Chapter Text
"Heard you're all shacked up, nice and cozy. Had to see it for myself."
Despite the initial surprise at seeing him, Aventurine laughs, his hand sweeping behind him to show off the room they've been sequestered in for a couple of days now.
Ratio sits solidly at the other end of the room, hunched over the provided desk and buried in another one of his books. He looks up briefly, eyebrows rising at the sight of Boothill strolling in with a calculating gaze. They stare at each other for a while, sizing the other up.
Aventurine ignores them and hums to himself as he puts on his signature coat and gloves, eager for the day to start.
"Never thought I'd see you settling down," Boothill says.
"Nor you," Ratio retorts, likely referencing the handsome Knight of Beauty that graces their presence every so often, while not denying Boothill claims, either. Aventurine finds that as funny as it is gratifying.
Boothill makes an oblivious, confused sound. "What'cha talkin' about?"
"Don't get him all worked up, doc, or we'll never hear the end of it," Aventurine warns, sliding his rings on. He turns to Boothill. "I thought you'd seen the last of me, my friend. What an unexpected place to find you in."
"Thought so, too, 'till someone told me you showed up. You friends with the general now?"
"'Friends' is a very generous word, but I suppose we are in a way," Aventurine says vaguely, thoroughly amused. "Did you ask him that?"
"I ain't risking insulting a general of the Luofu when my honor's on the line here. He called you that, and that's that t'me." Thus, answering Aventurine's question as to who told Boothilll where to find Aventurine. Quite peculiar, Aventurine thinks, but not surprising. The Divine Foresight is, after all, still a formidable player in this little game.
"I didn't think you'd risk the bounty on your head for a little fifteen minutes of fame," Aventurine observes. "Or else the IPC would be all too happy picking up the Xianzhou Alliance's slack just to catch you."
"I'd like to see y'all IPC fudglings try and fail." Boothill crosses his arms. "Just thought I'd check up on ya, that you ain't backed out from the last time we talked." His eyes travel down Aventurine, more from a place of concern than desire, which is a marvel in itself, considering. "Y'seem to be in higher spirits. That's good."
"Depends on where you heard that from," Aventurine replies serenely. "Are you spying on me using my workers? Office gossip is rather powerful, if often off-base."
"Nah, I see the truth right before my eyes," Boothill drawls. "So long as you keep your end of the bargain, then you ain't hearing much else from me. Figured I'd see the fuzz, though." His eyes dart to Ratio, who's been watching their interaction with barely disguised interest. "He in?"
"Not yet," Aventurine says easily.
"Holy forkeroni, and we're out here talkin' about this stuff in the open?" Boothill mutters as if he didn't ask out loud. "Get your head on straight, lil Stoneheart. Tell 'em, and let me know how it goes. I got some time on this ship if you wanna catch up later." He waves at Ratio, oblivious to Ratio's incredulous stare. "Gotta prep for my match, so see ya."
He's gone shortly after, leaving Aventurine and Ratio in baffled silence.
"I didn't know you were close with a Galaxy Ranger," Ratio comments.
"I saw you having a pleasant conversation with him and Mr. Argenti at the Radiant Feldspar," Aventurine says in return, without heat. But the unasked question is raised: When did you become friends with IPC's most wanted? Aventurine answers, "I met Boothill at the Reverie Hotel. He pointed a gun at my face and demanded I tell him where Oswaldo Schneider was."
Ratio freezes. "You didn't inform us of that."
"I didn't tell most people that," Aventurine remarks. "It's not in the reports. Don't worry—he didn't take a shot. He was there to negotiate. I took up the mantle while you, Jade, and Topaz were busy wrapping up in Penacony."
Aventurine sees it, Ratio's mind working overtime to work out the details before he says anything further. The mind of an intelligent man is truly extraordinary once you give him pieces to work with. "Oswaldo Schneider, the head of the Marketing Development Department?" Ratio asks, adapting a dry tone when Aventurine nods. "Diamond's rival? Of course."
"You catch on quick," Aventurine smiles, though he drops it soon after that. "Boothill is from Aeragan-Epharshel."
"Ah." Ratio leans back in his seat. He knows the IPC's history well enough. "You, of course, are Signonian."
"Hm-mm! So you see, our meeting has been rather fortuitous," Aventurine continues, briefly amused at the sight of another one of Ratio's incredulous stares. Lucky me, as always, pieces falling into his lap one after another. "I didn't think he'd be in the Luofu of all places, but we've otherwise been in some contact since Penacony, exchanging notes."
"That's why you took your leave," Ratio says suddenly, eyes narrowing. "You've been looking for Oswaldo."
"Very good, doc," Aventurine admits, knowing that there's no point in hiding this. Ratio can read between the lines better than he. "I can't use the IPC network to track him—he'll find out—and Diamond was kind enough to give me a reason to disappear for a while. It gave me a good incentive to visit places and meet people I otherwise wouldn't in my search for him. I can tell you more about it if you want."
Ratio nods. "But you didn't find him."
