As noted in the summary, this was written for the Seasons of Anime Exchange! This is my first ever Ace Attorney fic, and I hope I've done a good job.
Also, huge shout-out to my IRL friend who's shorter than a stack of bubblewrap for being a soundboard for all my ideas. This fic wouldn't be what it is without them, so thanks! (And really, I'm not kidding when I say that they're shorter than a stack of bubblewrap).
And, to my giftee: I really hope you like this. I had so much fun writing this, and this was a fantastic experience to be a part of. I hope you enjoy! *hugs*
February 14th, 3:14pm
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
If someone had told Apollo one year ago that he'd be spending Valentine's Day at the courthouse, he wouldn't have been surprised. But if they had told him he'd be a spectator in the courtroom's gallery, cheering for the prosecution instead of the defense, Apollo would've cried 'Objection!' faster than Trucy could pull out her magic panties and shove a pair of doves in his face.
Yet here I am, Apollo mused as the trial commenced, leaning his arms on the railing that separated the gallery from the courtroom floor. Hoping that the judge will finish a trial early, for once.
A heavy thunk echoed through the courtroom as said judge pounded his gavel.
"Prosecutor Gavin," the judge said, "walk us through the events of the murder."
From the prosecution bench, Klavier snapped his fingers. "Of course, Your Honor," he said smoothly. "I'm looking forward to a swift resolution of this case. I'm sure we all have places to be later, ja?"
Apollo smirked. From where he was seated in the gallery, on the side behind the prosecution bench, Apollo couldn't see his boyfriend's face, but he could easily imagine the suave smile on Klavier's lips.
Boyfriend, Apollo thought. That's right. I have a boyfriend now.
A boyfriend whom he was supposed to take to dinner tonight. And even though Klavier had done his best to change this particular trial date, the system had insisted on everyone being here today. So there was Apollo, sitting in the gallery on his day off, all while bouncing his leg up and down as he hoped against hope that the trial would be fast and simple.
But, as it usually was with any trial Apollo was somehow involved in, 'fast and simple' didn't apply.
"Let us start with the facts," Klavier said in his laid-back yet confident courtroom voice. "The victim was T. Rader Mann, a stock broker at Rebmunn Trading. On February 11th, he was alone in his office late at night, working on a sensitive case, when his murderer entered the building and stabbed him to death with a small but sharp knife."
"A knife which the prosecution hasn't been able to find!" Yelled the defense attorney, a lawyer named Gene-Rick Guy, from the opposite bench. With his monotone voice, a drab gray suit, and the lack of any discernible facial features, Attorney Guy was as forgettable as forgettable comes.
The judge pounded his gavel. "The defense will cease from interrupting the prosecution's opening statement!" He said.
Klavier turned to the judge, giving Apollo a brief glance at his boyfriend's disarming grin. "Danke, Your Honor. I appreciate the support."
Apollo rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.
"Back to the case," Klavier continued. "After the victim, Herr Mann, was stabbed, several classified files were copied from his computer. The murderer then attempted to flee the scene from the scene crime, but was noticed by two off-duty members of the police force who were having dinner at a nearby restaurant. When Herr Mann's body was found the following day, the witnesses came forward with their testimony, leading to a swift arrest."
The judge nodded. "So that's how the defendant was implicated?"
"Ja, Your Honor. According to the building's security logs, there were only two employees who went into the building. One was the victim, who is now dead, and the other was the defendant, Fräulein Bella Donnally. The prosecution is confident in its case, and is ready to prove to everyone in this courtroom that she murderer the victim."
Klavier stated the facts as confidently and calmly as he did when he told Apollo that he'd booked them a Valentine's Day dinner reservation, and Apollo had to force down a bashful grin. Apollo wasn't quite sure what it was about Klavier's suave demeanor that made everything his boyfriend say sound so convincing, but there was no question that it was enough to convince Apollo that Klavier had that case in the bag.
Unfortunately, the defense, once again, reasserted its 'not guilty' plea.
"The murder weapon was never found," Attorney Guy said, and despite the fact that he was defending a client on a murder charge, his voice was bland and monotone. "And there is no way the prosecution can pin this murder on my client. And, if need be, I will drag this trial late into the night to prove it."
