Chapter Text
It was still dark outside when Apollo woke up to the loud beeping of his alarm clock. He groggily lifted his head up to look at the time, having to squint a bit to read the bright red digits. 5:00 AM. Great.
As much as Apollo would have loved to sleep in, especially since he stayed up extra late last night to study, like an idiot, there was no way he would be skipping out on his Chords of Steel exercises. No matter how much the neighbours or his wonderful roommate Clay complained, it was a vital part of his routine. So he dragged himself out of bed, took a deep breath and began to shout his mantra at the top of his lungs.
Now readers, you may be wondering what’s so important about this mantra that Apollo feels the need to scream it every single goddamn morning at the crack of dawn. The answer to that would be that it was special to him. It was a phrase that Apollo had used all throughout his childhood to help psyche himself up and build his confidence. It was even the thing that led to him meeting Clay, his very best friend in the whole wide world. Which is why Clay, ever kind and patient and wonderful, never actually asked him to stop doing it, even if it disrupted his own precious sleep.
So Apollo kept up his shouting until he’d woken up probably every single bird in the neighbourhood and a car alarm down the street started blaring. Strangely, he noticed that Clay hadn’t come to yell at him for waking him up. Yes, Clay was kind and patient and Apollo was so incredibly lucky to have him as a roommate but that didn’t stop him from complaining about the noise. It was only fair.
Apollo decided he wasn’t going to think too much about it. Maybe Clay had finally managed to sleep through his Chords of Steel and either way, Apollo had much more important things to do, like the rest of his sacred morning routine.
He went to the bathroom to go shower, as usual, taking no less than 10 minutes thanks to his trusty bargain brand bottle of 3in1 shampoo, conditioner and body wash. It didn’t take him very long to get dressed either, since Apollo had made sure to pick out his outfit the night before. He was good at being prepared like that. He’d settled on a crisp, clean white dress shirt, a very bright teal- not turquoise, teal , tie and a bright red vest with matching suit pants. You see, most pre-law students might decide to show up to their 8 am lectures in stained sweatpants and baggy hoodies, but Apollo isn’t like other people. He knew that to make a good impression, he’d have to look his very best and be professional.
Other people might say that wearing your prom suit to university isn’t exactly the epitome of professionalism but Apollo was simply too stubborn to listen to reason.
To finish off the outfit, Apollo slipped on his gold bracelet, a precious family heirloom, before heading back to the bathroom. It was time for the most important part. He stood in front of the mirror, his big dark cocoa eyes slowly looking all five feet and five inches of himself up and down. Some people might call him short, even going as far to say that he was shorter than he said he was but they were simply haters and Apollo wasn’t going to pay any attention to them. Other than that, Apollo thought he looked pretty good. He didn’t want to brag but one of the old ladies at the supermarket had even called him a handsome young man.
There was just one problem. Apollo’s eyes drifted up to his hair in disdain. It was brown and fluffy, sticking out in every single direction like an absolute mess. WIth a huff, he grabbed his hair brush and quickly brushed it out before scooping up an absolutely ridiculous amount of hair gel and slicking everything back. Except for his bangs, on which he spent a solid thirty minutes slicking his bangs up into two spikes, just like bunny ears. Apollo now looked at himself with much more satisfaction. While some people might say he looked like a giant dork, Apollo knew they were just jealous of his amazing looks and how cool he was.
Once this was all taken care of, Apollo finally headed out to the kitchen to get himself some breakfast. Only to his surprise, his best friend Clay was already there. Clay was the literal definition of tall, dark(-haired) and handsome. He had thick black hair, strong arms and abs of steel from working out at the gym so often. He was also what the old ladies at the supermarket would refer to as a handsome young man. But what really caught Apollo’s attention today was that Clay was eating a bowl of his cereal.
“Dude,” Clay said around a mouthful of cereal because waiting to swallow would be way less efficient. “This tastes like shit.”
“You’re disgusting, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Apollo said rudely, “And don’t insult Wheet-O’s, they’re delicious and nutritious. Also it’s my cereal so you shouldn’t even be eating it.”
“I was hungry! And the microwave is broken, remember?! It’s not my fault that I can’t have any of my hot pockets!!”
