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[As follows are the events that lead up to here, here, and here.]
^{[M for possible language and allusion to sexual content.]}

A dingy old abandoned warehouse was not the location that Fujiko Mine had expected to be given the coordinates to, when she'd gotten a message from Lupin that morning. She found herself alarmingly overdressed for such a hovel, and in such a quiet little town, too. Not exactly the place she'd pictured to be invited to, when Lupin had written that he finally needed to make use of that favor she owed him. The thing had been looming over her for years now, and some large part of her had certainly been hoping that it was nothing more than a night (or seven) of passion in some ritzy penthouse suite. Lupin was a fine lover. That would have been the easiest end to that debt she owed.

But then... Lupin, lecherous though he was, wasn't the type at all to ask for something like that on the premise of it being a favor. She found herself in Lupin's bed, and he in hers, on more than one occasion by nothing more than choice, or coincidence. No, it was always a more likely occurrence that Lupin was going to call her in for some kind of job—whether it be for her to play some role in it, or to rescue him after a botched one, when that gunman of his couldn't cut it. But... he would have told her something about that. Anything, really. What to wear at least, which he'd never do for something more intimate.

But this warehouse... didn't exactly fit the bill for either option. Or perhaps it would, if she walked inside. But currently, she was still wrestling with the embarrassment of having shown up to a giant concrete box of a building in an elegant black dress with a white fur coat.

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She didn't have long to dwell on it, for quite suddenly, the front door was swinging open to reveal a wildly underdressed Lupin in nothing but boxer shorts and a white tank top, and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He nearly spat it out when he saw Fujiko, his eyes going wide with shock, and then confusion, and finally, as bright and glowing as the sun itself. "Fujicakes!" he exclaimed behind the toothbrush, throwing his arms out as if to embrace her, but thought better of it, letting one flutter behind his head to ruffle up his own hair sheepishly. "I didn't know you'd get here so quick!"

"You said it was important," Fujiko felt a pout coming to her face, wholly disappointed by his haphazard appearance. She half expected him to have another lover stumbling in behind him, but after a quick glance over his shoulder, she saw nothing of the sort. "So I came."

"Aww, gosh," Lupin looked more pleased than regretful, as he shimmied to the side to let her pass. "Come on in, regardless! I'm just getting ready before I head out with Jigen later to pick something up. Still gotta do his makeup, but I think he'll get a real kick out of—"

"Lupin." The thief stopped short, lips closing around the toothbrush rather comically, his shoulders hunching to his ears. She turned on her sharp heels, and stared him down with her hands on her hips. "I'm not here to play around. You're going to tell me what you want out of this favor, and we're going to do that, and then I'm going to leave. So—cut to the chase."

"You drive a hard bargain, considering the sooner I tell you, the sooner you'll be done with it and vamoose," he muttered, and shut the door behind her, flicking on an overhead light to properly blast the dim room with bright light. Fujiko squinted against the glare, then blinked at the... completely barren and empty room, save for what looked like a large, barebones stage in the corner.

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If nothing else... this wasn't what she was expecting. The sheer lack of any visual information had her caught between irritation and intrigue. But Lupin was waving her towards a door in the back, and while normally all alarm bells would have been going off in any other circumstance, she was quite at-ease. It wasn't that she trusted Lupin—but she knew him. And that counted for a lot; the giddy grin on his face was anything but hostile.

"Nice place you've got here," she chided, clearly being sarcastic, and Lupin would have bristled if he wasn't so delighted by her simply being there, standing in front of him.

