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Living by himself, Ogata usually just smoked inside his bedroom in front of a barely opened window.
Living alone meant that nobody was there to complain about the stale smell that cigarette smoke left behind when it seeped into furniture and clothing, and nobody was there to tell him to brush his teeth or wash his hands when he had a particularly stressful day and chain-smoked late into the evening. In the end, nobody was there for him to be courteous for.
The first time that he had bought strongly flavored gum to chew so that Sugimoto wouldn’t taste the cigarettes on his tongue when he kissed him made him shake his head at himself. He nearly stopped in his tracks when he began to pick out clothing to wear that he knew didn’t stink of old tobacco; it was a politeness that awakened inside of Ogata that he couldn’t explain. It was subtle, but made all the difference to someone who never had anyone feasible to please.
‘That idiot, not locking his door again.’ Ogata internally griped, shutting the door of Sugimoto’s apartment behind him and kicking his shoes off. The sight that met him was a standard one, Sugimoto’s arm draped over the back of the couch in the living room as he mindlessly watched whatever obnoxious television show was airing in front of him. It was something that Ogata had walked in on plenty of times. The young girl and ex-convict sitting cross-legged on the living room floor was also an average thing to see within the walls.
His reaction was a few seconds delayed, but when Sugimoto turned his cheek to face the visitor, his expression subtly lit up seeing it was Ogata who came to join them.
“Oh! You didn’t tell me you were coming,” He greeted Ogata, pleasantly surprised. The other man however wasn’t as impressed.
“You’re lucky it was me and not somebody coming to rob you. Lock your damn door, Sugimoto.” Ogata scolded in his standard tone of dispassion, something Sugimoto was more than used to by now.
“Well, you’re not here to rob me, so that’s good, right?” Sugimoto playfully attempted to cease the scolding, his eye still on Ogata, who was now making his way to the living room after taking it upon himself to lock the door.
“I just got back home after picking up Asirpa from her archery class, anyway.” Sugimoto added, the girl in question was still seated cross-legged on the floor, seeming to play some sort of card game with Shiraishi. Knowing those two, it was probably one that they made right now up with randomized rules. Even if Ogata wasn’t allergic to most acts of juvenile fun, he would still deny any offer to play with those two oafs. Some evidence of takeout was laid out on the coffee table nearby, standard practice for days when Sugimoto was babysitting the two.
“Got you!” Asirpa exclaimed, almost on cue. Shiraishi whined and slammed his hand of cards to the floor, evidently losing whatever they were playing.
“Not fair!”
Ogata wasn’t phased by the interaction, stepping past them to join Sugimoto on the couch. Shiraishi seemed to finally acknowledge Ogata’s arrival when he had clambered over him, looking up at the man from the floor. It wasn’t bizarre for Ogata to be here- Silently curled up on the couch like some sort of domesticated cat- So the arrival wasn’t particularly one to celebrate.
“Yo, Ogata-Chan~” Shiraishi greeted him in a friendly manner, and Ogata returned the gesture with a subtle nod.
“Hey, Shiraishi! Don’t forget you promised that if I won, you’d help me set up targets to practice with!” Asirpa interjected, and Shiraishi sheepishly laughed.
“Oh... I said that?”
“I never miss my shots! Don’t worry, Shiraishi. If I hit you with an arrow, it’s on purpose.” Asirpa joked; however, it seemed far too earnest for Shiraishi’s liking. A corner of Ogata’s lip curled up to form a semblance of a smile.
After a while of hanging out, Shiraishi had offered to walk Asirpa back to her Huci’s house. On his way out the door, he roused some puerility by telling the two men that he was ‘leaving the two lovebirds alone!’ He then did just that as he shut the door, leaving it unlocked once again much to Ogata’s dismay.
Shortly after the front door clicked to a close, Ogata rose from his seat and pulled a carton of cigarettes out of his pocket. He purchased them on the way to Sugimoto’s place, and had been wanting to break them in.
“I’m gonna go have a smoke.” He announced, not waiting for Sugimoto’s refusal nor approval of the statement. It seemed as though neither of those things would be a problem anyway, as no words were further exchanged for an instant.
“I’ll come too,” Sugimoto then abruptly spoke when Ogata had already made his way to the door, his hand grasping the knob. He furrowed his eyebrows, turning his cheek to look at Sugimoto.
“Why?” He bluntly asked. The question wasn’t entirely unwarranted- Sugimoto seldom joined him when he went outside.
“I just feel like it.” Sugimoto casually retorted, and Ogata skeptically held his glance for a moment longer before he wordlessly pushed the door open and stepped through it, approving Sugimoto’s gesture in silence.
Once outside, Sugimoto closed the door behind the two and Ogata unwrapped the plastic film from his unopened cigarette carton; shoving the garbage into his pocket. He flicked open the lid of the cardboard box and pulled out a cigarette to place between his lips.
