Archive of Our Own

Apollo Justice would never be tall. Most days, he didn’t mind this. There were some advantages to being short: he never ran the risk of banging his head against a doorframe or a loose tree branch, for one, and he could fit in small spaces easily.

Right now, though, he was facing one of the main problems, one that was only aggravated by his boss being much taller than him.

Mr. Gavin had asked him to get some files for a case, while he went out to investigate. Easy, he had thought. His boss’s shelves were neatly organised, and finding the correct folder would be a breeze.

Finding it had indeed been easy. Actually getting it, however, would be another matter, as the file was placed at a height that left it in easy reach for Mr. Gavin, but not for him.

He looked around, hoping to find a miraculous solution, but of course there was none. The space between bookcases was too narrow for him to fit an office chair, and they didn’t have any stepping stools. So how was he going to get the file?

Sighing, he picked up the broom nearby and began trying to nudge the folder out. It was a difficult task, given that broomsticks weren’t meant for pulling things, and he cursed every time it seemed like every file on the shelf would fall down. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice the man who walked up to him until he cleared his throat.

Apollo yelled and jumped probably higher than he ever had in his life, dropping the broom onto the stranger who luckily had the presence of mind to catch it before it whacked him on the head.

“Feisty, aren’t you?” the man said teasingly, but Apollo was too busy getting his heart back to a normal rhythm to pay much attention. Only once he felt he had caught his breath did he turn around.

And promptly lost it again.

The first thing that he noticed was that the strange man was undeniably, ridiculously handsome. The kind of person that turns heads when they’re walking down the street, even more so considering the tight dark trousers and large display of silver jewellery.

The second thing he noticed was that he also looked very familiar. Apollo could’ve thought he was Mr. Gavin from afar.

How...?

Wait.

Now he remembered Mr. Gavin mentioning off-handedly that he had a younger brother who was currently abroad. He hadn’t gone into details, though, so Apollo hadn’t asked, assuming maybe their relationship was complicated.

But here he was, in his brother’s office in the middle of working hours, so maybe his impression had been wrong.

“I must say”, Mr. Gavin’s brother said nonchalantly, putting the broom away, “I’m used to being inspected by the ladies, but this is the first time I’ve felt this way with a man.”

Wait, what? It was only then that Apollo realised he’d been staring all this time and had yet to say a single word.

“Who are you?” he finally blurted out, and promptly felt stupid for asking. He knew who the man was, even if he’d never seen him before. But at least he hadn’t asked why are you here; that would’ve been downright rude.

Mr. Gavin’s brother gave him a ridiculously flashy grin. “Klavier Gavin”, he introduced himself, holding his hand out. Apollo shook it, noticing some calluses on his fingers. Weird. “I’m Kristoph’s younger brother, though seeing as you’re in mein Brüder’s shelves, you probably worked that out already.”

“Kinda, yeah”, Apollo admitted. “I’m Apollo Justice. I’m Mr. Gavin’s assistant.”

“I figured as much.” He nodded at the top shelf. “Would you like some help?”

Apollo sighed. “Please.” As he pointed the other man towards the file he needed, he thought of how he’d almost hit him with the broom and then stared for a while. What a great first impression he must’ve made. Given that this guy was his boss’ brother, it would not do to offend him. At least he didn’t seem to care, but Apollo would have to be more careful with his attitude towards the man.

“So”, he began in what he hoped was a properly casual tone, “are you here visiting your brother, Mr. Gavin?”

Mr. Gavin’s brother smiled again as he handed him the file. “Klavier, please. Mr. Gavin is my brother.”

That was actually better for him; if the two of them were around, it would get confusing really fast. “Oh, okay. Klavier then. Thanks, by the way” he added, waving the folder.

“Don’t mention it. And to answer your question... well, why else would I be here?” The smile morphed from polite to... something else, he wasn’t quite sure what. “I didn’t know about the handsome assistant till I got here.”

Was he... flirting? No, that didn’t make sense. It had to be some kind of joke... right? Unless it wasn’t, and he was just used to flirting with everyone. He certainly had the looks to pull it off.

Whatever the case, he decided he was better off acting dumb. This was still his boss’ brother, after all.

“Right”, he said dryly. “I figured you’d come to your brother’s office looking for your brother. I meant if you’re in the country for a visit”, he clarified.

“Oh. Well, since you asked... no, actually. I’m here to stay.”

Apollo was surprised; didn’t he have a life abroad? Then again... he supposed he didn’t know why the man had left in the first place. “I see”, he replied.

“Ja, it’s been fun touring with the band and all, but I think I’m ready to go back to the courts now.” The smile was smaller this time, almost sad.

“Wait, the courts?” And he’d mentioned a band, what was that about?

“Ja, of course.” Klavier raised his eyebrows. “Wait, did mein Brüder not tell you about my careers?”

“Not really”, Apollo admitted.

“Doesn’t really talk about me, does he?”

“Uhh...” Apollo wasn’t sure how to answer that without making his boss look bad. Maybe he should’ve lied, but it was too late for that now. “Well, maybe I just don’t remember. Let’s get back to the office, I have to be next to the phone just in case.”

As they walked back to Apollo’s desk, Klavier smiled that slightly sad smile again. “You don’t have to cover for him, Apollo. It’s fine.” He shrugged. “I’m a prosecutor, actually.”

“Wait, really?” Apollo’s interest was piqued. “So have you handled cases already?” he asked as he placed the file where Mr. Gavin had requested.

“Only one. It, uh, didn’t end well.”

His boss’ brother looked distinctly uncomfortable. Apollo debated whether to ask, but then he continued. “The defendant ran away before a verdict could be reached.”

“What?”

“Ja. And, uh, the defence attorney was caught using falsified evidence. No justice was served that day, I’m afraid.”

Falsified evidence? “How long ago was this?” he asked, would-be casually, as he leaned against his desk.

“About... seven years ago.”

No way. Did he actually prosecute THAT trial?

Apollo still didn’t know what to think about it. On the one hand, he’d followed every case in Phoenix Wright’s career and he had seemed like a fair, honest man who wanted to get justice. The idea that he would falsify evidence didn’t add up. On the other hand... well, due process was due process, and the evidence had been presented by him. “Evidence is everything”, Mr. Gavin liked to say.

In any case, he wasn’t about to get into an argument with his boss’ brother and the prosecutor of that case to boot. He needed a change of subject, quick.

“I see”, he said as neutrally as possible. “You mentioned a band, too.” He knew he wasn’t subtle in the topic change at all.

Mercifully, the other man didn’t comment on it. “Ja, my band, the Gavinners.” He gave him another one of those flashy grins and Apollo suddenly understood. It was a camera-ready kind of smile. “We’ve been touring all over the world these past years, rocking stages wherever we go. Have you heard of us?”

“Not really”, he admitted. “So it’s a rock band? What do you do?”

“Lead vocalist and guitarist.” He winked. “I’m the one the fräuleins scream for, you see.”

That explained the appearance and flirty demeanour, Apollo thought. He rolled his eyes at the comment. “I’ll bet.” He wasn’t doubting it, but there was no need to brag, he thought.

In any case, there was still one thing he wondered.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you even get started in such vastly different careers?”

“Well, the band started as a hobby. I’ve always considered prosecution my main career. But, ah,” he brushed his bangs, “what happened with my first trial coincided with when we started to get popular, so I took the chance to try something else.”

Aaaand we’re back to that. So much for avoiding the topic. Still, while it hadn’t been a great case, what with Phoenix Wright’s disbarment as a consequence and all, leaving for years seemed like an extreme reaction.

He wondered if there was something else, but it certainly wasn’t his place to ask.

“Well”, he started, standing upright again. “I have to get back to work. Sorry you couldn’t find your brother.”

