Day 7: Movies

Gilbert had not spent much time recently in the Polish capital of Warsaw, so as he and Lili snuck away from Poland's massive party, he didn't know where the nearest movie theater was. Scheisse, he didn't know where to catch a taxi or metro. Fortunately, Lili had not been drinking as much as he had. He followed her meekly as she marched to the nearest intersection and flagged down a cab.

"Nearest cinema, please," she said in German. They scrambled into the cab and sat in awkward silence as the driver brought them into the bustling shopping district. The last time Gilbert had seen Warsaw, it had been a shattered city of ruins as he and the Germans had fled before the Soviets. Now he had to admit that it had become a lively, cosmopolitan place. The cab stopped at a rebuilt Art Deco movie palace. Before he could offer, Lili paid the fare and tip, and they got out.

"Anything in particular?" She asked as they looked at the posters and times. He shrugged. She seemed to be the one in charge and he found he didn't mind. She choose an American film that promised lots of action, some romance, and most importantly, that was about to start. They sat down in the theater towards the back.

Gilbert was having a hard time following the movie, partly out of drunkenness and partly out of curiosity about Lili. She seemed attentive, following the English rather than the subtitles, and he didn't want to start groping her unless it was okay. She did kiss me, he thought, and it was a pretty awesome kiss, so maybe she'd be cool with it.

He started nuzzling her neck, taking in the scent of her skin: wildflowers, almonds and milk. She turned towards him, and their lips met. This time, his tongue was ready for hers, and they slid and danced against each other, exploring each other's mouths. She tasted like cake and wine and mints. Her little hands clutched at his messy silver-blond hair, pulling him closer. It had been so long since another nation had kissed him like this, and he didn't feel any impending sense of doom or shame or resentment. He had to screw his eyes shut to keep the unmanly, unawesome tears from appearing.

They broke for air and studied each other. She smiled at him and in the flickering lights of the movie theater, he could see the same sweetness as under the fireworks. "Lili," he said, and his tongue felt thick and slow, "did you get in trouble with Vash over your answer to Truth or Dare?"

"Yes." She said simply, and suddenly he hated her brother. He wanted to march back to the party, find wherever Vash was scowling, and beat the shit out of him. He didn't care how many knives and guns the little blond bastard had, he was Prussia, for awesomeness's sake, and nobody messed with Prussia or those he cared for.

"Like what for?" He slurred. "Was it because you, like, told the truth or you, like, lied?" Mein Gott, he thought, I'm starting to sound like Poland now. But actually, he and Ludwig had speculated about this on the ride home from the dinner party. When Lili had confessed that she was not a virgin in thought, word, or deed, did she mean that she had actually managed to escape her brother's supervision, or was she announcing to them that he was molesting her?

"I told the truth," Lili said. "And he didn't like it." She stroked his face and brought her lips close to his ear. "He tried to beat me," she whispered, "but I fought back." She giggled a little, the breath sending the hairs on his arms and neck erect. "I wouldn't tell him what I meant."

"Then tell me," Gilbert pleaded, but she shook her head. "Another time. When we're sober," she replied and she covered his protest with another kiss, this one deep and commanding. He pulled her closer to him, parrying with his tongue. Finally, they broke apart.

"We should go back to the party," Lili said, "before anyone notices we're missing." Gilbert nodded dumbly. He got up and followed her out to the lobby, where she called a cab. He found it amusing that this little elf-girl could lead him about; at one time, he would have overwhelmed her and made all the decisions. But that had been before he had come under Ivan's care, back when he had had armies and mortals to command. Now, he felt sleepy and dense, and happy to put himself in Lili's hands.

As they drove back to Feliks's house, Lili calmly told him to enter the party first; she would appear ten minutes later at a separate place. If anyone wanted to know where he had been, all he had to say was on the second-story of the carousel, watching the fireworks. Gilbert tried to remember, but decided as long as he didn't blurt out that he had been at a movie with Lili Zwingli, everything would be fine.

It was dark, the fireworks were done, and only trippy hypnotic music was playing in the backyard. He watched her walk away. After she left, he sank to the cool green lawn, into a deep drunken stupor of happiness.