here’s a quick baji thing that was on my mind to dust off my writing while I finish up those other fics from the poll <3
gn!reader, no physical descriptions, fluff. final timeline implied.
he’d never admit it, but baji gets intense cuteness aggression towards you.
when you’re telling him a story, he can’t keep his eyes off of you. the way you emphasize your words, how your face lights up the more you get into your recounting of the event- there’s no stopping the familiar feeling from bubbling up in his chest. he has to get his hands on you or he will implode.
please don’t mention how red his face is getting as he reaches out and tugs you onto his lap. it’s not his fault he’s an all or nothing kind of guy (he’s just not capable of a faint blush). feel free to mention how warm he is, though, as long as you’re prepared for him to squeeze you even tighter against his body.
when you tell a joke and it doesn’t land the way you were hoping, his heart beats so fast he actually worries for his health. “what a dork,” he says, voice laced with nothing but fondness, and squishes your cheeks together with one hand. he’ll laugh while you protest, then lean in to steal a kiss. your lips might be a bit smushed, and in turn the kiss ends up feeling a bit awkward, but he really doesn’t mind one bit.
the urge was just too strong to ignore.
have you seen those fangs of his? he’s a biter, of course, so you’d better watch out. he’s unpredictable. just existing next to him on the couch, basking in the serenity of a quiet afternoon with your lover won’t save you from a sudden chomp on your arm.
you could be laying in bed with him, sleepy, asking if he could stay a bit longer before heading to the pet store and his response would be nibbles on your neck and shoulder. you told him once that it was reminiscent of a wolf cobbing one of it’s pack mates and he flipped you over and wrestled with you until you were laughing too hard to fight back.
which only resulted in the feeling bubbling up all over again, and of course, more bites.
baji just can’t help himself- he’s not one to push down feelings, he has always acted on them impulsively. so when he becomes overwhelmed with adoration for you after you’ve done something cute, he really has no choice but to tackle you down with a bear hug or bite you until there are little indents of his love.
he’s mentioned before that he can’t always verbalize his feelings for you as well as he’d like to, but he sure knows how to show them.
⋆˖ blocking sae after an argument, part 2 (ｰ̀⤙ｰ́ ) 🗯️
⨳ 𝓬𝔀/𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓼: read part 1 here, angst to fluff, relationship conflict, miscommunication & reconciliation, sae being absolutely chalant, brief smut towards the end, not proofread sorry ⸝⸝ 5.7k wc ✩ art by sae0o
it’s been five days, and the silence was starting to feel unbearable.
you kept yourself busy with work, with errands, with anything that made the hours pass faster. anything to stop yourself from thinking about him. but every notification still made your heart leap out of habit— the disappointment hits all over again when you remember you had blocked him everywhere.
which meant no updates.
no calls.
no little ‘read’ beneath your messages to tell you he’d seen them.
you told yourself it was better this way; that silence hurt less than waiting for him to disappoint you again.
but at night, when the apartment grew too quiet and your bed felt far too big, you would stare at the darkened screen of your phone and wonder if he was okay… or if he even missed you at all.
your thumb had hovered over his contact more times than you could count, guilt settling heavily inside your chest whenever you considered unblocking him. but something always held you back. pride, hurt, exhaustion— whatever it was, it kept you frozen, staring at his contact name as though it could somehow answer all the questions you were too afraid to seek.
—
on the other side of the world, sae was losing his mind.
five days of complete silence.
five days of his messages failing to deliver. five days of his calls going straight to voicemail. five days of not knowing what you were doing, or what you’d been up to since you had blocked him everywhere else too.
and yet, every morning before training, he'd find himself opening your chat anyway. he'd type out another message, watch the familiar ‘not delivered’ appear beneath it, then lock his phone with a quiet click before heading to practice. every night, he'd call out of habit despite already knowing it would go straight to voicemail. by the fifth day, he had memorized the automated voicemail greeting.
he sat on the edge of the bed in his hotel room, one hand resting against the back of his neck as he stared down at his phone, looking more worn out than usual. he was exhausted from training, irritated from the lack of sleep, while still carrying the weight of the upcoming matches. but none of it compared to the frustration & unease gnawing at him over the way things had fallen apart between you two.
“tch… this is annoying,” he muttered under his breath, brows furrowed deeply.
truthfully, he knew he had fucked up.
he knew his replies had been getting shorter, his attention split between training & the growing pressure of the upcoming matches. but the fact that you had deliberately cut him off completely—blocking him as though he were nothing more than another inconvenience—still felt like a punch to the gut. as much as it pissed him off, he knew he had no one to blame but himself.
and when you told him you were done, he had realized a second too late just how far he had pushed you up to that point.
he'd spent the first few days convincing himself that you simply needed space. if he kept forcing his way back in, you'd only resent him more; so he'd waited. he'd given you room to breathe, hoping you'd unblock him when you were ready. but by the fifth day, the silence no longer felt like space. it felt more like distance.
and for the first time in a long time, he found himself genuinely afraid that if he kept waiting, he'd lose you.
sae picked up his phone again, staring at the blank screen as though something might magically change if he looked at it long enough. then, with a sharp exhale, he stood and began pacing across the room.
“… fine,” he breathed, his frustration gradually hardening into determination. “if you’re not gonna answer, then i’ll make sure you can’t ignore me.”
the next morning, a series of knocks startled you awake.
you rubbed the sleep from your eyes as you made your way towards the front door, expecting a neighbor or perhaps a delivery meant for someone else. instead when you pulled it open, you were met with an enormous bouquet wrapped in crisp ivory paper, the pale pink tulips peeking out from between lush greenery, alongside a small ribbon-tied gift bag that was held carefully by a delivery man. you blinked in confusion as you signed for the items, a strange rush of nerves settling beneath your ribs.
tucked between the flowers was a small cream-colored card, a message printed neatly across the front.
i know you’re upset, but i’m not letting you disappear on me that easily.
open the box.
- sae
with unsteady hands, you reached into the gift bag and pulled out a small velvet box.
inside was a delicate necklace that looked far too expensive to have been chosen on impulse— a fine platinum chain with a custom pendant resting at its center. it has a miniature soccer ball encrusted with tiny pavé diamonds intertwined with a polished heart, a single larger diamond catching the light where the two charms met. when you carefully turned the pendant over, you found a few words engraved across the back in fine lettering:
‘no distance changes us.’
your vision blurred almost instantly.
you clutched the necklace against your chest, your thumb tracing over the engraving as though you needed proof that it was real. the last bit of anger you had been desperately holding onto began to crumble around the edges.
then, a few seconds later, another knock sounded through the apartment.
when you opened the door again, a second delivery man stood outside holding a paper bag from morethan bakery(which was your favorite bakery)— the familiar logo stamped across the front while the warm scent of butter & sugar somehow escaped through the neatly folded top.
“delivery for [y/n]?” he asked, glancing down at the receipt.
“y-yes, that’s me,” you answered, still struggling to blink away the tears gathering along your lashes.
after thanking him, you carried everything inside and carefully laid the enormous bouquet across the coffee table before opening the pastry box. inside were your favorite butter croissants, golden and flaky; still warm enough for their rich, buttery scent to fill your entire apartment almost immediately.
you simply stood there in stunned disbelief, letting everything sink in.
only after the initial shock began to settle did you carefully lift the necklace from its velvet box and fasten it around your neck. once the clasp clicked into place, your fingertips immediately found the pendant, pressing against it as though you could somehow feel closer to him through the tiny charm.
it felt exactly like something sae would do— express everything he couldn’t put into words through one carefully chosen gift, finding a way to reach you without demanding that you answer.
you took a small bite of the croissant, chewing slowly as your eyes drifted towards your phone lying beside the box.
for five days, you had convinced yourself that silence was easier than another half-hearted reply, easier than another reminder that loving someone across different time zones could sometimes feel lonelier than being alone.
but now, with an enormous bouquet of your favorite flowers spread across your coffee table & his necklace resting warmly against your skin, your resolve felt weaker than ever.
your thumb hovered over his contact again.
this time, you didn’t stop yourself.
*unblock*
for a few seconds, you remained on the screen, staring at his contact as though something might suddenly change.
but nothing did.
well, of course it didn’t. any messages he might have sent while he was blocked wouldn’t magically appear now that you unblocked him. still, you hated the pang of disappointment that crept inside you.
you didn’t even know what you had been hoping for. perhaps some impossible flood of missed messages, some proof that he had spent the past five days trying to reach you. some sign that the silence had indeed hurt him too.
then a bitter thought slipped into your mind.
he could’ve found some ridiculous way to reach you if he truly wanted to. spotify, shared notes, or even a new account made solely to get through to you. and yet, deep down, you knew sae well enough to know that if he had kept pushing— you probably would’ve hated that too.
a quiet exhale slipped past your lips, carrying some of the tension with it. before you could talk yourself out of it, you opened your chat with him & stared at the empty space beneath your last conversation.
your fingers moved before you could think too much.
[ 9:15 am ] you: i got them.
you stared at the message.
then deleted it.
[ 9:15 am ] you: thank you.
deleted.
[ 9:16 am ] you: sae, i—
deleted again.
you let out a shaky breath, pressing your lips together as frustration and longing tangled painfully inside your chest.
then, as though summoned by the thought of him, your phone buzzed.
your heart nearly stopped when you saw who the message was from.
[ 9:17 am ] sae ♡: did you receive it yet?
for a moment, you could only stare at the screen.
the timing was so coincidental that it almost felt as though he had been waiting on the other side the entire time, watching for the second you'd finally let him back in.
[ 9:18 am ] you: yeah…
three dots appeared almost immediately.
then disappeared.
then re-appeared again.
[ 9:18 am ] sae ♡: good.
you swallowed hard, glancing down at the necklace.
of course.
of course he would say it like that, as though he hadn’t just arranged for some of your favorite things to be delivered to your doorstep even while he was at an entirely different country.
[ 9:19 am ] you: you’re unbelievable.
his reply came only a few seconds later.
[ 9:19 am ] sae ♡: can’t believe you blocked my email too. seriously, my email?
you covered your mouth as a breathless giggle slipped out before you could suppress it. you couldn’t believe he had noticed that too.
[ 9:20 am ] you: well, i was mad. and you could’ve tried spotify.
[ 9:20 am ] sae ♡: spotify? we’re able to text people there now?
[ 9:21 am ] sae ♡: and i get it. you had every right to be mad.
your fingers hovered over the screen, but before you could respond, another message came through.
[ 9:22 am ] sae ♡: can we call for a bit?
your throat tightened.
for a second, you only stared at the message, your heartbeat suddenly loud in your ears. then your gaze flickered towards the time at the top of the screen.
9:22 am.
which meant it was a little past two in the morning for him.
your brows knitted together as the realization made something ache inside your chest.
[ 9:23 am ] you: aren’t you supposed to be asleep?
his reply came almost instantly.
[ 9:23 am ] sae ♡: yes
[ 9:23 am ] you: sae…
[ 9:24 am ] sae ♡: just answer the call.
before you could type anything else, his name lit up your screen.
incoming call from ‘sae ♡’
your thumb stalled over the green button before you finally answered.
the line connected instantly, and for a moment, neither of you said anything. all you could hear was the faint static of the call, the quiet rhythm of his breathing, and your own pulse beating far too quickly beneath your skin.
then his voice came through, low and rough with exhaustion.
“… you’re wearing it?”
your hand immediately rose to the necklace.
you hated how easily he knew.
“… how would you even know that?” you mumbled, hating how quickly your voice softened.
“because i know you,” he answered simply.
you blinked.
“w-well…” your lips pressed together as you struggled to keep your composure.
“… you’re not asleep?” you asked, changing the subject almost immediately. “it’s two in the morning there, sae.”
“couldn’t sleep.”
“because of training?”
“no…” he answered after a moment, the silence stretching around the word.
your chest tightened.
“then… because of me?”
he didn’t answer straight away.
then, quietly, he said, “because of us.”
your heart softened at the weight of his confession. you looked down at the half-eaten croissant in front of you, at the bouquet of tulips spread messily across your coffee table, at all the little reminders of him scattered throughout your apartment as though he had somehow filled the room without even being there.
“you know… you really didn’t have to send all of this,” you murmured, brushing your thumb over the pendant.
“i did.”
“sae…”
“you wouldn’t answer me.”
“because i was still hurt.”
“i know.”
his usual composure held, though something unguarded had begun to surface. “… i know,” he repeated, sounding more vulnerable the second time.
“i made you feel like you were asking for too much,” he continued, his grip tightening slightly around the phone. “and i shouldn’t have said what i said. i was tired & irritated, but that’s not an excuse.”
you swallowed hard, your eyes stinging at his words.
“you made me feel like i was bothering you,” you admitted, your voice beginning to tremble. “like wanting to hear from my own boyfriend was an inconvenience.”
sae didn’t answer immediately. for once, he allowed your words to settle instead of rushing to defend himself.
“i know you’re busy,” you continued, your fingertips catching the tears before you even realized you were crying. “i know how much your training and matches matter to you. but sometimes, it felt like i was always waiting for whatever pieces of you were left at the end of the day.”
his breathing shifted faintly through the speaker. “i didn’t realize it had gotten that bad.”
“well… it did.”
a long pause followed before he finally spoke again, the usual firmness gone from his voice.
“… i’m really sorry,” he breathed, guilt weighing heavily on every word. “for making you feel like you weren’t important to me.”
your face crumpled before you could stop it. you hated how badly you had needed to hear those exact words from him.
“and i’m sorry too…” you whispered. “for blocking you everywhere.”
“tch. you should be,” he replied dryly, the faintest trace of amusement slipping into his voice.
you laughed beneath your breath, wiping at your damp cheeks.
“you blocked my email.”
“well… i was fully committed.”
“but blocking my email was a bit excessive, no?”
“i was hurt, okay?” you huffed, though there was no real anger behind it anymore.
his voice softened again. “… i get it.”
with sae, it had always been this way. he rarely said more than necessary, but somehow; the few words he did give you always carried more weight than he realized. and when he truly meant something, you could feel it— even through the distance of a phone call.
“i-i missed you,” you blurt out, unable to keep the longing out of your voice.
sae went silent and for one terrifying second, you wondered if you had said too much.
then he exhaled softly. “i missed you too, amor.”
for a moment, neither of you said anything.
you stood beside your coffee table with one hand wrapped around your phone, listening to his breathing on the other end as though it were the closest thing you had to being held by him again. and eventually, you asked the question that had been sitting heavily inside your chest.
“so… when are you coming back?”
“next week,” he answered after a brief pause, his voice dropping slightly.
you let out a deflated sigh, disappointment settling inside you even though you had expected that answer.
“ohh…”
“i’ll be back soon enough,” he reassured, hoping it would ease some of the ache in your voice.
you looked down at the croissant in front of you and picked absently at its flaky edges. “i-i just… really really miss you a lot.”
on the other side of the world, sae’s expression softened, something tender flickering across his tired features at your honest confession.
“i know,” he murmured. “… and i miss you a lot too.”
a quiet pause followed.
“i’ll be back soon,” he promised. “and we’ll talk properly when i am.”
your fingers tightened around the phone.
“promise?”
“yeah,” he answered without hesitation. “i promise.”
you nodded even though he couldn’t see it.
“… okay.”
for the first time in five days, the silence inside your apartment didn’t feel so unbearable anymore. because even though sae was still thousands of miles away, you no longer felt like you were the only one holding on.
it’s been a few days since you’d unblocked sae, and the two of you had been texting ever since. well, that was until… he suddenly stopped replying to the last message you’d sent just the night before.
why wasn’t he answering?
you tried convincing yourself there had to be some kind of explanation. but after everything that had happened between you two, you couldn’t stop yourself from wondering whether he had suddenly changed his mind about fixing things.
beep.
you glanced down, expecting to see sae’s name, only for your sister’s contact to appear instead.
[ 2:22 pm ] sister: the new restaurant that just opened near the waterfront
[ 2:22 pm ] sister: I WANNA CHECK IT OUT 😭
it wasn’t unusual for your sister to invite you out to dinner at the very last minute.
if anything, this was very much like her. she was always the first to discover new cafés & restaurants, sending you random food videos on tiktok and insisting the two of you ‘needed to try this place out before it got too crowded.’
so you didn’t think much of it.
[ 2:23 pm ] you: sure, what time?
[ 2:23 pm ] sister: 8:00pm? i’ll meet you there
[ 2:24 pm ] sister: ohh & wear something cute
[ 2:24 pm ] you: WHY would i wear something cute just to eat dinner with you?
[ 2:25 pm ] sister: because i’ll be wearing something cute & i don’t want to outdress you??? 🥱🥱
[ 2:25 pm ] sister: AND DON’T BE LATE
you rolled your eyes at her dramatics, though a small smile still tugged at the corner of your lips.
[ 2:25 pm ] you: whatever bye 🙄
the rest of the afternoon passed with you checking your phone more times than you could count, hoping sae’s name would appear at the top of your screen.
but every time you unlocked it, there was still nothing.
no reply, or an explanation.
just the last message you had sent him, still sitting on delivered.
by the time evening came, you had finally convinced yourself to stop staring at your phone as though it owed you something. you got ready for dinner slowly, standing in front of your closet longer than you meant to as your sister’s words echoed inside your head.
‘wear something cute.’
you huffed beneath your breath, pulling out an outfit and holding it against yourself in the mirror.
“… so extra,” you muttered, shaking your head.
still, you ended up choosing something nicer than what you would typically wear for a casual dinner. you made a few final adjustments to your hair, dabbed a little tinted gloss over your lips, and adjusted the necklace resting against your collarbone.
sae’s necklace. your fingers lingered there for a moment, brushing over the tiny pendant sitting warmly against your skin. you studied your reflection before tearing your gaze away and reaching for your handbag, refusing to let your thoughts drag you back to him again.
