Being With You
Title: Being With You
Characters: Jude/Max
Fandom: Across the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 19, Snuggle
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.
Jude rolled over in bed, snuggling into Max's embrace and yawning. "I don't want to get up," he complained, raising a hand to his face as though to block out the bright rays of sunlight that were streaming into their bedroom window.
"We don't have to," Max told him, his voice soft and a little husky from sleep. "It's Sunday. I don't have to go to work at the bar, and we can have the whole day to ourselves." He ran a hand suggestively down Jude's bare back. "We can stay in bed all day."
"Now that sounds like a good idea to me." Jude smiled and moved closer to his boyfriend under the covers, sliding his arms around Max's waist. "We don't spend enough time in bed, if you ask me. I mean just cuddling and being close."
"You think so?" Max frowned, his expression thoughtful. "Y'know, I guess you're right. Seems like when we're in bed, we're either making love or sleeping. It's not like we spend a lot of time snuggling up to each other in bed. Especially in the morning."
"I wonder why we don't do that?" Jude mused, propping himself up on one elbow and gazing at his lover. "It's not like we don't have time to do it. You always wake up a little early in the morning, before you have to get up. So why don't we cuddle more?"
"I'd say that it's not a 'guy' thing to cuddle -- but you and me aren't typical guys," Max said with a laugh, shaking his head. "Snuggling isn't something that I've ever really done with anybody before, Jude. Before you, I never really wanted to."
"Really?" Jude asked, blinking in surprise. "Before you met me, you never snuggled with anybody?" He couldn't help feeling proud of that, as though it was some sort of accomplishment for him to be the first man Max had ever wanted to be cuddly with.
"I'd tried it with other people, but it never really felt right," Max shrugged. "Before I met you, sex wasn't a big deal to me. It was just sensual, y'know? Just something I did to feel good. I had feelings for people, yeah, but I was never in love."
"I was never in love before you, either," Jude said softly, raising a hand to stroke Max's cheek. "I tried to be. I even convinced myself that I was in love with my ex-girlfriend back in Liverpool. But I always knew that something wasn't right between us."
"We've both spent too much time trying to hide who we really are," Max told him, his voice husky. "I wish we hadn't both wasted all that time, Jude. But if we hadn't .... then we might not have found each other the way we did. We might have ended up with other people."
Jude nodded, a shiver going down his spine at the thought. "If I'd had the courage to admit that I was gay a long time ago, I might not even have come to America. I might have met some guy and stayed at home, and never have even had the chance to meet you."
"That would have been the biggest tragedy in the world!" Max declared, wrapping his arms around Jude and pulling him close. "If I hadn't met you, then I'd probably still be in school, pretending to be somebody I'm not, marching to my parents' drum. That's not a life I want to lead."
"You wouldn't have led that life, and you know it," Jude said with a laugh. "Max, you know you're strong enough to turn away from whatever your parents might have wanted you to be. Even if you'd never met me, you would have eventually done that."
"Would I?" Max asked, looking thoughtful. "I was a different person before I met you, Jude. Yeah, I liked having fun, and bucking the system, but I didn't really go against my parents. I was in the school of their choice, doing what they wanted me to do, wasn't I?"
Jude thuoght about his boyfriend's for a few minutes before he nodded slowly. "I guess you're right. You're strong, but it's hard to go against what your family wants when they've had control over you for pretty much all of your life, isn't it?"
"Exactly." Max yawned, tightening his arms around Jude's waist. "I'd probably have ended up giving in to them and marrying some nice stupid girl who I didn't love, and then having meaningless affairs with men and hiding who I really am from the world."
"That's not the kind of life anybody should have to lead," Jude said with a shudder. "I'm glad I came to the States, Max. Glad I met you -- and glad that we fell in love. If for no other reason than to save you from that kind of unbearable life."
"Hey, there are lots of other reasons you should be glad we met and that we're together!" Max laughed, hugging Jude close. "Like the fact that you and I are in love, and we always will be. And the fact that we're both happy, and living the life that we choose."
"That's only two reasons, not 'lots of them,'" Jude protested, but he couldn't hold back a smile. "I'm glad every day that I have you, Max. For more reasons than I can count." He snuggled more comfortably into his boyfriend's arms, closing his eyes.
"Are you going back to sleep on me?" Max demanded in a mock-severe tone. "That's okay if you are," he relented a moment later. "Hell, it's Sunday. We should be able to sleep all day if we want to. And stay in bed .... and make love .... and do other things, too."
"What other things did you have in mind?" Jude asked, wondering just what Max might mean by those words. He couldn't think of anything else to do in bed other than cuddle, sleep, or make love -- and they'd obviously covered all of those amusements.
"Well, we could read in bed .... or eat cookies in bed ...." Max was having a hard time not laughing as he raised a hand to count the ideas off on his fingers. "Or we could lay here and talk about -- I don't know, politics and the state of the world."
"Are you kidding me?" Jude started to sit up, his mouth dropping open, until he realized that Max's blue eyes were twinkling and that his boyfriend was obviously joking. "Thank goodness!" he breathed, lying down next to his lover again. "You scared me for a minute!"
"You didn't really think I was interested in any of that, did you?" Max asked, his laughter ringing out. "Jude, the only thing I want to do right now, while we're here in bed together on a lazy Sunday morning, is to snuggle up with you and enjoy being with you."
"Then I say that we should spend at least the rest of the morning snuggling up in bed," Jude said, suiting actions to words by burrowing more deeply into his boyfriend's arms. "Starting .... right now. And not get up until early afternoon -- if then."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Max laughed, pulling Jude closer against him. He bowed his head, their lips meeting in a kiss that was both sweet and heady at the same time, the two of them giving themselves up to the pleasure of simply enjoying their togetherness.
