Note: I am Australian, colour has a 'u', grey has an 'e', and you can fight me. in this universe, you can see colour until you hit puberty and then again when you find your soulmate (just I don't have to do the 'wait what is that? blood orange, periwinkle?' 'yeah idk dude'). Also, colour doesn't just appear when you touch/see them, it's more as you fall in love kinda thing i think.
"What the FUCK?!" A flash of something slides across your sight, temporarily blinding you.
You rub your eyes, your vision dancing in the wake of seeing the true colour of a flight suit for the first time in over a decade. You freeze as the significance of the fact suddenly dawns and you sharply turn around, hoping to glimpse it again, but the world is simply greyscale. Saddened, you dismiss it as exhaustion but a creeping emotion in your stomach that feels suspiciously like excitement refuses to be extinguished.
"You alright, Y/N?" Cassian's voice surprises you enough that you let out a little shriek before turning around.
He raises an eyebrow in response and question as you smooth your hair back. Nicely done, Y/N. You clear your throat and, to satisfy your own curiosity (and cater to your dreams), you clap him on the shoulder before you respond.
No more colour springs forth but somehow you keep the disappointment from your voice, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Cassian's eyebrow remains firmly in place as he regards your hand on his shoulder. Feeling like a Class A idiot, you remove your hand and stuff it in your jumpsuit pocket. Unfortunately, your act is slightly too vigorous and a spanner flies out onto the floor along with various spare parts from the engine you had been working on earlier. You stand still for a moment, hand over your eyes and a red shadow covering your cheers, basking in the fact that today was going to be one of those days. Sighing, you crouch down to collect your equipment and subsequently miss the bright smile that stretches across Cassian's face before he kneels to help you.
"It's one of those days, right?" His words are light enough that your embarrassment starts to subside even as you nod.
He looks you in the eye and he seems confused, startled, for a moment. Cassian moves to speak but someone calls him from across the hangar and the moment draws to a close. Somewhat reluctantly, he hands you a carburettor, winks, and strides away. You watch the sway of Cassian's shoulders as he walks and suddenly wish to the Maker that you could still the racing of your heart.
Either you are going insane (it's not out of the question) or you're seeing blue. It is a single flower, faltering in the breeze against a slate-coloured hillside. It is fragile with its petals struggling against the wind but it's definite and tangible and unquestionably blue.
You drop to the ground next to it, using your body to shield it from the worst of the wind. Giggling to yourself, you roll over to rest your head next to it. Maybe I should pick it for Cassian. As soon as the thought occurs to you, you groan at your own infatuation and screw up your eyes in embarrassment. 1. You can't just give Cassian a flower. 2. He's not really a flower kind of guy. 3. Who wants a grey flower? 4. I need to get around to finding my actual soulmate. Feeling remarkably disheartened, you move to get up and slowly open your eyes.
You can't believe you had forgotten how beautiful the sky was.
Deep, breathable, vivid, overwhelming blue stretches away in every direction tapering away to shades you can't name. Sapphires bloom in faraway trees that you didn't know even had flowers and the contrast of the clouds against the heavens makes you want to reach up to touch them. Birds and butterflies and blossoms you had never noticed shine out to you in a washed-out world. Suddenly a laugh escapes from your chest then another and another because you're worried that if you don't, you'll start crying.
You stare for minutes (maybe hours, you're not sure) when abruptly a mission alert sounds from your transmitter. Groaning, you blink and unsteadily climb to your feet. Even as you walk, you keep staring up, afraid that if you look away it'll disappear. But it doesn't. The blue has come to stay. The colour only cuts off when you reluctantly step into the hangar but even then it still finds a way in through the detailings of ships, clothing, and, to your surprise, your fellow rebels' eyes. You have a feeling that there will be questions to answer later after you grab a passing Anomid and spend what must have been a minute complimenting their eyes.
You're flustered and late when you eventually arrive at the mission briefing. Cassian pauses and looks at you questioningly before resuming. Despite your usual attentiveness to his words, your eyes wander the room to pick up any hidden snatches of colour. It's only when everyone stands to leave do you realise that you haven't absorbed a single word; from Cassian's crossed arms, you figure he knows this already.
"Was I boring you, Y/N?"
"No, of course not."
"Then you can you tell me the mission objective?"
"…"
"Or even the planet that the mission is occurring on?"
"…Sorry, Cassian."
He sits on the table next to your chair and uses his hand to tilt your chin upwards. He's searching your eyes for something that he doesn't seem to find, but honestly you're just disappointed that you can't see the colour of his eyes.
Eventually he releases you and speaks, "What's happening to you?"
You hesitate for a moment before your cheerfulness gets the better of you, "Well, I didn't want to say anything until I was sure but… I've got a soulmate and they're somewhere on base! Cassian, I can see blue!"
However you're expecting to him to react, you are inexplicably crushed with his careful response, "Oh? Blue, you say?"
Not trusting yourself to speak, you nod. Absentmindedly, Cassian stares in the distance and you can almost seeing his cogs turning.
"You only see blue?"
Again, you nod.
"And it's your first colour?"
You're done with this. "Yes, Cassian, but it doesn't matter because I don't know who they are. Now, if you'll excuse me."
The tone is sharp enough to break his daze but it's too late because you're already halfway out the exit.
Slowly, Cassian rises to his feet and walks to close the meeting room's door. The latch of the door slides into place and suddenly his excitement can't be contained. A smile that would rival a new star grows across his face as a new thought fills his mind.
Maybe, just maybe.