Apollo's hair antennae flopped in front of his face, and he was pretty sure he was pulling, what Trucy called, his 'here we go again' face.
The trial's start time got pushed to 3pm because the courthouse was short-staffed that day. Apollo and Klavier's dinner reservation was for 6pm.
"We'll have no need to go late into the night," Klavier proclaimed. He thrust his arm out in a wide arc and pointed his finger at the defense attorney. "Achtung, baby! Today, the prosecution will find the defendant guilty! I officially call for the defendant, Fräulein Bella Donnally, to the stand!"
Apollo grinned.
Who knew it was this much fun to cheer for the prosecution, Apollo thought. If Klavier's this pumped to get this trial finished, maybe we will make it to dinner on time.
And if Apollo's cheeks flush bright red as the bailiff went to fetch the defendant, no one in the gallery commented on it.
February 14th, 3:23pm
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
"Defendant, Klavier said. "State your name and occupation."
The defendant bowed lightly. "Bella Donnally, stockbroker at Rebmunn Trading."
Maybe it was just a Japanifornia thing, but the witness looked very typical for a defendant in a murder trial. And by that, Apollo meant that she looked absolutely ridiculous.
Bella Donnally was a woman around Apollo's height, with a bright green dress that looked like a flower stem, complete with two giant pockets that looked like enormous leaves. Her hair was bright red and twisted into a complicated knot that made it look like flower petals were blooming on her head. Behind her was a wire shelf filled with at least a dozen different types of bouquets, and the only indication that she was a stockbroker was a smartwatch on her wrist that cycled through a series of green and red numbers.
Is she here to defend herself in a murder trail, Apollo thought, or here to sell us last minute Valentine's Day gifts?!
"Hello, Mr Judge." In a flash, Bella pulled out a small bouquet of light pink flowers. "Can I interest you with a bouquet of camellias? I'm sure you'd enjoy them, or perhaps you can give them to a special someone."
From the gallery, Apollo's jaw dropped open.
Just where do you think you are?!
"I'm sure flowers can come later," Klavier said swiftly, and Apollo exhaled a sigh of relief. If there was anything that Klavier was exceptionally good at, it was getting to the point in a trial. "As we all know, you are here on a murder charge. Exactly three days ago, you went into your workplace, at a time when you knew that Herr Mann would be alone in the office. Once there, you waited until he unlocked his computer before killing him, which then let you access his harddrive."
"And why would my client do that?" Attorney Guy asked.
"Tch, tch. Patience, Herr Gene-Rick," Klavier said. "As I was saying, after Fräulein Donnally accessed the harddrive, she fled the office, but not before attracting the attention of two off-duty members of the police force. Detective Gumshoe, a senior detective, and Maggey Byrde, the chief secretary at the local station."
The judge nodded. "Ah, yes I'm acquainted with both of them."
"They were on a pre-Valentine date at a nearby restaurant at the time of the murder," Klavier continued. "They decided to celebrate early since they both knew they would be busy with work on the 14th."
Maybe we should've done that, Apollo thought as he glanced at the clock.
3:29pm. Less than three hours until their dinner, and a defendant who was as eccentric as ever.
Great.
"Why would they note my client?" Attorney Guy countered. "If they were busy with a Valentine date, there's no reason they would've paid attention to her!"
"Ah, but your client dropped something." Klavier reached under the seat and pulled out a shining gray box the size of an apple and held it out for the court.
"This box, which, as you can tell, is made of metal. In her haste to get away from the crime scene, she dropped this box, which made a loud noise when it fell out of her pocket. When Detective Gumshoe and Secretary Byrde heard the sound, they looked out the restaurant window to see the defendant run from the scene, not even turning around to pick up the very item she had dropped. The defendant likely ran because Fräulein Byrde was in her uniform, which has a large emblem of the city's police force on its sleeves."
"She didn't pick it up because it wasn't hers," the defense lawyer claimed with all the enthusiasm of a bored child.
"Even so, this was dropped in front of the scene of the crime." Klavier reached down to also pull out a manila folder and a small trash can. "According to the witnesses, they spotted the defendant rush out of the office building at 7:15pm. Herr Mann's autopsy report estimates that his time of date was between 6pm and 7pm that very night."
"And the significance of this trash can?" The judge asked.
