A/N: Just a shorter but sweet chapter. Inspired by glancing at a golf match and seeing a brunette with a ponytail that looked like Makoto at the bus stop, both happened at the same time.
Chapter 10: Do You Want to Play Golf, Lupin Sweetheart?
While Lupin kept his mind under control since Cagliostro most of the time before the bar caper, there was a time when he got an unexpected visit from someone.
A fair few years ago, Lupin travelled to Dubai and it was 40C meaning that the weather was unbearablely hot, he kept using his fan to cool down and he was very sweaty even though his white jacket and trousers that he was wearing were thinner than his usual clothes. Lupin travelled alone because not all of his schemes involved Jigen and Goemon, some especially early in his career were singlehandley done by himself.
Dubai was a place that fit with Lupin's lifestyle, massive skyscrapers, classy environment, basically the playground for the super rich or a master thief in his case.
Lupin wanted to go to Dubai for two reasons, one was that he came there to relax from many high profile capers that he was doing back to back that was literally tiring him out and two he had a bit of business regarding some real estate. He did plan to do a caper in Dubai as an extreme challenge however considering what would happen if he did get caught as in a treatment far worse than any previous encounters and considering his declined mind, he never actually got to do one.
Knowing that many people have stayed there including Chinese investors and various celebrities, Lupin decided to stay at the Burj Al Arab, one of the most famous hotels in Dubai and also the Emirates. It was shaped like a sail on a self purposely made island mostly in white even though the windows had some blue on them. His room that he decided to check in was actually very similar to his own home so he felt homely, he actually loved the design of the interior and was pleased even though he would have changed the bedroom a bit to more of his liking. Maybe if he had a lot more money, he could even buy one.
Due to the alcohol laws in Dubai, Lupin mainly stuck to drinking bottled water or orange juice as well as the odd black tea however he does have a personal bar that he used to make cocktails and there was a cocktail lounge. As for eating well there was only one option for him, he went to the restaurant at the top of the hotel that served French cuisine except for breakfast. There was also an Asian restaurant that Lupin went into to eat some sushi. It was like the hotel was made for Lupin except annoyingly the bar was closed during his time there.
It was the 3rd day staying in the hotel out of the week that he decided to take off and was recovering from his adventures, it was also the most healthy that Lupin had been in months.
Lupin thought while holding his glass of orange juice, "It is so lovely to have time to yourself to reflect the goodness in life."
While he loved the hotel, he wanted to do something so he contacted the Dubai Creek Golf Course for a game of golf, normally golf was not Lupin's type of sport apart from sneaking into The Masters for fun however he came to relax and because of the heat, he did not want to do something that required a lot of energy.
In the limo that Lupin was in, Lupin kept waving his fan on and off while he got to see the skyscrapers and office buildings. While a majority were standard looking, there were some stylish ones. He arrived at the golf course where he could see the view of the city, the surrounding water including artificial lakes, the palm trees and the lush greenry that was around the course. Lupin was dehydrated due to all the cocktails and wines that he used to drink all coming out of him so he took a sip of water.
The golf course clubhouse was coney, a bit like Sydney Opera House but not as wide as that and Lupin went in to arrange the details as well as getting dressed in golfing clothes. Lupin had changed into a green t-shirt with collar and sleeves, tailor made brown trousers, socks and golf shoes with soft spikes due to the dress code of both the course and of the Emirates. Due to the heat, Lupin felt a bit uncomfortable however he tried his best to cool down.
After getting his clubs, Lupin went to the first hole and was preparing his shot on the tee trying his hardest to visualise both the ball and where it was going to be. Using his heists as knowledge while it would not be easy, he would have at least aimed for one under par for every hole, maybe even an eagle.
Lupin was about to swing despite trying his best to cope with the heat and the nerves when all of a sudden...
"Lupin sweetheart!"
Lupin was very surprised to hear a certain voice, he looked around but saw no one. Maybe he did think that the heat played tricks with him but outside the playing area, he thought that he could see Makoto in a green shirt with grey bottoms by the palm trees.
"Makoto?", replied Lupin in a very unsure voice.
Thinking it was just his imagination, he went back to swing the club to hit the ball and managed to do so however the ball seemed to have travelled further than Lupin expected as a sudden gush of wind helped and landed safely on the fairway. It lowered the score for Lupin at least he thought.
