Chapter Text
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Shidou woke up slowly, the dull prison cell reminding him harshly, but deservedly, where he was and why. He smiled softly to himself. He was finally getting punished. Getting up, he decided to at least get a sense of the other prisoners—something he had neglected to do when he first got there, purely due to him still processing what had happened and why he was there.
His eyes scanned the other cells, observing the other prisoners one at a time. It was disheartening to see some were so young, there was even a child that looked like she was still in grade school. It was sad to think that anyone would put anyone that age in this situation, no matter what they did.
Overall, the prisoners seemed to be pretty normal, but then again, he was used to many different types of people, as someone who used to work in the medical field. Some prisoners were, unfortunately, hard to see due to the way the cells were positioned and because some of his fellow inmates weren’t close to the front of their cells. He’d just have to wait until they were allowed to mingle a bit to meet them.
One prisoner, however, stuck out to Shidou. Not just because he seemed to be the one causing all the ruckus at night, and not just because of his cute hair and shy, exhausted demeanor, but because of the way he seemed to make Shidou forget all of the pain and grief he had been forced to relive the previous day. (Not that he didn’t deserve it, of course, in fact, he deserved way worse.) It was a miracle how anyone could do that to him at a place like this.
The prisoner turned around, presumably feeling Shidou’s lingering gaze. Shidou continued to silently observe him, the way his hands were bound, how confused and afraid he looked, and-oh. They locked eyes, and instantly, a warm blush rushed to Shidou’s cheeks as he saw those lovely, innocent eyes of his that intriguingly hinted at something more beneath the surface.
It shocked him so much, he stumbled back, sitting on his cell bed. He needed to collect himself after what he just saw. It was a moment that he had thought he was destined to experience long ago, and then one he thought would never come.
See, after he met his first lover, Shidou had just assumed he was colorblind. But looking around now, even just at these grim cells, that was obviously not the case. Pulling up his glove slightly, he looked at his hands and, pale as they were, they definitely weren’t the light grey he was used to. Quickly, he put his glove back on and looked down at his feet. His shoes were warmer toned than he recalled, and he could see the difference between his laces, socks, and shoes more clearly. Not to mention his prison tag, now popping out at him with a nice, cool color.
Now excited, he stood up and walked to the front of his cell, so that he could see the other prisoners once more. Not only to see more colors, but also to gaze at his soulmate longer. His eyes darted from prisoner to prisoner, taking in the new and beautiful colors that he could finally see, and how different his perceptions were now that color entered his life. It was surprising to see the variety between them—he had assumed all their uniforms were the same color like in most prisons. Not just the uniforms, but their hair too, the warm and cooler tones contrasting with each other, conveying that prisoner’s persona to his eyes perfectly. For some reason, the cooler colors seemed to stick out a bit more.
Saving the best for last, he looked at the prisoner that made him blush once again. As expected, the blush returned in full force, and his hand went to his mouth in breathtaking awe. The fellow inmate was still looking at him with a surprisingly bashful expression, cheeks tinted with a warm color, similar to that of the third prisoner’s hair. It was a pleasant relief to the weirded out expression Shidou had expected, considering how long he was staring at him, and that they were in a place supposedly full of murderers. (He still couldn’t imagine the child killing anyone.)
The other prisoner looked away, embarrassed, and Shidou almost did too, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the other again. The way his hair fell perfectly into place and was a nice soft color at the top and a creamier one at the ends, split perfectly in the middle. The way his, now seemingly vibrant, shirt perfectly complimented his eyes, which were a lighter, greyer shade of the same, cool color. The way he stood, nervous, with one hand behind his back. And most importantly, the way his deep eyes shone in the dim lighting and darted back and forth, showing Shidou that he was, hopefully, also seeing color for the first time. All of it, all of him together, lit up the room, and quite literally made Shidou’s world more colorful and worthwhile.
He now had something to look forward to in this place, besides the death penalty. Break time was coming soon and he couldn’t wait to meet the other inmate.