Title: your eyes reflect my world
Notes: heyyy so its my birthday! so of course i wanted to write a todochako fic LOL. this is my first attempt at a soulmate AU lol anyway i hope y'all enjoy it :)
Pairings: todochako, hints of bakumomo and kamijirou
Disclaimer: i do not own my hero academia.
Summary: A life where you see in shades of your soulmate's eyes.
In a world like hers, color was a fortuitous blessing.
It wasn't that she didn't see any color―she mostly lived her life in shades of grey. There were times when she saw hints of something else, like when the light reflected off a surface or when she turned her head a little too quickly, but she couldn't quite place the color.
Her mother had told her that it was just the natural progression of a person's life. It was the "soulmate" concept, if she remembered correctly.
"You only see in shades of the color of your soulmate's eyes," her mother had explained to her. "When you fall in love with your soulmate, you are then allowed to see color in its whole spectrum."
Uraraka had been skeptical of the whole idea. Many people never found their soulmates. A life in monochrome didn't sound terrible, anyway. She didn't even know what other colors looked like. Ignorance was bliss, after all.
But there was a piece of her that yearned to fall in love, to experience the wide array of color that could burst into her life. And she saw the way her parents looked at each other.
"It's beautiful," her father had answered when she asked what it was like. "There are so many of them. I didn't even know it was possible―your mother's eyes are the most wonderful. I always saw in shades of her eyes, but I didn't know how beautiful her eyes were until I could really see them."
However, as she got older, she started to become afraid of the idea of "soulmates." Some people were destined to fall in unrequited love. She had heard the stories―just because they were your soulmate didn't mean you were theirs.
What was it like, she wondered, seeing the world in vibrant technicolor when the one you love couldn't share the world with you?
She didn't want that kind of pain. And so she stuck with her little world of grey, sharing as much of her experience as possible with her friends and their own monochrome worlds. Jirou told her that yellow was bright and cheerful. Tsuyu said green was a peaceful sort of color. Momo had shared with her that her color―red―was particularly passionate and unwavering.
Uraraka collected all these facts as if she were collecting jewels, trying to imagine what these other colors were like. She had told her friends that grey was interesting―at times, it was soft and delicate, but at other times it was rather intense.
She told herself she would be okay with living this way, as long as her friends could live vicariously through each other.
She didn't have to fall in love.
"Ugh, I'm never going to find my soulmate at this rate," Mina complained, setting her lunch tray down at the table.
Uraraka sighed, sipping from her water bottle. "You say this everyday, Mina," she said exasperatedly.
"That's because it's true," Mina shot back. She leaned back dramatically, her hand on her forehead. "Why is fate so cruel?"
"It's a natural process, Mina," Midoriya reassured gently, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not something you can force or rush."
"Don't worry so much about it," Momo added offhandedly, seasoning her lunch with salt and pepper.
Mina gave her a narrowed glance. "Oh, you're one to talk, Ms. Taken," she playfully glared at Momo from across the table.
"What is it like, Momo?" Uraraka asked before Momo could respond to Mina's teasing. Momo had found her soulmate their second year of highschool. Despite being happy for her friend, Uraraka felt a little jealous, too.
Momo smiled at Uraraka affectionately. "You ask me this everyday, too," she shook her head, laughing. "It's been less than a year."
"But I'm so curious!" Uraraka protested excitedly, her chin resting on her hands to give Momo her full attention. "I want you to explain the colors again to me."
"Well, alright," Momo acquiesced, tapping her cheek thoughtfully. As she explained and pointed out colors, Uraraka listened intently, imagining the shades of grey she saw to be what Momo said was purple, pink, and orange. "But my favorite color is still red," Momo finished bashfully.
A voice interrupted her speech. "Hey, Mo."
Bakugou Katsuki, a fellow student from another class, stood slouched with his bag slung over his shoulder. Momo swiveled around, greeting the newcomer with a smile and a happy, "Katsuki!"