Klavier looked surprised at the sudden dismissal. He quickly recovered, however, smiling again and brushing his hair. “Ach, actually, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll hang around until he comes back. It’ll be easier to catch him that way.”

“Oh”, Apollo said after a moment. He didn’t want to be distracted, but he couldn’t exactly object. This was the man’s brother’s office, after all. “Sure. Um, just take one of those chairs if you’d like.”

“Of course. And don’t worry. I’ll let you work in peace.”

Am I that transparent? he wondered as he sat down at his desk.

True to his word, Klavier Gavin waited quietly for his brother to come back. When Mr. Gavin showed up, Apollo tried not to pay too much attention, but he noticed that he didn’t seem especially happy to see the other Gavin. Whereas Klavier’s greeting was effusive, Kristoph merely smiled thinly and directed him to the private part of his office, where Apollo couldn’t hear their conversation.

Klavier left not five minutes after that. And though he caught his rather crestfallen expression, the smile he directed Apollo’s way seemed warm.

“See you around, Apollo Justice”, he said.

“Uh, see you.”

If the two brothers really weren’t very close, he doubted it.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

X

Klavier Gavin did indeed come back, a few days later. This time, Mr. Gavin was around when he came. Like the previous time, they went into his office, and left it even sooner than before.

The younger Gavin’s expression when he came out this time was more... resigned. Not as depressed as last time, but still definitely unhappy.

He greeted Apollo cheerfully enough, though, and even stopped for a second to ask how his day was going.

The day after that, Apollo was preparing his things for his lunch break. It was a nice day, so he was going to eat at the park. That was the moment Klavier came in.

“Oh, I’m sorry”, Apollo began as soon as he saw him, “Mr. Gavin’s already out for lunch. A prospective client called ten minutes ago, and they were going to discuss the details of his case over lunch.”

Klavier sighed. “I guess texting me to tell me he wasn’t going to make it was too much to ask.”

Apollo wasn’t sure what to say to that. Had Mr. Gavin really ditched his younger brother, and their apparent plans for lunch, without any warning at all? His boss wasn’t an overly affectionate man, but that seemed rather cold.

 “Oh”, was all he could manage. What could he possibly say to make the situation better? Before he could come up with something, though, Klavier apparently noticed Apollo’s tupperware container and bottle on his desk.

“Were you going out to lunch?” he asked.

“Well, yeah, but... I can wait.” He didn’t really want to put off lunch, but leaving the man all alone seemed rude. He supposed he wouldn’t stick around much longer, anyway, since his lunch plans were cancelled.

Klavier fidgeted for a moment, looking nervous, before finally speaking.

“May I join you?”

Apollo blinked in surprise. “Me?”

“Ja, if you don’t mind. Unless you had other plans?”

He didn’t. He just hadn’t been expecting the question. “Uh, no. But...” he trailed off, uncertain. Sure, Klavier Gavin seemed like a nice guy, if a bit over-the-top, but going out to lunch with him when he didn’t even know him seemed a bit much.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He smiled reassuringly. “I just thought I’d ask.”

“Because your original plans got cancelled?” Apollo spoke without thinking, and winced. That was definitely rude. Before he could take back his words, though, the blonde man smiled sheepishly.

“I suppose so, ja. Apologies, I didn’t mean to make you feel... like a second choice.”

Apollo shook his head. “No, don’t worry. Of course you’d come here to eat with your brother, not with a stranger.”

“I think you’ll find mein Brüder disagrees with you.” It seemed like the words were said unthinkingly, because Klavier flinched. “Not that clients aren’t important, of course.”

Apollo pondered the situation, and then decided there were probably worse things than sharing lunch with Klavier Gavin.

“Okay”, he said.

Said Gavin was confused. “Okay?”

“Let’s go.”

For a moment he seemed stunned, and then his rockstar smile made its appearance.

X

Lunch with Klavier Gavin wasn’t nearly as awkward as Apollo had feared it was going to be. They talked about their jobs, mostly: Apollo explained what it was like to work for Kristoph Gavin, and how he hoped to be able to lead a case soon. The younger Gavin was in a similar situation, given that he’d been gone for years and had only prosecuted once before that. He had the advantage of being considered a prodigy, though, considering he’d become a prosecutor at seventeen. Apollo still found it hard to believe. Even stranger was that Klavier didn’t seem the slightest bit boastful about it; he merely shrugged and said that European schools were more relaxed about people’s ages.

Klavier was careful to mention his brother as little as possible, probably to avoid making Apollo uncomfortable, which he appreciated. There were one or two moments in which he seemed like he was going to start ranting, before he caught himself. Still, Apollo couldn’t help but be curious.

“So you don’t get along with Mr. Gavin all that much?”

Klavier looked down at the sandwich he’d bought and took a bite.

“We don’t see eye to eye on everything”, he finally said. “Like every set of siblings in the world, I suppose. Maybe our views are more antagonistic than most because we stand on opposite sides of the courtroom.”

“That’s bullshit”, Apollo said and then immediately cursed himself. This was the second time he put his foot in his mouth today. Klavier snorted, but he didn’t give him the chance to say anything before he rushed to explain himself. “I mean, just because you’re standing on opposite sides of the courtroom doesn’t make you antagonists.”

Klavier seemed surprised. “Oh? What word would you use?”

Apollo considered this. “I suppose ‘rivals’, but the word doesn’t matter. What’s important is that defence attorneys and prosecutors shouldn’t see each other as their competition. The truth should be the goal for both. Getting the verdict that benefits you shouldn’t take priority over that.”

The younger Gavin stared at him for so long that Apollo felt self-conscious. “What?” he asked when he couldn’t take it anymore.

To his surprise, Klavier smiled widely. “That’s exactly how I see trials, as well.”

“Oh. That’s, um, good.”

The blonde man brushed his bangs. “I hope we meet in court someday. I’d like to go up against a defence attorney who shares my view.”

 For some reason, Apollo blushed. “Yeah, I suppose that’d be... something.”

“Before that, though, I have to kick my brother’s ass.” Klavier was grinning widely, and Apollo snorted.

“Fair enough.”

They left the park soon after, as the defence attorney’s break was coming to an end. As they stood outside the door to Gavin Law Offices, Klavier was fidgeting again.

“So, uh...”

“Yes?” Apollo said as he unlocked the door.

“Do you want to do this again sometime?”

He paused. It had been fun, he had to admit. Even if there was something a bit strange about hanging out with his boss’ brother.

“Sure”, he smiled.

X

And so it was that Apollo became friends with Klavier Gavin.

The first few times they hung out, it was a little awkward for him. Since he’d been left alone in America with the promise of a return that had never happened, Apollo was both desperate to form new relationships and reluctant to open up to others that could potentially drop him at a moment’s notice. This combination made it hard to connect with others. It was no coincidence that Clay was the only lasting friend he’d had all this time. And since he was busy working as an intern at the Cosmos Space Center, Apollo hadn’t really spent time with friends in a while.

So perhaps it was no surprise that he got used to Klavier as quickly as he did.

He did have some qualities that the defence attorney found a bit irritating. His constant flirting, for one. It had embarrassed him at first, until he realised that Klavier flirted with everyone. So he learned to tolerate it, and his most over-the-top comments earned little more than a roll of the eye. He also had this devil-may-care attitude and didn’t seem to take anything seriously, the polar opposite of himself. However, it only took a few discussions of their respective careers for Apollo to realise that this was just a facade, and part of his rockstar persona. Klavier truly cared about the law, and finding justice. His way of going about it was just a bit... all over the place. Or so it seemed, from the anecdotes Klavier told him about helping out at the prosecutor’s office (he hadn’t been assigned any cases to prosecute yet; he was on probation of sorts).

