The Worst Kind of Outtakes- Ace Attorney (Klavier x Apollo)

[Flufferdust]

Okay I know anyone who reads this and also read HachimitsuTea's Klapollo might think I'm stealing her requests but Tea and I are actually best friends and this is something I wrote for her for Christmas. She was kind enough to give me permission to post it since some people had been requesting something with her/our headcanon of Klavier's photic sensitivity to stage lights. 

The Worst Kind of Outtakes 

Characters/Pairing: Klapollo, Trucy

Words: 3508

 

“I found you in a stunning dress, I held you
You put down your glass and looked me in the eyes,” Apollo sung softly under his breath as he lowered himself back into desk chair and straightened his folder. ““Where should we go now? Just you and me...””

“But I can’t… I’m on my way to court!”

Apollo squawked, pushing himself away for his desk as Trucy slammed her hands on it with a huge grin.

“Guilty Love, was it? I thought you didn't like Prosecutor Gavin's songs.”

“I don't,” Apollo grumbled. “But it's not my fault they're stupidly catchy.”

Trucy lifted herself back off his desk, crossing her arms and tapping her chin lightly.

“I wonder what Prosecutor would say if he heard you.” Her eyes lowered, her smile even more mischievous now. “Maybe I should try telling him at lunch.”

Apollo's cheeks darkened as he clenched his fists under his desk and tried not to give Trucy the reaction she so desperately craved.

“What lunch? Pretty sure he only invited me out for lunch.”

Trucy immediately stuck out her lower lip.

“What? No fair! You can't just leave me at the office alone! I'm underage!”

Apollo rolled his eyes. “You're 17.”

“Yeah, I'm a minor!”

“Puh-lease,” he muttered, moving his stack of folders aside and adjusting the handkerchief that he used mostly to hide the small stack of manga at the corner of his desk. “Your dad leaves you at home all the time.”

“I feel like your just grasping at straws so I can't tag along with you on your date.”

Apollo slammed a fist on his desk. “When we first met, alone.”

Trucy hummed. “He was in the hospital.”

“We were alone in that office more than he was around.”

Trucy smiled. “We.”

The defense attorney swallowed, trying his best to remember another instance that he'd found her in the office alone. He knew there were more instances than he could possibly count, but now that he was expected to present them all, his distracted mind was pulling up blanks.

Trucy shrugged, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I have to go to the theater to get some props I forgot yesterday. If you're not still here when I get back, I'll meet you at Westside Warios.”

She tilted her head and poked her tongue out teasingly at Apollo, whose jaw dropped.

“I overhead you and Prosecutor Gavin talking about pizza, and there's only one sit-down pizza place worth its salt around here.”

Apollo groaned as she closed the door with a cheeky wave. He wasn't going to have any choice in the matter.

He brushed the remaining specs of dust off of the center of his desk, the newfound silence drawing that damn song out of him again. Unfortunately, he didn't remember much besides the beginning. It was a catchy tune, and he could hum it like no one's business, but remembering the complicated, fast lyrics proved to be much more of a challenge for him.

“Turn the wheel left at the corner… and there it is. Your honor! So… let's…”

He sighed, leaning against the palm of his hand as he tried to remember the words. He tapped his finger on the wooden desk to the beat before his eyes suddenly caught on Phoenix's computer through the window of his office. Surely, that song would be on Newtube, right?

He glanced around the office cautiously, standing and slowly walking to his boss's door before turning the handle.

Both Phoenix and Athena were out on a case near Kurain Village, so there was no way that either were due back home for at least another day or two. When given the opportunity to stay in Kurain, Phoenix more often than not welcomed a small vacation to stay with his friends and from what he'd heard, Prosecutor Blackquill was prosecuting, which meant that Athena would likely be staying there as well.

He carefully lowered himself in Phoenix's large office chair, moving the mouse gently as the login screen popped up and asked for a password.

Apollo and Athena had helped him set one up, insisting that the head attorney at a law office shouldn't have a computer completely open to anyone who by chance could get inside.

He typed “P-T-A-A”, the password that they'd come up with that was easy enough for Phoenix to remember. The first initial of everyone in the office, in order of their joining the agency.

When the main screen opened, he right clicked on the internet icon and opened a private window. Mr. Wright was still a beginner when it came to using the internet and most technology in general, but he still didn't want to chance having a search history pop up. If everyone in the office found out that he was interested, even a little, in Gavinners music, he wouldn't be able to live it down. Athena and Trucy especially wouldn't let it go for as long as humanly possible.

He pulled up the webpage for Newtube, typing “Gavinners” into the search bar and letting his jaw drop at the results.

 

“Gavinners- Gunna lock u up (Official Video)”

 

“Tonight's Entertainment Klavier Gavin and Daryan Crescend Tell-All interview!”

