A/N: I don't know how well known this is among the Western AA fandom, but Capcom Japan runs an official AA fan club site where they post a variety of AA material (in Japanese), like fortunes, riddles, fan art, and comic strips. One of the things they used to post was a monthly survey where they would detail how various AA characters enjoyed various seasonal activities and fans could vote on their favorite responses. It was my favorite feature, but they discontinued it about 2-3 years ago and wiped all the old surveys off the site. There was a Valentine's Day and a White Day themed survey in particular that ended up being a major source of inspiration for this fic. RIP AA surveys. I'll miss you :(
Chapter 1: The Ill-Fated Concert3/14/2027 4:34 PM
Wright Anything Agency
"No."
Apollo gave his reply with all the finality he could muster, and made a show of turning his back to Trucy as he returned to his filing duties. He hoped that his refusal would mean that the matter was closed, but he knew Trucy too well to honestly think she would let it go at that. That girl could be more determined and persistent than any lawyer Apollo had ever known when she really wanted something, and he could tell that she was dead set on attending the concert.
"Aw, come on! Why not?" Trucy demanded. He could hear the pout in her voice even without looking at her.
Apollo faced her again and leveled her with his most unimpressed expression, his spiked bangs drooping. "Think about it for a moment. I'm sure something will come to you."
She knew. She had to. Trucy was too sharp to not understand his objection. This was her toying with him, and he wasn't going to play her game.
Trucy puffed out her cheeks grumpily. "I know; it's because it's harder for you to keep up your prickly act toward Prosecutor Gavin and his music when you keep showing up at his concerts."
Apollo couldn't help it; he rose to Trucy's bait. "Yeah, you got me! I'm refusing to go because I don't want Prosecutor Gavin to think I like him!" he blustered sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air. "The fact that it's a concert only for women has nothing to do with it!"
"Yeah, but I already solved that problem!" Trucy said. She reached behind her back and activated Mr. Hat, who popped out with his usual flourish, but without his usual costume. Instead he sported a flowy, white spring dress, a light pink cardigan and a slightly wavy light brown wig that fell about two inches past the shoulders. "All you need is a disguise, and shazam! You're in, no problem!"
" Live a little, buddy! Just say yes to the dress!" Mr. Hat chimed in, his wooden jaw clacking disconcertingly as he spoke.
The first time she'd proposed her plan a few minutes ago Apollo had been stunned, but this time he simply returned her eager gaze with a deadpan one of his own. "I don't even want to be in. Why are you asking me , anyway? Don't you have any girlfriends you can go with?"
"Yeah, but they're all the same age as me!" Trucy pointed out. "Daddy said I needed a chaperone! Besides, it's a White Day concert. You know, that holiday where you give return presents to people who gave you stuff on Valentine's Day? And you gave Prosecutor Gavin chocolate on Valentine's Day, so—"
"Don't remind me," Apollo grumbled, his cheeks pinking at the memory. "Do you have any idea how awkward that was for me? He still hasn't let that go. I still don't see why you made me give him the chocolate you made for him. You're not shy; you could have given them to him yourself."
Trucy smiled impishly. "I could tell that Prosecutor Gavin would be happier getting chocolate from you, but a certain stick in the mud didn't get him any. I did you a favor! And see, he sent us both invitations to his exclusive concert, so clearly he appreciated it!"
"For the last time, all his weird flirting is just him picking on me. He doesn't mean anything by it." Apollo ignored the small prickle of pain and frustration that nettled his heart as he said this. "The fact that he invited me to a women-only concert, knowing full well that I'm not a woman and that I can't stand his music, proves that."
"I think he means it," Trucy insisted. "Call it a girl's intuition."
" Anyway, " Apollo said forcefully, steering the conversation away from that topic, "Sorry, but you'll have to find someone else to take you. I'm not going, and that's final."
"I hate my life," Apollo mumbled.
He scowled, irritably adjusting his skirt for about the hundredth time as he and Trucy stepped off the bus at the stop for Gourd Lake, which contained the amphitheater where Klavier's concert was being held.
"And I hate this skirt," he added. "It keeps riding up on me when I walk. And don't even get me started on the undergarments..."
