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Apollo Justice had a secret. An awful, terrible, no-good secret. He hadn't lied, cheated, stolen or embezzled. He definitely hadn't injured or murdered anyone. But if his friends found out his secret, he might not survive the mocking.

For the sensible, hard-working, only defence lawyer in Khura'in was addicted to following the social media of former rock god Klavier Gavin.

It was kinda embarrassing, really. He had worked with Klavier in his role as Prosecutor Gavin for almost two years. They were friends, of a sort. Where “a sort” could be defined as two men who were attracted to each other but never did anything about it. Well, Klavier did a lot of talking – all of the flirting that a person could ever want – but without ever following through with an actual offer. Apollo had just about reached the point of asking the stupid, pretty prosecutor whether he wanted to start a relationship when his life had abruptly changed. His foster father, Dhurke Sahdmadhi, had finally shown up in the US after more than a decade of no contact, then been murdered (these events had in fact occurred the other way round, but that was too complicated to imagine), and Apollo had ended up returning to the country of Khura'in to continue Dhurke's work.

The one thing Apollo was certain of was that it was going to be mighty difficult to date a person who lived on another continent.

So he worked, and worked, reviewing old cases with his foster sibling Nahyuta, dealing with new cases as they were brought in, because he was quite literally the only defence attorney in the entire country. Which was a bizarre situation – how was anyone supposed to handle that kind of strain? But he had some help from older Defiant Dragons, many of who had been lawyers or lawyers' assistants before the enaction of the Defense Culpability Act. And he would soon have some help from the newer generation, university students whose entire understanding of the legal system was in the process of changing. (Their graduation had been delayed to give them the chance to learn how the new courts would work.) And Nahyuta – now Regent of Khura'in, because no one Apollo loved could have just one career at a time – had promised that they'd be importing some more fully-qualified defence attorneys from abroad, just as soon as they had been brought up to speed with a crash course in social and legal Khura'inese.

Apollo missed his friends back home. (Though he was starting to wonder where “home” was.) He missed Athena, Trucy, and of course Klavier. He didn't miss Ema so much because she seemed to be spending half her time working in Khura'in, for reasons he wasn't quite sure of. But he barely had any free time at all. His “free” time consisted of eating, sleeping, and other essential self-care activities. He managed one Skype call a week to the Wright Anything Agency offices, and one call in the past two months to Klavier. It wasn't that he didn't love him, care for him, miss him a whole lot, but he simply didn't have the fricking hours in the day. All he'd managed were text conversations, in moments snatched while drinking his coffee or cleaning his teeth.

Klavier over text was weird – the addition of emojis really didn't compensate for the lack of physicality. Apollo found he was missing stupid things, like the way the blond flicked his bangs and gazed off to one side when he was being mysterious, or struck with uncharacteristic shyness. He missed Klavier's laugh in court – full-bodied and slightly fake, as though it was practiced in a mirror – and his real laugh, which he only saw in private. He was starting to miss the ridiculous man's smell.

So there he was, short of enough time to talk to his friend, and reduced to stalking him via his public social media. Which Klavier had a lot of, due to having once been a rock star. He had the Facebook and the Twitter and the Instagram and a few more new ones that were popular with “the kids” who made up his former band's audience. Apollo could look at his friend's posed selfies at times when the man himself would be fast asleep, and imagine what it would be like to be close to him again. It was, quite frankly, pathetic. Not least of all because both of Klavier's careers paid well, and he could easily afford to visit Apollo in Khura'in, if only Apollo had the time to see him.

On this day, Apollo was sitting drinking his morning coffee and staring at new photos of Klavier, shirtless behind a guitar. He noted absently that it looked like the prosecutor was back on stage – was he taking up music professionally again? There was a message too – pretentious nonsense littered with German as was the Eurorocker's wont.

Meine Lieblinge, you will recall that music is just a hobby for me, ja? The search for Truth and Justice is far more important. But lately I have found that trials have not been rocking as hard as they used to. So my muse for music has returned!

Don't expect a new album to follow soon, bitte. The rest of the Gavinners are busy with their careers, so I would need to find eine neue Band. When I do, I plan on recording my next album overseas. Their studios have a different sound, you know.

