Caesar Zeppeli/Joseph Joestar - Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Trauma (Gun Violence), Slow Burn, Road Trips, Driving, Laser Tag
“Two scoops of mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone, please! Oh, and same thing for him, but with salted caramel.”
Joseph passed over a ten-dollar bill and received two dollars in change in exchange for the two ice cream cones. Caesar got up from the outdoor table to meet him. He handed Caesar his ice cream, grinning, and leaned his head against Caesar’s.
They walked to the beach across from the ice cream shop. Caesar got an umbrella and several towels from his car before they set up a spot for themselves, close enough to the shore to see it but not close enough to get cold from the breeze.
Caesar and Joseph were both exhausted. It was very late when they returned to the cabin the night before. When they finished their ice cream, they tucked themselves under some towels and laid on top of some more, the umbrella blocking out the sun, and then fell asleep.
Caesar woke up hours later. He reapplied his sunscreen, idly watching over Joseph as he napped. That morning and at that moment, he seemed more peaceful than usual while he slept. Caesar smiled as he moved some of Joseph’s brown hair out of his face.
Joseph yawned and snuggled his head against Caesar’s leg. “Caesar? Wuzzat you?” Joseph said. His eyes were still closed. Caesar laughed softly and stroked his cheek, humming to confirm. Joseph grinned when he opened his eyes, stretching as big as he always did.
Caesar reapplied Joseph’s sunscreen, too. He was always on Joseph’s ass about putting on sunscreen, telling him all about the science of sun damage causing 99% of skin aging. Joseph believed him, but he was lazy, and only put sunscreen on when Caesar nagged him to.
Caesar watched as Joseph ran off to play in the water and smiled. It was nice to see him having fun. He hoped that Joseph would feel that way most of the time. It hurt him to think of Joseph constantly having flashbacks of the shooting at school. He thought of how Joseph didn’t want to go back to school. Could Caesar go back to that school either? He probably couldn’t. He figured it would be easy to transfer schools anyway since he wasn’t in university yet.
Joseph had told him he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for a living when he was older. Caesar reassured him that most people don’t know what they want to do with the rest of their life until they’re at least in their 30s, which shocked Joseph into his mouth hanging open. Caesar laughed quietly as he thought of that face.
Caesar wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for a living, either. All he knew was that he wanted a family of his own when he grew up. Having one with Joseph would be nice. He wondered how difficult and expensive it would be to have a baby with genes from each of them. Either way, adoption was a great option. Caesar sighed. Perhaps this wasn’t a discussion to have alone in his head. Joseph should be part of it too.
Joseph came back to their spot soaking wet. Caesar toweled him off. They both smiled and laughed as Caesar ruffled up Joseph’s hair with the towel. “I think I’m ready to go back,” Joseph said. “I’m worn out.”
“Me too,” Caesar said. “I could go for another nap.”
Joseph snorted. “You sure are tired. We just had a nap!”
Caesar grinned. “I know,” he said.
Instead of taking a nap, Caesar set up a movie on the TV and snuggled up in a blanket on the couch. Joseph joined him, setting down a bowl of chips and some dip on the coffee table. Caesar rested his head on Joseph’s lap, shutting his eyes.
“Hey you,” Joseph said, rubbing Caesar’s shoulder. “You gonna watch the movie?”
“Mmph,” Caesar mumbled. “Maybe.”
Caesar went between sleeping and watching the movie every five minutes or so. Eventually, Joseph turned the movie off to let Caesar sleep. He slept for a few hours. When he woke up, they had takeout for dinner and played Battleship. Joseph won. Caesar was too tired to care.
They went to bed early that night.
The next day was the last day they would go home. When Caesar woke up, Joseph was playing his 3DS right next to him. He smiled and watched Joseph play Super Mario 64 DS. Joseph smiled at him, too, and leaned his head against his.
They stayed there in silence for a while until they both decided to get up. Caesar made some pancakes while Joseph got ready in their room. They ate, cleaned up the cabin, finished packing, and loaded all their things into Caesar’s car.
“I’m going to transfer schools,” Caesar said as they began their journey back home.
Joseph stared at him for a bit and then smiled. “Really? Where?”
