The case that I created for the simple purpose of giving Klavier an excuse to ask Apollo out is turning into a really convoluted thing. Like, it was originally just going to be the one chapter and Ed Curity was going to be the culprit, but then I was like "Fuck it" and made it WAY more convoluted than it needed to be.

Anyway, new chapter. Apollo's going to have some choice words for Trucy and Phoenix. I'm also going to have him talk to Clay because I wanted to put him in the fan fiction. Maybe I'll start the next trial, but we'll see. Enjoy.

Chapter Seven – What A Wicked Game to Play

Apollo

I was slowly becoming more and more of a wreck. I couldn't get my hair to stay smooth with how much I was constantly running my fingers through it. Sleep was becoming harder and harder to occur naturally for me. I was often finding my thoughts quickly drifting out of my control. And it had only been less than a week since that night.

I had been thinking about how poorly the meeting with my client and Ema and Gavin had gone. It was obvious that Ema knew there was something going on between Gavin and me. I'm pretty sure even Mr. Curity had noticed the awkward tension between us.

Trucy and Mr. Wright had both been out of the office when Ema had called me, so thankfully I didn't need to explain myself when I had gotten back. And if they had noticed anything strange about me when they returned to the office, they didn't decide to comment on it.

Then, a couple of days later, I was working at my "desk" (which was just a chair and the coffee table) when I heard the familiar roar of a motorcycle engine. I paused in my work and my blood ran cold when the engine quickly came nearer to our building and then died down. Jumping to my feet, I made my way around all of Trucy's magic tricks and quickly reached the window. Fear swiftly took hold of me as I glanced outside and saw Prosecutor Gavin parking his motorcycle and pulling off his helmet.

"Oh shit," I gasped, backing away from the window. Mr. Wright looked up from his phone and gave me a worried yet pointed look while Trucy stopped the magic trick she had been practicing.

"Is something wrong, Apollo?" Mr. Wright wondered, sounding slightly annoyed at my swearing and worried at the tone of my voice.

"Prosecutor Gavin is here," I replied, nearly tripping over one of Trucy's spare top hats in my effort to escape the room. Mr. Wright continued to stare at me with confusion.

"Yeah? So?" he asked as I made my way over to the seldom used office room in the back.

"So, he can't know that I'm here," I breathed. "Get rid of him!"

"Polly, what's going on?" Trucy asked, looking around at me with bafflement. "Are you and Prosecutor Gavin fighting or something?" I hesitated for a moment.

"Yeah. Yeah, we are," I replied. "Please, get rid of him."

"Wait, Polly," Trucy said as I wrenched the door open and slammed it behind me. "What's going on? How are we supposed to get rid of him?"

"I don't know," I hissed, pressing my back to the door and sliding to the ground. "Tell him I'm not here or something. You two are smart! Just make him leave!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Mr. Wright tapped on the door behind me.

"Apollo, are you alright?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by the door that was now between us. Even then, the worry still hadn't left his voice.

"I'm fine, Mr. Wright," I sighed, bringing my knees up to my chest.

"Are you sure?" he wondered after a moment.

Before I could answer, there was a knock on the door. The other door, that led into the hall. It seemed that Prosecutor Gavin had made good time getting up here. Panicked voices followed the knock as Trucy and Mr. Wright moved away from the door I was hiding behind and after a moment I was hearing Trucy calling to Gavin to enter.

The conversation that followed made me practically lose all faith in the Wrights and made me want to bang my head repeatedly into the wall. But, fearing discovery (not that Gavin wasn't told RIGHT AWAY WHERE I WAS HIDING), I was forced instead to slam my face into the palm of my hands. I froze when Gavin addressed me directly, my breathing having completely stopped, and I waited until I could hear the roar of his bike's engine start back up before I shakily got to my feet and rejoined the Wrights in the other room.

"You guys are the worst," I growled at them when I saw their awkward, apologetic smiles.

"Sorry, Polly," Trucy replied, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You're a magician and a professional poker player," I pointed out to them. "How were you so bad at lying?"

"He put us on the spot, ok?" Mr. Wright said, putting his hands up defensively. I muttered an angry, traitorous comment under my breath about having no wonder why Mr. Wright wasn't a lawyer anymore which thankfully went unheard by the person in question before collapsing with exhaustion on the couch.

I closed my eyes with a sigh and a moment later heard a shuffling noise as Mr. Wright made his way around to the front of the couch. Opening one eye, I saw him staring down at me with concern in his eyes.

