Chapter Text
A year of college gone by was nothing, really. It just meant was Caesar had more time to work, and a little bit of time to relax. Well, perhaps it meant a little more than he’d like to admit.
The truth was someone important to Caesar lived a way aways from their school. He missed his friend much more than he’d like to admit, so much so that it kept him from flirting with the flow that he used to. What would it matter, after all, if he weren’t spending his free time with his good friend.
The first domino was knocked over when Caesar had called his friend’s grandmother, his foot tapping on the floor nervously and his finger between his teeth as the phone buzzed.
She answered with a sweet “hello?”
“Hello Erina, how are you today?”
“Oh, Caesar dear, I’m feeling lovely. Was there something you need?”
“Ah, yes, I was wondering if Jojo is free any time soon?”
“Yes, of course! The lazy thing is so bored lately, he hasn’t gone anywhere since school got out. Did you want to come see him?”
Caesar smiled against the phone. That sounded just like the Joseph he knew.
“Yes, tomorrow afternoon if possible.”
“I’m sure he’d be delighted to see you. I’ll let him know.”
“Thank you, have a good evening.”
“You too, goodbye!”
“Goodbye.”
The next afternoon, Caesar drove to Joseph’s house. It took an hour whenever he would drive there, but he didn’t really mind. It was worth it, after all. Especially after all the bonding he and Joseph did during college. He even saved Joseph’s life, he remembered, although it wasn’t something he could forget. He didn’t like to think about it, though. It brought back too many emotions in him.
The longer he drove, the more things reminded Caesar of Joseph. He remembered how, whenever the light had turned green, Joseph would yell to Caesar. “Go, go, go!” he would say, practically bouncing Caesar’s car. Caesar didn’t like to admit it, but he cracked a little smile whenever Joseph did that.
Several restaurants reminded Caesar of Joseph, too. One was the small teriyaki place past their school that Caesar took Joseph to after school every once in awhile. While Caesar was adventurous in his eating, Joseph was very picky and always ate the chicken katsu that made him lick his lips, and his eyes shine like stars.
The bookstore along the road brought back memories of Joseph reading a comic book as he leaned on Caesar, while Caesar read a bad romance novel.
Even if they were stuck in silence, Caesar would rather be with Joseph than by himself.
He missed him that much, he supposed.
When Caesar pulled into the Joestar’s driveway, he felt himself getting tense. There was nothing to worry about, he told himself. In fact, he should be happy to see Joseph again. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, took a deep breath, and finally got out of his car.
There was a loud, booming voice above Caesar. He looked up.
“Hey! Caesar!” It was Joseph. “C’mon, climb up!”
Caesar took a deep breath and covered his eyes with a hand.
“What? Did I scare you?” teased Joseph. His laugh was full of energy that swept Caesar away and pulled adrenaline through his veins.
“Absolutely not. I’ll climb.”
Joseph just watched with his hands under his chin, a devilish grin spreading across his face.
Caesar used the tree nearby to swing himself over to the roof, and then he swung his leg over to climb the overhang. There was one more level before he was finally face to face with Joseph, and Caesar couldn’t help but smile.
Then Caesar was falling. All of his blood went to his head, his arms flailing helplessly, his teeth gritted together, his anxiety levels soaring --
But Joseph grabbed his hands and pulled him through the open window. Holy crap, Caesar thought. He could have broken a few bones just now. Instead, he was laying on top of Joseph in his characteristically messy room, and Caesar couldn’t tell which heartbeat was his own. All he knew was that his whole body was warm, and that Joseph still had that awful scar across his cheek.
“I admit, that had me pretty scared,” said Joseph, his cheeks pink and his smile wide. Caesar’s eyebrows rose.
“As if you get scared less than I do?” he asked, a smirk forming across his lips. He rolled off of Joseph and sat up.
“Your room looks the same as the last time I was here,” Caesar said, looking around at all the comics and blankets on the floor.
“Yeah, well…” Joseph said, sitting up next to Caesar. “I haven’t been able to find the energy… I guess.”
“You guess?” asked Caesar, though he understood perfectly well what Joseph had meant. When Caesar gets down, he can’t really see himself keeping his place clean. In fact, it had been an awful mess until he decided to clean it once he realized Joseph would be coming over.
But Joseph just shrugged his shoulders in response, his eyes still down. This wasn’t like him. Where were the smiles and jokes? Caesar sincerely hoped they would return, despite the fact that he always tried not to laugh at them. He looked at Joseph’s sad face, and punched him in the shoulder.
“Why don’t we see a movie, Jojo?” Caesar asked. He pulled out two tickets from his wallet, and showed them to his friend. “They gave me some free tickets from my location.”
Joseph suddenly perked up, his lips quirking into a wide oval of a smile. “Oh my god, I haven’t been to the movies since… since…”
Caesar laughed. “Since the end of the school year.”
“Right! Let’s go!” Joseph cheered. He lept to his feet and ran over to his sock drawer.
“I’ll go downstairs and let your Granny know.”
“Be there in a minute!”
