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Chapter Text

    1. Change in mood/attitude

    Apollo nervously adjusted his coat as he stepped into the bustling theater, looking around for someone he knew. The pre-show chatter of the audience buzzed in his ears and made him anxious; he didn’t do well in these kinds of situations.

    But then he heard a woman’s voice call out “Hey! Apollo!” and he quickly turned in its direction. His anxiety was mostly eased when he saw Ema Skye standing up from her seat and waving at him. He fiddled with his sleeves as he approached her, and saw the usual suspects sitting next to her in the same row: Mr. Wright, of course, Prosecutor Edgeworth, Pearl Fey, and Klavier Gavin.

    “Uh, sorry, looks like I’m the last one to arrive,” he laughed awkwardly.

    “No, no, don’t worry about it! You’re not even late,” Ema replied with a smile, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm. “Now sit down, show's about to start.”

    Apollo gave an uncertain nod and began his uncomfortable journey of stepping over everyone’s legs to get to the end. His colleagues (and Pearl) all tucked their legs as far as they could behind their seats to let Apollo by, but he still ended up tripping over Prosecutor Edgeworth—which was really embarrassing given his status as chief prosecutor. After fumbling over his superiors (and Pearl), he nervously sat in the empty seat at the end of their little posse, right next to Klavier.

    Out of everyone in their party, Apollo had actually been hoping he’d be seated next to Klavier the least. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t have anything against Klavier (even if he did find the man’s over-the-top rockstar persona obnoxious), but, to be completely honest, he was scared. He hadn’t actually spoken to Klavier since State vs. Misham a few weeks ago, and he was worried Klavier might be upset at him over it. He had done what was right, and he doesn’t regret it one bit, but Klavier had looked seriously terrified behind that bench—like a lost little kid, wanting to run into the arms of a mother he didn’t have. Klavier had looked…broken, and Apollo didn’t blame him for it. Everything Klavier had ever known essentially came crashing down that day, and Apollo had caused it. So, needless to say he was concerned about Klavier’s opinion of him.

    Apollo decided to greet Klavier, perhaps strike up some friendly conversation before the show started. He hoped that even if he was unable to ascertain what Klavier thought of him, he would at least improve their relationship—get to know him a bit. He had thought Klavier was shallow and daft when they had first met, but over the past few months of knowing him, his opinion had changed. He had seen through the cracks in Klavier’s sparkling, shimmering facade and realized he had been too quick to judge. He felt bad for how he had been treating him. He wanted to get to know Klavier—the real Klavier.

    Apollo turned his head to his right, about to open his mouth to speak, when a sudden pain gripped his arm. He had barely glanced at Klavier, and he was instantly caught off guard by the feeling of his bracelet constricting around his wrist. Confused, he continued to keep his head slightly turned so as to subtly look over at Klavier, who appeared to be lost in thought, his eyes wistfully looking straight ahead at the stage.

    It only took a few more seconds to locate it: Klavier was tapping at his thigh in a rhythmic pattern. Tap tap, tap tap, tap tap tap ta-ta-tap. Apollo’s first thought was that Klavier was working on his music (of course he would be, it was so like Klavier to never stop working on art, even when simply waiting for a magic show to start), and that’s why he looked so far away, but…if that was the case, why was his bracelet detecting it? 

    Apollo didn’t bring it up—he didn’t want to come off as invasive; it’s not like they were in court or anything—but it still made him wonder: what was Klavier hiding even when sitting quietly, not talking to anyone before a show?

    Apollo was about to finally say hi to the guy when suddenly the lights in the theater dimmed.

    “Oh, it’s starting!” Pearl remarked excitedly, turning to Prosecutor Edgeworth and shaking his arm a bit to let it out. Then, after the crowd had gotten the message to quiet down, Trucy’s voice echoed throughout the auditorium:

    “Hello my lovely little magicians! You are about to witness something, well, magical! But in order for the magic to work, there are a few rules you have to follow. I ask that you all take a moment to silence your phones, and remember that photography and recording are prohibited during the show. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get onto the show! Remember, for as long as we’re in this room, we’re all magicians!

    And the show commenced.

    As much as Apollo refused to admit it (out of sheer spite for being used as a magic guinea pig on the daily), Trucy’s magic was incredible. It was no wonder she’d taken off so quickly—she had managed to invent never-before-seen tricks before her sixteenth birthday, ones that to this day seasoned magicians were still trying to crack. 

    Throughout the show, Apollo continued to steal glimpses at Klavier, his curiosity getting the best of him. Klavier watched the whole show with a look of wonder in his eyes, unable to take his eyes off of the young prodigy. It was things like these that made Apollo realize his initial judgment of Klavier had been wrong. He had thought that Klavier’s little friendship with Trucy was just to feed his ego by surrounding himself with fans, but seeing Klavier be so enthralled with Trucy’s magic, and so supportive of her career, forced Apollo to reexamine his biases. 

    But, the more Apollo studied the man (practically watching Klavier instead of the show at this point), he couldn’t help but notice there seemed to be a hint of sadness behind those eyes as well. Apollo wasn’t too worried; it had only been a few weeks since…everything, after all—it would be more worrying if he had just bounced back to his regular self. But still, Apollo couldn’t help the concern growing inside of him. Normal or not, those emotions are a direct result of hurt.

    Apollo broke his gaze and looked back ahead at the show—it was what he came here for. He wouldn’t really be supporting Trucy by not watching the show, would he?

    Eventually, Trucy had run through all of the new tricks she had forcibly tested on Apollo, and the show drew to a close. After a finale that ended with a bang (literally, she shot herself out of a cannon and then disappeared mid-air in a burst of glitter and confetti), the show finally drew to a close. The group of misfit law officials (and Pearl) clapped and cheered wildly, louder than anyone else in the brimming theater, Apollo was pretty sure (he did put his chords of steel to use, after all), and once the audience bean clearing out, they all migrated backstage to see the girl of the hour herself.

    Trucy didn’t see them when they first walked in—her back was turned, cleaning some stuff up—so Mr. Wright caught her attention by calling her name. She whipped around with a smile, her eyes quickly scanning the group, and then broke into an even bigger smile when they stopped at a certain someone. 

    Her face absolutely lit up when she saw Klavier, and bounded across the room to him, throwing herself on him with such force that the hug might have knocked him over if she weighed anything. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, and he didn’t hesitate in reciprocating. It was a sweet moment, so Apollo decided not to mention they looked a little silly, since Trucy had to jump due to her height, and was now just kind of dangling off of him.

    He also thought it was kind of odd that she did that, no matter how sweet it may be. Yes, the two were friends, but it’s not like they hardly see each other or anything. What prompted that reaction? Why did Klavier get an excited hug but not anyone else? Why would she be greeting him first over, you know, her father?

    “You made it!” Trucy said excitedly, dropping back onto the floor.

    Klavier laughed. “Of course! I would never miss one of your shows.”

    “I know, I know, you’ve just been…down, lately, so I thought you might sit this one out. To rest, you know? I know my shows can get overwhelming.”

    Oh.

    “Ach, you don’t need to worry about me fräulein, I’m doing alright.”

    Trucy looked at him sincerely. “Are you sure? I mean…it’s only been a few weeks.”

    Klavier nodded his head firmly. “Ja, I’m certain. I’m managing, talking to people, y’know. All is well."

    “Alright,” Trucy nodded as well, “that’s good. Remember, we’re all here if you need anything!” She gestured over to the rest of the party. They all made gestures of agreement and all of their “yep!”’s and “mhm!”’s overlapped.

    “Ja, ja, I’m aware. It’s not like you’ve told me this fifty times already.” Klavier said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

    “I’m just making extra sure!” Trucy said seriously. The group laughed.

    “Mm, thank you for your continued concern, fräulein, but really, I’m holding up. This is just a rough patch, alright?” He placed a hand on her shoulder as he said that, bending down a bit to get closer to meeting her eyes.

    “Alright, if you say so,” Trucy said gently. Then, she spun quickly to face the rest of the group.

    “Now! Since we’re all here together, why don’t we go out to dinner?” she said, clapping her hands together

    “Oh yeah, good idea. I could eat,” Ema said. But Apollo had something to say too.

    “Um, Trucy, are you forgetting that some of us don’t have like, any money?”

    Trucy’s expression morphed into a pout. “Aw, c’mon Polly! With how much Mr. Edgeworth travels, Pearl's training, and everyone else’s work schedule, I don’t often have you all together like this!”

    “I mean, if you’re going by that logic, it still doesn’t warrant dinner, really—this isn’t all of us,” Mr. Wright pointed out. “We’re missing quite a few family friends tonight—Maya isn’t even here.”

    “Oh Daddy, you’re no fun!” She said, putting her hands on her hips. “You haven’t even been a lawyer in seven years, and you still go all lawyer on me like that! Why don’t you want to have a nice dinner with your favorite people, hm?”

    “I’m just saying—”

    “I’ll pay for everyone,” Prosecutor Edgeworth quickly cut in, putting an end to the father-daughter quarrel. “My treat.”

    “Ooooh! Thank you Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy squealed, immediately running over to give him a quick hug. Prosecutor Edgeworth looked surprised at first, but then ruffled her hair gently.

    Ema nudged Klavier. “Hah! Saved by the bell. I was just about to suggest you pay.”

    Klavier stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Mm, not really saved. It would not be a big deal. I would pay.”

    “Huh, no witty comment? Who are you and what have you done with Prosecutor Gavin?” Ema snapped in front of his face.

    Klavier chuckled. “Ach, I see how it is. You act like you cannot stand me, but really, you need someone to bully, no? And I’m not very fun when I don’t fight back, right? I see, I’ll fix the issue right away.”

    Ema swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t be stupid—you know that’s not true.”

    “Ja, ja, I know. I love you too.”

    “Don’t push it.”

     The party all laughed. Apollo was glad Klavier could still joke around like this, all things considered. Perhaps he was worrying about nothing. (But still, a certain tap tap tap pattern lived in the back of his mind.)

     “Well, now that that’s settled, where are we going?” Asked Mr. Wright.

    The group all discussed where they wanted to eat for a few minutes, before eventually landing on the place Klavier suggested. (Klavier was known for…refined taste, and if Prosecutor Edgeworth was paying…)

    Once that was settled, everyone seemed just about ready to go when suddenly Apollo remembered the most important part.

    “Wait, shit, sorry guys. I don’t have a way of getting there—I took the bus here, not my bike.” He said, fiddling with his bracelet. “I’ll have to sit this one out.”

    Of course, he could have asked one of them for a ride, but he would actually rather die than do that. He would be fine just going home and—

    “Nonsense!” Klavier objected loudly—perhaps a bit too loudly, as it startled everyone in the room. “The whole point of this is because we’re all together, but we won’t be all together if you leave! I will drive you.”

    Apollo felt the blood rush to his face. “Oh, nononono, you don’t have to do that—”

    “Perfect!” Ema interjected with a dry smile. “That means I don’t have to drive him.”

