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[ Little does she know...... ]

Would around half past 7 be acceptable? We shall come by and fetch you.

That would be perfect. Sadly, I do not have a muff to share. May I use your pocket tonight?

[A dastardly scheme for other women, surely. There was no harm putting one's hand in their fiancé's pocket, was there? Especially when one found herself without the proper accessories that came with chilly walks outside. Still, half-past didn't give her much time to prepare.]

Of course.

[ Surely he can't get worked up by something so silly and harmless... R-Right... ]

I shall see you shortly, Erina.

Until then, my love.

[ Not very long after, Erina had smoothed out imagined wrinkles in her skirt as she awaited Jonathan's arrival. Her mind had gotten away from her again, making her face too warm to simply be blamed on temperature of her radiator. Shaking her head to remove thoughts of Jonathan being uncouth of all things, Erina looked up.

It wasn't like him to be late, and the clock announced that it was only twenty-five past. He would be here before she knew it, as she buttoned her coat up. It was lucky that she'd been out and about when the door appeared, otherwise she'd be entirely without her winter coat. Perhaps all the buttons would dissuade her from thinking of him unbuttoning the--]

Good God!

[ Jonathan is having his own errant thoughts- even though Erina had so damned him for them, and rightly so! Naughty man - he can't quite get the words out of his head.

Fortunately he has something that he can attempt to distract himself with, and that is making sure that Pesto is ready to make the most wonderful acquaintance in the world. He's made sure that Pesto's coat is properly groomed and shiny before he even thinks of taking the little fellow out of the front door and on their way to meet Erina.

The quite walk over there however... Well, that leaves a little more time for his thoughts to wander. He had already been married to her, he knows what beauty lies underneath those clothes of hers- the perfect skin, the soft curves of her breasts-- damnit all, Jonathan.

He's, somehow, managed to rein this impure thoughts by the time he and the dog reach Erina's door- barely.

He knocks, calling out as he does so because this is a strange place and he doesn't want her to think there's some stranger at her door. ]

It is just Pesto and I, Erina!

[ Erina lets out a deep breath, pushing her nerves somewhere to be dealt with later. Smoothing a hand over her coat and making sure her blonde hair is tied up neatly, she finally opens the door and her expression brightening at him. ]

Good evening, Jonathan!

[Ah! He made her heart just fill with affection the moment she looked at him, didn't he? Still, Jonathan did say he was bringing someone with him and she --

Oh!

Well! Erina kneels down and offers her hand to Pesto. The position was a little awkward, and she finds herself using Jonathan's leg to help keep from falling forward.]

So it was a dog! Oh, Jonathan, he's so sweet.

[She looks up at Jonathan with a warm smile,] Wherever did you find the little dear?

Good evening, Erina.

[ Oh, god she's as beautiful as ever and-

That's

that's her hand on his leg. Why is that suddenly so infinitely distracting? It's just his bloody leg.

Focus, Jonathan. Look at the dog. ]

He was simply being given away as his owner didn't wish to care for him, I wanted to get him away from there.

[ Pesto for his part, seems to like this lovely sweet-smelling lady human immediately. He trots forward without hesitation to sniff her offered hand, tail wagging happily. ]

Edited 2021-02-09 21:19 (UTC)

[ She giggles at the dog's little trot and immediately gives him a few good pets under his chin. ]

Well, he's a lovely little dog. It's their loss, certainly.

[ Erina realizes then that she still has her hand on his thigh. Jonathan's very firm thigh. She draws her hand back down the limb to stand up. No, that wasn't for her benefit at all. She's sure of it. It's very hard, however, to look Jonathan directly in the eye... so she looks down at Pesto. ]

Shall we be off, my love? And perhaps discuss our... time-crossed situation.

[ Did she just...? Erina draws her hand down his leg and Jonathan finds himself a little dazed at the touch for a moment. He's not sure how such a simple touch suddenly has him hopelessly on edge and aware of his own body but he most certainly has to shake himself out of it right this minute. ]

A-ah, yes. Of course.

[ He promptly offers Erina his arm, holding Pesto's lead with his other hand. ]

[ Yes, yes she did. How she wishes she had the proper hat that would hide her blush. Perhaps she could blame it on the heat in her room... Yes, that is what she would do.

Erina takes his arm like she has taken his arm a hundred times before. And perhaps it is the cause of those pesky daydreams that have not yet turned... well, in a certain direction, that she leans against him just a slight bit more than would normally be allowed - even if between a pair of fiances.

The walk back down to the street is a quiet one. Erina doesn't often feel the need to fill the space with unnecessary talking; it was nice to just enjoy Jonathan's company. But some conversation is probably necessary... considering their wedding date is fast approaching. ]

I was thinking, my love. Our wedding is technically in a few days. Though for me, it is a fortnight away and for you it is past.

