Work Text:
Even in his subconscious, Jotaro could feel the heat surrounding him. His eyebrows furrowed at the temperature which made him remember the time he travelled to Egypt. Though, the differences were humidity, and the immensely annoying wall of noise coming from the cicadas.
Feeling a surge of irritation just as he awoke, Jotaro blinked open his eyes only to get assaulted by intense brightness. Groaning, the young man slammed his eyes shut as he reached upwards to pull the visor of his cap down.
When his eyes felt a little bit more comfortable, he dared to squint open his eyes again. What he saw across the narrow country road in front of him was a large, outstretching field of small trees.
Furrowing his eyebrows again, but for a different reason, Jotaro looked around him. He found himself in a rundown bus shelter. He didn’t know why he was there, or how he even got there.
Standing from where he was seated on the bench, Jotaro continued to glance around. His hands slipped into his pockets as he stepped out from the shade the bus shelter provided, and into direct sunlight.
To his left, the country road continued as far as he could see. To his right, the country road also continued as far as he could see. And in front of him was just an expanse of greenery that, even for someone as tall as Jotaro, could barely see over the top.
With a sigh, Jotaro pulled his visor down over his face as he began to debate what to do when he heard a dull thud, followed by a slight rattle from within the field across from him.
“Star Platinum,” Jotaro summoned, prepared to use his Stand to peer through the trees to locate where the sound came from. But his Stand never appeared.
Instantly more alert than before, Jotaro slowly yet cautiously glanced around him. From the moment he woke up, he had a feeling something was wrong. Now that Star Platinum wasn’t heeding his summon, it made Jotaro even more suspicious of his situation.
A metallic creak snapped him out of his thoughts. It came from around the same area as the other sounds he had heard earlier.
Carefully, Jotaro crossed the narrow country road, and stepped into the field of small trees.
As he walked through the plants, Jotaro realised that there was fruit growing among the leaves. On closer inspection, they were fresh and ripe cherries. The vibrant colour tugged at Jotaro’s heart. Old memories surfaced in a sudden wave, but Jotaro suppressed them just as quickly. He had to force them aside as they did nothing but remind him of the painful reality that a certain cherry lover, a close companion, and a dear friend, was deep in a coma, and showing no signs of awakening.
Continuing to follow the shuffling of leaves, Jotaro finally caught a glimpse of another person.
Ducking between a few trees, Jotaro made his way closer to the other person to ask about where he was and how he could get back home. From a distance, it looked like a rather tall individual, perhaps even taller than Jotaro, as they were able to pick cherries off high branches. However, as Jotaro approached them, he noticed the metal ladder that they were using. With a straw hat on their head and their back turned to Jotaro, it was difficult to make out their gender so Jotaro spoke up with a neutral greeting.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh?”
Something tugged in Jotaro’s chest as he heard that voice. One, he identified it as that of a man’s. But two, Jotaro knew that voice. Green eyes grew wide as the other turned his head over his shoulder to regard Jotaro.
Green met purple. And recognition was sparked within those colours.
“Kakyoin…” Jotaro breathed out, disbelieving and barely audible.
“Oh, it’s you, Jotaro!” The other brightened up at the sight of Jotaro. Swiftly, he made his way down the ladder, setting a small basket he had in his hand next to a large wooden crate full of cherries, before trotting up to Jotaro with a smile on his face. “What brings you here?”
Jotaro didn’t understand what was happening. First, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. Second, his Stand, Star Platinum, didn’t appear when summoned. And now, the person who Jotaro had shared so many precious memories with while on a dangerous journey to Egypt, who had also suffered a life-threatening injury and had fallen into a coma as a result, was standing in front of him, well and healthy, in a cherry field, picking his favourite fruit.
Jotaro would never consider himself dumb, but at the moment, he really didn’t know what was going on.
“Hello? Earth to Jotaro?” Kakyoin waved a hand in front of Jotaro in an attempt to call him back.
It didn’t make sense. How was he here?
“Kakyoin, you…” Jotaro reached a careful hand out. He simply couldn’t believe his eyes.
