#my roomate at the time even got it and I still tested negative by the doctor who made the house call

[knightsintodreams]

I’ve spent nearly 6 of the last 12 months bouncing around Europe, seeing 8 countries, and I still have NEVER gotten Covid.

[jonadioweek]

What It Takes to Smile

Title: What It Takes to Smile

Prompt: University

Rating: Not even citrus. Pretty much E for Everyone.

Summary: Dio’s stressing himself out over a test and Jonathan comes along to help give him some downtime.

Word count: 1,946

Warnings/Tags: no triggers, fluff, crushing, flowers, romantic strolling, short

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hey, everyone! I recently got into Jojo and JonaDio has pretty much stolen my heart. Ironically, I only figured out about JonaDio week a few hours before it started, and I was so glad that I could catch it just as it was beginning! Hope you guys enjoy this ‘lil thing I wrote at 1 AM! I hope I’ll be able to participate in the whole week. Have fun and happy JonaDio week! - Anon Speedwagon

Dio exhaled as he lifted his gaze from the book, then trained his eyes on the window. The sky was tinted orange with the promise of sunset, the leaves gently bowing to the evening wind. The momentary lapse of focus caused the weight of Dio’s exhaustion to settle down upon him, his eyes feeling strained and his head pounding. He wanted nothing more to curl up beneath the covers, let the waves of relief take hold and use their gentle current to guide him to sleep.

But the thought of an exam forced Dio’s attention back down to his studies. He had a test the next morning, and he wasn’t about to fail due to lack of study just because he was tired. He found himself having a difficult time forcing himself back into that state of study though, his mind not comprehending the sentences that he examined, no matter how much he read it. The words would not conjugate, and Dio rubbed his face as if splashing cool water on himself.

Damn it, Dio. Focus!

He was just about to get back to what he hoped would not be an unsuccessful attempt at studying when he heard a knock at the door. He groaned and lean back in his seat, glared at the door. Who could be coming to him at this time? Everybody should be in the dorms, or out and about on their midweek activities. Dio didn’t have a roomate that would interrupt him either; getting a private dorm had not even put a dent in the Joestar fortune.

“What is it?” he snarled, slamming shut his book.

The knock ceased. There was some shuffling behind the door, the clearing of a throat. An awkward stutter, then a voice finally responded:

“Dio…? It’s Jonathan. Can I come in?”

Dio’s face softened. He felt the tension in his frown fade, his muscles relaxing. He had heard before it took more muscles to frown than it did to smile, though he preferred to keep his face neutral at that moment. He didn’t have enough energy to put towards any expression at that moment. He kicked out from his desk and trudged to the door, opening it.

There stood Jonathan, still not having gotten out of his school suit. There was that ever-present expression of joy, one that could light up a room, a funeral, even. Dio looked at his adoptive brother, arms folded, eyes quizzically trained on his large frame.

“What is it, Jojo? I have to study.”

Jonathan’s cheeks were tinted a light pink, and he gave a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at the top of the doorframe as if something interesting were there, but Dio knew well that it was just to avoid eye contact. Jonathan, despite towering over and outsizing most, was a gentle soul, almost meek in nature. Dio especially noticed the latter aspect when they were together, though said nothing of it.

“Y-yeah… I know, but…! I was wondering if you would just like to… get out for a bit?”

Dio sighed, placed his index fingers on his temples and rubbed.

“Jojo, I can’t–”

“Just a stroll around the campus is all! Just to get some fresh air. It’s not good to stay cooped up in your dorm all day with your nose buried in books.”

Dio paused, leaned against the doorway as he considered this carefully. On one hand, he could just slam the door in Jonathan’s face, get back to studying, then hope to get a sufficient amount of rest for the exam the next day. Or… he could just get out for a couple of minutes. Maybe that would reset his state of mind, get him back to that focused mentality that he had lost.

Both options seemed equal in value to Dio, but the real tie-breaker was the look in Jonathan’s expression. There was this plea in Jonathan’s eyes, not of desperation, but almost like a puppy begging for his master to come play. Dio despised dogs, but the way Jonathan looked at him was sickeningly endearing, and he saw a glimmer of why they might be appealing.

“Alright. Let’s take a walk.”

***

Fresh spring loomed in the air. It was slightly humid from the amount of rainfall earlier on in the day, and the grass crunched beneath Dio and Jonathan’s shoes. They had wandered outside of campus a bit, heading into the outskirts that bordered the woods. Birds were singing the final songs to their daily concerts, squirrels were chittering and stirring up the leaves in the trees, and the smell of fresh flowers surrounded them.

Jonathan grinned and stretched, inhaling the natural perfume and then exhaling. He glanced to Dio, grin smoothing out to a tender smile, then looked around to take in the closing day.

“Ahh! It’s such a nice sunset! You almost missed it, Dio!”

Dio folded his arms, looked to the trees. As much as he hated to leave his studies behind, it was, admittedly, a nice day. It was seldom that he stopped to take a breath of the fresh air, and even he could admit that about himself. Jonathan seemed to constantly indulge in the wonders of nature, though hadn’t spoiled himself on it. It seemed as if it was fresh and brand new to him every time he stepped outside.

