𝔡𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤_𝔣𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯

Besides you and Jotaro, there weren't many other students in the quiet library today. Exam week had just ended, so most people were set on avoiding the place where they had, for the past few weeks, spend practically every moment of their free time hunched over books.

The two of you however, weren't here because you had to study — Jotaro was immersed in a book about sea turtles and you had brought a novel you have been wanting to read for some time but hadn't found the time to.

The cozy seats at the back, nestled between the window and the tall bookshelves that were usually always occupied, were finally empty and you had wasted no time claiming them for your reading session.

Settling into the plush seats next to each other, you and your boyfriend were completely immersed into your own books. After a while of silently reading next to each other, you heard Jotaro closing and setting his book on the table next to his seat before standing up with a sight. You looked up from your book at him with your eyebrow arched in question.

"I'm gonna get a drink from the vending machine. Do you want anything?"

"Hmm, sure. Can you get me a bottle of water?"

He didn't reply, merely grunted in acknowledgment before disappearing out of sight behind the bookshelves. Once he was gone, you picked your book back up to resume reading. This particular passage had you completely immersed. The main character was so close to figuring out an important detail and you were, quiet literally, at the edge of your seat. In fact, you were so focused on your book that you hadn't noticed the person coming up to you, trying to catch your attention.

"Hey, can I ask what you're reading?"

You jump a little at the sudden voice way too close to your ear. Quickly recovering from your shock, you turn your head towards the voice, only to be met with the grinning face of a man you recognize from your history course. He had taken the seat that was previously occupied by Jotaro and was now leaning over the armrest towards you.

You had never talked to him before, you only knew him from attending the same lectures. So him talking to you was surprising but you didn't think anything of it.

You blinked in surprise, your mind needing a second to process the question he was asking you. Once it did, you began summarizing the plot as far as you had gotten into the novel.

At first, he was listening intently but the longer you talked, the less he seemed to pay attention — his eyes were constantly drifting down, his gaze trailing across your body and every once in a while you would notice him staring at your lips.

He was being really creepy, you thought and it was making you increasingly uncomfortable. So you tried to finish as quickly as possible in the hope that he would hopefully leave you alone. What was taking Jotaro so long to come back? It had been way too long for a simple run to the vending machine.

"I really like it so far. You should read it."

That seems to be what the man had been waiting for. In an instant, he straightened back up, that sly smirk back on his face.

"Yeah, sure sounds interesting. But, to be honest, I'm more interested in you. How about I take you out on a date sometime?"

You sighted internally and had to bite your lip to stop yourself from groaning in annoyance. Of course he wouldn't just leave you alone. What a fool you were for even letting it go this far.

"I'm flattered but -"

"Buzz off, you're in my seat." Just as you were about to answer, you heard Jotaros voice coming from behind you. It held an annoyed edge to it that he was barely trying to conceal. Finally, what had taken him so long?

"Huh? Can't you see you're interrupting someth-" The other mans words quickly died on his tongue when he lifted his eyes towards the person standing behind your seat — his eyes widened when they were met with the tall, imposing stature of none other than Jotaro Kujo.

The other student quickly shot up from the seat, scrambling to gather up his things — not that he had put anything down other than his bag, he must have simply forgotten in his haste to get away.

Jotaro continued to glare him down as he hastily made his escape, apologizing profusely as he went. Only when the other man was out of his sight did he visibly relax a little. His previously tense shoulders dropped, and even the hard glare lessened ever so slightly in its intensity.

When he went over to reclaim his stolen seat, he pushed the bottle of water he was holding towards you as he passed, shocked from the unexpected action, you had to scramble to take it from his outstretched hand.

"Yare yare daze, I was gone for five minutes, and some asshole already stole my seat?"

Jotaro huffed as she sat back down, his arms crossed and jaw clenched tightly. He was avoiding looking at you, his eyes staring off towards a plant in the corner like it had personally offended him.

"I had it handled, you know, I was about to tell him I have a boyfriend."

"What makes you think I care about who you talk to?"

"If you don’t care, then why are you clenching your jaw like that?"

He didn't reply to that. Instead, he huffed and pulled his hat further down so the shadow created by the visor obscured the lower half of his face.

You just smiled at that. In his own way, Jotaro had basically just admitted to being jealous.

Despite the pulled down hat you could see the pink dusting his cheeks, the hard set of his jaw, the tense posture and the unmistakable frown were all tell-tale signs of the feelings he was trying so hard to conceal.

Since his high school days he had gotten better at showing his emotions, but every once in a while, he would fall back into his old ways. Just like now, he would put up his walls, refusing to let anyone see his true emotions.

But you had known him long enough to see past that cold wall. It was best not to comment on it too much when he gets like this. He would usually come around eventually if you gave him some space to sort through his thoughts and emotions.

