Chapter Text
It was a Sunday morning, and there was a knock at Kakyoin’s door.
He had been at his kitchen table, sipping his coffee and flipping idly through a magazine he’d picked up at the gallery. It wasn't especially interesting. The knock surprised him, for several reasons, mainly that no one ever visited - but also, because a knock at his door would have necessitated the doorman letting someone into his building. He wasn’t expecting guests, and he certainly hadn’t told the front desk to let anyone in. But curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the door.
“Noriaki.”
Kakyoin was momentarily rendered speechless at the massive figure standing in front of him. Tall and broad, with dark hair and a long coat and, of course, a stupid hat to match. This was not how today was supposed to go. His brain more or less ceased to function, but thankfully his instincts kicked in just enough to generate a quippy response.
“Oh, so we’re on a first name basis now, Kujo?”
“Don’t be an asshole. Can we come in?”
We ? Slowly, painfully, Kakyoin’s brain caught up with his eyes, and he registered a sleeping toddler strapped to Jotaro’s back in some sort of complex baby-backpack. Fucking wonderful. Not just unexpectedly dealing with Jotaro after years of silence, but Dad Jotaro . Jotaro Kujo: husband, father, and heterosexual family man. Kakyoin sighed.
“...Come on in, Jotaro. Would you like some coffee?”
“Oh, so we’re on a first name basis now?”
Kakyoin rolled his eyes with a theatrical sigh as he led Jotaro into his kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee, sitting down across from him at the kitchen table and leaning his cane against the wall.
“You look well.”
“Yes, well, certainly I’m in better shape now than I was the last time you saw me. The fully intact torso helps.” It was almost a joke, but he kept his tone dry and even. Jotaro had earned a little guilt trip, he thought.
Jotaro sighed and tugged on the brim of his cap. The action squeezed something tight around Kakyoin’s ribcage. “Don’t worry about it,” he continued smoothly. “I mean, it’s a miracle I can walk at all, even with the assistance. I’m fine. Lucky, even.” I didn’t need you . “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?”
Jotaro sighed again. The toddler stirred in her sleep as Jotaro began the gentle process of extracting her from the backpack-contraption. Easier than carrying a whole stroller around, Kakyoin mused. Especially when you’re fucking massive enough that carrying a whole kid on your back isn’t a strain.
“The old man wanted to see her. Said he never got to see his only grandson, so he has to make up for it with his great-granddaughter…” Kakyoin cocked one eyebrow. “Her name is Jolyne. She’s about to turn two.”
“She’s beautiful. Looks just like you.” Kakyoin’s response was automatic. It was something polite people said about other people’s children. But it was also true - Jolyne had her father’s dark hair, his light skin and pouty, scowly lips. “Is her mother here too?”
“She left.”
“Oh.” Though he was desperately curious whether “left” meant “went home” or “filed for divorce,” Kakyoin tactfully chose not to press the issue, but noticed with a guilty pang of satisfaction that Jotaro wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. “You know… You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing in my apartment?”
Jotaro took off his hat to run one hand through his hair, the other supporting a sleeping Jolyne on his lap. His hair looked messy and unstyled, but soft. Kakyoin wanted to touch it very much.
“Old man told me you were in the neighborhood. It wasn’t far to walk, and I figured you wouldn’t be busy on a Sunday.” Another sigh. Kakyoin wanted to shake him, tell him to stop sighing and drawing out the inevitable and just talk to him . “And I missed you.”
“You know, you could have called. Today, I mean, but also any time in the past, like, five years or whatever.”
Jotaro, for once, looked surprised. It was a subtle look, but unmistakable to anyone who knew him. “I did call.”
“What the hell do you mean? I stopped hearing from you the minute I got home from that fucking hospital in Cairo.”
Jotaro’s eyes widened. “I called you like… five times, that first month. Your mom always picked up and told me you were busy… and then one day she just told me not to call again. I assumed you didn’t want to see me because of...” He nodded vaguely in the direction of Kakyoin’s lower half.
“Oh my God…” Kakyoin downed the remains of his coffee in a single swig, absently wishing it were not 9 in the morning, and that the beverage was something much stronger. “Of course. She never liked you much, you know. Guess she just… took it into her own hands. Oh my God.”
“You know, that’s why I showed up here. I mean, I thought you didn’t want to see me, but I couldn’t stand not knowing - like if there was a chance she was just being difficult, I just…. Like if I showed up in person you could turn me down face-to-face and then it would be, um. Real. I guess.” Jotaro actually seemed flustered by this new development - and he wasn’t alone in his discomfort. Kakyoin couldn’t blame his parents for trying to keep him from the boy who’d taken him on a global road trip that nearly got him killed, but the idea that Jotaro had been trying to get in contact with him all this time? Kakyoin’s palms started to sweat.
Jolyne stirred again, opening her eyes for the first time. Jotaro noticed, looking down at the bundle in his lap, his gaze soft.
“Morning, Jojo. You hungry?”
Jolyne nodded, looking around the room curiously. She had her father’s green eyes, too, of course. Kakyoin watched as Jotaro extracted a tupperware full of Cheerios from a coat pocket, spreading a small handful on his table. Jolyne pressed a chubby finger into the center of a single Cheerio and ate it off her fingertip. Her eyes settled on Kakyoin and stayed there. “Who that?”
“Daddy’s friend. Can you say hi?”
Jolyne opened and closed her hand in an approximation of a wave. A Cheerio fell from her fingertip.
