The Meeting

[madimpossibledreamer]

One big reason that I really tend to not like Soulmate!AUs is that it messes with consent, just a little, but I read a Dresden Files one where it was mostly just a mental connection and what the two did with it was up to them and I thought that was fun. I’ve also read more in various stuff where it’s just ‘these two have chemistry. Romantic chemistry? It’s up to the person’ and I like that a lot more.
The documents mentioned later basically are a declaration of potential conflict of interest, and, like in Turnabout Histories (though it has yet to be mentioned) add a light surface telepathic scan by the Court Telepaths (basically just confirming that there’s no collusion going on). (If telepathy was more controllable, they’d probably just use that instead of a court, but it’s pretty rare and difficult to control.)

Main Points:
Ace Attorney Soulmate AU
Chapter Summary: Klavier tries to act suave and cool and fails badly.
Word Count: 1761
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Even being able to read Klavier's mind, Apollo still doesn't take Klavier's crush seriously...
Spoilers: Case 1 spoilers (+ takes place in the beginning of Case 2)
I used some German I know + the infamous Google Translate + me making a new German compound word for Linked Person for fun

       Apollo is busy panicking about how the hell Kristoph is out of his cell and why the hell he’s wearing those flashy clothes, those are, like, the opposite of undercover if he doesn’t want to be recognized, what the hell, when the man leans forward, flirtatious smile on his lips, an expression that Kristoph would never, ever make, and their eyes meet.
       The jolt through his mental Link is just as over-the-top as the man who looks exactly like Kristoph reels back, as if struck, and it’s impossible to tell if the “Ach! Mein Gott. Nein nein nein,” is something that his Linked is saying out loud or just in his head.
       “Breathe,” he says helpfully, and adds in his Link, “Seriously, breathe. The last thing we need is another dead body in the park.”
       The breathless hiccup was meant to be a little more of a chuckle; ‘Pianoman’ usually seems to like his dark sense of humor, but from the feel of things he’s more than a little hysterical and deep into a panic attack at the moment.
       Trucy, meanwhile, is spending way too long looking between the both of them, and it’s pretty clear the moment she figures out what’s going on because the squeal is pretty loud, even for him. “Polly, he’s your—”
       “Objection!” he yells. It’s been a bit since he’s been able to do that, and it feels pretty good. “Not another word. This isn’t the time.” With that, he turns toward the officer, who with the realization suddenly looks very unsure and intimidated. It’s not often that Apollo can pull that off, but it’s nice someone’s taking him seriously, especially right now. “If you breathe a word of this to the press before he’s ready, I really am a lawyer and I’m not afraid to sue.”
       The man still looks terrified but indignant. “Prosecutor Gavin’s one of the good ones. I wouldn’t do that!”
       He catches just the hint of it’s not the first time and puts two and two together—apparently Klavier’s had a panic attack in front of this particular officer before and it’s been perfectly fine.
       “Oh. Uh.” He deflates a little, antenna drooping, because the adrenaline’s run out now. “Thanks. Sorry for assuming.”
       “No, it’s—” The man swallows and puffs out his chest, trying to look the picture-perfect professional. “It’s a fair assumption, sir! But, uh…I’ll go…keep the street clear.” He practically runs away, but from the slightly amused acceptance from his Linked he doesn’t need to worry about that front; the man will do his job.
       Now comes the hard part. It’ll be considerably easier than it would be for anyone else, given that he’s known this man since they were teens, but it’s still a lot harder now that he knows Pianoman really is kind of pretty in person, not just in his head. Prettier than his brother, though that just might be an approachability thing.
       The first verbally audible thing he hears is “Kristoph?” and while it’s got no context, given that the thoughts coming across the Link are mostly German swear words and the mumbling isn’t very understandable, he doesn’t really need any context to know what the man meant.
       He swallows. He’d been mostly thinking about how it affected him, the fact that he no longer had a job and was probably blacklisted from most of the Law Offices around. Hell, Grossberg wouldn’t take him. Maybe the man was just scandal-shy, but still, the man’s standards seemed impossibly low. He’d been focused on what it meant when his judgment had just…failed him like that. “I—I’m not going to apologize. I have to go where the evidence leads. You know that.” Still, he feels awful, because he’d known Pianoman’s week had sucked, but he didn’t stop to think for a second he might be the cause. Even if it hadn’t been his Linked, he should’ve paused for a moment to consider that Kristoph probably had some family. It’s just—he never talks about it, Kristoph didn’t either, he’d just…assumed it was for the same reasons. He’s making a lot of assumptions lately.
       “The evidence was forged,” the blond insists, trying desperately to cling onto what he thought was the truth, and Apollo sighs. He kind of wants to give Pianoman a hug. He’s known him just about as long as Clay, so it wouldn’t be weird…right?
       “Recreations are permissible, but believe me, I did get chewed out for not presenting it properly. I’m just lucky I didn’t lose my badge, though considering that practically nobody wants to hire me, I might as well have.” He pauses, then adds because he knows it’ll make his Linked smile, “…And I did punch Mr. Wright for that stunt.”
