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He’d watched them embrace, once the decision had been made. It was barely that, even. They shook hands, but it took Polnareff snapping at them before they forced themselves to let go. He knew that it wasn’t enough, and it was never going to be enough. It made his stomach churn, but there really was no other option at this point, less Polnareff had a sudden change of heart.
“If we can evade him till morn-” The Frenchmen cut him off, shouting about it being now or never. He needed to avenge Abdul and Iggy. The words and their familiarity echoed in Joseph’s ears, and he clamped his mouth shut, turning to look at Jotaro and Kakyoin, both standing stoically, ready to take whatever action was needed. Jotaro was finishing a cigarette, and Kakyoin was adjusting his glasses. Joseph guessed that if they had been off, the ginger’s eyes would have been trained on his grandson the entire time. Jotaro met Joseph’s gaze and nodded, stepping over to Polnareff, raising two fingers in salute. “Take the car, we’ll catch up.” Blue eyes glanced past the old man and settled on Kakyoin, who’s mouth was set into a firm line.
”You can follow me if you want. But I’m going now, you can’t stop me, Jojo.”
Joseph had been suspicious for some time now, especially since the hospital visit after the fight with N’Doul. The small touches, the glances. Disapearing together only to show up just before dinner, unable to look at each other without a smirk or blush popping up. Or maybe he was reading too much of himself into his grandson, though there were moments when he had been certain. He remembered very clearly a night in India when he had checked up on the boys in their hotel room, finding it empty. He would have thought an enemy stand had shown up if he hadn’t heard them in the bathroom, steam rolling from under the door, the shower doing little to cover the noise. He hadn’t said anything then, and he doubted they knew. He’d pressed Jotaro a few times, vaguely, and about love life in general, but the bratty teen either ignored him or told him that an ‘old geezer’ like him wouldn’t get it. It was like salt in the wound.
”Not get what? I’m old, and I may have married your grandmother when I was 18, but I know a thing or two about relationships.” Joseph said, sitting back, face set in a scowl. They were seated at a table in the hotel’s cafe, two cups of tea between them. Joseph hadn’t touched his, but Jotaro was almost done with his. Jotaro looked at his grandfather from under the brim of his hat, frowning. He shifted, his high collar obscuring his throat, hiding the small bruises that decorated it, though Joseph knew if he asked the boy would just blame them on the last fight. That had been his excuse, too.
Caesar smirked at Joseph, pressing his hand to the back of the younger man’s neck, running his fingers up through his hair and then back down, rubbing out the knots and sores that formed during the day. Joseph hummed in pleasure, wrapping his arms around the pillow that was under him, grunting when the Italian shifted, moving to sit on his lower back, pressing into his spine with both hands. Pops rang out, and Joseph felt his back realign and relax. Caesar chuckled, leaning over and kissing behind his ear, murmuring Italian promises of pleasure to him as his hand trailed down his side.
“We can’t tell Polnareff, he’ll let it slip and we’ll have lost our advantage.” Kakyoin said, leaning against the wall of the hospital, eyeing Abdul, who was under in a drug induced sleep. Jotaro nodded in agreement, as did Joseph. But they all seemed a little shaken too. It had been luck that Abdul wasn’t dead, and only luck. Until now, they had felt rather invincible, eventually crushing each enemy stand user that got into their way. Despite Joseph’s warnings and reminders of how powerful Dio was, and the fate of the Joestar bloodline so far in the wake of the vampires and curses surrounding them, Jotaro had seemed to be unfazed. But now his eyes stayed trained on Kakyoin, jaw set tight. He could have easily been in Abdul’s place, and he may not have turned his head at the right time.
When Kakyoin’s eyes were nearly clawed out, Joseph had never seen Jotaro more agitated, though he did his best to conceal aside from the growing pile of cigarette butts next to him, and glaring at any nurse or doctor who tried to tell him smoking was prohibited. He finally did put out his cigarette when they got the okay to go into Kakyoin and Abdul’s rooms. Polnareff decided to go see Abdul first, and Joseph decided to join him, watching as Jotaro quickly shut the door behind him as soon as he entered his friend’s room. He was very good at keeping his cool when they were fighting, but now that the danger and adrenaline had passed, there was nothing to distract him.
Joseph tipped his head back, turning his head to press his lips to Caesar’s temple. He settled back against the blond’s chest, shifting the book he had been reading to the side, glancing at the door to make sure it was locked. Caesar had his eyes shut, dozing. The training that day had been hard, and he had been snappy with Joseph, more so than usual. He didn’t push him away when they got back to the room they had been secretly sharing, but he hadn’t embraced him as they had grown in the habit of doing. He was stressed, they only had a time left before the rings in Joseph’s heart dissolved, and they weren’t nearly making the amount of progress necessary to fight off the Pillar Men.
Shifting again, Joseph got off of Caesar, who awoke with a frown. He looked up at Joseph, who hesitated to say anything. Alone together was different, Joseph didn’t feel the need to be boisterous, and while they still argued just as much as they did in front of others, these arguments were resolved, often with kisses and caresses of apologies. Sometimes Joseph wondered if they both picked fights just so they had another reason to embrace in the coming night.
They were allowed to see the bodies, Joseph unsure whether that was better than what he had, a memory of tussled blond hair disappearing to never be seen again. At least the last time he saw Caesar, he was whole. There was only a small bag with some bracelets in it for Abdul, and to his horror, they had two medium sized bags for Kakyoin instead of one large one. Iggy was the only one left in a single piece. Joseph had tried to tell Jotaro that for now, maybe it wasn’t best for him to see them. No one needed to see their best friend bagged up and on a metal table. Let their last touches, the last looks they gave each other be what he preserved.
But Jotaro had shoved past him, and he didn’t blame him, recognizing the look on his face, not unaware of the fact that Jotaro had yet to say Kakyoin’s name once, not since they had left each other’s sides. He followed his grandson into the morgue, hands clenched tight. Jotaro had the same tight expression on his face, but now all the color was gone. He hadn’t seen Kakyoin get attacked, hadn’t seen him die. He hadn’t been there for him, when he needed him most. Kakyoin had died without regrets, without fear, but he had left Jotaro to live on with them.
Joseph had sobbed at Caesar’s tombstone. He’d missed everything. The funeral, the last chance to say goodbye. It’d been weeks since his death, and still Caesar had saved him more than once in that time. There was nothing he could do to return the favor. He hadn’t been there. He didn’t make it in time.
Caesar kissed Joseph on the lips, tangling their fingers together as he pulled the brunette closer to him. They were both breathing heavy, blankets tossed aside and tangled at their feet. Joseph gently kissed his throat, before laying his head back on a pillow, Caesar pressing his forehead against his. He looked so disheveled, so rumpled and not the poised thing he tried to be in front of others, Jojo couldn’t help but chuckle, then laugh. Caesar smirked, pulling him closer, “You little shit, what are you laughing about?” He asked, but his face broke into a grin, and soon he was laughing at well, caught up in the moment, warm and out of breath, hot bodies still pressed against each other.
They laughed and laughed together, kissing and embracing until at last they went quite, on the edge of sleep. Joseph kissed Caesar’s knuckles, petting his hair. “I love you,”
“I love you too, Jojo.”