A/N:
Lol I didn't mean to make it feelsy. Basically, AU in which Jotaro didn't marry his ex-wife, but they were good friends in college but I didn't manage to write her in; and also, Kakyoin is trans and gave birth to Jolyne. Lastly, sorry for not unkilling everyone.
Content warning for minor mentions of near-death experience and past major injury.
-Reddie
Day 2: Part 4 Time Period
Noriaki has tasted the limits of his mortality many times before.
It's what has him lying awake some nights nursing phantom pains in his abdomen or at the base of his artificial spine. It's what has him pressing a shaky kiss to Jotaro's lips at the airport, before descending to one knee with a proposal. It's what has him grasping tightly to his husband's shoulders the morning after their honeymoon, as he wakes up from a nightmare of painful dying. It's what compels him after joining the Speedwagon Foundation to edit and re-edit his will weekly in the real possibility his daughter Jolyne can lose one of her fathers.
There are a million little things Noriaki can worry about as Morioh comes into view. But in the quiet of a taxi, sitting hand-in-hand with Jotaro, there's little else he wants to think of aside from the feeling of this calm presence beside him, before the chaos comes again.
"Good grief," Jotaro exhales, slouching against his seatbelt. "The old man certainly has made a real mess of things." Kakyoin nudges him with an elbow.
"To be fair, I wouldn't say either of us have room to talk about being model parents."
At that, Jotaro cracks a smile, elbowing him back, "Says the man who calls Jolyne every morning without fail."
"You make that sound like it's above the bare minimum of being a decent parent," Noriaki laughs. "Trust me. When she's older, she's going to wish both her parents had been around for her more. A child should only have to spend so many years between babysitters."
"At least it's my mom this month…" Jotaro looks out the car window. "Still, it's better that she stay there than with us. I don't want her anywhere near Morioh the way it is now."
With the tone of the conversation shifting, Noriaki nods in agreement, "Neither do I."
The flashing thought of the serial killer he'd seen in the investigation files brings a wave of disgust to Noriaki's gut. Jotaro notices his husband grimacing and doesn't say anything more. He's known for a long time it's in Noriaki's nature to worry, that it isn't just something he can bat away with a kiss to the hand. So he does the only thing he can to ease those troubles: he shows patience.
They sit in silence together, watching the buildings move past in the wide streets, until the driver chimes in to say they've reached their stop.
Noriaki expects his husband to let his hand go as they step out onto the sidewalk. But Jotaro doesn't. He seems to hesitate just to reach for the town map, despite the need to get going. The sooner they can sort out things out with Jotaro's family, the sooner they can get to the bottom of the missing persons epidemic in Morioh.
But when he looks up to see Jotaro's expression, he meets a fixed gaze with a sad tenderness, a specific type he's seen before.
Once, he had seen it during their engagement, when Jotaro had relayed back the story of Caesar Zeppeli, and of William Zeppeli before him. That night, he told Noriaki he wouldn't hold it against him if he ever changed his mind about their marriage. With a heavy heart, Jotaro told him that no one should be forced to carry the curse of the Joestar family against their will.
"Nori. You don't have to stay here, you know," Jotaro says, the twitch of his grip betraying the steadiness of his voice. And Noriaki sighs at this, a curve on his lips caught between a frown and a smile. He would repeat himself as many times as he needed to.
Noriaki remembers the promise he made that night, how he had kissed Jotaro's hand and said he freely wished to stay by his side, no matter what.
"Nonsense," Noriaki squeezed his hand reassuringly. "There's power in numbers."
It's a bit of an uneasy smile that meets him, but there's a tentative trust in it. Someday, he hopes he can make Jotaro believe their love is stronger than any curse in his blood.