"Thanks. For stepping in, I mean, I appreciate it."

At that he finally looked at you, still frowning, but you could see the small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

"…You’re welcome. Just don't let it happen again."

The entire family had to help clean the house today, even though they all complained to no end about it, especially Gyro, who you had to bribe with the promise of making it up to him later. He had grinned like a fool at that and joked that you should be careful with those kinds of promises. That grin was quickly wiped off of his face, though, when you handed him a long list of what he was supposed to be doing today. Starting with his most hated activity: doing the dishes.

You were standing on a stepping stool, stretching your entire body to try and reach the top of the shelf you were currently in the process of dusting off. The task at hand was momentarily forgotten, though. Instead, your focus had been turned to the mysterious box shoved to the back, just out of reach. In moments like these you curse your short height— why couldn't you be just a few centimeters taller so you could reach that box. Your fingers were so close, grazing the cardboard but not reaching quite far enough to get a proper grip.

“I should just call papá, you clearly can't reach that far.”

Your oldest son, Vasco, called from where he was sweeping the floor next to you. Despite not being able to see his face with your back turned, the amusement was evident in his voice and the way it quivered slightly as he was clearly trying to hold back a laugh.

“Don't you dare! You know damn well that I will never hear the end of it if I have to ask him for help with this!”

“Nyo ho ho, what am I hearing about needing my help, tesoro?”

Speaking of the devil. There he was, as if he could sense that the topic of conversation was about him all the way from the kitchen where he was supposed to be cleaning and drying the dishes. With an exasperated sight, you turned around to see Gyro sauntering through the door, that stupid golden grin already stretched across his face.

When you look at your husband, you can't help the way your breath hitches and the way your cheeks warm with a blush. His golden hair, which he wore open and without the hat on his head, fell neatly over his broad shoulders and back. Today he was wearing a white dress shirt with the first few buttons left open and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, exposing the tan skin of his chest and muscular forearms underneath — paired with some old pair of jeans and his signature belt.

“Nothing that should concern you, idiota. Besides, weren't you supposed to be doing the dishes? Last time I checked, they were in the kitchen and not here.” You quip back as you step down from the stepping stool to face him.

Your son couldn't help but chuckle at that, which earned him a sharp glare from Gyro.

“That’s EXACTLY what I came to talk to you about! I don't know where to put those fancy plates. You know which ones I'm talking about, the ones with those weird shapes.” He says, gesturing vague shapes into the air with his hands that were supposed to visualize the design on the plates.

“We've been married for TEN YEARS and you STILL don’t know how to properly tidy up the dishes!? Are you serious Gyro!?” Your eyebrows furrow in annoyance as you glare at him. Each word punctuated by your finger jamming into his chest. How hard could it be to remember where to put those damn plates? They've been in the same place for years now!

“Hey, in my defense they all sort of look the same! Besides, at least I'm not struggling to reach some box because I'm too short.” Grinning widely down at your glaring face he pulls you closer by the hand that was previously poking his chest accusingly.

“That's not- don't change the subject! It's not my fault that I'm short. You, however, SHOULD know where to put plates that have been in the same place for YEARS.” At your words he threw his head back, a hearty laugh cutting through the air that had you fighting to hold back a smile of your own. The sound melts away your annoyance little by little, your scowl now replaced with your own giggles as you hide your face into the crook of Gyro’s neck.

His large, calloused hands move to pull you against him by the waist, your hands splayed against his firm chest as he pulls you impossibly closer into his embrace. Like this you could smell his familiar scent, he smelled faintly of the citrus soap that he always used, a hint of sweat from training and taking care of the horses outside that morning, paired with something so distinctly Gyro. Inhaling deeply you sigh contently, savoring the feeling of being wrapped up in your husband's arms as he presses a soft kiss against your temple.

“Ewww, don't do that around me! Get a room or something.” His face contorts into a grimace as he says this, averting his eyes from the scene before him. It's not like your children weren't used to the frequent and open displays of affection between their parents, that didn't stop them however from acting bothered by it every time. This has never deterred Gyro before and it wasn't going to now — he had always been open and unashamed of his affection and wasn't afraid of showering the people he loved most with it.

The two of you couldn't help but laugh at that as you reluctantly separate from each other, only for Gyro to pull his son into a side-hug in your stead. Grinning widely and tightening his hold despite his son's squirming against his father's strong hold.

You watch the scene before you unfold with a hand over your mouth to stifle your giggles. For how worried Gyro had been when you were pregnant with your first child, once your son had grown older, Gyro had quickly shown that he could balance being fun and easygoing with being strict when he needed to be. Since your husband's family was quiet large, your own little family had quickly grown as well. Vasco, your first born son who's real name only you, Gyro and the boy himself know — Caio, Angelica, Ireneo and your youngest daughter Lucrezia. All your children are all relatively close in age, courtesy of Gyro having been barely able to keep his hands off of you.

