Work Text:
7:55 PM.
That had been the time presented on the wooden grandfather clock in the living room when Joseph had decided to sneak a glimpse of it earlier.
He had been on his way to his bedroom then, and already knew that he was likely not coming back out for the evening. The poor boy was sure he couldn’t even make it if he tried.
His feet felt as if they were bricks, weighing him down with each step he managed to take. His eyes seemed to flutter shut involuntarily quite often, as if he were a young student pulling an all-nighter (of course, when it came to Joseph, this wasn’t a simile that applied to him... but he digressed).
Joseph was sure he couldn’t recall a moment where he had felt this exhausted in all of his young life.
A moment that was nearly up for comparison, however, was the time he had chased down a motorcycle on foot. The brunette was almost certain that the man riding it had sent a rather disrespectful look in Granny Erina’s direction… which was not something that Joseph took lightly, of course.
So, much to Granny Erina’s dismay, Joseph had chased the ride for quite a few blocks… before ultimately remembering that there’s a reason that humans don’t compete against vehicles in car races, and passing out on the sidewalk.
Regardless of whether or not Erina was in favor of his actions, however, the point still stood: even that whole fiasco seemed to be a cake walk compared to this whole “Hamon” business.
Not to mention how today’s events had been more tiresome than usual, thanks to the whole “Suzi Q being possessed” fiasco. Forcing out a Pillar Man’s brain from the body of Lisa Lisa’s maid wasn’t exactly how the boy imagined a day of training to go.
There was, however, a little something that made the ruthless training more bearable. This something always managed to put energy in Joseph, no matter how tired he grew. And if he had timed his arrival correctly, this “something” would already be waiting for him by now.
Joseph brought a glove-covered hand to comfortingly stroke his back as he rounded the last corner towards his bedroom. Immediately his expression changed as his eyes fell on the blonde ahead of him, who was simply yet prettily leaning against the door frame. “Caesar!”
The look on Caesar’s face was also wiped away as he took note of Joseph being in front of him, but partially for a different reason. His boyfriend had been right on time for once, and that wasn’t something that happened often. In fact, Caesar couldn’t recall the last time it had happened.
He parted his lips to start up a response to the younger boy, but immediately paused when he saw the suggestive glare in his eye. “JoJo…?”
There was no response from Joseph; instead he just began slowly inching towards Caesar. Intimidatingly at that, as if they were the stars of a horror movie and Caesar was about to be taken out next.
“JoJo… what are you planning?” Caesar began wearily, even though he very well knew the answer. He backed up a bit, pressing his back against the wall outside of Joseph’s room. “Joseph-I-know-it’s-been-a-while-but-please-don’t-squish-m…” he tried to quickly blurt out, but the last word never got the opportunity to leave his lips.
Joseph came rushing towards Caesar, wrapping his arms around him as if he hadn’t seen the boy in years. The tiredness from earlier had seemed to evaporate from his body, as the boy somehow found the strength to hoist Caesar into the air, ripping a small yelp from the Italian’s lips. “Caesar! I missed you.”
“Shut up, will you? You’re making too much noise,” Caesar hissed, swatting at Joseph’s face for him to put him down as the brunette whirled him in circles. “J-JoJo! That’s enough ‘hugging Caesar time’ for now!”
“There will never be enough ‘hugging Caesar time’,” Joseph insisted, but ultimately obeyed, reluctantly setting Caesar back down on the floor where he’d been standing originally. “Killjoy.”
The two briefly paused to make sure they hadn’t attracted the attention of anyone else during all of the fuss. Miraculously, they seemed to be in the clear.
“Well… If you’re done being ridiculous already, let’s go,” Caesar orders, opening the door to Joseph’s bedroom. “Before your mouth gets us into actual trouble.”
“You sure we shouldn’t wait a bit longer? Maybe Coach heard that girly squeal you gave after I picked you up after all, and she’s coming down here to yell at us,” Joseph teases, waiting for Caesar to head in before following behind. “And you say I’m the one with the mouth.”
“Mio Dio…” Caesar muttered in an exhausted tone of voice, bringing his fingers up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You know, it’s a good thing you’re no longer wearing that mask… or you could’ve knocked me out back there, bum-rushing into me like that.”
“Mask or not, I still would’ve done it! I really did miss you a whole lot, Caesar,” Joseph admitted after closing the door, heading towards the Italian with his arms outstretched.
