#after proofreading the only thing obvious here was my lack of braincells

[popponn]

seagull t-shirt. [itoshi sae x reader]

notes: happy bday sae. i didnt expect to fall for you yet here we are. his personality is really funny if you actually think about it. writing him impulsively with deadline haunting you is a funny break to have. anyway here is a fic about lovesick idiots who didnt realize how disgusting they are (rin is the main victim). warning: mild cursing. fluff rom com (almost crack-ish), post canon au (where itoshi bros relationship got better), please do not take this too seriously as i did not, sae is kind of smitten, written with f!reader in mind but could be read as gn!reader.

According to Rin, Sae is the worst kind of guy to be around with whenever you get involved.

Of course, when the younger complained—or, more precisely, bitched—about this to you, as if he was asking you to do something about it, you didn’t really get it. Sae is Sae, even when he was with you, you thought. He is as dry and blunt as ever—so you truly wondered if the difference was that much anyway.

Not to say, Rin probably wouldn’t understand how hard it was to get Sae to do lovey-dovey stuff with you. And no matter how much you love Sae, objectively you would never recommend him as a boyfriend. Or even as a friend, actually.

Sae always gets so stiff when you suddenly hold his hand in public at first—it got better, though not by much. Sae is also terrible to ask for advice—he is better off as a great listener, but Sae often comments so that too was crossed off the list. Also, there is the fact that Sae is a perfectionist athlete boyfriend who would stare at you like some possessed, expensive cat if you didn’t go with him on a morning jog.

Put simply, your boyfriend—while lovely in his own, kind of weird way—is one nosy, high-maintenance, complicated piece of shit, if you must review him objectively.

“You are fucking dumb,” Rin spitted at you after your explanation.

“Huh?”

“That tacky bird shirt,” Rin said as he browsed through his bookshelf. “The ug—the one with weird face.”

You tried to remember which one Rin meant. You did buy Sae many weird stuffs. Then, you remember the seagull one, “Oh! Is it the dancing seagull shirt?”

Rin groaned so loudly you were worried he would cry somehow. “That one.”

“It’s cute. It’s Sae’s favorite animals too!” you recalled it was also something you bought half as April fool joke and half as new pajamas. Not that Sae knew about that.

“He wore that to practice and nearly got into fight for it,” Rin said blandly.

“…what?”

“Some dumbass called it ugly to his face and shitty brother snapped,” Rin continued, deadpan all while taking out a thick book from his shelf.

You laughed nervously at that, “Like, he demolished them in soccer, right? As usual? You know how Sae gets some—”

“He called them fuckass and several other things to their face,” Rin cut you off. “He nearly got benched for saying all that before the match.”

At that, you felt yourself drawing into a literal pause. If Rin decided to censor what Sae said into ‘several other things’ while said ‘those things’ almost got your prodigy of mid-fielder benched in an environment where calling people turds or roaches are the norm—what the hell did Sae say?

“…I’m glad he didn’t then!” you exclaimed cheerfully, making a silent note to yourself to talk about this to Sae later at home. You never heard of this from him. “Look at Sae—balancing soccer duties and boyfriend duties! Even though it was over a shirt.”

Was this when he suddenly got clingy last month? Or was it when he suddenly made you wear only his clothes at home for a full week? Or was this when he suddenly offered to buy you a new furniture set?

Sae really is a mysterious man—in the way that he really likes to do or say something beyond your reason sometimes.

Talk about your questionable taste in men.

“…fuck it,” Rin muttered under his breath, throwing the thick book in his hand toward you. “You are just as bad as him.”

“Hey! I’m Sae’s impulse control, just saying!” you responded as you seamlessly caught the book. Were you anyone else, you wouldn’t have been able to, but hanging around the two Itoshi brothers really trained you for many things. Including catching a flying photo album. “…what is this for, Rin?”

“Nii-chan asked for it. That’s the thing he asked you to pick up from me,” Rin said.

“Oh…?” you blinked at it, flipping through it. Inside, a third of it was filled with old photos of Sae and Rin, while the rest were empty and unused. “Why though?”

“Who knows,” Rin offered, unreadable even though you had a feeling he knew. Then, with a burning glare, he added, “Now get out! Stop lounging in my bed as if you own it!”

“You really need to be nicer to your future in-la—”

“I said—get out!”

And thus with that, you were kicked out. The youngest child could be really brutal sometimes.

However, pushing all the dotting comments your mind formed for Rin aside, you decided to pull out your phone and call Sae as you walked home. You probably wouldn’t be able to talk to him for long, but you suddenly did want to hear his voice. The feeling was giddy and airy in some ways—which hinted you enough to not ponder upon it much while you were in public.

Then, within three beeps, Sae picked up your call. “What is it?” he said without greeting you.

“Yes, Baby, hi. My day is great, Darling, I miss you too,” you scoffed lightly, which only earned a hum from Sae. That day too, he was as unromantic as ever, just like how you were used to. “So, I have some questions.”

“Hm,” Sae hummed once again, wordlessly ordering you to continue. For that bossy attitude, you would give him ugly socks later.

“First, did you really almost get into a fight because of the seagull t-shirt?” you asked immediately, not wasting any time. “And why did you even bring that to work, seriously? That is for home-only, you know. Your handsome face would cry if they got paired with something like that.”

“I brought it with me by accident,” Sae answered, before staying silent for a moment. “…the rest are none of your business.”

“…oh, Sae…” you sighed, as fond as you were exasperated. Judging from his tone, this was just another thing he did with you as the reason, in one way or another. If only he could admit things like these out loud, maybe you would cease your ‘unromantic’ jokes.

“What,” Sae shot back sharply.

“Nothing!” you laughed. Quickly, then, you reverted to your mocking, stern voice, “Continuing—do you actually like the ugly clothes I buy for you?”

Your question was genuine in a way. As it would be funny if that was the case. Someone like Sae—serious, good looking, with high specs many of his fans dreamt of—liking all those gag punishments despite his fashion preference—it would be ironic, but funny.

“Hell no. They are as ugly as shit,” Sae answered without an ounce of hesitation, which baited out another laugh from you. However, softer, at the end of his answer, he said—

“They are from you. That’s the only reason we still keep them.”

Stunned, you found your words stuck in your throat for a moment. Then, smiling, you cooed, “Oh, Sae! I will buy you those socks with opening mouths for your birthday!”

From the other side of the phone, you could feel Sae’s judgment upon you. “Just don’t send them in some weird box this time.”

“I told you that one time was definitely a bad idea. Stop bringing that up already,” you chided.

“At least you are self-aware,” Sae responded.

Hearing him, you would never believe this was the same guy who would pick a fight for you despite his personality. But then again, this was Sae, full of many things underneath that unpleasant demeanor of his. At this point, you wouldn’t have him any other way.

“Oh, right, one more thing,” you remembered. “What is this photo album for?”

“…I must be off now,” Sae said suddenly.

“Huh? Why?” you blinked at his statement, surprised.

“See you at home later…” Sae stilled his words for a moment, before continuing them gently, saying it like a secret. “…Love.”

And just with that, your phone call ended.

Without you realizing it, your steps had come to a halt as you could only gape at your phone, holding said object and the photo album in your hand even tighter. “What the heck was that…?”

If your face heated up, that was your own business.

(Just like how Sae wanted to put your photos with him in that album, that would only be Sae’s business until he put a ring on you.)