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Being a lawyer sets many expectations.
You had been well-aware of this since being a little kid, but with the sight of failure right in front of you, grinning shrewdly as the guilty verdict echoed through the courtroom, made you almost drop to your knees.
Your client was innocent, he was, but you couldn't do your one job and failed. And now he had the likelihood of facing a life sentence in prison. Or worse.
You walked through the hallways of the courthouse, thinking, thinking, thinking.
He had a family, you read in his file. Kids. And now he would never be able to go back to his home and greet them—instead, a visit at the detention center would have to suffice.
Managing to make it outside, you went to the back of the building and sat on a bench, finally allowing tears to roll down your cheeks. Though, it could have been water droplets since it was raining.
With the rain covering your sight, and the loud patterns of the drops hitting the damp ground, it had gotten difficult to notice your surroundings; so you allowed it. You allowed your body to forget about the world outside of its head, and cried.
Your first guilty verdict, and it went to an innocent.
An innocent.
“...alright?”
Before you even registered the unknown voice, you noticed the absence of rain falling onto your head. You looked up—an umbrella?
You turned your head to the side, and finally saw a figure. No, the figure—you recognised who he was, after all you managed to land a non-guilty verdict on a past client, with him serving as prosecution.
The blond seated himself next to you, and you quickly wiped your face with a handkerchief, shoving it back into your jeans. While doing so, you noticed him taking off his jacket.
As you turned he set the article of clothing around your shoulders, motioning to you to put it on. With a small nod, you equipped the jacket, feeling it's leather over your drenched shirt. You set your hands back into your lap, mumbling a small ‘thanks’.
He smiled, and you couldn't help but smile back.
“You haven't given an answer to my question, Schazi.”
You blinked and shook your head. “Sorry, uh, I'm alright, yes.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not convinced.”
You rolled your eyes, leaning back. “You’d delight in it since you're a prosecutor.”
He tilted his head, confusion flashing over his features. “Was?”
You ignored the German and continued, “Look. It's a shitty sob story. While I'm guaranteed to get sick tomorrow, you shouldn't catch a cold like me–”
“Why were you in the rain?” He asked.
Good question, the answer to which you didn't know as well.
“Having my main character moment, fuck off.” Where this attitude was coming from, you weren't aware, but what you were sure of, was that you were comfortable with him. You refused to think of a reason why.
He chuckled back. “I assume you don't have an umbrella though. And you're shivering.”
You hadn't noticed it until now, but you were cold, even with the jacket. Heaven knows how much colder you would have been if Klavier hadn't been here.
“Listen..” He began, jolting you out of your thoughts. “We haven't talked much before, so I'll understand if you'll want to reject this, but with the rain and all… I'll drive you to your place in my car.”
You stared dumb at his face.
Why in the actual world would Klavier Gavin want to give you a ride? Most prosecutors never took losses in the courtroom gracefully, and usually held pure hatred against attorneys who ruined their perfect record. While Klavier was young, being in his mid twenties, why would he voluntarily let you ride? Or give you his jacket? Or hold an umbrella over your head—?
“Yes,” You whispered without thinking.
He stood and gave you a hand, and you took it to stand up. The rain had gotten much worse, but, as his umbrella wasn't particularly small, you two made it to his car in one piece. You sat on the passenger seat, then he walked around to do the same in the driver’s, setting the wet umbrella on the floor in front of the back seat.
He switched on the heater of his car and began driving out of the parking lot, and you resisted staring at him. Once he reversed the car and got on the main road, you cleared your throat and gave him instructions to your house.
“I'm.. really grateful.” You spoke the obvious. “Like, a lot. Thanks.”
Klavier grinned, his eyes on the road. “Don't mention it.”
You blinked at him. “Say.. how did you find me? Like.. why were you around the area instead of running to your car once you saw the rain?”
You saw him exhale sharply. “I go to that bench a lot whenever I'm near the courthouse. To clear my head.”
“Dang, did I steal your spot?”
He chuckled. “Nein, it's fine.”
You hummed. “I'm surprised, you know. That you're so.. open with me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Surprised?”
“Since.. well, I won the case both of us were assigned with.”
By now the car was waiting at lights, allowing him to stray his attention from the road to you.
“Why does that matter?” He looked at you.
“You aren't resentful?”
“Why would I be?”
You broke eye contact and crossed your legs. “From what I've seen.. prosecutors—”
“Ach.”
That made you pause, and you returned your gaze to him.
“I'm not like that. It's stupid to resent, as you say, attorneys who’re just doing their jobs,” He explained, tapping the steering wheel. “Plus, the guy was guilty. That was obvious.”
You blinked. Before you could respond, you sneezed, making Klavier laugh.
“Try not to sulk in the rain next time, Liebling.”
You pouted. “I wasn't—”
Then you paused. You had already forgotten about the man you put in prison. You breathed to calm yourself—although Klavier helped you, you weren't about to cry in front of him—and looked outside of the window.
Klavier didn't question and kept his eyes on the road. When you were sure you calmed yourself, you recounted everything to him, pausing every once in a while to see if you should stop. He motioned every time to continue, and you did. It wasn't long until you finished, and you arrived home.
“You're a good person, Schatzi,” Klavier said as he stopped the car. “Don’t let this experience kick you down.”
You stared as he spoke. While Klavier had been a lawyer since seventeen, you had only been one for a year. So despite the fact that the two of you were of the same age, there was still some sort of wisdom behind his words. Who knows what kind of defendants, and experiences, he had seen?
“It's a hard pill to swallow but you can't save everyone, as much as you want to.” He looked over at you. “Promise me you'll take this as a lesson and strive to be better.”
You nodded. “I will.”
He broke out a smile. “Have a great rest of your day, Meine Liebe.”
You stepped out of the car and entered your house, and Klavier drove off. It wasn't until you crashed onto your couch that you realised…
You were still wearing his jacket.
Oh well. Guess you'd be borrowing that for a while.