EIGHT
The vastness of the American supermarket was not something Josuke was prepared for. The MaxValue on the basement floor of the Tsuchida Aeon Mall was a mere convenience store when compared to the Publix Jotaro had brought him to.
The interior was a completely new landscape itself with aisles so wide that he and his uncle could walk side by side without risking bumping into a shopper staring at the opposite shelf. And that was without taking into consideration the size of the cart they pushed along. There was no way they'd be able to fill that thing. That Josuke was sure of.
Jotaro put Josuke on cart duty as he glanced at his list and directed the boy as to where to go.
"We don't need to get much. What did you want to eat for dinner?"
"Pasta!" replied Josuke not even bothering to veil his enthusiasm.
He loved pasta. Tonio's would always remain his favorite, and the pasta there was unmatched, but in general, all pasta was good. Even if it wasn't Tonio's.
"OK, we can eat pasta. I'll buy all of the ingredients."
"You're going to cook for me, Mr. Jotaro?"
"Sure. Can you cook?"
"Me? You bet I can. In fact, I bet whatever I make would be better than your pasta."
Jotaro quirked a brow, "Oh really? Is that a challenge?"
"Only if you want it to be," Josuke replied. "Though you never struck me as the competitive type."
"You're right. I find it annoying."
"Ugh, you're so boring."
"And yet here you are still bothering me. I'm starting to think I'm not so boring at all," Jotaro countered, glancing over at his uncle.
Their eyes met and Josuke blushed. He had to look away as his mind immediately was brought back to events that had taken place just over an hour prior between them. It was hot, and so Josuke began to get hot under his collar. No, he didn't find Jotaro boring at all. He laughed nervously but Jotaro had already moved on, stopping to grab a yellow box of Cheerios from the shelf.
"Hey!" Josuke said, seeing the box land in the cart next to a bottle of vegetable juice.
"What?"
"You're getting the same thing again. Don't tell me you always eat the same cereal."
"Don't you?"
"Well, yeah but-"
Josuke took that moment to motion at the glorious display of cereals that ran down half the aisle. Colorful boxes of flakes, O's, squares, and puffs were plentiful. Fruit, chocolate, nuts, and sugar were bountiful. There was no way he would risk not being able to partake of such a spread, especially considering they had none of them in Japan.
"Come on, there are so many different cereals! We have to try a different one."
Jotaro took a moment to consider that, his mouth set in a line far too hard for such a meager request before he nodded his assent.
"Ok."
Jotaro turned and reached for another box and threw it into the basket where it bounced against the box of Cheerios already in there.
"Apple Cinnamon Cheerios," Josuke read. "Mr. Jotaro, this is just another Cheerios!"
"Good grief," Jotaro muttered. "Isn't it good enough it's a different flavor?"
"Why are you only getting Cheerios! Are you a Cheerios, fan? – Oh, wait that's right, it's heart-healthy,"
"I'm glad you remember it," Jotaro said, the ghost of a smile in his voice.
"But no, I don't want it," Josuke plucked the green box from the cart and placed it back on the shelf. "Let me choose. I promise it'll be good."
"I'm scared."
"Oh? The great, Jotaro Kujo scared? I would like to see that."
Josuke walked along the shelf, arms crossed and a hand poised over his chin in thought. He scanned his choices. Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, and Cocoa Krispies were all things he had before in Japan and he liked them all. He decided something chocolate would be safe. That sounded like something Jotaro would never choose for himself, but he would eat it if presented with it. However, if Josuke wanted to get really crazy with it he'd get something fruity and fun!
That's when his eyes landed on it: the perfect compromise. The box was green, just like the Apple Cinnamon Cheerios Jotaro had picked before. Except for this time instead of brown O's splashing across the face of the box were rings of orange and green. He reached out as if he'd found the holy grail of cereal. If Jotaro wanted apples, he'd get apples. Apple Jacks.
Grabbing the box he whirled and presented it to his nephew with a flourish!
"Ja-jan! Here you go! Apple Jacks," Josuke said, beaming with pride.
"Oh, I was expecting you to choose something like this-"
Jotaro walked a couple of steps before picking a box off the shelf. He turned the box towards Josuke displaying a leprechaun, rainbow, and a variety of colorful shapes.
"Marshmallow cereal!?" Josuke squeaked in surprise. He threw the Apple Jacks box into the cart and then grabbed the Lucky Charms from Jotaro in basically one fluid motion.
"Oh, Mr. Jotaro!" Josuke cooed, looking up at the man. "You know me oh so well! Marshmallows in cereal. It's genius, really."
"Do you want this one or that one?" Jotaro asked.
"Both!" Josuke replied without hesitation. "I'll get both."
Jotaro just did one of his now trademark half-smiles and shook his head. Still, he said nothing as Josuke threw the Lucky Charms in the cart as well.
