#lmaoooooooooo idk how i feel about this but here yall go

[mikeshanlon]

our love was made for movie screens;

pairing: riley matthews and lucas friar word count: 1.5k prompt: “day one: canon verse - something that takes place in the canon universe as we know it” written for: rucas fanfic week 2017 summary: lucas friar loves the movies, but he love seeing them with riley even more. a/n: so, this is my first rucas oneshot, and it’s probably not that great, have mercy. the fic is set in the summer between 7th and 8th grade. there’s been a lot of references to rucas movie dates in the show (gm texas pt. 3 and gm the new year) but we never saw any of it, so i imagined what one of them was like. the movies mentioned are avengers age of ultron (cursed) and inside out (which i haven’t seen dfgjdfg) and the title is from all i want by kodaline. 

There was something special about going to the movies. Maybe it was splurging on overpriced buttery popcorn and sugary sweet chocolate, or finding the perfect seat to settle into. Perhaps it was escaping screams and the crushing weight of expectations, the feeling of knuckles and the taste of blood-- the distraction of being transported into another world and focusing on someone else’s problems. But the best thing, to Lucas, was the company. He wasn’t always the best at talking to others, unsure of his words, but he didn’t have to talk when he was at the movies. Lucas was allowed to bask in presence of his friends, listen to their laughs and watch them cry, just be. The movies revealed the little things that made his newfound friends tick or burst out into grins. It helped him understand the crazy people who were Farkle, Maya, and Riley; while he seemed to fit in well with the three, he still had a lot to learn about the native New Yorkers.

Lucas Friar loved the movies, plain and simple.

Yes, he even enjoyed going with Farkle, who spoiled the whole thing twenty minutes in using his genius powers. Once he got over being annoyed, it was honestly sort of adorable how excited Farkle got when he figured everything out, although Farkle would probably resent that comment.

Maya always had snarky side comments about the movie that made Lucas chuckle, although when Riley was with them he’d have to hide his laughter from her judging stare. The two of them often saw horror movies together because Riley and Farkle were too scared to go. She’d laugh at the gore and torture, which was slightly worrisome to Lucas, but she’d just say it was ‘so obviously fake Huckleberry’ when they left the theater. Whenever the characters did something stupid she’d yell at the screen, clenching her fists in anger-- it was safe to say her constant talking had gotten them kicked out on more than one occasion.

His favorite person to go to the movies with by far though was Riley Matthews. Maybe that was due to his major crush for the brunette who loved purple cats and cotton candy, but she was the most fun to go with. She didn’t talk throughout the movie, being as enraptured as he was, but the two would passionately discuss every miniscule detail for hours over hot chocolate from Svorski's afterwards.

Lucas loved the way she’d laugh too loud at every single joke, and make sure nobody heard her with an embarrassed blush across her cheeks. To him, her laugh was more beautiful than all of the soundtracks combined.

Tonight, the two of them were seeing the newest superhero blockbuster together. Usually, the whole group saw those movies together, but Maya and Farkle had betrayed them and gone and seen it early.

Okay, maybe ‘betrayed’ was a little strong, but Lucas was very passionate about films and seeing Captain America kick some ass.

They stood in line for the tickets, just close enough for their hands to brush. Riley’s hair was in it’s usual waves, with some small braids making a crown around her head. She looked gorgeous against the summer sunset with hues of pink, purple, and orange. Part of him wished the jean jacket she had over her red dress with white flowers was his own, and he made a mental note to find the denim jacket in his closet when he got home. After he inevitably spent an hour thinking about the evening of course.

“I’m so excited,” Riley grinned, rocking back and forth on her heels, “Avoiding spoilers from Maya and Farkle was one of the hardest things of my life though.”

Lucas nodded in agreement, “At least Maya doesn’t do it intentionally like a certain friend of ours.”

“Mm, it’s sort of endearing though” Riley fiddled with her wallet.

Even though Lucas agreed he decided to tease her a little, “You think everything’s endearing when it comes to your friends.”

“True, but that’s because you guys are amazing,” Riley beamed, “Like, for instance, you are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

Oh. This definitely backfired. Lucas looked away to hide the blush spreading across his tanned cheeks.

