Work Text:
Apollo made his way through the courthouse in a good mood for once. He had just won a trial against Payne, which certainly hadn’t been a challenge, but a victory was a victory. Since he’d heard Klavier also had a trial around the same time, he decided to track him down so they could have lunch together.
He found Klavier as he was wrapping up a conversation with another prosecutor. He waited for the other prosecutor to leave before calling out “Prosecutor Gavin!”
Klavier turned as Apollo approached and his enthusiasm faltered. Klavier looked very tired; his clothes were rumpled, his shoulders slouched, and no amount of concealer could cover up the dark circles under his eyes.
“Good afternoon, Herr Forehead.” His tone was bright, but his words were lacking their usual spirit.
Apollo decided to ignore the nickname. “Rough trial?”
“Trial?” Klavier blinked. “Nein, it was quite straightforward. The defendant was clearly guilty, and the defense was lacking the fire that my favourite defense attorney has.” Klavier winked.
Apollo tried not to let himself get too flustered by those words. “Then why do you look so tired?”
Klavier fiddled with his bangs. “Nothing escapes your keen eye, does it?” Klavier’s hand dropped. “It’s just that the bed I’ve been sleeping on is quite uncomfortable.”
“Oh?” There was no lie in his words, but it was a bit anticlimactic for how bad Klavier looked. “Time for a new one?”
“Hm,” Klavier laughed. “That would be nice.”
Apollo raised an eyebrow. Surely Klavier could afford a new bed, probably one with memory foam or some built in massage features, so why was he...
“Hey Fop!” Ema’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Don’t leave your toothbrush on the sink! I almost touched it when I was washing my hands!”
“My apologies Fraulein,” Klavier responded. “I didn’t realize it would inconvenience you so much.”
Wait a second... Uncomfortable bed? Toothbrush? “Hold it! Are you two...” Apollo’s eye darted from between the pair.
Ema was the first to react. “What! No! Ew! No!” She took a step back from Klavier, to highlight her revulsion. “He’s just staying at the station for now because of his stalker.”
“Stalker?” Apollo turned to Klavier, who looked less than pleased at the revelation, though his smile stayed in place. Apollo tried not to be too hurt that Klavier had tried to keep it from him.
“Anywaaays,” Ema said. “I brought the stuff you wanted from your apartment.” She paused. “Except your hairbrush.”
Klavier’s smile twitched. “And why would you leave that behind?”
“I didn’t leave it behind , it wasn’t there.”
“...you checked the bathroom counter?”
“Yeah, I read your note.” Ema threw a snackoo at Klavier’s head. “You must have left it somewhere else.”
“Right...” Klavier’s smile fell. “Did you notice anything else missing?”
“How am I supposed to know? Your place is so messy that I have no idea what’s supposed to go where.”
Apollo’s bracelet tightened as Klavier twisted one of his rings.
“...I see. Sorry about the mess.”
“Yeah, whatever. Your stuff is at the precinct.” And with that, Ema was gone.
Apollo’s stomach churned in disgust. Based on Klavier’s reaction, the missing hairbrush and messy apartment were likely caused by the stalker. “Are the police watching your place?”
Klavier shook his head. “They're all working on a big case right now. I am in no immediate danger, now that I’m staying at the station.”
“So, what? You’re just going to live there forever?”
“I’m sure they’ll be able to help me once this case is solved,” Klavier said dismissively. “I’ll just have to tough it out until then.”
Apollo frowned. He was sure they could spare one officer. Even at their busiest, there was always at least one person watching court dramas at their desk.
“No need to look so serious. I’ll be fine.” Klavier’s smile was finally genuine.
Apollo focused on Klavier’s appearance. Other than the obvious exhaustion, he didn’t look that bad, but that was probably just because Klavier was... Klavier. “You’re lucky the disheveled look suits you,” Apollo muttered.
“Disheveled look?” Klavier barked out a laugh. “I’m not sure whether or not to be flattered by that.”
Apollo had meant it as a compliment but also had not meant for Klavier to hear it. “Guess it’ll be a mystery. Bye.”
Even as Klavier’s laugh rang out at his sudden departure, Apollo felt sick to his stomach. After everything Klavier had been through, he certainly didn’t need a stalker on his plate. The precinct didn’t seem like the most relaxing place to stay and their beds were more fit for a criminal than a prosecutor. But other than offering up his own bed, there wasn’t much Apollo could do.
Then there was the fact that Klavier hadn’t even wanted to tell him. They’d been spending a lot more time together, initially to work on trials together and eventually just because they enjoyed each other’s company. (Apollo was beginning to worry he was enjoying it too much.) He’d been under the impression that they’d gotten pretty close, but seeing as Klavier didn’t want to tell him about the stalker, it was starting to feel a little one-sided.
