Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Apollo could feel his two cowlicks drooping as he looked at the huge line in front of him. Jeeze . He had set his alarm to 1 o’clock so he could get here right when the bookstore opened but it seemed like all of his peers had the exact same idea. He sighed. Oh well. It’s not like it would kill him to wait in line for a few minutes, he thought, shifting the heavy legal tomes in his arms. He looked around the store, at his peers all chatting happily to each other about their breaks and new teachers, and was vaguely aware how he was the only one who was waiting alone. 

Oh well. 

He just hadn’t run into anyone he recognized yet. He wondered if Clay was done moving his stuff into their room, when suddenly a girl in line who was talking to a group snapped her head over to Apollo, widening her eyes in recognition of him and bounced over, letting a huge smile spread across her face.

“OH MY GOSH YOU LIKE THE GAVINEERS TOO?! WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG”

Apollo jumped in his skin at the sudden human interaction and did a double take.

“W-what? Sorry?”

“Your shirt! What’s your favorite gavineers song!” Apollo could feel his face scrunching into one of confusion as he looked down at his shirt. He didn’t get it? Did the weird silver symbol in the center actually stand for something? What the hell was a ‘Gavineers?’. He didn't know this girl, did he? He tried but her face didn’t seem familiar. He looked up from his shirt and suddenly felt very intimidated with now a set of five curious eyes waiting for his answer.

“Oh...um” his voice cracked “whats a Gavineers?” he asked, hoping he didn’t look stupid. Clearly this was not the right answer.

The girl looked at him inscrutable like he was stupid and put her hands on her hips.

"You mean you're wearing that and you don't even know who the gavineers are?"

"Uh...yes?" He said sheepishly as he pushed his spiky bangs back. She smiled in an unbelievable fashion at him as her friends flashed looks at each other.

"What the hell? You mean you've never even heard of the gavineers?!"

"Uh. No? Who are they?" the girl stared at his face as if waiting for this to be some big huge joke but Apollo just stood there, not understanding what the big deal was.

"I can't. I just I can't - what the fuck?! Wearing merch you're not even into is weird enough but how do you not even know who they are? Do you live under a rock?" She stared at him like she expected him to answer a question like that but he just shrugged and pointed beyond her 

"The lines moving" she stared at him with an unbelievable look for a few swollen seconds as her face tinged red in anger. Eventually she huffed angrily and pushed her textbooks onto her unsuspecting friend as she stormed away. The friend shrugged apologetically, while the other rolled their eyes at his uncultured nature.

The interaction had been uncomfortable but Apollo didn't really care, he just wanted to hurry up and buy his books so he could get on with all the other stuff he had to do.

Apollo swung open the door to see clay lying down on his bed, playing some games on his 3-ds, not having bothered to unpack yet. He looked up at the sound of the door and smiled broadly and jumped up to tackle Apollo into a hug.

"Hey man how ya been!!" He said cheerfully. Apollo laughed and hugged him back, used to the happy dog of a man that was clay. If it were anyone else he'd probably be annoyed but having grown up with him for nearly his whole life, Apollo was used to it.

"I've been pretty good! How was the scientific retreat...thingy." clay rolled his eyes as he flopped back onto the bed.

"You mean the Max Planck institute retreat on celestial bodies and other known planets?" 

"Yeah. that. Whatever" clay laughed.

"It was AWESOME. Man! DUDE. there are fucking PLANETS out there! Things we haven't discovered! Rocks n’ shit!” 

“So basically you mean all the stuff that already makes up our planet?" Apollo said laughing, putting his books down on the desk.

"Nah man! like space ro- OMG APOLLO!” clay bolted up from where he was lazily lying on the bed, staring at Apollo like he had two heads or something.
“Yeah?”

“I didn’t know you were into the gavineers too?!” Apollo groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Who ARE these people?! Why does everyone know about them?” he complained, plopping into his chair as clay covered his mouth with a shocked expression.

“Holy shit. Apollo.” Apollo didn’t even want to look at him, he already knew what was coming from the look on his face.

“HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO THE GAVINEERS ARE?! Like I know you don’t really care for this stuff but there’s NO WAY you don’t know who the gavineers are. Like I’m sure you’ve heard them on the radio or something”

“Actually I’m pretty sure I havn’t”

“But they're like, the biggest thing! And you’re like a legal nerd and they’re a legal rock band! Like if you’re going to listen to any music it’d be them! Here, ill put them on right now” clay abandoned his DS in favor for his laptop, not stopping to see Apollo's expression changing iinto one of mirth and disbelief.

“A legal rock band? Pfft- what, do they sing about legal clauses and precedent cases?” Apollo laughed “no offence but that sounds like the stupidest thing ever”

“NO but like they’re REALLY POPULAR AND COOL! Also don’t say that around here or you might get beat up. Ivy U has a really big gavineers following. Especially with the girls”

“Oh I don't need you to tell me that. I really pissed off a girl at the bookstore by not knowing who they were” Clay belts out a laugh.

“Oh boy, wish I could’ve been there for that. What happened?”

“She asked what my favorite song was but I had no idea what she was saying so I asked ‘what's a gavineers’ like an idiot and then she got very mad” clay laughed even harder, he was basically wheezing at this point, gripping his stomach.

“Oh Pollo. God, why do these things always happen when im not there”

“Objection - most of the time these things happen to me specifically because of you! this is just an outlier that should not have been counted.”

“Yeah whatever nerd- and leave the math to me. But really if you’re gonna wear that, you should probably know a few songs. Or else you might really get beat up” clay said with a wide grin, like he couldn’t wait to see the day. Apollo rolled his eyes.

“Well- it’s not my fault no one told me what this was when I found it on the goodwill rack for like 5 bucks!! How was I supposed to know?! I just got it because I thought it looked kinda cool and I needed a new shirt!” 

“Holy shit you found that for 5 bucks?! They're like 30 on the official site” clay said with longing in his wide kitten-like eyes. Apollo looked down at the shirt. "Also who the hell would give a gavineers shirt to Goodwill, what the heck?! That actually pisses me off…."

“I don't know -Why would anybody buy a blank purple tee with a giant G in a weird font for 30 freaking dollars!? This is a G right? Because it doesn't even look like it. Also I bet their music isn't even good -What kind of name is Gavineers anyways?” clay laughed, raising an eyebrow at apollo.

“What - Are you mad at them now?”

“Yes! Because I spent money on this stupid shirt and now everytime I go out I’ll have to live with the fear that someone who’s a fan will approach me and start a conversation!”

“Uh then dont wear it? Because I’ll totally wear it” he said hopefully.

“No I spent money on this! Screw the gavineers, i’ll wear any shirt I want, when I want! I’m apollo justice and I’M FINE!” clay laughed at him. Apollo knew he was being childish, but the girl who had confronted him was decidedly far more childish than he was being - and for such a stupid reason! And he had spent money on this and he did (maybe kinda) think that it looked cool (it was less cool now that he knew what it was) and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him. It’s not like he cared what other people thought really (not really).

“Aww okay. But just so you know, I totally don’t mind your sweat being on my next christmas gift”

Apollo wrinkled his nose as clay laughed. Suddenly what Apollo could only describe as noise filled the air and he scrunched up his face even more.

“What is this?”

“Gavineers”

“Please turn it off” Clay gasped overdramatically .

“WHAAAAAATTTTT!? THE LEGAL STUDENT DOESN’T LIKE THE LEGAL MUSIC? HOW CAN THIS BE!!” Clay said in a weird accent.

“Clay, that's not what british people sound like” Apollo said, struggling to keep a straight face. Clay ignored him, starting to yell along to the lyrics.

“WHERE SHOULD WE GO - JUST YOUUUU AND MEEEE! EXCEPT I CANT….IM ON MY WAY TO COURT!!” Apollo bust out laughing, partially at clays terrible singing but also at the stupid lyrics.

“What kind of lyrics are these?! God, I was right when I said it sounded stupid”

“HEY SHUT YOUR MOUTH RIGHT THERE! KLAVIER GAVIN IS A MUSIC GOD! You wouldn't know good music if it was in a hotdog suit and slapped you with a fish! here, I’ll play my boyfriend’s the prosecution’s witness next, one of their newer songs.” Clay said, eagerly turning back to spotify on his computer.

“Please don’t” Apollo said, though he couldn't stop himself from laughing at Clay’s antics.

"Also klavier Gavin? Is that the lead singer or whatever?"

"God you're even more uncultured than I thought"  he said shaking his head disappointingly

"I can't believe they named the band after his last name. It's kinda stupid right?"

"You're just jealous because you wish you could be that cool" Apollo hated the way Clay knew him well enough to know what he was actually feeling.

"W-what?! I literally just said they were stupid! God you're turning into one of those crazy fans….At least you’re not as crazy as the girl I met at the bookstore.” Clay eerily turned his head slowly to Apollo, his eyes wide. 

“Boy you havn’t seen crazy yet” and suddenly he leaped up and dug from his suitcase and fished out- 

“Wait you’re an ACTUAL FAN?!” Apollo said a few decibels too loud as Clay struggled not to crazedly smile at apollo, holding a Gavineers poster in his hands.

“What can I say, Athena likes them and I’m impressionable” Apollo starts laughing at him.

"I thought you were just doing this to bully me!"

“Wait - YOU THOUGHT I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE CHRISTMAS GIFT THING? BECAUSE I REALLY WASN’T!”

Apollo laughs harder, wondering how someone like clay and him managed to become friends in the first place.

“OKAY OKAY, just promise you won't murder me in the middle of the night for this stupid band shirt"

"Hahaha no promises Mr. Justice!" 

Apollo rolled his eyes, turning to put away his legal books.

The next time someone comments about the stupid shirt he’s in a starbucks. it’s been about 2 weeks since he last wore it, deciding that he wouldn’t go anywhere near it unless it was an emergency. And Eventually, he ran out of clean clothes to wear and begrudgingly put it on, to Clay’s excitement.  But Apollo was glad that he’s gotten through the day without another incident and by the time he walks into the Starbucks, he figures that one incident was just a one time thing, and the shirt is safer to wear than he previously thought.

He looks around, seeing that the place is relatively empty since it's a monday at 8 pm. There’s about 3 other people in a corner, their noses hid in their school books, two in line and another  worker looking very bored behind the counter as he makes drinks. 

Apollo is standing off to the side, waiting for the worker to finish up with the other orders, when he’s vaguely aware of a presence a bit too close to him.

“Nice shirt” a male voice says next to him and he immediately tenses. Oh no, not again. Apollo irritably glances over to beside him but is surprised to see possibly the most attractive man he's ever seen in his life standing beside him. He's tall, blond, tan, with blue eyes and smiles gently at him. His long hair is pulled into a high ponytail, with the end coming out a hat, and he’s wearing an absurdly amount of purple (not that Apollo really has any room to say anything considering how much red he wears….). 

He notices the man is vaguely familiar, but is too tense to really think about it. Quickly he decides that the best course of action is to just look as unapproachable as possible to prevent a repeat of last time from happening.

He lets a stern glare fall onto his face as he crosses his arms.

“Um. thanks” he says, making sure not to look at the guy. It’s quiet from beside him, and he steals a glance over to see that the man is - surprised ? Apollo lets his glare slip into one of confusion too as the blond searches his face.

“Uh what. Is something on my face?” Apollo says, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. The blond is quiet for a bit before he seems to grab his bearings and shakes his head, his lips softening into a smile and letting a chuckle escape from his lips.

“Nein, nothing of the sort. Though you do have something here” he says, reaching forward and grabbing a piece of lint from Apollo's collar. He can't help but feel his cheeks prickle with blood rushing to his face.  what the heck?

firstly, that was kinda wierd, and secondly, holy fuck, nobody should be allowed to look that handsome that close to Apollo.

The man just smiles and then goes back to waiting.

It’s quiet for a few beats, the silence feeling a bit awkward and tense, so Apollo, like an idiot, opens his moth to speak.

“Um. are you a fan?”

“Was?” the blond looks surprised at the question and apollo notices that he actually has a german accent.

“Um uh. I mean a fan of the um- gaveers? What was it?” Apollo can feel himself blushing, as he rubs the back of his head. Where the hell was he even going with this anyways?! What was he going to talk about - how he wasn’t a fan? The man in front of him however, just laughs and leans forward a bit with a distractedly attractive smile on his face.

“Would you prefer it if I was?”

“Ew no” he says out of habit (dammit clay!) the man looks shocked for a beat as Apollo begins to ramble explanations out of embarrassment, but then only laughs more.

“What kind of response is that?” the man asks.

“Ugh sorry i just have gaveers - gavineers? Trauma. Um. Crazy fans you know” the blond tilts his head to the side with a smile, as if no, he didn’t know.

