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“Clay, what the fuck?”
Halfway through passing dollar bills over to the cashier, Klavier’s hands stilled. He knew that voice. He had heard that impossibly loud shouting before, and very recently.
The cashier’s own hands paused, and he turned his head to stare. He wasn’t the only one. It came from outside the building and the entire room heard it clearly. The coffee shop had kept the doors open to allow the breeze to come in- it was a hot day, and many people inside were taking shelter from the sun. The noise travelled through undisturbed.
“Apollo, I didn’t-” Another voice began, male and unfamiliar. The voice continued, and it suddenly clicked in Klavier’s head.
“I don’t want to hear it!” Apollo Justice said again, just as loud. Several people in the room winced. Some even moved away from the door as if afraid. Klavier heard the cashier murmur what the fuck, but he took Klavier’s money and stepped over to the till, still frowning at the door. Apollo was still yelling, something about Clay being an idiot. Klavier could feel nothing but sympathy for the poor man.
His change was being pressed into his hand, and Klavier murmured a quick thank you. His cold drink in hand, he stepped out of the door and peered out cautiously. He felt like he was stepping out into Jurassic Park after the electric gates had failed. He hoped nothing came darting out with the intention to kill him.
It wasn’t hard to hunt Apollo down. He followed the screaming. He turned his head and his eyes caught the distant shine of gold and he knew it was Apollo’s bracelet. He squinted against the glare of the sun, pressing his hand over his eyes, and stepped forward.
“You had one job, Clay,” Apollo was furiously berating him up ahead, and Klavier could only imagine the look on his face. “One job!”
Klavier kept walking, listening intently. He took a sip of his drink. He could see Apollo up ahead. He was right up in the face of someone taller and bigger than him- that seemed to be Apollo’s style. The other man in question looked appropriately cowed and Klavier didn’t blame him. He had never been on the other side of Apollo’s furious Chords of Steel in a fit of true anger, and he didn’t want that to happen any time soon.
Klavier thought Apollo was frankly adorable when he was mad. Unless it was genuine and turned on him. Then, it would be terrifying.
“Apollo,” He was going to call out, but then Apollo was shouting again and this time it was different.
“Were you not listening to her? At all?” His voice was just as loud, just as angry- but it took Klavier a few moments to realise that Apollo was speaking German. His pronunciation wasn’t the best and at times his grammar was poor, like he was still in the process of learning, but he was nonetheless speaking German. The man had talents Klavier was unaware of. All the times he had called Apollo schatzi and liebling all came rushing to the forefront of his mind, and Klavier wanted to turn around and get the fuck away from there. He wanted to pretend he had never said or seen a thing. But Apollo was upset about something, and if Klavier could help, he would. Even if it meant saving the man he was yelling at.
Apollo was still steaming ahead, yelling creative insults in German when Klavier finally came close enough to speak over him. “Herr Forehead,” He called, and Apollo stopped. He spun around to face him, and his friend Clay looked deeply relieved. Klavier couldn’t. Apollo turned a glare on him that rivalled the power and heat of the sun itself. Klavier resisted the urge to take a sharp step back. They both looked at him, and Clay’s expression changed to one of surprise. He looked between Klavier and Apollo quickly, relief melting away to be replaced with pure confusion, but Apollo’s didn’t budge an inch.
“Hallo,” Apollo said in German without realising, spitting out the word like Klavier was the one who wronged him, and turned back to Clay. He was shouting again like he had never been interrupted, and then Klavier realised he had switched languages again- not German, not English, but Spanish. He seemingly had no idea he was doing it.
Klavier knew he could speak it. He had mentioned it offhandedly once, talking about his adoptive mother, and Klavier had often heard what he presumed were curse words slurred in Spanish under his breath. Apollo often called him gillipolas- and how offended he had been when he googled what that meant- and had no difficulty the one time he had to speak with a witness who only spoke Spanish. He was no doubt completely fluent, and using the entire dictionary to rip into Clay.
The man now looked terrified and startled, not to mention confused at the mess of languages, and he looked to Klavier for help. The prosecutor could only shrug helplessly. They both watched with vague horror.
He waited until the flow of words stemmed. Apollo had to take a breath at some point. When he did, Klavier interjected again. “Is there a problem?” He resisted the urge to tack on schatzi. He wasn’t calling him it ever again if Apollo knew.
