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Nirei hates being called nosy.
Sure, he admits that he likes to inquire and investigate a lot—but that’s different from being nosy! And everyone knows that when he asks about things, it’s for his so-called research. That’s why he doesn’t understand what he’s doing right now. Is this being nosy? Am I really prying into someone else’s business?!
What’s worse is he is now mentally taking note of what the guy smokes. A cigarette with silver on its pack…
“This is all Sakura-san’s fault,” he whispers to himself as he shakes his head.
If only Sakura hadn't told him to follow Suo and ask him if he could patrol tonight, he wouldn’t have caught Suo doing this . He could’ve just asked someone else to do it—like Kiryu or Tsugeura!
Nirei squirms from where he’s hiding. He’s been like this for 10 minutes; crouched behind a huge plant behind their headquarters’ building. His back is already aching from slouching too much, but there’s no way he’s gonna come out when Suo’s still doing his business .
Nirei carefully peeks from behind the plant. He saw Suo standing, his back facing Nirei and his gaze directed at the almost dimming skies. Suo lifts his right hand as he places the cigarette between his lips, taking a long drag off of it. Then, he exhales slowly, breathing out the toxic smoke he just took in. He doesn’t know how to describe it, but the way Suo exhales the smoke looks so… neat? He gasps a small ‘oh!’ when he saw the smoke formed into circles.
That was cool. He thought.
Nirei wonders what that feels like in his lungs. Personally, he doesn’t understand what smoking brings to people. He knows it’s toxic and bad for health, but really, what he doesn’t get the most is its smell.
“Nire-kun,”
Nirei swears he feels his whole body jolt when he hears Suo call his name. He knew I was here?
“S-Suo-san?!” Nirei nervously laughs. “Ah… h-hehe. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”
He hears Suo laugh as he turns his back to face Nirei. “You’re not very good at hiding, apparently. You can come out now. How can I help, Nire-kun?”
Nirei scratches his nape before he stands up and slowly walks to where Suo is standing. With his face flushed, he says quietly, “Sorry, Suo-san. I was here for a while but I didn’t want to disturb you from… you know.”
“No worries,” Suo flashes his usual smile. “So, what do you need me for?”
“Ah, right! Sakura-san asked me to ask you if we could patrol tonight.” Nirei replies.
“Of course, Nirei-kun.” Suo answers, drawing the cigarette back between his lips. “Anything else?”
Nirei badly wants to ask him about his smoking habits. For research matters, of course! Before he could stop himself, his mouth talked on its own. “I didn’t know you smoke, Suo-san.”
Suo tilts his head and offers an apologetic smile to Nirei. “I’m sorry, does it bother you?”
Nirei can feel the heat rising in his neck. “N-no! Not at a—” Before Nirei could finish his answer, Suo drops his cigarette and steps on it to kill the smoke.
“You really didn’t have to, Suo-san…” Nirei shyly says.
“It’s okay, Nire-kun. I didn’t want you to inhale the smoke, anyway.”
“Thanks…” Now, he’s more embarrassed. “Can I ask, Suo-san?”
“Hmm? What’s it about?” Suo asks, his tiny smile never leaving his face.
“How long have you been smoking?” Nirei asks with curiosity in his eyes. “Just wondering! You know, we’ve known each other for almost three years, but this is the first time…”
Suo beams at him, his smile reaching his eyes. The taller one flashes this smile a lot every time he rambles. “Seeing me smoke?” He continues Nirei’s sentence. “It’s only been a year, Nire-kun. But I’ve been trying to quit for a while.”
Nirei tilts his head slightly in curiosity. “Why?”
“My master scolded me a lot because of it.” Suo chuckles. “I know it’s bad for my health.”
There’s a short pause before Nirei speaks again. “I’ve read somewhere that most people smoke whenever they feel stressed… Are you stressed, Suo-san?”
Suo smiles gently at him. This time, it doesn’t reach his eyes but after all the years of their friendship, he knows that this is one of his genuine smiles. He’s sure of it. “Ah, are you concerned about me, Nire-kun?” Suo teases.
“Rude. Of course, I am! We’re friends after all.” Nirei pouts.
Suo giggles at him. “I don’t smoke because I’m stressed.”
Nirei hums. “You just enjoy it?”
Suo glances at him. “You could say that.”
“Does it taste good?” Nirei thinks that he should really stop talking.
“Hm! It does for me. Want to taste it?” Perhaps Suo only wants to tease him, but he’s sure that the taller one is taken aback when he nods and murmurs a tiny ‘ Can I? ’ He, himself, is surprised with his answer. But maybe it’s the curiosity lingering in his mind that made him say that.
Suo laughs, like really hard. Nirei genuinely thinks this is the first time he laughed like that in all the years they've known each other. “You never fail to surprise me, Nire-kun.”
“Eh?” Nirei’s brows furrow as he pouts. “Suo-saaan, are you gonna let me or not? I wanna look cool, too, you know!”
Suo’s eyes crinkle from smiling widely as he pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a red lighter from his pocket. Nirei looks at his hand curiously as he pulls out a stick and lights it.
Nirei looks at the lit cigarette in Suo's hand. “How do I do this?”
“Here, Nire-kun,” Suo utters before putting it between Nirei’s lips.
Nirei doesn’t know why he’s doing this. Is it really to make him look cool or he just wants to know and understand Suo a little bit more? He glances at the guy in front him. He’s a few inches close, a cigarette resting between his index and middle finger. He doesn’t know if he’s just imagining or it’s his tiny crush on Suo making him see things, but he thinks Suo gazes at him with so much affection in his eyes.
Nirei feels his ears burning.
“Now, pull a little smoke into your mouth. But not too m—” And it’s a little late for Suo. Before he can even finish, Nirei inhales sharply. The smaller one starts coughing really hard and even hits his chest a few times. Suo throws the cigarette stick on the ground and steps on it.
“Bweh!” Nirei reacts. “That… that was so bad.”
Suo laughs at Nirei’s silliness. Then, he starts caressing the smaller one’s back, “I guess this isn’t for you, Nirei-kun.”
Nirei feels the tears forming in his eyes. He sees Suo’s huge grin as he uses the sleeve of his Furin uniform to wipe the tears in his eyes away. He feels his heart thumping against his ribcage. This is so stupid.
“That was so bad…” Nirei mutters. “Would you really quit smoking, Suo-san? Like, for real this time? I think this was the worst experience I’ve had in my life, I don’t get how you enjoy this.”
Suo chuckles, his eyes almost disappearing. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“If you ask me to quit, maybe I will,” he smiles widely.
What.
“Ehhh? Why me?” Nirei stares at Suo, waiting for his reply.
Nirei is so sure he saw Suo contemplate for a while. It probably takes the taller one a minute before he finally speaks.
“Because you’re cute and I like you, Nire-kun!” Suo smiles widely. Nirei furrows his brows and is about to open his mouth when Suo takes his hand to drag him. He feels Suo interlacing his fingers with his own.
Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.
“Let’s go, Nire-kun. Sakura might already be looking for us.”
Nirei nods in agreement. “Right…” And then it hits him. Wait, what did Suo-san say? “Suo-san, what did you mean by that?!”