STAR-CROSSED | NALU

05 | lights, camera, action

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!"