Keep It Cool | Ace Attorney (Kristoph x reader)

[28] Affiliate

[Y/N] convinced Kristoph to let them stay at their own apartment. The man initially opposed the idea but, in the end, reluctantly agreed. They're a full-grown adult that can manage. It's not like he has to keep an eye on them 24/7.

Kristoph drops them by their apartment complex and bids them farewell. [Y/N] waves in response and watches him drive off. After the attorney fades from their point of view, they sigh in relief. The book is still with them, and they manage to avoid suspicion.

Kristoph Gavin is a terrifying man, and who knows what he'll do if he finds out [Y/N] is potentially hiding something from him. This is a rare occasion that they're immensely grateful he's on their side.

Entering the building, [Y/N] takes the elevator to their room. Once they've arrived, they unlock the wooden door with a free hand and step in. They swiftly relock the door and beeline toward their room, ignoring the television that hasn't been turned off since their departure in the morning.

[Y/N] plops on their bed and removes the plastic cover of the unnamed book, revealing the empty hardcover beneath it. They're eager to read the rest of its content, wanting to see what Amy has said. 

The book is reopened beginning from the halfway of the spine. This is where they noticed the written scribbles of words.

"Let's see what else you have to say, Amy."

----

[ 11:15 AM - The Gavin's Residence ]

Kristoph enters the home. Unsatisfactory is written all over his face. The younger notices his return, "Welcome home, bruder." He sees the elder's restless face and asks, "Did something go wrong? Where's [Y/N]?"

His brother pushes his glasses back, "Hello, Klavier. No, it was more of a fruitless journey. [Y/N] is back at the apartment."

Klavier catches on to what he's saying. He lets his brother enter the house and removes his dark blue overcoat to be held on his left forearm. Seeing Kristoph's sully mood, he refrains from asking any further. The man assumes they weren't able to obtain any helpful information from the crime scene.

The elder walks across from him, "I suspect even if there was anything we could work with, the crime scene cleaners would've removed it." His eyes avoid the younger's. Safe to say, Klavier feels uneased by this sudden mood swing. However, he knows best not to provoke him, if it was to come to that.

"I see," he nods. He tells Kristoph to take a rest before doing anything else albeit he's already walking toward his room, still avoiding eye contact. Klavier falls silent to his brother's reaction. He thought the man would be in a slightly better mood if he got to spend some time with [Y/N] but evidently, it had the opposite effect.

Honestly, he is quite weirded out by this. Something tells him Kristoph isn't in a bad mood because of the visit. Although, he leaves it at that for now. It is Kristoph Gavin, after all. He's known to handle things very efficiently even when he's in a tight predicament.

He crosses his arms and sighs, looking down at the carpeted floor. Hopefully, it's nothing major.

Kristoph closes his door with a click once he enters his room. His bed was neatly made by [Y/N] before they went off earlier. Everything is left the way it was. 

The man hangs his double-breasted garment in his closet and tugs his ribbon tie loose. He unbuttons his shirt collar and sits down at his vanity.

He is met with his reflection in the mirror, reminding him of his sullied facial expression. He doesn't care enough to hide it since only his brother is seeing him anyway. He's seen worse.

Kristoph clasps his hand together and rests his elbows on the desk, putting his hands in front of his face. The vanity lights are off since it's still close to noon, and the natural sunlight seeping from the curtains is enough to light up the room. The backlight seemingly darkens his face, however. 

The man stays silent for a moment, thinking about [Y/N]. He is confident they are hiding something from him. It breaks his heart, but most importantly, it's threatening his trust.

He refuses to believe it, but his instincts remain superior.

"What was your true motive for murder in the first place?" That is the question in his head.

Truthfully, he doubts envy is the motive. Being jealous of your friend getting accepted into a company is normal, but not to the point of killing them out of it. What's so special that had driven them to conspire against the victim and even got the accomplice in on this?

The man lets down his hands, tapping the vanity desk. It just doesn't make sense to him. It feels as if he only knows about this on a surface level. He grabs an oak leather briefcase from underneath the desk and stands up.

The briefcase is then set on his bed as he clicks it open, revealing stacks of paper concerning the Stake case. He needs to figure this out on his own. To dismiss his suspicions toward [Y/N]. Anything.

After searching for a while, he discovers a letter addressed to the victim. Right, the acceptance letter. The very sheet of paper that got him in this mess with [Y/N] in the first place. The man folds it open to reread the contents.

It's an acceptance letter to work at an arts company named 'Point-Black 1st Affiliate'. The name sounds unfamiliar to him. Nothing in the letter describes its forte as well. 

Hm.

This is the company that [Y/N] wanted to get into so badly to the point of murder. It has to be a massive corporation. At least, to some extent.

Considering Kristoph is unaware of these affiliates, he contacts Daryan to gather information concerning this. He is a detective, after all.

The younger agrees and will give him intel in a few weeks. This is something personal, so it doesn't need to be quick. Klavier doesn't need to know as well.

Speaking of which, Klavier is still in the living room. He considers asking [Y/N] about his brother but that sounds like suicide if [Y/N] is somehow the cause of it. He sits on the sofa with his legs crossed and pulls out his phone.

Taking the risk, he texts [Y/N] and asks if today's visit to the crime scene went well. If they so happen to be in a bad mood too then he'll just drop the topic. Better safe than sorry.

He sighs as he turns off his phone.

Let's just hope they're not gonna get into an argument.

----

[E/N] - revised.

Final draft for now, A is busy with license registration and I can't write for shit (my bad). I don't know when the next chapter is gonna come out but it will so don't worry.

thank you for your support.