Chapter Text
Kakyoin’s scars had never fully healed.
Scrubbing a plate clean in the sink, out of the corner of his eye Jotaro could faintly see the silver outlines of the scratches that extended down his friend’s eyelid, gleaming slightly in the morning light as they traced the words on the page he was reading.
He couldn’t remember when his lips had made the transition from Kakyoin to Noriaki, and then Nori. When he'd begun to feel comfortable enough to take his hat off in front of him.
It was nearly four years to the day they'd last fought and defeated DIO. A year since Kakyoin had finished the bulk of his treatment, with all the medical wonders that the organisation of his grandfather’s old friend had offered. The lasting damage wasn’t as permanent as it could have been without it- Nori had been knocked into a water tower so hard he’d managed to puncture it, for heaven’s sake. His spine had nearly ruptured from the impact alone, and that wasn’t to mention The World’s near-fatal punch. Thankfully, it hadn’t managed to go right through him with Joseph’s wonderful intervention, but there were long-lasting injuries all the same. His stomach. His kidneys. His shattered ribs.
There were those who would call Nori a feminine man. Liken him to the so-called woman in the relationship, and Jotaro his dashing knight. Especially now, when Nori required either a wheelchair or a cane to get around.
His boyfriend hated having to brownnose to others, and being looked down upon. Jotaro did his best to silence any offending remarks with a quick glare and a one-lined retort of his own, but he knew it still wasn’t enough to stop Kakyoin from dwelling on it.
He’d never walk the same again. That much was true. But that didn’t mean Jotaro had to think of him any less, look down on him. They still did a lot of the things they had planned to do when he’d been uninjured- go on dates together, ice skating on the lake near their complex. Jotaro wasn’t big on public affection at first, so Kakyoin led the way most of the time, suggesting they visit a cat cafe here or an aquarium there.
Nori was strong. There was no denying that.
As soon as they'd both finished high school, Jotaro had bought the both of them a flat half an hour away from his childhood home. Of course, his mother had whined and pleaded at first, of course- for him to stay, but he'd insisted. She'd done her job. He was an adult now.
Their space wasn’t anywhere near as large as the mansion he’d grown up in, but it was big enough for the two of them. Marine biographies and sketchbooks alike littered the cabinet tucked away next to the window and the sofa, the cushions carrying the scents of both Noriaki’s shampoo and Jotaro’s cologne.
Kakyoin had painted little cherries and stars all over the place- in subtle areas, for guests at least, but in places that he knew his boyfriend would look. He’d never admit it, but they always brought a smile to his face. A little while into Jotaro going to college, twisting dolphins and crabs had joined them. He wasn’t used to seeing so much colour in one place, in his daily surroundings- but it wasn’t something that got on his nerves. Growing up surrounded by beige shojis and tatami mats, it had always been an unconscious desire of his to bring a little colour into his life. Which Kakyoin happily provided.
As of the present, Jotaro was taking marine biology like he'd been thinking of before their journey. It had taken him the journey to truly realise his dream- Nori's quiet but definitely unsubtle encouragement, Polnareff's unhidden interest in the one thing he truly took joy in, and the old man's lavish shows of supporting him. He'd even gotten the Speedwagon Foundation to lend them another submarine so that he could take a ride - this time thankfully without the interruption of any Stand users - and enjoy the sights of the sea.
The ocean was beautiful. It was also the only place - within the confines of the submarine, on his own - where he could truthfully manage a genuine smile. They'd traveled across many bodies of water on their journey, as well- and he regretted not getting to fully appreciate them while he'd been there.
Especially with Nori.
Jotaro finished washing up the last of the dishes and crossed over to his friend, leaning his head onto his shoulder.
The brunet was a man of few words, but he expressed his affection in different ways. Kakyoin too. There were some days where there wasn’t even a single word exchanged between them at all- but it didn't reflect poorly on their relationship.
