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Sunlight filtered through the open window of the common area on Air Supplena Island, a breeze gently swaying the curtains side to side. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee filtered through the air along with the salty sting of the sea. As the door creaked open, Joseph turned from his seat on the couch towards the visitor, setting down the book in his hands after slipping a bookmark to mark his page.
“Mornin’ Cae,” he yawned, arms stretched above his head before reaching for the cup of coffee in front of him. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, though it did nothing to tame the wild bedhead he woke up with.
“You’re up early. Is Maestra not pushing you hard enough?” Caesar said with a tilt towards the window overlooking the training course, the slowly rising sun cresting above the waves, bathing everything in warm gold light. “Can’t have you grow lazy on me, JoJo. I can only carry your sorry culo so much.”
“Shut it,” Joseph grumbled as he gave Caesar a light shove on the shoulder. “If anything, you should be thanking me. I made you coffee before training starts, ch-ulo.” He handed Caesar an extra mug while he poured another cup. “Take this to Suzie, would you? She’s out in the courtyard watering the plants.”
“Fineeeeee. But I’m doing it for her, not you,” he groaned as he picked up the mugs.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” JoJo responded with a wink. As he turned, he saw Caesar pause to glance at the book on the coffee table. He watched as Caesar's eyebrow quirked up as he saw the title.
“...Are you reading an Italian-to-English Dictionary?” he responded with a snort.
“...Maybe.”
“Can I ask why? My insults too exotic for you, Englishman?” Caesar scoffed, setting down the mugs to thumb through the pages he had bookmarked. Nothing of note was on the page except for a single starred word: “Tesoro - Treasure, Honey, Darling.”
“-Give me that,” JoJo’s face flushed brightly as he reached to snatch the book out of his hands. “The answer I’m supposed to give is that I’m learning it for Maestra Lisa Lisa, but don’t think I don’t notice you and Suzie talking about me.” He tapped the book against Caesar's chest. “I may not know much yet, but I still can tell when you stare me down and snicker to each other,” he pouted.
Caesar rolled his eyes and slowly pushed the book aside with a finger as he reached to retrieve the mugs. “Look, good on you for trying, but I don’t think just a dictionary is going to cut it. I only speak English so well, thanks to my father growing up.” He pointed a finger towards JoJo as he walked to the door. “If you are serious, I’m sure we could help you out. Hell, we could just stop speaking English until you start to catch on.”
“Hey! Don’t be a dick, Cae.” Joseph groaned, “I’m trying here, but it’s so hard when you have only spoken one language your whole life.” He scratched at the back of his neck, “I didn’t have the benefit of a bilingual parent, or anyone for that matter. Uncle Speedwagon only spoke English, and Granny Erina learned French in school but didn’t remember most of it.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you got to tell yourself, JoJo,” Caesar responded with a wink as he slipped past the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll let Suzie know the coffee is from her tesoro.”
Shit, he did see that. Joseph’s face was as red as could be, despite the fact that he wasn’t the one who was really caught. After telling Caesar to knock it off every time he heard “JoJo” followed by giggling Italian, he realized they merely replaced his name with a nickname- At least it was an endearing one.
They were never going to let him live this down.
—
After a grueling day of training, followed by an extra lap around the island courtesy of Maestra for purposefully tripping Caesar with a well-hidden, expertly laid line of string at the start of the obstacle course, Joseph shoved open the door of his quarters and dropped his equipment bag on the ground with a thud. He landed face-down on his soft bed, resting his weary muscles for a moment before mustering the willpower to get washed up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a parcel wrapped in butcher paper on the nightstand. He peeled back the paper to reveal an introductory book on learning Italian. A note peeked out from the cover, with a single line written once in Italian and once in English:
“Thought we could give you a hand. Leftovers are on the counter for when you finish your punishment lap. - Caesarino and Suzie”