Work Text:
Klavier hasn't been eating lately.
He'd been trying, trying hard, and had even started to get slightly better. Until he fell back into it, the memories started swarming his head again, and before he knew it. — He'd forgotten to eat anything but a protein bar three days ago.
And the day after that.
And yesterday.
Today too.
All that effort, gone to nothing, but he just couldn't seem to get the thoughts out of his mind...
.
Klavier opened the freezer door again, looking left and right as he reached into the fridge door and grabbed the tub of ice cream again, closing it and placing it on the table.
Phew, that went successful.
He then walked over near the sink where the dishes were hung up, grabbing himself a spoon and a cup as his pajamas rustled against his legs. He retrieved them and begun to walk back to the dining table.
...
Only for the spoon to slip and land on the floor with a clang of metal which startled the young boy, he hastily put the cup back on the table and grabbed the tub of ice cream, trying to hide it in a hurry before hearing a lock click. By then, he knew damn well he'd gotten caught.
"𝘐𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯?"
Kristoph's scolding tone spoke behind him, he sighed as his shoulders untensed, opening the freezer to put the tub back as his brother scoffed.
"𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘵𝘵, 𝘒𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
The older blonde sneered, Klavier could just feel the cold gaze on him, and he loathed it.
"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 — 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘨! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩."
Klavier averted his gaze although he wasn't even looking at Kristoph — Since their parents' divorce, he'd been getting into his stress binge-eating habit again. He knew it was unhealthy, he knew he was starting to put on weight again, and Kristoph's words only served to make him more ashamed of himself. Especially the way he spat 'little brother' like it was an obligation for him to say that, not because he wanted to be his elder brother.
He looked down at himself, and immediately started looking at anything else as he walked back to his room. He heard a lock click again. Kristoph had thankfully gone back to his room, but his words and the feelings they brought lingered. That night, Klavier laid back in bed and cried.
Why was he like this? He couldn't tell if that question was directed at Kristoph or himself — No, it couldn't have been Kristoph. Kristoph is the perfect elder sibling, he gets good grades, practices violin. He's responsible, he's handsome, he's thin.. While Klavier is just the family's black sheep and scapegoat. An overweight mistake of a son who has nothing but a passion for the guitar.
Are all the things Kristoph says about him true?
Is he really that fat?
Klavier tries to look at himself in the dressing table mirror that points at his bed in the corner of the room, then breaks down harder. It's a cruel reminder of how he looks, a cruel reminder of how perfect his brother is, and how he'll never get to be like him.
He cries himself to sleep, and wakes up tired, with dark circles under his eyes and a reluctance to eat breakfast.
That was when it all began.
.
It was yet another ordinary court trial for him, himself on the left bench and Apollo across from him. He felt more tired than usual, but as always — would choose to brush it off.
Until he didn't.
"Objection!"
Apollo exclaimed from the right bench, finger pointed upwards in that confident stance he always did when he 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 he saw a contradiction. After then, the sounds, the evidence, the voices were all a blur. Klavier found himself stuck staring at his own, now thin hands. Tan and bony — the look he'd always dreamt of achieving.
He reached his goal, and went far beyond it — he started a band. Made himself a career out of his hobby, and yet, he still feels like it's so insufficient. Yes, Kristoph is now a proven criminal who used forgery in a court of law, and a sybaritic bastard it seems, however, Klavier just can't help but still feel insignificant in comparison to him.
Kristoph had always been the perfect son, and he will continue to be, it seems. Their parents always favored him in everything. He got every award in school, every teacher loved him, and in his own school years. He was never known as 'Klavier', it was either 'Kristoph's little brother' or 'the guitar nerd from class D', and despite having grown out of that life, he still couldn't help feeling like that teenage boy crying in the school bathroom at prom because he didn't have a date while his brother was slow dancing with girls in the middle of a dance hall, probably going to be elected prom king for the umpteenth time.
"Prosecutor Gavin?"
