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It was in the car sometime after they had left Pakistan. Early in the morning the sun crept over the horizon and Jotaro was awake to see it. He had slept fitfully that night and had eventually given up on sleep entirely, but that wasn’t unusual on this trip. In this instance though Jotaro’s fitful sleep allowed him to witness something wonderful; the gentle morning light against Kakyoin Noriaki’s face. The light had an effect that made it seem as if he was glowing from within and his hair were wreathed in flame, he looked angelic, but not in a soft or harmless manner. The way the light hit him called to mind paintings of vengeful angels wreathed in flame and it took Jotaro’s breath away. Jotaro felt a strange sensation in his chest that wasn’t all too unfamiliar, but it was a sleepless state at an early time that finally allowed Jotaro to realize what that feeling ment.
He was in love with Kakyoin Noriaki.
The realization hit Jotaro like the ghostly punch of a Stand. Jotaro knew that Kakyoin had come to mean a lot to him but to be in love with him? Jotaro thought about the time they had spent together thus far, about the easy camaraderie they had fallen into, the little inside jokes they had begun to share, about how Kakyoin had just understood him in a way not even his own family had achieved. As all these thoughts went through his head Jotaro felt the strange feeling intensify; there was no denying it, he was in love with Kakyoin.
So now what to do about it?
Immediately Jotaro thought of the girls at school who had come to him with confessions; blushing and stuttering thinking only about their own feelings and rarely how he felt. His mother and grandfather had always told him to be considerate towards those girls feelings but Jotaro had never seen the point to it, after all they weren’t being considerate of his were they? Either dragging him somewhere private in hopes of “convincing him” or making a spectacle in public in hopes of shaming him. No, Jotaro won’t do something like that to someone he considers a friend. But even after coming to that conclusion Jotaro’s mind couldn’t help but wander.
What if Kakyoin felt the same way?
Images began to flow into Jotaro’s mind of the two of them going to the aquarium together holding hands, them going out for ice cream together, Kakyoin’s smiling face as he leaned in to- Jotaro cut his thoughts off tugging the brim of his cap farther down his face. He really shouldn’t get ahead of himself here. He had no idea if Kakyoin even liked him that way. No, Jotaro would wait. Besides, they had more important things to focus on than him and stupid “feelings”
But as Jotaro worked through his thoughts he was unaware of Kakyoin having been woken up by the morning light.
As Kakyoin’s vision cleared after having been momentarily blinded by the dawning light he was treated to the beautiful sight of Jotaro’s perfect profile backlit by the rising sun. The reflection of the light against his skin made Jotaro seem like a marble statue of a greek god brought to life. Kakyoin’s breath caught in his throat and a familiar squeezing feeling arose in his chest.
‘Oh’ thought Kakyoin, ‘I love him.’
The realization crashed through him and it was as if the sea was roaring in Kakyoin's ears, and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. Jotaro was the first friend his own age that Kakyoin had ever had, the first friend to understand this invisible other part of him, the first friend to see him in all his weirdness and accept it at face value. The idea of having feelings for Jotaro terrified Kakyoin because it meant risking losing that friendship. Nothing was worth that, and so Kakyoin boxed those feelings up and hid them away in a small corner of his heart. Because keeping Jotaro’s friendship was more important than any feelings Kakyoin could have.
Unbeknownst to Kakyoin just as he was reaching the end of his train of thought Jotaro was coming to a conclusion of his own and in that moment their eyes met. Many times throughout this bizarre adventure they had found themselves in Jotaro and Kakyoin had understood what the other was thinking with nothing more than a look, unfortunately this was not one of those times. Instead there was simply a recognition of each others exhaustion.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many days later Jotaro sat on a chair in a Speedwagon Foundation run hospital in Cairo. Beside him were the beeping monitors that kept track of Kakyoin’s life; a life that seemed so much more fragile than it had only a week ago. Kakyoin lay pale and unmoving in the hospital bed in front of Jotaro, but he was still alive and breathing. Jotaro held his hands clasped tightly together in his lap as he remembered the frantic flight to the foundation’s hospital, the pit in his stomach from not knowing who had survived the desperate fight against DIO, he remembered how numb he felt as doctors rushed around him taking both Polnareff and Kakyoin into surgery.
Jotaro didn’t know how long he had waited to hear whether his friends had lived or died, but it seemed to have taken an eternity and no time at all. Polnareff had been the first to come out of surgery, the doctors had reassured Jotaro that he would be fine. That took some of the tension away from Jotaro's shoulders but also made the wait to hear about Kakyoin all the more unbearable. Jotaro was so tense he had almost missed the nurse’s words when they came to deliver the news of Kakyoin’s surgery, but it had been a complete success and the transplanted organs were holding. The relief that had crashed through him almost knocked Jotaro over. Later would come the understanding of the recovery Kakyoin would have to go through, of how different Kakyoin’s life would be going forward, but in that moment all Jotaro knew was that Kakyoin was alive.
Jotaro had gone to Polnareff’s room after that; the frenchman had woken up not long after his own surgery and Joseph had volunteered to sit with him while Jotaro waited to hear news about Kakyoin. The two of them had been ecstatic when Jotaro shared the good news but it was the conversation he had with Polnareff later after Joseph had fallen asleep that came to Jotaro’s mind now. Polnareff always had been more observant than his outward demeanor made people believe, but Jotaro was still surprised when he spoke up pulling Jotaro from deep thought.
“So have you told him how you feel?”
Jotaro jerked his head up looking at Polnareff in confusion.
“Kakyoin, have you told him how you feel?” Polnareff repeated with a sad smile.
Jotaro’s face remained impassive but mentally he was frantically running through his memories for anything that could have given how he felt away; panicked at the thought he could have made Kakyoin uncomfortable with his stupid feelings.
Polnareff sighed and shook his head.
“I’m taking that as a no; look Jotaro,” and as he said this Polnareff gave Jotaro a serious look.