“It absolutely is your fault, you’re the one who broke it!” Apollo argued, going to grab himself a bowl and snatch back the Wheet-O’s box because he still knows nothing about manners.
“For science, ‘Pollo. I was investigating a hypothesis! Are you really gonna stand in-between society and the pursuit of knowledge?!” Clay argued back. In addition to being kind and patient and wonderful and hot as hell, Clay was also determined to spread the joy of learning and improve the daily lives of everyone around him. Clearly, he’s in the right here.
“Trying to see if you could melt a styrofoam container in the microwave does not count as a proper scientific experiment!” Apollo insisted, choosing to remain unenlightened. “I’m not having this conversation with you again. What are you even doing up this early?”
At this, Clay brightened up. “Oh, right, I almost forgot! We have a visitor coming over, I’ve been waiting for them to get here.”
“Wh-” Apollo almost choked on his Wheet-O’s. “Someone’s coming over?! Clay, what the hell?! The apartment is a mess!”
“It’s fine , ‘Pollo, don’t worry about it.” Clay brushed him off, cool as a cucumber. There was a knock on the door. Clay quickly jumped up and ran off, shouting over his shoulder that he’d answer it and leaving Apollo to sputter indignantly at him as he left.
Fine, whatever. It’s not as if Apollo cared about this random guest his best friend had invited over out of the blue.
It was then that the most beautiful man in the world walked into the kitchen.
Apollo dropped his Wheet-O’s.
“Ach! Oh no, what a mess! Do not worry, I’ll help clean it up.” The most beautiful man in the world said, grabbing some paper towels to start sopping up the spilt milk. Thankfully, there were no glass shards since Apollo and Clay were both broke college students and most of their bowls were plastic.
This man, on the other hand, seemed like the furthest thing from a broke college student. It was a good thing he was crouched down because now Apollo could get a much better look at him. Not because Apollo was short obviously, but this man was still much much taller than him and Apollo had never been in close proximity to designer clothes before but this was definitely what he’d imagine they looked like. His hair was a shining platinum blond that fell just a little bit past his shoulders in soft waves and perfectly framed his face. He had what could only be described as the perfect Japanifornia summer tan, which helped to bring out his eyes and god, his eyes were the most beautiful sparkling blue, like the ocean. Apollo could almost drown in them. Literally, since he can’t swim.
Once the mess of Wheet-O’s was cleaned up, the man stood up to toss the dirty paper towels in the trash and set the bowl on the sink before smiling and extending a hand out to Apollo. Fuck, even his smile was super dazzling. “Hello, you must be Apollo, ja? Clay has told me so much about you, it’s positively wunderbar to finally meet you.”
“Hhhhhhh-” Apollo replied, absolutely dumbstruck by this man’s beauty. It was impossible not to be. But he quickly remembered he was a grown man who had to be a functioning member of society and not a gay disaster so he shook himself out of it and shook Klavier’s hand. “I mean-! I’m Apollo! It’s nice to meet you too. Are you a friend of Clay’s?”
Clay and Klavier both looked at him as if he grew a second head. “Apollo, you’re kidding right?! There’s no way you don’t recognize who this is!”
Apollo stared blankly at him.
“Acthung, it’s alright, Clay. I did dress down to avoid the paparazzi after all. I’m very pleased to see that my disguise worked so well.” Klavier preened, tossing his hair over his shoulder. “For your information, Apollo, while Clay and I are indeed very good friends, I’m much more well-known than that. I’m Klavier Gavin! Acktung, baby!”
Apollo stared blankly at the man, now known as Klavier.
“Apollo, come on. I know you live under a rock but this is Klavier Gavin. From the Gavinners , you have to know who they are!” Clay said, desperate for confirmation that his best friend wasn’t as lame as he looked right now.
Apollo went back to staring blankly at Clay.
“You know, it’s really freaky when you go that long without blinking,” Clay muttered under his breath before sighing heavily and giving Klavier a very apologetic look. “I’m so sorry about him, Klavier. I knew his taste in music sucked but I had no idea it was this bad.”
