Chapter Text
Venus stumbled slightly, glad to have Ilya’s arm for support and even gladder to have him leading the way through Vesuvia’s twisting streets. This had not been their first date by far, not even their first to the Rowdy Raven, but it had been the first where she had gotten more than buzzed. In fact, she was noticeably tipsy as she grinned up at Ilya, happy to be at his side and eager to see his home. Usually stoic, Venus only really let herself act like this around Ilya. He was the only one allowed to see her this way.
He smiled softly back down at her, fully aware of how she felt as she babbled on about how important he was to her and how lucky she was to have him. He was slightly worried, knowing how her magic could act up if she was intoxicated, but she had also told him that his presence stabilized it somehow. Venus paused for a second, standing still in the middle of the alley they had just turned down. They weren’t far from his home now, but he certainly wasn’t going to drag her.
“What’s wrong, Venus?” He questioned her gently, afraid she may be feeling some of the less pleasant effects of the alcohol she had consumed. She didn’t look queasy, but one could never be too sure.
“Come here, Ilya…” Venus slurred the words slightly, drawing out the last vowel of his name in a way that made him giddy. He complied, stepping closer to the fiery magician. She was beautiful even as she swayed slightly where she stood.
Venus stretched up, throwing her arms around the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him down to her level. It failed, however, only tugging him lower by a couple inches. “Lean down,” She whined slightly. Venus wasn’t typically the type to act so… needy, but with liquid fire coursing through her veins and her adoration for the tall disaster doctor bubbling to the service she couldn’t not kiss him. That would be asking her to do the impossible.
Ilya, of course, knew what Venus wanted. She wasn’t exactly subtle and was always physically affectionate. Still, he was enjoying her pouty face and decided to play a little dumb. “What for, my love?” He saw her pout, even more, the flush from the alcohol she drank became even darker.
“I want a kiss and you’re too tall.” She huffed, slightly annoyed but not angry, she couldn’t be when it came to him.
Ilya smile slightly and it set Venus on fire as he leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. She tried to deepen it, wanting his touch, but he pulled away leaving her breathless regardless.
“I don’t think you’re in a fit state to go much further than that, darling.” Ilya smiled softly and kissed her cheek. “I think we better get you back to mine so that you can sober up a little.”
Venus nodded, letting him guide her again. She was holding his hand now, palm warm against his as the turned a few more corners and Julian finally approached a house. It wasn’t gleaming, it was rather ordinary, to be honest, but she was excited to see it. This was Ilya’s home, after all, the place where he was the most “himself.” Where he didn’t have to pretend or hide. She wanted to see him unwind just as much as he always made her. She could be a looser person around him, dropping the elegant and refined face of a Chaos Mage just a little to just be Venus.
Julian opened the door with a flourish. The interior was dark, and it was difficult to see anything, but the doctor strode in confidently, Venus following behind. It was familiar in an odd way. Venus was sure she had been here before and based on what she knew about her missing memories, she had been.
Julian was crouched in front of the fireplace, barely distinguishable in the moonlight that streamed in through the window. Venus walked carefully around the living room as he tried to light a fire, feeling her way around with her hands. She brushed her fingers over the leather of an armchair. She wasn’t quite sure how she knew it was an armchair instantly, probably a half-forgotten memory, but she didn’t really care as she sat in it, stretched over the seat sideways.
Julian stood as he got the fire to flare to life and saw Venus stretched across his chair like a cat lounging in the sun. It was endearing and he chuckled softly, walking over to stand near her.
“I’ll go grab you a blanket since you seem so comfortable.” Julian originally meant it as a jest, but as the words left his lips, he realized that it was chilly out and if it was chilly out Venus may be cold, and a cold Venus may get sick and so he better go get the blanket. However, as he turned to leave Venus’ hand grabbed his wrist and tugged.
“Don’t leave me here alone, Ilya. Sit with me, please.” He couldn’t resist Venus, never could in fact. Especially not when she looked up at him with her large, golden eyes.
Julian smiled and turned back towards her, quickly scooping her up in his arms before taking a seat in the chair. “Whatever you wish, darling.” Venus was warm against his chest and he remembered how she couldn’t catch cold in normal circumstances. He just worried about her, she was so important to him.
Venus was more than happy to be seated in Julian’s lap, her fingers tracing idle patterns against his shoulder as the alcohol buzzed through her veins still. Something about this was so familiar, so comfortable.
They sat there, comfortable in each other’s presence, for a while. The fire crackling while Venus pressed soft kisses to Julian’s neck, cheek, forehead, and anywhere else she could reach without too much effort when her affection for him overflowed and she had to express it.
