There is a depressing lack of content for this polyship, folks. This chapter is just JD/Turk, but there is more to come.

Soulmate AU where you see everything in black and white until you meet your soulmate. Cross-posted to AO3.

Turk tilted his head as he stared at the poster on his wall. Satisfied that it was straight enough, he turned back to the open box on his bed. His new bed. His eyes circled the room - mostly unpacked at this point. He'd gotten there early, all too eager to get going. He'd worked his ass off to get there, and he wasn't willing to wait another second to blow everyone else out of the water.

The empty bed kept catching Turk's eye while he unpacked the miscellaneous items in that last box. He often found himself wishing he could get out of having a roommate. The smothering he'd endured by his family in his last weeks at home had been downright ridiculous. The fact that an unlikely two of his high school friends had met their soulmates in quick succession hadn't helped, either. He'd had enough of how beautiful the trees and birds and dirt were.

Still, Turk was curious about his roommate. They'd sent him a name, John Dorian, but a name was hardly much to go on. He hoped John wouldn't be too clingy. Turk wanted to branch out, to make himself known on campus. He'd be friendly to his roommate, sure, but he didn't plan on becoming best friends forever with the guy.

A baseball slipped from his hand just as he pulled it from his box; the thump brought him out of his reverie, but he groaned when it rolled under the bed.

"Shit," he muttered as he crouched down, wishing he could remember where he put the flashlight.

"Uh, hi?" a voice asked from behind him. He heard a box being set down on what he assumed was the empty desk. "Are you Christopher?"

Turk squinted as he continued to search for the baseball in the darkness. "Call me Turk. Are you John?"

"Call me JD," the voice answered with a laugh as its footsteps came closer to the bed. "Looking for something?"

Turk held back a grunt as he stretched his arm as far as he physically could. He grinned when he finally pulled out the baseball.

"Yeah," he said absentmindedly, examining the ball as he brushed dust off of it. "Rolled under there."

"Oh, cool. Baseball is… cool," JD said awkwardly.

"You really think so?" Turk chuckled.

"Okay, okay, I know nothing about sports."

Turk snorted, rising to his feet. "Don't worry about it. It's just a ball."

He turned to face JD at last, to give his roommate a real greeting, but he nearly dropped the baseball again when he saw JD's face.

The first thing he noticed was, well, the face itself. There was an innocence, almost a purity in those trusting eyes that Turk wasn't used to seeing. The wide smile JD was wearing before his expression morphed into surprise was so happy, Turk might have smiled too.

But, of course, the main thing was the colors. His brain somehow applied words to what he saw - brown in the hair, blue in the eyes. Turk took a moment to marvel at it, but uncertainty soon began to seep in. There were still a few shades he struggled to name, and as his eyes scanned JD's multicolored shirt, he realized why. They just weren't there.

The two of them stood silently, trying to process what had just happened.

"Did you see -" JD started.

"Yeah, I saw."

JD took a cautious step. "So, it's… you and me, then."

"Looks like," Turk agreed, though he eyed JD doubtfully as he set the baseball on his desk.

"Is something wrong?" JD asked nervously. "Were you expecting something else?"

"No," Turk said quickly. "No, you're fine. I just thought it would be… more, you know? Like, people get dizzy when they first see colors. And headaches."

JD smiled, relieved. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe people have different reactions to it."

"I don't know," Turk said, shaking his head. "Do you… do you have all the colors? Are there any missing?"

JD paused. "You can't see some of them either?"

Turk slowly pointed to the binding on his baseball. "I can't see that one."

"That's red," JD said confusedly. "Can you see… that one?" he asked, gesturing to the book on the top of the box he'd been carrying.

"Green," Turk informed him. "Maybe this isn't right. Maybe it's a mistake."

JD stared at the cover of the green book, as if he could will the color into existence. "Do you want it to be a mistake?"

Turk rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I could do much worse than you for a fake soulmate."

"Maybe it'll… kick in," JD muttered, frustratedly taking more books from the box, only to find more and more that seemed blank.

"Come on," Turk sighed, pulling the books out of JD's hands. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes, you did," JD insisted. He crossed the room and sat on his empty bed dejectedly. "And you're right. How can we be soulmates with only, like, half the colors? It doesn't make any sense."

Turk watched JD and sighed. "I guess I don't know. Maybe… maybe this is what everyone sees. People just say how pretty they think everything is. Stuff does look nicer. How often do you hear people talk about the specifics?"

JD looked up hopefully, and Turk was struck by the blueness in his eyes.

"So everyone else is exaggerating," Turk continued, almost believing it. "And today was fate. Or whatever."

"Fate," JD repeated, cracking a smile. "You don't seem like the type to talk about fate all the time."

Turk rolled his eyes. "Just met my soulmate and he's making fun of me. Awesome."

"I'm not. Just surprised," JD insisted. "I would've figured you'd be on the science side. Like it's all chemical reactions and stuff."

Turk just shrugged. He watched JD look around the room, taking in the new perspective. JD's eyes eventually landed on the green book, still in Turk's hand. He bit his lip as he stared daggers through the cover.

"Maybe…" JD said quietly, "maybe there's something wrong with our eyes."

"There's nothing wrong with our eyes," Turk assured JD. He set down the book, watching carefully as JD tore his gaze away from it.

JD sighed. "What if it's just a glitch, and you meet your real soulmate and forget about me?"

Turk knelt in front of JD. The longer they talked, the more convinced he was - he definitely felt that inexplicable pull he'd heard so much about. "Hey, it's okay. It's you and me, remember? Like you said."

"You promise?" JD asked softly. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Turk said confidently. "I'll even pinky promise."

JD managed a smile and held out his finger for Turk. "That's a pretty big commitment, you know."

"I can live with that," Turk murmured as he hooked their fingers together, pulling JD close enough to press his lips to JD's.

At least this was exactly as advertised. Kissing your soulmate for the first time was like coming home, like letting out a breath you'd been holding your entire life.

After a few long, delicious moments, JD let out a laugh and pulled away.

"You better not be making fun of my kissing skills," Turk warned amusedly.

"It's not that," JD assured him. "Your kissing skills are excellent. I mean, I'm gonna have to see more before I can truly evaluate them, but…"

Turk watched JD speak with a growing smile. He could tell life would never be boring again. "Then what's so funny?"

JD grinned. "I kept telling myself I wasn't gonna let anything get in the way of school. We're not gonna get anything done."

"Me too," Turk laughed as he got up to sit next to JD. "Not gonna happen, man."

"I should bring some more stuff in," JD mused, glancing at the door.

Turk's only response was to press light kisses to JD's neck, pulling him closer.

"I think the car's still unlocked," JD complained, though he closed his eyes. "Gotta… get everything out of it."

"It's a really safe campus," Turk murmured. "I wasn't paying much attention at orientation, but I think they said that."

JD took Turk's hand, threading their fingers together. "The sooner I move all my stuff in, the more free time we'll have."

Turk shook his head in defeat, though he couldn't help the smile on his face. "Fine. Lead the way."

"We're gonna have fun," JD promised as he stood up, pulling Turk along with him. "And we haven't been outside yet! I want to see everything."

"Whatever you want," Turk said amusedly. "It won't be the full effect, though."

JD smiled softly. "It's good enough for me."

"Me too," Turk said, mirroring JD's smile. JD pulled him closer for another kiss, and there in each other's arms, they almost believed themselves. Almost.