#if you draw lupin lighting Jigen's cigarette

[rainily-03]

jigen has a realization.

(id, notes, and bonus sketch under the cut!)

[Image ID: a four page comic done in faded monochrome sepia tones featuring Jigen and Goemon from Lupin III. Jigen stands out on a balcony, smoking and leaning on the railing as he looks out over the city. He glances back as someone from behind him asks, "Mind if I join you?" Goemon comes to stand next to him. Jigen: "'Course not. How're you feeling?" Goemon: "Better." Jigen: "Glad to hear it." We see them closer up, and it can be seen that Goemon is very beat up, with a black eye, cuts all over his face, and bandages on his fingers and arms. Goemon: "...May I have one?" Jigen, lost in thought: "Huh? Oh, uh - Yeah, sure." He fishes out a cigarette and hands it to Goemon, who puts it in his mouth. "Do you need a--" starts Jigen before breaking off, startled, as Goemon grabs his face and leans in to light his cigarette with Jigen's. Close up on Jigen's wide eyes with the light of the cigarette reflected in them. He's having a moment. Then Goemon pulls back and leans against the railing, exhaling a cloud of smoke. Jigen stares at him. Goemon: "You're staring, Jigen." Jigen flinches and tugs his hat down over his eyes, blushing and muttering "sorry." But then he lifts his head, surprised, as Goemon puts a hand on his back and looks at him with a smile. Jigen smiles back. The final page is a single wide shot of them standing on the balcony together, leaning against each other, each with an arm around the other. End ID]

hi 🫣 feeling very shy about posting this one but i managed to convince myself to do it anyway so i hope it doesn’t flop teehee. some misc notes about this comic and its making:

it’s a scene from a wip fic of mine that may or may not ever get finished. the gist of it is that goemon gets tortured and almost dies, and it kind of forces both of them to realize how much they care about each other

the posing of jigen’s hat and the visibility of his eyes (neither, one, both) is very intentional and symbolic! see if you can kind of track that theme through the comic :]

when i was thumbnailing, the third panel on the first page gave me some grief because i couldn’t figure out where to put the speech bubbles so they wouldn’t get in the way. then i had the idea to put them in between J and G, because it adds a nice symmetry and if you squint also has a sort of symbolic meaning (something something the words are figuratively separating them from each other, exchanging pleasantries as a stand-in for saying how they really feel, etc etc)

this comic was great practice drawing profiles and hats lmao

i did a chunk of the sketching and planning for this while drunk and i honestly think it made it better

this took me F O R E V E R and i stared to get really tired of doing it by the end so you can probably see the quality decrease lmao. alas. it's not perfect but it is what it is

and finally, a little bonus that i really needed to get out of my system after drawing this:

[formlessvoidbeast]

Jigen spotted their watcher before Lupin, because of course he did. Nothing ever got past him. He subtly tapped at the table—2 o'clock—but he didn't tense up. Not any more tense than he usually was in public, anyway, so it wasn't anyone who struck Jigen as dangerous. Lupin waved his hand, shooing an imaginary fly away from the last of their crêpes, the perfect excuse for looking up and around.

Beauty all but froze Lupin in place when his eyes met those of the young man watching them. He was a vision in delightfully short shorts and a very loose tanktop that showed off his arms and a delicious selection of side-pec, hair a thick river of pencil-thin locs cascading over his shoulders, soulful brown eyes, snub nose, rich brown skin absolutely luminous in the morning light.

The boy smiled, teeth a flash of white, and stepped up to the table. “May I join you?” he asked. His Dutch had the particular flavor of Aruba, picked up from rubbing shoulders with Papiamento, which was itself Portuguese dancing just a little bit to the left. There was a rainbow-stripe bracelet on his wrist.

“Of course, of course,” Lupin gushed. “A beauty like you can sit anywhere he wants.” Lupin's lap was not excluded from the available options.

Jigen stubbed out his cigarette and pushed a chair out for the boy with one foot. He tipped his hat back just slightly, the better to give him an appreciative up-and-down look and covering perfectly for the way he angled his body to give himself a faster draw.

Padparadscha is the Prize! You want a polygang heist fic intended to read like a (smutty) episode of the show, right? Where the 'girl of the week' is a boy (for Equality). Of course you do! [chapter 3] or [start from the beginning]

[grumpydoctorhello]

We all love fanarts and fanfictions with Jigen lighting Lupin's cigarette, but what about Lupin lighting Jigen's? I just saw the 5th episode of green jacket and that part at the end when Lupin gives a cigarette to Jigen and lights it and then they laugh and run in the sunset? That shit was good, like, very good.

So, uhm, I don't have a point just consider the reciprocity of lighting cigarettes, like, I don't smoke but the love this two put in lighting each other cigarettes,,,, insane,,,, I want a s/o that lights me a cigarette like this or maybe I don't want them because I'll became a chainsmoker and I don't want that? But I crave this love's intensity? Ok, I'm done, sorry y'all!

[dukeswonderousmenagerie]

. . .The Broker gathered his money into a travel bag he had brought. A little over 2,500 dollars if Jigen had counted it all correctly. The guy then blew out his candles, but didn’t bother to gather them, instead leaving them on the table, secured by the now cool wax that had melted and pooled onto the old wood. Jigen stepped outside, not at all surprised to find a guy standing just outside the door. He was armed to the teeth, and dressed similarly to the Broker, who had stepped outside just after Jigen.

Jigen loitered back for just a moment, lighting up the cigarette he had been playing with before. Taking a slow drag, drawing in the smoke and slowly exhaling it through his nose, Jigen picked up his discarded hat from the chair where he had left it, placing it slowly and meticulously back on top of his head.

“Well, gentlemen,” he claimed, looking at the two men from just below the brim of his fedora as he pulled on the lapels of his suit to seemingly adjust them, “it’s been a pleasure doing business with ya.” He raised his hand, flicking the front corner of his fedora.

It wasn’t a second later, not even a full heartbeats worth of time, when there was a crack of noise in the air and suddenly the Broker’s body crumbled into a heap on the floor, blood pooling around the now still form at it lay motionlessly on the ground. Jigen brought the cigarette back to his lips as the Broker’s guard drew his weapon, as he twirled towards him and took aim. On an exhale, as smoke slowly seeped between him and his would-be attacker, there was another soft noise that pierced the air, and the poor nameless guard dropped to the ground in a heap no different then what his boss had done just moments before.

Looking down at the Broker and of the large pool of dark red now seeping into his clothes, Jigen pushed the Broker’s body over with his foot, then stooped down, cigarette still between his lips, the cherry tapping lightly in the air, to grab the bag of money. “I’ll just be takin’ these back.” 

There was a small click in the air as Jigen stood back up, case now in hand. From the shadows a familiar face approached with even steps, the familiar sword in which he carried, at home back in its sheath.

“So, how did it go.”

His hat drawn down low over his eyes, Jigen smiled under the brim of his hat. The sudden cold grin that surfaced on his face made Goemon want to shudder. He knew that look very well. “Ah, so that’s why you look like you’re about to break someone’s neck.”

The cold grin slowly faded and soon Jigen was grinning a foolish doggy grin, his lips pulled up high past his teeth, cigarette still burning. One arm splayed out as if he had no care. As if everything was right in the world.

“I. . .have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”

He held out the bag of money in front of himself with one hand, the grin still high on his face.

“Say. . .fancy lunch? I’ll pay.” _____________

-Lupin III: Fall of Kings The Song of Rats

[pinnithin-writes]

newfound information

I have a running theory that Goemon Ishikawa is legally blind and decided to write something about it. This is some of the gayest and most pointless shit I’ve ever written. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. 1778 words. 

“I’d like to know,” Goemon said, “what color your eyes are.”

Thick silence wrapped the room like a blanket. The scratching of Lupin’s pen on a notepad stilled. For a while, the only sound was the tic tic tic of the radiator.

“Which one of us?” Jigen asked. The leather of the couch creaked as he leaned further back in his slouch.

Today marked a full week they’d been crowded together in a drafty apartment in Zürich - the morning had passed with Jigen smoking and Lupin planning and Goemon untangling the knots within him. The coffee table had been shoved aside to make room for a cluttered spread of maps and books on the floor. The heist was days away, and Lupin was audibly puzzling out their approach as he cross-referenced the recon notes his partners had put together.

