[ her text isn't answered. instead a few seconds after she sends it'll be easy to hear the sounds of someone from inside shuffling about. it takes him a while to get to the door, body heavy and exhausted, but he opens the door and nods at her tiredly to invite her in.
he doesn't wait for her and turns around once its open, heading toward the living room so he can sit down. for all his exhaustion he's still kept the apartment clean and tidy. mostly he doesn't want to worry josuke, who he agreed to live with knowing he would need to keep an eye on him and doing it this way was the easiest way. ]
[ dude, what the fuuuck? she just watches after him before following after and making sure to shut the door--is it locked? totally locking that. okay, stay calm, this totally isn't really like the last time. he's legit just drained, because he's emotionally stunted...
taking a seat on the couch next to him she lets out a sigh looking to him ]
Really? You couldn't even just reach out to me before it got this bad...? Or did you still have some issue where you couldn't trust it was me?
[ lectures, it's how they show their affection. probably. but at this she leans against him, taking his hand into her own and holding it ]
I hope you're still not having any reservations, because this won't work if you don't want it.
[ he doesn't pull his hand away if that counts. it's warm and firm and somehow already giving him a little boost he can feel. he eyes their hands and hers is smaller of course, but it's bigger than he last remembers. it doesn't feel strange though. it's right.
but as they also hold hands he notices something else-- ]
You have a tattoo.
[ even when he's muttering it's a firm statement. ]
[ hooligans, that's what these two are. but there's just that look at him for a moment ]
... Don't tell me you haven't even considered the possibility... Though I guess this response confirms something of a vibe I've been getting off these interactions.
[ a soft sigh, carefully intertwining her fingers with him to at least make this a more worthwhile charge for him ]
I mean, if I come from the year 2012 haven't you thought that maybe people might be here from different points in time? I mean, even I've met some stand users from the year 2001...
[ dad, please get out more. touch some grass. eat a banana, sit out in the sunlight ]
I've managed to talk to a man named Avdol, then there was Rohan... who didn't explicitly say you were friends but said you worked together after he caught a glimpse of some of my memories and there was also a french guy named Polnareff.
[ a pause. ]
The two that consider you friends are rather... generous.
[ obviously there's something going on with that when he's talking to his teenage daughter. hearing avdol and polnareff's names spoken aloud for the first time in years makes his nervous energy in him spike up. he nearly decides to pull his hand away from her, but he does need the chroma no matter how little it is. he has to consciously think to not squeeze because he's afraid he might give her a death grip by accident. ]
There's a lot about my life you don't know. I'm confident in that despite your age -- there are things I promised to never tell you.
So when I say I don't have friends I mean it.
[ avdol, kakyoin and polnareff died because they got involved in things he should have handled on his own. what kind of friend lets that happen? even if they are miraculously here and alive, that just gives him more reason to not get near them again. ]
[ that much earned a very serious look from his daughter, realizing what he was getting at before she focused on just looking down at their hands. even if she tried to pull it away, she wasn't intent on letting it go so easily, not with the way he looked when he opened the door and made her remember that day she had last seen him again ]
You could keep your secrets, if it's too personal I won't force it out of you.
But even if you don't want to consider them friends, you can't change the way they feel about you. And you can't avoid them forever.
[ she looked down at that tattoo again, finding something else to talk about ]
I had joined a biker gang after I was accused of committing a robbery that I had no part in and tried to get away on a stolen bike. You didn't believe me at the time and wouldn't help out so I got sent away.
By the time I had gotten framed for this new thing I had left the gang and cleaned up, I was dating some preppy guy and getting ready to apply to colleges when a hit and run happened. A lot shit went into play for the outcome apparently. But that's how I ended up in prison.
[ but despite how harsh that sounds, there's a faint hint of warmness in his voice when he grumbles. it doesn't show on his face of course but it reminds him a lot of his delinquent days. of course he never joined a biker gang so maybe she has slightly more street cred than he ever did. ]
You don't have to believe me when I say this, but I doubt that I didn't believe you. ...But maybe that makes it worse, doesn't it?
[ he can't believe he would distrust jolyne, no matter the circumstances. no, the truth is even if she's just a child in 2001 he knows what his plans are down the road. it was only a matter of time before living a normal life turned out to be something he could never do. ]
[ constant paranoia has been a state of mind since he left cairo. it only got worse after she was born and he did his best to keep her out of it, but he failed on that end too. it's the curse of being a joestar that he tried to keep from her. ]
You said you got your Stand from a stone. If you opened that locket it means you got into deep trouble. I prepared it just last year just in case with your mother, but I hoped you would never need it.