“It’s alright, Clay. You can’t expect everyone to be cultured. However, I think this is going to make this deal of ours all the more exciting!” Klavier reassured, flashing that dazzling grin once again.
“Can someone please explain what the hell is happening? What deal?” Apollo asked, now starting to get irritated. No, it had nothing to do with the fact that there were two extremely hot guys in his kitchen and neither of them were paying attention to him.
“Alright, let’s try this again. Pollywog, this is Klavier Gavin, lead singer and guitarist for the Gavinners, the most awesome freaking law themed rock band the world has ever known. He’s an internationally acclaimed rockstar!! And…” Clay said eagerly, pausing for dramatic suspense. “...He’s also your new owner! Surprise!!!”
Apollo was pretty sure he felt something in his brain break. “He’s what?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”
“I sold you,” Clay said cheerily, “You’re welcome, by the way. Man, you’re gonna get to live in a rockstar’s mansion-”
“Penthouse,” Klavier corrected, “I like to stay humble, ja?”
“Oh, yeah, obviously. God, ‘Pollo, you’re gonna get to live in a rockstar’s penthouse where you get to see Klavier every day. It’s like living the dream!!!” He gushed excitedly. Apollo wanted to smack him, but he loved his best friend too much to do that.
“More like a nightmare. What do you mean you sold me?! That’s ridiculous! And against the law!! You can’t sell a person!!” Apollo argued, not realizing the amazing opportunity in front of him. “You can’t buy a person either!! Why the hell would you even want to buy a person?!”
“Achtongue, Apollo, I assure you, this was all done legally. I am a man of the law, I would never do something illegal.” Klavier reassured him. His voice was just so smooth and soothing that Apollo couldn’t help but to relax. “Ach, it’s less as if I bought you and more like I bought your services, ja? I’m sure you’re aware of how things work in the music industry, ja? Publicity is key to having your work recognized. And it is well known fact that relationships drum up the most publicity.”
“R-Relationships?!” Apollo sputtered, turning as red as his suit.
“Ja, relationships, dating, romance, the whole nine yards. The tabloids practically eat it all up,” Klavier explained with a grin before his expression smoothed over into something more serious. Suddenly, he reached out to grab Apollo’s hands, holding them tightly within his own. “Ach, but make no mistake, Apollo. Our relationship will not just be for the cameras, nein. I swear, I will treat you as preciously as I treat my guitars. I will make sure to sweep you off your feet and take you out on the only the most romantic and extravagant of dates. I will stop at nothing to set your standards for love higher than they have ever been before. Ach, but only if you agree to it, I promise. I would never want to force you to do something you were uncomfortable with.”
Apollo was pretty sure that if he blushed any harder his head would explode. He stared at Klavier for maybe a moment too long, absolutely awestruck, before he remembered himself and yanked his hands away hurriedly. “T-This is...this is absurd! You’re both crazy!” He shouted frantically, turning back towards Clay who had been attempting to gnaw through a frozen hot pocket while all this was happening. “You’re crazy!! Why can’t you date Klavier instead?! Why’d you have to sell me to him in the first place! He’s your friend, not mine!!”
“My schedule is way too busy to date him. Trust me, I wish.” Clay explained, eyeing the counter to contemplate whether it would be strong enough for him to break open a hot pocket with. Time for a new experiment.
Apollo was entirely unsympathetic to his scientific process, just staring at him incredulously. “I’m going to kill you.”
Clay huffed, reluctantly deciding to tuck that hypothesis away for later. “Apollo, listen. I really think this could be good for you. You barely get out much, you know? You need more friends. And what better friend than a boyfriend?” He asked, holding up his hands to try and placate him.
“I’m going to have one less friend when I kill you.” Apollo replied darkly.
“Apollooooo, come on!! What if I told you that Klavier agreed to pay our rent for the entire time we're in uni?” Clay tried, turning on his puppy eyes for extra effect. He knew Apollo could never say no to those.
Apollo stopped to consider it. Free rent money did sound pretty nice…
“Ugh, fine. I’ll do it.” He agreed reluctantly. The grins that appear on Clay’s and Klavier’s faces when he did made him instantly regret it.
What the hell has he gotten himself into?