Anya felt like she had forgotten something as she left Becky's house, but she waved the thought away.

Mama and Papa had told Anya that they would be busy tonight and so not to expect them home until late, but at this point Anya knew that it was code for either a last minute mission (Loid), a last minute assignment (Yor), or it was them actually going on a date with each other. For a long time the two dated as a front for their marriage and to try to look more like a "real" couple, but in recent years they had finally managed to admit their feelings to each other. (Anya was finally glad that they told each other after years of them keeping it a secret, after reading those thoughts and keeping them to herself, Anya didn't know if she would ever emerge unscathed).

In any case, Anya was just relieved that she didn't have to explain her absence to anyone that evening. Although she knew for a fact that Loid did want her to get closer to Damian Desmond for the mission, he seemed to react really oddly whenever she did mention any kind of success on that route. He got all twitchy and robotic, like his words were rehearsed. It was like Damian all over again, thinking one thing and acting in a completely different way… (She wished - not for the first time - that she could actually understand people. Reading a person's mind was completely different to truly seeing what was in a person's heart.)

Becky had gleefully brought Anya over to her house, and they spent a whole hour (an hour!) going through Becky's own wardrobe and trying on different dresses. Anya was already exhausted by the fifth dress, but for some reason Becky was particularly determined to get Anya looking exactly right. Once they finally had the dress picked ("You can keep it! I never wear this style anyway!"), Anya struggled to keep still as Becky did her makeup. She said she was trying to go for "natural-glam" (whatever that meant), but when she looked in the mirror at the final product, Anya was impressed. She was always afraid that Becky would overdo it, but looking at her own reflection she was relieved to notice that she somehow still looked like her, just with a few enhanced features: mascara, highlighter, and a shimmer lip gloss made her look so glowy and shimmery, she couldn't help but admire it.

Becky preened when Anya complimented her makeup skills.

Although found the makeover sessions a little tiresome, she did also really enjoy spending time with Becky, and if this was what Becky loved to do then so be it. To her credit, Becky did try to explain her thought processes behind most things but Anya either didn't know what she meant, or wasn't entirely paying attention. In the end, she had picked a sunflower-patterned dress with ribbon sleeves, which Anya just loved playing with, they were so silky for her to twirl around her fingers. She knew her friend was generous, but it really felt like such a lovely dress that she was sincerely grateful Becky had offered to give it to her so offhandedly. It was also corset-boned, which showed off Anya's emerging figure. To top it all off, Becky attached a stylish green beret and clipped it to her hair using a golden hair clip.

It was an effort to try to allow Becky to let her walk to the cinema, but in the end Anya caved and accepted a lift from the chauffeur. Anya sat awkwardly in the back seat with her knees pressed together, and her fingers playing with the ribbons.

Becky seemed really intent on making sure Anya was as presentable as possible, which confused her a little bit. She saw Damian every day at school, it wasn't like he didn't already know what she looked like.

Anya looked at her phone, hoping she was still going to be on time…

The numbers on the clock phone glowed at her, and her stomach dropped. With a sudden rush of dread, Anya realised what she had forgotten. Just as the car pulled up to the cinema entrance, she hurriedly typed out a message for Becky:

Becky! I forgot about Bill! What do I do?

She knew there was something she had forgotten…. With all the drama of the past couple of days, especially everything with Damian, the date with Bill had completely slipped her mind.

A ping! echoed through the car not even a minute after Anya started worrying about what to do about Bill, and she glanced down to read the reply from her best friend:

Don't worry Anya, I'll take care of Bill! You enjoy the movie :)

Anya didn't have a lot of time to figure out what Becky meant, because judging by the red and blue lights outside, she had just arrived at the cinema. She made a mental note to thank Becky for her help later, and stepped out of the car, making sure to thank the chauffeur on her way out.

She tried to step out as gracefully as she could while wearing the skirt, and feeling a little self-conscious she tried to smooth it down with her hands. It wasn't like her to fuss over her appearance but for some reason Anya felt a little sweatier than usual. And why did her heart have to beat so hard in her chest?

