"...so then she just jumps onto my back, and she's all, 'Maxwell! Maxwell!'" Max flailed his hands and raised his voice an octave to demonstrate a very poor impression of a female. "And I'm all, 'Don't call me that, I'll think of my mother,' so then.." Max paused to laugh. "Man, wait till you hear this. So then she goes-"
"I.. really don't want to hear what she said to that," said Jude, laughing, but looking a little sickened.
It was morning. Jude had been sitting at the table eating stale Fruit Loops when Max had come in. Jude had raised his eyebrow and asked his best mate what had kept him out so late. And that was what launched Max's odyssey.
Max smirked. "Why not, Judey? Since you broke up with Luce, you don't get any. Doncha wanna live vicariously through me?"
Jude shook his head slowly in mock seriousness. "Ah, no." It was partly because he didn't want to listen to his best mate's sex stories, and partly out of jealousy.
"Why not?" demanded Max, jutting out his bottom lip in a childish pout.
"Well, for one thing, I would rather be out doing it myself than listening to your.." Jude stumbled on word choice. "Escapades." Max chortled but he didn't say anything.
"And for another, I think this particular girl is rather... how can I put this?" He paused again, pursing his lips. "Manly."
Max crinkled his nose in offense. "She is not manly," he said, hitting Jude in the back of the head. "Didn't you see her-?"
"Yes, I saw them. But I also saw a mustache."
"She does not have a mustache!"
"Would you like me to illustrate her for you? Since your mind's eye is clearly skewed?"
"Be my guest," said Max, crossing his arms flippantly over his chest.
Jude took out his sketchbook and a stick of charcoal and started scribbling on the paper. Max knew that this scribbling was probably not a good sign. It only took Jude about a minute to create his masterpiece. He turned the paper towards Max and folded his hands condescendingly, waiting. His drawing was a fat stick figure with a large handlebar mustache. The arms and legs were small sticks hanging off of the round mass that was her body. Her hair looked like a curly mullet. Jude knew that Max's new girlfriend was by no definition of the word fat, but it was a nice touch. And anyway, everything else on his caricature was one hundred percent true.
Max glared at the drawing because he, too, knew it was true. He wasn't going to admit this to Jude.
"Well, where am I in the picture? I should be here, too," he demanded, shoving the drawing back. Jude planned to make max the most disgusting man alive in his portrait of him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he drew Max exactly as he was. Skinny, carefree, and smiling. He gave it back quietly. Max wrinkled his nose.
"Well, that's boring. I thought I was going to get insulted." Jude shrugged a little. Suddenly, Max looked up and glared.
"But Gretchen is not disgusting."
"Mate, she really is."
The two were glaring holes into each other when Lucy came in. She looked from Max, to Jude, to Max, looking highly concerned. "Jude.. did you tell him?" It was out of her mouth before she realized it. Max's glare broke as he looked to his sister.
"Tell me what?" he asked, gaze wandering from the blond to his friend. Jude's eyes were wide as Lucy clamped a hand to her mouth. "I have to.. I'll just.. I'm gonna go," muttered Lucy, power-walking back out the door with her head down. Max cocked his head.
"Tell me what?" he asked again. Jude frowned and looked down to hide his blush. "Ah. Nothing. It's not important."
"If it's not important, you can tell me."
Jude looked up at his best friend and wondered what he would think of him after hearing this bit of startling news. Well, better now then never.
Actually, never might be better in this case.
"I.. uh.. well, I like you." For a moment, Max stared blankly. But then he paused and smiled. "Well, thanks Jude," he said, leaning over the table to hit his arm lightly. "I like you, too. You're a good pal. A good mate, or whatever the hell you'd say." He took a cigarette from behind his ear and cursed when he couldn't find a lighter in his pocket. Jude blushed. He could leave it at that, but he didn't.
"No. I mean, I like you, like you." He held his breath as Max looked up, startled. It was clear he understood now. He didn't say anything, so Jude went on. "That's why I broke up with Lucy. She wasn't mad at me for it, thank God." He feigned a smile. Max didn't return it.
"You're a... guy," said Max finally. "And.. I am, too." Jude nodded solemnly. A long minute went by.
"Well, shit, Jude." It took Jude a moment to realize that Max was smiling. "You coulda told me that earlier, y'know. I wouldn't have to waste my time with nasty girls like Gretchen and Beatrice."
Jude faltered. "I could have...?"
Max grinned and stood up, moving to Jude's side. He plopped onto the table in front of Jude. "I would have to say that I feel the same way." Max leaned down and kissed Jude. And, damn, was it good.
here comes the sun
here comes the sun
and I say, it's alright.
A/N. I'm not normally a Max/Jude shipper; actually, I'm a hardcore Lucy/Jude shipper. But I started writing and this is where I ended up and I sort of liked it, so. There you go. And it was written in about a half hour, during my study hall period. Editing took another five or ten minutes. Not much time spent on this at all.
Disclaimer. I do not own Max, Jude, or Lucy, or Across the Universe. Don't sue me. I'm only fifteen. I don't have any money to sue me for, anyway.