Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They were sitting down at dinner in a fancy restaurant that Kaiser had picked out for them, one of his favourites. This was something more of Kaiser’s scene, a fancy steak house, a place with red velvet booths, chandeliers that glowed like melted gold, wine that would have cost them half of their yearly salary if it wasn’t for the fact that they were internationally famous and Kaiser had pulled strings.

This was a place that Kaiser enjoyed eating at. He liked places where he could flaunt his wealth. He would never admit it outright, but extravagance fed him, it gave him a thrill to be so casually and grossly generous.

He never had to say it out loud, but both he and Ness knew why. They would never admit it, though.

And so, Ness bore it through. Ness didn’t care either way. It didn’t matter to him that he would rather be eating a small meal together with Kaiser in their dining room, somewhere more personal, where they could share laughter and warm gazes. He would have been happier sharing takeout at home.

It's not like things like that happened anymore between them anyway.

Kaiser would call Ness stuck in the past if Ness ever brought it up.

And so Ness endured. He sat at the table awkwardly, cutting away at the steak that Kaiser had bought for both of them. He wasn’t even sure if Kaiser remembered that he didn’t like his steak medium rare, that being Kaiser’s preference. He liked his well done.

He wasn’t going to complain. Not when they hadn’t been able to eat together like this in weeks, maybe even months. He was taken aback because when Kaiser had been the one to bring it up, they should have gone out to eat. Ness had tried to hide his joy.

“So-Micha.” Ness began awkwardly, his tentative voice breaking the heavy silence. Neither of them had said anything since they arrived, not even as they placed their orders

Kaiser had seemed deeply lost in thought, barely glancing at Ness. He seemed worlds apart, as if they were on different continents, even though they were not even 5 feet apart.

Bitterness pricked at Ness’s chest. What was the point of asking Ness to come with him when he wasn’t even going to be acknowledged?

“Micha?” Ness tried again.
Kaiser finally looked up, brows knitted, before his facial expression softened into something unreadable.

“What?” He said after he finished chewing and swallowing. Instead of looking upset that Ness had interrupted him, like he usually would, he just looked apprehensive.

“This place is nice.” Ness forced a smile. Thank you for planning this.”

“Is there any reason in particular why you wanted to get together?” Ness asked, trying his best to keep the hopeful edge out of his voice. Maybe Kaiser had remembered their anniversary, which was happening in a week. Kaiser probably didn’t even remember Ness’s birthday, as he sometimes forgot. He used to make a big deal of this whole thing when they first got together, but as they stayed together, Kaiser had slowly started making less of a big deal, saying that it happened every year and didn’t matter anyway.

This made Kaiser’s eyes focus, back straightening as he looked at Ness with a serious expression.

“Yes, actually. I needed to talk to you about something.” He cleared his throat, his intense eyes still focused on Ness. Ness felt his heart give a jolt as he strained to hear what Kaiser had to say next, over the murmur of the crowd around them, quiet conversation, and clinking glass.

“Well. I have been thinking.” Kaiser started. “We have been together for such a long time. Since we were teenagers.”

Ness nodded, unsure of what Kaiser was saying, as he tried his hardest to fight off the blossoming warmth iin his chest, his treacherous heart telling him that he already knew what Kaiser was going to say. It was the only logical option, wasn’t it?

“Well, since we have been together for such a long period of time, it's only natural that we have grown used to each other.”

Ness felt his eyes widen as his breath caught in his throat. Kaiser was going to-

“I think that has been holding both of us back. Neither of us has had the option to explore our options with other people, see if the two of us are truly the best fit for each other. We’ve known each other since we were 15, and have been together since.”

What?

“What?” Ness faintly echoed the thought that was bouncing in his head.

“Are-” His voice cracked as he tried his hardest to push through the audible sound of his heart breaking. He wasn’t comprehending this. He couldn’t understand what Kaiser was saying.

“Are you saying we should break up?”

Kaiser raised an eyebrow, as if the notion of this was ridiculous. “Of course not.” He scoffed, as if Ness was the one being unreasonable. Ness nodded along. Right of course, Ness had heard him wrong, he-

“We are just going to be opening up our marriage. See other options, see what else lies for us.” Kaiser said easily, as if there was anything easy about this.

“What, Kaiser, why?” Ness wheezed out, his breathing getting harder and harder as he kept staring at Kaiser, shocked. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real.

“It's really not that big of a deal, Ness.” Kaiser sighed. “It’s just an idea, we don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I guess. Just thought this would be something you agree with, since it will help strengthen our relationship.” Kaiser slumped back, seemingly having lost all interest in the conversation. “If you loved me and wanted our relationship to get better, you would have agreed.”

How the fuck would it do that? Ness wanted to scream. He had just wanted to spend more time with Kaiser, wanted it to go back to how it was before.

Kaiser glanced at him from the corner of his eyes before smirking, almost as if he had read Ness’s mind. “You know, it would be the last thing we would need to know, right before we retire.” He said casually. This made Ness perk up.

“Retire?” He asked timidly. Kaiser smiled, slowly, languidly. He leaned back. Ness couldn’t help but feel as if he had fallen straight into Kaiser’s trap.

“Our relationship has been a bit strained for the past few months, hasn’t it?” He said softly, head resting on his palm as he stared up at Ness. Ness, unsure of where this was going, nodded hesitantly.

“Well, don’t you think this would be the final push we need? To truly make sure that our relationship is where it needs to be, before we retire? We could even start a family, like you wanted to.”

The words of his relaxed, seemed natural to anybody else who would have heard their conversation. But Ness could pick up on the sly urgency behind his words, the seductive promise hidden inside. Kaiser was baiting him with an offer that Ness couldn’t refuse.

Ness stared at Kaiser, jaw dropping. “Kaiser- Kaiser, are you serious?” Ness asked breathlessly.

Kaiser waved his hand noncommittally. “Of course.” He said easily, his voice soft and indulgent. “Think of this as a test. We can do this temporarily, and then once we see that we are truly the ones right for each other, we can come back, stronger than ever, and start a family.” Kaiser glanced up at Ness, a honey-sweet smile on his face.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” He crooned.

