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sae itoshi never shared any information about himself. during interviews, he would always pointedly ignore personal questions and only answered soccer related ones. in many instances reporters have tried to get out more information about him, but to no avail. so, when some reporters asked him about a girlfriend, he answered with what was necessary.
“so sae itoshi, everyone has been wondering. do you have a girlfriend ?
if looks could kill, the reporter might as well be dead.
“i am fairly certain this is not a question related so soccer. what makes you so sure i even am attracted to women? this is a utterly foolish question at best. i am a soccer player aren’t i? not some flashy influencer whom everyone needs to know every aspect about their life. please refrain from asking me such idiotic questions again lukewarm.
sae said it in such a scathing tone, the reporter looked damn well on the verge of tears. well, that’s one way to shut down a situation. way to go sae itoshi.
the interview was cut off fairly soon after that. sae couldn’t care less about that reporters feelings, as he took his coat and left without another word.
it really irritated him when they asked questions about his personal life when he was a soccer player. no one needs to know what he does on his time off. they didn’t need to know who he was dating, and it sure as hell wasn’t a girl.
as he was walking back to the car, an image of a short boy with midnight blue hair and eyes came into his mind. the sprout on his hair bouncing whenever he walked. a smile that could make his whole day better. his never ending love and patience. he was perfect. his yoichi. no one else’s.
so,when he was approached and asked if he wanted to join the u20’s to play against blue lock, he would be a fool not to agree if it meant seeing his boyfriend again. he still added his condition of choosing a player to add to the team as well. now, don’t get him wrong, he would love to play with his boyfriend, but he also wanted to see him evolve by playing against better players, and playing against him has always been better and more competitive.
he wanted yoichi to know first that he was going to be joining the u20’s so he personally went to ego and convinced him (read forced), to let his boyfriend have a day off! he made sure it would land on the same day he had a free day in his overpacked schedule.
the day before his date, he had a meeting with the u20 team to sort out some things.
“i told you i will only play if shidou ryusei is aloud to play on the team with me. you call yourself a captain ? your team is horrid. you will have a better shot at winning with him helping you.”
“really little genius ? you’re not including yourself with the team ? and i promise you, we can handle these wannabe strikers without him.”
“why would i include myself with the embarrassments of soccer ? and, do as you wish. but if it doesn’t turn out well then i will leave.”
with that, sae turned around and walked away from the u20 captain, oliver aiku.
before he could truly leave, he was stopped at the entrance by aiku.
“fine. i know you don’t like us very much but you could always meet the team. we have a free day tomorrow. we’re planning on hanging out somewhere. we could invite that boy of yours if you like?”
sae shrugged of the hand that aiku had put on his shoulder.
“i already have plans of my own so i cannot attend.”
even with how he was speaking to aiku, he spoke with a softer voice, as if he was thinking of someone special to him.
“ohhhh, the little genius has got himself a date huh? well, i would hate to intrude, so maybe next time yeah ?”
sae walked out the door without another word, not giving him any more personal information about his life. how did he find out ? hell, even saes immediate family and his closest friends didn’t know about yoichi.
“whatever” he mumbled in a soft voice. he wouldn’t tell anyone about saes personal life… right ?
..
he sighed. someone was gonna find out about his date sooner or later. at least they don’t know who it’s with.
as if right on cue, an aggravating voice released sae from his thoughts.
“SAE-CHAN!! WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME YOU HAD A DATE GENIUS ?
“of course” sae thought miserably. the one person that had to find out was him. he turned around and was met with shidous figure approaching quickly.
“demon. i don’t remember my personal life being any of your business.”
“ouch. sae-chan is just as harsh in real life to his friends.” shidou practically whined as he draped himself over saes shoulders.
he supposed he must be at least a little bit nice to this guy. since he is gonna be playing with him.
“we are practically strangers. plus, with the way you announced to everyone in a 20 meter radius from me that i was going on a date, why would i tell you ? if i wanted everyone to know than maybe i would head to you to spread the news but since i didn’t want anyone to know, you would be the last person i would go to.
sae brushed the bigger man off his shoulders and walked away.
“so you would tell me thin-”
shidous voice got cut off with the sound of a car door slamming shut.