“humour me" the man smiles “I'm curious about your ‘gavineers trauma’”

"it's nothing big, it's just random people always talk to me whenever I wear this and usually they aren't very nice about the fact that I can't even remember the name of the darn band" the blond man laughs.

"It is a strange situation I must admit. why wear the shirt if you are not a fan?”

"Hey I didn't ask for all this responsibility when I bought this for 5 dollars off a Goodwill rack!" german-boy laughs, and Apollo swears his eyes twinkle.

"Ach - the responsibilities we have are rarely the responsibilities we want ja?" Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds weirdly deep for just a t-shirt" the man laughs again and Apollo snaps out of their conversation as he belatedly realizes the barista has come back and is waiting for him to order.

He lists out what he usually gets, gives the employee his name and then sits near the pickup station to wait. He’s surprised when a few moments later, the man from before scoots out a chair opposite and smiles.

“May I?” he asks

“Oh! Um. yeah sure, of course” Apollo stumbles over his words, and immediately regrets accepting - he hates talking to people he doesn't know, he hates his social anxiety, why the hell did he say yes?

“So, Apollo is it?” the man starts, getting settled into his chair, resting his face on his palm languidly like a cat as Apollo nods confusedly.

"how'd you know my name?"

"when you told the barista"

"ohhh, makes sense. um, and you are?" the man gains a sort of indecipherable look before he replies

"kyouya. So, Apollo, you’re really not a fan?” the man in purple continues.

“I mean - obviously" Blondie laughs, as Apollo realizes what he's going to say a second before he says it.

“true, but your testimony contradicts with the evidence however, herr Critque” the man said, looking pointedly at his shirt. Apollo groans, crossing his arms.

"I know what you're thinking, 'why are you wearing a shirt of a band you’re not even into it right?' but really I was just putting off laundry and this was the last shirt left and I wasn't going to not wear a shirt I paid for” contrary to what clay thinks.

“I mean - it doesn't even look like a G anyways! It’s like some wierd-" he looks down at his shirt wrinkling his nose, as the stranger continues to chuckle “nine or something!”

the barista finally comes with the two of their drinks and kyouya takes a sip and laughs.

“I digress, I think it does look like a G!” he says with a laugh, as Apollo huffs

“Yeah maybe if you squint hard enough”

“Well I suppose we cannot all be artistically inclined” he jokes. If clay was here he’d have a field day with telling stories about apollos middle school art project failures. 

“Though I was wondering” Kyouya pauses again to take a sip of his dragon fruit juice - which is unsurprisingly enough, purple “Is there any reason why you don’t like the gavineers?” 

“Well I mean” Apollo raises a finger to press against his forehead as he thinks exactly how to word it.

“I just think they suck” Kyouya’s eyes go wide and he looks genuinely surprised to hear such a thing. And maybe even a bit sad?  

Whoops.

Apollo probably should have worded that differently, damn him and his blunt way of expressing himself! Please, please let this not be another crazy fan, he begs silently. In the back of his mind Apollo can see how this is going to end - the image of a blond streak of hair angrily storming out of the starbucks, leaving Apollo covered in chunks of purple dragon fruit to match this curse of a t-shirt.

“Um I mean!-" kyouya bursts out laughing to apollo's surprise

"That came out wrong - Sorry I, uh, tend to be very blunt”

“No worries, Apollo” he smiles “I think your bluntness is refreshing. and also i'm a bit curious to know why you think so” Apollo blinks.

“Oh.” he wasn’t expecting that response. Kyouya laughs.

“What, expecting me to empart you with some more ‘gavineer fan trauma’?” kyouya jokes. Apollo sheepishly smiles and runs his hand over his hair

“Actually, yes” he laughs awkwardly.

“Mnn, it’ll take more than that to upset me, Herr Critique” he flashes a brilliant smile at Apollo, making him turn red 

“I was just surprised is all. It’s rare that I meet someone like you” he says with an honest to god wink. Stupid he thinks, but apollo really didn’t want to know what color his face was.

“Honestly I cannot tell if that's an insult or complement” kyouya chuckles.

“It’s a good thing! People are rarely so honest with their opinions when the majority is otherwise ja?” Apollo's bracelet didn’t tighten so it seemed the stranger was actually telling the truth, interestingly enough.

“Yeah I guess so. My friend says it’s going to get me beat up someday, but I think it's just this weird reverse psychology thing where he tries to get me fight someone because he has a bet with another one of our friends on whether I can win a fist fight, believe it or not” kyouya chuckles.

“Well can you? Win a fist fight I mean”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to join the betting pool too” Apollo huffs as kyouya lets out a laugh.

“I just might, I’m curious now. But not as curious as to why you don’t like the gavineers. Most people I come across love them! Also I don’t think they sound too bad myself…” kyouya says, playing with his bangs.

“I don't know, I just really don’t like them! I don’t get how anyone can willingly submit themselves to that onslaught of noise. It’s more of a recipe for a headache than actual music, and as a pre-law student I think the lyrics are hilarious, that is to say they’re pretty dumb. I don’t know - I just feel like everyone likes them and they’re really not even that good! People probably just go crazy because the lead singer is supposed to be really attractive or something” Apollo says irritatedly. Kyouya chuckles, looking off to the side.

“Is that so?”

“I mean yeah well - you’re a gavineers fan so you should know right? Is he?” Kyouya just straight up stares at him for a few seconds, surprised, before he seems to regain his cool and collected persona and smiles at him, though somehow it seems to carry a different sort of weight

“Yes, I would say that he’s really attractive” Kyouya says, playing with his bangs again, "i'm surprised you don't at least have an idea of what he looks like" apollo shrugs

"eh, I never really keep up with this kind of stuff - i know my roomate will just bombard me with info about his next celebrity crush soon enough, so there's not really a point in taking my own time to search it up when i know he'll tell me about it anyways" kyouya laughs

"i suppose that's more efficient in a way."

"yeah, except this time was an exception because he was really pissed because i accidentally slandered THE Klavier Gavin.” he says with air quotes. After that incident, clay had play-kicked Apollo out of their room, which turned to Apollo actually being locked out because neither of them thought to bring a key.

Kyouya laughs and seems to go back to being smooth as a cat.

“And what did you say about this klavier gavin to upset him?” kyouya says, with a distracting smile, leaning a little too close. He can even smell his cologne, not that he’s complaining. He rolls his eyes, thinking back to clay.

“He’s not really upset, he just likes making fun of me. I just said that thier law theme is stupid like - it's just the weirdest thing to me - They’re supposed to be bad boys or whatever but they’re also cops, so what are they - a bunch of narcs?” Apollo chuckles “it’s just funny to think about.” kyouya laughs along thankfully, not at all offended about apollo's harsh words

"I actually havn't heard that piece of criticsm before! that's actually pretty funny to think about though"

“Isn't it? i just don't get the hype about them"

“but there has to be something you like about them though right? Any songs?” kyouya fished. Apollo let out a terse laugh

“Probably not, sorry. Well actually. I guess klavier gavin does have a nice voice, I’ll give him that. Everything else I could do without” the stranger gives him a grin and nods his head.

“You just hate the style, with all the loud guitars and such?”

“Yeah like it doesn’t even sound like music anymore!”

“I’m guessing you’re more a fan of classical music then?”

“Well...not exactly. I just like...the more authentic type of stuff i guess. Ever heard of lamoir?” Kyouya’s eyes widen in recognition

“Yes! Her voice truly is divine!” he says with more passion than apollos seen from him the entire night.

"I could listen to it forever - just her voice alone is a work of art." he continues.

"Exactly! It's so calming to listen to. I don't even understand what she's saying but - I don't know. Um. It's comforting to me I guess" Apollo finishes.

"I can definitely understand why you take a liking to her. The Gavineers is not just not for everyone ja?"

"Try telling that to the girls at my school" the blonde laughs 

"I am guessing that not everyone is as understanding as me?" 

" Hardly. But I'm glad this conversation didn't end in me covered in chunks of dragon fruit or anything"

"Well it would match your shirt at least" Apollo tries to keep himself from smiling but he lets one crack.

"Ah didn't think I'd be able to squeeze a smile out of you from the way you glared at me the first time I saw you this evening.”

“Oh” Apollo rubs his two cowlicks back feeling sheepish “Actually I was trying to get you to not talk to me. Usually bad things happen when I wear this shirt” kyouya chuckles, mirth in his beautiful (beautiful?) blue eyes.

“Well hopefully I didn't add to that then?”

“Contrary to what I was thinking when I first saw you, no actually.”

“Glad to hear that, Herr Critique. Well I suppose I should be on my way.” Kyouya says looking at his watch. “Perhaps we’ll run into each other again, ja?” he says, getting up for their table

“I doubt it” Apollo says, but Kyouya just smiles.

“Fate works in strange ways, Herr forehead” he says ominously and is gone before Apollo can say anything else. 

“Wait. Forehead?” Apollo wonders aloud.

Chapter Text

Apollo makes his way over to the table where he can see where his friends are sitting. There’s Clay who has his laptop open and Ema who is sitting next to him with a foul look on her face. Soon enough the look transfers to his face as well as some type of noise filters through the air.

“Will you turn that shit off?” Ema growls, stuffing her face with snackoos as Apollo set down his tray of food.

“How could you say that?!”

“With my mouth. Also it sounds terrible”

“Don’t say stuff like that about THE Klavier Gavin!!"

“Oh jeez” Apollo muttered, rolling his eyes. Apollo thought this was just going to be one of Clay’s phases, but apparently he was seriously into the Gavineers now. Curse you Athena.

“You mean that glimmerous fop? Ugh I can’t stand the way he dresses. He looks so dumb. Also the fact that half of Ivy U’s population is so infatuated with him for whatever reason. People act like they’re in middle school again and it’s the first time they’ve ever seen One Direction” on another note, Apollo could clearly remember Clay also being very much into one direction when they were in middle school.

“Emaaa stopppp I cant listen anymore! I should sue you for defamation!!” he exclaimed, whipping his head over to Apollo.

“You’ll help me right?”

“I mean. His music does kinda suck so ...it's not really lying”

“NOT YOU TOO POLLO!” Clay fake sobbed, covering his face with his hands as Apollo chuckled, spooning some cereal into his mouth. Ema grinned at him.

“At least someone here has good taste”

Clay tried to glare at ema but couldn’t keep himself from smiling anyways, and went back to clicking on his computer.

“Jesus christ clay. How many times are you going to watch that music video?!” she said, looking over at his screen and then throwing a snackoo at it.

“But he just looks so cool! Come on you have to admit you think he looks cool, right?” Ema was silent for a few seconds. 

And then she got up and left.

“WAIT WHERE ARE YOU GOING” Apollo covered his mouth, trying to keep his cereal inside his mouth as he laughed.

“Typical ema. She’s probably going to go buy some more snackoos - she left her stuff here”

“Ugh. God hates me”

“God hates you?” Apollo says lifting an eyebrow

“Everyone here loves Klavier except my two best friends. Of course something like this would happen to me” he said, sighing overdramatically as Apollo rolled his eyes

“Such a drama queen. I think you should’ve taken up theater instead of science”

“Hm. actually I have been thinking about joining the schools improv club” Apollo chuckles.

“It’s probably be good for you. I think you need somewhere to release all this energy”

“Hm maybe”

"Where are you going after this?" He asks clay

"Ugh probably the library, I have so much studying I need to do."

"Oh, darn, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come to Target with me, we ran out of toilet paper"

"Oh yeah! And Torino's pizza rolls DON'T forget those again!!" 

"Of course you're more concerned about the pizza rolls than the toilet paper. Anything else we need?"

"Ummm…… nah I don't think so. But if you see a water bottle with klavier Gavin's face plastered on it I WANT IT!" Apollo was about to retort that he didn't even know what the man looked like, when a snackoo came flying out of nowhere and the two of them shared a glance and silently decided the klavier Gavin part of the conversation should probably end before worse consequences fell upon them.

So Apollo bikes over to Target since he doesn’t own a car and it was close enough not to take an Uber. But right when he entered the store he realized “ how the hell am i gonna carry the toilet paper home? ” and groaned very loudly in frustration, garnering the looks of several people at checkout. 

He ignored them and moved on, deciding that he'd figure it out later.

-----------

Being in a public place where his face was given to be put up on water bottles and phone cases was definitely the last place klavier Gavin wanted to be. He wasn't new to blending into the background and he had dressed so that he was sure he absolutely wouldn't be recognized, but not so sloppily that he would be written about in the papers if he was discovered.

