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“No.
I won’t do as I’m told anymore.
You’re not a piece of shit.
You’re a flesh-and-blood human being.”
You’d think such humanizing, sentimental words would really resonate with someone. However, everybody knows that Michael Kaiser isn’t a “someone,” and this contradicts Ness’s entire speech. He of all people should know:
The Crown doesn’t feel sentiment. The Crown doesn’t feel.
He was never taught how.
Still, it doesn’t matter how much Kaiser hurts him.
He’ll always kneel at the feet of the man who made him believe in magic. Because love—especially his kind of love—isn’t logical.
It’s tragic theater.
And in this stage play called football, the Magician, the Clown, and the Crown all play their parts to perfection.
“…I want to cast a spell on your broken self.”
—
Alexis Ness, The Magician.
To Ness, the magic of soccer is an amazing kind of sorcery. One that blows his mind.
The sleight of foot movement in every dribble, the illusions full of trickery through swift passes, the art of disappearing into blind spots only to reappear where no one expects — this was all a part of his spell.
And at the end of every performance, there was always the same grand finale: the perfect pass sent soaring straight to his emperor.
Because all of Ness’s magic existed for one purpose — to please his emperor.
“Gut gemacht, mein Zauberer.
Ich kröne dich nicht mit Gold, sondern mit meinem Blick.”
“Well done, my magician.”
I crown you not with gold, but with my gaze.”
And Ness would smile, gummy and dizzy with praise. Pretending it was enough.
—
Lately, Kaiser had been scolding Ness more and more often. Not because he had done anything wrong, but because Kaiser’s mind was elsewhere—completely fixated on Yoichi Isagi. His priorities had shifted. The idea of surpassing Isagi... Devouring him... Outshining him completely. And Ness, Kaiser’s “right-hand man,” was left to constantly pull his emperor back down to earth, to remind him that there was still an actual game to win.
From the center field, Ness stood frozen. Sweat rolling down his temple, and a chill beneath his skin. He knew if the ball came his way now, he’d miss it completely. And then Kaiser would have every reason to continue yelling. Still, he couldn’t help himself.
Ness found that lately the oxygen had been turning poisonous. And that it was getting hard to breathe...
Seeing Kaiser look at Isagi with the same spark in his eyes-the one he used to give Ness when they dominated the field together—felt like he was watching his world cave in on him.
It was already a given to everyone around the two that Ness was a hopelessly devoted lap dog for Kaiser. But that’s for valid reasoning… Still, what Ness didn’t expect was that Kaiser would soon find another half to fill up his twisted fantasies.
The reality check was harsh.
All the passion and fantasy Kaiser expressed for Isagi pissed Ness off beyond belief. Isagi, who has just shown up, has already stolen Ness’s spot on the throne in Kaiser’s world of football?
Wait, was Ness ever even there?
—
During halftime, Ness sat on the locker room sofa and pretended to stretch his limbs out. His mind in a flurry of thought.
Kaiser approached him, towel slung over his neck, irritation carved deep into his features.
“What’s your problem today? I saw you out there. Frozen like a deer in headlights.” Kaiser asked, loud enough for all their teammates to hear. Including Yoichi Isagi. “You playing scared, or just stupid?”
Ness swallowed hard. “I’m fine. Just… thinking.”
“Then fucking stop,” Kaiser snapped.
Ness flinched at his words and nearly flinched again as he quickly moved towards him in long strides. He grabbed a fistful of hair from the back of Ness’s head. Yanking Ness’s head up 45 degrees and forcing him back up on his feet.
Kaiser leaned in close and whispered in Ness’s ear with soft but sinister words.
“You’re not here to think, you’re here to move. You used to be faster than this. Don’t tell me you’re getting soft and dense on me now?”
Ness gritted his teeth.
“That’s enough.”
The words came from behind them, steady but low. Noel Noa had risen from his seat. His presence filled the room like a shadow swallowing light.
He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. The moment he stood, every ounce of tension froze. Even Kaiser’s hand stilled in Ness’s hair, his jaw tightening as he slowly released his grip.
Noa’s gaze cut between them—sharp, unreadable. “If you two are done acting like children,” he said quietly, “then start acting like players again. I don’t care what this is,” he gestured vaguely between them, “but it ends here.”
Noel Noa is the sky itself—vast, untouchable.
