He stole his father's pack. The good stuff. Foreign. Soft pack. Crushed in his pocket. He took the lighter too. Heavy. Silver.
The roof was a crime scene. Their crime. The last night. He knew it. Felt it in the air. A finality. Like the smell before a storm.
She was late. He paced. Smoked three of the cigarettes. They tasted like ash and money. He practiced what he'd say. The words fell apart in his head. Dust.
The door opened. She looked like she'd been crying. Eyes puffy. Swollen. But dry now. Empty.
"They're packing the car," she said. Voice hollow. "For the morning."
He nodded. Offered her a cigarette. A peace offering. A war flag.
She took it. Let him light it. She didn't cough. Just inhaled. Deep. Held it. Like she was trying to keep something inside.
"My father called yours," she said. Smoke drifted from her lips. A gray ghost. "He told me. About the debt. The… everything."
Shame. Hot and sudden. A flush up his neck. He looked away. At the city lights. "It's not—"
"I don't care," she cut in. Sharp. "I don't care about the debt. I care that you didn't tell me."
"I was going to—"
"When?" Her voice cracked. "When they were carrying our stuff to the curb? When?!"
He had no answer. He was a coward. He knew it. She knew it.
Silence. Thick. Suffocating. The wind carried her smoke away. Carried his away. In different directions.
She smoked the cigarette down to the filter. Dropped it. Crushed it under her shoe. A violent twist.
"The promise," she said. Not a question. A test.
"It's still real." He sounded pathetic. Even to himself.
"How?" A whisper. Begging. "How is it real, Kenji? You have nothing. I'm being sent away. My father owns the future. You and me… we're a ghost story."
He grabbed her then. Hard. By the shoulders. She gasped. He pulled her in. Close. Could feel her heart beating. A frantic bird against his chest.
"It's real because I say it is," he growled. Teeth clenched. "We meet. After. You finish school. I… I'll figure it out. I'll get a car. A real one. We drive. Just like I said."
She was crying now. Silent tears. Cutting tracks through the cold on her cheeks. "Where?"
"Anywhere. Everywhere. Nowhere. I don't care. Just… with you."
He was lying. He had no plan. No map. No money. Just a desperation so huge it felt like a plan.
She looked up at him. Her eyes searched his face. For the truth. All she found was his need.
She nodded. A tiny, broken movement. "Okay."
One last chance. One last thing to steal from the world.
He kissed her.
It wasn't gentle. It was a collision. Teeth. Salt from her tears. The bitter, expensive tobacco on her tongue. The last hint of mint underneath. A dying sweetness.
It tasted like goodbye.
It was messy. Angry. Full of every unsaid word. Every rooftop night. Every shared headphone. Every ghost touch. It all poured into that kiss. A flood.
He held her so tight he thought he might break her. She held him back. Clawing at his jacket. Anchoring herself to him.
This was it. The first. The last. The only.
They broke apart. Gasping. Foreheads touching. Sharing the same air. The same ruin.
"I'll find you," he breathed against her lips. A vow. A prayer. "I'll find you, and we go."
She didn't say yes. Didn't say no. Just kissed him again. Softer this time. A seal. A period.
When she pulled away, her mouth was red. Her eyes were old.
"I have to go," she whispered.
He let her. His arms fell to his sides. Empty.
She walked to the door. Didn't look back. If she had, she'd have seen him crumbling. A statue of salt in the cold.
The door closed.
He sank to his knees. On the gravel. The taste of her was everywhere. Tobacco and mint and tears. The flavor of their end.
He lit the last cigarette. Smoked it slowly. Until the filter burned his fingers.
He threw the empty pack over the edge. Watched it vanish into the dark.
Then he sat there. For hours. Until the sky started to lighten. A dirty gray.
The last kiss. It wasn't a memory. It was a wound. He'd spend the next twenty-seven years trying to taste it again. In every smoke. In every hint of mint. Never coming close.
It was over.
And it was just beginning.