hoo boy here come the long chapters

sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy!

Apollo blinked.

He didn't want to show weakness, but damn, he'd never seen so many cameras in one place before.

Klavier gave him a reassuring smile, pulling out a chair for him before taking his own seat. He began an opening statement, mundane enough for Apollo to zone out. He wondered how many cameras there were.

Apollo started in a corner, mouthing each number to himself as he went.

It was a testament to how nervous he was that he'd lost count before he hit twenty.

Klavier was still talking.

"…I'm always happy to remain transparent, and I understand that many of you have questions for me and mein Herr Forehead." He ruffled Apollo's hair, pressing a sweet kiss to Apollo's forehead.

Apollo flushed beet red, to a chorus of laughs and awww's from the audience. The latter were the part that worried him, he wasn't sure how he'd ever live down being in a tooth-rottingly sweet moment with Klavier Gavin in public like this.

The initial grumpy feeling fizzled away, though, as he smiled and blushed to the ground. Klavier's affection may be fake, but it still made him feel good.

Apollo had decided to let himself live in this fantasy for as long as he could. He was Klavier Gavin's boyfriend goddamnit, and why shouldn't he be allowed to enjoy that? He wanted to get this crush out of his system, before their "relationship" was over and he'd only be making their friendship awkward. Crushes were only supposed to last 4 months, right?

The questions began then, though, and Apollo began to wring his hands the second an audience member stood up. He was going to mess up for sure, they'd all know he actually liked Klavier-

Apollo nearly yelped, feeling something suddenly constrict around his hand. What the-?

Apollo looked down, to see Klavier's hand gripping his firmly. A ringed thumb started to stroke the back of his hand, and a smile quirked at the corner of Klavier's mouth. Klavier squeezed Apollo's hand again, as though to say schatz, it'll be alright.

That, or Apollo was just imagining what he thought Klavier would say.

Klavier answered the first few questions, unimaginative ones about them living together (nein, and no plans for it just yet,), what kind of dates they went on (fun ones, ja? I'm sure I've been spotted at every single one of them,), how they'd met.

The questions weren't as hard as he'd originally thought, actually. It wasn't too much different from answering Trucy's million questions, although with less private details.

The initial mundane questions were over quickly, though, and that was when the creative ones began. Klavier did a good enough job of steering the conversation away from sex (ironic, as that was the point of all of this,) though there were some that Apollo didn't know how he answered.

"Do you think it's exploitative to begin dating a fan, Mr. Gavin?" A man with a blue hat asked, a leading question if Apollo ever saw one. Klavier picked up on this, too, and dismantled it with a deft answer.

"Ja, I do, and that's why I'm dating Apollo." There were mixed chuckles from the audience, starting again when Apollo rolled his eyes. Klavier winked at Apollo before starting again. "Apollo's not a fan. He receives headaches from my music. Think of this as a classic love story, ja? The high-and-mighty rockstar falls for a down-to-Earth, normal boy."

There were two more throwaway questions, before the next one that threw Klavier in for a loop.

"Mr. Gavin." The asker was a shrewd looking woman, standing tall. "How confident are you about this romantic relationship, considering the end to your last?"

Klavier's face darkened subtly, something that could only be picked up if one was sitting as close to him as Apollo was. His mouth twitched, as though he wanted nothing better than to tilt his chin up, bangs falling into his eyes and throat bared. Apollo clenched his hand around Klavier's, but Klavier wouldn't meet his eyes. Something was definitely wrong.

"My last romantic relationship…" He began, but left a pause. It was long enough to notice, but not long enough to interject anything. "It was a mistake, ja? Best left in the past where it belongs."

Apollo couldn't help but notice that anyone had yet to mention a name. It felt like this should be common knowledge, but Apollo had never heard of Klavier before that fateful day in People Park. He hadn't the foggiest who Klavier would date, especially when people danced around the subject like it might hurt Klavier. Apollo decided to ask afterwards, even if it was rude. Besides, it was better to hear it from Klavier than from a tabloid or a conspiracy theory in his head.