Goemon wasn’t facing either of them; he had his forehead pressed against the window, eyes unfocused. The street below their hideout was a brick red blur. I’ve never seen Switzerland before, he’d commented upon their arrival, and Lupin had chuckled at his joke.

“Both.”

“Oh,” Lupin answered brightly. “They’re brown. I thought you knew.”

He did, in fact, know they were brown. Lupin and Jigen had both mentioned their eye color to him before. There were a lot of things about his partners’ appearances Goemon had pieced together over the few years they’d been working together. 

It wasn't that he couldn’t see them at all. He just saw them at a distance that usually reduced them to a collection of colors and shapes. To Goemon, Lupin was a bell-tone laugh and a flash of bright red and a courteous hand on his elbow when he passed in the hall. Jigen was the smell of Marlboros and a longsuffering, gravelly sigh and the steady click of leather shoes on hardwood. They were whole, complete people to him already. 

But lately he’d been hungering for details he wasn’t sure he could have. Certain things that required a proximity Goemon rarely permitted. 

“What?” Jigen interjected suddenly. “They are not. They’re gray, right?”

A soft rustle as Lupin set his notepad aside. “Really, Jigen? How long have we known each other? You don’t know what color my eyes are?”

“They’re gray. I swear to god they’re gray.”

“It says ‘brown’ on my birth certificate!”

Goemon wordlessly listened to their argument as he turned away from the window. He leaned back on the sill in preoccupation, the cool glass chilling his neck. He should just ask. It beat staring at the street and dwelling on it for hours. 

He ran his thumb in distracted circles against Zantetsuken’s sheath. “Can I see them?”

“Lupin’s birth papers? I’m not sure they’re legitimate,” Jigen said, ducking quickly to avoid the pen Lupin chucked at him. It clattered harmlessly behind the couch. 

“No,” Goemon clarified sharply. “Your eyes.”

“Oh.”

A beat of silence passed, which Lupin broke first. “Well, sure you can,” he answered. “Then you can vouch for me.”

Goemon imagined he was shooting Jigen a barbed look as he said this. A stack of papers shifted as he unfolded his skinny legs and stood, and then Lupin was crossing the room toward him. Goemon felt his heart rate tick up - he hadn’t expected his odd request to be honored. Lupin’s visage grew clearer as he approached, until Goemon could easily clock his lopsided smile and tweaked eyebrows. 

Lupin tucked his hands in his pockets and leaned in close. “What do you think?” he asked. “Brown or gray?”

“Hold still.”

Narrowing his eyes, Goemon raised a hand to grasp the other man’s chin, tilting his face this way and that. The light from the window fell softly on his cheeks and the slope of his nose. Lupin blinked expectantly. He was close enough that Goemon could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

Gray was his first impression. Silver, really, like a pair of shiny round coins. Lupin’s gaze was restless, darting back and forth between Goemon’s own eyes as he allowed himself to be examined. His skin was startlingly soft.

“Hold still,” he ordered again, tugging Lupin closer.

This time, Lupin obeyed, fixating on a single point and staying there. His previously cheeky grin disappeared when his jaw went slack, and Goemon felt a tiny puff of air as Lupin exhaled. 

He could see now that his irises were also flecked with shades of brown, ringing his pupils in a lovely starburst. Goemon studied Lupin’s eyes a moment longer, taking note of how they settled from ink to fawn to ash from the center out, committing the image to memory.  He observed his facial structure - how it was soft and sharp all at once, unique and conspicuous. Lupin’s fondness for disguise made more sense to him now.

Goemon was sure the man could hear his pulse thudding in his neck at this point, so he finally released him. “Both,” he said conclusively. “Probably varies with the light.”

Lupin was slow to step away, cheeks rosy. “Oh,” he managed to say. “So… we were both right.”

“Indeed.”

Jigen was uncharacteristically quiet from where he watched on the couch. Goemon heard him tap ash idly from his cigarette before taking a contemplative drag. “Sounds like a cop out to me,” he murmured as an afterthought. 

Goemon slanted him a glance. “You could see for yourself,” he challenged, brows raised.

“I’ve seen ‘em already,” he grumbled. 

Lupin took another step back, melting out of focus to his usual blur of black and red, and folded his arms. “Jigen, dear, I believe it’s your turn.”

Jigen coughed. “Excuse me?”

“You're up next. Let the man see your eyes.”

Sensing his hesitance, Goemon’s mouth softened from its steady set line. “Only if you want-” 

“No,” Jigen was already interrupting him. “I’ll do it.”

The couch protested as he leaned to set his cigarette in the ashtray, elongating into a dark capital I when he stretched and stood. The approaching tap of his shoes was slow and familiar.

“No need to look so nervous,” Lupin teased, leaning impishly into Jigen’s personal space as he pulled to a stop.

Goemon prodded Lupin out of the way with the sheathed end of his sword, resting it against his sternum in a silent warning. Lupin retreated, smirking, while Jigen drew in an almost imperceptible breath and let it out slow. The same technique he used before pulling the trigger on an impossible shot. Goemon reached to remove his fedora with as much care as he could, pressing it delicately against his chest.

“Hold this, please.”

Jigen nodded. The tips of his fingers trembled where they touched the felt.

“His eyes are definitely gray,” Lupin commented, angling his chin at Jigen. “Oh my god, are you shaking?”

Goemon gave Lupin a pointed tap with Zantetsuken in lieu of reprimand. He fell silent.

Out of respect for his trepidation, Goemon was gentler with how he handled Jigen’s face, nudging his jaw one way and then the other with the backs of his knuckles. Stubble prickled his skin. He was struck by how sharp his cheekbones were at this distance; he had never really noticed their prominence before. He was certain they’d draw blood if he ran his thumb against them.

Jigen’s eyes were significantly darker than Lupin’s. Storm clouds gathered around his pupils, shades of slate and black bleeding into one another. Instead of meeting Goemon’s stare, he determinedly stuck his gaze at an indiscriminate point somewhere past his left ear. These were marksman’s eyes, sharp and steady and missing nothing. Shame he hid them under his hat all the time.

Goemon dropped his hand from Jigen’s face. “They are gray,” he agreed. 

The swiftness with which Jigen stepped back and replaced his headwear was possibly the fastest he’d ever seen him move. He cleared his throat, adjusting the hat’s brim. “Great. Glad we worked that out.”

Lupin jabbed him with an elbow. “Congrats on surviving the ordeal.”

Jigen grumbled something indistinct, tipping his chin and hiding his eyes further. 

Goemon kept his expression carefully neutral. Now that he possessed this newfound information, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. He had learned quite a bit more about the others than intended; not only about their appearance, but their mannerisms, as well. Their relationship with closeness. He didn’t know there was a way to turn off Lupin’s motor mouth. He didn’t know Jigen became so mystified when touched.

These were things he would file away for later, additional pieces for the frustrating jigsaw that was his feelings.

“Thank you,” he uttered finally.

“No problem,” Jigen responded at the same time Lupin said, “That’s what we’re here for.”

Goemon scoffed with disbelief. “Is it?”

Lupin paused and moved out of the way to allow Jigen passage. Goemon caught a whiff of smoke - he must’ve resumed his previous task of mangling the cigarette he’d been working on. Lupin leaned easily against the window beside Goemon, not as close as before but close enough he could tell the master thief was examining him. Embarrassment creeping into the back of his neck, Goemon lifted a prompting eyebrow in his direction.

“Sure it is,” Lupin went on. “I ask you two for weird favors all the time. It’s only fair.”

“Hm.” Goemon was skeptical.

“We’re a team,” he insisted. “It’s good for a team to know each other really well. Right?”

“...Right.”

“Useful for recognizing each other in disguise.”

Grateful for Lupin’s valiant effort to spare his dignity, Goemon allowed a small smile. “Sure.”

Lupin grinned back, tilting his head to the side until his temple touched the windowpane. “I’d never really looked at your eyes this close before, either,” he admitted, some of the bravado leaving his voice. “They’re really… intense. Super dark.”

“Pretty,” Jigen added around the cigarette in his mouth.

“Pretty,” Goemon echoed, caught off guard by the compliment.

“Pretty scary,” he clarified hastily, and Goemon couldn’t hold back a soft laugh.