"This is great. I'll take pictures of them all so Okuyasu can see it," said Josuke, giddy about the turn of events. "Either that or bring the best one back as a souvenir!"
He pushed the cart marveling at the three boxes of cereal and not even caring when Jotaro called him easy to please. So what about it? He was having a wonderful day, and it was in no small part of the man beside him. He beamed at Jotaro and followed along. Their cart gradually filled up with more goods.
Butter, milk, cheese, pasta, garlic, spinach. So on and so forth.
"Ah, Mr. Jotaro, I almost forgot!" Josuke said suddenly while they were in the produce section. "I'll make a side for our pasta!"
"I was thinking to just make a salad," Jotaro replied, sticking a head of lettuce in the cart.
"We can have salad too! But I can make bacon-wrapped asparagus. That would be good, right? What kind of pasta are you making?"
"Just something simple. Garlic and parmesan."
"OK, yeah hold on."
Josuke glanced around the section, eyeing the rows of produce before his eyes landed on the asparagus. He grabbed a bundle and placed it in a plastic bag.
"That's that! Good to go! I'll knock your socks off with my side dish."
"It's not a competition," Jotaro reminded him.
As usual, it went unheeded.
The pair made it back to the apartment without further incident and tucked all the groceries away into their designated spaces. Jotaro had to direct Josuke some of the time but for the most part, it was pretty intuitive as to what went where. Soon they were finished and the groceries, including the 3 boxes of cereal, were placed exactly where they belonged.
"Whew, that's done," Josuke said flopping back on the couch.
Jotaro sat down beside him and turned on the television. He tossed the controller to Josuke, giving tacit permission for him to choose their program. Josuke couldn't help but marvel at how quickly they'd settled into some semblance of a routine despite the fact it had only been a few days.
He didn't take advantage of having control of the TV though and let it stay where it was. His grasp of English meant it wasn't enough to keep his attention for long. He realized that back home the majority of the movies he watched were dubbed over in Japanese, which probably didn't help matters.
As it was, the visuals flickering across the screen weren't so captivating when pit against the image of Jotaro right beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jotaro watching the show. He really was paying attention from what Josuke could tell. He was slouched a little, leaning away from Josuke with his weight on the armrest.
Josuke was a simple guy. He wanted to cuddle with Jotaro (though if there were more he'd welcome that wholeheartedly).
He couldn't help it. They hadn't even cuddled before, skipping that step onto something more. But even then, they only did that once and he was already wanting more and more. He could really become addicted and so he worried. What would Jotaro think of him?
This was his problem. He always fell too quickly and too hard. Albeit he didn't have a ton of relationship experience, that was the record so far and it looked like it'd be the same thing all over again.
He remembered how it had been in the past. Rohan regarded him with the most scathing of looks with the way Josuke, as the artist put it, crawled at his ankles begging for scraps of attention like a lost puppy. Josuke couldn't help it. Rohan was his first kiss and the first time he felt the caress of another person's hand as they whispered beautiful things in his ear. When he loved he loved hard.
Not that he loved Jotaro. He wouldn't be so quick to say that at least. He hoped he learned that lesson already. But the attention afforded him over the past couple of days had him starved for more. It rekindled the flames of desire within him that had never quite been completely extinguished from the very moment he'd met Jotaro.
However, now he was afraid of being pushed away again. He worried about wearing his eagerness upon his sleeve, something Jotaro already hinted that he had done, for fear of it being too much. Jotaro was so guarded and mature. If it was all too much for Rohan of course it'd be too much for his nephew!
Perhaps it really was a good thing would stay only for one week before Jotaro could grow tired of him and throw him away. He could become addicted all he wanted, but with a great expanse of land and ocean between them what would it matter. The distance would force him to give it up and let it go.
That was his fate. He wasn't good enough, Rohan was right.
"Stop thinking of him."
Josuke snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Jotaro's voice. He turned his head, and to see Jotaro wearing an expression the teen was unsure how to read. Jotaro had a slight furrow in his brow and his mouth was set in something of a grimace.
"Huh?" came Josuke's ineloquent reply.
"Your face, it's really easy to tell, you know. Just like the other night, during the movie."
Josuke's eyes widened.
His nephew continued, "So the movie I get but tell me, how does Judge Judy remind you of him?"
Josuke bristled, face heating up involuntarily.
"Don't make fun of me!"
His voice sounded more watery than he intended and he hated the fact that he was so weak. He saw it right away in the way Jotaro's eyes softened. The man didn't move though he did issue an apology.
"I'm sorry," Jotaro said.
He turned off the television, but that was worse as the room delved into a thick silence.
"I hate this," Josuke slumped over the left side of the couch, angry at himself for not having any self-control.
He was thinking of Rohan and now thinking of Jotaro, and how he was so weak for no reason. Jotaro's concern was what he wanted in some way but it would only make him like him more. He knew it.
"What do you hate?" prodded Jotaro.
