Work Text:
Klavier really didn’t want to be here.
The only reason he’d let himself get dragged to this bar/concert venue was because Kay Faraday couldn’t go with Ema, and he was the second best choice for the extra ticket she had. According to her.
He’d never heard of the band in question- The WAA, which Ema told him stood for “Wright Anything Agency”, which is about the strangest name for a band he’d ever heard. After a quick Google search, though, he figured out it was because all the members were lawyers- defense attorneys- and they had their own agency. Well, the female lead singer/guitarist was a magician. But the rest were lawyers.
Speaking of the singer, the reason Ema had tickets in the first place was because they were friends. Trucy Wright, Klavier believed her name was. Her dad, Phoenix, was the male lead singer. There were two other members for drums and bass, but Klavier didn’t know their names. Maybe Ema did, but he didn’t care enough to ask. He was a prosecutor- there’s a chance he’d end up going against one of them at some point. He’d learn their names then.
The bar was relatively small compared to a normal concert venue. During Ema’s info dump on the car ride over, she said the WAA played mostly in the Wonder Bar because Trucy had magician history there. They apparently made rock music, which Klavier almost hated. If it was The Killers, sure. Fall Out Boy, even, if he had to. But if he had control of the music, it was J-pop and video game music all the way.
Bars weren’t Klavier’s thing either. Too loud and dirty- especially at this time of night. It was 10:00 on a Friday! He wanted nothing more than to be home with his dog Vongole, eating microwave ramen and watching that ocean documentary he’s had his eye on. But alas.
Klavier and Ema were sitting at a small two-person table near the back and away from the dance floor area, at Klavier’s request. There was a stage set up with the instruments and equipment already prepared, just lacking musicians to play them. He was lightly nursing a margarita, and Ema had downed over half her beer. He didn’t know how she did it sometimes.
“Fuck’s sake, they were supposed to start ten minutes ago,” Ema grumbled, pulling out a bag of Snackoos from a pocket Klavier didn’t know she had.
“How did you get those in here? There’s no outside food allowed,” He asked.
“A girl has her ways, Piano.” She said, starting to munch.
He huffed.
Suddenly, the lights in the Wonder Bar went black. A young, female voice started to flow out from the speakers set up as smoke slowly filled the room.
“Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and people who don’t necessarily align with the gender binary, to the most musical and magical performance of your lives!”
The stage lit up with spotlights on the four members and the crowd erupted into applause. Ema practically screamed, throwing her Snackoos onto the table. Who Klavier assumed was Trucy was centerstage, in a light blue dress and top hat. She also had bold red and yellow stage make-up. Her arms were thrown above her head in a V shape. She color matched with a man standing to her right, with black spiky hair, a light blue jacket, white t-shirt and blue jeans. Less make-up on him. Phoenix, Klavier thought. The bassist was upstage right in a bright yellow dress and a very long orange pony tail, and the drummer was upstage left. Klavier couldn’t see his full outfit because he was sitting down, but he had on a red jacket and a red drum set. His hair was brown and had these two little spikes in the front, like devil horns. Or bunny ears. His smile was wide as he waved to the crowd.
He’s kinda cute, Klavier thought. He smiled slightly into his margarita.
Trucy continued speaking through the microphone in front of her. “Thank you, thank you! We’ve got a great set here tonight folks, so let’s kick it off! Get ready to rock!!”
Another scream from Ema as the drummer gave a “2, 3, 4!” In a much louder voice than Klavier expected, considering he didn’t have a microphone. And then, the music started. Klavier resisted the urge to put his head on the table. It was loud and sort of obnoxious and heavy, and yeah Trucy and Phoenix were great singers, but it was a little… much. He drank a little more of his margarita.
At least there was the drummer. Klavier’s eyes constantly would pop back over to him every couple minutes when he wasn’t looking at his phone to check the time. 10:24. Sigh.
“When is this supposed to be over again?” He asked Ema, not caring in the moment if he was being rude or about interrupting her singing along to songs he had never heard.
“You suck, you know that?” She said. He only shrugged. “11:30, if you must know. But we’re not leaving until then!”
“You suck, you know that?” Klavier said sarcastically in return. She flipped him off with a smirk and went back to watching the show.
They were a couple songs in when Trucy’s guitar caught on fire.
