Chapter Text
It was a peaceful evening not unlike many others in the Joestar-Pendleton-Speedwagon household. Little George had just been put to bed, and the adults were taking time now to enjoy each other’s company. A fire burned low in the hearth of Jonathan’s study, the stained-glass fire screen sending warm jewel tones flickering across the room. Speedwagon and Erina sat on the couch nearby, talking intently about a map spread out on the coffee table between them. Jonathan sat at his desk, scribbling away somewhat distractedly at thesis work for the university, but mostly listening to the conversation his lovers were having.
The thesis, of course, had been put on hold when everything had erupted with Dio, and it was only now—a year since the affair—that he’d been able to begin again. At first the study of the mask had naturally dredged up bad memories. But now that Jojo had done so much healing, he’d come to realize that finding the source and purpose of the cursed object might help finally put his mind at ease. And it wasn’t like Jonathan Joestar to leave a job half-finished.
So he continued the thesis. And it so happened, that was the reason for the discussion Speedwagon and Erina were currently having.
“Our ship will leave from London harbour and land here in New York a month later.” Speedwagon traced the route on the map. “Now, believe me, it’s nothin’ like London at all. No other place in the world like it!”
“Perhaps we should stay there a few days more, then,” Erina said excitedly. “That’s what we planned to do the first time, after all.” She turned on the couch to face Jonathan’s direction. “Dear, do you think it would be alright to arrive in Mexico a few days late?”
The scratching of Jonathan’s pen stopped. “Um, I’m sure it will be fine. After all, the site is ten thousand years old. What’s a few more days?” He let out a light laugh, but the truth was, he wasn’t as enthused about the trip as his two loves were.
Oh, certainly, he thought seeing New York would be wonderful, and he was beyond excited about the recently uncovered archeological site down in Mexico, especially since he’d been personally invited by the researchers, who’d hoped that his research could help decode some of the strange glyphs in the tomb. But it was just… just the matter of getting on the boat.
When he’d been invited to the dig site, Erina suggested they all take the trip together, a chance to make up for the honeymoon they’d missed out on when they first married. And truly nothing would have made him happier than to make the trip with the two loves of his life. Nothing, perhaps, except for if somehow a magical way of flying to America were invented in the few months before they had to leave.
“Plenty ‘a places I could show you there! Might as well have some fun before you’ve got to go off to work.” Speedwagon grinned at him.
Speedwagon had been to the American continent before, and had promised enthusiastically to be their guide. If there was anything that could calm Jojo’s worries, it would be the excited looks on the two’s faces. Erina had travelled by ship before their tragic trip together, which gave her more pleasant memories to draw from, and Speedwagon had been all over the world, so it seemed the trepidation was all his own. He tried his best to focus on all the things they’d do once they were there rather than the journey itself.
“From New York, the train to Texas takes about two weeks. Plenty ‘a stuff to see along the way, ‘specially since we’re travellin’ in the fall. It’ll be beautiful!”
Erina turned back to the map to follow Speedwagon’s finger along the train route.
“From Texas, it’s just a hop skip and a jump ‘cross the border to Mexico. Then you and I will have to find somethin’ to keep us occupied while our man here is busy.”
Jonathan smiled over at the two of them, talking of all the sights to see in the Mexican desert. He’d spent the last year rebuilding his happiness together with them, first in the Pendleton house and now in the restored Joestar mansion. Little George had come soon after that. The trip together seemed like the next logical step, even if it weren’t for his work. And with all that, he couldn’t help thinking about another step, too.
Dreamily, his eyes caught the glint of the ring on Erina’s hand—it had been his mother’s. The matching one on his own finger had been remade, the jeweler tracked down in order to recreate the one lost to Dario Brando. He liked to think that his mother, and his father too, would have been happy at the little family he’d managed to build for himself. It may have been somewhat unorthodox, but they all brought out the best in each other.
Yes, just as always, he was certain that with the three of them together they’d be able to make it through anything. A sea voyage was a trifling matter, when he thought of it that way. And just perhaps, he might have had a more important issue to think about.
It was a week after that, and Speedwagon sat in his study, plugging away at the typewriter. It had been Erina who encouraged him first, saying that his stories of travelling the world were so interesting that she was sure folks would love to read about them. Speedwagon himself hadn’t been too sure people would want to hear much about the life experiences of some London street-rat, but the two had talked him into it—partially due to the gift of this typewriter, which they’d called a “housewarming present”, despite the fact that they’d all been living together for several months at that point. In any case, after receiving such an extravagant thing, he couldn’t very well refuse. And it turned out Erina had been right. He’d already sold a couple stories to the papers in London, and had come to find he did enjoy writing quite a bit.
Now they’d moved into the newly rebuilt Joestar mansion, and he had his own study—one more thing on the never-ending list of unfathomable events in his life.
He paused in his typing, getting the distinct feeling of someone watching him, and glanced up at the doorway to see Jonathan peeking around the corner.
“C’mon now, you’re not the easiest man to hide,” he chuckled. “Did ya need me for somethin’?”
Jonathan came out of hiding, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I didn’t want to interrupt your work,” he said.
“You have permission to interrupt me at anythin’, Jojo,” Speedwagon said, removing his hands from the keys with a flourish and wriggling the kinks out of his fingers.
