Work Text:
Gregory sighed in relief as he finally finished packing his suitcase. He had been putting off packing for his upcoming business trip in favour of more urgent work, and it was a load off his mind to finally have it all done.
It wasn't like he needed to pack much, it was a simple trip that is supposed to only take three days. But things didn't often go to plan in his experience, so he decided to pack a few days of extra clothing just in case.
Manfred will be going with him as well. It was a simple conference put together by some higher-ups to welcome an influx of new lawyers to the workplace, attorneys and prosecutors alike. It started relatively recently and happened around the same time every year since, although Gregory had never gone before. But this time around he was actually invited on behalf of the country's Association of Defense Counsel, likely due to his relative success in getting trials with von Karma to last more than five minutes. He was meant to meet new attorneys who recently passed the bar and give them a few words of wisdom, which, he frankly didn't think he had anything truly helpful to say, but he figured he ought to go anyway.
Von Karma is apparently invited every year, but he told Gregory that he only goes depending on how promising the newest prosecutors appear to be. That about tracked for the man. Apparently this year's law graduates are of a higher Bar average than previous years, and so it worked out that the both of them would be going to this event.
Gregory had needled Manfred a bit when it came to accommodations; he had noticed a higher-quality hotel close to the venue was holding a discount for purchasing two connecting rooms. The entire area around the venue was rather high-class, and Gregory didn't necessarily have the means to afford a lot of the conveniently-located hotels in the area. This discount would make it less hard on the wallet. Thankfully Manfred agreed after a bit of teasing about his economic situation, saying that he was planning on staying at that location anyway. Gregory wasn't quite sure if he believed him on that front, but he was glad he agreed nontheless.
The next morning, Gregory greeted his go-to babysitter for Miles at the front door. The high-schooler got along pretty well with Miles, and they were usually available when the need arose. Gregory was admittedly a bit worried about leaving Miles for so long; he had never been gone more than a day, but knowing and trusting the babysitter helped put his mind at ease.
He kissed his son goodbye on his forehead and waved him goodbye as he rolled his suitcase over to the yellow taxi outside.
The plane flight wasn't too long, thankfully. Gregory had suggested using the same taxi to get to their hotel to Manfred a few days ago, as they were planning out their trip. Manfred had scoffed, "my flight arrives at the airport three hours after yours does. It would be terribly inconvenient." He remembered desperately trying to not let the fondness show on his face as he had realized that may have been the closest Manfred had ever gotten to showing concern for him. He had insisted that was perfectly fine and he didn't mind waiting, and so Manfred had begrudgingly acquiesced.
As Gregory waited by the baggage carousel where Manfred's flight was listed, he realized quietly that outside of work it was rather easy to force Manfred to go along with anything he wanted.
He might have been imagining it, but he began to wonder how exactly Manfred felt about him. He wasn't what one would call unbiased, and this wasn't exactly the first time he had ruminated on such an idea. An idea that Manfred might feel the same way about him. It was a dangerous road to go on, and yet Gregory often found himself mindlessly trekking down it anyway.
He often found himself analyzing some interaction the two of them had as of recent, looking over every nook and cranny as though he were some sort of detective. In his mind he replayed every little change in Manfred's expression, every little difference in his posture, or when he spoke if it was more stiff than normal, or conversely if it was more light and airy than usual.
He may have a problem.
As much as he told himself that this feeling wasn't something he could ever practically act on without suddenly changing routine on his son, Manfred's daughter, and even he and Manfred themselves with how the press would surely be all over them, he just had so much trouble letting it go completely. He felt like he was in his early twenties again with the way his heart wanted to chase every little desire within that greater feeling of love.
It was just so inappropriate. Von Karma was a prosecutor, the Demon God Prosecutor as so many people refer to him, and he was a somewhat reputable defense attorney. Sure, there had been cases of prosecutors and attorneys becoming romantically involved after meeting one another at work, but it was just so different with how public the two of them had become. Manfred has always been a force of nature ever since he first stood behind the prosecutor's bench, and Gregory's multiple trials against the man had inevitably drawn the attention of the press. The flurry of objection after objection as the two of them kept each other on their toes, having to think of every rebuttal before an argument was even made, it had caused them both a lot of attention. The mere thought of the press constantly being in their face in and out of court if they were to ever be in a relationship was just anxiety inducing.
