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Tonio Trussardi: Parenting Morioh one person at a time

Chapter 2: Josuke

Summary:

Tonio runs into Josuke during his day off...but Josuke doesn't seem entirely like himself.

Notes:

Heyyyy y'alllll its your gal Cherry here to provide you with the Josuke chapter! :D Literal_Multifandom_Trashcan and I are having a shit ton of fun channeling our inner Dad Tonio desires into these cute lil prompts so I hope you enjoy!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text


Tonio always praised himself for keeping a clean kitchen.

 

It was the first rule he was taught in culinary school, after all. There was no way he could give people the satisfaction they were looking for if he didn’t keep tidy. And he couldn’t cure anyone’s ailments if his workspace had the risk of making people sicker. 

That was where he found himself this afternoon—sweeping the floors of the empty restaurant as he watched the rest of the town go by. Today was his day off, but he preferred keeping things clean and prepping food when the place was closed, anyway. It saved endless hours of energy in the long run. Plus, waking up at ungodly hours of the morning to make sure he had enough vegetables in his stock was happily avoided. 

It was on lazy days like these that Okuyasu would pop in and eagerly wonder what he was doing, or Jotaro would briskly walk in and ask for takeout, and they would make small talk about the weather until Pearl Jam had done their work.

It really did feel strange having no one come in to see him for one reason or another, even if today was one of his slow days. The metallic clock on the wall read 4:45, and he wondered if today really would be the quiet day that he always but also never expects. Sweeping up whatever debris that had been collected by the door, he stared out the window in curiosity. 

Perhaps they had found the man they were looking for? The one who was responsible for everyone’s distress? He supposed he couldn’t really know the answer unless they came stumbling in later today or tomorrow, lamenting about their injuries or how long it had taken to finally get to him. 

Though Josuke can heal, can’t he? He thought to himself, Perhaps they wouldn't’ stop by if they had him with them. Unless Josuke got hit, and they needed…

He was shaken out of his thoughts as the broom slipped out of his hands and fell by the door in front of him. Reaching down to pick it up, his eyes locked onto a familiar face walking by.

Ah! Speaking of Josuke…

He straightened himself up to wave at him, but he immediately noticed how...strangely off the boy looked. For starters, he didn’t even lift up his head to acknowledge the man as he walked by. It seemed off-putting considering how cheerful he was most of the time. 

Squinting, his eyes followed Josuke as he stumbled past the door to the restaurant, almost slipping on the welcome mat the shop had out a few doors down. Tonio wouldn’t call himself an expert at anything but cooking, but he knew when he saw something that wasn’t right. 

Setting down his broom, Tonio poked his head out the door, ignoring the little bell that jingled as it opened. Josuke was still walking, albeit much slower than he usually did. He didn’t have the spring in his step, and….strangely enough, no Okuyasu. No Koichi, either. 

“Josuke!” he called out, smiling as the boy stopped walking. His smile quickly dropped as Josuke turned around and started walking towards him because he looked rough. Tonio wasn’t about to tell Josuke how to do his hair, but he knew it wasn’t normally shaped like...that. His expression looked tired, his movements dripping with fatigue as he finally got close enough to talk.

“Hey,” Josuke croaked out, face scrunching up with pain as he tried to cough out another greeting, “How’s...it going?” 

The way Josuke held himself today...Tonio couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong, but he had a feeling that he shouldn’t just let the boy go on his way today. 

“I’m quite alright. But...are you doing alright?” he asked gently. Josuke frowned at that but didn’t answer right away. Instead, he took his hands out of his pockets and wrapped them around his arms as a gentle breeze blew past them. 

Josuke couldn’t be cold in this weather, could he?

He was starting to suspect that the kid wasn’t just tired. 

“I’m—” Josuke cut himself off as a sharp inhale seemed to erase the rest of his words. A hand flew up to the side of his head, and Josuke winced, instinctively digging his hand into his hair. 

That didn’t seem right. 

Tonio opened the door wider. 

“Why don’t we come inside and talk where it’s warmer?” he offered. He put a hand on Josuke’s shoulder to guide him in, and the boy practically melted into the touch before he realized that he was still standing in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“Sure...” he said, sounding uneasy but equally as relieved.