He was wearing baggy boyfriend jeans (which was very off brand - whoever heard of Klavier not wearing skinny jeans?), A random t-shirt that he was sure was actually Daryan's, and a grey hoodie. His hair was stuffed into a black baseball cap so that only his bangs were visible and he wore those tinted shades from highschool instead of his contacts. Hopefully it didn't make him look like too much of a tool, he thought, trying to walk as quickly as could past an aisle lined with gavineers merch.

He was just here for some cold medicine, he could feel that tickle in the back of his throat and he knew if he didn't do something soon it would be full blown cold, which would be terrible for someone whose income strictly relied on his voice.

He didn't get very far from where he was when he suddenly bumped into a man rounding the corner, holding way too much toilet paper for his tiny frame.

The man stumbled back, the top case of the toilet paper threatening to topple over on him, but not before Klavier grabbed it, shifting it to his own hands and bending down worriedly to apologize.

"Ach, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" He asked, suddenly realizing that he had dropped his medicine and bending down to grab it.

"Yeah I'm fine!" The man shouted a few decibels too loud. Klavier winced and there was a pause from above.

"Hey wait do I know you…?" Klavier froze where he was bent down, and slowly came up grabbing the tip of his cap and looked down, hoping it would obscure his face.

"Um….I don't-"

"Wait I do know you! Kyouya right?" Klavier's head whipped up, not expecting that answer. Lo and behold, it was the cute college student he had met at that Starbucks.

"Herr forehead! Ach I mean-" 

"Forehead?"

Apollo wrinkled his nose confusedly, though a small smile was still on his face. Klavier vaguely thought it was the cutest face he had seen yet.

"I apologise, Apollo, I ah….tend to give nicknames to people"

"I've noticed. I thought I was Herr Critique?" He said raising an eyebrow

"Well...that too" he chuckled, playing with his bangs, feeling bashful but also elated to see Apollo again  

"What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to run into you!" Klavier said with a smile on his face "not that I'm complaining"

Apollo shrugged "eh we ran out of toilet paper, so I came to get some for me and my roommate" he said, gesturing to the toilet paper in his hands. 

"Thank you, by the way, for not letting that kill me" he says looking at the one Klavier was holding.

"Ach it's nothing. It probably wouldn't have toppled over if I hadn't ran into you"

"It's okay, you’ve made up for your crimes,” he said with a small smirk.

“So, what are you here for?"

"Oh, just some cold medicine" klavier said, tossing it into the air.

"you have a cold?"

"Nein but I can feel it coming. Can't get a sore throat with my line of work" Klavier said with a smile, before he froze, realizing exactly what he had said. 

Scheiße. 

Apollo however looked unfazed as he turned to place the toilet paper in the cart beside him.

“Oh? What do you do?”

“Ach, I’m a prosecutor” he bluffed, playing with his bangs. Well it wasn’t exactly a bluff, because he was a prosecutor, but it wasn’t what he really meant by that remark

“How can I do my job, if nobody can hear me?” he said, smoothly (or what he hoped was smooth).

“Oh I didn't know you were a prosecutor! I’m actually a law student! I’m hoping to become a defense attorney like phoenix wright” Apollo said proudly with a grin. 

Klavier could melt right then and there from how cute he looked. He shook his head looking down, trying to hide his smile. It’s not like he knew Apollo, he just thought he was cute, it really wasn’t anything more than infatuation (but he’d  certainly like to know him…)

“I’m actually going against him soon” klavier said playing with his bangs “it’s going to be my first trial that I’m not co-council…” he said, feeling a bit embarrassed. God he sounded like a grade school child. 

But when he looked up, Apollo almost had stars in his eyes.

“Woah! Good luck then! You’ll probably need it” Apollo said with a glint in his eye as Klavier laughed dryly.

“Don’t remind me. My brother has told me enough times.”

“you have a brother?” Klavier shrugged, - why had he even brought him up? his thought-to-mouth filter was really just saying the first thing he thought of, wasnt it?

“I do.” he placed the other case of toilet paper in the cart and moved over to grab the handle cars.

“So where to, Herr Forehead?” he said with a teasing grin as Apollo rolled his eyes.

“Where did that nickname even come from?” he said crossing his arms as klavier began to push the cart.

“From the wide expanse I see right above those furrowed eyebrows of yours” he said, giving a poke to his forehead.

“Hey!”  Apollo quickly slapped his hands over the spot, looking embarrassed. klavier let out a chuckle at his reaction,

“Don’t worry. It’s quite a cute feature of yours, nein?” Apollo’s eyebrows furrowed even further and his cheeks tinged pink.

“Sh- shut up” he grumbled. Klavier laughed as the two began to walk down the aisle, Klavier pushing the cart.

“You have no right to tease me when you’re wearing shades indoors” Klavier sheepishly pulled them off and put them into his pocket.

“What can I say, I have sensitive eyes” Apollo gave him a look like he totally didn’t believe him and Klavier laughed.

“But really, where are we going” he repeated.

“Well. honestly I only came here for toilet paper, but my roommate said that if I saw a water bottle plastered with Klavier Gavin’s face to buy it” he said with an innocent chuckle.

Suddenly Klavier’s own smile felt very plastic and fake. 

He really did not want Apollo to know who he really was. It was so refreshing to be able to talk to someone and not have all these preconceived notions of who he was. Not that Apollo didn’t have an opinion on him already, but it wasn’t the ideas that everyone else had about him. He loved his fans very much, but the problem was that people thought they knew who he really was when they didn’t. Apollo just really hated his music, but at least he didn’t have any opinions on who klavier was or was supposed to be as a person. To him, he was just a normal stranger at a target.

And not only that, but imagine how embarrassed Apollo would be when he learned he was trash talking Klavier Gavin to the man himself! It would be so awkward…well, maybe (very) a little amusing, he was curious what face Apollo would make when he inevitably found out, but overall he didn’t want him to feel bad. 

So Klavier decided he would do anything to keep that from happening, especially since he had ran into him twice by coincidence! Surely that had to mean something, right? He didn’t really believe in fate or anything, but he liked the romance of the idea, and he wasn’t about to let this moment pass him by.

“Ach actually I checked and they’re all sold out” he said with a smile, though Apollo gave him a strange look.

“You sure?”

“Yep! But they do have Klavier toilet covers instead if you’re interested?”

“Ew gross!” Apollo said scrunching up his face as klavier laughed “yeah, I don’t care what Clay wants, I would never wanna take a piss with a human face just staring up at me. Whose idea even was that!? Who in their right mind, came up with that idea and walked up in front of a group of business men and said ‘hey. Wouldn’t it be great if we put klavier’s face on a toilet seat?’!” klavier laughed at Apollo's disturbed face and how loud he was getting.

“I agree. Water Bottles I can understand. But it seems like companies are going a little too Verrückt” Apollo looked at him with a questioning face, wondering what the hell had just come out of his mouth.

“Crazy” klavier supplied.

“Oh. yeah they are going more than a little crazy. Also hey I was wondering. Isn’t kyouya a japanese name?”

“It is”

“But you’re...german right?”

“I am, though my mother grew up in japan. She’s half Japanese, half German, so I was named after my grandfather. But I was born in Germany and lived there for most of my childhood, and then moved to America when I was about…” Klavier looked up in thought “Maybe 15?” Apollo nodded his head.

“Oh I see.”

“What about you? Did you grow up here? I don’t meet many people named Apollo” Klavier said and suddenly Apollo seemed to tense up. His mouth opened a few times like he was trying to find the correct words, but he couldn’t decide on anything. Klavier quickly interjected

“Sore topic?”

“Oh. um. A bit” Apollo said, fiddling with his bracelet.

“Don’t worry about it, Apollo. I only ask because I think you’re interesting” Apollo blinked and then looked up at Klavier.

“Wait what?”

“I think you’re interesting,” he said with a gentle smile. Apollo’s face immediately tinged pink.

“Well. I mean. Um.” he rambled, looking as embarrassed as ever and Klavier couldn’t help but chuckle at the face he was making.

“Come on, I think the checkout is nearby” Klavier said, fast walking away and then jumping up onto the cart like it was a scooter.

“H-hey wait up! You’re going too fast!”

“Are you sure it’s not just your legs that are too short?” Klavier teased. Apollo shot a glare at him but Klavier only laughed.

Soon enough they were both at a checkout, placing their items on the counter. Apollo let him go first since he just had one item (actually two now since he decided on getting a bag of skittles at checkout), and he was waiting off to the side for him to finish up when he heard him quietly curse.

“What? Forgot your wallet?” Klavier asked worriedly.

“No. I just remembered that I came here on a bike” he said looking awkward as he held the two cases of toilet paper under his arms. Klavier couldn’t help but laugh.

“You came here on a bike knowing you were going to buy toilet paper?”

“I forgot okay!?” Apollo said a bit too loudly, getting looks from everyone around him. Klavier laughed again at his abashed face after realizing he was too loud.

“It’s fine” he says, beginning to walk out the red doors as klavier follows, popping a few skittles in his mouth.

“I’ll just call an uber. or something. and then my bike. um. I guess I’ll come back for it later?” he said, not looking sure of himself at all. Klavier shook his head.

“ Or I could offer you a ride back to your college and put your bike in my trunk, ja? For free too” he said with a hopeful grin. Apollo stands looking like he’s in deep thought for a couple seconds.

“Okay yeah, that sounds a lot better.” he says, trying to get a better grip on one of the cases

“Here, let me take those” Klavier said, reaching out before Apollo had any chance to say yes or no. for some reason he looked embarrassed.

“I can hold them myself you know”

“Was that what you were thinking when you were riding your bike over here?” klavier teased and Apollo looked even more grumbly as he crossed his arms

“Ach, I  am only teasing, Herr Critique. It’d be a bit hard for you to get your bike with your hands full, ja? Where did you put it?” klavier asks, looking around for the bike rack.

“Over here” Apollo says, power walking away. He’s back soon enough with a red bike.

“So. where’s your car?”

“I’ll see if I can remember” he says and Apollo shoots him a disbelieving look as klavier bursts into laughter.

“I’m just kidding. This way” he says, walking towards a sleek black car.

“Huh. I don't know why but I was expecting it to more flashy. Or purple or something” klavier laughs. 

“This is the vehicle I use when I want to look like I’m an actual professional. But I usually take my hog everywhere else”

“Your hog?” Apollo asks as klavier pops open the trunk.

“My motorcycle. And like you guessed, ja, it is indeed purple. Glad I didn’t take it this time though”

“Yeah, me too. I really don’t know what I was thinking biking over here…” klavier laughs, as he lifts up his bike, Apollo helping as they turn it sideways and fit it in. It just barely fits, thankfully.

“We can put the toilet paper in the back ja?” klavier says, shutting the trunk and moving to throw the two cases in the back.

The two finally take their places in the front two seats, and Klavier cranks the air conditioner on high. It was still January, but it was also California, so that meant it was like 70 degrees outside, hot to someone who had lived in Germany for most of his life. He knew these Californians thought this was fairly pleasant weather however.

He took the hat off his head and shook his hair out, finally glad to be somewhere where he could have it down. He looked over to Apollo, about to ask him where to, when he suddenly realized the man was staring, though he immediately looked away when they made eye contact, looking embarrassed.

“So where to forehead?”

“Are you going to keep calling me that weird nickname?”

“You say that as if we will meet again” Klavier said with a smile and hopeful tone. Apollo however looked away, a glare on his face and Klavier couldn't help feel worried that he had accidentally made him feel uncomfortable somehow.

“Uh. drive to Ivy U college. I can give you directions” Klavier felt disappointed that Apollo had ignored his suggestion, but then again, he seemed like the type of person to get easily flustered. He just hoped he hadn’t made him feel uncomfortable.

“So ivy u. What year are you in?” Klavier asked, pulling out.

“Oh I’m a senior. This is actually my last semester”

“Oh congratulations! You’re almost done ja?”

“Yeah thank god. Being a law major almost killed me” Klavier chuckled.

“I second that. Have you got any internship?”

“I used to have one at Mr. Armando’s office but um. No offense, he’s a little crazy” Klavier full out laughed.

“None taken. I have no idea how he hasn’t keeled over with the amount of caffeine he digests on a daily basis” Apollo laughed too.

“I want to get a spot at Fey and Co because you know, I really look up to Mr. wright and Mrs. Fey. Actually I just sent out my resume a few days ago” Apollo said, looking a bit troubled

“I’m just really hoping that someone else didn’t beat me to it.”

“Hey don’t worry about it, I’m sure they’ll get back to you soon! I don’t know much about you but considering that we first met at the starbucks because you were going to study, I at least know you’re studious. And as far as Mia Fey, it probably looks good on your resume that you worked under Armando since Fey was his assistant at one point. Don’t worry too much about it, ja?”

Apollo slouched into his seat.