Apollo just barely suppressed the urge to tug on the squash ball-filled bra he was wearing. Perhaps it had been his paranoid imagination, but he was sure he'd felt everyone's eyes on him on the bus. Trucy had tried to assure him when he'd whispered his concerns to her that if anyone was staring, it was because he made such an attractive lady, but Apollo seriously doubted that. Unable to change anything about his disguise at that point, he'd just bowed his head, letting the bangs of his wig hide his eyes as much as possible and tried to make his too-broad shoulders smaller.
"You're so dramatic, Polly," Trucy remarked with a smile. Clearly she was enjoying this. "That skirt is long enough that you don't have to worry about accidentally flashing anyone even if it does ride up."
"Still, it's uncomfortable!" Apollo complained, though he had to keep his voice down as they were now surrounded by women flocking to the concert. Snatches of distant blaring rock music wafted toward them on the warm spring air as they got in line to show their invitations to the ticket takers. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."
"Admit it, you wanted to be talked into it," Trucy said cheerfully. "Deep down, you're excited to see Prosecutor Gavin looking cool on stage, and you're happy he invited you."
"Even if that were true, which it's not, there's nothing enjoyable about having to sneak in wearing this embarrassing disguise!" Apollo hissed. "I feel like I'm committing crime here!"
A teenage girl standing next to them in line, wearing a Klav Gav For Life t-shirt, glanced curiously at him. Apollo blushed and stepped aside so that Trucy was between the two of them and pretended to look for something in his purse in order to hide his face from her.
"Relax; you were invited just like everyone else here," Trucy reminded him. "But you might want to keep your voice down."
Apollo grumbled to himself but quickly fell silent. Trucy was right: the less attention he drew to himself, the better. He tried to occupy himself instead with a little people watching. It blew his mind a little to see just how many women had been invited to this concert. If he had to guess, he'd say that there were about 300 people there, and there were more beyond the ticket barrier. True, the crowd was nothing compared to the one at the last Gavinners concert Apollo had attended, but he knew that the concert-goers had to have sent Klavier a Valentine's Day gift in order to have received an invite. Just how many gifts had Klavier received?
And these were just the women. Apollo knew that teenage girls and young women made up the bulk of Klavier's demographic, but he'd be surprised if Klavier hadn't received some gifts from male fans as well. Had they also received invitations to this concert that they weren't supposed to attend as thanks?
Apollo glanced around, wondering if there were others here in disguise. He was a little surprised that Klavier had just left out the men, especially since he was fairly certain that Klavier was bisexual… Not that Klavier's romantic preferences mattered to him.
The aspect of all this that really ought to surprise him was the timing. Klavier had only announced in October that The Gavinners were breaking up. Apollo had taken that to mean that Klavier himself would be taking a hiatus from the music scene for a while, especially considering the additional blow he'd suffered after Kristoph's second conviction. For a while it had indeed seemed like he would be taking a break from work in general, because Apollo had gone from facing off against Klavier in every legal battle he took on to suddenly not seeing him in the courtroom at all.
Though entertainment news had been rife with speculation about the direction Klavier's career and life would take after everything that had happened to him, there hadn't been any actual musical activity from the man. Then, about two weeks after Valentine's Day, quite abruptly, Apollo and Trucy had received their invitations to Klavier's White Day charity concert, and the internet had exploded with the news that Klavier was coming back to music after all.
Apollo wondered what was going on in that pretty blond head of his. When Trucy had coerced him into hunting him down on Valentine's Day to give Klavier the chocolates she'd made for him, Klavier hadn't mentioned anything about a concert. In fact, when the topic of him returning to the stage had come up later on in the evening, Klavier had expressed his reservations about the idea, at least for the time being. Apollo's memory of exactly what was said during that half of the conversation was a little hazy, as he'd had around 3 craft beers in him by that point, but he remembered that much at least. He wondered what could have happened in that brief amount of time to make Klavier change his mind.
The voice of the ticket taker called out to them so unexpectedly that Apollo startled. The line had moved quickly while he'd been immersed in his thoughts. His heart pounded loudly as Trucy produced the tickets from her magic panties with a flourish.
Act natural, Justice, Apollo warned himself. If you seem nervous, you might make them suspicious.