If things were different, it may have been easier, and Gregory may have given this whole love thing another shot. But then, if things were different, he probably would've never fallen in love in the first place.
"Something seems to be troubling you, Gregory Edgeworth," Manfred's voice called. Gregory's eyes snapped upwards from where they were previously fixated on a spot on the speckled airport floor. Had three entire hours passed already? He didn't even notice the announcement of his plane arriving over the airport speakers.
Gregory stood up, shrugging sheepishly. "It's not anything important. How was your flight?"
"It was utterly ridiculous," Manfred scoffed in reply. He collapsed about as much as Gregory has ever seen Manfred collapse on one of the seats. Gregory figured he better stay standing, since the baggage conveyor had begun running already. "There is apparently some sort of new rule that I am not allowed to bring my cane onto the flight, since apparently I could assault someone with it!"
Gregory blinked. "Seriously?" He could somewhat believe it. Airport security had been slowly getting more and more serious over the past few years. Someday it might take hours to get through security with the way things were going.
"Yes! Honestly, what reason would I even have to assault someone with a cane of all things if it wasn't a good one?" That made Gregory laugh out loud. He honestly could see Manfred hurting some "foolish fool" with his cane. He's pretty sure he's seen him crush Detective Badd's foot with the end of it once. "And if that wasn't enough, the flight did not leave perfectly on time because there was apparently some sort of conflict in the economy class area of the plane. Why in the world should a few fools inconvenience me so?"
"I bet you wish you had your cane right about then," Gregory replied in jest.
Manfred smirked in response. "Indeed! I would've had the problem sorted in five minutes or less."
"Just like your trials," Gregory huffed, shaking his head fondly.
The baggage began coming out from behind the wall. People crowded rather inconsiderately close to the conveyor, making it difficult for Gregory to see any part of it. He ended up elbowing a few people to get to the front where he could watch for Manfred's suitcase. Several minutes passed, and one by one the people dispersed, but Gregory still didn't see Manfred's bag.
"What in the world is going on?" Manfred growled, waddling stiffly to stand next to Gregory. Gregory frowned at the sight, without his cane his leg might be acting up. Manfred was staring down the conveyor as it continued to move, with only a few sparse bags left on it. "This is the fourth time I've seen that suitcase there," he told Gregory, pointing to a neon orange one passing them by. He was right, Gregory's sure the remaining suitcases are ones going aimlessly round and round, waiting for their owners to finally identify them.
"I'm sure no one took your suitcase," Gregory replied thoughtfully, "I watched the door for it."
It was like Manfred was trying to bore a hole into the conveyor with his glare alone. It was looking more and more obvious to Gregory that it must have gotten lost sometime after it had been checked. And, he was sure Manfred knew the same.
"Let's go talk to customer service, yeah?" He suggested nervously, lightly tugging Manfred's arm toward the nearby help desk. Manfred grumbled under his breath, but silently followed.
He didn't stay silent for long. As soon as the woman behind the desk acknowledged them, Manfred flew into a rage over his lost luggage. Gregory thought momentarily that he should perhaps stop him from taking it out on this poor woman, but when he thought about it further, it was quite ridiculous that it was lost during a single flight that was little more than two hours. Still, he lowly interjected in a brief moment of quiet, "I am quite certain this woman here was not the person to have misplaced your bag. Don't yell at her." Manfred groaned in reply, but he did lower his voice.
The woman promised them she'd contact the other airport about the matter and let them know the moment they knew where it was. Gregory practically had to drag Manfred out of the airport.
Gregory hailed a taxi outside, and he placed his lone suitcase in the trunk before they both quietly got in the backseat. Manfred needed some help to get inside, and normally Gregory would tease him for it, but he had a feeling he'd get murdered if he tried that with the mood the prosecutor was in right now.
The ride to the hotel was quite awkward. This trip was not going well so far. He hoped the hotel would be a good enough place to wind down so he wouldn't snap at anyone at the gathering tomorrow, but von Karma wasn't exactly one to let things go.