He just swallowed and nodded. “R-right.” He forced out. Logically, everything Kaiser was saying was correct. This would only prove that they were meant to be together and that they could start a family. Ness had been wanting to retire for a few years now, but kept extending his contract due to Kaiser’s insistence.

Ness had always dreamt of starting a family. It had been a dream of his to have children with the man he loves and provide his kids with a supportive and stable family environment that he had never been able to get when he was a kid. He wanted to have children that he could love and provide for.

Kaiser had never been as interested in that as Ness had been. Ness had been careful not to push, because he never would want to make someone have the kids that they didn’t want to have. And Ness would have been fine with it, too.

But now… Kaiser was so willingly offering him this…

“Well, what would an open relationship mean exactly?” He asked weakly. Saying those words hurt; they hurt so much, but Ness pushed through regardless.

Kaiser was finally sitting up again, a gleam in his eyes that Ness tried to ignore.

“It’s simple.” He began. “We can go on dates and be with whoever we want, no limitations. You can do whatever you want with whatever, and the same goes for me. No boundaries.” He shrugs casually, tipping back the rest of the wine in his glass, swallowing, his lips curling into something too sharp to be a smile.. “And then we can call it off when we both think it's suitable.”

“For both of us?” Ness frowned. He couldn’t imagine himself going out and spending his time with anybody other than Kaiser. He couldn’t imagine wanting to choose the company of somebody over Kaiser, talking to them, laughing with them, sharing inside jokes with them. Sleeping with them.

And as Ness stared into the eyes of Kaiser, he got the distinct feeling that Kaiser couldn’t imagine that happening for Ness either.

And so as they left the dinner, Kaiser was beaming in ways that Ness hadn’t seen in weeks, rapidly typing away at his phone.

And Ness well. He could only fight the crushing urge to cry.

Chapter Text

If Ness didn’t know any better, he would think that Kaiser specifically presented this plan because he had somebody that he wanted to be with already.

When Kaiser had presented this plan, Ness had expected Kaiser to take a while to go and search for somebody that he wanted to be with. He didn’t expect to come back from practice, with the full intent of talking to Kaiser, only to see Kaiser getting ready for something.

“Where are you going?” Ness asked curiously, putting his bag down and taking off his shoes. He couldn’t remember Kaiser telling him about any plans.

“Out. Date.” Was Kaiser’s short reply, tone signaling the end of the conversation. But the message didn’t go through to Ness, who jolted and almost tripped over the same shoes that he was untying.

“What?” He exclaimed loudly, looking at Kaiser with wide eyes. “What date, what?”

Kaiser glanced up coolly. “Remember what we talked about yesterday?” He said in a tone one would use to talk to a child they believed was stupid.

“Well-” Ness stuttered. “Well, yes, but I didn’t think it would be so soon?” He finished off weakly.

“Why not?” Kaiser raised an eyebrow, body language relaxed and easy, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. As if he wasn’t breaking Ness’s heart with every sentence he continued to utter.

“I managed to set it up as soon as possible.” He continued. “Won’t it be better that we get it over with when we can? Better than dragging it out, right?” Kaiser smiled again, and Ness could do nothing but nod.

When Kaiser was gone, Ness felt emptier inside than he had in months. He knew that their relationship had been falling apart; he could see it with his own eyes. Kaiser was no longer the attentive husband that he had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Gone were the moments they had shared where Ness thought that this was the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

And now, all that was left was whatever this was.

But all he could do now was just wait. Kaiser would get bored of being with other people eventually, right? Then he would come back, and they could finally be together and live the life that they had dreamed of.

—- —- - - – - - - - - - - – – - – –

It has been two weeks, and Ness has seen Kaiser at night exactly three times.

Every evening, no matter what day it was, Ness would come home from practice, just to find Kaiser putting on his fancy button-ups, spraying the cologne that Ness had gotten him, putting on his shoes, and being out the door, sometimes not even 30 seconds after Ness had gotten home.

It had become a routine, and slowly started shifting over to all the free time they had. Ness would be lucky to wake up and see Kaiser still in bed if they had a day off. All the time that wasn’t spent practicing, Kaiser would be on his phone, rapidly typing away on the screen before putting it away with a satisfied smirk and then be gone that evening.

The loneliness gnawed at Ness. He dragged himself through training, only to sit at home eating a sad, silent meal with no one across the table. He felt like he didn’t have a partner anymore, just the ghost of one.

He tried asking Kaiser once to stay back. It was on the day of their anniversary. He didn’t even think he would have to ask.

“Kaiser, where are you going?” He said, confused. He had made reservations for them and was hoping that he would be able to surprise his husband.

Kaiser barely glanced up before going back to tying up his button-down. “Dinner reservations.”

“What?” Ness frowned. “With who?”

Kaiser glanced at him from the corner of his eye, looking irritated at the questions.

“Date.” He said reluctantly, as if he didn’t want to say anything, but knew he couldn’t hide it.

“With who, though? Today?”

Kaiser waved it off. “Not important. Just someone, don’t worry about it.”

“But Kaiser, I-I made reservations for us tonight.”

Kaiser raised his eyebrows. “Tonight? Why? Just cancel it, we can go some other time. This restaurant was hard to get a place in, so I couldn't cancel at the last minute.” His voice was dismissive, tone final.

And so, Ness was left again, on the evening of their anniversary, sitting in a dark house, completely and utterly alone.

And to think that Ness had been worried that his reservations would interfere with his husband’s.

As if his husband would have even made one. Well, he did. But not for them. He clearly had more important things on his mind, rather than celebrating their decade-long marriage.

Rin finally picked up after the third or fifth call. “What.” His monotone voice came over the speaker, and Ness felt relief go through him at the sound of his voice.

“Hi Rin.” Ness greeted pleasantly. There was a sigh, before a much softer voice came through. “Hi Ness,” Rin replied. “Why are you calling me? Isn’t today your anniversary?”

Ness felt the small lasting relief drain immediately. “Ah yes.” He spoke, trying to sound cheerful. “Well, things came up and plans fell through. You know how it is.”

“No, I don’t.” Rin didn’t sound impressed. “Did he leave for another date?”

