Chapter Text
Testifying in court was possibly the most terrifying thing that Klavier Gavin has ever done. He could barely deal with constantly being asked questions, having to dig deep into his own memories, with feeling the eyes of the judge boring holes into his skull.
He absolutely couldn’t deal with coming to the slow and terrible realization that his best friend, who sat on the roof of their apartment building and watched the first sunrise of the new year with him, who would try to pet every stray cat he came across, who passed him notes in school with lame jokes to cheer him up when he was exhausted and stressed, had killed someone. Daryan, Klavier’s best friend since childhood, had looked a man dead in the eyes as he pulled the trigger on a gun and shot him in the shoulder, killing him.
It took him longer than he’d like to admit to realize this, actually. It had only really sunk in once the verdict had been delivered, and Daryan was being dragged away. And if Klavier had cried a little, he was sure that he hid it very well. Once he was finally out of the labyrinth of reporters trying to get the story of the trial out of him, in his own home with the door locked behind him and curtains drawn shut, was when Klavier allowed himself to really, truly, cry. And it was here, alone on his couch, in the silence of his empty house, with tears streaming down his face and completely ruining his makeup, where he realised something else.
The band- his band - was completely doomed. He had overheard his other bandmates discussing leaving, and after what had happened, Klavier wasn’t too enthusiastic about the idea of picking up his guitar again either. Not to mention the absolute PR nightmare this was going to cause. It wasn’t enough that he had to lose his best friend, or at least someone he thought was his best friend for 10 whole years, he had to lose his band, his career, too.
Klavier spent the next hour trying (and failing) to compose himself, until suddenly a text arrived from one of the other members of the Gavinners, their drummer. They were quitting.
Having it confirmed, with one text no less, was the last straw. Klavier needed to get out of here or he was going to drive himself crazy. A vacation might do him good, he thought, a getaway from his life that was currently unraveling like a sweater with a loose thread. He quickly got to work packing bags, trying not to think too hard about the future other than which outfits he would want to bring.
A few hours later, Klavier stood outside the airport with two full-to-bursting suitcases and a ticket for a flight to the airport nearest to Dandelion Grove saved on his phone, which he was using to send off a quick text to his brother informing him of where he would be. After hitting send, Klavier sighed and walked through the automatic glass doors, steeling himself for a night taken up by travel.
—
Klavier felt lucky that he had texted his brother when, as the sun began to rise above the horizon and he stepped inside his new rental car, he lost signal completely. Although he was sure he'd regain it at some point in the next few days, it was comforting to know that at least one person he trusted was aware of his whereabouts. (Although at this point, it felt like his brother was the only person he trusted.)
With a paper map he'd purchased in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, Klavier set off. It wasn't the safest setup, but with the lack of his phone’s GPS it would have to do. Within 10 minutes outside the airport, however, the roads had already become nearly empty. The buildings began to turn into small houses, then trees.
Families of deer and birds relaxed near the road, and Klavier mentally apologized for scaring them off as he drove past with his headlights on. A couple of times his motorcycle, attached to the rental car via a hitch carrier, banged against it with a sound that made him cringe. The combined fees of sending it over as cargo, the hitch carrier for the rental car, and the car’s potential damage, made him wonder if bringing it with him was worth it.
By the time he arrived in town, the trees had become so dense he could barely see beyond the road. Dandelion Grove, helpfully denoted by a hand-painted sign, stood carved into the forest in a perfectly circular shape. It looked just like how Klavier remembered it from all those years ago. After checking, he had conveniently found that he now had ownership of his grandparents’ old house, which was on the outskirts of town. He kept a mental image of the home at the forefront of his mind as he drove down roads paved with dirt and cobblestone. Eventually, he reached his grandparents’ house, where he would be staying for the next month.
It was… to put it nicely, not how he remembered it at all.
The home that stood in his memories was a beautiful estate near the dense forest, where he and his brother would spend all day exploring, whether it was through the grand yard and gardens or the forest beyond. Now, well.. the entire property looked like it had been absorbed by the forest beyond, the gardens completely overgrown and ivy crawling up the house’s outer walls. As he walked up the path to the home, dodging weeds that had sprouted up through the cracks in the stone, he took note of how short the path was. As a child, his grandparents’ front yard felt enormous, and the walk up to the front door never-ending. Now, he stood facing the door, feeling almost too big . Like he had outgrown this place somehow.
