awoo that stings

[heartsteals]

WHO: Lupin and Concerned Parties
WHERE: Lupin and Akechi's Bachelor Pad, Ruga
WHEN: Backdated to after the werewolf cure was found / the event ended!
WHAT: Lupin turned into a hungry wolf. Lupin got shot. Now Lupin is not a hungry wolf, but he is still shot, so he's laid up. Come nurse a handsome thief back to health, you wild child.
WARNINGS: should be none!



[ Generally speaking, Lupin is a man who lives his life without regrets. Right now, however? He's almost entirely regrets. The fact that he's laying in his bed right now with about three bullets lodged in various places around his chest and shoulders is only the tip of the iceberg. Lupin's been shot before; he can deal with the pain, even if he's concerned about getting the things out.

The knowledge that he went out and attacked people? Scared them, and even hurt them? And that most of them were people he loved and considered friends? That's harder to deal with.

He hasn't been out of the house since that week; that isn't changing today. He's sitting in his room, the covers drawn up around him, with his laptop in front of him, fervently typing out messages with a somber look on his face. The eclectic collection of items in his room - ranging from the functional (thief tools, a finished map of the town) to the fine (smooth rocks with their color restored from the river, a delicately-engraved handle to something or other, other knickknacks he must have picked out of the old buildings) - are beginning to accumulate a fine layer of dust, but he doesn't have the strength to clean up at the moment. Cleaning up his personal life is going to be hard enough. ]

Comments

[scooptimistic]

[ Maya is a kind and understanding woman, as well as someone who can forgive the occasional deranged killer, but what she can't forgive is Lupin not showing his face. Which, she thinks, is either because he's been injured (which is alarming) or he's hiding (which is annoying).

So forgive her, Lupin. She remembers where he lives, and she's just going to go ahead and open the door on her own and call out with the air of someone who expects an answer. ]

Lupin!! Yell if you're fine!

[heartsteals]

[ he starts a little bit at the sound of her voice - mostly because he's expecting it to be Akechi's voice when he hears the door open. It's not. It's definitely not. From across the small condo, she'll hear Lupin's voice, weakly calling: ]

Maya--? Ow--

[ his ribs still hurt from cairngorm throwing him over a building ]

[scooptimistic]

[ Oh good, he's alive. Not yelling, so not fine, but able to respond, so Maya can calm down slightly and head towards his voice.

Only to freeze up in surprise when she actually lays eyes on him. ]

What the-- what happened?

[heartsteals]

Uh...

[ good question? Lupin looks a little bewildered to see her standing there. He has bandages wrapped around his torso and upper arms, mostly concentrated around his shoulders; fortunately, it looks like he's been staying on top of changing them, but it's easy to guess that he's taken some damage nonetheless, especially considering the bruising on his abdomen to match. ]

I got into some trouble last week. More importantly... I'm happy to see your lovely face, as always, but what are you doing in my house?

[scooptimistic]

I didn't hear from a certain someone since the last time I saw him struggling with himself, and seeing him in person was so much easier than trying to message him.

[ And she's looking him over with pursed lips. ]

But I can see you had a lively time without me.

[heartsteals]

Worried about me, were you?

[ he sounds amused, but it makes him happy, too - even if he feels some guilt now for not saying anything. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't like people seeing him when he's down and out. ]

I'll be all right. I didn't get anything I wasn't asking for... This isn't enough to bring me down, besides -- [ oh, he shouldn't have moved so much. Lupin winces, bringing a hand to the left side of his chest. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ Bravado... oh, boy. Maya is definitely rubbing her forehead. ]

Lupin... I know you just said you're fine and ready to go, but I can heal. Just in case that's anything helpful for you.

#3630FF

[messianic]

[They're starting with a message here.

Lupiiiin:]

Are you okay, Lupin-san? I didn't end up getting to check on you before things calmed down.

#B91600

[heartsteals]

[ Lupin is alive!! Just quiet, apparently. ]

Good morning, Minato. I am okay, for a certain value of "okay," at the very least; I am not dead, and I am no longer transforming into a monster, which is all I feel I can ask for at the moment. I apologize for troubling you.

- Lupin

[messianic]

[... Oh.

He was turned into a werewolf? That's pretty alarming in and of itself, and also he doesn't sound that "okay" in general.

So Minato's response is...pretty to the point.]

I'm on my way, then.

[NO WORDS MINCED apparently.]