Rin and Ness’s relationship was a weird one. They both met at a weird stage in their life, and despite Rin being several years younger than Ness, they struck up an awkward but easy friendship, Ness feeling like Rin’s older brother at times, and was, at least when his own older brother wasn’t there for Rin. They have an understanding between them that can’t be explained by others, even if some people mistake them for father and son.

“Well… yes.” Ness continued on before Rin could say anything. “But that’s not that important. Do you want to hang out? I don’t particularly feel like being alone right now.”

There was a small pause before Rin spoke again. “I’m sorry, I can’t. My brother called out sick for some reason and asked me to cover for him, even though I have no clue what he could possibly be doing tonight. But he said it was urgent and there’s no one else for us to hand over the bar to tonight.” He informed Ness, and Ness felt a tiny bit better at the regret that was emanating from his voice.

Rin spoke again.

“You can go to Black Rock, though. If you wanna go somewhere.”

“The one by your college?”

“Yeah. I have a-” There was a choking noise. “A f-friend who works there. Go there sometimes. It's probably not as fancy as the places Kaiser goes to, but it's still nice, so I think you can go there with privacy but not get caught up with Kaiser.”

Ness nodded slowly. “That sounds nice, okay. Thank you, I'll go there.”

“Sure,” Rin said, before going silent for a minute. “Ness,” He spoke again gruffly. “If you need anything, call me. Or whatever.”

Ness hid his smile, even though he knew Rin wouldn’t be able to see it. “Yeah.” He agreed softly. “Thanks, Rin.”

– - - - - - - - – - – – - - - - -

This was an area that Ness had never been to before. This wasn’t that far from the bar that the Itoshi brothers owned, a high-scale bar that was near the richer part of the town, but it was still in a completely different area.

Ness looked at his GPS one more time before parking his Mercedes and turning it off, getting out of the car. He looked around, noticing the entrance to the bar, and walked in.

Immediately walking in, it had a nice vibe. The area was nice, fancy, and comfortable, but not as high-end as the bars that he and Kaiser would usually visit. Ness couldn’t help but like it.

There were a few people around, all seemingly occupied. The bar was empty, except for a singular bartender standing around, wiping the glasses and putting them away. Ness decided to head on over there and order a drink. He could probably take a drink or two, wait until he was sober and then head over home.

This wasn’t what he had planned, hoping that he would be with his husband or his one friend, but it was fine. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to being alone.

He sat down on the barstool, placing his hands on the marble island, coughing slightly to get the bartender’s attention, who was currently turned around.

The man turned, smiling automatically. “Hello, sir.” He greeted, putting down the glass in his hand. “What can I get-” He glanced up, looking at Ness, before freezing completely, eyes widening, and a tint of red appearing high up on his cheekbones.

Ness stared back, confused, before the bartender cleared his throat.

“Sorry about that, sir. What can I get you?”

“Whiskey on the rocks, thank you.” Ness smiled politely, tapping his fingers on the marble nervously.

The man made his drink, moving with practiced ease, although his eyes kept flicking back to Ness, curious, almost hungry.

He slid over the drink, and Ness took it gratefully, taking a sip. It was pretty good quality. Ness might come here more often.

“Well, what's a gorgeous-looking person like you doing alone on a Friday night?” Ness startled as the man spoke to him, voice casual but still flirtatious. At least Ness thought it was flirtatious. He wasn’t sure, but that probably wasn’t it.

“Sorry?” He asked hesitantly.

The man tilted his head, looking a bit more shy now. “I don’t mean to be forward. You’re just… pretty. I want to know if you are here alone or not.”

Ness cleared his throat, caught off guard and unsure how to reply. “Well, yes. I am here alone, but-” He felt flustered and unsure what else to say, resigning to shyly point at the ring that was sitting on his left ring finger.

“Married, huh?” The bartender asked, looking apprehensive before grinning again. “Happily?”

This caused Ness to choke on the drink that was just given to him. A small huff of laughter escaped the blue-haired man before looking apologetic.

“What- what is that supposed to mean?” Ness sputtered out, looking scandalized.

“I'm sorry, sir, that was just a joke.” His laugh was twinkling and still as cute as before, but there was a more polite, guarded edge to it now. Ness, for some reason, found himself not liking that edge.

“Well, I mean-” He started before he could stop himself, and the bartender’s eyes darted towards him again. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to find the words to say what he wanted to. He felt awkward under the stranger's intense blue eyes that were looking at him expectantly.

“Me and my husband, we are uhm-” He continued, not noticing the way the man lit up at the mention of husband and not wife. “We are in an open relationship. Right now. Currently. At this moment.” He finished lamely, feeling himself blush warm with embarrassment as he looked up and saw a small twitch of amusement on the man’s face. How does he manage to embarrass himself in every situation?

“Open relationship, huh?” The man said casually, as he continued his previous ministrations of wiping down the glass. “With someone as beautiful as you? Your husband must be one self-assured man.” Ness frowned at that.

“What does that mean?” He asked accusingly. The man raised his eyebrows. “What does that mean? Was it his decision to open the marriage?”

Ness didn’t like the knowing tone of voice the stranger had. “Well, yes.” He admitted begrudgingly, fighting off the embarrassment that was creeping up on him.

But unlike the voice of pity or even cruelty that Ness was expecting, the bartender just scoffed. “See what I mean? Must be one self-assured man, willingly allowing other people to be with you.”

Ness frowned. “Well- no. He just…” His voice trailed off. “He wanted to explore other options. We have been married for a long time, it's natural.” He said defensively, fighting the urge to shrink in on himself at the pathetic excuse, as the man’s eyebrows kept raising.

“Really.” His voice was flat. “He wanted to explore other options. When he was with you.” The questions didn’t really seem like questions, more like statements of disbelief.

 

“Uhm- Yes?” Ness answered hesitantly.

The bartender let out a weary sigh. “They never know what they have.” He muttered under his breath.

“Well, how has it been going for you then?” The bartender resumed making his drink, but was seemingly listening at the same time. The attention was nice, and Ness found himself opening up.

“Well, he has been gone every day for the past few weeks.” Ness shrugged lightly. “It was supposed to be our anniversary today, actually, our 10th wedding anniversary. But he had reservations and couldn’t miss it.”

