If there was one part of soccer Sae didn't care for, it was the mindless interviews.
A post-match interview? Fine.
A sponsorship shoot? Tolerable.
One of those painfully awkward videos where they sat professional athletes in front of puppies and expected them to reveal their deepest secrets?
Absolutely not.
Most interviews followed the same formula.
'How does it feel to score?'
'What's your workout routine?'
'Who inspires you?'
Questions that have been asked a thousand times and would be asked another thousand after, so when Sae entered the media room after his match, he was already halfway checked out.
The journalists sat in neat rows, hands poised over notebooks and laptops, waiting for their turn. The first few questions went exactly as expected.
"How do you feel about today's victory?"
"It was expected."
"What do you think separated your team from the opposition?"
"We played better."
The room collectively deflated with every short answer.
Good.
Maybe they'd end this faster.
Then someone spoke from the third row.
"During the second half, you stopped making overlapping runs and started occupying deeper spaces."
Sae's eyes shifted.
You weren't even looking at your notes.
You were looking directly at him.
"The commentators said it was because the opposing midfield was pressing higher," you continued. "But from where I was sitting, it looked more like you were baiting their defensive line into stepping forward."
Several reporters blinked.
One quietly stopped typing.
Sae tilted his head.
For the first time all afternoon.
"...Go on."
The moderator looked surprised.
You didn't.
"When their center-backs stepped up, they left space behind them. Twenty-three minutes later, your through ball created the winning goal."
You glanced at your notebook.
"Was that adjustment planned before the match, or was it something you recognized in real time?"
The room fell silent.
Because that wasn't a fan question.
It wasn't a tabloid question.
It was a gameplay question.
And a good one.
Sae leaned back in his chair.
"It wasn't planned."
A few heads snapped toward him.
Long answers were apparently a rare event.
"Their right center-back kept abandoning his position whenever their midfielder lost possession."
You nodded immediately.
"The number four?"
"Yeah."
You scribbled something down, it wasn't anything of substance you just wanted to look a little more put together.
Sae found himself watching you longer than necessary.
"Did you notice it before halftime?" you asked.
"I noticed it after twelve minutes."
A slight pause, "You?"
"About seventeen."
One of the reporters nearly dropped his pen.
Sae stared then, unexpectedly, a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Slow."
A few journalists looked genuinely horrified.
You simply shrugged.
"I wasn't on the field."
The moderator looked like he had accidentally wandered into a private conversation.
The rest of the interview continued similarly.
Every question you asked dug deeper.
It was like there was no one else in the room. No other interviewer dared to ask a question, likely because they were trying to write down everything he was telling you.
Not once did you ask about his dating life.
Not once did you ask who he was friends with.
Not once did you ask him to rank teammates or reveal embarrassing stories.
And for perhaps the first time in years, Sae found himself answering because he wanted to.
By the end of the interview, he'd spent nearly twenty minutes speaking almost exclusively to you.
Something that didn't go unnoticed.
As the session wrapped up, the moderator thanked everyone for attending.
Most reporters immediately packed their things.
You did too, no attempt to linger or a request for a photo, you just grabbed your bag and left.
۶ৎ
Sae watched you leave.
"...What's her name?"
The moderator nearly choked.
"The journalist?"
"Obviously."
The man blinked then told him. He felt so starstruck that Sae Itoshi was talking to him that he handed him a card with the name of your company and some of your contact information.
Sae committed it to memory before standing and walking away.
Across social media, clips from the interview exploded within hours.
'WHY WAS SAE ACTUALLY TALKING???'
'HE ANSWERED IN FULL SENTENCES.'
'Who is that reporter???'
'Not him smiling because she challenged him.'
'Did anyone else catch him asking for her name after the interview????'
'SAE ITOSHI YOU ARE NOT SLICK.'
Even the players noticed.
The next morning, Sae walked into training to find several teammates waiting.
With grins.
Dangerous grins.
"Good morning, Sae," Shidou sang.
Sae immediately turned around.
"No."
"You don't even know what I'm going to say."
"Yes, I do."
"That journalist seemed nice."
Sae kept walking.
