Jude was a little irked at himself for how he was acting, but he was even finding it hard to be exasperated at himself when Kieran's laughter sounded so infectious and so genuine. More than he'd used to, he appreciated Kieran's good moods now, the times when he was cheerful in spite of everything.
He supposed it didn't much matter if it was at his expense, either.
And Kieran's latest counter was. Er. Well. Apparently flushing was contagious, because if Jude's face had not been burning before, it was now. "I'll - take your word for it," Jude said with an awkward smile and a hearty dose of self-consciousness; it was not really the response he had wanted to give - this conversation was quickly reaching a new level of candour - but he had had to say something, hadn't he?
"Are you... seeing someone, then?" He asked hesitantly, chancing a sidelong glance that he hoped to Merlin looked casual and only incidentally curious. Or 'interested in', or - Jude didn't know how people talked about these things. Not that it was any of his business (although he had been teased about marriage enough before that this might not come across as notably odd; maybe it was even deserved). And, well... he and Kieran knew each other far better than they'd used to - were frank about plenty of graver things - but it was suddenly starkly obvious that Jude had no idea if Kieran was. Seeing someone, that was. Leeny acted more like a sister to him than anything else, he was fairly certain of that; but that was not to say Kieran did not have a life outside of the Augurey and what Jude knew of him.
(Kieran hadn't worn one of the flower crowns that actually did anything in that regard, though.)
He supposed it didn't much matter if it was at his expense, either.
And Kieran's latest counter was. Er. Well. Apparently flushing was contagious, because if Jude's face had not been burning before, it was now. "I'll - take your word for it," Jude said with an awkward smile and a hearty dose of self-consciousness; it was not really the response he had wanted to give - this conversation was quickly reaching a new level of candour - but he had had to say something, hadn't he?
"Are you... seeing someone, then?" He asked hesitantly, chancing a sidelong glance that he hoped to Merlin looked casual and only incidentally curious. Or 'interested in', or - Jude didn't know how people talked about these things. Not that it was any of his business (although he had been teased about marriage enough before that this might not come across as notably odd; maybe it was even deserved). And, well... he and Kieran knew each other far better than they'd used to - were frank about plenty of graver things - but it was suddenly starkly obvious that Jude had no idea if Kieran was. Seeing someone, that was. Leeny acted more like a sister to him than anything else, he was fairly certain of that; but that was not to say Kieran did not have a life outside of the Augurey and what Jude knew of him.
(Kieran hadn't worn one of the flower crowns that actually did anything in that regard, though.)
