#i had to find all me <em></em> to change words to italics and get rid of the coding bc i write stuff specifically for ao3

[wowowwild]

Sick Days

I’ll attach a link here when ao3 is back up

Klavier is sick and Apollo takes care of him. klapollo week 2023 day 3: domestcity

P.S. if you don’t know german that’s ok bc you’ll just be POV: Apollo.

Apollo awoke to the sound of violent retching next to him. He jolted into a sitting position and flicked on the lamp. Klavier looked pretty pathetic, covered in vomit, eyes watering. Poor guy.

“Was that all of it?” Klavier whipped his head around and winced. “Ja. Tut mir leid…” “Hey, shh, don’t worry about it. Let’s get all of this off you, yeah?”

Klav nodded so Apollo set about rolling the sheets and blankets away from him, then took off his tank top. His sleep shorts were clean but also came off and were used to wipe down his torso.

“Come lay down on my side of the bed, I’ll run you a bath.” “Es tut mir leid. Danke sehr.” “Just rest for a minute.”

The first time he had seen the tub he had joked about it being a normal size and not an olympic swimming pool, but now he was thankful he only had so much tub he had to fill up. He tested the temperature to make sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold and adjusted it a couple times until it was at the right height.

“Alright, big guy, let’s get you in the tub.”

Apollo felt bad he had to jerk Klavier around a bit to get him into a position conducive to being picked up, but the guy looked so out of it, Apollo doubted he even noticed. He placed him gently down into the water.

“How’s the temperature?” “Sehr, gut, mein Häschen.” “I’m going to get you something to eat and drink, I’ll be right back, ok?” “Ja, bis gleich, Schatz.”

Apollo found a bottle of apple juice in the fridge and some club crackers in the pantry that would be easy enough to get down. As he made his way back into the room he could hear quiet sobs coming from the en suite.

“Klav? Hey, what’s wrong?” He rushed in and knelt next to the tub. “Herzchen!” Klavier threw his arms around Apollo, soaking him in the process. “I’m here. I just went to get you something to eat and drink, remember?” “Ja. Ich habe das vergessen.” “I don’t speak German, baby.” “Vas? Ich bin- Oh.” He giggled. “Verzeihung, Hübscher. I didn’t realize.” “That’s ok. Do you think you can try drinking and eating a little?” “Anything for mein Sonnenscheinchen.” “Ok, I have to go clean up a bit, will you be ok? I can keep talking to you, I’ll just be in the other room.” “Ok. I will be fine.” Apollo kissed him on the forehead, it was quite warm. “Once I finish I’ll get you some medicine.” Klavier made a face. “It tastes bad.” “But it’s good for you.” “Hmm…” “Could you do it for me?” “... For you.”

Back in the bedroom, Apollo began stripping the bed. It wasn’t particularly ‘juicy’, eugh, so the mattress wasn’t damp at least. Apparently Klavier was a good chewer, though, because he didn’t recognize dinner at all. Gross.

“Apollo?” Klavier sounded nervous, calling from the tub. “Yeah, Klav?” “Will you sing to me?” “I can do that. Any requests?” “Nein. Anything you would like.” He sounded more relaxed now that his request had been confirmed.

Apollo began with The Guitar’s Serenade, followed by a Khura’inese song he liked and then whatever came to mind. Four songs and he had finished the bed.

“How are you doing?” “Sehr gut, mein Liebster.” “Ready for your medicine?” Apollo entered the bathroom. Klavier made a face again. “Do I have to?” “Yes.” “Can I have ice cream?” “I don’t know if it will sit in your stomach well.” “Ok…” He looked so downtrodden, and as much as he was loath to admit it, Apollo would always give in to that face. “Well… maybe a little.” “Really?!” “But just a little, I mean it. How many of your crackers have you eaten?” “Five.” “Good job, Klav. I’m going to get everything and then I’ll help you wash up, ok?” “Ok.”