Perhaps the most annoying thing about hanging out with Klavier, though, was one he couldn’t exactly help, and that was the fact that he was famous. Apollo had lost count of how many times they’d been minding their business, in the park or at a cafe or wherever, only to be interrupted by a bunch of teenage girls desperate for Klavier’s autograph. He hadn’t realised how popular the Gavinners were before, but apparently they were all the rage. Because of this, it didn’t take long for Klavier to suggest they just go to his place.

(Apollo was glad that his own apartment had never been considered as an option; it wasn’t exactly impressive. He supposed Klavier might have picked that up from the scarce times they’d talked about their finances, and was eternally grateful for the silent understanding.)

Hell, Klavier had even come up with a rather unflattering nickname for Apollo.

The day it happened, they had been at a restaurant and a waitress had given Klavier dessert on the house. “For a handsome man”, she had declared with a wink before departing. Apollo had tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle his irritation, but of course Klavier noticed immediately.

“Aww, don’t be jealous, Apollo”, he had cooed. “You know, if you wanted to get free dessert too-”

“Don’t finish that sentence”, the defence attorney cut him off immediately, and the prosecutor pouted.

“You don’t even know what I was going to suggest.”

“Don’t need to. Some of us weren’t born pretty boys, that’s all.” He tried to make his tone as sarcastic as possible. (Deep down, he was aware that no matter how sharp he made the words sound, they wouldn’t piss off Klavier. He was proud of being a pretty boy, probably.)

“You could be, even with that massive forehead.”

Apollo had immediately taken offence at this. “My forehead’s not that big!”

Klavier had merely chuckled. “Whatever you say... Herr Forehead.”

“Oh, you are so not going to use that.”

The blonde man leaned forward. “And who’s going to stop me?”

And that was that. Apollo officially had a ridiculous nickname. And no matter what nickname Apollo tried to come up with, Klavier never seemed affected, so he had no counter for it.

Still, it wouldn’t be fair to say that all the man did was irritate Apollo.

For all the characteristics that Apollo could do without, Klavier had his fair share of good qualities, too. He was kind, and honest, and always willing to lend a hand to whoever might need it. He believed in the truth, and working together to find it. And he didn’t let his fame get to his head.

That was enough for the defence attorney. Even if he had to stand being called Herr Forehead.

The only obstacle in their friendship (and “obstacle” might be too strong a word) was Mr. Gavin. Sometimes Klavier was telling a family anecdote, or Apollo was talking about work, and they’d have to stop short, since it would’ve been weird for either of them to bad-mouth Kristoph Gavin to the other. Additionally, Mr. Gavin wasn’t too fond of the fact that they were friends.

He would never forget the first time Klavier came to pick him up for lunch at Gavin Law Offices. Apollo had been finishing up some files when the prosecutor came in, smiling, and greeted him.

“Herr Forehead!” he began. He never got to continue, though, because Kristoph came from his private office. Apollo immediately stiffened.

“Klavier?” he asked, seemingly annoyed. “You didn’t say you were coming, I have-”

“I didn’t come for you, Kristoph”, Klavier interrupted, his smile just the slightest bit strained. “I was here for Apollo.”

“Why?”

“Because I am capable of having friends, believe it or not”, Klavier replied, rolling his eyes. Apollo wished he could signal him to shut up. If Mr. Gavin wanted, he could retain him here by giving him more work. And Apollo didn’t really want to work through lunch.

“You don’t have to come to my office to make friends, Klavier”, Mr. Gavin said in a clearly irritated tone.

Before the younger Gavin could reply something that would get Apollo in trouble, he decided to intervene. “We were just leaving for lunch, Mr. Gavin, if that would be all right with you?”

Mr. Gavin turned to regard him with a cold stare that made him wither inside, though he held his gaze.

“All right”, he said finally. “But make sure to come back in time, Justice. You still have files to process.”

Apollo fought his surge of irritation. He had gone to lunch with Klavier before, and never come back late. “Yes, sir”, he said as neutrally as possible.

The minute they were outside, Klavier couldn’t hold it in any more. “Who the hell does he think he is?!” he exploded.

“Easy, Klav”, Apollo warned him. They might still be within earshot, after all.

“I don’t care if he hears me. He doesn’t get to dictate my social life.” He directed his furious gaze towards the brown-haired man. “Or yours.”

“No, but he does get to dictate my work life, Klav. So, please. Let’s forget about it.” In truth, Apollo wasn’t too happy that Mr. Gavin was acting this way, either, but Klavier needed no encouragement right now.

The prosecutor took a few deep breaths. “You’re right.”

Their lunch had passed without incident, but when Apollo got back to the office, Mr. Gavin was waiting for him.

“Justice”, he greeted. “I... had not noticed you were spending time with my brother.”

“Uh, yes.” He hated to ask the question, wasn’t sure what he’d do if the answer was yes, but he knew it was only appropriate to ask. “Is that a problem?”

Mr. Gavin sighed. “I just don’t want him to be a bad influence on you, that’s all. You have a good head on your shoulders, Justice. You are professional and dedicated. I’d hate for him to change that about you.”

Apollo had to bite back the retort that Klavier was professional and dedicated, too, even if his attitude didn’t show it. He himself had had the opposite impression at first, but had learned otherwise within a few months. By all means, Kristoph, who had known him all his life, should know this too.

“Don’t worry, sir. It won’t happen.”

“See that it doesn’t.” And with that, Mr. Gavin had gone back to his office.

That had been irritating, but thankfully it didn’t go any further than that. By mutual accord, Klavier now waited for Apollo outside, rather than come in, and no more comments were made by Mr. Gavin. However, the defence attorney made sure not to mention the younger Gavin in front of the eldest.

He didn’t want his boss dictating his friendships, after all.

X

“So how are you feeling?” Klavier asked, leaning back on the sofa.

Apollo put his head in his hands and groaned. “Like I want to puke.”

Klavier chuckled. “Fair enough.”

He turned his head to peek at the other man between his fingers. “How did you feel the day before your first trial?”

“Well, I was a bit nervous, but I was very well prepared for my case and knew how to perform in front of an audience. The Gavinners weren’t very well known yet, but we were already booking some gigs.”

“I wish I could be so confident”, Apollo sighed.

Klavier put a hand on his back and rubbed it gently. “You have reviewed the evidence, ja? And mein Brüder will be there to help you, remember. He might be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he’s certainly a good attorney. You can do this.”

Apollo smiled weakly. “I know that, but I’m still terrified.”

“Tell you what. Tomorrow, after you get your client acquitted, we’ll go and get something nice to eat. To celebrate, ja?”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll get him acquitted tomorrow”, he replied, lifting his head at last. Even if he was still nervous, he had to admit that Klavier’s reassurances were working, sort of. It wasn’t that he had told him anything he didn’t know, but the fact that the other man would be there for him afterwards was comforting.

“Don’t tell me you think you’ll lose. That’s no way to face a trial, Herr Forehead”, Klavier grinned.

“I meant, the trial might go on for another day. I might have to investigate more.”

“Hmm. Fair point. Okay then, if that does come to pass, we’ll celebrate the day after tomorrow. Ja?”

“Deal”, Apollo grinned.

“Don’t worry, Herr Forehead. I’m always here for whatever you need.” Klavier’s smile was open and full of sincerity.

X

But apparently, that sincerity wasn’t real.

Because Klavier was not, in fact, planning to always be there.

When the trial was over, and Mr. Gavin was led away, and he’d punched his former hero in the face, he found himself completely lost. It was a while before his thoughts came to Klavier, who couldn’t come to the trial because he was working. What would he think? Who would tell him?

It had to be himself, didn’t it? It was only right. He got his phone to text him and stopped short as he realised he didn’t quite know what he was supposed to say.