Noa simply is.
And he’s the only person above Kaiser.
—
Michael Kaiser, The Emperor.
If Ness is the magician, then Kaiser is the stage itself — the one who commands the spotlight, who bends the world to his will.
The field is his kingdom, every blade of grass his subject, every goalpost a gilded gate marking the edges of his reign.
When Kaiser plays, it’s not a game. It’s a decree. Every touch of the ball is law, every strike an execution of perfection.
His movements are calculated, elegant, cruel — the kind of beauty that demands to be watched, to be worshiped.
He doesn’t follow a rhythm; he is the rhythm — the pulse that drives the entire match forward. His teammates orbit him like stars around a sun too bright to look at directly. And he loves it that way.
Because in Kaiser’s world, there is no such thing as equals. Only subjects and challengers. Admirers and threats.
—
The second half of the game went by quickly. There was no doubt that Bastard Munchën would win; Ness’s only issue lay with the attention Kaiser had been giving Yoichi.
It made him feel nauseous with fury.
—
The sound of the door slamming ricocheted off the tiles of the locker room.
They were all alone.
Kaiser’s eyes found Ness immediately, like they had lately begun to do every time he needed someone to blame.
“If you can’t keep up anymore, then there’s no need to keep pretending you belong on my level.”
Kaiser’s tone was casual, but his stare was all venom.
Ness straightened, jaw tight. “Maybe if you stopped chasing Isagi like he’s your salvation,” Ness fired back, “you’d actually notice the rest of your team. We’re all trying our best out here. But you’ve made your fixation everyone else’s burden! We can’t keep up with your irrational movements!”
The air between them shifted.
Kaiser’s eyes blazed with interest at Ness’s newfound defiance.
“Oh? So this is about that clown? And what are you now… My little moral compass?” He took a step closer, mock-smiling.
“You follow me around like a lost dog, Ness. Don’t pretend you’re any better on the field.“
The words tore something open in Ness. He laughed bitterly. “You think I want to follow you? You made me believe I had a place beside you, and now you rip it away every time I try to remind you of what our goal is! All because of that fucking Yoi—“
Kaiser stepped closer, interrupting Ness with a sneer. “—Not 'our' goal, Ness, my goal. This is why I like you, your self-esteem is so low that your only motive for playing soccer is to help me achieve my dream… What a good boy. But this is no place for those who live for someone else.”
Ness’s face contorted into one of utter disbelief, but Kaiser continued, not giving Ness a chance to intervene with his strong emotions.
“I gave you the chance to be a part of Bastard München because I understood your ideas that were a step ahead of everyone else. But if you’re no longer able to give me those ideas… You’re dead weight. And y’know, you sound like you’re complaining, yet here you are—still orbiting me. You could walk away any time.”
Kaiser said this matter-of-factly.
Silence
“Maybe I finally will,” Ness said, voice trembling out loud.
“You’re so obsessed with being the emperor that you don’t see what’s left of your kingdom. You’ve been letting everyone burn just to prove you’re the brightest star in the football world.
I admit, my self-esteem is low… but it sure was high as a kite whenever I got to serve you.”
For a moment, Kaiser didn’t answer. His expression flickered—raw anger, and maybe something even deeper—but all he did was laugh. “You’re dramatic as hell.”
Ness hit something deep in him.
“I’ve been too easy on you.”
“Maybe,” Ness said quietly, his voice trembling. “But at least I still feel something. You wouldn’t understand that, would you? You’ve convinced yourself you’re nothing more than a machine—just gears and goals and ego. You don’t even see the person left inside.”
Kaiser’s jaw tightened. “Watch it.”
“Why? Because I’m right?” Ness stepped closer until they were inches apart. “You can’t stand the thought that someone might actually care about you, can you? That maybe I—” His breath hitched. “That maybe I’m doing all of this because you mean something. I can’t stand watching you forget everything we’ve achieved together!”
“Stop,” Kaiser warned. “You talk like you know me, like there’s something to save in here. But I stopped being human a long time ago.”
Ness swallowed hard. “That’s not true.”
Kaiser’s lips formed a Cheshire Cat grin that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Keep telling yourself that, magician,” he said, voice dropping to a near whisper. “Maybe one day, you’ll make it true with one of your little tricks.”
“You hate me for loving you.”
Ness dropped the words unexpectedly.
