Chapter Text
The weather was absolutely abysmal. The sky had darkened to a nearly black grey, with no glimpse of sun to be seen. Rain hammered against the window and roof as if it was being hurled down from the sky and winds were beginning to rattle the window panes and blow small branches out of nearby trees. It looked like hell out there.
And Apollo was absolutely loving it.
Sprawled out with his leg hanging off, he had barely gotten out of his vest and tie before collapsing onto his couch. His eyes ached and his mind was swimming with cases and research and notes he had to update, but he took a deep breath and massaged the crease between his brows, trying to let those thoughts wash away. It was no small blessing that the tiny apartment was filled with the pleasant pattering noise of rain and Apollo's eyes flicked over to the nearby window as the walls began to creak from the wind.
"Glad we're not out there, huh?" he muttered to the cat softly snoring on his chest, reaching up to scratch her between the ears. Letting his head fall back, he allowed his eyes to unfocus on the ceiling, letting the stormy sounds from outside meld together in a peaceful lull. There was something about it that settled into his body in a weighty, comforting way and Apollo felt his eyes close as he let it carry him into a doze. After some amount of time fading in and out of sleep, Apollo found his eyes opening to a sound other than the rain. Rattling against the nearby side table, his phone vibrated and called out its familiar ringtone of Lamiroir's "The Guitar's Serenade." Groaning a little as he strained his arm so as not to move and disturb Mikeko still on his chest, he fished the phone off the table and glanced at the call screen. With a sigh and a quick clear of his throat, he answered.
"Justice here."
"Ah, Herr Forehead. I'm relieved you picked up."
Apollo cleared his throat again, the deep raspiness of sleep lingering in his voice as he rubbed a hand against his forehead. "Prosector Gavin. What's going on?"
"Well, ach." Some shuffling sounds and a muffled voice came through the reciever as the faint whistling of wind left no room for silence. "Apologies, I had to find a little shelter for a minute. Do you happen to be home right now?"
"Yes?" Apollo replied suspiciously, leaning up on an elbow. "Why?"
"Well, I had intended to run an errand on the east side of town, but it appears my hog has completely broken down. Undriveable, certainly."
Apollo grimaced. "That doesn't sound good."
"Nein, it's very much not. Especially considering it's positively pouring and they've closed a road from a fallen tree."
Apollo frowned as he sat up completely, keeping the phone to his ear. Mikeko stumbled off him with an indignant chirp and Apollo reached over to give her an apologetic, albeit distracted, pet. His brows pinched as the tone over his phone's speaker turned more defeated with each passing word. "Huh, it's that bad out there?"
"Ja...I hate to ask, Herr Forehead," Klavier continued with a sigh. "But it would be very much appreciated if I could wait out a bit of this storm under a roof for a bit? If you have a place I could park my motorcycle, that would be an even greater favour."
Already contemplating offering the same thing, Apollo stood up, fishing around for an umbrella. "I'll come to you. Where are you?"
"Oh, I'm very much in your debt lieb- er, yes, I'm on the corner of Oak and Augen."
"Alright, that's only a few minutes, I'm on my way."
~
Having hustled back out of the rain and under the awning of the apartment, Apollo breathed a sigh of relief as the door swung back open and the warmth of the indoor heat washed over him. "Come on in," he said. "Might be a little cramped for your style, but it's liveable."
"Oh I will take anything, Herr Forehead, cramped or no. As long as I am out of that hurricane outside," Klavier smiled, pushing his damp hair out of his face.
The little closet pushed open with a creak as Apollo reached out to take the fur lined leather coat from him, placing both it and his sopping raincoat next to each other. His eyes couldn't help lingering on the expensive leather next to his own threadbare sweaters, worn red blazer and beat-up old denim jacket. Strange neighbours.
"Shit, ah, my helmet!" Apollo stuck his head out of the closet to see Klavier, half out of his boots, scrambling to put them back on. "I left it outside, it's going to get soaked! Just a moment," he called as he raced out the door, the strong wind nearly blowing it shut again.
"Wait, take the-" Apollo started, but the prosector was already gone. "Gonna catch a cold..." he grumbled as he toed off his own shoes, tucking them into the closet. "...Absolutely insane..." His scattered string of remarks started to blend together into inaudible grousing as he headed over to the kitchen and put a kettle of water on the stovetop.
