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Kakyoin never classed himself as a mind reader, but sitting next to Jotaro in a cramped car on the way from Calcutta, he felt he was coming pretty close.
After being defeated by Jotaro’s Star Platinum and consequently getting the fleshbud pulled out, Kakyoin felt as though he was reborn. Waking up to the warmth of Jotaro’s calloused palms holding his face had his heart fluttering over a few skipped beats. Jotaro’s cerulean gaze stared down at him in utter concentration, and Kakyoin never noticed how entrancing those eyes could be. Not as Star Platinum carefully extracted the fleshbud from his scalp, the same hands that had pummelled him to a pulp were now saving his life. He had never seen anybody this handsome before, let alone up this close.
When Kakyoin had wearily asked Jotaro why he bothered to risk his life to save his, Jotaro only turned around and shrugged, claiming he didn’t know why himself. For the guy who literally tried to kill him. Kakyoin stared down at his lap to distract himself from the tears lining the corners of his eyes.
Perhaps it was a variation of this same impulsivity that spurred him to join them on this journey.
Now, Kakyoin sat beside Jotaro in the backseat, while Polnareff sat in the passenger seat next to Joestar-san, who was driving. Polnareff had long parted from consciousness as loud, obnoxious snores escaped his gaping mouth, body slumped against the window, from Kakyoin’s view of the rear-view mirror. Jotaro was staring out the window with a disinterested gaze, his elbow perched upon the ledge. The warmth of the humid air buzzed and penetrated Kakyoin’s skin, an uncomfortable trail of sweat trickling down his temple. Kakyoin tugged the collar of his gakuran from where the sweat clung the most.
Yet, it was Jotaro’s thoughts that buzzed the loudest beside him.
If Kakyoin thought his own heart was out of control whenever Jotaro glanced at him, then Jotaro’s went into straight overdrive. Kakyoin didn’t know Jotaro had it in him to act so flustered; he was always so cool and composed. At least, that was how Kakyoin first saw him—not to say he didn’t still think that!—with a horde of screaming high school girls flocking around him each day without sparing them a glance, clearly Jotaro had mastered the art of nonchalance. Until Kakyoin would lean in close to speak to him, or gently grab him by the shoulder. Jotaro would practically jolt in his skin, a prominent flush dusting the tops of his ears and his words tumbling to leave his fumbling lips, fighting to hide his gaze under the brim of his hat. They were playing a game where neither spoke up about this growing… situation between them. Either because Jotaro didn’t think Kakyoin clearly felt the same way, or his own feelings hadn’t even occurred to him yet.
Kakyoin’s lips curved into a soft grin. He could have some fun with this.
A soft sigh spilling past him, Kakyoin shuffled a little closer towards Jotaro from his side of the window before leaning his head against his shoulder. His eyes fluttered shut.
Jotaro’s shoulder jumped by a mere millimetre that could easily be mistaken for a bump in the rocky road, the golden chain in his jacket rustling. “What are you doing?” he let out, briskly.
Kakyoin cracked an eye open. “We’ve had a long few days. Lend me your shoulder for a bit, okay?”
Jotaro met his gaze briefly, and Kakyoin caught the flush rising high in his cheeks before he quickly turned his head away, back to the window, hiding behind his hat once more. “Do what you want,” he muttered, the tops of his ears matching the rubescent blush of his face.
Kakyoin smiled. He closed his eyes once more and nestled further into Jotaro’s shoulder, cheek smudged against the hard seam lines of his jacket.
“Thank you, JoJo,” Kakyoin made sure to pitch his tone sweetly, his soft voice buzzing against Jotaro.
Jotaro’s flush deepened. Realistically, in this weather, the last thing Kakyoin wanted was to feel more body heat thrumming against his already sticky skin, but this was Jotaro, who felt safer and more secure than he ever did in the last couple of months. Jotaro’s warmth pressed against him, his tan skin buzzing against his, the soft pulsing movements of his racing heartbeat echoing through him—all of the exhaustion of today rattled deeply in his bones, washing over him in one gargantuan wave.
That was the last thought Kakyoin clung to before sleep came over him.
“—Kakyoin,” a gentle voice, much gentler than Kakyoin was used to, ushered him, shaking him softly.
