Chapter 4

Shinichi's sobs slowly subsided into small hiccups as Jigen rubbed soothing circles on his back. "You feeling better, kid?"

He felt the nod against his shoulder. "'m hungry…"

Glaring at Lupin, Jigen gestured to the kitchen with his free hand. Lupin mouthed 'no' back at him and hid behind the couch. He rolled his eyes. "Lupin, just make the damn food!" he suddenly growled, startling Shinichi.

"Fine, fine!" Lupin said, throwing up his hands. He began rummaging around in the cabinets. "Ramen…more ramen…all we have is ramen. Why is there nothing but ramen!?"

"Blame Goemon. He's the one who did the shopping last." Jigen told him as he settled Shinichi into the seat next to him. "Does ramen sound good to you, kid?"

Shinichi nodded, his eyes glued to his lap. "Yes, please."

In a move that surprised even him, Jigen reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. He could feel his lips twitch up into a smile. "Come on; let's go help Lupin. I doubt he even knows how to boil water."

Lupin's offended "Hey!" was well worth the tiny giggle he got in return.

Days passed. Every day Jigen looked any trace of Shinichi, go as far as to ask around the neighborhood they were staying in, while Lupin watched the kid. Shinichi always tried to make the man's job harder, revenge, he later told Jigen, for all the "short" comments. But, as each day passed, there was still no sign that Shinichi's parents were even looking for him. And all the while, Shinichi was getting closer and closer to the two thieves he unknowingly lived with.

Jigen clutched his head in frustration, glaring at the computer screen as if that would make it tell him something different. But every time he touched it, the answer was always the same. No report, no pictures, not even a story on the late night news. No one was looking for Shinichi.

A coffee mug was placed next to his elbow and Jigen looked up to see Lupin. The man gazed down on him sympathetically. "Still can't find anything?"

"No." Jigen gulped down the coffee greedily. "I even hacked the freaking NPA but…nothing."

"You know we can't exactly keep him, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just…" He glanced over at Shinichi, asleep on the couch. "We are the only people he knows. I can only imagine all the trust issues he's going to have if we just dump him on an orphanage doorstep or something."

Lupin laughed. "Yeah, that kid has a bad enough glare already. The last thing he needs is a traumatizing backstory to go with it."

"You've seen him watch detective shows, right?" Jigen chuckled. "I don't think the glares he gives you even compare to those he gives a murderer."

Their laughter slowly puttered out until Lupin said, "…We're getting attached to him, aren't we?"

"Look like it."

"Damn." They exchanged a tried look, then looked at Shinichi before Lupin said, "We can't keep him with us. We're thieves, for Christ's sake. And he's a good kid. He doesn't deserve a life on the run."

"Don't you think we should ask him first? He's smart, smarter than any other kid I've seen. He deserves the right to choose himself. And who knows? He'd probably be okay with our occupation if we told him the truth."

Lupin snorted. "Probably? That kid looks at you like you hung the moon. I doubt any objections would cross his mind."

"That's true." Jigen couldn't deny it. The boy hung off every word he said. It would be weird if Shinichi wasn't young enough to get away with it.

"And can you imagine the look on Pop's face when he discovers a child has joined us?"

Jigen chuckled. "He'd probably think the boy's your love child with Fujiko and have a heart attack on the spot."

A yawn cut off their discussion as Shinichi sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked blearily over towards them and Jigen felt an odd pang in his chest. Shinichi waved absent-mindedly at them. "Hi."

"Hey, short stuff," Lupin said, throwing himself onto the couch next to Shinichi. The boy glared. "We were just talking about you."

Alarm crossed Shinichi's face. "Y-You were?"

"Yeah," Jigen said with a nod. He stood up only to sit on the arm of the sofa on the other side of Shinichi than Lupin. "We were talking about what we were going to do with you."

"A-Are you going to send me away?" he asked, glancing back and forth in between the two with a distraught expression on his face. Jigen felt that odd pang again, stronger this time.

"Not if you don't want to go." Shinichi blinked in surprise. "I'm going to be honest with you, kid. Lupin and I…we don't exactly have the most conventional life style. We're…we're thieves. As of right now, we're wanted in over 50 countries, including this one. Our lives are dangerous and most of what we do is illegal. But…if you want to stay, you can."

Shinichi bit lip, a hand reaching up to cup his chin as his eyebrows furrow in thought. "You…you don't kill people, do you?"

"Only out of self-defense," Jigen answered truthfully. "And even then, it's never the cops or innocent people. Usually they are members of the mafia and such."

He nodded absently, then looked up with hope in his eyes. "Can…Can I…Can I call you Papa?"

Jigen blinked in shock. P-Papa!? The kid wanted him to be his father!? Lupin guffawed with laughter, clapping a hand over his eyes. He could tell it was making Shinichi feel embarrassed, so he glared at the other thief and turned the kid's attention back on him. Did…did he want a son? Taking care of the kid was one thing, taking care of him as a son was another. But…could he really say no to those eyes? Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, Jigen smiled down on him and said the words that would change his fate forever.

"I'd love for you to call me Papa."