Archive of Our Own

Michael Kaiser never considered himself to be a jealous person, not seeing the point of paying any attention to what others had. He considered himself to be the best, had everything he could’ve asked for and knew other people wanted his skill and success. So there was really no reason for him to ever be jealous of what someone else had.

When it came to other people, Kaiser was only really interested in beating those that tried challenging him and seeing how he could use others to his advantage. The prime example of the latter was his one and only friend, Alexis Ness.

Their friendship was admittedly a weird one, a strange dynamic between them present from the day they met, never changing, only evolving into something people who didn’t know them never really understood. Kaiser was the first person who recognized Ness’ talent and Ness was the first person who was willing to adhere to every one of Kaiser’s whims and let himself be used as a stepping stone for the star striker’s success.

It was strange, the way Ness seemed like he had no autonomy, almost never having a say in things regarding his own life. Kaiser was the one who made decisions, told Ness what to do and how to act and most people would never put up with that kind of treatment. But it worked for them. Ness preferred to be guided by Kaiser, so enamoured by the magic he found Kaiser possessed within him that he was ready to do whatever the blonde asked of him.

It had been that way since the fateful day they met. With Ness on the verge of despair, his own lifelong dream crumbling to dust right before his eyes, and Kaiser was a ray of light in the darkness threatening to swallow him alive. He was the one who pulled Ness out of certain tragedy, graciously allowing him to follow after him as he forced his way up to the top. And that was more than Ness ever could’ve asked for. Without him, he never would have made it even half way to where they were now.

So, as much as others felt Kaiser’s treatment of Ness was something the younger should not put up with, Ness felt like it was only fair to serve Kaiser, as a way to repay him for everything he had done for him up until that point.

Ness liking Kaiser was no secret, whispers behind his back sometimes going as far as mentioning the words love and obsession. And yes, Ness loved Kaiser, in his own way. Other people had a lot to say about their dynamic, never to either of their faces, of course, but Ness had overheard what they were saying about him more times than anyone knew. They weren’t exactly subtle in their gossiping, whether from a lack of awareness or a lack of caring, it didn’t matter.

Either way, Ness paid no attention to them. He was exactly where he wanted to be, by Kaiser’s side and that would never change. It wasn’t like he couldn’t stop being Kaiser’s friend if he wanted to. It was more like he didn’t want to stop being by his side, no matter what. 

No matter how many times Kaiser raised his voice at him or said things to him that would make others never speak to him again, Ness never once thought about leaving Kaiser behind.

He knew it wouldn’t even be him leaving Kaiser behind. The striker shone so brightly that Ness was convinced he would fall back to darkness the minute he stepped out of Kaiser’s light. So, he did everything in his power to stay on his good side, to be allowed to bask in Kaiser’s warm light for just a little longer. And he would take anything he could get.

As for Kaiser, Ness proved himself very useful to him. Being the only person he met who understood how he wanted to play and the only player that was able to match his demanding pace, Kaiser slowly let Ness more and more into his life, their partnership growing out of the bounds of soccer after some time, the two becoming almost inseparable no matter the situation.

Kaiser found it easier to have Ness by his side all of the time. Even though he found Ness exhausting at times, with all the talking and fawning over Kaiser he did, being told to knock it off once usually did the trick, it was manageable. 

The benefits of having the brunette there at a moments’ notice far outweighed the occasional things Kaiser found annoying. And it wasn’t like he hated anything about Ness. Sure, there were things he was convinced they would clash about had Ness been a bit different. His agreeable nature was something Kaiser really liked about Ness. He hated being told what to do and, as immature as it was, he hated when he was wrong. Ness never corrected Kaiser about anything, taking his word as gospel without questioning it.

Over the years they knew each other, they had slipped into a comfortable routine that worked well for them both. While Kaiser had the final say in decisions and was very particular about how he liked things done, it wasn’t like Ness was being held hostage by the blonde. In reality, it was him who suggested he and Kaiser move in together a few years after they met, deeming it easier to just share an apartment instead of constantly having to travel back and forth from where each of them lived.

Living together made things so much easier, they could make up a schedule that worked well for their needs, not having to worry about coordinating. Having two people taking care of one living space was also better, leaving them more time for training and doing things they actually loved. After a while, they found themselves doing even the mundane tasks together, being so used to each other’s presence that neither of them, especially Ness, liked being away from the other for too long.

Aside from their usual daily activities, there were some rare instances when they would go out together. Neither of them was big on parties or events, but an occasional mandatory attendance sat on their shoulders as a part of their responsibilities as pro players. Both of them dreaded having to go to these types of parties, as they usually consisted of hours of fake smiling and playing nice for potential investors who never actually cared about what either of them had to say. One such event was being held that night, both Kaiser and Ness stuffing themselves in uncomfortable suits, mentally preparing to be polite and as sincere as possible for the whole evening.

“Should I wear a tie?” Ness questioned, his voice coming from somewhere inside of his bedroom.

“I don’t plan on wearing one, you do what you want.” Kaiser replied, fixing the collar of his crisp white shirt as he stood in front of a mirror.

“But they told us to wear ties after the last time… you especially were told-” he said, popping his head out from behind the door to look Kaiser up and down, their coach’s words echoing in his mind.

Kaiser cut Ness off, looking back and meeting the other’s eyes, “I don’t care what I was told. I’m not wearing one.”

“Okay, okay. I didn’t say anything.” Ness threw his hands up defensively, “Help me choose one, then.”

Fully turning around now, Kaiser rolled his eyes as he walked towards Ness’ room, muttering a small “fine” under his breath. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking over all of the ties Ness was showing him, commenting on each one as the other kept pulling different colors and patterns out of the closet.

“You should wear that one.” Kaiser said, pointing at a blue tie with some type of magenta colored pattern.

Ness looked at the tie Kaiser chose, nodding as he popped the collar of his shirt to secure it around his neck. Smiling to himself, Kaiser was satisfied with the choice as he took a look at Ness. He couldn’t deny that Ness looked good, noticing the effort he obviously put in to clean up for the event. The younger turned around, eyes finding Kaiser’s, staring at him expectantly, waiting for feedback.

“Looks good.” he said simply, standing up from the bed and heading towards the door, “Come on, the car is supposed to be here soon.”

