ic; i don't even dare to post this self indulgent shit into buttshipping help

[unbreakably]

[ His eyes are closed for a moment as he leans his head backwards against the hard and rough wall of the slightly run down bathroom building of the gas station they stopped at for the time being. Sweat trinkles down the side of his head with how hot it is out here in the middle of the desert, but Josuke can't even bring himself to pay any attention to it. Instead he just stands there with his eyes closed, almost a little troubled, as he counts his heartbeats. One, two, three, four. Although it used to make him a little more calm whenever he felt like he might have flipped out otherwise in the past, nowadays they only remind him of the fact that time is ticking away every single moment. Every single second brings them a second closer to the moment Minako's time is destined to stop. And it's only by now that he's found time is like sand - the more he tries to hold onto each and every precious moment, the more they all seem to slip away from him until it's already too late.

Not that he doesn't try his hardest all the same for both their sakes. And it's not that he doesn't enjoy every moment with her, because by god he does, of course he does, but at the same time he feels so hurt and scared when he thinks of the fact that she's going to slip away from him and everything else, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. He can't protect her. Even though he would've done anything.

Josuke has been trying his best though to not let Minako on to his mood. It's only now she's using the bathroom and he's waiting outside for her by himself that he can let his troubles overcome him for just a moment, only when she can't notice. She's the one who's suffering. He can't be the one to have a hard time here, she needs him, she should be able to be at least as happy as she can be and do whatever she wants to do, so he has to force himself to be strong as always. Dependable like a rock.

Isn't that what he always does?

It's why when he hears the sound of a toilet being flushed and then water pouring into a sink that he quickly straightens up, opening his eyes and taking in a deep breath. Come on, dude, man up-- you've faced worse than this, right? (Except it's never really been worse than this.) ]

Yo, Minako, if you're gonna take any longer in there then I'm just gonna assume you flushed yourself down too! [ At least he manages a joke, speaking up loudly so she can hear him even inside there - he doesn't care if anyone else hears, honestly. ]

Comments

[evokes]

[MAY.....BE........ she has faith in Josuke okok he'll be fine... Probably.]

Haha, it sounds tough! [a beat] But now I'm kinda curious. Could you tell me more about your mom, actually?

[About a person she'll never actually be able to meet. But it'd be kind of nice to at least imagine it, right? After ten years of being on her own and most her friends back home either being the same or otherwise estranged from their parents, it's nice to just hear about a good parent in general.]

[unbreakably]

[ .. Huh. He didn't really expect to hear that question, but.. he sort of gets the sentiment behind it. He does know Minako doesn't really have a family life the way he does, after all, and he also very well knows that Minako isn't going to make it home with him ever to see his mother.

But despite the heavy feeling it gives him, he grins, drops the tent stuff he was working on halfway through and instead saunters over Minako, draping an arm over her shoulder and moving with her until they're sitting down on the ground next to each other, practically huddling together with his arm like that.

For once he doesn't really care if all the stupid sand is getting all over his designer pants. ]

You sure you wanna hear? She's pretty scary.

[evokes]

[Easily leaning into Josuke's hold, she can't help but smile when she feels more than hears his voice, the sound reverberating through his chest. She wants to stay as close as possible to him for as long as she can, and she knows that won't be for that long.]

Anything at all, really. But she must be pretty scary if even you're saying that. Why don't we start there? [She'd listen to anything and everything about Josuke's life back home to be honest, but there's something heartwarming in learning about the person who raised him.]

[unbreakably]

Well, she's just.. [ .. he pauses for a moment as he thinks. Man, it's already felt like a really, really long time since he last saw his mother. Half of the time he finds himself so occupied with Minako and her condition that he doesn't even realise just how homesick he is, huh? But he doesn't linger too long on the thought, instead continuing. ]

.. she's pretty great. I mean, yeah, she's scary as hell, but it's just since she can be really strict sometimes, y'know? I guess she had to be since she raised me all by herself 'cause dad ran off after getting her pregnant.

[evokes]

Yeah, I can only imagine how hard that would be on your own. [She places her hand on top of Josuke's, absentmindedly tracing random patterns as she talks.] I have to say though, she did a pretty damn good job raising you! I almost wish I could thank her for it.

[unbreakably]

[ He laughs. ]

I dunno if she'd agree with you. [ She probably would and Josuke knows it too, but he can't help but joke about it a little. She did complain a lot about his late night gaming.. ] I mean, it's not like we become who we are just 'cause of our parents, y'know? Everyone we meet has some kinda influence on us.

[ .. for a moment he gets more quiet and then stares at her. ]

Like you on me.