Something I drew for the cherry magic mini bang last year! I meant to throw in a second piece but unfortunately ran out of time but this is part of a scene from chapter 2 of the lovely fic I worked with by @kurodachimagic !
Give it a read over on tumblr or ao3 if you haven't already :)
Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
Rating: Pg 13
Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting t
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
This was done for a Cherry Magic Mini Bang on Twitter! Thank you so much to Yani for indulging me and entering the minibang with me. <3 This drawing was inspired by @kurodachimagic's fic!
Chocolate and Cherries [post]: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
More: Cherry Magic (will i draw more? yeah)
Don’t repost. Be nice. If sharing please give full credit ^^
Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
Rating: Pg 13
Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.
Word count: 6.2k
A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you@hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now.
Read on ao3
One year later.
Even though Kurosawa’s restaurant was always booked weeks in advance, the moment he’d heard the date of Adachi’s book release, he had saved the day to celebrate. There was no staff or clients around, just them.
Adachi walked in wearing his best suit and sat at the table already waiting for them in the middle of the room. All the main lights were off, only the ambient lights and candles were there to set a whimsical and romantic mood.
He smiled, thinking back to their love story, to the moment when they confessed their feelings for each other and admitted who their muse was all along; it had been so special. That night, as his body trembled with an onslaught of first experiences, Adachi had lost his powers, but gained so much more.
People may say that they moved too fast, but there was no need for waiting. Sometimes things were just - right.
They had kept that living arrangement for a while, spending all their available time together in either flat, only using the separate space when Kurosawa needed to focus on a new recipe or Adachi had a particularly hard day and needed a more quiet writing environment, but it was never too long before one sought the other out for a break.
There were no more lonely nights for either of them. Instead, Kurosawa sat on the sofa, writing recipe ideas down as Adachi edited a section of the book or added something new. There was no need for hesitation or self-doubt, now they had someone to run their thought process by. They were each other’s biggest fan.
Eventually, it became obvious that there was no reason to pay rent for two small flats when they could move into a bigger one together. And now, nearing their first anniversary, they had new victories to celebrate: Adachi’s book was published and Kurosawa’s restaurant had received a three-star qualification.
Kurosawa sat down across from him, pulling him from his thoughts and served each a glass of Rosé. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes. Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said with a small smile.
Adachi shook his head. “It’s ok,” he smiled. “I told you, you didn’t need to work today. I only want to spend the night with my boyfriend and celebrate.”
“And I want to feed my boyfriend to celebrate that he became a published author.” Kurosawa raised his glass. “Congratulations on making your dream come true, Adachi. I’m very proud of you.”
Adachi raised his glass as well. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you. Congratulations on being the best chef in the world.”
“Oh, stop it,” Kurosawa laughed. “What else? What else?”
“And the most handsome…”
“And?” Kurosawa asked with a cute smile.
“And the best boyfriend.”
“And what else?”
“Mmmm, I don’t know. The best loud snorer!”
“That too, but you forgot ‘The best husband.’” Kurosawa placed a beautifully crafted box in the shape of a red cherry on the table.
Adachi couldn’t help but laugh when he opened it to find an engagement ring inside. He nodded and put on the ring himself. “Ok, ok. I will marry you,” he said before going around the table and pressing his lips to Kurosawa’s. “But you won’t be able to bear the title of best husband if you burn dinner tonight.”
Kurosawa’s eyes widened. “The souffle!” He ran back to the kitchen.
Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
Rating: Pg 13
Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.
Word count: 6.2k
A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you@hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now.
Read on ao3
Adachi adapted to his new and strange life as a wizard fairly quickly. He realized that he just needed to take the morning train before rush hour and the night train after it to avoid most of the accidental mind-reading incidents. It cost him precious time out of his day, but he didn’t mind it as much when he gave in and started typing on his phone to put his best foot forward in maintaining his writing schedule. Some sacrifices needed to be made and such was life.
With his writer’s block under control, Adachi threw himself fully into his book. Every second that was not spent working or sleeping, he was writing or doing research for it. Days soon started to merge into each other, but that was completely fine in his opinion; as long as his book became a reality, he was willing to sacrifice his free time.