[Too bad she doesn't know how far past.]

Shall we... consider what to do regarding that? A compromise, perhaps?

[ If Jonathan notices she's closer than usual he doesn't comment on it. It would be improper to do so. But then it's also highly improper to have certain thoughts about a woman who- from her point of view at least- he has yet to marry.

Oblivious to anything going on between the two humans, Pesto happily tugs on his lead the moment they're both back outside on the street. The dog trots along in front of them both, tail wagging the entire time.

Erina's choice of conversation topic has him start a little- not because he's unwilling to discuss it, their wedding had been the happiest day of his life but-- he's been holding off on elaborating on just what happened after that, and for good reason. ]

Of course, Erina. I think it's only proper that we do. [ He looks down at her at his side with a sigh. ]

I'll admit that it's been... an adjustment, knowing you as my wife and then, well, that no longer being the case.

[ She raises her eyebrow at that sigh, but it doesn't stop her from staying close to him. The fact he may be well aware of her under her clothes is not lost on her, of course. They were - to him - husband and wife. One would expect some familiarity with their spouse's body, after all. Especially as very much in love newlywe---

She decides to cut that train of thought off at the pass, humming in thought. ]

It is a surprise for me. I don't even know what our wedding entails, and I'm envious you have already experienced what I haven't of our married life.

[ Don't overthink that turn of phrase, Jonathan. She could simply be talking about picking out doilies. Or having tea! ]

[ Of course Jonathan is immediately flustered when she mentions their "married life" - yes there are many thing he had expierienced. He's not sure when his mind had become so in the gutter but it definitely seems to have started since he arrived in this place.

Fortunately- or unfortunately as the case may be- the guilty tangent is short-lived when he remembers that Erina has no idea how short a time he had experienced their marriage for. How short their marriage had been for both of them really. ]

Erina... There is so much that I need to tell you. I confess that I have been struggling to find the right words since you arrived here and we were reunited.

[ He looks ahead as they continue to walk. ]

Perhaps we could find that bench in the park we went to on our last walk and talk there a little while? [ He smiles sheepishly at the dog trotting ahead of them both. ]

I'm sure Pesto won't mind sitting beside you a while. [ He seemed taken with her enough and how could Jonathan blame him? ]

[ A tendril of worry worked its way up from Erina's stomach and began wrapping its cold feelings around her heart. Were they no longer married in his time? Had she died in childbed? Had he somehow passed? Perhaps they didn't get married?!

Perhaps she'd married that terrible, horrendous, spurious, murderous Dio. Lord above, she hoped that wasn't the case. And hoped that he was as dead in Joanthan's time as he appeared to be in her own. Erina leans closer into Jonathan, nodding slowly in reply.]

So long as I may use your pocket as my muff, of course, my love. Is it... bad news?

Of course, my love. [ Jonathan is all too happy to take her hand into his large pocket, with a smile. Trust Erina to still be able to summon such an expression from him in the face of what he has to do now. ]

I cannot pretend that it is pleasant. To do otherwise would be dishonest and I cannot be that way with you ever again.

[ He knows he had kept things from her in the past but to do so now would only be an insult to the woman he loves.

Thankfully, the park and the bench isn't too long a walk away, he couldn't have stomached having to keep her in suspense any longer, as much as he didn't want to deliver the news in the middle of a street. ]

Please, sit down first. I will say though that we were wed as planned- and it was as wonderful an occasion as we had hoped for.

[Jonathan was like sunshine most days, but the surety that they'd been wed didn't quite soothe the concern in her heart. She raised an eyebrow at him.]

Good; I was worried something... had happened before then.

[Jonathan would never be so cruel or ungentlemanly to leave her at the altar, or throw her over for someone else, so at least there was that. She smoothed out her skirt under her as she sat, taking her hand from his pocket. She patted the seat beside her.]

Jonathan, you look as if you're marching to the gallows. Sit with me and explain everything. I am ready to hear everything.

[She wasn't, but that could be quickly smoothed over. The weight of her worries sank into her stomach like a stone.]

[ How does he even begin to break something like this to her? A part of him is sorely tempted to lie, to retract everything that he had already said and implied, offer her up some beautiful alternative where they had both gotten the perfect happy ending they had both so wanted.

But- it wouldn't be fair, it wouldn't be just. Erina deserved everything and more and that includes the truth from him.

With a heavy sigh, Jonathan sits down beside her, immediately taking one of her hands in his own. He's counting on her to give him the strength to get through telling her this.

