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Apollo was never exactly what you would call smooth, and he had never thought of himself as such. He got tongue tied far too easily, in court and his personal life, and it surprised himself how often he managed to not only string together a coherent thought but actually win his case. He had no charisma, although he thought he made of for it with his Chords of Steel- but he recognised there was little to no romance in it.
That’s why when he finally stopped battling with himself and tried to... flirt with, seduce or woo Klaiver Gavin he decided to go about it in a quiet, subtle way. If he crashed and burned, at least hopefully no one would notice, and Gavin would be kind enough not to publically humiliate him.
He started slow, and he supposed that might have been why Klavier didn’t noticed. The man hummed one day coming out of court, content with a small smile, and Apollo said, “You know, your voice isn’t that bad.”
The man stopped suddenly, the unfamiliar tune cut short, and he looked at Apollo with surprise. “Was?”
Apollo repeated himself, a little slower. Klavier stared at him for a beat. Then a smile crossed his face, one that made Apollo regret ever even opening his mouth and the giant took a step closer, bumping his shoulder with Apollo’s. He had to duck a little to do it. “Forehead, I’m flattered! Is this your way of saying that you’re in love with my voice and you want to come to all of my gigs?”
“No!” Apollo spluttered, aghast. Klavier laughed needlessly loud in the lobby, and the light caught his hair. “Don’t think too much of it, Gavin, I’m trying to be friendly. I hate your music. I just like your voice. Kind of.”
“Ah, a compliment surrounded by insults. How kind of you,” He said, as they emerged from the building. They stepped into the bright sunlight and took a lungful of air. The courts could get awfully dusty sometimes. “But be careful, Forehead. We don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. One might think you’re flirting with me, ja?”
“…Right,” Apollo said, and for one of the first times in his life Klavier remained blissfully ignorant.
-
The second time was even less clear, something much less direct. It spawned from an offer of Klavier’s, one that he was positive was going to get shot down.
But Apollo’s anxiety ridden face hardened, he strengthen his jaw and he nodded once. He didn’t appear capable of words, but he nodded and snatched the helmet from Klavier’s hands. He pulled it on without another word and Klavier stared, hands cupped around nothing.
“You’re coming with me?” He asked, and Apollo would have shot him a look that said duh had he not been practically quaking where he stood. Klavier blinked at him, watching him adjust the helmet as well as he could, and he wasn’t sure if he was impressed or scared. “Who are you, and what have you done with the real Herr Justice?”
Apollo gave him a sour look, and he looked slightly ridiculous in the helmet. Klavier wasn’t going to tell him that- safety first, after all. “Wow, you actually know my name? I’m impressed. Maybe next you can learn Ema’s.”
Klavier waved it away. “Once she learns mine, and stops calling me the glimmerous fop.” He gestured to the space behind him, flashing him a smile. “Come on, then, if this isn’t all false bravado. The coffee shop awaits.”
He watched, faintly amused as Apollo steeled himself. He let out a breath and then stepped forward, off the curb, and after pausing again lifted and swung his leg over Klavier’s bike. He almost slipped and he scrambled, unused to the height, and he clung to Klavier’s back. They weren’t even moving, and the man was holding on for dear life.
Klavier laughed, and Apollo could feel him rumbling. He settled one of his feet on the pavement and rest the other on the vehicle. There was little traffic- he could pull out whenever he wanted. “I can’t believe you’re actually getting on with me. I’m impressed too.”
He brought the engine to life a moment later, only a beat after Apollo spoke. “I trust you,” Apollo said, quietly but firmly, and for a moment Klavier didn’t say a word. He thought for a second he hadn’t actually said anything, that he had imagined it before the rumble of the engine, but then he brushed it off with a chuckle.
“Danke,” He eventually said, and he was glad that over the engine Apollo wouldn’t hear how his voice wavered. “That means a lot.”
-
The plan was two weeks later to go out drinking together, because according to Klavier that’s what friends did. It quickly turned into a teetotal meeting after Klavier drank the one beer he was allowed as a singer, at risk of ruining his voice after too much exposure and Apollo brought constant refills of lemonade.
“What good lawmen we are, making such a good impression,” Klavier smiled when he returned to his seat with a cranberry juice, and Apollo can’t help but grin back. The man was infectious, lingering where he wasn’t always wanted and slowly making his victim goddamn happy about it.
He hadn’t asked for it. Apollo didn’t want to catch himself wondering what Klavier was doing every day when he was supposed to be working. He didn’t want to wake from dreams, innocent or intimate where he could feel Klavier’s skin underneath his fingers. He didn’t want it, but god, the man was irresistible and charming and insufferably kind and Apollo couldn’t believe he was chasing after him- and failing at it so spectacularly.
