"Much better!" She could hear the smile in his voice and felt one of her own spread across her lips. She had to admit that it did feel more immersive with the new darker atmosphere. He pressed a button on the controller and a second later "Jurassic Park" faded onto the screen in red and yellow font.
The scene opened on some ominous ruffling trees surrounded by darkness. The images alternated between violent shaking branches and random men in hardhats bearing the same logo as the front of the case. As soon as the guns appeared, it was apparent that this was probably not going to end well. Some large object was seen through the gaps in the leaves.
"Is that a dragon?" She risked a glance his way and resisted the urge to laugh at his wide eyes, excitement present on every inch of his face. She had no clue the answer, so she assumed his question was rhetorical.
A large box was carried in on some kind of machine and placed down on a concrete pad in front of a well lit building. Swirling fog helped to set the scene even more. The point of view switched to whatever was inside of the metal cage and a raspy breathing noise was heard twice.
Although she hadn't realized he had sat up in his excitement, she felt the couch shift when he slumped back. "Ugh, not a dragon." She couldn't resist flashing him a smile before letting her eyes return to the screen. This was going to make for a long movie if a dragon didn't show up soon!
As soon as a group of men rushed towards the cage, the creature let out a shrill squeal. The noise put Lucy's nerves on end and she felt the hairs on the back of her arms stand up. So creepy!
The cage was pushed by the group of men, and another person was instructed to climb on top, presumably to open the gate to let it into the building. Whatever they were paying that guy, it definitely wasn't enough!
Through the metal slats, they were given a brief view of whatever had been in the cage. It's long head and neck moved swiftly towards the open gate. A gasp escaped her lips when the the metal enclosure was shoved away from the building, creating a gap between them. The man hit the ground and quickly turned to stand.
In a sudden movement, his body was pulled rapidly into the gap. The action caused Lucy to almost jump out of her skin. Whatever it was had clearly grabbed hold of him and was making a show of trying to eat him. Both men were screaming, the man with the hat barking orders that were not being followed.
Slowly his body disappeared and his screams intensified. The creature sounded in response, almost like it was bragging. The man with the hat just kept shouting "Shoot her!", causing a shiver to travel down her spine.
The scene faded and Lucy turned to look at her partner, eyes wide. "What the hell do you have me watching?"
"Definitely not a dragon..." his voice was slightly pouty and, although it wasn't his intention, it helped to lighten the mood.
The next chunk of movie passed almost uneventfully, these scenes much lighter in both lighting and content. A man was floating down a river on a raft and then discussing a bug trapped in something.
"Wonder what that bug's doing?" Lucy only shrugged in response.
The scene cut to a group digging up bones of something called a 'velociraptor'. Another man in a wide brimmed hat explained to a little kid that this dinosaur was supposed to be like a turkey. There sure are a lot of hats in this movie!
Her thoughts were derailed, although she knew it would come as soon as she heard the work. "Those things are turkeys?" Disbelief filled his face and he turned to meet her eyes. "That may even fill me!"
"Really, Natsu?" She responded with a dramatic eye roll. "He said they were similar to turkeys. Even if that were true, they're extinct so you couldn't eat one even if you wanted to."
"Guess I'll just have to eat a bunch of turkeys instead." His shoulders shrugged, allowing his attention to be pulled back to the screen. She couldn't help but chuckle.
A man arrived by helicopter and requested for these bone people to come to some park he built. They agree and the next scene finds them in a helicopter of their own, soaring above the ocean. Just seeing transportation was making him nauseous. That's definitely one thing he was not going to miss during these two weeks! No missions meant no traveling, which also meant no transportation! When they landed, the group jumped straight into cars and took off.
"Just seeing them ride in all these vehicles is gonna make me sick!" As if to prove his point, he grabbed at his stomach and rested an arm across it with a huff. He squeezed his eyes closed and turned his face towards the other side of the couch, the gesture showing Lucy that he wasn't looking. "Let me know when they stop!"
She couldn't help but roll her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see. When the jeep finally came to a halt, she reached over and lightly smacked his leg with the back of her hand. He jumped at the sudden unexpected contact, his hand shooting down to snatch what had touched him. Eyes traveling down, he realized he had just grabbed hold of her hand. As soon as he let go, she snatched it back quickly and fiddled with the edge of the blanket. Thankfully the first dinosaurs were shown on the screen and it distracted Natsu from noticing how her cheeks had heated up again at the contact.
