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Despite all the times he had been told “count backwards from 100 and you’ll be asleep before you know it”, it did little to assuage the anxiety Josuke felt about not falling unconscious in time and somehow being awake for the procedure.
When he wakes up however knows how long later, lips numb, vision bleary and thoughts incoherent, he duly notes that he’s in a hospital room and that must mean he survived surgery. Huh. He doesn’t even remember the IV being inserted. His head, scratch that, his whole body, feels heavy and hazy, probably due to the abundance of anesthetic still present in his system.
He blinks once, twice, three times, trying to make sense of the things he sees. Which...isn’t to say there’s very much. What can you expect in a hospital? There’s an oddly blobby looking chair, a table, a tv in the corner maybe, and….is that a clock on the wall? What time is it?
The surgery was early in the morning, and from what Josuke can vaguely gather, it’s past noon now. Where’s his mom? Didn't she say she’d--
“Josuke, sweetie, you’re awake!”
Oh. So that blob in the chair was his mom. He tries saying something, but it comes out incomprehensible, probably because of the combination of face numbness, wires, and out of his body feeling.
Tomoko rushes over to his bedside, smoothing his hair back from where it was plastered to his forehead. It was left unstyled, doctor’s orders, for surgery. She combs over his face with worried eyes. “You doin’ okay kiddo?”
Josuke looks up at her, half understanding what she’s saying. It feels as if he’s far away, on top of a mountain, and yet, he’s afraid of heights. God, he wants to go home. Something hopefully akin to “I dunno” tries to come out. His mouth is obnoxiously dry, and he’d kill for a drink of water. When he tries to sit up, his head spins and wires connected to him from every angle prevent him from getting far.
“Hey hey hey, don’t do that,” Tomoko gently chatsizes, rubbing Josuke’s shoulder as he eases back into the position he was in. “Don’t wanna overexert yourself.”
Josuke frowns and makes a low noise of displeasure, something more akin to a whine than anything else. He’s thirsty. Swallowing thickly, he realizes there’s something weird in his mouth. He can’t feel it exactly; his lips, tongue, and the whole lower portion of his face are numb as all hell, but there’s something there and it’s annoying him. Is this why he’s so thirsty? His mom must see the frustrated look he’s wearing, because she smiles softly.
“Gauze, it’s for the bleeding hon,” she says softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed finally. “The surgeon said you can take it out after a bit.”
A bit, huh? Josuke pokes halfheartedly at his cheek. He doesn’t feel it. Damn, he’s thirsty. “‘m thirsty,” he tries mumbling, not sure how it sounds, too tired to care. Just in case, he mimes drinking.
Tomoko gets the clue instantly, being the excellent mom she is. “I’ll figure something out, okay?”
J osuke nods and closes his eyes, satisfied that his most pressing need is going to be addressed.
He falls into a light, uneasy sleep again.
When he wakes up hopefully not too long later, it feels like ages have passed. Hospitals have this weird way of surpassing the human sense of time, most likely because you’re usually drugged up to your ears in pain medicine.
His head is a little clearer now, even if he still can’t feel his face. There’s a paper cup on his bedside table, and he reaches over to it, focused only on immediately quenching this thirst. Bringing it close to his lips, he’s surprisingly shocked at the foreign sensation. Or better yet, the lack of it. He can’t feel the cup against his lips, nor the liquid inside his mouth, and it’s deeply unsettling. Weird how he can still feel thirsty without….well, physically being able to feel portions of his body. He’s too tired to dwell on it. Downing it in one swift gulp, he holds onto the cup for no reason other than he’s too tired to move again.
Now that he realizes it, it’s dark in his room. Well, dim is a better word. His bedside lamp is lit, but outside the window, the world is dark. Did he really sleep that long? Shouldn’t he at least feel hungry?
In this quiet moment, Josuke tries to wrap his head around everything. He’s out from surgery, his mouth is numb and will be for a very hot minute, and….his jaw is wired shut. At least it doesn’t hurt. Yet. It sure will. The doctors all said it should be an easier process than the wisdom teeth removal, but so far, he’s not too impressed. Surgery has been far scarier.
