Behind the Walls
Title: Behind the Walls
Characters: Jude/Max
Fandom: Across the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 16, Blind Date
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.
"You're not going to believe what happened tonight at the bar."
Jude looked up as Max entered their flat, an expectant look on his face as he heard his boyfriend's words. "This should be interesting," he said, sitting up as he caught the expression on Max's features. The other young man looked somewhere between disgusted and outraged.
He couldn't help but wonder just what had put that expression on his boyfriend's face. Max was usually very easygoing; even though he had a temper, it took a lot to make that side of him come out. Something -- or someone -- must have really gotten to him tonight.
Max sat down on the couch beside Jude, making a face. "One of the girls who works in the bar actually set me up on a blnd date with some girl!" he said, sticking out his tongue. "As if I'd go out with a girl when I have the most gorgeous boyfriend ever."
"Doesn't she know you're involved with a guy?" Jude asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Of all the things he could have expected Max to tell him, that hadn't been one of them. He'd thought that everyone knew Max's sexual orientation.
"She knows that I've dated girls before, and she claims that I'm 'wrong' to be with a man. That all I need is to 'meet the right girl' and I'll be okay again." Max snorted, shaking his head. "When I dated girls, I hated pretending to be straight. And I told her that."
"I'm guessing she didn't believe you?" Jude asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He already disliked this girl, and he was very tempted to go by the bar sometime when Max was working and give her a piece of his mind. Several pieces, in fact.
"Nope." Max shook his head again, resitng his head against the back of the couch. "I hate people like that, Jude. I hate people who can't accept others for themselves."
"That's why we both dated girls in the past," Jude told him with a sigh. "Because we were living around people who couldn't accept us for who we are. So we had to hide our true feelings behind a wall of respectability."
Jude sighed at the thought, his mind turning back to all the years he himself had dated a girl and convinced himself that he loved her. He and Max had both hidden behind those walls for so long, only daring to break out of their constraints when they'd found each other.
"I did that my whole life," Max muttered, clenching his fists. "I tried to be something I wasn't and make my family happy. If I wasn't willing to do it for them, then I'm sure as fuck not going to do it for some bitch I hardly even know."
"You .... won't get in trouble at work, will you?" Jude asked tentatively, his voice trembling a little. The last thing he wanted was for Max to lose his job; he himself had a hard time finding work because of his illegal status in the country.
Max shook his head, looking over at Jude as he sat up. "No, babe, I won't," he said softly, taking in the look of uncertainty on Jude's face. "C'mere." He moved over and slid his arms around the other young man's waist, pulling Jude into his arms.
"You're really worried about this, aren't you?" he asked, his words slightly muffled by the fact that he had his face pressed against his boyfriend's hair. "Don't be. She's not my boss. I don't have to do what she says, so don't worry about it."
"What about the other people you work with? Do they know you're gay?" Jude asked, his own voice still a bit unsteady. "And are they okay with it?"
Max nodded, stroking his fingers through Jude's hair. "They're fine with it, babe. They've known since I first started there that I like the boys. And they also know that I'm madly in love with you and that I don't have the least bit of interest in anybody else."
Jude heaved a sigh of relief, resting his head against Max's shoulder. It was silly to worry, of course. He knew that Max loved him, and wouldn't even look at another man. But there was still that little frisson of fear in him every time something like this came up.
It didn't happen often, of course. Most of their friends accepted the fact that they were gay, and that they were in love. But there was always the odd person here and there who had a problem with it, and Jude couldn't help but be bothered by that attitude.
And of course, there was Lucy. Max's younger sister had such a crush on him -- and apparently still did, even though she was seeing someone else now. Whenever they happened to be around each other, he still caught covert glances from her.
Did Lucy still cherish that crush on him? He'd thought that she must have gotten over it long ago, but he had to wonder. And he also had to wonder if Lucy knew this girl that Max worked with -- she seemed to be friends with a lot of people at the bear.
"Max .... does this girl know Lucy?" Jude asked slowly, a thought starting to form in his mind. "She does know a lot of the waitresses there, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, they're friends," Max told him, a frown forming between his brows. "Why do you ask? Lucy being friends with her doesn't have anything to do with her attitude." His frown grew, until his eyes widened and an idea burst into his mind.
"Fuck!" The expletive broke from him with the force of an explosion. "She never had a problem with me being gay before. Now, all of a sudden, she does -- and I've seen her hanging out and talking to Lucy a few times lately."
"So now you know where it came from," Jude concluded, sighing again. "I knew that Lucy wanted us to break up, but now she's being sneaky about it. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, Max. After all, she's just a kid."