"Are you ok, Apollo?" he asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. I let out a sigh.

"I said I'm fine, Mr. Wright," I answered. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Well, you've been kind of on edge lately," he started. Great, so even he had noticed. "And most people who are 'fine' usually aren't sent into a panic attack and hide in another room when someone walks through the door." He cocked his head slightly as he considered me. "What happened between you and Prosecutor Gavin?" he wondered.

I completely froze at his question, thinking it over carefully, not wanting to give away anything about what had happened. It was hard to think with his eyes boring into me like they were at the moment.

"We had…a difference in opinion on a matter," I replied guardedly, despite my attempt to keep my tone light.

Mr. Wright stared down at me without blinking with such intensity that it made me squirm. It felt like his gaze was piercing into me, keeping me from moving and unable to hide from anything. He blinked once; and in that instant, his expression went to that of searching to one of surprise, though it was only apparent in his eyes.

"Huh," he muttered under his breath. "Just like Kristoph…"

I flinched at hearing my former mentor's name being mentioned.

"W-What's just like Mr. Gavin?" I stuttered. He stared at me for another long moment before shaking his head, breaking his spell over me.

"It's nothing," he replied. "Don't worry about it." I was about to point out that it was hard not to worry about him mentioning my former boss and mentor, but he was already turning away and speaking again. "Apollo, why don't you take the rest of the day off and I'll call you when those security tapes come in."

I blinked in surprise at him. Sometimes, it was extremely difficult to figure out what was going on in Mr. Wright's mind. It was easy to see how he managed to be an undefeated poker player since he never gave away what he was thinking.

"I don't know, Mr. Wright," I replied. "The trial is coming up in a few days. Shouldn't I be working on the case and gathering evidence? And I want to be here the moment the security tapes come in so I can go over them."

Trucy and Mr. Wright exchanged quick glances before he let out a long sigh.

"Apollo, I am ordering you to take the rest of the day off," he said, much to my surprise. "You've been far too stressed lately. I promise we'll call you if anything comes up."

I wanted to argue with him, but I knew there was absolutely nothing I could say that would change his mind. Mr. Wright could sometimes be more stubborn than even me. However, I needed to keep my mind off certain things and the trial definitely helped with that.

I packed my few things I needed and made my way towards the door, but I made sure to mutter angrily and cast mutinous glares at Mr. Wright as I did so.

"Don't worry, Polly," Trucy said, putting a hand on my shoulder as I reached the door. "I'll continue investigating. If I come across anything important, I promise I'll let you know."

"Thanks Truce," I sighed. "Just don't get into any trouble, ok?"

"Don't worry," she replied, putting her hands proudly on her hips. "I'll bring daddy with me, so he can help out! You'll have nothing to worry about with the two of us on the case!"

"I have to do what now?" Mr. Wright asked, looking over at her. I didn't hear her response as I turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me as I went.

I paused at the entrance to the building. I really had no idea what to do with myself now. It was true what I had told Gavin and Trucy. I really didn't have much of a life outside of work. I had become a workaholic zombie and I was only twenty-three.

I let out a sigh and pulled out my cellphone. I decided I hadn't seen Clay in long while now. The last time I had really talked to him was when he convinced me to return to the Wright Anything Agency after Kristoph had been arrested the first time. If anything, this was the perfect time to catch back up with him.

Our favorite place to hang out was a café that was very near the space center. Clay's schedule had always somehow been busier than mine, so he liked to stay near the space center if he could help it in case he needed to get there quickly. He was already waiting for me at a table near the window when I entered and his face lit up when he saw me.

"Apollo!" he greeted, standing up to hug me. "It's been such a long time since we've last spoken! Too long if you ask me."

"It's only been about two weeks," I pointed out to him.

"Yeah. Too long," he replied as we sat down. "So, what made you decide to call me all of a sudden? You usually only call if there's some sort of emergency."

"Mr. Wright gave me the day off," I told him, still kind of grumpy about it. He cocked his head, considering me with a confused look on his face.

"Aren't you the only lawyer they have?" he wondered.

"That's what I said," I replied, throwing my hands in the air.

"What'd you do that was so bad he had to kick you out of the office?" Clay asked, his eyebrow raised slightly. I frowned at him.

"Nothing," I stated. "He just thought I was too stressed out or something and gave me the day off. Even though I have a trial coming up and I really need to prepare for it, but he doesn't seem to care."

"You do look kind of sleep deprived," he commented, looking me over. "How long have you not been getting enough sleep?"