    Before Apollo could even question why Ema phrased that as if driving him were some kind of punishment, he felt Mr. Wright give him a friendly pat on the back.

    “Don’t worry about it, kid, we’re not gonna leave you behind.”

    “No matter how much you want it!” Trucy winked.

    Apollo sighed; he wasn’t getting out of this.

    “Alright!” Said Ema, clapping her hands, “let’s go eat!”

    Riding with someone else wasn’t ideal for Apollo. It just felt embarrassing to him, like he was being pitied. The idea of riding with Klavier ramped that feeling up up eleven.

    Still, he tried to look at it on the bright side. Now would be the perfect time to finally talk to Klavier, seeing as he got so frustratingly cut off earlier.

    And so they all shuffled outside and got into their respective vehicles—after helping Trucy clean up, of course. Apollo felt nervous as he followed Klavier, the inherent embarrassment of being a passenger aside, because he realized that the two of them had never really been alone together. He knew there wasn’t any reason to be scared of Klavier or anything—Klavier’s enthusiastic insistence on driving him probably meant Klavier wasn't upset at him like he had suspected—but Klavier was…intimidating. He wasn’t even 25 and he was immensely successful and skilled. Everyone adored him (well, everyone except Ema, anyway), and he seemed to have the lawyer thing down completely. He had already made enough money to last himself a lifetime, probably, and here Apollo was, only two years younger but too broke to afford a car. Apollo admired him, truthfully, but the sheer power he radiated was scary.

    Klavier seemed to notice Apollo’s anxiety as he nervously stood beside Klavier’s car, not stepping in just yet (because honestly, it made him a bit embarrassed—just by looking, Apollo could tell the car alone probably cost more than his entire net worth).

    “Don’t be afraid, Herr Forehead, I don’t bite,” Klavier laughed, extending a hand. Oh yeah, this was Klavier alright. If Apollo didn’t know better, he would have declared his worry ridiculous to even think of at this point. 

Apollo swallowed nervously and took Klavier’s hand, and Klavier pulled him into the passenger seat. Klavier’s pull was forceful, but not threatening. It was the kind of force that felt like someone stopping you from falling, or being held in a parent’s arms after a nightmare.

    “Sorry, it’s just…” Apollo trailed off as he tried to describe how he was feeling without it coming off as rude.

    “Don’t worry, schatzi,” Klavier waved a hand dismissively, “you are not the first passenger to hesitate,” he said with a wink.

    Apollo felt his face get a bit hot. He never knew what to say back to Klavier in situations like this, which he thinks, looking back, is probably a huge part of the reason Klavier made him so frustrated when they were first acquainted. Klavier, on top of being successful and skilled and on track, was incredibly smooth and witty , and Apollo had never been a fast enough thinker to respond in a way that didn’t leave him feeling stupid. He now knew that Klavier had never been trying to make him look stupid—yet another thing he had assumed based on appearances alone—but it still left him feeling that way anyway.

    He sat there stuttering for a few moments, as he usually did, and Klavier laughed again. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

    Apollo buried his face in his hands, knowing that it had probably turned beet red. “Stoooooop,” he whined, “I know you just wanna get a reaction out of me!”

    Then Klavier’s face fell. He turned away from Apollo (and Apollo felt his blood turn to ice, worried he had ruined the friendship he was trying to build forever) and started the car. “Herr Justice,” he said seriously as he began to drive, “do not misunderstand me. I am not a schoolyard bully.”

    Apollo looked over at Klavier blankly, who now looked…almost sad. His brain was short circuiting trying to decipher what exactly that meant when Klavier spoke again.

    “Anyway!” Klavier said abruptly, quickly changing his whole demeanor to the one he usually wore. “Do you want to turn on the radio? Is the temperature okay?”

    “Uh, sure, and yeah, it’s fine,” Apollo said, still not finished processing.

    Klavier nodded. “Gut, gut,” He said as he reached over to turn the radio on. He fiddled with the knob a bit, until it landed on a station in the middle of some rock song Apollo didn’t recognize.

    Klavier’s eyes flickered over to Apollo. “Hey, Forehead, do you know this song?”

    Apollo rolled his eyes. “I told you to stop calling me that. And no, I don’t. Why?”

    Klavier playfully brought a hand to his chest and made an exaggerated hurt noise. “You wound me, Forehead.”

    It was then that Apollo actually decided to tune into the song and oh shit he made a mistake. While he still didn’t know the song, he certainly recognized the voice singing it.

    “Oh, geez, I’m sorry, I—”

    “Hey, hey, don’t worry. It was a trick question, I knew you didn’t,” he smiled wryly.

    “Then why’d you ask it?” 

    Klavier looked back at the road, his face growing more solemn. “Let’s just say that Herr Wright is the perfect mentor for you, because you two happen to share one of the most frustrating traits in all of humanity.”

    Apollo was especially confused now. Klavier was one of those people who seemed to always speak in riddles, and Apollo had never been good at those. “What do you mean?”

    “Ach, never mind. It’s not important.”

    Apollo wanted to press more, but he was at least able to sense that now was not the time to do so. Klavier knew too, so he went back to the song.

    “I find it funny that they still play our songs given one of us is now a murderer,” He said. He said it in a neutral tone, but Apollo could hear the tiniest bit of bitterness slip through.

    “Would you rather they not?”

    Klavier shrugged. “Who cares? It is not my music anymore, really. It belongs to the people now, so they can do whatever they please with it. I simply find it funny that they either don’t care or have forgotten so soon.”

    Apollo considered it for a moment. “I think it’s both.”

    “And why’s that?” 

    “You were the frontman of the band—it was named after you. You did all the singing and songwriting, Daryan just played an instrument. Hell, I think most Gavinners fans didn’t even know the names of the other members. Daryan was irrelevant. So long as it wasn’t you, they’re content to forget mere days after hearing the news, because they don’t care. They only care about you.”

    Klavier said nothing at first, his face somber and contemplative.

    “I think you’re right, Herr Justice,” he said after a moment. “I just cannot tell if that is better or worse.”

    The car fell silent, for Apollo couldn’t tell either. Klavier looked so dispirited, like his mind was somewhere else because he could not bear for it to be in his body. Apollo had never seen Klavier like this. The only other time he had seen Klavier break out of his free-spirited, chill persona was during State vs. Misham, but that was different. Klavier had broken down behind that bench, which was a completely understandable reaction. His emotions were running wild then, and he was panicked, scared, and desperate. But this was different. He wasn’t in a high stress situation, nor was he being told disturbing information or currently losing someone close to him. He was just…living, but no more than that. And he wasn’t hitting stuff and crying and shouting, he was…hollow. At least before he was showing emotion, but now he was showing the least amount of emotion Apollo had ever seen from him. It was as if someone had sucked the life out of him, and the brilliant colors he once radiated were now muted and dull. Every bit of emotion he seemed to show came off as forced, as if it was hurting to express it.

    And now Apollo was faced with one question: is this what Klavier had been hiding all night?

    “Hey, Klavier,” he said, the nervousness he had buried rising up again at taking the risk of using the man’s first name. Were they close enough for that? 

    “Ja?”  Klavier didn’t bat an eye. Good.

    “I…I’m going to be honest with you about something. You know how me and Trucy have that, er, power? Kind of? Oh, God, that sounds stupid, I mean like–”

    “Ja, Fräulein Magician has told me about it.”

    Oh thank God, that saved Apollo a lot of grief.

    “Right, right, well…I’m sorry if this feels invasive, I didn’t mean for it to be—I didn’t even mean to see it, honestly! But, tonight, I noticed that…you’ve been tapping your fingers against your thigh, in a specific rhythm. You’re actually tapping the wheel the same way right now.

    Klavier glanced down at the wheel, and became visibly surprised. “Mein Gott! I didn’t even know that. And your bracelet tells you?”

    “Uh, kind of, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is that, well, my bracelet reacts when people are hiding something.”

    Klavier’s face fell.

    “I originally wasn’t going to ask you, I didn’t want it to come off as creepy or something, but…you’ve been acting off tonight. I’ve never seen you like this, y’know?”

    Klavier looked over at Apollo briefly, then back at the road. “Ach, I see what this is about.”

    Apollo paused. “What?”

    “You, Trucy, Prosecutor Edgeworth, Mr. Wright, even Ema! And everyone else too. You keep asking me if I’m okay, if I’m hurting, if I need to talk. You all treat me like I’m made of glass, and like I’ll shatter any moment. But I’m not.”

    Apollo heard even more bitterness come out the longer Klavier spoke (and less of a German accent, but that was a topic for another day).

    “I–I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

    “I’m not hiding how I feel, Justice. I feel the way I feel and I am being honest about it. Yes, I am affected by everything that’s happened, yes, I am not feeling my best now, but I am not hiding how I feel!”

    Apollo said nothing, his heart pounding in his chest. Klavier looked back over at him again, and upon seeing him, his face softened. Klavier cleared his throat.

    “I’m sorry, Apollo. I  don't know what came over me. You didn’t do anything wrong by asking that, you didn’t know.”

    Apollo let out the breath he’d been holding. “It’s okay, I know that must be frustrating for you. If it helps, we’re not trying to treat you like you’re fragile either.”

    “I know.”

    There was a beat of silence before Apollo realized Klavier didn’t have anything else to say.

    “Well, if you say you’re not hiding your emotions, then you’re not. I trust you,” Apollo said genuinely. “But in that case, what were you hiding then? And don’t say nothing, my bracelet has never been wrong before."

    Klavier bit his lip, making a light humming noise, as if deciding whether he wanted to tell Apollo or not. He must have landed on yes.

    “I…was unsure if I wanted to go to the show tonight.”

    The pieces fit together in Apollo’s brain. “And Trucy picked up on the tell too, didn’t she? That’s why she was surprised you came tonight.”

    Klavier nodded. “Ja. The whole night, I was worrying I had made the wrong decision. But I can’t tell her that—it would be rude.”

    “But you heard what she said earlier. She only wants you to take care of yourself, Gavin. She wouldn’t be upset with you if you couldn’t handle the show.”

    Klavier let out a frustrated huff. “I am aware. She has told me many times. But it isn’t about handling the show. I can always handle a show. Show business is my business.”

    “...Then…what was holding you back?”

    “Mm, I don’t think I should say.”

    “And why’s that?”

    “It’s…stupid.”

    Apollo felt his chest swell with sympathy. “It’s not. If it’s bothering you, it’s not stupid.”

    Klavier looked back over at Apollo, a curious, almost stunned expression on his face. He looked like he was about to say something when Apollo shouted, “Stop looking away from the road!”

    “We’re at a red light!” Klavier countered, but looked back ahead anyway.

    “Fucking hell, I’m never riding with you again.” Apollo huffed.

    “Mm, you say that…” Klavier gave him a kind of sleazy grin.

    “That won’t work on me! I know you’re just trying to rile me up so I’ll forget what we were talking about!”

    Klavier dropped the grin. “Alright, schatzi, I’ll tell you. I can’t say no to that face.”

    Apollo rolled his eyes, but he was probably blushing again.

