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When he locks eyes with the new Italian exchange student in his Intro to Philosophy class, it’s obvious he’s his soulmate.
The back of his shoulder burns, and although he hasn’t seen it himself, he knows it’s a deep, dark red, just like how Smokey’s birthmark was when he met his own soulmate. The blonde, though Joseph would really appreciate learning his name soon, covers one of his cheekbones with his hand, his mouth agape as he stares at Joseph back. This staring contest goes on for the next five minutes, and Joseph silently thanks the heavens that their seats are placed in a way where it almost looks normal.
He takes this time to observe everything; the way his blue eyes trace Joseph’s face, the small pink birthmarks right under his eyes, his plump, pink lips. Joseph’s gaze lingers there, mesmerized by the way the boy’s tongue darts out to wet them. When he looks back up, the blonde is smirking, a teasing glint in his eyes. Joseph immediately feels the heat rise to his cheeks and looks away bashfully, promptly ending the staring contest.
He tries to pay attention for the last 10 minutes of class, but the feeling of the blonde’s eyes burning a hole into his skull combined with the fact Joseph’s soulmate looks like they were carved by the Greek gods themselves, is seemingly becoming too much for him to bear. No seriously, what did he do in his past lives to deserve this? Save the world? Joseph laughs at the thought; no, that’s impossible.
Once the clock hits twelve, and the professor dismisses the class, Joseph stands up immediately and packs all his stuff as fast as he can. He needs to see the blonde as soon as possible, and before his nerves catch up to him. He’s a bit infamous to his friends for backing out of situations due to his nervousness.
He feels a tap on his shoulders and slightly jumps, turning around immediately to find himself face to face with the piercing eyes he’s been staring back at for the past 30 minutes. He’s even more beautiful up close, his golden hair giving the effect of a halo around his face, and his lips are even more enticing when only a couple inches away from Joseph’s.
The words “Hello,” form from said lips, a thick accent coating them sweetly, and Joseph’s eyes dart right back up to his eyes, having been caught again staring at this man’s lips. He flushes profusely once more, sighing at how easy it is for him to be entranced by the blonde despite not having known him for more than an hour.
“Hi,” Joseph replies, wincing at how awkward he sounds. “I guess we’re soulmates?” The blonde chuckles at the forwardness of his statement, and Joseph falls a little bit more in love with the way the corner of his eyes crinkle and the bright smile on his face.
“I suppose so.” He holds out his hand, perfectly manicured nails wrapping around Joseph’s. “I’m Caesar Zeppeli. I recently moved here from Italy a couple months ago, but I transferred into this university a week ago.”
Joseph nods, shaking Caesar's hand. “Joseph. Joseph Joestar, although I’m a bit disappointed I can’t say the same. I’ve been here for far too long.” At this, Caesar laughs again, brushing some of his blonde hair out of his eyes, that mesmerizing blue looking into Joseph’s green once again.
“I’m sure it hasn’t been too bad. At least you never had to experience having to get used to a completely different country.”
At this, Joseph is the one laughing. “Oh God, yes I do! I moved from London to New York only a couple years ago.”
“So that’s where the accent comes from!” Caesar says, softly smiling. “I was wondering if I was just imagining that.”
Joseph shakes his head. “Born and raised in London, baby,” he says, doing a terrible job at winking.
“Well, I guess it’s good I’ve always had a thing for Brits, isn’t it?” Blush appears on Joseph’s cheeks for what seems like the millionth time today, and he wonders if he’ll ever get over the novelty of Caesar’s entirety.
They stay in the class for what feels like hours, but Joseph knows it is only a couple more minutes. He feels like he’s floating, conversation flowing between the two as if it was second nature. He feels comfortable in the presence of Caesar, a feeling in which he hasn’t been able to find recently. They laugh as though they’ve been laughing together for years, jokes spilling in between the two naturally.
The bubble bursts when Caesar checks his phone and sighs. “I have a class on the other side of campus in 10 minutes.” Joseph's face drops into a disappointed frown, and Caesar just chuckles. “Want to hangout after it?”
“Of course! Here, give me your phone and text me once the class finishes.” Caesar hands Joseph his phone and he punches in his number. “There you go.”
“I’ll text you right after, okay? It was really nice meeting you.” Caesar gives him a quick peck on his cheek. “Ciao, Joseph!”
Joseph stares at Caesar’s retreating figure as his hands reach up to touch the cheek he had kissed him on, the tingling feeling lingering.
He’s so fucked.