Chapter Text
It was said that there were a variety of colors in the world, but the only colors Marinette had ever known were gray and white. The world around her was always bleak and lifeless, and she walked through each day impatiently, waiting for evening to arrive. Because evenings were her favorite. It was the time when her mama and papa would describe color to her, and she absorbed every word with wide, eager eyes.
“What color is this one?” She asked, pointing to the long fruit on the table.
“That one is yellow,” Sabine smiled patiently.
“Are they all yellow?” She continued, peeling back the outer layer for the mushy part on the inside.
“Well, they actually start off green, like grass, remember when we told you about green?” Mari nodded in affirmation so she continued, “Well, when they’re ready to eat, they turn yellow, but if you don’t eat them they turn brown like Papa’s hair, so they can be a lot of colors.”
“What’s yellow like, Mama?” She mumbled around a mouthful.
“Yellow is like…the sun. Warm, happy, bright. When you feel the sun on your cheeks, that’s what yellow is like,” She smoothed the young girl’s hair gently and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“When will I see color?” She looked up with worried eyes, and Sabine couldn’t contain her smile.
“Well, like everyone, you will see colors when you meet your soulmate for the first time and look into their eyes,” Sabine answered.
“What’s a soulmate?” She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
“A soulmate is…a partner. Like your father is to me. Someone who will complete you and love you no matter what. Someone who will stay by your side forever,” Sabine tapped her chin as she thought about it then shrugged. “But you don’t need to worry about it just yet, sweetie. I didn’t meet your papa and start seeing color until I was a teenager. You have so much time.”
“I don’t wanna wait that long,” Mari pouted, folding her arms over her chest.
“Maybe you’ll get lucky, my sweet,” Sabine pinched her cheek. “Now get washed up for bed.”
“Marinette slid off the stool obediently and slouched to the bathroom. She longed for the day when she’d be able to see those wonderful colors that they always described. Yellow sounded so pretty, and she wanted to watch bananas change colors too. It wasn’t fair! Why did everyone have to wait so long to see colors?
The young girl’s parents remembered the frustration she felt well. The worry that maybe they would never know what colors looked like. It’s why they took her out the next day to go “soulmate searching” to cheer up. Of course, they didn’t expect to be successful, but it put a smile on her face no less. And who knew? Maybe one of the boys or girls they saw along the way would open her little eyes to the things that they saw.
“Hi,” A young boy approached her on the playground, and Marinette stared deep into his eyes for a long moment before ultimately deciding that nothing had changed.
“Hi,” She sighed in disappointment as she did each time she locked eyes with anyone only to be left with the same dull vision she’d always had.
“Wanna go down the slide with me?” He asked, sniffling slightly and rubbing his nose.
“Sure,” She shrugged, following after him.
“I’m Nino. What’s your name?” He introduced as they waited their turn.
“Marinette,” She replied. “I’m looking for my soulmate, so I can see colors.”
“So you can see colors?” He tilted his head slightly.
“My mama told me you can see colors when you look into the eyes of your soulmate, but it’s not going too well,” She groaned as they reached the top.
“Oh, well, I hope you see them soon,” Nino smiled before diving down the slide on his stomach.
“Me too,” She sulked, following behind him. “I’m gonna go look some more, Nino. Thanks for sliding with me.”
“Can I come?” He requested. “I wanna see colors too.”
“Sure,” Marinette smiled, taking his hand and pulling him along.
“So how old are you?” Nino asked as they maneuvered around the park, locking eyes with the other children momentarily before moving on.
“Four,” She replied, staring down the girl on the monkey bars.
“So you’ll start school next year too,” He nodded knowingly. “Maybe we’ll go to the same school.”
“And maybe we’ll find our soulmates!” Mari turned to him with a wide smile.
“You think so?” Nino’s eyebrows raised.
“Marinette!” Tom called from the gate.
“Gotta go. See you around, Nino,” She waved before skipping off to meet her father.
“I hope you find them!” Nino called after her.
“Thanks! I hope you find them too!” She called back.
“So?” Her mama asked as they headed for the subway.
“No colors,” She frowned.
“Well, you’ll get there someday, sweetie. Just be patient,” Tom ruffled her hair as they stood and waited for their train to arrive.
She glanced around while they waited, but all of the people around her were adults which only added to her disappointment. She wondered how many colors were around her at that moment and took to imagining what colors people were wearing.
“Here, sweetie, I picked up a magazine for you to look at on the way home,” Sabine broke her trance as she nudged her arm with the paper booklet in her hands. “I know you like to look at the clothes and guess what colors they are.”
“Thanks,” She took it and glanced down at the boy on the cover glumly. He was much younger than the ones usually on the cover, and he looked so happy and carefree and…
She blinked a couple times and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t imagining it. No, his eyes were something she’d never seen before. Not gray or black or white, well, they were a little black in the middle and white on the outside, but surrounding the black circles was something new. Something she’d never seen before. She glanced up in shock, taking in the new world around her. Lots of things weren’t gray and white anymore. The woman’s purse, that man’s hat, her own shorts were all…
“Colors,” She gasped under her breath. All of them were still faint and a majority of her vision was still relatively gray and white, but she could see them.
She looked back down at the boy on the cover, her soulmate, she realized; his eyes were the brightest color she could make out. Green, as her mother would point out later, and they were beautiful. The most beautiful things she’d ever seen.
“Marinette, let’s go!” Her mother called, and she looked up to see her standing in the door of the subway car. “What’s wrong?”
“Mama, I can see colors!”