Billy glanced up from his crossword. "Read it to me." Karl scooted closer, the chair creaking with his weight, carefully avoiding the almost full cup of tea at his side. "Let's see...it's a war film about a group of soldiers --" "-- As opposed to a war film about a group of civilians?" "Oh, hush, you." Karl grinned, then ducked his head back to the newspaper. "Alright. War film, soldiers behind enemy lines who've been sent to rescue an enemy soldier with valuable information..." "Fate of the world, mankind and democracy all at stake, I'm certain." "Precisely." "Sounds boring. We've seen it all before," Billy stated, pouring a little more cream into his tea. "There are no original ideas, love. We've talked about this. Execution and all." "Aye, we have, and I'm still saying it sounds boring." "Fine." Karl shoved the film section of the paper over to Billy. "You pick the movie. I'll do the crossword and make pithy comments about the horrid state of film today." "You wouldn't know a pithy remark if it bit you." "I can hold my own with Viggo, thank you." Billy snorted and lifted his head from the paper. "Vig's not pithy. Entirely too abstract for his own good, perhaps, but pithy's not his style." "True," Karl conceded, picking up the crossword and looking it over. "Four down is wrong." "What?" "Four down." Karl picked up the pencil and started erasing, tongue tucked between his teeth. "Seven letter word for stalemate is détente, not impasse. Otherwise three across doesn't fit." "Oh." The space between Billy's brows furrowed. "I knew that." "'Course you did." Karl looked amused. "So, we seeing a movie today or what?" "Yeah." Billy pushed the paper aside, and his fingers brushed along Karl's as he picked up his teacup. "That one you suggested. Sounds promising." "What happened to boring and we've seen it all before?" "Changed my mind." "Why?" "No reason, really," Billy shrugged. "Just decided to take a chance. Trust your judgement." "Ah." Karl smiled, showing white, perfect teeth. "If the movie's horrid, I'll make it up to you." Billy's answering smile was just as wide. "I'll make sure you do."
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