"I know we have to record stuff for the gaming channel, but this isn't exactly what I thought we'd be doing," Gray says, watching Natsu and Bickslow draw lines in the sand. "You know this place has an arcade, right?"
"I thought you'd be happy to spend time in a place where taking your shirt off is actually normal." Natsu stands up straight again and catches the volleyball that Alzack tosses his way. "Or are you just afraid you'll burn instead of tan?"
Regardless of Gray's answer, it doesn't change the fact that his shirt is already off, and Natsu is sure his shorts will be gone by the end of their filming session. He seems to strip more when he's outside. Natsu wishes he didn't know that, he really does, but living with Gray Fullbuster means learning things about him that he should never have to.
"Whatever, let's just do this," Gray says, turning to where Wendy and Romeo are sitting with Bisca and the cats. Wendy has the volleyball, and she tosses it to him the moment he claps and lifts his hands to catch it. Being heavily pregnant, Bisca can't play herself, so she's been nominated as the referee while Romeo and Wendy are in charge of recording. It's usually a job they leave up to Reedus and Warren, but the two of them are busy working with Laxus. The team can make do for the moment.
"Who's partnered with who?" Alzack asks, looking to Bisca for guidance. She's always been better at picking teams when they're facing off.
Bisca leans forward as much as she can with her swollen belly. "Since Gray won our last competition and Natsu won the one before that, I'm going to give them a disadvantage. They're working together."
Gray looks just as insulted as Natsu feels, but this isn't the first time the two of them have been paired up for the channel, and it certainly won't be the last. They can handle this.
"Don't get in my way, strip-tease."
"As long as you don't get in mine, flamebrain."
They start recording after that, Natsu ensuring he makes a big deal over being teamed up with Gray, and the four of them start their game. Bisca is a harsh referee, even to her husband, who sulks and pouts, but never out of any genuine negative feelings on his part. They're attracting an audience by the time they're halfway through, and they take a ten minute break to refresh and regroup, which Natsu definitely things is necessary, considering Gray is causing them to fall into last place.
Natsu is chugging down at least half his bottle of water when he hears Laxus' voice from the deck overlooking the beach.
"Hey, Natsu! Don't tire yourself out too much, we're filming the end scene tonight!"
He doesn't give Natsu a chance to respond, spinning on his heel and stalking back towards the resort. It's not as though Natsu has any complaints, anyway. He knows that out of all the cast members, he and Lucy will be the ones needed on set the most, and they'd had a break yesterday. That being said, though, he'd been sure that the ending scene would have been filmed, well, at the end. Curse his inexperience when it comes to actual movies.
And since it's the kiss scene, that reminds him of a whole other can of worms he'd rather not open. He and Lucy only practised the kiss one time, but it was enough to start an entire avalanche of thoughts, all tumbling after each other, and he couldn't quite make sense of them. He still can't. He isn't stupid. He knows that something is there, at least on his side, but he doesn't think now is the time to explore it. They have a job to do first.
He doesn't realise he's paused mid-sip until Romeo is by his side, Wendy also making her way over to them with the cats. He wonders how she managed to snag Lily from under Gajeel's nose. It's a funny sight, really. Lily is curled up in her arms, Carla draped over her shoulders, and Happy perfectly balanced on her head.
"You're planning on making a comeback, right, Natsu?" Romeo asks, looking out at the gathered crowd. "I already bet against Bisca that you'd win!"
Natsu makes an offended noise. "Of course I am. That's how it works - make them think you're the underdog, then kick their asses in the second half! It keeps the people on edge." He gestures to the beach-goers. Some of them seem to recognise them, mostly teenagers and young adults, and he gives them a wave. "Besides, it's Gray that's been dragging us down."
Gray, who is now only down to his boxers, whirls on him. "Say it to my face, asshole!"
Natsu would, but Bisca calls for them to resume playing before he can. He settles for a rude gesture before running onto the court.