He took a sip of his drink, waiting for a response, and looked up, confused when he didn’t get any. He found the man staring at him with pure horror in his eyes.

“Are- are you serious?” He asked, his voice breaking.

“Yea?” Ness said, confused. He waited for a few more minutes for the man to say something before realizing. “Oh, don’t worry, he does that sometimes. He doesn’t remember dates sometimes, and gets things mixed up.” Ness laughed softly, and the pain in his heart dulled out.

“Like my birthday, too, it just slips his mind. Not a big deal, really. He was born on Christmas, so we don’t celebrate him that much either. It's natural.”

“He left you, by yourself, and made you cancel your dinner reservations. For someone else, on your anniversary.” He repeated back to Ness, his voice getting more and more incredulous.

Ness shrugged, sipping his drink again. He won’t cry. Not right now.

“Well, please tell me you have been seeing someone else, too. You have been spending time with others, right?”

Ness shrugged again. “Who am I supposed to date instead? I don’t think I have a lot of options. My husband was always more popular anyway. I don’t think anyone would want to be with me.” Ness straightened, rolling his shoulder out, grip still firm on his drink.

“It doesn’t matter really. I don’t care. I'm just waiting for this to be over, and we can be together again.”

“You- you are still-” The man’s gaze was narrowed, looking at him sideways, full of judgment.
They both stared at each other for a moment, the man’s rag clutched in his hand, as he seemed to think for a moment, before suddenly leaning forward and grinning.

“Well, since you are available at the moment, let me take you out? I promise I won’t let you regret it.” The earlier judgment was gone, replaced with a mischievous amusement.

Ness turned red with embarrassment, taken off guard. He opened his mouth, flailing. “What?” He squawked, scandalized. “You-you can’t take me out?”

The stranger tilted his head, looking amused. “Why not? You are available, aren’t you? I can’t think of any reason why we couldn’t go out. You deserve some fun too, no?”

“We-well, for one, you look like you are half my age! How old are you!?” He rushed out. This was ridiculous; there was no way that this man was hitting on him. It didn’t make sense. Ness knew that there were good qualities in himself. He was not bad-looking; he knew he wasn’t. He was fit, he was rich, all due to his time as a professional world-class athlete.

But the man in front of him radiated confidence and charisma. The way he carried himself showed his ego, showed that he was someone who, once they set their eyes on something, didn’t stop until they achieved it.

And Ness didn’t want to be creepy, but the man was fairly attractive. His dark midnight colored blue hair was long and a bit shaggy, but it artfully contrasted with his sharp cheekbones and jaw, giving him a playful, youthful look that suited him well. His eyes were intense and bright, staring Ness down, looking right through him, as if demanding Ness rise to the challenge as well, even if Ness didn’t know what the challenge was either.

He looked young, he looked fit and athletic, he was very, very pretty. Ness couldn’t even begin to fathom why someone like him would be interested in someone like Ness.

(After all, that's why Kaiser had no worries of opening their marriage and giving free rein to Ness as well, right? He probably knew that no one would be interested in Ness.)

“I just turned 23.” The man spoke with ease. “Is that a problem?”

Ness’s eyes bulged. “Yes?” He asked incredulously. “I am 37 years old. I am way too old for you!”

The man in front rolled his eyes softly, as if Ness was being the ridiculous one. “And who said I don’t like them a bit older?” He said playfully, sticking out his tongue.

He leaned in again, but looking a lot more serious this time. “Please give me a chance? You are so stunning and funny, and I would never forgive myself if I let an opportunity to take you out to waste.” His eyes were low, staring at Ness dead on, his expression unreadable. “I will treat you so well, I promise.” He whispered out in what could be mistaken for adoration.

Ness felt himself gulp. His previous thoughts were still running rampant in his head, but-

But he couldn’t find it in himself to refuse.

“If, if that’s something you really want.” He mumbled out, eyes darting around nervously. “I guess I could be free.” He straightened out. “For one date, of course. Don’t get the wrong idea.” He clarified.

The man also straightened back up, taking a pen and hastily writing down something on a piece of napkin paper as a customer walked up to the bar, before passing it over to Ness. “Of course I wouldn’t. Call me, okay?” He winked before walking over to the customer.

Ness set down his drink, pulled out his wallet, and paid for his drink plus a nice tip before picking up the tissue that was handed over to him and glancing at it as he walked out.

There was a string of numbers written down, as well as 2 words.

“Isagi Yoichi.”

Chapter Text

Despite being the one who showed interest in Ness first, Isagi didn’t seem to reciprocate that same energy when they began texting.

Being given Isagi’s number, Ness acknowledged the fact that Isagi threw the ball into his court and was allowing him the decision on what to do next. So he understood that he had to be the one who had to text him first.

But afterwards, there didn’t seem to be much reply coming from Isagi’s end. It wasn’t even that the text messages were dry. Far from it. When he did text, the messages were sweet, filled with flattery and warmth and subtle flirtatious remarks that left Ness blushing and turning his phone off.

The problem was that Isagi would send one text message, and then disappear for eight hours, and then text again, a little bit longer this time, before disappearing again.

Ness understood that Isagi was a college student and would probably be busy. But he couldn’t help but let the insecurity take over him, regardless. If Isagi was managing to attract people much older than his age group, Ness didn’t even want to imagine how much attention he would be getting from the ones who were in his age group.

And so, Ness finally felt relief, 3 days after they had met, exchanging a few back and forths, Isagi finally made a move.

“So, would u happen to be free this Saturday :)” Ness stared at the text, a small flicker of excitement lighting up in him.

“Depends.” Ness texted back, trying not to seem too overeager. “What do I need to be free on Saturday for?”

Isagi liked the message, and the typing bubbles appeared for a few minutes before disappearing.

“I promised to take you out, didn't I?” Heat rushed to Ness’s face, his stomach twisting.

 

“I don’t have classes on Saturday, but I am working the whole day, so I won’t be able to get off until 7.” Isagi texted, before another reply came through as well.

“I'm not 100% sure what you would like, but I have something I want to do for you, and I hope you will like it.”