Silence settled on the group, introspective rather than discomfited. Goemon’s heart rate was beginning to return to normal. The atmosphere in the room had shifted into something thick and unnameable, and he was definitely responsible for the change, but it didn’t feel bad. Just new. Unfamiliar. And while Goemon was out of his depth, it was reassuring  to know the others were just as bad at navigating this as he was.

“So,” Lupin clapped his hands together emphatically. “That was a nice break. Let’s get back to business, shall we?” He swept a gesture at the paper nightmare on the floor.

The team murmured their assent, but not much else was accomplished that day. 

[the-golden-ghost]

For the First and Last, no.24? o w o

24. First/Last Secrets

~~~

I chose Lupjig because I'm weak and I love them. The first part takes place in the Early Gang Days, shortly before Lupin decides to fake his death for the first time.

The second part takes place in the Late Gang Days, a little before the events in Castle of Cagliostro.

I hope you enjoy!

~~~

“Ammunition?”

“Yep.”

“Getaway car?”

“Yep.”

“Getaway chopper?”

“Absolutely. Grappling hooks, smokescreens, personal flotation devices?”

“Everything.”

“So it’s all in order?”

Lupin and Jigen were running down their checklist of all they’d need for tomorrow’s job. This one was going to be wild, and dangerous, but they were ready for it, even if there was a very real possibility that one of them may not survive.

In fact, in Lupin’s case, it was a certainty. The one where Lupin III, in all his unsavory glory, finally joined the world of the dead! Sometime tomorrow, the grappling hooks he’d been in charge of would fail, and he’d fall fifty feet down into a steel trap laid out for him by one of the world’s most notorious leaders of the criminal underground, and from there on out, nothing would ever be the same.

A year ago it would have been hilarious. Now, it still was, but he had to admit he had some misgivings. Mostly because he’d spent a year assembling this team, and against his better judgement, well...

He was glad Fujiko was on the other side of the world in Dubai where she wouldn’t have to see, and he was glad that he’d summoned Goemon, even if in truth he could have done this without him. He’d considered sparing Goemon too, until he realized that once the heist failed as planned, Jigen would have to stagger back to the hideout alone.

Lupin could not do that, not to him.

Looking over at Jigen now, Lupin tried to imagine what his reaction would be. Maybe he’d handle it well. Jigen was a pretty tough bastard and he’d had his share of suffering so maybe this would just be another knock for him. Maybe he’d shake it off easy and walk away like the past year hadn’t happened. Maybe his heart wouldn’t break. Maybe Lupin didn’t mean as much to him as he’d come to mean to Lupin.

Maybe everything would be okay and he could go on and be happy, somehow.

“You’re kinda quiet,” Jigen said, flopping down on the couch and lighting a cigarette. Goemon was sitting close by, deep in meditation but in reality, probably listening intently. “Usually you’re talkin’ my ear off about how great it’s gonna be.”

“It’s gonna be great, Jigen!” Lupin said, giving his best smile. He hoped it was more convincing than it felt.

A year ago Jigen had joined up with him, drawing away from kind gestures and bristling up at anything other than cool professionalism. It had taken Lupin months to coax him out of that dreary, guarded state, but by God, Jigen knew how to smile, and how to laugh, and even how to sing when he set his mind to it.

True, he was still a grouchy, wary alcoholic but he didn’t flinch anymore when Lupin touched him and he would joke back and forth with him all night without clamming up in sudden fear that Lupin would tell him he’d gone too far and retaliate with cruelty.

And now Lupin was going to wipe himself off the map and send Jigen back into the world that had made him that way in the first place. All that effort, gone. So yeah, he had a couple of misgivings.

If he’d had time... if he could have primed Jigen better, maybe he could have let him in on it and trusted him to follow through, but...

“You sure you’re okay?” Jigen asked. “You nervous?”

“Are you?”

“Maybe a little,” Jigen said with a shrug. “What about you, Goemon? Are you nervous?”

“No.” Goemon probably wasn’t, in all honesty.

“Hey,” Jigen said. “We’re gonna be fine,” he was looking at Lupin when he said it, and it almost was enough to kill Lupin then and there, because in the year they’d been together he couldn’t recall even one time Jigen tried to offer comfort. He’d come so damn far, and now this.

“You think I don’t know that?” Lupin scoffed. “You must think I’m losing my touch.”

