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BUT WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW IS:

WHO? midnigher

dipolar
WHAT? hei's never seen a movie and m wants pelmeni, trade-off
WHEN? today, right now as you read, you're in the shit
ANYTHING ELSE? will add warnings if existential crises occur, i guess?

(movie poached from the library, ingredients poached from the mess hall, and a couple of hours between lights out and training at 0600. time enough for a movie and snacks.

he's a bit apprehensive with no movie experience under his belt and a tendency to fidget, but he's leaving his capsule in the dead hours of the "night" to seek midnighter out all the same. the plan is to meet him in the library and does, depositing the pelmeni onto a low coffee table surrounded by a pod of comfortable sofas — that he seems determined to bodily shove against the wall as crows look on flatly. having something at his back will make him far more likely to sit still, vantage of the terminals and shelving broad.

stands back to admire his own handiwork, then looks to m for approval.)

This'll do for now. You managed to get the tablet?

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[Midnighter hears furniture being moved around and smells food. Yep, must be Hei.]

[When he gets there, he's right of course, and he has a tablet freshly printed from the Library's back catalog in his hand. He has no idea what he's doing-- Hei has insisted it's not a date, and Midnighter is pretty sure he doesn't want it to be one, if only for Hei's sake-- but the way Hei seems reassured by, of all things, the placement of sofas, makes Midnighter feel a little better.]

[That's the neat thing about spending time with Hei. He's never say it, never use those words, but when he's with Hei, it's nice not to be the only freak.]

[So he grins, and spins the tablet around in his hands.] Yep. Didn't know you were an interior designer, too.

(pats his hands off and examines the tablet with a subdued sort of curiosity, unwilling to admit that he's never actually held anything so hi-tech.)

Another joke. (looking away to gesture to the sofas, then over at the library door with something almost resembling quiet pride.) No, this is the optimal position for us to watch the movie in. Now we can see what's going on and be quicker to pause if there are disturbances.

(then throw down if someone wants to fight.)

...

I brought the food, like we agreed.

You expecting any? [Midnighter says, still casual. He notes the pride-- hard to not to notice on somebody who's also told you he wants to die-- tablet still in his hands. He props it up on a leftover coffee mug, and fiddles with the controls until it's paused at the beginning.]

[Now, for the important part. He eyes the food.] So... when can I eat this?

I always expect at least once.

(and ain't that the truth, hei riddled with paranoia. he manages to get himself situated and rather comfortable on the couch while midnighter sets up the tablet, sitting a little too straight. doesn't find it awkward, stewing in the fact that his comrade's got a far better reaction time and it's like perching next to something of a very human alarm bell.)

These you can eat now. (pops the lid off of the heavy duty tupperware container, found in the kitchen with the rest of the utensils he rattles out of his pockets and onto the table.) The sooner the better, so they don't get cold.

(two forks and a spoon for the little container of sour cream.)

You'd best enjoy them, getting the ingredients was a pain.

Optimist, [Midnighter grumbles, and turns the rest of his attention toward the food. He's happy to pop one into his mouth, looking forward to it more than a little. He doesn't need to eat, but he hasn't had home-cooked Russian or Polish food since he left Andrew. The idea is more than a little enticing.]

[His reaction is immediately appreciative, sitting back and savoring the flavor. It's definitely different (better) than how Andrew made them, but that's alright. Feels like moving forward.] Fucking worth it. You beat the shit out of my ex's cooking. Not that it was a competition, but... [You won.]

That's only a compliment if he was an alright cook. (in jest, popping the lid off of the sour cream.

he feels complimented. hei hasn't heard anything like it since before he joined up with COST, in one of his shit-hole safe houses in tokyo and that was from a little russian girl he doesn't want to be reminded of. so he dips his head in thanks at the appreciation and motions to the tablet.

the freeze-framed title screen makes him blink.)

This is black and white? I didn't know what to expect.

I mean, I'm not exactly unbiased, but it was pretty good. [He keeps eating, content so sit in the familiar strange. Andrew and him used to do shit like this. Hei couldn't be more unlike Andrew if he tried.]

[It's nice.]

[Midnighter pokes the screen before sitting back, and the video begins the play.] Yeah, all the noir movies are. More artsy, I guess.

You say "artsy", but I don't think I know what that means. (oblivious to what's going on in m's head, a question surfacing as eyes narrow briefly at the man in the picture smoking on a train — not something that's allowed today, prohibited on public transportation,) Are you saying the films are works of art? Or that there's art in it?