Caesar gave out a soft sigh in response, dropping his hand and giving into Joseph’s attempts, happily allowing himself to be hugged. “I missed you too.”
♡ ♡ ♡
9:00 now. Or maybe around 9:30?
Joseph wasn’t entirely too sure; he couldn’t see the clock hands due to the darkness now overtaking his bedroom. The clock wasn’t digital, thanks to the time period. But, when it boiled down to it all, the time didn’t matter much at this point anyways.
All that mattered was that he and Caesar were together now, doing the same routine they did each night; Joseph laying sprawled out across Caesar’s lap as the latter slowly ran his hands through his hair. This is what their 8:00 pm consisted of, and it was the highlight of each of their days.
Joseph’s eyes were shut lightly as he enjoyed the feeling, and Caesar was happily humming to himself, albeit tiredly. They’d come down from their earlier energy rush, and had sat in silence the entire time they’d been sitting in Joseph’s room, simply enjoying each other’s presence. The quietness had grown to be boring after a while, though, so Joseph decided he’d start up a conversation.
“Hey, Caesar… I don’t think I’ve ever told you about what happened back in Mexico, where I met Stroheim,” Joseph announced suddenly, eyes flopping open to be fixated on the ceiling. “You know, before the two of us met?”
Caesar ceased his light petting of Joseph’s hair, causing a slight whine to leave the boy’s lips. “JoJo, I’m sure there are a lot of things that could’ve happened back then,” the blonde muttered, eyes lazily beginning to close.
He could barely keep them open; he was seconds away from falling asleep, much like Joseph had been earlier. The boy must’ve transferred his drowsiness to his boyfriend. Caesar’s eyelids would drift off ever so slightly every few seconds, his body begging for him to allow it to crash against the floor and rest.
He knew that Joseph would never go for that, though; even though it was late enough for them, and the two should be focused on getting rested for the next day, they weren’t going to pass up on one of the already few opportunities they had to spend romantic time with one other.
“Of course there are,” Joseph replied, a bit annoyed but in his usual talkative mood nonetheless. He rolled himself off of Caesar’s lap, finding himself a bit light-headed from laying down for so long. “But this one’s super exciting!”
“Hmph. That’s what you say about every story, JoJo,” Caesar kindly reminded him, resting his back against the frame of the bed. After regaining his strength, Joseph crawled over towards him, snuggling himself against Caesar’s side and watching him with wide eyes.
“Will you just listen to me?” He demanded, giving Caesar a playful smack on the chest. “I promise it’s exciting.”
“...Fine,” Caesar muttered after a few minutes, always giving in to Joseph’s antics. “But if it turns out to be another one of those disgusting stories you told me last time, like that cop from New York rubbing his boogers on your face... I might just never let you tell a story again.”
Joseph, already too busy formulating the way he was going to rattle off the tale to the blonde, didn’t respond. By now, he had pushed himself up and away from Caesar again, and at this the Italian let out a small groan. He had nearly forgotten how quick to move Joseph was. They could never sit and be comfortable in one place for too long.
“‘Kay, so,” Joseph announced after a few minutes, lifting his hands into the air as if he were giving a presentation. “Imagine… the year is… wait, what year is it again?”
“Are you serious JoJo?” Caesar cried, suddenly growing alert. “All the stuff that happened this year with the Pillar Men… you nearly died again today, and hell, we even met this year, and you’re telling me you d…”
“That’s enough from the audience, thank you,” Joseph cut him off, returning to the buildup of his story. Caesar let out a soft snort before casting Joseph an amused expression, propping his head up with his hand as he waited to listen.
“We’ll, err… omit that detail for now. Regardless, we all know the protagonist of this story! The boy originally from Britain, who now resides in New York. He had to grow up with his Granny Erina and his Uncle Speedwagon, who mean the world to him.”
An amused smirk grew on Joseph’s face as he continued. “This boy is also very handsome. In fact, it should be a crime how handsome he is. It’s no wonder he got arrested seven times when he was younger!”
“Hold on there, JoJo,” Caesar interrupted his boyfriend again, blonde eyebrows arching upward in surprise. “Seven times? Such an amateur. It figures that someone like you wouldn’t know how to cover their tracks properly.”
“Oh, really? What are you trying to say, that you have some type of criminal record?” Joseph rested his head in the palm of his hands, smirking. “You probably tried flirting with the wrong girl and she called the cops on you, huh?”