"It contains all the items that were on Herr Mann's desk the time of the murder," Klavier explained. "The killer was in a rush to cause a mess at the scene, all in the hopes of confusing the subsequent investigation. This trash can has everything."
"All three pieces of evidence will be accepted as evidence," the judge said with a bang of his gavel. "Will you explain how the defendant murdered the victim."
"Ja, Your Honor. On the night in question, Fräulein Donnally went to steal confidential information from Herr Mann's computer."
Bella Donnally laughed and pointed a bouquet of yellow flowers at Klavier, making brightly colored petals fly about the witness stand. "Now why would I do that?"
"Because you wanted to sell the information."
Bella said nothing.
"Insider trading, a terrible crime." Klavier shook his head. "You couldn't sell information you dealt with personally, since that would lead investigators to you, so you had to sell someone else's information. So you got close enough to Herr Mann so that you can sell his secrets."
"Close enough?" The judge asked with wide eyes.
Klavier nodded and pulled a small piece of paper from the trash bin. "This is a post-it note with Herr Mann's handwriting. It says: 'Meet love - 6pm - office aft hours'. In other words, the victim was meeting his lover. The office secretary can confirm that the victim was in a romantic relationship."
The judge hummed. "But what does this have to do with the murder?"
Apollo had the exact same question. Yesterday he'd met Klavier at the prosecutor's office, where he and Klavier jointly complained about the change in the trail's start time, and Klavier had brought him up to speed on the case. Discussing a murder case didn't exactly match the traditional idea of a pre-Valentine's Day date, but it worked for them.
I really should be concerned about how much of my life is linked to random murders, Apollo thought.
On the courtroom floor, Klavier leaned forward and placed his hands in his pockets. "You see, Herr Mann was quite paranoid about his computer's security," Klavier said. "He reset his password every evening, meaning that no one could remember his password and use it for later. Fräulein Donnally knew that, so she arranged to meet with the victim so she could see his password and access his computer in a moment of distraction.
"But tragedy would strike. While Fräulein Donnally was memorizing the new password, Herr Mann noticed her. She panicked, and terrified that her lover would get her fired, she grabbed a sharp letter opener from the victim's desk and attacked him. Herr Mann died of a single slash to his throat, and he bled out just a few moments after being struck."
"But the prosecution could not find that letter opener," the defense attorney countered.
"Nein," Klavier said. "We could not. We believe Fräulein Donnally disposed of it after fleeing the scene. "
"I assure you, Mr Prosecutor," Donnally said in a honey-sweet voice. "If I were to call anyone my lover, it would not be a random colleague of mine. In fact, I'd prefer to take you on a date. What do you say?"
Apollo was thiiis close to yelling out an 'Objection!" as the defendant so blatantly flirted with his boyfriend, but he didn't have to.
"Apologies, Fräulein Donnally," Klavier said without batting an eye. "But I'm afraid that I already have an important commitment tonight. Besides, you're not my type. I prefer someone with a bit more… fire in their lungs."
… Is that a dig at my chords of steel? Apollo thought dejectedly.
The judge banged his gavel. "Defendant, you will give us the honest truth about your relationship with Mr Mann and your reasons for being at the office building that night." The judge's eyes suddenly grew wide, and Apollo could've sworn he saw a drop of sweat fall down his face. "I also have an important commitment tonight, and I would rather not make my wife angry by being late!"
Apollo checked his watch again.
3:48pm. Almost two hours until their reservation.
Great, Apollo thought. This is just great!
"Your Honor, I will say everything I have to until you are certain that I'm innocent," Bella Donnally said. She reached behind her and pulled out an enormous bouquet of multi-colored roses and pointed it at the judge. "I could never hurt anyone. Be it through the money I make or the flowers I grow, I simply live to bring joy to others!"
Yeah, Apollo thought, because you are bringing me so much joy right now…
"Fräulein Donnally," Klavier said, not even bothering to comment on the flowers. "When did you start working at Rebmunn Trading?"
"April 4th, 2023." Bella Donnally smiled sweetly, her rose-like hair bouncing slightly as she gracefully tilted her head to the side. "It was a very special day for me, you know. It was the day I began to share my love of flowers in the most special of places—the stock broker trading floor!"
What does stock broking even have to do with flowers?! Apollo thought.
