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"Yoichi Isagi has become one of the most promising football players of the younger generation, even after the Blue Lock program ended. What do you feel about his accomplishments?"
On the television screen, the reporter spoke with eager, high-pitched enthusiasm. Translation subtitles scrolled across the bottom of the broadcast since the interview was airing worldwide.
The camera shifted to a middle-aged Japanese man standing beside Isagi. The man had black hair, wore a pair of glasses, and looked just like Isagi. Or rather, Isagi looked like him.
"I'm very proud of Yoichi," the man said, the subtitle identifying him as Isagi's father. He laughed heartily and gave his son a firm smack on the back. The force made Isagi stumble forward a step. The boy quickly turned around with a half-hearted pout, grumbling something under his breath, though he couldn't hide the bright grin spreading across his face. "His mom and I don't really know much about football, but seeing him succeed like this makes us happier than words can say."
The man turned toward the gentle-faced woman standing on his other side, who was already beaming with a soft, affectionate smile. "Right, dear?"
"Mhm. He really is amazing," she agreed, leaning closer to the microphone. Her smile was incredibly fond as she looked at her son. "I used to think he just enjoyed football as a hobby, so I never imagined he would make it this far." She reached over and gently patted Isagi's head as if he were still a little kid instead of a rising football star. "We're just so proud of you, Yocchan."
"Mom, stop, you're embarrassing me," Isagi murmured. He tried to put on a cool, nonchalant face for the cameras, but the wide, silly smile on his face betrayed how happy he really was.
The chatter from the television filled the room. Isagi's parents just kept going, happily bragging about their son while the boy clearly soaked up every bit of the praise. The expressions on the screen were bright, wholesome, and almost blinding. It was annoying to look at.
A soft creak echoed from behind the couch, followed by the familiar sound of footsteps. Ness set two glasses of water on the coffee table before sinking into the cushions beside the blond. Kaiser barely spared him a glance, keeping his attention fixex on the screen.
"Why are we watching this?" Ness asked, but he didn't reach for the remote.
"I scrolled past this. Then I got curious," Kaiser replied absentmindedly.
On the television, Isagi was talking about his years of training, the effort he had put into his career, and how much he loved football. His mother interrupted with a short story about his childhood, laughing about how stubborn Isagi had always been whenever he set his sights on a target. His father nodded along, chuckling. Kaiser could feel the love radiating through the broadcast. He picked up the remote and muted the volume, though he left the channel on.
"It's annoying," Kaiser said.
Ness hummed in response, shifting his weight to lean his head against Kaiser's shoulder. The blond didn't push him away.
After everything they'd been through over the years, Ness finally had taken Kaiser's hand in marriage. Things between them were mostly similar to when they were younger, except for the addition of quiet moments like this.
Communication had never really been an issue between them, but also, they'd rarely ever discussed their lives outside of each other. Lately, they was working on it. They started talking about the things that existed outside of them. Old wounds, regrets, insecurities they'd hidden for years. Some had already healed, while others still bled when touched. Even so, it was nice to have someone to bare everything with.
"I don't like it when Yoichi has something I don't," Kaiser said, his voice flat. "Especially when it's something I can never have, no matter what I do."
Ness looked back at the muted screen, guessing what Kaiser meant.
Kaiser had already done plenty of worldwide interviews himself, and he had coaches, fans, and teammates praising him constantly. That left only one possible option.
"You're talking about Yoichi's parents?" Ness asked, gazing at the bright expressions of the couple standing behind the Japanese striker.
"Yeah," Kaiser said. "They're proud of what he accomplished. I can't have that."
It was rare for Kaiser to bring up his family. Even though they had opened up to each other about a lot of secrets they used to bury deep, family was still a topic Kaiser hesitated to touch. Ness shifted, giving his boyfriend his full attention.
After another few silent seconds, Kaiser picked up the remote and finally changed the channel. He barely paused on any of the stations, as though he already knew exactly what he was looking for. Finally, he stopped on a channel airing a cheesy romance soap opera.
Ness didn't know much about the show besides a few dramatic plot points he'd overheard people discussing in public. He waited patiently as the scene played out on the screen, watching the characters move until Kaiser spoke up again.
"See the male lead's mother?" Kaiser asked, nodding toward the screen.