“We’re, uh, making a scene.” Clay’s voice was very small. He physically shrunk when Apollo turned his withering gaze back to him.
“This gillipolas was supposed to be keeping track of Trucy for me while I was doing something else- and she’s disappeared on us.”
Klavier narrowed his eyes. The Fraulein was resourceful, could probably take care of herself and it was only the early afternoon, but she was still a girl missing in a very large city. They didn’t speak often, usually when Apollo was about, but Klavier was fiercely protective of everyone he knew- after the life he lived, he had to be. “Another of her tricks?”
“I don’t know,” Apollo said, exasperated. “We were supposed to be going to grab snacks for a movie night, but I turned away for a sec and when I turned back, she was gone.”
Klavier turned on Clay. “And you don’t know where?”
“No,” Clay looked rightfully ashamed of himself. “She said something, but I wasn’t really listening. I thought it was just some observation, and then when Apollo got back I realised she was gone.”
Apollo pressed his index finger against his forehead, looking just about ready to beat Clay half to death, and Klavier crossed his arms against his chest. The streets around them were crowded with people, and some of the bystanders where still looking at Apollo, awed. They were probably wondering how a man that small could have lungs so large. But Trucy was nowhere to be seen amongst them. “She wouldn’t have gone off with anyone?”
Apollo glowered at him, planting his hands on his hips. Oh Gott, Klavier barely had time to think before Apollo was shouting again, and it sounded like nonsense. It took him a while to recognise half the words, none of which he could translate. Klavier thought he might be speaking Russian. He spoke in short bursts- implying he knew little, only vague insults. He was learning more about Apollo in the last five minutes than he had the past few months- that he could get incredibly angry, knew plenty of languages, and was far fouler mouthed than Klavier would ever have guessed.
Klavier stood there and took it. There was little else he could do. He would run out of insults eventually and they could get on with solving Apollo’s problems. People were staring again as they walked by, giving him a wide berth until one particularly courageous or stupid man approached, frowning at Apollo. Clay and Klavier watched silently. Klavier took another sip of his drink.
“Hey, do you mind keeping it down-”
Apollo pivoted where he stood. Quick fire, furious Russian spewed from his mouth and the man stepped away. He lifted up his hands, and backed off without saying a word. Klavier felt a little sorry for him, but he took the chance to intervene.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
Apollo flattened a hand over his face. The man was leaving quickly, taking the exit while he could. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe.” He huffed out an aggravated sigh. His shoulder slumped, like all the energy had left him in one spark of anger. “Look, she’s smart enough to get herself out of any trouble, but if someone wanted to show her some magic tricks, she would probably go.”
Klavier thought about it. She probably would. Considering the little stunt she pulled with Mr Hat in their very first trial together- Apollo would deny it to the grave, but Klavier knew, as soon as Trucy showed him Mr Hat he knew- she would probably be fine enough to get herself out of any situation, but her curiosity was too much. If someone saw her outfit and asked if she wanted to see a trick…
Klavier shook his head. He didn’t want to think like that. “We have to look for her,” He said, and Apollo murmured an agreement in German. And I have to ask about that. But later.
“We can look for street performer’s maybe,” Clay said meekly, and Apollo looked thoughtful. “I think there were some up the road. We walked past them on the way here.”
Apollo nodded, suddenly silent. His brows were furrowed, and he looked worried. Klavier didn’t blame him in the slightest. Clay stepped away first, heading across the pavement, and Klavier turned to walk after him. He reached out to rest a hand on Apollo’s shoulder, pulling him along firmly. “We’ll find her,” He promised, flashing him a reassuring smile, and Apollo barely smiled back.
The first street performer was a singer. There were a few people gathered around her listening, and she was good, but Trucy wasn’t among the crowd. The tallest of all of them, Klavier could see in a second that she was nowhere around. The walked up a couple of the streets, peering down the alleyways that branched off to the side, and every time Klavier told them he couldn’t see her Apollo’s frown deepened. Fifteen minutes after they had last seen her and two street performers later, Apollo’s hands were noticeably shaking.
Klavier took them in his, and Apollo didn’t protest.
Apollo let himself be pulled along and he was quiet. He barely said a word. His eyes darted around, looking for a top hat amongst the crowds and magicians among the performers, but there was nothing to be found. Clay was growing more and more nervous with each second that passed.