Further along the hole, Lupin decided to sip some more water and swing again.
"Nice shot sweety!"
The ball moved up and unusually went into the green straight into the hole. Lupin knows that is not right but was surprised as he gave a puzzling look. Turned out that Lupin got an Eagle for the hole so the score is -2.
"Yeah, it's definitely Cagliostro all over again", sighed Lupin.
Lupin went into the second hole, put the golf ball onto the tee and was about to swing when...
"I'm here!"
Lupin looked around and Makoto was behind him, he got to see her a lot more clearer and she was smiling.
Lupin asked in his thoughts, "Was it you that helped me?" "Yeah", Makoto replied.
Lupin scratched his head thinking how Sailor Jupiter managed to help Lupin when she was not physically there and perhaps should have known from that point that Cagliostro affected his health. Either that or knows that he needed another drink and took one.
Lupin went back to swinging the ball however he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was soft and gentle.
Makoto advised, "You can do it, I just give you that extra strength that you need sweetheart." "Thanks Makoto", shyly spoke Lupin in his mind.
It seems that Makoto can do powerful drives because the golf club felt the extra power as the ball travelled much further than normal. Lupin was worried that it would have ended up in the lake however she gave it a little blow guiding it away. Unusually it was a hole in one that has not been done before apart from a fluke once, it was also the hardest to start off with the shot as well.
Thanks to the team work of both Lupin and Makoto they were doing really well even though in reality, it was just Lupin playing with a lot of concidences along the way from ball hopping to random gusts of winds to even the ball curved going around the putting hole.
It was the 18th hole and it was the hardest because if Makoto guided the ball, it would have made it hard for Lupin to get a good score. Instead she had a different idea...
Makoto hugged Lupin that to him was a surprise and cheered, "You can do it, I believe in you."
Lupin calculated the swing and hit the ball from the tee, he was a bit nervous on which direction it was going to go but thankfully it landed on the fairway. Lupin took another shot and again it landed on the fairway but only just. There was a stretch of water in between them and the green. Lupin closed his eyes and hit the golf ball, he was not sure whether he is going to get a birdie or par. While Lupin closed his eyes, the golf ball was flying over the water towards the green and before it landed on the green, Lupin could feel the warmth from Makoto.
Makoto gently nudged and whispered, "You can open your eyes now."
Lupin opened his eyes to know that the ball made it on the green however that was not the end, it seems there was a little bit of wind guiding the ball and went straight into the hole. Like the ball travelled itself even though in Lupin's eyes, it was Makoto helping while in reality, it was just a sudden draft.
Lupin smiled that he got a great score and a record for the course, he was pleased with himself.
Lupin smirked, "Heh, that wasn't so hard."
After the golf course, Lupin jumped into a taxi to the city because he wanted to go to at least one bar while he was there. Going around the city, Lupin was disappointed by the selection that they had mainly being shisha lounges however did expect it considering the customs of the country. There was at least one bar that did catch his eye, that was a beach bar and they were more rowdy rather than the classy bars that Lupin usually goes to.
Lupin shrugged, "Well it's the best that I can do."
Lupin got changed into something more suitable and casual with T shirt and blue shorts, typical of Lupin he ordered a wine but he also ordered a bottle of beer even if it was not wise to get dehydrated when he was dehydrating. The weather cooled down so Lupin was more comfortable.
At least Lupin was smiling while thinking that he got rid of Makoto and back to himself even if they enjoyed themselves on the golf course. It was a while since Lupin went clubbing due to not often going towards the party hotspots because much of the time, the treasure was not located there. When he first started with his capers, the idea of a good time was being in a room smartly dressed and played cards, the world changes but thankfully Lupin adapts with the times even though he prefers the old fashioned ways. Lupin was even a DJ in a few occassions with some success.
Lupin saw a blonde woman in a red bikini and was flirting towards her by looking at her body as he gorps at her.
Lupin complimented, "You look nice." "Yeah, I get that a lot", replied the blonde.
The not very successful ladiesman went towards the bar and got some more drinks, giving her a glass of champagne hoping to get more closer to her.
Lupin asked, "So what are here for?"
