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“Try this too, Micha!”
Before Kaiser could respond, Ness already pushed a slice of fruit against Kaiser's lips. His fingers were sticky with fluid, clumsily dripping down his wrist and forearm. Kaiser reluctantly opened his mouth to put an end to this mess and when he bit down on the cold mass on his tongue it exploded into a symphony of slight sweetness and ...liquid.
He met Ness’s expectant gaze head on, the midfielder shamelessly laying on top of him with the plate of fruits placed on Kaiser's chest, clearly misusing his lover's body as a side table.
When Kaiser took too long to reply, Ness's arm reached out to feed him the next piece and Kaiser hurried to stop those intrusive fingers. Now both of their hands were disgustingly sticky.
“Tastes like nothing.”
Ness pouted.
“But it's dragonfruit..” He tried again.
“So what?” Kaiser wasn't impressed.
“You have to let the taste linger. The flavor is mild but sweet and though it's best enjoyed in summer its refreshing qualities still make for a pleasant palate cleanser. Micha, you like raspberries, right? Dragonfruit carries berry-like notes too! It's high in vitamin C and antioxidants, so you should eat more!"
Without even waiting for an answer, Ness raised the piece of fruit Kaiser had previously refused into his own mouth, biting a chunk out of it while maintaining eye contact. “Look, I'm eating it too."
Ness had meticulously peeled all fruits into beautiful, easy to eat even shapes. The white fruit flesh now carried the indents of Ness's teeth and while that indeed made it look more appetizing to him, Kaiser still couldn't care less.
The sleeve of Ness's loungewear got progressively darker the more juice dripped on it. “I can see that, Lexi.”
“So you should eat, too! Oh, it's so yummy,” Ness clumsily bit into the dragonfruit again, looking like a baby bird feeding for the first time as he was still trying to leave enough for Kaiser, “Micha, you're missing out, seriously-”
“Shut up, I'll eat it." Kaiser lifted his head from its place on the armrest, ignoring the pain spreading into his neck from the awkward postion he had to maintain in order to bite into the piece of fruit.
Ness yelped when Kaiser's teeth grazed his fingers but there were no signs of dissatisfaction on his face - now happily watching the blonde chew.
“And?” Ness asked as he rested his head on his hand - careless of both: how he now had juices stuck to his cheek and how his bony elbow was digging into Kaiser's chest.
“This time it's sweeter." Kaiser said while chewing with his mouth open, observing the red teeth prints on Ness’s finger.
Ness's eyes lit up and his plump lips shifted into a heartshape as he smiled, “So you'll eat the rest?”
“No,” Kaiser's own thin lips stubbornly stayed in their place.
Next thing he knew, his vision got obstructed by a pretty face - all high and full cheekbones, healthy skin and a slope-like nose. His breath was still carrying the sweetness of the fruit he had eaten and Kaiser just really wanted to squeeze the lively body in his arms to death.
The untamed curls bounced in his field of vision as Ness shook his head no, reflecting the light and swaying with the motion like poorly placed tinsel. “But you have to..."
"I do?" Kaiser reached out to grasp a particularly long strand that was hiding parts of Ness’s eye. The motion reminded Ness of a kitten playing with a string of yarn and he involuntarily cooed.
Kaiser pulled his hair, “You're thinking about something stupid again."
Ness closed his eyes in pain for a brief second, his eyelashes brushing against his cheeks with a soft flutter, before responding, “no never!” He dutifully lowered his eyebrows into a serious expression before continuing, “anyway Kaiser, you have to like it, it's healthy and nutritious.”
Kaiser knew that Ness way lying and Ness knew that Kaiser knew but he still offered that careless smile. Kaiser flicked his forehead, “anything else?”
Ness thought hard, trying to remember the information “Uh.. It has a lot of fiber..?”
Kaiser nodded and squeezed the plump cheeks in front of him together, “Good to know. And now the real reason?”
Ness had always been quick to give up when it came to Kaiser so replied truthfully with a serious expression. “Gesner told me it looks like me.”
The ticks of the clock echoed through the dimly lit room all the way from behind the kitchen island. Kaiser sighed hugging the body in his arms closer. “That's all? Just because it might look like you I have to like it?”