(while his comrade looks at peace with the situation, hei stays rather rigid, fingers curled above his knees.)

Are there subtitles we can put on?

Uh. [He didn't expect Hei to take this so seriously. But then, he remembers the first few times he sat down and watched a movie with Andrew. He was a tense mess, coiled and unsure of his surroundings, ready to spring at any moment.]

[And now... he's a fucking idiot for not catching on sooner.]

Yeah. Here. [He clicks on the subtitles, which come in an impressive array of languages; Midnighter picks Chinese (Simplified), whatever that means.] Yeah, they're a little pretentious. They're art, though. This one's a big deal, I think.

(a good guess, simplified chinese the form he uses. it gets another nod of thanks out of him, fists loosening with a very quietly exhale m's more than capable of hearing. he was a bit concerned m would care to keep them off, if it obscured some of the artsy footage he's discussing with him. what a foolish thing to worry over.

this is far better.)

So "artsy" means "pretentious". It's good to know. (a pregnant pause, eyes lifting away from the movie, to the door, and back on over to midnighter.) Ah, sorry, you've probably missed the first bit. I will stay quiet and watch.

...

(does stay quiet. for about two minutes. who knew he'd be a movie talker.)

This Bruno says he doesn't talk much, but he's the most talkative on the train. You can use this as a lesson in Mandarin, so pay close attention.

[Midnighter eats very slowly-- savoring the food, which he knows will probably be the last of something like this he'll get in... probably years-- and watches Hei watch the movie. With the comparison to his past self in mind, his expectations are further lowered. He doesn't expect Hei to be able to sit through the whole thing, much less focus on events taking place. He shrugs, when Hei says he'll stay quiet; Midnighter knows he won't.]

[But then, of course, it's Hei, who seems to exist, at times, just to surprise him. He couches a very fond grin in sharp amusement, canines flashing.] That was part of why I picked those subtitles. You liking it? Bruno was my favorite, which the guy I watched it with said was 'typical'.

(m's favourite is bruno?

feels eyes on him, but turns his attention back to the tablet with a new interest paid in the characters. it's a bit farfetched watching people he knows to be actors faking roles to fit into a story they've been given. it's what what he did with various aliases, slotting into whatever personality a mission required of him. now he's not even sure what his core is like, if he's an idiot like li shengshun or a kind brother like lee hyunsik or a merciless marauder like hei.

is that what m thinks? is that why he likes the person on screen? is that why he doesn't think he's real either?)

Both of them are foolish, but it seems Bruno's something like you. He spills a lot at once and people think he's pulling a fast one. It's really the truth, he's never lied once yet. (a sink of eyelids, finally leaning back against the couch cushions, easing up bit by bit.) Guy is the liar. He's supposed to be the protagonist, but he's as wretched as everyone else.

(#critic, but someone's obviously paying quite a bit of attention. to both the movie and the man beside him.)

Edited 2018-01-09 13:39 (UTC)

You're going too deep. I just think he's funny. [Midnighter keeps slowly chewing on his food. It's fucking fascinating, exciting, even, how cerebral Hei is getting over this movie. It's great to hear his commentary, a completely interesting, nuanced perspective he never thought of or cared about.]

[He knew Hei was clever, but he never realized he was smart.]

It'd be boring if Guy was just a good guy and everyone else was evil. That's the big thing about noir movies, Jason said: everybody's a bastard.

(oh. that's a little embarrassing. putting too much thought into things and analyzing them to the bone is a bit of a nuisance habit in domestic situations.)

Sorry. (again.)

If that's the case, I should appreciate most of the genre. I can't see myself liking happy films like romance and comedy. (reads the subtitles, only missing a few here or there when he takes his time searching the doorway and the rest of the library.) What kind do you like best?

[Midnighter scoffs.] You fed me. I don't think you gotta apologize to me for the next year and a half. [To punctuate this, he starts on his next pelmeni.]

[Midnighter nods along, agreeing with Hei's assessment. Hei seems like he would like the darker, grittier stuff. Maybe he'll like the other noir films, the one a bit more serious than this. Citizen Cane is noir, right? Well, he knows Jason liked it, and Hei seems impossibly smart in this moment; Midnighter ought to suggest him all those high level movies Jason was already going on about.]

[Which makes the answer to Hei's question even more out of tone, but he isn't ashamed of it:] The ones with singing.

