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Michael Kaiser and Alexis Ness were dating, and that was no secret. Not because they shouted it from the rooftops, but because the internet had the subtlety of a packed stadium. Social media was saturated with theories, edits, stolen screenshots, and almost academic analyses all under the same banner: #KaiNess on Twitter, above all, was ablaze as if it were the finals season. Every glance shared on the field, every tiny gesture, was dissected with a magnifying glass and passion.
What no one knew, what wasn't revealed in clips or endless threads, was that they were both in Hamburg. In Alexis's apartment. A warm space, with plants near the window, books stacked haphazardly, and a calm that didn't exist in stadiums. They were there, far from the noise, before the German football league, the Bundesliga, began, as if the world had paused just for them.
Alexis sat in front of his laptop, his brow slightly furrowed, his fingers moving with precision. He was writing his next interview for an international magazine. The subjects were Onazi and Kuso, former Nigerian champions. Not just legendary footballers, but key figures in the fight for workers' rights in their country. Alexis deeply admired that kind of quiet greatness, the kind that isn't always measured in goals.
The sound of the keyboard filled the room with a steady, smooth rhythm.
On the sofa, Michael Kaiser was reading news about potential Real Madrid signings. He scrolled through the screen with apparent indifference, though every now and then he lingered longer than usual, as if searching for something he couldn't quite define. He was wearing an oversized Alexis sweatshirt and his hair was slightly disheveled, with no cameras, no spotlights, no outside expectations.
"Do you want to make hot chocolate, love?" Michael asked suddenly, looking up.
Alexis immediately raised his head. His eyes lit up as if he had been offered a treasure.
"Of course I do. I need it, I'm freezing," he replied with a smile that would melt anyone's heart.
The kitchen became a small, shared refuge. They moved with coordinated clumsiness, bumping shoulders, laughing softly. They prepared the hot chocolate following the traditional Spanish recipe that Bunny Iglesias, a player for FC Barcelona, had taught them during a training camp. Thick, rich, almost ceremonial. Michael stirred carefully, focused as if it were a crucial play.
At that moment, Michael realized something that felt both strange and familiar. He was happy. Not the loud, public kind of happiness, but a more intimate, more real kind. One he never thought possible. For years, love had been an abstract concept to him, something he accepted in theory but not in practice. Alexis knew this. He never pressured him. He never rushed him.
As they served the hot chocolate in their Chiiwaka cups, Alexis watched him for a few seconds before speaking.
—Micha… How is therapy with Chigiri going?
Michael stood still, watching the steam rising from his mug. His fingers circled the hot ceramic as if he needed to anchor himself to something.
“I’m… unraveling memories from my childhood,” he said slowly. “I don’t quite know how to explain it. But Chigiri is giving me emotional tools. To control my…”
Alexis finished the sentence gently, without any judgment.
“Anger.”
—Yes —Michael replied, almost in a whisper.
Alexis approached and gave him a kiss on the cheek, warm and brief, like a silent promise.
—You're doing the best you can. And that's enough. I'm proud of you, love.
Michael smiled, barely. It wasn't a broad or perfect smile. He struggled to truly smile. Not like in front of the cameras, where everything was automatic. This was different. Being at home, with someone he trusted, broke him down more than any therapy. But it also rebuilt him.
They sat together on the sofa, cups in hand, while outside Hamburg continued its indifferent course. For a while, football, expectations, and the noise of the world could wait. There, in that small apartment, Michael Kaiser wasn't a star. He was just someone learning to be content, in good company.
Therefore, Alexis, with the perspicacity of a magician who knows the tricks before the audience even suspects there is a trick, spoke with calculated lightness, leaning slightly towards him, with a lopsided smile:
"You should smile more... well, laugh," he corrected thoughtfully. "Although now that I think about it... should I tickle you? Or does the emperor never laugh?"
Michael glanced at him sideways, leaning against the back of the sofa, with that tired yet amused expression that only Alexis could elicit.
"It's difficult to laugh just like that," he admitted. "It's not something that comes naturally to me."
Alexis pretended to put a hand to his chest, exaggeratedly, as if he had just received a sacred mission.
"Then it's official," he declared. "My mission in this life will be to make you laugh."
Michael raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Oh, really?" he said. "Try it."
Alexis moved a little closer, his eyes shining, enjoying the challenge as if it were an elegant duel.
—Is that proof, Michael Kaiser?
Michael tilted his head, and for a second he let his mask fall. His voice came out soft, almost playful.
—From the emperor —he corrected—Alexis Ness.
There was a brief silence. And then, as if something invisible had broken, they both laughed. Not a restrained or rehearsed laugh, but a real, awkward, sincere one. Michael started softly, almost incredulously, and ended up bursting out. Alexis was clear and contagious, proud of having done it.
Alexis watched him laugh, and in that instant, he fell a little more in love. With that rare sound. With the way Michael brought a hand to his face, as if he weren't used to allowing himself something so simple. With the silent certainty that this laugh, born in intimacy, was worth more than any ovation from the stadium.
"I made you laugh, Emperor!" exclaimed Alexis, victorious, raising his arms slightly as if he had just won an invisible trophy.
Michael let out a sigh that still carried traces of laughter and shook his head, amused.
"Okay, okay..." he conceded, "but you were taking it so seriously, Alexis. Like it really was a life-or-death mission."
Alexis frowned, only half offended, crossing his arms.
"I always take things seriously!" he protested. "Especially the important ones."
Michael watched him silently for a few seconds. The curve of his lips slowly lifted, and the corners of his mouth swelled with a genuine smile, the kind that needed no cameras or witnesses. His eyes softened when they met Alexis's.
—That's why —she said in a calm voice— you are my greatest love.
The world stopped.
Alexis.exe stopped working completely.
His mind went blank, like a frozen screen. His heart, unable to process such a sudden statement, felt like it was going to explode, pounding so hard himears were ringing. Heat rushed to his face.
"Alexis?" Michael asked, tilting his head, slightly worried to see him so still.
Alexis blinked a couple of times. He was completely flushed, from his cheeks to his ears. He looked down, placing a hand on his chest, as if he needed to check that his heart was still there.
Gods. Yes, he was in love.