AN: Hello everyone! To start off, this story is inspired by a textpost I saw on tumblr in which everyone has a tattoo and has to find their significant other! I thought it would be perfect for Natsu and Lucy! I'll admit, I am not sure how far I'm going to get with this story in particular. If people like it, I will continue! But I am not sure if it's going to be as long as my other nalu stories! So, let me know in reviews what you think about it so I don't waste my time haha! :D Hope you all enjoy! (Btw, I just finished my first nalu story Better Together so if you haven't read it you should check it out :'))

Chapter 1

The sun rose slowly, just as Lucy Heartfilia did that fateful morning. The blonde hustled out of bed and hastily threw on her school uniform, enjoying the way her golden locks of hair went with the bright red shade of her blazer. Rushing towards the kitchen, she pulled out the plate of chocolate chip pancakes out of the fridge- she made them the prior night so they were ready that morning- and heated them up without hesitation. She then covered the hot cakes in whipped cream and strawberries. To top it off, she placed one pink candle in the center.

"Happy birthday to me!" the blonde shouted in celebration.

It was Lucy's sixteenth birthday and there was nothing she loved more than her own birthday. It was her favorite holiday, though her best friend constantly argued that her birthday was in fact not a holiday. No matter, it was still her favorite day of the year. Especially since her father now celebrated with her.

Lucy's father, Jude, wasn't always the best father. After Lucy's mother, Layla, passed away when she was only a child, her father went through a severe depression. Since the blonde's resemblance to her mother was uncanny, her father couldn't bear to look at her and distanced himself from her. Lucy's birthday turned from a day of happiness into one of pain. Eventually, the two made up through a series of long talks and now the girl couldn't wait to celebrate her first birthday with her dad since her mother's passing. Thus, reviving Lucy's love for her birthday.

Lucy didn't live with Jude anymore. Since they began making amends, the blonde begged to be able to go to a real school instead of being homeschooled. Though Jude was hesitant at first, he reluctantly gave in to his daughter's demands on the condition that it was a private, all-girls school. Lucy didn't mind, however. For the first time, she actually had friends.

She didn't have many friends, four to be exact. And only three of them she talked to daily. Nonetheless, Lucy cherished her friends more than anything.

Hearing her phone ring, Lucy swiftly answered it with a bright smile plastered on her face.

"Good morning, father!" the blonde greeted in her bubbly manner.

"Good morning, dear," Jude greeted in return. "I'm sure you know why I am calling."

Lucy giggled and replied, "Mhmm!"

"Well then, happy sixteenth birthday, dear. I will come by and pick you up after school, alright?"

"Yes, father!"

"Bring your friends too. I want my princess to celebrate her special day with all of her new friends."

"Even the boys?"

Lucy stifled a laugh as she heard her father sigh through the phone.

"Fine, but only for today. Have fun at school, dear."

"Thanks dad!"

With that, Lucy finished her special pancakes and quickly left her cozy apartment for school.

"Happy birthday, Lu-chan!" Levy greeted the moment Lucy walked through the door and into their classroom.

"Thanks, Levy-chan!" Lucy replied, hugging her friend.

Levy was a petite girl with a small frame. Her bright blue hair clashed with their maroon blazer and the glasses she wore some days were a bright orange, her favorite color. Levy was no athlete- similar to Lucy- but was easily deemed the smartest girl in school. Though she was quirky and often enjoyed teasing her friends, Lucy knew that she was kind and that was why she was her first friend.

"Happy birthday, Lucy!" another familiar voice rang out.

The birthday girl turned around to face her other dear friend, Juvia. Juvia also had blue hair, though hers was a bit darker than Levy's and was deeper, reminding Lucy of the ocean. It was also longer and had gentle waves, while Levy's was short and layered. She had pale skin, but the blonde considered her one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. The girl also had her own quirks. For starters, she spoke in third person. Always. Next, she had a huge obsession with one of Lucy's other friends, Gray. Luckily, they eventually started dating, or else it would've been weird.

"Thanks, Juvia!" Lucy replied, hugging her other friend.

Levy and Juvia were Lucy's only female friends, even though she attended an all-girls school. Nonetheless, she was content and was happy.

