lin

Tw: angst, not a happy ending (lmk if I should do one)

Sae Itoshi x reader

Word count: 1.7k

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You’re first day at a new school. You were nervous when you walked in. But like every new kid would be, you were welcomed. The other children were kind and very enthusiastic. You felt wanted here.

At lunch, you hung out with a few of the other kids. But then made an excuse for a quick escape. Nothing necessarily happened. But you were a shy and quiet child and loved to spend time alone. However, there was different in spending time alone and feeling alone.

You walked up the tiny hill at the back of the playground and sat on the damp grass. Crossing your legs, you took your sketchbook out. You weren’t a proper artist, but you could do a few details doodles. You looked around, looking for some sort of inspiration. What today’s art would be based on. Down the hill you saw a small boy. Around your age. Kicking a football up with his feet. Reddish hair blowing in the wind, his bangs flying up making him look adorably ridiculous. He was in his football kit, but he was playing alone? You squired your eyes; a paper was stuck onto the gate he was beside.

Football practice cancelled for the day

Strange, you thought. If it was cancelled, why was he still there in his kit and still practicing. You wanted to go down and ask. But your shyness held you back. You decided you’d watch from afar. And that day, you drew something simple, a boy playing alone despite not needing to. You didn’t understand it then, but it represented his discipline and determination.

Weeks went by and you always watched the boy from afar. You quickly learnt he was a big deal around here. His name was Sae Itoshi. One of the best footballers in your school. He played the role of a striker. It seemed that’s all he dedicated his time to as he mostly slept in class or zoned out. You couldn’t help but watch him enchanted. He fascinated you. However, he also hurt you in some way you couldn’t understand. You felt for him. Despite being popular and admired he was alone. He ate lunch by himself, practiced by himself and worked hard by himself.

So, one day you decided to be brave. You decided you needed courage. You sat beside him during lunch. You didn’t say anything letting him feel your presence instead. He didn’t speak back, but every few minutes you’d feel him glance at you through the corner of his eye. Weeks went on like this until he decided to break the ice. That day you spoke for what felt like hours. And the days after that you learnt you’d become Sae Ioshi friend. He’d invite you to his game and share his ice lolly with you. He’d hold your hand while you walked home and kept every single one of your drawings. His favourite one was your first drawing of him. The one where he played football alone. He felt like you captured his heart in that picture and the rest of your drawing stole his soul.

Somewhere along that friendship, your heart crossed a line it shouldn’t. You knew you always felt so strongly and deeply for Sae but as a kid you labeled it as friendship. Now as a teenager, you could place a proper label for that feeling.

A crush

You had a crush on Sae, but you couldn’t ever image yourself confessing. What you had with Sae was too precious to be broken and so you held your fragile heart close to you.

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One day, you and Sae were at the park. Swinging on the swings, it was silent between you two. It wasn’t rare for your hangout to be silent. Sometimes you just needed each other’s proximity. Until Sae broke it.

 “You know, I’m going to Spain next week”

You look over, your heart clenching. You already knew this, but it didn’t make it less painful. It didn’t make it any easier on you. Words were stuck on your throat. There was so much you wanted to tell him.

That you love him

But what did a teen like you know about love?

You throat tightened but you still forced the words out. Because you had courage. Even if messy you’d try to express yourself.

“Sae. I think...I like you?”

You internally cringed. Why did that sound like a question when you were so sure of your feelings.

He looked over, his expression unreadable but his eyes…they held softness only reserved for you.

He looked away, kicking the ground as he mumbled so quietly.

“Can I become your boyfriend then? We can try to make it work.”

Your heart was beating so fast you were so sure he could hear it. Was this really happening? Sae felt for you to?

“Yeah. I think I’d like that”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The next week week, Sae left for Spain, you didn’t cry in front of him. You stayed strong for him. But in the darkest corner of the night. In the sanctuary of your room. You buried your face in your pillow and let your warm tears soak it. You didn’t wail and it wasn’t loud. It was more quiet disbelief this was happening. But like every love-struck teen, you were naïve enough to think you and Sae could make it work.

That you’d last.

At first, your relationship stayed strong. You called as much as you could and texted daily.

About stupid things

Small things

Things that made your relationship special.

But a year and a half later, the messages died out and the calls were non-existence. Instead, dry text such as “busy” and “👍” replaced them. Sometimes he even left you on read.

You tried to be understanding. To understand the pressure, he was undergoing. But it still pieced the deepest corners of your heart.

Soon the text became more self centred on Sae side. Instead of asking you how your day went or even making these little moments you guys had the both of yours, it was spent on complaint about Bunny or emphasising how he hated Japanese football as its half baked.

Somewhere along the way you realised something terrifying.

maybe if you stopped reaching for Sae.

He’d never reach for you first.

To put it up to the test, you decided not to text your boyfriend for 3 days.

Day one:

Nothing

Day two:

Complained about Bunny scoring a goal that shouldn’t been his. No hi or hello. A quick and simple message.

Day three:

Nothing

It shouldn’t have hurt anymore.

But somehow the disappointment never got easier.

Loving Sae Itoshi felt like wanting to hold onto someone who was already walking away.

But you had to overcome it as a team

You texted him

You: Hey Sae. Can we talk?

Sae 💞: busy. Later?

The later never came.

So, you tried again.

And again.

And again.

Until asking to be loved by him started feeling like begging

Ah.

So, this is how it felt

To mourn someone who’s still alive

You decided to have courage again. You and Sae Itoshi weren’t meant to be. So, with a heavy heart and more tears. You blocked him. On everything that possibly linked you to him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Later that night, in his room. Sae picked up his phone and stared at it. He’d been losing himself in Spain. He knew he was. But he couldn’t stop it. His dream of being the world’s best has disappeared and so did his childlike attitude. The world was so much bigger than he anticipated, and Japan was so far behind. It was a bubble of illusion. Propelling dreams and human connection when the world was so much crueler than that. Breaking every spirit and leaving you drained if you couldn’t keep up.

He opened your contact. You’d been nagging him to talk and as much as it bothered him, he also cared for you in a way he didn’t know how to communicate.

Account not found.

He frowned and refreshed it.

Account not found.

Sae rarely used social media, he mostly used it for brands deals or liking your post. He searched for your account on here and...

Account not found.

Weird. He thought. Was it broken?

Badam

Badam

Badam

Badam

No? It couldn’t possibly be…you couldn’t have blocked him. You couldn’t have given up on him like everyone else’s. No way. You were supposed to be there for each other.

Sae immediately felt the urge to book the first flight back. But his life wasn’t a romantical fantasy. And until the season finished, he couldn’t go back. He had other responsibilities and priorities.

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Once the 9 months finished, he booked a flight back to Japan. Before even visiting his parents or Rin, he went straight to your place.

He knocked on your door.

Once

Twice

Thrice

Maybe you weren’t here? You did love to go to the park so maybe you’d went there?

He walked to the park. Hands in his pocket at the snow felt around him. These last few months reminded him of the time where he was at school. Known but still alone. You’d broken it. You brought joy and happiness to his life. Though he was horrible at expressing it. He did miss and love you truly.

While walking to the park, he saw a familiar face though the café window. You sat there, dressed up while a man sat opposite you. You were laughing. Eyes crinkling in the corner, smile so bright he made his heart clench.

Beautiful.

If Sae Itoshi had to describe you in one word, it’s beautiful.

He stood there and watched for a moment. He wanted to talk to you, but he didn’t want to bother you. Now that he thought about it, what would he even say?

So, instead in the snow he turned around and walked off. Each step weighting heavily on him.

Funny, he thought, it’s been years since he’s last seen that smile. He thought it belonged to him and that despite everything he’d still be able to come back to it. He never realised smiles were supposed to be taken care of.

The first ever drawing you gave him, the one where he played football alone was still tucked into his wallet. The edges faded.

Just like the two of you.

Time had worn both down

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A/n: quick Drabble. this lowkey took a while so I hope you enjoy. Please ignore any mistakes if there is any

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Taglist: @stal1n33 @luvynii @modokiya (I didn’t know if you guys wanted to be tagged js in the series or in any of my fics so if not js tell me and I’ll remove you)

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you on the other hand weren’t too fond of them. not paranoid, but not exactly cordial with them either. sae knew his way around the media. he avoided biased interviews, dodged edgy questions, and most of all, gave quick-witted short answers so the interviewer would feel defeated and unable to continue. it always worked in his favor.

that’s how sae reassured you. there was no reason you should feel exploited or threatened by the media because he could handle it. he could burden that fear for the both of you, it was nothing to him.

so when the time had finally come for the paparazzi to get some new dirt on sae itoshi the japenese football prodigy, they had found the perfect outlet.

you.

dressed in a modest black dress with expensive rocks on your wrist, you held onto sae’s arm and took your routinely stroll through the quiet nighttime streets.

that silence was quickly broken by a ruffle in the bushes. you slowly craned your head toward the unfamiliar sound before realizing exactly what it was. your worst nightmare. you’d be naive to think that this time wouldn’t come sooner or later. you were dating a world renowned footballer for christ sakes.