The sun is at its highest point in the sky as Natsu shuffles into his room, dejected. Plue meets him at the door and he smiles, bending down to pat him on the head. He needs a bit of pet-loving after his and Gray's defeat. In their defence, it was a very close call, a mere two point difference, but Bickslow didn't let it go. He probably still hasn't. Natsu can't begrudge him, though. He acts the same whenever he wins.
Standing straight as Plue darts back into the room, he's about to call out to Lucy when he notices her tucked beneath her covers. A book dangles from her hand, about to fall on the floor, and her head is off to the side of her pillow, barely touching it. Only a few strands of hair cover it. No wonder Plue was so quick to greet him. He was probably concerned that someone had come to bother his sleeping owner.
Without thinking, Natsu slips the book out of Lucy's already loose grip and places it on the nightstand. He's tempted to move her head so she's more comfortable, but after taking a brief look at her serene expression, he can't bring himself to. Their sleeping schedules have been all over the place since they started filming, and so he knows that they need sleep where they can catch it. He isn't tired himself, so he just connects his earphones to his phone and listens to some music while relaxing. Plue snuggles up beside him.
It's another hour before Lucy lifts her heads, blinking wearily as she scans the room. She rubs her eyes as she says, "What time is it?"
Natsu pauses his music and rips his earphones out. "About one-thirty? You were asleep when I came back."
"Oh, right, you needed to film for the gaming channel," she says. She doesn't make any move to get off, instead adjusting her position to make herself a little more comfortable. So it's easier to watch him. "Did you win?"
Natsu pouts. "No. Bisca forced Gray and I to play on the same team, and he dragged us down. We lost by two points!"
Lucy laughs. It's a low, soft sound. "Losing would do you a bit of good, I think. We don't want your head to get too big."
With a gasp, he fakes offence. "Lucy! I thought you'd be on my side! I thought you loved me!"
He watches as her cheeks glow a faint pink. There's a cheeky smile on her face. "I tolerate you," is what she says, but the truth lies in her playful tone, and he can't help but grin.
It's just them needed on set tonight. The others get a rest while the two of them are subjected to Laxus and his foul mood. Natsu knows that Laxus isn't usually like this, at least not this badly, but everything about this movie seems to be setting him on edge, and Natsu wonders just how much sleep he's had since they've been here. He makes a note to himself to ask Freed about that.
It doesn't take long for their makeup to be done and their costumes to be perfectly in place. After so many nights of doing the same thing over and over, Mira and Lisanna have their makeup down to a practised hand. It's impressive, really. Natsu isn't about to stand there and say he knows how makeup works, but he trusts them enough to assume he looks good on camera.
Lucy, whose makeup takes a bit longer, approaches him once she's done. The glitter beneath her eyes sparkles in the dim moonlight. "Ready?"
"Yeah, ready to go to bed," he says, covering his mouth as he yawns. He doesn't want Laxus to see it. "I should've followed your example and gotten some shut-eye this afternoon. I'm tired from all that volleyball playing."
Lucy giggles. "All the more reason to get this perfect, right? The faster Laxus is satisfied, the faster we can get to sleep."
Laxus calls them over then, giving them a run-through of the scene. It's simple, not much movement. They'll have to shoot the scene several times for the sake of different camera angles, not to mention if one of them messes up. That means they'll have to kiss several times as well, and Natsu is surprisingly okay with that. Perhaps the more he does it, the more likely it'll be that he'll be desensitised to it, and the unintelligible thoughts plaguing him since their first real practice run will disappear. He hopes that's the case.
They stand in the place the celestial princess and the dragon king first meet, the only difference being how close they are. The two characters are no longer strangers, but friends who wish and hope to be something more, neither of them with the courage to bridge the gap. It's only in the last scene that they'll manage to do so.
"Action!" Laxus calls, and so they begin.
"The moon cycle is almost complete," Natsu says, staring up at the moon. Now he understands why Laxus wanted them to film tonight; the moon is almost, but not quite, full. "The moon will be full again and you can return home."
He can't see her, but he feels Lucy's hesitance as the celestial princess. "Is that so?"
