Work Text:
The problem arose when Athena invited him to dinner.
This was a common occurrence, one so natural that Apollo thought nothing of it but to nod without even looking at her as a means of agreeing to go. He was still knee-deep in the paperwork of his latest triumph. The agency went to Eldoon's immediately after the not guilty verdict that day but what came after was the office work equivalent to a full three-day trial. He's starting to think they celebrate way too early. Even Mr. Wright needed a vacation afterwards, coming to the office the next morning only to announce that he and Mr. Edgeworth were going on a trip to visit the chief prosecutor's sister in Germany that they conveniently forgot to mention even in passing.
That leads them to have the office to themselves, including Trucy who was also not invited to her father's secret getaway (Apollo managed to snag some babysitting money before they left), typing away on their respective laptops. Except for Trucy who was looking bored in front of a rerun of the Signal Samurai.
"I invited Simon too!" Athena exclaims, "Though he did just send me Taka laughing as a response. Maybe if I say we'll be going out for soba he'll come…"
She leaves her desk even though there's a good four mìnutes left until they should be leaving. But even Mr. Wright doesn't follow that schedule sometimes.
"Oh, you should invite Klavier!" Trucy looks over the couch, pleased to place her attention on something other than badly animated (but decent enough for its time) robot-samurai cartoons. "So Prosecutor Blackquill would come with him!"
This time, Apollo does look up from his laptop. "I don't think inviting Prosecutor Gavin will have that effect. And since when were you and him on a first name basis?"
"Since we swapped Kakao ID's," Trucy flipped her phone to show him, "We performed at the same venue once and had lunch. It was fun."
"You had lunch with Prosecutor Gavin?" Athena jumps to join Trucy on the couch. "What did you talk about? Are the Gavinners gonna have a reunion? I know Daryan Crescend is still in jail but the others—"
Apollo drowns them out after that and decides to make the most of the last… two minutes of his work hours to get to the bottom of that trial's paperwork because god knows someone has to. He finishes up a decent amount by the time the clock strikes five and shuts his laptop down immediately.
"Mon dieu! An opening act?" Athena says when he listens in again, "I didn't even know Prosecutor Gavin was going back to music!"
Trucy giggles. "I didn't know either! He says an album is in the works and they're talking about the possibility of a tour but if ever it happens, I might be performing with him."
Apollo walks over to the couch and says. "No you will not. Going on tour is a serious detriment to your studies. I don't think Mr. Wright would even let that happen now that you're about to go off to college."
Trucy turns to him and shrugs. "So I'll take a gap year. Or online school. Polly, there's no way I'm gonna pass up a chance to go on tour with the Gavinners. That'd be stupid."
Derailing your studies to be the opening act to what he would generously describe as banging pots and bans trying to pass as music is what Apollo would call stupid. But there's probably a reason why Trucy brings in nearly 60% of the agency's income and he's guessing it's not Apollo's bachelor's degree.
"So is that all you talked about? Work? C'mon, Truce, I thought you'd be able to coax out more than that!"
Ah, the glamorous after-work activity of gossip. Truly, never a scarcity with these two in the agency. Apollo rests his shoulders on the back of the couch to lean closer.
Trucy giggles at Athena's shamelessness, turning to Apollo for one second and then changing expressions entirely.
"Yes," she says and immediately Apollo's bracelet squeezes his wrist. "That is all we talked about."
Trucy smiles up at Apollo with a look that just screams that she knows more than she lets on. That isn't even the confusing part, Trucy always knows more than she lets on. What's confusing is that Trucy knows Apollo would never be tricked into believing that she didn't. Even Athena would be able to tell!
Apollo squints his eyes at her. "I don't know what you're hiding but it better not be anything illegal."
"Polly," she exaggeratedly gasps, "I would never do such a thing!"