"Did you see your tattoo yet!?" Levy shouted in pure excitement.

See, on the day of a person's sixteenth birthday, a tattoo appears somewhere on their body. The legend was, humans were created with four arms and legs, along with four eyes, and two hearts. However, they were ripped in half to create another being and were supposed to find their other half. In other words, their soulmate. Apparently the only hint they get is the random tattoo that appears in a random place on their body.

Lucy didn't believe the legend where humans were ripped in half, but she did believe that the other person with the same tattoo was her soulmate. And the blonde would be lying if she said she wasn't excited to find her own soulmate. Sure enough, every person in her life had went through this phase of getting a new mark on their body. Juvia and Gray had matching snowflakes on the right side of their chests. Levy had an iron nail above her right hip, but she hadn't found her other half yet.

"No, I didn't look yet," Lucy finally answered. "I looked at the easy to see parts like my arms and legs but I haven't found anything."

"How could you not thoroughly look at your body to find it!?" Levy asked.

"Well, I guess I was scared."

"Of what?"

"What if it's an ugly tattoo?"

Levy and Juvia face-palmed.

"That's what you're worried about?" the petite girl asked incredulously.

"Is that wrong? Weren't you the one that was sad about having an iron nail on her hip?"

"T-That's different. I mean, who the hell wants a nail on their body for life!?"

"Juvia is happy with her snowflake," Juvia said with a smile.

"We know," the other two girls said in unison.

"I'm disappointed the tattoo isn't on my hand," Lucy said with a frown. "That's where I always pictured it."

"Just be glad you don't have an iron nail tattooed on your hip," Levy muttered.

The other two girls laughed at their friend's misery and class soon began. Lucy unashamedly zoned out of the lecture. It was too early to be lectured. Instead, she opted for staring outside the window. Much to her relief, lunch quickly arrived.

"You guys wanna come over after school today?" Lucy asked. "You can bring Gray, Loke is coming too."

"Duh!" Levy replied. "We gotta celebrate with you!"

"Thanks, guys! My dad will be here to pick us up after school!"

"Okay!"

Finally, the day came to an end and Lucy and her two friends stood outside of the school to be picked up by Jude. Eventually, a shiny black car appeared and the three hopped in.

"Hello, Lucy," Jude greeted as Lucy sat in the passenger seat. "And Lucy's friends! It is nice to meet you girls!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Levy!"

"Juvia!"

"You girls may call me Jude. Now, let's go pick up these scoundrel boys, shall we?"

Lucy laughed as Juvia pouted saying, "Gray-sama is no scoundrel!"

It was a quick ten minute drive until they were outside of the public school. Lucy stared in awe. The building itself wasn't impressive. In fact, the sign looked like it would fall off with the slightest gust of wind. Yet, she had always wondered what a public school would be like.

Finally, she found Gray approaching. Loke was walking beside him, along with a beautiful girl with scarlet hair. Next to her was a boy with pink hair. Pink. Lucy never would've thought she would've seen a boy with pink hair before. Then again, her two best friends had blue hair, so maybe pink wasn't that strange.

"Nice to see you again, Jude," Loke greeted as he sat in the back of the car.

"Good seeing you too, Loke. I see that you're growing up into a decent boy. Say hello to your mother for me," Lucy's father replied.

"Hello," Gray simply greeted, taking his seat by his girlfriend in the middle row.

"No kissing back there, you two," Jude warned.

"Dad, don't be embarrassing!" Lucy squealed as her friends laughed.

They quickly arrived at Lucy's apartment. Luckily, the blonde had spent hours the day before scrubbing the place clean enough for her father's approval. After all, that was also part of their deal. Lucy needed to keep her place in check so as to live on her own and go to school.

The five teens played games and had fun, enjoying each other's company. Eventually, it was time for cake and ice cream. The cake was huge with three tiers. It was pink and had sprinkles scattered about. In white frosting, a typical birthday message was wrote. On the top tier, sixteen candles were neatly placed along with a tiara.

"Dad, I told you I'm not into princesses," Lucy said, though she was still happy with her cake. Though, a three tier cake was way too big for only six people.

