Chapter Text
The first thing that Rohan noticed when they arrived was how spacious the house seemed to be. Josuke had told him the Kujo household was big, but he’d never gone into detail about the appearance of the manor. Josuke hadn’t told him about the mix of traditional and modern aspects that went into its design. Though, Rohan supposed that the architecture was the least of Josuke’s priorities when he’d last been here.
The Kujo residence was a traditional japanese home with a small elegant garden and a stone path down the middle leading up to the front porch. The outside of the house didn't seem to be decorated for the occasion, save for the sole butterfly shaped balloon right beside the front door.
To some extent, the home reminded Rohan of his grandmother’s inn, where he’d spent much of his youth. The realization made something inside of his heart ache with some sort of nostalgic feeling, but the feeling was quickly forgotten when he felt Josuke squeeze his hand reassuringly. Rohan glanced up at the younger man, who appeared to be just as nervous as he felt.
“It’ll be okay,” Josuke said, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself instead of the mangaka. “I told Jotaro-san I’d be bringing my boyfriend, and he didn’t seem to have an issue with that. I just… I wonder what Mr. Joestar, I mean, my dad, will think.”
Rohan hummed, studying Josuke’s face for a second before shrugging. “There’s no use worrying about it now, Josuke. If you didn’t want me to come, you should have thought of that before we got here.” He knew that wasn’t what Josuke meant, but he also knew that the best way to get him to stop worrying about it all was to turn his attention towards something else.
“Hey, that’s not it.” Josuke frowned at him, and Rohan held back the urge to chuckle at how cute he looked like that. The anxious expression from before had been instantly replaced by something akin to annoyance.
“Then let’s go in. It’s too hot to stay out here either way.”
Josuke took a deep breath, then nodded, dragging Rohan along with him towards the house.
Before either one of them could even think to ring the doorbell, the door slid open and a child, whom Rohan assumed was the birthday girl, leaped straight into Josuke’s arms. Josuke let go of Rohan’s hand in order to properly hold her up, a grin adorning his features instantly.
“Uncle Josuke!” the girl exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Josuke’s neck. “You made it!”
Josuke chuckled, swinging her around. “Jolyne!” he said, confirming Rohan’s initial assessment of the situation. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world, princess.”
Jolyne giggled, pulling back slightly in order to look at Josuke. She reached towards his cheek and pinched it in her small hand with a pout forming on her lips. “You didn’t show up last summer like you promised, you big meanie!”
“I’m sorry! I wanted to come surprise you now, which is why I wasn’t able to come earlier! But I’ll make up for it, yeah? We’re gonna be staying at Holly-san’s for a few days with you, so we’ll have lots of time to play together,” Josuke said, and the girl finally let go of his cheek, smiling at his words instantly.
It seemed like she was just about to say something when she finally realized Rohan was standing there too. “Is that your boyfriend?” Jolyne whispered much too loudly, her cheeks rosy and a sly smile on her lips. Rohan resisted the urge to laugh at that.
So this was Jolyne, Jotaro Kujo’s daughter, and the girl whose birthday party they’d come to celebrate. Rohan found himself smiling at the scene playing out in front of him, watching Josuke’s gentle nature take over immediately while dealing with the girl. Josuke had always been great at dealing with children, unlike himself.
Josuke nodded, glancing over at Rohan with a warm smile. “Yeah, he is,” he said in a soft voice before turning to face him, still holding Jolyne close to him. “Jolyne, this is my boyfriend, Rohan. Rohan, this is my niece, Jolyne.”
Jolyne looked at him for a few seconds, hiding into Josuke just a little. “He’s really pretty,” she whispered to Josuke, much too loudly again.
Josuke nodded, staring straight at Rohan. “Isn’t he?”
She smiled, then turned to Rohan again, extending her hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. boyfriend.”
Rohan chuckled softly, shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Jolyne.”
“Oh? Is that you, Josuke, dear?” A voice called from inside. Rohan turned towards it, coming face to face with a mature woman with honey colored hair and kind eyes. She walked towards them and wrapped her arms around Josuke and Jolyne both.
Josuke wrapped his free arm around her immediately. “Holy-san! It’s great to see you again. Thank you for having us.”
Holy pulled back to look at him with a bright smile on her face. “It’s no trouble at all, Josuke! You know you’re always welcome in my home.” She turned towards Rohan and tilted her head to the side just a little. “Oh! And this must be your boyfriend! Hello, it’s great to meet you.”
Without giving him a proper chance to respond, the lady pulled Rohan into a warm hug. He tensed up at the suddenness of it all, but quickly calmed down enough to awkwardly put his arm around her in a half embrace. “I’m Josuke’s big sister, Holy!”
Ah. Of course. Josuke had definitely told him about his sister. It seemed that being overly affectionate was a family trait that both Josuke and Holy had inherited from their father. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Holy-san. My name’s Rohan.”