“I’m in love with Avdol”
Jotaro opened his mouth to say something but Polnareff continued,
“I never told him that. I thought that someone as intelligent and handsome as him would never return the feelings of someone as impulsive and reckless as me, no matter how good looking I am.”
Polnareff tried to smile but it fell flat
”But now looking back, I wish I had told him. Even if he had rejected me I think that would have been better than sitting here now never knowing what he would have said.”Jotaro couldn’t find the words to respond, but luckily Polnareff didn’t need him to.
He looked at his younger friend with a sad, strained, smile and said, “You have a chance I do not, don’t waste it.”
Jotaro’s thoughts returned to the present in Kakyoin’s hospital room as he thought over the same decision he had come to that night after his conversation with Polnareff. He had to tell Kakyoin the truth, but how? Jotaro still felt that he didn’t want to push Kakyoin or make him uncomfortable, but didn’t he owe it to both of them to be honest about his feelings? What was he going to say?
Jotaro had never been good with words. His method of communication could be called ‘Honest’ if a person was feeling nice and ‘Blunt’ or ‘Rude’ if they weren’t. He just didn’t understand the nuances of how different words could be interpreted. Jotaro felt people should just say what they mean and leave it at that, but Kakyoin was good with words. He knew just how to phrase something so as to insult someone while sounding perfectly polite. Jotaro had never seen that as an artform until he witnessed Kakyoin at work. Jotaro fretted that any method he came up with to communicate his feeling would sound stupid or trite to someone like Kakyoin. If nothing else Jotaro desperately did not want Kakyoin to hate him after all this.
Jotaro’s anxieties came to the forefront in full force. Most people looking from the outside would think that someone like Jotaro didn’t have any anxieties, they would be wrong. Sometimes Jotaro had so many anxieties he felt that he was drowning in them. An enemy could be handled with brute force, but faceless anxiety? He didn’t always know how to handle that. It was worse when it came to interacting with other people.
Jotaro had always struggled to fit in. Too big, too quiet, too foreign, too much . Eventually he had decided that if everyone else was going to see him as nothing more than an oversized delinquent then he might as well just be one. But Kakyoin had never seen him for these things. He had seen Jotaro as a person rather than a pile of expectations; no one had ever done that before. The idea of losing that terrified Jotaro in a way that not even facing DIO could compare. There were so many things that could go wrong. What if Kakyoin was uncomfortable with Jotaro being in love with him? What if he was disgusted by Jotaro being in love with him? What if he hated Jotaro for getting him involved in this whole mess? WHAT IF- Jotaro stopped that train of thought. Worrying about things like that wasn’t going to help him right now. He needed to figure out what he was going to say when Kakyoin - the heart rate monitor made a noise and Jotaro’s head jerked in it’s direction.
A nurse came into the room checking Kakyoin and his monitors over. Jotaro watched them closely, the phrase ‘ enemy stand’ never quite leaving his thoughts. But the nurse was just a nurse, and they did their job quickly and efficiently. Then the moment Jotaro had been waiting anxiously for the last few day finally arrived; Kakyoin opened his eyes. The nurse checked Kakyoin’s responses and said something to Jotaro before leaving the room but Jotaro couldn’t hear them over his heart beat trying to pound it’s way out through his throat. Then Kakyoin turned to look at Jotaro and with a dry and cracking voice spoke.
“Hey Jojo.”
Jotaro couldn’t say anything back, it was as if something had reached inside him and squeezed his vocal cords. Instead he reached out and grasped Kakyoin’s hand between his own, and he felt a weak squeeze back. Jotaro felt it was now or never, he had to say something or he would never get the words out. Jotaro frantically searched his mind for all the different ways he had thought of the last few days to tell Kakyoin his feeling but they evaporated in his mind like water on a hot stove. Desperately he said the only thing he could think of.
“I really like you!”
Oh why couldn’t he have said anything but that? Jotaro thought miserably.
Now it needs to be said that Kakyoin was on some Very Good Drugs at the time but the way he managed to miss the point so spectacularly was still inexcusable. He missed the point the way a stormtrooper misses Luke Skywalker in a crossfire. He missed the point the way a scientist calling the splitting of the atom ‘quite useful’ had missed the point. He missed the point so badly that mountain climber who had set out to climb mount Everest but somehow wound up on the peak of a different mountain entirely still had not missed the point as badly as Kakyoin Noriaki had. Because ultimately Kakyoin had buried his own feelings so far down the idea that Jotaro was responding to and reciprocating those feelings was near incomprehensible. And so his thoughts went something along these lines; ‘It’s really sweet that Jotaro was so worried about me, I have such a good friend’. And so with a cracked voice and the dopey smile of someone who is drugged out of their mind Kakyoin squeezed Jotaro’s hand as best he could and said;
“I really like you too Jotaro.”
Jotaro felt as though his world had stopped, in fact he had to check to make sure he hadn’t accidentally used The World to actually stop time. Jotaro had been so caught up in trying to figure out what to say for his confession he hadn’t thought of what he’d do if Kakyoin reciprocated. What did those girls who confessed to him always expect? That he’d be their Boyfriend? Is that what he and Kakyoin were now? Boyfriends? The thought brought a warm feeling in Jotaro’s chest. Boyfriends, he liked the sound of that. Jotaro gently held his boyfriend’s hand with a small smile on his face until the doctors arrived and asked him to leave for a moment while they checked Kakyoin over.
Jotaro left the hospital room feeling relieved that his feelings had been returned.
Kakyoin watched Jotaro leave feeling reassured in his and Jotaro’s friendship.
Neither of them realized just how horribly they had both miscommunicated.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After a long recovery Kakyoin was finally able to go back to school. Jotaro had offered to walk Kakyoin to school, which he appreciated. Honestly, Kakyoin was appreciating walking at all. He knew that while his recovery had seemed long the Speedwagon Foundations technology had worked miracles. Kakyoin was feeling grateful as he stood on the sidewalk in the brisk early spring morning air and smiled as he saw Jotaro approach.