Well, at least that was true. As long as Trucy didn't end up in any situations where Apollo would feel obligated to defend her in trial that was fine for him. Besides, whatever Trucy and Klavier gossiped about on their own time was none of Apollo's business. He didn't need to know what it was.
"Oh!" Athena looks down at her phone as it dings. "Prosecutor Gavin says he's already got Simon in his car. Let's go!"
They lock up as Athena texts the others the address of the restaurant. All the while, Apollo can see Trucy try to fight off a shit-eating grin.
╎╎╎
The problem is that Apollo is really bad at saying no.
Whet Soba is bustling with patrons at the dinner hour and Apollo has to lean in very closely to hear the conversation happening at the table. Their positions are: Simon, Athena, and Klavier on one side and Apollo and Trucy on the other with Trucy sitting in front of Klavier. They're about thirty minutes into their little get together and there's a stack of empty soba bowls that's high enough for Apollo to be concerned about how Trucy handles the agency's finances.
"Herr Manager suggested I'd go into acting instead," Klavier says, currently the center of attention as he commonly is in any room he’s in. Even the goddamn courtroom where the defendant is literally placed in the center. It’s like a disease. Or maybe a curse. "But the schedules would conflict far too much with my prosecuting. Besides, I don't think I'd be a very good leading man."
Apollo scoffs inwardly, covering his face with his glass of iced tea. Only Klavier would immediately think of being the main lead for his acting debut. If Ema were here they'd both be snickering.
"The fans would go crazy if you were in a movie as the leading man! They're constantly talking about it in the forums!" Trucy tells him and Apollo starts to wonder just how much time the magician has in her hands that she can while away on Gavinners forums.
"Or maybe he'd be better off doing a cameo," Apollo speaks up, "You know, like what most artists do for PR?"
"N'importe quoi! With a few acting classes he could probably pull it off. Right, Simon?"
Athena nudges Simon at his arm, causing him to spill most of his soba right back into his bow as he attempts to eat it. All Athena does to combat the death glare he gives her is smile sheepishly.
"I think Prosecutor Gavin would best direct all his energy into law. Although, if he insists on taking another career, he should stick to what he's used to."
"You and Polly are no fun," Athena hmps, grabbing her chopsticks and slurping some udon.
To her side, Klavier chuckles. "It's quite alright, Fraulein Cykes. What good would a leading man that's never been kissed do anyway?"
The entire table's jaw drops.
"What?" Trucy is the first one that recovers. "You? Never been kissed?"
"Nein, I haven't," Klavier confesses.
"But you act so …" Athena gestures, "You."
At that, the prosecutor chuckles. "Is that a compliment, Fraulein Cykes?"
Apollo almost rolls his eyes at the way Athena's cheeks blush.
"How?" Trucy asks. "Have you never been in a relationship?"
"Nein, though I'm flattered you assume that of me. Juggling both law school and a rock band proves to be quite difficult especially with the Gavin name. No time for much else, really."
"... huh," Apollo accidentally says out loud though he's not sure how he feels about this new information. The only one that seems remotely unphased is Simon and that's only because he's too busy adding another bowl to their tower.
"Still," Trucy says, looking the most back to normal out of the three of them, "Your talent for spectacle would be pretty useful for theatre. Don't completely cross it out."
Klavier shrugs. "Perhaps. But for now, the only lovers I need are my guitars."
That makes Apollo snap back into reality to scoff at Klavier. Visibly this time, forgoing to hide behind his iced tea. Beside him, Trucy giggles and Apollo doesn't miss the way her eyes quickly glance at his before she turns away.
╎╎╎
The problem was that he should've gone home.
By himself. A few hours ago. Preferably before Athena invited him to eat dinner so he could stupidly agree without even thinking. Because what was supposed to be a short but pleasant dinner between colleagues has now turned into a full-blown sleepover at his place.
"Aw, how adorable," Athena coos at the small calico curiously peering at the amount of strangers in her home. "Bonjour, kitty!"