Ness quickly looked at himself in the mirror again, ignoring the faintest pink blush spreading across his face at Kaiser’s compliment. He grabbed his suit jacket off the chair before he hurried after Kaiser, not wanting to leave him or the driver waiting for long.

The event was going exactly as they knew it would. It was held at some fancy hall, with marble floors, mirrors covering every wall and, more importantly, an open bar. That’s where Ness found himself for most of the night, refilling Kaiser’s drinks and trying to escape the repetitive, insincere conversations.

Leaning on the bar, his own drink in hand, he absentmindedly let the bartender know what Kaiser’s drink order was. The tie around his neck was squeezing uncomfortably, the suit way too hot on his body given the number of people crammed in the hall and the warm spring temperature. He sighed to himself, taking a long swig from his glass, dreading having to go back and engage in more pointless conversations with wealthy strangers.

As he was waiting for the second glass, he suddenly felt someone bump into him. Turning around to look at the person causing him this annoyance, he was met with an overly apologetic face of a guy around his age.

“I’m so sorry, did I spill your drink? I’ll help you clean up.” The stranger sounded panicked, looking around Ness to see if his drink was okay.

“No, you didn’t. It’s alright.” Ness replied, giving the stranger a small smile.

He took a moment to look at him properly. He was taller than Ness, with slicked back dark hair, wearing a well-fitted suit. His face was turning a bit red, probably from how embarrassed he was because of his mistake.

“Okay good, I’m really sorry, again. I didn’t mean to bump into you, I was careless.” the man reiterated, “Wait, you’re Alexis Ness, right?”

Taken aback by being recognized, Ness only gave a small nod in response. He was used to people knowing who Kaiser was, the star striker being a presence you couldn’t really ignore or forget. He sometimes got recognized as his pair, but only when they were standing side by side.

The stranger got even more red at the confirmation, leaning over the bar and taking a sip of his own drink, “I was hoping to meet you under different circumstances. I work for one of your investors, you may have talked to him tonight.”

“Oh, maybe… yeah. I’ve talked to a lot of people already, I’m sorry” Ness turned back towards the bartender, wondering where Kaiser’s drink was.

“I really enjoy watching you play, you could say I’m somewhat of a fan, even though I really don’t know much about soccer.” The dark haired guy smiled as he said, looking in Ness’ direction.

The comment made Ness blush a little, not used to being complimented this directly, “Thank you so much!”

The taller guy smiled wider, “What are you drinking? Maybe we could grab the next round together?”

Before Ness could answer, he felt Kaiser’s looming presence behind him. Realizing how much time had passed, he felt bad for leaving Kaiser to deal with the swarm of people alone, especially without a drink.

“There you are… I was wondering what was taking so long.” he said, unamused.

Glancing to the right, he spotted the man Ness had been talking to this whole time. An ugly, weird feeling bubbled in his gut. Why was Ness talking to some nobody by the bar when he should’ve already been back by his side.

“The bartender is taking a long time with your drink, I’m sorry.” Ness explained, turning around to face Kaiser properly.

Noticing he was staring at his new acquaintance, he gestured to both of them as a way of introducing them, not wanting Kaiser to feel like he was being left out on purpose.

Kaiser extended a hand to him, squeezing just a little harder than he was supposed to. He looked the dark haired man up and down, still holding a firm grip on his hand. Letting go, he put on a fake smile as he made polite conversation.

The bartender finally handed Ness the other drink he ordered, which Kaiser gulped down in one go, making Ness look at him in a confused way. Paying no attention to Ness’ reaction, Kaiser pushed between him and the stranger, ordering a refill and drinking that one immediately, too.

“Were the conversations that unbearable?” Ness joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Kaiser ignored him, his eyes fixed on the glass, his attention only on the bartender.

Sensing the uncomfortable situation he created, the stranger excused himself, telling Ness he hoped they could talk again soon. With him leaving, Ness turned his attention back to Kaiser, asking him whether he wanted to go back to the main hall. Kaiser waved him off dismissively, telling him he would catch up later. Believing him, Ness turned around and left with a quick “see you later”, leaving Kaiser alone.

Chugging another drink earned him a concerned look from the bartender, who he shot a sharp glare at, effectively stopping any potential questioning regarding his drinking. He kept on getting refills, trying to drown out the weird feeling that persisted and only got more intense the more he thought about it.

Sometime later, Kaiser felt like he couldn’t stand properly anymore. He kept thinking about Ness and that stranger. How Ness looked happy talking to him, how the man looked like he was blushing. That pissed Kaiser off the most. How dare this nobody sweet talk Ness? And how dare Ness entertain his bullshit?

Before he could get even more in his own head, an older man, someone whose name he definitely should’ve remembered, started talking to him by the bar. Kaiser had no idea what the man was saying, none of his words registering as he kept thinking about Ness. What if Ness was talking to that guy again? What if they left together to talk somewhere more private? Why was it making Kaiser so mad?

He wasn’t sober enough to answer that last question, half heartedly excusing himself from the one sided conversation, earning a displeased comment from the man. He didn’t care about him though, the only thing he wanted now was to find Ness and keep an eye on him for the rest of the night.

Pushing through the crowd, he scanned the room for that familiar magenta colored hair. Unsteady on his feet, he somehow avoided every conversation that was coming his way while also maintaining his upright posture. Had he been a more rational person, he probably wouldn’t have gotten this drunk. But that wasn’t the case tonight.

Spotting Ness in the distance, he sped up towards him, not really thinking about what he would say when he finally reached him. Ness was talking to three people, none of which Kaiser knew and more importantly, none of them were the guy from earlier. A small, strange sense of relief flooded Kaiser as he walked up to the group of people, inserting himself in the conversation.

Everyone was making polite small talk, but he could see Ness looking at him with a concerned expression. After a few more niceties were exchanged, he felt Ness grab him by the arm, dragging him away to the side with an apologetic smile plastered on his face. Walking out into the hallway, away from the event, he felt Ness pushing him to sit in an armchair. His back hit the soft cushion as his mind started spinning from the sudden change of position. The alcohol in his system hitting him more and more as time passed.

“You’re drunk? Really?” Ness questioned, a slight anger present in his tone, “Why would you drink so much?”

Kaiser tried to come up with an explanation, but felt it was beneath him to justify his actions to the younger. He also didn’t see the need to tell Ness that his new friend was the reason he started drinking, not even understanding himself what about that situation pissed him off so much.