Thankfully, the ticket taker seemed too focused on checking them in to really pay attention to them. Their tickets were scanned promptly and they were waved over to security for a bag check and a stroll through the metal detector.
Trucy was bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet by the time they cleared security. Apollo could see the amphitheater in the distance over her shoulder. The stage was, in keeping with the theme of the park's name, gourd-shaped. The back part of it was large and round and tapered off into a catwalk at the front, which was oblong like the neck of a gourd. It seemed like an unwieldy shape for a stage, and Apollo couldn't help thinking that the designers had taken the whole gourd theme a bit too far in this instance.
"We still have a while before the concert starts," Trucy said, snapping Apollo out of his observations about the stage. "Let's go see what kind of merch they have!"
With a resigned sigh, Apollo allowed himself to be dragged toward the merchandise table.
It wasn't more than a few seconds into the opening song that Apollo was vividly reminded of everything he disliked about Klavier's concerts. Trucy had managed to worm her way up toward the stage surprisingly close to the catwalk, dragging Apollo with her. Anyone else might have considered their placement an ideal spot, but Apollo begged to differ. Though there were a few rows of people ahead of them, they were close enough to make out the whites of Klavier's eyes. And if they could see him, it meant that he could see them just as well if he just looked in the right direction. Apollo positioned himself uneasily behind Trucy, trying to use her as something of a shield, though with their height difference it wasn't terribly effective. If he had his choice, he'd separate from her, knowing that her distinctive magician's garb was almost as good as a beacon pointing out their location. His sense of duty was too strong for him to abandon his position as her chaperone, though.
Apollo scowled, covering his ears, but it hardly made any difference. The heavily made-up rockstar warbling up on stage and preening for his screaming fans wasn't so far removed from the flashy prosecutor that Apollo had any trouble distinguishing them as the same person, but he was different enough that he rubbed Apollo completely the wrong way. He'd rather have the honest, diligent man of the law that he faced on the other side of the courtroom than this fake, indiscriminately flirtatious singer any day.
If nothing else, at least his prosecutor side is quieter, Apollo thought grumpily.
Clearly the hoard of women who had shown up for the concert were quite taken with the rockstar version of Klavier Gavin. They were shrieking their approval and jostling Apollo every which way as they swayed and sang along. His wig was doing a commendable job of staying in place, but Apollo's hand hovered at his hair in case the rowdiness of his neighbors threatened to dislodge it.
With so many people pressed in around them, the mass of body heat was starting to get to him and beads of sweat rolled down his face and back, causing his clothes and the strands of the wig to cling to him uncomfortably. Quickly growing miserable, Apollo tried to find at least one tiny bit of enjoyment that he could glean from this awful situation. The flashes of toned chest and abs and the glimpses of attractive hip bones that Klavier granted them through the artistic rips in his shirt and low-riding jeans as he performed caught his eye.
Apollo's adam's apple bobbed as he gulped. The popularity of Klavier's music was a mystery to him, but he couldn't pretend he didn't notice how attractive Klavier was. Naturally, this thought was born out of envy over the fact that Klavier had been so blessed by genetics, while Apollo's own appearance was forgettable, and he had the build of a gremlin: short and too broad in the shoulders. It wasn't as though he was romantically attracted to men, much less Klavier Gavin. He pushed his sweaty bangs out of his face, content to blame the warming of his face on the abundance of body heat surrounding him.
Klavier concluded his first song with a final dramatic strum on his guitar, a satisfied grin on his face. The crowd screamed their approval as Klavier flicked his bangs out of his eyes and took the microphone from its stand to address his audience. His gaze roved absently over the mass of cheering fans, but suddenly his eyes stopped and a stunned expression came over him.
Apollo felt the contents of his stomach grow cold and suddenly the din and heat of the crowd seemed to vanish. Klavier was starting right at him, momentarily lost for words. There could be no mistaking it; Klavier had not only noticed Apollo, he saw straight through his disguise as if he hadn't even worn one.
Panic seized him. He needed to get out of there. Apollo grabbed blindly for Trucy's wrist, intending to drag her away from this concert by any means necessary. He didn't know what was about to happen, but his instincts were screaming at him to flee.
The women that pressed in on them from every direction unintentionally impeded their escape. Apollo had barely managed to make it five steps, oblivious to Trucy's protests, before he even noticed that Klavier was speaking to them.