Ness followed his gaze and nodded. He recognized the actress. Alice... something. He couldn't remember her last name. He had never paid much attention to celebrities, but she'd been everywhere when he was a kid: on television, in movie theaters, and on magazine covers. She was probably in her forties now, yet she still looked beautiful. Sharp eyes, glossy lips, and long blond hair framed her face. There was something about her that vaguely reminded him of Kaiser, though her pink eyes softened her features in a way Kaiser's blue eyes never did.
"That's my mother," Kaiser said.
Ness turned to him, his eyes widening, but he didn't interrupt.
Kaiser pulled his legs onto the couch and rested his chin on his knees, watching the muted television instead of looking back at him. "I haven't seen her since I was... five? Six? Somewhere around there."
The episode continued to play in silence. On the screen, the mother was celebrating something with the male lead. Ness couldn't quite tell what was happening since the volume was down, but the scene looked warm and happy, with a table full of food and expensive wine.
"I used to see her on movie posters," Kaiser continued. "Sometimes electronics stores would have televisions playing her films in the front window, and I'd stop to watch." He let out a quiet breath. "She'd smile at her co-stars, hug them, laugh with them. When I was little, I used to get jealous."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "Because that smile was never for me."
His voice wasn't bitter. Whatever resentment had once been there had long since worn away, leaving behind something flat and detached.
"When I got bailed out of jail and joined Bastard München, I thought I'd make a name for myself. I figured maybe, if I became famous enough, she'd finally notice me."
Ness gave a sympathetic hum. He reached behind Kaiser and idly twirled one of his rat tails around his fingers as he listened.
"When we were in Blue Lock, that was the first time we really got a massive amount of media attention. So I looked up her Instagram account and sent her a message." Kaiser let out a short, frustrated sigh. Ness could tell the annoyance was directed more at his own past actions than at his mother. "Of course, she didn't reply. She didn't even read it. She has millions of followers, after all. Now that I think about it, it was a pretty foolish thing to do."
The scene on the television changed to the female lead and her friends. The blonde actress was no longer on screen, but Kaiser kept watching anyway.
"Then I realized, why would she care whether I'm famous or not?" Kaiser muttered, giving a slight shrug. "She's famous herself. Having a football star for a son isn't anything significant to her. She probably wouldn't even recognize me if we passed each other on the street."
He reached for the remote again and switched back to the sports channel. His mother was no longer on screen anyway.
"No matter how hard I try, I'll never have parents cheering me on like Yoichi's." Kaiser's eyes stayed on the television. "Well, technically my father is still around somewhere. I don't really care whether he drops dead in a ditch or not, but I know he'd be bitter or angry about my accomplishments instead of proud. After all, I'm just a reminder of his failed marriage."
The interview had already moved on from Isagi. Now the reporter was talking to Isagi's boyfriend – or at least, the last time Kaiser had checked years ago, that bee boy was still his boyfriend. Standing behind him was a woman with bright, lively energy that couldn't have been more different from Isagi's gentle mother. Even so, the look of pride on her face was exactly the same as she answered the reporter's questions.
Sensing that Kaiser wasn't going to say anything more on the subject, Ness finally spoke up.
"I see." He didn't offer any empty condolences or pity, knowing full well that Kaiser hated when people felt sorry for him. A simple acknowledgment was enough.
Kaiser finally looked over at him. "I heard you talking to your family about football on the phone sometimes. You're still pretty close to them, aren't you?" He tilted his head. "They must be proud of you, I guess. Considering you're the only famous one in the family while they're all just a bunch of nerds."
"Don't call them 'nerds' to their faces. They really don't like it," Ness said with a chuckle. He personally had no problem with the nickname Kaiser gave them. "But no, I don't think they're proud of me or anything."
Kaiser raised an eyebrow. "Why not? A normal family would be thrilled if their kid became a famous athlete."
Ness nodded, then shook his head. "Normally, yeah. But my family's made up of scientists, and you can't really judge them by the standards of the average person. To them, anything outside of science and technology is basically a waste of time."
He thought for a moment, searching for a comparison. "You know how, back in the old days, nobles looked down on performers? It didn't matter how famous or talented someone was, the nobles still viewed them as jesters, not someone worth taking seriously. It's... kind of like that."
"So my family listens when I talk about football simply because, apparently, that's just what family should do. It's not that they actually respect my career," Ness continued. His smile remained soft and easy, showing he'd made peace with that reality a long time ago. "I know they love me, and they'd never abandon me just because I didn't follow in their footsteps. They simply... disagree with pretty much my entire existence and every life choice I've made. My career might as well be a hobby to them."
"You're literally a professional athlete. And you make a ridiculous amount of money every year," Kaiser pointed out flatly.