—
you arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before eight.
the place was already busy, golden light spilling through the glass windows and stretching across the pavement outside. every time the door opened, a rush of sound escaped with it— the clinking of cutlery, bursts of laughter, and the faint call of someone’s name from somewhere inside.
it looked newer than most of the other places along the waterfront, with polished wooden tables, low-hanging lights, and cream-colored walls that made the entire restaurant feel warmer than the evening air outside. a small line had already formed near the entrance. through the glass, you could see servers weaving between tables, plates balanced carefully in their hands.
you checked your phone.
still no message from sae. and nothing from your sister either.
frowning slightly, you began to type.
[ 7:56 pm ] you: i’m here. where are you? 🙄
a few moments passed before she finally replied.
[ 7:58 pm ] sister: omg sorry 😭
[ 7:58 pm ] sister: enter first!! i’m reaching soon
you sighed, already used to this.
of course she was late after repeatedly telling you not to be.
you waited outside for another minute, shifting your weight from one foot to the other as people moved around you in pairs & small groups. when your sister still didn’t appear, you finally stepped inside before you began looking too much like someone who had been stood up.
after making your way towards the hostess stand, she smiled politely and confirmed the reservation under your sister’s name before leading you towards a table near the window.
it was tucked slightly away from the crowd— close enough to watch people passing outside, yet secluded enough for the restaurant’s bustle to soften into distant background noise.
you sat down and placed your handbag on your lap.
five minutes, you told yourself.
you would give her five minutes before you started complaining.
while you waited, you opened the menu and scanned the different entrées available. pasta, grilled chicken, rice, steak, desserts— everything began blurring together as your attention drifted back towards your phone.
still nothing from sae.
your fingers tapped lightly against the edge of the table.
maybe he was busy.
maybe he was asleep.
maybe he had finally realized that fixing things from another country was more difficult than he’d thought. the possibility made your stomach twist, and you hated yourself a little for even considering it.
your sister was late. sae wasn’t replying. and somehow, both things were making you feel far more agitated than they should have.
another minute passed.
then another.
you glanced towards the entrance again, expecting to see your sister hurrying inside with that sheepish expression she always wore after keeping you waiting.
but she still wasn’t there.
instead, the hostess was speaking to someone near the front. you couldn’t see his face clearly at first. only the dark coat draped over his lean frame and the way his presence felt strangely familiar before your mind could make sense of why.
something inside your chest tightened.
then he turned slightly— just enough for the dim restaurant light to catch a glimpse of his reddish-brown hair and the familiar side profile you would recognized anywhere.
your breath stopped.
no fucking way.
for one impossible second, you couldn’t move.
you couldn’t even convince yourself that you weren’t imagining him; that missing someone hadn’t finally made you desperate enough to start seeing him in strangers.
then he began walking towards your table.
slowly.
your pulse thundered inside your ears with every step he took.
he stopped beside the empty chair across from you, one hand resting lightly against its back. up close, he looked tired. not the kind of tired you could hear through a phone call, but the kind that settled beneath his eyes, in the few loose strands falling over his forehead, and in the quiet heaviness of someone who had spent too many hours between airports and flights yet had still come anyway.
his gaze dropped first to the necklace resting against your collarbone.
the one he had arranged to have delivered to you. then his eyes lifted towards yours.
for a moment, neither of you said anything. the entire restaurant seemed to dissolve into a distant blur around him.
sae’s lips parted slightly before his voice finally broke through the silence, low and familiar enough to make your heart ache.
“hello, amor.”
your mouth opened, but nothing came out.
sae studied you for another second, his expression unreadable, though something softer flickered beneath his teal irises.
“you look beautiful…”
you blinked, still struggling to process that he was really standing there— about to sit across from you in a restaurant where you had expected to be eating dinner with your sister. your fingers tightened around the menu as though it were the only thing keeping you grounded. “… y-you’re supposed to be in spain,” you whispered, your voice barely carrying over the clinking plates and low murmur of nearby conversations.
“you said next week.”
sae pulled out the chair and sat down slowly, as though he were giving you time to adjust to the sight of him.
“i changed my flight,” he explained. “and i asked your sister to bring you here so i could surprise you.”
you stared at him, your heart hammering against your ribs.
“w-why didn’t you just tell me?”
“because then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.” his gaze briefly lowered towards your necklace again before meeting your eyes.
“and i wasn’t sure you’d agree to see me.”
the raw honesty in his answer stole some of the air from your lungs. before you could respond, a waiter stopped beside the table with a notepad in hand.
“good evening! are the two of you ready to order?”
you & sae both lowered your eyes to the menus, scanning the options quickly as the printed pages gave you both a brief excuse to look away. “um… i’ll just have the grilled chicken, please.”
“and for you, sir?”
sae’s eyes moved briefly across the menu before looking at the waiter. “the steak.”
“how would you like that cooked?”
“medium rare.”
the waiter nodded as he scribbled everything down. “anything to drink?”
“water’s fine,” you answered quietly.
“same as her,” sae added.
“perfect. i’ll put those in for you.”
you murmured a soft thank you as the waiter collected the menus and walked away. once he was gone, the tension slipped back into place. your fingers found the strap of your handbag again, twisting it loosely around your hand while sae remained still across from you, his attention fixed solely on your face as though he were waiting for you to pick up where the interruption had left off.
you drew in a slow breath, trying to gather the courage to say what had been sitting inside your chest for days.
“i was really hurt, sae…” you breathed, finally looking at him again. “it felt like i was always the one waiting— like i was bothering you every time i texted or called, y’know?”
sae’s expression remained serious, his attention fixed entirely on you.
“i understand that training is important, and i know how much your career means to you,” you continued, your voice growing quieter. “but sometimes it feels like i’m not even a priority to you anymore.”
sae remained silent for a long moment, his forearms resting against the table as he listened attentively to everything you had to say.
when he finally spoke, his voice was low and steady, though something remorseful lingered beneath it. “i was… too focused.” he said after a pause, his gaze briefly dropping. “i thought that if i kept pushing through the season, everything else would be fine.”
his jaw tightened faintly. “i didn’t realize how much i was shutting you out until things had already gotten that bad.”
he looked at you again, teal-eyes serious in a way that made your chest ache. “… i’m really sorry,” he murmured, his expression softening. “for making you feel like you were asking for too much. for the short replies. for making you feel like an inconvenience.”
he paused, his gaze holding yours.
“you’re not, and you never have been.”
your eyes began to sting.
you looked down at your hands, trying desperately to keep your voice steady. “i missed you,” you whispered, blinking quickly when your vision began to blur again. “even when i was angry, i missed hearing from you. i missed…”
your breath caught slightly. “i missed us.”
sae reached across the table, his larger hand settling over yours. his thumb brushed slowly across your knuckles— a small, grounding gesture that somehow felt louder than anything else he could’ve said.
“… i missed you too,” he murmured, his usual composure slipping just enough for you to hear the ache underneath. “more than i knew how to tell you.”
his fingers curled around yours.
“the hotel room felt too quiet & i kept checking my phone even when i knew you still had me blocked.”
eventually the food arrived, but neither of you touched it immediately as the silence between you felt different now. still heavy, but no longer painful.
“i don’t want us to keep doing this,” sae said after a moment, his voice low. “the distance. the arguments. feeling like we’re always one bad day away from falling apart.”
his thumb continued tracing absent circles over your knuckles.
“i want to be better at this,” he admitted. “for you & for us.”
you looked up at him, your eyes glassy. “i want that too,” you whispered. “but i don’t want to feel like i’m begging for scraps of your time anymore.”
sae nodded, gently squeezing your hand. “then we’ll figure it out,” he said, his voice calm but certain. “together.”
he held your gaze as he continued.
“no more shutting each other out. no more assuming the worst without asking. even when things get difficult, we talk about it.”
you let out a shaky breath, a small, tearful smile finally breaking through.
“okay…” you breathed, squeezing his hand back.
afterwards, the rest of the evening seemed to pass by in a blur. there were still things left to mend, but for the first time in weeks, neither of you seemed afraid of trying. the resentment that had once sat heavily between you had begun to loosen its hold.
when the bill arrived, sae was already moving. he placed his credit card onto the tray before you could so much as glance at the amount.
the waiter returned a few minutes later with the receipt, and sae signed it almost absentmindedly before setting the pen back down.
then he stood, pushed his chair back, and offered you his hand.
“let’s go home.” he murmured, the softness in his expression making your chest ache.
you looked at his outstretched hand for a moment before placing yours inside it. his fingers immediately intertwined with yours as the two of you walked out of the restaurant hand-in-hand. the soft noise from inside gradually faded behind you, replaced by the faint rush of passing cars & the muted sound of waves folding against the seawall.
the night air felt cool against your skin, but sae’s hand remained warm in yours, his fingers laced securely with your own as though he had no intention of letting go again.
18+
the ride back to your apartment drifted by in silence, but it no longer carried the weight it once had. sae’s hand never left yours, his thumb brushing slow circles over your knuckles the entire way. every now and then, you’d glance at him like you still couldn’t believe that the two of you were finally reunited after weeks of distance, arguments & almost losing each other completely.
when you finally stepped inside, the door barely clicked shut before sae had you pressed against it, his lips claimed yours in a desperate, heated kiss. his hands slid down your sides, gripping your hips as he pulled you flush against him.
“… missed you,” he murmured against your lips, his breathing already ragged. “so fucking much.”
you whimpered into the kiss, fingers threading through his hair as you pulled him closer. “then show me,” you whispered, nipping at his bottom lip.
sae groaned softly, the sound vibrating against your mouth. he lifted you effortlessly, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carried you straight to the bedroom and laid you down on the bed gently. the bulge in his pants was apparent, straining against the fabric.
he stripped you out of your clothes, eyes dark as he took in every inch of your body. it had been weeks since he’d last touched you like this, weeks since he’d been close enough to feel your warmth under his hands. when he finally settled between your thighs, sae didn’t rush. he started pressing light kisses all the way down your body, tongue teasing over your skin until you were trembling beneath him.
“sae…” you breathed, hips lifting instinctively as his mouth hovered just above your entrance.
he looked up at you, teal-eyes burning with desire. “let me take care of you.”
his tongue dragged slowly over your folds, tasting you like he had been starving for weeks. you let out a salacious moan, fingers tightening in his hair as he licked and sucked on your sensitive clit with focused intent, like nothing else in the world mattered but making you fall apart on his tongue.
“haaahhh— right there,” you gasped, back arching when he when he sucked harder on your swollen clit, tongue flicking rapidly against the sensitive bundle of nerves.
he groaned against you, the vibration sending sparks up your spine. he didn’t stop, tongue pressing firmer as he slid two fingers inside your core, curling just right until you were shaking. your hips bucked wildly against his mouth, pleasure coiling tighter and tighter in your belly as the combined sensation of his tongue and fingers pushed you right to the edge.
but no, sae wasn’t done yet.
he moved up your body, kissing you deeply again so you could taste yourself on his tongue. only then did he pull back to strip himself fully, tugging his shirt over his head before shoving his pants and boxers down in one rough motion. his gaze never left yours as he climbed back over you, one hand spreading your thighs while the other guided his throbbing length between them.
when he finally pushed inside you, it was slow and deep, stretching your walls open as he bottomed out. “… fuck,” he groaned, forehead pressed to yours. “missed this pussy…”
he started moving, hips rolling in a steady, powerful rhythm that had you moaning with every merciless thrust. his hand slid between your thighs, thumb circling your clit in slow circles as his cock plowed in & out of your greedy pussy, hitting that sweet spot inside you with every deep stroke.
“mine,” he rasped against your neck, biting down gently to leave a mark. “you’re mine.”
you could only babble his name, nails digging into his back as the pleasure built again, faster this time. sae’s thrusts only grew rougher, more desperate, his breathing growing ragged against your skin.
“s-sae— ah, fuck—” you cried out, voice breaking as your legs tightened around his waist. “mmngghh— feels so good—”
your hips rolled up to meet his thrusts, chasing the deep, delicious drag of his cock inside you. every powerful stroke made your toes curl, pleasure coiling tighter and tighter in your belly until you felt like you might just shatter from how good it felt.
“cum for me, amor.” he growled, the pad of his thumb pressing firmer on your clit. “let me feel you.”
your body convulsed beneath him as you felt your release rush up all at once, clenching around him as waves of pleasure crashed over you. sae followed right after, burying himself deep with a low, broken groan as he spilled his white-hot release inside you, hips jerking through every pulse.
afterwards, he rolled onto his side and pulled you into his chest, keeping you close like he couldn’t stand even an inch of space between you yet. his arms wrapped around you tightly, one hand stroking your back as you both tried to catch your breath after the heated session.
“… i love you,” he whispered against your hair, voice hoarse but sincere. “don’t ever doubt that again.”
you pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, eyes already heavy.
“i love you too, sae.”
⨳ 𝓷𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: someone commented— why didn’t he try texting her through spotify & i just had to incorporate that in 🙂↕️ but i genuinely don’t think he knows we can do that now…
⋆˖ when you accidentally unfollowed sae and now everyone thinks the two of you broke up ( ˘𖥦˘;) 🗯️
you and sae had been doing long distance for a while now. with him in spain and you back in japan, most of your days consisted of stolen calls between his training sessions, little updates about your day & sending each other reels whenever one of you couldn’t sleep. which was exactly why the entire misunderstanding felt so absurd.
it happened on a random afternoon.
you’d been lying in bed scrolling through instagram, mindlessly stalking your own profile after posting a new photo. somewhere between checking comments & accidentally opening your following list, your thumb slipped.
unfollow.
you didn’t even notice.
a few minutes later, you tossed your phone onto the mattress and rolled over for what was supposed to be a quick nap. you’d been feeling exhausted after running errands all morning, so you figured a short nap wouldn’t hurt.
meanwhile, on the other side of the world… the internet started speculating the worst.
apparently dating one of the top soccer players in the world meant people monitored your relationship status like it was a full-time job. and within an hour, the screenshots were everywhere.
user12345: DID ITOSHI SAE & HIS LONG-TERM GIRLFRIEND BREAK UP????
itoshino1fan: OMG SAE & Y/N NO LONGER FOLLOW EACH OTHER
saeglazer101: OOOPP TROUBLE IN PARADISE??! 👀 HERE’S MY CHANCEE 😜
gossip & tea pages were already running with the narrative. fan accounts started reposting each other. tiktok edits of your “failed relationship” started flooding everyone’s feed.
and unfortunately for you, the news had travelled all the way to spain.
sae had just finished his morning run when his phone started exploding with notifications from multiple people & journalists. even shidou who he has not spoken to in weeks somehow sent him a screenshot of the news with the caption:
💬: so she finally dumped you? 💀
for a few seconds, he simply stood there with his phone in hand trying to figure out how the internet had somehow came to the conclusion that he’d been dumped. the last thing you’d sent him before he went out for his run was a picture of the lunch you made, so there was absolutely no way you’d broken up with him in the short span of three hours (and without his knowledge too).
still, when he opened instagram & saw that you really weren’t following him anymore… something in his chest dropped.
immediately, he tapped on your contact & started calling you.
the ringing echoed through the speaker until the call eventually ended on its own. no answer. his jaw tightened as he tried again.
beep
the line disconnected, so he tried again.
beep
and again.
beep
by the time the tenth call went unanswered, his text messages had already started flooding your chat.
sae ♡: answer your phone
sae ♡: ???
sae ♡: y/n
sae ♡: i’m serious
sae ♡: we need to talk
sae ♡: hello?
back in japan, however, you were peacefully asleep; completely unaware that half the internet had assumed you’ve broken up with your famous mid-fielder boyfriend, or that said boyfriend was currently having the worst few hours of his life.
—
three hours later when you finally woke up and reached for your phone, your lockscreen lit up with 30 notifications from sae.
20 unanswered texts.
10 missed calls
and approximately 100 notifications from all your social media combined of posts that you were tagged in from strangers on the internet mourning a breakup that never actually happened.
“… what the hell?” you muttered in complete disbelief as you sat upright in bed.
you immediately started calling sae back, and he answered within the first ring. “amor...” the relief in his voice hit you so fast that you nearly forgot why you’d called in the first place.
“sae?” you blinked. “what happened?”
there was a brief pause before he let out a slow exhale. “you unfollowed me.”
“… what?”
“you unfollowed me.”
“no? i was literally asleep.”
“check my profile.”
you stared at your screen before immediately going to his profile. and there it was… that mocking ‘follow back’ button staring back at you, clearly showing that you did in fact unfollow him.
“oh shit…”
“exactly what i said,” he replied flatly.
“i-i’ll fix it, okay? i’ll put up a statement on my story. hold on,” you said quickly.
immediately, you tapped onto your story and typed out a short statement— hoping it would stop the rumors before they spiraled any further.
after posting it, you let out a relieved sigh. you knew people were parasocial when it came to professional soccer players, but you certainly didn’t expect thousands of people to reach the conclusion that you’d broken up over one misplaced tap of your thumb.
“… there.” you murmured, staring at the freshly uploaded story. “crisis averted.”
“mhm.”
his response was immediate, but something about the way he said it made you anxious.
you frowned.
“a-are you still mad?” you asked, fiddling with the corner of your pillowcase.
there was a brief silence on the other end of the line. “i’m not mad.”
“sae.”
“… what?”
“that doesn’t sound very convincing.”
another pause.
then you heard him exhale quietly. “i said i’m not mad, amor.”
“… promise?”
this time, the sigh that left him sounded almost resigned. “yes amor,” he replied, the edge in his voice finally softening.
“i promise.”
only then did some of the tension leave your shoulders. you sank back against your pillows, finally relaxing. “… okay,” you murmured. “that’s good to know.”
somehow the call grew quiet again, but this time it felt comfortable rather than tense. neither of you seemed particularly eager to hang up.
“… i-i miss you, sae.” you finally broke the silence.
for a second, all you could hear was the faint sound of movement from his side of the call before he spoke again, his voice noticeably softer this time. “i miss you too, amor.”
the two of you stayed on the phone for another hour before his schedule eventually caught up with him. he listened to you ramble about your day while simultaneously packing his training bag, occasionally responding with a quiet hum to let you know he was still listening. eventually, you ended up curled beneath your blankets with the call still connected, smiling whenever his voice drifted through the speaker.