“And you hate yourself for wanting to love someone back.”
“Love?” Kaiser repeated, eyes flashing like light reflected on blades. “Don’t drag me into more of your foolish fantasies, Ness. I’m not built for that.”
Ness stepped closer, eyes sharp, voice unwavering. “And yet here you are, trembling in front of me. That’s not weakness, Kaiser. That’s being alive. And if being alive scares you so much, maybe it’s time you stopped pretending you’re so supreme.”
Kaiser’s jaw clenched, words failing him, but Ness didn’t back down. “You can pretend you’re a machine. You can pretend you don’t care. But I see it. Every flicker. Every crack. You’re not invincible. And you never were.”
Ness stood his ground. His eyes stung, tears threatening to fall—but there was a strange kind of relief behind them. After all this time, he’d finally said what had been clawing at his throat for years.
He didn’t move.
“I’m not going anywhere. Not until you admit that you—”
Cutting off Ness’s words, Kaiser’s body moved involuntarily, with a mind of its own. Striking Ness square in the face.
Ness grunted. The launch forced him to stagger back and fall onto his ass with a thud. But he wasn’t gonna sit there and take it.
He stood up and charged at Kaiser, jumping onto him like a fangirl, making him fall to the floor. Kaiser’s head hit a metal locker.
Ness had Kaiser pinned and straddled down to the tile floor for a long moment, scowls and growls coming out of him like he was a feral street dog. Yanking Kaiser by his collar to face level.
“Why can’t you just understand that I care about you?!”
It was there, all those years ago, at the Bastard Munchën tryouts, that he and Kaiser met. Ness met the one person who truly understood him. The one who looked down at him on the ground like he was actually worth seeing.
Well, now, he was looking up at Ness.
He’d never seen this side of him... Fuming, blood dripping out of his nose from the punch. Scheiße, it was a wonderful view. Kaiser’s eyes went half-lidded.
“…But why? Why keep kneeling when my throne’s built on cracks?!”
“That’s all you think there is to you, huh?” Ness chuckled, voice rough but softened. “Some god dressed in a jersey. Some untouchable thing?”
Ness shook his head. “That’s just not you at all. At least to me…”
Kaiser scoffed, running a hand through his damp hair. “You sound like a fool trying to preach humility. I don’t need that. I don’t need—”
“—to be human?” Ness interrupted.
The words hung in the air.
Kaiser froze, just for a moment — a flicker too fast to name.
Ness got off of Kaiser, squatting and resting his arms on his knees. “You think I follow you because you’re perfect. Because you never fall. That’s not it, though… I follow you because you do fall, Kaiser. You get angry, you get scared… But when you break things, you always build them up again.”
“Don’t say things like that,” Kaiser said, maneuvering his body to sit up as well. “You make it sound so easy for me to just become that person again.”
“I promised myself I’d never go back to being that weak mindset I used to have. I got this damn tattoo. But after Yoichi made a fool out of me in front of everyone? After the one thing I thought I couldn’t ever lose — my pride — was torn apart like that—?”
Kaiser’s breath caught for a second, like the words had hit something deep. He looked away, fingers still tangled in his hair, jaw tight.
“…I can’t go back. I can’t still be that person you looked up to,” he muttered.
Ness listened, eyes softening. “Maybe you can. I’m looking at him right now.”
Kaiser’s breath caught for a second, like the words had hit something deep.
“Ness… Keep looking at me like that, and people might just think we’re more than teammates.”
Kaiser’s words came out as smooth as butter.
It was the first time Kaiser had called his name like it mattered — without the usual bite or command.
Ness took Kaiser’s shoulders and leaned closer to him.
“Do you feel it? This… all of this?”
Ness exhaled shakily
Kaiser’s lips parted, but no words came. His hands, hesitant, hovering near Ness’s sides. Unsure whether to push him off or pull him closer. Should he be the manipulative dick he always was… Get under Ness’s skin?
Ness’s forehead brushed against Kaiser’s, breath mingling, eyes locked to Kaiser’s blue eyes—that were beginning to look like enticing whirlpools.
“I hated that I had to watch you chase someone else while I stayed here, invisible.”
Kaiser’s hands finally moved — one resting lightly on Ness’s hip, the other brushing a strand of sweat-damp hair from his temple. His eyes flickered with something Ness had never seen before: vulnerability.