    Klavier sighed. “I just…do not feel as if I deserve to be there.”

    Apollo immediately took issue with that statement, speaking up to rebut it almost instantly. “That’s not—!”

    “Not true! I know, I know it’s not true. Trucy wanted me to be there. But…I just feel guilty. No matter what she or Mr. Wright keep telling me, I ruined their lives.”

    “But, it wasn’t your—”

    “It’s not my fault! It was Kristoph’s! I know!” Klavier gripped the wheel harder. “I know all of this. Logically, I know all of this is true. But it still feels like it isn’t. I know Kris… manipulated me,” he said, the word ‘manipulated’ coming out of his mouth like he was spitting out something nasty he was forced to eat, “and…and lied to me. I know he set it all up. But I still feel like I should have known, or figured him out! He might have been Atalanta, but I was Meleager with the killing blow. And do you know what happened to Meleager after that?”

    Apollo said nothing; he knew the question was rhetorical.

    “He was killed. And Atalanta got the spoils of the hunt."

    Klavier seemed close to crying now. Apollo looked over at him, and gently spoke.

    “You were seventeen—you were just a kid. You weren’t even a legal adult, and you think you should have been expected to figure out Kristoph’s master plan?”

    Klavier furrowed his brow, saying nothing—likely because there was no solid argument against it.

    “Kristoph…was determined. He was so fueled by his rage that he was going to do everything he could to get what he wanted. Even if you had figured it out, he would have somehow managed to do it without you. That’s what evil does.”

    Klavier still said nothing. Luckily, this was perfect timing for him, because they had arrived at their destination. Klavier parked the car, and then laid his head down on the wheel.

    “You really believe that?”

    Apollo nodded passionately. “I do.”

    Klavier lifted his head and smiled at him. “Thanks. That makes me feel better.”

    Apollo smiled back. “Of course. Now, let's go have dinner!”

    And so that’s what they did. And it was a lovely dinner; Apollo ended up being incredibly grateful that he didn’t miss it. With everything that had been going on lately, he had forgotten what just…having a good time with friends was like.

    And yet, something still bothered him. Every time his eyes so much as caught a glimpse of Klavier, he’d see it again. Tap tap, tap tap, tap tap tap ta-ta-tap. 

    He decided not to question it any more than he already had. Klavier knew himself best, after all.

Chapter Text

2. Withdrawal

     Apollo tapped his foot impatiently as he waited in line for his coffee. He had to be at work in twenty minutes, and if he was late because all of the teenage girls in front of him were ordering twelve-dollar drinks that were essentially blended sugar in a cup, he was going to lose his mind.

    He pulled out his phone to check the time again, but as he did so, a conversation caught his ear. Two of the aforementioned teenage girls in front of him were having a conversation about a subject he was quite familiar with:

    “Okay, fuck, marry, kill prosecutors edition: Miles Edgeworth, Klavier Gavin, Franziska von Karma.”

    Apollo instantly tuned into the conversation. He knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but come on— in this situation, how could he not? These girls were playing fuck, marry, kill with his coworkers—and he knew for certain he isn’t the only one among them who would listen in. In fact, it would be almost wrong if he were the only one of them who heard this conversation—it was about them after all. This wasn’t something you see everyday; he couldn’t let this just pass him by.

    Silently, he opened his camera app and started recording—just the ground, to capture the audio.

    “Oh that’s a hard one! Okay, um…fuck Klavier, marry Miles, kill Franziska?”

    “What?! You’re telling me you don’t wanna fuck Franziska?”

    “No, I do! Like, don’t get me wrong, she’s hot, but if I did I’d have to kill Klavier and I can’t do that to the guy! He’s been through enough already.”

    “Hasn’t Franziska also? She also had family convicted of murder!”

    “Okay, yeah, but that was like…ten years ago—”

    “Nine.”

    “—nine years ago. At least it’s not a fresh wound.”

    “Okay, sure, but then why not kill Miles?”

    “I wanna marry him.”

    “Why? He’s like, cold and distant.”

    “Okay but…he is rich.”

    “So are Klavier and Franziska!”

    “Okay, but…he’s the most, like, serious. So if we’re thinking long term…”

    “Oh my God.”

    Apollo snickered as he stopped recording. He was sure Trucy and Mr. Wright would get a kick out of it, and while he wouldn’t be caught dead showing it to either of the Manfreids, he knew Klavier would probably find it hilarious.

    The game continued, but he didn’t want to intrude anymore. So he waited an ungodly amount of time, picked up his drink, and went off to work. He was five minutes late, but Mr. Wright didn’t even notice, which was very in-character for his practically literal bunny ears lawyer of a boss.

    As he sat down to go over some case files (fucking finally; he was so glad the WAA finally had real jobs), he decided to send that video over to Klavier—resolving to wait until Trucy got back from school to show her and Mr. Wright. 

    He pulled out his phone and opened his messages with Klavier. He and Klavier had been talking quite a bit ever since Trucy’s last show; Apollo would even call them friends. He would never admit it, but Trucy and Mr. Wright had teased him about smiling at his phone quite a few times over the past few weeks, and all of those times he had been texting Klavier.

    It just felt good to finally get to know him. Apollo had spent so long writing Klavier off as frivolous and trite, not realizing that he was only seeing him that way because he refused to consider anything else. Really, Klavier was nothing but kind, thoughtful, considerate, chivalrous, yes, a bit of a flirt, but…

    He was excited to see what Klavier thought.

    He sent the video along with a short text that read. ’Listen to what I overheard before work today.” He didn’t receive an immediate reply, but he wasn’t exactly expecting one either—the man was balancing two careers, after all. So, he put his phone down and got to work.

    It was a relatively normal day of busywork, working quietly alongside Mr. Wright—sometimes asking each other questions, sharing case details, or making phone calls, but other than that it was near silent; a peaceful, quiet weekday.

    Except it wasn’t peaceful for Apollo, because he kept anxiously checking his phone every five minutes hoping Klavier had seen his message, and it wasn’t long before Mr. Wright picked up on it.

    “Kid, if they didn’t see it five minutes ago, or five minutes before that, or five minutes before that, they probably haven’t seen it this time either.”

    Apollo furrowed his brow. He hated when his boss (who had considerably more experience in both life and law than him) was right.

    “Give ‘em a break, they’re probably just busy.”

    Apollo huffed and put his phone back in his pocket, but he didn’t say anything—a begrudging acknowledgement that he couldn’t argue with that.

    “Who are you so worked up about, anyways? You’re acting like a schoolgirl with a crush.” Mr. Wright said teasingly, and Apollo felt blood rush to his face.

    “Well now I’m not going to tell you!” He barked, glaring at his boss.

    Mr. Wright laughed. “Hey, don’t be like that, I was just joking!” He threw his hands up defensively.

    Then the door opened. 

    “I’m hoooooooome~” the voice of a young girl called out. Trucy lazily sauntered into the agency, tossing her backpack on the couch. She turned to them, smiling, but that smile became confusion when she saw the look on Apollo’s face.

    “Uh, Polly, are you okay?”

    Apollo cleared his throat. “Fine.”

    Then Trucy began smiling again—but this time it was more devious.

    “Really? Because you look just like Kla—”

    “YEP, REALLY I’M FINE,” he said obnoxiously loudly—the exaggerated kind of loud you do to drown someone out and tell them to drop it.

    She snickered. Mr. Wright looked confused, and Apollo decided he had to get them off this topic now before Mr. Wright put the pieces together and, more importantly, got the wrong idea.

    “ANYWAYS, you guys won’t believe what I overheard this morning!”

—

    Eventually, five o’clock hit, and Apollo was on his way out—and you better believe he was out the moment the hour rolled over; as much as he loved her, Trucy could be…exhausting, sometimes.

    As he got on the bus home, it hit him that he hadn’t checked his messages for a while. The Wrights had managed to completely take his mind off of it (which, in retrospect, might have been their goal). He pulled out his phone to check again.

    To his dismay, the message still read sent 9:09.

    He furrowed his brow. This wasn’t like Klavier—he loved to talk. Was Klavier ignoring him? Had he done something wrong? 

    He had a bit of internal panic as he recounted everything he had ever said and done to Klavier before remembering shouldn’t jump to conclusions—Ema says that’s where most of his anxiety comes from.

    So, he took a deep breath and shot Klavier another text.

Hey, just checking in again. It’s totally okay if 

                                                                                you’re busy though! Just making sure you 

                                          saw my message.

    He turned his phone off and put it in his pocket, now understanding not to expect an immediate response. So when he felt it vibrate only moments later, he expected it to be completely unrelated to the prosecutor who had been (frustratingly) single-handedly occupying his thoughts. But to his surprise, Klavier had just texted him back.

sorry, I haven’t looked at my messages all day. 

I wasn’t trying to ignore you. the video is funny

though! I’m honored ;)

    Apollo rolled his eyes even though no one was there to see it. Classic Klavier.

    Oh okay! I was just getting a bit worried aha. 

                                                               Glad everything’s okay though!

                                                                                You know, the conversation didn’t end there.

      The next round was ‘controversial Prosecutors

edition.

                                                And by controversial they meant convicted  

           criminals.

           Watching them debate over who to marry 

           between Lana Skye, Simon Blackquill, and 

                                     Manfred von Karma was actually insane. 

          Thankfully they both agreed they’d kill von

            Karma

Seen 5: 17

    Apollo waited a moment for a response, but none came. He furrowed his brow. He began to grow anxious that he had said something wrong again. But hey, if he hadn’t looked at his messages all day, it’s entirely possible he just left his messages open by mistake or something.

He supposed he could send another text to try and catch Klavier’s attention, but he didn’t want to seem demanding or anything. He decided to just wait and see.

    Apparently, that had been the right choice, because about ten minutes later he got a text back.

sorry, can we talk later? I’m busy at the moment.

    Well, if he was busy all day, then it would make sense why he hadn’t been checking his texts.

Yeah, no problem. Sorry if I bothered you!

    He put his phone back in his pocket for the final time. He hoped Klavier would get back to him soon.

—

    “Oh my god finally,” Ema groaned as she and Apollo walked out of the courtroom. “If I had to testify one more time I think I would have ended up on trial next. That prosecutor was such an idiot—at this point I think I almost would have even preferred Klavier— almost.”

    “Mm, bold claim for someone who just used his first name.” Apollo nudged her playfully.

    “Hey, just because he and I like…hang out now, that doesn’t make him any less annoying— especially in court.”

    Apollo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

    Suddenly, Ema seemed to perk up. “Oh! That reminds me. Whaddya say we go grab some drinks after all of the post-trial shit is wrapped up? Celebrate your win?”

    Apollo gives her a confused look. “Ema, think about what you just said.”

    “Why?”

    “You just asked me …to go drinking with you…to celebrate winning a trial.”

    Ema raised an eyebrow. “And…?”

    Apollo huffed. “Okay, first of all, the Wright Anything Agency has never lost a trial—”

    Ema opened her mouth to speak, but Apollo already knew what was coming.

