Archive of Our Own ^beta

☆彡

In the summer of 1990, under the scorching heat of the blazing sun in a small town in Japan, Jotaro wakes up to the booming sound of his grandfather's voice.

Fuck.

Just moments ago, he had been sleeping peacefully on his bed, with the blankets wrapped around him like a spring roll. Kakyoin sleeps next to him, his still figure wrapped around tightly in Jotaro’s embrace. Though the warm sunlight shine brightly towards them from the windows, and the birds have come out to sing their morning chirps, they remained still in their slumber, letting each other’s warmth comfort each other. But all good things must come to an end, as a certain old Joestar barges into the couple’s bedroom to disturb the peace.

“GOOOOOD MORNING, JOTARO! KAKYOIN!” Joseph exclaims enthusiastically, his fist pumping into the air, “RISE AND SHINE, LOVEBIRDS! Today is the day!”

Jotaro jolts up from his spot and tumbles out of the bed with a yelp and groan. He manages to gather his bearings quickly though, as he grasps the edge of the bed with one hand and slowly stands up from the wooden floor. His gaze falls first to Kakyoin, who has risen from the bed and still looking groggy as hell with his still half-closed eyes and the loud yawn he’s making. He’s grateful that he hasn’t realized that Jotaro had fallen out of the bed and seems more focused on figuring out who the fuck is at their bedroom door. His eyes turn to Joseph, sea green eyes staring daggers back at Joseph’s forest green eyes. Of course , he’s pissed at him for suddenly waking them up. Jotaro had set up an alarm for them to wake up to, but he guesses he won’t be needing it now that they are awake. But even with the pissed off look he gives to his grandfather; it doesn’t stop the older Joestar’s actions. The curve of his grin grows wider and he approaches Jotaro with a friendly (teasing, mocking, jesting ) pat on the back, earning a grunt from the younger boy.

“Jotaro!” Joseph’s grin grows even wider, “Don’t look so down, boy! Today is our lovely trip to the beach, you remember, don’t you?”

“Good grief. I know, old man.” Jotaro groans, turning his gaze away from his grandfather’s as much as possible to avoid wanting to punch his face even more because of that devious smile he’s making. He won’t ever admit it, but he does love his grandfather. Just that…god, does he like to grind his gears sometimes. Instead, his focus goes back to Kakyoin, who is now awake and sitting on the bed, doing light stretches with his upper body. He can hear Joseph saying something, probably reminders about what to bring and their agenda for the trip, but Jotaro intentionally drones out his voice. 

Jotaro watches as Kakyoin’s hands move to his bedside table and reaching to grab for his glasses. They are golden on the rims, with green lenses that match the color of his Stand. His hands move again and are now reaching for the wooden cane leaning on the table. Kakyoin gently grabs the handle and lets it stand firmly on the floor, still holding the handle tightly. Just as he’s about to stand up, Jotaro reaches out a hand for Kakyoin and the red-haired man looks up with a surprised expression, before his lips curve to a gentle smile, a smile that will always tug on the heartstrings in Jotaro’s heart.

“Good morning, Jotaro.” Kakyoin greets him and with his free hand, he reaches out for Jotaro. His expression softens.

“Morning, Noriaki.” And Jotaro pulls him up with fond tenderness.

When Kakyoin finally stands up, the two notice too late that Joseph had crept up to them. With unashamed enthusiasm, the older Joestar wraps his arms around the couple, his grin beaming wide as always. Jotaro lets out another grunt, while Kakyoin just chuckles at him before facing Joseph with a smile.

“And good morning to you, Mr. Joestar.” Kakyoin greets him, “You’re really enthusiastic this morning.”

“Of course!” Joseph exclaims excitedly, his hug becoming tighter, “We’re going out today to the beach with you guys! And I haven’t seen you all since New Year! Can you blame this old man for being sentimental over you both?”

“No, no. I missed you too, Mr. Joestar.” Kakyoin’s smile softens and his gaze falls to Jotaro, “And I’m sure Jotaro misses you too.”

“Shut up.” Jotaro huffs and gets off Joseph’s grip. Though not obvious to Joseph, a warm blush was forming on his cheeks. Jotaro can feel Kakyoin staring back at him, a teasing smirk probably forming on his lips right now. 

Not wanting to get involved any further with his old man’s rambles, his eyes wander around to find his good old signature cap. Jotaro finds it on his bedside table, taking it quickly and putting it on his head. When he turns around to see his grandfather and Kakyoin, they’re chattering amongst themselves with an excited tone in their voices. Joseph seems to have made another lame joke, because the next reaction is Kakyoin’s hearty but also weird laugh. He’s heard of this laugh so many times, and yet, it never fails to make the butterflies in Jotaro’s stomach flutter. The blush he already had in his cheeks had grown to a darker shade, and as always, on reflex, he turns away from their direction, grabs hold of the rim of his cap, and tugs it lower to his face to hide the red on his cheeks. Jotaro heads out of the room quietly, and make his way to the bathroom to get a head start on his morning routine.

“Jotaro!” Kakyoin’s voice calls out to him just as he is halfway through the path to the bathroom, and he turns to see the red-haired man trailing behind him. It seems his conversation with his grandfather finished. In the corner of his eye, Jotaro sees his grandfather leave the room holding the suitcases they had packed up the night before. It seems Kakyoin had given him permission to let Joseph pick it up and put them away, so now all of Kakyoin’s attention is now on Jotaro. They can finally move on with their morning routine, together, “Let’s get fixed up, shall we?”

Their usual morning routine starts in the bathroom. Inside the beige ceramic-tiled bathroom, the view of a giant bathtub greets them from the very end of the room, with a showerhead on the upper left side of the tub. But at the moment, they won’t use be using the shower or tub, so their attention turns to the right, where there are two sinks. One for Jotaro, and the other for Kakyoin. There are many items sprawled all over the sink area, from deodorants and medicines, to the big minty toothpaste tube and the two toothbrushes, each placed in its respective cups and placed neatly in the middle of the sink area. 

The couple stands in front of the sink, staring back at their reflections with tired eyes, and start their usual morning routine with the sink faucet turned on and a splash of water on their face. After dousing their faces with water, they take a bar of soap, lathering their hands with it, and wash it all over their face. They are careful, making sure not to get the soap in their eyes, although it is Kakyoin that is more careful with his actions with the soap than Jotaro. After, their faces become doused with another splash of cold water. They wash their faces at a slower pace, taking the time to make sure each part of their face gets drenched by the cold water and wipe away the suds in their faces. Once finished, they grab hold of their own cups and fill it with tap water. They drink up the water, gargle for a good 30 seconds, and spit out the water back to the sink. 

The couple wash each other’s drenched faces with towels. Kakyoin comments in a hushed voice that he’s surprised Joseph is here this early. Jotaro grumbles at the mention of his grandfather as Kakyoin wipes his cheeks with the now slightly damp cloth, and he replies that his old man should have warned that he would be coming over earlier than the intended time of 9AM. This earns a chuckle from Kakyoin and he says that he doesn’t actually mind Joseph coming here. Jotaro just huffs out an “I guess,” but he knows deep inside that he really doesn't mind the old man being here already, even if he was being a pain when he had awoken. His mind now wonders if the other three are already here, or still on their way. 

His internal inquiry gets answered after he and Kakyoin leave the bathroom and walk a slow pace to their kitchen, with Kakyoin walking ahead of him while Jotaro trails behind. Jotaro can smell the flavorful scent of bacon being cooked and hear enthusiastic loud voices, along with a very, very enthusiastic bark coming from the area. He can already guess who is there, and he feels the corners of his mouth tug to a subtle smile when he turns and sees the source of the voices.

“Jotaro, Kakyoin! Bonjour!” Polnareff’s cheery voice greet the couple. 

His optimistic smile and cheery demeanour in the morning is quite literally radiating the kitchen. He’s in front of the stove from the end of the kitchen area, with one hand holding a pair of kitchen tongs and the other holding a pan on top of the stove, full of semi cooked bacon sizzling on it. Below him, Iggy is enthusiastically yapping on Polnareff’s feet, probably already hungry and wanting Polnareff to finish cooking already. Jotaro huffs and nods in response to his greeting.

“Good morning, Polnareff.” Kakyoin greets him back with an enthusiasm that tries to match the blinding one of Polnareff's, “So we’re having an American breakfast, huh? From a French?”

“Oui.” Polnareff chuckles, “It’s Joseph’s idea actually. We bought this together from the supermarket earlier this morning! 7AM! It’s the best one we could find. And besides, I wanted to cook for you guys. The other two don’t have stellar cooking skills like me, which is why I’m here now!” 

As the two continue to converse, Jotaro spots Avdol already seated at the table in the middle of the kitchen, eating a sandwich delicately with his golden-colored prosthetic hands similar to Joseph's. There are two more sandwiches and a sunny side up egg on the plate in front of him, along with a cup of coffee on the side. Interestingly, there are four other cups of coffee on the table and a plate of sunny side up eggs. Jotaro notices that both his and Kakyoin usual cups are there with the set, his mug being the lilac one with multiple golden stars design on it while Kakyoin’s is pastel green with multiple red cherries design on his mug. Polnareff must have prepared it for them before he began cooking, since he knows how they like to have their coffee prepared. Joseph is seated next to Avdol, an excited grin curved up on his lips with a plate in front of him that contains a single sunny side up egg. 

“Good morning, Jotaro.” Avdol speaks up with a smile to Jotaro, “If you’re wondering why Joseph looks excited, he’s waiting for Jean’s bacon to finish cooking.”

“Huh.” Jotaro sighs, “Typical of the old man.” 

Jotaro notices that Kakyoin had finished his conversation with Polnareff and he quickly pulls out the chair beside Avdol for him. Kakyoin nods as thanks, and he sits down comfortably. Jotaro takes the chair next to him and sits down as well. He watches as Avdol and Kakyoin greet each other their good mornings and start chatting about the typical things you would ask after you see someone you haven’t seen each other for so long. How was their flight from France? Was the hotel they booked in nice? Jotaro drowns out the noise of the conversation and focuses on taking his cup of coffee. The steam from his piping hot coffee wafts through his nose, taking in the smell of the coffee brew. The liquid is brown, meaning Polnareff had added some cream and sugar to his drink, which is perfect because that’s how he likes his coffee. Jotaro takes a small sip, and he feels his energy become instantly rejuvenated. The taste is strong, but it’s also sweet 

Perfect.

