Note: Soulmate!AU, Farm!AU

Everything was moving in slow motion.

The meadow swayed like a sea of green filled with poppies and purple thistles. The breeze shifted the leaves from the trees in the distance while the sun glowed in the blue skies.

In the midst of the meadow was a young girl; she couldn't be older than five. Her dirty blonde hair bounced and flowed as she ran through the meadow, arms outstretched as her fingers brushed at the top of the thistles.

She'd look over her shoulders, revealing her wide, pale grey eyes. She'd give the sweetest smile and open her mouth to say something, as if talking to someone following her.

Like he was following her.

Theo's eyes shot open, and he sat up, looking around in a small panic after turning on his lamp. When he saw the action figures still sitting on his dresser, the handmade quilt he'd made with his Nana hanging on the wall, and the red bird pecking on the window, he knew that he was still in his bedroom on the farm.

The young boy flopped back on his pillow and rubbed his head. It felt like the girl in his dream was so real, like he was supposed to know her. He'd been having dreams about her for as long as he could remember having dreams. Theo told his Pa about it once.

"Dreams ain't nothin' but imagination, boy," his father said with a gruff. "Now get out there and feed them chickens." His father started to walk away, shaking his head and muttering something like 'tryna stress me out over some damn dreams.'

As a six-year-old boy, Theo could only oblige and follow his pa's orders; but he couldn't get her out of his mind.

He couldn't explain it then, but he had a feeling that one day he'd meet the girl from his dreams. Until then, little Theo would feed the chickens like a good boy.

Slow motion set in once again.

There was powder blue water that cascaded down a series of rocky outcrops, giving the image of multiple waterfalls. The water would rush into a pond of moderate size, big enough for a group of people to jump and enjoy themselves in it.

At the top, where the waterfall began, the blonde beauty stood. She was older now, surely sixteen or seventeen. Her hair was longer, decorated in multi-colored flowers that matched the floral design of her dress.

Her eyes were closed, but one arm was outstretched.

If only he could hold her hand.

Except another boy's hand was held in the space that was meant for him. She looked over her shoulder with that sweet, soft smile on her face, and her lips parted.

Theo sat up in a frenzy and turned on the lamp on his nightstand, rubbing his face in his hands. He was well aware of the teenage hormones he'd get thanks to the 'talks' his pa would give him growing up, but he was not prepared for anything like this.

It was a slow burning inside his chest, a churning in the pit of his stomach. The feeling was unexpected, admittedly, but Theo had a guess why he felt the way he did.

A hand that didn't belong to him was held by the girl in his dreams. It couldn't be healthy, but Theo didn't care. As a farm boy, he didn't have as many friends as his pa expected, so the blonde was his solace when he returned home from school.

She never left his mind; it was slowly becoming an obsession. Theo wanted to tell someone about it, but he was picked on enough.

Now he had to see her holding another boy's hand. The feeling was confusing him, but the thought of that moment pissed him off even more.

With a grunt Theo got out of bed, headed for the tool closet in the hallway, grabbed the axe, and made his way outside. Goosebumps formed over his pale chest—considering he was only wearing pajama bottoms—from the cold night air. His grip on the axe handle was strong; chopping some wood sounded like a good idea right then. Good for him to release frustration, and good for his pa, thinking he was getting the wood in early for the furnace.

Once he had the large block of wood set up for chopping, Theo raised the axe above his head with as much strength as he could muster.

But the sound of a thunderous crash in the house caught his attention.

"Boy!" his father called out before coughing harshly. "Get in here! In here now!"

Panicked, Theo ran inside the house, axe long forgotten on the ground.

"Pa! No!"

Ten years had passed, and Theo could only remember one dream he'd had of the blonde beauty. After his pa's death when he was seventeen, Theo had taken over the responsibilities on the farm. A dark cloud had formed over his head for years after that, and he had no dreams to help him through it.

He once thought it was because he was to blame for his pa's death. If he weren't so jealous of events happening in a dream, he would have been inside the house already and gotten to his pa faster.

The doctors said it was a heart attack, too much stress; there was nothing Theo could have done. Except Theo thought differently. He thought that he was the reason of his pa's stress, thinking back to what he said when he was six; so the more dreams he'd had and mentioned, the more stress he'd put his pa under. It wasn't the actual case, but Theo felt that it was a better punishment to serve at the loss.