Achtung, baby! Klavier Gavin is back!

The message was signed with Klavier's autograph in purple ink, complete with the outrageously overblown “G”. Apollo was pretty sure that the Gavinners' logo was the product of young Klavier drawing on his pencil case one day, because that wasn't how he wrote his capital “G”s anywhere other than his signature. Ridiculous man. (And just when had the fake German's rock star antics started to make him smile instead of annoyed?)

Apollo almost missed the link in the post, presumably to a new music video, but it was already 7.55 am and he needed to be in court at 10. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted by the glimmerous fop – even shirtless, and in leather pants. He definitely couldn't allow himself to get distracted by the leather pants, so tight they looked painted on. He had new email notifications, and what if they contained new evidence, like an updated autopsy report? He didn't trust his foster sibling not to sneak important information into an email instead of presenting it in court.

But in the end, most of his email was entirely routine. There was only one message which stood out – from a certain “K.G. (piano emoji)”. What the hell was Klavier doing emailing him instead of texting like usual? He had to look – it was too intriguing to ignore. If it turned out to be a copy of THAT social media announcement, Apollo thought he'd have to buy Ema three bags of Snackoos and request a serious ka'tonking.

It wasn't. The wording was so completely dissimilar that it could almost have been written by a different person.

Herr Forehead,

I don't know if you would hear over there in Khura'in, but I have just released a new single. It isn't the kind of hard rock that you find too loud, it's much more poppy. I would really like to get your opinion, if you have the time to listen. It's only 3 minutes long.

I miss you.

- K.

There was something wistful in Klavier's words, almost plaintive. He sounded entirely genuine. Like he really did want to hear what Apollo thought of the song, for some reason.

Apollo looked at the clock at the bottom of his computer screen, checked it against his phone, and noted it was only 8.15 am. Plenty of time yet to cycle over to the courthouse, especially if the song was actually 3 minutes long. He refilled his coffee and sat down at the computer again to see what kind of musical horror Gavin without the Gavinners had managed.

The first thing he discovered was that the song was called “Love Confession No. 1”. Truly, a title to rival “13 Years Hard Time For Love” and “Gunna Lock U Up” in the cringe stakes. If anyone still bought singles, it would probably sell a million copies by the weekend. He ignored the thousands of comments on the video, and pressed play.

The video started with Klavier in rock star gear walking down a street past a row of girls queuing to get into a music venue. He was wearing an olive green Rammstein t-shirt, tight black jeans, and big motorcycle boots, with all of his usual bling, and a leather jacket thrown over one shoulder. He was smiling, snapping his fingers in time to the song, blond ponytail flying in the breeze as the fans took photos of him.

When the girls look at me as I walk down the street
I've gotta pretend I'm single!

Then he was inside the venue, in a small room surrounded by young women who were (presumably) screaming and thrusting things at him to autograph.

When I hang out with fans at the meet and greet
I've gotta be ready to mingle!

Then the camera focused on his face, blue eyes dead centre in the frame as he sang the end of the verse.

But babe, you know it isn't true
'Cause the only one I want is you!

The video cut to the courthouse, Klavier wearing one of his customary purple jacket, black silk shirt, and black slacks combinations, his hair neatly braided and sitting on his left shoulder. Surprisingly he wasn't the prosecutor on the case, but the defendant.

So take me to court and throw me in the dock
I'll confess to my crime

Klavier was grabbed by court baliffs who stripped off his jacket, replacing it with huge, heavy handcuffs like the ones which Simon Blackquill had been forced to wear before his innocence had been proven.

Put me in jail and tighten all the locks
I want you to be mine!

The video cut to some sort of daytime talk show. Klavier was perched on the sofa talking to the host while wearing an outfit which was, quite frankly, an affront to fashion. His shirt was silver, sequinned, and open almost to the navel. This was topped off with shiny purple leggings, shades, and utterly preposterous silver knee-high boots. His hair was up in a high ponytail, exposing his earrings; there was pink glitter on his face, and his nipple rings caught the light when he threw his head back to laugh. Apollo suddenly felt rather uncomfortable in the underpants department.

