𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦-𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦

𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺

"it's nothing heavy or serious. if it makes it easier to understand, think about it as half of normal dating. we can talk, but there's no need to care. we can kiss or hold hands or whatever else you're into, but no need to weigh it down with emotions. if it's convenient, use me to chase away your fangirls. i don't mind. as far as anyone knows, we're dating, so do whatever you want with that status. of course, i'll be using it as well... but all in all, it should benefit the both of us. what do you say?"

he probably should have thought about it more, but jotaro found himself nodding almost immediately. "sure. and how long are we doing this for?"

"let's start with one month, and cross that bridge when we get to it." the redhead has proposed, and he has agreed, which is why jotaro is currently sitting at the dinner table with his phone on, oblivious to his mother's concerned frown.

"jotaro?" holly asks gingerly, worry only subsiding a little when she sees her son look up from the screen, a ghost of a smile on his lips. she doesn't forbid it, but jotaro never uses his phone at the table. "who are you texting, dear?"

"nobody." he answers briefly, putting his phone face-down on the table and picking his chopsticks up. holly can't help but feel curious.

"is it grandpa joseph? or dad?"

jotaro wrinkles his nose at the word. "why would i be texting dad? i told you, it's nobody. just finish your dinner, mom."

"mom." not "bitch," "woman," or any other terms he usually used. just "mom."

holly figures, whoever that is, if they can make her son smile, they can't be all that bad.

"okay~!"

♥︎

"what's that?"

jotaro looks at where kakyoin's (he's learned that's the redhead's name) finger is pointing in his bento box. "it's an octopus."

"a sausage cut to resemble an octopus? that's cute." kakyoin compliments matter-of-factly, while peeling the plastic off of his store-bought sandwich. "your mom made this for you?"

"yeah."

"are you guys close?" jotaro half expected to be made fun of — the redhead seems to love embarrassing him, after all — but that question sounds genuine. which is why it's all the more difficult now for him to eat his bento:

"dunno. as close as a mother and a son can be, i suppose."

"you don't think mothers and sons can be close?" kakyoin asks, chewing semi-thoughtfully on his egg sandwich. they're sitting on a bench together, and his knee is hovering precariously close to jotaro's. "are you closer with your dad?"

"no." jotaro contemplates adding in a laugh, but that would make it too dark, so he just shrugs. "i'm not super close with either of my parents."

"i see." kakyoin says, before glancing at jotaro's lunch again. "hey. would it be rude if i ask you for one of those sausages?"

holly always stuffs his bento boxes to the brim, somehow in fear of her 1m95, 82kg son going hungry, so of course jotaro shakes his head. "take it. i don't mind."

he tries to hand the chopsticks to kakyoin, but the other boy pushes them back with a disapproving smirk. "c'mon, jotaro. we're dating, aren't we? would it kill you to show me a little affection?"

"this is fake." he begins — but immediately freezes when one of kakyoin's legs crosses over his own, and the redhead shifts closer, warm torso pressing up against jotaro's arm.

"well, yeah. no one said it was real. but just between the two of us, i'm kinda desperate enough to believe anything. you?"

as blunt and depressing as it is, jotaro finds himself agreeing, so he ends up feeding kakyoin the little sausage octopus. it is fake, but it does feel nice to do something for somebody like this, and have them appreciate it so much. "mmm. it's delicious. send your mom my thanks."

"... actually though?"

"up to you." the redhead sits back, but his leg still hangs casually in between jotaro's. when he smiles at him, it feels more like a challenge than anything. "but on second thought, it'd be pretty sad for her to know that her son's first relationship is actually an arranged fake-date. so, no. if you want, just eat the food and thank her yourself."