His hand reached out to touch the other. A part of him prepared himself for some crazy supernatural ghost-like encounter where his hand would slip through Kakyoin like vapour, but it didn’t. The tips of Jotaro’s fingers touched a soft surface. His fingers traced the other’s cheekbone, before his palm cupped the other’s face, gently and delicately, as if with any more force and Kakyoin would break.
Rich purple eyes never left green eyes as he leant his cheek into Jotaro’s touch. Kakyoin also raised a hand, reaching up to cup his over Jotaro’s. Then, a small smile pulled at his lips.
“It’s really you,” Jotaro breathed out. Although still confused and in disbelief, floods of relief were washing over him as he searched every detail of Kakyoin, confirming that the person in front of him was really, and truly, the person he knew and loved.
A light chuckle left Kakyoin. “Of course, it’s me. Who else would it-?!”
But Jotaro didn’t let him finish as he pulled the other into his arms. A surprised noise left Kakyoin as the sudden movement knocked his straw hat off his head. Wrapping large arms around the other’s shoulders, Jotaro breathed into soft, cherry coloured hair.
“You’re really here,” Jotaro whispered, inhaling the smell of Kakyoin’s shampoo.
A muffled chuckle left Kakyoin as he wrapped his arms around Jotaro’s torso.
The situation still felt surreal to Jotaro, but his emotions were a storm and he could barely think straight with Kakyoin in his arms.
“I’m glad you’re alive.”
Kakyoin chuckled again. “You’re saying really weird things, Jotaro.”
For some reason, the way Kakyoin kept acting as if nothing had happened, and appeared to be disregarding Jotaro’s emotions, was vaguely annoying. Pulling away from the embrace and holding the other at arm’s length, Jotaro gave him a firm look.
“Kakyoin, haven’t you any idea how worried I’ve been?”
The expression that Kakyoin wore in response made Jotaro’s blood run cold.
“Why were you worried?” He asked, head tilted a fraction in a mix of awkwardness and uncertainty. His lips curled into a hesitant, confused smile as purple eyes looked into Jotaro’s with slight distance.
The grip on Kakyoin’s shoulders loosened but Jotaro didn’t let go.
“Don’t you remember what happened in Egypt? With DIO?”
There was a pause between them, Kakyoin’s face growing more and more confused before he asked,
“Who’s DIO?”
In that moment, a powerful, quaking shiver ran down Jotaro’s spine. He felt his face drain of colour as his grip on the other loosened further. Despite not wanting to let go, he lost strength in his arms and they fell to his side.
“Jotaro?” Kakyoin asked, but he was barely heard.
What did Kakyoin mean by ‘Who’s DIO?’ Did that mean he didn’t remember anything from their time in Egypt? But they were hugging just a moment ago, Kakyoin accepting Jotaro as if their relationship hadn’t changed. It was another mystery on top of everything that was already amiss since the moment he woke up.
“Kakyo-!”
Jotaro snapped his head up to ask the other what he remembered when something small and round and shoved into his mouth. His teeth bit into something both soft and firm, and a sweet taste filled his mouth.
“It’s sweet,” Jotaro spoke as he bit around the stone.
“Delicious, right?” Kakyoin smiled proudly as he twisted a cherry by its stem before popping it into his own mouth. He hummed pleasantly as he cradled cradling his basket in front of him. Once he had finished, he looked at Jotaro with caring eyes. “Are you feeling better?” He asked softly.
The way he looked at him was heart warming, but at the same time, it hurt a little.
A sigh left Jotaro before he dropped to the floor, sitting cross legged before jabbing a finger towards the ground. “Sit.” He instructed.
“Eh? Ah, okay.” Kakyoin did as he was told, setting the basket of cherries between them before sitting himself down.
Jotaro thought it would be best just to talk.
Short, interrogation-like questioned revealed that Kakyoin had no memories of anything that happened in Egypt. Apparently, he had been on this cherry farm for as long as he could remember, tending to his favourite fruit and living a peaceful life. He could not remember when or how he met Jotaro but he acknowledged that they were in a relationship.
“It must be nice though,” Kakyoin sighed as he leant back on his hands. “To go on a journey like that.”
It pained Jotaro to hear that as if Kakyoin didn’t experience it himself. “We can go on another one together.”
