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His mission for the night was simple, all he had to do was acquire information about the possible development of warfare technologies by the Joestar family. The easiest way to obtain answers was always befriending the weakest link and, once drunk enough, get them to cough up the facts.
In this case, the bastard son of Joseph Joestar, Higashikata Josuke, fit the bill. The exact circumstances surrounding their relationship were uncertain, but Josuke had been called to live with the Joestars once his existence was known, well into his teenage years. It was rumored that the boy did not want anything to do with the family, but he was forced to comply once his older sister renounced the title of heir.
Rohan let out a sigh, things had been quite boring lately. He hadn’t been assigned any dangerous or difficult missions, which frustrated him greatly. Anyone else would have been glad to have less of a workload on them, but Rohan was not like everyone else. More than anything, he loved working. Although it gave him more time to work on his manga, it also left him with fewer things to experience. In other words, it meant he had a smaller number of things he could write about.
He took one final look in the mirror, making sure everything was in order. It definitely wasn’t his preferred style of clothing, it was too plain for that, but he had to admit he still looked damn good. He wore a tight-fitting double breasted white suit with white pants. The buttons on his jacket had been replaced with golden pen nibs and he wore a gold and black striped tie. After making sure everything was in order one more time, he walked towards his car.
-
He stepped out of his car and walked towards the doors of the venue. A muscular, white haired French man stood watch at the front door. He was wearing sunglasses even though it was well past sundown and held a small book in his right hand. Once Rohan was close enough, the man greeted him. “Salut, monsieur. May I have your name?”
Rohan put on his most polite smile. “Good evening, my name is Shiranabe Rohan.” He always used his first name on his missions, but his last name was always assigned to him by the agency. The man looked through his book briefly and nodded to himself. “Oh! Yes, Mr. Shiranabe. Welcome, have a nice evening,” the man said, a grin on his face. Rohan stepped inside with a nod.
The locale was filled with well known people from around the world. It was meant to be a party celebrating Joseph Joestar’s birthday, but these kinds of activities always had hidden purposes. This wasn’t what he was here to investigate, though, at least not directly. His eyes searched the room for the man he was there to converse with. Due to his history and unconventional integration to the family, there weren’t really any pictures of him anywhere. All Rohan had to go on was the fact that he had a pompadour.
It wasn’t too hard to spot him, he stood by the the far wall, surrounded by women of all ages. Josuke’s hair was quite a sight, but what struck him the most were the man’s gorgeous violet eyes. The rest of his face was handsome as well and he seemed to have fit, well toned physique. All of that explained his popularity with the opposite gender, he guessed. His fashion sense was quite bold, from what he could see. Josuke wore a slim fit floral patterned suit and pants. His clothes were black, covered in lilac and pale pink flowers. It wasn’t something he would personally wear, but he did find it aesthetically pleasing.
Rohan walked around aimlessly for some time, drinking and chatting with various strangers in the party in order to blend in properly. He glanced over in Josuke’s general direction every once in a while, waiting for a chance to approach him. Rohan managed to obtain a lot of information from the guests at the party, most of them suspected the Joestars of getting into the weapon business. One guest even went as far as to tell him Joseph Joestar had personally told him he was, but Rohan needed to make sure before he reported back to the agency.
He glanced over at Josuke once more. He was finally alone, standing by the bar with a drink in hand. After excusing himself from the conversation he was in, Rohan walked over to him. Josuke’s eyes were locked onto him as he approached. Maybe this would be easier than he thought. Rohan asked for a glass of the same terrible looking fruity wine that Josuke was having.
“A fan of Riesling too, huh?” a smooth, sweet voice said from his left.
Rohan gently lifted his cup up to his lips, taking a small sip. He turned towards a nervous looking Josuke and smiled. “Beerenauslese Riesling, yes, it is among my favorites.”
Josuke smiled as well, taking a swig of his wine. Rohan raised an eyebrow at his unrefined manners, but decided not to comment on them. “It’s my first time having it, in all honesty. But I love that it’s very sweet… it goes down easy,” Josuke paused, turning his gaze towards him once more as he extended his hand towards him, “Anyway. Please excuse my lack of manners. I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Josuke, and you are?”
Rohan let out an amused chuckle, shaking his hand. “I’m Rohan. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he replied.
“The pleasure is all mine, really,” Josuke said, his gaze still on him. He seemed to hesitate for a second before speaking again, “What brings you here tonight, Rohan?”
