A Break

In a lot of ways, he and Alma were very similar. But in many more ways, they were very different. Their own histories were pretty close to as opposite as you could get. Alma's father was a monster, while her mother was a blessing. Jude's mother wasn't even present, and his father was... well, some might call him a monster, but Jude didn't count himself among them. She'd grown up socially liberated, while his upbringing had been considerably more traditional.

Listening to Alma talk about her plans for the future--no marriage, maybe on kids, no rush--felt a bit like a wedge had come down between them. A line that Jude wasn't even sure she was aware of. Probably not. Not really. There was no reason for her to feel it, but he did, and for a moment he was lost in his own thoughts before he snapped himself out of it, deciding that it was better to vocalize his thoughts then let them eat him up.

"If I'm being honest," Jude said, which was very quickly becoming one of his favorite phrases, "I guess I do kind of want those things. Marriage, kids, white picket fence. All that. I always kind of imagined them in my future. But my future's changed a lot lately. And while I don't have forever, I still..."

He trailed off, realizing that it was probably sound a lot like a I'm breaking up with you to find someone who wants two point five children, and so he quickly clarified.

"I want to stay with you, and see how things go. I don't know if we'll last forever, but I still want to try. Just being around you is... is really nice."

It was funny. In a lot of ways, the things that attracted Jude to Alma in the first place were the very things that were the most contrasted with what he said he wanted. Maybe he didn't want them. Maybe he wanted them, but not right then. It was hard for him to say, and he pushed away the thought entirely.

Maybe later. Maybe one day. Maybe when he was in his twenties or thirties. He was on a magic island where things like immortality were within grabbing distance. He didn't have all the time in the world right then, but he might one day.

"You aren't going to stop," Jude agreed. "You'd go crazy. Just sitting at home... That isn't a life you want."

Jude offered a shrug. "I wouldn't ask you to change anyway, so it's a moot point. I like who you are now."

"Don't remind me," Jude said with a groan. "I'm still learning budgeting, and I had to turn away when they said the price of admission. I think my eyes might have popped a little bit out of my head."

It was criminal, and Jude had no intention of coming back anytime soon. Not at those prices. Not even if someone else paid.

"I vote we just got on every ride, and then I can have nice happy memories of every single ride to keep."

Jude pushed himself to his feet, offering a hand to Alma to help her up, and then he went to go do that very thing.