Wally West was quite the colorful character. His hair was a fiery shade of red, which still managed to stand out against the blondes and brunettes of his grayscale world. His eyes were a vibrant emerald green, or so his mom said. She claimed they were the best eyes she'd ever seen. His Kid Flash uniform, as Barry put it, was a blinding, electric yellow. It wasn't always the easiest on the eyes but it made him stand out from the Scarlet Speedster. Although he was surrounded by various colors and shades, he couldn't see any of them.
When he was little, talks of soulmates started up at family get-togethers amongst him and his cousins. He was the oddball. Everyone else saw browns or blues while he only managed to see gray, gray and grayer. He thought he was broken. Maybe there was nobody out there who could be a perfect match for him. His soulmate simply didn't exist. Mary West constantly reassured him that none of those things were the case. Gray just happened to be the color of his soulmate's eyes.
"It'll just make you appreciate color, sweetheart," she would say. He kept this motto close to heart, reminding himself this when friends at recess would talk about anything related to color and soulmates.
As he got older the idea of his soulmate entertained him less and less. What was the point? Why tie yourself down to one person when there's a whole world of girls? Or better, a whole universe full of girls. Currently, one martian in particular was on his mind. Clearly, she wasn't from Earth. It explained why meeting here didn't open his life up to color and why he could still only see gray. Scientifically, it made sense. Sort of. If she was his soulmate, he'd be okay with never seeing color. He'd accept her undying love and affection in its place and never think twice about what red and yellow looked like together ever again.
Today, Wally began his first day of sophomore year. It was a hotter mid-August afternoon. It was his luck that Keystone High School started sooner than all other schools in the country. In the morning, he received a text from Dick, Robin, asking to meet them at the beach. He agreed that once school got out he would be there in a flash (pun intended).
All day he wished he could be at the beach with the Team, his friends. He was daydreaming about jumping into the cold water of Happy Harbor Beach, playing beach volleyball with M'gann on his team, and eating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. The last thing he cared about was learning things like chemistry and calculus. The clock teased him, each tick he was seconds closer to freedom. When the loud buzz of the bell hit at 3:05, he was out of there faster than any student or teacher could blink.
After a minute or two he stopped running in front of his house, barely breaking a sweat.
"Mom! I'm home!" He called as he walked in the door.
"Home so soon?" His mother asked with a playful grin on her face. "Didn't school just get out, oh I don't know, three minutes ago?" Her hair was the same shade of grey as his own.
"Yeah, got to get to Happy Harbor with enough time to still go to the beach! Everyone went!" He said before zipping upstairs to gather what he needed. His mother only shook her head with a smile on her face. When Wally reappeared his hands were full and the grin on his face stretched ear to ear. Mary could easily see the joy in his eyes behind the bright red sunglasses on his face.
"Do you want to eat before yo-"
"Nope! I need to hurry! See you tonight!" His voice was eager and she didn't want to hold up her son any longer. So she waved and blew him a kiss before he smiled and sped out the door.
Wally got to the Zeta Tube transporter in seconds. He, as fast as he could, stepped inside with all his belongings in his hands, careful to not drop any.
"B03 Kid Flash to the Cave, Happy Harbor."
"Recognized, Kid Flash B03, transporting."
Wally's items vanished from his hands first, evaporating like smoke. Next, his body materialized and he felt weightless. It was the second best feeling in the world, only beaten by the feeling he got when running.
"Arriving, Kid Flash, B03," he heard the computer's voice speak. His body slowly regained feeling and his belongings reappeared in his hands.
"Guys! I'm here!" He called out excitedly, running toward the group of teens who seemed to be in their hero attire. He couldn't be too late? The sun didn't set until at least 7:30 at night. They still had hours to spend in the water and hang out. His mind was racing so quick, he didn't even notice that the towel he had slipped from his grip. It tangled itself around his legs, causing him to trip over his own two feet and drop everything.
"Ah!" He yelled as he fell, hitting the ground stomach first.
"Wally!" The voice of M'gann, his martian crush, called out. She quickly flew over to his aid while the rest of the team snickered ever so slightly. There was one laugh he didn't recognize though. A girl.
"Uh, somebody wanna tell me who exactly this girl is?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows. M'gann helped him up off the ground and he brushed himself off, trying to keep his cool.
"The newest addition to the Team, that's who." Her voice was cocky, arrogant. He made a face, holding back an eye roll. She made another comment about his speed which he happily ignored. Who did she think she was?
It took a moment to realize but his sunglasses had a weird tint in the lenses. He hadn't noticed it before. Maybe it was from the fall? Slowly, he slid them off of his face to rub his eyes. When they reopened, he watched the transition from gray to color. His breath hitched.
The grays practically melted away at the overwhelming amount of color. He noticed that M'gann's skin and the color of the new girl's suit were in the same family. Maybe it was green? He thought the gray variant from before was similar to the shade in the grass which he knew for a fact was green. Some of Robin and Aqualad's suits resembled the color of his hair. Red. He knew that one. He looked down and saw the eye-popping color in his swim trunks. Who allowed him wear this? He'd have to make a mental note to try and stray from such a bold color.
He turned to face the girl once again, who he heard get called Artemis by Green Arrow. Artemis, huh? He looked around the room one more time before his eyes settled on her. She was out of it too suddenly. He wondered but decided to not ask. Soulmates were private.
Their eyes locked for a brief second. Hers were as gray as the world he grew up in. Gray eyes, who knew they really existed? A small smile crept up onto Wally West's face. When he took a second to admire her, she was gorgeous. Her hair was long, which seemed fitting somehow. She was tall but not taller than him. Her face was slim, but her eyes made it striking. Something he knew he'd never forget.
Soulmates weren't fake, Wally now knew that. He wasn't broken like he believed he was. No, he was more than alive with a heart so full of love and color nobody could ruin his mood. His world may have been gray up until now but gray was the color of his soulmate's eyes and he appreciated it. Without it, without her, he would never have seen the beauty of the world and the beauty in soulmates.
hello again my lovely readers! i'm so pleased to bring you the second installment of my one-shot/drabble collection!
this was a continuation of the soulmate au, but i was given the suggestion to do it from wally's perspective. it was a challenge but oh so worth it in the end. i really hope you enjoyed! read and review, fave and follow :)