Mikeko hides away in the kitchen much to Athena's dismay. She turns to Apollo to ask, "Did you train her to do that?"
Apollo furrows his eyebrows. "What? No."
"Mik's just a little spooked with strangers," Trucy easily approaches the cat, offering the back of her hand for her to sniff. "Good girl."
"I wanna be friends!" Athena exclaims and follows Trucy behind the counter. She attempts to offer her own hand but is shunned away.
"You will love me by the end of the night," she declares. "Polly, where are your treats?"
"Oh, they're in the—"
"Don't let her rummage through my pantry, Trucy!" Apollo interjects but Athena's already opening drawers.
Apollo sighs. This was gonna be a long night.
"A nice pad you've got here Herr Forehead," Klavier saunters beside him, "Though I am surprised we got HerrBlackquill to come with us."
This was going to be a very long night.
It all started when they were all finished with dinner and Apollo (stupidly) turned to Trucy and said, "We should be getting you home. It's already a bit past your curfew."
Trucy had sighed. "Fine. But I sleep on the bed tonight!"
Apollo had scowled but didn't protest. He had no energy left in him to argue.
"Trucy isn't sleeping at her own house?" Athena questions.
"Mr. Wright didn't like the idea of her sleeping alone so," Apollo shrugged.
Athena pouted. "I've never been to your house! Can I join?"
"Sure," Trucy smiled, which Apollo was going to protest against because that was his house except, "It's pretty late and your apartment is still a few bus stops away."
Fine. He could deal with Athena and Trucy giggling the night away as long as there was a wall in between them. She could come.
Except that was also stupid.
"Oh!" Athena looked around and Apollo should've known that it was trouble just from that, "I have an idea!"
That's what brings them to the present: Trucy and Athena desperately trying to catch Mikeko's attention in the kitchen, Simon eyeing Apollo's extensive collection of action figures in the living room, and Klavier talking to him close enough that he can get a whiff of his obnoxiously expensive perfume beside him.
"So what are our sleeping arrangements?" Simon asks, ever the man of serious business.
"You're so boring, Simon!" Athena says from the kitchen, "You're supposed to stay up during sleepovers."
Simon does his very best not to look bothered by her comment but Apollo sees the way his eyes flicker back and forth.
"C'mon, Athena," Apollo calls, "Not everyone has the energy supply of a sun to get them through the day."
Simon shakes his head. "Maybe not you, Justice-dono, but I do not need much rest at all."
"Yes!" Athena shrieks, holding up Mikeko, "Look, she isn't squirming!"
Apollo starts to walk away from the group, opening his bedroom door.
"Well, I'm going to sleep. If any of you wanna follow me, there's a futon in the closet and an extra blanket. You could fight over the couch, too."
Apollo retreats into his room just as he hears Trucy say, "Good night, Polly!" and heads to his bathroom to brush his teeth and change his clothes. When he curls up on his bed, he can hear the faint noises of the group talking through the wall. He tries to make out what they're saying but sleep engulfs him just before he can figure it out.
╎╎╎
The problem was that he was a light sleeper.
He crashed pretty easily but that was expected after a long work day and a dinner that seemed to go on for hours. He thought he'd be out cold until the morning when he'd inevitably be the first one to wake up and have to contemplate whether he should make breakfast for everyone or kick them out. Except he started to stir when it was still dark out.
He can feel someone open his bedroom door and try their very best to quietly pad through the room. That alone doesn't wake him up entirely, that noise was Mikeko most days and if he was that sensitive, the dark circles under his eyes would be much darker. But then the person goes into his bathroom, turns on the lights, and flushes the toilet.
That makes him groan, both the light and the sound of the flush. He cracks an eye open to find Klavier rushing out of the bathroom with still-wet hands looking apologetic.
"Es tut mir leid, Herr Forehead. I didn't expect your toilet to be so—"
"'S fine," Apollo rubs his hands on his eyes, "Are the others asleep?"