"—incredibly grateful to all you charming Frauleins who sent me your love on Valentine's Day, but there's one special Fraulein I'd like to extend a personal thanks to."
Shit shit shit I knew this was a bad idea! This whole thing was doomed from the start just like everything else in my life! I've gotta get out of here! Move, people...!
Apollo was so flustered that he didn't even have the presence of mind to feel bad as he roughly forced his way through his fellow concert attendees. There were angry shouts and several expletives aimed at him by the people he was trying to fight his way through, but Apollo's head as filled with a blank buzzing and he took in none of it.
"As luck would have it, the Fraulein in question just so happens to be present in the audience today," Klavier continued enthusiastically. "Would you all give a warm welcome to my very dear friend, Fraulein Stirn?"
For one misguided, hopeful moment, Apollo heard the unfamiliar name and paused, thinking perhaps Klavier was talking about someone else after all. But when he glanced up at the stage, Klavier was staring right at him, grinning brilliantly, glee dancing in his eyes. The crowd was murmuring and looking around in the direction of Klavier's gaze, trying to figure out who exactly he was addressing. Apollo didn't dare try to escape now that everyone was looking for him, afraid that it would tip everyone off that he was the "fraulein" in question. He froze, solid as a statue, his face burning, and tried desperately not to stand out.
"As a special thanks to Fraulein Stirn, not only for her most appreciated Valentine's Day gifts, but for the abundance of other help and support she has rendered to me over the brief time that I've known her, I have prepared a brand new song, never before performed in public. I hope you'll enjoy 'Just a Plaintiff in the Court of Love'."
Klavier switched his electric guitar out for an acoustic one, seating himself on a wooden stool in the center of the catwalk, and began to strum something that was more akin to Guitar's Serenade than his usual rock cacophony. Trucy gave Apollo a look. Her mouth was moving, but even though this song was softer than Klavier's typical fare, Apollo still needed to rely on his lip reading skills to understand what she was saying over the music. " Oh my god, he's performing personalized love songs for you now! What more proof do you need?! "
He gave her a sour look. He'd seen the teasing glee in Klavier's eyes when he'd seen him in his useless disguise. Clearly this was just another dig at him. Whoever the song had been written for, if Klavier had had anyone particular in mind at all, it wasn't him. And that was fine , because Apollo wasn't interested in him like that, and even if he were, he knew his already nonexistent chances had flown out the window the moment he'd gotten Kristoph and Daryan convicted of murder.
Still, it seemed rather cruel to Apollo. What if he'd actually had feelings for Klavier? Hearing this love song, being told it was for him when in reality it was just a joke, would probably feel… Apollo swallowed hard, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. His chest hurt a little all of a sudden. He just wanted to go home.
Slender fingers closed gently but firmly around his wrist. Apollo glanced over and saw that Trucy had reached out to him and was watching him with sympathetic eyes. "Are you ok?" she mouthed. Apollo reddened, realizing she must have misinterpreted what was going on in his head. He glanced at Klavier, then back at her, and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, trying to indicate that he wasn't buying any of this and just how much of a gullible fool did Klavier think he was. Trucy didn't seem convinced, though. She kept hold of his hand the whole time, slowly creeping back up towards the catwalk where they'd been before. Apollo didn't shake her off. She had the wrong idea, but it was nice to know that she cared.
The song concluded with a soft, wavering note. Klavier glanced up from his guitar with strangely vulnerable look in his eyes as he sought out Apollo's gaze. The defense attorney's brow furrowed in confusion as the crowd clapped and cheered, apparently very taken with the new song. The last time Klavier had looked at him like that was the night he'd asked Apollo to spend an impromptu Valentine's Day evening with him. What was he thinking right now? Apollo was a little ashamed at how badly he wanted to know.
Klavier rose from the stool, and Trucy raised her arms in the air, tugging Apollo's hand along with her, and joined in the cheers of approval. The momentary vulnerability Klavier had worn slipped away and his face arranged itself into a more familiar self-assured smile as he raised his own hand in thanks for the cheers of the crowd. He was moving in their direction as he did so, and at first Apollo thought that he was going to wave at the fans on either side of the catwalk, but the next thing he knew, Klavier was taking his raised hand from Trucy, brushing aside the hands of a dozen other fans who reached for him hopefully, and pressing his lips against the back of it in what was unmistakably a kiss.
