Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 100: Movie Date

Chapter 100: Movie Date

Rina had an arcade phase. She wouldn’t stop until she’d figured out ways to secure herself a prize from games like this ring toss.

It was important to ensure a flat landing or the toss was worthless.

"You need to give it a good amount of spin by snapping it at the moment of release. While keeping it tilted at a slightly upward angle."

The demonstration was a success, with the ring landing safely on the bottleneck. And the little kids were giddy with excitement.

To his credit, Lucian listened to my demonstration, showing the kids that it would really work.

But boy, we stayed there for ages. Even the clerk was stupefied at how much we’d spent honing our ring toss skills.

"Wow! You got it!" Lily jumped around as Joshua finally succeeded in getting a prize.

The two celebrated like electrified bunnies as they kept on hopping around.

And Lily was the glorified receiver of Joshua’s hard-earned prize.

"I like this so much! Thank you, Joshua!"

I kid you not. Joshua was too elated, and he looked ready to fly.

Then I remembered that Lucian was here with us, and I was just hoping he wouldn’t be too angered that his little sister was having some kind of moment over here.

But then I was handed a giant stuffed animal. One that looked a lot like Chester.

"?"

"What’s this?" I asked as I figured out how to hold the giant stuffed toy.

"If even a baby could win my sister a prize, how are you allowed to go home without one?" Lucian just stared at the kids as he explained.

They were still playing and celebrating, but my ears stopped picking up on that.

I zoned in on my husband who leaned against the booth’s counter. He looked rather casual today, with his tie off and his sleeves rolled up.

Maybe it was the atmosphere or the novelty of it all, but I just suddenly approached him from the side, catching him off-guard with a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks!" I whispered before running towards the kids to show them my new toy.

"Chester!" Lily shouted as I approached.

"Did you get this, Big Sis?" The children began patting the toy, which I found adorable.

"Your brother won it for me." I hoped that would instill more confidence in her.

"Really?!"

"Yeah, really."

Same, girlie, same. I had my doubts, too. Maybe he was sick somewhere, but I liked the toy, so there’s no way I’m returning it.

We managed to finish watching the parade before the kids started yawning.

They were so spent they were knocked out by the time we got them settled in the back seat.

Mr. Jim actually offered to send him home, but I’d rather see both kids off safely before leaving. After all, they were my charges for today.

Then Lucian told Mr. Jim that he could go home today, as he planned to drive himself.

I wanted to ask if he was sure but was met with his raised eyebrow, so I just swallowed it back.

"Where are we even going?"

"To the cinema."

Lucian’s been pretty unpredictable lately, but I didn’t expect him to get to this point.

"You didn’t have to give into peer pressure, you know?"

"I didn’t give in to anything."

Hmm?

Then what could have driven someone like him to do something like this?

"Then what’s wrong?"

He scowled at the question, and this probably just confused us both.

It’s been a while now, and I still don’t know how to navigate his thoughts. I’m not even going to touch on his emotions because that’s just a whole different can of worms.

When I found out about that possible turning point, I realized I judged him prematurely before.

So, I’ve been more lenient. And I’ve stopped analyzing his words for anything deeper. Lucian was curt, but he also wasn’t one to play mind games. He normally just says things outright.

So, let’s just go with the flow. I should be able to handle a date, right?

***

Lucian walked towards Cinema 7 with snacks on hand.

It was funny because he walked without noticing the intense stares of the other patrons.

Even I forgot to walk as I watched him strut with his blessed face.

"What’s wrong?" He turned back, wondering why I stopped.

"Nothing," I said as I caught up with him.

I was just wondering how we ended up like this.

To my surprise, we were watching the sequel of that movie we watched at home.

"How did you end up picking this movie?"

"Because you liked the first one. You almost finished the whole movie."

"Hey!" I screeched, wanting to kick him in the shin.

"I was too tired to stay awake, okay?!"

"Sure, " he responded while fiddling with the backrest and footrest of our recliner. He picked the cinema with couple-recliners, and I considered that a challenge.

Suddenly, I felt the need to prove my ability to finish movies, so I snacked because the seats felt too comfortable.

Lucian offered the popcorn and drinks he was holding, and I realized he probably got them for me since he rarely ever snacked.

Maybe I started snacking too early, but by the time the trailers finished, I’d already bulldozed my way through the food.

"Do you want more? I could buy more."

"No, that would be too much."

If I ate more, I wouldn’t be able to eat a proper dinner, so I settled back like any moviegoer.

I managed to stay awake because the movie kept me on my toes with all the jumpscares. However, the suspenseful scenes and the cold temperature unconsciously drove me into my husband’s arms.

If not for accidentally jabbing him, I wouldn’t have even noticed how I’ve been cuddling against him.

Then I found him looking at me instead of the screen.

"Hey, are you even watching?" I whispered close to his ear.

"Yeah, I am."

"I don’t think so. You’ve been staring for a while now."

"Your face says it all. I can tell what’s happening just by looking at your reactions." He whispered back, his face a bit too close for comfort.

It was indeed too close. It was dark, with only the screen’s light occasionally illuminating our faces. But I could see his expression, and that was how he looked whenever he wanted to do something nefarious.

"You...this is a public place!" I whispered, hoping that no one else could hear that.

"So?"

Oh God.

Lucian really went for it. But he surprisingly only kissed me on the forehead and on the cheek, before nuzzling his cheek against my head.

What’s up with this guy?

By now, I’d long forgotten about the movie we should be watching and just flinched whenever someone made a sound.

For some reason, being like this with him in public made it more thrilling than the psycho villain’s attempt at stabbing the remaining characters.

So, I returned his fleeting kisses.

A kiss on his throat, his jaw, then his cheeks. I planned on stopping there, just returning his teasing, but this bastard had to look at me with those eyes.

"Tsk."

How unfair.

So, I ended up kissing his lips. And my asshole of a husband had the audacity to smirk at that.

The movie went by like a breeze. The screams and the sound effects buried the sounds of our lips locking.

We just spent what was left of the movie making out like teenagers.

"The movie’s almost over." He whispered softly against my lips. And it took a while for me to recover.

He even had to tuck back my wayward hair before the lights turned back on.

"You!" I glared daggers at him.

"At least you managed to stay awake for the entire thing."

Just let me elbow him once!

Just once!