Caesar grew silent then, thinking about what he would say next before deciding against it all and letting out one of his signature one-syllable sounds. “Hmph! You’ve got some nerves, Joestar.”
“Tell me about my nerves later, please? I’m trying to finish a story.” Joseph waved him off, then continued back where he had left. “Anyways, one day he found out that his Uncle Speedwagon had been murdered. But then, he uncovered that Speedwagon hadn’t actually been murdered, it was all a lie! So he had to go and rescue him.”
There was a slight pause between the both of them, and Caesar suddenly grew even more dumbfounded than he had been before. Had that… been the end of the story?
The blonde slowly got up from the bed as a poorly disguised yawn escaped his lips. “Well… that was fascinating, JoJo, but I think it’s getting quite late, so maybe we should go and say our goodni…”
“Nonsense Caesar, this is where the fun begins,” Joseph exclaims, grabbing his hand and giddily pulling him back towards the bed. “You see… I had to head to Mexico in hopes of finding Speedwagon and bringing him back safely. Then, I came across the Germans who were holding him. I knew there was some funny business going on, and I had to find a way to infiltrate them! So, what did I do? Go on, guess!”
“Something stupid, I bet,” Caesar commented under his breath, sitting beside Joseph on the bed now with his hand still being held.
“I beg to differ. You see, Joseph Joestar is so quick-witted and smart on his feet that he came up with a fantastic disguise!” Joseph explained, his utter excitement making Caesar smile. “I call it my tequila outfit.”
“Mmm...wait JoJo, I’m not too sure I like the sound of that,” Caesar insisted, lifting his head up from its previous tilted state, due to his drifting off.
“No, no, it’s great! Genius, even. Don’t ask me where I acquired the fabrics from, but I managed to get a hold of a dress… and I actually managed to find makeup too… and then after that I just, well you know…”
There was a pregnant pause as Caesar waited for Joseph to continue, watching with an opened mouth. Eventually the younger boy finished his sentence, gesturing up towards his chest, “...I found something to slide up here.”
Immediately, Caesar let out a loud string of uncontrollable chuckles. It was unlike anything Joseph had ever seen come from him before; it was almost a bit unsettling. It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed that he had barely caught his breath, even then not being able to stop himself from laughing. “Ah! JoJo, are you hearing yourself right now? This is just proving my point! You must be tired. There’s no way that happened.”
“...So you don’t believe me,” Joseph muttered in a monotone voice. He had been silently watching Caesar’s laughing fit with a pout tugging at his lips, bothered by his skepticism. His hold on Caesar’s hand loosened a bit, also… a supposed attempt at showing Caesar he was a bit upset with him.
“I mean, let’s be real here, JoJo,” Caesar continued, using his other hand to gesture as he explained. “You’re insane, childish, and like to do spur of the moment things that are likely to blame for the unpredictable and hazardous scenarios you find yourself in…”
“That’s a better characterization of myself than I think even I could do,” Joseph gasped, his eyes suddenly lighting up with interest again. Sometimes, Caesar just couldn’t tell what emotion he was going for. “Say, Caesarino, are you secretly a psychologist?”
“No, I just know you well.”
“If you know me so well, then what’s my favorite color?”
“JoJo, please? I’m trying to get to the point of my previous statements here.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. My bad. Continue on.”
“Thank you. And it’s most definitely green, by the way.”
“Bingo!” Joseph cried, before raising an eyebrow. “But what shade of green, Caesar?”
“Easy one, obviously the same color as my eyes.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Joseph gazed into Caesar’s eyes just then, as if he were studying them. “You know, when I look at your eyes… they remind me of something.
“Yeah, my eye color,” Caesar scoffed.
“No, that’s not it.”
“I… whatever.”
Caesar sat for a few seconds before realizing he didn’t remember where he was originally planning on taking the conversation. “Well, now I’ve forgotten what it was that I was going to say… so continue telling me that story you made up about Mexico, please. I’m going to drift off for a bit, and I like to hear you talk.”
“Hold on... you really still don’t believe me, Caesar?”
Caesar shook his head slowly in response, taking a beat to register what it was that was being said to him. “Negative.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to show you.”
Joseph fully released his grasp on Caesar’s hand then, eagerly jumping to his feet and walking with a purpose, his sights on the bedroom closet.
