Heart of Stone || Jotaro x Reader (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 19

"Hey! This is a nice little town, don't you think?" Joseph said with a small grin on his face.

You winced, feeling the dark, damp atmosphere closing in on you. It felt like it was a ghost town, and you felt like someone was watching you. You hated it.

"There must be at least a few thousand people living here," he added shortly after.

Polnareff parked the car, and you climbed out with a sigh. Your eyes locked on a sign.

"Let's ask about a hotel at that restaurant over there," you suggested, pointing it out.

You just wanted to hide from the creepy atmosphere in a hotel, and take a good nap while you were there.

"There's a weird quiet about this place. No matter where we've gone, every other place has been rowdy and congested," Polnareff said, voicing his own thoughts.

"Maybe it's because of the fog," Kakyoin responded with a small shrug.

"Listen up, guys. In Pakistan and the rest of the Islamic world, this is how you greet people," Joseph said with a rather confident tone of voice.

"First, you smile and say," he started, turning around to face one of the citizens.

He called out a greeting in a foreign language to the guy in front of the restaurant. The guy was oddly silent, and his blank face made you even more uncomfortable. Joseph's shoulders slowly tensed, showing his growing discomfort. The silent man quickly flipped the status sign to show "closed," which made Joseph even more disturbed. You were already freaking out.

"Uh. No harm intended! No need to close up shop just for us. We just wanted to ask a question. Are there any hotels here in town?" Joseph said, giving a few awkward laughs as he held his hands up in a submissive gesture.

Again, the man was as silent as a mouse, and his blank stare made him look as if... he were dead. But, of course, that wasn't possible. Maybe he just didn't like foreigners? Finally, he spoke.

"I do not know. Have a good day," he said, turning away to walk back into the restaurant.

"Hey! Wait a minute! What do you mean?" Joseph asked, taking a few steps forward.

He paused as if he saw something strange. He was in front of you, so you couldn't see. Apparently, it freaked him out because he was as stiff as a board. Seeing the man, who was basically the father you never had, look so terrified made you extremely worried. You put a hand on his shoulder, stepping forward to stand by his side. He rubbed his eyes, like he couldn't believe what he just saw, and then glanced at your small hand on his shoulder before placing a hand on top of yours.  His other hand falls to his side with a defeated slap against his thigh.

"You okay, padre?" you whispered, not wanting the others to hear you calling him "father" in Italian.

It was just one of those words you knew because your mom's old friends like to watch Italian-based movies. His eyes widened in surprise as he rapidly turned toward you, not letting go of your hand but holding your hand gently as it fell from his shoulder.

"Did you just call me dad in Italian?" he whispered back.

You gave your own look of surprise.

"How did you know that?" you asked, eyebrows furrowing.

He gave a sweet smile that almost seemed... sad.

"An old friend... That's a story for another time, dear," he answered, gently rubbing your knuckles.

That sent a warmth through your chest, and you couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm fine... I just thought I saw something strange," he said.