Work Text:
“Excuse me, Kurosawa? Can you pass the icing, please?” Adachi Kiyoshi asked, putting his hand out towards his husband, Kurosawa Yuichi.
Kurosawa looked up from the gingerbread house he was painstakingly working away at, giving his darling a sweet smile, almost beaming. “Of course, my Christmas angel,” he eagerly replied, picking the white icing off the table to deliver it into Adachi’s hands.
Adachi couldn’t help but smile and chuckle at that name. Ever since December 1st, Kurosawa had called Adachi his *Christmas Angel* every possible chance he could. He couldn’t even hide how much it made his heart swell with affection and fondness for his husband. The action was so cheesy. It was so sweet. It was so precious.
It was so Kurosawa.
Adachi took the icing from his husband’s warm hands, thanking him by meeting him with a soft, tender smile in return.
“Although, I believe I have a different name when we’re home, Kiyoshi. Isn’t that right, my Christmas angel?” Kurosawa replied, a gentle smile on his face as he returned Adachi’s precious gaze.
Oh yes, of course. How could Adachi forget?
“Ah, sorry. Thank you, Yuichi,” he chuckled to himself, hand covering his mouth as he laughed. The two had been together for long enough at this point, right?
Hearing his angel say his first name even one million times would never be enough for Kurosawa. No matter how many times he heard Adachi say his given name, it sounded like he’d heard the symphony of a heavenly choir for the first time. As if his ears had been graced with the most exquisite sound to ever exist.
Adachi could see his husband’s chest rise with the excitement of hearing his name leave his darling’s lips for what felt like the thousandth time, his smile widening as he could vividly see the exact moment he knew his husband’s brain had short circuited from his words.
Kurosawa returned Adachi’s gaze with a dazzling smile, then left to the other end of the table to continue work on the structure that became more and more intricate by the second.
Adachi took a moment to reflect. This was his and Kurosawa’s second Christmas together. On their first Christmas, Adachi had chosen what the pair would do; stay home and watch movies on the couch, then go to dinner at their favorite izakaya down the street. Nothing too big, just relaxing time together as they stayed on the couch watching movies and playing a few video games.
While those types of days made Adachi feel content, he felt it was unfair for the couple to consistently spend Christmas together the way he wanted.
Kurosawa got to pick their date idea this year, choosing for them to decorate gingerbread houses in their shared apartment. Oh, and of course they were wearing the matching holiday sweaters he'd picked up for them earlier in the month. Romantic and intimate, just the two of them, but with that bit of charm to know that Kurosawa had planned this himself.
Adachi was brought back in to the moment by the song on Kurosawa’s record player switching to the next romantic, beautiful Christmas track that was the perfect addition to the lovely scene before them; the two in their dimly lit apartment, their gorgeous Christmas tree in the corner, (adorned with ornaments from their separate childhoods) and building gingerbread houses together at the dining room table.
Adachi looked up to see Kurosawa on the other side of the table, intensely focused on piecing two pieces of gingerbread together to build his creation. Whatever he was working on, it seemed big, and Adachi knew he had to bring his best to try and outdo his husband’s design. As much as he joked about Kurosawa being good at *everything*, he had to try and match him at something new once in a while at least.
It was such a shame Adachi had thought of the idea of using a cardboard divider in the center of the table to keep their structures a secret from each other. As proud as Adachi was of this idea, a part of him wishes he hadn’t. His curiosity was piqued as he stared at his husband working hard as ever on his gingerbread house.
Kurosawa noticed his angel looking across the table at him, lifting his eyebrows in response and winking back into those glistening blue eyes of Adachi’s. His darling couldn’t help but blush back. Despite how long the two had been together, those expressive eyebrows *still* never failed to make Adachi’s heart race.
“What’s the matter, love? Everything alright?” Kurosawa asked as he placed a gumdrop on the front of his structure.
Adachi returned with a smile, sweet with a hint of mischief deep down. “Of course. Just be ready to lose with the idea that I have. Nothing wrong with a little competition, right?” a small smirk spread across his face as he opened the icing to squeeze it across two pieces of gingerbread on his creation.
Kurosawa’s heart skipped a beat seeing such a rare expression on his dear’s face, barely processing whatever words left those flawless lips in response.
Once his brain was able to magically process them, he couldn’t help but retort with “Oh yes, but of course, my *Christmas Rival*,” a smile now completely covering his face as he gave Adachi a small wink in return.
Adachi guffawed, almost dropping the marshmallows in his hand on the table at his husband’s answer.
The lovers couldn’t help but smirk at each other, looking back down to continue intently working on their structures of gingerbread.
Adachi was right, a small rivalry made the entire experience of this date night even more enjoyable than it already had been.