"It would be rather clever of me, wouldn't it? But no, I didn't."
"Does Diamond know?"
"Opal does," Aventurine says. He supposes that's as much of an affirmative as ever. "Remember that Oswaldo has the same foothold on the IPC's leadership team as Diamond. I can't speak so openly about working with an IPC wanted criminal on a network Oswaldo can hack at his leisure."
Ratio is thinking hard, as though a thought has suddenly occurred to him. The moment of eureka may be at the tip of his tongue, perhaps another scientific discovery in his bag. Aventurine strides over, leaning in front of the desk, eyes fixed on the doctor. "Credit for your thoughts, Dr. Ratio, or one might think that you've left this atmosphere altogether to travel to a faraway galaxy."
"Don't be absurd," Ratio snaps. "I'm merely conceptualizing the scope of Diamond's plans for you now that I have all the pieces in place."
Aventurine blinks. "For me?"
"For the IPC as a whole, I expect—but for the moment, you," Ratio says. "What did you think about the conversation with the general yesterday? Enlightening?"
"Nothing changed from what I already know," Aventurine shrugs, thinking back. "The Arbiter-General of the Luofu remains stalwart in his pacifist ideals, though he's willing to make conveniently placed moves to secure the Luofu's safety, even if it means engaging with the followers of the Amber Lord."
"And the Wisdomwalker," Ratio adds, then drops a bomb, "Ruan Mei is here."
Genius Society member #81, Ruan Mei. Aventurine has heard the name and been swept up in her accomplishments, though he's never formally met her himself. Ratio has, briefly, though he has much to say in regard to her interesting perspective on the matter of life and its origins. Ratio has called her ambitions intriguing in itself, if dangerous. Her work on the Swarm is rather volatile, after all.
"Here?" Even Aventurine has to raise his eyebrows because this isn't news he's heard through the grapevines. "In the Skysplitter?"
"Perhaps, though I do know for certain she's in the Luofu." Ratio looks down at the book he's stopped reading long ago and closes it with a sigh. "The real reason the Guild asked me to come here… is because our presence was requested to represent the Intelligentsia Guild next to the Genius Society as followers of Nous."
"The borisins?"
"The trigger," Ratio answers. "This meeting likely would've happened, either way—you know of the rumors that the Aeons are preparing several factions, seemingly for war. The borisin contingent that attacked the Luofu merely forwarded the timeline for the Xianzhou and chose the Genius Society member that was to come and represent their Aeon. At that news, the Intelligentsia Guild figured… having a member of considerable weight to their name is good enough to go toe to toe with a Genius."
Aventurine laughs suddenly because he can see it, like the sudden, glorious unveiling of a magic show behind the curtain. "I get it. Yabuli is the one, isn't she? She stole those borisin samples."
"She's the obvious pick, is she not? The head of the Technology Department is the only one with high enough clearance to control and abuse the flow of information, intelligence, and inventory within both the IPC and the Intelligentsia Guild. If not her directly, then certainly someone in her confidence. That ship would otherwise not have left Pier Point." Despite saying this, Ratio seems more irked than bothered.
The setting of this stage is suddenly clear, like the sun peeking out after a cloudy day. In the end, this is another thing the IPC simply wanted done to their foot in the door—and so it was. The consequences simply fell in the direction Diamond approves of.
Diamond, in his role as the ringmaster overseeing the circus, conveniently places them like livestock on a farm, bred and trained for the roles Diamond has prepared for them. Aventurine, most of all, in his direst moments, can never hope to keep away from the ambitions of an Emanator whose sole purpose in life is to follow a path leading to a crystallized world enveloped by an Aeon of hulking stone.
Suddenly, Diamond's approval of Ratio's choice of companion is surreal in its clarity.
"The Astral Express is here also, of course," Aventurine comments, firstly. Ratio nods. "So there's me, free to be propped up next to you, on whichever role you and the Guild decide to play as in the Xianzhou's long preparation for war. Huh. Here, I thought that he wanted to interfere with my love life."
That isn't too far-fetched to think about, however. Aventurine remains an asset, but feelings tend to have their own agenda. Ratio has a significant role in Aventurine's life, one that only he can define, but others may want to attempt to take it for themselves.
"You met her," Aventurine says knowingly, pushing that thought of later. "That day, when I had breakfast with Topaz. You were called to the Artisanship Commission. She was there with you and the General."
"She wanted to examine the borisin samples left in the decommissioned Howling Caskets, though she wasn't too interested in its science, in the end. I suspect she wasn't completely here for that."
"You didn't find out?"
"We are being tested," Ratio says. "Your conversation with the general was proof enough."
The First option is that the Xianzhou Alliance picked Diamond's men, not the Marketing Development Department. Topaz is here, participating in their little war games in exchange for cultural preservation, while a picky, prickly doctor has handpicked Aventurine. Jing Yuan must know of Ratio's strange attachment to the Strategic Investment Department. Regardless of his feelings for Aventurine, the doctor has worked closely with enough Stonehearts to be sure of his intellectual allegiance and preference.
