Reigen's leg bounced, twitching even more erratically than his usual movements. Mob watched the man, trying to figure out if he should say something. He'd only been coming here for a week now, this probably wasn't any of his business. But his new employer had encouraged him to ask questions, to speak up if he had something he wanted to say, and he didn't want to disappoint him.
"Um... Shishou?" He began softly, twiddling with his fingers as he nervously avoided eye contact.
"Hmm? Yeah, Mob?" Reigen paused in his twitching to eye his student, trying to give him his full attention, but not really succeeding.
"Are you ok?" Mob glanced up quickly, eying the dark circles under Reigen's eyes and the slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Are you getting sick?"
"Who, me?' Reigen gave a nervous laugh, leg resuming its erratic bouncing without him realizing it. "No no, I'm not sick, I don't think I've been sick since... well a long time."
"Ah... It's just... You don't look so good." Mob tilted his head curiously, studying Reigen even closer. "Is it because you quit smoking?"
Reigen stiffened, as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Mob had always seemed so oblivious, he hadn't realized Mob would notice his change in personal habits. Especially since he'd tried to kick the habit early on in their partnership. After all, it was one thing to have damaging habits that only affected yourself, it was entirely another when those habits would effect a child.
He coughed into his hand, trying to cover the slight nervousness he was feeling at being called out like this. "Yeah, I decided to quit awhile back, personal reasons, you know? I'm not getting any younger, I should start taking better care of myself. Cigarettes are bad for you, Mob."
"Oh, ok, that makes sense." Mob nodded, "My dad used to smoke when he was younger, but he said quitting was very difficult. You must be very strong willed, Shishou."
Reigen nearly choked on his own spit at the praise. He couldn't bring himself to admit that he still had a cigarette in the mornings before work, not with his student giving him such an openly amazed look. He gave a nervous laugh, waving a hand as if to dismiss the situation, "Oh, it's nothing I can't handle, Mob, don't you worry."
Mob nodded again, as if there was no doubt in his mind that Reigen was strong enough to kick such a difficult habit. He gave a small smile before returning to the homework he'd been doing before he spoke up.
Well, now Reigen just felt guilty... But, thinking back on that look of complete faith, maybe he could quit the habit entirely...
For personal reasons, of course.
A/N: I really love prompt lists, so I wrote something for the fluff bomb thing going on in AO3 and tumblr.
For those that don't know, the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include the following, though not all were used in this fic:
Urges to smoke
Depressed mood
Difficulty sleeping or sleep disturbances
Irritability, frustration or anger
Anxiety
Difficulty concentrating
Restlessness
Decreased heart rate
Increased appetite (hunger) or weight gain
Decreased adrenaline and cortisol (brain chemicals)
concrit appreciated!