Of course the first thing that Gyro insists on teaching them as soon as they're able to - is the spin. You had been initially against it, but seeing how much training together every day served as a great bonding activity convinced you eventually. Besides, since they would all learn the medical knowledge passed down from the Zeppeli family, learning the spin was practically essential.

By now Vasco had managed to free himself from his father's embrace and ran off somewhere — presumably to find one of his siblings, leaving you and Gyro alone. You were both still smiling when you look at each other, he looked slightly disheveled from the short scuffle, maybe a little too out of breath but you weren't going to comment on it. He looked far too happy for you to ruin his fun.

"So, what did I hear about you needing my help?" The shit-eating grin that accompanies the question makes you groan and look off to the side — anywhere other than towards his face. Of course Gyro would be the one to break the atmosphere of the moment, after you were willing to spare him no less. With the prospect of finally satisfying your own gnawing curiosity, you decided that your pride could take the damage from having to ask for help.

"I might need your help reaching that cardboard box on top of that shelve." You vaguely gesture towards the direction of the shelve as you say this, still avoiding to look at him so you didn't have to see that smug look that was without a doubt on his face by now.

Surprisingly, Gyro didn't say another word. Taking a peek from out of the corner of your eye, you saw him effortlessly lift the box into his arms and set it on top of the coffee table nearby. When he began lifting the lid you went over to join him, bending slightly at the waist to be able to see better.

When you got a look at what was inside, you couldn't help but let out a delighted gasp, there were a bunch of old photographs scattered along the inside of the box along with your old pocket camera. You took a few of them into your hands and began inspecting them — from the dates carefully written on the back, it looked like they were from the time of the Steel Ball Run race.

Back then you had brought your pocket camera and a few rolls of film along to the race. You had wanted to document as much of the journey as you could and the new invention of a camera so small it could fit into a bag just fine, was perfect for the job. Luckily you were able to get your hands on one and used it throughout your journey, taking pictures of the scenery, your companions and really anything that seemed important enough to commemorate on photo.

After the race you had taken all the rolls of film to be developed and after that you must have forgotten about them with everything else going on at the time. They must have been shoved into this very box and left to be looked at later on top of that shelve.

"I totally forgot these existed! Look, this one is from that time when your hat fell into the river." You say, holding up the photo for Gyro too see. The photo in question showed a very upset Gyro as he was kneeling beside a river, holding his sopping wet hat in his hands. Next to him was Johnny, hunched over in his saddle from how much he was laughing.

It happend while the three of you were crossing a river, Gyro was too busy telling one of his terrible jokes to notice a low hanging branch — before he could even get to the punch-line of the joke, the hat was already knocked off of his head and swimming down the river. Luckily the river's current wasn't too strong so he was able to get it back before it went too far down the stream. That day, Gyro had to ride around with a wet hat, while you and Johnny teased him relentlessly about the whole ordeal.

"You took a photo of that?! Bella, you wound me! Why would you take advantage of me in my moment of weakness?!" One of his hands was feigning a dramatic faint, while the other was clutched over his heart as if he had been physically wounded.

"How could I not, look at that pout on your face! When an opportunity like that presents itself, you just have to take it!" You say, smiling widely at his antics.

At that Gyro let himself fall back against the couch as if pretending to be shot, now with both hands against his heart and sighing dramatically.

"I can't believe this! How could my own wife betray me like this! Oh, the tragedy!"

"You know what, maybe I will even frame it."

A/N: thank you for reading!

so fun fact, I realized about halfway through writing this that I had no idea if cameras small enough to fit in a bag existed back then. so I went down a whole rabbit hole about cameras and turns out in 1895 the Kodak Pocket Camera that was small enough to fit in a coat pocket was invented.

meaning this is entirely historically inaccurate, but for the sake of this fic let's just pretend that it was already invented 5 years earlier :3

‘Planning to head out, Sebastian?’

Upon hearing your voice Sebastian looks up, cigarette in hand and a soft smile playing on his lips. You couldn't help but notice how good he looked as the soft lantern light illuminated his face.

‘(Name), hey. I was just about to head out, yeah.’

He took one last drag of his cigarette before extinguishing it on the ground with the tip of his shoe. You watch as he mounts his motorcycle and motions you to come closer with his hand.

‘Hop on … I wanna show you something.’

You nod and give him a shy smile as you take your place on the bike behind him. Your hands hesitantly snake around his torso while a blush forms on your face from the close proximity to him. To say that you were nervous was a big understatement.

Sebastian turns his head to look back at you.

‘Ready?’

