Work Text:
Moving On (Joseph)
~"Daddy?" Joseph Joestar turned around from his heaps of paperwork to see his loving daughter Holly.
She was as cute as she was when she was a baby! Joseph had to suppress himself from jumping up from his chair and cuddling her.
"Yes, my sweet?" He said. Holly held a photograph in her hand but Joseph couldn't quite see who it was on the picture.
"Who's Caesar?" Joseph stood up from his seat so fast he nearly hit the lamp on top of his head.
"W-where'd you hear that name from, precious?" He stuttered. He can't talk about him anymore it was his fault it was his fault it was-
"I heard Grandma saying his name while holding this picture. When I asked Mommy about it, she looked really sad and said that I should ask you." I'm the last person you should ask!
For the first time in a while, Joseph's mouth was shut.
Blood leaked under the cross shaped rock. Ironically enough, Caesar was Catholic. Would he have been happy dying the way he did?
"Daddy? Why are you sad? There's water coming from your eyes." Holly came over to the male Joestar until she was within a foot's distance. Joseph bent down and took the picture from his daughter without saying anything.
***
"Jojo, why are you eating that celery when we haven't bought it yet?" It was shopping day and Lisa Lisa told the two Hamon trainees to get the groceries. Joseph shrugged.
"I was hungry." He put the other half of the celery back on the rack.
"Hey, now that you've eaten it, we have to buy it. Why are you contaminating the rest of the celeries with that disgusting mouth of yours?!" Joseph didn't know he had a sixth sense of sensing danger until he met Vampire Straizo. He felt the same aura from Caesar.
He had to get away fast.
"Run away!" Before Joseph could even move his legs, his feet were stuck by familliar looking bubble Hamon.
"Oh shit!"
"That's right! You can't go running away now!"
***
"I thought we could take a picture to celebrate our training!" Joseph motioned the photographer. After barely surviving Caesar's wrath, Joseph decided that he wanted to do something different for a change... something kind.
Lisa Lisa looked confused.
"Jojo. You didn't even finish your training yet!" She nearly scolded. Joseph laughed as he put everyone in position.
"C'mon Master! Please?" He begged even though he knows he'll get his way. The next line his teacher will say was, 'oh, alright but that means that you'll have to work harder from now on.'
"Oh, alright. But that means that you'll have to work harder from now on." Joseph internally cheered as he put Lisa Lisa and Suzie Q into position.
"C'mon Caesarino! Get into the frame!" He attempted to push his partner towards the Hamon Master. (Because Joseph called dibs for standing next to Suzie)
"I don't look good in pictures ok? Leave me out of this!" Caesar yelled back.
"Please? I won't call you 'Caesarino' for a whole week!" He tried. Caesar's eyebrows raised.
"Seriously?" Joseph nodded as Caesar sighed. "Fine. I'll be apart of your stupid picture."
The four of them came in position and the cameraman started to count down from ten.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"-Oh yeah. I was lying Caesarino. I'm going to be calling you that for the rest of my life!"
"-WHAT?!"
"One!"
***
Joseph rubbed the place on his cheek where Caesar punched him.
"Daddy?" It was Holly that brought him back to the cruel reality.
"Is this Caesar guy your friend? Did he move away?" Bless Holly and her innocent heart, she didn't say the 'd' word.
Joseph had a sad smile.
"Yes. I can't ever see him again." Holly looked confused.
"Eh? Why? You can travel the whole world? Where did Mr Caesar go that you can't follow him?" She asked. Joseph held the photo close to his chest.
Those days were the days he was ignorant, but he loved it nonetheless. He bent down and held Holly's shoulder firmly.
"Holly, there are some places that even Daddy can't follow." He tried to explain carefully.
"Oh!" Her face lit up. "Like space?" Joseph blinked as he thought of Kars.
"Uh, yeah. Like space."
***
Joseph woke up to... a mansion which he did not recognize. Huh? Where am I? He rolled over in bed to find a man sitting next to the bed. He had blue hair and matching eyes.
"Hello! You're finally awake... right?" Joseph looked at the man confused.
"Uh, I think I am. But who are you?" Not to sound rude. But he remembered sleeping in Suzie's arms in his own bed after tucking Holly in. The man laughed.
"My name is Jonathan Joestar. You're Joseph aren't you?" Joseph squinted his eyes. Jonathan... Jonathan... where did he hear that name from...?
"You're Granny Erina's husband! Which makes you my..." Alright so it might make Joseph sound dumb as Hell to be counting with his fingers even though math wasn't necessary for the given situation but hey, who can blame the guy? Jonathan waited patiently as Joseph was completing the complex equation in his head.
"You're my grandfather! Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?!" Joseph nearly yelled. Did- did Joseph just die in his sleep!?
"I wasn't the one who brought you here, I'm only here to pick you up. And no, you aren't dead. Someone actually wanted to talk to you!" Jonathan smiled.
"Huh? Who?" Joseph got up from the bed as Jonathan stood up from the chair.
"I don't want to lie so I'll just say that it's a close friend of yours." Joseph realized at that moment that Granny Erina wasn't over exaggerating about Jonathan's kindness.
