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Both you and Jotaro have had a very long week.
You have spent each day wandering through Morioh, tirelessly following every lead to its end searching for Yoshikage Kira. The summer sun beat down on the both of you as you worked throughout the day, only having a slight respite at night as you both pore over pages and pages of information regarding Kira’s possible whereabouts. All of it seemingly unrelated, trivial, and insignificant, nothing ever pointing you in one direction or another.
The only lead that you had, something as innocuous as a lost button, led to the loss of three more innocent lives. The weight of having more die on Jotaro’s watch weighed on him heavily; even though he didn’t vocalize this, you could tell that it was eating him up on the inside.
During the days following the reveal and subsequent disappearance of Kira, the two of you worked tirelessly. You find yourself looking through every modicum of evidence left in the Kira household, looking for any lead toward his current whereabouts. It might have bothered some people to look through the possessions of a serial murderer, but you didn't have a second thought; especially when it meant possibly being one step closer to stopping him for good.
On one of these days, you both briefly meet at the café, barely a respite from the week’s work. You keep it to yourself, you notice that Jotaro is unshaven– having known him for so long, you know he would never go out unshaven if he could help it. But before you can ask him about it, he’s called away to continue the search.
The way that Jotaro looked during your meeting weighs on you for the rest of the day. He always hid how he felt, purposefully or not, but being able to see how sunken his expression was and how unkempt he was… it left a knot in your stomach that it’s gotten to this point.
Not that you’ve been faring much better; you don’t even remember the last time you had a moment to yourself. You barely had time to sit in the bath and fall onto the mattress before you had to get up the next day, working yourself to the bone again in a vicious cycle. But the fact that two more victims had their lives claimed despite this mountain of work made you wonder how much of this was even worth it in the end.
That evening, when you finally return to your own hotel room, you decide that you cannot take simply standing by anymore. You gather your things and depart, walking to where you knew Jotaro was staying.
It’s not long before you’re standing in the open doorway to his room. He looms over you, awkwardly silent as he never expects guests.
“Is there something wrong?” Jotaro finally asks, as plain as you could imagine.
You take in Jotaro’s appearance again. Even while still wearing his cap you can see his unshaven chin and tired eyes. “Can I come in?”
Jotaro huffs at the non-answer, but still moves to let you inside. He closes the door as you slip off your shoes, then turns to start wordlessly making tea in the kitchenette.
The room, which was normally kept neat, has a few things set astray that you notice. The most jarring thing is that the coffee table is littered with piles of paper. His coat is thrown haphazardly across the back of one of the chairs instead of being hung up neatly as usual. The room’s phone is set askew. All little things you can’t help but see due to your training as a detective.
“Should I clear the coffee table?” You ask quietly, knowing better than to disturb his work without asking.
Jotaro turns and sees the papers piled up, almost as if he had no idea they were still there. He mutters under his breath in apology and moves to collect them back into their proper place in the large file organizer on the floor.
You ask another question, trying to coax Jotaro into a less tense state. “Find anything today?”
“No.” He answers without a second thought. You knew it was going to be his answer.
“Hmm,” you murmur, sitting down and lounging against the back of the couch, “I think we’re gonna work ourselves to death before Kira can kill us himself.”
Jotaro grunts back, almost sounding like a bitter laugh. “Probably.”
The reply puts the slightest smile on your face. Trying to further diffuse the tension, you pat the space beside you on the couch. “Come here, Jojo.”
Knowing that he’s in no position to argue, Jotaro obliges, sitting next to you. He lets his leg lightly touch yours, but sits no closer. He crosses his arms, staring blankly to the other side of the room.
“I noticed you skipped shaving this morning.”
“Didn’t have time.”
“Really? You always get up so early though.”
“Well…” Jotaro trails off. “I was up early today. Didn’t actually sleep much last night.”
You frown, knowing how hard it is for Jotaro to admit to something like that. Your hand comes up to rub at his shoulder. “You could have said something…”
Jotaro lets out another huff. “Doesn’t matter. We have to find where Kira went.”
“It does matter.” You urge. “I can’t stand seeing you like this, on top of everything else.”
Jotaro tenses at your words, but as he tries to recoil, you squeeze down on his shoulder. There’s no escaping this conversation now. Instead of deflecting, he lets out a deep sigh, his shoulders heaving. “You were always too sentimental.” He mutters, pulling his cap down over his face. You realize that it’s his version of teasing, and not him looking down on you.
“Hmmph. Look who’s talking. You look like a damn zombie. All just to have a few more hours in the day to look for some serial killer…” You bump your elbow into his arm lightly, playfully.