There was a sudden tension between them all, an unspoken fear of maybe they won’t find her, but Clay turned to look at them with a serious expression. Out of immediate ideas and hating the way Apollo’s hand clenched around his, Klavier looked to him with hope.
“Are there any magic shops around here?” He asked. “It’d make sense that she’d go there- as a landmark, maybe.”
Klavier looked to Apollo. The man looked like he was thinking hard, pulling his hoodie a little tighter around him. The worry in his eyes cleared just a little, but it lingered. “Ah- shit, yeah, I forgot about it. I wasn’t really thinking- there’s one she really likes, a couple of streets away.”
“Maybe she went there?” Klavier asked, and Apollo nodded.
“It’s a good place to try.”
“Lead the way,” Klavier told him, and then Apollo was pulling him along, pushing past the other pedestrians. He moved quickly, stepping out into the roads when the paths got too filled with people, and Klavier couldn’t find it in him to tell him to be more careful. Instead, he pulled Apollo out of danger when necessary, blocking him from oncoming cars and making sure Clay was close behind them.
He was. He was also gazing at his and Apollo’s interlinked hands, but he didn’t say a single word. He no doubt had hundreds of questions blooming into thousands, but he was aware enough not to ask. Not at this moment, anyway.
They arrived at the shop a few minutes later, and Apollo was tugging him along firmly. Klavier followed obediently. It was a little shop in a side street, a hole in the wall type of place, and the sign was painted brightly. It was covered in stereotypical magician stuff- top hats and white rabbits, the like. The paint was flaking a little and there were posters plastered all over the windows. They advertised sales, shows, and even missing animals. There was only a small section of the window uncovered.
They peered into the shop together- and immediately spotted Trucy, browsing the shelves with the assistant at her side.
Apollo exclaimed something in Spanish and darted to the door. He didn’t let go of Klavier’s hand- he tugged the man along with him. He barrelled into the door, bursting into the building and everyone looked around at the sound, the entry bell chiming above their heads. Apollo didn’t give a damn about them- he went straight for Trucy.
“Where were you?” He demanded, impossibly loud in the tiny shop, and Klavier winced. Trucy didn’t seem particularly put off- Klavier assumed she was used to it. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Trucy blinked at him. She quirked her head to one side. “What?”
Klavier heard the bell that indicated that Clay entered the shop behind them, and eager, he bumped his shoulder into Klavier’s. “Oh, thank god.” He sounded like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders- winded, but relieved.
The assistant looked between each of them, eyes wide, but before he could say a word Apollo was speaking again. “I told Clay to keep an eye on you and then you were gone! Next time you run off, tell me first! Anything could have happened, Trucy!”
She pulled a face, and crossed her arms against her chest. “I did tell you. Well, I told Clay. I said I was coming here for a bit because I know how much you hate how much time I spend in here, and that you should meet me afterwards. Did he not tell you?”
Apollo lashed over at Clay with one hand, hitting him on the arm. Clay whined out a pained noise, rubbing the place where he had been hit. “This gillipolas wasn’t listening. I had no idea where you went. Don’t ever do that again.”
Trucy grinned at him. “God, Polly, what are you, my brother or something? “You’re all a bunch of idiots,” She declared, and Klavier couldn’t argue with that.
“I might as well be, idiot and your brother, considering how often I have to babysit you.” Apollo grumbled, but he looked relieved, so at peace after almost half an hour of internal panic. He let out a long sigh. “Don’t be too long, okay? We still need to go get snacks. I’ll wait outside for you.”
She nodded. Klavier noticed for the first time how she clutched a basket in her hands, crammed with god only knew what, and he wondered if he was going to get a demonstration the next time he saw her. He hoped so. He had secretly been a huge fan of magicians as a child- partly why he wanted the heir of Gramarye to make Lamiroir disappear- and her tricks fascinated him. It seemed for the first time she properly noticed him too. “Hi, Klavier. What are you doing here?”
“I heard your brother screaming at Clay,” He told her, and Apollo had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I had to investigate after that.”
“Chords of Steel?”
“Chords of Steel.” He confirmed with a sombre nod, and she laughed. She dropped her gaze- and then blinked, looking suddenly surprised. A little confused, Klavier followed her gaze. She was staring straight at Klavier and Apollo’s hands.