    “— except when foul play was involved!” He said loudly to shut her down. Ema made a pouty face at him. 

    “So there would be nothing to celebrate,” he continued. “And, secondly, you’re asking me to go drinking with you. Look at me, Ema. You know me. Celebration or not, do you really think I would want to do that?”

    “Maaaaaaaan, you’re no fun,” Ema huffed. “Whatever—it was worth a shot at least.”

    “Why would you ask me, of all people?”

    Ema crossed her arms. “Well, I invited Klavier, but he says he’s busy.”

    “With what?”

    “Dunno, he didn’t say. He’s been a bit harder to reach lately, it’s weird.”

    Apollo shrugged. “He has a lot going on right now—well, I guess he always has a lot going on, but especially right now, what with the band disbanding and the legal bullshit with you-know-who. It’s probably important.”

    “Yeah, I guess,” Ema agreed, although she wasn’t exactly happy about it.  “Curse you, Kristoph Gavin! You’ve cost me the best drinking buddy I’ve ever had.”

    “I mean, if he hadn’t been convicted you’d still hate Klavier’s guts.”

    “And if he had never enacted his weird petty revenge plot with weird homoerotic subtext, I never would have hated him in the first place.”

    “Touche.” Apollo wasn’t even going to comment on the ‘homoerotic subtext’ part; if it was coming from Ema he probably didn’t want to know.

    Ema took a moment to stretch, and let out a tired sigh. “Well, what-ifs aside, I still don’t have someone to go drinking with, and being in a bar by yourself is sad and pathetic.”

    Apollo knew where this was headed. “No.”

    “Aw, c’mon, pleeeeeeeease? I’ve had such a rough week.”

    “Is there literally no one else you could ask?”

     Ema ignored his question. “Not even one drink? I wouldn’t even want you to get drunk, I need a designated driver.”

     Apollo rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. One drink, and then I’m taking you home.”

     He acted all bothered about it, but really, he knew what she actually wanted after a long week was company, not intoxication, so he really didn’t mind.

     “But don’t expect this to be a pattern! When Klavier has his schedule freed up again, I’m dumping you right back with him so you can go destroy your livers together.”

     Ema giggled at him. “Okaaaaayyyyy I get it! Now, vamos!” she said as she began dragging Apollo to her car.

     “I’m coming, I’m coming!” He laughed back. “Oh, by the way, did I tell you I overheard some teenage girls playing fuck, marry, kill with your sister?”

     “WHAT?”

—

    “Pooooollly, will you take me to the movies?” Trucy said one afternoon at the agency, hanging backwards off the couch and looking at Apollo upside-down.

    “Depends, what movie?” Apollo asked, not looking up from his laptop.

    “I wanna see the new Evangelion movie!”

    Apollo quirked an eyebrow. “They’re still making those? Isn’t the original show from like, the nineties?”

    “Yep!” Trucy chirped in response. “Nobody liked how the show ended so they made movies to redo the ending, but nobody liked those either, so then they made some new ones, which are apparently also not very good. I think they’re gonna just keep making them until somebody likes them.” She slowly kicked her legs as she talked; she was getting excited.

    “What, so it’s like… Star Wars?”

    “Yeah but for people with taste.”

    Apollo glared at her, and she giggled.

    “Mm, yeah, please, explain to me how what is probably the most influential film series of all time is bad taste in comparison to some cartoon from Japan about sad teenagers in robots.”

    “It’s not a cartoon,” Trucy huffed. “God, you’re such a normie. All Star Wars has going for it is how it had really great special effects at the time—the plot is nothing special. Evangelion tells a coming-of-age story in a way that hadn’t been done before as a breakdown of the mecha genre and metaphorical exploration of trauma and the human psyche.”

    Apollo blinked. “Trucy, I love you, but I have no idea what the fuck you just said.”

    Trucy let out an exaggerated groan. “Ughhhhhhhh, you’re so lame!”

    “Then why did you ask me to go with you?!”

    Trucy slid from where she was perched onto the floor, pulling some kind of weird magician landing to avoid concussing herself and landing on her feet like a cat. “Klavier and I had plans to go today but he canceled last minute.”

    “Oh, right, I forgot you got him into your weird little Japan obsession.”

    “I’m not obsessed with Japan! I’m obsessed with animation. There’s a difference!” Trucy said pointedly, crossing her arms. “And he was already into anime before I met him, I just made him watch Eva with me.”

    “Right, of course, how could I forget those important distinctions,” Apollo said with a dry snark. “Why can’t you guys just reschedule?”

    “He canceled because he wasn’t feeling well. I don’t know how long he’s gonna be sick for, he didn’t have an estimate. By the time he’s feeling better, it could be out of theaters!”

    “Soooooo stream it? I’m having difficulty seeing the problem here.”

    “Oh my god you’re hopeless, no wonder you’re single.”

    Apollo was just about to ask ‘now what’s that supposed to mean?!’ but Trucy kept talking.

    “You don’t go to the movies to see a movie, you go for the experience of going to the movies!”

    “And that’s more important than sharing the experience of watching it for the first time with the person you share it with?”

    Trucy stopped in her tracks. It seemed she didn’t know how to answer that. Apollo was just about to bask in his small victory over a teenage girl when Trucy spoke again, this time more serious.

    “It was hard to book today, actually. Every time I’m available, he has something to do. And…I don’t want to doubt him, but…it’s starting to feel like he doesn’t want to hang out with me anymore.”

    “Nonsense!” Apollo said instantaneously. “Have you ever met him? He adores you. I think you might just be his favorite person like, ever.”

    “Then why doesn’t he—”

    “Truce, Ema and I haven’t been able to reach him lately either; because, get this, he’s always busy.”

    Trucy seemed to perk up at that.

    “It’s not just you,” Apollo continued, “so either he’s decided he doesn’t want to have friends in general—both unlikely as well as impersonal—or he’s just busy, which I’m going to say is a much more likely cause. It’s Occam’s razor.”

     Apollo paused for a moment, struck with a thought. “Well, it’s either that or some other third reason I haven’t thought about I guess, but long story short he has no problems with you. He’s probably just got stuff to do. I know his leave of absence ends soon.”

     Trucy nodded intently. “Oh, yeah, preparing to return to the courtroom is a lot of work.”

     That’s right, Trucy would know that better than anyone now. Apollo nodded as well. “Right. So just give him some time, okay? We all have busy seasons.”

     “Okay,” Trucy conceded, and Apollo went back to his work.

     They sat there in silence, just as they had been before this whole debacle. Apollo thought he was finally getting some quiet time to work when:

     “But will you take me?”

     “Oh my God.”

Chapter Text

3. Lack of care towards appearance

    It was four months following State vs. Misham that Klavier Gavin returned to the prosecutor’s office, and while Apollo couldn’t speak for everyone, he was personally quite nervous. It didn’t matter that they were friends now; Klavier was still an incredibly skilled prosecutor, making him quite the challenging adversary.

    There was also the fact that he just hadn’t seen Klavier in a while—no one had, really. He’d been so busy lately (likely with preparing for his return) that he just hadn’t seen his friends in a bit. This only worsened Apollo’s anxiety; he always worried that conversation may be awkward when you haven’t seen someone in a while.

    So, when Ema told him that Klavier would be the prosecutor for his next case, his heart skipped a beat. 

    “R-Really?” he asked (perhaps a bit too quickly). “He’s finally back?”

    “Yup. Well, apparently anyway, but he has yet to show up and investigate. I’ve tried asking him about it, but he won’t answer his phone.” She shrugged. “But I mean, he hardly answers his phone at all these days, so I doubt it means anything. He has his reasons, probably. I dunno. All it means to me is that I don’t have to listen to that obnoxious jangling, so I’m not complaining,” she said as she shoved a handful of Snackoos in her mouth.

    Apollo would be lying if he said he hadn’t lay awake until an ungodly hour of the morning fretting; if Trucy found out about this he would never hear the end of it. So now here he was, three days later, underslept in court. Fantastic.

    He let out a yawn as he waited for the rest of the court’s attendants to file in. 

    “Man, you’ve been sleepy aaaaaaall morning,” Trucy observed, “did you get enough sleep last night?”

    Apollo rubbed his eyes. “Obviously not, Trucy.”

    Trucy smirked. “What? Were you lying awake at night in anticipation because you couldn’t wait to see Klavier again?”

    Apollo’s heart leaped in his chest. “N-No! That’s ridiculous!”

    Trucy snickered. “You’re fiddling with your sleeve.”

    Apollo looked down. He was. Goddamnit. He had forgotten this weird ability worked on him too.

    “Alright, fine, but…it’s just because he’s a really good prosecutor, okay? He’s…intimidating.” That wasn’t the whole truth, but it was close enough.

    “What, you’re still afraid of Klavier? Even after all of this? He’s literally the least intimidating person I’ve ever met.”

    “I’m not afraid of him, just of his prosecuting ability!” Apollo could feel his face heating up. This is exactly what he was afraid of. He sincerely hoped the judge wouldn’t ask what the defense was whispering about.

    “You’ve literally never even lost to him before!”

    “It’s not losing I’m afraid of!”

    “What does that even mean?!”

    Apollo was about to argue back when the doors of the courtroom swung open. That woke him up. Their heads immediately turned towards them—Trucy’s out of curiosity, but Apollo’s out of nerves—and in walked a familiar blond prosecutor. But…he looked different. His hair that usually looked like it was ripped straight from one of Trucy’s anime was now pulled back into a ponytail. He was still wearing his usual courtroom attire, but it was wrinkled, and wasn’t fitting as well as it usually was. He wasn’t wearing any jewelry, and, as he got closer, Apollo could see he wasn’t wearing any makeup either, and…he had brown roots showing. In hindsight, Apollo shouldn’t really be surprised that Klavier is a bottle blond, but for some reason it still got him; it’s not like Klavier ever claimed it was natural, but nothing had ever made Apollo think otherwise.

     Apollo got a sinking feeling as he looked at his friend behind the prosecutor’s bench. Something didn’t feel right here. One glance over at Trucy told him that she felt the same way.

     But now the trial was starting, so it was all Apollo could do to defend his client and wait.

     The trial was…underwhelming. It wasn’t anything like any of the previous trials Apollo had had against Klavier, and it wasn’t in a good way. Gone was the gratuitous German, the godforsaken air guitar, even the striking of the wall, which was especially concerning because even Apollo himself was known to slam the desk to make his point. In its place, Klavier was acting…normal, which is something Apollo never thought he’d say about the rockstar prosecutor. Even his obviously fake German accent (‘affected Euro-rock,’ as Mr. Wright would put it) was gone. 

     Klavier’s performance was lacking too. He wasn’t doing a bad job or anything, he was doing everything he was supposed to; he was acting just like a normal prosecutor—and that was what worried Apollo. He had been under the impression Klavier would rather be caught dead than normal.

     Klavier did not raise those case-breaking questions he usually did, or produce loose ends that needed to be tied up or evidence that needed to be explained. He followed Apollo’s lead, and only spoke when was required of him, and Apollo wondered if he was really seeing the whole truth. By all means, nothing looked wrong, but there were usually things he couldn’t see—things Klavier liked to raise.