“That’s fine. I am alright with a surprise.” Ness typed out. Isagi replied back with a heart and the final message of “Can’t wait. I'll tell u the details soon,” before disappearing again.
But Ness couldn’t even find himself to mind, too caught up in the anxiety that could come with going on a date with the younger man.

He hadn’t been on a date for quite a while if he was being honest. As their marriage progressed, he and Kaiser didn’t see the need to go out every week specifically to spend time with each other. Deep down, Ness wholeheartedly disagreed, as he would love to spend any time he could to get romantic time with his Kaiser.

But even when Ness was the one who was planning the dates, and all Kaiser had to do was show up, Kaiser didn’t do that either. He complained, said it was a waste of time, said they go out and eat, and that would be good enough.

And Ness supposes that's right. They did see each other all the time.

But Ness couldn’t help himself. He didn’t even want anything fancy or special. He just wanted to feel appreciated. Wanted to be told that he was worth spending time with, worth putting in the effort for.

And he knew that Kaiser loved him. Knew that it wasn’t Kaiser’s fault that he couldn’t show up to the dates that they had planned, so stop making an effort to even plan any.

He knew Kaiser loved him. He knew that. He knew. (Did he?)

And so, because of all of that, he tried desperately to feel excited for whatever date Isagi could have planned.

From the conversations they have been having, Yoichi was a college student, and although Ness didn’t know much else (Yoichi promised they would get to know each other more in person), he did know that it was probably not going to be a super extravagant date.

Whatever plan was probably not going to be super expensive, all the clubs and restaurants that he and Kaiser frequented on their football playing salaries most definitely out of the tax bracket for a college student, especially a working one.

But it didn’t matter how fancy the date would be; all Ness felt was dread.

What if this date wasn’t even supposed to be a date?
The initial meeting they had was probably just a fluke. Isagi was taken aback for whatever reason. He was probably going to realise there was nothing special about Ness at all, talking to him was boring, and the worst thing that could happen.

He probably wanted to meet up so he could let him down gently, because Ness knew, above all, that Isagi was probably a very kind soul.

It was eating him alive. The insecurity, feeling that this would all be a very elaborate prank set up, maybe even by Kaiser, just to show that no one would be willing to go out with Ness, to think and plan a date for him, to want to spend time with him, because at the end of the day, all he was was nothing.

And as he lay alone on his and Kaiser’s shared marriage bed, cold sheets swallowing him up, he felt as if he was drowning in the space left behind by Kaiser’s absent figure.

— - - - - - — – - – - - – - - —- -

It was finally Saturday, Saturday evening to be exact, and Ness was flipping through his closet frantically, trying to decide what he could wear. Everything seemed off, didn’t seem to fit him correctly, didn’t match the vibes.

He so badly wanted to impress Isagi, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He wanted to feel something for once in his life, make somebody look at him with awe, and think that they were happy to be around him. He felt like crying. He felt so stupid.

At least one worry of his was alleviated, and that was explaining to Kaiser where he would be going. Kaiser had left sometime that day, Ness stopped bothering to keep track, and so Ness could freely get dressed and ready without fearing for Kaiser’s judgment.

If Ness’s date went well, if Yoichi turned out to be interested in him and didn’t tell him that he never wanted to see him or his ugly face ever again, then Ness would let Kaiser know.

But he wasn’t going to humiliate himself before then.

Ness kept flipping through his wardrobe, hesitant, before finally settling on a silky, dark red shirt that had flowy, loose sleeves. He took out a pair of wide trousers and decided that simple would be good, and since it was night, it could fit with anything they were going to do.

He huffed and put it on. He... he didn’t look half bad. He hoped Isagi would feel the same way.

Finished getting ready, he finally decided to head out, locking the penthouse and taking his car. The address that Isagi had given him was kind of far, the exact opposite of where he lived, actually.

He finally pulled up to a slightly old apartment building. He looked at the building for a while, deep in thought, before deciding that parking here and risking his car getting stolen wasn’t worth it. He texted Isagi that he would be a little late, and typed in the address for the nearest secure parking lot before getting an Uber back to his place.

Thankfully, out of nerves or whatnot, Ness had decided to leave a little bit early, and so the whole ordeal only left him 30 minutes late, which was good all things considered. However, he felt extremely bad and decided to pick up something for Isagi along the way.

Their first date, and he was already late, Ness thought sorrowfully as he went up in the elevator.

Finally, he reached the floor that Isagi had texted was his residence. It was the very, very top floor, and at the very corner of the hallway. The lighting was dim and dark, but Ness didn’t care enough to say anything.

Who was he to ever judge a person’s circumstance?

And so, fighting the anxiety and nerves swelling up in him, he brought up his hands, and before he could continue doubting himself, he rapidly knocked 3 times.

He waited, standing there, feeling like an idiot, before the door creaked open, and Ness’s eyes went wide.

Isagi- Isagi looked good. He wasn’t wearing anything too fancy, wearing normal trousers and a hoodie that looked relatively fancy. But his hair looked like it was styled effortlessly, and his outfit suited him, strangely enough.

“Hey there.” Ness greeted softly, continuing to take the other man in.

Isagi didn’t reply, as he continued to stare at Ness for a little bit. A few seconds passed by, and Ness cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Can- Can I come in?” He asked, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden, gripping tighter onto the flowers in his arms.

This jolted Isagi back to reality, as a large, shy grin overtook his face. “Yes, yeah, of course, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, it's just-” Isagi paused again, unashamedly looking at Ness again.

“I forgot how pretty you were.” Isagi gave a crooked grin, and Ness felt himself be set ablaze once again.

“I- I you look pretty good too-uh.” Ness stammered out, taken aback, and all the words that were previously in his head, all the anxiety and doubt, immediately flew away as he was left there a red mess, thinking of what to say next.

“Here, these are for you.” Ness rushed out and all but shoved the flowers into Isagi’s arms.

Isagi’s eyes widened for a second before another warm grin lit up his face.

“You’re so sweet, thank you.” Isagi cradled the flowers as if they were something precious, and it made Ness feel good. He liked that Isagi could appreciate the things that he was giving him.

Ness decided to ignore the warm feeling in his gut at the thought of providing for Isagi even more. Giving him things.

