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To say that Jigen disliked the cold was an immense understatement. To say that he hated it, loathed it, would definitely be closer to the correct emotion. Not only was it immensely unpleasing to his poor body, it brought death, hypothermia, frostbite, influenza, pneumonia—Jigen could spend several days listing all of the possibly horrible effects cold weather could have on a person.
A powerful snowstorm had hit the town a few days ago, leaving the thieves stranded in their safe house. Which was, initially, not much of a problem—Zenigata now had almost no way of reaching them, and they had been given some extra time to prepare for their next heist. It wasn’t until the second day when the heat stopped working did they begin to feel the effects of the storm.
Goemon was fine with the weather—he considered it training and had sat on the rooftop to meditate until all that could be seen was a samurai-sized lump in the snow. Lupin was too busy planning the heist to do much about the cold beyond lamenting about being unable to see Pops and the fact his fingers were so stiff. Jigen, meanwhile, grew more and more irritated with every passing hour.
After about a day, he couldn’t stand it any longer. Fueled by sheer anger towards the unbearable weather conditions, he put on a parka and stormed his way to town. Jigen cursed a majority of the way there, sinking knee-deep into the snow every few minutes, each step punctuated by a fiercely whispered “shit”.
It took about an hour before he had finally reached any sign of civilization—a small coffee shop, seemingly half-buried in the snow. Jigen felt a sudden blast of warm air hit him as he walked inside, and he let out a sigh of relief. His nose was running like a faucet and he felt as if his hands were about to fall off. Wiping snot on his sleeve, he looked around the shop. The tables were almost all empty—the only people who would even consider going out in these conditions were coffee addicts and people trying to get out of the cold. The air had the overwhelming smell of pastries and freshly brewed coffee. There was only one barista, who looked less than thrilled by the fact she had to be there.
“Are you going to order something, sir?” asked the barista in a deadpan voice, glancing over at the snow-covered man who just appeared before her. Jigen blinked before approaching the counter.
“Uh, yeah, I would like, um, a large black coffee.” He paused for a moment to sniff, rubbing his cold face. “No sugar or cream.”
The barista gave him a short nod before walking to the back and returning shortly with a steaming cup of black coffee. “That’ll be three ninety-five,” she droned, placing it on the countertop.
Jigen felt his jacket for his wallet casually before a sudden wave of panic passed over him. He had forgotten his revolver—and his wallet.
“Uh—I seem…to, uh…give me a moment…” he stammered, digging through his pockets. Nothing.
Great. Just where he wanted to be—stranded in a coffee shop in the middle of a snowstorm and without any way to defend himself or to even get a fucking coffee. What if Zenigata showed up suddenly? Would he have to walk all the way back through the snow again? Shit, he really hadn’t thought this out at all.
“I’ll pay for him.”
Startled, Jigen turned at the familiar voice to see Lupin, who had a Cheshire-like grin upon his face. Lupin flipped through his wallet and, with a small wink, handed the barista the appropriate money. She looked mildly confused for a moment before giving a short “Have a nice day,” and walking away.
“Lupi—What the hell are you doing here?” Jigen questioned as soon as she moved away from them, casting a wary look towards him. “I thought you were supposed to be planning shit!”
Lupin shook his head, making a ‘tsk’ing noise. “You could’ve taken the Fiat instead of walking all the way out here. I figured you would want a ride back instead of walking back.” Another wink before Lupin snatched up Jigen’s coffee, walking over to an empty table and sitting down.
Jigen shuffled over, slumping down in the chair across from Lupin. His suspicious glare was met with sly smile. He shoved a hand into his pocket to take out a cigarette, when he realized he had forgotten those as well. Fantastic.
“You could have brought my wallet. I need to repay you. You have a cigarette?”
“I didn’t know you left it—you left your cigarettes, too?” Lupin tapped a finger against Jigen’s coffee cup, raising an eyebrow at his partner. “Don’t tell me you left your magnum as well.”
Shifting slightly in his seat, Jigen refused to meet Lupin’s eyes. Lupin let out a low whistle.
“Damn, you really were in a hurry to get out of the house,” he commented, his voice quiet. “Y’know, you really don’t need to repay me. Consider this a favor.”
Slightly irritated, Jigen leaned forward a little to take his coffee from him. Lupin’s hand didn’t budge.
“That’s not fair to you, though. You’ve done me plenty of things and I haven’t been able to…” He trailed off, running his hands along the edge of the table. “I want to do you another favor to repay you. Like, do you also want a cup of coffee? I could—I don’t know, pay for your gas when the snow stops or—I don’t know. Name your price. I gotta repay you somehow.”
There was a long stretch of silence as Lupin leaned back in his chair. He gazed at Jigen, knitting his fingers together.
“Now that I think about it…there is a certain way you can pay me now,” he said slowly, still not letting go of the coffee cup. Jigen couldn’t help but feel as if he was being evaluated.
