Intro/ No Event/ BYOA

[redjacketthief]

The mirrors, red decorations, plush pillows and beds straight out of a cheesy 70s porno made the message clear enough to the lanky thief-excess, debauchery, greed, and lust reigned king here.  Lust at the top of them all. His lips curled into a goofy grin when the realization hit him.

Lupin III, international thief, master of disguise

Comments

OH MY GOD I WAS ON HIATUS AND TOTALLY MISSED THIS. Also, TL;DR

[m19_lover]

So, virtually NOTHING had happened to Jigen the past month. really nothing

[m19_lover]

"I guess that, for now, the best thing is for you to stay inside this room for a while. It's not guaranteed that this hotel won't do anything to you while inside a room, but it's certainly a lot safer." Jigen said, not bothering to disguise the fact that, yes, he wanted to protect Lupin from whatever that place had in store for him.

Jigen still remembered quite clearly what happened to Goemon during his brief stay there and he was always blaming himself for not being there when his samurai friend needed him, so he wasn't going to let something similar happen to Lupin.

Opening the small cabinet in the corner of the room where all the booze was stocked, Jigen looked at all those intact bottles sitting there. It was almost surreal how he never bothered opening any of those.

"There's pretty much everything here. What do you want?" Jigen looked over his shoulder, eyeing Lupin sitting on the bed.

[redjacketthief]

"Anything you want," Lupin said, toeing his shoes off onto the floor.

He heard the underlying concern in Jigen's tone and, although he was curious, he decided not to push it. Sometimes it was best to let Jigen be the overprotective big brother that he was to their small group. If nothing else, it kept the gunman from getting too cantankerous, and kept everyone else from bickering.

[m19_lover]

Jigen just nodded and turned to look at the bottles again. After some small inner debate, he decided to get the red wine that was sitting there in the back. It felt like forever since he had any wine and, by the look of it, that was a good quality one. At least that place knew how to spoil their 'guests' when it wanted to.

Getting two glasses and opening the bottle, he poured some wine inside both of them and walked to the bed, handing one to Lupin.

"Here. I honestly don't know if this is good or not, but judging by the label looks like it's good quality, at least." Jigen didn't sound nor look particularly excited about it though. Sure it was nice being there with his friend, but that hotel always seemed to make things seem 'off'.

[redjacketthief]

Lupin was no wine snob. He preferred liquor mixes, or drinks that tasted like candy. But Lupin also knew how to enjoy something, no matter the quality. He took a sniff, to get an idea of what the flavor, and took a long, slow sip. It was smooth enough, and didn't leave the characteristic bite at the end like red wine normally did.

"Seems pretty good to me," Lupin said, with a lazy, contented smile. He took another sip, and noted Jigen's indifference and stiff manner. "Lighten up. If anything happens, its not like it's gonna be the worst that's happened between us."

[m19_lover]

"It's not exactly easy for me to 'lighten up' in a setting like this." Jigen sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat far from his partner, looking at the glass he had on his hand. Count on Lupin to take a situation like that so lightly.

"Sometimes I wonder if this hotel dragged me here just to make me look like a fool." He took a large gulp from his glass, not really bothering to taste it before chugging it down. For someone who spent almost an year in that place, he should be used to it by now, but that would be quite the achievement for someone like him.

[redjacketthief]

"Who knows?" Lupin asked with a small shrug of his shoulders. He set his wine glass down on the adjacent table and stretched himself out on the gunman's bed. If nothing else, the Hotel knew how to make people comfortable physically.

Psychologically seemed to be a different story. Although he had only been there for less than a day, he had already seen people tormented by what the Hotel did with their lives. The young man Lupin ran into earlier seemed to have compartmentalized his life between home and the hotel, a not necessarily healthy reaction, but healthier than Jigen.

Lupin hated to see Jigen drowning in melancholy.

"Hey," He said softly, "Don't drink too fast when you're in this mood. It's not going to me good for you later."

[m19_lover]

Well, good to know he didn't need to tell Lupin to 'feel at home' for him to do so. It wasn't really a problem though. It was good having someone around that he actually knew instead of being put together with rather... unpleasant individuals.

