(A/N: Written for my best friend's birthday! She appreciated it. I hope you do too. XD)

Another argument had ensued in the next room over. Kakyoin couldn't quite tell, but if his ears weren't playing tricks on him, it was Abdul this time who seemed to be presenting the contradiction, and the two Joestars were miraculously arguing for the same side. He merely shook his head as he kept rummaging through the meager refrigerator, attempting to find something that looked vaguely edible. Or rather, something edible on its own did not seem to be the problem - nothing in the fridge smelled spoiled or otherwise unsavory - but the thought of combining any of the ingredients he saw led to a rather unpleasant shifting feeling in his stomach; maybe a sandwich, if he was lucky enough to find bread somewhere...?

The strange sensation his insides were experiencing could also, of course, possibly be attributed to the fact that Polnareff had just walked in from the bathroom, still shirtless from a shower and futzing with his newly-gelled hair in every reflective surface the kitchen had to offer. Kakyoin stood back up to his full height, clutching a little tighter than necessary to the cheese and tomato he'd pulled out and closed the fridge door, not making eye contact with the (admittedly distracted) Frenchman as he maneuvered past him and over to the counter where, to his pleasant surprise, he actually found some bread and half a stick of butter. If only there were a decent pan, he could make a grilled cheese...

Polnareff must have caught him searching. "Looking for something?" he wondered from behind Kakyoin, and Kakyoin turned to look at him at last, finding him hunched and squinting at himself in an object that he was holding like a hand mirror, but which turned out to be -

"Yes, actually," Kakyoin responded, and ignoring the queasy feeling's growing strength he snatched the pan from Polnareff's grip and went to light the burner on the gas stove. There wasn't a lot of space in the tiny kitchen of the small guest house in which the five of them were staying, so it took some creative sidestepping on Kakyoin's part to avoid colliding with Polnareff - especially his butt, which was still sticking out into nowhere as he remained in the ridiculous hunched pose, making an equally ridiculous face of disbelief in Kakyoin's direction as he calmly started buttering the bread and making his sandwich.

Another loud shout - no doubt it was Joseph making some extremely important point in his argument - emanated from the next room, breaking Polnareff out of his momentary shock. "Any idea what they're fussing about in there?"

Kakyoin smiled offhandedly. "Some program on television, I think. Abdul was shocked that such a thing would be displayed on television, said they shouldn't be watching it, but Joseph..."

"No more words are needed." Polnareff laughed a little. "Here, are you gonna cut that tomato? This is the only knife in the place that even makes a dent in anything."

Kakyoin took it from him, eyes fixated on Polnareff's hand for what may have been a little too long. "Er. Thanks."

"No sweat," said Polnareff. Except Kakyoin was starting to sweat rather a lot, with the combined heat from the outside and the stovetop, and the...other factors leading to the kitchen's stifling atmosphere.

It wasn't like him to get so flustered, Kakyoin scolded himself, really. He hadn't been quite so popular with the girls at school as Jotaro had, but he'd been on his fair share of dates before, and was certainly no novice at the sorts of romantic things that went on between two people. He didn't see why this one little - dare he call it a crush should be throwing him off so badly.

It's because Polnareff's older than you, his conscience nagged. But no, that wasn't really it, either, was it? He'd never felt ashamed at being attracted to older women - why even Jotaro's mom was a fair -

It's because Polnareff has a dick.

Oh. Right. That.

Lost in thought, Kakyoin slipped up with the knife and learned first-hand that not only could it make a dent in things, but it could slice the hell out of them as well. Swearing softly to himself, he turned with every intention of darting to the sink on the other side of the kitchen and running his bleeding finger under the faucet - only to smack straight into Polnareff and his stylish hair and his naked chest -

There was a beat lost when neither did anything but breathe, Kakyoin embarrassingly loudly (to his own ears, anyway). Then he managed to speak, though it was perhaps the last thing he wished he could have said.

"Er - make sure my sandwich doesn't burn while I - ?"

Polnareff didn't register for a moment, blinking down at him. "Oh! Right. Sure."

They wormed around in the kitchen to get where they needed to be to accomplish their tasks. Kakyoin was uncertain whether hot or cold water was the best for a bleeding wound, but knew in a heartbeat that cold was the best for his current panicky condition and decided on that regardless. In a moment or so it had stopped bleeding, but Kakyoin couldn't find anything to bandage it up with, so he left it out to the open air, trusting that his immune system was strong enough to fight off any sort of garbage that might worm its way in. About the same time Polnareff finished with his sandwich, and Kakyoin took it from him with his good hand and hastily slunk back to the room that he, Polnareff, and Jotaro were sharing, anxious to eat in peace.

This was not to be. No sooner had he taken his third bite than Polnareff reappeared, rooting through his own belongings as though he'd misplaced something he needed.

Kakyoin swallowed. "Looking for something?"

"Yes, actually," Polnareff mimicked, and yanked a shirt out from under the pillow on which Kakyoin had been leaning, causing him to lose his balance and slip to the floor. He put out the hand that wasn't holding his sandwich to catch himself, only to land hard and awkward on his injured finger and let out an embarrassing yelp of pain.

"Funny," said Polnareff, "how you can fight battles to the death on a regular basis, get crazy-injured, but little things like that or like stubbing your toe still make you cry out, non?"

Kakyoin actually laughed at that, hoisting himself back onto the bed to finish his sandwich. "Yeah, it's strange. Just the little things that make lives like ours some sliver of normal, underneath it all. Kind of like getting crushes."

Kakyoin had no idea what had made him say that, of all things. He hastily took another bite of grilled cheese to ensure that his mouth was full and that he didn't have to give an immediate answer when Polnareff replied with "What?"

The moment passed, however, and he had to say something. "You know...there'll be pretty girls in cities we go to - " he gestured with his sandwich, struggling with his impromptu explanation, stalling - "but we're traveling, and at the end of our travels we might be dead, so it's not like we'll ever see them again..."

"I suppose, oui," Polnareff agreed. "However, if the crush likes to travel as much as you do...or is traveling, too, for almost the same reasons...things become simpler. And yet more complicated at the same time."

Kakyoin nearly groaned. "You have no idea."

"I just might."

Before Kakyoin could ask him what exactly that meant, he found out. Polnareff had kissed him, quite vigorously but with obvious trepidation, and was about to back away, clearly afraid that he'd made a mistake and upset Kakyoin, when Kakyoin reached around to the back of his neck and tugged them back together, kissing him more softly, more slowly. Making sure he understood as well as he appeared to.

"Funny," Kakyoin agreed again, breathily.

"Very interesting." A beat. "Was that Swiss cheese?"

"I think so."

"Hm."

"Are you going to put that shirt on? If I had to fall on the floor I want it to be for a good reason."

"Which would you ultimately prefer?"

Kakyoin paused to think for all of two seconds before grabbing the shirt and tossing it across the room, turning back to Polnareff with a smirk. Polnareff was staring, at Kakyoin but not at Kakyoin at once, as though in disbelief that the past few moments had actually happened.

"Looking for something?" Kakyoin mused.

Polnareff's features returned to normal, sporting a broad grin. "Yes, actually," he murmured, and pushed Kakyoin back onto the bed, sealing their lips in a kiss once more.

Funny, really, thought Kakyoin. And yet not so funny at all.