Ink Black Coffee and Syrupy Sweet Words

Chapter Five - Inside Out and Back Again

Jotaro felt his face turn a deep red. Kakyoin looked around confusedly, and his eyes widened as he realized where he was. When he laid them on Jotaro, his cheeks tinged themselves a light pink.

"Did we...?" he trailed off, slightly embarrassed. "I..."

"No! N-no, you fell asleep, and I didn't want to wake you..."

"Oh. I think I should be going, now..."

He gathered his things to leave, and was halfway out the door, when Jotaro tenderly grabbed his wrist.  His heart was beating at mach speed, and his face was burning hot.

"It's late. I... I'd rather not have to worry about you getting home safely. You did say that you lived pretty far away, right?" he blurted mindlessly.

"Yes, but... I don't want to be a bother, so–" said Kakyoin, biting his lip.

"You're not a bother. I like having you around."

"...Even so, you have stuff to do tomorrow, and I'll just get in the way. I'll be okay getting home. Promise."

Kakyoin wrenched his wrist from Jotaro's grasp, and practically slammed the door behind himself. Jotaro couldn't react quick enough to stop him. His hesitation had gotten the best of him; and now he was paying the price. He felt extremely foolish, not to mention the embarrassment that was thickly layered on top of that. Kakyoin had already thought of him as a physical recluse, which was bad enough in its own right, but now he most likely had the added label of an emotional recluse, as well.

'Maybe it's for the best.' he thought to himself. 'I'd have to distance myself eventually anyway.'

Those thoughts gave him an empty sort of comfort for the situation at hand, but did nothing to remedy the unwanted feelings that burdened him. It didn't matter what he tried to tell himself; a piece of himself still harbored a deep affection for the barista with the cherry red hair. It was with this, that Jotaro refused to let this bother him any longer. Something had to give, and the day that he let his feelings deteriorate his pride would be the day Hell freezes over, even if it meant losing the company of the person he was the most fond of. He immediately hopped into bed, ready to get the next day started. Jotaro knew the longer he waited, the more confidence he'd lose. ——————————————————

Jotaro had found himself in a familiar field of flowers, but something was terribly wrong. All the chrysanthemums were wilting, and the person who usually comfortably sat in them was gone. His own carnations were looking frail themsleves, and a few had already began to drop petals. The sky had grown dark and cloudy, but the rain was refusing to fall. He coughed, once, twice, three times into his hand, and blood stained narcissus petals were left behind. As he tried to shake them off, they rooted themselves into his skin, and began to grow uncharacteristically thick and thorny vines. They constricted around every part of his body, tightening around his neck, especially. The vines were mercilessly choking him. The more he struggled, the tighter they got, and the deeper the thorns embedded themselves...
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Instead of immediately waking up like last time, Jotaro had been paralyzed from his head to his toes. He couldn't move an inch, despite being fully conscious. His alarm angrily blared at him, but there was nothing he could do about it. Slowly and surely, he regained his ability to move, and the moment he had a full range of motion, he slinked out of bed, his determination from yesterday unhampered. Thankfully, work was passing by quickly, and lunch had rolled around before he knew it. Jotaro waited nervously, hoping that Kakyoin showed up sooner, rather then later. And yet, he never showed. Jotaro convinced himself that he was off that day, and that he'd come visit tomorrow. He didn't. The week flew by, and there was no sign of him. That Friday, Jotaro began to fret, and the events from the last time they saw each other invaded his mind, convincing him that he hadn't made it home in the first place. That worry nagged at the back of his mind the entire week, and only strengthened towards the end of the last day that they both had work that week. Closing time was approaching fast, and there was no sign of him at all. This was the final nail in the coffin, as Jotaro couldn't, or rather, wouldn't, go over to the cafe. He was about to troop upstairs, when he heard a quiet knocking on the door. Kakyoin was standing outside awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He toned it down slightly when Jotaro came to let him in, but it was still noticeable regardless.

"Listen... About last night..." he began, looking down at the floor embarrassed. "I... I did want to stay, but... I didn't want to make things more awkward then they already were. And then, you probably thought I was avoiding you, but... I just..."

"It's okay, really."

"No... it isn't. I wasn't strong enough to face the truth, and I made you suffer for it."

"The truth? What do you—"

"The truth, Jotaro!" he said exasperatedly. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. I know it's sudden, but you need to know."

"That makes two of us, then. I have to get something off my chest."

"Well, why don't you say what you have to, first? It's clearly more important."

"But you were the one who brought it up first, so you go."

"I don't mind waiting for you, honestly! You go."

"Don't worry about all that. What I have to say isn't all that important. Go."

"Yes, but, you probably have–"

"Just go, for God's sake–"

"No, I insist–"

"Alright, alright!" Jotaro interjected. "Why don't we just... Say it at the same time?"

"...Fine. On the count of three."

"Okay. One..."

"Two... "

"Three."

"I'm in love with you." they said in almost perfect unison.