Work Text:
With all the proceeds from multiple platinum records and no shortage of high-profile criminal cases, it wouldn't be the biggest shock that Klavier Gavin did not cook for himself very often. Working over lunch or late into the evening allowed him to often pick up food from places nearby the courthouse and sometimes bribe a certain grouchy detective to grab something for him on her break. It was also far easier to place an order to be picked up on his way home than to go through the gloomy monotony of cooking alone at 8:00 PM. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized how complacent he had gotten in this way until he was looking down at a pile of ingredients as if they were a backlog of evidence yet to be filed.
Klavier hummed to himself, hesitating to start even though he did have a recipe and all the required supplies to follow it. Perhaps it was a small thing in the scale of stressful tasks, but Klavier knew that Apollo cooked for himself often, largely because he didn't have another choice. And if he was going to come to Klavier's place after a long day at work, Klavier was not intending to phone it in. Something warm, comforting, and made with effort was the least that Apollo deserved. Resigning himself to at least start chopping something, Klavier got to work slicing an onion. As the knife moved cleanly in small strokes, he inwardly laughed at himself for feeling so out of his depth. Surely, it couldn't be this challenging. After making his way through cutting the onion, some garlic and a few bell peppers into thin strips, Klavier glanced at the clock with stinging eyes and startled at the late hour. He definitely should have started earlier. Tamping down the little surge of panic, he resolved to getting the onions and meat together in the pan, so at least something was starting to actually cook. He threw in the spices that he needed, but as he counted again, he realized one was missing. At the same moment, he also realized that he had forgotten to start the rice. Cursing under his breath, he quickly pivoted to prepare the rice, washing it and adding a little oil, stock and spices before starting the rice cooker, only to turn back and see a little smoke rising from the pan. He had forgotten to turn the burner down.
Klavier hissed through his teeth and jumped to turn the heat down. Even though everything in the pan was a little singed, but not terrible, he still felt the irritation hit him hard. "This is easy, come on," he spoke aloud as he carefully turned everything to the uncooked sides. He tossed in the rest of the veggies and checked the rice cooker to see it still cooking as intended. Sneaking a glance at the clock, he breathed out a sigh, seeing that Apollo would likely arrive in another 15 minutes. "Almost done," Klavier huffed, wiping away the moisture from the steam on his cheek. "Das war knapp." He continued adding the rest of the spices, finally retrieving the sugar he misplaced and scattering it in with the rest. As he stirred quickly, he started to feel a little more relief. It was starting to look like an acceptable dish. Yet as another minute passed and he took a moment to take a bite and test the flavour, his face scrunched. "Was?" he mumbled to himself, frowning at the spoon in his hand. He put it back to his mouth to taste the sauce again and grimaced hard. "Are you kidding me?" Looking at his phone to check the recipe, he saw that he followed the instructions as much as he could. Remembering his previous error, he turned the heat down to be safe as he debated what to do. Just as Klavier was pondering calling Apollo to see if he could pick some extra ingredients on the way home, a knock sounded at the door. "Ah, scheiße!" he yelped, dashing out of the room to change, before immediately dashing back in to turn the stove all the way off. In a flurry of clothes and a hand twisting up his hair at rapid speed, Klavier raced to the doorway and took a moment to catch his breath and smooth his shirt before opening the door with a flourish.
"Guten abend, Herr Forehead!" he asked with his most stunning smile. "How was traffic?"
Apollo had his phone in his hand and looked up with raised eyebrows at the now open door. "I was literally about to call you and make sure you were here. Traffic isn't so bad when you're on a bike," he added, hefting his bicycle helmet up into a more secure spot under his arm.
"Ah, ja, of course," Klavier replied sheepishly, trying to compensate for his brain running a million miles a minute. "Here, come in, come in!"
"How's your day been-" Apollo cut himself off as he toed off his shoes, sniffing at the air. "Something smells good, did you pick some food up?"
"Ach, nein," Klavier replied hesitatingly. "I tried to cook something."
Apollo perked up with interest, regarding him with curiosity and perhaps a hint of skepticism. "You cooked? What did you make?"