“keep walking.”

noticing your step had faltered, sae gently pulled away from your grip and wrapped a comforting arm around your shoulder, shielding you from the prying eyes of the public. that made you relax, just enough to get yourself back on pace with his.

not knowing when they might show themselves again was nagging at you. being berated on social media was one of your worst fears, especially if you didn’t exactly do anything but date sae itoshi. the internet could be so cruel and parasocial, you knew that better than anyone.

then, a flash. hurried and sloppy, but bright enough that you could still see the glare from the camera.

you froze, unable to process the reality of what happened. although sae had been able to protect your figure now, even he was caught off guard by such a careless attempt at getting a photo that would spark some sort attention.

and to make matters even worse, the cameras had caught just enough of your face for people to search and scrape every corner of the internet to find you.

turning your attention toward sae, his eyes were a little wider than before, the tip of his ears turning a faint pink as he slowed his walking to a stop. the warmth of his arm around your shoulder was gone as his back was now facing you, standing just a mere inch away, but close enough to feel the irritation radiating off of his body.

he sighed, his breath visible in the cold air. “i guess it can’t be helped.”

you looked around in confusion and quirked an eyebrow. he was being much more mysterious than your normal sae. “w-what are you talking about sae? we should go home. before they-“

“we’ll have to give them a show. let’s make a headline.”

your mouth wanted to fall agape, but not even that would express the feelings brewing inside of you at this moment. this was supposed to be an undisclosed secret. never for the public eye to even get the slightest hint that sae itoshi was dating someone. now he wants to be a trending tag on twitter, like you’re buying that.

“sae, what are you talking ab-“

in one swift motion, sae’s hands found a comfortable place on your hips, bringing you impossibly close as his lips started a slow dance with yours. the kiss was feverish but gentle, the softness of his lips making up for the bruises his hands were about on leave on your hips.

completely throwing everything out of your mind except sae, your hands started running through his magenta locks. you tugged softly which led sae to release a very, very tiny whimper in your mouth which you swallowed as if you were dying of thirst. his lips started to trail down the column of your neck, leaving fresh, sloppy wet hickeys wherever he could access.

you guys were about to damn near fuck on this pavement, tongues sliding against each others, breath mingling as your chests heaved from lack of oxygen.

“oh my god, okay! we get it!” a deep, impatient voice broke the two of you out of your trance and pulled you both away from each others flushed lips.

you saw a lanky figure holding a heavy, black camera on their left shoulder as they stared at you with what looked like disgust.

▶︎ 𝗌𝖺𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇'𝗍 𝖽𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉𝗌. 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝗁𝗒𝗌𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗉𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾. 𝗌𝗈 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖺𝖼𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌𝗍, 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖽𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈𝗇𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍, 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖻 𝗅𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌?

▶︎ 𝗀𝗇!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗑 𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗌𝗁𝗂 𝗌𝖺𝖾. 𝖺𝗅𝖼𝗈𝗁𝗈𝗅, 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗅 𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗎𝖺𝗀𝖾, 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍, 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗇𝗈 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝗌𝖾𝗑.

▶︎ 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀: 𝗂 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗄𝗂𝗌𝗌 𝗆𝖾 - 𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖾𝗆𝖺𝗌

the club is exactly how you imagined it to be: flashing red lights, booming edm music and a crowd of elbows in the stomach and half sweaty, half perfume-drenched screaming people.

as you shimmy your way through the crowd, searching for the table your friends are at, you catch the eyes of a few men checking you out. you regret choosing the low cut black dress you are now wearing, before remembering that hey, sae is missing out on that. hah. serves him right.

you try to convince yourself that you don't miss sae. that it doesn't affect you. he's been ghosting you for two weeks, so what? it's not like you have feelings for him. you were simply friends with benefits. nothing more. it changes nothing to your life that he moved on and forgot about you. ...right?

as the night goes on and the alcohol slowly makes its way through your system, the club kind of does get enjoyable. the music is still pounding in your ears, but now there is a slight buzz humming through your body, making you feel quite... floaty.

you let yourself drift away from reality, your body moving itself in this human swarm, swaying to the loud beat playing from the huge speakers. you barely register the hands of someone grabbing your waist, before this someone says somethings in your ear.

"what's a pretty thing like you doing all by yourself?" he yells over the music. it's a man in his late twenties, dark hair slicked back and wearing a neon orange suit. he offers you a smirk as his fingers trail down your waist to your hips, and you can't help but compare his touch to sae's.

"i'm not interested", you find yourself saying automatically, your lips moving before your brain even got a chance to think. like they know who you heart already belongs to.

"come on", the man insists, making you hesitate. "i'll show you a good time".

"...will you pay for my beer?"

you're laughing.

you don't know why, nor since when, but here you are, sat at a beer-covered table, laughing out loud like never before.

the man who paid the five or so beers that you chugged throughout the night is still by your side, arm firmly wrapped around your shoulders. you can feel his warm breath in the shell of your ear. it's not enjoyable, it's not comfortable, it's not nice and seductive like sae—

wait, why are you thinking about him again? it's almost as if you could still hear his voice, scolding you, saying...

"what the fuck, name?"

you blink hard, once, then twice. oh, funny. you miss him so much that your mind made up some hallucination of him, right here, standing before you and staring you down in the club.

you can't help but laugh again. god, your head is heavy. but it feels so good...

"you're coming with me", the fake sae states firmly and grabs your wrist. you didn't know an illusion could feel so realistic.

"hey man, what do you think you're doing?" the beer-buyer protests, grabbing your shoulder to prevent you from standing up. wait, can he also see him? then, that means...

"sae...?" you mumble, your tongue heavy on the name. beside you, the man, whose name you don't even remember, tense up. he and sae exchange a few words, but you can't even focus enough to actually listen. so you just let out a light-headed chuckle.

sae pulls you to your feet, or at least you think so: the world is kind of swimming around you right now. but there is a thing you are sure of feeling, and it's sae's warm palm on the small of your back.

"are you out of your mind?" his deep, smooth voice asks near your ear, and this time it's enjoyable, it's nice, it's seductive, and it's sae's. "how much did he make you drink?"

you lift your eyes to meet his, and despite your blurry sight, his teal gaze is still so beautiful you feel like you could die on the spot. your chest feels weird and heavy and all you can do is laugh.

sae stares at you in disbelief as loud giggles escape your lips, your hands gripping his arms to keep you upright. you feel so happy. sae is here, and he's so handsome, and he smells so good, and oh, how you missed him... how you missed him every day, thinking about him, wishing he was here with you...

"...why are you crying?"

you kiss him.

the bathroom tiles are cold against your back, but you're too focused on the warmth of sae's hands on your skin to care.

the booming music can still be heard, along with bits of the raging crowd whenever the bathroom door opens and closes again. it's a loud, numbing hum which makes your bones buzz and your heart beat along the song.

sae's lips melt against yours, his breath already becoming ragged even though you've only been kissing for a few minutes. you kiss him back like your life depends on it, his hair pulled by your ruthless fingers and your mouth chasing his desperately.

"name", sae whispers against your lips as he opens his eyes to look at you, breaking the kiss. you wrap your arms around his neck to prevent him from pulling away. you can't let him go. you just got him back.

"what? just kiss me".

"not unless you tell me why you started crying", he replies. his teal eyes scan your face, thumbs gently rubbing under your eyes. "did he hurt you?"

"no. and i'm not crying anymore".

"you were though".

"it was the alcohol".

sae's sigh as you kiss him again makes you weak in the knees. his thumb angles your jaw just the right way for him to tangle his tongue with yours, the taste of him mingling with yours in a delicious dance.

"was it?" he asks as he catches his breath, eyes still closed. you let your forehead rest against his, basking in his presence that you missed so much.

"i'm a sad drunk".

his fingers linger on your jaw, before trailing to your neck, and finally pulling away. you immediately miss his touch, your hand shooting up to catch his wrist and hold him back. "don't leave".

"why not?"

you swallow with difficulty, your throat tight and hurting. to him, you are merely a friend, and you know it. all he ever wanted from you was physical pleasure. so why did you get your hopes up? after all, why would a soccer star like him want you, the average young adult still figuring life out? it was doomed from the start.

"see?" sae breathes out, the back of his hand tenderly brushing your cheek. "you're crying again".

"i'm not", you sob, attempting to cover your face out of shame. you can feel fat tears and snot ruining both your makeup and your reputation. but he prevents you from doing so, carefully prying your hands away from your face.

"stop it, i'm an ugly crier".

"that's not true". his cold, light eyes travel to yours, before he leans down, pressing his mouth against the corner of your mouth. from there, his lips trail all the way to your eyes, kissing away the salty tears running down your cheeks. your breath catches.

"sae..." you whisper, breathless, voice and fingers equally shaking now. you're still hot and tipsy, but the sheer emotion of the moment strikes you head on, making it impossible to hold back your crying. you suddenly feel very sober, and weird, and absolutely freaking miserable. "stop it, sae".

sae pulls back to meet your gaze, some strands of his gelled hair falling back down on his forehead. you can't read his face. but honestly, when could you ever?

"i'm worried about you", his low voice answers, making you huff dryly.

"since when?" you snap back. "isn't the only thing you worry about getting laid?"

sae flinches, eyebrows furrowing. he's still close to you, your back still pressed against the bathroom wall, but you don't want to think about how much you just want to make out with him right here and now. you're done. you won't be this toy he thinks he can throw away anymore.

"where is this coming from?" he asks, jaw tight.

"for fuck's sake, sae! you've been ghosting me for two entire weeks, and then you kiss me in some shitty club thinking i owe it to you?" you cry out, new tears spilling from your eyes. "well, i'm not this... goddamn slut you can fuck whenever you want".

his eyes widen, and he takes a step back. "look, name..."