He had thought about giving up a lot. He had days where he thought that maybe Klavier knew and was humouring him, toying around with him, laughing behind his back- but he was positive it wasn’t true. He knew Klavier, and he wasn’t that type of man.
Still, the moments of doubt lingered despite his best attempts to ignore them. He didn’t like to pay them heed, but it was hard to ignore an oppressive weight on your back getting heavier as the days went by.
But still, conversation between them was remarkably easy. It was a little awkward at first- what exactly did attorney Apollo Justice have in common with Klavier Gavin, rockstar and prosecutor, after all- but they did have common ground, even if it took a while to find. They chatted about work, which turned into conversation about Trucy which turned to magic and then magic shows. They covered television, the recent shows they had watched and the shocking finale of something that had only aired the week gone by, and soon enough Apollo and Klavier were talking like there was nothing different about them at all. That was when Klavier was at his most dangerous, with all his defences down and that ridiculous smile, and Apollo was only falling for him all the harder.
Hours went by where they just talked, and people came and went and only they were constant. They went through glasses and glasses, barely noticing how much they were drinking and how animated and loud they were getting. Apollo watched as Klavier waxed poetic about a book he had recently finished, the characters who he had loved betrayed by the character he hated, and so incensed it only made Apollo laugh. It made Klavier indignant, arguing with him ferociously, and Apollo could only think I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.
They had to leave, startlingly close to closing time, and Apollo had never intended to stay out so late. The bar wasn’t far from his apartment but it was dark, and maybe if Klavier wanted to torture him again he would offer to take him home- Apollo knew he had brought the bike again.
Either way, Apollo was riding the waves of euphoria simply by being in Klavier’s presence, and that led to terrible, terrible things.
“You’re awesome, you know that?” Apollo said as soon as they stepped outside, blasted in the face with the cool night air, and he immediately regretted it when Klavier looked delighted. “No- I mean- you’re okay, I guess-“
“Herr Forehead, you’re too good to me,” He crowed, his voice somehow managing to be louder than his. He reached over, throwing an arm over Apollo’s shoulder and if he hadn’t of known better Apollo might have thought he was drunk. “What’s with all these compliments recently? I might think you’re wanting something from me, schatzi.”
You’d be thinking correctly, Apollo considered saying- but maybe that was too obvious. He eventually sighed, electing to say nothing at all. Klavier would no doubt fill the silence for him, and he did, chattering uselessly and dragging him all the way over to his bike.
Apollo supposed it was damn good thing he liked Klavier, or he might have considered punching him.
-
“Ema,” Apollo said suddenly one ridiculously early morning when the two of them stood alone over the outline of a corpse. “I have a question to ask.”
She only grunted in reply, and he took that as encouragement to continue. He stared down at the outline, mind spinning with nothing to do with the murder. He couldn’t be fussed about all the blood that remained on the pavement, seeped into the cracks. “Do you think I’m boring?”
She looked at him.
“Okay, fine. Do you think I’m subtle?”
Ema huffed out an exhale. She crossed her arms against her chest, staring hard at him. “Apollo, you are the direct opposite of subtle. I can guarantee. Have you heard your own Chords of Steel?”
“I knew it,” Apollo scowled down at nothing in particular. He had asked for comfort, and received nothing of the sort. He should had seen it coming. “So it’s his fault, then.”
She waited for an explanation. She didn’t get one, so she pressed him. She turned to face him properly, the crime going completely ignored. He only felt a little guilty for the poor victim. “Sorry, what the hell are you on about?”
“Klavier,” He said, and when her expression soured he hurried to appease her. “He’s been an idiot. Well, being an idiot.”
Ema rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah. That kind of goes without saying.” She paused. “Tell me everything. I hunger for tales of his foppishness.”
Apollo fell quiet, deep in thought and Ema eyed him. After again realising he wasn’t going to continue, she jabbed him hard between the ribs. He yelped, jolting back to reality. Clutching his side, he looked at her, betrayed. “Tell me everything,” She said, firmly.
He rubbed his side pointedly, but continued. “I’m trying to flirt with Klavier,” He explained, sighing. “I’ve been trying for weeks now, and he’s not getting it. He thinks I’m trying to be friendly. It’s shit.”
She looked at him, aghast. “Oh god, he’s gotten to you too.” Her expression filled with mounting horror. “I thought we were the only safe ones! I’m the only person immune to this sickness! Oh god, the horror!”
“Hilarious,” Apollo said dryly, knowing too many people were now looking their way. She only smirked. Ema reached down into her coat pocket and produced a bag of Snackoos, munching through the immediately. She spoke through her mouthfuls carelessly.