At some point during the following week, Adachi ran into Kurosawa while taking out the trash. He turned around and there he was, sporting a bright smile that was akin to familiar with how much they had been seeing each other. Then, something odd happened. Adachi felt blush rising to his cheeks as he stood so close to his neighbour that he could smell his cologne. He instinctively closed his eyes and inhaled that sweet aroma, a foreign feeling settling in his stomach. He wasn’t sure of what could have caused him to react like that, but he clearly needed to rest for a bit. Maybe so much work was giving him anxiety. He said a quick goodbye to Kurosawa and rushed back home.
The following day Adachi pressed the wrong button in the elevator and exited one floor below his own. Not noticing his mistake, he tried to open a door that looked just like his, only to jump back when it opened swiftly to reveal Kurosawa wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
Adachi choked on his own spit, his eyes unable to ignore the fact that Kurosawa was not wearing a T-shirt - or clothes at all for that matter - and that his hair was dripping onto his torso, the droplets continuing to travel down his body in a mesmerizing way.
“Hello!” Kurosawa smiled. “I think you got the wrong flat - unless you wanted to pay me a visit.”
“Uh, yeah,” Adachi said, his eyes finally meeting Kurosawa’s. Then, he noticed a familiar smell, perhaps vanilla and chocolate.
“Would you like to come in?” Kurosawa asked, setting his hand on the doorframe, his fingers softly brushing against Adachi’s.
Adachi suddenly felt as if he was inside of a movie, romantic music and all. He could see Kurosawa pulling him inside by the belt loops and kissing him deeply as he dropped his work bag to the floor. He moaned, letting himself be guided into the flat without breaking the kiss, the door shutting behind them just as the towel started to come undone on its own, revealing Kurosawa’s -
Adachi removed his hand from the door frame and blinked repeatedly. “I have to go, sorry!” He mumbled and ran the remaining flight of stairs leading up to his flat, before hurrying inside and locking the door. ‘What was that?’
That night Adachi paced so much around his flat, for a moment he considered the possibility of the floor just giving in and him falling straight into Kurosawa’s flat. Had those been Kurosawa’s thoughts or his own?
--
Ever since that night, Adachi’s thoughts and dreams were plagued by Kurosawa’s face and his naked torso. It was often some sort of fantasy where Kurosawa cooked for him and fed him wearing only an apron or coming up in only a towel, asking to use his shower as he bit his lip and ran his fingers through his hair.
After many nights of waking up with a start and drenched in sweat but awfully satisfied, Adachi had no choice but to start questioning his sexual orientation. Maybe there was an actual reason he had never felt the need to pursue a woman. To be sure of his conclusion, he would need to avoid Kurosawa until he had found a definitive answer.
--
Funnily enough, the more Adachi avoided any and all common areas in the building, the more he saw Kurosawa. His plan had a fundamental flaw: they lived in the same building and Kurosawa knew exactly how to find him.
Perhaps the reason he had never come knocking on his door was the fact that they saw each other fairly frequently - increasingly so, even - but now that Adachi had made the decision to avoid him, his neighbour just kept coming up under the most ludicrous pretences.
Sometimes he would come asking for cooking ingredients like milk or sugar, two other times he brought Adachi’s post up, one time he offered to take out his trash for him since he was on his way down. You see, the nice old lady living next door had laughed at Kurosawa’s demands and told Adachi that his neighbour was a professional chef and she knew for a fact that he always had cooking ingredients on hand because he did her shopping every day as well as bringing her food or cookies on occasion.
Adachi had blinked repeatedly, truly baffled by his behaviour but at the same time, he had started to look forward to their little meetings, especially now that there was no doubt that Kurosawa was purposely seeking him out - and baking him cookies in the middle of the night.
He’d narrowed his eyes but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he took advantage of this new source of information and asked about Kurosawa’s girlfriend, but after providing a short description, he found out that the woman in question was his sister. To his surprise, this made him feel absolutely gleeful; it brought such a huge smile to his face that he felt a bit flustered and after a quick thank you and a small bow, he ran back home.
He had flopped onto his bed and placed his arms behind head pondering about this new development. His reaction to finding that Kurosawa did not have a girlfriend, paired with all the dreams Adachi had had about him, had made him realize that he was interested in him, as a person, as a friend, and as everything the other was willing to give him. The problem was that Adachi had no romantic experience at all and the sole thought of going in search of Kurosawa had made him feel sick to his stomach, so he’d decided to wait for the perfect opportunity. That day came two weeks later.