     A not guilty verdict was reached after a single day. It was quite possibly the easiest win Apollo had ever claimed against Klavier, and he didn’t feel right about that at all.

     As everyone filed out of the courtroom, Apollo looked around for Klavier, hoping to ask him what the hell just happened. 

     “I’ll be right back,” he told Trucy, who nodded intently. She understood.

     After a bit of awkward searching around the nearby hallways and asking around, Apollo was eventually able to catch Klavier just as he was about to leave the courthouse.

     “Hey, Klavier, wait,” Apollo called out as he placed a hand on Klavier’s shoulder. Klavier turned around, and Apollo almost had to do a double take. Now that he was able to see Klavier up close, he realized just how…unkempt the man looked. From the hair falling in his face to what was possibly the worst eyebags Apollo had ever seen, he wasn’t sure what worried him most.

     Klavier smiled upon seeing Apollo, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Ah, Apollo. What’s up?” His voice was unfamiliarly American—weirdly foreign because it wasn’t in the slightest.

     Apollo bit his lip, his stomach turning anxiously as he gathered his words. 

     “Um…stop me if this is weird or anything but…you…are you okay? Because, it’s…you—you don’t look so great, and…you didn’t…your…”

     Apollo took a deep breath. Klavier waited patiently.

     “Your performance today was…different. You were kinda just…going along with whatever I was doing—which, like, technically there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s not like you weren’t prosecuting, but like…it was kind of like you were operating under some kind of ‘only speak when spoken to’ rule—and while some prosecutors are fine with that, you’ve never really been the type!” Apollo picked at his cuticles, hoping Klavier wouldn’t be upset at him. Fortunately, the other man’s expression didn’t change much as he waited for Apollo to finish, which was probably a good sign.

     “You know, you always follow every line of possible reasoning to make sure the whole truth is found. But you weren’t…really doing that?” Apollo felt himself break skin, blood welling up in the wound. He hoped Klavier wouldn’t see it. “So, I’m just worried. That’s all.”

     Klavier didn’t say anything at first. Apollo’s heart pounded in his chest.

     Then Klavier spoke softly. “Apollo, you really mustn't worry so much. Look at what you’re doing to yourself.” He gently took Apollo’s hand, examining his bloody finger. Apollo’s heart leaped when their skin made contact.

     Apollo retracted his hand, sticking his finger in his mouth. “Ah! That’s not…” he furrowed his brow. “This isn’t about me.”

     “Mm, right. I apologize.” Klavier put his hands in his pockets. “I see why you’re worried. But rest assured, the reason is a lot simpler than you think.  I just didn’t get enough sleep last night, which makes two of us, now doesn’t it?”

     Apollo felt himself blush, embarrassed to know that no, he had not been able to hide his exhaustion.

     Klavier laughed. “Sorry. But yeah, I barely even woke up on time today—haven’t had to wake up this early for court in a while, y’know? I didn’t have any time to get ready.”

     “Oh, okay…” that made Apollo feel a bit better, but still, he wasn’t so sure that was the entire truth. “What was keeping you up?”

     Klavier hummed. “I’m a musician. All sorts of things.”

     Apollo’s blush did not go away as his brain autofilled all sorts of possibilities. Get your mind out of the gutter, he very well could just be talking about music!

    “O-Oh, okay. Sure. Glad that’s it then.” Apollo still wasn’t picking up on any nervous tics, so he decided things were probably okay. Klavier wasn’t lying to him, after all. Even so, he was still worried. “But…”

    “But?”

    “You were still…I don’t know. You’ve never been the type of person to just…be…normal, in court.”

    Klavier laughed again, louder this time. It was sudden, and genuine. “I’m sorry, Apollo, what?”

    Apollo realized how strange that sounded. “Like…most prosecutors just…prosecute. But you always, I dunno, bring up new ideas and make all possible connections. You go out of your way to make sure nothing is left a mystery, y’know? And you…weren’t doing that today.” He looked down as he spoke, kicking his feet lamely.

    Realization dawned on Klavier’s face. “Ohhh, I see now. You’re right, that was different about me. I suppose…I was leaning on you.”

    “H-Huh?” Klavier was…leaning on him?

    “Well, if my memory serves me correctly, the Wright Anything Agency only defends innocent people, yes?”

    “...Yes?” 

    “Well…I hate to admit this, it isn’t very ‘Rockstar Prosecutor’ of me, but…since I knew the defendant was innocent, I decided to not tire myself out anymore. That’s all.”

    He supposed that made sense, but…

    ‘W-Wait, hang on. How can you be certain the defendant is innocent? Just because we do our best to only defend innocent people, how can you be certain we didn’t mess up?”

    Klavier smiled at him.”Because I trust your judgement, Apollo. Besides, doesn’t the agency have all sorts of superpowers?”

    Suddenly, the sheer supernaturalism of the law firm he worked at hit him. “I…guess so.”

    “Exactly. I know you. I know Mr. Wright. And…I know especially now that you both are honest.”

    Apollo felt his chest grow a bit warm. “Oh…that…makes sense. And, thank you,” he averted his gaze nervously. “I’m glad you think so highly of me.”

    “Of course I do, Apollo.”

    A beat passed. Apollo cleared his throat. “Um, it’s…it’s really admirable of you, I think, to put so much trust in the defense, be–because you value the truth over winning.”

    “Of course I do. A prosecutor’s win record means nothing besides how big their ego is. I can’t even imagine a reason I’d care about it, considering we don’t even get anything when we win. Prosecutors are civil servants, so unlike you, I still get paid when I lose.” Klavier gave a playful wink.

    Apollo groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

    Klavier chuckled. “Apologies. At least you haven’t lost yet.”

   “Yeah, but about 80% of the cases we take are pro bono. I’m starting to think that Mr. Wright seems like a much better lawyer on paper than he is in practice.”

     Klavier quirked an eyebrow. “You’re just now realizing this?” 

    Apollo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Whatever, I’m just glad you’re doing well.”

    Klavier nodded. “I’m glad I am too.”

    Apollo nodded as well. “Right. But get that sleep schedule on track! I doubt you want to look like… this all of the time.”

    Klavier clicked his tongue. “Alright, alright. So long as you move out of your glass house,” he teased.

    “Hey, I was only kept up because I was worried about you!”

    “Aw, you were worried about me, Forehead?”

    “Obviously! Was that not evident by like…the entire conversation we just had?”

    “Just teasing,” Klavier chimed knowingly. “Really thought, you don’t have to worry. It’s bad for your health.”

    Apollo let his shoulders drop, releasing the tension he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying. “Alright, fine. I’ll try to worry less. Anyway, Trucy and I are gonna grab lunch. Do you wanna come?”

    Klavier was quiet for a moment, contemplating, before answering “...sure.”

Chapter Text

4. Sudden happiness after a long period of depression 

    It was a calm afternoon at the agency—Apollo working on the seemingly never-ending pile of paperwork, Mr. Wright having left to go speak to Prosecutor Edgeworth about something, and Trucy laying on the agency’s couch on her phone. It was nice; Apollo quite enjoyed sharing space with people even if they weren’t doing anything together. 

    Things were continuing as normal when Trucy suddenly stood up and abruptly said, “I’m going out.”

    She got up to head towards the door, but Apollo quickly spoke up, confused.

    “Wait, what? Going out…where?”

    Trucy stopped walking, but her body did not stop moving. Apollo couldn’t help but notice the excited energy within her as she rocked back and forth on her feet and wiggled her fingers, as if needing to scratch an itch.

    “The movies. Klavier just invited me!” She smiled.

    “Just now?”

    She nodded impatiently. “Mhm. He’s cashing in that rain check!”

    “O-Okay. That’s good, I guess.”

    Trucy suddenly stilled, her face dropping as she detected that something was wrong. “Is there something wrong with that?”

    “No! No! Not at all!” Apollo said quickly—and he meant it genuinely, too. He was happy to see they got to go see that movie together after all! Trucy had seemed really disappointed, after all. Yet…

    “It’s just…he’s been so…absent, lately, y’know? Doesn’t that seem off?”

    “Hm…” she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Suppose so. But isn’t that a good thing? That he wants to hang out again?”

    Apollo shrugged. “I mean, yeah. I just…I dunno. Kind of surprising, that’s all.”

    “You worry too much.”

    Well, he couldn’t really argue with that. He was known for being an excessive worrier, after all.

    “I guess. Well, have fun.”

    Trucy nodded excitedly. “I will!” she said, before promptly bolting out the door.

    Apollo couldn’t help but smile as he watched her go. The world was not ready for Trucy Wright. Plus, it was good that those two were hanging out again. She had been missing him.

—

    It wasn’t long before Apollo was assigned another case against Klavier. If he didn’t know better, he would assume the prosecutor’s office is doing this on purpose. 

    He was at the crime scene, talking with Ema, when she suddenly stopped.

    “...Ema?”

    “Shh!” She put a finger over her lips. Apollo remained quiet for a very confused moment. Then she said “Klavier’s coming.”

    Apollo blinked. “What?”

    “Listen!”

    He was still somewhat confused, but he decided to humor her. However, he was surprised to notice that wait, he could hear something. Specifically, it was a kind of jingly noise that Apollo recognized as the chains Klavier usually wore. Holy shit, she was right!

    Theoretically, they should have turned around to greet him, but Apollo was too focused on his stupid chains and Ema obviously didn’t wanna talk to him. So instead, he came up behind them and suddenly placed his hands on their shoulders. “Herr Forehead! Fräulein Detective!”

    Apollo jumped. Ema did not.

    Ema sighed. “It’s like belling the cat…” she grumbled.

    Apollo furrowed his brow. “You can use our names, y’know. We are on a first name basis now.”

    Klavier laughed. “Where’s the fun in that?”

    Ema groaned again. Apollo rolled his eyes.

    And it was then that Apollo actually got a good look at Klavier, and his breath got caught in his throat.

    He looked good. He was looking significantly better than the last time Apollo had seen him—well-fitting clothes, his hair perfectly styled without so much as a hair out of place, all of his accessories, and enough makeup that you’d notice he’s wearing it but it doesn’t seem excessive, and instead accentuates his already perfect features.

    It wasn’t like Apollo hadn’t seen him like this before—ordinarily this is what he looked like every day—but…it had been a while. It caught him off-guard. That’s all.

    Then Klavier laughed. “Apollo, are you staring?”

    Apollo’s heart jumped into his throat. “No!”

    Ema lazily tossed a Snackoo into her mouth. “I dunno man, it totally looked like you were staring to me,” She smirked. Ema you son of a–

    “See! Even Fräulein Detective agrees! Ah, it’s just like when we first met…” Klavier trailed off, a faux-whimsical tone to his voice.

    Apollo groaned. “It’s not like that! You just looked…d-different, that’s all…”

    A knowing look crossed Klavier’s face. “Oh. I see what you mean. Ja, I’m back in the swing of things. Just like I said I’d be.”