“I think you’re mad,” She said honestly. It made sense. Sometimes Apollo thought he was going mad himself, trying to get someone like Klavier to pay attention to him. It was unthinkable. But he wouldn’t say he wasn’t dedicated. “I’m not sure why the fop is being so dense when you’re usually so obvious, but hey, if you want to make an idiot of yourself, I won’t stop you.”
“Thanks,” He said, shooting her a look. “It means a lot.”
There was moment of quiet, where Ema only munched away venomously. Apollo looked back down at the corpse, and he could barely focus on his job. He wondered if Athena would be up for taking the case instead, because if he kept on at this rate, his client would be declared guilty without a doubt.
“He’s a moron,” Ema spoke up by his side, disgustedly. He was pretty sure she wasn’t talking about the client.
“He’s a complete moron,” Apollo agreed, only a little affectionately, and then a hand clamped down firmly on his shoulder. He jumped almost a mile in the air, internally shrieking.
“Who is?” Klavier asked, sounding excited. That childish glee was evident in his voice. “Who are we gossiping about?”
“Christ, Klavier,” Apollo breathed, waiting for his heart to jumpstart again. He shrugged Klavier’s hand from his shoulder. “You scared the hell out of me. Don’t do that.”
He turned to see Klavier’s softly pouting face, and his heart jumped in his chest for reasons other than fear. Ema made a disgusted noise and slunk away, disappearing from Apollo’s sight, but Klavier didn’t seem put out. He almost seemed happier than he and Apollo were alone again.
He was so screwed.
-
“What do you do for fun?”
Klavier stopped. The voice had come out of nowhere, catching him off guard. It came from his right and he had almost strode past it, intending to hurry out of the courtroom. He halted, and looked- and Apollo was there. The man was staring at him with focused intensity he only tended to see in the courtroom, when they were trying to rip each other’s arguments apart. Seeing it outside the court made him a little nervous.
The man looked strange, but Klavier couldn’t complain. Apollo had rolled up his sleeves to bare his forearms and had undone his waistcoat, and he ran a hand through his hair as he matched eyes with Klavier. The twin antenna disappeared, his hair brushing back. It was the most casual Klavier had ever seen him, and Klavier would have relaxed if it wasn’t for how it made his heart ache.
“Schatzi, hi,” He greeted, a little dazed. He was pretty sure the man hadn’t been there before. He had stepped into the Judge’s chambers for only a few brief minutes and the man had been nowhere to be seen. Klavier hadn’t even known he was in the building. “Was?”
“What do you do for fun?” Apollo asked again, and that was what Klavier thought he had said- but it didn’t make sense.
He looked at Apollo uncertainty, with creased brows. “I don’t-“
“You like going to bars, right?” Apollo steamed on, his hands on his hips. He looked determined to see this, whatever it was through. “You like bad television?”
Klavier wasn’t sure what the hell was going on- so he played it off like he always did, with a wide smile. He thought for a moment, toying with his bike keys in his hand. He had intend to go straight home, but he didn’t mind speaking with someone like Apollo. “Ja. Honestly, my work is my fun. But I like other things to- I like to play my instruments, sing. I watch all that bad television until I have to turn it off in fear of my brain dripping out through my ears. I dine with my friends. Etcetera.”
Something about his words made Apollo smile. “You don’t go clubbing or anything?” Apollo asked, his lips quirking into a sly grin and Klavier made an offended noise in the back of his throat. “Not drinking? Starting bar fights with your Gavinners?”
“What kind of lawman would I be if I went out starting bar fights? I wouldn’t be a very good role model.” He shook his head, still returning the smile. Apollo had a funny way of thinking sometimes, especially about Klavier himself. “Nein. You know I don’t drink that often.”
Apollo hummed, and they were quiet for a moment. Apollo didn’t make a move to expand on his thoughts or move, and he never looked away. For one of the first times in his life Klavier felt a little embarrassed with a dash of uncertainty and he could feel his cheeks heating up. He prayed his flush wasn’t too noticeable. He reverted to his usual defence- smiling too widely, leaning forward with his hands on his hips. “Is there a reason for your interest, Herr Forehead?”
He didn’t think in a thousand years that Apollo might take that as a challenge. Outside of the court room, Apollo Justice did not seem like a man who took on challenges, so Klavier was completely unprepared when Apollo crossed his arms and huffed, like he was trying to let all the tension out of his body. It didn’t work- he remained stiff and stressed. He looked the way he did whenever Klavier ruined his defence in court, vulnerable and uncertain. Klavier thought he might change the subject, but he didn’t. “I was wondering where you might want me to take you out on a date.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, but when they did, Klavier spluttered and promptly dropped his keys.