. . .
the distance between spain and japan still felt unfair.
but somehow, it was hard to dwell on the miles between you when he still felt so present in your everyday life.
being apart for so long had already begun taking its toll— the seven hours time-difference, missed calls, and replies that only grew shorter & shorter whenever sae was buried deep in training. but it snowballed fast, and weeks of frustration finally spilled out all at once.
“… you didn’t even bother replying to any of my texts yesterday, sae!” you snapped, pacing back and forth across your bedroom with your phone pressed tightly to your ear.
“i told you. i was busy with training.” he replied flatly.
“you always use that as an excuse!”
“cause it’s the truth.”
“so you couldn’t spare thirty seconds to send me a text?” you shot back, frustration bleeding through every word.
a tired sigh came through the speaker. “… not everything revolves around texting you every hour.”
the words left his mouth harsher than he intended.
“… got it.”
“you know that’s not what i meant.” he sighed, exhaling sharply.
“then what exactly… did you mean, sae?” you demanded, your voice trembling despite how badly you wanted it to sound firm. “because lately it feels like i’m constantly trying to squeeze myself into whatever tiny space you have left for me.”
“don’t start, please.”
“don’t… start?” you scoffed, a humorless laugh slipping out. “i’m your girlfriend. i shouldn’t have to beg for your attention.”
“and i shouldn’t have to justify every second of my day to you.”
for a moment, all you could hear was the faint static of the call between you. it stretched on long enough for your anger to start turning into something heavier.
“maybe… it’s better if we stop pretending this is working,” you whispered, your throat tightening around every word.
sae’s sharp reply came instantly. “don’t say that.”
“… why not?” you snapped. “when was the last time we had a conversation that didn’t end like this?”
“that’s because you keep pushing.”
“no, it’s because you’re impossible to talk to!”
“maybe because nothing i say is ever enough for you.”
for a beat, neither of you said anything. then came the final straw. “fine,” you breathed, the word coming out shakier than you wanted. “… maybe soccer is the only thing you actually care about. you know what? i’m done.”
before he could respond, you ended the call.
the screen went dark instantly, your tear-streaked reflection staring back at you through the blackened glass.
for the first time since the argument started, your apartment fell completely silent. your chest felt tight. your eyes burned from crying because some part of you already missed him. and despite how angry you still were, guilt had already begun creeping in around the edges.
but right now, the resentment that had been building for weeks was still fresh, still sitting heavy in your chest. then in a fit of anger and exhaustion, you’d decided to block him everywhere— imessage, whatsapp, instagram, tiktok, even his email too. you didn’t want to hear his voice, see his name pop up on your screen, or read another dry reply that made you feel like an inconvenience.
you just needed silence and a moment of clarity for yourself.
—
on the other side of the world, sae stared at his phone screen in disbelief.
his messages weren’t delivering. his calls went straight to voicemail. when he opened instagram, your account no longer existed in his following or followers. the last message he sent you sat on ‘not delivered.’
he tried once more, then again, each attempt ending the same way. still nothing.
“… fuck,” he muttered, jaw clenched so tight it ached.
he was in his hotel room after his evening training, hair still damp from the shower, exhaustion from the day mixing with rising irritation from whatever that transpired between you two.
sae rarely lost his cool. but right now, sitting on the edge of the bed with his phone gripped tightly in his hand; he was definitely furious. sure, the two of you had argued before, but this time you had intentionally shut him out. he knew he’d said things he shouldn’t have. he knew the distance had been wearing thin on both of you. but the thought that you’d actually block him— or cut him off completely made him feel more helpless than ever.
after one last failed call, he threw his phone onto the mattress with a sharp exhale, dragging a hand down his face.
“stubborn woman…” he hissed under his breath, teal-eyes sharp with irritation. “you really think blocking me is going to fix anything?”
he leaned back against the headboard, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the phone lying uselessly in front of him. a small part of him wanted to book the first flight back to japan without thinking twice, while the rational part of him knew you’d only resent him for ignoring the space you so clearly needed.
but the longer he sat there, unable to reach you; the heavier the unease settled in his chest. because for the first time in a long time… he couldn’t get through to you.
and he absolutely hated it.
⨳ 𝓷𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: errr ending it here because i might wanna do a pt 2
even in your last moments with itoshi sae, you can't bring yourself to say what you truly want.
itoshi sae x reader ─ angst, w.c. 500+ ─ content: no warnings
there’s an inkling of guilt that eats at you. “am i selfish?” for wanting to see pain in sae’s eyes, for wanting to see an indication that he’s just as hurt as you are?
but, in front of you, he sits with his lips pressed tight. he’s purposely avoiding your gaze, eyes downcast on his intertwined (ringless) fingers in front of him, and he’s still. his eyes are indifferent, maybe even apathetic. it’s a cruel feeling, knowing that even in the end, you would never be able to reach him. you want him to look at you— you want to look him in the eye with a strong facade and ask him all these questions that plague your thoughts, but instead the words die on your tongue.
you just want him to look at you. but he doesn’t.
a beat of silence. “do you love them?” the question rolls off your tongue, and you wait with baited breath for his answer. though, you already know what it’s going to be, and you wonder why you’re even bothering asking. for acceptance? for closure? or maybe in your mind, you think that as long as he doesn’t say it, it’s not true. (but you already know, it is true.)
another beat of silence. “i do,” sae answers and his voice is almost too low to hear, but the words ring loud and clear in your ears. it repeats like a broken record in your mind, and you can’t ignore the pang you feel in your heart. his eyes finally flicker up to meet yours, and yet you feel yourself tearing your gaze away. the part of you that yearns for him starts to feel like it’s burning under his stare. “i’m sorry,” he adds, but it feels like more of an afterthought.
or maybe damage control. you don’t really know.
you feel like crying at him, you feel like cussing him out, you feel like hurting him the same way he had with you— “you have nothing to be sorry for, sae.” you end up pathetically reassuring him. “i understand.” you don't, though you say it anyways. it’s hard to miss the frown that forms on his lips at your words, and he reaches out to hold your hands in his one last time. but, maybe to save your last shred of dignity, you pull your hands away.
for a brief moment, you think about staying. maybe you could sit here with him for a little longer, pretend that something could change. but the ring on your finger is starting to burn on your skin, and even the once-shiny diamond seems dim— a mockery of you and sae.
there's a small clink on the table when you finally rip it off your fingers. sae isn't able to bring himself to look at it.
your feet move on their own, dragging you toward the door. each step you take away from sae feels heavy. it feels wrong; it feels like a part of you is being left behind with him, but you don’t turn back.
/w itoshi sae, syp; he broke up with you after he decided you’re a distraction to him, only to realize— his head spoke of you to him even more without you by his side. ( gn! reader )
sfw, angst, his pov.
sae broke up with you that night when he realized, well, thought you were a distraction to him from being the best midfielder— it didn’t make sense at first.
he was kind, and caring to you. he showed the sides noone else ever saw of him, so how did it end like this?
at that time in the field, he got distracted from suddenly remembering it was their anniversary— and missed a pass that costed his team losing.
he was caught up with his built up feelings, and he decided to break up with you that same night outside the stadium when you saw him down due to the loss he endured.
so he walked out, just like that, leaving you in disbelief and heartbroken. when the morning came, you moved out of the apartment— when he saw that, he refused to believe something in him tried to grab onto you.
when he went to practice, he carried on as if there’s nothing that could be a burden to him — until his team told him he was checking his phone often.
he was waiting for you to send him anything, he still has you as honey in his contacts— pinned on top of everyone, yet you weren’t texting or anything, infact it hurts even more when he saw the last text he sent you was “i love you more.”
as the second day arrived, he would be half asleep and going bathroom, trying to find you as you would be brushing your teeth right now.
but all he could see was two toothbrushes, the one he uses is what he takes, as the other remains untouched as it is yours.
the third day came, and he accidentally prepared two plates for dinner as he remembers today is the day you would usually come home a little late due to activities.
taking the other plate back, sitting all alone in the dining room— one that he would kiss your hand on while you ate and you would chuckle at his behavior.
on the fourth day, you sent a text that you’ll be coming over to take something that you forgot and he almost replied with ‘okay honey.’ and decided to just leave a thumbs up reaction.
on the fifth day, his teammates caught him zoning out that they had to snap him out of it to practice, which he cursed himself once and went with them.
the sixth day came as the team prepared for the game tomorrow, going to another country to play there— and by now, he would be cuddled with you in the living room.
he would’ve kissed your forehead and promised he’d come back home to your arms, to his [name]. but here he is, staring at the ceiling of the bedroom— and eventually drifting to sleep.
and now as the week had passed, here he is in the field once more, he swore he could get over it by now— he was wrong, he was so wrong.
the game only took him to see back to the sidelines, to find if and where you are standing just for you to not be there, his team yelling at him yet he couldn’t focus.
he played terribly that night and got reserved, and he cursed himself over and over again in the empty bed that would usually had you in it.
if that had ever happened, you would touch him by now— hold him with you, you would tell him it’s okay, you would tell him he’s the best midfielder to you, you would reassure him it’s not his fault, and then he finally realized it.
what was he thinking?
one small mistake and he ruined their own anniversary, the memories they built, the love they developed in just the span of an hour.
as he twist and turned on the bed, he finds it hard to sleep. he wants you back— he needs you back.
in which you break yourself down because isn't love all about compromise?
itoshi sae x reader | angst | wc 1.1k
how soul-crushing is it when someone rejects you for the very reasons they fell in love with you?
you remember when he liked that you always said what was on your mind. he enjoyed listening to you ramble about everything and nothing at the same time. marveled at how you can never seem to stop talking. unfiltered—vulnerable.
now, it’s unnecessary noise. distracting. too loud.
you remember when he liked that you went to him for help. when you were angry. when you were sad. he relished in knowing that you trusted him—that you sought his support and reassurance.
now, it’s a weak mindset. needy. too codependent.
you remember when he loved that you called just to hear his voice. asked for pictures throughout the day. begged him to stay for just five more minutes. said i love you more times than you’ve ever said his name.
now, you’re just clingy.
so you changed. because isn’t love all about accommodation? about compromise?
you stopped being too loud. you tried not relying on him so much. you bit your tongue when you could taste your needless venting and complaints over small inconveniences come out. you held back from keeping him on the phone the second his attention was caught by something else.
you thought sae was just being sae. he’s blunt. straight to the point. never one to sugar-coat his words. just stating his needs in a relationship.
maybe he thought you were loud but not annoying, right? not annoying like he called everyone else, right?
perhaps you were codependent on him. he's not wrong. you can’t be too needy. wouldn’t that lead to more troubles down the road in a relationship?
all couples go through their own issues. these are just a few of them.
right?
you stare in the mirror, and empty eyes stare back. you note how hunched your shoulders are, note how that frown seems permanently etched onto your face now, note how your jaw is achingly tense from how often you’ve forced yourself to keep it shut.
what a pitiful sight.
in the reflection, you see sae come up from behind you, gently placing two palms on your shoulders.
he massages them, kneading through the knots and you find an emotion swelling inside of you that you’ve never felt towards him before.
resentment.
when was the last time he touched you like this? as if he didn’t mind how weak you are?
when was the last time he drew you in close? like he did now? as if he finally noticed how lifeless you feel?
when was the last time you felt like he cared?
“you seem different these days,” he says quietly. not a question. but a statement.
“do i?” you ask him. or yourself. you don’t really know.
he nods his head, placing his chin onto the crown of your head, wrapping his arms around your frame.
you used to love when he did this. but now, it feels different. you sink into his hold as if you’ll get the same feeling from back then. but you hate how you can’t discern if his embrace is protective or suffocating.
squirming at the thought, you turn in his arms, meeting his eyes. his teal eyes that once seemed like an ocean filled with endless possibilities. but now you feel like you’re drowning—the water pulling you apart violently.
he stares at you, motionless. then opens his mouth to speak, a tinge of regret laced in his words,
“sorry. i have to go soon, they scheduled a—”
“it’s okay,” you interrupt him, already knowing where this is going. “i was just about to leave.”
you give him a tired smile, faltering when you see his gaze harden.
“it’s okay?”
“yes.”
“you can stay here until i’m back. if you want.”
if you want.
“i should head home before it gets too late.”
“we didn’t really get to talk much today, did we?”
no, we didn’t.
you try to chuckle lightheartedly.
“i don’t have much going on. and you were busy preparing for the upcoming match.”
“right,” he says curtly. though there’s an odd tone in his voice.
his arms tighten around you. and you only grab onto the front of his shirt weakly.
“what’s on your mind? tell me.”
you straighten your spine.
i feel like i hold you back. i feel like i’m an annoyance. i feel like i’m no longer wanted in your life. that i add no value to it.
but none of that comes out. all of these pent up emotions swirl inside of you—like a storm. building up with each wave. building up with each rip of the wind.
and abruptly, you find yourself asking, “sae, do you love me?”
it’s quiet for a moment as he stares at you.
you’re scared of his answer. you’re scared of the frown on his face. you’re scared of the way his eyebrows pinch down in what seems to be frustration.
is he frustrated with you?
you hate yourself for having become so frail. so affected and dependent on his simple words and actions.
“of course i do. shouldn’t that be obvious?”
your breath hitches.
is it obvious?
his voice rings in your ears.
“i’ve heard you say this a million times now. i know you can solve your own problems. you don’t need to tell them to me every single time. i’m busy, you know?”
“i stayed over last time already. it’s not like we’re doing anything other than sleeping, right? i have an early morning tomorrow.”
“i’m barely on my phone as is. texting you randomly takes me out of my focus.”
you purse your lips, staring back at him.
what happened to “i like hearing the sound of your voice”? what happened to “your presence is more than enough”? what happened to “it brightens my day when i see your name pop up on my phone”?
you don’t notice the way sae watches your expression crumple, how his hold on you becomes exponentially tight—desperate.
he knows he’s been stressed lately, playing for a new team and all. he knows he’s been a bit more harsh with his words, more blunt—more curt. he knows he’s been distant with you—pushing you away because you distract him. he thought it was needed. after all, you make him want to drop everything just to be with you.
but he didn’t think that would translate into you questioning his love.
he’s always been calculative. confident. sure of himself.
but in this moment where you shake your head and avert your gaze down, he’s never felt so helpless before. so inherently disappointed with himself.
“i love you,” he hears his voice say. and he’s surprised at how foreign it feels on his tongue.
when was the last time he said those words to you?
and how come you won’t meet his eyes?
at your silence, he feels the pit in his stomach sink further and further. his heartbeat crawling out of his throat.
sae repeats himself, “i love you.” this time, it comes out a bit more familiar. a bit more exasperated. a bit more anguished than he’d like to admit.
postscript : he’s not over you. ɞ cw angst - 0.2k wc ʚ event masterlist ( #DAY1 ) ꣑ৎ
sae doesn’t like returning to japan.
he doesn’t like driving through the same snowy path which brought back unwanted memories he wishes to get over, no, he wishes to get over you.
he doesn’t like returning to japan only to watch you from far away, having fun with your friends and your new lover. he doesn’t like having to watch you become someone you want to be without him.
he despises the thought of you imagining a future without him, he despises the thought of imagining a future without you.
you’ve already moved on, but he just can’t seem to stop the harsh aching in his heart when he see’s you with someone else.
he clenches his teeth when his car gets blocked from the heavy snow ahead, getting out of the car as he spots a shovel nearby.
he grabs the shovel, digging the snow whilst digging up past memories at the same time. it’s almost ironic this is the same place you both broke up, when you told him you were tired of the arguments you were having.
you both left on an unhappy note. if he could reverse that, he would. he wishes he never called you an annoying pest, you’re so much more special than that. but he was stupid—stupid and 17.
he’s blacking out, only realising he’s been staring at the snow for the past few minutes when a snowflake falls on his head.
his breath hitches at the cold air, throwing away the shovel as he gets back into his car.
for now, he can only go home and listen to the thousand hands that clap for him in the dark.
Hi! Hello! Welcome to Tokyo debunker fandom! I just saw your post abt sharing or asking for ideas , so if it was not an ask feel free to ignore it !
My biggest frustration is MC especially the vagastorme ep (I donthqte Leo because he's Leo I hate him cause th game wouldn't let me answer to him the way I wanttt ugh)
. I get that Devs are attempting a character fits all approach (would have been better if we had more choices for types of Players but alas)
My ask is: what type of what kind of personality would each of the characters be drawn into? For current MC I think she'd be more compatible with Mido,rui , Haku ,subaru,luca ...aka guys with more patience for the more tough guys ot's eother gonna be bery slow burn as in cooking on a candle kinda slow cause she needs to be more assertive (not the stubborn , angry kinda assertive , but the stop your attitude kinda assertive ) what do you think?
Also welcome again to he fandom! May you get the characters you want (I'm still trying to get Haku but no success 😭)
Hi Anon! Thank you for your request (and the official welcome to the fandom)! I had to break this one up into a few different posts separating the characters into their houses but I'll link them all here. I hope you like the headcanons!
What's Your Type? - Frostheim Edition
Fandom: Tokyo Debunker
Characters: Jin Kamurai, Thoma Ishibashi, Lucas Errant, Kaito Fuji x gn! Reader
Jin is drawn to someone with a strong enough personality that they can withstand his abrasive nature. Someone with a backbone.
At the same time, he doesn’t mind people who will do what he tells them to, no questions asked. Sometimes following orders on a dime is a matter of life and death.
He’s drawn to people who have high self esteem and good self confidence. Jin can be rough with his words sometimes and his partner needs to be able to withstand that to a certain extent.
I think he would also be drawn to someone who knows what they want in life and is willing to work for it. It would be nice if they weren’t afraid to ask for help from him on occasion as well. It makes him feel needed and wanted.
