Chapter Text
1. Change in mood/attitude
Apollo nervously adjusted his coat as he stepped into the bustling theater, looking around for someone he knew. The pre-show chatter of the audience buzzed in his ears and made him anxious; he didn’t do well in these kinds of situations.
But then he heard a woman’s voice call out “Hey! Apollo!” and he quickly turned in its direction. His anxiety was mostly eased when he saw Ema Skye standing up from her seat and waving at him. He fiddled with his sleeves as he approached her, and saw the usual suspects sitting next to her in the same row: Mr. Wright, of course, Prosecutor Edgeworth, Pearl Fey, and Klavier Gavin.
“Uh, sorry, looks like I’m the last one to arrive,” he laughed awkwardly.
“No, no, don’t worry about it! You’re not even late,” Ema replied with a smile, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm. “Now sit down, show's about to start.”
Apollo gave an uncertain nod and began his uncomfortable journey of stepping over everyone’s legs to get to the end. His colleagues (and Pearl) all tucked their legs as far as they could behind their seats to let Apollo by, but he still ended up tripping over Prosecutor Edgeworth—which was really embarrassing given his status as chief prosecutor. After fumbling over his superiors (and Pearl), he nervously sat in the empty seat at the end of their little posse, right next to Klavier.
Out of everyone in their party, Apollo had actually been hoping he’d be seated next to Klavier the least. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t have anything against Klavier (even if he did find the man’s over-the-top rockstar persona obnoxious), but, to be completely honest, he was scared. He hadn’t actually spoken to Klavier since State vs. Misham a few weeks ago, and he was worried Klavier might be upset at him over it. He had done what was right, and he doesn’t regret it one bit, but Klavier had looked seriously terrified behind that bench—like a lost little kid, wanting to run into the arms of a mother he didn’t have. Klavier had looked…broken, and Apollo didn’t blame him for it. Everything Klavier had ever known essentially came crashing down that day, and Apollo had caused it. So, needless to say he was concerned about Klavier’s opinion of him.
Apollo decided to greet Klavier, perhaps strike up some friendly conversation before the show started. He hoped that even if he was unable to ascertain what Klavier thought of him, he would at least improve their relationship—get to know him a bit. He had thought Klavier was shallow and daft when they had first met, but over the past few months of knowing him, his opinion had changed. He had seen through the cracks in Klavier’s sparkling, shimmering facade and realized he had been too quick to judge. He felt bad for how he had been treating him. He wanted to get to know Klavier—the real Klavier.
Apollo turned his head to his right, about to open his mouth to speak, when a sudden pain gripped his arm. He had barely glanced at Klavier, and he was instantly caught off guard by the feeling of his bracelet constricting around his wrist. Confused, he continued to keep his head slightly turned so as to subtly look over at Klavier, who appeared to be lost in thought, his eyes wistfully looking straight ahead at the stage.
It only took a few more seconds to locate it: Klavier was tapping at his thigh in a rhythmic pattern. Tap tap, tap tap, tap tap tap ta-ta-tap. Apollo’s first thought was that Klavier was working on his music (of course he would be, it was so like Klavier to never stop working on art, even when simply waiting for a magic show to start), and that’s why he looked so far away, but…if that was the case, why was his bracelet detecting it?
Apollo didn’t bring it up—he didn’t want to come off as invasive; it’s not like they were in court or anything—but it still made him wonder: what was Klavier hiding even when sitting quietly, not talking to anyone before a show?
Apollo was about to finally say hi to the guy when suddenly the lights in the theater dimmed.
“Oh, it’s starting!” Pearl remarked excitedly, turning to Prosecutor Edgeworth and shaking his arm a bit to let it out. Then, after the crowd had gotten the message to quiet down, Trucy’s voice echoed throughout the auditorium:
“Hello my lovely little magicians! You are about to witness something, well, magical! But in order for the magic to work, there are a few rules you have to follow. I ask that you all take a moment to silence your phones, and remember that photography and recording are prohibited during the show. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get onto the show! Remember, for as long as we’re in this room, we’re all magicians!
