The day started off relatively normal. Apollo woke up to find the bed empty. "Well, it's not like I expected him to be there. We have court early this morning." Apollo sighed and dragged himself out of bed only to find a note on the bed side table written in-of all things-purple ink.
The defense attorney rolled his eyes but was touched by the note all the same. And of course, Klavier had known he'd be late and had written as a side note "don't forget your briefcase this time, ja?" Embarrassed, as that had not been a pleasant experience for him, but still touched by the note, Apollo hurried through his shower, pulled on his red suit, styled his hair, and went flying out the door towards his bike.
And then of course, he went sprinting back in, snatched his briefcase, and was off.
By the time the flustered defense attorney made it to the court house, Mr. Wright and Trucy were already waiting for him in the defense lobby.
"Polly!" Trucy cried. "Late again! You're even worse living with your opponent in court than you were with us!" she giggled, blue eyes sparkling with mirth.
"Get in there Apollo. Everyone's been waiting for you." Mr. Wright told him, and gave him a slap on the back and a gentle push towards the court room doors.
Taking a deep breath and wishing he had been able to practice his chords of steel before he left, Apollo stepped into the courtroom. Klavier was grinning at him from across the courtroom, and Apollo scowled back, knowing the prosecutor was teasing him for being late. He had gotten really good at reading Klavier's expressions, so much so that he didn't need to use his bracelet to tell when the other was lying. It was one of the perks of living with Klavier-and being his boyfriend of course. Klavier didn't lie often, and most of the time his facial expressions were very pleasant. Except of course, when Klavier was teasing him.
He almost shouted something rude at Klavier, because Apollo knew the prosecutor was aware that he didn't like to be teased about being late, because it really wasn't his fault in the first place. Heck, the least Klavier could do was wake him up -but was saved by the judge, who requested the trial begin.
The defendant was Ms. Lilly Bell, a petite and thin woman who by the looks of things, couldn't even manage to testify about even the idea of murder without bursting into tears, let alone kill anyone herself. Still, Apollo felt there was something off about her, and figured she was probably hiding something.
Honestly, he didn't know what to expect with this one. His bracelet hadn't picked up on any lies, but criminals had found ways to bypass that before, and he didn't really like the gut feeling he got that was telling him she had something to do with this murder.
As he objected his way through the case, it was looking better and better for the defendant, only, Apollo wasn't sure anymore if that was a good thing. Klavier's face was serious across the courtroom, and Apollo knew that the devil-may-care prosecutor only made that face when he was really trying to understand the case. Apollo had a feeling Klavier was getting the same vibes from Ms. Bell as he was.
"Objection!" Klavier, who had been oddly quiet throughout the trial, finally seemed to have a handle on the case, if the fire in his blue eyes was any indication. "Ms. Bell, I'd like you to recall Ms. Kross' testimony. 'I went by Ms. Bell's room around 3:30 to clean it before she returned from the party.' If what Ms. Kross says is true, you cannot have been in your room during the murder which means you have no alibi at the time of the murder!"
Apollo blinked. 'Oops. There goes my case.' Apollo consoled himself with the fact that Klavier had noticed a contradiction and it was his duty as a prosecutor to bring it to light.
"Well darn." Ms. Bell's voice suddenly seemed a lot stronger, and seemed to echo around the courtroom. "I didn't want to have to use this but-"
Apollo didn't waste time wondering how the defendant had managed to sneak a loaded weapon into a court house of all things, and concentrated instead on the face of one Klavier Gavin. He looked shocked, but the thing that really got Apollo was that the prosecutor was frightened. Apollo had never known his boyfriend to be frightened about anything-not since the second conviction of Kristoph Gavin.
'But,' Apollo reasoned, 'I'd be frightened too if there was a bullet in my chest.'
And then the world came rushing back and Apollo was screaming "Klavier! Someone call an ambulance!" The jury was buzzing with excitement, Detective Gumshoe and the bailiff had grabbed Ms. Bell and wrenched the gun from her tiny hands, and the judge was trying his hardest to restore order.
But none of it mattered, because Apollo only had eyes for Klavier. The defense attorney leapt over his bench and streaked to Klavier's side, tears already running down his face. He managed to catch the prosecutor before he toppled over, which if Apollo had been thinking normally, he would have been proud of himself for.
"Klavier. Klavier!" Apollo gripped the rock star's shoulders hard, and met blue eyes glazed with pain.
"A..pollo…" Klavier coughed out, hands fumbling until he found one of Apollo's.
"The ambulance is on the way Klavier. Just stay with me."
"Can't." Was Klavier's mumbled response. "Sorry."
"No! Klavier, you have to stay with me. Don't leave me alone."
"A..pollo…love you…" Klavier choked out, and Apollo was sobbing, screaming but none of it mattered because blue eyes were empty, unseeing and Klavier was gone, gone.
"No!" Apollo screamed, searching frantically for a heartbeat, a pulse, anything to reassure him that Klavier would be alright.
Mr. Wright's hand was on his back and he was saying "It'll be alright Apollo," and gently pulled him away so the paramedics could get through, but Apollo didn't need to use his bracelet to tell him that his mentor was lying to him.
"It's not alright!" Apollo screamed, his chords of steel cracking as he flung himself out of Mr. Wright's hold and made a mad dash towards the body-Oh god, no, Klavier is more than just a body-and fell forwards, clutching at Klavier's cold hands.
That's when Apollo realized, touching those cold hands, watching paramedics desperately trying to restart his heart, that Klavier was gone, and that he wasn't coming back. "Why?" Apollo whimpered, and then he was screaming again, and Mr. Wright was trying to calm him down but he couldn't stop and-
"Apollo! Ach, Apollo!" It was Klavier's voice. Apollo clung to that, and then felt the other's strong hands on his shoulders shaking him.
'A dream.' Apollo realized, 'It was all just a dream.' It all felt like a cruel joke, and as his brown eyes, still blurry with sleep met Klavier's worried blue ones, Apollo couldn't hold back the cry of relief and the tears running down his cheeks. "Oh god. Oh god." He vaguely heard himself repeating.
"Apollo? Are you alright?"
"Klavier! Oh god, Klavier!" Apollo sobbed, clutching at his partner's chest, trying desperately to keep his gaze on the prosecutor through his tears because he was so afraid if he looked away, Klavier would be a corpse. Apollo grasped at his boyfriend's hands, relieved to find them warm with life.
"Apollo, liebe, what is wrong?" Klavier gently pulled his hands from Apollo's, running his hands soothingly through Apollo's wild un-gelled hair.
"Dream." Apollo gasped, "Bad one."
Klavier pressed his head to Apollo's chest. "Apollo, your heart is beating so fast."
"Klavier. I need-" Apollo choked out, arms reaching towards the blond.
"What do you need, liebe?"
Apollo didn't reply instead, pulling Klavier towards him. He thrust his head onto the prosecutor's tan chest and listened. Sure enough, when Klavier had gotten his hint and stayed quiet, Apollo could hear the soothing and even beat of Klavier's heart.
"I-I had a dream where you were shot. In court by the person I was defending. And I was there but I c-couldn't save you." Apollo mumbled against Klavier's chest and pressed himself even closer to his lover, as if he could hide from the memory of his bad dream.
"Silly Forehead. That would never happen. I would not allow myself to get shot." Klavier teased, stroking the back of Apollo's head with long tan fingers.
Apollo didn't quite believe him, but stayed quiet all the same because Klavier wasn't dead, and the relief and joy was incredible. He felt himself slowly drifting to sleep again…
"Ah, you better get up in a few minutes Forehead. I'll meet you at the courthouse. You have to defend Fräulin Bell, ja?"