so you feel entitled to a sense of control

[unbreaker]

WHO: Alfie Solomons and Josuke Higashikata
WHERE: Maurtia Falls
WHEN: Bright and early, April 11th
WHAT: Probably a lot of regret
WARNINGS: TBD


[Still a little sore from having been hung up on the day before, Josuke makes good on his word when the sun rises. After confirming his probationer's address, the Porter in Heropa's outpost takes him to Maurtia Falls where, thankfully very familiar with the city, he's able to make his way to Alfie Solomons' home without much difficulty. Being registered doesn't mean the whole of his trip is short, though, especially not with his attention half divided between the task at hand and perusing the network for Alfie's most recent activity. He's not about to go into today as blindly as he did the phone call from last night!

And what he learns is...that the other man doesn't always seem to be as much of an ass as he was the night before. By the time stores are opening up shop for the day, Josuke's read enough to think maybe he and this fella just got off on the wrong foot. And if Alfie's interest in the Porter is really all about wanting to go home...hell, Josuke can understand why he put up such a fight about the damn thing.

Doesn't mean he's willing to bend over backwards and make all kinds of concessions, of course. But it does mean he'll make a small detour on the way to Alfie's house that morning to pick up a couple of steaming hot coffees, fixings on the side. Because staying in's not on the docket this morning. Provided he doesn't get the door slammed in his face.

When he arrives, not at all dressed in his typical over the top fashion, opting instead for a dark burgundy blazer, white button down, and dark jeans, he gives the door a solid rap before taking a step back, putting himself in proper view of the little peephole.]

Comments

[unbreaker]

I guess. But I don't really know what kind of criminal you are. You tell me all you did was make rum and get paid to be muscle back home, but you're in this position because of allegations saying you robbed a bank.

So...what is the worst crime you've committed? You think it's more than I can handle?

[Because Josuke's willing to bet that it's not. If he's got anything going for him, it's an insane ability to endure.]

[devoutish]

I said that was what I did. I never said it was all I did, mate. I've murdered men.

[unbreaker]

[Men? That's specific. Could also be meaningless, but given the era Alfie's from, Josuke's inclined to think he means exactly what he said. As in, not women.

Doesn't make it any more pleasant a pill to swallow, though. So he asks...]

Why?

[And it sounds like there'll be a followup to that, too.]

[devoutish]

Business. Men who tried to cheat me, men who overstepped their bounds, men who just needed to be fucking got rid of.

[unbreaker]

[Here it is. Here's the real question.]

You enjoy it?

[Because if there's one thing he can't forgive, it's those tho take pleasure in the misery and suffering of others. No matter how much they may have deserved their comeuppance.]

[devoutish]

[ Alfie smiles. ]

My turn, first.

Tell me about this family of yours.

[unbreaker]

Fine.

[There's a flash of annoyance behind Josuke's blue eyes, but he plays along. Might be a cheat once in a while, when what's at stake is meaningless and the fun he's having is without harm, but this discussion he's having with Alfie doesn't feel like either of those things, and lying would only set him back.]

My old man, Joseph. My nephew, Jotaro, and my niece, Jolyne. They were all here. Old man wasn't quite as old as I remembered him, though. Porter brought him here when he was about my age, so that was...a bit strange. There was also my great grandfather's adopted brother, and his adopted brother's son: Dio and Giorno. And my great grandfather, himself, Jonathan.

[He doesn't mention Diego, because honestly, he's not certain how an alternate universe Dio relates to them at all, and he hadn't been here very long. He also doesn't mention Caeser, not because he wasn't close to the family, but because he just...wasn't someone Josuke had ever gotten to know very well, and wasn't really sure he liked, despite trying to for his old man's sake. It was complicated.]

Only three still here are Jonathan, Jotaro, and Dio, and the latter two left for a while before returning recently.

[devoutish]

[Alfie listens without interruption. The answer is very telling, he thinks - Josuke is either a rule-follower to the letter, or else he has a very strong desire to keep his word, no matter what. Why else would he go into such detail with him?]

I think I met Jonathan, once. It was during the blackout; we were both in the hospital.

[unbreaker]

[The truth is more complicated. Josuke is young, but he has a strong sense of honor. He recognizes that some rules are important, but knows that it's just as important sometimes to break them, particularly if it means protecting people from great harm.