And the show commenced.
As much as Apollo refused to admit it (out of sheer spite for being used as a magic guinea pig on the daily), Trucy’s magic was incredible. It was no wonder she’d taken off so quickly—she had managed to invent never-before-seen tricks before her sixteenth birthday, ones that to this day seasoned magicians were still trying to crack.
Throughout the show, Apollo continued to steal glimpses at Klavier, his curiosity getting the best of him. Klavier watched the whole show with a look of wonder in his eyes, unable to take his eyes off of the young prodigy. It was things like these that made Apollo realize his initial judgment of Klavier had been wrong. He had thought that Klavier’s little friendship with Trucy was just to feed his ego by surrounding himself with fans, but seeing Klavier be so enthralled with Trucy’s magic, and so supportive of her career, forced Apollo to reexamine his biases.
But, the more Apollo studied the man (practically watching Klavier instead of the show at this point), he couldn’t help but notice there seemed to be a hint of sadness behind those eyes as well. Apollo wasn’t too worried; it had only been a few weeks since…everything, after all—it would be more worrying if he had just bounced back to his regular self. But still, Apollo couldn’t help the concern growing inside of him. Normal or not, those emotions are a direct result of hurt.
Apollo broke his gaze and looked back ahead at the show—it was what he came here for. He wouldn’t really be supporting Trucy by not watching the show, would he?
Eventually, Trucy had run through all of the new tricks she had forcibly tested on Apollo, and the show drew to a close. After a finale that ended with a bang (literally, she shot herself out of a cannon and then disappeared mid-air in a burst of glitter and confetti), the show finally drew to a close. The group of misfit law officials (and Pearl) clapped and cheered wildly, louder than anyone else in the brimming theater, Apollo was pretty sure (he did put his chords of steel to use, after all), and once the audience bean clearing out, they all migrated backstage to see the girl of the hour herself.
Trucy didn’t see them when they first walked in—her back was turned, cleaning some stuff up—so Mr. Wright caught her attention by calling her name. She whipped around with a smile, her eyes quickly scanning the group, and then broke into an even bigger smile when they stopped at a certain someone.
Her face absolutely lit up when she saw Klavier, and bounded across the room to him, throwing herself on him with such force that the hug might have knocked him over if she weighed anything. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, and he didn’t hesitate in reciprocating. It was a sweet moment, so Apollo decided not to mention they looked a little silly, since Trucy had to jump due to her height, and was now just kind of dangling off of him.
He also thought it was kind of odd that she did that, no matter how sweet it may be. Yes, the two were friends, but it’s not like they hardly see each other or anything. What prompted that reaction? Why did Klavier get an excited hug but not anyone else? Why would she be greeting him first over, you know, her father?
“You made it!” Trucy said excitedly, dropping back onto the floor.
Klavier laughed. “Of course! I would never miss one of your shows.”
“I know, I know, you’ve just been…down, lately, so I thought you might sit this one out. To rest, you know? I know my shows can get overwhelming.”
Oh.
“Ach, you don’t need to worry about me fräulein, I’m doing alright.”
Trucy looked at him sincerely. “Are you sure? I mean…it’s only been a few weeks.”
Klavier nodded his head firmly. “Ja, I’m certain. I’m managing, talking to people, y’know. All is well."
“Alright,” Trucy nodded as well, “that’s good. Remember, we’re all here if you need anything!” She gestured over to the rest of the party. They all made gestures of agreement and all of their “yep!”’s and “mhm!”’s overlapped.
“Ja, ja, I’m aware. It’s not like you’ve told me this fifty times already.” Klavier said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
“I’m just making extra sure!” Trucy said seriously. The group laughed.
“Mm, thank you for your continued concern, fräulein, but really, I’m holding up. This is just a rough patch, alright?” He placed a hand on her shoulder as he said that, bending down a bit to get closer to meeting her eyes.
“Alright, if you say so,” Trucy said gently. Then, she spun quickly to face the rest of the group.
“Now! Since we’re all here together, why don’t we go out to dinner?” she said, clapping her hands together
“Oh yeah, good idea. I could eat,” Ema said. But Apollo had something to say too.
