For the past half an hour Rory found herself fidgeting randomly on Laxus' couch. Laxus sat two cushions away while the cute kitten couldn't decide who's lap she wanted to remain in. Every time Rory debating on cuddling with the kitten it would seem to become uninterested and head back to Laxus.

"You know I won't get mad if you love on the kitten too." Rory jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. Now that she had stopped thinking of him as a neanderthal she noticed the unique way his gravelly voice resonated in the room. That timbre of his voice she mentally picked apart and found arousing. She really wish the list would stop tipping the scales in the favor of her being infatuated with him.

Laxus was not understanding what was going on at the other end of the couch. Her hands were endlessly moving in rapid succession. She hadn't said much of anything since she got out of the shower. Her hair was drying in appealing spirals. He found he wanted to take one of those individual spirals and wrap it around his fingers.

Laxus looked at the kitten curiously. The thing was usually docile about wanting attention but now she wanted attention from them both and couldn't settle on who she wanted attention from more. He had taken care of enough strays over the years to know that cats were finicky creatures. They would boss around a person's heart until that person fell in love with the creature. Momentarily Laxus felt the same could be said for Rory. Maybe not love but infatuation at the least. He felt like without intending to she was bossing around his emotions until he made a move.

Rory shifted on the couch. She was growing very uncomfortable under his steel gaze. "Do you have anything we could watch on the lacrimavision?"

Laxus handed her the remote and prepared himself for the jolt he would feel when her fingers grazed his. She thought he lost his mind for a second because he seemed to be acting like her touch was germ infested.

Rory found the guide and promptly became excited. She flicked the channel to watch Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland. Laxus who had never seen the movie found himself confused upon the beginning.

"I've seen so many renditions of Alice in Wonderland before but this one is different. I find myself confused as to what is going on."

"Oh well it explains itself a little bit later. A lot of people didn't enjoy this movie because of the same confusion. This is loosely based on both the books Alice in Wonderland and the sequel Through the Looking Glass. This is more about Alice going back to Wonderland even though she doesn't remember her previous time being there."

Laxus saw Rory relax during the course of the movie and took that moment to scoot a bit closer to her. The kitten who was not thrilled with being moved in such a manner dropped down to curl into the spot Laxus vacated. As the movie progressed he would managed invading more of her space until he was inches from her as the credits began to scroll. He draped his arm on the back of the couch. "So let me guess what drew you to this movie was the actor that plays the Mad Hatter." It was more a statement then a question but Rory responded anyway.

"Not at all, don't get me wrong Johnny Depp isn't unattractive but he isn't the reason I love this movie. In fact normally Mad Hatter is one of my fave characters and while I still appreciate his character he's not my favorite in this version of the story."

"Who's your favorite then?"

Rory put her finger to her lip as she was thinking. "Honestly that's a tough question. I find myself drawn to a lot of the characters. I like Absolem because of his vagueness. It helps that Alan Rickman is the voice of Absolem. I also happen to love him as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series, and Marvin in Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I also really like Mallymkun. I find her character the right amount of sassy. But I have to say I think I identify with Alice the most. Her wanting to snub the Victorian sophisticated rules of life and go against typical views of what a woman should do and who a woman should be are big reasons why I like her so much."

"I can see that although I'm a bit confused." He hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise to ask her as she was talking. "Who's Absolem? Who's Mallymkun? I don't think I caught those names in the movie."

Rory smiled somewhat shyly. She would have to admit her fangirl moment over the movie but she didn't' really mind. "Well Absolem is easy they actually say it a lot when he first appears. Absolem is the blue caterpillar. Mallymkun is actually referred to by a shortened version of her name through most of the movie. Mostly you hear her referred to as Mally. But there is a brief moment in passing where Alice is in a hallway in the castle of the Queen of Hearts where she says her full name. I was curious to see what she had said because it happened so fast. I switched on the captions to find out for certain."

She waited for Laxus to laugh at her but when he didn't she looked over at him. She was surprised to find that he was only a few inches from her now, and that his arm had somehow made it behind her back resting along the top of the couch.

"I figured you would laugh at me or something?"

"Why? You are doing what the creators of the movie intended. You are enjoying the movie. What few movies I own I have found myself reacting similarly."

"Name one movie you own that you probably wouldn't share with the guys at the guild."

Laxus thought about all the movies he owned. It was actually a tricky question because he didn't really talk about his movie obsession. Then he thought of one that he rarely watched but was actually very philosophical for a movie. He wasn't sure he should say though because while it wasn't popular it was a tad on the artsy side.

"You thought of one. Tell me!"

Laxus sighed. "When I was younger I had an obsession with Jennifer Aniston. I caught a lot of reruns of the sitcom Friends and I would watch any movie with her in it. I came across this movie called Dream for an Insomniac and immediately I was confused. The movie starts out in black and white and the way the female character was dressed reminded me of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's."

"Maybe you should have admitted to liking Breakfast at Tiffany's."

"Pssh, Breakfast at Tiffany's is a classic. No one can fault me for liking a classic. But anyways the main girl who is played by Ione Skye is an insomniac who is going through life looking for mister right. When she meets a particular male character the screen goes to color. The two characters are perfectly matched. It was like they were made for each other. I don't know the whole movie has me in awe of it."

"So find it and we can watch it next."

"Are you sure?"

"If you like it that much I'm curious."

The two watched the movie in silence. Laxus would glance her way during a pivotal moment but her face gave nothing away. Once the movie ended she turned to him. "It was good not great. Jennifer Aniston's voices were touch and go. But honestly I loved David and Frankie together. I love how they bantered back and forth with each other. I especially loved their quoting back and forth that was a really cool concept. I feel like they could have done more with the ending though."

Everything she said regarding the movie were things he agreed with. He felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame and before he let reason interfere he leaned in and claimed her lips. If unintentionally touching her was like a live wire this was a full blown out bolt of lightning but instead of hurting it was invigorating. He devoured her lips as he felt her surrender to the kiss he coaxed the seam of her lips with his tongue. She let him in to explore the recess of her mouth.

Her body felt like it was on fire and relieved of the burn at the same time. Her stomach burned as his large muscular body invaded her space. She broke apart the kiss to look him in the eyes. His eyes momentarily changed from the steel gray to an alien yellow. She watched as they flicked back to the norm and took in a shaky breath.

Laxus turned to her. "As I see it Rory we can do one of two things here. We could ignore this chemistry we have for tonight. I can take the couch, and I'll let you have my bed. Or we can give in to whatever this is and explore it more together."

Rory bit her lip as she pondered over his words. "Laxus, I...uh...think I should tell you something first."

I had a hard time deciding where to go with this chapter. I did use two of my personal fave movies so I could easily identify with them myself. I hope you all still enjoyed it.