"And when did you start dating Herr Mann?" Klavier asked.
"Never," she said.
It was one word, just one, but it triggered a sensation in Apollo's wrist. His bracelet constricted itself around his wrist, and it made his entire arm jolt as if he had been suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning.
She's lying, he thought. She's lying through her teeth.
Klavier began the first session of official witness testimony, and Apollo's wrist burned from the force of the bracelet tightening itself around him. With every new testament that came out of Bella Donnally's mouth, Apollo's wrist seized, and little by little, a festering anger began to grow.
This wasn't normal. Witnesses lied all the time, so why should this instance be any different? It's not like Apollo got this mad at every lying defendant. But there was something about Bella Donnally lying directly at Klavier, the guy Apollo knew had combed through every aspect of this case with a fine tooth comb, that made Apollo's wrist throb in pain. Every bit of him was aching to fight back, to point out the defendant's lies.
"So you deny having any part to play in Herr Mann's death?" Klavier asked.
Bella pointed her enormous bouquet at him and smiled. "I deny it."
Apollo's bracelet held his wrist in a vice-like grip.
"You deny being his lover?" Klavier asked.
"I do."
The bracelet tightened itself even further, and Apollo bit back a wince.
"And I bet," Bella continued, "that a mediocre prosecutor like yourself can do nothing to prove otherwise."
And despite the burning sensation in his wrist, it was that word that sent Apollo over the edge. Mediocre. The defendant was claiming that Klavier—who became a prosecutor before he was even twenty years old, who accidentally created a music band that was a worldwide sensation, who was probably the person who knew this case better than anyone else in the entire courtroom—was mediocre. To make things worse, she had said it all with a smile on her face.
And her words made Apollo's lungs burn with fire.
"Objection!"
The word rang out across the entire courtroom, bouncing off the walls and echoing in the vast chamber. People in the gallery gasped, the defendant jumped in surprise, and the judge nearly dropped his gavel from shock.
"Wha—W-Who said that?" The judge asked. "Whose 'objection' was that?"
And that's when Apollo realized… that the 'objection' had come from him.
"Ah. Good afternoon, Herr Forehead." Klavier turned around and immediately spotted Apollo in the gallery. Unlike the others, he didn't flinch when Apollo's voice had rung out across the courtroom. He just turned around with an easy-going smile, even going so far as to give Apollo a subtle wink. "Didn't expect to see you so soon. What a lovely surprise."
Heat ran up to Apollo's face, and he sheepishly lowered the finger he had subconsciously pointed directly at the defendant.
"Mr Justice!" The judge called out once he'd gotten his bearings. "What on earth are you doing screaming 'objection' in my courtroom? You're not even on the defense!"
Beads of sweat trickled down Apollo's neck. "Uh… No," he said. "I'm not."
That was as unhelpful as Apollo thought it was, because the judge now looked even more confused. "So why are you here? Are you a witness for the prosecution?"
"No!" Apollo blurted, his mind scrambling for anything he could say that would get him out of a contempt of court charge. "I'm an—uh—assistant! Assistant for the prosecution!"
That's the best you can come up with?! Apollo asked himself.
The judge blinked in confusion. "But… You're a defense attorney."
"I mean, yes, but I don't need to be a prosecutor to assist!" Apollo said, and as he spoke those words, a thought came to mind. "Also… I think there's something I can do to get to the truth a lot faster."
"Ah," Klavier said, his smile growing even wider. "Something to do with your special talent, correct?"
Apollo nodded. "Correct!"
The judge hummed. "Can the prosecution confirm that Mr Justice's presence was expected?"
"Ja, Your Honor. I did expect to see him today."
Let's just ignore the bit where I wasn't supposed to meet him in the courtroom, Apollo thought to himself.
"I see." The judge nodded and looked up at Apollo. "Mr Justice, please come down to the courtroom floor at once."
Apollo took in a deep breath and yelled out, loud and clear, "Yes, Your Honor!"
February 14th, 4:11pm
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
"Lovely to see you here, Herr Forehead," Klavier said as Apollo jogged to the prosecution bench. "Did you bring me my Valentine's Day flowers?"