“Yeah I guess you’re right. I’m just kind of a worrywart.” klavier chuckled

“I can tell. Um-”

“Take the left and then turn right at the next stop light”

“Thanks. But like I said, don’t worry so much. It’s saying something that Armando even took you on - I know he seems crazy, but he’s a lot more picky than you would think” Apollo raised his eyebrows.

“Oh yeah, I definitely know after working under him for two years.” klavier chuckled

“See? You have nothing to be worried about. You’re talented and you’re going to do great”

“Yeah you’re right. I’m Apollo justice and I’m fine!” he said, balling up his fists. Klavier raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh. um. It’s just something I say to myself when I’m feeling nervous, though it usually helps more when I shout it...haha” he smiled sheepishly, running his hands over his two “bunny ears” as klavier liked to think of them. He had to remind himself he was driving a moving vehicle to tear his eyes away from such an adorable sight. Suddenly he realized that they were already there, as the buildings turned bigger, made from more bricks and more students milled about on the sidewalks. 

He couldn’t help but feel a touch of disappointment - he had enjoyed his outing with herr forehead.

“Wow. that was alot closer than I expected”

“Definitely a lot shorter than biking. Um, could you just drop me off at the cross walk over there?” Apollo asked, pointing to the right.

“Of course.” klavier maneuvered the car closer to the curb and put it into park.

It fell silent as the loud AC turned off, and klavier turned to look at Apollo, placing his hand on the back of Apollo’s seat.

“Let’s get your bike ja?”

“Oh uh. Yeah”

The two go out of the car, and make their way to the back of the car, popping open the trunk. They both work on getting the bike out of the car, klavier having to take extra care not to bump his head or make his hat fall- wait. 

His hat, shit!

Someone was bound to recognize him in such a populated place! Not to mention Apollo also complained about everyone being too much into the gavineers at this college.

“You okay?” Apollo asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Oh um! Yes I just….I’ll be right back” he said, power walking to the front seat, hastily throwing himself inside. Luckily enough, the hat was in plain sight and he put it on, messily stuffing his hair into it. He flipped down the sun visor, opening the mirror, quickly checking that he didn’t look too stupid. No...everything seemed alright. He breathed a sigh of relief and then grabbed his shades from his pocket, putting them on. He checked himself in the mirror one last time before a tapping sound from the window startled him. He looked over to see Apollo outside, looking a bit concerned.

Klavier opened the door and pulled himself out of the car

“Ach, sorry about that, herr forehead”

“Its okay. Hey, you put your hair back up”

“Well it’s a bit hot outside nein?” he said, playing with his bangs

“Hm. yeah i guess so” though Apollo still couldn’t wipe that funny look off his face.

“Anyways, you have your bike?”

“Yep. um. Thank you for giving me a ride, Kyouya. I really appreciate it.” 

“Of course! It’d be rude of me to just leave you on the curb like that. And besides, I enjoy talking to you” klavier said with a smile that couldn’t help but spread across his face

“Um. yeah. I think. I think you’re neat too” Apollo said, sounding very robotic and klavier couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that

“ you are so interesting, forehead” he said as Apollo glared at him

“Yeah whatever! Jerk...”

“No really I mean it! Here let me walk you to your dorm” Klavier says, opening the back doors

“Why? I don’t mean to be rude, but I don't want to take up any more of your time…”

“It’s not a problem. And how else are you going to get both these and your bike to your dorm?”

“Oh. right. Yeah. I kinda forgot” he says sheepishly, running a hand over the bunny ears. Klavier chuckles, grabbing the two cases and locks his door, turning to Apollo.

“Lead the way, herr forehead” Apollo just rolls his eyes and begins walking his bike as Klavier follows.

Chapter Text

Apollo finds it kinda surreal that he's managed to befriend a complete stranger and run into him twice - and at such a convenient time too! The situation is a little weird, but he isn't complaining. He ignores the voices of Maya and Clay chanting "it's fate!" In his head and focuses on not letting the bike slip from his sweaty hands.

He glances over to the blond, wondering how Kyouya isn't roasting under all those clothes. Somehow he looks just as flawless and perfect as all the other times Apollo eye's have landed on him (which were many) and he sends a smile his way as he realizes Apollo is looking at him. He quickly focuses on the path that’s in front of them instead.

Apollo isn't sure whether to hate or love how pretty he looks. Honestly why isn't the guy just a model instead? Stupid attractive people….

"Ach, I can't believe you biked all the way there in this heat. You must be a man of strong will, Apollo" 

"I will take not spending 40 dollars there and back on an Uber anyday ." Kyouya chuckles

"You don't have a car?"

"Not yet. I'm working on saving up for it, but also ya know, student loans and all.”

“Ah I see. How do you usually get places then?”

"My friend ema has a car and can drive but going with her anywhere is kinda a deathwish. She drives like a maniac - mostly because she's angry all the time so she's angry when she's driving which kinda turns into a venting type of thing for her?? I'm surprised she hasn't gotten sued yet"

"Well when the time comes, at least she'll have a dependable defense attorney, no?" Apollo huffs with a small smile on his face.

"When the time comes, whoever's defending her is going to lose because she really is a crazy driver"

"I guess Forehead isn't the type of person to let justice go unserved" Apollo squints at him, automatically assuming he's making a pun of his last name, before he remembers that he never actually told Kyouya. The man leans his head to the side questioningly.

"What?"

"Oh uh! Thought you were making a pun"

"A... pun?"

Apollos first reaction is to try to run his hands over his cowlick before he remembers he's holding a bike and it will fall, probably on him (he has learned).

"Well actually my last name is Justice. My friends always make up really stupid puns with it because I'm a law student and stuff. I'm so used to it I just kinda thought you were doing the same" Apollo says with an awkward smile.

"Oh I see! Hmmm, this is some weighty information you've chosen to hand me, Herr Justice. I'm not sure if that was a good idea" Kyouya says with a mischievous smile.

"If you start making Justice puns too I WILL dislocate your knees" Kyouya bursts out in laughter

"So violent for a man of the law!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever" Apollo rolls his eyes but can't help but smile back at Kyouya

The two swerve around a group of rowdy frat kids and Apollo leads the way past the library to where his and Clay's dorm is. The sun is beaming down rays of heat and the sky is blue as ever, Klavier can feel the sweat start to bead underneath his hoodie, but he finds that the suffocating feeling of the heat isn’t enough to kick him out of his high of running into apollo. The campus is actually quite large, and the student body even larger, Klavier notes as he looks at all the students milling around - but Apollo navigates it with ease. 

“It’s this building. Here, let me chain up my bike and then I can take those from you'' Apollo says, stopping at an apartment-style housing complex. Klavier nods his head and steps underneath the overpass, thankful to get out of the sun as he observes the way Apollo's hands move around the bike lock with a certain familiarity. He gets up from his squatting position and turns to Klavier, taking one of the packages. 

"Oh I can take the other one too” Apollo says, awkwardly trying to reach for the other, though his hands are clearly full.

“Nein nein, let me help! Wouldn’t want these to topple over and kill you again would we?” klavier teases, and Apollo trains his usual glare on him.

“Again? I have multiple lives though, apparently.”

“Yes. Minecraft is real.” Apollo lets out a bark of laughter

“Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You really shouldn't, I actually don’t play. I get motion sickness if I do.” kay had tried to get the whole prosecutor's office into it, and klavier would’ve been happy to oblige if he didn’t feel nauseous every time he did.

“Dang that sucks. Minecraft is a really fun and soothing game.You could’ve - ah. uh. Nevermind. It’s this way.” Apollo turns and begins to march up the stairs to Klavier’s confusion, his footsteps echoing in the open space.

“Just so you know my roommate Clay might be home and he’s uh. Well. A lot, for lack of better words.” Klavier chuckles.

“Ah yes, the roommate who kicked you out for slandering Klavier Gavin’s good name”

“Yeah that’s him”

“Also the roommate who has a running bet on whether you can win a fistfight”

“Yep”

“He seems like an interesting man, I’m curious to meet him” Apollo makes a noncommittal sound, as he gets off on the second floor and leads Klavier to apartment number 217. he balances the toilet paper case on his knee as he fishes out his keys. It was a pointless struggle, as the door swings open with a fierceness that made even Klavier jump. Behind the door is a tall korean man with disheveled poofy hair wearing a GYAXA visor.

“TOTINO ROLLS. NOW.'' If Klavier wasn’t already scared he would’ve jumped twice, but Apollo seems familiar with the level of loudness from the man. Understandable considering how loud he was himself. 

“Oh shit, I completely forgot!” Clay looks like someone just shot a small fluffy animal in front of him.

“POLLO HOW COULD YOU FORGET!? YOU KNOW I SUBSIST OFF OF THOSE FUNKY LITTLE  SQUARES!!”

“They’re actually pockets, technically”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT! SEE, this is why no one likes lawyers!” Clay says exasperatedly as he grabs Apollo's shoulders, but Apollo only laughs, trying to hide his smile, clearly knowing what he’s doing to his friend.

“I mean, you can just go pick some up yourself later…? Technically it is your turn to go to the store now.” Clay huffs and walks back inside the apartment,

“I hate you!” he yells, his voice trailing away.

“No you don’t!”

Apollo lets out an unrestrained laugh, his face melting into a comfortable smile - one that klavier hadn’t seen before. He can’t help but feel his own lips curl into a smile too at their silly antics and the cute look on brunette's face. Apollo suddenly turns to klavier.

“I told you he was a lot” klavier chuckles

“Ja, I can see that now. Though in truth isn’t it you who’s at fault for forgetting the totino’s rolls?”

“Hey it’s not my fault I got distracted! You surprised me. In fact, I’d say it’s your fault Clay doesn’t have his pizza rolls!” Apollo reasons, with a smirk on his face. Klavier isn’t sure if he likes the look of that expression on his face and the way it reminds him of the sweltering heat outside, but he bounces back quickly enough.

“Ah so I’m distracting, am I?” Apollo opens his mouth like he’s sure about his next claim, then he pauses, like he's actually hearing the words catch up with him, and Klavier is sure his cheeks look a tinge pink before his train of thought is interrupted by a voice.

“What the fuck? Are you just talking to yourself out there, Pollo?” Clay asks, his voice getting louder as he returns back to the doorway. 

Apollo squints incredulously into the complex

“Yeah I’m just out here having an argument with myself - Did you really not notice the presence of a whole ass man next to me!?” Apollo asks. Clay’s head pokes out the door and then looks at Apollo and swivels over to Klavier, his eyes widening like moons.

“Holy SHIT! Have you been here this entire time?”

 Klavier chuckles.

“Ja”

“Really!?”

“Ja” 

“...oh.”

Clay laughs awkwardly and ruffles his hair - an action that’s weirdly familiar - and actually looks a bit embarrassed. 

“guess I should probably put on some pants then, huh” 

“You know, I actually didn’t notice until now, but thanks for informing me, no?” klavier says with a smile and a teasing tone, and Apollo chuckles next to him. Clay just sighs loudly before muttering “goddamnit” and retreating back into the apartment to look for something more than just rocketship boxers. Apollo shares a look of mirth with Klavier before following after Clay. Klavier begins to follow too before he realizes what he’s doing and stutters at the doorway.

This is definitely overstepping boundaries right? It’d be weird to just go into the apartment of some guy he barely knows! They only met twice and regrettably neither meeting was for very long. Truthfully, he's pretty surprised Apollo even let him see where he lived but to be honest, Klavier similarly feels like he shouldn’t feel as comfortable as he is around someone he’s known for such a little amount of time. But he guesses Apollo is just one of those people you meet and instantly click with.

“Ah. um” he outstretches his arms holding the package, not sure what to do with it. Apollo turns around with a confused look on his face before it lights up in understanding.

“Oh! Um.” he quickly puts his own package down on the tile floor of the entryway. “I can take that”

“Thank you” Klavier says as he takes it from him, and Apollo quirks up his lips though Klavier isn’t sure why.

“Anyways, uh. Thank you for giving me a ride back. Honestly, it’s really fortunate that I ran into you again or else I’m not sure what I would’ve done” Klavier chuckles and leans forward, his hands on his hips.

“It’s no problem, Herr Forehead'' Apollo's small smile immediately turns into a glare. 

“Argh, I thought you forgot about that nickname!” Klavier gently laughs.

“No, not yet, nein.” it goes quiet and klavier stares into Apollo's dark brown eyes, not entirely sure what to say to him, and if the look on forehead's face is anything to go by he feels the same. A few full seconds pass by - full of what, klavier's not entirely sure. 

"Ah well. I guess I'll be on my way then. Maybe I'll run into you at the Starbucks again, ja?" 