Kakyoin let out a small groan from the back of his throat, squeezing his eyes shut tighter, but then the shaking grew firmer. “Oi, Kakyoin,” the voice called out again, and at that, Kakyoin’s eyes fluttered open to be met with Jotaro’s cerulean gaze staring down at him, with a slight furrow to his brows. Kakyoin mimicked his expression, his vision blurry and mind hazy as he hastily tried to remind himself of his surroundings.
“We’re here,” Jotaro reminded him, and it occurred to Kakyoin that they were the only ones left in the car. “JiJi’s checking us in to the hotel.”
Ah, how long had Kakyoin been passed out for? It seemed that his little stunt backfired a little on his part, but the more Kakyoin’s vision adjusted to his surroundings, he realised his cheek was still smushed against Jotaro’s shoulder, his crimson locks spilling across the expanse. Jotaro had not moved an inch since Kakyoin had laid his head on his shoulder.
Kakyoin slowly lifted his head, a slight yawn overtaking his features as he rubbed at his eyes. He didn’t want to think about what his hair looked like right now, but then Jotaro’s expression twisted slightly at the sight. Was it that bad?
“Um, it’s not that,” Jotaro let out, voice small. Kakyoin cocked a brow. He verbalised that last thought, hadn’t he? Jotaro’s hand stuttered in its movement as he inched his fingers closer towards Kakyoin’s face before he realised what he was doing, and Jotaro’s arm shot back down to his side.
Instead, he gestured at his own face, “Your cheek.”
Still confused, Kakyoin felt around his own face with his fingers only to discover the red, irritated imprints on his cheek from where the seam of Jotaro’s jacket had dug into his skin while he was asleep. It ran from the apple of his cheek down to near his chin.
Kakyoin rubbed at his cheek harshly, brows furrowed. “Is it gone?” he asked.
Jotaro shook his head.
Kakyoin rubbed harsher, “What about now?”
Still, Jotaro shook his head, his hand awkwardly suspended in the gap between both of their bodies as he hesitated putting his hand back down, or reaching it closer towards Kakyoin.
Then, Kakyoin was taking Jotaro’s hand for him and pressing it against his own face, ushering him to caress the irritated skin.
Jotaro stilled for a moment, Kakyoin grinned at his surprise, before he complied. His hand trembled against Kakyoin’s cheek, thumb hesitantly stroking down the skin—not at all like the steadiness of his hold when he was pulling the fleshbud out of him. This lacked the finesse and collection that Jotaro once had before his heart sputtered at the sight of Kakyoin. His hand was warm, calloused, yet comforting. He caressed down Kakyoin’s face, and the flush in his face had blossomed back even brighter before him, gaze heavy and captivated. Kakyoin fluttered his eyes shut at the soothing sensations, a soft noise escaping him from the back of his throat.
“Gone now?” Kakyoin asked, his voice barely above a whisper, staring up at Jotaro through his lashes.
Jotaro’s flush deepened further, if possible. “No—I, um—it’ll fade on its own,” he stammered out, avoiding Kakyoin’s gaze. “Don’t, um, don’t worry about it too much. You look fine.”
Kakyoin’s lips curved into a smile, the quirk of the muscle pushing against Jotaro’s thumb. “Okay,” he said simply.
Yet, Jotaro’s hand didn’t leave. He kept massaging his hand down Kakyoin’s face—completely contradicting his own words as if his efforts would coax out the imprints. His fingers threaded through Kakyoin’s ginger locks, the crimson tufts of his spiral fringe swirling around his fingers as Jotaro carded his hand through to smooth down the tousled strands agitated from the car ride and his consequent nap. Jotaro’s captivated gaze flickered down Kakyoin’s face, to his nose, his cheek, his lips, anywhere below his eyes. His gaze returned to his lips for a second time before consequently trailing to his eyes, and Jotaro realised what he was doing. He jerked his hand back quickly, like he had been burnt, eyes wide.
“Sorry, um, I didn’t mean to—“ Jotaro let out quickly, backing away further, but there was nowhere else to go, seeing as he was sitting by the window. His back pressed against the door as his hand felt around for the handle, tugging on it to open the door, where he almost stumbled out. He stood up straight on the gravelly ground. “Let’s go.”
Kakyoin watched with an amused grin, staring up at Jotaro, who suddenly found the ground beneath them more interesting. His hands rummaged around in his jacket pockets, presumably for a cigarette, gum, anything that served as a distraction from whatever happened just now.