The group was then brought to a resort of some sort and seated in a theater-like room. The second the lap bar came down and the room began to rotate, Natsu let out an annoyed groan. Luckily the slow spinning stopped and the guests rushed into a laboratory, where they were able to see a little dinosaur escape from a shell. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a shift in his attitude as his shoulders hung in defeat.
"Natsu?" Turning to inspect his new posture, she continued. "You ok?"
He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the screen. She could see in his eyes that he was hurting. "Yeah, just reminds me of when Happy came out of his shell."
He was trying hard to stay strong. She could hear in his voice that he was putting on a brave face despite the memories that had to be crossing his mind. Without thinking, she reached out to lightly rest a hand on his knee. His body tensed at her touch, although she wasn't sure why. "This will definitely be one we have to watch with him then!"
The small smile barely reached his eyes, hurt still very apparent on his features. "Yeah, we will." His answer was definitive, leaving no room to extend the conversation. Talking about it just made it hurt worse, so he was hoping she wouldn't pry.
Lucy removed her hand, dropping the topic, and turned back to the screen. The bone people, old man, and guy that looked kind of like Gray were brought to the paddock from earlier. A live animal was dropped into the cage and ruffling trees made it clear that it probably wouldn't have a recurring role.
Lucy zoned in on the movie, trying to mentally prepare for how chaotic things were obviously going to become. Two new characters, a little boy and girl, were brought in and they all climbed back into some cars that were aligned on a track to drive themselves.
"Well shit," Natsu grumbled, his head falling back onto the cushions behind him. "Is this whole damn movie one big vehicle ride?"
Lucy couldn't help but chuckle. The more she thought about how accurate his comment had been, the harder she laughed. She barely registered his groan or the mumbles about her not being nice under his breath. Dabbing at the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes, she let out one final breath to calm herself. His head stayed back, clearly expecting her to tell him what was happening until the vehicles were stopped.
"They're on a tour now. It looks like they want the dinosaurs to eat some animals, but they're not eating. No dinosaurs are out. It's cutting to the guy with glasses. He's stealing something from a room, so no cars, but they'll probably go back to that.. No clue what he's taking, but I think he shut off the fences! Shit, that's not good! Ok, they split up and now those kids, Grant, Malcolm and the lawyer guy are heading back to the T-Rex place. The cars stopped moving and they can't get them to work. You're probably good to look. Doesn't look like this is going to end well…."
She could see him lift his head and try to focus on the screen just in time to see the cup of water shake from vibrations. The screen focused on the empty chain that had previously held the bait goat. That's when things got really intense! When the little girl asked where the goat had gone, a bloody severed leg dropped onto the glass sunroof.
Lucy jumped, a small gasp escaping her lips as her hand shot to her mouth. When she heard the giggle next to her, she swung her arm to smack him on the shoulder. "Rude!" Their eyes never left the screen and her hand returned to cover her mouth in shock when she watched the huge T-Rex head appear over the gate, chewing the little goat once before swallowing it. The lawyer guy got out, abandoning the kids and running to hide in the bathroom. Chicken shit!
The wires snapped and for the first time, she realized just how huge the dinosaur was now that she saw him next to the cars. He stepped out and she instinctively brought her knees up to her chest. The suspense was too much for her.
It was Natsu's turn to chuckle. Finally having a scene that he could watch had him fully invested in what was happening on the screen. Without looking, he rested his hand on top of her head. "Karma's coming at you for laughing at me!"
Lucy completely ignored him, way too engrossed in the movie. She watched in fear as the kids were tormented and doing their best to not be eaten. When the glass was broken above them, she gasped again, but felt comfort when she saw Natsu jump as well. Grant and Ian worked to save the kids by using lights as a distraction. When the lawyer that had run away before met his well-deserved demised, Natsu let out an excited laugh and clapped his hands together. Her eyes rolled, knowing they weren't out of the woods yet.
The scene shifted to the T-Rex attacking the flipped over vehicle that still held the little boy. They were able to escape over the wall, and the car was pushed over the edge as well.