He eyed her full figure, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. "Red looks good on you," he noted, and Uraraka noticed that Momo's cheeks flushed into a darker shade of grey.
They were so cute, Uraraka thought. And so lucky.
Momo stood up, packing up her lunch bag. Bakugou's arm slipped lazily around her waist, and she looked apologetically at the table. "Sorry, guys," she said, her expression contrite. "I'll see you later, okay?"
Bakugou grabbed her bag, guiding her away from the tables as she twisted around to wave goodbye.
"Ugh, they are so cute it's gross," Mina pantomimed the motion of throwing up.
Uraraka was still waving, before rolling her eyes at her dramatic friend.
"She's so lucky," Midoriya sighed dreamily. "A lot of soulmates aren't requited like that."
"Oh yeah," Mina sobered up, waving her hands animatedly in distress. "That's true! Didn't that happen to your parents, Todoroki?"
Uraraka turned to her left, watching the quiet boy raise his head at the sound of his name. Todoroki nodded lightly, his eyes never leaving his food.
She studied him carefully. His expression was always completely neutral, and his mouth downturned. He was reserved and stony, and Uraraka didn't know him too well despite being classmates for a little more than two years. He had opened up to Midoriya and Iida, two of her very close friends, but she had never been especially close to him.
He looked up to catch her staring at him shamelessly, wide-eyed. She ducked her head quickly, cheeks heating up at his gaze.
"Sorry," she mumbled in embarrassment. "Just ignore me…"
As Uraraka slowly peeked at him again, she saw his mouth quirk up, his expression shifting to amused.
She forgot her embarrassment and stared at his face, shocked that he had just smiled at her. She didn't think he'd ever smiled at her like that…
And in that moment, she swore that his left eye glinted and flashed that color she could never quite name.
It was halfway through senior year when she finally glimpsed that color clearly. She was shaking the sleepiness out of her head when she was exiting her dorm room, her eyes unfocused.
She glanced at the window in the hall, expecting to see the typical hues of grey peeking out from above the horizon.
Instead, she took a double take.
She could clearly see it now―what she previously thought was accidental reflections was actually a gorgeous color of its own.
What was it? What was the name of this color?
Blue, her heart told her. Blue.
It was strange, that she instinctively knew the name of the color without ever having somebody teach her.
Blue, she thought, staring at the tinges of color streaking across the entire sky. What a pretty name for such a pretty color.
Uraraka shared this exciting tidbit of news with Mina later that day, but Mina just seemed confused. "That doesn't really make much sense, Uraraka," her friend pointed out with a puzzled frown. "If you haven't fallen in love with your soulmate, you only see one color. If you have fallen in love, you should see all the colors. How can you possibly see only two colors?"
She hadn't really thought about the implications of this event. What did it mean? Uraraka frowned. She was glad to be able to see another color, but it was still faint and hadn't even developed fully yet.
Did the universe mess up? Was it all a mistake? It was frustrating, to say the least.
Uraraka decided to ignore this new development for now. She tried to clear her head, sighing to herself.
During lunch that day, Todoroki had noticed she looked a little down, and asked her if she would like to eat ice cream after school.
She beamed at him, and she was glad that she had gotten to know him better the past few months. He knew exactly how to cheer her up.
As they ate their respective cones, Todoroki asked her what was wrong.
"Colors," she replied, licking her strawberry ice cream thoughtfully. "I just want to see all of them."
He shrugged nonchalantly in response. "Hm."
Uraraka glanced sideways at him, her eyebrows raised. "You don't want to see them?"
There was a pause before he responded. "I'm not sure. My mother has never seen colors, and I personally think it kind of destroyed her. Being married to somebody who isn't her soulmate."
"Oh," was all she could say.
"I'm not sure it's any better for my father," he continued in a flat voice. "He saw all colors but his soulmate didn't. It drove him mad. He's―not the best father."
