don't know who Santa is?"
"No? Should I?"
"Yes! He gives everyone presents every year. Don't you ever get any?"
"No?!" Franziska looked offended by this idea that she was missing out on presents, even if she had no idea who this 'Santa' even was. "Papa!" She yelled, whipping her head around to address her father, "is this Santa character supposed to be giving me presents?!"
To Gregory's surprise, Manfred actually looked a little unsure of what to say.
"Okay, calm down Fran," Gregory sat down on the carpet cross-legged next to Franziska, rubbing her back in circles in an attempt to calm the fiery child. How was he going to do this without ruining Santa for Miles?
"So, Santa is a man who delivers presents to all the children in the entire world. He is said to come down peoples' chimneys in the night and put a whole bunch of presents under the tree for you."
Franziska gaped. "This Santa tresspasses into everyone's houses in one night?!"
Miles cut in, "no, Franziska. Santa is allowed to go in everyone's houses."
Franziska looked very confused by that idea, but thankfully she seemed to let it go. "…then why have I never recieved any gifts from Santa if he delivers them to everyone?"
Before Miles could reply with something that would certainly make Franziska upset, like telling her she might be on the naughty list or something, Gregory thought of a great cover-up for this discrepancy. "Well, Santa likes to operate in secret, Fran. For example, he doesn't come to your house if you stay up all night trying to catch him, does he Miles?" His son firmly shook his head.
"So, in order to keep his presence a secret, sometimes he addresses the presents to look like they're from your parents instead," Gregory told her. He was very glad he had so much experience in bluffing.
"Really?" Miles asked, but Franziska didn't pay him any mind as she turned this new information over in her head.
"I see…" Franziska grinned. "So some of my presents from Papa are actually from Santa?"
"That's right!" He lied.
"Papa! Why didn't you tell me?!" Franziska yelled.
"Santa's supposed to be a secret, remember? Your papa couldn't have told you, otherwise Santa's cover would have been blown!"
"Like an undercover officer?"
Gregory could not believe these kids sometimes. "Yes, like an undercover officer."
Franziska pouted as she looked over Gregory's shoulder at her father who had an indifferent expression on his face as he watched the chaos unfold. "Fine. I suppose I can forgive you."
Miles proceeded to launch into the full myth of Santa Claus, looking a bit smug he knew all about something Fran didn't. She interrupted a few times to clarify some of the more unbelievable parts of the story, but she seemed pretty satisfied with Miles' reasoning, surprisingly. Gregory wondered if she was less critical than usual because Miles so firmly believed in it. Believing the serious situation to have passed, Gregory sat back down on the couch next to Manfred, feeling exhausted.
"That was a lot of certified defense attorney lying you just did," Manfred commented.
"Sorry, but I was not expecting needing to explain Santa to a three-year-old on the spot," Gregory replied. "Any other Christmas traditions you guys just don't do that I should know about?" He grumbled, still feeling bitter over the stress Manfred's… Manfredness just put him through.
He was glad Manfred didn't seem to take his ire personally this time around. "Your traditions are the ones I should be questioning, Gregory Edgeworth. Why in the world do you find it so important to lie to your son like that?"
Gregory observed the two kids rapidly talking over each other in anticipation of receiving Santa's presents tomorrow morning. "I understand that you want the best for Franziska. I want the best for my son, as well." Miles got up, offering to show Franziska the presents he got from Santa last year, and in a flash the two of them ran upstairs. "But it seems our ideas of what makes a good foundation for the best lives our kids can have are… a bit different."
Manfred narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to insult my parenting, Edgeworth?"
Gregory held back a smile that Manfred actually bothered to ask instead of immediately internalizing it as an insult. "No, that's not what I mean. I suppose all I am trying to say is that we have different priorities when it comes to raising the two of them."
Manfred hummed, seeming satisfied with that. "Then how would you differentiate your priorities and mine?"
Gregory sipped some of the tea he made earlier. All that commotion just now let it cool to the perfect temperature. "Well, you put much emphasis on Franziska's education and self-confidence. As far as I can tell, you find it most important that she knows everything there is to know about being an effective prosecutor, and that she never second-guesses herself. You instilled a powerful spirit in her." Manfred straightened ever so slightly, grinning in that way he does when he feels like he's won.
"But for myself, I want Miles to succeed socially. His education is important of course, but I care more about if he is making friends at school. If he can understand his peers and get along with them." Gregory sighed, watching the tea leaves at the bottom of the shallow cup swirl in the liquid. "He's such a brilliant kid, but that often means that other kids don't really understand him or his interests. He didn't make a single friend his age until this year, and until that point I was so worried for him. The last thing I want is for him to feel like he's all alone in the world."
