Caesar, Joseph, and Suzi decide to finish out the evening with some new music.
@caejoseq-week 2026 Day 1 - Music
Man, it has been YEARS since I wrote a JJBA one-shot, so it’s nice to be back! I was joking with my friends about how anal-retentive I get with period fic, as this one takes place in 1953 specifically, and I made sure ALL of the real-life and JJBA details matched up. The title is taken from the Nat King Cole song of the same name as featured in the fic, and many thanks to halfdragonbooknerd and h0tmessxpress for being my betas!
Rating: General Audiences
Ship: CaeJoseQ
Word Count: 997
Applicable Tags: Swing Dancing, Singing, Record Players, Song: Almost Like Being in Love (Nat King Cole), Domestic Fluff, Pet Names, Couch Cuddles, Polyamory, Mentioned Holly Joestar, Smoking, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Post-Battle Tendency, 1950s, Everyone's in their 30s, Period-Typical Homophobia/Polyphobia, Bisexual Joseph Joestar & Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, Joseph Joestar Being Joseph Joestar, POV Third Person Omniscient
Joseph bursts through the door of the shared apartment, followed close behind by Caesar and Suzi Q. He shakes droplets of rain out of his brunet hair as he tracks damp footprints into the foyer, nudging his shoes off to the side while the other two more politely hang their coats and fold the umbrella. “You two couldn’t have been any slower! At this rate, we’d both be drenched by now.”
Caesar scoffs and rolls his eyes, the continual pitter-patter of the storm against the penthouse windows muffling any remarks, in Italian or otherwise, under his breath. “You could have walked with us from the restaurant with the umbrella, but it seems like you had more important plans.” He takes a handkerchief from his suit pocket and helps Suzi dab at her makeup before it runs completely.
“Well, yeah! Holly is at a sleepover with her school friends, which means we get the apartment all to ourselves for once.” Joseph flops back onto the couch, content. “Doesn’t mean we don’t love her, but we don’t have to worry about waking her up, or she has questions on her homework, or…”
“We get it, JoJo.” Suzi sits next to Joseph on the couch, smoothing the emerald-green silk of her dress. “I was just thinking about something, actually. I heard through some other ladies at the bridge club that some swing dance events are coming up soon!” She paused, apprehensive. “But I uh, don’t think they’d approve of,” Suzi gestures to Caesar and Joseph, “us.”
“Hm? If anyone tries to bring up the war to go against you two, I won’t hesitate to—”
“They’ll call us communist queers, coglione.” Caesar lights a cigarette, inhaling deeply. “I’m lucky enough to pass as Suzi’s brother most of the time, but it’s too dangerous in a dance hall where there’s mostly couples.”
Joseph crosses his arms. “Then what do you suggest, smart guy?”
Caesar walks over to the record console on the other side of the living room and flips through the selection of vinyls. “What I do know is that Suzi picked up some new records when she took Holly to the department store to get new clothes for the school year.” Suzi joins Caesar’s side to help him look, and he returns the gesture with a quick kiss on her cheek.
“Oh!” Suzi stops and holds up a record, bringing it over to Joseph. “A new Nat King Cole record. How about we turn our home into a dance hall, hm, tesoro?”
Joseph finally smiles, taking Suzi’s hand when he gets up. “Sounds like a plan! I certainly don’t want to disappoint you, Suzie Cutie.” The pet name makes Suzi giggle, and she hands the record off to Caesar to place on the turntable.
The speakers crackle to life as Almost Like Being in Love begins to play, horns blaring as Suzi first takes Caesar’s hands. He puts his arm around her waist as they stand next to each other, stepping and kicking in time. Due to his height, her hand struggles to reach his shoulder. Instead, she rests her hand on his upper back, brushing against the tweed fabric of his suit.
Suzi giggles as Caesar spins with her around the room, her skirt twirling like a blonde bombshell from a Hollywood film. Leading, he slows back down to a shuffle in place as Joseph approaches and taps him on the shoulder.
The older man lets Suzi go, and Joseph doesn’t hesitate as he pulls her toward him, then out, then back in again. Joseph’s smile is the widest it's been in a while as he swings his arm over and around her, stretching his arm out just to curl her back in.
As the bridge leads into the excitement of the final verse, Joseph looks at Suzi with mischief shimmering in his eyes. “Ready?”
“Ready for— ah!” As fast as lightning, Joseph tosses Suzi into the air, stepping back to catch her in a bridal carry.
“JoJo!” Caesar rushes next to Joseph in case the brunet misses, but Joseph succeeds in his feat.
Still, the sudden weight of Suzi in his arms causes him to stumble backward into the record console. The music suddenly stops with a ping echoing from within the player. “Oh, shit!” Joseph gently eases Suzi to stand, and her typical chignon sits loose around her shoulders after all the spinning.
Joseph flips around to examine the machinery in question. Very little of it was visible to the normal eye, but on the surface, nothing seemed to be obviously broken. “Well, I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” Joseph aligns the needle on the vinyl where it left off, but the turntable doesn’t move an inch when he tries to start it. “Damn! And we had just gotten this, too.”
Caesar’s tone grows pointed. “If you hadn’t acted like a sbruffone, then we wouldn’t have this problem.”
“Excuse me?! If you hadn’t gotten in my way, I would have been just fine!” Joseph’s mechanical hand begins to click as he clenches and unclenches his fist, holding onto what restraint he had before an argument came to a head.
Caesar inhales, trying to calm the situation. “We’ll have to call a repairman in the morning, but it’s your responsibility.” He stares at Joseph for a moment before he takes his cigarette out of the ashtray again, smoke emitting from the lingering embers.
“Fine,” Joseph sighs as he sits back down on the couch. An idea pops into his mind. “You know, we can always try to finish the song ourselves.” Joseph snaps along to the song's tempo as the other two sit next to him.
Caesar smiles and chimes in with the final chorus, his earlier anger fading away. “I would swear I was fallin'.”
Suzi joins in, her higher voice harmonizing with Caesar's. “Swear I was fallin'!”
The three hold each other close, their voices melding into one. “Why, it's almost like bein' in love!”
Liked this and want more? Check the full CJQ Week series on my AO3 here!