He very much tries to keep his word, even if he hasn't explicitly promised anything. And in this instance...he knows his family. They are, all of them, incredibly strong people. Probably even stronger than him. He doesn't believe for a second that there's anything Alfie could do to hurt any of them, especially not with the way they all constantly look out for one another. He trusts them. Absolutely.

Still, there is definitely a sharpness to his gaze when Alfie says he knows Jonathan. Of everyone, his great grandfather is probably the one he'd worry the most about...]

He was there helping people, wasn't he? Maintaining power.

[With the Ripple. Just like him to do something like that...and for a moment, Josuke smiles fondly. There is no one more pure and good in all this world or any other in his opinion. In his old man's absence, Jonathan has become like a second father to him.]

What were you doing there? [A pause, and then that hardness returns again, lightning quick.] Answer my other question first, though.

[devoutish]

The one about hurting people. Mm.

Sometimes it's a necessity, and that can be fucking grim. And sometimes, other times, it is very fucking satisfying. But you're asking if I'm sadistic, aren't you?

[unbreaker]

Yeah, suppose I am.

[Because there's a difference between deriving some satisfaction from beating the snot out of a dirtbag who had it coming, and deriving pleasure from watching the light fade out of someone's eyes.]

[devoutish]

[ Alfie stops walking now, and turns to give Josuke a beady look. ]

What do you think? We've been talking for some time now. What's your assessment of me?

[unbreaker]

[Right alongside him, Josuke will stop and return that stare.]

I don't know, but...

[If Alfie was the sort of man who got his rocks off killing people, he probably wouldn't waste time with taking money to protect them or producing alcohol to sell to them. He's opportunistic and something of an asshole, but if Josuke's guess is right, Alfie's a little like him, a man with his own set of morals - not a man without any altogether.]

...no. I don't think you're that kind of person at all.

[devoutish]

[Alfie stares at him hard for a good long moment, looking for signs of honesty or dishonesty - wondering whether this guy is giving his honest assessment, or if he's trying some kind of psychological ploy. Tell the criminal that you think the best of them, and they'll start acting accordingly.

Then he breaks off the stare and starts walking again.]

Right, your great-granddad. I was laid up in bed, and he was walking round the hospital, looking after a gaggle of children who were following him like ducklings. He asked me if I wanted anything from the-- what do you call 'em, the vending machines. I wasn't familiar with any of the snacks, so he brought me a bit of everything.

[unbreaker]

[After all that intense back-and-forth and their long, hard staring at one another, Alfie's more lighthearted retelling of what happened at the hospital catches Josuke off his guard. He laughs, not too loudly, but without the same sort of measured restraint he's demonstrated up until now, and even smiles a little.]

Yeah, that sounds just like something he'd do. He's a good man.

[A great man, even. Josuke thinks he'll be lucky if he turns out even half as kind and accomplished as Jonathan.

After he's done laughing, he sobers a little and asks with genuine curiosity...]

What happened to land you in the hospital?

[devoutish]

Oh - trouble on the streets, like everyone was running into.

[aka, he's not going to give details.]

[unbreaker]

[He nods understandingly. He knows exactly what it was like, and ran into his own fair share of trouble during that time. Managed to really help out a couple of kids, too, one of which turned out to be just as helpful in return. People could be really surprising sometimes, given the chance.]

For what it's worth, I'm glad you wound up someplace safe.

[devoutish]

Trying to charm me, are you?

[unbreaker]

You wish.

[His grin in small, but apparently all that talk about his great grandfather has relaxed him enough that his mannerisms have lost their edge, and the tension has disappeared from his shoulders, the hardness from his eyes.]

Just being honest. I don't like seeing people get hurt, doesn't matter who they are.

[Which is why taking a life was the worst thing that's happened to him. Life, in his eyes, is too precious to be so reckless with. Even if imPorts can revive, he's still determined to keep as many people alive as he possibly can.]

[devoutish]

Ah, that's starry-eyed idealism.

[unbreaker]

You can call it whatever you want, but it doesn't change anything. Protecting people is important to me.

[And death is simply too much like escaping consequences for some criminals.]

[devoutish]

We're lucky, then, that I don't need your protection. But if you'd like to bring me bagged snacks like your granddad did--

[unbreaker]

Heh...we'll see.

[It's by no means a yes, but by no means a no, either.]

What about your family, what're they like? Any kids?

[devoutish]

None of my own. I've got nieces and nephews.

[unbreaker]

Right. But like, is family something that is really important to you?