Thoma is drawn to hard workers. He’s got a busy life himself so he needs someone who’s used to a fast paced day.
He also needs someone loyal and passionate in his life. He seems to have a lot of conflicting loyalties, including loyalty to himself so he needs to be able to trust whoever he’s in a relationship with.
I can see him being drawn to someone who is quick witted and has some degree of intelligence. Whether it’s book smarts or street smarts, he doesn’t have a preference, just so long as they’re able to demonstrate intelligence.
He would also be drawn to someone who is observant and empathetic. Someone who can recognise the signs of burnout and give him a helping hand when it's needed.
Luca’s a tricky one. I see him as someone who falls for someone slowly based on their personality and actions rather than seeing a few things and being drawn to someone.
I do see him being drawn to loyalty and honesty. These are both traits he values highly in himself and others so it’s necessary that his romantic partner has them as well.
Luca would also be drawn to people who speak their mind. He’s not the best at social cues so being with someone who can say how they’re feeling clearly means a lot to him.
A mothering personality would also attract Luca. He’s a bit of a mum friend himself but it’s nice being on the receiving end sometimes.
Okay, we’ve got to address the elephant in the room for this one. Kaito is definitely going to be drawn to appearance initially. If you’re conventionally attractive, he’s going to be fawning over you.
Personality wise, he’d be attracted to someone who enjoys having fun. As long as that fun’s not life threatening, he’s happy to tag along and have some fun too.
I see Kaito as someone who would also be drawn to someone who has a lot of energy. He’s got the reserves to keep up and he enjoys seeing people making the most of life.
Kindness is another thing that draws Kaito to people. If you’ve got a soft heart, he’ll find himself wanting to make sure he’s the person you think of most fondly.
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I think Jo would like someone flexible. He’s a pretty spontaneous person and likes it when his partner can do the same.
Having said that, he also needs someone to be a stabilising force in his life. He’s been through a lot, between Dionysia going defunct and then coming back, and trying to manage the chaotic ghouls and students of the house.
I feel like being a good listener is something Jo wouldn’t seek out in a partner but if you are one, he would be eternally grateful. He doesn’t always realise it but he needs someone he can turn to when he needs to vent.
Jo would absolutely love it if you liked dressing up! It doesn’t have to be anything crazy like doing full drag or even crossdressing if that’s not something you’re comfortable with. He just likes the excuse to get out his fanciest clothes and make use of them.
Mio would like someone creative. That doesn’t mean you have to paint or sculpt, or even do anything physically creative (although he would absolutely support you if you did). He just likes being able to discuss his work and having someone creatively minded be able to shoot back out-of-the-box ideas.
The exact opposite of Jo, Mio would love it if you’re a yapper. I feel like he struggles with silence a bit since he’s so used to being in the workshop where there’s always noise. If you’re chatting away about everything and nothing, it helps him focus when he’s away from all that.
He would also really appreciate it if you’re the responsible type. He’s vice-captain of Dionysia after all and a lot of people on campus count on him. Having a reliable partner to help him out would mean a lot.
Mio spends a lot of time in the workshop and running around campus doing odd jobs so he’d find comfort in knowing you have your own life and hobbies to fill the time he can’t be with you. That way he doesn’t worry about you being sad and lonely while he’s busy.
I think Elias would like someone chill. Someone who’s laid back and matches his easy going nature. I think he gets socially burnt out pretty fast after spending so much time as the quiet janitor so he needs to ease back into normal life.
Speaking of which, he would appreciate someone who can take the lead and suggest interesting date ideas. He’s all for going places, he’s just also not really sure what places you’d like to go. If you take the initiative instead, he’ll happily follow along.
Someone private would peak Elias’ interest. Initially, he wants to discover who you are but once you’re in a relationship, he values the privacy since you don’t go around telling everyone everything about the two of you.
That being said, he hears a lot of things while out doing his janitor work and I think he would like someone he can sit down with at the end of a long day and gossip with about all the goings on of campus. It's a nice downtime activity for him.
What Shion wants is someone fun. Someone he can be chaotic with who will be chaotic in return. The Harley Quinn to his Joker (although without quite as much manipulation). If he finds you boring, he wouldn’t seek out a relationship with you.
However, what Shion needs is very different. Above all else, he needs someone willing to learn. Being in a relationship with him brings a lot of new challenges to the table and you’re going to need to be adaptable if you’re going to manage.
For the sake of others, as well as himself, he needs someone who can manage him and keep him in line. Some of his ideas are worse than others and having someone around who can put the brakes on will do him good in the long run.
Having said that, he also needs someone accepting. You’d certainly have an influence over him but at the end of the day there are some things you’ll never be able to change. If you accept him, troubles and all, that will mean more to him than he’ll ever be able to express.
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Summary: Fucking two bad bitches at the same damn time. (3.3k)
Tags/warnings: smut (mdni), threesome, mentions of alcohol, before you ask, yeah, they kiss, use of pet names, hair pulling, fingering, we're going to paris with this one, oral m!receiving and f!receiving, unprotected p in v, cum play/eating, tiny bit of degradation, overstimulation
A/N: I don't know how to feel about this. English is not my first language and this was not proofread. Enjoy!
masterlist
The heat is curling around your bodies like a humid weighted blanket and the only sources of lighting are the warm streetlights casting shadows inside the safe house from the nearby street.
All three of you are sitting on the floor, talking about everything and nothing while drinking the beers you had brought with you as an apology for showing up unannounced.
Your relationship with Jason and Roy is hazy at best. The most logical description would be coworkers — doesn't matter whether said job is a conventional one or not. But that word doesn't seem nearly enough to contain all of the times you patched them up as they wordlessly looked at you with a strange look on their faces, or the drunken kisses you shared, separately and always forgotten by the next morning.
The conversation reaches its natural end, and neither of you are in a rush to fill the silence with some useless small talk. The night is not a silent one anyway. Cars keep driving by, mixing the sound of tires on wet asphalt and muffled music with the usual sirens that are never really quiet in a city like Gotham.
You lean back, further pressing your back against the couch, and tilt your head back, staring at the moisture stain on the white ceiling. Your hands are still busy trying to peel off the label on the dewy bottle, and you're thankful for the distraction.
Despite remaining silent, your mind is anything but. You will later try to blame it on the alcohol, or the tiredness, or maybe even the stress, but the next words come out of your mouth before your mind has time to process them.
"Have you guys ever... You know..."
The sentence is accompanied by a vague hand gesture which you yourself don't really know what is supposed to mean.
You can feel two pairs of eyes setting on your form as soon as you open your mouth, and the tickling sensation that follows is certainly not something to dwell on later.
"No, I don't, actually," Roy says, and you can hear the smirk on his face in his voice, a sound that has become so familiar without you even realizing.
A groan escapes your lips as you lift your head. When you meet their eyes you immediately regret your decision, wishing you had kept avoiding eye contact.
"I mean, have you ever- umm. How can I say this properly?" you ask yourself, mostly. "Have you ever blown off some steam? Physically. With each other."
The silence that follows makes you wish the earth would just swallow you whole, but the words that are spoken next are no better.
"You're asking if we ever fucked?"
Jason doesn't seem particularly shaken by your question as he replies. In fact, there's a hint of amusement in his tone, which you're sure is also shared by Roy.
"...Did you?" you murmur, unsure where the conversation might lead to.
"Yeah, like, a couple of times," Roy replies nonchalantly, scratching the back of his neck in a way that makes his bicep look edible.
Your eyes move back to your hands, unsure on what to do with that information, or the fact that they were so willing to give it to you.
"What? Are you jealous, princess?"
The pet name Jason had been using ever since that night when you met the pair makes your body feel even warmer than the humid summer heat surrounding you. Despite that, you force yourself to form a reply.
"What?" you retort, meaning to sound indignant, but landing on a sputtering mess instead. "I- What? No, I'm not... Just curious, that's all."
The lie is thick, almost choking you, and the shared look between the two men only makes it worse.
Why did you open your mouth in the first place? What were you trying to accomplish anyway?
"Aww," the redhead coos, "look at our girl. Flustered and all."
They had never referred to you as that — as theirs — or at least, they had never done it in front of you, but the heat pooling in your lower belly is certainly not unpleasant.
"Do you need that?"
"Uh?"
At the sight of your pretty face plastered with confusion and embarrassment, Jason adds, "To blow off some steam. Do you need that?"
Your eyes move from one man to the other, and they can read in your gaze that you're considering it, despite everything in you mind screaming at you that this is not a good idea.
"Come on, doll. Don't go all shy on us now," Roy teases you. "We can make you feel real good, right Jay?"
The other man simply hums, but you suspect that his confidence is just a facade, and he's just as nervous as you are.
There are two roads in front of you now: you can either decline or accept their offer. You know that whatever your decision might be, they would never hold it against you. The only problem is, you want to accept —really, really bad — and you shouldn't, because there would be consequences.
As you keep pondering your options, their eyes never move from you. That's how they immediately realize you've made up your mind.
"We're gonna need to hear you say it first, sweetheart," Jason says, trying to hide his own nervousness.
A moment goes by.
"I want to blow off some steam. With you."
Roy's mouth curls into a satisfied grin as he motions for you to get closer. You set aside the empty bottle and crawl in his direction. Once you're sitting in front of him, he pats his thighs, silently asking you to sit on his lap.
You comply, and the feeling of his toned legs underneath you makes heat rise up to your face. While one of his hands remains planted behind him to support his weight, the other tentatively reaches your face and cups your jaw.
Your eyes fall to his lips and he gets the message, pulling your closer and kissing you. At first the movements are unsure and the rhythm isn't smooth, but quickly you fall into a dance you had rehearsed long ago, despite pretending it had never happened the following morning.
Both of you are so lost in it that you don't hear Jason coming up behind you. You only realize as he moves your hair out of the way to gently kiss your neck. They're just small pecks at first, but once he eases into it, they become open mouthed kisses alternated with some bites, quickly soothed by his tongue.
Roy's hand moves from your face to your waist, before sliding down to your ass and squeezing. The sensation makes you let out a sigh, and he takes advantage of it by sliding his tongue inside your mouth.
As the kiss turns messy and hungry, Jason begins groping your tits, gently moving his fingers over your clothed nipples. The feeling of the two men's touches makes you clench your thighs.
It only gets worse once you break the kiss to catch your breath, and Roy and Jason start making out with you still sitting on the redhead's lap. The sight is obscene in the best way possible, making you move your hands from where they had been previously resting on Roy's shoulder. You place one hand on each of the two men's heads and begin to guide the kiss, feeling your own wetness begin to drench your underwear.
Jason's hands in the meantime move to the waistband of your pants, making you shiver at the sensation of him playing with it, before sliding one hand past it. A moan escapes your parted lips at the feeling of his rough digits feeling your needy cunt over the wet panties.
He smiles into the kiss, and without breaking it completely he pants against Roy's lips, "Shit, you should feel how wet she is right now."
The redhead smirks after biting Jason's lower lip, and, while sneaking a glance in your direction, teases, "Oh, yeah? Does it turn you to see us make out, pretty girl?"
Your mouth opens to reply, but no words come out after Jason pushes your panties to the side and gathers some of your wetness to bring it to your clit.
The neediness in the sounds you start making as he begins to play with the bundle of nerves should embarrass you, but the sensation is too good for you to care.
Your hold on their hair tightens when Jason slips two fingers inside you, but the whine you were about to let out gets swallowed by Roy's mouth as he starts to kiss you again.
Jason's motions are careful at first, trying to get your cunt to ease around his fingers, but once you get used to it, the slow movement aren't enough anymore.
"Please Jay," you whine, breaking the kiss with Roy just to look at the other man with glassy eyes and pouty lips.
"Does our girl need more, uh? You're such a needy girl, aren't you sweetheart?" Roy says, sounding so condescending you might have punched him in the face if Jason's fingers didn't feel so good inside you.
"P-Plese," you sigh, trying to move your hips to meet Jason's movements.
"Don't worry, princess. Jaybird is going to take real good care of you."
As if on cue, Jason's fingers start moving faster, and his other hand begins to massage your puffy clit. In the meantime, Roy starts kissing your neck and leaving marks you're going to have an hard time justifying tomorrow, but all you can focus on right now is how good your boys are making you feel.
The coil in your lower belly tightens, and the sound of your moans mixed with the squelching noise of Jason fingering you fills the otherwise silent safe house.
"Oh, fuck- I'm close," you whine, gripping your boys' hair even harder as you close your eyes, basking in the pleasure of the moment.
Your orgasm washes over you, and for a moment everything else seems to disappear. You tired body slumps onto Roy's as Jason carefully slides his fingers out of your cunt.
They're covered in your arousal, glistening even in the poorly lit room, but before you can process anything, Jason moves his hand near Roy's mouth. Without being told anything, he parts his lips and starts licking Jason's fingers clean.
"Fuck, you taste so good sweetheart," Roy basically moans, moving his free hand to grip the other man's wrist, vigorously sucking and licking his digits.
The sight alone turns you on even more — if that's even possible — and both of them can definitely tell by the size of your pupils.
"C'mere, doll. Taste yourself," Roy murmurs before burying a hand in your hair and crashing your lips together.
The taste of your juices on his tongue is inebriating, so much so that the only thing keeping you grounded is the feeling of Jason's hands on your body, trying to pull down your underwear and your pants in a single motion.
Roy angles your body to help the other man, and momentarily breaks the kiss to take off your shirt as well, leaving you completely bare in front of the two still fully clothed men.
"Your turn, now," you tease them with a hungry glint in your eyes.
They comply with your request, quickly getting rid of their own clothes, throwing them on the floor without a care in the world, solely focused on what they're going to do to you next.
Jason takes your hand gently, and walks to the couch, making sure you follow behind him. It only takes a few steps for you to feel Roy's hand land on your ass with a loud smack, and when you turn your head to glare at him, he simply smirks and walks past you, settling in the couch.
His legs are spread wide enough for you to settle between them. Behind you, you can feel the warmth of Jason's body, as he places on hand on you shoulder and applies some gentle pressure, making you kneel.
The rug makes the landing easier on your knees, but even if it weren't the case, the discomfort would have been worth it considering how close your face is to Roy's cock.
The tip is already red and leaking with precum — the pretty moans you were making earlier were enough to turn him on. Unable to wait any longer you wrap your hand around the hilt and begin to pamper the throbbing tip with some kitten licks.
The reaction is immediate: Roy moans obscenely, throwing back his head, and reaching for your scalp, resting his hand there.
As you continue with your ministration, Jason's big hands settle on your hips, aligning them with his own aching cock. After gathering some of your wetness with his tip, he slowly buries himself inside your tight cunt.
While Jason's thrusts get faster, you finally wrap your lips around Roy's dick, careful not to use your teeth. Your hand keeps moving at the base, covering what you can't reach with your mouth.
The vibrations of the moans Jason is getting out of you only make the experience better for the redhead, who has started to guide your movements with the hand tangled in your hair.
"That's it," he groans, "sucking me so good while getting fucked like a slut."
Your eyes roll to the back of your skull, as your walls flutter around Jason's cock, buried deep inside you.
"Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck."
Behind you, the grip on your hips tightens enough to leave behind some bruises, and before you know it, thick ropes of cum flood your cunt.
You stop sucking Roy's dick to turn around and glance at Jason. He's a mess, face stained with some tears you didn't know he had shed, still trembling from his orgasm.
"M'sorry," he mumbles, hiding his face between your shoulder blades and wrapping his strong arms around your waist. "I've been dreaming about this moment for so long, and you just felt so good, and I-"
Before he can keep apologizing, you reach for his face and give him a reassuring kiss, gently caressing his cheek.
"It's alright. No need to apologize."
Roy, who had observed the entire scene with an unreadable look on his face, drags you onto his lap, making you feel the outline of his hard cock without penetrating you yet. He presses his chest to your back, mixing the sheen of sweat covering his skin with your own. His hand grabs a fistful of your hair and pulls your head back, brushing the shell of your ear with his lips.
"You've been so good with your mouth, baby," he says, making a shiver run down your spine. "Wanna show our one pump chump whatcha can do?"
The whole time, despite talking to you, he had been making eye contact with Jason, and you swear you saw the man's dick twitch in response to the redhead's mocking words.
"Yes, please," you plead, your mouth already watering at the idea of feeling the weight of Jason's cock on your tongue.
Without any warning, Roy uses his grip on your hair to push your head down, while he, after giving his own dick a few pumps, aligns himself to your entrance, still leaking with Jason's warm release.
You don't have much time to adjust to the new intrusion before Roy starts giving you instructions on how to blow Jason off.
"Now, start by kissing his tip. Yeah, just like that. And use your hands for the base. Slowly. Don't want him cumming too fast like a virgin. Not again."
You do as told, relishing the sweet sounds coming out of Jason's mouth. While doing so, Roy's grip on your hair never loosens. Instead he keeps guiding you.
Meanwhile, you start moving your hips as well, desperately trying to create some friction. Roy understands immediately what you want, and moves his hips as well, trying you meet you halfway.
"Now open up and start sucking. Just like you did with me, pretty girl."
The redhead's hand guides your movements, and that mixed with how his thrusts make you body rock forward, makes you gag around Jason's cock a few times.
The warm cum that had previously filled your pussy leaks on Roy's dick, turning his base milky white.
"Use your free hand to play with his balls. He loved that last time I did it."
You decide to ignore the implications of his words and simply start palming Jason's heavy balls, careful not to do it too roughly.
"Good girl," the redhead groans approvingly.
Roy wasn't lying, and the whimper that Jason lets out proves as much. Your own gets muffled by his cock, as you keep sucking, not bothering with the tears that start running down your cheeks and the saliva wetting your chin.
The redhead's thrusts never slow down, not even as Jason cums a second time. You keep sucking, gathering every drop of his release in your mouth. Without missing a beat, Roy pulls your face closer to his and parts his lips.
He whorishly moans as you let Jason's cum drip from your parted lips to his open mouth, before pulling him in for a messy kiss, continuing to share the warm liquid.
