06 | voice | forward dated to 01/08

[fistofthejoestar]

[well, here's someone who's either been very good at stepping off the grid or has been the victim of some imPort brand shenanigans. either way, Jonathan has some explaining to do - and from the heavy tone of his voice, he's caught up on the general idea of what he missed.]

It seems that the Porter still has a rather impeccable sense of timing.

[ah. that answers that one. the irritation is clear in Jonathan's voice, as is the way that he tries his best to restrain it. this isn't anyone on the network's fault, after all, and letting his frustration slip through won't help anyone. this is just the way things were sometimes.]

I've heard about what happened in Heropa during my absence, and I do hope that you'll all forgive me for being unable to help - and for worrying a great deal of you by seeming to have been caught up in the whole mess, I imagine.

[yeah, he can just imagine. swept away the night before, not returning until a few days after it had all been resolved? that's long enough to make any friend worry that he'd been entrapped by the jungle and then the victim of some supernatural malfunction when it all came crashing down.

he sighs, and you can hear shifting in the background as he runs his hands through his hair. it must be quite the rat's nest by now, with all the nervous energy he's been putting into fidgeting.]

If there's anything I can do now, late as it is, please let me know. And...[his tone lightens now, if only a fraction.]

Thank you, to whoever it is that's been feeding Hyperion while I was away. I'm afraid I'm not used to being swept out of universes or I'd have made arrangements for him myself. I'm certain he's as grateful as I am.

Comments

voice

[heavyhitter]

[ there's a few minutes here beforehand making sure none of the IMMENSE RELIEF reads too clearly in her voice... gotta play it cool. like a cool dude. ]

Oh my god, are you kidding me? Finally! The Porter's been a real fucking asshole lately.

[fistofthejoestar]

[meanwhile, Jonathan does nothing to hide his relief at hearing a familiar voice. this whole thing may have been more like an extended nap, but now that he's returned he's aware he's lost a whole week. that's a lot of time for a marked man.]

It does seem to have a knack for choosing the most inopportune moments. I hope I haven't fallen too far behind on business matters.

[heavyhitter]

Well, not far on the Krakatoa front. You think I don't plan for half my employees to go randomly missing?

[fistofthejoestar]

I find sometimes plans end up flying away from us when the time comes to be put into motion. I just wanted to be certain I wasn't causing too much of an inconvenience.

[heavyhitter]

You're never causing an inconvenience.

Where are you now, anyway?

[fistofthejoestar]

[he laughs, but doesn't argue the point. Jonathan knows at least some of his assumptions of troubling people were all in his head, and after losing a span of time he's not eager to start that up again now.]

At home. I don't think Hyperion would have let me leave even if I'd wanted to.

[heavyhitter]

Good, his furry ass was inconsolable.

Speaking of his furry ass, you guys should see my new place. I moved out. [ also obviously she has to see him immediately, she can only pretend for so long she wasn't grossly worried ]

[fistofthejoestar]

You did? I wish you'd told me you were moving sooner, I'd have bought you something as a housewarming gift.

[he's trying to sound like he's teasing, but...come on, Ramir, let him follow his code of etiquette! you don't just up and move on a friend without letting them buy you shit.]

[heavyhitter]

Last minute decision. Plus it was while you were gone, so it was a little hard to get a message over. But hey, it's not too late! I'm always accepting gifts.

[fistofthejoestar]

I'll have to see what I can pull together on such short notice. Is there anything aside from liquor that you'd care for?

[heavyhitter]

Well... I got, like, an air mattress, so you probably couldn't go wrong with anything. Bring me a chair, I'd be delighted.

[fistofthejoestar]

...Ramir, what happened to your other things? It's been two days since Heropa returned.

[heavyhitter]

Eh, most of it wasn't really mine. It was government-apartment stuff. But don't worry, I kept the giant cock.

[ by which she means the inexplicable statue of a giant metal rooster she's kept in the corner of her room for no reason other than being able to talk about her giant cock. ]

Voice

[unbreaker]

You're back.

[Josuke's voice is filled with a tired sort of enthusiasm. With recent events what they have been and his great grandfather's disappearance, the teenager hasn't been sleeping very well. In fact...he's been avoiding sleep as much as possible, afraid for what may lurk behind closed eyes and in the deeper recesses of his subconscious.

