Jude chuckled down at his lap. Rory’s attempt at Spanish was rather atrocious, but Jude couldn’t blame them. Most of Jude’s fellow Englishmen struggled to get the accent right. Rory did well, all things considered. More importantly, the awkward nervousness that often settled between himself and Rory when Jude second-guessed how he was supposed to act with his flamboyant, nonbinary friend, had dissipated as quickly as it had come. No longer worrying about playing his masculine side, or avoiding anything accidentally offending, Jude let his relaxed mind speak unhindered. “My little chicken, I adore you~” He snickered at his lap. Behind his head, the scissors trimmed away with a sharp snip, snip, snip. “Even the English have their silly pet names.” He dropped into the rugged slur of his native accent to prove his point. “Say, me dovey, you ever ‘ad a sweetie?” He cleared his throat, putting on a bashful smile. “Love makes people totally mental, innit? They lose their ‘eads. Start babblin’ loony nonsense.”
It was a relief to hear Rory agree with him. Someone had to step up. Jude fought being the leader, he always asked for group decisions and organized the details as best he could. He wasn’t in charge, but he was willing to stand up when something needed to be said. Maybe that was enough to put someone in charge. He silently considered Rory’s ideas, his fingers fidgeting under the large smock. They were right, if he could get more of the group on his side…
He had Ava, and Rory, already agreeing with him. He’d talk to Des right away, and ask for Luca’s help with the logistics. Between Rory and Luca, the meetings would be well organized and hopefully remain diplomatic enough for discussions and decision-making. Cleo would likely be helpful as well. That made six of them, half the group. Surely the rest would be more inclined to play along if he had half of the twelve agreeing with him. He feared the most unwilling might be his own roommate, Imogen. Maybe this time, she wouldn’t explode on him. She had been getting better about that. “Hmm, okay. That’s a good point. I’ll check on some of the others. I think… I think most will agree, we should be working as a team toward something.” He raised a smock-hidden hand to rub at the prickly stubble that jutted from his chin. “I’m hoping we can get some sort of discussion going. There aren’t that many of us, we can afford to hear what everyone thinks about the grimoire, and our abilities, and this so-called curse. We managed to save Faye together, surely we can solve this if we all actually talked to each other for once.”
His hand dropped back to his lap as a realization struck him. “You do too care!” His forehead wrinkled in a thoughtful frown. “Okay, maybe not for all of them, but you gave me a second chance and you absolutely didn’t have to. You care more than you think.” Jude glanced up at the spackled blue and white sky, acutely aware that he couldn’t move his head to give Rory the meaningful look they deserved. “I think we all do. We’ve all struggled together in the last year, and lifted each other. Whether they notice it or not, we’re a family now. You don’t have to like your family, but you do have to care. And, from what I can tell, we all care, a lot, in our own ways. That’s why… I’m going to do it. I’ll ask everyone to meet again, soon. Let’s hope I don’t get yelled at again.” He spoke with a resolute softness–careful but certain.
Rory had to lower the scissors as their shoulders shook with the force of the giggles that bubbled from their lips. Jude’s accent didn’t sound too different from their own when they let themself slip into it. It was always a bit tamer at Durham, when they were surrounded by clipped, posh accents. At home though, their northern accent was so thick, they were sure the students here would never understand them. Or when they were in the middle of some passionate rant. “Jude, luhv, you melt me heart. Call me dovey again. Sets me heart a flutter,” Rory snickered.
Wiping the tears that appeared from laughing, Rory took a deep breath to settle down before continuing with Jude’s hair. It was nearly done now. They just needed to do a few final touch ups and add the product to keep the curls neat and in place. Rory hoped Jude was right, that they could find a way to get everyone to agree to work together. It didn’t go so well for themself the first time. Imogen easily shot down everything they said, but things were different. She seemed more inclined that believe that Rory knew what they were talking about after everything with Faye. Dane would be another story entirely. The Aires seemed determined to keep himself at a good distance from everyone.
“It’ll be a little bit of a mess at first,” Rory murmured, stepping back and slowly around Jude to see his hair at all angles, stopping in front of him to run their fingers through the curls near his forehead. “Loads of different opinions and no clear leader will definitely lead to a few arguments, but we’ll have to learn to compromise,” Rory winced, knowing they were equally guilty of being stubborn. “I’ll have to learn to compromise. I’m not the best at it,” They admitted, smirking down at Jude before disappearing behind him again.
Rory rolled their eyes at Jude’s indignant protest, though a smile was hinting at their lips. “Alright, alright. That was bad phrasing,” Rory chuckled lowly, pausing to squeeze some product on their palms before working it through his curls. “Obviously, I don’t want people to hate me. I don’t think anyone does, but I also get that you’ve got to deal with backlash when doing something...controversial,” They wrinkled their nose, really not liking that word. What was so controversial about fighting for basic human rights? “I guess what I’m saying is I’m used to getting yelled at. When you organize protests and campaign for issues people don’t agree with, you deal with a lot of hatred. So, if I need to round up the troops and bruise Dane’s ego a little, I’ll do it.”
They finished up Jude’s hair, falling quiet as Jude decided he’d be the one to organize the meeting. As much as people insulted Jude’s leadership, he was one of the best options for it. Even if it didn’t always go well, Jude always had the best intentions in mind, and his steadiness was mandatory for a group of hot-headed fire signs, emotional water signs, and ideological air signs. “Well, I’ve got your back,” Rory finished resolutely before handing Jude a mirror. “And your hair. You’re all done.”
