A Night at the Movies

"Let's go see a movie."

Jezebel looked up at the blond vampire, her head tilted to the side. She'd heard some of the kids talk about movies at the playground, but she hadn't ever seen one, herself. It wasn't something Alucard seemed interested in, so she hadn't developed much interest of her own.

"Why?"

Seras frowned, unprepared for the question. The answer seemed obvious to her. Why would anyone go to a movie? For fun, of course.

"Well, ah…I thought you might like it. We don't get to do much together…"

The girl bit her lip, wondering why the vampire suddenly wanted to do things with her. Since Christmas, she hadn't had much to do with Seras at all. She hadn't particularly wanted to. It wasn't that she didn't like Seras. She just didn't understand her or have anything in common with her that she was aware of. But...Tabitha had been talking about inviting her out for a movie the other day. It might be a good idea for her to go, now. It wouldn't do for her to look like a fool with no knowledge of what to do at a theater.

"What movie?"

"I was thinking about The Bridesmaid," Seras said, grinning at the girl's interest, small though it was. "It's supposed to be really good. They've been hyping it for months. Everyone is going to see it."

"Can Alucard come?"

"Oh…err…I suppose, although I was hoping it could just be you and me. He's supposed to be catching up on his sleep today, and I don't know if he'd like the movie." Seras frowned, wondering if she shouldn't have asked. It was almost like the girl didn't like her. Had she done something to make Jezebel leery of her? She couldn't imagine what…

"Oh yeah." Jezebel looked back down at the paper on the desk in front of her. She just had one last question to answer on her homework and then she was going to go practice her martial arts and play with Dark. Alucard had told her he needed to sleep today unless there was an emergency. She could hardly call a trip to the movies an emergency, but there was no reason to refuse.

"Sure. I'll go. Can I just finish this assignment?"

"Sure!" Seras's face lit up in a wide smile. "I need to change into street clothes, anyway. Meet me in the front parlor."

"Okay."

V^^^V

Jezebel stared at the bright lights outlining the selection of movies showing at the theater, trying to keep her mouth from gaping open in awe. It wasn't that impressive, after all. It was, however, new and different.

Seras led the way to the line of people waiting outside the box office. The buxom vampire got several looks, eyes roving over her generous physique, but then the appreciative eyes would drop to Jezebel and suddenly lose all interest. The vampire chuckled and smiled down at the girl.

"I think I should bring you with me more often. You certainly keep the perverts at bay."

"What? Why?" Jezebel stared up at Seras in puzzlement. The blond just laughed.

"Usually, at a place like this, I get hit on left and right. No one ever seems to care that I'm not interested. They probably think you're either my daughter or my little sister and they don't want to have to deal with either of those."

Jezebel frowned, trying to decide if she needed to apologize for that. No. Seras didn't seem to mind, and even seemed to mean it that she liked avoiding the attention.

"What does 'hit on' mean?"

"Oh. Err…I guess no one uses that phrase much anymore, do they? It means they want me to…err…uh…" If she'd been capable of blushing in her undead state, Seras would be beet red right about then. How did you explain aggressive flirting and its intended result to a ten year old? "They uh…want me to go home with them for the night."

Jezebel frowned, trying to puzzle out what was wrong with that.

"I don't understand."

Seras sighed. She shouldn't have brought the subject up. She had no idea when or how Integra intended to bring that subject up with the girl, but it wasn't her place to step in.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just say I'm glad to get a break from fending off the attention."

"Alright."

Seras purchased their tickets with a Hellsing credit card and they made their way into the front lobby. Jezebel sniffed the air appreciatively. Something smelled good.

"Want some popcorn?"

"What's that?"

Seras's jaw dropped.

"You've never had popcorn?"

Jezebel shook her head and Seras immediately headed for the concession lines. One of the few food items she'd really, truly missed since undeath had forced her onto a liquid diet was popcorn.

"You have to try this stuff. I can't believe you've never had popco…oh, wait. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't have. Well, you're going to love this!" The vampire grinned, shrugging off the depressing realization that Jezebel must have missed out on many things that she, herself, had experienced as a child before her parents died. So many things that she'd just taken for granted.

Several minutes later, loaded down with popcorn, soda and M&Ms, they headed for the theater. Seras picked their seats while Jezebel stared around the theater with stadium seating…so many seats. Would there be a person for each one of them? The thought of so many people sent a shiver down her spine. The lines outside had been bad enough. Maybe this whole movie idea wasn't so great after all.

Oblivious to her discomfort, Seras picked a pair of seats near the middle and sat down. Jezebel joined her, boosting herself up into the seat and giving the giant screen at the end of the room a curious look. The vampire proffered the tub of popcorn and Jezebel picked out a kernel, trying the salty treat for the very first time.

"It's…fluffy." Jezebel popped the piece in her mouth and chewed, a look of concentration on her face. She swallowed and licked the salt from her lips. "It's good…but it gets stuck in your teeth." She reached up to dig a bit of popcorn out of her molars and Seras laughed.

"Yes, it does. Now, we have to be quiet so everyone can enjoy the movie."

Jezebel nodded and reached for the popcorn again. She could certainly learn to like this stuff. It'd be better if bits didn't get stuck in her teeth, but some sacrifices had to be made. The lights went down and the previews started.

A little over an hour and a half later, they left the theater, chunking the half empty tub of popcorn and the remnants of the soda. Seras pocketed the bag of M&Ms which Jezebel hadn't gotten to.