Kakyoin really was glad to have a friend like Jotaro; there had been moments where Kakyoin had thought Jotaro wouldn’t want to stay in contact after their trip to Egypt had been completed, but Jotaro staying by his side in the hospital in Cairo had aswaged him of those fears. They had worked hard together to catch up on the coursework they had missed while on their road trip, Kakyoin had been an honors student before the trip to Egypt and he would be damned if he let almost dying ruin his perfect record. Kakyoin had been almost surprised when Jotaro proved himself to be as equally serious about his studies, but really, what didn’t Jotaro do seriously?
Kakyoin gave a small wave as Jotaro drew close, Jotaro responded with a nod, and the two of them fell into step. The walk was silent except for the sound of their footsteps and Kakyoin’s doctor mandated cane against the concrete but they had spent plenty of time talking the night before over the phone, and Jotaro had never been much of a morning person. They had stayed up late discussing sumo and how Jotaro’s favorite baseball team was doing this season. Remembering the conversation brought a smile to Kakyoin’s face, it was nice to have someone to talk about his hobbies with.
Unfortunately their peaceful walk was disrupted.
As the two of them walked closer to school more and more of their classmates also appeared walking in the same direction and it wasn’t long before a crowd of female students began to gather around them, or around Jotaro to be exact. They tried to crowd in close to him asking “Where he had been?” “Why had he disappeared?” “Was it true that his mother was sick?”, and Kakyoin could see Jotaro’s discomfort growing as the questions became more invasive.
Kakyoin wanted to speak up (perhaps give the two of them an exit) but as he opened his mouth to say something one of the girls, in her attempt to get Jotaro’s attention, caught Kakyoin in the side with her elbow. Now normally a skinny japanese teenage girl of average height carelessly throwing her elbow would not be enough to really hurt Kakyoin, but normally Kakyoin wasn’t two months out of a surgery that replaced half his organs and a section of his spine. As it was the girl’s light jab was enough to send him into excruciating pain. Kakyoin couldn’t contain a gasp as he was forced to lean heavily on his cane, the pain almost making his knees buckle. Jotaro was at his side so suddenly Kakyoin wondered if he had stopped time to achieve it. He had shoved aside the girl who had carelessly elbowed Kakyoin, and Kakyoin thought that was rather rude of Jotaro (it had just been a accident) but he was too busy trying to catch his breath to say anything. Jotaro wrapped his arm around one of Kakyoin’s, helping him upright himself, and as their eyes met a silent conversation began.
‘Should we go back and get your wheelchair?’
‘No’
Jotaro frowned
‘NO’ Kakyoin glared.
Jotaro’s frown deepened.
‘I am WALKING to school’ Kakyoin communicated with a stern look.
Jotaro gave an exasperated sigh, and with a small smile (that was only noticed by Kakyoin) adjusted his arm so Kakyoin could continue leaning on him. Together they continued to walk to school, leaving a group of confused fangirls behind them. Kakyoin was grateful for the way Jotaro supported him. He was there if Kakyoin needed him but never pushed or made him feel weak; Kakyoin really couldn’t believe how lucky he had gotten with a friend like Jotaro.
Jotaro couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be walking to school arm-in-arm with his boyfriend.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kakyoin stood nervously at the bus stop he was meeting Jotaro at. The two of them were heading to the local aquarium and it was the first time they were hanging out somewhere public as opposed to spending time at Jotaro's house. Kakyoin worried whether he would be up to walking around the aquarium. The last two days he had needed to use his wheelchair when he went out but he was feeling good today, and besides, if he remembered correctly this aquarium had plenty of benches to sit on around the exhibits. But Kakyoin still worried; Jotaro had seemed so excited about going to the aquarium together and Kakyoin didn’t want to force the trip to end early just because he got tired.
Kakyoin was so busy fretting he almost didn’t see Jotaro arrive. To an outside observer Jotaro seemed coolly indifferent, but Kakyoin could tell he was excited. There was something in the way he moved that just had a little bit more eagerness to it. Kakyoin ginned, being around Jotaro just automatically made him happier.
“Hey Jojo, excited to go to the aquarium?” Kakyoin asked.
Jotaro hummed and nodded yes, which was honestly more of a response than Kakyoin had expected considering it was still morning, then Kakyoin remembered something.
“Didn’t you have a marine biology magazine in the car at one point?”
Jotaro looked startled that Kakyoin had not only noticed his reading choices on that bizzare trip but still remembered it now.
“I like sea creatures” Jotaro said a little defensively.
Kakyoin smiled, “I think that’s pretty cool, you’ll have to tell me about the exhibits when we get to the aquarium.”
The tension drained out of Jotaro’s shoulders and after a moment's pause he spoke up.
“I think I want to be a marine biologist.”
Kakyoin turned and looked at Jotaro who was studiously not looking at Kakyoin, he seemed embarrassed. But Kakyoin grinned.
“I think you’d be an amazing marine biologist, you’re so smart I’m sure you could do it.”
Jotaro turned his face away from Kakyoin, but not fast enough for Kakyoin to miss the red at the tips of Jotaro’s ears. Kakyoin knew he had embarrassed Jotaro with the praise, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to be able to encourage his friend. Eventually Jotaro got over his embarrassment and lightly nudged Kakyoin’s arm; a silent ‘Thank You’. They waited in companionable silence until the bus arrived.
When they got to the aquarium Kakyoin wasn’t surprised to see it was busy. It was a Sunday and the weather was nice so of course people would be out doing things. Kakyoin had expected to have problems in the crowd as they entered the building but Jotaro almost acted as a bodyguard keeping anyone from tripping up Kakyoin’s cane. They were able to get their tickets into the aquarium without any problems and as they entered they saw one of the main exhibits on display, a huge, well lit, tank filled with jellyfish. Kakyoin looked in awe at the translucent and colorful jellyfish as he and Jotaro approached the tank.
