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Klavier sighed as he sat alone, staring at the empty chair that his date was supposed to sit.
After a messy breakup with a girlfriend, taking some time off to find himself, Klavier was finally ready to go back out into the dating scene. Maybe he could find someone who he could be with, and they’d finally be the one that he could be with, maybe a person he could be comfortable enough to be himself with. Of course, dating apps were the logical choice, making himself a profile. Sure, the first few matches he made were awkward and went nowhere, but Klavier had started to form a connection with the people he talked to. Sure, it was the tentative kind of connection as two people tried to familiarize themselves with the other person, contemplating if they worked well as a couple, but it was a connection nonetheless.
Soon enough, he’d scored a date.
They were meeting up at a restaurant, not too fancy that it was too much for a first date, but high-end enough to feel romantic. Klavier got himself all dolled up—why wouldn’t he dress the best? Dress to impress, after all!—and then went to the restaurant. It was a beautiful place, muted red brick walls against dark tiled floors, the interior bathed in a gentle warm glow from the hanging lights. The velvet cushions on the chairs were comfortable, and though Klavier had been to many high-end establishments before, this was still undeniably a nice place. And so, he took in the inviting interior of the restaurant, and waited for his date. And he waited, and waited, and waited.
Nothing.
Klavier checked his phone, not a single text from the guy. Where the hell was this guy? It’d been 45 minutes already. Was he running really late? If something had come up, why hadn’t he told him about it? Sure, he seemed a little aloof, but Klavier wasn’t sure why the guy hadn’t at least texted him that he was going to be late. Klavier would’ve, it was just common courtesy!
He looked up from his phone to look for his date, a young and kind-looking waitress, smiling as she approached him.
“You ready to order?” The waitress asked politely.
“Nein, I’m ah…” Klavier gestured to the chair opposite to him, which was empty. “I’m waiting for my date.”
“Ah, but…” The waitress glanced at the seat, then back at Klavier. “They haven’t shown up yet.”
“Ach! He’s probably just running late, ja?”
“It’s been 45 minutes…”
“He’ll show up.”
The waitress didn’t look convinced, but she nodded and walked away.
Minutes passed by, and Klavier’s hope slowly faded, vivid green leaves in spring fading into soft browns in the autumn. The waitress kept coming back, with more pity in her eyes, asking each and every time if he was ready to order. And each and every time, Klavier told her to give his date a few more minutes to finally arrive. As he sat alone, he listened absentmindedly to the sounds of cheerful chatter that filled the air, families eating out together, groups of teenagers laughing and gossiping, and the small talk between couples on their first dates. Seeing everyone talking to their friends or family or date made him acutely aware of the empty seat in front of him.
At some point, people started to notice Klavier, all dolled up sitting alone at a two-table. Of course, the only logical conclusion was that he had been stood up, and they gave him sympathetic looks. One mother even ordered breadsticks for him, and he supposed that sadly eating the stale bland bread gave him something to do. He hated it, the way everyone would glance at him, Klavier could practically hear the “poor thing” that they wanted to say. So his date was a little bit late, so what? Dates were late all the time, it was normal. All Klavier had to do was wait, and his date would soon come, and they’d have the best night of their lives.
But he never came.
At some point, Klavier had to accept it.
It’d been an hour and a half, and though it was a painful truth, it was the truth nonetheless: his date had stood him up.
Klavier sighed, but just as he was about to get up and leave, he saw a man approach the table. The man was cute, eyes and hair as brown as chocolate, with cute little tendrils that looked like antennas. He shot Klavier a grin, sitting down on the chair in front of him.
“Hiya, there you are! Hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.” The man said, letting out a dramatic sigh as he said. “I am so sorry for being late, by the way. Traffic is a bitch.”
Klavier shot the man an odd look, who was he? He wasn’t his date.
The man saw Klavier’s confused face, and he quietly added. “Hey, I know I’m not your date, but I’m Apollo. Go along with it, okay? Whoever didn’t show up is a dick.”
Klavier smiled.
