Lupin carefully wrapped the samurai's arms around his neck and took hold of his legs.
"Just hold on," he said calmly, "Jigen's waiting for us."
His feet moved swiftly, but cautiously through the dark woods, the moon casting soft illumination on face hard with determination.
"Lupin," Goemon mumbled, gazing at him wearily with half-open eyes.
"Save your strength," Lupin warned him softly.
Goemon ignored him, breathing into his ear. "Do you know why I joined you?" he mused.
"Un. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?" a hint of his trademark smirk played on his lips.
"Iie. Sore janai."
"Oh?" he gave Goemon a curious sideglance. "Why then?"
He kept looking back and forth, at Goemon and ahead of him.
Goemon smiled fondly, happy for the bit of eye contact.
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to drop me."
The thief's eyes widened, slightly, before going back to normal.
"Oi, oi, why would I do that?" he asked nervously.
Goemon lay his cheek on Lupin's shoulder and closed his eyes, still smiling.
"It's true. Your skills were amazing. They'd surpassed anyone I'd ever met. That's still true to this day."
"I know," Lupin chuckled smugly, "but you're pretty good yourself."
"I always knew there was something special about you. Something you had nobody else did. There was always... something I felt when you were around."
He felt Lupin's body tense and was already regretting mentioning anything. But it was too late now.
"What are you trying to say, Goemon?"
Goemon looked at the passing scenery sadly. "Suki," he answered simply in a barely audible whisper.
"Are you... trying to confess to me?"
Lupin felt his heart beat speeding up. He couldn't have heard what he thought he did.
"Something like that."
He had to use great force to keep himself from stopping right there.
"You couldn't have better timing for this?"
"I'm sorry."
Lupin frowned. He wished the samurai wasn't always like that.
He nuzzled his cheek against the top of Goemon's head.
"Ore mo suki."
Goemon tightened his arms around Lupin a little, giving him a gentle embrace.
"When you feel better, let's go on a real date..."
"That sounds nice."
Heh, another short snippet. In case you're wondering, Goemon's fine.