AN: Annnnnd another one: Happy Valentine's Day firemageking

It was very nice talking to you the few days we had as Cupid and Valentine, haha! I'm so excited to give you this fic, and I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day ;)

This is my first Nalu fic, so I hope you enjoy it! I like these two in soulmates AUs but you had three very cute AUs you wanted to see so I thought some vignettes would be sweet for these two cuties!


In the many iterations of their souls, Lucy usually notices Natsu first. There's an inexplicable warmth to him she can't quite put her finger on—his presence is a bright flame that draws her in. Their love instantly binds them, pulling and consuming them in an intense blaze.

Sometimes Natsu is the first to notice Lucy. In those lifetimes, their love is a slow crescendo that builds to a climax so passionate and intense it's impossible to ignore.

And rarely do they ignore it.

They were soulmates, it was hard for them to disregard the intense pull that drew them towards each other. It was a powerful force that totally consumed them, and in less forgiving cycles left them fraught. Soulmates had the privilege of never truly being separated, no matter how far apart they may be.

In the many iterations of their souls, they are usually there to help the other carry the weight of their love.

Usually.

Sometimes they miss each other.

It had happened at random one day when Lucy stood on the train platform, waiting for her train into work when she looked up from her phone and spotted him. This stranger across the way, standing right across from her, separated by tracks and traveling in opposite directions. She could feel the tears sting at the corners of her eyes—he looked the same as the day they had first met. An instantaneous and overwhelming warmth urged her towards the stranger the more and more she stared.

When he looked up from his phone the warmth intensified and Lucy found herself taking a step towards him, desperate to fall face first into that familiar flame.

The sharp tug of her collar pulled her back from the edge of the platform as the train sped through with a harsh gust of wind. Lucy paid no mind to the worried voices that immediately surrounded her apparent attempted train suicide. She got to her feet and desperately looked through the windows of the train car to the platform across the way. He was nowhere to be found, and his warmth had left with him.

Lucy took her seat in the corner, eyes downcast, and desperate to feel that warmth once again.

XXXX

When the connection is instantaneous, they both feel their inexplicable longing finally wash away.

"I finally found you," Natsu groans entering the small storefront.

"Ah, you're the one who called for the special order of silver paint, right?"

Natsu offers an exhausted nod before resting his head on the counter.

"I'll go fetch it for you," the petite woman says before disappearing to the back. A few minutes later a blonde woman takes her place, holding a medium-sized can, dried flaking paint covering her hands.

In this lifetime, Natsu immediately feels the warmth between them. When he rises off the counter to look into her eyes, he can see the millions of lifetimes they have lived together and the many more they have yet to live.

Lucy can feel it build up so quickly and so suddenly she loses her grip on the can. She doesn't react when the other woman runs in, frantic to mitigate the mess and save the paint. Lucy's concentration is too deeply ensnared by the stranger she has never met before.

In this lifetime, Natsu is also the one to break their deafening silence.

"I finally found you."

XXXX

There are cycles where friendship flourishes in the place of romance—the strength of their platonic connection just as immovable as their romantic ones.

In the instances their love stays grounded, constrained by circumstances beyond their control—someone gets married young, separated by locale, another dies before they can meet—their longing fizzles out to a deep, poignant numbness.

In the cycles where death prematurely separates them, neither of them are ever truly the same afterward.

Lucy pulls the young boy in, smiling as he nestles himself into her side as they continue to stare up. The little boy sneaks a look at his mother, "mama?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think papa is watching us too?"

Lucy can hardly pull herself to look into his big brown eyes but somehow she manages. "I am sure he is watching all of us." She ruffles his pink hair before taking his small hand and placing it on her expanding belly.

The little boy's face is absolutely aglow, and he presses his lips to his mother's stomach. "Hear that, Jay? You'll meet papa!"

Lucy's eyes are overflowing as she turns back to the expansive heavens, "I can't wait to meet you again."

The twinkle of a shooting star flashes and disappears.

XXXX

They don't always meet or end on amicable terms. Sometimes the passion burns so intensely it hurts to be around the other, no matter how hard they try to hold on. In these cycles neither come out unscathed, but they always manage to continue on—injured sheep in the flock.

The next iteration found them as teenagers on a gondola in the middle of an amusement park. The sky was dark, and twinkling with the lights of several rides and attractions. Lucy's heart hammered in her chest, sitting in silence on opposite sides of the lift as they continued their ascent.

It was the most romantic place in their city, and also the site where they had just ended their relationship. By the time they realized what was happening, they were already next in line and just made their way into the car.

Lucy peered out the window, silent as she took in the view, never wanting the moment to end, when Natsu whispered something that confused her.

"I can't wait to meet you again."

XXXX

Fortunately, fate seems to favor their connection.

The next time Lucy sees him, he's in the crowd of her show where she's trying to get him to come down and assist her. In that large blur of people one stands out. Lucy doesn't know if its the wide grin, or the contrast of his loud pink hair against his olive skin, but she can't look away and neither can he.

And when he is done descending the stairs of the large circus arena, she's overwhelmed by that familiar warmth she had been unknowingly longing for.

XXXX

In all the lifetimes Lucy has lived, she can always remember a fondness for the stars. Oftentimes it's borne in her—something so natural she can't deny—and other times Natsu helps her discover her love of the heavens. She can vaguely recall the moments they shared under the stars, enjoying each other's company. There was always a sense they had been doing it for a while—not just stargazing, but being in the other's presence.

Nothing felt more like home.

"Hey, there. No need to cry, sweetheart." Lucy scoops her daughter into her arms, and presses a kiss to the small girl's forehead. She shares a knowing look with Natsu who smiles behind his cup.

"But it's raining," she hiccups, rubbing her tear-stained cheeks. "They won't meet." It had been the first year she had been old enough to understand the mythology surrounding Tanabata, and it appeared it wasn't going to be a happy ending she had hoped for.

Lucy can only give a small smile. She is taken with the intensity of her daughter's investment in the story in only the way a child can be so deeply invested. She runs her fingers through the girls hair, "it's ok." She soothes, "they'll meet again. Don't you worry."

The little girl looks up at her mother with big brown eyes peeking out from her pink fringe. Her face is hopeful yet utterly perplexed, "really?"

"They always find a way back to each other," Natsu says softly. He reaches out, and takes Lucy's free hand in his.

Lucy nods, and gently squeezes Natsu's hand.

"Always."


AN: There ya have it, lol my first Nalu! I hope you enjoyed the fic, I hope you had a great Valentine's Day! You said you liked angst and fluff as well as circus AUs, artist AUs, and festival AUs and look the gang is all here lmao (also your favorite color and child name of choice so look at that (;)

I thought that Tanabata was the absolute greatest little festival for these two, and I hope you agree!

Leave a review if you can ;D