*** Another little one-shot for Fairy Tail :3 Enjoy, guys! (And yes, there will be a part two ;D)


Type: Modern RL AU

Theme: Everyone says colors are fantastic. Not that Gray would know, of course. You see, the world is in black and white for everyone who hasn't met their other half yet. When you meet the eyes of your soul-mate, they say, the world bursts into bright, fantastic color. Gray has been waiting all seventeen years of his life to meet his soul-mate, and when he catches a faint glimpse of color - a flash of bright pink - one day on the subway, he chases it all across town so he can finally see color for the first time. (Inspired by the story Color my World, written by i-x-ship-x-it. Their concept, not mine! Read their story!)

Pairings: Gratsu (Gray x Natsu. I'm trying ALL the couples, guys. Be warned.)


A World in Color, Part One

It was a normal day for Gray. He was taking the subway home after a hard day of boring, black-and-white (literally) classes, and all he wanted to do was collapse in a chair with a cup of tea. Of course, Gray thought, school would be far less boring in color. But Gray hadn't met his soul-mate yet, and for all he knew, he never would. After all, the chance of meeting your soul-mate, considering that the world was filled up with 7.4 billion people, was one in two-thousand, and Gray had terrible luck.

Sighing, Gray rested his chin in the palm of his hand, glancing out the window at the gray walls rocketing by. Man, he thought glumly. I'm so sick of grays and blacks and whites. Please, just give me a spot of color. Gray had read so many articles describing the different colors, he was drunk picturing what they might look like. But how can you picture something you've never seen?

Glancing to the left, Gray peered into the train car ahead of him, and gasped when he caught a bright flash of something that could only be color. And from what Gray had read online, it was pink. He'd seen a flash of sakura pink. He'd seen color, even if it was only for a brief second! Did that mean his soul-mate when in the train car in front of his? Gray tapped his foot anxiously against the metal floor of the car, craning his neck around, hoping for another flash of color to prove that he hadn't imagine the first, and waiting for the train to arrive at the station.

Finally, it squealed to a stop, and Gray leaped to his feet, knocking over a lady's bag. She scolded him, but Gray didn't bother listening. As soon as the doors slid open, Gray raced from the car, searching frantically over the heads of passersby for that same flash of color from before. Just when he was losing hope, he saw it: A bright flash of pink, a few feet ahead of him, and heading towards the stairs leading out onto the street. No! Gray couldn't lose his soul-mate now!

Shoving people out of the way and ignoring their shouted insults and threats, Gray ran towards the stairs, relying on the flashes of color he saw every now and then to lead his way. Spilling out of the station along with the rest of the crowd, Gray's shoving became more frantic as the pink bobbed around a corner. No, no, no! Gray thought frantically, dodging a hot-dog cart and narrowly avoiding stepping in a huge puddle in his mad dash around corner after corner. I can't lose them now!

After chasing the flashes of color for nearly a half hour, Gray lost sight of them completely, and sagged against a nearby building in defeat. Why? he thought dejectedly. I see a flash of my soul-mate, my one true love, and I lose them! I'm pathetic...

But then he saw it; the flash of sakura once again, right across the street. Gray jumped up, joy bursting inside him like fireworks. He made a dash for the curb, but had to jump back, narrowly avoiding the car that had almost hit him. He cursed as it passed, and sprinted across the street, spinning around for a frantic second, sure he had lost them once again. But then he caught sight of the color, heading towards the park. Gray grinned and pumped his arms and legs furiously, heading for nearest entrance to the park.

Dodging a balloon cart, Gray's eyes roamed the crowd, searching for the Godly flash of sakura. There! he thought triumphantly, and set off again, after the pink, which was headed for a bench by the pond. Right as the person stopped, Gray grabbed the closest thing of theirs he could find, which happened to be a long scarf. "Gotcha!" He tugged the scarf, and the person turned, the air seeming to bend and fold itself around Gray as their eyes met.

The color started at the tips of the hair, which turned a bright, vibrant pink, before spreading to the face, which turned tan and flush from the wind off the water. Next were the clothes: a black trench-coat with gold trim, white jeans, and loose black boots, along with the scarf Gray currently had his fingers wrapped around, which turned out to be white. Next came the world itself, which Gray watched in wonder as it was filled up with blues and greens and purples, so different from the plain grays and blacks he was so used to seeing.

Everything was so vibrant, so luxurious, and Gray was speechless as he took it all in, watching his boring world fill up with beautiful colors. When he had gotten over the shock of the vivid blues and greens, Gray turned his attention back to the person who was his soul-mate, whose scarf he was still holding on to tightly. The pink-haired boy blinked at Gray, his amber eyes sparkling with flecks of gray and gold. Yes, it was a boy, and Gray was surprised, but he could honestly care less. His soul-mate, in the flesh, was really, actually standing right in front of him, with spiky sakura hair and a scale-patterned white scarf.

"You- I'm- You're my-" they stuttered in unison, and Gray could only stand there, shell-shocked, still holding the soft white scarf. Suddenly, the sakura-haired boy grinned, and Gray felt his heart skip several beats. "I'm Natsu," he said, and Gray was about to reply when Natsu tugged Gray forward by his belt loops and into a tight hug. His face steaming, Gray managed to stutter, "I-I'm-m Gr-Gray."

The sakura haired boy's skin was pleasantly warm, and Gray couldn't help but be reminded of a fireplace or a cozy blanket on a winter day. Slowly, Gray relaxed against the boy's - his soul-mates, he told himself - chest, returning the hug. "Gray," Natsu whispered in Gray's ear, sending shivers racing up his neck. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you."