My first attempt at Max/Jude, so be nice!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, including these two ridiculously adorable boys.
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Jude Feeney bent over his sketchbook, sketching furiously and muttering to himself in concentration. He and Max had just barely scraped enough money to pay their rent last month, and though Sadie would kindly wait until they had enough, he couldn't help but feel guilty. So, he figured he could make a few dollars by drawing for Rat Magazine.
If he could draw anything decent. He'd been sketching in their kitchen for hours, and nothing was truly inspiring him at the moment. This is probably why all of them look like shit…he thought to himself in frustration.
Max, who had been stretching out on the couch, groaned loudly and whipped himself into a sitting position. Dramatically, he dragged himself out of the couch and to the doorframe of the kitchen.
"Judeeeey…come on, I'm bored as fuck. Let's go do something," he whined, crossing his arms in a huff.
Jude vaguely noticed this outburst; they had become frequent enough that he had gotten used to it. Still not taking his eyes off his work, he pulled himself out of his hunched position. Finally, he glanced at Max with a completely apathetic look. "What was that, mate?"
Max suppressed a snort while Jude's brows knitted in confusion. Then, after sticking out his thumb and licking it, Max walked over to Jude and roughly wiped it over the tip of his nose. Jude flailed his arms in an unsuccessful attempt to swat Max's hand away.
"The hell was that for?" he mumbled, rubbing his nose.
"You had charcoal on your nose. I realize you might think that's attractive, you know, the starving artist with sexy smudges of black here and there, but actually, it makes you look like a penniless slob who can't afford a washcloth."
"Shut it," Jude grumbled, still wiping his nose. He turned his attention back to his work. "What did you want, anyway?"
Max sighed and leaned unceremoniously against the doorframe. "Something to do. You've been refusing to be any fun at all the last couple days."
"Yeah, well, I'd like to continue living here."
"Remind me again, who has the job?"
"Exactly. Shouldn't you be doing it?"
"I took the night off. The pissy hippies wanting to be carted around New York can walk for one night,"
"Alright then. Do you mind being quiet for a few minutes then…"
Max rolled his eyes but didn't move from his position on the doorframe. He watched in amusement as Jude went through the cycle of sketching, staring at for a moment, sketching again, groaning in frustration, and ripping a perfectly good drawing to pieces multiple times.
"What was wrong with that one?" he asked as Jude shredded a tenth sheet from his book.
"Max…you just don't get it…there's nothing in here to…" Jude waved his hands, gesturing grandly around the room and to his sketchbook in aggravation.
"Pique the creative flow?"
"Precisely…"
Max didn't say anything for a while, thoughtfully massaging the end of his chin. Finally, he looked at Jude, a slight grin playing at his lips.
"Draw me."
Jude thought he hadn't heard correctly. "Come again?"
Max's grin widened. "You heard me. Draw me."
"You're off your rocker."
"Come on, man. What have you got to lose? The other ones are shit."
"Hey!"
"You said so yourself. And due to your little fixation with my sister, she's the only thing you've drawn in ages…" Jude opened his mouth to protest, but Max shot him an all-knowing, exasperated look. "Mr. Feeney, I'm not blind. Why don't you give the other Carrigan a try, hmm?"
Jude sighed and rubbed his temples. He loved his best friend and normally found his personality quirks amusing. Now, they were just infuriating. He knew that if he didn't oblige, Max would convince him to stop doing his work, and it'd never get done.
"What the hell…" he muttered, shaking his head at his own self-defeat.
"Where do you want me?"
Jude glanced around, trying to think of a good spot, but it was hard to place him. He knew exactly where he would put his other friends. Lucy? By the windows, where dazzling sunlight would enhance her gorgeous features. Prudence? The closet that stored everyone's clothes, where her hidden, withdrawn beauty would stand out amongst the vast piles of fabric. But there was a reason those spots were for Lucy and Prudence, and he simply could not picture Max in either of those places.
He stared at his friend, who was still lazily resting against the doorframe, quizzically, racking his brains. Then he realized that the perfect spot to draw him was right in front of him.
"Can…can you just stay there? I mean, the way you are?"
Max shrugged indifferently. Jude scooted his chair up closer to him, resting his feet on the little desk directly in front of him and putting his sketchbook in his lap, charcoal already poised in his blackened fingers.
"Do you want me to pose or anything?" Max asked with a snort, dragging his denim-clad leg up the wall and pursing his lips in a seductive manner.
Jude laughed in spite of himself. "No, no, just be…natural. If that's possible for you."
Max chuckled and resumed his previous position, letting his messy, blonde bangs fall in front of his face. Jude immediately got to work.
Jude had never drawn Max before, normally, he wouldn't sit still long enough to make it possible. He now wished he had been able to earlier, because his best mate was an amazing thing to draw. He wasn't flowing curves like Sadie or straight, short lines like Prudence. It was an odd mix of the two, while his torso seemed to be a never-ending line at first, the way his lower half jutted out from his position on the wall made it look like a curve at the same time.
But Jude focused much of the attention on Max's face. He started from the bottom up, drawing the square, solid lines of his jaw and the slight arc of his lips as he always seemed to bear a hint of a smile. His nose and ears were easy, his eyes were difficult. Jude was drawn to Max's piercing blue gaze, even though it was partially concealed by his straggly blonde mop . His eyes held so many things. Liveliness and guile were definitely apparent, but when you looked closer, you could sense the underlying vulnerability. Back at Princeton, Max had crooned he needed somebody to love, which was strange, because there were plenty of people whom he loved. Maybe it wasn't somebody to love, but somebody to love him.
Jude hadn't realized that while he was contemplating Max's inner thoughts, he had been gazing at him deeply, hand not sketching anything at all. Max stared right back, a devious smirk growing on his face as his friend continued to be lost in his own little world. Finally, when it seemed that Jude wasn't going to awaken any time soon, Max cleared his throat loudly.
