Work Text:
These days, Ei hasn’t been home much.
Yoimiya loops spaghetti around her fork, eyes staring dully at the plate before her. What was so great about Sangonomiya Corp, anyway? Who cared about costly mergers, business dinners, or their pretty CEO?
She drops her forehead to the table and groans. She’s exhausted. She comes home grease-covered from the auto shop and cooks supper for them anyway. And like clockwork, she'll open her phone to another text from Ei telling her that she's getting dinner with Kokomi and that she's really sorry.
Yoimiya is a good wife. When Ei works overtime for a week straight, she stays up and cooks for her each day. When Ei wants something, no matter how costly, Yoimiya works until she can afford it. But she’s sick of coming home to an empty apartment.
She has to accept that she’s jealous or she would be a hypocrite. When Ei had told her who she was having business dinners with, Yoimiya had gone straight for her laptop.
Sangonomyia Kokomi is stunning. Not only the way she looks, but the way she speaks, acts, is. She’s a far cry from Yoimiya’s characteristic clumsiness.
And no matter how hard Yoimiya tries, she can’t hate Kokomi. She’s smart and she went to college and she knows all the businessy stuff Ei talks about that Yoimiya can never keep up with. Yoimiya runs an auto shop and doesn’t have any jeans that aren’t smeared with oil. She's already lost.
She closes her eyes. It’s cruel of her to assume Ei agrees with her thoughts. Ei is a wonderful wife who would never compare Yoimiya to anyone. Yoimiya is just lonely.
The longer she sits like this, the sleepier she gets. When she’s shaken awake, it’s by Ei more than an hour later. “Miya," she says.
“Ei,” slurs Yoimiya.
“Sweetheart. Did you eat?” Ei brushes Yoimiya's bangs from her forehead.
Yoimiya shakes her head. “Just a bit. I want to go to bed.”
Ei nods and helps her stand. She still has her black pumps on and Yoimiya makes her stop by the door to take them off. The second they reach the bedroom, Yoimiya starts peeling her clothes off. She collapses onto the bed with a groan. The mattress is pillowy and soft around her achy body, and her eyes close before she can stop them. The last she feels is a kiss on her forehead and Ei's “Goodnight, dear.”
Ei is already gone when Yoimiya wakes up. The room still smells like her plum perfume.
She grunts and rolls over. Why is she acting like a desperate housewife? She has her own job. She can talk to hot people too.
Thoma has already brewed coffee when Yoimiya gets to the shop. Sometimes she wonders if people come to the shop just to look at him. More than once has she had to tell a customer no, I can’t give you his number, please pay your tab.
Thoma takes one look at her and hands her a cup of coffee. “Rough night?”
“Ei didn’t come home until twelve,” she says. Thoma frowns sympathetically.
“Have you talked to her about it?”
Yoimiya nods. “I don’t know what more I can do. She needs to make that merger happen.”
He bats her shoulder and beams like a model from a Crest ad. “Look at you. Married to a big shot.”
Yoimiya flutters her lashes. “You’ll be married to one as soon as you can decide which Kamisato’s date to accept," she coos.
Thoma flushes. She blows a raspberry and laughs when he turns and stalks off to the garage. "Don't keep them waiting too long, you charmer!"
They’ve got a couple of customers that keep them busy until late afternoon. Thoma collapses in one of the lawn chairs lining the garage, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with a grease rag. He snorts when Yoimiya scrunches her nose.
“You might as well not wear a shirt. You’re soaked through,” she mutters.
Thoma smirks at her. “You like when I’m shirtless?”
“Shut up.”
They sit peacefully. Yoimiya looks across the street at the park as a bead of sweat slides down the small of her back, sticking her thin tank top to her skin. “Do you think I’m a bad wife?” she asks.
Thoma glances meaningfully down at the golden ring on her left hand. “I think you’re a wonderful wife,” he says.
Yoimiya grumbles out a "thank you". It’s not worth talking about this because she knows what Thoma will say, but she asks anyway. “Do you think I’m hotter than Sangonomiya Kokomi?”
“The CEO?” Thoma turns to look at her, brow furrowed.
“Mm.”
“I guess.” He shrugs, “I don’t think Ei is looking at Kokomi like that though.”
“I know she isn’t,” Yoimiya murmurs, and means it.
The doorbell tolls from the shop, the windchimes Yoimiya set on the doorframe adding to the cacophony. “Coming!” she calls. She pushes through the door leading from the shop to the garage and freezes.
Ei doesn’t look like she belongs here at all. She shifts uncomfortably and offers Yoimiya an awkward smile. Yoimiya waves.
“Hi,” she breathes.
“Hello,” says Ei. Several emotions flicker across her face before she coughs, looks away, and says, “I wanted to tell you in person. The merger is happening soon and Kokomi’s invited me out to dinner again.” She pauses. “I have to go. I need to make this work.”