"Uh, maybe…" Apollo is silent for a beat and klavier wonders if he said anything weird before Apollo looks back up at him 

"Or like. Maybe we could. Run into each other - on purpose….or something, I don't know" Apollo rambles, as he runs his hand through his spikes, glaring at the floor. It takes a second for the meaning of Apollo's words to click in his head and he hunches over, shoulders shaking in laughter. What a funny way to put it.

"It's okay if you don't want to, I mean -"

Klavier flicks his head up, interrupting Apollo.

"Nein, nein, that sounds great. I would very much like to run into you again on purpose" he says with a grin.

"Oh.” Apollo says with a relieved smile. "Okay. Can I give you my Instagram?" Klavier freezes, thinking about his certified @ogKlavierGavin account with 25 million followers and instantly knows that’s a disaster waiting to happen.

"Ahh, Instagram is no good. You can have my number though, if that's okay?"

"Sure" he says, and they switch phones, input their numbers and then return them to each other. 

"Okay well, now I suppose I really will be on my way"

"Wait, no, I just put on pants!" Comes a small voice from somewhere inside the dwelling. Klavier and Apollo both laugh as Klavier backs away from the doorway into the heat of the day. 

"See ya Kyouya" Apollo gives him a small smile.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Forehead" he says with the nod of his head, and with that he turns and is on his way.

“Who was that guy anyways-” he hears Clay's voice come from the apartment before the door creaks closed.

Apollo turns back to clay who is wearing pants, but now is missing a shirt.

“Just some guy I met in Starbucks” Clay looks at Apollo like he’s eyeing him over the top of some invisible glasses and gives him a face that says he’s full of shit.

“Just some ‘guy’ huh?”

“Yeah” he says, bending down to pick up the toilet paper case.

“Really! Cause it kinda sounded like he was flirting with you there for a second!” Clay says, wiggling his eyebrows. Apollo just rolls his eyes, throwing it at his face. Sadly Clay is training to be an astronaut and pretty athletic so he doesn’t even blink and catches it.

“Shutup, we barely know each other. He’s just a nice guy I met at starbucks and then also happened to be at Target at the same time as me.”

“Oh. so he goes here then?”

“No, he’s not a college student” Clay shoots him a weird look, as Apollo picks up the other case.

“Wait, so why was here then if he doesn’t go to Ivy”

“Uhh.” Apollo smiles sheepishly and combs his spikes back, “Would you believe me if I told you that I rode my bike to Target completely forgetting I was there to buy toilet paper?”

Clay immediately bursts into laughter, and shakes his head.

“Dumbass”

“Yeah, I know! But it wasn’t really that bad because I ran into Kyouya and he gave me a ride home. It was actually pretty nice” Apollo says, then looks up to see Clay wiggling his eyebrows suggestively again

“SHUT UP!”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“No, but you’re thinking it!”

“You have no evidence to support that! I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about Pollo” the man in question sighs

“You literally just said it not even a minute ago”

“Oop! Where's your proof?”

“I-”

“exactly!!” Apollo rolls his eyes, chuckling at Clay's antics.

“No one ever let you into a courtroom, please” Clay laughs at Apollo, moving into the bathroom to put the toilet paper under the cabinet. Apollo flops onto the couch, waiting for him to finish with that one so he can toss the next one over.

“Anyways I forgive you for not getting the pizza rolls because you seem pretty happy to have  run into that guy. He actually looked kinda familiar, I’m surprised he doesnt go here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, like I’m sure I’ve seen him from somewhere. I just can’t remember where” Clay pauses for a moment, face scrunched up as he tries to recall some far off memory, before he shrugs in defeat.

“Yeah, I got nothing. But that's probably because he was wearing those giant ass shades and that hat. Actually that's kinda shady - You have pepper spray right?” Apollo just rolls his eyes again.

“Clay, I think if he wanted to kidnap and murder me he would have done it when I got into his car from target. Also the guy is so nice he thanked me when he gave back my own toilet paper. I don’t even think he realized it! And yes I do have pepper spray.”

“Hmm. okay I’m just saying. Be aware of stranger danger” he says, his hands up as Apollo laughs and tosses the next one to him.

“This is coming from the person who bet 50 dollars on me winning a fist fight.”

“Honestly at this point it’s more that I just want Ema to give me money. And to be right and shove it in her face. So that’s why you better win whenever the time comes” Apollo scoffs,

“Just hire someone to beat me up and tell them to lose, smartass.” Clay’s eyes lighten up

“Holy shit why didn’t I think of that! Hold on!”

“Wait, I wasn’t being serious! Clay!” but Clay has dashed away to his room, probably to put up a very sketchy and ominous looking craigslist ad, abandoning the toilet paper. Apollo sighs.

“I have to do everything in this household, don’t I”

Chapter Text

Apollo sat across from Maya and clay in the student common room, who were both staring daggers at him. He shuffled awkwardly in his seat at the attention. Maya started up again.

"WELL? Tell me you got his number right?! Meeting someone twice by chance like that…" she got a mischievous look in her eyes, "it's almost like FA-" 

"DON'T even finish that sentence! We aren't even friends yet- I've been in his presence for the collective amount of like TWO HOURS TOPS." Maya laughed, obviously pleased with the reaction it had gotten from him

"Well, I can't deny that I've been influenced by pearly"

" Clearly " Ema said, snacking on fruit gummies. It was different from the usual snackoos and Apollo couldn't tell if he should be wary of the new change or if it was a good omen.

"But like seriously I think he definitely was flirting with Apollo. He was all like 'ohh so you think I'm distracting, do you?'" 

"Clay, that's nothing close to what his accent sounded like"

Ema snickered "what even is that supposed to be? Jamaican?" Clay looked especially offended.

"NO, German!! I was clearly doing a German accent!" Athena howled in laughter. 

"Okay as someone who has lived in Germany for several years I can attest that sounds nothing like a German accent"

Clay looked like he wanted to argue but didn't have much ammo to argue with.

"Besides, from what you told us it kinda sounds like he was at least interested in you. That one line about being distracted seemed definitely like flirting though." She continued

"SEE, I'M RIGHT!" clay said, clearly happy to have won one of the arguments he was in the midst of.

"That's!...sure, okay, let's just say he was flirting with me-" Clay's face brightened

 "-HYPOTHETICALLY FLIRTING WITH ME CLAY - what does that say about him? He's known me for like two seconds so I'm pretty sure he probably flirts with just about everyone he meets. It didn't mean anything! He's probably just the type of person who likes to hear themselves talk or something" clay looked thoughtful at this.

"So then…you ARE admitting that he was flirting with you" Apollo smacked his forehead and groaned.

"How the hell you manage to get called a 'prodigy' by half your teachers and come away with just THAT from our conversation baffles me" 

The group laughs in agreement.

"Well I mean that's why you're the lawyer here and Clay's not" ema said.

"Well, I'm not a lawyer yet…" Apollo said, starting to feel the first flames of nervousness lick his abdomen.

"Apollo, you have nothing to worry about! I'm sure sis and nick will hire you - I made sure to point out your application and tell her about that one time you defended me in the student trial! Seriously, you'll be okay" Maya assured him.

"Okay you say that but you know she's not gonna hire me just because you said so right? They're both going to be looking for the application that's the best…"

Maya gave him a look of doneness that leveled ema's

"Of course dumdum! That's why I'm saying you have nothing to worry about! You are the best!! Idiot!" Apollo felt his cheeks slowly get hotter, letting the words sink in for a few silent seconds.

"O-oh! That's what you meant. Um. Thank you Maya" he said wish a sheepish grin. Clay chuckled.

"God you're awful at taking compliments" Apollo swatted his arm with a glare, "shutup"

"But really what Maya's saying is true. We've all seen how hard you worked and we know you're going to be amazing." Athena said

"Yeah, we all have personally seen how much you've slaved over learning all those precedent cases and laws or whatever. If they don't immediately give you the job then Ill be massively let down by the state of our legal system. You really are the best of the best." Ema confirmed, surprisingly very sincerely. She was rarely was so forthcoming and it was almost enough to make him tear up.

"So quit stressing over it, ‘ forehead’ " she finished with a smirk. Apollo's smile was immediately wiped off his face and he groaned, slumping down onto the table. 

"UGH, I knew I shouldn't have told any of you!" they all howled in laughter.

"Honestly I don't know why I didn't think of that nickname before. It's a pretty good one, forehead" said clay.

"I swear to God I'm going to strangle you. All of you" they all laughed at his suffering but Apollo couldn't deny that all of their words had left him feeling a great deal lighter than before. Yes, they took joy in teasing him and watching him suffer but he couldn't deny that they were some of the best friends the world had to offer. The five of them continued to chat about school and whatnot (Gavineers had been banned from the table by Ema, but Athena and clay still attempted to try) for about 30 minutes before most of them had to leave to attend class or do homework. 

Apollo decided he should be on his way too, that essay wasn't gonna write itself. 

He still felt pretty invigorated and fresh since the new semester had just started, but still he kinda missed being able to do nothing - besides applying to a million jobs as a paralegal and then stressing over all of them of course. That was always fun. 

His phone buzzing in his pocket knocked him out of his thoughts, and he unlocked it, not too surprised to see it was from Kyouya. The last time he had seen him was about a week ago, and they had been texting on and off since then. 

Kyouya: herr foreeheeaaddd :D ! Do you happen to be free tonight? 

Apollo: if u keep calling me that, then no

Kyouya: aww you're no fun 4head

Apollo: exactly - I'm a lawyer. No fun allowed.

Kyouya: I'm a lawyer and I'm very fun! :)

Apollo: clearly you are a outlier that should have not been counted 

Apollo: also I told my friends your stupid little nickname and now they won't stop bullying me!!! so thx for that

Kyouya: haha your welcome! Glad my creativity and innovation is appreciated by some :))

Apollo: asshole

Kyouya: LOL 

Apollo: also your "innovation" is probably just because you're awful with Remembering names 

Kyouya: not true forehead!! I'm very good with names

Apollo: five bucks u actually don't know mine and that's why you've been calling me forehead this whole time

Kyouya: don’t worry, I could never forget such a pretty name as yours Apollo

Apollo could feel his heart flutter (?? What the fuck, that was not supposed to happen!) When he read Kyouya's text. Damn him and his smooth talking and not-subpar memory. Also now he owed him 5 dollars. 

Kyouya: ;)) satisfied? 

Apollo: don't you ";)" at me!

Apollo: I'm never satisfied

Kyouya: *Hamilton voice* ^^^^

That Actually made Apollo snicker

Apollo: HAH didn't know you were a fan 

Kyouya: how could I not be, it's a masterpiece! And I LOVE musicals and singing!! 

Apollo: huh interesting, I didn't really get that vibe from you. Are u good at singing?

Kyouya: mein gott Apollo 

Apollo: what? 

Kyouya: nothing, you just are very amusing. Do you like musicals?

Apollo: i dont really know that many to have an opinion. I like legally blonde though.

Apollo: wait weren't to gonna ask me something?

Kyouya: ohh I completely forgot! Your just "so distracting" ;)))

Apollo: I want you to know I'm rolling my eyes right now 

Apollo: and its *you’re

Kyouya: if only i were there ;)

Kyouya:  I was wondering if you were free later tonight? There's this festival happening near where I live

Kyouya: also i cant believe ur one of those ppl who correct txt spelling

Apollo snickered at the text, and then tried to remember if he was free. He hadn’t planned anything with clay and he didn't have any classes so it seemed like a good way to use his time (he thought, ignoring his test in biology that was coming up). 

Apollo: sure, sounds good. What time? 

Apollo: also what's the festival even for 

Kyouya: I'll pick u up around 6? And also I'm not really sure 

Apollo snickered

Apollo: you're inviting me to an event but you don't even know what it's about? 

Kyouya: what can I say, I'm a simple man, I see something that looks fun, I'm already all in 

Apollo: wierdo

Apollo: I guess we'll just see when we get there. Do u need an address for how to get here?

Kyouya: I think I remember the way to ur college, but send me one anyways! 

Apollo: mmk. Guess I'll see u later tonight then 

Kyouya: ofc 4head! Also good luck w ur essay (if ur still writing it)

Apollo blinked, surprised that he remembered. 

Apollo: thanks. And good luck with your case 

Kyouya: u Remembered! Danke schön Herr 4head 

Apollo: I'm going to start calling you drill head or eggplant if u don't stop

Kyouya: ohhhh eggplant how sexy ;))) heehee "drill head" ;)))) 

Apollo: HSHSHSJJ. SHUT UPPP UR UNBEARABLEEEE

Apollo: IM TALKING ABT UR STUPID HAIR AND ALL THAT EYESEARING PURPLE

Kyouya: HAHA

Kyouya: mein gott I wish I was there to see the face ur making.