"She understood soccer."
The entire locker room erupted.
He'd never admit it, but they were right. He did remember you and he already told his manager and publicist that you were the only person he wanted to be interviewed by for the foreseeable future.
I got an AU idea that I really want to share, but I don’t know if I should post anything about it yet. I have a summary and a prologue written, but I don’t know how people will react to it. So here’s what I’m gonna do. I am going to attach the summary to my AU here and if you have suggestions or comments, feel free to let me know. I’m open to input. Feel free to ask questions as well! Thank you!
…
After his mother’s death, Adrien’s father reveals he is going to become Hawkmoth. The reason; to get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous to save his mother. However, when he’s given the Miraculous of the Black Cat, Adrien must decide where his allegiance lies, towards his father, or towards his newfound crush, his partner. When pressures begin to heighten, Adrien must make a choice. Will it be the right one?
For the most part, Isagi was pretty chill when he wasn't playing soccer, so it didn't take long for him to tell his teammates about his girlfriend.
"Yeah like we're supposed to believe that." Barou scoffed when Isagi told them about the date he had planned for the two of you after practice.
"What? I can afford to take my girlfriend out to dinner." Isagi countered with an annoyed expression on his face.
"No not that..." Chigiri mumbled, "You having a girlfriend."
Looking around the room, now Isagi was confused. He saw himself as the most normal one out of the group.
✩ Lockscreen S. Nagi
If Nagi had to be described in one word, it'd be a screenager.
It was at a team meeting and Nagi's phone was on the charger, that's when his screen lit up with a notification.
"Uh Nagi? Who's this?" Hiori asked, looking at the woman on his wallpaper. Turning over he simply said, "my girlfriend."
"Oh Y/N? She's really pretty..." Reo added, smiling at the picture.
"Hey," He yawned, "only I can say that." But he didn't really care. It was true, you were pretty and he was more shocked no one knew about you beforehand.
✩ Hickeys R. Itoshi
Rin barely talked to his teammates. If it wasn't about soccer or their skills he didn't give a damn.
When they were trying on their away kits for the upcoming match he was reminded as to why he ignored them so often.
"Ooh Rin~ Looks like you have a monster of your own hmm?" Bachira chuckled. And before Rin could roll his eyes and ask what the tepid loser was on about, he got a good look at himself in the mirror.
Damn your little thigh kink.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't call her a monster." Rin scoffed, before putting on the shorts with haste.
"You mean you found someone to date you..?" Isagi laughed, "poor girl."
"You saw what my thighs look like, imagine hers." He muttered, leaving the locker room and leaving the boys inside of it surprised as hell.
There was nothing his girl was lacking.
✩ Engagement ring S. itoshi
Like his brother, Sae didn't interact much with his teammates unless it was deemed necessary. It wasn't in a malicious way, he just felt like they had nothing to offer so he felt there was no need in talking to them.
Usually after practice Sae showered, changed, grabbed his bag and headed home.
And he did the same thing happened today, except there was one thing different.
This time he took a second to slip on a gold Cartier band onto his finger before grabbing his bag to leave.
"Sae Itoshi." Aiku walked over to him with an amused look on his face, "You're engaged?"
That caught the attention of everyone else changing in the room.
"Yeah." Was all he said as he turned on his heel to leave.
"Wait," He grabbed his shoulder, "we didn't even know you were seeing anyone."
"Why would you, It's not like it's any of your business." And with that he left, leaving the other U-20 players to think.
How in the world did Sae find someone to put up with his attitude?
part 2
i lowk forget i write for fandoms other than gachiakuta so here's your sign to SEND IN REQUESTS.
⋆୨୧ rin meets you for the first time... in sae's bed
sae x reader
Rin was in Spain to visit his brother. It was the first time he had been to his apartment which was why he was currently in a state of confusion.
He was sure he was in the wrong place.
There was a fluffy pink blanket folded on the couch, a mug with flowers all over it drying in the kitchen and most surprisingly, breathing sounds coming from a bedroom.
He slowly opened the bedroom door and saw you sleeping in the bed. A picture of you was on the left nightstand, there was a Re Al jacket on the dresser and upon further inspection you were cuddling... a Sae plush?!
