#honestly Kristoph still liking Klavier (in his own fucked up way) is a miracle in an of itself

[friendlylifecherry]

Idea for the Gavin parents since we don't hear anything about them and I want to speculate: Kristoph and Klavier's parents both played favorites. Their mother liked Klavier better, their father preferred Kristoph. Mrs. Gavin seemed to resent her eldest from the day he was born, calling him a "devil child" and never showing him any affection. Mr. Gavin knew how it affected Kristoph and made it his mission to be the parent that could and would be there for Kristoph. Then Klavier was born (he was an accident; not like Kristoph was planned either, but there's a difference between "pleasant surprise" and "life-ruining misfortune" that Kristoph knew all too well) and Mrs. Gavin just loved him from first sight, showering him with affection. That's when Kristoph and Mr. Gavin realized: oh, it wasn't that she resented motherhood, she just hated Kristoph.

Mr. Gavin hated it and thus, hated Klavier. He was always some "spoiled brat" in his eyes. The couple's fights over how they treated their respective sons really only got worse ever since Klavier was born. Every day, Kristoph just wished they could get a divorce. Hell, he wished that they would just both die so they could leave him and Klavier in peace.

Klavier could tell. The boy was not nearly as dumb as some may think he is. He saw how mom would give him kisses and hugs and glare at Kristoph whenever he was just working quietly. He saw how father would readily praise Kristoph for his excellent grades and conduct in school, yet everything Klavier did was met with scorn and disdain.

It was the night that Kristoph graduated from college that it all went to hell. They were home, and their parents made dinner (Mr Gavin had to deliberately make Kristoph's favorites, since Mrs. Gavin refused to, again). Klavier mentioned he wanted to take the Themis Acadamey accelerated legal course. Their dad had opinions, negative ones, and that started their worst argument yet. This wasn't a normal argument, though. This was the kind you only found in songs about toxic romance. Screaming, cursing, throwing things, using everything that ever angered them against the other. And, of course, their sons were caught in the crossfire.

It wasn't until a plate very nearly hit a cowering Klavier in the head that Kristoph decided that he had enough. He stood up, excused himself, dragged Klavier away, and drove Klavier straight to Daryan's house. Kristoph handed him part of his graduation gift money, telling him to go spend time with Daryan and order pizza or something. He'll be back in a few hours after their parents are done. Which was the first sign that something was deeply wrong. Kristoph hated Daryan and never gave anyone money he got for gifts, he always saved it away.

It wasn't until a few hours later into a jam session that really wasn't going anywhere with Klav looking like he's about to puke when Kristoph came back. He looked... bad. When Klavier left the house to see him, Kristoph just gave him a hug, shivering. The second sign, Kristoph never showed affection in public or showed that he was scared of anything.

The whole drive back home was just terrifying. Klavier didn't have the guts to ask what happened, not when Kristoph was deliberately keeping his hands on the wheel and eyes on the road the whole time, white knuckling the wheel as they made their way home.

Then, they pulled up to the house to find it surrounded by emergency services. That's when Kristoph admits it: their parents were fighting, and he got so upset that he punched the old furnace. It's why he's holding his hand like that [this is where he got the scar]. Then, when they just started getting louder, he screamed at them. Kristoph never screamed at his parents before, and when he was done, he left before he could get in trouble. But he got worried when neither of them tried to call after he left, so he called emergency services. That's when they started to wheel out Mr and Mrs Gavin to the ambulances.

They had suffered from CO poisoning since the way Kristoph hit the old furnace managed to let the fumes in. Mrs. Gavin would die in the hospital, having never woken up again. Mr. Gavin survived but needed around-the-clock care due to the mental deficits he had gotten. Part of that was hypophonia or soft speech. He could barely even talk after waking up, and whatever he did speak was slow and full of stammering. As of AA6, he hasn't spoken in 5 years and hasn't spoken to Klavier since he was 15, at least 10 years on.

Kristoph won't acknowledge anything about this, not a single word. But after he turned 18 and started university, he would make a little mark in the side of the furnace once a day, out of sight but with plenty of room for Kristoph to maneuver. It took years, wearing down on the side of the furnace while stuck in that deeply unhappy home. But that night, he had finally grown sick enough of them to set his plan into motion. After dropping off Klavier, he came back and punched the furnace, just as he had told Klavier, but the strike was right at that point that he had been weakening with pinpoints, nails, and anything small and vaguely sharp over these long 4 years. The mark on his hand wasn't ideal, to say the least, but he was able to get out 22 years of burning frustration with them not being able to do a thing as he went out to his car and drove off with a muted phone.

Kristoph covered up the bruising as best as he could, then after waiting another hour, figured that now would be a good time to get Klavier, calling emergency services after he reached Daryan's house.

He knows it's his deliberate planning that killed his mother and crippled his father for life. He's a horrible person and knows it. That's how he got the first black Psyche-lock.