After class, Klavier sat down in his room and scrolled through the "missed connections" "m4m" section. Craigslist was just as uncouth as it had been the last time he'd visited it, and he did find it kind of funny. When he finally decided to write the ad, he felt the urge to differentiate himself from the other posters, which he felt a little guilty for. He didn't feel bad for feeling disdainful toward the cheaters, though.
To the friendly jogger in People Park - m4m
I was walking my brother's dog and I tripped over a bench. You must have thought I looked ridiculous, and I did. The truth is, I was looking at you. You're so handsome, and when you came over to help me you were so friendly. I don't really use sites like this but I thought there was a tiny chance you'd see this. I'd really like to see you again and maybe get coffee together or something.
If you see this ad, reply with what color you were wearing and what kind of pet you have.
He posted the ad and sat back in his chair, full of anxiety. He was quite certain that he wasn't going to get a response. He opened Facebook and went through his friends to find the one with the most friends, opened her page, and began going through her friend list to see if he could find the jogger from the morning. He gave up after going through a few pages, dejected and feeling odd about how hard he was trying to find a man he'd met for less than five minutes. He was going to play with his bandmates soon, anyways. He didn't need to think about this anymore.
The next morning, Klavier checked his email. Nothing was there besides a couple of campus-wide emails from his college and a few advertisements. He sighed and decided to check it later, though he resigned himself to the fact that he was likely only going to see the jogger again if he kept going to that park and happened to go another day when the jogger was there. Why hadn't he thought of that? It was a perfect opportunity to try and meet him again. And he'd get paid for it if he walked Vongole.
He went to class as usual, though he did not have Ema in that particular lecture to offer him surprisingly sincere life advice and to occasionally let him eat one of her Snackoos. He returned home and completed the paper that had been plaguing him for days, then basked in the post-essay afterglow. He got together with his bandmates again and used his meager artistic skills to design a cover for their first self-released online album, which was coming along quite nicely since Klavier had blown some of his college fund on decent recording equipment (That's what his scholarships were for, right?). The Gavinners were gaining popularity on Youtube and other media sites–more popularity than he'd expected but less than he'd hoped for. Most of their music sat somewhere on the nebulous fence between "corny" and "completely intentional musical parody," though they did have the occasional song that he was really proud of. He didn't tell his bandmates about the ad. They wouldn't really have judged him, but he felt self-conscious. It's just like making a Tinder profile or something, he thought to himself. Everyone does stuff like this. It's not weird at all.
At the end of the day, he checked his email with a sense of resigned disappointment, but he saw an email that made his heart beat faster. "I have a cat and I was wearing a red," read the subject line. He opened the message.
Hi! My name is Apollo. I'm the guy from the park. I went home but I wished I'd gotten your name and maybe your number. I told my sister I wanted to get in touch with you, and she told me to make an ad. I went on craigslist and looked around and this ad was already there. So... Yeah. When do you want to meet up?
Klavier immediately smiled and went through his texts to the one number he'd never properly added because he never thought she'd actually want to get a text from him. Ema, it's Klavier. He responded to my ad, holy shit.
He didn't want to seem too eager, but he checked when the message had been sent and it'd been a few hours. It had been enough time.
Hi Apollo, I'm Klavier. I'm so glad you saw my ad! I was so afraid I was never going to see you again. Is this weekend okay? I'm free after two on Sundays.
Fingers slightly shaky, he sent the email. His phone buzzed moments afterward. how r u so disgustingly lucky? Ema had replied. She hadn't waited for long enough for Klavier to be unsurprised; he had been expecting a couple of hours of her practiced disinterest to pass before she texted back.
Don't ask me. Anyways, I haven't even gone on a date with him yet. How do I know if I'm really that lucky?
His phone buzzed again. u know what i meant, she had responded. He did, but he didn't feel like answering. Hyping up this date even more would be catastrophic if it didn't go well.
Half an hour later, his phone buzzed with a new email. How about the coffee place across from People Park at like 3? It'd be fitting. Plus, Eldoon's noodles after if you can stomach the salt.