When I don't mention you in interviews
I'm pretending to be straight

Then there was a scene of a news broadcast, reporting on the talk show, with a headline of “KLAVIER GAVIN – STILL IN THE CLOSET?”. The newsreader was a light-skinned African-American woman with the biggest hair imaginable. Apollo thought he might have seen her before in one of Mr Wright's old case videos. Lotta... something?

When you aren't seen with me on the TV news
It's to stop you being bait!

Klavier leaned forward on the talk show sofa and sung directly to the camera again, somehow making eye contact with Apollo despite being an ocean away. The lip-synching was quite impressive.

But babe, I am true to you
It's the only thing that I can do!

Back to the chorus and the heavy chain. This time, one of the baliffs, a man with an enormous black ponytail grinned at the camera and made a thumbs-up sign as he locked the handcuffs in place. Wait a moment, that baliff – that was Simon Blackquill! How did he get roped into this?

So take me to court and throw me in the dock
I'll confess every time
Put me in jail and tighten all the locks
I hope that you are mine!

Then the video cut to Klavier onstage, playing a guitar solo. Shirtless, hair loose and sweaty under the stage lights, wearing those black leather pants – this had to be where the photos in Facebook-Twitter-Instagram, whichever it was, had come from. Despite the fact the guitar solo wasn't very long, the fop managed to windmill his arm a couple of times and collapse to his knees while still playing. What a show-off.

The next scene was Klavier sitting at a desk in what Apollo recognised as his actual apartment. He was barefoot, in blue jeans and an old grey Gavinners t-shirt, his hair piled into a messy bun on top of his head. He was spinning a globe as he sang, softly, almost as though he were whispering. His eyes were downcast, staring at the map. The musical accompaniment was also much quieter.

When you move far away I miss you so bad
That I don't know what to do

The prosecutor's fingers – recognisable from his purple nail polish and rings – measured out the distance on the globe from Los Angeles to Khura'in. Apollo swallowed, hard. He'd already suspected that the song was about him, and this was decisive evidence.

You're the very best friend that I ever had
I wanna fly over to you

Klavier looked up, making perfect eye contact through the screen. Apollo wondered how the hell the singer was managing that, before realising that he was the one staring into Klavier's eyes. He shifted on his chair, trying to adjust his rampant hard-on. Looking at Klavier in a pre-recorded video was somehow more attention that he'd had from anyone in months, and that was pretty sad.

But I'm not sure if you want me
Could you give me a clue that I can see?

The rest of the song was sung from within a “jail cell”, festooned with chains that reminded Apollo of the Gavinners' dressing room at Sunshine Coliseum. Klavier and his band were all wearing “prison uniforms”, but purple instead of orange, of course. The blond was playing guitar again and the camera focused on him for the majority of the time, showing the other band members more as blurs in the background than as actual people. It seemed a little arrogant, but if this was a temporary band put together only for the recording of this one song, maybe it made some sense.

So take me to court and throw me in the dock
I'll confess to my crime
Put me in jail and tighten all the locks
I want you to be mine!

Take me to court and throw me in the dock
I'll confess every time
Put me in jail and tighten all the locks
I hope that you are mine!

I miss you all the time!
Ahhh...

At the end of the song, Klavier mouthed something inaudible to the camera. Apollo wondered what it was.

Some people, e.g. Ms Athena Cykes, had previously accused Apollo of being “oblivious” when it came to the rockstar prosecutor flirting with him. That wasn't the case at all: Apollo had simply been waiting for the glimmerous fop to stop flapping his mouth and come up with something concrete. You couldn't get much more concrete than a love confession in a song posted online for the entire internet to see.

Apollo's eyes widened, and he scooted back in his chair. The entire internet – Athena must have seen this video by now. Trucy must have seen this video by now! He put his hands over his face and felt the heat in his cheeks.

So then... why wasn't his phone lighting up with a dozen messages? He glared at it and checked again, just in case the reception had gone down. But the cell service was fine, yet the only personal message he had from anyone was that email from Klavier. Apollo thought this stunk of conspiracy.