After a few more sips of his coffee, he hears Polnareff’s footsteps coming over to the table. Jotaro’s eyes turn to see that he had set down a plate full of bacon and another plate with toasted slices of bread. At the other side of the table, he sees Joseph’s mouth salivating already and grabbing on the fork in his hand to get three slices at once. Avdol didn’t seem fazed, focused entirely on the sandwich he was eating. Iggy is on the floor, still barking loudly and his paws scratching on Polnareff’s leg like he’s begging to be fed. Polnareff turns to him and grins. He walks to the counter where he picks up Iggy’s own dog bowl of bacon. Iggy’s bark is louder now, probably happy to finally get his breakfast, and once Polnareff had set down the bowl, he’s immediately digging into his bowl full of bacon. Kakyoin eyes the serving plate of bacon with a look of wonderment, quite excited to eat the bacon Polnareff had cooked.

"That looks good, Polnareff.” Kakyoin speaks up, taking a fork from his side and already taking a slice. Polnareff had taken a seat next to Joseph, and he’s giving them the giddiest grin that Jotaro’s ever seen.

“Merci Kakyoin!” Polnareff is taking a slice of his own as he speaks, “I’ve been getting a lot of practice in cooking since I got back home. It’s been really fun.”

Avdol chuckles at his words, “I can attest to that. Home becomes quite a festival whenever Polnareff cooks.”

Iggy barks, like he’s agreeing to Avdol’s words.

Jotaro takes a slice of bacon that Polnareff cooked. He murmurs a silent “Thanks for the food” with Kakyoin before he digs in, slicing the bacon to a smaller piece and he takes a bite of it. Instantly, his eyes sparkle and the taste buds in his tongue fizz to life. Wow. Wow. Wow . This…is really good bacon. Jotaro quickly slices another piece of bacon and eats it, but he realizes the mistake of doing it too quickly because now, they’re all watching him with an amused expression. His cheeks redden upon the realization, and now he’s pouting, looking away from their amused stares and trying to chew his food in peace.

“It seems that Jotaro really likes your bacon, Polnareff.” Kakyoin is the first to speak after a few moments of awkward silence (for Jotaro). Then Kakyoin takes a bite of bacon, and he too had that moment of awe and wonder before turning back to Polnareff and exclaiming his excitement to him, “It is really good though. Holy shit.” 

“Right?!” Joseph interjects, a mouthful of bacon in his mouth. Jotaro swears he can see the chewed-up bacon from the inside. Gross, “Polnareff, you are so good!”

“Aww, I’m glad you like it you guys!” Polnareff’s grin is even wider now after being showered with compliments (and being absolutely delighted with Jotaro’s unspoken liking for his cooking). His hand is rubbing the back of his neck and his cheeks grow to a shade of pink. 

The compliments end after a while and they fall to mundane conversation, all while enjoying Polnareff’s homemade cooking. Jotaro can finally continue eating, now taking a slice of toasted bread and one egg from the serving plates. He eats them with the bacon, and the combination tastes even better than he thought. He takes his time to eat, savoring the taste of his friend’s homemade meal all the while listening intently to the conversation being made at the table. Polnareff is asking how university life is like for the two, and Kakyoin is answering for him and on Jotaro’s behalf, explaining how he’s drowning in an endless stream of code and paints from his double major, while Jotaro’s been pouring his soul to long, boring books and essays (for Kakyoin, Jotaro absolutely loves it) on marine life. He hears Avdol comment on how he didn’t expect Jotaro to take up marine biology, and Joseph excitedly exclaims that he feels the same. 

Jotaro isn’t following the conversation anymore, though he guesses they’re now probably talking about Joseph’s life back home or something. But he doesn’t mind if he won’t follow their conversation any further. Just having them all here again, in the same roof, for a day like their fifty-day crusade in the sands, it was enough for Jotaro.

After breakfast, Avdol and Polnareff volunteered to wash the plates, with Polnareff singing some peppy French tunes as they scrub the plates, utensils, and mugs with soapy suds. Joseph went outside of the house, possibly to check up again on the car he rented out for them to ride on for the trip. Iggy continues to be Iggy, lazing about near the entrance of the Jotaro and Kakyoin’s home, specifically at a corner where their outdoor shoes are sprawled out neatly in a row. Jotaro and Kakyoin had headed back to their rooms, fixing themselves up and making some final preparations before leaving.

Jotaro decides to wear a simple black tank top and grey board shorts along with his signature black cap that he can’t ever part with yet. He watches Kakyoin adorn that tacky Hawaiian shirt he bought days ago just for the trip. It’s the color green (of course) and had red and white flowers all over. The shirt stands out so much that it almost hurt his eyes, but it’s not like Jotaro thought it didn’t fit him. It genuinely looks nice on him, and even more so with the glasses he had on, but it still stands out too much. Kakyoin’s shorts was simpler at least, just plain dark green board shorts that were the same brand as Jotaro’s very own. 

“Ready, Jotaro?” Kakyoin asks and Jotaro can feel the excitement of the beach trip from his inquiry.

“Yeah.” Jotaro can’t deny that he feels the same.

They head out of their bedroom and meet up with Avdol, Polnareff, and Iggy at the front door. The group put on their shoes and head outside of the house. Joseph’s loud laughter greets them, along with the sight a red convertible parked right in front of the open gate. Jotaro’s eyes widen, realizing that the red convertible is their mode of transportation to the beach.

“We’re going in this?” Jotaro speaks up, “Really? ” 

Joseph lets out another hearty laugh and gives a gentle pat to the hood of the car.

“Yes, my boy! I want us to travel around to the beach in style!” Joseph explains oh-so-happily, and under the visor of his cap, Jotaro rolls his eyes over the silliness of Joseph’s words. But he can admit it’s a nice car, and riding it with his friends wasn’t such a bad idea.

They all enter the convertible with ease. Avdol and Joseph are at the front, with Avdol taking the wheel for their trip to the beach. Jotaro, Kakyoin, and Polnareff are seated at the back. Jotaro is seated on the left behind Joseph, Polnareff is seated behind Avdol with Iggy on his lap, and Kakyoin sits in between them. Avdol turns the key of the car and the engine roars to life. Joseph turns on the radio and a catchy tune begins to play. It’s an English song, Jotaro realizes, one he isn’t familiar with, but it sounds nice.

They begin to ride out of the quiet neighbourhood and off to the valleys and plains from afar. The familiar scene of little houses and small business establishment slowly fade from view, replaced with an abundance of trees and bushes and wide grasslands. So much green , Jotaro thinks. 

Polnareff starts to talk again, exclaiming excitedly for the millionth time since they planned this trip during early January this year that he’s really, really excited. Kakyoin says that he feels the same, and Jotaro only nods in response.

The buzzing of excited conversation continue all around him. He hears Avdol and Joseph pipe in to the new topics Polnareff and Kakyoin dish out for them to hear, and Jotaro just listens in and sometimes makes small remarks to what they say. 

When no one is looking, Jotaro can feel the edges of his lips curve into a smile. This warmth around him, mixed with the familiar faces and voices he has grown to memorize, etch into the depths of his memory... he likes this, he thinks to himself, I really like this . His mind wanders back on his and Kakyoin’s shared bedroom, to his bedside table where a singular photo stands, framed in an intricately beautiful blue frame. From the sandy dunes behind them, there are six smiling faces that will always return a warm gaze back to Jotaro. And while the photo will always remain an important memento from a perilous journey not so long ago, nothing will ever compare to the real deal right before his eyes.

Surrounded with Joseph’s boisterous laughter over lame jokes, Iggy’s endless barking for the coffee gum Avdol keeps in his pocket, Polnareff’s storytelling of tales that they’ve heard several times, Avdol’s soothing advice that they take to heart, and Kakyoin’s loving and playful smile that never fails to melt away the worries in his heart, Jotaro cherishes it all in his contented silence.

☆彡

They have been on the road for an hour and a half now, and they had all fallen into a quiet lull as Avdol drives through the road that passes through an open grassland. Kakyoin sits comfortably in his seat, his body feeling relaxed for the first time in months. He’s thankful for Joseph’s idea of having them go out together to the beach. It’s an excuse for him not to bother with the looming thought of final grades, but most importantly, he gets to see his friends again. Kakyoin really misses them, it’s been months since he's last seen them after all. 

His thoughts get distracted when he sees Avdol make a turn, and Kakyoin realizes that they’re heading for a gas station with a convenience store next to it. There’s parking spaces at the store front, and Avdol steers for the car to park in one of the open slots…er, well, none of the parking slots are taken anyway, so Avdol can really just take any of the slots.

The car is parked at the closest slot to the convenience store front, and as soon as the car is firmly standing still and the engine dies, Joseph immediately leaves his seat and out of the car, running for the restroom screaming “OH MY GOD!” and “I should have went before we left!” Seems like he somehow kept his cool for the entire ride while helping out Avdol in navigating, and now that they made it to the pitstop, he can no longer contain himself. Kakyoin, Avdol, and Polnareff chuckle at the sight of him running while Jotaro lets out an exasperated sigh. 

The car engine is turned off and Avdol leaves his seat, announcing that he will just head inside the convenience store to buy a few things for the trip. Iggy barks something and jumps out of Polnareff’s lap, out of the car, and lands on the dirt. He runs off to god knows where, to the direction behind the store, and Kakyoin assumes he just needs to do his business like Joseph. 

Jotaro volunteers to join Avdol to the convenience store, saying he needs to buy some stuff as well before they go on the road again. He leaves his seat from the car, and before he heads for the convenience store, he turns to Kakyoin.

“Want anything?” Jotaro asks simply and Kakyoin ponders over the inquiry.

“Just some chips would do. You know what brand I like! Oh, and if you see some cherry flavoured candy, I would like that too. “

Jotaro nods and turns away for the store with Avdol now, leaving Kakyoin and Polnareff in the car. With nothing to do while waiting for them, Kakyoin searches through his pockets and picks up his Gameboy. The game console was a gift from Jotaro on his birthday almost a year ago, and it’s one of his precious prized possessions. He turns on the system and it whirs to life. A game is already loaded in the system so what he sees first after the console’s logo on the small screen is the title of the game, Super Mario Land . The colors are in black and white and the design of the game is simple and cute. He presses the start button and the actual game loads to life. Kakyoin has cleared this game multiple times already, so he pretty much knows how to get through the levels with ease. 

Mario begins to move the right, and he jumps, hits blocks, steps on enemies, enters pipes, and all that. His eyes remain glued to the screen, concentrated on getting through the first level of the first world.

He doesn’t realize that Polnareff is peering over his shoulder, watching with amusement as Kakyoin plays. It isn’t until Kakyoin has cleared the first level that Polnareff comments on his game playing.

“C'est magnifique, Kakyoin! You finished that really quickly!” Kakyoin jumps from his seat and turns to face Polnareff with a flushed face. He wonders how long has Polnareff been watching him play, probably not that long. From the limited French he understands though, Polnareff had just complimented that he was amazed by his skills in clearing the stage easily.

“Thanks, Polnareff.” Kakyoin’s lips curve to a smile, “Do you play games too?”

“Non non, I don’t.” Polnareff sighs disappointedly, “Bit too busy at home to have time to try them out, but I’ve seen some kids here and in my trips to Joseph’s country playing with those.” He points to the Gameboy in Kakyoin’s hand.

