Note: AU - Soulmates


Tuned

It was a morning like so many others, in a day like any other.

The team had finished a mission on the previous day and so they were having breakfast together. It was a noisy affair, voices and laughter permeating the busy room, along with the delicious scents that wafted from the food.

Natsu was sitting beside Lucy, with Happy on his other side. He was eating with gusto, as it was usual in him, distracted from the conversations that were being had. He really didn't notice if Lucy and Erza were discussing one thing or the other but by the corner of his eye he would glance at Happy and check on his dear friend. Happy was also eating contentedly, mirroring the fire mage.

The noise from the guild blurred together into what could be described as an indiscernible cloud of noise which, as per usual, surrounded him and left him to his devices. If he focused, he would be able to listen to the conversations nearby but all the rest would remain as a noise cloud.

That was something that happened to the detuned ones. The surrounding noise would always be a dark cloud of indiscernible noise, oft weighing down on a person's being.

Still, Natsu paid no mind to it. He and his friends had returned home safe and sound – and he just knew that Lucy would elbow him on the side if he said that out loud but, hey, it wasn't his fault that that side of the building was in such a crumbly state! – and were together with their family and that was what mattered.

Well, from the previous day's team there was a certain ice mage missing.

Maybe he overslept? Natsu thought to himself. It was certainly plausible… Gray liked to sleep in, that was for sure. He wasn't used to getting up with the sun, like Natsu.

The fire mage grabbed his mug and downed its contents.

It was right at that moment that a noise made him gasp and he ended up placing the mug on the table with a bit more force than necessary, spilling some of the contents onto his hand. Natsu coughed and gasped, trying to get rid of the weird feeling in his throat. He looked around, startled.

Then the noise came again.

It was… soft. Ethereal and strangely like wind chimes in the distance.

Natsu stood, pushing the chair back, it tipped and fell down. The fire mage looked around, trying to locate it.

He realized that Happy, Lucy and Erza were looking at him strangely.

"Didn't you hear it?" He finally blurted out.

"Huh?" Lucy asked intelligently.

"Hear what?" Erza said at the same time.

"The noise." Natsu reiterated.

"What noise, aye?" Happy asked and flew to hover by Natsu's shoulder.

"That…" The fire mage scratched his head, frowning down at the table.

There was thud noise that made Natsu look up. Gray was looking back at him, eyebrow arched in enquiry.

"What's going on?" The ice mage asked.

And there it was, again, the chiming and a strange clarity that made the cloud of noise lift.

"You!" Natsu all but blurted out, finger pointing at Gray. In return he had Gray looking surprised. His mouth was open and moved a couple of times without noise coming out of it.

"It's you!" Natsu repeated.

"I can't believe this." Gray ran a hand through his face and sat heavily on his chair. "I'm tuned to you?"

"Hey, I can't believe it either. I mean, you?" Natsu made a goofy face.

"What do you mean by me?" Gray said in outrage.

"I don't believe this!" Lucy's excited voice cut through their exchange. "You guys are tuned together! That's so cute." She began giggling.

That made twin blushes bloom in the boys' cheeks.

"This is a motive for celebration!" Someone from a nearby table said.

The statement was followed by an uproarious "yes" coming from everyone at the guild.

Before long, the guild had entered into party-mode and music, drinks, food and laughter were back, full-force.

At Fairy Tail good news were always a good reason to celebrate. Grandiosely.

Natsu and Gray were sitting at the table, in the eye of the hurricane and still quite a bit stunned.

Then Gray shook himself and slapped his hand on the table.

"Okay, huh, we should talk?" He finished, scratching his head distractedly.

"Fine. But put back your shirt first. How do you even do that, Gray?" Natsu let out an amused snort at seeing the other's bare torso.

Gray mock-glared before throwing a pastry at Natsu. It landed right on the other's cheek.

"Oh, you're on, ice brain." Natsu replied as he chucked a sandwich at Gray, seeing it fall apart before reaching the target.

"Boys!" Someone said from the side-lines as Natsu jumped over the table and threw himself at Gray, both were laughing.

At that point, the celebration got even messier with food being thrown to and fro, in a massive food fight. But, at the same time, the laughter got louder and more joyous.

And that was how the best days at the guild were spent.


Of course that later that day, instead of laughter, it was grumbles that sounded, as the Master arrived and made the mages clean the mess…

But, all in all, it was a fun day.