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Jotaro is seventeen when he goes on a trip to Egypt. He’s big and awkward and unsure of his body or how to talk to people, but nonetheless he makes friends. Over fifty days he becomes close with a Frenchman, a fortune teller, a dog, and a fellow student with bright red hair. He feels his chest tighten with a feeling unfamiliar every time Kakyoin turns to him to tell him an obscure fact or make conversation, and he feels ridiculous when all he wants to do is be near him. They’re best friends, and he wants to keep it that way.
He’s already a freak.
So he buries it deep inside.
Jotaro is seventeen when he nearly loses them all. His heart stops when he realizes what the crash he heard overhead was, the clock tower breaking in a dash of green. He’s shaking as his stomach sinks, as he knew for sure he was dead.
Jotaro is seventeen when he’s running into the hospital in Cairo, his grandfather holding him back from going any further into the OR. He doesn’t care that Dio is dead. People from the speedwagon foundation are there. He barely hears Joseph explain that Avdol is down two arms, Iggy is in the veterinary ICU and Kakyoin is critical and barely holding on.
He then notices his grandfather’s hands are covered in blood up to the wrists.
Kakyoin is airlifted to the speedwagon foundation’s primer hospital on life support.
He doesn’t see them for another month.
Jotaro gets home to find his mother safe and sound, but his anxiety is still eating away at him from the inside. He lets her hold him, sweet and gentle, and he barely stifles his tears.
Avdol is fine, and so is Iggy. He has prosthetic arms now, and the dog is sleeping soundly in his lap.
Kakyoin is comatose.
Two more months go by, and Kakyoin finally wakes up. He’s hooked up to tubes of all kinds, a new spine in his back, organs replaced. Jotaro is the second to be there, next to Kakyoin’s parents.
Kakyoin is so tired, pallid and gaunt, his eyes barely opening and turning his head a challenge. But when he sees Jotaro, the smallest indent of a smile spreads across his wide mouth.
“Hey, you big baby.” He says. “Miss me?”
Jotaro doesn’t realize that he’s crying.
By May, Kakyoin is finally able to sit up on his own and stay awake. After surgery after surgery, the doctors are confident that he’s going to make it. Jotaro goes down there every day after school, bringing him work and news from the day. Their friendship deepens, and Jotaro becomes even more scared.
Kakyoin wakes up and can’t feel his legs. A procedure and a diagnosis later, it’s revealed that swelling in his spine has damaged the nerves too far.
Kakyoin won’t be able to walk again.
He and Jotaro discuss this on a cool spring afternoon, where Kakyoin takes it in stride, pledging to become the “strongest stand user on two wheels.”
Jotaro stays with him for a few weeks more, helping him get home and spending time with him while he continues to heal. Kakyoin’s mother thanks Jotaro profusely for being there for her son, her fretfulness palpable. Jotaro is there for every night he’s too tired to move, every time his body rejects food, he’s there when he gets his first ergonomic wheelchair. Their closeness terrifies him.
One night, Jotaro realizes he wants to kiss him.
A week later he decides he’s going to college overseas.
Jotaro is eighteen when he gets to college, majoring in marine biology. It’s new and it’s scary, but it’s nothing he can’t handle.
There, he meets her.
Florence.
She’s like him. Her chest is flat and her voice is deeper than the average girl, but she’s the most beautiful woman Jotaro has ever laid eyes on. She’s not annoying and bratty like the girls in high school- she’s kind and well read and understands him without words.
They quickly become friends.
Jotaro keeps in contact with people from home, but the calls become more and more sparse as time goes on.
Jotaro is twenty when he kisses her. He feels like he can love her the way a man should love a woman, but it’s simply not true. But he tries.
He’s twenty one when he lets her in to see him fully, truly, an experiment of sorts. He lies awake afterwards, her body pressed against his, wondering if he did the right thing.
Jotaro is twenty one when he realizes his mistake. Two pink lines stare at him mockingly, almost as if they tell him “I told you so.” He feels as if the world is crashing in on him in the university bathroom.
He tells Florence. He can’t help but panic. She reaches out to him and holds him close, telling him that they’re going to be okay. They’re still in college and can barely afford to eat, but they decide to do what’s right. He calls his mother, and the moment his voice breaks she says she’s on her way.
Holly is so, so kind. She stays in the states for the entire time, having enough money to support her son and his now fiancé.
Jotaro and Florence get married in a small ceremony at around month three.
Jotaro hides himself well, only leaving his college apartment to go to class. He continues to wear big clothes, and considering he’s already a bigger guy he can easily pretend he’s had a big breakfast.
Kakyoin tried to call and visit a few times, but he firmly said no.