"i love you", you blurt out. you can't see his reaction, your sight way too blurry from your tears. "just... love me back, or don't". your head hangs low, hands wiping your tears as you keep on sobbing, waiting for a reply. but he stays silent.

then, you can feel a tentative hand brush your arm. "name, look at me". sae waits for a moment, but you don't. "please?"

you blink away some fresh tears and look up at him, chest constricting at the sight. his emotionless gaze has been replaced by a soft one, two tender eyes now staring at you with... concern? you really don't know how to read his expression, and the alcohol in your system isn't making things easier.

"...what?" you ask, voice husky as you almost choke on a sob.

sae stays silent for a few seconds, before extending his hand to you, palm up. "trust me?"

you are tempted to just walk away, but decide to give him one more chance and take his hand. he offers you a small smile that doesn't reach his eyes, before leaving a peck to your knuckles and leading you out of the bathroom, his grip firm on your hand.

you dive back into the crazy human swarm, doing your best to follow sae. you can see his back weaving through the crowd elegantly, his arm trailing behind him not to let you go. your ears are ringing from the deafening music, and your legs are weak, the uncomfortable buzz still running underneath your eyelids and behind your ears.

sae drops by a table occupied with a few of his soccer teammates that you recognize. he doesn't let them a chance to call you or him out, simply swinging his bag over his shoulder before leaving. without ever letting go of your hand.

you feel so much in a haze that you barely remember picking up your own things, but a few minutes after, you and sae are out of the club.

the fresh air is welcomed into your lungs and across your face. the streets are quiet, the yellow street lighting replacing the blinding red spotlights of the club. you close your eyes a moment. when they open again, sae's hand is hovering close to your body, not touching you, but making sure he can catch you if you lose balance. then he hands you a bottle of water he just took from his gym bag.

"drink first", sae mutters. "then we'll talk, yeah?"

sae's lips are so much more delicious when they belong to you.

"i love you, name" sae whispers against your skin, nose brushing against your jaw as he leaves a trail of wet kisses down the column of your throat. "i love you so much".

you hum, fingers gripping his shoulders tight as you pull him closer to you. "was that so hard?"

sae glances back up at you, his hands stilling on your sides. "i said i was sorry", he huffs. "i'm sorry for being such an asshole and ghosting you, name. really".

"yeah?"

"yeah".

your fingers gently play with his hair, messing it up completely and putting his bangs back down. he hasn't moved, still scanning your face intently as he hovers over you, the mattress of his bed digging under his knees. "i missed you so much", he goes on. "it's just that... it's been a lot lately, with practice and everything".

"why didn't you talk to me?"

"i don't want to burden you, name. but i promise i'll do better, alright? i'll talk to you".

"really?"

"really".

sae's lips resume their exploration of your neck, whispering sweet nothings here and there. you relax against the comfortable pillows. you like that he brought you to his place. that means you don't have to worry about him leaving without a word when you're sleeping.

when he travels back up to your greedy mouth, his teeth sink into your lower lip, drawing a drop of blood. "ouch, that hurt!" his eyes are half-lidded as he looks at you, his tongue cleaning the blood dripping from his own lip.

"...what was that for?"

"the taste", he hums before diving back down.

"i missed you", you whisper in the kiss. "i missed you so much, sae, you have no idea. i'm just so scared that you'll let me down again".

sae swallows your words with ease, his teeth grazing your upper lip as his fingers tangle in your hair, not painfully so, but rather soothingly. "just stick around and you'll find out".

˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀ 𝗂 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝗒 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗌𝗈𝗇𝗀-𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗉𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗅𝗅𝗄 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌. 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖺 𝗅𝗈𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝖿𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂 𝗁𝖺𝖽 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾𝖽, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗁𝖾𝗒, 𝗂𝗍'𝗌 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍? (𝗆𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖽𝗈 𝗂𝗍 𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋. 𝗆𝖾𝗁)

˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀ 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒𝖾𝖽, 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝗈 𝗂𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝖽 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝗅𝗈𝗇𝗀!

inside the traditional japanese suburban house was silence. but instead of awkwardness, it was comforting, like everyone was used to it.

you sat at the low table in the living room, thumb scrolling lazily through your phone while rin was in the kitchen grabbing drinks.

“the usual?” he shouted.

“yes, please!” you matched his volume.

the air conditioner hummed with the sound of ice cubes clinking together. sunlight cut through the blinds in sharp lines.

somehow, this place felt more like home to you more than your own house.

you don’t even remember when you started spending afternoons here. it was like you suddenly joined their family one day, and yet, they all welcomed you with open arms.

rin’s mom emerged from the hallway with a laundry basket propped against her hip, pausing when she spotted you.

"oh, _____! you’re here early today!” she said, giving that familiar smile.

she drops the basket by the couch, “you know, rin had the biggest crush on you."

she dropped the words casually, and conversational, like she didn’t just spill the most jaw-dropping secret. she didn't even look up from sorting through clothes.

your thumb stopped mid-scroll. your eyes flickering toward the kitchen doorway where rin had frozen mid-step, two glasses in his hands. his knuckles went white around them.

“he wouldn’t shut up about you back in elementary school,” she continued.

“mom—”

"he even used to draw your name in his notebooks with little—"

“mom.”

the second time came out flat and lethal. a tone he usually reserved for lukewarm teammates he had to play with.

his mom glanced up, finally reading the room, and her expression shifted to innocent confusion before she shuffled away with a vague "...anyway."

rin set the glasses down with more force than necessary. liquid sloshed around. his jaw worked for a second, a muscle ticking near his ear. he just stood there—dark green hair falling across his face as he stared hard at the table.

the silence stretched. you could practically hear him internally planning escape routes.

"elementary school, huh?" you teased.

rin’s eye twitched. "don’t."

a/n: wait, if sae is a new gen 11 and plays for re al (real madrid), but never wants to play for japan, then does that mean he never wants to play in the world cup? 😭

ac is from here

synopsis: sae doesn’t care about anyone else but his girlfriend. 

he scores the final goal in additional time, taking his team to the lead 2-1. all it takes is the final whistle to blow and the stadium erupts. cameras chase him from every angle, reporters are already rehearsing questions, children lean so far over the barricades they nearly topple into the pitch with jerseys and sharpies clutched in hopeful hands. 

sae doesn’t really notice it all. 

someone from the media calls his name. a sponsor tries to wave him over for a photo. one of his teammates laughs and says, "you're getting hunted again." 

he doesn't answer. you're already waiting where you always wait, just beyond the tunnel with your hands stuffed into your jacket pockets, smiling before he even reaches you. 

it's almost funny how quickly his expression changes. the sharpness leaves first. then the exhaustion. his shoulders, tense from 90 minutes of carrying expectations that never seemed to end, finally loosen. 

"good game," you say softly. 

"i know." 

you roll your eyes. "humble as always." 

"you still showed up." 

"of course i did. how could i not?" 

that's enough. he steps in without asking, forehead dropping against your shoulder for just a second. he knows there’s cameras all around, but he’s not doing it for that. you're the only place where silence actually feels quiet. 

behind him, someone calls, "itoshi! one interview!" 

another voice follows. "sae! over here!" 

he doesn't even turn around. 

"they're calling you," you mumble. 

"they can wait." 

"they've been waiting." 

"they'll survive." 

you laugh under your breath, shaking your head. "you're difficult." 

"i’ve been told." 

his fingers find yours automatically, interlocking them like muscle memory, already guiding you toward the exit while security scrambles to redirect the crowd. 

"where are we going?" you ask. 

"home." 

"don't you have obligations?" 

he finally glances back, but not at the cameras, reporters, or the thousands of people chanting his name. just at you. 

"i finished the important one." 

and with that, the best player on the pitch walks away from the entire world without a second thought, because to sae, everyone else can have the footballer. 

you get the man. 

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

៸៸  (愛) / sae x f!reader ୨ enemies to lovers ୧ ⬭ ˳ © 𝓖umiholic . est ‘ 26

.ᐟ Ი𐑼 you and sae meet at the laundromat? .ᐟ Ი𐑼 I had a picture in my mind , so please don't try & call my bluff , I don't think I can try to fight it , so why are we together? .ᐟ Ი𐑼 wc: 3.7k

The past two days had been shitty.

Number one, the barista at your favorite coffee shop spilled your latte all over you; soaking you to the bone.

Number two, you had an important presentation at work after that, and your suit was drenched in what used to be your syrupy sweet latte.

Number three, when you showed up to the meeting in a change of clothes—your presentation was completely deleted and you had to sit there and explain to your coworkers that yes, even the backup was deleted and yes, you were very sorry.

Number four, the next day, you woke up to find your milk spoiled and didn't realize it until you attempted to pour it in a bowl to eat cereal—only for white chunks to ooze from the bottle and land on your Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

You were forced to throw the entire mixture away.

And number five, your washing machine and dryer broke down. Both of them.

"Screw my stupid baka life," You mutter, driving over to your local laundromat to get your clothes washed and dried.

While you were getting your washing machine and dryer fixed, you had to drive 20 minutes just to keep your clothes clean. It sucked.

You put the money in, put in your detergent, flopped onto the bench and put in your earbuds. Muttering along to a PinkPantheress song.

Your stomach suddenly rumbled, so you figured you should go grab something to eat from the convinence store near the laundromat. However, as you stood in line to buy a sandwich, some middle aged woman was arguing with the cashier.

And because the nearest restaurant was another 20 minutes away, you decided to suck it up and wait. Once you were able to pay for you singular sandwich, 45 minutes had passed.

Fuck you, granny.

You came back into the laundromat to find that your clothes were not in the washer. No, no, no. Some brat had taken your wet clothes out and put them on the stanky, relishy, dust-bunny infested floor.

You took a deep breath, trying to summon your inner peace, and picked them up. You took them to the dryer and decided not to dwell on how nasty that was.

