Cherry Wine and Sunshine

Two weeks ago, I would've gagged at the thought of hanging out with JoJo after an entire, painstaking day's worth of training alongside him. But now, after what had felt like a lifetime of spending each day by his side, it had become routine. Almost every evening we'd find ourselves sprawled on the steps of the courtyard with a bottle of wine; chatting leisurely to pass the time as we got tipsy till' nightfall, and sometimes even past then. Tonight however, the hot summertime drought had finally been relieved by an earth-shaking storm that had appeared out of nowhere just as we were finishing up our last bout of training.
I was pleased about it. It'd been a long time since I'd spent a rainy night in, listening in comfortable solitude as droplets drummed on the windows by which I'd read. It was something like bliss. I'd enjoyed a lot of nights like those back when I first started training with Lisa Lisa, appreciating the foreign security of it all.
But of course, my dreamy evening was over before it had even started. I jumped as I heard my doorknob turn sharply, then stop short as the lock prevented it from turning all the way. A series of rapid knocks sent me jumping to my feet. I wasn't really dressed for a fight; I had stripped down to my undershirt and boxers, expecting not to leave my room for the rest of the night. My muscles were exhausted, but the adrenaline coursing through my blood was enough to make me feel swift on my feet as I swung open the door to reveal JoJo, bouncing up and down on his heels excitedly, a beer in each hand. I slumped my shoulders, exhaling loudly as he let himself in.
"Look what I found!" JoJo said excitedly, thrusting a beer towards me with a grin. "Since we couldn't have our nightly drinks tonight, and all the wine in Lisa Lisa's room smelled gross, I stole these from the kitchen!"
Caesar rolled his eyes. "Gross? Lisa Lisa keeps some of the finest wine I've ever tasted! She's only shared it with me once or twice for major celebrations...I can't believe you could say that. Though, I guess you're probably used to the cherry wine I give you."
"That's what that is?" JoJo replied offhandedly, jumping back on Caesar's bed. He cracked open the beer, chugging nearly half before coming up for air.
"Oi! Don't you dare touch my bed with those muddy boots of yours!"
JoJo smirked and kicked his boots off and hit Caesar's dresser with them. "There, happy princess?" Caesar scowled, but didn't respond. There was no point in arguing; JoJo wasn't gonna budge unless he was dragged out by his ankles, and he didn't have the energy for that feat, even though he was probably one of the few people capable of it. Caesar tasted the beer himself, instantly gagging.
"Ugh, how can you stomach this lukewarm wheat juice?"
"Like a man," JoJo said, flexing and downing the rest of the beverage to prove a point. As he took his lips off the can, his face fell. "Aw, dammit! That didn't last at all!" Caesar snorted, wordlessly placing down his own beer and looking through his own wine collection to brandish a new bottle of cherry wine. Joseph's eyes widened in excitement. 'He acts like a little puppy', Caesar thought fondly as he poured them both a tall glass. There was something oddly sweet about how sincere Joseph was in his outward exterior. It made him look a little stupid at times, sure, but endearing nonetheless. He sat down next to him on his bed, holding out his hand for Joseph to take the drink.
Joseph graciously took the glass, gulping down the liquid earnestly. "Slow down!" Caesar exclaimed. "This is vino costoso! You're supposed to savor the exceptional flavors."
"Yeah, yeah," Joseph mockingly replied, pulling the glass from his lips. "You know, you talk so weird! Using such fancy words."
"Those are hardly fancy, JoJo. You're just an imbecile."
"There you go again!" he exclaimed, ignoring the insult thrown at him. "You sound like a flashy little human-thesaurus."
Caesar scoffed at the ridiculous insult. "Well, at least I can pronounce my 'R's'."
"I can pronounce my 'R's'."
"Really," Caesar raised an eyebrow at the red faced boy, "You can't even say my name properly."
"Yeah, I can! Caesar."
"It's not 'Ceasuuuhh~'', it's Caesar."
"Oh, that's exactly what I said!" JoJo protested, crossing his arms in frustration. "Besides, I bet you can't say Joseph right, either!"
"...Joseph?"
"Cho-sev-a!" Joseph said back in a terrible impression of an Italian accent.
"Now you're just making this up-" Caesar was cut short as JoJo picked up a picture frame on his nightstand. "Hey, don't break anything!"
JoJo held the picture close to his face, examining it. "Woah, who's car is that?" Caesar took the picture from him and looked at it.
"Ah...that's mine. My sister got it for me as a surprise, hoping it would coax me to stay in Rome with her. I only really drive it when I visit for holidays." It made sense that JoJo was impressed. It was rather expensive, a sleek red sports car that had left Caesar himself speechless when he had received it.
"That's incredible! You're so lucky...I bet you get loads of attention from the ladies in that."
"If you like it so much, I'll take you on a ride sometime." The words left Caesar's mouth before he even thought them. The sudden idea made him smile. "Maybe after once all this is over, I could take you to Rome," he thought aloud.
"Really? That'd be so cool! Would you let me drive it?"