“Did you know that jellyfish don’t have brains?” Jotaro asked quietly.
“Wait, really?” Kakyoin responded and Jotaro nodded. A mischievous smile grew on Kakyoin’s face.
“I wonder if they’re related to Polnareff.” Kakyoin laughed at his own joke while Jotaro smiled. They both loved their mutual friend dearly but Polnareff was just too easy to make fun of, especially when he wasn’t around to defend himself.
“Do you know more cool stuff about jellyfish?” Asked Kakyoin.
Jotaro hesitated for a moment but then began telling Kakyoin all the different facts he knew about the different species of jellyfish inside the tank, and then he went on to talk about the wild giant jellyfish found off the coast of Japan. Kakyoin had never heard Jotaro say so much before or talk for so long. Kakyoin stood enraptured not by the jellyfish, but by how animated Jotaro had become while he was talking. As Jotaro told him more about the jellyfish Kakyoin began to lean on his arm, allowing Jotaro’s larger frame to take some of the strain of standing off of his legs and back. Before their trip to Egypt Kakyoin would have never been so casual with another person’s personal space (and Jotaro would have never let anyone into his), but when you spend that long in the back of a small car together personal space becomes a non-issue.
Despite enjoying standing with Jotaro and learning about the jellyfish Kakyoin’s legs began to tire. He looked around to see if there was an empty bench nearby that they could sit on but the jellyfish exhibit was popular and all the benches had filled up. Kakyoin was eyeing a bench that had young family sitting on it (he felt they might be moving on to another exhibit soon) when Jotaro abruptly moved. Without thinking Kakyoin followed him to the nearest bench where a couple of young teenagers were horsing around. Jotaro stood menacingly above them.
“Scram.” Jotaro said with a hard look.
The boys paled and scrambled away to another exhibit. Kakyoin sat down gratefully and Jotaro sat next to him. Jotaro didn’t say anything but Kakyoin could feel his concerned stare.
“Just let me rest for a bit and then I’ll be fine.” Kakyoin reassured him. Jotaro relaxed a bit more next to him.
“Are there any other exhibits you want to see?”
Jotaro was silent for a moment before saying, “There's an exhibit that lets you feed manta rays.”
“Wait, really?” Kakyoin asked excitedly. Jotaro nodded and Kakyoin grinned.
“Oh we definitely have to do that!”
Jotaro and Kakyoin stayed at the aquarium until late into the afternoon going through all the exhibits while Kakyoin listened eagerly to every bit of trivia Jotaro knew about all the different creatures on display. Kakyoin was exhausted by the time they caught the bus home, but it was well worth it; he had never had so much fun with a friend before.
Jotaro was happy that their first real date had gone so well.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kakyoin had a dilemma. Miss Holly had invited Kakyoin to dinner so he and Jotaro could study together for an upcoming exam. Miss Holly was making curry, Kakyoin’s favorite of all her recipes. Miss Holly is an amazing cook. But Kakyoin was pretty sure that if he walked up the entire flight of stairs between his and Jotaro’s school and the Kujo household he was going to die. He had felt fine when he had left his house this morning with his just his cane, but now he was really regretting not using his wheelchair. He had felt more and more drained throughout the school day and just the walk back from school so far was exhausting.
Far too soon Jotaro and Kakyoin reached the base of the dreaded stairs. Kakyoin glared at them as if he could will them into being flat earth and then looked down to glare at his own legs for their betrayal. He was standing there debating whether it would be worth the agony he would surely be in tomorrow morning to just go ahead and climb the stairs when Jotaro’s back came into view. He was crouched down in front of Kakyoin with his hands out behind him in a universal gesture of ‘get on’.
While Kakyoin had paused at the foot of the stairs Jotaro had kept walking, not initially noticing that Kakyoin had stopped. When he did notice that Kakyoin wasn’t next to him Jotaro turned around and immediately noticed Kakyoin’s plight. He had seen all day that Kakyoin had been getting tired but had hoped that he would say something if he was too tired. Jotaro huffed in exasperation and climbed back down the stairs. And now he was crouched down in front of Kakyoin moving his hands in a way that communicated ‘just get on already’
Kakyoin hesitated a moment longer before climbing onto Jotaro’s back. Jotaro stood up easily holding Kakyoin’s weight as his big hands settle around Kakyoin’s legs. Kakyoin held his cane diagonally so it wouldn’t get in Jotaro’s way as he began to climb the stairs. As Jotaro began to walk up the stairs Kakyoin tensed momentarily, briefly worried that his weight on Jotaro’s back would send them both tumbling backwards, but then he remembered that Jotaro had done things much more difficult than this. Jotaro carried Kakyoin easily but began huffing about halfway up the stairs.
“Getting tired Jojo?” Kakyoin teased, “Maybe you should quit smoking.”
“Shut up.” Jotaro growled as Kakyoin laughed.
Then Jotaro adjusted his grip on Kakyoin’s legs and before Kakyoin could ask what he was doing Jotaro took off at a full sprint taking as many stairs at a time as he could while Kakyoin whooped with laughter. They made it to the top of the stairs in seconds and Jotaro was panting heavily.
“Okay Jojo, you can put me down.” Kakyoin said breathlessly as he got over his giggles, but Jotaro just started walking with Kakyoin still on his back.
“Jotaro, put me down.” Kakyoin insisted.
“Nope.” Jotaro said.
“Jotaro, put me down!” Kakyoin demanded.
“I refuse.” Jotaro responded.
They bickard back and forth like this all the way to Jotaro’s house, Kakyoin on Jotaro’s back all the while. Fortunately Kakyoin didn’t really want to be off of Jotaro’s back that badly, and Jotaro didn’t really want to put him down. Kakyoin knew that if he really had wanted to get down Jotaro would have let him, it was nice to have such a dependable friend.
