It was the first day of filming.
Lucy looked at herself in the dressing room mirror, revelling in her appearance.
She was wearing her Iris costume, which consisted of a sleek, black definition jacket with dark grey shorts and knee-high combat boots, with a belt carrying a small pocket bag and a gun prop, all topped with a lilac-purple wig.
She nodded in satisfaction. She walked out of the trailer and onto the set.
They'd finished filming the scenes in Iris's mansion, so now they were set in a different, rented mansion, where most of the action scenes were going to be filmed.
She stood in her place, waiting for the director's call. It was a two-person scene, meaning only she and Natsu were on set. The rest of the cast were watching from the sidelines as they patiently waited for their scenes next.
Natsu was stood in his place too, waiting with his arms crossed. He was in a black compression shirt, which only enhanced his abs more than it did hide them. He also had a belt, around his black cargo pants, with matching accessories to her.
She realised she was staring and slapped herself on both cheeks, shaking herself out of it. She seriously needed to stop staring at his body...
She looked in Gildarts' direction, and he smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"Lights, camera..." he checked, then continued once everything was cleared. "Action!"
Lucy stood poised on the edge of the makeshift roof set, her eyes gleamed with determination as she leaped into action.
The backdrop beside her was a vast expense of a green screen, which would be replaced with a cityscape by the producers. Despite the lack of actual buildings, she was able to throw herself into the scene with unwavering concentration.
Her movements were precise and calculated, just as Panther Lily had taught her. Iris's character was quick and agile, so she'd trained hard with Gajeel to perfectly mimic that. She'd been working extremely hard for this day.
She had a full view of Natsu's movements too. He was quick and light on his feet. He seemed to launch himself into the air so freely as if gravity wasn't even a concept to him. Clearly, he'd been listening to Panther Lily's instructions too.
It was evident, that Natsu was a wonder on stage. It was like he turned into a completely different person when he was immersed in his work. Lucy knew she'd have to give her performance her all to keep up with him.
As the scene came to a close, Iris landed safely on the ground. Lucy was slowly lowered to the floor by the wires and harnesses connected to the sealing, controlled by the production team. She smiled triumphantly.
Gildarts called for a cut, and the two relaxed, the rest of the crew applauding them.
When she unbuckled herself from the harness, a few extras approached her and started praising her for her acting. She laughed and thanked them humbly.
She noticed that there was a crowd around Natsu too, filled mostly with women, doing the same thing. He smiled and thanked them charismatically, an expression she hadn't seen on his face in a while.
The producers called for an hour lunch break, before continuing until the end of the episode.
She and Mira were eating quietly on a picnic table outside when Gray, along with an unwilling Natsu, approached them.
"Hey, Ladies," he greeted. "Lucy, your performance today was incredible. For a first-timer, you nailed it."
"Really?" Lucy beamed at the praise, looking at Mira for confirmation, who nodded with a proud grin. "Thanks so much!"
Natsu was not so subtly smirking, clearly thinking of some snarky remark to make.
"You're really embracing the whole 'fake it till you make it' expression, huh?" he sarcastically quipped.
Her smile faltered, narrowed eyes meeting his. She hummed in agreement and returned the smug quirk of his lips, to his disappointment.
"Right? Who knew acting would require so much pretending?" she retorted, then faked a face of realisation. "Oh wait..."
He tried to keep his smirk, but she saw it wobble as his eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"Oh, I'm sure pretending is second nature to you by now, Sweetheart!" he complimented, dryly chuckling.
Gray raised his right brow, looking at him as if he was losing it. His eyes left him and met Mira's, who returned his look of confusion.
"Oh, please. Spare me the lecture," Lucy rolled her eyes.
They continued to bicker, until the lunch break was nearing its end. Mira and Gray exchanged a knowing glance before quietly slipping away, leaving the two to have their heated exchange unattended.
Production continued after lunch. They made their way to the grand living room, where the final scenes would be filmed.
"This man's so self-centred he has statues of himself in his home?!" Iris whisper-yelled, appalled.
She tripped herself suddenly, causing the statue and pillar to topple over. It swayed violently, making a loud creaking noise, before she eventually steadied it with her hands, sweating nervously.
"Dammit!" Night cursed. "I told you not to touch anything!"
Iris gave him a guilty laugh, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.
"Who's there?!" a low voice boomed from the hallway.
Both of their eyes widened. Iris started walking around in frantic circles as Night rushed to turn off the light.
"Someone's in the living room," another voice echoed.
"Shit!" Iris cursed and Night covered her mouth, muffling any other sounds she could make.
He moved his head towards the door, checking the outside for footsteps as he pressed her against the wall.
When he heard the people coming closer, he sighed in annoyance. His eyes met Irises. They couldn't leave– it wouldn't be safe to like this. Normally, he could climb the wall and hide, spider-style, on the ceiling. But Iris was still a rookie. She couldn't handle it– she'd fall onto the floor immediately and blow the mission.
He had to think of something quickly. Then he had an epiphany, there was only one thing they could do.
Night placed his hands gently on his trainee's face. He could hear her nervous breathing as the sound of footsteps in the hallways grew louder.
He leaned in, pushing some of her lilac hair strands behind her ear as he slowly inched closer to her lips.
He looked into her eyes, whispering softly.
"Just follow my lead..."
Lucy was taken aback. That line wasn't in the script... Was he adding his own improv, or, could it be that he was talking to... her?
He broke their eye contact, finally closing his eyes and connecting his lips to hers.
She returned the kiss, melting into his embrace. It was light and soft, not any less hesitant than the first one they'd shared.
He drew himself closer, his thumb absentmindedly caressing her cheek as he did. She felt her cheeks fill with heat. His lips felt so familiar, so intimate that it made her heart sting a little. But the feather-light touch on her lips pushed it aside, making her feel warm and safe.
"And, scene!" Gildarts yelled, satisfied.
They pulled away quickly. Natsu's hands were still on her face as his face stayed in place, the kiss still lingering as they breathed heavily. He looked into her eyes, and for a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a familiar soft, nervous expression on his face.
She knew she was blushing immensely as she stared back at him. Her brain started doing that thing where her thoughts swirled around like a tornado in her mind.
Why had he kissed her? Well, she knew why he had– it was in the script. But why hadn't he pretended like he had the previous times, during rehearsals? And what was with the sudden improv...?
They were broken out of their trance by the rest of the crew's cheers, celebrating the end of filming for the first episode. Natsu pushed himself away hurriedly, seemingly shocked himself. He avoided eye contact.
Lucy turned to the rest of the group, laughing it off nervously. She joined the crowd, and Cana appeared, quite randomly, draping her arm over Lucy's shoulder.
"Who's ready for a party?!" she cheered, and the other actors followed. It seems they were used to her antics.
"Everything's on my old man, Gildarts!" she announced, earning another round of cheers.
"Cana..." Gildarts whined, defeated as he felt his wallet fall empty already.
She willingly let the brunette drag her towards the door, too bewildered to walk on her own. She could usually scramble her brain for solutions in seconds, but today, she was at a loss.
It was always Natsu who was the one to throw her off of her game. Kissing her, not kissing her. What was he playing at?
She looked up to the sky and groaned in frustration. She was without a doubt going to be letting loose that night.
★ ★ ★
two chapters today ^^