Klavier dropped it like it burnt him. Even minutes afterwards, he could still feel the warmth. She cackled at the expression on his face, and reached out to shove at Apollo’s chest. “Get out. You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends. I’ll be out in a moment.”
“If a moment was an hour,” Apollo grumbled, his expression haughty but his skin flushed with embarrassment, and he made sure to stay as far away from Klavier as possible as he left the building. The bell chimed again as he exited, Klavier and Clay both close at his heels.
Klavier hadn’t realised how dark and stuffy the inside of the shop was until he was outside, bombarded by the sunlight and the fresh air. He squinted against the assault, but he was pleased to be out, and faced with something that wasn’t Apollo’s panic. He looked much more at ease now, with looser shoulders and a softer expression.
“I’m really sorry,” Clay said, as soon as they were out. “I’m sorry, I caused all the panic for nothing. I should have listened.”
“It’s fine,” Apollo said dismissively. He went to the wall of the shop, leaning up against it. He almost slumped, tilting his head up. He looked like he was still processing what had happened. “We’ve found her. And I shouldn’t have shouted at you. I’m sorry too.”
They flashed tiny grins at each other, best friends still, but Clay still looked sheepish. “That was terrifying, though. You shouting at me. Please don’t do that again, only if I really deserve it.”
Apollo laughed, and it was an opportunity. Klavier took it. “I have a question about that.”
Apollo looked at him as Clay settled too. He took the floor. For such a stuffy shop, the pavement outside was surprisingly clean. “Hmm?”
“When you were shouting, you started yelling in different languages. You didn’t even seem aware of it. Does that usually happen?”
Apollo looked at him for a moment, his brows shooting up. “I was yelling in different languages?”
“He doesn’t realise it happens,” Clay said, around a yawn. Apollo gave him a strange look. “No, dude, you do it. It’s crazy. You start in English than you end up shouting something complete different.”
Apollo’s head spun around to look at Klavier again, as if looking for aid against such baseless allegations, but Klavier grinned and lifted his hands up. “It’s true. You shouted in four different languages back there.”
The man looked startled. “Did I?”
“Yeah, it happens sometimes,” Clay explained. “It’s a bit hard to keep track of, but if you wait until he’s done and ask to explain again, he usually does it in English. I know a little bit of Spanish, but not enough when Apollo’s losing it on you.”
Apollo looked like the world had been yanked out from underneath his feet, and Klavier thought his confused little expression was adorable. He watched his nose wrinkle. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“You yelled at Clay in English, Spanish and German, and then at that poor stranger in Russian. I think you’re linguistically confused, Herr Forehead.” Klavier said, teasingly, and Apollo looked indignant while Clay laughed. Apollo glowered at the both of them, crossing his arms.
“Whatever,” He grumbled, and that was the end of it for a moment. A vague, sullen silence descended. Apollo glared at the floor like it had done him personal offence. Klavier resisted the urge to laugh. He took a sip of his drink again. It was a little warm, but bearable.
And he still had a thousand questions- one in particular he wanted to know the answer to.
“I didn’t even know you knew German,” Klavier said, as casually as he could. He thought he did quite well acting blasé. Apollo hummed.
“I don’t know much. I started learning a couple of months ago.”
“Why?”
“To figure out what half the shit you were saying to me meant,” Apollo said honestly, and he smiled at Klavier’s laugh. Klavier decided to take the seat next to him, out of convenience. His pants probably wouldn’t get too dirty, and it was awkward trying to hold a conversation with someone at knee level. “Like, I understood Herr Forehead and achtung and all that. There’s was some stuff I didn’t know. Like, I wasn’t sure about wonderbar.” He paused for a moment, and Klavier should have known. “Liebling and schatzi.”
Shit. Klavier resisted the urge to stand up again and bolt. He shouldn’t have sat down. “I see.” He said instead, very slowly. “And you know what they mean, then?”
Apollo lips twitched into a smile. Suddenly they were sitting much too close for such a conversation. “Ja.”
“Right,” Klavier said, a little weakly, and Apollo huffed in laughter by his side. Apollo turned his head, looking towards him, and there was mischief shinning in his eyes. Klavier felt frankly a little offended that Apollo was getting so much fun out of it, but he hadn’t seen him like that before- so genuinely amused, almost coquettish in his teasing. “You’re making fun of me.”
