Lets Talk about Life

"At this point," Jude said with a small laugh. "I'm of the opinion that literally no one knows how flirting actually works, and we're all just faking it." Maaaaaaybe Alma knew about it. Maybe. But even then he wasn't sold on that, because she tended to fly by the seat of her pants on things too.

Neither of them quite knew it, but of the two of them, Jude actually had less experience.

"Being honest, it's new to me too," Jude admitted. "I didn't even know poly was a... thing back in Halcyon City. I only really found out once I was here, when other people explained it to me. I think it's... I mean, it's a fair idea? It's not for everyone, but I'm really not a jealous person, so it works for me."

Jude felt relief flood through him when Gabe actually said yes. A date. Not quite dating, but dating was probably a bit beyond things considering it had only been around a month. Getting to know each other worked, and he grinned, seeming to visibly sag back into his chair a bit.

"I was putting like, fifty percent odds on 'I mean, you're really nice Angelo, but also I don't like guys', so this went pretty well."

So this wasn't a date, technically. He had asked him out to ask him out, but since they hadn't established that this was going to be a date, it technically wasn't, until Jude actually said it.

"So is this our first date? For tracking purposes," Jude said, getting up to retrieve their food when the man behind the counter called their names. He grabbed Gabe's too, setting it down before taking his seat again.

"I mean, if you'd asked me what I was in Halcyon city, I'd have said I was straight, but that was more... as a default thing? I just didn't think about it, because I didn't think I'd really ever get to date anyone. Now that I'm here and I've had time to think about it... I guess I like both? But different things in both. What I like in guys and what I like in girls are kind of different."

Jude didn't feel particularly odd about it, but he was at least keeping his voice down out of respect for Gabe's feelings.

"Uh, body types is the first thing that comes to mind I guess?" Angelo said, sounding not at all sure. His eyes were definitely watching the teeth, but he didn't seem all that bothered. He'd been around Smokey, for one. Or Centi. Or... well, a lot of people with very unusual eating styles.

"I guess I like girls more, uh..." You know what, scratch that, he couldn't think of a better way to say it. "More traditionally feminine, I guess? Where as I prefer guys more athletic. Not like, bulky, but fit. I guess it's mostly what I was around." He wasn't exactly big on muscular women.

"What about you?"

"If we're being honest," Jude said with a small smile on his lips, "I think teh idea of a tree that eats meat is kind of hilarious, actually. Like, you say 'plant powers' and everyone is like 'oh vegetarian' and then oops, nope. Probably scared a lot of people back in Halcyon, but what Alma said before was true--no one cares here. There's way weirder stuff here on the island. People with too many teeth in their mouth. People with no teeth at all. One person I met had like... lamprey mouth. Like, perfectly round teeth."

That one had been kind of freaky, if he was being honest.

He listened to the explanation of just who he liked, and... well, he could understand that. To not want pity. His wasn't quite like that, but... similar enough, and he nodded.

"I get that," he said. "I used to worry a lot about if people liked me because of me, or if they were treating me that way because of my dad. That was part of the reason I ran off to do the hero thing... because any reactions I got were reactions just to me."

"I kind of figured," Jude said with a small laugh. It was obvious Gabe was awkward, but Jude really didn't seem bothered by it. It felt distant. It felt far away. He'd made his peace with what had happened at the house.

"That was me, actually," Jude said, pausing to take a bite of his own sub. He should have gotten a bag of chips or something to go with it. "The guy doing it didn't realize my dad had a son, so when I walked in, he thought it was my dad. Blew the whole house up. That was when I lost my arm, actually. Kind of messed everything up for me, at least in the short term."

He paused, staring into space as he sort of puzzled it out.

"I guess it worked out in the end. My dad and I don't really have any more secrets now. We're in a better place then we were before. No more doubts about does my dad really love me after all that."