[heartsteals]

[ Oh. Well. Okay? Lupin starts typing half a response, but decides not to - Minato's almost definitely already left his house, with a message like that. All Lupin can really do is wait for him to show up.

It's a little embarrassing being visited like this. He likes being the center of attention, but only when he's being admired or showing off; this is just showing everyone a weak side of him that's decidedly less than cool. The best he can do is run his fingers through his hair a few times and hope he doesn't look like a complete greasy mess. ]

[messianic]

[He has definitely already left. He's on his wayyyy, and it won't take him long to get to Lupin's--where he knocks, but will let himself in so long as the door's open, because he doesn't want to make Lupin stand up and answer the door if he's injured.

Important things!!

He's Concerned, okay...]

[heartsteals]

[ yeah, Lupin's not getting up like this. He does hear the door creak open, and he does his best to shout across the house accordingly, though his ribs are definitely protesting that decision. ]

Minato?

post-magical healing!!

[doublecrowss]

[ The past few days have been... uneventful, perhaps too much so. And considering the kind of chaos the town was thrown in, this should be a good development, but somehow it just... isn't.

When had it become strange for Akechi to be silent in his own home? When had he started to rely on friendly talking and company?

Well, none of that really mattered, because the fact remains that he could barely bring himself to exchange more than polite greetings and concerned pleasantries with his roommate ever since the werewolf incident. Akechi had been doing his part, helping change his bandages and bringing him meals, but the truth is, he's never been good at dealing with his feelings-- guilt, remorse, there was always so much eating at him that it was just easier to not deal at all. Easier, not better.

One day, he knows he's going to have to face them, let them strike him down one after the other, full force, for the first and perhaps last time. But that day is not today, so he's going to keep not dealing, keep trying to make small amends, like sneaking into Lupin's room while he's asleep to dust off his possessions. He tries to act fast, but quiet enough so to not disturb his roommate-- he definitely needs the rest.

Cleaning up personal lives is impossibly hard, Akechi knows this like anyone else. But this much, he can do. ]

[heartsteals]

Seven out of ten.

[ the voice comes from the supposedly-sleeping Lupin; clearly, he's not as asleep as he appears. He's become a professional catnapper to compensate for his irregular "work schedule," and years of sleeping on the streets have made him sensitive to any sounds nearby that could be dangerous. Akechi, of course, isn't dangerous, but he's not quite quiet enough on these creaky floorboards to evade a master thief's ears. ]

I didn't hear you for the first few steps, but you need to work on shifting your center of gravity.

[ Lupin rolls over, propping his head up on one hand to flash a grin at Akechi. He's been avoiding Lupin, he knows - and it's hardly something Lupin blames him for. If Akechi hates him after what happened, that's perfectly valid. He's not feeling too happy with himself for it, after all. Still, he does his best to be friendly while he heals - when he's feeling better, maybe he can move out and give the kid a break. ]

Snooping around?

[doublecrowss]

[ The voice startles Akechi, and he looks over his shoulder to see... an unfortunately awake roommate. Shoot. ]

Cleaning. [ Said after a shake of his head. Normally, he would indulge Lupin in his teasing, even send back a joke of his own, but right now, it just felt... not right. ] I noticed your possessions have been gathering dust, so I thought I could get a head start.

[ Cleaning is... so little that he can do. It won't make up for having shot him, it won't mend what has been broken, be it bone or bond. But it's all he can do. ]

I really didn't mean to disturb your sleep, though. [ A pause, and then: ] I'm sorry.

[ He knows "sorry" doesn't fix it, either. ]

[heartsteals]

Look at you. I didn't know you had such a domestic side.

[ the teasing is gentle. Akechi's subdued attitude is out of the ordinary, too - at least compared to the Akechi he knows.

He can hear the weight in that apology. It's not just about the cleaning. ]

... You don't have to apologize for anything, Akechi.

[doublecrowss]

[ He parts his lips to... what? Protest? Apologize? Explain? Whatever it was, the words die in his mouth before they are given shape and sound. Perhaps it's best not to say anything at all.

Instead, he approaches Lupin's bed with cautious steps, hesitates before taking a seat by the very edge of the mattress, hands folded on his lap. Eyes staring forth, safely away from his roommate. ]

How are you feeling?

