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[lapidarius]

"This is Kakyoin Noriaki. Please leave a message, I'll contact you as soon as I can."

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Comments

[silvercrusader]

Yeah, kind of. I'm not telling you it because I think it was interesting grammatically.

[lapidarius]

Okay, okay. Sorry. I'm not always...the best with this.

S-so if that's the phrase he focused on...that's good, right?

[silvercrusader]

Probably? I mean, it wasn't like he said it out of nowhere, but it sure wasn't a bad thing.

[A beat, and he nudged Kakyoin again.]

Nearly a year with Jotaro and you haven't learned how to talk dirty in Italian? What's the point of all those language lessons?

[lapidarius]

I know a little--Caesar mostly taught me bad pickup lines.

[silvercrusader]

[His grin grew.]

Like?

[lapidarius]

...If I tell you and you use one on Buccellati, I'm not going to be held responsible.

[Listen to this long-suffering sigh, Polnareff. The things he puts up with.]

He taught me 'Posso offrirti una bevanda calda per sciogliere il ghiaccio?' Can you guess what any of that means?

[silvercrusader]

[OBVIOUSLY he's going to memorize all of these. Whether or not he uses them on Bruno remains to be seen.]

No idea.

[He admits it cheerfully. There are occasions when French and Italian are similar enough that he can guess at meanings, but not this time.]

[lapidarius]

'Una bevanda calda' is 'a hot drink', and 'ghiaccio' is 'ice'. So, it's 'can I get you a hot drink to break the ice?'

[thanks, bubble brother]

Here's one I got from Jotaro: 'C’è un aeroporto nelle vicinanze o è che solo il mio cuore decollare?' And that's 'is there an airport nearby, or is that just my heart taking off?'

[silvercrusader]

Oh my god--

[Both of them were equally awful and wonderful, and he was definitely using both at some point. Maybe to Bruno; maybe to Jotaro. Maybe to Kakyoin himself, someday in the future when he'd forgotten about this.]

Don't tell me he was charmed by those. Ugh, he probably was, wasn't he?

[lapidarius]

Jojo sent me that before I started learning, Polnareff. I had to ask Giorno what it meant, and do you know how hard I got laughed at?

[HOW DARE HE]

He also included 'Posso prendere in prestito un bacio? Prometto che darò indietro,' which is 'can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll give it back.'

[silvercrusader]

Kakyoin, my son cornered me in his cafe in order to confront me on my crush. I don't think anyone gets away unscatched when it comes to Giorno and romance.

So, better question: were you charmed? Did he get to borrow that kiss?

[lapidarius]

Polnareff, you have no idea the kind of havoc Giorno has wrought in that department.

[hoo boy.]

I was not, to say the least, impressed when he burst into hysterics in front of me.

[silvercrusader]

Hysterics.

[lapidarius]

Think about it. 'Giorno, can you translate this for me', and I hand him a list of idiotic pickup lines without having any idea.

...Honestly, I would have thought it was funny if I were him. Jojo's just lucky I didn't turn around and beat him to death.

[silvercrusader]

[Polnareff snicked. He couldn't help it; at least it was just a snicker. He could be so much worse. And actually--]

So kinda like you telling me that Japanese pickup line and sending me straight to Jotaro?

[lapidarius]

Exactly like that. Except it's funnier when it's happening to someone else.

[silvercrusader]

I don't feel bad for you at all.

[Another nudge with his elbow. They were still pressed together, and Polnareff was glad for it. He liked doing this with Kakyoin. It was comfortable in a way they two often weren't.]

Hey. Speaking of you and Jojo. I got a . . . y'know. Boyfriend question.

[lapidarius]

Okay, fine. [He shrugged, giving Polnareff a halfhearted shove in response.] What is it?

[silvercrusader]

How'd you know? I mean-- you went from best friends to boyfriends. How'd you know it was worth making the leap?

[lapidarius]

...It wasn't easy. It still isn't, honestly. [Kakyoin adjusted his glasses, glancing away.] We didn't give up one for the other--Jojo's still my best friend, so you're out of luck if you were hoping to move up a rank with me. [He gave Polnareff a light shove to his shoulder, smiling.]

At the time I thought I was taking a pretty huge risk, but...look at it this way. Imagine you have the choice between telling Buccellati the truth when you're not sure if it might ruin everything you've ever had, or you can keep it to yourself and let things stay exactly the same. Would you regret keeping your mouth shut when it fels like you're keeping a massive secret from him?

I knew it was worth it because I didn't want to have regrets anymore. And I wanted him to know without any doubt that he's worth everything to me.

[...]

Giorno helped a lot. Aggressively helped, as he usually does.

[silvercrusader]

[That makes sense. And, truthfully, it was the conclusion he himself was already coming to. When had he ever kept anything to himself? Oh, he would have to do it carefully, of course, he wasn't just going to blurt it out-- but if worst came to absolute worst, surely Bruno wasn't the kind to cut all ties simply because someone had feelings for him.

Hopefully.]

I don't rank you two, you know, you're both equally my best friend in my eyes.

[He said it jokingly, but it was more so he could buy himself some time to think. Eventually, though:]

Yeah. All right. I'll figure it out sooner or later, I guess. Probably sooner, I'm getting sick of all the uncertainty.

[lapidarius]

I know. You're too nice for that. [Kakyoin laughed quietly, reaching for Polnareff's hand again in patient reassurance.]You're one of the best people I know.

Just...maybe don't do what I did, okay? Try actually planning out what to say beforehand.

[silvercrusader]

[Oh. God. Polnareff's smile turned softer, and he glanced away for a moment, ears red. There would probably never be a time when a genuine compliment from Kakyoin wouldn't stun him, never mind something to that scale. He gripped his hand again, squeezing in silent gratitude and happiness.]

What'd you say? Or not say, or blurt out, or whatever?

[lapidarius]

[Kakyoin's face turned slightly red, at the question more than any realization of what he'd said. It was true--Polnareff had proven that ten times over in this conversation alone--so there really wasn't any point in not saying it.]

I, uh...might have tried to tell him, failed completely, and just kissed him outright because I was sick of stumbling over the whole subject.

...I panicked.

[silvercrusader]

[He barked a laugh, loud and unapologetic. It wasn't meant mean-spiritedly, but he gripped Kakyoin's hand tightly all the time, just to make sure he didn't pull away.]

That's a good way to do it! I mean, it sounds more like what I'd do than you, but I like it!