The waitress seemed relieved when she saw Apollo, a smile as she took their order, a chicken parmesan for Klavier and a ribeye steak for Apollo. He had offered to fully pay for their meal—after all, this guy had gone out of his way to eat dinner with him, after seeing how he’d been obviously stood up. Though Apollo vehemently refused at first, he soon caved, accepting the free food with a smile. And god, that smile on his face was practically enchanting, the way his eyes sparkled in the gentle glow from the lights above. He was dressed a little too casually, but Klavier didn’t care, not when his smile felt brighter than every star in the sky.
And Klavier continued to be enchanted as they talked, getting to know each other, at some point even forgetting that Apollo wasn’t even his original date. Apollo was a defense attorney, on the opposite side of the courtroom from Klavier. Apparently, he worked for legendary defense attorney Phoenix Wright, having recently been hired after he passed the bar exam. When Klavier joked that he wouldn’t go easy on him if they were ever assigned to the same case, Apollo laughed. And the way he laughed, a loud snorting laugh, had Klavier smiling. Being around Apollo made Klavier feel…comfortable. They could both cackle at things that weren’t really that funny, and yet seemed like the most hysterical thing in the world.
At some point, Apollo had started to gush about Mikeko, who he dubbed as his “feline daughter”, showing Klavier picture after picture of her. Mikeko was cute, but her grinning owner was even cuter.
“God, I love her so much. Mikeko might not show it, but she’s really sweet. I remember when she first sat on my lap…I was in heaven!” Just as someone glared at him for being too loud, Apollo reddened a little. He cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. “Ah…sorry. I’ve only been talking about my cat the entire time.”
“Nein nein, it’s fine! It’s…cute to see how much you love your cat.” Klavier said, his smile fond. “It makes me like you more.”
“Ah…thanks, I guess.” Apollo said, then adding with a smile. “You’re not so bad looking yourself, Klavier.”
Klavier feigned a hurt gasp. “I’m hurt, Apollo! I thought you thought I was handsome!” He dramatically clutched his chest, then adding. “Oh! I’ve been wounded in a way that will never heal!”
Apollo rolled his eyes. “God, when I came here I didn’t think you’d be this annoying.”
“And I didn’t think you’d be so cute.” Klavier replied with a teasing grin.
“You asshole!”
Klavier laughed, and though Apollo glared at first, he ended up laughing too.
Even long after they’d finished eating, they continued to talk, about whatever caught their fancy at that present moment, little things that seemed to matter to them the most at the moment. When Klavier had ordered dessert when Apollo had perked up at the mention of ice cream, and they shared a scoop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. The hours passed by, and Klavier had never had more fun, being on a date and talking to someone. When they eventually left the restaurant, it was already late out, the stars shimmering in the night velvet skies. But nothing was brighter than the fond smile on Apollo’s face.
“I had fun tonight.” Apollo said.
“Ja, I did too.” Klavier said, then adding with a laugh. “Especially for being stood up.”
“Hey, it happens.” Apollo said, smiling sheepishly as he added. “So, uh…I know this is weird to ask, especially since we just pretended to go on a date…but do you maybe wanna actually legit go out, one time?” He then added with a little laugh. “I won’t stand you up, promise.”
Klavier laughed. “Ja! That sounds nice.” His laugh transitioned into a soft, fond smile. “I enjoyed my first date with you.”
Apollo’s smile was just as fond. “Yeah, me too.” He then added, snickering. “Even if you’re more obnoxious than you look.”
“Ach!” Klavier grinned as he flipped his hair dramatically. “That’s part of my charm, Apollo!”
“Oh god, you really are obnoxious!” Apollo said with a groan.
After the two exchanged phone numbers, the two bade their goodbyes, and Apollo got on his bicycle—he went to this restaurant on a bicycle?!—before he then biked off. Klavier let his gaze linger on Apollo biking away, before he looked down at his phone, where Apollo’s number was open. To think, that what would’ve been an awkward and stiff first date…became an unexpected delight with the cutest little thing.
And of course, another date with him. An actually planned date, this time.
The smile never left Klavier’s face as he put on his motorcycle helmet, starting to drive back to his apartment.