Bianca has been keeping a secret for the last few weeks. Jotaro is about to find out what it is.


Bianca and Jotaro seemed to be an official couple by this point. They never had any sort of explicit conversation about labeling their relationship, but that seemed like a good way to describe them since that day two weeks prior. Despite this, little had changed in how they actually interacted with one another save for the occasional display of affection.

True to his word, Jotaro was trying to be more open with his feelings. Though he still concealed the truth about himself and his frequent absences, he'd make it a point to let her know when he'd be gone or how he was feeling during the day. He even went so far as to tell her he cared for her regularly; not with words precisely, but in ways that made the message just as clear.

However, things began to change one day. Bianca started to act distant out of the blue, Jotaro unable to place what he may have done wrong. He even went so far as to ask if he'd upset her in some way, but she always denied it. This carried on for several days, the two seeing less and less of each other until they rarely even spoke.

Eventually, he decided to take a proactive approach to the issue, tracking her down after class one day and endeavoring to get some answers. He found her hurriedly walking home, nearly missing her with her face partially obscured by the umbrella she never bothered to return as it shielded her from the light winter snowfall. Stepping into her path, he opened with, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?" in lieu of a real greeting.

The regret and embarrassment was plain to see on her face. "I've been trying to get better at saying how I feel about things since you asked me to do that. Kind of a dick move to just do the opposite like this. If I did something to piss you off, I can't know how to fix it if you won't even talk to me."

"No, you didn't do anything wrong," she said, sighing and shaking her head. "You're right. I'm sorry. I should have said something to you. I just...I needed time to process some stuff." It was clear she needed to elaborate on that bit. Gathering her courage, she swallowed hard and began with, "So, I kind of took a test the other day."

"Did you pass?" Jotaro asked.

Bianca couldn't help but let a small laugh escape, though it was clear she was still extremely nervous. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." Rubbing her temples, she tried to continue. "Well, I mean...oh boy, uh..."

"You feeling okay?" he asked. "If you're sick or something, you might want to sit down. There's a bench not that far from here."

"No, it's fine. I'm just really struggling here." She couldn't even muster a laugh now, the pressure of the situation bearing down on her like she was 10,000 leagues below sea level. "Okay, so that night. The one where we...uh..."

"What, did the movie freak you out? I tried to warn you. It starts off kind of slow but kicks your ass once it gets going."

"No, before that. I just...okay, look, don't say anything. I'm just going to say it." She took a breath before blurting it all out in one go. "Okay, I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive and since I haven't slept with anyone besides you since I got here there's almost a 100% chance it's yours so please don't be mad."

There were several tense seconds of silence before Jotaro pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. "Good grief," he sighed. "Guess I really screwed this up."

Bianca blinked in confusion. "What's that mean?"

"It's my fault it turned out like this. I should've known better than to just keep going there at the end like some freaking teenager with no self control."

"Okay, it's kind of both our faults since that's...how DNA works, but if we're blaming anyone, I kind of made it hard for you to stop with my legs doing the thing and all, so I'm at least 65% responsible."

"No offense, but you're not that strong. I could have gotten out of there without even trying, but I didn't."

"And I'm the one who was yelling, 'Don't stop!' the whole time, so I gave you permission to keep at it. Therefore, it's my lack of foresight that got us into this mess."

"You've always been crap at thinking ahead. It's why I always kick your ass in Stratego. That's been my job, so I was slacking off, which makes it my fault."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I kind of wanted to get pregnant in the first place, so I made sure you couldn't stop and didn't have any protection on hand on purpose." She paused. "I mean, not really, but I want to win this argument."

She sighed once more, turning around and falling backwards into Jotaro's arms to represent how exhausting this whole thing was. "We screwed up."

"Yeah," he agreed, raising her up to put her back on her feet. "Either way, I'll help you take care of what ever you decide to do about this. It's up to you where we go from here."

"That's the thing," she said a bit hesitantly. "I was thinking about it this whole time and...I mean, I kind of want to keep it. Like, I know that's a really bad idea with where I am in life and everything and the fact we still don't even really know each other that well and my parents are totally going to kick my ass into the dirt when I come home and announce, 'Hey, this nice guy I met in Japan got me knocked up!' but...it feels like the right choice."

