Title: The Heart Beats
Pairing: NaLu
Summary: Soulmate AU mashup - Red Strings. Forgotten Dreams. Colors of Gray. Marked Skin. Unfamiliar Names. Soulmates have different meanings for everyone, and Lucy struggles to find the courage to take her next step forward. Will she finally claim her future or will feelings go left unsaid?
Rating: M – sort of? probably?
None of these characters are owned by me, they are all owned by the wonderful Hiro Mashima!
A/N:
that stupidly wonderful soulmate au where they write on the arms and then its on the other person
I wanted to do that so here I am
I kinda wanted to do a mashup of all the soulmate aus but I cant remember half of them so I had to dig lmao but I found some good ones so we'll go off of those
Soulmates have a different meaning for everyone. Lucy's friend Erza had once been able to see color after meeting the man she loved and had that newfound world ripped from her when they parted. Levy spent years chasing a red string to no avail. Gray meets a woman in his dreams every night but each memory made is forgotten when he wakes. It was like a set up to the world's worst rom-com, she decided.
She had her own disastrous connection. She tugged at the dark black top that was currently exposing her midriff. She was normally careful about her clothing choice but since it had been a few days since the last incident she figured it was safe to explore the unused section of her closet. This had been a spur of the moment buy – one of her favorites – that she'd never worn. It was black, no sleeves, and a turtleneck tee.
It was cute and now it was ruined. Not the top, but the body wearing it. She grimaced at the raging purple flaring up her side. It would fade soon enough but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. Why was her soulmate so… so reckless. She hissed loudly as another splotch of color dusted her cheek.
She looked like someone who was participating in some kind of underground fight club. Luckily, it didn't hurt. It was more like they were sharing skin. Anything that appeared on her skin would appear on his and vice versa. Her knuckle became bright red with streaks running down the backs of her hands. He was fighting again. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror while color dripped from her skull. Did he have to be such an idiot?
A grimace, once again, graced her lips. The thing about this… skin-sharing ability was that while color (in this case blood) didn't stick, scars did. There was never an ounce of pain when a wound appeared but while the bright reds and ugly blues would fade quickly – the leftovers remained. Luckily, it'd only be small scratches here or there and not some freak accident that left them both marred.
She did sometimes wonder what he did to get injured so often – if he was some kind of a daredevil. Maybe he was a boxer or in security. Her thumb ran over the bleeding red as it faded from her skin. A shower, she realized as the same happened with the rest of the color covering her body like it was an empty canvas. The bruise he sustained would take longer but at least this time the wounds weren't serious.
Her eyes drifted to her clutch on the floor where she'd dropped it after becoming scared by her own reflection. Eyebrows scrunched together as she dug her way through its contents in search of the cheap ballpoint pen she'd stolen (by accident) from her doctor's office yesterday. Lipstick. Phone (she'd check for cracks later). Two cards. Plastic. Smooth. She pulled the stolen pen from her bag and tested the ink on her palm first. Good, it was still working.
'Are you alright?' it took a bit of work but the ink dried on her skin instead of washing away as it normally would if he was still showering. That was a good sign.
'Fine.' Short. If she could hit him she would.
'Did you think I wouldn't notice being the human equivalent of art?'
'I don't say anything about your bio notes.' True, but an unnecessary sting.
'I struggle with that subject. It's not a crime.'
'You think mine are?' She pondered her response while staring at the scraggly handwriting she'd come to know so well.
'Maybe.'
Silence. Well, more like empty. His responses normally came quickly but it seemed he was either delayed or he was sulking. Probably the latter but she'd never met him before so what would she know. With her skin clean and the bruise a light purple, she figured it was safe to return. Luckily, her outfit was perfect for hiding the less obvious coloring.
Black long-sleeved jacket that reached her knees, her now less-favorite top, tight skinny jeans, and a cute pair of ankle boots. Honestly, it flashed her back to her high school punk days. Dark clothing, smudged eyeliner; the works.
The only difference was she had style now and she wasn't rebelling for 'daddy'. Her father wasn't a very forgiving man during that period. Not that he was now. Brushing blonde strands back into place, she rejoined her friends.
"Finally! You were in the bathroom for forever, Lu!" she was. She offered an apologetic smile in Levy's direction.
"Did ya fall in or something?" Gray received a scowl.
"No. My soulmate had a… situation." she averted her eyes. It always felt weird when she talked to Gray and Levy. He had his own soulmate, but he wasn't able to remember her. The only inkling he had of her was that she had a soft aura and she was… well, a girl. And then Levy was… that was it's own mess.