“Hey. You seem pensive.”
Josuke jumps at the new, rumbly voice, as it’s not his mother’s. Eyes trailing around the room, they land on Jotaro, sitting in the chair near the door with one leg crossed over the other at the ankle. His hands sit neatly on his lap, and his hat, as always, is tipped down so his eyes are just barely visible.
Wow. Josuke wasn’t expecting his nephew to be here.
Before Josuke can attempt to say anything, Jotaro interjects. “You were staring into that cup like it’d give you answers.”
Had he really been spacing out for that long? He can’t tell. Josuke looks up at Jotaro, only to see the marine biologist scrutinizing him. Hard. It makes his skin prickle. “‘m fine,” he mumbles. He can’t decide if it’s true or not.
Jotaro narrows his eyes but doesn’t voice his opinion on the subject. A few heavy seconds pass before he eventually says, “Your mom had to leave. She asked me to stay here with you.”
Josuke feels anxiety spike in his chest. He knew beforehand that he could only have visitors for so long; he’d be spending the night alone. Hell, Tomoko had even told him she wouldn’t be able to stay the whole day, due to work. Looks like she left when he was asleep.
Willing himself to take a deep breath, he tries forcing himself to think it’ll be fine. She’ll be back later tomorrow to visit, he’ll go home in a day or two, and there’s no need to spiral. Right?
If that’s the case, then why is he crying? Before he knows it, there are hot tears running down his face as the reality of the situation crashes into him like a tsunami breaking the shore. He’s in a new place, in abnormal circumstances, without anything comforting and familiar. It’s all so *overwhelming*. It feels like he can’t breathe, it's like he’s not currently in this room or even in his body.
Suddenly, there’s a dip on the side of his bed. Josuke quickly wipes his eyes with his sleeve, trying (and failing) to regain control of his breathing. Instead, he lets out an involuntary sob.
“Josuke,” Jotaro quietly begins, reaching out to lightly touch his shoulder.
Josuke doesn’t turn to face the marine biologist, instead opting to cover his face with shaky hands as sobs wrack his body full-force. This is so fucking embarassing. Why did I have to have a breakdown in front of Jotaro? And that’s only on TOP of his current panicked state.
With his vision darkened (it feels better that way), Josuke can only sense the bed shift beside him. It’s a surprise when there are suddenly long arms draped around him and he’s pulled into Jotaro’s surprisingly warm embrace. A hesitant hand is placed on his back and another on the top of his head.
Awkwardness be damned, the comfort is too welcoming. He'll reap whatever consequences later. Almost instinctively, he buries his face into the adult’s chest, hands pinned underneath the weight of his own body. His sobs become muffled but not any less strong as his tears make the fabric damp rather quick.
The hand on top of his head delicately moves hair out of his face before slowly combing through it. “Josuke, I want you to do as I do,” Jotaro instructs quietly.
Josuke waits for him to say something else, yet instead feels Jotaro’s chest rise and slowly fall. He sniffles, his nose too runny to breathe through easily, however, he tries his best to follow along with the rhythmic feel of Jotaro’s breathing anyways. His breathing is too shallow and fast at first, but focusing on someone else’s breathing pattern slowly helps even his own out. His stomach is still knotted with nausea, but at least he’s back in his own body.
With a particularly deep inhale, he’s made aware that Jotaro’s coat smells pleasantly like detergent; he must have washed it recently. It’s also very soft. He moves his head so his cheek is pressed against Jotaro’s chest and he can see once again. His eyes are blurry with tears, but he frees one hand, reaching out to touch Jotaro’s white coat sleeve. Taking the fabric between his fingers, he revels in how it feels.
With his brain focused on these new tactile stimuli, he feels present once more. His face still hurts and that’s a little anxiety inducing, but...things don’t feel as horrible anymore. Closing his eyes, his hand drops to rest on the bed. He’s fucking exhausted. The last day has been all over the place and it will only continue to be.
