Insensitive

Fort's untimely yell drew a large amount of attention.

While some were touched by his passion for the characters' true love, others frowned that he had broken their immersion in the plot.

But one head stayed turned around even when the action on the screen continued to its tragic conclusion.

Rain's dark eyes locked with her father's, and her face grew just as pale as the three members of the main cast on the screen. Noble would have found it comical if she could not feel the emotions of both people involved.

Fort tensed, pushing his hands against the chair to stand, but Noble put her hand on her husband's knee.

"Don't you dare." Noble pressed her lips together.

"But it's R—" Fort's harsh whisper was cut short by two of Noble's fingers touching his lips.

His eyes met his wife's and they exchanged a silent conversation. Fort sighed and sat stiffly back in his seat.

For her part, Rain leaned as far as she could away from the young man beside her until the conclusion of the film.

Having stalled the final Titan, Captain sent a longing glance toward the ocean, where a lone ship was slipping away to safety.

The caravan and his love were safe. Mortally wounded and completely drained of essence, the Captain fell to one knee as he shivered against the increasing cold.

Slowly encased in ice, his eyes never left the horizon. Thinking of the woman in white, he froze with a smile on his lips.

The theater faded to black. When the house lights came up, Fort was already standing. 

Rain and her friends were nowhere in sight. 

Being in the middle of the row, it took a moment for the aisle to clear. The Director tapped his foot impatiently. Noble chewed her lip. 

Out in the foyer, two other movies had let out about the same time. The mass of people was difficult to wade through. Noble took her husband's hand and smiled at him. 

"So, what did you think of the movie? Personally, I think they left it open for a sequel. Ice won't stop a hero like the Captain. And as for the romance: it didn't pick up until almost the end! It was an action movie through and through." The professor laughed lightly. 

Fort stopped scanning the crowd long enough to look at his wife. "Are we really not going to talk about what happened in there?" 

Noble frowned and whispered firmly.

"Not here and not now."

"Did you know?!" The man shot her an accusing glare.

"Of course not! I am as blindsided as you," Noble let her husband feel the sincerity of her emotions.

Fort balled his fist. "Then we need to find Rain and demand an explanation! Tell her..." 

"We've had enough drama in this establishment for one night," she looked at her husband meaningfully. 

The frustrated father turned his eyes back to the crowd. "Rain's gone anyway, isn't she?" 

Noble's eyes swirled for a moment before she nodded. "I can feel her far down the street. You won't catch up to her." 

"I can try!" Fort defended himself as the crowd finally began to sift out of the lobby doors. 

"But you won't," Noble narrowed her gaze. 

"I won't?" The man had meant the words as a challenge, but he knew in his heart that Noble was right. 

"How about we enjoy our journey home and talk about a sane and reasonable strategy for dealing with our daughter growing up?" Noble suggested, patting the man's arm.

"I don't want to be sane or reasonable..." Fort mumbled petulantly. 

"I know you don't, dear." Noble hid her smile behind her cough. 

The cool air finally hit their faces, bringing with it some much-needed clarity. Fort breathed deeply as they entered the darkness of the evening. 

Noble moved intentionally slow, both to savor the last moments of their day and to give her daughter time to leave on the train ahead of them. 

"Shall we get a bite to eat?" 

Fort must have sensed that she was stalling, but he could not deny that his stomach wanted more than just movie popcorn for dinner, so the pair found an open food stall and got noodles to go. 

It was a stark contrast to their decadent lunch, but it warmed the stomach just the same. At last, it was time to head home. 

The train ride back was filled with Fort's vehement insistence that his daughter never date anyone ever.

"Ever?" Noble raised an eyebrow at him, amused.

"Rain is too young and innocent," Fort reasoned. "She doesn't know how the world works!" 

"Then that is our fault, not hers. And that is something we can fix. But saying she can never date will end poorly," Noble pointed out. "If my parents had made that rule, we never would have married." 

"Fine..." the Director puffed out his cheeks. "She can date when she is thirty. Maybe twenty-five if she is lucky." 

Noble wanted to point out that they had gotten married younger than that, but could see it would do no good. "We can circle back to how maturity and age are not directly correlated later. Right now I need you to promise me that you will let me lead whatever conversation happens." 

"I can't promise that." Fort crossed his arms. 

"Then I need you to at least promise not to say anything..." Noble struggled to find the right word. Stupid? Embarrassing? Ridiculous? "...insensitive." 

"Rain was the one being insensitive!" Fort's jaw tightened. 

"That may or may not be true." The professor tried to calm her husband. "But that doesn't mean we get to act in kind." 

The blond man wanted to argue with her logic but could not.

He sighed. "I will do my best not to be insensitive." 

Noble smiled. "That's the spirit. Just tap into those nerves of steel you mentioned earlier and everything should be fine." 

Fort shot her a longsuffering glance, and the couple fell into a tentative peace.

When they reached the house, Lena was waiting for them in the entryway. Her smile was tight. 

"Did you have a nice time?" She asked as she shut the door.

"Most of it was absolutely perfect," Noble answered, hanging up her coat. "My husband is excellent at planning the perfect date." 

"That's good," Lena's expression relaxed slightly. "I am going to head out then. The boys are in their room. I will let them tell you about all the fun we had today." 

"You aren't going to brag like you normally do?" Noble teased.

"I would, but your daughter came in about three minutes ahead of you, and the storm cloud over her head tells me I should head out before the hurricane hits. I'll see you at the track meet in the morning! Best of luck, you two!" 

The grandmother slipped on her coat as she spoke, waved, and slid into the darkness of the night before either Noble or Fort could offer to call her a PTV. 

And not a moment too soon. 

From the hall, a pale girl with dark hair barreled out of her bedroom with an expression that would wither a flower. 

She faced her parents with the full force of her righteous anger.

"WHY WERE YOU FOLLOWING ME?!"