The judge called his title, but he couldn't hear it. Klavier felt the familiar feeling — his head started to throb, every sound that reached his ears started to sound like he was listening to them from underwater. His skin started to grow paler and his vision started to grow blurry. In a hurry to try not to worry anyone, Klavier opened his mouth to speak, to try to object or even request a recess, but nothing came out. Instead, his vision went blank and his knees buckled, and the last thing he heard were several voices calling his name before he fell to the floor with a dull thud.
...
"Klavier?"
Huh...?
"Klavier?"
The voice repeated, and his eyes finally cracked open. He wasn't in a courtroom anymore, rather a more homely atmosphere, one he recognized as Apollo's apartment, laying on a texture he identified as the attorney's leather couch, along wirh some sort of soft thing over his body from the chest down, presumably a blanket. Klavier positioned his elbow against the couch and pushed himself upwards. Feeling a dull ache in his biceps from the effort.
Apollo was sitting on the couch across from him, looking at him with a solemn, slightly scolding expression, and suddenly that hurt worse than Kristoph's disapproving glances when he reached for another bite of chicken at the dinner table. — The attorney was well aware of his habits, and didn't seem to like them one bit.
"...You've been skipping meals again, have you?"
The worst part about that question was that he had no hope for a straight answer. He couldn't outright deny it because in situations like these, Apollo reads him like a book (not that he's ever been a good liar anyway, thankfully), and he can't bring himself to confirm it either. So all he can do is shamefully avert his gaze and hope the brunette won't be too disappointed.
And surprisingly, he wasn't. Apollo instead walked up to him and pulled him into a soft embrace which almost brought tears to Klavier's eyes from the gentleness of it. Though he pushes it all back and instead wraps his arms around Apollo in reciprocation. They stayed like that for a while until Apollo pulls away from him.
"What's going on now?"
"...I don't feel like sharing, Herr Justice."
"That's just fine with me."
Klavier was dully surprised at the acceptance, it wasn't that Apollo was overbearing about things like this, it was because Klavier was generally unused to not being pestered when his unhealthy addictions were brought up. Either way, he would accept the man's kindness anyday (even if it sometimes made him feel guilty having his junior take care of him like some doll that needs to be looked after).
"I made you food, do you want to eat?"
"I suppose..."
Klavier let his legs hit the floor as he sat upright on the sofa, blankets put aside on it to let his legs free as Apollo walked towards the dining table. An assortment of scrambled eggs, avocado toast and carrots on the plate as he walked over to him with utensils aswell. Apollo took a seat next to him and pierced the scrambled eggs with the fork, bringing it to Klavier's mouth to whidh the prosecutor snorted weakly.
"I can eat by myself, you know."
"I know, but let me?"
Klavier sighed, and ate the eggs from the fork Apollo held. The latter continued to feed him the eggs and let him eat the toast and carrots on his own.
"It's been getting bad, huh...?"
"...Yes, it has."
"Call me if you need me over to motivate you, okay? I don't mind."
"Thank you for all this, Herr Justice."
"Haha, it's no issue, Klavier."
Apollo smiles sweetly at him while Klavier continues to eat the carrots, still a little shocked st how today went, once Klavier finished eating, Apollo took his plate and washed it. Wakking back over to him afterwards.
"How are you feeling? Nauseous at all?"
"No no, I'm fine, you needn't worry about me."
"I can't help but do so."
It's seriously starting to warm his heart how.. soft Apollo is acting. He cares about him, but he's mot being overbearing or condescending, just enough to make him feel a warm sensation in his chest, and before he knows it. He can't stop himself from pulling Apollo into another hug, just like the last one, but somehow even more comforting. Apollo welcomes it and gently lays both himself and Klavier down on the couch again, getting close enough that his head is against Klavier's slowly rising and falling chest.
"I can't thank you enough, Apollo."
The first name leaves his tongue unconsciously, and while he would've been mortified to refer to a colleague so casually, he feels so drowsy that he can't bring himself to care.
"No need.. Klavier..."
The name sounds lovely in Apollo's tired tone, they both exchange goodnights and fall asleep again. For once, Klavier feels like the hole in his life has been filled — Not by food, but by the reassuring presence of a person who cares about him, and the realization that such a person exists.
Klavier Gavin's eyes close in peaceful sleep, not in tears, but in bliss.