ONE

The time was 4:00 PM. Jotaro Kujo was home unusually early. His regular routine often had him returning way after the sun had set. He felt a little thrown off to be pulling up to his apartment complex with the Florida sun still way up in the air like that.

He steered his red Honda into his spot, 3C, and set the car in park. With a sigh, he turned off the ignition and just sat. The day was short, not particularly tiring, but he just felt beat, as if all of the time he'd spent running so that things wouldn't catch up to him was in vain. He didn't want to think and that meant to keep moving, but his bones felt weighed down by more than the jacket still slung over his shoulders.

It was quickly getting hot in the car. Opening the door, Jotaro stepped out of the vehicle. He was careful not to slam it after getting his bag out of the backseat. There was paperwork in said bag, but in the back of his mind he knew he didn't feel like doing any of it.

His 6'4 strides were long and in no time he made his way up the curb and cut through the grass before coming to a stop at the stairway of his building. In Building C there were 4 units. A and B downstairs and C and D on the upper floor. He paused at the foot of the steps, instinct telling him something wasn't right. With hesitancy, Jotaro craned his neck and saw a figure curled up in the corner next to his door. It was a male, with a black Adidas jacket tossed over the front of his shoulders and obscuring his face.

Jotaro wasn't afraid, but he was cautious. There weren't many homeless youths in this part of town. The apartment complex was far from the city center and more suburban than anything else boasting many young families who have yet saved for their starter home. There weren't many separated married men like him feigning bachelorhood.

His gait slowed as he took each step one at a time, but the cheaply made metal steps still groaned beneath his weight. The figure at the top of the steps stirred, face lifting and jacket shifting down to reveal a familiar baby face and purple eyes.

Josuke Higashikata, 16 years old, nay 17 by now, was sitting in the corner of the stairwell right outside Jotaro's door in Napleton, Florida. It had been nearly a year since Jotaro had last seen him and they hadn't even spoken in the interval, yet there he was and there was no mistaking it.

"Mr. Jotaro!"

Josuke seemed to be less surprised to see him. That was to be expected of course. It's not like Josuke woke up in Napleton after falling asleep in Morioh, reasoned Jotaro. This must have been a planned thing for the teen. He had come directly to Jotaro's house. But that only made it even more confusing. Words would not come to his mouth.

Josuke didn't seem put off by Jotaro's silence, likely interpreting his surprise as his usual taciturn personality. The teen rose up revealing that he was dressed completely in a black tracksuit. At his feet was a Puma duffle bag that seemed packed to capacity. Jotaro wondered how he managed to get it to balloon into that shape in the first place. The zipper must be on its very last limb, clinging separately to the teeth so as not to rupture and the contents spill out.

"You're back! I mean—did you miss me?" Josuke tried with a grin.

Jotaro didn't know how he felt, too confused by the sudden intrusion. It wasn't that he disliked the boy, he just didn't take well to surprises. He pulled down the brim of his cap.

"Good grief," he muttered under his breath before continuing his way up the rest of the stairs.

Jotaro reached into his pocket, jangling around some loose change and his keys before opening the door. He stepped inside the apartment leaving it wide open in invitation

The sound of Josuke scrambling in and slamming the door behind him disrupted Jotaro's usual sanctuary. His room was not the tidiest of places, but it was organized the way he liked it. But now with a guest, Jotaro couldn't help but feel a little exposed about it. Nobody had been in his apartment since he'd gotten it 6 months ago apart from himself and occasionally Jolyne.

Jotaro walked over to the kitchen island and set his bag down on the stool. He looked over at Josuke who was openly ogling the furnishings. The teen's eyes hungrily lapped up every sight as if Jotaro's lifestyle were some sort of curio to him. Josuke eyed the television set, an old Panasonic with broken antenna. Under the television stand was a VCR and several VHS, the majority of which being Disney films in large bubble cases.

After looking at the TV set Josuke turned to eye the coffee table, strewn about with old mail, newspapers, cups, ashtray and other assorted things. The couch was an ugly tan thing with a striped pillow and Miami Dolphins throw rug balled at the end of it indicating that someone had definitely been sleeping there.

Other than that, the place was pretty bare.

Josuke turned back to the kitchen island in time to see two glasses filled with water on the table. Josuke approached the island, and took a seat on the stool that Jotaro's things didn't occupy, letting his duffle bag settle onto the floor at his feet. He pulled the glass to him and basically downed it all in one shot. Flying made a kid thirsty.

"I'm going to order pizza," Jotaro said.

He didn't even ask what Josuke liked before he turned to the phone hanging on the wall. His finger pointed out the number on the Pizza Hut magnet on the refrigerator before dialing. He placed an order of pepperoni and mushrooms, gave the address, then hung up the phone.

"Is that how you live? On pizza delivery?" Josuke asked once the phone was back on the hook.

Jotaro didn't answer instead removing his hat and pushing his fingers through the thick wavy locks. He didn't say that he ordered it specifically with Josuke in mind. He was bone tired. Too tired to cook and too tired to deal with a runaway teen who had found his way onto his doorstep in the middle of the afternoon. That's why he had ordered a pizza.

He grabbed his glass and moved to the couch. He settled down, tossing the hat onto the coffee table. His large body sunk against the cushions, almost melting into it.

Fishing through his pockets Jotaro retrieved a box of cigarettes. He tapped it against his palm allowing one to pop partially out. Pulling it with his lips he then lit it with a match he found buried underneath the newspaper.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?" Josuke asked all the way from the barstool.

