Drabble ; In Good Hands
Because I needed to write something semi-sweet and semi-cracky.
In which Edgeworth speaks with Kay about her male companions, Kay is blithely and purposely oblivious, and Smoker gives glowing recommendations.
His first impression of her had been a spirited little girl who could have gained from not kicking up-and-coming prosecutors such as himself, but the way she sprang to Gumshoe's defense and staunchly held back her tears with all the tenacity a child could, due to a promise, had assured Miles Edgeworth that her morals and determination were admirable.
That was when she was ten. When she was seventeen?
Still spirited, still with morals intact (despite her reticence to speak with him about the Yatagarasu, but she promised he'd learn all of it and more in two years), and... still very much a magnet for trouble.
Yes, Edgeworth decided, leaning back in his chair and gazing at the girl seated across from him, Kay Faraday was a magnet. A well-meaning magnet, no doubt, but he'd only recently heard from Snow that she was traveling with three older teenage males and befriending even more. Having once been a (proud, dignified, chivalrous) teenage male himself and having been the friend of a (perverted, foolish, bumbling) teenage male who had never actually grown up, the fact that Byrne Faraday's daughter was in the constant company of three of them was... worrisome. And, as the one who had "known" her longest, he felt he should assume some sort of responsibility for the girl. He would have gladly left the task to Badd, were he here, or Gumshoe-- well, perhaps not. The instant he tried to get her to see reason, she would neatly switch the topic to the price of instant noodles in Johto or ask about his heroic exploits, and the bumbling detective would accomplish nothing. No, the task of cautioning the young thief fell solely to him.
"Kay, I realize you're old enough to be making your own decisions, reckless and rash though they may be..."
"I told you, the Gyarados in the Pokémon Center thing was an accident, and it's not like you haven't used me as a guinea pig before--" Kay began adamantly, but subsided when he held up a hand.
"I'm not speaking about that, nor do I have no recollection of doing any such thing." He ignored her rebellious mutter concerning something about future badgers and kidnappings, as he didn't want to know, and lifted his chin to give her his most authoritative gaze. It was a gaze that had made many a witness cower before him, and he was confident of its power to keep Kay as obedient as Kay could be.
However, Kay didn't so much as flinch, and only returned that gaze with a firm one of her one. "You'll give yourself wrinkles like that," she informed him helpfully. "And with your hair, no one's going to believe you're only in your twenties, Mr. Edgeworth."
... Of course. He should have known that someone who had greeted the grizzled, taciturn head detective with effervescent joy and called him "Uncle" wasn't going to be fazed by a stare. Her own father had probably given it to her across the dinner table.
Just barely managing to keep his frown from increasing (and the apparent wrinkles, as well), he cleared his throat. "Concerns about my age aside, of which I assure you there are none--"
Now she was eying him with a mixture of smugness and pity.
"There are none," Edgeworth repeated emphatically. "Now then, Kay, I'm sure a young lady such as yourself must be aware that there are certain... risks and consequences to traveling alone with young men. Boys, really."
Kay stared at him blankly. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"The connotation is quite different, and the ones you're keeping company with are indeed boys. Boys who... could possibly entertain..." Oh, why did he have to do this? Franziska had never had this sort of problem, for reasons best left undisclosed. "... Notions."
"Notions," she echoed, and Edgeworth wanted to groan when she saw the innocent way she tilted her head. She possessed no clue. "But everyone's got notions, right? They wouldn't get very far if they didn't."
"Nor should you let them get very far," he said heatedly. "In fact, you should take care to crush such notions immediately."
"... Either you're channeling Ms. von Karma, because you're looking kind of scary, or Gummy, because you're not making a whole lot of sense right now."
Having to hear that he wasn't being coherent from the Reckless Wonder herself was sobering.
"You are traveling with three boys, Kay. Are you not at all concerned with the implications? If any of them were to touch you--"
Much to his surprise and absolute horror, the girl beamed, as if they had finally reached the same wavelength. "Don't worry about that, they already did!"
The horror was growing exponentially. "Excuse m--"
"I've slept with Johan a few times," Kay continued conversationally. "And there's no way you can do that and not touch, right?"
"Excuse--"
"And Juudai pinned me to the floor twice, but he was cheating, so don't really count that, okay? I had him on his back once!"
Edgeworth was now making noises like he'd just swallowed a Beedrill.
"Oh, and Crow - and Kaito - helped me get my clothes back! And then Crow showed me his Black Feathers and let me hold them! That was pretty cool! Well, not the clothes part, and Kaito still teases me about the towel, but he knows better now! Don't worry, Mr. Edgeworth, I'm in good hands!"
She wasn't. She was far from it, and there she sat, alight with happiness and chattering all about the boys who were taking advantage of her naivete and trusting nature to do all sorts of questionable things to her! And what sort of euphemism was "Black Feathers", anyway?