Caesar thought about that for a moment. “I’m not sure. It doesn’t really matter, though. I just want to get out of there.”
Joseph nodded, and then was lost in thought for a moment. “Why don’t you come to a school closer to where I live?”
Caesar hummed inquisitively. That was a great idea. “You’re right. Why don’t I?” Caesar smiled as he watched the cars on the road. “You know, my lease is coming to an end soon, so maybe I’ll move closer to you.”
Joseph gasped joyfully. “Really?! That’d be amazing!”
Caesar laughed. “I think so too.”
Joseph amazingly stayed up the whole car ride, and they found themselves talking the whole way, too. At the halfway point, they got smoothies and Joseph got some snacks out of the back of Caesar’s car.
Time seemed to go by quickly. It was 3 pm when they got to Joseph’s house, but it felt as if they had only left moments ago. Erina greeted them as they brought Joseph’s things back to his house. Caesar bowed his head toward her and thanked her for letting him borrow Joseph. “Borrow him anytime,” she said. “By the way, would you like to stay for dinner, Caesar?”
Erina made Joseph put his things away while she chatted with Caesar in the kitchen.
“Erina…” he said, slowly, his heart racing. “Uh, would I have your blessing if Jojo was my…” He trailed off, having a hard time saying it out loud.
“Your boyfriend?” Erina said it for him. Caesar looked down at his feet, feeling his heart racing through his body, and nodded. Erina wrapped her arm around him and rubbed his bicep. “Of course you do,” she said.
Caesar breathed deeply in relief. Then he heard Joseph’s voice.
“Good!” Joseph said. Caesar turned his head. Joseph’s face was beet red. Erina raised an eyebrow. “I already told Caesar I love him, Granny. I kissed him!”
Caesar covered his face with his hands, embarrassed. Erina had already given him his blessing, but he hadn’t known Joseph was listening to him the entire time.
“And? Caesar? Do you feel the same way?” Erina asked. She sounded intrigued more than anything else.
“Yes,” Caesar said, simply put.
Erina rubbed his bicep again. “Good,” she said. “This goes without saying, Caesar, but please take care of my boy.”
“I will. Always,” Caesar said. He raised his head and smiled at Joseph.
Caesar ate with the Joestars that night, kissed Joseph at the doorway, and went home.
It was weird going back to normal. There was no Joseph to be around. He found himself so bored that he went to sleep right away.
In the morning, he realized that his silent phone had received three missed calls from Joseph overnight. Caesar’s heart raced. He immediately called Joseph back.
“… H’lo?” Joseph said.
“Hey,” Caesar said. “Are you okay? You called me three times last night.”
“‘M fine,” Joseph said. “Just wanted to talk to you.”
Caesar smiled. “You can talk to me soon. In a few days, I’m going to go apartment hunting. Would you like to come with me?”
Joseph gasped on the other line. “Yeah!” he said.
Caesar took Joseph to visit an apartment complex that Erina had suggested. She had told him that she knew the owner and that if he chose to rent from them it would be discounted. She also said not to worry if he didn’t like it.
“You know, I might not look anywhere else,” Caesar said, almost immediately upon stepping inside the apartment. “I love it.”
Caesar’s favorite part was the kitchen. It was so spacious for an apartment. Caesar thought about making Erina’s famous pie while Joseph sat on a barstool and watched. He thought about teaching a toddler to mix flour and sugar in a bowl, with Joseph’s arm around him. He smiled and took Joseph by the hand to the bedroom. It was smaller than the kitchen, but Caesar preferred it that way, he thought. It would be cozier, especially if Joseph was over. He could grow plants on his window sill. The bathroom was nice, nothing to write home about, but nice. The living room was about the same size as the one at his current apartment, but newly built, so it was nicer. The best part of all was that the apartment was only ten minutes away from Joseph’s house.
“I’m taking it,” Caesar said.
“Moving is a pain in the ass!” Joseph shouted as he pushed Caesar’s teal couch into the elevator. Caesar frowned at him, and Joseph grinned. “But this pain in the ass has a big reward at the end.”
“That’s more like it,” Caesar said. He smiled and pat Joseph on the head as the elevator doors closed behind them.