I flinched. "About a week now," I muttered, not even bothering with trying to lie to him. Clay just knew me all too well. "Maybe a bit longer." He stared at me in surprise.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on, or am I going to have to pry it out of you?" he wondered after a moment of silence. I let out a long sigh. I really didn't want to tell Clay about my sexual exploits with Prosecutor Gavin. I didn't want to tell anyone about it, really. But Clay was someone I trusted completely. I could tell him anything and I knew he would never tell another soul and he knew he could feel the same about me.

So, I told him about how I defended Gavin's friend in court and how he asked to take me to dinner as thanks. I reluctantly told him about the dinner and hesitated for a long time before I could bring myself to voice out loud how we had slept together. Then I told him how Gavin had reacted when I asked him about it the next day and how I had been trying to avoid him ever since. Clay was silent throughout the entire story, staring down at the table. Eventually though, he raised his head to look at me.

"Dude, you know he obviously has feelings for you," he said after a moment.

"I know that," I sighed. "I'm not blind! That's the problem! He's been pining after me for God knows how long, sending these strange mixed signals and now I don't know what to do or how to think!"

My head fell into my arms in despair and a moment passed before I felt a strong, sympathetic hand on my own.

"I'm sorry, Apollo," I heard him say. "But you picked the absolute worse way to try to solve this." I raised my head only slightly to look up at him. "You know avoiding him isn't going to solve anything. It's just going to make things worse. You need to talk to him about this."

"I know," I groaned, burying my head in my arms once more. "I know what I should do, but I just can't bring myself to face him. Besides, I don't know if we can ever go back to just being rivals in the courtroom and sort of friends. It just wouldn't be the same."

"Do you want it to be the same?" Clay asked after a moment of thought.

"I…don't know…" I muttered, lifting my eyes to stare at the wall behind my friend. "I don't know what I want anymore."

Clay stared sadly down at me and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. Clay always knew when words wouldn't help. It was one of the many things I loved about him. He just sat and quietly comforted me. We sat in silence for nearly ten minutes before he finally spoke again.

"I think I have some news that will get your mind off of things for a bit," he said, a grin slowly forming on his face. I looked up at him curiously. "I got accepted into the program," he announced. "I'm finally going into space!"

I shot up straight immediately and for the first time in quite a long time, a genuine smile formed on my face.

"Clay, that's awesome!" I cried, moving around the table to hug him. "I'm so proud of you! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He shrugged, looking embarrassed.

"Oh, you know," he replied noncommittally. "I start training immediately tomorrow, so I won't be able to go outside as much soon." I punched him in the arm.

"You were supposed to lead with that news, you douche," I growled good-naturedly at him. "We need to go out and celebrate."

"I don't know, Apollo," Clay said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Mr. Starbuck already promised to take me out to celebrate later and I really shouldn't be getting drunk at this early point in my career."

"Oh come on, you wimp," I said, punching him in the arm again. "It's my day off! And you're going into intensive training! When am I ever going to get to take you out and get you drunk again?" He laughed and rubbed his quickly growing sore arm.

"Ok, I'll cut you a deal," he replied. "I'll go out with you and celebrate if you promise you'll talk to Prosecutor Gavin. Deal?"

I let out a long, loud groan as I mulled it over. "Fine," I sighed. "But only because seeing you drunk is way too funny to pass up." He narrowed his eyes at me but didn't respond.


Clay was totally right, of course. I really did need to talk to Gavin. I just really didn't know how. The last time I tried, he had gotten upset and shoved me out the door. I needed to handle this with a lot more care going forward.

I used most of my time with Clay rehearsing what I was going to say to Gavin. When we weren't talking about the crazy things he was going to do once he was in space, I was running through my conversation with the rock star prosecutor in my mind. Thankfully, Clay was far too tipsy to realize that I wasn't completely focused on him.

I made sure Clay got a cab before we parted ways and suddenly I was left alone to stew in my own thoughts. I sat on a nearby bench, staring down at my phone and trying to work up enough courage to even text the guy. It was about half an hour before I could bring myself to move my fingers over the keys.

I sent a quick, simple text, asking him when he was next free so we could talk. Not even a minute passed before he was texting me back, saying that he was at home already and that I could come over if I wanted to. That made me hesitate. Partly because I hadn't even realized that it was almost seven already and partly because I didn't know if I was ready to see him yet.

Eventually, I sent a reluctant yes back to him and he was quick to send me his address. It then occurred to me that meeting at his house might actually make it worse. I already knew how he was when he was at the entrance to my apartment building, I didn't know if I wanted to see what he was like in his own home. For all I knew, it could be just another trick of his.