"Maybe once you get a little more mature, sure," he laughed, to which JoJo pouted. The idea of taking JoJo back home made Caesar's heart ache for something he never realized he'd wanted so bad. Suddenly, he became hyper-aware of the boy on his bed next to him, sitting only a few inches away. Of the intense blue eyes trained on him, of the light freckles sprinkled over the tops of his well-defined cheekbones, of the soft brown hair that fell over his forehead that he had the sudden urge to brush aside. It was a lot, and Caesar felt his face flush as an all too familiar ache in his heart appeared, and finally it made perfect sense why.
"So, what else is in Rome?" JoJo asked after a while. "I mean, I'm sure the car is the coolest thing, but..." Caesar had to think for a long time about that, taking mindless sips of wine as he mowed over memories of the town he'd visit his sister in. Finally, a particular memory stuck out in his mind.
"There's this sunflower field," he started with a smile. "Hundreds of acres of Helianthus sunflowers by her house. You could spend hours there, it's so breathtaking. I haven't seen those in a very long time." He half expected JoJo to laugh and call him girlish for liking flowers so much. Instead, he stayed silent, his gaze distant as if he was imagining it too.
They finished the bottle too quickly, opening up another as JoJo recounted stories of New York. Caesar listened as he told him about a friend he had called Smokey and the bizarre situations they'd gotten themselves into.
"Who would have guessed that so many of your problems stemmed from a lack of respect to autorità?" he commented sardonically. JoJo gave him a shove.
"Well sorry I like to live on the edge!" he said boastingly.
By the time they were a quarter of the way through their second bottle, Caesar was beginning to feel drowsy. JoJo was apparently losing his composure too, practically sitting on Caesar's lap as he told him bad, convoluted jokes. Normally, he'd have been shoved onto the floor but Caesar's dulled senses allowed him to invite this intimacy.
    JoJo gesticulated dramatically, accidentally knocking Caesar's wine glass so it spilled all over the both of them. JoJo laughed loudly as Caesar groaned. "Quick, off the bed before it gets on my sheets!" The two stood, dripping in sweet wine as Caesar meticulously inspected his bed to ensure not a drop had stained the perfectly white sheets. When he was satisfied, he ushered the two of them into the bathroom and had JoJo strip to his boxers.
He didn't get as much damage as Caesar did, but either way Caesar helped him by washing his chest with a washcloth. It was sort of unnecessary, but neither one said anything about it. After that, Caesar made him leave, saying he was gonna take a shower. He stayed in there for a long time, allowing himself to relax and appreciating the much needed effects of the cold water. JoJo called out to him with questions and jokes every once in a while, but eventually went silent. Caesar wasn't positive he was still there until he exited the bathroom to see him in his bed, completely passed out with the covers hanging half on his body.
He looked less than graceful, with one arm over his head and the other draped over his chest, drool coming out his mouth. He looked surprisingly adorable like that. Caesar pondered waking him up, but decided it'd just be easier to let him sleep. He got in bed as slowly as he could, as not to wake him. It seemed he was a heavy sleeper though, and didn't stir. Caesar put out his lamp, rolling over to face Joseph.
The moon was prominent through the weaning storm clouds, flooding Joseph's face with a soft silver light that made his features appear soft and angelic. His lips were parted slightly, looking soft and delicate. Caesar wiped the drool from his face, wiping it on Joseph's arm in minute disgust. He gently brushed the hair out of his face and admired how sweet he looked. Caesar smiled, gently flicking his nose as he sat back.  "Goodnight, Joseph."

***
Caesar decided with certainty there was no sweeter sight than waking up to Joseph's heavy arm draped across his middle, his face buried into his side. The sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon, the sky a beautiful gradient that painted the room with light a magnificent orange: his favorite. He stayed perfectly still for a long time before Joseph stirred, pretending to stay asleep as he felt him sit up quickly in surprise. "...Oh..." Joseph said softly. He felt a hand gently brush the side of his face, and had to use all his willpower not to smile. He wanted to sit up, to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. So he stayed there, felt the weight of Joseph leave his bed and the quiet sound of a closing door.
He must've fallen back asleep because he woke up again, feeling cold from the absence of the warm body he'd slept beside. He sighed and sat up, something bright yellow in the corner of his eye catching his attention. His eyes landed on his dresser, where the usually empty antique vase he owned was filled to the brims with massive, yellow and white Helianthus sunflowers. He felt his heart leap at the sight, rushing over to run a delicate finger over the soft petals.
"JoJo, you bastard..." He had no idea how Joseph had managed to find the flowers, but noted that only three hours had passed since that morning when he'd left. However he'd pulled it off, Caesar felt as if he'd been given a piece of sunshine, his heart lighting up as he thought about the other boy. He ran his fingers over the stems, and felt a piece of paper peeking out of them. He pulled it out, and read in JoJo's messy handwriting: "Your next line will be, 'Wow, thank you JoJo! How did you do that?" He laughed, slipping the paper into his desk drawer to save alongside his few other sentimental items he kept hidden away.
"Thanks, JoJo."