Foggy days in London town
A WALK IN THE GARDEN
It wasn't supposed to go that way.
As soon as Caesar bumped into Joseph he immediately understood that fixing the "incident" of the previous night was going to be way harder than he had predicted.
Even at work they talked only when it was really necessary.
He often felt the eyes of his co-workers on him; was it that obvious that something had happened between them? Probably yes; they had been pappa e ciccia until that day, and now they couldn't even stand in front of each other without being overcome by the embarrassment.
To be fair, it was mostly Joseph the one who was having problems; Caesar didn't really care – maybe it was because he was more experienced and used to such things- but he was feeling that he still shouldn't approach him until he was visibly calmer.
On their way home things went a bit better.
They were inside the metro, sat beside each other.
They still weren't saying anything, but at least it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.
Joseph seemed to be finally relaxing again. He rested his head against Caesar's shoulder, and he didn't shove him away.
It was actually nice.
Once they arrived Joseph almost immediately went upstairs without even considering the other. What the hell?
Caesar couldn't really understand why he would behave like that, but he decided to at least say hello to the rest of the family – they were probably in the living room- before following him. He was about to go when a voice called him.
- Oh, there you are, Caesar. Do you have a moment?-.
It was Elizabeth Joestar.
- O-of course-, he replied, taken by surprise.
It was the first time they were completely alone; usually there was always her husband by her side, and he usually was with Joseph.
He wondered what she had to tell him; it had to be something really important, however he couldn't decipher anything from her expression or behaviour.
She would have been a great poker player.
They went for a walk in the mansion's garden.
The first time Caesar had seen it he was astonished: it was so vast. He seriously doubted that there were still houses with such huge gardens, at least until he came there.
- I was wondering… did something happen with Jojo?-, she asked, after a while.
Oh shit. She had figured it out.
He couldn't tell her about the kiss – who knew what she would have done then- but it was also true that, at that point, it would have been useless to lie and tell her that everything was fine.
Nor he could have told her to mind her own business – that would have been first of all very rude and secondly she would have probably kicked him out of the house for saying that.
Joseph was her son, after all, so in part it was her business too.
He tried to invent a good explanation without letting her know too much, but it didn't really work; he just mumbled some words before being interrupted.
- You don't have to say anything if you don't want to-, Elizabeth said.
At least it didn't look like she wanted to pry too much into his and Joseph's affairs. Good.
- It's just… there has been a misunderstanding and now… it's complicated-, he replied.
Well, it was true that it was complicated, so he wasn't completely lying.
- I know that Joseph can be a bit hard to handle sometimes-, she said, making him smile and nod, - But I'm certain he cares about you, a lot-, she added.
Caesar didn't reply.
- I hope you will be able to solve this problem-, she said.
- There's no need to worry-, he quickly assured her, - It's nothing serious-.
- … We're just too dumb to talk it out, apparently-, he also admitted.
Elizabeth sighed, but there was an indulgent smile on her face.
- Well, under this aspect you two are pretty similar-, she stated, and Caesar nodded.
- Yeah…-.
They didn't speak much more until they returned inside, but still there was a comfortable atmosphere surrounding there. Well, it hadn't really abandoned him since he had set foot in that house.
He had been lucky to have the chance to stay with such a welcoming family, even if only for a while.
- You know…-, Elizabeth started to say.
- It still surprises me how much Jojo is happy around you, it's not something that usually happens-.
- He almost looks like a puppy in love-, she joked, making Caesar giggle; it was a nervous laughter, however.
He tried to not show it, but he hadn't expected to hear that, especially coming from her.
Thinking about the past events he could see why she would say something like that.
Still, he didn't know how to feel about it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to let his relationship with Joseph escalate to that point, especially if the result was the two of them avoiding each other for a day, or even more.
However, it was also true that he was having a good time with him, far greater than he had initially expected, and he didn't want to put an end to it just for some stupid accident – and they both clearly enjoyed it, so what was wrong with that?
He excused himself and went upstairs. Elizabeth thanked him for the company and she let him go.
As he entered in his room, Caesar made up his mind: he wanted to end that awkward situation as soon as possible, but he also understood that maybe Joseph still needed some more time to think by himself. He would have waited until the next day, then he would have talked to him no matter how much reluctant he would have been.
As she saw Caesar gradually vanishing for her view, Elizabeth Joestar shook her head in amusement.
- Youngsters these days…-, she said, before leaving in search of her husband.
Author's note: just to let you know, "pappa e ciccia" is an Italian idiomatic expression that means when two people are inseparable, it's kinda like being best buddies.