They only had Caesar’s furniture and a small number of other things to move. Caesar knew Joseph loved to complain, and dreaded but was excited for the day they would move in together. When they finally set the last cardboard box on the floor, Joseph collapsed in the snail position on the couch, shoving his face into the cushion.
“You’re so dramatic,” Caesar said. “I’m going to set up my bed.”
Caesar dropped himself into his bed when he finished putting on the sheets and shut his eyes. Just as he started to drift to sleep for a nap, he felt Joseph climbing under the blankets with him.
Caesar showered a few hours later, Joseph still asleep in his bed. Halfway through the shower, his fingers in his hair as he washed it, he realized he forgot to bring clothes into the bathroom and panicked. If Joseph woke up, he would see him in just a towel. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but Caesar was not prepared for that. He would have to be sneaky to avoid it. As he got out of the shower, he wrapped his towel around his waist and peeked through the door into his room. He took a deep breath in relief as he saw Joseph sleeping in his bed. He snuck into his bedroom and grabbed some clothes from a box in his wardrobe. When he turned around, Joseph’s aquamarine eyes were right on him, his cheeks flushed red. Caesar froze. What could he do? His boyfriend, who he’d loved for years, was looking at him in only a towel for the first time.
“Holy shit,” Joseph said. “You’re even hotter than I thought you could be.”
Caesar’s face and neck went hot. “Ah… Thank you, Jojo,” Caesar said. He had so many thoughts, but that was all he could get himself to say. They stared at each other awkwardly for a while, and then Caesar went into the bathroom to change.
Joseph frowned when Caesar came back into the room. “Aw, no… you got dressed.”
Caesar raised an eyebrow and smirked, his cheeks hot. “You expected me to stay naked all day, Jojo?”
Joseph couldn’t help but laugh. “I mean, that’d be nice,” he said.
Caesar Zeppeli/Joseph Joestar - Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Trauma, Slow Burn, Road Trips, Driving, Laser Tag
Just as he promised, Caesar had requested three days off to go on a vacation with Joseph. They split the bill on an Airbnb home over by the beach, and Caesar was headed over to Joseph’s house to pick him up for the occasion. They had still talked over the phone each night, and with each coming night, Joseph became more and more excited about it.
Joseph wouldn’t normally dare wake up early for anything, regardless of the event, but today he was waking up at seven forty-five in the morning to double-check his bags and get ready for Caesar to show up. He spent several hours the night before trying to pack up all his things and making a checklist for them (per Granny’s insistence). When he was all ready to go, Joseph sat by the front window in a very cozy outfit, phone in his lap, and a cup of hot cider in his hands. He kept staring out the window, waiting for Caesar to arrive, so the drink wasn’t hot anymore.
Joseph didn’t notice how bad his neck was hurting. Not even when Caesar showed up. When he did, Joseph found himself running out the door with all of his things (if you were curious about the cider, it was left on the arm of the couch). Caesar got out of the car to help Joseph, but Joseph simply dropped all his things and squeezed Caesar like he was a tube of almost-empty toothpaste.
“I missed you so much!” is how Caesar interpreted what Joseph had said. He couldn’t hear it all that properly, because Joseph had mumbled it into his shoulder.
“I missed you too, Jojo,” Caesar said. He pulled away from Joseph, putting his hands on Joseph’s shoulders. “Would you like to grab something to eat on the way there?”
Joseph nodded excitedly, his turquoise eyes shining like stars.
Caesar and Joseph drove into the drive-through of a small burger joint fifteen minutes from Joseph’s home. Caesar had eaten there once before, but it had been a while.
Normally he'd regret this because it meant Joseph would be eating a burger in his car, and Joseph was not a clean eater. But when a piece of lettuce fell between the seat and the door Caesar couldn't feel himself giving a damn. Besides, Joseph's remarks made him laugh anyway.
“Oh no! It's gone forever!” Joseph said.
“It's okay, Jojo,” Caesar laughed. “It's only one piece of lettuce. Surely you can survive.”
A few hours had passed.
Joseph had fallen asleep a while ago, so Caesar tried to keep himself awake with loud ‘80s music. He was surprised that Joseph hadn’t been woken up by it. Joseph had been a heavy sleeper, he supposed.