But as an act of revenge, you decided to wait until the stranger's clothes finished washing, lay them on the floor and wait for whoever did that to your clothes to come back just to see the look of despair on their face.

You laugh evilly to yourself as you wait 45 entire minutes for the clothes to finish washing. Then, you gracefully dumped them all on the floor, in the exact same position they put them in and sat on the stool. Waiting patiently for the stranger to come back.

That dehydrated horse won't know what hit em—

The laundromat door opened, and there stood a handsome man with pink hair, tired emerald eyes, and unfairly long lower lashes. He walked over to the pile of his wet clothes on the floor.

Wait, this was the dehydrated horse?

You gripped your phone, going through your calculator app and typing '67' over and over again, hoping the man wouldn't notice you or connect the dots.

But because you've had such a shitty streak the past 2 days, of course the dryer—with your clothes inside—chimed with a cheery little tune to indicate that the clothes were done.

Oh my God. Oh my God. If he sees me take out my clothes and recognizes them as the ones he tossed on the floor, he'll know it was me. But if I don't do anything, he'll be suspicious! Don't look at the dryer. Don't look at the dryer! He'll know they're my clothes—

You look at the dryer.

You pray that the guy doesn't notice your glance over to the dryer. But of course, he definitely notices.

"Aren't you going to take out your clothes?" He deadpans, giving you a tiny glare. You sigh, accepting your defeat, and walk over to the dryer as if it's a death sentence.

You can feel his eyes on you as you take your clothes out and put them in your basket. You slowly turn around, hoping to make it out of the laundromat without him noticing, but he meets your gaze, and his eyes flash with eerie recognition.

"It was you."

Not a question. A statement.

You slowly turn around to find him crossing his arms, staring at you with a deadly glare.

"Um... maybe?" Then you realize just how docile you sound and stand up straight.

No! You have gone through hell and back the past 2 days, and this little Peppa Pig-looking-ass man-child has the nerve to treat you like this? Uh, no!

"Actually, yes, it was. I assume you dumped my clothes all over the floor when you could've used any one of the other washers," You snarled, returning his glare. "It hurts when it happens to you, doesn't it?"

He scoffs, "You're so immature."

"I could say the same."

You both have a stare-down in the laundromat for a good 5 minutes until an elderly woman walks in, using her cane to walk across the room. Both you and the pink-haired man-child look at her as she goes by.

The man goes over to the woman and helps her take out her laundry from the washer. He gives you a mocking look, and you stomp over, helping the old woman walk and stick out your tongue at him.

She pats both of your hands, "Such a cute couple." You both talk over one another, trying to correct her.

"I'm single!" You say.

"I would never date someone as lukewarm as her," He retorts, and you give him a menacing glower in reply.

In the following weeks, you develop a rivalry with the man. For some reason, he always wants to use that washer. So, out of pure and beautiful feminine spite, you purposefully use that washer.

"Dodo head,"

"Immature loser."

"Dollar-store Yuji Itadori!"

"Half-baked fetus,"

"I hope you choke on your pink dye!"

"It's natural."

For some reason, you always target his pink hair.

One evening, while you're lounging in your apartment—your washing machine and dryer are still broken, so you ordered new ones—you're flipping through the channels on your TV.

Then, you stop at a soccer game.

(Football, futbol, or whatever you wanna call it. Don't shoot me, I'm just the narrator.)

Curious, you decide to watch a bit of it. Watching sweaty men on a green field kicking around a football entertains you for a few minutes before you pick up the remote to change the channel.

But you stop mid-motion when you see a familiar blur of pink hair.

"...Sae Itoshi! The flawless world-class prodigy making his way down the field—"

You chuck the remote at the wall.

It's that bum from the laundromat! In a fancy jersey and cleats, but still the same bum, nevertheless. It's those damn eyelashes you recognize at first.

"NO! NO! THERE'S NO WAY HE'S A FAMOUS FOOTBALLER!" You screech in sheer rage.

You grab your phone and search for 'Sae Itoshi', fingers pounding on the screen. Google loads up with a screen full of his information, his club, his position, ridiculous net worth, interviews—

"NOOOOOO!" You let out a guttural scream at the ceiling.

He was not only an asshole, but he was a rich and famous asshole.

The next day at the laundromat, you march in like a one woman army. You put your clothes in the washer and wait for Sae to arrive. When he did—wearing a grey hoodie and bummy grey sweatpants—you pounch on him.

"Hello, Sae Itoshi." You hiss, arms crossed. You march over to him and point a finger at his chest, "Just because you're a bigshot athlete doesn't mean anything to me. You're still the asshole who dumped my stuff on the floor. Understand?"

Sae didn't reply, leveling you with an unimpressed look. He let out a dry chuckle, moving your finger away from his chest. "Ha. Ha. So, intimidating. You gonna stab me with a hanger? Qué fastidio."

"Ugh, I can't stand you!"

"That makes two of us."

Your hate for him didn't waver, at all. However... if you secretly went onto your computer at 3 am searching Google for 'Sae Itoshi interviews' then that was no one's business.

You were just curious, nothing more. Also, you wanted to find the best way to insult him other than just throwing jabs at his hair.

"Eh... Hijo de puta?" You tested the words on your tongue, pretending Sae was in front of you in the dark of your room.

You imitated his detatched tone, "What a hassle, you're so annoying."

You then replied to yourself in your normal tone, flipping your hair, "Well, um... el burro.... sabeh mass que two...? Yeah, fuck you."

You completely butchered the phrase 'el burro sabe más que tú'.

"Yeah, I'll say that tommorow. Just to see the dumb look on his face." You laughed cockily, falling back into your bed.

You did not tell him that. After all, it would've been more embarassing for you—butchering Spanish in the middle of a laundromat—than for him—dealing with the second hand embarassment.

So, you stuck to your creative puns about his hair. And his eyelashes.

Everything seems to be normal. You attempt to ragebait Sae only to end up being ragebaited yourself, laze around your house wondering why the delivery of your new washing machine and dryer are being delayed, and think of creative insults to call Sae the next time you see him.

You never question why you think of him so much.

Never mind him, you finally matched with someone on a dating app you downloaded on a whim. He seemed decent enough. A stable job, similar hobbies. All good.

The two of you headed to a fancy restaurant for the meeting, and everything went downhill. He wouldn't stop talking about himself and kept boasting.

It was all me, me, me.

Even when you ordered, he was still talking about himself.

"Like, yeah, my favorite car out of the ones I own is my—"

Even while you were eating, he was still talking about himself.

"And I like swear, every single girl wanted me in college—"

When you finished up your meal, you were pleasantly surprised when he started talking about you. Though not in the way you'd like.

"You kinda remind me of my ex! She was bad as hell, heh."

You deadpan, "Why did you break up with her then?"

"Oh, she broke up with me. She got all pissy just because I was hanging out with my homies."

"...And what did you do with said homies?"

When he replied, you wished him farewell and started getting out of your chair when he "accidentally" spilt his wine all over your dress.

"Dudeee, I'm like so sorry." He was not sorry.

You stormed out, an iron-clad grip on your purse and a frown plastered on your face.

Once home in the safety of your apartment, you stripped your sticky clothes off, took off your makeup, and collected all your dirty laundry for a trip to the laundromat.

When you got there, you saw Sae was there before you. Sitting on a stool, scrolling through his phone with an uninterested expression before he met your eyes. He gives you a cocky look.

"Tch, what are you going to do now? Dump my clothes all over the floor like you did when we first met—"

But he was quickly interrupted when you quietly walked over to another washer, ignoring him, put in your coins, clothes, and detergent. You silently sat down far from him on the same bench, looking tired.

"Don't." You mutter, resting your fists on your face.

The silence fills the laundromat, only broken by the sounds of washing machines and dryers in the background.

"What's up with you?" He mumbles, trying not to give off the vibe that he's curious.

"My date went shit." You reply, letting out a soft sigh. "He was really self-absorbed. He wouldn't stop talking about himself. Also, apparently, his last girlfriend dumped him because he'd get freaky with his best friends and call it 'platonic fucking'."

Sae lets out a hum of acknowledgement, "Sounds rough."

You nod, "Yeah."

Silence fills the laundromat once more, and you decide to break it with a question, "I'm curious. Why do you always use that specific washing machine?"

"It's my good luck charm."

You let out an abrupt laugh at that, "Your... what?"

He gives you a confused look, as if it makes complete and total sense, "My good luck charm. Every single time I wash my jerseys with that washing machine, I win a game. That's why I don't wash my jerseys using my washing machine at home."

You level him with an incredulous look, "You're telling me you drive to this laundromat nearly every week just to wash your jerseys when you could just do it at home?"

"Yes."

You expected to be angry, pissed that you were arguing with a man who believed in superstitions like that. But you felt... lighter. The great Sae Itoshi that you saw on screen has childish urges like that.

"You're insane." You mutter.

He shrugs, "It works. I scored a hat trick in my match last week after washing my jersey in that machine. Anyway, why do you insist on using that washing machine?"

"I use it out of spite because you put my wet clothes on the nasty-ass floor when we first met."

He sighs, "Childish."

"That's rich coming from you."

"Fair enough."

"So then... truce? I'll let you use the 'magical' washer. Since you need it sooo badly."

"Don't make it sound like that."

You laugh, "What? It does."

Ever since that day, your petty rivalry with Sae Itoshi has reverted into something akin to friendship. You'd still tease him, sure, but except this time—there was a illict of humor to it.

"No, but seriously, why pink?"

"I told you, it's natural."

