Work Text:
It starts like this:
(Accounted by Hoshino Ichika, real time present live interaction)
So. Mafuyu’s late to work one day. She rushes into the office, and her lovely co-workers greet her good morning and ask her what happened, because if it’s one thing that Asahina Mafuyu is not, it is that she is never, ever late to work. Mafuyu has her coffee in one hand, a work bag in another, and she apologizes and says that her alarm clock broke and she hadn’t realized it. Nothing is wrong about it. This is normally an excuse used by employees who slept through their alarm clock, similar to the “but dog ate my homework!” excuse in middle school.
She sits down to her desk, and gets to work. She sets down her items, and Ichika glances curiously beside her. She doesn’t say much, but she greets Mafuyu as normal. She accidently lets out a little quip about that one project manager that’s been pissing her off just a little bit, because it just doesn’t make sense at all, what they’re doing, and Mafuyu quietly laughs at that. Then, she admits that she was worried about her just a little bit. She talks about how Saki was worried that she didn’t show up like she normally does- because Mafuyu never takes vacation days, at least according to Saki (and half of her team, but Ichika doesn’t mention that).
Then, Mafuyu pulls out a small little pastry (It’s cheesecake, Ichika thinks) from the place that Saki’s been rambling about for so long. The “instagrammable TikTok trendy pastry shop”. There’s no doubt it is.
“I didn’t know you eat at that trendy shop,” Ichika had said, puzzled.
“No, but my roommate went there recently, and I took our leftovers to eat at work. They have a location near our workplace, so my roommate picked up some food before meeting with me after work for dinner.”
Ah, The Roommate , Ichika thinks.
And then. Right there. She spots it.
A Ring.
On Mafuyu’s fourth finger, on her left hand, as she scrolled with her mouse in her right hand and coffee in her other- she had saw a ring in the flesh. It was official. The roommate had made it official.
“A ring?”
“Sorry…?”
“Ah,” Ichika said. “I just noticed the ring on your finger. I just remembered you saying you weren’t too fond of jewelry because of the feel, so I was just curious…”
“The ring?”
Mafuyu had paled, and looked down to her left hand. This had left Ichika even more puzzled. “Oh. I was wearing my ring today. I don’t normally wear it at work because I don’t like the feel of it for too long, yes. I just forgot to take it off today for work.”
So she had this ring for longer than today. This was interesting.
“You have a husband?”
“…Something like that, yeah.”
“So, Mafuyu has a husband.”
An gasps. “There’s no way.”
Tsukasa nods. “The Roommate Lore is now almost completed. It’s confirmed, at this point.”
Everyone is sitting in the cafeteria, gossiping about The Roommate, who’s been their go-to topic since forever- except for Toya, who is eating and diligently scrolling through Twitter.
Shiho shakes her head, and elbows Saki’s side. “Like An said, there’s no way that’s possible. Plus, Mafuyu, living with a husband at such a young age, in this economy? Married and can afford to live together? That’s impossible.”
“Maybe her husband makes a lot, Shihoppy.”
“No way!” An interrupts immediately. “Mafuyu is definitely the breadwinner. There’s no way The Roommate would make more than our Mafuyu. He’s literally just a Guy.”
Toya looks up from his phone. “Are you sure she has a husband?”
Tsukasa tilts his head. “She said it, right? Plus, she has a ring, right?”
Ichika nods. “Well, she worded it very vaguely. She didn’t say anything about a wedding or anything. Maybe she’s just not in a traditional relationship? Maybe they’re getting married later on, and this is like… an engagement ring.”
“That’s not- well, it’s definitely a non-traditional relationship.”
Everyone looks at Toya like he’s told them his hair’s actually dyed and it’s truly not natural.
“What?”
An’s eyes are sparkling. “You know about Mafuyu’s relationship?”
“Well… I only a little know about her relationship, not who she’s with.”
“So it’s official,” Minori says in the back of the cafeteria, Nintendo Switch in hand. “She’s in a relationship.”
So, Mafuyu may have fucked up just a little.
In her defence, it starts like this:
( Experienced by Mafuyu, true story, reliable narrator, live experience, present time)
You cannot blame her. It was warm and comfortable in bed. Mafuyu had struggled to open her eyes, and she turned to her side, and her partner was staring at her, all starry eyed with a warm gaze and an upturned, small smile.
“Morning.”
“… Morning. What time is it?”
“…Work hasn’t started yet. I took the day off. I’m tired. You’ll probably be able to make it in time.”
