Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Johnny stares as the last of the boxes were moved into the previously empty area. He saved up all his money and spent more than half of it just by opening up shop. And by a shop—a flower shop. He didn't really have a particular liking for flowers, but what can he do when his movement is limited? He can't exactly find a job that would actually be easy for him, so he settles for that instead.

"Mr Joestar, all your items were now moved." One of the men approached him, tipping his cap back into place.
"Thanks..." He mumbled under his breath. The man soon followed another person back to the moving truck, and they finally drove off, leaving Johnny in a place full of silence.
The silence didn't exactly last, though.
Because approximately five minutes later of him staring into his new shop, a person approached him.
"Heya, you must be the new shop owner-" Their voice dropped as they finally looked at Johnny properly.
"Holy shit. Johnny? Is that you?"
I'd know that voice anywhere. Johnny groans to himself in his mind, and slowly turns his wheelchair to the person, hoping to at least run a couple of toes over.

Gyro Zeppeli.

Also known as.. his school rival.
Well, ex school rival.
They have been rivals since highschool, senior highschool, and even college.
For fuck's sake, why did he have to see him here?

Johnny had to drop out of college after his accident, causing him to lose whatever confidence he had left after being beaten by Gyro in every damned subject. He never let any of the people he used to meet know about his newly acquired state, but when he sometimes passed by them on the streets, their glances that used to be full of excitement were soon replaced by stares full of pity or disgust.

So in other words, Gyro isn't aware that this happened to him.

"What." He shoots, not bothering to be polite by saying at least a proper hi or hello.
"Woah, chill, Johnny. I just came over to check on my new shop neighbor."
"Stop calling me by my name like you know me."
"Okay, okay." Gyro backed out, still keeping his eyes on him.
Not his face, though. But his legs.
It made him feel weak.
Pathetic.
And most of all, uncomfortable.
"Quit starin'." He glares as he finally rolls his wheelchair into the shop, closing the door behind him. Not like it helped, though. The door was glass, and the windows were too—which was obvious. So, he couldn't exactly block Gyro's line of view with anything, making him resort to going into the room at the corner, frowning to himself.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤノ．

"Seriously? You saw him?" Diego's voice rang from the phone on his counter.
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Gyro hushed his voice down by lowering his phone volume. "The walls in this building are thin. He might overhear you."
"Yeah, yeah." Diego sighed. "So, is he still cocky?"
"I mean, I guess. But he's.. well."
He paused, trying to find the right words.
"Different?"
"In what way?"
He spent a minute of silence trying to recall what Johnny looked like.
"Uh, for example, his expression was soft before I approached him. Not the usual scowling face he'd hit you with, though. You know, the type of face that looks like he despises your whole family tree."
But to be exact, his expression wasn't exactly soft—it was full of sadness.
But Gyro wasn't that kind of person, so he left that out. Including the part that.. he was in a wheelchair.
Diego, on the other hand, is absolutely a spawn of evil.
If he had mentioned Johnny's new disability, he would've driven to his shop and ruined his peace, or some shit like that.
"I gotta hang up." Gyro speaks, beginning to rummage through his drawers. "Got some fixing to do."
"'Kay, bye."
The phone beeped even before Gyro bid him farewell, and even before he got to hit the 'end call' button.
"How rude."

Chapter Text

Creaak.
Johnny rose up from his slumber, his back aching from the hard sofa.
He just recently moved into this apartment, so his bed isn't exactly.. formed yet.
He glanced at his abandoned bedroom, the planks that were the base of the bed scattered around the floor.
He pondered for a while, thinking if he should ask his friend, HP, for help with forming his bed.
Nah, I'll do it tomorrow.
Sitting back in his wheelchair, he rolled over to the window, relishing in the morning air softly grazing his face.

Slam!

He turned to where the sound came from.
It was his apartment neighbor's door.
Fucker really had to slam his door, huh?
He opened his door and peeked out, readying a whole bible's length of words to throw to the noisy stranger.
Unfortunately for him, his neighbor was already gone.
I didn't even get to see their face.
Whatever, I'll catch them some other time.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤノ．

Johnny stopped by a store before opening his shop, and saw that they sold bottles of cold sprite.
"One sprite, please."
He looked at the person beside him who talked at the same time, and it was fucking Gyro.
He rolled his eyes as he looked back at the store owner.
"Sorry, I only have one left..."
It was summer. So cold drinks getting sold out was inevitable. But what's not inevitable, is losing that bottle to Gyro.
"Um, I was here first." He said, expectantly.
Gyro's eyes widened at him, but shrugged it off. "That's cool. I'll take my leave now."
Hah, I win.
Some people may call me childish for getting proud of winning something like this, but I do what I wanna.
He happily took the bottle and went to his shop, smirking to himself.