They arrived at the hotel at around five o'clock. It was a large building, looking to be about eleven stories tall. It also had quite a fancy exterior, something befitting of someone with the standards of von Karma. Although Gregory had a feeling he'd be a bit uncomfortable if the rooms were as decorated as the exterior, hopefully it would make Manfred feel at home.
Gregory helped Manfred back out of the taxi, and he could just tell Manfred was internally grateful that Gregory wasn't saying anything about it. He got his suitcase, and stood close by Manfred's side as he struggled to hobble through the doors.
"Just a little further," Gregory softly urged. He told Manfred he would get both of their keys, and so the elder man sat down on one of the couches in the main lobby.
He greeted the person at the front desk, telling them his and Manfred's name and order number. They nodded and went into the small room behind the counter for a short moment before coming out with a single set of keys.
"Excuse me, but we had booked two rooms," Gregory told them. "Could I please have the other set of keys?"
"Hm? Oh, yes," they replied, their genuine smile becoming more forced. Gregory had a very bad feeling about this. "About that, due to the upcoming holiday, we ended up overbooking this location. At the time that you ordered your room, we didn't have the accommodations you requested."
Gregory blinked, brow furrowing. "But don't worry!" The person continued, "you'll only get charged for the one room!"
"O-one room?" Gregory repeated. He could barely believe his ears right now. This cannot be happening.
"Yes, I'm so sorry about the inconvenience sir," they replied, avoiding his gaze.
"Um, but—I—" Gregory absolutely could not deliver this news to Manfred. Although he would never say it out loud, he didn't particularly mind this change in arrangements, but he really doesn't want anything else to go wrong on this trip or Manfred may rip his head off.
"Listen, um. Is there some way you could give us two rooms anyway? My… partner has had a very bad trip thus far, and he's in a dreadful mood right now. I really don't want to make things worse for him," he pleaded with the person.
At least they looked rather sheepish about the situation at hand. "I'm so sorry sir, but the one room is the only one available. If you really need two rooms, you will have to look elsewhere."
Well, that would probably make Manfred even more upset. "You're really putting me in a bad spot here," Gregory grimaced, but took the keys and walked back over to Manfred nontheless. He wouldn't say that he was afraid of Manfred's ire, he had to deal with it for months on end at the beginning of the investigation into IS-7. But it was moreso that he didn't want his day to get even worse. The man was always so uptight and as a result blew up at every little thing. He didn't deserve any more trouble today.
It must've showed on his face, because Manfred looked almost afraid. "What is it?" He asked tentatively.
"Um. There was a mix-up with the room assignments. They only have a single room left," he held up the single ring of keys.
Manfred looked like he was about to have an aneurysm.
—/-/—
Gregory sucked his next breath in through his teeth as he opened the door to be greeted with one queen-sized bed. It wasn't the worst case scenario (Gregory wasn't sure what he would do if the bed was any smaller. They'd have to practically sleep on top of each other— and that thought was getting banished to the deepest recesses of his mind, good lord), but Manfred looked at the singular piece of furniture as though he were trying to split it into two smaller beds by glaring at it hard enough.
Gregory didn't know what to say. When he spotted the couch in the corner of the hotel room, in a fleeting moment of hope he rushed over to it and tore the couch cushions off of it in the hopes he would be met with a fold-out futon, but to no avail. With the odd look he got from Manfred, he came to the conclusion hotels this fancy may not ever have futons in their hotel rooms.
It was already rather late at night, around 21:30. If they were both younger and perhaps more irresponsible, Gregory might have tried to stall the inevitable awkward and charged conversation that would be figuring out tonight's sleeping arrangements. But frankly, his back really wanted him to lay down, and he was tired enough that he felt he could fall asleep while standing.
Manfred seemed to feel similarly. He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, and then he looked around the room, closing it again. Gregory belatedly realized Manfred didn't have his nightclothes due to his suitcase going missing.
"Um, Manfred? If you need a set of nightclothes, I packed extra clothing in my suitcase," he offered. Manfred hmphed at him, but hovered over him as he unpacked. He dug out the fanciest set of pyjamas he had packed, holding them out to Manfred.
"…thank you," Manfred nodded in acknowledgement, voice quiet. "I am going to change. I will not be long," he told him, before hobbling over to the bathroom. They really need to get his cane back soon.
