6

The Present : Meant to be

Title: My Soul To Find

A/N: Yes, I should finish LCA before jumping onto another, but this plot won't leave me alone. Bear with me and my out-of-control muse. Reviews are much appreciated. No flames though.

Disclaimer: If I owned the characters and the setting, don't you think I'd make this a book? The site's called for crying out loud!

Pairing: Kuroro and Kurapika.

Rating: T

How could someone look so heart wrenchingly familiar and absolutely alien at the same time? Lucian knew that he had never seen this woman before, so then, why did it feel as if he had been waiting for her for a long, long time? He did not know. Furthermore, he did not care! He could barely think against the onslaught of emotions that assailed him at the sight of the blonde angel before him.

With beautiful, golden hair that tantalizingly brushed her shoulders, a smooth expanse of creamy skin and a delicate build, she looked every bit like an angel. And those eyes...he knew those eyes. They were the sight that haunted his dreams as well as his waking hours. Then, there was the phantom memory of gazing into those aquamarine orbs countless times before! A name escaped his lips in a faint whisper,

"Kurapika."

Cat never frequented a particular bookstore. She liked to explore. And her newest find seemed rather promising.

"Ysabeau, huh? Wonder what that means?" she wondered out loud as he stepped into the store.

Her eyes swept through the store before settling on the man behind the counter. A tiny part of her mind noted that he was extremely handsome. The rest of it was numb with pure shock.

The blurry image of the man in her dreams suddenly became crystal clear. One again, she found herself staring into a pair of night-colored eyes, rooted to the spot. Emotions that she had no reason to feel just then washed over her.

'Kuroro...'

'Love you, too. Always will.'

'What the hell are you doing, you bastard?'

Bits and pieces of sentences and images passed through her mind as she stared at him staring at her.

"Kuroro." Her lips formed the word out of her own volition and she instantly snapped out of her trance. She saw the man mutter something, but she couldn't catch it.

For a while, the two just held their positions, unaware of time, unaware of anything but each other and the emotions raging inside them. Lucian was the first to recover. Instead of welcoming her into the bookstore without getting up as he usually did, he stood up and slowly approached the blonde.

"Welcome to Ysabeau, ma'am. May I... know your name?"

Cat, who was still far too shocked, failed to find anything wrong or strange about the question and stammered out her name,

"Ca- Catalea. Catalea Sage. Most just call me Lea though, or Cat. Whichever you prefer."

She clamped her mouth shut as she realized she was babbling. He didn't seem to notice, though. Wait a sec, did she just offer her nickname(s) to a man she'd just met? And no one called her Cat except her mother and herself!

Her internal babbling stopped short as he smiled (why did he look a bit dazed?) and said,

"It is a beautiful name...Cat. My name is Lucian Carmichael."

Lucian. Lucian. Something about that name tugged at her memory. But it wasn't quite right. Not Lucian. There was a difference, a variation. But what...!?

Pushing aside the erratic thoughts in her head, she smiled, well beamed, at the dark-haired man. "It is great to meet you, Lucian." She couldn't help but be pleased by the fact that he had chosen Cat. She liked that one over Lea. Of course, her pleasure made no sense, but what the hell, nothing in the past few minutes made sense.

Lucian found it hard to tear his gaze away from the girl. Catalea. Cat. He liked the name. Hell, he liked the girl. The reason for it was a mystery though. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to care.

"What kind of books would you like, Cat?" he asked, gesturing at the bookshelves surrounding them, and trying not to stare at her like a besotted fool. Trying being the operative word. "I've got a pretty good collection."

She edged forward, presumably to check out the books. As she passed him, their hands brushed lightly. But the simple sensation shot electric sensations through his body and he heard her gasp. Then, his world dissolved.

A/N: Slightly bigger than the other chapters. I know it's still short, sorry. I should warn you that both Lucian and Catalea will behave a little differently from Kuroro and Kurapika. Though Lucian has had a rough past, nothing really compares to Meteor City, don't you think? As for Cat, she lacks the blind rage and hatred that fueled most of Kurapika's actions. Don't worry, their basic characteristics will be the same (Well, I'll try my best 3 ). And by the way people, would it kill you to review? There is a humongous difference between the figures on my hit-list and the number of reviews. I'm drowning in my misery.*sob*

Guys, I am sorry but updates will be slow from now on. School's gonna start soon and I am off to boarding where I cannot use the net or the computer. Yep, my life sucks!