Caesar couldn’t help but wonder about what Joseph was — or had been — thinking about. Had he been having more nightmares about being shot? Or, perhaps… had he been thinking about the night he and Caesar held hands? Caesar shook his head when he landed at a red light. He was probably projecting.
Caesar couldn’t stop thinking about Joseph. The nightmares, the trauma, laser tag… but especially how close they’d gotten that night. He couldn’t help but relive the moment Joseph’s hand was in his. God, it was so much softer than Caesar could have imagined. He figured Joseph was too rough and clumsy to keep his hands soft. Maybe it was just genetics, or maybe Joseph had softened out since they became distant. Caesar frowned. He hoped Joseph was doing okay.
It wasn’t much later when they arrived at the little cabin Caesar had found on Airbnb. Joseph was still very much asleep. Earlier, he had woken up for about 30 seconds to put his jacket over himself, only to fall asleep again immediately afterward.
“Jojo,” Caser said, trying to wake him up. But he didn’t wake up, so Caesar tried again. “Jojo, we’re here. Wake up.” Joseph only stirred, and his jacket fell down to his lap.
Caesar sighed. He hadn’t really had to wake up Joseph before, but in the past, he’d woken up his siblings. It seemed that Joseph wouldn’t budge, so Caesar decided to bring their things into the cabin while he waited. After a few trips, Joseph met him halfway to the cabin. His face was puffy, and he held his jacket over his head.
“Are you okay?” Caesar said. “You look tired.”
Joseph hummed defiantly, clearly not wanting to admit why he was so distressed.
“You can go ahead and rest. I’m almost done here anyway,” Caesar said. To his surprise, Joseph wrapped his arms around Caesar tightly, then went to work helping Caesar unpack without a word. Caesar wouldn’t complain, but he was worried. Joseph wasn’t usually so quiet.
When they finished packing, Joseph retired to the bedroom immediately, bringing his favorite blanket. Caesar could see him bundling underneath it and disappearing completely, and smiled fondly.
Caesar slowly opened the door to the bedroom hours later. He sat on the edge of Joseph’s bed, analyzing the room around him. He supposed the pictures on Airbnb were accurate, but for some reason, he imagined it would be bigger. He swore the beds weren’t so close together. “Jojo?” he said.
Joseph scrunched up his face before softening it again and opening his eyes. He looked at Caesar, his face still puffy.
“Hey,” said Caesar. “Are you okay?”
Joseph looked away. He had a hard time lying when he was sleepy.
“You can hold my hand again if it helps you,” Caesar said. Joseph took Caesar’s hand immediately and played around with his fingers. “What are you thinking about, Jojo?”
“The shooting,” Jojo said quietly. It always surprised Caesar when Joseph was quiet. It was so unlike him. “Caesar, you could have died right in front of me. That moment plays over and over in my head…” Joseph said. He began to cry, his words wobbling out of his mouth. His breathing became unregulated. Caesar let go of Joseph’s hand and hugged him close. He stroked his back slowly and cradled him.
“I’m sorry…” Caesar said. He was glad that somebody cared for him — especially that it was Joseph — but he was sad that it hurt him so much. “Jojo, have you been thinking about the shooting this whole time? For months?”
Joseph opened his mouth to speak but instead broke into a sob. He shoved his face into Caesar’s chest. Caesar held him. He shut his eyes, leaning to fit his chin on top of Joseph’s head.
Caesar pet Joseph’s hair softly, cradling him.
“Hey,” Caesar said. “Why don’t we light the fire pit outside?”
Joseph sat on a stool by the fire and watched Caesar return with a pair of roasting sticks and a bag of marshmallows. Caesar smiled at him and sat across from him. “Here you go,” Caesar said, placing a few marshmallows into Joseph’s hand. “They’re gelatin-free.”
Joseph grinned and stuck the marshmallows on. His cheeks were still flushed from crying, but he seemed more relaxed. He leaned his head against Caesar’s shoulder and took a deep breath.
Caesar stiffened. His imagination ran wild with thoughts of Joseph turning his head, leaning into Caesar, and kissing him, marshmallows be damned. He took his own deep breath to calm down.