“Fuck,” He swore, and he could hear Apollo quietly laughing above as he ducked down to snatch them back up. He shot back up like he had never dropped them, as if he had a chance to act cool and collected and was greeted with Apollo’s tentative but smiling face. His eyes shone with mirth but Klavier had never seen him quite so anxious. The man was shuffling foot to foot, and Klavier wondered that if he said something wrong he might stutter excuses and bolt.
Klavier might have been happier if Apollo wasn’t laughing at him, if he hadn’t made a complete fool out of himself out of shock, but the words were circling around in his mind- I was wondering where you might want me to take you out on a date.
Apollo wanted to take him out on a date. Apollo. Take him.
Klavier looked at him suspiciously, waiting for Apollo to say ‘just kidding!’ or give any sign that he was pulling the world’s worst prank, but Apollo was still gazing at him, shoulders still firm and tense. There was no clue that he was playing with him and Apollo had always been a dreadful liar anyway.
“You…” He started, and his tilted his head to one side. “You want to take me out on a date?”
“If that’s alright with you,” Apollo returned after a while. He was avoiding Klavier’s gaze, and they both took a moment to pause. Klavier said nothing, knowing whatever he would have to stay would be ridiculous, useless hemming and hawing. He needed some way to get the upper hand, to regain all his confidence, and he knew just how to do it. He drew some courage from the faint smile lines around Apollo’s mouth and eyes, the kind that only became stronger when he laughed.
He had taken a little too long. “If that’s not okay, I understand-“
“Nein,” He interrupted a little sharper than he intended, and when Apollo recoiled he softened his tone. “Nein, it’s perfectly alright.” He fumbled with his keys and he was glad Apollo was the only person watching him- no one else could see him so nervous. “You- you want to take me out?”
Apollo pulled a face, and reached up to press fingers against his temple. Klavier saw such a gesture often, and wondered how often the man got migraines. “Yeah. I’ve been trying to drop hints for weeks-“
“For weeks?” Klavier couldn’t help but interrupt, and Apollo gave him a sour look.
“Apparently I’m either subtle when I don’t want to be, or you’re just blind.” He huffed again. “I thought you might have just been ignoring me in an attempt to get me to stop- I thought I’d try this once, be completely obvious, and see what happens from there.”
- “I hadn’t realised,” He said, apologetically, and Apollo rolled his eyes.
“Really. You don’t say.” The man shook his head. “It’s alright. It doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to, that’s fine-“
“Nein, I want to!” He interrupted again, a little frantic. How long had Klavier been dreaming of him, after all? He had been almost enamoured with him since their first case, and it didn’t take much for it to spiral out of control- and Apollo was the one approaching him. “Forehead, I definitely want you to take me out on a date- I just wasn’t expecting this, is all.”
Apollo looked at him, and there was a beat of silence. “You want me to take you out?”
“Ja, of course.” Klavier laughed, and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Apollo, we’ve known each other for months, and how long have I,” He shook his head, waving the thought away. “It doesn’t matter. I would love for you to take me out. I don’t mind where.”
It took only a moment for Apollo to smile back. He looked elated. “Okay, great, well-“ He stumbled over his words for a moment, and he pulled at his tie like he was trying to distract himself. “Well, if you don’t mind, maybe we could go out a get dinner or something, start it simple.”
The grinning seemed to be infectious. The world had slipped away from around them both and for a few blissful moments it was just the two of them, and Apollo’s shoulders were shaking as he laughed a touch nervously, and in retrospect Klavier thought they must have looked like idiots. “That sounds perfect,” Klavier said. “I don’t have the time now- but I can call you tonight, perhaps.”
Apollo nodded furiously. “Yeah, that’s great- that’s wonderful.” He ran his hand through his hair again, incapable of staying still or looking directly at Klavier. “I, uh- I’ll let you go, then.” He stepped back, giving Klavier more room to pass. “Um, speak to you later, I guess?”
“It’s a date,” Klavier couldn’t resist, and he half expected Apollo to splutter. The man did a little, a surprisingly charming noise, but he reached out a shoved at Klavier’s shoulder. It wasn’t hard and Klavier laughed, delighted. “Is this how you treat all of your partners? Hm, perhaps I won’t date you after all.”
“Shut it, Gavin,” Apollo glowered, but he was still smiling. His voice was low but undeniably affectionate, and Klavier nudged his shoulder with his as they walked. It brought back recent memories, of the two walking together and laughing and teasing, and now he could see all of those meetings in a new light. He could see how Apollo had been trying to capture his attention and how badly Klavier missed his hints.
He supposed he had a second chance now.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Klavier said, winking and even daring to blow a kiss, and he walked away to the sound of Apollo’s spluttering.