The position of the sun made their shadows elongate, stretch as if, Dio thought briefly, some demon were creeping up behind them. He looked to Jonathan, who was then plopping down on the ground on the soaking grass. Dio’s face scrunched.

“Are you daft? That grass is–”

Jonathan’s strong hand wrapping around his wrist, then the pull downward.

“Come on, Dio! Have a seat!”

Too late. Dio’s rear was already on the ground, and he felt the dew sopping into his school pants. He looked to Jonathan with a sour expression. The other seemed unbothered, and in fact joyful if anything else. Dio felt the quiver of a yell in his throat, but he swallowed it, and the words he wanted to say came out calm.

“You idiot. You got my pants all wet.”

“They’ll dry!”

Dio looked to Jonathan, starting to feel sickened by his saccharine attitude. It was always like this, ever since the beginning. Even when Dio had first come to live with them and he was treating Jonathan like dirt, Jonathan maintained a heart of gold. Even though Dio had gotten a good licking from Jonathan after that Erina situation, Dio had never felt Jonathan had any malice in his punches, and that it was for honor, if anything. And when he had started to play into the family role? Oh, best believe Jonathan was docile as a lamb. It was a respectable yet annoying trait, that positive outlook on life.

“Oh, look, Dio! The gardenias are in bloom!”

Dio glanced down to the edge of the forest to see that there were in fact flowers blossoming there. He maintained his grimace.

“They’re just a bunch of flowers. They look the same as any other white flower. How can you even tell the difference?”

Though Jonathan’s smile did fade a bit, he did not allow his expression to slip into negative territory. Instead, he reached a large, surprisingly gentle hand over to one of the flowers, plucked it delicately. Even in this action, gentle and harmless as it was, Dio suspected there was some level of guilt, removing a living thing from its natural state.

What Dio didn’t expect was that Jonathan next scooted closer, held the flower out to Dio to give him a closer look.

“They’re not just your common flowers. See the oval shape? The wax coating? And that smell… that wonderful smell. Here…”

Jonathan held the flower closer to Dio’s face for him to indulge in the scent together, though he didn’t take it in immediately. There was an impulse to slap the flower out of Jonathan’s hand, stand, brush himself off, then turn tail back to campus to get his studies done. But, just before he could even think about moving his body to position himself for such a thing, the smell of the gardenia hit him. It was like an instant elixir, a scent so sweet and divine that he found himself paralyzed. Dio gave a small gasp.

Jonathan retracted the flower, held it in his hand delicately. He stroked a fragile petal with a calloused thumb, though there was not a single tear in its smooth fibres. Dio was amazed at how someone so imposing, someone who could best even himself in battle, someone who held so much power like Jonathan could be so ginger, unwavering with the soft smile on his lips. Dio’s mind quickly changed gears.

A waste, really.

“When I was looking through our library… I found one of mom’s old books. It was a really thick book about flowers, how they look, what they mean…” Jonathan began turning to Dio. With his free hand, he took the blond’s hand by the wrist with the same tenderness as he used with the flower. With his other hand, he gently transferred over the gardenia, keeping their hands cupped for a moment, creating a sphere of safety around the flower. “The gardenia… it means a lot of things. Good things. It can mean trust, hope, purity…”

Jonathan’s blush from earlier returned, deeper than before. Dio’s gaze had previously been transfixed on the flower, intoxicated by its delightful smell, but now he looked at Jonathan. He blinked, waiting for the full explanation.

“Love… b-but…! A lot of flowers mean love. Flowers are usually a big symbol of love. Especially roses. Roses are your favorite, aren’t they, Dio?”

Dio was shocked at this notion. He hadn’t ever really thought about his favorite flower before, but if he had to pick one, rose would definitely be the flora he would conjure up in his mind. How did Jonathan know him better than he knew himself?

Jonathan gave a chuckle, then cleared his throat, lifted his hand from Dio’s, revealing the gardenia. It was glimmering with dew in the sunset hour.

“Gardenias also mean ‘good luck.’ I know you have that test tomorrow, so I figured… you could have it. At least while you’re studying if you don’t want to bring it in with you.”

Dio looked down at the white flora in his hand. He turned it over, examined it, as if looking for the source of the luck that Jonathan claimed was there. But it was nothing. It was just a dew-kissed flower, nothing more. And yet, Dio felt a rush of something bubbling up from his chest, into his throat, all the way to his face. Energy, life, love, all powering the beginning of a soft lip upturn.

“D-Dio…? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Dio stood, looked above Jonathan rather than at him.

“I’m headed back to study. It’s getting dark.”

He turned on his heel, beginning to walk back to campus, leaving Jonathan in the ever-darkening evening, the last bit of sunlight dissipating to give way to a darker hue. The birdsong was replaced by the chirp of locusts. The squelch of the wet grass beneath Dio was irrelevant then, the noise barely processing in his mind. Studying, yes, studying. That was what he needed to do, needed to get back to.

“Oi, Dio!” Jonathan called out to him, standing up. “You… you have a great smile…!”

Dio didn’t turn to respond, but instead kept the stupidly happy grin plastered on his face. He rubbed the gardenia’s petal between his fingers and thought about what he could put it in.