A/n: y'all, I swear to Jesus-jojo Christ with all of this, you're making me crazy. 10k reads?! Just, let that sink in.
Enough sinking.
All of you who come back time and again to read my stuff, you're the greatest. Getting a notification from watt pad makes me so happy, especially when I see it's a comment.
And don't think I haven't noticed all of you making comments on Junko's name. I get it, she has a nominal relation to a certain disparaging individual, but as Chiakinnie noticed, Junko is actually the name of the girl Hazamada had a crush on in the show/manga!
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's been a long time coming. Thanks again for making every morning worth getting up to see and every crappy story worth writing!
^-^
***
Teeth tend to chatter when the head that they're stuck in was enough of a fool to go swimming in barely tolerable water temperatures, and as you dragged your soaking frame out of the waves, grains of sand grinding into your skin and every orifice, each clang of enamel rang out like a buck shot in your skull.
But you were able to find the humor in it, laughing as you sloshed out of the thick of the foam, Josuke having fallen to his knees on the damp sand of the shoreline.
"Shit, should've brought a towel." He groaned.
"Last time I checked, you had some pretty special powers that let you do pretty much anything." You wrung your hair out, tiny streams of water dribbling out from in between your fingers. You tossed the ratty mess out of sight, offering your hand to help the boy up. "And I very clearly remember you specializing in dryer-esque functions at least once."
"Yeah, for you." The boy latched onto your hand, letting you "pull him up" (like you were doing any of the actual work, smh.) "it doesn't work on ME."
"What do you mean?"
Josuke did his best to wring out his dress shirt, twisting it in his hands so that the water dripped out in a tiny stream. He sighed. "Just that. [Crazy Diamond]'s abilities don't work on me."
"That... explains some things." You muttered. Every moment you'd seen Josuke injured, it always stuck around. Whether it was the cuts on his face from some secretive mission or a torn eyelid, it never went away immediately, always covered with bandages or some type of gauze.
Your gut twisted. "Wait, so your telling me that if you got hurt, you'd have no way of fixing yourself?"
Josuke shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but it's not like I'm trying to. I can hold my own just fine as is." A warm tingle set your arm hairs on edge, the feeling of a million feathers flicking against your skin. You watched as the soaked fabric of your dress bloomed back to its previous state, the skirt flouncing out. A warm lock of hair tickled your cheek.
Josuke squinted, shutting one eye and taking a step back, holding his hands up in a square like he was trying to frame a picture, with you as the center. He dropped his hands. "Besides, I think it's a lot cooler to help others, you know?"
He slipped his fingers through his wet hair, his typical pomp having long since been ruined. Onyx strands hung loose, giving him a sort of shaggy and unkempt appearance. He cussed, trying to swipe the tangles back in vain. "I just wished it'd work on stuff like this." He muttered. The hair just popped away again, already starting to stick in it's downward direction.
You were quiet, watching him fumble with it, eventually just hanging his head in defeat. "You know." You eventually started, "it's really sweet that [Crazy Diamond] can only fix up others. It's... selfless, I guess. I do wish you could heal yourself though, now I'm going to worry more." You reached up and pushed the wet hair out of his face. You gave him a reassuring smile. "You look fine, I don't know why you do your hair up like that in the first place."
Josuke stared. "What?"
Hahaha, I'm in danger.
You recalled one of the first times you every spoke with Miko and Kazue, how they made mention that Josuke took his hair style pretty seriously.
Ok, recovery mode.
Don't show fear, don't show fear. You swallowed over a lump in your throat. "I just meant that I don't know why you do it. To be completely honest, I don't know much about you in the first place." You flashed a smile that might've been a pinch too stiff, a little too wide, but it seemed to work just fine.
Josuke sort of just... looked away. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just a bit of a long story." He flushed a little. "Actually, it's kind of stupid... and more than a little embarrassing."
"I'll trade you. A secret for a secret, you know?"
Josuke was back to fidgeting with his hair. As it began to dry and clump, the strands took on a wavy texture, and despite how he fought to keep it back, sweeping it back or behind an ear, it kept falling back into place on his forehead, strands mingling with lashes as he tried to fight it away from his eyes.
"Or um, you know." you felt along your arms, looking for the familiar bump of an elastic around your wrist. You looped it over your fingers holding it up for Josuke to see. "I could um, do your hair."
The words sounded a lot dumber out loud. You shrunk your shoulders up around your ears, offering an embarrassed shrug while Josuke looked on wordlessly. "Or you know, ignore that. Moving right along, let's talk about something else..."