"Then what about your eyelashes? Those have got to be extensions."

"Genetics, you fool."

Other people at the laundromat would stick around for your banter, giggling quietly to themselves as the two of you argued over something silly. The old woman whom the two of you had helped earlier on would look at the two of you with something like mischief in her old eyes.

When you got Sae's number, you were even more unbearable. You'd send him silly memes, commentate his games via iMessage, and overall, blow up his phone whenever you could.

He would never dare to tell you that he actually found it endearing—for fear it would enlarge your ego.

One rainy afternoon, the two of you were hanging out in the laundromat and yapping as always.

"I found another match." You pulled up the dating app on your phone and showed Sae the guy's profile. "Isn't he cute?"

Sae took one look at it and looked absolutely horrified. And disgusted.

"That's... interesting."

"Don't be mean just because you haven't pulled any huzz." You boasted, poking his cheek to irritate him.

You thought he was just being judgy (as always) and didn't think much of it. The following week, you went on a date with the guy at a cute cafe.

"Oh, hey! You must be..." You faltered as you looked at the guy in front of you.

The same teal eyes as Sae and the same damn eyelashes. Except this guy was taller and had dark teal hair. He was gorgeous, but something about him was familiar.

"Hm. Oh, yeah." The man spoke, looking up from his phone.

Despite him also giving off the same stoic aura Sae gave off, you could tell there was a difference between the two.

Sae's stoicism was the type that made you feel annoyed. The type that screamed 'I totally think I'm better than you and I have the zeros in my bank account to prove it.'

This guy's stoicism was the type that kept you slightly on edge. It wasn't as irritating as Sae's, but it was kind of... intense.

Being the little freak you were, you were into that.

You sat down across from him, smiling, "You must be Rin! It's nice to meet you." You extended your hand, and he shook it.

If it were Sae in this situation, he would've just stared at it... You thought randomly, then snapped yourself out of it. This was about Rin, not Sae. No matter how similar your gut told you they were.

The date went pretty well. Despite being quiet, Rin was OK to talk to and a good listener (unlike that other guy you went on a date with).

You left the date with a dollop of hope in your heart; maybe you could really form a relationship with this guy.

Later on, Sae came over to your apartment (yes, you guys have gotten that close) to steal your food and watch a movie.

You told him everything about your date while the two of you lounged on the couch, your eyes sparkling as you did so, and he nodded slowly in acknowledgement. When you were done, you noticed Sae had a weird expression on his face.

"What is it? Are you jealous of my endless rizz and swag—"

"Y/N, be honest."

You faltered, "Honest about what?"

"Look, are you really into this guy?"

You twiddle your thumbs, "Why are you saying this—"

Sae leaned over you on the couch, a hand on your chin, "Because I'm in love with you." His hand on your chin lies by your side, trapping you under him.

"Sae?" You whisper softly as he leans in.

You freak out and yelp, knocking your head forward and hitting him on the forehead. He lets out a sharp hiss, and you sprint to the bathroom, terrified. You lock yourself in there for God knows how long and come out of the bathroom to realize Sae isn't there.

He must've gone home, you think to yourself. You sit down on the couch; it's still warm. You lean back and let out a curse.

Sae-i'm-emotionally-closed-off-Itoshi confessed his love to you in your apartment, and you what? Assault him with your forehead?

But then again, what were you supposed to tell him? I'm thinking I'm in love with you too, and now I'm rethinking my thing with Rin, but I'm just really confused right now?

Absolutely not.

The next day, you met up with Rin again and explained to him everything that happened yesterday.

Rin's eyebrows were scrunched as he slowly said, "This friend of yours... does he have stupid pink hair by any chance?"

"Yeah."

"Emerald eyes, similar eyelashes to mine?"

"Yep."

"...I don't know if we can continue hanging out. I think you should fix stuff with your friend, though. It seems like they really care about you."

Oh, okay?

You were reeling from that confusing conversation with Rin—partially glad that he broke things off before you—as you gathered your laundry for your latest trip to the laundromat.

Unfortunately for you, when you get there, you find Sae already loading up his (lucky) washing machine with his jersey. Not to mention, the rest of the laundromat is empty.

You should leave! Things are awkward between the two of you anyway!

But then again... after that talk with Rin, you were sure that you loved him back. It just hadn't occurred to you after all this time.

You take a deep breath and push open the door. You shove your clothes into a washer and watch as they spin round and round—collecting yourself to confront Sae.

You turn around, and Sae is standing timidly behind you. You let out a yelp of surprise, knocking your head on the washing machine window. He looks guilty instantly and reaches out to help you massage the bruise.

You reassure him, pushing his hand away, "No, no. It's fine! Just caught me off guard. Do you... want to talk?"

He nods, "I don't know what happened between us. But honestly, I don't know if I can go on being your friend and pretending that I'm not desperately in love with you."

He holds your hand. "Please, just tell me. Do you want me or not?"

You shut your eyes tightly and nod frantically. A small smile breaks over his lips, and he leans in, "Well then, is it OK if I do this?"

As he leans closer, you can feel his breath ghost over your lips, the heat of his body, the intoxicating smell of his expensive cologne, the positioning of his hands—

"Oh, you two seem... busy." You hear a familiar voice from behind Sae.

It's Sae's turn to jolt in surprise as he turns around to find Rin behind him.

"Rin— What are you doing here?"

Your eyebrows scrunch in confusion, "Wait, you know each other?"

Rin nods, "We're brothers. He's unfortunately the oldest. Who knew the girl I was going out with was the same girl he wouldn't shut up about? What a coincidence."

Oh. Oh. Oh!

Sae's weird behavior, that awkward conversation with Rin, and the eerie resemblance of their eyes all make sense now.

You stare as Sae scowls at Rin, "Screw you. You ruined the mood."

Rin pops his knuckles, frowning, "Kissing in a laundromat? I thought you were classier than that. At least take her out to dinner."

"And what would you know about romance, you baby?"

"I'm not a—"

You clear your throat, "Um. It's nice you came and all but—" You gestured to you and Sae, "Can we talk? In private?"

Rin groans, "Fine. You owe me $50 for saving your relationship, Sae. You're lucky I didn't steal your girl when I had the chance."

"You little—" He's cut off when you grab his arm, pulling him outside into an alley.

You tuck a bit of his hair behind his ear, grinning, "So, you told him about me?"

Sae rolls his eyes, "Yeah, whatever, it wasn't much." Liar.

You wrap your arms around his neck, and he leans into it. "So, you gonna take me out to dinner like your baby brother said?"

"Mhm hm." He presses a soft kiss to your lips, "It'll be better than that shitty cafe Rin took you to."

"Dissing your brother mid-confession? That's not very brotherly of you."

He shrugs, "I guess so. But it's true. So, should I pick you up at 7 tomorrow?"

"Yep. You know where I live."

He presses another kiss to your lips, "I do."

a/n : I really do believe this is my longest oneshot EVER

im so proud of this because i did pour my love and soul into writing this

i thought of this idea after watching the music video of the song 'picture of my mind' by pinkpantheress and thought 'hmmm! it's filmed in a laundromat! maybe i should make a fic set in a laundromat' and here we are.

i think was really funny though like i couldn't help but think 'oh this totally gives off rom-com vibes'

i also made sure to put the 'enemy' in 'enemies to lovers' if you know what I mean

like she genuinely HATES him at first

no 'wait hes kinda fine' or 'wait i could hit that'

ITOSHI RIN (fluff) headcanons!

no tw!

- when rin has a tough day and when he comes home all he wants to do is just lay with you, sometimes your laying ontop of him for hours just taking eachother in, it’s the quiet downtime both of you need, sometimes he’ll place a small kiss on your forehead and you can see the tip of his ears go slightly pink.

- will melt if you call him “rinnie”, especially while touching him, he’ll completely sink into your touch. If you bring it up later tho he would completely deny it but he’s totally whipped.

- very touch starved but won’t initiate PDA or be clingy, he simply silently hopes you touch him or he’ll hint at it trying to be subtle but he ends up being a cute mess

- needs constant reassurance, deep down he fears you’ll leave him just like his brother and on some extra hard days he’ll be a little more guarded than usual, you’ll have to pamper him and reassure him extra that day.

- when you guys watch horror movies together he looks over at you more than the actual film, he finds your expressions more interesting than the actual movie, he’ll hold you a little tighter and let you dig your head into his chest when a jump scare pops up.

- he’s secretly very protective, it’s not hard to notice if you really payed attention but he thinks he’s being slick. If you guys are out in public he’ll death stare anyone within a 10 meter radius. Like I said he’s deeply wounded and has a deep fear of you leaving him so he’d try to stear any men away

- isn’t big on words but when you need to hear something he always says the right thing. He’ll notice you’re feeling insecure and before you can even think about it a second more he’ll reassure you immediately, “you’re gorgeous” he’d say with a hand around your waist. Even tho he doesn’t constantly compliment you, you know when he does he truly wholeheartedly means it.

- he’ll sometimes stay out practicing late and you stay up waiting for him and he finds you sleeping on the couch, as quiet as a mouse he’ll pick you up and place you to bed and join you.

- if you fall asleep before him he’d most definitely admire your features while you’re asleep. sometimes saying the things he’s too scared to say awake. “you’re my whole world.” he’ll murmur softly as he kisses your forehead and runs his hands through your hair. He sleeps extra soundly on those nights

- is chronically offline so when you try to joke around with him saying “you gotta be real quiet on the creek” he’ll give you a nasty side eye questioning if you’re even sane before asking what that could possibly mean.