After that, he'd only dreamt of her once; and he no longer believed that they'd meet in reality. She had to be real in order for that to happen.

Knock, knock, knock

Turning on his lamp, Theo sat up and rubbed his eyes with a groan. He got out of bed, brushing his hair out of his eyes and making his way to the front door.

He didn't bother asking the person who he or she was; the only people who came to the farm were people who needed something. He had no friends, no family; just a quiet, somber for him. Theo opened the door, and he nearly fell back from the sudden sporadic beating of his heart.

He stared into the pale silver eyes of the girl in his dreams. She was clearly a woman now, despite her short stature.

"It's you," Theo said softly, gripping the side of the door panel tightly.

She blinked and tilted her head to the right slightly. "I should have known we would meet this way," she said. "You're taller in person."

Theo shook his head, still bewildered at meeting this woman. It couldn't be possible.

"Huh…wait…what?" he stammered, stepping back to let her in. He was positive that he wasn't thinking clearly. Just to make sure that he wasn't seeing things, Theo turned on the lamp in the hallway to see things better.

She was still there.

"I saw you," she said, gliding into the farmhouse like a doe in the forest pond. "You in my dreams. I believe I was watching memories of you." She smiled that smile that made butterflies flutter in his stomach. "It was like a movie. When they stopped, I knew I had to find you in case something was wrong."

"I…" Theo didn't know what to make of her. She was actually in his walkway; and she saw him in her dreams. That meant what he saw of her were memories, not figments of his own imagination. Guilt began to eat at him for being jealous in the past.

"My name is Luna," she informed him, turning around to face him. Luna reached out to touch his cheek lightly with her fingertips. Her eyes scanned his face, and the smallest of creases formed between her brows. "I was right. Something was wrong."

All the turmoil and torment Theo put himself through, it was all brushed away at the warmth he felt being in Luna's presence. It was like a hole being filled; the last piece of the puzzle was found and fit perfectly. He didn't care about what she did or how she did it to get to him because she was exactly what he needed right then.

Her touch was electrifying, and that old obsession of her in his mind was slowly returned.

"Patience, Theodore," Luna said. "I'm here now, and we have time."

For her, he would believe it. They had all the time in the world; he had all the time to marvel at her beauty in the flesh.

"How did you know my name?" he asked, realizing that he didn't introduce himself.

"The minute I stopped having my dreams, I tried to find out who you were and where you were," Luna explained, smiling. "And I did."

Theo was pensive, looking from the rushing water and Luna. They had taken a week to get to know one another better at his farm, but she wanted to take him to the waterfall he saw in his dream. He wouldn't admit it was because she held another boy's hand there years ago, but he didn't have to. Somehow, she'd known anyway.

Now that they were standing above the rushing water, he was having second thoughts. "I'm not so sure about this," he said.

Luna slipped her hand into his, offering a gentle grin. "Just trust me."

It was the twinkle in Luna's eyes that gave Theodore the reassurance that he needed. She made him feel complete and ultimately, safe.

They nodded simultaneously, and after taking deep breaths, Theodore and Luna leaped into the waterfall.

He felt like he was in slow motion with Luna at his side while they dove into the water below. When the water hit his face, it only made the point of having his soulmate in his life clearer than ever before. Time never took away the determination from his blonde beauty like it did him; for that, he was grateful. Only God knows where he'd be without her.

A/N: Written for The Houses Competition, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments), and Hunger Games Fanfic Style III Round 1

(THC) House: Gryffindor; Year/Position: Year 4 Stand-In; Category: Additional Short; Prompt: (object) lamp

(HSWW) Assignment #1 Archeology Task 4: write a fic spanning 20 years

Showtime: 28. The Room Where It Happens - (emotion) jealousy

Ami's Audio Admirations: 7. Bella - write about someone common

Sophie's Shelf - Vault 53 - (word) stress

Hamilton Mania - Act 1. - 11. Falling in Love: (genre) romance. Optional Prompt - (word) climb

Insane House Challenge: Title - Timeless Beauty

(HGFS3) (word) unexpected, (emotion) jealousy, (dialogue) "I'm not so sure about this." / "Just trust me.", (genre) hurt/comfort, (au) soulmates, (weapon) axe

Word Count: 1,708