    He shot Ema a look, but she didn’t see it.

    “R-Right. Whatever. Let’s just talk about the case.” Apollo said. 

    And so they did.

—

     “I’m glad to see he’s doing better.” Ema said as Klavier left. “I was starting to get worried.”

     Apollo nodded. “Yeah. I also thought it was kind of weird at first, considering he seemed to perk up overnight, but…it looks like he’s doing better.”

     “Thank God. The last thing I need is that glimmerous fop knowing I care about him. He’d never let me live it down.”

     Apollo laughed. “Ema, no offense, but you two hang out on the regular. You use his first name. I think he knows that you care.”

     “Yeah, but if I show it, he’ll never let me live it down!”

     “Too bad, then you’d know what it was like,” Apollo gave her a playful nudge.

     “Touche.”

—

     Apollo turned his head as he heard the door to the Agency opening, and saw that Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth had just…let himself in. Trucy and Mr. Wright didn’t so much as look in his direction. God, they were so weird—all of them.

     “Oh, hey Edgeworth,” said Mr. Wright, his eyes still having not moved from whatever he had been doing. How did he know that’s who it was? Had he been expecting the chief prosecutor to just walk in? 

     Apollo would never understand them.

     “Hello, Wright, Trucy,” then Prosecutor Edgeworth turned to Apollo, “Mr. Justice.”

     “Um, hello, Prosecutor Edgeworth,” Apollo fiddled with his sleeve. He didn’t even know why he was nervous—he wasn’t a prosecutor or anything, and he had spoken with Prosecutor Edgeworth quite a few times before! “Uh, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what…brings you here?”

     “Oh, I’m just here to bring something to Wright,” Prosecutor Edgeworth said. It was then that Apollo realized that Prosecutor Edgeworth had been holding a manilla envelope, which he then handed off to Mr. Wright.

     “What’s that?” He couldn’t help but ask, even though it probably wasn’t a very wise question.

     “It’s just…something we’re working on. It’s nothing you need to be concerned about; you’ll find out in due time.”

     Yep. Stupid question. 

     “Oh. Okay.”

     He didn’t get it. Mr. Wright hadn’t been a lawyer for seven years, but here he was helping the Chief Prosecutor with some sort of secret manilla envelope project. He was done trying to figure out what kind of relationship those two had. Mr. Wright was some kind of enigma.

     “Say, Justice, you have another trial against Prosecutor Gavin tomorrow, right?” Prosecutor Edgeworth changed the subject.

     Apollo nodded. “Uh, yeah, why?”

     Prosecutor Edgeworth shot Mr. Wright a knowing look. Trucy giggled. Man, why was everyone always leaving him out of things?!

     “I would just like to wish you luck. I know that the trials you two have had have been…exciting.”

     Mr. Wright laughed. “That’s one way to put it.”

     “Well, if it’s worth anything, I swear he’s the only prosecutor in this district who actually seems to care,” Apollo let out an annoyed huff. “I’m glad he’s prosecuting again.”

     Prosecutor Edgeworth pushed up his glasses. “Yes, he’s really been back in the swing of things lately. Just between you and me, I was concerned about him. He wouldn’t have even taken any time off had I not mandated it. 

     “Always working,”  Trucy chimed in. Her tone was playful, but Apollo could tell there was frustration behind it. 

    “Well, sounds like he’s doing better,” Mr. Wright added. “That’s good.”

     Apollo decided to keep that for his mental list of ‘Mr. Wright doesn’t hate you' evidence next time he and Klavier got into an argument about that. But, if things continued on like this, hopefully he wouldn’t have to use it.

     It really did seem like Klavier was getting better. Apollo was happy.

Chapter Text

5. Giving away valuables and personal possessions

    “Hey! ‘Pollo! Get over here! Are you seeing this shit?!” Ema shouted, waving Apollo and Trucy over to her from across the room—a library, to be precise; a library that just so happened to have the shelves in disarray and the books strewn about in a struggle. Ema was standing next to a bookshelf that had a considerably large bloodstain covering about two-thirds of it.

    “You shouldn’t swear while you’re working,” Apollo chastised her as he and Trucy haphazardly stepped over piles of books. “It’s unprofessional.”

    “A man is dead, Apollo. If anything constitutes swearing, it’s that.”

    Apollo was about to point out that are you seeing this shit was not appropriate to say about someone who had been killed only twelve hours ago, whether she had used a swear word or not, but then Trucy cut in.

    “Woah, Ema! Nice necklace! Is it new?”

    Apollo instinctively lowered his eyes, and sure enough, Ema was wearing a necklace that Apollo had never seen her with before—and it was a nice necklace, too. Despite the fact that technically he was always wearing some, Apollo didn’t know much about jewelry, but even with his minimal knowledge, he could tell it couldn’t have been cheap. It was gold, with the centerpiece consisting of a handful of small gemstones arranged into an oval shape. The gemstones were varying shades of blue, getting darker the further in. The oval was bordered with what looked like diamonds.

    “Hm? Oh, yeah. Klavier just gave it to me earlier, actually. Trust me, this isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally wear to a crime scene. But of course, in comes the glimmerous fop, gracefully putting around my neck all gentle-like,” she let out a huff. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think he was trying to woo me.”

    Did Klavier just…randomly give her a necklace? Odd.

    “Huh, do you know why he gave it to you?” Apollo asked.

    “Yeah. He said he was ‘de-cluttering’, but honestly, I think he was just trying to get rid of emotionally charged stuff.”

    “...‘emotionally charged?’”

    Ema nodded. “Yep. He said this necklace belonged to his mom, and she’s dead as far as I can tell,” she started absent-mindedly playing with her hair. “I don’t know what the Gavin family damage is, but like…look at their eldest son. Healthy families don’t have oldest children like that. Something there is fucked up.”

    “Hey, that reminds me, he gave me something recently too!” Trucy chimed in, seemingly having just remembered.

    “Wait, he has?” Apollo asked. Man, he kept forgetting that those two were actually like, friends. “What was it?”

    “It was one of his guitars—an acoustic one, obviously.”

    This did not make Apollo any less confused. “Obviously?”

    “Well, yeah. I can’t play the electric guitar, duh.” She looked at him like it was common sense. He didn’t think he’d ever understand her.

    ‘You can’t play the acoustic guitar either,” Apollo narrowed his eyes, remembering what happened last time Trucy got her hands on a string instrument. He’s almost certain the neighbors are still mad at them for that one. 

    “Well, not yet, but I asked him to teach me!” 

    Ema let out a knowing hum. “That sounds exactly like something he would do.”

    “Mhm!” Trucy continued. “And he said if I’m going to learn, I’m gonna need a real instrument. I didn’t wanna take it at first because like, I knew it was one of his favorites—”

    “How did you know that?” Apollo cut in.

    “Because he plays it all the time? What kind of Gavinner’s fan would I be if I didn’t know that. Pay attention, Apollo.”

    Ema snickered. “Yeah, pay attention, Apollo,” she said, nudging him teasingly.

    “Anyway, he was insistent that he wanted me to have it. He said he needed to get rid of some stuff, anyways.”

    Apollo let out an incredulous laugh. “Really? He needs to get rid of stuff…so he gives away one of his guitars? Didn’t he say they were like…his girlfriends or something?”

    Ema snorted. “He said that? He’s so weird.”

    “You’re just figuring this out now?” Apollo said, teasing her back. Ema gave a lighthearted scoff before shoving some more Snackoos into her mouth.

    “He’s still cooler than both of you!” Trucy said pointedly, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s called being an entertainer. You wouldn’t get it!”

    “You’re just saying that because you’re also extremely weird, Truce,” Apollo replied with a smug grin.

    Trucy’s childish demeanor dropped instantly, her face becoming almost scarily serious. “I make more money than you.”

    Apollo went quiet. Ema smacked Apollo on the shoulder playfully. “Ooh, she got you, Apollo!”

    And the conversation continued like that until Apollo and Trucy left the crime scene to go talk to their defendant again, Klavier’s gifts forgotten, for the time being.

—

    A few months ago, if you had told Apollo that he would develop a habit of dropping by the prosecutors’ office for lunch, he wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, here he was, hanging out in the office of a one Klavier Gavin with bad takeout he had picked up for the two of them on the way there.

    It was really nice for both of them, Apollo thought. Given that they were both grown adults with full time jobs, it was hard to find time to hang out, so putting those two concepts together worked out pretty well. They also got to advise each other on cases, which was always helpful.

    Apollo would never say this out loud, but he genuinely liked spending time with Klavier. If he said it, he would never hear the end of it, but despite the ‘rockstar prosecutor image’ he put on, he was actually a really nice guy, and a good friend. He remembered everyone’s coffee orders, was the first person to help if you dropped your things, and, despite his teasing, never actually made you feel stupid if you did something wrong or didn’t know something—he just liked to ruffle people’s feathers about things that don’t matter. 

    He was smart, and funny, and—

    God, he would never hear the end of it if he said any of this out loud either.

    Unfortunately, the lunch hour was now coming to a close. Apollo got up and said his goodbyes, but just as he was about to leave, Klavier stopped him.

    “ Ach, Forehead, wait.”

    Apollo turned around. “Yeah?”

    And then, Klavier took off one of his rings, fiddling with it a bit to loosen it. He then proceeded to grab one of Apollo’s hands and place the ring in Apollo’s palm. “I want you to have this.”

    “Oh, uh, thank you. Why?” Apollo said before he had even taken a moment to look at it.

    “Well, I don’t need it anymore, and it matches your bracelet.”

    It was then Apollo actually took a moment to look at what he had been given and…yeah, it did match; it was the same bronze-gold color, complete with engravings. In particular, it was engraved with that overly-stylized ‘G’ that Apollo recognized as The Gavinners’ logo—before they had disbanded, of course. That…must be why he didn’t need it anymore.

    “But, if you don’t want to wear it, that’s fine too,” Klavier said with a shrug. “Wear it, throw it in a drawer for the rest of your life, sell it, it doesn’t matter. It’s yours now—you can do whatever you want with it.”

    “Uh, wow. Thank you,” Apollo said quietly as he looked at the ring in his palm. He almost couldn’t believe it—of all people, Klavier chose to give it to him? Klavier was so cool! In comparison, Apollo was…just some guy. Yet…Klavier was giving it to him. Did Klavier really think that much of him? 

     Carefully, he slid the ring onto his ring finger—ignoring his face heating up. His mind was reeling as he departed—far too distracted to let his usual worry cross his mind.

Chapter Text

+1. Tying up loose ends

If there was one thing that Apollo hadn’t wanted for his day off, it was for his phone to ring—this was his day off and he wanted to do nothing, damnit!—but when he checked the caller ID and saw that it was the chief prosecutor calling him, that frustration was instantly forgotten as he hurried to answer it, wanting to seem professional. He tried to reassure himself that having the chief prosecutor as a contact in his phone meant he had made a good impression, but he wasn’t convincing himself.