"Hey now, it's a fixer-upper! I want you to picture something for me." Lupin gestured for her to stand at his side, and once she found herself there, he took the toothbrush from his mouth and waved it in a wide arc across the view of the empty room. "An entire town's worth of goodhearted, kind-souled people, children and adults alike, all mingling and bonding over the finest treats and candy. The walls, decked out in the gaudiest, most expensive and wild decorations, enough to wow even the most curmudgeonly partygoer. The biggest, best party that anyone in this little podunk town has ever seen, ever will see, and anyone who shows up will get the finest experience of their year, possibly their life. I'm talking live music, I'm talking fireworks, I'm talking big expensive light shows right outside, I'm—"

Lupin cut off as Fujiko placed her hand atop his head, like a switch had been flipped. She let it slip down to hold over the back of his neck, eyeing the empty space, and slowly turning to the now-placid Lupin. "Darling," she murmured, which seemed to jolt him to attention, his dark eyes locking on her, away from his hypothetical vision. "What did you really call me here for?"

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Slowly, Lupin's wide-eyed expression faltered, a brow raising. "What do you... mean?" Lupin wilted slightly, his posture sinking under her hand. Fujiko let go, surprised, and folded her arms over her chest.

"I mean... you called me in for a favor. A favor that I've owed you for years now. Is this some sort of coverup for a job that you need help pulling together?" Fujiko watched Lupin puzzle over it, an indignant frown twitching onto her face as he tried so very hard to look perfectly innocent and even a little appalled. She knew it was fake, no matter how real it appeared.

"Why are you suggesting I've got some kind of ulterior motive? Can't a guy just throw a party?"

"Is the favor that I have to believe that you're actually doing something out of the goodwill of your heart?" Fujiko shot back, far lighter in tone this time, and Lupin seemed to properly take his stride with the joke.

"Ouch! No, actually—and you were half right. I called you because I need help pulling this party together." Lupin yoinked the door open and stepped inside; Fujiko raised her brows as she poked her head in, looking around at the mess of costume makeup and clothing and mirror that populated the tiny storage room. It was perhaps an office once, but Lupin had successfully turned it into a tiny dressing room. With a couch and everything. All it was missing was some flowers, really, from some adoring fan.

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Fujiko watched as Lupin went to a small sink barely connected to the pipes in the wall, and swished his mouth out with water. She glanced at a rather handsomely made vampire cape and suit hanging on a bar, and felt her mouth turn up at the corners. "So this party—it's a costume party?"

"Can be!" Lupin chirped, wiping his mouth and reaching for a pair of vampire fangs that were sitting on the sink. "At the very least, Jigen and I are dressin' up. I'm not sure if I can get Goemon into anything, but Jigen will do what I say."

"I'm hard pressed to imagine him doing anything anyone says," Fujiko muttered, half affection and two wholes resentment. The gunman and her... had a bit of a strained relationship. She hadn't the foggiest idea why. Well—she did, but she wasn't going to acknowledge the fact that Jigen seemed to care more about Lupin's wellbeing than she did. Not to be shown up, she swept over to the sink and peered into the dingy mirror over his shoulder. "So," she began, tilting her head to kiss the side of his neck. "You need my help?"

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A happy shudder ran up Lupin's body, until he was beaming into the mirror, and he spun around to face her, half hopping up onto the edge of the sink. His eyes asked her to follow him forward, but she knew if she got him wound up at all, he'd never finish this whatever-it-was he was planning. "Lupin, focus. We can have fun later."

"You're cruel," Lupin sighed, slipping off the sink and readjusting his boxer shorts, then hopping over to the suit that hung on the wall. "And I love you. Now! Yes—I desperately need a woman's touch here. I'm good at extravagant, but I'm not so good at the placement of things like... this. You know I can decorate a ritzy ballroom all day long, but when it comes to... well, working with something as barebones as this, I need an expert."

"Flattery is nice, but I'll need a bit more direction than that," Fujiko smiled, raising her brows as Lupin started wrestling himself into the suit.

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"I'm afraid all I've got is a pile of cash to go nuts with; you can use all of it, for decorations, and it's gotta look like we care—but whatever's leftover is yours," Lupin beamed as he adjusted the cravat around his neck, fluffing it up theatrically.

"And how long do I have, to complete this task of yours?" Fujiko asked, her stony heart softening as she watched him preen in the mirror, trying on the fake fangs and flashing himself a pointy smile. His eyes darted to her in the mirror, and he winked.

"A week from tonight. Goemon's gonna be back soon from putting up flyers around town."