“Are you even able to answer me? How much did you drink?” Ness raised his voice at Kaiser, more concerned than anything else.

“Stop fucking yelling.” Kaiser argued back, “My head is killing me.”

That made Ness lower his voice again. Checking the time, he hooked his hand under Kaiser’s arm again. As he was being lifted he slung an arm over Ness’ shoulder, stumbling as the shorter started dragging him out of a side entrance.

His tone completely changed as he held Kaiser, becoming softer, “Come on. Let’s go home. I’ll tell coach we had to leave early, make up some excuse.”

They walked outside, with Ness trying his best to both hold Kaiser up and call them a car home. He helped Kaiser into the car before walking over and getting in on the other side. Telling the driver their address, he sighed deeply as the car started moving. 

He was already thinking of ways to get Kaiser into the bed, hoping he would sober up a little bit before they made it home. The drive was short, but getting Kaiser up the stairs and into the apartment took almost twice as long. The blonde was dragging his feet behind Ness, making it even more difficult to help him.

Finally making it to Kaiser’s room, Ness urged him to take his suit jacket off. The other sat on the bed, shrugging his jacket off before attempting to throw it on the floor. Ness caught it before it fell, putting it on the back of his chair.

“Help me get these off.” Kaiser slurred as he motioned towards his pants.

Ness stared at him for a second, his face getting hot. Nonetheless, he walked towards Kaiser again, grabbing on the bottom hem of the pants, helping Kaiser pull them off, the blonde lifting his hips off the bed slightly. Unbuttoning his shirt, he slowly took it off, sitting on the bed in only his boxers and socks. Ness started to turn, wanting to leave Kaiser alone so he could sleep all the alcohol off, eager to get out of the uncomfortable suit himself.

Noticing him starting to walk towards the door, Kaiser spoke before he could think, “Wait…”

Ness stopped dead in his tracks, not turning around to look at Kaiser again, wondering what else he could possibly want from him, especially in this state.

“Come here…” he said, flopping onto the pillow.

The shorter hesitantly turned back around, slowly making his way towards Kaiser’s bed. He leaned down over him, taking in the strong smell of alcohol and cologne on Kaiser’s skin. He waited for Kaiser to tell him what he wanted, but he could see his eyes slowly closing. After a few moments, he got impatient and decided to just leave him to sleep for tonight.

“Don’t… l-leave me for another… want- you…” Kaiser mumbled incoherently, so quiet that Ness couldn’t decipher a single word of what he said.

“What? I couldn’t understand you-” As soon as he said that, he heard soft snoring coming from underneath him.

Not paying much mind to the exchange, Ness put a blanket over Kaiser as he left the room. Making it to the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face, silently thanking the universe they didn’t have practice scheduled for tomorrow. He really didn’t want to explain to their coach why Kaiser looked so dead, knowing he would have a huge hangover tomorrow.

He walked into his own room, putting the suit jacket up on a hanger. Sitting down on his bed, sleep washing over him slowly, he unfastened the tie hugging his neck. As he undressed and got under the covers, the earlier sentence he couldn’t make out crossed his mind again. He was sure he heard the words “another” and “want” but wasn’t able to make out the full sentence, wondering if Kaiser even said something that made sense. Chalking it up to drunk mumbling, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, prepared to nurse a hungover and grumpy Kaiser tomorrow.

The sun rose early, filling Kaiser’s room with warm light that danced around on his walls. He was woken up by a particular ray of sunshine directly on his face. As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt like his head was being bashed in. He groaned as he turned away from the window, unable to fall back asleep.

He checked the time, mumbling to himself in annoyance as he saw the clock read seven in the morning. Tossing and turning for another few minutes, he tried remembering what happened the night before. Suddenly feeling how dry his mouth was, he made his way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He felt like he was twice his regular weight, dragging himself towards the sink and gulping down two glasses of water.

He leaned on the counter, his head pounding even more. He reached for the cabinet they kept medicine in, rooting around in there for an aspirin. After successfully finding and getting a single pill out, he took it with some more crisp cold water. He opened his eyes properly and took in the morning sun that illuminated their living space in beautiful golden hues. 

Sitting down in silence, as to not wake Ness, fragmented memories of his actions last night came flooding back to him. He vaguely remembered Ness bringing him home and putting him to bed, the various people he talked to and the bartender’s face. Suddenly, memories of the man Ness was talking to got back to him but his head hurt so much that he was unable to really think about anything regarding that whole situation. 

Another thing popped into his head, he half remembered saying something to Ness before he fell asleep, but couldn’t for the life of him recall the actual words he said. Deciding it was probably for the better, he sat there, eyes closed until he felt the headache let up a little bit. By then, half an hour had passed and Ness stumbled out of his bedroom not long after, rubbing his eyes.

“Oh. Morning… I didn’t think you’d be awake this early.” He mumbled as his eyes landed on the groggy and definitely hungover Kaiser.

“Hm.. Couldn’t sleep… Morning…” he replied, turning around to look at Ness, “I didn’t do anything stupid last night, right?”

“You don’t remember?” Ness questioned, walking towards the coffee machine.

Kaiser’s face dropped at that, trying to think of what he possibly could have said or done that was so bad.

“You didn’t do anything, I’m just messing with you.” Ness giggled as he finished up making two cups of coffee, bringing one to Kaiser who looked like he desperately needed it, earning both a glare and an appreciative nod all in one.

They drank the coffee in silence, partly because Kaiser couldn’t find the energy to talk and partly because Ness didn’t know how to ask why Kaiser got that drunk last night. Before he could come up with an effective way to question him, the other’s stomach loudly grumbling snapped him out of any thoughts he had.

“I’ll make us breakfast, you good with eggs and toast?” He asked, already knowing Kaiser would say yes, as he got up and walked towards the fridge.

Kaiser nodded slowly, lying down on the couch and feeling around for his phone to put music on. They spent the rest of the morning like that, eating the food Ness prepared with some quiet music playing in the background. Not hungry anymore and with his headache gone because of the aspirin and coffee, Kaiser felt it was his right to know about Ness’ friend from last night.

“So… Who was that guy you were talking to last night?” he tried asking casually, covering up how he already sounded like he was annoyed.

