I've decided 'Moulin Rouge' is Xaldin/Dilan's favorite movie. And this chapter was born. c:
"…Dilan."
"…Yes, Arlene?"
"…I see no exploding zombies in this movie."
"…I know."
The archer and the apprentice sat stiffly in their seats in the small movie theater filled with other couples, watching as the opening credits rolled on the large screen. The movie playing was a new romantic musical and, judging from the trailers and critical acclaim, it was the perfect chick flick/date movie.
It was also the one movie Dilan ad Arlene had been dead set against seeing. In the two months since they'd met, they'd gone on only three public dates. The first had been a walk through the woods and Dilan had ended up with a poison ivy rash in a very discrete place and Arlene had a tick attached to her inner thigh for two days. The second had been a trip to the beach and Arlene had ended up stepping on a jellyfish and had to be rushed to the hospital, cursing all marine life the entire ambulance ride. This would be their third and so far it was fairly about as well as the last two. If this time didn't work, they'd agreed, they'd just stick to private dinners and sex with the occasional outing with the apprentices and Arlene's siblings.
"This is gonna suck." Arlene muttered under her breath before popping a kernel of salty, buttery popcorn into her mouth. Dilan sipped his lemon lime soda in silent agreement. The film they'd intended to see was a new big budget, action-packed, blood-and-guts-flying-everywhere-oh-my-god-is-that-Billy's-liver-on-that-tree-branch zombie movie. But by some twist of fate the half-blind teenager working the ticket booth got their tickets mixed up the elderly couple waiting beside them. Arlene smirked a little, wondering how the couple was fairing with the movie.
The movie progressed fairly quickly and the couple couldn't help but find themselves cracking up at the cheesiness of the first few scenes.
"Is…is that a midget on a miniature pony?" Arlene snorted, cackling loudly. There was chorus of shushes behind them. Dilan turned around irritably and snapped at them to shush up, some people were trying to watch the damn movie. For that he got many dirty looks and a kiss on the cheek from his date.
However, once the plot got going and the songs got more serious, the blonde couldn't help but become fascinated by the relationship of the two main characters. They were just so…cute and believable. And the villain vying for the female lead's affections was such a downright bastard one couldn't help but cheer for the couple.
"What a bastard." Dilan muttered as he watched the aristocratic man on the screen grin in triumph as the heroine was forced to tell her lover that she didn't love him in order to save his life.
The film's climax came at the ending, when the lovers were reunited and it truly seemed they would have a happily ever after. Arlene could feel tears welling in her eyes as the hero cradled his dying love in his arms, letting hoarse, choked sobs escape from his throat. "I…I'm going to get more popcorn." She sniffed, grabbing the still half-full bag and jumping up from her seat and out the door before Dilan could protest.
The dark-haired meteorologist entered the lobby a few minutes later, followed by the rest of the audience, many of them sobbing over the tragic ending of such a beautiful love story. Arlene was standing near the concession stand, having quickly wiped away her tears and was now mowing down on the remaining popcorn.
"Ready to go home?" He didn't bother asking her why she'd left. The slight, knowing smirk on his handsome face was enough to tell her he knew she'd cried.
"Not yet." Arlene glanced out the glass doors. "It's still pretty early. Let's go for a walk in the park." Before he could protest she took his hand and all but dragged his large frame outside.
It was a clear early summer night. The sky was the color of navy velvet, dotted with stars that shimmered like bits of glitter. The couple walked side by side in silence until they reached the small park in the center of Radiant Garden. Except for a few squirrels darting here and there, they were alone.
The petite woman looked up at the apprentice. "The movie actually wasn't that bad, was it?"
"Surprisingly, no." Dilan agreed, reaching into the bag of leftover popcorn to pull out a handful and eat a few kernels. "But those songs are so damn catchy. They refuse to leave my head." He glanced down at her, a slight smile playing across his face. "You know…"
"What?" Arlene adjusted the collar of her faded denim jacket, not looking up at the apprentice.