Yeah. He was clearly in the wrong apartment.
He was in Spain after all and he knew his brother was famous. Most people in Spain were Re Al fans anyway. His key just worked for another apartment! Yep! That was the case.
Rin stepped outside and called his brother.
"Sae... It's apartment 1114, right?"
"Yeah, Is the key not working? Y/N should be there, just ring the doorbell. She can let you in."
"Y/N?"
"Yes, she's my girlfriend."
"Oh... Uh, nevermind."
Rin hung up, walked back in the apartment, sat on the couch and sighed.
He really needed to learn more about his brother and his new life in Spain.
Kaiser wasn't necessarily hiding you away, he just wasn't advertising the fact that the two of you were dating.
As egosistic as he was, there was a small part of him that felt like if his teammates knew about you, you'd leave him for one of them and that was a reality he refused to live in.
You guys had been dating for around two years now and aside from the one off media sightings he had successfully hidden you from everyone... except Alexis who was the one that set the two of you up.
After a practice, Kaiser had just gotten out of the shower, his towel wrapped loosely around his waist revealing a blue ink tattoo of your initials inside of a rose near his groin.
"New ink?" Alexis asked, slapping Kaiser on the shoulder.
Of course he was the one to expose your relationship to the team, he was also the only person besides the two of you who knew why he wanted to keep it a secret.
That's when Isagi turned around to look, "What do those letters stand for?"
"They're Y/N's right? That's so cool man." Alexis asked, was he being dense on purpose or was he just trying to rile him up.
"Who's Y/N?" Another player asked.
And while part of him wanted to slam the door to his locker and walk away he sighed, you'd been with him for two years. If you were going to leave him it wouldn't be over this.
"Mein Liebling..."
"Seriously? Someone actually likes you?" Isagi laughed, but stopped when he saw Kaiser running after him with a metal water bottle in hand.
✩ Gym Bag H. Chigiri
The boys were bored waiting for Ego to have the team meeting with them so they decided to play a game where they went around and said what was in their bags.
For the most part, it was normal things like hair ties, extra socks and shoes or the occasional good luck charm given to them by someone special.
And Chigiri's was the same, except for the frilly pink makeup bag with your initials that he pulled out.
"Yo?" Eita raised an eyebrow, "and you say you aren't feminine."
Chigiri rolled his eyes and threw a towel at him, "It's not mine, It's my girlfriend's."
"Girlfriend you say?" Karasu walked over and threw an arm over his shoulder, "pics or it didn't happen." The rest of the people in the gym nodded in agreement.
Reluctantly he opened his camera roll and showed them all pictures of you, to flex and to prove that you were real. And as annoyed as he pretended to be, he loved seeing them drool over the girl none of them could have but him.
✩ House S. Barou
Barou didn't really like having people over at his apartment. While he was friends and rivals with some of his teammates he also knew their cleanliness patterns and his place was immaculate. He didn't want those goons in his sanctuary of cleanliness.
They were on the way to a restaurant when a bird pooped on Isagi's shoulder, "what the hell? Sorry guys, I think I'm gonna have to sit this one out." He groaned trying not to gag.
Though he didn't want to, he also didn't want to miss out on updates from his biggest rival.
"My complex is up the street, you can borrow one of my shirts."'
"Are you gonna show us where you keep your maid outfits?" Nagi asked in his monotoned voice as he followed the group, eyes glued to his phone.
"I'm gonna push your donkey ass into some train tracks."
✩
Once they made it inside Barou glared at the group, "Shoes off and don't mess up anything... I'll be right back."
The apartment was decorated pleasantly nice. They expected it to be white walls and furniture with a hospital vibe, but instead it was very warm.
"Hey Isagi, take a look at this," Nagi said, picking your pink mug with bunny ears, "I think we were right about Barou secretly working at a maid cafe."
Isagi laughed and looked at the shoe rack near the door, "sure, but how can we explain these shoes?" He asked, picking up a pair of sandals.
"These are way too small for Barou ."
"Probably because they're not mine." Barou groaned, "They're my wife's."