He’d be losing a lot more than that, though, before it was over.

~~~

Lupin usually slept pretty well. Oh, sure, he’d stay up a few nights before a job prepping, or he’d be on high alert when they were being tailed, but otherwise he’d always prided himself in his ability to shake his troubles off and sleep through the night unhindered.

Lately though his thoughts tended to nag at him and keep him staring at the ceiling long into the night.

Jigen was beside him because Jigen was always beside him. Tonight he was snoring. And usually that sound was a comforting one to Lupin, a sure sign of safety. If Jigen could rest easy, then there was definitely nothing to fear.

Lately, Jigen had been resting easy a lot, but Lupin had been having troubles.

He sat up, stared out the window for a long while, and then turned back to look at his partner. Same old Jigen, drowsing with his hat pulled over his face. But he wasn’t the same. Lupin remembered the sharp-eyed, rawboned man he’d allied with more than a decade ago. A rangy, callous sharpshooter with a quick hand and a quicker tongue who nevertheless had stuck close to Lupin like a burr and wormed his way into his life.

And now? Now Lupin would always think of Jigen foremost as a warm, steady man with a rough disposition and a soft heart. The years had changed him physically - adding lines to his face and scars to his skin, most of which Lupin had been there to bear witness to. His body had filled out over time, too, leaving him looking stronger and healthier than Lupin could ever remember.

Lupin sighed. Jigen had a lot of life left in him to take him wherever he wanted to go. But he didn’t know if the same was true for himself. And he wanted sometimes to say it - to just voice it aloud so there was no question. That he’d never planned to live past his youth, but the years had caught up with him and somehow, it had just... happened.

He was still planning how to die. But now, more and more, it was looking like it would have to be for real. No more playacting, no more dress rehearsals or bait and switches that left everyone guessing. One last stand and it would be over.

Surely it would be easy? It couldn’t hurt more than anything else Lupin had ever done. And after that, nothing at all.

He’d have to make it perfect, though.

The thing that got to him was that after all this he didn’t want to leave Jigen behind. Goemon would be okay. He still joined up with them when they called, but he’d been spending less and less time with them - he stuck around for the jobs, but between them, he was barely around. And he hadn’t seen Fujiko in months. She was okay, he was sure, and they’d meet again, but...

He missed them both.

Jigen was still here, though. And he didn’t show signs of leaving. He’d be the one to bury Lupin, Lupin was pretty certain of that, and he’d do it well, giving him all the honors befitting a thief and a swindler and a beloved partner and friend.

But then what?

Lupin could imagine Jigen striking off alone and purposeless, all that life still in him but nothing to do with it now. He pictured him just wandering, falling slowly back into his old bad habits until the years shed from him and he joined Lupin in death, reverted back to the same bitter man he’d been when they first met.

And Lupin tried to tell himself no, that would never happen. Jigen is stronger than that.

But he remembered that he’d stopped faking his death a few years ago, after the two of them had stood and watched Goemon be killed right in front of them. It was a cruel trick, and Goemon was alive and well to this day, but Lupin had never seen Jigen truly break before and for the first time in his life he thought he was going to lose both his partners for good.

When Goemon returned Lupin had made an uneasy joke about how Jigen would never have mourned like that for him, and Goemon just shook his head.

“You have no idea.”

So...

It wasn’t even that Lupin really wanted to die. That was the truth of it. He didn’t want to die, but he didn’t know how to go on living. He’d always promised himself he wouldn’t die a boring, pointless death and if he allowed himself to grow old and doddering and just... withered away in a hospital room somewhere... what would the point have been?

He just wanted it all to have some bigger meaning. Maybe it was an impossible wish. Maybe the best he could do was say he changed a few lives and made a few headlines and would die loved.

Someday.

Lupin lay back down and snuggled right up next to his partner. He needed some sleep, and after all, even if the clock felt like it was winding down, there were still some adventures to be had.

And time, thankfully, to choose what the world had in store for them.

[ladyrealgar]

Holding hands

Fandom: Lupin 3rd

Warning: none

The full-length mirror in the hotel room, which they had taken as a refuge for that heist, gave the man the image of a waiter with an unusually uncultivated beard and a dark Borsalino hat dropped over his eyes.

He adjusted his bow tie over his white shirt and closed the cuffs of his black jacket with simple silver cufflinks. The shoes at his feet had been carefully polished and the only imperfection of his disguise was a little bump at chest height, where Jigen had placed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter in an inside pocket.

The habit of hiding the .357 Combact Magnum in the trousers under the jacket was so strong and consolidated that no one, not even an experienced fighter, would have been able to locate it.

Daisuke Jigen, who made elegance his trademark, was used to dressing well, but that dovetail tuxedo and bow tie made him feel like a penguin.

He took one last look in the mirror and decided that for the role of waiter of an important and sumptuous social event that clothing was more than enough.

-Lupin are you ready? - called the gunslinger lighting a cigarette and starting it with a long breath.

-I'm almost done- the partner answered from the other room -Give me another moment.

-What is it? - Jigen scoffed, letting himself fall on the armchair -Do you not remember how to tie a bow tie?

-What tie? - Lupin asked, popping out the door of the room and Jigen, a heavy smoker, coughed the smoke.

A woman in a fine dark dress studded with diamonds had entered the room, on whose shoulders they had attached Lupin's monkey face. 

-What the hell ...? - exclaimed the gunslinger, gesturing animatedly in the impossibility of finding the words to describe what at his eyes was a strange chimera.

-Don’t kick up a fuss! - snorted the gentleman thief positioning himself in front of the mirror and adjusting the prostheses that simulated the breasts of his character -Like you had never seen me in the clothes of a lady! 

Lupine chuckled at his double meaning and turned around to check the back of his disguise: -It seems to me that it works ... - he muttered to himself. 

-You want to explain to me? - Jigen urged him, sucking hard on his cigarette until he consumed it almost completely. 

-Didn't I tell you? - Lupin replied and Jigen closed a vein at the height of his temple: that was the typical tone that the thief used when he voluntarily omitted some details of the blow to induce him to do things he otherwise would not have done. 

-The only way to access Cupid's ruby- Lupin began to explain while choosing a wig from the closet -It’s taking part in the DeGorgette family gala which is held once every five years and which is dedicated to couples promised in marriage . 

-You already told me this- Jigen interrupted him impatiently -But why did you dress like a woman? 

-Because we received an invitation, silly- the gentleman thief replied with falsetto voice, making him wave a burgundy paper envelope under his nose. 

-Invitation?- Jigen exclaimed in surprise, grabbing the envelope and examining the contents while Lupine continued to speak. 

-But of course, mon amie! You surely remember that the DeGorgettes indicate these gala in order to give the Cupid's ruby ​​blessing to couples ready for the altar and also to earn a fair amount of money given the cost of getting that piece of paper in your hands. 

-I know it very well- Jigen barked, instinctively slipping the invitation into his jacket pocket -And that's the reason I dressed as a penguin: playing one of the waiters serving the DeGorgette. 

-Oh no! - Lupin shook his head, swinging the new brown ringlets that fell on his shoulders -The DeGorgette choose their staff with extreme care, they would never have let you in, also because they have a security scanner that goes beyond the masks, so the waiters option is completely to be discarded. 

-And so we enter as guests? 

-Exactly!- the gentleman thief underlined that expression by snapping his fingers -You’re standind in front of Marie Luprette Troix, your fiancée. 

Jigen watched him in disbelief for a few moments, looking in his face and body language for a signal that revealed that his friend was making fun of him or that he was mad. 

-I pass- he finally decreed -Go with someone else, because I don't intend to play the role of someone engaged with an ugly monkey face like yours! 

-How rude you are! - Lupin scolded him making a grimace -And anyway there is no more time: the gala is only in an hour and I have no one else to accompany me ... Or you want me to ask Fujiko? 

At the prospect of Fujiko's involvement, Jigen's mind subsided and his behavior, though still quite irritated, suddenly became more malleable. 

So he listened to the variation of the plan that Lupin had to illustrate to him, interrupting it from time to time to get a few more details explained, then when he was finished, the gunman agreed to participate, albeit with barely concealed distrust. 

Finally they got into the car and Jigen had the time to cross, spent driving, to negotiate internally with the role he would have to play and mentally review the phases of the plan. 

The DeGorgette’s mansion was a huge neoclassical building in the frame of the rustic Provençal countryside and a row of couples in sparkling evening dresses extended from the entrance showing their invitation and getting announced. 

On their turn, the page informed the room of the arrival of monsieur Magnum and mademoiselle Troix. 

The landlady, a robust middle-aged woman with a blinding sapphire necklace around her neck, came to welcome them, indicating where the dinner would have taken place, where they would have sit and, more interesting detail for their purposes, where and when Cupid's ruby ​​blessing would have bene held. 

A few minutes later, when an aperitif was served, they were made to sit in the dining room, where waiters with starched uniforms and red flowers pinned to their chests served exquisite dishes to be bathed with fine wines. 

-Do you see that it's not so bad to play the role of my boyfriend?- Lupin whispered taking advantage of the fact that his partner had his mouth busy chewing -I always treat them well my dates! 

-Choke with the chicken and shut up- the gunslinger replied dryly, swallowing the bite with a sip of wine -Anyway, do we have to wait all evening to be able to take the ruby? Wouldn't it be more convenient to do it now that they're distracted? 

-Don't be in a hurry, my dear, the right time will come! In the meantime, let's enjoy this delicious dinner. Would you pass me the sauce? 

At the end of the dinner, the guests were moved to the ballroom, where a wooden staircase with a golden balustrade had been set up under crystal chandeliers on top of which the enormous and notorious Cupid's ruby ​​shone with the reflections of the candles. 

Monsieur DeGorgette took the floor: -My dear friends, I hope that the dinner was to your liking and that your palates have been satisfied. As you know, now the long-awaited moment of the evening is coming: the blessing of your love by Cupid's ruby! 

This beautiful ruby, unique in its world in purity and size, is said to have formed from the drops of blood that flowed from Cupid's finger when he punched himself with one of his own arrows, which give falling in love. 

It contains the very essence of romantic love and couples who ask for their blessing before marriage will have a happy married life full of offspring! 

-How many children do you want, my dear? - Lupin whispered in the gunslinger's ear, giggling. 

-Cut it! - Jigen warned him with a snarl. 

-Now the couples will be called one by one- continued DeGorgette -And they will have to walk the stairs hand in hand, reach the ruby ​​and invoke his benevolence, then they will be able to go back down and will be accompanied to the next room where the party continues. 

The guests began to be called and Jigen watched the various excited couples climbing the stairs almost running and pouring their love on a cold and deaf stone, good only to fill their collection of precious. 

Every now and then a passionate kiss broke out between the couples and Jigen was certain that he would not have been able to refrain from drawing the gun if Lupin had even tried to get closer to him than necessary.

Mr. Magnum and his lovely lady were called and Jigen walked towards the staircase but something grabbed him by the elbow: -Don't you forget anything, mon chére?- Lupine called him back. 

-What? - Jigen asked, but the partner's outstretched and ringed hand was enough to understand 

-Don't be such a child!- Lupin scolded him, perceiving his reluctance -You don't want these nice people to be suspicious? 

Jigen took a quick look around and it was enough to point out that all the eyes of the guests (and security!) were focused on them. 

Eventually he had to give in and, commenting -Things I do for work!-, he took Lupin's hand in his, dragging him almost weightily down the steps. 

When they were at the top, the wonderful ruby ​​stood on a pedestal adorned with a white silk cushion and Jigen could see the spark of longing that shone behind Lupin's pupils. 

She watched him stretch his hand over the ruby, as if trying to evoke its blessing, while the other pulled a small remote control from the neckline: -Are you ready for action, Jigen? 

-I wasn't expecting anything else. 

Darkness suddenly descended into the room, illuminated for short moments by the fire of the mouths of the guns, whose roars made the imposing chandeliers swing. 

Finally Jigen had started having fun.

[stealinghero]

Okay so imagine this! The Lupin crew are relaxing at a cafe after a successful heist. The s/o says they have to use the bathroom and they leave. But after about five minutes, the s/o comes running out of the back door with a dehydrated body in their arms yelling that they need to go, there’s no time to explain and it’s not their fault, all while some shady looking people chase after them.

Finally.... after losing my first draft (about 4 pages) because of my stupid self overwriting it, it’s finally done!!

I did it a bit different than before to get the vibe of an episode, showing a few more aspects than just the view of the reader.

I hope you all enjoy it!!  It’s under the cut for length.

It had been a busy week. But now it was time to finally relax and come down. You were sitting in your favourite café, surrounded by your friends.

“I dare you to eat a whole Sundae in under 5 minutes.”

“Do you think I can’t do this?!”

“Hundred bucks against it.”

You snorted and had to laugh out loud when Jigen showed you the Sundae in question on the menu. It was huge!!

“Excuse me for a second. Don’t start without me!” You had to see Lupin try this dare, but nature called you with an urgency you seldom had.

“If I win, I’ll get a kiss!”

You turned around to your boyfriend and grinned.

“And if you lose, I get a kiss from Jigen!”

The gunman snickered and nodded. “Deal.”

“No deal! Don’t touch my precious love!”

You let the guys bicker while you made your way to the restrooms.

 A moaning was heard as soon as you entered. Some people had no shame! But something was off with it. Didn’t it sound painful? All stalls were open but the last one. Another moan, this time a man, more breathless but also kind of… breathless?

Curious about those sounds you got into the stall next to it and thought about taking a peek over the wall into the next cabin.

“That’s a good girl. Die for me.”

With a jump you pulled yourself up the wall of the stall and looked into the next cabin, only to see a black dressed guy with a syringe on the neck of a young girl.

“Unhand her, you freak!” you demanded.

He was quicker than you, already running out of the restrooms when you got down and hurried into the stall with the girl.

“Are you okay?!”

She was unconscious and very pale. The small holes at her neck almost looked like a vampire bite. Who was that freak?!

An uproar let you just get the girl out of the stall and run. Not a second too late as you could see the black dressed guy and a couple of his friends drawing their weapons, aiming for you.

 “Get up! We need to run!!” you shouted at your friends as you hurried past them with the still unconscious girl in your arms.

“What did you do?!” Lupin asked, already on his feet and fumbling for the car keys.

“No time to explain!!”

You heard a shot and felt the pain when the bullet hit you in the calf. Those guys were serious! Limping, you made your way to the car, followed by your friends, Jigen already shooting back and Goemon protecting you from a hail of bullets.

 Breathlessly you had told them everything on the way to the hospital where you had laid the girl in front of the emergency room. Just like the rest of the gang you were wanted so you couldn’t exactly just walk into any building without the fear of being arrested.

During the dressing of your wound, Jigen questioned you about the scene.

“This is crazy. Tell me again, did you recognize anything?”

With a huff you told him the story once more. You knew it was crazy! A side-glance towards your lover made you aware of the mess you had brought yourself into. He had decided to call Inspector Zenigata to get some information. It seemed quicker than to get into a disguise and just get to the nearest police station.

“A vampire? In broad daylight?” Goemon seemed incredulous.

“It wasn’t a vampire, Goemon! It was a man with a syringe. I saw it,” you replied.

“But where was all the blood? Even a kid her age should have at least 4 litres of blood. And she lost at least 2 of it.” Sometimes Jigen scared you with his medical knowledge.

With a grim face Lupin joined your round.

“You disturbed a serial killer. Pops says there were at least 5 different cases of this vampire. It’s always the same. A kid is lured away from its parents and sucked dry.”

You suddenly felt uneasy but you had to know.

“They survived, right?” you asked.

He shook his head.

“The girl is the first to survive. All of them had marks like a vampire bite. All of them sucked dry.”

Jigen spat and lighted a cigarette. A sure sign he was getting irritated.

“This is a disgusting thing to do to someone,” Goemon decided and grabbed his Zantetsuken. His own form of irritation.

“Pops is thankful for your information, but he also says there aren’t enough facts to get to a clear culprit. To think there were 4 of them...,” he left it unsaid, but you felt his uneasiness as he watched you.

“I will be okay. It’s not like they followed us.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Jigen slowly raised his hands, followed by Lupin. Both of them stared at a point behind you.

“I hate this,” you mumbled and turned around to find yourself surrounded by black dressed men, all of them aiming their guns at you.

 “I still don’t get why you don’t simply kill them.”

“It’s an order from above.”

“Fuck this. I know a bit about them. They can be dangerous.”

“Do you doubt your superiors?”

“No, Sir.”

“Then shut the fuck up and do your work.”

“Yes, Sir!”

You looked around in the dark cell to find something to get a clue where you were. After getting threatened you had to follow their orders. A blindfold, different cars, you were separated from the others. Were they in the same building as you? Were they already dead?

You swallowed your tears. Lupin wasn’t that easy to be killed. He would come and rescue you, right? He would hug you and kiss all those fears away. He would… maybe… surely… no! You had to get out of here! Think! What information do you have?

A dark cell, 3 metres long, 2 metres wide. A bucket in the corner. The door was solid metal, a small flap in the middle. No lock to be found. It had to be outside on the door. Maybe something simple as you hadn’t heard a key turn when you were thrown into this cell. You didn’t have a window. No blanket to cover yourself with. And it had to be soundproof, because the only things you could hear were the guards directly in front of the door even if you pressed your ear to the other walls.