A brilliant blush erupted across Apollo's cheeks and his heart leapt in his chest like it was going to try to escape through his mouth. The roar of the crowd seemed to fade away, and the only thing that registered in Apollo's mind was the gentle squeeze of Klavier's fingers on his hand, the smoldering look he was aiming at him, and the lingering warmth where his lips had pressed against the back of his hand. It was probably only a split second between when Klavier kissed his hand and when he released it and began to address the rest of the crowd again, but time was moving strangely for him and it seemed awfully long. By the time his stunned, confused thoughts caught up with him, Klavier had already began the next song.
Apollo looked numbly over at Trucy. She looked almost as shocked as he was, her hand hovering in front of her gaping mouth. He saw her mouth form the words "oh my god. " It was as if her unheard words broke whatever force was keeping Apollo frozen to the spot. Before even he was aware of what he was going to do, Apollo had turned his back on the stage, wove his way dazedly through the crowd, and ran.
2/14/2027 9:07 AM
Public Prosecutor's Office
"Ah, Prosecutor Gavin!"
Klavier, who was a few feet down the hall from Apollo, waiting for the elevator at the prosecutor's office, looked over when he heard his name called. When he saw that it was Apollo who was trying to get his attention, his eyebrows raised in surprise and a smile spread across his face.
"Herr Forehead! Long time no see!"
Apollo picked up his pace slightly to catch up with him, the little white and gold sparkling gift bag Trucy had entrusted him with swinging from his hand. He was surprised and a little relieved that Klavier had greeted him so warmly. After everything that had happened between them, what with Apollo getting Klavier's brother and best friend arrested for murder, he'd been a little worried about the sort of reception he'd receive. Maybe that was silly, considering the postcards Klavier had been sending to the office over the past few months, but it was simply too hard for him to believe that this would have no effect on Klavier's feelings towards him.
"I could say the same to you!" A little smile stole across Apollo's face as he greeted his old courtroom rival. He had to admit, it was good to see him again. Deep down, he'd been a little concerned about how he was processing everything that had happened to him in the past few months. "How are you? How was Europe?"
The elevator dinged to announce that it had arrived and the doors slid open, but neither of them noticed and they slid shut once more.
"It was a welcome change of scenery. I needed some space from the familiar…" Klavier said, his smile looking a little forced for a moment. "But I must say, I did miss seeing your charming face. The frauleins in Europe are lovely, but none of them could ever replace you in my heart."
"Ha ha," Apollo said dryly, trying not to let his cheeks go warm. "Save it for your cheesy lyrics, Gavin."
Apollo's bracelet hadn't reacted to Klavier's claim, but he attributed that to the fact that Klavier was so used to hitting on people that it didn't even make him nervous anymore.
Klavier chuckled and fiddled with his bangs. "Surely you wouldn't deny me the right to flirt shamelessly on Valentine's Day, of all days." His attention shifted to the gift bag in Apollo's hand. "Speaking of Valentine's Day, I see you've already received a gift. Got yourself an admirer, have you, Herr Forehead?"
"Ah…" Apollo glanced down at the bag too. Even though it was his whole reason for coming to see Klavier, the prospect of actually giving it to him made his heart rate increase. He knew it was stupid; the gift wasn't even from him, it was from Trucy. Still, he could feel himself blushing. Flustered, Apollo thrust the bag in Klavier's face so that the former rockstar wouldn't see how red he was getting. "Actually, this is for you! From Trucy!"
Klavier blinked, caught off guard by the rough presentation and the unexpected appearance of the Chords of Steel, but accepted the gift quietly. Apollo pretended that something on the bulletin board on the wall across from the elevator had caught his attention so that he wouldn't have to watch as Klavier fished the cutesy handmade card out of the bag and flicked it open. Klavier read it in silence, and Apollo chanced a glance at him. A soft smile was forming on his face. Whatever Trucy had written in the card seemed to make him genuinely happy, and Apollo couldn't help being curious.
"What, um… what does it say?" he asked cautiously.
Klavier was quiet for another moment as he finished reading, and then he closed the card and slipped it back into the gift bag.