“Would you like to try though?” Kakyoin raises the Gameboy and he sees the light in Polnareff’s eyes shine even brighter now. The Frenchman nods quickly and Kakyoin hands the console to him, watching as Polnareff eyes the electronic device in his hand with sparkles in his eyes. He looks like a little kid who just got a Christmas gift from Santa, and Kakyoin is glad to know that someone other than him (and he supposes Jotaro, but he barely plays games and when he does, he only plays it with Kakyoin) is interested in video games. It’s not like it’s a secret hobby of his or something, in fact they do know he plays them, but it’s not an interest he would think anyone amongst his friends would really get interested in.

Kakyoin explains to Polnareff the gameplay. This button to jump, and how he should hit blocks with question marks and step on enemies that are coming his way. Polnareff seems to understand what he’s saying, which Kakyoin is thankful for.

Now, it’s time to watch Polnareff play the game. He restarts the game so Polnareff can start from the first level, and once the game loads, Polnareff hits the block on top of him and heads for the next block and enemy in front of him. And Polnareff…is surprisingly decent in playing. He died around three times before finishing the level though, but he has a good understanding on how the game works and how to work around it. 

“Wow, you’re much better than Jotaro in this.” He comments as the screen finally shows the LEVEL CLEAR screen and receives the Gameboy back from Polnareff, turning it off and tucking it away in his pocket now for safekeeping, “And I expected you to be worse than him.”

“Hey! I don’t suck at everything I do.” Polnareff interjects.

“Avdol once left you in charge of cleaning up your house and you somehow got the house to be dirtier and messier than before.”

“That was one time!”

Kakyoin couldn’t hold back his laughter at that and he bursts into a fit. Polnareff pouts as he watches him, clearly not liking being teased. Kakyoin lifts up a hand to lean on Polnareff’s shoulder, wiping away a single tear in his eye as his laughter dies down.

“Oh, Polnareff. I’m sorry, but you can be a bit stupid sometimes, you know?” Kakyoin’s smile shift to a playful smirk, “But you’re still cool.  I still love you, alright?”

At the mention of you’re still cool, Polnareff’s mood shifts to a total 180 and before Kakyoin can regret saying those words to him, Polnareff wraps an arm around his neck and he’s giving him a pat on the head. There’s a gleeful smile on Polnareff’s lips, and Kakyoin can’t help but return a smile to him.

“Of course, you’re my best friend! I love you too, man!”

Polnareff lets go after a few moments and pulls out a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapping the wrapper off the candy stuck on the top of the stick and pop the candy into his mouth, leaving only the stick out at the corner of his lips. Kakyoin tilts his head curiously, he’s never seen Polnareff eat a lollipop before. It reminds him of Jotaro, who had started eating lollipops instead of smoking a little bit after their trip from Egypt.

“Here! Want one?” Polnareff pulls out a lollipop from his pocket and points it outwardly to Kakyoin’s direction. Kakyoin sees on the wrapper that the lollipop is cherry flavoured. Now his interest is piqued. With a sincere smile and a mumble of thanks, he takes it from Polnareff’s grasp, unwraps the wrapper off the lollipop, and pops it into his mouth. The sweet taste of cherries meet with his tastebuds and Kakyoin feels like he’s soaring! It’s so good, though he says that for every cherry flavoured thing he tastes.

“You’re eating lollipops like Jotaro now. Did you quit smoking like him?” Kakyoin asks curiously. 

“Yeah.” Polnareff’s expression is oddly pensive as he says it. Kakyoin watches as he leans back to his seat, “I don’t know if you know, but…Jotaro and I started eating lollipops instead of smoking cigarettes after Egypt.”

“Ah." Kakyoin pauses for a moment, "Yeah, I know, about Jotaro. He told me about it before.” Kakyoin replies and Polnareff only nods in response.

They fall into a comfortable silence now, just eating the lollipops as they wait for the others to return. Kakyoin thinks back to his last conversation with Polnareff, and…

He oddly remembers that conversation with Jotaro, actually. It was a few days after they returned to Japan, in school during their lunch break. They sat on the floor of the rooftop together, eating lunch bentos prepared by Holly and chatting about homework and plans for activities to do after school. Kakyoin’s (not so often used now) wheelchair was parked neatly at the corner, momentarily forgotten by the two. They had just finished planning out their week, and as Kakyoin put away his planner in his school bag, he watched from the corner of his eye as Jotaro whips out a lollipop from his pocket and eat it. Kakyoin asked him when did he start eating lollipops and Jotaro went on to explain how he had quit smoking and turned to eat lollipops as an alternative to it. Aside from how the taste of smoke always left a bad aftertaste in his mouth, he often thought about Kakyoin, Avdol, and Iggy in the hospital, and how life was fragile, and how he realized if he kept smoking he was pretty much just killing himself slowly and he hated that. 

“I’ve had…enough of death. And smoking? That shit’s gonna kill me.” Jotaro spoke in a hushed voice. His expression looked stoic, but Kakyoin can read him well enough from the little furrows on his brow and the slight downward curve on the edge of his lips, that he didn't like thinking about it. Death.

“I understand what you mean. I had a brush with death, after all.” Kakyoin can somehow feel the ghost of the stinging pain of his scar as he spoke, “But, it’s all over, right? No more worrying about that vampire bastard crawling back to our lives. We’re alive, and that’s what matters."

"True." Kakyoin heard him make a small gulping sound before continuing, "I...I don't want to lose you guys." 

Kakyoin's expression softened as the words spilled out of his Jotaro's lips. Without thinking, his hand reaches out for the other, and he squeezed it tightly. They don't look at each other, remaining still in their spot on the floor as they gaze up at the blue sky above them, "Don’t worry, Jotaro. I’m going to live…I’ll live for us. Not because I should since I survived, but because…I want to spend the rest of my life hanging out with you guys. Having moments like this.”

And those words still ring true to Kakyoin, even more than a year after the fated journey they took together. He had almost died for his newfound friends, after taking an almost fatal punch in the stomach just as he had unleashed his most powerful attack yet. He was ready to die. But somehow, the gods were kind and said “No, not yet.” and he survived. He lived. Kakyoin remembered first waking from the hospital two weeks after the fight, greeted by the faces of his friends who all teared up at the sight of his awakened form. Polnareff was crying the most, his tears staining his hospital robe and the blankets on him. Joseph was also crying, but his tears weren’t as overflowing as Polnareff’s. Avdol had some tears in his eyes, and it was also in that moment he noticed the prosthetic hands that replaced the hands that were severed out by Vanilla Ice. Iggy was carried in Avdol’s arms, barking happily at Kakyoin and looking like he’s giving a smug grin that seemed to say like “You made it, you bastard.” And Jotaro…he was seated beside him, with obvious eyebags under his eyes and his hair dishevelled that went unnoticed by Kakyoin even with the cap on his head. Kakyoin smiled at him, and Jotaro returned the gesture and along with it, he took hold of Kakyoin’s hand. 

Jotaro’s hand, along with everyone’s hugs and pats on the back were so warm and comforting. It was a feeling he never thought he would have for anyone before, but he can’t deny that at the start of this bizarre adventure, being with his comrades always brought about that fondness, that emotion, that tenderness that he never felt with anyone before. It was like when he was all cooped up in front of a fireplace, or wrapping himself in numerous blankets on a cold winter day, but…better.

The feeling only strengthened even further after he left the hospital, after he made it back safely to his parents who have endlessly worried about him for the past months, when he would be accompanied to Jotaro to school or be greeted by Joseph’s excited voice every time he visited the Kujo household during the remainder of his stay. He finds this feeling in his calls from Polnareff, Avdol, and Iggy, who have settled down in France together. It was in Jotaro’s reassuring words during his bad days when his body endlessly ached and he almost wanted to drown himself in painkillers, and it was found after those long physical therapy lessons when he is greeted by Jotaro and told him that he was getting better. And he was getting better, because now he can stand up even more for a long period of time and he mostly relied on a cane to walk nowadays. It was easy to forget the pain in his legs, how he needed a cane to walk, how there is a big wound on his stomach, when he’s around them.

It was found in Jotaro’s confession, his proclamation of the culmination of his feelings for the red-haired man for the past months, during graduation day. While Jotaro stood before him and looking like he was trying to keep his cool, Kakyoin realized that during the confession, the odd laughter he always had was bursting out from his mouth. 

“Kakyoin…?”

“Jotaro! Haha!” There was a tear trickling down his eye and Kakyoin wiped it away as he continued to laugh, “Oh my god, Jotaro. You’re so adorable…”

Kakyoin’s hands reached out for Jotaro’s cheeks and he cupped them gently. Violet stared back at the piercing teal that never turned away from him. Their faces were very close, but none of the two bothered to move away or come closer.

“Jotaro, I can’t believe it, you fucking idiot. You absolute, adorable, unbelievable idiot. I…I love you too. I always have.”

The laughter he had made moments before wasn’t from the silliness or some form of mockery towards the act of Jotaro confessing, but rather the disbelief that his feelings are being reciprocated. From the moment he had extracted the flesh bud from his possessed body, Kakyoin knew that he liked him, somehow. But it wasn’t until one fateful night in Egypt, under the stars and the cosmos that shone above them, where he found himself staring at Jotaro’s for once softened expression gazing at the sky, that this feeling was more than a companionship with someone who understood the weirdo him. It’s a bizarre...but an odd kind of romantic love, and somehow Kakyoin believed that this feeling he had for Jotaro, would transcend time and space and the power of all the Stands in the world.

The warm feeling never went away even as the months passed, where they had set off to a university in another prefecture and settled down in a small home together. It was in their study sessions, their warm hugs after a rough day in school, their hello and goodbye kisses and all the kisses in between, and in bed, where they settled in each other’s embrace at the day’s end. Of course, he can never forget how his friends still make him feel that loving warmth too, even amongst the buzz of university and his budding and odd romance with Jotaro. He finds it Joseph’s letters to them, where he details long and hard about how he’s proud of them and how his life is back home. The same goes with Polnareff and Avdol’s letters addressed to them, which go even longer because Polnareff is the type to never learn how to shut up. They would constantly call each other too, and though the long distance call fees are high, it doesn’t bother either party. They enjoy each other’s company, probably a little too much but it’s also almost never enough.

Sometimes, he thinks back on how he was even able to find companionship and a long lasting bond with them. He never really thought that he would find his very first friends with them. How they want to be friends with this weirdo, who’s quiet facade when cracked open would reveal a young boy who’s both polite and ruthless, but also touch-starved in a social kind of way, was beyond him. He would never take off that facade, that mask, for anyone who never understood him, because really, no one ever did. Not until that delinquent barged open his door, with his grandpa, a fortune-teller, a Frenchman, and a dog in tow. It was the first time, with them, was that mask ever taken off.