The blonde was looking back to Lupin as whether it was the glass of champagne or that she was already drunk, she started to get attracted to him.
"Err... I normally do fashion shoots for a magazine but it's my last day here, I have to party!", exclaimed the blonde.
Lupin was trying to work out what he meant by fashion shoots for a magazine, whether it was a cultured one regarding the latest clothes trends or one of those men magazine ones where they look revealing in sexy poses. At least he was happy as the woman grinned back at him ready to kiss him because she was drunk and liked his charm.
There was just one problem, the heat still got to Lupin and he saw a very annoyed Makoto dressed up in her Sailor Jupiter outfit.
Makoto bellowed, "Lupin the 3rd!"
She marched towards Lupin and pushed him into the pool as she was jealous that he was talking to another woman who was pretty drunk literally. Makoto stroked her hair in frustration and walked away. In reality, Lupin was a bit drunk and slipped from the edge of the pool.
The next day Lupin was in bed with a hangover, something that he has not had in a while as he can handle his alcohol level. Lupin was actually surprised that there was not another woman besides him even though for Lupin that could either be a good thing or a bad thing.
"The heat is really getting to me", sighed Lupin.
To make matters worse, the weather was going to be 43C on that day so it meant that if Lupin went into the city, it would had to be brief and constant bottle water drinking.
The master thief just remembered that he was supposed to do a business deal with real estate so he got the black telephone and it was an old fashioned one where you put your finger in to move the phone to dial the number. He waited for the reply then a pre-recorded message played.
"This is Cosy Living real estate, we are sorry to announce that the company has been liquidated on the 19th June and all enquires cannot be dealt with. Thanks for calling."
Lupin worked out that date of the phone call and it turned out that the company went under just a day before he arrived in Dubai.
Lupin shouted, "Shit!"
After slamming the phone down, Lupin sulked as his trip was not going as planned. The extreme heat, lack of bars, no events, the casinos were closed due to an investigation and now the collapsed deal meant that his relaxing trip caught up to him. Ironically he was less stressed doing the heists than his vacation apart from the first couple of days when he was recovering. Something he also noticed was that apart from that one woman in the bar and the traditional women, he did not see any one that he could talk to. No celebrities entered the hotel and even the investors were too busy talking on their phones to take much notice.
Lupin sat on his bed thinking that apart from his room, Dubai was not for him after all. Everything seemed so false unlike his trips to Monaco and Italy where they had character, even cities like New York and Tokyo were more exciting because he got to do things.
Left the hotel, Lupin went to one of the coffee shops to drink a mokka but was not happy by the quality of the coffee and left. He went to Dubai Mall for a bit of shopping and picked up various clothes that were stylish to his tastes, a new watch as well as a diamond necklace for Fujiko. He even bought a gold bar from a vending machine. Lupin while getting the metro also paid a quick visit to Al Fahidi Fort, one of the few traditional buildings in the city that was in an orange coral rock look however due to time it had started to go black in places. He studied the building layout in case he was going to do a caper there and had a look around the museum thinking what to steal.
After an hour and unable to cope, Lupin went back to the hotel to lie down because he had enough of the heat however his room had air conditioning. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw someone else with him, it was Makoto wearing her long brown skirt with a very uneasy look on her face.
Lupin sighed, "I'm sorry but let me explain."
Lupin was explaining to Makoto that since he could tell that the people who went to that bar were English and when it comes to English people there were usually two types. Either they are rough in character and literally had no shame in their actions, the other kind were snobby and spoilt who were controlling. It was usually extremely between the two however some people were more like Lupin with his easy going personality. This also reflected on Lupin's few adventures to England where it was either run down full of drug addicts, hardcore alcoholics and begging syndicates or people who lived in well off houses who looked down on their neighbours never mind others apart from his earlier capers in the country where the people did not act as badly. He once had to tackle with drug addicts in Sheffield who were literally like zombies and had to drive their Fiat on the tramline all the way to Meadowhall shopping mall to lose them. When he found out that he stole everything worth stealing, he stopped going there.
