Yes. I'll smoke.

You took the pack, tore the plastic wrap over right off, and knocked it against your palm before you finally opened the packet and stuck a stick into your mouth. You sucked on the butt-end of the cigarettes dry for a few seconds and then exhaled. Mikko still had their hands wrapped tightly with rope, but it didn’t seem to stump their mobility. Well, kind of...Mikko struggled to button her pocket again, so you just watched unimpressed until she managed to get it secured again.

You reach into your pocket and produce a lighter, a common thing to carry as fire was often needed. You shake your lighter and flip it, flashing the flint and the wick all at once before striking the spark that lights a flame. Gwendolion's eyes glow, and so do Mikko’s. You breathe in and hold the smoke in your lungs before you let out the cloud from your body. The mist trails upwards before disappearing completely. It’s smooth and has a lingering effect on you. These are definitely vintage. You looked at the brand carefully and saw a realistic-looking fox poking its head out from the bushes that had berries all over the green. The writing is in Japanese, indicating it had a pre-war quality or at the very least, wasn’t grown on a field that had been festering in rads.

“Good stuff,” you tell the girls. “Where’d you get it?”

“Amari,” Mikko admits. “We don’t smoke, but she supplies much of the area with more than guns.”

You stick the cigarette back into your mouth and eye her up and down. “What else does she supply the area with?”

Mikko points at the cigarette, the firearm at your hip, and then herself. “Fuck toys. Uhm...Fuck Toy Objects...”

“Good lord,” you sigh. “FTOs?”

She nods, and then Gwendolion steps up. “Sometimes we’d secure deals with certain activities.”

A hard blush washes over your cheeks. You knew where she was going. You extended a hand and shook your head. “Listen...We don’t need to do anything like that. I’m taking you in on my own terms.”

Both of the girls shake their heads in unison, but Mikko speaks for them both. “We need to secure the deal somehow. It’s almost our culture. Nothing comes without a price. You look experienced...You know that as well as we do...”

You sigh, another cloud of smoke. You don't answer for a few moments. "We don't need to. I willingly took the three of you until we can work something else out."

"But, master..." Mikko puffs her cheeks.

Your cheeks flare again, and point at Mikko. "Don't call me that. I have a fucking name."

Gwendolion steps closer. "That's what you are to us now, though!"

"Shush!" You hiss, not wanting to wake anyone inside. "Just shut the hell up for a few seconds, would you?"