Soryu and Arika were standing right next to his storage shelves, holding a conversation just as they had been continuously doing for the past 15 days. Soryu's last surface trip had left him badly bruised—and not to Arika's knowledge, it was caused by the beast Soryu had seared with his flamethrower.
Soryu was smoking a cigarette he made himself. He inhaled from the filter deeply, making the tip of it glow red-hot in response, before releasing a cloud of smoke and lifting the cigarette away from his mouth. After which, he dropped it and stomped on it until it went out.
Arika's eyes kept staring at Soryu, and every time Soryu would avert his gaze to her to make eye contact, she looked away. And of course, Soryu took notice of this.
"What is it? Obviously, something is on your mind. Speak up."
"Umm… so you smoke."
Soryu looked at her dead in the eyes, raising his eyebrow, then back to the cigarette he had just stomped beneath his boot.
"Oh, was it that obvious?" Soryu said with a hyperbolic tone and shocked expression.
Arika frowned before moving her gaze to the bag of tobacco stored high up on the top of the shelf.
"I really hate it when you smoke…"
"Well, sorry. Tried to break the habit, and I failed too many times to the point where I've just given up. Honestly, I need my energy to scavenge rather than wasting it on something I don't need to."
Soryu turned back to sorting his goods. He sucked at organization, but with Arika's help, he was really getting somewhere.
Just then, Arika tapped him on the shoulder.
"Eh?"
Arika presented Soryu a piece of gum in the palm of her hand.
"Try it."
"Wha—why? And where did you even get that? I don't have any gum."
Arika grinned and tilted her head, putting one finger on her cheek.
"Hmm, no idea honestly. Couldn't recall even if I tried to."
This little—did she go outside without his knowledge just to get a damn pack of gum?
"You went outside, didn't you?"
Arika crossed her arms and scoffed, turning away from Soryu.
"What are you, my mother?"
"No, but I'm much wiser and older than you."
Soryu said, pointing at her before resuming his work on his storage.
"You're just 2 years older than me, you piece of crap!"
"Try swearing once in a while, it's good for the soul."
"I will not. I hate when you do that too!"
Soryu broke eye contact with his shelves and moved his gaze to her palm. Why was she even trying to give him this? What was the point?
"Why are you giving me a piece of gum?"
Arika's smile turned into a scowl. She put the gum back in her pocket and started to pout.
"Well sorry~! I suppose a girl risking her life on the surface for a pack of gum to help her friend break his habit was too much of a hassle for your convenience."
"Good god—It's not like that. I'm not trying to be so insensitive, it's just—I'm surprised, is all."
They stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Soryu broke it once again.
"So you really do hate it when I smoke, huh?"
"YES! You reek of it all the time. It's disgusting."
"Says the—"
Soryu stopped himself. She was obviously self-conscious about the fact that she lived in the sewers for years on end. Calling her a "sewer dweller" would prove his point, yes—but at what cost?
"Sorry, I lost my patience. I can't just stop, you know? I feel horrible if I do."
"That's why this gum has nicotine in it. It's literally made to help you break the habit. Just use it!"
He really didn't want to turn down her attempt at helping him, but at the same time, he knew that unlike the bag of tobacco, the gum was going to run out fast.
"It's just going to run out fast. But if it will make you feel any better, I'll use them till they run out."
"Thank you."
Another silent moment. However, due to their conversation, the pair failed to notice how fast they managed to sort everything in perfect order.
"Damn, we got done fast."
"Stop. Swearing."
"Ugh, fine. I'll try."
"You said that the last 20 times."
"Please just get off my ass, will you?"
"Hmmm, how about I limit you to 5 swears a day? Maybe then I can reward you if you manage to not cuss over that."
"What am I, a child?"
Arika walked away from Soryu and towards his bed.
"No, you're sadly my friend."
"Hey, you know—you really need to find your own place to sleep. I'm tired of sleeping in the diving shop."
Arika stopped dead in her tracks, twiddling with her thumbs, and turned around as red spread quickly across her face. She formed her words in a nervous mumble.
"W-well, I think your bed is more comfy. I hope it doesn't inconvenience you too much."
Soryu, taken aback by such a statement, just gave up. Noticing his face was also starting to feel hot, he quickly turned around to avoid her seeing his flustered reaction.
"Uhuh… well, I guess you can just have it then. Anyways, I'm calling it a night. I'm going scavenging tomorrow. I need to find more oxygen tanks. Want to tag along?"
Arika's eyes wandered to his, hesitating for a moment. This would be the first time they would go out together in the storm. It would be nice to have someone watching her back.
"Sure… yeah, absolutely. I would love to."
Love to? Was she being serious? For Christ's sake, she met this man 2 weeks ago. Why was she so attached to him?
Why was she feeling so comfortable in his presence?