Hehehe >:3 Chapter 3! Poor Lupin sure does feel guilty, and what’s going on with Goemon??
TW: choking, Goemon gets a bath
Hours had passed and Lupin had barely left Goemon’s side. They had managed to get him warmer, though his shivering persisted. The current issue was that it seemed like Goemon wasn’t improving too much. He had convinced Jigen to make a supplies run, promising that he and Goemon would be alright in the time he was gone. He had managed to at least get him lucid enough to drink some warm tea, which he considered a win.
“Don’t you worry, Goemon. Jigen will be back soon and we’ll get this all sorted out.” Lupin assured, taking his hand gently.
Goemon weakly pulled on his arm, gaze unfocused as he choked out inaudible nonsense in Japanese. Lupin frowned, nodding a bit even though he didn’t understand. He just had to stay by his side…he needed Goemon to pull through.
Lupin nearly jumped out of his skin when Jigen nudged the door open and stepped inside with several grocery bags. Hand on his Walther, a wave from Jigen made him relax a bit. At least it wasn’t Zenigata busting in to try to arrest them.
“He doin’ any better?” Jigen asked, putting groceries away as he glanced over his shoulder.
“..not much.” Lupin sighed, fixing the blankets around Goemon. “He managed some tea at least.”
“Better than nothin’. Books said he needed warm liquids anyhow.” Jigen walked over with a bag, handing it to Lupin.
“What’s all this?” Lupin took the bag, looking through it.
“Got some extra stuff for him. Heatin’ pad, electric blanket, thermometer, snacks. Grabbed some clothes too, I’ll wash ‘em.” Jigen peeked into the blanket pile at Goemon, frowning. “His breathin’ sounds like shit..”
“I know..” Lupin frowned. “I need to check my contacts..I don’t know if I even have any in this country.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“I can watch him for a while, go do your thing.” Jigen waved him off, going to take his chair.
“I can’t just leave him, Jigen.” Lupin frowned, looking back at Goemon anxiously.
Jigen frowned, looking the thief over quietly. He had managed to take himself away from Goemon long enough to throw on a shirt with his boxers so he wasn’t just running around in his underwear but..he obviously hadn’t left the samurais side since. He could feel the anxious energy radiating off of him. He knew Lupin enough to know that he blamed himself for what had happened to Goemon.
“Alright.” Jigen nodded, patting Lupin’s shoulder as he walked back to the kitchen to take care of what he could.
Lupin frowned, sitting quietly as he thought. He needed to make this up to Goemon. He had to figure out how all of this happened. If someone had gotten the diamond before them he would’ve known it, right? But then why was there an explosion? It just didn’t make any sense. Squeezing Goemon’s hand gently, Lupin looked out a nearby window and out at the city. Was there something he was missing?
~~~~
Goemon wasn’t sure what had happened. He remembered a flash and a bang…then it got hazy. But he knew that his chest hurt, it ached, and breathing took a lot more work than it should. And the cold, oh the cold, the way it seeped down into his very soul almost. Why was he so cold?
They left you there to freeze.
Who-? No. Goemon knew that Lupin and Jigen wouldn’t leave him in that crevasse. He wasn’t sure where he was but..no. They wouldn’t leave him. He knew that for a fact.
You think they’re really your friends? When it comes down to it, they’d have left you there and you know it.
Goemon cringed. They were his friends. Of course they were…right? They had been together long enough now that..that if they weren’t he surely would’ve noticed somehow. He wasn’t that unable to pick up on their cues…
They took advantage of you. Strong Goemon, powerful Goemon. You’re more tool than man and when it came down to it? They didn’t really care if you died or not. They just couldn’t lose the swordsman. It isn’t about you. It’s about the tool.
Looking around, Goemon frowned when he saw the blue stone in front of him. Right..the diamond. He had grabbed it and then..had it exploded? Why would it-?
Why wouldn’t it? Lupin cares more about the loot than making sure it was safe for you to retrieve it.
A shadow made its way around the stone, smirking at him. It looked…just like him? But wrong. Really wrong. Anxiety rose in Goemon’s aching chest as he stepped backwards. What was it? It couldn’t be himself.
