Jigen is already standing in wait when the door swings open, but a guard doesn't come through. Instead, a limp form is tossed into the cell and hits the floor hard with a pained moan. Then the door slams shut again.
The split second of brightness destroyed Jigen's adjustment to the pitch black within the confines of his little domicile, so he cautiously approaches the area where the person is laying.
"You alright, kid?" He snaps gruffly, his voice a little deeper than it naturally is.
He inches closer, but quickly pulls back when his foot lands in a puddle that wasn't there before and nearly slips out from under him.
"The hell?" He grumbles, crouching and squinting down at the mysterious liquid.
His new cell mate shifts ever so slightly, and the whispered words they speak hit him at the same time as the smell of blood.
Without a word, Jigen leaps into action, feeling around until he's fully located Lupin, then taking him under the shoulders, and quickly dragging him to the back of cell, leaning him against the wall.
"You idiot." He hisses, but it's dripping with worry instead of venom.
Kneeling down and feeling Lupin's torso, he turns the attempted response into a yelp of agony as his hand presses into the stab wound on the thief's side.
Emotions aren't typically an issue for Jigen, but he has to force down the boiling rage he's feeling in this moment to focus on searching for further injuries.
"Talk." He murmurs, cringing apologetically as his fingers drag against another gash, drawing a tortured gasp from Lupin.
He can hear the thief swallow hard, each breath hissing between clenched teeth as he struggles to speak.
Jigen shakes his head, stripping the thief of his suit jacket and button up.
"I know they're alive, but that's it. No one's talked to me since they decided I didn't know where you were."
He can see significantly better now, but it's not a pretty sight.
Lupin's awfully banged up, bruises litter his face and torso, and there's three stab wounds oozing blood onto Jigen's admittedly shaky hands. They've been through stuff like this before, but it's more stressful without proper supplies or lighting, and most importantly when they still aren't safe from the party responsible.
"What about y-you?" Lupin gasps.
Jigen says nothing, takes note of the positioning of the injuries first; one just beneath Lupin's ribs, the other just above his hip, and the last one, the worst one, strategically placed at his side, where there's little chance of having hit anything vital.
It's broader than the other two, gaping open in a way that tells Jigen that the attacker kept twisting the knife.
Gritting his teeth so hard he can almost taste sparks, Jigen takes Lupin's tattered shirt, and folds it up, pressing it against the three wounds. Lupin growls, unconsciously trying to pull away.
Jigen scooches closer to him, putting an arm around Lupin's waist to keep him close, and holding the shirt tightly against the thief.
Blood is quickly dampening the fabric, but the bleeding looks to be slowing down at least.
"You've got to have something on you." Jigen huffs. "A pin, or something I can use to stitch these up."
Lupin frowns, his head lolling against Jigen's shoulder.
"Nothin'. They s-searched...every inch of me."
His whole body seizes with the effort of trying to laugh. He quickly stops trying.
And now he's just laying there, limp against Jigen and uncomfortably silent.
Jigen swallows hard, biting back the urge to try and kick down the door, because for that, he'd have to get up, and leave Lupin bleeding alone.
"What did they want?" He growls.
Lupin looks up at him, searching his expression. Jigen refuses to meet his eyes.
"Whatever it was we were looking for, I can't remember." Lupin stops to cough, and Jigen wipes away the blood at the corner of his mouth.
Giving a shuddering sigh, Lupin continues. "I wouldn't have told them even if I knew. 'S never worth it."
Sighing, he tried to move closer to Jigen, trembling all the while.
Jigen stopped him entirely, then carefully took him by the shoulders and lay him back, resting the man's head in his lap.
He refolded the shirt and pressed it neatly back to Lupin's side, his other hand gently running through Lupin's hair.
He looked down at his beloved thief with somber eyes.
Perhaps Lupin might have joked about the intimacy of it all, but he was just..tired. So tired.
His whole body ached, but it hurt less when Jigen's rough hands coddled him so gently. He closed his eyes, preening under the affection.
"I'm gonna fix this, Jigen." He whispered hoarsely. "And then all four of us are gonna go to a stupidly expensive hotel, stuff our faces like we'll never see food again, and just...sleep. All in one big bed, cuddling like puppies."
He had a stupid, pained grin on his face, and thankfully he couldn't see the equally goofy smile his partner wore.
"Sound good?" He wheezed.
"Throw in a pack of cigarettes and I'm in." Jigen chuckled.
Lupin nodded weakly, still smiling.
"Biggest pack of cigarettes you've ever fuckin' seen, marksman.
"I'm looking forward to it, thief."