Hey, I got your brother arrested for murder. No hard feelings?

Yeah, right.

Finally, he just told him to call him as soon as he could.

Then he went home and began searching for jobs.

X

Klavier didn’t call him. And when Apollo tried to, his call went directly to voicemail.

It took a few days of this for Apollo to be able to accept that Klavier was avoiding him. And it didn’t take a genius to realise that he’d learned about what had happened, and had apparently decided to blame the defence attorney for it.

The thought didn’t sit quite right with him. Hadn’t Klavier always talked about finding the truth, no matter what? That was what Apollo had done, even when it was clear the truth wouldn’t be pretty; he’d pressed on.

Had Klavier just been lying this whole time? Or had he changed his mind after learning that even his own brother could fall prey to the truth?

He didn’t know. He called Clay, who was sympathetic, but didn’t have an answer for him, obviously.

“Don’t stew over it”, he’d advised. “He might need time to think. He’s probably confused over how to feel about you. And if he decides to cut you off because his brother is a murderer, then he isn’t worthy of being your friend, Pollo.”

“But... he was so dedicated to the truth. What happened to that?”

“I guess he didn’t expect that the truth would smack him in the face so hard.”

And so, after a few days, Apollo had to swallow a bitter truth of his own: Klavier had dropped him. Which, nothing new, really. This always happened, after all; why did he think this time would be different? Clearly, Clay was the exception to an established rule in his life.

People showed up, got him to care for them, then left.

X

He hadn’t been expecting the call from Mr. Wright. Or the investigation that followed.

But the last thing he expected was to come face to face with Klavier again like this.

In hindsight, it was stupid. They both had jobs at the courthouse; they would cross paths again one day, inevitably.

And yet, he was surprised when he showed up at the crime scene they were trying to enter.

At first, when he saw him, Apollo was frozen. He didn’t know what to say. How to feel. He should feel angry, or sad, but couldn’t muster the energy for either emotion. He vaguely wondered how Klavier would react. All he could do was stare.

When the first words came out of the prosecutor’s mouth, Apollo was bewildered. It was such a Klavier type of comment, flirty and joking. Was Klavier really going to try and continue their friendship like nothing had happened?

It quickly became obvious that wouldn’t be the case, though, when he proceeded to talk to Trucy and ignore him completely. They went into the crime scene, and then Klavier left without so much as a goodbye.

Apollo was still too stunned to feel much of anything. He continued on the investigation nearly on autopilot. It wasn’t until he got home that evening, when he had a moment to himself, that reality asserted itself.

Klavier hadn’t just given him the cold shoulder, but now he was acting like they’d never even met. He couldn’t forgive Apollo for putting his brother behind bars... even though the defence attorney had done nothing but his job.

He knew he should be angry, but really he was just... so sad. He had thought Klavier was better than that. He hadn’t thought he would throw away their friendship like that.

Well, he told himself. If he can’t accept that his brother is a murderer and would rather blame you, you’re probably better off without him, anyway.

As he prepared for bed, he looked into the mirror.

“I’m Apollo Justice”, he said, “and I’m fine.”

And if a few tears slipped from his eyes, well, nobody had to know.

X

When he found himself standing opposite from Klavier in court, it felt like a cruel mockery of all those times they’d discussed this exact scenario. Of course, if they had still been friends by this point, they certainly wouldn’t have been able to act like it during the trial. But Apollo wouldn’t have felt so alone (well, apart from Trucy, that is).

When Klavier called him “Herr Forehead”, he had to turn to his vast experience suppressing his emotions to avoid having a breakdown right there. Once, that nickname had been affectionate. Now, it seemed like only the mockery remained.

Now he felt angry at Klavier. Fine, so he didn’t want to be friends with the person who’d put his brother in jail. He could understand blowing him off. But being a jerk to him? Who did he think he was?

Klavier Gavin, rockstar and prodigy prosecutor, that’s who. And in court, he has more standing than you, if the way the judge is treating him is anything to go by.

During the trial and the investigation afterwards, Apollo had to constantly remind himself not to let his emotions get in the way. He wasn’t sure if Trucy hadn’t noticed, or if she had decided not to pry.

Either way, the next day, Klavier showed him that he was still trying to find the truth, at least, when he surprisingly helped him figure out the last piece of the puzzle, and didn’t seem too bummed to have lost.

So, I suppose we’ll be civil in court, we’ll team up to search for the truth, but that’s it.

He was having a hard time swallowing the bitterness of that idea, and what Klavier did next didn’t exactly help him.

He sent concert tickets for him and Trucy.

He had been very confused when she excitedly told him the news.

Klavier, either you don’t want to be friends or you do, he’d thought. You can’t have it both ways.

And even if, for whatever reason, he had decided, after their first trial against each other, that he wanted to be friends... this wasn’t the way to go about it. They certainly needed to have a talk before they could even make the attempt. Apollo would love to forgive Klavier, but it seemed like he didn’t even consider he had done anything requiring forgiveness in the first place.

Even so, he went to the concert, with Trucy. And while they had VIP passes, he obviously couldn’t ask anything important with her there. Klavier was perfectly civil, if more distant than he’d been during their friendship, and Apollo felt like it was impossible for him to understand what the other man was trying to do. He didn’t even know how he felt anymore.

Then the murder happened. And once again, he was forced to put this whole thing with Klavier aside and focus on defending his client. Which was much easier said than done, given that the crime had happened during the concert and all. The prosecutor was all over the place, in more ways than one. This also meant that Trucy kept dragging him over to see him, much to his chagrin.

It also annoyed him a bit that, even when they went to talk to him at his office, he continued to act aloof. When he explained how he tried to “keep relations civil”, Apollo wanted to scream at him that their relationship used to be more than just civil, but he kept that to himself. An outburst wouldn’t help him in the slightest, and he didn’t want to explain anything to Trucy.

It wasn’t until Daryan Crescend was on the stand, that it occurred to Apollo that Klavier might have been dealing with his own personal crisis at the moment. First his brother had been found guilty, and now his best friend was being accused.

Both those things courtesy of himself, to add insult to injury. If Klavier had ghosted him before, while still cooperating during trials, he would definitely drop all pretence of civility now. He would hate him (well, more than he probably already did).

Not that it would change much between them, at this point. And Apollo wouldn’t let that stop him from trying to find the truth, anyway.

At the end of the trial, Klavier seemed unaffected, but Apollo was rather worried. The succession of betrayals (whether the first one was seen as Kristoph’s, his own, or both was irrelevant) couldn’t be good for him.

He knew that reaching out would probably be pointless, and he might be the last person Klavier wanted to talk to right now, but he had to try. Even though Klavier had been a total dick to him, he still cared enough to try.

God, he was an idiot.

(His call went straight to voicemail, because duh. What had he been expecting? Exactly this. Feelings were stupid. He was stupid.)

X

 Everything changed with Vera Misham’s trial.

It had all been relatively normal, or at least as normal as a case given by Phoenix Wright could be.

The revelation of her forgery, and her subsequent poisoning, had been shocking enough. But then, that same night, Phoenix Wright finally revealed everything that had happened to him.

Everything that Kristoph Gavin had done and covered up.

There had been many things going on in his head then. One of them was that Klavier would be absolutely crushed by this.

The next day, he was proven right... but also wrong.

From the moment Apollo showed the picture of the nail polish, Klavier became nervous. He could obviously see where this was headed... but didn’t attempt to stop him. When he accused Kristoph, however, he did object... until Apollo pointed out that the poisoning could’ve happened before his brother’s incarceration.

Then Kristoph showed up... and it was like Klavier became a different person. One who was submissive, and remained quiet when Kristoph confronted him.

