☀️

so why was he packing his bags and leaving in the middle of training?

well, because sae had come down with an illness.

normally, he would’ve just brushed it off and continued his training, but his head was hurting like hell. a sudden pounding in his head that was preventing him from playing to his best.

so, he found no reason to keep training in a condition like this. he found that there was no use if he wasn’t playing at his usual level.

as he walked out, he waved off his manager who he knew was about to spout some bullshit about how this could ‘tamper with his abilities.’

nonsense, truly.

all sae wanted to do was come home and make himself a nice, warm salted seaweed tea.

to his subtle surprise, you were already settled at the stove the moment he walked through the door. a sage green kettle in your hand as your poured the steaming hot water into two ceramic mugs.

more specifically, the custom-made, matching ceramic cups he’d ordered off a whim after you’d been scrolling through pintrest one night and showed him a similar photo, exclaiming that ‘it’d be so cute if you had those.’

sae slipped off his shoes by the door, settling his duffel bag on the floor before laying down on the couch.

he brought his forearm to rest on his forehead, just above his maroon bangs that hung over his face. “you’re still up?” he speaks from his spot on the couch.

you made your way over to him, a wooden tray in your hands since the mugs were still brimming with steam. you slowly set said tray on the coffee table before settling your hand on your hip.

if sae didn’t know any better, he’d say you’d look a bit displeased.

you glared at him. “your manager called.”

sae avoided your gaze, looking as guilty as ever. “and?”

“you bailed on practice.”

he let out an irritated huff, mumbling something under his breath about his sad excuse of a manager. “so?”

you, on the other hand, were not amused and decided to stop beating around the bush.

“are you sick sae?” your voice cut through the short silence.

he laid there for a moment in silence.

then, he spoke in the lowest tone you’d ever heard. “no, i’m not. where’d you come up with that?”

he’s embarrassed, you knew that for sure. even if he didn’t notice it, you could spot the slightest hint of pink creeping up on the tip of his ear.

“you’re a big fat liar, sae itoshi.” you said, your glare softening into a slight smile as you kneeled down and brought the back of your hand to his forehead.

and quickly reclined it.

“jesus, sae! you’re burning up!”

“you’re being dramatic.”

you roll your eyes at his infuriating stubbornness. whatever, sae was no match for you. with your caretaking skills, sae would be back in shape in no time. you could already imagine him skipping and frolicking across the pitch while scoring a gazillion goals.

sae could see the look on your face. it said that you were definitely losing your head.

you hum at his previous statement before picking up the ow cooled down mug, swirling the spoon and scooping up a generous amount of tea. you then held the spoon up in the air creating just a small distance between the utensil and sae’s lips.

“say ‘ah’.” an amused glint caught your eye as you teased the sickly man in front of you.

“i’d rather stay sick.”

your eyes widened. you knew he’d decline such an absurd order, but you did want him to be okay.

he was your sae after all.

“wait! okay, okay. just drink it. please? it’s your favorite.” you handed the mug out for him to take for himself, but instead he gave you a suspicious look, before sitting up, taking your hand in his, and bringing the spoon to his mouth.

all in one swift motion.

sae hummed in satisfaction.

then in a calm, steady tone, “it’s good.”

for some reason, you were looking at him like he was a crazed man.

and all he did was quirk an eyebrow. “what?”

you sat there, stunned, before speaking up. “you..”

“spit it out.”

right then and there was when sae itoshi felt regret for the first time in his life. he had made a grave mistake. once he uttered those three words, your entire mood changed.

you were beaming. you were smiling so wide that he was actually getting a bit worried for what was about to come next.

as he should’ve.

in the blink of an eye, your lips were all over his face. you peppered kisses on his eyelids, cheeks, and nose.

“you’re so cute sae!” you exclaimed, continuing your cuteness attack on his face.

“…all i did was drink tea.”

he didn’t understand. and he would never understand because only you could see it. the cuteness.

“you’re so precious, you know that?”

kiss

“i know you pretend to be nonchalant.”

kiss

“my sae.”

once he heard you sae that, he pulled back to get a quick look of your face. you looked lovesick, obviously.

then he smiled, in his heart.

“…you’re gonna get sick.”

you paused, then shrugged. “it was worth it.”

—

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.”

