Chapter Text
“Sorry, I won’t make it home this weekend after all.”
Adachi’s hand quivered slightly, fingers cold and pale where they pressed into the receiver.
“I... I understand. Just be safe and don’t stay-...”
He was answered by a low beeping noise, every tone making his heart sink lower.
It hadn’t been long since he had gotten married to Kurosawa. They didn’t have a wedding reception or anything grandiose but that was in mutual agreement. Neither of them liked making too much of a deal out of it when it really was just a thing between the both of them.
Still, when he signed his name next to the delicate loops of ink that had flown from his now husband’s hands, he felt a sense of contentment he never thought to associate with a simple piece of paper.
~*~
They were in the same year of recruits fresh from university entering the company after graduation. Kurosawa might not have noticed him during their university days but Adachi had always known of Kurosawa Yuuichi, top of his class and almost legendary figure on campus, way before actually meeting him face to face.
It started out with genuine curiosity. Somehow, a majority of the books he’d borrowed from the library had a common pair of initials among their previous borrowers.
Adachi’s interests were broad, ranging from manga so old they probably should’ve been put under heritage conservation to books he’d find deep within the library archives that were already falling apart at their seams.
He had heard of Kurosawa before, of course. He was yet another star far too bright for him to behold up close but still a light that lit up a small patch of Adachi’s indefinite path to whatever future lied in front of him. Whenever he felt tired and weighed down, he’d look towards the sky and marvel at how the stars would shine, day after day, year after year, steadily and unyieldingly tracing their destined paths across the night.
And just like the light that was Kurosawa, Adachi too drew new courage to keep on walking.
He had never thought to connect Kurosawa Yuuichi to those elegantly swooped lines on the book ID cards, just occasionally imagined what the person with those initials would be like that shared so much of his taste in literature.
That was until he met Kurosawa once, when he was idly ambling on the narrow paths framed by rows upon rows of old books, the dusty smell of paper and ink calming his mind like a heavy blanket.
The afternoon sun was shining through a window, imparting a golden sheen on the man reading silently by its light.
The ends of his hair glowed softly as if they were actually the source of light dimly illuminating the room. Every once in a while he’d flip a page, long fingers dancing on the fragile pages.
Adachi didn’t know how long he had stood there, just staring at the ephemeral scene when Kurosawa looked up, eyes narrowing slightly with surprise when they focused on the person in front of them.
The edges of his eyes quickly pulled up into a smile when he seemingly found something they recognized.
Adachi was pretty sure, this was the first time they had met.
He held up the book he was reading to show its title to Adachi in a wordless question.
“Oh no, I’m not-“ Adachi started, waving his hands to articulate his embarrassment.
In his frantic motion the ID card slipped from the book he had been reading at the same time a similar card dropped from Kurosawa’s grasp.
They both kneeled down to pick up the slip of paper, hands brushing in the process.
Adachi was already talking quicker than his mind processed what he saw.
“You’re KY?”
“You’re AK?”
~*~
Kurosawa stood next to him in the small marriage registration office, eyebrows set in that stern way of his, his face illegible as always. He hadn’t even bothered putting on that signature fake smile of his that seemed to be permanently etched into his face whenever he was meeting a client or pitching a new project idea.
Not an ounce of his usual self-confidence could be seen right now with him worrying his lower lip between his teeth.
He had done this.
He was the one that toppled Kurosawa off his pedestal into an unfamiliar worldly future.
But even now, he couldn’t stop what would no doubt end up a train wreck nobody could escape from in one piece.
Adachi sighed, fingers wordlessly reaching for Kurosawa’s to steady them. He pretended not to notice how his hand flinched away from his touch, then went limp at his side after a short moment of consideration.
What did he even hope to get from going through with this farce of a marriage?
Kurosawa wasn’t looking at him while he robotically answered the questions the clerk was asking them.
As one would expect from the ace of their department, still in mental top form despite his feelings about being here today.
Adachi didn’t know why it felt so painful to finally hold that starlight he’d been heading towards in his darkest nights.
Maybe it was because it wasn’t where it belonged, high and proud in the night sky, illuminating the path of thousands.
Maybe it was because he had caused it to fall into a place where its light could only reach a single person instead.
They both had mixed feelings, leaving the office that day with a pair of rings neither one of them wore.