A Friday night, barely past midnight, Kurosawa knocked on his door, once again, with a box quite similar to the one he had received before.
“Hi,” Kurosawa said, biting his lip.
“Hello,” Adachi answered with a small smile. “What can I do for you, Kurosawa?”
“I hope it’s not too late. I wanted to ask you a huge favour.”
“No, of course not,” Adachi said, purposely placing his hand on the door frame, closer to Kurosawa’s. “What do you need?
As if they were magnets, Kurosawa rested his head against Adachi’s hand. “Would you try these cookies for me? I think this is the final version of my recipe.”
Adachi gasped. He could see how long Kurosawa had been working on the recipe, how nervous he was to get his approval, not only because he had inspired the cookies but because he trusted his opinion.
“Absolutely, I love cookies,” smiled.
The image changed before his eyes. Adachi sat on his sofa with a grin, Kurosawa straddled his legs and fed him bits of cookie, watching him raptly, asking if he liked them.
Deciding it was best to stop snooping in Kurosawa’s mind, Adachi removed his hand from the frame and took the box before walking in. “Come in, please. I’ll make us tea.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Kurosawa walked in, set the box on the coffee table and looked around curiously. He grabbed a cookie before coming to stand beside Adachi, watching him fill the kettle and move around the kitchen.
“What?” Adachi asked, feeling Kurosawa’s eyes burning holes through him.
“What?” Kurosawa said in the same exact tone.
Adachi blushed and focused his eyes on his tea set. “You are looking at me weirdly!?”
“Oh,” Kurosawa laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just - would you mind trying the first cookie without the tea? It could change the flavour profile.”
“Oh. Of course!” Adachi said, extending his hand to grab the cookie but Kurosawa was having none of it. Instead, he held the cookie to Adachi’s lips, waiting for him to just take a small bite.
With a resigned sigh, Adachi bit into a cookie and moaned as a bit of cherry exploded inside his mouth adding a touch of tartness to the chocolate. He didn’t really realize what he had done until he saw Kurosawa’s eyes widen.
“Is it that good?”
“Yes,” Adachi said, trying to regain his composure. “These are the best cookies I’ve ever tried. I could eat them every day for the rest of my life.”
“I’m glad you like them. I created this recipe thinking of you.”
“Really?” Adachi asked, already knowing the answer.
Kurosawa simply nodded.
Adachi closed his eyes trying to find the courage needed for what he was about to do. “I wanted to talk to you,” he finally said.
“Oh?”
“I know why you keep coming,” Adachi said as he stepped closer to him.
“Why?” Kurosawa asked, taking another step forward, his lips almost brushing against Adachi’s.
Adachi looked at his lips and closed the distance between them, surprising even himself with his boldness. He felt Kurosawa’s hand on his arm, grounding him.
Suddenly, they were standing in the kitchen, cooking together, wearing matching rings. Then, they were walking under the moonlight with sakura petals falling over them. The image changed again and this time, they were standing at the altar, Kurosawa giving him a lopsided smile as he said “I do.” The scene rapidly changed, Kurosawa picked him up and threw him into their bed effortlessly before crawling over him, kissing him, slowly removing his clothes one by one until -
Adachi gasped and stepped back, bringing a hand to his lips, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. Then, he smiled realizing how right that felt even if their lips had barely touched.
Kurosawa’s usual smile deepened as he pulled Adachi close for a proper kiss; the first of many.
Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
Rating: Pg 13
Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.
Word count: 6.2k
A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you@hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now.
Read on ao3
The following morning, Adachi rolled out of bed with only a minute to spare, got dressed and started the painfully long commute to work. He could tell that something felt off, but he thought it was probably related to the horrible position his neck had been in. He pinched the back of his neck with his index and thumb, trying to locate the source of the pain and moving the muscle in a circle to adjust it back into place but it was hard to concentrate when everything seemed so loud. Still, he continued to massage his neck until a man bumped into him.
Adachi heard him throw an insult his way even though his lips weren’t moving and jumped back, accidentally crashing into a young woman. As he turned to apologize, he heard her call him an impolite evil man, but again, her lips did not move. He panicked and pressed himself against the wall before sliding to the floor. Another man placed a hand on his shoulder and asked if he was ok, but Adachi could hear loud and clear the man’s voice calling him a drunk. Not knowing what to think, he thanked the man and shuffled into a corner in an attempt to stop hearing people, and for the time being, it worked.