This seems to be enough for Roy to bury himself deep inside you and reach his orgasm as well, shortly followed by your own.
You stay like that for a moment, with Roy still inside you and Jason standing in front of you, still coming down from the high of his two previous orgasms.
Carefully, Roy slides out of you, and you can feel his cum leaking out of your stretched out hole.
What you expect to happen next is for them to bring you a wet cloth and clean you, maybe cuddle a little, before going to sleep and waking up the next day pretending that nothing ever happened.
What you don't expect is for Jason to drop on his knees, place his hands on your thighs and begin to lick your puffy clit.
"Hey, get off of her! I wanted to do that!"
Jason moves his face just enough to reply, looking like the cat who got the cream.
"Looks like I got here first," he comments, before resuming his ministration.
Roy quickly moves from underneath you, and tries to push Jason away from his place between your legs, desperately lapping at your leaking cunt, completely unbothered by his own cum.
A dance of tongues takes place, as both of them fight for dominance while eating you out. Your legs begin to tremble, and the sensation of their mouths on you is too much too bear.
"'s too much," you babble, your brain turning into complete mush, but they won't have it.
"Just another one." "Yeah, can you do that princess?"
Your head hits the back of the couch, and your third orgasms crashes over you like waves crashing against rocks, making your vision turn black for a few seconds.
Your chest moves up and down along with your heavy breathing, making you momentarily forget about the situation at hand.
You're brought back to reality as they both settled on the couch next to you, enveloping you between their warm bodies. The apartment turns quiet again, and the sound of the city start reclaiming your attention.
That's until Roy decides to tease you one last time.
"Did that help you blow off some steam?"
A/N: This was the fic! Reblogs and comments are always appreciated, even if it's criticism (as long as it's constructive). I love talking with you angels, so my dms and inbox are always open!
⊹ 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀. a room full of people. a night that kept pulling them apart. and a pair of eyes that never stopped searching for her. sometimes, it isn’t about jealousy. sometimes, it’s about wanting to feel chosen.
⊹ 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. boyfriend!michael olise, established relationship, soft angst, hurt/comfort, emotional vulnerability, hurt michael olise, quiet longing, wanting to be chosen, reader crying, miscommunication, mutual hurt, love and reassurance, two people trying to understand each other, wrong assumptions, tender moments, overthinking, they just need to communicate, hint of fluff, reconciliation.
the annual end-of-season gala had always been one of the club’s biggest events.
it was the kind of evening where everyone traded training kits for tailored suits and elegant dresses. conversations overlapped beneath the soft hum of live music, champagne glasses clinked together, and camera flashes illuminated the room every few moments as players stopped to greet sponsors, teammates, coaches, and familiar faces they’d barely had the chance to speak to all season.
it was a night built for celebration, where everyone seemed to know everyone, and no one stayed in the same place for long.
for the players, however, the evening began long before the first guests arrived. there were interviews to film, sponsor obligations to fulfill, photographs to pose for, and media appearances scheduled down to the minute.
michael had left nearly an hour before she did. he’d kissed her goodbye in the apartment doorway, promising he’d see her soon.
“don’t take too long.” she’d teased, smoothing the lapel of his suit.
he’d smiled, leaning down to steal one last kiss.
“i’ll try.”
he expected it to be just another event. another evening of polite conversations, photographs, and speeches he’d probably forget by the end of the week.
then she walked in.
not in a way that made the room fall silent. no one stopped what they were doing. no heads turned.
but his did.
he’d watched her get ready barely an hour earlier. he’d seen the dress. he’d watched her smooth the fabric over her hips, frowning at her reflection as she quietly wondered if she should change. he’d been the one to zip it up before they left the apartment.
the one who’d smiled against the back of her shoulder and whispered,
“you look beautiful.” before pressing a lingering kiss to the warm curve of her skin.
he’d thought that would be enough. so he wasn’t prepared for what happened when she stepped into the ballroom. beneath the warm glow of the chandeliers, with laughter and conversation filling the room around them, she somehow stole the breath from his lungs all over again.
she stepped inside, taking it all in for a brief moment. then her eyes immediately began searching for him. they drifted across clusters of familiar faces, over teammates dressed in tailored suits, club staff moving from one conversation to the next, and sponsors gathered near the stage. but she didn’t have to look for long.
he was already looking at her.
standing across the ballroom, surrounded by cameras and half-listening to whatever question had just been asked, his eyes had drifted towards the entrance the moment the doors had opened. as though he’d been waiting for her.
as though he’d been checking every few minutes to see if she’d arrived yet.
the second he saw her, something in his expression softened. the polite smile he’d been wearing for photographers disappeared, replaced by one that belonged only to her.
she couldn’t help but smile back. he gave the smallest nod, barely noticeable to anyone else.
there you are.
it wasn’t spoken. it didn’t have to be. she understood it anyway.
she smiled politely at the people who greeted her, returning hugs and exchanging a few words, but her attention kept wandering.
at first, the evening felt effortless.
every chance he got, he found his way back to her. his hand settled instinctively at the small of her back as they wove through the crowd, guiding her without a word. beneath the dinner table, his fingers found hers, absentmindedly intertwining with them while someone else told a story.
every now and then, he’d lean down just to ask if she was alright, even though she was standing right beside him. sometimes, all it took was a glance from across the room, ending in a smile meant only for her.
quiet gestures. familiar habits. little reminders that, even in a room full of people, they never stopped looking for each other.
then the evening, almost cruelly, began asking for more of them than it had at the start. every conversation lasted a little longer than expected. every goodbye turned into another introduction. every time michael started making his way back to her, someone called his name before he could get there.
she never complained. she simply smiled, checking him over like she always did, before giving him a small nod.
“go,” she said softly. “i’ll be here.”
she reached up, gently fixing the collar of his suit before leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips.
he smiled softly against her lips, lingering for a moment longer than he meant to.
“i won’t be long.” he hesitated to pull away, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand.
she watched him disappear into the crowd, never imagining it would be nearly two hours before they stood beside each other again.
every time he looked up…
she was somewhere else.
at first, it was with one of the players girlfriends, the two of them laughing over something as they stood near the bar. the next time he found her, she was deep in conversation with one of the club’s physios, listening so intently that she hadn’t even noticed him looking.
a few minutes later, someone was introducing her to an older couple—parents of one of the academy players, if he remembered correctly. she greeted them with the same warm smile she seemed to reserve for everyone she met, her attention entirely on the conversation in front of her.
by the time another sponsor insisted on refilling her champagne, michael had already lost count of how many times he’d searched the room for her. he told himself it was nothing.
because it was.
she wasn’t flirting. she wasn’t doing anything she shouldn’t have been. she was simply being herself.
kind.
patient.
the sort of person who made complete strangers feel comfortable within minutes of meeting her. it was one of the things he loved most about her. tonight… it was also becoming one of the hardest things to watch.
his gaze lingered longer than it should have. he noticed things he normally would’ve ignored. the man who leaned in just a little too close to hear her over the music, even though there was more than enough space between them.
the sponsor who seemed in no hurry to end the conversation, smiling every time she laughed. the way another guest rested a hand lightly against her elbow as they spoke, casual enough that no one else would’ve thought twice about it.
michael did.
not because he believed any of it meant something. it didn’t.
he trusted her.
entirely.
but trust had never been the issue.
the issue was that she’d come to the gala as his girlfriend. they’d arrived hoping to spend the evening together. yet somehow…
everyone else seemed to have more of her than he did. every time he finally managed to excuse himself from one conversation and started making his way across the ballroom…
someone else reached her first. another greeting. another introduction. another laugh that wasn’t meant for him. he hated the feeling that settled in his chest.
quiet. unfamiliar. unreasonable. but impossible to ignore all the same.
meanwhile…
she had no idea she’d been the center of his attention all evening. as far as she was concerned, michael was just as impossible to catch as she was. every time she thought she’d finally get a moment with him…
someone called his name.
the ballroom had started to feel smaller. too warm. too loud. every conversation blended into the next until michael could barely distinguish one voice from another. he excused himself with a polite apology, murmuring something about needing some air before slipping through the doors leading out onto the terrace.
the night greeted him with a welcome breeze. he loosened his tie, resting his forearms against the stone balcony as the sounds of the gala became muffled behind the closed doors.
for the first time all evening… it was quiet. he exhaled slowly. he couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d forgotten he was even there. it was ridiculous. she was his girlfriend. they promised they’d find each other once the media obligations were over. yet somehow, he’d spent the entire evening watching her from a distance while she laughed with everyone else.
the thought sat heavily in his chest. he hated it. hated himself for even thinking it. because he knew her. he knew the way she loved him.
knew she would never intentionally make him feel invisible.
but jealousy wasn’t reasonable. it didn’t care what he knew. it only cared what the evening had looked like. and from where he’d been standing…
it had felt like everyone else had more of her than he did. everyone else had managed to steal a piece of her evening. while he’d spent most of his wishing for a moment that was actually theirs.
two hours.
that was how long they’d been there. two hours since she’d walked through the ballroom doors. maybe she’d been having such a good time she hadn’t even noticed how long they’d been apart. he knew it wasn’t fair. he knew it didn’t sound like her.
but after nearly two hours of watching the evening pull her farther and farther out of reach… it became harder to convince himself otherwise. all he’d wanted, was to spend the night with the woman he’d come there with.
instead… he’d spent most of it missing her.
eventually, he stopped looking towards the door. stopped checking for her. stopped hoping for that moment where her eyes would finally meet his.
he didn’t want to leave angry. he wasn’t angry. he was just tired of feeling like he was asking for something he shouldn’t have to ask for. it was just him realizing that he didn’t want to stand there anymore, quietly hoping to be noticed.
he didn’t want to feel like he was asking for a place beside his own girlfriend. so he made the decision he hated making.
he left.
alone. quietly. without her.
without the small moment at the end of the night where they would walk out together, his hand in hers.
instead, he stepped outside into the cold air by himself, carrying the quiet disappointment he didn’t know how to explain. and eventually, the hope he had been holding onto started feeling heavier than the disappointment itself. because he didn’t want to be someone who needed to be chosen every second. he didn’t want to feel forgotten. especially by her. that was the part he couldn’t ignore. the person he wanted beside him the most was the person he felt furthest away from.
so when he finally looked around one last time, he wasn’t searching anymore. he was accepting. the night wasn’t going to become what he had imagined. and maybe that was what hurt the most — not that she wasn’t there with him, but that for a while, he had been there waiting for her to notice.
the irony was…
she’d been looking for him, too. while he was standing there, slowly convincing himself that she wasn’t going to notice he was gone, she was doing the exact same thing, searching through the crowd, wondering where he had disappeared to.
they were both looking for each other. both waiting for the other person to close the distance. both unaware that they were only a few moments too late. and maybe that was the part that hurt the most. not that they didn’t care. not that one of them had stopped trying.
but that they had both been reaching for each other and somehow still ended up apart.
she didn’t know that he had already made the decision to leave. she didn’t know that, while she was walking through the room searching for him, he was already stepping outside. already accepting that he would go home without her.
and when she finally reached the place where he had been standing earlier, she found nothing. just an empty space. a space that felt strangely louder than all the noise around her.
her eyes moved through the crowd again, slower this time, almost like if she looked hard enough, he would somehow still be there.
but he wasn’t.
“have you seen michael?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
but the calmness was only on the surface. inside, panic was already beginning to take over. and the answer she got made her heart sink.
“he left.”
for a second, she just stared. because she hadn’t expected that. she had expected to find him somewhere nearby. she had expected him to be waiting. she hadn’t expected him to leave without her.
she was afraid she had missed something. afraid that while she was caught up in the night, he had been standing there waiting for her.
and she hadn’t seen him.
she suddenly remembered every time she had glanced across the room and thought she would go to him later. every moment she had told herself there was still time. but what if there wasn’t? what if he had been standing there, quietly hoping she would come over, while she had no idea he was already feeling alone?
her fingers tightened around her phone without even realizing it. she wanted to call him. she wanted to hear his voice.
she had prepared herself to walk over, apologize for taking so long, and see that familiar softness return to his face when he realized she was there. she had prepared herself for a conversation. for an apology.
not this. not the thought of him already being gone. she noticed too late.
she didn’t let herself think. not for another second. because if she stopped, if she stood there and let every possibility run through her mind, she knew the guilt would only grow heavier.
so she moved. quickly. almost too quickly.
she grabbed her things with unsteady hands, barely noticing the voices around her or the questions she didn’t answer. the room that had felt so warm only moments ago suddenly felt too crowded, too loud, too far away from the one person she needed to see.
michael.
that was the only thought she could hold onto. she didn’t care about explaining herself yet. she didn’t care about finding the perfect words. she just needed to get to him. needed to know he was okay. needed to see him standing there in front of her instead of imagining him sitting alone, replaying the night in his head and convincing himself that leaving was easier than waiting. waiting for her.
the walk to the car felt longer than it ever had before. every second felt wasted. she checked her phone more than once, almost hoping for a message from him, some sign that he was still reaching for her too. but the screen stayed quiet. and somehow, that silence made her hurry even more.
he was really gone. her heart sank. because she knew michael. she knew he wasn’t the type to leave just because he was annoyed. he wasn’t someone who walked away to make a point or to make her chase after him. if he left, it meant he had already convinced himself that staying would hurt more. and suddenly, she didn’t have to wonder where he went. her first thought came instantly.
home.
their apartment. the place he always went when he needed quiet.
by the time she reached their apartment, her heart was still racing. not from the distance. from the fear that she was already too late.
she stood in front of the door for a moment, staring at it like it was the only thing separating her from everything she had been imagining on the way there. her hand reached for the doorknob, but she hesitated.
what if he didn’t want to talk? what if he had already convinced himself that it didn’t matter?
her fingers tightened around it. she hated that she was scared.
not of him.
never of him.
she was scared of seeing the disappointment she had put there.
slowly, she unlocked the door. the small click sounded louder than it should have in the quiet hallway. she pushed it open carefully, almost afraid that moving too quickly would make the moment real.
“michael?” she called softly. silently hoping.
her voice shook slightly at the end of his name, betraying the panic she had been trying to keep under control since she walked through the door. she swallowed, forcing herself to take another step inside.
her fingers curled tightly around the strap of her bag, her heart still pounding as she waited for any sign of him—a movement, a sound, anything that would tell her she hadn’t come too late.
no answer.
her stomach twisted. she closed the door behind her. a quiet click. her eyes immediately searching the apartment.
and then she saw him.
he was there. exactly where she had feared he would be. he was sitting alone on the couch, still wearing the same clothes from the night, like he had come home and never really moved again.
the same couch where they had spent countless quiet evenings together. the same couch that had held so many pieces of them—their laughter, their kisses, their whispered conversations, and the moments where they had let their guards down completely.
his gaze was lowered to his hands, his fingers moving absentmindedly against each other, like he had been sitting there for so long that even the smallest movement was enough to keep his mind from wandering too far.
for a second, she forgot everything she had planned to say. because seeing him there was different. the image in her head had been painful. but the reality was worse. he looked so quiet. so far away. and the worst part was knowing that he had come here because he thought being alone would hurt less than waiting for her.
her chest tightened.
“michael…” his name left her lips softer than she intended.
a plea for him to look at her.
there was something fragile in the way she said it — the quiet fear behind it, the worry she couldn’t hide anymore. her voice cracked slightly around his name, and she hated how much it revealed.
for a moment, he didn’t move. her voice reached him, but his mind seemed to take longer to understand it. he just sat there, letting the sound of her voice settle over him.
his name. the way she said it. soft enough that it almost hurt. because he had spent the entire walk home trying to accept that maybe she hadn’t been looking for him.
and now she was standing there, proving him wrong.
slowly, his eyes lifted to hers. and the second their eyes met, everything he had been trying to keep buried came rushing back.
the disappointment. the loneliness.
the hours of convincing himself that it was easier not to expect anything. but then he saw her. really saw her. the worry in her eyes. the way she was standing there like she had rushed home without thinking twice.
like finding him mattered. and for a moment, he didn’t know what to do with that. because a part of him had been prepared to see indifference. he had prepared himself for her to not understand. but he hadn’t prepared himself for her to look at him like she was scared of losing him.
“you left.” the words came out quieter than she expected.
not angry. not accusing. just hurt.
like she was still trying to understand it.
her eyes stayed on his, searching his face for something—an explanation, a sign that maybe she had misunderstood, that maybe this wasn’t what she thought it was.
“i was looking for you.” her voice trembled slightly, and she looked away for a moment, swallowing the ache in her chest.
a small confession. a little too late. but honest.
she was still trying to understand how they had ended up here — standing in the same room, looking at each other, after somehow missing each other all night.
michael stayed quiet.
his eyes dropped for a moment, not because he didn’t want to look at her, but because he didn’t know how to handle the weight of what she had just said. and for a second, he almost let himself believe that maybe the night had been different than he thought.
his fingers tightened together, resting between his knees as he sat there. he had spent the entire ride home trying to make peace with the disappointment.
“i didn’t know what else to do.” he murmured. his voice almost like a whisper.
not cold. not distant. just tired. like he had spent the entire night trying to figure out what the right thing was, and every option had somehow felt wrong.
their eyes met. and she saw it. not anger. not resentment. just the disappointment he had been carrying all night, the kind he hadn’t wanted to put on her because he knew she never meant to make him feel that way.
“i didn’t want to leave.” he admitted after a moment, his eyes dropping back to his hands.
hearing that hurt more than if he had told her he was angry.
he hadn’t wanted to leave. he had wanted to stay. he had wanted to be there with her.
her fingers curled slightly at her sides, fighting the urge to reach for him immediately. she wanted to close the distance between them, to take away the hurt she could see in him, but she also knew he needed to finish saying what he had been holding inside.
so she stayed quiet. she stayed there. letting him know she was listening.
“i kept thinking i’d wait a little longer,” a quiet breath left him. “then a little longer became the whole night.”
he paused, his gaze still lowered, like admitting it out loud made him feel more vulnerable than he expected.