And he never put it back on again.

It’s in these moments, it’s in his dearest friends, that Kakyoin finds reasons to live. 

He wonders about how things would have gone if he died. What would happen to Jotaro? To Polnareff? Avdol? Joseph? Iggy? 

An image of a man in a white coat and white cap appears in his thoughts sometimes. He’s sitting on a wooden chair, with a very, very messy desk in front of him. Papers are scattered everywhere and even on the floor. His hair is dishevelled and his hands cover his face, so Kakyoin isn’t sure what expression he’s having on right now. In the center of the desk, away from the scattered papers all around, laid out is a single photo. Six smiling faces stare back at teared filled face.

No, Kakyoin thinks, that’s not going to happen.

He is alive, and here, and not dead. He is with his friends, he is home.

In the corner of his eyes, he sees Avdol and Jotaro heading for the convertible with numerous plastic bags in hand. Iggy is trailing behind them, seemingly happier now that he had done whatever business he did. Polnareff is waving at their direction with a gleeful smile at the sight of his boyfriend, and Avdol waves back in response. Kakyoin watches them intently, and speak out words he doesn’t realize he’s saying until they have fallen out of his mouth.

“Hey, you two. Welcome home.” He says his last two words in Japanese.

Jotaro stops dead in his tracks upon hearing Kakyoin’s words, staring back at him and looking shocked. Kakyoin, upon realizing what he said, feels the terrible warmth growing on his cheeks. Iggy has no idea what’s happening. Avdol and Polnareff know their basic Japanese, so they generally understand the weight of Kakyoin’s words. Avdol fights back a chuckle that could go bursting forth within him, but Polnareff absolutely holds no restraint and hurls into a fit of laughter. 

As a reflex, Kakyoin elbows Polnareff’s side with the strength that can rival Star Platinum’s, right on his ribs, and Polnareff’s laughter shifts to a howl of pain.

“Ow! K-Kakyoin?!” Polnareff wheezes out.

“Shut up!” Kakyoin growls angrily at him, though the embarrassed blush he has right isn’t going away at all.

“Noriaki.” Jotaro’s voice calls for him and he immediately turns to face Jotaro, who has his hands gripping tightly at the rim of his cap and his expression looks unreadable, but it also looks…somehow fond, “It’s okay. You want me to greet you like that?”

“Well…” Kakyoin turns away and lets out a huff, “ Admittedly, it would be nice.” 

“Good grief. In that case,” Jotaro reaches out his hand for Kakyoin’s shoulder and rests on it. His expression remains fond, soft in a way. There is a warm blush that goes unnoticed on Jotaro’s cheeks. And he says the words that Kakyoin wants to hear in his mother tongue, “I’m home.”

“And I’m home too.” Avdol says in his fluent Japanese. Kakyoin feels less flustered now, seeing as how they went along with his slip up? He wouldn’t say it’s a slip up, since he can admit to himself ( no one should ever fucking know ) that he’s always wanted to say something like that to them for a while.

“…Welcome home.” Kakyoin responds quietly, a smile curving on his lips as he speaks it. And he feels some sort of burden is off his chest.

“Hey, let me join in too!” Polnareff chimes in, having forgotten that Kakyoin had just elbowed his ribs a few seconds ago. Not wanting to be left out, he exclaims next to the red-haired teenager with his weirdly accented Japanese, “Welcome home!”

They all laugh at his pronunciation of his words, but they know that the thought of it counts anyway. 

After settling down from the greetings, Jotaro and Avdol place the plastic bags in the trunk of the car and return to their seats. Polnareff had thrown away both his and Kakyoin’s lollipop sticks to a nearby trash can. Iggy is back on Polnareff’s lap. Joseph returns moments later, letting out a heavy sigh of relief upon his return. Avdol starts up the car once again and they finally return on the road, finally heading their way to the beach.

Kakyoin feels the cool breeze tickle his cheeks and watches his surroundings in awe. To his right, Polnareff’s head sticks out of the convertible’s doorside and shouting in glee. His right arm waves eagerly to the side while the other holds Iggy close, the dog’s tongue out and flapping with the wind. To his left, Jotaro sits quietly and silently admires the scenery. Avdol is on the wheel and hums an unfamiliar but happy tune. Joseph reclines on his seat, a map on his hands, and hums along with Avdol.

He can’t help but form a contented smile to himself. It is here, with them, that he is home.

☆彡

After a couple of hours on the road, they finally make it to the beach. Though a complete view of the beach is hidden by the few palm trees surrounding the area and the summer house they will be staying at, which is owned by Joseph and Suzie, Polnareff can already smell the sea salt of the vast sea. He looks down to see Iggy with his head out, curiously at the scenery around him.

Avdol parks at the front of the summer house and at the sound of the engine turned off, Polnareff quickly opens the door on his side and he’s up on his feet. Sunglasses on his eyes? Check. Sunblock in his pocket? Check! The love of his life in the beach with him? Very important, check!

“We’re finally here, baby!”

Iggy walks next to him and makes a slow pace to the direction of the summer house. Kakyoin comes out from behind him, taking slow steps with his cane in hand, and Jotaro follows closely behind him. They go for the trunk of the car, along with Avdol and Joseph, and pick up their suitcases, and the plastic bags filled with items from the convenience store they stopped by in hours ago.

“Hey Jean, it would be great if you can help.” Avdol reproaches and Polnareff immediately bolts from where he stood moments ago to rush to Avdol’s side, giving him the cheesiest, widest grin he can muster and carries the heavy backpack that Avdol had in his arms.

“Momo. My dearest love. Babe. Of course I’ll help!” 

Avdol snickers a laugh and roll his eyes at Polnareff, “Of course you will.”

The group walk together to the summer house, greeted by a grand double wooden door. Joseph fishes out a bundle of keys from his pocket and fiddle through each one. He eventually finds the right key and unlock the entrance to the summer house.

The summer house is small in height as it contains only one floor, but it’s wide and big in terms of space. A lavishly spacious living room greets them, decorated by glass coffee table in the center with two couches at both of the smaller sides of the table and the sofa behind the table. There is a TV set on top of a low table, with its’ shelves full of movies on VHS cassettes and a VHS player at the topmost shelf. The other walls at the left and right are decorated with frames full of paintings and in one corner at the right, a shelf full of books. In a small corner on the right, is the kitchen area and there are two hallways in both sides of the room that leads to the bedrooms. In front of them, there are glass doors with the curtains draw out, and through the glass, a wonderful view of the beach manifests before them. The sands are white and the sky is clear and very, very blue. 

It’s a perfect day to be on the beach.

“Wow…” Polnareff mumbles under his breath. He lowers his sunglasses from where they are perched on his nose to get a better look at the beach. 

“Wow, indeed!” Joseph bursts into a hearty roar and a grin, “Suzie really outdid in finding this place. We would go here before when Jotaro was a baby, when we used to visit Holly a lot here. But we don’t go here as much as before now, though we would have someone come by to clean up this place monthly.”

“I’ve seen it in the photos.” Jotaro speaks with a nod, “It’s nice.”

“Well, of course it is!” Joseph slaps Jotaro’s back and he looks like he almost chokes, “Come, I’ll show you to your rooms!”

Joseph lead the group first to the room found at the right side of the summer home. They pass by the kitchen and to a small hallway, where only two doors are found. One at the side and another at the end of the hall, they walk to the end of the hallway and Joseph fiddles with his keys again before managing to unlock the room. The first thing that Polnareff sees upon entering is the king-sized bed at the center of the room. The walls are painted in white like all the other rooms, and the wooden floor still retains its waxy shine. There’s a huge cabinet in one of the corners, and another with a huge shelf containing nothing but books upon books that will definitely please Avdol’s inner bookworm. There are bedside tables found on either side of the…bed, obviously, both with a lamp placed on it. From where they stand, on their left, there is a glass sliding door that leads to a porch and a view of the beach. Polnareff can see the big, blue sea and the white sands from the door, and he’s immediately elated at the beauty before him.

“This will be your room, Avdol, Polnareff.” Joseph explains with a grin, his hand out and motioning at the room, “Do make yourself comfortable! Your bathroom is the other door in this hall, okay?”

“Thank you, Mr. Joestar.” Avdol smiles and sets down his bags to the floor, starting his intent to unpack his belongings.

Joseph grins at him, “Great! I’ll now take Jotaro and Kakyoin to their rooms, then let’s meet at the beach in twenty minutes! See ya!” He, along with Jotaro and Kakyoin, wave goodbye to the couple and leave their room. The couple now left to themselves to unpack their belongings and prepare for the beach.

Polnareff leans to Avdol’s side and they unpack their backpacks together. Clothes are shelved into the cabinet and toiletries are placed on the sink of their assigned bathroom. After they finish unpacking, Polnareff slides open the glass door and leans on the wooden railing of their porch. He fishes out another lollipop from his pocket and pops candy portion into his mouth, the orange flavour of the candy greeting his taste buds. Avdol walks up next to him, leaning on the railing with Polnareff and his eyes looking out to the beach before him.

Polnareff’s eyes can’t help but trail back to Avdol, and can’t help but get lost on how beautiful he is. His kind smile and loving eyes that are full of nothing but compassion and warmth, the scars on his face from a many year old accident now left as a fond memory that shape Avdol to who he is, and his…his everything , really. Polnareff loves to talk and babble about things all day long, but sometimes, when he gets in too deep, his words stumble and fumble and the words become incoherent and jumbled into a lovesick mess. 

“This is the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen.” Avdol starts, distracting Polnareff from his messy thoughts over how much he is in love with the man before him.

“A-Ah! Yeah! It is really is…” Polnareff fumbles a reply and he’s giving a sheepish grin. Avdol chuckles, and he looks at Polnareff with a tender look that bursts out the butterflies in Polnareff’s stomach. His blush grows deeper, and it goes unnoticed by Avdol who looks at him with a soft smile.

“Yeah. But nothing will ever be as beautiful as you, Jean.” Avdol smiles at him and the butterflies flying about inside of him flutter faster, churning the queasy feeling inside Polnareff even more. Jesus Christ, Avdol did not hold back with that. His eyes turn away from Avdol, turning his gaze back at the beach beyond them with his obvious deep red blush not going away. They continue to look onward at the beach in comfortable silence.

The couple suddenly hear a bark from below and they both turn to the source, seeing before them a restless Iggy with his paw tapping wildly on Avdol’s foot. Avdol chuckles seeing the mutt, and he carries him gently in his arms. From the pockets of his shorts, he pulls out Iggy’s favourite coffee flavoured gum and Iggy is instantly salivating at the sight of his treat. He scarfs it down as quickly as he saw it and chews on the caffeinated snack with what Polnareff can only assume is a smile.