Feeling a bit more reassured about his mental health once the voices were gone, he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked his messages, realizing it was his birthday. Urabe’s voice ringed in his ears: “Adachi, if you don’t date someone by the time you turn 30, you will turn into a wizard!”
That couldn’t be right, it was just a myth! But just in case, he did what he could to avoid physical contact with anyone else.
After another monotone day of work at the office, Adachi returned home right after rush hour. Once again, Kurosawa took the elevator with him, but this time he was alone. He briefly wondered where the girl was, if they may have had a fight or if she was just busy. As his curious mind flew a million miles away, his spatial awareness dwindled and Kurosawa’s hand brushed against his. It happened again; he heard what he could only assume were Kurosawa’s thoughts: “So beautiful.” Adachi wondered if he was thinking about his girlfriend.
“You have trouble sleeping, right?” Kurosawa asked with a curious expression.
“Huh?” Adachi blinked in confusion.
“You pace at night, right? I can hear you.”
“Uh, yes. I’m sorry.” Adachi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Am I too loud?”
Kurosawa smiled widely. “No, of course not. I was just wondering what could keep you up at night.”
Adachi bit his lip. He didn’t like to share much about his personal life, but it was only fair since he kept his neighbour up every day. “I write at night; my mind gets more creative after dawn, but sometimes I need to walk around to focus on what I need to write next.”
“Hmm. I see,” Kurosawa said. “What are you writing?”
“A book. I want to be a published author; it’s one of my dreams.” Adachi wasn’t sure why he was oversharing, but there was something in Kurosawa that just made him want to talk.
“Well, good luck Adachi! I’m sure you’ll create wonderful stories,” Kurosawa said and at that moment, Adachi truly believed him.
“Thank you so much. You are very kind.”
Kurosawa nodded. Then, he seemed to notice the street food Adachi carried in a bag. “Eating in?”
“Yes, I usually do. I don’t want to waste the time I could use for writing on dining out.”
“Hmm. Well, have a good night.” Kurosawa said before exiting the elevator and the doors closed before Adachi could think of anything to say other than a mumbled: “Have a good night.”
--
A few hours later, past midnight, Kurosawa was still fully immersed in his recipe tasting. Ingredients all around him paired in helped him visualize what could be the key addition for a new speciality for his restaurant.
After almost ten years of working for one of the most exclusive restaurants in Tokyo, he finally felt ready to take the next step, to try and make this his own personal passion project a reality. The plan is to create or adapt a nice sample of dishes and desserts for it before renting a small place near his flat and opening it to the public.
Today’s recipe was quite simple, just a chocolate chip cookie with a twist. It needed to be interesting enough to make when he heard Adachi pacing, his lips curling into a small smile. Perhaps he could help his favourite neighbour.
With a renewed sense of determination, he put the basic ingredients in a bowl and folded them into a dough as he hummed along. Thinking of Adachi, he added coconut shavings and a spoonful of pure honey. Yes, maybe that would help.
Twenty minutes later he opened the oven and caught a whiff of his newest creation. He waited patiently as the cookies cooled and tried them; they were quite good but not special enough. There was something still missing. Well, they were still good to share, so he wrapped the rest of them in cellophane with a red ribbon and placed them in a pink box.
The elevator was often noisy when the entire building was silent like now, at two in the morning, so he decided to use the stairs instead, smiling to himself all the way up. He lifted his arm to knock but hesitated; Adachi often looked like a deer in the headlights when caught off guard and someone knocking on his door in the middle of the night would probably make him nervous. Kurosawa placed the box on the floor and knocked a few times before power walking to the stairs. For a brief moment, he felt the urge to hide and check what Adachi’s expression would be when he found the present, but he decided that it was perhaps a bit weird and left before the door opened.
He paused, his heart skipping a beat when he heard Adachi say “Huh? Hello?” followed by the sound of the door closing shortly after.
Kurosawa continued down the stairs, feeling giddy just thinking about Adachi tasting his creation. He entered his flat and after cleaning his kitchen, he laid in bed, still smiling. He could no longer hear Adachi’s pacing; maybe he just needed something sweet to continue writing.
