Work Text:
October 9, 5:32 PM
District Court
Defendant's Lobby
Apollo let out a shaky breath as he exited the courtroom. His entire body felt like a sun-dried tomato -except for his legs which were leaning more towards jello- and the bright lights of the lobby weren't helping either.
They'd been in there for almost six hours, and through literal blood, sweat and tears Vera Misham had been awarded ‘not guilty’ verdict.
This had no doubt been Apollo's biggest case yet, stretching all the way back to the seven-year-old case with Mr. Wright, and he still hadn't fully understood just how many people's baggage he’d been carrying in that court room today, but he did know one thing: one of those people had been standing right in front of him, helping him and guiding him towards the truth. Prosecutor Klavier Gavin had looked like he was in physical pain for the entire finale, his heart and head tearing him in different directions, but then...
Those eyes. Apollo had gazed into those eyes and seen Klavier pleading. Say something. Help me. I don't care what it takes, I just want to know what happened.
And that's when Apollo knew he had to pull the other out from the darkness and push him towards the blinding light of the only thing that mattered: the truth.
Apollo dragged a hand across his face, taking a moment to breathe. He felt like he had been holding his breath for the past hour at least, but air still didn't come easy. He was exhausted.
"Pull yourself together Justice..." he murmured to himself and looked around the lobby. Trucy had run off about five minutes ago to get some water and snacks, and it looked like Mr. Wright was still having a few words with the Judge.
He immediately spotted the couch off to the side and decided he'd wait there. The Wrights could find him either there, or splattered all across the ground, which didn't sound so appealing. Couch it was. The sweet relief of sitting washed through his body.
Did Klavier have anyone else to wait around for...?
Apollo swallowed at the sudden thought, then promptly jumped at the familiar voice.
"Mind if I join, Herr Forehead?"
Prosecutor Gavin was standing in front of him in all of his – at the moment dubious – glory; he was slouching ever so slightly, eyes screaming exhaustion and hair in a barely-contained mess. Not waiting for a reply, he slumped down next to the defense attorney with a quiet thud, slipping down until he could rest his head against the back of the couch.
"Congratulations on your victory."
"Yeah... thanks. You weren't, uh, bad either." Nice going, idiot.
"You're making me blush, Herr Forehead." Klavier responded with his usual mischievous smile, though this time it felt more forced than flirty. "Unglücklicherweise, I was rendered pretty useless by the end. It won't happen again."
Apollo furrowed his eyebrows. "You're allowed to be upset. I think everyone in that courtroom understood."
"That is not really an excuse now, is it?" Klavier pressed with a smile, and Apollo wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face.
The defense attorney remained silent. When Daryan had first mentioned Klavier's perfectionism in music Apollo couldn't quite understand it. He never really seemed that way in court, so Apollo had simply assumed it was a music-only thing... but he now realized that when it came to the Gavinners, Klavier was open about being flawless and when it came to court, he liked to suffer in silence.
Apollo decided to keep his observations to himself and yawned instead. "It's been a long day."
"Ja, we could say that." Klavier responded with a sigh. "Where are Fräulein and Herr Wright?"
"Trucy is getting some food and Mr. Wright is still doing business with the Judge, I think. I never really know where that guy is to be honest." Apollo shuffled a little, his mind desperately trying to grasp at coherent thoughts despite the fog of fatigue slowly clouding over his gaze.
"I see," Klavier fell quiet for a couple of moments, then gathered whatever strength he had left and sat up to face Apollo. "I guess this is as good as any time, so... thank you, Herr Justice."
Apollo was a little taken aback. Wasn't Klavier supposed to be mad or something? Apollo had basically sentenced his brother to prison twice now, and this time for good. "For what?"
But Klavier looked determined, a little light returning to his tired eyes. "For reminding me what is important. And for finding the truth."
Apollo met his gaze briefly then looked away.
"You should at least be a little mad. It's only fair."
Klavier blinked. "And why would I do that?"
Apollo shrugged. "I convicted your brother twice now. So, I guess... I'm sorry. Sorry about all of this."
"There is hardly anything to be sorry about, Herr Justice. You convicted a criminal. That would be our job, nein?" Klavier leaned a little closer, trying to get Apollo to look at him again. "I'll be fine."
The bracelet tightened painfully around Apollo's wrist and he winced slightly as he reached over to cover it with his hand. A familiar sensation started bubbling in his chest. Oh shit, not now.
"Don't lie." Sometimes he wished his stupid bracelet wouldn't catch on to absolutely everything. Of course, Klavier was heartbroken. First Daryan, and now Kristoph... and it's been like, what, five months? His chest tightened uncomfortably; why did he care so much anyway?
"Herr Justice..." Klavier reached over and smeared an oncoming tear away from Apollo's cheek, but his hand was quickly swatted away.
"This sucks. Everything sucks," Apollo pouted, face red as he rubbed tears out of his eyes, leaving them blurry and sore.
Klavier took a good look at him and for the first time that day he let out a genuine laugh. Their eyes met for a brief pause and a moment later they both burst out laughing; not just small chuckles, but full body laughter, leaving even more tears in its wake that were quickly wiped away. Slowly they began to quiet down, their breaths evening out, returning to the normal quiet of the lobby.
"That was much needed, don't you think?" Klavier flashed a tired but sincere smile. "See, Herr Forehead? You did it again."