Uraraka felt her heart go out to him, reaching out to rest her hand gently on his shoulder.
"I don't want to be anything like him," Todoroki's mouth formed a grim line. "I would rather never see in full color than become what my father became."
She nodded in understanding, patting his arm kindly. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she consoled warmly. "Hm," she tapped her chin, thinking of a question to lighten the atmosphere. "What color do you see?"
Todoroki looked confused for a moment, before his tightened expression melted into something softer. "Brown, I guess," he answered, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. "It's a warm, earthy color."
"Oh, wow!" Uraraka perked up instantly, enthusiastic to learn more about the color. "My parents both have brown eyes. I would love to see that color."
Surprise crossed his face, but it was gone in the next second. "Hm," he made a sound of agreement. "I don't mind seeing it for the rest of my life. It's a nice color."
Uraraka sighed, taking one last bite of her cone. "I think seeing color is amazing," she muttered, her gaze on the table. "But sometimes I'm afraid that I'll never be able to."
There was a kind look in his eyes as he observed her downcast appearance. "I'm sure you'll be able to, Uraraka. Don't give up on that," he spoke carefully.
She looked up and met his eyes momentarily, transfixed by his gentle gaze. He was so kind and thoughtful, she thought absentmindedly. There was something about him that made her heart stir to life in her chest.
And suddenly, a flash of blue.
She blinked, rubbing her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Swiftly, he was right in front of her face, his gaze focused intently. She opened her eyes to meet his, and her breath caught in her throat.
There was no mistaking it. His left eye was glowing a brilliant blue―it was so beautiful she forgot to breathe. But his right eye was still the typical shade of grey she was used to seeing. What did that mean? Did he...have two different colored eyes?
"I'm okay," she choked up quickly, diverting her gaze away from the piercing blue of his eye. It was so new, so bright and dazzling that it almost hurt.
She spent the rest of the afternoon avoiding his sharp stare, despite her newfound fascination with the color blue. She could tell that he was puzzled by her behavior, but she couldn't bring herself to face the brilliant blue again.
As she lay in bed that night, Uraraka couldn't help but wonder what this meant.
Heterochromia.
She had looked it up, poring over the studies that described the unique case of having two different colored eyes.
Some people whose soulmates have heterochromia see in both colors corresponding to their soulmates' eyes from the very beginning, the study reported. However, some people take time to develop the other color.
The facts were difficult to deny now, Uraraka realized. Todoroki Shouto was her soulmate.
She would be lying if she said it was hard to understand―falling in love with him, she meant. He was breathtakingly beautiful already in tints of grey, and the addition of blue made him almost ethereal. He was compassionate, good-hearted, and intelligent, and―
She slapped herself out of her embarrassing thoughts. God, Uraraka, get yourself together!
In all honesty, she was scared. She knew that if she let herself, she would fall so hard that she'd never get back up again. What if he wasn't her soulmate? She couldn't let herself walk down a path that ended up in suffering and failure.
But the more time she spent with him, the more she couldn't control the quickening thrum of her heartbeat when he smiled. The fluttering of her stomach when he laughed. The heated tingle that spread through her body when he leaned into her as they walked. It was getting harder and harder to resist the natural flow of events.
When she woke up one morning in a blur of muted colors, she knew she had tripped up. It was almost overwhelming, the amount of pure colors, although subdued, that surrounded her vision.
Uraraka was shocked, finding it ironic that she was more despondent than excited. All she ever wanted was to live in the world of color. But now, it was like waking up in her worst nightmare. What if she had to live in such a beautiful world alone? She might go insane.
However, she decided to keep it a secret from Todoroki, making sure to avoid talking about colors or make any indication that she could now see them.
As the days went by, her senses slowly became accustomed to the intensity and variety of colors, and she found herself almost enjoying the experience. Everyday, the colors were becoming brighter, the range of the shades becoming wider.
