Chapter Text
For Iwaizumi Hajime, he thinks that no other thing in this world is as beautiful to compare with seeing colors. Many things await you when people find out that you can see colors. For instance, there are a lot of occupational futures that present themselves, occupations that are keener to hire, keener to ignore those who are still Colorblind.
Most of all, being a Chrome—being able to see colors—would mean one thing:
It means you’re paired.
You’ve found your soulmate, your eternal love, the one, and many other cliché connotations out there to signify that one is connected.
It would be nice, Iwaizumi thinks to himself, patting the rough bench he’s sitting on. To see the world in these beautiful colors with the one you love.
***
He was seven years old when Oikawa Tooru came barreling into his life. He didn’t meet him immediately no. He heard of him first from his parents, over dinner as they talked animatedly about the darling child of their new neighbor. Iwaizumi blinked at them as they talked, bored as he pushed around his dinner.
It didn’t really matter whether it was delicious or anything since it looked a monotonous black and white like everything else, unlike his parents of course who see everything and can therefore relish in the different colors the earth has to show.
“The same age as you, Hajime!” his parents continued, his mother in particular, gushed.
Iwaizumi nodded then, forcing a smile on his face to please.
Every day at dinner they would give new and constant admirations to the mystery darling child and Iwaizumi’s resolve to finally meet this boy lessened each day though his curiosity was getting at him too, not that he’d ever admit it.
So he kept to himself, catching beetles in the woods in their backyard no matter how difficult it was to spy those black beetles against the even darker tree trunks but Iwaizumi pored over them anyway.
Until one predominantly rough day—having tripped at least twice and his knees all scraped (but Iwaizumi didn’t cry, no he didn’t at all!) and nearly falling off a tree after the beetle he wanted to catch flew off—Iwaizumi’s trudging back home when he heard a small gasp somewhere ahead and Iwaizumi doesn’t look up immediately, still inspecting one of his knees, it was bleeding, he only realized.
There’s a pattering of little feet, someone traipsing towards Iwaizumi in quick steps and Iwaizumi finally straightened up at the sudden intruder, a frown on his face.
The intruder was a little boy of his age, smaller than him too. Iwaizumi’s frown faltered quickly, because seeing this boy who looked in every sense, adorable with his soft curls and big eyes, wide in worry and slightly chubby cheeks—was exactly the opposite of Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi’s frown faltered too, because as he inhaled sharply, there’s a sudden haze of white and Iwaizumi blinked furiously to adjust to the sudden flash that was flooding his sight.
“Hey, are you okay? Your knee is bleeding,” Iwaizumi heard the boy ask and Iwaizumi’s eyes widened when the white haze finally subsided.
The boy looked different now. In fact, everything looked different now and Iwaizumi couldn’t help but gasp once more, turning around to view the difference that he was sure wasn’t there earlier.
The sky! The trees! The leaves, and oh, even the ground! He took in everything with a delighted laugh. The sky looked very cool and comfortable with clouds, permanently white. Iwaizumi didn’t know what the color was called but it was easily the color he could dive into.
The tree trunks were the same color as the earth albeit a few shades lighter and the leaves! The same color as the grass that littered around though the fallen ones resembled the color of the tree trunks. It was exhilarating! And then—
Iwaizumi heard an annoyed huff and when he turned back around he sees the boy again who has not moved the entire time, the boy is pouting, his eyebrows pinched as though affronted.
“You aren’t listening to me! I asked if you’re okay!” The boy demanded but Iwaizumi was too busy looking at him and he can’t help but grin.
The boy in color looked even more charming than before. His eyes were a wonderful shade, the same color as the earth that Iwaizumi loved venturing and his curls were the same color too. Iwaizumi had no name for it but it was all delightful nevertheless.
The boy had pale, cream skin and his lips and cheeks were a different color that Iwaizumi can’t really put—
“You look really nice!” Iwaizumi couldn’t help but blurt out and that seemed to surprise the boy who now looked confused.
Iwaizumi tried taking a step towards the still unnamed boy and feels a sting, only then remembering of his wound and when he looks at his knee, ah there! A new color!
Against his dark skin, and trickling from the cut on his knee, the blood no longer looked black and dull but a different color. The same color as the boy’s lips and cheeks!
This was really cool, Iwaizumi decided.
“Are you okay? What are you talking about?” The boy asked as though fearing that losing this small amount of blood has gotten into Iwaizumi’s head.