This gesture managed to cause the blonde’s eyes to widen. “JoJo, hold on a moment! Don’t tell me you still have this disguise!”
“Well clearly I do, Caesar, so I guess I’ll just keep my mouth shut,” Joseph sang, breezily opening the closet door and beginning to dig around in his suitcase. Within seconds, the boy had removed the historic costume from its hiding space and soon held it triumphantly over his head.
Both Caesar’s eyes and lips had parted widely, the boy seemingly fully awake and alert now as he brought himself to stand, nary a word leaving his tongue. “Well?” Joseph asked, bringing the costume down from over his head and admiring it pridefully. “I’ll admit, it was a bit awkward initially... but, it was worth the experience!”
The brunette plastered a fake smile on his face; there was no way that Caesar could find out his disguise didn’t work.
He was expecting Caesar to give his input, and the two stood staring at each other for what seemed like minutes before Caesar erupted into chuckles again, barely taking enough time to firstly even take in what the costume looked like. “I can’t believe this! Are you serious, JoJo?! What the hell were you up to before we met?”
“Hey, I had to get inside somehow!” Joseph cried defensively, tossing the costume back inside of the closet and crossing his arms. “I didn’t know someone like you at the time, so there was no way I could think up any good ideas on my own.”
Caesar grew quiet for a second, wiping a tear remnant from his laughter out of his eye and glancing towards Joseph thoughtfully. “Wait... really, JoJo? You really don’t think your ideas are good?”
“Well surely yours are better than mine,” Joseph remarked truthfully, shrugging his shoulders as Caesar continued watching him closely. “I mean… I am the guy who ended up taking Wamuu on that wild goose chase which almost definitely led to these ring things being put in me. Without my carelessness, I’m sure we wouldn’t have ended up in that situation in the first place.” The boy pouted then, playing with his fingers. “I have terribly bad ideas.”
Caesar paused for a beat, thinking carefully about what it was that he wanted to say to his boyfriend next. He knew that the words that left his tongue next would have to be extra sweet if he wanted the air in the room to grow cheerier after such a dreary statement being made. When Joseph got all insecure on him like this, Caesar knew it was his responsibility to make him feel better about himself and lift him up. Most of the time, he didn’t mind.
“But Joseph, your ‘terribly bad ideas’ are what make you so fascinating,” Caesar finally replied, maintaining eye contact with him. “I mean, seriously. I can’t think of anybody else who would try to disguise themselves in…” A snort. “... in a tequila… outfit. I’m sorry, I can barely get it out.”
Joseph breathed out a chuckle, which prompted Caesar to smile as well from seeing the brunette happy once again. Though Joseph displayed smiles often, these times where the grin was wiped from his lips beforehand made it all the more meaningful when it returned.
“Come here,” Caesar ordered, and Joseph obeyed, sulking over to the blonde and gently placing himself in his lap. He felt Caesar’s arms wrap around his waist in comfort and security and softly rested his head against his shoulder.
“Well… maybe you’re right, Caesar,” Joseph decided after a few seconds of them silently cuddling. “I guess my bad ideas aren’t all that terrible. Maybe they mesh quite well with your good ideas.”
“But JoJo, what about those times where my ideas are bad?” Caesar questioned, glancing down at Joseph curiously. “I can’t possibly be right all the time, you know.”
Joseph looked up towards Caesar as he pondered his question, mouth curving into a strange shape as he thought.
The Italian couldn’t help but swoon over how adorable Joseph looked like this, and leaned his face downward towards the boy to kiss him. Joseph met their mouths the rest of the way, wrapping them in a display of affection they had done so many times before... in the comfort of either his or Caesar’s room, of course. By the time they had pulled away, Joseph had decided on a solution to Caesar’s question.
“Our bad ideas will cancel each other out, so all of our ideas will always be great.” Joseph announced, plastering a wide smile on his face as he waited for Caesar’s response.
“Mmm… you’re so ridiculous,” the blonde replied, placing one more kiss on Joseph’s lips before leaning his head back against a pillow and deciding that he couldn’t possibly keep his eyes open any longer.
“You love me though,” Joseph replied almost immediately, snuggling closer to him. He’d have to make sure that one of them woke up to warn the other before Coach could find them like this.
“That’s true,” Caesar hummed, eyes closed. “And I’d say that was one of my best ideas yet.”