mai

CLUE NUMBER ONE — it’s a rare day off for you. stretched out on the couch, you flip through channels lazily, nothing catching your attention. suddenly, you shoot upright, catching his attention. “what’s up?” akaashi says, tearing his gaze away from his phone. “kei, do you wanna watch the new scream? we could stay up, i don’t even have to go in tomorrow.” akaashi looks towards the clock, and then back at you. “it’s going to get late, right? i… have some readings to do. proofreads and stuff. you should probably go to sleep too. plus, horror movies scare you anyway.” that makes you pause. in nearly 3 years of marriage, you can count on one hand the number of times akaashi’s declined a movie night. “kei, it’s barely horror!!” he shrugged and got up from the chair he was on. “tomorrow, okay, baby? i have something really serious calling me.” and he makes a beeline for the upstairs bedroom, leaving you with just a kiss on the forehead. “seriously…?” you mutter.

and that’s when it starts.

CLUE NUMBER TWO — the first time it happened, you brushed it off. i mean, who wants to be one of those annoying wives who’s always on their husband’s back? what business was it to you what akaashi was doing on his phone? but it got annoying… and suspicious really quickly. you were filling in some paperwork when you heard him giggle. smiling, you turned to him, about to ask what was funny, when you saw him on his phone. he looked up at you, blinked, then turned stonefaced. “sorry for bothering you.” “nah, it’s fine. what were you doing, kei?” “nothing. just… uh, revising this page. my current client can’t even differentiate between past and present tense.” “...and that was funny?” “you’re telling me you don’t laugh at spelling mistakes on those tiktok comment compilations?” you just went back to your file, one ear focused on the constant shifting and smiling that seemed to be emanating from the fidgety akaashi. you swear once you even saw him kick his feet. the new girl he was talking to must be real funny, huh?

CLUE NUMBER THREE — the glow of akaashi’s monitor highlights his pretty face in the dark room. he looks tired enough, and the tab he has open seems to have words on it, so you conclude he’s working.  “kei? come to bed?” you say, putting your phone down on the nightstand. “it’s getting late.” he just hums, like he didn’t hear you. “hello?” akaashi blinks, then turns. “sorry, spaced out. what was that? uh, i can’t sleep yet. you go on, though, baby. i need to finish this page.” seriously? was he trying to get back at you for being gone all the time? i mean, yeah, work kept you busy, but it’s not like it was easy being famous! someone has to do it! were you so repulsive to him now that he would rather work all night than sleep in the same bed as you? by now, you both would’ve been cuddling, and you would’ve traced his sleepy features with your eyes, while he talked to you about star wars or birds or both, and– whatever, you thought as you drifted off. you’ll confront him soon.

CLUE NUMBER FOUR – akaashi had bought new clothes. him, the frugal guy who’d much rather spend his money on some kind of figurine or new book set, had bought new clothes. sure, he’d spent a lot on you, and he also brought you food from the bakery in the mall when he went. and sure, you’d been encouraging him to buy new clothes since you found a hole in his old shirt, but you didn’t think he’d actually do it now of all times. he buttons up his new shirt in front of you. you don’t let the pale expanse of slightly defined abs from his volleyball days distract you from your conclusion. “so?” he says, raising an eyebrow.  “so.” you said, crossing your arms. you think he’s cheating, and here he is giving you a fashion show. “what do you think?” akaashi looks almost bashful as he avoids meeting your eyes. he’s wearing a button-up white shirt, rolled to the forearms. “wait, don’t say it yet. i have more.” he pulls a beige cardigan over the shirt, looking the part of the prettyboy scholar. “nice? wait until you see this one.” akaashi says, pulling both the cardigan and the shirt off his head, glasses flying off in the process, and nearly getting stuck. you stay there for a while, giving him short comments while he tries on everything he bought. what a nice guy. asking his wife for opinions on clothes (that look unfairly good) that he’d just wear to see his side-chick. he’d barely bought stuff for himself anyway, and he decides to start doing it now, right when you start suspecting him?

you really didn’t want to do this, but it’s better then being mistaken and confronting akaashi, then embarrassing yourself. never in your life had you thought you would be 1) thinking your amazing husband would be cheating on you and 2) going through his phone like some kind of toxic girlfriend instead of the world-loved woman that you were. you decide to check messages first. if you were to find some incriminating evidence, it would be there, right?

...nothing there. you start to feel that maybe you messed up? but he's been too suspicious for you to stop here. you decided to check his screen time instead.

