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You’ve always been told green and red are Christmas colors. They’re vibrant and fill people with holiday cheer.
“You’ll understand soon,” your mother always says. “Just wait a little longer.”
The tag at the store said the sweater you’re wearing is red. Hanamaki even confirmed it for you when you tried it on. The sweater fits over your white button down, nothing being too tight or too loose. It’s the perfect outfit.
“You look nice,” Hanamaki says as he comes out of his room to find you on the couch. “Oikawa-kun will approve.”
You look up from your phone at him. He’s wearing something similar in style. The sweater is a lighter color, even though you don’t know what color it is.
“Great,” you say sarcastically as you pocket your phone.
You have nothing against Oikawa since he’s funny, cute, and sweet. Hanamaki deeply believes you and Oikawa are soulmates, though. He creates situations where you two will touch, but you never do. At this point, you avoid touching him to piss off Hanamaki, and it really does. He complains to Matsukawa the moment it happens, and it’s always a little funny.
You don’t think about who your soulmate could be very often—you don’t think about soulmates as much as everyone else does. Maybe if you knew Oikawa just a little better, you’d think about him being your soulmate. Although most people don’t know their soulmate until they meet them.
“Are you ready to leave?” you ask, and Hanamaki nods as he puts on his coat.
“Yeah, let me just…” He grabs his secret Santa gift from the table. “Are you driving us, because it can be tricky getting there?”
“Why don’t you just drive my car?” you suggest as you stand up, stretching your arms, and your back pops slightly.
“Wow, Christmas came early,” he says, and you raise a brow.
“Do not wreck my car.”
Hanamaki grabs the keys from the table. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
You’ve not been in the friend group for very long, so you don’t know how they are around holidays. However, nothing could’ve prepared you to see Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s front door covered in garland and a Christmas wreath. It looks like the small town Hallmark movie aesthetic your mother loves so much.
“This year’s theme is blue,” Hanamaki says as he knocks on the door. “Like, under the sea type blue.”
Even though that means nothing to you, you nod.
When the door opens, Oikawa is wearing a suit. Your first thought is that he looks good—not that he doesn’t always look good. He’s objectively attractive with his styled hair and flawless skin, but this is different. Men dressed nice always hits different.
Your second thought is that you feel slightly underdressed, but Hanamaki is wearing something similar, so you can’t be. You just hadn’t realized what dress nice meant.
“You’re here!” Oikawa says with a wide smile as he moves to the side. “Come in!”
You and Hanamaki make eye contact out of the corner of your eyes. Oikawa is extroverted, but he’s not like this. It’s more always wanting to hang out and not liking being alone for too long. This is the stereotypical of what everyone thinks an extrovert is.
“You can put your coats over here,” he says, motioning to a coat rack. “Shoes against the wall. We’re all in the living room right now. Bring your gifts with you.”
Oikawa’s apartment is nice, which isn’t a surprise. He cares about appearances far more than you and Hanamaki do. Even without the Christmas decorations lighting up the space, everything goes together seamlessly.
“Who is we?” you whisper to Hanamaki once Oikawa walks down the hall.
“Just the friend group and Daichi-san,” Hanamaki whispers. “This is a small party. The volleyball team party is huge, though.”
Relief floods through you, because while you’d been ready to meet lots of people, you didn’t want to. You weren’t in the mood of being bombarded with so many names you won’t remember and awkward small talk that has you wanting to run away. Meeting people can be fun, but it’s also stressful.
The first thing you notice about the living room is the tall tree in the corner. It’s decorated from top to bottom. Not a sliver of empty space on it.
“Presents go under the tree,” Oikawa says. “Now that you guys are here, we can have dinner!”
The dining room is beautiful with a long table with placemats and silverware. Their apartment makes you feel like you’re in a Hallmark movie. Iwaizumi and Oikawa bring out the food like perfect hosts.
It’s delicious, which you knew would be the case. Iwaizumi and Daichi cooked, and they’ve never let you down before.
It’s quiet at first as everyone eats, but then light conversation starts. You feel too far away to join the conversation, so you don’t enter it. It’s not like you can fully understand what they’re saying anyway.
“When are your finals over, L/N-san?” Oikawa asks, and you look up from your plate.
“Wednesday,” you say after swallowing. “Not soon enough.”
“I’m jealous,” he whines a little. “Mine end Friday.”
“My condolences, truly.”
Oikawa chuckles a little, looking away from you. “What are you going to do with your freedom?” he asks before looking at you again. “Like any plans for Thursday?”
Your brows furrow slightly. “I don’t know? Probably stay in and watch television.”
Oikawa opens his mouth, but he gets cut off.
“What are you two talking about?” Hanamaki asks, nosey as always.
“Your mom,” you say deadpan. Matsukawa snorts as Iwaizumi lets out a laugh.
“I hate you,” Hanamaki says, and you smile.
Dinner ends, everyone helping with clearing the table. Then you’re sitting in the living room with everyone holding the presents they brought.
“So, who wants to go first?” Oikawa asks.
“It’s faster to just ask for your present first,” Iwaizumi says, and Oikawa pouts slightly.
“Don’t be mean, Iwa-chan,” he says, and he looks a little cute like this. “But if you’re suggesting I go first, then I will.”
Iwaizumi rolls his eyes as you chuckle a little. Oikawa looks at you, his gaze a little enchanted, before looking away.