"I... highly doubt that, Kay," he said stiffly.
"I don't." She seemed to finally have caught on to what he was trying to convey to her, and she frowned. "Crow took the time to teach me about a card game that's got a lot of importance to these guys, and it's made me feel like I can understand them just a little more. Juudai came out in a storm to help me find Flapper, and I never would have found her if it hadn't been for him-- he got sick because of it, too. All the guys I know have helped me out. Ash helped me pay for the Pokémon Center's repairs, even though I told him not to. Kaito helped me fight off a bunch of ghosts at the Sprout Tower, just like Sora did. Hiruma thinks I'd make a good football player, even if he calls me a pipsqueak. Johan..." She paused for a breath. "Johan's always tried to protect me, even if it means he's the one who gets hurt. And he makes sure I don't do anything stupid, like you'd do, or Uncle Smokey, or Snowball. He didn't sleep at all when I had that head injury and he didn't even go to work when I got sick so he could take care of me."
There was silence for a moment, Edgeworth honestly not having expected any of that, and Kay unyielding in her defiant stare.
"I'm in good hands," she insisted. "I've got friends, and they're not the kind of guys who'd do anything to me. I trust them, and maybe that's my 'laughable honesty' speaking up, but that doesn't change a thing. And the guys I'm traveling with? I trust them the most of all." After another pause, she added, "And not just because they're more into their cards than anything else, but I think Un-- I mean Smokey gets more flustered than they do. Besides, I don't think they even see me as a girl most of the time."
Probably not entirely true, Edgeworth suspected, or not something that would remain entirely true, but Kay was wearing her stubbornness like a crown. She'd said her piece, and any further attempts to persuade her would most likely fail.
"You will be careful." Not an order or a suggestion, just a statement.
"I will." And he saw that she would, if she ever saw cause to. Whatever experiences Kay had been through before she'd arrived, they'd given her an extra edge of maturity. It wasn't one she displayed very often, but she did possess it, and he knew she'd be able to take care of herself. ... Or those boys would see to that themselves, judging from what she'd just told him.
After a few more minutes of studying her, the girl squirmed in her seat. "Can I go now, Mr. Edgeworth? We ordered a pizza, and if I don't get back soon, they're going to leave me the slices with the green peppers and I hate those."
He waved her off, deciding to at least get one more opinion before he could safely declare Kay in good hands.
"Huh? Sure they're good guys," Smoker growled, some hours later. "Two of them have Magikarp."
Miles Edgeworth admitted defeat.
In which Edgeworth speaks with Kay about her male companions, Kay is blithely and purposely oblivious, and Smoker gives glowing recommendations.
His first impression of her had been a spirited little girl who could have gained from not kicking up-and-coming prosecutors such as himself, but the way she sprang to Gumshoe's defense and staunchly held back her tears with all the tenacity a child could, due to a promise, had assured Miles Edgeworth that her morals and determination were admirable.
That was when she was ten. When she was seventeen?
Still spirited, still with morals intact (despite her reticence to speak with him about the Yatagarasu, but she promised he'd learn all of it and more in two years), and... still very much a magnet for trouble.
Yes, Edgeworth decided, leaning back in his chair and gazing at the girl seated across from him, Kay Faraday was a magnet. A well-meaning magnet, no doubt, but he'd only recently heard from Snow that she was traveling with three older teenage males and befriending even more. Having once been a (proud, dignified, chivalrous) teenage male himself and having been the friend of a (perverted, foolish, bumbling) teenage male who had never actually grown up, the fact that Byrne Faraday's daughter was in the constant company of three of them was... worrisome. And, as the one who had "known" her longest, he felt he should assume some sort of responsibility for the girl. He would have gladly left the task to Badd, were he here, or Gumshoe-- well, perhaps not. The instant he tried to get her to see reason, she would neatly switch the topic to the price of instant noodles in Johto or ask about his heroic exploits, and the bumbling detective would accomplish nothing. No, the task of cautioning the young thief fell solely to him.
"Kay, I realize you're old enough to be making your own decisions, reckless and rash though they may be..."
"I told you, the Gyarados in the Pokémon Center thing was an accident, and it's not like you haven't used me as a guinea pig before--" Kay began adamantly, but subsided when he held up a hand.
"I'm not speaking about that, nor do I have no recollection of doing any such thing." He ignored her rebellious mutter concerning something about future badgers and kidnappings, as he didn't want to know, and lifted his chin to give her his most authoritative gaze. It was a gaze that had made many a witness cower before him, and he was confident of its power to keep Kay as obedient as Kay could be.
However, Kay didn't so much as flinch, and only returned that gaze with a firm one of her one. "You'll give yourself wrinkles like that," she informed him helpfully. "And with your hair, no one's going to believe you're only in your twenties, Mr. Edgeworth."