“and i don’t know… i just started feeling stupid for standing there hoping you’d notice.”
her heart sank. because he didn’t say it like he was blaming her. he said it like he was blaming himself for caring. and somehow, that hurt even more. because she knew him.
she knew how much he tried not to ask for too much. she hated that he felt that way. because the last thing she ever wanted was for him to think he had to earn her attention, or that he was asking for too much.
how he would rather quietly step away than make someone feel like they had to choose him. she hated that for even a moment, he had felt like he wasn’t worth noticing.
she felt like saying less would be better. anything more felt like it would only get in the way. because she didn’t want to explain herself before he felt heard. she didn’t want to rush to tell him she didn’t mean it, when all he needed was for her to understand that, for a moment, she had made him feel alone.
so she took a small breath.
“i’m sorry.” the words carried everything she didn’t know how to say.
the regret. the guilt. the fact that she wished she had noticed sooner.
then, slowly, she moved closer. not all at once. not like she was trying to fix everything with one touch or pretend that a single moment could erase the way he had felt.
when she reached him, she stopped in front of the couch. she lowered herself beside him, leaving a little space between them at first. because she wanted him to know she was there. she didn’t want to take the feeling away from him.
she just wanted him to know he didn’t have to sit with it alone anymore.
he let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. his hands loosened, his fingers no longer twisting together as tightly as before. the silence between them was still there.
so was the hurt. but it didn’t feel quite as lonely anymore.
he felt her beside him. close enough that he could feel her warmth. she hadn’t tried to erase what he was feeling. she had simply chosen to sit with him. and somehow, that undid something inside him.
his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, the tension he had been carrying since he left the event easing just enough to notice.
he swallowed, his jaw tightening ever so slightly before he finally let it go. then, almost cautiously, he turned his head.
his eyes found hers. they lingered there. searching.
her eyes were glossy, as though she had been holding herself together ever since someone told her he had left, and now that she was finally looking at him, she wasn’t quite sure how to keep doing that.
she didn’t look at him like someone trying to defend herself. she looked at him like someone whose heart had broken the moment she realized he’d walked away alone. she held his gaze without looking away, even as her bottom lip trembled almost imperceptibly. as if she wanted him to see it.
to see how sorry she was. to see that she had come.
the guarded look he’d worn all night began to disappear. the hurt on his face lost some of its sharp edges. because no matter how hurt he had been…
seeing her like this hurt too.
the disappointment he had carried all night suddenly felt different. smaller. not because it no longer mattered. but because, sitting there, looking at the tears she was trying so hard to keep from falling, he realized something that made his chest ache.
she had been hurting too.
maybe not in the same way. maybe not at the same time. but she was carrying it now. and the last thing he had ever wanted was to be the reason her eyes looked like that.
he loved those eyes. he loved the way they lit up when she laughed, the way they softened when she looked at him, the quiet warmth they always seemed to hold.
seeing them clouded with guilt instead… it broke something inside him. his throat felt tight as he fought the urge to reach for her. his heart sank as he watched her struggle to hold herself together.
because despite everything…
despite the disappointment. despite the lonely drive home. despite every moment he had spent wondering if she would notice he was gone.
he still couldn’t bear to see her cry.
his hand twitched towards her without him even realizing it, the familiar instinct to reach for her stronger than the hurt he was still carrying.
when he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. rough around the edges. not because he had raised it. because he’d spent hours swallowing the words instead.
“i didn’t want the night to end like this.”
the confession hung between them.
gentle. heartbreakingly honest. like he was mourning the ending they were supposed to have.
the walk back to the car with her hand tucked into his. the quiet drive home filled with conversations that drifted from everything to nothing at all. the familiar glance she’d always give him before leaning in to steal a kiss at a red light. walking through the front door together. her stealing one of his shirts that always ended being more comfortable than her own. the absentminded kisses exchanged while one of them wandered into the kitchen. the lingering kiss that usually greeted the end of a night well spent.
the comfort of falling onto the couch together, laughing about the smallest moments of the evening until one of them inevitably pulled the other closer. all the little things that no one else would have noticed. the quiet rituals that had slowly become the way they loved each other.
the kind of moments that only mattered when you loved someone enough to treasure every one of them.
and he did. god, he did.
instead, he’d gone home alone. stepped into the silence alone. and for the first time in a long time, home hadn’t felt like home at all.
he had spent the entire night believing he had been the only one reaching for her. he hadn’t been.
she had been searching for him too. she had rushed home with fear written all over her face. she had walked through the front door looking like she was terrified she had already lost the chance to make things right.
and suddenly, the night didn’t feel so one-sided anymore. it felt like two people who loved each other so deeply that, somehow, they still managed to miss each other in the worst possible way. he had spent the whole night wanting to reach for her. this time, he finally did.
his fingertips brushed gently against her cheek before his palm settled there, cradling her face with a tenderness that spoke long before he did. the moment his skin met hers, the tear she’d been fighting so hard to hold back finally slipped free.
it traced a slow path down her cheek. his thumb caught it halfway, brushing it away with heartbreaking care.
a sad smile tugged at the corner of his lips. his forehead rested against hers.
“i hate that i made you cry.” low and quiet. there was no frustration in it. only regret.
her breath caught. for a second, she could only look at him.
even after everything. even after he’d gone home alone. even after she’d been the reason he’d spent the night hurting…
his first instinct was still to comfort her.
a small, broken smile found its way onto her lips as another tear slipped free. she gave the faintest shake of her head. she lifted her hand to his wrist, her fingers curling gently around it where it rested against her cheek, holding it there.
“i just…” her eyes closed for a moment. “i hated knowing you thought you had to leave alone.”
when she looked at him again, there was so much love in her eyes it almost ached.
“so… please, don’t ever do that again.” it wasn’t a demand. it was a plea.
“come find me. interrupt me, steal me away if you have to,” a watery laugh escaped her. “i’ll always choose you.”
the words settled somewhere deep inside him.
softly. patiently. untangling every doubt that had followed him home. because now he understood. it had never been him against her. it had only ever been the night.
a misunderstanding. a painful one. but still, only a misunderstanding. his heart refused to hold onto the hurt any longer.
“i’m sorry too,” he whispered. “i’ll always find you.”
there wasn’t a trace of doubt in his voice anymore. only certainty. his thumb brushed gently across her cheek one last time. then, without another word, he closed the small distance between them.
his lips found hers in a kiss so impossibly gentle it almost hurt. there was no urgency. no desperation. only relief. the quiet kind that settled deep in his chest after hours of wondering whether he’d ever get to hold her like this again. just two people finding their way back to each other after spending an entire night convinced they had somehow been left behind.
he kissed her slowly, as though he wanted her to feel everything he couldn’t quite put into words. that he had missed her. that he had never stopped loving her. that one painful night would never be enough to change that.
she melted into the kiss almost immediately. her fingertips brushed lightly along his jaw before settling against the side of his neck, holding him with the same tenderness she’d been trying to put into words. her other hand came to rest against his chest, right above his heart, lingering there as she kissed him back.
“i love you.” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion but gentle enough to soothe the last of her fears.
and one bad night could never be bigger than that. she smiled through the tears gathering in her eyes.
and in that moment, with his love spoken so simply and honestly, she felt at peace.
“i know,” she whispered. “i love you too.”
her eyes shining as she looked at him. her smile trembled, not from sadness, but from the sheer weight of everything she felt in that moment. she looked at him like she was trying to hold onto the feeling. for a moment, neither of them moved. they didn’t need to. the night had been messy.
it had been full of missed chances, wrong assumptions, and moments where they had both felt a little too far away from each other. but they were here now. together.
his fingers found hers, intertwining slowly. a small reminder. a promise. and this time, neither of them let go.
because sometimes love wasn’t about never getting things wrong. sometimes it was about finding your way back.
⊹ 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀. there’s no guide to being romantic. michael olise learns that the hard way when every attempt to impress her somehow turns into another disaster. but maybe he’s been looking at love the wrong way all along.
⊹ 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. boyfriend!michael olise, established relationship, fluff, comedy, michael olise being hopelessly in love, michael trying his best, no such thing as a perfect date, failed romantic gestures, michael vs. the universe, he just wants to make her happy, lots of laughter, domestic moments, soft kisses, affectionate touches, physical intimacy, clingy michael, reassurance, acts of love, “it’s the thought that counts”, she loves him exactly as he is, realizing love doesn’t have to be perfect, comfort, sweet ending.
michael olise had always considered himself a pretty reasonable person.
he knew how to handle pressure. he knew how to keep his head when the noise around him became overwhelming, when thousands of voices turned into one endless wave and every decision had to be made in the space of a few seconds. he knew how to read a game, how to stay patient, how to trust himself even when things didn’t go exactly as planned.
football made sense. there were rules. there were tactics. there were things you could practice until they became instinct.
romance, apparently, did not work the same way.
because somewhere between a late-night scroll through his phone and a dangerously convincing collection of relationship videos, michael had come to the conclusion that he was failing.
not at football.
not at being a boyfriend.
at being a romantic boyfriend.
and somehow, that felt like a much bigger problem. it started with one video. that was all. a couple laughing together while making dinner. a boyfriend surprising his girlfriend with flowers after a long day. a handwritten note left somewhere unexpected that had an entire comment section declaring that real love still existed.
michael had watched it, nodded once, and continued scrolling. then another appeared.
then another.
and somewhere along the way, what was supposed to be five minutes of mindless scrolling turned into michael sitting on his bed at almost midnight, staring at his phone with the same intense focus he usually had while watching match footage.
except this time, he wasn’t analyzing an opponent. he was analyzing romance. and the conclusion he reached was simple.
he needed to do better.
because according to the internet, apparently there were a hundred little things a boyfriend was supposed to do.
flowers.
surprises.
thoughtful gestures.
spontaneous dates.
saying the right things at the right time.
michael looked at the list he had somehow created in his notes app and frowned slightly. it was not a long list. objectively, it was actually quite manageable. which was exactly why he was convinced he could do it. after all, how difficult could it really be?
he had played in front of thousands of people. he had handled pressure most people would never understand. he had scored goals with everyone watching.
surely, making his girlfriend feel loved couldn’t be harder than that.
that was where michael made his second mistake.
his first was watching the videos.
lesson one: flowers.
according to everything michael had seen online, flowers were supposed to be easy. one of the simplest ways to show someone you loved them. a small gesture that didn’t require a special occasion or a complicated explanation. just something beautiful, something thoughtful, something that quietly said i was thinking about you.
which was exactly why michael had decided it would be the perfect place to start.
how hard could flowers be?
that was the thought that followed him into the flower shop, even though the confidence behind it slowly disappeared the second he stepped inside. because michael olise could walk into a stadium filled with thousands of people and somehow look completely unfazed. he could stand under pressure, make decisions in seconds, and trust himself when everyone else was waiting to see what he would do.
but put him in front of a wall of flowers with no idea what half of them were called?
suddenly, he was struggling.
he stood there for a moment, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, eyes moving from one bouquet to another as if one of them was going to reveal the answer he was looking for.
they were all pretty. that was the problem. they were all pretty.
“can i help you?”
the voice behind the counter pulled him from his thoughts. michael turned, offering a small polite smile.
“yeah,” he said. “i need flowers.”
the woman smiled knowingly. “for someone special?”
he nodded without hesitation. “my girlfriend.”
there was something about the way he said it that made it obvious this wasn’t just a quick purchase. he wasn’t someone who had walked in five minutes before closing because he remembered at the last second. he was someone who had clearly thought about this. probably too much.
“do you know what kind she likes?”
and there it was. the one question he had not prepared for.
michael blinked.
because he knew her. he knew the little things most people missed. he knew when she was tired even when she insisted she wasn’t. he knew the exact look she gave him before saying something sarcastic. he knew which side of the bed she always ended up stealing and how she would deny it every single time.
but flowers? apparently, flowers were where his research had failed.
“i should know that,” he murmured.
“you don’t?” the woman tilted her head.
“i know everything else.” he said it so seriously that she couldn’t even tease him for it.
because he wasn’t trying to make an excuse. he was genuinely disappointed that there was something about her he hadn’t learned yet. so he took the decision very seriously.
maybe too seriously.
“okay,” he said, looking back at the flowers. “what says thoughtful?”
“thoughtful?”
“yeah.”
“not romantic?”
he paused. “both.”
the woman laughed softly.
and for the next thirteen minutes, michael olise, professional footballer, stood in a flower shop asking questions like he was preparing for the most important match of his career.
“do these last long?”
“yes.”
“are these too much?”
“no.”
“do these look like i’m trying too hard?”
“you’re buying flowers for your girlfriend. i think trying is the point.”
he considered that. “right.”
eventually, after far more thought than necessary, he chose a bouquet. and the moment it was placed in his hands, his entire expression changed. not dramatically. just a small shift. like he was relieved. like he had finally completed the first step of a plan only he knew existed.
he carried them carefully to his car, placing them on the passenger seat and adjusting them twice before leaving. he even looked back at them before closing the door. which was why it was almost impressive that he managed to forget them completely.
by the time michael got home, he had already replayed the evening in his head at least ten times. he had imagined the way he would walk through the door, the way he would casually hand her the flowers, the way she would smile and maybe tease him for being unexpectedly thoughtful.
it was supposed to be effortless. natural. except nothing about michael felt effortless the second he actually saw her.
because there she was, she was curled up on the sofa, tucked beneath the blanket she always claimed she wasn’t stealing from him, wearing one of his hoodies that hung loosely over her frame. the sleeves covered part of her hands, something she always did without realizing, and the sight alone softened something in his expression.
for a moment, he forgot everything.
the flowers. the plan. the carefully thought-out entrance he had imagined on the drive home.
because somehow, after spending an entire afternoon trying to figure out how to create the perfect romantic moment, the easiest way to make him lose track of every word was still just her looking at him.
michael simply stood there near the doorway, one hand still resting on the handle he had just let go of, watching her without saying anything. and that was probably his first mistake.
because she noticed. she always noticed.
her eyes lifted slowly from her phone, finding him standing there with his jacket still on, keys still in his hand, and an expression that was trying very hard to look normal.
it wasn’t working.
a small smile appeared on her lips. not because she knew what he had done. but because she knew him. she knew the difference between his usual quiet and the kind of quiet that meant his mind was somewhere else.
she placed her phone beside her, turning slightly towards him.
“you’re late.” her voice was soft, almost teasing, carrying none of the accusation the words could have held. there was a warmth behind them, the kind that only existed between two people comfortable enough to miss each other even after only a few hours apart.
michael finally moved from the doorway, setting his keys down on the small table beside him before looking back at her. “i’m not.”
the answer came automatically. too automatically. and the second he said it, he knew he had made himself sound guilty.
“you are.” her eyebrows lifted. not dramatically. just enough. enough to tell him she had caught it.
“by how much?” he let out a quiet breath, walking further into the room as he slipped his jacket off.
“enough.” she watched him carefully, noticing the way he avoided looking directly at her for a second too long.
“that’s not an actual answer.” he looked over.
“it is.” a smile tugged at her mouth.
“how?”
“because you know exactly what i mean.”
and unfortunately, he did. that was the thing about her. she never needed to explain herself too much. she could say something simple, something that barely seemed like anything, and somehow michael always understood the meaning underneath it.
he eventually made his way over to the sofa, dropping down beside her with a quiet exhale, the weight of the day finally leaving his shoulders the moment he was close enough to her. he didn’t even think about it anymore. the way his body naturally leaned toward hers. the way her hand found his arm almost immediately, her fingers brushing over the fabric of his sleeve before settling there, a small gesture that said you’re home without either of them needing to say it.
michael let himself sink into the comfort of it for a moment. this was supposed to be the easy part. this was supposed to be where everything went according to plan.
and for a while, he genuinely believed he had managed it. the warmth of the moment had completely distracted him from the carefully planned evening he had spent so much time creating. because somewhere between taking off his jacket, sitting down beside her, and getting lost in the familiar comfort of having her close, his brain finally caught up with the one very important detail it had somehow forgotten.
the flowers.
the flowers he had bought. the flowers he had carefully chosen. the flowers he had left sitting in his car.
michael’s expression changed so slightly that most people would have missed it. most people. not her. because she felt it before she even saw it. the way his fingers paused against hers. the way his attention suddenly drifted somewhere far away. the way he looked like he had just remembered something incredibly important and incredibly inconvenient at the exact same time.
“what?” she lifted her head from his shoulder, studying his face with quiet amusement.
“what?” michael blinked, looking back at her.
“you just did something.”
he frowned slightly. “i didn’t do anything.”
“you did.”
“no, i didn’t.”
“michael.”
the way she said his name made him immediately know he wasn’t winning this.
he looked down for a second, his thumb brushing over her knuckles as he tried to decide whether he should say anything. because maybe he could still save it. maybe he could casually get up, walk to the car, grab them, and pretend nothing happened. except she was looking at him now. and there was no chance he was getting away with suddenly leaving without an explanation.
“the flowers.” the words slipped out before he could stop them.
“the flowers?” she blinked. not because she was surprised. because she genuinely had no idea what he meant.
and the second she repeated it, michael realized how bad that sounded. because from her perspective, he had just randomly announced the flowers like she was supposed to know exactly what he was talking about.
“yeah.” he slowly nodded.
“what flowers?” a small crease appeared between her eyebrows as she tried to understand.
and there it was. the moment. the exact moment michael realized he had somehow managed to create a problem that required explaining.
“the ones i bought.” his lips parted slightly before he looked away, already embarrassed.
“you bought flowers?”
“yes.”
“for me?”
“yes.”
another pause. not a dramatic one. just the kind where she was trying to put the pieces together. “where are they?”
and michael, despite everything, still tried to make it sound less ridiculous than it was.
“in the car.”
“michael.” her face stayed completely blank for a second. then her eyes widened slightly.
“i know.”
“you left them in the car?”