When I arrived at his place, I was surprised to see just how ordinary his house looked from the outside. It was still on the large side, but it looked as normal as the houses that sat next to it and I had to double check to make sure I had gotten the right address. I had been expecting a large, gated front lawn at the very least.

It wasn't even fifteen seconds after I knocked on the door before he was practically wrenching the door off its hinges in his hurry to answer. Any other person who saw him at that moment would think that he was as calm and collected as he always was. But I unfortunately knew him better than that. I could see that he was out of breath and I noticed the slight redness in his eyes; the few strands of hair sticking out. He was falling apart almost as quickly as I was. And I couldn't help but feel that it was all my fault.

"Apollo," he breathed and I tried not to flinch at him using my first name. "Please, come on in. I welcome you to my humble abode."

I hesitantly followed him into his house, where it was decorated a bit more like how I expected his house to look. A few fancy and expensive looking furniture and decorations were peppered throughout every room he led me through. Not surprisingly, most of the décor in his house was music related.

"The inside of your house seems to be a lot different from the outside, I've noticed," I commented to him in an attempt to break the ice.

"I wanted a house that would blend in," he said over his shoulder. "It's harder for rabid fan girls to find you when your home looks like everyone else's. I didn't want to get mobbed by crowds every morning."

"It must be hard, being a rock star and a famous prosecutor," I muttered sympathetically.

"But it's all worth it," he replied with a kind smile.

He led me into a room that seemed to be nothing but chairs and couches with a single coffee table in the middle of it all, sticking out like a sore thumb. I chose one of the softer looking couches to sit on and I couldn't decide if I was surprised or not when he sat down next to me.

He didn't look directly at me and for a long moment, neither of us could speak. I didn't even know what to say. I was kind of hoping he would go first. We both just sat there and stared at the floor. Then, finally, he let out a long sigh and turned towards me.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. "I kind of overreacted when you first came into my office and asked about our relationship. I don't want you to feel like you're just another number to me because you are way more than that. I value our friendship."

I blinked at him in surprise. He considered us friends? Since when? It really shouldn't have been all that surprising, I supposed, but I was still shocked by it.

"I'm sorry too," I replied. "I shouldn't have worded my question like that. It's just…I've never…you know…had…sex…before. And I didn't really know what we were supposed to do after that. I didn't know if it was supposed to be a one-time thing or not. I mean, you did start out by saying you were giving into your 'basic desires'."

He laughed gently and leaned towards me.

"You know, I don't know if I really believe that was your first time," he said, that gentle, teasing smile returning to his face. "It was way too incredible."

I felt the heat rise to my face and I quickly looked away. I knew what I had to ask next, but I was too afraid to voice it. Staring over at the wall, I steeled my nerves until I could speak again. And even then, my voice was barely above a whisper.

"So…Where does that leave us?" I asked. He stared at me.

"W-What do you mean, Herr Forehead?" he wondered, trying to keep his tone light.

"I'm not blind, Gavin," I said with a slight growl. "I know you have feelings for me. I've seen the way you stare at me and flirt with me and don't even try to convince me that whole night just came out of nowhere. And if you didn't have feelings for me, you wouldn't have reacted the way you did when I came to your office."

He sighed deeply, looking away for a moment.

"I'll admit…I do have…feelings for you," he said after thinking it over. "You're no one like I've ever met before, in the best kind of way." He leaned closer towards me. "That night was unforgettable and I will treasure it always."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. He was so close to my face now, I could feel his breath on me. I fought my immediate urge to run, not that I could have done so. His blue eyes caught me in their gaze and completely paralyzed me.

"Apollo," he breathed. "I want to start over with you. I don't want to be just friends with you. I'd…like to have a proper relationship with you."

My eyes widened with surprise. I had expected something like this, but I didn't think he was going to be so blunt about it. I was in such a stunned state that when he decided to close the small gap between us and kiss me, I didn't resist at all.

His lips were warm and soft and his breath tasted sweet. He kissed me slowly, yet deeply; his hands reaching up to rest on my shoulders. It was a tender and gentle kiss, yet it held all of the passion he had given me that fateful night. I had no idea how to feel or what to do and his kiss was kind of melting my brain.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled back with a small smile on his lips. Then he saw the look on my face and his expression immediately changed to one of panic.

