Work Text:
“I can’t remember the last time I sat down in a library for anything but work.”
Sakaguchi Ango stands near you as you two browse the immense variety of books in the local library. You were a regular, but Ango himself hadn’t been to this particular library before.
You already had your own selection of books, mostly related to your direct interests… but Ango seemed to be struggling to find his own medium. He heemed and hawed between each section, seeming to gravitate toward the historical side of the building.
“Ancient Egypt?” Ango picked up what seemed to be a textbook with a fond smile, pushing up his glasses sloppily as he juggled the large text. “I used to love looking into this when I was younger.”
You watch as he seems enraptured by the find, recounting his knowledge and reading it across the page.
“Heh, wow. I can’t believe I even managed to remember that. Sometimes, I don’t even remember what I’ve had to eat.” His tone becomes tinged with sadness as he closes the book, gently tracing his fingertips over the glossy cover. “My days are so busy, I often forget even that.”
A long silence follows his statement and the both of you begin to browse once again, though you notice that Ango has not put the Egyptology book back in its rightful place. It was almost as though he were clinging onto it.
“Lingering on the past isn’t logical, not at all.” Ango speaks, breaking the silence as he absentmindedly scans the bookshelf before him. “And yet, I cannot help but do so.”
Ango glances back at you and takes a breath before his eyes wander back to the hefty text in his grasp.
“I’m starting to realize that thinking back… is okay. Life pulls us in mysterious ways, but the inward map of who you were to who you are leads to who you can become.”
After a heavy breath that seemed to expend an invisible weight, Ango gently hands the weighty texts over to you.
“I believe this is for you. Keep doing what you love, and I think I’ll start doing the same.”