written based off swordbreaker 's beautiful sketch. (on tumblr)

"Mommy, why do I have two different eyes when you and Daddy have matching eyes?" A little girl with blonde pigtails asked, looking up at the beautiful woman standing behind her.

Layla smiled as she knelt beside her daughter.

"Because you haven't found your Prince yet?"

The little girl looked at her mother in confusion, wondering what she was talking about.

"But Levy has funny eyes, too," Lucy pointed out.

"You're eyes will stay that way until you meet your soul mate. Then they'll change into the color they're meant to be."

Lucy studied her eyes in the mirror.

"What color are mine supposed to be."

Layla smiled, "Well, your left eye is your eye color while your right eye is the color of your soul mate's eyes."

Lucy frowned, "I don't like brown though."

Layla laughed in response as she hugged her daughter close to her. The two stayed like that for a few moments before Lucy spoke again.

"Mommy, will I meet him soon?"

"I don't know, sweetie."

Lucy wandered the streets of Hargeon, her thoughts jumping around until they finally settled on the thing that was irritating her the most - her eyes.

It's not fair, She fumed silently.

All of her friends seemed to have someone. Erza had Jellal - had him for eleven years now, actually. Juvia and Gray were starting their tentative relationship. Levy and Gajeel -with the rarest eye combination Lucy had seen of red and hazel - were together now. And today Wendy had found her soul mate.

A fourteen year old! And I'm sitting at seventeen and still alone!

Brown and Green! It should have been easy to find a soul mate with one of the three most common eye combinations in existence, but it was a lot harder than one would assume. In the beginning she would search people's eyes for that spark, but it was never forthcoming and she was beginning to panic. She hated that all of her friends were leaving her behind and she had no control over it.

She was still inwardly fuming when she collided with something solid and i warm /i. Strong hands reached out to steady her as a deep voice spoke.

"Whoa, lost in thought much?"

Lucy sighed, raising her head to look up at the man she would be apologizing to.

And Time Stopped.

Standing in front of her was a boy around her age, only a little taller than her, with the strangest shade of pink hair she'd ever seen. A white scarf wrapped around his neck even though it was the middle of summer and the boy was practically shirtless. None of this mattered to Lucy, however, and it would only be in hindsight that the rest of the details would even register. Currently she was much more interested in the eyes that stared back into hers. One brown eye, one green. Just like hers.

"I'm Lucy," She finally whispered. "Lucy Heartfilia."

"I'm Natsu," The boy grinned, showing off his fanged teeth. "Natsu Dragneel."

And, as if acknowledging each other was all it took, they watched as the green leaked out of her right eye, the brown faded from his, leaving behind two sets of matching eyes. Without thinking, Lucy wrapped her around Natsu as he hugged her close, the two feeling like it was the most natural thing in the world even though they'd only just met.

"Hello, Soul Mate." Lucy whispered into his chest, just soft enough that only he could hear.