       The slight smile is like the sun poking through the clouds on a windy day, but it’s good to see anyway, even if it is brief.
       “Und yet, you still think he is guilty.” Pianoman—Mr. Gavin starts pacing frantically. Sure, maybe he could be asking about Mr. Wright, but it’s pretty clear who the blond’s actually concerned about.
       “Yeah, I mean…” He thinks back to everything Pianoman had said about his brother, and it all slots into place quite neatly. “It was a combination of the evidence and how he was acting.”
       “Scheiß,” he swears faintly, starting a little as Apollo snags his hand on his next pass. “I…I have been trying to convince myself that there has been some…some Fehler, und once it was corrected all would again be right with the world, but if you’re convinced…”
       That’s sweet. Because the man’s seen how seriously he takes trials, knows that he doesn’t have some kind of weird anti-Gavin agenda, and probably felt how conflicted and angry he was about everything in that trial. Even if they’ve probably both been trying to block a lot of stuff out this week to avoid burdening each other. Though if he’s being realistic, it’s mostly that Pianoman can read his mind and not his brother’s, so it’s not like he can hide any hidden agenda.
       “Look, we’ll figure this out, right? And if nothing else, you’re a lot stronger than you look.” He’s had direct proof of that, even if he doesn’t know of the specifics. The amount his Linked has accomplished over the years through determination, hard work, and not an inconsiderable amount of charisma? He’s had front-row tickets for that. The thought suddenly occurs to him. “Oh, uh. Yeah. I’m Apollo Justice.”
       Mr. Gavin groans and puts his head in his free hand. “Ja. I could not have missed it. The papers said as much. …It’s Klavier, as I know you pay no attention to meine Musik.”
       …Oh. That explains why Klavier kept singing those stupid Gavineers songs. He was working on them, or practicing. Who knew that the name was from, well, Klavier’s name, and that he’d started to work for the guy’s brother. Coincidences are weird. “…I still think the lyrics are more pop than rock.”
       “Pop-rock is a genre, you know, Verknüpftermensch.” He’s vaguely amused, even if he’s still looking a little faint.
       “I’ll work on the paperwork, considering we’ll probably be facing each other in court tomorrow.” He’d only vaguely paid attention to the Declaration of Linked Status documents, considering he’d thought they were in completely different countries, but he’s pretty sure he can pick that up along with the attorney documents at the courthouse.
       “Ach, please don’t mention paperwork.” He has general issues dealing with the less flashy aspects of his job when he’s feeling overwhelmed, Apollo knows.
       “I’ll talk you through it,” he reassures the man, before deciding to tease a little. “I knew you were a lot dorkier than cool.”
       “Und here I had a good line and everything!” Klavier laments, taking his hand away from his face to fiddle with one of his bangs. He’s gotten to ‘nervous’, ‘uncertain’, ‘slightly hopeful’, and ‘putting off the rest of this panic attack until later when he’s not in public’. “I’d love to help you investigate, aber the Fraulein Detective is here today, und she loathes my existence. She certainly won’t wish to help you, if she knows of our connection.”
       “You’d help us?” Trucy finally rejoins the conversation, and Apollo blinks, completely having forgotten she was here.
       Klavier flashes the million-watt smile, though it’s more real, more honest, than the one he’d tried to use before. “Of course. Herr Justice can tell you, my win record doesn’t concern me, only the truth. If I want awards, I have meine Band for that.”
       He hadn’t been just…saying things to impress Apollo about the songs going platinum, then. He’d love to just write the man off as having a big head, except he’s seen how much Klavier struggles, how much he genuinely cares about his fans and feels upset about ‘letting them down’ and how much effort he puts into being a prosecutor. He just…tries to make it look easy. It might even work if he didn’t get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek, as it were.
       “Yeah, yeah.” Apollo waves that off. He’s not just going to parade around Klavier’s innermost thoughts and feelings just to prove a point to Trucy. “Whatever you did to tick her off, try to stop, for the sake of my sanity at least. I’ll contact you later to walk you through the paperwork. And, uh…see you in court later, I guess?”
       “So bossy, Herr Justice,” Klavier teases back. He sounds vaguely delighted.
       “You can stop at any time, you know.” He’s beginning to see why a police officer might be annoyed.
       “I didn’t say I minded,” he continues, voice dropping a little deeper, and letting out a musical laugh as he retreats.
       Stop flirting with me just to run away from your problems, Klavier, he thinks extra loudly in the man's direction before letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
       “Sorry about basically telling you to shut up, Trucy, it’s just…” He lets out a deep breath. “He never says it, but he doesn’t really get the opportunity to protect his own privacy, and it means a lot to him. Though I should probably let your dad know. I’m not sure he’d be too happy about all this. But I should at least investigate the crime scene.”
       She eyes him for a moment before brightening. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Polly. Let’s go investigate a murder!”
       Crime scene, here comes Justice!...no, Klavier, I didn’t claim to ‘actually be cool’ either, you can stop snickering any time now.