Jotaro felt he was getting really good at this boyfriend thing.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jotaro was doing something he had never done before; he was making chocolates. His mother had been overjoyed when Jotaro had asked for her help in making perfect chocolates for his boyfriend. A few months ago her enthusiasm would have annoyed the hell out of him, but now he was just happy to see her up and healthy. It’s funny how almost losing someone can drastically change your perspective on things. As he carefully poured the liquid chocolate into a mold Jotaro thought back to the Valentines day he and Kakyoin had spent together in the hospital in Cairo.
Kakyoin had been in physical therapy all morning as his legs relearned how to cooperate with the rest of his body. The therapist had commented on how surprising it was that Kakyoin was recovering so quickly, even with The Speedwagon Foundation’s advanced medical technology helping, but Jotaro hadn’t been surprised at all. Kakyoin wasn’t the kind of person to give up easily, and when he decided he was going to do something he did it no matter what. It’s one of the things Jotaro loves about him. The two of them had returned to Kakyoin’s room to have lunch when Joseph had burst in.
Joseph had been very busy during the time that Kakyoin had been in recovery. Flying back to Japan, then New York, then France, and then back to Egypt (not to mention a few other stops along the way). He had been coordinating with the Speedwagon Foundation to ensure that cover stories were in place and clean up was handled. He also couldn’t help but check up on Holly’s health and make sure that Polnareff had made it safely home. But when ever he could Joseph would fly back to Egypt to see for himself how Kakyoin’s recovery was going.
Joseph entered Kakyoin’s hospital room flinging the door open and hollering loudly. Jotaro groaned; he loved his grandfather, but why couldn’t the old man do anything quietly? Kakyoin chuckled at Joseph's antics and that at least brought a smile to Jotaro’s face. Joseph dropped in to one of the chairs at Kakyoin’s bedside, he was smiling but there was lingering tiredness around his eyes. It occurred to Jotaro that his grandfather may have gotten very little sleep the last few months with all the traveling he’d been doing.
“Well boys I’ve got some good news for you!” Joseph announced grinning.
“If Kakyoin’s recovery keeps progressing at the rate it is then the two of you should be able to fly home before the end of the month!”
Jotaro felt stunned at those words. Home. He had almost forgotten what home was like. The Idea of being able to return to his house, to see his mom whole and happy again, even being able to go back to school! It all seemed so foreign to him, and yet it made him feel so relieved. Beside him Kakyoin had a giddy smile on his face, reflecting what Jotaro was feeling.
Joseph let out a laugh at their reactions,
“Well I suppose I don’t need to say much more than that! I have a few more things to take care of so I’ll let you boys eat your lunch.”
He stood and with a wink pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket and placed it on Kakyoin’s tray. As Joseph walked to the door Jotaro hesitated a moment before speaking up.
“Hey Old Man,”
Joseph stopped at the door, a questioning look on his face. Jotaro tugged the brim of his hat down before speaking.
“Make sure you get something to eat yourself, okay?”
Joseph grinned widely, “Ah Jotaro, don’t worry about me! I’ll find something to eat!”
Joseph’s bright energy should have reassured him, but in the back of his mind all Jotaro could remember was the unnatural stillness as Joseph had lain dead on a gurney. Kakyoin, as if reading Jotaro’s thoughts, spoke up.
“We just don’t want you wearing yourself out. It seems like you’ve been moving non-stop since you first left Egypt.”
Joseph’s smile faded and the weariness in his eyes bled through. He sighed,
“I’ll pick up some lunch at the hospital cafeteria and I promise to get at least a few hours sleep before my next flight, is that enough to get you two to stop worrying about an old man?”
Kakyoin looked at Jotaro questioningly, awaiting his final verdict. Jotaro gave a sharp nod and Joseph’s grin grew once again. He gave a jaunty salute and headed out the door, closing it behind him.
Jotaro turned back to his lunch but his mind was far away. He wondered if the old man really was okay or if he was just putting up a front. He wondered if his mom was okay or if she was worried about him. He wondered if Polnareff was okay all alone in france. As if sensing the dark turn Jotaro’s thoughts were taking Kakyoin nudged him and spoke up.
“You know what I just realized?”
Jotaro looked at him confused.
“Today is February 14th, it’s Valentine's day.”
Jotaro had a dawning realization, this was his and Kakyoin’s first Valentine's day as a couple and he hadn’t even realized it. Normally Jotaro didn’t buy into cheesey holidays like Valentine’s. He had always thought that they were a tacky waste of money and only suckers bought into that. But now sitting next to his boyfriend who had just cheerfully informed him of the occasion Jotaro felt like the absolute worst. Only a few weeks into this boyfriend thing and Jotaro was already messing it up. Jotaro was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of crinkling foil and he looked up to see Kakyoin unwrapping the chocolate bar Joseph had given him and snapping it in half. He offered the broken off half of the chocolate bar to Jotaro.
“Happy Valentine’s Day Jojo.” Kakyoin said with a grin.
Jotaro felt that surely his face must be bright red and his hand shaking as he took the chocolate from Kakyoin. After Jotaro took the chocolate Kakyoin looked back to his lunch, his own cheeks lightly tinged with red. Jotaro thought Kakyoin’s embarrassed blush was an even better Valentine’s present than the chocolate and sat dazed for a moment just staring at Kakyoin as he began to eat his lunch. Then he realized that he was still holding the chocolate, which was starting to melt in his hand. Jotaro took a bite out of the chocolate. It was incredibly sweet in the way only cheep american chocolate can be, but to Jotaro it was the best chocolate he had ever tasted. He knew he would have to do something special in return for White Day.
And so here Jotaro was, a full month later, waiting as the chocolate set so they would be ready for decoration. With Holly’s help he had made dark chocolate bonbons (dark chocolate being Kakyoin’s favorite) and had a piping bag filled with green dyed white chocolate to make patterns over the bonbons with. He was going to try to imitate the patterns on Hierophant Green’s skin on top of the chocolate.
