#sae itoshi reader insert

[3rdgymbros]

━ 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧.

— pairing; itoshi sae x blue lock manager! reader  

— summary; in which you thirst over your ex, sae, because he's always been unfairly attractive. set in the blue lock manager au.

— notes; please donate to my kofi if you like my work. and know that i am mentally smooching everyone who reblogs my stuff.

❋ Pause, stop. Rewind: You and Sae dated back in Spain when you were managing his team at Re Al, but things fell apart when your parents (and you, by extension), returned to Japan to help fund the Blue Lock program.

❋ Now fast-forward: You’re now the unofficial manager of Blue Lock, which means dealing with a bunch of noisy, smelly teenage boys and their chaotic brand of nonsense.

❋ It’s a week before the Blue Lock Eleven dukes it out with the U-20 team, and you’re alone in the empty monitor room (or so you think), pulling up profiles of the players and compiling detailed reports to give your boys an edge.

❋ You’ve been notified that Sae Itoshi’s the star player in this match, and you’re determined not to react when you see your exes’ name on the list. But that train of thought just about goes out the window when you pull up his updated stats and media photos.

❋ Shirtless training shots, candid pictures of him mid-game, and oh no, a magazine spread for Sports Illustrated?! His muscles, his stance, his glare — it all hits you at once, and you let out a moan.

❋ A real, good to honest MOAN.

“Wait. Hold on. How the hell did he get hotter?!” “Oh God, oh God . . .” “This is so UNFAIR!” “Did he change his skincare routine?! He’s practically glowing in that picture . . .”  “His arms — Ugh, he could probably bench press me now. Not that I’d want him to . . . Okay, fine, I want him to." “His butt. His butt! Did he always have — no, no, it wasn’t this nice before. It’s gotta be new. What, did he get a new workout routine? A new trainer? Is he squatting? HE’S GOTTA BE SQUATTING, I’M CALLING IT NOW." “Oh my God, his thighs. His THIGHS! Those could crush a watermelon — and, like, my skull too, apparently. What the hell, Sae?!”

❋ Finally, after a particularly loud exclamation of, “Did he just know we’d see these pictures? Did he get hotter on purpose?! Curse you, Itoshi Sae!”, you hear the unmistakable sound of someone clearing their throat behind you.

❋ And Ego’s voice, dryer than the Sahara, cuts through the sudden silence. “Manager-chan . . . I’m still in the room. And I’m going to vomit.”

❋ Cue you almost falling out of your chair, because you had no idea that he was still in the room all this time, listening to your crazed ranting.

❋ “YOU LEFT! I thought you left!”

❋ “I wish I had.”

❋ You think that this is punishment enough, but apparently, Ego doesn’t share your sentiments. His glasses flash ominously as he continues, and all the while, you want the ground to swallow you whole.

“In the future, kindly keep your . . . Comments about Itoshi Sae to yourself. Unless you’d like me to forward your thoughts to him personally." “You wouldn’t dare.” “Try me.”

[3rdgymbros]

━ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈, 𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.

— pairing; itoshi sae x reader  

— summary; in which you and sae meet again in japan after a messy breakup in spain. set in the blue lock manager au.

— notes; please donate to my kofi if you like my work. and know that i am mentally smooching everyone who reblogs my stuff.

❋ It’s not really something you like to broadcast, how you and Sae were close when you were in Spain with your parents for that brief, wonderful period of time. While he honed his skills with football, you would balance your studies while helping out at Re Al.

❋ Things had been so simple back then. Late-night walks in Madrid, your fingers intertwined with his. Sneaking kisses in quiet corners, away from prying eyes. Sharing popsicles and everything else. Sae was cold to the rest of the world, his softness reserved entirely for you.

❋ You were each other’s first everything — first kiss, first love, first heartbreak.

❋ Some part of you had to have known that this was only temporary, considering how often your parents travel for work. But it still comes as a shock to you when you parents abruptly decide to return to Japan to help fund the Blue Lock project.

❋ And Sae, so full of potential. Sae, whose career is finally taking off. You aren’t about to let him leave it behind; and Sae, too driven, too focused on his dreams, wasn’t about to throw it all away and return to Japan either. Not like this. Not for you.

❋ You hadn’t expected to see him at the airport to see you off. Sae’s expression was closed off, and it was like the two of you were strangers once again, the distance and silence already stretching endlessly between you. As if your relationship had never existed in the first place.

❋ The breakup was messy, yet silent. Both of you knew instinctively that this was the end. And just before Sae left without looking back, his final words to you were, “If you’re going, don’t expect me to wait.”

❋ The last image you have of him is his retreating figure, back rigid, leaving as the words die on your lips.

❋ And that was that.

❋ You’d returned to Japan with your parents to work as a manager at Blue Lock (Ego had agreed to take you in under the promise of free labour, apparently). Ego’s lectures aren’t fun, but you’re actually learning something under him and Anri when you’re not being driven insane by a group of rowdy, immature teenaged boys.

❋ You try really hard not to think about Sae. Even if the occasional headline reminds you of his burgeoning career in Europe. But the memory of him is a quiet ache in your chest that surfaces in random moments — when you see the colour teal, or hear a song he’d used to like.

❋ You’ve been to JFA headquarters only once or twice before, but it’s bustling with activity as always. Your purpose here is purely business; you’ll act as a secretary for Ego and Anri while they finalize plans for the U20 match with the top brass.

❋ You didn’t think that he’d be there.

❋ Right at that very moment.

❋ In that very room.

❋ Fate is cruel, sometimes.

❋ He looks . . . The same, yet somehow different all at once. His hair’s a little longer, his expression sharper, but those piercing green eyes haven’t changed at all, and the realisation makes your chest throb painfully all over again.

❋ You wonder how you appear to him, underneath your professional blazer and veneer of carefully controlled calm. Does he think you still look the same? Or does he think that you’ve changed, become a total stranger to him, much like how he is to you right now?

❋ His gaze is intense, scorching. You can feel it the second you enter the room, but you keep your head down and try to pay attention to the meeting. (The thought of having to present incomplete notes to Ego certainly does a marvellous job at helping you focus.)

❋ A breath of relief soughs out of you the moment the meeting ends. Quickly, you gather your things, following Ego and Anri out the door. You’re eager to avoid the lingering eyes of the association’s board members.

❋ And perhaps most of all: you’re eager to avoid unnecessary small talk with Sae.

❋ But you catch a final glimpse of him out the corner of your eye; Sae, still staring at you. His expression seemingly softer, almost hesitant. It’s almost as if he wants to call your name, to stop you from leaving, but something — Pride? Anger? — holds him back.

❋ The door to the meeting room clicks shut behind you with a cold finality, and this time, you’re the one leaving first.