1-2.

sae itoshi lost.

and it wasn’t even an painful loss. the game was extremely close with each member of the team giving it their all, making powerful crosses across the pitch like it was nothing.

except sae didn’t take it that way.

bunny iglesias had made a complete fool of him. scoring the last and final goal between sae’s very own legs in the last 12 seconds of the game.

that very moment led sae to question if his reading of the game was.. wrong. if he had missed some super important detail in the game that would’ve prevented bunny from making the goal.

but damn if bunny wasn’t hard to read. every move he made wasn’t dictated by the plays of others. he moved freely across the field, taking every motion through the pitch in a free and flawless manner that sae just.. couldn’t keep up with.

and it was about to gnaw at him for the rest of the day.

the minute your roommate sae itoshi stepped into your shared apartment, he dropped his duffel bag on the floor, slipped off his shoes, and made his way to the couch.

there were still beads of sweat rolling down sae’s face as his magenta bangs clung to his forehead. he didn’t even acknowledge your presence when he picked up the remote to watch his own highlights.

i mean, whenever he came home he would give you a slight nod of acknowledgment and maybe even a hum in response to your routinely ‘hey’, but this time was different.

it was like he was focused on one thing and one thing only.

watching bunny’s highlight over, and over, and over again.

and you sat right there with him, for some odd reason, i guess you just wanted to see just how many times sae would watch his own failure. you even made a bet in your head.

this was kinda normal for sae. normal being that you’d come out of your room at four am looking for a quick bite to satisfy your hunger and he’d be right there, on the couch, slightly hunched over with his elbows rested on his knees with that look on his face.

but this was different. it was like he was searching for something, anything that would give him an answer to that horrendous play he made on the pitch.

then you broke the silence.

“i don’t know much about football, but i think you played well.” your voice was quiet save for the cheering on the tv.

that broke sae out of whatever trance he was in.

his face was painted with something like disbelief and disgust.

much like sae.

he was now facing you with an unreadable look in his eyes. sure, you could read sae’s facial expression with ease since most of the time it was blank. but his eyes told a different story.

“i know you don’t, because you wouldn’t have said that if you did.” he scoffed.

you took this as an offer. “then.. why don’t you teach me?”

he quirked an eyebrow at this. “you want to know more about football?” his tone was slightly doubtful that you of all people would willingly want to hear him go on and on about the logistics of football.

“i just want to know what’s got you like this, i’ve never seen this sae, it’s kinda cute.” your confession has him scoffing.

“cute? me losing to a lukewarm shit-head is cute to you?”

to this, a wry chuckle slips past your lips. “no! no,” you raise your hands and shake them in defense, “it’s just.. i don’t know how to explain it.”

he rolled his eyes and sighed, “whatever..”

a pause.

“i’ll teach you though, if you really want to learn.” his face was facing away from you and he said it so quietly that you almost missed it.

almost.

you perked up at this, eyes gleaming with interest. “really?”

he hummed in affirmation.

“give me you hand.” he said it with such a straight face that you almost thought that it wasn’t a request.

even so, you obliged, holding your hand out for him.

he slid is right hand under yours, his left hand’s pointer finger coming to rest in the palm of your hand.

his eyes met yours, there was determination mixed with.. something else. “i won’t teach you everything, i’ll just show you the play he made. good?”

you nod. “you’ll teach me some more later though right?”

“don’t push it.”

before you could start to push again, you felt sae’s index finger move lightly against your palm. the touch was barley there, but you still felt it. a tingly sensation.

“pretend the goal is here,” he slid his finger down to the base of your hand.

“and i’m here,” he then slides his finger toward the base of your thumb.

sae’s eyes are obviously facing downward into the palm of your hand, envisioning the play as he’d watched it before. but your attention was elsewhere.

not glued to your own hand, but glued to his face.

god did he look pretty when he was focusing on something.

and that something was you.

or a part of you, at least.

he seemed so intent on teaching you the play that he’d lost himself in the process. forgetting that this was the first time you two had ever made physical contact with one another.

“pay attention.” he quickly snapped you out of your thoughts. not even looking up to tell to you.

a slight pout formed on your lips. “i am..”

a lie.

he continued. “bunny is a forward, i’m a midfielder. i tried going for the penalty box here, but somehow after i threaded a perfect weighted through-ball, that idiot struck a goal, right here.”

and just then sae came to the realization that it wasn’t him who had let bunny scored, it was an idiot teammate who couldn’t accept such a well thought through pass.

he let go of your hand and you internally winced at the loss warmth.

sae on the other hand seemed cool. after calculating everything in his head and connecting what he had just shown you to the footage of the highlight, he was content in his understanding now.

vampire!fratjo who knows being sigma chi’s president was the best possible cover for him, considering his undeniable charm and good looks.

vampire!fratjo who had reluctantly taken each and every girl who’d approached him upstairs into his bedroom, where he’d promised to show them the best night of their lives.

