A Dragon Never Yields

Looking down, you only spotted two pointy triangles from behind another root, and two big green eyes staring directly at you, considering whether to attack or flee.

You gathered whatever fell from your bags and looked where you stumbled, approaching the kitty without scaring it, lowering to its level. Your mind was only telling you to just grab it and cuddle its fur for how cute it looked, but you knew it would only scare it away, so you held out your hand slowly, letting it smell you as you encouraged it with a soft voice.

When the little black, silky nose touched your hand, you dared to move and pet its tricolor fur, scratching behind its ears and on its neck as it seemed to let you in.

It wasn't a kitten, too big for being a few weeks old, but also too small for an adult, so it probably was a stray that had grown up on the streets.

The cat sat comfortably in your arms, meowing for what you thought was hunger, looking around the streets. Even when you placed it back on the ground to open the front door, it followed you right inside, sitting on the side, waiting.

After some pats of forgiveness, you stood up again to leave, not wanting to disturb the cat anymore. You waved as if it were a child, keeping eye contact until you could, but soon it started to follow you, meowing at your legs and cutting again and again your way until you stopped again. It rolled on his belly, waiting for your hand again, then climbed on your jeans and rubbed on your calves.

You took it in your arms before your brain could register what you were doing, forcing yourself not to think about what Miles would think about it and just, walk.

"Are you home?"

You barely heard Miles' voice from his office, but didn't answer right away, you just placed your bags down and went for his door, with the kitty.

Pushing the door open, you stopped at the threshold and just stared at Miles, still curved over his paperwork.

"You should buy a taller desk, for your back"

"I should try one before. When I have time, we could go search for it"

He finished reading the last sentence on the paper before raising his eyes, freezing in confusion

"....Was it included with the mangas?"

He looked directly at you, puzzled, but you tried your best to keep a straight face and NOT look into his eyes.

"You could say that" you met his look already trying to soften him

You shook your fist to your chest in celebration, fleeing from his office and raising the kitty in the air like a baby, talking to it like a baby and ignoring Miles' sigh in the background.

"I hope you're not thinking-"

"Please."

"No"

"Miles please, I'll look after it completely"

"You can't just bring animals from the streets home"

"I just did exactly that"

"You're not going to keep doing this, I hope"

"......"

"You're NOT"

"This one?"

".....We can see how this turns out"

-

He had a dog, years ago, so he shared some common pet knowledge, even if it was clearly different from the current situation.

In the first days, the kitty remained in your room to try to make it comfortable in the new environment and to allow you to research care, food, and other basics, also finally realizing it was a girl kitty!

As expected, Miles stayed far from the room, still not understanding why a cat was in his house, and useless to say that the cat did precisely the same with him.

So after that, he just kept his distance and locked every place with his things, banned the cat from the sofa, and so on, only after you convinced him to try again and give her some time to make herself at home.

When she started roaming around the rooms, Miles tried to check his behaviour whenever he could, not wanting anything chewed or scratched, making sure you did the same.

And you did, you tried, you didn't want to see your husband kick out this poor kitty (and you also knew he was too soft for something like that), but when you found her taking out all the stuffing from Miles' office chair, you nearly had a heart attack.

And unluckily so, Miles came back not late enough, catching you scolding the cat as soon as he walked through the front door, and already knew something was wrong.

Only when he realized you had everything under control did Miles start to approach this new situation; he gladly helped you by feeding her regularly when you were at work. You taught him to clip her nails and brush her fur to avoid fur balls around the house, and slowly, he started to actively search for her company.

More than sometimes, you would come back from work and find Miles in his office like always, but the cat would be there too (tightly controlled), either on his lap or curled in the corner of the desk, where he kept a small pile of blankets for these occasions.

He never considered himself a cat person, but now that he had one in his house, he actually liked everything, from the quietness to the company and the low-maintenance care needed, which perfectly suited him and his lifestyle.

And even if he shut you up quickly when you compared the reserved and timid nature of cats to his own, he surely finds it easier to get along with her than with people.

The only thing he can't get used to, are the sudden bursts of energy this creature had at the worst times possible, running from one room to another, and then back in less than a second.

While you ran after the cat to play with her at these times, he would search the internet for the cause, and try talk to you about leashes to help her with the "pent-up energy" the internet told him about.

And yes, it would be the cutest thing to see Miles in his house slippers walk a cat around, but two tries and three leashes after you gave up, and just hoped to see Miles succeed with his stubbornness.