Kaiser spoke in barely audible tones.
“You’re not invisible, Ness… not to me.”
It was a whisper, fragile and dangerous, and Ness’s heart pounded.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he leaned closer. Their breaths mingled. Every muscle in Ness’s body screamed to push forward, and every instinct in Kaiser’s told him to meet him halfway.
The distance between them shrank, the world around them fading into the hum of the locker room, the sharp scent of sweat, the quiet thud of their racing hearts. Ness’s lips hovered over Kaiser’s, their foreheads still touching, breath hitching.
“Then… see me. All of me.”
Kaiser’s hands tightened, tilting Ness’s head slightly, and in one slow, deliberate motion, the Emperor finally closed the last few inches. Their lips met — tentative at first, testing, tasting—and then desperate.
Kaiser's hand moved up, fingers tangling in Ness's damp hair as he pulled him down on top of him yet again. Their kiss was intense, fueled by months of confusion and stolen glances, years of shared history and achievements.
Having to wake up extra early every morning to force Kaiser out of his bed just so they can make it to practice on time. Deal with his picky taste and childish demands. They were all something Ness cherished.
And Kaiser never thought up until now that he’d show his appreciation for it… But Ness is the only person he’d ever thought fondly of.
The only person who’s stayed with him.
So he will. He’ll show Ness just how grateful he is for him.
Ness's hands clutched at Kaiser's waist, pulling their bodies impossibly close.
Kaiser's lips moved with a mix of desire and frustration. He nipped at Ness's lower lip, eliciting a sharp inhale from the midfielder.
His face was full of blotches of red. Similar to kiss marks, from the blood of Ness’s nose dripping on him as they made out.
Ness returned the favor, his mouth moving downstairs and teeth grazing Kaiser's jaw. His tongue traces the edge of the blue rose tattoo on Kaiser's throat.
Ness stopped for a moment,
“A blue rose doesn’t only symbolize achieving the impossible.”
“Hmm?”
Kaiser looked down at Ness, intrigued, but even more turned on to formulate a proper response.
“It also represents self-acceptance, healing… most importantly, unrequited love.
Ness took Kaiser’s chin, and in response, Kaiser exhaled a shaky breath. Leaning his head back to give Ness more space to nip at.
“So let’s achieve the impossible. Change that meaning.
I’ll show you how to love, Kaiser.”
Kaiser groaned and grabbed Ness’s head. They collide their lips together once more before flipping Ness around on his back. Switching their sports.
“Show me how to love you.”
Ness’s mouth was open for a brief moment before it closed and smirked.
“Let’s run, or fly… away from this wretched kingdom.”
Kaiser exhaled and continued Ness’s words.
“Become anew. Let go of the persona.”
Ness gasped as Kaiser straddled him, feeling every inch of his erection. A coil formed in his stomach.
This is really happening.
Kaiser took his time gently stripping away the layers of clothing on Ness. Like the roles were reversed, and Ness was the emperor.
The polyester of their jerseys clung to him tightly like a rubber band from his sweat.
And then his shorts.
And then his boxers.
And Ness took off Kaiser’s, too.
And when nothing was left, he ran his hands on Ness’s skin. Memorizing all the spots of moles on his toned torso.
And Ness did the same to Kaiser. But admired Kaiser’s porcelain, doll-like skin.
You’d think Kaiser’s a doll.
But he still had those scars on him from all the road rash he went through as a child that stuck out like a sore thumb.
Ness took Kaiser’s hand off his midriff and dipped one of the fingers into his mouth.
His tongue lapped at the texture of his smooth skin.
Kaiser’s head tilted, enjoying the view with a dazed smile.
“If this is what loving feels like, I could get used to it.”
“I see your personality hasn’t changed.”
Kaiser gave Ness a smirk and a thoughtful nod at his words.
Kaiser slipped his finger out of Ness’s mouth, dragging it onto his bottom lip.
“Easy, Ness. Gotta give me something to do myself, ja? After all, I’m learning how to love you properly.”
The other hand trailed down to Ness’s 5-inch hard on. Stroking it in up-and-down motions… He felt it twitch against his palm. His face was buried in the junction of Ness’s shoulder and neck.
Ness leaned back for the show. A faint mewling coming from the back of his throat.
After a meaningful moment of prepping Ness’s cock, he latched onto Ness’s hips and changed their position.