"Still." Ness shrugged. "Just a hobby that happens to pay well."
"What a bunch of snobs." The blond rolled his eyes.
"Now, that's not very nice," Ness chided, though the effect was ruined by the laugh that slipped out right after.
Kaiser clicked his tongue and finally lowered his legs to the floor, stretching his back. The interview had ended, and the broadcast had already moved on to a sports news segment, so he turned the volume back up.
"I don't know which of us got the shorter end of the stick," Kaiser said, leaning sideways against Ness as he watched the news half-heartedly. Ness shifted to let the blond settle comfortably against him, naturally wrapping an arm loosely around his shoulders. "But I know if I were you, I would've cut them off years ago for being a nuisance."
"I don't think it's really comparable. Neither of us has it worse," Ness answered truthfully. He pressed a kiss to the top of Kaiser's head. In his eyes, they'd ended up in much the same place. Neither of them would ever get that unconditional pride or validation from their families. It was just two different versions of the same thing. "We're just going to have to be our own emotional support parents, I guess."
"I'm not parenting anyone." Kaiser shot the idea down immediately. "Not even myself."
"So we're not adopting kids?"
"No."
Ness considered that for a moment before giving an understanding hum. "Okay."
Kaiser tipped his head back to look at him, looking mildly surprised. "You agreed that easily? You love kids. I thought you'd want to raise one." He studied Ness for a second before adding, "You'd make a good father."
Ness looked down at his fiancé. His eyes lingered on Kaiser's glossy lips for a moment before he leaned down to steal a quick kiss.
"I do love kids," he said with a smile once he pulled away. "But that doesn't mean I want to raise one myself. If you want children, I'm happy to do it with you. But if you don't, I'm perfectly happy with that too."
Seeing Kaiser still looking skeptical, Ness decided to elaborate.
"It's just that, even if they never said it out loud, it was always obvious my parents favored my siblings because they followed them into science too," he added. "I spent my whole childhood feeling like an outsider in my own family. I was never their priority, and I will never be."
Ness let out a quiet sigh. He reached down to take Kaiser's hand, idly tracing the blond's fingers to ground himself and keep from dwelling too deeply on the past.
"But after all the messy things we've been through, I'm finally someone's priority now. Yours." A smile slowly spread across his face. He raised Kaiser's hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. "I couldn't ask for a happier life. There's someone who puts me first now. So yes, having children with you would be nice. But having your attention all to myself without having to share your number one spot is pretty great too."
"...You're not my number one priority." Kaiser turned his face away. "I am my number one priority."
The room was dim except for the glow of the television, but Ness still caught the faint pink creeping onto the tips of Kaiser's ears. A fond laugh escaped him. "Well, then I'm still happy being your second priority."
He'd figured out a long time ago that chasing validation from people who had already decided not to understand him was pointless. It was much better to spend that effort on people who cared enough to meet him halfway. Some people were lucky enough to be born into families that truly saw them, while others weren't. In the end, it didn't matter as much as he'd once believed. You could always choose the people who mattered to you and build your own family. You could become someone else's home as well. For Ness, that was the man currently curled up in his arms on the couch, pretending to be nonchalant and definitely not blushing.
They stayed like that for a while, neither of them saying much. The sports program droned on in the background as Ness slowly relaxed into the warmth against his chest. Just as he was about to drift off, a finger jabbed him in the stomach.
"Hey. I'm hungry. Don't fall asleep yet," the blond grumbled.
Ness blinked his eyes open, shaking off the drowsiness. Checking the time, he realized they'd missed their usual dinner hour. He sat up with a yawn, pulled out his phone, and opened a delivery app. "It's getting pretty late, so let's just order something. What do you want?"
Kaiser leaned over to peek at the screen. "Pizza. So I don't have to wait long."
Ness hummed and placed an order for a basic pepperoni pizza. Once the confirmation appeared on the screen, he set his phone aside, then immediately flopped back onto the couch and wrapped both arms around Kaiser again, pulling him close despite the protests. "Let's cuddle a bit more. I don't want to move yet."
"When did you get this lazy?" Kaiser scoffed, pinching his partner's waist hard enough to earn a sharp yelp. Even so, he settled comfortably back into Ness's embrace a moment later, naturally complaining all the while. "Seems like I've been spoiling you way too much."
Ness had learned to ignore those empty threats years ago, so he only chuckled and buried his face against Kaiser's neck, smiling to himself as the blond let him stay exactly where he was.