"I didn't say no." He had a smile in his voice, and the corners of his eyes crinkled along with it. "It might be nice." He finished the thought speaking to the sand, anxiously clawing at the back of his neck.
You fought a grin and the rosey blush careening it's way onto you face. Josuke caught your eye and challenged you with an impish grin of his own. He rolled his sleeves back up to his elbows and plopped down in the sand. He tilted his head up to look at you. "That is uh, if you still want to."
"Sure, but uh, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I was just joking." You kneeled down in the sand behind him, hovering your fingers over his scalp. "This is free of charge, I guess."
You hesitated on closing the distance, it felt like a strangely intimate line you were about to cross. Sitting so close, his cologne was intoxicating, mingling with the salt of the sea and creating a myriad of pleasant feelings and scents. Your heart raced as you slowly touched your fingers down.
Josuke jolted when you made contact, spooking you backwards.
"Sorry! You, um, startled me." He chuckled nervously. He had leaned forward on his knees, hands hanging on the edge of his legs, his fingertips drummed out a frantic rhythm on his shins. You straightened up, readjusting in the sand so that you were once again behind him comfortably, however leaning out to try and get a look at his face.
He looked tense, like every single muscle in his body was on edge, drumming out that same frantic beat with his fingers, eyes locked on the sand. "Hey, relax. I'm not going to hurt you." You gingerly reached out your fingers, once again hesitating. "You don't have to do this you know, if you aren't comfortable I can stop-"
"It's just... no one has ever really 'done' my hair before. It's just a little strange to feel someone else that close to my head." He blushed. "It's stupid, sorry."
You crawled out from behind, settling in the sand next to him, a stray rock ground against your knee, and you tossed it away without a second thought. "It's not stupid, I don't have to if you don't want to, it was just an idea." You smiled at him, calling his eyes to your own. "We can do something else..." you trailed off as Josuke's eyes lingered on your hands.
"No, it's fine." He smiled lightly, those black clumps of hair falling into his eyes. His eyes crinkled cutely, and he bowed his head to you, presenting it like an offering.
You snorted and pat him on the head, scooting back around him so that you were behind him once more. You gently touched your fingers to his head, and weren't surprised by the flinch that jolted through him. You paused, but he didn't make a motion to stop you.
You sat on your knees and began slowly, running your fingers through his tangled hair, grains of sand tangible between your fingers with every go-through. Josuke was shifting around in the sand, gripping tightly onto his forearm, fingernails practically digging into his skin.
You paused. Well, clearly nobody is having fun right now. How the hell do you make this situation better??
You subconsciously tapped your fingers against his head, eliciting a snort from Josuke. You looked down at him, and found he had tilted back a little, catching you off guard. He smiled up at you.
Softly, you ran your hands through his hair again, gently raking out the tangles with your fingertips. Your pinky brushed against the shell of his ear, and Josuke twitched. You stopped. "You ok?"
He stumbled over his words a little. "Yeah, fine. I'm good! It's good." His face was as red as a cherry, and he fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt.
Hm.
You ran your finger over the crest of his ear again, delicate as a feather, and Josuke nearly knocked you over from a violent jolt. "H-hey! What are you doing?!"
You stared at the boy, a smile pulling your lips upward. "Are you... ticklish, Josuke?"
He furrowed his brows, incredulous. "What? No, why would you- you just caught me off guard!" He stumbled over his words.
You blinked slowly.
Snaking your arm past his defenses, you touched his ear again. Josuke let out a little sound as he grabbed at your hand, yanking it away. You laughed.
"Aww, that's adorable! You have ticklish ears!" You cooed. Josuke tossed your hand back to you, taking up his arms to form a protective barrier around his temples.
"No, I just don't like when people touch them!"
You raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?" You made a gesture as if to insinuate you were going to touch his head again, and in an attempt to dodge it Josuke flopped flat on his back, kicking up some of the sand with a thud.
You couldn't help but laugh at his clearly annoyed expression. "Greeeaaaat, now I'm sandy AND wet." He shook his head, like a dog trying to be rid of water on its coat. His indigo eyes crinkle with a smile, betraying his true feelings.
You shrugged. "You're the one who chose to bring us here."
Josuke just lay in the sand in defeat. "Yeah, some date huh?" He crossed his arms behind his head, looking up at the colorful evening sky, eyes dancing around as they skimmed over cotton candy colored clouds.
You watched him quietly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. You gingerly reached out to him, and Josuke flinched. "Relax, I'm not going to mess with your ears." You gently swept the damp and sandy hair off his forehead. Josuke watched you, and almost akin to the slow blink of a loving cat, he closed his eyes.