Mom couldn't even be the one that gave it to me, I had to get it from some sleazy dirtbag lawyer that was in on the whole thing. Not once did they let me see her before or after, and I hate that I couldn't tell her everything was going to be alright.
[ she didn't know whether she believed if everything would be alright or not. but she was determined to change things with her own will in any case ]
Yeah, I think I got more of an idea of how bad it really was when you actually showed up to bust me out... You told me a few things, but time was running short given the situation and all.
I'd like to think that while we're here we could... just be, you know?
[ 'just be'. he doesn't think he's had an opportunity like that since he came back from egypt. always one thing or another even when he was trying his best to live a normal life. something after morioh and kira made him realize that couldn't keep steady though, and maybe that's why he isn't too surprised that his daughter doesn't seem to like him very much. ]
I still have it on me, you told me I had to keep it close on me at all times and then lectured me about how I have to also be careful about how easily you were able to lift it from me when you were picking me up off the floor after tripping.
By the way, you have shitty timing, just so you know. If it were anyone else I would've been very careful, but I didn't think I had to be on guard with you at all times.
[ at least she doesn't sound mad, just exasperated. but ah, yes, thoughtful silent jotaro moments... is it sad that she could understand these? if only he knew that his daughter really did love him, it's just that she has ~feelings~ ]
Yeah? I was thinking of going for a piercing next, considering all the solitary treatment I was getting it seems like a thing to do to pass the time.
Better you have someone else do it. You don't want infections.
[ he thought about piercings and tattoos a lot, but never went through with them. he didn't like the idea of standing still while someone needled him. maybe that proves her resilience over his? it doesn't surprise him because at the end of the day she's a joestar and he thinks the stubbornness must be genetic. ]
You're still obsessed with butterflies. Guess you haven't changed that much.
Oh, that's not really a problem... I guess I haven't showed you what Stone Free can do...
[ pulling back some, she exposes and tugs at her belly button a little bit, getting it to unravel to something stringy ]
See? I could do it with no trouble or infection--easy, right?
[ the stubbornness is definitely genetic, but for now she'll put that thing away again ]
Hell yeah, have you seen what butterflies could do to a dead body? It's savage, what's there not to be impressed about?
Anyway, I still hung onto a lot of aquatic facts that you taught me too--came in handy since I was pretty woman'd by a fish person shortly after arriving here. We had some mission to go to some casino event on the third level, something about a drug ring... There was a huge fight. Lotta fun.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
he doesn't wait for her and turns around once its open, heading toward the living room so he can sit down. for all his exhaustion he's still kept the apartment clean and tidy. mostly he doesn't want to worry josuke, who he agreed to live with knowing he would need to keep an eye on him and doing it this way was the easiest way. ]
no subject
taking a seat on the couch next to him she lets out a sigh looking to him ]
Really? You couldn't even just reach out to me before it got this bad...? Or did you still have some issue where you couldn't trust it was me?
[ lectures, it's how they show their affection. probably. but at this she leans against him, taking his hand into her own and holding it ]
I hope you're still not having any reservations, because this won't work if you don't want it.
no subject
but as they also hold hands he notices something else-- ]
You have a tattoo.
[ even when he's muttering it's a firm statement. ]
no subject
Oh well, you know, kids these days...
[ that's right, avoid going into those details ]
So you have yourself quite a collection of friends here... have you just not reached out to anyone or... are you hoping they'll notice you somehow?
no subject
I doubt I have any friends here.
[ cause they're all dead. ]
no subject
... Don't tell me you haven't even considered the possibility... Though I guess this response confirms something of a vibe I've been getting off these interactions.
[ a soft sigh, carefully intertwining her fingers with him to at least make this a more worthwhile charge for him ]
I mean, if I come from the year 2012 haven't you thought that maybe people might be here from different points in time? I mean, even I've met some stand users from the year 2001...
[ dad, please get out more. touch some grass. eat a banana, sit out in the sunlight ]
I've managed to talk to a man named Avdol, then there was Rohan... who didn't explicitly say you were friends but said you worked together after he caught a glimpse of some of my memories and there was also a french guy named Polnareff.
