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Klavier was not one for anxious habits. Yet, as he waited in the Japanifornia International Airport, he couldn't stand still for the life of him. His fingers absently twisted his bangs and he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, never quite comfortable. Looking up at the many screens rotating through the current arrivals, he could confirm that the flight had indeed landed. He checked his phone again, but still no messages. Letting out a sigh to relieve the nerves twisting around his stomach did little to help. He had certainly received a message when Apollo had departed on his flight and again during his layover, but nothing since.
Patience, Klavier reminded himself. Everything will be fine. At the familiar phrasing, he smiled to himself.
As if summoned by the very word, Klavier's phone buzzed and he was delighted to see a message from Apollo's contact.
A: Touched down a little late, getting my bags now. Sounds like my suitcase got jammed, but they're getting it. Be right out.
K: No worries, schatzi, see you soon!
His heart fluttering in anticipation, Klavier was now trying to force himself to breathe evenly to quell his excitement instead. It almost didn't feel real.
Although Klavier had tried his utmost not to doubt it, four years of long distance was truly a test of their relationship. Of course, there had been many visits, months-long trips to Khura'in for Klavier and shorter ones to America for Apollo, but it certainly was not the same as being in the same time zone. Klavier had been more than happy to commit to the complicated scheduling and the phone calls at odd hours of the day, as it was all worth it to keep in contact with the person he truly loved and trusted above all others as often as possible. Not only that, he was immensely proud of the work Apollo was doing. The commitments he had made to helping his family and the hard labor he was putting into restoring an entire country's legal system was nothing short of incredible. Klavier was more than willing to assist when and however he could, sometimes even assisting directly in the courtrooms during his visits.
However, in the lonely, quiet hours of the night when he had just hung up the phone or the long stints of silence when their lives had been busy, there had been that creeping, sinking feeling of loneliness. The thought that Apollo would want to stay in Khura'in permanently or that they would both agree that this was too much on top of their demanding careers or even that the distance itself would create an emotional barrier as well as the physical ones. It was all very daunting. Yet against all odds, they had always talked through everything with complete transparency and worked within their limits. When Apollo had told him over the fuzziness of the phone speaker that they were going to be ok, Klavier had always believed him. Now here they were, after four whole years, with Apollo stepping foot on American soil for the foreseeable future. It felt like a dream.
Struck out of his reverie, Klavier looked up as a line of people had begun to trickle out of the international arrivals gate. He craned his neck, looking for a telltale pair of spikes and the shine of a gold bracelet, but as everyone ran forward and greeted their families that had come to receive them, he saw nothing of the sort. Sighing again, he checked his phone to see no new messages and started tapping his foot again. After about five more agonizing minutes, Klavier raised his head at a flicker of movement at the other end of the arrivals gate.
Stopped and frowning down at one of his wheeling suitcases, Apollo Justice was there, in a day-old t shirt and sweatpants, red sneakers, and a Gyaxa hoodie. His rumpled hair was almost falling into his eyes and he was sporting the tired face of someone that had been through three different airports and barely slept in the last 24 hours. Klavier had never been happier to see anything more in his life.
After grimacing at his rattling suitcase, Apollo looked up and somehow instantly caught his gaze. Klavier's heart leaped and he smiled, hand raised in a small wave. Apollo stopped walking, stunned as if he also couldn't believe that he was there. For the barest moment, they both stared from across the walkway. As quickly as he had halted, Apollo's face broke into a wide smile as he sped over in a run, his suitcases wheels whirring behind him. Klavier felt his breath catch as he took off as well, the thrill of excitement and adrenaline arcing through his chest as he ran. Within mere seconds, Apollo slammed into him with a hug, his suitcases sliding a few feet away out of his hands as he did so. Klavier caught him with a breathless laugh, wrapping his arms so tightly around him that Apollo was lifted off the floor with a squeak of surprise. Everything about Apollo filled his senses, he was drowning in immeasurable, comforting joy, so powerful that it almost hurt. In fact, his face was already aching from smiling so deeply.
"Holy shit, that was a long day," Apollo breathed over his shoulder as his feet touched solid ground again.
Klavier chuckled. "I bet." He squeezed his arms around Apollo even harder. "But you made it."
"I did," Apollo agreed and Klavier could feel the now international defense attorney smile against his neck as he spoke. "It is so good to see you, you have no idea."
"I have a little bit of an idea," Klavier replied, cupping the back of Apollo's head with a hand, fingers gently carding through the hair at the nape of his neck. "I missed you terribly."
