redjacketthief | Appointments

[As stern as she's been so far, once he flops over by the table she pauses to reach out and run her fingers through his hair. He was an idiot. But he was her friend, her brother, and she was going to keep him well if it killed her.]

I won't run again. I swear it.

[He peeks up at her when she ruffles her hair and offers her a tired smile. It was enough for him, and more than he could count on even Fujiko for at this point. Such a vow couldn't have been more valuable.]

Thanks, Angel. Seriously, thanks.

Now swear that you'll quit being an idiot and making yourself sick by running yourself ragged.

[She ends the hair ruffle with a light flick to one ear before returning to the stove. Grilled cheese. She can make that easily enough.]

[He winces at the flick--but it was in jest, playing up the repartee.]

All right. I'll try to rely on people more. [It was going to be difficult, however. Decades of bad habits were hard to rewrite.]

..Just smile for me every once in a while. I love what it does for your eyes.

[She snorts under her breath and starts buttering the bread, pan already on the stove heating a measure of butter.]

That does not sound much like a promise, Lupin. But it is most likely the closest to one I shall get from you, mm?

Edited 2012-07-31 03:44 (UTC)

[He just settles further into his arms and debates the further merits of a nap versus food. Adele's voice was an excellent anchor.]

You know how men like me are, Angel, and how difficult that request is. I will try though.

It probably will be the most helpful thing to do right now.

So long as you try.

[She peeks back over her shoulder to make certain he's not overly irritable before turning her attention back to the bread, butter, and cheese grilling in the pan. Something simple and easy, and filling. Though hadn't Robert always insisted upon having this with soup?]

It would also be helpful to stop volunteering yourself for things while you know full well you're under house arrest.

[No, he is by no means irritable over this turn. In contrast, the various conversations he had over the last week have left him more contemplative. They were all asking him to be something that he was inherently not--an honest, trusting man.

Feeling somewhat more steady, Lupin leans back and stares out the window as Adele works. He wasn't surprised that she had taken to stalking him over the journals. Not really.]

...If you're talking about that thing with Marco, I made it amply clear that I can't join his game immediately. It's really no effort for me to synthesize a chemical like that either, because all I need is the raw materials and a lab.

It will give me something mundane to do once I'm allowed out of here anyway.

Which you'll be provided if you can hold out and cope with remaining in the house for however long Law and Luke have determined.

[If that wasn't incentive to listen, she couldn't think of anything else that might work. There's a sizzle from the pan, and Adele slides the finished sandwich onto a plate, slices it diagonally. A glass of tea refreshed for Lupin and one for herself are poured before she sldies teh plate across to Lupin.]

If you need busywork- make another model. There are matchsticks enough for you in the house- if not I'd be happy to provide them for you.

I know--just let me do my thing. Talking to people and reading the journals helps.

[His tone is mild, conversational, but the expression on his face is more akin to weariness. He knew the stakes, knew the risks, but he also knew the importance of all of his actions in the larger scheme. He took a sip of his tea as she slid the plate over and regarded her calmly.

No, he's not playing.]

I've been trying to contact Kipinn actually. Been trying for a few weeks too. Being in the house doesn't help with that at all, but it gives me something to think about.

In the interest of contacting a filial spirit I"m certain Luke could extend your grounds permitted to the front porch if nothing else. Elicia seemed to be doing well enough in her own front yard when I saw her practice with him last.

[It was an interesting turn, Lupin learning from the Filial spirits. He'd seemed dead against it before- and perhaps that's why. He was killed, a great deal was out of his hands, he needed to do something to improve his standing here. Larger than life as he might be- he's still just a man locked in with gods and wizards.]

Elicia-chan is also a child, Adele. She hasn't yet learned the ways that us grown-ups have.

[And it was probably for the better. His unwillingness to accept the circumstances and adapt was what left him so powerless in comparison with the rest of the village. He had his wits, but they could only take him so far.

Lupin took note of Adele's weariness, of how it mimicked his own in many ways. His plans over the last month, all of them, had backfired.]

...I only did what I did to make you smile, you know.

You're childlike enough for that train of thought to have merit, Lupin.

[She settles back after that very easy jab and sips her tea. It was exhausting, worrying about him, though she has less to fear now that Remy's in the loop concerning her fate upon her arrival. Now the only one she's close to that doesn't know is Sabriel.]

