In this world, there were babies born with a multitude of eye colors, not just your standard blue, grey, brown, and green. There were pinks and purples, fuschias and sapphires, bright oranges, and softened teals. A person's eyes could be any color you could imagine, and there were even more variations once they were bonded, or found their soulmate…

You see, having a certain shade at birth really didn't mean much, except perhaps in certain circles, it meant you would make a good match some day. But other than that, there wasn't anything inherently special about it yet, not until you met your soulmate. Once that special person walked into your life, the two naturally given colors combined into a new shared shade. The brighter the hue, the stronger and more powerful the bond was. Only the strongest bonds caused an instant color shift, but those were rare. For most people, it wasn't an immediate thing and the change could happen at any time from the first meeting, to the first kiss. There had even been couples that managed to be together physically before their colors morphed, but that was the least desirable type of bond.

Dean Winchester absolutely, positively hated blind dates. Hell, half the time he didn't know if people were asking him out because they thought he was nice, hot, or just because his eyes were a freaky shade of green. He honestly would have ripped the damn things out if he didn't need them so badly. With most people pairing off between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, he was being hounded by everyone he knew to go out with this person or that person, because their eyes would make the most beautiful color, blah blah... Excuse him for wanting to find someone with an actual personality, or hell at least someone with a nice ass. It wasn't just their fucking eyes that mattered.

To be honest, Dean had kind of been hoping for someone with a darker eye color, just because it seemed like almost everyone else wasn't expecting it. His mom had told him that she'd be fine with anyone he found, but she really did hope for a strong bond that would let him feel the love and passion that she'd shared with his father. She said she wanted the same for Sammy. His little brother's eyes were an average brown, perhaps a little darker than most but Sam had a mountain of other qualities that could make someone happy, so Dean wasn't worried about him.

He loved his parents, he really did, but he was grateful that they were moving. If he stayed in Lawrence much longer, it would just be one blind date after another until he turned twenty five, or they decided to give up, and he wasn't interested in that kind of life for the next three years. So when Sam got accepted into Stanford, Dean decided he'd move with him. Between the two of them, they could find a place off campus to share and it wouldn't be as financially or emotionally difficult for his little brother to begin his new life.

He'd already lined up a job at a garage with one of his Uncle Bobby's friends and Sam was really good at scouting apartments online. They'd already found a few that they were interested in, but Dean demanded they physically see them before putting down a deposit anywhere, and Sammy understood. They loaded up the Impala a few weeks early and pointed it toward California.

Castiel James was not what anyone would have called a "good match". His eyes were a rippling, dark blue and the dimmer colors had always been seen as less desirable. He didn't necessarily see anything wrong with his eyes, but when the other children had tried to convince him that he'd never find someone who'd want to mix with eyes as dark as his, it had been hard to ignore. His parents did their best to comfort him. But it was difficult, sometimes, not to let it bother him or let it eat away at his confidence and self-esteem.

Thankfully, he'd survived High School and moved onto College, and he'd been more than a little grateful for his scholarship to Stanford. He was starting his second year in less than a week, but he was trying to find off campus housing. The dorm was stuffy and he was boxed in with some weird guy that constantly smelled of marijuana and sex. It was hardly a conducive environment for study.

He'd searched the want ads and found a few roommate notices around campus, but he felt weird about calling up strangers and asking to move in with them. It seemed like too much of a risk that he'd wind up living with people who'd annoy the hell out of him or cut his body into pieces and bury it in the wall of his already paid for room. Okay, so maybe that last option was a little bit over dramatic, but these days it was a legitimate concern.

He was standing in front of the large corkboard in the student center, when a floppy-haired giant walked up to pin something on it. When Castiel noticed it was another roommate advertisement, he took a closer look at the man. The guy seemed normal enough, certainly not the kind to give off the serial killer vibe.

"I, um.. you're looking for a roommate?" Castiel said mildly.

"Yeah, my brother and I both are. We have a three bedroom, and it's really nice but a little too expensive for us to keep by ourselves for too long. He said he'd grab a second job, but I don't really want him to if we can find someone we can agree on. Are you.. looking for a space?"

"Yes.. yeah uh .. I'm in the dorm right now and it's … not ideal. I was hoping to move out as quickly as possible.." Castiel fidgeted and bit his lip, trying to fight the anxiety inside him. Sometimes people didn't take too kindly to dark-eyed people, but the guy hadn't said anything derogatory or given him any disgusted looks, so it couldn't hurt to be a little optimistic.

"I'm Sam. Do you have a minute now? I can buy you a cup of coffee, maybe see if we can get along?"