- most of the dates with him are indoors, he’s a huge homebody so he’d enjoy little crafts and just spending time together more than anything. After your crafting dates he’ll keep every single thing you made tucked away where only he can find it, he won’t say it but when he misses you he looks thru the stash of crafts and takes it all in. And if you ask if he knows where the crafts went he’ll look at you with a judgy expression like “what you lost them?” he’d never give it away.

- looks for you at every one of his games without fail, every pass, every goal, he looks for your reaction and your cheering. If you are watching he’ll play 10x harder but when you can’t make it he’ll play 10x meaner, making sure to not disappoint you (even tho you’re proud of him win or lose)

Characters: sae itoshi x reader

A/n: mean!sae, stubborn!reader, forced proximity, endless manga references (it follows the timeline)

Word count: 2.6k

Part 1

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You sighed, finally out the airport. The flight was delayed for hours and the food was horrible. You picked at it for a few minutes, forcing yourself to eat. But finally, you were out the airport and in Tokyo, awaiting your uber.

All you wanted to do was scrub your skin to wash away the plane feeling and eat some tasty food before taking the longest nap ever. After-all, you were here to watch all the U-20 World Cup matches. You’ve been saving for the last 2 years -courtesy of you getting into football after seeing all those delicious edits.

You pulled over an uber and hopped into the back, quickly giving him your location. You daydreamed off all the new memories you’d make and planned to leave this summer with a few friends and to make this trip worth every penny.

After a while, the driver stopped at a fancy hotel.

Only the best for yourself, obviously.

You’d booked it months ago after hours of searching, but you can’t exactly say you regret it.

You paid the driver and thanked him for his services. You took your luggage out the trunk and walked inside the hotel.

Paparazzi shouted excitedly to your right, and you weren’t exactly surprised. The chances of a celebrity being found here were pretty high. But for now, you couldn’t care less.

You walked up into the reception and asked for your room. The lady kindly told you to wait for a bit. She finally returned and gave you the keys explaining what time breakfast was, where to do your laundry and whatnot. You nodded to everything she said despite not listening to most of it.

You groggily walked over to the elevator, at least the hotel services were good and offered to take your luggage upstairs to your room for you. As soon as you entered your room, you were starstruck. It was a mini penthouse. No wonder why it cost a lot. But those double shifts were behind you and a luxury summer was ahead.

You ran up to the bed and face planted into heaven. The bed was so soft and smelt really good. A hint of cologne and a woodsy scent. It would’ve been weird, but you were so delirious on the scent and the travel that all you could do was close your eyes and fall into this bliss.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You opened your eyes, blinking hazily, distant voices of people talking alarmed you a little. You turned over to see a man in all black in your room talking to someone. He had marron-reddish hair, his bangs messily decorating his forehead. He had a towel wrapped around his waist. And his back turned towards you giving you a view of his muscles. You didn’t move convinced you were dreaming and wanting to stay in it a little longer. Only when the man turned around and made eye contact with you did you feel a little more awake. He walked towards you slowly and looked down at you.

 “Get out,” his voice was smooth and deep, and you couldn’t help but sigh, still convinced this was some sort of dream. He looked oddly familiar. Only when he leaned down to eye level and repeat it, did you sit up and rub your eyes.

 The man in all black was still there, looking uncomfortable. Security was written on his black vest and only then did it hit you what was happening.

“Wait, I booked this room,” you sat up to show your keycard. “You may have the wrong room,”

The man was still looking at you. His eyes looked tired, but his expression remained unreadable. “I said get out. I don’t care if you booked this room. It’s mine,”

Anger filled you. What the heck was with him? You booked the room so shouldn’t he be the one to get out.

“Why don’t you,” you remarked.

And he sighed as if you were the biggest irritation he’d met. You both looked towards the security guard and he took a step back.

“It’s like I already said, itoshi. You both booked this room. And unless she gets out willingly, she has rights to it as well. We’d give you another room, but you know our hotel is exclusive and can’t do that right now,” he sighed. “You’d have to share or leave. We can’t do anything and we’re deeply sorry for this experience.”

You held back a scoff, not only did that sound rehearsed but your summer clearly has taken a turn.

“I’m not sharing. Fix it before I return,” the man then picked up a hoodie and shrugged it on. And some trousers before walking out.

An uncomfortable silence settled between you and the security guard.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You decided to think this through and take a warm bath to relax. Moving to another hotel was almost impossible as you’d have no money considering you spent most of it on this one, hopefully you could convince the guy to leave? Or even share it civilly. Not that you cared, I mean, you did care, but at this rate what other choice did you have?

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By the time you came out the guy was already back and sitting on the couch watching some tv. The first game was playing, Japan vs Nigeria. You would’ve watched it in person, but the game was happening the same day you arrived, so you were just going to have to keep up with the scores. You hoped Japan would win as that’s the team you supported.

The guy didn’t look up at you. But the more you looked at him, the stronger the feeling became. You’d seen him somewhere before, you just couldn’t remember where. Slowly you walked towards him and sat beside him on the couch, leaving a little distance though. The scores were already 2-0 and with Meguru Bachira and Reo Mikage scoring.

“I thought I told you to leave,”

“It’s like the guard said. I have rights to this room as well. If you have a problem, then you leave?”

The man stayed silent for so long you didn’t think he’d answer. You looked back at the tv, the game going into halftime.

“If I could, I would. But most hotels are bookings months prior and hotels that aren’t are low quality. I’d drop dead before going to those”

His explicit language caught you off guard a bit, “why don’t we- WAIT. I remember now,” you stunned unable to speak.

This is why he looked so familiar. You’ve seen him thousands of times on tv, he played for Re Al. It was the prodigy, the genius midfielder, SAE ITOSHI?

“Remember what?” He said as he looked over at you.

“Are you Sae Itoshi?” You asked. Wanting to hear him admit it yourself.

He scoffed, “you clearly already know, so why ask?”

Rude.

You both looked towards the tv again as half- time was finished, the players walking back on to the field. “So, why aren’t you playing.”

“None of your business”

“If we’re going to live together for the next few months, we should at least get along?” You frowned. Arguing with him the entire summer would be tiring.

“You’re right. And that’s easy. Just leave me alone, don’t ask me stupid questions and stay within your space.”

“Space?” You questioned. “Are we kids? Why are we creating sides or making space?”

“You’re so tepid.” He muttered. “I meant personal space.”

You gaped at him in shock. Was he so arrogant to think you’d invade his space?

He caught sight of your expression and as if reading your mind stated, “you’d be shocked with how many times I need to clarify that to people.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The rest of the evening was spent in silence watching the game, Japan won 4-0 with the last 2 goals being scored by Rin itoshi and Yoichi Isagi. You thought he’d celebrate his brother scoring a goal but the entire time he stayed silent, eyes glued to the screen.

He finally broke the silence, yawning then saying, “you could’ve won 8-0, you ass-clown”

You didn’t reply and stood up, it was getting late and you wanted to have dinner before going to bed. You had a busy next few days ahead with sightseeing and then it would be the France vs Japan game which you’d attend.

You looked down at Sae. “Do you want dinner? I was thinking I’d order-”

“no”

You didn’t bother asking again, he was a grown man after all. You retreated to the bedroom before calling for room services, using the wait time to quickly do your nightly routine. You then jumped into bed, phone in hand for your evening scrolling while you still waited.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Sae walked into the room later, and walked straight to the wardrobe, which was already filled with his own clothes. Jerk. He didn’t even leave space for you when you’d start to unpack in the next coming days. But you didn’t want to start another stupid argument, so you stayed silent. He grabbed some clothes before going into the bathroom and appearing changed. He walked up to the bed and looked down at you.

“What now?” You looked up. Couldn’t he just leave you alone?

“There’s only one bed.”

You raised an eyebrow. “So? Just go sleep on the couch like a gentleman.”

“Hilarious” he said sarcastically. “I didn’t know people held me to such high regards” “So then where will you sleep.”

He smirked. “Didn’t you say you have rights to this room as you paid for it. So, did I. That means, I also have rights to this room and unless you want to sleep on the couch. I’m perfectly content on sleeping here”

You froze; he couldn’t be serious, could he? Before you could say something, there was a knock on the door. “Room service.” You hurried out of bed to open the door, wanting to escape this situation quickly. When you returned with your food, Sae was in bed, under the covers with the lights off.

“Don’t be disgusting. If you’re gonna eat, eat on the dining table. Then brush your teeth and come sleep.”

You rolled your eyes but listened. You finally returned to the room and stood at the edge of the bed. By now, Sae was fast asleep, his breathing even. As much as you wanted to sleep in the bed, you also couldn’t imagine yourself sleeping with a stranger. You sighed and turned around. The couch it was. The floorboard creaked under your weight and sae shuffled before peeking an eye opened.

“Where are you going?”

“To sleep on the couch.” you stayed silent and hoped he’d feel guilty and allow you to sleep here and volunteer to move there himself.

Instead, he closed his eyes.

“Suit yourself.”