Yet, Kakyoin knew Jotaro couldn’t hide the way they still jittered.
Kakyoin wasn’t sure if this was a good idea.
A crowd of bustling people, a cacophony of chatter buzzing in the air, the uncomfortable heat under the blistering sun—Kakyoin and Jotaro held bags of groceries in their arms as they tried to make their way back to the hotel through the crowded market. After checking into the hotel, Joestar-san had asked Kakyoin if he could go shopping for him to pick up some supplies for when they got back on the road again, and take Jotaro with him, with a suspiciously beaming expression on his face. Kakyoin had no choice.
So, there he was, sweltering underneath his gakuran, his scarlet fringe clinging onto his forehead from sweat, and his chest heaving with pants from the glaring heat. Kakyoin’s gaze shifted to Jotaro, clad in his long black jacket and matching hat—both made of a thick, non-breathable fabric—how the hell was he surviving out here?
There were a plethora of stalls littering the market, their owners promoting their products from behind the stands as a sea of customers bustled over to each one. One bumped into Kakyoin’s when passing through. Kakyoin gasped lightly, the impact causing him to stumble a little to the side, and he grasped tightly onto his bag of groceries. Jotaro’s arm caught his shoulder, grasping even tighter onto him so he wouldn’t lose his balance. Kakyoin glanced up at him.
“Thank you,” he smiled brightly the way he knew Jotaro couldn’t resist, and Jotaro paused, hand still on his shoulder. His gaze shifted, and his arm shot back to his side.
“Be careful,” he simply replied, yet he couldn’t hide the slight flush in his ears.
Kakyoin’s smile grew wider, nodding.
Then, he was looping an arm around Jotaro’s, their elbows intertwining around each other.
Jotaro stilled—full-on, froze. Right in the middle of a bustling market in India. Eyes wide and lips slightly parted, which might as well be a jaw-drop for him.
Jotaro slowly turned his head towards Kakyoin, blinking at him. “What are you doing?” he asked once more, breathless.
Kakyoin hummed, his arm sliding further down Jotaro’s arm due to their height difference, fingers squeezing around Jotaro’s firm bicep as he urged him to keep walking. “Being careful,” he simply explained. “It’s safer this way. I won’t trip again if I’m holding onto you, right?”
Jotaro closed his mouth and hid his expression within his hat again, tipping the brim over his eyes. “Okay,” he muttered, and then he tightened his arm around Kakyoin’s. “Um, hold on tighter then—if you want. It’s safer.”
Oh, Jotaro was so cute.
A smile overtook Kakyoin’s face, and he curled his hand around Jotaro’s arm tighter, his palm wedged into the crook of his elbow. Kakyoin adjusted the bag in his grasp, and his brow quirked at the overflow of groceries brimming from the top. “Do you know why your grandpa needs all this stuff? Surely, we don’t need that much.”
A short scoff tore past Jotaro’s lips, expression growing a little irritated. It was the cutest thing. “Beats me. Good grief, that old man always needs to be hoarding all sorts of shit,” he grumbled.
Kakyoin stifled a laugh, “At least he let us get whatever we wanted after as a little treat.” His eyes glimmered at the ripe mango he bought, nestled at the top of the pile of groceries. India was known for its mangoes, which were his treat after dinner tonight.
Kakyoin glanced up towards Jotaro, tilting his head. “What did you get?”
At that, Jotaro’s irritated expression dissolved into that of apprehension, maybe even bashfulness—if Kakyoin from a few weeks saw the cool Jotaro like this, he thought he ought to be dreaming. Jotaro’s brows twitched uncomfortably, “Oh, it’s nothing. Just some stuff.”
That piqued Kakyoin’s curiosity, “What stuff?”
Jotaro’s lips formed a thin line; he only shook his head. “Just some things, it’s not interesting.”
Yet, that made Kakyoin want to know even more. He tried to steal a quick peek from Jotaro’s bag of groceries, but Jotaro only turned his body away with a tightened expression. Kakyoin’s body followed after him, trying to stand on his tiptoes to look, but Jotaro was hellbent on protecting his secret, arms wrapping tighter around the paper bag. Kakyoin’s brows furrowed, an arm grabbing at Jotaro’s shoulder, “Oh, come on! Let me see—“
“Kakyoin, look out!”