"Did they just kill that little kid?" Natsu's eyes were wide, surprised by the unexpected turn. He received only a shrug in return. It was only seconds later that there was another damn vehicle. This time glasses guy was in a jeep, trying to get to the docks, when he screwed up and got lost. He really tried to be strong and brave. If those guys could willing run in front of a dinosaur, he could watch a little scene with a car. Lucy even seemed to relax next to him, allowing her feet to fall back towards the ground. It really had been cute seeing her get so worked up over something that was fake, even if it was only for a few minutes.
He grinned mischievously, deciding that he'd have to choose more movies that would get a rise out of her. He'd teach her for laughing at him!
His resolve didn't last long. The story switched back to the blonde lady and the hat guy from the beginning. They found the scene of the accident and were able to rescue Ian! When they loaded him into the back of the jeep, he really hoped they'd just skip the getting there and just show them arriving. Of course karma would be out for him already. Ian quickly summoned them, signaling that the dinosaur was approaching again.
The car took off with a lurch and he felt his stomach do a flip. When he requested that the driver 'must go faster', he couldn't take it anymore as a wave of nausea hit him. His body went limp and he slumped to the side. His head landed in her lap with a muffled thump, a groan accompanying the movement.
"Lu….cy….Help." The second his mass of pink hair landed in her lap, her body went stiff. The movie was quickly forgotten, all focus switching to stare at the back of his head. His fingers reached blindly for her arm. They connected with her forearm and slid down until they reached her hand. He lightly placed it on top of his head. Realization dawned on her. He was wanting this to be like a train ride.
The only difference was they were alone. Completely alone. Happy wasn't curled on her other side. Ezra and Grey weren't across from them. And that was just the start. Any other time they'd assumed this position, they hadn't slept in a bed just the two of them the night before, he hadn't been wearing only boxers with his chiseled abs fully on display, they hadn't been sharing a blanket, and they definitely hadn't been living in the same house with his laundry mixed with hers in the washer. This felt completely different and it added extra stress to their predicament.
What confused her the most is that she didn't mind this situation. It felt very intimate, but it also felt normal in a way. Like at least one piece of their lives was still the same. Her fingers threaded through his hair and enticed an appreciative groan from her best friend. How had she never noticed how soft his hair was, especially for a guy.
When the car chase concluded, neither of them made an effort to move. It was easy for them to justify it internally because so much of the movie had been motion sickness inducing. His head laid lightly on her lap and her fingers continued to rub lazy circles through his locks. Neither moved to break the contact, both unwilling to admit that this had been the best part of the movie so far.
Their focus had become distracted and neither seemed to notice that there were no more vehicles in the majority of the rest of the movie. Grant and the kids fought a car in a tree and trekked through a bunch of different dinosaurs to get back to the base. In the meantime, Sattler and hat guy ran into the dinosaurs from the beginning of the movie. When she set to work resetting the gates, Lucy tensed up. The little boy was hanging on the fence that was about to be turned on!
Sensing that she was worried, he raised his hand and placed it on the blanket covered knee in front of his face in an attempt to comfort her. However, it did anything but. The simple action of affection and care was sending her mind reeling. Now their position felt even more intimate.
She willed herself to calm down. She should not be thinking that word around him. He was her best friend. Just her best friend. The kid was safe and it was just a friendly gesture. This was fine.
Despite her calming down, his hand stayed right where it was. She tried to distract herself by focusing on his hair again. Everyone was back at base and everything was going to be ok now. She couldn't have been more wrong.
The rest of a movie passed in a blur for Natsu. Her constant movements against his scalp had him fighting sleep, despite just waking up hours before. They'd never laid like this outside of a train and he had always been too focused on trying to pass out in an attempt to sleep off the travel time to pay attention to how this actually felt. it had to have been one of the most relaxing experiences of his life, somehow even better than the hot springs. He wondered if he'd be able to get her to do this again. Maybe he'd have to try to find more movies like this one with lots of motion so he'd have an excuse. Why hadn't he done this sooner instead of torturing himself for an hour handling it alone?
