//------------------------------//
// Date Opposites 
// Story: Can a Sci-fi Girl Truly Love Anime 
// by Mr Legoman 
//------------------------------//

Flash could hardly contain his smile as he walked arm in arm with his girlfriend, Twilight, as they walked into the local theater. They were out for a date, dressed in casual clothes. Although the temperature was still warm, an icy chill was in the wind. Which did not bother Flash,  but Twilight pulled Flash's coat tighter around herself. Flash smiled as he looked at Twilight. "Trust me, Twi, you're going to love this. It's great. It has everything, action, great animation, great action."

Twilight did not mention that Flash had repeated himself. He often did that when he got excited. Still, Twilight gave an awkward smile to Flash's reassurance. "Can't wait," Twilight said in what she hoped sounded enthusiastic. She had set their pace, and she had set it to be as slow as possible.

For most of the last week, Flash talked nonstop about this new anime movie from his favorite series. He had been trying to get her into that same series, but she hated it. The number of plot holes and inconsistencies took too long to list. Most of the characters were underutilized and poorly written at times. That was not even mentioning how the series ignored science and its principles at every opportunity.

She inwardly sighed. Flash was a great guy and boyfriend, but his taste in fiction was terrible. Twilight shook herself. Sure, she may not like most of the same genres, but to call it terrible was going too far. Why was she being so negative today? Could it be magic related? Were they being attacked by some emotion-manipulating object?

"Woah there, Twilight, watch your  step." Twilight blinked as she came out of her thoughts. She was about to collide with a bench before Flash had stopped her. They moved around the bench and to the center of the sidewalk. "Sorry," Flash apologized. "I was a bit distracted myself." A look crossed Flash's face that  Twilight could not identify. He looked toward the movie theater, which was only a block away.

"It's okay; I was the one about to collide with the bench," Twilight said. Then she focused on Flash's face. His excitement was dimming a bit. "Are you okay?"

Flash paused for a  minute before answering her. Then he answered her question with a  question of his own. "You don't want to see this movie, do you?"

Twilight blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Could you repeat that?" Had her dislike shown on her face? She looked at him. His smile had dimmed a  little, but he still had a light in his eyes.

"You don't want to see this movie, right?" He asked. "I sort of had an inkling back at that café."

He stopped, and Twilight paused with him, worry growing. Then, before she could fully panic, Flash smiled. "It's okay, Twilight. I'm not going to  get mad or dump you for your taste in movies."

Twilight breathed a  sigh of relief, feeling quite silly. But, of course, that would be  Flash's response. Why did she think it would be anything different? "Sorry, Flash, I 'm just not into this series."

"No sweat," Flash said, his smile never faltering. "I can see it with Micro and Base next  week or something." Flash hid his disappointment well, but Twilight still noticed it. There was a moment of pause as the two mentally asked themselves the same question.

"So, what now?" Twilight finally asked aloud.

Flash paused for a moment, then shrugged. "I think you mentioned the theater was showing a documentary, right? Do you want to see that?"

Twilight shook her head. "They ended the showing, poor attendance."

"Well, there goes that idea," Flash said, looking around at the city.

Twilight did so too, but she only thought of the movie theater. "Well, we could walk to the theater and see what is playing. We might even find one that  we both would enjoy."

"Sounds like a plan," Flash said.

And they continued the short distance to the theater. Twilight knew that they could have just checked their phones, but she wanted the time to think. Cadence's voice drifted to her from the many, many time the older woman had given, mostly unsolicited dating advice. "Love requires sacrifice at times. You might do something you hate for someone you love or vis versa. Of course, no one person should be sacrificing completely in the relationship, but there should be a nice balance.

Twilight was still debating what to do when they arrived at the movie theater. She realized she was being overdramatic. An hour and a half of a movie would not be the worst thing of her life. As Flash scanned the movie playing, Twilight only spotted one. It was the anime movie that Flash had planned to see with her. Why had Flash wanted to see this movie in the first place? He knew she preferred hard sci-fi series, not yelling and special color-changing power-ups. So, to keep herself from going crazy, she just asked him.

"Flash, why did you want to see it with me in the first place? I would have thought you would want to see this  with one of your other friends or your brother."

Flash rubbed the back of his head. "Well," he said after a moment. "I wanted to share this moment with you."

"Of watching a movie?"

"Cheesy,  I know, but I thought it would be nice to watch this together." He paused then and tried to get his words and thoughts together. "I had convinced myself that you'd fall in love with the series if we watched it together. But it's cool." Flash then went back to scanning the board.