"Wife?!"
"How come you've never mentioned her before?" Isagi asked, looking all over the living room for more traces of you.
Barou handed him the shirt and sighed, "I have, the two of you are just so self absorbed you never noticed?"
"Really?" Nagi asked.
✩ Reposts R. Shidou
"Soooo Shidou, are you in fantasy land again? Why are all your reposts about a relationship?" Sendou asked, showing his phone screen which was on Shidou'sTikTok page.
"The only thing I'm dreaming about is being in her pussy," Shidou laughed, dreaming about the last time the two of you were together.
"So you actually have a girlfriend?" Aiku raised a brow, "like she's not just a hookup?"
The thought of you being reduced to something as small and irrelevant as a hookup sent a feeling of rage through the striker's body.
It didn't bother him at all what they said or thought about him, but he didn't play when it came to you. So he grabbed a stray ball and chucked it at Aiku who caught it with an amused expression.
"I see it's someone serious then?" He tossed the ball to the floor then opened the app to see the reposts himself.
Sae, who'd be silently watching the whole thing sighed, "she's definitely real, this demon texts me about her constantly."
Shidou showed one of his creepy smiles, "And yet you don't respond to any of them..."
Sendou scrolled more and then he came across one that was about a one year anniversary and his face dropped into an unreadable expression.
"You mean this dunce has held down a relationship for a year and I can't even get a girlfriend? What's the catch? She's like ugly or something right?"
Shidou laughed and showed him a picture of you that he found to be the most beautiful.
"Aw hell."
I'm feeling so inspired... I've been writing so much recently I hope y'all enjoy
"Oh my gosh! It's all wrong," you fell to your knees in tears.
Sae, who had been making dinner in the kitchen, immediately abandoned the stove at the sound of your voice. He rounded the corner far quicker than he normally would have, his heart sinking as a dozen worst-case scenarios flashed through his mind.
"Amor?" he asked, kneeling beside you. "What happened?"
"Our living room is so ugly," you choked out, gesturing dramatically toward the furniture you'd rearranged into what had to be its fifteenth layout of the day.
Sae stared at you, then he looked around the room.
The couch sat a few feet to the left. The coffee table had been rotated. A lamp had somehow ended up across the room. It was a mess, but you were freaking out so he couldn't admit that just yet.
"...What?"
"It doesn't work!" you cried. "None of it works. The couch is too big, the rug washes everything out, and don't even get me started on those stupid pillows."
His gaze drifted to the throw pillows you'd bought together nearly a year ago. "The beige ones?"
"They're awful."
"You picked those," He tried to hide a smirk.
"I know!" you groaned, dropping your face into your hands. "I had terrible taste."
Sae let out a quiet sigh before crouching in front of you, gently pulling your hands away from your face. "I think it looks fine."
"No, you don't."
"I do."
"You're lying because you love me."
He smirked as he rubbed your back, "..maybe."
Despite everything, a watery laugh escaped you as you wiped away tears.
"There she is," he murmured, brushing his thumb beneath your eye to catch another tear before it could fall. "Feel better?"
"No."
You looked around the room again before fresh tears immediately welled in your eyes.
"It's still ugly."
"You're crying again."
"I know!"
For a moment, neither of you spoke.
Sae simply watched you.
You'd never been one to cry easily. Frustrated? Sure. Annoyed? Definitely. But crying over furniture?
That wasn't like you.
Neither was crying because the café had run out of your favorite muffin three days ago. Or getting irritated enough to argue with him over whether clouds looked "too perfect."
At first, he'd assumed you were overwhelmed from work.
"Can I ask you something?"
You sniffled, nodding.
"When was your last period?"
The question caught you completely off guard.
"What?"
"Your last period."
You opened your mouth, already prepared to answer.
"...It was..."
You frowned and glanced toward the calendar hanging on the wall, then toward your phone resting on the coffee table.
Sae watched as you unlocked your phone with shaky hands.
You opened your calendar and started counting backwards.
Counted again.
Your breathing became noticeably quieter.
"There's no way."
He didn't say anything.
Didn't want to.
