digiorno | ic inbox ( ruby city ) Ⅰ

You're indifferent to that . . .

[But he's not indifferent to Jolie, that's for sure. And Giorno isn't, either, but Gold Experience might be?]

[He crawls over to the tub, then, tugging Star along with him until he's leaning over the edge, and takes his hand, pointing it at Jolie.]

See how she's having fun?

[Oh, well. We're going over here then, zoom and godspeed.

...And there's a visible change in Star as Jolie comes into view, too, where all of a sudden he's fixated as intently on the wet furry cat noodle in the tub as he once had been on a red and green fish swimming tight circles in a thermos on the beach; his interest is palpable and his response is instantaneous, nodding vigorously in response to Giorno's question before deciding that's not enough and following up with a quiet spoken affirmation on top of it.]

Ora...

Good boy.

[Giorno's visibly pleased, smiling bright and leaning his head back to watch Star from upside down; Gold Experience, who's stayed still and wrapped his arms around his knees, is openly curious, and the two emotions bounce back and forth between them as they both watch Star watching Jolie. Giorno pushes the braids back behind Star's ear and pats him on the cheek again.]

Ora. Do you like that she's having fun, stellino?

[Star looks again, or rather continues looking with his full attention after momentarily dividing it when Giorno had touched his face; Jolie has resigned herself by now to the present state of Being Damp All Over, and in scrabbling around the tub she's learning the magic of wet smooth tile under little feet. Sliding gives her something to do, not precisely swimming but at the very least scooting around while the water flows with her, and Star takes all of this in and —]

...Ah —

[And the first reaction to break the stillness actually comes from Jotaro, a little more audible than a sigh but close to it in character; Star's delight is starting to blaze and he can feel it, and where normally he might swallow back the little twinges of it on instinct, right now they're exploring and experimenting, so he frees them instead.]

He's happy. Not just one thing...the kind of happy that comes from a lot of things, all at once.

Really?

[It's like an echo chamber of joy in here - he could sort of feel it, Star's joy, in the moment before now, and it doesn't feel like the lightening in the air when a person's happy but it's similar, the way wonder morphs into delight, but Jotaro's is viciously familiar, and those two together fill him to the brim with happiness. He leans his head on Star's shoulder and then presses his face against it, hiding a grin, and then nudges just a little with his elbow.]

You should pet her, Star. If you want to. But you have to be gentle, remember.

[Behind him, unseen, Gold Experience lifts his head just a little.]

Yeah. It's her, and you, and me. This. All of it, this makes him happy.

[And for a moment he honestly stops to wonder, is this all Star? It's easy to attribute it all to him but it's not as though these aren't all things that inspire emotion in himself, too, and Star takes his cues from him — so, is it all his Stand? Or is Star in some ways like a magnifying glass, using him as a reference and a benchmark, and simply echoing back his own feelings exponentially?

It wasn't so long ago that he'd been the one with his back to a wall, slumped down with Star's arms wrapped protectively around him, searching himself for the memory of what happiness felt like and only coming up with dull hollow nothing.

Here he is now, feeling it so much that he can't tell who it's coming from.]

...I'm happy, too.

[And Star, finding Giorno's suggestion to his liking, reaches carefully into the tub with his massive hand, one finger heading for her damp and slicked-back fur, and when he does touch her it's very gentle, very light, and follows the line of her back all the way down to her long ropy tail. Jolie doesn't seem to recognize the different between Stand and flesh, but Jotaro's fingers twitch slightly at the distant sensation of smooth and wet and soft, and Star casts a wide-eyed look at Giorno in an attempt to telegraph his awe.]

[I'm happy too, Jotaro says, this boy who somewhere along the way became one of his most important people, the touchstone of his second famiglia, his most trusted friend. Jotaro who a few months ago wouldn't have said anything about himself like this, much less that he was happy - so simple, just that - and a few months ago would never have looked so soft, been so willing to let go.]

[It makes him buzz with pride. Look at him go, look how hard he's working, Jotaro Kujo who never stops trying, who won't get in the way of his own happiness anymore.]

[When Star looks at him again, it's absolutely, positively too much to contain. His eyes go bright, half with excitement and half with tears, and he can't keep himself from wrapping his arms around Star's neck and kissing him on the cheek.]

Ti voglio bene, stellino.

[Half-hiding his face against Star's, he grins (while Gold Experience slowly relaxes, settling into a boneless lounge against the wall.]

I'm happy, too. Ti voglio bene, Jotaro.

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