At that, Kakyoin whipped his head around in the direction of Jotaro’s warning, and his eyes widened at the rampant bull charging their way, its forgotten leash swinging from its body. A horde of screams followed from the crowd as everyone pushed to get out of the way, the owner trying to chase after the raging animal. Yet, Kakyoin’s entire body locked into place, his body lagging behind his panicked mind that urged with every nerve in his system to get out of there, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t react, he was going to get knocked right into—
Then, Jotaro was pulling him against him from their interlaced arms. Kakyoin let out a loud gasp, and they were both tumbling down onto the ground—Jotaro holding himself up by his forearms above Kakyoin.
Yet, he didn’t move from their position. Jotaro stayed on top of Kakyoin, shielding him with his body, bag of groceries long forgotten and scattered across the ground. Until the charging footsteps of the cattle grew quieter.
Kakyoin’s chest heaved, his heart hammering wildly against his rattling ribcage—both from that frightening situation and from the fact that Jotaro was on top of him, his chest looming over his face. Jotaro glanced behind them, scanning the surroundings until he was sure the animal was nowhere in sight, before his gaze trailed back to Kakyoin.
“Are you okay—?” Jotaro began, but then his eyes widened as he really stared at Kakyoin, at his flushing face, and their position dawned on him. Jotaro shot up to sit, eyes even wider.
“Sorry, um, I wasn’t—I didn’t mean to—“ Jotaro stammered to explain. There was that flush again, slowly blooming across his tan cheeks and dusting the tops of his ears. Jotaro’s gaze fell to his knees, splayed out on either side of Kakyoin’s torso, and he was stumbling to stand up with the least amount of grace and coordination Kakyoin had ever seen him harness.
Kakyoin’s heart was still whirring at a million miles an hour, eyes wide, so that he didn’t even register the hesitant hand Jotaro held out for him to help him stand. Kakyoin took it, pulling himself to his feet. Jotaro’s hand was so warm, Kakyoin clutched onto him for a few moments more than necessary, and Jotaro didn’t pull away, his fingers almost curling around Kakyoin’s. But then, Kakyoin was alerted by their fallen groceries scattered across the ground—at risk of being stepped on by the crowds of people still bustling through the very busy market.
“Shit!” he cried out, before he bent back down to gather their scattered groceries back into the bags, dusting off the gravel from them.
His gaze fell to a few books and a keychain in their pile, and Kakyoin tilted his head, wondering if they were a part of their groceries, but then Jotaro joined him almost immediately, retrieving the items at such speed that Kakyoin almost wondered if he was using Star Platinum.
“Is that everything?” Jotaro asked, and Kakyoin glanced around the ground before he was sure they had gotten everything.
“I think so,” he said, adjusting his grasp on the bag before Jotaro nodded at him and they began walking again. They soon made it away from the bumbling market, where it was less crowded and onto the streets—suddenly, the heat didn’t seem so bad anymore.
“Thank you for saving me,” Kakyoin let out softly, staring up at Jotaro. “Again,” he giggled.
At that, Jotaro’s lips quirked slightly. He hid his grin under his hat once more, “Just be careful. Can’t have you getting hurt while we're having fuckin’ enemy stand-users stalking us everywhere we go.”
Kakyoin’s hand slithered back towards Jotaro’s arm, holding onto him, and he stifled a giggle at the way Jotaro almost jolted against his touch. “Yeah,” he breathed out.
Jotaro’s arm squeezed around his hand, “Yeah.”
With a towel on his head and his shirt and gakuran lying over his arm, Kakyoin stepped out of the bathroom, wearing his trousers, where the haze of the steam rushed out and into his and Jotaro’s shared hotel room.
After a rather eventful car ride and shopping trip, Kakyoin was sweating badly by the end of it—his clothes and hair clinging uncomfortably to his body. A relaxing shower was needed where he could scrub off any more collected grime and dirt from his skin. From the barrage of countless stand-users attacking them these past few days. Especially before dinner. Kakyoin wouldn’t be able to concentrate if he went on like this.