Manfred's grin slowly faded as he listened to Gregory's words. "I guess I just want to equip him with all the tools he needs to relate to his peers. That's why I perpetuated the whole Santa myth, it's something everyone his age believes in. If he was the only one in his class who didn't find the concept of Santa exciting, or even if kids thought he were lying about Santa not being real, then that would be one more obstacle between him and everyone else.
"There's so many things about him that make him different, and that's a good thing. But if he's too different, then he'll just feel alone, you know?"
Manfred lifted his own teacup to his mouth, his eyes fixated on the carpet and his brow pinched in consideration. "Acceptable tea as per usual, Edgeworth," he commented quietly.
After a long moment of nothing, Gregory figured Manfred wouldn't say anything more on the subject. When he first met von Karma, it felt like the prosecutor would never shut up. His voice boomed, unignorable in any building, and he would dominate every conversation he was in until he decided the people he was talking to were no longer worth his time. It was certainly frustrating to say the least, but it was the only way Gregory found he could get anywhere when it came to getting information von Karma or the police force got to first.
But as Gregory got to know him better through ending up on the same cases and the entire mess that has been IS-7, he found that Manfred did have small bouts of silence now and then. He's noticed Manfred tries to ignore topics that seem to hit some sort of sore spot in him. If anyone had told him last Christmas that the Demon God Prosecutor had any buttons to push, he certainly wouldn't have believed them.
In a work setting it was easy for Manfred in all his power to announce that he no longer wanted to speak to a person, and everyone would let him be with no further question. Not that anyone ever knew enough about him personally to ever make him feel upset by anything they'd have to say. But Gregory would say he knows him pretty darn well now, possibly more than anyone else in the world. He's learned many things about Manfred both directly and indirectly, things that Manfred had feelings about. Things he seemed almost scared to hear any opposition of.
Because of the prosecutor's position, most people would probably take advantage of having such information to hang over his head, especially a defense attorney like himself. But Gregory rather prided himself on not being like most people.
And maybe Manfred knew that too, because otherwise he wouldn't have said anything else. "Is that what I am doing?" He asked quietly, setting his teacup down on the coaster. "Do you think Franziska feels lonely at school? Because of the things I taught her?"
In spite of the warm tea he'd just drank, Gregory felt a shiver go down his back. He opened his mouth to assure von Karma that wasn't the case, but he stopped. It was certainly possible Franziska may be struggling in school socially. Manfred has mentioned before that she 'doesn't bother' with anyone in her class, but there was a likelihood the inverse was true.
"I don't know, Manfred," he eventually responded. Manfred didn't care for comforting lies, and frankly neither did he. "Maybe you should talk to Fran about it. She loves you, I'm sure she would tell you the truth."
Manfred looked toward the staircase Miles and Franziska ran up earlier. Gregory could hear them playing in Miles' room. Franziska's prescence always led to the two of them being rather loud in the regularly quiet household.
"We have other things to attend to right now," Manfred curtly said, looking away from the stairs and toward Gregory. It was rather inappropriate at the moment (or at any time for that matter), but his sudden intense gaze on him made Gregory's heart skip a beat. "The focus this evening and tomorrow morning is… fun." It took every bit of willpower Gregory had just then to refrain from laughing at how unnaturally that word left Manfred's mouth. His face was all screwed up in a expression of disgust and it made Gregory want to burst out in laughter. He had no idea how this man has survived this long being such a workaholic all the time, or why he even became a parent to begin with. But he was glad he did, otherwise they may have never gotten this far in their relationship.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Gregory replied after a moment of reigning in his composure. "But are you sure you'll be alright talking to her on your own? I've had that conversation with Miles a hundred times, if you'd like I can be of assistance," Gregory scratched the back of his neck, a little somber at the reminder.
"Hmph, a von Karma never relies on anyone else for help," Manfred stated in a tone that left no room for argument. It seems he's back to his usual self.
"Alright, but I'm always here if you ever change your mind," he smiled. He didn't know when Manfred's demeanour became so charming to him, but something about that stubborness made him all warm inside.