"So? What did you think?"

Jezebel tilted her head to the side, considering the question.

"Why would anyone ever want to get married if they had to go through that?"

Seras burst out laughing.

"Most weddings aren't that bad. That was a romantic comedy, Jezzie. It was supposed to be silly."

Jezebel shrugged, not really getting the joke. The whole fiasco looked like more trouble than it was worth. And the bridesmaid had been a bumbling idiot. She had no idea why the guy in the movie would fall in love with her. It made no sense. Eventually, he'd be miserable having to live with her.

Seras sighed.

"I'm sorry. I really thought you'd like it."

Jezebel didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. She hadn't really liked the movie, but the theater was interesting. She looked around at the various movie posters advertising other shows available to watch. One caught her eye.

"Can we see that?" She pointed at the poster of a freakishly tall man with face paint making him look perpetually confused bending over a little girl in a pale yellow dress with a matching parasol. Seras tilted her head at the poster.

"Cirque du Soleil: Ephemeral. Well…sure, if you want."

"Please?"

Smiling at the first real hint of enthusiasm Jezebel had shown, Seras went to buy the tickets. Unfortunately, the next showing wasn't for almost an hour. The vampire looked around at the buildings stretching up and down the sidewalk outside the theater.

"I suppose we can wander around here until the movie starts. I've been wanting to look at that new shop on the corner."

Jezebel looked at the place in question. Candles, lotions and soaps filled the display window. The candles interested her, so she shrugged and nodded, content to go along with the idea.

They set out down the sidewalk, Jezebel sticking close to Seras. The crowds had grown considerably while they were in the theater. People brushed past one another, hurrying from one shop to the next. Jezebel jumped out of the way of one man in a dark trench coat with a wide brimmed hat pulled over his eyes. It reminded her a bit of Alucard, except the hat and coat were the wrong shape and color…and the man wasn't nearly tall enough to be her idol. She turned to watch him push past a knot of people, and his hand shot out to grasp the strap of a purse belonging to a young woman distracted by a conversation with her friends.

The purse slipped down her arm and off her fingers before she could react and grab for it. The man jumped into a sprint, shoving past shoppers and dodging his way between trash cans and light poles as an outraged screech erupted behind him. Jezebel grabbed for Seras's shirt and tugged on it. The vampire was already turning at the sound of the woman's angry shout.

"He took her purse, Seras!" Jezebel pointed at the fleeing figure and, without thinking, Seras took off in a sprint after him. The girl followed, valiantly trying to keep up, but unable to match the vampire's swift pace.

Seras flowed through the crowd like water down a gully, slipping between obstacles like they weren't there. She caught the man by the back of his coat, using his momentum to yank him off his feet. He stumbled and choked on the collar of his shirt. Panicked, he dropped the purse and tried to writhe out of the vampire's hold, but Seras was having none of it. Reaching out, she grabbed a wrist, twisting it up behind the man's back. He cried out, back arching and body straining to contort into a position that would take the pressure off of his trapped arm.

Jezebel caught up in time to see Seras tighten her hold just a touch in warning that the man should seriously rethink any plans he had to struggle against her. The owner of the purse dashed up behind Jezebel, panting from the run.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much!" She stooped to retrieve the item from the ground, unzipping it to make sure nothing was missing. The thief hadn't had time to remove any of the contents and the woman sighed a breath of relief. "I really appreciate it. The cash my grandmother gave me for my next semester of college was in here. I hadn't gotten a chance to deposit it yet. I…I might be able to give you some as a reward?"

Seras smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. I don't need it. I'm just glad I could help."

In the distance, a police whistle sounded and the thief in Seras's grasp made a desperate bid for freedom, twisting in an attempt to slip out of his coat and the hold she had on his arm. Releasing the coat, she struck him a blow between the shoulder blades that drove the breath from his lungs. He dropped to his knees, relearning how to breathe as she jerked on the arm pinned up behind him. A low, wet pop announced the dislocation of his shoulder joint and the man screamed, a rough, guttural sound of pain.

"It's a mild dislocation," Seras said as his scream broke off to a pained whimper. "If you don't move around too much, they'll be able to patch you up at the hospital and it'll only take a couple of weeks to heal."

The man cursed as she let him go, cradling his injured arm against his chest. The policeman arrived and Seras explained the situation and that the man needed to go to the hospital before they booked him. The officer took the information down after placing handcuffs on the crook and calling for a back-up car to transport the criminal. He took a statement from the woman with the purse who couldn't seem to shower enough praise on Seras. By the time they finished with the police, they had to rush to make it to their movie.

Jezebel watched the whole thing, her mind churning. Until now, she'd thought of Seras as little more than Alucard's shadow, and a pale one at that. Of course, she'd never really seen Seras in action until now. As they headed toward the theater to watch their second feature, she reached up to grasp the last two fingers of Seras's right hand. The vampire looked down at her, startled. Jezebel didn't acknowledge the look, but she didn't let go of those fingers, either. A small smile spread across the blond vampire's face as they handed their tickets in and made their way to the darkened theater to choose their seats for the show.

A/N: Yay, Seras! I actually had more fun writing this chapter than I thought. I also saw Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away around the time I wrote it. It struck me as something Jezzie might like to see and I figure they'll still be around by the 2030s. *grin* I lurve Cirque du Soleil.