“I am,” Apollo confirmed, and his grin was ear to ear. He leant in a little, lowering his voice so Clay wouldn’t hear. “After all, I think it’s time. After everything you’ve said to me, I think it’s my turn.”
Apollo was very kissable in that moment.
His lips were quirked up, pliant looking, and Klavier was sorely tempted to just lean in and kiss him. He had been wanting to for months, but until this moment sound no indication that maybe Apollo wanted him to. He was leaned in so close, it would have been so easy to close the distance.
Apollo’s face was suddenly serious, and Klavier wondered what his own expression was. It felt serious, but so wrapped up in the thought of kissing the man who had been driving him up the wall since they had met was too distracting to tell. He leant in a little, close enough to feel Apollo’s breath.
The shop door opened, and the bell chimed loudly.
Klavier jumped back. He had forgotten there was a world around him outside Apollo. The pavement was hard underneath him again, the taste of his drink was strong on his tongue, and Trucy was looking down at them with bewilderment.
“What are you doing sitting on the floor?” She asked, clutching a large bag of her purchases. Klavier wondered how much all of it cost.
“I, uh,” Apollo stumbled, shooting up. The playful confidence was long gone. “Just-just waiting for you.”
Beside them, Clay got up. He moved much slower, and had a rather self-satisfied grin on his face. Klavier cursed inwardly. He had completely forgotten he was there- he never would have tried to kiss Apollo if he remembered, and even Apollo looked quite disbelieving in himself. He wondered how long Apollo would be teased about it now.
“Right, well. I’m ready to go,” Trucy was saying, like nothing ever happened, but she was a smart girl. No doubt she had picked up on it. “We can go and do things you actually enjoy now, Polly.”
“At long last,” He said, not quite a grumble. Had Apollo been on point, it would have been a complaint for sure. Instead, he just looked faintly dazed. Turning to Klavier, Apollo refused to meet him head on. “Thanks for helping us look. Sorry for dragging you around.” Klavier’s hand still tingled. “We’ll let you go now-“
Trucy made a sound of protest, and Apollo stared at her. She had her hands firmly planted on her hips, and an excited expression. “Why doesn’t Klavier come with us?” She turned her wide eyes on him. They appeared almost pleading. “If you’re not busy with anything else, that is.”
“Um,” Klavier said, rather ungracefully. Apollo and Trucy had a habit of making him a complete mess. He wasn’t sure if he hated it or not. “What?”
“We’re going to have a movie night,” She explained, slowly. “Do you want to join us?”
“I’m sure Prosecutor Gavin has much better things to do with his time,” Apollo was probably going to say, but he barely managed to get halfway through his sentence before Klavier said ja. Apollo looked at him. He was the only one of the three who looked startled. “What?”
He couldn’t say no to Trucy’s eyes, and Apollo was too sweet to part from. Not that he would ever admit that. He cleared his throat firmly and said “Ja, I’d love to. Depending on the movies, of course.”
Apollo looked thrown, but Trucy looked delighted. Clay looked insufferably smug. Klavier liked the man well enough, but in that moment, he wanted to kill him. “Great! We haven’t decided yet, but there’s another person to help us bicker over them! The more the merrier.”
“Trucy,” Apollo said, disapprovingly, but she ignored him. She turned away with a flurry of her cape and a wide grin.
“Let’s go!” She said, and there was nothing more to be said on the matter. She skipped away, looking pleased with herself. In order to keep up without losing her again Clay followed her closely, making sure she didn’t wander off. He left Apollo and Klavier in the dust together.
They very pointedly didn’t look at each other for the moment, and Klavier wondered if he had made a mistake. The evening was going to be horrifically awkward, but then Apollo huffed out a breath, and turned to him. His eyes were serious.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I know Trucy can kind of put people on the spot sometimes.” He looked a little bashful at that, but Klavier smiled, as reassuringly as he could.
“Nonsense. I’d love to.” It prevented him from another long evening indoors alone. It meant he be surrounded by bustle and noise and people who he liked to think cared- it was perfect.
Apollo smiled at him, a little shyly if Apollo were such a thing, but the other two were getting too far away. He jerked his head towards them, stepping after them. “Come on,” He said, and Klavier followed at his heels.
He thought about maybe taking Apollo’s hand again.
He didn’t.