“I talked to a lot of people… You have to be specific.” Ness replied, chewing on the last bit of toast he had left.

“The one by the bar, tall, dark hair?” He said, looking directly at Ness.

“Oh him! I didn’t catch his name, he said he worked for one of our investors or something.” The brunette said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

That made Kaiser’s gut twist. Ness didn’t even know his name but he was smiling about him? It was so stupid, it wasn’t like they knew each other, so why was Kaiser feeling so upset about all of it?

He looked away from Ness, giving him a small “mhm” as he stood up from the table and walked towards his room.

“You okay? Feeling sick?” Ness asked, worried about him.

“I’m fine, need to lie down.” Kaiser replied slowly, not turning back to look at him as he disappeared into his room and closed the door.

Ness decided not to bother him today, wanting him to rest in time for practice tomorrow. He cleaned up after breakfast before going to lounge on the couch, slightly hungover too. Picking up his phone from the coffee table, he saw a message from his coach, sent a few minutes ago.

“Good morning, Alexis. Would you be free today to meet with one of our potential investors? I just got a call asking for you, I can send you the address they suggested if you’re free.”

Ness read the message once, then another time, wondering why he specifically was called all of a sudden. Seeing this as an opportunity to give Kaiser the apartment to himself and not wanting to disappoint his club, he told his coach to send him the address.

Still a little bit confused about the invitation, he started getting ready to go meet this person who was asking for him. He thought that he could bring in something good for his club, so he went to the small cafe with an open mind, ready to listen to what the person had to say.

He was a few minutes early, as he usually liked to be, so he sat down in the corner and ordered something to drink. It was a particularly warm spring day so a cold iced drink was exactly what he needed. While waiting for his order, he was glancing at the door every few seconds waiting for the person he was supposed to meet to walk in.

As the waiter brought him his drink, the bell on the cafe door chimed and, to Ness’ surprise, the guy he met by the bar last night walked in, scanning the room in search of the brunette. Spotting him in the corner, he smiled warmly and walked over to him, sitting down in a chair across from him.. Ness was taken aback, not expecting to see the same man from last night so soon. He looked different, dressed more casually but still professional. Greeting each other, the guy was the first to speak.

“So, you’re probably wondering why you got called here, especially to meet with me.” he said, already reading the expression on Ness’ face, full of confusion, “I told my boss about our conversation last night and he asked me to meet with you to discuss a sponsorship between our company and Bastard München.”

Ness’ eyes went wide, “A sponsorship for our club? But why ask me specifically?”

“Good question. The sponsorship is being offered to you and another colleague of yours, Michael Kaiser.” The man replied, sitting up straighter, “If I can be honest with you, he is intimidating, so I felt more comfortable approaching you about this offer.”

“Intimidating? Never mind that, what would this sponsorship entail?” Ness replied, becoming more serious when talking about work.

He didn’t really like this side of being a pro player, but it all came along with doing what he loved. And what he truly loved was being out on the field with Kaiser, helping him score incredible goals. If this was the price he had to pay to be able to continue doing what he loved, he was willing.

The rest of the conversation consisted of the man explaining what his boss had in mind, going over contracts and payments. At the end of it all, Ness told him he would discuss it with Kaiser and that the club would be in touch with them shortly. Saying goodbye and thanking him for coming to meet him, the guy paid for his order and left, not before flashing another friendly smile at Ness.

After eating breakfast, Kaiser went back to his room, upset with how Ness talked about his encounter with the stranger last night. The only thing he didn’t understand was why he was feeling that way. He just didn’t like the idea of that guy, or any guy for that matter talking to Ness. It wasn’t like it mattered to him personally, of course not. He just felt like nobody was good enough to talk to Ness like that. Because if they thought they could talk to Ness, they would surely try talking to him, too, and nobody was good enough to talk to him, that was certain. 

Not long after he sat down on the soft mattress, he heard Ness moving around in the hallway. He was too tired to go see what was going on, until he heard the front door open and close. That made him all but jump off the bed, scrambling to open the door to his room. Poking his head out and calling for Ness, he looked around to find his shoes missing. There was a faint smell of cologne lingering in the hallway and his mind started racing with all the possible places Ness could’ve gone.

He knew they didn’t have anything scheduled for today, and he didn’t recall Ness telling him about any plans. Ness didn’t really go out on his own, so he couldn’t think of a possible explanation for him leaving without saying anything. Trying his best not to think too much about it and failing miserably, he searched for his phone to call Ness and ask.

Before hitting the call button, he thought to himself, “If he didn’t tell me where he was going, he must be hiding something from me.”

He decided not to call and instead settled for asking him about it when he returned. Walking out into the living room and turning on the TV, he tried to silence all of the unwanted thoughts and emotions bubbling inside of his chest, squeezing his lungs. 

It felt like Ness had been gone for hours when Kaiser heard the jingle of keys and the apartment door unlocking again. He sat still, not moving his eyes from the TV in front of him, waiting for Ness to walk in and notice him.

“Hey, are you feeling better?” Ness said as he walked into the living room, not even mentioning the fact he was out.

“Where were you?” Kaiser replied, ignoring Ness’ question entirely.

Taken aback by the sudden interrogation, he plopped down on the couch, “I went to meet with someone about a sponsorship, actually funny thing-”

“What sponsorship?” he cut Ness off, not listening to the rest of his story.

Ness explained the deal he was offered to the blonde, who nodded unenthusiastically. After he was finished, he added, “As I was saying, funny thing, I met with the guy from last night! Isn’t that a weird coincidence!”

Hearing those words made Kaiser’s blood run cold, “The guy from last night? Really?” 

Ness looked at him, “Yeah? His boss asked him to offer this deal to me and you…”

“Me and you? So how come I wasn’t invited, huh?” he was raising his voice slightly.

Ness opened his mouth to explain the situation, but Kaiser spoke again before he could get a single word out, “So you’re meeting with some guy you met last night? For a sponsorship I knew nothing about?”

“Well, n-no…” Ness tried, his gaze lowered as he stared at the floor. 

He hated when Kaiser got angry with him, especially when he wouldn’t let him explain himself. But he knew better than to try and argue back to him, so he stayed silent.

“Fuck a sponsorship, if they don’t want to ask me directly, I don’t want to fucking hear it.” Kaiser was grabbing his phone as he spoke. 