The sound of the door shutting resounded down the short hallway a minute later and Apollo sighed. He leaned back into view of the door, hoping we wouldn't have even more water tracked onto his carpet. "What the hell were you thi-"
He stopped short as Klavier straightened up from taking off his boots and found himself immediately rooted in place. There was no doubt that the rain was nothing short of torrential, but somehow he hadn't imagined Klavier to return so completely soaked. The droplets of water rolled down his leather pants, making them glisten in the dim light. The streaks across them suggested that he had even tried to wipe as much of the water off as he could before reentering, but Apollo couldn't care less about that gesture now due to a very important detail. Somehow, he had not realized that Klavier was wearing a white shirt under his jacket. Likely from some concert or another, the black design on the front was warped by the state of the fabric. It was so thoroughly wet that it was essentially transparent, plastered against Klavier's chest and leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. The sharp lines of his shoulders, the slope of his waist, the plane of his toned stomach were all on full display. His brain stuttering like a broken computer, Apollo found himself returning to staring hard at Klavier's face in order to avoid looking anywhere else, but it in fact did nothing to help as Klavier let out a breath and ran a hand through his now soaking hair, pushing it back out of his face as a few stubborn strands curled over his forehead.
Dammit. Apollo thought furiously as a heated buzzing thrummed through his chest and out his arms. Dammit. Dammit all to hell.
"So sorry, Herr Forehead," Klavier apologized, an exhausted smile on his drenched face. He wiped some of the water from the side of his nose and at least had the decency to look apologetic as he shivered a little from the cold. "I had a suspicion that I had left it upside down and if it filled with water, it would be quite ruined." Of course Apollo had intended to reply right away, but it took him an additional ten full seconds as Klavier rubbed a hand over his wet shirt with a grimace, causing it to ride up over his hip-
"You should get out of those clothes," Apollo blurted out.
Fuck!
It was Klavier's turn to freeze, staring at Apollo, who was hoping to all hell that the floor would swallow him up to save him from the intense wave of embarrassment washing over him. The other man quickly and unfortunately recovered, a sly smile spreading across his face as he opened his mouth to answer.
"I mean!" Apollo cut him off, nearly shouting as his face flushed hard and fast. "You're shivering already, you should dry off and get some fresh clothes on you."
Klavier nodded, a hint of rogueish smugness still lingering in his eyes. "Hm, I see. Barely in your door and you're already wanting my clothes off, ja?"
Apollo bristled not unlike an irate porcupine, furiously willing his flushed face to calm down. "That is not what I meant and you know it."
"Hm, I'm not so sure about that, it certainly sounded-"
"Do you want dry clothes or not, asshole?"
Mercifully, the kettle started to shriek and Apollo took that as his cue to look away and turn back to the stove. "In seriousness, may take you up on that," Klavier chuckled as he made his way into the kichen. "Although, hm. I should maybe call some towing places first, in case their wait times are long. I wouldn't doubt it with the miserable weather."
Apollo felt his jaw clench at the thought of Klavier pacing on the phone in his kitchen, idly running fingers through his damp hair, in his stupid leather pants and infuriatingly wet shirt. "I'll call them, don't worry about it," he mumbled as he fished out two mugs om the cabinet.
"Really?" Klavier paused in the kitchen entryway, midway through pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I shouldn't trouble you further, Herr Forehead."
"No, it's fine," Apollo insisted. "It would be better for you to get into drier clothes so you're not tracking water everywhere. Besides, you'd be uh, freezing. Like that," he forced out, gesturing up and down. "I'll just- I'll grab you a towel."
"Oh! Well, if that's alright with you," Klavier replied, his voice pitching up in surprise as Apollo breezed past him to his closet.
Quickly rifling through his things, Apollo pulled out an old pair of sweatpants and shirt, folding them over once and setting them on his bed. He grimaced at the clothes he had left on the floor and the messy bed, quickly scrambling to straighten the sheets and toss the old clothes in the laundry bin before calling back out the entryway. "You can come in, you know."
Klavier had been glancing around the little apartment, eyes smoothly flowing between each corner of the place as if he were walking through a scenic park. At the sound of Apollo's voice, he snapped to attention and padded in his socked feet into the bedroom area. "Enjoying the view?" Apollo asked drily, not exactly anticipating a glowing review.
Breathing a laugh out of his nose, Klavier nodded approvingly. "You mentioned it was cramped, Herr Forehead, but it's quite charming."
"If you say so," Apollo replied, managing a half shrug with his arms full of two towels, laying them both on the bed. "There's clothes here. Bathroom's in the other door, so if you need to wash up or if you want a hot shower it's...there," he added, not realizing what he had offered until he was halfway through the sentence. "Feel free to help yourself, I guess. Just, be careful with the cold water tap. It's kind of loose, so even if you barely nudge it, it might turn on."
"Thank you very much," Klavier smiled so warmly that Apollo could swear his own insides were heating up. "That's very attentive of you, I really do appreciate your hospitality."
"I- Yeah, no problem," Apollo mumbled, scratching the back of his head, taken aback by the sudden authenticity. "I'll be out here, I'll let you know if I find any leads on the mechanic shops or whatever you call them."
"Lovely! I will try to be quick, so I may come help you," Klavier replied brightly, strolling past into the bathroom as Apollo's mind reeled with what he had set himself up for.
Namely; Klavier Gavin. In his home.
