a puff of smoke escaped his lips as he leaned against the balcony
the stars glowed and the city was loud with night goers
his hand stroked through his hair while the other hand tapped the cigarette on the edge of the stone anxiously

tap, tap ,tap

"you're going to die if you keep doing that."

her voice pierced through the night
turning around, he saw her standing at the large window, watching him pull the cig up to his mouth, and back down over the balcony

"that's the point, darling."

her puzzled expression tightened as she walked over to him and pulled the cigarette from his hand, dropping it off the balcony and watching it fall to the ground

"i'm not losing you"

the anxiety in her voice was obvious and her body clearly convulsed with panic
she leaned against his shoulder and kissed the side of his arm
gently, he pulled her long sleeve down and placed the pale skin in the yellow light, illuminating the red welts that stuck up

"you're going to die if you keep doing that"

repeating her words in a soft tone
he pulled her into his arms and caressed her hair
releasing her, he pulled out two cigarettes and a lighter

**"want to speed up the process together?"