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It was interesting, to be led around Sagittarius' jungle without a youma attempting to rip his heart from his chest, but Leo would not prefer to do it all the time. For one, he was wearing ridiculous shoes to be tromping around a jungle in, and two, he was already tired. He'd missed his nap in second period, mostly due to the fact that his marks had fallen and he actually had to work to bring the back up, and he'd barely gotten any sleep when Jude and Dani had picked him up. He was tired, his feet hurt, and all manner of other bitchy comments that he only kept to himself out of the knowledge that the excursion was necessary.

He was still glad to be at the end, and he expressed it with a long sigh, stretching his arms over his head and arching his back. He was tired.

"I'll try to remember what I saw." He knew it would take him several trips into the jungle to be able to navigate decently, but it was worth a shot. He'd write in his diary about it to help solidify the memories, maybe. "Does anyone have the time?"

Beside him, Dani stretched too, but she worked her legs. "My henshin doesn't come with a watch, sorry. Oh, crap."

She straightened, looking like a strange combination of annoyed and regretful. "I hope I haven't missed dinner. My dad is already going to be pissed."

Dani was relieved to be dropped off first, if only because she really didn't want to give her parents any more reasons to be irritated with her. She climbed out of the truck and over Grayson, who mostly grunted and let her do it, head tipped back as though he were a man resigned to his own fate and inevitable death by a wayward elbow. She hit the ground and rocked on her heels, rolling her eyes at Jude.

"It wasn't gossiping, it was helping. And it was only Barnaby, geez." Still, she waved, adding, "But I'll keep it in mind, okay bye!" in much the same tone she'd used on her father earlier.

Her father who was in the kitchen, just putting the finishing touches on dinner, so she was safe enough for the day.

Grayson watched Dani go, his lips pursed, until he finally asked, "Gossiping?"

He was fairly certain he didn't want to know, but he still had to ask.

Grayson had a pretty good idea what Dani had been gossiping about, but considering he'd been the one to create the entire situation in her presence, he supposed he couldn't be too irritated with her. If she was being honest, which he thought she was, the news had only traveled to Barnaby, and hopefully with Barnaby it would die. Not that he was ashamed of the fact that he'd kissed Jude or anything, he just... didn't exactly want to be the topic of gossip in any of the social circles that sort of information could make it to.

He was a little wary when Jude pulled out a cell phone, and for good reason he thought, but relaxed when they pulled over. His eyebrow slowly arched when Jude covered his mouth, but instead of fighting it, he simply watched with mounting confusion as Jude called his... father?

And said he was staying the night?

And he would get him to school?

The implications of such an arrangement were not lost on Grayson, nor would they be on Arthur. Or Van, when he hung up and shared the news. Even poor Tristan would not be spared. It was the thought of his entire family putting their heads together and musing over the possibility of Grayson getting some that made his face flush. Seriously, so embarrassing.

Jude had his rules about three dates, and from his experience with Jude, he was pretty particular on his rules. So, while Grayson assumed they would do just as he said -- watch movies and then he'd crash at Jude's apartment -- he knew there would be no such innocent thoughts circulating the Graves household that night.

Ugh.

He lifted his hands, gently pushed Jude's away from his mouth and licked his lips. Mentally cursed himself for the lovely shade of fire engine red that was decorating his face, he gave Jude a long look and said slowly, "You know exactly what they're going to assume, Jude Lawson."

His tone might have been slightly testy, but it was tempered by fond exasperation. It was a peculiar tone, one that was almost exclusively reserved for Jude.

Grayson doubted the effect of the full name would be lost any time soon, so he wasn't too concerned about overuse of it, especially not when Jude kept acting like he was. If he kept twisting Grayson's insides up and making his thoughts circle endlessly around him, he was going to go a little bit insane.

Sitting in Jude's truck with a pair of pale hands cupping either side of his face, he assumed he was already halfway there, anyhow.

There were a million things he could have said, like You aren't the one who gets to be teased mercilessly and Your parents aren't imagining you having sex right now, are they? but he didn't. He waged a brief war with himself, tried to fight against the irritation and disappointment of Jude's "messing with" him, and decided to be charmed.

Jude was being a traditionalist. Jude was enjoying himself, because he was Sagittarius and he continually got a response out of Grayson, but his intentions were not mean-spirited. It was easier to be charmed than angry.

So, he brought his hands up, placing them over Jude's lightly, and said, "I know." He patted them, smiling, and then ran his hands down Jude's arms, fingers curled just above his elbows.

It was nice, just to sit there and have a little bit of contact. A week ago, he wouldn't have imagined he'd be able to get away with maintaining solid eye contact, much less sharing a quiet, content moment in this particular context with Jude.

"What movie are we going to watch?"

Every time he tried to be as casual as Jude, it backfired on him. Jude touched his face, Grayson touched his hands and then his arms. He should have known that if he pushed, even a little, he would be pushed back.

If he was more confident, more secure in himself, he would have gotten bolder still. He wouldn't have cared that they were parked on the side of the road and Jude had a rule about three dates; he would have slid his hands into Jude's hair, tipped his head back, and run kisses along his jaw. He could see it clearly in his mind, which was the worst part in the world, as he knew he wouldn't act on it.

Not yet. Not there.

So he remained still, his stomach doing lazy little flips once more as he studied Jude's face, his fingers curling inward slightly, relaxing.

He would put up with a lot. He always had, hadn't he?

"Good to know," He said finally, and his voice might have been just a little too cautious. Jude could do that to him.

"All right." Grayson slid his hands into his back pockets, followed Jude in. Truth be told, he was tired, and given all the walking around he'd done in the jungle earlier, he could use some sleep. That in mind, he looked around, considered a moment, and shrugged.

"I actually am kind of tired." His gaze fell on the sofa and he removed his hands from his pockets, unzipping his jacket. It seemed like as good a place as any to settle in for the night as far as Grayson was concerned. He was also a man who could sleep almost anymore.

Another time, he might have been more eager to stay awake and enjoy Jude's company, but he didn't 100% trust his mind not to wander down dangerous paths. Jude had a habit of doing that to him, too.