Hello all! Sorry it's been a while; I've been torn between writing and life. Things have sucked lately so I wanted to work on something to cheer myself up.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and story as much as I like writing it. Please let me know what you think!
Begrudgingly, Natsu made his way to the team office for the first reading of the script. He had his little pity party last night, full of drinking and moping, but today, he would try to pick himself up and at least make a good impression. This is your job, after all, he told himself.
He stopped just before opening the door into the large conference room where he knew the others were gathered. He bowed his head slightly, closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. All his doubts, worries, dare he say fears, he willfully expelled from within him. Tipping his head back up, he put his shoulders back, breathed in hope and set forth over the threshold.
As he entered the room, he saw that most people were already there. The executives still stood as one weird, collective mob. They murmured to themselves as they surveyed each person in the room. Natsu couldn't help but recoil a bit when their eyes turned to him, and the murmurs began.
Wanting to gain as much distance from them as possible, Natsu grabbed a water and made his way to an open seat around the large table. Graciously, he abided by Lucy's wish (for now) and made sure to sit at the other end of the table from her. He stole a glance at her as he threw his script down on the table before him.
Her golden locks were braided and rested on her shoulder. She wore a grey notched neck blouse with batwing sleeves. The blouse was tucked into dark tan capri pants which she secured with a black belt. A porcelain hand pushed back some locks from her face revealing a single gold band around her wrist.
"You know it's impolite to stare." Natsu turned to glare at the person beside him. He knew that annoying tone even before he looked. "She's gonna think you are a creep if you stare at her any longer."
"I think you've got that handled with your stripping habit." It was Gray's turn to glare.
"Well, the joke is on you because my shirt is on," Gray quipped as he pulled a chair out to take a seat.
"For now," Natsu smirked.
"Settle down, everyone." Erza called out, bringing all murmurs and conversations to a halt. "Please find a seat so we can start." People scurried around, taking whatever open spot they could find around the table. The executives and team staff sat along the walls of the room.
Once everyone was ready, Erza motioned for the executives to begin. They started by introducing the director, a blonde guy named Jason. He was a bit too energetic for Natsu's taste but at least he had a good vibe to him. Jason began describing the plot to the room, which he did using a lot of adjectives.
He had gotten the gist of it from reading the script: girl with a dream overcomes adversity to win it all. His character was something of an antagonist to begin with but in the end is redeemed by being one of the main character's greatest supporters.
Natsu had already tuned out Jason long before and was resisting the urge not to doodle all over the front page of his script. In the end, he resulted to balancing the pen on his upper lip.
Just as the pen fell onto his paper booklet with a clack, a figure moving out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. The door slipped open quietly and a head of bright orange popped through it. Impulsively, he ground his back molars together as he watched the male make a beeline directly towards Lucy. He watched as he taped the blonde on her shoulder, handed her a cup of coffee and gave her a peck on her cheek.
"Lucy." Both the blonde and orange-haired man popped their heads up at her name being called. "Are you with us?" Mira asked.
"Yes, sorry." She apologized. Loke gave a small wave before walking to the back wall and taking a seat beside Levy.
"Now, we will do a quick read through then discuss the schedule for filming." Mira explained. After finishing, she nodded towards Jason who read off the screen direction. Following his lead, the other actors read their parts as designated.
The total read through took about an hour. Natsu was surprised how involved the team was. Laxus got to play the role of their coach and obviously the players were still players on the team. Basically, most of the staff of the Dragons got to be in the film in some capacity; obviously with some having greater roles than others. Some of their home games would be used for scenes within the movie itself.
"Now, for the matter of the schedule," Erza began. "Filming will coincide with this year's season. We have scheduled weeks to either be Home or Away. Away weeks will act as an off week with Home weeks being the times we will film. We have pre-planned days for travel and shooting on location as well. Basically, this will be a busy season, but I believe you are all up to the task."
"For the first few practices, we will allot time to work with Lucy on fundamentals. I expect all of you to be available for helping her learn about the sport and your various positions." Laxus added. Other players on the team nodded their heads at Laxus' command.
Natsu glanced over at Lucy to see she was smiling at Laxus. His coach did not know it, but that was probably a formality. Natsu knew from her years with him she knew more about the sport than most people guessed, so educating her was more of a formality. Despite her years in theater and not playing sports, Natsu knew she was athletic and would pick up the sport quickly.
His eyes roamed from the blonde to the orange haired man behind her. The slight smile which he had on his face fell the moment their eyes met. Loke sat with his arms crossed and held a stern gaze on Natsu. Silently, the two battled one another from the edges of the room. Neither dared to blink or look away.