He dialed someone’s number and put the phone up to his ear. A few seconds later, a voice that Ness recognized as their coach picked up.

“You tell them right now I am not interested in their bullshit offer.” He stood up, pacing back and forth around the living room, “And tell them we don’t want them investing anymore. I don’t care about losing the money, if you don’t I’ll quit and then you’ll lose all of your money.”

Ness was staring at Kaiser in disbelief. He never usually got this angry over work. But, now that he thought about it, Kaiser wasn’t angry until he mentioned who he met with. What was his deal with that guy? Was there something Ness wasn’t aware of? All of these questions ran through his mind as he watched Kaiser threaten to quit over something so stupid. Getting what he wanted, he hung up without another word, turning his attention back on Ness.

“You’ll never speak to that guy again. Got it?” he said, seething with rage.

He got a small nod as a reply. Satisfied, he sat back down on the couch and took in a deep breath. Ness wanted to say something, but all words were suddenly lost on him. This outburst was unlike anything he had ever seen and he didn’t understand why Kaiser felt so strongly about this situation.

Ness got up without another word, walking into the kitchen, looking around for something to cook for lunch. He settled on making something Kaiser would enjoy, wanting to make things better between them even if he didn’t understand what he did wrong. That was the type of person Ness was when it came to Kaiser. Many people would not take this treatment without fighting back, but Ness only wanted Kaiser to like him and he knew arguing with him would lead to more issues. So, he swallowed up the deep feelings of sadness and guilt as he moved through the kitchen absentmindedly.

When he was done cooking, he tried calling out to Kaiser to join him in eating. Seeing the older completely ignoring him felt like a punch to the gut, so he ate alone and spent the rest of the day avoiding Kaiser, not wanting to upset him further with his presence. Had Kaiser been a different kind of person, he might have felt bad for getting irrationally angry at Ness and maybe even apologized. But, that wasn’t the case. He doubled down on his stance, letting Ness walk around on eggshells around him until the next morning.

Both of them went to bed early that night, knowing they would have to be up for practice. Neither of them said goodnight as they went to their own rooms, Kaiser because he wanted to punish Ness for breaking rules he didn’t even know existed and Ness because he didn’t want to intrude on Kaiser’s obvious need to be left alone.

As he closed his bedroom door and got under the covers, Ness thought about today. He felt so bad for upsetting Kaiser and even going to meet the guy at all. He should’ve said no and let Kaiser handle it. He should never have gone out and talked about a deal with someone he knew Kaiser didn’t like, he never should have gotten excited about the sponsorship without discussing it with him first.

As he was thinking about all the things he should have done, he felt hot tears prickle at the corner of his eyes. Turning on his side and burying his face into the pillow, he silently cried to himself, thinking of ways to make it up to Kaiser tomorrow, wondering if he would speak to him tomorrow, or if he would ignore Ness even longer. Letting himself drift off to sleep as the tears dried on his cheeks, he hoped Kaiser would cool off and stop being angry with him soon.

Waking up the next morning, Ness felt a sense of dread when thinking about leaving his room and facing Kaiser. He wanted to stay under the covers for just a little longer, but he had to go get ready for practice. Getting out of bed, he walked towards the door, preparing himself for another day of being ignored by the taller, hoping that wouldn't be the case.

He was met with Kaiser making coffee in the kitchen, which startled him because he was usually the one who woke up first and made them both coffee in the mornings. He usually had to drag Kaiser out of bed, especially on practice days. Kaiser was a heavy sleeper and hated being woken up early, so Ness had to come up with ways to entice him into getting up, having different strategies he thought of during their time living together. He hesitated as he walked towards the kitchen, noticing Kaiser wasn’t turning around to face him.

“Morning…” he said quietly, after debating whether he even wanted to say anything.

Kaiser glanced at him briefly, “Morning, I made coffee.”

Relief washed over Ness as he thought that Kaiser was no longer mad at him. He walked by him and poured himself a cup, drinking it a bit fast as they were supposed to leave soon and he needed to get dressed and pack his practice bag. Kaiser, already packed and ready to go, stood waiting for him by the door. He didn’t feel the same tension in the air as he did yesterday, which he was really glad about.

They made their way to practice, meeting up with their teammates, Kaiser ignoring the obvious glare their coach was shooting him because of their phone call yesterday. They went through the usual motions, warming up before moving on to doing what the coach had in mind. 

Ness was trying to do extra well in practice today, to please the ever demanding Kaiser. However, being too in his head about doing well made him make mistakes, causing Kaiser as well as his other teammates to be annoyed with him. He was thinking too hard about every single movement which caused him to mess up even the most basic plays he’s done countless times. As it came time to take a break, Ness sat on the grass, catching his breath as he noticed a familiar pair of shoes walk up and stop right in front of him.

“What the hell is up with you today?” Kaiser said, while also handing Ness a water bottle.

“I- I don’t know. I’m sorry- I’ll try harder, I promise.” Ness looked up at Kaiser, feeling horrible because he knew how much Kaiser hated when people underperformed, the worst of it being when Ness underperformed.

“Just get your head back in the game, okay?” He replied, walking away and leaving Ness to sit in the grass.

He watched as Kaiser walked away, thankful he didn’t get yelled at over this. It was weird, though, because Kaiser never felt like he couldn’t say what he was thinking and never cared whether Ness wanted to hear his opinion or not. He always said what was on his mind, no matter how mean or cruel his words were. So this behavior was very unlike him, which made Ness worry more than if he had just gotten chewed out as usual.

Practice ended after a while, with Ness trying his best to make up for his earlier mistakes. Saying goodbye to their coach, all of the players made their way into the locker room. As Ness was trailing behind Kaiser, one of his teammates caught up to him, making conversation.

“Hey, everything alright? Don’t sweat about today, you did great!” he said, giving Ness a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“Oh… Yeah, I’m fine, thank you.” Ness replied with a smile, feeling a little better now that he knew at least one person wasn’t upset with him.

“If you keep going easy on everyone we might as well just give up like fucking losers.” Kaiser’s voice boomed, walking two steps in front of them, not even turning around to look at them.

“I was just trying to make him feel better man, calm down.” The teammate argued back.

“Are you here to make him feel better or to play soccer, huh?” Kaiser now fully stopped and turned around, staring daggers at the guy.