On his way out of the room he took the sheets and blankets to throw into the laundry room, attracting the attention of Mikeko and Vongole who tended to sleep in there. It was the warmest room in the house which appealed to Mikeko and ever since the two had become best friends, Vongole was rarely where the cat was not

“Hey guys. Sorry I can’t play right now,” he chatted as they followed him to the kitchen. “I’d send you in to keep Klav company, but he’ll definitely try to pull you into the tub to sit with him and I am not dealing with that at…” He squinted at the clock on the stove, “3 AM.”

He put a little vanilla ice cream in a bowl and hoped very much he wouldn’t be seeing it again. He also got the thermometer and some cold medicine that should get Klavier back to sleep. He should have figured something was up when Klav was tired at 9. That was early for him.

“Hey, Klav, I’m back.” “Ice cream?” “After the medicine. How is the bath water? It hasn’t cooled down too much?” “Nein. It is very nice.” Apollo tested it himself. It was still warm at least, but not as warm as it could be. “Alright, are you ready for your medicine?” Klavier sighed. “If I must…” “You must.”

Apollo measured out the right amount and Klavier opened his mouth. He made a face at the bitter taste, but swallowed it without any further complaints.

“Good job, babe. Here’s your treat.” Klavier took the bowl and looked at it for a moment. “Can you feed it to me?” “... Ok.”

Klavier really needed to be cleaned up before the water went cold, but he truly asked for so little, Apollo would probably never have the heart to say ‘no’. Usually he gave and gave, wanting nothing in return but Apollo’s presence, so of course when he asked for such a little thing he would do it. There wasn’t much anyway.

“Open up, darling.” Klavier grinned like he had won something. “What are you smiling about?” “You almost never use pet names. It feels special when you do.” “Oh, well…” Apollo could tell he was blushing. He’d use pet names more but he felt so awkward doing it. It didn’t come naturally to him like it did Klavier. A ‘babe’ or two might slip out from time to time, but mostly it was just ‘Klav’. He preferred to show his feelings in other ways. “You’re thinking too hard. Feed me my ice cream.” Apollo feigned offence. “Maybe I shouldn’t let you have any after all. You know, dairy isn’t great on the stomach when your sick…” Klavier was pouting again. “You said I could…” He whined. “I know, babe. Of course you can have it.”

Apollo scooped out a little and Klavier opened his mouth expectantly. He was really cute. Apollo figured he’d have to come up with an excuse to feed him again sometime when follow up kisses wouldn’t knock him on his ass with repercussions.

“How was that?” “No more?” “No more. I told you only a little. I wasn’t kidding about it not sitting in your stomach well. We have to get you cleaned up now, anyways. Before the water gets cold.” “Ok… Danke, Schatz. I know you spoil me.” “W-well I don’t really. No more than you deserve. Can you pass me the washcloth and soap?”

With an expert redirect, Apollo got to scrubbing his boyfriend down, as gently but efficiently as possible. He put ‘take a bath together’ on his list of things to do with Klavier. They’d showered, but a bath… Well he didn’t have time to think about that just then.

“How’s your hair? Does it need washing?” “Nein. I want to cuddle.”

Apollo took a once over of Klavier’s head and determined it was in fact fine and free of vomit. Klavier frowned at him, probably noting that his boyfriend clearly did not believe him. Apollo could live with that.

“I’m going to drain the tub now. I’ll grab you some pajamas, ok?” “Ok...” “When I get back we’ll dry you off and you can get dressed. Then we’ll cuddle. You’re doing such a good job.”

Klavier’s now deep frown lifted at the confirmation and compliment. He really was easy to please like this, but also easy to set off, so Apollo hurried to find suitable sleep wear and return. Apollo threw one towel over the toilet lid and put another on the counter beside the sink.

“Do you think you can stand if I help you?” “Ja. I can do anything if I put my mind to it, Herr Forehead, so jot that down.”

Apollo recognized this as something Klavier would absolutely say in a flirty tone with a wink but was currently stating so matter-of-factly he began psycho-analyzing the guy. No time for that, Justice! Your sopping wet boyfriend needs a towel and at least eight hours of sleep, stat. He squatted down, figuring Klavier would need more support than he let on.