"Sure you aren't. Is that why the stories you write are full of princesses?" Jude replied with a knowing smirk.

"W-Whatever. Let's just have some cake, I'm starving!"

After an awkward chorus of the happy birthday song, Lucy sitting awkwardly as people sang to her, they all finally dug into the cake. Gray surprised the blonde as he ate four big slices. Perhaps a three tier cake was a good thing with his appetite. Next, it was time for presents.

Gray and Juvia had gotten her the newest book to one of her favorite series and a gift card to her favorite boutique in town. Loke bought her a surprisingly cute dress. It was a white, sleeveless dress with different colored flowers printed in a water-color style. Jude raised an eyebrow as to how Loke knew Lucy's size and why he was buying her daughter a dress but figured he would interrogate the boy later. Levy had given her a book full of writing prompts and a cute friendship necklace, to which she had the other half. Lastly, Jude opted for giving his daughter money. Five hundred dollars to be exact.

"Lu-chan, before we leave, I wanna see your tattoo!" Levy said, taking hold of the blonde's wrist.

"Oh, Juvia as well!" Juvia agreed, taking hold of her other wrist.

They dragged Lucy into her bathroom and waited patiently. Lucy sighed in reluctance as she began to take off her blazer. If it wasn't on her arms or legs or even her face, then it must be on her back. Sure enough, she heard her two friends gasp when she removed her clothing besides her bra.

"Lu-chan, you are so lucky!" Levy shouted.

"Juvia likes her snowflake, but this is cute too," the blue-haired girl agreed.

Lucy was dying of anticipation, so she had Levy take a picture so that she could see it. Once her best friend handed back her phone, Lucy gasped at the picture. Perfectly in the center of her back was a key made of flames. While the blonde could've lived without the flames, she did think that the key was cute.

"I-I like it!" she finally said, squealing with her friends. "That means my soulmate is somewhere out there with the same key on his back!"

"Unless he's not sixteen yet," Juvia argued.

"You could be a lesbian and just don't know it yet too," Levy added.

Lucy stuck her tongue out and replied, "I'm straight, Levy-chan. I know it's a boy. Gosh, I can't wait to meet him someday!"

After putting her clothes back on, Lucy and her friends made their way back to the living room where the others were waiting. Everyone retrieved their stuff and wished Lucy one last happy birthday before leaving.

"I wanted to talk to you," Jude announced once everyone else had left.

"About what?" Lucy questioned.

"About the tattoo that's somewhere on your body right now," her father answered. "Look, Lucy. I know how excited girls get when they finally get their tattoo, but I don't want you to lose focus of everything in search for a boy. I want you to stay in school and follow your dreams of becoming an author. I don't want you losing sight of that. Not to mention you're still my little girl."

Lucy smiled at her dad. "Thanks, dad. But don't worry. I go to an all-girls school, I doubt I'll be finding my soulmate any time soon… Can I see yours real quick?"

Jude raised a brow but nodded as he removed his coat. On his arm was a key, similar to Lucy's but instead of being enveloped in flames, it was a simple golden key.

"You used to love the story of your mother and I finding out we were soulmates," Jude said with a soft chuckle.

The blonde blinked away tears and nodded. "It's such a beautiful story."

"I'm sure yours will be as well. Just don't go rushing to grow up, alright?"

"Deal."

"What does your tattoo look like anyways?"

Lucy chuckled and answered, "Mine is actually a key too! But it's made of fire."

"Fire?" he father asked, making a face. "I hope you aren't soulmates with a pyromaniac."

The two shared a laugh and eventually it was time for her father to leave. Lucy laid in bed, recalling today's events. While she wasn't about to go screaming to the world about her new tattoo, she was glad to finally know she had a soulmate somewhere out there. She could only hope that her story with her soulmate was just as beautiful as her parents'.

AN: I hope everyone enjoyed that! I've been wanting to write this story for a while but admittedly it isn't flowing as well as my other two nalu stories so I'm not sure if I'm going to continue it. :( I'll post a few chapters and if everyone likes it by then I will continue! If not, I have another nalu story that I've been wanting to write and I'll work on that one instead. :) Please review and let me know what you think! :D