Touches of Romance
Title: Touches of Romance
Characters: Jude/Max
Fandom: Across the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 12, Wooing
Author's note: This is entirely a product of imagination, and I do not own Jude Feeny, Max Carrigan, or any of the other characters depicted in the film Across the Universe.
"Hey Jude! Babe, where are you?" Max called as he entered the front door of their apartment. His voice was loud and cheerful, which wasn't unusual, but Jude could tell that his boyfriend was excited about something. He knew that lilt in Max's voice.
"In here," Jude called to him without getting up. He'd been at his desk in their bedroom, working on a new drawing, one that he thought really had some potential -- if he could manage to finish it by the deadline he'd been set. That was proving harder to do than he'd thought.
Max had worked the day shift today, and they were planning to go out and have fun tonight, to leave all of their problems behind them for a while. But if he didn't get this damn drawing finished soon, Jude told himself, running a hand through his hair, their problems would multiply.
His boyfriend made enough from his bartending job to pay the bills, buy groceries, and get them by. They had been doing okay so far. But Jude wanted to be able to contribute, even though Max insisted that he shouldn't take commissions he didn't believe in.
"Your art is important to you, Jude," he'd said the last time they'd had the discussion about Jude doing more to contribute to their finances. "And it's important to me that you don't sell out. Neither of us wants that. And anyway, we're doing fine. Don't worry about it."
But how could he not worry? Jude asked himself with a sigh, pushing his chair from the desk and turning as Max came into the room. It was impossible not to have those thoughts crowding into the back of his mind, always there, waiting to jump out at him.
Max was leaning against the door frame, smiling and holding something behind his back. Jude couldn't keep back a frown, despite the smile on his boyfriend's face and the sparkle in his eyes. What in the world could he be hiding?
"What's going on?" he asked, trying to sound casual and keep the worry out of his voice. "You're home a little early, aren't you? And what have you got there?" He craned his neck, trying to see what Max had in his hand that he obviously didn't want Jude to have a view of.
But Max shook his head, shifting his position to keep whatever it was that he was holding hidden behind his back. "Oh no, you don't," he laughed, raising his free hand to shake an admonitory finger at Jude. "No peeking. Close your eyes so I can do this right."
"Do what right?" Jude was completely mystified now; however, he did as Max told him to and closed his eyes, wondering what his boyfriend might have up his sleeve. Max was full of surprises, that was certain; life with him was never dull.
He couldn't help but smile as he heard the unmistakable sound of his boyfriend kneeling in front of him; what did Max have on his mind? Was he thinking of surprise oral sex, or something along those lines? But how could he be, when Jude was still fully clothed?
"Okay, open your eyes," Max told him, his voice soft and a little husky. Jude did as he was told, blinking in surprise to see Max holding out a bouquet of violets -- his favorite flower. They were still fresh and dewy, as though they had just been picked.
"They're beautiful, Max," Jude said, the sincerity evident in his tone. This wasn't the first time that Max had brought him flowers, but there seemed to be something special about these, though Jude couldn't quite put his finger on why.
"Not as beautiful as you are," Max declared, relinquishing the flowers to Jude and taking his boyfriend's free hand in both of his. "It kind of occurred to me that tonight's the first time in a while we've been out, and .... and that it's been a while since I made a romantic gesture."
"You don't have to make romantic gestures to me," Jude protested, a pink blush creeping up into his cheeks. "Even though I have to admit that I like them," he added, holding the flowers to his face and inhaling their delicate scent.
"I know I don't," Max said softly, squeezing Jude's hand. "But I want to. I've never been a romantic type of guy, y'know. I'm not good at this kind of stuff -- but I figured maybe I should give wooing you a try and see what you thought of it. I can always practice at it."
"Max, you don't have to woo me!" Jude said, laughing. "You know I'm yours, no matter what. I don't need romantic gestures to know how you feel about me. I can tell how you feel when you look at me, and when you kiss me, or even just when you say my name."