“Are you ready?” “I was born ready.” “For this exact situation?” Apollo couldn’t help himself. “Ja. Oma predicted it, she told me. She said, ‘Klavier, one day you will face great challenges and you will overcome them, I am sure.’” “And this is one of the great challenges she was referring to?” “Natürlich.” “Right. On three?” Apollo secured his hands on Klavier’s ribs just below his armpits. Klavier nodded and grabbed Apollo’s shoulders while bracing his legs. “Ja.” “One, two, three!”

Klavier did get up with little difficulty but was immediately leaning on Apollo.

“Can you step out? One foot at a time.”

Apollo felt Klavier nod and then watched as one foot then the other set down on the mat.

“There you are,” Apollo’s voice was soft as he checked his boyfriend’s face for discomfort. “Let’s sit you down and I can dry you off.” “Danke, Häschen. It is chilly out here.” “Let’s fix you up quick then, yeah?” Apollo lowered him onto the preplaced towel over the toilet and grabbed the one he had left nearby. “How are you doing?” “Sehr gut. Mein freund is looking after me so well everyone else should be jealous.” “I think I’m the one they’re jealous of, Klav.” “Was zur Hölle? That’s ridiculous.”

Apollo knew that one. Klavier didn’t swear often, he was rarely upset enough to ‘warrant’ it as he claimed, but ‘what the hell’ had come up in a couple of the most convoluted investigations. Apollo tried and failed to suppress the laughter sparked by his incredulous rock star boyfriend, that the general populace might think being with a rock star was cooler than being with some guy who talked loud, but they’d had that argument before resulting in no clear winner, despite Apollo feeling the answer was obvious. He supposed Klavier must feel the same in reverse. What a guy.

“Why are you laughing?” “You’re cute.” “Ach!” He blushed and tried to cover his face with his hands, failing miserably because of the positions of both Apollo and the towel. “N-nein! You’re cute.” Apollo grinned at him, he must have looked like a lovesick fool. “We can both be cute, Klav.” “... I suppose.” “Let’s get you dressed, then we can cuddle?” “Ja, let’s do that.”

Apollo helped Klavier step into his pants and then pulled the shirt over his head. Once Klavier got his arms through, Apollo led him back to bed and helped him up. He slipped in on the other side and pulled the blankets up.

“Are you ready to go back to sleep or do you need a little bit first?” “Um, actually, could I make a request?” “You can make any request you want, I’ll let you know if I can fulfill it.” Klavier huffed at his boyfriend’s antics. “Can you read this to me?” He reached to the bottom shelf of the nightstand, nearly falling out of bed, and produced a small book with a picture of a dragon on the front. Apollo took the book and flipped through it. “... It’s in German.” “Ja.” “I can’t read German.” Klavier pouted, tearing up a bit. “Um, but, I’m sure I can find a translation!” Klavier brightened up immediately. “Ok, uh, ‘Sagen aus Kärnten’?”

Choosing to ignore the giggles signalling his botched pronunciation, Apollo pulled out his phone and found Project Gutenberg had all of the stories collected and ran the page through a translator. It wasn’t ‘fantastich’ but it was better than nothing.

Klavier leaned against him so Apollo put his arm around him and ran his fingers through long blonde hair. It was only a few stories before Klavier was completely out, probably helped by the medicine. Apollo laid him down and got everything situated before turning out the light. There would be less risk of getting himself sick if he slept in another room, but he wanted to be there if Klavier woke up again and needed something. He put on a later alarm than usual so that he’d be able to call the both of them out of work in the morning.

All too soon, the alarm sounded. He quickly shut it off and checked to see if it had woken Klavier. Evidently he need not have worried considering the snores that were still coming from the other side of the bed. He sent a quick text to the WAA group chat then started mentally prepping himself for the call to the prosecutor’s office. Oh how he wished to do his morning vocal exercise, but that would definitely wake Klavier up. He’d make do, after all, he’d heard all sorts of goofy things about Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth from Mr. Wright. He wasn’t that scary. He had gone to the man’s birthday party and it was Steel Samurai themed! Ok, he could do this.

