Hairbrush

Chapter One: Josuke is in a Big River in Egypt

"Josuke, can you get that?" Josuke's mom, Tomoko, called to him.

"Mom, I'm busy!" He was thiiiis close to finishing the level he was on in his game, and if he just had a little bit more time he could—

"No, Josuke, I'm making dinner! Get the phone please!"

Josuke hit pause with a sigh, knowing he would fail the level and have to do it all over again when he got off the phone. He walked into the entryway of his house and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, Higashikata household, Josuke speaking."

"Josuke! It's me!" The voice was gravelly and low, and Josuke recognized it instantly. His face broke into a smile, even over the phone.

"Oh, hi, Okuyasu!"

"Are we still on for tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, totally! You're still open too, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, bro!" Okuyasu's voice was joking, but behind that, Josuke could hear that he meant it.

"Cool! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!" Josuke hung up the phone.

"Okuyasu?" His mom asked.

"Yep."

He'd needed a lot of reassurance since Kira. Josuke knew he'd been having nightmares about his brother, and that they'd been bothering him a lot. It was clear to everyone around him that the guy had some intense abandonment issues.

Josuke didn't mind. If his best friend needed him, he was happy to help.

"Still on for tomorrow, then?" His mom snapped him out of his reverie.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, we are."

"Same as always, I assume? A lot of video games and movies and such, or you got any special plans?" Tomoko looked up from the steaming pan on the stove as Josuke walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Just the usual." Josuke picked up a stray pen on the table and began to play with it, snapping the clip and clicking the end.

"You know, you should really get out of the house more, with Okuyasu or with Koichi or one of your other friends." She scooped some of the stir-fry out of the pan and put it into a bowl, then made another one for herself and took them over to the table. She set Josuke's bowl in front of him and sat across the table. "You're always doing stuff here or at his house together."

"Mom, no need to get involved in my social life. You know my friends are busy." Josuke said, stuffing his face with stir-fry. It was one of his favorites.

"What about Mikitaka? They're an alien, what are they up to?"

"I dunno, Yukako convinced them to join some sort of club with her and Koichi and they're doing that, like, all the time."

"You could even just head over to Jotaro's apartment and visit him and Jolyne. I'm sure they'd love that."

Josuke snickered. "I can remind him he's my nephew, even though he's older than me. That always makes him hate me."

"Go do that! Finish your stir-fry and then go on over there. I'll do the dishes tonight."
"Okay, I'll tell them you said hi!"

"You do that, hon." Tomoko kissed the top of his hair, clearing off the table.

----

Josuke was running a comb through his hair (standard practice before leaving the house, he had to look his best) when he thought of Okuyasu. His house was right there, right on the way to his nephew's apartment. He could see if he wanted to go along!

He found himself on Okuyasu's doorstep a little while later, shuffling his feet around and waiting for the door to open. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Okuyasu appeared in the doorway, eyes slightly puffy.

"Oh, hey, Josuke! What's up?"

"What's up with you?" Josuke leaned in to look at him. "You don't look great."

"Oh, nothing, just a little cold or something I've been picking up. Sniffling, red eyes, you know." Okuyasu coughed, a forced, strangled sound.

"Are you sure? That's not necessarily what it looks like..." Josuke trailed off.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm all good, bro. What are you doing here? We're not doing anything until tomorrow!"

"Mom was bothering me to get out of the house, so I was going to go see Josuke and Jolyne. You want to come along?"

Okuyasu's whole frame relaxed. "I'd love to! Let me make sure dad's all good and we can go!" He disappeared back into the house.

Josuke kicked at a splinter of wood detaching itself from the porch, significantly speeding up its process. Okuyasu looked like he'd been crying, and Josuke wasn't exactly sure what to do about it. It broke his heart to see him like that. He wished he could hold him tight and make it all magically better, but he knew trauma like Oku's didn't just go away.

Still, he wished he could do something.

Okuyasu reappeared. "Okay, let's go, dude!"

They joked the whole way to Jotaro's, but they were less rambunctious than they usually were when they were together. The mood was just a little bit different. A little off.

Jolyne ran up to them the second they let themselves into the apartment. "Uncle Josuke! Uncle Okuyasu!"

"That's second uncle to you, missy!" Josuke ruffled her hair and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm fine with just regular uncle." Okuyasu grinned. Jolyne wriggled free from Josuke and went to give Okuyasu a big hug.

Jotaro looked up from his seat at the table, a dizzying array of ocean facts spread out before him. "When did you get here?"

"Only a minute ago, mom wanted to get me out of the house, and this was the most bearable option." Josuke replied, standing upright.

Jotaro nodded. "Fair enough. Although be warned, Jolyne has just discovered a television program called Zoboomafoo, and as a consequence, she is not familiar with the concept of silence when her father is working."

"That's okay, we can keep her occupied! Right, Okuyasu?"

"Absolutely! I mean, I've never interacted with children before, but they're pretty much just tiny teenagers, right?"

"What do you mean?" Josuke's eyes went wide.

"Dude, when would I have had the chance to have talked to children?"

"I mean, I dunno, but like, come on!"

"Jeez, sorry!" Okuyasu raised his hands in surrender, but he was grinning.

"Come on, Josuke! Zoboomafoo's about to start!" Jolyne grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the TV. Josuke managed to take Okuyasu's hand, pulling him along as well.
He'd never held Okuyasu's hand before. It was a little bit rough, the calluses on his palms tickled Josuke's a bit, but his fingers were strong and latched onto Josuke's.

Josuke's heart really needed to stop pounding. It must have just been the speed of Jolyne's maneuver.

Nothing more.