Hours passed, and a few customers went by, which was a fair amount considering that it was nowhere near a holiday. Plus, he just opened up shop yesterday, so it was already a lot for Johnny.
But what was more than a lot for him, was Gyro popping up in his shop.
Why does he keep appearing everywhere?
"What do you want?" He said in a blank tone, as if it wasn't a question.
"Geez, I just wanted to buy flowers, y'know..."
"Who's that for?"
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he managed to stop himself before he could say it. Plus, why would he even ask that?
"Then take your pick and get out."
"So you're telling me to skip the payment part?"
"Dumbass, you think you're lucky like that?"
"I was joking, joking." Gyro laughed it off as he picked a bouquet of lavenders.
"How much for this, then?"
The urge to overprice him was high, but Johnny remained professional.
Gyro left as soon as he paid, leaving Johnny in his silence.
"Hmph."

Chapter Text

HP took a gulp of her drink, waiting for Johnny to appear.
"Heya."
He appeared, dressed in a plain white shirt and blue pants, along with his usual beanie.
"Hey."
Johnny took a seat, surprised that she already ordered him food.
"So, Johnny, how's the shop?"
"Dunno."
HP gave him an expecting look, seemingly saying 'I know you're hiding something'.
"Alright, fine. Gyro was there."
"What."
"I know right?" He sighed. "Dumbass even tried greeting me."
"But has he ever done anything to you? Like, directly."
"Well.. no."
"See? Maybe he's just smart- and nice."
She paused as she saw him frown upon hearing the word 'smart'.
"Are you saying-"
"No, Johnny. I didn't say anything."
Just as they were talking, they heard the bells near the entrance of the diner jingle.
"Huh."
The three of them stared at each other. Johnny, HP, and.. Gyro.
Fuckass Gyro.
Johnny groaned in annoyance, and faced HP again. "Can we take this for takeout?"
"Sure."
Gyro watched as the two went to the counter, asking for containers.
"Damn, they really do hate me." He mumbled to himself.
The two left soon after, leaving him in the diner.

ㅤ

"Wait, that was kind of rude." HP spoke, munching at a piece of fries.
They had arrived at Johnny's apartment, earning them a place of privacy to talk freely.
"Nothing's too rude when it's Gyro." He scoffed.
They talked for hours and hours, until HP had to go home. He led her to the outside of the apartment, waving her goodbye. He wheeled himself to his apartment door, only to be greeted by yet another sight of the sad looking Gyro. Wait, sad?
"You again?"
Gyro frowned upon hearing the words, his usual neutral expression fading away.
"What did I even do to you?"
"Uh, exist?" He felt a pang of guilt upon saying those words, and Gyro frowned even more.
"Why are you here then?" Gyro snapped.
"No, no." Johnny laughed, exasperated. "Why do you keep following me-"
"Because I live here!"
Oh.

Ohh.

Johnny closed his mouth. He then rolled his wheelchair to the entrance of his apartment, opened it, and closed it behind him.

Shit.

+ Bonus HP art to apologize for the short chapters :')
https://i.postimg.cc/KzNr9sQh/Untitled62-20250729151804.png

Chapter Text

"Zeppeli." Johnny, who appeared at the most random time ever, was at Gyro's door.
As much as how embarrassing it can be, especially when he accused Gyro of stalking him just yesterday, he really is getting sick of sleeping on the couch.

He didn't get to ask H.P for help yesterday, as they were busy rambling on to one another.
"Yeah?" Gyro mumbled, clearly awoken from his sleep by Johnny.
"Can I ask for.. help building my bed?" Johnny hesitated, red tinting his cheeks from the embarrassment.
Gyro blankly stared at him, before rubbing his chin, obviously wanting to let Johnny know he was thinking of declining, especially after last night. "Hmm..."
Moments of silence followed, with Gyro repeating the same 'hmm' every now and then.
"Y'know you can just say no."
"Nah, nah. I'll help ya."
Gyro followed closely behind Johnny as he opened his apartment door, revealing the boxed pieces of furniture.
"Oh, so you just moved here?"
"Mhm."
They finally reached the bedroom, Gyro crouched down to look at the parts. "You got a manual on you?"
Johnny nodded, rolling his wheels across the room to head to the box, and grabbed the manual sitting on top of it.
As soon as Gyro read the whole manual, he got straight to work and assembled it slowly but carefully. After what felt like half a day, the sun was about to set. Gyro finally finished, looking towards Johnny, hoping to see an expression of approval and appreciation.
"Not bad."
He frowned upon hearing the words, and Johnny cleared his throat. "Ahem, I mean, thank you."
Gyro stood up to leave, passing by Johnny.

"Wait."