You should take a photo, then. Those last longer, especially when you pull stunts like this. I know I wrote it, quite emphatically at that, but you were being a fucking moron. You're all but blood to me, and I don't want you killing yourself by being an idiot.

[He ignores the jab and takes a bite of the sandwich, thoroughly not in the mood to deal with that kind of snark for the moment. Her words had merit, but she was missing his point.]

I wouldn't have gotten myself killed, Adele. This is actually far better than what I've done back home. It wasn't easy going back to Cagliostro after nearly dying on the castle's roof, but a job needed to be done.

[A princess needed rescued; a dictator needed to fall.]

You're like Jigen or Goemon to me. I had hoped that you would understand that fighting the Malnosso is a job too, and one that we can't compromise on.

There is compromise, and then there is patience. You're a thief, Lupin. Not a soldier. You can't play at war on your own. And you certainly can't play at it like this.

[It was the argument with Red all over again. Somehow, she expected this, really.]

[It was because, underneath all of the extra layers, filters, and experiences, they really were the same man. Red is what Lupin could have been, had circumstances been different.

Both of them, at the end of the day, always worked alone.

He took a deep breath to quell the bubble of irritation that formed. Yelling wouldn't work, and it would only make him feel physically worse.]

You're right; I am a thief. A thief has to accept from day one that they are destined to end alone. No matter how many friends a person amasses, an individual can only change on their own.

I'm trying to get myself more skilled so you guys don't need to worry about me next time and can focus on yourselves.

...We all just need a break.

And the greatest of your heists, the most fantastic plans that went off without fail- did you accomplish that alone?

[Her tone remains level. She's too tired to be angry, really. Spending more time with Rick also helped.]

You had help then, you will need help now. Teaching yourself what you need to know to better your situation is well and good, but it must be moderated. If you rush the learning, you learn wrong. A faulty skill can get someone, including yourself, hurt or killed. I worry more knowing you're attempting to learn all that you are in so short a time; and it is difficult to focus on my on skills and lessons while I have to spend half a mind wondering if you're keeping to a healthy pace or rushing ahead.

It leaves you a wildcard. Something that cannot be factored into any plans made- it makes you unreliable.

['It makes you unreliable.' That was the exact opposite of what he was trying to be--the bubble of irritation persisted despite his best efforts. All of his actions, all of his decisions over the last month had been to prevent this and prove that he still had it. He was a thief, and a damn good one.

--But, Adele had spoken the truth. His best heists were always with his partners--his friends--and their absence hit him harder than he was willing to tell anyone. Zenigata's passion and determination to do his job regardless of cost, Goemon's silent but palpable presence at the hardest of times, and Jigen's cynical insights and brotherly jabs all helped him keep together.

He hadn't needed anyone else while they were in Luceti. Not really. Conversational partners were always welcome, but out of all of the people he had met and would even call friend he knew that there were few that he would actually rely on. The relationship between his partners and himself was forged in bullets and smoke. It was a kind of intimacy that was impossible to mimic.

Lupin tore his gaze away, suddenly not hungry and unable to take the underlying ferocity in her blue eyes. She had a point.

Goddamn she had a point.]

That's not fair. Especially since I did get you to smile.

Edited 2012-08-02 23:45 (UTC)

A child's game. Something suited for a joker, a jester, a fool. Not a thief. Not a soldier. Not whatever it is you intend to make of yourself here. If you wish to be taken seriously, behave seriously. If you wish for me to smile, to not worry, to rely upon whatever it is you might learn rather than view you as a potential liability- drop the games. This isn't the time for it.

[She'll give him a moment to register that comment, sip her tea, and then turn to face him fully.]

I'm not Goemon. I'm not Jigen. I don't know how you operate, or how you plan. But I do know what a man looks like when he's hiding and you are for whatever reason. I'm not saying you need to abandon what makes you great.

I'm saying you need to expand upon it. You want us to trust you, then you need to trust us in turn. It's not in your nature, it's not your way, but it is how things are going to have to be if you want this to work. If you want to find a way out, to find a way to get back at them for what they do to us here.

[Point and point again. The ferocity that he couldn't face was evident in her tone, and was impossible for him to ignore without leaving the room. He didn't, because he understood on a deep, unspoken level that he needed his friends. He always did.