 ~~~~

He gasped for air and coughed when he chocked on his own breath. Water ran down his face, soaking the bag over his head, making it harder to breathe.

“You will do as we say.”

He shook his head and tried to fight the strong grip on his neck as it pushed him down, into the water, once more. He was a good diver and counted the seconds with a clear head. But it was longer and longer, his lungs started screaming for air and he was still under the water. Two minutes had passed when he was pulled up again, again gasping for air in a desperate fashion.

“You will kill Lupin the Third.”

Again he shook his head. He was a stubborn idiot, getting drowned for his convictions.

 ~~~~

A sharp pain rushed through his whole facial nerve system as the wound opened and the nerves were exposed to the fresh air. Still, he wouldn’t admit it with a sound. It had be a short hit but still hard enough to rip open a huge gash on his cheek.

“It is easy, Lupin. You will steal the disc and we won’t hurt your little lover.”

He watched his partner through a monitor. They were collecting information on their cell, listening to sounds, checking the stability of the door.

“No.”

He had known it from the start. The whole day had been spent with an uneasy feeling. Why had he proposed a visit to the café?! By now he should know to trust his gut. But the face of his partner had been so gloomy and he had wanted to cheer them up… and he had endangered them with his recklessness.

“I will kill them,” the shadow promised.

Lupin shook his head. He had to trust them now. And he had seen a familiar face around those guys. What was more important to this person? Friends or the job?

“You’re right! I won’t kill them. He will,” the shadow laughed a bit while saying this, showing Lupin the familiar face getting tortured.

“Let them go!”

“Get me this disc and I will let your friends leave.”

The disc in question was unknown to him. Surely it was dangerous enough to destroy the world if people like the shadow wanted it. He had calculated the outcome and still hadn’t found a way out of it. Normally he would swap the disc with another, fooling those idiots. But with his friends in their hands? He would risk the death of his beloved ones. Manipulating the data on it was also out of the question, he had seen their work before. One or two skilled hackers were in this team, he knew. They would know any tampering before he could get away.

He had to trust his friends to save themselves. How could he gain time for them?

“Still no answer, hm? Fine. Then you’ll get to know the consequences,” the shadow threatened, pushing down a button.

Jigen appeared on the monitor. He was bound and gagged and seemed to be seriously hurt. Lupin snorted. It was likely the gunman had given his captors a rough time and got himself into trouble.

“Kill him.”

A gun was pressed to Jigen’s head. Lupin wanted to close his eyes but couldn’t.

The trigger was pulled and Jigen fell out of the reach of the camera.

 ~~~~

Was that a shot?! It had been too loud to be far away. Some clattering. You pressed your ear harder to the door but couldn’t hear anything. Silence fell. Maybe your friends came to your rescue??