"It's not like my mood is going to improve that soon, so I guess it makes no difference when it comes to the way I drink this." He took another large sip and the wine was now gone.

"Heh... I'm probably ruining your mood as well with all this depressive talk." Jigen forced a smile, trying to look a little bit more cheerful as he got up from the bed to refill his glass.

[redjacketthief]

Lupin saw through Jigen's smile, saw how he couldn't fully push his thoughts and feelings away. Lupin frowned, and reached for (another) cigarette.

"Jigen, don't force yourself." Lupin flicked his lighter, and puffed on a new cigarette for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "It's better to not hold stuff back, if it's bugging you."

He followed Jigen across the room with his eyes, concerned about his friend. A part of him really wanted to ask what all had happened, what had made Jigen this melancholy, but he decided it could wait for a different moment to ask.

[m19_lover]

The thing was, it wasn't just one thing bothering him. It was a whole bunch of stuff. He wanted out of that place already, but it seemed like the more he wished for that, the longer he stayed in that place. He remembered Wrath telling him he went back and forth between his homeworld and the hotel, but Jigen never figured out how he could do such a thing. He certainly could use a break from all that lust and debauchery and just... Go home.

"Guess I'm just tired of this place, that's all. I mean... I did spend almost an year stuck in here." Jigen looked at the bottle of wine for a while before pouring more of that crimson liquid on his glass. Maybe if he got drunk enough he could forget for a moment that he was in such a place. "Maybe I'm starting to get worn off or something." And down went the entire glass of one in one single gulp.

[redjacketthief]

...Jigen really was drinking too fast. Lupin got off the bed and crossed the distance between him and Jigen, his own glass of wine left on the nightstand. The only thing that was between him and Jigen was smoke And time.

"It's the past, Jigen," He said. "You can't change it. Don't worry so hard about what might have been." It wasn't often that he got philosphical, but it wasn't like he was incapable of it. Usually he chose not to worry about it.

But, never one to be comfortable with long silences, Lupin felt that he needed to say something. He doubted that a million somethings would be enough.

[m19_lover]

Knowing very well that Lupin was trying to 'cheer him up' by telling him not to think about the past, Jigen appreciated that gesture, even if it didn't do much for his mood as a whole

[redjacketthief]

Lupin regretted leaving his drink so far away. The conversation was getting heavy. He took a drag of his cigarette instead--a stallling tactic as he considered the conversation before him.

"Well...maybe you could take a load off for tonight?" It was a quiet suggestion, perhaps too gentle for the moment. "I mean, I'm here right now, so you don't need to worry about everyting.

"Besides, you're gonna get wrinkles if you frown all the time."

[m19_lover]

Lupin was actually right. He was there, and the gunman was able to keep an eye on him. As long as they were 'awake' he knew the hotel wouldn't do anything to any of them. At least that place only had the habit of changing people from one place to anther while they were sleeping.

"Alright, alright. I suppose that as long I'm watching you there's no real reason for me to worry." Jigen filled his glass again but didn't down it in one go this time. He just quietly got the bottle and went back to sitting on the edge of the bed, leaving the bottle by the side of his feet.

[redjacketthief]

"Implying I need a babysitter," Lupin muttered darkly around his cigarette. His smile was bitter.

It wasn't very often that Jigen turned into a scary poppa wolf. If he did, it was usually because he feared the worst, or something bad had already happened. Lupin didn't know which of the two was the reason this time.

He followed Jigen, and collected his glass before he sat down next to the gunman. "We're partner, Jigen," Lupin said at length. I've got your back too.

[m19_lover]

Jigen's worry was a mostly mix between things that happened in the past and things he heard. Things he knew the hotel was completely capable of doing. And he didn't want those happening.

But it wasn't Jigen's intention to imply that Lupin couldn't take care of himself. On the contrary. The thief probably knew how to deal with - and escape from - complicated situations a lot easier than him. He probably would be able to keep his cool a lot longer to access the situation more properly. Jigen had to admit that, sometimes, his stubbornness and short temper were to blame for some of the things that happened to him.

"I know." Jigen kept on smiling, a little bit more genuinely now, getting the bottle from the floor and refilling Lupin's glass. "And I'm glad we are."