Chapter Text
Jotaro’s five cigarettes rested inside his mouth, smoke trailing out from his nostrils. Josuke laughed and clapped at the impressive act, then the man grabbed his water bottle and unscrewed the top. he poured the water down his gullet, somehow managing to avoid putting out the cigarettes.
Josuke whistled.
“that’s cool as fuck, dude!” he exclaimed.
Jotaro burnt out the tips and discarded the ashy butts on the ground.
“it takes a lot of practice to pull off, so don’t even think about trying to do it on your own.” he said.
“oh, psh, i don’t even smoke anyway.” the teen replied.
the sun beat down on their sweaty skin high up in the blue sky. Josuke was used to a usual humid forecast, but over in south America he’s noticed it was much more intense.
his clothes were practically glued to his body, and he wasn’t even wearing much. only a green tank top and a pair of blue jeans accessorized with a funky belt.
Josuke melted into the wooden bench beneath him and groaned.
“it’s too damn hot.” he complained.
Jotaro however, didn’t seem to be affected at all by the intense humidity. he wore his usual black turtleneck and white coat. he didn’t even take off his hat.
how he was even alive right now baffled him.
a cold object plopped itself on the teen’s legs and he jumped. it was just a plastic water bottle.
“here, drink. it’s important to stay hydrated in heat.” he stated.
a growing thirst was indeed taking hold of josuke, so he unscrewed the cap and took a swig of the cold, refreshing liquid.
swallowing and wiping his lips, he suddenly frowned.
“hey, ew, you just drank from this same bottle!” he said.
Jotaro shrugged.
“it’s not a big deal. would you rather go thirsty?” he retorted smartly.
it’s hard to argue with reason, so Josuke shut his mouth and simply drank as he needed.
he wondered if he could get crazy diamond to punch the air and restore its earlier coolness.
maybe not.
a stray droplet trickled down his chin as he guzzled more water.
it was so, so hot.
“ugh, remind me to never visit here again in may.” Josuke muttered.
although it was rhetorical, Jotaro added his two cents.
“actually, because we’re so close to the equator, the weather stays relatively the same year-round.”
Josuke looked at him, all calm and collected reading a tiny book about jellyfish. where the hell did it even come from?
“how much longer until the foundation arrives?” josuke asked. a sliver of hope that time was speeding by sat in his mind behind the aching boredom.
“about three hours.” Jotaro replied nonchalantly, eyes not starting from the book.
Josuke groaned and melted further into the bench, calves gracing the ground.
“isn’t there anything we can do other than just sitting here?”
the man ignored his complaints. he was fine sitting right here on the bench opposite his uncle, re-reading one of his favourite nonfiction books. but of course Josuke was restless and so young and probably not interested at all in sea life.
which is why the next sentence that spilled from the teen’s mouth had him surprised.
“what?” Jotaro said.
Josuke sat down beside his nephew and pointed at the book with a long finger.
“that book, what’s it about?” he asked.
the man gave him a blank stare.
“it says on the front, jellyfish.”
Josuke tsked.
“no, no, i mean like, what about jellyfish? does it have pictures?” he questioned, peering over to see.
Jotaro showed it to him.
“this book talks about the different species of jellyfish in japan and their migration habits.” he explained.
Josuke skimmed the page and snickered.
Jotaro frowned.
“what’s so funny?”
Josuke tapped a small image of a very blobby jellyfish swimming along.
“it’s so squishy!” he said.
Jotaro held back the ghost of a chuckle.
“well, yes, they do indeed look very squishy, but that doesn’t mean you should touch them.” he stated.
“well, duh! they sting n’ shit. hurts like hell.” he said.
Jotaro had lost count how many times he’d been lightly stung by jellyfish while in the research field. the worst one he received took almost two weeks to heal completely, and hurt quite a lot.
“have you been stung before?” the stoic man asked.
Josuke nodded and gestured to his ankle.
“i was like, three years old and went swimming at the beach. i got stung and freaked out, but looking back on it it’s kinda funny how i thought i was gonna die.” he laughed.
Jotaro’s lips turned up in the corners, something that did not go unnoticed by his uncle.
Josuke beamed.
“hey, you smiled! you hardly ever do that!”
the man tugged his hat down over his eyes. emotional crutches like that were partially the reason he never took it off.
“i did not.” he denied.
Josuke wore a smug grin and poked his nephew’s cheek.
“i saw it, there’s no hiding your emotions, jotaro~”
the man called out star platinum and Josuke instantly scrambled off his side.
Jotaro chuckled. he acts strong and mighty all the time, but sometimes the Joestar fleeing technique really shine through.
“you really are so much like the old man.” Jotaro muttered.