...wattpad? what the hell? was he talking to another girl on there or something? i mean, you knew akaashi was a bit odd, but to cover up his tracks so insistently? what the hell was he hiding? you decided to click on the app.

...what the hell x2. curiosity drives you to click on the first one.

that explains it. the giggles. the late-night 'work', the reading excuse. well, he was reading. just not what you thought. the new clothes. 'all button-ups, cardigans, and glasses?' seriously? who wrote this? ...your husband wasn't a cheater. he was a fanfiction reader. of you. even though you were in the same house. akaashi pushed the door open, towel around his neck, fresh from a shower. he was about to say something, then looked at his phone in your hands, open on an app he knew very, very well. he stared at you, horrified. "you... uh..." he started. you looked back at him, incredulous. "i thought you were cheating on me!!"

-> light mode is you, dark mode is tsumu

⊹ taglist : @k4ss11333 @bookworm-center

rushing into room 302, you almost tripped over your own feet. it was the end of the day, and professor nora had called you into his room after your last lesson to discuss ‘something’. breathing heavily (and cursing your choice of footwear), you burst into the room, pushing the wide, double-panelled doors apart. the old man looked at the clock, then back at you in disappointment. “miss [last name]. 2 minutes late.” you bit back a groan. gosh, he was always like this. “well, that’s not what i called you in for. miss [last name], remember this term’s project?” it was worth 50% of this term’s grade, and would be the make-or-break of whether you’d be accepted into the next year or not. you’d been preparing before it was even announced, so your stomach dropped the second he brought it up. “yes… sir…?” “it turns out a certain someone missed the pairing lesson for a match, and we forgot to account for him. ergo, we’re switching partners, as he doesn’t really have the best foundation in the first place, and missing the pairing lesson puts him in even more of a tough spot. miss [last name], i’m trusting you to take care of him. find the pairings on the board, and then see yourself out. thank you.” he turned back to the stack of papers on his desk. your heart dropped further, if that was even possible. rushing to the large chalkboard, your worst fears were confirmed. ‘missed the pairing for a match’... ‘doesn’t have the best foundation…’. scanning the chalked letters spelling out ‘TERM PROJECT PAIRINGS’ in professor nora’s perfect, block lettered writing, your gaze fell upon a familiar and unwelcome name in the last row.

…great. a 3-month-long project, worth half of your grade, with the guy you hated most in the entire world. could this year get any worse? (spoiler: yes. it could.)

PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS: * PS ＞︿＜ written chapters are marked with a ♪ ⊹ PROLOGUE : no exceptions! ⊹ PAGE 01 : frick all miyas ⊹ PAGE 02 : meeting with the devil… ⊹ PAGE 03 : assumptions ♪ ⊹ PAGE 04 : game plan!! ♪ ⊹ PAGE 05 : progress…? ⊹ PAGE 06 : back to square one. ⊹ PAGE 07 : food solves all ⊹ PAGE 08 : a-grade FREAK ♪ ⊹ PAGE 09 : the final stretch ⊹ PAGE 10 : d-day.. ♪

EXTRA ㅤCREDIT: ⊹ SIDENOTE 01 : prof. nora the cupid? ♪ ⊹ SIDENOTE 02 : grades are in!! ♪ ⊹ EPILOGUE : summer save me…

yet again, your mom had forgotten to pick you up. it was 5pm, and none of your friends were willing to give you a ride. "walk home." one of your friends had said ("shut the hell up," you'd said back.) the only option left was to ride the public train, the 'astral express' (seriously, what 5-year-old named that?) with the kids from the private school across from yours. that was nice and cute and all, but there was one problem...

you hadn't known that the kids (or kid, in this case) from that private school.. what was it.. star rail academy? would be this... attractive? especially the one you were sitting across from. he was sitting on the seat, slightly manspreading. he had a lean yet faintly muscular body from what you could see (and you were seeing.) his black hair was disheleved and fell across his face, a sharp contrast to his viridescent eyes. he was half-heartedly listening to whatever his friend, a girl with short pink hair, was saying. she was talking animatedly about one thing or the other, while he sat there, listening, looking totally uninterested.. and cool as hell.

your first thought was - look cute! - so you wore your school jacket and slightly unzipped it, and took out your phone and started aimlessly scrolling through your settings app and typing stuff on the search bar. after all, it was important to know the weather in cupertino, right? the ride was a long one - you didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. time passed quickly with the help of eye-candy. you stole glances at the cute guy in front of you. once, his friend caught you. she didn't say anything but you could feel her smirking, light pink eyebrow quirked up in puzzled amusement. you... almost died of embarrassment then and there. no way they weren't going to talk about you after you left. great, just your luck, right? forgetting to get picked up, having to ride in the freakin' astral express, and now getting caught drooling over truzz (train huzz...? sorry... not funny...? it's 2026..? okay put the tomatoes down..)