-Apollo
Klavier probably couldn't stomach the salt, but he quickly replied, Sure, sounds great! Can't wait to see you! Noodles are a maybe depending on whether I've had a big lunch.
-Klav. Was it too soon to nickname himself? Perhaps. Did he sound too excited? He quickly typed the rest of his name but left the rest of the message untouched. Sincerity was a plus, right?
His phone buzzed once more. See you Sunday, then!, said the message.
In the next few days, Klavier found that in his mind, he was building Apollo up to be some fated future husband instead of just a cute guy he'd met at the park. Don't do this to yourself, Gavin, he thought with apprehension. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment! But maybe he wasn't! And maybe Apollo would like exactly the same things as him, and would immediately fall in love with him, and would propose on the third date–okay, Gavin, you've gone far enough.
Sunday came, and it was dry and warm outside. Klavier spent a full twenty minutes debating between outfits before settling on the first one he'd tried on. He wished desperately for his nerves to subside. They didn't.
He stood outside of People Park Roast in the sun, shielding his eyes with his hand. It was ten past three and Apollo still wasn't here...and then, there he was. His face was as red as his very red t-shirt, and he looked slightly out of breath. His fitted jeans looked pretty good on him, Klavier thought. Apollo wiped sweat from his brow. "Sorry," he panted. "My boss was...difficult..."
Klavier nodded sympathetically. "Bosses often are. Let's get something cold to drink." He and Apollo stepped into the mercifully cool interior of the café. Klavier ordered the most sugary, elaborate drink on the menu. He could splurge once in a while. Apollo went with an iced coffee.
"Mr. Wright's not so bad," Apollo added, restarting the conversation from before they ordere and shrugging. "Being a paralegal is just...a lot of work." He wrinkled his nose. "And he doesn't pay me very much."
"Wright? Like, Phoenix Wright?"
"What, you know him?" Apollo asked.
"Sort of. My brother knows him."
Apollo looked at Klavier incredulously. "Is your brother Kristoph Gavin?"
Klavier nodded. "Yep."
Apollo's eyebrows rose with surprise. "Yeah, you definitely look like him. I thought you reminded me of someone I'd met but I couldn't remember exactly who. I've only met him like, twice, but I've heard Phoenix complain about him so many times that I feel like I know him. And have been annoyed by him." He paused and quickly added, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I just insulted your brother two minutes into this date."
Klavier snorted. "Don't worry. I insulted my brother to you before I even knew your name, remember?"
"Holy shit, the stuff you said last week makes so much more sense now." Apollo was laughing too. "The second time he met me, he offered me a job."
"What? Oh god, I'm so glad you didn't take it. For your sake." Klavier smiled. "Though I would probably have met you sooner if you had."
Apollo ignored the blatant flirting to continue his story. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the only reason he offered me a job was that he could pay me slightly more than Mr. Wright does and still essentially be giving me nothing." Apollo looked more relaxed than he had moments ago. Klavier felt the same way.
"I'm sure it was. Holy shit. Why do he and Wright even know each other?" Klavier almost made an effort to know as little about his brother's personal life, but the opportunity to discover strange details about him was tempting.
"Well, uh, I'm not really sure, to be honest." Apollo was beginning to turn slightly red. "But I think they kind of had this weird thing going on? Or maybe still do?"
"A thing," repeated Klavier, letting out a hoarse little laugh of elated terror.
"Okay, I'm not a hundred percent sure or anything. But. Yeah. It seems like there definitely has been or is something there." Apollo's blush had subsided and he was laughing with Klavier.
"How do you know?" Klavier asked, barely able to contain his fascination. "Have you, like, seen them–"
"NO. But it's honestly worse than that. Like, I'd rather just walk in on them having sex in Mr. Wright's office or something than have to listen to them interact again. I only met your brother twice but Mr. Wright talks to him on the phone pretty often and Trucy–my sister–tells me they do see each other sometimes. They do this really weird, uncomfortable flirting thing where I literally can't tell if they hate each other or not. Mr. Wright is such a nice guy. I'd probably date him if he wasn't like eleven years older than me. And if I wasn't on this date with you. And if he wasn't my sister's dad." Klavier decided it was best not to ask yet. "But when he talks to Gavin he suddenly gets about ten times shadier-sounding and half of what he's saying turns into these really uncomfortable innuendos that give me secondhand embarrassment."