"..?" Gyro looked back. "What is it, Johnny?"
"I..." He clenched his fists, struggling to find the right words. "I'm sorry."
Gyro was taken aback, but all he could do was listen.
"I'm sorry for.. accusing you of being my stalker. And.. being rude.. I guess. It was immature of me to hold a grudge for years. Ever since high school, I always thought you were trying to compete with me, and I was clearly wrong. I was blinded by the mindset of thinking everyone was out for me, and that only added to the fear of disappointing my parents. And.. you're not the bad guy, I am."
"Johnny..." Gyro muttered. "I wasn't trying to compete with you, I was just trying my best to not disappoint my parents either." He crouched down, facing Johnny at eye level. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way."
"Yeah.. I'm sorry, again."
They stood there, silence and peace enveloping them, finally bringing both Johnny and Gyro the comfort they never thought they needed.

Chapter Text

Gyro recalls his conversation with Johnny earlier in the morning. It was Gyro inviting him along to eat breakfast together at the small diner near their shops. He thought they were finally on friendly terms, especially after Johnny apologized, and Gyro clearing up that he didn't mean to compete against him in the past.
Yet, he had turned his wheelchair, flashing him with a deadpan face, along with a short and simple 'no'.
It was stern and serious though, that's for sure, so he didn't want to force him any further.
It is kind of lonely by myself, though.
He thinks to himself, twirling the pasta on his fork before putting it inside his mouth.

"Yo."

A familiar voice echoes through the diner, and Gyro feels a hand being placed on his shoulder.

Oh, shit.

"Heyy.. Diego."
"You sound dispirited." Diego sits down as he grabs a piece of fries from Gyro's plate.
Rude ass. Gyro thinks to himself as he smiles towards him.
Just then, a flashing colour of blue popped up near his eye.

Johnny.

Shit. What if Diego sees him?

He tries thinking of a way to make Johnny leave, and for Diego to not notice.
"Uhh, so what brings you here?"
He watches as he munches on another handful of fries.
"Mhm.. hm."
"Haha..."
He looks at Johnny,noticing that he already saw the two.
His jaw dropped, a frown forming on his face.
He needs to leave.
Now.
Gyro throws his hands around Diego, laughing.
"What the-"
"Haha! I missed ya, buddy!"
Gyro distracts Diego as he uses his hands to form something.
Johnny looks at him, confused.
Diego had dyed his hair back to his natural blonde, but for the time that Johnny knew him, he had jet black as his hair colour. So it explained the clueless expression he had on.
Gyro knew that he didn't want to see Diego, after all that he's done to him.
Might as well do him a favour.
He continues on watching as Gyro forms something with his hands.

D...
I...
E...

Johnny frowns even more as he realizes what Gyro meant.
Well, he thought he was telling him to die.
Is it because I turned him down?
He threw up his middle finger as he continued wheeling over the counter.
No, no. Don't-
"Miss-"
Diego suddenly turned his head, but Gyro immediately pulled him closer.
"Gyro?"
"Oh, uhm." Gyro realizes as they're already facing each other with barely any distance.
I have to let him know.
"Sorry Diego, thought you had a fly near you."
Johnny looked back at the two, with an even more horrified face after hearing the damned name.
With Gyro's hands still thrown over Diego's shoulders, he forms the remaining letters.

G.
O.

Fuck Johnny rolled quickly—but quietly, back to the entrance.
But Diego was far faster.
Fortunately for the two, Diego only looked at the counter.
"Huh." He slowly turned back to Gyro. "Thought I heard something."
"I-it's nothing, really."
Gyro notices Johnny successfully escaping from the place, and turns over a corner.
"Gyro..."
"Yeah..?" He blinks, a drop of sweat running through the side of his face.
"You gay?"
He sees his own arms still draped over Diego, and he hastily jolted back.
"Sorry, sorry."
The whole diner was looking at the two, with a few women blushing at the sight.
Yeah, no. I won't be able to show my face in this diner ever again.

ㅤ

"Johnny." Gyro spotted him at the terrace of their apartment, staring into the clouds.
"Hey."
"Hi."
He nervously kept silent, watching as Johnny frowned even more.
"What do you want."
"I just.. wanted to check up on you."
Johnny scoffed upon hearing those words.

Is he worried about me?

"I'm fine."
"You didn't look fine."
"So what are you going to do? Cheer me up by bringing me to the kid's playground?"
His sarcastic tone hurt Gyro a bit.

I was just concerned.

"Okay then." He trudged back, a solemn look on his face.
Johnny looked at him as he walked away, a pang of guilt washing over him.
"..Thanks."
He paused in his steps, and looked back at Johnny.
"Yeah."
Rumble.
"Oh." Johnny's face was flushed red.
Gyro slowly approached him, hesitating to speak.
"..Wanna eat at my place?"