“Uh, thanks Riley.”

Riley nodded in satisfaction, a glimmer in her eye making him think she meant to get him all flustered.

The line inched forward and they bought their respective tickets. Even though he knew it wasn’t really a date he still hated seeing her pay for her own things, so, being the true southern gentleman he is, Lucas bought all the snacks.

“Lucas, I’m an independent woman who can pay with her own money” the brunette protested.

“I’m pretty sure you got that money from Topanga” Lucas countered.

Riley sheepishly admitted this was true, “But I’m going to set aside some gummy bears for you okay? What color do you like the best?”

Lucas shrugged as they picked up their food and located their theater, “I don’t really care, whichever ones you don’t want.”

“That won’t do,” Riley shook her head, “you aren’t getting my scraps. What about  blue?”

He looked at her quizzically, not understanding her reasoning.

“Isn’t that your favorite color?”

“Uh, y-yeah, it is. Thanks.”

God, he was a mess.

They found a nice spot in the middle towards the back to settle in and enjoy the action. There were only a few trailers left before the movie started, and one for the upcoming Disney movie appeared on the large screen. Riley began digging into her extra large popcorn that she always finished way too early and had to get more. He hated when she was gone for too long though, so he made sure to get more than he usually did so they could share later.

“I can’t wait to see that one,” Riley leaned into his side and whispered, “The main character has the same name as me-- isn’t that cool?”

Lucas chuckled, “Well, we’ll see it when it comes out then.”

Soon the movie started, and the audience were thrown in the middle of a chaotic fight scene, with loud explosions and guns. The music swelled up and matched the fast paced nature of the scene. Riley jumped beside him as a body fell to the floor, and reached out to grab his bicep for reassurance. Her hand stayed there until the action died down and she took a deep breath before digging into her food. The loss of warmth and touch disappointed Lucas, but it was adorable how she didn’t even realize what she did.

He glanced over, seeing her pick out a red gummy bear and savagely tear off it’s head, her chocolate eyes transfixed on the screen. Even though Lucas loved the movies, Riley was a much more beautiful sight.

However, Steve Rogers just showed up on screen, and Captain America was sort of his favorite superhero ever (although he’s been told he has more similarities to Hulk) so he focused on the movie instead.

The movie was about halfway over, and Lucas was pretty livid-- Natasha and Bruce?! Now he understood why Maya and Farkle had been yelling all week. He had expected more from the movie, so his interest plummeted, he honestly just wanted to leave and send a letter of complaint to Joss Whedon.

But he was with Riley, and any moment with her was one well spent, and he wanted to make the most of it; especially with the absence of Maya and Farkle.

Now, because of his love for the silver screen, Lucas considered himself a bit of a movie aficionado. And with that knowledge came and endless list of tropes and references from rom-coms, horror movies, and action films.

Just about everyone knew it. Person A pretends to yawn and puts an arm around Person B. Cliche as all hell, but Lucas was getting frustrated with the lack of progression of their relationship, and if it all went wrong, he could just move back to Texas and live in solitude until death. Completely rational.

Thankfully, the scene was pretty boring, so yawning wasn’t super unrealistic. Lucas shifted in his seat and feigned his best yawn (he nailed the lead role of Romeo for a reason) before stretching out and hooking his arm around the back of Riley’s seat.

Riley burst out into giggles and quickly covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle the laughter.

“Are you laughing at me?!” Lucas whispered in what was somehow both genuine and faux mortifying embarrassment and disbelief.

“No!” Riley squeaked, but the laughter continued to tumble out of her pink lips, “...Maybe.”

Lucas began to move his arm away but Riley scooted in closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Gummy bear?” she offered him some in her palm, and graciously took them.

A smile to bright it rivaled the sun spread across his face, and he munched on gummy bears and popcorn for the rest of the movie, rubbing small circles into Riley’s arm.

There was something special about going to the movies, but there was also something extremely special about Riley Matthews and feeling of comfort and joy she gave him.

Lucas Friar loved the movies, plain and simple. And it was too soon to call whatever the two of them shared ‘love’, but he was sure he could learn to feel the same way about her.