“Thanks for taking me to do this,” Joseph said. Caesar mentally thanked him for getting him out of his grave of thoughts.
Caesar smiled. “I had to,” he said, “I think we both needed it.”
“It’s the reason I haven’t left the house,” Joseph said, after a moment of silence. “It’s why I didn’t want to go back to school…”
So it was true. Caesar sighed. He handed Joseph a golden-brown marshmallow from his roasting stick. Joseph ate it sluggishly. “It’s okay to process things, Jojo. Does your Grandma know?”
Joseph nodded. “Yeah… she really wanted me to go on this trip with you, Caesar.” Caesar was content with that answer. He knew for certain that Erina did everything she could when Joseph shared his trauma with her. He rubbed Joseph’s shoulder. “Hey… Caesar?”
“Mm?”
“Let’s go to the beach tomorrow, okay?” Joseph asked. Caesar met his eyes; they were huge and puppy-like, the color of a robin’s egg. It made Caesar grin ear-to-ear as he said:
“Yes.”
Joseph had said he had wanted the beach to himself, so Caesar took him there past midnight. As he shut the car door, Caesar looked up at the moon in the sky. It was a waning gibbous tonight. Joseph was already on the way to the sand. He punched toward the sky in joy with both hands. “We really do get the beach to ourselves!” he cheered. Caesar grinned and caught up with him.
They walked along the beach, their shoes left behind by the car. It wasn’t exactly hot anymore, but Joseph had said he was willing to sacrifice the heat to scrap the people.
Joseph’s pockets were full of different rocks and shells he found. If he was lucky, he pocketed a piece of sea glass too. One piece of sea glass was in Caesar’s pocket. Joseph had told him to keep it. Joseph eventually stopped his hunt for pretty things and looked out on the water as he walked alongside it.
He planted his feet in the sand. Caesar caught up to him and watched. “Hey, Caesar,” Joseph said. He stood before him. Somehow, he looked small. He looked scared, but somehow Caesar knew it had nothing to do with the shooting. This had to be something completely different. Caesar looked at him, assuring him that he was listening. “I’m nervous.”
“Why?” Caesar said. He took Joseph’s hands into his own. They were shivering, so Caesar covered them as much as he could with his hands.
“Um…” Joseph said. He looked down at his bare feet, and then back at Caesar. “I’m about to say something that is going to change everything, and that scares me so much,” Joseph whispered. Caesar knew that Joseph was being sincere by the quietness of his voice alone. Joseph was terrified. Caesar could sense it with all of his senses.
“It’s alright, Jojo. You can tell me,” Caesar said. He didn’t tell Joseph that what he said was making him nervous, because it wasn’t Joseph’s fault. He knew Joseph was afraid.
“Caesar… the truth is, I love you. I love you, and I don’t know if you’re into guys and that scares me shitless. I don’t know if you’re into me. But I’m so in love with you I feel like I could just die. My heart always feels heavy and squishy when I’m near you. I love how it feels but it’s also so scary. I’m so jealous of Smokey because Suzi confessed to him and they’ve already cuddled in the living room and kissed in the movie theater. Smokey texted me that. I wanna do all that with you. You’ve been so sweet to me. It just makes me fall more deeply in love with you. It hurts, Caesar, because I’m scared. I don’t want to ruin what we have, but I can’t hold this inside anymore even if I wanted to. I’m sorry, Caesar… I’m so sorry… I just love you, and I can’t stop…”
Caesar felt like he had been hit with a truck made of gelatin-free marshmallows. Joseph loved him. Joseph loved him, and he was sorry. He loved him and he was scared. Joseph sniffled. His tears slapped his forearms. Caesar squeezed Joseph’s hands and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss, their lips barely touching. “Don’t ever apologize for loving me, Jojo,” Caesar said softly, their lips still close. “Don’t you know how much I love you?”
Joseph kissed him back, shaking like a leaf. His legs gave out, and Caesar caught him before he hit the sand. “You do?” Joseph asked. His voice was small. Still scared.
“Yes,” Caesar said. Even his eyes glossed over with tears. “I really love you, Jojo.”