Manfred didn't reply, but Gregory saw the smallest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
—/-/—
Christmas morning came and went faster than Gregory could blink. Miles and Franziska split up to wake up the two adults in the house at about five in the morning, and Manfred grumbled on the way downstairs that Franziska had never woken him up like this before. Miles and Franziska yelled in joy as they saw the presents Gregory and Manfred had both placed under the tree in the night, and began to rip through them. Despite having a real fireplace, Gregory put the special Christmas fireplace channel on the living room television, then had to subsequently explain why it existed to the von Karmas. Gregory had made makeshift stockings for their two guests and stuffed them both with the usual suspects in their household: candy canes, small soaps and bath bombs, and the biggest boxes of Toffifee he could find at the grocery store.
After all the presents were opened, Gregory gave Manfred an empty garbage bag to hold, and told the kids to try to throw all the wrapping paper in the bag successfully from a short distance. Manfred got pelted in the face a few times by Franziska who was throwing especially hard, but if he was annoyed by it he didn't show it, instead opting to fuel Franziska's competitiveness with Miles with aggressive words of encouragement. Gregory made everyone hot chocolate, and he let Miles have as many marshmallows as he wanted as a small reward for getting the most shots in the bag. Franziska was really upset about this until Miles gave Franziska over half of the marshmallows in his own cup. He was such a good kid.
Gregory forced everyone in front of the Christmas tree for a picture. Manfred questioned why in the world he would want a picture of the four of them in their pyjamas, and he just shook his head with a grin on his face. He demanded to know if Gregory knew something he didn't, but Gregory just didn't know how to tell him this was a regular thing every parent he's ever known does so he simply replied that he didn't think Manfred would get it. Manfred's brow was still cross with confusion when the photo was taken by the automatic shutter of the camera.
The kids ran around playing with the toys they recieved after Miles showed Franziska how she could play with them. The two of them played pretend with the dolls they had gotten from Santa, and Gregory was happy to see Franziska get really into it after a few minutes of awkwardness.
After a few hours, they both tuckered out and fell asleep on the carpet, likely since neither of them were accustomed to waking up so early. Gregory smiled fondly at the two of them, grabbing two blankets from the linen closet. He wrapped Franziska first and set her on the couch, then made quick work of Miles as well. His back may be getting a bit too old for picking up children, but he was happy to do it every once in a while.
As the kids slept, he grabbed a book to read and sat next to Manfred in the little free space left on the couch. Gregory thought he was far too old for his heart to flutter at their legs touching, but he was apparently wrong. Something he also thought was that Manfred didn't seem to be tired in the slightest from the way he was seated with his back perfectly straight and resting face as pinched as ever. This proved to be something he was also wrong about when he felt a sudden weight on his right shoulder, making him jump and look over and being met with Manfred's white head of hair in his view.
He froze, worried about waking Manfred as his head rested on him, but as Gregory started to make micro movements to see if he could still read his book in this position, it became apparent he was a rather heavy sleeper. Gregory slowly relaxed as he went back to his book, thumbing the pages in a feeble attempt at distracting himself from the sheer proximity of Manfred von Karma. And if he leaned into Manfred, resting the side of his face on his silky hair that was probably cared for with products more expensive than his mortgage, then that was no one's business but his.
Was this family domesticity? Sure, Gregory had spent many years with Eleanor, and then with Miles, but never were the three of them a family all at once. But with Manfred and Franziska both here, it felt oddly like this was natural for the four of them. Manfred had been feeling like another parent to both kids all day, and looking back on it Gregory had long started treating Fran like she were his own kid, and if that didn't make Gregory all bubbly and nervous all over again.
Yes, this was what it was like to be a complete family. He didn't think he knew how to approach this feeling of such utter… belonging. He had experienced a wide range of feelings in his life, many of which he needed to bury deep down, but this was new.
How terrifying, and yet how exciting.
When Manfred awoke, he emitted an air of embarassment Gregory had never seen from him before. He probably would've had the urge to laugh about it if he didn't feel the exact same way. Manfred had quickly excused himself and his sleeping daughter from the premises in the way Gregory found he often did when they were at work, everything likely being a bit too much for him to handle, and he let him without too much complaint. If he knew one thing about Manfred, he needed his space when the time came and no one could stop him. And if he knew one thing about himself, he was grateful Manfred was gone so that he could have time to calm down himself.
Miles was upset when he woke up and the von Karmas were gone, but became understanding when Gregory lied about Manfred having a work emergency. "I want Franziska and Mr. von Karma to come over next year. Can they, please?" Miles gave him the biggest puppy eyes he'd ever seen.
"Yeah, I'd like them to come over next year too," he replied, and he found it was the truth. "I'll be sure to ask them."
Miles' subsequent smile made him feel a more familiar warmth. "Come on kiddo, let's put your new toys and books away, okay?"