The crisp and familiar smell of detergent combined with the rhythmic rise and fall of Jotaro’s chest soon lulls Josuke into such a relaxed, eased state that he quietly falls asleep, his own breathing at an even pace finally. What a wild day.
Waking up the next morning, Josuke realizes he survived day one, despite how shitty it was. One day closer to going home, one day closer to feeling better, right?
At least, that’s what he tries to tell himself as he lays there, staring at the ceiling. With a resigned sigh, knowing there’s nothing much to do, he slowly moves to a sitting position, too groggy and pained to rush any activities.
Before he can perseverate too much on his face hurting and how swollen it is, there’s a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Josuke says, glancing at the clock. It’s surprising that someone is here to check in on him so early.
The door creaks open, and Josuke sees a flash of white. Instead of a medical doctor, it’s just Jotaro. “Oh. Hey.” Josuke murmurs, looking down at his sheets. This is awkward. He fell asleep against his nephew last night after crying his eyes out. They never had a chance to talk about it, as Jotaro eventually left, leaving Josuke to continue sleeping. “Thanks for uh, yesterday.” He says meekly, not wanting to see whatever expression Jotaro may or may not be wearing right now. He misses the smirk Jotaro quickly hides under his hat.
“Josuke, it was no big deal. Sadly, however, I don’t have time to talk, I just wanted to let you know that you have visitors,” The marine biologist says, tugging harder on his hat to hide the smile trying to break free. He steps aside just in time for the door to swing open violently.
Quickly, Koichi and Okuyasu barrel through the door, the latter making a beeline straight for Josuke’s bedside.
“God, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Okuyasu says, eagerly burying his head in Josuke’s chest and hugging him tightly.
Josuke is too shocked to say anything, taking in the scene before him in full:
Filling up a large portion of his hospital room are all his friends. Koichi is holding onto a big foil balloon that says ‘get well soon!’. Yukako is beside him with what’s most likely food from Tonio’s, probably made especially for him. Rohan is begrudgingly holding a gift basket, not looking pleased in the least to be here. And there’s Mikitaka, who has a huge vase filled with assorted flowers. Out of all of them, he seems the most eager to share his gift, his green eyes sparkling with excitement.
Finally, after a moment, Josuke regains his senses. If he could feel his facial muscles, he’d grin wider than when he and Okuyasu pull pranks on Rohan. For now, he manages a quiet ‘holy shit’.
He never expected all his friends to come see him. Obviously Okuyasu would, along with Koichi, but Yukako and Mikitaka and by whatever act of God Koichi had to pull on Rohan to get him here, too, was unexpected. If he were in a better space, he’d probably be jumping for joy.
Okuyasu pulls away a little as the others come stand by the bed, giving Josuke some more space.
“Oh my god you’re so swollen,” Koichi comments immediately, tying the balloon to the headboard of Josuke’s hospital bed. “Can you feel it?”
Josuke shakes his head no.
“Well, that’s good. I think. Does it hurt at all?”
“A little,” Josuke replies before raising his hand inserted with an IV. “Got me on every painkiller in the book.”
Koichi nods in understanding before looking around at the others, who’re all watching Josuke with various facial expressions. He realizes the gifts are still unannounced. “Oh! We brought you some things!” With that, he motions for Yukako to start.
“Tonio wanted to apologize that he couldn’t come here in person, but he told us to bring you this soup.” She says, placing a to-go container on his bedside table. “Said it should help with the swelling.”
Josuke had found that he hasn’t been very hungry these past one and a half days, but that soup smells amazing. Taking a peek, it’s tomato. That works. He’ll try to eat it later.
“Nice,” he comments. “He even remembered only liquids.”
Next, Mikitaka steps up, looking very animated. “I researched Earth customs for what to do when someone is ‘in the hospital’ and I picked these flowers myself.” Mikitaka’s vase is filled with bunches of dandelions and other common variety flowers. It’s a very sweet gesture, and Josuke has to hold in an affectionate laugh at the alien.
“Thank you, they’re lovely,” he settles on saying, watching as Mikitaka places them besides the soup. Hopefully they don’t die in just one day.