"You know, it actually feels kind of good..." he muttered.
You took his words into consideration. Slowly, not unlike approaching a wild animal, you shifted in the sand, kneeling just behind his head. "Um, I can reach you easier like this..." you blushed as his twinkling eyes gazed up at your own. He smiled at your evident embarrassment, and shuffled around, resting his head in your lap.
***
The sky faded into twilight with the two of you encased in a fragile silence, the washing of the waves upon the shore and a distant gull being the only symphonic tones in the area.
For what felt like a blissful eternity, you breathed in the ocean air and felt his warmth on your skin. If only time could stop, you'd stay there forever.
You looked down at Josuke who had closed his eyes again, his chest rising and falling evenly as you combed through his locks. With a slight breeze along the shore, it fluttered like soft blades of grass.
"Hey, Josuke."
"Yeah?" He didn't open his eyes, but his voice was as even as if he were up and alert.
"Your hair, it sort of just... takes on the shape that you usually style it." You lingered at the plume of feathered raven hair that had fluffed up. It looked natural, but the way it seemed to softly whirl upwards wasn't two dissimilar to the way it usually looked.
"Well yeah, it's kind of part of who I am." His lips twitched into an airy smile, his lashes fluttering open to look out over the shuddering sea.
You hesitated. You had to admit, you were more than a little curious as to why he felt so strongly about something like a hairstyle. But, he did seem really uncomfortable when you brought it up.
You swallowed, curiosity swirling around your gut. Jo-"
"The reason I wear it like this, it's because a man saved my life." He glanced up.
Ok, so he can read minds now, ain't that a hoot and a half?
He started up again. "When I was young, I got really sick, and my mom and I got stuck in the snow on the way to the hospital. This guy, he got us out using his own coat in the middle of a frickin' blizzard, just to dislodge us. I guess, he kind of became a hero to me. So, I guess I started doing my hair like him." He snorted, squeezing his eyes tightly again, a furious blush overtaking him. "See? Told you it was stupid."
"I don't think it's stupid at all." You blurted. It was now your turn to go cherry red.
You composed your thoughts. "It's like... he became a part of you, and you became a hero too. Selfless, just like him. Your stand is proof enough of that." You brushed your fingers across his forehead, making him peek an eye open. "You care more about others than yourself, only being able to help them. It's not stupid, not to me at least."
Josuke pulled away from your lap, propping himself into a sitting position eyes just running over you in silence.
"I... um... sorry, THAT was stupid..." you chuckled nervously.
Josuke abruptly closed the gap between you with a soft kiss on the forehead, making your eyes go wide in shock. He pulled away, his gaze lingered on your face. He smiled, those indigo eyes of his once again twinkling. "Not at all." He grinned. "Thank you, it's kind of dumb but that means a lot, especially from you."
"I'm just being honest, you know? That's the way I think of it. If you had an hour to try and get people out of a burning building, you'd spend the whole time making sure even the goldfish are alright." You grinned and nudged his arm. Josuke turned his eyes upward with a smile, but it fell flat quickly, his eyes going wide. "Hey, what's wrong?" You felt your heart pitter.
"Time," he groaned, "It really got away from me. Come on, I ought to get you home, I don't want Mrs. Inoue to kill me after all." Josuke stood with a stretch and a groan, offering his arm down to you to help you stand up.
"Already? It felt like we just got here... time flies I guess..." you accepted his invitation to help you up.
Once again, he did all the work.
***
"This is it." You shuffled awkwardly on the front step of the Inoue house, bag slung over your shoulder, hands tightly folded behind your back.
"I uh, guess so." Josuke shoved his hands in his pockets.
You both sat in silence.
"Thank you-"
"Thanks for-"
You had started talking at the same time, making you smile and him chuckle nervously. "I'll go first, ok?" You said. "Thank you for taking me out, it was a lot of fun."
Josuke gave one of his award winning smiles. "Thank you for saying yes, even though it wasn't super exciting." He half joked at the last part.
"It was perfect, I swear." You stood on the steps, suddenly the living room light flashed on, illuminating the window and the dark front yard with a fluorescent, yellow-twinged glow.
You jumped a little, swinging your head between him and the front door. "I, um, I'll see you later then." You gave a curt wave, and turned to open the door, but paused as your hand hovered over the knob. You glanced back at Josuke, who had started to retreat with a "see you Monday."
Without thinking you pulled on his collar, tugging him back to you. You planted a quick peck on his forehead. "There, now we're even."