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The “Sky Lantern” festivals of Northern Taiwan were a beautiful sight, a truly unique cultural experience that had entranced Kakyoin from the very first moment he saw photos of the celebration. Not because of the beauty itself in the photos, oh no. His fascination with the event came from the fact that, clearly, the true wonders and colors of the lanterns could /not/ be properly caught in their full glory unless seen in person. Even though the colors popped out of pages in the finest quality print, Kakyoin knew there could be no better way to experience the true potential of the lights until he could see them in person.
Indeed, Kakyoin wanted nothing more than to see the Sky Lanterns. Which is how he ended up alone in a wooden boat in the middle of the lake, arms crossed over his chest, sitting angrily in the dark thinking about just how foul his mood became and how unfair that was.
Yes. He wanted to see the Sky Lanterns. But he didn’t want to watch them /alone/. He even picked out the perfect spot to view the lanterns from, had gone to the trouble of /hand painting/ lanterns for all of his friends to send off together on the water front, and yet here he was. Alone. With one stupid lantern he had painted for himself that he stubbornly brought with him when he dragged the boat out on his own.
Kakyoin had approached every single one of his “friends” to invite them to the Sky Lantern festival and each had turned him down. Avdol and Joseph apparently had drinking plans together and simply could not reschedule for another night. The one man he could usually count on, Polnareff, bailed on him by saying he had important errands to run and wouldn’t have them done in time for the lantern send off. Jotaro simply shook his head and said he couldn't be bothered going to a lantern festival because they were “dull” and “all the same” (Of course. Kakyoin did not have high hopes for Jotaro coming. But the others?).
At the end of the day, he even was desperate enough to look to Iggy.
“... You’ll come with me, right?” he asked. Iggy responded by looking up at him with a deadpan look on his dog face, promptly letting a destructively noisy fart rip, then trotting away proudly.
… Kakyoin didn't know what else he could possibly expect from the dog.
So there he sat. Alone. Chilled by the wind moving along the surface of the water and using all of the energy from his seething put-out anger to warm himself as well as try to push off the more painful tang of loneliness.
He looked to his watch. Almost time to let the lanterns free. He reached down to put the lantern on his lap but stopped midway when he heard the faint sound of paddling. For a moment his anger spiked. Was some stranger on their way to steal his perfect viewing spot? He could put up with his friends being useless drunkards, or mindless procrastinators, buzzkills and even fart-mongers but he would certainly /not/ let anyone disturb his peace during the one moment he had been looking forward to all month. He looked up to sass that boat right off, when he stopped. His mouth hanging open slightly, looking at the figure in the boat.
He didn’t believe it at first but there was no mistaking that silhoutte. Jotaro Kujo rowing his way through the water in a small boat. He reached Kakyoin’s boat, dropping anchor, then immediately standing up and walking over into the boat Kakyoin sat in. He took a seat right next to Kakyoin without a word. Then, silence.
Kakyoin was /not/ going to play that game with Jotaro. He knew exactly what Jotaro was expecting. A sigh, a smile, a ‘Oh Joy, you came~ Thank you Jotaro-san~’ but Kakyoin wasn’t going to take the bait. He looked out over the water, towards the town, and waited.
His patience paid off, as Jotaro finally felt the need to look cool and explain his actions far stronger than the need to communicate as little as possible. He cleared his throat slightly and spoke up. “I changed my mind.”
“I can see that,” Kakyoin responded. He moved his eyes over to Jotaro’s direction, but not his body. He’d have to do better than /that/. More silence. To the point where Kakyoin had to hide the small smile on his face by covering it with a hand, too amused by seeing Jotaro squirming uncomfortably for the very first time.
“... I have never seen this before. In Taiwan. I heard it’s ….. nice,” Jotaro said.
Kakyoin felt as though he had made Jotaro struggle enough to prove his change of heart. He turned towards his fellow student now, smiling full on at him. “... Did you know that this tradition started as a way to alert others that the town was safe from evil? They’d set off fireworks first and then release the lanterns as a beacon of good fortune.”