Now only Rohan is left, and Koichi has to elbow him to get him to speak up. Clearing his throat, the mangaka looks at Josuke with only slightly less disgust than usual. “I talked with the others and we got you some stuff to make your stay less horrible,” he sniffs, quickly plopping the basket down in Josuke’s lap.
Josuke is just surprised Rohan actually came at all, considering their mutual arch nemesis status. Maybe things secretly got a little better after the Kira incident. At least on Rohan’s side.
Not in the mood to have his usual tough guy act, Josuke leans forward a little to root around in the gifts. Eyebrows raise as he sees what’s in there. Comic books, hair gel, Gatorade, DVDs, you name it. A lot of thought really went into this. He guesses that Okuyasu suggested the hair gel. Picking up the items, he notices a card snuck in at the very bottom!
Before he opens it, he looks around at his crowd of friends. “Guys, you didn’t have to do this--”
Okuyasu speaks up for the first time in a bit. “Shut up you dummy, we wanted to!”
“Yeah!” Koichi adds, smiling brightly.
“You deserve it,” Yukako gently says. “This is a lot to go through.”
With a wave of his hand, Rohan dismissively adds, “Can’t give it back now, might as well keep it.”
Josuke gazes at everyone for a second longer before taking a look at the card. There are hand-drawn portraits of Okuyasu, Koichi, Mikitaka, Yukako, Jotaro, his mom...there’s even one of Joseph. Everyone looks so happy. This is too personal to have been drawn by someone who doesn’t know the group. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, in the bottom right hand corner, there’s Rohan’s signature scribble. That bastard. Didn’t know he actually had it in him to do something as sweet as this.
On the inside, there’s big lettering that says “Feel better!”. Below that are assorted well-wishes from everyone.
Big, scribbly handwriting, ‘I hope you heal fast, I miss you! It'll be my turn to take care of you when you’re out of the hospital!’ -Your loving boyfriend Okuyasu
Small but unkempt, ‘Hopefully it doesn’t hurt too badly. At least you can eat lots of ice cream, right? I’ll make sure we don’t get any for a while once you’re okay to hang out again.’ -Koichi
Flowing and looping: ‘ Your face is going to look stellar after this, not that it wasn’t already. Wishing you a speedy and painless recovery.’ -Yukako
Is that even Japanese? Josuke squints to make it out. ‘I wish that the benefits you receive outweigh the risks. Make sure you get the feeling back in your face!’ -Your Friend Mikitaka
Friendly and unevenly spaced, a little messier than usual, ‘Hey kiddo, I know this is tough but it’ll be so worth it when the braces come off! Love you, can’t wait to have you home again.’ -Mom
Blocky and cramped, ‘Surgery is a big deal. Proud of you.’ -Jotaro
Letters tightly and neatly written, ‘I wouldn’t wish the recovery of jaw surgery on anyone who doesn’t need it. Unfortunately, you needed it. Feel better, or don’t.’ -Rohan Kishibe
And then, at the very bottom, there’s a heavily smeared message. ‘So, Jotaro told me you’re getting jaw surgery. Sorry I can’t be there with you. I know you’ll do well, you’re my son after all. Ask him for my surprise. Thinking of you during this trying time.’ -Joseph Joestar
Josuke rereads the comments a few times, taking it all in. “Thank you guys, I….” He hesitates, trying to find the right words for the sentimental, heavy feeling in his chest. “I appreciate all of this.”
“Hold on, I have something for you too,” Okuyasu says, sitting up next to Josuke to procure something out of his jacket.
Koichi moves the basket off of Josuke’s lap so there’s room on the bed again.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands!” Okuyasu instructs.
Josuke does so, soon feeling a soft weight placed in his palms. It’s large. Opening them, he’s greeted with the sight of a brown, plush bear holding a heart with a J+O on it. “Oh my god, Okuyasu--”
Okuyasu grins and plants a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek. “It’s nothin’, I just figured you’d want something to be there with you when I’m not. Y’know, to remind you of me.”
