This story will be replacing Reunited. I will leave that one up, but it won't be updated.

So my first idea for this story was a drama/comedy with lots of friendship. Lots. Well, not that much. Honestly, I was watching too much Frasier and I didn't intend to do a rip-off of that, but it kind of became sort of that, kind of? So, Lupin is Frasier and Jigen is Niles and Goemon is Daphne and- Just kidding. I didn't go that far.

Apologies for that horrible first sentence. I couldn't make it work... xD

Enjoy.

Chapter One - Accident

Lupin stepped harder on the gas pedal, pushing the pale yellow Fiat as fast as it could go down the barely occupied highway as it headed north out of Orleans and towards Paris.

He swore under his breath as the unmarked black sedan continued behind him.

"Watch the hell where you're going," Jigen yelled from the passenger seat as he tensed, Lupin just swerving around an SUV. "Jesus..."

"Why is he chasing us?" Lupin said through clenched teeth as he swerved around a utility truck.

"Because he's Zenigata," Jigen answered, wincing at another close call. "That's what he does."

"We weren't even doing anything," Lupin yelled.

"Our files are probably five inches thick. I don't think we need to be doing anything to be arrested."

Lupin cut in front of a car, the driver honking and flipping him off.

Jigen tensed again. "Will you watch it?! You're gonna get us killed!"

"He's ruining my plans!"

"Well he's gonna ruin more than that if you keep driving this way!"

"Shut up," Lupin yelled. "I know what I'm doing!"

Annoyed at Jigen, he cut in front of another car, just to mess with him.

"Asshole," Jigen muttered.

"Why can't I lose him?" Lupin growled.

"Because this car is a piece of shit," Jigen answered in annoyance. "I told you we should have taken the Cobra, but oh no, we're just going for a short drive. It'll be fine."

Lupin answered in silence, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"You know we're going in a straight line, right?" Jigen glanced at Lupin.

"And?"

"And get off the highway and onto surface streets so we can lose him!"

"Shoot out one of his tires."

Jigen looked at him as though he were insane.

"Shoot out one of his tires," Lupin repeated, only this time louder.

"At this speed? That's the worst idea you've come up with!"

"Fine! Then I'll do it!" Lupin pulled out his gun. "Hold the wheel."

"Lupin, I don't-"

"Hold the wheel!"

Jigen sighed and did what he was told.

Lupin turned and stuck his top half out the window. He aimed his gun, taking time to get the perfect shot. He fired off a shot and smirked, pulling himself back into the car and taking the wheel.

Jigen stared in the rear view mirror, watching as the black sedan swerved sharply before rolling over several times. "Shit," he uttered in shock. "What the hell did you just do?!"

"I got rid of him," Lupin answered, seemingly proud of himself.

"Are you insane?!"

Lupin glared at Jigen. "Do you want me to drop you off so you can go check on him?"

Jigen could stare in disbelief.

"He's fine, Jigen. He's Zenigata. He lives through anything." Lupin slowed the car down and sat back in his seat, more relaxed as he continued down the highway.

Jigen continued to stare at him.

...

That night Lupin sat on the couch in his living room, a half empty bottle of whiskey in his hand and drunken eyes staring at the screen in front of him.

The news story of the accident ran on the television, helicopter shots of the highway followed by ground shots of what was left of the sedan flashing on the screen.

When the man behind the desk was finished with the story and onto the next item of the day Lupin played the story of the accident again.

Jigen walked into the room, hands in his pockets as he stared at the back of Lupin's head. "You should turn that off."

"I... I should have listened," Lupin muttered, pained guilt in his voice.

Jigen shrugged. "Things happen. Turn that off and go to bed."

Lupin shook his head as he played the news report back. "I ruined his life."

Jigen sighed in annoyance and walked around the couch, snatching the controller from Lupin's hand and turning the TV off. "It was already ruined. If anything you helped him."

Lupin stared at the dark screen. "You said not to do it and I did it anyway," he whined. "All because I was mad because he was ruining my plans with Fujiko and she doesn't even love me," he sobbed. "I'm so pathetic."