“Apollo Justice speaking,” he said, trying to straighten his appearance as if someone was actually there to see him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Justice,” Edgeworth greeted him. “I hope you don’t mind me calling so suddenly, but I have a question I’d like answered sooner rather than later.”

Apollo did mind, but he also respected Edgeworth a lot for everything he had done for the legal system in the past ten years—not to mention that he and Mr. Wright are so close—so it didn’t bother him so much.

“What’s up?”

“I’m calling regarding Prosecutor Gavin. I understand you two work very closely together, so I figured you might know something.”

Klavier? Was something wrong? Apollo couldn’t ignore that this wasn’t sitting right with him already.

“Uh, yeah, what about him? Is something wrong?”

“That’s the problem; I’m not entirely sure. See, he just handed in a letter of resignation that is effective immediately.”

Worry began to stir within Apollo. That…didn’t sound right. That didn’t sound right at all.

“He is free to do as he pleases, but the suddenness of this action puzzles me,” Edgeworth continued. “I suppose I’m struggling to understand. If there is something wrong with the prosecutor's office that made him unable to stand working here not even a day longer, I would really like to know, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. I already asked Ema, but she didn’t know anything. So now I’m asking you—did Gavin speak to you about wanting to leave, or anything at work that may have bothered him?”

Apollo’s mouth goes dry. This was…weird. Klavier wasn’t the type to just…suddenly quit. Sure, he could be an impulsive person, but he wouldn’t just give up on his career (or, one of them anyways) with no notice.

And then a new idea came to mind—one that connected all of the dots from the past few months—and Apollo felt sick. Getting worse and then suddenly better, not talking to anyone, giving things away—Apollo was mentally kicking himself for not seeing it sooner.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything. I have to go, bye,” Apollo said—definitely much too quickly, but he wasn't thinking about that at the moment—and hung up. He made his way to Klavier’s contact as fast as he could and hit call. He could feel his heart pounding with each ring; he had never been more scared in his life. Pick up, pick up, pick up!

Apollo let out a small gasp when Klaver actually did.

“Ah, Herr Forehead, what is it?” Klavier’s voice rang out—warm and friendly, without even a hint of instability. But Apollo knew better.

“Oh, uh, well…” Apollo stammered. Shit, he really should have gone into this with a plan. “Um…I don’t have anything going on today, so, would you like to hang out tonight? Maybe…maybe we could go out or something?”

Klavier laughed—his trademark, teasing laugh that usually meant Apollo was about to blue screen—but he wouldn’t let himself fall for it this time. “What, like a date?” 

Apollo speaks without even thinking about it—newfound confidence overtaking him in the face of fear. “Sure.”

Klavier went quiet. He clearly hadn’t expected that Apollo would actually say yes—not after Apollo’s track record of reactions. But he had realized, recently, that he was wrong. All of those times, Klavier has meant it. It was never a joke just meant to rile him up. Apollo had let his anxiety and lack of confidence get in the way too many times before, and he was not going to let it win this time—not when he could potentially lose Klavier forever.

“Ach, I–I can take you out tonight, if you’d like?” Klavier said awkwardly. Apollo laughed. It was funny, seeing Klavier be the one to short-circuit for once.

“Sure, so long as you mean on a date and not with a gun.”

“Uh, yes! Of course!”

Apollo laughed again. This was the Klavier that he liked—the real person underneath the guise of a glamorous European rockstar. The one who watched anime movies with Trucy, did stupid drinking games with Ema, and stared blankly when Edgeworth spoke actual German at him because he didn’t actually know shit—the Klavier who remembered what snacks Apollo liked in the overpriced courthouse vending machines, could and would tell you the story behind every single one of his guitars, and wasn’t afraid to risk everything he had if it meant standing up for what was right.

Apollo couldn’t let this Klavier go—not when he had just started loving him.

“Um, what time works for you?” Klavier asked tentatively. Funny, it was as if he had never taken someone on a date before.

“I’m free anytime tonight.”

“Cool, cool. How about I pick you up at six?”

“Yeah, sure, so long as you don’t do it on your bike”

“Hey—”

“That thing is a deathtrap and I refuse to get on it.”

“Mmmmm, I think you’ll come around eventually.”

“In your dreams.”

“Alright, schatzi, see you at six, ja?”

“Of course.”

Klavier is the one who hangs up. Apollo set his phone down, and finally allowed himself to breathe. This was never how he pictured their first date would come about, but sometimes you have to make do.

—

True to his word, Klavier picks him up at six—in his car, thankfully. Apollo still thinks Klavier’s car is obnoxiously showy, but it’s almost charming, in a way. When Apollo asks Klavier where he’s taking them, he says it’s a surprise. The surprise ends up being a dinner restaurant that’s on the classier side, but isn’t exactly high end. It’s a nice middle ground, and Apollo appreciates that; it’s nice, but it also wouldn’t be embarrassing.

The meal goes well. Klavier had been there a handful of times before, so he recommends Apollo something he actually ended up really liking. Interestingly, Apollo found that neither of them were acting any differently to how they were before. Apollo complains about his wack job of a boss, and Klavier matches that by complaining about the nightmarish amount of paperwork that comes with splitting up a band that he’s somehow still dealing with. They talk about the stupid things Trucy had convinced them to do lately, and joke that maybe Ema wouldn’t be so grumpy all the time if she just got laid. It’s nothing new; they talk just as comfortably and naturally as they were before—except this time Klavier is holding Apollo’s hand across the table and Apollo doesn’t even try to hide how red his face is. He likes it this way. 

He has such a nice time that he almost forgets what pushed him to finally accept this. It’s a lingering ache in the pit of his stomach that makes him wonder what his next approach should be. A date is a really bad time to drop the question hey, just wondering, are you thinking about killing yourself? but he isn’t sure how long it would be appropriate to wait before asking—and he also isn’t sure that he wants to even risk waiting.

But when the meal winds down, he has to make a decision. Klavier says he’ll take Apollo home, and it’s as if Apollo was suddenly hit with all of reality all at once.

“Wait—” he said, only realizing it was a bit too sudden after he had already said it.

“Oh?” Klavier looked a bit concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, um, I just…” Apollo tapped his foot nervously. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. “I…I don’t want this night to end,” he said quietly. Thing is, that wasn’t even a lie. He was having a wonderful time, and if this were any other night he’d be lamenting the fact that it ever had to end, but this was not any other night.

And then Klavier laughed, and Apollo couldn’t help but perk up hearing it.

“Well, if you’d like— and I don’t mean this in a dirty way, just so you know— we could head back to my place?’

It was almost funny, that Klavier had to warn him like that. But it’s reasonable, too. Because Apollo knows that if he hadn’t been warned ahead of time, he probably would have started freaking out again. Klavier knew this.

Apollo tried his best to remain composed. But he couldn’t tell how well it was working. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

After another short car ride, Apollo found himself in an elevator, and he realized that he had actually never seen where Klavier lived before, even though the inverse was true. Klavier lived in a high-rise—one of those places that doesn’t look that expensive but would absolutely floor you if you ever saw the price of the rent. If Apollo was being honest, he had almost been picturing one of those vapid McMansions all of those Instagram influencers live in, but he had learned by now it was pretty stupid to be so hasty in his judgments.

“Ah, just so you know, Vongole is gonna come running up here as soon as I open the door. She’s been trained not to bark, but she’s a big dog—it can be startling,”Klavier said as they reached the top.

“Oh, okay, that’s fine,” Apollo replied, although truthfully it made him a little bit anxious. He was initially surprised that dogs were allowed in this building, but in hindsight it really wasn’t all that weird, all things considered.

Sure enough, not a second after Klavier had unlocked the door, a large golden retriever came bounding towards them. Apollo tried to keep his cool when she jumped up onto him, but he could tell he was squirming a bit. Still, he reached forward to pet her anyways. He had met Vongole a few times when he worked for Mr. Gav–Kristoph—when he worked for Kristoph, and he knew she was friendly. She was also absolutely gorgeous, too, probably one of the prettiest dogs Apollo had ever seen, if it was right to call a dog pretty. Kristoph probably paid good money for her.

“Hey—down, girl, you’re scaring him,” Klavier said, beckoning her to sit.

“Hey, I’m not scared!” Apollo insisted. 

“Fine, you’re making him uncomfortable, how’s that?”

Apollo threw up his hands in defeat. “Sure.”

Klavier laughed. “Are you a cat person?”

Apollo nodded, feeling himself getting a bit excited. “I am! I have a cat at home.” It was silly, but he liked talking about his cat a lot.

“What kind of cat?”

“A calico. His name’s Mikeko.”

Klavier looked intrigued at that. “He? You have a male calico?”

Apollo nodded. “Mhm. I was surprised too. I took him off the streets, so I also thought he was a girl at first until Trucy, ah, helpfully informed me otherwise.”

Klavier laughed again, this time a bit more naturally, and without restraint. “That sounds like her.”

Apollo sighed. “Yep. And she keeps telling me he’ll sell for a lot of money, but obviously I’m not going to do that.”

Klavier hummed contentedly. “Truth be told, I much prefer cats as well.”

Huh, this was new. Apollo would have never pegged Klavier for a cat person. “Really?”

“Yeah. They’re…a lot less overwhelming.” Klavier seemed…almost somber, as he spoke—as if there was something in the room that couldn’t be addressed. Apollo understood.

“But,” Klavier continued, “I didn’t really have much of a choice when it came to Vongole, did I?” he said as he stroked her head gently.

The air was thick with unspoken words.

“I’m sorry,” Apollo said quietly.

Klavier waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t be. She’s a good dog, I like having her.”

“You know,” Apollo said, just remembering something. “the Wrights are cat people too.”

Klavier paused for a moment, thinking. “You know what?” he said after a moment. “That actually makes sense. I wouldn’t think they were just by looking at them, but…yeah, that checks out. Seems like the entire agency is cat people, huh?”

Apollo smiled, recalling the cat Trucy used in her shows sometimes. “Seems like it.”

Klavier smiled too. “It truly is a perfect fit then. You belong there.”

Apollo could feel his face heating up. He had never really thought he’d belong anywhere. And yet…

“You think so?”

“Yeah,” Klavier said in complete earnesty. “You really fit in at the Wright Anything Agency—much more than you ever did at Gavin law offices, anyways.”

And then the room fell quiet. That subject they had been dancing around—the open secret that haunted the air around them, and lurked in the shadows—had been brought into the open.

Klavier cleared his throat, breaking the tension and sending the phantoms back into hiding. “Wow, this is such wonderful conversation for a date, isn’t it?”

Apollo shrugged completely honestly. “Well, technically, the date’s over, isn’t it?”

Klavier laughed again, but this time it was guarded and dry. “I like your logic.” Then he took Apollo’s hand and began to walk further into his apartment. “Let's not stand in the entryway any longer. Come, sit down.”

The apartment was structured in a way that was open, and the kitchen, dining room, and living room were all one single, open room taking up most of the floor space—a great room, he was pretty sure it was called. Klavier ended up walking over to the kitchen area, so Apollo sat down at the kitchen island.

