saphira-lura: Well, can i just say thank you for coming back to the site! I'm so proud that you took the time to read my mental scribbles. I do in fact have this fanfiction completed but it's just a case of editing and uploading it. If you promise to keep reading and telling me how you honestly feel about it, I promise to give it my all and make it so that you're satisfied and content at the end! (Not that i wouldn't any way ofc xD) Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Chapter Fourteen: Reflection
Rina laid in bed and fiddled with the new necklace that rested against her collarbone as her mind tried not to wander and think about the evening that she had just had. The party was wonderful, the gifts she had received, thoughtful and touching but the major plot point was overshadowing everything else. She kissed Sebastian. He kissed her. They kissed. Kissing. That's what they did… the memory of it was annoyingly swirling around her head. Guilt hit her like the train that travelled through Pelican town and she groans loudly, grabbing her spare pillow and causing Mochi to yowl in annoyance as she hugs it close. Mochi gets up with a stretch and gives her a look as his tranquillity had been disturbed.
She looks at him, affronted. 'You don't understand!' Rina whines to her cat who regards her with cold indifference. 'It wouldn't have been so bad if last week hadn't happened!' She adds in her defence. 'Admittedly… that was my fault too,' she mumbles, holding the pillow tight. 'Yoba, I'm the woorrrsssttt!' The last word was dragged out as she buried her head into the pillow. Mochi, fed up of her dramatics; gets up and gracefully leaps off the bed intending to be anywhere but there.
A week ago…
'You're not serious,' Sebastian said in utter shock.
Rina looks up at the massive signage and shrugs her shoulders. 'It never occurred to me, why would it? I was living paycheck to paycheck and going to the cinema wasn't high up on my to do list,' she said simply as she casts her eyes over to the movie posters that showed the latest line-up.
'You love films, especially LOTR and things like that,' he points out. 'I thought you must have at least gone once! I mean, not even as a kid?'
'No, Bastian,' she replied, exasperated. 'Not even as a kid. Can you stop? You're making me feel all stupid and shit,' Rina mumbles as she folds her arms across her chest and looks at the floor as she shuffles her feet. 'It's just not something I've done, okay?'
Sebastian exhales heavily. 'Wasn't my intention,' he says honestly as he places a hand on her shoulder and gives her a squeeze. 'Come on, I'll even let you have complete free rein over what we see,' he teases making her grin while looking at the floor.
'No complaints?' Rina teases as she gives him some side eye. Sebastian playfully shows the scouts sign with his fingers making her snort in reply. Once they walked into the building, Rina perked up a little but he could see that she was nervous. The city cinema was an intimidating place for sure. She walks in and audibly gasps at the size of the screens that adorned the walls and played adverts and trailers. 'Oh… I've got to get me one of those for my back room,' she said as she stared.
He laughs and gently places his fingers on the middle of her back, steering her towards the ticket booths, 'come on, or we'll be waiting another hour for a viewing,' he instructed. Rina nods and bounces along to join the line.
'Are any of these films like Lord of the Rings?' She asks as she continues to look around.
''Fraid not, most are just filler films, we're not quite at the main stream release part of the year. There are couple decent ones that look vaguely interesting though,' he admits as he gives her a brief lowdown of each film they could see. Rina chose one that she thought would be scary and he was quite surprised at her choice. 'Wouldn't have taken you for a horror person.'
She grins as he orders the tickets and then follows him to the concession queue. 'I'm not, not really but if you're not going to see a major blockbuster for your first time in the cinema, chose something that you're never going to forget,' she explains as she looks at the tickets. 'And… Aliens vs Martians… well sounds shit but also something that I'm never going to forget,' she grinned.
'Hey, this is two separate franchises coming together as one. This is going to be an amazing…ly horrific film,' Sebastian chuckles. Rina laughs and continues to just look about in wonder. He can't help but think about how beautiful she looked at that moment. Pure awe on her features as she looks at the screens, her face and hair lit up in all the different lights that were being cast about the room. Thankfully, the cashier knocked some sense into him by asking what they wanted and he purchased the generic popcorn and drink for them both. He wanted her to have the full experience after all.
Deep down he was glad that Rina didn't really shy away from physical boundaries, though it was something he struggled with in public. She happily swung off his arm, bouncing around him and burying her head into his shoulder when tired from the random energy spikes she had. To others, they probably looked like a couple on a date, something he was grateful for as she seemed to be getting a few looks from guys that he didn't really enjoy. Rina herself, on the other hand was completely oblivious to the rather obvious 'checking out' the men were doing and was happily babbling to Sebastian about her excitement. She was content to follow his lead when it came to choosing seats and copied him when he turned his phone onto silent.
The film itself was… not good. More of a gore fest for the sake of the big screen. Rina spent most of the time watching it through her fingers and at one point almost climbed into Sebastian's lap because of a jump scare. Sebastian found the film so bad it was almost funny and Rina's reactions to things only added to the humour. Thankfully, they had both managed to avoid major injury as it turned out that the arm rest could be lifted to turn the seat into more of a sofa. Something that came in handy when Rina threw herself over him at the climax of the film. There weren't many others watching the film, a small spattering of people here and there. Rina had to ignore her curiosity to a particularly handsy couple who were a few rows forward. It was almost bittersweet to hear them giggling to one another and show affection, though she couldn't figure out why it was. What's wrong with me? Rina thought, rolling her eyes. It wasn't something that she had experienced before and if she really thought about it, she was probably a little envious. The film dragged her back into the present with a jump scare and she almost jolted out her skin. Sebastian chuckles as he felt her fingers tighten around his arm, any tighter and she would have cut off his blood supply but he didn't mind. He couldn't help but find her endearing.
