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It should be made clear that Kaiser detested alcohol in every shape and form. He hated the feeling of his control slipping away from him with every shot. He abhored the blurry memories of his childhood house littered with smashed glass from empty bottles. And most importantly, he despised the fact that it made him feel like his father.
But who cared? A drink or two couldn't hurt anyone other than himself. Even he could still appreciate the taste of high quality wine. Yes, that floaty buzz... that sensation of becoming nothing...
Kaiser grossly overestimated his alcohol tolerance that night. The world spun around on its axis as muffled noise that was simultaneously too distant and too loud blared right into his eardrums.
Vaguely, he heard voices (or just one voice?) surround him. His headache was about to burst like a can of soda.
"Ssshuut the fuuck uuupp Ness..." He cringed at how dry his voice sounded. Was it even Ness talking? That stupid little puppy, it had to be. No one else would care to bother him like that.
"Oh, sorry! But... are you okay? You look kind of..." The voice lowered to a subtle whisper dancing amongst a sea of cheers and bass-boosted music.
Kaiser banged his glass on the table, feeling his head droop unwillingly. A pang of sharp pain cut through his brain.
"What do you think? Do you even think about anything at all?"
"...You can say you aren't feeling well, you know? Hang on, I'll call a taxi."
Sighing, Kaiser let his eyelids flutter shut without resistance. He didn't have to think about useless things when Ness was around to do that for him, after all.
......
"Kaiser, Kaiser, are you awake?" A gentle tap of a warm finger landed on the sleeve of his jacket.
Kaiser blinked with a blunt bleariness, slowly registering the feeling of his senses coming back to him in waves. The glancing pain shook him first. Then came the putrid smell of booze wafting from his own body, accompanied by the lingering aftertaste of expensive red wine. And when his eyes refocused, they revealed the sight of Ness's furrowed eyebrows of worry.
He nearly laughed at how serious his puppy looked.
"Are you guys getting off?" The middle-aged taxi driver gestured towards the car door.
Ness jumped, coughing into his sleeve. "Really sorry, sir! Quick, let's go."
Too tired to open his mouth, Kaiser wordlessly slung his arm around Ness's shoulders, pushing his body weight onto Ness.
Ness stumbled for a moment at the sudden pressure before adjusting.
"Thanks for driving us. Have a good night, sir!"
"You too, kid. Get your friend home safe."
With that, the car door slammed shut, leaving them alone on the street. Ness heaved in relief. "Phew, we made it. Can you walk on your own, or...?"
Kaiser groaned, leaning his head against Ness's neck. "Don't talk too much..."
Ness had an endearing look of exasperation painted on his face.
"I really don't understand you sometimes." Ness smiled sadly.
"What, do you need to?"
"I want to."
Kaiser swallowed the uncomfortable bubbling of bile in his gut.
"Why? Someone like..." Silence engulfed the air as Kaiser trailed off.
Ness hummed, waiting for Kaiser to finish his sentence. "Like?"
"Like... me."
"If it's you, then I'd want to know everything."
The weight of Ness's pure devotion was stifling, and it made Kaiser's heart ache.
"You don't... you don't want to know."
"Well, I just said I do? Don't push me away out of fear."
Fear, huh.
What a foolishly perceptive thing to say.
They continued trudging to Kaiser's doorstep. Only the sound of their quiet steps in the stillness of the night could be heard.
Ness keyed in the door lock code, hauling Kaiser into the house. The both of them collapsed right onto the couch, neither making a move to inch further away from one another. Kaiser's arm remained locked around Ness's shoulder, as if it were only natural.
Moonlight shimmered into the quiet living room, basking Ness's face in an ethereal glow. Kaiser couldn't help but stare at such an oddly tranquil sight.
"Hmm. Who knew you could look so pretty like this?" Kaiser whispered, tracing a finger against Ness's check.
He felt the edge of his fingertip warm up. Ah, Ness's face was so, so, so red. He relished in the satisfaction of knowing that only he would ever be able to make Ness look like that.
"W-What? Oh! Thanks...?" Ness snapped upright, sitting on the edge of the couch in an instant. "We— no, you should wash up... I'll go run a bath for you!"
Just as he was about to stand up, Kaiser grabbed his hand, pulling it towards his cheek. "Damn it, why does everyone just want to leave me?"
Ness made a strangled sound somewhere between a scream and a groan. "Hey, I'm not leaving you! Why would you even think that I am?"
"Don't know... just feels like you will one day." Kaiser mumbled, gently pressing his lips against Ness's palm.
"Kaiser! You..." Kaiser felt Ness's hand tremble in his grip. Mouth hung agape, Ness could only stare at his hand dumbly.
Kaiser closed his eyes, body gravitating nearer towards the warmth of Ness's hand. "Just stay here. Right here. You don't need anyone else. I'm the only thing you need."
I need you. You're the only one.
Ness exhaled, cupping Kaiser's cheeks with both of his hands. "Okay. Don't worry, I'll always..."
Kaiser wished he could have heard the rest of that sentence, but his mind had already faded into unconsciousness.
......
Beep beep beep beep!
The first thing Kaiser remembered was the fact that he didn't have training that day, so he could ignore the shrill beeping of his alarm clock for another hour. The second thing Kaiser remembered was that he was an absolute idiot.
Scheiße, did I seriously manage to drink too much? Got too caught up in that party.
Painstakingly, he rolled out of the embrace of his bed, dragging his heavy body towards the muffled sounds coming from outside. He caught a whiff of the smell of freshly made pancakes.
Ness, in a blue apron that he found from god knows where, was spreading butter on pancakes and humming a tune to a song Kaiser wasn't familiar with.
Upon hearing footsteps echo from behind him, Ness whipped his head around and, dropped the butter knife on the ground the moment their eyes met. The clatter of metal sliced through the warm atmosphere in an instant, startling the both of them.
"Ah... good morning. Breakfast is done so, I'll get going right now...!" Ness frantically untied the strings of his apron and bolted. Well, tried to, at least. Kaiser latched onto Ness's arm and suddenly they were now in a tug-of-war match.
"You. What the hell happened last night?"
"You don't remember?" Ness's eyes widened by a fraction, a faint blush decorating the tips of his ears.
"Obviously? Tell me right now."
Ness averted his gaze, letting it fall to the ground. His surprised expression faded in an instant, replaced by a shy smile. "Ah...ahaha..."
Kaiser yanked Ness towards himself. "Ness. I said, tell me right now."
Ness weakly fought back, but his eyes glinted with a shimmer of amusement.
"Hahaha..."
"Stop laughing and spit it out already!"
"Haha!"
"Ness!"
"Aha, it's nothing."
"Hey, you— Ness, get back here right now!"