A world of black and white painted Akashi's vision. He was now 25 years old and he had yet to find his soulmate. He wasn't in a rush to find someone, but he did feel lonely sometimes knowing that someone was out there for him and they have yet to meet.
I wonder if my soulmate is trying to find me… Does my soulmate want to meet me? Akashi thought to himself.
He had dated a couple of people before. However, most people felt discouraged when their world didn't burst into color with a single kiss and eventually this led to multiple failed relationships. Akashi didn't mind much. He didn't necessarily date to find his soulmate, although that would be great, he dated mainly to not feel alone. He simply wanted someone to talk to, someone to come home to, someone who would understand him. Yet in all his relationships, he also felt like something was lacking. Something was missing and he didn't know what.
Akashi started dating another girl. Momoi Satsuki. She was sweet, assertive, clever. Maybe she was his soulmate. They got along well on their dates. They had lots in common so conversations were interesting. Akashi held her hand absentmindedly as they walked through a park together. He felt relaxed and wanted.
But this isn't what I want.
They didn't kiss. A part of Akashi feared that she wouldn't be his soulmate and he'd be alone again. Another part of him feared that she would be his soulmate. He didn't understand what it was, but something was still missing. It was strange to date in a world where soulmates existed.
After a couple of months of dating, Momoi kissed Akashi. They had gotten into a small argument about soulmates. Momoi had yelled about how Akashi was so distant and then she kissed him to prove her point.
No colors appeared. Akashi felt nothing. His world still remained monotone. He looked at Momoi with sad eyes,
"I'm sorry, Momoi."
She sighed, "It's not your fault, Akashi-kun. I guess it's just different when it's your soulmate. I think we should break up. I wish you all the best, it was nice while it lasted."
Akashi didn't follow her as she left his apartment. Instead, he felt alone. Completely, absolutely alone.
The redhead raised his hand slowly and brushed his fingers against his lips. Perhaps Akashi had been hoping to feel something when Momoi had kissed him. But he didn't feel anything. No warmth, no affection lingered. He felt cold.
Akashi stopped dating for a while after that incident. He simply wasn't interested in feeling disappointed over and over again, so he stopped trying. On weekdays, he worked. On weekends, he took time to himself to enjoy the little things in life.
He went to the movies by himself. He watched things with no color, to his left and right he would see soulmates cuddled together enjoying the movie to its fullest potential.
A movie with color, huh...I wonder what that would be like.
He went to the aquarium by himself. He stared at the marine life with curiosity, wondering what it would be like with color. All the other customers were families and soulmates. All enjoying the aquarium with colors that Akashi couldn't even fathom existed.
He went to the art gallery by himself. He walked the halls slowly and observed the paintings. Even in black and white, Akashi was able to appreciate the artwork. However, a part of him longed to see the art for how it was. He looked around and saw soulmates walking together and amidst the crowd of soulmates, one lone man.
The man walked alone, his hands holding a pamphlet of the gallery as he looked around. Akashi felt his heart flutter and he couldn't take his eyes off of him.
Him.
Akashi's soul called out to him as he took a small step forward towards the man who was walking his way.
It's him.
He reached out and before he knew it, he was holding the stranger's hand.
"Um…" The stranger looked at him and their interlocked hands with a confused expression, "Do I know you?"
Akashi quickly let go, "Sorry! I just noticed you were alone and I...well, everyone else has soulmates. I don't, so I'm alone too and I just saw you and you were walking alone and you looked like you could use some company and I was wondering if you would want to walk together through the gallery and-"
The man laughed, "Ok, ok! I get it! You can stop rambling."
The sound of his laughter was music to Akashi's ears. He felt warm as if someone had lit a fire in his cold soul.
"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. 22 years old, I'm planning on going to teacher's college."
"Beautiful." Akashi blurted out. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, the heat rising to his cheeks.
Kuroko smiled as he opened up the pamphlet, "Well then, beautiful, what exhibit do you want to look at next?"
"Anywhere is fine with me. I'm Akashi Seijuro, now 25."
They spent the rest of the day together at the art gallery. It felt nice. They even exchanged numbers by the end of their date and planned for another one. Akashi noticed that he was quite different from Kuroko but they were able to talk freely with each other. He wanted to keep seeing Kuroko.
But the underlying negative emotions crawled under his skin.
If we kiss and he finds out we're not soulmates, he's going to leave me. Like everyone else. I'll be alone again...But I really like him. I just...can't kiss him, I won't. I won't kiss him. I won't kiss Kuroko no matter what.
They began going out after a couple of dates. Akashi had never felt happier. Every day with Kuroko was like seeing the world in a different perspective. Suddenly, his world of monotone colors seemed ok. The black, white, and grey tones were all beautiful as long as Kuroko was there by his side.
He wanted this to last forever. Akashi started hoping that Kuroko would be his soulmate. He prayed and prayed but he never dared to kiss him.
Kuroko had a slight understanding of Akashi's feelings. He knew for a fact that Akashi was avoiding kissing him. He wasn't entirely sure why but he figured the redhead had his reasons. Kuroko was no stranger to failed relationships. He had yet to find his own soulmate but he didn't really mind his monotone world.
You can't miss what you never had to begin with, right? Kuroko thought to himself, how great can colors be anyway.
Akashi and Kuroko started staying over at each other's places more often. It got to the point where they had an extra toothbrush just for the other and extra pairs of clothes. They loved each other, they knew that. They wanted to spend their lives together.