Jojo made his way over to the desk and offered his hand. “Then, take a walk with me?”
“Can’t think of a better way to take a break,” he said, taking the gentleman’s hand and allowing himself to be helped from his seat.
He hadn’t been able to appreciate before just how vast and lovely the Joestar lands were. It was understandable, given that he’d only been here that one fateful night, and at that time he was quite preoccupied with Dio, and the fire, and all that followed. It was only after Jonathan had begun to have the mansion rebuilt that they’d come here, and he could see it for himself.
They walked slowly around the grounds, Speedwagon talking animatedly about the tale he was currently committing to paper. Jonathan liked reading his articles, but he’d always thought hearing them from the source was best—especially with how dramatic Speedwagon could be in his retellings. He gestured as he talked, though still kept his left hand clasped with Jonathan’s, waving his lover’s arm around along with his as he gesticulated.
The sun was warm on their backs, and Speedwagon of course loved any chance they got to spend time together. He certainly wasn’t complaining about anything, but Jonathan had been acting… shifty.
Multiple times now he’d caught the gentleman staring at his face, only to quickly look away when Speedwagon caught his eye. On the fourth time, Speedwagon squeezed his hand a little tighter. “Y’know, you are allowed to look at me,” he said, smiling at his lover. “Something on your mind?”
They were coming up towards the back veranda, having finished their walk around the grounds.
Jojo blushed a little, trying to hide a smile of nervous excitement as they made their way up the steps. “I’ve just been thinking lately, what a blessing it is to be able to spend my every day with you.”
“Aw, shucks…” Even now, the loving words struck Speedwagon right in the heart.
“We’ve got a good thing going here, and I wanted to do something to commemorate that.” Jonathan brought them to a stop when they reached the centre of the veranda, gently rubbing his thumb over Speedwagon’s fingers where he held them.
The splendor of the grounds and the sunny day spread out before them, but somehow Speedwagon found his gaze was fixed on his lover’s beautiful eyes.
“Robert E. O. Speedwagon, I’d like to ask you to continue making my days brighter, to continue making my life complete.” With a deep breath, Jonathan sank to his knees and released Speedwagon’s hand to pull a small box from his pocket. Time seemed to slow as he opened it, the sun shimmering off the ring inside. “Will you do me the honour of marrying me?” Jonathan asked.
The request was beyond the realm of possibilities even Speedwagon could imagine, but he knew the answer in the span of a heartbeat. “Of course, d’you even gotta ask?” He’d deal with the question of how all that would even work later. For now, he took Jojo’s face in his hands and leaned down to kiss him, feeling nearly ready to cry from how his heart soared with love.
Jonathan too might have been blinking back tears. He’d known the answer was a foregone conclusion at this point, but hearing it was no less emotional. When their kiss had come to an end, he took one of Speedwagon’s hands into his own and slipped the ring onto his finger, making it official. He’d had it made special, to match with the set he and Erina wore.
"For me, s-somethin’ like this is..." His hand trembled in Jojo’s grasp.
As much as it pained him, Jonathan knew how difficult it was for Speedwagon to accept good things for himself. After all their time together, he’d learned to interrupt those thoughts and ask him how he truly felt. "Do you like it?"
Tears were streaming in earnest down Speedwagon’s face by this point, but they were filled with happiness. “Yes, I… It’s the most precious thing I’ve ever had,” he said.
Filled with joy, unable to stop his own waterworks, Jonathan got to his feet, embracing his lover—his fiancé!—and spinning him around.
Jojo had considered making a spectacle of the proposal. Perhaps booking a private dining room in one of London’s finest hotels, and asking him there. He would have spared no expense for his lover. But in the end, he’d known that Robert would be happiest just being here together at the home they shared.
The giddy atmosphere stayed with them even after their embrace ended, and though Jonathan had walked him back to his study, he certainly was in no mood to go back to the typewriter just yet.
Even as Speedwagon admired the ring on his finger, he couldn’t help but smirk a little. “You do know that if I wear this into the city, every crook in London’ll be crawlin’ out of the sewers for a chance to nab it, yeah?”
Jonathan sat down on the edge of the desk and pulled Speedwagon into his lap. “My Hamon might not be very strong anymore, but I’ll always protect you.”
Speedwagon chuckled, “Keep spoutin’ off cheesy lines like that and I might just fall in love with you.” He threw his arms around Jonathan’s neck and kissed him slowly.
That had not actually been what Straizo had said on his last visit. More accurately, he’d said that Jonathan’s Hamon was now more comparable to an average Hamon master. One without his massive innate talent. It remained quite far from not very strong.
“I’d love to see them just try and get it off me. They’ll find out fast how I got to be the boss of Ogre Street.” He’d have fought tooth and nail for even one of the rings made of string people used in the slums. Anything from Jojo would have been precious to him. But knowing the significance of this ring, now part of a set of three with Jojo’s and Erina’s, made him determined to wear it wherever he could, however unwise.
The breath of Jojo’s laugh tickled his ear. “And I’d show them just how I won that boss over to my side.”
They both snorted over that. The events of their first meeting, once a point of regret, were now something they could laugh about. After all, it was the first step on a road that led them to this shining moment.