For someone who calls himself dumb constantly, this was the best thing Okuyasu had ever come up with. Josuke doesn’t just let Okuyasu pull back, instead throwing an arm around his shoulder and yanking him to his side again. “Thank you,” he whispers, hugging tightly.
With all the gifts received and talked about, people spread out around the room now. Rohan left pretty shortly after the gifts were done with, saying he had done his piece.
Koichi and Okuyasu are now both squished on the bed with Josuke while Yukako pulls the one chair in the room over to the bedside. Mikitaka is left staring out the window most of the time and chipping into the conversation at random times.
“Hey, you haven’t shown us the wires yet!” Okuyasu exclaims after Josuke struggles to enunciate a particular sentence.
Josuke does what he hopes is a big enough smile, letting Okuyasu and Koichi peer at his teeth.
“Yeah, that’s wired tightly. I hope you have a good blender at home.” Koichi remarks. “I don’t see any chunks getting through that.”
Josuke, despite his worries about the recovery, lets himself smile a little at the joke. “I think we have an average blender somewhere.”
With his friends at his sides, the room is filled with comfortable chatter and Josuke doesn’t feel an ounce of the panic he felt last night. Even though he’s still in moderate pain, he’s just happy to have the people he loves close by.
After an hour or so, Yukako and Mikitaka get ready to head out.
“Koichi, call me when you get home, okay?” Yukako says, opening the door to Josuke’s room, letting Mikitaka out first. He waves goodbye, and the three boys on the bed return it.
“I will, promise!”
“And Josuke,” Yukako turns before the door shuts, catching it with her hand. “Take care of yourself, okay? Eat and stay hydrated.”
Josuke is honored that Yukako’s worry is extended not just to Koichi, but encompasses him as well. “I will.”
And with that, the door shuts with a quiet click.
“Well, today sure has been eventful.” Okuyasu notes, disturbing the quiet atmosphere. “How’re you feeling, Josu?”
To be honest, he’s fucking exhausted. It was fantastic to see everyone, but he’s barely been able to eat and whatever sleep he gets is hindered by pain. Pain that’s unrelenting. He decides to simply go with, “Tired.”
“Well, you need your rest, maybe we should head out as well,” Koichi tries to say, making a move to get off the bed, but Josuke puts an arm out to stop him.
“I want you guys to stay,” Josuke admits, pulling Koichi back. The short boy raises his eyebrows.
“Both of us?”
"Both of you.”
“Not just Okuyasu?”
Josuke looks at his boyfriend and then his best friend. “I care about both of you, y’know.”
“I know!” Koichi instantly retorts, “Just….I dunno.” He shakes his head at himself and soon relaxes back onto the bed.
Okuyasu shrugs. “Fine with me. Other than the absolute lack of space we have here,” he chuckles, shifting a little so Koichi can have space again.
“”S okay, long as it's you guys.” Josuke mumbles, closing his eyes as he feels the two people closest to him nestle next to his sides. He feels a rough, calloused hand take his own and then a small, smooth one grip his other. Satisfied with this scenario, he sighs deeply, very content.
An hour has passed since Jotaro saw Yukako and Mikitaka leave, he figured maybe Koichi would have followed suit. Tomoko had asked him to hang around, she had the morning shift and couldn’t get there until the afternoon. Not like he had anything better to do. He was content with a book and people watching in the lobby.
But an hour is an hour, he figured he might as well go in and check on them. Tomoko should be getting out of work soon and she’ll want to talk with her son.
Coming up to Josuke’s room number, he doesn’t hear any laughter or chatter that he expected. Knocking quietly before entering, he’s greeted with quite the sight: Koichi and Okuyasu are both curled up next to Josuke on his bed, all three sound asleep.
If Tomoko were here, she’d snap a picture right away, storing it in her photo album, only to embarrass Josuke with it later. He almost thinks of telling her about the sweet moment before realizing the three teens would hate him while Tomoko would ALSO be upset at him for not getting a photo.
With the smallest trace of a soft smile on his face, he backs out of the room and softly closes the door, letting the teens nap together in peace.