Gregory figured Manfred would be long enough so that he could change out here, but he went around the corner from the bathroom just in case. He really should have considered stopping at a convenience store on their way to the hotel to buy Manfred some temporary toiletries, but he was so anxious at the time that he didn't think of it. He certainly wasn't willing to share his toothbrush, so he supposed Manfred would just have to make do for tonight.
He had folded his day clothes and set them neatly back into his suitcase when Manfred re-emerged from the bathroom, arms crossed over his chest. He already looked quite exhausted when he had picked him up from the airport, but seeing nightclothes on him really seemed to excentuate that tiredness. The prosecutor was rather thin, and quite a bit shorter than Gregory (as he had realized during that Christmas. He doesn't dare bring it up though, he had a feeling Manfred would kill him), so his pyjamas on him were noticeably oversized. Gregory hoped he couldn't see his face redden in the low lighting of the room at the sight.
"You are sleeping on the floor," Manfred told him sharply.
Gregory winced at the idea, looking at the plush, but still thin carpet beneath them. "Isn't the bed large enough for both of us?"
"I am not sharing a sleeping space with the likes of you. This," he lifted one of his arms to briefly gesture at his borrowed clothes, "is embarassing enough."
"Manfred," Gregory argued, "my back is terrible on a good day. If I sleep on the floor I won't be able to move tomorrow."
"Well, I have a bad back and a bad leg, so I win," Manfred snapped. "You may have this blanket," he turned around to face the bed, yanking the tucked comforter off of the pristine sheets, leaving only a thin white flat sheet.
Gregory wished he could say that he had no idea what Manfred's problem was, but really, he'd be quite silly to not expect this sort of behaviour from the prosecutor at this point. Goodness, he was such a pushover.
He sighed heavily in an effort to fully articulate his displeasure, then laid the comforter on top of the carpet and rolled it around him in a pseudo-sleeping bag. He supposed it was a plus that he had even given him the comforter. Sleeping with only that flat sheet was bound to be uncomfortable, but it was certainly the man's loss. "Goodnight, Manfred."
Manfred grunted in response, turning the light out.
—/-/—
Yeah, this sucked.
The red digits on the alarm clock above him loomed over his head, staring down at him as though they were judging him. He turned over for what was likely the hundredth time that night, desperate to find some semblance of comfort on the hard floor.
Earlier tonight he had tried to look on the bright side as much as he could, thinking to himself 'well, the comforter is a nice quality' or 'at least the floor is carpeted, it could have been hardwood instead', but forgive him if his positive attitude was wearing rather thin at one in the morning.
A few minutes after Manfred had turned the light off, Gregory had remembered the couch existed, and briefly moved over to it for some semblance of a mattress. However, his skin felt more and more irritated the longer he laid on it, and he ended up acquiescing to the floor once again. A hard surface was marginally better than one that made his sensitive skin prickle in anger to whatever godforsaken cleaner this hotel uses to keep the fabric of the couch looking pristine. He did manage to get a few throw pillows for neck support out of it, at least.
He grunted, angry that he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He wondered how upset Manfred would be in the morning if he just snuck in beside him, and if it would be worth it. He had left quite a lot of room on the lefthand side of the gigantic bed despite being so against letting Gregory rest there. He still couldn't say he understood what was up with that. But that option was looking more appealing by the minute.
He rolled over again, and suddenly he heard shifting from above him. Manfred's head appeared over him as he leaned over the bed to look at him. The red coming from the alarm clock was the only thing lighting his face, and combined with his deep glare, it was like Gregory was getting a firsthand view of what the Demon God Prosecutor truly looked like.
"I have never seen a more pathetic man in my life than you, Gregory Edgeworth," Manfred hissed at him quietly. "You can't go two minutes without making noise. I can't sleep with all the ruckus you are making."
Gregory glared right back at him. He was long past being afraid of the Demon God Prosecutor, even without the added anger from his tiredness. "Maybe that should have crossed your mind before you banished me to the floor, Manfred," he snipped.
"Why don't you sleep on the couch, you fool?" Manfred replied, although his tone seemed to be strangely lacking in malice.