 

“Guilty Love, full song (with lyrics!)”

 

Apollo tentatively clicked on the last one, his eyes lighting up as the familiar tune echoed through the computers speakers and filled the silent office up with sound. He felt his stomach twist with excitement, almost like it had when he had heard it the very first time in concert. He mouthed the words along with the video, a little self conscious after being caught by Trucy earlier and when the song ended, he felt like he remembered a lot more than he had previously.

He returned to the main page, scrolling down the lists of videos. Some were serious, gossip channels with videos about drama between band members, disagreements over song lyrics, and more videos than he could count about Daryan's arrest and how bleak the future looked for the Gavinners in general.

Beneath those, he found sillier videos like one that claimed to be every single time Klavier had shouted “Achtung, Baby!” during a concert.

He opted to watching that one, over something more depressing, and found a smile forming almost immediately. He wondered if the person who made the video found it half as obnoxious as he did.

It lasted for almost 4 minutes and by the end, he found himself scrolling through the sidebar at more options.

One more video became five more, and before he knew it, Apollo had watched at least forty minutes of Tonight's Entertainment videos, three lyric videos, and a few random compilations of more “Achtung, Baby!”, “Ach”'s, and one of how many times he mentioned song titles during those interviews.

He glanced at the clock in the corner, noticing that it was around the time when Klavier would be stopping by to pick him up for lunch. He definitely didn't want to get caught watching Newtube videos by the one starring in every single one, so he went to exit out of the window when he noticed the next video in the playlist.

“Klavier Gavin Sneeze Compilation- ALL CONCERTS THROUGH FEB 2028”

Apollo swallowed thickly, immediately letting the mouse hover over it as he felt his cheeks heat up. He was alone and the video was only two and a half minutes long, so it's not like he would get caught…

He took in a deep breath, pressing play as a opening credit page panned across, repeating the title and the username of the uploader.

He'd always secretly been attracted to Prosecutor Gavin's sneezes, the few that he had managed to see during cases, but he'd never even thought about the fact that he might have done them during his tours. Or better yet, that there would even be so much footage of it.

Apollo rested his cheek against his palm as the first clip started. Of course, he couldn't recognize where in the world the concert was but it was incredibly blurry footage. Too much cheering for the actual sneeze to be heard and a fuzzy image of Klavier turning away from the mic and bending at the waist.

He huffed, waiting for the next one only to find that it wasn't much better. Screaming, cheering, a scattered “Bless you!” but none of the audio Apollo had really been hoping for.

“Of course…” he muttered under his breath, clicking the timeline to skip further into the video. The loading circle whirled for a few moments before revealing a crystal clear image of Klavier seated on a comfortable looking sofa that looked like the same one Apollo had seen in the post-concert interviews.

A lady spoke in a soft, somewhat garbled voice as Apollo's heart thumped at Klavier's hazy expression, about as focused on her words as he had been in that moment. The prosecutor twirled his hair absentmindedly, his lips parting and quivering expectantly as his nose crinkled.

“Hah'TSch!! Huh-Uhh'tschh! Hat'chh!”

Apollo gulped.

“Bless you!” The interviewer replied with a smile.

Klavier sniffled, recovering quickly behind his hand before he pushed his hair out of his face with a chuckle.

“Ach, It seems no matter how long I do this, I'll never get used to those lights…”

Apollo leaned closer to the screen, hopefully for another when Klavier's eyelids fluttered again.

Unfortunately, the woman seemed to distract him out of it before it could really flourish.

“Speaking of not getting used to things, how do you feel about Daryan's latest outburst?”

Klavier sighed, and the clip changed to another, this one a video of Klavier seated on a stool on stage, his acoustic guitar across his lap as he did during the softer covers at his more recent concerts.

From what Apollo could tell, especially from the previous clip, the lights were posing yet another problem. Klavier tried his best to look down and also make eye contact with the audience that was singing along with him to “My boyfriend is the Prosecution's witness.” He suddenly, lowered his head, clenching his teeth and jolting before hitting a few sour chords.

“Tschh! T'tschhh!”

“God bless you! Gesundheit! Bless you!” Came the louder calls from the audience.

Klavier sniffled once again, lifting the mic back up to his lips before smiling awkwardly.

“Thank you. Now let's focus on the noise you actually paid to hear, ja?”

The clip faded into another muffled concerned scene and Apollo grumbled before leaning close once again. He'd figured all of the poor quality ones were at the beginning that he'd skipped through, but…

“Apollo?”

Apollo dove over the keyboard, slamming it frantically to try and pause the video as a muffled “Hahh'ischh!” echoed through Phoenix's office.