"Natsu…" He continued to stare. "Natsu!" The stern voice of his manager drew his attention back to the discussion at the table. He took his eyes off the orange haired man to look at Laxus. "Is that a problem?" Laxus asked slowly.
"No, sir." Natsu muttered.
Beside Laxus, Mira smiled at the pinkette. "Good." Laxus answered. "We will begin first thing tomorrow."
…
The executives had discussed Lucy participating in 'team building' exercises with the team as a way for her to get acquainted with the players and the sport. Mira agreed which meant it was a done deal. So, here she was fitted with her own personal uniform and sent out onto the field. Lucy was happy they gave her her favorite number '77.'
After Laxus and Mira presented her to the entire team, Laxus made the guys circle up and had Lucy stand in the center. He ran them through a 'fun icebreaker' is how Mira described it. A player would start with the ball, then throw it to Lucy while saying their name. Lucy would throw the ball back to that player and repeat their name to them. That player would then throw the ball to someone else, and the game would continue until Lucy got everyone's name right.
Alright, Lucy, it's not too hard. Just 26 names… you can do this. Laxus started by giving the ball to a gruff looking man with piercings who identified himself as Gajeel. How can he play with all those piercings? Focus, Lucy! She shook her head before throwing the ball back and repeating the man's name back to him.
She kept up a good pace, feeling confident she was actually cementing the names and faces to memory. That was… until the ball was tossed to Natsu. For some reason, things came to a halt when she turned to face him. He rolled the ball around in his hand before looking up at her.
"Natsu," he said simply, as he lightly tossed the ball to her. She was too focused on being rattled by his presence and then being confused as to why she was so rattled by him that she almost didn't catch the ball. She took a moment to compose herself before throwing the ball back to him and repeating his name, "Natsu." The pinkette couldn't help but give her a quick grin, before passing the ball to another player.
The drill continued for a few minutes before Laxus broke them up. He ran them through some drills that worked on a variety of topics: catching, throwing, running bases, etc. Afterwards, Laxus broke them for water and 'Movement' which is what Laxus called 'Do something productive while I go work on paperwork.'
The guys broke off into different sections on the field, most according to their positions. Lucy jogged over to the dugout where Levy and Juvia waited for her with a cold bottle of water. Lucy took it thankfully and began to down the cool liquid.
"How do you think it's going?" Levy asked.
Lucy took a second to breathe in between gulps. "Well, I guess. It's a good thing I trained a bit before coming out here. Baseball is quite the workout." Lucy went back to her water bottle.
"Oh, I can tell." Levy said as she surveyed the men on the field. "There are quite a few lookers out there." She added, her eyes falling on a particular pierced fellow. "Anyone catching your eye?" Levy tore her eyes away to look at Lucy sneakily.
Lucy sighed as she tossed the empty water bottle to Juvia. "Levy, I'm not here to find romance."
"Doesn't mean it hasn't found you," Levy quickly inserted.
"Besides, I have a boyfriend, remember?"
"Oh yes," the blunette deadpanned, "How could I forget your 'boyfriend?'" Levy raised both her hands to air quote the title.
"Levy," Lucy sternly warned as she leaned towards the girl, "I am here for work. I need to stay focused on that."
"What is the saying? Stop and take in the view?" Just as Levy said that a stray ball rolled towards them which was followed by Gajeel. Her eyes followed him as he ran over to them, and their eyes met as he bent down to pick up the ball. The gruff man made sure to give her a toothy grin before turning and running back towards the other players.
"I see you will be no hope." Lucy shook her head before turning to look at the other blunette. "What about you, Juvia? Any words of advice?"
"Go Gray-sama! Wooooo!"
Lucy audibly sighed before turning and making her way back towards home plate. They're hopeless…
Lucy grabbed a bat leaning against the fence and walked over to the batter's box. She placed her feet firmly inside the square before turning to look towards the pitcher's mound where Sting stood behind some netting contraption.
She tried to remember how Natsu taught her to stand, to swing, and to hold the bat. She closed her eyes and pictured him at bat. She started from his feet and worked their way up. Feet planted, knees bent, leaned forward, elbows out, bat over the shoulder… Lucy opened her eyes and replicated the stance.
She shifted in place, feeling out the stance, but felt off. Maybe it's because I haven't done this in a long time?
Before a pitch could be thrown, an annoying voice spoke up from behind her. "Your stance is wrong." Lucy huffed, dropped her arms, and turned to glare at the pinkette casually leaning against the fence.
"Excuse me?" She sassed.