At first she looked panicked. Glancing at her dad and the other members as they shared looks of concern, and then plunged her hand right into the fire and onto the strings of the guitar and kept playing as the beat of the song dropped along with Klavier’s jaw. The bassist ran over to Trucy and her bass caught fire too, the two women smiling and laughing with each other while they played. Phoenix laughed, and the drummer smiled wide.
“Stage fire!” Ema yelled to him over the music. “It’s one of Trucy’s favorite tricks!”
“Does that even exist?!” Klavier yelled back, baffled.
“It’s right there, isn’t it?” She gestured to the stage. Klavier sat back in his seat.
The song ended and Trucy patted the fire on her guitar out. “How was that?” She asked through her mic. The crowd erupted into cheers once more.
“Well, we flame to please!” The bassist said into Trucy’s mic.
Klavier rolled his eyes.
Trucy spoke again. “For our last song of the evening,” the crowd cut her off, protesting- “I know, I know. But here’s one of our favorites,” she paused as workers of the Wonder Bar quickly ran up to set microphones in front of the bassist and drummer.
Ema’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, this one’s my favorite! I’m going to go dance. You coming?”
“No, that’s okay. Have fun,” Klavier said.
She shrugged. “Your loss,” and disappeared into the crowd.
Trucy glanced at the drummer, and then he spoke (or yelled) into his mic,
“The title of this song is El Camino! 1! 2! 1, 2, 3, 4!”
And Trucy began to sing-
“Black El Camino with a 5 percent tint
New passport, no job, no fake friends
All dressed up, got nowhere to go,”
And the entire band joined in to sing,
“I think I need a brand new area code!”
And this time, Phoenix was the one singing.
“So say hello to me
Say hello to me”
Again, the whole band sang,
“(Is anybody out there?)”
And gave it back to Phoenix and Trucy for the main part of the chorus.
“Say hello to me
(It’s nice to know ya!)
Say hello to me
(It’s nice to know ya!)”
The song continued with the bassist singing,
“On the way
Board the plane
It’s nice to meet you what’s your name?
Destination baggage claim
Wait — before you walk away!”
It was during this verse that Klavier realized he was actually enjoying this song. The crowd was up dancing and scream-singing their hearts out, and Klavier was nodding his head and tapping his feet. The song slowed and then picked up again, Phoenix with the solo in the chorus.
“Say hello to me
Say hello to me
(Is anybody out therе?)
Say hello to me
(It’s nice to know ya!)
Say hеllo to me”
Then, to Klavier’s enjoyment, the drummer took over singing, the song taking on an entirely new vibe.
“Waiting on tomorrow
To find out what it brings
No I don’t have a crystal ball-“
That’s an amazing voice, Klavier thought. But then he looked right at Klavier and sang-
“-But I got what you need”
He went back to looking at his drum set.
“Blacked out El Camino
Parked out on the street
Those tweakers broke my window
But I like the breeze”
A pause, and then- “1, 2, 3, let’s go!”
Trucy and Phoenix sang the main chorus again, smiling wide at each other as they sang into the same microphone.
“Say hello to me
(Is anybody out there)
Say hello to me-“
And right before the drummer and bassist sang their next line, the drummer (again!) looked right at Klavier and sang-
“In the back with the blonde hair!”
He completely froze as the drummer smiled and the chorus continued.
“Say hello to me
(It’s nice to know ya!)
Say hello to me
(It’s nice to know ya!)”
The lyrics briefly paused as Trucy spoke again, loud applause between her sentences.
“We’ve got the amazing Phoenix and Trucy Wright on vocals! The wonderful Athena Cykes on bass! And the astonishing Apollo Justice on the drums!”
Apollo Justice, Klavier thought. Fitting for a musician/defense attorney.
Trucy and Phoenix picked up the end of the song, their lyrics starting right as she finished introducing the band members.
“I’m wrapped in caution tape
I will find my way
And I’m going nowhere as fast as I can say
I will find my way!”
By now the entire band was smiling wide as the song came to its conclusion, perfectly in their elements onstage. It was fun, Klavier had to admit. And Apollo… well, Klavier thought by now he was a little more than just cute. And wasn’t it odd that he was looking at him? No, maybe he was just seeing things… ah, well.
“Thank you, patrons of the Wonder Bar!” The crowd cheered as Trucy waved. “We hope you had a great time!”
Phoenix cut in- “And if you happen to know anyone innocent who was accused of theft, fraud, kidnapping, or murder- give the Wright Anything Agency a call!”