After 5 minutes there was still silence and you fell down into sitting opposite of your prison door, staring at it, willing it to open with your thoughts alone.

 ~~~~

They had enough of drowning him. Wet and cold he was submitted into a cell, next to their other prisoners. He knew those cells. They were constructed specifically to be escape-proof. What a bullshit.

They had broken two of his fingers and this made it harder for him to work on the small gap between door and door frame. He was sure they watched him through the camera system. It was a game of time to get out of here.

A jolt of electricity rushed through his fingers and threw him on the floor, muscles cramping from the current. Damn, they had upgraded the security system.

 ~~~~

“One down, two to go. Get me the disc.”

He still couldn’t believe it.

“Your answer?”

They had shot him. Point blank, no room for tricks.

“Do you prefer to see the next death?”

“Don’t.”

“Get me the disc.”

He let his head hang and swallowed. They would kill the rest of his gang with him watching.

“Yes.”

“Good. Let me give you a gift before you go.”

Another button was pushed and he stared at the monitor. A hand, a leg…. A severed head staring back at him.

He threw up, emptying his stomach on the floor before him. He couldn’t stand the accusing stare of Goemon’s lifeless eyes.

“Please…,” he begged in a small voice.

The monitor went black.

“You have 24 hours.”

 ~~~~

You rubbed your temple as the flap in the door opened and a small tablet was shoved through, falling down, spilling all your food on the floor. A harsh laughter was heard and the flap closed. At least the water was bottled and didn’t spill.

You crawled towards the door, smelling iron. Blood on the other side of the door? You placed your face on the floor, trying to see through the small gap between the door and the floor. With a scream, you scrambled back to the opposing wall, shaking with fear. Did you… the… hi… you couldn’t understand what you just had seen. Lifeless brown eyes staring at you.

 ~~~~

It had been a matter of time until they had grew bored with him sitting in his cell, doing nothing. He was prepared when three of them came to get him. Two of them were entering his cell, getting him up on his feet, the third pointing a gun at him, ready to shoot without a warning. A really good work and he felt a small pride. He had been one of their instructors after all. And they were doing a good job, he had to admit.

“Are you ready to kill?”

He spat into the face of the man before him and earned a fist to the face for it. Blood dripped from his broken nose.

“Lupin is on the way already. There’s no need to be so hostile, old man.”

Damn. How had they made him go?!

The man before him laughed and hit him again, this time the fist hit his solar plexus, making him throw up in pain.

“You still have a chance to kill him if you’re fast enough.”

“I won’t.”

“I gave him 24 hours. And there is no rush.” A short gesture and the two men dragged him into another room, making him dread the things he and the other instructors had taught them, when he saw the instruments.

 ~~~~

Interpol headquarters. It would have been easier if they had allowed him to disguise himself as Zenigata!

Cursing he checked his uniform he had taken from a passed out officer. Well, passed out wasn’t that right, he admitted with a grin.

He would get the disc, bring it back and take his partner and get out of there. Far away from those maniacs.

“Officer, what are you doing there?”

He snapped back into reality, donning a smile and saluting in front of the captain.

“I was checking the premises as I was asked to do,” he answered.

A nod from the other man and he was free to go. He would need to be fast to get to the right floor. The shadow had told him the exact coordinates of the disc, making him suspicious. Why did the ICPO hide a disc with nuclear codes in their best guarded safe? Why did they have something like this in the first place? Something wasn’t right.

He thought about it the way through the building. Maybe the disc was something else? Briefly he remembered a different disc, containing the secret identities of all the MI6 agents. Maybe the ICPO had something similar?

No time to think. He had to get to the right floor and find a way to get into that safe, guarded by a difficult security system.

 ~~~~

You had enough! There had to be a way to get out of here?! Those bastards had killed Goemon! You threw yourself against the door for the fourth time when it swung open.

Shocked you couldn’t even react and fell to the floor, surprised by the sudden change.

“You wanted to get out?”

You blinked, silent – were you dreaming?

Zenigata grinned at you with a bruised face, missing two teeth.

“We need to get you out of here,” he told you, grabbing your arm.

You blinked again, and then the memories came back. Frantically you searched the floor for the head you had seen.

“It was a puppet. A scheme to break you. And Lupin.”

You shook your head. How!?

“Interpol’s special unit. They are specialized in anti-terror… well, I thought that.”

“Interpol?!” you had found your voice and were now eyeing the Inspector in front of you. He was a bloody mess, shirtless and bruised. Several deep cuts were on his body and you thought that a few fingers of his must be broken.

He growled before answering.

“I had a feeling about that case you were involved in. Seems I was right.”

“Inspector!”

You and him turned your heads towards the voice, seeing Yata dragging a half-conscious Jigen with the help of a hurt Goemon.

With a heavy weight falling from your shoulders, you rushed to your friends, hugging them and carefully looking over them for injuries.

“I found them where you told me. Inspector, what is going on?!” The young assistant seemed distressed.

“Doesn’t matter. Get Jigen and Goemon out of here and keep them safe,” Zenigata ordered, taking a short glance at you. “And you will need to help me here.”

You nodded. He had saved your friends and there was no sight of Lupin.

“They told me Lupin is on his way to steal something they want. We need to know where he is. And what they want.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Your brain was too slow to catch up.

“What bad feeling with the case I was involved in?!” you asked him.

He began to walk and you followed him, curious.

“After the second dead kid I had a hunch and followed a trace. A man of the Special Unit had been sighted near the crime scene.”

“They were 4 men,” you told him.

“Five. A sniper to keep trouble away.”

“But he didn’t shoot.”

“Then why are you limping?”

You stopped and stared at him. You were a sniper yourself and knew the priorities.

“Why didn’t he shoot me then?”

“He wanted to be found out.”

You shook your head in disbelief but Zenigata grabbed your hand and dragged you with him.

“His brother was the one to come to me after the fourth case. He was killed before he could confess his crimes. The sniper was the younger brother, I think he wanted to end the secrecy of this.”

“Why kids?! Why the blood?”

Zenigata dragged you into a room full of monitors and flicked through the different cameras, searching for something.

“To sell it to some rich guy. They all had the same blood type. Some special thing from India or something. I am not a scientist.”

“The Bombay Blood group.”

He turned around and looked at you surprised.

“Lupin is the same. He can give blood to anyone but he needs a donor from the same group to receive blood from.”

“And how do you know that?!”

You grinned a bit, remembering him telling you one evening and your search for a few pints of this blood group to have a stash safe if he would ever need it.

“He’s my love after all.”

Zenigata rolled his eyes and turned back to the monitors.

“Stupid love-bugs,” he grumbled.

 ~~~~

There hadn’t been a problem so far. The guards were wearing masks but he still had gotten around them and used the sleeping gas he preferred. Right now they were in the land of dreams, leaving him the peace to deal with the security system.

Modern electronics, an elaborate laser system and an old fashioned safe that was safe from the newer generation of thieves because it was too outdated to be used anymore. Luckily his grandfather had taught him his first steps in cracking a safe with a similar model. Even then this model had been old.

“Show me your secrets…,” he said to the computer as he was cracking the codes and disengaging one system after another. The instructions of the shadow had been precise and worked. He must be an insider. But still the main thought of the thief went to the disc. What was on it?!

 ~~~~

He had found a camera in front of a door that he wanted to investigate.

“If I’m right this is the main office. And we will find our…”

His voice was drowned in a siren.

“Don’t tell me we were discovered,” you said, growling. He said he knew the Unit! Then he should know their security, right?!

A gun was thrown into your hands.

“You have the permission to kill.” His voice was toneless and you knew how heavy this decision was on the Inspector.

“Because they won’t hesitate to o the same to you,” he explained and loaded another gun.

“Are you really okay?” you asked him, eyeing his still bleeding wounds.

“I won’t back down now.”

 ~~~~

“My, aren’t you a beauty…,” he purred and let his fingers caress the metal of the safe. A quick glance on his wristwatch told him he still had 12 hours. He would need 5 to get back to his captors. 2 hours were planned for escape and getting on a plane or hijack a helicopter. Something like this. This left him with a good few hours to crack this safe. And he would need them.

Kneeling in front of the safe, he got out his equipment. Those old models were often rusted but this was clean and cared for. The lock would be easy to pick, but any mistake would reset the code of the safe, making it harder to crack each time it was resetted. Those old safe makers sure were a crazy bunch.

A brief thought to his lover made him smile. He had to be extra gentle with this lock, just like with them.

 ~~~~

So far you had killed 3 men and still hadn’t left the floor. The office was still far away and those men pestered you with their skills.

