digiorno | ic inbox ( ruby city ) Ⅰ

...Can I leave it to you to tell him? I think it should come from you.

[He hums softly, then at last shifts and gets an elbow underneath him to lever himself up a little, rolling to find a better angle to watch Giorno properly.]

...I think he needs to hear things like that.

Hm?

[Just one glance is all that's needed to communicate his confusion. He turns the button over and over between his fingers, frowning slightly.]

Of course I'll do that, but I don't - why should it come from me?

Because...I think somewhere in his head, I'm always going to be someone he feels like he has to repay for the good things he gets. I think sometimes he hears things I say and believes them...but they add weight to the debt he thinks he's carrying around, too. It's like...there's such a thing as being too good to him, almost. Being good to him makes him feel reminded of how "better" I am.

[He breathes in slowly, running a hand across his face.]

I just want him to get it. I want him to hear it from people he can't deny, too.

That's so stupid.

[But it isn't really castigating or judgmental. Certainly not doubting. A little sad, maybe.]

[It really is different. Mista takes his word as gospel, in some ways; if he says something kind, Mista believes it, because of the way in which he's capable of trusting. Of giving his whole heart, without hesitation or doubt. Kakyoin thinks there's a debt to be paid.]

[They'll both have to be made to see it, somehow.]

I understand. I'll tell him, then. Exactly what I told you.

Thanks, Gi— ...Giorno.

[A sentiment that Star echoes with an ora of his own.]

...Thanks for keeping me on the right track, too.

[Little oras. He smiles, ducks his head, a little shy.]

Thank you for doing the same for me. And if we keep thanking each other like this, we'll be here all night.

Heh. Okay, fine, no more of that.

[...]

It's gonna need a big tank, the betta. I put in space for it at the house.

I was wondering about that. They always sell them in those little jars, but they just didn't seem big enough . . .

If I make it here, where will you put it? [Protect the Kakyoinfish 2k15.]

Yeah, people think that they're decorative. The fish, so they put them in little things to look cool. It's actually terrible for them, they need a ton of space.

[Although this is a good question, the issue of the fish locale.]

...I might have a thermos in my bag. Or we might have to wait until we're back, it's not like I could really haul a tank out here or anything.

Will it hurt him? The thermos.

[Deep and serious concerns about fish. Always. The mafia life.]

From the size? Not if it's short-term. An hour or two shouldn't be that big of a deal.

[These people saved the world.]

All right. Then . . . I'll do it now, if you want me to.

[He's a little excited to, even as tired as he is, turning the button over between his fingers thoughtfully. There's still the matter of the washcloth, too. He's sort of wondering if Jotaro's going to bring it up or not. Not that it'll make a difference in the end, he's pretty sure.]

Oh — sure. ...If you're not too worn out to do one more, I mean.

[So he dispatches Star with a thought to go fetch the bag and the thermos, and gradually the very thought registers, and gets voiced at length.]

...You going to dry your hands when you're done?

No, I can do it. It's what I've practiced most, so it's easiest for me.

[A quick glance up, a soft smile. Good.]

Mm-mm. This is for the other thing I promised you.

[The other thing he...what other thing? The call had only been about the f—

...!!!

And wouldn't you know it, that recognition hits at the precise moment when Star returns, which also means it's all over because all of the surprise and eager astonishment that washes over Jotaro ends up magnified threefold in Star Platinum, whose face has just taken on the expression of a child who's been told his parents are taking him to Disneyworld AND LETTING HIM STAY THERE FOREVER.]

. . . Oh my god.

[SORRY THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN KEEP HIMSELF FROM LAUGHING AT THAT. STAR IS SO HAPPY, THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING THAT'S EVER BEEN.]

Are you - going to be okay?

...What? I'm —

[And then it hits him, and he actually turns and looks, and just.]

Stop that.

[Which...seems to be directed at Star, of all things, and goes blissfully unnoticed despite its stubborn exasperation because Star Platinum, professional labrador, is already making a beeline for Giorno to huddle down and watch him work and wait in silent demand for otter otter otter.]

Oh my god.

[Ahhhh, hi Star. Giorno reaches up and ruffles his hair, because look at this perfect purple punchlab, and then sets to work. Fish first, otter in a bit.]

[Gold Experience shifts out onto the sand next to him, takes the button in hand. It's the work of just a few seconds to make a small and perfect betta fish, green and red, which he holds out to slip into the thermos.]

[And that's Jotaro's cue to lie back down and close his eyes, still vaguely aware of phantom perceptions of the world through Star Platinum, but slowly recuperating his strength while leaving his Stand freer rein to act on his own volition.

Which Star proceeds to do, watching through almost comically wide eyes as the button in the hands of the Stand he'd so recently been hurling punches at gradually shifts and shapes into a fish that goes plunk into the water and begins to swim around in tight exploratory circles.

But it's pure Star Platinum, whatever that bit of him that is unique to himself without quite being Jotaro exactly, that leads him to point uncertainly at the fish and cast Giorno an uncertain look, echoing a soft ora? that seems to express a sentiment of what is the purpose of this, as valued on a scale of do we eat it or punch it.]

[Oh. That's.]

[Star Platinum is really amazing, he thinks. He doesn't love him the way he loves Pistols, but he . . . admires him, maybe, all the different things he can be, what Jotaro is and isn't and then other things, too.]

[The question is obvious, and the answer is, too. He takes Star's pointing hand in both of his and folds his fingers into a loose fist, looking up at him seriously.]

It's a fish. A living thing, for Kakyoin. So you have to make sure it gets home safe. Understand?

[Fish. And here is where, even removed from the conversation, Jotaro still contributes at a distance; fish comes with connotations, when Star goes looking for them, and those connotations are of the same degree and caliber as Kakyoin, in their way. So fish and Kakyoin, these are good things, they go together, they are not things for punching, they are important things we keep safe.

Which leaves Star thoughtful a minute, and a moment after that Jotaro's voice breaks the silence —]

...Yes, Star. Like the damn pudding.

[THERE ARE THREE WHOLE THINGS ON THE LIST OF IMPORTANT THINGS WE KEEP SAFE. THREE WHOLE THINGS.

...Maybe four, considering Giorno.

So, with all the care and precision he can muster, Star carefully holds the thermos steady as he shifts to sit down and peer into it, watching the fish inside with laser-focused intent.]

[Oh my god.]

He's really cute. I hate to tell you that, but it's true.

[He should have brought snacks. Maybe next rumble.]

He's a good boy.

[And what a long way they've come together, from evil spirit in a jail cell to this, a quiet beach in the dead of night. Star is a good boy, and he loves him, and he generally opts not to think too hard about the implications of that because sometimes it just makes it that much easier to let Star be more in the column of something else than me in moments like these.]

He is.

[Such a good boy. Which is why Giorno reaches up to pet his hair again, softly enough that it doesn't distract him.]

Are you both ready?

[It's probably a bad time to point out that he can feel that. And that it's comforting, in the strangest way.

So instead he half-rolls, half-sits up, and gives Giorno his attention as much as Star has.]

...Yeah. We are, yeah.

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