Over two hours later, the film had finished and Rina could finally breathe once more as the lights began to brighten. Sebastian threw back the last of the popcorn into his mouth and looked over at her. 'So?' He asks, amused at her messed up hair and squinting in the light.
'That… certainly was something,' Rina said finally as she pulled her skirt back down her knees as she had curled up on the seat and in the dark, she was sure that no-one could see anything should she flash a bit of thigh by accident. 'It was shit,' she adds.
Sebastian laughs and nods as he offers her a sip of the drink that they had left. 'That it was,' he concurs and begins to stand and stretch. 'Got you a few times though,' he adds.
'I am not sleeping tonight,' Rina mutters as she too stands up and has a brief stretch, adjusting her clothing and such. 'Yoba, that was gore filled,' she shudders. Sebastian agrees and after they clean up their area, they make their way to the lobby. Rina looks out at the sky through the glass windows and winces. 'It's really late. Are you going to be okay driving back in the dark?'
He cracks his neck in relief as he pulls on his jacket; he had taken it off halfway through as he had been too hot. 'Eh,' he said simply. 'I mean, I'll be safe but probably have to just crash at yours when we get back because I'm feeling tired now. By the time we get home it's gonna be real late and we're gonna be exhausted.'
'How about we find a room somewhere? My treat, seeing as you've insisted on paying for everything else all day,' Rina said as she pulls out her phone to check the time. 'I'll text Marnie, I'm sure she won't mind making sure that my animals are okay in the morning,' she adds.
Sebastian knew that Rina made sense, driving while tired was not a good idea and it wasn't something he particularly wanted to risk with her on the back seat. 'Alright. Sounds fair,' he teases. Rina had offered him petrol money for the journey but he had adamantly refused. 'Though it means sleeping in these clothes,' he adds.
'I'm sure we'll live,' she points out and receives confirmation from Marnie that she didn't mind checking over the farm in the morning in return for some eggs. 'I've texted Leigh-Leigh, she knows all the best places in the city at a reasonable rate,' she adds and they begin to walk out the cinema while waiting for her friend to reply. They're rewarded with a list for their patience and a second half of a text that Rina refuses to let Sebastian see. It was clearly suggestive if the reddening of Rina's ears were anything to go by. 'So, it should be right around here,' Rina said as she followed the directions on her map app and they walk around the corner and spot the building over the road.
'Success,' Sebastian said dryly, amused.
They make their way to the reception and Rina thought about renting a twin room for the night, she settled with a double. She knew she wasn't going to be getting a lot of sleep because of the film and at least with the double bed, Sebastian would be right there next to her. He didn't think anything of it and it hadn't occurred to him that she would get anything other than a double. A twin didn't make sense as they shared beds together all the time. If anything, a twin would have been weird. Before too long they were in the room and Rina flops back onto the bed with a moan. 'Yoba, it's been such a looong day,' she said in half a complaint.
'That it has. Hey, look, there's dressing gowns,' Sebastian said as he investigated the bathroom. 'I can shower at least,' he muses. 'You can sleep in my top and I'll just wear my boxers to bed,' Sebastian said as he began to pull off layers.
'Thanks, Bastian. This bra is doing my head in,' Rina admits as she twists in place feeling the underwire dig in. 'The things women do,' she grumbles. A towel lands on her face and she gasps in shock.
'Go shower, I'll figure out how to get some dinner here,' Sebastian said as he picked up the hotel 'Menu'. Rina took her time and made use of all the amenities that were available, washing her hair, face, and thanking Yoba that there were a couple of toothbrushes. When she appeared out the bathroom in a cloud of steam, Sebastian had changed into one of the dressing gowns that were available. He had laid out his top on the bed ready for her. 'I'm afraid it's the one I've been wearing all day,' he apologizes.
'Oh no…' Rina said sarcastically, wrapped in a large towel. 'Whatever shall I do? It's not like I'll be stuck wearing all the same clothes that I've been wearing all day,' she points out.
Sebastian rolls his eyes in humour and stands up. 'I've ordered food, should arrive after I've gotten out the shower.'
'I'm sure I can answer the door if needs be,' Rina assures as he disappears into the bathroom. She dries herself down and pulls on his top; it definitely had been worn all day but she didn't care. It smelled like him, his deodorant and cologne. Comforting. Rina pulled on her underwear and the extra dressing gown. Within the next fifteen minutes, there was a knock at the door and Rina answered it with a smile. 'Thanks,' she said as she took the tray from the staff member. 'Oh, question. Do you have any alcohol?'
'We have a fully stocked bar if that's what you mean?' They replied.
'Could you bring up a bottle of whiskey, please?' Rina asks sweetly. After that film, if I'm going to get any sleep I'm going to have to be incredibly drunk and just pass out. The staff member nods and moves away, allowing Rina to shut the door with her foot. She wandered over to the desk and put down the food, rapping on the bathroom door with the back of her knuckles. 'Food's here!' She called through, over the sound of the shower. Sebastian called his acknowledgement and it wasn't long before the alcohol arrived.
Sebastian stretches as he walks out the bathroom. 'Yoba, that felt good,' he said through a groan. 'Nothing like a hot shower to make you feel human once again.' He lifted the lids on the serving trays which held their food. 'Just ordered what I thought you'd want,' he admits as he looks at the meals.
Rina bounces up beside him, 'oooh, burgers,' she grins as she grabs a chip from one of the plates. 'And look!' She said as she held up a bottle of whiskey. 'Dessert!' She grins.
Sebastian rolls his eyes and chuckles, 'that film really scared you, huh?'
'Shut up, shut up, shuuut uuuup,' she said in a high pitch, sing song way as she grabbed another chip and spun playfully around in a circle. 'Let's eat and get druuunk!' She continued, making Sebastian snort with amusement and move the tray to the bed so that they could sit down and eat.