Fujiko had to wonder how the samurai was roped into this. Either Lupin was paying him, or there was some sort of other blackmailing going on here. A quiet man like Goemon probably had secrets, things he hadn't told even Fujiko over their occasional drinking splurges in the tropics. "I should give him a kiss before I head out."

"Head out?" Lupin whined, his eyes turning comically sad. "You're not staying?"

"I've got to shop, don't I? The decorations aren't just going to magically show up at the doorstep."

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"Expedited shipping, though," Lupin whined, but seemed to be silenced as Fujiko stepped in to take him by the cravat and press a kiss to his lips. "Mmnnshopping... right, shopping. Gimme a call if you need anythinggg," he drawled, suitably swooning and half leaning against the wall with a wiggle of his fingers. He perked up as Fujiko moved towards the door. "Oh! Lemme get you the money—"

"Pay me back later," Fujiko's eyes were kinder, now, as she met Lupin's startled gaze. His face grew severe for a moment, before ease once more flickered there with a loose grin.

"Sure," he said simply, affectionately, as he left the outer jacket be for now. "By the way, I love the Morticia Addams thing you've got going on," he chirped, hopping over towards the door with her.

"It's—" Fujiko cut off, her cheeks growing hot, and decided to take the out that Lupin was giving her. "Yes. I worked very hard on it—I'm glad you appreciate it."

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Suddenly, as the two walked through the large empty space, there was a loud thud on the roof. Fujiko jumped slightly, looking up, and Lupin grinned. "Oh! Goemon's back," he hurried up to the door, opening it to reveal a rather sour-looking samurai, with some glue marks on his arms. "There y'are! How'd the flyer-hanging go?"

"I very well covered the town, as you asked. I cannot imagine that that many posters were—needed—" Goemon cut off as he noticed Fujiko, his eyes flicking over her before cutting politely away, a light pink rising to his otherwise stoic face. "You didn't tell me Fujiko was here."

"New development," Fujiko chuckled, stepping forward to lightly pull Goemon forward by the wrist and plant a kiss against his ear. "How have you been?"

"G—good. Fine," Goemon stammered, and Lupin grinned in amusement, tiptoeing forward to land a kiss of his own against the samurai's shoulder. Goemon flinched away, not unwanting, but terribly flustered over it all. "I should know better than to show up with both of you here. My job is done—"

"Aww, Goe-chan," Lupin cooed, hanging onto Fujiko's arm and fixing him with puppy eyes. "Won't you come to the party?"

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Goemon frowned at the two, but Fujiko seemed to give him a more genuine smile. "I'll be there. I'm sure you wouldn't even have to dress up—your current look is quite stylish, and cool."

Goemon was pink to the tips of his ears, but as he folded his arms politely into his sleeves, he nodded begrudgingly. "I will... be there," he muttered, and gave a sharp nod. "But I have business in the meantime. I will get out of your way—"

"You're always welcome back at the safehouse, you know!" Lupin called after him, as he leapt back onto the roof and was gone in the blink of an eye. He had half a mind that Goemon would end up there, anyhow. Jigen was there, after all, and it would be nice to have a second pair of hands to keep Jigen still while Lupin applied makeup to his face. The gunman couldn't stand it, most of the time, but he needed it to make a convincing werewolf.

"Sweet man, that one," Fujiko mused, stepping out the door.

"Fuji, did you mean what you said? That you'd be at the party?" Lupin asked, his eyes shining.

Fujiko smiled at him, an earnest thing, or at least less coy than usual. "Sure. This... seems to mean something to you, for reasons I can't quite wrap my mind around. Treat me to dinner, sometime this week? I'm missing out on a particularly good jewel heist for this."

"Fillet mignon until you're sick of it," Lupin promised, kissing two fingers and holding them out. Fujiko did the same and tapped her fingers to his, then flicked her hand into a wave. As Lupin watched her walk away, he leaned on the edge of the doorframe, a permanent smile etched onto his face.

[Wild Pet Found]