LINK: And the rest of the world falls away
summary: monotone to color soulmate au
Damian’s mother was tall and beautiful, to his three year old frame. Even in the monotone view he lived in, he could see that the clothing she wore would correspond with one another, and at times, she’d come back to observe his training and have dark spots on it.
The shade of gray would become a constant in his young life, watching it be spilled from another person, scrubbing it off his blade until it returned to its natural state.
But for now, he stared up at her and strung together the words in his vocabulary, pronunciation perfect from hours spent with tutors.
“Umi, what is color?” He asked, in squeaky Arabic.
Talia paused in brushing her hair, putting down the brush and lifting her son onto her lap, looking at them both in the mirror.
”Color is a divine thing, my heart. It breathes life into the world as we know it.” she’d explained, moving the hair from his face. ”Your eyes, they are the color of the clothing I so often wear. They are the color green, and it comes in many different shades. Trees, apples, the grass below.”
Damian had looked into the mirror, nearly bursting into tears in frustration, but controlling himself. ”I cannot see them. Why?”
Talia smiled, as if carrying a secret to be told. ” Colors are so wonderful, they are to be seen only when you find the one that is entwined into your very essence, the person who is meant to stand with you forever. They are often referred to as soulmates.”
”Was Father your soulmate?” He was more curious now,the tears having blinked themselves back as he shifted on his mother’s lap.
”He was. But I do not believe I was his.” She seemed much more wistful than pained, running her hand through her son’s hair. ”Yours will come, in due time.”
That day, he’d only nodded, and relished the time he’d been given with his mother, a time that would
surely be cut short as most times were. As the years went by, the teaching never went unforgotten nor the words. But the League and his Grandfather had made sure to wring what he was sure was every last bit of goodness and hope from him.
He had no need for a soulmate, he did not want one anymore. He’d lived this long in a world devoid of color, he didn’t need the distraction a soulmate would bring.
Damian didn’t need to burden them with how broken he was.
When he arrived at his father’s place, he was shocked to see that although so many people were akin to himself in this way, most of them had pairs. They had found their soulmate. And as preposterous as it seemed to him, they helped . They walked right past the broken in their partners and healed .
His walls were up, although they were becoming shorter and shorter the longer he was there. When finally, they were down just enough to jump over them, he found himself with a larger family then he ever would have imagined.
And of course, Father just had to ruin that by forcing him to socialize outside of the safe circle of family he’d fallen into.
He had friends, albeit grudgingly, but this friend would be indestructible, and part of the agreement in letting him patrol alone, despite the protests that he didn’t need to be babysitting someone three years his junior who had little control over his abilities.
Evidently, he was turned down. The night of, he entered the Cave quietly, waiting in a spot for the signal from him to reveal himself.
Receiving it, he stepped out of the shadows and to his fathers side, eyes trailing up the gangly body and to the freckled face, looking up at the dark curls and coming to rest at his eyes.
As they met, he gasped, stumbling back a few paces as the world burst into an array of color.
Blue. The boy’s eyes had been blue. And for a moment, despite the rest of the world setting itself ablaze like painted streaks, the only thing he was able to see was blue.
The other gasped himself, falling to the ground with an ’oomph!’ . Damian’s father placed a hand on his trembling back, and the other boy’s father lifted his son off the ground.
The world was a breathtaking sight of color , bleeding onto the once view of black and white. With wide eyes, each boy looked around in amazement, taking in the new world they'd fallen into.
Their fathers shared a glance, understanding what was happening and what would most likely happen again in the future.
Damian paused, as the realization sunk in. He had a soulmate. He paused in his exploration of color and eyed the boy in front of him. Light tan, brown freckles, black curls and still, the blinding blue eyes. The hoodie he wore matched his father’s insignia and hesitantly, Damian looked down to see his own uniform, dark shades of black, green and yellow.
“Hi, uh, Robin?” A voice made him look up, the boy in front of him seemed to have come to the same realization and was now attempting to speak an introduction.
“Damian.” He blurted, before the other boy went any further. “My name is Damian.”
He learned that the boy’s smile flipped his stomach like the blue hues of his eyes did. “Hi, Damian. I’m Jon, and we’re soulmates.”
He blinked, reeling himself in and only nodding. Should he try to scare him off? Should he accept it and become friends like his father asked him to-
“I do not desire a soulmate, it is astounding I have one at all.”
Well. that happened.
“Oh.” The boy’s face fell, and privately, their fathers shared a look, debating whether or not to intervene. A thought seemed to cross Jon’s face and he perked up.
“Well, there’s no rule we’ve gotta be like, soulmates soulmates. Like the way some people get married or get all gross and icky. I’m gonna marry noodles one day anyways, so i can’t marry you. I can be your friend, though! A partner in crime….fighting!”
Damian wrinkled his nose. “You can’t marry noodles. ”
He considered the rest of his offer and looked up at his father, who nodded. Friends were a foreign concept to him. Grayson was always trying to convince him to befriend more of the imbeciles he went to school with, but this didn’t seem as daunting, nor as annoying.
Mother had said a soulmate was another person who shared your very being, and that would be an excellent quality in a sidekick and a peer.
“Very well.” He said at last, sticking out his hand. “Friends. And partners.”
Jon shook it, grinning in a way that reminded Damian of a puppy, hair flopping in his eyes. Maybe this ‘having-a-soulmate’ thing wouldn’t be as bad as he previously thought, so long as he kept him at arm’s length.
Judging by his father’s micro expression, he’d done the right thing, took the step in the right direction. He’d figure this out, and maybe, just maybe, it would be easier with his soulmate by his side.
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