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“To be honest, I was a little bit scared.”
He’d been terrified. It wasn’t really anything to be ashamed about, looking into the eyes of the man who had caused the deaths of three of your ancestors generally did that. Especially when one of those deaths had been only a few seconds prior. Joseph had gotten better, of course, lucky bastard that he was. Always leaping out of the plane crash at just the right time. Jotaro wondered if it ever got him down.
Polnareff laughed, which brought Jotaro back to their conversation. Something about fighting. It was a bit fuzzy. For all his size, Jotaro was a bit of a lightweight these days. And this was good wine. The Frenchman scooted closer.
“Did you really say the thing about not being able to kick the shit out of him if you didn’t get closer?”
Jotaro suppressed a grin. He was a bit proud of that one, all things considered.
“I mean. I had to get in range.”
Polnareff rolled his eyes at the matter-of-fact response. Effortless machismo and all. At this point, Jotaro decided to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while. Just had to work up the will. He took a deep breath. Surprisingly, the swordsman noticed the switch of his breathing to ripple, and instinctively summoned Chariot. Jotaro grinned, slightly. Good old Jean Pierre. Dumb as a bag of bricks at times, but still one of the damn fastest Stand Users he’d ever met. Jotaro exhaled. Probably best to diffuse this before Frenchy accidentally stabbed a waiter.
“Polnareff, nothing’s wrong. I’m just a bit nervous.”
That was hard to admit. It felt good to say, though. Ripples formed in his wine glass. He looked around, past Polnareff, past the cafe where they were both pretending they had the appetite for the unsurprisingly expensive finger foods. Or at least Jotaro was pretending. He watched with amusement as Polnareff reluctantly set down an eclair, seeming to finally grasp the direction the conversation was heading. He had Polnareff’s undivided attention for once. But before that, another pressing question.
“Why did you stop shaving your eyebrows?”
Jotaro didn’t flinch as Star stopped an eclair from hitting him in the face, nor did he particularly pay attention to the French cursing that followed as Jean realized how little all that buildup had led to. It was good seeing his friend again. All they were missing was a toilet mishap and Joseph hitting on someone he shouldn’t be. The old man had found a spot of brown in his beard the other day and was feeling himself all too much lately. Jotaro also realized that he was laughing. He was laughing more lately. Usually when Jolyne pulled some trick, usually at Joseph’s expense. She was actually staying with him right now, and seeing a toddler give a seasoned ripple warrior hell never stopped being amusing. Without thinking, he said something he could never have imagined himself saying before.
“Polnareff, you really have to meet my daughter one of these days.”
Was he old? He didn’t look old, but no one in Joseph’s circle really did these days. Call it a benefit of having to deal with the annoying sod. For the ones who were alive, at least. Sometimes it felt wrong to laugh, with the losses he’d seen, with what he’d been through. But as much as it sometimes hurt to admit, Egypt had been over a decade ago. Part of him wondered if he had truly died there, and whoever he was now was someone else. Taking over because someone had to. But maybe the truth of it was that it didn’t matter. Jean was staring at him.
“Kujo, you have a daughter?”
Reflexively, Jotaro prepared himself for another wave of cursing, but it seemed that for the moment Polnareff was excited enough that his rage would be quelled by him and Chariot intently watching as Star Platinum sketched out a drawing of Jolyne on the table. Jolyne was growing so fast these days that a photo never seemed to do her justice.
“I can’t wait for her to meet her uncle, I can’t believe you actually fuc-”
A glare was enough to stop that train of speech.
“Anyway. She’s adorable, she has your eyes! And your scowl, my friend. Do you braid her hair like that every day? Or do you have Star do it?”
The next few minutes passed like this, with the sketches of Jolyne staying remarkably accurate considering how much wine the two were downing. Until Polnareff turned to Jotaro again.
“What were you really going to ask me, though?”
Jotaro shrugged.
“It doesn’t really matter, anymore, I think.”
The old friends locked eyes for a second as Jotaro lit a cigarette.
“Answer the eyebrows question.”
Star’s fist deflected Chariot’s sword into the table, leaving a nasty gash in the finely wrought metal of the cafe table. In unison, the two decided Joseph would pay for it, and sat back down.
“Ask the other question first.”
Jotaro sighed, pushing smoke lazily out his nose. He briefly considered doing his cigarette trick to change the conversation, but Jean was like a damn dog when it came to something that caught his focus. The smoke formed smooth, uniform waves.
“Do you think we have violent Stands because we were always meant to be violent people? My nephew- well, uncle, but not actually, he’s Joseph’s bastard, it’s a long story.”
Utter confusion from the Frenchman.
“Anyway, this kid’s got a Stand that can fix things. And I suppose it makes sense, he’s a sweet kid. Helped me fight this creep that had a Stand that blew shit up. Serial killer, got rid of the evidence. Again, makes sense. On the other hand, Josuke’s got these friends, one who can erase stuff from existence, and one who has what I can only describe as language and pun-based abilities. It’s a weird little stand. An ACT-type, too. Good guy, though. Reliable.”
Polnareff groaned.
“I miss the older guys we fought. Remember Anubis? It was just an evil sword.”
“Easy for you to say, I remember you stabbing me, idiot.”
A chuckle.
“Anyway. I don’t know. I know you probably don’t have an answer, but you’re the only one I really thought to talk to.”
John watched Polnareff chew thoughtfully, and then point a slightly drunk finger at him.
“You’re a violent guy, Jotaro. There’s more to you, but you like punching shit, and I think that’s fine. I think without Star, the old man, your mom, and I would be dead. You punched shit before you got Star, and you’ve been punching shit ever since. You haven’t hurt anyone I care about, and you’ve got my back in a fight. That’s what I have to say.”
Jotaro froze, before tossing back his head, laughing earnestly. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but this felt right. Maybe it really didn’t matter. He had all the time in the world to figure it out.
“Speaking of having my back, I found a lead on that guy we’ve been investigating, I was planning on going alone, but maybe it’d be good to go together, for old time’s sake? Honestly, he seems pretty tough, and since we’re just two manly men out here being vulnerable, I figured I’d ask for you to come along.”
“Sure, on one condition.”
Polnareff groaned, and put his head in his hands.
“I was tired of shampoo getting in my eyes.”