-
One floor above, Adachi opened the box and his senses went haywire, as he inhaled the smell coming from it. His eyes snapped open, noting he had closed them without realizing. He carefully untied the ribbon, revealing a mouth-watering sight before him.
There was a small yellow card with very neat handwriting that read: “I hope these make you smile just like I smile when I think of you.” Adachi’s face went completely red. Who could possibly be leaving gifts at his doorstep with such a message? He honestly had no idea. Still, it would be a waste not to eat them.
He shook his head and went about making a big batch of tea in his favourite tea set, consisting of a white porcelain teapot and a small cup in the shape of a cat’s body, its lid completing the face and ears. It was his lucky Neko set; he only pulled it out on special occasions since it had helped him finish his first-ever long story, but now it was necessary. With a nice batch of red tea and the special cookies, he would be able to tackle anything.
Finally sitting down to write for the night, he poured himself a cup of tea, added honey and took a sip followed by a bite of his first cookie. He was pleasantly surprised to find that both went together fairly well. He hummed and closed his eyes letting his imagination fly.
He could see two small children play-fighting with sticks in a field with tall grass, laughing and chasing each other.
Adachi’s eyes snapped open. He smiled and started typing furiously. This could be the perfect set-up for the main characters as they weren’t properly fleshed out yet. He still didn't know who they were as people, but he felt one step closer to figuring it out.
Overall, it was a very productive night. He stayed up until four in the morning writing more details, making small notes for later chapters and adding music to a playlist that would accompany him in this writing journey.
Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
Rating: Pg 13
Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.
Word count: 6.2k
A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you @hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now. Thank you to @schnaf for being a great friend and beta!
Read on ao3
Adachi dragged his feet on the pavement as he made his way home from work. He was already too exhausted to start his writing day with the best mindset but it would have to do. He’d already skipped four days this week and if he didn’t actually sit down to work on his book, it would never be published. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head slightly.
The situation was not ideal by any means, he was not great at cooking and it was already too late to start dinner, but he definitely needed to eat something or his mind would absolutely quit on him, he knew that much.
Adachi knew he should probably get something healthier but he refused to waste even more time walking to the store, so he decided to stop by the food cart near his flat for his usual emergency menu: two tuna onigiris with mayo - along with a can of soda in the hopes that the caffeine would boost his creativity. He was not too happy about it, but he didn’t have much time to contemplate his choice because as soon as he had paid, the first few droplets of water hit his shoulders. Looking up, he felt the next few drops hit his nose and his forehead. He cursed inwardly and simply took off awkwardly running the last few blocks home, trying his best not to slip and fall, his dress shoes nothing but a hazard in this particular situation.
The building door was so close, he could see it through the pouring rain; just a few meters and he would be home. Adachi rushed, his hand extended already to grab at the door handle when his body collided with something - someone - and fell backwards. It was as if time had slowed down; he could see the face of the person he ran into frozen in shock, his eyes widening as he saw Adachi falling, while Adachi could only think about the pain this would cause him, physical, yes, but mostly emotional. He always managed to get himself in embarrassing situations and now -
His neighbour extended his hand just in time to catch Adachi’s and pulled him upright effortlessly, his expression switching from shock to a relieved smile. “Are you ok? I’m so sorry, I hadn’t seen you.”
“Thank you! I’m so sorry,” Adachi said, feeling the heat rise to his face, partly because of his clumsiness and partly because his neighbour had not let go of him yet. In fact, Adachi could have sworn that the guy was rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand. He didn’t know what to do, so he tried again. “Uh, sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”
“It’s ok, I’m glad that you didn’t get hurt.” The man seemed to suddenly remember they were standing in the pouring rain and pulled Adachi to the door. “Come, you’ll catch a cold in this weather.”
No matter how hard he thought, Adachi couldn't remember ever catching his name but he had seen this man before in the elevator and in some of the common areas. He seemed to be a bit of a recluse, much like himself.
The man opened the door and finally let go of his hand before ushering him in. “After you, Adachi.”
Adachi’s eyes widened; he didn't know how the man knew his name, but he didn’t mention it. He walked inside and called the elevator, followed closely by his saviour. Once the doors opened, he stepped in and turned around, pressing the button for the fifth floor and finally facing the man. "Thank you, again…" he trailed off.