Apollo's cheeks burned, and he looked away from Klavier before the defendant could notice him blushing. It was strange walking to the opposite side of the courtroom, almost like Apollo was walking in a mirrored version of his own world. "I'll get you flowers later. First we have a trial to get through. And if you want some flowers, shouldn't I get something in return!"
"I'll get you some chocolates after I win." Klavier leaned down and lowered his voice to a whisper. "What are you thinking?"
"The defendant," Apollo whispered in return. He glanced at Bella Donnally who, for all purposes, looked like she was waiting for a customer to purchase one of the many bouquets she had lined up behind her. "She's lying."
"That does not surprise me."
"It was so bad I could feel it from the gallery. My bracelet was reacting so much I think it's fused to my wrist at this point."
"Ah, your poor wrist." Klavier's fingers lightly brushed the back of Apollo's hand, and Apollo could practically hear his heartbeat pick up the pace. "Perhaps later I could—"
"Counsel," the judge called. "While I understand you may want to converse with your assistant, we do have a trial to finish. And I have a wife I need to meet for dinner!"
Klavier nodded with a smile. "Of course, Your Honor. I more than understand the hurry."
At least we're not the only ones worried about our plans for tonight, Apollo thought. He took a glance at the clock and sighed.
4:14pm.
Yep. This was definitely not stressing out Apollo at all.
"Defense," the judge said as he turned to Attorney Guy. "Please continue your cross-examination."
"Are you sure she did it?" Apollo asked. "Because if I'm going to help you, I need to know that that's the truth."
"I'm positive," Klavier said. "There's no one else who had the chance to do it, and I can prove that she was there. I just need to wait for the right moment."
Apollo nodded, because he knew that Klavier was a good prosecutor, and he knew just how hard Klavier had been working on the case. If this was the truth that Klavier was certain would be unraveled, then Apollo would be by his side until the end. "You can count on me."
Klavier smirked and whispered, low enough for it to sound conspiratorial, "Tell me when she lies."
And maybe it was only because he was right next to Klavier, but Apollo was pretty certain that he saw his boyfriend smirk.
Bella Donnally restarted her testimony. She went through the details of her relationship with the victim, smiling and rattling on about her supposed non-romantic relationship with the victim.
Now that he was closer to the defendant, Apollo spotted her tell immediately. It was Donnally's forefinger and thumb, rubbing themselves against a petal of one of the many roses of the latest bouquet she had pulled out. Throughout the cross-examination, she rubbed the petal with nervous fingers, nearly tearing the petal from the flower's stem. She lied about being at the office the day of the murder, and about killing Mr Mann, but those were lies that didn't give Apollo any new information. No new clue that could give them a lead on how to unravel her testimony.
"It's true that I give flowers to my colleagues when we approach Valentine's Day," Donnally said with a smile that showed too much teeth. "No one else gives out flowers, so I thought it could be my way of showing my affection for those I work with. The day before Rader was killed, I gave him a small bouquet of yellow roses. To show how much I appreciate his positivity around the office."
Her tell was there. On one single word. When she spoke it, her fingers pulled at the flower petal, nearly pulling it free from the bouquet.
"Yellow," Apollo whispered.
"Yellow?" Klavier asked.
Apollo nodded. "The roses weren't yellow. But what does that have to do with…"
"Objection!"
Apollo jumped as Klavier's voice rang out in the courtroom. His boyfriend pointed a finger directly at Donnally, who only looked mildly surprised at the sudden interjection.
"Fräulein Bella Donnally, are you quite sure about that?" Klavier asked. "That you gave him yellow roses."
Bella flinched.
"You said you gave Herr Mann a bouquet of yellow roses, but when we searched his office, we found no yellow flowers." Klavier smiled and reached into the victim's trash can. "In fact, when we did investigate his office, we only found these."
And from the victim's trash can, Klavier pulled out a bouquet of small, red roses.
Klavier grinned. "You yourself said that you're the only person in the office who gives out flowers, which means that this must have come from you. You didn't give Herr Mann yellow roses. You gave him red roses!"
"Aaaaah!" Bella shrieked. Flower petals flew out of her bouquet, and an invisible wind rocked her rose-shaped hairstyle back and forth.
"W-Was that really in the victim's trash can?" Attorney Guy asked.
"Yes. The trash can I just presented as evidence," Klavier said smoothly. "Which I assumed the defense would investigate."
