Archive of Our Own

Rohan sighed softly as he sipped a steaming cup of coffee, sketching the mounds of light powdery snow that surrounded the cafe as he waited for his best friend, Koichi, to arrive for their meeting. Koichi wasn’t late by any means, but Rohan was starting to get a little antsy sitting out here by himself in the cold. He softly chided himself under his breath for not getting an inside seat instead, when a flash of white-gray hair caught his attention. He smiled softly as he looked up from his sketchbook to see Koichi waving to him as he walked over to Rohan’s table.

“Ah Koichi, thank you for coming on such short notice.” He said gratefully, closing his sketchbook as Koichi sat down across from him.

“No problem, sensei!” Koichi replied chipperly as he sat down, waving over one of the waiters and ordering himself something to drink. As the waiter walked away to fetch his order, Koichi turned back to Rohan, still smiling brightly. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Rohan took another sip of his coffee, before answering Koichi’s question. “As I’m sure you know, S-city is hosting its annual ice sculpting contest next week. Typically, I would just enter the contest by myself, but this year the contest requires teams of two, so I need a partner. I was wondering if you would be interested in entering with me.” He explained, hoping that the younger man would say yes. Even after all this time, Rohan still didn’t really have any actual friends aside from Koichi, so if the younger man turned down his request, it would be unlikely that Rohan would be able to participate in the contest this year. Rohan really didn’t want to break his perfect attendance streak because of a dumb technicality.

Koichi chuckled nervously, while his hand moved to rub the back of his neck as he sheepishly avoided the other man's inquisitive gaze. “Sorry sensei, but Yukako and I have plans next week.” He replied awkwardly, hoping that Rohan wouldn’t press the issue too hard.

Rohan simply sighed in disappointment, otherwise unbothered by the younger man’s answer. “It’s alright Koichi. I understand that you're busy. I’ll just have to find someone else, I suppose.” He replied dejectedly, trying to think if there was anyone else he could possibly enter the contest with.

Koichi frowned softly, knowing that Rohan didn’t really have anyone else he could ask. Suddenly his frown turned into an excited smile as he came up with a solution to Rohan’s problem. “Why don’t you ask Josuke? I’m sure he’d love to go!”

“Higashikata?” Rohan replied incredulously, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Why on earth would I ask that brat for help? As a matter of fact, why on earth would he want to go with me anyway? We hate each other.”

Koichi rolled his eyes, scoffing slightly. “Come on sensei, it’s been four years now. You can’t keep holding a grudge against him forever. And besides, Josuke’s been wanting to patch things up between you guys for a while now. Plus he’s actually really good at ice sculpting! He’d be the perfect person to enter the competition with.” Koichi explained, wanting to help his friends get along better. It wasn’t like Rohan had much of a choice anyway if he wanted to enter the contest.

Rohan sighed softly, finishing off his cup of coffee. “I suppose you're right, Koichi. I’ll… consider it.”

“Thank you sensei.” Koichi replied with a soft smile. At last, the waiter brought out Koichi’s drink. He quickly grabbed the cup, taking a big gulp of the hot liquid.

Rohan smiled softly, resting his cheek on his palm. “Want to head inside?”

“Gods yes.” Koichi bemoaned, absolutely freezing.

     ~~~

Rohan exhaled deeply, his breath turning to steam in the cold air, as he tried to get his nerves under control while walking towards Josuke’s house. He still couldn’t quite believe that he was about to ask Josuke of all people to enter an ice sculpting contest with him, but it really wasn’t like he had a choice or anything. Josuke was his last option, unless he just wanted to sit this year out, which he most certainly did not. After a few more minutes of walking, Rohan finally arrived at his destination. He took another deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do, before steeling his nerves and walking up to the front porch of the house. Impatiently, he quickly knocked on the door, wanting to get this over with. As he stood there waiting, he heard yelling from inside the house, before Josuke answered the door a few seconds later.

“Rohan?” Josuke asked, a look of pure surprise on his face. “You're the last person I expected to show up to my house out of the blue.” He said with a soft chuckle as he stepped out of his house, closing the door behind him. “So what do you need?”

Rohan closed his eyes, taking in another deep breath, before opening them again, glancing up at the taller man. “S-city is going to be hosting its annual ice sculpting competition in a few days, and I need a partner to enter. Koichi is going to be busy, so I’ve come to ask if you wanted to go instead.” He explained, trying to keep a neutral tone to his voice. He really didn’t want to work with Josuke of all people, but he promised Koichi that he’d at least try to be nice to the younger man if he actually accepted Rohan’s request.