vampire!fratjo who continued this endless cycle until one night at one of his parties, your scent caught his nose.

vampire!fratjo who had quickly averted his eyes from the skinny blonde chatting him up before scanning the crowd for that sweet smell that had him nearly drooling.

vampire!fratjo who spotted you in less than 2 seconds, his eyes zeroing in on your frame.

vampire!fratjo who couldn’t care less about the girl batting her lashes at him. she had been practically pleading for a response from him to keep the conversation going for an hour now.

vampire!fratjo who mumbled a half-assed “sorry” and flashed a bright smile at the blonde in an attempt to soothe her disappointment.

vampire!fratjo who had been ducking and dodging every greeting flying his way, giving an occasional nod of recognition followed by a quick ‘yo!’

vampire!fratjo who followed your scent endlessly through the crowd, getting more frantic by the second.

vampire!fratjo who stopped in his tracks when he saw you leaving through the front door. he couldn’t let this opportunity slip through his hands.

vampire!fratjo who eventually caught up to you outside on his front lawn, red cups littered all over the greenery, tossing and turning with the weight of the wind.

vampire!fratjo who was nearly shaking with eagerness, the only thing keeping him back from pouncing on you being his senses.

vampire!fratjo who knew he couldn’t fuck this up. he’ll play the long game if he has to, considering he might never see you again.

—

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.”

genre | fluff

warnings | none

a/n | this is ass but still megumi is my pride and joy 🫶🏾 LOVE YOU GUMII

megumi hated trains. the people on the train to be more specific. the crying children, the unbelievably loud music that echoed throughout the metal walls of the train, people eating louder than ever. it all annoyed him. but it was a public vehicle so he should’ve been prepared for this.

without warning, gojo had left you and megumi in a bookstore. it wasn’t at all bad. you and megumi had fun talking about the different genres of books and occasionally reading to each other. the problem was, the white-haired idiot left you two unaccompanied and forgot to pick you both up.

now, you two were standing outside of the bookstore, looking like lost children.

you tugged on megumi’s sleeve to get his attention. “we could take the train?” sounding more like a question more than a recommendation.

megumi looked at you with a unreadable expression displayed across his face. it was almost as if his face twisted in disgust. then he turned his attention back to his phone, typing away effectively on the digital keys. “there has to be another way.” he scoffed.

why was he trying to take a different route back the jujustu high? he’s acting as if the train station isn’t less than a mile away.

“is there a problem with taking the train?” you asked, pointing at the nearest train station that was in clear view ahead of you both.

megumi cleared his throat. “i don’t like them.” he clearly stated, shoving his phone into his back pocket. he must’ve had no luck finding an uber.

he sighed. “but i guess we’ll have to take one because there aren’t any rides available.”

and with that, you and megumi strolled off into the train.

it was more spacious than he imagined and wasn’t as crowded as the other trains he had been on in the past. you both found your way to a blue seat which was empty, and megumi was satisfied with this since he wasn’t fond of sitting close with strangers.

but just as megumi suspected, it was noisy, loud, and obnoxious.

—

a yawn slipped past your lips as sleep started to overcome you.

riding in any vehicle made you tired. so unconsciously, you laid your head on megumi’s shoulder, shifting your body slightly toward him to get more comfortable.

you felt him stiffen underneath your touch but quickly fell asleep afterwards.

megumi on the other hand was blushing profusely. he noticed that people were staring at him with concerned eyes wondering if he was okay because he was so adorably red.

‘how could you sleep in such a noisy environment’ he thought.

a few minutes had passed, and you still were sleeping soundly. all the while, megumi was still stiff. he was so utterly afraid of waking you up just one singular movement of his body. so, he cautiously rested his head atop of yours. even though it was just a small gesture, it meant a lot to him.

after a few moments of the train calming down, megumi fell asleep as well.

even though megumi hated trains, he wouldn’t mind taking a one with you.

𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒

itadori and nobara couldn’t stop laughing. minutes felt like hours to megumi as the giggling kept growing louder, so he figured he’d ask what could be so funny.

“what’re you two laughing about?” he muttered, crossing his arms while he stood glaring at his two friends.

nobara snorted as she flipped her phone around to show you and megumi peacefully sleeping together on the train. megumi glanced at the profile picture shown in the top left corner of the screen to show a old lady smiling at the camera.

she must’ve thought you two were cute or even dating.

his face grew from a light pink to a blazing red in a second as he hid his face in the collar of his uniform exiting the room in embarrassment all while rambling about ‘how it was edited’ and how that ‘was somebody else’.