He spread himself on the bed, what you assumed was space left for you before was now gone. WHAT THE HECK? You stood there frozen staring back at him. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the darkness engulfed the sky. dark violets and midnight blues blending in together to create the scenery, a sparkle of stars littered across the natural canvas. once, you wondered if you could be as bright as the stars, glistening somewhere amongst the world with no burdens bearing down on your heart.

the naivety that once consumed you was no more. the little girl you once were threatened to slip through the cracks of your facade, peeking through with a certain eagerness that you withheld long ago.

the one sitting just a mere foot away from you was to blame.

sae itoshi. the prodigy. boy genius. japan’s greatest treasure.

all superficial titles that you both knew held no real weight or meaning. the lucrative reasons behind each and every one of them made sae realize just how many nonsensical expectations that weighed heavy on his shoulders, his name, his career.

so.. why’d he keep chasing it? he wasn’t doing it for someone else, he was doing it for himself. ever since he was in diapers he knew that this was an undeniable passion that he wanted to strive for, to own. it simmered underneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to become something beautifully destructive.

this is the sole reason why sae wasn’t bound by preemptive comments from others or chained down by the existing ideas others had about him, because it simply didn’t matter to him. all that mattered was that he become the best midfielder in the world.

but he missed such a minuscule detail while calculating all these unimportant factors.

you.

he had failed to accommodate you, in such simple ways. but, how was it his fault? you couldn’t blame him. he was barely fourteen years old when he broke the news to you, in such a harsh way, too. sae wasn’t one to throw away a dream he’d been carrying for such a long time for a mere childhood friend.

no, he was going to chase his dream, even if he got hurt in the process. even if his dream became some damaged, broken thing that would have him picking up the pieces to create something new because he found that the world was bigger than he was. even if it meant leaving his brother behind.

even if it meant losing you.

so, when he initially came back to renew his passport and found that his parents had been having an annual get together. it piqued his interest. he wasn’t very family-oriented of course, so he’d make sure he came and went without being spotted. he hated the unnecessary small-talk his family would push on him.

everything was working quite smooth for sae. nobody had even spared him a glance as he wandered aimlessly around his childhood home for a good two minutes.

before he saw someone unmistakably familiar. it was you.

dressed in a simple white sundress, hair cascading down your shoulders, wearing a simple, gold necklace. one that held memories not even sae could forget about.

didn’t want to forget about, that was.

even though you were surrounded by odd, unnamed members of his family that he didn’t care much about, he only saw you, looking carefree as you chatted alongside his little brother.

rin, right.

he almost forgot about that little match that dictated the trajectory of their football careers.

upon seeing you, sae stopped in his tracks for a split second. a second that lasted longer than he would’ve expected.

one, single memory flashed in his mind.

it was simple, something he shouldn’t even be hung up on because he truly couldn’t care less.

(liar).

(you kissed him on his left cheek. a week before he left for spain. he couldn’t shake that weird feeling he got in his chest when your lips met his face. he never felt it again).

how troublesome.

he was supposed to be back at his hotel by now. instead, he was here, damn near gawking at you like some lovesick idiot. it was beneath him.

that’s when he retreated to the only place he knew.

the sea.

he wasn’t particular thinking about much, deciding to put everything out of his mind for a while and just, look.

across that vast ocean was a world bigger than him, places he hadn’t traveled to, matches he hadn’t played. sae didn’t concern himself with the past, or the future. he just focused on the now.

and right now, he could hear something, or maybe someone, trying their best to be silent as they approached him. the wind whipping through the heavy fabric of your dress gave you away.

sae didn’t even turn to look at you as he spoke, but he did ground himself a bit, his feet curling in the sand he rested both of his forearms on his knees.

“what are you doing here?”

you scoffed, still as rude as ever, you thought. “you couldn’t greet me like a normal person?”

the fabric of your dress met the sand as you planted yourself beside sae, you hadn’t turned your head to get a look of his face yet. not even when you spotted a familiar bed of maroon hair back at the party did you catch a glimpse of his face.

he only hummed in response.

in his peripheral, sae caught a small glint of something shiny.

that necklace. that stupid, stupid necklace. it was like it was mocking him for displaying even a hint of foolishness.

it was a parting gift. he begged his parents to buy it for you and him before he departed for spain. it was a simple, thin golden chain with a pendant shaped like a heart.

only, it was only half a heart. when he’d finally given it to you, you thought he’d made a mistake or broken it. although you wondered what could’ve happened to the other half, you accepted it without question, giving sae that memorable kiss on his cheek.

he thought that if you could have a piece of him, you wouldn’t be disheartened or upset about him leaving. maybe it’d smooth over the pain just a tad.

(it didn’t).

it was such a shit gift. the meaning behind it was shit too, he thought.

you two sat in silence for about a minute or longer before he broke the silence. “why are you still wearing that trash?” he asked, voice steady, like the second swell of waves that calmly passed.

but something uncertain lied beneath the bass of his voice, like he wasn’t pressing you for an answer.

or he didn’t want the truth.

that alone had you turning your head around to face the boy you once had a feelings for. or maybe you still do. you wouldn’t know. his face had gotten way more defined over the years, his eyes two big pools of something unreadable. his eyelashes were still as pretty as you remembered them. one time, you told him you were jealous that he had such long lashes. he shrugged in response.

at first you didn’t know what he was referring to, you even thought he was insulting your dress choice before you started mindlessly toying with the chain around your neck. that’s when you came to the realization that he was talking about your necklace.

the wind let out a fierce howl, almost carrying your words away with it. but sae heard it, clear as day.

“because you gave it to me.” because i still miss you.

your fingers traced over the pendant once more, feeling the tip of your finger dip once it smoothed over the engraved ‘s.’

his initial.

the one you held close to your heart.

sae let out a sardonic huff. the closest you’ve ever heard him laugh.

“only an idiot would say something stupid like that.”

but there was no real malice behind his words. they just stood alone before being carried out by the sea, never to be heard or seen again.

even as sae had spoken those words, you noticed something. a very, very small chain that hung around his neck. the missing heart that you’d been looking for for all these years, was draped loosely around sae’s neck in mint condition.

your initial engraved on it, too.

he must’ve forgotten he was wearing it.

—

except for maybe shidou, who’s a masochist.

but unbeknownst to sae himself, he found himself sitting at the edge of a bar, drowning in endless sorrow for the sole reason being you.

you, who seemingly debunked all his previous statements about how drinking was a ‘waste of time’ and how ‘soccer was enough to keep him from feeling any sense of sadness’.

he knows he fucked up. he knows that he’s just one shot away from becoming like every other drunken man with his forehead nearly glued to the island.

although his vision was failing him, he could still make out the brightness of his phone, highlighting only your contact name and photo.

he still remembers the exact moment he took the photo displayed above your contact name.

—

it was quiet, but more of a comfortable silence.

you and sae had gotten to the point where silence was all you needed sometimes. you two once agreed that talking just a bit too much sometimes was draining.

that’s what sae likes about you. you understood him, in a way that, although he may not show it, resonated with him deeply.

before he could continue his thoughts, a small, white creature caught the corner of his eye.

it was a cat.

“oh, sae look!” your head was quickly put on a swivel the moment you spotted the cute furry hairball. your eyes gleamed with joy.

you slowly squatted down to its level, letting it get a quick sniff of your scent before your newfound friend eventually let you pet them.

as suspected, the ivory fur was nothing short of soft.

just like your smile.

sae wasn’t particularly stunned, or speechless, but he was just.. taken.

“cute.” he whispered, his voice being carried out by the wind that night. you didn’t hear it.

he thought you were the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. even in such a mundane scene like this, where the streetlights were the only thing illuminating your figure, he couldn’t help but think that whoever let you slip through their fingers was an idiot.

and he wouldn’t be that foolish.

would he?

sae pulled his phone out with such a quiet ease that you did in fact miss it. you were just so enamored by the little kitty in front of you that you would’ve missed sae itoshi trying to sneak a photo of you,

if it wasn’t for the loud click that came with it.

unfortunately, the kitty had gotten startled and scurried off into the night, but that wasn’t of your interest anymore.

you were staring at sae like he had grown two heads just now, your hand still suspended in the hair where it had just rested over the kitten’s head.

“sae.”

“what?”

“did you take a picture of me?”

“i didn’t.”

“why’d i hear the camera click then?”

“i don’t know.”

“can i see?”

“no.” he quickly shoved his phone into his pocket as you stood up and eyed him like a hawk.

“stop glaring.” he said, his head not entirely facing you with his tone being not threatening or demanding, but more so worded like a statement.

“i’ll let it slide, for now.” your failed death glare quickly turned soft as an airy chuckle slipped past your lips. gentle.

sae had never felt more content in that moment. even with the empty bickering, between that was something he couldn’t quite place. a word deeper than love.

that night, as you were sound asleep in your shared bed, your leg slung over his in an unconscious attempt to gain warmth, he grabbed his phone off of the nightstand, slowly enough not to rouse you, navigated to his contacts and finally set the new profile photo.

he stared at it for one, good, long lasting minute before heading back to bed.

—

sae knew he had to get up. had to fix this as quickly as possible before everything turned to shit.

he was way too much of an ass to admit that being away from you in a state like this was eating away at him. he hadn’t felt like this since that one time in spain when that shit-head bunny had humiliated him on the field.

he watched his own failed highlight 112 times that night.

before he dialed shidou’s number, he could still hear his own words echoing in his mind. the spoken lies that had harshly tore through your demeanor that left you teary eyed. he winced at the thought.

why did you wait so long to tell me?

i’m telling you now.

you’re leaving tomorrow sae.

isn’t that what i just said?

what if i don’t want you to leave again?

doesn’t matter to me. everything’s already booked.

what am i supposed to do with a one day notice, sae?

you’ll figure it out, i’m sure.

you’re acting like this doesn’t affect you.

it doesn’t.

that was the last thing sae said to you before you pointed him out the door. you couldn’t stand to see the sight of him anymore.

and you couldn’t stand for him to see you like this, heartbroken over him, his words, how you couldn’t tell him that he was your world, and now he was leaving.

your entire world was leaving.

the same person that had shown you that he wouldn’t trade the world for what he has with you. the same sae itoshi that had cradled you in his arms the moment you saw that one bad exam score after countless hours of studying. the same guy who almost told you he loved you at a bonfire.

almost.

and he couldn’t care less.