“What is you fucking deal…” he commented before walking off, deciding fighting Kaiser wasn’t worth it.

“So, Kaiser was still upset with me…” He thought as he tried to blink away a couple of stray tears that threatened to spill past his lashes.

Taking a deep breath in, Kaiser just continued walking back towards the showers, with Ness running to catch up with him.

He knew he was taking a while in the shower, but he had to think about what he could do or say to Kaiser for him to finally stop acting this coldly towards him. Their earlier nice moment now entirely forgotten, Ness went over the past two days in his head, trying his hardest to understand what he did wrong.

The only thing that was making any logical sense to him was that Kaiser was feeling jealous. But that seemed so far out of the realm of possibility that Ness didn’t even entertain that thought for more than the fleeting second it took for it to cross his mind. Finishing up and stepping out of the shower to find the entire locker room empty made Ness realize just how long he actually spent in there. The only person still there besides him was, of course, Kaiser, who was sitting on the bench leaning against the cold metal lockers. He was looking directly at where Ness came from, his face unreadable.

“Are you waiting for me? Sorry I-I was… thinking.” Ness apologized, smiling a little, the clear tension in the room making him uncomfortable.

Kaiser nodded slightly, still staring right into Ness’ eyes, not saying anything else.

“Uh… Micha? You okay?” he asked, worried because he wasn’t able to understand what Kaiser was thinking based on his face.

His eyes widened as Kaiser stood up abruptly, closing the distance between them as he towered over Ness.

“Wha- What are you doing?” he said hesitantly, backing away just slightly.

Before he could say anything else, Kaiser gripped his jaw tightly, his hold strong and painful.

Ness winced, grabbing onto his arm, trying to free himself. He couldn’t pry Kaiser’s hand away from his face, squirming in his hold as a dull ache spread in the lower half of his face.

“You think you can just do that bullshit with me around?” Kaiser spat, his face impossibly close to Ness’, staring right into his eyes as he spoke.

“Do what? I don’t know what you mean.” Ness protested, trying to look away.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” He said, his grip not faltering even for a second.

With a strong shove, Ness managed to get Kaiser away from him, “No! I don’t! That’s why I’m asking. You get mad at me but won’t tell me why and it's not fair!”

Clutching his side, Kaiser looked up at Ness, even angrier now, “You sit there and let these nobodies shower you with attention. And you do it with me watching.”

“What attention? Are you even hearing yourself?” Ness was now screaming at him, fed up with how Kaiser had been treating him these past two days, especially since he had zero idea what he was getting at.

“Are you seriously fucking asking me that?” He said, walking towards the shorter again, “They are all over you and you don’t even care? You want them to do it too, right? You want me to fucking see.”

Ness moved away from him, not wanting to have to push him again, “All over me? What!? People aren’t allowed to be nice to me? You’re acting like you’re jealous or something! ”

“Maybe I am fucking jealous!” Kaiser yelled so loudly that his voice echoed in the empty locker room.

Ness just stood there, mouth open as he took in the words Kaiser just said. Jealous? Of who? The people giving Ness attention? There was no way that was the case. Kaiser also realized what he just said, shutting up and just staring at Ness. Both of them were frozen like that for a moment, neither of them daring to say anything.

Suddenly, Kaiser started walking towards Ness again, with the other being too shocked to register it or even move back. The next thing Ness felt was Kaiser crashing his lips into his in a hungry kiss. What Kaiser did was so unexpected that he didn’t even kiss him back, just stood there as he felt Kaiser’s lips moving against his before retracting quickly. Kaiser moved away from Ness, brushing his hair back with his hand as he sighed deeply.

“Fuck. I- Shit.” he was pacing around the locker room, clearly distressed from what he had just done.

Ness’ head was spinning. He expected anything from this situation, except Kaiser kissing him. He had wanted Kaiser’s attention since the day they met, but he was happy with just being allowed to exist in Kaiser’s life, however the older wanted him to. He never could have imagined it would be Kaiser who kissed him because he was jealous of others getting his attention.

His mind was hazy and through the blur he managed to say a weak, “Do it again…”

Kaiser snapped his head up to look at Ness, “What did you say?”

“K-Kiss me again, please.” Ness said, a little louder now.

It took seconds before Kaiser’s lips were back on Ness’ only this time Ness kissed him back. The kiss was searing, with Kaiser pulling Ness closer by the waist. Their mouths moved in sync, as if they were always meant to be exactly like this. Ness threaded his hands into Kaiser’s dyed blue hair, slightly tugging as the taller bit his lower lip, wanting to deepen the kiss.

Ness parted his lips with a sigh, allowing Kaiser to hungrily lick into his mouth, tasting every corner he could reach. They walked backwards until Ness’ back hit the wall, the empty locker room getting filled with sounds of their spit slicked lips and Ness’ desperate gasps.

With their bodies pressed flush together, Ness could feel a bulge starting to form in Kaiser’s pants, which made him gasp even harder as they kept kissing. Breaking apart for air, both of them panted heavily into each other's mouth. The string of spit connecting their lips from when they were kissing broke, a single drop falling onto Ness’ chin. Kaiser leaned in again, kissing him in a way that was all tongue and spit, hungry and demanding as he pressed his knee between Ness’ legs, directly into his own half hard cock.

Moving down to kiss Ness’ jaw and neck, Kaiser pushed his knee even further, dragging a low moan out of Ness. He bit and sucked on Ness’ neck, finding a sensitive spot right under Ness’ ear, attacking the delicate skin with teeth and open mouthed kisses. Ness tugged at his hair even harder now, wanting to feel all of Kaiser on him after imagining this moment for years.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Kaiser whispered against Ness’ neck, his breath hot.

“Fuck. Yes, please.” Ness whined in response, a shiver running down his spine.

They broke apart, hurriedly gathering their things and making their way out of the locker room. The walk home was excruciating, both of them all but running so they could put their hands on each other as soon as possible.

Kaiser’s mind was racing with different thoughts. He had no idea how much he wanted Ness until he saw him give attention to others. He kicked himself for taking so long to realize Ness could never only be his friend. Thinking about all of the things he would do to Ness as soon as the doors closed behind him made his cock twitch in his pants.