He nodded. "You don't have to worry about stuff like money. I'll take care of that much, at least."

She was quiet for a moment before tentatively adding, "You don't really have to worry about that if you...wanted to...be a part of all this. I definitely wouldn't mind. No pressure, I mean. This was all just a big accident, so it's not like I expect you to stick around just because I'm making bad decisions with my life."

"I told you before that I want you to stay," he said immediately. "It would take a lot more than just this to make me change my mind. I'm stubborn like that. It kind of runs in my family. Speaking of which...shit, I guess you'll have to meet them now. And if we end up living together after this, where are we supposed to stay? Are you moving here or do I go back with you?"

"And school," she added. "I've got nine months at best and a whole year left on this degree. And I was going to be a chemist, so that's another degree on top of that. How am I going to do all that now? I don't want to be the kind of person who has to leave my kid with a babysitter all the time, and my parents are always really busy with their own jobs."

"Sure as hell can't leave it with the old man even if you two live in the same city. He can't take care of a baby. I don't even know how he managed to raise my mom. I guess my grandma's pretty capable, though."

"What about your parents? We could just stay in Japan."

"I guess that could work. My dad's retired now, so there's both of them to help out. Going to be rough either way if we're both still in school, though."

"Hey, totally off topic, but how do you feel about Florida? Like, absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about, but I've always kind of wanted to live there. Lots of ocean, I guess. You might like it."

"There's worse options," he said, clearly thinking it over as he said that. "We've got a lot to figure out now."

"Good grief," she said while doing her best to copy his inflection. "It could be worse, though. I mean..." Bianca cleared her throat a bit, doing her best not to turn red. "I've still got you here. I think it'll be okay that way."

"You sure about that? I'll probably be a lousy father. I'm not exactly the nurturing type, you know."

"I think you'll do a wonderful job." Before they knew it, they'd already started walking back to Jotaro's apartment. "Hey, are we going to get married now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's not that big of a deal, at least to me. But if you still want me to hang around, I don't see why we can't."

"If we do, you'd better buy me the biggest ring you can find."

He scoffed. "So that was your plan the whole time. Trick me into marrying you so you can take my money."

"A girl has to find some way to get by," she said. "It's rough out there for an expecting mother just trying to make the best life possible for her child."

"Should have known you were trouble from the start," he said, trying to keep a smile from creeping onto his lips.

"And now you're stuck with me for good," she replied, bumping up against his shoulder. As they crossed the street, she moved close to him once again, maneuvering her hand into his as it closed around hers. As far as they knew, this was the beginning of a bright and happy future together.

Nothing lasts forever, though.


And that's the end. It's been a fun ride getting here and I've really enjoyed writing this story. I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

The visual of Jotaro actually sitting down to play a game of Stratego is probably going to be my greatest contribution to pretty much anything in my whole life. Someone needs to do some art of that and then send it to me. Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that's funny and you can tell me to fuck off.

I was always surprised at just how quickly after Stardust Crusaders Jotaro would have had to have found his wife in the manga. Jolyne's age didn't give him much time. Honestly, if she was younger, I could have gone on for a lot more chapters as they developed their relationship over the course of years before the marriage and subsequent divorce. Too bad we don't live in that alternate universe, Pucci.

While this is the end, it's almost certainly not going to be the last time we see Bianca. I've already got more ideas for things I can write to follow up on this, so stick around if you're interested in some sweet domestic bits in between a marriage between two kids struggling under the weight of a baby neither of them is entirely sure how to handle. For now, though, I've got some other stuff to work on, so it'll be a while before any of that materializes. Still, I say that a lot in situations where I inevitably write and upload the thing in question the very next day, so who even knows what I'm going to do at this point. I sure as fuck don't.

If you're just, like, chomping at the bit to know more about these two in the meantime, though, I guess you could send me questions on my blog. I have no idea why anyone would seek me out on other platforms, but that is a thing I am officially inviting you people to do. That could apply to anything I write, too.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. I'm going to go off and struggle to care for this turtle who is not named Mr. President since I subscribe to the TMNT school of reptile names. Take care of yourselves, though, since I'm not there to do it for you. Always remember to make time for the ones you love, Jotaro.

Also, you all see that dance on Friday? Good shit, DP.