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Tsukumojuku always said that a detective’s work was never over, but right now, Jorge liked to beg to beg to differ. It was that special time in the morning, when the sky was stained purple and sunshine just barely peeked through the bedroom window, when the world was seemingly locked into a kind of indefinite peace. At one time, many years ago, he would have missed this part of the morning; but years of waking up early during the great war had made it hard for him to sleep in like he used to. Tsukumojuku, on the other hand, was still fast asleep in his arms, seemingly unburdened by a thing in the world. The dichotomy between his mentality and his current state was a little funny, and Jorge might have chuckled if he didn’t fear that it would wake the other. Tsukumojuku tended to pour himself into his work, and it was not uncommon for him to stay up all night untangling the mysteries of a particularly difficult case. Jorge understood that kind of dedication and the passion he had for that kind of work; it was the same kind he had for flying machines. As much as he understood that drive, he knew that Tsukumojuku needed rest just like anyone else. So, he laid there and just enjoyed the moment, thinking back to how they had ended up like this.
If he were honest with himself, he should have recognized that he liked his friend far sooner than he did. The way his heart beat faster when Tsukumojuku took his hand, the fluttering feeling that came bursting into his chest when he looked him in the eyes, or the flush that was totally just from the summer heat; it was all so terribly obvious in hindsight. He’d known from their first proper meeting that the boy had been good looking, but it hadn’t been until he was 15 that he realized that he was attracted to his best friend. Everything changed from that moment on, holding his hand meant something more, and he didn't simply look into his eyes, but got lost in them. What was worse was that Tsukumojuku only seemed to become more physically affectionate after that point. If they sat together, he’d draw them closer together with his arm or lean his head against his shoulder; which made it all the harder to pretend that he didn’t have feelings for his friend. Out of fear, he’d silently began to try and avoid and draw away from those gestures, but his friend being the great detective he was, caught on eventually. One rainy day when he was sixteen and they were sitting on the porch of his childhood home, Tsukumojuku looked at him with clear worry on his face and asked him a very simple question.
“Is everything alright Jorge?” Immediately, and like he was prone to do, he began to panic internally. What if Tsukumojuku had found him out?
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine, really.” As if he already knew Jorge’s secret; Tsukumojuku fixed him with a look of well-intentioned skepticism.
“You’ve been more distant Jorge, you’ve been like that for a while actually. Is there something I did to upset you?” He could have laughed at the notion; the perfect, handsome, effortlessly charismatic, and unflappable Tsukumojuku did something wrong? Jorge was pretty sure that was impossible.
“No, you didn’t do anything, it’s my problem. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it on my own this time.” He wanted to turn his head away, and he was just about to, but his friend was grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to face this head on. It seemed that Tsukumojuku was always doing that, encouraging Jorge to do things he’d never normally have the courage to.
“I don’t want whatever this is to change what we have Jorge, just tell me what’s going on.”
“But it will change things no matter what I do!” He blurted out, regretting it almost immediately, because now Tsukumojuku looked at him as if he’d just seen a ghost.
“Tell me Jorge, no matter what it is, I promise that things won’t change between us.” Those words were spoken in a quieter tone, like he was truly afraid of what the secret might be. One of the hands on his shoulder moved to touch his cheek, an action that sent Jorge’s poor heart racing in a mix of anxiety and affection. When he’d finally collected his thoughts and condemned himself to whatever fate lay before him, he sighed and finally responded.
“The way I feel about you, it’s not the way I’m supposed to. Tsukumojuku, I think I love you.” The air between them was quiet for a second longer before it was broken with a relieved laugh that left Jorge confused.
“I love you too, Jorge, that’s why I was worried when you started being so distant, I thought something was wrong.” Tsukumojuku must not be understanding him, unlikely as it was for the genius detective, it was the only explanation for his reaction.
“No, Tsukumojuku, I think I love you like how girls and boys love each other.” He said, half dying of embarrassment and half exasperated that he had to say it again. To this, his friend reacted as if it were the most casual thing in the world, smiling in that carefree way he always did.
“I love you too.” He said it simply and without flourish, like he’d told Jorge that a hundred times. That only caused him even more confusion; and it must have been visible because Tsukumojuku’s smile faded. He was quiet for a while, resting an elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, a pose that Jorge knew meant that he was deep in thought. He stayed like that for a few minutes before suddenly and jarringly bursting into a fit of laughter so strong that Jorge had to catch him from falling backward onto the wooden porch. “I’m such a fool, Jorge!”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I started to notice that I liked you, I began to wonder if you liked me too. It wasn’t too hard to tell that you did, you’re rather obvious you know. I guess that after that, I got so caught up in what to do after I confessed, that I never actually got around to confessing.” Jorge would have been so mad if it weren’t that the statement hadn’t given him so much relief.
“You’re telling me that you knew I liked you this entire time and you’ve been acting like we were in a relationship?” Tsukumojuku nodded so innocently that Jorge couldn’t even be anything more than a little annoyed at him. “How long ago did you start doing that?”
“Maybe three months ago.”
“So, you’ve been treating me like I’m your boyfriend for three months and I never noticed? How didn’t you know that I wasn’t aware of it?” He didn’t know how Tsukumojuku could keep such a carefree attitude, it must have been due to that Beyond thing of his.