He shook his head to clear his mind. That’s just a silly thing to think about a house. He grabbed onto the door handle, prepared for whatever he might find inside, turned it, and yanked.
And the handle broke free from the door, ripping a piece off with it.
Klavier simply stood there, the doorknob raining wood splinters in his hand. That was bad, right? He didn’t know much about home design and definitely not much about doors, but if the overgrown yard wasn’t a bad sign for what was to come, this definitely was. As the door no longer had a latch, it began to slowly creak open, where Klavier could fully assess the damage inside.
Yeah, no. He was not staying here.
The paint on the walls had begun to flake off onto the floor, where bugs and rodents had taken up residence. They already had a source of water and food, as there were puddles dotting the floor and vines growing in through an open window. It looked like absolutely no one had taken care of it since his grandparents had passed away, which considering that the death of his parents had apparently meant it was his job, made sense.
He didn’t even want to try going inside. He set the handle down inside the doorway, and then slowly backed away before turning around and speedwalking back to his car. It was still very early, however, so the issue of his residence could be solved later. For now, he could take a look around town. He took his motorcycle down, deciding to take it for a spin instead, and sighed with relief after seeing a lack of dents in the car. The thumping had made him quite nervous.
He took off slowly, confident in his abilities to drive it at this speed. In the light of the mid-morning, the town honestly looked beautiful. Stores were beginning to open up for business and people were beginning to leave their homes. He noticed that many of these people had their eyes trained on him, some even making confused or suspicious expressions. While it made sense to him that people would recognize him, it did bring a sense of melancholy. He had come to Dandelion Grove to escape, after all. While it was a decision based on impulse, he did have hope that it could have helped… fix things for him, or something.
As he continued to drive, he noticed that he was coming up on a small circular park, with winding paths leading to a pond in the center. Many people and animals alike were using it as a place to relax, and he allowed his motorcycle to come to a stop and parked it, intending to do the same. Benches were dotted along the paths, and Klavier ended up taking a seat at one that was close to the pond. It was calm places like this that could rejuvenate his musical spirit, he believed. After a few moments, he was proven to be correct, as he began humming a melody under his breath. The melody slowly evolved until he began to form lyrics in his mind and sing them. They weren’t exactly revolutionary, but it was relaxing to improvise without worrying about turning these creations into something he could sell. It almost felt-
“Hi! You seem like quite the talented singer.”
Klavier whipped his head around so quickly that he immediately felt his neck protesting. However, he was much more interested in this stranger. She was staring at him with wide blue eyes, leaning on her elbows which were propped up on the back of the bench. She fidgeted with the large earring she was wearing, seemingly unbothered by Klavier’s shock and simply waiting for his response, which he quickly composed himself to give.
“Well thank you, fräulein. Do you dabble in singing yourself?” He put on a friendly grin as he spoke.
“A little, but more importantly, I’m the CEO of a little talent agency that I think you might have some interest in,” she said it in a sing-songy tone, raising her already high pitched voice even higher.
While Klavier really didn’t want to be judgemental, he found it a bit hard to believe that this girl ran a talent agency. He’d had his fair share of experience with those, and they were never ran by girls who looked like they couldn’t even legally drive yet. To run a company, one generally needed to be out of high school. However, he wasn’t exactly keen to crush this girl’s dreams by rejecting her offer. He had enough time on his hands now for whatever adventures he might find himself in by agreeing, anyway.
He nodded. “And what might joining your talent agency entail for me?”
At this, her eyes widened and she even flinched back a little. It was clear that no one had actually taken her up on her offer before. “Well! We’re a bit low on numbers at the moment, but we DO have a headquarters. Let’s go! I can hook you up with a gig.” Before Klavier could say anything, she had grabbed his hand in hers and was dragging him away, presumably to this headquarters of hers.
After a few minutes, the two of them stopped in front of a building labeled the “Wright and Co. Legal Agency”. Not exactly a talent agency, but that was to be expected. Like most of the other buildings in Dandelion Grove, it looked a bit old, vines making their home on the gray stone exterior. It was also somewhat tall, and atop the legal agency three more floors sat, seemingly for residences. The girl pushed open the door to the first floor, still gripping Klavier’s hand.
