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The first time you see color, Daichi had been told, you know you've found your soulmate. That was the story that Daichi had been told his whole life. One minute everything's monochrome, the next… People would usually trail off at that point, lost in their own little worlds as they romanticized about finding their one true connection. Daichi, ever the practical child, would often ask the Skeptic's Questions—what if you never find your soulmate? What if you find your soulmate, but you aren't completely compatible? What if your soulmate's a jerk? What if your soulmate isn't a jerk, but just wants to be friends? He had heard rumors of people lying about their ability to see colors, either to be with or to break up with someone. His concerns were always brushed aside with a definitive, "You'll understand once you find your soulmate". It wasn't an answer that Daichi liked, but it was one he got a lot, so he learned to begrudgingly accept it.
Despite his reservations, Daichi was excited at the possibility of meeting his soulmate. It was nice to think about; seeing color with someone you were meant to be with for the rest of your life. To finally see beyond the black and white of a soulmate-less life. He would daydream about his unknown soulmate, what they looked like, when they would meet. It was something nice to look forward to, not that Daichi would admit it out loud.
***
When Daichi met Sugawara, nothing happened. Well, something happened. That Asahi kid stumbled over his words something awful and Sugawara had laughed. A cute, quiet snicker that made Daichi's stomach do a little flip, but there was no explosion of color. Sugawara was definitely not Daichi's soulmate then; he was cute, but not Daichi's soulmate. No one on the Karasuno volleyball team was. Daichi didn't suddenly start seeing color the moment he walked into the gym, despite his grandmother predicting for the hundredth time that he would. It didn't bother Daichi too much. He knew that only a handful of people met their soulmate before graduating high school. He had time. Besides, he was here for volleyball, not finding a soulmate.
The first day of practice went by quick. The older team members didn't seem all that interested in practice, but Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi did their best to pick up the slack. At the end of practice, Asahi left with barely a head nod in Daichi's direction, leaving Daichi alone with Suga.
"So, your name's Sawamura?" Sugawara asked as they left the gym.
"Sawamura Daichi, yeah. My friends call me Daichi."
"Daichi, huh?" Sugawara mused. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Sugawara."
Sugawara grinned, bumping Daichi's shoulder with his own. "Suga's fine."
Daichi returned the smile, "Suga it is."
***
"I wonder what your hair color is," Suga murmured one day, staring absentmindedly at Daichi's head. The pair had been working on homework at Daichi's place in silence. Suga's question was the first time either had spoken in a while.
Daichi could feel his face heat up. "I mean, my guess is black? That's what my grandmother says it is."
"So your grandmother can see colors?" Suga asked.
"Yeah, she and my grandpa met when they were kids. Saw color instantly, got married in their twenties."
Suga let out a whistle, "They really had that fairytale thing going on, huh?"
"I guess so."
The two continued their work, silence falling once more. After a few more minutes, Suga spoke up again.
"How about your parents? Do they see colors?"
"Yup. Dad likes to fawn over Mom's eyes. Says they're these two perfect spheres of perfect ink that he could drown in for the rest of his life."
"Your dad should be a poet."
Daichi snorted, "He teaches poetry at Tohoku University, so…"
Suga let out a laugh of his own, crinkling his nose in a way that was entirely too cute.
"Fair enough."
***
"What about your parents, do they see colors?"
Suga—who had been practicing his sets, but turned to look at Daichi instead—opened his mouth to reply as the ball dropped on his head. Daichi gave a sympathetic wince as Suga cursed and rubbed his head.
"What was that?" Suga asked.
"The last time we talked about colors," Daichi explained, "you asked me about my parents, but I never asked you about your parents."
Suga gave Daichi a shrug, "I dunno. I don't think so. They got divorced years ago, but Mom never talks about what her relationship with Dad was like."
"I see," Daichi murmured as Suga walked away to grab the ball.
"Do you see colors?" Suga asked.
Daichi shook his head, "No, I don't. But I'd like to."
Suga nodded, studying the ball. Daichi didn't like the weird gleam that Suga had in his eyes as he turned back to Daichi.
"Got anything for the short term, then? You know, while you wait?"
"While I wait?" Daichi repeated.
"Yeah!"
"Suga, what does that even mean?"
Suga gave Daichi a shrug, "You know, while you wait for that pop of color. What about Michimiya? She seems nice."
"What? No! No," Daichi spluttered. "Michimiya and I have known each other for years. She's like my sister."
"'Like' being the operative word here."
"Suga."
"What?"
Daichi shook his head. "I'm not really looking for anyone right now. No crushes, no short term, no nothing. Call me a romantic, but I kind of want what the rest of my family's had, you know?"
Suga gave Daichi a nod, turning back to his setting practice. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Daichi could have sworn Suga looked disappointed. And that he could have seen the color of Suga's eyes for the briefest of moments.
***
The loss to Dateko had been hard, but no one was taking it harder than Asahi, Nishonoya, and Suga. They both blamed themselves for the loss, but the truth of the matter was that Dateko was the better team. They had played better, it made sense to Daichi that they had won. That didn't negate the fact that it hurt to lose.