“Um, Trucy, are you forgetting that some of us don’t have like, any money?”
Trucy’s expression morphed into a pout. “Aw, c’mon Polly! With how much Mr. Edgeworth travels, Pearl's training, and everyone else’s work schedule, I don’t often have you all together like this!”
“I mean, if you’re going by that logic, it still doesn’t warrant dinner, really—this isn’t all of us,” Mr. Wright pointed out. “We’re missing quite a few family friends tonight—Maya isn’t even here.”
“Oh Daddy, you’re no fun!” She said, putting her hands on her hips. “You haven’t even been a lawyer in seven years, and you still go all lawyer on me like that! Why don’t you want to have a nice dinner with your favorite people, hm?”
“I’m just saying—”
“I’ll pay for everyone,” Prosecutor Edgeworth quickly cut in, putting an end to the father-daughter quarrel. “My treat.”
“Ooooh! Thank you Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy squealed, immediately running over to give him a quick hug. Prosecutor Edgeworth looked surprised at first, but then ruffled her hair gently.
Ema nudged Klavier. “Hah! Saved by the bell. I was just about to suggest you pay.”
Klavier stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Mm, not really saved. It would not be a big deal. I would pay.”
“Huh, no witty comment? Who are you and what have you done with Prosecutor Gavin?” Ema snapped in front of his face.
Klavier chuckled. “Ach, I see how it is. You act like you cannot stand me, but really, you need someone to bully, no? And I’m not very fun when I don’t fight back, right? I see, I’ll fix the issue right away.”
Ema swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t be stupid—you know that’s not true.”
“Ja, ja, I know. I love you too.”
“Don’t push it.”
The party all laughed. Apollo was glad Klavier could still joke around like this, all things considered. Perhaps he was worrying about nothing. (But still, a certain tap tap tap pattern lived in the back of his mind.)
“Well, now that that’s settled, where are we going?” Asked Mr. Wright.
The group all discussed where they wanted to eat for a few minutes, before eventually landing on the place Klavier suggested. (Klavier was known for…refined taste, and if Prosecutor Edgeworth was paying…)
Once that was settled, everyone seemed just about ready to go when suddenly Apollo remembered the most important part.
“Wait, shit, sorry guys. I don’t have a way of getting there—I took the bus here, not my bike.” He said, fiddling with his bracelet. “I’ll have to sit this one out.”
Of course, he could have asked one of them for a ride, but he would actually rather die than do that. He would be fine just going home and—
“Nonsense!” Klavier objected loudly—perhaps a bit too loudly, as it startled everyone in the room. “The whole point of this is because we’re all together, but we won’t be all together if you leave! I will drive you.”
Apollo felt the blood rush to his face. “Oh, nononono, you don’t have to do that—”
“Perfect!” Ema interjected with a dry smile. “That means I don’t have to drive him.”
Before Apollo could even question why Ema phrased that as if driving him were some kind of punishment, he felt Mr. Wright give him a friendly pat on the back.
“Don’t worry about it, kid, we’re not gonna leave you behind.”
“No matter how much you want it!” Trucy winked.
Apollo sighed; he wasn’t getting out of this.
“Alright!” Said Ema, clapping her hands, “let’s go eat!”
Riding with someone else wasn’t ideal for Apollo. It just felt embarrassing to him, like he was being pitied. The idea of riding with Klavier ramped that feeling up up eleven.
Still, he tried to look at it on the bright side. Now would be the perfect time to finally talk to Klavier, seeing as he got so frustratingly cut off earlier.
And so they all shuffled outside and got into their respective vehicles—after helping Trucy clean up, of course. Apollo felt nervous as he followed Klavier, the inherent embarrassment of being a passenger aside, because he realized that the two of them had never really been alone together. He knew there wasn’t any reason to be scared of Klavier or anything—Klavier’s enthusiastic insistence on driving him probably meant Klavier wasn't upset at him like he had suspected—but Klavier was…intimidating. He wasn’t even 25 and he was immensely successful and skilled. Everyone adored him (well, everyone except Ema, anyway), and he seemed to have the lawyer thing down completely. He had already made enough money to last himself a lifetime, probably, and here Apollo was, only two years younger but too broke to afford a car. Apollo admired him, truthfully, but the sheer power he radiated was scary.