The two of them made small talk about the trivia around the sky lanterns for a short time, until they heard the sounds of commotion off of the water. Kakyoin turned to look. A bright and excited smile lit up his features now as he announced “Ah!! It’s starting!”. Jotaro looked as well, adjusting his cap back on his head more so he could have a better view.
The two sat together now just watching at first. As the first lights began to twinkle in the distance, then others, and soft bubbles of light began to float up into the sky. Soon the darkness all around them began to light up and glow in a comforting orange and gold haze. It filled the air around them. Lanterns drifting off into the distance, lanterns landing on the water and floating all over. Kakyoin was wrong. This experience was even more beautiful than he ever could have imagined. He leaned back in his seat so he could tilt his head back and get a better look at the sky. Kakyoin had spent a good deal of his time using stands to fight. He’d been through countless horrifying situations against seemingly impossible powers. It had him believing for some time that any concept of “magic” was painful and frightful… but looking at these lights drifting along in the air made it feel like the childhood concept of magic was real. Magical things as happenings of beauty and joy, like faeries dancing in the night sky. It was enough to make anyone a believer.
He turned his head to his companion. “Jotaro, isn’t this…”
His words cut off. Next to him was something even more rare and beautiful than the lights glimmering in the sky. Jotaro Kujo with a kind look in his eyes and a soft smile on his face. Looking right at Kakyoin. Kakyoin did not even feel Jotaro’s eyes on him, for he had been too invested in watching the lanterns all around them.
‘You’re smiling…. how nice.’ Kakyoin thought, but dared not speak out. He didn’t want to shatter whatever force of nature was at work here, making Jotaro look happy instead of his usual deadpan looks. “Jotaro… Have you ever had that strange feeling? Where you see something so stunning or vibrant that everything you’ve seen up to that point has been wrong? Like… being blind all your life, but finally getting the right pair of glasses that help you see clearly… Ah…” Kakyoin said and then trailed off. He turned his head away, bashful. “I’m not doing a very good job of explaining-”
He stopped when he felt a firm but gentle hand grasp his shoulder. He could feel it this time, Jotaro’s eyes still fixed on him. “I understand,” he said. Short, sweet, and to the point. It brought a smile back on his face, while he reached under the seat and brought his own lantern out.
“I only have this one. I didn’t expect /company/…” he said at first. Of course, emphasizing the fact he thought he’d be alone tonight. He laughed merrily when he saw Jotaro’s indignant frown from the corner of his eye, turning towards him while still chuckling. “But we can send it off together. Ok?”
A nod from Jotaro, while he did the honors of reaching into his pocket and pulling a lighter out. He reached inside the lamp to light it while Kakyoin held the paper edges, putting the lighter back into his pocket once it was ignited. Kakyoin had tried to position his hands so there was room for both of their hands on the surface of the paper. Needless to say, he was shocked when instead of putting his hands on the blank parts, Jotaro instead placed his hands directly on top of Kakyoin’s.
Was it on purpose? Kakyoin did not know, and he could not care less. He only smiled more, ignoring the beat that his heart skipped when he felt Jotaro’s hands upon his own and how easily the chill of the night went away with his good friend sitting beside him. Without a word the two of them raised their hands up into the sky and sent their lantern off flying to join the others. Kakyoin tried not to feel too disappointed when their hands separated once more.
They spent the next stretch of time sitting in that boat, enjoying the company of one another. They sent some of the lanterns that had gathered in the water around their boat flying off into the sky, trying to see who could get a lantern to float the highest (Jotaro nearly falling off of the boat in a desperate attempt to beat Kakyoin’s record. Kakyoin then nearly fell of the boat by laughing so much at Jotaro’s startled face as he fell down inside the boat). They talked and played, for quite awhile, until most of the lanterns settled on the water around them.
In that moment, Kakyoin turned to speak to Jotaro. He had intended to ask if he wanted to return to shore, to join the festivities happening back on land or perhaps save Joseph and Advol from drinking too merrily. He didn’t expect Jotaro to lean in at that moment, with one hand and arm going around behind Kakyoin’s back.
