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Drops of rain splattered onto the ground, making little puddles all around. It was raining. Josuke sighed, leaning against the outer wall of the hospital. The weather forecast had said it would be a sunny day. He should have listened to his mother instead of the weather reporter, and taken the umbrella with him, even if it made him look like a dork to carry it around.
He could go back inside, but spending much longer inside those cold hallways seemed more like a nightmare than anything else. No… he'd rather risk getting his shoes wet by standing right under the small roof next to the entrance.
Should he risk it and walk home in the rain? No… his hair would get ruined. His therapist had literally just told him not to make rash decisions like these, too. Josuke frowned, watching as a car drove over a puddle, splashing water onto the empty sidewalk.
Going to therapy hadn't been something Josuke ever thought he'd have to do. But, after the fight with Kira… things hadn't gone too well for him. His mother had gotten concerned, despite not knowing what was going on, and contacted Jotaro, who in turn suggested that Josuke go see someone.
Drip, drip, drop.
The rain… it had been raining back then. Josuke winced, recalling all of the wounds he had sustained in that fight. He'd stayed in the hospital for nearly a month after that. It had been nearly unbearable, even though he didn't remember most of it.
He'd almost died back then.
Josuke wrapped his arms around himself, shaking the thoughts away from his head. It was fine. That was all in the past. They were all okay now.
Maybe he should go check up on Hayato someday soon. He hoped the boy was doing okay… he'd had to see his own father die that day. Josuke felt sick recalling the scene of the ambulance running over the serial killer.
"Higashikata?"
The sound of Rohan's voice caught him by surprise. What was he doing here? Josuke stood up straighter, looking at the other man cautiously. They hadn't really interacted much after that day. Josuke had a vague memory of the mangaka visiting him at the hospital, but after that…
"Hey, Rohan-sensei," he said, forcing a smile. "What's up?" Had Rohan been inside the clinic as well? There was no other reason for him to be standing next to him otherwise.
Rohan raised an eyebrow, glancing at the rain before turning back to face him. "I'm on my way home now." He paused, as if considering whether to continue the conversation or not. "How about you? Why are you just standing here?"
Josuke scratched the back of his head bashfully, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I forgot my umbrella at home. So I'm waiting for the rain to go down a bit before I can head back."
"Why don't you wait inside?"
He'd expected Rohan to ask, the older man's curiosity was insatiable… but he didn't really know how to answer that question without saying too much, without revealing how terrified he was of hospitals. If he said that in the current state he was in, then the rest would surely spill out as well. Rohan didn't need to know any of that.
Rohan sighed, opening his umbrella. "In any case, my umbrella is big enough for the both of us, if we walk close enough to each other. Your house is further than mine, but I can let you borrow the umbrella as long as you return it."
His eyes widened in surprise at the offer. That was… unexpected. Josuke opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Rohan sighed, handing Josuke the umbrella. "Now, go on. I don't have all day, Higashikata."
"Y-Yes! Thank you, Rohan," Josuke replied, feeling his cheeks heat up when Rohan stood closer to him. The mangaka merely rolled his eyes at him.
They walked close to each other, their shoulders brushing with every step. For some reason, the silence that surrounded them was comfortable and the presence of Rohan walking next to him was soothing. Josuke hated the rain, more so walking through it, but… he felt alright. It didn't feel stressful.
Just as they turned the corner to Rohan's house, the mangaka broke the silence. "I'm sorry," he said.
Josuke raised an eyebrow, glancing at the older man. What did he have to be sorry for? If anything, Josuke should be the one apologizing.
"We should have been more help, back then. It was too much for one person to handle," Rohan continued, his voice low. "You were really strong, you are really strong -and I don't mean physically. You shouldered all that by yourself. You saved the town, you saved all of us, but we shouldn't have let you do it alone. It must have been so stressful for you."
He stared at Rohan, dumbfounded, unsure of where this had all come from. Still, something inside him ached at hearing those words. The only person he'd talked about the fight to after it'd happened had been Jotaro, and… his nephew wasn't great with emotions.
They stopped walking, standing just outside of Rohan's front porch.
"Seeking out help to deal with traumatic experiences doesn't make you weak." Rohan glanced over at him. Josuke had expected for the older man to look at him with pity or something similar, instead the way that Rohan was looking at him was… almost affectionate. "I still don't really like you. But I felt the need to tell you out of the amount of my respect you've earned."
"Rohan, I-"
The mangaka held up a hand to silence him, and Josuke noticed his cheeks were tinted pink. "That's all we will speak on the subject. Return my umbrella sometime tomorrow."
Josuke watched as Rohan rushed inside of his home, without so much as a glance back. He smiled, turning towards his home and trying to ignore the weird, warm feelings inside of him.