sheridan | [closed] tale as old as time

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[closed] tale as old as time

[After their near disaster of a gala, Damian knew he had to make it up to Midii. Christmas was the best possible way to make it up, he figured. Gifts were a normal part of the holiday season, and he'd gone out of his way to shower his friends with material goods, whether they wanted it or not.

Some of his friends had resigned themselves to the inevitable and asked for reasonable gifts - Jai, for example, got season tickets for the local basketball team, and Iris got one of those fancy Fitbits that could (reasonably) calculate a speedster's rate.

Midii, though, needed something better. After much deliberation and arguing with a local calligrapher + screen printer, Damian ordered two things: one, for Midii to come meet him on the second floor of a coffee shop that his family owned, and two, a set of custom-printed Arabic calligraphy t-shirts. Nothing religious, for the Muslims who might cry cultural appropriation, but cultural sayings & shapes.

He's not expecting her super early, but he's looking a little nervous as he stares down at the gift bag he'd wrapped the latter in. Just once, he wishes the coffee shop could sell boosts of confidence with their lattes. He'd buy their entire stock out.]

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You wouldn't be lumping me in with them, would you?

[ Were he not about to order chocolate-covered raisins to mix into his own popcorn, Damian might've been offended. As it is, he's only hearing a truth.

But it's their turn to order, and so he springs for those chocolate-covered raisins. (Might as well, right? Make a whole treat out of this movie date?) It takes about all of his willpower to hold back and not pay. Midii, after all, wanted to treat them.

Once they've got everything, he'll reach out to take half the items with a grin. He switches back to English: ] and our movie awaits.

[Oh, no, Damian, of course not. Which was precisely why she chose to remain silent at his question, despite smiling to herself when she heard him order his chocolate raisins. As she'd been half expecting him to; if they hadn't had such a conversation a moment prior, she would have been 100% certain of his choice.]

Theater Two, was it?

That should be the last one down the hall to the right.

Got it.

[ Without another word, Damian walks beside her, carefully navigating past the loiterers and other movie-goers. It's not like they have a lot, but! It's the principle of the matter!!

Once they're inside the theater, though, Damian glances around at the empty seats. They've got their pick of the place - and judging from the quiet nearby, they won't have much company. Strange, considering how the movie had been a critical darling.

He turns towards the back of the the theater: ] Where do you wanna sit?

[Near the back would have been her immediate response. If the middle seats were available; she didn't mind sitting off to the side, so long as they were too close to the front.]

[Except she barely heard the request, initially thrown by the very obvious lack of people in the theater. Pausing long enough to step back and glance at a small clock near the entrance. Okay, either that time was off, or...]

Damian...

[She didn't sound mad, but there was suspicion.]

...just how many tickets did you buy for the movie?

Only two . . .

[ There's a very, very long pause before he realizes that she's not going to buy that answer, and he sighs, hanging his head a little. ]

. . . hundred.

[ In other words, the entire screening. ]

[...]

[...Damian...]

[She tried to look annoyed at his response, but her expression came out more half-amused, half-resigned. Her head dipped down, hair falling in front of her face in vain attempt to hide her smile, and she shook her head.]

I guess there's little point in mentioning you didn't have to do that, is there?

[ You know what, he'll take laughter over any other possible outcome. ]

I wanted to. [ Partially to prove that he could be a normal kid, but also partially because a Wayne never did anything half-hearted. ] You really wanted to see it here, and this was the best way to get the seats you wanted. And to talk through the whole thing.

[ And not deal with crowds. He never quite got the appeal in that. ]

[There was really only so much she could argue with that. She did like making soft commentary at times. Usually of things she observed during a scene, or depending upon the movie, a plot twist she spotted an easter egg or clue for.]

[Also she wasn't the biggest fan of large crowds either.]

This was completely over the top and unnecessary.

[As she said this, however, she walked towards him, barely pausing to plant a quick peck on his cheek before walking past him and up the stairs towards her preferred seat.]

...thank you.

[Even if this put the cost of their date way above what she was comfortable with.]

[ Grandiose gestures were always Damian's favorite, so he took Midii's initial words at face value. She'd come around eventually and -

And there was a kiss!! A half second of one, but a kiss!! His entire face lights up, and for a moment, he stumbles on thin air before catching his composure (and the food) and following her right towards her seat. ]

Tt, well. It was the least I could do.

[ On the upside: this is still way cheaper than the last date. And the library. ]

[Baby steps. Very expensive baby steps, but the progress was there.]

[She sat in nearly the back row; the theater was on the larger side, and the very back would have been a bit too far away to properly immerse herself. But six rows from the back? Perfect. Not too close that she would get whiplash trying to follow any action, but not so far as they might as well have been watching a television screen.]

[The chairs were comfortable, too. Plush. They almost resembled couches in a way. Well...love seats, as they seemed to come in sets of two, although it was possible to divide should one come alone and be seated next to a stranger. As that was not the case here, Midii left the armrest in its upright position as she took her place on the middle right seat, then immediately began searching for the button that would allow it to recline.]

