Chapter Text
“I still don’t get why we’re here,” Teresa sighs, pushing the door of the mom-and-pop store open.
“Because, Teresa,” Thomas, her twin brother, says as he picks up a basket from a rack. “ It’s Christmas.”
Teresa takes the basket, slipping past an exasperated-looking woman holding a bunch of ornaments. “Yeah, tomorrow. I already finished my shopping, why haven’t you?”
“Hey, hey.” He waves his finger at her as they head to the back of the shop, towards the bouquets and wreaths. “Only for Aunt Ava. I have no idea what to get her.”
“Just get her what I get her every year.”
“And what is that?”
“Socks.”
“I’m not getting her socks. You only get away with it because she likes you,” Thomas protests.
“Figure it out yourself then,” Teresa tells him, studying some candles on a display. To her, each one is a varying slate gray, except for a sunshine-yellow one that supposedly smells like lemon bars.
“Screw you," Her brother snaps, stalking away to the home goods section.
Teresa glances around the store, her eyes landing on a bouquet of flowers. She can only appreciate the sunflower, despite the slight wilt to its leaves. That was the curse of yellow being your color.
She turns back to the candles, her basket swinging aimlessly on her arm.
“Um, that shucking hurts," A voice comes from behind her.
Teresa twirls around and comes face-to-face with an Asian kid, who, she doesn't mind saying, is jacked, made obvious by his rippling biceps. A much more lankier blond guy in a leather jacket stands next to him, thumbing through a greeting card rack.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She says to the Asian kid, feeling heat rush to her cheeks.
He grins. “It's no problem. ‘Sides, it gave me an excuse to talk to a pretty girl.”
“Ew,” The blond says and abandons the greeting cards, his nose wrinkling. “That is perhaps the nastiest thing you’ve said all day, ya shank.”
Oh, he's British, Teresa thinks, and cute. Just Thomas's type. If only he'd come bother me about socks again.
“Slim it, Newt.”
“Newt? Like the lizard?” Teresa asks, immediately regretting it when the blond's face pinches.
“Yep, just like the lizard,” The muscled guy interjects. “And my name’s Minho, like...like…”
“Like the biggest bloody idiot to ever live?” Newt says, beaming.
“Shuck you," Is Minho’s only response. He glares at the other boy, but his gaze shifts back to Teresa when Newt sticks his tongue out. “And your name?”
Teresa finds herself enchanted with Minho’s eyes, despite not knowing the color of them. She's so lost in them that she nearly missed his question. “My name?”
Minho laughs. “Yeah. What is it?”
“Oh. It’s Teresa, Teresa Agnes.”
"Nice to meet you," Minho says, offering a hand to Teresa, shaking hers with vigor, "Teresa."
His hand goes slack in Teresa's own. "Holy shit," he whispers.
“Y’alright, mate?” Newt asks.
Minho grabs the sleeve of Newt's jacket, pulling it- and Newt's arm- up to his eye level. "Newt, you shank, you told me this jacket was black. This is black, liar."
“No way,” Newt says.
“What? What is it?” Teresa's pretty sure she already knows the answer.
Minho sees colors now.
Which means he's her soulmate.
Minho’s face is pale, and he drops the jacket. “Teresa?”
"Mhm?" Teresa answers, voice quivering.
“What’s the color?”
The only color I see. Minho sees all the colors now.
“Yellow."
“Shuck it. Yellow is- was my color, too.”
They both remain quiet for a few seconds before Newt pipes up. “Well, this is awkward.”
“Tell me about it.” The group swivels to see Thomas hovering, a bunch of mugs crammed into his arms.
“Oh, hey, Tom," Teresa says, waving awkwardly. She doesn't know what to do.
Minho is her soulmate .
Thomas grins at Newt and Minho and says, “Hi. I’m Thomas, Teresa’s twin brother.”
“Tom, this is Newt,” Teresa pauses, “and Minho."
Everything clicks together all at once. There's red plates and blue scarves, and necklaces of grey, which Teresa doesn't like all that much, she quickly realizes.
“‘Resa, you good?” Thomas says, and Teresa nearly cries, because her brother’s eyes are brown, and so is his hair, and for the first time, she really and truly sees him, fully.
Teresa’s heart is pounding, even more so as Minho winks slyly at her. “Never better.”
“Cool. Which mug do I pick for Aunt Ava?"
“The purple one.”
Thomas sighs, rolling his eyes. “‘Resa, come on. You know I can only see green, and the color labels are on the bottom of these things-"
Her brother is an idiot.
Newt leans over to Thomas and murmurs, “I think she’s tryna tell you somethin’, Tommy.”
"Tommy" barely registers in Teresa's head before Thomas realizes what Newt's point is.
Thomas’s eyes lights up, and he shouts,“OH MY GOD TERESA YOU MET YOUR SOULMATE OH MY GOD!"
A bunch of store-goers turn to stare at them, but Thomas either doesn't notice or didn’t care.
“Yeah, I did,” Teresa says, smiles at Minho, who gives a little wave.
“That’s so awesome!” Thomas says to the two of them, and then to Newt, “Say, have you met yours?”
There’s no way Thomas is flirting with a blonde stranger right now. Whatever happened to the shovel talk?
“Nope,” Newt answers, popping the p. “Just see some greens, that’s it.”
“No way, me too!”
Like wildfire, red flushes over Newt's face. "What a coincidence.”
Thomas is flirting with a blonde stranger right now.
Minho coughs.
“Teresa, you still haven’t told me which mug to get,” Thomas whines, and Newt's stare drops to his sneakers, which are pink.
Teresa quite likes pink.
“What kind of tea does your aunt like?” Newt asks, raising his head to look at Thomas.
“I don’t really know-”
“Earl Grey,” Teresa cuts in, and Newt nods.
“Just buy her some o’ that. Pick a random mug, that part doesn’t matter that much.”
Thomas grins crookedly at the blonde. “Thanks, Newt.”
He starts back across the room for the mug rack, but stops halfway there.
A second later, a cup tips from his hand, crashing to the floor and spilling violet shards everywhere.
Thomas spins, looking at Newt, and Teresa can feel the adoration in her brother’s voice when he says,
“That’s a shame. I really liked the purple one.”