To call the last three months weird was an understatement. In fact, he’d probably never done anything this weird in his whole life. And this was a man who willingly spent his time with Joseph Joestar, of all people.
He truly didn’t think anything could compare to fake dating another man for prize money. He’d never do anything like this again (probably). But to call the experience totally unpleasant would also, in itself, be a lie. The biggest surprise in all of this was that it had actually been kind of fun.
Their time was coming to an end. In a matter of weeks, they’d know the outcome of the competition (following several more rounds and trials) and, with money in hand, go their separate ways. It was the perfect crime -- they’d done exceptionally well.
But he didn’t want it to be over.
The thought came to him with alarm one particularly normal morning. He drank his coffee at the kitchenette’s bar, shuffling through the paper like the old soul he’d always been, and Inigo, just to his left, made himself something to eat. He moved about the space with the ease and comfort of someone who’d finally gotten used to all of this... light on his feet, he hummed and seemed lost in his own rhythm. Green eyes would study him from afar, like watching a private moment that not even the other knew he was spying upon. He was truly something beautiful. Notevole.
And it hit him. As sudden as a car accident. It smacked him across the face with a blush and he looked away, back at the paper. Back at anything that wasn’t the person who had just grabbed at his heart like that.
It kept happening. Things like that. With something as simple as a smile or a silver tongue that could compete with his own (sometimes). A laugh, clear and kind. Most anything he did these days. And Caesar hated that. This wasn’t supposed to happen at all. The fake dating was fake. Completely fake. And yet... he really liked his company. It was better than a shallow date. It felt more stable, like him being there was meant to be a constant. Even Joseph liked him -- Caesar trusted that instinct more than anything else.
Maybe, just maybe... no. He couldn’t.
... Flirting was harmless enough, right?
He could allow himself that. Which is exactly what he would try to do this day, weeks following his revelation, while he came to visit him after work. He’d come from his own job, his skin glistening with the hard work of someone who constantly moved their body as a career. How... lewd, he thought to himself, shaking it away. If he let himself wander like that, it would only get worse. But it was hard to focus when he did cute things like bring he and Joseph a late dinner and tell them stories about what the kids did today and wait why was Joseph leaving them alone--
Dammit. Merda. He was all but trapped, now.
“... Are you sure you don’t mind... being here?” He asked passively, running a hand through his messy hair. “You can go home, va bene? Or I could close early. It’s slow today.” Because it was slow most days. But Inigo knew that -- it’s part of why they were in this mess together.