You looked up at him, your eyes impossibly wide.
"I... I'm late."
"How late?"
"Almost three weeks."
The room suddenly felt impossibly still.
You stared at each other for several long seconds, neither of you quite ready to say the thought hanging between you. Sae reached over and gently took your hand.
His voice was calm, the same steady tone he used whenever he wanted to keep you grounded.
"Let's not jump to conclusions."
You nodded quickly.
"Okay."
"But," He gave your hand a small squeeze, "I think we should buy a test."
You searched his face, looking for panic, fear, uncertainty.
Instead, all you found was quiet reassurance.
You let out a nervous laugh. "I just had a complete breakdown over pillows."
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"If you're pregnant," His eyes flickered toward the living room before meeting yours again. "our child is going to hear a funny story about this someday."
You laughed through the tears that had somehow returned, leaning forward until your forehead rested against his shoulder. "They really are ugly."
"I'll buy new ones tomorrow."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
His hand settled against the back of your head as he held you close. "But if replacing a few pillows makes you smile again..."
He pressed a gentle kiss to your temple.
"...then I'd say it's worth it."
& tysm for 1k followers, i can't believe that many people read and enjoy my lil ficssssss.
Feel free to ask me any questions you may have since there are so many new people!!
WAGS ☆ wives and girlfriends of professional athletes
THE MEDIA ☆ has been dying to know more about the partners of their favorite athletes
FEATURING ☆ sae itoshi, rin itoshi, and yoichi isagi
☆ Sae Itoshi
Ever since Sae had announced your engagement fans and haters alike were dying to learn more about you.
It was easy to find your Instagram since he tagged you, but you quickly privated it. The most they got to see was your profile picture which was you holding a jellycat and a bio that read, "Future RN ˚.⋆"
You weren't being hidden, but Sae barely posted anyway so his private life was a mystery and now you were being included in it. But, if there was one thing about him it was that he was proud of you.
A few months after his engagement post, he posted a photo dump of you on your graduation with an uncharacteristically long caption talking about how proud of you he was and how much you were loved.
Like all his posts, this one blew up. The top comments were from his teammates, congratulating you and in Shidou's case, flirting with you, but a majority of the comments were loving this side of the midfielder.
Like always there was a large part that hated you.
A few days later Sae had a post match interview where someone asked about you.
"And your girlfriend, she's just passed the NCLEX exam right?"
This was a question that put a soft smile on Sae's face, "yeah, my fiancée? She's amazing."
A clip that silenced a shit ton of haters and was used in so many edits people thought it was from an anime.
☆ Rin Itoshi
You were a pilates instructor at an upscale studio in Tokyo and you had quite a following before people knew you and Rin were together.
Many people saw you as an it girl of sorts. You had five hundred thousand followers on TikTok and Instagram and you even had your own drink at a local coffee shop.
A lot of people figured you were dating a soccer player with your influx of "GRWM" posts for games, though some just thought you were doing it to gain some more followers you knew the truth.
Rin being as private as he was, was 100% okay with your wish of getting eloped.
Your family wasn't around, Rin wasn't as close with Sae as he once was and there was no way in hell he'd have his "lukewarm teammates" be at one of the most important events of his life.
You wore your ring in every picture and video you posted, but you never answered questions about it and overtime people just assumed it was a part of your life you wanted to keep private.
This all changed when you posted a photo dump with a simple caption that read, "life lately."
The dump started with a picture of you instructing a class, pretty scenery, shopping, a picture of you and Rin on the day you got married and the last picture was his hand holding your growing belly.
Quickly, the news of Rin being married and having a baby on the way went viral.
People couldn't understand how Rin managed to get married and how he hid it for so long.
"I told you, you don't wear your ring enough," you teased one night as you guys were sitting on the couch together and reading comments.
Rin clicked his teeth and rubbed your belly, "I hate when you read those things." But when he saw you pout he pressed a soft kiss to your head, "You know I don't wear it to games or practices..."
"...but I can start for you."
From that day on, at all of his matches and practices he wore a silicon black band on his ring finger.
Even though he could come off as cold and uncaring he'd do anything he could for his wife and your future kid.