"Oh my god, that means Kris is definitely saying just as many as he is," Klavier interjected with horror, putting down his drink in shock. "I didn't even know he had a libido."
"Sorry." Apollo looked pained.
"Can I have an example of one of the weird innuendos?"
"They're too awful to say aloud. I can't make myself do it." Apollo's horrified expression suggested this to be true.
"That's awful. Now I'm wondering what kind of awful things my brother has said."
"If it helps, it's just as weird to me as it is to you. Like I said before, he's my sister's dad."
"How did that even work out?" Klavier asked with real interest.
"Well, Trucy is actually my biological half-sister, and I found her like three years ago when I did this weird search for my birth family after turning eighteen. Turns out that with the internet and some patience, you can pretty much figure out anything you want to. Mr. Wright adopted her when she was a kid because of this weird stuff that went down with him and her dad. And then he offered me a job, and me and Trucy are pretty much best friends." He shrugged as if this sort of thing happened to everyone.
"That's pretty crazy," said Klavier with awe. "Kristoph and I were close as kids because he took care of me a lot when I was little, but I think we're... too different and too far apart emotionally to ever really...be friends, I guess. Instead, he's this weird figure that I don't really know what to do with. I don't know where I'd be without him but I also can never tell if I actually like him as a person. I love him, obviously, but I don't really know if I like him." Klavier didn't know how to feel about the oddly serious direction their date had taken, but he didn't resent it. Besides, it didn't feel as strange now that they realized there were less degrees of separation between them than expected.
Apollo was nodding. "That totally makes sense," he said. "Family is so weird. Holy shit, though. We're on a date after you tripped over a park bench and then I found you on the internet and then suddenly it turns out that our...mentor figures have sex with each other. I don't know how the hell we haven't met before this." He laughed. "I kind of like this," he added with only a little shyness.
Klavier smiled widely. "Me too." He reached across the table and took Apollo's hand with feigned confidence. He was afraid of messing something up, but he did want Apollo to know that he liked him. Apollo was half a foot shorter than he was, but his hand was nearly as large as Klavier's. It felt warm and strong.
"So. What are you studying?" Apollo asked. "Oh, god, it feels weird to suddenly go to the generic questions after that other shit.
Klavier grinned. "Criminal law."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I didn't say anything before when you said you were a paralegal because I was so distracted by, well, Kristoph and Phoenix Wright's thing. But yes. I'm also studying music but, I don't really make a living off of that. Yet."
"Music, huh? What kind?"
"Well, I like studying the theory of classical music or whatever because I think it's important to know what makes good music tick. But I have a rock band."
"Oh?"
"Yes. We're a Euro-rock-inspired mélange made up of a smorgasbord of musical elements, all wrapped up and woven together into a paradoxical contradiction that's a feast for the ears." Klavier put on the fake German accent for the last bit
"Um." Apollo's blank face was priceless.
"Okay, I was fucking with you. But we do have a lot of weird influences and we are Euro-rock-inspired." Klavier smiled. "The Gavinners is my musical baby. It's also my friends' baby. But since my name is on it and I'm the one who takes the fake German thing the farthest, it's especially my baby."
"How serious is it?" Apollo asked cautiously.
"Depends on what you mean. Like, if you mean that the music itself is serious? Nah. I'd like to think that we're pretty self-aware. Sometimes we'll make a song that's pretty genuine, but our stuff is mostly meant to be pretty fun. But we do take the band seriously. It's a big part of my life and I want it to stay that way."
"Huh. Sounds really interesting, actually. Can I hear some of your stuff sometime?"