What would Papa do?

Almost instantly, Anya realised knew the answer to this. When Papa was on a mission, he very rarely got anxious. Even though he was the best at his job in the world, Anya wondered if sometimes Twilight felt the same way she did at that moment: his mouth dry, his heart leaping out of his chest, worried about what might happen, but he always remained calm and thought logically.

So that's what Anya did.

She was nervous because… she really wanted to help Twilight with Operation Strix. She wanted the mission to be a success so that she could finally be useful and help the mission. Becoming an Imperial Scholar for 'Plan A' was proving absolutely impossible with her grades, but if she could be good enough for Plan B, then she could be good enough for Twilight. No, for Papa.

For world peace!

From right behind her: "H-hey…"

"GAH!" Anya whirled around to none other than Damian Desmond. He held his hand half-outstretched towards her, as if he was going to touch her but had decided against it last minute.

He looked so awkward with his hand limp in the space between them that Anya laughed. "Oh it's you, Sy-on! You look funny." And because she still felt a bit on edge and wanted to break the tension, she stuck her tongue out at him.

Damian recoiled, then put his hand in his pocket with a smirk. "You really need to work on your manners, you dummy. Is that any way to greet a person?"

"You're one to talk! You scared the life out of me, is that any way to greet a lady?"

"You got me," said Damian with a soft chuckle. "Now come on, I already got us tickets."

There was something about the way that Damian walked beside her that made Anya realise something was different that evening, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Damian didn't look very different, although it was interesting seeing him in something other than his school uniform for once. He wore a midnight blue collared shirt, which he had tucked into a pair of grey jeans, and his hair seemed smoother… did he put in hair gel?

It was also the first time that they were alone together outside of school. Without the gaggle of students clamouring for Damian's attention, he actually seemed a little more relaxed, even with the presence of some of his nervous thoughts. In many ways, Anya thought that Damian wasn't Damian unless he was a little bit stressed all (or most) of the time.

Once inside the cinema, Anya couldn't contain her joy. She vibrated with energy, and accidentally rattled the popcorn as they sat in their specified seats.

"I can't believe it!" She gushed at a loud whisper. "I'm going to see the first ever Spy Wars movie! Did you know that it's the first film with remote-control detonators for the explosion special effects?"

Damian tried to hide his smile, but failed. "I can't believe that's what you're excited about. What happened to your obsession with silencer pistols?"

"Silencer pistols are still cool, but remote detonators! The explosions must be huge!"

She talked excitedly about explosions for a few minutes, until the lights of the theatre began to dim down, signalling the start of the film. It was then that Anya realised that they were the only ones in the theatre.

"Hey Sy-on, isn't it weird we're the only ones here?"

"Oh, uh," Damian stammered, and in his surprise he fumbled with the popcorn. Anya watched as a few pieces fell to the floor. "That's because I bought all the tickets."

"Eh? You can do that?"

"Well, um, the thing is…" I can't tell her the real reason. "I… I hate it when other people are so loud when I'm trying to watch something I like, so…."

It's a pretty big venue, I'm pretty sure that this many people would make her ill… I hope she actually enjoys the film without the stress of a crowd…

Anya blinked, taken aback. She wondered how he knew what crowds did to her - as far as Becky was aware, the nosebleed the other day was a completely random incident, and when she felt faint at other times she had tried to smile through it and hold herself together. How did he know that crowds were her weakness?

And since when was he so considerate?

Instead of replying, Anya looked ahead at the screen, which had just started to show the title scene, and her heart soared with excitement. "Ssh, It's starting!" she whispered gleefully.

—

Damian wanted to see Spy Wars: The Movie almost as much as Anya, but he knew as soon as he saw her that he wouldn't be able to concentrate.

He had been pacing outside of the cinema entrance for ten minutes, after making his chauffeur drive him there early before dismissing them, and when he saw Becky's unmistakably high-class car pulling up, he had never been more nervous in his life.