Something seemed to click in her mind once he mentioned his name and she pulled away to look at him closely. “Oh! So, Jotaro wasn’t kidding when he said Josuke was dating a famous mangaka? My father has all of your works, actually! He really admires you, sensei. I’ve read some of your Pink Dark Boy too, and it’s marvelous work.”
Rohan glanced over at Josuke for an explanation, but the younger man merely shrugged. He’d thought Josuke hadn’t mentioned who he was dating up until this moment… So how did Jotaro know it was him? Not that it particularly mattered, but it was still… interesting.
He felt his face heat up slightly at the compliment and he tried clearing his throat inconspicuously. “Thank you. I’m glad to hear that,” he said with a small smile.
“Ah! Come in, please,” she said, taking Jolyne from Josuke and stepping aside to let them come inside the house. “Jojo’s been waiting to finally see you two together!”
He raised an eyebrow at that, but decided it was better not to question it any further and just do as she said. He’d get his answers sooner or later whether he wanted to or not.
After carefully removing their shoes at the genkan, Josuke and Rohan headed straight towards the living room area where everyone was gathered. Joseph was sitting next to an older woman, who Rohan assumed was his wife, and a few more people he didn’t recognize were sitting with them.
As soon as they got to the room, Jolyne hopped off of Josuke’s arms and ran straight towards her father. Instead of sitting with the rest of the people, Jotaro was standing near a wall, seemingly hanging up decorations.
“Dad! Josuke’s here!!!” She said, tugging on his sleeve in order to get his attention. “He brought his pretty boyfriend, come say hi!”
Rohan felt his face heat up at that, and he glanced over at Josuke, whose cheeks were tinted pink as well.
The rest of the people gathered in the room turned to face them with small smiles on their lips. Josuke waved at them awkwardly, reaching for Rohan with his free hand. Rohan intertwined their fingers and then glanced back at Holy, who smiled warmly as soon as their eyes met before walking off to another room in the house.
Jotaro looked at Jolyne with a small smile on his lips before his face shifted back to its usual neutral expression. He let the girl guide him back towards them and then he nodded at them both. “I’m glad you could both make it.” He put his hand on Josuke’s shoulder and then turned towards Rohan with a curious glint in his eye. “It’s nice to see you again, Kishibe.”
Josuke smiled, turning towards Rohan briefly before addressing his nephew. “Thank you, Jotaro. I, uh, I actually brought Rohan here as my-”
“Boyfriend,” Jotaro interrupted. “You told me on the phone the other day.”
“Well, yeah, but. How did you… Why are you not surprised?” Josuke asked with an expression that mirrored Rohan’s own confusion and disbelief at how easily Kujo seemed to have processed the information that Josuke and Rohan were currently in a relationship.
Jotaro actually rolled his eyes at that. “It was obvious.” He shook his head, glancing down at Jolyne before turning his attention back to them. “Jiji and I knew you’d end up together from the start.”
Rohan stared at the older man, dumbfounded. Joseph knew that they were together as well? “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He asked, before Josuke could even gather himself enough to reply to Jotaro. “I despised Josuke back when we met. How would that make any of this obvious?”
Jotaro hummed, an amused smile finding its way into his face.
Before any of them could say anything, though, Jolyne spoke up again. “Dad, I decided what I want for my birthday now.”
“Oh? We already got you all your gifts, Jolyne,” Jotaro said, though it was clear by his tone that he wouldn’t hesitate to get her anything else she asked for. “You picked them out at the mall with grandma the other day.”
Jolyne pouted, looking up at Jotaro. “Yeah! But I want one more thing, dad, pleeeeasseee?” She looked up at Rohan and grinned, pointing straight at him. “I want to get green hair like Josuke’s pretty boyfriend!”
Josuke’s eyes widened at that and he tightened his grip on Rohan’s hand, looking like he was just on the verge of laughter but trying to hold himself back for Jotaro’s sake. Rohan glanced between Jotaro and the small girl in amusement.
Jotaro seemed to have been taken by complete surprise and he looked back up at the couple before shaking his head. “We’ll talk about that later, Jolyne. We have to ask your mother if she’d be okay with that first, alright?”
It looked like Jolyne had been about to complain, so Rohan chuckled softly. “If your mother says yes, Josuke and I can help you color it,” he said before he could stop himself. “I do color my own hair, after all.”
The girl’s face brightened at that, and she moved from her father’s side to excitedly hug both Rohan and Josuke at once. “Yes! See, dad? Uncle Rohan and uncle Josuke will help!”
Josuke couldn’t hold himself back anymore, and he burst out laughing, hugging Jolyne back as best as he could. Rohan patted her back awkwardly, apologetically looking up at Jotaro, who didn’t seem as angry as Rohan had expected.
It seemed like the only member of the family to not inherit that overly affectionate trait was Jotaro, after all.
Rohan looked back up at the rest of the people gathered in the room again, then back at Josuke, who was still laughing as he held his niece.
It had been a long time since he’d seen such a big, caring family gathered together like this and the first time he’d gotten to experience their warmth and such a strong sense of belonging firsthand.
Despite being so far from Morioh, Rohan felt at home.