Around two weeks into his stay with Sae, Y/N awoke to bright rays of sunlight shining through the gap in his curtains.
Living with Sae, he'd never once been able to sleep in. The man always woke up at an ungodly hour, and decided that Y/N should also do the same. As such, Y/N was forced to settle into a healthier routine - waking up early to train, and sleeping early.
So when he checked the time, and saw that it was ten thirty, his eyes widened. Y/N shot out of the bed, not bothering to change out of his shorts and t-shirt as he headed for the door. It wasn't his fault, right? The apartment was so cosy and warm, and his bed was so much more comfy than the ones he'd had in Bluelock.
He dashed out onto the stairs. The penthouse was two stories tall, the main room with a completely open plan. Y/N slept on a sort of extended balcony on the second floor, up a set of metal stairs. "Sae..."
He sniffed. A slightly burning smell hit him, and his panic grew. "Sae?!"
Y/N slid down the railing, landing nimbly on both feet. He glanced around the room, immediately spotting the magenta-haired man standing at the kitchen countertop. "Sae!"
"Stop screaming my name." Sae glanced over his shoulder at Y/N. He was dressed in what Y/N assumed he thought was a casual outfit - a loose suit and polo shirt instead of a dress shirt. "What do you want?"
Y/N rushed towards him, making Sae's eyes widen slightly. The teenager didn't touch him, though. He moved past Sae, grabbing the pan that was sizzling away on the countertop. "The eggs!"
"What about them?" Sae's eyes drifted to the pan Y/N had just taken off the heat, and the slightly charred, blackened thing that should've been eggs inside. "Ah."
"I'm not even going to ask." Y/N dumped the... mess into the bin. "What are you doing?"
"Well," Sae calmly said, not at all bothered by the fact he'd managed to burn an egg to the point of blackening. "You said that you didn't want me to spend so much money, and you always look very uncomfortable when we go out to eat. So I decided to cook you something."
Y/N glanced at the countertop. Sae had whipped up a pretty good breakfast. A metal pot simmered on the counter, and he'd taken out some natto, alongside some sardines and chilled tofu. He blinked. "You did this for me?"
"Of course." Sae prepared two bowls of rice, tearing open the natto and sliding some chopped spring onion in with it. "I made some of it last night, so it wasn't much effort."
Y/N flushed bright red. He helped Sae pick up bowls of food, moving them to the dining table, and as he did, Sae ladled some kind of vegetable soup from the pot. He brought two steaming bowls over, placing them all on the table alongside some cutlery.
Both of them took their seats.
Y/N busied himself with his food. Sae's cooking was surprisingly good, and he did have to admit, it was nice eating at home instead of going outside. He was tired of fancy restaurants.
"We have a week left before the match." Sae suddenly said. Y/N looked up, a spoon of natto and rice midway to his mouth. "Is there anything you wanted to focus on before then?"
"Not really, besides my stamina."
"We've been working on that already." Sae dismissed. "But there's not much we can do to improve it in such a small time."
"Then there's nothing I can think of that'll be useful."
"There's always something to improve. How about your play with teammates? You haven't played in a proper team since... forever, actually."
"That's hardly my fault." Y/N pointed out. "And also, aren't I just going to receive passes from you?"
"Probably. But that doesn't mean our teammates are going to be useless."
"Didn't you call them all complete shit?"
"That's not the point." Sae watched Y/N as he went for another spoon of rice. "I won't always be around to give you passes during the game."
"Whatever." Y/N stuffed more food into his mouth, effectively silencing himself. Sae just rolled his eyes at the smaller boy's childishness, and continued talking.
"We're going to go see the rest of the U-20 team, get to know them, go out for dinner. And maybe we'll play with them, but that's unlikely." Sae stared across at him. "Sound good?"
"Yup." Y/N mumbled around a mouthful of food. "But you're giving me all the passes anyway."
"All the good passes will come from me. You'll still get bad ones from the rest of the team. That is, if they let you play."
"Hmm?"
Sae's eyes flashed with a little frustration. "The Japanese U-20 team has been at the top of the nation for too long, without any real challenge or change. They're complacent, prideful, and arrogant."
"How would that stop me from playing?"
"You're just a kid. You should be in high school, not playing against Japan's best." Sae paused. "At least, that's how they see it. They're probably going to be too arrogant, too confident to even try using you."
"So what's your plan to let me play?"
"Oh, I don't have one."
That caught Y/N's attention. He looked up, surprised. "Really?"
"They'll only put you on if they're losing badly. If someone's pride is injured, they'll use any measures in order to restore it. That includes using someone like you."
"Do you think they'll lose badly?"
"Of course." Sae reached for his spoon. "They're all terrible. As underdeveloped as the Bluelock players are, they'll come out on top pretty comfortably."
"Then it's all good!" Y/N chirped. He immediately returned to his food, smiling as he enjoyed the late breakfast and slow start to the day.
"I wouldn't say that." Ever the optimistic ray of sunshine, Sae's serious face didn't change one bit. "It means you'll have limited time to show yourself off to the world. And if the U-20 team is losing badly, you might go on just to become a laughing stock."
