BAD HABITS

I always wondered if Jet smoked or not. He seemed the type to.
The time setting would be somewhere around the first quarter of the show.

004 had been patrolling around Mr. Koizumi's house as he typically would, mostly to just keep an eye on things and make sure nothing suspicious was about. It'd become something of a routine with him, others on the newly-formed cyborg team also pitching in to do their part in keeping everyone safe. However, instead of finding anything dangerously suspicious, he'd come across something just a little off... a cigarette butt lying abandoned on the ground.

The icy-eye'd cyborg came to a stop as he bent down and picked the cigarette butt off the ground, examining it with a visible frown upon his face. "...Again?" He let out, looking to it as he held in a sigh.

Ever since they'd rebelled against the evil Black Ghost organization it'd been battle after battle for the 00 cyborgs. There was hardly time to sit back and relax with danger lurking around every corner of every day. However, that didn't necessarily mean that other typical, every-day events didn't take place for them as well... A part of them was still human after all, and so it was inevitable that little 'situations' such as this tended to arise from time to time.

Just like now, every now and again 004 would stumble upon cigarette butts lying on the ground. It'd been that way all week, since they had escaped Black Ghost and began living with Mr. Koizumi. Sometimes he'd find them on the front porch, or sometimes under a tree or in the garden. How very inconspicuous... But 004 knew. Oh yes, he knew exactly who the culprit was. He'd kept quiet about it, not voicing his findings to the others, maybe even thinking that the problem would just go away. But it didn't. And it bothered him. He was going to put a stop to it.

"Time to put an end to this nonsense." 004 declared to himself before dropping the cigarette butt back to the ground and resuming his patrol.

x x x

002 leaned lazily against the outside wall on the backside of Mr. Kozumi's house, clothed in his casual attire with a freshly-lit cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. What could he say? It helped him relax. Helped him think. Fighting and trying to stay alive as well as prevent the world's destruction was stressful you know, and getting used to being a human weapon was definitely something that tended to make you a tiny bit on-edge as well.

Still. It was probably more of a habit than an addiction, really. There was really no way to tell, but it was doubtful that his 'new' body needed the nicotine. It was his mind that was the problem, used to holding a cigarette and the typical routines of inhaling and exhaling. To him, it seemed like just yesterday he was fighting with those rival gang members back in the Bronx. He'd always smoked back then too, and though it'd been over sixty years, it wasn't that long to someone who'd just woken up from a chronological freezing chamber a week before. Sure the first generation of cyborg soldier models had been released and tested some before, but that hardly counted. Bottom line: smoking was still fresh on his mind- a part of his habitual routine. And as they say, old habits die hard.

He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled a big draft of smoke in a deep sigh. It was getting late, the sun starting to set as it lit up the evening sky with its orange hue. It was so peaceful out here. It was really the only time he felt at peace. None of the others seemed to notice his absence, or if they did, care enough to come look for him. It was nice having a moment alone for once.

He put the cigarette back to his mouth as he continued to lean against the wall, closing his eyes as he let the evening atmosphere consume him, taking another deep drag of the cigarette... until it was plucked right from his mouth.

"Ah, I finally caught you." Came a familiar voice right beside him.

002's eyes instantly shot open as he chocked on his freshly inhaled smoke, a more than surprised look on his expression as he came to look upon 004, who held the still-burning cigarette in his right hand between two metallic fingers- index and thumb-, that familiar lopsided grin plastered on his face.

The flying cyborg was completely caught off guard, giving both a startled and annoyed look to 004. "Wha- Hey! What's the big idea!" He let out, immediately jumping off the wall in reflexive defense of himself, his rare peaceful moment having now been utterly ruined.

"Oh, don't mind me." 004 swayed as he dropped the cigarette to the ground and lightly smeared it out with his boot. "Just looking out for a fellow cyborg."

002 let out a grunt, now knowing what this was all about as he looked to the smeared cigarette on the ground. "Why you! I can make my own decisions, thank you very much!"

"Even if they're poor ones?" 004 shot back with his trademark smirk.

002 blinked a few times before returning to his determined state of mind. "Yeah!"

"I see..."

002 let out a huff. "Just lay off, would ya?" He said as he took out a pack of cigarettes that were stuffed in his boot. He took a match from the small match box inside it and struck it to a light. "I'm old enough to smoke, you know." He stuck the new cigarette in his mouth and brought the match to it.

004's playful smirk disappeared as it was replaced by an irritated scowl.

Before 002 could even get the cigarette lit, it was quickly plucked away once more. "What the—"

"You should listen to your elders." 004 scolded, holding on to the unlit cigarette with a frown. "Do you have any idea how unhealthy smoking is? Inhaling smoke as a human is one thing, but as a cyborg it could be even more harmful."

002 just starred at 004 with a strange look, apparently more confused now than angry. He didn't think 004 was that serious about it- just thought it was him being a nosy douchbag- but it was apparent now just how serious he was, going so far as to give him an all-out lecture. But why the hell did he care so much about it? It had nothing to do with him!

The fiery teen only shot out another huff, folding his arms across his chest. "Jeez, what are you, my dad?"

004's frown didn't fade. "No. But I'm the next best thing you have to one."

That seemed to set 002 back on the defense anyway, such a remark taking some time to set in before an angry look soon returned. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means if you're not going to take care of yourself, then your friends are going to do it for you." 004 answered as he crumbled the cigarette in his metallic hand, letting the crumbled tobacco dust blow away in the wind before beginning walking away himself. "Save us the trouble, would you, and stop killing yourself. We may still need you in the future."

And he was gone.

002 stood there with a dumbfounded expression of what had just happened, before said expression turned to an aggravated one once more. "Hmph." He let out, trying to convince himself that 004 was nothing more than a nosy bastard that needed to mind his own business.

But even so, 004's words continued to linger there with him. "May still need me, huh..." 002 muddled around with such a thought before he just couldn't take it anymore. "Ah, what does he know!" He threw out before pulling out yet another cigarette. He angrily thrust it in his mouth, took a match and was about to strike it on the match box... before he suddenly stopped.

He stood there for a good moment, unlit cigarette in his mouth, unstuck match in his hand, cigarette box in his other hand... before letting out a "tsk" and dumping all three in the outside trash can. "Whatever." He let out, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and heading back to the side door that lead inside the small, cozy house. It was getting dark... and he wondered what the rest of the team was up to. This being alone stuff was starting to get old anyway...

After that day, 002 never touched another cigarette again.

END.

Hmm. I wonder if 002 ever uses his jets as a lighter...