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Kaiser and Ness had morning practice—8:30am to 11am—the afternoon, evening, and night were given as their time off. Kaiser had planned on getting some extra practice in, but those plans were changed. Why? Because of his hair.
As Kaiser was preparing to run another lap, Ness who stood behind him, wanted to say something, ask something. Kaiser knew this. Kaiser noticed how Ness had been (and still is) biting his lips to keep a fly from escaping his mouth and how he had been constantly staring at his back, way more than usual—even for Ness. Kaiser was, of course, bothered. When he had decided to turn around to Ness—to snap at and confront him—Ness finally parted his lips to speak.
"Kaiser, your dye has faded..." He mumbled. He wrapped his hands behind his back and held onto one of his wrists, tightly. "Can I dye it again?" he nervously pleaded, while he kept his v-shaped smile that was slightly twitching. Ness, who styles Kaiser's hair pretty much every day, was also the one who had first cut and dyed Kaiser's hair; however, he hadn't done it again after the first time. He was nervous that Kaiser would decline his service. The German prodigy clearly made enough to afford his own personal stylist, several if he wanted. So why would he need Ness to do it? Kaiser looked at him in disbelief. "Was this why you were looking at me like you wanted to fucking nibble me up like a puppy?" He scoffed, picked a strand of Ness's hair, and tugged it a bit, making him flinch his eyes. Ness nodded and repeated his request even more eagerly: "Can I dye it again, please, Kaiser?"
"Yeah."
Kaiser and Ness share an apartment; they split the rent. Kaiser had insisted—no, 'demanded'—that his half would be more than Ness's. Was this an act of kindness? Maybe. But Kaiser considered it to be a way of showing how he's worth more than Ness—to show how he's better than him. The apartment was decently big, especially for two people who spend most of their time outside. It had a living room connected to an open kitchen, which was where they both spent most of their time, a bathroom, and a big room shared by the both. The apartment was decorated and designed to please their (mostly Kaiser's) aesthetics—red, with a magical vibe to it. Even in this setting, in the comfort of their home, Kaiser himself stood out to Ness the most.
Kaiser had decided to just wash his hair to rinse off the oil and sweat on his hair and scalp; he would have to shower properly after his hair gets dyed by Ness. "Hey, Ness? Come over," he ordered, and Ness immediately responded to his voice. "Dry me up and work your 'magic,' yeah?" he teased as he ran his inked hand through Ness's hair. He then sat on the chair brought by Ness, which was placed infront of the mirror. Ness wraps a bib around Kaiser; it covered his shoulder and the rest beneath. Kaiser wasn't really wearing anything, just his towel, which was wrapped tightly around his hips. Either way, the purpose of the bib was so Kaiser's pale skin wouldn't get stained and to make the washing process afterwards easier. "Ah, Ness, before you start, grab my phone. Play some music." he directed. Ness came back with Kaiser's phone in hand, put in the password to unlock it, then started to play Kaiser's playlist. He placed it on the counter where the supplies for Kaiser's hair were.
"May I start now, Kaiser?" Ness asked, looking at Kaiser through the mirror for confirmation. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead." Kaiser breathed. Ness had everything he needed next to him; Kaiser and the supplies. Now all he had to do was "cast his spells" on Kaiser's hair. He grabbed the dryer and started to dry Kaiser's damp hair. Once it dried up, he started to detangle Kaiser's hair. It was soft and silky, Ness's fingers easily slid through them. He made sure to be gentle and careful with his hair as he started to section it. Some mischievous strands were glued onto Kaiser's tattooed neck, as he tried to pick them off—the sudden touch on Kaiser's neck caught him by surprise, causing him to adjust his postion on the chair—clearly in discomfort, and Ness noticed. "Ah! Sorry Kaiser, did my nails catch your skin?" Ness yelped as he quickly apologized, hoping Kaiser wouldn't get mad. "No... no, it's fine, keep going." he commanded under his breath, avoiding eye contact with Ness through the mirror. There was a moment of silence. Only the music leaving Kaiser's phone, which blended in with the sound of the air entering and leaving the bodies of the pair, could be heard, and the slightly louder work of Ness. The silence continued until Ness began to coat Kaiser's hair with dye.
The silence is eroded by Kaiser. "When I was a kid... My old man would choke me." Kaiser spilled; again, he adjusted to a more firm position. He wasn't sure why he was telling Ness this, why that decided to leave his mouth. The sudden burst of information shocked Ness, he knew Kaiser had a rough past, but he didn't expect it to be something like this. Kaiser vaguely opens up to Ness, though this was the most detailed he had ever been. Ness's touch becomes gentler. Kaiser noticed the change in touch, and he caught Ness's puppy eyes which were filled with worry and empathy. He regretted letting that spill out, what if Ness thinks he's weak now? He has to cover it up. "Quit that damn look Ness. I've gotten over it, I let go of my past. I'm not the weak piece of shit I was back then anymore. I told you, I'm not a weak-hearted person anymore." he lashed out, eyebrows close to touching. He relaxed his composure. "Keep going... I want to get this done fast." he demanded, and once again Ness obeyed. Ness was lost in thought; he didn't know what to say, all he would do was keep quiet, he was being selfish. He just didn't want to ruin the moment. His admiration for Kaiser and fear of being abandoned made him subconsciously ignore Kaiser's clear flaws and need for help. Silence fell upon them once again.
Silence like this was normal for the two; Kaiser would snap, and Ness would willingly stay by his side, quietly. He would never push Kaiser or do anything that might displease him. In this moment, Ness was coating Kaiser's past—adding color to it—while Kaiser silently held onto it.
