False Confidence ; Jotakak

There's Poison in This Water, The Words are Falling Out

CW~ Smoking, Implied Homophobia, Misogyny 

Around noon, we were airlifted from our island and transported to the nearest city, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The baby was left with the police, and once we got our bearings, we were processed and permitted to find our way to Egypt. Mister Joestar went to find a place to rent a boat, Polnareff went with him. Jotaro and I sat with the bags.

"This could take a while," I sighed.

"Yeah," Jotaro pulled out the pack of cigarettes he bought at the airport we were delivered to after our rescue. As he lit up, he asked me if I wanted one. By the smell of it, the type he'd gotten was way too strong, and I'd likely choke on it, so I declined. I had to stop smoking anyway; if I got addicted, It'd affect my lung capacity, which I'd need if I were going to keep binding. Although the nicotine didn't relax me, I enjoyed bonding with Jotaro. Our chaotic schedule meant we rarely had much time to hang out outside of Jotaro's designated breaks. I wasn't the only one who had noticed how pungent the stench was, for as Mister Joestar returned from the dock, he scrunched up his face.

"You should quit that; it's dirty." He frowned. Jotaro just ignored him. "I quit once I found out they give you cancer, that must have been—about '64."

"Everything gives you cancer, old man." Jotaro groaned, the cigarette between his teeth. The older man groaned back at the realisation he wasn't being listened to.

"Anyway, we're waiting for the all-clear on this speedboat. They said it might take up to an hour."

Jotaro blew smoke. "I'm bored."

Mister Joestar sighed. "Go get lunch or something I don't t know. Just be back, and don't lose the bags." He turned to leave but paused. "Oh, and take Kakyoin, wherever you go. If you encounter an enemy stand, you best not be alone." Jotaro nodded; Mister Joestar returned to the harbour.

Not wanting to sit in the sun for another hour, Jotaro and I slung all the luggage together and carried it down the promenade. I struggled with the luggage but kept a straight face, not wanting to give away my lack of strength, but when Jotaro noticed sweat pouring from my face, he took the bags I held in my left hand. He smirked down at me; it was a little embarrassing, but more so—sexy? Was it sexy? Oh god.

Along the promenade, we got to see the beautiful coastal city in all its glory. Hotels, casinos, shopping plazas, there was even a seaside mosque. What really made us perk up, was the aquarium. It was giant, luxurious, expensive, overlooking the sea. I noticed Jotaro's pace slower, so he could look at it in more detail as we walked. I tapped him on the shoulder; his eyes shot in my direction, but he didn't turn his head. "You want to go in?" He shrugged. "That was a stupid question," I chuckled. "Of course you do." He elbowed me playfully in the chest.

It was a beautiful, modern aquarium, and they took credit cards, so we didn't even need to go to the embassy to exchange our cash. But because neither of us had any riyal, and Jotaro was the only teenager I'd ever met with a credit card, he paid for everything. I don't know why, but I'd expected him to be more frugal. Although Jotaro was cold, he was also gentlemanly—well, some of the time. Maybe stoic was the right word. Admission ended up translating to about ¥1,000 each, which wasn't bad at all. Some of the aquariums, especially the nice ones in Tokyo, might charge almost three times that. We could have probably spent all day there, but we decided to walk through until we got to the centre of the complex; we'd get some takeaway from the restaurant and get back to the harbour.

We piled all our luggage into the lockers—of which we needed about five of them just to fit all our stuff. Once secured, we journeyed through the aquarium. The entrance was a long, wide hallway with a glass dome aquarium that surrounded us. The ceiling, the floor, and either side of us saw a world of marine life. We'd hardly gotten through the door, and I was already impressed. One of the tour guides guiding a group of tourists spoke in English; we heard him say that all the fish in this aquarium were Red Sea natives. Jotaro pointed my attention towards a school of starry triggerfish. Their scales made out an ombre of different shades of silver, a galaxy of golden specs shimmered on their bodies. A spotted eagle ray swam over our heads, his squished face beaming down at us.