October 2nd 2020
Prompt: Au

Soulmate Alternate Universe

*****

Black and white.

What a boring world.

The world was a constant valley of different shades of grey.

Not a single colour.

Not until you met your soulmate. The colour would only spark a little. Catching your eye until you were seeking the person again in hopes of seeing more than the tiniest flash of colour.

Kiara has never understood Soulmates. How can you be destined for another person? It didn't make sense. She's always been a practical and logical thinker. But the fact that science still hasn't proved why there were Soulmates irked her. Since she still hasn't met her soulmate the whole idea became pointless and she allowed herself to casually date. It was her way of steering everything in a practical way that she wanted. That also meant continuing to see the world in its muted hues which proved to be more taxing when more and more of her friends began marvelling at the beauty they called colour.

Kiara had been working full time at an ice cream shop, trying to make ends meet with her piling bills after breaking up with yet another boyfriend after he'd found his soulmate. Feeling particularly grumpy she tried not to scowl to hard at the Rocky Road ice cream she was serving and handed it to the child. Unfortunately, one of her braids had dipped into one of the containers causing her to bite back a curse as she fought to clean it off without a customer noticing.

  "Mommy look at the pretty pink gummy bear!" Great, even that six year old has met her soulmate. Kiara sighed as she cleaned off the scoops.

  "Can I have one banana split, one double chocolate in a cone, one vanilla, one mango in a cup, and a milkshake please?" Kiara whipped her head around to see who made that crazy big order. She couldn't see the boy's face but she knew he had light hair. A small tuft stuck out from under his darker grey hood. The person manning the cash took the owner, adding up how much it was before claiming he had to go to the washroom and leaving Kiara to do the rest.

  Kiara's jar dropped at her coworkers behaviour before someone in line yelled for her to move it. Hands shaking with anger and frustration as her day became significantly worse, Kiara worked the scoop, an angry tirade slipping from her lips before she could stop herself.

  "Stupid lazy idiot!" She hissed under her breath her fingers starting to crush the cup of the milkshake.

    "Sorry, I was just trying to get ice cream." A calm make voice said. Kiara jerked her head up to be startled by an intense gaze. Her jaw dropped and she was rendered speechless as she stared at gleaming iris's of the boy. They looked tired but had a small gleam as he took the ice cream, balancing the food easily. "I know people don't like me but usually they don't smash my drinks."

  Green. It was such a beautiful flash and she barely saw it glimmer through the grey, swirling and changing into the most intense shade of deep green. But in a blink they were gone, ducked under the hood and turning away.

  For a moment Kiara just stood frozen there. Watching her chance slip away like water between her fingertips. Then with a jerk her senses came back. "That's your freaking soulmate!" Her brain screamed at her and she was moving, she crashed into the menu display stand, her feet moving out of sync with her body, people yelling and complaining as she threw open the store doors.

  "HEY!" Her fellow employee shrieked as she searched the crowd of people roaming around Ninjago City, it was packed but as she concentrated on the various toned bodies she saw another flash of the brilliant colour. A smile spread across her face and she dashed forward, ignoring the threats from her coworker as she shoved through the people walking down the side walk.

  She must've looked crazy. She must've been crazy. Soulmates? The thing she ignored and fought to understand her whole life. Yet there was this pull, this rush, this feeling that took over every practical bone in her body and filled it with something that told her to follow him. Her very soul was connected to this person and the farther he went the more she needed to see him, one more time, five more time, a thousand lifetimes more. She could barely comprehend the people she pushed through, the cracks she tripped over, the things she ran into, the only thing that mattered was this person.

  As she grew closer she could make out the curve of his dark grey hood. Sauntering along towards the public park. He just made it towards the entrance when she launched into a full blown sprint, calves burning, lungs heaving, then he was there. Her hand reached out, her fingertips brushed the fabric of his sweater, feeling the soft fuzz, curling and gripping around his shoulder until she spun him around. The force caused him to loose balance, rolling on his ankle and causing him to drop his food, the ice cream crashing into the sidewalk into a pathetic puddle.

