Across the Universe: An Artist and a Soldier
Chapter 1 ~ Hold Me Tight
A/N: So, welcome to my random new collection of one-shots! These will be about Max and Jude since I'm entirely convinced thier relationship is canon and Lucy should just leave. :) And also because there is not enough fanfiction about these two! Plus, ATU is my favorite movie. :D So these will be based off the songs on the album with some creative liberties taken. Yes, I realize the first song is Girl but I don't think that works with yaoi, do you? So here's thes second song: Hold Me Tight. Yes, it's very fluffy and a bit corny, but I have no love life and so I have to live vicariously through my writing. And since I'm a hopeless romantic, this is how it turned out. Maybe you like it, maybe you don't, either way drop me a line. Enjoy~!
Lightning flashed outside the window of the small apartment. 1…2…Thunder crashed, shaking the walls, and Jude's count of only two seconds between the two meant that the storm was close, very close. Another flash of lightning lit up the room, the beaded curtain between his room and Max's throwing strange shadows on the wall. Jude rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. He was just starting to drift off when a loud crack of thunder wrenched him back into consciousness. Turning so he was laying on his stomach, Jude wriggled his head under his pillow, hoping it would block out most of the sound so he could get some sleep. This worked for all of five minutes until a particularly loud thunderclap startled him so much that he almost fell out of bed. This is getting ridiculous, Jude grumbled to himself. Normally he didn't have any trouble sleeping through storms. This one just seemed to be particularly loud and violent. And bright, Jude thought, squinting as a flash of lightning burned the layout of the room onto his corneas.
Sighing, Jude decided to give up on sleep for now. After all, the storm couldn't last much longer, could it? As if to prove him wrong, the sky let loose with more thunder and lightning, this time accompanied by a torrent of rain lashing against the window. Scowling, he leaned back against the pillows and let his mind wander. As usual, half-formed ideas for sketches drifted past his mind's eye, but he let them pass. He didn't have any pencils or paper readily available and he was much too lazy to get up and search through the desk to find some. I really should start keeping a notebook by my bed, Jude thought.
Another crash of thunder rang out and from the other room came the sounds of bed frame creaking as someone shifted around. Max must not be able to sleep either. For a minute, Jude toyed with the idea of going in to see him. Since they both couldn't sleep perhaps they could find some way to pass the time until the storm let up. However, he quickly discarded that idea when he heard Max begin to mumble incoherently. Jude smiled softly, recognizing Max's usual sleep-babble. His best mate was obviously still asleep, albeit restlessly as evidenced by his talking. It was something he used to do all the time before the war, Jude remembered fondly. He strained his ears, trying to catch what Max was saying since it usually turned out to be quite amusing. He heard his name a few times, as well as Lucy's and what might have been the words "strawberry Cap'n Crunch" though it was quite hard to tell.
The storm started to let up and Jude began to drift off again, Max's mumbling providing a nice background hum. Suddenly he was startled out of sleep again, this time by a particularly loud moan from Max. He sat up in the dark, heart racing, as he listened to what he was sure was his best mate caught in the throes of a nightmare. There was another moan, this time followed by a shout of "No!" Jude hesitated, torn between going in to wake Max up and staying put. He was more drawn to the latter since Max usually didn't like anyone to see him when he was like this. Just listening though, was proving to be difficult. There were more cries from behind the beaded curtain, the other man's voice becoming more strained. "No...Don't…" The metal frame of the bed creaked as Max shifted violently. "Don't…" Jude sighed, still unsure what his course of action should be. He figured Max was having flashbacks from the war; it wasn't the first time this had happened either.
"Judey…" and with that Jude's decision was made for him. There was no way he could ignore him now. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he got up, the springs protesting loudly. He shivered as his bare feet hit the floor and quickly hopped over to Max's room. The beads clacked softly together as he pushed through them, trying to make as little disturbance – and noise – as possible. But perhaps he should have burst through the curtain and set the beads to swaying and clacking against the walls, effectively waking Max up. Though that was a harsh way to be jerked out of a nightmare and Jude was a nicer bloke than that.
He tiptoed over to the bed and stood looking down at the blond boy for a moment. His hand fluttered free of the covers as he turned over, reaching out unconsciously towards where Jude was standing. "No…don't…Jude!" he startled awake with a gasp. His eyes wandered around the room, coming to rest his dark-haired flat mate. "Holy shit!" he swore, sitting fully upright.
Jude raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, it's just me, man. I just wanted to see if you were alright."
Max let out a shaky breath and dropped the covers he was holding in his hands so that they pooled around his waist. The dark-haired boy tried – and failed – not to notice the contours of his shirtless chest, but his attention was drawn back to his face as he whispered "I'm all right," in a rough voice. His hands were in his hair, hiding his face, but Jude could just tell from his tone that he was trying his hardest not to cry.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
There was a nod. "Just," Max removed his hands from his face to look at the other boy. "Go back to bed or something. I'm fine." His eyes said otherwise. They were his most expressive feature and it was how Jude always knew when he was lying. Right now, they were a torrent of pain and regret. Memories of the war were buried deep inside; things he could never relate to, no matter how good of a friend he was.
Ignoring the blond's words, he took a step towards the bed. There was a warning in Max's eyes now, a warning to stay away. Ignoring this as well, the artist continued his slow advance towards the bed until he was standing directly in front of his friend. He reached out a hand and grasped the ex-soldier's. "I'm here for you."
This simple gesture seemed to open the floodgates and tears began to pour down Max's cheeks. Jude moved to sit down on the bed next to him, one arm wrapping around his shoulders while the other still held his hand. He sat there and held his best mate as he cried himself out, holding him tight when he began to shake. "Shh, Max, it's gonna be alright," he whispered. "It's gonna be alright." He kept up this mantra until the blond boy had cried himself out and the front of Jude's t-shirt was wet with salty tears. He laid him back on the mattress as his eyelids began to flutter and his breathing evened out. The dark-haired boy stood up, disentangling himself from the other, his expression torn. After a few minutes of mental debate, he leaned down to place a soft kiss on the blond's forehead. He turned and was about to go back to his own room to pass what he was sure to be a sleepless night, when a light pressure on his forearm stopped him.
"Judey…" Max's voice was groggy with sleep. "Don't…don't go…please." The fingers on his arm slid down to wrap themselves around his own. Though his grip was weak with exhaustion, Jude felt as if he was rooted to the spot. His mind went into overdrive, thinking through the possible consequences if he stayed or didn't stay but he stopped it almost immediately. He knew what was going to happen; he knew he was going to stay.
"Alright Max," he whispers. "I'll stay." Keeping their fingers intertwined, he climbed in next to his friend, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close. The blond boy sighed in contentment and snuggled closer to the artist. Jude drifted off to sleep faster than he thought possible, completely comfortable right where he was.
And the nightmares stopped.
