IC Inbox | rubycity_rp | I

[starmark]

. . . Yare yare. What is it? Hurry up and say something already.



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[OOC: Contact through any format is fine, including action as you see fit!]

Comments

[lapidarius]

i'm not hurt or anything

i'm just

i'm kind of fucked up about a couple things and i need to know we're still here.

[starmark]

yeah. i can get free.

seems like that's going around lately everybody's fucked up on something.

[lapidarius]

yeah, i noticed. it was kind of hard to miss.

[starmark]

can you tell me over text or do you want to wait until i'm there in person?

[lapidarius]

i can wait.

[starmark]

ok. where should i meet you?

[lapidarius]

I don't care. Pick somewhere close by and I can meet you there if that's easier.

[starmark]

in front of the library?

[lapidarius]

On my way. Five minutes.

[starmark]

ok. see you there.

[And indeed, there he will be, bundled up in scarf and turtleneck and coat, with a pair of leather gloves for good measure.]

[lapidarius]

[Trailing both his scarf and his Stand, Kakyoin dropped off the library roof a matter of minutes later--without any introduction or even a word at first, he opted for a greeting that was a sudden and very insistent hug.]

[It was fine. For just one second longer, the two of them were still here.]

...you doing okay?

[starmark]

Worried about you.

[And evidently so, because regardless of the fact that they were standing in the relative open (albeit in a relatively silent and empty part of the city at the moment), he shifted to free a hand and knock Kakyoin's chin lightly upward, angling his face more optimally for a kiss.]

I guess you've been talking to Bruno and Giorno, too?

[lapidarius]

Not yet. I heard about Abbacchio from Izabel, and I noticed Mista myself. [he'd been a little hard to miss.] I figured I should probably get a hold of myself before I made sure everyone else was okay for once. So that's what I'm doing.

[Kakyoin answered that kiss with a quick one of his own, taking a deep breath and stepping back.]

...Ishimaru's gone, too.

[starmark]

Get back here.

[...Evidently, tall boyfriend wasn't done with you yet, Kakyoin. RETURN TO HIS ARMS.]

How did you find out about Ishimaru?

[lapidarius]

I went to Spiral the other day. I wanted to thank him in person for having given me something, but...

[Kakyoin's voice wavered and trailed off, at which point he decided he'd be taking that hug again thank you.]

...damn it.

[starmark]

[He pulled him in tight, fitting him easily beneath his chin as usual, and using his height and wider frame to its best possible advantage at the moment.]

Go ahead. I'm right here. I've got you.

[lapidarius]

...

[Kakyoin didn't answer for a few seconds, gripping Jotaro's coat like it was the only thing keeping him standing there.]

...it's not fair. It's not fucking fair, he was the same as I am--

[starmark]

[The same as...

— oh. That got Jotaro to freeze up a little, not wanting to draw the obvious connection.]

He had died, before coming here...?

[lapidarius]

[Damn it, he did it again. Talked without thinking, and said too much because of it. If he ever saw Ishimaru again, he'd owe him an apology.]

That's...why we got along so easily. Part of it. He liked Hierophant, and we...kind of figured out the rest of it.

[Deep breath.]

We were just talking not that long ago, about what we should do if this whole thing was our last chance.

[starmark]

...It's not. It won't be for you, so maybe it won't be for him, either.

[He held Kakyoin a little tighter.]

What did you decide...? About what you should do?

[lapidarius]

...'We've more than earned the right to be happy, so we should take that last chance and use it for all that it's worth.'

But that was easy to say and easier to believe when we were both still here. And it doesn't change anything about the whole situation.

[starmark]

The whole situation?

[lapidarius]

We can't...be sure we can fix this. There's just no way we can possibly know that, Jotaro. [Kakyoin pulled back again, hands curled into fists at his sides as he looked away.]

With how many of us just disappeared without warning, I don't...I don't even know how long anyone will be here. Not just me, but you, Passione, Jonathan, everyone--

[He stopped himself before his voice turned frantic, glaring at a spot on the ground off to the side.]

No matter what we say or believe, it might not help.

[starmark]

...You're afraid you'll wake up tomorrow and I'll be gone.

[Honestly, it was a thought he'd been thinking about as he'd been comforting Giorno and Bruno, seeing them both upset and destroyed in their own ways. Thinking about how he'd been there once before, and how easily it could destroy Kakyoin if he were next.]

Deep down that's what it is. Right...?

[lapidarius]

...

[His hands curled tighter in a white-knuckled grip, every inch of his back and shoulders held so rigidly that it almost looked painful.]

One of us could be.