Jotaro felt nervous.
What if he messed up? What if Kakyoin didn’t like the chocolates? What if - Jotaro’s thoughts cut off as he felt a presence over his shoulder. He turned to see Star Platinum holding the piping bag of green-tinged white chocolate and grinning brightly. Jotaro took a deep breath. Star Platinum could help him get the decorations right. He knew he’d gotten Kakyoin’s favorite kind of chocolate, and even if Kakyoin didn’t like them he wouldn’t hate him for it. Jotaro relaxed, he’d get the chocolates done and see Kakyoin tomorrow.
The next morning Jotaro walked to where he and Kakyoin would meet before heading to school, chocolates in hand. As he came to the meeting spot Kakyoin wasn’t there waiting for him as usual. Jotaro waited a few moments, incase Kakyoin had just been running late that morning, but after a while could only assume Kakyoin wasn’t coming. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Kakyoin’s days were categorized Good, Bad, or Awful. On Kakyoin’s Bad days one of his parents would drive him to school so as to lessen the stress to his body. Normally on a Bad day Kakyoin would call Jotaro’s house ahead so Jotaro would know not to wait for him at their meeting spot, but Jotaro had been so eager to get out the door this morning he must have missed the call. Jotaro could only hope that Kakyoin wasn’t having an Awful day and they’d still see each other at school.
As Jotaro began to walk to school the usual hoard of teenage girls began to form around him. He tensed as one by one they began to notice they chocolates in his hands. Soon the whispers started, “Did Jotaro really have White Day chocolates in his hand?” “Who were they for?” “Was it one of them?” And then the bickering started, “Why would Jotaro bring chocolates for you?!” “You’re too ugly for chocolates from Jotaro!” “Well you’re too stupid!” Back and forth on and on it went until Jotaro couldn’t take anymore of it.
“They’re not for any of you!” Jotaro declared with steely eyes.
The girls fell back in confusion as Jotaro continued to walk to school. Not for any of them? Then who could they possibly be for? Whispers followed Jotaro all the way to school but he did his best to ignore it. Fortunately none of the girls tried to approach him directly.
Finally Jotaro arrived at his and Kakyoin’s home room, only to be disappointed to see that Kakyoin wasn’t already there. As the school bell rang and the teacher called for the class’ attention Kakyoin still had not arrived. Jotaro realized with a sinking disappointment that Kakyoin was more than likely having an Awful day and been forced to miss school entirely. With a small frown Jotaro carefully put the homemade chocolates in his bag for safe keeping until the end of the school day. He decided if Kakyoin couldn’t come to school than he’d just have to go to Kakyoin.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kakyoin was absolutely miserable. He had known leaving the hospital that days like this were a possibility but actually having one was another thing entirely. He had woken up that morning in absolute agony. After using Hierophant Green to get his medication Kakyoin at least was able to pull himself together enough to actually be able to speak when his mother came in to check on him.
Kakyoin’s mother was a tiny 150 cm half-Irish half-Japanese woman named Kakyoin Midori who absolutely adored her son. It had been the worst day of her life when he mysteriously disappeared and she had doted on him since his return. Kakyoin had really come to rely on her and felt awful for lying to her about why he had gone missing. The Speedwagon Foundation had told his parents that he had been kidnapped by an organ smuggling ring that had tagged him during their trip in Egypt. It was a little dramatic for Kakyoin’s taste but it covered why he had needed such drastic medical intervention and how he wound up back in Cairo, so he supposed he couldn’t complain. It’s not like he could tell his parents that he’d gone on a 50 day long road trip to kill a vampire, they’d think he was crazy.
Kakyoin lay in bed listening to the radio as he wondered what Jotaro was doing right now. He was probably leaving school. Kakyoin sighed; he’d much rather be walking home with Jotaro than laying in bed. He’d felt guilty all morning when he found out his mom hadn’t been able to call the Kujo household before Jotaro had left for school. He really hoped that Jotaro hadn’t waited too long for him that morning.
Kakyoin heard the front door open and his mother speaking with someone, but he couldn’t make out the other voice. It didn’t occur to him who it might be until there was a light knock at his bedroom door.
“Come in.” Kakyoin called tiredly
The door swung open and Jotaro stood in the doorframe.
“Jojo! Hey, come in.” Kakyoin smiled, stilled tired but happy to see his friend.
“Did you bring today's homework for me? I would hate to get behind again when I’ve just caught up.”
Jotaro nodded and set a thin stack of papers on Kakyoin’s nightstand. Kakyoin noticed that Jotaro seemed nervous about something. It almost made him feel suspicious, but it didn’t feel like ‘Enemy Stand’ nervous. At the same time Kakyoin felt he had seen this kind of nervous energy from Jotaro before; he just couldn’t think of where. Kakyoin patted a spot next to him on the bed and Jotaro sat down.
“Did anything happen at school?” Kakyoin asked, “Today is White Day right? I’m sure there must have been some drama.”
Jotaro tensed up at the mention of White Day and the tips of his ears turned red the way Kakyoin knew they did when Jotaro was either nervous or embarrassed. Kakyoin didn’t press but waited patiently for Jotaro. Without a word Jotaro reached into his own school bag and pulled out a box of homemade chocolates wrapped in a shimmering green ribbon. Still without speaking he extended the box towards Kakyoin. Kakyoin’s brain shut down. He couldn’t comprehend why Jotaro would be giving him White Day chocolates. Slowly he managed to pull himself together and splutter out a question.
“W-why?” It wasn’t the most eloquent thing Kakyoin had ever said but it got the job done.
Jotaro used his free hand to pull the brim of his cap down over his flushed face, clearly embarrassed.
“Well, you gave me chocolate on Valentines Day. I’m suppose to give you chocolate on White Day.”
“Yes, but that’s only true if we. . were. . . dating.”