Klavier seemed to notice Apollo’s anxiety as he nervously stood beside Klavier’s car, not stepping in just yet (because honestly, it made him a bit embarrassed—just by looking, Apollo could tell the car alone probably cost more than his entire net worth).
“Don’t be afraid, Herr Forehead, I don’t bite,” Klavier laughed, extending a hand. Oh yeah, this was Klavier alright. If Apollo didn’t know better, he would have declared his worry ridiculous to even think of at this point.
Apollo swallowed nervously and took Klavier’s hand, and Klavier pulled him into the passenger seat. Klavier’s pull was forceful, but not threatening. It was the kind of force that felt like someone stopping you from falling, or being held in a parent’s arms after a nightmare.
“Sorry, it’s just…” Apollo trailed off as he tried to describe how he was feeling without it coming off as rude.
“Don’t worry, schatzi,” Klavier waved a hand dismissively, “you are not the first passenger to hesitate,” he said with a wink.
Apollo felt his face get a bit hot. He never knew what to say back to Klavier in situations like this, which he thinks, looking back, is probably a huge part of the reason Klavier made him so frustrated when they were first acquainted. Klavier, on top of being successful and skilled and on track, was incredibly smooth and witty , and Apollo had never been a fast enough thinker to respond in a way that didn’t leave him feeling stupid. He now knew that Klavier had never been trying to make him look stupid—yet another thing he had assumed based on appearances alone—but it still left him feeling that way anyway.
He sat there stuttering for a few moments, as he usually did, and Klavier laughed again. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”
Apollo buried his face in his hands, knowing that it had probably turned beet red. “Stoooooop,” he whined, “I know you just wanna get a reaction out of me!”
Then Klavier’s face fell. He turned away from Apollo (and Apollo felt his blood turn to ice, worried he had ruined the friendship he was trying to build forever) and started the car. “Herr Justice,” he said seriously as he began to drive, “do not misunderstand me. I am not a schoolyard bully.”
Apollo looked over at Klavier blankly, who now looked…almost sad. His brain was short circuiting trying to decipher what exactly that meant when Klavier spoke again.
“Anyway!” Klavier said abruptly, quickly changing his whole demeanor to the one he usually wore. “Do you want to turn on the radio? Is the temperature okay?”
“Uh, sure, and yeah, it’s fine,” Apollo said, still not finished processing.
Klavier nodded. “Gut, gut,” He said as he reached over to turn the radio on. He fiddled with the knob a bit, until it landed on a station in the middle of some rock song Apollo didn’t recognize.
Klavier’s eyes flickered over to Apollo. “Hey, Forehead, do you know this song?”
Apollo rolled his eyes. “I told you to stop calling me that. And no, I don’t. Why?”
Klavier playfully brought a hand to his chest and made an exaggerated hurt noise. “You wound me, Forehead.”
It was then that Apollo actually decided to tune into the song and oh shit he made a mistake. While he still didn’t know the song, he certainly recognized the voice singing it.
“Oh, geez, I’m sorry, I—”
“Hey, hey, don’t worry. It was a trick question, I knew you didn’t,” he smiled wryly.
“Then why’d you ask it?”
Klavier looked back at the road, his face growing more solemn. “Let’s just say that Herr Wright is the perfect mentor for you, because you two happen to share one of the most frustrating traits in all of humanity.”
Apollo was especially confused now. Klavier was one of those people who seemed to always speak in riddles, and Apollo had never been good at those. “What do you mean?”
“Ach, never mind. It’s not important.”
Apollo wanted to press more, but he was at least able to sense that now was not the time to do so. Klavier knew too, so he went back to the song.
“I find it funny that they still play our songs given one of us is now a murderer,” He said. He said it in a neutral tone, but Apollo could hear the tiniest bit of bitterness slip through.