Josuke’s eyes grew wide with shock, unsure if he actually heard him right. “Are- Are you serious?” He asked incredulously, still trying to process the fact that Rohan was asking him of all people to join an ice sculpting competition with him. It was almost too good to be true.

“Yes Higashikata, I’m serious.” Rohan replied in a deadpan voice, already tired of the younger man’s antics.

Josuke smiled brightly, absolutely ecstatic. “Alright, I’ll go.”

“Good-”

“On one condition.” He added slyly.

Rohan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, wondering what Josuke was playing at now. “What is it?” He asked skeptically.

“You have to call me by my first name the entire time.” Josuke replied smugly, a mischievous grin on his face as he waited for Rohan’s answer.

Rohan rolled his eyes, sighing in annoyance. “Alright fine, Josuke .” He replied, saying the younger man’s name with contempt, definitely not happy about it.

“Great!” Josuke replied with what Rohan considered to be a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Whatever.” Rohan responded with a huff, already regretting this decision. “Meet me at the station tomorrow morning at 8:30. We have to go to S-city for registration. Don’t be late.” He continued, poking a finger in Josuke’s direction along with his last couple of words, wanting to make his point clear.

Josuke chuckled softly, shaking his head a bit. “Don’t worry Rohan, I’ll be there. See you tomorrow.” He replied, before turning to go back inside his house.

“See you tomorrow.” Rohan mumbled under his breath, before quickly turning around to start walking home, needing to get as far away as possible from the other man’s house as quickly as possible.

     ~~~

Rohan tugged his jacket closer to his body as he walked down to the station, ready to go to S-city and register for the competition. As he walked up the steps to the station, he was surprised to find that Josuke was already there, looking excited and ready to go.

“You’re… early.” Rohan said hesitantly, knitting his brows together in confusion.

“Haha, yep! I didn’t want to be late, so I decided to come a little early.” Josuke replied with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he avoided Rohan’s skeptical gaze. “Plus I… never mind.” Josuke started, before shaking his head, seemingly changing his mind about what he wanted to say. “Are you ready to go?” He asked instead, smiling softly as he finally met Rohan’s eyes.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Rohan replied with a sigh, definitely not ready for any of this. “Come on.” He commanded, gesturing for Josuke to follow him as he continued further into the station, wanting to get to S-city as soon as possible.

“Right behind you!” Josuke replied chipperly, following closely after the mangaka.

     ~~~

It wasn’t long until they arrived at the registration area, ready to sign up for the competition. As the two of them went to get in line, Rohan heard a familiar, and rather annoying voice calling out to him.

“Ah Rohan-sensei, long time no see! Ready to get crushed in the competition again?” The voice asked confidently as the owner, a short man with scraggly black hair, came to greet them.

“Ah, Suyin.” Rohan replied with disdain. “The competition hasn’t even started, and you’re already talking shit?” He remarked sarcastically, a scowl prominent on his face as he glared at the shorter man.

“Ah, careful now Kishibe. Wouldn’t want any accidents to happen during the competition this year, now would we?” Suyin replied in an almost threatening tone as a malicious smile spread slowly across his face.

Rohan scowled, about to make a venomous remark, when suddenly Josuke awkwardly coughed from behind him, catching their attention. “Um, Rohan? Care to introduce us?” Josuke asked, very confused about what was going on right now.

“Oh, right. Suyin, this is Josuke Higashikata, my ice sculpting partner. Josuke, this is Suyin Minoko, my ice sculpting rival.” Rohan replied with slight disdain in his voice, glaring daggers at Suyin. If looks could kill, he'd be dead several times over by now.

“Ice sculpting partner huh?” Suyin hummed amusedly, studying Josuke with a calculating smile. “You don’t look like much to me.” He said with a soft snort, deliberately trying to rile them up. Josuke just frowned softly, wondering why this guy was being such an asshole.

“Anyway, I should be going now. See you two at the competition.” Suyin announced with a sly smile, before sauntering off out of sight, leaving the two of them alone again.

“Well… He was a bitch.” Josuke mumbled after a few seconds, still not completely understanding what had just happened.

“That’s an understatement.” Rohan replied with a scoff, rolling his eyes. It was pretty clear that this whole encounter had shaken him up.

“So… what happened between you two?” Josuke asked, wanting to understand the full story.