“Trained by the best.”

“Didn’t you say you trained them?”

He had the nerve to grin at you.

“I taught them…” his grin vanished as he remembered who he was talking to.

“We should hurry.”

You nodded and took cover in another room, watching out for any guards. Gaining metre by metre you made your way to the stairs, followed by Zenigata.

 ~~~~

The door swung open without any sound. He whistled by this care. Whatever was in there must be really important if they took such good care about the safe and the security. Maybe his theory on the missile codes was right after all?

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the contents of the safe. There was nothing. Just the disc. No money, no important documents, not even a weapon. What the hell was on this disc?!

He took it and turned around.

“This is as far as you go, thief.”

He grinned at the guards in front of him.

“I am not a thief. I am THE thief,” he told them as he activated a button on his shirt, enveloping them with a smoke screen and slipping past them.

“The great Lupin!” he added as he activated the security system behind him and trapped the guards inside the safe room.

 ~~~~

Zenigata pointed to the door in front of you and you nodded. The plan was simple. Storm the room, get as many hostages as possible and try to find Lupin. Or at least a way to communicate with him.

After counting down, you two moved as one as Zenigata kicked in the door.

A single man lifted his gaze from the papers on his desk, watching you two.

“I underestimated you, Zenigata,” he simply said as a shot cracked through the room.

He didn’t say anything, he didn’t move much. He just broke down on his knees, falling forward, leaving you to catch him before he hit the floor.

“Zenigata!” His name escaped your lips as you held his heavy body. The blood flowed from the wound and in a few seconds there already was a pool of it under him.

“Do you care to follow him?” the man asked you. You stared at him. He hadn’t even flinched!!

“Who are you?! What do you want?!”

“Of you? Nothing. But I need your lover to get me something that is mine.”

The way he spoke the word ‘lover’ was disgusting. He seemed emotionless.

“My friends will come back and you will….”

He snapped his fingers and a huge curtain was lifted behind him, revealing a cage with Yata, Jigen and Goemon inside of it.

“Will do what exactly?” the man asked with a raised brow.

“Fuck you!” You raised your gun and shot at him without properly targeting. Even if the magazine was empty and the gun just clicked at your efforts, you couldn’t stop yourself to pull the trigger time after time at this unmoving man.

“I spared you from torture in order to get this stupid thief to move on my will. But now that he’s moving, I don’t need you anymore. Do you know what that means?”

You growled.

“Your men are dead!” you told him.

“Do you really think I need help to deal with you?!”

He got up and walked around his desk towards you, pointing the gun at you which he had use to shoot Zenigata with.

“You pissed me off. I won’t give you a quick death. And there won’t be tricks anymore.” He turned and shot in the direction of the cage, hitting Goemon in the shoulder.

“I will deal with you properly.”

You screamed your frustration out of your system and launched yourself against him.

 ~~~~

The whole building was in high alert and he had to change his disguise three times to leave it without raising any suspicions. What a work! He scratched the Interpol headquarters from his list of buildings for a planned heist. He would never get into there again if he could avoid it. Too much trouble.

By now there had to be a warrant for him to all the officers on patrol, right? He should avoid the crowded streets and stick to the alleys to get away unnoticed. This would cost him another hour at least! Slowly it was becoming a hassle to work in such a short time.

He cursed and quickened his pace. From a man he stole the hat, a woman lost her scarf while passing him. A new shirt was snagged from a clothes line and he changed while running though the streets. He would need to steal a car to get to the airport on time.

 ~~~~

Everything hurt. You had trained with the gang on most days and you weren’t weak either, but still you were struggling to keep up with a trained soldier. He was fast and stronger than you, but you used your quick reflexes to avoid the heavy punches. He had lost his gun during the fall and had resorted to a fist fight with you.

A punch hit you on the side on your head, making your ears ring and your head spin. This would leave a bruise… or worse. You felt the nausea and tried to ignore it.

A knee to his side had him grunting in pain and you threw your weight on your side to roll him over and get him under you.

His fist punched your side and left you breathless while you worked on his face, landing a few hits there.

Was he a monster?!  You were sure you had broken his nose and most of his ribs and he was still beating at you like a fresh man!

“Kill him.”

You heard the order from behind you and nodded. There was no other way anyway!

Slowly, with a bit hesitation, you placed your hands on the throat of your enemy and pressed them into the flesh.

 ~~~~~

He had seen the roadblock from far away and decided to test his luck. After all this would bee the fourth time he turned the stolen car around to find an unblocked road. He would never mess with Interpol again, Lupin swore. How could someone like Pops join such a stupid thing?! He would need to talk to him about that.

He accelerated and held the steering wheel in an iron grip with the eyes glued to the roadblock. Hopefully the officers there would get out of the way of his car… he closed his eyes in the last second and broke through the roadblock.

 ~~~~

He didn’t move anymore and still you pressed your hands on his throat until your knuckled turned white.

“He’s dead. Let him be.” A bloody hand reached for yours and when you looked up you could see Zenigata’s pale face mere centimetres away from yours. Slowly he eased every finger each away from your victim. You had shot people. You had seen them die at your hands. But you never had killed someone so closely. It changed you and you could suddenly understand why Jigen had sometimes scoffed at you for saying killing was quite easy. You would never say that again.

“The others. Help them.”

Blood ran over the Inspector’s chin and you wiped it away with your bare hands. He flinched a bit, leaving it to you to judge the reason.

The nausea had started to push into your consciousness and left you crawling towards the cage to free your friends. Where was the key…?

 ~~~~

From then on it was easy. Get to the airport, steal an unguarded helicopter, start it. He still had enough time to make it back to them, to give them the disc and just run. He felt like shit. What would happen if he came back? His partner would hate him for obeying those terrorists. For letting his friends die… Jigen’s execution and Goemon’s dismembered body came to his mind and made him sick to the bones. He was scum for letting this happen. The lowest point in his life had been reached today.

With numb fingers he tipped the coordinates of the hideout into the GPS and let out a sigh. He had seen Zenigata on the monitors. At least the Inspector was still alive to arrest him for his sins.

 ~~~~

You watched the sunset with a cigarette and the hip flask of Yata while the man himself cared for the injuries of the others. You had seen enough blood for today.

The alcohol burned its way from your mouth into your stomach, making you feel alive and to warm you from inside.

You got up when you heard the helicopter and strolled back to the makeshift sickbay.

Yata looked at you and you had to stifle a laugh. His hair was a mess and his clothes had stains of blood and grass.

“Seems like the missing thief is back,” he said, also hearing the helicopter.

You nodded and kneeled next to Goemon, placing a hand on the bandage around his shoulder. The Samurai huffed and said nothing. He was ashamed of being caught like that and had a puppet made of him to make Lupin believe he was dead.

“How’s Jigen and Zenigata?” you asked the officer opposite of you.

“Jigen’s stable and I stopped the bleeding of the shot wound of the Inspector… what about you?”

He had offered to take care of your wounds but you had dismissed him to care about the more severely injured.

An engine roared and several cars appeared on the horizon.

“And here’s the cavalry,” you said surprised at how slow Yata’s colleagues showed up after his cry for help before storming the secret base of his former associates.