“Would you rather they not?”
Klavier shrugged. “Who cares? It is not my music anymore, really. It belongs to the people now, so they can do whatever they please with it. I simply find it funny that they either don’t care or have forgotten so soon.”
Apollo considered it for a moment. “I think it’s both.”
“And why’s that?”
“You were the frontman of the band—it was named after you. You did all the singing and songwriting, Daryan just played an instrument. Hell, I think most Gavinners fans didn’t even know the names of the other members. Daryan was irrelevant. So long as it wasn’t you, they’re content to forget mere days after hearing the news, because they don’t care. They only care about you.”
Klavier said nothing at first, his face somber and contemplative.
“I think you’re right, Herr Justice,” he said after a moment. “I just cannot tell if that is better or worse.”
The car fell silent, for Apollo couldn’t tell either. Klavier looked so dispirited, like his mind was somewhere else because he could not bear for it to be in his body. Apollo had never seen Klavier like this. The only other time he had seen Klavier break out of his free-spirited, chill persona was during State vs. Misham, but that was different. Klavier had broken down behind that bench, which was a completely understandable reaction. His emotions were running wild then, and he was panicked, scared, and desperate. But this was different. He wasn’t in a high stress situation, nor was he being told disturbing information or currently losing someone close to him. He was just…living, but no more than that. And he wasn’t hitting stuff and crying and shouting, he was…hollow. At least before he was showing emotion, but now he was showing the least amount of emotion Apollo had ever seen from him. It was as if someone had sucked the life out of him, and the brilliant colors he once radiated were now muted and dull. Every bit of emotion he seemed to show came off as forced, as if it was hurting to express it.
And now Apollo was faced with one question: is this what Klavier had been hiding all night?
“Hey, Klavier,” he said, the nervousness he had buried rising up again at taking the risk of using the man’s first name. Were they close enough for that?
“Ja?” Klavier didn’t bat an eye. Good.
“I…I’m going to be honest with you about something. You know how me and Trucy have that, er, power? Kind of? Oh, God, that sounds stupid, I mean like–”
“Ja, Fräulein Magician has told me about it.”
Oh thank God, that saved Apollo a lot of grief.
“Right, right, well…I’m sorry if this feels invasive, I didn’t mean for it to be—I didn’t even mean to see it, honestly! But, tonight, I noticed that…you’ve been tapping your fingers against your thigh, in a specific rhythm. You’re actually tapping the wheel the same way right now.
Klavier glanced down at the wheel, and became visibly surprised. “Mein Gott! I didn’t even know that. And your bracelet tells you?”
“Uh, kind of, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is that, well, my bracelet reacts when people are hiding something.”
Klavier’s face fell.
“I originally wasn’t going to ask you, I didn’t want it to come off as creepy or something, but…you’ve been acting off tonight. I’ve never seen you like this, y’know?”
Klavier looked over at Apollo briefly, then back at the road. “Ach, I see what this is about.”
Apollo paused. “What?”
“You, Trucy, Prosecutor Edgeworth, Mr. Wright, even Ema! And everyone else too. You keep asking me if I’m okay, if I’m hurting, if I need to talk. You all treat me like I’m made of glass, and like I’ll shatter any moment. But I’m not.”
Apollo heard even more bitterness come out the longer Klavier spoke (and less of a German accent, but that was a topic for another day).
“I–I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“I’m not hiding how I feel, Justice. I feel the way I feel and I am being honest about it. Yes, I am affected by everything that’s happened, yes, I am not feeling my best now, but I am not hiding how I feel!”
Apollo said nothing, his heart pounding in his chest. Klavier looked back over at him again, and upon seeing him, his face softened. Klavier cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, Apollo. I don't know what came over me. You didn’t do anything wrong by asking that, you didn’t know.”
Apollo let out the breath he’d been holding. “It’s okay, I know that must be frustrating for you. If it helps, we’re not trying to treat you like you’re fragile either.”
“I know.”
There was a beat of silence before Apollo realized Klavier didn’t have anything else to say.