“Actually, I got you flowers too,” Isagi said shyly, and opened the door to let Ness inside. It was sort of dark inside, and Ness looked around a bit confused. He didn’t see anything that could be potentially date-worthy.

Unless they were going outside to do stuff, but Isagi had mentioned they were going to stay inside. Ness tried his best to stay optimistic, but his smile had faltered a little bit.

It's fine, he reminded himself. You are used to it.

A bouquet was shoved into his arms, and Ness glanced down at it in surprise, only to be faced with one of the most gorgeous flower placements he had ever seen.

The flowers were a dark maroon, vibrant and seemingly freshly picked. There was a bow on them, too, and two of them were even dipped in gold.

“For-for me?” Ness’s eyes went wide as he tried to give back the flowers. “Yoichi why, you didn’t have to do that, what-”

Isagi wrapped his hands around Ness’s hands and gently shoved them back towards Ness.

“It was nothing really. I was thinking of what to get you, and my friend actually owns a flower shop. The flowers reminded me of you; they were so beautiful, and I wanted to get them for you. My friend did the setup, but the idea was mine. Do you like it?” Isagi asked shyly, staring intensely at Ness’s face, his own looking at him hopefully.

Ness breathed out softly, feeling himself melt into a little jelly mixture, as he clutched onto the flowers even harder.

“Of course I do, Yoichi, I appreciate it so much. How could I not?” He said breathlessly.

Isagi’s grin returned, relief painted on his face. “That’s great. Don’t worry, this is just the beginning. I promised to woo you after all, didn’t I?” And Ness couldn’t think about the implications of that for too long, as Isagi turned around swiftly and went to the door that seemingly led to his balcony, and looked back.

“Come on, the date is this way,” Isagi said, reaching out his hand, waiting for Ness to grab onto it.
Ness was confused, but grabbed onto the hand regardless, allowing himself to be led outside.

“Okay, this is going to be a little bit awkward, but we are going to climb. I have it set up on the rooftop.” Isagi gestured towards the stairs that had been built into the side.

“What.” Ness said flatly, staring at Isagi in disbelief. Does Isagi really think he’s going to climb that? Absolutely the fuck not, he cares for his life, he is not going to put himself under the mercy of doing something as stupid as climbing up to the goddamn rooftop, and there was nothing Isagi could say or do that would make him change his min-

“Please?” Isagi grabbed onto his hand, pulling gently. “I promise you won’t regret it.”

And so Ness found himself climbing up the stairs, going first. He wasn’t sure why Isagi wanted to stay behind him, but he assumed it was for safety reasons.

 

(… probably…)

Ness finally reached the top, and it was dark on top as well, and he looked around. The view was absolutely gorgeous. It was darker in this part of town. He could see the stars so well, and he did just that, staring at them with a mixture of awe and pleasure.

He saw Isagi moving in the dark, and he looked at him curiously. He was doing something, muttering under his breath, frantically seemingly checking something, before letting out a sigh of relief.

“Okay,” Isagi’s head popped up, only to realize that Ness had been watching him the entire time.
“Sorry about that,” Isagi said sheepishly, before gesturing to Ness to walk over.

“I set it up a while ago, but I wanted to double-check,” Isagi explained as Ness walked closer, his eyes adjusting to the layout on the ground.

And to his surprise, it was-

A picnic?

“I'm sorry I couldn’t do more for you,” Isagi explained bashfully, looking embarrassed. “But you mentioned you liked stars once, and I thought that you might enjoy a picnic looking up at the stars? I didn’t want to bring you somewhere and make it a half assed date, you deserve something well and I-” Isagi continued to ramble, looking at Ness nervously.

“I hope you like it?” Isagi offered weakly, pointing at it.

There were bunches and bunches of blankets on the ground, layering them up, making it into an oval nest shape. There was a low adjustable wooden table in the middle of it, pillows all around, and Ness didn’t realise, but fairy lights between the pillows as well, enough light to illuminate, but not to take away the shine of the stars.

. There was a vase in the middle of the table, presumably for the flowers Isagi had given Ness, and a bottle of wine and a cooler, which Ness presumed was filled with the food.

It was such a basic concept, simple in its layout and design, but Ness bit his lip because if he didn’t, he knew tears would start flowing.

It was so, so fucking sweet that Ness’s heart began beating like crazy. He had always dreamed of this, someone doing this for him. Taking the time and effort to set up something, solely with the intention of pleasing him in mind.

His expectations were on the fucking floor, and Isagi had managed to throw them into unbelievable heights like none other before.

Ness was going to bawl.

“It- it's so nice, Yoichi, thank you,” Ness said, taking a minute to compose himself, swallowing back the tears, with full sincerity in his voice, his face glowing with surprise and flattery.. He appreciated this more than Isagi could ever realise.

Isagi smiled at him before reaching out his hand again, waiting for Ness to take it in his. “Let’s get to know each other, yeah? Just like I promised.”

Chapter Text

Ness felt extremely guilty for saying this, but this was one of the best dates he had been on, for a very long time.

He couldn’t remember where he enjoyed himself so much.

There was nothing that particularly stood out to him that would make him exclaim that was making him have so much fun.

But it was so nice being around Yoichi. Isagi’s laugh was ridiculously infectious. His stories made Ness hold back giggles and try not to choke on his food. Ness was taken aback by how Isagi could be so damn sweet and then flip a switch and let the snarky, intense side of his show through, all at the same time. He was so magnetic, every word glance pulling Ness in further and deeper.

His gaze never left him, as if Ness was the only thing that existed. He was so charming, his attention focused on Ness the entire time, drinking up Ness like he had waited his entire life for something as sweet.

Ness preened under the attention, soaking it up greedily, even if he felt out of place and undeserving of it. He felt jumpy and anxious, but he couldn’t help but grip onto it even harder, unwilling to let it go.

They got to know each other better as well.

“You mentioned you were in college, correct?” Ness asked Isagi, taking bites of the food that Isagi had prepared. Ness had been pleasantly surprised. The food was amazing. Isagi had shown that he was a man of many talents. It was a simple 3-course meal, but the food was so warm and so distinctly Isagi-like that Ness could imagine him standing over the countertop, making it, wondering if Ness would like it.