Klavier mentally pumped a fist in the air. There was going to be a sometime! "Of course you can. We have some stuff on SoundCloud if you look for us."
"I might do that." Apollo laughed nervously. "Sorry if I'm being too quick to assume that there'll be a next time. I mean, I hope there is one."
"I like your confidence," said Klavier, very seriously. "And I like you. If you want there to be a next time, there'll definitely be one."
Apollo's smile grew even bigger. It was a very nice smile, and Klavier wanted to kiss it. "Hey, do you want to go outside to the park?"
"Sure," Klavier replied. "No noodles for me, though. Too hot. I don't trust that noodle man."
"Eldoon's not so bad. His noodles are, though. You're right about that."
Klavier let go of Apollo's hand, but only for long enough to stand and toss the cup from his drink. He grabbed it again and they went outside and crossed the street to the park.
"You want to find a nice tree to sit under?" Klavier asked.
"Sure. That one over there looks good," Apollo replied, gesturing towards a nice, leafy tree near the edge of the park. It provided decent shade, and Klavier was enjoying himself enough to not care if he got grass stains on his favorite jeans. He and Apollo sat near the trunk of the tree.
"We can keep holding hands, but my hand is going to get sweaty soon," Klavier said honestly. "Do you care?"
Apollo smiled. "Nah. Mine will too."
Apollo leaned back into the tree trunk and Klavier realized he was comfortable enough to flop down into the grass and lie on his back. Curiosity he'd had earlier popped into his head again. "So, what did Kristoph say when you turned down the job offer? How long did you wait to turn him down after he asked?"
Apollo snorted. "Uh...This was like a year ago, so it's been a while. I think I gave him this really long, awkward look and thought about how weird I'd feel if I had to live with the knowledge that both of my first bosses in the legal world had probably seen each other naked."
"Jesus fucking christ."
"Yeah. And then he hung out with Mr. Wright some more, and me and Trucy kind of eavesdropped on them from the other room. They played cards together and I'm pretty sure half of the poker stuff they were saying was actually about them wanting to have sex with each other."
"I'm so, so sorry you had to hear that," Klavier condoled.
"Me. Fucking. Too. So anyways, me and Trucy got up to say goodbye to him when he was going to leave, and he said, 'How about that job offer, Justice?' as if he hadn't just been talking about Mr. Wright putting his 'cards' in his 'deck' in the next room–I swear to God, I'm not making that up, even though I wish I was–and I looked at him and said, 'Oh, no thank you.' It was the awkwardest way I've ever turned down a job offer, and also the only time I've turned down a job offer."
Klavier had rolled over so that his face was buried in the grass. "I'm so sorry. I have never been this sorry in my life."
"Don't be. You have to deal with him way more than I do, anyway."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry, you more than make up for him."
Klavier rolled back over and spat out some grass. "Thank you. That's actually uplifting to hear, honestly."
Apollo smiled at him. "Hey, can I kiss you?"
Klavier smiled and sat up. "Go for it," he replied, leaning forward.
Apollo moved in tentatively, as if he was afraid of messing up. Klavier tilted his head to the side a little and closed the gap between them. Klavier was almost expecting fireworks, but he found their absence more calming than anything, a reminder that he wasn't actually living in a dream that he was about to wake up from. Apollo's mouth was soft and reassuring and made Klavier feel like it didn't matter that his hands were sweaty and that his pants were absorbing more chlorophyll with every move he made on the grass. He felt Apollo's hand that he wasn't holding come up and touch his hair, running fingers gently across his scalp. When Klavier leaned back, they were both smiling.
"I like your hair," Apollo said. "I can't even tell if you dye it or not, but I like it."
"I'm not telling you," Klavier replied.
"That's fine, I'll figure it out eventually."
"Sure. Do you want to do that again? Or go get dinner?" Klavier had never had a date this successful in his life. It was almost unnerving.
"We've got time for both," Apollo replied.
Klavier laughed and leaned in to kiss him again. "You're right," he said when he pulled back, still smiling. "We've got time to do whatever the hell we want."