Apollo didn’t like it. It wasn’t the man he knew. The Klavier he knew would just roll his eyes at his older brother’s annoyance, and return any barbs with one of his own. And Apollo doubted he’d changed that much since Kristoph’s first trial. It was like everything that made him who he was just... disappeared.

Until, in the middle of the elder Gavin’s testimony, the younger one pointed out that he was trying to get away with a change of subject. It was like a flip was suddenly switched, because Klavier returned to who he was, and attacked all of his brother’s refutations mercilessly, as though he were the defence attorney and not Apollo.

It was impressive to watch... but also painful. The actual defence attorney on the case knew that, while part of Klavier was enjoying being able to stand up against his brother in court, doing so to point out that it was possible he was a murderer must have hurt him.

When Kristoph began to lose it, Apollo almost didn’t want to watch. Neither did Klavier, apparently, since he took a few seconds to look at the ceiling instead. (Despite whatever Apollo might be feeling towards him right now, he really hoped the other wasn’t trying to hold back tears.) After that, it seemed like Klavier had completely let go of whatever consideration for his brother he might’ve had, as he tore into him for the failure of his plans.

Considering what Apollo knew of how Kristoph regarded Klavier’s career path, he wondered if it was almost cathartic for him.

Even so, when the trial was finally over, Apollo was extremely concerned. After all, Klavier had just learned that his own brother had used him to further his own goals without a second thought. And if he’d had any doubts regarding his status as a murderer, Apollo was sure he was plenty convinced now.

A selfish part of him wondered if this meant that Klavier would apologise to him for not believing in him and they could be friends again. The rest of him realised that, even if that were to happen some time in the future, Klavier needed to really come to terms with the truth first. Sure, he seemed to accept it today, but he knew it probably hadn’t fully dawned on him yet.

Besides, did Apollo really want to continue being friends with him? Would he even be able to trust him, after everything?

(The answer, considering what the selfish side of him had just thought, was probably yes. For all that had happened, he still cared about Klavier. He was so, so stupid.)

He spent the night tossing and turning, worried for both the prosecutor and his client, who was fighting for her life against the poisoning. The next morning, when he heard the news that Vera had survived, he was relieved, but there was still a heavy weight in his chest.

He was still concerned about Klavier.

He spent the rest of the day wondering what to do about it. He texted Clay, who answered when the sun was setting (he’d probably been busy):

If you’re so worried, go talk to him, or you won’t stop thinking about it.

His friend was right, of course, so Apollo grabbed his bike and went over to Klavier’s home, hoping with all his might that he hadn’t moved somewhere in the last few months. Just in case, before leaving, he sent a text to the prosecutor, which of course went unanswered.

It didn’t matter. The radio silence ended now.

When he got to the entrance to Klavier’s apartment building, he realised that there was an inherent flaw in his plan: the man could simply not open the main door for him. He was considering what to do before ringing the bell, when the solution presented itself. A neighbour, who recognised him from the times he came here frequently, walked up and opened the door for him, smiling.

“Thanks”, Apollo said gratefully and rushed to Klavier’s door.

As he knocked, it occurred to him that Klavier could also not open his apartment door, but here at least Apollo could annoy him by banging hard, or bring up his concerns with one of the next-door neighbours. He vaguely recalled Klavier saying one of them had a key to his apartment for emergencies.

Fortunately, none of that was necessary. The man he was looking for opened right up, surprisingly.

When Apollo saw him, though, he understood why. In his state, he probably hadn’t even thought to check through the peep hole first.

Klavier was... pretty drunk, it seemed. For a moment, he felt surprised; he’d only occasionally seen him drink alcohol, and Klavier had mentioned he made sure not to go overboard. Obviously, the current circumstances meant he had thrown caution to the wind.

He was swaying, leaning on the wall for support, eyes unfocused and a half-full glass of wine in his hand.

It seemed to take him several seconds to recognise Apollo. When he did, his reaction was quite surprising.

“Forehead!” he exclaimed, in an undeniably happy tone. “Come in, come in.”

Apollo did, feeling incredibly confused. Why was Klavier being so friendly all of a sudden? Had the wine made him forget the reason why he had avoided him for ages?

Maybe. Or maybe it made him not care about it. Or maybe he had decided that, since Apollo had been right all along, he would go back to the previous state of their relationship. (As if it would be that easy. As if he’d never done anything wrong.)

Whatever it was, he followed cautiously, ready for the other man to suddenly remember himself and snap at him at any moment.

“Do you want any?” he asked, turning to him and waving his wine glass.

“Uhh... no, thanks.”

“Sure? It’s good.”

“I’m sure.”

What he wasn’t so sure of was what to do. If he’d come here to check on Klavier’s state, well, he had his answer: it was bad. And he probably shouldn’t be alone right now. And he should probably stop drinking.

The question was, would Klavier let him take care of him? (For a moment, he considered whether he even wanted to do that, and then dismissed the stupid question. If he hadn’t wanted to take care of Klavier, he wouldn’t even have come here.)

He decided to bank on Klavier’s drunkenness, and the fact that he probably couldn’t kick him out right now even if he wanted to.

“Maybe you should slow down”, he said.

Klavier frowned. “Slow down?”

Apollo sighed, and decided that, given his current state, he should probably limit himself to giving him simple commands. “Go sit down, I’ll join you in a moment”, he said, pointing at the sofa.

To his relief, Klavier smiled. “Okay!” he agreed enthusiastically.

While he did that, Apollo filled a glass from the kitchen with water and headed back to Klavier, holding it out to him. The prosecutor stared at it for a moment.

“Drink it?” Apollo said. “For me?”

Luckily, Klavier smiled. “Okay.”

He put down his wine glass, which had also been Apollo’s intention, and while the other drank, he sneakily took the wine glass and poured it down the sink.

Then he headed back to the sofa.

“Klavier...” he began, warily, not really knowing what to say.

“Yes?” He smiled at him, and Apollo realised he was probably far too drunk to be involved in any sort of serious conversation.

He sighed. “Wanna watch a film?”

X

Apollo didn’t even notice what the film was about; he was too preoccupied trying to come up with what he wanted to say. How to put his confused feelings into words.

At first, Klavier made a comment here and there. Then, he grew quiet. Eventually, when Apollo looked over to him, he noticed his eyes were closed. He figured the best course of action would be to leave him to sleep here. However, when he got up to fetch a blanket, Klavier spoke up.

“Don’t go.”

“Oh, I thought you were asleep.”

“Mmm. Nein.”

“Okay.”

He sat back down and went back to his pondering. Suddenly, he heard Klavier sniffle beside him, and he turned to him in alarm.

“Klav?” The nickname slipped without a second thought. It occurred to him that he hadn’t used it in quite a while.

“I know what he feels.”

“What?”

Klavier was motioning towards the screen, where one of the characters was seemingly pleading with the female lead.

“I know what it’s like to fuck up the only good thing in your life.”

Almost without realising it, Apollo tensed. His bracelet squeezed him. “Klavier...”

“No, I mean it.” He gave a laugh that came out almost as a sob. “I mean, I pushed you away. For what? For a brother who obviously never gave a shit about me, and I refused to see it? For a guy who just wanted to fuck with me, and use me for...” He trailed off, and shuddered. “They both just wanted to use me, didn’t they. And I accepted that, but somehow couldn’t do the same with the fact that you were just doing your damn job. The job I failed to do, clearly.”

Apollo was as frozen as when he saw Klavier at People Park, all that time ago. Was he supposed to feel happy that he recognised his mistakes? Sure, it was somewhat relieving, but it didn’t make all of Apollo’s pain magically disappear. He knew he had to reply, to take advantage of the prosecutor’s sudden honesty (probably spurred on by the alcohol). So he asked what he supposed he’d really been wondering this whole time.