They were forever his anchor...and, in his concern for them, he was trying to reverse their roles. It was a hard lesson, but he was starting to understand that a man without an anchor couldn't anchor anyone else.

He needed to find a new one, somehow.

After a long moment Lupin returned his gaze to her's, his agitation replaced with something else that he couldn't quite define.]

Adele. [His voice was soft and a little strained.] They're gone. Do you have any idea what my friends, all of them, mean to me?

They're everything to you.

[It was easy enough to make that connection when she took his behavior into account. He was protective, possessive, possibly a little childish and jealous with her time. Without Goemon, Jigen, or Zenigata in the enclosure- she understands that need well. It was part of Lupin's charm, that intensity, that need and charm all rolled up behind a cheeky smile and casual laugh. It was a need all the same, though, and without those from his world? He was faltering.]

They're not gone Lupin. They're home- with you in a strange sense even if they aren't here. They are where they belong.

I'm not them. I haven't lived their lives with you, I don't know you as they do. It isn't the same, it doesn't measure up and I am a piss poor substitute at best- but you have friends here Lupin. And we wish to help you.

I know that, Adele. It's why I'm not upset for their sake. They've all gone back to living the adventure, while Fujiko and I are still stuck here. Once we're out, we'll forget...

But it's hard.

[Their absence wrecked his ability to play chessmaster in the enclosure, since he lacked both of his rooks and one of his knights, took away his bouncing board, and destroyed his ability to keep grounded. Back home he would have gone on a drinking binge and maxed out three credit cards on an empty-headed sorority girl. That tactic wasn't an option in Luceti.

He had accepted that he wasn't returning home anytime soon. That was another part of why he determined that he needed to get stronger.]

Adele, I--

[He didn't know what to say to her offer, didn't know even how to begin accepting it. Everything operated under a quid pro quo back at home. 'Aid me and I'll aid you.' It was simple, and the only way to get by if a person chose to live outside of the law. Accepting something offered without deals, without strings, was hard.

He wanted to know if there was a catch, but her eyes told him that there was none.

How was he supposed to accept this?]

You don't know how. It's not in your nature, it goes against all of your instincts. It's an entirely foreign concept to you and you expect there to be a catch, strings attached, or an expectation at the end of the deal. Because that's the only way you can think of this. As a deal. You don't understand altruism leveled in your direction. Everything comes with a price, so this must as well.

[Irving had been much the same, from what she'd seen. He was worse than her Remy in that respect, and Adele had never quite gotten around to offering anything more than the shallow relationship they already shared. Empty, unspoken promises and business transactions peppered with the odd night out, or in, whatever his tastes had been. Everything on his terms- because she'd never cared enough to make her own.

Here, now, it's different. The stakes are higher, there's more to lose if they fail- and they will. This won't be a one hit win. They'll have to keep pecking at the Malnosso for months, for years until they know enough to hamstring them properly. It's a long, slow job.

She wasn't certain Lupin knew how to handle those, not really. Considering his behavior since she met him, she's going to have to assume he either doesn't, or hasn't considered it yet.

Weighty thoughts, and he's too quiet. Adele sits back with a soft sigh, then reaches out to tap the tip of Lupin's nose.]

This is free. There are no strings. There is no deal to be made. You're my Lupin, my brother, and there never has been nor will there ever be a catch.

[She understood.

She understood and he didn't have to say it. He could talk in circles, dance into oblivion, and lie with every breath, but she would understand his truth no matter what he did. It was a rare trait, shared only among those he was closest to from his world--his nakama. He looked up at her squarely, trying to find the right words with which to respond to this turn of events. This woman, one whom he had placed on his list of potential threats and, later, as a person of interest to keep an eye on, had somehow figured out his truth over the months of their association.

...she was right. He didn't understand.]

Adele...you're right. I'm not sure how to take this. But--

Thank you. There's no way I can express it enough.

You can start by finishing your sandwich.

[She reaches over and ruffles his hair, slim fingers lingering on his scalp for a moment before dropping away. For a moment her eyes are shadowed, dark with remembered grief and guilt, before it slides away.]

Whatever they did, you've lost some of the bulk you built up over the past few months. You need to get started on making up for what was lost. Beyond that...trust me when I say I won't run again. That I'll be here, for you to complain at, for you to hide with, for you to fall on, even, if you need to. I'm here.

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