As he sat down to scroll through some options for a towing service, the majority of his thoughts chastised him for making suggestions and offering things that would prolong Klavier's stay in his apartment. Surely, the storm would subside and it would be easier and safer to send the prosecutor on his way sooner rather than later. That being said, the idea of kicking Klavier out into the rain didn't sit right with him either. As he forced himself to take a breath, the small, grateful smile of Klavier's came to the forefront of Apollo's mind and the traitorous warmth rekindled in his chest. Maybe a little company wouldn't be so bad.
~
Leaning his head back onto the headboard, Apollo pinched the bridge of his nose as he hung up the phone again. "You have got to be kidding me," he groaned, his hand moving to rub over his face.
"Oh dear, that does not sound very optimistic." Apollo glanced over to the bathroom door as Klavier's head stuck out, rubbing a towel against his damp hair. "Do I dare to ask?"
"It's unbelievable," Apollo huffed, scrolling on his phone. "Every single mechanic in the area is either booked up with calls or cut off by that stupid fallen tree blocking the highway. A few of them have even lost power."
"Ah. Well, that is a real shame indeed. Perhaps if I help make some calls as well, we can combine our efforts, hm?"
"I don't know, I called a lot of-fuh-" Apollo's reply clammed up as his eyes locked on Klavier leaning almost fully out of the bathroom, still patting his hair dry. Despite having given him clothes to change into, the only thing Klavier wore was the other towel hanging low on his hips. Apollo felt an intense wave of heat blow through him as he watched a stubborn droplet of water roll from the lower muscle of Klavier's chest to glide down his ribs and abdomen, collecting other drops as it went until it disappeared into the towel. Swallowing hard, Apollo cleared his throat. "What happened to the clothes I gave you?"
"Ah." Klavier's eyebrows raised before a sheepish look crossed his face. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid they are a tad too small for me. The pants came up to here," he added, leaning to the side and gesturing halfway up his calf.
"It can't be that bad," Apollo protested.
"It is! I would rather have no pants at all!"
Immediately having to combat the unfortunate flood of thoughts that rushed in at that statement, Apollo scowled at him instead. The tangle of butterflies in his stomach twisted in frustration. Either Klavier was the most oblivious man on the planet, or he was doing this on purpose, and no matter what the answer was, it was pissing Apollo the hell off. "You will not be walking around my place in a towel or worse," he declared as he got up off the bed and went back to rummaging through his clothes.
"Nein?" Klavier asked mischeviously. "What if this is my garment of choice?"
"Then you're getting kicked back into the storm with your broken bike."
"Ach, so cruel, Herr Forehead. You would turn your back on a friend in need?"
"A friend? Never. You? Maybe."
"And yet you find a way to wound me further." Klavier's chuckle melded into his words as he made his way up behind Apollo. "Come now, Herr Forehead, where's that compassion that compelled you to rescue me so gallantly from the rain?"
Apollo rolled his eyes at him, his valiant effort to keep his scowl slipping. Much to his chagrin, the way Klavier effortlessly parried back their banter had become rather endearing, making it very difficult to ever be truly annoyed by it anymore. "That particular well has dried up, unfortunately." Before Klavier could respond, a larger pair of red plaid pyjama pants were shoved in his direction. "These are a bit long on me, so they could likely fit you." But before they could be taken, Apollo drew back. "On one condition," he added with a raised eyebrow. "No more offending nicknames for me today. Since you mentioned I've done you such substantial favours today and you asked what you could do to repay me. That's what."
Klavier seemed to be considering the deal and held out his hand for the clothes, but Apollo's eyes narrowed at the surprising lack of pushback. "I accept your terms...Apollo," he replied with a wink.
Apollo's stomach did a backflip that a gymnast would envy.
Oh no.
Hearing his own name, earnest and gentle, from Klavier's lowered voice was going to be a problem very, very quickly. But there was no way he could back down now. "Good. Ok. Here," he said quickly, thrusting out the hand holding the clothes.
As Klavier reached underneath to scoop them up, his fingertips skimmed over the back of Apollo's hand. Try as he might, it was unavoidable for his eyes to flicker up to Klavier's face, only to find his gaze caught instantly. Although the moment must have only lasted a mere second, Apollo felt his chest tighten, his breath halt, as his perception unwittingly honed in on...something. Something just out of his reach. Something in the tightness of Klavier's mouth, the straightening of his posture, the way his eyes flicked to the side, breaking the momentary contact. Apollo's hand reflexively moved to his wrist, before realizing he'd taken off his bracelet after getting home.
"Danke for the clothes," Klavier said quickly over his shoulder as he headed towards the bathroom door. "I will be out shortly."
Still wrapped up in his thoughts as that single moment played again and again, Apollo didn't even respond as the door clicked shut. He blinked at the noise, returning to his senses, and scratched the back of his neck. "Right," he said to no one in particular. "That's fine. Everything's fine."