Language Barriers
Otaco

Summary:
Apollo is sick of Klavier teasing him with German words, so he asks Athena to help translate.


Chapter 01

"Wow Polly! That's another win for you!"

Walking out the courtroom, Apollo picked a piece of confetti out of his hair, tossing it aside. "Well, of course. My client was innocent, after all. No way I'd let them get a guilty verdict."

Trucy grinned. "That's our Polly! Think Klavi will be upset over losing?"

Apollo scoffed. "I doubt it." He frowned. "Actually, if it weren't for him, I think we'd have never found the whole truth." Apollo's frown deepened. He hated to admit it, but Klavier really did help them out often. "It's not the first time he's given us a hand during a case…"

"Where would you be without me, Herr Forehead?"

Apollo jumped. The voice was right next to his ear, silky smooth and, well, undeniably sexy. He shivered as he whipped around.

"Holy sh- Klavier! Don't sneak up on my like that! It's not polite!"

"Neither is talking about someone behind their back, Herr Forehead."

Damn it. He had a point.

Apollo crossed his arms. "Well, it's not like we were saying anything bad about you."

Klavier just flashed them his 1000-watt grin, making Apollo's stomach knot uncomfortably. "How sweet of you." The prosecutor's grin dimmed down slightly to a more genuine smile. "We should celebrate your win, ja? Why don't we go out somewhere nice, on me?"

"Prosecutor Gavin, that almost sounds like you're asking me out on a date."

The rock star's grin returned. "It's whatever you want it to be. So, what do you say?"

Apollo frowned, thinking. It wouldn't be a date, no way, but it would be nice, as long as it was Klavier's treat.

Trucy, however, was the one to burst this particular bubble.

"Polly, we can't. Daddy wants you to help out with the chores, remember?"

Damn. That was right.

The lawyer sighed. It was disappointing, no doubt about that. Rather than having great food at some expensive restaurant with Klavier, Apollo would probably be stuck cleaning the toilet twice or something equally ridiculous.

"Sorry, but she's right. I have to pass, this time."

Klavier kept his smile, but a pinch from the lawyer's bracelet told him that he was a little disappointed.

Maybe even more than a little.

"Ach, that's alright. Perhaps another time, liebe."

Apollo frowned. "L-liebe? What on Earth does that mean?" He hated it when Klavier would use German in the middle of sentences. It was dumb, pointless.

"Nein, it's nothing to worry about, Schatz. Congratulations on your win. You did well in court."

Apollo tried to say thank you, but the prosecutor had already turned on his heel to leave. He couldn't help but watch Klavier go, much like he couldn't help but notice how tight the rock star's pants were, and how well they framed his-

No! Not going there! Think about something else, damn it Justice! Apollo shook his head, frantically trying to get the image out of his head. He needed a distraction. A far less sexy distraction.

"You know, I wish he'd stop doing that."

Trucy looked up curiously. "Stop doing what?"

"Using random German words." Apollo sighed. "He's probably calling me all kinds of names. It's like he's making fun of me."

"Aw, poor Polly, getting picked on like that." The magician tried to look sympathetic, but made next to no attempt to hide her smirk.

Unable to hide a grin of his own, Apollo rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here." He quickly made his way to the exit, Trucy trotting alongside him, chatting excitedly.

"You know, Daddy said he might take us to Eldoon's tonight! And that after he gets his badge back, he said he might get me a new magic prop, and th- oof!" Her rambling was cut short when Apollo yanked her by the cape into an empty corridor.

"H-hey! Poll-"

"Shush."

Apollo was peering around the wall, squinting. He still had a hold on Trucy's cape, and it didn't look like he was letting go anytime soon.

Trucy lowered her voice. "Polly, what is it?"

"Prosecutor Gavin. He's talking to someone just up ahead. I think…I think it's Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth."

After yanking her cape out of Apollo's grip, she peered around Apollo. Sure enough, there they were, having what seemed to be a stimulating conversation. She could only just make out their voices, but it was clear that they weren't speaking English.

"But Polly…"

"Trucy, please. I'm trying to listen."

"But you can't even understand them!"

Apollo huffed. "I can make out some words! L-like nein, ja…and I think I heard my name in there somewhere. Well, 'Herr Forehead', at least." The attorney frowned, straining to listen. "…I heard 'Wright' too, just now. That jerk's talking about Mr. Wright and me!" Apollo suddenly stood up straight, startling Trucy, almost making her fall over.