the pink girl started making hand motions and excitedly talking to the guy. eventually, he sighed and then said - "march, do you have a pen and a piece of paper?" "hm? yeah, dan heng. but why?" he just hummed. march rummaged through her bag and proudly presented a messily torn sticky note and a bright pink pen. the guy - whos name was dan heng - took the paper, tore it in half again, and quickly scribbled something. he stuck it on march's head. it said.. it said "free kicks?!" you almost snorted and quickly hid your face. dan heng tucked the other paper in his hoodie pocket. march huffed and tore the note away from her forehead, crumpling it up into a ball and throwing it on the floor. she turned away from him with her arms crossed. "finally.. some quiet." dan heng sighed, closing his eyes.

about halfway, you fell asleep. unbeknowst to you, march was wiggling her eyebrows and making kissy faces towards you and dan heng. dan heng groaned. he had to admit, you were pretty cute. he noticed you taking quick peeks at him earlier. he knew he was attractive, he just didn't have any interest in dating. well.. until now, when he met this cute little stranger on the train. "their uniform looks like the same one from the school across the street, no?" march whispered. ".." dan heng answered. he was too busy looking at your sleeping face. your brow slightly furrowed in rest, and your hair fell over your forehead slightly. "ew, danny boy, are you staring at them sleep? creep!!" march exclaimed, a bit too loudly. the passenger beside march turned to look his way with a confused look. "... march, stop making it weird.." dan heng groaned, shushing her.

the train suddenly hit some bumpy tracks and you jolted awake. you rubbed your eyes and sighed before realizing you were still on the train... with the cute guy... HOLY SHIT, YOU WERE ON A TRAIN WITH A HOT DUDE!! you quickly fixed your messy hair from the short nap (unless ur bald... sorry...). the train intercom announced the next stop, which was about 5 minutes before the stop you got off on. those 5 minutes passed rather quickly. march was on her phone, taking pictures while dan heng was resting, eyes closed and arms crossed.

"ding ding ding!! the train is now approaching JARILO-VI stop! please gather all belongings, as the astral express train staff are not responsible for any lost objects!!" the intercom buzzed. that was it, that was your stop! in your haste, you forgot your phone on your seat. you were halfway off the station when you felt your right pocket, and as one without their phone usually exclaims, said - "FRICK, i forgot my phone!"

you sprinted back into the train, sweating. thankfully, the doors were still open and your phone was still there. march and dan heng were gone, though. you quickly grabbed your phone, holding it close. "my baby..." you sniffled. "uhm... ma'am... if this is your stop, please leave through the doors.." a train attendant said. "sorry!!!" you flashed an apologetic smile, and fumbled with your belongings, when you saw a blur of white flutter out from the bottom of your phone. it was a piece of paper, huh...

"dont stare next time. +123 45678910"

scribbled in suspiciously familiar pink ink.

⊹ mai's note: whats up yoututuutbe this is a repost + a bit of a rewrite hehe sub 4 more !! also tumblr stop lowering the quality of my images before u see my dark side...

ISAGI childhood friends to lovers & in the rain you always admired isagi. every since the age of 7, he had been obsessed with football. it was really rare to find a passion and ambition like his. and he was so nice to you! and cute.. and hot.. and driven.. and- okay, you liked him. like, a lot. but he was in love with someone.. something else. football. it was what he lived for. but you were next, really. isagi would come to you with stories, ideas, and just about anything. and you would listen religiously, because that was the only thing you could do to keep your heart from bursting. these habits, and your 10 year crush, carried on until high school. you were neighbors, so you always walked with him to school and back. it looks like someone forgot to read the weather report today, because it's rainy with a chance of a confession. (omg who said that !! who said that !!) "you like me? i like you too. you're my best friend!" "yoichi. i like you. like, like like. like love." "i love you too!" ".. yoichi isagi. it's been 3652 days since i've liked you." "oh. that kind of like."