Look at you. A weak man without his almighty sword. They probably stole it-
“No-!” Goemon cried, covering his ears with his hands in an attempt to block the voice out.
They stole it and left you there-
“Be quiet!” Goemon bit his lip hard, closing his eyes tightly. How could he still hear it?!
LEFT YOU THERE TO D R O W N!
A flash, and it felt like ice was injected straight into Goemon’s veins. Crying out, Goemon choked. He couldn’t breathe. Struggling and clawing at his throat, he couldn’t get a breath in. Was he drowning? The voice was right, they forgot him and left him there to drown below the ice-!
“Shit- shit, Jigen-! Jigen!”
~~~~~~
“Shit- shit, Jigen-! Jigen!” Lupin screamed, throwing the blankets off of Goemon quickly.
“What-?!” Jigen quickly ran into the bedroom, one hand poised over his gun in case he needed to draw.
“Help- Help me-!” Lupin sat the choking samurai up, trying to help him to breathe.
“Crap! Arms over his head!” Jigen ran over, pulling Goemon’s arms up over his head as he slammed the heel of his hand against his back roughly a few times to try help him to breathe.
After several agonizing minutes, Goemon gasped in a wheezing breath and weakly grasped at his chest as he caught his breath. The two thieves let out a sigh of relief, Lupin pulling Goemon in close as his shivering picked up again. They had nearly lost him there..
“Fuck..” Jigen ran a hand through his hair, sitting beside them. “What the hell, man?”
“I-I don’t know he was fine and then he just-“ Lupin frowned, gesturing to the samurai anxiously as he cupped his face. “He’s hot. Damnit, I thought he felt a little warm earlier.”
“Lemme see.” Jigen reached over him, feeling his forehead with the back of his hand. “Shit, yeah. Go run him a cool bath. Meds won’t work fast enough on that on their own.”
“A cool bath? But..” Lupin bit his lip. It felt almost cruel to do that to Goemon after what happened hours ago..especially since he still seemed cold.
“Lupin.” Jigen looked at him, sternly. “Cool. Bath. Now.” He had to put his foot down about it for Goemon’s own good.
Lupin hesitantly nodded, frowning as he looked back at Goemon sympathetically. Carefully getting him up as Jigen went to the kitchen, Lupin made his way toward the bathroom with Goemon. Glancing at Goemon, Lupin faltered when he noticed his eyes seemed to be sweeping the room.
“Goemon..? You there..?” Lupin frowned, waving his hand in front of his face a bit.
“Z..Z-Zantet…suken..” Goemon rasped, grip on Lupin tightening slightly as he grew visibly distraught.
“H-Hey easy, easy. It’s right here. It’s alright.” Lupin frowned, grabbing the sword from its propped up position by the bathroom door. “We made sure to grab it for you.” They knew how much he loved that sword…
Leading the delirious man into the bathroom, Lupin carefully sat him on the edge of the tub as he started the water. Watching from the corner of his eye, Lupin could tell Goemon was still pretty out of it. His hands were still clumsy from the cold so he had to resort to basically hugging Zantetsuken to keep it close to him..and it seemed the fever kept him from completely understanding where he was or what was going on.
“Goemon.” Lupin took a breath, touching his arm gently. “We need to get you in the bath okay? We have to cool you down.”
Goemon cringed, shaking his head as he tried to get his body to follow the command to stand. It broke Lupin’s heart but he had to try to get him in. Standing, Lupin helped him up and took off the boxers they had placed on him.
“L-Lupin, please- pl-please..” Goemon bit his lip anxiously, clumsily stepping backwards into the thief.
“Goemon…”
“Lu-Lupin, it’s col-cold..” Goemon frowned, closing his eyes tightly as he grabbed onto his shirt anxiously, pleading. “I-I can’t..please..w-why would yo-you..?”
Lupin bit his lip hard, wrapping his arms around him gently. Goemon thought he was just doing it for no reason.. crap. But he could feel the heat basically radiating off of him, he had to get him into that water somehow..
“I’ll get in with you, okay?” Lupin looked up at him, cupping his face gently. “You and me. It’ll be alright, We’ll be out just as soon as we get your temperature down a bit okay?”