Daichi invited Suga to stay at his place, trying to get Asahi and Nishinoya's fight off of Suga's mind. In all honesty, Daichi needed to get it off his mind too; Suga was a nice distraction. They managed to stay away from conversations about volleyball for most of the night. They were too occupied with Mario Kart and discussions about who would win in a fight, Yoshi or a kappa.
"Just saying, kappas are tricky," Daichi said as he made Yoshi throw a banana peel.
"You don't get to argue for kappas if you're playing Yoshi," Suga countered.
"Don't tell me what to do, I outrank you."
"What?"
"Team Captain, remember?"
"Don't pull rank on me, I'm your Vice Captain!"
"I revoke your Vice Captain-ship."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Gonna give it to Asahi instea-."
Daichi snapped his mouth shut, but the damage was done. Suga fell silent, his demeanor shifting. Daichi paused the game. He set down his controller and pulled Suga in for a hug. Suga tensed.
"Suga, I'm sorry," Daichi said.
"There's nothing for you to apologize for," Suga whispered. "I'm the one who messed up."
"You didn't mess up. Not during the game, not during their fight. This isn't on you."
When Suga didn't reply, Daichi pressed on, "We lost because they were the better team. This is on all of us, and you don't need to carry this alone."
Daichi felt Suga nod against his shoulder.
"We'll make it through this," Daichi said as he gave Suga another squeeze. "I promise. We've got a fresh batch of first years coming soon, and we'll be back better than ever."
"And we'll get to Nationals," Suga whispered.
Daichi pulled away and smiled at Suga. "Yeah, we'll get to Nationals."
Suga grinned at Daichi, his eyes shining with tears. Daichi blinked, and the world went back to its monochromatic state, but for a split second, he had seen Suga's eye color once again.
***
Three years, in Daichi's opinion, had gone by way too fast. Three whole years, and here he was, standing proud before his team, giving them one last send off before passing the title of Captain onto Ennoshita. It was making him tear up a little, he wasn't going to lie. The team had been through so much together, and now…. Daichi could feel a tear run down his face. Five minutes. He lasted longer than Suga and Asahi had. Wiping his face, Daichi gathered the team for one last huddle, throwing his arms around Suga and Asahi's shoulders.
"Daichi, when we're done, do you have a second?" Suga whispered.
Daichi nodded. The group let out one last, "Karasuno, FIGHT" as the group dissolved into full on sobbing. Half an hour later, the third years left the gym for the last time. Kiyoko was the first to leave, giving the others each a hug before heading home. Asahi headed down to Coach Ukai's store to buy pork buns one last time. Daichi and Suga were alone.
"So, Suga, what did you need?"
Suga scuffed a shoe against the ground, not making eye contact with Daichi. "I'm not sure how to put this."
"You can tell me anything, you know that," Daichi said.
"I know, it's just…"
Suga exhaled, "Have you… ever seen color? When we were together, I mean."
Daichi blinked; this was unexpected.
"Once or twice," Daichi admitted. "Why?"
"I have too," Suga said. "And I don't know what it means, but I just want to say this. When I first met you, I didn't notice a difference. There was no pop of color, nothing. But I knew that there was something about you. You were someone I wanted to be around. Your work ethic and your motivation were admirable, and it didn't hurt that you were cute. And the more I got to know you, the more I realized that I didn't just want to be around you, I wanted to be in your life for the rest of mine. You mean so much to me, as more than just a friend, but I don't need you to be more than that to be happy. And I think that's what it means to be someone's soulmate. The color is a nice touch, but to be someone's soulmate is to be happy with whatever they are in your life because no matter what, they're a constant. Daichi, I love you, and I am so grateful to have you in my life. And—wait, why are you crying?"
Daichi touched his face, feeling the tear tracks on his face. He hadn't even realized that he had been crying, he had been too caught up in Suga's confession.
Suga was in full panic mode at that point, anxiously flitting around Daichi as he spoke, "Daichi, I'm so sorry, please don't cry! Oh god this is not how I thought this would go-."
"Suga," Daichi said, cutting into Suga's rambling.
Suga froze. Daichi tried not to laugh at his wide eyed expression. Instead, he cupped Suga's face, drawing him close. He brushed a thumb across Suga's cheek as he leaned closer.
"Can I?" he asked.
"Please do," Suga replied.
Daichi pressed his lips to Suga's, his eyes sliding shut as he leaned closer. He felt Suga's hands travel up his back, coming to rest on his shoulders and giving them a squeeze. They kissed for a few more seconds, then pulled away to rest their foreheads against one another.
"Daichi, open your eyes," Suga whispered.
Daichi complied. Then he gasped.
Color was brighter than Daichi had expected it to be. There were so many shades and hues and everything looked complete. It was a lot to take in all at once.
"You were right," Suga said. "Your hair is black. It suits you."
Daichi turned back to Suga, deciding that he never wanted to take his eyes off Suga again. Suga's hair was gray, that much hadn't changed. But his eyes. His eyes were a bright brown, almost amber. Daichi always knew that Suga's eyes had a spark to them, but now that he could see them in color, they were that much better in Daichi's opinion.
"Like what you see?" Suga teased.
Daichi pulled Suga in close, pressing his forehead against Suga's as he whispered, "Yeah, I really do."
"Daichi, that's disgustingly sappy. Never stop."
Daichi grinned. "I won't."