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“Hey Brandon, I’m going to the theater later this evening. Care to join me?” Too focused on the book he was currently reading, the brunette didn’t turn around to face his boyfriend, who was leaning against the doorframe of his room somewhat awkwardly. “Depends on the movie you’re planning to watch.” - “Uh…” Phillip scratched his head. “Barbie.” That was enough to make Brandon turn his head around in an instant. “Barbie?” He didn’t even try to conceal the mocking grin that slowly crept on his face. “I wasn’t aware you were interested in such a thing.” Ignoring the displeased stare Phillip pierced him with, he added, “But even if I wanted to, I’d still have to pass on this one, darling. I wanted to watch Oppenheimer ever since the trailer got released.” Phillip rolled his eyes. “As if self-proclaimed Mister Movie Buff couldn’t go to the theater twice a day. Like he regularly does, by the way." - “Movie buff is the keyword, Phillip. Can’t waste my time and my brain cells on nearly two hours of pink brain cancer.” He got up from his desk, groaning when he noticed his legs had gone numb from all the sitting and reading. “On an unrelated note, do you want to come along to Oppenheimer?” If this was a sitcom, Phillip would throw a deadpan look right into the camera now. "You know what? Since I'm not a bitchy killjoy like you, I'll actually come along. Even if I end up not liking it, at least I can spend three hours looking at a guy with a way better face structure than you." And with that, he strutted out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded and jealous Brandon behind.
At quarter before 5, the pair arrived at the AMC theater in Manhattan. Thankfully, the queue at the snack bar was surprisingly short, so they managed to occupy their seats just in time before the movie started. Brandon, a massive Christopher Nolan fan (obviously he got into his movies after hearing about the dream husbands for the first time), was visibly excited the second the first scene started, whereas Phillip decided to just sort of go with the vibe of it all. Being a musician, he tended to pay more attention to the soundtrack of movies than many other people did, and after a few minutes in, he decided that this cinema experience was already worth his money. As soon as Cillian Murphy's face appeared in fullscreen for the first time, Brandon leaned in hesitantly and whispered into his ear: "D-did you really mean what you said earlier? About his face structure?" Phillip rolled his eyes, more amused than annoyed by Brandon's remark. "For someone making fun of others as much as you do, you really can't take a joke, can you?” He gave his very relieved boyfriend a soft nudge in the side. “Let's just say you're pretty enough for me to put up with your antics every day. Now shh."
The three-hour runtime had gone by surprisingly quickly. Brandon and Phillip, packed with leftover popcorn and nachos, shuffled out of the theater amongst the crowd. “That was amazing”, Brandon remarked with the widest grin on his face. Phillip nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I liked it a lot. Definitely more than Tenet, although that isn’t much of an achievement”, he added jokingly. “Oh, for sure.” On the way home, the pair discussed their movie experience further, until Phillip interrupted the conversation. “So you really don’t wanna give Barbie a try?” Brandon nearly crossed his arms before he remembered he had to use them for the car steering wheel. “Not happening”. He made sure to emphasize that in the most exaggerated tone he could manage. “It’s like watching Rise of Skywalker. Or a Lucifer Valentine movie. I’d just pray to choke on my popcorn the entire time”. Phillip facepalmed so hard his head started hurting. “So you’re really gonna compare- You know what, never mind, it's your loss, not mine. That way I can at least enjoy the movie for myself.” - “And I’m positive you’ll have a great time.” - “Oh I will.” Phillip grinned devilishly. “Have a great time staring at shirtless Ryan Gosling, that is.” - “You-!” Teasing Brandon was just way too easy.
Phillip arrived at the movie theater wearing a white suit and pink tie. Not something he'd usually wear, but he might as well go all out just for the fun of it. Unsurprisingly, the inside of the theater was packed to the brim, so he was glad it didn't take him that long to find his seat. It did surprise him though that the seat right next to him remained empty. Maybe someone had to cancel their ticket last minute, he thought. Or maybe he was wrong, because a few minutes into the movie, someone quietly sneaked into the theater and sat down next to him. Phillip was too absorbed in the colorful spectacle on the screen to pay any attention to the person. The music alone made him wanna aggressively bop his head. He could also immediately relate to Allan the second he appeared on the screen. When the “Beach you off” scene came on, he suddenly heard a familiar laugh. There is no way. He turned his head, squinting his eyes to get a proper look at the person next to him in the dark theater. His suspicion was confirmed. “You absolute dickhead”, he whispered furiously. “Choke on popcorn huh? From laughter maybe!” Brandon yelped, thankfully not loud enough to draw any attention. “I- uhm…”, he stammered, awkwardly hiding his face between his hands. “I- I didn’t expect the last free seat would be right next to you… Oh god.” Phillip shook his head in disbelief. “Argh, shut up and let’s watch the movie together. I just can’t believe you sometimes.”
It went exactly as Phillip had anticipated: his oh-so-serious boyfriend ended up enjoying the movie even more than he did. On their way to the car, Brandon shuffled across the sidewalk instead of walking normally, quietly singing the lyrics of Dance The Night. Phillip wanted to mock him for all this secrecy so badly, but decided against it because his dancing was just way too adorable. “So I take it you enjoyed the movie.” - “I suppose so.” He did an elegant heel spin and wrapped his arm around Phillip’s shoulder. “Now you’ll have to put up with me singing I’m Just Ken for the next few weeks, deal with it.” - “How fitting that you’re obsessed with the theme song of a pretty himbo with a worryingly low amount of brain cells. Dye your hair blonde and I couldn’t tell you two apart.” - “I’d take that as an insult if you didn’t just call me pretty.” Brandon grinned and rubbed his hands as they walked up to their car. “Time for Spotify, baby.”