Klavier Gavin never thought he was capable of hating a woman.
The mere idea was nonsense. Women were treasures, and Klavier would always treat them with graciousness and respect. He never once held contempt for a woman or girl in his life.
That is, until ‘Mikeko’ came into the picture.
It was after a trial, actually-- Japanifornia State v. Ivas Fraymed, ending in a complete acquittal-- that things began to spiral. After finishing up the loose end paperwork for the court records, Klavier left the courthouse for the evening, about to go back home on his motorcycle.
“She was so cute yesterday, Truce!” Apollo Justice’s voice echoed off the concrete stairs leading up to the courthouse. He and Trucy Wright were also leaving, it seemed. “You should’ve been there. Her eyes... I didn’t get to take pictures but she was adorable, I swear.”
That turned Klavier’s head towards them. Herr Forehead was naturally loud, of course, but to hear it speaking so fondly of someone was a rarity.
Trucy giggled. “Your new girlfriend really has you whipped, huh, Polly?”
Klavier’s keyring slipped out of his hands in his shock, jangling and clattering to the ground.
Girlfriend?
The fräulein whipped her head around at the noise, beaming when she saw Klavier-- or rather his motorcycle and clothes, since Klavier had already worn his helmet and was at that point more recognizable by those. “Prosecutor Gavin!” she waved wide.
Klavier waved back, glad that his helmet covered up any emotional discrepancies between his face and his voice. “Hallo, Fräulein Wright. Herr Forehead. Are you both on your way out as well?”
“Yeah, we finished up. Gonna get some noodles for dinner and head back to the agency and all,” Apollo replied.
Klavier almost felt surprised. Apollo was back to normal now that he wasn’t talking about his... girlfriend. The word still felt weird in Klavier’s mind, a newly forced addition to his mental schema of Apollo Justice.
Trucy elbowed Apollo, wagging her eyebrows up and down. “Suuure, ‘back to the agency’. You’d probably rather get to your apartment, huh?”
“Hey,” Apollo hissed.
Klavier laughed, but it felt hollow even to himself. “I won’t be keeping you two then. I’ll see you both another time, ja?”
“Ja-- er, yeah,” Apollo stammered. “See you, Prosecutor Gavin.”
Klavier was already speeding off, his heart achingly turbulent.
=
Apollo’s next client, Leigh D. Keller, was not quite as innocent as Ivas Fraymed. The case was rough for all involved, but Klavier and Apollo eventually uncovered the truth in court together (Keller had lied to her own defense attorney and was in fact guilty of murdering those women).
All throughout the case, however, Apollo would joke around about ‘my girlfriend Mikeko’, and Klavier’s chest would seize up in...
In jealousy. Klavier wasn’t born yesterday; he knew what exactly it was that he was feeling. He was jealous of Mikeko. He felt like this young woman, whoever she may be, had turned Apollo into someone entirely different whenever she was mentioned. A she-svengali who waltzed into Herr Forehead’s life and snatched his heart away overnight.
But the worst of it all came after the Keller trial.
Klavier walked into a cafe intending to grab a drink of coffee and go, only to see Herr Forehead sitting at one of the tables with coffee in front of him, cooing at his phone and grinning like a lunatic, and-- Klavier squinted-- speaking in babytalk to the screen?
“Mikekoooo,” Apollo grinned from ear to ear. “Aww, you’re so cute! You’re soooo gorgeous. My precious baby. The most special girl on the planet.”
There it was again, that awfully tight sensation near Klavier’s heart.
Ach, I’ve got to stop this feeling, Klavier thought, shoving down the jealousy bubbling in his chest as he placed his order. It was-- it wasn’t right for him to be so deeply upset by the idea of Apollo having a girlfriend, or by the idea that Apollo never brought her up around him even though they’d established a friendship.
Apollo wasn’t his.
But man, was it hard to stomach hearing Apollo’s sickly sweet cajoling in public. Did he not care what people saw or said? Sure, Klavier would flirt and tease sometimes, but hell, even he wasn’t quite this brazen.
It was actually irritating at this point.
...How had Apollo met Mikeko? What was she like? How did they get feelings for each other, and when, and-- urgh.
I shouldn’t be... Klavier twisted his mouth in frustration. No, what ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t be’ doesn’t matter. I dislike her. I can’t at all believe she is a good fit for him if he’s changed so intensely. How long has she even known him? If I ever meet this ‘Mikeko’, I swear I’ll--
“Prosecutor Gavin?” Apollo had walked over to where Klavier was sitting with his own coffee. “It’s unexpected to see you here.”