"Being a kid doesn't give her the right to try to fuck with my life!" Max growled, his fists clenched again. "The next time I see her at the bar, I'm going to tell her to butt out of my personal life. And that she'd better shut the fuck up about you."
"Whatever she says, it's just words, Max," Jude soothed his boyfriend. "Nothing she says can hurt us. Nobody's going to take her seriously once they know she's only saying things because she has a crush on me. And eventually, that crush will die out."
"I hope so," Max said, his arms tightening around Jude. "Lucy's capable of doing a lot of damage if she tries. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side. She's a vindictive bitch when she wants to be. I found that out a lot when I was younger."
Jude shivered, instinctively moving closer to Max. He was sure that his boyfriend was right about his little sister. Lucy was the kind of person who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted -- and it made Jude uneasy that she wanted him.
It had been months now, and Lucy's crush hadn't died the natural death that Jude had assumed it would. It seemed that she was trying harder than ever to make a rift between them -- and that didn't just make him uneasy, it frightened him.
Max was right. He definitely wouldn't want to be on her bad side.
"What about your blind date?" he asked softly, wanting to take Max's mind away from Lucy. "Are you going to go out with her and tell her that you're a gay man and that she's wasting her time?"
Max laughed, shaking his head. "No way in hell. I'm going to do what the best tradition of bad blind dates always does -- I'm going to stand her up. It's not like she knows me, anyway, even if she's seen me in the bar. She'll just think I'm a first-class prick and get over it."
"And that'll mess up your reputation even more," Jude said with a worried frown. "It's probably not the best idea, Max. You can always meet her, explain the situation, and then leave. Maybe that would be the best thing to do."
Max shook his head emphatically. "No fucking way. I'm not going to meet some chick. That'll just make Lucy and her friends feel encouraged, like they can drive a wedge between us. And they'll keep trying to do that if either of us gives them the slightest opening."
Jude nodded slowly, closing his eyes. Max was right, as usual. "Then don't go. And if they have a problem with it, well then, it's their problem, not ours. And I wouldn't have wanted you to be out with some girl, anyway, even if it meant nothing."
Maybe it was a selfish way of thinking, Jude told himself, but Max was his. And no matter how hard others might try to split them apart, that wasn't going to change.
Characters: Jude/Max
Fandom: Across the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 16, Blind Date
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.
"You're not going to believe what happened tonight at the bar."
Jude looked up as Max entered their flat, an expectant look on his face as he heard his boyfriend's words. "This should be interesting," he said, sitting up as he caught the expression on Max's features. The other young man looked somewhere between disgusted and outraged.
He couldn't help but wonder just what had put that expression on his boyfriend's face. Max was usually very easygoing; even though he had a temper, it took a lot to make that side of him come out. Something -- or someone -- must have really gotten to him tonight.
Max sat down on the couch beside Jude, making a face. "One of the girls who works in the bar actually set me up on a blnd date with some girl!" he said, sticking out his tongue. "As if I'd go out with a girl when I have the most gorgeous boyfriend ever."
"Doesn't she know you're involved with a guy?" Jude asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Of all the things he could have expected Max to tell him, that hadn't been one of them. He'd thought that everyone knew Max's sexual orientation.
"She knows that I've dated girls before, and she claims that I'm 'wrong' to be with a man. That all I need is to 'meet the right girl' and I'll be okay again." Max snorted, shaking his head. "When I dated girls, I hated pretending to be straight. And I told her that."
"I'm guessing she didn't believe you?" Jude asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He already disliked this girl, and he was very tempted to go by the bar sometime when Max was working and give her a piece of his mind. Several pieces, in fact.
"Nope." Max shook his head again, resitng his head against the back of the couch. "I hate people like that, Jude. I hate people who can't accept others for themselves."
"That's why we both dated girls in the past," Jude told him with a sigh. "Because we were living around people who couldn't accept us for who we are. So we had to hide our true feelings behind a wall of respectability."
Jude sighed at the thought, his mind turning back to all the years he himself had dated a girl and convinced himself that he loved her. He and Max had both hidden behind those walls for so long, only daring to break out of their constraints when they'd found each other.
"I did that my whole life," Max muttered, clenching his fists. "I tried to be something I wasn't and make my family happy. If I wasn't willing to do it for them, then I'm sure as fuck not going to do it for some bitch I hardly even know."
"You .... won't get in trouble at work, will you?" Jude asked tentatively, his voice trembling a little. The last thing he wanted was for Max to lose his job; he himself had a hard time finding work because of his illegal status in the country.