Jigen stared at his friend and sighed. He grabbed the bottle from his hand and took a swig from it. "You are pathetic," he said while setting the bottle on the coffee table. "And I am way too sober to deal with you right now, so get up and go to bed."

Lupin stared off like a scolded child and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Come on," Jigen said, reaching down and lifting Lupin to his feet.

Lupin made no effort to help Jigen out, his legs almost limp as he was dragged up the stairs and into his room.

Exhausted, Jigen got Lupin close enough to the bed to shove him onto it. "Now sleep," he ordered, turning the light off and leaving the room.

...

The next morning Jigen was up early, opening the door to Lupin's room and happy to see his friend sleeping deeply in bed.

After fixing himself something to eat he made his way to the den, deciding to waste the day away playing pool.

"I thought you weren't coming," he said, looking up from his shot and towards the entry where Goemon stood.

"I wasn't," Goemon answered. There was silence as Goemon watched Jigen line up another shot. "How is he?" he said, waiting for the noises of the billiard balls to stop.

"He's fine." Jigen stared at Goemon while chalking the end of his cue.

"Fine?" Goemon asked with a raised brow.

Jigen shrugged. "Well, fine as in he woke me up at two in the morning yelling my name so I spiked his drink with ambien and he finally fell asleep."

"How is he mentally?" Goemon wondered. "I mean, does he... ? Well, you know."

"Oh that. Yeah, I went through the place packing up anything he could use as a weapon. You know how many things can kill you in a house this big?" He gave Goemon a blank stare. "He's depressed, Goemon. Not suicidal."

Goemon glared in response.

Jigen rolled his eyes, an action unnoticable under the rim of his hat. "So, why isn't the bitch here?"

Goemon continued glaring.

"Sorry," Jigen said sarcastically. "When is her majesty the queen blessing us with her presence?"

"She isn't coming," Goemon answered in an angry tone.

"Of course she isn't," Jigen muttered as he hit the five ball and watched as it completely missed it's target. "Damn it." He tossed the stick on the table and looked at Goemon. "This whole damn thing is her fault and she can't even take ten goddamned minutes out of her precious time to see the man who is ruining his life because of her."

Goemon watched as Jigen stormed out of the room.

...

Zenigata groaned, slowly opening his eyes and wincing at the bright room around him.

The two women in the room stood and walked to the edge of the bed, smiling down at him.

Zenigata stared up at them, trying to figure out what was going on. "Kayo, Toshiko..." His head still on his pillow, he looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"Hi dad," Toshiko said with a sorrowful smile.

"You're in the hospital," Kayo, Zenigata's ex-wife, said.

He looked at her, not really understanding.

"You were in an accident," she told him.

"I don't..." He stared off, trying to remember. He lifted his hand to scratch his head, pausing and staring at his gauze covered arm. "What happened?"

"The tire blew out on your car," Kayo said.

"I was chasing Lupin," he remembered.

Kayo and Toshiko glanced at each other.

"I was..." He groaned as he lifted himself up.

"Here, let me help," Kayo said as she placed a hand on his back and gently pushed him forward.

Zenigata started to push himself to the back of the bed, something not right. He stared down at the end of the bed, grabbing the blankets and starting to remove them.

"No, let's not-" Kayo said, trying to stop him but unable to.

Zenigata stared in shock at his right leg, which was now missing below the knee.

...

Lupin stood out of view in the waiting room of the hospital. He watched as Kayo and Toshiko walked down a hallway towards the entrance, the two women quiet and staring at the floor as they left the hospital.

He stared down the hallway they came from and forced himself towards it. Seeing the door to Zenigata's room was open he stopped, debating whether or not to go in.

"You can come in, Lupin," Zenigata called out to him.

Lupin took a deep breath and entered the room. He stopped and stared in shock at Zenigata's leg.

"The way you wear that cologne you must buy it by the gallon," Zenigata muttered as he was sat up in bed, his arms crossed tightly over his chest while his eyes stared in anger at his leg.