“Daddy! Polly!” She called out enthusiastically. “Look what I found! The Wright Anything Agency has some new talent on its hands!”
As she spoke, two people began to approach, presumably this girl's father and “Polly”. Immediately, Klavier noticed that they were both dressed quite informally. From Klavier's experience with people in the legal profession, that was quite strange. Every time he visited, his brother’s legal office was always populated by people in expensive-looking suits.
Immediately, the shorter man began to look from the girl to Klavier, then back again, before sighing and crossing his arms. “Trucy, I dunno where you found this guy, but he looks…” he paused, raising an eyebrow. “...crazy.”
Klavier wasn’t sure if this man had been trying to lower his voice, as he had leaned in closer to Trucy, but Klavier had heard every word. He wasn’t exactly sure if he looked crazy. Sure, he did prefer to look just as bright on the street as he did on stage, but the main reason he was used to being picked out in a crowd was because he was… well, Klavier Gavin.
Trucy simply grinned and clasped her hands together, hopping up and down. “Oh, but you should have heard his voice!” She quickly turned back to Klavier. “Come on, sing! A true professional can perform on a moment’s notice!”
Klavier nodded. Luckily for him, he had an entire discography of songs memorized. He opened his mouth and-
“Yeah, you don’t need to do that. Where do you live? I’ll drive you.” The shorter man had cut him off! Rude. Good thing he was adorable, so all was forgiven.
Trucy leaned forward, tilting her head. “With what car?”
“Oh, ugh… I don’t have a boss with a car I can borrow anymore. This is torture.”
The older man, his hands stuffed in the pockets of a grey hoodie, finally spoke up at this. “I do have a bike. You two can bike together.”
“If we’re using separate bikes, why do I even need to be a part of the equation?”
“Nein, you don’t need to worry about this at all. I don’t exactly have a home you could drive me back to.” Klavier twirled a lock of his hair around his finger, looking over everyone with a relaxed expression. This was an easy problem to solve.
At this, the shorter man’s eyes widened and his arms dropped to his sides. “Ah! Uh- sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed?” He said it more like a question than a statement. “We really shouldn’t be bothering you then. The, uh… talent agency doesn’t exactly have the money to pay you to get you a home.”
Trucy grinned smugly. “I have my ways!”
Klavier shook his head. He was not going to allow them to pay him at all. Despite not having a job, he was still fairly well off. Even after paying for a hotel for a month, he’ll probably have enough to last him while he goes searching for a new job. “My apologies. I meant to imply that I simply don’t live here. I’m looking for somewhere to stay for the next month or so right now.”
Nearly immediately after Klavier finished speaking, the older man strode up to him excitedly. “You’re looking for somewhere to stay? Well, have I got the place for you.” He smiled, but it felt almost… ominous. “Just above our office is an empty apartment, and I just happen to own it. How about you rent it for a month? It’ll be a lot cheaper than the hotel here.”
Klavier’s eyebrows shot up. While he wasn’t wont to take an offer like this that seemed much too good to be true, the man was right that a month at a hotel would likely be much more expensive, and these people did seem somewhat genuine. Even if they did end up scamming him, he could just leave and head over to a hotel, pushing this moment out of his mind until it was nothing but a reminder of what he already knew.
So… he nodded. “I’ll take you up on that offer, herr…”
“Wright. Phoenix Wright.” Hm… that name felt familiar, somehow. “Gimme one sec.” With that, he disappeared behind a desk, loudly rummaging through its drawers for a minute before returning with the key.
“Here’s the key. You can get me the money, eh, in the next couple weeks.” Phoenix spoke while dropping the key into Klavier’s open palm. “Here, I’ll show you the place.”
Phoenix led Klavier out of the building, Trucy quickly following behind. The other man awkwardly waved before returning back to the work Klavier had interrupted. They made their way to a glass door next to the entrance to the office, and walked inside. Phoenix led them up the stairs to the third-floor apartment, which Klavier used the key to unlock.
Although the door creaked loudly, the apartment inside was quite nice. A large window stood at the front, with chairs to sit in and look out at the town below. A kitchenette and dining table populated the other end of the large room, and at the very back sat another door. It wasn’t anything special, but somehow, it already felt like home.
Klavier had a feeling that he was going to like it here.