“What do you suggest I do, then?”
“Maybe take a shower, for one.” You start, looking up at his unsightly sweat-slicked hair. “And shave. I know you can’t stand going out like that.” At that, you run your pointer finger against the line of his jaw, feeling his stubble against the pad of your finger.
Jotaro deftly grabs your wrist. It’s not forceful, but still firm. “Don’t do that.”
“Well, are you going to let me take care of you for once?”
Battling with himself internally, Jotaro looks to the floor. He’s always fighting with his stupid masculine pride when it comes to things like this. But even he has run of energy to fight, and so he sighs in defeat, relinquishing himself to your care. “...fine.” He concedes, his grip of your wrist lightening, his thumb idly running over your wrist.
–
You return to Jotaro’s room, your own change of clothes in a discreet bag. When he lets you back in, you see that he’s still a little tense, subconsciously looking for some way to escape the situation. You just find solace knowing that he will be content once you’re done with him.
The bathroom of Jotaro’s hotel room was certainly more spacious than yours- it had a huge shower and bathtub. The shower could easily accommodate two people, and Jotaro at least agreed to shower with you, as long as you agreed to not start anything.
“I don’t mind sharing the shower with you,” Jotaro explains, “just don’t touch my hair.”
You pout just a little bit at that. “But I love washing your hair.”
“You’re lucky I’m even letting you shower with me, punk.” Jotaro retorts, once again without any real venom in his words. Then, he begins to take off his clothes, turning on the hot water in the shower. You quickly join him, stepping in behind him as the shower begins to mist up.
Even though Jotaro’s broad body was blocking most of the water, the steaming water still felt good despite being in the heat for most of the day. For just a moment, you could forget about your worries, just focusing on the feeling of the water.
While standing behind him, you look up and notice that Jotaro’s ears are red, skin starting to flake off. “Hey,” you call out, warning before you touched his ears. “Your ears are sunburned…” You reach up and rub his earlobe between your fingers carefully. He tenses again, but makes a concerted effort to not push away again.
“I can tell. The hot water hurts.” Jotaro states plainly.
You lather your hands, running your fingers from his ears down his neck to his back, pressing your palms flat against the expanse of his shoulders. “You need to learn to relax, Jojo.” You chastise him again.
Jotaro no longer complains, just washing his hair as you wash his back, feeling every knot under your fingers. The sight of the scars that lash across his torso make you just want to protect him from the world forever. It’s not that you wanted to coddle him or pity him, but it was hard to see someone you care about constantly destroy himself for the sake of others. If only he saw it that way.
Once Jotaro rinses off, he steps out of the shower, immediately pulling a towel around his waist to be decent again. You follow suit, finishing washing yourself off and stepping out. You resist the urge to ruffle his hair in your towel, not wanting to test the extent of his goodwill towards your efforts to help him take care of himself.
“Can I at least give you a shave?”
Jotaro grunts at your insistence. “Why? I can do it myself.”
“The point is that you don’t have to do it yourself.”
Letting out a sigh, Jotaro relents again. “Fine. Just be careful.”
“Alright.” You pull out the shower stool, pushing it in front of yourself as you gather Jotaro’s shaving things from the counter. “Let’s get this over with, now.”
Jotaro mumbles something under his breath before sitting on the stool, his massive body hunched over as you kneel beside him. You take some of his shaving cream and apply a healthy amount to your hand.
“Use the brush.”
“What?” You ask cluelessly.
“The brush.” You see a ghostly hand pull a thick, stout brush from the counter, floating into your field of view.
You let out a small laugh. “Too late, it’s already in my hands.” You chide as you apply the cream to Jotaro’s face, being as tender as possible with his skin. He still lets out a quiet groan of complaint as you rub his chin and cheeks. “Just let me do this for you, tough guy.”
“Hmmph.”
You hold Jotaro’s chin between your finger and thumb, keeping his head still as you begin to run his razor up the side of his face, slowly carving paths through the shaving cream. You see his eyes flutter shut as you work, sighing deeply as he lets you shave his face. Every draw of the razor against his face caused him to let out another sigh, relaxing with every pass.
Once you’re done with him you run a thumb against his bare skin, checking your work. You smile just a little bit as he pulls away. “You know, I like how you look with stubble.” You tease.
“Shut up.” Jotaro replies, though there was no conviction behind his words.
You rub Jotaro’s face clean with a wet rag before dabbing his face with his aftershave, leaving the two of you with a scent you were particularly fond of, associating it so much with him. “There, that’s enough torture for you for today.”