Apollo opened his mouth to say something, trying to drive them away from Klavier, when a person hastily yelled that they had a question for him.

"Er… yes?" He whipped around, no longer looking at Klavier, but staring straight at the person. Between the hair and voice, he couldn't tell if they were a woman or a man, but he could tell they were smiling. It made his skin crawl.

"Mr. Justice, now that you've been close to both brothers, how different are Kristoph and Klavier?"

Apollo tried not to yelp, and Klavier's eyes flashed dangerously at Kristoph's name. Apollo moved to answer before Klavier stopped it, he could do this.

"I was never in a relationship of any kind with Kristoph," He began, "He was my boss, and nothing more. Even though I wasn't in a relationship with him, however, I wouldn't dare compare him to Klavier. Not ever. Everyone knows what he's done by now, and Klavier never would. And that's that."

Apollo felt hot and sweaty. He wouldn't be surprised if he was shaking. He didn't want to think about Kristoph right now, but he'd rather it was him answering a question like this than Klavier. He might be inexperienced at press conferences, but everyone knew Kristoph was a taboo subject around Klavier. Klavier had taken so many hits already.

There was a dead silence after his answer, and all Apollo could hear was Klavier's breathing. It was more labored than usual.

A tall man finally broke the silence. "Mr. Justice, what's it like dating a rockstar?"

It seemed like an innocent enough question, one that Apollo could definitely answer. Klavier looked concerned for him after the last question, but Apollo pressed on.

"Well, he's a former rockstar, so it doesn't have that much bearing on the relationship, to be honest."

"Ach, here it is." Klavier's warm smile had returned, almost as though it had never left. He leaned forwards, grinning widely. "I've been meaning to make an announcement."

He cleared his throat, pausing slightly. "I'll be having a concert this Saturday to premiere my solo album, coming out the day after."

The effect was instantaneous. The room exploded, questions firing at Klavier at a rapid pace- about the time, place, inspiration, music, costumes, everything. It was a brilliant diversion, and Apollo mentally thanked Klavier for it. He hadn't had a clue Klavier was planning this, and it did seem ridiculously last minute to announce a concert now, but it seemed like Klavier was pulling it off. Everyone sure seemed excited.

The announcement meant only questions for Klavier were being asked, so Apollo found himself dozing off again. He thought about trying to count the cameras again.

Before he knew it, the end was in sight.

"Last question." Klavier announced, though he still looked slightly shaken from the earlier questions. It seemed as though he was praying for Kristoph not to be mentioned again, and to be honest, Apollo was too.

A blonde stood up.

"Is Apollo the 'Herr Forehead' of Guilty Love fame?"

Klavier's smile grew. "Ja."

There was a flurry of light and movement, as final pictures were snapped and last-ditch efforts at questions were shrieked towards the stage. Klavier escorted Apollo off, mumbling something about being sorry for the exposure and such, but Apollo didn't even hear it.

Apollo's thoughts were swirling. Klavier had mentioned him in one of his songs? He'd called him Herr Forehead too, but he suspected that was beside the point. Klavier Gavin had mentioned him in a song titled "Guilty Love". The implications… was his flirting with Apollo really more than the usual rock star charade? Was Trucy right?

Apollo mentally kicked himself for the unintentional pun, and sped up to catch Klavier.

"H-hey, Klav?" He grabbed Klavier's sleeve, and Klavier turned around, amiable smile still on his face.

"Uh, that song the reporter mentioned…" Apollo rubbed the back of his neck with the arm not clutching at Klavier. "What did you say about me?"

"Ach, nothing much," He said, and Apollo didn't miss the light blush on his cheeks.

"I believe the lyric was, Where's this love headed? To find your answer… Either go ask the wind… or better yet, go ask Herr Forehead!"

He had mentioned love headed to Apollo in one of his most popular songs.

The next thing Apollo knew, he was yanking down on Klavier's ridiculous necklace, dragging Klavier's lips down to his.

roooooll credits lmao that title drop

and yes, those are the canon lyrics. klapollo is so canon im screm

thnks fr th read