Sing For Me, Darling

Chapter 8 - Refrain

While Kakyoin became a little more careless with his feelings, it seemed the townsfolk became more careful in monitoring his every move. Everywhere he turned, there was someone asking about his recent activities, or his previous whereabouts, or some combination of the two. Even so, he still managed to worm his way down to the pier every night, and despite Jotaro not being there sometimes, there was still evidence of his presence left behind in the form of various knicknacks and trinkets: multicoloured shards of sea glass, more shells of various types, a pocket watch permanently rusted open that seemed to be decades old, and even a locket that still swung open in spite of its age and submergence in seawater. The locket was his favorite; it had the deceiving look of a broach down to the huge emerald set in its front, but it pleasantly surprised Kakyoin when it burst open for the first time, albeit, the only reason he found out was because he had accidentally dropped it. Even still, he appreciated every single thing that Jotaro left for him, as they had a meaning that words couldn't express. On the rare occasions that Jotaro was at their meeting place, however, they both held each other at arm's length, testing the waters of their odd relationship, which was quite the shift in atmosphere from how they had previously interacted. The conversation always ran around in circles, unable to truly go anywhere until either party chose to divulge something that had been weighing on their heart (which, of course, didn't happen as often as it should have). Kakyoin decided that he was fed up with these fruitless conversations, and departed to the pier one night, his gift tucked under his arm. He thanked his lucky stars, as Jotaro was there waiting for him.

"I have something special for you." he said, hiding the canvas behind his back with a broad smile. "Close your eyes, and don't you dare peek!"

The siren raised a curious eyebrow, but said nothing as he obediently shut his eyes. Kakyoin sat cross legged on the pier's rocky edge, his fingers buzzing as he removed the sheet that was draped on the painting. He rested it comfortably in his lap, and beamed with pride.

"You can open them, now."

Jotaro let out an audible gasp, covered his mouth with a hand, and his eyes widened to an impressive size, drinking in every little bit of detail, of which there was much to behold. The painting mimicked the portrait of himself, except the siren in this one was fully turned away towards the horizon. Her honey coloured hair was dripping wet, accentuating the star-shaped birthmark embellished on her left shoulder, and her vividly orange tail was frozen mid-flick, allowing for the painted moonlight to glint off of it eternally. It was, to say the least, one of Kakyoin's best works.

"T-that's... You..." Jotaro stammered, almost unable to form a coherent sentence. "My mother..."

"Indeed." Kakyoin said humbly. "To tell you the truth... I had had this painted for quite a spell, but I  didn't have the courage to give it to you until now. However, I tried my hardest, so I hope you like it."

"Like it? I adore this, Kakyoin. I... I wish I could take it with me to show her. She'd love this. She... She'd love you."

Kakyoin rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly. Jotaro's raving was embarrassing him, as it was a greater volume of praise than he expected. 

"Now, you don't have to say all that... I'm sure your mother is a wonderful person, but there's no reason for her to waste her time with someone like me—"

"It wouldn't be a waste of her time. Not now, not ever. Don't say that."

The siren then grabbed his hand and clasped it between both of his own. His eyes were filled with a defiant twinkle that was popping and exploding like fireworks.  It was endearing. Too endearing. Kakyoin willed himself to stay strong, but there was something about the childlike wonder contained within those ocean blue pupils of his that drew a person in and wouldn't let them go willingly. He let himself smile a little wider, let his hand loosen a bit, let himself relax almost completely.

"If you say so." he said dreamily. "I'm glad you like it so much."

"Clearly I'm not the only one who likes their gift, though." Jotaro said knowingly. "You've been fiddling with that broach pinned to your shirt this entire time."

"Oh, this old thing? Y-yes, it's quite nice, but it's not just a broach, you know."

Kakyoin clicked the small lever on the side of the locket, causing it to pop open with a lot more force than expected.

"It opens up, eh? How cute. Are you gonna put a picture in there, or what?"

"I am, definitely. But I'll have to get most of the rust off of it first, as the person I'm planning to put in it deserves much better than that."

Jotaro rolled his eyes but a smirk still crept it's way onto his face.

"Quite the charmer, aren't you?"

"I try, I try."

"I like that about you. You try so hard to impress the people you care about, but you don't pay anyone else a single drop of mind. It's like... you know what you're worth, I guess?"

"You think so? I've never really thought of it that way. To tell you the truth, I don't really consider myself to be–"

"I think I know what you're going to say, and I'm not gonna let you shortchange yourself like that. You're a wonderful person, who's made me realize that I can be wonderful too. Everything you think is a shortcoming just makes you all the better."

Kakyoin was flustered. The fact that Jotaro was being so nice to him after all that he had done wrong was shocking, and that shock was throwing him for a loop. He couldn't quite put a finger on why, but he appreciated it all the same. And then, Jotaro dropped another bombshell of information that completely rocked his world.

"Truthfully, I had forgiven you a long time ago. I didn't want to tell you at first, seeing as that would be pretty awkward, but I think... I think I can trust you more, at this present moment."