When he turns to her, she isn't meeting his gaze, but he isn't concerned. It's all in the script. "You don't sound so sure. This was your plan in the first place. Are you having second thoughts?" He ensures that he sounds only the slightest bit hopeful. Enough for the audience to see, but not enough that the celestial princess would pick it up amidst her anxiety.
"I-I don't - I don't know." Lucy's head hangs lower, and Natsu is met with both a sinking feeling and relief at the same time. Relief because Lucy is just acting, but the sinking feeling because he doesn't ever want to see Lucy really make such an expression. He's seen it before, back when her father was giving them problems, but it didn't have as strong an effect back then. It had still been horrible, though.
He steps forward, swallowing thickly. "Anything I can help with?"
She finally meets his gaze, and he's staring into an endless brown. If he looks hard enough, he can see his own reflection. The image of himself is taken from him as she looks away. He can't help but feel the absence of her gaze, and he doesn't know how he feels about that.
"Not really," she says, and he can see the celestial princess' inner turmoil in her body language. "It's my fault. I'm indecisive, I - it's hard to explain. I want to stay, but I don't want to if I'm unwanted."
"Unwanted?" Of course the dragon king is confused. He's confused and, above all, concerned. He spends the majority of the movie ensuring the celestial princess feels included and safe. That she's wanted. Natsu lets the dragon king's vulnerability show on his face, worry seeping through. "Did I make you feel that way? Please don't tell me I made you feel that way."
Lucy quickly shakes her head. "No, you didn't, I promise. You've been nothing but good to me, but... What happens when you get sick of me? Will you leave? I don't know if I - if I could really live here if you do."
That in itself is a confession of love, hidden beneath layers of insecurity. Natsu slowly reaches out to cup Lucy's cheek and gently turns her head towards him. His touch is light and as hesitant as the dragon king is supposed to feel, and he sees that unsure feeling reflected in Lucy's eyes once again.
"I'll never get sick of you," he says, voice barely above a whisper, but the sound equipment will be able to catch his voice easily. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
He leans closer, lips tingling in anticipation until they connect with hers. He starts off hesitant at first, having to keep what the dragon king would do in the back of his mind, and he's startled to realise he wants to deepen the kiss almost immediately. Now isn't the time for that. He does eventually deepen it, and she reciprocates, her hands tugging at his vest to steady herself. His other hand reaches up to cup her other cheek as her hands let go of his clothing and her arms slide around his neck. She pulls him towards her, bridging the last of the gap between their bodies as they have to break apart for air. He rests his forehead on hers as they slowly open their eyes and breathe out.
"Cut!" Laxus' voice shakes Natsu out of a trance he hadn't realised he was in, and he feels a twinge of annoyance towards their director. "Alright, quick makeup retouch and we'll run the scene again."
Natsu lets relief fill him as Mira starts fussing over his already-impeccable makeup. The first take of the scene is done, which means the rest will be easier. There will be less of his emotions and more of the dragon king's. That's how it should be, after all.
Except, that's not what happens.
It doesn't matter how many times they run the scene. Every single time, he discovers something new about Lucy, or something changes that he can't help but notice. Sometimes it's a loose strand of hair that he tucks behind her ear right before he kisses her, or the way she shivers slightly from the cold that has him placing his warm hands on her shoulders rather than her cheeks. Nothing changes because everything keeps changing, and he doesn't quite know what to make of that.
Laxus approaches him once they're done for the night, actually looking pleased for once, and says, "Good job out there. Didn't know you had it in you, you two."
Natsu finishes sipping his water, eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"
"The chemistry between you two," Laxus says, and if Natsu didn't know any better, he would say the older man was thoroughly amused at the thought. "You two are better actors than I thought. Always room for improvement, though."
He walks away, effortlessly carrying his camera equipment in one hand, leaving Natsu to stare at him as he walks away.
"Yeah," Natsu says to empty air, frowning. "We're great actors."
hELLO EVERYONE i've risen from the depths of real life hell, this chapter is well overdue!
