Prelude
There are times when all the worlds asleep
The questions run too deep for such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
Please tell me who I am
Smoking is absolutely disgusting.
It smells terrible, it lingers on any and all fabrics. It creates a haze in its wake, suffocating all that dare walk anywhere near its cloud. It turns one teeth and nails yellow, breath stagnant. It's a waste of money, and a waste of oxygen.
Yet here Sasuke stood, under a tin awning in the pouring rain, taking a long drag. He coughed, his eyes watering and his throat screaming at him.
He thought himself to be revolting.
Another drag, the second not as harsh as the first.
The sound from the downpour hitting the awning drowned out the rush-hour traffic that was less than a block away on the main street. Horns honked, brakes screeched. There were people passing by in a hurry shielding themselves from the rain with umbrellas. They paid Sasuke no mind.
It was easy for him to blend into the wall.
He let his thoughts wander to the weekend, a looming heap of laundry was the first thing that came to mind. He couldn't help but take another drag, unbothered by the toxins filling his lungs.
Naruto would probably egg him into going out at some point, which was fine by him. Out of all the people that he knew, Naruto was the most tolerable, to say the least. The blonde was loud, even obnoxious at times. Even so, he was reliable, kind, and able to hold an intelligent conversation (for the most part).
In short, one could say that Sasuke and Naruto were best friends.
Another drag, exhaled through the nose.
Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. He shifted the weight on his feet, keeping his eyes trained on all the people that walked past him. The smoke from his cigarette was now being carried away by the wind that was steadily picking up.
It wasn't supposed to rain today, but at the rate that the rain was coming down it might even storm. That would certainly be a nice break from the hot and muggy days that the weather had been treating him to for the past week and a half.
Sasuke flicked the ash from his cigarette before taking another pull, his thoughts still wandering.
He thought about how disappointed Sakura would be to see him smoking, and couldn't help the tug at his lips. Her incessant nagging about his health just meant that she cared, even if she was a bit over-bearing. She knew better than anybody that when an Uchiha decides to do something, there wasn't a force on Earth that could stop them.
She, along with Naruto, was reliable and kind. She had her own ways of doing things though, that reminded Sasuke of a mother hen caring for baby chicks. Sakura could probably solve most of the worlds problems with one of her smiles.
The rain suddenly turned sideways, blasting Sasuke with it's spray. His pants were now wet, and he didn't have a change of clothes with him. "It can't be helped," He muttered to himself.
He took one more puff from his smoke before flicking it out into the street, where the cherry sizzled before floating down the small stream against the curb, falling down a grate.
Sasuke exhaled as he walked back into his office building, carrying the scent of smoke with him.
(A/N: So the main theme here is essentially going to be smoking. I can go ahead and tell you that I don't really know what direction this fic will go, but I have already gotten an outline for the next six chapters (that will also be significantly longer). I can't promise that this fic will happy, but I'll do my best to make it... not sad? I'm mostly trying to get back into the groove of writing, and I've been working on this particular project for over a month now. Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Til next time.)