Work Text:
Apollo groans, rolling over in bed. His head throbs and his extremities tingle, and he just wants to go back to sleep. But he can’t. He has to go to work today. His entire life can’t go on hold just because he had a meltdown yesterday.
Slowly, he sits up and rubs his eyes. They are puffy and bloodshot and feel tender beneath his sensitive fingertips. He groans again, and that is when he hears it.
“Herr Forehead?”
Klavier has awoken, sitting up beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Their voice is soft and comforting.
“Are you okay?” they ask.
Apollo shrugs his shoulders and goes to speak. But as much as he tries to enunciate the words, “Not too good,” they won’t come out. He’s gone nonverbal. He sighs and shakes his head instead.
“Poor Herr Forehead,” Klavier says, moving their hand to pull him into a hug. “At least you don’t have court today.”
That is a good point. He would be screwed if he couldn’t speak in court. Still, he has to go to the Wright Anything Agency, even though he just wants to sleep.
“Hang on a minute,” Klavier says, slipping out of bed. They tiptoe out of the room and return with Apollo’s cell phone. “Talk to me on this.”
Smiling slightly, Apollo unlocks this phone and brings up his AAC app. This app literally talks for him when he is nonverbal, and is a lot of help at times like this.
He types clumsily, and soon his phone says in a robotic voice: I feel awful. I want to stay in bed but I have to go to work.
“No you don’t. Herr Wright can look after things by himself for today. Just rest and feel better, okay?”
Apollo smiles. Okay.