As I said, JJBA streak TwT

Prompt 32: "You can spend the night, if you want."

Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Pairing(s): JonaDio (Jonathan Joestar/Dio Brando) (bromance? romance?? this pairing is so c̶̨͈͍͉͕̬͐̂͝ụ̸̄͂̓̽̏̂̀͊̂̌r̴̛̫̺͖̎̽̉̎̾̔̏̄̑s̵̖͈͕͉̯̠͓͚͑̀̒̾̑͂̚e̷̛̲̳̺̖͍̮̫͜d̸̰̱̥͕̂̄͑͒͘̕͝ but at the same time it's growing on me and idk what to do aaaa—)

Tags & warnings: graphic depictions of violence (injury & mild gore), implied/referenced child abuse & alcoholism, mild language, canonical minor character death(s), hurt/comfort, angst & fluff

Consistent tense?? We don't know her 🙅‍♀️

✁ — — —

He did it. He finally did it. A quick, hard stab to the neck, albeit a bit messy since it was done using one of the many broken bottles lying around. They always had enough of those, even before Mom died. Alcoholism was a well-known friend of the Brandos. But the destruction of their family... no, Dio can't blame it on anything except for that bag of dicks he had to call a father. No matter... he's dead, he repeats to himself — but even now, even when he's god-knows-how-far away from their house, trembling underneath the heavy rain in nothing but a shirt, pants and a ragged pair of shoes because he swore he would never accept anything from that man again, the memory still unfolds clearly in his head. His father's fist, rough against the side of his face before it sent him tumbling. The bottle, cold in his grip when he somehow found it and gripped onto it tight. The blood, thick and hot as it spurted out from his nose and from his father's neck, now littered with shards of glass. Just thinking about it makes him shake, makes him want to throw up — but he can't deny the overwhelming satisfaction that came with watching Dario Brando writhe, the glee as he frothed and choked, the calmness with which he watched him die.

Dio wonders if he has finally lost it.

He has stopped, somehow, in front of a cafe shop. His legs feel stiff as stone, and he can't see more than five meters ahead of him because of all that rainwater or blood or whatever it was in his eyes. With this blood-splattered outfit and the crime scene he's left full of evidence, Dio doubts he would get away with what he has done. For now, he'll just take shelter under this awning and hope the rain stops before he's chased away by the shop owners. Damnit, my head feels so heavy....

"Hey, what are you doing there?" A voice pulls him back from the senseless darkness of sleep. Startled and irritated, Dio looks up — only to freeze when he sees the expression on the stranger's face. The only other person to have ever looked at him with such kindness is his mother, but she's already long dead. Indeed, this stranger is a boy — not much older than him, it would seem, but definitely looking much more proper even in his employee uniform and apron. Before Dio can react, the boy emerges fully from inside the shop and walks over, umbrella in hand:

"Are you okay?"

Dio gives him a dubious look. His name tag reads Jonathan — hmph, what a boring rich-boy name. Even his hair looks brushed after supposedly a whole day of hard work, and his hand as he extends it to Dio has minimal calluses. But he shows no visible disgust toward the blond, or curiosity or suspicion at his battered appearance. "Do you want to come inside?"

Yes. Dio can't find the strength to speak, so he just stands up instead, but just then his vision turns to black and his legs wobble as if they want to give out. He doesn't hit the floor, though, because Jonathan has immediately reached over and put an arm around him for support, steadying the blond. "Come on."

Dio hates being so weak that he has to rely on someone, but the warmth radiating from Jonathan's body is comforting, and he doesn't seem to mind the sheer amount of rainwater dripping off of the blond either. They enter the shop, and Jonathan guides Dio to a nearby chair:

"Have a seat, I'll be right back."

I hope you know that you've just invited a murderer into your shop, Dio sneers in his head, but nonetheless sits obediently while the brunet goes to the back. This cafe shop is cozy and nice, seemingly vintage-themed, with its main decoration being dozens of little wooden plant pots lying around everywhere: on top of tables, inside bookshelves, on windowsills... even on the cashier counter. The daintiness of just about everything in here makes Dio feel very out of place, and he wonders if he should leave after all; luckily, Jonathan reemerges just in time.

"Sorry for the lack of light — the power's out and probably not coming back until that terrible rain eases up." The brunet smiles apologetically as he strikes a match to light a candle, which emits a pleasant scent as it burns. "Here, a towel for you to dry off... and some clothes too, if you want. I think they'll fit you."

"... Thanks." Dio doesn't want to admit it, but this may be the softest towel he has touched in months. Picking the hoodie up, his eyes glimpse the scrawled initials on the tag. "JJ?"

"Oh, that's my name. Jonathan Joestar. People call me JoJo for short." Jonathan explains, before bringing a hand up to scratch his head. "Sorry... technically I can't lend you anything from the shop, so...."