Lupin also explained that meeting women was part of his thing and he did not want to make her jealous, if anything the women that he usually meets Fujiko aside were more out of social or for business, never for a relationship. Lupin deep down cares about women and want to make them feel comfortable. In the past Lupin was opposite to this however his encounters with Fujiko changed this very quickly. If it wasn't for her, he would have sexually abused women or worse because he was very horny and desperate.
"What happened in Cagliostro was just a one off, this is usually more of how I am", honestly spoke Lupin.
The expression on Makoto changed from being annoyed to being a bit more happier with a smile on her face and also feeling a bit sorry because she did not know what Lupin was really like. She thought that he was there to protect princesses from danger like a hero that you get in fictional stories rather than the smooth operator that he really was.
Makoto asked, "So you're like a spy?" "Sort of, I do help Inspector Zenigata in a way", replied Lupin partly lying because he did not want her to know that he was a master thief.
Lupin explained in cheerful tone, "I go on adventures around the world, meet people, tackle villians, reclaim lost treasure, a bit of an explorer really."
Makoto smiled when he said explorer because her own parents were explorers so she felt that her and Lupin did have a connection, one that was not just her making Lupin better in life. She also realised that he was a hero after all, just the flirting was part of his job.
Lupin suggested, "Look Makoto, you've helped me through Cagliostro and at the golf course so as a treat, do you want to dance at 8pm? Just us two."
"Aww... of course I will Lupin sweetheart", smiled Makoto with her eyes closed.
Makoto hugged Lupin knowing that they both made up from last night. While all of that was going off, really it was just Lupin sleeping on the bed however it was not a dream but his thoughts that were going around his head.
Suddenly there was a phone call coming from his room, Lupin got up from bed, picked up the phone and put the handset to his left ear. He heard what was a lot of angry and noise down the line however the voice was very familar to Lupin.
Lupin chirped, "Eh, what's up Pops?" "Lupin, you're up to something and I know that you are", shouted Zenigata.
The master thief on vacation blinked his eyes and was filing his fingernails while Zenigata was on the other side.
Lupin dully spoke, "Actually I'm glad that you phoned up, Dubai's been boring for a vacation."
Zenigata was surprised at what Lupin said, he thought that Lupin would have lots of fun with the lifestyle however he did not know about the restrictions.
"Damn and I thought that you was stealing all the gold bars", sighed Zenigata.
Lupin smirked, "Oh before I left, I changed your coffee at the station."
At the police station, Zenigata took a sip of his coffee that was on his desk and spat it out since it was a flavour that the inspector did not like.
"Damn you Lupin!", bellowed Zenigata.
The cheeky man was laughing at this and put the phone down on his friendly rival. At least Pops gave Lupin a much needed laugh on what was a very hot and humid day, even the air conditioner broke in Lupin's room.
Lupin entered the ballroom at 20:00 and right on time, the ballroom was empty due to that there were no women in the hotel outside of the few staff members that he saw. Lupin was dressed while Makoto was dressed in a light and delicate green dress with pink rose shaped earrings. Pretty much her Princess Jupiter outfit.
"You made it, I didn't think that you would", happily cried Makoto.
Lupin and Makoto danced to each other very slowly, the two closed their eyes. One of them wanted to end a disappointing vacation while the other wanted to feel special. Whether it was the heat getting down on Lupin and his mind just needed to hydrate due to suffering from mirages or deep down that he wanted some female company that was not just for fun and games like Fujiko even though Lupin does admired her assets, Lupin for the first time felt confused.
Luckily for Lupin, he did not book for the entire 7 days at the hotel and left after only 4, on the 5th day he went straight to the airport and flew out of the city. The only positives that Lupin had for leaving early was to cool down and that staying in Dubai was very expensive so he saved himself some money so he can treat Jigen with a month supply of cigarettes and whiskey as well as bottles of sake for Goemon. Oh, some fine wine and enough money to pay for travel for the next 8 capers too.
When Lupin came home to rest for a couple of days before the next heist, he held a glass of red wine and then the thoughts of Sailor Jupiter disappeared as the master thief was rehydrated and back to himself. Relating to that, Lupin thought next time he saw Fujiko to give her the diamond necklace however he had a gut feeling that she wants more.
Lupin decided not to go back to Dubai despite loving the atmosphere of the hotel the heat got to him pretty quickly. He did think of coming back during the Winter when it was cooler, not that he could in his current condition.