"Do you truly think I hadn't tried that?" Gregory's eye twitched as he whisper-yelled at him. "Why don't you try sleeping on that couch, let me know if your skin doesn't develop a rash in five minutes."
Manfred flinched back ever so slightly, not seeming to know what to say in response to that.
After a long moment, he said in a softer tone, "you defense attorneys and your whining. You lot always need others to help you." Manfred disappeared from Gregory's view, and from the sounds of things he was retaking his place on the right side of the bed. "I can't stand bearing witness to your piteous nature anymore. Get up here."
Gregory blinked, not quite registering Manfred's words at first. "Well?" The older man snapped, voice still quiet.
Gregory sat up, grimacing as his back popped loudly. He stood and grabbed the comforter, yanking it upwards suddenly to let it softly float onto both the bed and the man on the far end of the mattress. It didn't quite lay down right, so he did it once more.
"Stop that, it's already too cold in here," Manfred grumbled into his pillow. He better thank his lucky stars the comforter landed perfectly in place, otherwise Gregory would've done it a third time just to spite him.
He got into the lefthand side of the bed, sighing contentedly when his spine melded perfectly with the mattress. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he'd been unsuccessfully been trying to fall asleep for the past four hours or if it was that this hotel was meant to be high-end, but the mattress felt amazing. He normally disliked sleeping on a mattress that wasn't his own, but he was just so glad to be laying on something actually comfortable. Annoying old man beside him be damned, he was feeling so good right now.
It felt like only a matter of seconds before he was dead to the world. When he awoke the following morning, it was to the sun peeking through the gap in the curtains, which wasn't unpleasant by any means. Although a brief surge of panic did run through him at not waking up to an alarm, he relaxed upon reading on the bedside clock that it was only half past eight. They still had time.
He looked to his right. Manfred was still asleep. At some point he must have turned over to face the center of the bed, laying on his side. One of his hands was tucked between his head and the pillow, the other hidden underneath the comforter that was tucked up to his chin. His face was calm. To his surprise, a lot of the wrinkles on his face Gregory would see when he was awake were smoothened out to the point where he could barely notice them. He looked several years younger like this.
He seemed so at peace.
Gregory suddenly felt like he was seeing something he shouldn't, and he quickly turned away, face burning. Lord, his face, it's burned into his memory now. He just knew it would likely never leave his mind. He really needs to reign himself in.
He sat up slowly, making at effort to not shift the mattress too much lest he wake Manfred up. A leftover part of his frusturation from last night devilishly whispered that he should do the opposite, but he shook his head silently in response to it. Nothing good comes out of revenge.
He wanted to stretch, but was unsure if the man would wake from the inevitable noise that would make, so instead he grabbed his suit and toiletries from his suitcase and trudged over to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
He was relieved the bathroom itself wasn't overly fancy in comparison to what he was used to, however there were a few gold complements along the walls and ceiling that gave the small room a more high class look to it nonetheless.
As he brushed his teeth his eyes scanned the room, and he noticed that Manfred's clothes from yesterday were still in there. They were neatly folded of course, and placed on a shelf next to the fresh towels. Gregory was a bit relieved that the other man had worn his usual getup yesterday, otherwise he would have to attend the conference in casual wear (well, casual for Manfred von Karma that is), which god help them all if that were to ever happen. He was pretty sure Manfred would sooner jump headfirst into a river than show up to any work-related matter in anything less than his usual best.
He had just finished getting dressed and brushing his hair when he heard hurried footsteps on the other side of the door, followed by very insistent knocking. "Gregory!"
He blinked at Manfred's tone. He sounded… panicked? "Oh, I'm done now, hold on a moment." He bent down to gather his clothes when the door burst open despite his words.
He looked up at Manfred, who hurriedly crossed his arms. The normally collected prosecutor's eyes darted between him and toward the shelf where his clothes were still folded, then back at him.
Gregory looked at him curiously, unsure what caused this sudden outburst. "I said I was almost done."
Manfred's shoulders relaxed just a little, enough that he was certain only himself would be able to notice such a thing. He stuttered, as though he himself were trying to come up with a reason for his strange behaviour. "I-It's almost nine o'clock. We need to get going shortly."
