Chapter Text
Rough lips moved sweetly against one another, hands exploring each other’s bodies blindly in the dark of the hotel room. Avdol was warm—Joseph felt as though he was embracing a living flame. It was as calming as it was intense. He was right at home and in new territory all at once.
It was exciting.
It was familiar.
A little too familiar.
Joseph’s movements stopped. He didn’t pull away, but he was no longer putting in the effort to kiss the man below him; instead, his gaze shifted away, as though he suddenly became lost in thought.
Avdol immediately halted his own intimacies and stared up at the older man. “Joseph,” he spoke with rare informality, “is everything alright?”
The sound of the fortune teller’s voice pulled Joseph back to reality. He glanced back at his friend and flashed a forced smile. “Fine! Yeah, I’m fine, I’m good, peachy.”
Serious brown eyes bored into Joseph’s own green ones. He attempted to maintain eye contact, but his stare faltered, causing Avdol to sit up without hesitation. “You don’t have to tell me about what’s bothering you, but we won’t continue if you are uncomfortable.”
Joseph gave the man a thankful smile and a nod, then laid back on the springy hotel bed, the pitiful squeak of it resonating with how he was feeling. He wouldn’t tell Avdol what was bothering him this time—not yet. Not now.
He turned over onto his side so he was facing away from Avdol. The Egyptian took the hint and laid back down, staring up at the dark ceiling. “Goodnight, then.”
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“Oh, so you finally kissed him, hmm?? How excite-i-n-g~!”
Suzi Q’s sing-song voice resonated from the phone into Joseph’s ear. He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face. “It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I mean- it was good at first! But then things kind of—it’s just—...” The Joestar sighed and leaned his forearm against the wall, ducking his head and speaking low. “...I haven’t been with a man since...”
The line went quiet as Joseph’s sentence trailed off. He stared intently at a speck in the tile floor, waiting for Suzi Q’s voice to bring him some comfort. When the silence continued to stretch on, the nerves in Joseph’s gut twisted and tangled. “S-Suzi Q? Are you still-”
“JoJo,” Suzi Q’s now-serious voice interrupted, “when you told me how you felt for Avdol, I was so happy for you. So, so happy that you found someone to keep you company out there in that terrible, empty desert!”
“It’s not terrible—“
“Shush!! The point is, I want you to be happy for yourself like I am for you, and you are for me. Don’t let the past stop you from being happy, okay??”
Joseph swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, you’re right, you’re right. Thank you, Suzi.” He paused, a small smile coming back to his lips. “I love you.”
Suzi Q responded with her usual happy tone, “I love you too, JoJo! Give Avdol a hug for me~!” Joseph grinned at her words. “I will,” he replied, “and give Roses and Amelia hugs from me, too.” The two finished their good-byes, then hung up their phones. Joseph took a deep breath and gave a long exhale, bringing a gloved hand up to rub at his eyes.
It would be hard to move on, but Joseph promised himself that he’d try. He couldn’t hold onto the past forever.
He clenched his hand into a determined fist, then adjusted his hat back onto his head. No time to think about that now, though. He had a vampire to find.
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Things continued as normal. The group of stand users fought against enemies, Avdol faked his death and came back, Iggy had basically torn Joseph’s other arm off to get an entire pack of coffee-flavored gum. Everyone was exhausted and stressed out, but maintained optimism and had fun in each others’ companies.
Though Joseph had attempted to keep Suzi Q’s words in mind through their ventures, there was still anxiety in the depths of his heart. Avdol and him kept up their usual business-like friendship around the others, but shared silent passing glances when no one was paying attention. Even in the privacy of their hotel rooms, there was an unspoken tension between the two.
They hadn’t kissed again since that first night. They hadn’t even shared a bed again. Joseph’s heart ached over this, but he wouldn’t dare show it. When Avdol would give him a knowing look, Joseph would purse his lips and look away. ‘I’m fine,’ he would try to say with body language. It was a lie, but he didn’t want his dear friend to worry, nor pry about it.
