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“The star’s crooked.”
Klavier stopped his movements and craned his neck in the direction of his husband’s voice. From his place atop the ladder, the brown haired defence attorney looked even shorter than he usually did.
“Is it? I hadn’t noticed.” He responded with an apologetic smile. He turned back to the tree, deftly adjusting the clip on the ornament to straighten it.
“Better?” He asked, turning back to Apollo, who leveled him with a scrutinizing gaze. It was the gaze that would usually be intimidating to most, but now it could hardly be considered such.
It was awfully hard for him to look menacing with a baby warmly snuggled to his chest.
“Better.” Apollo echoed as he turned his attention to his daughter. “How did your hair get so messy?” He asked in a playful tone, gently smoothing down the sparse light brown strands.
The baby just responded with a curious look, deep blue meeting dark brown. They had adopted their daughter Katrina just a couple of months prior, but she’d already had a profound impact on their lives. They had to endure several months of meticulous screening and hurried preparations, praying to every single deity that it worked out because god they wanted this baby.
Fortunately, they were approved without so much as a hiccup. She was theirs now, and nothing could change that.
After her hair looked a little more orderly, Apollo gave her a soft kiss on her nose, earning an excited squeal from the giggly seven month old. Klavier felt his heart flutter at the sound of his daughter’s excitement.
“Are you two having fun down there without me?” He called as he began to descend the ladder.
Apollo just scoffed. “I’m starting to think that you’re the one developing separation anxiety, not her.” He joked, eyes trained on Klavier’s sweater-clad back. His hair was up in a messy bun and he was sporting a pair of black sweatpants. When he turned around, the silver rims on his Ray-Ban’s glinted in the light.
Leave it to Klavier to make me feel drab in my own house. Apollo thought, looking down at his own attire. He was sporting grey long sleeve, which is a bad colour to wear while taking care of a drooling baby, and a pair of dark green flannel pants. Katrina turned towards the sound of Klavier’s quiet footsteps as he approached. She began to babble and held a chubby arm out towards him.
Klavier positively beamed, closing the gap between them. Once he was close enough, the little girl grabbed a fistful of her father’s maroon sweater.
“She wants her Vati. I think she’s getting sick of me.” Apollo laughed, carefully handing his daughter over to the other man.
“She’s getting very grabby lately.” Klavier commented. He adjusted his hold on the infant, seeing as she was reluctant to relinquish her hold on him.
“I noticed. She must be taking after you.” Apollo responded, flashing Klavier a brazen smile before heading to the kitchen.
“Ack, how you wound me.” The other gasped dramatically. From his spot behind the breakfast bar, Apollo could marvel at the sorry state their living room was in. Prior to the arrival of their little one, the Justice-Gavin household usually had a few books or sheets of paper strewn here and there. Now, it was a miracle if he got through the day without tripping over one of Klavier’s impulse buys from Baby’s R Us.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could also see Klavier gently bouncing Katrina in his arms as he hummed a tune that Apollo didn’t recognize. He smiled warmly, and returned to checking the peppermint cookies that Klavier had put in a half hour ago.
“Hey.” He heard Klavier call from the living room. He rose from his crouched position and leaned over the counter.
“What’s up?” Apollo asked nonchalantly. “She’s getting a bit restless so I’m going to put her in her playpen.” He answered. Apollo nodded and made his way to where his husband was standing. He bent down to take out some of Katrina’s stuffed toys, his right hand resting on the grey railing.
“I forgot that I tossed these in here earlier when I was tidying up. Just in case she nods off.” Apollo explained, realization dawning on the other.
“Ah. Good call. I see your frequent visits to babycenter.com have done you some good.” Klavier jested.
“I wasn’t aware wanting our daughter to be safe was a crime.” Apollo huffed, standing up at the same time the other crouched down.
“You know I’m kidding, dearest.” Klavier chuckled, the endearing nickname causing Apollo’s cheeks to grow hot. As he moved to stand up after placing his daughter in the playpen, she began to fuss. Klavier quietly shushed her, prising her fist from his sweater. A tender kiss to the forehead a couple moments later was enough to calm her down. Once he was upright, Apollo gave Klavier’s back a light pat.
“You go finish the tree, I can watch her.” Not even a moment later, however, he heard a very distinct noise come from his baby. “Ah. She spat up.” Apollo sighed. Klavier was almost amused by his flat tone of voice.
“Looks like you’re going have to watch her for one more second. I’ll get a cloth.” Klavier nodded, watching Apollo briskly walk to their kitchen.
“This is the third time this week. I’m starting to get worried.” He called, looking at his child with concern. Apollo emerged from the kitchen, a blue cloth in hand.
“She only does it when I feed her the applesauce. My guess would be that she hates the stuff. As long as she doesn’t become dehydrated, there’s nothing to worry about.” He reassured him, quirking an eyebrow when he saw the toothless grin on Katrina’s face. “See? Look at that devilish smile. Cheeky thing.” Apollo grinned, gently wiping the pale yellow dribble from his daughter’s lips.