 

 

Although devoid of people, the inside of the restaurant felt as cozy as ever. He could feel the sweet heat emanating from the kitchen— which reminded him, he needed to clean the stovetops at some point today —and the soft music that played from the radio by the bar seemed all the more comforting knowing that it seemed to be getting windier and windier outside.

“Have a seat, anywhere,” Tonio proposed.

Josuke seemed to melt into the atmosphere around him, but Tonio couldn’t tell if being this unresponsive was a good thing or a bad thing. Blinking himself back into focus, he squinted and made his way over to the bench attached to the wall that Tonio was gesturing towards. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Josuke seemed...foggier than usual. As if his movements weren’t really his own. 

He pulled up a chair of his own and turned back to Josuke, whose head was resting uncomfortably in his hands. He made sure his pen and pad of paper were still resting in his back pocket—he had a feeling he’d have his work cut out for him this afternoon.

“You don’t seem yourself today. Is something going on?” he finally asked, frowning when the kid in front of him seemed to wince at that. He lowered his voice and tried again. “It’s perfectly fine if you aren’t feeling your best. Helping people is my job, after all.” 

Josuke let out a long sigh. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing aside from a frustrated groan came out of him.

“Sorry,” he gritted his teeth. Tonio noticed how Josuke couldn’t seem to raise his head any higher, “...hard to talk right now...can’t fucking concentrate...”

“That’s alright,” he shot back instantly. He was starting to catch on to what was going on with Josuke, but he decided he should try to coax it out of him before he let Pearl Jam take control of the situation. If the kid’s appetite was teetering, he didn't want to make anything that would be too rough on his stomach. 

“Would it help if I dimmed the lights?” he asked softly. He waited for Josuke to gratefully nod before heading over to the dimmer switch that was thankfully not too far away. 

Even in the lowered light, the kid’s expression still looked pretty pained. He let out a breath of empathy and temporarily abandoned him at the table to come back with a pitcher of water and an empty glass.

It concerned him with how lethargic he was acting right now. It sounded like a terrible afterthought, but he desperately hoped it was more physical than emotional. That way, he’d at least be able to help him out better.

“Do you mind if I check something?” he asked, sitting down across from him again. Josuke nodded slowly, not even bothering to lift his head up from the table.

Slowly, Tonio slipped a hand under his practically trampled hairstyle and felt his forehead. Warmer than usual, but nothing on the line of feverish. Josuke flinched back at the sudden touch but ultimately sighed into it. 

Tonio frowned at that—he had never seen him this exhausted before. Or this defenceless , even. 

“It seems to be your head that’s bothering you, from what I can see?” He poured a glass of fresh water and slid it across the table. Josuke nodded and took it with such an unsteady grasp that Tonio worried it would spill. Luckily, it didn’t, and Josuke finally seemed to get a grip on his voice. 

“...head hurts which makes everything else hurt,” he mumbled, dragging a hand across his face, “had em’ since I was a kid...haven’t had one in a while though…”

Tonio’s order book was already brimming with ideas— Pasta is always good...it warms the heart...but maybe something meatier instead? No, no, heartiness is never what you’re looking for when your taste buds are hypersensitive.

His thoughts were cut off by a quiet whine, one that made his heart lurch. What was he doing just sitting here?

“Why didn’t you come here sooner?” he pried, standing up and slipping his notebook back into his pocket, “It looked like you were about to walk right past me!” 

He immediately regretted raising his voice, even if it was just a little bit, only by looking at Josuke’s pained expression. 

“M’not really in the mood to eat anything,” he reasoned, pressing a hand to his face, “That shit always made things worse…” 

Not this shit! Tonio exclaimed to himself, Lucky for you, my shit is different...  

“I’ll make you soup,” he finally said, “Give me twenty minutes. I promise it’s going to make you feel much better.” 

Josuke looked skeptical, but he wasn’t exactly in the position to argue.

Heating up the stove, Tonio snatched an ice pack from the freezer. It was a shame that Josuke couldn’t heal himself, but his stand probably wouldn’t have done much good for something like this...luckily, ailments were Tonio’s specialty.