There are things he doesn't want to remember, moments in the recent past that he doesn't want to revisit. Again.]

Man...I missed you, gramps. But I figured the Porter couldn't keep ya gone.

['Figured' is more like 'hoped' because the alternative wasn't something Josuke wanted to consider. Jonathan returning to their world. Returning to eventually die by Dio's own hand. And him being left alone in this place with only Kira as a familiar face from home.

Needless to say, Josuke appreciates beyond words the fact that he has family here with him. Someone close to him...whom he hasn't totally let down.]

Can I maybe swing by later?

[fistofthejoestar]

I wouldn't have allowed for such a discourteous exit even if that had been its intention.

[he notes the weariness in Josuke's voice, of course, but doesn't comment on it. even without details it doesn't take a genius to figure out what the probably cause behind it is; and so Jonathan just makes sure that his own reply is filled with even more genuine warmth than it might otherwise have been and leaves it at that. there's time again for discussions if they're ever wanted - right now he just wants to be with the people he'd unintentionally left behind.]

But it has had the exciting effect of completely destroying whatever schedule I'd been piecing together beforehand. You're welcome anytime.

[he'd have been welcome whenever he wanted even if Jonathan was meant to go filming in an hour, but he figures that goes without saying these days. he was a pretty easy guy to nail down, after all.]

[unbreaker]

Heh...who needs a schedule anyway?

[In a time like this, at least.]

I mean, it's probably a good thing yours is all free up right now, 'cause I think I remember a certain lady [WOW IS THAT A TERM EVER USED LOOSELY HERE BUT SHHH] getting all worried about you when you vanished!

[He means Ramir. Of course. And they planned to spend some time with Jonathan together, but Josuke also doesn't want to intrude on any 'personal' time between the two. If such a thing exists. Which it probably doesn't, not knowing his great gramps, but even so...even just intruding on some friendly one-on-one catch up time seems like it'd be a bit rude.]

What I mean is, if you two want tonight to talk or something...

[fistofthejoestar]

[EXCUSE YOU JOSUKE EVERY WOMAN IS A LADY DON'T YOU GIVE HIM THAT MENTAL SHIT-TALKING ABOUT THE CHICK TRYING DESPERATELY TO GET INTO YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S PANTS]

Miss Ramir has an impeccable sense of timing. You don't need to worry about stepping on any toes.

[not that his family ever could. Ramir understood that, though, and it was partially why they got along so well. they both knew that allegiance to one's legacy went above nearly everything.]

Besides, I imagine that she'll want to give me a little stretch to forget you told me about the scare I gave her.

[well...look, it's been a tiring day. he's allowed to tease someone who's not around to fire back at him just this once.]

[unbreaker]

[Excuse YOU, didn't she also have a thing for his old man? That's not very lady-like! ...which isn't to say he dislikes Ramir at all, she's actually pretty cool once you get past the sharpness of her attitude. But she's still a far cry from being Erina!]

That so?

[Josuke laughs a little at that.]

Either she'll wanna give you a stretch or hunt me down for spilling the details. But either way, if you're cool with it, I can pop on over now. It'd...

[...be really nice to see his great gramps right about now. That's what he wants to say. But instead, he chooses not to worry the older man.]

Uh, it'd just take me a few minutes to get ready. But I could be there in no time at all really.

[fistofthejoestar]

I'm certainly not going anywhere. Take as much time as you need to.

[if he can sense the stress in his baby descendant's voice, he doesn't make any note of it. a little time just means enough of a pause to put on some tea and see if his housemates (or himself before departing, really) have eaten all of his snacks.

it's better this way, in all honesty. Jonathan wants to be absolutely sure he has a handle on everything before going outside in earnest. the differences between stands had been rather alarming and he doesn't want to see how far they go out in public.]

Action! (Just yell at me if this isn't okay!)

[unbreaker]

[Josuke says 'no time at all' but still takes a good forty-five minutes to an hour to get ready and head on over to Jonathan's. After all, it takes time to make yourself look refreshed and to practice smiling in the mirror so much that your muscles remember it as less of a command and more of a reflex again.

Outside his great gramps' place, he gives the front door a solid knock and then slowly lets himself in, all too ready to be attacked by Hyperion at the entrance, and maybe even looking forward to it a little.]