RIN enemies to lovers & academic rivals to lovers you hated itoshi rin. you HATED him. you hated how he always acted all high and mighty and thought everyone was below him and called everyone that didn't fit his high ass standards "lukewarm." you hated how your name was always second to "itoshi rin." in every exam, in every lesson. you hated him and he hated you right back (or you thought) though, that didn't really explain why he was standing in front of you with a heart shaped box, eyes wandering across the room, one hand scratching his neck bashfully, with a little bit of blush on his cheeks. your jaw almost dropped. yeah, you hated itoshi rin, but was he always this pretty? his eyes were spotify green cerulean, and his hair framed his face perfectly. now, up close, you noticed that his eyes weren't blue ー they were teal. his jawline was sharp. was it bad that you wanted to kiss it? was it bad that you wanted to kiss him? "HUH?????? I THOUGHT YOU HATED ME?" wow, excellent thing to say to your crush!!! woooo!!! you dumb bitch.. "hated you? uh.. i never really hated you.." "oh..." "yeah.." silence.

CHIGIRI stuck in a elevator & hot neighbor

wow, moving was the best decision you ever made. the rent was way lower, the community was friendly, and your neighbor was, well.. hot. hot as fuck. he was tall, with long and silky red hair, and the prettiest pink eyes. and he was really nice. cookies on the day you moved in, frequent hi's and hello's, and he even invited you for dinner some day! no doubt, you were head over heels. and how could you not be? he made one hell of a pasta. so, would it be considered good, or bad that you're currently stuck in an elevator with him? you were going out to meet some friends, you so did your makeup and everything. he just got back from the gym. god, he was really eye candy. "you look nice. who're you all dolled up for?" "just some friends. you?" "got back from the gym." "so.." "hm?" and then there was a crash. ".." ".." "holy shit. what was that."

KUNIGAMI best friend's older brother & protecting you

ever since you were eight, still watching icarly on the tv and dressing up dolls with your best friend, you had been MADLY smitten with her older brother. honestly, who wouldn't be? he was so nice, treated you with utmost care even when you were younger then him. he never lost his calm, he was always kind, and... he was extremely handsome. you always chased after him, but he always just thought you were his little sister's best friend. naturally, you enrolled in the same college as him. you were only a year younger, and with the mindset that kunigami only liked smart girls, you got into college with amazing grades. so why was it, that every time you tried to dress up all cute for him, he barely paid attention. it wasn't like you were in the same friend group, but really? just a occasional 'wow, those clothes suit you.' and a smile? how dense was this guy? and on top of that, you always attracted unwanted attention. "hey, girl, let's go out." ".. no." "why not? listen, i have a lot of girls chasing me, and i chose you. you must be honored." "i have a boyfriend.." "sure you do. listen, just give it up." he moved his arms towards you. "no means no." a familiar voice said, grabbing that creepy guy's hands. "and who're you?" ".. her boyfriend."

REO fake dating

the silence was deafening. "what. did you just say?" "i said, date me. for 2 weeks, fake date me. just to get my parents off my back." .. is he being for real? you knew mikage reo since you were 5. your parents and his parents were business partners, so you saw each other a lot. it was him, with his little purple bowlcut, at 5 years old, who excitedly took your hand and introduced himself. reo quickly became a close friend of yours - until he moved overseas for his little football trip or something. you hadn't seen him in years, yet he came back, knocked on your door, and made this crazy proposal. sure, he'd grown into a hot guy.. a little bit too hot. his fluffy purple hair framed his beautiful face perfectly, and his curious eyes looked at you, waiting for your answer. his lean and toned arms were visible from the black half sleeve he wore, and traces of a fully defined body were visible from under... maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea? "so? yes or no?"

NAGI sharing a room

going on a trip with your crush was the BEST thing that had ever happened to you. well, it was until about 10 minutes ago. reo, your mutual friend, decided to sponsor a trip for every one of his friends for reasons only god knows. you all met at the lobby of the expensive hotel he booked, and drew straws to see who'd get which room. reo, being the sore loser he was, (no reo hate i love reo) switched up the straws as soon as he got the shorter one. so, just your luck, right? getting stuck with your crush, nagi seishirou, in one room. you're so gonna kill reo when you get out of this. "uhh, i can take the floor?" you offered. "okay. take it then." he said, plainly. your eye twitched at his pettiness. ".. nevermind!! i'm taking the bed." "hey." he frowned "we flip a coin.. i'm heads." actually, your luck was sort of good. it landed on tails! "this thing is rigged..." he grumbled while getting ready to sleep on the floor. which somehow included taking off his grey sweatshirt, to reveal abs and a body like a greek god.. wait, why were you even staring?? (alr pack it up "greek god" SHUT UP HAHAHA WHY DO I DO THIS) "soo... uh.. do you always take off your shirt before going to bed?"