Julian, in turn, peppered her face with kisses, making Venus giggle softly and blush. He loved seeing her this loose, this playful. It was a side of her that only he got to see, and he cherished every second of it.
Venus had moved to run her fingers through his hair, making him drowsy, when he recalled the box. It wasn’t anything spectacular, just some things he salvaged from his clinic before he went on the run. They were innocuous items, and most of the rest he had gotten rid of or repurposed. What was in this particular box, however, he couldn’t seem to part with. Even thinking about doing so had made him anxious on the few occasions that it crossed his mind. Sitting here, in his home, with Venus on his lap, however, finally brought forth the reason why. Memories revealed themselves lazily and Julian accepted them without much fanfare. He knew at this point that he had known Venus before and that she had helped at his clinic, but only now did the memories of her resurface. He put two and two together as he traced his name, his real name, in swirling patterns against her thigh.
“Venus, darling, do you think I could get up for a moment.” He didn’t want to leave her, but he was eager to show her the relics of her forgotten past now. He knew how much it usually upset her to remember things, but he also knew she found it necessary and until this moment the time she served as his apprentice had been foggy for both of them. Now that he remembered, he wanted her to remember too.
Venus mumbled something against his neck but didn’t fight when he tried to stand. The buzz was fading from her system and making her sleepy and she had been comfortable on Ilya’s lap. She grumbled a little more as he sat her back down on the chair and kissed her forehead.
“I’ll be right back, love. There’s something I want to show you.” Ilya’s words piqued her interest and roused the drowsy mage back to wakefulness. She sat straight in the chair, curious as to what he could have.
She didn’t have to wait long as Julian managed to move quite quickly on his lengthy legs,
Ilya was speaking before he had even made it all the way down the stairs. “I saved this stuff for so long and couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t until I brought you here that I remembered that it was yours from your time at the clinic.”
Venus frowned slightly at the words, realizing that she was going to be hit by memories, but she would rather remember now and on a pleasant evening than any other time.
Julian rounded the corner and sat a box in front of Venus. She hesitantly reached in and pulled out the fabric folded on top. It was a doctor’s apprentice uniform, in fact, it was, “My uniform…” The words were whispered from her lips as she remembered dressing up in it for the first time before walking out from the back of the clinic. Ilya had pinned her with a brilliant grin that had made even her blush.
“You wear it well.” His voice echoed in the memory. He didn’t linger looking at her long and immediately gestured her over to get started teaching.
She sat the uniform aside as Ilya watched her intently. Venus carefully pulled a labelled bottle from the box. It had a name scrawled across it in her own handwriting. It was smudged, almost unreadable, but she managed to make it out. “Charlie… The leeches! I remember them. They were adorable.”
She could practically see herself labelling each bottled leech with its own name. She had been tempted to name them as chaos mages were named but settled for cute names. She had suggested it as a measure to make patients less nervous. Being leeched wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially for children. Venus had figured giving them names would help alleviate fear.
Julian had chuckled at the idea but agreed, figuring it was worth a shot. It had actually helped. Especially when Julian would pull the jars out and refer to the leeches as his “assistants.” The plague was scary and humanizing the treatment of patients, even if they did die, was a small light in the darkness of it.
Venus set Charlie’s bottle aside as well. There were notebooks in the box. She didn’t care to read them, knowing full well that one contained her own handwritten details of the onset of plague symptoms from her own experience. She couldn’t handle or face that tonight.
The last thing in the box was a ribbon, still tied in a bow. It was made of red silk and was rumpled badly but she knew instantly what it was. Before she could speak the words out loud, however, Ilya beat her to the punch. “The ribbon you tied around Brundle’s collar. You loved her almost more than I did. I miss that dog, she was so good, covered in wrinkles the way a proper dog should be.” He laughed softly and fished the ribbon from the box, admiring it with fondness in his gaze.
“I’m sad I ever forgot her. She was a wonderful dog and she loved Pallas so much.” Venus reached up and brushed her fingers over the ribbon before grabbing Ilya’s wrist and pulling him down for a kiss. “Thank you for keeping all of this for me, my love.” She whispered the words against his lips and tugged the ribbons from his fingers, putting it back in the box.
“We should get some sleep.” Julian was flushed now as he stood back up.
“We should.” Her foray in the past had been draining and while Venus was glad to recover memories that weren’t awful, they were still bittersweet. She looked forward to being close to Ilya while she slept the rest of her drinks away.