“Why?” he said, and hated how small his voice sounded. “I thought we were friends. I could understand you needing time away from me, after the way my first trial ended. But avoiding me entirely and pretending you never knew me?”

He couldn’t look at Klavier’s face during his speech, afraid of what he might see there. He noticed him swallowing out of the corner of his eye.

“Because I’m an idiot”, he said at last. “I was so confused. I didn’t know what to feel. You were my friend, but Kristoph was my brother. And after... after we lost our parents, all we had was each other. How could I turn away from the one family member I still had left? For someone I’d known for less than a year?” He shook his head. “That was my reasoning. Stupid reasoning, I know. Even when I knew you were only looking for the truth, and if you were throwing that accusation you probably had a reason to... I couldn’t accept it. And contacting you... felt like betraying my brother.”

Apollo closed his eyes, trying to ease the burning sensation in them. He did not want to cry right now, not in front of Klavier. “So you didn’t accept that Kristoph had done it.”

He had suspected as much from the start. Everything else Klavier was saying... made some sort of sense, he supposed. It had taken him a while to accept that what Dhurke had done to him was wrong, after all. Even so, that was no consolation. Klavier could’ve at least tried to talk to him, if only to shout at him. Apollo thought he would’ve preferred that to the silent treatment, left wondering what had become of the friendship they’d once shared.

“No, and that was my mistake. So I sought comfort with the band... and with Daryan.” Klavier gave a short, sarcastic laugh. “I thought he understood. Little did I suspect he was just the same as my brother... You know, come to think of it, maybe I shouldn’t be a prosecutor. Clearly I’m not good at finding murderers.”

“Don’t say that”, Apollo snapped, not sure why he jumped to Klavier’s defence. Maybe because his professional integrity was the one thing he’d seen the prosecutor had retained. “You look over all the evidence and consider every angle. You never discard any possibilities, and search for the truth. Nobody expects the people they love to...” he trailed off, trying to find a delicate way to put it.

Klavier snorted. “To become killers? Nein, I suppose nobody sees it coming. Still, you’d think I’d be better at noticing suspicious activity.”

“Oh yeah, because a missed cue is clearly indicative that something’s up.”

“Pffft.”

It was quiet for a moment.

“At least I was able to take off the blindfold for Vera’s trial”, he mused. “Once can be explained, but twice becomes a pattern. Three times, if we count what happened with Daryan.”

“Is that why you... reacted the way you did when I mentioned the poison in the nail polish?” Apollo could still remember how pale Klavier had looked, sweat running down his brow, his usually calm demeanour vanished.

“Ja. I knew then, that there was a good chance that the first guilty verdict hadn’t been... a mistake.”

Apollo thought he should be angry that Klavier thought he had made a mistake, but was unable to. Not when the other man was this miserable.

“So I pushed forward, even if I was afraid of what I would find”, he continued quietly. “It was even worse than I expected, but at least this time I wasn’t a coward.”

“Klav-” The defence attorney wanted to protest that notion, but Klavier didn’t let him.

“Nein, I was”, he insisted. “I didn’t dare face the truth that my brother could really be a killer. It wasn’t until I saw Daryan’s obvious guilt that I began to realise it. Still, I don’t know if that was the worst part.” Klavier looked down at his hands.

He paused, and Apollo hated to ask, but he had to. “What was?”

“Learning that I ruined an innocent man’s life, in my very first case no less. I am entirely to blame for that one.”

“No”, Apollo interrupted immediately.

“But-”

“Klavier Gavin, you will not blame yourself for that. You trusted your brother. It’s entirely his fault, and no one else’s. You hear me?”

Klavier didn’t reply.

“Klavier.”

“I hear you... Apollo”, he mumbled. “Not sure I believe it, though.”

“Well, I’ll repeat it until it sticks with you.”

Klavier finally looked up. His expression was... hopeful, for some reason, though he seemed to be trying to squash it. “Does that mean you’ll stick with me?”

Ah, that’s what he got for speaking without thinking. “Uhh...”

“Oh.” The prosecutor immediately looked down again.

“I just-”

“It’s okay”, Klavier interrupted. “I didn’t expect you to want to continue being friends, after everything. I haven’t exactly been good to you lately. I treated you like Scheisse, and didn’t apologise-” He froze. “Wait, I still haven’t apologised, have I?”

“Well, you didn’t say the words I’m sorry”, Apollo admitted, “but I’d say everything you’ve been telling me so far kind of counts.”

“In that case, let me apologise properly.” He turned to face him. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you this whole time. I should’ve believed in you, and your philosophy, and not just cut you off. Even if I didn’t believe Kristoph killed anyone, I should’ve tried to talk to you. And pretending that I didn’t know you... that was cruel of me, especially given what I know of your past. I was a horrible friend, and I don’t even understand why you decided to show up tonight, but I’m glad, because at least I can say this to your face.”

Apollo felt numb. Technically, he supposed this was the best-case scenario, and kind of what he’d been hoping for this whole time. He should’ve been ecstatic... but he wasn’t, and it was disappointing. He supposed it was because an apology couldn’t erase the pain he’d felt.

“I... I know you’re being sincere”, he said at last. “And I want to forgive you, really. But...” He could feel it, the fear that Klavier might pull something like this again. He had so few friends, and to lose one like this was devastating. Could he really trust that the prosecutor would stay by his side this time? Given that he’d already failed to do that once?

Klavier nodded. “You can’t, or at least not immediately. That’s perfectly understandable.” He swallowed. “I knew that an apology wouldn’t be enough. I will try to make it up to you however I can. I just hope one day you can trust me again, and we can be friends once more.”

“I’d like that, too.”

 Apollo wondered if he should add anything else, and then decided not to. This wasn’t something he could quickly forgive, and they both knew it.

“Anyway, it’s late”, he said instead. “You should go to bed.” He was drained. It was probably very late, and this conversation, while very necessary, had been exhausting. And he needed time to think about it.

“Oh, okay. I’ll... see you?” Klavier asked carefully.

“Um, actually... I was kind of wondering if I could take the guest room. It’s pretty late.” Also, despite everything, he didn’t want to leave Klavier alone, but he kept that to himself.

“Oh, of course! I just thought that you wouldn’t want to stay here. You know, after all that I did to you and all that stuff we just talked about.”

“Well”, Apollo said, attempting to joke, “if you want to make it up to me, you can start by saving me a half-hour bike ride at 2 AM or whatever time it is now.”

Klavier grinned. “Ach, that’s no trouble at all.”

“Right. Um... Do you have any pyjamas to spare?”

“Natürlich.”

And that was how they ended up going through a routine that was almost uncomfortable in its familiarity; borrowing some of Klavier’s older clothes and a toothbrush before bed. They’d done this a couple times in the past, but never with this much tension between them.

They said their goodnights and went to bed. Despite all his exhaustion, Apollo found that he was still too worried about Klavier’s state to sleep, and ended up getting up to check on him.

The prosecutor was still wide awake, and hadn’t even bothered to turn the light off, it seemed.

“Herr Forehead”, he smiled when he saw him, turning on his side to face him. Apollo felt a pang at the nickname. Unlike the last few times he’d heard it, this time it clearly held some affection. (The extremely drunk moment at the door didn’t really count.)

Klavier hadn’t even gone under the covers. “Something the matter?”

Apollo shrugged, leaning against the doorframe. “Just making sure you didn’t choke on your own vomit.”

Klavier laughed. “Ach, that’s nice of you.”

“I mean, if you turned up dead, I’d look pretty suspicious.”

“Ach, Apollo. All you care about is not going to prison?” Klavier dramatically put his hand on his chest. “You wound me.”

He snorted. “You’ll get over it.”

It was quiet for a few seconds.