"Your stance is wrong. You'll never hit the ball at that rate." Natsu continued.
"What am I doing wrong?" She impatiently asked.
Natsu pointed at the bat, "May I?" Lucy scoffed but held out the bat. Natsu smiled and waltzed over to her. He took the bat from her hands as Lucy moved out of the way for him.
"You want to stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder length apart." He set his feet and pointed at them with the end of the bat. "Bend at the knees and waist." Natsu moved each part as he spoke. "Elbows out. Front elbow down. Back elbow up. The bat and both elbows should make an obtuse triangle."
"Obtuse… big word." Lucy smiled slyly. Natsu turned his head to glare at the blonde before turning back to face the pitcher's mound. Gajeel couldn't help but snicker behind his catcher's mask. "Point the barrel up, and…" Natsu nodded at Sting who nodded back. Sting wound up then pitched a ball to Natsu. In one smooth swoop, Natsu stepped, turned into the pitch and swung the bat forward. The ball hit the bat perfectly and went sailing into the outfield.
"Heads up!" He yelled to everyone else as he watched the ball head in their direction. Lucy supposed they heard him because the outfielders stopped and looked at him before one broke off to catch the ball.
Lucy was honestly impressed with the amount of power Natsu was able to generate in his hit, and even more so how effortless he made it look.
"If you stood the way you were before, you wouldn't have the momentum to hit the ball. And you and I both know you have power behind your hits." Natsu said as he handed her the bat. Lucy blushed at the comment, feeling slight embarrassment at his comment.
From a young age, her father had instilled the importance of self-defense in her. Jude taught her not to act out in aggression, but if provoked, how to deal the perfect punch. It was definitely effective. Lucy knocked out plenty of men who slapped or grabbed her ass. Natsu even was on the receiving end of some of her punches after he barged into her room unannounced.
Natsu stood in front of her and nodded his head towards her to get into position. Lucy gave him a glare before taking her stance. He looked her up and down before walking behind her, making her tense up.
"Widen your stance," Natsu said as he kicked the inside of her left foot with his own. Lucy obliged by sliding her foot over. "Make sure you put all your weight on your left foot until you are about to swing." Lucy nodded as she continued to stare forward at Sting.
Natsu reached out to place his hands just above Lucy's waist. The moment Lucy felt his hands on her, her eyes went wide, her cheeks flushed, and she turned to yell at him. "HEY!"
Natsu immediately retracted his hands and held them up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Won't happen again." Lucy huffed before getting back into her stance.
With a sigh and a glare to the back of her head, Natsu dropped his arms to his side. Natsu shot a quick glance to Gajeel who couldn't help but smirk at the fiery blonde. He took a step closer to Lucy but made sure to maintain space between them.
"Bring your front elbow to your chest and your back elbow to your ear." Lucy obeyed and moved her elbows. Natsu grabbed the bat, which Lucy had pointed over her shoulder and moved it, so it was pointing straight up in the air. "Keep your barrel up; you'll get more momentum this way." Lucy nodded once more. "Turn your body slightly inward." Lucy obeyed.
"Good," Natsu stated as he walked back around to the front of Lucy. "Stay loose until right before the wind up. As the pitcher brings back his arm, lean your weight to your left side. When the ball releases, throw all your momentum into shifting your weight to your opposite side. Remember to turn your hips as you swing and follow through." Lucy looked back to Natsu and nodded. He reached his pointer finger out and poked her right between her eyebrows. "And keep your eyes open."
Lucy threw her head to the side, knocking his hand away. "Okay, I got it."
Natsu moved back behind Gajeel and gave Sting a thumbs up. Sting nodded and took his stance.
Alright, Lucy, loose, loose. Her eyes focused on Sting, ready to act when he moved. Her eyes widened slightly; there it is! The wind up. She shifted her weight onto her left side, as much as she could without falling over. Sting moved his arm from behind his head to in front of him, releasing the ball in the process and sending it whirling towards her.
One fluid movement. She swung with all her might, shifting all her weight as she turned her hips towards the ball. Her eyes followed the ball as it came right for her but stopped as it impacted the bat, sending a shock through the bat and up to her elbows. She continued to swing the bat forward as she watched the ball shoot up into the air and headed deep into centerfield.
Lucy stood and watched in anticipation. Gajeel stood and took off his mask to clearly see the ball. The farther the ball went, the wider Natsu's smile grew. Every player stopped what they were doing to watch the ball sail over their heads and continue on its path to the stands. The ball bounced off the wooden sign attached to the outfield wall indicating Lucy had hit the ball 375 feet! I did it!