"Love is a many splendored thing." He said matter-of-factly, continuing to walk beside Arlene. "Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love."
Her head shot up to glare at him. "Dilan Rosenburg, don't you dare."
His grin widened as his voice softened to almost a croon. "All you need is love."
"Shut up!"
"All you need is love!"
"I'm seriously warning you, Dilan!"
"All you need is loooooove!"
"Love is just a game!" Arlene barked angrily then realized she was playing right into his little game. She scowled bitterly at him. "I hate you."
With a smug smirk, the meteorologist grabbed her small hand and spun her with flourish and dipped her low to the ground, causing her to drop the bag of leftover popcorn onto the sidewalk. "But I was made for loving you baby; you were made for loving me."
Arching an eyebrow, she shoved him away and straightened her posture indignantly. "The only way of loving me, baby, is to pay a lovely fee." She smiled sweetly and held out her hand as if expecting payment.
Dilan's arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close. "Just one night,
give me just one night."
Arlene shoved him away again. "There's no way, 'cause you can't pay." They kept up their little game of cat and mouse, their tone-deaf singing voices and laughter ringing through the still night air. Dilan finally caught up to her, locking his strong arms around her waist.
"We could be heroes, forever and ever!" The two of them laughed and kissed in front of the gazebo sitting in the center of the park. At that exact moment the sky decided to open up a dump a couple dozen of gallons of water on Radiant Garden. Their kiss broke and Arlene screeched with laughter. The pair raced into the gazebo, soaked to the bone after only a few seconds, but laughing like they hadn't in ages.
The short blond turned and smiled up at her lover, looking unusually soft and feminine with her hair flattened against her scalp. She reached up and cupped Dilan's face in her hands, her blue/green irises locking with indigo. Her thumbs gently brushed his sideburns and he shivered, lighting resting his hands on her hips. Arlene stood up carefully on her toes as he bent down to rest his forehead against hers, smiling softly.
She sang again, her voice the same soft, whispery tone she used to coax him to bed at night. "How wonderful life is…now you're in the world…" A moment later their lips connected again in a deep, sensual kiss.
"Oh, what a sweet moment!"
The pair froze and quickly tore away from each other, staring in utter horror at the all too familiar florist standing outside the gazebo. Lumaria was standing under a white umbrella decorated with twisting green vines. His coat was warm-looking wool colored magenta and tied at his narrow waist. His layered light brown hair was loose and poofed around his head. Fixed on his face was the grin of the town gossip that had just gotten the biggest piece of gossip of the summer.
The lab went very quiet when Dilan came in the next morning. After the scare with Lumaria (Arlene had frightened the botanist away with threats against his precious orchids), they'd gone back to his apartment and had had quite a pleasant night together, though neither of them mentioned the whole 'singing sappy love songs' incident. They had a silent agreement that it had never happened.
The meteorologist moved to his workplace, mildly curious as to why the others were being so quiet but he shrugged it off until he heard someone (who sounded suspiciously like Even) whisper the words, "All you need is love..." He turned around suddenly, eyeing everyone in the room.
"All you need is love." Dilan turned sharply to Ienzo, who only stared at him innocently with his one visible eye.
"All you need is love." Aeleus crooned in his deep voice, chuckling softly.
"Love is just a game!" Braig chirped in a high falsetto he must've thought passed for feminine.
Dilan narrowed his eyes as all four of his friends, Even included, burst into singing a song from the movie the previous night. In the next room, he could hear Ansem's booming laughter and Xehnort's soft chuckling.
"In the name of love! One night in the name of love!"
Dilan's eyes narrowed and he slowly sunk into his chair, slapping his palm to his face. "Very mature, everyone." In the pocket of his lab coat, his cell phone vibrated against his hip. Dilan snatched it up and flipped it open, barking, "What?!"
"Dilan." Arlene's voice was flat on her end. In the background he could hear Genevieve and Gabriel singing in horribly off-key tones and cackling.
"…Yes, Arlene?"
"…I hate our friends."
"Me too, love, me too."