Work Text:
The smell of smoke isn’t particularly pleasant. It’s one you get used to. It’s a smell for sure. Or at least, that’s what Mongrang thinks.
That he could say about the fragrance of many women at this bar. A tang of sweet perfume mixed with a lingering smoky scent. Sometimes the scents would neutralize. Sometimes one scent would accentuate the other. Mongrang himself doesn’t smoke. It’s fine though, he supposes, because he ends up indulging the many of the women who do.
Lately, he’s taken note of a certain man glaring in his direction. The man had unkempt curly hair and wore a black hoodie with a bomber jacket matched with jeans. Strange. He doesn’t know the guy, where he came from, or what he even did to deserve such a look from a stranger.
Is he mad at me? Is he into me? Mongrang had never considered indulging a man, so it made him all the more curious.
One day, he decided to follow the man to the patio. Turns out that he too, was a smoker. The bar permitted people to smoke inside, yet he was one of the few who preferred to use the patio. It felt like a silent invitation. Of course, Mongrang felt compelled to follow along.
The air outside was breezy with a touch of humidity; much more refreshing than the stuffy atmosphere of the bar.
He turns to look at the man, a cigarette in his mouth as he gazes into the distance. His eyes were a gentle yellow, on par with the dim lighting of the streetlights and the warm color of the setting sun.
Upon noticing Mongrang, the man turns towards him, removes his cigarette using his index and middle finger, and blows a huff of smoke into his face.
…
It fucking stinks.
A small chuckle is heard under his breath, as if the guy finds pleasure in being rude for no particular reason.
If Mongrang weren’t a bit smarter he would’ve assumed that the gesture meant something else entirely. Alas, this guy might just be an asshole.
He inhaled an excess of the smoke and started coughing as if he were choking.
“Ah, sorry. I thought you would be able to handle it. You seem to be showering yourself in the stench anyways.”
Mongrang corrected himself. It’s not might be an asshole. He is an asshole.
“Khhack- What the fuck. You- why do you keep glaring at me like that?”
The man peered up in thought.
“Glaring? I didn’t think I was. I was thinking about that lifestyle of yours. It’s sleazy and pathetic, but then I considered it. Maybe that’s just one of your pleasures, as cigarettes are to me.”
Seriously, what’s this guy’s problem?
“Fuck, is that how you greet someone? You don’t know anything about me yet you have so much to say about what I do.”
“So? It isn’t hard to figure out someone like you.”
The man rummaged through his pocket and took out a cigarette box with a slightly disappointed look upon finding it empty.
“When the cigarette’s in, use your mouth to inhale the smoke, keep it in for some time, then exhale when you feel is right. You might get a little kick out of it.”
“What? Why does that matter to-“
The man swiftly removed the cigarette from his mouth and slid it into Mongrang’s. His eyes widened from the sudden gesture. He could’ve removed it, but felt oddly compelled not to.
It tastes bitter. And it tastes of that man- his saliva on the same end. He inhaled a puff of smoke as he was told, and exhaled.
“How is it?”
“What do you want me to say? It tastes the same way it smells. I have no idea how anyone can get used to it.”
“Maybe you’ll decide to pick it up again another day. It’ll become as natural to you as debauchery.”
Like hell I’ll take the words of an obnoxious asshole, Mongrang thought to himself. He held the cigarette in his hand, the lit end close to being put out.
“Hah, and just what makes you say that?”
“Just a feeling.”
Perhaps Mongrang saw wrongly; he could’ve sworn that the ends of his mouth were curved up just the slightest.
A small buzzing sound could be heard as the man pulled out his phone to what seemed like a barrage of messages.
“Ugh, so fucking incompetent..” He muttered to himself as he quickly wrote up a response.
The man pinched his brows, irritated. “Looks like I’m needed elsewhere. I’ll see you around.”
He turned to give Mongrang one last glance before leaving.
Mongrang opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but no words came out. It was only after the man was completely gone that he remembered.
Fuck, he forgot to ask him for his name. When would he be able to see that guy again?
He looked down at the now put-out cigarette in his hand.
The taste of a cigarette and a stranger lingered in his mouth.