Kyouya: unfortunately I need to get back to work, but I'll see u soon häse! 

Apollo: TF does hase mean

Apollo: is that something else inappropriate??

Apollo: how'd u do tht with the a 

Apollo: whatever see u soon 

Apollo put away his phone into his pocket, and then similarly tried to wipe the grin off his face, wondering why such a thing was even there in the first place. 

Kyouya was so...he wasn't even sure if he had words for it 

He'd only known him for a short time and he'd discovered that the man was goofy, confident, way too flirty, but also someone that Apollo could really see becoming good friends with. God knew he wouldn't put up with him and his weirdness otherwise. At first Kyouya had been pretty reserved, the occasional winky face here and there at inappropriate times (which honestly was what made them kinda funny) but Apollo was weirdly glad they knew each other a bit better to be more open with each other. 

Apollo actually was pretty inexperienced when it came to texting one on one - he'd usually just count on running into his friends at the cafeteria, or he'd just read the group chat they were all in - and he'd lived with Clay ever since he was a kid so he just didn't really have a reason to text people he didn't know well, let alone one on one. 

so it was safe to say he was kinda nervous to have given a stranger his number so readily.

In fact he wasn't even sure why the hell he'd had even said that to the blond in the first place, 

But surprisingly, talking to Kyouya felt natural and honest, he did most of the work and kept the conversation whenever Apollo felt he had made it awkward.

So it was safe to say he was looking forward to their meetup that afternoon.

It was only 1 o’clock though so he figured he might as well get started on his homework for his classes.

Chapter Text

Apollo stood outside, his sneakers planted firmly on the concrete as he inspected the streets for any familiar black cars with blondes inside. Thankfully it wasn't too hot outside, Apollo thought, a few strands of errant hair tickling his forehead as a warm breeze caressed his skin. The place was a lot emptier than the first time Kyouya had dropped him off, with just a few students milling around and a group of skaters goofing further away, the sound of their boards slapping the concrete and echoing off the buildings. He guessed most people were either in class or heading to the dining hall which was on the whole other side of campus. 

Suddenly a loud noise exploded from his left, and he startled, craning his head to glower at the obnoxious revving of some hooligan riding a purple motorcycle down the street towards him, as if glaring at it would make the noise any less annoying.  

Ugh stupid frat boys.

Apollo ignored the loud idiot, and looked around. Unfortunately, Kyouya's little sleek black car was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn't help but wonder if the man had gotten lost in the large campus. He looked back down at his phone, finger hovering over the dial button of Kyouya’s icon. He should probably call him right? Just to make sure he didn't get lost or anything. But also if Kyouya was driving he didn't want to do anything to distract him. He’d probably just call him if he needed help right?

“Forehead!” Apollo's head jumped up from his phone and he swiveled around to look for anyone in the vicinity, but found he was completely alone.

Huh? Where the hell…? Did I just imagine that? Either that or Clay’s playing a new trick on me…

It wasn't hard to accept that, especially how he thought Apollo's nickname was apparently just so amusing. But the astronaut-to-be was nowhere to be seen.

“FOREHEAD!” 

“AHH!'' Apollo jumped, turning to the voice that was now right behind him. Surprisingly, he was met with the sight of that same obnoxious purple motorcycle silently rumbling front of him, and an even more obnoxious blond sitting on top, grinning stupidly. 

Oh god. That was him?!

From afar he couldn't see the face underneath the black helmet, but upclose, it was easy to make out those familiar mirthful blue eyes behind the gloss of the plexiglass.

Kyouya laughed heartily at Apollo's surprised reaction, and the brunette could feel his cheeks tinge red in embarrassment.

“Shut up, stop laughing!” Kyouya did not stop laughing.

“I'm not sure how you managed to miss me - I was so sure you were glaring at me, forehead!”

“I was! Your motorcycle is such a gaudy bright purple and it’s so fricken loud! You didn't tell me you were giving me a ride on that!” he said, flinging his arm at the bike. He vaguely recalled the man mentioning having a purple motorcycle, but seriously? It was so much more obnoxious and ugly than he had imagined!

“Aww don’t be so mean to my hog forehead, you’ll hurt her feelings! She’s delicate” he said, gently rubbing “her”. Apollo thought she looked anything but delicate.

“Are you really referring to your motorcycle as a hog?” 

“I’m surprised that’s what you take issue with and not me personifying her, forehead” 

“I was getting to that”

“Sure you were. Anyways, you ready to rock?” he asks, giving Apollo a perfectly white and toothy smile.

“No” 

“Oh, come on, where’s your festive spirit forehead?” he says, playfully poking his shoulder.

“Sorry, it left me the moment i realized my ride was this deathtrap” its not the first time Apollo has ridden a motorcycle - he can remember countless ride’s on Datz’s (and that truly was a deathtrap now looking back) but he’s not exactly eager to ride on another one.

“I assure you she’s completely safe! And besides, I brought an extra helmet for you” he said, turning around to open a pouch on the end of the motorcycle, where an extra helmet was produced, and tossed it to Apollo.

“Safety first, no?” he said with a wink, that was even obnoxious underneath the tinted glass of his helmet. Apollo rolled his eyes, trying to keep his trademark glare up. It was really hard to with how stupid Kyouya looked.

“Oh come on - I’m sure you’ll look quite handsome with a helmet on, ja? Safety is sexy!” he continued, and Apollo choked out a laugh.

“You sound like you’re in a sex-ed video made for middle schoolers” 

Kyouya laughed, “I actually have been approached for that exact reason”

“Wh- to make a sex-ed video for middle schoolers?!” Kyouya opened his mouth to continue, but then a look of surprise struck him and his smile got slightly more strained.

“Ahh something of the sorts. I’ll tell you when we arrive ja? We’ll have more time to talk then”

Apollo couldn't figure out why he suddenly seemed shy, but he figured that even guys like Kyouya got embarrassed.

“‘kay, but i'm holding you to it!” Apollo says, putting on the helmet, taking care not to squish his antennae too much, “and don't expect to sweet talk your way out of it when you get fined for reckless driving. I saw the way you were revving down the street!” Kyouya dramatically gasped, clutching his chest.

“Forehead! I would never use my sweet talking for such unlawful reasons! Only for making loud and short cute brunettes stay safe on the road, no? Also I’m offended you’d think i’d drive recklessly with such precious cargo” another stupid wink shot his way.

“ Jesus fucking christ... ” Apollo whispered under his breath, but loud enough for the other man to hear, who reacted in laughter. Like he had originally thought, Kyouya really was just someone who enjoyed hearing himself, and even more enjoyed flirting, but unlike his initial perception of Kyouya, it was only lighthearted. Kyouya always respected boundaries and seemed to just want to make Apollo smile and react to his absurd antics. Nevertheless, it still didn’t prepare him for hearing things like that in person.

“If you don't quit, this brunette is going to leave you here”

“Okay, okay, I'll be more respectable, Mister forehead”

“Fuck you” Kyouya laughed. Apollo was starting to find that it wasn't all that bad a noise for how often he kept being forced to hear it.

“So where are you taking me?” Apollo asked, lifting a leg around the bike and seating himself behind Kyouya. Vaguely he noted that he smelled really good. Kinda like that stuff Maya liked to spray, but if it was more adrogyness. Did that even make sense?

“It’s this little carnival. You know santa monica pier?”

“I- You say that like its NOT a famous huge pier that's been around for like 100 years! Do you even live here?” the blonde chuckled.

“Nothing ever gets by you, forehead. I have to say i haven't been here for long. I mean I lived here as a kid for only a little, but i’ve been traveling for a long time. Really it’s only been this year that I got back into prosecuting in LA”

“Oh I had no idea. I guess that makes more sense - sorry” Apollo remembered how often he’d get bullied as an immigrant child for not knowing obvious things about America, and he felt a little bad he had just done the exact same thing to Kyouya. Well it was teasing of course but still.

“No need to apologize forehead, your confidence to immediately insult me is honestly quite amusing” Apollo shot back a glare.

“You make it too easy”

“I’ve been told, mostly by my colleagues” he says, turning his head to smile back at Apollo

“Hold on okay? I’m about to leave'' Apollo brings his hands to Kyouya’s waist

“This good?” Apollo asks, and he smiles

“Ja! You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be”

And with that, the blond took off with an excited “woo!”, Apollo clinging on far harder than he had intended to.

He felt Kyouya’s laugh before he heard it, as the seat finally stopped vibrating as the motorcycle shut off.

“You’d think i was driving under the influence with the way you’re clinging to me, forehead”

“Sorry i just wasn’t expecting it to be so…”

“Exhilarating and fun?” 

“Exhilarating, yes, but less in the fun type of way and more of the scared-shitless playing five nights at freddy at 3 am” he did not remember it being that scary when he was a kid, which was surprising because he was sure klavier was driving pretty under the limit.

“Well, I can at least applaud you on your descriptiveness, '' Kyouya says, “You can let go of me now though. Not that I mind at all” he added on like it was prime information that Apollo couldn't miss.

“o-OH sorry” Apollo says, snatching his hands back from Kyouya's waist, and lifting his leg around the “hog”, placing his feet on the inviting, stable, ground and pulling the helmet from his head. It wasn't the most awful experience he’d ever had, but he also didn't appreciate the fact that his legs and ass felt numb from the monotonous vibrating of the bike. Also that his hair was probably messed up now. 

Looking around, he was surprised that Kyouya was able to even find a parking spot with the amount of cars around them. Honestly, they might as well have shut off the parking lot from actual cars, since there were so many groups of people making their way to the pier.

“How do you manage to ride that thing everywhere witho-” Apollo's sentence was cut short by a loud snort from his own mouth as he turned back to Kyouya, who was currently tripping over his own motorcycle in an attempt to dismount. Apollo couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the otherwise overly confident and flirtatious man making a fool of himself.

“Wow. real smooth.” Apollo remarked, unable to hide the smile in his voice as he crossed his arms, “so how long have you had that thing again?”

“Hush, you” Kyouya said, with a small pouty smile through the plexiglass, which surprisingly seemed embarrassed to Apollo. He didn't think it suited him at all, but he couldn't deny the sudden shyness was an interesting change of pace compared to his usual confident and toothy smile. Apollo couldn't help but smile at the expression, and let out a laugh.

“No really I'm curious, how long?”

“Since I was 16”

“16?!” Apollo gawked.

“The laws are different in Germany, Most 16 year olds have motorcycles because they can't drive cars” Kyouya says casually.

“So they let them drive motorcycles instead of cars?! Which are way more dangerous??” Apollo asked incredulously. Kyouya just shrugged.

“Ja, I guess”

“That’s insane.”

“Eh, maybe a little”

“A little? God, I'd hate to be a traffic accident lawyer over there” Kyouya softly laughed through his nose.

“Must you always be so morbid?”

“I'm just saying! You know I'm right! How are you even standing here right now?”

“Hey, I'm a law abiding citizen!” he says, holding his hands up in defense “i’m all for the law remember? I make sure to be careful”

“Oh right...you know for someone whos a prosecutor, you certainly like to play up the bad-boy type”

“Ach can't I be both?”

“I think that’s what people usually define as a narc, Kyouya”

“Wh-I'm not a narc!” Apollo laughed at his defensiveness “I’m cool and I also advocate for safety”

“Sure. Aren't you going to take off your helmet?” Apollo asks, changing the subject.

“Oh-! Uhhh. yes.'' then Kyouya does the strangest shit - he glances around them like he’s nervous or something and takes it off in a fast and discreet fashion, the exact opposite that Apollo would have expected. He places it on the seat and then digs into the bag on the back on the motorcycle, taking out a black hat and shades.

The hell?

To Apollo's surprise, he brings his hair into a ponytail, tucking it all underneath the hat and putting on shades. He turns to Apollo who can't help shooting him an incredulous look, almost laughing at how much care he was taking into doing it. Come to think of it, he did the same thing when he was dropping him off at Ivy.

“What - Are you incognito or something?” Kyouya seems to pause at that with an indecipherable smile before he continues. He’s starting to realize that Kyouya has many smiles, a collection for all sorts of different occasions, and that most of them he can't tell the meaning of.

“Ah - my apologies forehead. I sometimes tend to be recognized because I do a little modeling on the side” Apollo’s eyes widen in surprise. 

“Ohhh that actually makes sense.” Apollo says, nodding “I always thought you looked a little familiar when we first met” which had been followed by the distinctly thought that he was literally the hottest man he’d ever met, but he wasn't about to tell him that. His ego didn't need anymore inflating.

“Haha, ja I get that alot” Kyouya says, playing with his bangs as they make their way over to the entrance, many others doing the same.