Jotaro stands up, gathering his clean clothes. “Are you leaving?”
You shrug. “I don’t mind staying, I brought a change of clothes after all. But I’ll leave if you need me to.”
Jotaro is quiet for a long time before tugging your arm, pulling you just slightly closer. “No. Stay.”
–
You and Jotaro sit on the couch, drinking the tea that he prepared for the both of you. Music plays quietly from the radio, driving away the tense silence that permeated throughout the room earlier in the evening. Your body is molded against his, and his heavy arm keeps you securely in place against him. You are comforted by the feeling of clean, dry clothes and the familiar scent of Jotaro’s aftershave.
“You’re never this direct about this kind of thing.” You comment, leaning the side of your head against his collarbone.
“That’s because you’re always pushing me to do this crap.” He retorts. Despite his tone, he rests his chin on top of your head.
“Yeah. I don’t see why it’s so hard for you. You’d take a bullet to the chest before you admit you need help.”
Jotaro scoffs at your teasing, squeezing you in retaliation. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’ve taken more bullets to the chest than anything.” He lets out a huff through his nose. “This,” he gestures to you, “is not normal for me.”
You let out a sad sigh at how despondent he sounds. “Well… it should be normal. I want it to be.”
“Hmmph. It’s not from a lack of trying on your part.” He mutters, closing his eyes.
Leaning back, you move your arms to wrap around Jotaro’s neck, pulling him into a hug. You knock your forehead against the side of his head. “So…” You speak lowly, like you were telling a secret, “are you gonna need help falling asleep tonight, too?”
“I…” Jotaro trails off, clearing his throat. “I do want you to stay, yes.” You feel his hand go to your side as he speaks.
You stand up, somewhat reluctant to separate yourself from Jotaro’s warmth. Tugging at his sleeve, you urge him to stand up and follow you to the bedroom. “I don’t need you falling asleep on the couch now. You look like hell without breaking your back.”
“I’d live.” Jotaro mutters. He stands up, and after turning off the radio and all of the lights, follows behind you into the bedroom. Once Jotaro makes it to the bed, he takes a moment to sit on the edge of it. “I’m not the only one who looks like hell.”
What Jotaro said was right. The investigation took its toll on you as well, leaving you unkempt with dark circles and dry eyes. You take a seat next to him on the side of the bed, giving him side-eye. “Well, I don’t need you worrying about me too, Jojo…”
Before you could say anything else, Jotaro effortlessly scoops you up into one of his arms and tugs you into the bed. You’d never expect him to act so quickly, so you make a somewhat undignified noise as he drags you over the duvet. “Hey-!” You bark, trying to not sound too surprised.
Jotaro lets out another one of his grunts, the kind that you know is an understated laugh. “Stop being such a hypocrite and be quiet.” He orders, pulling you into an embrace against his chest.
There were some times where you hated when Jotaro was right, but you couldn’t exactly decide if this was one of those moments right now. “I’m sure my shutting up would make you real happy, huh?”
Jotaro just lets out a noncommittal hum, not knowing if it was in agreement or otherwise. Eventually, you give in and return the cuddle, pulling the duvet just part of the way over yourself. The summer night was warm, but with how exhausted the two of you were, it wasn’t long before you finally let sleep take you.
–
When you wake up, your first thought is wondering the time. It had been a long time since you woke up without an alarm blaring, especially during the last week. When you go to roll over to check the bedside clock, you realize that a heavy weight is keeping you in place. It takes only a few more moments before you remember the events of the previous night, and you relax again. Maybe you needed a break, too.
You almost felt too guilty to wake Jotaro up, but despite knowing that he needed his sleep as much as you needed yours, you also knew that the guilt of sleeping in would weigh heavily on him. You raise an arm to shake his shoulder gently, watching the furrow return between his brows as he wakes up from sleep. He just quietly mumbles as he realizes how much of his weight is over you and rolls over to release you from his grasp.
Finally, you move to check the time. It’s just past 5am, which has recently been the time you’d usually wake up. You assume that Jotaro has been doing the same. “It’s five. When did we go to bed last night?”
Jotaro just groans, “I dunno.”
The sound of Jotaro’s voice rough with sleep makes your heart hurt for him. You roll back over, pulling him back into a cuddle which he wordlessly reciprocates, resting his head heavily against your chest. “It doesn’t matter,” you decide, “as long as you feel rested.”
Jotaro lets out a quiet hum before responding. “Just a bit longer.”