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After a long day in court, Apollo is exhausted. But his client was found not guilty, so at least it is a satisfied sort of exhaustion that makes him yawn and stretch his aching arms.
“Congratulations for your case today, Herr Forehead,” they say, never having gotten out of the habit of calling him that ridiculous nickname, even after five years in a relationship.
Apollo smiles. “Thanks. Same to you.”
In what is quite a rare occurrence, he and Klavier were on different cases the last few days. So as he defended his innocent client in courtroom number 2, Klavier was prosecuting a guilty defendant in courtroom number 4.
Klavier smiles, but then they wince and it turns into a grimace.
“Hey, are you feeling okay?” Apollo asks.
“Ja, I’m fine,” they say.
“Klavier, I don’t believe you. Are you in pain?”
Klavier looks away, staring down at the floor. “No, nothing like that.”
As Apollo stares at his partner, it occurs to him they’ve had a chat like this before. What were they talking about again?
Oh yeah.
“Klavier, are you still wearing your binder?”
They flinch. “Oh… ja, I guess I am.”
“And how long have you been wearing it?” Apollo says, folding his arms.
Klavier hesitates, thinking hard. And their voice is tiny as they say, “Maybe… twelve hours.”
“Exactly. Now how long do they say you should wear it before taking it off?”
“Oh come on, you don’t need to talk to me like I’m a child,” Klavier says.
“Klavier,” he says.
They sigh. “Eight hours. Fine, I’ll take it off.”
When Klavier emerges from the bathroom in his pyjamas a few minutes later, arms folded across their chest, Apollo smiles. Klavier looks pretty miserable without their binder on, but they see him and smile weakly.