Gregory's Little Princess
Title: Gregory's Little Princess
Fandom: Phoenix Wright
Rating: G
Archive: Ask and ye shall be as gods receive
Warnings: Cuteness, AU
Spoilers: None, surprisingly.
Notes: This story takes place in the same AU as DL-6 Remix and Turnabout Explanations. And while it can be understood without reading those two, they have the answer to the obvious question of "Why is Gregory Edgeworth alive, anyway?"
Despite all appearances to the contrary, and despite what people might think just by looking at him, Gregory Edgeworth was definitely not sulking. The fact that he'd been more or less stood up (and he definitely wasn't thinking about it in those terms, thanks) for his tea time meeting with von Karma after the Demon God Prosecutor had agreed to said meeting certainly wasn't the cause of it. Just like the pang of something that seemed suspiciously like jealousy was in no way related to the fact that von Karma had skipped out on their meeting in favor of meeting with Damon Gant instead.
I don't know why I care, Gregory told himself as he headed back out towards the lobby of the prosecutor's office. Really, he wished that the Demon God Prosecutor had at least decided to have the courtesy to tell him he was canceling ahead of time. Getting into the prosecutor's office was often such a pain if you were a defense attorney. Even on those rare times when he didn't have to try and sweet talk his way past security. But there wasn't really much that could be done about it. Gregory stalked off the elevator when it stopped at the lobby and started stalking towards the door, still lost in his thoughts.
Besides, it's Gant of all people. He always works with Gant. And I'm not jealous of that because Gant is creepy. Which was a very true thought, and Gregory somehow managed to repress a shiver at the thought of the police officer. There was something off about Gant, and Gregory wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to know what it was. Besides, it isn't as if we're dating or anything. We just slept together. Once. And I still have no clue how that happened.
He didn't, either. He'd been trying to make sense of his last encounter with the Demon God Prosecutor, and was still coming up with more questions than answers. It was frustrating. And of course, his one source of possibly getting some answers had decided that he had direly urgent business with Damon Gant that afternoon. Or something. Honestly, Gregory still wasn't too thrilled by that revelation.
As it was, Gregory was almost to the door, when he felt a sharp pain shoot through his shins. He yelped a little, before looking down, to see a rather small girl, with a rather fearsome expression on her face.
"You kick hard, young lady," Gregory said, before kneeling down so that he was on eye level with her. "Do you always go around kicking helpless defense attorneys in the shins?"
"It was the only way to get your attention," the girl said, glaring at him, and crossing her arms in front of her. "You were about to walk into a pillar."
"I was not," Gregory said, a tad defensively, as he noticed the pillar she was talking about. And how close he probably had been to walking into it.
"Foolish fool," the girl grumbled.
"Now that you've wounded both my shins and my pride, is there anything -else- I can do for you?" Gregory asked dryly. Dealing with the girl was disturbingly like dealing with von Karma.
"Have you seen my Papa?" the girl demanded, jumping on the opportunity.
"That depends. I'm sure there are a lot of prosecutors that go by that title," Gregory teased.
The girl scowled. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the strange defense attorney that almost walked into the pillar, but she did know that he was annoying.
"I am looking for the Prosecutor Manfred von Karma," the girl told him, growling a little. She looked like she might kick him again. Which really, he wasn't sure if his shins could handle at the moment.
"Well, little lady, I'm afraid that I don't know where he is either. He was supposed to have tea with me, which he conveniently seemed to forget about."
"It isn't like Papa to forget! And he couldn't have been going to have tea with you, since he promised that he'd have tea with me today!" the girl proclaimed looking rather put out.
"Well, it seems like he was just promising tea to everyone today, doesn't it?" Gregory asked.
"How am I supposed to have tea with him if he isn't here?!" the girl demanded.
"I'm not sure. But maybe you and I could look for him together," Gregory offered, holding out his hand to her. "I'm Gregory. What's your name?"
"Franziska," she said, dubiously eyeing Gregory's hand as if it were going to bite her. "Franziska von Karma. And Papa certainly didn't mention having tea with anyone named Gregory. Papa doesn't even like defense attorneys. He says that they are foolish."