Finally, the video froze and Apollo threw himself back in the chair, crossing his arms immediately to find Trucy beaming from her spot in the doorway.

“I was right, you are a closeted Gavinners fan!” She cried excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Apollo didn't know what to say. A refusal sounded too cliché and she wasn't likely to believe him after all, but… he swallowed. Maybe she hadn't really been paying attention to the video that had been on the screen seconds before.

“There's this thing called knocking, Trucy,” Apollo griped. “You really ought to check it out sometime.”

Trucy tapped her chin, her smile ever-present as she hummed teasingly.

“See, that's a no-can-do for magicians. We kinda rely on the element of surprise.”

When Apollo grumbled something and turned off the monitor, Trucy let out another amused hum.

“Anyway,” she chirped. “Prosecutor Gavin has been waiting outside in his car for a few minutes now. He was parked out front when I got back, and he sent me in to get you.”

Apollo's heart thudded in his chest. Here? Now?

His eyes darted over to the clock on the wall, only to find that it was already five minutes past 2pm.

He pushed himself away from his boss's desk, hoping the redness in his cheeks had at least begun to disappear by now.

Klavier had greeted him with a smile when he got to the car and slid into the front seat. The moment they actually made eye contact, though, Apollo felt as though his tongue had completely dried up. He felt… bad. Or at least more embarrassed than he expected that he might.

Of course Klavier was probably aware of all of the videos about him on the internet, and Apollo knew he wasn't modest enough to keep his wandering eyes off of them. But the content… wasn't what would normally come up in a Gavinners video search. He instead sat silence and looked out of the window at the passing buildings as Trucy excitedly discussed her new stage show and the entertainment business with Klavier for the rest of the drive to the restaurant.

“So, you've been awfully quiet since I picked you up,” Klavier said once they had settled down at the table and the pizza had been placed before them.

Apollo, who had been zoning out, gazing at one of the wall sconces blinked.

“I'll say!” Trucy said before taking a sip of her soda. “He's been like that all day, Prosecutor Gavin. Ever since I heard him singing this morning.”

Klavier smiled, amused. “Singing? Here Forehead? I find that hard to believe.”

Trucy giggled. “He was, he was singing Guil-”

“What does it matter what I was singing?” Apollo demanded suddenly, slamming his fist harder on the table than he'd expected. The silverware rattled and both Trucy and Klavier seemed surprised.

“Oh, Come now, Herr Forehead…” Klavier said smoothly. “I'd love to hear how you were putting those Chords of Steel to use.”

Trucy grinned slyly before announcing “I caught Polly watching Gavinners videos on Newtube.”

If Apollo had thought he would be able to steer the conversation in a different direction, there was certainly no hope now. He could feel the beads of sweat forming on his hairline, running down his back and the heat gathering at his cheeks.

“Ach, now you have to fess up!” Klavier said, his face brighter than a Christmas tree as he inched closer. “What video? My solo from my famed concert in Belgium? Did you need a special encore of my performance at Themis Legal Academy? You owe me the title, at the very least!”

“Klavier Gavin Sneeze Compilation- ALL CONCERTS THROUGH FEB 2028,” Trucy recited perfectly. “I had no idea you sneezed so many times during concerts, Prosecutor Gavin.”

And with that, she took a large bite of her slice of pizza, pulling back with an impressive cheese pull that would've warranted some attention if both men hadn't grown silent at the turn the conversation had taken.

Apollo wanted to disappear into the checkered tile floor, and Klavier didn't look like he was too far behind. But there was no way they could just say… nothing.

“I see,” Klavier replied smoothly. “That's a shame, that certainly isn't my… fondest video on the platform.”

Apollo didn't know what to say. He couldn't possibly find the right words to convey his thoughts, or his embarrassment, in public like this.

“I… It was a mistake,” he muttered.

“You know I have my own channel, right? With quality videos of my performances that don't include bloopers?”

Trucy seemed not to be paying attention to either of them anymore, chewing away at her slice and Apollo nodded, starting to pick at his own.

Klavier smiled. “I suppose that's talk for another day, ja? Let's eat our lunch.”

 

****

 

The rest of lunch had been incredibly awkward, and even though Apollo had recently really started looking forward to his outings with Klavier. This one just seemed to put a huge block on what they had begun to develop and Apollo couldn't help but feel awful about it. The drive to drop Trucy off back at the theater was almost as quiet as it had been to Westside Wario's, with Trucy keeping a steady conversation with Klavier, who humored it to the best of his ability.

As soon as she left the vehicle, Apollo found the silence almost too much to bear.

“I'm sorry, Klavier,” he said, resisting the urge to mutter it. He really was apologetic for his actions, especially at the way it had come out.

