Gregory Edgeworth wasn't sure why he bothered.
He lost every time. The law was no game, sure, but he lost every time against Manfred von Karma. The sound of the gavel coming down on the judge's desk as he announced a guilty verdict was a sound he was well-accustomed to. They were beginning to feel less like court cases and more like child's play.
He let out a sigh. His watch read 10:00 PM. Little Miles was over at his friend Phoenix's house, either tucked into bed or watching the Steel Samurai. Either way, he was probably asleep. He'd take the day off tomorrow to be with Miles. It was useless to keep at this awful, childish run of trials. There was really no way to avoid it though, was there?
"Moping about your loss, Edgeworth?"
That mocking tone. It could only be Manfred von Karma himself. Gregory looked up to meet his eyes. The awful man wasn't particularly handsome, but Gregory would have described him as 'a face one would remember,' with his permanent leering grin and long, angry features. That combined with the smell of hair gel permeating everywhere he went made him a set of characteristics Gregory had come to know all too well.
"Don't kid yourself. You're no just man, von Karma. Your perfect win record is getting a tad suspicious." He stood up, wrapping his coat around himself as though he was about to leave. Somehow he had the feeling he wouldn't be leaving for awhile, though.
"A sore loser, are we?" Von Karma folded his arms, sneering. "Accusing a fellow attorney of forging evidence? Well, Mr. Edgeworth, do you have evidence of your own to support that large claim of yours?"
Gregory laughed. "Good one."
"I beg your pardon?"
"That was smart, von Karma, you slimeball."
"Aha. See, you even admit that I'm the better of the two of us. It's no good to pretend to be a hero in the world of justice. True justice is not always the 'good guys' winning, Mr. Edgeworth."
"I never said it was. I was only implying that justice shouldn't have childish men who only care about the 'Guilty' verdict and don't care at all for the content of the trial serving its cause."
Von Karma was silent, and it was all Gregory could do not to chuckle. "I'm afraid you don't understand my purpose here. I am a von Karma. My daughters are von Karmas. I strive for perfection and do not care how I attain it. That is the von Karma way"
"Well, perhaps von Karmas shouldn't be attorneys then."
Before Gregory had a chance to elaborate, von Karma slapped him right across the face. It stung. "You have crossed a line, Mr. Edgeworth."
"How immature of you. I'm honestly surprised you aren't in contempt of court yet." He sat back down, sighing again and rubbing his face with one hand. "You know, I don't want to hate you, von Karma. Prosecutors and defense attorneys aren't supposed to hate each other. I don't know where that misconstrued idea has come from these days, but I sure have a bone to pick with it."
Von Karma let out a mocking laugh. "Easy for you to say."
Gregory frowned. He wondered to himself whether the man in front of him was the real von Karma. If the stoic, angry von Karma who showed absolutely no mercy was the same von Karma he was around his little daughter. If that was the same von Karma that had had a wife, had gone through law school, had once been a child himself.
"I'm going to say it again. I don't want to hate you, Manfred," he said, lowering his voice.
"Do not refer to me by my first name."
"We're not enemies. We're just a defense attorney and a prosecutor. We're not enemies. Think about your daughter. Do you want her to live in a world where everyone is her enemy?"
"Everyone is your enemy until proven otherwise." Von Karma looked like he was a timebomb about to explode, his clutch on the manila folder in his hands had become a death grip. "That is the way of prosecutors."
Gregory snickered. "Ever heard of 'innocent until proven guilty,' Manfred?"
He was silent for awhile. Gregory checked his watch again. Far too late. Hopefully Miles was asleep by now. "Well," Manfred began. "There is no rule that says that defense attorneys and prosecutors have to be good buddies outside of court either. The absence of a rule is a loophole, surely you'd know that."
Gregory chuckled. "Maybe we should create our own rules, then. The absence of a rule is also an opportunity."
"What are you implying?"
"It's getting far too late, Manfred. Your daughter probably needs to be put to bed. I say we continue this tomorrow. Ever been to Lydia's Coffee?" Manfred looked puzzled and somewhat red in the face. "Perhaps your daughter might like to meet my son, too. I expect to see you there at ten tomorrow. Now, I've really got to get home." He picked up his briefcase and strode out of the defendant's lobby, wondering what new rules he and the Demon Prosecutor could create.
This is a gift for my dear friend Allison, otherwise known as ChidoriQueen on here. I can now proudly say I've written Manfred von Karma x Gregory Edgeworth, which I actually have grown rather fond of. Special thanks goes out to Anya, whose fanfiction username I forgot but who is berylliant on tumblr, for being possibly the only person willing to exchange headcanons for this pairing with me and for helping me come up with an ending.