The two walked in the halls of the large mansion spurting out question after question. Apparently, this mansion was the exact replica of the mansion Jonathan lived in back in the 1880's and anyone associated with the Joestar's in any way had a room of their own. Granny Erina resided with Jonathan but he couldn't see her as it was the rules (?) that Joseph could only see the one that requested him.
It was also a thing that someone who has lived a heroic life could call for one of their 'loved ones back on Earth' once but since Jonathan was the owner of the mansion, he could see anyone who has 'visited.' So far, Jonathan was the only one that called for someone which was Speedwagon when he was in his late fourties.
With the massive discussion, Joseph never realized that they were finally there. Jonathan clapped Joseph's shoulder with a smile.
"He's waiting for you. Once you're done talking with him, your soul will get transferred back to your body." Tears shone in his eyes.
"Be safe, my Grandson. There are many dangers waiting for you ahead of time. I'm afraid it's our fate to constantly be in battle. But you did a good job saving humanity on your own." Joseph didn't know what to say. He hasn't ever met this man in his life but he's claiming to be his grandfather. But he had a distinct feeling that he wasn't lying.
So he hugged him and let the hug speak for him, saying many things like, 'I'm sorry you had to die so young, and 'I hope you're happy now that Uncle Speedwagon and Granny Erina are here with you in peace.'
"I hope that you can keep attempting to be a gentleman Joseph. Our meeting was short but, I'm glad I got to meet you in the first place." Jonathan hugged back and they eventually let go.
"Well, I'll be seeing you then Gramps!" Joseph did a two fingered salute and Jonathan disappeared with a 'goodbye.'
He turned towards the door and took a deep breath.
Just who would 'summon' me here anyways? Joseph turned the knob.
Only one way to find out. He opened the door.
On the other side was a man with blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a headband across his head and wore all blue. He was reading a book and his legs were crossed. Joseph's jaws nearly dropped.
"Cae- Caesar?" He stuttered in a whisper. Just this morning he was thinking about the said man and he's here! Caesar quietly put a bookmark in his book -it was sunflower patterned- and stood up.
"Finally! I thought that you would never come!" He said exasperated. Joseph would have said something witty to annoy him but no words were forming in his mouth.
"I guess you're here now so that's all that matters." Caesar sighed as he walked towards the Joestar.
"C'mon. Say something!" Caesar flicked Joseph's forehead. Joseph blinked.
"But- but you're here and I-" Was all he said in reply. Caesar rolled his eyes.
"Did he not tell you? I live here now!" He motioned the room which was decorated much differently than the mansion itself. Joseph guessed it had something to do with 'freedom of doing whatever you want in Heaven.'
Caesar punched Joseph saying that he had no pride for the Joestar line. For the sacrifice Jonathan did for the world. He walked into the mansion never seeing the light of day again.
Joseph said nothing as he saw Caesar walking in the snow getting ready for a battle he was to lose.
"Caesar! I'm so sorry!" Joseph Joestar was a prideful man. He didn't say sorry to anyone. (Except for Granny Erina, Holly, his own Mother, and Suzie Q) But here he was, apologizing for something that shouldn't be his fault but he believed it to be so.
"Jojo. That was exactly the reason why I brought you here. I saw you with your daughter and you looked so... upset for something you didn't do." Caesar's face softened. He was saying the thing that Joseph wanted to hear for years but always thought that Caesar would resent him for letting him die against Wamuu.
"It was me who decided to fight Wamuu. You told me not to and I should have listened to you. I paid the price for it." Caesar's face turned towards the ground as he held Joseph's shoulders.
"Caesar..." Now he felt even more guilty! Caesar must have knew that because he quickly regained his stance and shrugged.
"It's not that bad here anyways. I met my Grandfather here and your grandfather which, may I mention is ten times better than you." Joseph felt a rage of anger swell out his chest.
How nostalgic.
"Huh?! I'm a good man! What are you talking about! I lost my hand to save the world!" Caesar scoffed.
"By running away?"
"Shh! That's the secret Joestar Technique! Every Joestar after me will use it! You can bet on it!" Caesar rolled his eyes.
"Sure..." Joseph started to laugh with a load being lifted from his heart.
He doesn't hate me... Well at least not more than what he did before.
***
"I'll miss you Caesarino." Joseph hugged the Zeppeli as tightly as he could.
"Yeah. The feeling isn't mutual if YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT!" Caesar yelled when Joseph let go.
"Don't make me use my bubble Hamon on you!" He threatened. Joseph felt a rush of Hamon come through his hands.
"I bet I could beat you like how I did with that pigeon!" He said confidently.
"That was a fluke and you know it!"
***
Joseph Joestar opened his eyes to the sunlight shining through the curtains. He put a hand on his forehead.
What a strange dream. I met Gramps and... Caesar... that had to be fake! Joseph shook his head furiously. It was just because of the discussion he had with Holly the previous night right?
Joseph looked over to his night table for the time when he found a single headband lying innocently there. He picked it up as gently as he could and he list count of how many times he cried those two past days.
It wasn't a dream.