... Of course. He should have known that someone who had greeted the grizzled, taciturn head detective with effervescent joy and called him "Uncle" wasn't going to be fazed by a stare. Her own father had probably given it to her across the dinner table.
Just barely managing to keep his frown from increasing (and the apparent wrinkles, as well), he cleared his throat. "Concerns about my age aside, of which I assure you there are none--"
Now she was eying him with a mixture of smugness and pity.
"There are none," Edgeworth repeated emphatically. "Now then, Kay, I'm sure a young lady such as yourself must be aware that there are certain... risks and consequences to traveling alone with young men. Boys, really."
Kay stared at him blankly. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"The connotation is quite different, and the ones you're keeping company with are indeed boys. Boys who... could possibly entertain..." Oh, why did he have to do this? Franziska had never had this sort of problem, for reasons best left undisclosed. "... Notions."
"Notions," she echoed, and Edgeworth wanted to groan when she saw the innocent way she tilted her head. She possessed no clue. "But everyone's got notions, right? They wouldn't get very far if they didn't."
"Nor should you let them get very far," he said heatedly. "In fact, you should take care to crush such notions immediately."
"... Either you're channeling Ms. von Karma, because you're looking kind of scary, or Gummy, because you're not making a whole lot of sense right now."
Having to hear that he wasn't being coherent from the Reckless Wonder herself was sobering.
"You are traveling with three boys, Kay. Are you not at all concerned with the implications? If any of them were to touch you--"
Much to his surprise and absolute horror, the girl beamed, as if they had finally reached the same wavelength. "Don't worry about that, they already did!"
The horror was growing exponentially. "Excuse m--"
"I've slept with Johan a few times," Kay continued conversationally. "And there's no way you can do that and not touch, right?"
"Excuse--"
"And Juudai pinned me to the floor twice, but he was cheating, so don't really count that, okay? I had him on his back once!"
Edgeworth was now making noises like he'd just swallowed a Beedrill.
"Oh, and Crow - and Kaito - helped me get my clothes back! And then Crow showed me his Black Feathers and let me hold them! That was pretty cool! Well, not the clothes part, and Kaito still teases me about the towel, but he knows better now! Don't worry, Mr. Edgeworth, I'm in good hands!"
She wasn't. She was far from it, and there she sat, alight with happiness and chattering all about the boys who were taking advantage of her naivete and trusting nature to do all sorts of questionable things to her! And what sort of euphemism was "Black Feathers", anyway?
"I... highly doubt that, Kay," he said stiffly.
"I don't." She seemed to finally have caught on to what he was trying to convey to her, and she frowned. "Crow took the time to teach me about a card game that's got a lot of importance to these guys, and it's made me feel like I can understand them just a little more. Juudai came out in a storm to help me find Flapper, and I never would have found her if it hadn't been for him-- he got sick because of it, too. All the guys I know have helped me out. Ash helped me pay for the Pokémon Center's repairs, even though I told him not to. Kaito helped me fight off a bunch of ghosts at the Sprout Tower, just like Sora did. Hiruma thinks I'd make a good football player, even if he calls me a pipsqueak. Johan..." She paused for a breath. "Johan's always tried to protect me, even if it means he's the one who gets hurt. And he makes sure I don't do anything stupid, like you'd do, or Uncle Smokey, or Snowball. He didn't sleep at all when I had that head injury and he didn't even go to work when I got sick so he could take care of me."
There was silence for a moment, Edgeworth honestly not having expected any of that, and Kay unyielding in her defiant stare.
"I'm in good hands," she insisted. "I've got friends, and they're not the kind of guys who'd do anything to me. I trust them, and maybe that's my 'laughable honesty' speaking up, but that doesn't change a thing. And the guys I'm traveling with? I trust them the most of all." After another pause, she added, "And not just because they're more into their cards than anything else, but I think Un-- I mean Smokey gets more flustered than they do. Besides, I don't think they even see me as a girl most of the time."
Probably not entirely true, Edgeworth suspected, or not something that would remain entirely true, but Kay was wearing her stubbornness like a crown. She'd said her piece, and any further attempts to persuade her would most likely fail.
"You will be careful." Not an order or a suggestion, just a statement.
"I will." And he saw that she would, if she ever saw cause to. Whatever experiences Kay had been through before she'd arrived, they'd given her an extra edge of maturity. It wasn't one she displayed very often, but she did possess it, and he knew she'd be able to take care of herself. ... Or those boys would see to that themselves, judging from what she'd just told him.
After a few more minutes of studying her, the girl squirmed in her seat. "Can I go now, Mr. Edgeworth? We ordered a pizza, and if I don't get back soon, they're going to leave me the slices with the green peppers and I hate those."
He waved her off, deciding to at least get one more opinion before he could safely declare Kay in good hands.
"Huh? Sure they're good guys," Smoker growled, some hours later. "Two of them have Magikarp."
Miles Edgeworth admitted defeat.