Defense attorney Guy winced, and it was the biggest show of emotion he'd made since walking into the courtroom.
Apollo huffed. "Amateur."
"Ms Donnally, is it true?" The judge asked. "Did you give Mr Mann a bouquet of red roses?"
"Ah—" Donnally yelped. She had hunched over, as if in pain, and with her red hair flying out of its meticulous bun, she looked almost like a wilting flower. "Yes—I mean, what's the difference? Who cares if I gave him red roses?"
"Prosecutor Gavin, explain the significance of the red roses," the judge ordered.
"Of course, Your Honor. As we all know, red roses are a symbol of devotion. Of love."
Klavier paused to give Apollo a wink, and Apollo was certain his face had turned as red as his vest.
"In his notes," Klavier continued. "Herr Mann wrote that he would be meeting with 'my love' the day he was killed. If Fräulein Donnally gave him red roses, we must conclude she was his 'love'. The love he was meant to meet the day he was killed!"
"Objection!" Cried defense attorney Guy. "R-Red roses don't mean love! Maybe Mr Mann just liked the color!"
"Overruled," the judge said. "Even I knew that red roses are a sign of love. Why, if I didn't, I wouldn't know what kind of flower to give my wife today!"
Considering she's your wife, I sure hope you know what flowers she likes, Apollo thought.
"I must say, Herr Forehead," Klavier said with a grin. "It's quite fun to be on your side when you have one of your 'revelations'."
Apollo smirked. "If you like it so much, maybe you should switch over to the defense. Not to mention that it'd make my job way easier."
"Ah, but then there's no fun."
"Really? I bet you already knew she gave him those roses."
"Ja, I did. But I needed to wait for the crucial moment to unravel her testimony. I would've gotten it sooner or later, and thanks to you, it was sooner." Klavier turned back to the defendant, but not before giving Apollo another wink. "So, Fräulein Donnally, how do you explain this? Were you or were you not Herr Mann's lover?"
"Fine! I was!" Donnally yelled, clutching her bouquet of flowers to her heart. "He and I were lovers for a time, but I never took it seriously!"
Apollo analyzed her movement, but nothing stood out to him. "She's telling the truth," he whispered to Klavier. "For once."
"And even if we were lovers, who's to say that I was his only love?" Donnally said. "There might've been someone else he was seeing!"
"Exactly!" Attorney Guy cried out. "Can the prosecution deny the possible existence of another lover?"
Klavier shook his head. "Not at this time, no."
"Ha! So you can't prove he was meant to see me that day!" Donnally readjusted the bouquet in her hands and tilted her chin upward, almost as if she was defying everyone in the courtroom. "You have nothing that directly ties me to the scene of the crime! Nothing!"
Apollo's bracelet reacted.
It was the same tell as before. Donnally's fingers pulled at one of the many flowers in her bouquet, nervously twisting a petal in a circular motion until she was one careless tug away from prying the petal from its flower.
"That's… a lie," Apollo said.
And that made Klavier smirk. "So my hunch was right."
"She has to be thinking about something you've already presented." Apollo immediately raced to look over the pieces of evidence they had laying on the prosecution bench. "Ok, so you've shown the trash can, the flowers, the autopsy report, and the…"
"Fräulein Donnally." Klavier—who had, at some point in time, put on a set of thin plastic gloves— held up a single piece of evidence in his hand. "Do you remember this?"
It was the metallic box Bella had dropped that fateful night. The one that made such a loud sound that it got the attention of Detective Gumshoe and Secretary Byrde, leading to Donnally's arrest the following day.
"N-No!" Bella cried.
Apollo's bracelet constricted, but he didn't need it to see how Donnally instinctively yanked a petal from its flower as she denied Klavier's claim.
"That's a big lie," Apollo whispered.
Klavier's smile grew. "Your Honor, there's a small detail about this device we haven't had a chance to mention yet."
"A detail?" The judge asked.
"It's a device?" Apollo asked.
"Ja. More specifically, it's an electronic safe." Klavier turned the box in his hand, and sure enough, if Apollo really looked at it, there seemed to be a set of six numbered buttons on one of its sides. Buttons that could be used to unlock the box if one had the code. "There's a mechanism, see, where if you put in the wrong combination three times, the device crushes everything in the compartment. The prosecution hasn't been able to crack it… But I believe we can crack it now."