"Scham dich, Herr Forehead," he scolded playfully, giving Apollo's forehead a light poke. "Those were the fraulein's private sentiments for me in that card. I wouldn't dream of sharing them with anyone else."
Apollo scowled, his cheeks hot as he swatted Klavier's hand away from his forehead. He was starting to regret thinking that he'd missed Klavier and his teasing while he'd been on his leave of absence. If Klavier was offended by being swatted, he didn't let on at all. Instead, he leaned flirtatiously into Apollo's personal space, so close that Apollo could smell his no doubt expensive cologne. He refused to let the prosecutor get to him though, and he stubbornly held his ground, trying to ignore how hot his ears were and how dry his throat felt all of a sudden.
"Danke shön," Klavier said softly. "I really appreciate your heartfelt gift."
Apollo gulped nervously. "L-like I said, I'm just the delivery boy. Trucy's the one you should be thanking... A-anyway, I'm sure you have stuff to do, so…"
"Einen moment, bitte, Herr Forehead," Klavier said quickly as Apollo tried to turn and leave. Apollo paused, though he didn't turn back around, wanting to at least buy himself a moment to regain his composure. Klavier had no business using that smile and intimate tone on unsuspecting people like that. One of these days, someone was going to think he was being serious and then he'd be in trouble. "If… you're not terribly busy this evening, perhaps…"
Apollo turned and looked at him in surprise when he trailed off suddenly. No, it wasn't his imagination: Klavier was nervous. The gentle squeeze of his bracelet against his wrist confirmed it.
"Perhaps we could grab dinner somewhere and catch up on each other's news…. My treat, of course."
Apollo couldn't help going red again. Why did Klavier have to go and set off his bracelet with a question like that? What was Apollo supposed to think?
"Y-you want to go tonight?" he stammered. "But what about… I mean… I would have thought you of all people would have a date."
Klavier smiled, playing absentmindedly with his bangs again. "You forget, Herr Forehead, that I just returned from months overseas. I'm afraid that in the midst of all the commotion, I missed my opportunity to secure a Valentine's Day date."
Apollo supposed that it was possible. Stranger things had happened.
"I don't know why you're asking me," he mumbled, puffing out his cheeks awkwardly, his eyes averted. "You're lucky I'm unpopular."
"You're trustworthy, and genuine," Klavier said. "I've learned recently that those qualities are in far shorter supply in my life than I'd previously thought."
His voice was surprisingly soft and fragile, and Apollo couldn't resist looking to see what sort of expression accompanied that uncharacteristic tone. His heart clenched when he saw the unsuppressed vulnerability and pain in Klavier's eyes. Apollo didn't have it in him to refuse when he looked like that.
"If you're sure," Apollo said, scratching at his spikes uncertainly. "But I have it on good authority that I'm no fun, so… don't be surprised if the evening turns out to be a flop."
Klavier grinned, the wounded look he'd shown him before vanishing as quickly as it'd come. "I'll be shocked."
Apollo rolled his eyes. Well, he'd given Klavier a fair warning. However the night turned out, the prosecutor had only himself to blame.
"I'll pick you up from your place at seven?" Klavier offered.
"M… mm," Apollo grunted self-consciously. "I'll text you the address when I get back to the office, so... S… see you then."
3/17/2027 11:57 AM
Wright Anything Agency
"Rough weekend?"
Apollo snapped out of his daze with a soft gasp. "Oh, M-Mr. Wright! When did… How long have you been there?! I thought you were leaving for Spain!"
Phoenix grinned, and it looked different from the lazy smile Apollo was used to seeing on him. His expression was more lucid somehow, his face clean-shaven and the usual beanie missing, revealing his trademark spiked hair. The changes were small in and of themselves, but the difference they made on his boss's appearance were striking.
"Not until next week," Phoenix corrected, a little amused. "It must've been a really rough weekend… You're not hungover, are you?"
Apollo's face fell into a flat expression, his spikes drooping. I'm not you, he thought huffily, but he bit the comment back, knowing that he couldn't mouth off to his boss like that. "Give me some credit; I've never shown up for work hungover in my entire life." He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "But yeah, I've… definitely had better weekends."