Apollo wanted to prove that he was a good friend, one Klavier could confide in and rely on when things were rough. He knew Klavier needed better friends than what he’d had, and Apollo hoped that he could be one of them and maybe something more . He just wished he could do something for Klavier to prove he was on his side... but what?
The answer came to him as he was pushing open the door to his office. Wright Anything Agency the sign said... and detective was included in anything . If no officers could be bothered to investigate, then Apollo could do it himself. The faster the culprit was caught, the faster Klavier could get a good night’s rest. ...and maybe it would be enough for Klavier to see him in a new light.
He arranged with Ema to get Klavier’s key. He was shocked to learn that barely any investigating had been done at his apartment. She confessed to checking a few surfaces for fingerprints but had been called back by her boss before she could do much else. She lent him the fingerprinting kit, proclaiming that he was now her apprentice. Apollo wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that but gratefully accepted the kit anyways.
Klavier lived on the 14th floor of a grandiose building that probably cost a million dollars a month. Apollo felt extremely out of place as he walked to the front doors. He felt even more out of place when he realized the main door to the building required a code that he didn’t have. Rather than text Klavier, and have him refuse Apollo’s offer to investigate, he texted Ema and hoped she’d reply before someone called the police on him.
His rescue came in the form of a little old lady holding too many bags as she made her way to the building. Apollo had had no ulterior motive when offering to carry the woman’s groceries but getting access to the building had certainly been a perk.
He rode the elevator to Klavier’s floor and unlocked the door to his apartment. The door opened to a large, open living room. One wall housed a giant TV, with various consoles and speakers underneath it, with a giant couch that took up half the living room facing it. The rest of the walls were lined with bookshelves, some holding actual books, many holding CDs and various memorabilia. There were several doors leading to the rest of the apartment, but the only open door led into the kitchen.
He stepped into the room and gently closed the door behind him. Despite what Ema had claimed, everything looked in order. He started dusting obvious places for prints, doorknobs, light switches, etc, but after finding Klavier’s prints for the fifth time, he decided only to dust suspicious looking places.
He visited the kitchen first. Again, everything looked more or less intact. He dusted some knobs and handles. At some point, he was pretty sure he could recognize Klavier’s fingerprints by eye.
One thing that was definitely out of place was a chair set in front of the counter. For someone of Apollo’s height, it could be used to reach the upper cupboards, but for Klavier it shouldn’t be necessary. He mentally filed away that the stalker couldn’t be tall. He dusted the edges of the chair, where one might grab it, but still only found Klavier’s prints. He wondered what the stalker wanted from up there. He was about to step on the chair to check, before realizing he hadn’t dusted the seat of the chair. He dumped some powder on it and blew it away to reveal... footprints!
The footprints were small, too small to be Klavier’s. Not that Klavier had any reason to stand on this chair unless he wanted to headbutt the ceiling. He guessed the prints could belong to a young woman, but it was impossible to know for sure.
He replaced the chair with another so he could access the cupboard. Confirming that there were no fingerprints on the outside, Apollo opened the cupboard which was full of mugs. He found nothing suspicious but made a mental note to come back to check for any kind of residue.
Exiting the kitchen, he chose the next door at random and, now he understood what Ema meant. He stood at the entrance to Klavier’s bedroom. Clothes were all over the floor, especially piled up in front of the wardrobe. Apollo made his way to some chests of drawers, tiptoeing through the mess to avoid stepping on anything. The first drawer was open and thoroughly rummaged through, but the clothes in the other drawers seemed to have been left alone. Apollo realized, with disgust towards the stalker, that the drawer that had been rummaged through housed Klavier’s underwear.
He navigated to the other side of the room where the wardrobe was, accidentally stepping on a sequined crop top. He opened the wardrobe, finding it to be mostly empty, the rest of its contents presumably on the floor. Either the stalker had had a private fashion show, or they had been looking for something specific. He dusted the bottom of the wardrobe for finger- or foot- prints, but found nothing.
Apollo froze as he heard the unmistakable sound of keys in a lock. Someone was opening the front door. If Klavier was staying at the precinct and Ema had Klavier’s key, that meant...
It could only be the stalker.
Apollo hauled himself into the wardrobe and shut the doors. If he had known he might run into the stalker, he would have borrowed some handcuffs! Either way, if he couldn’t apprehend the culprit, he could at least discover their identity.
He had been so focused on his plan, that he didn’t notice a shadow move in front of the wardrobe. The door opened and he was met with-
Klavier?!
In the moment it took Apollo to realize that no , Klavier wasn’t his own stalker, Klavier also came back to his senses. “Apollo?”