“Oh, just doing a coffee run. There’s a lot on my mind today. I can’t say I expected you here either, Herr Forehead,” Klavier replied with a smooth smile.
“You looked deep in thought,” Apollo agreed. “Mmh... Oh!” Apollo smiled. “You know, usually when I’m feeling down Mikeko cheers me up!”
Oh, Gott.
Klavier sucked in a breath. “Mikeko, you said?”
“My girlfriend Mikeko,” Apollo rolled his eyes fondly. “I’ve mentioned her before, right? She’s sweet, I think you’ll find her as calming as I do. If you’re up for it, do you wanna come over to my place and meet her? I was on the phone just now and Trucy was with her at my place, but since Trucy had to leave I was gonna head back there myself.”
“Um--” Klavier blinked. This was massively unexpected and also way too soon given his own feelings. Instead of responding properly, he took a sip of coffee.
“You can play around with her too if you want. Mikeko’s the friendly type, she probably won’t mind even if you’re a stranger,” Apollo suggested casually.
Klavier choked on his coffee. “What the fu-- spinnst du, Herr Forehead?!” At the last second, he switched to German.
No way on earth did Apollo Justice of all people just suggest something like that.
Apollo slapped him heartily on the back, seemingly unaware of Klavier’s horror. “Whoa, jeez, be careful!”
This is Mikeko’s fault, Klavier thought bitterly, then shoved the thought aside. No. If Apollo was this far gone down the wrong path, perhaps it was best that Klavier did go and meet her. And give her a piece of his goddamn mind.
“Shall we go, then?” Klavier stood up, his mind made up. “I’d like to give my regards to Mikeko after all.”
=
“You look like someone made you bite into a raw lemon,” Apollo commented, searching for his keys as they walked up to his doorstep.
He was trying to look intimidating. He’d been hoping that a tall famous man with a pissed off face would perhaps make this Fräulein Mikeko back the hell off and stop being a bad influence on Apollo.
“I prefer to think of it as a sexy and tortured look,” Klavier bit back.
“Whatever you say,” Apollo rolled his eyes, opening the door.
The apartment... was empty.
“Mikekooooo,” Apollo called out.
“Perhaps she’s in another room?” Klavier suggested, slipping his shoes off politely. “Fräulein Wright was with her until recently, ja?”
“Pspspspspsps,” Apollo clicked his tongue, walking inside with a purposeful stride. Klavier startled.
Why is he...?
“Ah!” Apollo smirked. “I know where she probably is. Gimme a sec.” Saying so, he disappeared into one of the rooms.
Distantly, Klavier hoped that they wouldn’t come across a dead body-- not Mikeko’s, and not anyone else’s. It’d be an awful time to have a murder and a trial, especially if the victims or perpetrators were related to Apollo...
“There you are!” Apollo’s voice was muffled behind the door. A mere moment later, he returned.
“Mikeko, meet Prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Prosecutor Gavin, meet Mikeko,” Apollo announced proudly.
Apollo was holding a calico cat in his arms.
The cat... was Mikeko?
Suddenly, everything Klavier had heard and seen the past two months made sense. “Hurensohn,” he cursed under his breath with the dopiest smile that had graced his face in years. “Oh, you have to be joking. I thought this whole time that Mikeko was human.”
“Uhh, no. Mikeko is my pet cat,” Apollo frowned. He smiled. “Here, hold her.”
Clumsily, Klavier held on, cuddling her close. Mikeko purred, snuggling up closer, and just like that, Klavier’s jealousy melted away.
“Oh, Herr Forehead was so right,” Klavier rocked Mikeko in his arms like one would a baby in a cradle. “You are adorable, Fräulein Mikeko. I think we’re going to be best friends now, ja? You’re the most perfect thing. And here I thought you were a no-good human.”
“That’s the second time you mentioned it. Why would you even think that?” Apollo scowled. “Mikeko’s a cat, when did I ever imply that she was--” Apollo froze.
Klavier had seen this facial expression on Apollo before. Apollo’s entranced thinking face, the one he used often in court when he was piecing together information that Klavier had already figured out fifteen minutes before.
Klavier bit his lip in an impish, unstoppable grin. “You have only ever referred to Mikeko as your ‘girlfriend’, Herr Forehead. And as a prosecutor, the most logical conclusion for me to make would be...”