As soon as the lock of their front door clicked behind them, Kaiser’s lips were back on Ness. They kissed sloppily, kicking their shoes off and throwing their bags by the door, not breaking apart for a single second. Kaiser led them towards the kitchen, pushing Ness up onto the counter and slotting in between his legs. He moved his hand to palm at Ness’ bulge, making the other whine desperately.

Ness spread his legs even further, wanting to feel more of Kaiser’s touch as he started kissing and licking down his neck. He weaved his tongue between the icy blue array of rose blossoms painted on Kaiser’s neck, caressing the black vines and thorns that wrapped around his arm with the tips of his fingers.

He could feel goosebumps raise on the nape of Kaiser’s neck as he kissed all of the exposed skin he could reach. Deciding that wasn’t nearly enough, he tugged at Kaiser’s shirt, pulling it up and over the blonde's head. Having access to more skin, he continued kissing and biting down his neck, around his collarbones and shoulders. He wanted so badly to suck bruises into the skin, mark his claim on Kaiser so that nobody could even think about taking him.

Kaiser let Ness do as he pleased, his breathing getting faster as he kept palming Ness’ now fully hard cock through his pants. Grabbing a fistfull of Ness’ hair, he dragged his lips away from his skin, forcing them to make eye contact.

“Couch, now.” he commanded, pulling Ness with him as he made his way into the living room.

He sat down on the couch, waiting for Ness to join him. The younger, instead of sitting on the couch, moved all the way down until he was kneeling on the soft rug, in between Kaiser’s legs. Kaiser’s eyes widened slightly, getting even more turned on by the sight in front of him. Ness’ face was a mess, lips swollen and bitten, his eyes glossy and unfocused. His hair was messy and he had just pulled his own shirt off, too. He looked mesmerizing.

“Can I…?” Ness asked, voice soft as he hooked a finger into the waistband of Kaiser’s pants.

Wordlessly, Kaiser lifted his hips up, allowing Ness to pull both his pants and boxers down in one swift motion. His hard cock sprung free, slapping against his abdomen, already leaking a bit of precum. Ness licked his lips as he stared up at the taller. Not wasting another moment, he leaned in, experimentally licking the underside of his cock. Kaiser groaned at the sensation, not realizing how much he needed Ness’ lips wrapped around him until it was happening.

Ness swirled his tongue around the tip, tasting the salty precum. Closing his lips around the head, he took more and more of Kaiser into his mouth, the sheer size of him making Ness wonder if he will be able to fit all of it in.

His lips stretched more as he sunk down little by little. He started bobbing his head up and down, hollowing his cheeks and stroking what he couldn’t fit in his mouth with his hand. The other hand was holding onto Kaiser’s thigh as support as he picked the pace up.

Low groans were coming from above him and a hand found itself in his hair. His mouth was so wet and hot and it took everything in Kaiser not to buck up into it. One particular time, Ness took almost all of the length in his mouth, relaxing his throat as he started gagging and choking slightly. As he pulled off to regain his breath, Kaiser pulled him up into a kiss.

“Where did you learn how to suck cock like that?” Kaiser teased, genuinely surprised at how good Ness was at this.

Giving him a sly smile instead of a response, Ness whispered in his ear, “I want you to fuck my mouth...”

Kaiser immediately stood up from the couch, grabbing both sides of Ness’ head as the shorter opened his mouth expectantly. He pushed in slowly, burying himself to the hilt in Ness’ throat for just a moment, before he started thrusting in and out of his mouth at a relatively fast pace. Ness was gripping his thighs properly now, blunt nail digging crescents into the soft skin. Feeling like he was about to come soon, Kaiser pulled out, crouching down to caress Ness’ face as he spoke.

“My bed or yours?” He asked, looking Ness up and down.

“Ah- Yours…” Ness replied, voice a little hoarse, already standing up and grabbing Kaiser’s hand.

Letting himself be pulled along, he admired the curve of Ness’ ass as the brunette walked in front of him. He sat down on the bed and told Ness to strip and get on the bed on his hands and knees. Leaning back, he watched as Ness slowly hooked his fingers into the waistband, pulling his pants down and kicking them to the side. He turned around, teasingly pulling his boxers down, immediately becoming embarrassed when he realized how he probably looked.

“Come here… Fuck.” Kaiser said breathlessly, impossibly turned on by what Ness just did.

Noticing the faint look of embarrassment on his face, Kaiser pulled him towards the bed by the waist.

“Don’t. That was fucking hot.” He said, Ness blushing a furious red now, the compliment sounding strange coming from the older.

Pulling Ness down on the bed so he was on all fours, Kaiser sat behind him, massaging the soft flesh of his ass. The way they were sitting, Kaiser could see everything. Ness buried his face in his hands, feeling very exposed as his hard cock hung between his legs. Not saying anything else, Kaiser leaned down and bit into Ness’ ass, making the other yelp in surprise. He kept biting and sucking the smooth skin, using his hands to expose him even further before moving to lick at his entrance. The sensation made Ness gasp and whine, not used to the wet feeling of a tongue in that way. Kaiser kept licking around, using one hand to stroke Ness’ neglected cock slowly. Biting down into his arm to stop his moans, Ness rocked his hips back slightly, wanting Kaiser to fill him.

“Patience, you’re not even prepped yet.” He warned, giving his ass a small slap, not enough to leave a handprint.

“Please, can’t wait a-anymore…” Ness whined, wiggling his hips in a desperate attempt to persuade Kaiser.

He felt the mattress dip as Kaiser opened a bedside drawer, rummaging in there before cursing under his breath.

“I don’t have any lube here…” He said, sounding pissed.

Ness turned around to look at him, “M-My room. Bottom drawer…”

The smallest smile spread over Kaiser’s face, surprised that Ness would keep lube next to his bed. He quickly ran to his room, retrieving the bottle. Ness heard the cap click and moments after, one of Kaiser’s fingers was prodding at his entrance. He sighed as the Kaiser pushed it all the way in, slowly starting to move it back and forth.

Quiet moans filled the room as he accommodated to the stretch, with Kaiser soon adding a second finger, speeding up a little as he felt Nes relax. Scissoring his fingers, he muttered quiet praises that Ness couldn’t hear over the sound of his own, increasingly louder moans. After a third finger was able to comfortably squeeze next to the other two, Kaiser hooked his fingers, stretching Ness as much as he could before the brunette’s moans turned into whines.