“I was personally invited by the mayor, he wishes for me to follow in his footsteps eventually so he recommended I mingle some,” he paused, taking another sip of his wine, “What about you, Josuke? I can’t remember seeing you at many other events.”
Josuke took a deep breath, laughing softly. “I, uh, I guess I’m kind of related to Mr. Joestar. I’m his son, actually. But it’s a bit complicated. And… well, now that I’m twenty one I can’t keep skipping out on… my father’s events and activities.” The tone of his voice had shifted from sweet to something akin to bitter, but Rohan pretended not to notice this. “Anyway, tell me about yourself, Rohan.”
“Well, I am an office worker and aspiring politician. I have a degree in political science, of course. But I am also very interested in art and literature. I am pretty multifaceted in terms of interests, honestly.” Rohan brought the cup to his lips again, glancing over at Josuke as he took a drink. The boy seemed fascinated by him, which was quite odd, really. They’d barely interacted. Almost everything that had come out of Rohan’s mouth was just a lie too, part of this fake persona he created. That somehow made the misplaced admiration all the more sad.
“That’s amazing. I honestly know nothing about politics, but I am interested in art as well.” Josuke smiled at him. “And the only thing I read is manga, which… might not count as literature to most people, I guess. But I really do love it.”
Rohan’s interest perked up at his answer. Josuke had actually picked out the one thing he hadn’t lied about. Rohan was a manga artist. It was his “day job”, for whenever he was off duty. It was something he genuinely loved to do. Not to mention, it helped distract him from the horrors he had faced on many of his missions. There was no need for anyone to see his face either, which made it a perfect job for him. He looked at him again, tilting his head to the side slightly. “Really? I used to read some comics back in the day, too. Though… I rarely get the chance to do so lately with all that’s been going on with my political career and all.” He sighed, glancing down momentarily.
Josuke seemed shocked by his answer and he grinned. He looked quite adorable like that, actually. The man behind the bar handed them both two newly filled cups. “Thank you,” Josuke replied instantly, turning to face Rohan again, drink in hand.
“My all time favorite mangaka is Hiroaki-sensei, I’ve been reading his work for years! It’s kind of sad he barely puts out any material now a days. But I’m just glad he’s put work out at all.” He let out a sigh. “What about you?”
Rohan’s insides fluttered slightly at his response. Josuke was a fan of his work? Hiroaki was his pen name, he’d been using it ever since he was a kid. He hadn’t expected this to happen. He was unable to stop himself from grinning as well. “I’m fond of Hiroaki’s work too. I like to think it’s different from most work out there.”
Josuke nodded excitedly. “Definitely! He manages to capture reality extremely well. The writing is superb and the art is gorgeous. The story is so good, very intense. There’s a lot of horror elements to it, but there’s also lightheartedness. It’s serious when it needs to be and goes very in depth in terms of feelings expressed. Everything is just so real. You can really tell Hiroaki pours his all into his work. It shows very clearly.”
Rohan stared at him in disbelief. His insides felt strangely warm and he could feel himself blush at his words. Not many people managed to understand his work in their entirety. But this kid…
“Rohan? Are you alright?”
He turned his attention to him once more. “Hm? Yes, sorry. I do agree with all you’ve said. Hiroaki is lucky to have such a dedicated fan, though. I’m sure he would be thrilled to meet someone like you.” He sipped his wine once more, trying to subdue all the emotions washing over him right then.
Josuke smiled at him once more. “I’d really love to meet him. To talk about his work and let him know how much it’s helped me throughout the years.”
“How has it helped?” Rohan asked, unable to fully mask his interest in everything Josuke was saying. He rarely got to meet any of his fans, so hearing all of this straight from the source was extremely fascinating.
Josuke finished his glass of wine and smiled sheepishly. “I just… had a rough childhood, I guess. It was a distraction at first, but then it because kind of an inspiration to stand up for myself and do better.”
His words made Rohan feel things he never knew he could feel. Warmth spread through his body and his heart beat ridiculously fast in his chest. “I see,” he said, not quite trusting his voice. He was aware he sounded different than he usually did, it was definitely a few pitches higher.
Josuke glanced around the room, his smile fading slightly. “Hey, um… Rohan. How about we go out for some fresh air?”
