Soulmate AU Prompts

Chapter 1: A Whole New World

Did you know that whales and seals are colorblind, and therefore, cannot see color? They don't even know the world that they are missing out on because as far as they are concerned, it has never existed to them.

Unlike whales and seals however, I am painfully aware of the joy and beauty that I am missing as people whirl around me, laughing and smiling while their world ignites with a new color that they have never seen before, holding each other like a lifeline whilst their mind is flooded with a new color that was brought to them by their soulmate.

I am doing no such thing. Instead, I am holed up in a corner of the ballroom, slouching and contemplating why I even thought that coming to this party was a good idea. Honestly, the entire Soulmate Connection Program has been a HUGE waste of my time. It's not like I need my soulmate anyways, and I am certainly not seeing any new, life-changing colors at the moment, so I might as well leave.

The entire purpose of me being here was meant to have me meet my significant other and so far that wasn't going well. Sighing, I reluctantly push off of the corner that I was taking recluse in and take a moment to stretch my stiff and sore limbs before heading towards the exit. I am almost to it when I hear a voice call out,

"Adriana! Where are you going? You're going to miss all the fun! Please don't go." It's my friend, Elizabeth, and she is more than a little bit drunk-on both her newfound sight and soulmate. And I'm happy for her, I really am. It's just frustrating that everyone seems to be meeting their soulmate and discovering whatever color they were missing in their soulmate's eyes, while I am here waiting and searching, yet no one has ever been able to help me see the pigment that people call brown.

I'm told that I'm not missing much, only dirt, wood, and other less important things, and that I'm lucky I can see the really important hues like blue or green. I don't want to, no won't, let myself believe them though. I've seen enough nothingness in the place of where brown should be that all I want is to see it and appreciate it for what it really is.

I'm brought back to the moment by the insistent snapping of Elizabeth's fingers in my face. As she comes into focus, I can't help but snap,

"What do you want? Can't you see that I'm leaving?!" Elizabeth recoils almost instantly, tears welling in her eyes. Her mouth opens and closes similar to that of a fish. I should apologize and leave, make her understand that I really am happy for her. I do none of those things and instead stand there while Elizabeth flounders.

Then, lo and behold, her newfound knight in shining armor glides in my line of sight, and I can already tell that he's not going to let anyone mess with his soulmate. God, this night can't get any better can it? Tears of my own, mainly from frustration burn at the back of my eyes as I start heading towards the exit once more. I shove open the doors, even though I can't see them, not really, since they are brown, but I know they're there.

I barely make it to my car before I break down. Nothing about this night has gone well and I hate how stupid and pitiful my actions have been. There was no need for me to belittle Lizzie like that, and I didn't need to mope for the entirety of the party. It's not like I was really expecting my soulmate to be there anyways. After all, it's a one in a billion shot that just gets minutely smaller by being involved in a program such as the SCP.

It's at this moment, sitting in the driver's seat of my beat up, eleven year-old Toyota Prius, tears streaming down my face, I come to a sad realization: in a world where soulmates cannot see whatever color their partner's eye shade is until they lock eyes for the first time, I'm probably going to be stuck in a world where I see static in place of brown, the lifeblood of the earth, until the end of my days.

Sighing, I started the car and rearranged the evening gown that I had painstakingly pinned and adjusted for this singular night in the hopes that the greenish color would be just as striking as my eyes to the one person that I had hoped to find.

Drawing in shaking breaths and wiping away my tears, I turn the car onto the highway and head towards home. It takes roughly half of the twenty minute drive for my crying to stop and my mind has distracted itself from its misery.

I barely remember the walk to my apartment or leaning heavily on the door and turning the lock. I only remember sliding to the floor after entering and flat out sobbing. I stay there for an indeterminable amount of time, I'm not really sure, but I do know that all of it hurts. Everything hurts. The sounds of thunder and pouring rain encircle my apartment complex and I cannot help but feel that it is a fitting theme for my circumstances.

I'm startled when a curt knock sounds against my door and I scramble to get up and make myself look somewhat presentable for whomever is at the door. In my haste, I manage to trip and fall due to my floor length gown getting caught underneath the three inch heels that I somehow managed to forget to remove. With an extremely painful and ungraceful tumble to the floor, I was just about ready for the night to be over.

I started heading towards my bedroom door, hoping that the knocking would cease. Miraculously, there is a brief cessation of the assault on my door, but it is short-lived. Grumbling, I fumble my way towards the door, and I fling it open, ready to lecture whoever thought bothering the single, 27 year-old, grad student was a good idea. The instant that my eyes land on the person standing in front of me, any coherent or angry thought leaves my mind as my world is suddenly flooded by a new sensation.

It's all I can do to hold eye contact with her while my mind and eyes are bombarded with the introduction of a new color: brown. Everything is overwhelmingly beautiful, whether it be the dirt that nourished my pet plants or the wood frames around pictures gifted to me, but nothing is more stunning than the woman standing in front of me.

She's wearing a silk dress the color of my eyes, something that must have proven difficult as she could not tell what it looked like exactly. As my focus shifts from her dress to her face, my breath is stolen from me as I take in the masterpiece that is my soulmate. Her skin is a beautiful smooth brown and her hair is held in numerous intricate braids that cascade down to the small of her back. Her eyes are bright and intelligent, a beautiful brown with flecks of gold from the nearby light. Everything about her is exquisite and she seems to be having the same, if a little less dramatic, reaction to me, despite my messy hair, runny makeup, and rumpled dress.

For hours or seconds. I'm not really sure which, we stand there, drinking each other in. We are either each other's lifeline at this moment in time. She clears her throat and whispers,

"Hi, I'm Kaia." Moving gently, almost as if I'll break, she steps towards me, until we are mere inches apart. My whole body is buzzing, electrified by this discovery of my other half, the person I was meant to be with. Hesitantly reaching for her hands, I cannot tear myself away from her eyes and her reactions mirror my own. I manage to respond breathlessly,

"Hi Kaia, I'm Adriana." Everything that people have said about meeting your soulmate comes back to me, and I realize they were all right. Meeting your soulmate is like fireworks going off in your heart. Meeting your soulmate is like finally getting home after a long trip. Meeting your soulmate is realizing you are not alone and you never will be again. Shakily releasing a breath that feels like I've been holding for ages, I can only manage five words.

"I've been waiting for you." She smiles before leaning in towards me, our lips colliding. Any intelligent thought that might have been floating around my mind, leaves at the moment. The only thing I can focus on is how we feel, lips meshing together, the both of us never wanting to let go. Kaia evidently feels the same way. However she manages to pull away from our embrace for a moment, only to whisper in my ear,

"Well, now I've found you."