"That sounds like something he would say," Gregory said, still holding his hand out for her to take. "But he did say he'd have tea with me."
"It must have been your idea," Franziska said, before finally taking Gregory's hand after making sure it wasn't going to bite her. "So you can help me look. Let's go this way!"
And with that declaration, she started to pull on Gregory's hand leading him back towards the elevator. "We can check his office first!"
"He isn't up there, Franziska," Gregory said, shaking his head. "I know, I just came from there."
"Well, maybe he got back while you were almost walking into things!" Franziska insisted, still tugging Gregory towards the elevator. "We won't know unless we check!"
"All right, all right," Gregory said, laughing a little. Honestly, he wasn't surprised that Franziska was von Karma's daughter. She certainly had her father's temperament.
When they got up to the floor that von Karma's office was on, Franziska looked up at Gregory. "How did you get Papa to have tea with you anyway?" she asked.
"I asked. He agreed," Gregory said. No, it hadn't been that simple, however, there were some stories that a child Franziska's age didn't really need to hear. And that was definitely one of them.
"Hmph. It can't have been that simple," Franziska said.
"Why not?" Gregory asked, looking amused.
"Because, Papa doesn't like defense attorneys," the girl said, sounding rather certain about that.
Gregory shook his head, smiling a little. "Whatever you say, Fran."
"My name is Franziska," she said, glaring at him. She'd never had a nickname before. "I am a von Karma, and you will show me the proper respect!"
Gregory arched an eyebrow. "Franziska is an awfully long name for such a little girl," he said, his tone solemn, but his eyes sparkling. The little girl was a firecracker, that was for sure. "I'm surprised you can pronounce it."
"Of course I can pronounce my own name!" Franziska proclaimed, tossing her head. "I am a prodigy! And even if I wasn't, what kind of foolishly foolish fool can't even pronounce their own name?" she asked.
By this point, they had reached von Karma's office door, and Franziska glared at it for a few seconds before knocking. There still wasn't any light streaming out from beneath the door, so Gregory was fairly sure that von Karma was still out on his magical mystery tour with Damon Gant or something. As for Franziska, she paused, considered the door, and then knocked again, waiting. A few moments later when she still had received no answer, she scowled at the door, before turning her attentions back to Gregory.
"Papa is not here," she declared, the scowl deepening at Gregory's little grin at that statement. "What is funny?"
"I told you he wasn't, Fran," Gregory said, shaking his head. "And I don't have any idea where he is, not really."
"What do you mean, not really? And why do you keep calling me Fran?" she asked, glaring at him.
"All I was told is that he had business with Damon Gant and that he wasn't in," Gregory said. "And security informed me of that when I came over and tried to get in." At the question about her name, he just blinked a bit. "It's just a nickname. I take it with the way your father is, you've never had one before."
"Who is Damon Gant?" Franziska demanded, ignoring the part about nicknames for now. It wasn't important. Finding Papa was.
"A detective, one of the higher ranked ones, actually. He and your Papa work together on a lot of cases," Gregory said, shrugging.
It was common knowledge that Gant and von Karma worked together on cases a lot, after all. Gregory didn't know the details of that particular arrangement, and he was fairly sure that he didn't want to know them. It was safer for his sanity that way. Besides, Damon Gant was creepy, and the less that Gregory had to interact with the man, the better off he was.
Franziska, meanwhile, just scowled at that explanation. And after a few moments of silence, she came up with a solution that in her mind, was obvious and utterly perfect. "Well then, we'll just have to go find Mr. Damon Gant and inform him that we need Papa now, for he has promised to have tea with both you and me."
Gregory blinked, not sure that he liked that idea very much. "There are a few problems with that idea, Fran," Gregory said, considering it. "Starting with the fact that I have no clue exactly where they are. It's also possible that a case came up, and they're in the middle of a rather delicate investigation," Gregory said, thinking fast. "And I doubt that your Papa would be too happy about being interrupted in the middle of an investigation."