"Excuse me, Mr. Feeney, if I may interrupt your daydream for a moment…"
Jude's soulful, chocolate brown eyes flickered and he snapped out of it, shaking his head a little as he did so. Max pressed a hand to his mouth to suppress his giggles.
"Damn, boy, I thought I had lost you for a moment there. I realize that I am sinfully beautiful, but if you don't mind, can we resume the drawing business?"
"Shut up," Jude growled, turning a furious shade of scarlet and cursing himself for letting his mind get the best of him. Max, finding great delight in pushing Jude's buttons, turned his back to the wall, and shut his eyes as his smoky baritone echoed in the small apartment.
Well, darling all the night.
You'll be mine and I know
You'll be mine
Till you die
You'll be mine
"Shut up!"
And so all the night,
You'll be mine
You'll be mine
And the stars
Always shine
You'll be mine.
Oh…
"Max…"
Max walked over to Jude and took his hand. After kneeling on the floor, he changed his voice into a deep, suave bass, eyeing Jude in a seductive manner.
My darling,
When you burnt that toast the other morning,
I…I looked into your eyes, and I could see that National Health eyeball,
And I loved you, like I never done, I have never done before!
Jude forced himself not to crack a smile at Max's absurdly spectacular performance. He wriggled out of Max's grasp, gained his composure, and, like a parent disciplining a young child, pointed his finger at him. "Enough."
Max refused to oblige, changing his voice into a howling soprano, soulfully wailing the bluesy tune, and pulling Jude to the floor, sending the sketch book toppling to the ground.
Ohhhhh darling,
in your eyes
And you'll be mine
You will miiiiine
You'll be mine
At the star and sooo…
You'll be…MINE!
Jude couldn't no longer contain it, and burst into giggles as Max belted the last note of the song, holding an invisible microphone in one hand and arcing his lanky, muscled frame backwards in a glorious imitation of Sadie.
Max collapsed in exhaustion into Jude's lap, panting heavily and closing his eyes wearily, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips nonetheless. Jude's laughs slowly subdued, and he glanced over at the fallen sketchbook, groaning in dismay.
"Max…come on, if you want to go do something later, I have to get you done."
Max yawned and snuggled into Jude's leg, causing Jude to feel a burning tingle shoot through his thighs. "Nope, sorry. Too tired now."
"Please? It won't take long."
"If it won't take long, that means you can wait until I get my energy back."
"Who do you think you are, Twiggy?"
Max's words were slurring together as he started to drift off. "Mmm…I'm prettier than Twiggy. Too skinny…I've got some muscle."
Jude chuckled and ceased to argue, as he knew he wouldn't win, and let Max sleep against his legs. He didn't mind, actually, Max's slender, warm body felt good against his chilled thighs, his steady heartbeat sending a light pulse through his veins. He watched patiently as he slept, brushing the long, unruly bangs out of his face.
Even though his mind wasn't all there, Max noticed this gesture and he grinned drowsily as he began to hum the song again, just to see how Jude would react. Much to his surprise, Jude's own velvety tenor started to croon:
If you let me take your heart I will prove to you,
we will never be apart if I'm part of you.
Open up your eyes now, tell me what you see.
It is no surprise now, what you see is me.
Big and black the clouds may be, time will pass away.
If you put your trust in me, I'll make bright your day.
Look into these eyes now, tell me what you see.
Don't you realize now, what you see is me.
Listen to me one more time, how can I get through?
Can't you try to see that I'm trying to get to you?
Open up your eyes now, tell me what you see.
It is no surprise now, what you see is me.
There was a slight pause as the last words of the song resonated in the air. "I know you find a particular golden-headed, blue-eyed, female Carrigan undeniably gorgeous, but do you think you can go five minutes without singing, drawing, or thinking about her?" Max grumbled into Jude's leg.
Max expected to hear a chuckle or a snort or even a shout of protest. Unwavering, dead silence was all that followed. He felt a rough hand drift uncertainly over his cheek, tipping his face upwards. There above him was Jude, who was hesitantly pushing that handsome face of his closer towards his own.
Max wasn't sure what to do. He had experienced worse things in life other than kissing another boy. Not like he hadn't done it before, crazy shit happened when you gave six Princeton frat boys a couple of kegs. But Jude…Jude was his best friend, right? Not anything more or less. So, why was his face, primarily his lips, becoming clearer as he inched closer? Max trusted Jude had a good reason to be doing this, so he figured he could let one, meaningless little peck go by.
Jude's lips were surprisingly soft and warm against his own, and Max definitely felt flustered, but not for the reason he expected. As strange and awkward and wrong as it was…it felt good.
The kiss was quick, and Jude pulled away hurriedly as soon as he realized what he had done, shooting up immediately into a standing position. Max uneasily did the same, pretending to busy himself with picking up the knocked-over art supplies. Jude, becoming fascinated with the kitchen table, rolled up his sleeves and began wiping off the little black spots on the charred wood.
"You still want to go to Sadie's gig…?" Max asked after a while; the silence was killing him.
Jude, who hadn't the courage to look him yet, kept his back turned and nodded frantically. After a few more minutes of discomforting silence, Max set the art supplies on the table and headed for his bedroom. Before he could leave the kitchen, however, he heard a soft cough from behind him.
"Hey, Max?"
Max turned. Jude, who had streaks of charcoal blemishing his fair skin again, gave his friend the tiniest of smiles, his eyebrow cocking just a little.
"I wasn't singing about Lucy."
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Mmm…these two are my new favorite couple. EVER.
Unfortunately, that means I can't date either of them.
Kind of a love-hate relationship I've got going here.
Anyways, please review!