"We've had worse, it's only been a month this time," Apollo pointed out, although Klavier could feel his grip tighten on the back of his jacket.
"That's a terrible way to say 'I missed you too,' liebling," Klavier admonished although his smile stayed and Apollo chuckled against his shoulder.
Apollo moved to lean back and as soon as he did so, he clutched Klavier's face in both hands and brought him down into a kiss. Klavier hummed contentedly as everything faded away into a single moment of warmth, the only thing on his mind the soft press to his lips and the all-encompassing happiness at the fact that Apollo was here, now, with him. Leaning back, Apollo kept his hands on his face and said, "I did miss you," with a gentle stroke of his thumb on Klavier's cheek. "I love you."
Heart so full he could cry, Klavier positively beamed at hearing those words in person for the first time in months. "I love you too. Welcome back, liebling."
Apollo smiled back. "It's good to be home."
A voice cleared it's throat next to them and they both turned to see a young woman holding the handle of Apollo's suitcase. "Sorry, sir, is this yours? It flew across the hall and I didn't want someone else taking it."
"Oh, yeah, thank you," Apollo said, taking the suitcase back with a slight flush of embarrassment that made Klavier only grin wider. "Sorry about that."
"No worries!" the woman smiled back, waving as she walked away. "You had a happy reunion to focus on!"
Grabbing the second suitcase from off the floor, Klavier looked back to see an exasperated, furiously blushing Apollo and chuckled. "Nothing to be ashamed of, Herr Forehead, we all get into the throes of passion every once in awhile. And I can't blame you, since you chose me," he added, with a wink.
Apollo groaned, but his smile was fighting to remain on his face. "I did, didn't I?"
"Mhm," Klavier nodded smugly. "And you're officially moving in, so you're stuck with me now."
"God, what did I sign up for," Apollo grumbled, though it was less effective with the massive grin on his face.
With a suitcase in a hand each, they both made their way outside the airport, idly chatting until they got to Klavier's car and loaded the suitcases in.
"Shall we?" Klavier asked, finally settling himself into the driver's seat.
"Oh, wait," Apollo exclaimed, reaching into the backseat to fish around inside his backpack. He carefully slid out a parcel wrapped in tissue paper and passed it over to Klavier. "Before we go, I have something for you."
Giving him a quizzical look, Klavier pulled the paper aside and his eyes widened. In his hands was a beautiful scarf. The shades of deep red were woven together intricately and accented by seamless patterns of gold. It was immeasurably soft and almost silky as he ran a careful finger over it.
"You've done so much over the past few years and been so patient with me," Apollo spoke as Klavier stared at the scarf. "You've supported me through everything and worked way over your paygrade on the stuff in Khura'in when you didn't have to. You..." He paused, taking a small breath before continuing, "These past few years have been a lot and most of it was really challenging, for both of us. Knowing that you believe in me and have my back at the end of the day means more than you know. Every day, even the ones when I couldn't talk to you, I always thought about how grateful I am for you and I'm just...I wanted to bring you something special from Khura'in as thanks. I know it's not equivalent, but..." He trailed off as Klavier looked up at him with wide eyes, a flood of tears threatening to spill over.
"This is so beautiful," Klavier choked out, mouth flattened tight as he tried to suppress his tears. He quickly pulled Apollo into another hug, this time burying his teary face into Apollo's neck as he leaned over the car's center console. "Thank you," he said, his voice muffled. "You know you don't need to 'repay' me for anything, right? I'm always happy to be there for you."
"I know," Apollo replied, his voice strained over Klavier's shoulder as he gently patted his back. "But still, I wanted to do something nice for you." Klavier pulled away a mere inch to press kisses over every inch of Apollo's face before his boyfriend was swatting him away and laughing, tears prickling at his own eyes.
"Ach, verdammt," Klavier mumbled between kisses, before pulling away and dramatically wiping at his eyes as he wound the scarf once around his neck. "I didn't even bring any flowers or a 'Welcome back, Herr Forehead' sign or anything."
"Thank god," Apollo chuckled, as he clicked his seatbelt in.
"However," Klavier announced proudly, as he looked over his shoulder to reverse, an elbow leaned casually over his seat. "I did in fact plan some things. I am treating you to dinner, at home where it's quiet, and I have dessert in the fridge. The bed is freshly made and I have some of your clothes washed and ready for you to change when we get back."
Sinking into his seat, Apollo groaned with a yearning expression that sent Klavier back to grinning. "That sounds perfect."
Klavier chuckled and took Apollo's hand, feeling him squeeze back as the car pulled out of the lot. "Ja. Let's get you home."