[ It's... a safe enough start, at least. ]

[heartsteals]

[ Akechi sits down, and Lupin sits himself up properly. He's at least looking more presentable than before, thanks to Maya's healing; bandages have been replaced with a regular sleeping shirt, the color's largely returned to his face, and his golden eyes have their usual clever glint to them - although that's something that had persevered even through his werewolf transformation. ]

Hah... Guilty, mostly. My ego's hurt worse than the rest of me, at this point. Everyone's done a good job taking care of me.

[unghost]

[ Two days after saying they'd go back to sleep, he'd hear the door to his house opening as quietly as it can. Luckily for Cairngorm, that whole Bogeyman deal made their sleep more restful than usual, so they're up and about much quicker than expected--though not before scrubbing all that bloodied powder off, applying a new layer, and finding acceptable peasant clothes to replace their stained uniform. They're stopping by, only because they genuinely do feel a little responsible (not guilty, just responsible) for his condition... of course, its Cairngorm though, so what they can do to be quiet while entering his house is not very much.

Maybe it disturbs his sleep or maybe he's already awake-- either way, there's definitely the unmistakable clinks of their heels on wooden floor as they make their way to his dining room table to leave some things there: some clean linen, since they were taught that this is what humans use to stop bleeding, and a book they'd finished but hadn't brought back to the library yet. They don't exactly have the intention to stick around for him being awake, so they're setting the stuff they've brought on the table down neatly and quickly, if only so they can get going before he wakes up. ]

[heartsteals]

[ Unfortunately for Cairngorm, Lupin's a champion cat napper; he wakes up the moment he hears a set of footsteps that aren't Akechi's entering the house, and only the fact that he recognizes those footsteps keeps him from shooting up and investigating. Yet, despite recognizing them, he continues to feign sleep until they're actually in his room. He's a cheeky bastard. ]

Were you going to drop by without even saying hello?

[ as they set down their things on the table, Lupin pipes up, propping himself up on his elbows and grinning at them. Honestly, he's surprised they came out here for him... but it's most definitely a pleasant surprise. ]

[unghost]

[ They were half expecting him to wake up anyway, so he'll only get an unimpressed look when he pipes up all of the sudden. It's clear now that he spoke that he had been awake for longer than just a few moments... which is annoying. They'd be more annoyed if they didn't see the state that he's in, which they had been purposefully trying to avoid looking at. ]

That was the plan.

[ Their response is as typically blunt as ever, breaking eye contact so they can turn back to placing the book they brought on top of the folded linen. Upon closer inspection, the gilded tome is titled The Adventures of Robin Hood. It's clearly been in good hands, the old and dusty pages having been aired out and the cover polished to their best ability. ]

Go back to sleep.

[ However cheeky his smile is, they still make motions to leave, content that they at least successfully delivered what they meant to. Even if the go unnoticed part of the plan failed. ]

[heartsteals]

[ He's doing better than he was before, at least; Maya came by and used some healing magic on him, which means those bullet injuries are mostly just sore scars rather than open wounds. He's still got a number of bruises all over him, though - not that they're visible. Thanks to the aforementioned healing, he's back to wearing a normal button-down shirt instead of bandages.

He can't quite read the title where he's from, but he can see that it's clearly a book, on top of some cloth, too, and Lupin cheerfully ignores Cairngorm's command. ]

You woke me up, I'm afraid. Did you bring all that for me?

[unghost]

Who else would it be for?

[ They snap back, huffing. Why else would they come in here willingly unless these items were for him... at least getting mildly irritated gets them to stop from fleeing, standing in his doorway looking ironically like the one who got woken up on the wrong side of the bed. ]

You said you got shot. Blood comes out or whatever... and I don't need that fabric anyway.

[ That's their very faulty understanding of human injury getting exposed, not to mention that they didn't know how healed he would be from the magic. The whole point of leaving it there without him waking up was so that they wouldn't have to be laughed at in case this was unnecessary, so they're a little peeved that he looks so chipper. They're trying to take responsibility!!!! ]

[heartsteals]

[ so huffy...

their description of his injuries is endearing in its simplicity, and he can't help but laugh a little under his breath. Does he have it in his heart to tell them he doesn't need bandages anymore...? No, he decides, definitely not. If he does, they might not come back. ]

So you really aren't mad at me, then? [ normally, Lupin would try to be a little more suave about it, but he really is sort of surprised. He knows Cairn is a worrywart, but he honestly didn't think they'd actually try and help him... it does convince him, however, that he was absolutely right in calling them kind - even if they don't know it themself. ] ... Thank you.