Despite his statements, his husband didn’t look convinced. “Still…What if she has an allergy?” Klavier questioned, realizing that Apollo had disappeared into the kitchen once more.
“She’s going to see Dr. Abel on Monday, remember? We can just ask him while we’re there.” Apollo called, returning to his spot at Klavier’s side. A moment later, Klavier headed back to the tree, casting one look over his shoulder before he resumed his work. Apollo sighed and faced his daughter.
“Why do you love to make Vati worry, hmm? Why is that sweetie?” He asked while gently massaging one of her clothed feet. Her response was an airy giggle and flap of her arms, the sleeves of her onesie riding up as she did so. She was currently clad in a medley of red, silver, and sequins. In the center of it all was a cartoonish reindeer with sparkly antlers. Said outfit was courtesy of Athena, who claimed that she just had to buy it for her.
A few minutes later, he heard Klavier call him from the foyer. “I’m about to light up the tree!”
“Coming!” Apollo lifted Katrina up into his arms, the feeling of her head resting on his shoulder making his chest feel warm. He stopped just a few feet away from where Klavier stood, switch in hand.
“Look this way, Prinzessin.” Klavier beckoned, trying to get his daughter to look at the tree. At the sound of her father’s voice, she turned her inquisitive gaze in his direction. With a click of the switch, the towering evergreen lit up in a dazzling display. The myriad of technicolor lights sparkled like stars against the night sky. Each individual ornament in their hodgepodge of decorations appeared to be meticulously placed.
To her fathers’ delight, Katrina was absolutely mesmerized. Joyful peals of laughter fell from her lips as she began to bounce up and down in delight. Apollo protectively tightened his grip, ensuring that his little girl didn’t fall. Klavier took the opportunity to take a candid photo of his family, hoping to capture the feeling of pure elation that was present in the moment.
After hearing the quiet click of the digital camera, he took a look at the image. The bright light emanating from the tree was reflected in Katrina’s wide blue eyes. The corners of her mouth were pulled up in a radiant smile. Apollo on the other hand wasn’t looking at the tree at all. He was looking at Katrina with so much love and adoration in his expression that Klavier was almost taken aback.
Feeling a sudden rush of affection for his husband, he captured his lips in a spontaneous kiss. Apollo let out a noise that was very akin to a squeak, caught off guard by the action. That surprise, however, quickly changed to feverish pleasure as he tilted his chin upwards to accommodate the height difference. Klavier rested one hand on Apollo’s bicep and the other on his hip, idly toying with the waistband of his pyjama pants.
A slightly needy noise arose from the back of Apollo’s throat as he melted into the kiss. Klavier felt shocks of pleasure run down to his fingertips when Apollo dragged his tongue across his lower lip. Klavier moved to deepen the kiss, feeling himself flush up to the tips of his ears. The two were brought back to reality a few moments later, however, when Katrina made a noise of discomfort. They pulled away simultaneously, looking down at their daughter who was making up her face.
“I forgot that she hates close spaces.” Klavier commented, trying to steady his voice.
"Yeah. She would always try to kick off her blanket when I used to swaddle her.” Apollo agreed, composure clearly affected by the kiss. The two backed up slightly, giving the child some more breathing room. Apollo felt his heel lightly bump one of the presents under the tree.
"Oops." He muttered, looking at the gift from over his shoulder. It was just one out of the many other presents that they had received from their friends and family. Klavier joined Apollo in looking at the box, reading the label aloud.
"To a niece that is out of this world. From your favourite uncle, Clay." Apollo snorted.
As if the crudely drawn rocket ships and space themed wrapping paper wasn't already a dead giveaway. He mused.
"You have to admit, that's pretty cute." Klavier mentioned casually, gauging Apollo's reaction.
"If not inaccurate." Apollo began, "technically, the only people other than us related to Katrina are Trucy, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Edgeworth. If you take in both legal and familial connections into account.“ Klavier laughed at the other's air of seriousness.
"I wonder how Herr Wright is dealing with being a grandpa at the age of 36. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth already acts like an old man, so I'm sure that he's falling into the role with ease." He asked. Apollo paused for a second before answering.
"If he's unhappy, then he's definitely not showing it. He's too busy spoiling her to notice, I'm sure." He explained. "As long as his hair doesn't start greying then I'm sure he'll be fine." His statement earned a snicker from the other man. Apollo's following statement caused the pair to burst out in laughter.
"We have one messed up family tree."
"I second that." Klavier affirmed between chuckles.
Noticing that Katrina was quieter than usual, Apollo turned his attention to her. He was met with her lips widespread in a yawn that was contagious.
"Somebody needs to go to their bed." He stated, the statement somewhat ironic since it was uttered mid-yawn.