"Kurosawa. My name is Kurosawa." He pressed the fourth-floor button.
Adachi smiled and bowed to him. "It was nice seeing you, Kurosawa. Have a good night."
The elevator dinged and Kurosawa bowed with a smile before exiting. “Good night, Adachi,” he waved.
Adachi hesitantly waved back as the elevator doors closed. Before he knew it he was one floor up, opening the door to his flat, throwing his work bag on the sofa and taking his wet clothes off with a groan before going to the bathroom.
What a day. Not only had he stayed late to finish on that project Urabe had handed to him but he also made himself look like a fool in front of his very cool neighbour, and to add insult to injury now he needed a hot shower to hopefully avoid catching a cold. He shook his head and hopped under the stream, washing himself thoroughly and letting the hot stream relax his muscles.
Feeling in a bit of a better mood, Adachi got out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel and went about getting into a comfy set of pyjamas. He finally sat at his desk and opened the white doc of doom, checking the time and cursing as he realized it was 9 pm already. He slouched in his chair, throwing his head back with a groan. This book was going to take a million years at this rate, he really needed to prioritize his schedule, put on some good hours into it each day, especially during the weekend, he needed to -
Adachi’s stomach growled loudly, reminding him that his emergency dinner laid abandoned in its bag. He got up and stomped over to the sofa, unwrapping the onigiris and eating them without so much as a thought before returning to his spot. He promptly sat down to continue with the daily task of staring at the document while he begged his brain to type something - anything - out. But his mind had other plans though, Kurosawa’s face and gentle smile kept popping in his mind. Maybe it was because of the way he moved, how he had kept him from falling with his sharp reflexes, or maybe it was how elegant he looked even when he was soaking wet, how well his suit fitted him. Kurosawa was like some sort of superhero, or… no, he was more like a Prince Charming from an epic battle world. That was a start - it was not the murder mystery he had thought about, but it was definitely a start.
The sound of Adachi’s footsteps worked like a metronome, helping his mind settle into a rhythm. He was starting to see things in more detail: The brave prince paced in his castle, his sword close by his side, the problems his kingdom was facing were almost too much to bear and with his father on the brink of death, it was all on him. A shadow appeared above the citadel - the… the… ‘kingdom x’ was being attacked by a three-headed dragon. How would he fix this and save his people? Had someone sent the dragon or did it act with free will? Did the soon-to-be king have secret magic powers? Maybe they were a secret even to himself!
With renewed energy and excitement, Adachi sat down to work. This new world just wanted to be written, to become a reality, and he was not going to stop it. Aided by the occasional sip of soda and a few “stretching breaks” that were more like actual pacing, he managed to draft four thousand words by 5 am, effectively breaking his 3 thousand word record from just a few months ago. If he could keep up the pace he could finish the book within the next month and send it to Tsuge for editing and review. He sent a quick text to his friend to tell him the good news and got into bed; he would probably regret staying up so late tomorrow, but now he didn’t have it in him to care. Writing was definitely his call - even if he was very close to missing his goal of being a published author by 30.
---
The commute to work was nothing short of hell. The morning started with Adachi missing his usual train and having to take the next one during rush hour - not that he ever managed to avoid rush hour, but he usually took the first train during it so it wasn’t as crazy as later in the morning. This resulted in him having a very unpleasant ride, squeezed half to death between the sea of people, feeling like a canned sardine with a bad case of insomnia. That was the other issue, the previous writing night ended up being a success but even though he’d been exhausted by the time he was done, it had been impossible to fall asleep. Now he was on his way to a long workday with a pounding headache and a sour mood. If given the opportunity, Adachi would’ve chosen to take the day off to sleep and feel refreshed enough by sundown to continue writing.
His job was definitely a necessary evil, but sometimes he couldn’t help but resent it. On the verge of thirty, Adachi spent most of his day at the office, writing his reports, Urabe’s reports, and occasionally picking up the slack of some of his colleagues. There was barely any time for hobbies or relaxing and least of all to be an aspiring writer. To be completely honest, Adachi had started viewing his day job as his second career in the past year. His heart and soul were focused on his new goal, what he really wanted. In the end, if writing didn’t become his main income, it wouldn’t matter, he was passionate enough about it to continue no matter what. After all, living in the fantasy worlds he created was more than enough for him.
