Venn woke up slowly. He stretched himself out in Reed's favorite recliner. He groaned quietly as the stiff muscles pulled tight. He opened his eyes and almost leaped out of his skin.

Reed was standing right next to the chair. His eyes were looking in two different directions and he had the stupidest smile on his face.

Venn cursed at Reed as he sat up. "What on Earth? Reed, how long have you been standing there? Stop that eye thing. That's messed up."

Reed didn't change his expression, though his smile became slightly more of a smirk.

Venn rolled his eyes. "Strisciamento." He said in a teasing tone.

Reed started making demented chicken noises. His weird expression remained in place.

Venn leaped at Reed, tackling him to the floor. Reed's chicken noises stopped and his eyes returned to their normal positions. The two hit the floor in a laughing, tangled heap.

Reed had Venn partially pinned to the floor before long. Reed was the obvious victor, but Venn refused to acknowledge it. He squirmed under Reed without really trying to get him off.

The light caught Venn's eyes at a different angle. Reed saw a flash of blue in his eyes as Venn turned his head to the side.

Venn laughed and pushed playfully on Reed's shoulders. "Get off!"

Reed put a hand on either side of Venn's head, holding him in place. "Hold still for a second!"

Venn raised an eyebrow at Reed as he leaned forward to inspect Venn's eyes. "I swear if you're going to kiss me I'll run you through without regret."

Reed laughed. "Relax. I'm not going to kiss you and you know it."

Venn rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. The light caught his eyes again and this time, Reed kept focused on the flicker of color. He smiled faintly and leaned back. He could see it now.

A tiny ring of Caribbean blue outlined the intense midnight black. Now that it had been noticed, Reed was surprised he hadn't seen it before. Sure the ring of blue was so thin it barely existed at all, but it was so bright.

Venn looked up at Reed in confusion. "What's that face for? You look like a cat who just got exactly what he wanted."

Reed grinned broadly. "You, my friend, have blue eyes."

Venn gave Reed a flat stare that was some combination of confusion and annoyance. "Excuse me? Reed did you hit your head on something? My eyes are black as pitch and you know it."

"They aren't!" Reed objected. He got up and pulled Venn along with him. "Come on. I'll show you."

Venn tried to pull out of Reed's grip and failed. Reed dragged him to the bathroom, pushing him in front of the mirror. "Look close. Right around the pupil it's blue."

Venn didn't look in the mirror. He locked his gaze on the sink. He said nothing.

Reed paused, suddenly concerned by Venn's sudden shut down. "You alright Venn?"

Venn barely glanced up. "I'm fine. I just... don't like mirrors."

Reed sighed and leaned on the wall. "Come on Venn," he said, his voice faintly pleading. "You need to see it. Look up."

Venn couldn't ignore the tone in Reed's voice. He closed his eyes for a moment before he looked up into the mirror. The distaste was obvious on his face. His eyes flicked to the scar over his left eye before he focused on his eyes.

He was silent for some time before he blinked in surprise and leaned closer to the mirror. He inspected the bright blue carefully. "They are blue..."

Reed grinned, unable to contain himself. He nudged Venn playfully. "They're so prettyyyyy!" He teased.

Venn smiled slightly and turned away from the mirror. He reached up and ran a finger down the long, jagged scar over his left eye and down his cheek, his smile fading. "I guess they are."

Venn's eyes got a distant look in them. Pain flickered in the blackness for a second. He closed his eyed for a moment.

Reed tilted his head slightly to the side. He watched Venn carefully. "Hey... you alright?"

Venn opened his eyes and looked at Reed. He brought his hand away from the scar. "I'm fine," he said sharply.

Reed didn't take the sharp tone personally. This was how Venn was after remembering something painful. Reed pulled Venn into a loose hug, so he could pull away if he wanted.

Venn didn't resist. His eyes closed again, his shoulders hunching a little bit more than usual.