“back to the hotel” sae ordered the driver as soon as he got in. the driver made haste and practically sped out of the area.
sae looked out the window, searching for cafes to bring yoichi to on their date tomorrow. the game was a week from now. he hoped that ego hadn’t already told them that he was joining the u20 team but he had a feeling that he already did, just to spite sae.
as they were driving, his eyes caught a cafe that was hidden by leaves and trees, and when he tried to look inside the glass, he couldn’t see anything. he smiled softly. it was perfect. it could easily hide him and yoichi from people passing by. not that yoichi needed to hide yet, he was still unknown in the soccer world.
when he reached the hotel to his dismay, he was stopped by sendou.
“you think you’re better than us for not getting to meet us and leaving for a date instead ? you have some nerve genius. now listen here , we’re goi-”
sae sighed softly. this man was getting extremely annoying.
he stepped past sendou and walked into the elevator. sendou followed him in and kept talking his ear off. the elevator was taking forever as his room resided on one of the highest floors. sendou was surprisingly still talking but sae had tuned him out 2 minutes ago.
the elevator doors opened and he stepped out completely ignoring the other man and headed to his room. he opened it while sendou was still talking and slammed it in his face. finally, peace and quiet.
-
-
the next day sae woke up early and took the car over to blue lock. he calmly walked to the gigantic front doors and spoke softly but firmly.
“i’m here ego. let me inside”
blue lock was deserted at quiet at this hour so his voice rang around the building. the soft chirping of birds and the rustling of trees was the only sound that was noticeable for a while but soon enough sae heard ego sigh and mutter under his breath.
“sae itoshi. come in.”
the heavy metal doors opened slowly and sae walked in feeling content. not that he’d let anyone see it though.
he has been in here a couple times so he made his way to egos office with no problem. he did hear rin’s voice coming from what he presumed was a training room. there was other voices too so he has happy rin had made some friends.
when he reached egos office, the doors opened automatically. he stepped inside and saw him hunched over a screen while others flashed around him. the soccer profiles and plays were being highlighted on them and ego seemed to be inspecting them with great interest. not that sae could care anyways, he only wanted to see his yoichi.
“where is yoichi, ego?” he asked in a monotone voice
“just wait a bit. i will decide when he will come.” ego responded.
“i don’t expect to be waiting long.” sae replied, a hint of irritation noticeable in his voice.
“of course, i let them have a week long break, one of them goes to fucking france to see fucking charles chevalier and comes back after not having played soccer for a week. now someone’s getting an extra day off, oh my fu-” ego was muttering and mumbling like crazy, obviously pissed off at the situation.
“isagi yoichi come to my office right now” ego finally called yoichi over.
they waited for a few minutes before yoichi’s voice rang from outside the door, nervous and hesitant.
“um ego sir? i’m here…”
as soon as sae heard yoichis voice, he pressed the button to open the door.
he saw ego scowl at him and call him “down bad”. whatever, sae did not care whatsoever 😂✌️
when the doors opened, and when he saw sae standing there, his face went through several emotions. he looked nervous, then shocked, then confused, then happy, and if it was even possible, his eyes shined and a big smile broke out.
“sae !!!!” he exclaimed before jumping on him and burying his face in saes shoulder.
“i missed you soo much sae” yoichi mumbled into his shoulder, before looking up and seeing ego death state the back of sae’s head.
yoichi tried to get down, embarrassed. “ah sorry ego-san!! i didn’t see you there….”
“it’s fine yoichi. ignore him.” sae’s voice rang out in front of him.
yoichi looked up and saw sae looking down at him, a rare fond smile on his face.
“did you need something ? why did you come see me before our game ?” isagi questioned him.
so ego did tell them that he was going to be joining the u20’s. of course.
sae looked behind him and saw ego smiling, clearly content with having told blue lock and his yoichi that he was going to be playing against them before him.
sae exhaled and faced back to yoichi.
“i wanted to spend time with you since it’s been so long since i’ve seen you. i’ve been in spain for too long.” sae explained to him.
“ohh okay ! did you wanna come look around blue lock ? i don’t know what else to do…” isagi pondered, scratching his cheek with his finger.
“i got permission from ego to let you leave blue lock for the day. i found this café we can go to for starters if you’d like.” sae proposed to him.
“anything for my yocchan.” sae replied.
“sae !! i told you not to call me that in front of anyone ! isagi pouted.
“ahem.” ego cleared his throat reminding them he was still there. “if you are finished, i’d like to set a rule. i’d prefer if one of my starting players gets back in one piece, and well rested, and set to play a match. i am certain you will follow this rule won’t you itoshi sae ?” ego questioned him, although the true meaning behind it was an order. make sure isagi is fit to play soccer, or else.