Characters: Jude/Max
Fandom: Across the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 19, Snuggle
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.
Jude rolled over in bed, snuggling into Max's embrace and yawning. "I don't want to get up," he complained, raising a hand to his face as though to block out the bright rays of sunlight that were streaming into their bedroom window.
"We don't have to," Max told him, his voice soft and a little husky from sleep. "It's Sunday. I don't have to go to work at the bar, and we can have the whole day to ourselves." He ran a hand suggestively down Jude's bare back. "We can stay in bed all day."
"Now that sounds like a good idea to me." Jude smiled and moved closer to his boyfriend under the covers, sliding his arms around Max's waist. "We don't spend enough time in bed, if you ask me. I mean just cuddling and being close."
"You think so?" Max frowned, his expression thoughtful. "Y'know, I guess you're right. Seems like when we're in bed, we're either making love or sleeping. It's not like we spend a lot of time snuggling up to each other in bed. Especially in the morning."
"I wonder why we don't do that?" Jude mused, propping himself up on one elbow and gazing at his lover. "It's not like we don't have time to do it. You always wake up a little early in the morning, before you have to get up. So why don't we cuddle more?"
"I'd say that it's not a 'guy' thing to cuddle -- but you and me aren't typical guys," Max said with a laugh, shaking his head. "Snuggling isn't something that I've ever really done with anybody before, Jude. Before you, I never really wanted to."
"Really?" Jude asked, blinking in surprise. "Before you met me, you never snuggled with anybody?" He couldn't help feeling proud of that, as though it was some sort of accomplishment for him to be the first man Max had ever wanted to be cuddly with.
"I'd tried it with other people, but it never really felt right," Max shrugged. "Before I met you, sex wasn't a big deal to me. It was just sensual, y'know? Just something I did to feel good. I had feelings for people, yeah, but I was never in love."
"I was never in love before you, either," Jude said softly, raising a hand to stroke Max's cheek. "I tried to be. I even convinced myself that I was in love with my ex-girlfriend back in Liverpool. But I always knew that something wasn't right between us."
"We've both spent too much time trying to hide who we really are," Max told him, his voice husky. "I wish we hadn't both wasted all that time, Jude. But if we hadn't .... then we might not have found each other the way we did. We might have ended up with other people."
Jude nodded, a shiver going down his spine at the thought. "If I'd had the courage to admit that I was gay a long time ago, I might not even have come to America. I might have met some guy and stayed at home, and never have even had the chance to meet you."
"That would have been the biggest tragedy in the world!" Max declared, wrapping his arms around Jude and pulling him close. "If I hadn't met you, then I'd probably still be in school, pretending to be somebody I'm not, marching to my parents' drum. That's not a life I want to lead."
"You wouldn't have led that life, and you know it," Jude said with a laugh. "Max, you know you're strong enough to turn away from whatever your parents might have wanted you to be. Even if you'd never met me, you would have eventually done that."
"Would I?" Max asked, looking thoughtful. "I was a different person before I met you, Jude. Yeah, I liked having fun, and bucking the system, but I didn't really go against my parents. I was in the school of their choice, doing what they wanted me to do, wasn't I?"
Jude thuoght about his boyfriend's for a few minutes before he nodded slowly. "I guess you're right. You're strong, but it's hard to go against what your family wants when they've had control over you for pretty much all of your life, isn't it?"
"Exactly." Max yawned, tightening his arms around Jude's waist. "I'd probably have ended up giving in to them and marrying some nice stupid girl who I didn't love, and then having meaningless affairs with men and hiding who I really am from the world."
"That's not the kind of life anybody should have to lead," Jude said with a shudder. "I'm glad I came to the States, Max. Glad I met you -- and glad that we fell in love. If for no other reason than to save you from that kind of unbearable life."
"Hey, there are lots of other reasons you should be glad we met and that we're together!" Max laughed, hugging Jude close. "Like the fact that you and I are in love, and we always will be. And the fact that we're both happy, and living the life that we choose."
"That's only two reasons, not 'lots of them,'" Jude protested, but he couldn't hold back a smile. "I'm glad every day that I have you, Max. For more reasons than I can count." He snuggled more comfortably into his boyfriend's arms, closing his eyes.
"Are you going back to sleep on me?" Max demanded in a mock-severe tone. "That's okay if you are," he relented a moment later. "Hell, it's Sunday. We should be able to sleep all day if we want to. And stay in bed .... and make love .... and do other things, too."
"What other things did you have in mind?" Jude asked, wondering just what Max might mean by those words. He couldn't think of anything else to do in bed other than cuddle, sleep, or make love -- and they'd obviously covered all of those amusements.
"Well, we could read in bed .... or eat cookies in bed ...." Max was having a hard time not laughing as he raised a hand to count the ideas off on his fingers. "Or we could lay here and talk about -- I don't know, politics and the state of the world."
"Are you kidding me?" Jude started to sit up, his mouth dropping open, until he realized that Max's blue eyes were twinkling and that his boyfriend was obviously joking. "Thank goodness!" he breathed, lying down next to his lover again. "You scared me for a minute!"
"You didn't really think I was interested in any of that, did you?" Max asked, his laughter ringing out. "Jude, the only thing I want to do right now, while we're here in bed together on a lazy Sunday morning, is to snuggle up with you and enjoy being with you."
"Then I say that we should spend at least the rest of the morning snuggling up in bed," Jude said, suiting actions to words by burrowing more deeply into his boyfriend's arms. "Starting .... right now. And not get up until early afternoon -- if then."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Max laughed, pulling Jude closer against him. He bowed his head, their lips meeting in a kiss that was both sweet and heady at the same time, the two of them giving themselves up to the pleasure of simply enjoying their togetherness.