"Yeah, I know," Max told him, getting to his feet but not releasing Jude's hand. "But I want to be more romantic. I want to sweep you off your feet and make it obvious in no uncertain terms how much I love you, even if I don't say it all the time."
"If that's part of your wooing, then you're doing a very good job of it," Jude said softly, standing up and fixing his gaze on Max's face. "All this is making me wonder if we really should go out tonight, or if we'd have a better time staying in and just going to bed."
"Are you kidding?" Max shook his head, laughing and pulling Jude close to him. "I'm taking you out in style tonight, baby. I'm going to show off my gorgeous boyfriend to the world. You'd better be prepared for a night on the town."
"Really?" Jude couldn't hold back a burst of laughter, his dark eyes sparkling as he reluctantly moved away from Max, holding up the flowers. "I'd better put these in water so they don't wilt too soon. I'd hate to have such a pretty bouquet die in just one day."
"It's a shame they won't live forever, isn't it?" Max said, the wistfulness in his tone surprising Jude. "Too bad they won't last as long as our feelings for each other will. But I guess that's the nature of flowers, huh? At least our emotions aren't like that."
"My feelings for you aren't ever going to wilt away, Max," Jude told his boyfriend, his voice suddenly husky. He had to blink rapidly to hold back the rush of tears behind his eyes; Max didn't often say such romantic things, and he was moved to tears to hear those words.
"Then let's go out and show the whole world how we feel about each other," Max told him, sweeping Jude a bow and gesturing toward the door. "We can go see Sadie's band play, dance and drink and have a good time. And then come back home and have an even better time."
"That sounds like a great idea to me," Jude laughed, heading for the kitchen to put water in a vase for the flowers. He loved seeing Max like this, fun-loving and irrepressible. That attitude conveyed itself to him; he felt happy, relaxed, free of any of the worries that had been pressing down on him.
Max might not think that he was good at wooing, Jude thought as his boyfriend moved behind him, his arms sliding around Jude's waist, those soft lips brushing against his throat. But in Jude's opinion, he was better at these little touches of romance than anyone could possibly have believed.
Characters: Jude/Max
Fandom: Across the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 12, Wooing
Author's note: This is entirely a product of imagination, and I do not own Jude Feeny, Max Carrigan, or any of the other characters depicted in the film Across the Universe.
"Hey Jude! Babe, where are you?" Max called as he entered the front door of their apartment. His voice was loud and cheerful, which wasn't unusual, but Jude could tell that his boyfriend was excited about something. He knew that lilt in Max's voice.
"In here," Jude called to him without getting up. He'd been at his desk in their bedroom, working on a new drawing, one that he thought really had some potential -- if he could manage to finish it by the deadline he'd been set. That was proving harder to do than he'd thought.
Max had worked the day shift today, and they were planning to go out and have fun tonight, to leave all of their problems behind them for a while. But if he didn't get this damn drawing finished soon, Jude told himself, running a hand through his hair, their problems would multiply.
His boyfriend made enough from his bartending job to pay the bills, buy groceries, and get them by. They had been doing okay so far. But Jude wanted to be able to contribute, even though Max insisted that he shouldn't take commissions he didn't believe in.
"Your art is important to you, Jude," he'd said the last time they'd had the discussion about Jude doing more to contribute to their finances. "And it's important to me that you don't sell out. Neither of us wants that. And anyway, we're doing fine. Don't worry about it."
But how could he not worry? Jude asked himself with a sigh, pushing his chair from the desk and turning as Max came into the room. It was impossible not to have those thoughts crowding into the back of his mind, always there, waiting to jump out at him.
Max was leaning against the door frame, smiling and holding something behind his back. Jude couldn't keep back a frown, despite the smile on his boyfriend's face and the sparkle in his eyes. What in the world could he be hiding?
"What's going on?" he asked, trying to sound casual and keep the worry out of his voice. "You're home a little early, aren't you? And what have you got there?" He craned his neck, trying to see what Max had in his hand that he obviously didn't want Jude to have a view of.