Through the door, Kakyoin’s gaze fell to Jotaro, who was sitting up in his bed, devoid of the usual clunky jacket that instead sat perched on top of a chair beside him. He seemed rather engrossed in a book he held in his lap, and as Kakyoin walked closer, he could make out a few sketches of sea animals and crustaceans on the cover of the book.
“What’s that you’re reading?”
Jotaro jumped in his seat. He shut his book immediately, almost trying to hide it between his legs, but Kakyoin had already seen it, so even he knew there was no use. Jotaro sighed in defeat and was about to answer, but then his eyes widened when he glanced up at Kakyoin. “Where’s your shirt?”
Kakyoin glanced down, and he simply held out his shirt and gakuran in front of Jotaro. “I just took a shower, Jotaro. They’re here—just haven’t put them on yet.”
Yet, Jotaro’s expression didn’t budge. His gaze shamelessly scanned down Kakyoin’s body, at the droplets of water trickling down his collarbone, his bare arms, his torso—face getting redder by each passing second he spent staring down Kakyoin’s body standing over him.
Okay, now this was getting pathetic.
Kakyoin wasn’t even in a towel; he was wearing his trousers because he still had some form of decency, but Jotaro was staring at him like he was completely naked. Kakyoin couldn’t help the slight grin curling up his lips at his stupid yet adorable expression; he couldn’t not have a little fun with this. He took a seat on the edge of Jotaro’s bed, leaning slightly towards him.
“So, about that book you were reading?” Kakyoin began, pointing to the book splayed on Jotaro’s lap.
At that, Jotaro was forced to tear his gaze away from Kakyoin, and he stared down at his lap. “It’s, um—it’s just a book on marine life,” Jotaro let out briskly, trying to avoid eye contact.
Kakyoin’s mind flickered to their grocery trip. Was that what Jotaro got for himself?
“I didn’t know you were interested in marine biology,” Kakyoin hummed with a soft grin. He shuffled a little closer towards Jotaro on the bed, and his gaze caught the various other books on his bedside table with similar covers.
Oh. Kakyoin’s brows upturned a little in fondness.
Jotaro glanced away, trying to hide his expression once more. “It’s not that interesting.”
“But it’s something you’re interested in, isn’t it?” Kakyoin tilted his head, the towel on his head following the movement. He slowly reached for Jotaro’s leg, thumb stroking down his thigh. “Come on, tell me something cool, maybe a fun fact?”
“I—“ Jotaro began, he turned his head back around and immediately flushed upon locking eyes with Kakyoin, at his hand on his leg.
Jotaro glanced back down again, and his fingers fiddled with the strap of his tank top, and he shuffled a little to the side to create some distance between them. Kakyoin’s arm slipped away from him as a consequence. “Later, I need to shower too.”
Kakyoin pulled back slightly, sensing the shift in Jotaro’s tone. “Oh,” he let out, “Okay.”
Jotaro didn’t say anything back as he slowly stood up from his bed and grabbed a towel of his own. He glanced back at Kakyoin before stepping into the bathroom, “You don’t need to wait for me, I’ll see you at dinner.”
Before Kakyoin could reply, Jotaro had already shut the door behind him.
Kakyoin blinked slowly. He reached to slide the towel from his head, now staring at the fabric in his lap. Did he take it too far?
It was nearing midnight, and Kakyoin had yet to change into his pyjamas.
Dinner was a rowdy function—in a restaurant near the hotel, Joestar-san had butchered reading the menu again and ordered the wrong things, while Polnareff tried to charm the female waitress, who immediately shut him down. It was a rather pathetic sight. Kakyoin tried to nudge Jotaro with his elbow so they could both laugh at Polnareff’s attempts, but Jotaro seemed rather reserved this time. He took careful spoonfuls of his biryani, avoiding eye contact with Kakyoin, or anyone for that matter.
A small pit of unease curled tighter inside Kakyoin’s chest; any attempts he made to get closer to Jotaro were promptly dismissed before he could even start. His mind lingered on their last interaction; had he made Jotaro uncomfortable? He was all too aware of their mutual interest towards each other, to the point where it was bound to burst out of him at any moment, but he didn’t know if Jotaro was too. Kakyoin just thought it was adorable being able to make Jotaro as flustered as possible, the way he would mumble something incoherent, flushing from his cheeks to his ears, hands fumbling in his pockets and trying to avoid eye contact from underneath his hat.