“yes.” he sighed, because hearing it said out loud somehow made it worse.
she looked at him. then toward the front door. then back at him. “you walked all the way inside…”
“yes.”
“sat down…”
“yes.”
“started talking to me…”
“yes.”
“while the flowers were just sitting outside?”
he looked away. “when you say it like that, it sounds bad.”
“because it is bad.” and that was it. she laughed. not a small laugh. the kind that escaped before she could stop it because the image was too perfect.
michael olise, who had apparently spent an entire afternoon trying to become the perfect romantic boyfriend, had completed every single step except the one where he actually delivered the flowers.
“you’re laughing.” he watched her with a look of complete betrayal.
“i’m sorry.”
“you’re not.”
“no, not really.”
“i spent so long choosing them.” he shook his head, but he was fighting a smile now too.
that made her laugh even harder. “how long?”
he hesitated. which was already an answer.
“michael.”
“thirty minutes.”
“thirty?” her laughter immediately stopped.
“maybe forty.”
“you spent forty minutes choosing flowers and then forgot them?” she stared at him.
he looked almost offended. “when you say it like that, it sounds worse.”
“because it is worse.”
and somehow, that made him laugh too. because maybe she was right. maybe only he could turn buying flowers into a carefully planned romantic mission and still somehow fail the final step.
“i can’t believe you.” she covered her smile with her hand, looking away for a second as if she genuinely needed a moment to process the fact that he had somehow managed to create the most michael olise situation possible. her shoulders shook slightly as she tried to hold back her laughter, but the amusement in her eyes gave her away completely.
michael watched her with a mixture of embarrassment and disbelief, his eyebrows lifting as he leaned back against the sofa.
“what?” he asked, his voice carrying a quiet offense, as if he couldn’t understand why she was reacting this way when, in his mind, he had still technically succeeded in buying the flowers.
she turned back towards him, lowering her hand as she looked at him with that familiar expression—the one that told him she was trying very hard not to tease him too much and failing.
“you’re unbelievable,” she said, shaking her head as her thumb brushed over his knuckles. “you actually bought them, you picked them out, you put thought into it… and somehow the one thing you forgot was bringing them inside.”
michael opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, but the second he replayed her words in his head, he realized there was absolutely no way to make himself sound less ridiculous. he looked away with a small sigh, running a hand over his face before letting it fall back into his lap.
“i was trying to be romantic.” he admitted quietly, a reluctant smile tugging at his mouth.
“i know,” she said, her voice softening just slightly as she squeezed his hand. “that’s why it’s funny.”
“that’s not how that’s supposed to work.” michael looked at her, completely betrayed.
“i’m sorry. i just can’t believe you managed to fail the easiest part.”
and that was it.
lesson one was officially a disaster.
⸻
lesson one: finished.
result: bought the flowers, chose the flowers, planned the moment… forgot the flowers.
lesson two: dinner.
after the flower incident, michael had decided that his next attempt needed to be foolproof.
because flowers, apparently, came with too many risks. there was the choosing. the timing. the possibility of forgetting the entire reason he had bought them. so this time, he needed something different. something that couldn’t be left behind in a car. something that required his full attention. something that would prove he was, in fact, capable of being romantic.
which was how michael ended up standing in his kitchen at seven in the evening, staring at a recipe on his phone like it was a problem he needed to solve rather than a meal he needed to cook. the kitchen around him looked suspiciously like a place where someone had attempted a science experiment rather than dinner. ingredients covered almost every available surface, a wooden spoon rested beside a bowl he was no longer using, and there were three different tabs open on his phone because apparently one recipe was not enough.
he had done his research. that was the thing. he hadn’t just decided to cook and hoped for the best. no. michael had prepared. he had watched tutorials. he had read comments. he had saved a recipe that had thousands of good reviews because, in his mind, that meant it was impossible to fail. the problem was that the recipe had not accounted for one very important factor.
michael.
he looked down at the instructions again, his eyebrows pulling together slightly as he reread the same line for what had to be the fifth time.
“that doesn’t even make sense.” he said it quietly to himself, as if the recipe had personally offended him.
the recipe, unfortunately, did not respond. he glanced at the ingredients lined up in front of him, then back at his phone. everything was where it was supposed to be. mostly. he was almost certain. and that was good enough.
“i can do this.” the words came out with the confidence of someone who had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.
because michael had a very specific problem. when he decided he was going to do something, he committed completely. there was no halfway. he didn’t simply cook dinner. he created a mission. a goal. a challenge he needed to complete.
and maybe that was why he didn’t hear the front door open. didn’t hear her footsteps approaching. didn’t notice her standing in the doorway, watching him carefully measure something while wearing an expression so serious it almost made the entire situation funnier.
because there was michael. standing in the kitchen like he was about to make the most important decision of his life. not because he was cooking. because he genuinely believed cooking was going to fix his previous mistake.
“should i ask?” she leaned against the doorway, folding her arms as she watched him.
michael immediately turned around. and the look on his face was enough. not panic. not exactly. more like someone who had just been caught doing something he was very proud of and wasn’t prepared to explain yet.
“you’re home early.”
“that’s your response?” she smiled slightly.
“yes.”
“not ‘hi’?”
“hi.” he paused, then nodded.
she tried not to laugh. she really did. but the sight in front of her was making it difficult. because he was wearing an apron. michael. an apron. and somehow, he was still looking at her like she was the unusual thing in the room.
“what happened here?” her eyes moved around the kitchen before returning to him.
“nothing.” he looked around. then back at her.
the answer was immediate. too immediate.
“michael.” she raised an eyebrow.
“what?”
“the kitchen looks like it lost a fight.”
“it does not.” he looked offended.
“there’s flour on the floor.” she stepped further inside, glancing at the counter covered with ingredients.
he looked down. there was. “that’s normal.”
“is it?”
“yes.”
“for who?”
he opened his mouth. then closed it. because unfortunately, he didn’t have an answer.
she walked closer, the smile on her face growing as she took in every detail—mostly the focused expression and the determination in his eyes.
“you’re cooking.”
“yes.” he straightened slightly.
“for me?”
“yes.”
there was something so proud about the way he said it that she almost didn’t want to tease him.
“go change, i’ve got this.” michael said proudly, completely convinced he was finally getting the hang of it.
she stared at him for a moment, her eyes drifting past him toward the questionable state of the kitchen. she was far from convinced, but she knew better than to challenge the determination on his face. with a quiet sigh, she went to change.
⸻
she had left him alone for exactly twenty minutes. that was all. twenty minutes. when she had walked away, michael had been standing in the kitchen with complete confidence, insisting that he had everything under control. he had told her to go change, promising that by the time she came back, dinner would be ready. and, admittedly, she had believed him. maybe that had been her first mistake.
because michael was many things. determined, focused, annoyingly stubborn when he wanted something done a certain way. but after the flower incident, she probably should have known better than to trust a romantic plan without supervision.
she walked back into the kitchen expecting to find him proudly waiting with the meal he had spent the entire evening preparing. instead, she found chaos.
the counter was covered with dishes, ingredients were scattered everywhere, a towel had somehow ended up on the floor, and michael stood in the middle of it all looking like he had just lost an argument with the kitchen itself.
she stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene in complete silence. because she genuinely didn’t know what part to look at first. the overflowing sink. the suspicious amount of smoke still lingering in the air. or michael, who was holding a fork in one hand and staring at the pan in front of him like he was trying to understand where his life choices had gone wrong.
slowly, his eyes lifted to meet hers. and the second he saw her expression, he knew there was no hiding it.
“before you say anything,” he started, already sounding defensive. “it was going well.”
“michael.” she looked around the kitchen. then back at him.
“i’m serious.”
“you burned it?” she pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.
“that’s a strong word.” he glanced back at the pan, then away.
“the food is black.” she stared at him.
“okay,” he paused. “maybe not that strong.”
and that was when she finally laughed.
because somehow, after everything, he was still standing there trying to defend himself like this was a minor inconvenience and not the complete collapse of his second romantic mission. unfortunately for michael, the evidence was everywhere. the smoke. the dishes. the completely ruined dinner sitting in front of him.
there was no saving this one.
⸻
lesson two: finished.
result: created more dishes than food, a kitchen full of smoke, and somehow still burned dinner.
lesson three: picnic.
after two failed attempts, michael had decided there was one very obvious solution.
stop overcomplicating things.
because apparently, flowers could be forgotten and dinner could somehow become a fire hazard, so maybe the issue was that he had been choosing things with too many opportunities for failure. this time, he was keeping it simple.
a picnic.
that was it. no complicated preparation. no risky cooking. no small object that could accidentally be abandoned in his car. just a blanket, some food, a nice view, and a romantic afternoon with her. finally, something he could not possibly ruin. which was exactly the kind of confidence that usually came right before something went wrong.
but michael was convinced. he had planned everything carefully. he checked the weather. then checked it again. then checked it one more time because apparently trusting a weather app after the flower situation felt like another unnecessary risk.
the forecast was perfect. sunny. clear skies. no rain. no wind. nothing that could possibly interfere.
he had prepared everything with the seriousness of someone preparing for the most important event of the year. and when she saw him waiting with everything ready, she couldn’t help but smile. because there he was.
michael olise.
standing beside a perfectly arranged picnic blanket with the proudest expression she had ever seen on his face.
“you look very pleased with yourself.” she said it with a small smile tugging at her lips, her eyes moving over the little setup he had spent so much time putting together, before returning to him. she didn’t even have to ask how much effort he had put into it because the answer was written all over his face—the quiet pride, the way he stood there waiting for her reaction, pretending he wasn’t waiting for her reaction.
“i’m not.” michael immediately looked away, trying and failing to hide the satisfaction creeping into his expression.
“you are.” she raised an eyebrow, stepping closer as she glanced around once more at the blanket, the food, and all the little details he had clearly thought about.
“okay. maybe a little.” he looked back at her, his lips pressing into a thin line as if he was seriously considering arguing, even though they both knew she was right.
“a little?” she repeated his words with a quiet laugh, tilting her head as she looked at him like she couldn’t believe he was even attempting to downplay it.
“fine,” he admitted, the corner of his mouth lifting as he looked down at everything he had prepared. “maybe a lot.”
she couldn’t help but smile at that. because that was michael. he would never openly admit how much something mattered to him, but he didn’t have to. it was always there in the little things—in the way he remembered details, in the way he tried even when he had no idea what he was doing.
she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him for a moment, and he immediately relaxed into the touch, his hands settling comfortably around her as if this was the part he had been waiting for all along. and for once, everything was perfect. he was beginning to think he had finally defeated the universe. which, unfortunately, was where michael made his mistake. because he started believing it.
the universe heard him. and took it personally.
the first sign was the wind. a small breeze. nothing alarming. until the corner of the blanket lifted.
“it’s fine.” he said it almost immediately, reaching down to hold the corner of the blanket before it could lift any further. his voice was calm, far too calm for someone whose carefully planned picnic was already beginning to fall apart.
“what’s fine?” she asked, watching him with amused disbelief as he tried to stop the blanket from moving while also pretending there was no problem at all.
“this.” he gestured vaguely towards the picnic, as if that explained everything.
she followed his gaze. the blanket moving. the napkins shifting. the plates slowly sliding away. then she looked back at him. “the blanket trying to leave?”
michael immediately looked offended by the accusation.
“it’s not trying to leave.” he said it with so much certainty that she almost believed he actually thought he could negotiate with the weather. almost.
she glanced down again as another napkin escaped, floating across the grass.
“michael.” she said his name slowly, the way she always did when she was trying very hard not to laugh at him.
“it’s just moving.” he looked at her. then at the runaway napkin. then back at her.
“because of the wind.”
“yes.”
“which means it’s trying to leave.”
for a second, he looked like he was genuinely considering arguing. but then another gust came through, and the universe made the decision for him. the stack of paper plates started sliding away. and michael moved instantly. not dramatically. not frantically. just with the serious determination of someone who had decided this was a problem he could solve.
“michael.” she called after him, watching as he walked quickly across the grass to rescue something that, a few seconds ago, had been perfectly fine.
“i’ve got it.” he replied, not even looking back.
“what exactly do you think you’re doing?” she blinked, trying to understand how he could sound so confident while chasing after napkins. “michael?”
“saving the picnic.” he answered immediately. and somehow, that was the funniest part. because he was completely serious.
she looked around at the blanket folding over itself, the food being rearranged by the wind, and michael standing there like he had personally been assigned the mission of defeating nature.
“from what?” she asked, covering her smile as she watched him.
he paused. looked around. then looked back at her. “everything.”
and that was it. that was the moment she lost. she laughed, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as she watched him stand there holding a napkin like it was a trophy from a battle he had somehow both won and lost.
“you’re laughing.” he turned towards her, immediately noticing.
“i’m sorry.” she tried to compose herself, but the smile on her face gave her away.
“you’re not.”
“no.”
he sighed, looking back at the picnic behind him. the blanket was crooked. the food was scattered. his perfect plan was slowly falling apart. and somehow, he still looked more confused than defeated.
“i checked the weather.” he finally said, like this was the most important piece of evidence in his defense.
“what?” she looked at him, completely caught off guard.
“i checked it.”
“michael, are you blaming the weather because your picnic failed?” she stared for a second before the laughter returned.
“i’m saying i prepared.” he looked genuinely offended.
“you prepared for everything except the weather being the weather.” she stepped closer, shaking her head as she looked at him.
he opened his mouth. then closed it. because unfortunately, she was right. again.
she laughed until her sides hurt, the sound carried away by the same breeze that had spent the last ten minutes ruining michael’s third attempt at being romantic.
“you’re impossible,” she whispered, the smile refusing to leave her face.
“i’ve been told.” he looked at her for a long moment, one hand still holding the corner of the blanket as though he refused to let the weather win completely.
“by me.”
“mostly by you.”
another laugh escaped her as she closed the distance between them, slipping her fingers through his before gently pulling him back down onto the blanket beside her. his shoulders finally relaxed, the determination he’d been carrying all afternoon melting away the second she rested against him.
“i’m sorry,” he murmured, looking around at the half-folded blanket, the scattered food, and the napkins he’d eventually given up chasing. “this wasn’t exactly how i imagined it.”
“i know.” she murmured, her smile softening as she turned towards him.
a few of his locs had fallen across his forehead thanks to the wind, moving every time another breeze swept between them. she reached up without thinking, carefully brushing them away from his eyes, only for them to slip right back into place a second later.
“they’re not listening to me either.” she let out a quiet laugh.
“they never do.” michael’s lips twitched into the smallest smile.
“i noticed.” she tried one more time, slower this time, her fingers gently combing them back before eventually giving up with an exaggerated sigh. instead, her hand drifted down to his face, her palm settling against his cheek as her thumb lazily traced back and forth over his skin.
“there,” she whispered. “much easier.”
he leaned into her touch almost instinctively, his eyes never leaving hers.
“i really thought this one would work.” the quiet disappointment in his voice was so small, so unguarded, that it made her chest ache. he wasn’t laughing anymore, wasn’t trying to make excuses or brush it off with another joke. he simply looked down at his hands, like he couldn’t quite understand how every attempt had managed to fall apart.
“i know.” she shuffled closer until her knees brushed his, closing what little space remained between them before leaning in to press a slow, lingering kiss against the corner of his mouth.
his eyes fluttered closed for a brief second, and she felt him exhale softly against her skin.
“i really did.” he murmured again, his voice barely above a whisper.
she smiled, her thumb brushing over the back of his hand as she turned her head to leave another gentle kiss against his cheek, letting it linger there for just a moment longer. “i know.”
his shoulders eased as the last of the stubborn determination left him. maybe it hadn’t gone the way he’d imagined, but sitting here with her beside him somehow made it feel a little less like a failure.
she let her fingertips drift to the nape of his neck, drawing him a fraction closer before her lips found the curve beneath his jaw in a tender kiss.
his hand settled at her waist as naturally as breathing, gently guiding her into his lap until she was curled comfortably against him—while his other hand idly rubbed slow circles against her back. she slipped one arm around his shoulders while the fingers of her other hand absentmindedly toyed with one of the locs at the nape of his neck.
“you know what’s funny?” she whispered, her voice barely louder than the steady patter of rain beyond the shelter.
his brows drew together immediately.
“i’m almost scared to ask.” he admitted, narrowing his eyes at her with exaggerated suspicion, though the corner of his mouth had already begun to twitch.
“every single one of your plans has been a complete disaster.” she couldn’t help smiling.
“wow,” for a second he simply stared at her, looking genuinely betrayed.
she bit the inside of her cheek, already fighting a laugh.
“thank you,” he said, dragging a hand dramatically down his face before letting it fall back around her waist. “that’s very encouraging.”
he shook his head to himself, a quiet sigh escaping him as though she’d just confirmed every fear he’d had since the flowers were forgotten, the dinner had gone up in smoke, and now the rain had claimed the picnic too.
“i’m not finished.” she reached up, brushing a few damp locks away from his forehead before letting her hand settle against the side of his face. her thumb swept lazily across his cheek as she leaned forward until there wasn’t even an inch between them.
instead of answering, she nudged the tip of her nose against his. his nose scrunched instinctively, earning the soft laugh she’d been trying so hard to hold back.
before he could come up with another reply, she leaned in and kissed him again.
this time, she didn’t pull away immediately. her hand stayed against his cheek, her thumb resting softly along his skin as she let the moment linger between them. the kiss was warm and unhurried, carrying every bit of reassurance she hadn’t put into words—the reminder that she wasn’t disappointed by the failed plans or the things that hadn’t gone right.
and when she felt the smallest smile tug against his lips, she smiled too, unable to stop herself. he always tried so hard to get everything perfect, and somehow, he never realized that moments like this were already enough. his hand tightened gently around her waist, keeping her close as she stayed there for another heartbeat before finally pulling back.
“the flowers never made it inside.”
a kiss.
“you nearly declared war on the kitchen.”
another.
