Here is what Kieran wanted to do when Jude straightened the crown atop his head:
Snatch his wrist with his own hand. Put his other hand on Jude's hip. Pin him against the nearest brick wall of the street, gentle, and press his lips against Jude's.

But he had the box. And that was insane. So he didn't. He had to do something to defuse the one-sided sexual tension that had settled in his bones - it was the conversation topic, and Jude in the red rose crown, and the unprecedented seriousness of their little chat. It was the gaslights alongside the street and the lateness of the hour and the excitement of the day. It was, especially, the curve of Jude's jawline.

Instead of trying to pin him, he grinned vibrantly up at Jude. Kieran shifted the box to his hip, and freed one hand, just long enough to tap Jude on the nose. "Are we feeling better, then?" he asked, a little playful.

---

  

He shouldn't have dared nudge at Kieran's flower crown, Jude swiftly realised, because that sort of casual touching was anything but, and only opened wide the door for more familiar gestures - and little did Kieran know how unprepared he was for that.

Not that he'd expected Kieran to do what he did, tapping him on the nose playfully; Jude wasn't sure whether it was more endearing or humiliating, but his face flooded with colour yet again, and this was not a sustainable reaction to everything Kieran did or said today, just because. Nor was, well - Jude shifted the baskets he was carrying further in front of himself, bundling everything into both hands to be safe. Ahem.   

Are we feeling better, Kieran asked right then, and the very question caught Jude off guard, startling him guiltily out of anything he'd been imagining. "Hm?" he said awkwardly, fumbling for words. "What do you mean? Everything's - fine, I'm fine, everything's - great, really. Isn't it?" Whatever this was about - it was, wasn't it? The day had been a firm achievement, everyone's spirits lifted by everything the street had been today, by the late night glow of success; he and Kieran had talked just now, both stupidly and seriously, and it had been fun, and Jude had learnt some things - gotten some answers to things he shouldn't have been asking about - and even if he hadn't quite worked out everything about Kieran, at least he'd gotten to argue about it.

But it was probably better that Kieran didn't figure him out, and see Jude ruin all the progress they'd made. Even the idea of looking directly at Kieran right now was a dangerous feeling in itself... If only he'd been wearing a different crown, he might've had an excuse.

---

  

---

"Everything's great, Jude," Kieran said, because, for once, it was. They had something that worked here. They'd pulled off this event, and it wasn't anywhere near a full moon. In the darkness and the light of the gaslamps, Jude looked even better than he usually did. May Day had even managed to be vaguely inspiring to Kieran, who had intended to spend it standing around drinking cheap beer. He did that, mostly, but he also helped, and explained things simply, and maybe they'd even converted some folks to believing in the eight hour work day. Maybe. "I promise."

And he wasn't going to kiss Jude tonight, but that was fine. He hadn't expected that. It was enough to see him like he'd been today, alive and fired-up and ready; and if it was not enough right now, then Kieran would believe it was enough until it was.

---