It had been over 2 hours; Ness was almost done. The dye had sunk into Kaiser's hair and Ness's fingers; Ness was trimming the last section of hair with those fingers. "I'm done!" he hummed, expression warm, smile tightening more. Kaiser's hair was dyed and trimmed by Ness. "Kaiser! Kaiser! Do you like it? I think you look beautiful! You'd look even more beautiful after styling your hair!" he shouted with joy, his voice searching for approval and almost echoing in the bathroom. He's desperate for Kaiser's validation—to have his work noticed, to be seen. Kaiser shook his head around to view it from different angles. It was beautiful, perfect, but Kaiser wouldn't dare say more than what Ness deserved. "It's nice." He could see Ness's face light up, excited from Kaiser's approval. "Don't let it go over your head, Ness." He cooed as he got up from the chair. Ness took off the bib, and some trimmed hair slid down Kaiser's pale chest. His body was structured; there was some dye on his shoulders that must have sweeped through the bib. Ness examined his body—long enough for Kaiser to notice, but Kaiser decided to stay silent about it. "Who wouldn't admire me?" he thought. "Hey Kaiser, you should probably wash that off." Ness suggested, not a command, just a suggestion. Who is he to give Kaiser commands?
"I know." He paused for a moment. An idea pops into his mind, casting a smirk onto his face, a smirk Ness didn't catch. As Kaiser got into the shower, Ness started to clean the counter and the mess that came during the process; it wasn't a big mess, he was careful. He cleaned it up within minutes. However, he was struggling to get rid of the dye stained onto his fingers. Kaiser's phone was still playing music; these songs weren't in his playlist. He checked the battery percentage; it read 67%—Ness took note of that to remind Kaiser to charge it later. "Hey Ness? You haven't showered yet, right?" he purred as the shower started to run. Ness turned to see droplets of water running down Kaiser's body, some blue dye going along with it, while his tattooed hand lifted up to wash his left chest. Kaiser was looking at him; Ness could see his smirk. "Do you want to shower with me?" Ness could feel his smirk. "Here?" Ness was flustered; Kaiser enjoyed this, his smirk curled even more with amusement, he kept his eyes locked with Ness's. He was looking down at him. "Where else? Don't ask me stupid questions, puppy." his smirk left his face as he mocked Ness. "We wash together all the time, don't we? Ah, it's fine, we don't have to." he took his eyes off Ness; he was starting to look uninterested, which caused Ness to panic. "No! No, Kaiser! I want to... I want to! it's just, we haven't washed together here... It's different..." he rambled, desperately—he hoped that Kaiser hadn't actually changed his mind. Kaiser let out a sigh, then turned back to Ness, who was practically trying not to cry. He remembered Ness telling him something about how his tear glands were weak? Something like that. "It's fine, the difference is just the setting, is it not?" His tone wasn't seeking an answer, and Ness knew.
Ness quickly takes his clothes off, his heart ringing in his ears, hoping Kaiser wouldn't change his mind within those few seconds. He rushes to join Kaiser in the shower. The water showering down was hot, and the tension between them was hotter. The heat of the water and the tension between them mix into one.
"In a rush?" Kaiser snickered, his smirk returning once again when he caught Ness's flustered face. "No..." Ness mumbled. The shower wasn't ideally made for two to be in it so Ness was forced to be chest to chest with Kaiser, a few centimeters apart so they wouldn't touch. Kaiser was right beneath the shower; he had his eyes shut after the tease. All the water was directly falling onto his head, and slid down his back. Droplets that escaped Kaiser's grasp fell onto Ness. His neck was lifted high, Ness could see his Adam's apple. His nose could touch it if he wasn't resisting. They were that close. He truly looked like an emperor. He is one. Ness could feel the steam beaming upwards after catching the ground; it was quite nauseating. Ness could feel Kaiser's breath on him, it was warm, it was comforting.
Kaiser opened his eyes, they fell onto Ness, who was staring up at him. The heat was causing sweat to form on his forehead, and causing his eyes to be half-lidded. He looked like he was drunk, on love? Or maybe it was the heat? Either way, he kept staring at Kaiser. Kaiser swung his head down—he relaxed his neck. His eyes caught Ness's fingers. The fingers which were used to dye Kaiser's hair with—were blue. The dye must have eroded into Ness's fingers, just like how Kaiser "eroded Ness's heart." Kaiser slowly reached for them, and brought them up to his face, examined them, and attempted to rub the dye off. Ness snapped back into reality, fingers still in Kaiser's hands. "Ah?... I'll get it off Kaiser." Ness exhaled. He felt as if the shower had gotten even hotter when he spoke. Kaiser reached for the shampoo behind Ness, releasing his hand. Now they had switched positions; Ness was beneath the shower and could finally properly wash himself, and Kaiser was in Ness's previous position but faced back. Kaiser started to apply shampoo to scrub his hair, while Ness started to scrub his body.
"Shit... It's in my eyes." Kaiser complained and turned to face Ness. His hair was filled with lather, and his face somehow had even more. He was pinching his eyes shut. "Ness? Damn it. Wash it off." he demanded. Ness quickly reached out. He pushed Kaiser's hair back from it's roots, then gently wiped the lather away. In this heat, Kaiser's body still remained cold. A smile started to form on Ness's face, which was seen by Kaiser when he could open his eyes again without them stinging. "You think this is funny?" he puffed. "No... Maybe? You still haven't learnt to wash your hair properly, have you?" he held his giggle. He was trying so hard not to laugh; he looked stupid. Kaiser, seeing this, bursts into laughter, and Ness follows. Kaiser shares a genuine laugh with Ness. The laughing dies down. "It's hella hot in here, let's get out fast before we pass out." he says as he pushes himself onto Ness, now they share the shower. The same stream of water.