Rohan sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to inform Josuke of what he was getting himself into here by being his ice sculpting partner. “Ever since we were old enough to enter the competition, Suyin and I have participated in it every single year. It started out as more of a friendly competition, but as I kept winning every single year, Suyin started getting bitter, until he eventually couldn’t take it anymore. For the last three years, Suyin has been “accidently” sabotaging my sculptures to make sure that I can’t win in the competition anymore.” Rohan explained, making air quotes around the word accidentally, since they clearly  weren’t accidents. But that’s what Suyin always made it look like to avoid being disqualified himself.

“That’s horrible!” Josuke exclaimed, not believing the audacity of that bitch. It was such a petty thing to do too.

“Yeah.” Rohan replied with a sigh. As frustrating as it was, there wasn’t anything he could really do about it.

“Hey, you have me as a partner now.” Josuke responded chipperly, trying to improve the mood. “If Suyin tries anything this year, I can just fix it with Crazy Diamond.”

“I… suppose you're right.” Rohan replied, smiling weakly, his heart not really in it.

“Of course I am. Now let’s go get registered so we can beat that bitch’s ass in the competition.”

     ~~~

Josuke flopped down on one of the two beds, groaning softly as he buried his face into one of the pillows. Rohan rolled his eyes slightly as he entered the hotel room, setting his stuff down on the other bed.

“Are you really that tired?” He asked skeptically, raising a questioning eyebrow at the younger man.

“Well, no… But that receptionist was so annoying…” Josuke grumbled in reply, flipping onto his side to look over at Rohan. Rohan just hummed softly in reply, not caring that much.

As it got later and later into the night, it was becoming clear that Rohan was rather stressed out as he paced around the hotel room, mumbling things to himself. Josuke frowned softly as he watched the older man pace the length of the room, concerned for his well being.

“Rohan? What’s wrong?” Josuke asked softly, having a feeling he already knew, but wanting to confirm it with the artist anyway so that he could help comfort him.

The sudden question startled Rohan, causing him to jump slightly, having almost forgotten that Josuke was in the room with him. He shook his head slightly, avoiding Josuke’s gaze. “I’m fine.” He replied in a slightly strained voice, clearly indicating that he was not fine.

Shaking his head softly, Josuke stood up and walked over to the fussy artist. “You’ve been pacing back and forth for the past hour, mumbling to yourself. What’s wrong?” He asked again, more insistently this time.

Rohan sighed softly, looking down at the ground. “Just worried about the competition. It’s nothing important.” He mumbled softly in reply, hoping Josuke would just drop the subject. But of course, it was never that easy with him.

“Come here.” Josuke replied softly, gently grabbing Rohan’s hand.

“What are you- Hey!” Rohan yelped softly as Josuke suddenly pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around the mangaka.

“It’s going to be ok Rohan. We’re going to win this.” Josuke said in a comforting voice, rubbing soothing circles on Rohan’s back to try to calm him down.

Rohan sighed softly, slumping his weight against Josuke’s chest. “Yeah… ok.”

     ~~~

It was early morning, and all of the contestants were making their way to their respective areas, getting ready for the start of the competition. Rohan was still a little nervous, but he reminded himself that it wasn't just him this year. Josuke was with him, and together they could win this. A spokesperson stepped up on the central stage, and started going over the rules and such.

“You have until tomorrow afternoon to finish your sculptures. Now, let the competition begin!” The spokesman announced, before leaving the stage once more. And with that, everyone got started on their sculptures.
After about 5 hours of diligent work, Josuke and Rohan were interrupted when Suyin decided to come over and pay them a visit.

“How’s your sculpture coming along?” Suyin asked with a sly smile, taking a slow sip from the coffee cup he was holding.

“What do you want Suyin?” Rohan growled in reply, stepping in front of Suyin to prevent him from getting any closer to the sculpture. Josuke stayed quiet, and kept working, though he kept a diligent eye on Suyin as he worked.

Suyin chuckled softly, shaking his head. “What, can I not come check on you in good spirits? You wound me.” He replied, pouting playfully. Rohan just glared at him, not trusting Suyin a damn bit. Out of the corner of his eye, Rohan noticed something pink and blue that looked like an arm, materializing in the air - was that Crazy Diamond? He didn’t have much time to process the sight, before Suyin was talking again, pulling his attention back to the shorter man.

“Well it seems your sculpture is coming along quite nicely. It really would be such a shame if something were to happen to it, like someone accidentally spilling their coffee by chance.” Suyin said with a mischievous smirk, definitely planning on doing something just like that.

Rohan’s eyes narrowed, his scowl deepening. “Don’t you dare.” He growled.

