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Grayson's hand immediately went up to cover the victim of the flicking, and he scowled. He had been in the moment but hadn't put a lot of effort into the kiss, okay.

And he realized he was acting like a child, so that forehead flick had likely been justified. Damn.

His expression underwent several rapid transformations at what came next, however. Grayson was a patient man. He arguably had enough patience for the both of them and perhaps a little more than that, even. By the time Jude asked which one was more manly, he couldn't help it; he laughed.

Laughed because it was cute, and Jude was really trying, but also because he had to answer, quite honestly: "Dad. Arthur? He has black hair, looks more like me."

His chuckling subsided, and he gave Jude an appreciative, fond look. "Just don't let Pop know I said so. Oh, Jude." And he shook his head again, unable to help the grin, before a thought occurred to him.

If Jude could be a little dense sometimes, Grayson could be a little slow, and a lot uncertain.

"Are we dating, then?"

Somehow, he always ended up asking that question at one point or another.

Grayson was tempted to give him a very bland look, but he got sidetracked somewhere along the way when it registered that, yes, he was apparently dating Jude. This was enough to make a quiet sort of happiness fill him, to distract him from the other worries that had plagued him not even an hour before. It was strange how suddenly a perspective could change, and by something so simple and profound at the same time.

"All right, then." He tried to imagine Jesus coming back simply to force Jude back into high school and couldn't quite get there. He seemed satisfied regardless, however.

He was dating Jude.

Apparently, that pig really enjoyed testing out its new wings.

Grayson still highly doubted the existence of the Loch Ness monster. On the other hand, however, he would have doubted the feasibility of his current situation just as strongly, so who knew.

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said easily, and honestly. Grayson could probably be convinced that aliens had really made the crop circles if only he had been taken to the them see them for himself, rather than look at pictures.

He was a little thrown by the next question, enough that he sounded surprised. "I don't know. Anywhere would be fine, I think."

Because, corny as it was, anywhere would be fine.

But they'd both known beforehand that Grayson was a hopeless romantic.

If Grayson had been less enamored with his life in general at just that moment, he might have feared for it. Thankfully, he was not present when Jude went off the road and nearly took Dani out in the process, so he didn't think too much of the erratic steering. No one had died yet, right?

"All right, I'll think of something." He'd ask his parents if he had to.

It was a little startling to have his chin suddenly gripped, but Grayson reached up and swatted at him, reminding patiently, "Eyes on the road, Jude," before he ran his fingers over the earring that he had been inspecting.

He did like jewelry. He typically wore one earring and a couple of bracelets, though they were always simple and dark in color. On occasion, he had even worn a necklace with the right outfit, but he could already see Jude getting a little too enthusiastic and making him look much more queer than he actually was.

"And, ah, jewelry is nice. I don't usually wear much, but it's nice." He had visions of Hannah Montana accessories, and he worried.

It took Grayson a minute to realize that Jude meant him, and in the stunned silence that followed, his cheeks actually went a little pink.

Damn.

"Well." It was going to take a lot of getting used to, he realized. While the prospect seemed daunting on one hand, he was actually a bit excited as well. Even before, he'd wanted to know more about Jude and get closer to him; this was just another facet of his personality, one that he hadn't thought to be actually privy to.

"Well. Thank you." He hoped to God that Jude kept his eyes on the road and didn't notice the blush. (There might have been a reason he didn't believe in God.) "Is your truck supposed to make that noise?"

He didn't drive or anything, but he was pretty sure it was not.

Grayson blamed it on the fact that the concept of dating Jude -- and being complimented by Jude -- and dear lord, having Jude say his name like that --

Well. He blamed all of the above for the fact that he was blushing and didn't seem to be able to stop. He scowled, too, but it was the half-hearted sort of scowl that they both knew didn't mean even half of what it was trying to get across. Had he been a girl, he would have giggled, but he was not a girl.

No, Jude, remember. Not a girl; this was established some time ago.

Instead, he did his best to look dignified and failed miserably, even though he knew Jude was just messing with him. At least the teasing was in a fond way, he tried to console himself as he all but swallowed his own tongue trying to bite back any number of retorts that would only end up embarrassing him. Day one of the dating game, and Jude had clearly won the coin toss.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jude." As cranky as he might have tried to sound, it didn't work. By the time he hit "Jude" it was back to his normal tone, a small smile on his face when he closed the truck door and stepped back, waving.

From upstairs, Tristan leaned out his window and flipped Jude and his truck off. It was probably a sign of fondness.