He struggles with feeling dysphoric and alone, more than he’s had in years. But Florence is a good partner, she understands like nobody else can.
Jolyne is born in 1992. A tiny baby girl with hair as dark as her father’s. Jotaro shakily reaches over to where she lays next to him and she holds his finger in her little palm.
He knows he can’t protect her.
Nevertheless he continues his education and raises a baby at the same time. He’s Jotaro Kujo, and he’s not going to let this get in the way. It’s hard, but he’s been through far worse. Florence is a good mother. The speedwagon foundation was able to provide her with hormones and soon she’ll have a surgery date. Jotaro is proud of her. He loves their little family, he loves baby Jolyne, and he loves Florence.
So why does something feel wrong?
Jotaro is twenty two when he graduates college with a degree in marine biology, his mother holding Jolyne in the audience. He smiles, knowing he did something good for once.
Months go by. Jotaro spends less and less time at home, his work consuming him. Enemy stand users continue to come for him and go as far as to threaten his family.
So he stays away.
He and Florence grow further and further apart. She calls him of course, but they’re short and she only gets curt answers.
He misses Jolyne. He’s missed a lot of her milestones.
Whenever he is home he spends as much time as he can with his baby girl, knowing it can’t last.
Kakyoin makes a surprise visit three years later, when they’re 24.
He’s thinner, his hair shorter and well dressed. His wheelchair is a bright green and automated now.
Jotaro is startled to say the least. He didn’t expect Kakyoin to care enough about him to visit after all this time.
He’s a little upset.
This is when little Jolyne waddles into view, and Kakyoin is stunned. He’s at a loss for words, and Jotaro curtly asks him to come inside.
They talk.
Jotaro tells him everything, and Kakyoin’s expression slowly changes from confusion and anger to worry and concern. Jolyne is sitting on Jotaro’s lap as they speak, enamored with this new stranger. She doesn’t stop smiling, and Kakyoin isn’t sure how to interact with children, but he apprehensively waves. Kakyoin is understanding and so very kind, but the hurt of abandonment still remains.
Florence comes home and they are introduced, and they get along swimmingly.
Jotaro had missed him so much.
It terrifies him.
Four more years pass and it’s 1999. Jotaro has spent even more time away from his family and friends. Stand users from all across the globe continue to threaten his loved ones.
He’s lonelier than he’s ever been.
Then, a situation in a little town called Morioh arises. A story about an illegitimate son, a serial killer, and stands. The Joestar family is in chaos, and Jotaro offers to go and sort things out.
But things aren’t as simple as they seem.
After the incident with Red Hot Chili Pepper and Keicho Nijimura, it’s clear to Jotaro that he needs assistance in tracking down all the stand users in Morioh. He calls, expecting Joseph and maybe an employee he doesn’t know, but what he gets in addition to his grandfather is none other than his old friend, Kakyoin Noriaki.
Josuke meets his father, and Kakyoin greets his friend with a “Hey, Jojo.” and a smile.
Jotaro is surprised, but pleased. With a tip of his hat’s brim, a soft smile and a “yare yare” on his lips, he begins to catch up. He learns that he has a job with the speedwagon foundation as a researcher dealing particularly with stands and stand abilities, and that Morioh was where he grew up. Jotaro talks about Jolyne, about his travels, about Josuke and his friends. It’s the longest time they’ve spent together in years. Kakyoin informs Jotaro that he’ll be staying in Morioh for a while. He meets Josuke, who he adores, and finds they share an affinity for video games. He’s shocked at the existence of baby Shizuka, as babies with stands are usually bad news to him. He comes to strongly dislike Rohan Kishibe, however.
Things are good again.
Then comes the issue of Yoshikage Kira.
He’s cunning. He’s sick. He nearly kills Kokichi once and Jotaro twice, and Kakyoin was caught in the fray each time- but Kira manages to slip through the grasp of Hierophant Green. The final battle is long and hard, Josuke prevailing in the end, but in the middle of it all he’s thrown from his wheelchair. Once Kira’s underwhelming death commences, Jotaro, battered and bruised and panicking, sees that Kakyoin is alive.
He’s okay.
He didn’t lose him a second time.
Without thinking he runs over to his friend, picks him up off the ground and holds him in his arms. Kakyoin throws his arms around Jotaro’s wide shoulders, and lightly laughs making a comment about Jotaro being a “worrywart,” and when Jotaro pulls away and sees Kakyoin smiling and here , he forgets everything. He forgets about Kira. About his fears. In the moment, he only thinks about him.
It was always him.
He closes the gap between them with a kiss, Kakyoin melting into the touch.
He feels at home.