“Can you see all this?” Iwaizumi said brightly, not answering the boy’s question at all as he gestures his arms wide, pointing at the sky, the ground, the grass, the trees—
Now the other boy really suspected something had gone ticked Iwaizumi’s head as he looked more confused than ever.
“You’re not answering me! What am I supposed to be seeing?”
It’s Iwaizumi’s turn to huff, planting his hands on his hips.
“The colors! It’s amazing; I’ve never seen the sky look like that! The trees too! And the ground, I don’t know the name for it I should ask mom and dad—”
The other boy shook his head, perplexed.
“Colors?”
Iwaizumi was starting to get irritated. How was this stranger so slow? He pointed to the sky again, indignant now.
“Look! Look! It’s different! I wonder what happened but it looks way awesome now!”
The other boy tilted his head, looking at the sky then back to Iwaizumi.
“Er, gray? Gray is not ‘awesome’ you’re not very bright,”
Iwaizumi puts his hand down, surprised.
“Huh? No, no, no it’s not gray! I swear, look at it clearly you’ll see white and then it’s different, it happened to me!”
The other boy tried again and then this time he giggled as he looked back at Iwaizumi.
“You’re very funny! I don’t see anything else! What do you mean it’s not gray?” he giggled again. “You’re Auntie Aiko’s son aren’t you? Since you’re in their backyard.”
Iwaizumi perked up when he heard his mother’s name but then frowned because the boy is stubborn. Surely he’s just pulling his leg when he said he doesn’t see the new color of the sky?
“I’m Oikawa Tooru!” The boy continued, smile very bright and showing his little white teeth. “I live next door!”
Iwaizumi only frowned deeper. So this was the mystery darling child.
“I-Iwaizumi…Hajime,” Iwaizumi introduced himself in a gruff grumble.
“Don’t frown so much, Iwa-chan! You don’t look nice that way,”
Iwaizumi stomps his foot, indignant at the nickname and the retort.
“It’s because you’re being stubborn! The sky isn’t gray at all! Even the tree trunks, look—” Iwaizumi demonstrated as he steps close to a tree trunk and pats it lightly.
Oikawa only giggled again.
“It doesn’t look any different to me, Iwa-chan, you’re very funny I should tell your mommy.”
“Hey!”
Oikawa gasped in delight and clapped his hands once, suddenly excited.
“Oh my gosh, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa suddenly moved in, grasping both Iwaizumi’s hands as his earth-colored eyes twinkled. “It’s the aliens! Ahhh, I knew they were real, they got you, Iwa-chan, oh nooo!”
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “Shut up, aliens aren’t real,” Iwaizumi said, walking off first, intending to go home and he heard Oikawa following him close by, still engrossed with the possibility of aliens.
It’s not until Iwaizumi got home and comes across his mother’s Book of Colors. It’s not until then that he finds out what it means to finally see colors, to be a Chrome instead of Colorblind, and Iwaizumi comes across three thoughts:
- Oikawa was his most probable pair, being that there was no one else around and the thought of it just sends him frowning,
- He’s going to have to tell his parents about it and they’d will most likely ask every question there was to be asked about the sequence of events before seeing Spectrum and would tire Iwaizumi to no end,
- Oikawa can’t see Spectrum despite being Iwaizumi’s probable pair and according to the book Iwaizumi read, Chromes are always paired so something must have gone terribly wrong and fate must have been harsh to Iwaizumi (what the seven-year-old thinks he did to get this kind of karma, he has no idea) and since for unpaired Chromes, the book states that they “will have to be interrogated to recall every person they’ve encountered the entire day to ensure a stable pairing” and it’s there that Iwaizumi decided he can’t have that ever; he’d rather go into hiding than be interrogated and asked several dizzying questions by Official-looking people.
So Iwaizumi, little seven-year-old Iwaizumi chooses the most practical thing a kid his age would do: he lies.
He lies to his parents after Oikawa told his mother about “Iwa-chan seeing things in the sky!” and concluded that yes, he did most probably saw it absentmindedly. He lies for fear of interrogation of a somehow failed pairing though he knows he’s going to regret this in a few years. He lies even though seeing the colors in his dinner, in the hallways of his house, his room even, made him want to gasp loudly in delight.
Mostly he lies too, because he wanted to know more about this probable pair of his, knowing that if he gets interrogated, Oikawa will too. Iwaizumi doesn’t have a lot of friends to begin with and Oikawa seemed to consider him as a friend now.