☆ Yoichi Isagi
You were one of the most loved WAGS in the sports. You were at every game, you never spoke negatively about other teams or players and you had a life outside your husband.
Something that wasn't super common.
One time you and Bachira's wife were getting swarmed by paparazzi before a big game.
"Y/N! Keiko! Over here!" One person yelled, their cameras so close in your face.
"Can you guys lean in together for a pic?"
You kept smiling. It wasn't forced. You'd learned a long time ago that the cameras never disappeared, so fighting them only made things worse.
Keiko leaned toward you with an exhausted laugh. "Why do I feel like we're the ones playing today?"
"Because apparently we are," you whispered back.
A microphone suddenly appeared inches from your face.
"Ooo, Yoichi is not going to like that."
"There's been a lot of online discourse about wives distracting players. What's your opinion?"
You didn't even hesitate.
"I think if someone's relationship is distracting them from doing their job, that's between them. But supporting the person you love shouldn't ever be viewed as a distraction."
"Now excuse us."
Once the two of you finally made it inside, the rest of the game went as expected with their team winning. When you met up with Isagi he had already seen the clip of the reporter sticking a microphone in your face that almost made you fall down.
"I can't believe that fucker pushed you," he said through gritted teeth.
"Babe, it's okay... I'm not hurt." He looked over you, scanning your body to ensure you were okay.
He pulled you with him as he went up to the reporters outside the players tunnels.
"Hey!" He shouted, all cameras and reporters faced the two of you.
"I'm only going to say this once, any of you do something to harm her again and I can assure you that you'll never step foot in another stadium again." Isagi didn't wait for anyone to respond, and carried you out of the room and to the car waiting for you guys.
"Yoi... you're so dramatic."
He put his head on your shoulder and wrapped his arms around you as best as he could with his seatbelt on, "that pissed me off so much I didn't even get to check in with you."
"I'm fine, I just wish the paps would lay off me a bit."
☆
The next day tons of athletes and their partners were reposting what Isagi had said and showing their support.
Sae's interest in you didn't end after that interview. A few days later you noticed the influx of followers, and your boss and coworkers were sending you countless articles about your interview with Sae. In the sports journalism world, you were a budding star.
It was late, you'd just made it into your apartment and you didn't know if it was the lack of sleep, or a sense of hubris granted by all the people gassing you up, but you decided to slide into Sae's dms.
A lot of famous figures and influencers have people who check who they're following religiously and Sae was no different.
It also didn't help that he only followed 10 so It was extremely obvious when he followed or unfollowed someone, not to mention the only people who he followed was his brother, his teams, Shidou, Adidas and a very popular soccer updates page that players and fans alike followed, and now you.
"The Sae Itoshi, Genius midfielder followed me? Hm..." You laughed after sending it, not expecting anything to come from it, but surprisingly he responded almost instantly.
"What can I say, I find you intriguing."
"Intriguing enough to give me another interview?"
And that's how you ended up in Sae's house, which was decorated quite beautifully and way nicer than you expected.
"Did you hire a designer?" You asked as you followed him into the living room, taking note of lack of typical bachelor pad features.
"What surprised I don't have a condom vending machine in my kitchen?" He smirked as he sat down next to you.
You wanted to pinch yourself. It was a stroke of luck that Nakamura, your boss, let you represent your company for the post match interview.
Even more so that you said something that caught Sae's attention and led you all the way here.
"Okay, since you're honestly doing me a favor I'll let you pick, would you like to do a recorded one, or one where I transcribe everything." He pretended to think then leaned back on the couch.
"You can record it, I know It'll boost your popularity some more."
You nodded, gaining traction was good, but it also came with a flood of Sae fangirls and boys who seemed personally offended by the fact that he acknowledged your existence.
The funny thing was that none of them actually knew him.
And right now, none of them were sitting in his living room.
You adjusted yourself on the couch and started the recording on your phone, placing it carefully on the coffee table between the two of you.
"Ready?" You asked.
Sae glanced at the device before looking back at you, "whenever you are."