“To be fair, you never corrected me when I called you my partner.”
“I thought that you meant that I was your detective partner.” Jorge couldn’t stop himself from shaking his head.
“I guess we finally got that confession out of the way though.” That made Jorge look back up to his friend’s grinning face. He was stupidly charming when he smiled like that; and for the first time, Jorge realized that it was because of him. Now he was smiling like an idiot too.
“I guess we did.” In the back of his mind, he was aware that his friend, or whatever they were, was still there in his arms. “Well then, since you’re always five steps ahead, what do we do now?” Tsukumojuku hummed, the kind he did more for dramatization than as a product of contemplation. It was a difference that might be lost on those who didn’t know him well.
“I did think it was strange that we hadn’t kissed yet, I kind of just assumed you were too nervous. If you’re not comfortable with that right now though, that’s perfectly fine.”
He was all but taken aback by the statement. Tsukumojuku, the handsome young detective that could have his pick of any of the girls on the island and probably anywhere else, wanted to kiss him. He shouldn’t be so surprised, but he was sure that this couldn’t be real; Tsukumojuku wanted to kiss him, the feeble, accident prone, absent-minded Jorge Joestar.
“You want to kiss me?” He hadn’t intended it to come out sounding so small and nervous, but Tsukumojuku didn’t seem to mind.
“Of course I do Jorge.” He let out one of those easy, captivating laughs of his. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” He really didn’t understand what he meant, and he was getting frustrated at it.
“You know; your face gets all flushed and you look away like you did something wrong. I like you, you didn’t do anything wrong.” It still felt like he’d still made some kind of mistake, or more accurately that Tsukumojuku had, but he did want to kiss him. Looking down at the boards of his porch, too afraid to lock eyes, he voiced his thoughts.
“I-I think I’d like to kiss you too.” When he’d gathered up the courage to look back, he was met with Tsukumojuku looking at him with a particularly familiar look. His intelligent eyes glittered excitedly from behind stray strands of long black hair and drew Jorge’s gaze. It was the same expression as when he solved a particularly challenging case. There was something special about not just seeing it, but knowing that Tsukumojuku was so happy because of him.
Tsukumojuku had initiated the kiss, drawing himself up and grazing his fingers against Jorge’s cheek, seeming unsure if he should place his hand there or not. Jorge thought lightheartedly that it was one of the few times he’d ever known Tsukumojuku to be unsure of anything. When their lips connected, it did not last long, but still felt profound. All of Jorge’s not so hidden affections had come to fruition and become something real. When it ended, Tsukumojuku was still, his eyes barely open as they peered into Jorge’s. He appeared unsure of what to do next, a much more vulnerable and human look to him, and Jorge thought he liked seeing that side of him.
In the present, Tsukumojuku was just starting to stir awake. His long black hair spilled over the pillows like ink and it moved with the rest of his body as he rolled over to look at Jorge.
“What’s got you smiling like that, Jorgie?”
“Just thinking about that day when I first told you I loved you and you kissed me.” He chuckled. “You looked like you didn’t know what to do when it ended; I rarely ever see you like that.” He was quiet then, looking to be stuck in thought for a moment before smiling.
“The truth is, I really didn’t know what to do because that kiss had given me a revelation. Before I knew you, I thought that Beyond was solely for me, then I believed it had transferred to you. At that moment, I knew that it was directing the both of us. Just as it guides me and gives me the confidence to call myself a detective, it does the same for you as a pilot. Ours is a story with two perspectives, and to each of us, the other is the hero. I had never even considered that until the moment you kissed me. To be honest, before that, I sensed that my story was coming to an end and that yours would begin. In a sense, that did happen, but in a completely unexpected manner. Beyond is often like that though, throwing twists and turns into the story; in all honesty, I should have seen it coming.”
Jorge still did not fully understand Beyond the way that Tsukumojuku did. He saw it more as a kind of supernaturally accurate intuition his partner had. Tsukumojuku once said that with them being a couple, Beyond would bless him too, and since then he had acquired a near supernatural sense of impending danger. For the most part, he attributed it to his partner’s tendencies rubbing off on him, just as Jorge’s propensity towards strange and creative solutions had been transferred to Tsukumojuku over time. It had improved their proficiency at both of their jobs, so neither of them could really complain about it.
If Jorge knew anything about his partner though, he knew that the most important meal to Tsukumojuku was breakfast. So, sad to abandon the warmth of the blanket and his boyfriend to make breakfast, he began to move. It was a little tradition for them to do this every morning, alternating between who got up first. When he was about to let go and get out of bed though, Tsukumojuku’s arms wrapped tighter around his thick torso. It brought a smile to his face and a small chuckle rumbling through his chest.
“It’s my day to make you breakfast, remember?”
“I know, I just don’t want to get up yet.” He was strong enough he could easily walk to the kitchen with Tsukumojuku clinging to him, but he decided to flop back down instead.
“What about that thing you always say, ‘A detective’s work is never done’?” His partner responded with a quick peck to his collarbone.
“Beyond is telling me that I can rest… just this once.” Though Jorge was not entirely convinced of Beyond’s existence, he definitely thought that they could afford to stay in bed just a little longer.