Rating: Ts

Soul Mates

"Do you believe in soul mates?"

Gray looked down at the stellar spirit mage who he thought had been sleeping in his arms. The question had come out of nowhere, the subject something they had never even approached before.

"I don't know."

Lucy's brow was pursed and she had pulled her lower lip in between her teeth, a true sign she was giving this question some serious thought. Gray felt his heart constrict slightly as she continued to ponder. Lucy was a great girl and he didn't doubt that he was falling in love with her but soul mates sounded a little too permanent for his liking. It's not that he didn't want permanence with Lucy he just didn't like the feeling of being unable to choose said permanence.

"It could exist, couldn't it? I mean, with all the magic we see everyday why couldn't there be such a thing as soul mates."

"I suppose, I mean I guess it could happen to some people." Gray hedged.

"I think it exists."

"Really?"

"I know it exists."

"H-how?" Gray asked.

His heart was beating faster by now and he feared from her position on his chest she'd be able to hear it. What was he supposed to say if she claimed them to be soul mates? Lucy was such a sweet girl, he never wanted to hurt her and she had enough spunk and temper that he feared what she'd do if he did.

"I've found my soul mate."

Well he didn't have to worry about Lucy hearing his heart pounding anymore, he was pretty sure it had stopped with her words. He didn't want to ask the next logical question but knew he had to, no matter her answer, he had to know.

"Oh yeah... and... w-wh-who would that be?"

Lucy probably answered right away, just the typical pause between question and answer, however to Gray he felt like time had been frozen. And Gray was quite familiar with frozen.

"Natsu."

This time did freeze, he was sure of it. He had been so worried that she would claim them to be soul mates. To be connected by some unseen, powerful force that he had never stopped to think that it might not be him.

"N-Natsu?"

He had thought Lucy deciding they were soul mates would be horrible but this was worse, much, much worse. How could she possibly think her and Natsu were soul mates but be sleeping with him.

"Yes. It's fate that brought us together back in that town. He saved me and allowed me to come here to Fairy Tail."

"Fate? You and Natsu?"

Gray was having a hard time understanding this. Lucy was speaking so calmly about fate and divine intervention while lying in his arms. He looked down at her in surprise but her face was relaxed, a soft smile on her delicate face. Her fingers were dancing across his chest, creating light patterns that had no meaning.

"I think so, no, I know. I can feel it."

"Oh."

Lucy stayed where she was, her fingers continuing their dance over his tingling flesh. He kept waiting for her to get up and leave, surely she wasn't going to admit these feelings for his nemesis and best friend and stay in bed with him.

"Of course soul mates doesn't have anything to do with love."

Lucy's next statement took Gray off guard. She wasn't talking about love?

"I mean, I love Natsu, don't get me wrong, but he's just a friend. My best friend and soul mate. My heart doesn't belong to him."

Gray wasn't daft but he was having a bit of trouble following Lucy and her random conversation about soul mates. At the beginning he had feared she would say they were soul mates and then he was shocked to discover it was actually Natsu to whom she was referring. That she found Natsu to be her soul mate was astounding in Gray's opinion but to find she didn't associate soul mates with love was even more mind-boggling.

He watched as her warm eyes caught his, they held his gaze with an intensity usually reserved for her opponents. They spoke to him, to his heart and suddenly no more words or explanations were needed. It all made sense and he realized he wasn't in danger of falling in love with Lucy. He already had.