The entire time, Ogata was unable to help but feel Sugimoto’s eyes burning into him. He wouldn’t be getting away with that so easily, though. Dark eyes took in the other man’s relaxed frame now leaning against the railing.
“I didn’t know smoking was suddenly so interesting to you.” Ogata cut through the silence, a knowing smile flickering across his lips as he got out his lighter and shielded the flame with his palm, holding it to the end of the cigarette. His eyes found Sugimoto’s again when he successfully lit it up, maintaining eye contact as he took the first drag. A cloud of smoke left his mouth, but his relaxation caused a small amount to exit through his nostrils as well. Sugimoto watched with interest, he had thought about all the times he let Ogata go out and do this alone- The sight of him smoking surely wasn’t an eyesore.
“It’s not. It’s bad for you.” He finally replied, sarcasm clinging from his words and a smile on his face. Ogata raised an eyebrow at the remark, an impish glow briefly presented itself behind his dull irises. He was clearly scheming something, and Sugimoto would find out what that was very soon.
Ogata took a particularly lengthy drag from his cigarette, sealing the smoke within his lungs as he inconspicuously strode to plant himself in front of Sugimoto. He rested his forearms on the balcony’s railing on either side of him, framing him as he leaned his face down close; a stray piece of dark hair almost touched Sugimoto’s forehead due to the change in gravity.
Sugimoto, who was always eager for intimacy, had completely disregarded the fact that Ogata never exhaled the smoke. He tipped his chin upwards to hopefully steal a kiss, but what he was met with instead was a bitter cloud of tobacco hitting his face and invading his nostrils. After a brief moment of not knowing what the hell just happened, Sugimoto laughed between coughs; waving a hand over his face. This earned a throaty chuckle to escape Ogata.
“God, I hate you.” He halfheartedly complained, though they both knew that wasn’t the total truth.
“You’re a baby.” Ogata plainly replied, trying and failing to wipe the grin off of his face as he invited himself to lean next to Sugimoto on the railing. Sugimoto had gotten over the cruel trick, but let out a ragged sigh at the remark.
“I may be a baby, but I’ll still be alive when I’m 60, unlike you when you get lung cancer.” He responded, sounding sure of himself. Ogata took a drag of his cigarette before replying, flicking some excess ashes off of the end. Sugimoto’s statement didn’t seem to phase him much.
“Oh, yeah? What about when you leave your door unlocked again and die to an armed robber?” Ogata retorted, turning his face to take in Sugimoto’s reaction. He shared his look, and similarly to Ogata, the threat didn’t invoke any fear.
“I won’t die.” Sugimoto said confidently, causing Ogata to chuckle once again. The stupid smile on his face really made it seem like Sugimoto believed what he said.
“You won’t die, huh? Sugimoto the Immortal does have a nice ring to it.” Ogata humored him, his cigarette stationary between his fingers. Sugimoto smiled at the words, breaking eye contact with Ogata to stare ahead at the wall in thought.
“Huh.. it does.”
Ogata continued to look at Sugimoto, studying his features for a moment. His eyes danced over the shape of his nose; the curve of his jaw. Comfortable silence manifested itself around them before Ogata finally spoke.
“If you’re Sugimoto the Immortal, smoking wouldn’t kill you then, right?” Ogata asked, his tone giving away that he was yet again looking for trouble. Sugimoto turned his attention back to Ogata next to him, looking up from his slouched position as he stole an especially long drag from his cigarette.
“It wouldn’t.” Sugimoto confirmed.
In that instant, Ogata leaned down and ghosted his fingers over Sugimoto’s chin before he kissed him. Sugimoto parted his lips on contact, and Ogata exhaled the smoke from his own lungs into Sugimoto’s mouth. This time, Sugimoto welcomed the secondhand smoke eagerly.
Bitter tobacco coated their tongues as they shared a tender and long kiss, Ogata’s palm clutching Sugimoto’s cheek with uncharacteristic gentleness. Ash began to build up on the end of Ogata’s cigarette as he neglected it in his other hand, but he couldn’t care less about that if he tried.
When air ran thin between the two, Sugimoto broke the kiss with a sensual exhale. The eye contact was intense, and the reaction between them was palpable. Ogata hastily caught his breath and glanced at his cigarette, tapping it to rid the built-up ash.
“Holy shit.” Sugimoto mumbled, awe coating each word. Ogata couldn’t help but smile, turning his face away to release a snicker.
“Really? That’s what you have to say?” He asked, taking a final drag from his cigarette before he discarded it in an empty beer can Sugimoto kept in the corner of his balcony for him specifically.
“It’s how I feel,” Sugimoto attempted to defend himself, unable to hold back his laughter as he spoke.
Ogata turned to glance at Sugimoto, his heart swelling from inside his chest. He realized that change wasn’t always that much of a bad thing. After all, if he kept smoking cigarettes alone inside his house, Sugimoto the Immortal could never steal the smoke from his lungs.