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It's dark. It's always dark, but sometimes it still catches Junno off-guard. He sits by the section of the railing that's the least bent out of place and waits, staring out at the skyline that's covered in a perpetual haze of nothing.
Footsteps sound behind him, and he doesn't bother to turn, because he knows the heavy sound of the boots and the rhythm of the gait.
"Fuckin' convenience store," Jin sighs, and flicks the cigarette butt over the side. It falls and disappears somewhere in the darkness of the building's shadows, stretched like ink across the city below them.
"Busy again?" Junno asks.
Jin takes a seat next to him on the slab of cement and props his boots up on the rail. It makes the whole thing rattle, and Junno has half a mind to tell the other man not to screw up the last bit of railing that hasn't been mangled beyond use.
"Bunch of Croats came in all high and messed up. Took 'em out, but I'm almost out of ammo."
Junno reaches into his jacket and pulls out a bag; it's burnt a bit at the side, and worn with use, but it's made of durable leather and cord, and it's been with Junno throughout it all, which makes him care about it perhaps more than is necessary.
"You always take care of me like this," Jin grins, taking the bag. Their fingers brush.
"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Junno agrees. But he doesn't really mind- he knows Jin will make it up later, in the usual Jin fashion: hands skimming over sweat-slicked skin and mouth gasping against the ridges of Junno's ribs.
Jin lights up another cigarette, blowing smoke slowly into the sky and watching it curl up towards the radiation-scorched sky. "Least it's nice out tonight."
"Could be worse," Junno agrees.
They sit in silence for a few minutes. Junno half expects his mobile to ring; whenever he finds a moment of peace and quiet, it's interrupted by someone with another emergency. But the call doesn't come, and his muscles start to uncoil inch by inch, until he's slumped back against the building in a rather comfortable sprawl.
"You on duty tonight?" Jin asks.
"Second shift."
Jin hands Junno the half-smoked stick and the nicotine burns in Junno's lungs.
"Working with anyone annoying?" Jin asks.
Junno laughs, because he doesn't really find any of the others irritating, but Jin's got a list two pages long of people he's got grudges with or can't work with or refuses to be nice to. It's best to humor the other man in these situations, because Jin in a good mood tends to be better for the whole company, and not just Junno.
Though it's good for him, too, later at night when the only sound is the clock across the room and Jin's ragged, high-pitched breathing.
"Nakamaru," Junno tells him, passing the cigarette back.
"Ah, he's not bad," Jin says. "He'll just talk for an hour about the new policy from the higher-ups and how it affects the morale or some shit."
Junno likes Nakamaru. He's good-natured and easy to work with.
"Heard you got into another fight today," Junno says, after another few moments have passed and he thinks Jin is content enough to bring it up. The other man doesn't respond right away- he takes another long, slow drag from the cigarette and flicks it to the ground, grinding it out with the heel of his boot.
"Nishikido," Jin grunts. His hand goes to his face, fingers rubbing tiredly over his eyes. "Asshole make a joke about Sector 7H."
Jin still has nightmares about 7H; Junno knows because he'll wake in the middle of the night to Jin thrashing in the blankets, whimpering and moaning and leaking tears from eyes squeezed tightly shut. He doesn't mention this to Jin. He's not sure Jin ever really remembers them the next morning.
He'll give him that pride, at least.
"Well," Junno just says, and puts a hand on Jin's shoulder, "you've got at least 4 inches on him, and a rank and a half. Just remember that."
Jin's laugh is breathy and rough. "True enough."
It's about time for the next rotation to start, and Junno needs to get back down to the hall. He stands up and pops the kinks out of his back with both arms up in the air, sighing a bit. The bumpy tops of the buildings across the city are dark, but he doesn't feel so bad about it. Jin tends to make things feel a bit more.... normal. Bearable.
"Ready?" he asks.
Jin stands and brushes his pants off with both hands. "I was born ready."
Junno just laughs and slings an arm around Jin's shoulders, and they make their way back down for duty.