Their eyes returning back to their gingerbread houses, Adachi’s gaze was caught by the digital timer sitting in the middle of the table that Kurosawa had set earlier. An hour and a half remained, making sure they finished with time left for a romantic dinner cooked by “yours truly.” (Kurosawa’s words, not his)
Adachi noted the time, and continued to work.
As the date night progressed, the two lovers constructed houses of gingerbread, held together by white icing. Gumdrops, candy canes, and other confections furnished their structures as they continued on, throwing witty banter back and forth towards one another amidst conversations of how sweet their life together had become.
All the while, the sound of cheesy, romantic Christmas music and the scent of gingerbread filled the air, making the apartment feel even more warm, cozy, and full of love than it normally would any other day.
After working for almost three hours, the timer went off, putting an end to the countless minutes of icing pieces and placing different decorations onto their houses. Now was time to take down the cardboard divider and have the two husbands share their creations with one another.
Kurosawa took both the materials and placed them on the counter located on the opposite side of the kitchen. Turning around somewhat eagerly, but trying to downplay his personal excitement, he locked eyes with Adachi, calmly asking “Okay! Who wants to go first?”
Adachi couldn’t help the giggle that made its way from the pit of his stomach to escaping from his lips. Kurosawa truly was like a child at times; desperately excited, but mildly failing to hold it inside, letting the tiniest bit show all over his face. Adachi himself found it so incredibly endearing and charming, he couldn’t help himself.
“How about you go first? After hearing all of that big talk, I’m curious about what’s hiding on that side of the table,” Adachi replied, still giggling to himself about how precious his husband could be over the most mundane things they did together.
Adachi walked over to Kurosawa’s side of the table, the back of his structure only being in his view for the past 3 hours. As silly as it seemed, Adachi was genuinely curious to view what his husband had been working so feverishly on the entire night.
The more Adachi circled around, the more of the building came into view; stunning windows lined in gumdrops and icing details embellishing the front, beautiful candy cane lattice outside at the fore, with gorgeous candy plant life lining an elegant staircase to the bottom in front of his husband’s gingerbread creation.
Every inch of the surface was beautifully crafted. Perfectly placed decorations of sweets and snacks around the area, immaculate lines of icing lining the building surfaces and crevices, not a single piece of the structure was lopsided or out of place. It was truly a work of art.
Adachi gazed more and more in awe at what Kurosawa had built, silent as his eyes continued wandering and taking in the minute details that were placed with great purpose and care.
How did Kurosawa even build something this beautiful in just three hours?! His husband truly was incredible with everything he did in his life.
Adachi began looking down at the bottom of the staircase and saw something strange. Two gingerbread men were standing next to one another with white detailing on their bodies. No doubt done with some intricate, skillful handiwork from Kurosawa himself.
Wait, were those white tuxedos? Why did one of them have slicked back black hair? Were they holding hands?
All of a sudden, Adachi’s heart began to swell as the realization hit him; Kurosawa had recreated a gingerbread version of their wedding day, and the “gingerbread house” was actually the church they had gotten married in earlier that year.
Adachi was flooded with memories of how elated he felt the entirety of that day, the absolute happiest day of his life. The day that he had decreed his love for Kurosawa in front of the ones they both loved most. The day he vowed to be with Kurosawa forever. The day he promised to work with his husband as a team through the good and bad days, sticking together no matter what happened.
Amidst Adachi’s reflection, Kurosawa looked over and saw a small smile beginning to cross his face, silence filling the room as he observed that his angel is deep in thought. The only sound to be heard was yet another cheesy Christmas song being played on the sound system.
Adachi’s eyes continued wandering, his gaze repeatedly traveling over the various decorations on the gingerbread house Kurosawa had built. Kurosawa couldn’t help but break the silence, delighted that his angel obviously enjoyed his creation, but he selfishly wanted to hear Adachi *say it* in addition to his reaction.
“Love, do you like it?” Kurosawa asked, his voice barely a whisper. Adachi, eyes still wandering, looked up to see Kurosawa’s soft, sage green eyes gently looking at his own. Adachi couldn’t help but nod, his smile becoming even brighter as he realized his own husband spent *three hours* recreating their wedding day in gingerbread.
“I love it, Yuichi. It looks incredible,” Adachi replied. Kurosawa’s eyes widened as he took a deep breath, visibly pleased to hear praise from his darling for his hard work.
He didn’t know why he was surprised, because this was *such* a Kurosawa thing to do. However, Kurosawa was always able to astonish Adachi in the most wonderful of ways, displaying his love as loudly, blatantly, and sappily as his angel would allow at all times.
Adachi couldn’t help but lean up towards Kurosawa, letting his eyes fall shut as they shared a gentle kiss in the moment of warmth and appreciation. Adachi slowly opened his eyes, looking into his husband’s as a smile appeared once again on his face.