Lupin chuckled. "Yeah. I mean, no, it's just strong and I..." He sighed. "So, the two people that left. Family?"

Zenigata rolled his eyes up at him. "Something like that."

"Oh." Lupin stared at the floor uncomfortably.

"My daughter and ex-wife."

"Oh. So, you going home with them?"

Zenigata scoffed. "Like they'd want me in their lives again..."

"I just thought they'd take care of you while-"

"I can take care of myself," Zenigata barked.

"Not for the first few weeks," a nurse said as she entered the room. She smiled at Lupin as she made her way to the side of the bed. "So, Mister Zenigata, how are you feeling today?"

Zenigata looked away from her and grunted.

"Are you in any pain?" she asked while checking his IV drips.

Zenigata gave another grunt.

"A man of few words," she said, grinning at Lupin. "If only all my patients were this easy." She grabbed the clipboard at the end of the bed and wrote down some numbers. "Everything is looking good and if you want we can send you home tomorrow."

Zenigata again answered with a grunt.

"We can send you with a caretaker if one is needed," she said, staring at him and waiting for an answer.

He turned his head away from her and glared out the window.

"Okay, we can figure this all out tomorrow, then." She smiled and nodded at Lupin.

Lupin smiled back and watched as she left the room. He then looked at Zenigata. "So, I was gonna go get something to eat. You want me to bring you something back?"

Zenigata was silent, not even looking at Lupin.

"Um, o-okay..." Lupin turned and started to walk out of the room.

"A hamburger," Zenigata said.

Lupin stopped and looked back at him. He smiled and nodded before leaving.

...

Lupin returned to the hospital carrying a small white paper bag containing Zenigata's hamburger. He noticed the cop cars parked out front and entered the building cautiously.

Two cops stood in the waiting room, their backs to Lupin as they spoke.

Lupin walked with brisk strides past them, finding a wheel chair sitting behind an empty food cart in an adjoining hallway. He sat down, out of view from everyone, and waited, occasionally peeking around the cart to see if the cops were still there.

Two cops walked down the hallway, away from Zenigata's room, and joined the others. They spoke briefly before they all left together.

Lupin looked up as they were leaving. "Finally," he sighed, getting up and walking towards Zenigata's room.

"Geez, I thought those guys would never leave," Lupin joked. "Your food is probably cold."

"What happened?" Zenigata asked as he stared off seriously.

"What happ...? I don't under-"

"When I was chasing you," Zenigata said in a raised voice. "What happened?"

Lupin shrugged. "You were chasing us and next thing I know you weren't. The news said your tire blew out or something. Here." He held out the bag with Zenigata's hamburger in it.

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh. Well, okay..."

"So you saw nothing?"

Lupin shook his head.

"Huh, that's funny." He held up two small clear bags, each one marked as evidence. "They found this in my tire," he said, tossing a bag with small metal fragments in it on the bed. "And this," he said while tossing a bag containing a single shell casing on top of the other bag, "was found on the highway."

Lupin stared down at the bags, the guilt clearly shown on his face.

"Now only one gun in the car I was chasing uses that caliber bullet and ejects the casings. And it sure as hell isn't Jigen's." Zenigata tensed in anger as he glared at Lupin. "What happened?" he yelled.

Lupin stared at the floor and sighed. He walked to the chair at the end of the bed and sat down. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"That wasn't what I asked."

"I just-"

"How in the hell did you ever think that was a good idea?! You're lucky there weren't more cars on that highway! Do you know how many people could have died?! Do you know that I could have died?!"

Lupin glared at him. "I know, okay? And I'm sorry! It was stupid and I wasn't thinking and-" He stared at the floor and shook his head. "It was just the wrong damn time."

"Oh, was it? Well, next time I'll be sure to call you to see when you have an opening in your schedule!"

"You were just screwing everything up, all right?!"

"Well, gosh, Lupin, I'm so sorry! I hope the loss of my leg makes up for me ruining your wonderful day!"

Lupin closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry. And I feel really bad about it."

"That's nice. You know what my right foot feels? Nothing! Because it isn't there anymore!"