"I take it you didn't have fun at Prosecutor Gavin's concert, huh?" Phoenix remarked. "Not that I blame you; a rock concert isn't exactly my scene either… Though I still have a bit of a soft spot for Galaxy Devil Killer Panthers."
Apollo stiffened. Oh god, what had Trucy told him about the concert? He'd sworn her to secrecy about the whole women-only, dressing in drag thing. If she'd squealed on him… "Wh-what do you know about the concert?"
Phoenix's eyebrows rose and his attention shifted to the empty space above Apollo's head. Apollo frowned and glanced up, praying that there wasn't a spider hanging over his head or something. No, there was nothing.
"Jeez, five locks, huh..." Phoenix muttered. "There must be a heck of a story there."
Apollo looked away from Phoenix's suddenly piercing gaze and rested his chin on his palm, trying to discretely hide his warming face as much as possible. "I don't wanna talk about it."
Phoenix stared at him a beat longer, then suddenly the intense look he'd just worn fell away and he returned to being the laidback ex-attorney Apollo was used to. "If you say so," Phoenix said easily, shrugging. "I'll just get the juicy details out of Trucy."
Apollo leapt to his feet and slammed his hands on his desk. "Mr. Wright!" he squawked in protest.
Phoenix laughed and turned toward his office. "Just kidding~" he called over his shoulder as he sauntered off.
He closed the door behind him, leaving Apollo alone in the office. The younger attorney flopped down in his chair with a huge sigh and hid his face in his hands. Maybe it was stupid, but the things that had happened at the concert were still weighing heavily on his mind.
Klavier had texted him Friday night after the concert, asking him if he'd enjoyed himself, but Apollo had pretended he hadn't seen the message until the next morning. His conscience and anxiety had eaten away at him all night, but like a coward, Apollo had played dumb.
"? I couldn't go. You only opened it up to women, remember? Trucy said she and her friend had fun though"
His stomach had pitched and twisted as he'd watched the typing icon pop up and vanish several times, as though Klavier was having trouble deciding how to reply.
" That detail was mandated by the record label, I'm afraid, and they refused to budge on it in spite of my protests :("
Apollo had stared at the reply. Was Klavier honestly going to accept his weak lie…? Then the typing indicator had popped up again. Apollo had felt ill as he awaited the continuation.
" Are you sure you weren't there? I know I'm a prosecutor, but I can appreciate a little harmless rebellion once in awhile ;) "
Apollo had maintained his clueless act, and eventually Klavier had backed off, though Apollo could tell that he hadn't bought it for a second. He'd opened his messages several times over the remainder of the weekend, seriously considering coming clean, but he'd chickened out every time. He'd never meant for Klavier to catch him at the concert anyway, and when he had, he'd only done the utterly predictable and teased him for it. Why should he have to admit to having been there?
The only thing that kept making him second guess himself was the memory of the fragile, lonely look Klavier had given him for that split second after he'd finished that song, as if he'd genuinely approached Apollo with his heart in his hands and was seeking his approval. It couldn't have been real, though, he thought for what felt like the five hundredth time in the past few months. He flirts with everyone pretty much equally, and why would a superstar like him be interested in a nobody like me? ...Not that it would matter if he was, because I'm not gay!
Apollo sighed, sliding his hands wearily down his face. He was tired of thinking about all this. He'd been here at the office since 9 this morning and it was lunchtime now, but he hadn't accomplished a thing. Well, it wasn't like he had a client right now. Maybe he should just call it a day. No sooner had he thought this than his phone was ringing. Dread rose in his stomach as he glanced at the screen, but it was only Trucy.
Thank god, he sighed as he pressed the talk button.
"Hi Trucy," he said. "Look, if you're calling to try to get me to take you out to lunch, I'm kind of broke right now, so—"
"Polly, did you see?" Trucy interrupted excitedly. "You're famous!"
Apollo frowned. He didn't know what that meant, but he didn't like the sound of it. "...Why do I get the feeling that this 'fame' has nothing to do with my victories as a defense attorney?"
"It doesn't," Trucy said blithely, "but don't worry; you're still young. You'll make your mark on the legal world someday!"