“I can’t believe you built this all yourself. How’d you even do it?” Adachi asked, still in disbelief his husband was able to build something this elaborate so quickly.
Kurosawa smiled as well, chuckling at how enamored his darling was with his innovative design.
He went on to describe the process of everything being crafted together, making sure all components were meticulously placed to make his final product. As Kurosawa continued on explaining himself, Adachi simply stared at the building on the table before him. When his husband finished his overly descriptive spiel, Adachi quietly chuckled and gave a round of applause at the hard work put in by his lover.
Kurosawa laughed in response as he took a small bow. After a minute, the two looked at each other, Adachi giving a small wink to his husband as he turned towards him. “So, what do you think I made?” He asked quietly, genuinely wondering what the other was thinking.
Sometimes, admittedly, he wished he had that pesky magic back in moments like this.
Kurosawa, gentle smile on his face, gazed back at his angel as he pondered. “Hm…is it our apartment? The work building? The park bench where you, my strawberry cheesecake divine angel, first touched my heart?” Kurosawa now had both Adachi’s hands in his own, holding them up as his eyes sparkled with hope and excitement to see what Adachi had created in their time together that evening.
Adachi let out a small giggle at the response, Kurosawa’s elation almost becoming contagious as he smiled back. “No, not quite. But, I think it’s something you’ll really like! Wanna see?” He asked, gently guiding Kurosawa to the other end of the table via their joined hands.
As Kurosawa turned the corner, a few things came into view; pieces of lopsided gingerbread put together, leftover drops of sloppily wiped up icing spread about, decorations that were a bit out of place. The whole structure was wonky by definition. However, Kurosawa was already overjoyed that he was about to witness his dear’s own creation.
The thought that Adachi had constructed this mysterious structure with his own two hands made this as beautiful as the Eiffel Tower in his eyes. To say he felt blessed witnessing the final product in this moment was a complete understatement.
Adachi finally brought him to the full view of his gingerbread house, and Kurosawa’s eyes immediately widened with awe and wonder when he saw the sweet smelling structure before him. He saw what looked to be almost an open dollhouse with different rooms, adorned with various confectionary decorations.
Kurosawa leaned in, intensely studying every detail of Adachi’s gingerbread house, seeing all types of sweet treats decorating the areas of the building. The more he analyzed, the more his heart swelled with affection for his darling being able to build such a wonderful creation all by himself.
The fact that his darling was so willing to participate in his silly date idea, to go along with any suggestions Kurosawa had thoughts and fantasies of, to always be a willing participant in his sappy antics, it was almost too much for Kurosawa to bear. His heart truly couldn’t take much more of his angel’s sweet, caring nature.
As he continued his observation, it slowly began to dawn on Kurosawa the layout of the structure. He noticed there was a couch out of graham crackers and gumdrops, a small kitchen with a table from miniature candy canes, a bedroom with a bed created from marshmallows and chocolate pieces for the pillows.
Adachi smiled at his husband’s intense concentration, no doubt attempting to burn every single detail of the structure before him into his mind permanently. He laughed at the thought, tempted to ask if Kurosawa had figured out what his gingerbread house was yet. He leaned down, moving his face closer to his husband’s, still acutely studying the small house before his eyes.
“Well? Do you want to know what it is?” Adachi asked, curious what his husband was thinking amidst the silence. As much as he wanted to keep his husband guessing, he admittedly really wanted to see how Kurosawa would react when Adachi confessed his idea.
Kurosawa quickly nodded, anxious to find out what Adachi was inspired to create.
Slowly, Adachi stood up, taking Kurosawa’s hands in his once again. He looked down to see their fingers entwined together and took a moment to pay special attention to how their hands felt when placed together.
The softness of Adachi’s hands balanced out the slight callouses on Kurosawa’s palms.
The warmth of Kurosawa’s perfectly heated up the cooler nature of Adachi’s.
The slight shakiness of one pair stabilized by the firmness of the other.
Together, their hands were a perfect representation of their life; made for each other.
This man was Adachi’s soulmate in every sense of the word, and Adachi couldn’t imagine spending eternity with any other being on earth. The idea that he, someone so plain and average, could make such a perfectly imperfect man so joyful and excited each day, just by being himself, brought Adachi nothing but pure delight.
The smile on his face spread wider, no longer able to hide the elation to see how his husband would react when he revealed his plan. However, a hint of embarrassment was still present in his voice as he spoke.
“Yuichi, it’s our condo. You know, the one we’ve talked about buying together…one day, i-if you still wanted to,” Adachi said, the tiny smile still present on his face as his sentence trailed off. His eyes slowly traveled to the floor as his own self-consciousness began to take over.
Suddenly, a noise brought Adachi’s gaze back up to Kurosawa’s face. His eyes widened at what was before him.