Caesar led Joseph into the movie theater that had been placed conveniently somewhere between their cities. It was at least good for Caesar, because he had a little bit of a break before driving again. Joseph bought a drink for them to share and a large popcorn, despite Caesar’s pleas to let him cover it. “Next time,” Joseph had told him, the straw of the drink in his mouth, “I promise you.”
In the dark room, Joseph spent perhaps too much time making fun of all the ads on-screen. Caesar told him to hush and be quiet, but he couldn’t help but smile anyway. He’d missed these silly antics, even if they did bother everyone around them. When Joseph stopped, Caesar looked at him. He was running his tongue over his braces with a determined look on his face.
“What’s wrong with you?” asked Caesar.
“There’s popcorn stuck in my braces,” responded Joseph. It made Caesar laugh. He remembered braces. They were pretty awful, especially when it came to eating pretty much anything. He was glad he’d had that taken care of way back when.
“Drink a lot of soda, maybe that will help,” Caesar said.
The ads came to a stop, to Joseph and Caesar’s relief. Joseph bumped Caesar with his elbow. “I thought they’d never play the movie! Capitalism sucks.” Caesar laughed as quietly as he could, and hushed Joseph again.
“Quiet, Jojo, everyone can hear you now,” he said.
“Sorry,” Joseph whispered, a guilty smile across his lips.
Joseph had a really good time watching the new Power Rangers movie. It was just as corny as the old show, he remembered, but there was something really cool about it at the same time. He loved how all the characters were distinct and developed, which surprised him, considering it was a Power Rangers film. He ended up liking the movie so much that he ended up crying as the credits rolled. “It was so good, Caesar!” he said, ugly tears pouring down his cheeks, and his lips quivering. He was shaking Caesar’s shoulders.
Caesar laughed and patted Joseph’s back. “I’m glad you had fun, Jojo.”
Joseph didn’t say much, but he pressed his forehead against Caesar’s shoulder and sniffled.
“Let’s go to my place for dinner,” Caesar said. Joseph just nodded.
On the way to Caesar’s house, the two friends listened to one of their favorite albums. Caesar noticed that Joseph kept staring at the window, probably watching the stars in the sky, and the lights from the city. He smiled. Joseph probably hadn’t been for a long drive for a while.
Joseph began tracing something on the window. Caesar watched when he could, at a light or during heavy traffic. Joseph was drawing Power Rangers. Just two, Caesar noticed.
“Which Power Rangers are those?” Caesar asked.
Joseph smiled. “Me and you,” he said.
Caesar laughed, his happiness filling up his lungs. “I like that. What colors are we?”
“You’re orange, Caesar, and I’m marine blue!” Joseph laid back in his seat. “Our favorite colors, of course.”
“Ah, so you remembered,” Caesar said. His laugh still pushed through him.
“I’ll never forget!” Joseph said.
Caesar didn’t doubt him.
By the time they made it to Caesar’s apartment, it had started to rain. Joseph made a strange noise that was between a laugh and a scream, covering up his head with his arms. Caesar smiled, and calmly headed underneath the roof.
“C’mon, Jojo, you’re fine,” he said. “Let’s go inside.”
They went up the steps. Caesar unlocked the door, and they slipped into the apartment.
“I’m gonna put on my pajamas!” Joseph said. He dashed into Caesar’s room with all his stuff, and closed the door behind him. Caesar shook his head, smiling, and went to his kitchen to prepare for cooking.
“Want some pasta?” he called to his room.
“That homemade stuff? Hell yeah!” Joseph called out. He loved the floury noodles Caesar made. He had once said they were his favorite.
When Joseph came out of Caesar’s room the noodles were cooking in their pot. “Sit down,” Caesar said. “Want some strawberries in milk?”
Joseph nodded. “Mm! I missed strawberries in milk!”
This made Caesar laugh. “You could have just made it at home, you know.”
“I know,” Joseph said, “It wouldn’t be the same!”
Joseph seemed to be having a lot of fun watching TV and eating his strawberries in milk. He wasn’t even looking at his phone, but he talked with Caesar instead.
“I’m so happy we’re hanging out again,” Joseph said. He took a bite of a strawberry, and wiped his face with his sleeve.
“I am, too,” Caesar said. “What are you watching?”
Joseph smiled. “Some really dumb western show.”
“Ah. You like those, don’t you?” Caesar asked.
“Sure do. I love shootouts.”
Caesar smiled, and checked the pasta again.
When the pasta was done, Caesar displayed it artistically on a plate with Joseph’s favorite white sauce. On the side was steamed broccoli and chicken, which Caesar knew Joseph loved with all of his pasta. He slid it on the coffee table in front of Joseph with a bow.
“Would you care for anything to drink, signor?” Caesar asked.
Joseph was giggling and clapping wildly, his smile large and genuine. “Got any juice?” he asked.
“I have strawberry, orange, and fruit punch.”
“Gimme that fruit punch flavor, please!” Joseph said. He was already digging into his food.