“of course ego jinpachi. i would never sabotage my yocchan like that.” sae replied, his softness gone, replaced with his usual cold demeanor.
“sae i told you to stop.” isagi whined quietly.
“sorry yoichi, i couldn’t resist” sae replied with a smirk.
isagi was about to retort when a sharp knock sounded from the door behind them.
“ego ? where is yoichi. who is he talking to in there ? i hear someone and its not you.” a muffled voice sounded outside, clearly confused and suspicious.
“go out the back you two, before you get caught.” ego hissed, addressing the pair. “the things i do…” he muttered under his breath.
the pair quickly exited out the back door, and hopped into the car that was still parked outside.
the day was packed with different excursions, mainly things isagi would like. they went to the cafe sae was talking about, then shopping, they went to pretty scenic views, and ended off the day hanging out in saes hotel. they were both pretty tired out from the day. isagi had fallen asleep on sae’s chest, as sae was quietly scrolling through his social media feed while running a hand through isagi’s hair. he adjusted isagi as he slipped into bed, the lights already turned off. he shut off his phone, placed isagi beside him on the bed, got comfortable, and wrapped himself around the shorter. his leg draped over both of isagi’s legs, and his arm rested comfortably on his waist. his chin rested softly on top of isagi’s. he quickly fell asleep, content with the way the day had turned out.
-
-
their peaceful moment ended with sae’s ringtone going off at 4:30 in the morning. usually, sae would already be up, but, when he has his boyfriend laying on him, he can change his schedule for once. he reached for his phone, and to his surprise, the contact name read : Leonardo Luna. what the hell was Luna doing calling him at this ungodly hour ? despite his bewilderment, sae answered the phone.
“Luna..? what the hell do you want ?” sae asked, his voice still rough with sleep.
“ah sae! did you just wake up ?” luna sounded confused
“.... yes i did.” sae admitted reluctantly
“dont you usually wake up earlier than this ?” luna questioned.
“yes” was the only answer sae gave.
“so whats different from today..?” luna sounded genuinely confused.
“.... im with my boyfriend ?” sae answered quietly.
“...”
“BOYFRIEND ?? YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND ?” luna’s voice erupted from the other side.
“yes i do now keep it down i dont want to wake him up.” sae said voice cold.
“jeez ! i’m just surprised sae……. whats his name ?” luna asked eventually
“no.”
“come on sae ! im curious. i wanna know who changed spain’s cold hearted midfielder into a soft mess.” luna exaggerated.
“not in a million years. especially since you said it like that.” sae answered.
before luna could retaliate, isagi woke up from on top of sae.
"mhh.. sae ? who is on the phone?" isagi asked groggily.
“shh.. it’s just an idiot who doesn’t know when to not disturb someone. go back to sleep.” through the phone, luna squawked indignantly. sae spoke softly and gently with isagi, affection clear in his voice. the complete opposite of how he was speaking to luna just a few seconds ago.
“sounds like someone i’ve talked to before.” yoichi spoke with a yawn.
“SO IVE MET YOUR BOYFRIEND WITHOUT KNOWING ?!?!” luna practically screamed at sae.
“shut UP luna.” sae hissed. “you’re only making things worse.”
“luna…like leonardo luna ?” isagi asked, definitely more awake now.
“see what you did idiot? you woke him up.” sae grumbled through the phone. i swear i will end this call.
“no sae !!! i just want to speak to this mysterious boyfriend of yours. knowing you, he must be spectacular, especially in soccer. if he plays obviously, but i’m practically certain he does. either that, or he has a big ass.” sae could hear lunas smirk through the phone.
“shut up, im hanging up now.” those were the last words sae spoke before luna heard the click and silence on his end of the line.
luna sighed. “whatever, ill figure it out sooner or later” he murmured before getting on with his day.
“was that really leonardo luna sae ?” isagi asked wide eyed.
“…. yes it was” sae eventually said.
“woah… THATS SO COOL !!” isagi exclaimed excitedly!
“not really… hes annoying.” sae mumbled.
his phone rang again, irritated he looked at the screen. though this time, it was an unknown number. he figured it was just a spam call, so he clicked ignore. the number kept calling though, so he answered the call.