Yoimiya stares at her. She’d been building herself up all day to yell at Ei the moment she saw her, but seeing Ei’s frazzled expression makes all her anger melt away.
“Don’t worry.” She takes a step closer and presses a soft kiss to Ei’s temple, going onto her tiptoes to reach.
Thoma coughs loudly. Ei’s expression turns frosty.
“Hello Thoma,” she says.
“Hello,” he replies, equally as cold.
Yoimiya steps back and is tugged into a sweaty hug. She squeaks, grappling at Thoma’s arm until he loosens his hold. “If you’re busy, I’ll take Yoimiya to dinner," he offers.
Ei grits her teeth. Yoimiya wrestles herself out of Thoma’s hold and grabs her hands. “Ei. It’s alright,” she says.
“It’s alright,” Ei repeats softly. “Okay.” She leans down to press a kiss on her forehead and tugs the strap of her sweaty tank over her shoulder. Yoimiya giggles as Ei flicks Yoimiya's dangling earring. “I’ll make it up to you.”
Yoimiya smiles up at her. “Thank you.”
They watch Ei walk back to her car. She snaps the buckle across her lap, looks up to see the two of them watching her, and gives them a small, self-conscious wave. Yoimiya’s heart stutters.
“She’s so cute.”
Thoma scoffs. “I could be a better wife.” She gags, hitting his shoulder as he leans heavily on her.
“You stink. Take me out to dinner,” she says.
“Of course, my lady."
Dinner with Thoma is lovely. Yoimiya knows that he doesn’t really hate Ei, but it makes her a little giddy to have someone in her corner like that. And it makes Ei jealous, too.
Still, it’s disappointing to come back to an empty bed. Yoimiya takes a shower for longer than she probably should and chooses her comfiest pajamas. Then she curls on top of the bed and closes her eyes.
It doesn’t last for long. She unlocks her phone and scrolls to Safari, wavering for only a second before she unlocks her phone. Immediately, pictures of Kokomi fill her phone screen. Yoimiya swallows, deletes the tab before she can start feeling bad about herself, and pulls up her and Ei’s wedding photos.
The first photo is Ei staring grumpily at the camera with Yae and Makoto on either side of her. Yae is grinning, arms wrapped around Ei’s neck while Makoto is smiling serenely.
The wedding photos are a guilty pleasure of Yoimiya’s. Ei doesn’t like photos of herself because she argues her face isn’t expressive. Yoimiya thinks she looks cute in all the photos they take, so she savors them when she can get them.
She falls asleep with the album still open.
Yoimiya takes another sip of coffee and sighs. It’s drizzling today, so Thoma and her have taken shelter inside the shop to keep away from the cold.
Consequently, they haven’t had many customers. “I’m wasting away here,” Thoma groans.
She leans back and closes her eyes. Ei had been gone when she woke up and she’d walked here in the rain. It’s safe to say she’s having a bad day.
Even worse, all she can think about is Kokomi. Yoimiya has never believed that she's stunningly attractive or whatever, but she feels bare next to Kokomi. She'd been so sure before, but what if Ei really does leave her for someone like Kokomi?
The doorbell jingles. Yoimiya reluctantly drags her head up to see her wife's resolute face. Ei marches up to Yoimiya and leans down to kiss her firmly on her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“Bwuh?” Yoimiya manages to say.
Ei smiles and tugs her to her feet. “We got the merger. I’m all yours now.”
“Really?”
“Yes, dearest. Let me take you home. Close the shop for the day.”
Yoimiya frowns at her. Her heart is pounding wildly at her wife's confidence, but she says, “Do you think I can just close the shop willy-nilly?”
“Oh, please. Just go,” Thoma mutters.
Ei’s eyebrow twitches but she nods gratefully at Thoma nonetheless.
“Thanks, Thoma,” says Yoimiya. She lets Ei tug her jacket onto her and usher her through the door. She opens the car door for Yoimiya and waits for her to sit before she walks around to open her door. The moment she closes the door she turns around and grabs Yoimiya’s face, tugging her into a filthy kiss. Ei's nails dig into her scalp as she attempts to swallow her whole. "Ah," Yoimiya gasps as Ei traces her tongue over the back of her teeth and smiles into their kiss. When she pulls away, a flimsy string of drool connects them.
“I love you,” she murmurs, thumbing it away.
“Love you too,” Yoimiya says dazedly. Ei presses another kiss to her cheek.
“It seems I’ve been remiss in my marital duties. Will you let me take make up for my mistakes?” asks Ei. She turns her head and noses along Yoimiya’s jawline.
When she whimpers, she feels Ei smile against her skin. “You have a lot to make up for,” she gasps out.
Ei laughs. “We have all night, my dear.”
Thoma has to bang on the shop's window to stop them from making out.