Date Night, Part 2

The dinner went surprisingly well. They chatted amicably, if superficially, and a glass of wine each helped the conversation flow, such as it was. They kept very carefully away from touchy subjects. Theo talked about his classes and his work on his master's thesis, while Nina talked - and complained - about her job, her boss, her co-workers.

Eventually, they cleared the last dishes, and for lack of anything better to do, Theo suggested a movie night. While anxiously preparing for the date, he had scouted out what he could of the room's amenities, and discovered a remote that moved an entire section of the wall, to reveal a massive screen behind it for movies.

So movie night it was, and now Nina was half-laying, half-sitting on luxurious pillows with her ex - with Theo - beside her, trying her hardest to focus on Labyrinth. At least David Bowie’s codpiece was less ridiculous compared to the sexual images all around her.

It wasn’t easy, at first - her eyes kept moving to the wall. Right beside the screen was a large mural of a man on a throne, leaning back, smiling, with three naked women at his feet. One was between his legs, taking him to the root with her mouth, his hand possessively on her head - but with all the detail, the way her cheeks hollowed, the way his hand rested on her without any effort, the lack of tension in her face, even in profile, it was clear that the pace was languid, that she was gently pleasing her Master while his attention was elsewhere. She had given Theo many blowjobs like that - long, slow acts of service and devotion.

But it was really the other girls that caught her attention. They were kneeling by their Master's feet, naked and collared, facing towards the screen. The girl on the right had fading welts across her generous tits, while black streaks ran down the cheeks of the girl on the left, tracing the path of since-dried tears.

But despite these signs of pain, the girls looked nothing but… happy. Content. Their slight smiles had no fear, or doubt, or uncertainty, and though they did not slump, nothing in their posture was stiff or rigid. Nina was not sure when she last had been as relaxed as those two girls, but she was quite sure she had been kneeling at the time, and felt Theo's hand in her hair. Hell, she had probably been watching Labyrinth, too.

So, despite her prodigious willpower, her eyes kept slipping to the faces of those girls, and stirring up a mess of complicated emotions. Nostalgia for lost time, regret for how it had all ended - and anger at Theo, for being a coward, for rejecting her when she offered him her full submission, the full use of her, complete suffering for him. He could have taken, and kept taking, and she neither would nor could have held back. She had offered him everything she could, and he had replied with disgust, with venom. Not even because he didn't want her - she knew there was part of him that would have taken what she offered, and kept taking without asking - but because he was a rank coward. Fury welled up in her chest, in her throat, until she wanted to scream, only to be overtaken by a deep and fond nostalgia, which in turn gave way to sharp, stabbing regret. Each emotion fought for control within her, battling each other as well as traitorous glimmers of hope.

Eventually, her eyes did stop sliding to the happy slaves and the storm in her chest died down. It wasn’t her willpower that did it, in the end, just The Labyrinth. Both her and Theo could recite the lines from memory (though only Theo was actually doing that right now), and the comfortable nostalgia of the movie eventually won out.

She was half-propped up by the soft silken pillows and blankets they were laying on, and finally relaxing, even a little bit, for the first time since their arrival this morning, tension leaving her body as the movie played. By the time Sarah was forgiving Hoggle for his betrayal, her body had relaxed enough to put her head on Theo’s shoulder, though it had conveniently forgotten to inform Nina’s conscious mind of this.

Theo, on the other hand, had noticed. He was not quite so entranced by the murals - though he had glanced at the happy **** girls watching a movie with their Master, trying not to think of the girls in the hotel - and mostly focused on the movie, letting himself get pulled along by the adventure. It was nostalgic, watching the movie with Nina, even despite the tension between them, and he was happy that they could get along. Their conversation earlier had been light, but real, and he had appreciated that Nina had joked and laughed with him. Despite the tension, it reminded him of all the reasons he had loved her, and of great times together.

There was another part of him, too. That remembered the way she manipulated him, the way she tried to make him into someone different, the way she used him - a part of him that burned with fury, a dull, aching fire deep in his chest.

He did not listen to it, though. Nina had been civil, polite… friendly, even. Why ruin the evening with rage? He pushed it down, deep, and allowed himself to relax and enjoy the movie. So when Nina stopped her uncharacteristic fidgeting and relaxed, putting her head on his shoulder, he did not flinch.

Barely.

Eventually the movie ended, and they both laid there a little while the credits rolled.

“Thank you,” Theo said eventually. “For watching the movie with me.”

Nina turned her head to answer, noticed where she was, and started back, away from him. It took her a moment to rally, but just a moment, before she responded. “Of course.” She said. “It’s a good movie.”

“That it is,” Theo agreed.

“And…” said Nina, gathering her courage. “I did always enjoy movie nights with you, Theo. It was nice.”

