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They somehow end up watching the first Andromeda movie.
Juno would have kicked up a fuss out of habit or principle but Rita had suggested it, looking up from the floor with wide earnest eyes. She was waiting for him to say something. But maybe it was time to take a step forward, even with something as small as this. So he just rolled his eyes and muttered which was pretty much a yes from him.
G-d, it’s a beautiful movie. Visually stunning, sure, but plot wise too. The dialog comes close to making Juno cry several times, although he’d never admit it, and none of the jokes feel awkward. But it’s the classic Hero’s low point that gets him.
The dragon has flung Andromeda back to the foot of the mountain, bereft of allies and weapons, all her physical progress literally undone. And as she lies there on the ash covered ground beneath a charred forest, her chest heaves like she’s forgotten how to breathe. But instead of crying or screaming, she sings.
“Meet me by the river, where the elderberries grow.”
The sweeping orchestra has been replaced with a gentle guitar barely audible over Andromeda’s voice.
“When stars are silver, no one has to know.”
His mother had sung that song. When Juno and Benten were sick, or tired, or just because she wanted to.
“Meet me by the river, by driftwood and stone.”
He jumps when Nureyev touches his hand.
“Dear?” He asks, bringing a hand up to wipe a tear off of Juno’s face. It occurs to him that he’s probably been crying since the song started.
He sniffs.
“It’s fine. Um, it’s a good kind of crying.”
Nureyev lets it go with a smile and a kiss to the cheek. When he faces forward again Rita is looking back to him, worried. But he works up the energy to smile at her, even through the tears. Her smile is probably as sad as his is, but no less real for it.
The orchestra picks up the tune, growing grander when Andromeda’s friends come into view. And rather than be a gentle lullaby or a sad song, this version resolves itself into a grand anthem.
Juno watches Andromeda hope, and thinks that it might be time to do the same.