Apollo rubbed his eyes. "I didn't do anything. I just wish you were more honest with me."
"Believe me Herr Justice, I'm not mad."
"And stop faking those stupid smiles!" Apollo continued after a chuckle. "It's annoying."
"Ach, but a rock star needs to keep up his image, ja?" Klavier snapped his fingers and then pointed towards the end of the hallway. "I don't think Fräulein would be too happy to see us both glooming and pouting."
The young attorney turned to see Trucy dashing towards them, waving a plastic bag so hard it was a miracle the contents hadn’t spilled out.
"Polly! There you are! Were you crying again?" Her familiar voice snapped Apollo out of his haze as Trucy skipped over to the couch with Mr. Wright on her tail.
"N-no!!" He stammered, against all evidence to the contrary, but quickly quieted when he was handed a bottle of grape juice and a chocolate bar.
"Daddy said he will make dinner at home, but you'll have to hang in there until then with these." Trucy bounced on her feet, clearly excited about the promise of food. Apollo couldn't fathom how she could be so cheerful right after everything that had gone down. "There's one for you too, Prosecutor Gavin!"
She handed a chocolate bar to Klavier with a huge smile.
"Ach, you shouldn't have Fräulein, but vielen Dank."
Mr. Wright stepped next to his daughter and put a hand on her shoulder, looking at Apollo. "Don't go disappearing now, Apollo."
"You were the one who disappeared, not me," muttered Apollo and was promptly ignored.
"I hope you like spaghetti. I have a traditional recipe from my college days," Phoenix continued with a smile, patting the top of Apollo's head in what the younger thought was a gesture of affection. Or maybe reassurance that the spaghetti will not kill him.
Weirdos. Apollo didn't dare argue anymore. "Sounds good to me." He looked over to Klavier, who had also stood, composing himself a little.
"I think that's my cue to be on my way as well. Herr Wright." Klavier nodded at to Phoenix, unresolved tension clearly still hanging in the air between them, but Phoenix simply shrugged and put his hands in his hoodie's pockets with a mysterious smile.
"Gavin. It's been a while."
"Hasn't it?" Klavier smiled back, keeping the distance between them.
"I'm sorry about how things turned out today. It was a good performance though."
Klavier swallowed. "Danke Schön. And again, thank you as well. You had a lot of... input on the matter."
Phoenix shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do. I’ve found I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands these past few years."
"I can imagine." Klavier regarded the man in front of him with a guilty look. "if you'd excuse me, I will not be holding your dinner plans up any longer. Fräulein, Herr Wright, Herr Justice."
And with that he simply turned and walked away. Apollo couldn't help but stare after him with a hand gently rubbing his aching wrist. It was an understatement to say that he was worried about Klavier. He couldn't help but wonder how he would spend tonight; probably alone. His grip on his wrist tightened.
"Well? Aren't you gonna tell him he's invited?" Phoenix nudged Apollo's shoulder, snapping him out of his daydream.
"Really, Daddy? Yay! A rock star eating your spaghetti!" Trucy exclaimed next to him, taking his hand in preparation to leave. "Polly, go tell him! Or we'll leave you both here!"
Apollo's head snapped up, looking over towards the retreating figure of Prosecutor Gavin among the crowd gathering for an upcoming trial. "Y-yes sir!" He said and bolted in Klavier’s direction.
Phoenix just smiled and squeezed his daughter's hand. That should be a good start.
Apollo, on the other hand, gravely misjudged the actual distance between himself and Klavier, and almost crashed into him as he was trying to stop his own momentum. "Hey uhm! Prose- Gav-...K-Klavier!
The blond promptly turned around, finding an out-of-breath defense attorney. "Did you forget something, Herr Forehead?"
"Well uh, k-kinda," Apollo panted, finally straightening up and offering a firm hand in front of himself. "You. I...I mean, you're invited. To dinner I mean. If you want to come."
Klavier blinked for a couple of seconds at the extended hand between them, almost shocked. "I...I wouldn't want to intrude, Herr Ju-"
"Please. Mr. Wright said it’s fine, and Trucy would be really happy, but would probably make you sing some cheesy song at some point, and the food is not that bad either, I promise." Apollo exhaled the sentence all at once. “
A moment of silence set in, as if the soft murmur of the lobby didn't exist.
“And what about you, Herr Forehead? The last time I checked you weren’t exactly fond of my music, ja?”
Apollo swallowed. “It’s not all bad… I mean. It can be good if you… hold on, we’re going off topic. What I was going to say is I want you to come. If you have nothing better to do.
The slight confusion was replaced by a soft smile and the light in Klavier’s beautiful blue eyes was rekindled for a second. “Blunt as ever, Herr Justice.” he took Apollo’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Very well. Lead the way, bitte."
Apollo fought down his embarrassment and started dragging Klavier by the hand. “I hope they didn’t leave already.”
They fought their way back through the growing number of lawyers and had to run to catch up with Phoenix and Trucy, who of course were already halfway out the courthouse.
Klavier was laughing again as Apollo tugged him across the hallway, much to the surprise of onlookers. "Ja, I think I'll be fine." He didn't particularly care if Apollo heard it or not. "Because I have you, Apollo."
This time, the bracelet remained comfortable around Apollo's wrist.