Chapter Text
There’s a new guy in Josuke’s neighbourhood.
The first time he sees him, Josuke is lounging on his front porch as usual, leaning against the wooden railing, coffee mug in his hand. He blinks lazily as he watches the sun make its slow ascent in the sky, its light casting warm oranges and muted yellows on everything in its path. Josuke doesn’t particularly like waking up early, but he never regrets getting to see the beautiful sunrise, to feel as it warms the Earth once again. He could do without the incessant chirping of the birds, though.
He’s taking another sip of his coffee when he hears the rhythmic sounds of pounding footsteps and steady exhales. They’re accompanied by the slightest jingle of a chain and Josuke perks up. His friend Koichi sometimes takes jogs with his corgi, Echo, so Josuke is excited at the prospect of seeing his best friend. And Koichi, too.
The steps get closer and Josuke leans further over the railing, ready to call out a greeting. Except the person who rounds the corner is not Koichi.
As a matter of fact, he’s a lot better than Koichi.
The man who passes by is jogging at a steady pace, and Josuke only has a few moments to admire the cut of his long legs and the broadness of his shoulders before he’s out of sight again.
And apparently, a moment was all Josuke needed.
As cheesy as it sounds, it almost felt like Josuke had seen him in slow motion. There’s no other way to explain how clearly he was able to see details of the jogger that crossed his path in such a short span of time. He can perfectly recall the shade of the man’s brown skin, is sure of the way it glistened with sweat. His thick arms had pumped as he ran, muscles bulging, accentuating the decoration of tattoos on his skin, causing them to dance and shift with the movement. Josuke had seen a flash of a scar on his face, was able to make out the focused intensity of his dark brown eyes. Running by his side was a large rottweiler that sported a spiked collar around its neck.
The man is gone in a flash but his image remains burned in Josuke’s mind, leaving him frozen in place. He blinks in disbelief at what had just occurred. Who was that? Josuke is familiar with pretty much everyone in the neighbourhood, and he definitely doesn’t remember ever seeing someone as hot as that walking around. Maybe he’s moved into a house or apartment on a nearby street. Either way, Josuke’s heart beats in excitement, and he desperately hopes that he will get the chance to see the mystery man once again.
Josuke’s morning routine is almost the same as usual. He makes himself comfortable on the porch, sips on his coffee, and enjoys the contrasting feeling of the fading cold and the emerging sunshine on his skin. The only thing that has changed is the fact that now, he’s actively waiting for someone. Every morning, he sits or stands on his porch as he usually does, waiting in anticipation for his big, buff, tattooed neighbour to pass by. He does so almost every other morning without fail, seemingly oblivious to Josuke’s gaze.
Josuke feels like a bit of a creep waiting for him to show up and watching him so intently when he does. But he can’t help it—he’s completely enraptured by the man in a way he hasn’t ever been with anyone else before.
Josuke wants nothing more than to talk to him.
The other man is just so intriguing, so different from all of the other boring people in his neighbourhood. Everyone else is so cookie-cutter and predictable, not interesting at all. Good people, but not truly exciting or out of the box. (Except for maybe Rohan, but that guy is also a complete asshole, so he doesn’t really count.) Josuke’s always had a bit of a penchant for adventure, making his dull neighbourhood almost stifling on the worst days. Being able to finally encounter someone else who seems to not care about conforming to societal norms makes Josuke’s heart race. He just looks so cool.
God, Josuke wants to talk to him so badly. He wants to learn about the guy that he’s only been able to catch glimpses of as he goes on his morning jogs. Josuke can’t help but stare from his place on the porch as he runs past, his skin glistening with sweat, breathing heavily as he exerts himself, ignorant to the outside world with his headphones in his ears. Josuke wonders if he’s taken notice of him watching. He kind of hopes he has.
The whole situation is more than a bit frustrating because no matter how much Josuke longs to talk to him, to get to know him, he just… can’t. He’s usually a pretty confident guy, not finding any trouble in sparking up conversations with strangers, not easily daunted by others and a bit of a risk-taker. He’s even asked a few people out before! When he wants to talk to someone, he just does it.
But with this guy it’s… different. He doesn’t really understand why.
Maybe it’s because this is the first time in a long time he’s actually feeling intimidated by someone. And it’s not even like the man is doing it on purpose! He just naturally exudes a strong aura that is as intriguing as it is frightening. The thought of approaching his new neighbour makes him more nervous than he’s ever felt before. Every time he prepares himself to call out to him he’s left breathless at the sight of him, unable to get the words out. So each morning he’s left kicking himself as he once again fails to talk to his mystery neighbour.
This is just great.