Avdol scratches the back of Iggy’s ears as the dog continues eating his gum, “Well, I’ll get changed now, Polnareff. See you at the beach?”

Polnareff nods with a shy smile and Avdol returns a sincere one to him, before heading back to their room with Iggy still in his arms. Polnareff stands silently, overlooking the beach from the porch for a few more minutes, taking in the salty scent from the vast sea before him and the warm sunlight tingling his skin. His thoughts rush back to Avdol, and he can’t help but think over how still in disbelief he is over being able to win the heart of someone like him. He often thought back on their adventure along with the rest of his friends here, and how…cool and handsome and amazing Avdol was, and still is, of course!

His cheeks feel warmer just thinking about Avdol. He feels like some young, teenage girl who has fallen in love for the first time whenever he thought about Avdol, and he kinda hates it, but it’s not like it’s his fault that Avdol is so cool and amazing! He feels almost so undeserving of his love, but he really loves spending time with him and his companionship and love.

Mon dieu...je l'aime, Polnareff thinks.

He heads back to his room after a while, burying his lovey dovey thoughts of Avdol down for the meantime and putting on his cheery demeanor once more. He reaches for his luggage to get his swimsuit. He’s quick on his feet for the bathroom and manages to get changed immediately. Polnareff stops at the bathroom mirror before heading out, admiring how good he looks with the skimpy speedo he always uses for the swimming trips. It always receives piercing glares from his peers, particularly Kakyoin, but does he care? Of course not. This swimsuit is very efficient, and he isn’t going to buy another one anytime soon. He grins to himself, admiring himself a little more and adjust the sunglasses perched on his face, before heading out for the beach.

The first thing Polnareff sees the moment his feet touch the soft sand is his dearest resting peacefully on top a large beach towel rolled out to the sand, with the upper half of his body under the shade of a beach umbrella planted firmly on the ground. The sunrays kiss on his legs with a radiating warmth that makes his skin glow. He wears a black tank top with tacky red and white floral board shorts. Joseph sits next to him on another large beach towel, wearing a beige one-piece swimsuit. Iggy is resting in between the two older men, with his belly out to the direction of the sun so he can be filled with warmth.

Polnareff can feel the corners of his mouth curve to a grin. Not just because he just saw how handsome his lover is right now, but the overall feeling how he’s finally here! In the beach! With his friends and lover! The people he loves oh-so-dearly! He’s sprinting now for the edge of the shore, where he sees both Jotaro and Kakyoin already waist deep in the water. They were wearing the same shorts they had earlier, but without the shirt that went along with their outfit. What’s interesting though is that Kakyoin is resting on top of a big, green and yellow swim ring, with green sunglasses perched on his eyes and he reclines on to his swim ring. There is a rope tied from the swim ring to Jotaro’s waist, a precaution he presumes the couple wanted to make so Kakyoin wouldn’t suddenly float away from the shore.

Unbeknownst to him, Avdol has a hand on his face and the red on his cheeks flushes deeply, while Joseph watches the French man with wide eyes. They are unable to take their eyes off of...his attire.

“Fuck, I can see the details of his butt.” Avdol mumbles to himself under his breath.

Back to Polnareff, he dips his feet to the water and a shiver creep up at his spine as the cold rushes to his skin. It’s cold, alright, but that won’t stop him from getting to his two friends. He practically runs to their side and when he reaches a close enough distance from them, he instantly splashes them with water, earning surprised gasps from Kakyoin and Jotaro.

“Polnareff! Really?!” Kakyoin exclaims and an intense water splashing fight begins between the three of them. A two versus one match, to be precise. The cold water tingle their skin as each of them get soaked by their opponent’s splash, with the odd taste of salt tingling their lips. But they don’t hold back at all, and continue to unleash their water attacks against each other with bouts of laughter and smiles. At some point, Kakyoin had unleashed Hierophant Green to help him with his attacks, so Polnareff does the same with his Silver Chariot, piercing the water to their direction so they get more spouts of water to their faces.

Amongst it all, Polnareff can see Iggy is somehow at the shore, barking at them and wagging his tail like he’s laughing at them.

Suddenly, Polnareff notices that Jotaro has stopped moving, an intense aura surrounding him as Kakyoin continues to use Hierophant Green to attack Polnareff.

Oh no, Polnareff thinks, He’s going to–  

Before he can finish that sentence, Jotaro calls out for Star Platinum and with all his strength, launches a strong wave towards Polnareff, who unfortunately is unable to dodge on time and the wave’s strength pushes him far back from the shore and quite literally lands in front of Avdol and Joseph’s spot. Iggy is also an unfortunate victim from the wave, as he is pushed along with Polnareff and ends up landing next to him. Their heads are planted firmly on the ground. Kakyoin spouts into uncontrollable laughter as he watches it all happen, and high fives Jotaro for the attack. Avdol and Joseph are laughing from their places as well, and watch as Polnareff and Iggy pop their head out of the sand and turn back in disbelief towards the two.

“I can’t believe it! They just did that! Those little shits!” Polnareff is raising his fist up in anger and Kakyoin responds by sticking his tongue out and raising his middle finger towards him.

“You started it!” Kakyoin exclaims back to him, and that earns the same gesture he just gave Polnareff from the man himself.

Polnareff stands up from his spot and is about to head for where Avdol and Joseph are resting when a splash of water greets his face. He yelps out in shock at the sudden cold water spouted on his face and he hears a hearty chuckle from someone, possibly the one who sprayed on him. His arms flail to his face and quickly wipe away the water on his eyes. When he finally gets his vision back, his eyes adjust to see who the mysterious figure is in front of him that sprayed water on him, and it’s…

It’s Avdol, with one hand holding a half empty water bottle and the other holding up a towel for Polnareff.

“Sorry,” Avdol speaks with a smile, and he pushes the towel further to Polnareff, “There was so much sand in your face and I was worried it might irritate your eyes if it stayed there.”

“Oh! Thanks!” Polnareff exclaims that a little too loudly. He can feel his cheeks heat up again just because he’s staring at Avdol again, but he tries to keep his cool. Polnareff takes the towel from his grasp and wipes the soft fabric on his face, absorbing the water on his skin. Once finished, he and Avdol walk to the shared spot with Joseph together. Polnareff notices that Iggy is trailing behind him, though he would see him make annoyed glares back at the two younger men at the sea.

Avdol lays down on the towel he had laid out for himself and Polnareff decides to sit next to him, in between the tight space between Joseph and Avdol. As soon as he sits down, he feels something cold tap on his cheek and he quickly turns around to the source, just to see a grinning Joseph beside him. The old man is holding up a can of soda, and Polnareff’s face lightens up and takes the can from Joseph’s grips.

Polnareff flicks the hook of the can upward and he hears a pop as it opens. He quickly takes a long sip of the refreshment, the fizzy drink satisfying his taste buds as he slowly gulps it down. He sets it down after, and his eyes gaze once more to the beach, to the vast sky above and white puffy clouds, to the white, soft sands, to the big blue sea outstretching to the horizon. He can see the small figures of Jotaro and Kakyoin in the water, with Kakyoin still on top of his ring and Jotaro’s form occasionally rising back up to the surface, probably looking for some starfish or some other sea creature he wants to observe.

His gaze turns to Avdol, who has now fallen asleep under the shade of his beach umbrella, and Iggy leans near him, napping as well. He chuckles over how cute Avdol looks as he sleeps, lull and serene and no enemy Stands coming to disturb him. 

“You really love him, huh?” Polnareff hears a familiar voice inquire him, and he turns to see Joseph giving him a sly grin. He blushes deeply, but he gives him a very firm nod, because he knows he’s very sure of his feelings for the Egyptian.

“Oui, I do. I really do.” Polnareff says with strong assurance, and his expression softens as his hand reaches out to gently stroke Avdol’s cheeks. He turns back to the beach once more. Somehow, the sun seems to be shining brighter than before, probably because it’s already noon.

“That’s good.” Joseph grins wider and he turns to face the beach with Polnareff, “I’m honestly happy for the both of you, you really deserve each other.”

Polnareff thinks in the deepest, darkest depths of his mind, that there is a sort of sad tone in the way Joseph spoke just now. But he brushes it off, and instead continues the conversation, speaking out his mind to the older man. 

“Yeah.” He nods, “Honestly, I didn’t think I would be here now. With you, Avdol, Iggy, Jotaro, and Kakyoin...on the beach...after that Egypt trip, you know?”

Polnareff often thought back on their Egypt adventure more than a year ago, and despite how much fun he had bonding with them during their off-times, at the end of the day, they were on an adventure not for fun, but to kill a vampire, kill a very, very harmful entity that can bring about the world’s doom if left alone. And with the desire to kill the threat, death and the fear of death always lurked about to take them down. Ever since he lost his sister, he can feel death’s ghost looming over them all, over his newest and quite literally his only friends. He didn’t like the idea of his two close friends, Jotaro or Kakyoin dying, or Joseph dying, and especially Avdol and Iggy.

If he lost them, he knows deep inside him, that he won’t like it. He won’t be who he is today.

Avdol was someone who was much more than a lover. He was a wonderful friend that he can bond with about almost anything, and he was a great ally who was great to work with in the battlefield. But Avdol’s greatest weakness for him, something Polnareff hated more than anything, was that he would sacrifice himself for Polnareff just so he can make it out safely. 

And he did just that, and almost died because of it.

Twice. 

One caused a bullet wound on his forehead, and the other caused the loss of both his hands.

And Iggy...he was an annoying mutt, yes, but he oddly grew to like him. Sure, they always fought and would get annoyed by each other’s antics sometimes. But as time went on, they had come to a mutual understanding and respect during their trip, and after the adventure, Iggy somehow decided to stick around with the two. 

Undeniably, the time he spent with the both of them was really special. And he’s so glad for it. He really loves them, and he loves Jotaro, Kakyoin, and Joseph too.

Polnareff can’t imagine ever separating with this odd group of friends. To him, they were like...his family.

Family, huh…

Polnareff knows deep inside that they were no Sherry or his mother, but calling these odd ragtag of people as his family? Even if they teased him endlessly and mercilessly? The thought doesn’t sound bad. In fact, it was...nice.

He suddenly feels an arm wrap around his shoulders, and his head turns to see Joseph. He’s giving him a soft but somehow sad smile, something unusual from the older Joestar but it’s also comforting in a way. Joseph is an odd person, really, all smiles and laughs and forever abundant of an enthusiastic energy and thrill for the unknown for a seventy year old man. Despite how far apart their ages are, he finds himself enjoying the company of this old man through jokes and laughter and all things optimistic.

“Me too. But we’re here now, you know. Avdol is here, and Iggy too.” Joseph reassures him, pointing to the two sleeping figures next to them, “Jotaro and Kakyoin are here as well. And I may be an old geezer, but I still have a lot of energy in me! We’re not going anywhere Polnareff, and I promise you that!” 

