Drabble 52: Fangirl Heart
"Do you know what I just found out?" Fitz asked.
Jemma looked up from her book. "What?"
"They're making it."
It took her a minute to realize what he meant, and once she did she closed the book. "No, it can't be…"
He grinned. "It is."
"They're making a Doctor Who movie!" She jumped up, beaming. "Fitz, we have to see it."
"Of course!"
"How did you find out about it?"
"Surfing the internet. Apparently it's only going to show for three nights, and only in certain theaters. It's a trial of sorts, to see if people support that type of movie."
"How could they not?" Jemma asked.
"The tentative release dates are in six months."
"How do we make sure we can get tickets?"
Fitz thought for a minute. "I don't know."
It turned out that there was no way to ensure they got tickets. At least, no easy way.
Twenty-four hours before the movie started at the closest theater, Fitz and Jemma walked to the outside, looking around.
"No one's here yet." Fitz said.
"The website said people usually start lining up twenty-four hours before a premier. Since this has limited showings, I thought they might start sooner."
"Jemma, we're the first ones here. We're going to be fine."
She smiled. "Thank you for doing this Fitz."
"What? Spending a day outside a movie theater with my best friend?" he returned the smile. "No problem. It's going to be a good movie."
"I'm so excited!"
Fitz leaned against the brick wall. "I still can't believe you're the one who wanted to lie and say we were sick to get out of class."
Her face became solemn. "For Doctor Who I will do anything."
He nodded, feigning seriousness. "Mm-hhmm. Except for the fact that you would never actually lie to a teacher."
"Well we can't abuse their trust!"
Fitz laughed. "I know, Jem. And once we explained how much of a mega-fan you are, Professor Weaver said she didn't mind at all. She knows we'll make everything up."
"I already did it." Jemma said quietly.
He met her eyes. "Me too."
She sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Only we would take a day off from school and still talk about it."
"Pretty much." Fitz agreed. "So let's talk about something else."
"Wait, I think someone else is getting in line!"
They watched as a young man around their age walked up to them. "Are you guys in line for Doctor Who?"
"Yes." Jemma said.
"Great." The man said with a smile. He stood a few paces away from them, leaning against the wall and occupying himself with his phone.
Jemma looked around and realized how much space they were taking up. They had brought a tent with them, and a small cooler stocked with food and drinks. They also had a sleeping bag rolled up on top of the still-packaged tent. Then she scolded herself for feeling bad. They had a right to bring supplies. It was going to be a long day.
The line grew slowly over the next few hours. The movie was set to start at one o'clock, and by nine the day before the line was as long as the building.
It was just getting dark. The lights were on in the parking lot across the way, and the theater was closing up for the night.
"We should probably set up the tent." Fitz said. "Settle in for the night."
"Yes." Jemma said. As they started to unpack it and try to set it up, though, she stopped for a moment. "We really should have done this in daylight."
"Probably." He admitted. "But I'm sure we can figure it out."
"I would hope you could, considering your profession."
He looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"O-kay." She said slowly. "Not the time for weak jokes."
They set up the tent with minimal difficulty. "We're going in our tent." Jemma told the man behind them in line. "We're not leaving our spot."
"Okay." He said with that easy smile. "I won't let it get taken."
Jemma thanked him and crawled into the tent, where she found Fitz pulling a laptop out of his bag.
"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting down next to him on the blanket.
"What better way to prepare for a Doctor Who movie than watching Doctor Who?"
Jemma beamed. "Perfect."
Jemma snuggled in close to Fitz, drowsy and completely comfortable. They had been watching the show for a few hours, and lack of sleep was getting to her. But she didn't want to get into her sleeping bag. She wanted to stay curled against Fitz.
This had happened a few times before, their nights innocently spent together if they weren't too careful about the time. She loved his warmth.
He was in that same twilight zone she was, still awake but only just. She let out a sigh of relaxation and lay down fully on top of her sleeping bag.
A few minutes later she jumped up when the flap of their tent was thrown open. "What?" she asked loudly; startled. Fitz jumped too, instantly awake.
"Oh, sorry!" the woman said. "Wrong tent!" She backed out quickly, the flap closing and leaving Fitz and Jemma alone again.
There was silence for a moment, and then Fitz cleared his throat. "I'm going to stand outside."
Jemma didn't say anything as he crawled out of the tent. Once he'd been outside for a moment she sighed and sank back down on the sleeping bag. This time she wasn't relaxed; she was annoyed. It was all perfectly well when they slept together on nights like this usually. They never talked about it, so nothing ever seemed awkward. But this time, they had been woken up before the night was over.
Which changed everything.
Fitz felt he had to step outside, which showed her how uncomfortable he was.
She stayed inside for a few minutes and then stuck her head out for a second. She saw Fitz standing just to the right of the tent, hands in his pockets and head down. She mustered her courage and crawled half out, looking at him.
"Please come back in, Fitz."
He kept looking at the ground. "I just need a few minutes, Jemma."
She watched him and then nodded, backing into the tent. The happiness she had felt before vanished, replaced by dread. This was supposed to be one of the best times ever, waiting in line with Fitz to see The Time Lord. Now she was worried something had changed between them.
She was almost asleep again when the flap of the tent opened, this time quietly. Fitz crawled in, rousing her just with his movements. She opened her eyes and saw his hair hanging limply over his forehead. But it only did that when…
"It's raining." Fitz said when he saw her looking at him.
As if to prove it, she heard raindrops fall heavily onto the fabric of the tent, in increasing strength and speed.
"Maybe a bit more than raining." He amended.
She laughed. "Why did you stay out in the rain?"
"I didn't really. As soon as it started I came back in here. It picked up fast."
She smiled. "Well don't just kneel there. Come and sit next to me, or lie down."
He didn't hesitate, but once he was next to her he spoke again. "I'm wet."
She responded by taking off his outer shirt and spreading it out by their feet. "Now you're dry."
He didn't smile, but he didn't move away. He just lay down next to her, their arms brushing against each other. "We should probably get some sleep." He said. "We'll need to pack up the tent in the morning, to make sure we don't lose our spot."
"Yes." She said.
But they didn't sleep. Not for a while. Instead they lay next to each other in the dark tent, the rain drumming a swift beat on the roof, simply being. Their hands found each other casually and linked together loosely in the night.
It let Jemma know that nothing important had changed between them. Maybe Fitz had just been embarrassed.
When they woke up the next morning, their hands had drifted inches apart. Nothing was awkward about it, though.
They packed up the tent and Fitz brought it back to their car while Jemma held their spot. When he returned they leaned against the wall as they had the day before. Jemma could feel her excitement growing with every minute.
Finally an attendant came out. "Tickets for today's showing of The Time Lord are now being sold. Please proceed in an orderly fashion to the ticket booth just ahead of you."
They walked a few feet forward and purchased the tickets outside, and then walked into the theater. Well, Fitz walked. By the end, Jemma was running.
And she didn't care one bit.