“I- ah- I’m ready… Please…” He said through heavy breaths, wanting nothing more than to feel Kaiser’s cock inside of him.

Giving a few more thrusts of his fingers, Kaiser pulled them out, leaving Ness’ entrance to flutter at the sudden emptiness. Flipping him onto his back, Kaiser slicked himself up before leaning down to kiss Ness again. This time the kiss was sweet and gentle, with Ness wrapping his arms around Kaiser’s neck. Moments later, the blonde was lining up, slowly pushing the tip of his cock in.

Ness tensed up at the feeling, reminding himself to relax as much as he could. Noticing this, Kaiser stroked his cock slowly while peppering kisses across his chest and shoulders, waiting for Ness’ muscles to ease up again. Ness panted heavily as Kaiser started pushing in again, this time not stopping until he was fully inside. Staying still for a few moments, he watched as Ness’ chest moved up and down, his eyebrows furrowing as the burning stretch stopped being as painful.

“Ngh… M-Move…” Ness breathed out, getting impatient.

Suddenly, Kaiser pulled out and pushed back in, making Ness cry out. Not wasting any more time, he started fucking into Ness in earnest, feeling like he had been waiting for this moment all his life. Ness was moaning loudly, echoing in the room mixed with the sounds of skin on skin and Kaiser’s loud groans. He leaned over Ness’ body, looking him in the eyes as he snapped his hips flush with his ass.

“Fuck… More… p-please ah-” Ness was babbling, each word punched out of him with Kaiser’s thrusts.

Kaiser held his hips firmly, his grip bruising as he fucked him even faster. Ness reached up to touch his face, and Kaiser planted sloppy kisses all over his hands as his hair fell over his face, sticking to his forehead.

“You’re so t-tight, fuck, Lex…” He managed through gritted teeth, feeling Ness clench around him harder and harder.

He slowed down, thrusting into Ness deeply. Leaning over to kiss Ness as he did so, his fingers intertwined with Ness’, holding his hand firmly against the mattress. Ness blushed again, the sudden change in pace feeling more intimate. He moaned loudly as Kaiser angled himself differently, hitting his prostate dead on. Finding the spot that makes Ness see stars, Kaiser picked up the pace again, repeatedly slamming into it over and over, turning Ness’ moans into high pitched screams.

“Micha… ah- ah- I-I’m clo- close… ah-” he said, eyes screwed shut, a few stray tears falling from his long lashes.

“Me t-too… Shit…” Kaiser replied, wrapping his other hand around Ness’ leaking cock, matching the pace of his thrusts.

Not even a few moments later, Ness felt his orgasm crash over him as he came with a loud scream, shaking slightly as Kaiser fucked him through it. The pleasure started mixing with pain as Kaiser chased his own orgasm, not taking long before he came deep inside of Ness with something that sounded like a mix of a grunt and a moan. They stayed like that for a moment, both of them breathing heavily, before Kaiser slowly pulled out, making Ness wince at the uncomfortable sensation.

“Sorry for the…Holy shit…” Kaiser blurted out, gesturing towards Ness’ ass.

The other just shook his head, a tired smile plastered on his face. Kaiser flopped on the bed beside him, sloppily kissing him again. Ness kissed him back lazily, wanting nothing more than to clean up and fall asleep. Kaiser got out of the bed after a few minutes, coming back with a warm washcloth and wiping Ness down as best as he could.

“We should probably shower, I feel gross.” Ness said, turning to lay on his side.

They made their way into the shower, awkwardly bumping into each other, washing each other’s hair. They spent most of the shower kissing and splashing each other, before actually getting cleaned and going to the living room.

Sitting across from each other on the couch, they both knew it was time to have a conversation about what the hell just happened. Only, neither of them really know how to start.

“Listen-” They both said at the same time, Ness giggling at their synchronization as Kaiser looked away, embarrassed.

“You first…” Ness prompted, leaning back on his hands, watching intently as Kaiser met his eyes again.

“I… I’m sorry for how I acted these past few days. I was being a fucking moron, I realize that.” He gave a slight smile as he said, “I just- I didn’t- Shit I’m bad at this.”
“It’s okay, you’re doing great… Just say what's on your mind, please. It’s a lot easier.” Ness reassured him.

“Yeah, okay…” He lowered his gaze, “I just, felt so- jealous when I saw you talking to other guys… I didn’t want you to… I don’t know, I wanted your attention all to myself.”

Ness looked at him, his eyes wide, finding it hard to believe Kaiser was actually saying the words he was hearing, wondering what could’ve been if either of them had said something earlier.

“What I want to say is… I wanted you… I want you.” Kaiser whispered the last part, his usual loud demeanor being replaced with a suddenly shy, scared boy.

“Micha… I- I want you too… I’ve always wanted you.” he said, breathlessly. 

Kaiser looked up again, staring at Ness as if this was news to him. Ness chuckled slightly, understanding that both of them were way out of their depth here, neither of them used to these kinds of conversations.

“Will you… uh- be my-” Kaiser struggled to get the words out, feeling like his entire body was on fire.

Ness leaned over, planting a chaste kiss to his lips, “Of course I will.”

Hearing those words, Kaiser tackled him down onto the couch, kissing him once more. They spent a few minutes like that, holding each other. Hearing Kaiser yawn, Ness gently pushed him aside as he sat up on the couch.

“Come on, let’s take a nap.” He said, interlocking his fingers with Kaiser’s, pulling the sleepy blonde up off the couch and towards his room.

“Wait, why not my bed?” Kaiser questioned, eyes half closed.

“I don’t plan on sleeping in your sweaty sheets.” Ness answered, “Besides, I like my room better.”

“Well, I like my room better…” Kaiser argued, fake annoyance in his tone.

“I think we might need to look for a different apartment, one with a single bedroom, because I don’t plan on having this conversation every night from now on.” He said playfully, spinning around to give a quick kiss to Kaiser’s cheek.

That made the blonde shut up, nodding in agreement as they got under the covers. Kaiser pulled Ness in close, smelling the sweet scent of his shampoo mixed with the smell of his bedsheets.

As they held each other, both of them on the brink of falling asleep, Michael Kaiser was ready to accept that he was, in fact, a jealous person. But, if it meant he got to fall asleep next to Alexis Ness every night from now on, he was alright with adding that adjective to the list of others that could be used to describe him.