“—Then I said, ‘what, were you expecting me to wear a maid’s outfit?’” Polnareff grinned wide as the rest of the table erupted into loud laughter, save for Jotaro who adjusted his hat to cover his eyes, though there was a slight smirk on his face. “I can’t believe that—I don’t believe that happened!” Kakyoin chimed in through his own laughter. Polnareff shrugged, “I’m not telling you to believe anything, but it’s the truth!”
The two continued to banter back and forth, eliciting a few more chuckles from Joseph. The smile from his face slowly contorted into an uncomfortable one as he accidentally made eye contact with Avdol from across the table. Joseph quickly tried to find something else to focus on, landing on what was suddenly a very interesting coaster in front of him.
He stared at the piece of cardboard for what felt like an eternity, but he still felt as though eyes were on him. He looked up again, expecting to see that saddened look from Avdol, but was instead met with an intense stare from his grandson.
What was he staring at him for? Did he notice…?
Joseph held eye contact with Jotaro, neither of them blinking. The elder man quirked a brow, but Jotaro’s face stayed neutral. Then, very slowly, Joseph stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes—something that Jotaro loved when he was a baby. Alas, the boy’s stone cold demeanor didn’t change.
Instead, the teenager suddenly stood, causing the group’s attention to shift to him. “Oi, Jotaro, are you okay?” asked Polnareff. Jotaro ignored him and motioned his head in a beckoning manner. “I wanna talk to you, old man,” he said, not even giving Joseph a chance to ask ‘why’ before walking away. The group’s gaze focused on the Joestar, gaining a couple questioning brow raises from Kakyoin and Polnareff. Joseph looked back and forth between the two, then said, “Shut up, I don’t know!” before standing and following his grandson out the doors of the cafe.
The two ducked into an alley next to the building, leaning against adjacent walls to face each other. Joseph tried not to look tense, but nothing could get past Jotaro, who was as relaxed as always. The boy took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag while staring at his grandfather. He blew out the smoke and shoved his free hand into his jacket pocket, tilting his head slightly. “What is it,” he stated more than asked.
Joseph scrunched his nose as the breeze blew the smoke in his direction. “I feel like I should be asking you that,” he responded defensively, waving a hand in the air to disperse the noxious cloud.
Jotaro didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued to stare intently at Joseph, tapping the ashes off of his cigarette.
The older man sighed and folded his arms across his chest, looking down and kicking up a few pebbles from the pavement. “I don’t particularly want to have this conversation with my grandson,” he mumbled. Joseph knew he wouldn’t be able to just walk away, though. Jotaro would let him, but he’d be back later with the same inquiry.
“Well… Suzi and I, we’re in a—well, you know, I travel a lot, and both of us—I mean, we both have needs—“ Joseph was cut off by Jotaro raising a hand up, a subtle disturbed expression on his face. He motioned for him to continue past that point. “Right, right, sorry, don’t wanna go into detail about all that.”
Joseph uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up at the sky, then he looked at the street, at his boots, a very interesting piece of litter. “I’ve known Avdol for a long time,” he continued meekly. “I care about him. But...” He paused, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows, continuing to stare at the ground. “But to be with him like that, it stirs up some past memories. Painful ones.” Joseph finally looked up at his grandson, who now had a softer expression than usual. A stranger wouldn’t be able to tell that he was showing sympathy at all, but Joseph knew.
The air became silent between the two, the only sounds coming from people walking and talking in the streets. Jotaro took one last drag of his cigarette then tossed it to the ground, snuffing it out with the tip of his shoe. “I don’t know what kind of past you had,” Jotaro finally said, “but you shouldn’t let that get in the way. Move on already and enjoy the people in your life now.”
Joseph huffed with a smirk. “You sound just like your grandmother,” he mumbled. Jotaro flashed him a small smile before returning to his neutral expression. He then turned and began walking back towards the street. “Come on old man, you still need to pay for our tab.” Joseph perked up and shouted, “What!! Bullshit, you have your own money!” and chased after his grandson back into the cafe.