“and today…” she stopped herself, letting her eyes wander around their little corner of the world. the blanket beneath them was still slightly twisted from where they had rushed to move everything when the rain started. the carefully arranged food had been pushed around, the drinks were sitting wherever they had managed to save them, and the whole thing looked nothing like the picture he had probably imagined when he first planned it. and yet, somehow, it felt even more like them.
“today you lost a fight against the weather.” she looked back at him, the amusement in her eyes impossible to miss.
he stared at her for a moment, his lips parting like he wanted to defend himself, but the argument never came. instead, he simply looked away with a quiet exhale.
“when you list them all together…” she trailed off, watching the realization slowly cross his face as he replayed every failed attempt in his head.
“mm?” he hummed, looking at her cautiously, already knowing he probably wasn’t going to like where this was going.
“it sounds worse.” a laugh slipped out before she could stop it, and within seconds she was hiding her face against him, her shoulders shaking as she tried to compose herself.
“you’re enjoying this way too much,” he muttered, but there was no real complaint in his voice.
because he was laughing too.
his arms wrapped around her more securely, one hand settling at her back while the other rested at the back of her neck, his fingers brushing gently against her hair as the wind carried loose strands between them. keeping her close as she tried to recover. he could feel her smile against him, and despite everything that had gone wrong, despite every moment where he had wondered if the whole idea had been a mistake, he couldn’t bring himself to regret any of it.
after a while, she pulled back just enough to see his face again. there was still that familiar look there—the one she had seen every time he tried something new for her. the quiet expectation. the hope that this time he had finally managed to get everything right.
her expression softened.
“but do you know what all three of them have in common?” her palms settled against his cheeks as she gently guided his attention back to her. her thumbs brushed over his skin, waiting until his eyes met hers.
“they failed?” he studied her for a second, suspicious but curious.
“wrong,” she leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before staying close, her forehead resting against his. “you were in every single one of them.”
“…i don’t think that’s the point you’re trying to make.” he frowned ever so slightly.
a quiet laugh escaped her.
“it is,” her thumbs continued their slow movements over his skin, her gaze never leaving his. “i didn’t fall in love with perfect plans, michael.”
“you keep looking at everything that went wrong,” she whispered. “the things that didn’t happen the way you pictured them, the moments where you think you should’ve done better.”
she paused, letting him actually hear her.
“but i remember you running back outside because you forgot the flowers. i remember you standing in that kitchen looking completely lost but still trying to make something for me. i remember you looking at the sky today like you could somehow convince the clouds to give you one more chance.”
a small smile touched her lips.
“those are the parts i’m going to remember.” she leaned in again, brushing her lips against his in a slow, gentle kiss. not because she was trying to fix anything, but because she wanted him to understand.
when she pulled back, she stayed close enough that their noses still touched.
“you spend so much time trying to create the perfect moment,” she whispered, “that you never realize you’re the reason the moments matter.”
her hand slipped from his cheek to the back of his neck, her fingers gently threading through the locs gathered there.
“you could’ve planned everything perfectly and i still would’ve wanted this,” her smile grew. “sitting on a half-folded blanket, hiding from the rain, laughing at you because you somehow lost every single battle you started.”
she pressed a kiss beneath his jaw, then another near his ear, just because she knew the small smile it would bring.
“because it was never about what you did perfectly, michael,” her eyes met his again. “it was always about you.”
for a moment, michael just stayed there. completely still. because somehow, after spending the entire day trying to find the right words, the right gesture, the right way to show her how much she meant to him, she had managed to say the one thing he had never thought to consider.
that maybe he had already done enough.
his eyes dropped for a second, a small, almost disbelieving smile tugging at his lips as he shook his head.
“you really mean that?” the question came out quieter than he intended, like some part of him still couldn’t believe she could look at a day full of failed plans and see something worth keeping.
she only smiled, her fingers still resting against him, completely certain.
and that was what got him. not the teasing. not the laughter. just the way she looked at him like there had never been anything to fix in the first place.
he let out a soft laugh, lowering his gaze to where she was settled against him. his fingers tightened gently around her waist, a small, unconscious gesture that gave away the smile he was trying to hide.
“i spent all day trying to get everything right,” he looked back at her, his expression softer now. “and you’re telling me i didn’t have to.”
“you really didn’t.” a smile played on her lips.
“you know that’s a little unfair, right?” he shook his head, still smiling like he couldn’t quite believe how easily she had undone him.
“what is?” her eyebrows lifted slightly.
“because i spent hours planning all of this…” he gestured around them, the windblown blanket, the scattered remains of his carefully thought-out picnic, “and somehow you’re still the one who made it perfect.”
she laughed softly, and that sound alone made every failed attempt worth it.
he didn’t have anythung else to say—not one that wouldn’t give away just how much her words had gotten to him. instead, he lifted a hand to her face, his thumb brushing gently along her cheek as he looked at her for a moment longer, like he was trying to memorize the way she saw him.
then he leaned in.
the kiss started softly, almost like a quiet thank you, but he didn’t rush to pull away. his hand slipped from her cheek to the back of her neck, holding her close as he smiled against her lips, unable to hide how much lighter he felt.
when he finally pulled back, he stayed close, his forehead resting against hers.
“you really have no idea what you do to me, do you?” he whispered.
maybe he had been looking at everything wrong. maybe romance was never about the perfect flowers, the perfect dinner, or the perfect plan. maybe it was about the person sitting beside him after everything went wrong, still smiling like nothing had ever gone wrong at all.
and with her tucked safely against him, michael finally stopped trying to create the perfect moment.
after countless arguments, you think that taking a break might help you to find each other again, but he doesn't agree.
competition (the book is winning)
when olise just wants to spend time with his girlfriend, but a suspense book keeps stealing all of your attention during your summer trip.
hands off
a chelsea boy brings the nonchalance out of Olise
nonchalant my ass
pool
michael shares an intimate moment at the pool with you
the quiestest boy in france
Everyone in the France dressing room knows Michael Olise as the quiet one. Until one post-match phone call reveals there's exactly one person who can get him talking, and smiling, without even trying.
swollen lips
he's not very clingy but when he is, it's exhausting because he keeps kissing you too much until you have swollen lips.
talking to you
in which michael olise refuses to do a post match interview unless it’s with you.
too clingy
after the loss to spain in the world cup semi-finals, he became strangely clingy with you.
yellow card
michael received a yellow card during the france-paraguay game and you tease him about it.
Random buuuut what about an MC that is oblivious to them wanting to make love?
a/n: i went with the brothers, since i assume u meant them :3 sry they're a little short😓
cw: fluff, suggestive, mentions of sex, implied fem!reader in mammon's, one suicide joke in belphie's
brothers with an mc who is oblivious
lucifer
- he thinks it's endearing at first; how you never seem to understand what his wandering hands mean
- he kisses your neck, whispers into your ear how much he wants you, and you just go "but i'm right here!" for the love of diavolo PLEASE mc
- he loves to tease, so when you unintentionally deflect all his attempts through pure obliviousness he starts to get annoyed oopsie
- you're immune to his ways, and it forces him to be blunt with you. it's not that he's incapable of doing that, he just enjoys a bit of a game beforehand
- finally snaps one night during a makeout session and cages you underneath him in his bed after you fail to recognize the growing bulge in his pants
- leaves a slow, steadily painful bite in the skin of your shoulder as he growls about how much he needs to be inside you
- when he raises his head to see you flushed and wide-eyed, he almost feels bad for scaring you. almost, because not a second later your lips are on his again, hands pulling his own to your shirt hem
mammon
- is constantly walking around his room shirtless, usually in grey sweatpants, obscenely stretching and groaning and you are just. sitting on his bed :) not a care in the world :)
- eventually you ask if he wants a massage with all that noise he's making. he readily takes you up on this offer. finally, you're making a move!
- you beat the fuck out of his back.
- it wasn't really hurting to begin with, and now he isn't sure his muscles are even solid anymore. he thinks acupuncture would've been a more delightful experience, but he keeps that to himself with the way you're naively beaming at him
- tries to grope your chest when you cuddle. when you let him, it's because "they're pretty good stress balls haha :3" ur stressing his balls goddammit
- one night while you're watching a movie he takes your hand and brings it to his chest. slowly, slowly runs it down his body, keeping an eye on you the whole time
- he's like, 99% positive you want him too but that 1% keeps him from fully bringing your hand to his dick. he damn near cries tears of joy when you make the move yourself
leviathan
- yall ain't gettin nowhere ain't doin SHIT
- you're too oblivious to notice the way he blushes and squirms when you get too close, and he's too scared to tell you he's tryna fuck :(
- he's terrified you'll finally see his true, evil, perverted ways (okay guy) and leave him, so he wills his boners down through pure determination undertale reference
- you think he just doesn't want to have sex with you, which is upsetting, sure, but it's okay you love him anyways!! poor guy is jerking off to your smell on his hoodie every night
- it all comes to a head when you sit in his lap one night, the two of you on your bed as he shows you some new game on his handheld
- you shift just right and within a minute he's rock hard beneath you, despite his best efforts to think about gross things like vomit or Mammon's face
- he's immediately stuttering an apology until you grab his face and kiss him hard, muttering something against his lips about how "the only thing you should be apologizing for is not coming to me sooner"
satan
- out of all the brothers, i think he enjoys the "chase" the most. he finds a sense of satisfaction in figuring out what flusters you, using that to his advantage when trying to get you to notice his growing desire
- likes to play footsie with you when you study, or press his chest to your back when he grabs a book on a too-high self, just to see your face get heated
- picks out demon biology books that have... interesting illustrations to see if you get the hint. you don't, instead successfully memorizing the 17 parts of their reproductive systems
- as much as he enjoys toying with you, he's sure he'd enjoy being inside you way more. after one too many deflections in a day, his demon form peeks out
- he agitatedly snaps the tip of his tail against the ground, glaring daggers at anyone who dares to breathe in his vicinity
- you innocently ask him what's wrong, immediately going to calm him down as you normally would; hand on his chest, voice soft and sweet
- it's all too much for him though - the next thing you know he's got you pinned to the door of his bedroom, almost snarling into your skin all the things he's dreamed of doing to you
asmodeus
- oh you are KILLING him. he's, like, the horniest guy in all three worlds and you are somehow interpreting his hand on your ass as casual affection
- he could splay himself out naked on your bed, rose in his mouth, and you'd be like "omg cuddle time :3" he is losing. his. MIND.
- when he does skincare with you he insists on using this specific oil on your ass and thighs. you let him, because he's so caring and sweet and obviously it's just good for your skin!
- damn near bangs his head on the wall because he is literally groping you and you seemingly don't care
- there are times he knows he turns you on too, as the Avatar of Lust and all, but you still don't do anything about it
- you don't mention it, you don't make a move, and you don't return what is obviously sensual affection when he throws it your way! wtf mc >:(
- eventually plainly asks if you even want to have sex with him, pretty pout on his face, and you're like "wtf yes you just never made a move sigh😪"
- the entire Devildom heard him scream that day
beelzebub
- he is too much of a gentleman to throw himself onto you, as badly as he wants to. he's waiting for a big green light first
- can't help himself sometimes though; when he's carrying you bridal-style and you're staring up at him with those big doe eyes, telling him how you love how strong he is? boioioing
- during movie night, when you're sitting in his lap, he growls with each little movement you make. you assume it's his stomach and offer to get him more snacks. he cements his grip around your waist
- has broken the armrest of a chair by gripping his hands into it before. the reason? you sucking chocolate sauce off your fingers. he will probably do it again
- tries to get out all his frustration during workouts, except you insist on tagging along to be his spotter (like the weights he bench presses aren't 3x your size anyways)
- ends up with you underneath him as he does pushups, each one being rewarded with a kiss and your addictive smile
- he's half hard before he's done 10 pushups. his lips are halfway to yours before his dick gets to you first. needless to say, yall got in a different kind of training that night
belphegor
- probably gets irritated the quickest out of everyone. he wants you fully, like, yesterday
- he consistently gives you wet dreams about the two of you; everything he wishes he could do while you were awake, and then some
- when you wake up and don't even mention any dreams to him, he decides he simply has to up the ante. starts whispering innuendos to you before bed - every single one goes over your head bars
- purposefully does things he knows will piss you off, and then eggs you on to "punish" him. you decide on the silent treatment. he decides on suicide.
- wraps his tail around you when he's especially needy, and you just absentmindedly play with the fluffy end, fully unaware of how hot he's getting
- one night he falls asleep first as usual, spooning you; his arms tightly wrapped around you, full body pressed into yours
- he whimpers enough in his sleep for you to wake him up, worried he's having a nightmare. he reassures you it was quite the opposite, and asks - dick already hard - if he can show you just what his dream was about
·˚ when you bite down hard on them during intimacy₊˚⊹♡. ... their reactions ! ✶⋆.˚
°❀ featuring ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ .. trey, cater, leona, azul, jade, floyd, and vil !
....i kinda like my men pathetic. uhm. yay azul! ?? (aka this may seem ooc, but it's two am bro.) u can kinda see where i got lazy, enjoy freaks ! dw, im one too
✶⋆.˚ unedited writing, NSFW !
t. clover ༉‧₊˚.
with his fingers tangled in your hair, you lick up his thigh and place a gentle kiss close to his groin—your hands under his knees as he's spread wide for you on the bed.
just to be a little prick, seeing how turned on his was already getting without even taking your bottoms off, and him still in his boxers, you bite down on his soft skin. close to his inner thigh. his reaction was immediate.
a strong yet strained noise comes out of his lips, and trey bows his head down breathing heavily. your fingers gently trace along his waistband, biting your lip you stare up at him.
"you..." trey breathes, "are a naughty girl~" closing his legs to gently trap you between his thighs and dick, "you know, i thought i'd be the one to eat you out tonight..." he teases, "but you seem to be doing my job for me.."
you giggle slightly, a soft blush on your face as you slowly peel off his boxers.
c. diamond ༉‧₊˚.
you crawled between your boyfriend's legs, which were spread for you to squat between and rest your cheek against his bare thigh.
cater was seated above you on the bed, phone already in one hand and the other gently cupping your cheek, his thumb brushing over your lip. you didn't even touch him yet, and he was already whimpering at your presence.
you decided to make yourself the one to humiliate yourself, you wanted revenge. instead of sucking him off immediately, you open your mouth just to bite into his inner thigh, teeth marks a deep shade of red on his skin.
"oh~OwHwA!!— heyyy!"
this man pouts, actually pouts. his fingers now curled around your hair as he leaned close, ignoring the sting on his thigh.
"ngh, come on! m'sorry for making fun of you baby, but please! just fuck me already, you don't even have to suck me anymore!"
pathetic.
l. kingscholar ༉‧₊˚.
it all started with you simply trying to wake him up because he promised you a date night; yet of course, leona convinced you to stay in bed with him. once stripped from your shirt and jeans, only left in your bra and underwear, the prince took his time leaning you into a comfortable position before getting you between his legs.
with him bare before you, legs spread and fingers in your hair, you left side kisses along his thigh to warm him up. how utterly foolish of you—he grumbles for you to hurry up.
you did not take that tone lightly, at all.
with a sudden anger you bit down hard against his thigh, not even in a soft way—just a rough, hard chomp on his skin. teeth marks stained his leg as he lets out a strained groan, chest heavy and body suddenly super hot.
"o-oi!" he growls, "you got a death wish?! ah-do that again and i'll-nmh-break your damn back...holy-fuck!!
a. ashengrotto ༉‧₊˚.
you convinced him to have office sex, and it was pretty easy. there was no one to bother him, no meetings or clients—jade and floyd handling the lounge this hour, and having more time with you?
azul just couldn't say no when he finally saw you under his desk, spreading his legs slowly apart and unzipping his pants. azul bites his lip, pen shaking in his hands when you kissed him. soft, lips gentle and almost about to do it again—until you got an idea.
just to be a brat, to hear him moan and struggle to cover it up, you bite his thigh. hard, leaving a mark as you pulled away. azul slams his face into the table, hat fallen to the floor beside you and his body sweating.
he let out soft moans as you continued to bite him gently, starting from his knee and up his length. you loved hearing the sound of his pathetic moans.
j. leech ༉‧₊˚.
you wanted something different, something exciting. and when you propose this idea to jade, he couldn't refuse with that awfully adorable look on your face. and it was worth seeing it between his legs, sitting before him in nothing but your matching set you bought just for him.
he loves seeing you in lingerie that's his favorite color. he's already turned on, you haven't even touched him yet. he's honestly about to become a wreck.
you pulled down his boxers and kissed down his stomach and to his base, your fingers curled under his knees to keep him spread apart.
you finally bite down on his skin, wet and cold, you pull back to see the mark you left. and when you glanced back up at you boyfriend he was already face stuffed with a pillow, pathetic noises leaking out as you finally sucked him off.
f. leech ༉‧₊˚.
he got bored of the same old positions, hence why everyday time you do it you're left with a sore back. this timez floyd wanted to be bottom and have you top him.
it got him all excited he was stripped before you were, but you told him to keep his boxers on, to which he reluctantly did. pouting the entire time you teased him, he hated it. he barked at you to get on with it, to suck him off or finger him, WHATEVER.
"shrimpyyy, hurry up! your burning daylight over here~" He whined, arching his hips close to your lips.
getting fed up with his consent complaining, you bite down on his thigh, just close enough to his dick and he howled. that just pissed him off even more, but when you started to flutter gently kisses and throw in a few rough sucks—he suddenly forgot his own damn name.
v. schoenheit ༉‧₊˚.
vil grips your chin to gently force you to look at you, your body sat comfortably between his legs, head between his thighs, spread wide for you on the bed.
you were teasing him with kisses, soft and playful, gently tickling him as he grumbled about how naughty your are acting. edging him on this way, making him wait.
once you finally get enough, you leaned down to bite his thigh playfully—first gentle, and then rough. vil yells shortly, squishing your head between his thighs to glare down at you.
"look at me," he breathed, once again forcing you to stare up at him, your eyes met his glossy ones. "How uncouth, biting me like that all of a sudden. I think i deserve an apology, don't you think?