A light laugh left Kakyoin. “I’d love to,” he replied with a sad smile. “But I have to tend the field.”
“We can get someone else to do it,” Jotaro suggested.
But Kakyoin simply shook his head as he made his way to stand up. “I love this cherry field, Jotaro. I can’t abandon it.” He said that as he picked up his basket and turned his back on Jotaro.
Jotaro also stood up, but it felt like he had left his heart behind as it sunk to his stomach in rejection. Kakyoin was slowly walking away from him, each step widening the distance between them. He felt desperate and hopeless, fearing that no matter what he tried, Kakyoin would never want to leave his cherry field.
“Do you…?” Jotaro spoke up but couldn’t finish his question. He was afraid.
“Hmm?” Kakyoin turned to Jotaro with a questioning hum.
Opening his mouth then closing it again, Jotaro rolled the next few words carefully over his tongue. He wanted to know, but he was afraid to ask. He wasn’t sure whether he could take another rejection.
“What is it, Jotaro?” Kakyoin prompted, worry beginning to appear on his face.
It was just a few words but Jotaro was really finding it difficult. Pulling down his visor so that he could hide behind it, Jotaro mustered up some courage to ask. “Do you love this cherry field... more than me?”
There was a pause. A long pause.
Every second made Jotaro’s heart sink further. He pursed his lips together as he felt dread weigh down on his shoulders. It appeared hopeless, convinced that this silence was rejection.
Gritting his teeth, Jotaro forced himself to peer at the other. He braced for the worst. But what he saw was a desperately conflicting expression on Kakyoin’s face. Eyebrows furrowed in an almost painful frown, it was obvious that Kakyoin was having a seriously intense mental debate, juggling between the two options. His teeth busied at his lip as his fingers began to pick at the basket handle.
A spark was lit in Jotaro. Both were at a moment’s of weakness so if Jotaro were to strike now, he may have a chance of persuading Kakyoin to leave with him. He hardened his spirit and asked a delicate question.
“Aren’t you lonely here?”
The reaction couldn’t have been more obvious. Kakyoin visibly flinched at the question. The grip on the basket handle grew tight as his knuckles paled. His lips pursed into a thin line and rich purple eyes sank to the ground.
Jotaro approached Kakyoin carefully, opening his arms out to wrap the other into a loose embrace. It may seem like he was taking advantage of the other’s insecurities, but he knew deep down that that wasn’t the case. He simply wanted to make amends after letting Kakyoin go in Egypt. Perhaps it was selfish, but if Kakyoin were to accept him again, then Jotaro would stay by his side and keep him safe.
“Come with me, Kakyoin.” Jotaro tried.
Leaning his head forward, Kakyoin planted his forehead against Jotaro’s chest.
Silence fell between them again but Jotaro held out hope.
“And this field?” Kakyoin eventually asked quietly.
“I’ll get someone from the Speedwagon Foundation to tend it for you.” Jotaro reassured quickly.
“They do agricultural work too?” A light chuckle left Kakyoin.
In all honesty, Jotaro didn’t know but he still promised. “They will when I ask them to.”
“Amazing.” He huffed a laugh.
Slowly, Kakyoin looked up from where he stood beneath Jotaro’s chin. His expression was soft, a mix of sadness and hopefulness, almost as if afraid to believe in Jotaro’s words. But as much as he was afraid to believe, Jotaro was afraid to let go.
“Come with me,” Jotaro whispered, before leaning down for a kiss.
Slowly waking up to the sound of birds chirping and the regular beeping of a heart rate monitor, green eyes blinked open. He found himself in a white room, the smell of anaesthetic prominent in the air. Moving to sit up, Jotaro registered the stiffness in his shoulders and back. He groaned at the soreness as he pushed himself upright from where he was hunched over the side of a bed.
With a satisfying stretch over his head, Jotaro felt fatigue leave him as his gaze wandered to the person in bed.
Green eyes met rich purple as Kakyoin blinked tiredly at Jotaro.
Through the transparent oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, Kakyoin gave his best smile, albeit small and fragile. “Good morning, Jotaro.” His voice was barely above a whisper but Jotaro heard him clear enough.
“Welcome back, Kakyoin.”