"Then how are we supposed to find him?" Franziska demanded, looking cross.
"Well... he might have to find us," Gregory said, after thinking about it for a few moments.
"What do you mean?" Franziska asked, not quite sure -how- her father was supposed to do that if he was off somewhere with the mysterious Mr. Damon Gant.
"I'll write him a note letting him know where you are, and he can come find you there. I can take you home with me for the time being. If that's all right," Gregory offered. After all, he didn't like the idea of Franziska being all by herself in the prosecutor's office. Even if this probably would get kidnapping charges thrown his way, regardless of whether he left a note or not.
Franziska considered Gregory for a few long moments, before nodding. Gregory at least was interesting, defense attorney or not. "I guess that will be all right," she said. "But we have to be sure to leave Papa a note so that he doesn't think that I got kidnapped."
He'll probably think that anyway, Gregory thought, before opening his briefcase and getting out a legal pad and a pen. He was half-tempted to write it as a ransom note, but he was trying to avoid kidnapping charges.
"I will tell you what to write!" Franziska informed him.
"Do you want to write it yourself?" Gregory asked, arching an eyebrow.
"No, the note was your idea. So I can dictate it to you," Franziska said. "After all, that way I can make sure that you don't say anything foolish."
She's definitely related to Manfred, Gregory thought, before looking at Franziska expectantly. "All right then," he said. "What do you want it to say?"
"Tell him that I am annoyed with him for being foolish, and that I went home with you!" Fran said, watching as Gregory wrote, making sure he wrote it all down correctly. "And tell him that he had better apologize for doing something with Mr. Damon Gant instead of having tea with me!"
Gregory snickered a little, but wrote that into the letter as well. Though honestly, he thought the world might well end before Manfred von Karma apologized to anyone. However, he got the note written, before using a thumbtack to attach it to the otherwise immaculate wood of the Demon God Prosecutor's office door. Then he headed out with Franziska on his heels.
He had no doubt that von Karma would come to get her at some point that evening, after all. He just hoped that the prosecutor didn't bring police and try to get him arrested on kidnapping charges when he did.
Fandom: Phoenix Wright
Rating: G
Archive: Ask and ye shall be as gods receive
Warnings: Cuteness, AU
Spoilers: None, surprisingly.
Notes: This story takes place in the same AU as DL-6 Remix and Turnabout Explanations. And while it can be understood without reading those two, they have the answer to the obvious question of "Why is Gregory Edgeworth alive, anyway?"
Despite all appearances to the contrary, and despite what people might think just by looking at him, Gregory Edgeworth was definitely not sulking. The fact that he'd been more or less stood up (and he definitely wasn't thinking about it in those terms, thanks) for his tea time meeting with von Karma after the Demon God Prosecutor had agreed to said meeting certainly wasn't the cause of it. Just like the pang of something that seemed suspiciously like jealousy was in no way related to the fact that von Karma had skipped out on their meeting in favor of meeting with Damon Gant instead.
I don't know why I care, Gregory told himself as he headed back out towards the lobby of the prosecutor's office. Really, he wished that the Demon God Prosecutor had at least decided to have the courtesy to tell him he was canceling ahead of time. Getting into the prosecutor's office was often such a pain if you were a defense attorney. Even on those rare times when he didn't have to try and sweet talk his way past security. But there wasn't really much that could be done about it. Gregory stalked off the elevator when it stopped at the lobby and started stalking towards the door, still lost in his thoughts.
Besides, it's Gant of all people. He always works with Gant. And I'm not jealous of that because Gant is creepy. Which was a very true thought, and Gregory somehow managed to repress a shiver at the thought of the police officer. There was something off about Gant, and Gregory wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to know what it was. Besides, it isn't as if we're dating or anything. We just slept together. Once. And I still have no clue how that happened.
He didn't, either. He'd been trying to make sense of his last encounter with the Demon God Prosecutor, and was still coming up with more questions than answers. It was frustrating. And of course, his one source of possibly getting some answers had decided that he had direly urgent business with Damon Gant that afternoon. Or something. Honestly, Gregory still wasn't too thrilled by that revelation.