He’s right , Polnareff thinks, and they’re not going away. My dearest friends, my...family, they will be by my side for the rest of my days.

Polnareff’s lips curve into a wide grin, “Of course! And I won’t go away either, I promise. To you, Avdol, Iggy, Jotaro, and Kakyoin.”

He looks to the side and he sees that Avdol and Iggy are still asleep comfortably under the shade of the umbrella. Polnareff’s eyes shift to gaze back towards the beach scenery before him. He stands from his spot and walks slowly out of the shade from the umbrella and into the sunlight. He feels the warmth of the sun tingle his skin, and his eyes remain fixated on the scenery. He lifts the sunglasses on his eyes to the top of his head, getting a clearer view of everything. The sun is feels like it’s shining brighter and the sky looks bluer than before. He sees Kakyoin and Jotaro at the sea beyond, still floating (for Kakyoin) and swimming (for Jotaro) around. Nothing’s changed now, and Polnareff knows that it won’t ever. No one is going away, he reassures himself.

It really is beautiful, the scenery, the beach, how everything here is so bright and colorful and it warms his heart. 

And being here, with his dearest soulmate Avdol, his loud but actually nice dog friend Iggy, his annoying but kind best friend Kakyoin, his tough-skinned but sweet friend Jotaro, his odd, loud companion Joseph, this...weird newfound family he had made, from a perilous journey not so long ago, makes everything feel so much warmer and beautiful.

☆彡

The rest of the afternoon comes and goes, and the time they spent together throughout the day feels slow but very enjoyable. From Joseph, Jotaro, and Polnareff grilling steaks and chicken for lunch, to Kakyoin and Avdol building huge sand castles that can almost serve as a dog house for Iggy. While Jotaro navigates with Kakyoin and Iggy through the deep parts of the sea with the motorboat found in the summer house), there goes Joseph, Polnareff, and Avdol surfing the waves under the late afternoon sky.

Dusk becomes night and it’s the turn of the stars to twinkle up high in the clear sky. The moon illuminates it’s white glow, while the heat of the day shifts to the slight chill of the night.

Joseph suggests to the group that they should eat dinner under the moon tonight, surround themselves by the fire like good old times , like those chilly nights in the desert and it’s just them and the sea of stars above while they chatter about mundane things and forget about the enemies that creep about for just one night. Luckily, everyone seems to jump into the idea (even Jotaro surprisingly, who usually thinks his dear old grandfather’s ideas are lame and stupid).  Jotaro and Polnareff pick up wood and stones, while Avdol and Joseph pick up the foldable chairs from the nearby storage shed of the summer house. Kakyoin and Iggy await for their return after scouting a bit for a good spot to have their dinner. It’s in the middle of the beach, where it’s not too far from the summer beach house or too near the seashore where the slow little waves might disrupt their night.

While Avdol, Kakyoin, and Polnareff work on lighting up the fire ( “Use Magician’s Red!” “No.” ), Joseph and Jotaro return to their summer house to pick up the food that they plan to cook for tonight, a cooler filled with cans of sodas and beers, five wine glasses, and two bottles of red wine. They return to a beautifully lit up fire, warming the group from the semi chilly night.

“We brought the food and drinks!” Joseph yells excitedly, raising the wine bottle in his hand high up in the sky.

“Cool! I’ll start cooking!” Polnareff claps his hands together and grins.

Joseph takes out six medium sized salmon from the plastic it was in.

“Ah, Polnareff!” Joseph exclaims as he hands him the fish, “Do not fear but the fish have already been scaled and gutted out in the supermarket we picked them up from.” 

“Oh! That’s good to hear, one less thing to worry about.” Polnareff happily takes the salmon from Joseph’s hands, pierces the fish with a long wooden stick, and hangs them on top of the fire. The fire dances about below the slowly grilled fish, the grilling smell of their dinner wafting through them. No one seems to mind though, it smells nice and they trust Polnareff with his cooking.

The foldable chairs are all open and set up around the fire. Jotaro and Kakyoin take the seats next to each other, while Polnareff sits on Kakyoin’s right and with Avdol on his left. Joseph sits next to Avdol and the cooler with drinks and bottles of wine are planted firmly on his other side. There’s sort of open space in between the two Joestars, so Iggy settles on that open space. He sits a bit too closely to the fire, but he seems to not really about it and enjoy the warmth it brings to him. 

As the others settle down in their seats, Joseph hands each of them a glass with red wine already poured into it. They accept the wine, of course, even the two youngsters, who are finally old enough ( since their birthdays just last year ) to have a taste of the “adult drinks,” as Joseph calls it. Once everyone finally had a glass of their own, Joseph stands tall, the fire illuminating his bright smile for all to see. He raises the wine glass in his hand, raising it high like he’s reaching for the stars now twinkling above in the night sky. The rest of the gang follow suit, raising their glasses high, with each of them smiling as they watch Joseph’s smile form to an enthusiastic grin as he looks at each of them.

“A toast!” Joseph exclaims, “To all of us, and for a year of a DIO-less world!”

A chorus of “Cheers!” and one, rough sounding “Cheers.” go all around, and they drink their wine. Jotaro, Kakyoin, and Avdol take a modest sip of alcohol, while Joseph and Polnareff practically take a gulpful of the wine.

“Ah, délicieux! That’s some good wine, Mr. Joestar!” Polnareff grins and lifts his glass towards Joseph’s direction, a sign that he wants more of it.

“Of course it is!” Joseph chuckles and pours some more wine in Polnareff’s glass, “I only treat you all to the best, after all.”

“Yeah, like those dingy hotels we stayed in before.” Jotaro grumbles, and takes another small sip of wine.

“Hey, hey! It was hard finding a nice hotel there, alright?” Joseph raises a hand and makes a sheepish grin, “Besides, it was still kinda fun, right?”

“I would admit it kinda was.” Kakyoin smiles, “The company did make it better.”

“Yeah! Remember when we roomed together, Kakyoin? We would always play a round of Old Maid before bed.” Polnareff exclaims happily.

“Yes, and you lost around 90% of the time.” Kakyoin gives him a sly smile, “Thanks for treating me all those cherries by the way.”

“Wow, no wonder you always snacked on cherries.” Jotaro nods, like he had come to a revelation.

“And Polnareff was almost always broke…no wonder you always wanted me to treat you food.” Avdol murmurs under his breath.

Polnareff pouts, “Technically, yeah...but! Well, look, even if I lost a lot of money to cherries then. It wasn’t so bad, you know? It was all still fun?”

Avdol nods, “Well, enemy Stand attacks aside, it was nice spending time with you all during the offside.”

“Yes.” Kakyoin speaks up, “Honestly, you guys were the first friends I’ve ever had, so I’m really grateful for that 50 day trip to defeat an evil vampire, even if it could have cost my life...”

“Noriaki…” Jotaro murmurs under his breath, and he reaches out with his hand to pat Kakyoin’s back. The red-haired boy turns to face him and he smiles back at him, a reassuring smile that would comfort Jotaro’s worries.

“Jotaro, no worries anymore. I’m doing fine now, right?”

“He’s right.” Avdol pops in, “I may have lost my hands and Kakyoin may have been almost punctured through the stomach, but we’re fine. We pulled through. That’s what matters, right?"

Polnareff gives him a very enthusiastic nod, while Joseph makes a steady nod and a wide grin in return. Then, the talk falls back into more of the good, old days, the days of their trip to the blazing desert where a century old vampire enemy from generations past awaits them.

The others don't realize it, but Joseph is watching them all intently from his spot. The wine in his hand left untouched after only a taste. He notices Jotaro's small but extremely warm smile, and the way Kakyoin's hand holds onto Jotaro's shoulder as he chuckles over his silly joke. He notices Polnareff's cheeks burning to a shade of pink and Avdol's eyes staring too much sometimes at Polnareff with a look of wonder and warmth and all the fuzzy feelings Joseph knows Avdol is feeling right now.

Ah, the blossoming of youthful love. 

He smiles to himself as his eyes continue to watch over them. It gives him a bittersweet feeling. As he observes them, his mind can't help but wander back to the days of his own youth. He thinks of his forever bustling hometown and those simpler times where he can wander off to who knows where. He thinks of how that all ended with a blink of an eye, thanks to some god-like beings. The view shifts to a quieter city and a deserted island, where he learns to master his old powers of Hamon. 

Memories of a youthful face, a blonde man with the most radiant green eyes fill his mind, and how he smiles, laughs, cries, and gets pumped up fill his mind. He remembers how looking at him, basking in his beauty, brings about a fluttery feeling. His cheeks would flush to a bright pink when he thinks of him, his smile, his laugh, his...everything. 

He remembers the first and last kiss they ever shared. Under the moonlight after a long day of training, he feels the warm hand of the other hold onto him tight. They were both equally warm in the cheeks. But it was Joseph who first took action, the first to lean in and have a taste of his lips.

And in a blink of an eye, the man was gone. Crushed by the weight of the debris and leaving behind a bubble containing his signature ribbon. Joseph's tears don't stop, they never did even after all that has happened, as he mourns the loss of his first love. 

But life goes on, as always. Joseph saves the world, marries the most beautiful woman he has ever met, loves and cherishes her with all of him, raises his most radiant daughter, and saves the world again.

If there was one fear that had constantly plagued his mind during the whole Egypt debacle, it was having to see his own blood or his newfound companions fall into the same despair he experienced when he lost him. Joseph oversaw them all amongst the noise of the battle and blood and sand. And even if they were trying to subtle about it to him, his vision was like a hawk's. Those sneaky, loving glances they make to another and the way their hands brush one another and linger a little longer than needed. He felt like the audience of the theater, watching as the unexpected bond unfold into something more. 

Somehow, miraculously, they left the battle barely clinging on to life. Avdol lost his hands, Iggy already lost a leg and was barely breathing, there was a big hole in Kakyoin's stomach that could be easily punctured through if DIO had put in more strength in his punch, and Joseph...he could have been dead if not for Jotaro's quick thinking.

In the end, they were alive. All of them.

They were alive.

All of them.

Under the relieved and happy visage he had put on after the final battle, imaginary tears of joy flowed through his cheeks like a flood. He's suffered through so much loss and pain and blood in his lifetime already, so realizing that they all lived , it was truly a miracle from the heavens.

And that was enough, right?

To see his newfound companions from the fifty-day crusade they undertook alive and happy, to see those that bonded to more than friends reunite and live onwards together, to give them the opportunity to have what he never had.

Truly, he loves Suzie with all his heart. But she was no Caesar, and Caesar was no Suzie either. Ideally, he would want to hold both of their hands, to live the rest of his life with them by his side. But one had sacrificed himself to let him live, to go on, and do what he couldn't.

So, this was enough for him.

Joseph's lips curved into a bittersweet smile. 

