Chapter Text
Apollo woke up later that afternoon, opening his eyes and blinking once... twice... His vision was incredibly hazy, and trying to crane his neck upright only succeeded in giving the fresh attorney an awful dizzy spell, forcing him to once again rest his head back.
That migraine he began to feel during the final cross-examinations with Alita Tiala must have worsened since he blacked out in the court lobby. Apollo was just starting to get his bearings back after a few minutes, now able to actually get a good look at the room. The mish-mash of parlor tricks and magician's tools against the back wall revealed he must have been put back in the Wright Talent Agency... or was it the Wright Defense Agency again? He wasn't invested enough to keep track of Trucy's business cards during the investigation.
Speaking of, how was he moved from the courthouse to Wright's Agency, exactly? Did Trucy have any magic tricks that could 'teleport' him back? The fresh attorney was finally able to sit back up, the last of the strange headache beginning to fade away as a cool cloth fell off his forehead. He gently folded it and placed it on the table, only now realizing just how tight his bracelet felt that evening.
Apollo's confusion was cut short when the door to the hallway opened, and a delighted Trucy bounced into the room with a bag in tow. "Polly! You're ok!" She chirped happily, setting the bag on the table and sitting on the couch adjacent to him.
"Hey, Trucy-" Apollo cut his greeting short, he had too many questions to ask. He decided to let go of the magic trick theory- there wasn't any trick that could put him miles away from the courtroom. "Did you get Mr. Wright to take me back here?"
"Daddy? No..." Trucy shook her head, looking back at Apollo as if this should have been an obvious answer.
"What, on that bicycle?"
The new voice made Apollo grumble in distaste. He knew that accent, and suddenly, he didn't want to hear the answer.
"Pr- Mister Gavin!" Trucy quickly corrected herself, Apollo made his opinions on the prosecutor clear during the investigation. "I told you- the cold washcloth always works!" She said, triumphantly pointing at the folded cloth on the table.
Klavier entered the room with a chuckle, with something in his right hand. "Looks like you won today, fráulein~"
Were those... eye drops...??? What on earth did Klavier THINK he was sick from?
Trucy smiled and idly rocked on the couch, digging into her bag and pulling out some candy to munch on between conversations. That detective made her hungry.. "Mister Gavin and I brought you back. He let us ride on that cool motorcycle, Polly!"
"Eugh..." Apollo barely groaned out an answer, hiding the embarrassment on his face. Imagining himself hanging limp on Gavin's bike was hard enough- now he had to bear the horror that Trucy was there to see it.
"Herr Forehead.." Klavier smirked, placing the eye medicine on the table and combing a stray hair behind his ear. "Is that how you thank someone for helping you?"
"You could've just left me in the court lobby." The attorney hissed, refusing to look in the other's direction. Apollo was not in the mood to see that condescending grin ever again. He felt a dull throb from his headache, wincing and rubbing at his temples briefly.
Trucy looked down, deflated. "I was really worried, Polly..." She mumbled, fidgeting with a wrapper. "You were laughing about trying Mister Kitaki's key lime pie before you fell over."
Apollo brows furrowed, he felt a little bad about upsetting Trucy like that. "Couldn't... couldn't the Kitakis drive me back instead?"
"Your client?" Klavier shook his head. "Hardly fitting of their defense attorney. Or, perhaps... you were keen to return home in the trunk of a yakuza's car, Herr Forehead?"
Oh shut up, Gavin. It was bad enough being betrayed by his brother years back, now Klavier was starting to get under his skin. Being in the trunk of the Kitaki's car was beginning to sound like the better option. "Why DID you help us, anyway?"
"Mm?" Klavier looked up on contemplation, rubbing his chin. "Herr Justice, lying on the ground outside the courtroom was hardly a fitting look for our winning defense. The little fráulein was so worried- so I decided to be responsible and drive you two back myself."
...No. No way. There had to be a stronger motive than that. "...That's it?"
"Well..." The prosecutor idly rests his cheek on his hands, flashing a mischievous grin. "I'll admit, I was a little curious to see the offices for you and Herr Wright. After all- the workplace for the famous attorney I defeated in court, and the young defense who convicted my brother, is not a place you get to see every day." He glances around, seemingly unimpressed, but still difficult to read. "...It seems like you're comfortable seeing clients here, ja?" Klavier mused, idly picking up an empty bag of snackaroos and tossing it in the garbage can.
Did Phoenix leave those out? Either way- Apollo was not happy in the slightest with his condescending praise. Klavier LOST the last case- why didn't he act like a proper loser!?
"Um- That's mostly my stuff..!" Trucy tried to stand up for Apollo, beginning to have an inkling of the embarrassment he was suffering. "It's all the kind of things I save for my magic shows! Polly only just started working here two days ago."
"...Two days??" Klavier's eyes widened a bit, looking back at Apollo. "You've only defended for two days?"
What was it NOW? "Yeah. Today was my third day in court representing Wright and co."
"Impressive..." He dug into his pants pocket. "The way you cross-examined Tiala, with that fire in your eyes, I thought you were in the business for at least 2 months."
Wait. Was Gavin being condescending again, or was that genuine praise? ..Hold on- what was that about his eyes? "Fire?" Apollo looked back, confused.
"Ja-" Klavier leans forward, holding up his hands to his eyes to demonstrate. "Fire eyes." His hands return to his sides before playing an invisible guitar riff. "Burning my witnesses..."
"...I just looked at them." Apollo responds, dryly. He instinctively gripped at his bracelet arm, feeling nervous.
"Oh, Polly's really good at noticing habits." Trucy piped in harmlessly. "Just like me and daddy! They're tools of our trade!"
"....I see."
Hold it- did the edge of Gavin's smile just curl? He remembered Kristoph losing his cool similarly on the witness stand, perhaps the brothers had similar tells. Either way, seeing the prosecutor crack slightly put Apollo in a better mood. "Yeah, like-"
"Ah, that reminds me." Klavier cuts him off, digging into his pocket and flashing two tickets. "Speaking of fire- you should come see our next show, my treat."
"Really?!" Trucy beamed in excitement, standing up and taking the tickets. "Can we go, Polly?"
"Why not take your dad instead...?" Apollo mumbles, his victory fleeting.
Trucy pouted, looking the other way. "Daddy said he's been on a mission...He won't be able to make it."
"Herr Forehead, I'm inviting you and the little fráulein, personally." Klavier flips his bangs, tucking them behind his ear and beginning to turn back to the door.
"...Why?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Ha, that's my little secret." The prosecutor waves it off, opening the door before looking back over his shoulder. "You should consider it an opportunity to apologize to my fans, for being the first to ride on Klavier Gavin's hog~" He teases, before closing the door behind him.
"Bye Mister Gavin!"
Apollo's eye twitched as he shuffled in disgust. Don't phrase it like that publicly, for the love of pete.