As it was, Gregory was almost to the door, when he felt a sharp pain shoot through his shins. He yelped a little, before looking down, to see a rather small girl, with a rather fearsome expression on her face.
"You kick hard, young lady," Gregory said, before kneeling down so that he was on eye level with her. "Do you always go around kicking helpless defense attorneys in the shins?"
"It was the only way to get your attention," the girl said, glaring at him, and crossing her arms in front of her. "You were about to walk into a pillar."
"I was not," Gregory said, a tad defensively, as he noticed the pillar she was talking about. And how close he probably had been to walking into it.
"Foolish fool," the girl grumbled.
"Now that you've wounded both my shins and my pride, is there anything -else- I can do for you?" Gregory asked dryly. Dealing with the girl was disturbingly like dealing with von Karma.
"Have you seen my Papa?" the girl demanded, jumping on the opportunity.
"That depends. I'm sure there are a lot of prosecutors that go by that title," Gregory teased.
The girl scowled. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the strange defense attorney that almost walked into the pillar, but she did know that he was annoying.
"I am looking for the Prosecutor Manfred von Karma," the girl told him, growling a little. She looked like she might kick him again. Which really, he wasn't sure if his shins could handle at the moment.
"Well, little lady, I'm afraid that I don't know where he is either. He was supposed to have tea with me, which he conveniently seemed to forget about."
"It isn't like Papa to forget! And he couldn't have been going to have tea with you, since he promised that he'd have tea with me today!" the girl proclaimed looking rather put out.
"Well, it seems like he was just promising tea to everyone today, doesn't it?" Gregory asked.
"How am I supposed to have tea with him if he isn't here?!" the girl demanded.
"I'm not sure. But maybe you and I could look for him together," Gregory offered, holding out his hand to her. "I'm Gregory. What's your name?"
"Franziska," she said, dubiously eyeing Gregory's hand as if it were going to bite her. "Franziska von Karma. And Papa certainly didn't mention having tea with anyone named Gregory. Papa doesn't even like defense attorneys. He says that they are foolish."
"That sounds like something he would say," Gregory said, still holding his hand out for her to take. "But he did say he'd have tea with me."
"It must have been your idea," Franziska said, before finally taking Gregory's hand after making sure it wasn't going to bite her. "So you can help me look. Let's go this way!"
And with that declaration, she started to pull on Gregory's hand leading him back towards the elevator. "We can check his office first!"
"He isn't up there, Franziska," Gregory said, shaking his head. "I know, I just came from there."
"Well, maybe he got back while you were almost walking into things!" Franziska insisted, still tugging Gregory towards the elevator. "We won't know unless we check!"
"All right, all right," Gregory said, laughing a little. Honestly, he wasn't surprised that Franziska was von Karma's daughter. She certainly had her father's temperament.
When they got up to the floor that von Karma's office was on, Franziska looked up at Gregory. "How did you get Papa to have tea with you anyway?" she asked.
"I asked. He agreed," Gregory said. No, it hadn't been that simple, however, there were some stories that a child Franziska's age didn't really need to hear. And that was definitely one of them.
"Hmph. It can't have been that simple," Franziska said.
"Why not?" Gregory asked, looking amused.
"Because, Papa doesn't like defense attorneys," the girl said, sounding rather certain about that.
Gregory shook his head, smiling a little. "Whatever you say, Fran."
"My name is Franziska," she said, glaring at him. She'd never had a nickname before. "I am a von Karma, and you will show me the proper respect!"
Gregory arched an eyebrow. "Franziska is an awfully long name for such a little girl," he said, his tone solemn, but his eyes sparkling. The little girl was a firecracker, that was for sure. "I'm surprised you can pronounce it."
"Of course I can pronounce my own name!" Franziska proclaimed, tossing her head. "I am a prodigy! And even if I wasn't, what kind of foolishly foolish fool can't even pronounce their own name?" she asked.