[ The loveseat design was a happy accident, as far as Damian was concerned. Setting their drinks in the arm holders, he then sits down on the middle left. He doesn't recline his seat, since he's holding the popcorn, but he motions to a button tucked in the side of the seat. ]

Over here. [ While the little black buttons (one to go up, one to go down) were inconspicuous, they were also (in his opinion) a design flaw. No one's gonna notice a dark burton on a dark seat. Even if these are far nicer than what one would typically find in a movie theater.

Satisfied, he leans back in his seat, plopping some kernels into his mouth. Mm, just as salty as he remembered. ]

...well, that's slightly inconvenient.

[Still, control was literally in the palm of her hand now as her skin brushed over the smooth buttons where Damian had indicated. Her first attempt at figuring which button was which ended in absolutely nothing happening, so she tried the other one, and the motor started up.]

The previews should be starting soon, right?

[Excited as she was for the main feature, she did enjoy previews. It was a nice way to sample any future movies she might want to attend. Plus, in truth, it was interesting to her to see which scenes were chosen and in what order they were edited.]

Any second now.

[ They've got the theater to themselves, so even as the lights dim and the feature begins, he sees little problem in giving his two cents. He paid for the privilege!!

Yet, he rolls his eyes in-between giant mouthfuls of salty popcorn, ] I can't believe you actually like sitting through those.

[It was like ~movie magic~]

[Ironically, she found his lack of "proper" manners in the moment--or, rather, the handfuls of popcorn and eye-rolling--almost endearing. Moments when he not only acted just as any teenager would, but moments when he was acting like himself. At ease and neither filtered nor in need of putting on an act.]

Admittedly, they're not as much fun as when we were younger. Trailers back then were a much better game to play.

But sometimes, there's still enough to be learned from the ones that play now.

Like what? [ It's a genuine question as he crosses his legs and kicks against the seat in front of him. As no one's in front, it's far from rude. Impolite, and rough, but when it's just them? He doesn't see the point in a filter. She knows what she's gonna get. ] What the editors felt like prioritizing?

Or what they think will sell seats?

[She absolutely knows. Although sometimes, she wondered if Damian knew what he would get from her in return. Or if he was still learning.]

It's a mixture of both, really.

Once in a while, they even succeed. But the rest of the time, they miss the mark so hard, it's almost funny.

Oh, like the one we're currently watching?

[ He laughs, gesturing towards the screen where the trailer's cut as if it's ostensibly a rom-com. Guaranteed to be the love story of the year, etc.

Except it's a Simon Snow movie. AKA an actual fantasy novel where the romance is almost always in the backseat. Damian rolls his eyes, but truthfully, he'll probably be in line opening night.

Kid never gave up on a good fantasy. ]

[Damian and his fantasies. For his sake, she hoped that movie was nothing like the trailer was presenting it as.]

Unfortunately.

See, this is what happens when people in charge of all this think they'll get more women at the theater if they highlight the romance. But at the same time, they risk turning away the very same people a movie like this would be written for. Including women who might not care about the romance. It's...pretty dumb.

That's what you get when you think of money, not the reason you're telling a story to begin with.

[ He sounds more like Grayson (and Kori) than he realizes, but Damian doesn't pay it much mind as he helps himself to some more popcorn. He's got his favorite person in the world next to him. He doesn't need to put on an act. Might as well let all those unfiltered thoughts fly out the door. ]

You wouldn't see it, right? Based off that crappy editing?

Based on the editing, absolutely not.

[Although, here, she hesitated. It was clear she had more to say, but was debating whether or not she should. Until finally she sheepishly slouched in her chair and admitted:]

...but I did read the book. [Surprisingly, perhaps, if only because it wasn't her usual genre of choice.] And it was really good.

Really? [ He sits up now, spilling kernels onto that dark movie theater floor. While he and Midii often read the same novels, it's not because their tastes overlap. More often than not, they didn't. So for her to admit that she liked Simon Snow as much as he did...

Well. Damian's just glad the theater's too dark for her to see how red his face is. ]

I've got the rest back in the Manor, if you want to borrow them.

[She weighed the pros and cons of telling him she'd only read it in the first place because she'd learned it was one he'd liked. And not recently, either.]

If you don't mind.

How many are there?

Five. [ and just because he's already excited, he'll spill the beans on what he knows about the next: ] She's working on the sixth right now. It's supposed to be twice as long as the last.

[It probably was a good thing he had bought out the theater after all. They were nearly speaking at full volume now, and the next preview was all but forgotten in favor of the spontaneous topic of conversation at hand.]

I'm assuming the last one was pretty long already. [Not that she minded. She did enjoy reading, and if the later books were as good as the first, she knew she would enjoy them.] When would be a good time to stop by the manor? Or should we go after the movie?

[ Damian snorts, having sincerely forgotten about the screening he bought out - ] You know my family. Anytime's fine.

[ Hell, Brown had jokingly yelled for Midii to stay "forever" one time. Damian has never let her forget it, terrible reference to a Disney film aside. ]

Assuming I don't have to patrol, we can go after.

[closed] tale as old as time

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