It seemed to be a chilly day- autumn was approaching, the air crisp with the scent of fallen leaves. Jotaro wouldn’t be able to continue his field research for much longer, with the starfish retreating back out to be swept away by the tide into deeper water- but he’d be able to stay home longer. Cuddle up to Noriaki with some hot cocoa between sessions of making up for the time he’d spent away.
His boyfriend, all the while oblivious to his thoughts, peered out the window- the gap between his eyebrows faintly creased. The book he had been reading was forgotten, lying strayly on the side with its pages rumpled. Jotaro dogeared the page it had been open to, and put it aside. From the looks of the cover, it was some old tragedy that he couldn’t particularly care to dissect. They’d had their fair share of that in Egypt.
"It’s so cold now," Kakyoin sighed. The last time he had gotten melancholy like this was when they’d forgotten to call Polnareff on his birthday. Lamenting that before that, they hadn’t even remembered the last time either of them had talked to him. "It’s times like these that I miss the places we saw on our journey. All that sun."
“You mean like when we were fighting The Sun?” Jotaro let out a rare quip, expression unchanging. He was so unchangeably stoic in front of everyone else that small jokes like these were a subtle reminder of how much he trusted Noriaki.
“No, of course not,” Kakyoin chuckled. “That much I can do without. But I miss the sea by Singapore.”
“I miss it. And the coconut milk, too.” Jotaro added, kneading his fingers into his shoulders. Hoping that it would make him feel better. The ocean was definitely something he missed- and had led to his current career path. Thankfully, with the field research required for his thesis, and the upcoming assignment the Speedwagon Foundation had given him, he’d be scouring the shore in no time. Morioh sounded like a great opportunity for him to reconcile his love of the tide. “You remember it?”
Kakyoin looked at him strangely, peering around at him as though he was wearing his sunglasses. A force of habit. “I never got to. Coconut milk?”
“Oh.” he realised now. That around then, Kakyoin had been waiting dejectedly after thinking they’d left without him. While Jotaro, the runaway girl, and his crush’s imposter had a nice time seeing the sights. At least until the enemy stand showed up.
Fuck , that had been frustrating. Back when Jotaro had constantly been on edge about how he acted around Kakyoin and trying to mismanage his feelings so he could pass them off as some weird urge from not having had friends before. Especially back at the beginning, when he’d tried to throw in any chance for them to get closer together. Maybe he’d punched Yellow Temperance a little harder than the rest of the stands, for pissing him off like that- ruining the first ever chance he’d had with Noriaki. A missed chance that he’d spent way too many nights tossing over.
And after that? He’d subtly tried his best to make it up to Kakyoin, seeing how upset he’d been at the failed prospect of an outing. Found a cafe that sold cherry tarts and whisked him off as soon as the old man and the rest had taken their eyes off them for a few minutes. Relished in the way his eyes lit up at realising that Jotaro did, in fact, care for him.
All throughout the journey, there had been little ways he’d tried to get closer to him. Little by little, Jotaro had gotten Kakyoin to trust him just as much as he did the other. Patched up his wounds after every fight, got the old man to buy them a console that they could play on during their rest time.
He didn’t have to do that now; settle for what he could, back then. Nori gave him all of him, now. Jotaro was reminded by that every single morning he woke next to him, and ran his fingers over the wide expanse of scarring that was all that was left of the smooth pale skin at his navel.
Gently, he pressed a kiss to his love’s cheek, savouring how much he let him touch him. He returned it, curving his neck in that graceful motion he always did, fingers ghosting up to caress the ever so visible stubble at his jaw. Jotaro found himself forgetting to shave more often than not, now. He was growing careless.
"Anne and I got coconut milk,” Jotaro explained quietly, in that characteristically short way of his. Dropped his gaze slightly, hat obscuring his face. “We went to see the cable cars. I was thinking of how much you two would get to enjoy the view. But you never got to go with us, in the end."
Kakyoin’s expression saddened at that, just a little. There was something in those pure, crystalline eyes he couldn’t read, even now.
"Say, JoJo," Kakyoin said quietly but clearly, the air crisp enough for his voice to carry. "We can still go to Singapore, can't we?"