Well, he still had plenty of time before he had to get on his bike, so he started the video again at the beginning. Having already noticed Simon Blackquill in the jailer scene, he was on the lookout for other people he might know. And there in the “fan” scene, to no one's surprise, were Athena, Trucy, Pearl, Juniper, and some of the other Themis students, likely now graduated from high school and at college. Even Jinxie Tenma was there, almost unrecognisable in normal teenage girl clothes rather than her maid's outfit. The other court baliff was Damian Tenma, presumably at the video shoot to keep an eye on his daughter. Apollo didn't know the name of the daytime talk show host, but he'd seen her around the Prosecutors' Office with Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth. He simply hadn't recognised her without the big key in her hair.

This wasn't conspiracy – this was ambush!

He scrolled down to the comments to see what the fans thought. Many of the comments were along the lines of “Klavi is in love!” but not necessarily spelled that well, with lots of excited emoji. There was a long debate thread asking who the song was about. Some of the fans were pointing out that the song had to be about a man, and several of them had picked up on the “move far away” line and the globe to finger him as the suspect.

> It's about Apollo Justice, of course, that loud lawyer in the red suit who used to face off against Klavi all the time. He moved to a small country in Asia a few months ago and Klavi has been moping ever since. Klavi even points at Khura'in on the map!

> > Did you see in Insta, Klavi said he hasn't been enjoying trials any more? And he put a capital letter on the word “Justice”!

> > > Isn't that just because he's German?

> > > > He didn't put a capital letter on “trials” or “album”. I think Klavi knows what he's doing <3

Heart emoji, indeed.

Just at that moment, Datz came into the office and put a paper bag in front of him. “Mornin', A.J. What's going on, you're redder than your suit?”

Apollo jumped, squeaked, and tried to close the web browser – but Datz, combat-trained for decades, was too fast. He knocked Apollo's hand off the mouse, scrolled back to the video, and clicked play. He whistled. “Heeeyy... is this your rockstar prosecutor?”

“He's not my rockstar anything,” mumbled the attorney defensively, getting his magatah'man out of the bag and taking a bite. As breakfasts went, it was fresh, not a fried lizard, and probably not stolen. He could live with two out of three.

“Pretty catchy tune,” remarked the former rebel, grinning with two thumbs up.

It actually was, and Klavier's description of it as “much more poppy” than the hard rock that Apollo found too noisy was entirely accurate. Apart from the rather short guitar solo, it didn't rattle his ears at all. The third verse reminded him of the gentler side of Klavier's music, like “The Guitar's Serenade”, or some of the Gavinners' ballads. It was... restful, and he didn't mind listening to the song for the third time in a row.

Datz peeled an apple, thoughtfully. “Hey A.J., is ‘Apollo’ a common name in America?”

Apollo's head snapped up. “What?”

“Look, at the end of the song, he mouths ‘My Apollo’.”

The denial was automatic. “He does not.”

Crunching his apple vigorously, Datz leant over the attorney and rewound the video a few seconds. “Har har har! Watch his mouth.”

Apollo did so. Then he rewound the video again. And again. Then he checked the comments and found a few more entries in the thread, confirming that Klavier said “Apollo”.

“Oh my God!” he shouted, slapping his own forehead. “That man – I'm going to kill him!”

Datz started to hoot with laughter, tears pouring out of his eyes. “Don't do that,” he said, inbetween chortles. “You'd only have to defend yourself. There isn't anyone else here who can do it!”

Apollo clenched both his hands into fists and screamed dramatically, letting out the Chords of Steel. He tilted his head upwards as if addressing a god in the sky. “Holy Mother, why is Datz so annoying?”

This made Datz laugh all the more. “I'm your favourite uncle. You love me,” he said.

Apollo shook his head, arms folded. “No. I really don't. You're a pain in the... everything.” He waved a hand dismissively, glanced at the computer screen, and paused. “I love... Klavier. Even though he's the most annoying man I've ever met.”

“You... love him? You don't just want to fuck him, you're thinking husband material?” The former rebel sobered immediately, and knuckled a tear away from his eye. “Wish Dhurke were here to see this. Little A-to-the-J, all grown up and in love with a prosecutor.”

“I've loved him for months. Years. Honestly, I'd have stayed in LA if he'd asked me to.”

Already on his second apple, Datz pointed at the screen with his dagger. “Then you need to tell him, m'boy.” The tone of his voice brooked no argument.