Klavier stretched out his arm and presented the box to Apollo. "Will you do the honors, Herr Forehead?"
Apollo blinked. And blinked again. "Wha—You're serious? You trust me with this? But this is your case."
"Why wouldn't I trust you?" Klavier said, and Apollo heard no hesitation in his voice. "In fact, I think this is something I can only trust you to do."
Apollo glanced at the box, at Klavier, at the defendant, and then back at the box. His eyes trailed over the buttons, numbered from 0 to 5, and Klavier's words suddenly clicked.
Apollo's mouth curled itself into a smirk.
"Ms Donnally," Apollo said as he pulled on a set of plastic gloves Klavier handed over.
"Y-Yes?" She said, clutching the bouquet to her chest.
Once the gloves were on, Apollo took the metallic safe from Klavier's hand. "You know the code to this, don't you?"
"I-I don't!"
"You do," Apollo said, keeping his gaze fixed on Bella's fingers. "And I think I can guess it."
"You can't. Y-You're bluffing!"
"Am I?" Apollo ran his finger over the first button. "Zero."
Apollo wasn't looking for lies this time, but if there was anything he'd learned from working with Trucy, is that people give away their tells even when they're not lying outright. Sometimes they gave away the truth without saying anything, and that's what was happening now.
The moment Apollo said that first number, 'Zero', Bella's fingers clutched at a flower in her bouquet. Apollo pressed the button.
"On to the next one." Apollo felt his smirk grow. "Zero, one, two, three, four—"
Bella's fingers clutched at her bouquet again, and Apollo had found the next number.
They continued for four more numbers, with Apollo carefully reading all of Bella's movements, when there was a sudden, loud beep that emanated from the device.
"040423" Klavier repeated the combination to the court. "April 4th, 2023. Earlier, you said that was a special date for you, right? The day you were accepted as a stock broker."
Rivers of sweat dripped down Bella's face. "Y-Yes."
"So it would make sense that you would use it as a combination to a special safe," Apollo said, handing the device back to Klavier. "A safe that you could discreetly take with you as you snuck into your secret lover's office."
Bella shook her head. "No…"
"Unfortunately," Klavier continued. "It fell out of your pocket as you were fleeing the crime scene. Meaning that you could not hide it away, much like how you hid the murder weapon."
"No!" Bella yelled.
"You let your safe fall into the hands of the prosecution." Apollo crossed his arms and stared Bella down. "Where we could correctly deduce its combination… and open it"
"No!" Bella cried, and, as if her bouquet had suddenly exploded, hundreds of petals burst outward in a maelstrom of color.
Klavier ignored her. Instead, all he did was twist open the safe, and let its contents fall out into his gloved hand.
It was a flashdrive. Barely the size of Apollo's thumb.
"Your Honor," Klavier said, "if you recall, there was evidence that several files had been copied from the victim's hard drive."
The judge nodded seriously, as if he hadn't just seen the defendant's bouquet burst into a barrage of petals. "That is correct."
Klavier held up the flashdrive for all to see. "Your Honor, I am certain that if we look into the contents of this flash drive, we will find confidential files from the victim's computer."
"But… If that flashdrive has the files…" Attorney Guy muttered. Honestly, Apollo had almost forgotten that the other defense attorney was even there.
"It proves that the defendant was at the scene of the crime," Apollo said. "If you remember, only two people entered the office that night. Mr Mann… And the killer!"
"And we have the killer right before us." With his free hand, Klavier pointed his finger directly at the defendant. "Fräulein Bella Donnally!"
"Wha—W-Who cares if you guessed the combination!" Bella yelled, clutching her bouquet to her chest as if it could suddenly give her an alibi. "Who cares if it's the date I started my job! It's still circumstantial! You can't prove anything! You can't prove that that's my flashdrive!"
Klavier chuckled.
"Mein Schatz," he said.
Apollo jumped. He was still getting used to Klavier calling him that, and he mostly only used that nickname when they were in private. Hearing Klavier say that now, when they were in the middle of a public trial, made Apollo blush.
"Y-Yes?" He said, hoping to Lady Justice that the judge wouldn't comment on his flushed cheeks.