Edited (a very important edit.) 2018-01-11 02:46 (UTC)

You're the one eating them when you don't have to. If you're enjoying them, I guess it's not bad. (double negatives his way into the stratosphere.

has to look away from the movie again, brow lifting a bare fraction — and that's about as surprised as he can get.)

You like those ones? Musical ones?

(thinks about it critically for about ten long seconds.)

...

Ah. They sound horrible.

[The long pause, followed by the incredibly blunt assessment of his tastes, startles an appreciative bark of laughter out of Midnighter. He's tempted to give the other man a playful shove, but Hei doesn't like to be touched. He shakes his head instead, grinning sharply.]

Yeah, [He says,] they are.

[On the screen, Bruno prepares to murder another man's wife. Midnighter watches fondly.]

I like movies that you can't predict the ending of. Really strange ones. I get why people like the artsy shit, the really smart ones, but I just like the ones that're really... weird. [He turns to Hei, still grinning, and puts a hand on his own chest.] Fits with the theme.

(hears the strangling and has to look back for a minute, watching how he does it, thumbs on her throat. awkward, but efficient. she could retaliate easily with her arms free like that. doesn't seem to, why he doesn't know. maybe she wasn't informed on how to defend herself from such things.

a fine example of natural selection.)

Strange movies, for a strange person. That suits you. I can't say I've heard of any, so I don't really understand what they'd be all about. (m's tastes soon become far more important than the scene following it, however, attention shifting again — back and forth, back and forth.) And you're pretty par for the course, where people I've met are concerned.

(lifts a hand with an empty gesture.)

Contractors don't have many preferences, but we're not without personality. Which movies I'd like is an uncertainty. It's not a logical time sink for me.

Is that 'cause you don't wanna have favorites, or are you just fucking with me?

[Midnighter's skeptical as he pops another pelmeni into his mouth. He, too, seems to find Hei far more interesting than what's happening on the screen.]

You'll probably hate my favorites. I won't bore you with 'em. But I wanna watch what you like. More fun that way.

[It's not something he'd so readily admit, to another person. Midnighter's real enjoyment comes from other people enjoying things.]

Edited (😈) 2018-01-13 15:25 (UTC)

This is my first movie. I don't know what kind of preferences I'd have. Maybe documentaries. (what an answer.)

I'd watch at least one of your choices. (for the experience, to understand him a little better, an odd medley of both. it doesn't sound boring, because he's not bored now and doesn't exactly experience an feeling like that easily — if ever.

searches what's left of the pelmeni and feels a quirk at the corner of his mouth.) And you said you don't eat much.

Mm- [Legitimately caught off guard by that, another rarity. He looks down at his almost empty bowl of food.] I- [Takes a moment, he takes a split second to regain his composure, shrugging and slouching back. The food goes to the table in front of them.] I don't have to eat, so what's the point in eating food I don't like? But that, I like.

[Fair enough, right? Midnighter hopes so. There's a strange, unexpected sense of vulnerability inherent in being caught off guard. Fuck, was he being too obvious? Or inconsistent? He can't figure out where he made his misstep.]

[Anyway.] First movie? Then we're definitely sparing you musicals. Don't want you to get the wrong impression. Citizen Kane all the way.

If you like it, you eat it. Ah. (nods his agreement to it, picking up on the discomfort but not knowing what to do with it on his end... so he does nothing.

was he supposed to say something to reassure him? what would that have been? he could tell him that he doesn't share the point of view, that he eats whatever's put in front of him even if it's no better than pigs' slop or chicken feed. but it feels good to make something that someone appreciates. it doesn't feel like he's fucking up so much.

nods again, sniffing his amusement.)

I don't know what Citizen Kane is, but thanks. I can't say I had any desire to sit through a glorified sing-along.

Citizen Kane's the best movie ever. Way better than Rocky Horror. I thought it was... [Midnighter waves his hand, the gesture for 'so-so'.] Not enough fighting.

Then that's the one I want to see next. (matter-of-factly, eyelids low as he turns back to the movie.

almost seems a bit smug. he's going to see the best movie ever, after all. how many people can say they've done that?)

This is a tolerable night... I can't complain about this one. (reaches up to rub at his chin in thought.) Guy's gone and done it now, getting his handprints all over that gun. Is he really going to go and kill Bruno's father? What happens in the end?

(uh, spoilers?)

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