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A large part of the fun of introducing Eugeo to the real world stemmed from activities that I never thought much of. Like, for example, just going to the mall with him was quite the ordeal. He was a little stressed out about it—there was a whole lot for him to intake all at once, after all. However, he eventually caught on to little things and it was quite fun watching him learn by trial and error in some cases. He also asked lots of funny questions.
Our trip to the mall led us to a little shop that sold games and movies. Thinking nothing weird of it, I walked right in and started perusing movie titles. Sometimes I’d grab something that I was interested in or that I thought might catch my sister’s fancy. But as I was browsing, Eugeo snatched up a movie and held it up to me with both hands clutching the case. I gave him a funny look, unsure of what he wanted. It clicked just as he explained himself.
“What…what are these?” he asked.
That simple question led me to have a brilliant (if I do say so myself) idea. I explained the general idea of a movie to him and then posed my suggestion. We would have a movie night—just the two of us, so as not to overwhelm him—and I’d get to introduce him to movies as well as some of the small things in life I had enjoyed as a kid that he hadn’t gotten to experience.
I excitedly prepped for our movie night. My mom wasn’t coming home until much, much later. Suguha came in while I was fixing a big bowl of buttery popcorn and frowned at me. I glanced over at her. She was examining the counter, which was littered with boxes of candies, a few things of soda, and the popcorn mess.
“Big brother…what are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m introducing Eugeo to movie nights,” I said, sounding rather proud of myself.
Suguha snorted.
“Oh, so, like, a date.”
Her comment caught me off guard. My face felt hot. She started to giggle uncontrollably. She turned and dashed up the stairs to her room. I bolted over to the base of the stairs, still holding the spoon I was using to stir the popcorn, and shouted up after her.
“I-IT’S NOT A DATE, SUGU!”
“YES, IT IS!” she called back.
Too embarrassed to throw back a reply, I stomped back into the kitchen to finish my preparations. My face refused to cool down. It’s not like it was really a date, right? I was just introducing him to the concept of movies. And setting out snacks and blankets…
Oh. Blankets.
The temperature of my face was reaching a dangerous almost boiling point now. Would he be okay with sharing a blanket? My mind went beyond just sharing the blanket—what if he leaned up against me?
“Oh, man! It really is a date!” I exclaimed.
I stared down at the coffee table I’d set on autopilot.
“At least, I really hope it is.”
I was startled out of my thoughts when the doorbell buzzed. I quickly set down what was in my hands and hurried over to open the door. No surprise, the person standing there was Eugeo. He was clearly ready for his first-ever movie night. He had a bag slung over his shoulder and a pillow tucked under his opposite arm. I smiled and welcomed him into the house. I made sure to remind him to take off his shoes and slip on a pair of house slippers since he was still getting used to social norms. I guided him into the living area where I’d set up our snacks, drinks, and blankets.
“So, uh, where do you want me to put my bag?” he asked.
I motioned over to the side of the couch.
“There’s fine,” I said. “But pull out your pajamas! We’re about to get cozy!”
He gave me a funny look and smiled.
“Cozy?”
I nodded.
“Yup!” I said. “Rule number one of a movie night—always do it in your P.J.’s! Movies tend to be an hour or more in length, so, it’s best to get as comfy as possible! That’s part of the reason for the pillow!”
He hummed in thought and dug out his pajamas. I showed him where the bathroom was so he could change. He was quick about that and reappeared, noting that it smelled like something floral in there. I figured I’d explain the difference between men’s and women’s soaps at a later juncture. For now, it was movie time.
“Okay, since you’ve never watched a movie before, let’s try to narrow down what genre you might be interested in,” I said. “Let’s go by what kinds of stories you like!”
“Oh! Hmm,” he said. “I like the story of Bercouli and the dragon.”
I had to remind myself that he wasn’t well read in fiction. Most of what Eugeo had read was education back at the Swordcraft Academy. And he was a huge history buff. But history for him was a bit more fantastical than history for me was. I decided that a fantasy movie might suit him well. I pulled out a few options and spread them across the floor.
“On the backs of the cases, it gives you a brief summary of what the story’s about in the movie,” I said. “How are you doing with your kanji? Do you need some help reading these?”
He gave me a sheepish nod. I told him not to worry about it. I helped him through reading the summaries. It took him a minute to narrow down what movie he wanted to watch for his first movie ever. When he finally did make a selection, I waved him over to show him how to insert the disk into the player. He stared at the process with wide eyes. Technology really intrigued him.
After popping the disk in, I dashed back to the sofa. He came over beside me and sat down. I made sure to inform him that the blankets and pillows were an absolute must. The snacks and drinks, as well, were mandatory. I encouraged him to eat whatever he liked throughout the movie. If we ran low on something, I’d go and fetch it from the kitchen. We took a moment to get cozy in our blankets before I showed him how to operate the remote to play the movie.