"Like a light," Klavier responds, "We were betting on who would fall asleep last but they were already yawning thirty minutes after you went to bed."
Apollo chuckles lightly, his throat still rough with sleep.
"I guess that means you won," he says.
Klavier nods. "Ja, I did. I'm supposed to be getting free ice cream."
"Ah, well, congratulations."
He takes this opportunity to sit up and stretch, feeling himself become more and more awake which is awful because he's supposed to wake up in about three hours. He half expects Klavier to be gone by the time he opens his eyes but he's still there, just hovering.
He looks up at him. "Any reason why you're still awake?"
"Ack, nothing in particular. It's just a bit hard on my back to sleep on the floor."
"You sound like an old man," Apollo grins. "I guess that means that the couch's been taken?"
"The frauleins quickly claimed it after our game started. And, though don't tell anyone I told you, but HerrBlackquill kicks in his sleep."
"Ah well," Apollo shrugs, beginning to take off his blanket and move forward. Which makes him look down and… well his bed is pretty big. He and Klavier could share it just fine. "You could sleep with me?"
It catches the prosecutor off-guard. "Wie bitte?"
"I mean—," Apollo catches himself, "You don't have to but I figured with a pillow in between us, sharing a bed beats sleeping on the hardwood floor."
At that Klavier laughs. At him, more like.
"A pillow in between?" he chokes, "What, are we babies?"
"Hey, I thought it'd make it less awkward," Apollo hmps, bringing his blanket up to his chest defensively.
"Nein, ich verstehe. I just thought it was a funny image," he waves his hand dismissively. "But, if you're sure, I would gladly sleep with you, Herr Forehead."
He's teasing. Apollo knows it by the look on his face which makes him roll his eyes but still move to make way.
"If you drool on my pillows, Gavin, you're replacing them," he says, placing a pillow in the middle of the bed. It kind of does look ridiculous.
"Ja, ja, I'll send over a whole new pillow set."
He turns the other way as Klavier takes the spot next to him, settling under the blanket easily. What follows after is… well, it's silence. Near deafening silence. Apollo's eyes are closed and he's willing his body to calm down and go back to sleep but how can he calm down and go back to sleep when he's very aware of the fact that it's hotter under the blankets now and that it's not actually silent because he can hear the soft sound of Klavier's breathing and the way his feet brush against his bed as he gets comfortable. It's too much all at once and it makes him take off his blanket just so he could breathe.
Then he turns around. He sees that Klavier, unlike him, wasn't facing away, and all he can do is watch him sleep.
He's aware he's probably crossing some kind of line here, staring at the famous rockstar prosecutor sleeping right next to him in his own bed (god, imagine the tabloid articles if they found out about this). Even without having to mention Klavier's popularity, watching one of his friends sleep next to him with said friend blissfully unaware of it happening is borderline stalkerish. He should definitely look away, turn around, and fall asleep, or just shut his eyes for the next three hours and pretend to be asleep. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. He's gonna have to have a shit ton of coffee if he wants to finish all his paperwork tomorrow.
But it doesn't feel as suffocating now as it did when he was facing away. It was easier to look at him directly, notice the way his normally perfectly brushed hair sweeps his face messily. He has a feeling it's because Klavier isn't aware of it. It feels better to be able to stare at him without being stared back at. Klavier always looked into his eyes with a certain glint Apollo couldn't quite make out yet. It always made it feel like he was getting the air knocked out of him. Right now he feels lighter, even with the heavy feeling in his chest.
Klavier's eyes crack open and he freezes.
"You're staring, Herr Forehead," he whispers and he watches the way his lips move, hearing the way they smack together with each syllable.
Apollo swallows and Klavier sees that too, his eyes following the way his Adam's apple dips. It only makes him feel even more self-conscious. Like he's been caught in the middle of a crime.
