He never knew anyone who could see colors. His parents, as much as they cared about each other, weren't soulmates – just two people brought together by an arranged marriage, a typical thing for the high society they belonged to. For Soul, a person who could see the world the way it was supposed to be was more of a concept, something from a fairy tale rather than an actual living thing. Never did he give it much thought, until one day Wes came back from school grinning, humming and – Soul couldn't believe his eyes – skipping. He bombarded his older brother with questions, but all he got in response was, 'it's like finally inhaling after holding your breath for as long as you can'. Soul found himself even more puzzled than before, because, honestly, that didn't explain anything. For years afterwards he would recall those words and wonder how this was supposed to feel, hoping that someday he would find the answer and be just as happy as his brother was that day.
Now, it wasn't like he expected anything good out of the whole 'partner choosing ceremony'. He wasn't really what you would call a 'socialite' – way too introverted for this kind of thing, ever since he was a little kid, the boy would sneak out the first chance he got. So, after spending a total of three minutes and seventeen seconds in the crowded room, Soul found his way to the music room he spotted earlier. He approached the grand piano, lifted the lid and, after hesitating for just a few seconds, started playing. As he got more used to the instrument, the classical music gradually transformed into his trademark dark-sounding mess he got scolded for countless times. With his hands on the keys and his mind occupied with his usual thoughts of the world beyond the gray scale, he almost missed the sound of the door opening, and only realized that he wasn't alone when the approaching footsteps broke the rhythm of the flowing music. Nevertheless, he didn't stop the chaotic sound – instead, he went on and on, not caring about the stranger. Why should that matter, anyway? This music, as horrifying as it was, represented him and his soul. But finally, no matter how much he wanted to delay this moment, the melody came to its end. The boy mentally prepared himself for an awkward dialogue with a scared and disgusted someone but what came next didn't fail to leave him speechless. «You're really good at this,» came a female voice from behind his back. Soul was preparing an answer worthy of his cool guy image, but when he finally turned around, the words got stuck in his throat.
Her eyes weren't grey.
Soul blinked, half expecting the world to go back to its old monochrome self.
The girl's eyes were still as strikingly not-grey as before.
He couldn't name the color, of course – seeing things in gray scale isn't a good ground for learning color theory, after all. But in this moment he finally understood what Wes meant all these years ago. He couldn't stop staring at the stranger's face, he felt like his whole world got erased and everything was being replaced with this vibrant color, the first color he had seen in his life – as he learned later, that was green. But now, all he could think about was the depth of this new weird hue and a thousand things it made him think of that he couldn't quite put a finger on – something about his brother's favorite crayon, or maybe his mother's best necklace, or…
The girl started giggling. Lost in thought, Soul didn't realize what was happening until she was laughing so hard she had to bend and hold her sides.
«Oi, what's so funny, weirdo?»
She took a moment to compose herself and replied, still smiling and forcing down another giggle.
«Your socks.»
«What 'bout them?»
«They don't match, stupid.»
Soul looked down only to realize that the socks that looked an identical shade of gray this morning, in reality were two different colors he also couldn't name yet. He made a mental note to make sure his clothes matched from now on – and, while he was at it, get some new clothes in the brightest colors he could find in Death City.
«Well, that's a nice impression to leave on your soulmate», he muttered under his breath.
«S..Soulmate?..»
As he raised his gaze again, he noticed that the strange girl's dazzling eyes were now wide with shock – and, he noticed, there was another new color in his life: the deepening color of her cheeks. It was supposed to be red, he remembered. Someone had told him that blush is red. However, his enthrallment didn't last for long, as he got hit by the realization what this all meant.
Soulmate. This pig-tailed girl with dazzling eyes that stood in front of him was his soulmate.
They stood like that for another minute, staring at each other, letting the idea of spending the rest of their lives with each other plant itself in their minds, until the girl broke the silence.
«Maka Albarn, meister.»
He took her extended hand in his – so small and fragile, yet he could feel the steel in her handshake.
«Soul Eater. Weapon. A scythe, to be exact.»
She grinned, and her magnificent eyes lit up with excitement.
«I was looking for a scythe I could wield! Maybe…" Maka paused for a second. "Would you like to be my partner, Soul?»
«Sure, pigtails. From the looks of it, we're stuck together for a while, huh?» he grinned in response.
He quickly learned he really liked making his newly found soulmate blush. Red was a nice color, he decided.
Not as good as green, though.