Twilight scanned the listings as well, frowning. She recognized only a hand full of them, and from their trailers, she did not feel like seeing those. And from Flash's expression, he did not like their other prospects either. She looked back at the movie's title, still debating with herself.

Then realization hit, Twilight, and she blinked. She was so warm. Flash's coat kept her warm as another chilly wind blew by them. Flash had just agreed without hesitation not to see a movie he had been excited about for her. So why wouldn't she go to a movie just for him?

"We should just go and see your movie tonight. Nothing else is catching my  eye, and it would be a waste just to go home." Twilight said.

A  small sparkle returned to Flash's eyes, and a broad smile spread across his face, but the young man contained his excitement long enough to ask a  simple question. "Are you sure, Twilight?"

Well, how could she ever say no to that smile? "Of course, I'm sure," Twilight said.

Flash's grin widened a bit more, and he hugged her. "Ya' know, you're the best girlfriend a guy can ask for."

"You tell me every day," Twilight said with a slight blush. And just like that, her nervous energy melted with the radiance of Flash's smile and hug. Then, with their decision made, Flash held the door open for her,  and she quickly stepped inside the warm theater lobby. Flash joined her inside after holding the door for the next five couples and one family. They got their tickets, which Flash paid for, and moved to the concession stand. Twilight paid for drinks while Flash bought the popcorn.

"Please, don't drown our popcorn in butter and salt," Twilight said as they moved to the butter station.

Flash chuckled. "Fine, we'll share a dry popcorn." As Twilight requested,  Flash did not go overboard with salt and butter. That taken care of,  they headed for their movie.

Their theater was crowded, much to  Twilight's surprise. "Told ya this was a popular movie," Flash said as they tried to find decent seats. It took a minute, but they found a pair of seats in the upper right of the seats. There was a general air of excitement about the place as the lights began to dim. Flash mirrored the excitement in the room as his grin began to grow. A hush fell over the room as the movie began. "I promise you," Flash said, leaning over to whisper in her ear. "You'll love this."

Twilight did not love the movie, but she enjoyed it. And she even considered it to be a  likable movie, even with its poorly understood science. The story was not as terrible as she feared. It centered on fighting, but the animation and music drew her into the fights. She even cheered once or twice during the movie. When the movie was over, they left the theater with smiles.

"So, how did you like the movie?" Flash asked, still smiling.

"Well," Twilight said. "It was not as bad as I was expecting."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"But it's not for me," Twilight said. "I enjoyed it, the animation was stunning, and the story wasn't terrible."

Flash nodded. "Well, I'm glad you didn't hate it. Thanks for seeing this with  me." Twilight nodded, and a small comfortable silence fell over them. Outside, the temperature had dropped slightly, and Twilight could start to feel it even through the coat. Flash, as usual, seemed to be unaffected by the cold. On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying it. Still, for Twilight's sake, they set out at a brisk pace for Flash's car.

As they walked the short distance, the two talked about the movie. Twilight raised questions about the characters and the story while Flash answered them. It was lovely despite the weather, and  Twilight made sure to get close to Flash as they walked. Even though she did not care for the series, she loved to hear Flash talk about it. He got so animated when talking about the stuff he loved. It was endearing.

Thankfully, they reached Flash's car, and the young man opened the passenger's side door for her.

"Thank you," she said, stepping into the vehicle. She buckled up as Flash got in the driver's seat. Flash started the engine, and warmth filled the car. "Well, thanks for seeing it with me. I know it must have been a  drag for you." Flash said as he buckled his seat belt. Then he put his car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Next time, it's your turn," Flash said as he continued to drive to her house. "Whatever  movie or documentary it is, I'll be there getting just as hyped for  it." Twilight smiled at that.

"Even if it's a seven-hour documentary about Starfish."

"If you wish it, then we will go," Flash said, maintaining his smile. "And I  will be hyped for whatever a starfish does for seven hours. Besides, if  it means spending seven hours with you, it will be completely worth  it."

"Smooth," Twilight said with a slight blush.

"I try,"  Flash said with a casual shrug. They fell into another peaceful silence after that. Twilight got comfortable in the passenger seat while Flash focused on the road.

It was moments like this that made Twilight love these moments with Flash. He may have less than stellar taste when it came to his fiction or make very poor decisions when it came to food,  but these moments of peace were always simply perfect. It was the same feeling as completing a homework assignment before it was due. It was peaceful. She sighed, content.