"You have experience with forensic science." Klavier held out the flashdrive for Apollo to take. "Would you do the honors of revealing whose fingerprint is on this brand new piece of evidence?"
Apollo's bashfulness vanished in an instant.
He's known all this time, Apollo realized. From the beginning, he knew that we'd find the flashdrive in this safe. And that's why we're wearing gloves. So that we don't smudge any new fingerprints we find. This man is brilliant.
And he's my boyfriend.
Apollo accepted the flashdrive, and yelled, full of confidence and determination, "Leave it to me!"
"No…"
The voice was soft. Resigned. Apollo looked over, and he realized that the voice belonged to the defendant. Bella Donnally, hunched over the witness stand as if she were in pain, tightened her fingers around her enormous bouquet of flowers.
"No. No! …NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
And with a loud crack, Bella snapped her bouquet in two.
A flurry of rose petals exploded in the courtroom. Bella's bouquet, as well as all of the bouquets behind her, burst in an array of bright, vibrant colors. It was like a dozen confetti cannons and boomed all at once, shooting bits of roses, sunflowers, belladonnas, and dahlias all around at the courthouse, attacking it with an overwhelming force of curated flora.
The flowers blanketed every surface, covering the floor, the benches, the witness stand, the judge, the defense attorney, the prosecutor, and yes, even Apollo, in a wave of soft petals.
After what seemed like half an eternity, the barrage of flowers came to a halt. Bella Donnally crumpled over the witness stand, like a wilted flower hanging limply over the edge of a wooden vase.
From beneath a heap of multi-colored petals, Apollo turned to Klavier. "You said you wanted flowers," he said in a deadpan voice.
"I did." With a flick of the wrist, Klavier brushed a mound of rose petals off of his head, and he turned to give Apollo a suave, confident grin. "I suppose this means I owe you some chocolates."
February 14th, 5:37pm
District Court
Courthouse Lobby
One confession and swift 'guilty' verdict later, Apollo and Klavier were rushing through the courthouse, milling their way between the remaining lawyers and plaintiffs that stood between them and the parking lot.
"Thank you for the assistance, mein Schatz," Klavier said as they dodged an intern who was carrying a precarious tower of legal documents. "I did not expect a sudden defense for the prosecution."
Apollo's face heated up again. Really, at the rate Klavier was making him blush, Apollo wouldn't be surprised if his entire face turned red. Permanently.
"It was nothing," he said. According to Apollo's estimations, it would take them about twenty minute to get to the restaurant on Klavier's bike, so he forced himself to keep running toward the parking lot. "I couldn't just let her lie to your face like that."
"Ah, but it is not nothing," Klavier argued, keeping pace with Apollo's run. "You saved me from more tedious hours with a lying witness. And we now have enough time to make it to our dinner reservation. Is that my Valentine's Day gift?"
"It's not the one I was planning on giving to you…" Apollo ducked his head as they squeezed past a set of carts carrying heavy-looking legal tomes. "But I guess you could see it like that."
"So I get two gifts? But that isn't fair. I've only prepared one gift for you, and I do not even have it on me."
"Doesn't matter. Not like we're counting. And we have a dinner to get to!"
"But I am counting." And just before they reached the door that would lead them straight to the parking lot, Klavier slowed himself to a complete stop. "And I think I have an idea of something else you would like."
Apollo skidded to a halt and spun around. "Huh? What are you talking abou—"
And before Apollo could say anything else, Klavier leaned down and kissed him.
Apollo closed his eyes on instinct, letting the feel of Klavier's lips wash over him. And Klavier was good at kissing. There was force behind the kiss, but not enough to push Apollo away. If anything, it seemed to draw Apollo in, making him want to forget about everything other than what was happening in this moment.
Apollo reached out and pulled Klaiver closer to him, suddenly not caring that they were still in the courtroom, where people could look and stare. He didn't mind it, because here he was, kissing the man he was lucky to have as his boyfriend.
After a minute, they broke apart.
"How was that?" Klavier asked.
"Pretty good," he said. "But now you're gonna make us late to dinner."
Klavier laughed. "And you worked so hard to make sure we'd be there on time. I'll just have to drive fast to make up for lost time."
Apollo smiled. "Bring it!"
The two of them sprinted the rest of the way to the parking lot, laughing and grinning the whole way there.