“Yeah, I'm majoring in sports science, but that's just a backup plan,” Isagi explained, fiddling with the plate on his lap absently.

“Back up plan?” Ness parroted back to him. “What's your main plan then?” Ness asked curiously.

Isagi’s eyes lit up with that. “Soccer.” Isagi’s face broke into a wide smile. “I play for my college team, and actually I-” He paused, looking at Ness. “I haven’t told anyone this before yet, but I'm getting scouted to play for a professional club soon.” he whispered.

Ness’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious? Wait, wait, what?” This was one hell of a coincidence.

“What club did you get scouted for?” Ness asked, holding his breath.

“Bastard Munchen,” Isagi said almost vibrating in his seat. “I worked extremely hard to get this lined up for me, and I played soccer for my entire life in high school, but I never really managed to get anywhere in Japan,” Isagi explained, looking a bit sad, and Ness’s heart went out for him.

“But I decided to move abroad, I didn’t want to give up, and came here. Enrolled in college, and it was really hard, paying my tuition and all my expense,s and playing soccer and studying because I needed the scholarship.” All of a sudden, Ness could see the tired eye bags under Isagi’s eyes as he continued explaining, and he felt so extremely bad that he thought that Isagi wasn’t replying because he wasn’t interested.

The poor boy was too busy trying to pay his tuition to even consider ghosting Ness for fun.

“But it’s worth it. I just have to finish this year and next year of college, and I can finally start playing professionally, like I've always wanted.” Isagi finished, the same admirable sparkle returning back to his eyes, and all Ness could do was stare.

“Wow.” Ness was finally able to say. “Isagi- Isagi, that's amazing, I'm so proud of you, that's brilliant.” Ness stammered out, taken aback by the sheer intensity of Isagi's brilliance.

Doing all this and just so he could play soccer? Ness felt he could relate.

“Yes, well, I still have to keep working hard, unfortunately, my scholarship pays for the majority of my tuition, but it doesn’t count all the other things I need to keep living, and also I still have some tuition I need to pay off.” Isagi exhaled tiredly. “It’s not that much, but it does mean that I need to keep working.”

Isagi smiled at Ness sweetly. “It also keeps me from talking to you as much as I want as well.” Isagi’s voice dropped lower, as if he were sharing a secret.

“All I do at work is think about you, when I'm studying or playing soccer or training,” Isagi said, gazing at Ness with an unreadable look in his eyes. “I’d be talking to you all the time if I could. Maybe it's a good thing I'm busy all the time. Otherwise, I’d probably piss off your husband with how much I would constantly be asking to see you.”

Ness’s eyes went wide, tongue in his mouth turning heavy as his brain began slowly turning to mush.

What could he even say to that? His chest felt tight, and he didn’t know if the tears that were going to build up were because of happiness or because he was scared. What does this even mean? Isagi thought of him all the time?

What could he say?

“I'm a professional soccer player.” Ness blurted out suddenly, jolting back from where he began to unconsciously lean towards Isagi.

This startled Isagi as well, as he also leaned back and looked at Ness with surprise. That was probably not what Isagi was expecting him to say, and Ness felt so fucking stupid, but there was no turning back now.

“For- For Bastard actually.” Ness rambled. “I didn’t know you got an offer from them, that’s crazy, I play for them, I'm a midfielder, did you know that?” He asked stupidly.

Isagi stared at him for a second before smiling with amusement. Surprisingly, he didn’t look too shocked, and looked at Ness a bit guiltily

“Yeah, I do know, actually,” Isagi admitted bashfully. “When you walked in, I was too taken aback by you to fully realize, but after you left, I realized almost immediately that I just hit on Alexis Ness, starting midfielder for Bastard Munchen.” Isagi groaned, putting his head in his hands, and Ness laughed.

“I'm so sorry, I swear I didn’t hit on you only because you were a professional player. I didn’t even realize that.” Isagi explained pleadingly, but Ness didn’t even care. “I swear I wasn’t even going to bring it up. Please don’t think I'm a gold digger or something, or I don't know.”

Ness giggled again, finding amusement in Isagi’s obvious misery. “Don’t worry.” He laughed. “I wouldn’t think that. And you already got the deal, don’t you?” He stuck his tongue out slightly in mirth. “You wouldn’t be a gold digger regardless.” He teased.

Isagi shrugged before smirking. “I wouldn’t mind being your trophy housewife, though.” And Ness felt himself turn pink.

“R-right.” He stuttered out. He wasn’t going to think too deeply about that, the coil of pleasure he felt at the thought of treating Isagi, making him his housewife. That was for another day.

 

—---- - - - —- – - - - - - - — -

It was very late when Ness and Isagi finally stopped talking and were lulled into a quiet sense of comfort and familiarity.

They had so much in common, despite their age difference. Their conversations flowed so smoothly, no awkward silences, and Ness felt himself telling Isagi everything about himself and listening to Isagi in return.

Their conversations were so easy, it was so easy talking to Isagi, and Ness could feel himself brimming in joy, could feel the butterflies in his stomach, and he wanted to stay around Isagi so so bad.

 

As if Isagi could read his mind, he looked up while they were packing up all the blankets and the food.

“I wish I could ask you to stay overnight.” He said regrettably, frowning. “But I have work extremely early in the morning, and I don’t want to leave you alone.” Ness tried to hide his disappointment, but it made sense.

“But.” Isagi continued, and Ness looked at him questioningly. “I want to take you back home. Let me please?” He asked hopefully.

Ness didn’t feel the heart to tell him that his car was parked in a parking lot 10 minutes away.

“Of course.” He smiled. “You can drive me home, such a good chauffeur.” Isagi scowled at that.

—- - - - - - - - – – - –

Isagi’s car was surprisingly nice, and definitely well-loved and taken care of. They managed to get back home safely, and Isagi was a good driver as well. Their easy conversations continued in the car, and Ness felt regrettable when they finally pulled up in front of his penthouse. He didn’t want Isagi to leave.

“Do-do you want to drop me off?” Ness tried. “At my door? If we are doing all this anyway.”

Isagi grinned. “A gentleman would do nothing less.” He stepped out and ran over to Ness’s side, opening the door, and playfully stuck out his hand, waiting for Ness to take it.