The moon was enormous, lighting up Joseph’s eyes like fireworks as he smiled at Caesar. Caesar sank to his knees, Joseph following suit, and he held him close. Their regular hugs were always kind of tight, but this one was different. Caesar held Joseph so tight that he was almost part of him.
They walked back to Caesar’s car barefoot, hand-in-hand. Neither of them could stop smiling.
In Caesar’s car, they toweled off their sandy feet and found each other sitting together by the door of the back seat. Joseph was in Caesar’s lap, hugging him and hiding his face in Caesar’s blond hair. They stayed there for a while until Caesar noticed Joseph’s slowed breathing.
“Hey,” Caesar whispered. “Let’s sleep back in the cabin, alright?”
Joseph nodded as he hesitantly got up from Caesar’s lap. When he did, he did a big stretch as Caesar snaked his arms around Joseph’s waist. When he kissed him, Joseph hummed contently.
Caesar ran from his car with Joseph’s hand in his in the darkness toward the cabin. They giggled as they hurried toward the door, not wanting a moment longer to go inside. Joseph made it to the bedroom first. He changed into a pair of pajamas. Caesar was a little disappointed when he saw that they weren’t the alligators this time. He was pleased that this pair featured Mario characters, though. He changed into a pair of comfortable shorts, and after brushing his teeth and washing his face, he sat next to Joseph in his bed.
“Caesar, I haven’t really been in a serious relationship… I’m not sure how to do this,” Joseph admitted. He clasped his hands together and swung his legs off the side of the bed back and forth nervously.
“Just do what comes to you naturally,” Caesar said. Joseph met eyes with him and smiled shyly. “Don’t worry about pacing. Just worry about what you’re comfortable with.”
Joseph nodded. “We’ve held hands already… I like that.”
Caesar grinned. “I like it too.”
Joseph looked down at his lap, his smile becoming even shier as his cheeks turned pink. “Would it be okay if I stayed in your bed tonight?”
Caesar’s grin widened. He leaned over, planting a soft kiss on Joseph’s forehead. “Of course,” he said.
Joseph squeaked excitedly and ran over to his bed to grab his blanket and hurried back over to Caesar’s bed. He bundled up and planted himself down, smiling at Caesar as he waited for him. Caesar lied down, smiling back at Joseph. Joseph tucked him in. The gesture was so soft that Caesar felt very tired all of a sudden and closed his eyes.
“Love you, Caesar,” Joseph said. He kissed Caesar on the nose.
i wanted to let you know that viz media flagged all of my caejose work on redbubble and they were all taken down. this means you can’t buy my caejose stickers anymore, and it also means i probably can’t post them anymore on redbubble. i’m really sorry. i’ll miss them as much as you did (’: hopefully you got a sticker if you wanted one, and if not, i’ll see if i can find a way to make them myself and send them out for free or something? idk i love you guys and this has just made me really sad. i never cared about the 11¢ or however much i made on the stickers. what mattered was that you all wanted my stickers in your lives! that being said, please message me if you have any ideas or if you want to talk about this.
When we’re introduced to Joseph he’s 19 and it shows. He’s not quite a kid and not quite an adult either. He can be selfish, but he can be selfless as well, when it suits him. Joseph is probably what you’d call a lonely guy. He doesn’t appear to have any friends before the events of Battle Tendency. He doesn’t have many relationships outside of his family and that’s why his interactions with Caesar are so important.
He displays his affection for Caesar outwardly by teasing him and going out of his way to get Caesar’s attention. He’s comfortable with having Caesar as someone close, though perhaps not as expressing it in terms of loving someone, or at least not out loud. In Joseph’s mind, his fondness for Caesar is probably implied in the strength of their bond and not something that needs to be clarified or elaborated. He also trusts Caesar implicitly to be able to keep up with his plans and to have his back. He never doubts Caesar’s abilities and in a way he trusts Caesar more than Caesar trusts himself. This immense trust comes easily to him, it’s very natural just like his relationship with Caesar. There’s the nicknames too which coming from Joseph are probably part gentle teasing, part sincere endearment.
Joseph loves wholly, he doesn’t concern himself with Caesar’s past, he doesn’t need to know those things to trust and care about him. Joseph loves Caesar in this very profound and earnest way. There’s nothing forced, or insincere and that’s important to me.