—

or so you thought, until he showed up on your doorstep. his face was flushed, not exactly blotchy, just a little red from his unusual alcohol intake.

his balance was fairly okay, he did have to lean on the doorframe for minimal support, though.

he knocked.

once.

twice.

then, the door slowly creaked open to show one half of your face. he could tell you had been crying, the puffiness of your eyes serving as proof.

he’s the reason you’re like this. he knows it. even if he tried to ignore it.

as soon as you caught a glimpse of his maroon tufts, you attempted to shut the door just as quickly as you had opened it.

but sae being himself, wouldn’t let you.

his foot quickly came between the door and the frame, keeping just enough space to see a sliver of your face. the same face he’d stare at for hours on end.

“I don’t want to see you.” your face had been turned away from sae’s the entire time you were speaking. he didn’t take that well.

“look at me.” he said, his voice teetering on the edge of something demanding.

you refused, the last thing you wanted to see was a drunk sae spouting nonsense at 2:24 AM.

in just one swift motion, sae reached for your face, cupping your cheeks as he gently, but forcefully turned your head towards him.

and then you saw it, if you hadn’t been with him for two and a half years you would’ve missed it.

a small glint in his eyes that showed his undeniable vulnerability.

“i cancelled everything.” he said, plainly.

your eyes widened just a tad, until you remembered that him cancelling his flights didn’t mean a thing. it’s what he said.

“what does that have to do with me?” you crossed your arms, furrowing your eyebrows.

he bit the inside of his cheek, formulating a response that wouldn’t push you away anymore than he already has.

“i’m saying that,” he took a deep breath in before enunciating his next sentence.

“i love you.” he said it with such a straight face that anyone else wouldn’t believe it.

“and i’m sober enough to say it, i’m not an ass.” sae searched your eyes for any expression that would give him something, anything.

but you just stood there, bewildered, staring up into his eyes with nothing but shock, or as much shock as you could muster while being half-asleep.

the longer you took, the more doubt that grew inside him. his hands have now fallen from your face and been shoved into his pockets. he internally sighed.

he knew it was a cheap, half-assed attempt at an apology, so he couldn’t fathom why it would even work.

before he could turn on his heel and disappear again, you called out for him.

“you’re an idiot, sae.” was all you said.

“i know that.” he responded, his voice low.

“and you’re mean.” you added.

“i know.” was all he could say.

“and you say stupid things.” you continued.

“i know.”

it was from him, of course.

2:38 | itoshi sae: you up?

you groggily stared at your terribly illuminated phone for what felt like hot minute before holding down the message and selecting the thumbs up button. you had no energy whatsoever to type out a response or even ask what he wanted at such an ungodly hour.

partially because this was routine.

sae would come to your apartment, unannounced obviously, crash on your couch, ask about your day when he could’ve just done it over text, and make you dinner when you already told him you ordered take out.

and for what reason?

you were childhood friends once upon a time until he left for spain and went all no contact on you.

and that hurt more than anything. because he was also your childhood crush.

but nonetheless, you stopped calling, texting, and waiting for him all together, because you realized that he never even tried in the first place.

and then he just shows up out of thin air. right on your door step with his hair ruffled and his eye bags more present than ever. if you looked close enough, you could see the puffy redness in them, too.

and you guess that’s when you let him in your threshold. no words were exchanged between the two of you that night, but something undoubtedly changed.

that’s why when you heard a familiar knock on your door, you made your way to open it. and there he was. dressed in black sweats and a white tee.

you barley spared him a glance before you got back in the bed and pulled the covers over yourself. sae followed closely behind. feeling the bed dip beneath you, you flipped over to face sae, who’s face you could barley make out in the dark if it wasn’t for his teal eyes.

he laid on his side, propping his elbow up and resting his head on the palm of his hand just looking back at you.

like he was drinking this in.

“hey.” he said, his voice almost a hushed whisper amongst the silence, save for the chirp of the crickets outside.

you could only hum in response.

“i’m leaving soon.”

now that made you perk up.

but you should’ve known that whatever this was, was too good to be true.

that sae would be gone in a blink of an eye as soon as you got too close.

“what’s it this time?” you said, voice barley above a whisper.

“you know what it is.”

you did. he knew you did.

football.

always fucking football.

for some reason, if it was for anything different, maybe it would hurt less.

because it felt like you were losing sae to the same thing all over again. like it was some endless battle that you could never win.

“why can’t you stay?” you asked, a beat of silence hanging in the air, heavy.

you already knew the answer.

some deeper part of you thought that if you could put on this helpless front that it would lead sae to feel some type of sympathy.

“i want to.” he said, quickly, truthfully. like it was already rolling off his tongue. it was then you felt a slightly calloused hand come up on your cheek. his thumb tracing soothing circles.

a stark contrast to the news he just broke to you.

“if you wanted to be with me, you’d stay sae.”

“i know.”

“stay.”

“i can’t.”

“please.” you were practically pleading.

you were so close.

“stop it.”

that’s when you let out a defeated huff.

“if you’re not staying, why do you keep coming back? it’s better if you’d just leave me alone.”

fuck, you got him there.

why do you have to be so difficult all the time?

he hates difficult stuff, he hates obstacles, he hates anything troubling.

but you aren’t that.

you could never be that.

and then, admittedly, “i have a need to be with you.”

that’s when your chest stops rising and falling. your sae sees the small whites of your eyes as they widen slightly.

you realize this is the first time sae’s ever openly said his true feelings. he’d just been covering them up with all those weird late night calls.

but you think something else has clouded his vision. he’s just spouting nonsense until he gets what he wants from you.

whatever that may be.

“you don’t mean that.”

“i do.”

“then show me.”

a second passed.

then two.

and then the next thing you know sae’s lips are on yours. it wasn’t rushed but slow and languid. his lips moving against yours like they were meant to be there.

and god were they soft.

the second you pulled back, sae chased your lips with drunk fervor you’ve never see in him.

but you knew this was so, so bad. so you brought your index finger up to his lips. the same, soft lips you’d just been kissing a second ago.

“this isn’t good for us, you know that.” the hand that had just been resting on your cheek slid down to your waist, giving a soft squeeze there.

“i know.” he started, “but i..” he looked up at you with puppy eyes that would make you break any other given day.

“i need you.”

Synopsis: At 0600 hours, your biggest concern was surviving math class. By noon, your classmates were dead, Tokyo was burning, and the world had ended. Welcome to Day One.

TW: Itoshi Rin x F!Reader (Blue Lock) Zombie Apocalypse AU, violence, gore, badass reader, nonchalant reader, emotionless reader, blood

Blue Lock: Outbreak (Series Masterlist)

Synopsis: At 0600 hours, your biggest concern was surviving math class. By noon, your classmates were dead, Tokyo was burning, and the world had ended. Welcome to Day One.

TW: Itoshi Rin x F!Reader (Blue Lock) Zombie Apocalypse AU, violence, gore, badass reader, nonchalant reader, emotionless reader, blood

Blue Lock: Outbreak (Series Masterlist)

Synopsis: At 0600 hours, your biggest concern was surviving math class. By noon, your classmates were dead, Tokyo was burning, and the world had ended. Welcome to Day One.

TW: Itoshi Rin x F!Reader (Blue Lock) Zombie Apocalypse AU, violence, gore, badass reader, nonchalant reader, emotionless reader, blood

Blue Lock: Outbreak (Series Masterlist)

಄ pranking rin , yoichi , & reo with their plush versions

back to blue lock masterlist

notes : i’m sorry for being so inactive💔

sae is very blunt, reserved and sometimes emotionally detached.

so dating someone with these traits can be difficult. but one thing about him is he always shows he cares. even if it’s small.

you sit curled in the bed with your phone in your hand zoning out thinking about god knows what.

you’ve been in such a slump lately, and it’s taking a toll on you. and he can see it. and it absolutely hurts his heart.

he comes home from practice early walking into your shared bedroom seeing your small form curled up, he lets out a soft sigh before sitting down beside you making the bed dip.

his hand moves to squeeze your shoulder. “how’s my sweet girl feeling today?” he asks quietly. you hum in acknowledgment but dont give him a proper response.

he looks over your tired form and feels his heart ache.

“i don’t know what to do. i don’t know how to help,” he says in a quiet quivery voice.

you lift up slowly looking into his teal eyes feeling your eyes water before wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

“i’m sorry… im like this. you don’t deserve this.” you mumble against him. he shakes his head squeezing you tightly.

“no. no. i know my sweet girl is in there. so don’t say that.” he says against your skin.

making your stomach twist as your tears fall onto him.

the slightest water droplet falls onto your thighs. it’s not yours, but sae’s delicate tear. and he never cries.

“you’re so strong. i see you trying. i know it’s hard but im here with you.” he says pulling back cupping your face.

you’ve never seen sae in this state before. reddened eyes, heavy shoulders, shaky hands.

he’s always been one to hide his emotions well, but to the woman he loves? impossible.

he pecks your cheek with soft kisses, then your neck, and back up to your face to kiss your nose making your eyes flutter letting out a soft giggle.

he smiles continuing to attack your face with kisses,

“there she is. i love hearing you laugh.”

you run your fingers through his soft magenta locks letting him attack you with kisses.

“i love you sae.”