  "What the heck?" He exclaimed in annoyance, his hood falling from his head but he stopped short as he met her eyes. The brilliant green was still there and with a shock she saw a reflection of her own, a deep brown. Kiara wasn't sure what to do, he was panicking, shocked heaves as he drew breath, shaking hands that ran through his blonde hair-

  Wait...blonde?

  A almost hysterical laugh erupted as her hands flew to her mouth. Slowly. the grey was fading away, colour replacing it like a beautiful wave. First it was basic solid tones before the shadows and the slight differences formed, the pink of his cheeks, the green on his sweater, the brown of the tiny freckles on his nose. It was so unreal and out of this world. Wonder filled his emerald gaze as he raised his hand in awe, staring at the warm peach that reflected back at him. He raised his eyes back up, meeting Kiara's with his own as his eyes began to soften into so theming he couldn't describe.

   "You're my soulmate." He breathed. But for some reason that sent him stumbling backwards. Kiara's brow furrowed as she reached to grab his wrist to steady him but he yanked his arm away, recoiling.

   "Is this about what I said in the parlour?" Kiara said quickly, acting tentative like he was a wild animal. "I'm really sorry! I wasn't talking about you, I was referring to my coworker but even so that was rude and I had a very bad day..." She rambled, playing around with her fingers.

   The green-eyed boy didn't reply, simply looking at her with that captivating gaze like everything was wrong. "You don't want me as a soulmate." He finally said. His hands falling to his sides. Kiara's eyes widened.

  "You're a murderer?"

  "No! I mean yes- I mean no! I mean...maybe?" He winced. Her eyes grew wide and he quickly waved his hands as if it cleared away what he just said. "Never mind- that's not why you don't want me as a soulmate."

  At this point Kiara was just very confused. "So...you're maybe a murderer?"

  "NO!" Green-eyes yelled. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes as the frustration erupted. "I'm Lloyd Garmadon!"

   Silence. Everyone around them had stopped and froze at that yell- that announcement. Kiara's brain was moving really slow and she tried to get a grip on what was happening.

  "Wait- wait-" she dug her nails into her scalp and fisted a chunk of her hair. "Lord Garmadon's your dad?"

  "Father!" Lloyd corrected like it meant anything. "Distant blood-father who lives in an active volcano!"

  Kiara sunk to the ground, sitting on the stones that encased the small garden in the park. "I don't know what's happening!" She groaned. Her mind felt like it was on the bridge of exploding. Panic filling her as she made rapid breaths, the newly created colours becoming over bearing and the news running hamster wheels in her brain.

  "What do I do?" Lloyd asked frantically as she began hyperventilating. "Um- CPR? Mouth to mouth- wait no..."

  "Shut up for one second!" Kiara snapped, squeezing her eyes shut and struggling to get her breathing under control.

   Taking a deep breath she opened them again, looking at the now colourful boy in front of her. He had his hands hugging around him and his lips were pressed shut. Wide green eyes staring at her anxiously, his blonde hair mussed and wild. It was crazy, stupid crazy. Why was the kid of a power-crazed demon was a sixteen-year-old with chocolate sauce dripping down his front? It was unreal. But there he was. What she saw wasn't some psychotic maniac, it was an awkward, dorky teanage boy.
 
   "Let's try this again." Kiara said slowly. Her soul was warm, wreathing and locking with his. She could feel this, that this was right.

She stood, her eyes reaching his nose as she stuck out her hand. "I'm your soulmate."

  Lloyd stared at it, hesitantly pressing his palm to hers and locking their fingers. A tingle seemed to go through their hands, coursing and warm with some way that just seemed....perfect.

  "I'm Lloyd and I'm your soulmate too." He replied shakily.

  Kiara felt confidence swell as she stared dead set into his shining forest irises. "Nice to meet you Lloyd, my names Kiara and I don't care about heck if you're the son of Lord Garmadon."