Upon being caught, Apollo had expected exasperation, maybe annoyance, not the shock and disbelief on his face.
“...it was you?” Klavier’s face reddened and- Oh. Apollo then realized the problem with not telling Klavier about his plan.
“Wait!” Apollo floundered. “You’ve got it all wrong!”
“Have I now?” Klavier shook his head. “Then would you care to explain to me,” Klavier leaned in, bracing himself against the back of the wardrobe with one arm. “What you’re doing in my closet?” Klavier’s voice was flirtatious, as it always was, but there was a darker undertone that Apollo had never heard in him before.
Apollo had a perfectly good reason for being where he was but was having trouble articulating his thoughts when Klavier was fixing such a smouldering gaze on him. “I’m uh,” he swallowed, as Klavier placed his other hand atop of one of Apollo’s. “That is-”
Klavier clasped his hand and pulled him out of the closet. Klavier could have let go and sent Apollo flying into the floor, but instead, Klavier used his momentum against him to spin him around. Apollo’s legs hit something, and he fell backwards onto something soft: Klavier’s bed.
Klavier hovered over him, his hands planted on either side of Apollo. “You didn’t have to resort to stalking,” Klavier’s expression was still dark, even though he was smiling. “I would do anything these lips asked.” He used his thumb to rub Apollo’s bottom lip.
Half his mind was focused on organizing the evidence he’d found into a coherent sentence and the other half was stuck on the feeling of Klavier’s thumb on his lip and the way he’d said anything and this conflict resulted in a weak “I’m not the stalker.”
Klavier leaned down until their chests were almost touching. “And where is your evidence?”
‘In the kitchen!’ his mind screamed. “Um,” his mouth said.
“I see,” Klavier said.
Apollo was having difficulty forming a coherent sentence when all he wanted to do was ask Klavier just what he was doing?! Why was Apollo on his bed? Why had Klavier’s first instinct upon discovering a stalker in his wardrobe been to push them on to his bed? He should have apprehended the culprit and called the police!
Unless... maybe Klavier had already called the police. And while Apollo wasn’t in handcuffs or tied up, he was still pretty trapped. Rather than risk a violent encounter, Klavier was distracting him until the police arrived. ...despite the fact that he wasn’t the stalker, he had been pretty well distracted. Well, not anymore! The misunderstanding had gone far enough. He was going to explain that-
Klavier kissed him.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Apollo knew he needed to push Klavier away and explain exactly what was going on. But logic was completely overpowered by how nice it felt to kiss him. Rather than push him away, Apollo’s arms wound around Klavier’s neck almost involuntarily, bringing their bodies flush together.
Klavier bit Apollo’s bottom lip, using Apollo’s gasp to lick his way into his mouth. Apollo whimpered at the feeling of Klavier’s tongue stroking his own. Flustered, his hands clutched at the fabric of Klavier’s shirt.
The kiss was harsh and aggressive. Klavier knew exactly what he wanted from Apollo and had no reservations about taking it, leaving Apollo scrambling to keep up. It was overwhelming but too good to stop.
The doorbell rang but Klavier didn’t move. Not that Apollo minded...
He really didn’t mind.
When the doorbell rang a second time, Klavier paused. Apollo managed to swallow a whine as Klavier removed himself, leaving Apollo breathing heavily on the bed.
Apollo knew there was something he was supposed to be doing... but his brain was mush...
When he heard Klavier open the front door, Apollo suddenly remembered exactly what he was supposed to do! In a panic, he sprang into action. If he was going to be arrested, he at least needed to capture the scene of the crime- er- the kitchen- on camera before someone accidentally wiped away the evidence.
He stumbled out of the bedroom just in time to see Klavier shut the front door. But Klavier was alone.
“Where are the police?”
“Police?” Klavier turned to him.
“That wasn't the police?”
“Nein, it was just the building’s security,” Klavier sauntered over to where Apollo was still frozen in the bedroom doorway. “I sent them away, seeing as we have much more pressing matters to attend to.” Klavier cradled the back of Apollo’s head.
Apollo almost lost his wits a second time, but managed to take a step back. “Hold on. I am not your stalker, okay?!”
“Ja, Ja, of course,” Klavier said, clearly not believing a word Apollo was saying.
“I was here to investigate your stalker! I only hid because I thought you were the stalker!”
Klavier froze, finally seeming to consider his words. “You were... investigating?”
“Yes! Look, I’ll show you!” He grabbed Klavier’s wrist and led him to the kitchen. He pointed to the footprint on the chair. “That’s the stalker’s footprint. My feet are way bigger than that, trust me!”
Klavier stared at the footprint, then at Apollo. “And how did you get in?”