Not wanting to argue with a bladed weapon before 9 am, Apollo sighed, and pulled out his phone. He typed a quick text to Klavier: I got your messages – both of them. I have court now but I can talk to you this evening. It won't be before 3 am your time, so get some sleep, ok?

His phone immediately buzzed in his pocket, but he let it be. Only then did he notice the former rebel putting his own phone away. “Wait - who were you texting, Datz?”

“Oh, Yuty. Thought they'd better know that their baby brother's in love... with a rockstar prosecutor.” Datz slapped his thigh and started crying with laughter again. Apollo flipped him the bird and left.

Nahyuta was strangely quiet outside the courtroom. All they said was, “I heard that you're in love with a putrid American prosecutor.”

Apollo sighed. “I'm going to strangle Datz, but yes.”

“Prosecutor Gavin?” A butterfly landed on the monk's outstretched hand.

“Of course. Who else would it be?”

“Ah.” Nahyuta nodded, and brought their fingers together in the Khura'inese prayer position. “I will pray for your relationship's success over such a distance.”

Apollo didn't pry, but the twitch in Nahyuta's little finger suggested to him that their motives were not entirely selfless. He'd noticed that his sibling had been dressing more at the masculine end of their spectrum lately, and wondered who they had in mind.

Apollo spent the whole day whistling or humming “Love Confession No. 1”. Sometimes even while court was in session. Damn that man, he had it bad. Fortunately, Nahyuta mostly covered for him. He was going to owe them for that later, that was for sure.

Apollo watched Nahyuta watching Ema as she gave evidence, and wondered about his sibling's love life some more.

When Apollo got back to the office, the first thing he did was check that he was alone. No Datz hiding in a closet to scare him. No Ahlbi and Shah'do with new plans for tourism. No Beh'leeb with little Faitah, no Defiant Dragons in the sewer. Not even Nahyuta or Rayfa there to bug him about “family” stuff, which could mean anything from actual family to the Royal Family. Good.

He sent Klavier a text message: Hey, I'm back now, would you like to talk?

The prosecutor replied immediately: HF! Ja, of course, is Skype ok?

Apollo shook his head ruefully. Klavier, you idiot – it's 4 in the morning there. Did you get ANY sleep at all?

Another instant reply: ...Nein.

Alright, let me get a drink and I'll call. Apollo put on the kettle and checked himself in the mirror. Nothing caught between his teeth. No stains on his clothes. Spikes still upright. “I'm fine,” he told his reflection, as he poured himself another cup of coffee. He booted up Skype, and hit the video call button.

Klavier answered right away. He was sitting on his bed with Vongole, his blond hair loose and falling in waves around his shoulders. His eyes looked smaller than usual behind his hated glasses, but they weren't enough to hide the dark circles, product of much more than one sleepless night. In some concession to the hour, he was dressed in a faded, holey t-shirt and pyjama bottoms. His jewellery was piled on the bedside table next to him. All in all, he looked absolutely exhausted, and yet exhilarated.

“Herr Forehead!”

“Hey.” Apollo found himself giving a little wave to the camera, suddenly shy.

“I can't believe I'm talking to you again. Mein Gott, I've missed you.” There were so many emotions in Klavier's voice. Apollo wondered what Athena would hear if she analysed him.

“Yeah, it has been a while. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be sorry. You're busy. I understand.” Klavier ran his hand through his bangs and flashed his teeth, too white and straight to be natural. His hands were shaking, nervous enough to make Apollo's bracelet tighten on his arm. “So. Did you listen to the song?”

“I did.” Apollo crossed his arms, giving nothing away in his tone.

“And... What did you think?” Desperate. Trying to look calm, trying to keep smiling.

Apollo paused, intentionally drawing out the moment, gazing at Klavier. There was something intoxicating in the realisation that he had the power to crush such a beautiful person's hopes and dreams with one word. The rock star seemed to have stopped breathing. Suddenly Apollo found himself unable to suppress a grin from his face. “I think Klavier Gavin is the biggest dork I've ever met.”

The blond stared at him, blinking rapidly and thumb running over his knuckles in lieu of the rings he usually wore. “...Is that a yes?”