"I think we all need to. There's been enough excitement for one day." Klavier said, voice lowered. Apollo nodded, making his way to the foot of the steps. Klavier headed in the opposite direction, wanting to take his cookies out of the oven. The once white dough now took on a golden brown hue, little specks of red and green standing out against the light base. The German man was pleased with the outcome, placing the baking sheet on top of the stainless steel appliance to cool. As he removed his pale green oven mitts, he made sure the stove was turned off. "
We're heading to the Wrights tomorrow at three, so we have to make sure we have all our stuff together." Apollo called.
"I've already packed her diaper bag, so we're good on that front." Klavier responded as he made his way back from where he came.
"Oh God, I am so glad that we don't have to...What's that in your hand?" Apollo trailed off, ending his statement with a rhetorical question.
"A plastic replica of Phoradendron Leucarpum, if I'm not mistaken." Klavier grinned, earning an unimpressed look from the other.
"Some basic English for us common folk would be great, Joseph Banks." Apollo retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"It's mistletoe. You've fallen into my clever trap." Klavier explained. Currently in his right hand was the object in question, held just above their heads.
"Secret trap my foot, I saw you put that in your pocket earlier." Nevertheless, Apollo closed his eyes and leaned in to meet Klavier's lips in a chaste kiss. It ended too soon for his liking, seeing as how his lips remained puckered even after Klavier pulled away.
"And one for the other love of my life." He cooed, planting a feather-light kiss on his daughter's head. The baby's only response was a quiet sigh of contentment, a sign that she was already asleep. Apollo began to ascend the carpeted stairs, Klavier following close behind him after turning off the lights.
The couple entered the nursery, Klavier remaining in the doorway as Apollo laid Katrina in her crib. He gave her a kiss on the cheek goodnight and left the room, drawing the door in behind him and Klavier. As soon as the pair made it into their bedroom, they flopped down on the bed.
After a few beats of silence, Klavier spoke up. "What were you saying earlier? Before I interrupted you." Apollo rolled his eyes, reaching over to remove the other's glasses.
"I was saying, how happy I am that we don't have to carry her highchair or her playpen with us this time." Klavier made a noise of realization.
"That's right."
Just about a week prior, Phoenix and Miles had purchased one of each for use at their house. As much as Apollo protested the idea at first, claiming that they didn't need to go out of the way to spend money, he was extremely grateful for it now.
“She spends so much time around there anyways, it only makes sense.” Phoenix had told him at the time, trying to placate him.
He rested Klavier's glasses on the bedside table, snuggling up to the other man after he was done. Klavier moved closer as well, pulling the brown fleece covers over the both of them. Usually at this point, they would either talk about work, fool around a little, or engage themselves in a meaningful conversation.
"What was Christmas like when you were a child?" Apollo asked, deciding upon option three. Klavier paused for a minute. His expression was hard to gauge in the darkness of the room.
"It was nice." Klavier began, settling for a fairly general adjective. "My parents weren't very 'festive' to say in the least. They were often too busy with work and other obligations to properly celebrate." Apollo silently urged him to continue, lightly combing through the other's hair.
"After they put us to bed on Christmas Eve, I would sneak into Kristoph's room and we'd spend the night watching Christmas movies on his television. We'd just lay there for hours, eyes glued to the TV, huddled together under a patchwork blanket."
The nostalgia in his voice made Apollo's heart sink. Talking to Klavier about Kristoph was bittersweet. On one hand, he got to learn more about his husband's childhood. But, the heartbreaking expression Klavier always wore when he said his name was sometimes too much to bear. Despite the darkness of the room, Apollo could still picture in vivid detail what Klavier's face looked like at the moment.
"Even after he went off to university, he'd call me on Skype and we'd watch them together." This time, Klavier couldn't hide the devastating crack in his voice. Apollo reached up to wipe his tears, only to find that his eyes where dry. "It's merely a memory of a simpler time. There's no reason to cry." Klavier whispered, more to himself than to Apollo.
The younger man found his hand under the sheets, lacing their fingers together. He squeezed his hand gently, a gesture usually used for comfort. After a few moments, Klavier regained his composure.
"How about you?" Apollo shifted slightly in the bed, the sheets rustling underneath him.
"I absolutely adored Christmas as a kid. Most people think that Christmas at an orphanage is sad and lonely, but it's the exact opposite." Apollo confessed. "We always had a sparsely decorated tree with a present for each of us under it. It was also the one night a year that the caretakers wouldn't chide us for eating cookies before supper."
Klavier couldn't help but laugh at the thought of a younger Apollo stuffing his mouth with cookies.
"It was honestly like something out of a holiday movie. The older kids would read stories to the younger kids until they fell asleep on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas day, we'd all open our presents at the same time and we'd all play together." Apollo continued, smiling at the fond memory. Klavier kissed the shell of Apollo's ear.
"I'm glad to hear that you never felt lonely."
"Well how could you? Spending the day with another forty or so kids guarantees you a good time." Apollo replied, sleep beginning to pull at his eyelids. Klavier felt the same, struggling to remain awake.
"I love you." Klavier slurred, allowing himself to finally fall asleep.
"I love you too." Apollo mumbled, giving Klavier's hand one last squeeze before drifting off.