#model19

@model19 asked: “I really loved the skillful way you beat the other girls to the bride’s bouquet.”

❝ Well, you know what they say about snoozing and losing! If the other girls wanted it that bad, they should've gotten to it first. That's the game. ❞

Lupin has to admit, it's a nice-looking bouquet. The classic pink and white rose selection, no doubt one of those no-expenses-spared affairs, custom ordered months in advance from the most expensive florists this city had to offer. Cliché, perhaps, but a bridal favourite for a reason. It reminds him a little of the table arrangements Rebecca had planned for their wedding, as a matter of fact. She'd had good taste.

And speaking of women with good taste...

❝ Hey, Jigen? You know what they say about catchin' the bouquet, right? It puts you next in line for marriage. ❞

@model19​—

“ have you come to laugh at me in my miserable state? ”

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒

     “Do you hear me laughing?” 

     Asking questions could be complicated, like picking your way through a minefield – especially when it came to Jigen out of all individuals. He was sharp and with a wit as quick as his draw, and more than that he was a sensitive soul who had been battered by a merciless world. A street dog that had learned only distrust, expecting to be beaten when a hand extended instead of be caressed.

@model19 asked: "Your dog torn my suit."

❝ He did you a favour. I've been tellin' you to replace that thing for months. ❞

It probably says something about Lupin, that he requires no further context clues to figure out who the 'dog' in question is. He's a good boy at heart, Lupin knows, but gets so pent up when denied of his routine chases.

(Maybe he'd plan something soon, give their favourite inspector a chance to vent his frustrations in a more familiar manner.)

Long legs kick themselves over the back of their worn-out couch, the same one he'd been sprawled across for most of the afternoon, and it's not long before Lupin's hoisting himself up to balance precariously on its edge.

"Heh ! You look surprised !"

@model19​—

[ FIGHT ] 

𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒.

[ FIGHT ]: while in a physical fight, sender shoves the receiver against the wall in an effort to gain the upper hand.

     The paintings hung upon the wall of idyllic pastures and a sweet shepherd girl stood no chance, their figurative worlds turned upside-down in the face of violence. Some kind of sound was forced out of Lupin as his partner slammed him against the wall, paintings falling off their hooks to tumble to the floor, only adding to the noisiness of the scuffle they had entered. 

     Fights between them weren’t new, but they were less frequent over time as they were understanding one another more and more. There were certain boundaries each retained with the effort of minimal outright communication – and he would only consider this a reestablishment of those boundaries where other might’ve seen turmoil or disagreement.

     Okay, a minor disagreement that they were in the process of working out.

     Teeth grit, Lupin tried to gain purchase against the other man, but Jigen’s move had greatly reduced his range of motion, and thus his strength following this. At most, he could only wrap fingers around the arm pinning him there, the other hand pushing against his partner’s shoulder. Elbows against stucco and wood grain paneling, he attempted to leverage the wall back into his own favor, but only was barely just managing to hold off the worst of the other man’s force.

     “Jigen...” It wasn’t a plead but somewhere close to it, tone laced with his own irritation with the situation at hand. Unlike the other, Lupin wasn’t as experienced a fighter, lithe and agile in the ways that counted, but he wasn’t hardened like the steel that comprised Jigen’s favored weapon and ammunition. Just like the gunpowder packed in each round, there was a certain temperament tucked behind his usually aloof facade, and not for the last time had the thief stumbled upon the primer that lit that gunpowder of his partner’s temper.