"I hate this entire situation, that I'm still thinking of him and the things he said."
"Like what?"
Josuke sighed and looked over his shoulder from where his head was now pillowed against the armrest.
Rohan never asked him how he felt. If Josuke came in with a bad mood, Rohan told him to suck it up and scoffed at him as he sulked on the couch. Josuke never held it against Rohan, because Rohan helped in his own way. He'd huff, call him a baby if Josuke pouted for too long but he'd rub his head, card long ink-stained fingers through his hair. He'd allow Josuke to rest his head in his lap for hours at a time as he worked even if it would be an impossible position to draw in. That's how Josuke knew the man cared in his own special way.
"Do you even really care?" Josuke finally replied, turning his eyes away from his nephew like the child he still was.
"Do you think I'd ask to be polite?" countered Jotaro.
And no, actually. Josuke didn't think the man would and that made it worst.
Jotaro was a man who was direct when he needed to be. He only addressed the things which could not be ignored, that was something Josuke was learning just by observation, so it made his nephew's interest that much more poignant.
"I already said I don't want to talk about it, didn't I?"
Jotaro hummed, "You did."
"So then-"
Jotaro cut him off, "Then stop thinking about it. You came here to use me as a distraction, didn't you?"
Josuke was stunned. Jotaro really had figured it out even before he did. All of that running to get away, he could have done that anywhere. He hadn't lied when he said that he came there to see Jotaro, but he was lying to himself when he said it wasn't a rebound. He didn't think it would actually happen, that Jotaro would actually allow him to touch him but the thought lived a fulfilling life in the back of his mind.
"You're not just a distraction," Josuke replied. "You're-"
"Good grief," Jotaro muttered under his breath before reaching out and pulling Josuke towards him so that they met chest to chest in the middle of the couch. Josuke's arms were slid over Jotaro's shoulders as the older man spoke against his lips. "Just do it."
It was an invitation that confused Josuke but he pushed down that little bit of his heart and stomach that ached in favor of the kiss. He wouldn't allow himself to be bogged down with the details of how things were turning so quickly on him, where he no longer felt like he had the upper hand in the situation. He bit off way more than he could chew, ignored all of the warning signs Jotaro had put up and now the gates had opened.
What were even the rules?
"Don't think about it," Jotaro said, breaking the kiss.
Think about what? Rohan or this? Probably Rohan. That's what Jotaro was doing, right? Consoling him, giving him what he'd come all the way stateside to get. Respite from his heartbroken thoughts only came at the cost of burning himself alive with this new thing, whatever it was. But it was only for one week.
The question was what would he do when it was over? Where could he possibly run then?
They kissed again and Jotaro's fingers slipped under his shirt just a tad to stroke the skin of his belly. It sent shivers all through Josuke's body. He was so gentle.
Finally, Jotaro pulled back. Josuke didn't care. He let his arms wind around Jotaro's waist and pressed his face against Jotaro's chest. Jotaro was accomodating, allowing Josuke to do so. He settled against the couch in a way that made it more comfortable for both of them.
"Thank you."
Jotaro said nothing in reply, merely rubbing his hand in circles upon his back as if he were a babe. It was an awkward, hesitant touch, but because it was Jotaro, Josuke savored it and found comfort in it.
The beating of Jotaro's heart beneath his ear was a different kind of balm for Josuke. He let his hand rest over it, fingers curling into the fabric which separated them.
"You want to start making dinner?" Jotaro asked,
He didn't stop making those soothing circles. Josuke shook his head.
"No, I like it right here."
"I've spoiled you."
Josuke smiled against his nephew's chest.
This situation was dangerous, oh so dangerous. Because all alone, one on one, Jotaro was even more amazing than he was back in Morioh. He may be reserved but he showed his softness in the most surprising of ways. Josuke sighed, contentedly.
He didn't want to be weak, but it was impossible. Anyone in his shoes would fall for Jotaro. There was no way they wouldn't. Josuke knew though that they only had one week and then it'd be over. He had to live in the moment and be greedy.
Josuke chose to seize each and every opportunity and chance Jotaro gave him.
"Can I sleep in your bed again tonight?" he asked.
"Of course," came Jotaro's reply.
"And can we... do it again, like this morning?"
Jotaro chuckled and it sounded so delicious against Josuke's ear.
"Of course."
-TO BE CONTINUED-
AN: UH! so that happened. who else here got culture shock going to an American grocery store? cos I sure did. Especially compared to JP. Altho Japan does have huge groceries in the countryside it still not to the level of Food Lion or Publix! I hope Jotaro enjoyed his Cheerios and Josuke enjoys his Apple Jacks and Lucky Charms. I bought Apple Jacks in celebration of this.
That said, I'm excited for them, and is it possible for a person to just keep falling more and more in love with Jotaro Kujo. I'm talking about me! uhhh thanks for all the feedback! All feedback is always appreciated including criticism! Let me know how I did.