Kakyoin’s sentence trailed off as the gears began turning in his head, but it was too late. Jotaro looked up to see the wide eyed confusion on Kakyoin’s face, and then the gears began turning in his head. Jotaro grew more and more tense as they both stared at each other, neither of them said anything until suddenly it was as if he had just vanished into thin air, chocolates abandoned behind him.
Kakyoin distantly noted that Jotaro must have used Star Platinum’s The World to have fled that quickly but before he could examine that more closely the rest of his thought process caught up to him and Kakyoin realized he had been dating Jotaro Kujo for at least the last month AND HADN’T REALIZED IT! Kakyoin was mortified; he was horrified! What if Jotaro hated him? What if Jotaro never wanted to talk to him again? WHAT IF - Kakyoin was in a full panic when Kakyoin Midori walked into her son’s room wondering if that nice Kujo boy was going to stay for dinner only to see her son almost hyperventilating. She hurried to his side asking what was wrong. After a moment Kakyoin pulled himself together enough to croak out a single response.
“Mom, I messed up.” Kakyoin felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He had ruined everything.
Kakyoin’s mother shushed him gently, wiping away his tears. “Come on now, it can’t be that bad can it? Tell me about and we’ll see what we can do to fix it.”
And so Kakyoin told her everything starting from Valentines day in the hospital. How he had already at that point had a huge crush on Jotaro and seeing him look so worried had made him want to to do something to cheer him up. So Kakyoin had offered half the chocolate bar Joseph had been nice enough to leave behind and wished him a Happy Valentine's only half joking, not realizing that Jotaro had taken it seriously! So the last month Jotaro had thought they were dating and Kakyoin had no idea! And today Jotaro had come with White Day chocolates and Kakyoin had to ruin everything with his big mouth!
“Jotaro must hate me now.” Kakyoin groaned.
“Well dear, I have to admit; I thought you two were dating as well. I was just waiting for you to tell me before I said anything about it” Midori sheepishly admitted.
Kakyoin groaned again and put his now bright red face in his hands, “Did everyone know we were dating but me?”
Midori patted her son consolingly on the shoulder, “Oh it’s alright, I’m sure you two can fix this.” She said encouragingly.
“How?” Kakyoin groaned disparagingly.
Midori gave him a wide grin, “Well I have an idea.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jotaro was absolutely miserable. He finally understood how those girls that confessed to him felt, he really did! He remembered how many of them after confessing to him didn’t show up to school the next day and Jotaro was sure that if school had been in session that day he wouldn’t have gone either. He had stayed curled up under the blankets all morning and he planned on staying that way until well into the afternoon. Honestly, Jotaro would probably stay under his blankets on his futon for the rest of his life if he thought he could get away with it. Kakyoin’s confused face sprung to Jotaro’s mind. He groaned and buried his head under his pillow. He was such an idiot. Why did he think Kakyoin would ever want to date him?
Jotaro was so caught up is his disparaging thoughts that he almost missed the sound of a quiet knocking at his bedroom door. He almost yelled at who ever it was to go away before realizing it was probably his mom, he still couldn’t bring himself to yell at her. So Jotaro climbed out from beneath his blankets, trudged to his bedroom door, slid it open, and - Kakyoin was standing in front of him. Jotaro froze like a deer in the headlights. For a moment he thought he might be hallucinating, but deep in his heart of hearts Jotaro knew the universe wasn’t that kind. Jotaro’s mind was in such a state of blind panic he almost missed what Kakyoin was holding in his hands, a small box of homemade chocolates with purple ribbon wrapped around it. Fortunately the dull roaring in Jotaro’s ears didn’t drown out what Kakyoin said next.
“I know it’s a day late. But Jojo, will you accept these chocolates?”
Kakyoin look hesitant and a little sheepish, but he was also tensed in a way that showed he was worried about what Jotaro would say. Despite it all he looked unwavering directly into Jotaro eyes.
Jotaro stood stunned. After yesterday he hadn’t dared to hope something like this could happen. He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know what to do. Jotaro stood there in stunned silence staring until he noticed the slight tremble running through Kakyoin’s body. Without thinking Jotaro reached out just in time to catch Kakyoin as his knees gave out. Jotaro moved to help Kakyoin to sit down on his futon and noted that the other boy’s cane was nowhere in sight. Jotaro’s brow furled in concern, worry for Kakyoin’s health temporarily overriding personal drama. As they both settled on the futon Kakyoin once again looked Jotaro in the eyes and with a determined expression on his face asked,
“Jojo, will you accept my chocolates?”
Jotaro had so many things he wanted to say but they all crashed together in his mind and none of them came out his mouth. Jotaro did the only thing he could think of to communicate all the things he felt. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Kakyoin’s lips. Jotaro leaned back almost immediately afterwards, nervous beyond words of Kakyoin’s reaction. As a moment passed and neither of them said anything Jotaro’s mind started working itself into the beginnings of a panic.
Suddenly, Kakyoin grabbed Jotaro by the front of his shirt and slammed their lips together in a fierce kiss. Their noses were smashed together and the angle wasn’t the best but Jotaro was deliriously happy. With Jotaro going near boneless in relief the ferocity of Kakyoin’s kiss sent them both tumbling backwards onto the futon, Kakyoin on top of Jotaro. They broke off their kiss, both of them laughing. Kakyoin sat up and looking down at Jotaro and saw him with his hair mussed, cheeks a light pink, and still breathlessly chuckling and Kakyoin thought ‘That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.’ Jotaro looked up at Kakyoin who was red faced and dishevelled but grinning triumphantly from attop Jotaro and and thought, ‘That is the hottest thing I have ever seen.’ But then the moment passed and Kakyoin flopped onto the futon next to Jotaro still grinning.
“Hey Jojo.”
“Hm?” was the best Jotaro could manage in response, words still failing him.
“I guess you could say I really fell for you!” Kakyoin said, grin growing even wider.