Ness was lying back on the floor, legs up on Kaiser’s broad shoulders. Giving Kaiser the perfect position to ram his cock into Ness’s ass with ease. Whilst still having a front row seat to see his distressed expressions.
Kaiser’s eyes gleamed with mischief.
Without warning,
Kaiser jerked forward.
A guttural yell came from Ness’s mouth; his eyes widened.
Then came the squelches of his asscheeks.
“Mmgh! Kaiser—you bloody bastard!”
Kaiser groaned.
Kaiser could’ve sworn that in that short moment, Ness’s dick grew 5 more inches, as it was now pressing onto his abdomen as he continued to thrust in and out of his ass.
It twitched, and his tip throbbed, begging for Kaiser’s touch.
“Fucking slut,” Kaiser growled out.
Kaiser pulled out of Ness, one hand on his own shaft. Running his thumb on his slit, feeling the sticky pre-cum smothering it.
And his other hand? Fingers deep into Ness’s ass.
Ness was blushing and whimpering so hard he felt like he’d die.
His ego, field-wise and confidence-wise…?
Destroyed.
Kaiser’s long digits grinded against Ness’s walls. They clenched around Kaiser as if giving him a warm hug. Inviting him to stay.
And again, his hands were replaced with his length.
Kaiser’s focus had shifted.
His first priority was now getting Ness to cum so hard that he goes dumb.
His second… Yeah, the loving stuff.
Sounds pretty dicky, thinking back to that entire conversation they had right before this. But right now, Ness would have no objections if he knew this information.
Ness was so fucked-out-of-it, drool ran down his chin.
He panted so hard that he couldn’t close his mouth. Also scared he’d accidentally bite down on his tongue if he did manage to.
No problem, Kaiser would lean in ever so often and duel with his tongue. Lapping up every drop of drool that leaked out.
Kaiser was infatuated with this.
Kaiser’s left arm stayed attached to Ness’s hip.
His right, playing with Ness’s nipples. That stood up like traffic cones.
He pinched them and licked at the buds.
Even going so far as to wipe some of Ness’s spit off his chin and lubricate his chest with it.
“Kaiser…”
Ness gasped out.
“Don’t try anything funny…”
Kaiser chuckled in delight.
“You think so lowly of me, Ness.
Don’t worry, I won’t deny you your release.
I owe it to my new emperor.”
Kaiser pulled out, only leaving his tip in Ness.
Ness felt the adrenaline course through his veins, and he knew what was about to come.
A fucking rollercoaster.
He almost repented to god to beg for mercy in that very moment.
Kaiser converged with Ness.
Every. Single. Inch. And. Crevice.
His dick was inside Ness. Going so deep that even Kaiser himself had shocked himself.
And like a bursting dam,
they both leaked out with slimy strings of white.
Kaiser’s cum had landed perfectly onto Ness’s belly button.
The rapture of the moment took over the two of them, and they started to giggle like fucking junkies.
Kaiser doubled over onto the floor, right beside Ness.
They chatted with heavy eyelids, and slick across their inner thighs that dripped down onto the tiles.
Their backs ached badly from the hard floor.
And yet, none of them spoke a word about what just happened. Even if it was just moments after their orgasms.
“Everyone always calls me an emperor,” he murmured, the faintest trace of a smile ghosting his lips. “But an emperor is nothing without someone to believe in his rule.”
Ness’s breath hitched. His hands moved to rest lightly against Kaiser’s chest.
“And a magician,” Ness replied, voice low, “is nothing without someone to perform for.”
Kaiser’s mind and weary voice both had a factory reset to normal in that instant. Ness’s hands made contact with his chest.
Kaiser quickly propped himself up on his arm and smirked. The same smirk and gleam in his eyes that appeared whenever a player begged him for mercy on the field.
“Our roles were reversed, as you know. I really tried to be the best magician I could…
Did my dick magic entice you, Schatz?”
“Fuck you, Kais…”
Ness was long gone in a snooze.
Kaiser grinned ear-to-ear and stood up slowly. Slinging Ness’s body up from the floor and onto his shoulder.
This is when Kaiser noticed the aftermath of their encounter.
The tiles of the floor had their clothes recklessly thrown everywhere, semen, blood,
And the condensation had left a gift. A mark of Ness’s beautiful butt cheeks on them.