The day she first witnessed a rainbow, Uraraka decided that it was worth it. Living her life in color was deeper and fuller, and she decided she would finally learn to accept her feelings.
She had fallen in love.
She knew she couldn't keep it a secret forever.
Uraraka had been skipping joyfully, having just finished their weekly ice-cream hangout.
"Kaminari says he hates the color of his eyes," Uraraka giggled into her hand. "Even though Jirou says she wouldn't want it any other way."
"Didn't he say his favorite color was black?" Todoroki asked.
She nodded, pursing her lips attentively. "The color of her eyes. But then again, Kaminari said he wanted both colors. The best of both worlds, he said."
"I feel like it's nice to have two colors," Todoroki responded. "I'm not sure that's even possible, though."
"Of course it's possible. You have dual-colored eyes, Todoroki," she waved her hands dismissively. She didn't realize her mistake until he had stiffened, stopping abruptly.
She whirled around to face him, her eyes wide.
"You…" his brows furrowed, voice almost pained. "How did you know the color of my eyes?"
Her mouth went dry. "I…" She tried to speak, but her throat felt thick.
There was something strange about his expression, and the blue of his left eye felt more penetrating than usual. "What―how," he paused, taking a shallow breath. "When did you find your soulmate?"
"I―I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Uraraka stuttered in a rush, trying her best to dig herself out of this hole. "It's been a while and I didn't really know when to tell you, but―"
"It's been a while, huh?" he cut her off, averting his gaze to the ground suddenly. Uraraka scrutinized him cautiously, noting his tightened jaw and frustrated expression.
Why did he look so upset?
Wait. A thought struck her immediately. "Todoroki," she started slowly, her own eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Did you know the color of your own eyes already?" His earlier response to her slip-up did not sound like a person who had just been informed of the color of their eyes for the first time.
He froze.
Her eyes narrowed even more at his reaction. "Did you―when did you find your soulmate?" she questioned, her heart starting to panic.
His eyes slanted to the side, while his expression turned nervous. He looked so uncomfortable that Uraraka immediately backtracked. She didn't mean to put him on the spot when she'd been keeping relevant secrets from him for months.
She forced her pulse to slow down, inhaling shakily. "S―sorry," she swallowed thickly. "I didn't mean to accuse you or anything―this is on me," Uraraka tried to explain through her jumbled thoughts. "I haven't told you the truth."
Todoroki looked at her curiously.
She took a deep breath, staring at the ground. "It's you," she breathed out. "You're my soulmate."
When she gathered the courage to look at him again, she only saw pure shock on his features. Uraraka prepared herself for the diagnosis of her situation―unrequited soulmate―when the look in his eyes changed. His left eye―was it a tender, soft aquamarine? It was stunning; his eye looked like it could be a turquoise gemstone, created and melded perfectly by God himself.
"Uraraka," he started, a fondness creeping into his voice. "What color are your eyes?"
She was taken aback by the question. "What? I don't really see how this matt…" she trailed off, her eyes going wide.
"Brown," she breathed in realization.
Todoroki's mouth formed a soft, affectionate smile. "A warm, earthy color."
Her jaw dropped, but her heart restarted, beating so loudly she swore he could hear it. "So, I―I'm your soulmate?"
His lips quirked up in a happy, content grin. "Yeah," he affirmed.
Uraraka bit her lip, turning her head away quickly, her cheeks flushing. But she couldn't stop the stupid, ecstatic beam from forming on her face.
She felt his hand brushing hers lightly, before carefully lacing their fingers together. Uraraka looked at him in surprise, but he had angled his face pointedly away from hers.
"Let's go," he murmured, sounding embarrassed and pleased at the same time. The tips of his ears were red, she noticed.
"Yeah," she replied cheerfully, nudging him gently as they walked, hand-in-hand.
She surveyed her surroundings, a large smile gracing her face. The world was much more beautiful with him right beside her.
They would live in color. Together.
fin.