"Er, well, I don't exactly know if my attempt was successful," he replied, tucking his hands into his pockets as he followed Apollo into the kitchen. Klavier watched as the attorney strolled right in to look over the pan lightly steaming on the stove. "It's not-" he began as Apollo picked up the spoon to try a bite, but couldn't properly finish his warning before the bite was taken. As he feared, Apollo's mouth flattened and his eyebrows furrowed, as if he was trying to puzzle out exactly what he was eating. "I'm sorry, liebling, it's not very good, I know," Klavier blurted out, waving his hands and laughing nervously. "I wanted to have something waiting for you when you got home, but I'm afraid it's gone terribly wrong. Here, let me call somewhere and I'll get you something edible, you must be hungry after a long day-"
Apollo grabbed his frantic hand, chuckling lightly. "Whoa whoa, hey, it's fine! It's salvageable, I think we can balance it out a little."
"Well...that's good," Klavier replied, blinking as his brain changed gears. "But still, I wanted to take care of this for you," he continued, crossing his arms and moping as he looked to the side. "I didn't want you to have to come home and deal with my mistakes." A gentle touch to his face brought him around to look at Apollo, who had used a hand on his cheek to steer him back. In the next instant, Klavier was surprised to feel Apollo's lips pressed against his. He let his eyes flutter closed as Apollo's other hand gently tugged him closer by his shirt. A lovely warmth spread over him and his heart never failed to skip in his chest whenever Apollo drew him in like this. As they parted, Klavier dazedly opened his eyes, to see Apollo looking at him with a kind of fond amusement.
"That's sweet, really," he murmured with a smile, tapping lightly at Klavier's cheek with his thumb. "Don't get me wrong, the thought is very nice, I appreciate it." He looked back at the pan and let go of Klavier, rubbing at his chin as he considered the food. "Let's not waste it though. Here, I think there's just too much salt, let's just add a bit more of the other ingredients and a bit of water." Klavier hummed in response and nodded, though he didn't move. Apollo glanced back at him. "Klavier? You still want to eat, right?"
"Hm," Klavier blinked, glancing around as if he just remembered where it was. "Oh, so sorry." He leaned close with his hands on his hips, a dopey smile plastered on his face. "A very cute and handsome man just kissed me, I'm afraid I completely forgot myself."
Apollo flushed a bright red, standing up straighter. "Oh, shut up! Don't tease!"
"But I'm being absolutely serious!" Klavier grinned, crowding into Apollo's space and kissing his cheeks and forehead. "You think I would lie to you?"
"Agh, stop it, you big sap," Apollo yelped, although he made no real effort to push him away. "Alright, alright, let's do this so we can eat."
After Klavier relented, they set about to fixing the dish, Apollo adding some more broth as Klavier chopped a few extra vegetables leftover in the fridge. In the middle of their work, Apollo frowned as looked into two nearly identical containers. "Hey Klav, which one is the sugar?"
"Oh, it's-" Pausing in the middle of pointing, Klavier stared at the two steel containers. "ACH! Dummkopf! I put more salt in instead of the sugar!"
Apollo let out a snorting laugh, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, that makes sense. That's what you get for being bougie and having your identical sleek containers. Mine are all different shapes, so I always know what's what."
"Nein," Klavier bemoaned as he gathered the other spices back out of the cabinet and Apollo stirred the pan. "What a terrible performance on my behalf, just goes to show how one bad note ruins an entire song."
Scoffing to himself with a ludicrous smile, Apollo shook his head. "It's fine, you drama queen. I think if we add the sugar and other spices besides the salt, it'll turn out like the recipe. We'll just have some extra sauce." He took a jar from Klavier's outstretched hand to add it's contents to the pan. "And this way," he added, turning his smile to his work, "I can still spend some time with you."
Klavier's heart swelled and he suddenly felt impossibly light. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he continued his work, the feeling bubbling up in his chest. "So how was work, then?" he asked warmly, lightly nudging Apollo's foot with his own. "Tell me all the juicy details, hm?"
As Apollo regaled the details of his work day, both interesting and benign, Klavier found himself almost disappointed when they moved to eat. Perhaps this was a chore that he could afford to do more often, if he could spend it like this.