Apollo’s face turned brighter and brighter shades of crimson, and at last Klavier couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Mikeko shimmied out of Klavier’s grasp, scampering back to the bedroom.
“Prosecutor Gavin! This isn’t funny! You thought--” Apollo looked utterly scandalized. “You thought I was-- that I propositioned-- in public?!”
Klavier practically cackled. “I’m sorry, I can’t-- Mein Gott, this is why I was so horrified at first! I knew you couldn’t be the type to be so frivolous, or so casual with PDA. I should’ve clued in that some information was missing--”
“No! No, I-- I thought people would obviously realize I was joking when I said I had a girlfriend! Anyone would know there’s no way I of all people would have a girlfriend!”
“My apologies, Herr Forehead,” Klavier teased, “for making the logical assumption that an attractive young man calling someone names like ‘baby’ and ‘darling’ and ‘precious’ on the phone or suggesting that his friend meet his girlfriend to ‘have fun with her’ was talking about a human lover rather than a cat.”
“I’m gay, Prosecutor Gavin,” Apollo dragged his hands down his own face in mortification. “That was the joke. I’m gay, I wouldn’t have a girlfriend!”
Oh.
Ohhhh.
“Well,” Klavier wiped a tear from his eye, “at least that’s cleared up now.”
“I can’t believe you,” Apollo sulked, sinking onto his couch with an impossibly deep scowl set into his face. “I cannot believe you thought--”
“Let it be; it was logical at the time,” Klavier defended himself. He loosened up, sitting next to Apollo on the couch. “Though I will admit that I’m relieved all my conclusions from then are wrong. I couldn’t stand the thought of you actually having a girlfriend and being so openly affectionate with her.”
At this, Apollo perked up. “Really?” he said quietly.
Ach, I feel like I’ve walked into a trap...
It was similar to the feeling of when Apollo was about to turn things around on Klavier in court, actually. Apollo’s eyes gleamed, observing Klavier like-- like he was looking and perceiving something extremely close. Klavier fidgeted with his ring.
“Ja, I didn’t like it,” Klavier admitted softly. “I was incredibly jealous. It’s why I offered to come over when you suggested. I wanted to... size up the competition, so to speak.”
“Well, as you can see, there is no competition,” Apollo replied evenly, still staring at Klavier like a hawk.
Klavier blinked. “So...?”
“So what are you gonna do about it, Prosecutor Gavin? There’s a so-called attractive young man here, in front of you, who is gay and does not have a girlfriend like you thought he did. What are you gonna do?”
Klavier’s breath hitched. Apollo looked... not quite tense, but more... anticipatory?
Klavier paused. “Well,” he licked his lips, turning to face Apollo properly. “First off... I’d get you to stop calling me Prosecutor Gavin outside of work.”
“Okay,” Apollo took a deep breath in, trembling a little as he scooted closer. “And what would you do after that, Klavier?”
Klavier let out a strangled noise in the back of his throat. This man couldn’t be real.
“I’d ask you out on a date,” he said.
“We just got back from the coffee shop,” Apollo raised a brow, unimpressed.
“Then,” Klavier insisted, “after the date, I’d ask if you’d be my boyfriend.”
Apollo twisted his mouth. “The answer’s obviously yes, dork, how long do you think I’ve been--”
“Then...” Klavier was hyperaware of his heart thumping in his chest, hit with the intense need to turn things back around on Apollo. “I’d lean in closer, and ask if you want this.” He smiled, doing exactly that. “What’s your answer, Apollo?”
Apollo seized Klavier’s jacket collar in both fists and yanked him in for the kiss.
Klavier giggled against Apollo’s lips, wrapping his arms around the other. “Impatient, are we?”
“Shut up,” Apollo mumbled, fingers tangling in Klavier’s hair, but even he was unable to stop smiling. “Finally.”
Suddenly, there came a loud meow from around their ankles. Apollo broke apart first with a loud sigh; Klavier only laughed harder into his own fist as he looked down to see Mikeko curling around them.
“She’s probably just demanding food,” Apollo muttered with a shake of his head. “She’s cute, but she’s done nothing good other than that.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Klavier leaned down and scratched her ears. “Thank you, Fräulein Mikeko, for getting us together.”
Mikeko chirped appreciatively.
Klavier raised a brow, grinning at his new boyfriend and giving him a peck on the cheek. “A rather purr-fect turn of events, isn’t it?”
“Klavier,” Apollo groaned.
-