He only pulls away when he hears Okuyasu, Josuke, Koichi and the others clapping and whistling in support.
Jotaro pulls down the rim of his hat, a little flustered, and Kakyoin kisses him again on the corner of his mouth.
“Took you long enough, big guy…”
That night, once they’re sure Josuke is okay, they go back to the Morioh Grand Hotel together. Jotaro is scared to let another person in, but he doesn't care anymore.
He loves someone. He's loved him for so long.
They lay together afterward, unsure of what to do next. Jotaro kisses the crown of his head, Kakyoin humming in agreement.
He loves him.
Shortly afterward when everything is said and done in the town of Morioh, Jotaro talks to his family, honest and true.
Florence is hurt, but she understands. She knew there was something about the way he loved her that wasn’t right.
But she’s happy for him.
Jolyne doesn’t understand at first. She’s upset. She doesn’t know why her mommy and daddy aren’t going to be together anymore, she doesn’t understand why the nice man who used to visit her is causing all of this.
She hides in her room.
Kakyoin sits outside her door and talks to her. She’s six years old.
He’s not good with kids, he knows this. But if he can talk to her in a way she can understand, he knows he made the right decision. Loving Jotaro means loving his family as well- something he’s willing to and wants to do.
Jolyne hates him a little less- as much as a six year old girl can hate.
For work purposes, Jotaro and Kakyoin move to New York City. Jolyne spends summers with them there, and over time she warms up to her new family situation. She loves the city, and she doesn’t mind having three parents. Mr. Yaki is nice enough.
Jotaro leaves more of the heavy parts of his job to the speedwagon foundation so he can spend more time with his daughter and partner.
In 2002, it happens again. But this time, he isn’t as scared as he used to be. He’s older now, he’s sure of himself… he feels safe.
At the end of the day, Jotaro settles into bed next to his partner and wordlessly rests his head on his shoulder.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“How was your day?”
“…”
“Jojo?”
“I’m… pregnant again.”
Noriaki readjusts himself and looks down at Jotaro on his shoulder.
“You are?”
“Mm.”
“I- wow, I- I didn’t know that could still happen… are you… okay with this?”
The soft honey colored glow of the lamps in their room illuminate the two.
“I think I am. It’s… different now. I’m not terrified like how I was with Jolyne… I think I’ll be okay.”
“Okay… I-I’m not very good with-“
“I know. But you’re already wonderful to Jolyne, and I know you. If you’re okay with this, then-“
“Of course I am! I was going to say “I’m not very good with kids, BUT I would love to have a kid with you!”
Jotaro softly smiles and kisses him once more.
And in April of 2003, Jolyne meets her younger brother by eleven years.
Jouta is small and has Jotaro’s grumpy eyebrows, but he has Kakyoin’s face and a head full of black hair.
And no stand.
He’s absolutely perfect.
He grows up with two dads who love him and various extended family, but he knows nothing of the world of stands or DIO or any such adventures. Jotaro and Kakyoin keep him in the dark- it’s what’s best for him.
In 2011, Jotaro gets a frantic call from Florence that Jolyne has been falsely convicted and thrown in jail. Jouta is still only eight and Kakyoin has work to do, so he stays home with their son while Jotaro rescues his daughter.
Shortly after on a rainy day, Jouta wobbles into Kakyoin’s office, telling his papa that he doesn’t feel good.
Kakyoin panics.
His fever spikes. Green rings appear around his body.
Jolyne has obtained Stone Free.
For weeks on end, Kakyoin is left alone with a sick child and no idea where Jolyne or Jotaro are. He calls Josuke, Holly, and Doctors from the foundation to help, but there’s no use.
He fears Jouta will die.
The world begins to speed up.
And then…. It stops.
Jouta’s fever breaks.
Kakyoin flies down to Florida as fast as he can to meet Florence in the hospital. Jotaro and Jolyne are alive and well, save for a massive scar on Jotaro’s face.
Jouta is asleep in Kakyoin’s arms, still recovering from being ill. Jolyne and her little brother share a hospital bed, falling asleep in tandem with him.
Jouta awakes in the middle of the night in the hospital to a new friend. A green, lion-like figure is floating above him, watching him as he sleeps, but he isn’t scared at all.
He presses this palm against the figure’s paw, and he realizes he isn’t alone.
The next day, he meets Star Platinum, Hierophant Green, and Stone Free.
Charmy Green is added to the joestar family, and Jotaro once again fears that he can’t protect him.
Jouta grows up jaded, talented and smart, but lonely like his father. Stand users are rare, after all. His one friend is a girl named Nikki Sixx- she’s standless, but she seems to understand Jouta as well as she can.
This is where his story begins.