Gregory shrugged, standing back up. "I'm ready, so we can leave when you're done."
Manfred slammed the door once Gregory exited the bathroom, and he could hear the sound of the lock clicking in place. He had no idea what that was all about. Manfred was right, they would need to be there a little before ten in order to be on time, but it wasn't like they were far from the center where the conference was being held. It was a five minute walk from here at most.
He ought to let it go, he reasoned. Manfred, being weird? Definitely not a common occurence, he should certainly spend all of his time for the next week thinking about it. He's tried to understand that man's ways far too much. Not again, not on his watch.
Whatever had overtaken the elder man seemed to have disappeared when he remerged. He snapped, the sound piercing through the silent hotel room. "Let us go then."
Manfred had initially dragged them into a taxi, which Gregory personally would have found rather unnecessary if it were just him, but with Manfred's leg he couldn't fault him for wanting to take a cab instead.
He brought him to a small store selling walking canes, which Gregory did not know that there were stores exclusively selling canes anymore. After about ten minutes of Manfred mulling over the different ones in the store (which made Gregory realize his cane might have been discarded entirely as opposed to confiscated at the airport), he finally settled on one that was a bit flashier than his other cane with gold accents swirling around the dark wood. Afterwards, they took another taxi back to the center where the conference was being held, getting to the venue about five minutes early, thank goodness.
The conference itself was, as nicely as Gregory could put it, not particularly stimulating. The whole time he really just felt like he wanted to go back to bed. Manfred could go back with him and keep the comforter nice and cool…
He shook his head. Indeed, he really needs to reign himself in. That will be a two-time occurence and then they will fly home, never to happen again.
He was ashamed to find himself a bit disappointed at that idea.
For now however, he was having plenty of time to enjoy the coolness of Manfred's body temperature. He had assumed Manfred would break off from him into the crowd, wherever the prosecutors go for this thing. Instead, he had opted to stick close to Gregory the entire time, their arms interlocked in a sort of trap Gregory couldn't break free from. He couldn't say he minded too much, although the strange looks they got made him feel a little self-conscious.
Lord, a mixed group of attorneys and prosecutors had the two of them caught up in conversation for a while when one of them asked how the two of them met. Gregory felt far more nervous than he should have been informing the young lad they were not together. Manfred didn't even help him! He just stood there, looking completely unbothered by the accusation yet refusing to say a single word of support. He did not let him go even then. Gregory had to say he was quite surprised even when directly faced with the possible consequences of his actions, Manfred still refused to leave his side. And here he was, overwhelmed by the idea of those in their line of work spreading rumours about them.
At least this way he didn't need to worry about where he was going. Manfred dragged him every which way, and he was quite certain he'd shook hands with every leader in the business by now, attorneys and prosecutors alike. If only he could remember their names. Alas, his brain did not quite want to get over the fact that he was glued to Manfred's side, and so all of their names and positions completely slipped his mind.
When he had settled back into the bed that night, Manfred had asked him all the way down the hall from the inside of the bathroom if he could please not look in his direction for the duration of the night, and to let him use the bathroom first the following morning. That confusion from that morning returned, but Gregory knew better than to try and argue. It wasn't a big deal, and ultimately he found that he couldn't bring himself to mind in the slightest, if that somehow made Manfred more comfortable about their temporary arrangements.
"I still cannot believe they lost my suitcase," Manfred grumbled as he watched Gregory pack up his own suitcase. "I feel disgusting," he said, looking at his three-day-old clothes with a pinched look on his face.
"Yes, well, we are going home today. You will have the opportunity to change into something else once we land," Gregory replied.
They were going home on the same flight, although Gregory didn't buy a first-class seat and Manfred wouldn't dare lower himself below first class, so they would likely be apart for the rest of the trip. Manfred was likely going to storm out into the airport the moment they deboarded and harass whoever was at the customer support desk for the location of his things, so Gregory likely wouldn't see him then either.
But, as much as he teased the prosecutor about being a workaholic, he wasn't too much better himself, as they were both returning to work that very afternoon. With the way their cases seemed to line up more and more often these days, he had a feeling he'd see von Karma around sometime later this week.
He was really looking forward to that.