Goemon shivered, leaning into the thief’s touch before nodding slightly. “..’Kay..”
“There we go.” Lupin smiled a bit, taking off his own shirt and boxers as he got into the tub with Goemon.
Lupin frowned when he heard Goemon gasped when his body made contact with the water, squeezing his hand as he sat beside him in the tub. Rubbing his back in an attempt to soothe him, Lupin kept glancing at the clock on the wall as if to will time to move faster.
“…’m sorry..” Goemon mumbled, body trembling as he pressed up against the thief for some minor amount of warmth he could get.
“Wha-? Goemon, you don’t have anything to apologize for.” Lupin frowned more, looking at him sadly. He should be the one apologizing…
“…dia-diamond..” Goemon shook his head, resting his head back against the wall as he teared up. “..m-mess-essed up..” he sniffled, a couple stray tears running down his face.
Lupin’s eyes widened as he hesitated. It really bugged him that much that they didn’t get the diamond? It wasn’t even Goemon’s fault, it was his! And now, even after nearly dying, Goemon was in tears trying to apologize for it. Had he really known Goemon for so long and not realized until now that he held himself in such low regard?
“Goemon, none of that was your fault. I should’ve made sure things were safer before we went after it.” Lupin squeezed his hand gently, looking up at him anxiously. “We can get a diamond any old time, Goe. We’re worried about you right now…”
“Mm-mm..” Goemon shook his head again, taking a ragged breath as his hands shook. “..m-messed up..”
Lupin bit his lip, intertwining their fingers gently. “We were really worried back there, Goe, I-“
“Lupin, is he-? Oh..am I...interrupting something or?” Jigen walked in, hesitating in the doorway when he saw them both in the tub.
“I got in to make him more comfortable. He’s not all there right now just..where’s the thermometer at?” Lupin let go of Goemon’s hand, holding it out for the thermometer.
“Here.” Jigen handed it to him, sitting at the edge of the tub. “Doin’ alright, Goemon?”
“C-Cold..” Goemon mumbled, resting his head against Lupin as he grunted when the thief managed to get the thermometer under his tongue.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Jigen sighed. “I got a towel outta the dryer if that helps any. And meds. We should be good once he’s cooler.”
Lupin hummed, taking the thermometer once it went off. “101.5. Seems alright for now. Let’s get him out of here.”
“Right.” Jigen grabbed the towel, helping Lupin get the samurai out of the bath to avoid anyone slipping. “There we go, bud.”
Goemon groaned tiredly as the two helped him back to bed. Accepting meds and water from Jigen as Lupin dried and dressed him, the samurai flopped back on the bed weakly and pulled Zantetsuken closer to his chest once they had finished, completely exhausted.
“There we go, pal. Just get some rest. I’ll be right here.” Lupin stroked his hair from his face gently, covering him back up as his shivering died down a bit with the added warmth.
“Jeez..” Jigen sighed, pulling up a chair. “I’m surprised he didn’t try to fight you in there..”
“Nah..he just…really didn’t want to get in there. He freaked me out, Jigen. He feels bad we didn’t get that diamond.” Lupin sighed, shaking his head.
“I mean…it was a sweet diamond.” Jigen agreed, shrugging.
“Jigen-!” Lupin snapped, shooting him a glare as he bristled.
“I’m not blaming him! Just saying. If it blew up..a bit of a loss. Not that I’m not glad Goemon’s alright or anythin’.” Jigen frowned, shaking his head.
“I bet someone stole the real thing, but I’m not worried about it anymore. Goemon’s more important than messing with anything to do with Mawson’s Diamond anymore.” Lupin mumbled angrily, resting his head on his hand as he watched the samurai closely.
Jigen frowned quietly. “I don’t think Goemon’s the only one who feels bad about this..” he looked out from under his bangs at him.
“Shut it.”
“No. I’m serious.” Jigen leaned over, frowning. “If you need to talk about it-?”
“No. Just..let’s focus on making sure Goemon makes it through tonight, alright? Whatever you wanna talk about we can talk about after this.” Lupin sighed, watching the rise and fall of the samurais chest quietly.
“…whatever you say, Lu.”