𝐛𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐲 // 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

───── ❝ 𝟑𝟗 ❞ ─────

-

That night was a rough one. You were so exhausted but couldn't sleep, and were constantly getting sick all night. You tried your hardest to be quiet about it, but Jotaro was awake the whole time. You knew he was, but he didn't let onto it. You gulped down water from the bathroom sink and walked to your bed. Iggy was sprawled up on the pillows, you sat on the lower half.

You grabbed the cassette player and headphones, then just reached for the first cassette you could feel out in the dark room. It was Led Zeppelin IV. Avdol knew you better than anyone. The first track played through as you laid back, prepared to have to get up at any moment.

That moment came soon, quietly running to the bathroom with the cassette player under your arm.

You sat on the bathroom floor, "Rock and Roll" faintly playing through the headphones.

Overworking yourself has never made you this sick before. You loved having a stand, but it really was the worst sometimes. It seemed you and Muhammad were the only ones who had drawbacks.

Muhammad could get burnt to a crisp, and you could deflate like a balloon.

You guess it was only fair though. With great power comes great responsibility, or maybe consequence would be a better word.

You heard footsteps approach the bathroom. You silently cursed yourself as he took a seat next to you.

"Is this all part of that drawback thing?"

You nodded.

"Did you even use it earlier?"

"Yeah," you nod again. "Only a little bit, I was, uh... nervous, that I wouldn't be there quick enough, so I used its speed."

"No matter what happens to me, I don't want you putting yourself in harms way. I don't like seeing you like this."

"I don't like seeing you like that either, you could've died. I wasn't going to stand there and watch."

He stayed quiet.

"Jotaro, I don't doubt your ability. For someone who hasn't even had a stand for two months, you're someone anyone should be afraid of. But, no one would've made it out of that shit show alive, probably not even me. I'm here to get you back to Japan safe and sound, to make sure that you can see your mother again."

He stayed quiet.

"I don't know what I'd do if you..."

"It's nothing you need to worry about," he replies. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't want to see you like this because of me. I'll be just fine, you need to rest."

"You do too, go back to bed. I'll be fine here."

"I'm staying put."

You slumped your back against the wall. Everything hurt. You knew it wasn't from anything physical, it was all from your stand, but somehow everyone else could see it. It's one of those weird reality-mixing anomalies.

"I still don't get how you were able to fight a stand user barehanded..."

"There's more to being a skilled stand user than just being powerful. You have to know how to fight in a normal capacity or you're fucked, especially when you're not 6'5 like some people..."