And then she emerged from the car in that dress, and Damian felt like the air had been knocked from his lungs. She looked more mature somehow, more elegant, more feminne, especially since the shape of the dress showed off her chest and tiny waist, before flaring out. He watched Anya fuss over her skirt, smoothing out the creases and fixing the ribbons at her shoulders. How did she look womanly, and cute at the same time?

He wasn't any less distracted in the cinema, even though he tried so hard not to show it. Was she wearing perfume? He could barely pay attention to the action scenes, and even missed out some of the explosions, because he was so conscious of the warmth of Anya's body sitting next to him, lighting his side like a flare.

Damian could not help but be hyper-aware of the fact that he was alone in a cinema theatre with Anya Forger. She had agreed to see a film with him - with him! - and even dressed up in something different. Damian was half-certain that Anya had been playing a prank on him this whole time, and that she was just going to stand him up, and then make fun at him at school, or worse. Sure, she was annoying, and persistent, and stubborn, and weirdly intuitive, but at the end of the day she was also fair and painfully sincere. There was no way she was tricking him.

He toyed with the idea of pretending to stretch, then putting his arm around her, but Damian knew he was too much of a coward to even try it at that point. They were there as friends, he couldn't just put a move on her like that. Damian knew what he had signed up for this evening, and even though he had fantasised about Anya Forger in a romantic context for years, he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardise what they had. What they were just beginning to build (he hoped, anyway).

Damian's heart rate only started to slow down about halfway through the film, which allowed him to actually process some of the dialogue and the plot, and even start to relax a little. Until - Bondman's dog was tragically shot.

Up until that point, Damian had unconsciously been moving closer to Anya by millimetres over the course of the last hour, seeking the warmth of her skin. They shared a wide armrest, but Damian felt the sparks tingle up his skin as his arm rested next to hers. The backs of his knuckles grazed hers, and he pictured just how easy it would be for him to slide his hand into hers.

And then the shot rang out through the speakers, and Anya had grabbed him.

A small squeak escaped him as she gripped his hand, inelegantly and uncomfortably, and Damian had to consciously remind himself to breathe as the scene progressed, and Anya relaxed her hand.

But she didn't let go.

With every nerve of courage in Damian's body, he weaved his fingers gently through hers. He waited for her to react, to pull away, but he almost fainted when he felt her relax into him. Fireworks went off in his chest. He was doing it! He was holding Anya Forger's hand, and he hadn't even fainted, or died!

He imagined that a girl this wild might have a callous or two, or a scar to match, but her skin was miraculously soft. He dared not move a muscle until the end of the film, and even as the credits rolled up, he hoped he would be able to hold on to her for a little longer.

—

Something was different about Damian that evening. Anya didn't mean to grab his hand, but she had felt so distraught by the dog, it was comforting to feel his warmth on her skin. Once the sad scene was over, Anya was mortified to realise she had been gripping him so tightly for so long. She really thought he would make fun of her or insult her for it, he could have said any number of things to her:

You don't just grab other people you dolt!

Wh-what are you doing? Idiot!

Get your commoner hands off me!

Yet he didn't say any of that. He had been friendly, joked with her even, and made sure she felt comfortable alone with him. Damian didn't even try to push her away, like he usually does, and he let her hold his hand for nearly the whole film. With a jolt, Anya realised what was different.

Was Damian… being himself?

Once she realised that, Anya let herself relax into his hold. Surely it was a good sign for Plan B that he was relaxing around her, and even letting her be close to him like this - but, at the same time, she didn't want to let go of his hand just yet. It was comforting, and if she was being really honest, she also wanted to be selfish just this once.

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Thank you so much everyone for your kind reviews! This is actually my first attempt at fanfiction so I'm having fun writing it, so any feedback is hugely appreciated! It is also my first time trying to write something on , which is not very user-friendly as an author so if you spot any mistakes please let me know :)