“Whoops.” Suyin replied with a smirk as he lightly tossed his coffee cup towards the ice sculpture. Rohan’s eyes widened, and he moved to stop the cup before it could hit the sculpture, but Josuke got to it first, the same pink and blue hand from before materializing in the air to swat the cup back towards Suyin, splattering the coffee all over his legs instead. Everything was silent for a moment, both Rohan and Suyin too shocked to speak, before Suyin growled softly, glaring at Rohan.

“Nice save, Kishibe. You won’t be so lucky next time.” Suyin threatened, and with a start, Rohan realized that Suyin thought that he had batted the cup away. It made sense though - Suyin wasn’t a stand user, so it’s not like he could have seen Crazy Diamond. Before Rohan could reply, Suyin’s partner came running over in a panic, yelling to get Suyin’s attention.

“Suyin, we have a problem! A metal ball came out of nowhere and cracked the sculpture!” The frantic man yelled, eyes as wide as quarters. Suyin’s eyes widened as well, before narrowing to slits. Shooting one last glare at Rohan and Josuke, Suyin silently marched off back to his own sculpture, his partner right on his heels. Rohan just stood there for a second, still stunned from the whole ordeal. Once he got over the initial shock, he looked over at Josuke, knitting his brows in confusion

“Did you…?” He started to ask, before trailing off, unable to finish the thought.
“Shoot the metal ball? Yeah, that was me. A little trick I picked up from Jotaro a few years back.” Josuke replied, smiling softly as he continued working on the sculpture.

“Well… thanks.” Rohan responded awkwardly, not sure how to process that information. He knew that Josuke had a stake in this competition too, but Rohan hadn’t expected him to care so much. It was nice.

“Don’t mention it. Now get over here and help me.” Josuke replied jokingly, smiling brightly. Rohan laughed softly, before getting back to working on the sculpture.

     ~~~

A few hours later, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, and most of the contestants were finishing up for the day. Even Suyin and his partner had already packed up and left. After adding some finishing touches for the night, Josuke and Rohan packed up as well, before heading back to the hotel.

“Thanks again, for what you did.” Rohan said softly as they settled in for the night. “If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

“Like I said before, don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for, right?” Josuke replied, smiling softly. Friends… Rohan had never really considered Josuke as a friend, having assumed that they were rivals for the past four years. Maybe he had been wrong.

“And besides, it’s my sculpture too.” Josuke jokes, a mischievous smile on his face.

Rohan snorted softly, shaking his head with an amused smile. “Good night Josuke.” He replied, before laying down on his bed.

“Good night Rohan.” Josuke replied softly, his gaze lingering on the mangaka for a few more seconds, before he also lay down.

     ~~~

In the morning, they returned to the competition area, and got back to work on their ice sculpture. As the hours ticked by, thankfully they didn’t have any more visits from Suyin, who was still fretting over how to solve the metal ball problem. Soon enough it was time for the judges to come out and pick the winner, and Josuke and Rohan had finished up just in time. After carefully inspecting all of the sculptures, the judges mounted the stage to announce the winners.

“In third place, we have Inaba Kayami and Anju Miiko.” 

The crowd cheered as the two women, standing beside their statue, waved cheerfully.

“In second place, we have Suyin Minoko and Sanjuro Matsuyama.”

The crowd cheered a little louder, but Suyin looked positively miserable. At least his partner seemed to take it well, waving to the crowd like the two women had.

“And in first place is…” The spokesman started to announce, pausing for dramatic effect as the crowd mimicked a drum roll. “Rohan Kishibe and Josuke Higashikata!”

“Yes!” The two shouted in victory, pumping their fits into the air as the crowd cheered even louder. Rohan yelped softly as Josuke suddenly picked him up, and spun him around a few times, before setting him back down.

“Sorry about that.” Josuke chuckled sheepishly, a small blush on his face.

“It’s ok.” Rohan muttered in reply, his own cheeks flushed pink as well.

“But we did it! We won!” Josuke exclaimed, positively glowing with excitement.

“Yeah, we did.” Rohan replied, smiling softly. It felt great to have won the competition after three years of losing to a cheater. And it felt even better to see that happy smile on Josuke’s face. He wanted to sketch it down to keep it forever, but unfortunately he didn’t have his sketchbook with him.

As the judges came around and handed out trophies to the winners, Rohan got a brilliant idea. “Hey, why don’t we go to Tonio’s to celebrate? I’ll pay.” Rohan offered, feeling generous after such a big victory.

“Wha- Are you serious?” Josuke exclaimed, looking at Rohan with wide eyes. Rohan nodded, and Josuke whooped in excitement. “Hell yes!”

Rohan smiled softly as Josuke ran down a taxi, following after him at a slower pace. Maybe that brat wasn’t so bad after all.