Irhaboggle Pride (2019) Spectrum

Turquoise

Everyone always said that Storm's eyes were blue. It was something Iris disagreed with. Sure, on the most basic level, Storm's eyes were technically blue, but to call them only blue felt like such an understatement. They were so much more than that. They were so much more than just blue, or "just" anything, in fact.

They brightened when she was happy and glazed over when she was sad. They looked almost white in the light and dark gray in the shadows. They seemed to change shade and color every time Iris looked at her. Sometimes they were bright and clear. Other times they were murky and almost pearly, as pale colors overlapped and intertwined.

Yes, her eyes were much too luminescent and changing to only be one thing. Iris had seen those eyes in their lightest and darkest moments. She'd seen them as they ranged between a dark blue and a pale silvery gray. She'd seen them looking like a clear sky, and the clouds that would eventually fill that sky. Sometimes, they looked harmless. Other times, they concealed a raging tempest, a storm about to break on the horizon as darker and darker clouds rolled in.

But Iris' favorite times were when Storm's eyes were turquoise. Perhaps this was a bit of an overstatement and an inaccuracy, no normal human actually had eyes that bright, but to Iris, it was better than calling Storm's eyes "just blue". Turquoise, although hyperbolic, encapsulated what Iris thought about Storm much better than "just blue". Because Storm's eyes only became that shade of blue, that "turquoise" when she was really, really happy. Now, of course, it was not that Storm's eye color changed based upon her mood, but it seemed like whenever she was at her happiest and liveliest, her eyes always seemed extra bright and colorful.

Iris would look into Storm's eyes during those moments of bliss, excitement and wonder and those eyes would seem so many shades lighter. As her face and mood lifted, a smile replacing her usual frown, turquoise would replace the "just blue", and Iris could easily get lost in such a gaze for hours at a time. In those moments, Storm seemed to radiate joy and contentment from every pore in her body, and it was even visible through her eyes. But that was another reason turquoise seemed so fitting for her.

Even though it was a bright color, it was still not intense or flashy. This was befitting of a woman whose happiness was very much the same. Even at her most energetic and hopeful, Storm was never very wild or explosive. Instead, her happiness was more like peace. It was serenity. It was something simple, easy, relaxed and plain and simple.

In those moments, Storm's entire body would seem to transform. Her face and expression would brighten. She would stand up taller, but her posture would be more relaxed. Her smile would be genuine and full of satisfaction. It was as if, in moments like those, she wanted to be seen, because she would become so much more visible. She wouldn't skulk and slink in the background when she was truly happy and alive. And of course, the most expressive points on her were her eyes. In those moments of happiness, the turquoise would shine through, bright in the sunlight and no longer dark or dull or murky. Instead, they would become brilliantly clear, and it was truly hypnotic.

But perhaps it made sense. The eyes were the windows to the soul, after all. So perhaps it made sense that Storm's eyes would seem the most changed whenever she was happy. Only under intense or rare emotions did the soul wish to bear itself to the scrutiny of the outside world, so of course Storm's eyes would seem the most electric when she was at her happiest.

And it made even more sense that Iris would be the one to pick up on it. She was, after all, a girl already quite tied to eyes and their colors. She was already well-versed in the art of "eye reading", so of course she would be able to read Storm's very easily. Her heightened senses allowed her to see and experience things a normal human might miss. Perhaps Storm's changing eye color was part of that. Iris could always pick up on all the little nuances in her expression that everyone else would find impossible to detect.

And maybe that was why the two got along so well. Out of all the people Storm knew, only Iris was able to read her with any amount of skill. While everyone else would be unable to see past Storm's stony façade, Iris always seemed to know how the other woman was actually feeling. It was uncanny, and sometimes annoying, but that was just Iris' simple truth, and it came in handy when trying to build bridges with the other woman. She'd been one of the few to see the secret sides of Storm, and all because of the woman's expressive eyes.

Eyes were the window to the soul, and the soul could not lie. It could hide, but if one looked carefully enough, they could still see the truth buried deep within. Underneath all those diverse shades of blue, Iris always knew how to call upon the turquoise. No matter the time or place, Iris was always able to make Storm smile. She was always able to find Storm's turquoise, and getting to see those eyes light up in sheer joy was perhaps the most beautiful thing of all.

"Hey, Storm?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

And with just three simple words, Iris was able to summon the turquoise. She had the pleasure of watching Storm's expression switch from surprise to warmth, the shade of her eyes seeming to follow suit.

"I love you, too."

Purple may have been Iris' "signature color", but turquoise was quickly becoming her favorite.

AN: Very short, rambling, poetic vignette, I know, but to anyone who has read my original story, they know how important eyes and their colors are to the plot. But I wasn't just going to be doing the cliché fic about Iris. I wanted something slightly more original and creative. Again, sorry it's so prosy, but what can ya do!? LOL)