Adachi made it to his desk just on time, but running those last few blocks only served to make his mood even sourer. He pulled at the collar of his shirt with a small huff, still thinking about his writing and leaned back in his chair until it touched Urabe’s shoulder, startling him.
He turned around swiftly, blush already rising to his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Senpai.”
Urabe nodded and waved him off. Then, he cocked his head and looked at Adachi in more detail. “What is going on with you, Adachi? You look tired.”
“I just had trouble sleeping last night, that’s all,” Adachi said with a heavy sigh. He could picture so many things he would rather do than give explanations about his personal life, but he would feel too guilty if he was rude to Urabe when he was only worried about him.
“Hmm, are you sure that’s all?”
“Yes. I’m ok.” He attempted his best smile. “Thank you for asking.”
“Adachi,” Urabe pouted, his brows burrowed into a childish frown, just like every time he would ask Adachi to take on more work, any semblance of concern already gone out the window. “Can you finish this report for tomorrow? The boss is really piling stuff on my shoulders and I already had other plans for today.”
Sometimes Adachi wished he was a bad person, or a bad colleague even, but he couldn’t help taking on the extra work when it was needed, after all, he didn’t have much of a life. He rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Oh, wait. Is your birthday today or tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
“And you’re turning 30, right?”
Adachi nodded once again, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible; he didn’t want to be reminded of the passage of time or how much he hadn’t achieved by now.
Urabe rolled his chair closer and elbowed him. “Aaah, you sly weasel. Do you have a date?”
“Of course not. I’m just looking forward to getting home and sleeping.” That was literally his birthday plan.
Urabe frowned and gave him a quizzical look. “But you have... ‘dated’ before, right?” He winked.
Adachi shook his head slightly and saw the same look many people gave him, a mix of pity and judgement.
“You should ask one of the girls out. I’ve heard Yui is single and she’s very pretty!”
Adachi slowly turned his chair towards the copy machine and saw Yui across the room. She was, in fact, very pretty, but… she didn’t spark anything in him. She looked like a work of art, pleasant to look at, but not for him. “No, I don’t think that would work.”
“Adachi, if you don’t date someone by the time you turn 30, you will turn into a wizard!” He whispered.
“What? That’s ridiculous!”
“It’s true, you’ll see!”
Adachi rolled his eyes and turned back to his desk, finally starting on the reports needed. The sooner he was done with that, the sooner he could return to his writing.
--
The elevator opened its doors for Adachi and the ding that followed made his muscles relax instantly. Only a few more minutes and he would be up in his flat, taking his shoes off and cooking something quick before sitting down to write. He felt inspired by the beginning of this new story and he wasn’t about to let a bad day at work ruin that for him.
Just as the doors started to close, someone put a bag between them to keep them open. The first thing Adachi saw was a girl with a cute and gentle look, a black wispy fringe framing her face and a sweet smile. She nodded at Adachi and he smiled and nodded back. He wondered if he would ever date a girl like her, if sharing his life with a partner and doing things together would be so different than what he did now. The answer was probably not, since he assumed nobody would be supportive of him working all day and writing all night; if he was honest with himself, he didn’t really have time for a relationship, even if he sometimes yearned for a bit of company - theoretically. Adachi blinked repeatedly, suddenly crashing back into reality when he saw the looming presence of Kurosawa behind her, giving him a weird look he couldn’t quite place as he ushered the girl into the elevator.
Out of sheer awkwardness, Adachi nodded and mumbled a quiet hello at him, looking away as a blush crept onto his cheeks. Was that Kurosawa’s girlfriend? He groaned and let his head fall back against the elevator wall. He’d been caught staring at his neighbour’s girlfriend like a creep. He ventured a sideways glance and realized Kurosawa was still looking at him with a weird expression.
Thankfully, the ride was short and only a minute later, Adachi was home, barely paying any attention to his basic needs as per usual. He made some instant ramen and added a bit of egg to it before eating it mindlessly, daydreaming of his new story and the magic system involved.
Perhaps it was quickly becoming a much more ambitious project than he had anticipated but as long as the writing flowed, everything would be ok. What was supposed to be a long writing session soon turned into an early night after Adachi’s brain decided to shut down mid-sentence, putting him to sleep sitting at his desk, his head hanging down and his spine hunched over.