With that, there was a short silence, both of them looking at each other, and a quiet tension rose, but before it could become unbearable, Theo spoke - and Nina, too.

“Theo-”

“Nina-”

They stopped for a moment, then tried again.

“Nina-”

“Theo-”

At this point, they both laughed, and - before Nina could do so - Theo gestured for her to go on.

“Theo… Thank you. For all of this. We did not… end well, but you have done your best to be polite and courteous,” she said. “The situation is terrible and weird, and you’re under terrible stress, but you’ve gone out of your way to make my evening comfortable, even making my favourite dish. I’m not so bitter that I can't recognize you making an effort. Thank you.”

“I… of course,” he replied, trying not to stare at her in astonishment. “It’s the least I can do. Whatever stress I’m under, it’s nothing compared to you and the other girls. I’m not the one being **** into someone’s harem, and I’m not the one being transformed by - a goddess, if that’s really what she is. I know you didn’t choose this, and being shitty to you would just be punishing you for Ishtar bringing you here. There’s precious little I can do to help you and the other girls, but at least I can make you bolognese.”

“You are being **** into relationships you didn’t choose, and don’t want” Nina replied. “and made responsible for helping us, with no way to fulfill that responsibility without accepting those relationships - and the form they take.”

“Yeah, it’s suuuuch a hardship for me,” Theo said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That a goddess wants to give me a harem of beautiful women, catering to my tastes, while I live in opulence in one of the great wonders of the world.”

That earned him an eyeroll.

“Theo, I’m serious. I know this must be eating away at you, no matter how sarcastic you get.”

She sat up more, leaning forward.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, okay?”

Her words were sincere, and Theo knew it. Nina wasn't the easiest person to get a read on, but he had known her long enough, and been **** and emotional with her long enough, to recognise the sincerity in her eyes.

It staggered him for a moment. Earlier that day, when thinking about “MP,” he had dismissed Nina out of hand. But now, seeing the sincerity in her eyes, he reconsidered.

“Well,” he said, tentatively. “I discovered earlier that hypnosis gives me mastery points. Obviously it wouldn't be anything, uh, recreational, but I could put you in a trance and… give you some sort of trigger you can activate yourself, or just… bring you in and out…”

Nina smirked at his suggestion, but as much at his flustered, nervous voice. He didn't fluster easily, but she could sense his apprehension at the suggestion.

“Mastery points? Really? Well, I'm sure Joanna is going to give you plenty once her night is up. Your pretty little **** seemed a rather eager beaver. And Anna, of course, already enjoys those mesmerizing eyes of yours…”

“Nina, could you not take this a bit more seriously?” He asked, pleasantly exasperated. “I really do want to do what I can for everyone.”

“Well, there's one way you could make me,” she replied coyly, the words leaving her mouth out of habit, her eyes widening in panic as she realised what she had just done.

“Nina, why do you have to be such a complete fucking bitch?”

His voice was cold and hard as he spoke, his composure breaking and his voice rising on the last two words, the dam on his fury breaking.

The words hit her like a truck, or rather, like a slap to the face. Not a gentle one or a fun one, but a full-**** slap that sent her entire body rocking. She doubled over, tumbling from the little mound of pillows they’d been sitting on, pain surging through her. It was just a moment, but even as it passed she felt the echoes and pangs of it. Lying on the ground, she looked up at Theo, and she caught his eyes and for a moment she saw it, the part of him that would take and take, and not ask. For that moment, she hoped - almost thought - that he would say it again, and again, punish her, teach her a lesson for being a bitch, and put her in her place. Eyes shining with lust, with hunger, she silently begged him to continue. For a moment, she thought that he would just grab her and-

But Theo mastered himself. “Oh fuck! Shit, Nina, i’m so fucking sorry!”

- and the moment was gone.

Theo quickly knelt by her, repeating his apologies. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot about that -”

She brushed him off. “It’s fine,” she said, venom dripping from her words. “I get it.”

“Nina, I mean it, I really am sorry - I never wanted to hurt you-”

At this, she laughed bitterly.

“Oh trust me, I know.” she said. “You're too much of a coward for it.”

It took everything Theo had to ignore the fury rising to the surface with every word, and he only half-succeeded.

“Oh don’t you fucking start,” he said. “At least I’m not a-”

“Hah! Coward,” said Nina, her eyes flashing with challenge.

But Theo refused the bait.

“Whatever,” he said. “I’m gonna go get ready for bed. Let me know when you’re ready to have a real conversation again.”

Nina stared at him as he turned and left for the bathroom, biting down her own storm of emotions, fighting her own rage and bitterness and regret. When Theo returned, she was in bed, lying right on the edge.

Neither of them spoke.