Date Night (Indigo/Lani)

"Okay, so today I'm taking you to a Muggle movie. Like, if you're okay with that." Indigo paused, then went on. "It's like the picture on my phone at the party." And thank the internet gods that no one had seen who he'd disappeared with. He could keep up with his personal blog without doing anything that might alienate Lani.

"You've probably been to the theater, right?" That was something people with money did, and even his parents had dragged him along a couple times. "It's like a play..." Indigo kept it brief. He'd evolved since his first non-date with Jory and put in some effort to choose the right movie rather than throw out a decision to someone without all the information.

As Lani nodded in understanding, she tucked a bit of loose hair back into her clip. "Some students have talked about this place," she said. "I've just rarely come over to the muggle town." It was a shame, really, considering how long she had been living with Cat and Evelyn, but she didn't know how to interact with muggles and would have been lost alone. She did enjoy theater, though, so maybe this wouldn't be too foreign.

"I don't mind learning more about muggle things," she said, something that would turn the heads of some of those she had grown up with. She wasn't that blind little girl anymore, though, she was older and wiser and wearing fun color out on a date with a muggle-born she'd already gone too far with. The memory colored her cheeks, but she kept her focus on the conversation. "What is the story for this one?"

Indigo noticed that light blush, and wished he knew what he'd said or done to get it. He didn't want to embarrass her, but it was really cute. "Um, it's about a singer, who's played by this singer who's really big with Muggles," though he'd read somewhere she was actually a witch. "It's a kind of drama-romance-musical. This older musician helps her get started." He didn't remember the details, but it had checked all the boxes. Romance, music, a combination of things a girl raised wealthy might understand with a healthy dose of Muggle issues. Plus, Lady GaGa was badass.

A musical! That was something Lani was familiar with, and it instantly made this muggle outing something she could connect with more. "It sounds wonderful," she said. During her last date to this town, she had been seen by Mano and Eros, but she doubted the pair had ever set foot in a cinema, and the chances they would try right now were so slim as to be nonexistent. "Let's go, then, show me your muggle ways."

Indigo grinned. He hadn't expected this good a reaction, even though she'd been thrilled with the livestream the other day. Jory had thought it was fun at first too. He blinked that thought away. Jory wasn't here right now. He wouldn't let his ex interfere with every relationship he ever had.

"I've already got tickets, but if I didn't, we'd buy them... there." Indigo gestured toward a small mass of people in front of the ticket booth. "We'll have to wait in line for snacks, but it'll just give you time to look around." He'd explain whatever she wanted, but he really liked talking to her and he was on his best behavior.

"Snacks?" Lani asked. "It would be rude to eat in a theater." Maybe some of the stories about muggles being less refined were true. Then she caught sight of people milling around with overlarge drinks and food items, as if it was completely normal. "Well, I suppose you did say it was only like theater..." She really hadn't spent enough time with muggles. Absently, she reached over to link her arm in his as she had so easily at the party.

"Yes," Indigo said. His lips curved at the soft feel of her arm against his. Rather than feeling silly, it felt like a game, where he was super classy instead of a normal guy. "The actors are all on a screen," he went on after a moment. "You can't distract them. It's not that long either, so there's no intermission. It's like, a tradition to get popcorn and a soda. They have other things, though." None of which she'd probably ever had. Whoppers? Junior Mints? Reese's? Maybe he'd buy a few things to share just so she could try them.

Lani considered the strangeness of watching a play on something like Indigo's phone, though perhaps it was simply like looking at a picture or painting, just longer. At least she knew what popcorn and soda were, had even had them before. There were some perks to having the housemates she had. "If it's tradition, then we should do it, give me the authentic experience."

Indigo's grin widened as they headed to the shortest of the snack lines. He bought them sodas, bought popcorn, and ended up with enough other stuff that some of it went into his pockets. "I know this is way more than we can eat," he admitted, "but we can bring it home. Muggle candy stays good about forever."

He explained more as they took their time getting to the theater. They looked at posters for movies that weren't out yet, and when he got excited over one, he shared what he could of his excitement while trying desperately not to go overboard. It was really hard when he saw the poster for Captain Marvel.

"I'd need a whole day to explain that one, and a couple weeks to show you all the other movies in the series." How in hell could he explain this one without explaining the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe? The superhero thing would be its own story for a magical person. Indigo took a breath. "There are twelve movies in the series about different people and this is the first one where the main character is female." That was a start.

Lani tilted her head curiously at the poster and resisted a brief urge to reach out and touch the artwork. Even in the muggle world, she imagined that would inappropriate. "I've seen plays with women in the lead role, but they're not as common, or they are co-leads with a man." She didn't know much know what to think about the look, neither her clothing nor the background, but she was intrigued.

"Yeah, that's how it is," Indigo said. Maybe he was more aware because he'd had so many female friends growing up, but as far as he was concerned, awareness was a good thing. "The last movie ended on a cliffhanger, and the person they called for help was Captain Marvel, so it's even more than getting a female lead, it's that she's just as strong as the guys." There was a lot more to it, but Indigo was doing his best to keep things stripped down for now.

A woman coming to save them all? That had definitely never happened in any of the plays she'd seen or stories she'd read. In fact, when Lani looked over at Indigo again, she wasn't quite sure if she believed him, though he had no reason to lie. She thought back, had she really even ever been told if muggles were less progressive? She couldn't think of a time. Only that they were lesser in various ways. Their embrace of progressive things may have even been looked down on, considering it had taken her some time to be used to the idea of alternative looks and lives.

"That's...impressive," she said finally. "There aren't enough women who are heroes." Maybe she could get into this whole muggle movie business.

"There aren't enough women who are allowed to be heroes," Indigo said. "Or maybe just recognized as heroes." He looked at Lani, and he could see the interest in her eyes. He hoped he could get her into the MCU, and considering Captain Marvel wouldn't be out until next year, a matter of weeks before Avengers 4, he had time.

He could talk feminism all day, and though he hadn't really since Salem, that didn't change the fact that things about male privilege had been crammed straight through his skull for a few years.

"I don't think the whole wizarding world is as bad about that as it sounds like Society is," he said as they made their way through a sudden crowd of people. It looked like a movie had just gotten out.

Lani kept her eyes on Indigo for a few quick heartbeats before she turned her eyes away and took a drink from the overlarge soda in her hand. The crowd was a godsend after what he had said, however much she might have agreed with what he said. Society had stuck her in a bubble she was still poking holes in. It was only once they'd given half their ticket to a man at a door and started toward a specific theater that she spoke again. "Just keep teaching me, and I think it will all be fine," she said.

Indigo gave Lani a smile, then glanced at their tickets to find their seats. "You've got a lot to teach me about Society stuff too," he pointed out. "I know the wizarding world, but I don't know anything about Society. Everyone I know is middle class." Most of what both of them had was stereotypes, and Lani was a lot more fun than the stereotype of a rich b~ shopping addict.