"Again? That dude needs to calm down." Levy was a firm proponent in soulmates but hated Lucy's. The aforementioned girl groaned loudly. She needed another cappuccino.
"What about you guys?" she decided to redirect.
"What asshole decided to have red strings be a thing? It's annoying is what it is." Levy's small rant told Lucy all she needed to know. The blunette was still suffering from her own ventures.
"Shit man. Still no luck?" Gray made an annoyed clicking noise with his tongue. He hated the soulmates deal more than the rest of them.
"I-" Levy was stopped mid-sentence as the door to the shop was thrown open and a disheveled employee ran behind the counter with his body shaking to pull in air with desperation. He must've ran.
Normally, Lucy would overlook him, but he was hard to ignore with salmon-colored hair. Was that his natural hair color? It wasn't like she could ask. She brought the now-cold cup of coffee to her lips and sipped. Just as she'd thought it would be; disgusting.
"I'll be back," she mumbled, leaving the two to grumble to each other in annoyance about their soulmates.
"Hey! How can I help ya?" the pinkette had the widest grin she'd ever seen. He looked happier than any other barista she'd met in this shop. Well, to be fair, all 5 of them had just moved here a week ago so they hadn't been around. Plus, Levy had just found this place yesterday and insisted it be their college hot spot. Which was fine by Lucy. They needed a new coffee hut anyway.
"Just one cappuccino, please." the clicking of keys caught her attention before numbers flashed on the pad in front of her and she was prompted to swipe her card. She was haphazardly shoving her card into her wallet when a ceramic cup was placed on the small dish in front of her. Steam wafted off in waves.
"Woah! That was quick, thank you so much." Shock was a look that Natsu knew well. He was quick but precise and wasn't one to waste time. Somehow, he was kicking himself for not taking more time to make her drink. She seemed… nice. And for whatever reason, he wanted to talk to her a bit longer.
"It's not a problem…?" he paused; waiting for her to feel in the blank.
"Ah! Lucy. My name's Lucy and yours?" Lucy kicked herself for catching the prompt so late but at least she responded.
"Natsu." the boy leaned on the counter with his full attention on her. Sure, this was a relatively empty shop but it was odd for someone to take this kind of interest in her so quickly.
"Thank you for the drink, Natsu."
"Of course. It's my job ya know." he was teasing her, she hoped. As a previous socialite, theoretically, she knew how to take cues. Theoretically being the key term.
"Well, I would hope so." a chuckle escaped his lips. Natsu wanted to keep this going but when a man in a business suit stepped up behind her he gave a small sigh.
"Duty calls."
Lucy took her cue to go relatively easy and she returned to the glinting eyes of a romance-loving carnivore.
"What was that~?" the blunette teased with what Lucy considered to be a mischievous grin and concerning chuckles.
"It was nothing! I was just getting a refill!" it wasn't nothing. It was a strange magnetic pull. Something felt off about her body. Her heart was beating fast but it was uncomfortable. It was like she could feel two heartbeats at once. Could it be her connection to her partner becoming stronger? Nah, it couldn't be, she decided.
"Well, you'd better chug that, 'cause we gotta meet Erza in an hour." Gray clicked a few keys on his phone with a slight glance in her direction.
"Too busy flirting to check your texts?" he teased.
"Et tu, Gray?" the back of her hand went to her forehead as she gave an exasperated sigh before she went back into the hellscape of her clutch to retrieve her phone.
Erza Scarlet [2:24 P.M.]
Meet me at Blue Pegasus at 3:30 P.M.
No context, of course. It was typical Erza-style to command now and explain later.
"What do ya think is wrong this time?" Gray had a habit of expressing his dislike at being ordered around with passive aggressive conversation.
"Who knows. She did mention something about pillows not matching." Levy had just given them a needle in a haystack. That could have been about anything; size, shape, soft to hard ratio, the list goes on.
"Do you think… No, that's impossible." Levy shook her hand in the air as if waving off the idea. Then, it clicked.
"She's seeing colors?" the words left her mouth and a hush fell over the cafe. That could only mean one thing: he was back.
A/N:
So this is going to be a 3-parter (probably) This is the first segment and i'm hella excited for it tbh
also assuming all goes well then chapter 2 of Old Bullets is going to get posted tomorrow with some cool information attached to it
So, I hope you like this first bit and ill see you next chapter!