“I’m surprised though. You seem like the person who would really love all the attention” Apollo remarks and the blond raises an eyebrow at that.

“Are you calling me an attention-seeker, forehead?”

“Oh totally” Kyouya laughs.

“Well that I cannot deny. It’s a bit annoying if it happens all the time though, no? Privacy is important”

“Yeah i can imagine myself getting really annoyed by that if I were you.”

“Eh, It’s not so much annoying as just inconvenient at times” Apollo hums in response and

 there's a lull between them as they make their way to the entrance. Apollo stands closer to the blonde, not willing to lose him in the crowd (more like he would be the one getting lost with how short he was but - same thing!)

“So have you ever been here before?” Apollo asks. He can hear Kyouya hum in thought beside him as Apollo takes in the brightly colored rainbow stalls and rides, the smell of buttery popcorn and the fresh salty ocean breeze, the sound of happy chattering people, whirring roller coasters and indistinguishable pop music filling the air. Despite Apollo not really being a fan of crowded places, It’s as familiar and welcome as it felt all the other times he and Clay visited.

“Once as a kid. My mom brought me and my brother, but it was so long ago so I really don't remember much. You?” 

“You remember my roommate Clay right?” Apollo says, not being able to help smiling at the memories.

“Ah yes, spaceship boxers, how could I forget!”

“Pfft - yeah, well we’ve kinda known each other since forever, and his dad used to always bring us here. It's been a couple years since I was here last, so I’m actually really glad you chose this place.” the blonde lights up in a smile

“Glad to hear it - I guess you’ll be the one showing around then? I have no idea where anything is” Apollo laughs.

“Were you planning on just inviting me here and wandering around like two tourists?” Kyouya turns to him with a smile.

“Don’t you know that's the best way to travel? It’s always far funner to go to places you’ve never been before - at least I think so. Though I guess I assumed wrong by thinking you had never been here.”

“Massively. Though I'd be happy to show your uncultured self around - I can't believe you called this place a ‘little pier’!” 

“Well I've definitely seen bigger piers. Though I think I have to agree with you, it certainly isn't small.” he says, looking around, as if he’s finally taking it all in. Apollo snorted.

“You’re so pretentious - ‘oh well i've definitely seen bigger piers’” Apollo says in a mock german accent, and the man laughs.

“I sound nothing like that!” 

“I never said it was supposed to sound like you!” Kyouya just shakes his head at Apollo.

“I don't mean to be pretentious - it’s just a fact! Contrary to looks, I’m quite a worldly man, Mr. forehead” 

“Huh, wonder what gave that away? And I still can't believe you’re keeping that nickname….I’m going to have to come up with something equally awful for you” Kyouya chuckles

“take your time, i'm curious to see your worst”

“You're going to eat those words when I come up with something especially awful!”

“Sure i will” Kyouya teases in that stupid perfect smile of his, and Apollo just shakes his head wishing he had some way to wipe the stupid grin off his face.

“So where are you leading me?” the blond asks.

“Oh i'm just walking around right now, not really going anywhere in particular. Do you have any rides you like in particular?”

“Well hm.. I guess I like the pirate ship ride. You know the swingy one that goes back and forth - you know what i’m talking about?” he says, gesturing with his hands and swinging one back and forth in mimicry of the ride.

“Yeah, but they don't have that here” thankfully, since Apollo was deathly afraid of heights. It was honestly kinda ironic how many times he had been here considering how much he disliked rides - also huh, speaking of fear of heights, he hadn't actually brought that up with Kyouya. Hopefully the man didn't mind...

“Hmm what about the ferris wheel then? Or a rollercoaster?”

“Actually I should’ve told you this before, but I hate heights,” he says, just cutting to the chase.

“Oh, i had no idea!” he says, looking shocked  “I should’ve asked before taking you here”

“Nah don't worry there’s plenty of other stuff to do! There’s rides that don't involve heights - and actually, i'm okay with one of the roller coasters here” 

“really?” Kyouya asks

“Well it goes so fast I kinda don't register how high it is I guess - not that it's really that high at all.. The ones that take a huge time to build up to the top are the worst though”

“Yeah I can imagine - don't worry we’ll just avoid those rides and do other things alright? I wouldn't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation”

“Thanks” Apollo says, shooting him a smile. Most people just tried to get him to go on it ( yes, i’m thinking of you, 13 year old Clay) so he was glad Kyouya was more considerate. 

Kyouya then suddenly gasps, eyes locked onto something past Apollos head, and the man runs over to a bright red and blue stand with little rubber duckies moving along a conveyor belt. Kyouya however, is gawking, stars in eyes, at the most hideous blue badger plushie Apollo’s ever seen which is hanging above them from the side of the stand.

“I want it” he plainly says, as Apollo comes up to his side.

“Why?” Apollo asks, wrinkling his nose, and Kyouya shoots him a similar look back.

“What do you mean ‘why’?”

“That's literally the ugliest thing i’ve ever seen” and Kyouya looks at him like he’s crazy.

“ was? It’s so cute, look at his little adoring eyes!” he says, pulling the creature over in the direction of Apollo, as he takes a step back in disgust.

“Kyouya, it's so ugly. It might just be the ugliest stuffed animal i’ve ever seen - if you can even call it that” 

“Wh- mein gott Apollo, you - how could you say that! You don't get it, you don't have good taste”

“This is coming from the man who owns an eye searing purple motorcycle, I don't think you can be trusted!” he barks out a laugh then turns to face Apollo.

“At least i don't have two bunny ears atop my head” he teases, throwing up a peace sign at his forehead

“Hey- my hair is cool okay! 

“Eh, it’d say it's more adorable than cool, but tomaetoh-tomato” he says, the usual flirty grin back in place.

“You’re literally unbearable” Kyouya laughs, but then flashes him a smile that seems more apologetic.

“Sorry Apollo, Just tell me if i’m being a royal arschloch, ja? I just mean to tease you a little”

“Oh - you’re not! Well i mean its definitely off putting but - wait what's that mean”

“An asshole”

“Oh, well you’re definitely that. But I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think you were an okayish dude” Apollo says, though his words are laced with a smile.

“Okayish? That's a pretty backhanded way of giving a complement”

“I was going to say you’re pretty cool but you lost like 50 points in my book for calling the blue badger cute. It’s creepy as hell” Kyouya laughs. 

“Didn’t realize that was a dealbreaker for you” 

Apollo lets out a long sigh, “I wish it was, but my best friend also loves it, god knows why.”

“Because he has immaculate taste, obviously”

Apollo just shoots Kyouya a glare that makes it clear how much he disagrees and Kyouya laughs

“You look like a little angry toad, glaring like that”

“an angry toad?? toads don't even make facial expressions!”

“Ja they do! I’ve seen it”

“Oh yeah, because ‘i’ve seen it’ is totally admissible evidence in court”

“I’ve seen it and it’s right in front of me,” Kyouya continues, ignoring Apollo's previous statement, and Apollo rolls his eyes.

“If this is how you argue in court, I can't help but wonder how you still have your job” Kyouya laughs at that, and then looks back to the blue plushy.

“Anyways, I have to win this blue badger,” he says quite seriously, and the sudden whiplash in tone makes Apollo snort.

“You’re actually serious about that thing?” he says, watching Kyouya stride over to the guy manning the booth, and gives him a five. 

“Of course!” he pics up one of the guns, and stands next to two others who are doing their best to make the rubber duckies topple over. The blonde lines up his eye with the gun and squints, brows furrowed in concentration. 

A few minutes later and Kyouya is sadly badgerless, and Apollo can't help but grin at the way he's trying to hide his disappointment. 

“I’ll just buy one at Target,” he says with a smile, playing with his bangs. 

“Here, let me try.'' Apollo says, deciding that it's such a pitiful smile that he has to do something or it’ll plague him for the rest of their time here.

“Wait, virklich?”

“I know you think the whole german thing is cool, but i have no idea what you’re saying half the time” he says, taking out his wallet and handing over a 5 as Kyouya chuckles.

“Sorry - really?”

“Yeah, i’ll give it a shot. Can't promise I can get it, but we’ll see”

Not even a minute later, Kyouya is staring at Apollo stunned, as the man behind the counter asks him which one he wants and retreats back into the storage to retrieve the plushy.

“What?” Apollo asks, once he realises Kyouya’s bug-eyed staring.

“ ‘oh I don't know if I can hit them all and get it, even though I’m clearly a professional sharpshooter, but I guess I can try, we’ll see’” he says, in such an overly done american accent and Apollo laughs.

“Well I wasn't sure!”

“Wh- you got all of them perfect on the first try, are you kidding me? Within less than a minute ! Oh, I see now why you and your friend liked this place so much - I bet you robbed everyone here with that skill of yours!”

“Hey, if anyones robbing anyone, it's the people who decided to charge 5 dollars for 10 shots!

...Though I can say we did get banned from a few booths” Kyouya laughs, head bowed and shoulders shaking.

“But, seriously you’re really good. If you decide you don't wanna be a lawyer you can do that for a living instead”

“Har har, because that's totally an actual profession”

“It might be, you never know!”

The guy running the booth emerges from the storage with the dumb plushie and hands it to Apollo, who thanks him. He then turns to Kyouya, shoving it in his arms.

“Take it, I want nothing to do with that ugly thing”

“Oh, you're giving it to me?” he asks, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“What, did you think i was gonna keep that hideous thing for myself? I only did it because you looked like you were gonna cry if you didn't get it” Kyouya remains wide eyed for a few seconds before that same unfamiliar shy smile spreads across his face again, and his eyes glance down like he's embarrassed.

“I don't know about crying but um - danke.” 

Apollo can't help but quirk an eyebrow back at the strange shift in the man. It's so unfamiliar and new and it's like realizing something you see everyday has a completely new side to it. 

And then Apollo watches Kyouya smile at the blue plush, and he realizes that there are probably a million different sides to Kyouya that he’s totally unaware of - There’s still so much he doesn't know about him. Somehow, this revelation sparks some strange feeling of excitement within Apollo at that, but he can't really figure out why. 

“No problem. Tell me if there’s any other ugly toys you want and I’ll see what I can do” 

“He’s not ugly, he’s adorable! Just for that I’m naming him Apollo just to spite you” 

“Oh god, please don't” Kyouya bursts in laughter at Apollo’s pleading.

“It’s too late! you already gifted him to me so I get to name him whatever I like.”

Apollo just shakes his head, trying to fein disappointment but he can feel the smile on his lips

“Whatever you child. Oh hey do you wanna go on the teacups?”

“And you’re calling me the child?”

“Shut up, they're fun!” Apollo says, lightly slapping the blond's bicep as they make their way over.

Apollo and Kyouya go on various other rides that don't include extreme heights, Apollo wins a few more plushies - which he ends up presenting to a few starry-eyed kids (the similarity to Kyouya’s expression and theirs were downright funny)- and saves a small pikachu rip-off for Clay, shoving it in his hoodie pocket. Kyouya makes sure they try just about every snack the place has to offer and Apollo wonders how the hell he has so much money to shell out on overpriced cotton candy and spiral potatoes on a stick, but since he’s being treated to it and Kyouya insists , he doesn't complain (it’s actually pretty good too).

After a few hours they end up sitting on a bench at a more quiet edge of the pier, the sounds of far off children laughing and waves serenading them. It’s dark by now, the place lit up by the reds and purples of the glowing lights from rides and games, and the last few streaks of pink in the sky are receding, following the sun which has already vanished.

“I think you’ve called that thing Apollo more times than you’ve actually called me Apollo,” the brunette mentions, glaring at the badger, and Kyouya laughs.

“you’re probably right”

“Honestly, if anyone deserves to be called forehead - it's this thing! His head is so fucking big, the forehead ratio compared to me is like astronomical, okay!” Apollo watches as Kyouya tips back his head and laughs. It really is a nice sound, he thinks, and Kyouya turns to him. 

“Ja well, I only give you a nickname because you’re special, no?” he winks and Apollo rolls his eyes.

“A shitty nickname at that” Apollo grumbles

“I think it suits you. You’re always doing that thing you know?” Kyouya says, and then fashions himself in an imitation of Apollo, eyebrows furrowed, poking at his forehead.

“It helps me think! It’s just habit” 

Kyouya chuckles, “I never said it was a bad thing! It's just something you do” he relaxes himself, and loosely rests his hand behind Apollo on the back of the bench.

“Also what do you mean special?” Apollo questions, and Kyouya plays with his hair, glancing at Apollo from the corner of his eye

“If I tell you, it’ll ruin it.”

“Huh?”