Sensing the sombre change in atmosphere, Pesto, for his part sits patiently at Erina's feet - of course he had taken to her. It had been inevitable from Jonathan's point of view. ]

You recall that we were planning on travelling to America after the wedding, do you not?

There was... an incident on board the ship. [ "Incident" feels like the biggest understatement of a word but he can't think how else to describe it without being ruthless - a tragedy? A massacre? He thinks of their fellow passengers with that last one.

He takes another deep breath as he looks her in the eyes, gently squeezing her hand. ]

It was Dio.

What little was left of him had been smuggled on board- I managed to halt his plot but I did not make it off of that ship, Erina.

[She is quiet, as Jonathan explained.

As far as she had known, Dio had died. Had been dead, along with his father. Especially so after Windknight's Lot. He'd crumbled to pieces like morbid confetti and he was out of their lives.

Her body feels equally hot and cold as horror replaced the worry and uncertainty. Erina didn't trust herself to speak. She would get married, have a brief happiness and then be consigned to black for years after. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all!

First he'd stolen her kiss, then he'd stolen her first and final love. She squeezes his hand, hard, as she tried to come to terms with it. It was hard for Erina to find her voice and she is quiet for a long while. But then, she does speak,]

How long? How many days do we get to spend together?

Five, my love.

[ No time at all in the grand scheme of things but he really, truly couldn't have asked for better ones.

Propriety be damned, he pulls her close now, arms tight around her while Pesto gently whines. Jonathan is quiet for a while, he just wants to hold her close and forget everything else, burying his nose in her golden hair for a moment before he takes a breath and forces himself to speak again. ]

There's something else.

I've met someone here, someone from the same world as us but even further ahead in our timeline. He told me that I have a grandson- that we have a grandson.

At the time of my passing you must have been with child.

[Five.

A blink of an eye, really. Her eyes full of unshed tears, Erina buries her face in Jonathan's neck. She ought to be stronger than that. If she could live in India, thousands of miles away from England, she could be strong enough to bear this terrible news.

But she isn't, right now. She's crybaby Erina again.

His other news strikes her like a freight train. A child. Their child? Her child an orphan before she's even aware they exist.]

Jonathan, how am I supposed to be without you? I love you more than life itself. I don't want to be without you.

[She pulls back, trying very hard not to weep, even if her tears begin to trail down her cold cheeks.]

Edited 2021-02-20 19:02 (UTC)

[ She's Erina, he adores all facets of her- whether she's back to being crybaby Erina or not.

Jonathan holds her close, fingers gently tangled in her hair. He lets her cry, lets her vent her feelings until he goes on speaking again, murmuring soft and low against the top of her head while he presses a tender kiss atop it. ]

You said something very similar to me in my last moments, you wanted to stay behind and die with me- but you left me, because you are stronger than you know and a baby needed you - and I'm not just talking about our child here, Erina.

An infant had lost their mother thanks to Dio and they needed you to get the both of you out of there and survive. We both needed you to go on.

And it sounds as though you succeeded.

[It is a cold comfort to know that she was willing to die with him. All the plans they'd made to restore the Joestar mansion, to fill it with the laughter of a large family... it made her heart ache. If Dio had the opportunity to kill Jonathan, then why hadn't he also murdered her? As usual, she imagined he didn't think things through. But that, she kept to herself.]

I'm glad that I was able to carry out your final wishes, my love. But I grieve for the family you won't get to know. We won't know.

I... I suppose then that you ought to marry me quickly, Jonathan Joestar, so that we may experience more than 5 days of marriage, this time.

[Her voice is still thick with unshed tears,, but at least there's an almost playful glimmer there. Erina Pendleton was not a quitter. She would make the most of this situation.]

[ His heart aches too, for everything he had lost and for everything he would never get to have, with her. He had made peace with his fate the moment he had told her to leave him on that ship but the pain is still there. ]

Marry you once more? [ He smiles softly. ] I would love nothing better, my love.

Fate brought you back to me once more, I don't intend to waste a second of our time together again.

Oh, Jonathan!

[Erina sniffles once, and then peppers his face with kisses. It was highly inappropriate in public, of course, but there were no others along the lane and when she was finished, she sits back and daubs at her eyes with a handkerchief.]

We'll need to see what we must do here... surely it is not similar to England.

[ Highly inappropriate or not, he's obviously completely delighted.

Meanwhile, Pesto has become impatient at the completely unforgivable lack of attention he has been receiving at this point and he puts his front paws up on the bench in an attempt to jump up at the pair and offer his own kisses. Jonathan chuckles. ]

Pesto, down!

Pardon him, Erina. But of course, I doubt it will be anything like England but I'm sure we can make the necessary arrangements. Truthfully, I care little for the type of ceremony - as long as it concludes with you at my side.

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