“sae itoshi. your time is up. bring back isagi to blue lock now.” ego’s irritated tone rang through the phone.
“fine. we are on our way.” sae’s face soured slightly.
isagi and sae got ready for the day before they took his personal driver over to blue lock. when they arrived, isagi said his goodbye and opened the door ready to leave, but he felt arms wrap around him and he was dragged back into a warm and toned chest.
“ack!” he exclaimed. “sae!” “i have to leave now. i don’t want ego-san to get mad.” he explained softly, a small smile touching his lips at saes antics.
“no. you can’t leave yet.” sae replied, voice muffled as his head was pressed against isagis shoulder.
“saeee… we’ll see each other soon!” isagi reasoned with him.
“no.”
“sae!!”
“no.”
“i’m gonna get in trouble.. and people will be wondering where i am.”
“let them wonder”
isagi sighed and resorted to prying saes hands off him. in result, sae tightened his grip on isagis waist and pulled him closer in.
“you leave me no choice.” isagi spoke, a hint of mischief in his voice.
surprisingly, sae was extremely ticklish. how did isagi find that out ? well it was actually an accident. but, ever since then, he has kept in stashed in his mind, ready to use the information when sae was not listening or giving up.
isagi tickled sae’s sides. the grip he had on isagi immediately loosened as he jerked backwards. isagi laughed and ran out the car door.
“i love you sae !! see you later !” he yelled with a laugh as he ran towards the gigantic building.
sae watched him leave, his lips upturned the smallest bit, hinting at a smile.
“bring me back to the hotel.” he ordered the driver as he saw isagi enter the building safely.
in the next few days leading up to the match, both blue lock and the u20 team trained hard. before they knew it, it was game day.
when both teams lined up, sae snuck a glance at isagi and found isagi already looking at him. isagi smiled brightly before turning away to speak to one of his teammates. sae found himself smiling softly too, before he made his face a cold mask of indifference again.
during the match, both teams played hard. in the end, it was isagi who scored the game winning goal. sae was proud of him obviously, and found that his boyfriend was the one who would change japanese soccer forever. while on the pitch, he congratulated isagi with a hug, surprising everyone in the stadium. rin also came over to congratulate isagi, seeing as all three of them go way back.
“congrats yoichi.. i knew you could do it.” sae softly congratulated him.
“thank you sae!! you played hard as well.” isagi replied, eyes shining.
“good job isagi… you did it” rin’s quiet voice surrounded them.
“you did awesome rin!!” isagi went to hug rin as well, as rin’s eyes shone a bit as well, proving he was the same little kid.
isagi and rin were having a long conversation, too long for sae’s likings. before sae could bring him away, some weird ugly looking bald headed benchwarmer came to bring isagi away.
“come on isagi ! they want you to do an interview. if you dont go, ill do it for you !” igaguri told him.
“lukewarm. all you did was benchwarm. no one wants to interview you.” rin’s cold voice rang out, speaking exactly what sae was thinking.
“call me later yoichi.” sae spoke into isagi’s ear, his tone low enough so only he could hear. “i’ll be going now.”
“goodbye sae. i‘ll call when i’m free.” isagi promised before walking off to where the numerous reporters were flashing cameras and calling his name.
as sae was leaving the building, his phone rang again. luna. he sighed, this call was inevitable.
“ah sae ! just the person i was looking for.” luna spoke cheerfully.
“really now. what do you want this time.”
“isagi yoichi.” was all the other said.
“...”
“he truly is something else. still needs some work obviously, but what a guy!” luna exclaimed.
“...”
“he is very nice off the field, but on the field ? he’s a monster. also, he seems cute, blue hair, wide blue eyes, you know. perfectly your type !” he continued
sae sighed. “honestly, i thought it would take you longer to figure it out.” sae grumbled.
“you really underestimate my abilities sae.” luna sulked.
“yeah yeah whatever.” sae replied.
“good choice ! you seem happy, so that’s all that matters to me.” luna said seriously. “i dont want you with someone that makes you unhappy.
“..... you really are something else luna.” sae spoke as he unlocked the door to his hotel. “im flying back in two days. me and yoichi are going to spend more time together. please dont call at the crack of dawn like you did last week.
luna chuckled. “no promises sae.”
he turned on the tv and went to the channel that was broadcasting the game. the reporters were asking yoichi questions about him and sae. sae, watching this, sighed. he supposes he wasn't such a private person at all.