"Gee, thanks," Apollo sighed. His phone buzzed, indicating that Trucy had just texted him a link. His thumb hovered over the arrow button, about to open the link, when he saw the thumbnail. It was an article from an entertainment news source. "Mysterious 'Fraulein Stern' Causes a Stir Among Fans at Recent Klav Gav Concert," proclaimed the headline. Apollo's stomach churned. On second thought, perhaps it was better if he didn't read the article.
"Hmm," he grunted, closing his messages.
"I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be 'Stirn' with an 'i' instead of with an 'e'," Trucy said, seemingly oblivious to his distaste. "I looked it up on Google Translate and apparently stirn is German for Forehead. That was thoughtful of him, don't you think? Not using your real name, or the nickname he usually calls you? He cared about not embarrassing you in front of all his fans."
Apollo squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that if Klavier had really cared about him and his feelings, he wouldn't have pretended he was interested in him when he wasn't, or kissed the back of his hand with 500 people watching, but maybe he was being dramatic about all this.
"I guess," he said tiredly. He wasn't in the mood for an argument right now, especially considering he hadn't slept well. "Look, can we… not… talk about this?"
Trucy was silent for a moment, as if his distaste toward the topic had genuinely caught he off guard. "Polly… What's wrong?"
"I'm just…" Apollo squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying to piece together his fragmented thoughts in defiance of the beginnings of a headache he could feel brewing behind his eyes, "I don't want to think about him for a while. Or any of this. It's stressing me out, and it's not worth it.
Trucy was quiet for a moment. "Is it because of the article? I really don't think you have to worry about anyone finding out who you are. The picture they used doesn't show your face, and Prosecutor Gavin refused to tell them anything about you."
"It's because this whole thing is just a joke that's gone way too far!" Apollo replied a little too loudly. "And even if I'm not interested in him like that, it's still a really jerkish thing to do, especially in front of that many people!"
"Oh my gosh, he literally wrote a love song just for you and you still think it's a joke?!" Trucy yelped disbelievingly. "So you're running away? Just like you did at the concert? Did you even talk to him? He really put himself out there, trying to tell you how he felt."
"I— You're not even listening to me!" Apollo gritted his teeth, struggling to reign in his frustration. Ok, maybe the way he'd reacted to what had happened at the concert hadn't been the most mature or level-headed way he could have chosen, but what right did she have to criticize him? Whatever happened or didn't happen between him and Klavier was none of her business, and he'd made his feelings on the matter quite clear.
"I'm sure you think you're telling me what I need to hear, but you've got the wrong idea about us," Apollo said testily. "Just leave it, alright? I'm done talking about it."
"...I thought you cared about confronting the truth," Trucy said.
Her voice was quiet and calm, but Apollo could tell that she wasn't happy with him, and it made the thoughts and feelings whirling around in his head even more confused and upset. Why did he have to feel like this? He didn't ask for any of this to happen; it wasn't his fault. So why did her words make him feel like he was on trial?
"...Enjoy the rest of your lunch break," Apollo mumbled after a long pause, and with that, he hung up.
He half expected her to try to call him back as he packed up his things for the day, but she didn't, and somehow that made him feel even worse. God, did he ever just want to lose himself in a Dr. Who marathon and hopefully drift off in the middle of it so that he didn't have to think about all this stupid drama anymore.
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Wright," Apollo called, swinging his leather bag over his shoulder. "I'm heading out for today."
Without waiting for Phoenix's reply, Apollo strode briskly out the office door, letting it swing shut loudly behind him.
A/N: I'm sure you're all curious, so here are my translations of the relevant bits of the surveys I mentioned in my notes at the beginning:
"Trucy gave Apollo chocolate for himself and some for Klavier and asked Apollo to give it to him for her. Klavier wasn't in court when Apollo went to look for him, though, so he and Phoenix went to the prosecutors' office together with their chocolate. On their way, Apollo found himself getting a lot of strange looks from Themis Legal Academy students."
"Klavier was holding a ladies only concert, which he invited Trucy to. Phoenix was worried about letting Trucy be out at night by herself, so he sent Apollo along in disguise (as a woman!). But Klavier saw through Apollo's disguise easily and to Apollo's horror, called him up on stage."
Obviously I tweaked some details to fit my purposes ;) Please review if you enjoyed this story. It would mean a lot to me!