Klavier laughed, beautiful as ever, and pushed his bangs out of his face as he rested a hand on the steering wheel and started down the street to his flat. “Don't be, you can't be Fraulein Wright's muzzle at all times! I'm just touched you were watching one of my videos at all.”

His smile faltered, only a little, and Apollo felt his stomach twist.

“I just wish it had been something that hadn't been caught on a candid camera…” he cleared his throat, and Apollo wondered if he remembered that interview. “... Mostly.”

As they pulled into the parking garage and headed for the stairs, Apollo lowered his head.

“I-If I tell you something, you have to promise you won't make fun of me. Or I'll walk home.”

Klavier's smile tried to be mischievous, but was genuine. “Das verspreche ich, I promise.”

Apollo cleared his throat as he followed the prosecutor into the door to his apartment and shut it behind them.

“I… I was interested by the compilation video.”

He lowered his head shamefully, his cheeks burning.

“And normally, I wouldn't even want to admit that to you, but you're right. It was candid footage and it was wrong of me to watch something like that about someone I know behind their back.”

“Interested?” Klavier asked, his eyes widening.

“You know what I mean, Gavin,” Apollo snapped.

Klavier lowered his keys into a bowl on the table near the door and lowered himself onto the couch as the defense attorney did the same.

“I admit I was a little embarrassed,” Klavier said calmly, his voice serious now. “It truly isn't the most flattering video of me in existence, and I'm rather self conscious about my sneezing. I have been long before devoted fans of mine decided to make those compilations for their enjoyment.”

Apollo swallowed. He felt gross.

“But you, Herr Forehead,” he continued. “You're different. I didn't know you had this…”

He swallowed as well, trying to find the right word so not as to bother Apollo and send everything spiraling.

“Fascination. But I would prefer that you come to me if there was something you would like to see me do, rather than watching blurry videos taken by some stranger.”

Apollo lifted his head, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Was Klavier offering to induce for him, in some weird way? He could feel his heart thumping in his chest in the low-lit living room. This felt almost surreal.

“I hope you'll keep this between us, ja?” Klavier murmured with the beginnings of a smile as he reached up for the lamp nearby and wrapped his fingers around the cord.

“As much as I adore Fraulein Wright, I can only handle so much of her teasing a sensitive subject.”

Apollo nodded, giving another gulp as Klavier closed his eyes, giving the cord a tug before opening them again quickly.

Almost immediately, the bright lights caused him to squint, his eyebrows raising and his nose twitching. He attempted to crinkle it, snapping forward with a sharp “Aa’tshuu! Hae'schuuu! Hap'tschuu!”

 

The spray was illuminated perfectly in the lamplight and Apollo almost couldn't believe how much better they sounded in person in an otherwise silent room.

 

“B-Bless you.”

 

Klavier held up a finger, reaching up into his hair to give it a sharp tug before closing his eyes for a moment.

 

“I…IH'hishhhoo! Uhhh'tsCHoo!”

He sniffled, rubbing his nose before opening his eyes to find Apollo next to him.

Klavier's stomach felt queasy from the stunned expression, not entirely sure if he'd managed to make everything better or worse for himself.

“W-What do you think?” He muttered.

Apollo reached for the box of tissues nearby, placing it on the Prosecutor's lap.

“I think… everyone who watches that compilation video is missing out.”

Klavier couldn't help but burst into laughter as he suddenly reached for Apollo's cheeks and pulled him close, planting one on him immediately. The smaller, blushing man was so cute in his current state, he just couldn't help it, and to his surprise, it was returned.

“T-thanks, for… uh… all that.”

Klavier grinned. “Our secret.”

He lifted the tissue to his nose, giving a blow when suddenly he froze.

“Ach, Herr Forehead, you never did tell me what song you were singing this morning.”

Apollo frowned, his eyebrows furrowing and Klavier laughed.

“Alright, Alright, I understand. Enough secrets for today. But someday, if you decide to tell me, I can always perform it for you live.”

Apollo rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as Klavier let his own eyes shut in amusement.

“We’ll see. If you can pry it out of me.”

[Guest]

I loved this too much, I swear! I also love the headcanon of Klavier being a photic sneezer, it's pretty interesting. I really enjoyed the part were Klavier induced his sneezes for Apollo, and then him being embarrassed about it, so cuteee!

This was such an enjoyable read overall, and a cute idea too!

(I'd love to watch that compilation video too, lol)

[LeapYearKisses]

Oohohoh, I was so excited to see this!  You and Hachimitsu's photic headcanon is one of my favorites and I loved this!  Looking at the kind of content we all post here, I absolutely think there's be a compilation video for Klavier (I wish), and what an absolutely cute scenario for Apollo to have found it.  At the same time, I think you handled the general awkwardness of it very well.  And that last scene... so nice, so very nice.  Thank you for sharing this!