Kyouya chuckles a bit “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually, but for now just be patient” 

“What the heck does that mean?!” Apollo asks, but Kyouya just laughs again

“I can't tell you, or else you won't be special anymore! I told you, it’ll ruin it -  I'm sure you’ll eventually figure it out, though honestly i hope you never do...” 

Apollo just sighs “why do you have to be so cryptic? You make it sound like you’re a serial killer or something” Kyouya chuckles

“Oh it’s much worse - The look on your face will probably be priceless” he says, shaking his head

“OKAY well now i'm scared” Apollo says, to Kyouya’s glee “can’t you at least give me a hint? You're killing me here!”

“Hmmmm...” he hums in thought, “No, you’ll find out when you graduate and become a lawyer, if you don't already find out before then.” Apollo groans “Don’t worry about it forehead, I just like teasing you. Also i’m not a serial killer, but I hope you already knew that by now”

“ Clearly!” Apollo says with a glare, but Kyouya just laughs. There's a quiet lull and Apollo wracks his brain trying to figure out what exactly Kyouya meant by “special”. If it’s something that he’ll learn when he becomes a lawyer then it must be law-related right? But why would not knowing something like that make himself in specific special? And why is it a secret!? It has to be something that’s common knowledge at least to lawyers...maybe he could ask maya and maya could ask mia? But how would he even ask about something that he has no idea about?

Apollo hears a soft giggling from beside him and looks over to see the bastard's face quirked up in a soft smile, blue eyes twinkling.

“You’re doing it again. The thing” Kyouya says, placing his pointer finger on Apollo’s head and poking him. Apollo slaps the finger away, playfully.

“Well, I wouldn’t be doing it if you’d just tell me ” Apollo says, and Kyouya plays with his hair, looking like he’s debating with himself.

“Can...can you just promise me that you’ll still see me for who I am, even if it’s something a bit crazy?” his tone is surprisingly serious and Apollo’s eyes widen.

“I...wait are you about to tell me?”

“I...i don't know. If i’m being honest it kind of scares me.” Apollo scrunches his eyebrows together.

“Why would me knowing scare you? Afraid i’ll become too overpowered and beat you in court?” he jokes and Kyouya softly chuckles, shakes his head and for some reason looks extremely amused.

“Nein, no….it's nothing like that, forehead” Apollo huffs, but as he studies Kyouya’s face he can really tell that this is something he’s serious about, despite all the joking he was doing earlier. He looks conflicted.

“Well...I mean if it makes you feel scared then I don't think you should tell me.”

“Huh?”

“I know you were joking before, but I can tell whatever you’re talking about actually means something to you and I wouldn't wanna take that away - i’m just being pushy because I’m like that, but it’s your own business. Whatever it is, I trust you” Apollo says, and Kyouya's eyes widen and just stare at him in surprise for a few seconds, before he smiles that same weird shy smile like he isn’t sure what exactly he should say next.

“I..really?”

“Yeah of course”

“Ah. well I really appreciate that...thanks Apollo” Apollo quirks an eyebrow

“What for? I didn't even do anything”

“For giving me privacy I guess”

“You don't have to thank me for not being an asshole you know” Apollo chuckles. 

“I felt like it though” he explains, and then its quiet as they both watch the light of the park catch the dark waves.

“Can I ask you something actually?” Apollo says, and Kyouya’s eyebrows raise in surprise

“Sure? what”

“It’s just you do this thing.. one moment you’re so confident and ridiculous and the other moment you get all shy. The duality is giving me whiplash” 

“Oh! haha, well….I guess i’m just not really used to having other people do nice things for me..or i guess I’m usually the one doing things, i’m not very good with receiving gifts or anything like that…” he says, playing with his hair.

Apollo snorts.

“Seriously? don't you have like millions of people chasing after you and trying to buy you things?” 

“What makes you think that?”

“Well- I don't know, you’re a model and pretty or whatever? You probably have like 20k followers or something on instagram” Kyouya laughs

“Forehead thinks I'm pretty?” Apollo rolls his eyes

“See this is exactly what I mean!” Kyouya laughs

“sorry, bad habit. But I guess that’s part of the problem - my looks.  And I’m not trying to be all ‘oh it's so hard being handsome’, I just mean that sometimes people don't really see me, they just see what they want me to be...or some role I'm supposed to play for them. I guess that's why i flirt so much, it's just kinda become habit in a way...I’m supposed to play the flirty, confident, bad boy or whatever...not that all of it is fake though, I do enjoy the attention” 

“Yeah I can tell” Apollo says with a smile “And Just so you know, you’re the most nerdiest ‘bad boy’ I've ever met. I don't even think you should be allowed to call yourself that after that display at the shooting game ” Kyouya looks down at Apollo with a small smile.

“ ja well, I guess I’m not really like that way around other people. I try not to be”

“What? why not? You’re shutting an entire piece of yourself off from people. A pretty nice piece too” which was also a part of him that Apollo was actually starting to grow pretty fond of, if he was being honest.

“It’s probably not obvious since we just met a week ago, but I pretty much subsist off the opinions of other people. Or - I guess it's like I'm more of a materialization of all these ideas rather than just an actual person...I - I don't want to let anyone down” he says, his tone shifting into a more quiet and self conscious place, as his eyes flicker downwards.

“Hey - If people are let down by you being yourself then they weren’t your real friends in the first place. You shouldn't feel like you have to change yourself in order to be liked. You should just be able to be yourself without having to worry about what people will think...and just so you know, I think nerdy, shy Kyouya is way more real than the other one who tries to be perfect all the time. I like him”

“What?” he asks, head turning to meet Apollo.

“Really. The first time I met you, you seemed so put together and perfect it was kinda off putting. But over time I've realized you’re just a goofball who likes attention and having fun and making other people laugh - you’re like a little puppy or something” Kyouya snorts, quirking is eyebrow.

“A puppy?”

“Yeah”

“Never been described like that before, but I think I like it...Puppies are nice”

“So are you”

“I thought I was an asshole?”

“You're that too”

A quiet wheezing sound emits from Kyouya as his shoulders shake and then crescendos into a loud laugh that rings through the night air, and his eyes meet Apollos, crinkling around the corners in a way like he's smiling with his eyes.

“You’re such an interesting guy Apollo.” Apollo has no idea why, but there's a sudden fluttery feeling in his stomach and he glances away from those intense blue eyes.

“uh. I think i'm pretty normal, actually” he says, suddenly feeling a little shy under Kyouya’s watchful gaze.

“No, really. You're so honest with your opinions - even from the first time we met you told me exactly what you thought about things. It’s a good quality - Being honest. I really don't meet that many people like that. Most people just tell me whatever they think I wanna hear.”

“Oh, uhhh. Thanks? Um-” Kyouya starts laughing again.

“Now who’s the shy one?”

“Well it was an unexpected compliment! People don't really tell me that kind of stuff either! Actually it's usually the opposite - people are put off but how straightforward I am, and I usually offend them - or -or i stick my nose into business it doesn't belong because I can't help but be curious” people usually being his past foster parents.

He looks back over to Kyouya who's smiling.

“That's not your fault. Most people aren’t really equipped to handle the truth so when it gets flung in their face they get offended. But it’s a really good trait for someone who’s an aspiring lawyer. We need more people like you” Apollo looks at Kyouya’s face for longer than he intents, taken aback at his words. Somehow he could tell he was telling him the truth, and he felt his cheeks fill with a tingling sensation as his eyes met Kyouya's.

“Really?”

“Yes really, i mean it! I can tell you’re going to be a great lawyer already” he says, a sure smile on his face, and Apollo has to turn away, flustered from all the praise, as a shaky smile weaves its way onto his face, as he runs his hands through his hair.

“Gosh -i mean... I sure hope I'll be. It’s something I always wanted to be ever since I was a kid (let's not bring that up though) but uh...Thank you though, um. I really appreciate it. Especially from you - cause you know - you’re already a lawyer” Apollo knows he sounds awkward, so he turns back to send a smile to Kyouya and hopes his genuinity gets through to him that way. Kyouya smiles back and rests his hand on Apollo’s shoulder 

“Of course, I meant it! I can’t wait to go up against you in court, I’m sure it’d be quite the show” Apollo snorts, “Finally a place where you’ll be forced to use my actual name”

“Heheh, we’ll see about that”

“You’re going to call me forehead in court like some hooligan ?” Kyouya laughs at Apollo's wording.

“You’d be surprised how lax some of the judges are. They usually tend to put up with me either way”

“Jesus christ...that is NOT happening, I will make sure of it.” Kyouya smiles

“Here comes justice, to serve justice, no?” 

“Ohh god I knew that pun was coming sooner or later. You better not saying anything like that either or i'm going to pretend like i don't know you”

“Ja, well it won't stop me from-” there's a sudden loud blasting of rock music coming from Kyouya’s phone and the two jump before he fishes it from his back pocket, his eyebrows furrowing as he looks at the screen. His face morphs into a tense frown, an expression Apollo hasn't ever seen from the man.

“Ach, I have to take this sorry” 

“No worries” Apollo says, and Kyouya sends him a smile with a small nod and walks a bit further to take the call.

He listens to the ambient sounds of the park - wind roaring with the coasters, people chattering, and the distant sound of waves and his mind goes over the expression Kyouya wore just now, and can’t help but wonder what made him look so tense.

Maybe work? But he actually seemed to enjoy prosecuting from what Apollo could tell. And the whole modeling business as well too - despite the whole privacy thing. Apollo guessed he wouldn’t know until the man came back and told him himself.

It was about 5 more minutes until Apollo heard footsteps on the wood approaching him, and turned to see Kyouya. He was smiling, but it was lacking that genuinity that he had shown throughout the night.

“Everything okay?”

“Ah...well yes and no” he says, playing with his bangs.

“What happened?”

“It’s - it’s quite a bit of a story, I don't think I have the time to explain it all now because I need to go and meet my brother. Apparently he…- ach..” Kyouya looks away, eyebrows furrowed

“Is.. is he okay?”

“Oh - ja more than okay - he’s perfect you know?” Kyouya says, and Apollo wonders how he’s keeping up that smile from how much spite he can hear in his voice. Suddenly it hits him that Kyouya is actually angry. He’s never actually seen him angry he realizes - and why the hell he’s still smiling, he has no idea, but it seems like the guy can't find the off switch for it.

Kyouya sighs, “Sorry Apollo, I wish I could stay longer but I have to go deal with this.”

“Oh don't worry about it - it's not your fault! I had a really good time.” His smile changes a degree in tone and he can tell that the meaning behind it is more genuine.

“Me too. We should hang out some other time, ja?”

“Yeah, I'd like that” Apollo smiles back.

“Do you want a ride home? You’re on my way”

“Oh, really? That’d be great - but uh. How are you planning on driving with that giant ass plushy” Kyouya’s face goes slack, and whips around to eye the badger on the bench

“ Scheiss” he curses, and Apollo laughs.

“I guess we switched places, huh?” he says, thinking back to his trip to target.

“Ja, haha...we’ll figure something out.” he says, smiling “Maybe you could put it between us and then hold onto me? I think that might work.”

“Hopefully” 

The two men weave through throngs of happy people, illuminated by the glowing red and purple and gold lights of the rides and games, until they make it to the front of the park and over to Kyouya's purple bike. Thankfully, Kyouya's plan works and the plushy stays squished between the two throughout the ride like a tiny child, and soon enough Kyouya has stopped in front of the place he first picked him up from. 

The quad is a little more lively than it was before, with the usual soccer club having met to play a friendly game together - but they take no notice of Apollo and Kyouya. 

Apollo gets off the back of the bike and hands Kyouya back his helmet, and the plushy.

“I guess I’ll see you later then?” Kyouya asks, flicking up the glass part of his helmet to better see Apollo.

“Yeah - yeah we’ll talk. I hope everything goes alright with your brother” he says and Kyouya smiles.

“Thanks, Forehead. Actually could you do me a favor and keep Apollo for a bit?”

“ Please stop calling that abomination that” Kyouya throws his head back and laughs,

“That’s his name!” Apollo rolls his eyes at him. 

“Yeah, I guess I can keep him. Wouldn’t want you to crash your ‘ hog ’. Ew. I’m never calling a motorcycle that, even ironically”

“That’s what they're called! These types of motorcycles at least”

“I hate it” Kyouya just smiles and hands him back “Apollo”, and Apollo swears that if Kyouya didn't like the thing so much he’d just burn it. Why’d he spend 5 dollars on this thing to get it for him?

“Well, I’ll see you later, Schatz. Thanks for the nice night”

“Uh yeah, of course. See you later” he smiles and flicks the glass down, kicking off the curve.

“Auf wiedersehen!” he says, and takes off before Apollo can say anything in return. He watches the red taillights speed off in the distance and grow smaller away until finally he turns and disappears.