Josuke took the cold compress and practically collapsed back into his position pressed against the table. Tonio fought the urge to place a comforting hand on his shoulder like he had many times with Okuyasu, but from his experiences, there was a chance that touch would do more harm than good.

After making sure that he couldn't do anything else to help him, he returned to the kitchen and set to work. Soup sometimes took hours to prepare, but his stand had a knack for accelerating processes.

Squash was easy on the stomach and simple enough for him to keep it down until it did its work. He thought about serving bread with it, but he didn’t want Josuke to neglect the real part of the meal, especially with how miserable he was right now. 

...which reminded him—why was Josuke walking around in his state in the first place? 

He knew for a fact that Okuyasu wouldn’t let Josuke set foot outside if he knew how awful he was feeling...but Okuyasu wasn’t with him. The two could have had a fight of some kind or the other boy was simply just busy, but that didn't explain his parents’ absence. He knew that Joseph didn’t live with Josuke, but the kid had off-handedly mentioned his mother numerous times. 

He wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t have the best relationship. There were plenty of kids that had it rough back when he lived in Naples, Okuyasu’s homelife was...concerning, to say the least, and Rohan didn’t seem to have any family at all. 

 

The pot above the stove started to steam, and Pearl Jam dissipated in front of him. He checked the clock: fifteen minutes. That had to be a new record.

Preparing the dish to serve, he made it out of the kitchen as fast as he could with a tray of hot soup in his hands and quickly set it in front of his guest. 

“You don’t have to eat the whole thing, but at least half is ideal,” he explained, “the quicker you eat it, the quicker its effects will start to kick in, but I don’t want you to eat quickly when you can’t handle it.” 

Josuke nodded thankfully and carefully lifted his head up. He stared in distaste at the food in front of him but ultimately took a bite. Tonio’s gaze lifted as he noticed Josuke already perking up a bit.

After a few more bites, he was able to keep his head up. Tonio took that as a green light to start talking again. 

“Feeling better?” he asked. Josuke nodded, although still slowly. 

“Is there anyone I can call? I’d hate to leave you like this, even if the soup does something to help.” he paused, trying to sculpt his words without stepping on a tripwire, “is it...safe for you to go home?”

Josuke looked confused for a moment before snorting. He nodded, much to Tonio’s relief. 

“My mom’s cool, don’t worry. She’s just on a business trip right now. If she was here right now, she’d flip. Trust me.” he spoke so carefully and softly that Tonio wouldn’t be surprised if his own thoughts made his head hurt, too. 

“I was actually heading over to get painkillers and stuff, which was why I was outside in the first place...kinda forgot that healing people is also your deal, too.” 

He chuckled, though his joking manner quickly halted. 

“Shit. Do NOT tell my mom I was out like this, though. She’d freak out if she knew my dumbass was stumbling around when she wasn’t there. One time I fainted at school when I was ten, and she almost had a fucking heart attack.”

Tonio laughed, “I’m glad I could be of help.” 

With almost the entire bowl eaten and most of their conversation over, Josuke groaned and slumped into the booth where he was sitting. 

“...you’re a real lifesaver, man. My head is clearer than ever now, but I’m fucking tired,” he sighed in satisfaction. Tonio grabbed the dish from him and stood up, staring at the light already starting to fade from the window. 

“Stay here however long you like,” he said. He could always call Jotaro later to pick him or have Okuyasu walk him home, “I’m not open to the public tonight, so there’s no rush to leave.” 

Josuke nodded tiredly, and Tonio made his way back to the kitchen to clean everything up. He’d have to clean everything a bit later than usual, but he was sure he had a couple blankets in the storage closet somewhere. He opened the second door on the left and spotted a neat pile on the top right. Perfect.

“If you want one of these, I have—” he stopped himself as he emerged from the kitchen once more, only to find Josuke already asleep, curled up in the booth where he was once sitting. Laughing to himself, Tonio draped the blanket across the kid and picked up the broom that he’d left at the door when he first saw Josuke walk by.

 

He’d have to call Jotaro later. But first, he should clean the stovetops.



Notes:

Hell yeah, chapter over >:) If you like this fic so far, L_M_T and I both have other works similar to this! So if you need fics to binge, feel free to check out our ao3 pages <3 <3