Cough cough splutter. -insert mental rant here-
-ahem- Anyway, the final chapter to this here thang. I actually finished something. Sort of. My endings are never complete. Just how I write stuff. -shrug-
I got a total deja vu moment when writing the very end of this. So, if I've written it before, then you get to read it again and if I have stolen it from someone else I apologize. I hate when I get that feeling because it drives me nuts.

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One Life Faltered

by D. Ant

-Thirty Five-

Lupin and Fujiko stepped into the car, both heading out for dinner. Lupin fished in his pockets, not finding what he wanted. "Crap, I forgot the keys," he said with a sigh, opening the door. "Let me go grab them really quick." He stepped out and walked back to the house.
Fujiko rolled her eyes, Lupin being absent minded lately. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to return.
Lupin stepped into the house, glancing around and spotting his keys on a small table in the entryway. He stepped over and grabbed them, starting to leave when he heard a noise.
Pausing for a moment, he decided to walk towards the noise. On his way he noticed doors were opened and inside the rooms there were items strewn about. He got to the source of the noise, pushing a door open and standing in the doorway.
"Jigen, what are you-?"
"Where'd you put my gun?"
Lupin stood, staring as Jigen searched frantically through a dresser in one of the rooms.
"Where'd you put my damn gun?!" he screamed.
"It's not in there. What the hell has gotten into you?"
"Just tell me where my magnum is, Lupin!" he yelled, glaring at Lupin.
"No," Lupin said as he shook his head. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?"
"What's going on? Isn't it obvious, Lupin? I can't take this anymore! And I just want it all to end, okay?!"
"What? And...and you weren't going to talk about this to anyone?!" Lupin was hurt, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
"As if anyone really gives a damn about how I feel!"
"Do you think we don't care?!" Lupin screamed, tears falling down his face. "Do we not matter to you?! You close us out when you need us because you're so god damned stubborn and then go on about how nobody cares?! Are you that fucking stupid, Jigen?!"
"You don't know what I deal with every fucking day, Lupin!"
"So, you're just going to give up?!"
"What else am I supposed to do?!" Jigen yelled it more in desperation than in anger, tears welling up in his eyes.
Lupin was silent, his body tense. His words wouldn't help and he knew it. He just wished there was a way to show he cared, to show Jigen he had someone to turn to. "Fine," he said calmly. "If this is what you really want..." It was the only way he realized he could help, to make Jigen feel better. He reached in his jacket and pulled out his gun. "Take it." He held the barrel of it tightly, not wanting to let it go.
Jigen looked a little shocked, never expecting Lupin to do that. He stared into his eyes before glancing at the gun, reaching up slowly and taking it. "Lupin...I-"
"Just...just don't, okay?" Lupin turned and quickly left the room, slamming the door shut behind him, leaning against it and sobbing. He flinched when he heard a single gunshot, his legs going limp as he slid down the door, holding his head in his hands as he sobbed louder.
"What have I done?" he asked himself. "What have I..."
He closed his eyes tightly, the memories flooding his mind. Everything the two had gone through together came back. The visions made him cry more, as he knew what he had been dreading had finally come true. He knew that Jigen would only be a memory to him, that he would never be able to live life with him anymore. And it was all his fault.
Fujiko sighed, tired of waiting for Lupin. Getting out of the car, she made her way to the house. Once inside, she heard his sobs, rushing over to him. "Lupin? Lupin, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Jigen...he...he..." he muttered between sobs, unable to complete the sentence or have it make any sense.
Fujiko looked on in worry, glancing at the door. She straightened herself out, reaching out for the door handle, but hesitating, afraid of what she'd see on the other side. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, grabbing the handle and starting to turn it.
She opened her eyes when the door was pulled from her grip. Lupin, leaning against the door, fell back to the floor. He stared up as Jigen stared down at him.
"Ji-Jigen!" he said in shock, getting to his hands and knees. "You...you're..."
Jigen stared at him, his face expressionless. His eyes then slowly moved away, glancing down at the floor.
"I...I thought..." Lupin got to his knees and lunged at Jigen, wrapping his arms around him tightly while crying into his shirt.
Fujiko stood there, confused at what she was seeing.
Jigen stayed silent, slipping Lupin's gun back in it's holster unnoticed before embracing Lupin. His mind clearing, the past ten minutes came to him, causing him to break down out of fear of what might have been.

Jigen sat in the middle of a wide patch of grass, staring down at the stone marker before him, the name Lori Glynn carved in it. He hadn't said a word since he had arrived. His mind held no thoughts, his face no expression. He was there in physical form only, there because he needed to be near her, or at least some form of her.
Lupin, Goemon and Fujiko stood off in the distance, watching him as he sat there motionless, all wondering what he was thinking.
Lupin and Jigen never spoke of that day again, all but forcing themselves to forget it ever happened.
It made Jigen realize what he had, how good of a friend Lupin was to him, and how he had almost lost it. The second Lupin offered his gun, Jigen realized that Lupin was only doing it to make him happy, even though there were many other ways to get that result. Lupin wasn't being selfish. He was willing to lose a friend to help him.
In the end, that realization saved Jigen's life.
That day their bond grew stronger and Jigen realized that he really did need help, that he needed his friends. That day everything changed for the better.
He had started to get professional help, both for his mental pain and his physical pain. And to his amazement it worked.
He had started to feel better, his mood becoming tolerable. His nightmares became less frequent, as did his bouts of depression. He was slowly starting to become himself once more, this time hoping to stay himself.
Jigen looked up from the marker and off towards the horizon. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'll see you one of these days, Lori, when the time comes," he said in a low voice. "I'll apologize to you then, but not now. I don't deserve your forgiveness now." He glanced down at the marker. "You deserved somebody better. I shouldn't have come back..." He looked down and sighed, turning himself and making his way towards the car.

The End

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I was in a good mood because I had Jigen live. Up until writing this, I still wasn't sure what his fate would be. I figured if I was in a crappy depressed mood he'd die. And if not, he'd live. Yes, I could have killed him...for EVER!!! Mwahahaha! And all the Jigen fangirls almost wept. Oh, the horror! -does dramatic pose- xD

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story, what with it's odd mix of emotions and content. Thanks for reading. :D