Within a second, Kurosawa Yuichi was a sobbing mess, absolutely nothing stopping the tears streaming down his face as he bawled like a child at the sweet gesture from his heavenly angel.
“H-How can you possibly surprise me e-every single day K-Kiyoshi?! I love you s-s-so much!” he wept in response, overtaken with emotion for what Adachi had created. He attempted to wipe his eyes, but to no avail as tears continued down his cheeks.
The fact that his darling had thought so far ahead and created a part of their future together that hadn’t even occurred yet, acting simply on a thought Kurosawa had crafted in his brain and fantasized about for endless hours on end. His angel was so endlessly thoughtful and kind. Kurosawa feared if he even inhaled one more time, his heart may combust from the amount of adoration he held for his darling inside of it.
Adachi smiled once again, finding his husband’s intense display of emotion hopelessly endearing. He wrapped his husband in his arms so the two could share a gentle embrace as Kurosawa’s tears began to lessen in frequency. Adachi’s smile grew as he could feel Kurosawa’s heartbeat racing much more quickly than his own, another telltale sign of how truly excited and elated Kurosawa was about his creation.
When his husband’s sobbing had subsided, Adachi lifted his head to Kurosawa’s ear. “You haven’t even seen my favorite part yet. Would you like to see it, Yuichi?” he asked, softly rubbing his hands on Kurosawa’s back to help soothe him in the moment.
Kurosawa silently nodded, lifting his head to look down at Adachi, eyes red and puffy from the sudden, intense emotional release.
Adachi quietly wiped a few stray tears off his lover’s cheeks before giving his forehead a tender kiss. He then took his hand and placed it in his husband’s, leading him to the left, a side of the construction still unseen by his husband. Kurosawa was silent, curious as to what Adachi wanted to show him.
When they went around the table to the other side, Kurosawa paused, seeing a small platform jutting out from the side of the gingerbread. On the mysterious area, two small figures of marshmallows with pretzel sticks for arms were placed, looking off into the distance.
Kurosawa, still an emotional wreck, no logical thought processing power left in his brain, had no guesses for what this might represent. Adachi, not wanting to put his husband through any more questions, chuckled once more before explaining what this represented.
“Remember how we said we wanted a condo with a big balcony to watch the evening sunsets? So, that’s the balcony, and those little marshmallow people are…um, us,” he said, grinning to his husband with pride in his voice. “You know, just for the future,” he continued on.
One second passed, and Kurosawa was immediately bawling again. So silly of Adachi to think that his husband had run out of tears to shed when he was overcome with emotion.
He could never properly put into words how grateful he was for Adachi. There were not enough words in any language on earth to properly convey how endlessly thankful he was for the love of his life, the one who accepted him for who he was, flaws and all. Yet here he was planning their future together completely on his own accord. How could he begin to try and find any words close to properly represent that? He couldn’t. It was impossible.
However, he would endlessly try every single day for the rest of their lives to try and show Adachi in *any way* how indebted he was to his angel for changing his life for the better in every conceivable way.
Adachi went back to holding Kurosawa in his arms one last time, patiently rubbing his husband’s back as he allowed him to share every emotion flowing through his body and mind. Kurosawa held on tightly as his chest undulated with unsteady breaths, continuing to freely display the sentiment for his darling radiating from his heart.
Adachi was so happy. Kurosawa could be over-the-top at times, but he was so grateful this was the life he had come to lead with the one person he had ever truly loved. Saying he felt lucky was a complete understatement. He couldn’t believe he-
“Ah, Kiyoshi, I’m so sorry. Would you like to have dinner now? You must be hungry,” Kurosawa paused, his voice muffled from the fabric of Adachi’s sweater.
Adachi laughed once again, full of nothing but love at the idea of his husband still prioritizing his needs, even when he was an overemotional wreck. He patted his back in response, attempting once again to comfort him.
“Maybe in a minute, Yuichi. This is much more important right now instead, right?” Adachi asked softly.
“I suppose so,” Kurosawa replied, burying his face further in the crook of Adachi’s neck.
“Besides, I think we have enough gingerbread to feast on for at least three days,” Adachi said, a small guffaw leaving his lips.
After a slight pause, Adachi felt Kurosawa’s back start moving erratically against his hands, his stomach surging against his body in response to his words.
All of a sudden, a deep, hearty laugh left Kurosawa’s lips, unable to be controlled as he processed his love’s words. Adachi laughed along with him, the two once again realizing once again that they truly were soulmates, made for each other in this life and every life to come after.
The two continued holding each other as they began talking about their future condo once again. How they would design the space, what they would want on the balcony, the type of couch they would want, all were topics of conversation as they shared the moment together.
The record had long stopped playing, the apartment now silent as the two continued joking and laughing together while sharing warm caresses and tender kisses.
Nothing but their love for each other filled the air, warm and sweet as gingerbread.