“Well, if you say you’re not hiding your emotions, then you’re not. I trust you,” Apollo said genuinely. “But in that case, what were you hiding then? And don’t say nothing, my bracelet has never been wrong before."
Klavier bit his lip, making a light humming noise, as if deciding whether he wanted to tell Apollo or not. He must have landed on yes.
“I…was unsure if I wanted to go to the show tonight.”
The pieces fit together in Apollo’s brain. “And Trucy picked up on the tell too, didn’t she? That’s why she was surprised you came tonight.”
Klavier nodded. “Ja. The whole night, I was worrying I had made the wrong decision. But I can’t tell her that—it would be rude.”
“But you heard what she said earlier. She only wants you to take care of yourself, Gavin. She wouldn’t be upset with you if you couldn’t handle the show.”
Klavier let out a frustrated huff. “I am aware. She has told me many times. But it isn’t about handling the show. I can always handle a show. Show business is my business.”
“...Then…what was holding you back?”
“Mm, I don’t think I should say.”
“And why’s that?”
“It’s…stupid.”
Apollo felt his chest swell with sympathy. “It’s not. If it’s bothering you, it’s not stupid.”
Klavier looked back over at Apollo, a curious, almost stunned expression on his face. He looked like he was about to say something when Apollo shouted, “Stop looking away from the road!”
“We’re at a red light!” Klavier countered, but looked back ahead anyway.
“Fucking hell, I’m never riding with you again.” Apollo huffed.
“Mm, you say that…” Klavier gave him a kind of sleazy grin.
“That won’t work on me! I know you’re just trying to rile me up so I’ll forget what we were talking about!”
Klavier dropped the grin. “Alright, schatzi, I’ll tell you. I can’t say no to that face.”
Apollo rolled his eyes, but he was probably blushing again.
Klavier sighed. “I just…do not feel as if I deserve to be there.”
Apollo immediately took issue with that statement, speaking up to rebut it almost instantly. “That’s not—!”
“Not true! I know, I know it’s not true. Trucy wanted me to be there. But…I just feel guilty. No matter what she or Mr. Wright keep telling me, I ruined their lives.”
“But, it wasn’t your—”
“It’s not my fault! It was Kristoph’s! I know!” Klavier gripped the wheel harder. “I know all of this. Logically, I know all of this is true. But it still feels like it isn’t. I know Kris… manipulated me,” he said, the word ‘manipulated’ coming out of his mouth like he was spitting out something nasty he was forced to eat, “and…and lied to me. I know he set it all up. But I still feel like I should have known, or figured him out! He might have been Atalanta, but I was Meleager with the killing blow. And do you know what happened to Meleager after that?”
Apollo said nothing; he knew the question was rhetorical.
“He was killed. And Atalanta got the spoils of the hunt."
Klavier seemed close to crying now. Apollo looked over at him, and gently spoke.
“You were seventeen—you were just a kid. You weren’t even a legal adult, and you think you should have been expected to figure out Kristoph’s master plan?”
Klavier furrowed his brow, saying nothing—likely because there was no solid argument against it.
“Kristoph…was determined. He was so fueled by his rage that he was going to do everything he could to get what he wanted. Even if you had figured it out, he would have somehow managed to do it without you. That’s what evil does.”
Klavier still said nothing. Luckily, this was perfect timing for him, because they had arrived at their destination. Klavier parked the car, and then laid his head down on the wheel.
“You really believe that?”
Apollo nodded passionately. “I do.”
Klavier lifted his head and smiled at him. “Thanks. That makes me feel better.”
Apollo smiled back. “Of course. Now, let's go have dinner!”
And so that’s what they did. And it was a lovely dinner; Apollo ended up being incredibly grateful that he didn’t miss it. With everything that had been going on lately, he had forgotten what just…having a good time with friends was like.
And yet, something still bothered him. Every time his eyes so much as caught a glimpse of Klavier, he’d see it again. Tap tap, tap tap, tap tap tap ta-ta-tap.
He decided not to question it any more than he already had. Klavier knew himself best, after all.