He suddenly feels something soft and furry rub on his leg, and he looks down to see Iggy watching him intently. His piercing blue eyes staring back at his teal eyes. Then the dog returns to rubbing his foot and leg around for a bit more, before moving to a sitting position and resting on it. 

Joseph wonders if somehow, Iggy had realized that he was sort of moping and decided to comfort him in his own little weird way. That was really silly, and cute somehow as well. For a dog who’s dissonance initially never blended with the rest of the group, it was nice to know that now he’s finding ways to get along with them in his own way. From Avdol and Polnareff’s stories of him, he tends to still go away to who-knows-where during their busy hours back home, but he would always come back after a long day and greet them with a bark and grin.

He reaches out his hand to pet Iggy’s head, and as his hand touches and slightly massages the top of the dog’s head, he hears a satisfied rumble from Iggy.

Joseph truly loves them and their company. From his rebellious grandson and his sweet but fierce partner, to the intelligent Egyptian who had wanted to befriend him during their first meeting, his louder than himself admittedly French partner, and their rowdy dog. And he doesn’t want to ever separate from them, they were all family. Even if most aren’t by name, they have proven themselves to be Joestars in their own way. He can see it, through each of them, a golden bright glow shining in each of their hearts.

“Hey!” Joseph hears Polnareff’s voice exclaiming excitedly, “You know, we should have some sort of name for ourselves!”

“Like a group name?” Kakyoin inquires.

“Yeah!” Polnareff grins excitedly, “I was thinking of something like ‘The Egyptian Travel Group,’ you know!”

“Jean.” Avdol lets out an exasperated sigh, “That sucks.”

“ Aie! You wound me, Momo!” Polnareff whines, “Well, do you have a better idea?”

“Hmm...” Kakyoin interjects, “What about we use the tarot cards to make a name for us?”

The look on both Avdol and Polnareff’s face lightens up.

“Oh! That’s a great idea! Good job, Kakyoin!” Polnareff shouts excitedly and gives him a thumbs up, before turning to Avdol with a cheeky grin, “Hey Momo! Pull out your tarot cards! Let’s do that.”

Avdol chuckles softly, “Sure, sure.” 

From the Egyptian’s pockets, he pulls out his handy and neatly arranged tarot card deck, the one which he always uses since his younger days. He shuffles them quietly for a bit, and stops after a few moments. Joseph watches as Avdol spreads out the cards to him from his hand, a surprised expression on his face while the Egyptian smiles.

“I think if there’s anyone who should pull a card, it’s you, Mr. Joestar.”

“O-Oh!” Joseph tilts his head curiously, “Why not Jotaro, though? He’s the one who truly defeated Dio.”

“Good grief, old man.” Jotaro grumbles and pulls his cap down, covering his eyes, “I may have defeated that bastard, but it’s...you, who helped us get to him. You’re the leader.”

Joseph’s eyes widen at the kind words his grandson had said. He felt touched, and he really wants to run up to him and give his dear grandson a big, bone-crushing hug. But now wasn’t the time for that. With a careful gaze, he picks the tarot card popping out in the middle and he pulls it out from the deck. He flips the card to see what tarot symbol it was. His eyes widen as soon as he sees it, genuinely surprised to see what he had picked out.

XVII.

"The Star!" Avdol begins to explain, "Symbolizes hope and faith. Possibilities and opportunities are boundless, and you are to be blessed by the gods."

"Also where my stand is based on." Jotaro pipes in.

"The Star, huh…" Kakyoin murmurs, deep in thought.

"It’s quite fitting for us though." Avdol continues to speak with a smile, "We...did save the entire world from a perilous threat. We are some sort of beacon of hope, even if no one else but us and the Foundation know about it."

"That's really cool!" Polnareff grins, "So, what, do we name ourselves like…'The Star Crew'?!"

Kakyoin cackles loudly as soon as he heard Polnareff's suggested group name, "Haha! Oh, fuck , that's even lamer!"

"Shut up, Kakyoin! Like you can do better!"

As Kakyoin continues to burst into laughter, Joseph thinks deeply about the tarot he had picked and a proper name for the group. He can probably take something from Polnareff's 'Star Crew' suggestion. Like, change crew to...crusaders? Crusaders sound like a fancier term for adventurers or explorers, and they did go through on a very (bizarre) adventure. And star...star...the journey was a supernatural kind of adventure, so if there's anything close to the supernatural or magical associated with the star, then…

"What about…" Joseph speaks up and everyone looks at him expectantly, "The Stardust Crusaders?"

There is a pregnant pause amongst the group, like they think long and hard about the suggested name made by Joseph. Then slowly, Jotaro sits up straight from his seat, and looks at his grandfather with a determined look in his eyes.

"That's...not a bad name, old man."

"I agree." Avdol smiles at him and takes back the tarot card that Joseph had picked up, "It's a really good name, Mr. Joestar."

" Oui!" Polnareff grins at him, "I like it!"

"And so do I." Kakyoin nods.

Joseph looks down and sees Iggy awake again, looking at him with some sort of smile on his face, like he agrees to whatever he had just said. A wide grin forms on Joseph's lips, elated to hear that they like his suggestion.

"Great!" He pumps his free fist into the air, "I like it too!"

They fall into loud and boisterous laughter, and begin to make casual conversation once more, now with Joseph joining in as well. The weight in his heart no longer as heavy as before, because Joseph knows deep in his heart, that they won’t ever go away and there will be more days like this. Now is the time to cherish these days with his newfound friends, the Stardust Crusaders, till the end of his time.

☆彡

Tiredness inevitably takes over their senses and the fire is put out as a signal for the crusaders to return to their respective rooms so they can slumber. Avdol carries an almost drunk Polnareff to their shared room, with Iggy tagging along, who mumbles and slurs words he doesn’t understand as he leans onto Avdol for support to stand. They reach their room and Avdol patiently changes him to his white and blue striped pajamas (it’s matching ones with Kakyoin’s, the two somehow love to have matching items since the end of the Egypt adventure and Avdol isn’t surprised because of how close the two best friends are), cleans his face a little, and finally tucks him to bed. Iggy is already fast asleep at Polnareff’s feet. Avdol smiles as he gazes over his two precious companions, before changing into a plain white sando and dark red boxers, his usual nightwear, before joining them in bed and falling asleep as well.

Avdol awakens and he sees that the sun still isn't up in the sky, only the twinkling stars in the sky above. He rubs his eyes to fight off the sleepiness getting to him, and he checks his surroundings before he can move any further. Huh. Iggy isn’t in his spot on the bed. Avdol decides to look for him, wondering silently where he had gone.

Avdol suddenly feels a familiar warmth wrapping around his waist as he tries to sit up from the bed and move out. He turns to see that it is just Polnareff, embracing him tightly with a contented smile on his face. One may think he is awake, but the steady breathing he makes says otherwise. Avdol’s lips curve to a smile watching his dearest just look oh so happy hugging him tightly, even if Polnareff didn’t mean to keep a tight embrace him. He chuckles softly, and lowers down for his lips to plant a small kiss on Polnareff’s forehead.

“You’re such a big baby.” Avdol whispers to him softly, though he knows Polnareff won’t hear him.

Avdol knows he can’t stay in bed with him forever though, as the task of looking for Iggy is a bit more important right now because who knows where he had gone. He gently takes the hugging arm that is preventing him to move out of the bed, and carefully puts it on one of the spare pillows from the bed so Polnareff will at least still have something to embrace in his slumber. Once he is finally out of his grasp, Avdol takes one more glance at the sleeping figure before taking quiet steps for the living room.

The summer house in the before dawn hours are quiet, almost too quiet. He can hear each footstep he makes creak on the wooden floorboards, but thankfully it’s not loud enough that it will rouse the entire household to awaken. 

He looks around, from the kitchen to the sofas and under the coffee table, but there is absolutely no sign of Iggy. He knows deep inside him that the dog is smart and he’s probably just nearby, but he can’t help but worry just a bit about him. 

As Avdol is about to turn back for his room to see if he may have missed him, his eyes catches two lonesome figures sitting on the beach outside. One is obviously Iggy, with how small he is compared to the other person, but who is with him? Curious, he steps out to the beach (not before putting on his beach sandals), and walks up to the two figures all alone at the beach. 

Walking closer, he recognizes that the person with Iggy is Kakyoin. He has his signature white and purple striped pajamas on, and he’s sitting down on the sand, absolutely not giving a care in the world if he gets sand on the fabric. 

“Kakyoin…?” Avdol calls out to him, “What are you doing up so late?” 

Kakyoin turns around with a surprised expression on his face. Iggy sees Avdol and he watches him curiously.

“Avdol!” Kakyoin exclaims, and he smiles at him, “Why are you awake?”

“I could ask you the same thing. But, well, you see I just woke up suddenly is all, then I saw Iggy was gone and wanted to find him.” Avdol explains. He sits down next to Kakyoin, and as soon as he is sitting comfortably, Iggy pounces on him and rests on his lap. Avdol chuckles at the sudden action, but he’s used to it, and he gently pats Iggy’s head to further let him relax.

“Oh, I see.” Kakyoin looks back at the shore beyond, “I suddenly woke up too, and I couldn’t go back to sleep for some reason. So I decided to just go out here, and wait for the sunrise.”

“Let’s wait together?” Avdol asks, “I don’t particularly want to sleep just yet.”

Kakyoin nods, “Sure. I would like some company.”

They sit together in a comfortable silence, admiring the scenery before and around them. The water in front of them illuminating under the now setting moon, the stars slowly disappearing above them to slowly make way for the sun that is coming soon, and the smell of the sea salt overtaking his senses. He is starting to see an orange light rising from his left, indicating the coming of the sunrise.

“Hey Avdol.” Kakyoin suddenly speaks up and the Egyptian turns his head curiously to him.

“Hm, what is it?” Avdol inquires.

“Ah, well, I was just thinking…” Kakyoin’s eyes turn their gaze to the shore in front of them, “I was just wondering, but...do you ever think about...what if we died back then? In Egypt?”

“Oh.”

“I mean! I’ve been wondering about it because...you and I, and Iggy too I guess, were the ones who got the worst injuries. Aside from Joseph’s sudden death and resurrection, of course. But honestly...I think if anyone was close enough to die, it’s the three of us.”

Avdol reaches out his hand ( and he reminds himself, remembers, that the hand he has is actually not his own anymore but something to replace it ), and he gives the younger man a reassuring smile.

“It’s alright, Kakyoin. I won’t deny I think about it a lot either, to be honest.”

“...Oh. Really?”

“Yeah.” Avdol looks out to the water, and his smile never faltering, “And honestly, I was already prepared to die, to sacrifice myself at any turn so you all may live even if I myself feared death.”

But somehow, fate had decided otherwise, the pages of his story rewritten to give him and his dearest companions a happy ending. Fortune telling about events to come has always been his forte, his magnum opus, but for the very first time in his life, he can’t tell if it truly was foretold in the cards that he would make it out, or he had just lucked out of it. 