Ness rolled his eyes, but took his hand regardless, and they giggled as they went up the elevator. Ness had never felt so weirdly exhilarated before. It felt weird and new, but Ness couldn’t find himself hating it.

“You know, since you are so old and all-” Isagi began, grinning when Ness cut him off with an offended “hey!”

“Since you’re so old and all, you must be acquainted with how they did dates back in the old days, don’t you?” Isagi teased, looking up at Ness with shining eyes.

Ness scowled, looking at Isagi, ignoring the blush that was threatening to make an appearance.
“I'm really not that old. What old days are you talking about? Do you think I was alive and thriving back in the 70s?”

Isagi slowly leaned in, and holy shit, that was not good for Ness’s heart.

“Unless I'm mistaken, usually the date walks the girl back to the porch, late at night, so she doesn’t feel scared, stands on the porch, under the dimly lit light that would be next to the door, and-”

Isagi’s eyes were dark, hooded, peering at Ness with pure hunger in his eyes, and he was so so, so close. His gaze dropped, for a split second, to look at Ness’s lips, before glazing back up, and the desire in his eyes was so strong that Ness was taken aback.

“Please, Alexis?” Isagi breathed out softly, voice strained, and Ness couldn’t wrap his head around how utterly gone Isagi sounded, as if, if Ness asked him, he would get down to his knees, grip onto his legs, and beg.

And fuck, how could Ness ever deny him that?

Ness inhaled, breathing shaky and stuttering, as his face heated up rapidly, and all he had time to do was move his head up and down before Isagi was on him.

His arms wrapped around his waist, on his tiptoes, smashing their lips together desperately. Ness was almost certain that in the movies, the kisses were supposed to be chaste and delicate, but this was anything but.

Isagi bit his lip slightly and pulled away within seconds, panting and pupils blown wide. He stared at Ness for a few seconds, just taking Ness in.

“Sorry I-” He breathed out. “I couldn’t help it. But I wanna woo you before I do anything else.” Despite promises of going slow, Isagi stayed on Ness’s waist.

“I’ll see you, okay?” Isagi muttered, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Ness’s lips, before placing another directly on his.

Ness shyly waved to Isagi as he left, watching him go inside the elevator, and just as the elevator door was going to close, he blew him a kiss. The doors shut before Ness could see the expression Isagi would be making, but he giggled nonetheless.

He opened the door to his penthouse, feeling on complete cloud nine. This was one of the best days he had experienced in the past few weeks. It was the first time that he wasn’t alone, and didn't have to eat a sad, pathetic meal that he had thrown together hastily. He finally didn’t mind coming home to an empty house, with no one waiting for him, because now, he finally had someone to look forward to.

He was humming cheerfully, closing the door behind him as he moved around inside, taking off his shoes and coat before locating the light switch and turning it on.

He turned around, a bright smile on his face, before it immediately dropped, and he screeched when he saw Kaiser sitting on the couch, arms crossed, staring at him blankly.

"Kaiser, I didn’t see you. When did you get back?” He asked meekly, once the shock wore off, and he stared at his husband in confusion.

“I thought you would be gone i-” Ness continued as Kaiser didn’t say anything, merely staring back at him.

“So, where’d you go?” Kaiser’s sentence was short and clipped, but so incredibly cold. It had an edge of fury on it that had Ness stumbling with panic. Kaiser was displeased; it was obvious. And Ness had the sinking feeling he knew why as well.

“I-” Ness’s voice cracked as he began, and he cleared his throat, clutching tightly onto the coat in his hand.

He tried again. “I-I met someone, and we were just meeting up.” He tried. He wasn’t lying, but he didn’t want to mention the word date unless necessary.

Kaiser raised an eyebrow, and Ness knew at that moment that Kaiser had seen through him immediately.

“Oh, really. And who was that someone?” Kaiser sneered, his gaze dropping down onto Ness’s flushed cheeks, swollen red lips, before dropping even further and looking at the magenta flowers in his hand.

“And don’t try to tell me it was just a friend, don’t insult my intelligence like that.” Kaiser continued.

Ness hurried to clear it up. “Of course not, Kaiser, I would never insult you like that.” He rushed out, gripping onto the flowers, feeling himself crushing them, but he couldn’t stop.

“It was just someone I met, and they invited me to dinner, and I thought since it was okay for both of us, I thought I might as well go. They were super nice and-” Ness was rambling before Kaiser raised a hand, effectively cutting off Ness.

“Someone?” Kaiser echoed the word back to him.

“Yeah, just-” Ness hesitated. He didn’t want to share too much about Isagi. Despite everything, Isagi was someone that Ness wished to keep to himself. He didn’t want Kaiser to set his eyes upon him, to ruin Isagi for Ness like Kaiser did with other people.

He wanted to keep Isagi. Isagi was kind and warm. No matter how brilliant and cunning Isagi was, he could never handle going against Kaiser.

Ness would never be selfish enough to pit Isagi against Kaiser.

“Just someone I met at the bar.” Ness finished lamely, and Kaiser seemed to buy it.

“Well,’ Kaiser sighed, as if this was all a big inconvenience for him. “Who am I to ruin your fun, am I right?” Kaiser smiled placidly. “If you are having fun with them, then go ahead.” He waved a dismissive hand before getting back up.

“I came back early tonight, because I thought my puppy would have missed me. Turns out he was keeping himself occupied all right by himself, huh?” Kaiser tilted his head, gaze sharp and calculating, and Ness couldn’t help but fall prey to it.

“Of course not, Kaiser, I missed you so much.” He gushed out immediately, dropping the flower and coat onto the table closest to him, walking up to Kaiser with his hands behind his back.

“Missed me?” Kaiser whispered, clutching onto Ness’s chin, pulling him towards Kaiser.

“Show me then.” Kaiser breathed out softly, and Ness was helpless to agree.

But as they stumbled into the bedroom, Ness couldn’t help the smallest feeling of betrayal in the pit of his stomach as the roses left as a passing thought. The ghost of Isagi’s lips still on his as Kaiser replaced them, couldn’t help but feel confused on what to feel when he was thinking of Yoichi when kissing the man he had promised his life to.