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Caesar sucked in a deep breath, forcing himself to relax as he glanced at the clock. Ten minutes until they left for the party. He had no idea why he was so nervous — they had triple-checked for threats, the suit Sensei loaned him looked great, and he has no problem handling a party's worth of social interactions. So why did the inside of his stomach still feel like dozens of bubbles popping and forming simultaneously? He didn't eat anything weird today, did he? Caesar had yet to come up with a valid answer, when the door to his room suddenly sprang open.
"Woah, Caesar, are you seriously gonna wear your bandanna with that 'fit?" Joseph — the other person going to the party — sauntered in, surprising the blond with how comfortable he looked in a suit. Caesar had not pegged him as the type to fare well in formal attire — but here he was, in a playful pinstripe suit with a bowtie that matched his sea-green eyes perfectly. The blond could even detect a pleasant hint of cologne when Joseph came up behind him in the mirror. It actually annoyed him a little bit, how good the brunet looked. Great, now that weird feeling in my stomach is getting even worse. Averting his gaze back to himself, Caesar grumbled:
"What's wrong with my bandanna?"
They both looked him up and down. His outfit currently consisted of a pretty orthodox blue-and-white suit, dress shoes, a pink bowtie to jazz it up, and of course, his signature pink-and-yellow bandanna. The thought of taking it off did cross his mind, but this headpiece was Caesar's trademark, and he just wouldn't feel the same without it.
"Nothing's wrong. It just doesn't really fit." Joseph shrugged, before suddenly perking up. "You know...."
Caesar felt a light tug, before his bandanna came loose. He let out a yelp of surprise and tried to grab it, but Joseph had yanked it away and was now holding it way out of reach. Curse him and his nine additional centimeters. "Hey!"
"Relax. I just have an idea." The brunet cracked a mischievous smile, then reached for Caesar's bowtie and pulled that apart as well. Swatting his hand away, the blond grumbled:
"And when have those ever been good? I don't wanna see your idea. Just give me back my stuff!"
"Stop being difficult, Caesar-chan." Joseph chuckled, seemingly not the least bit threatened. He reached out again, propping the blond's shirt collar up before looping the colorful bandanna around his neck. "Speedwagon-jisan does this all the time. I think it'll look nice on you too."
Before Caesar could protest, the brunet got to work. His hands moved with surprising dexterity, transforming the bandanna into a beautiful string tie. Unable to really see what was happening, Caesar's eyes came to a stop on Joseph's face instead, which was stilled by concentration. Can't believe he would still wear his hair like that... but for some damnable reason, it really doesn't look bad on him. Suddenly, Joseph's eyes flicked up, meeting the blond's own and nearly giving him a heart attack:
"I would ask if you're nervous, but I know you'd just say no, so let me go ahead and skip to: why?"
"I'm—" All the possible explanations (excuses?) Caesar had in mind disappeared, so he could only sigh. "I don't know. I've been like this ever since Sensei invited us to the party, and I have no idea why."
"Hmm." The brunet mused, and even though his hands were still hard at work, Caesar could feel those sea-green eyes studying him closely. "It must be because you're going with Sensei to a party, and you don't wanna embarrass her."
"Maybe." The blond nodded, genuinely hoping that the feeling in his stomach would subside. Yet the bubbles only fizzed more intensely. Joseph didn't seem to notice, though — he adjusted the tie one last time, before stepping back to admire his handiwork:
"It looks great. And Caesar, you have nothing to worry about. You have too much respect for Sensei to even consider doing anything embarrassing... pfft, that is, if "anything embarrassing" doesn't include the way you hit on girls."
"You...!" And to think I was about to thank him. Caesar scowled, before an idea suddenly popped into his head. "At least I'm not all talk, Mr. Sexy Lips."
"Wha—" Now it was Joseph's turn to falter. "Hey, how did you know that?!"
"Guess."
"Was it Suzie Q?"
"Oh, so it was Suzie Q." Caesar hummed teasingly, trying to suppress his laughter as Joseph's face reddened. He couldn't remember when or where he'd heard Joseph say this, but that reaction just confirmed his suspicions. "But you know, if you're gonna fail that bad at getting a girl whose options are already so limited, you should really consider changing your strategy."
"I can flirt however I want, okay?" The brunet frowned, jabbing a finger at Caesar. "Besides, who just straight up goes and kisses people like you? That's terrible!"
"You can't criticize my method if yours doesn't work." The blond cocked an eyebrow, before breaking into a grin. "Has it ever worked?"
"It has! Of course it has!" Joseph hissed, getting more and more emotional by the second. If Caesar didn't know any better, he would've said the brunet was flustered. Still, he pressed on:
"Sure, on schoolgirls probably. Who was the last real woman you kissed? By the way, your grandma doesn't count."