Mafuyu sighed. “I should get dressed then.”
“…Five more minutes?” Ena smiled at her. “I’m not just the roommate anymore. Be nice to your wife.”
Ena’s smile is one of the nicest things in the world, she had thought. Besides, how could she say no to her wife?
This is where she makes the worst mistake of her life:
She has to rush to get to work and in the chaos of it all- she forgets to take off her ring.
“So… you know about The Roommate, Toya?”
Toya shakes his head. “Nope. I just know that Mafuyu’s in a relationship.”
Saki sighs, but she understands boundaries, and Toya's probably just as oblivious as the rest of them are. “Hm… well, I won’t pester you for details. Just curious, y'know!”
Toya gets to know Mafuyu’s business with “The Roomate”, because he has the privilege of being Ena’s favorite friend out of Akito’s social circle. He is currently sitting on their Ikea sofa, sipping iced lemon tea and eating tea-flavored cookies while having brunch with one of the hottest topics at their workplace, while also catching up about Akito and life. He doesn’t even want to know how he ended up in this situation.
“So, are you ever going to tell them you’re The Roommate?”
Ena smugly grins. “I am a person of many names, and I accept this one. I am The Roommate. A concept. An unexplainable gift to the small yet vast universe of this corporation.”
“Okay,” Toya says. It’s none of his business, and it makes sense for the couple to keep it private. “But once again, congratulations.”
“Thanks. You’re such a good kid, Toya.” (He does not dare tell her that he is only one year younger than her and not a kid, but Ena carries the older sibling aura to her, and it’s so strong that he just can’t say anything about it.)
As her desk-mate, she can’t help but be a little curious. And for the record, Ichika is not the gossipy type at all. She knows what it is like for harmless chatter to do a whole three sixty and start to hurt people when it turns into bad gossip. Ichika is a Girls Girl. And The Roommate (she refuses to call him anything else until Mafuyu has verbally confirmed it with less vague wording) has to be evaluated- not that she doesn’t trust her desk-mate’s taste, but Mafuyu is her biggest role model in this corporate hellhole and she would go to hell and back to protect her.
“What’s for lunch?”
Ichika shrugs. “Nothing much. Just a quick snack from Starbucks. What about you?”
“Oh, nothing much.” Ichika watches her grab her lunch out of her work bag with curiosity in her eyes. There’s no pastries this time, but it’s a lunch bento. A homemade lunch. “Just a bento,” Mafuyu replies.
Mafuyu’s cooking is… well. Ichika cannot defend her on that one. Mafuyu’s not much of a chef, so it has to be made by The Roomate. She quickly runs the calculations in her head based on everything she knows so far based on The Roommate Lore. The Roommate typically wakes up a little later after Mafuyu. Mafuyu’s not a very good chef, but The Roommate is, because he used to cook a lot for his brother in highschool. The Roommate knows enough as to what she likes or what she dislikes in food- which no one knows. Making a bento can take about twenty to forty minutes. These are typically prepared the night before. The Roommate does not get a lot of sleep, works a lot, and is normally up at midnight, which means this was prepared the afternoon before today. But Mafuyu was working late last night. Which means it was a gift.
“Do you want some?”
Ichika accepts carefully.
The Roommate Lore has been updated.
- Likes cheesecake
- Night owl
- A very, very good cook.
“Ena!” Honami smiles. “I missed you. Those meetings were terrible without you.”
“Mm, I was just taking two days off. I was exhausted… All I did was watch TV and cook to relax.”
“You deserve it. You work real hard without any breaks.”
Ena smiles. “Nah, not really.” She pauses. “Oh, yeah! I made food and had some leftovers. They’re more like scraps, really…”
Honami’s eyes shine. Ena’s food is a blessing from God. “Those aren’t scraps! Those look straight out of a bento box cookbook!”
“How does it taste?”
“Amazing as always.”
Honami is now her favorite co-worker.
Honami is idly chatting with Ichika. “Oh, yeah, speaking of bento boxes- Ena makes the absolute best bentos in the world. I tasted some of her ‘leftovers’, and they were amazing.”
“Honami-approved meal?”
Honami nods vigorously. “Absolutely.”
“Wait.”
Honami waits.
Ichika does her calculations again.
The Roommate typically wakes up a little later after Mafuyu. Mafuyu’s not a very good chef, but The Roommate is, because he used to cook a lot for his brother in highschool. The Roommate knows enough as to what she likes or what she dislikes in food- which no one knows.