At work, no one dared to make fun of Miles' now quadricolor suit because of the fur, mostly because he wore it proudly and would directly show pictures of his cat whenever someone asked what pet he had.

Your gallery was now full of cat pictures and Miles-with-the-cat pictures, from them taking tea together to sleeping on the couch and playing on the carpet, so you tried again and again to propose to get another cat, but Miles was more than happy already, and didn't want to create more jealousy drama in addition to his.

Since the cat arrived, your attentions orbited further from him to the kitty, and he tried not to be affected by this (he's an adult), so another cat would only worsen things.

Their alleged relationship as a "family" started as a joke among his coworkers, he enjoyed the time spent together but never found enough courage and officially adopt her. He could already hear people talking and his only good fathering model wasn't there enough to make him understand how to do it; his adoptive father? Not the best. All these burdens from the past made their relationship more than unsettling, and his final decision to adopt and help someone in the same condition he was in when little, delayed until the last moment.

Considering his constant traveling, the two of them tried to find an agreement on when she would follow him and when to stay at home, but sure thing was that she didn't want to definitely follow him home, if somewhen he was to return. Thanks to him, she found a clearer path in her life but also kept his path, duties, and must-do obligations in mind to be sure to never be in the way, but maybe help when possible.

Miles always remained informed on what was happening back at home since he left the prosecutor's office; from all the chaos and confusion that resulted from his "death message", the case with Lana, and lastly, the news about Franziska's arrival from Germany.

However, all he could do for his own sake was focus on his career, find himself again and detach himself from his adoptive father definitively. This new experience, against all odds, was what helped him the most; he stopped pushing others away when in need of help and improved his interpersonal skills, stopped backing up from emotions he deemed useless and learned to be vulnerable in front of others.

His daughter reminded Miles so much of himself; luckily, she didn't see any of her parents killed in front of her eyes, but they weren't exactly cut out for the job, neglecting and leaving a child on their own too soon for her good. He surely isn't one to judge, never knew how parenthood worked and will probably never understand it entirely. Miles couldn't process having to grow up quickly and leave behind the few familiar things while still in touch with von Karma, but now that he's facing it all over again with her, he can easily help out while realizing a lot of his childhood.

Slowly, in his head everything was easier, and he could see himself finally going forward.

During the circus case, Gumshoe contacted Miles again and updated him on Wright, Franziska's work and the cases they handled. He decided to help remotely with the investigations, but soon understood it was time for a trip back home.

She was aware of Miles' relations and situations with both his adoptive sister and "best friend"; the news of his departure probably shook their lives and him being Miles Edgeworth doesn't know how to handle the circumstances created emotionally, other than being the usual stoic robot that he is. Furthermore, returning with a daughter added more trouble explaining everything. Still, Miles wanted to bring her along and find a solution together, as in all their investigations.

Phoenix's and Franziska's reactions were more than foreseeable, so he was ready for their disdain, especially Franziska, fearing his brother was back prepared to overshadow her again in her most important case. It didn't even cross their mind to question who the girl with him was; only when Phoenix came to Miles' office to discuss the Engarde case that everything hit him, in the worst way ever. But it's also in that specific moment that he understood how the "death" of his friend he experienced so poorly was in reality all he needed to turn back to when he was a child, more carefree and human. Soon they both realized how Edgeworth resolution was what Phoenix needed, too, to move forward.

If this situation wasn't hard enough, Miles lost years of his life when he had to forcefully drag Franziska to the hospital after being shot. He didn't even have time to collect what was happening and not panic that he was called to court to cover for his sister.

And once again, the von Karma curse hit again. He was lucky enough to have gotten rid of it, but he knew Franziska too well, and before she could leave her father and all the expectations his career passed on to her she had to be awakened with different realities from the one his father fed her for all their lives.

Edgeworth worked to find de Killer very soon in his career, because of this after the dispute with Andrews during the trial he spent all the time available investigating to locate him and Maya.

In all this chaos, he could luckily count on his daughter. Even if she could be the mirror of Franziska, her engagement with his father's work and relations was what put his mind at peace that she wouldn't take that turn. When she was allowed to investigate, Gumshoe by her side, together they worked their double best to help Edgeworth, but, as nothing helpful for the case could be done, she remained in the hospital with Franziska, helping her recover and not go out. That's when the two started to know each other, and Franziska began to see his brother's changes, or at least tried to.