“Alright, who got me?” he asks, and Hanamaki holds up the present in his hands.
“You better like it or else,” Hanamaki says.
It’s an Area 51 T-shirt with a cartoon alien on it. Oikawa holds it up to his neck, seeing if it’ll fit, as he pretends to hate it.
“Do you not know anything else to get me?” he asks, but he’s smiling as he speaks. Oikawa wears his heart on his sleeve, even if he disagrees. “I’ve not been into aliens since high school.”
“Yeah, and you told me back then you would always love aliens,” Hanamaki says. “So really you should be impressed I remembered after all this time.”
Oikawa rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever makes you feel better.”
Then he’s picking up the gift he bought from under the tree and extends it to you. “Merry Christmas,” he says, and there’s a nervous smile on his face.
There’s an abundance of tissue paper in the bag to hide the gift. You feel like you’ll never stop pulling it out by the time your fingers brush against the present. The fabric is soft beneath your fingers. You pull it all the way out, and it’s a crocheted scarf.
“I’ve never seen you with a scarf before, so I thought you could use it,” Oikawa says. “The pattern was pretty easy.”
“You made it?” you ask as you look at him.
He looks away, shy. “Yeah, but it wasn’t that hard.”
You don’t care about how difficult something is. The fact that it’s handmade makes something in your chest so warm. You don’t remember the last time you received a handmade gift like this.
“What color is it?” you ask.
“The packaging said scarlet,” he says before looking at Iwaizumi. “It’s scarlet, right?”
“Why would you make it if you weren’t sure about the color?” Iwaizumi asks, not answering the question.
“I wasn’t super worried about the color, and the packaging has never lied before,” Oikawa says.
You forget that Oikawa hasn’t met his soulmate either, especially right now with Christmas decorations surrounding you. His outfits are always put together as far as you know. People compliment him all the time, and you doubt Iwaizumi spends a lot of time with Oikawa just for fashion reasons.
Your fingers run over the fabric again. “I love it—the scarf. I can’t believe you made it yourself. It looks really good.”
Oikawa looks away from you, embarrassed.
“Thank you,” he says. “I’m glad you like it.”
Then it’s your turn to give Iwaizumi his gift. You got him oven mitts and cooking utensils since his are wearing out. It’s practical, which you knew he’d appreciate.
As everyone goes through their gifts, your fingers run over the soft fabric of the scarf. You want to put it on. You want to feel the fabric brush against your skin as it gives you warmth.
“You should try it on,” Hanamaki says, breaking you out of your thoughts. “Let’s see how it fits.”
You unravel it completely before putting it around your neck. It’s warm against your skin, but it doesn’t lie quite right. You mess with it, unraveling it before throwing one side over your shoulder.
“Let me help you,” Oikawa says, moving closer to you.
You feel his warmth before he even touches the scarf. Although you’ve never been this close before, it feels natural. It feels as though you’ve been this close countless times before.
He completely takes the scarf off. The cold air hitting your neck causes you to shiver, but he doesn’t react. Instead, he lays the scarf against the back of your neck before wrapping one side around your neck. His fingers brush your skin gently, and it burns.
You both flinch away from each other, your hand going to your neck and he grabs his own hand. When you look at him, it’s different. It’s not grayscale, but color dances in your vision.
“Oh my God,” you say, and his eyes are as wide as yours.
“Oh my God,” he repeats.
“What’s going on?” Hanamaki asks, but you can’t look away from Oikawa.
“You’re my soulmate,” you say, and Oikawa nods.
“What?” Hanamaki screeches slightly. “You’re soulmates?”
Oikawa lets go of his hand before touching your neck again. His touch is hot, but it doesn’t burn anymore. The colors around you grow more vibrant.
“Holy shit,” Oikawa mumbles.
You slowly reach out, hand gently touching his cheek, and his skin is warm to the touch. It buzzes beneath your fingertips.
He pulls you in for a hug. Your entire body feels fuzzy from the contact, but also so warm. You never want it to end.
“This is crazy,” Hanamaki says, but you can’t see him. You tuck your face against Oikawa’s shoulder. “Guys, they’re soulmates.”
“What?” Iwaizumi yells slightly. “Are you serious?”
Oikawa squawks slightly, not letting go of you. “Why do you sound like you can’t believe it?”
“Because they’re them and you’re you,” Iwaizumi says.
You laugh into Oikawa’s shoulder, and his embrace tightens a little. You feel so safe.
“I think I’m a catch,” Oikawa says, and Iwaizumi snorts.
“Sure.”
You pull your face away from his shoulder, and he doesn’t loosen his grip on you. “I think you’re a catch,” you say. His face turns a bright shade of pink.
“Oh, thank you,” he says, voice wavering. “I think you’re fantastic—amazing, and I’m so lucky to have you as my soulmate. Like luckiest ever, and—”
You cut him off with a laugh. “I get it. Thank you.”
Oikawa looks at you with such care. “Did you know that colors get more vibrant when soulmates kiss?”
“Oh, get a room,” Matsukawa says, and you laugh.
When you’re driving home later, you watch the Christmas lights pass by, and you decide that wintertime is the best time to find your soulmate. Tomorrow you’ll drag Oikawa around to see the lights and decorations, and it’ll be perfect because it’ll be colorful and you’ll be with him.