"Hey, watch it Polly!"

"That ass! And he told us that it was rude to talk about people behind their backs!"

"Polly, isn't it rude to eavesdrop too?"

Damn it. She had a point.

"W-well yeah, but this is different!" Apollo peered around the corner again. "Looks like the Chief Prosecutor is leaving… Right, time to give him a piece of my mind!"

Before Trucy could say another word, Apollo had stormed around the corner. Klavier, however, saw him coming, and flashed his usual smile.

"Herr Forehead, I wasn't expecting to bump into you so soon. Can I help you?"

Apollo crossed his arms, in an attempt to look cool. "What were you talking about, hmm?"

The prosecutor quirked a brow. "I beg your pardon? …Wait, Liebling, were you eavesdropping just now?"

Apollo's attempt at a cool façade shattered immediately. "Wh-what? No! Of course not!"

Trucy chose now to chime in. "Yep! We were! Just around the corner!"

"Thanks, Trucy. I appreciate that."

Rather than be offended, however, Klavier just grinned. "I'm sure my conversations aren't that interesting, Herr Forehead." He flashed a smirk. "Unless, of course, you were listening for something in particular?"

Apollo sighed. "No. It's just, I heard you say my name, and Mr Wright's too. That was all I heard. Well, all I could understand, at least." Apollo gave Klavier a frown. "Can you at least tell me why you were talking about me?"

At that, Klavier's smile faltered for a moment. For a brief second, Apollo could have sworn that the Prosecutor looked nervous. "Ah, again, it's nothing to worry about." It took less than a second for Klavier's signature grin to return. "But I have to go now. I will see you later, Liebe." With a subtle wink, Klavier turned on his heel and left, walking through the courthouse doors and outside.

Trucy frowned. "Polly, just let it go."

Apollo shook his head, making his way outside and ignoring the tightness in his chest that the prosecutor's wink had induced. "Nope. Come on Trucy, we're getting to the bottom of this." The defense attorney promptly left for the Wright Anything Agency, the young magician rolling her eyes before following behind.

One long bike ride later, Apollo virtually slammed the door to the Wright Anything Agency open.

"Athena! I need your help!"

The redhead jumped, dropping the thick Psychology book she was reading. Her necklace, Widget, piped in with a helpful "holy shit!"

Phoenix looked up from his desk. "Apollo, tone it down. Leave those 'Chords of Steel' for the courtroom. Athena, mind the language."

Athena and Widget spoke in unison a she picked up her book and put it on the table. "It wasn't my fault, boss!"

Trucy pushed past Apollo. "Daddy, I'm going to my room now!"

"Alright Truce, don't stay up too late."

"I won't! Love you!"

"Love you too."

Trucy skipped off to her room, and with her gone, all eyes were on Apollo. The red attorney started feeling nervous. He'd made a fool of himself. Phoenix spoke up.

'Well? You're home a little later than I thought you'd be."

All confidence Apollo had had was lost. "Oh, um, sorry sir."

Phoenix just waved him off. "It's nothing to worry about. So, you were shouting something about needing Athena's help?"

"Yeah! The least you can do is tell us why you almost scared the skirt off me!" Athena huffed, nodding.

It took Apollo a moment to remember what the original problem was. Storming into the office and embarrassing himself had left him flustered. "Oh, um...right! Athena you understand German, right!"

Athena grinned, proud. "Ja! And Italian, and Spanish, an-"

"Anyway! It's just, it's Prosecutor Gavin. He keeps calling me German names, and I have no idea what they mean."

Athena nodded. "And I'm guessing you want me to translate, si?"

"Yeah, if you could." Apollo looked to Phoenix. "Also, I heard him talking about us sir. With the Chief Prosecutor."

"The Chief Prosecutor was talking about me?"

Apollo nodded, sure that his boss would get angry. Instead he just wore an annoying little smirk, like he knew something Apollo didn't. "Alright then, let me know what you find."

Athena stood up. "So you need a translator? I'd be glad to help you!"

Apollo grinned. "Thank y-"

"But first, I have to get a few things that can help us out. I'll be right back!"

Without another word, she strode out of the office with purpose, Widget chirping "let's do this!" as she closed the office door behind her, leaving Apollo completely befuddled

Phoenix looked back to his paperwork, completely un-phased. "Just don't take too long. The toilet needs to be cleaned. Twice, probably."