Making a bento can take about twenty to forty minutes. These are typically prepared the night before. The Roommate does not get a lot of sleep and is normally up at midnight, which means this was prepared the afternoon before today. But Mafuyu was working late last night. Which means it was a gift.
“Honami,” Ichika starts. “Am I overthinking The Lore?”
Honami stares at her.
“Honami. Did Ena have a ring on her finger?”
Honami thinks back to her interaction with Ena. “She had a ring on a necklace chain.”
“What color?”
“Silver.”
An gleefully laughs at Akito. The score’s ratio is crazy. She’s just that good of a basketball player. She used to be one of those high school genius players, by the way.
“By the way, did you know Mafuyu has a husband?”
Akito nearly slips on his face. “A husband? ”
“Right?!”
“She has a… husband?”
“Yeah…?” An shoots another goal again. “Sucks to suck, working for our rival company. That means you don’t get updated on the Mafuyu news.”
Akito rolls his eyes. “…I was just curious. Plus, I know Mafuyu from Ena anyways. I get the news quicker than you. I know more than you. ”
“So,” he starts, “Mafuyu has a ‘husband’ now?”
Toya shakes his head, and holds back a giggle. Akito’s sarcastic voice is stupidly cute. “Nope. That’s just what the office thinks. They’re keeping it a secret. I haven’t seen Mafuyu or Ena interact in a while. Playing it safe, probably.”
Akito hums in agreement, on Ena and Mafuyu’s Ikea loveseat. Mafuyu and Ena have great taste in furniture. Artistic couples will always have a sick ass house, that’s for sure.
Mafuyu wraps her arms around Ena as she’s cooking dinner without a word.
“Work sucks.”
“It does.”
“What’s for dinner?”
“Udon noodles.”
Mafuyu nods. “I’ll make something else when it’s my turn to make dinner.”
“I missed you today.”
“I did too.”
They share a knowing moment of silence.
“It could be worse,” Ena offers.
“It feels annoying to have to lie about you being my husband. You’re my partner. My wife.”
“I know.”
“Movie night?”
“Movie night.”
“ Ena’s The Roommate?” Minori pauses her idol rhythm game and looks up. “Hm. Well, it makes sense, if you think about it. They live in the same direction, have matching rings, and have known eachother since highschool… it makes sense, yeah.
Ichika nods. “So I’m not crazy.”
An thinks back to her conversation with Akito. “Well… it’s not entirely out of a question.”
“So Mafuyu has a wife now?” Toya asks.
“I guess so,” Honami says.
“Your husband is going to get upset if you don’t eat anything.”
“Well, tell my husband that I need to finish this.”
Ena snorts. “Oh, and your husband is going to be oh-so happy that you’re neglecting your health and prioritizing a work project before yourself?”
“ You eat it. I’m not hungry anyways.”
“Mafuyu? And Ena…?”
They both look up at the same time, as if they were caught at a scene of crime. “Yeah?”
“Um… the papers you printed are done, Mafuyu. I got them for you.”
“Thanks, Honami.”
“It’s no problem.”
Honami puts the paper on her desk, and Ena smiles at her.
Right after she leaves, she continues to argue with Mafuyu again.
An stares far away at them. “What’s that all about?”
“The Roommate made Mafuyu lunch, Ena’s mad she’s not eating and she’s overworking herself instead, and Mafuyu’s insisting that Ena just eats the lunch The Roommate made.”
“Interesting,” Tsukasa says.
“Where did you come from?!” Honami yelps.
“Nowhere.”
“Would you want to have lunch with us, Mafuyu?”
Mafuyu looks at Toya quizzically. “I normally eat lunch at my desk or outside… but sure.”
Toya smiles.
So, she walks to the cafeteria with Toya. He’s been supplying their living room Ikea sofa with lots of arcade prizes lately. Maybe he ran out of space at his place. Sounds likely, to be honest.
“Mafuyu!”
Everyone lights up. Mafuyu is truly the best co-worker you could have in a horrid corporate place like this. They chat for a while, and they exchange foods: and distantly, Mafuyu wonders if this is what it was like to be in highschool at lunch with your friends, without your mother policing your social circle.
“Aren’t you going to eat lunch, Mafuyu?”
Everyone turns at the voice. Ena’s standing behind Mafuyu, bento box in hand.
“I better,” she gives a small smile, “or else The Roommate is going to be mad at me.”