Author's Note: This is the last finished, mostly-Pietro one-shot I've written. But HAVE NO FEAR! I still have a lot of one-shots written for other characters to be put up. Just probably not today. ALSO, while I'm talking, I wrote this because I have brown eyes. And I've only ever heard them romanticized once or twice. It's kinda sad. It's always blue or green.

36) Brown Eyes

I sighed heavily. Working in my uncle's jewelry shop wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought of a "summer job" because I didn't know the first thing about jewelry (honestly my most-worn necklace was a leather cord with a silvery pendant hanging off of it that looked a bit like a dragon). But my uncle needed the extra help after his son moved to another state for college. He needed someone to do inventory and manage the appointments in the ledger. So I was signed up.

Plus I was probably making more than most other kids my age so I couldn't bring myself to complain.

One particular morning I was sitting at the desk, idly browsing Tumblr on the computer. We didn't have another appointment until the afternoon and walk-ins were rare. So for the next few hours I had nothing to do. My uncle didn't mind that I was on Tumblr. He was carefully cutting a diamond in the back for my older sister's engagement ring (that she didn't know about because her boyfriend wanted to surprise her but she'd had the ring style picked out since she was eight) and wouldn't be out for an hour or so. Which meant I still got to do whatever I wanted. And man, let me tell you, my Tumblr dash was hopping. I was a pretty obscure blog with only like fifteen followers, but I followed a lot of popular blogs and they always made me smile.

Ding-a-ling! The bell went off over the door.

I minimized my browser and turned. "Hi! Welcome to Grady's Jewelers! How may I help you?" I didn't bother to ask if he had an appointment because the book was in front of me and I knew he didn't.

Dang though. I'd never seen him before but he was one fine-looking guy. Tall, powerfully built, with silver-white hair and electric blue eyes. He was wearing a black suit but no tie. I caught sight of the royal blue pocket square hiding the bowtie behind it. I repressed a snicker. "Yes. I'm looking for a necklace that compliments brown eyes," he said, sounding awkward. He had a foreign accent. Probably some heir looking for something to woo some girl.

I couldn't help myself—I snorted. "Sir," I started carefully. "I have brown eyes. Nothing compliments them properly. They're bland and boring. Now if you're looking for blue or green or even gray eyes, that I can help you with."

He tilted his head to the side. "But have you ever seen brown eyes in the sun? When brown stops being the proper word to describe them? When they start looking gold and brilliant? A circle of light around an eclipse? Or have you ever seen brown eyes at night? When their depth becomes bottomless and they turn black as the night sky itself? When the line between pupil and iris vanishes? Have you ever seen them in the light where they turn into a rich, delicious chocolate that one could stare at for hours? Brown eyes are beautiful—but too many people are convinced that they have no substance to them. I say: all evidence to the contrary."

I raised my eyebrows. That was an oddly beautiful speech. "Does she have brown eyes?"

"Who?"

"Whoever you want the necklace for."

"Yes. She does."

"She's a very lucky girl," I remarked, standing from my stool and moving a bit down the counter. "We do have a few things. I suppose. My best idea would be the gem Tiger's Eye. It's mostly brown but has bands of gold in it." I pointed to something in one of the locked glass cupboards below me—a golden chain with a Tiger's Eye pendant shaped like a perfect teardrop hanging off of it. "There's not much I can do for brown eyes. I'm sorry."

My uncle came out of the back at that moment and leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed pensively, watching me make a transaction even though it wasn't technically part of my job. He was smiling and I was doing my best to not fluster.

"Though," I continued. "We have a decent selection of gold with citrine and topaz stones that could do nicely."

The young man with the accent shook his head. "No. I like the Tiger's Eye."

"Would you like to look at the rest of the selection? It's not a lot but…" I pointed out the rest of the Tiger's Eye. "It's a nice gem."

"Indeed," he agreed. "Which do you like?"

I shrugged. "Personally the teardrop is my favorite of them. But the Celtic knot is beautiful too."

"I would like to purchase the teardrop," he decided.

I glanced at my uncle. He shrugged, letting me continue with the sale. I pulled out the keys, unlocked the cupboard, and took out the necklace. After doing a few things in the computer—jewelry sales were complicated—I gave it to him. "Would you like a case or a bag, Pietro?" I asked, glancing at his name on the computer screen.

"No. Thank you."

"I hope she likes it."

He smiled. "I have a feeling that she will." He tucked the jewelry into the inside pocket of his jacket and left the shop. I sighed with relief, though I was a little sad to see my favorite Tiger's Eye go.

"Good job," my uncle complimented as I relocked the cupboard and put my keys back in my pocket. "Your first ever jewelry sale! I'm so proud of you! If Josh doesn't ever come back from New Jersey I might appoint you to be my successor for the shop!" The sarcasm in his tone was definitely not lost on me. I rolled my eyes. My cousin Josh would probably return home from New Jersey and take over the shop anyway. I wasn't necessary. Just the summer help.

"Thanks," I muttered.

We bantered for a few minutes and were just sitting down to have lunch when…

Ding-a-ling! The bell went off over the door. I didn't even bother to turn around to look as my uncle stood up.

A brown-and-gold teardrop lowered over my vision, settling on my chest and getting secured behind my hair. Gentle, warm hands pulled my hair out of it so that the chain relaxed against my skin.

Confused, I scrunched my eyebrows, stood up, and turned around.

Pietro was standing there, bowtie tied, with a single long-stemmed blood-red rose in his hand. He was smiling at me.

He touched the pendant.

"It compliments your eyes."

End Note: Likey? Yes? Tell me what you thought!

Thanks for reading!

~Cass