“I still can’t believe it, you know”, Klavier said. “That you’re here.”

Apollo sighed. “Klav...” He may be finding it hard to sleep, but he did not want to go into that discussion again tonight.

“Nein, I mean... you’re amazing. Absolutely amazing.”

Now he was blushing. “Uhh... thanks.” Though Klavier had complimented him in the past, it had never been quite as blunt as this.

“Like, when we were friends, I couldn’t even believe you were real sometimes. I guess that’s why I fell in love with you.”

The words fell from his lips so easily, so casually, like he was commenting on the weather, that it took a moment for Apollo’s brain to register their meaning.

Wait. Why he...

Everything came to a screeching halt.

He WHAT?

Internally, his mind immediately came up with objections. Klavier couldn’t possibly like him like that, right? He was famous, the renowned rockstar prosecutor who could have anyone he wanted, so why would he notice Apollo? And even if he had... he had dropped him. Could he really have fallen as he claimed, if he then gave the defence attorney the cold shoulder entirely?

He didn’t even notice that Klavier was apparently waiting for an answer until he spoke up again.

“What’s wrong, Herr Forehead?”

“You... you...” He finally got his ideas in order enough to form a coherent answer. “Fell in love with me?” He waited for an answer that would somehow explain... everything.

The prosecutor frowned at him for a second. “Didn’t you know?”

That made even less sense to him. “How could I possibly have known if you didn’t tell me?”

Klavier continued frowning, before suddenly smiling. “Ach, didn’t I say that when we were talking earlier?”

How could he be so nonchalant about this? Nobody was that casual about admitting they were in love with someone, especially not to the person in question. Why would it be so unimportant to him?

Unless... it really didn’t matter to Klavier. But how could it not? If Klavier had just... wanted him in a more physical way, or had a crush, he wouldn’t have used the L word.

“No”, Apollo finally answered. “No, you didn’t.”

“Ach, apologies for the confusion then. I just thought, since it was part of why I stopped talking to you and all...”

That made Apollo’s stomach know. Did Klavier... not want to like him like that, enough to avoid him in hopes of getting over it?

The self-deprecating part of him wanted to run with that theory, but the more rational part of him was saying it made absolutely no sense.

Nothing did, really. He needed clarification, and he needed it now.

“It was? You didn’t mention it.” Since Klavier was being so casual, he tried to match his tone, aware that he probably couldn’t.

“Oh, ja. I was... very confused about my feelings towards you, actually. I had... rarely been so close to someone. And when I finally figured it out... well, I believe Kristoph’s trial was but a few days later.”

Oh. That was... terrible timing, wasn’t it?

“So you... felt like you couldn’t be in love with someone who had put your brother in jail?”

It still didn’t justify what had happened. Nothing would. But it did make more sense.

“Ja.” Klavier turned to lie on his back, no longer looking at Apollo. “I tried... to tell myself that I was wrong about my conclusions, that I wasn’t actually in love with you. And I decided to prove it to myself by pretending...”

The words were bitter on Apollo’s mouth. “That I didn’t exist?”

Klavier looked ashamed. “Something like that, ja. Obviously, it didn’t last. I met with you at People Park... and realised I very much still had feelings for you.”

“So, you acting like you didn’t know me...”

“Was my ill-conceived way of detaching myself from you, ja. It didn’t work, and all it did was make you miserable.” Klavier turned his head to look momentarily at him. “And I can never apologise enough for that.”

Apollo wasn’t sure how he was still standing, how he hadn’t slid down to the floor in shock. Everything that had happened was starting to make a horrifying amount of sense, but there was still one thing he didn’t understand. “And when you invited Trucy and me to the concert? What was that?”

“A moment of weakness”, Klavier admitted. “Being near you again... It made me see how much I missed you. And even if I was being an asshole, distant towards you, I felt... better, near you. Like you were a source of light... You’re closer to your namesake than you realise.” He smirked. “So I asked you to come to the concert. And it was... downhill from there, I suppose. When the trial was over, I was forced to admit to myself that I was nowhere near being over you. The fact that you had put two of the closest people to me behind bars wasn’t enough to deter me from wanting to be with you.”

This time, Apollo managed to get his frozen feet to carry him forward to sit on the bed, before he fell down.

Even though the explanation made sense, it was still so hard to believe that Klavier had been harbouring feelings for him all this time. He had hidden it a little too well.

“So you kept hoping that by distancing yourself, you’d manage it eventually?”

“Ja. Stupid of me, really, when I’d just seen how much it hadn’t worked, but I hoped that with enough time...”

He trailed off.

“And then, this trial.”

“Ja. After that, after learning the extent to which Kristoph had used me, and just who I had pushed you away over... well, I decided to let myself drink a bit.”

Apollo raised an eyebrow sceptically. “A bit?”

“That was the original plan, ja. But then I was thinking about the trial seven years ago, and I realised something.” Klavier swallowed. “The defence swap was last-minute, but I was always slated to be the prosecution. Mein Brüder knew that he was going up against me, and...”

Apollo felt ice down his spine. And he made that forgery.

He remembered Klavier during the trial, talking to Kristoph, mentioning how he’d wanted a battle between brothers... except that Kristoph was never planning to play fair.

Klavier dropping him had hurt, but he suspected this might be an even worse betrayal.

“Oh, Klav...”

“And that was when I decided I didn’t want to deal with this sober. At least not for the moment.”

“Wait”. The trial had finished yesterday, meaning... “Have you been drunk nonstop since yesterday?”

“Nein, I did stop today in the morning, after a giant hangover. I kept myself busy with chores. But when I was done... Well, I still didn’t want to deal with it. So...”

Apollo took a deep breath. “You realise how unhealthy that is, right?” Was Klavier just going to get drunk every night from now on, or what? He felt very glad about his decision to come over.

“I know, Forehead. Tomorrow, I will get my act together, I promise.” He smiled. “It helps a lot that you’re here.”

In simpler times, Apollo would’ve answered something like anytime. Now, though, all he could do was nod.

He would be here tomorrow, he could promise that much. He didn’t know what would happen afterwards, though. Because now, to all of his complicated feelings towards Klavier... he had to add this.

“It’s late”, he said. “Try to sleep now, okay?”

“Same to you, Forehead.”

“Fair enough.” He got up. “Good night, again.”

“Gute Nacht, Apollo.”

As he walked back towards the guest room, he wondered how the hell he was going to manage to fall asleep now.

X

The sounds of someone puking woke him up, so he supposed he had drifted off at some point. He rushed towards the bathroom, and unsurprisingly Klavier was there, trying to keep his hair from his face as he purged the alcohol. Apollo simply stood behind him and caught the blonde bangs. Klavier was startled for a moment, before realising what was going on. He didn’t say anything, merely proceeded to hug the toilet and continue.

When it seemed like there was nothing more left in Klavier, Apollo finally spoke. “How bad are you feeling right now?”

The prosecutor sighed. “Like Scheisse, honestly.” He started to lean back, so Apollo let go of his hair, and he rested his head against the shorter man’s stomach. “I remember now why I swore off heavy drinking.”

Apollo didn’t answer, too distracted by Klavier’s sudden weight. Unaware of this, the blonde turned his face up so he could look at Apollo and smiled. “Thank you for being here.”

The defence attorney, for his part, didn’t even register the words, too distracted by the look in Klavier’s eyes. It was... he’d never seen it before. It was the kind of stare that you saw in romantic films all the time, but didn’t really expect to find in real life.

It was warm, and full of adoration, and it made something in his stomach twist in a way that wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

He swallowed, trying to get his suddenly dry mouth to work normally again.

“Right. Um... why don’t you brush your teeth? I’ll make some breakfast.”

He walked away, trying not to look back to see if Klavier was still staring after him like that.