"What do you want me to say, huh?! I'm sorry, okay?! I fucked up! I ruined your life and I'm sorry!" He stared at Zenigata as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

Zenigata stared at him, the anger draining from his body. He had never once seen Lupin cry and mean it. He stared down at his lap and fidgeted with the blankets, the atmosphere in the room quickly becoming uncomfortable. "They'll want to stick me behind a desk. Someone else will be given your case."

Lupin wiped away his tears and shrugged.

"I'll probably just retire. And hope my pension will cover the medical bills. And my rent. And food. And utilities." Zenigata glanced up at Lupin before quickly looking back at his lap.

"I can pay for everything," Lupin muttered.

Zenigata shook his head slowly. "You've done enough, Lupin."

Lupin nodded sadly.

Zenigata sighed in frustration. "I didn't mean it like that. I just... Nevermind."

"Where will you go?"

"Japan, probably."

"You can't live alone."

"I'll manage."

Lupin sighed. "Look, just let me help you. Please."

Zenigata said nothing.

"Come home with me. You can live there."

Zenigata laughed and shook his head. "I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"It's a big house," Lupin insisted. "There's eight rooms in the place that aren't even being used. I can make one of the downstairs rooms into a bedroom and there's a-"

"Lupin, stop."

"Please. Just... just let me help. At least until you can live on your own."

Zenigata stared at Lupin's sad and pleading expression and sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'll... I'll go live with you."

"Thank you," Lupin said, a relieved look on his face.

...

"Hey," Jigen said, continuing to make his sandwich while he took the call.

"Hey," Lupin said. "Is Goemon still there?"

"Probably. You know how hard he is to get rid of. Why?"

"Could you guys do me a favor and swap one of the upstairs bedrooms with one of the downstairs rooms?" Lupin asked in a hopeful tone. "Preferably one of the rooms near the bathroom?"

"Upstairs bathroom?" Jigen wondered, not fully understanding.

"Downstairs."

"Okay," Jigen said in confusion. "Do I want to know why? If this has something to do with Fujiko, I swear to god I will-"

"It isn't," Lupin sighed. "I... I invited Zenigata to live with me."

Jigen stared off.

"Just get it over with," Lupin said in annoyance.

"You're insane," Jigen said in a surprisingly calm manner. "This is dumber than shooting out his tire. You two are going to kill each other by the end of the week."

Lupin rolled his eyes.

"No, seriously, Lupin, this is a valiant effort on your guilts part, but did you just hear what you said?"

"Just switch the rooms," Lupin muttered in annoyance.

"You and Zenigata, under the same roof," Jigen said, hoping it would soon all make sense to Lupin. "Your personal spaces intersecting. Your germs mingling. Your-"

"Bye, Jigen," Lupin said before ending the call.

Jigen stared down at his phone before pocketing it. "What an idiot," he said, taking his sandwich with him into the living room.

...

The next morning the sun was shining brightly and the skies were clear and blue. It should have been a day to make anyone feel good, yet Zenigata just wanted it to be over with.

He sat quietly in the passenger seat of Lupin's car, staring out the window and watching the scenery pass by in a blur.

Miles of vineyards and farmland zipped by as the car got closer to Paris.

Lupin got off the highway just short of reaching the city and took a road that veered off towards the northwest.

Zenigata said nothing as he continued staring out the window.

"You hungry?" Lupin wondered. "I know a place that makes the best waffles."

"I'm fine," Zenigata muttered.

Lupin stopped at a light and glanced over at his passenger. "Thirsty?"

Zenigata shook his head.

"Okay." Lupin looked around, waiting for the light to change. When it did he made a left, heading further into the western suburbs of Paris.

Zenigata stared at the houses they passed, impressed at the size of them. Even though he had been in this neighborhood many times he had never payed attention to what was around him.

Lupin pulled the car up to a tall metal fence, the gates of it slowly opening. He drove through the gates and down a short curved driveway, pulling up to the front of his house.

Zenigata stared up at it in amazement.

Lupin looked over at him and smiled. "Welcome home, Pops."