A sense of pride and excitement welled up within her and Lucy couldn't help but beam. She could hear the cheers of Levy, Juvia and Mira in the dugout. Erza stood close by them, giving her a nod of approval.
She whipped her head back around as many of the players ran up to her to congratulate her.
"Holy shit, Lucy. That was awesome!" Sting cheered as he high fived her.
"Who knew Bunny Girl had such power?" Gajeel smirked behind her.
"Yeah, she hits better than you Sting." Gray quipped, earning a shout of dissention from said blonde.
Lucy turned and smiled at each of the players around her, making sure to thank them for their compliments. Although she was athletic, Lucy had never played on any kind of sports team before. In the theater they cheered each other on, but it wasn't like people were hoisting her up after every well-rehearsed monologue.
Despite all the praise she received from the crowd of people around her, Lucy's heart was not satisfied. Her eyes darted to each person's face, yet she noted the unsatisfaction inside her. It wasn't until she looked through the crowd and locked eyes with Natsu that she realized it. She was so proud of her achievement, and the first person she wanted to share it with was him.
She glanced over to him, wondering if he had seen her performance and was stopped by the small, gentle smile on his face. He was standing in the same spot, leaning on the fence, about 20 feet away from her… yet the look in his eye drew her in.
Those eyes, she knew them all too well. She had seen this look before. The pride he had in her, from more than just the single moment of achievement; rather, built off of the knowledge of hours she spent prepping and training and even overthinking everything going into this one moment. The experience of being there with her from the beginning, of knowing the improvement and the fulfillment of seeing the results. The small amount of pride knowing he had a hand in that moment.
The satisfaction filled her seeing his face, knowing he was there for that moment… but then there was that small pang. It reminded her of the reality of their relationship and to keep her distance.
The pang turned into her chest clenching then her whole body going stiff. She couldn't take it anymore and turned away from him. She plastered a smile back on her face as she went back to thanking the players as they complimented her.
His own small smile dropped as she turned away from him. He thought they had a wholesome moment, but maybe he was mistaken. For a second there, he had hope things would turn around.
His eyes dropped to the ground, weighed down by his disappointment. Was this how it was gonna be between them the entire time? Was there hope in a 'slowly but surely' situation?
Shaking his head, he left the field and opted to practice throwing in a batting cage. He didn't want to disrupt or halt her progress in any way. If he was to get through the long haul, he would have to pick and choose his battles. Trusting and hoping in the fact that he had gained some ground in her mind with that small moment, he elected to leave it there for now and prepare for the next.
…
Laxus broke the team for water, signaling Lucy's involvement for the day was done. She nodded her head in understanding and made her way to the dugout. Once there, Lucy made her way to her bag, pulled out of water bottle and took a long swig.
She watched as Laxus gave orders to the team, directing them into yet another drill. Based on her weeklong experience working with them, she guessed it was some sort of outfield drill.
"Lucy." The blonde turned away from the team to look towards the voice that called her name. She smiled when she saw Mira walking towards her.
"What's up, Mira?" She asked as she took her own hair out of her hair to shake it out.
"As you know, tomorrow is an off day since the team has a home game." Lucy nodded in understanding. "Would you like to watch from the owner's box with me?"
Her face lit up, "Yes! That would be amazing!"
"Your team is welcome to join us if they want; the more the merrier!"
"Thank you, I will go tell them." Lucy grabbed her bag, through the strap over her shoulder and made her way to the stands where her team was waiting.
"Hey Lucy, looking good out there!" Yukino called as she watched the blonde walk to up them.
"Thanks, Yuki." Lucy set her bag down on the ground beside them.
"I agree with Yukino." Loke added. "You are the best looking one out there."
Lucy rolled her eyes, "Loke, no one is around. You don't have to hit on me."
"Just practicing," Loke winked before placing both his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.
The blonde shook her head, "Anyway. The guys have a home game tomorrow and Mira invited all of us to watch from the owner's box."
The group responded with smiles and cheers.
"This is so exciting! Juvia has never been to a baseball game before." Juvia cheered.
"What does one wear to watch a baseball game from the owner's box?" Yukino asked aloud.
Lucy shrugged, "I guess that means we need to go shopping!" The girls cheered with the blonde, but the orange-haired man with them groaned.
"You heard the lady, Loke," Levy quipped. Loke sighed before turning away from them and heading down the hall towards where their vehicle was parked.
Lucy wrapped her arm around Levy's shoulder who reciprocated the gesture with her own. The girls all chuckled at Loke's misery as they walked down the hallway trailing behind Loke.