He watched as the kids found themselves in the kitchen running from the raptors, which terrifyingly could open doors. There was a race to get the security system back up and they even had to crawl through the ceiling! In the last second, the T-Rex showed back up to fight the raptors! The last thing he wanted was to sound like Jason, but this was so cool! He gave a final roar and then, shocker, they managed to squeeze in 2 more vehicle rides! At least now he had an excuse for staying!
Lucy felt a smile spread across her lips at Grant cuddled up with the kids on the helicopter heading home. At the beginning, he vehemently expressed his disinterest in kids, and it was really heartwarming to see how far he had come. She saw the appreciation in Sattler's eyes as she admired how he was with the two children. Her mind wandered to that day they had watched Asuka together. Natsu had done such an amazing job babysitting. His carefree attitude allowed him to fulfill all of her childish requests and he was even sweet enough to let her think she took down the bad guys! She had never realized it until she saw the appreciation in the other blonde's eyes, but being good with children really was an attractive quality in a man.
Wait, what?! Don't think about him like that!
In her panic, her fingers had stopped their motion and he took this as his cue to sit up. The credits were rolling as he regretfully pushed up to move back to his half of the couch. He flashed her a lazy grin and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Had he overstepped? "Thanks Lucy! You're a life saver!"
"Anytime." Her response came out instantly without even considering her words. She hadn't meant to volunteer that, her mind alternating between being nervous and excited at the thought of another movie like that. Excitement crossed his face and she quickly changed the subject. "What did you think? Did you like it?"
"Felt good." Admitting it out loud caused his cheeks to heat up a little, which was a strange feeling considering how hot he always felt. "Thank you."
Her blush matched his. "N-No, not that! I meant the movie! What did you think of the movie?"
"Oh!" Realization dawned on him and he scratched the back of his neck again, nervous of his mixup. "Yeah, it was good! Would have been better with a dragon though. Did you?"
"Yeah, it was good." Looking for a distraction, she leaned over to grab her forgotten drink. In the excitement of the movie, they had completely forgotten about them. He watched her reach across his spot on the couch. He eyes followed the movement, annoyed that his cheeks wouldn't calm down. She sat back in her seat and took a long sip. "So, what now? Any ideas of what you want to do today?"
He shrugged his shoulders, knowing that he needed to get off of the couch for a little bit. His mind was being really weird and he wasn't sure why some of these thoughts were popping in his head. It might have been from laying down like that for too long. "Maybe a game?"
A/N: Here's the first movie chapter! What did you all think? Too much detail? I'm excited to hear your feedback so I can start writing another! What game should they play in the next chapter? Any other movies you want to see them watch? Don't forget to send your suggestions! A special thank you to JimBob for suggesting J Park!
Side note and a little backstory: I was really involved in the FF world like 8 years ago, and took some time off. I'm back and loving being involved in a fandom again. Before, I used to run a few very active forums on here (mostly RP, but still) and noticed there aren't really any active ones anymore. Would anyone be interested in joining a Fairy Tail forum if I started one back up? We could do fic challenges, chat threads (100 Year's Quest, ships, other fandoms, etc), and maybe even RP. Leave a review or send me a PM if you're interested and I'll start one up!
And now to my amazing reviewers replies! Thank you so much for all of you that read, followed, favorited, and commented on my story! :)
Copperreign12: "Blue about Happy" in your review made me smile! Very clever! :) I absolutely LOVE the baking idea! That's actually how I spent most of my quarantine, so that'll be fun to channel that and write a chapter about it! You always give such creative suggestions and I really appreciate them! I promise you'll start seeing them come to life soon! I'm trying to make them extra fluffy for you so they have to come a little later when we have more time to build up! :)
Guest: Yes! Mine has been very uneventful too, so I guess we'll just have to live through them!
XFangHeartX: I'm really excited to try to work in an overexposure bickering chapter! I feel like too much Natsu will drive her crazy at some point!
Amanny: It's definitely one of my favorite movies! I also love a flustered Lucy. I feel like in the last season we really started to see her blushing a lot more at his antics, so I'm trying to channel that here!
NatGamingCo: That would be a perfect first date! :) Hopefully the actual movie chapter lived up to what you were looking for! It'll get more cuddly the more they watch!
Lucy H Lover: I'm still toying with who will pounce who first, but I started writing the first tempting chapter after your comment! Super excited to work it into the plot!