As Kakyoin felt this, he stopped. Jotaro was leaning in close to him. Sure his eyes were looking over his shoulder instead of at his face, but why else would he be leaning in so close like this? the environment and the atmosphere swept over Kakyoin’s sense of logic, swallowing him whole. Replaced by flights of fancy, the sound of his heart beating out of his chest while he turned to face Jotaro fully. ‘We’re doing this...’ he thought to himself, closing his eyes and parting his lips, leaning into Jotaro with anticipation. It was all happening so slowly, so tenderly. Kakyoin felt himself grow weak in the knees, feeling Jotarto’s lips and breath so close to his own and finally that deep sultry voice that had plagued Kakyoin’s darkest secret dreams for nights on end spoke up:
“... What are you doing?”
Kakyoin’s eyes snapped open. That was not the answer he was looking for. Nor was the look of confusion across Jotaro’s face. In a fit of confusion and panic, his most intelligent response was “What are /you/ doing?”
Jotaro pulled up a rope with his hands… then pointed to the boat he had originally arrived in. “... It was drifting away. I was pulling it back in.”
…
Kakyoin wasn’t sure what force in his mind drove him to suddenly push Jotaro over the other side of the boat and into the water. But damn if it didn’t feel good and bring him back at least some of his dignity. He even got a good laugh out of it, seeing Jotaro’s hand shooting out of the water with his cap on the end of his fist. To keep his beloved hat from water damage, of course. Once Jotaro was out of the water, tossing his hat into the safety of the boat while fixing his now soaking wet hair, Kakyoin went to the edge to help him back up.
“Don’t just take people by surprise like that! Next time how about you ask me to move before you start invading my personal space?” Kakyoin asked.
"I'll invade /your/ personal space-" Jotaro attempted as some sort of witty comeback. There was a pause as the cogs turned in Jotaro's head. The "Your face" comeback did not fit in this conversation. Jotaro was shocked and appalled. He quickly changed strategy.
“You didn’t seem to friggen /mind/ it at first. Ass.” Jotarto responded. And oh how livid he looked. The look of disgust at his now soggy state distracted Kakyoin from what he should have been looking out for as Jotaro swam back to the edge. Kakyoin offered a hand down to his fellow student. Instead, he had the front of his shirt and collar grasped onto suddenly. Jotarto pushed their lips together in a rough, but surprisingly inexperienced manner.
‘Am I his first kiss?’ Kakyoin couldn’t help but wonder, before he returned it. No time for extra thoughts now. He had to share this clumsy kiss, with his good friend and travelling partner. Even if it was much less romantic than the first kiss he wanted, he could not help but blush with bashful bliss.
It did not last for long. Soon, Jotaro pulled his face away from Kakyoins. He stayed bobbing up and down in the water. He was obviously trying to look as stern as always, but so many parts of his face and body language were screaming “please tell me that was ok”. Kakyoin would indulge his lack of communication this once.
“Thank you,” said Kakyoin. With a kind heartfelt smile. Truly, he was thankful. For the kiss, for Jotaro showing up to keep him company… for their friendship this entire trip.
Kakyoin pulled Jotarto back up into the boat. Taking his jacket off in order to let it air dry might have felt the man feeling cold and chilled, but Kakyoin warmed him up just fine with a string of other kisses and some disgruntled (but not unwelcome) cuddling.
Back on shore, the rest of the gang all stood together on a small dock looking out into the water.
“Stop hogging the binoculars! Did it work? Did it happen?!” Exclaimed Polnareff, tugging on the shoulders of their older travelling partner.
“It’s /my/ grandson, you ninny! … And /my/ Binoculars too! If you wanted to get a good look so badly, get your own! Ya mooch,” Joseph said, still looking through his binoculars, waving Polnareff off absentmindedly while he observed.
Advol only chuckled. He did not need to see through any binoculars to know exactly what was happening. It was just like his prediction had told him, after all. He shuffled his deck of tarot once more, drawing a card at random, looking at it. “Fear not, Polnareff. Some are guided to one another naturally. They bring guidance to one another, knowledge and clarity. There is no need for doubt, in this case,” he said. For dramatic effect he held his card up in the air like a blessing to the sky.
The Lovers.