Less cheers from the crowd, but clapping nonetheless.
Trucy spoke again. “Yeah! Have a magical rest of your night!!”
The final cheers as the house lights came back on. Klavier watched Apollo stand and drink a bottle of water for another few moments before deciding he was probably being creepy and focused his attention on finding Ema so they could go home. She was, of course, nowhere to be seen.
So, Klavier sat back in his chair, opening a game on his phone to keep himself busy until Ema came back. He was not about to walk into the sweaty, gross crowd of people to find her. She’d be back.
After a few minutes, Klavier heard the tell-tale sound of the chair next to him being pulled back and sat down in.
Finally, Klavier thought, and looked up to question Ema about where she was.
He was instead met with the smiling face of one Apollo Justice.
He visibly flinched. The smart, flirty thing to do.
Apollo chuckled. “Enjoy the show?” His voice was a lot quieter without the microphone and the projection needed for a stage, but still held some power to it.
Klavier was stunned almost silent. “Mhm,” he managed.
“Good. You came with Ema, right? I saw her over here before El Camino. When Trucy said she invited her, I was expecting her to bring her girlfriend, but…” he looked Klavier up and down, “I am not disappointed.”
Klavier swallowed and looked away. “Pfft, does that line work on everyone?”
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t usually do this. You’re the one who caught my eye from all the way up on stage, and in the back. The least you could do is tell me your name. I’m Apollo,” he said putting his hand out for a handshake.
Klavier hesitated. “Klavier,” he said, taking his hand. It was warm and sweaty, probably from his drumsticks, and it probably should’ve been gross. Klavier was almost embarrassed that it wasn’t. Apollo’s forehead was sweaty, too, and at some point during the show he had taken off his jacket to tie around his waist.
“Pretty name. That’s not American, is it?” Apollo asked.
Klavier blushes. “German,” he said.
“That explains the accent too, then. I couldn’t place it. I like it.”
“Apollo’s Greek,” he managed.
“True. I’m actually from Khura’in, though. Well, sort of. Never mind that. Back to the show. What was your favorite song?” Apollo put his elbow on the table and his head in his hand, fondly looking at Klavier with genuine curiosity. It was horribly difficult to keep eye contact with.
“El Camino,” Klavier said.
Apollo clicked his tongue. “A crowd favorite. I hoped you saw me.”
How could I not? Klavier thought.
“Was that… just part of the song, or…?” He asked Apollo.
“You mean the ‘in the back with the blonde hair’ line?” Apollo confirmed. “Technically, yeah, it’s part of the original lyrics. But it worked in my favor tonight, didn’t it?” He looked Klavier up and down again, smiling. Klavier just stammered for a reply.
He was about to say some actual words when, to his absolute dismay, Ema Skye finally walked over.
She took one look at Klavier’s red face, one look at Apollo’s head in his hand, smiled smugly, and said “Damn, Klavier. Nice.”
Apollo turned around to look at her. “Hey, Ema. You get to talk to Trucy?” He said, completely normal.
“Yup, we got a picture and she signed my shirt,” Ema replied, pulling the hem of her shirt out to show the signature. “You did great, by the way. Crazy endurance.”
Apollo smiled and shrugged, and Klavier blushed harder. “Why thank you. I’m glad you came,” he looked at Klavier, “and that you decided to bring him.”
“Gross, Apollo,” Ema said. “Anyway, Klavier, we gotta get going. Sorry to drag you away from… this,” she gestured to Apollo, “but I’m fucking tired and I will steal your car and leave without you. Thanks for the show, Apollo,” she said and waved goodbye, walking away.
“Fine,” Klavier said, standing up. He was… more than a little sad to leave Apollo, but before he could walk away, Apollo grabbed his hand.
“Wait a sec,” Apollo said, scrambling to take out a pen from his pocket and grab a napkin with one hand. Meanwhile, Klavier was staring wide-eyed at their hands together.
Apollo finished furiously scribbling on the napkin and handed it to Klavier. “See you around.” He winked, let go of his hand, and walked away.
Klavier looked at the napkin in his hand. It read “AJ 301-555-8376 <3”
“Klavier!! Come on!!” Ema yelled at him from across the bar.
Klavier took one more moment of staring dumb-founded at the napkin, before gently stuffing it into his back pocket. He then ran over to join Ema, spirits higher than he expected them to be at the end of tonight.
Apollo Justice, Klavier thought.