Bewildered, Jigen stared back at him. Lupin did not continue. Did he want Jigen to guess what he wanted? “I’m not giving you a blowjob for a fucking cup of coffee, if that’s what you mean,” he blurted out.
Lupin to let out a wild howl of laughter as he slapped a hand to his forehead, leaving Jigen only more confused. “Jigen, dear, do you really think—!”
He sat there for a few moments, shaking in silent laughter as Jigen looked on, tapping his fingers against the table in an uncomfortable manner. Eventually, Lupin calmed down and leaned forward, balancing his head on his hands.
“I apologize, hah...I shouldn’t have laughed. I wasn’t really clear on my intent, was I? What I want from you is quite simple, really—a kiss.”
There was a beat. “What?”
“To pay for your coffee, you have to give me a kiss.”
Nervously, Jigen glanced around the coffee shop. The barista was nowhere in sight, and the few other people who were in the shop were seemingly preoccupied with their own troubles.
“Lupin, I—don’t—You’re joking, right?”
The thief cocked his head to the side like an inquisitive dog. “Hardly. But if you’re uncomfortable with it, consider it on me this time, alright?”
There was a soft scraping noise as Lupin pushed the coffee cup towards its rightful owner. A grunt came from Jigen’s throat as he pulled his parka hood further down over his face before snatching up the warm coffee cup.
“It’s always been on you,” he muttered under his breath, though he wasn’t sure that Lupin had heard him. He emptied the cup in a matter of seconds, though it did nothing to warm his freezing body and ended up searing his throat.
The two drove back through the snow in silence, only interrupted by the occasional protests made by the car’s engine and tires. The only sign of any sort of road was a slight depression in the snow. Halfway across the frigid wasteland, the Fiat completely stopped, nearly driving both of them into a panic. Lupin got out and vehemently kicked at the back of the car until it sputtered to life again.
Eventually, they arrived at the safe house and pulled the dying Fiat into the (presumed) driveway. As he passed by the window, Jigen caught sight of a samurai-shaped lump of blankets lying next to the makeshift fireplace. Goemon had finally stopped being so stubborn in trying to catch his death. The lump shifted as soon as Lupin opened the door to let Jigen inside.
“Close the door, you’re letting the cold in,” Goemon complained, his voice muffled through a layer of blankets. Jigen huffed, pushing the door so it slammed shut. The wind could still be heard howling through the walls. He heard Goemon say something else—presumably a ‘thank you’—before the samurai wriggled closer to the fireplace.
Lupin clapped his hands together, grinning as usual. “Well! We gotta get back to figuring out how to get into the treasury without tripping up that new security system they put in place...Jigen, you coming to help me downstairs?”
“Wait.”
Lupin turned to face Jigen, his eyebrows arched in mild surprise. “Hm? What’s wrong?”
“I still…” Jigen hesitated for a moment, scratching at the back of his neck. “I still want to—to repay you.”
Shaking his head, Lupin let out a small sigh. “I told you, you don’t need to. It’s on me this time.”
“It’s always been on you. And you didn’t hear what I said.”
A quizzical expression appeared upon Lupin’s face before Jigen stepped towards him and kissed him. Lupin’s eyes widened as he was pushed off balance. He grabbed Jigen’s shoulders to steady himself, which only encouraged Jigen to pull him closer. He smelled mostly of cold air and nicotine and slightly of the black coffee Jigen had drank. Lupin pulled gently at the parka hood, tugging it gently off to allow himself to see Jigen's face.
It only lasted for a moment or two. A loud sneeze from Goemon caused them to pull apart in surprise. Jigen felt his face begin to burn and looked away from Lupin, his chest tight. He desperately wanted to shove his hood back over his face so Lupin couldn't see, but he felt as if he couldn't move. How was it that he was so uncomfortably warm right now when just a moment ago he was absolutely freezing? He was an awful person, he was too sudden, too—
Lupin was quietly chuckling to himself as he placed a hand on Jigen’s shoulder. “What were you saying, again?” There was a smile in his voice.
Jigen swallowed. He didn’t dare to turn around and face him. “I said I wanted to repay you,” he said, his voice shaking.
There was an unbreakable silence. Jigen turned to look at Lupin, who had a wide grin upon his face.
“I’d say that was worth much more than just one cup of coffee, wouldn’t you?”
“Uh, it was for the coffee. And the cigarette. And, uh, for rescuing me from being stranded in the snow.” He scratched at the back of his neck again, his face still flushed.
“Still, I’d say that was worth at least, like, ten coffees.” He raised an eyebrow. “At least we’re no longer cold.”
Jigen let out a sharp, almost forced laugh. “Are you suggesting we kiss to stay warm?”
“At least until the heat comes back. Any objections, Jigen, dear?”
The corner of his mouth quirked upwards, Jigen began to reply when a voice from the floor piped up.
“Am I going to have to move to another room in order to sleep?!” Goemon complained. Lupin and Jigen glanced at each other before they broke into another peal of laughter, much to Goemon’s frustration.
At least for now, Jigen would not completely despise the weather.