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You stared ahead blankly as your hands tucked into the pockets of your coat, scarf wrapped loosely around your neck while every breath of air created a cloud that rose up above you. You were standing outside a bar, and eventually someone came out, settling himself in beside you and pushing his own hands into his pocket. He appeared to be digging for something, and once he found it, he brought it to his lips, then held it out to you.
“You know I don't smoke.” your voice croaked out. Hadn't expected it to sound that bad but, well, here we are.
“You could give it a try, you know. I don't normally smoke either.” The man gestured the pack of cigarette to you again, and reluctantly you took hold of it, pulling one out and sticking it between your lips. He pushed the pack back into his coat pocket and brought out a lighter, covering half of the flame with his fingers to block it from the wind and once he had that cigarette lit, he held the flame out to you. You leaned into it, puffing on the stick until the smoke rose up, mixing with the condensation of your breath in the air.
“So what's happening this time?” the man said, slightly disinterested tone to his voice.
“Gee, Osomatsu. Thanks for being a great friend and listening to me.” you replied.
“No problem.” He was totally being sarcastic. Asshole.
“I just have a lot of things on my mind, I wanted to spend some time with someone who didn't particularly care about any of them.”
“Is that why we're standing outside in the cold instead of inside where it's warm?” Osomatsu asked, leaning forward to get a better look at your face.
“I don't want to be around a lot of people right now.”
“Fair enough, sounds like a job better for Ichimatsu rather than me.” he said, laughing a little and giving you that trademark smile.
You rolled your eyes at him and pushed him gently with your shoulder, causing him to slide to the side, but you remained rather close to him once he righted himself. It was cold after all, might as well try to share body heat.
“You never told me what's going on, though. I'll listen for a bit.” said Osomatsu.
“. . . Things aren't so great, money wise right now. Living paycheck to paycheck is killing me.” you finally relented a little information.
“Yeah, I know that feeling.” he sighed out, blowing smoke upwards into the air after taking a drag off the cigarette.
“You still live with your parents, you NEET. What sort of money troubles could you even have?”
“I still don't have money for things sometimes!” he tried to reason his wording, and again, you shoved him to the side, making him laugh and nearly drop the smoke in his hand.
“You don't pay bills, I do!”
“At least you're not sharing everything with five other siblings.”
“Being an adult sucks.” you groaned out.
“Yeah. . .” Osomatsu groaned out with you.
There was a long pause of silence as the two of you looked upwards to the stars in the sky. Osomatsu scooted closer to you, seeking warmth, or maybe he was just trying to take advantage of the cold just to do that. Either way you didn't mind. More body heat you could suck from him.
“Your car still giving you trouble?” he asked idly, keeping his gaze skyward.
“It won't even start. I have to jump it every time I want to go anywhere.” you responded, still staring upwards with him.
“Damn. Walk to work?”
“It's too far.”
“Bus?”
“I don't have money for the fare, what part of 'living paycheck to paycheck' did you not understand?” You lowered your gaze to look over at him, and he was just staring at you with those wide, innocent looking eyes. You end up rolling your eyes and looking off to the side with a defeated expression. “Right, you don't even know what that means.”
“I worked for a little bit!” he tried to remind you, and it just caused you to snort out in response.
“Osomatsu, trading places with your brothers in ten minute intervals while working in a noodle shop is not something I'd consider a job. How long did you even get away with that?”
“A week.”
“Figures.” you chuckled, tapping the ash off the end of the cigarette. You hadn't really been smoking it, just letting it smolder down while you spilled your troubles and insecurities to some asshole next to you. But, the situation, standing outside a noisy bar on a cold October night, talking with some shithead who seems at least mildly interested in what's wrong with your life? It was helping you cope, just a little bit.
Sometimes you just needed a friend to talk to, and Osomatsu was filling that role at the moment.
“Still, I'm really sorry this is happening to you.” said Osomatsu, taking a final drag off that cigarette and dropping it to the ground, snuffing it out with his foot.
“I'm sorry it is too.” you responded, shrugging your shoulders up so that scarf covered your neck a little better and taking solace in the sounds of his shoe grinding against the pavement.
“I wish there was something I could do. I'm a pretty shitty friend.” he said with a light laugh.
“You're being a pretty good sedative.”
“Eh?” Osomatsu spoke, attention focused on you as you turned your head just enough so you could watch him from the corners of your eyes.
“You know me, great big ball of anxiety and a mess at life. You know I cried like three times this week?”
“H-Hey now. . .” he began, but you kept going.
“But right now, I don't feel so bad. Talking with you has calmed me down, you're a sedative, I guess. I don't feel scared or overwhelmed, like I would be if I was handling this alone. So thanks, Osomatsu.”
The man stared at you like he had just witnessed some kind of miracle. His mouth was slightly agape, his eyes wide with that childlike look again, and then he blushed, mouth snapping shut and his eyes darting away from you towards the ground while he bashfully smiled. You watched him shy away from you, and reached to gently take hold of his arm, looping yours around it and holding him close against you once more.
“Where are you going? It's cold and I'm not done sucking the heat out of you yet.” you said with a soft chuckle.
“You could probably suck something else that would probably work just as well.” said Osomatsu, smug grin on his face and eyebrows bouncing.
“What did I tell you about that 'friends with benefits' thing?” you squeezed his arm a little tighter and dropped the cigarette you didn't even smoke to the ground. No need to put it out because it was already smoldering away to begin with.
“You said maybe.” he whined.
“That is exactly what I said.” you spoke with a grin of your own.
Pulling him with you, Osomatsu blinked in a bit of confusion as you started dragging him back into the bar.
“Buy me a drink and we'll see if that maybe turns into a yes for tonight.”