But now, Jotaro wouldn’t even spare him a glance. Kakyoin frowned. Did he really take it too far?
“Long day, Jotaro?” Joestar-san had asked, and Jotaro only replied with a small grunt, picking out the cardamom from the rice.
Joseph gave Kakyoin a small wink, a soft smile on his face as he gave Jotaro his last samosa, hoping that would lift his spirits. Kakyoin hoped so, too.
Now, Kakyoin sat on the edge of his bed, the gentle breeze of the night wafting in through the windows, swishing the diaphanous curtains by the balcony. Jotaro had yet to come to their room, not after dinner, not now when it was best that they’d go to bed. Kakyoin’s gaze turned towards the bedside table where the various books of marine biology stood stacked on top of each other in a small pile.
Kakyoin had never had a friend before Jotaro, a friend who could truly understand the other part of him; he couldn’t lose that now.
He was going to look for him and set things right.
Stepping outside of their room, Kakyoin paced down the hotel hallway and down the stairs to get outside. Maybe he should’ve checked the smoking areas first, or maybe even in Polnareff’s or Joestar-san’s rooms in case, but Kakyoin knew if Jotaro wasn’t in the hotel, he had to be out smoking.
Taking a left turn towards the back of the building, lo and behold, Kakyoin was right.
There Jotaro was—leaning against the brick wall, cigarette hanging from his lips, flicking the lighter repeatedly to start a flame, until he managed to light the end finally. He shoved the lighter back into his jacket pocket, taking in a slow drag. Kakyoin swallowed.
“Hey,” he called out, and Jotaro glanced over to him. He took in another drag of his cigarette.
“Hey,” Jotaro said, dryly. Kakyoin stood still for a few moments before biting the inside of his cheek—and pride—to walk closer towards the other, until their shoulders were side-by-side.
“You didn’t talk much at dinner,” Kakyoin began slowly, gaze falling to the tiles of the pavement beneath them.
Jotaro only shrugged, “Didn’t have much to say.”
At that, Kakyoin said nothing, and a small silence stretched between them. What else could he say? His fingers fiddled around with the end of his gakuran, clenching around the green fabric, while Jotaro took in another drag of his cigarette, glancing away. Was he bothering him? Should he leave? Maybe Jotaro just wanted to be alone—
“I’m sorry,” Kakyoin suddenly began, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable earlier. I just thought it was nice you had something you were interested in, and I-I wanted you to tell me more about it, because we’re friends, and I-I’ve never had any friends before all of this, so I don’t want to mess anything up—“
“Kakyoin,” Jotaro interrupted gently. “You’re rambling.”
“Oh.” Kakyoin was bright red, brows upturned and heart palpitating. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable, or whatever you think,” Jotaro said, finally looking at Kakyoin, and Kakyoin’s heart skipped a beat. Then, Jotaro’s expression grew a little apprehensive, and suddenly the ground beneath them looked all too interesting. “I just—I thought it’d be boring to talk about.”
“No, it’s not boring at all, I want to know!” Kakyoin let out, eyes wide, but then he grew sheepish. “Ah, if you want to tell me.”
Jotaro’s lips twitched up slightly, and he blew out another wisp of smoke to the side away from Kakyoin—a bit of silence.
“Octopuses have blue blood, you know,” he let out all of a sudden, still staring down at the ground.
Kakyoin’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened before softening. “Really? I didn’t know that,” he remarked.
Jotaro’s expression remained; he nodded. “They use a protein called hemocyanin to transport oxygen, which turns it blue.”
“Is that what you were reading about in your book earlier?”
At that, Jotaro grew a little apprehensive. He averted his gaze, “Oh, um. No, I was reading about something else.”
Kakyoin laughed, “So, you just have these random facts in your arsenal?”
Jotaro returned his laugh, albeit a little more apprehensive. “No—yeah, I suppose so,” he muttered, and a short silence took over them. Jotaro said nothing as he took in another drag from his cigarette, eyeing the ground. Kakyoin frowned, thinking that was the end of that. It was a valiant effort, but he must’ve exhausted the last of Jotaro’s social battery.
But then Jotaro turned back to him. “Octopuses then use that blue blood to pump it through their three hearts.”
Kakyoin’s eyes widened once more, “That’s amazing.”