"It's better than nothing, that's all that matters!" Y/N kept eating. He was obviously enjoying Sae's food, smiling brightly as he spoke.
His happy voice filled the usually quiet, dull apartment, Sae just sitting across from him and listening. Bright rays of sunlight shone through the large windows, bathing the kitchen in light. For the rest of the meal, as Y/N commented on the food, the training, the U-20 team, even on the apartment, Sae just listened.
It was oddly calming. Hearing Y/N's voice in the huge penthouse, it was relaxing. It gave the huge, cold space life in a way, and Sae'd come to realise that over the past weeks. The messy guest bed that Y/N never made in the morning, the various items Sae'd bought for him tucked in the cupboard in his room, the dirty dishes in the sink, everything Y/N did gave the penthouse life.
He didn't want to admit it, but he could get used to it.
🥕🥕🥕
"Sae, hello!" The captain of the U-20 team, Oliver Aiku, greeted Sae warmly. He was tall, with a well-built, well-rounded physique and messy black hair that went past his eyes. "And...?"
He turned to Y/N expectantly. The three of them stood on the pavement, thankfully not drawing too much attention. It was well into the evening - Y/N and Sae had both spent the day doing random things
They all wore casual clothing, Y/N dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a hoodie. "Y/N L/N, pleasure to meet you."
Y/N stuck out a hand, glancing at Sae. Did I do that right? Before they'd left the penthouse, Sae had given him a little lecture on behaving 'properly'. Apparently, he was immature.
He didn't see any problem with how he acted, though. Probably just Sae being uptight as hell.
Aiku laughed. Instead of shaking his hand, he just slapped their palms together. "No need to be so formal. You're the new guy, right?"
"New guy?"
"The one that's gonna join us, against Bluelock." Aiku clarified. He smiled, a little teasingly. "Though, I don't think we'll need you."
"We'll see." Y/N smiled back, lowering his hand. "Sae here told me you guys were pretty bad. His exact words were 'completely shit', if I remember right."
"Did he now?" Aiku didn't seem to take offence. He just chuckled lowly under his breath, and raised an eyebrow at Sae. "It's disheartening to see you have such a low opinion of us, prodigy."
"It's nothing personal." Sae assured. "Just the truth."
Aiku laughed. "Wanna go in? The lads are all inside. They're all halfway through a cocktail-making class - quite a few of them are already getting tipsy. You can both join us!"
Y/N grimaced. "I'm actually underage. Can't drink."
"Aw, that's too bad." Aiku grinned. "I turned 20 a few months ago, and let's just say - once you start, it's difficult to stop. You gonna join us, Sae?"
"I'm underage too." Sae's response was short and sharp. "And alcohol damages the body's performance. I wouldn't drink even if I could."
"You're underage?! Really?" Aiku exclaimed, eyes widening. He sighed. "I guess you are a prodigy... I thought someone so famous would be older."
Sae didn't respond. Instead, he just coolly met Aiku's eyes. Y/N glanced between the two, from Sae, to Aiku, then back to Sae, and back to Aiku. For a few awkward seconds, nobody moved.
Eventually, Aiku grinned. "We'll get you both making mocktails, then. I rented out the entire place - they should be okay with it. But are you sure you don't want to drink? You're... how old?"
"Eighteen."
Aiku scoffed playfully. "That's the drinking age in most countries. Who cares if it's illegal, it's just once...? It would be fun."
"Are you trying to get me in jail?" Sae plainly stated. Y/N tried to keep himself from laughing at how serious he was. "No, I will not drink alcohol."
"Pfft. No fun." Aiku headed into the nearest building. Y/N and Sae followed him. They walked up a few floors - it seemed the entire building was filled from bottom to top with entertainment. Cinemas... indoor golf... a laser-tag arena? They passed all of it, and walked straight into the room labelled 'Mixology'.
The entire U-20 team was there. Y/N recognised most of them - after all, he'd watched them play and lose on the TV in the international leagues, he'd watched hundreds of interviews and speeches given by them. But never had he expected them to be wearing white aprons, in casual clothing, hunched over small glasses and being lectured by a bald man in a suit.
He burst out laughing. Sae stood next to him, unimpressed eyes flickering down as the teenager doubled over, holding his stomach. "You're acting childish."
"Look at them...!" Y/N protested, laughing even harder at Sae's exasperated glare. "They're... that's the national team!"
"Everyone has to unwind sometimes." Aiku smiled. "Cut them some slack."
"No, it's just..." Y/N sucked in a deep breath. "Aren't the cocktails supposed to look nice?"
"They do, do they not?" Aiku gestured to the nearest one, which Y/N thought resembled a pile of whipped cream on top of cranberry juice. The entire team was already staring at them, attention drawn by Y/N's loud, not so subtle laughter. A few smiles broke out amongst them, and one man shouted across the room to Y/N.
"Try it yourself then, kiddo! If you think you could do any better."
Y/N looked across at Sae, eyes silently begging for permission. Sae groaned, rubbing at his forehead with one hand, and nodded. Y/N shot off towards a table filled with ingredients.
This isn't going to go well... Sae followed the small boy. Hopefully he doesn't spill anything. Or break anything.