"Hey, you would be lucky to have my grandma! And I have kissed people before."
"But they all managed to resist the power of your "sexy lips"? Mmm, I bet you haven't."
"I have."
"You haven't."
"I have!"
"You haven't!"
"I have!" Joseph yelled; then, entirely out of both's predictions, he seized Caesar's lapels and pulled the blond into a full-mouth kiss. There was no time to think, or even to call out in surprise — all Caesar could feel was the brunet's lips on his, hot and angry and frustrated and actually, really pretty damned sexy. Then Joseph pulled away with a smack, hand flying up to cover his mouth:
"Oh my God! Caesar! I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking straight, and I totally got carried away, and you were just right there, and I... and I just grabbed you, and... and.... Aghh, you're bleeding!"
"N-no, I...?" Caesar tried to speak, but an acute sting from his lower lip cut him off. Did that idiot smash our heads together too quickly...? Still dazed, the blond reflexively stuck his tongue out to lick off the blood — only to realize a split-second later how Joseph's eyes were still stuck on his lips, and how red both of them were suddenly becoming.
"A-ah... well, let me go get the first-aid kit! It would be bothersome if Sensei thought we had a fight or something, wouldn't it...." The brunet blurted out, tearing his gaze away and turning to head for the door. Caesar knew he should have let him leave, but for some reason unbeknownst to even himself, he called out:
"JoJo, wait!"
Joseph's head whipped around just a little too quickly. "Yeah?"
"U-uh...." Caesar's eyes met that sea-green gaze, and once again he felt like he was about to get a heart attack. "Your method, it's... it's... not bad."
"Oh?" Joseph's mouth fell open; he stopped walking and turned all the way around to face the blond. The bubbles in his stomach were churning like crazy, and Caesar suddenly had an urge to bite his lip, but he resisted it with the hyper-awareness of all the reactions it could give rise to. Feeling the silence getting heavier by the second, he stammered:
"W-well, what I mean is you can get girls... wait that's not it, I mean... uh, you probably have kissed before... wait, no, let me... you have sexy lips— wait! Wait! Mamma mia, JoJo, I—"
"Caesar." The gravity in Joseph's voice made him freeze. Caesar swallowed as he watched the brunet approach, each stride ruthlessly cutting down the distance between them. His breathing was even thanks to all the training they endured, but the blond feared that his heart might jump out of his chest at any moment. He had never seen Joseph look this serious, not even during their first encounter with the Pillar Men — but here they were, Caesar about to be backed into the wall because Joseph wouldn't stop advancing with a look on his face that somehow reminded him of Sensei's expression whenever she was about to lose her temper. Is he angry? But why? Wasn't he the one who grabbed me? Did—
"If you wanted to compliment me that badly, you didn't have to wait until after I kissed you to do it~" Joseph broke into a toothy grin, all the seriousness gone from his face. Caesar was more than ready to hit him with a blast of Hamon, when the brunet suddenly continued:
"So? Think you'll be able to resist the power of my sexy lips?"
That's. It. Raising both hands to cup Joseph's smug face, Caesar pulled him down into a kiss. There was a soft grunt of surprise, but Joseph wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the blond, closing the distance between them. His fingers curled around Caesar's hair, tugging as if he wanted him to lean back — but a warning bite on his lip was all it took for the brunet to back off. Not so fast. Caesar liked to take his time with just about any romantic gesture, and kissing Joseph was no different. He kept a gentle but firm grasp on Joseph's head, holding him just there as he took in the sweet scent of his cologne, his growing frustration with each quickening breath, and those lips, soft and wet and absolutely burning as they pressed against his. Feeling the brunet's grip on his back tighten, Caesar sighed with mock exasperation before finally giving Joseph what he wanted. He let his head fall back, and promptly the brunet's tongue slid into his mouth, deepening the kiss until Caesar was practically falling over backwards. Yet Joseph stubbornly clung onto him, his arms glued stuck around Caesar's waist until the blond had to push him away, gasping into what little space there was between them:
"Can't... breathe... idiot."
He heard Joseph chuckle, but it sounded just as breathless. Caesar looked up, and blinked when he saw a smudge of red:
"Did... did I bite you too hard?"
"I'm fine." Joseph grinned, before raising a hand and swiping his thumb across the blond's lower lip. A dull sting jogged Caesar's memory. "It's yours. Should I go get the first-aid kit after all?"
"No, it's fine." Glancing at the clock, Caesar shook his head. "We should go. Sensei's probably waiting for us."
"What if she asks?"
"I'll tell her..." Caesar paused, cracking a small smile as he straightened his jacket. For some reason, all the bubbles in his stomach have disappeared. "... what I'll tell her when she does. Let's go."
He grabbed Joseph's hand and pulled him along to the docks. Little did he know, behind him, a certain pair of sexy lips had curved into a knowing smile....