“Prosecutor’s Office, Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth speaking.” “Uh, hello Mr. Edgeworth, sir. This is Apollo Justice. I’m calling because Klavier Gavin is too sick to come in today.” “Hello, Mr. Justice. I’m sorry to hear that. Will he need tomorrow off as well?” “I’m not sure. If he has anything to say about it, he’ll be there, but he’s had a fever all night so I’m not sure he’ll be well enough.” “I see…” Apollo could hear rustling papers on the other end of the line. “It appears he has no court appearances, so please tell Prosecutor Gavin he has the rest of the week off and that if he shows up despite this I will suspend him.” “O-ok?” That was a bit much? Maybe? Apollo wasn’t going to argue. “And Mr. Justice?” “Yes?” “Please take care of him.” “Uh, yes sir!” “If that’s all I have my work to get back to.” “Of course! Yes. That’s all.” “Have a good day, Mr. Justice.” “Uh, yeah. You as well.”

The line went dead. He did it! Yes! Take that, universe! He was Apollo Justice and he was fine! But now what? He could probably do some of his work from home until Klav woke up. Yeah, that would do.

--------------

When Klavier woke, he could hear tapping. What was that? It sounded very familiar. He tried to turn and look but his limbs felt far too heavy.

“You up?”

He heard someone next to him speak but he could only grunt in return. His vision was still extra blurry from sleep on top of the regular blurry from lack of glasses or contacts. There was a hand next to him which he took a moment to identify as his own. He felt like he was waking up far slower than usual.

“Pollo?” “Right here.”

Klavier was starting to be able to focus. The tapping sound must have been the keyboard on Apollo’s laptop. The sun was coming through one of the windows at an angle he recognized from the weekend when he was able to laze about longer. But wait, wasn’t it Wednesday?

Apollo waited for Klavier to say something else, but instead watched the other man throw himself into a sitting position and look awfully green as a result.

“Woah, hey there. Slow down, you’ll make yourself sick again.” “Wha- I’m late!” “I already called you out of work for today.” “What?! Why?” “Do you remember what happened last night? Well kind of this morning. It was 3 AM.” “Huh?”

Klavier did his best to remember. He remembered feeling really bad, there was a bath, and then he fell asleep to something familiar. The more he thought, the more pieces filled in.

“Ach, es tut mir leid.” “It’s ok, really. You can’t control when you get sick and I like taking care of you.” “But you’re missing work as well.” “I can do my work from here. Mr. Wright will just have to have Athena clean the toilet today.” “Are you sure?” “Positive.” Apollo leaned up to place a kiss on Klavier’s forehead. “You’re a bit warm again. Are you up to eating anything? I can make you eggs and toast.” “Ja, I could eat that.” “Ok, you stay here. It’ll only take a couple minutes.” “Ok.”

Klavier relaxed himself a bit, stacking some pillows so he could sit up with less effort. He might be sick, but he would hate to sleep the day away. At least he didn’t have court today, he would have felt awful if that got pushed onto someone else. He thought about doing some work from home as well, but there was no way Apollo would allow that. He checked the time. It was only 11:30, so at least he had woken up before noon.

“Hey, Klav.”

Apollo was a vision standing in the doorway with a tray of breakfast and Klavier thought he might die.

“Schatz!” Apollo smiled and brought the tray over. “You might not be so happy with me in a second.” “Was?” “When I called you out I wasn’t sure how you’d be feeling tomorrow so Mr. Edgeworth gave you the rest of the week off.” Klavier frowned. “I can just go in anyway, he won’t mind.” “Actually he said he’d suspend you if you showed up.” “Ach! Verdammt. He really thinks of everything.” “You’re kind of acting like your boss looking out for your health means he’s out to get you.” “What will I do with myself for five whole days until Monday?” Klavier lamented, only narrowly remembering the tray on his lap before he flopped dramatically. Breakfast was thankfully safe. “Well… I’ll be here. He did tell me to take care of you so you know Mr. Wright isn’t going to be allowed to call me in.” “Hmm… I suppose there are worse fates than having to spend five days with my wonderful Häschen.” “Are there better?” Apollo raised an eyebrow. “Make it forever and with ice cream as well.” Apollo laughed. “You’re too much. Eat your breakfast.” Klavier smiled. “Was würde ich ohne dich tun?” “I don’t know what that means.” “Mm. Ich liebe dich.” “Ah, I know that one. I love you, too.”