Chapter Text
The air is crisp and cool, the only warmth coming from the nearby campfire. Sand clings to his uniform, and he’s sure he’ll find more of it in his shoes and pockets tomorrow, especially with the way he’s sitting on the ground. Smoke twirls in the cold air, the source a cigarette loosely held between chapped lips. He takes a deep drag from it, lost in his thoughts.
The day wasn’t exactly eventful. At this point, encounters with enemy stand users were a regular. Even if Sun killed their camels and forced them to continue their travels by foot, it wasn’t exactly a hard battle. That idiot used a mirror and forgot about the rock in the landscape. He was easily beaten by a mere rock.
Deep in thought, Jotaro doesn’t hear the tent rustling behind him. Out steps none other than Kakyoin. It’s not until the boy sits down next to him that Jotaro notices his presence. His eyes briefly gaze at him, noticing the hint of tiredness around him, before they look towards the endless sand again. He takes a calm drag from the cigarette, keeping it in his mouth. His arms cross.
No word is uttered.
At least not from him.
“How’s night duty treating you?”
Of course it’s Kakyoin who first speaks up. If it weren’t him then the silence would drag on for as long as there’s sand around them. His voice is soft, tired, but not strained. The days have only been getting more and more tiring. It’s a surprise he doesn’t seem as exhausted as Jotaro expected.
“Just fine.”
He mumbles gruffly in response, taking the cigarette between the index and middle finger of his right hand. He was never a man of many words, and the current time might as well make him even more quiet – if that were possible. The smoke gets exhaled to the side and away from Kakyoin. That’s the most considerate he’ll ever be.
The redhead smiles and nods. His gaze travels up to the sky, hands stretched towards the fire, most likely to get some of the warmth it offers. It’s a bit chilly after all, and although Jotaro is good at hiding how the cold gets to him, even he can admit that it’s reasonable for his friend to want to warm up.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Kakyoin starts again, his eyes closing briefly. Jotaro didn’t ask, he was pondering if he should ask or not but didn’t. It’s like Kakyoin knew the question lingered in his mind. The longer they spend time together, the more it feels like the redhead seems to know him better. The thought of someone being able to understand his closed-off mind is almost… scary.
Jotaro doesn’t comment, and so Kakyoin continues. When he feels like letting something off his chest, then so be it. Jotaro won’t interrupt.
“It’s probably because of this journey. All these enemies have been messing with my sleep schedule for some time now. Though I guess this mission wasn’t going to be a stroll in the park when the lives of many are at risk.”
A hand goes up, rubbing the back of his neck. He looks at Jotaro, a soft and tired smile on his lips. There aren’t any dark rings under his eyes – yet. Jotaro notices his gaze and glances over, smoke slowly leaving through his nose.
“I bet you’d be able to sleep like a rock.”
Kakyoin inquires, his smile spreading. Jotaro finds himself somehow huffing in amusement, shaking his head and looking away again. He places the cig back between his lips. When he talks, his voice is muffled. Thankfully the crackling of the fire isn’t loud enough to swallow it.
“Probably.”
A short answer. One that Kakyoin is all too familiar with. He doesn’t mind. Never did. And so, he tilts his head up and looks at the sky. It’s a quiet night. Peaceful, unlike the prior days they had to fight through to continue their journey to Cairo. The silence didn’t get to settle entirely, for Kakyoin was back to talking before Jotaro could let out a third cloud of smoke.
“The stars are beautiful.”
Jotaro’s head almost instinctively quirks up, his hat making it a small challenge to gaze at the stars his friend pointed out. He’s right though.
“They are.”
“Ever thought about why they’re up there, so far away from us?”
Jotaro merely hums in response, his gaze dropping again. He’s asking one of these philosophical questions. Not that he’s annoyed, but Jotaro isn’t one to muse about such things. That’s probably the biggest difference between the two – aside from the obvious.
Kakyoin continues nonetheless, his eyes staying on the object of his attention.
“Don’t they get cold up there? You know, I don’t think so. There are so many of them, I’m sure they keep themselves warm. They mustn’t worry about ever being alone. There will always be another star nearby.”