"No, don't worry about it.... Thank you." The corner of Dio's mouth quirks up, before he stands and begins to change into Jonathan's clothes. He has no qualms about stripping in front of a stranger, whether in the semi-darkness or not — but it seems that a certain brunet does. Dio has just pulled the hoodie over his head when, out of the corner of his eye, he catches the rapid spread of pink across Jonathan's cheeks:

"I'll go make some, uh, tea! And get you some food! That is, if you don't mind cake, because that's all we really have.... Uh, would you like some?"

"Anything you can give me is great." Dio smiles, and Jonathan nods before quickly disappearing into the back again. Picking the towel up, the blond ruffles his hair dry as he flops down onto a nearby couch. He knows he shouldn't be feeling nearly this relaxed in such unfamiliar territories, but somehow, looking at the world from behind the cafe's windows makes him feel as though nothing out there is ever going to get to him again. Even more so, when Jonathan comes back with what he's promised:

"Here you go. Please have as much as you'd like, it's all on the house."

On the little tray he's set down are two steaming cups of tea, and a generous, gleaming slice of red velvet cake. Just looking at it makes Dio's taste buds tingle, but he forces himself to remain calm as he takes the first bite. The slight saltiness of the cream cheese frosting, combined with the sugary fluffiness of the cake almost makes him tear up. It's so good. Dio finishes two, three bites in just seconds, then wraps his trembling hands around the teacup and takes a sip, wincing slightly as the scalding liquid flows down his throat. Jonathan chuckles, but there's no meanness to it:

"Don't rush. There's more where that came from."

"I'm not a child, thanks." Dio snaps, throwing the brunet a sharp glare. He finds it funny when Jonathan immediately flusters:

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't... I didn't mean it like that. Sorry, that was so rude."

Faced with such a sincere apology, the blond can't help but laugh. "I'm just kidding. Man, are you sure you work as a waiter? Won't customers just walk all over you if you keep apologizing for your every move?"

"Well...." The brunet pauses, and Dio takes the opportunity to have some more cake. "I guess so, yeah. But most of our customers are regulars, and they respect my dad, so they're usually easy on me."

"Your dad works here?"

"He's the owner."

"Oh. Your parents' shop, then?"

"Just my dad's. He, uh, set it up after my mom passed away. She's always wanted to run her own cafe."

Dio's fork freezes mid-stab. Looking over to Jonathan, he can detect a mild sadness surrounding the brunet, even as a slight smile pulls at the corners of his mouth. Jonathan reaches for his teacup and drinks in silence; Dio follows suit with the slice of cake. For a while, neither of them say anything.

"Aren't you going to ask what happened to me?"

Jonathan turns to the blond in surprise. To be honest, Dio doesn't know why he said that either. He isn't about to turn himself in, that's for sure — but if Jonathan asks, there is a possibility he will tell him the truth. What? I'm actually losing it. He feels himself tense up when the brunet speaks:

"No. I don't think that's of too-great importance. If you want, you can tell me, but... either way, I wasn't going to leave you out there in the rain alone."

Silence. Jonathan's face is illuminated by the candlelight, but Dio is certain that even in complete darkness, his smile would not lose its warmth. Indeed, that sensation is permeating him even now, chasing the cold out from his body and filling in the loneliest gaps. Dio reaches for his teacup and gulps the liquid down; in his throat, a lump seems to be forming without any apparent reason.

"Well, it's getting late." Jonathan checks his watch, then yawns. "And it looks like the rain isn't going to stop any time soon. So, uh... wait, I don't know your name."

"Dio."

"So, Dio," Jonathan continues, the name rolling off his tongue as naturally as an old friend's, "you can spend the night, if you want. I'll probably stay, too — hopefully my dad can figure it out from the rain."

"I think he will." Dio says, and then they clear away the dishes and push two couches together to make a bed. Curled up underneath a blanket that smells like coffee, with Jonathan dozing off by his side and Dio about to fall asleep himself, he finds it surprisingly hard to continue thinking about the events that happened earlier. Tomorrow, he'll go back. Tomorrow, he'll find a way to get rid of the evidence. But just for now, while the sweetness of sugar still lingers on his lips, and the warmth of tea, candles and a smile still suffuses his insides — Dio thinks he will be able to afford some rest.

✁ — — —

Lol you can probably tell when I stopped writing this (to write the BruAbba one hehe) (hint: where it stopped sounding all poetic and philosophical), and when I returned. Also, the moments where I thought JonaDio belongs in bromance, and the ones where I thought it belongs in romance :') Even after completing this, I really have no idea :/ Your thoughts?

In all honesty tho, I just wanted to write this first meeting AU bc I thought it'd be cute :3 And also, most fics I've seen on AO3 of this ship portray it as a toxic relationship?? (Idk maybe I haven't seen enough fics, but also ngl canon Dio is toxic as hell :') ) So I think they (and their shippers) deserve a fluffy one ;)

I wonder what my next oneshot will be about :') Tbh I'm closer to snapping and doing BruAbba Week 2020 than y'all may think 👀 But it also might be Dadbacchio and Giorson bonding. I guess we'll see ✌️

Also oops almost forgot: I publish these shots on AO3 as well and on there I have titles for them. What do y'all think if I put the titles on Wattpad too?