Jotaro snorted as Kakyoin laughed at his own pun. As Kakyoin’s giggles faded away Jotaro slowly reached out his hand and laced his fingers with Kakyoin’s. They sat in companionable silence for a moment before Kakyoin spoke up.
“Hey Jojo?”
“Hm?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize we had been dating for the last month.”
“Actually. . . it’s been about two and a half months.” Jotaro said slowly.
“What!?” Kakyoin exclaim, sitting up to look Jotaro in the eyes.
Jotaro looked away, ears slowly turning red in embarrassment.
“I-I confessed after you woke up in the hospital. You said you liked me back so . . .I assumed that ment we were dating.” Jotaro mumbled.
“Jotaro” Kakyoin said slowly, “I was drugged out of my mind when I woke up in the hospital. I barely remember you being there, let alone us having a conversation.”
“Oh.” said Jotaro.
“Yeah.” said Kakyoin.
Kakyoin gave Jotaro’s hand a reassuring squeeze and with a smile said,
“Maybe next time you want to have an important conversation with me, don’t do it when I’m on enough pain killers to drop a horse?”
Jotaro nodded, still too embarrassed for words. Kakyoin lay back down on the futon, his thumb gently stroking over the back of Jotaro’s hand. Jotaro turned to look at Kakyoin directly.
“Hey, Kakyoin?”
“Yeah Jojo?”
“We are definitely dating now right?”
Kakyoin chuckled, “Yeah Jojo, we are definitely dating now.”
“Then, can I call you Noriaki?”
Kakyoin turned on his side to meet Jotaro’s serious gaze.
“You know Jojo, I think I would really like that.”
Jotaro smiled and and raised his free hand to gently stroke Kakyio- Noriaki’s hair. The two of them didn’t say anything for sometime, they didn’t need to. When conversation started up again it was about mindless things like school work and a new videogame Noriaki was interested in. The entire time their hands remained intertwined. They stayed that way until Holly came to ask if they wanted to come to dinner.
Jotaro was so glad Noriaki was his boyfriend.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ten years later Jotaro stood on the Morioh docks with Koichi, Okuyasu, Josuke, and Joseph as they waited for the last passenger on the Speedwagon Foundation boat to disembark. Jotaro was tense as he waited on the dock, but none of the boys noticed. They were all to preoccupied with the mystery of the last passenger. According to Jotaro the last passenger on the boat was his spouse. It had been a big enough surprise to hear that Joseph Joestar was coming to Morioh, but to also learn that another powerful stand user who was also married to Jotaro was coming as well had the three of them so curious they almost couldn’t stand it.
Josuke, upon hearing that his large nephew was married, immediately imagined some kind of gorgeous supermodel; after all, Jotaro was both rich and handsome so that made sense to Josuke. Okuyasu, hearing that Jotaro was married to a strong stand user, picture someone as strong and imposing as Jotaro (and maybe that looked a little bit like Jotaro in a dress). Koichi (being the most level headed of the three) thought that Jotaro’s spouse would probably be someone both intelligent and skilled; he was the closest. However all of them were surprised when the person who approached the ramp to disembark did so not standing up, but in a wheelchair. They watched as the red haired man wheeled his wheelchair down the ramp and approached Jotaro.
Even before he stopped his wheelchair Noriaki could see the concern in Jotaro’s expression.
“Bad day?” Jotaro asked softly.
“No.” Noriaki replied, “But it’s easier to just use the chair rather than try to balance with the cane while out on the open ocean.”
As he spoke a Speedwagon Foundation employee approached with Noriaki’s luggage, a collapsible cane strapped to the top. Noriaki extended his hand to Jotaro.
“Help me up?”
Jotaro gently wrapped his larger hand around Noriaki’s and pulled him upright. Noriaki leaned on Jotaro’s arm as he undid the latch to extend his cane. Upright and cane in hand Noriaki turned to look Jotaro in the eye.
“So, want to explain why I had to find out you had called for back up through Joseph instead of hearing it from you directly?”
To the teenagers listening to this conversation the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but Jotaro knew Noriaki wasn’t mad, annoyed maybe, but not mad. Noriaki waited patiently while Jotaro found the words to explain.
“I . . . didn’t think there was anyone to watch Jolyne.”
Noriaki’s annoyance with his husband faded somewhat. Ever since Jolyne came into their lives Jotaro had worried endlessly for her safety. There was a short list of people they both trusted to watch over her and Noriaki could see how with Joseph already coming to Morioh Jotaro would assume there wouldn’t be another stand user they could ask to watch over their daughter.
“Well, luckily Uncle Polnareff was already stateside and doesn't mind staying longer to watch over his favorite niece.”
At Noriaki’s words the tension that had been gathering in Jotaro’s shoulders bled away. He knew that Jolyne was taken care of and that Noriaki had understood his intention. Even after all these years together Jotaro couldn’t stand the idea of them misunderstanding each other and Noriaki being upset with him.
Satisfied that he and his husband understood one another Noriaki turned to the three confused teenagers standing with Joseph.
“Oh, you three must be Koichi, Josuke, and Okuyasu.” Noriaki gave a polite bow, “I’m Kakyoin Noriaki, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The three boys gave polite bows and automatically replied with a “Pleased to meet you” in return. Noriaki grinned brightly.
“Well I don’t know about Joseph, but I’m starving. Is there someplace we can go get lunch?”
Koichi spoke up hesitantly, “Well there’s a cafe nearby, if that’s alright?”
“That sounds perfect.” Noriaki replyed as he linked his hand with Jotaro’s.
The six of them headed off towards the cafe. The teenagers, slowly warming up to Noriaki’s presence and began chatting eagerly with their exciting new guest, wanting know more about this interesting person who was apparently married to Jotaro. Joseph walked beside Josuke, enjoying the conversation and walking with his son.
Jotaro just enjoyed walking hand-in-hand with his husband.