“I got a key from Ema. Since she doesn’t have time to investigate, she lent me her fingerprinting set.”
Klavier’s gaze went back and forth from Apollo to the chair as he digested the explanation. “I see...” He leaned on the counter and brought up a hand to cover his face. “Apollo... I... I don’t know how to begin to apologize.”
Apollo felt some of the tension leave him, as he had been worried Klavier wouldn’t believe him. “You can start by explaining what just happened in the other room.”
Klavier flinched. “I wasn’t thinking properly.” Klavier removed his hand, revealing his face, stained red. He chose to look at the floor, rather than Apollo. “I was angry that you were the stalker. That you put me through this when you could have just-” he choked on his next word. “Rather than get the police involved, I decided I would,” he swallowed, “ deal with you, myself. I thought you had no right to refuse, and no reason to."
“Let me get this straight.” Apollo rubbed his forehead. “A stalker breaks into your house, and your first instinct is to make out with them?!”
“It wasn't just any stalker, it was you! And I forced myself on you!”
So Klavier had effectively punished Apollo by making out with him...
...
Apollo had read heard about Gavinner fanfiction with similar plots.
“As I said, I wasn’t thinking straight. Not that that’s an excuse!” Klavier rambled, growing more on edge with Apollo’s silence. “I should have known there would be a better explanation and I think of part of me knew, but I ignored it since I got a little excited that you could be my stalker since it would give me an excuse, well it wouldn’t but, uh-”
“Huh?" Apollo cut Klavier off so he could process some of the things he’d just said. “You wanted me to be your stalker?”
“I don’t want anyone to be my stalker, but if you were my stalker, that would mean that you...” Klavier sighed painfully. “That you had feelings for me, in some way or another.”
Apollo’s brain finally caught up with the facts that Klavier hadn’t kissed him as a trap or a distraction and he’d actually wanted to kiss Apollo and- and Apollo’s brain was fried again.
Klavier sighed again, seemingly having gotten over his panic. “I’ve been wondering,” he said, now sounding calm, resigned. “Why didn’t you push me away?”
“Cause, I was really into it,” the working 10% of Apollo’s brain answered before it could be moderated by the other 90%.
Klavier jolted. “ Was ?”
“I didn’t know what was going on, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth you know.” Apollo was glad he didn't sound as delirious as he felt. “I could have pushed you away at any time, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to because I do have feelings for you, Klavier-” Apollo froze as he realized what he’d just said. Technically, Klavier had only said that he hoped Apollo had feelings for him, he hadn’t confirmed how he felt.
Klavier pushed himself away from the counter, to stand in front of Apollo. “You do?” He asked, with stars in his eyes.
Apollo cleared his throat, attempting to regain some composure. “Yes, I do. And uh, just to be clear, you feel the same way, right?”
“Feel- Of course I do. Was there ever any doubt that I do?”
“Honestly, the way your mind works is a mystery to me. Maybe this is just a normal Wednesday afternoon with the bros to you.”
Klavier laughed lightly. “Nothing about today has been normal.” He paused and cleared his throat. “My behaviour especially wasn’t typical. I want you to know that I’m not usually so aggressive with my affections.”
Apollo had thought it was odd. Whenever he imagined kissing Klavier, he imagined it would be passionate yet gentle. Not that he thought about it a lot! …who was he kidding, he thought about it all the time.
“I’m not sure I believe you,” Apollo said. “I think you might need some evidence to back up those claims.” He crossed his arms, hoping to hide how sweaty his palms were.
Klavier looked a little offended for a moment then his cheeks pinked as he realized what Apollo was implying. He immediately stepped into Apollo’s space and cupped his face with both hands. “May I?”
Apollo swallowed and nodded expectantly.
Klavier leaned down and gently pressed their lips together. The kiss only lasted a moment, but it was tender in a way that made his heart flutter, that the previous kiss could not. Klavier lingered for a moment before pulling away, his eyes full of affection. He was still holding Apollo’s face and stroked his cheek gently with his thumb. It took all of Apollo’s willpower not to pull him back down for another kiss, instead clearing his throat and muttering “much better...” which Klavier laughed warmly at, letting Apollo’s face go. Apollo’s gaze fell on the chair with the footprint and was once again reminded why he came there.
“We should get out of here. Sorry to remind you, but your stalker is still at large.”
Klavier sighed. “I guess I’ll have to return to the police station. Unless, someone is willing to share their bed?” He smiled suggestively.
Apollo rolled his eyes. “Sorry, but I only have a twin bed.”
“I bet we could both fit if we huddled close.”
“In your dreams,” Apollo said, though the idea of waking up together didn’t sound bad.
...
They both had sore backs the next morning.