By this point, they had reached von Karma's office door, and Franziska glared at it for a few seconds before knocking. There still wasn't any light streaming out from beneath the door, so Gregory was fairly sure that von Karma was still out on his magical mystery tour with Damon Gant or something. As for Franziska, she paused, considered the door, and then knocked again, waiting. A few moments later when she still had received no answer, she scowled at the door, before turning her attentions back to Gregory.
"Papa is not here," she declared, the scowl deepening at Gregory's little grin at that statement. "What is funny?"
"I told you he wasn't, Fran," Gregory said, shaking his head. "And I don't have any idea where he is, not really."
"What do you mean, not really? And why do you keep calling me Fran?" she asked, glaring at him.
"All I was told is that he had business with Damon Gant and that he wasn't in," Gregory said. "And security informed me of that when I came over and tried to get in." At the question about her name, he just blinked a bit. "It's just a nickname. I take it with the way your father is, you've never had one before."
"Who is Damon Gant?" Franziska demanded, ignoring the part about nicknames for now. It wasn't important. Finding Papa was.
"A detective, one of the higher ranked ones, actually. He and your Papa work together on a lot of cases," Gregory said, shrugging.
It was common knowledge that Gant and von Karma worked together on cases a lot, after all. Gregory didn't know the details of that particular arrangement, and he was fairly sure that he didn't want to know them. It was safer for his sanity that way. Besides, Damon Gant was creepy, and the less that Gregory had to interact with the man, the better off he was.
Franziska, meanwhile, just scowled at that explanation. And after a few moments of silence, she came up with a solution that in her mind, was obvious and utterly perfect. "Well then, we'll just have to go find Mr. Damon Gant and inform him that we need Papa now, for he has promised to have tea with both you and me."
Gregory blinked, not sure that he liked that idea very much. "There are a few problems with that idea, Fran," Gregory said, considering it. "Starting with the fact that I have no clue exactly where they are. It's also possible that a case came up, and they're in the middle of a rather delicate investigation," Gregory said, thinking fast. "And I doubt that your Papa would be too happy about being interrupted in the middle of an investigation."
"Then how are we supposed to find him?" Franziska demanded, looking cross.
"Well... he might have to find us," Gregory said, after thinking about it for a few moments.
"What do you mean?" Franziska asked, not quite sure -how- her father was supposed to do that if he was off somewhere with the mysterious Mr. Damon Gant.
"I'll write him a note letting him know where you are, and he can come find you there. I can take you home with me for the time being. If that's all right," Gregory offered. After all, he didn't like the idea of Franziska being all by herself in the prosecutor's office. Even if this probably would get kidnapping charges thrown his way, regardless of whether he left a note or not.
Franziska considered Gregory for a few long moments, before nodding. Gregory at least was interesting, defense attorney or not. "I guess that will be all right," she said. "But we have to be sure to leave Papa a note so that he doesn't think that I got kidnapped."
He'll probably think that anyway, Gregory thought, before opening his briefcase and getting out a legal pad and a pen. He was half-tempted to write it as a ransom note, but he was trying to avoid kidnapping charges.
"I will tell you what to write!" Franziska informed him.
"Do you want to write it yourself?" Gregory asked, arching an eyebrow.
"No, the note was your idea. So I can dictate it to you," Franziska said. "After all, that way I can make sure that you don't say anything foolish."
She's definitely related to Manfred, Gregory thought, before looking at Franziska expectantly. "All right then," he said. "What do you want it to say?"
"Tell him that I am annoyed with him for being foolish, and that I went home with you!" Fran said, watching as Gregory wrote, making sure he wrote it all down correctly. "And tell him that he had better apologize for doing something with Mr. Damon Gant instead of having tea with me!"
Gregory snickered a little, but wrote that into the letter as well. Though honestly, he thought the world might well end before Manfred von Karma apologized to anyone. However, he got the note written, before using a thumbtack to attach it to the otherwise immaculate wood of the Demon God Prosecutor's office door. Then he headed out with Franziska on his heels.
He had no doubt that von Karma would come to get her at some point that evening, after all. He just hoped that the prosecutor didn't bring police and try to get him arrested on kidnapping charges when he did.