Chapter 02

Standing in a deserted corridor of the Prosecutor's office, Apollo felt nervous, and above all, ridiculous. He spoke into the tiny microphone pinned to his collar, hidden from view.

"Athena, is this really necessary?"

Athena spoke through a microphone back in the office. Holding the earpiece closer to his ear, Apollo could hear her voice. It sounded tinny, but aside from that, it was loud and clear.

"Of course it is Apollo! This way, I'll be able to hear what Prosecutor Gavin says, and translate it right away!"

Apollo let out an exasperated sigh, making sure that it was audible to Athena. "Why couldn't you have just come with me? It would have been way less weird."

He heard the redhead scoff through her microphone. "That's stupid. Do you really think Klavier'd act like he usually does if I was there? Nein! This is the only way we can get him to act completely natural around you."

"…Well I guess you have a point." Apollo frowned at the microphone on his collar. "Where did you even get this equipment? It's pretty high-tech."

"There's all kinds of gadgets like this at the Space Station! Getting a toy like this was no hassle at all. Now, are you going to keep standing around, or are you actually going to talk to Prosecutor Gavin?" Apollo couldn't see Athena, but it was easy to picture her wearing a mischievous grin. The image was only encouraged as Apollo heard Widget chirp, "this is going to be great!"

"Fine. Let's just get this over and done with." He heaved a deep sigh before turning the corner of the corridor, making his way to Klavier's office door. It was ridiculously easy to tell which was his, what with the large silver 'G' bolted to the front.

Apollo went to knock, but the door suddenly opened, and the defence attorney very nearly knocked on the taller prosecutor's chest. He looked up and his eyes met bright blue ones, staring at him quizzically.

"Herr Forehead? What a pleasant surprise." He flashed a grin, and Apollo quickly stepped back. He had been uncomfortably close. Close enough to smell Klavier's expensive cologne. He didn't want to admit it, but he smelled nice.

Trying to will away the new blush in his cheeks, Apollo managed to stammer out a reply, ignoring the giggles he could hear through his earpiece. "Oh, I just decided to drop in."

The prosecutor raised a brow. "Really, Herr Forehead? Was that really all there was to it?"

"Apollo, Herr means 'Mr', by the way."

Apollo hissed into the mic. "I gathered that much, I'm not stupid!"

"Forehead?" Apollo looked back to the prosecutor. His head was tilted, and he looked curious. "Mein apologies, I did not catch that."

Apollo quickly shook his head. "N-no, it was nothing. Actually, I wanted to ask again about what you were talking about yesterday. I heard my name, after all, and it's been bothering me."

Klavier fiddled with his fringe, and Apollo's bracelet gave a familiar pinch and a nervous expression flitted over Klavier's features. "Ah, this again? I assure you, it's nothing to fret over, Mausi."

Apollo frowned deeply. Mausi. That was a new one. Apollo could her Athena make a confused noise through his earpiece.

"Mausi? Apollo, that's a pet name. It means mouse."

A pet name? Mouse? Apollo's mind was reeling. What did that even mean? Was Klavier teasing him for being short?

"Um, excuse me, Prosecutor Gavin? What did you just call me?"

"Hm? Oh, again, it's nothing to worry about, Schatz."

That one was familiar; Klavier had called him that a few times. Apollo waited for Athena to translate. The second he had to wait was agonizing.

"Apollo, that's another pet name. It means sweetheart, treasure, things like that." There was a gasp on the other end of the line. "I think he's hitting on you!"

"E-excuse me?" Apollo felt himself blush.

Thinking the comment was meant for him, Klavier flashed a smile. "Again, nothing you need to worry about. Now, was there anything else you needed, Liebe?

Liebe. Another familiar name.

"Apollo, that means 'love'. They're all pet names." There was a brief silence, which was quickly broken by a squeal.

"O-ow, hey!" Klavier gave him an odd look. "Oh, nothing."

"Achtung, Apollo! I've got it! Klavier isn't teasing you; he's in love with you! The guy's totally head over heels!"

Apollo flushed, which only fuelled Klavier's confusion. "Liebster, you've been acting strange since you arrived at my door. Are you feeling alright, you're not sick, are you?"

Apollo opened his mouth to respond, but Athena's frantic voice through his earpiece silenced him. "Wait, wait! Apollo, say ich liebe dich, 'kay? Just do it, don't ask questions."

Unable to hide his confused frown, Apollo attempted to say the German phrase, stuttering a little. "Um, i-ich liebe dich, Klavier."