It's silent again. This time with a thick air of tension Apollo's not sure how to slice through. For one thing, his throat feels like it's been closed up. Staring at Klavier always reduced his vocabulary to null though he feels especially tongue-tied at the present. The prosecutor looks like he's searching for something and Apollo's afraid he might not have it. Still, his eyes don't look away. He doesn't move any closer either. There's still that ridiculous pillow in between them to make space and Apollo isn't sure whether to be embarrassed or grateful for it.
Then Klavier licks his lips and Apollo only has one thing on his mind.
"Was it true, what you said at dinner?" Apollo manages to croak out, just as quietly as Klavier's whisper. "About the—have you really never?"
Klavier laughs and, well, Apollo probably deserves that for a question that's seemingly out of left field, but he answers anyway, "Nein. I have never. Is that a problem?"
"No!" he says a little too loudly, "No, no, Gavin… why would that be a problem?"
He doesn't answer. "Have you?" he asks instead.
"I—," Apollo blushes. "Yes."
Klavier grins. "When?"
He bites his lips. "The first time? Sophomore year high school with my friend. His name was Clay."
"His?" Klavier echoes.
He freezes. "Y-Yeah. Why are you asking?"
Klavier takes a while to respond. "No reason. Was he your boyfriend?"
Apollo's face burns even hotter. "Well—no? We were mostly just… fooling around. Everyone else was getting girlfriends and having their first kisses. We figured we might as well practise."
"On each other?"
"Look, we were dumb teenagers, so what?"
The prosecutor laughs hard enough that he leans forward, closer to Apollo now.
When he stops, he looks up at Apollo again, and there it is, that glint in his eyes. The one that Apollo just doesn’t understand.
"So nothing else ever happened?" he asks, slowly.
"With what?"
"With you and your, er, friend?"
Apollo almost splutters. "What, Clay? God, no. He's practically my brother."
Klavier hums, closing his eyes for long enough that Apollo thinks he's fallen back to sleep except he opens them again.
"You said the first time," Klavier points out, "You mean you've had more kisses, Herr Forehead?"
Apollo flushes. "Okay, we are done talking about this."
He's about to turn away as Klavier chuckles but he grabs his arm and pulls him back.
"Ack, halt mal, Herr Forehead, es tut mir leid, come back," he holds him in place. "Entschuldigung, I was just curious. I expected to be up all night gossiping with the frauleins when I agreed to come and instead I'm stuck in your bed needing to whisper so they don't wake up."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," Apollo sighs.
Klavier smiles. "Nein. It's quite the contrary."
He finds Apollo's eyes again. He can't really make out the expression on Klavier's face with how dark it is but he can feel his own skin heat up at the direct attention. Could Klavier see that? Does the light from the outside come in enough for him to notice his blush? All he knows is that Klavier's smiling at him still. A quiet settles in that doesn't feel as thick as before. This time it's featherlight, easy. Apollo doesn't feel like he's suffocating from his stare. Instead he just feels seen.
"I just don't get it," Apollo starts, "Surely people are interested in you. Witnesses flirt with you left and right in the courtroom."
"Are you suggesting that I pick up one of the witnesses next time?" Klavier jokes and Apollo smacks his side lightly. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
"Yeah, you're hilarious."
"So, I've been told," Klavier quips back, to which Apollo responds with rolling his eyes. "And, ja, there have been several people who were—what word did you use?— interested in me. It's just that… I've had trouble reciprocating the sentiment."
"Pfft, so you're picky? Is that what you're saying?"
"I'm saying that it's difficult to be interested in anyone else when you already have someone in mind."
He bows his head down slightly but his eyes are still looking at Apollo, beckoning. It feels strange to be so stared at especially in the dark. No one else is around. It'd be so easy to believe that they were the only two in the world.
Apollo blinks. Taking a while to process it until… oh.
"Huh," he breathes. "Well, I can relate to that."
For some reason, Klavier moves closer.
"Can you?" he asks.