He doesn’t want to lose that either.
The next day, Iwaizumi lies again, complaining to his mother about his “terrible” vision and he apparently can’t see well anymore.
He gets contacts then, colored pitch black that are meant for Colorblind people and when Iwaizumi wears it, the world is back to a monotonous black and white and gray.
The day following, he removes one of them, leaving one of his eyes (green! he knows the color for it now) open. One to remember, and one so he won’t forget.
It was then perhaps that the neighbors had started calling him odd-eyed Hajime though it had made his father laugh and his mother smile and Iwaizumi never really minded at all.
***
Ten years forward and Oikawa still can’t see Spectrum. Iwaizumi never does find out why and he hasn’t told him anything either and he supposes he’s stupid for doing so but seeing Oikawa’s flirtatious perfect smile, soft brown curls ostentatiously styled, his warm brown eyes and that annoyingly stubborn attitude of his, Iwaizumi decides he doesn’t want trouble or at least, a scene.
Oikawa on the other hand, loves making a scene, as he’s doing now. He’s waving brightly, running up to Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi squints his green eye closed and opens it again, it’s a habit he does to remember black and white.
Oikawa’s breathing hard when he reaches the bench Iwaizumi’s sitting on and plops down hard beside him.
“I thought you said,” Iwaizumi says, slowly, emphasizing every word. “We will meet here at 5:30 because, wait let me quote you ‘We should go to school together on the first day! Now that we’re third years and all.’” Iwaizumi tries mimicking Oikawa’s voice rather poorly and Oikawa pouts immediately.
“I slept through my alarm, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa tells him sadly as he fixes his tie, groaning when he fails a few times.
Iwaizumi snorts and faces him, pulling on Oikawa’s tie so he moves closer and Iwaizumi focuses on the tangled black (dark red) necktie and proceeds to tie it properly.
“It’s already 6:15 did you know that? Jeez,” Iwaizumi tells him, pushing Oikawa back when he finishes tying and he stands, hoisting his bag up his shoulder.
“Let’s go, come on I don’t want to be late on the first day,” Iwaizumi presses on. Oikawa stretches his long legs instead and Iwaizumi makes a face, kicking Oikawa’s feet.
“Oi, Shittykawa are you listening—”
Oikawa stands up and sticks his tongue out at Iwaizumi.
“Early in the morning and you’re already nagging, Iwa-chan that’s not nice,”
“You’re the one who’s late I’m not going to be nice,” Iwaizumi says, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking on ahead.
Oikawa runs after him, as he always does, a teasing grin lighting his face.
“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa says, bending down slightly to Iwaizumi’s ear. Iwaizumi is faced yet again with the fact that Oikawa’s grown a few centimeters taller after all these years and Iwaizumi quite can’t get over it yet.
“What,” Iwaizumi grumpily as they’re about to cross the street, squinting at the slightly dark shade of gray (green) light turn into a lighter shade of gray (red).
“You shouldn’t frown so much anymore,” Oikawa teases as they cross, Oikawa waving at a few girls also on their way to school who greet him.
Iwaizumi grunts. “I don’t need you telling me off.”
Oikawa laughs, now walking ahead of him now and he looks over his shoulder to throw a grin at Iwaizumi.
“You’re going to end up Colorblind forever, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa chides playfully, humming all nonchalant as he walks on forward to the school gates.
Iwaizumi has stopped walking all of a sudden. And out of the blue, he’s staring at Oikawa’s moving figure, stepping farther and farther away from him.
Iwaizumi blinks, watches as Oikawa’s dark grey (sepia) curls, still soft as ever, bounces along with him as he walks. His off-white (cream) skin, a little darker (pink) on the elbows as it always is in the mornings.
You have no idea.
Oikawa stops walking abruptly and turns around, a confused expression on his face that brings Iwaizumi to his senses.
“Weren’t you the one who wanted to hurry, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa calls after him, giggling and Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and catches up to him.
Oikawa is still giggling even when they’re already side-by-side and Iwaizumi aims a jab at Oikawa’s side, making him squeal.
“Shut up, Oikawa.” Iwaizumi says, looking down as he watches the gray (and gray) pebbles on the ground with every step beside the man he’s supposedly going to end up with, not knowing that Iwaizumi is just right there beside him.
Fantastic.