I turned the lights low. He blinked and looked around.
“Why did you do that?” he asked.
“I’m not really sure why we do that,” I said. “But I know I, personally, like movies better in the dark. It reminds me of a movie theater. Ah—when movies are first made, they are shown in public on huge television screens. People pay to go sit in seats and watch the movie. You can buy snacks and eat them there, too. Later, they put the movies on these disks so we can see them at home from our smaller television.”
Eugeo shook his head.
“That’s so much,” he said. “This world is so busy.”
I laughed.
“And that, dear Eugeo, is why we have movie nights!” I said.
He rolled his eyes at me and put some of the popcorn in his mouth. It was obvious that it was his first time eating anything of the sort. He started making weird faces, as if he were trying to figure out what flavor he was tasting. I hit play on the remote and sat back into the couch. I kept my eyes on him.
His eyes were glued to the screen. He was clearly surprised when he saw the moving pictures, and he made sure to fill me in on how fascinating that was. Afterwards, I’d have to explain cameras to him. The fact that sound came out of the television also sparked his interest. I chuckled, watching him as he got into the story. At some point, he started instinctively shoving pieces of popcorn in his mouth one after another, wrapped up in the plot. At the end, to my surprise and delight, he requested a second movie.
“You aren’t tired?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“I want to see one you really like!” he said. “Now that I know what a movie is like!”
Smiling, I selected my favorite movie from the stack and handed him the case. He (with a little help) read the summary and then asked would it be alright if I let him try to set it up. I laughed. He did a pretty decent job of it. When he was done, he plopped back down on the couch, rather pleased with himself. The movie started.
About a third of the way through, despite this being my favorite film, I started to nod off. I thought I might end up falling asleep on him, but to my surprise, I felt a solid thunk! against my shoulder. More awake than I’d been a moment before, I turned and looked at Eugeo. He was leaning up against me, his eyes half-open. The heat from earlier returned to my cheeks.
“Sleepy?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Well, go on, get comfy,” I said. “It’s all a part…a part of movie nights. You get sleepy and sometimes nod off before it’s over.”
“Such silly customs…” he mumbled.
Nevertheless, he tiredly adjusted himself. When I realized what he was doing, my heart fluttered in my chest. His body was pressed up against mine, cuddling me as if this was the most normal thing to do with a friend. Perhaps he was just so tired that he didn’t know he was doing it. Half of me felt embarrassed; the other half couldn’t contain my excitement. I carefully adjusted myself so that he could comfortably snuggle up against me and still see the screen if he wanted to.
He didn’t seem incredibly bothered. He moved a little bit, probably making sure he was comfortable. I think neither of us wanted to give in to sleep. By the time the snack bowl was empty, the movie was almost over—and to my surprise, we were tangled up in the coziest way possible. His head was resting against my chest, his arms were partially wrapped around me, and one of his legs rested between mine. I tilted my head to see if he was still awake.
“Annnd…he’s out.”
I chuckled lightly. It didn’t wake him up. I reached over for the remote and shut the television off to reduce the light. Eugeo mumbled something in his sleep and shifted ever-so-slightly. Not wanting to disturb him, I situated myself as best as I could while pinned down by him and closed my eyes.
“I hope you enjoyed your first movie night…” I mumbled.
While it wasn’t exactly a response, Eugeo did make a noise just as I said that.
“Mmm.”
Figuring it was likely just him making sounds in his sleep, I laughed softly and let sleep take me.
My eyes opened back up when it was still dark. I glanced down at my chest. Eugeo was still resting on top of me. He’d moved a bit, though. His head was just under my chin—so much so that if I tilted my head down any further I’d be probably jabbing my chin into his eye. His right hand was clutching my shirt. I pulled my arm out from under him and hesitated for a moment.
“What are you doing…?” I muttered aloud to myself. “You invited him over for a movie. Not a date! Not a cuddle session!”
But what could I really do about that? He was the one on top of me. I gazed down at him, conflicted about what I should do with my arm. I bit my lip. If he was this comfortable snuggling up to me, then I was going to just allow myself to be comfortable placing my arm around him. So, I did. I rested my arm on his back. My heart fluttered again. Eugeo let out a hum, startling me.
“Hmm…hey…Kirito?”
I swallowed. He was awake.
“Y-yes?” I stammered.
“We should…have more movie nights…” he said.
He sounded barely awake. But his words made me relax. I gently hugged him to my chest and nodded.
“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s definitely have more movie nights.”
I didn’t have to look down to know that he was smiling as he fell back asleep. He practically radiated happiness. Maybe next time we could just start out cuddling. That was a nice thought. I drew in a deep breath, resituated myself again so that I could fall back asleep, and then shut my eyes, happy that this all turned out well in the end.