“Better late than never,” he replied but you could see the disappointment clearly written on his face. He had to be saved by someone of Lupin’s gang instead of the police. That must have hurt.

 ~~~~

He was surprised to see the small group on the ground after landing. And two of them were supposed to be dead…

Not caring about the police cars coming at him, he went straight for his friends. He wanted nothing more than to hug his partner and never let them go. He would never let them go again. His walk broke into a run and he closed the distance to them.

 In the end the Police let them go. There would be no case regarding this slip-up. The disc was safe with them again and they had other problems than to deal with a third-class thief and his band of misfits.

All of you were checked into a hospital with completely false names and history, courtesy of Interpol. The cracked skull of yours would need some time to heal up, but when you saw Lupin standing in the doorframe to your room holding a huge get-well-basket, you had to smile. The time would fly faster than you would like.

[leofemt]

from the top!

part of: lupin ot5 snips. on ao3.

lupin ot5 jazz band/record shop au. will continue probably

"O-kay, stop, stop!" Zenigata yells for the fifth time, smacking his drumsticks together angrily and leaping to his feet. The music tapers off, and he points one stick accusingly at Lupin, in the front, his saxophone dropping from his lips and hanging from his neck.

"Eh?" Lupin blinks. "Pops, that felt pretty good, why'd we stop?"

Zenigata scowls at him.

"If I can't get you to follow a damn beat, I'll lock you in a room with nothing but a metronome for hours." He growls, shoulders nearly shuddering in rage.

Jigen stifles a snort, abandoning his place and dropping down on their torn-up, sinking couch. His trumpet leans against his thigh as he crosses his legs and props them up on the coffee table. Goemon, sensing they're not going to get anything done anytime soon, sits down cross-legged beside him, setting his long, silver flute against his shoulder and folding his arms.

Fujiko rolls her eyes and stands up. Her fingers linger for a moment over familiarly worn black and white keys.

"For the hundredth time, Koichi." She sighs, crossing her arms. "It's jazz. You love jazz, don't you?"

Zenigata pinches his lips.

"Yes..." He trails off, seeming to lose his conviction for a moment before coming back with a glare. "But even jazz has a drummer for a reason! Lupin, you have to follow my pace-"

Lupin lets out a put-upon breath, dropping his head, then peeks back up at the two through his lashes, a cheeky grin beginning to spread across his face.

"Huhu, Pops is getting serious!" He chuckles, but hefts his saxophone again. "I'm not gonna slow down for you, you know. It's all about expanding out horizons, see?"

Zenigata balls his fists. He looks like he's about to jump Lupin, and the other man doesn't help matters by closing the small space of their basement in a few strides, leaning over the drum set to kiss Zenigata teasingly on his cheek, pink with rage.

"You're so frustrating." Zenigata mutters, but his fists unclench, and his face begins to redden for a different reason. Lupin grins and smacks him on the shoulder, leaping back to the front of the dimly-lit room.

At some point, Jigen had started smoking, filling the room with a vague haze and the smell of cheap tobacco- Fujiko coughs and checks to make sure the ventilation is turned on.

"How many times have I told you to stop smoking down here?" She complains. "I like a good cigarette, but yours are foul, and the basement doesn't have windows, you ass. Smoke outside like a normal person."

Goemon huffs in agreement, trying to breathe as little secondhand smoke as possible. Jigen smokes an irrational amount for a brass player, and for a wind player, the tolerance is even lower- he's considered buying a pollution mask.

Lupin laughs aloud. His mirth fills the air between them, and before they know it, everyone's swept up in laughter. Lupin has that kind of effect- as much as Zenigata moans and whines about rhythms and order, Lupin's rhythm is the one they're all caught up in at the end of the day.

~~~~~~

Business is slow.

Goemon sits at the front counter of their record shop- the one the five of them own together. His flute is, as always, nestled against his chest, and his robe is light for summer- the old air conditioning unit in the window cranks away, but he has his doubts as to how much good it does. The tiny fan propped up on the counter is much better for relieving the heat.

"Yo." Jigen comes down the tiny, narrow stairs that lead to their tiny, narrow apartment on the second floor. "Any customers?"

"A few." Goemon replies without opening his eyes. "It's been slow."

"Hmm." He hears.

Then, he feels Jigen's presence behind him.

Then, he feels...

"Jigen." His eyes remain resolutely closed. "We're at work."

Jigen's hand, which has slipped around Goemon's waist, doesn't move.

"I'm not doing anything improper." He snickers, propping his pointy chin on Goemon's shoulder. "Anyways, it's not busy, right?"

If Goemon's eyes were open, he'd roll them.

"One kiss?" Jigen continues, shifting his face until he's cheek-to-cheek with Goemon, a grin still on his face.

"...If you insist." Goemon sighs, but turns to kiss him, lightly. The beard scratches against his face, and Jigen always tastes like smoke, but it's all part of what they are-

"Starting without me?" The bell rings when Fujiko walks in the door, groceries propped on her hip. "How rude. I'll get jealous, you know."

Jigen snorts.

"Lupin's in the office with Pops. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to let you distract him from tax returns." He says. Fujiko joins them behind the counter and, pushing the bag of food into Jigen's protesting hands, leans down to kiss Goemon deeper than Jigen had.

"I'm back." She murmurs. Jigen scoffs but doesn't avert his eyes.

"Hmm... who's jealous now?" Fujiko breaks away from Goemon, who's looking thoroughly flushed, and smirks at Jigen.

He scowls.

"As if." He hefts the bag of groceries more securely in his arms. "And, what, I don't get a kiss?"

"Didn't know you wanted one." Fujiko feigns ignorance, tapping one finger to her bottom lip which, just moments before, been pressed against Goemon's. Jigen huffs- almost embarrassed, but they've been together too long for that- and turns his head, but Fujiko takes mercy and slides her hand up his arm, moving closer to kiss him on the cheek.

"Take the groceries upstairs, please." She says, smirking, drawing away. Jigen glares, a flush high on his face, almost hidden by the shadow of his hat.

"Fine." He mutters, and turns back to the stairs, but not before he leans down to press his lips briefly to the side of Goemon's neck. The skin there is pink from the blush that's worked its way up his neck.

~~~~~~

"Lupin, would you sit still for one second?" Zenigata scowls, the crease between his eyebrows growing deeper with every moment. "We have to file these to remain a legitimate business-"

"I don't care." Lupin moans, arms sprawled over the back of his office chair. There are only two desks in the office, because no more than two of them ever do administrative work at one time, and the room is so small that it's cramped enough as it is. They're lucky it's not small enough to trigger Fujiko's claustrophobia- after Zenigata, she's easily the most productive member of the group. The room holds many memories of late nights between Zenigata and Fujiko, glasses propped on the bridges of their noses, burning furiously through paperwork and inventory records.

Zenigata throws a pen at Lupin's chin. It connects. Lupin jumps up with a yelp.

"Pops! What was that for?" He complains, rubbing his face. "You guys always say you can't read my handwriting anyways, so I'm useless for filling out paperwork-"

Zenigata rubs the spot between his eyes. His headache is getting worse. He sighs in defeat and digs around in the desk drawer for a cigarette. The only ones there are a pack of Jigen's, which are too bitter, but he lights one up anyways. It tastes familiar, even though he never smokes them, because that's what Jigen's mouth tastes like when they-

He coughs, choking on smoke.

Lupin glances over.

"You alright?" He asks. "Don't swallow that cigarette. They're not candy, you know."

Zenigata glares up at him, doubled over, eyes watering slightly.

"Shut up." He wheezes.

~~~~~~

"Goemon, where's the curry powder?" Zenigata asks, the sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up to the elbows and a pink apron tied to his front.

Goemon looks up from washing the rice. Whenever Goemon cooks, it's always traditional food.

"Not in the cabinet?" He drains the water and adds more, slotting the container in the rice cooker and pressing the button. "I thought we still had some, but we might be out."

Zenigata sighs and slumps against the counter.

"Why can't I ever find anything in this house?" He moans.

Goemon chuckles. The sleeves of his robe are tied by the straps around his back.

"We have spices in the cabinets too, you know." He wipes his hands and opens the tiny wooden door again, peering at the shelves, pulling out half a dozen jars of powder and setting them on the counter. Zenigata lets out a breath. His fingers ache from filling out paperwork. He flexes them, trying to release the stiffness in the joints.

Goemon notices.

"Are you in pain?" He asks, glancing over. "I can cook tonight, if-"

Zenigata shakes his head.

"I'm fine." He says gruffly, still stretching his fingers by pressing them against his other palm. His right thumb seems in danger of cramping up. Before he knows it, Goemon's long, pale fingers are on his.

"A musician has to take care of their hands." Goemon murmurs, hair falling into his face, pressing the fleshy parts of Zenigata's palm with the pads of his fingers. Goemon's hands are thin and delicate-looking, but possess the strength of someone who spends hours a day training with them- his touch on Zenigata's skin is firm and smooth. Zenigata exhales unknowingly and relaxes his hands.

"Hmm." He makes a noise. Goemon smiles and presses a light kiss to the heel of Zenigata's palm. The blood rushes to Zenigata's face at hyperspeed, staining his cheeks and tightening his shoulders. Something so small shouldn't still embarrass him- he and Goemon have touched in... less innocent ways- but the tiny gesture still makes him flush dramatically and duck his head.