[ a pause. ]
The two that consider you friends are rather... generous.
no subject
[ obviously there's something going on with that when he's talking to his teenage daughter. hearing avdol and polnareff's names spoken aloud for the first time in years makes his nervous energy in him spike up. he nearly decides to pull his hand away from her, but he does need the chroma no matter how little it is. he has to consciously think to not squeeze because he's afraid he might give her a death grip by accident. ]
There's a lot about my life you don't know. I'm confident in that despite your age -- there are things I promised to never tell you.
So when I say I don't have friends I mean it.
[ avdol, kakyoin and polnareff died because they got involved in things he should have handled on his own. what kind of friend lets that happen? even if they are miraculously here and alive, that just gives him more reason to not get near them again. ]
no subject
You could keep your secrets, if it's too personal I won't force it out of you.
But even if you don't want to consider them friends, you can't change the way they feel about you. And you can't avoid them forever.
[ she looked down at that tattoo again, finding something else to talk about ]
I had joined a biker gang after I was accused of committing a robbery that I had no part in and tried to get away on a stolen bike. You didn't believe me at the time and wouldn't help out so I got sent away.
By the time I had gotten framed for this new thing I had left the gang and cleaned up, I was dating some preppy guy and getting ready to apply to colleges when a hit and run happened. A lot shit went into play for the outcome apparently. But that's how I ended up in prison.
no subject
Good grief. You sound like a headache.
[ but despite how harsh that sounds, there's a faint hint of warmness in his voice when he grumbles. it doesn't show on his face of course but it reminds him a lot of his delinquent days. of course he never joined a biker gang so maybe she has slightly more street cred than he ever did. ]
You don't have to believe me when I say this, but I doubt that I didn't believe you. ...But maybe that makes it worse, doesn't it?
[ he can't believe he would distrust jolyne, no matter the circumstances. no, the truth is even if she's just a child in 2001 he knows what his plans are down the road. it was only a matter of time before living a normal life turned out to be something he could never do. ]
no subject
[ that slight nudge against him, before thinking on this for a moment. she knows he cares in his own way, even if he can't show it openly ]
... You probably should've kept up with that tactic. I would've been okay accepting that cover story if it meant you were safe.
[ ... who is the parent here? ]
no subject
[ constant paranoia has been a state of mind since he left cairo. it only got worse after she was born and he did his best to keep her out of it, but he failed on that end too. it's the curse of being a joestar that he tried to keep from her. ]
You said you got your Stand from a stone. If you opened that locket it means you got into deep trouble. I prepared it just last year just in case with your mother, but I hoped you would never need it.
no subject
[ she didn't know whether she believed if everything would be alright or not. but she was determined to change things with her own will in any case ]
Yeah, I think I got more of an idea of how bad it really was when you actually showed up to bust me out... You told me a few things, but time was running short given the situation and all.
I'd like to think that while we're here we could... just be, you know?
no subject
[ 'just be'. he doesn't think he's had an opportunity like that since he came back from egypt. always one thing or another even when he was trying his best to live a normal life. something after morioh and kira made him realize that couldn't keep steady though, and maybe that's why he isn't too surprised that his daughter doesn't seem to like him very much. ]
...It's a nice tattoo.
no subject
By the way, you have shitty timing, just so you know. If it were anyone else I would've been very careful, but I didn't think I had to be on guard with you at all times.
[ at least she doesn't sound mad, just exasperated. but ah, yes, thoughtful silent jotaro moments... is it sad that she could understand these? if only he knew that his daughter really did love him, it's just that she has ~feelings~ ]
Yeah? I was thinking of going for a piercing next, considering all the solitary treatment I was getting it seems like a thing to do to pass the time.
no subject
[ he thought about piercings and tattoos a lot, but never went through with them. he didn't like the idea of standing still while someone needled him. maybe that proves her resilience over his? it doesn't surprise him because at the end of the day she's a joestar and he thinks the stubbornness must be genetic. ]
You're still obsessed with butterflies. Guess you haven't changed that much.
no subject
[ pulling back some, she exposes and tugs at her belly button a little bit, getting it to unravel to something stringy ]
See? I could do it with no trouble or infection--easy, right?
[ the stubbornness is definitely genetic, but for now she'll put that thing away again ]
Hell yeah, have you seen what butterflies could do to a dead body? It's savage, what's there not to be impressed about?
Anyway, I still hung onto a lot of aquatic facts that you taught me too--came in handy since I was pretty woman'd by a fish person shortly after arriving here. We had some mission to go to some casino event on the third level, something about a drug ring... There was a huge fight. Lotta fun.