Akashi sat around his apartment after he took a shower when he got an unexpected call from Kuroko. He picked up immediately, eagerly wanting to hear his boyfriend's voice,
"Tetsuya?"
"Sei-chan~" Kuroko's voice was slurred, the sound of busy traffic audible through the receiver.
"Are you...drunk?" Akashi asked with a slight smile, "Since when do you call me 'Sei-chan'."
"Why don't you kiss me?"
Akashi drew in a short breath. He knew eventually they would have this conversation, but he still didn't figure out a way to answer. Kuroko continued his drunken speech,
"I don't know if you remember but I tried to kiss you once when we went to the movies and you just turned away. It kind of hurt, Sei-chan. I even contemplated kissing you while you were sleeping. I didn't, don't worry. But Sei-chan, I want to kiss you. So so badly. I don't care if we're not soulmates, I just want to be with you."
"Where are you?"
"I just want to feel your lips against mine. I feel like you would be a good kisser but you haven't given me a kiss and we've been dating for months. I can imagine your arms around me pulling me close to kiss me. And then we can go to my place or your place and..."
"Tetsuya, where are you?" Akashi asked again, blush rising to his cheeks.
"Ha...I'm not too sure. I'm near your place I think, they put up the lights for the Sendai Pageant of Starlight thingy...you know, the thing for Christmas with the lights and the stuff..the thing."
"Stay there, I'm coming for you. Don't move and take this time to sober up a little." Akashi grabbed his coat and keys before hanging up and speeding his way to where Kuroko was.
Akashi saw Kuroko sitting on a bench in front of the light display. His face was slightly flushed but otherwise, he looked like he sobered just a bit. Kuroko's eyes met Akashi's in a daze, he let out a goofy smile and waved. The redhead sighed as he approached his boyfriend and wrapped a scarf around him.
"It's cold, idiot."
Kuroko let out a giggle as he let his boyfriend take care of him. Akashi sat down beside him and held his hands. He wasn't entirely sure what to say. There were too many things, too many feelings, he didn't even know where to start.
"Tetsuya…" Akashi started slowly, hoping to gather his thoughts on the way, "I'm scared that you'll leave me if I kiss you and you find out we're not soulmates. I love you. I love you so much."
"I already told you that I don't care if we're not soulmates, I want to be with you and only you. Besides, what if we are soulmates?"
"I want to spend my life with you too, Tetsuya. But what happens if you meet your soulmate along the way. What happens then?" Akashi started to raise his voice a little, he was feeling frustrated and nervous. He didn't want to lose Kuroko.
Kuroko stood up and looked down at his boyfriend sitting on the bench, "You keep talking as if I'm going to leave you. Don't you have any faith in me?"
Akashi could tell the tension was rising between them. Ah… Akashi thought to himself as he felt his emotions rise to the back of his throat, this is our first argument. I didn't know it would hurt this much to argue with someone I love.
"I do!" Akashi exclaimed, he got up from the bench and grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders, "I do have faith in you! I just...you're going to leave me if you find out we're not soulmates."
Kuroko slapped his hands away, his jaw tense with anger, "Stop it. From the beginning, I'm the one who accepted the fact that I would be ok with having a monotone world if it meant I could spend the rest of my life with you. I don't mind the black, white, and grey tones. I don't need color to know that I love you. I don't need any of it because I have you. I guess you don't feel the same way."
No, no, no...this wasn't supposed to happen. Akashi panicked as he watched the blue haired boy turn to leave.
"Don't call me for a while."
I can't let him leave. If he leaves now, he won't come back. Do something! Say something!
Akashi reached out and grabbed Kuroko's hand, "Wait! Please...wait. Tetsuya, please."
Kuroko looked at his boyfriend and sighed at the obvious stress in Akashi's voice, "I'm never going to force you to do something you don't want to. You're terrified of kissing me so I won't ask you to. I have been wanting to kiss you for months now. Not because I want to know whether you're my soulmate or not, but just because I want to kiss you."
Akashi pulled the other towards him and closed the distance between their lips. It had been so long since the last time he kissed someone. Kuroko sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Akashi's neck. It was perfect to them. Perhaps it wasn't the most romantic of kisses, but it was what they both needed in that moment.
Akashi's eyes fluttered open as their lips parted. His fingers trailing through Kuroko's blue hair. His eyes widened in shock as the world burst into color. The light display shined brightly in colors that he had never seen before and colors he couldn't even begin to describe. Amidst the light display, his beautiful, blue eyed boyfriend stared at him with a similar shocked expression.
Their memories returned as they took in their new colorful world. Akashi laughed and felt warm tears stream down his face. He tightly embraced Kuroko in his arms,
"I love you, Tetsuya. Thank you for being by my side."
"I love you too, my little duckling. Can you take me home now? I'm still a little dizzy from drinking."
Akashi laughed and kissed his forehead, "Of course. Let's schedule that tattoo tomorrow."
It was strange to live in a world of color after constantly seeing monotone shades for their entire lives. Every date felt new, every moment felt different than before. They didn't need the color. It was simply as if they were seeing each other again for the first time and that was enough for them.
Akashi passed away during a car accident many years later. Kuroko spent his time at the art gallery where they had first met. He took in his colorful surroundings, the artwork bursting with color, the displays of every shade imaginable; but all he saw was black and white. He didn't want to see the colors anymore, not without Akashi.
10 years after Akashi's death, Kuroko passed away as well.