Chapter 5: Bonding

"Before we begin, I do have to clarify…" Grayson starts.

"Clarify?"

"Did you, like, quit drinking and just not tell your sister about it? Is this going to get a chip revoked or something?"

"I am not an alcoholic, I'm just not particularly good at drinking." Jude grimaces.

"Like you smash stuff? Or like you sing?"

"I get dizzy? It makes being in public harder."

Grayson nods knowingly. "The noises and lights, people act differently than you expect them to. It's a whole different ball game."

"Yeah…exactly. I tried when I was younger, but I'm just not that guy, I think."

"Alright, I can work with that. You ever get drunk in a lowly lit empty room with a guy you just met?"

Jude's ears start to get pink and Grayson files that image away for later.

"No, I haven't."

Grayson pours two shots and slides one over. "To new experiences."

Jude raises his glass and they throw back the shots.

Jude clears his throat, face screwing. "Well, that was disgusting. Are we doing chasers or—"

"You don't like me," Grayson states simply, little emotion in his voice.

Jude runs his thumb along the rim of his glass. "It's…not like that." His eyes are down, but something about his tone rings sincerely.

Grayson waves dismissively, "Whatever you say, big boy. You've already admitted that you've been, at the very least, a bit hostile toward me."

Jude nods, once.

"I want to fix that. So far as I know, I haven't done anything to make you actually hate me and I can't exactly take you in a fight, so this is my only option here." Grayson states, pouring them another round.

Jude smiles a little and downs the rest of his drink. "I did apologize for that."

"Apologies only mean you feel badly about what you did, not that you changed your mind."

"Alright, what do you suggest, then?"

"Two words, drinking game."

"And this would somehow build an inseparable bond between us?"

"The way I do it? Absolutely."

"Do I want to ask what the rules are?"

Grayson taps his chin thoughtfully. "Here's what I have so far…you say something nice about me, and then I'll say something even nicer about you. We go back and forth, and if the compliment is insufficiently nicer than the previous you take a shot. Oh, and if it takes you longer than 30 seconds to think of one you take a shot. This way, you have no choice but to find things you like about me unless you want alcohol poisoning!"

Jude gives him a blank stare for a moment before closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. "F*ck it, seems solid enough logic to me."

"Perfect, I'll go first, actually. Got to set the bar, right?"

Jude rolls his eyes, a sly smile toying on his lips. "Naturally."

"You have well-shaped eyebrows. A lot of men rock the whole neanderthal thing." He leans forward, inspecting his face carefully, "Do you pluck?"

Jude's leans away sheepishly, his hand moving up to cover his eyebrows. "Uh. Sometimes I guess. Just the middle though."

Grayson nods and looks at him expectantly.

"You…really have no sense of shame."

"That better not have been my compliment, that sucks."

Jude halts for a moment, but Grayson is already pouring him a shot.

"Drink!"

Jude slams it back bitterly, "I'll do better next time. Your turn?"

"I have a hunch that you're actually funny when you aren't being stand-offish, that is."

"Huh." Jude seems genuinely taken off guard. "No one's ever said that about me before. I normally get…nice, or dependable." He smiles almost imperceptibly.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't think you're nice, Jude."

Jude's smile widens and he wordlessly grabs the bottle and pours a shot, sliding it to Grayson.

Grayson tilts it to Jude in a wordless cheer and takes it.

"Alright, I got one. You're a people watcher."

Grayson narrows his eyes a little, but doesn't say anything.

"You're observant, I guess. Getting to know people seems important to you."

Grayson scratches his neck. "People are hard, they don't always do things that make sense at first. But if you get to know them, it's easier to predict patterns. You have a database to reference." He waits for Jude to tell him off, and call him weird or robotic. It doesn't come. Instead, Jude nods solemnly.

"That makes sense to me. Part of the reason I didn't call you a people person, I guess. I've met a lot of people who'd do anything to get people to like them and you aren't like that." Jude shrugs. "Even with this, you obviously want us to get along for some reason or another…but you just called me out to my face and told me you were fixing the problem. It's oddly genuine; refreshing, even."

They lock eyes for a heartbeat too long.

"You wear the hell out of that apron." Grayson blurts out, desperate to fill the air with anything to disperse some of the tension.

Jude goes completely red.

"From a tailored perspective, you know? You're shaped all." Grayson draws an upside-down triangle in the air. "So getting something that flatters your dainty waistline is important."

"Dainty?"

"Shot?" Grayson’s voice is strained, his hand already on the bottle, pouring himself one.

"Please." They both drink in the quiet for a moment.

"You've only seen me in the apron once, you know?"

"Dear god, let's move along. Your turn!" Grayson laughs, embarrassed.

Jude seems looser, his body language completely open and a haze starting to cover his eyes. For a man that big, Grayson would have assumed he could hold his liquor decently well, even with the knowledge that it wasn’t something he did often. This was quickly being disproved.

"You have nice teeth. Or, a smile, I suppose, is the less creepy way of saying that." Jude’s chin rests against his palm as he speaks, embarrassment completely drained away as they continue their game. "Dentists must love you. You’ve got that toothpaste ad kind of smile that just makes the whole room stop. My dentist doesn’t like my smile."

Grayson is struck by how tight his chest feels. "Why is that?"

Jude smiles wide and Grayson can see that his smile looks perfectly normal, except for his oversized canines. They jut out just a bit and have a relatively sharper tip than Grayson has seen before.

Grayson smiles. "I think they're nice. And for what it's worth, my dentist definitely doesn't love me." He sticks out his tongue, revealing a silver stud. Jude’s eyes darken, and for a moment Grayson can’t distinguish his pupil from his iris. Grayson closes his eyes and tries to shake himself back to his senses. "I’m not sure why I still have it, honestly…I got it on my seventeenth birthday. It was symbolic, you know? That I could do it on my own, that I was an adult."

"You aren’t an adult at seventeen. Or, you shouldn’t have to be, at least." Jude’s tone is surprisingly soft, he moves his hand to rest an inch away from Grayson’s.

Grayson taps the back of his hand with his fingers lightly. "I know." Then clears his throat. "My turn. I like the way your sister talks about you. You’re like a hero to her, that kind of bond is really incredible."

Jude flips his hand, catching Grayson’s fingertips on his palm with his thumb. He rubs his thumb up Grayson’s middle finger contemplatively. "You always smell like hazelnut coffee." His voice is soft.

Grayson lowers his voice to almost a whisper. "It’s a pretty common combination, it’s not that special."

"It is when you do it." Jude trails off, sleep-heavy in his voice.

"Oh."

Oh. Grayson feels his heart melt a little as Jude places his cheek against the bar, his breathing slowing until he’s fast asleep. He knew he shouldn’t be doing this, admiring the sleeping face of the man in front of him. But he couldn't bring himself to care.

He reaches out, brushing a lock of hair out of Jude's eyes. "You're going to break my heart, aren't you?" he whispers softly, a fond smile toying at his lips, as Jude's almost hushed snores fill the now quiet bar.