Later, Caesar brought his own plate of food and sat next to Joseph. They were watching the western show together, Joseph laughing throughout as Caesar over-analyzed it jokingly. Caesar wasn’t fully immersed, however, as he found himself looking at Joseph’s scarred cheek whenever there was a shootout in the show. He kind of felt like he should cry.
Caesar was more focused on Joseph’s scar than he thought, because Joseph noticed it.
“What’s wrong, Caesar?” he asked, a little frown on his lips.
“Ah, nothing, Jojo. Sorry,” Caesar said.
He didn’t want Joseph to worry.
Joseph fell asleep later, his cheek pressed up against Caesar’s shoulder. He had a blanket over him, because earlier he had been complaining about how cold Caesar’s apartment was. Caesar’s heart raced as Joseph slept against him. He watched over him for a while, especially looking at the scar on his cheek. It still looked awful.
He pondered the events that led up to it. Tears started to form in his eyes, so he stopped and wiped them away.
Caesar moved from the couch, careful not to wake Joseph. He rested his head down on one of the couch pillows, fixed the blankets, and wandered off to get ready for bed.
Caesar found it very difficult to get to sleep that night.
He kept thinking about Jojo, and wondered if he thought about his scar as much as Caesar did. He hoped it didn’t keep Jojo awake at night like it kept him. He rolled in bed over and over again. It took him a few hours to finally fall asleep.
Before Caesar knew it, he was hearing Jojo’s voice.
“Caesar, come on! Wake up!” he was saying. Caesar opened one eye, and then the other, and then rubbed them both. Joseph was standing next to his bed, looking very determined about… something.
“What’s the hurry?” he asked.
“I’m complaining!” Joseph pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I wanted to talk for hours until we were both so tired we fell asleep…” Joseph’s expression fell, and he started to look sad.
“Sorry, Jojo…” Caesar said, giving his friend an apologetic look. “I promise you, we can do that next time. Alright?”
Joseph was still frowning, but he nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
“You seemed really sleepy, anyway, so I thought you should keep sleeping…” Caesar said.
Joseph sat down next to Caesar in bed. “Well, what are we doing today?” he asked.
“We’re not doing anything until we’re ready to,” Caesar said, smiling at Joseph’s alligator-patterned pajamas. “I have to work at five, but until then we can find something to do.”
“Like what?” Joseph asked, tilting his head.
“Maybe we can play a game, or something. It’s supposed to rain all day,” Caesar said.
“Aw man, more rain?” Joseph pouted. “Ah well, I’ll get dressed then!” he said, he got up to find his clothes for the day and wandered off into the bathroom. Caesar got ready, too, wearing a basic orange t-shirt and a pair of rolled-up jeans, and then looked in his closet for some games to play.
When Joseph was done getting dressed, he and Caesar had cereal for breakfast, and then Caesar got dressed. When they were finished getting ready, they went to the couch to play chess.
Joseph was frowning down at the chess board whenever it was his turn, his mouth in the shape of a little upside-down letter V. Caesar laughed at him.
“Angry ‘cause you can’t cheat at chess?” Caesar asked, a little smirk on his face.
Joseph just stared him down, like a cat and its prey. He didn’t say anything.
“Guess so, then,” Caesar said.
Caesar ended up beating Joseph at chess, to with Joseph responded by curling up on the ground. Caesar just laughed and patted Joseph on the back, saying “maybe next time.”
“Well, let’s get you home, huh?” he asked.
“Yeah… okay,” Joseph said. He got up, dusted himself off, and went to Caesar’s room to gather his things.
Caesar wondered why Joseph was so quiet during the ride home. Perhaps he was still upset about chess, or maybe he was thinking about that silly show he watched the night before. Still, it worried Caesar, and he couldn’t help but look over at Joseph whenever they stopped at a light.
They were halfway to Joseph’s place when he finally spoke.
“Can I see you again soon, Caesar?” he asked, staring out the window at the cloudy sky.
“Of course you can, Jojo,” Caesar said. “Next time I’m off, I’ll tell you.”
“I miss hangin’ out with you,” Joseph said awfully quietly, almost as if he didn’t want Caesar to hear it.
“I miss it, too,” Caesar said. “More than you could probably imagine.”
Joseph laughed, but Caesar could tell there was a sadness to it.
“Maybe next time, we should have a sleepover at my house.”
“I would love that,” Caesar said.
When they made it to Joseph’s house, he seemed a little sad getting out of the car.
“It’s alright,” Caesar said. “I’ll walk you.”
They walked up to the door, and Joseph was oddly quiet. It had really been a long time. Caesar was sad to part, too, but he was happy they would see each other again very soon.
“Come here,” Caesar said as they got to the door. He reached out and hugged Joseph, pulling him close. “I’ll see you soon. Call me tonight, okay?” he said.
“Mhm,” Joseph said. He hesitantly pulled away from Caesar, giving him a sad smile. “Bye, Caesar.”
“Bye, Jojo. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Joseph went inside, and Caesar couldn’t help but feel his eyes well up with tears as he walked to his car.
He really was going to miss Joseph, even if he somehow saw him the next day.