Rohan raised an eyebrow, glancing over at where Josuke was looking. Joseph Joestar seemed to be making his way to them. Rohan wanted to avoid the tycoon as much as Josuke, so he nodded in agreement. “That sounds lovely,” he said, a small smile on his lips. He offered him his hand, looking up at him.
Josuke smiled again, his cheeks tinged light pink. He took Rohan’s hand in his and lead him upstairs. He led him down a few halls, until they reached a balcony in the very back of the building. The view there was impressive, to say the least. Rohan leaned against the railing, taking it all in. The garden stretched out below them and just behind it, there were many trees filled with fruit he couldn’t really identify from where he stood.
“When we got here this morning, I did some exploring and found this place. It’s definitely my favorite.” Josuke stood next to Rohan, looking over the garden.
“It’s magnificent. Absolutely stunning” He glanced over at the man next to him, a smile on his lips. Josuke was definitely part of the scenery as well. Not just because of how well his floral patterned suit matched the flowers in the garden below them, but because of how amazingly pretty he was. Josuke turned his gaze to Rohan.
“So are you, though.”
Rohan blinked twice, not quite processing Josuke’s words. “What?”
Josuke let out a nervous chuckle. “I… I think you’re beautiful, Rohan. Breathtakingly so. I’m sorry if that’s weird, though. I don’t really want to make you uncomfortable. It’s just… ever since I saw you come in I was just… so impressed.” He looked away from him in embarrassment. It was extremely endearing.
Rohan looked at him, letting out a soft laugh. He pulled on Josuke’s tie lightly, making him lean down in order to press their lips together. Josuke seemed shocked at first, but he kissed back eagerly, wrapping his arms around Rohan’s waist. Rohan bit his lip, making him gasp slightly. He took advantage of this moment to deepen the kiss. Josuke’s lips were surprisingly soft. He tasted like cherries and alcohol.
Rohan brought his hand up to the back of Josuke’s neck, while the other rested on his chest. He pressed their bodies together, lightly pushing Josuke against the rail. He was so warm. Everything about Josuke, including his kisses, was absolutely enchanting. Rohan couldn’t get enough of him, he needed more.
They pulled away to catch their breath and Rohan peppered soft kisses on his neck. With each kiss, Rohan became slightly more aggressive, until he was biting at his neck. Josuke had his hand pressed tightly against his mouth, trying to muffle the little noises that tried to slip out. He was much too adorable. Just this seemed to be enough to make him this overwhelmed. Rohan pulled back, glancing over at Josuke again. The younger man was quite obviously very aroused, even though they’d done nothing besides kiss. Could he really be that inexperienced? Or was it the alcohol at work? Either way, stopping now seemed like a good idea.
As he pulled back, Rohan remembered the whole reason why he had come to this party in the first place. He nearly face palmed. His mission had been horrendously compromised. All because of the bright eyes that gazed at him so affectionately, despite having just met. Josuke smiled nervously, glancing up at Rohan before returning his gaze to the floor. He didn’t seem to know what to do, as he discreetly twisted his body to hide his… eagerness.
He never would have thought Josuke was gay. Rohan knew this was useful information, something that could be reported, but he would feel wrong outing the kid. Josuke didn’t deserve something like that. He completely sidetracked him and distracted him from his initial objective, which was beyond irritating. But… he didn’t want anyone to use his sexuality against his father. It was a very persona, very serious thing. Either way, he knew there was no way to get the information out of him tonight. He couldn’t turn the conversation towards that topic without blowing his entire cover. That and if he stayed any longer… who knows what could end up happening. He didn’t trust himself to make rational decisions right now. Not when Josuke was looking at him like he was.
Rohan cleared his throat. “I should… get going. I have an early morning tomorrow. It was a pleasure meeting you, Josuke.”
Josuke looked up at him, seemingly disappointed. “Oh… that’s unfortunate,” he said, offering a small smile. “I’m very glad to have met you too, Rohan.”
He started to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. “Wait… Rohan, Would you let me take you on a date?” he asked, sounding far more nervous than he should have. Rohan turned to face him, noticing his rosy cheeks and anxious smile. He knew he needed to say no, there was no way in hell going out with him would be a good idea. How would he even go about it without revealing who he was or his true intentions?
“That would be nice.”
Josuke grinned, he was way too excited about all this. Rohan smiled too, despite everything. His only hope was that things wouldn’t end up being too chaotic in the long run.