Ness shifted in his hold and lowered his face into the small, warm space between Kaiser's chin and his neck. "I never said that.”
The heat of his face transferred into Kaiser's skin like a furnace - Ness's body temperature had always been quite high.
Amused, Kaiser lifted that abashed face and Ness closed his eyes as if following the motto 'If I can't see him, he also can't see me' like an idiot.
“It's true that the sun didn't shine a lot this winter. You've gotten paler - take those vitamins you gave me yourself - but you're thankfully not that white yet." Kaiser grasped his face anew, twisting it left and right while studying it before adding, "Other than that. I don't want that asshole to compare my midfielder to a bland fruit like that.”
Kaiser replied way too seriously and finally, Ness opened his eyes, tilting his head in surprise.
“Micha, you think dragon fruits are white? Just the inside of them is! the skin is mostly a vibrant magenta that transitions into other colors but uhm," he fiddled with his hands before placing them on Kaiser's chest again. "Those aren't important.. Anyway its main color is pink and is often described as beautiful. Once you cut it open the color of the white flesh and pink skin make for a striking contrast that makes you want to bite into it!”
Kaiser listened patiently until the end even though the entire conversation was meaningless from beginning to end.
“So you came all the way here just to tell me that Gesner called you beautiful and wants to bite into you?” Kaiser wasn't actually angry but he still pushed that fluffy head against his chest, before biting into Ness's ear while Ness squeamed around like a worm, “He doesn't know anything, you dont taste mild at all.”
By now, Ness was familiar enough with the subtle shifts in Kaiser's tone to recognize he was just teasing him but he couldn't help the trembling of his shoulder when Kaiser's breath fanned against his skin and the low baritone of his voice enveloped his ear like a warm embrace.
"Then what am I?" Ness dared to ask.
"Huh?”
"What fruit am I?"
The question was so stupid that Kaiser considered ignoring it but looking into those expectant eyes, he pretended to think before answering with the first thing he could think of, “an apple.”
"What? No!" The reaction was immediate, Ness's mouth dropping open before he nervously bit his lips. "I mean..Micha, are you sure..? Isn't that a little.. uhm, boring?”
"So you'd prefer being a dragonfruit? Like Gesner said you are? Alright, Alexis.” Kaiser pettily used his full name and Ness winced like a kicked puppy.
“No, I'm sorry! If you say I'm an apple, then im an apple.. uhm I like.. apple pie a lot and.. candied apples. In hindsight, your idea is much better, thank you.” He quickly leaned forward to pester Kaiser's face with annoyingly wet kisses and Kaiser felt like he was being licked by a wild dog, turning his head while pretending to be annoyed.
“Hm."
“Don't be angry! I will make apple pie tomorrow, okay?”
Kaiser, spoiled-rotten, slowly turned his head, narrowing his eyes into cat-like slits while pretending to think again, "Okay."
"I love you, I'll make it extra delicious!” Ness suddenly said and hid in his usual spot on Kaiser's neck like a little squirrel.
Kaiser made that answer up on the spot but now that he was thinking about it, Ness really was like an apple: hard to cultivate to one's taste, sinful in aspects that only Michael Kaiser knew of and offering a wide variety of flavors with every bite. Within seconds, Ness could turn from sweet to sour, sometimes less pleasantly so but still tingling on his tongue in a familiar sensation, never foreign and always within an arms reach. Kaiser smiled in satisfaction and when he felt an always so passionate gaze burning into him he lowered his chin against his chest only to be met with those sometimes sour, sometimes sweet eyes encasing him, almost burning a hole through his face and Michael knew that if he was the first human on earth he also would've taken a bite of that apple.
“You're smiling, Micha. Are you happy?”
“Can't I smile anymore? If I pointed out every time you smiled, my tongue would dry out.”
Ness cheekily stuck out his tongue and his small nose crinkled in amusement. Kaiser bit into it.
-
Late at night, Ness entangled his bare feet with Kaiser's underneath the heavy duvet.
“Micha, I love you so much, I'll never buy dragonfruit again."
Kaiser rolled his eyes but still draped his leg over Ness's body, Ness’s soft hair tickling his nose and the smell of his fruity shampoo making him exhale in satisfaction.
“It's okay if you buy it from time to time."