Max shook his head, looking over at Jude as he sat up. "No, babe, I won't," he said softly, taking in the look of uncertainty on Jude's face. "C'mere." He moved over and slid his arms around the other young man's waist, pulling Jude into his arms.
"You're really worried about this, aren't you?" he asked, his words slightly muffled by the fact that he had his face pressed against his boyfriend's hair. "Don't be. She's not my boss. I don't have to do what she says, so don't worry about it."
"What about the other people you work with? Do they know you're gay?" Jude asked, his own voice still a bit unsteady. "And are they okay with it?"
Max nodded, stroking his fingers through Jude's hair. "They're fine with it, babe. They've known since I first started there that I like the boys. And they also know that I'm madly in love with you and that I don't have the least bit of interest in anybody else."
Jude heaved a sigh of relief, resting his head against Max's shoulder. It was silly to worry, of course. He knew that Max loved him, and wouldn't even look at another man. But there was still that little frisson of fear in him every time something like this came up.
It didn't happen often, of course. Most of their friends accepted the fact that they were gay, and that they were in love. But there was always the odd person here and there who had a problem with it, and Jude couldn't help but be bothered by that attitude.
And of course, there was Lucy. Max's younger sister had such a crush on him -- and apparently still did, even though she was seeing someone else now. Whenever they happened to be around each other, he still caught covert glances from her.
Did Lucy still cherish that crush on him? He'd thought that she must have gotten over it long ago, but he had to wonder. And he also had to wonder if Lucy knew this girl that Max worked with -- she seemed to be friends with a lot of people at the bear.
"Max .... does this girl know Lucy?" Jude asked slowly, a thought starting to form in his mind. "She does know a lot of the waitresses there, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, they're friends," Max told him, a frown forming between his brows. "Why do you ask? Lucy being friends with her doesn't have anything to do with her attitude." His frown grew, until his eyes widened and an idea burst into his mind.
"Fuck!" The expletive broke from him with the force of an explosion. "She never had a problem with me being gay before. Now, all of a sudden, she does -- and I've seen her hanging out and talking to Lucy a few times lately."
"So now you know where it came from," Jude concluded, sighing again. "I knew that Lucy wanted us to break up, but now she's being sneaky about it. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, Max. After all, she's just a kid."
"Being a kid doesn't give her the right to try to fuck with my life!" Max growled, his fists clenched again. "The next time I see her at the bar, I'm going to tell her to butt out of my personal life. And that she'd better shut the fuck up about you."
"Whatever she says, it's just words, Max," Jude soothed his boyfriend. "Nothing she says can hurt us. Nobody's going to take her seriously once they know she's only saying things because she has a crush on me. And eventually, that crush will die out."
"I hope so," Max said, his arms tightening around Jude. "Lucy's capable of doing a lot of damage if she tries. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side. She's a vindictive bitch when she wants to be. I found that out a lot when I was younger."
Jude shivered, instinctively moving closer to Max. He was sure that his boyfriend was right about his little sister. Lucy was the kind of person who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted -- and it made Jude uneasy that she wanted him.
It had been months now, and Lucy's crush hadn't died the natural death that Jude had assumed it would. It seemed that she was trying harder than ever to make a rift between them -- and that didn't just make him uneasy, it frightened him.
Max was right. He definitely wouldn't want to be on her bad side.
"What about your blind date?" he asked softly, wanting to take Max's mind away from Lucy. "Are you going to go out with her and tell her that you're a gay man and that she's wasting her time?"
Max laughed, shaking his head. "No way in hell. I'm going to do what the best tradition of bad blind dates always does -- I'm going to stand her up. It's not like she knows me, anyway, even if she's seen me in the bar. She'll just think I'm a first-class prick and get over it."
"And that'll mess up your reputation even more," Jude said with a worried frown. "It's probably not the best idea, Max. You can always meet her, explain the situation, and then leave. Maybe that would be the best thing to do."
Max shook his head emphatically. "No fucking way. I'm not going to meet some chick. That'll just make Lucy and her friends feel encouraged, like they can drive a wedge between us. And they'll keep trying to do that if either of us gives them the slightest opening."
Jude nodded slowly, closing his eyes. Max was right, as usual. "Then don't go. And if they have a problem with it, well then, it's their problem, not ours. And I wouldn't have wanted you to be out with some girl, anyway, even if it meant nothing."
Maybe it was a selfish way of thinking, Jude told himself, but Max was his. And no matter how hard others might try to split them apart, that wasn't going to change.