Yo, gramps! I'm here!

yells at you anyway tbh

[fistofthejoestar]

[it takes a moment or two for that requisite doggy assault, not from lack of desire but because Hyperion has been glued to his master's leg almost as soon as he'd walked through the door. he realizes eventually that someone's walked in and then he's careening towards the door as fast as his giant feet can carry him.

Hyperion is a very well-behaved dog, but it's been a while since he's seen a lot of the people he loves. there's only the smallest pause to recorrect his angle before he's leaping up onto Josuke, tail smacking into the wall like a jackhammer as he covers the boy in more drool than kisses. hey, at least he's trying.

Jonathan's pace is a little more sedate, as he has the remains of a sandwich to clear up and toss before emerging from the kitchen. it was nearly an hour, alright, and he had to test the cold cuts somehow. but his smile's as enthusiastic as his dog right now, even if he's politely hanging back to allow Hyperion the honors of a first greeting.]

It's been a while since he's been able to answer the door for me.

IN THAT CASE YELLS TOO

[unbreaker]

[Josuke doesn't utter one complaint as Hyperion lays on him big slobbery kisses because, while he's seen the dog off and on in his great gramp's absence, he'd still missed this sort of unconditional affection. It's even possible that upon being mauled by Hyperion, his heart swells up to two sizes larger!

Which is nothing compared to how much it swells when he sees his great grandfather...and then it's everything Josuke can do to ignore his stinging nose and fend off tears.]

Yeah...uh, I wasn't able to come by as much as I wanted while you were gone, but I stopped in a few times, took Hyperion on walks and stuff. [He scratches behind the dog's ears before letting him back down to all fours.] Ramir did most of the work, though. Speaking of...she here?

PERFECT THIS IS JUST WHAT I WANTED

[fistofthejoestar]

[Hyperion circles uselessly three or four times before apparently having spent an acceptable amount of energy and coming to heel at his master's side again. what a good boy.]

We both appreciate it all the same; you didn't have to do anything. [there's another tail thump from the dog to underscore the sentiment.] Miss Ramir and I are going to meet a little later in the day. Right now it's only us.

[including his housemate, who has been thankfully out and about for most of the day. Jonathan's incredibly grateful for the kind turn the universe has done him here; the stand hadn't shown any signs of violence in his disobedience, but he doesn't want to see that change with innocent bystanders nearby.

but right now he's not thinking about that. he's not thinking about much, really, aside from taking his turn at greeting Josuke with typical oversentimentality. Josuke gets as long as it takes his great-grandpa to laugh quietly, and then he's being pulled into a tight hug.]

[unbreaker]

[Hyperion's family, same as Jonathan, a fact the teen doesn't need to spell out for his great gramps. Whether he needed to do something or not, family is always there for each other. And besides, Hyperion couldn't exactly feed and walk himself! What little he and Ramir could do to help, what small amount of company they could provide in Jonathan's absence, they didn't do it because they'd had to. They'd done it because they wanted to. Because if their situations were reversed, Jonathan would do exactly the same for them.]

Just us, huh?

[As if to confirm, Josuke looks around, and that's how his grandfather is able to surprise him with a large-armed hug. And because it catches him off guard he responds a little too honestly at first, arms tight, fingers white-knuckled in their grip on the other man's shirt. The sort of hug that speaks for itself how terrified you are of losing someone. Of letting them go back to the horrible fate that awaits them. And of the unimaginable gratitude you feel to have them back again, to not be alone.

Pardon his language, Jonathan, but...]

I really fucking missed you.

[fistofthejoestar]

I'd say the same, but I've only just begun to feel it!

[and what a strange thing that was, to miss people only after you'd returned from an absence. perhaps this was what people awakening from comas felt like, suddenly opening their eyes to a rush of longing that they couldn't quite place.

much less abstract is the way that Josuke clings to him, and Jonathan is only too happy to return the affection in kind. he holds on tightly but not painfully, a supportive hand resting at the base of his neck. anything to make it clear that he was here and real, too solid to ever go anywhere without Jonathan's own permission.]

Thank you for waiting for me, Josuke.

[it's the first time that he's intimated the little fear that had been sitting in the back of his mind after realizing he'd been away. what if he'd lost the last piece of his family during the gap? another loss without a proper goodbye would have been too much.]