09-11-2023, 09:05 PM
It would be completely in line with the shaky relationship they have for Near to pelt Jude with his keys and leave him stunned and mildly injured on the couch; it would maintain the poetic rhythm of their connection, as impulsive and pointless as it would be. It would be just as natural for Jude to commit some act of serious self-harm in order to make a point that Near would then deny.
Instead Jude takes off his shoes, which is the normal and respectful thing to do if one is staying a while and wants to put their feet up on a couch. The Reaches was forbidding and formidable, demanding stiff posture and discomfort. Near’s apartment does not intimidate. It doesn’t hiss at Jude to keep his feet off the couch.
As serious as anything else. Jude quirks his eyebrows. They move in coordination, though he would prefer the ability to lift only one at a time. Oh well. No one can do every single thing.
In sulky silence, Jude debates which answer to provide. He is so, so tempted to be contrary, to pin all the hatred in the room on Near like he is the histrionic one. But when he thinks about it for a little longer, that feels like admitting his own petulance. “I guess we do,” he says. Now he hopes that Near will not ask why Jude invited him along, why Jude would keep company with someone he hates. Jude already knows he cannot answer.
Instead Jude takes off his shoes, which is the normal and respectful thing to do if one is staying a while and wants to put their feet up on a couch. The Reaches was forbidding and formidable, demanding stiff posture and discomfort. Near’s apartment does not intimidate. It doesn’t hiss at Jude to keep his feet off the couch.
As serious as anything else. Jude quirks his eyebrows. They move in coordination, though he would prefer the ability to lift only one at a time. Oh well. No one can do every single thing.
In sulky silence, Jude debates which answer to provide. He is so, so tempted to be contrary, to pin all the hatred in the room on Near like he is the histrionic one. But when he thinks about it for a little longer, that feels like admitting his own petulance. “I guess we do,” he says. Now he hopes that Near will not ask why Jude invited him along, why Jude would keep company with someone he hates. Jude already knows he cannot answer.