"That would be great.. thank you, Sam. I am Castiel, but you can call me Cas."

They spent the next twenty minutes discussing their lives, classes etcetera. Things were going great, or so he thought.. until Sam gave him a worried look.

"Okay, so I want to say something... and I don't want you to be offended... so just hear me out, okay?"

Dread rose in his chest as he assumed something bad was coming, because otherwise Sam would have just said it.

"Alright, I'll try."

"Okay, so... my brother, Dean.. he's well... he's got like REALLY bright eyes. Like, I can't even explain how bright they are. But he's not like.. he doesn't have problems with people of any eye color. It's just that most people are taken aback by how bright they are… and I don't want you to be surprised. Also, I wanna say that he's probably more prejudiced against people with bright eyes than he is with dark. Mostly because every single person he knows has been trying to hook him up with the brightest eyed people they can find. He went out with this girl whose eyes were a bright golden brown. He really liked her, but when she figured out they weren't soulmates, ironically enough, she showed her true colors and it had all just been an act. I don't like airing his dirty laundry for him .. but I felt it was something you should know before you met him.."

"I uh, wow .. I never really thought about it like that. I mean, most of my life I was teased for being this way, but I never thought that people with bright eyes suffered with it too. I appreciate your honesty, Sam, and I don't plan on treating your brother any differently than I have you. Hopefully, we will all be able to co-exist at least and perhaps even be friends."

"Yeah, Cas, that's awesome. The reason I told you all that was because I was kinda hoping you'd take our extra room. I still have to introduce you to Dean, but I feel like I can trust you and I think he'll be more than happy with my choice."

"That sounds acceptable. Here's my number. I'm available all evening tonight and any time after three o'clock tomorrow. Just text me as soon as Dean gets some free time, okay?"

"Yes! I will, Cas. I'll see you later."

Sam walked away, feeling more than a little proud of himself and his choice for a new roommate. There was something special about Castiel, he could feel it.

Castiel journeyed back toward his smokey dorm room, only to step back out as soon as he opened the door. There had to be somewhere, ANYWHERE, else to spend his time. He hoped Sam would text him soon. He was practically getting a second hand high just from sleeping in the bed assigned to him. He'd kindly asked the guy to stop, but he'd been ignored and short of reporting him there was little else he could do.

Castiel took a seat in the closest twenty-four hour coffee shop he could find and opened his laptop. A few hours later, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Hey Cas, this is Sam... I just wanted to see if you were busy. Dean and I are getting ready to grab a bite to eat and I thought maybe you could join us?-unknown

He sent a response as quickly as he could asking where and when because he was dying to get out of the dorms, with a polite smiley on the end. As soon as it was sent, he saved the contact info so he wasn't confusing other unknown numbers. He'd accidentally sent a very awkward text message to the wrong person that way once, and describing the situation as awkward would be an understatement. He didn't want the mistake to happen again, and certainly not with Sam.

The Roadhouse in about twenty minutes okay?-Sam

He replied yes and gathered his things before grabbing a taxi to get him there on time. He rode quietly and when his anticipation was at it's limit the small car finally stopped and he pulled out a handful of bills and paid the driver. He walked through the door and looked around before taking a seat in one of the back booths.

"I swear, Dean, this is not some sort of blind date. Cas is a really cool guy and, hand to God, the dude's eyes are some of the darkest I've ever seen… Scouts honor!" Sam held his fingers up, jokingly.

"Dude, you were never a boy scout. Quit that shit, it's weird.. and if you think the dude is good enough why not just tell him to move in?"

"Because my opinion isn't the only one that matters, Dean, and I wanted to make sure you'd both be comfortable with things. He's outright said he's been teased for his eye color so… I wanted to make sure he was okay with everything before he moved all his things in and we find out that it isn't going to work," Sam said as he climbed out of the Impala and pushed through the door. He spotted Castiel in the back and led the way over with a fond smile already in place.

As soon as the two locked eyes, Dean's knees went weak and Sam had to hold him steady as they moved forward into the booth to keep him from falling.

Castiel's own body grew weak as soon as he saw the man walking with Sam. His eyes shut the moment they focused onto Dean's bright green irises, because his mind was suddenly swirling. Something inside him was changing, and he had no idea what was happening. All he knew was that it was electrifying and he never wanted it to stop.

Sam had never seen a soul-mate matching before, but he'd heard stories from his mom. That had to be what this was. Dean wasn't in the habit of passing out randomly, and he assumed Castiel wasn't either.. It was nearly five minutes later when they both opened their eyes and the new shade was unlike anything Sam had ever seen before.

Two sets of bright, turquoise eyes staring back at him.