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Everything suddenly went quiet.
After the loud explosions of the mechanism, all that remained was a ringing in the ears.
Dust rose into the air as Jotaro’s limp body fell onto the wooden floor.
Kakyoin rushed to him before he could even catch his breath.
“Look at me!”
Hierophant’s vines tightened around Jotaro, trying to stem the bleeding.
They turned scarlet with every blink.
“Josuke is on his way. Focus—” Kakyoin clenched his teeth, cradling Jotaro's head in his lap.
Jotaro gritted his teeth harder and let out a short hiss. A thin stream of blood ran down his chin, dripping into the puddle that was beginning to form on the floor.
“Hey, easy. Breathe—” Kakyoin tightened the vines even more.
“I’m breathing,” he assured him in a breaking voice.
Jotaro’s gaze, always so focused and sharp until now, began to blur with every shallow breath. The only thing he could see was lavender.
Kakyoin’s eyes.
Terrified.
And that hurt him more than the wounds.
“I can’t move, so you’re the one who has to come closer,” he forced out, lifting his hand with the last of his strength.
Kakyoin leaned in. He calculated every drop of blood lost, counted minutes, gripping Jotaro’s coat tighter with every second. But when he finally looked into those clouded eyes, all thoughts stopped.
Jotaro was dying in his arms.
“I remember our… first chess game,” he began quietly, laying his hand against Kakyoin’s cheek.
“Don’t get sentimental—” Kakyoin sniffed and moved closer, feeling every weak breath of Jotaro against his lips. “This isn’t goodbye.”
“I know. I just wanted… to have you a little closer.”
The emerald eyes had already lost their shine, as if they had gently faded.
“Don’t you dare fall asleep,” Kakyoin growled, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
“Yare yare… You’re awfully bossy,” Jotaro grimaced. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”
Kakyoin gently stroked his cheek, unintentionally smearing another drop of blood. He frowned.
“You’re not helping,” he muttered, resting his forehead against Jotaro’s. “You owe me another chess game.”
“Mhm… You never let go,” Jotaro’s eyelids grew heavy. “I plan on winning it.”
Kakyoin laced his fingers with Jotaro’s limp hand.
“Knowing you… that’s exactly what’ll happen.”
Jotaro looked up. The first drops of rain began falling through the broken roof.
The burning pieces of wood scattered around them suddenly went out with a loud hiss.
Clouds of smoke curled upward. With the last of his strength Jotaro squeezed Kakyoin’s hand, breathing shallowly.
“Jotaro…” he whispered. “Stay with me just a little longer.”
Pouring rain mixed with tears.
“That’s the plan…” With those words his hand fell.
The last seconds of consciousness drowned in lavender; he no longer even felt the pain.
Kakyoin’s heart stopped when Jotaro’s eyelids closed. He kept pressing Hierophant’s vines against the wounds, focusing on nothing else but counting breaths.
One.
Two.
Silence. Too long.
Kakyoin felt like he was stopping breathing along with him. He mumbled something under his breath, gripping Jotaro’s hand even tighter. He wasn’t ready for this.
Three.
He started to sob, no longer caring about looking professional. Pain flooded his chest.
Four and five. Too fast. Too shallow.
Six. Cut off.
“Damn it. Don’t do this to me—” Kakyoin huffed to himself, feeling the weight of Jotaro’s limp head in his lap.
Seven and eight.
“What the hell happened here!?”
Josuke.
Tear-filled eyes instantly sparkled with hope.
“Quickly.”
Crazy Diamond flashed pink light. The paleness receded.
The next breath burned only with relief.
~~~
Morioh fell asleep. Rain hammered stubbornly against the windows. But this time it brought no cleansing. Only fear.
A kettle whistled somewhere in the kitchen, echoing through the apartment.
Jotaro set two steaming teacups on the table. He frowned.
Kakyoin sat on the couch, staring at one spot, clutching the coat on his lap. Its white fabric contrasted with the scarlet stains.
“Tch. Gonna have to throw it out,” Jotaro sighed, leaning gently over the man.
“Mhm.”
Kakyoin barely heard him. He kept running the bloodied fabric between his fingers, biting his lip.
The rain didn’t stop. The steam from the tea reminded him of smoke from the ruins. Kakyoin shook his head. Eight breaths. Weak, exhausted, suffocating…
“Oi, Kakyoin,” Jotaro sat down beside him. “You okay?”
“Mhm.”
“Don’t pretend. You didn’t even hear me ask which tea you wanted.”
“Oh, you asked?” he muttered indifferently.
“That’s what I’m saying. Thinking too much again.”
The redhead lifted his gaze. Jotaro’s eyes were shining emerald again — the color that had always drawn him in so strongly.
“You know…” he began. “I always tried to account for the nature of our work. Occupational risk, danger…”
His breath trembled. He shifted his eyes to Jotaro’s radiant skin, which stood in painful contrast to the still-too-fresh memory. He squeezed his eyes shut.
“I thought I had to be ready for the worst. Today proved I never will be.”
Kakyoin rubbed his face, helplessly resting his forehead against Jotaro’s chest. The man reacted immediately, pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around him tightly.
“Kakyoin…” He took his hand.
The redhead slipped his hand under Jotaro’s shirt, and when he felt the clear heartbeat he exhaled heavily.
“Breathe with me.” Jotaro threaded his fingers through the red hair and pulled him back just enough to rest their foreheads together.
First breath. Deep.
Exhale.
Air bounced off Kakyoin’s lips.
Second.
Kakyoin gripped Jotaro’s skin a little harder.
His heart was still beating.
Another exhale. Kakyoin had already lost count.
His arm wrapped tightly around Jotaro’s waist.
“Mhm… Better now?” Jotaro’s voice dropped almost to a whisper.
“Just a moment longer.”
“Bossing me around again,” the corner of Jotaro’s mouth twitched faintly as he pulled him closer.
“Don’t complain,” he huffed. “After the scare you gave me today, I deserve this.”
For the next few minutes only their synchronized breathing broke the silence. The tea went cold.
Suddenly Jotaro spoke.
“I wasn’t ready to leave either.”
Morioh outside the windows went quiet. The rain — until now loud and pouring — now only murmured somewhere far away. Kakyoin felt Jotaro’s heart speed up under his hand.
“There’s still something I really need to give you.”
Kakyoin raised a questioning eyebrow as Jotaro slid the coat off his lap.
“Reach into the pocket.”
The redhead wanted to pull his hand out from under the shirt, but Jotaro effectively stopped him.
“You’ll manage.”
Kakyoin smiled, rolling his eyes. When he slipped one hand into the coat pocket, he felt Jotaro’s heart race dangerously.
Among coffee-flavored gum wrappers, Kakyoin felt a small velour box. He swallowed. Their hearts were now beating in perfect sync.
“I tried to find the right moment… but I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Jotaro opened the box. The lamplight reflected off the ring, and the small emerald glowed subtly. Kakyoin went speechless, blinking rapidly.
“Kakyoin. Marry me.”
Another breath. This time not trembling with fear. His shoulders relaxed, as if all the danger of the day had evaporated along with the steam from the cups.
“Of course—” he answered without hesitation. “Of course…”
Jotaro slid the ring onto Kakyoin’s finger. The redhead involuntarily started laughing softly, pulling him close.
“I figure having you as my husband will increase my survival rate by 51 percent,” he laughed again, resting his chin on Jotaro’s head.
“Yare yare. Not much will change,” he muttered, tightening his hold.
That evening they played another game of chess.