Jotaro’s lips grew back into a rare grin, and he continued to list off more facts about marine biology to Kakyoin, who listened in rapt awe. Less at the facts, and more on Jotaro’s willingness to share something that interested him. During their journey, Jotaro had always stayed rather reserved compared to the rest of them—compared to the boisterous Polnareff, or Jotaro’s equally noisy grandfather. Having Jotaro recount to Kakyoin as if this felt like a secret that only the two of them shared, a special sort of intimacy, like Kakyoin was the only one allowed to know more about him. It had Kakyoin’s heart blooming with a bursting warmth, adoration fluttering through his veins, brows growing upturned in fondness, and—
Kakyoin stood on his tiptoes and pressed a small kiss to Jotaro’s cheek.
Jotaro paused mid-rant, and Kakyoin pulled away as quickly as he reached forward, his face unimaginably flushing crimson. What the hell had come over him to do that? There goes his apology, he couldn’t apologise to Jotaro for making him uncomfortable, then do something a million times worse, what was he thinking?
Jotaro’s eyes were wide, and Kakyoin was suddenly doubting all of his convictions about Jotaro’s feelings from the past few weeks. He couldn’t read his expression—whether it was in disgust, horror, anger, or all of the above.
“Sorry!” Kakyoin squeaked out, “I thought—I thought you might’ve—“
Jotaro cut him off by grabbing Kakyoin’s face and smashing their lips together.
Kakyoin let out a small gasp into his mouth, eyes squeezing shut as his back hit the brick wall behind him. It was barely a kiss, just their mouths moulding together, but then Kakyoin tilted his head and—okay, now he got it. Jotaro was holding his face with both hands, his discarded cigarette rolling down on the ground, and Kakyoin tentatively slid his hands up Jotaro’s back, arms curling around his broad shoulders. What the hell, Kakyoin couldn’t believe this right now, Jotaro was kissing him, Jotaro was kissing him, he didn’t want this moment to end. The brim of Jotaro’s hat bumped against the bridge of Kakyoin’s nose when he tried to press himself even closer, and Kakyoin was forced to pull away with a small grunt.
“Are you okay?” Jotaro asked, eyes wide and lips swollen.
Kakyoin’s heart was racing, blood pounding in his ears. He only nodded with a small sound, a hand cupping his nose.
“Good grief,” Jotaro mumbled—more so, to himself—he stamped out the lit cigarette, back to avoiding eye contact. “So, you—um. The thing that we did, um—that you—“ he stammered out, so uncharacteristically.
Kakyoin’s brows grew upturned in fondness. Jotaro was so cute. He wasn’t at all used to talking about his feelings, but he was trying so hard for him. Kakyoin would ease his grievances a little.
“I like you,” he confessed, a soft glimmer in his gaze. “I thought you might feel the same way.”
Jotaro’s eyes were wide again, and a rare smile overtook his features—twitching across his lips. “Yeah,” he let out.
Kakyoin reached to cup Jotaro’s face in his hands, his thumb stroking down his cheekbone. “Your face is like an oven,” he commented with wide eyes, his smile never leaving, and he swore Jotaro’s face grew impossibly warmer at that.
“You’re not helping,” he grumbled.
A short giggle escaped Kakyoin, his gaze falling to Jotaro’s lips. “Maybe I can,” he mumbled, and then he pressed their lips together once more.
Kakyoin couldn’t make fun of Jotaro for blushing, not when his face was impossibly crimson. Jotaro’s hands fumbled around for a moment before finding Kakyoin’s back, a warm hand pulling him closer towards him, and Kakyoin’s arms travelled further from Jotaro’s face to wrap around his neck—trying to get used to this, how to hold each other, how to kiss each other. A small sound escaped Jotaro's lips, which Kakyoin thought was the cutest thing. His fingers tangled into the soft baby hairs dusting Jotaro’s nape, knocking his hat off, which a sliver of Hierophant promptly caught, and Jotaro let out another sound against him.
Maybe this would prompt a further conversation, once they pulled their lips away. About where to go from here, what this meant. Kakyoin was sure this meant something, with the way Jotaro kissed him like it was the only thing that mattered right now. Jotaro tilted his head against Kakyoin’s, his hands fumbling around his back to feel more of his warmth amidst the breezy night chill, and Kakyoin didn’t want to think about anything else.
They could discuss that some other time.