The interview started the way they always did. Questions about the season, his performances, his goals moving forward. The standard topics every journalist covered.
What surprised you wasn't the content of his answers, but how willing he was to give them.
Most reporters were lucky to get a sentence out of him. You'd watched enough press conferences to know that. Sae usually looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
But here, in the quiet of his house, he seemed relaxed.
He answered thoughtfully, occasionally leaning back against the couch as he spoke. Sometimes he'd challenge the wording of your questions, eliciting some playful banter. Other times he'd ask what I thought before giving his own answer.
At some point, the interview stopped feeling like work.
The recording was still running, but neither of us seemed particularly focused on it anymore.
"Do you ever get tired of all the attention?" You asked eventually.
His eyes lifted from where he'd been absentmindedly turning a water bottle in his hands.
"The media attention?"
"Any attention."
He considered it for a moment.
"I like yours."
There was something unexpectedly honest about the way he said it.
The Sae everyone knew was composed, intimidating, impossible to read. The player who dominated headlines and made impossible passes look effortless.
The person sitting across from you felt different. Still confident. Still frustratingly self-assured, but human.
"You mean there's more to Sae Itoshi than being annoyingly talented?" You giggled.
His mouth twitched, "Hard to believe, I know."
"Very."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
The sound surprised you enough that you almost forgot your next question.
𝜗𝒞
The interview eventually drifted to a natural end nearly an hour later.
You reached forward and stopped the recording.
"Well," You said, stretching slightly. "That'll definitely make my editor happy."
"Only your editor?"
You looked up.
His gaze was already on you.
"Maybe me too."
Something softened in his expression.
The room settled into a comfortable silence.
It should've felt awkward.
Instead, it felt strangely familiar.
Like sitting across from each other and talking for hours was becoming normal. The realization made your stomach do something embarrassing.
Because when had that happened?
When had Sae stopped being just another athlete you interviewed?
And when had you stopped looking forward to your conversations purely for professional reasons?
"Can I ask you something?" he said suddenly.
You raised an eyebrow.
"Depends."
"Give me your number," He unlocked his phone and held it out toward me. "I don't check Instagram that often."
When you handed it back, Sae immediately saved it and sent a text.
A second later your phone buzzed.
xxx-xxx-xxxx
You looked down, then back up at him.
"I like efficiency."
"Of course you do."
The smile on his face lingered for a second longer than usual.
He walked you toward the door, and for some reason neither of you seemed in a hurry.
The conversation continued in fragments as you crossed the place.
Small comments.
Easy observations.
The kind of things people talked about when they weren't ready for the interaction to end.
When you reached the door you figured that was it.
Interview over.
Another successful evening.
Except it didn't feel like the end of an interview anymore, it felt like leaving a friend.
The thought startled you.
Then Sae spoke.
"You have anything planned for the rest of the day?" Did he not want you to leave?
"No, I was just going to edit this a bit."
"Then stay here with me... just for a little bit."
𝜗𝒞
A little bit, right?
Well who knew a little bit would turn into him thrusting into you.
"Fuck, if I knew you were this tight I would've invited you over sooner." He grunted as he pushed your hair out of your face, "you're so beautiful, y'know that right?"
You scoffed, "you already got me in bed, there's no need to flatter me." This made him stop and lift up your chin so that you were holding eye contact with you.
"I never lie, and I don't sleep around."
That was true. In every interview Sae had he was blunt. He didn't make little white lies or decline to answer to keep a positive feeling in the room.
"Yeah... I know," you agree as he moves down to kiss you.
This was crazy. You were having sex with a star athlete who everyone else saw as cold and rude with an iron wall up.
Guess it went down for you.
Now, after a nice warm shower together you both were laying in his bed with sheets you knew costed more than your monthly rent.
"You did such a good job," he kissed your forehead. He was being uncharacteristically soft, or maybe he was always like this and the media just didn't know.
You leaned into his touch, "so is this how all of our interviews will end?"
Sae rolled his eyes and kissed you again, "well, I have to score on and off the field."
TYSM for 900 followers! I tried to add a little steaminess as a ty but I forgot I CANNOTTTT write smut to save my life...
