soulmate au! based off of Kaleidoscope by A Great Big World. literally got fanfic vibes from it 5 seconds in. maybe listen to it while reading?
~~~
Eugene watched you and the grandchildren with a soft, reminiscent smile. They were listening to you with rapt attention, awed expressions on their faces as you told them about your and Eugene's days in the war. Even the teenaged child was listening, despite them looking indifferent to the stories.
You told of Eugene's heroic job; how he was always took care of the men, how he always watched over them, how he always made sure they were at their best--er, as best as they could be in a war-torn landscape. And you told of the stories where Eugene was almost hit, how he didn't even flinch at the bullets and explosions overhead and the dirt flying everywhere.
"That's 'cause you were there, chéri." he interjected. "You were like my guardian angel. Was never hurt when you were near me."
"Hmm, who was your angel when you went on missions without me, then?"
"You, still. If you were there, even in spirit, nothing could touch me."
You beamed at him, then turned back to the children. "Your grandfather wasn't so open like that when we were fighting."
"He wasn't?!" the youngest one exclaimed. "But he's got so much energy now! He's always chasing us around! Always talkative." Her eyes widened and she smiled apologetically at Eugene. "No offense, Grandpa. Please keep playing with us. Mama and Papa are so boring."
He only laughed, and you nodded. "Your grandfather was a quiet boy..."
Eugene smiled when remembered you used to be quiet as well, drifting into his memories while you kept narrating.
~
Dull, muted colors. That's all Eugene saw. He knew what the colors were, they just weren't the right...hue. Most of the other troopers in Easy had already met their soulmates or gotten married. There was a small handful of others like him that hadn't, though.
You were one such soldier. You were much like Shifty, quiet but friendly, and Eugene always found himself smiling when you were around. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because you were like him, and it was easy to connect with you in the silences that you shared. Eugene felt he spoke more in the comfortable silence he spent with you than in his whole time at Toccoa and Mackall.
You were helping him count and organize supplies today. You always hung out by the medical tent. Come to think of it, you were always around him when he seemed to be alone. Not that he didn't appreciate the company. It was rather nice to be in the company of someone who understood how silences still spoke volumes.
"Pass me those K-rations?" Eugene pointed to a stack of loose rations at the end of the tent.
You nodded and retrieved them, handing them off to him. His fingers brushed against yours in the exchange, and colors suddenly burst from where you touched. He froze, his eyes wide as he watched them burst and pop, swirling every which way from your touching fingers.
He turned his gaze away from the colors and looked at you. A smile grew across his face as he watched the childlike wonder morph to pure happiness in your expression. The colors swirling around you looked so much more vibrant, Eugene wasn't sure if it was the newfound color vision or if it were you that seemed to brighten the room wherever you went.
When the color swirls drifted away and the new colors settled in, you turned to him.
"Well, hello again, Eugene." you cradled his cheek and he noted how pretty your eyes were. They were a pretty hue, and they held so many unspoken thoughts. Your hand moved to his hair and you carded your fingers through it. Eugene closed his eyes and let himself melt into your touch.
"Your hair is such a pretty dark brown." You were quiet for a moment then added with a small laugh, "It's soft, too."
Eugene opened his eyes when your hand left his hair and he felt your arms wrapping around his middle. He smiled and held you closer, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
~
Eugene didn't know how to feel. He'd seen the red of a dead man. He'd experienced what it was like to get blood on his hands, staining the dirty green of his ODs and the pristine white of the snow.
"Gene? Gene, you there? You okay?" he heard your voice call. He didn't reply.
You looked into the foxhole, and slid in with a tired sigh.
"Gene, you doing alright?" you asked. No answer. "Gene?"
You smiled sadly and cuddled up to his side. "It's okay, Eugene. It's alright. I know how ugly it gets."
"There's just so much...so much red." he whispered. "It's...it...it goes everywhere...turns everything the same...turns it all angry...it looks so angry..."
He felt tears run down his face, and he sniffled, hurriedly wiping at them. You softly said his name and he looked at you, seeing your eyes--your beautifully colored eyes!--filled with so many emotions.
"Eugene," you repeated, pausing. "It's okay to feel like that. I don't like seeing any of it either."
He still seemed lost in his terrors. You gently tilted his head in your direction, taking out a handkerchief and wiping at the smudged dirt on Eugene's face.
"Eugene, look at me. Look at my eyes." you commanded firmly, yet gently. He met your gaze and you smiled. "What do you see, Eugene?"
"Stars. I see stars." he replied immediately. "They're twinkling so beautifully."
"Good, good." you pressed your lips to his. "Come on, you need a shoulder to cry on. Let it out, okay? It's good to have a good cry sometimes."
~
"So many colors..." he heard you whisper as the both of you sat on the balcony. "It's been years since we had our moment, and I still can't get over how everything still looks new. Now that the war's over, we have the rest of our lives to see everything so vibrantly."
"Looks like a...what's it called? It makes everything look like diamonds and triangles. The thing where it's all...colorful? And looks like the stained glass at church? Except it's all..." Eugene tried to find the right word for the object.
You thought for a moment. "A kaleidoscope?"
"Yeah, that's it. Looks like a kaleidoscope, doesn't it. Everything's so colorful...looks so different."
You hummed in agreement, looking at him. "What's your favorite color, Gene?"
He looked out at the scene before him.
"I dunno..." he trailed, thinking. Then he pointed to the hillside that faced the hotel Easy was staying in. "See those flowers on the hill?"
"Yeah."
"I like the violets."
"The violets, huh?"
"Yeah. Violets and purples."
"The hills give the violets and purples. The kaleidoscope gives the diamonds and circles." you mused with a small grin.
~
"Grandmama, do you think I'll find my soulmate?" the youngest child asked, clambering onto the empty space next to you on the sofa.
"Of course you will, sweetie, everyone has many soulmates, all spread out across the world. It's just the little choices we make that decide which ones we can meet."
"I can't wait to meet mine." the girl sighed wistfully. "We'll have so much fun together."
Eugene looked over at you smiling proudly at your grandchildren, and he couldn't help but smile himself. Yes, she would. All his grandchildren would have much fun with their soulmates. Just like he does with you.
Eugene pressed a kiss to every child's forehead as they went out the door to their waiting parents. He watched as they all clambered into the automobile, their mother hurrying over to press a kiss to your and Eugene's cheeks and thanking the both of you for keeping them the whole afternoon.
Eugene smiled in reply and held your hand as their mother went back to the car and drove off, the kids rolling down the window and shouting out their goodbyes one final time. You laughed beside him and waved back, your smile no duller than it was when you first saw those bursts and swirls of color with Eugene.
Later, he sat outside on the porch with you to watch the setting sun. So many vibrant colors indeed. Purples, pinks, oranges, yellows, all dancing across the darkening sky. He was old, and his vision was slowly failing him, but the colors would be there when he died, and they'd be there when he woke up again in the clouds.
"Eugene," you began, breaking the silence. "What's your favorite color?"
Eugene thought for a moment, back to the end of the war when he and you were sat outside in the afternoon Austrian sun.
"Remember those flowers on the hill?" he replied with a reminiscent smile. "I like the violets."
"The violets, huh?" you grinned, looking back at him.
"Yeah. Violets and purples." he nodded.
You turned back to the last remnants of the setting sun, a soft smile on your face. The same one that he saw when you were on the hotel balcony with him, beer in hand. He knew you remembered.
"The hills give the violets and purples. The kaleidoscope gives the diamonds and circles."