“It might be. You need to ask me the question first.”

Klavier dropped his head into his hands, muttering “Scheiße!” under his breath. Inhaling deeply, he looked up with a bright, brittle smile and sang, “I'm not sure if you want me / Could you give me a clue that I can see?”. His notes were pitch-perfect despite the lack of warm-up or musical accompaniment .

Apollo gasped, genuinely impressed. “Holy shit, Klav. I knew you were talented, but that was something else... Yes, of course I want you, you stupid, gorgeous, wonderful man. Why on earth would I not?”

“I don't know. You might have found someone in Khura'in.”

Klavier's expression was so solemn that Apollo found himself laughing like a drain. Or possibly like a Datz. “Two objections there. One, where would I have found the time to find someone? Two, how could I find someone better than you?”

The most amazing smile spread across the rock star's face as he finally allowed himself to relax. “Your compliments are inflating my ego, Schatz.”

“Well, we can't have that, your ego's big enough already.”

“Danke.” Klavier leaned back against the headboard and exhaled through his nose. “I feel like I'm going to faint.”

“Seriously?” Apollo leaned forward, close to the camera. “Are you all right?”

“I'm... completely overwhelmed. Of all the possible outcomes, this is the one I wanted most.” He swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in the long line of his neck, and Apollo wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and kiss his fears away.

“Maybe you should lie down. Get some sleep. It is, after all,” Apollo peered at the clock, “4.23 am in Los Angeles right now. Why didn't you sleep earlier?”

“I couldn't. I was so worried.” He made a gesture, and Vongole leapt down to her own doggy bed on the floor. Klavier laid down and put the laptop on the pillow next to him.

Apollo blinked. “You really thought that I would say no?”

“I didn't know. Trucy and Athena both told me that you liked me, but all I could think about was that you were only ever annoyed by my flirting.”

Was the famous rock star's self-esteem really that bad? “Because you only ever flirted and never followed through, you great idiot!”

“Oh! Oh...” The blond blushed. “Um... would you like to know a secret?”

“Go on...”

“I... don't really know how to start a romantic relationship. I've had... far fewer relationships than people think.”

“Klavier!” Apollo sounded exasperated and affectionate at the same time, if such a thing were possible. “You just... ask. Use your words, that big bilingual vocabulary of yours. Say ‘Would you like to go out with me, on a date? A romantic one that is.’ Just to make it clear that you don't mean a friend date or a work date. And then you wait for a reply.”

“Ach.” The famous rock star ran his hands through his hair, awkwardly. Apparently his self-esteem really was that bad. He was pink with embarrassment when he finally blurted out, “Well, would you like to go out with me on a romantic date when I visit you in Khura'in?”

“Klavier, I would like to go out with you on many romantic dates. As many as we can find time for. ...Wait, were you serious about wanting to record an album abroad?”

Klavier gave an enigmatic smile, and gazed lovingly into his new boyfriend's eyes. “Deadly.” The seductiveness of his tone was marred by the huge yawn he gave afterwards.

“Huh.” Apollo shook his head. “...I still can't believe you wrote a song about me.”

Klavier beamed. “Schatz, I have written many songs about you.” Then he gave a yawn so wide that Apollo was concerned he might dislocate his jaw. Why was he suddenly looking anxious again? “Um... ah, this might be too early, but... Ich liebe dich.”

Apollo grinned, leaning back and crossing his arms. “I know. I love you too.”

The beautiful man at the other end of the call looked stunned. “You... love me? You love me?”

“Yes and yes. How exactly do you have such a big ego and yet so little self-esteem?” Klavier simply shook his head and shrugged. His new boyfriend smiled. “Go to sleep, you big silly. We can talk tomorrow.”

“Ja, ja, okay.” He stretched out a hand and ended the call.

The next day, there was a new post on Klavier Gavin Official social media:

Meine Lieblinge,

Those of you who guessed that my new song “Love Confession No. 1” is about Apollo Justice were absolutely richtig! I confessed my love to him last night and he told me he feels the same!

Ich liebe meinen Schatz!

Vielen Dank for all of your support, it means a lot to me.

- Klavier Gavin.

The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts at number one and stayed there for three weeks.