Apollo didn't know how he expected the prosecutor to react to the phrase. Having him blush furiously, however, eyes widening in surprise, was somewhere at the bottom of his list.

"I-, excuse me, Apollo?"

Shit.

"Oh, fu-, did I offend you?"

Klavier shook his head. "N-nein, I'm not offended. But… Herr Forehead…Apollo, you don't happen to know German, do you?"

The jig was up. Apollo swallowed and shook his head. "N-no, I don't." He flipped his collar so Klavier could see the tiny microphone he'd been wearing this whole time. "I've been using this. Athena's on the other end of the line, and she could hear everything." He turned his head and pointed to his earpiece. "She's been translating every little German word you've been saying. I'm sorry for being so sneaky about it. It's just…" Apollo looked up at Klavier, glaring weakly. "This whole time I thought you were teasing me. But all of those names, 'Schatzi', 'Liebe', those are pet names, aren't they? And, well, as for ich liebe dich, I have no idea what that means. Athena told me to say it. And, well, she also said that you might have feelings for me"

Klavier didn't even try to hide his disappointed look. "A-ach, really? Well, scheiße. W-well, the young Fraulein is right. I have been calling you pet names. Endearing German terms. I-I'm sorry if you don't like them, I truly am."

Apollo was shocked. The suave and cool image that Klavier usually had was gone, and had been replaced by a stuttering, nervous wreck. A blush tainted Klavier's cheeks, and he was looking at everything in the room except Apollo. It was actually kind of cute.

"I-I'll stop with the pet names. I-it's just, and I'm sure you've already figured it out. O-or Fraulein Cykes has told you. E-Either way you know already. B-but, , ja. I-I mean, yes. I…I love you."

Apollo stared, shocked, which only flustered Klavier even further. "B-but, it's alright. I-I'm sure you don't feel the same way. I-I'm happy to just drop th-"

Apollo couldn't take it anymore. He took a step toward the prosecutor. "Klavier?"

"And I-" He paused. "J-ja, Apollo?"

"Just shut up."

Apollo closed the distance between them, gently pressing their lips together as he wrapped an arm around the taller man's waist. He felt the other man freeze in surprise, but he quickly relaxed as realisation hit him. Apollo felt the prosecutor's hand move into his hair, trying his hardest to ignore the 'mein Gott's and 'magnifico's he could hear through his earpiece. Apollo gently nibbled at Klavier's lip, delighted and the pleasured moan he got in reply. Klavier was being surprisingly gentle, and whether he was being courteous because they were in public, or if he was just nervous, Apollo didn't know. But he didn't care. It was a short kiss. Short and sweet, and Klavier licked to defence attorney's bottom lip as they parted.

"Schatzi, I had no idea…"

Apollo couldn't help but grin, slowly blushing as he realised what he'd just done. "You don't say. This whole time I thought you were making fun of me."

"I assure you, it was nothing of the sort. Oh, and, to answer your question, I was actually asking Herr Edgeworth about some dating advice. He used his own relationship with Herr Wright as an example."

"That explains it." Apollo grinned wider. "You're an idiot, you know."

"I think we both are, Leibling. In our own ways." Klavier laughed.

They sat there for a moment, both men wearing a sheepish grin. On Apollo's side, Athena's voice through the earpiece broke the silence.

"Okay, okay, now say this!" Apollo frowned at the phrase that followed. It was more complicated that the one he had said before, but he shrugged and obliged. What did he have to lose?

"Jetzt fick mich sinnlos, Klavier."

And, much like the first time Athena hold told him to say some, Klavier blushed furiously. Why did he trust her?

"G-Gott, Apollo, that's…"

Apollo felt his stomach drop. "Shit, what did I just say?"

Klavier didn't answer. Instead, his suave persona quickly returned. He flashed Apollo a sly grin, lowering his voice. Apollo gasped as Klavier pulled him towards his office. "But, I'm not against it. However…" The prosecutor gently removed Apollo's earpiece, as well as the microphone on his collar, tossing them aside. "It would be best if we had no eavesdroppers, ja? After all, it'd be rude."

Apollo was completely baffled as Klavier pulled him into his office, closing the door behind them. He heard the lock of the office door click as the other man bolted it shut. He also heard his own surprised squeak as Klavier pushed him against the door, and the quiet, involuntary moan that slipped out as the prosecutor started to leave marks on his neck.

What he didn't hear, however, was the laughter coming from the earpiece, which lay forgotten in the middle of the corridor.