Work Text:
Klavier was standing outside of Themis Legal Academy, humming softly to himself as he awaited the arrival of his companion. It was for a meeting and tour that was long overdue, one that Klavier had been putting off.
Following the seminar that he was going to give on the day of the school fair, Klavier had agreed to give Phoenix Wright a tour of the Academy. After the rush of the Mason system trial, Wright getting his badge back, and life in general, Klavier hadn’t really gotten a chance to really speak with him. To apologize to him, actually. But then the school fair had come up and it was the perfect opportunity, especially when the prosecutor had been asked to give Wright a tour of the facility.
Then Constance Courte had been murdered and young Juniper had been accused. The trial that followed was a whirlwind of dramatic testimonies and accusations, until the real culprit had been found. After that, well. Klavier could admit that he had avoided nearly everyone at the Wright Anything Office. Everyone except Apollo, of course. One of the few friends that knew everything, he couldn’t quite avoid him, nor did he want to.
Klavier was pulled out of his musings by a voice calling his name, a bit startled. Wright had snuck up on him while he was lost in his thoughts.
“Herr Wright, it is wonderful to see you again,” Klavier greeted, holding out his hand. Phoenix gave it a shake with a wry smirk.
“I don’t know if wonderful is quite the word that I would use. I’m sure that there’s someone else that you would much rather be seeing,” the attorney teased. Klavier was very glad that years of being in the spotlight made it easier to keep from reacting to the tease.
“Well, let’s not waste any time. I’m sure that you want to see the Academy that Fräulein Cykes and many of your peers went to.”
“Yeah. None of us really got a chance to see it with everything that happened.” As they headed into the school, Phoenix reached out and clasped Klavier’s shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “I am sorry about what happened to Professor Courte. She was a good judge and a good woman.”
It took Klavier a moment to swallow back the lump in his throat. The only one he had spoken with about his mentor was Apollo and he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it.
“Danke, Herr Wright. She was a valued teacher.” Klavier gave Phoenix a smile he didn’t quite feel as he led him inside the Academy. “Let’s get this tour started, ja? I’m sure you’re excited to see all that Themis has to offer.”
He missed the concerned look that the attorney gave him.
~*~*~*~*~
It had been a good tour so far, showing many of the areas of the school, like the lecture halls and the classrooms. As they got closer to the art department, Klavier turned to Phoenix with a smile.
“This next area is somewhere I spent a lot of time in while I was at the Academy,” Klavier told Phoenix as they headed into the art department. “If I wasn’t in the library looking up case law, I was in here. It’s…” Klavier trailed off, the lump in his throat back.
Phoenix seemed to sense something was off, so he changed the subject by saying, “What is the department we’re going to?”
“The Fine Arts Department.” Klavier took a breath and glanced over to Phoenix with a sad little smile. “It’s where I met Constance Courte for the first time. She shaped the entire way I thought about law and the system in general.”
“She was always disappointed by how things had turned out. The Dark Age of Law was something that she wished she could change. And she had helped with her teachings.” Phoenix looked over at Klavier with a brighter smile than Klavier had given him. “You are a very good example of that.”
It took a moment for Klavier to say anything. After everything that he had done, Wright felt that way about him?
“I…I was the reason you were disbarred though.”
“You did what you felt was right. You knew that the evidence was false. Perhaps you could have questioned a few things more, but you did exactly what you should have done.” Phoenix placed a hand on Klavier’s shoulder. “And you weren’t the one who had me disbarred. Kristoph did that. He hurt us both, and that’s not something you deserve to take the blame on. I did at first. I couldn’t understand how a kid could know that there was forged evidence even when I didn’t know it was forged. But when I started looking more into it, I realized that you were used just as much as I was.”
“I…” Klavier rubbed his hands over his face and back into his hair with a sigh. “I am sorry, Herr Wright. You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”
“Nor did you.” Phoenix placed his other hand on Klavier’s shoulder. “I don’t need an apology, because you did nothing wrong. I’ll accept it, because I know that you’ll feel better if I do, but I don’t think you have anything to apologize for. You were a kid on his first case, trusting the brother that you loved. I would never begrudge you that.” Phoenix smiled again at Klavier. “Besides, I think Apollo would be annoyed if I made you feel bad about yourself. He’s awfully loyal to those that he loves and I’d rather not deal with the yelling.”
“Ja, he is rather loud.” And, without thinking about it too hard, Klavier reached over and gave Phoenix a hug. Normally, he wouldn’t have done such a thing, but he thought both of them needed the contact. “Danke. I…I know that I don’t need to thank you for anything, but I am grateful. Grateful that you’re not mad at me and grateful that you told me.”
There was a pat on his back before Phoenix pulled away. “No problem, kid. Now…” Phoenix grinned at him. “Show me this art department. I’ve always had an appreciation for art. I mean, I was even a piano player for a while.”
Klavier gave a laugh, moving away. “I’m not sure what you did would be called playing, from what Fräulein Trucy tells me.”
As they moved into the department, teasing back and forth with each other, Klavier felt lighter than he had in some time. Maybe he didn’t need to avoid the Wright Anything Agency. Actually, with the way things were going, he was probably going to be a staple for some time. After all, he had more friends there than he could have ever imagined.