Death was something he always feared having to face one day. Avdol had seen too much of it in his lifetime already, from his younger days in the Foundation with Joseph, exploring around the world for clues about Dio and the world of Stands and what not. But from his journeys, if there was one thing he had learned, it was that there was something worse than death coming to him. It was the fear of those close to him, whether by blood or not, snatched away from his grasp by the hands of death. Because of this realization, he concludes to himself that even if he himself feared death and it’s scythe creaking up in his shadow, he should face it anyway, with the bravest face he can manage. If it is his fate to die by the enemy’s hands, then so be it. As long as his friends are alright, are alive and smiling because of him, that’s more than enough.

And now? He no longer fears it. The worst of his fears have come and gone, defeated by a young delinquent and his purple stand and faded away into dust by the morning sun. It feels great that he’s here now, almost miraculous really. To be with Polnareff and Iggy, with Joseph, with Jotaro and Kakyoin, alive and bonding and growing closer than ever before, thanks to the adventure they had undertaken together.

However, deep in the depths of his mind, he also wonders of the possibilities of another future, a future where he is gone and the others live. Or what if they all died? Or what about the future that Kakyoin had worried of, a future without the three of them and the rest have lived?

Images of the three in such an aftermath visualize in his mind. He thinks of Joseph, who drinks himself to sleep and slurs and mumbles and curses to himself for never, ever, being able to save those important to him. He grows old and feeble later on, with the burden and blood of those died before him staining his hands. He thinks of Jotaro, who cries in his mother's arms the moment he steps into his household doorstep, who drowns himself in school works and naps to distract himself from the truth that is, his best friend is dead and he is never coming back. He later grows up to become successful in his career, but his heart is always hurting, distancing himself even further from everyone he cares about because of the fear of caring too much and losing them. He thinks of...Polnareff, crying and breaking down and losing himself on the plane ride home, because he realizes how much he wishes Avdol and Iggy were here, how important they are to him and now that they're gone, he can never ever express that to them ever again. He grows up somber and melancholic, now spending his days alone and hurt and fearing that anyone who becomes close to him will suffer the same fate as those he loves.

Avdol suddenly feels something heavy pounce on his chest, dissipating the melancholic thoughts in his head. He blinks up to see what had pounced on him, and all his attention is fixated on a certain dog leaning on him, barking loudly and somehow looking...angry? Worried?

Beside him, he hears Kakyoin laughing at him, "Seems like Iggy is concerned for you."

Oh.

That’s...interesting. He wonders if what Iggy had just done was his own way of saying "Don't think like that! We're here now, and that's what is important! " The thought of it...was comforting in a way. Who knew this loud, rowdy mutt could learn to become companions with him and the rest of the crusaders. Avdol raises a hand and lets himself pat Iggy's head. This makes Iggy stop barking. He gives the dog a comforting smile, and Iggy smiles, liking the gesture.

"It's okay, Iggy. I'm not going anywhere. I’m glad to be here." Avdol turns and smiles to Kakyoin as well, "And you too, Kakyoin. If you were worried about me suddenly spacing out."

Kakyoin pats him on the back and grins at him, "No worries! But...honestly, I feel the same way. You're all important to me, and I won't ever miss the opportunity to spend more time with you all for the world."

Avdol nods and his gaze shifts to scenery once more. He can see the sun now rising from the horizon, the signal of dawn coming as the start of a brand new day. The sky is a mix of a dark blue and orange gradient, and he can see the water illuminating under the dawn. The sunrise here is really beautiful, but it would be great if the others were he—

"Hey! You guys!"

The two turn around to see the familiar faces of Jotaro, Polnareff, and Joseph. The rising sun illuminating the bright smiles (even Jotaro is smiling) on their faces. They stand up from their spot in the sand, and while Jotaro took his time to get to Kakyoin's side, Polnareff absolutely did not hesitate to run up to Avdol and give him a bone crushing hug, which almost causes Avdol to fall but he manages to hold his weight onto the ground.

"Momo!" Polnareff exclaims happily, " Bonjour!"

Avdol chuckles and he returns the hug, his hands stroking Polnareff's back, "Good morning, Jean."

They separate from the hug after, but they hold hands instead. Avdol looks at Polnareff, seeing that he looks better from his almost drunken state last night. What remains instead of tired eyes and a flushed face now is a estatic Polnareff, his eyes twinkling like stars and his mouth grinning happily to see his dearest.

"Hey Jean," Avdol starts.

“Hm?”

He feels a small blush creeping up in his cheeks, suddenly feeling nervous, but he composes himself and says what he will always say to him in moments like these, "I love you."

Polnareff's eyes widen at the sudden words of affection, his cheeks flushed to a bright red, but his look of surprise is replaced quickly with the softest smile Avdol has ever seen him make. He feels Polnareff tighten his squeeze on Avdol's hand, "Momo...I...I love you too!"

He hears someone (Joseph, most likely) shout that the sunrise is really pretty, and the couple turns around to see the sun, almost fully out of the sea now. Everyone is watching the sunset now, all eyes fixated on the horizon beyond. Jotaro and Kakyoin stand together, holding hands and Kakyoin leaning onto Jotaro. Joseph stands in between them and Polnareff with Avdol, Iggy resting happily on the older Joestar’s shoulder. The sun is shining so golden and bright, and Avdol can't help but feel hopeful. He doesn’t need to read the cards or do some fortunetelling to know that, he trusts the gut in him about this feeling of hope. Hopeful of the upcoming day ahead with his closest friends, hopeful of the days to come with Polnareff and Iggy, and hopeful of the future that lies ahead for them all.

☆彡

At mid morning, Iggy finds himself standing once more at the shore of the beach. The sun already high up in the sky so bright and blue, the clouds puffy and fluffy, and the scent of the sea salt breezing by him. He concludes to himself after yesterday that this is probably his favorite spot on the beach, because of how serene and quiet it is, without the loud boisterous noises of either Polnareff or Joseph.

Speaking of which, even with their noise, he doesn’t particularly find it bothersome. Sure, Iggy loves the peace and quiet, but he also likes their company, the...Stardust Crusaders, as what they have all decided to call their odd group now based on that tarot card reading Avdol made.

He finds their company quite...refreshing. Ever since he had abandoned that stupid bastard of an owner, every human he had ever stumbled upon were either big assholes or were plain stupid. It’s why he had wanted to become a stray, to stay away from their kind and live a life of solitude as king of the dogs. But that was taken away too because of Avdol, the only one to actually deal with his bullshit and Stand. Initially, Iggy thought they would just treat him the same as those assholes of dog catchers and what not, and he still does think of this when he was dropped off in that damned desert with that odd group.

But they didn’t treat him like shit.

Sure, they had their disagreements, especially with the fact he was just suddenly brought to Egypt to fight someone he doesn’t even know or care about. And really, he just loved to mess with Polnareff and his stupid hair, but they weren’t...bad either.

It was only after he defeated that damned bird, fulfilling his revenge against him for literally killing that dog and causing grief for the boy, who didn’t even deserve any of that, that he really truly understood why he somehow...tolerated them.

They were righteous, they were all good in their own way, they were nothing like that bastard owner who messed with him or the assholes that tried to hurt him and his pack.

But now, with a common goal to defeat the vampire bastard, he understands their feelings.

And the fight ended, but not without an injury or two. Iggy had almost lost his life but his will to live persevered. He saved Avdol, by distracting Vanilla Ice from the Egyptian so he would have to fight the other two instead, and Polnareff too, who was so close to getting killed by Vanilla Ice if not for his quick thinking. He thought then and there, he would die, without the assurance of whether or not his sacrifice was worth it. But...he lived, somehow. The next thing Iggy knew, he had awoken to several veterinarians from that damned group Avdol had connections with, and they managed to bring him back up to his paws.

Those bastards, the Stardust Crusaders, they really are good-hearted people.

After Iggy had recovered from his injuries, he decided to stick around with them. So, Avdol and Polnareff take him in, and they flew off to France together and start a life together. He didn’t think he would find himself back in the care of a human, but if it’s with them? Well...he wouldn’t really mind at all.

Which brings back to the now, where more than a year had come and gone since that fated defeat of the vampire, Dio, who is now disintegrated into nothing but dust by the Cairo sun. Iggy can’t believe himself that it’s been this long now since he decided to be with them, and in all honesty…

He doesn’t ever regret coming with them after the trip.

Iggy can truthfully say to himself that he enjoys their company, that he likes being with them. Even if they can be stupid (Polnareff) or hard to understand (Jotaro), he likes them. He respects them and he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his days with them. A dog’s life is quite short after all, so he decides that after a long while of doing nothing but living on the streets and spending his days ruling over others, that it’s time to rest. Let himself be pampered and cared for, while also, in his own way, show the same care for them. They probably won’t ever understand his words, because they will hear nothing but barks, but it’s enough for him.

Suddenly, he hears someone call out his name, and he turns around to see Jotaro, wearing his signature cap and walking up to him. He sees him raising his arm up high, and Iggy’s eyes widen. 

Coffee gum!

He immediately makes haste for Jotaro, eyes fixated on the gum being held for him to eat. But as he’s running, he feels the wind momentarily grow stronger, and in the corner of his eye, he watches as Jotaro’s cap fly off from his head and flying away into the direction of the sea.

He’s going to lose his hat.

Oh, no.

Iggy turns around immediately and runs after the flying cap, the coffee gum in Jotaro’s hand forgotten. He jumps as he closes in on it, and manages to snatch the rim of his cap with his jaw before it can land on the water.

Thank goodness, it’s not wet.

The dog turns back to Jotaro’s direction, who stands still from where he had last seen him and watching Iggy intently. He trots to Jotaro at a slow pace, and once he’s at a close distance, he raises his jaw, the cap in his mouth, an action that reads as him handing the cap back to Jotaro. Jotaro kneels down, taking the cap from Iggy’s mouth, puts it on his head, and he gives Iggy a pat on the head. He then holds out the coffee gum he had on his hand moments before, and Iggy immediately chomps on it with a delightful grin on his face.

“Come on, Polnareff and Avdol are looking for you. It’s lunch time.” Jotaro says. He stands up and turns back to the direction of the summer house.

Iggy consumes the gum quickly and he immediately runs to Jotaro’s side. They walk back to the summer house in a peaceful pace. He wonders what is in store today for their trip on this beach. Maybe they’ll go sea diving today, even if he probably can’t swim. But he knows that either way, he’ll enjoy the company. It’s fun being with them, and he can sense that they like his company too. 

Iggy smiles to himself, contented with this new life he chose. He knows there will be more days like these, that they won’t ever go away. 

The Stardust Crusaders are alive, well, and tight knit like a family, forever bound together and never to be apart ever, for the rest of their days. 

☆彡