Hearing the slight change in tone, Jotaro realizes that this is taking on a more personal note. It’s not about stars – at least not only about them. There’s more to it; he can sense it. Maybe he’ll just ignore it though, be his usual self with that cold and indifferent exterior. But somehow, when he catches a glimpse of that solemn expression on his friend’s face, he speaks up.
“You don’t have to worry about being lonely either. You have us now.”
The sudden sound of Jotaro’s voice startles Kakyoin out of his own world. He blinks and looks over at him, watching the smoke twist and twirl from the cigarette instead of his face. For a moment, he’s a bit stunned.
Jotaro wasn’t one to say such things, heck, he expected him to just ignore his words and think of them as mindless. He expected a lot, but not this. Soon enough, he chuckles softly, shaking the initial confusion off.
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
The smile reaches his eyes, and as Jotaro takes it in, he feels… content. He made him smile and none other. Something about that feels like a small accomplishment. It’s ridiculous.
He grunts a small “you’re welcome” and tugs down his hat to hide his eyes underneath it. The cigarette finds its way to his mouth again, and the once occupied hand now rests on the sand. It’s cold. It doesn’t feel too nice. Then again, it would be weird if it did.
While getting lost listening to the campfire crackle quieter and the wind howl gently through the open landscape, Kakyoin looks at his friend in content silence. It’s odd, but he feels as though he caught a glimpse of Jotaro behind the tough exterior he usually has. Like there’s someone purposely hiding, peeking out at rare times.
Not thinking much, the redhead places his hand on top of the one resting on the ground. The movement makes Jotaro’s head turn sharply. His eyes widen briefly, but he tugs down his hat even quicker. Something is grumbled under the other’s breath, but he doesn’t pull away. It gives Kakyoin hope for something – that he can feel something aside from roughness. That there might even be something soft tucked away.
“Your hand’s cold.”
He whispers quietly, looking back up at the sky. Stars slowly dance around them. He tries to look casual about it, but inside Jotaro, there’s a turmoil of thoughts and feelings he never thought he’d think of or feel. His hat is pulled down fare enough for only his cigarette to be poking out, amber faintly glowing from the end that’s not held by his lips.
Kakyoin, on the other hand, is calm. Perhaps a bit too calm. Does it just look like it? No. He’s doing this so casually because it’s casual for him. Something he’d do around anyone he knows long enough. Then again, they don’t know each other for that long either. Jotaro shouldn’t think too much about it. It doesn’t mean anything.
…
Just that it does. It means more to Kakyoin than to Jotaro. At least that’s his view.
Kakyoin intertwines his fingers with Jotaro’s, his thumb stroking the side of his hand. It’s a gentle, almost tender touch on Jotaro’s calloused hand. Not that Kakyoin’s hand’s soft, but it feels nicer than Jotaro’s does.
“You know those are bad for you.”
Kakyoin’s voice break through the suddenly thick air, pointing towards the cigarette in his mouth. Jotaro sigh and shakes his head.
“Of course I do.”
His words come out more pressed than he intended to. It’s embarrassing enough that he pulls down his hat even more. At this point, his hair is almost on full display, messy black locks showing with some specks of sand in them. That sand is basically everywhere.
Cute.
Is what Kakyoin thinks at the sight. It’s definitely not an adjective normally associated with Jotaro, but for the redhead, it makes sense at this moment. It just fits, no matter what others might say. He knows he’s right, because how could the way he’s trying to hide his face not be cute?
Guess my friend has a softer side to him after all.
Kakyoin doesn’t press on the matter and simply looks at the campfire. It’s starting to die down, but the warmth he’s feeling right now stays. Maybe Jotaro is feeling it as well. It’s hard to tell, but he hasn’t pulled away yet, and that should mean something.
As the embers begin to glow more prominently, Kakyoin sighs. His hand squeezes his, and other than that, he quietly gazes at the stars. Jotaro continues to smoke in silence, his exhales barely audible.
Jotaro was right earlier, Kakyoin thinks, I’m not alone anymore.
He won’t be any time soon either.