From Where the Silence Echoes

-1- A Prelude for the Elegant

"I won't be here for a few days."

Those were the most recent words Kakyoin had spoken to Jotaro.

"Hmph. So you're going to leave me here all by myself, eh?" he had teased back, the slightest twinge of a smile trained on his lips.

"No, I'm going to turn you in to the bank as collateral for a loan," Kakyoin shot right back, his grin much more apparent. "Of course I am, silly. We don't have much of a choice for otherwise."

"Woe is me..." Jotaro pressed a hand to his forehead, making his fin ears droop to feign distress. "I'll be all alone, with no one to protect me from the horrible villagers... Whatever shall I do?"

Kakyoin chuckled at his dramatic act, twiddling with his noodly bang. He was clearly preoccupied about something. Jotaro cupped his boyfriend's face in his hands, almost forcing him to stare him in the eye.

"Noriaki." Jotaro said, the smile from earlier twisting itself into a slight scowl. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"N-nothing." Kakyoin turned away as best he could. "I don't understand where you'd get such a such an idea from."

Jotaro sighed and released the painter's face, instead electing to draw him into a tight hug. He instinctively nuzzled into his neck, hoping that the tensing of Kakyoin's body that he felt was only temporary. The siren was used to Kakyoin's quiet worrying by now, but something about this time was different. The painter had bags under his eyes and his skin had become pallid to the point of greyness. It was almost as if he had quite literally worried himself sick.

"Tell me." he mumbled softly.

"Tch... I'm just worried, Jojo..." The painter sighed and returned the siren's hug. "I don't want to leave you alone for this long..."

"I've been alone for much longer than this before. You're being silly."

"I know, I know, but... If you get hurt, and I can't do anything to help you, I-"

Jotaro shushed his lover by gently placing his index finger over his lips. 

"You sound like a wayward housewife. Relax, Noriaki. I'll be fine."

"If you say so..." Kakyoin paused. "What are you going to do while I'm gone?"

"Probably go back home. I'm sure my mom misses me. Probably thinks I'm dead or somethin' by now."

Kakyoin clucked his tongue at the siren, a little more than slightly disappointed.

"Don't talk like that, Jojo. I'm sure Ms. Holly is worried about you, but not to that extent."

"Pfft. You haven't met my mother, then. She worries about me to death most of the time, and if I'm gone for more than a day at a time she assumes the worst."

Jotaro didn't mean for his tone to be so scathing. He understood more than anybody why his mother worried,  yet that didn't stop him from being annoyed at her constant nagging. She still treated him as if he were a child; not to mention how his grandfather seemed to influence her in more ways than one. The siren's mind began to wander, teasing him with pleasant dreams of true independence. Kakyoin snapped him back to reality within seconds, however.

"Jojo. I have to go now. It's getting late. Or, well, early, in our case." the painter gently planted a kiss on Jotaro's forehead with a breathy smile. "I'll miss you lots, you know."

"Mmm. You're such a sap." the siren returned his affections with a purr in his voice. "But I'll miss you too."

"Tell Ms. Holly I said hello, okay?"

"I will." Jotaro sighed. "Though explaining all this to her'll be actual hell on earth."

"You think so? She seems like she'd understand completely, though."

"Hmph. She's still dense as all hell though. The woman acts like a rock, some days."

The siren awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, and the painter soon followed suit, artificially filling the air with a faintly jovial feeling. The atmosphere lacked any actual meaning, however, and soon enough their laughter died down as if it had never begun in the first place. Jotaro didn't want him to leave. He felt selfish for feeling that way, but on the same token, he felt as if his selfishness was entirely justified. Their relationship was akin to a ship; seemingly stable and steady, but ready to capsize at a moment's notice. As much as he liked to delude himself, the siren knew all too well that all the happiness in the world wouldn't stop the looming threat of the collapse of everything they held dear, and it was this that made him instinctively protective. 

'Good grief...' he thought to himself with an internal shake of his head. 'The woman is rubbing off on me.'

The bittersweet goodbyes that the pair had imparted upon each other did nothing to soothe the disquiet brewing in Jotaro's heart. As he watched the painter depart from their meeting place, something within him was screaming that this would be the last time he'd see him. Soon enough, this voice became louder than his own rational thought.

"Noriaki!" he called in a voice that was louder than he meant it to be, regretting his outburst within a matter of seconds. "Come back. Just for a second."

The painter made an exasperated show of turning on his heel, but Jotaro knew that his dramatics were all in jest. Kakyoin flopped down on the edge of the pier, a slight pout accentuating his lips.

"This better be important, or I'll never forgive you."

"Tch... it is." the siren searched for the perfect words, not wanting to sound dumber than he already felt. "Just... Be careful, alright?"

"Now I have to get on your case for worrying." Kakyoin said dismissively. "I'll be fine, Jotaro. It's yourself that you should be worried about."

"But what if something happens to you? What if they–"

The painter took his turn to shush his boyfriend, albeit through alternative means. As they parted from their embrace, Jotaro's fin ears drooped to the point of being pressed flat to his head.

"Do you trust me, Jotaro?"

"Yes, but..."

"Do you trust me, Jotaro?"

The siren sighed and gave the painter a sad smile.

"Yes."

"So then, don't worry, okay?"

"I... I won't."

"Good."

The painter turned tail once more and  waved a quiet goodbye to Jotaro, a smile still settled on his lips. Although he felt as if there was a storm brewing on the horizon of both his life and the sea, the siren was confident that he'd have an anchor in the form of his boyfriend.