Apollo swallows again. "Sure."
Klavier hums and he's close enough that Apollo can feel the vibrations.
"Have you told them?" Apollo asks.
"Nein," he replies. "Not yet."
"Not yet?" he echoes. "Do I know who it is?"
Klavier grins. "Maybe," he says, "You could know him very well."
"That's not a very good clue," Apollo quips.
"I wasn't giving one out. Would you like one?"
Apollo looks up at Klavier's eyes again, bright blue even in the dark. Close enough that they look as wide as the ocean.
"Okay," he answers.
He expects him to speak, maybe even deny him of his request, but instead he moves even closer, reaching over to place his lips right against Apollo's ear and whispers, "He has a lot more experience in kissing than I do."
His voice sends a tremble down Apollo's spine that makes him shudder. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears pounding louder and louder even as Klavier pulls away to rest his head back onto his pillow. But he never makes it all the way there because Apollo takes his face in hands and pulls him in close.
He can feel the way Klavier freezes at the sensation, slowly easing his head back onto the pillows with Apollo guiding him down. He can sort of tell his inexperience with the way he just presses back with the smallest bit of pressure. So Apollo cups his face and angles them together to kiss him deeper. Klavier is entirely heat at the moment and all Apollo can do is pull him close, hum in pleasure, bring a hand down to raise himself up ever so slightly so that he can push himself past the pillow in between them. Then Klavier opens his mouth to let Apollo in and he licks into him, slowly so as to not startle him. He can feel the way Klavier relaxes in his arms, arching his back as Apollo kisses him as if he were unravelling. Soon enough, he's responding to Apollo and kissing back, and back, and back.
It feels strange to be the one with more experience here. He always thought Klavier would have a long list of names of the people he's kissed in his life. That's definitely how he carried himself around. He thought he'd at least have a few exes even though the thought of Klavier being with other people made him feel—
He kisses him more fervently this time, raising a leg to rest in between Klavier's knees and hovering over him. Klavier gasps at the sudden roughness which eggs him on more, bringing a hand to his waist to hold him still. Even when Klavier pulls away to take a breath, Apollo is attacking his neck, kissing down his skin and sucking in softly, still careful to not leave any marks.
"Gott," Klavier gasps, placing a hand on the back of Apollo's head, "Schatz, bitte, I need to breathe."
Apollo pulls away then. "Sorry, sorry," he feels his face flush as he retreats back to his side of the bed. On the other side of the goddamn pillow. "Got a little—," he gulps, "—carried away."
Klavier chuckles at that, impossibly charming that Apollo can feel his heart drop at the sound of it.
"Nein, it was… it was good."
It's Klavier's turn to feel embarrassed. He's already pretty red but he bashfully looks away, biting his swollen lips shyly.
Despite himself, Apollo reaches for his cheek again, looking for Klavier's eyes to ask, "Can I?"
Klavier turns to him again and swallows. "Ja."
Apollo kisses him again. Softer now. He's gentle and caring. Klavier eases up more easily and brings his own hand up to cup Apollo's face. Apollo tilts his head as he tries to lick into Klavier's mouth again, still gentle. Their tongues move against each other slowly, pulling away for a moment then going back again. It's so warm and languid, Apollo finds himself getting lost in the kiss, pulling his head back to let Klavier take control this time and it's so, so sweet. He brings a hand to rest on Klavier's shoulder and he hums in delight, urging him to keep going because it feels so good.
Then they hear the door springing open and immediately pull away.
In the doorframe they see Trucy squinting her eyes, possibly trying to make out the image before her until all the pieces come together and she grins.
"Trucy," Klavier speaks first, "Entschuldigung, I seem to have taken your spot next to Herr Forehead."
Trucy giggles. "No, that's alright," she says, "You can sleep next to Polly. I'll go back to the couch. Good night!"
She walks back and closes the door, but not before she shoots Apollo a knowing smile.