When he received no answer the teen went on.

"I ran away. I ran away from home."

Just as Jotaro figured.

"It's such bullshit. Everything is bullshit. So I decided I don't have to put up with it."

"What's bullshit?" Jotaro pressed, taking the cigarette from between his lips to finally answer.

"Everything, aren't you listening? My mom, school, the future, Ro—everything!"

Jotaro wondered if Josuke was stuttering or if he really were about to say Rohan.

"It's not fair and I got sick of it. Then I remembered, hey, I won the lottery, I have a lot of money plus my old man is loaded as fuck! Let me go to America. So I grabbed my passport and here I am!"

"Here you are," Jotaro nodded after another drag of tobacco. "Here in Napleton, Florida, not in New York, New York, where your old man lives."

"Well, yeah, why would I go to his house when I have you, Mr. Jotaro?"

What was that even supposed to mean? Jotaro didn't even want to ask or open that line of questioning when there were so many other avenues to pursue.

"What I mean is," Jotaro began. "Your father lives in New York. You ran away to be with your father."

"No…"

Josuke shook his head and looked at Jotaro as if he weren't making any sense. As if he pitied his nephew for not being able to grasp at his reasoning.

"Before I left Morioh I called my old man and I asked him your address," Josuke started.

Jotaro tensed up, not liking where the story was headed.

"He gave me your address but when I arrived well-" Josuke got a little shy after that rubbing at the back of his head. "But anyway, you can guess what happened what with the family resemblance and all it was cleared up and I came on over here!"

Jotaro could definitely imagine what happened. Josuke knocked on the door of his old house, the one that his wife and daughter still occupied away from him. He hadn't told his mom yet or his grandparents. He hadn't seen the need to, not if things were going to soon be cleared up. Things would be OK. They would get over the hump, was what Jotaro thought. They could keep the separation between them, all the way in Florida.

Instead, there was this intrusion in the form of his teenaged uncle, barging in, running away from home all the way to America as if it were some sensible thing to do. Perhaps in Josuke's optimistic mind, it was, but Jotaro knew better. Running away was rarely the answer to the problems life served you no matter how rough it got.

"You're going home."

"Huh?" Josuke perked up on the stool, back straight.

"How much money do you have?"

"On me? About one thousand dollars- but hey! I'm on vacation right now, you know. From school and-"

He tried to cover for himself but Jotaro wasn't having it.

"Does your mother know where you are?"

"W,well-"

"We're getting you a ticket home."

Jotaro moved from the couch and walked back into the kitchen. He opened a drawer near the sink, tapping ash into the basin with one hand as he rummaged through it with the other.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you have a ticket in there!" Josuke protested.

Jotaro pressed his lips into a line to swallow the comment he almost bit back before finding what he was looking for. Within a nest of loose batteries, ketchup packets, fast food napkins and duck sauce was a phone card for international calling. He picked it up, thinking briefly about how he was overdue for a call to his own mother before turning around and facing Josuke.

"Here, it's calling card. Call your mother and let her know where you are."

Josuke took the card in hand, face bewildered. He muttered thanks before looking down at it. It was yellow with a globe surrounded by a ring of flags. It advertised for 30 minutes. Jotaro flipped it onto the back where the instructions were written in English and Spanish.

"You do know English, right?" Jotaro asked.

Josuke's head snapped up.

"Of course I know English!" Josuke blushed. "I'll have you know I make good grades and I go to an eikaiwa!"

Jotaro smirked and then walked away disappearing into the back of the apartment leaving Josuke completely alone.

It was eerily silent now. Josuke sat at the stool knowing what it was he was supposed to do but unable to bring himself to do it. He looked back down at the card and noticed offhandedly how dirty his nails were after his long chain of flights. He needed a shower.

He took the chance to lift his armpit, sniffing it underneath his jacket. Surprisingly he wasn't as bad as he thought, but a shower wouldn't hurt for sure.

Returning his gaze to the card his hand shook thinking about calling his mother and telling her where he'd gone. He hoped she'd chew him out. He couldn't take it if she cried. His heart squeezed itself tightly in his chest. He'd been foolish to run. He thought being in America and seeing Jotaro would help him get away from it all, and forget, but the entire flight all he did was ruminate about how everything was going wrong.

Jotaro was like a rock, reliable and strong. Josuke felt like he needed that right now. It was odd, but even though while his nephew was in Morioh they didn't spend too much of their free time together, the little bit of time they did have Josuke cherished. It was part of a summer of new things. He met his father, learned more about his stand, and cultivated close bonds with the users around him. His only regret was that he couldn't get closer to a certain someone.

Looking up and down the hall Josuke could hear the shower turning on. Jotaro was showering and Josuke felt the blood creep up his face at the thought of his nephew standing beneath the spray of water. He shook his head of such thoughts and decided to be a good boy and call his mother.

TO BE CONTINUED...

AN:

First JJBA fic! Ah, timeline screw timeline. It's after Part 4, before Part 5. I have no idea if it's Part 6 compliant and I make no claims it will be. I have only read this manga, never seen the anime. So I apologize if my interpretations of the characters or mannerisms differ from what was in the anime!

This story will be jotajosu with past josuhan~! I made up Napleton! It doesn't exist! Also, this was fun because I get to remember being in 2000! That's like half the appeal not gonna lie hahaha.

Thanks so much for reading. As always feedback and comments are always appreciated! Thank you~