"Mein Gott!" he said, quickly pulling away. "I'm so sorry! I-I-I didn't mean…Oh geez, why did I do that?" Tears were starting to form in his eyes as he clutched at his hair. "Gott, I'm such a Dummkopf! I should have never-!"

I didn't let him finish, as at that moment I leaned forward and kissed him gently. It took him a moment to process what was going on before he was quickly kissing me back. Our arms slowly wrapped around each other and I could feel his hands creep around to the back of my neck to pull me closer to him. He licked at my bottom lip as he pressed against me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and our breathing was labored. He tilted his head slightly to kiss me from every angle, letting out a gentle moan into my mouth as he did so.

The sheer delight that was shining in his eyes when we finally broke off the kiss was almost too much for me to bear. He continued to hold me close to him as we struggled to regain our breaths. I wanted to avoid his gaze, but it was impossible to do at the moment. I had no idea why I had kissed him like that. But I didn't really want to tell him so.

"Apollo?" Gavin breathed, a questioning look in his eyes. Oh shit. He was going to ask me what that was about. "A-Are you saying that maybe…" Oh god, was he always this awkward when asking someone out? And was he always this adorable while doing so? "Do you…maybe want to go out with me too?"

Is that what I wanted? I'll be honest, I had no fucking idea what I wanted. I knew only that things could not simply go back to normal, like nothing ever happened, but I wasn't sure that I would have liked that anyway. However, I had never ever dated someone before, male or female or whatever gender one preferred. I was too absorbed in my studies when I was in high school and college to ever think about romance.

Maybe it was because of my upbringing, but I had a difficult time getting close to anyone. I won't go so far as to say that I was scared of being close with anyone, friend or otherwise, but it just sometimes felt far easier to be alone. Even with Trucy I could feel my anxiety start to flare occasionally if I had to be in a crowded play for too long.

I strangely didn't feel that whenever I was alone with Prosecutor Gavin. Even when he intentionally annoyed me, I didn't feel the rise of anxiety and tightness I usually got. He made my heart pound in a different way. I didn't know what that way was, but at the moment, I didn't really care. I recalled what Gavin had said about giving into your basic instincts once and a while. Well, for once, I was about to give into mine.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yes," I answered. "I want to go out with you."

The words were barely out of my mouth before Gavin was pouncing on me, kissing all over my face and shoving me onto my back. I let out a gasp as I felt his lips on my neck and I barely managed to keep my brain from short circuiting.

"C-C-Conditions!" I gasped, pushing his face away. "I have some conditions first!" He pulled away and looked down at me, the excitement still bright in his eyes. I took a moment to regain my composure before continuing. "So…I know this is going to sound weird, but we can't let anyone know about…us."

He blinked in surprise at me, though it didn't completely mask the joy he still wore.

"Why not, Schatz?" he wondered. I let out a sigh.

"Because if people get wind of this, they might think that you let me win all of my court cases," I told him. "All of our past and future cases would be called into question and it could ruin both of our careers."

He thought it over for a long moment. "I can see what you mean," he replied. "People would start to wonder if those cases were fairly won, despite the evidence. Although, I do try to help you when I realize that you're right about the case. But only because I knew we had the right or wrong guy. Not because of any personal reasons, though people wouldn't see it that way." He let out a sigh. "Besides, celebrity couples tend to get mobbed and something tells me you are not the sort of person who would enjoy that sort of thing."

I shuddered at the thought of being swarmed by mobs of people with cameras and flashing lights. It was giving me an anxiety attack just thinking about it.

"I… also don't think we should have… sex… again anytime soon," I said, getting on to my other condition. The disappointment on his face was clear as daylight. "I just… don't want our… relationship… to be founded only on sex."

"Oh yes, I completely agree," he said and immediately I felt my bracelet tighten on my wrist. "We need to get to know each other mentally as well as physically." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him as he wiggled his eyebrows. He leaned forward until his lips were hovering mere centimeters from my own. "And I look forward to learning all about my new Schatz."

Then he leaned down and kissed me deeply. I felt my brain start to short circuit once more and closed my eyes and kissed him back. For a moment, I didn't care about what may come.

Whoo boy, this was a long chapter. I did not mean to make it this long. I am so glad I decided to split the chapter into two. I was originally going to have day one of the trial in this chapter as well, but this chapter was already long enough. And I wanted them to get to their secret relationship already.

Next chapter, we'll be switching back to Klavier's point of view and him excitedly telling his brother about what happened. And then maybe I'll also start the trail.

Anyway, let me know what you think and hopefully the next chapter won't be as long. Love you all! Peace out!