He focused on the toast he was preparing, and tried to banish the image from his mind. Tried to ignore the persistent... feeling in his stomach. Those couldn’t be the famous “butterflies”, right?

Right?

Okay, no, he needed to get a hold of himself. He’d spent a good portion of last night mentally going over whether what he felt for Klavier was just friendship, or something more. He hadn’t managed to come to a conclusion, and one look really shouldn’t change everything.

No way.

Klavier came back, Apollo set the table, and they sat down to eat together in surprisingly companionable silence.

At last, Klavier spoke. “So... I really did that last night, huh.”

Apollo finished chewing. “You’re going to have to be more specific”, he said cautiously, hoping Klavier wasn’t talking about-

“I just confessed my feelings for you like it was nothing.”

-that. Damn it.

“Uh, yeah. I was pretty surprised.”

“I imagine. It’s not like my behaviour towards you hinted at it in any way.”

“Yeah.”

For the first time since he’d arrived here yesterday, the silence turned a little awkward.

“Listen”, Klavier began, and Apollo was surprised at his urgent expression. “This doesn’t need to change anything between us. I mean”, he made a face, “obviously the way I acted towards you can, and I know that you being here doesn’t mean you have forgiven me, or that we’ll go back to the way we were before.” He took a deep breath. “I’m just saying that, if you decide you would like to continue our friendship, even after everything, me... feeling the way I do towards you doesn’t make a difference.”

“It doesn’t?” Apollo asked, surprised. How could it not, knowing that Klavier wanted something more?

“I know you probably think nobody has ever turned me down, being a rockstar and whatnot, but I can handle a rejection. And I can still-”

“Rejection?” He cut him off. “When did I reject you?”

Klavier stared at him, frowning in confusion. “Uh, last night?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Nein, and that was enough.” Klavier gave him a small, saddened smile. “By your own admission, you don’t have a lot of experience with this stuff, and I was... not doing very well, last night. So it made sense that you didn’t say anything because you had no idea of how to go about it kindly. But it’s okay, I understand. You-”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there”, he interrupted. He had spent the night thinking about this, and Klavier was just going to imagine the worst? Nope. No way. If it was an answer he wanted, then he would get one.

Even if it was probably going to be very incoherent.

“I didn’t turn you down, okay? I didn’t say anything because I was too shocked by it. I didn’t say I reciprocated, it’s true. But I didn’t say that I did not, either.”

Klavier just looked confused now, and the tiniest bit hopeful. It reminded him of yesterday. “So are you saying yes or no?”

Apollo knew he needed to handle this as carefully as possible, or else the situation between them would be awkward forever. Still, the truth wasn’t exactly what Klavier was hoping for, probably.

“I don’t know”, he replied. That was the conclusion he had reached last night.

Obviously, the man in front of him gave him an “are you kidding me” look, so Apollo went on.

“You already know that I... haven’t really dated in my life. I... don’t think I’ve ever even had a crush on anyone before. And maybe... I didn’t let myself. Because I already knew what rejection felt like, and didn’t want to experience it again. So, subconsciously, I guess I probably made sure not to set myself up to find myself in that situation. The thing is... I was very hurt by what you did, Klav. I could understand needing a little distance, but not being cruel. And I couldn’t believe that I’d somehow managed to end up disappointed again.”

The prosecutor looked pained and merely nodded.

“Last night, I asked myself if maybe I felt like that because my feelings for you went deeper than I thought. And I realised... that I don’t know. Because I’ve never... liked someone, that way, in my life before. And I have no idea how to tell the difference. Did it hurt so much because it was the last in a long line of abandonments, or because, deep down, I wanted our relationship to become something more? I don’t have an answer for that question.” Apollo smiled dryly. “I thought about it a lot.”

He didn’t mention that the moment in the bathroom seemed to indicate that maybe it was the former of the two options. That single moment wasn’t enough evidence. As a lawyer, he liked evidence. Especially when he was trying to make an assessment as important as this one.

Klavier looked like he was processing all that.

“Okay”, he said slowly. “I suppose I can understand that. So... now what?”

“Well, I was hoping you could tell me that. You’re the more experienced of us, in any kind of relationship.”

Klavier smiled wryly. “You figuring your own feelings out would be a good start. Even if you decide you hate me after all.”

“I don’t hate you”, Apollo replied instantly. That, he was sure of. In all the possible scenarios he’d envisioned for them, walking out and never talking to him again outside of court hadn’t even been a real possibility.

(Was that an argument in favour of him having stronger feelings for Klavier, he wondered? Being willing to forgive him, knowing how he would miss him if he didn’t? No, friends forgave each other. It didn’t have to mean anything.)

Klavier smiled, a bit sadly. “I really don’t deserve you, Apollo, if you can say that even after all the Scheisse I pulled. But in that case... I suppose the only thing to do is to try and mend our friendship, the same way we would’ve done if I hadn’t... confessed last night. And if, down the line, you make your choice... well, I suppose we’ll deal with it then.”

Apollo stared for a moment, feeling the tightening of his bracelet. “You really want me to figure it out, don’t you.”

“Honestly, ja. I’d rather get a direct ‘no’ right now, than wait for who knows how long, with the uncertainty of what you’ll decide.” He sighed. “But you had to deal with the uncertainty of if I even wanted to talk to you again, so I suppose it’s only fair.”

He frowned at that. He didn’t want to hold his own confusion over Klavier’s head like that. “Please don’t think of it that way, Klav. I’m not trying to hurt you, and if I were, that would just make me a hypocrite. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“Ja, I suppose so.”

They finished their breakfast in silence, lost in thought, and began putting things away. As Apollo turned away from the fridge, though, he nearly collided with Klavier, who’d leaned back up after putting the jam in its place.

They both froze. Apollo swallowed. They’d never been this close before. And despite all that hung in the air between them, despite his hesitation with his feelings, he found he didn’t want to step away. It was an enlightening realisation.

For a moment, Klavier’s eyes flickered to his lips, and then back to his eyes, in a silent question.

Oh. Of course he would be thinking about that. Who knew how long he’d wanted it...

The question was, did he want it?

He had to admit to himself that the idea sounded strange, but not off-putting or gross. And if he wanted to figure out his own feelings... this was a good place to start, right?

He made up his mind.

“Okay”, he whispered in a voice so low, Klavier probably only heard it because he was inches away from the source.

The prosecutor leaned forward and closed the distance between them.

And the moment he did, the fluttering in his stomach reappeared and multiplied, and something clicked into place.

Klavier’s lips were soft against his own, his hands warm where he brought them up to hold Apollo’s face. Apollo kissed back, unsure, probably clumsily due to his inexperience.

He wanted to get more experience now.

Klavier pulled away after a couple of seconds, and Apollo did not whine in protest. Really.

The other was smiling, but there was something uncertain about it. “I take it that was all right?” he whispered.

Apollo’s heart clenched to think that he could still be doubting himself when he had clearly not been pushed away.

“Yeah”, he breathed. “More than okay.” And he leaned back forward.

X

Later in the day, they were cuddled up against each other on the sofa, rewatching the same film from yesterday since neither of them had paid much attention to it. Apollo was leaning on Klavier’s chest, the latter’s arms wrapped around him. Occasionally Klavier would drop a kiss in his hair.

They weren’t okay yet. Apollo knew he hadn’t completely forgiven Klavier, and it would take a while for him to do so.

But he was absolutely certain of his feelings towards the other man now.

They would get better, eventually. He wanted them to, and wasn’t that what mattered?

“We’re fine”, he whispered.

“Was?” Klavier whispered back.

Apollo tilted his head back until he could plant a kiss on Klavier’s jaw.

“Nothing”, he said, then got comfortable in his arms again.