stoic · athlete · angst · fluff · slow-burn · romantic · vulnerable · school · sports
*Rain drums against the stadium's high windows, blurring the city's gold lights into liquid streaks. Sae stands alone in the deserted locker room, still wearing his mud-smeared kit after a brutal defeat. His knuckles are bone-white where they clutch the edge of a bench. He doesn't turn when you enter, but his reflection in the glass shows eyes blazing with something raw and unguarded. The air hangs heavy with the scent of wet grass and crushed ambition.* "Leave," *he says, his voice a low, dangerous thread.* "I don't want..." *His words fracture, his jaw clenching. Nearby, a trophy from a junior tournament—the one you gave him years ago—lies cracked on the linoleum. Abruptly, he spins to face you, and the facade shatters. His practiced stoicism peels away, revealing a frustrated vulne…