26
One Word Writing Prompts | 26. — protection
Months after the incident with Kira had occurred he was still having trouble coping with the long lasting affects mentally. On the surface he’s fine– or rather looks the part– but Koichi and Okuyasu know better. They’ve been through too much, all of them know that. Josuke would always brush off their concerns when they ask him about the bags under his eyes slowly getting darker as the weeks pass. “Just some trouble sleeping is all.” A small smile was flashed towards his friends.
But they knew better.
It took a weekend where the three of them had the Higashikata household to themselves in order to break down the facade Josuke had been holding up for so long. They had started to turn in for the night after having as much fun as 3 teens could have without getting into trouble ;eventually shuffling around getting their sleeping bags and blankets ready. The three boys began to say their ‘good nights’ only for Koichi to look over at Oku , only for him to give a small nod and fumble out of the blankets he had wrapped himself in before following after the taller teen.
“Josuke hold on– “ Okuyasu called after him as he made his way up to his room, “can you wait a second?” Josuke stopped halfway up the stairs, shoulders visibly tensed.
“–Yeah?” He spoke up after Koichi had shuffled in behind Okuyasu.
“You… You haven’t really talked to us about what happened with Kira. It’s not really that great to keep that y’know bottled up and all that,” Koichi spoke softly, “You don’t– It’s not like you have to talk about it now but just know we’re here for you.”
“Josuke you’re our best friend and we just wanna make sure you’re alright.” Oku looked over Josuke’s face, looking for something some sort of reaction and when he didn’t find what he wanted– he reached out and grasped onto Josuke’s hand reassuringly. “It doesn’t have to be just you against the world, Jojo– you have us with you!” There was a moment of silence between the three of them and the tiniest bit of tension began to hang within it. That is until Josuke’s shoulders finally relaxed, his hand gripping Oku’s with the same amount of reassurance; tears welling up in his eyes. Koichi gave him a small smile while taking hold of his other hand and leading the group back towards the living room. For a while they all talked about that day, what had happened, what Josuke went through, and what he kept pushing down. By the end of the night his eyes were puffy and his throat sore from just how much he had spilled out but god if it hadn’t lifted the massive dread he’d been carrying around for the past months.
Okuyasu was right, it didn’t just have to be him verses the world– he had them and they had him, he’d be damned if he let anything happen to them after they’ve had each other’s backs for this long.