But Max shook his head, shifting his position to keep whatever it was that he was holding hidden behind his back. "Oh no, you don't," he laughed, raising his free hand to shake an admonitory finger at Jude. "No peeking. Close your eyes so I can do this right."
"Do what right?" Jude was completely mystified now; however, he did as Max told him to and closed his eyes, wondering what his boyfriend might have up his sleeve. Max was full of surprises, that was certain; life with him was never dull.
He couldn't help but smile as he heard the unmistakable sound of his boyfriend kneeling in front of him; what did Max have on his mind? Was he thinking of surprise oral sex, or something along those lines? But how could he be, when Jude was still fully clothed?
"Okay, open your eyes," Max told him, his voice soft and a little husky. Jude did as he was told, blinking in surprise to see Max holding out a bouquet of violets -- his favorite flower. They were still fresh and dewy, as though they had just been picked.
"They're beautiful, Max," Jude said, the sincerity evident in his tone. This wasn't the first time that Max had brought him flowers, but there seemed to be something special about these, though Jude couldn't quite put his finger on why.
"Not as beautiful as you are," Max declared, relinquishing the flowers to Jude and taking his boyfriend's free hand in both of his. "It kind of occurred to me that tonight's the first time in a while we've been out, and .... and that it's been a while since I made a romantic gesture."
"You don't have to make romantic gestures to me," Jude protested, a pink blush creeping up into his cheeks. "Even though I have to admit that I like them," he added, holding the flowers to his face and inhaling their delicate scent.
"I know I don't," Max said softly, squeezing Jude's hand. "But I want to. I've never been a romantic type of guy, y'know. I'm not good at this kind of stuff -- but I figured maybe I should give wooing you a try and see what you thought of it. I can always practice at it."
"Max, you don't have to woo me!" Jude said, laughing. "You know I'm yours, no matter what. I don't need romantic gestures to know how you feel about me. I can tell how you feel when you look at me, and when you kiss me, or even just when you say my name."
"Yeah, I know," Max told him, getting to his feet but not releasing Jude's hand. "But I want to be more romantic. I want to sweep you off your feet and make it obvious in no uncertain terms how much I love you, even if I don't say it all the time."
"If that's part of your wooing, then you're doing a very good job of it," Jude said softly, standing up and fixing his gaze on Max's face. "All this is making me wonder if we really should go out tonight, or if we'd have a better time staying in and just going to bed."
"Are you kidding?" Max shook his head, laughing and pulling Jude close to him. "I'm taking you out in style tonight, baby. I'm going to show off my gorgeous boyfriend to the world. You'd better be prepared for a night on the town."
"Really?" Jude couldn't hold back a burst of laughter, his dark eyes sparkling as he reluctantly moved away from Max, holding up the flowers. "I'd better put these in water so they don't wilt too soon. I'd hate to have such a pretty bouquet die in just one day."
"It's a shame they won't live forever, isn't it?" Max said, the wistfulness in his tone surprising Jude. "Too bad they won't last as long as our feelings for each other will. But I guess that's the nature of flowers, huh? At least our emotions aren't like that."
"My feelings for you aren't ever going to wilt away, Max," Jude told his boyfriend, his voice suddenly husky. He had to blink rapidly to hold back the rush of tears behind his eyes; Max didn't often say such romantic things, and he was moved to tears to hear those words.
"Then let's go out and show the whole world how we feel about each other," Max told him, sweeping Jude a bow and gesturing toward the door. "We can go see Sadie's band play, dance and drink and have a good time. And then come back home and have an even better time."
"That sounds like a great idea to me," Jude laughed, heading for the kitchen to put water in a vase for the flowers. He loved seeing Max like this, fun-loving and irrepressible. That attitude conveyed itself to him; he felt happy, relaxed, free of any of the worries that had been pressing down on him.
Max might not think that he was good at wooing, Jude thought as his boyfriend moved behind him, his arms sliding around Jude's waist, those soft lips brushing against his throat. But in Jude's opinion, he was better at these little touches of romance than anyone could possibly have believed.