Neko inhaled the scent of her dinner. �It smells delicious,� she said with a sigh.
Tenshi laughed. �Well, I guess occasionally even I get it right, huh?�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko grabbed a hold of Tenshi�s arm as they entered the theater. The place was huge, and even just entering the lobby, she was afraid she might get lost.
Tenshi linked their arms together. �We�re going up there,� she told her, pointing to a twisting staircase with golden railings.
�But the sign says the entrance is that way.� Neko pointed to two mammoth wooden doors that a large group of theatergoers were amassed behind.
�Ah,� Tenshi answered merrily. �That�s only if you don�t have your own box.�
She led Neko up the carpeted stairs and, showing their tickets to an usher, took her through the second curtain they came to.
�Oh, Tenshi-kun!� Neko was enchanted with the theater itself and the view from their box. Two sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling as if illuminating the red and gold theater for Neko�s personal delight. She could see the sea of faces turned toward the stage, waiting in anticipation for the play to begin. And from this vantage point, she knew she�d have a great view of the play.
�You like it, Koneko?�
Neko nodded. �It�s gorgeous. Ano�.� She had planned to tell Tenshi to stop calling her �Koneko,� but every time Tenshi did so, Neko found herself unable to comment on it. It was just� she couldn�t imagine Tenshi calling her anything else either. Despite what she had told Jasper about the nickname, for some reason, when Tenshi said it, it didn�t sound as bad as she had imagined it did. So she left the unfinished thought hanging there in the air.
Tenshi didn�t seem to mind. She handed Neko a program as they sat down. Neko uncoupled their arms as soon as she was seated.
�Now tell me the truth, Koneko,� Tenshi teased her. �Am I really as despicable as you imagined?�
Neko kept her eyes forward, still taking in the grandness of the theater. But if she allowed herself a moment to consider it, she would have to admit, she was having a good time despite herself. And Tenshi was actually turning into a great date. She had been perfectly sweet and charming all throughout dinner. Neko kept being reminded of the first couple days she could remember knowing Tenshi. She had really liked her then.
She almost said something, but stopped when she realized that Tenshi had given up on the question. She had begun to study the program instead. �This company is really good,� she pointed out to Neko. �The actor playing Orsino is actually quite a renowned actor. And check this out. These two guys here are identical twin brothers. They�re actually playing the roles of twins, although one is a guy and one is a girl in the play. But these guys epitomize the idea of the bishonen, so they�re quite perfect.�
�Fraternal identical twins?� Neko asked curiously. �I don�t think that�s possible. But it sounds interesting.�
�Would you like to know the premise of the play?� Tenshi asked.
Neko nodded eagerly.
�Well, these twins, Viola and Sebastian, get shipwrecked�.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi watched the main character Viola struggle with her identity problems, empathizing with her. She understood what complications could occur when a girl chose to dress as a guy, all too well. But this was a comedy, so she knew all would turn out well in the end. She preferred it that way.
Considering Viola�s plight, Tenshi supposed that if Neko had been allowed to remain unaware of Tenshi�s sex, Neko might�ve gone on hoping that maybe Tenshi was her boyfriend. That would�ve been helpful� until Neko found out she�d been lying about that, and they ended up in the same situation.
She concentrated back on the play where Viola, donning a male disguise, was talking to the duke she had fallen in love with.
�She pined in thought;
And, with a green and yellow melancholy,
She sat like patience on a monument,
Smiling at grief. Was not this love, indeed?�*
Tenshi glanced at Neko who was concentrating intently, but at the moment looked lost. She seemed to do better when the characters were doing more than just talking. Tenshi leaned over and whispered, �They�re comparing how women love versus how men love. She just told him about a woman that is deeply in love with a man. He doesn�t know, but she�s talking about her love for him.�
Neko looked interested. �How�d she describe it?�
�Uh�� Tenshi struggled to translate. �She�s pining for him. Even though she�s sad, she�s still patient and smiling.�
�Patient and smiling?� Neko glanced at Tenshi. �She�ll hide her feelings for him, even though she wants him?� Tenshi nodded. �She�ll wait until he loves her too?�
Tenshi turned her eyes back to the stage. The scene had changed, but her mind was far from Malvolio�s plight. �Yeah, she will.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When the characters began to brawl, Tenshi almost jumped in shock. Not because she was alarmed by the brawl � she knew it was coming and wouldn�t have been startled anyway � but because Neko, almost certainly out of her own fear, had suddenly grabbed Tenshi�s hand. Tenshi tore her eyes away from the m�l�e and stared at Neko�s hand around hers. She slowly moved her other hand over Neko�s and covered it for extra comfort. Neko glanced at her hand, then up at her face. Tenshi found her eyes much more intense than the fight below them. At length, Neko turned her eyes back to the play to figure out what was going on.
She didn�t pull her hand away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko had gotten more and more frustrated with concentrating on the English, and as such, Tenshi began to explain more and more of what was being said, until in the final act, she was explaining much of what was going on.
Neko listened to every word with interest, while still watching the play loyally to fit the two together. She did think it was all very interesting, despite her inability to properly understand what exactly they were saying. She actually had caught quite a few words, it was just the phrasing that was difficult.
�So Orsino just made it clear that he�s going to marry Viola. Now the jester will sing for us.�
Neko smiled graciously at Tenshi. �Thank you. I needed that,� she said, referring to all of Tenshi�s help.
�No problem. If I hadn�t studied them, I wouldn�t know what�s going on either. Shakespeare�s tough. I was really impressed when you quoted it once.�
�I did?� Neko asked incredulously. �Wow, to understand that much�.�
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