The premise behind this one-shot was inspired by the story 'The Prettiest Shade of Red' by Kaiwuff on AO3. It contains Kustard and Rottenberry Sans ships as the main focus, so if you like those, give it a read~
Also, Happy Early Independence Day to my followers who celebrate it on July 4th. To everyone else, Happy Existence Day, I'm glad you're here!
Edit: For the ones that missed the update on my A/N, I've posted the first chapter of my new story 'To be at Peace with Yourself', so go give it some love, please?
***
Palette grimaced at the picture in front of him.
Something's still missing... I just wish I knew what, though.
It feels... dull?
Most would disagree, citing the vibrant colors he used. To them, it would be considered a beautiful work of art. When the skeleton looked at it, however... it looked off in a way he couldn't describe.
Normally, he wouldn't be surprised given all monsters grew up lacking the ability to perceive certain colors from the moment they're born. A monster only regained that color when they happened upon their destined partner containing eyes of that particular shade.
The problem was that Palette didn't seem to lack the ability to see any color. He'd tested himself many times, the results never changed, he was able to make out each color that made up a rainbow and every tint in between.
Not for the first time, he wondered if that meant he had no soulmate.
Or maybe I already met them and never realized it. But if that's the case, why does my art always look so... incomplete?
Palette scrubbed at his skull, racking his mind to come up with the solution to a problem that had plagued him since his mom taught him about the concept of soulmates.
"Palette? Are you still up there?" His mom, Dream, called from downstairs.
"Yeah... Why?" the young monster called back, tilting back in his chair as if the action would help his voice carry better.
A chuckle was heard in response, "You're going to be late to school, for starters-"
Palette bit off a yelp as he clumsily righted himself in his chair, grabbed his phone to check the time. Finding he was indeed late, the skeleton snatched up his supplies, cramming them haphazardly into his bag.
I got so wrapped up in my art, I forgot the time! Looks like I'll have to skip breakfast if I want to make it.
Racing out of his room and down the stairs, skipping a few steps in his haste, his mom stood at the bottom of the stairs with his lunch.
Lucky! I probably would have forgotten all about it until lunchtime came around.
"Bye, mom!" Palette shouted, grabbing the bag as he barreled out the door.
"Have fun, sweetie!" he heard the older monster reply behind him as he raced out the door and down their walkway leading to the sidewalk.
---
When he got to school, the courtyard was milling with activity. Pulling out his phone, he goggled at the time.
Now I'm early? How does that even work? Was I really running that fast? Stars, I might've actually had time for breakfast after all...
Heaving a sigh, Palette found a bench to relax on while waiting for the bell to ring.
Maybe I can work on that picture some more...
Before he could act on the thought, a faint cry caught his attention. Looking up, the monsters and humans around him continued as if nothing had happened. He nearly chalked it up to him hearing things, when he heard the noise again.
Standing from the bench, he began to jog in the direction of the voice. It was coming from an area behind the main building.
"...at ... y... ea... ...ou didn't know?" A lower tone growled, their words becoming more clear as he got closer.
"I... I'm sorry! I can't see those colors, so I just-"
That's the voice I heard, the one crying out!
"Are you kidding me?! You can't see two different colors? What kind of freak are you... or are you lying to me?!" Palette peeked around the corner of the building to find a bulky green and yellow alligator monster, surrounded by other various monsters and humans, bearing down on an unseen target somewhere in the center of the semicircle.
The owner of the higher pitched voice quailed at the accusation, "I'm not lying! Please, I'm sorry for stepping on you, I really couldn't- AH!"
Their words were cut off as the alligator shoved them against the wall, "Sorry isn't good enough! I won't be satisfied until I pay you back for the pain you caused me!"
"P... Please...," the small voice gasped, "... hurts... c... agh... can' breeh..."
"Teacher, they're over here!" Palette stepped out from his hiding place, yelling out behind himself while hoping his idea would work.
It had the effect of catching the group's attention, looks of panic spreading through the crowd as the more cowardly members began to take off. A chain reaction was set off, the rest scattering rather than waiting for the 'teacher' to arrive.
Soon, all that was left was a single white-cloaked monster crumpled on the ground against the wall, their hood hiding their face in shadow as they gasped and coughed. Palette rushed over to them, kneeling to inspect them for possible damage, "Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to take you to the nur-"
His words trailed off as the small monster lifted their head, revealing a male skeleton with a single eye light that shined a beautiful white with a hint of soft lavender speckled throughout.
Something in his soul snapped into place.
The other skeleton seemed to be equally dazed into silence. His eye light locked in on Palette's starry ones, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly in an attempt to find his words.
"Green and yellow...," the small skeleton finally whispered, tears pooling at the edge of his sockets as he smiled, "I always thought something was wrong with me for missing two colors instead of one. I never thought about it being a color gradient."
Green and yellow... my eyes?
That's when it hit him.
White... of course! While it's technically not a color according to the light spectrum since it's essentially the presence of all color, plenty of artists still consider white its own distinct color!
Looking closely, the cloak the small skeleton was wearing seemed to have its own off-white hue and subtle shadows that he wouldn't have picked up on before, though it paled in comparison to their brilliantly shining eye light.
How did I not realize how lacking my sight was... how blank everything was? Wait, that's it... what's been off about my art for so many years!. Why it never looked right!
I never saw white... I saw blankness.
Palette chuckled, breaking out of his epiphany to respond, "Tell me about it, I thought something was wrong with me for not seeming to lack any colors. I was beginning to believe I didn't even have a soulmate because of it. I never even considered the possibility of white being the color I was missing... but it's as clear as crystal now."
The small skeleton blinked owlishly, then snorted, "Really? That pun was a bit of a stretch, I don't think you picked the light one."
Palette tilted his head in confusion, not realizing what he had said. Once his own unintentional pun and the other skeleton's intentional one registered, he joined in with the smaller skeleton's laughter.
He wasn't sure how long the moment lasted, but the sound was music to his proverbial ears while it did.
"Oh, I don't think I caught your name," Palette stated once the pair settled down, standing up to brush himself off and holding out a hand to the small skeleton, "I'm Palette, by the way. Palette Roller."
The monster took Palette's hand, pulling himself up, "It's Goth... I'm supposed to be starting here today, so I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go. I was looking around when I accidentally stepped on that big monster from earlier. They dragged me back here with their friends and... well, you can probably guess the rest."
Palette tried not to think too hard about what had nearly happened to his soulmate.
Goth isn't hurt, just a bit shook up. I'll make sure nothing like that ever happens again.
"You'll need to head to the main office to get your class schedule. The layout here can be a bit tricky if you're not used to it. I can show you where it is," Palette offered, a small part of his mind registering that he was still holding Goth's hand as he led the way back to the courtyard and into the school.
I don't think I mind it, though. It feels nice... warm.
Apparently, neither did Goth since he seemed content to follow the taller skeleton hand-in-hand.
Maybe we can to hang out and get to know each other before the bell rings... I hope we have a class or two together...
Goth smiled warmly, his white eye light glowing softly in response, "I'd really like that. Thank you."
Palette's soul fluttered, glad for once that he decided to skip breakfast to arrive early. Now that he had found Goth, his school life was going to be much fuller than any meal could ever provide.
***
I liked the idea of a monster being born missing a certain color from their life, spending their life waiting/searching for another whose eyes match that elusive color... then making eye contact with their soulmate and suddenly regaining that color in a dazzling bloom of illumination, like finding the missing piece of a puzzle left unsolved. I played around and came up with what I felt was a viable scenario, hope I did the idea justice~
Word Count: 1,481