‘Yeah.’ you reply and press yourself closer into him as he starts the engine. Your hair flows in the wind while you two ride out into the night, to wherever Sebastian decides to take you. You’ve never rode on a bike before but the longer the drive continues, the more the feeling starts to grow on you. It gives you a strange sense of freedom that makes you smile and lean your head on Sebastian's shoulder.

As you close your eyes and relish in the feeling of the cold night air on your skin and Sebastian's body pressed against yours, the bike starts to slow down before it finally comes to a stop. You open your eyes again, a little disappointed to have the moment end so soon although this disappointment doesn’t last long once you take in your surroundings. It seems like you’re on a cliff overlooking the distant skyline of Zuzu City.

‘We’re here.’

He says as he stops the machine and looks back at you over his shoulder.

You take this as your cue to get off the bike and walk over to the edge of the cliff. As you look out into the distance your eyes briefly flicker to the side to see Sebastian join you while lighting another cigarette. For a moment not a word is uttered between you which allows for a comfortable silence to settle over the two of you.

‘I come here when I want to get away from everything and just…think.’

Sebastian whispers, as if he’s afraid to break the silence that has settled over the two of you. He takes a slow drag from his cigarette and turns to look at you.

‘So, what do you think?’

‘It’s strange, as beautiful as it is, looking out on the city makes me feel a little sad.’

He nods as he seems to think over what you just said, a soft smile playing on his lips as he intently observes you.

‘That’s how I feel too. The city used to draw me in, I thought that I would be happier once I left my life in the Valley behind.’ He confesses, not daring to meet your curious gaze instead casting his eyes downwards. ‘But now…I’m finding myself happier here, with you.’ Your eyes widen, is he saying what you think he’s saying? Even the mere thought of him reciprocating your feelings leaves you blushing and unable to utter a word.

‘(Name)?’ He finally looks you in the eyes again. ‘I don’t usually bring girls to this place…In fact, you’re the only one.’

‘You know what I’m trying to say don’t you?’ Your heart skips a beat, your thoughts going blank and you only manage to nod in confirmation.

Sebastian smiles in relief as his eyes flicker from your lips back to your eyes and you slowly start to lean into each other. Your eyelids flutter shut when he brings his hand up to caress your cheek. It feels like an eternity before Sebastian finally captures your lips in a sweet kiss. You’re both inexperienced but neither one of you care, pouring every emotion for each other into the kiss.

‘ I love you.’ You mutter into the kiss.

Thanks for reading!

Ryosuke was entirely focused on the road, his calculating gaze trained on the road as he took every corner with precision and skill, guiding his car with steady hands. The slippery, snow covered road seemed to pose no challenge for him despite the loss of grip the tyres had on the asphalt. You couldn't help but smile to yourself at the thought as you tore your eyes away from the window to sneak a peak at your boyfriend.

This impromptu trip had been his idea, but knowing him he had been planning this for a while already. He hadn’t even said where you were going or what you were doing. And despite your initial disappointment of being left in the dark, you had to admit that you were excited to find out what he had planned.

And it seemed like you wouldn't have to wait much longer as Ryosuke pulled over at the side of the road. After turning off the engine, he gets out and walks over to the other side of the car to open the door for you, ever the gentleman. As he holds out his hand for you to take, he asks:

“Would you like to go for a walk?”

Your eyes immediately light up and you only manage to nod in response, your hand quickly wrapping around his as he helps you out of the car. His hand not letting go of yours even after you've already stepped outside. Your excitement is barely contained as you take in the gorgeous scenery before you, the trees heavy with snow, painted in a soft hue of orange from the setting sun peaking through the trees and the steadily falling snowflakes swirling around the two of you as you begin walking along the snow covered path together. Ryosuke can't help but chuckle at the look of awe on your face as you marvel at your surroundings and how cute you look with the snowflakes getting caught in your hair.

Startled by the sound you turn to look at him, confusion written all over your face.

“What is it?”, you ask.

“Nothing, you just look beautiful with all that snow in your hair.”

You blush, bashfully looking down at your moving feet, hoping your red cheeks could be blamed on the cold weather instead of your sudden shyness. No matter how many times he complimented you over the years, you could never get used to it. But he didn't tease you, merely smiled quietly to himself as you continued to trudge through the snow. Silence fell over the two of you once again, but neither of you minded. That was one of the things you liked about being with him, how there was no need to constantly fill the silence, no need to express everything out loud since you understood each other regardless.

After a while you reached a clearing with a cliff overlooking the mountain pass below. All the sharp hairpins along the winding road clearly visible from up here. By now the sun had already halfway disappeared behind the horizon as the two of you stood near the edge of the cliff. You let your head fall against Ryosuke's shoulder with a content sight and he in turn lets go of your hand to wrap it around your waist, pulling you closer against him.

Neither one of you moves, doesn't say a word as you let the last rays of the sun warm your icy skin. Content to simply enjoy the scenery before you with the person you love.

Thanks for reading!