âËŕż michael kaiser is OBSESSED with you âËŕż
strawberrymellos on tumblr & ao3
mostly, it annoys his teammates. heâs focused on the gameâhe always is. but during breaks, or between drills, his eyes are glued to the bench. his phone has been left there, very deliberately, screen facing up. kaiser hopes that when you text him, heâll be able to see, rush to the bathroom like thereâs an emergency. he wonât fool anyone but himself.
âmichael. michael? are you listening?â
ness has called him more times than he can count, but kaiser is imagining what you might be doing right now. itâs morning practice, he thinks, so maybe youâre still asleep. tucked into your covers, peacefully unaware of the rest of the world. maybe thatâs why you havenât texted yet. that sweet, sweet âgood morningâ that keeps him going. maybe, just maybe, if such a beautiful girl tells him to have a good day, he will. he doesnât want to disappoint you. so when he receives that text, the rest of his day must be perfect. itâs exactly as you will it. because of that, kaiser has been happier lately.
kaiser shakes his head and tells ness he was just distracted for a moment. ness knows the truth.
but it isnât only in his thoughts. you donât know it, but youâve left physical marks on kaiserâs life, too. is it too crazy that he bought the same necklace you always wear, just to keep in his bag and run his fingers over? is it so bad when itâs the only thing that keeps him sane at halftime when he wants to kill the opposition? his teammates glare when he retrieves the chain, but donât complain. they know the ritual makes him play better. and so they donât ask what it means, either.
how did he even find it? it was a long search. he has photos of the two of you together, so reverse image search was the first of many attempts. it didnât work.
next was investigating places he knew you shopped. heâd snatched receipts from your purse that you wanted to get rid of, memorized the patterns of shopping bags in your bedroom. it was to no avail. so he set out his entire management team to find it.
turns out the necklace hadnât been manufactured for years. kaiserâs publicist snagged one from a friend of a friend. kaiser paid three times the original price.
but the worst, something kaiser wonât ever tell you about, is the tattoo. he already has the roseâitâs perfect as is. youâve always loved it, tracing your hands over its lines before kissing kaiser. now, the tattoo inevitably has your name written all over it. kaiser canât stand it.
âwait, another tattoo?â ness is shocked at the revelation. âwhat for?â
âfor her.â thatâs all kaiser says before leaving the dorm.
he returns with your name in a small cursive font on his jawline. it just perfectly blends with the thorned vines. no one should tell any differently.
besides kaiser, of course, who will rub circles over the name when heâs stressed. especially during games when you canât be there. heâs cited the ritual to reporters as a âsoothing habitâ. they donât question it further. but if theyâd get closer, really look at the tattoo, theyâd see it, clear as day.
kaiser hopes he wonât have to tell you about his obsession. that one day, youâll get close enough to see the tattoo for yourself. that you wonât question it because you already belong to him.
but for now, kaiser is a mess. utterly and completely obsessed with you.
it comes as a shock to all of his teammates that he hasnât asked you out yetâclaimed whatâs his. but it doesnât matter. youâre wrapped around his finger.