“Hi Jolyne. I’m Nori.” It seemed appropriate to give a child the easiest version of his name. Not that it mattered either way - she turned back to her cereal immediately.
Jotaro shrugged. “She’s shy today, I guess.”
“Well, she only just woke up. I can’t blame her.”
“Guess so.”
There was a moment of quiet, Jolyne’s Cheerio crunching and heavy toddler breaths the only sounds in the kitchen.
It was Kakyoin’s turn to sigh pointedly. “Jotaro, look. I’m really glad you’re here now, but it was a little fu- uh, a little messed up, of you, to just show up at my apartment without warning. I now know you tried to call me, and that changes things for me, but I still feel… hurt. You could have tried harder, you know? I thought we were best friends. You could have had Mr. Joestar give you my personal phone number or sent a letter or… I don’t know. I think I need a day or two to process.” He pushed up his glasses to rub his eyes. This was too much. “I didn’t even know you were getting married until Polnareff called me from Florida asking when I was showing up for the wedding.”
Jotaro winced. “I sent the invite to your parents’ house. I was too scared to ask for your new address.”
“Scared?”
Jolyne made grabbing motions towards Jotaro’s coffee cup. “No way, love. Here’s a juice box.” He pulled a box of apple juice from a different coat pocket. Kakyoin smiled to himself at the sight of Jotaro extracting all these toddler treats from secret bags and pouches, squirreled away haphazardly instead of stored in a central diaper bag like literally any other parent on the planet. “I was scared of… I don’t know what. I haven’t figured it out yet. But the idea of actually getting you on the phone, after a while, it scared me. I don’t know why.”
“Well, when you figure it out, you be sure to tell me.” He snapped, then softened. “I won’t lie to you. I was pretty angry. Your silence cost me a small fortune in therapy bills.” He chuckled. Jotaro made a face. “What? Don’t tell me you didn’t go to therapy after what happened. The Foundation practically dragged me once all the surgery was over.” Jotaro made another face that said he most certainly had not gone to therapy, and Kakyoin decided he would unpack all of that later. That was a problem for Future Noriaki. “Anyway, I… I’m still processing. But if you’re still around for a few days, I’d like to see you again and catch up?”
Jotaro gave him a small smile - not a smirk, but genuine relief and joy, for once. Kakyoin swore silently to himself. It seemed unfair that Jotaro was allowed to look like that. “You have the old man’s number, right? You can call him and ask for me. Um, when you’re ready. I’m around. We’re around. Until next week.” He tugged on his hat.
“That sounds wonderful. I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.” He started to get up to collect their coffee cups, but Jotaro touched his arm gently and stood, leaving Jolyne standing on his chair.
“You stay there. I can do this.”
“I can get up just fine, Jotaro.” This was, of course, a lie - standing itself was fine, but the complex knees-hips-spine motion of getting up from a seated position was uncomfortable on his best days and impossible on his worst, even with the leg braces - but he had some pride, dammit. Still, he stayed put, electing instead to watch Jolyne finish her juice box in silence.
“Hm.” Jotaro set their mugs carefully in the sink and wiped the cereal dust off the coffee table, hoisting Jolyne up to rest on his hip. “You said you had a lot to process, so we’ll leave you now, I guess. Jojo, want to go to the park?”
Jolyne nodded vigorously. She looked Kakyoin up and down, then extended her chubby little hand to wave. “Bye Nowi.” She said it with such a serious expression on her face, he couldn’t help but smile.
“It was nice to meet you, Jolyne!” He turned to Jotaro. “You aren’t going to disappear on me again, are you?”
Jotaro looked guilty. “No. I won’t.” He extended one hand to awkwardly touch Kakyoin’s shoulder. “I really did miss you.”
Kakyoin felt a lump forming in his throat, but refused to acknowledge it. “You coulda tried a little harder to show me, you jerk.” His tone was soft, playful, even. He didn’t want to seem too mad.
“Well. I’d like to make it up to you. If you’ll let me.”
Kakyoin nodded. “Talk soon, okay?”
And then he was alone, once again. Kakyoin sighed, ambled over to his couch, and collapsed. He felt he had lived at least three months over the course of the past hour. He contemplated calling a friend - maybe Avdol, he was usually calm and rational - but eventually settled on staring at the ceiling and counting his breaths until his heart rate returned to normal.
---
Two days later, it was Jotaro’s turn to find himself surprised by a phone call. It was Kakyoin, inviting him out for coffee and a chat. Joseph, upon hearing this new development, winked salaciously and offered to watch Jolyne for the day - despite Jotaro’s vague misgivings about leaving anything in Joseph’s care, it would be easier to talk without a toddler attached to his back.
Jotaro was not a particularly nervous man, on the whole, but he found himself staring at his jacket collection for at least 3 full minutes, paralyzed by nerves and choice. Not that he would have expected his outfit choice to have much impact on the course of the day, not really - something else was scaring him. The same something that had kept him from just asking his grandfather for Kakyoin’s new phone number. Jotaro couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t name it, and it was going to drive him crazy.
In the end, he grabbed his current favorite jacket, just like he had planned in the first place. Kakyoin had smiled when he saw it, had gently touched the big gold pin on the lapel with his long fingers and softly commented that he liked it.
Kakyoin had smiled again when Jotaro bought him an extra cherry danish without asking, and when he heard the story of Jolyne’s first words, and when he talked about his new series of paintings going up in the gallery later that month.
Jotaro considered the day a resounding success.
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