A kiss that conveys emotion.
Cold rock stings through layers of dark fabric, Kris leaning back heavily against the connecting tunnel above the path under him. The lockers were close by and the grating sound of the mechanism in the Nerve Center lay beyond the closed doors next to him. Chords vibrate and sing next to him, reminding him of the stakes in this game.
His head hurts and his ears sound flooded with the stress of the Shape being so close. He swears that there’s a fire behind his eyelids, but after a few moments it finally disappears and he regains his focus. Heartbeats calm and he dares to lean over the side of the edge and look below. Nothing.
In the distance, he hears the heavy footfalls of the other two running up the stairs towards the surface. They have the first fire in their hands, ready to can it and be done with the mission. Things have been hectic and there were too many Lucids in the underground tonight. Things went sideways and Jude was caught in the crossfire, getting captured and slept by the Angel.
Kris takes his grappling hook and attaches it to the ledge, tossing the rope down and giving it a tug to test the integrity of the hold before climbing down. Boots touch down next to a pile of trash, not spotting anything useful. He pulls his grapple down and attaches it to his belt before pushing open the door to the locker room.
Nobody was in here but Jude. The red door in the back corner makes Kris nervous about trying to retrieve him so close by, but there wasn’t much else for him to do in this case. He’s careful in his approach, the tiled floor clicking softly with each step.
Jude’s not really going anywhere, standing in one spot and swaying softly. Every now and then his hands reach out as if to catch his balance. Kris gets in front of him and stares at him for a long moment before grabbing his face. He holds him still and waits for him to wake up but after a solid minute, he starts wondering if it’s not working. The bright red floodlights saturate their forms in succeeding patterns. It’s eerily quiet aside from the sounds the lights make.
The buzz of his phone indicating the mission was over and it was time to leave breaks him from his confused train of thought. Kris lets go of Jude to check the screen, noting which exit they needed to meet up at and he curses under his breath. Blue eyes search his friend’s face for any sign of consciousness but nothing greets him. Kris knows Jude is a heavy sleeper but this was not the time for such a trait to show its stubbornness.
His hands come back up to Jude’s face and he rubs his thumbs over his cheeks softly. Teeth catch his lip as he debates with himself how to wake him up without hurting him. (It’d be easy to just shake him or push him into the lockers, but that wasn’t something he wants to do.) A few pats to the cheek and he sighs when nothing happens. Hands grasp Jude’s shoulders and he shakes him softly, then a little harder so his whole body lurches and tries to steady itself. Nothing.
Another buzz of his phone in his pocket and Kris starts feeling a little more desperate. The longer he waits, the more likely the Shape might come back to try and catch him away from the other kids.
“Jude. I need you to wake up. Jude. Jude!”
Kris curses under his breath again and he gets closer to him, wrapping his arms around the shorter man and holding him close. The sides of their heads rest against each other and he briefly mimics the little swaying motion Jude naturally does when he’s not influencing him. A million and one thoughts run through his mind but he does know that he refuses to leave him behind.
He pulls back a bit and tries to reason with himself. Things aren’t going to end how he wants them to and attempting to drag Jude around while he’s asleep isn’t going to work when there are stairs and ladders between them and the exit. He figures that despite his efforts, he’s still giving himself the excuse to try something else--that he’s not speaking loud enough for Jude to hear him and he’s not being forceful enough, in the end, to really wake him up. Of course he’ll beat himself up for the idea, but in the end, it leaves him with the option that he’s been thinking about for a while now (even if Jude wasn’t in need of saving.)
Hands grab ahold of Jude’s face again, cupping his cheeks and holding his hair away from his eyes. Lips press to Jude’s and he closes his eyes while hoping (praying--a hint of confidence sparking inside of him from the multi-faceted danger he faced at the moment.) He holds the action for as long as it takes, forcing himself to relax more until it’s less desperate and a bit more careful. Mouths caught in a simple, gentle motion.
It might have taken the full minute--just like his previous attempt of keeping him still--but this time he feels the flutter of eyelashes on his cheek and he does his best to remain calm. Heat flushes his cheeks and ears when he feels the initial receptiveness of Jude being awake finally and Kris lets his hands fall away so he can pull away if he wants to.
Kris keeps his eyes closed, afraid to face the repercussions if Jude decided he wasn’t about all of this, but he doesn’t hesitate in continuing to kiss him despite him having woken up.
It’s the first time he’s ever been so direct in expressing his feelings for Jude. Everything before this was all subtle and half-assed things hidden behind the guise of friendship (holding hands, spending nights together, taking him out.) He’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was extremely anxious as to how his best friend would react.
He doesn’t regret making everyone wait, however, even if impending danger was literally around the corner.