“I’m going to pour myself a drink. Do you want one too?” Klavier asked as he rummaged through his cupboards.

“Uh, depends. What exactly is it?” Apollo asked tentatively. He didn’t really like to drink, but…the time was right, was it not?

“Ah, well…” Klavier stopped and pulled a bottle of something off of his shelf, “I know this might not seem like me, but I’m partial to red wine.”

Apollo paused. Klavier was right, it didn’t really seem like him. Apollo’s had been expecting something less…classy, he supposed, or rather more exciting. Red wine was what Mr. Wright liked to drink as well (and, truthfully, Apollo was beginning to worry about that, but that was neither here nor there). 

Still, Apollo actually didn’t mind wine, all things considered. He found it a lot more tasteful than all of those foul concoctions Ema kept trying to convince him to try.

“Yeah, sure,” Apollo said after a moment. Klavier sat down next to him and poured them both a glass.

They got back to talking about this and that and whatever—everything and nothing. Apollo had been worried it would be awkward, and they wouldn’t know what to talk about, but it didn’t. Just like at dinner, their conversation felt natural and real, and Apollo almost forgot the issue at hand— almost.

It was getting later and later, and Apollo knew he had to address it—he had to ask. He couldn’t leave here without asking. He couldn’t leave Klavier alone while the knowledge sat with him that Klavier’s recent behavior ticked off all of the boxes for warning signs of suicide.So he either had to ask him, or…

Apollo watched Klavier pour himself another glass, and internally paused. Apollo was still working on his first—granted, he wasn’t much of a drinker, but still. How many had that been for Klavier?

Apollo’s eyes darted back over to the bottle. It was almost empty.

“H-Hang on a sec, don’t you think you should slow down?” Apollo said, interrupting Klavier who was talking about…whatever he was talking about; truthfully, Apollo had been zoning out trying to come up with his plan of action.

“Mm, no, no, it’s fine,” Klavier said, waving a hand absently. Even through the tan, Apollo could see that his face had taken on a redder complexion.

Apollo narrowed his eyes. “Mmmmm…” he doubted.

“No, really!” Klavier insisted. “I’m a rockstar, you really think I can’t handle my liquor?”

His speech was coherent, but he was waving his hands around a lot as he spoke. He had a good tolerance (in comparison to Ema, at least; Apollo hadn’t really been around enough drunk people to know what ‘normal’ is), but even he couldn’t disguise it.

“Okay then,” Apollo said, readying his courtroom tactics to make sure Klavier would listen, “wanna drive me home?”

Klavier blinked. He said nothing as the realization set him.

“Fuck,” he said quietly, burying his face in his hands.

Apollo couldn’t help but laugh. “Hah, I got you there, didn’t I?”

Klavier didn’t seem to think it was as funny as Apollo did.

“Ohhhhhh, fuck, Apollo, I’m so — I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Oh, hey, don’t worry, I don’t mind!” Apollo said quickly, because he honestly didn’t. He knew what to expect going into this. However, Klavier seemingly didn’t, which was definitely concerning.

“I’m sorry,” Klavier continued anyways.”I’m not…I don’t usually do this. I hadn’t expected this. I didn’t mean to—I’m so sorry.”

Klavier looked like he was about to cry. Apollo placed a hand on his shoulder gently. “Please, don’t be sorry,” he pleaded. “I mean it, okay? You’re fine. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No, it’s…” tears began to fall down Klavier’s face. Apollo leaned in a little closer.

“It’s all wrong,” Klavier rambled, not being swayed by Apollo’s words. “It…this wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. And now I’ve got you all involved in this, and I… fuck!”

Klavier’s words made Apollo’s stomach turn. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Now I’ve got you all involved. They were not doing anything to make Apollo feel better about his theory—just the opposite, in fact. He knew he had to try a different approach.

“Hey,” he said softly, “it’s late. Why don’t you go to bed?”

Klavier didn’t say anything for a moment. Apollo bit the inside of his cheek as he waited nervously.

“...how are you gonna get home?” Klavier said finally.

Time froze. It was a valid question on Klavier’s end, but to Apollo, it was life or death. There were several other ways he could get home, but he had to make sure none of them came up, because he could not go home tonight. 

Anxiety was coursing through his veins, just like it always did. He felt nothing but fear as he prepared himself to ask what he knew he had to, but it was now or never. He couldn’t let it win this time.

“Well,” he said with a deep breath, “since you seem so upset, how about I stay?”

Klavier looked…almost confused. “Stay? Here?”

“Yeah, it’s…I don’t want to leave you alone like this,” he admitted, although it was only a half-truth. That wasn’t the only reason.

Klavier took a shaky breath and pressed his palms into his eyes, trying to stop the tears. “Okay. Okay. I get it. Where are you going to sleep, then?”

“Well, I could always take the couch. Or, if you’d like, I could..sleep with you?”

There was room for an innuendo there, and if this were any other night, one would have been made. In fact, if this were any other night, Apollo would have deliberately worded it differently so there was no room for interpretation. 

But if this were any other night, Apollo wouldn’t be staying, so it didn’t matter.

And, hearing that, Klavier nearly collapsed, letting himself fall onto Apollo, pressing his head into Apollo's shoulder. “Please,” he whispered.

Apollo wouldn’t pretend he didn’t feel a bit nervous, getting in bed next to Klavier; but tonight, he wasn’t Klavier Gavin, the prosecuting prodigy, or Klavier Gavin, the rockstar. He was Klavier, who just took Apollo on a date, and Klavier, who needed help. Apollo was more than willing to give him that help.

“ ‘m sorry, Apollo…” Klavier murmured next to him, his fingers brushing Apollo’s hand. “This was probably the worst date ever.”

Gently, Apollo took Klavier’s hand in his own. “It wasn’t,” he said softly, “not in the slightest.”

After Klavier fell asleep, Apollo sent Mr. Wright a text saying something personal had just come up, and he couldn’t come in tomorrow. He could explain later. He knew Mr. Wright would understand.

—

Apollo woke up to the sun shining on his face, and the voice of Klavier Gavin wishing him a good morning.

Immediately, all of the awkwardness that he had been suppressing last night came flooding back to him as he remembered where he was. He could feel blood rush to his cheeks. As he stammered out “G–Good morning.”

Klavier, who was sitting in bed next to him, laughed. “Just when I thought you were finally finding your footing. Turns out the Apollo I know is still there after all.”

Apollo took a deep breath, steadying himself. “Ha-ha, very funny,” he said sarcastically. 

Klavier smiled at him—real, and genuine. “I know. You know I don’t mean it. You’ve been getting better about that, recently.”

Apollo smiled as well. He wasn’t going to pretend he wasn’t relishing in the praise.

And then he realized what he was looking at.

“Wait, are you wearing glasses?”

Sure enough, a pair of glasses sat on Klavier’s face. They made him look like his brother, in a way, but at the same time they made him look even more dissimilar. The frames were thick, and a dark black—the lenses wide. They couldn’t be any more different from Kristoph’s thin, silver oval frames.

They looked good.

“Oh, yes, yes I am,” Klavier said a bit quickly, tucking some hair behind his ear. “I, ah, fell asleep with my contacts in last night, so…”

“Guess bad eyes must run in the family, huh” Apollo nudged him playfully.

Klavier’s face grew solemn. Ah, perhaps that was too sore of a subject, still. They hadn’t really spoken about Kristoph, since the conclusion of that trial. He was the elephant in the room that everyone pretended they couldn’t see.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It doesn’t mean anything,” Apollo said reassuringly. “Besides, I think they look nice.”

Klavier gave him another smile, but this one was weak, and strained. “...Thanks, Apollo. But that’s…not it. Not really.”

Apollo listened intently. He had a feeling the conversation was going to take a serious turn. “Well, what is then?”

Klavier looked over at him, his eyes reading unease and uncertainty. “Apollo, I’m…I’m going to tell you something very serious, okay? And I need you to listen.”

Apollo could feel his heart begin to beat faster. Was this—?

“Of course. I’ll always listen to you.”

Klavier swallowed nervously, taking a shuddering breath. “You saved my life last night.”

For a moment, Apollo could have sworn his heart stopped. He sat there, frozen. Klavier continued speaking.

“Last night, I was planning to kill myself. And then you called. And you asked me out. And how could I say no to you?” Klavier gave a wry laugh—one that was hurt and weary. “It—It was this whole thing—I had it all planned out. But then you came crashing in, and you changed everything. Just like what happened when you crashed into my life almost a year ago. And now…now I don’t…I don’t know what I want to do anymore.”

Apollo was quiet for a moment, taking everything in. He was right. His theory last night was right— it was a horrible theory that filled him with a sense of panic and dread but it was right. 

And he wished he had come up with it sooner.

“Klavier, I’m going to tell you something serious as well, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I know.”

The room fell uncomfortably quiet.

“...what?”

“I said I know. I…had a feeling.”

Klavier looked at Apollo, but his eyes were distant. “And that’s why you wanted to go out with me?”

Apollo shrugged. “I mean, sure, that’s why I wanted to see you on that day specifically, but not why I wanted to go out with you. It just…made me realize I had to take control over my life. It made me realize that if I want something, I need to ask for it—I need to say yes.”

Klavier seemed a little more at peace, hearing that. “Mm. What gave it away?”

“Mr. Edgeworth called me, and asked if I knew anything about your sudden resignation.” Apollo folded his hands as a realization dawned on him. “If…he hadn’t called me, and had just been content to file your resignation…”

“I’d be dead.”

Apollo nodded, letting out a shaky breath as it really set in that he just barely made it in time.

“...I’m sorry. I…never meant to cause you so much trouble.”

Instantly, Apollo’s mood did a 180. “No. Do not say that. You didn’t cause me any trouble at all. Even if you did, I’d be glad you did. I—” Apollo reached over and grabbed Klavier’s hand, holding it firmly, almost as if he were checking to make sure Klavier really was still there with him. “...I can’t lose you.”

Klavier said nothing. Apollo spoke for him

“You need help, Klavier.”

Klavier heard that, and said nothing for a moment, thinking. Apollo could hear his own heartbeat. Each passing second felt like torture.

And then Klavier spoke.

“...You’re right. I do.”

Apollo nodded, reassuring himself more than anything. He did it. Klavier is alive and safe and here with him and going to get the help he needs.

“Okay,” Apollo said, standing up. “I’m going to take you to the hospital, alright? I’ll take your car—don’t worry, I’ll bring it back here.”

And then Klavier looked at him, seeming…almost confused.

“What?”

“...You can drive?”

And just then, It was as if the fog had lifted. Unsaid things had been said and here they were again, with their regular back-and-forth. Apollo might have cried, if it weren’t for what exactly he had just heard.

Apollo blinked. “Uh, yeah? I have a license. I just can’t afford a car.”

“Oh…well, I just thought, given that you work for Phoenix Wright—”

“I used to work for your brother, and you know damn well he can drive.”

“Well, it’s as I said last night.”

“What?”

“You fit in much better with Phoenix Wright.”

“You’re ridiculous.”