Aventurine starts pacing. Perhaps Diamond himself has approached the Alliance in the wake of the Luofu's Stellaron crisis and battle against an Emanator of Destruction. It's rather direct, but he can make those plays if he needs to.
Or, the third option, linking the Astral Express and its indefatigable Nameless between different factions and alliances, just as they connect distant worlds through the trailblazing tracks laid down on the stars' path, putting them all to the destination all Nameless seem to dream of: fulfilling Akivili's grand aspirations, and answering all questions on the matter of life, death, and purpose—and Diamond is all too willing to take advantage of it, for as long as he can.
And then Aventurine remembers: Boothill is here. The man may be a menace to society and eccentric to a fault, but he doesn't go where he doesn't need to be.
"Ruan Mei has met the Nameless, hasn't she?"
"Yes, in Herta's Space Station. One of them, at least." And Aventurine doesn't have to bet to know which one.
"Hmm."
Ratio eyes him speculatively. "Are you plotting?"
"No more than usual," Aventurine says idly, "though perhaps it's too early to make that a promise." He stops in his pacing, just right in front of Ratio's desk again, smiling at the shrewd eyes gazing back at him. "Oswaldo was a Nameless in the past, but he found zeal and purpose in the Amber Lord's embrace and used that fanaticism to propel the Marketing Development Department to greater heights."
"Some say he still has the will of the Trailblaze."
"Do you believe that?"
"Even if he does, I wouldn't pit him against the Nameless of the Astral Express currently traversing the stars," Ratio admits. "Ultimately, I believe they follow different paths and philosophies, and that may yet be his match."
Aventurine nods. "I have a phone call to make."
"I'm glad to know you're enjoying yourself."
"Are you?"
While Ratio has opted to remain in the Skysplitter, Aventurine has gone back down to the Luofu's Central Starskriff Haven, eager to try out their infamous Immortal's Delight from the Sleepless Earl, as recommended by the bright pink-haired girl from the Nameless. He sits near the edge of the Haven, observing the starskiffs coming and going in, reminiscent of Pier Point's busy urban life. It's missing only the tall skyscrapers, flashing lights, and people who do not know the meaning of a good night's sleep.
Like this, he looks like the annoying businessman that he is, with his flashy watch and fake smiles, singularly focused on an important phone call, and everything around him becomes background noise.
Opal's high-pitched voice on the other end of the call laughs. "Now, now. I didn't miss all that suspicious questioning you do when I say or do something beyond your expectations. Is risk not part of the reward?"
"When it comes to you, I'm not certain the reward is worth the risk."
"Quite the statement from a gambler."
"Yes, though I'm not the one playing a game here right now, am I?" Aventurine idly checks the time on his watch, counting down the hours until the current matches are done. It's not like Ratio to stay in one space to watch something that doesn't interest him in the slightest, so something must be holding him up—or the matches are really that stimulating, and Aventurine is the one missing out. "Shouldn't you tell your players whenever you change the rules?"
"The rules always change—the least you could do is expect the unexpected," Opal responds in that infuriatingly vague way. "Why? Is this version not to your liking? I thought you'd be pleased with the time you've managed to spend with your wayward doctor."
"I'm sure that came into play when he requested my services," Aventurine says dryly.
"Diamond has been rather generous with you after the debacle at Penacony, expecting nothing but good things and good tidings," Opal remarks, friendly and threatening all at once. "You owe him that much after he paid for your time off, at least—your revived Cornerstone notwithstanding."
"What's his explanation for Boothill?"
"He's a Galaxy Ranger, Aventurine," Opal replies amusedly. "Why wouldn't he, as a member of a renowned faction of the Hunt, not join the much-anticipated Wardance hosted by the most zealous followers of the Reignbow Arbiter? It's a chance for a respite—his venerated status there keeps him safe from prying IPC eyes accusing him of this and that."
That figures, Aventurine muses, and yet plausible deniability is such a cliché.
"The Xianzhou Alliance?"
"Are they not our friends? Just make sure it stays that way. I'm sure Jade told you that much."
Aventurine is careful not to blow out a loud sigh though the mic.
"What does Diamond want?"
"What a good leader always does: absolute loyalty to the way of the Preservation." Opal's voice hardens the more he talks, no longer that innocent, sweet baby voice that has fooled many people in the past. "You're always so lucky, aren't you? It's a good thing that your goals align for the foreseeable future, or that precious stone of yours would have remained shattered in my hands."
"You've already given me that warning before," Aventurine retorts. "Pick another."
"How about this? Don't be so eager to run forward into a burning building, Aventurine—remember where you belong, as you always like to remind everyone of where they stand with you. Feel free to explore your surroundings, make new friends, and visit your old ones."
He finally asks on the topic he's reluctant to broach with someone who knows him too little and too well. "What about Ratio?"
Opal muses, "He's interesting, isn't he? You do make the most unexpected plays. The Avgin allure certainly lives up to its reputation." His tone crawls on Aventurine's skin like a pest infestation, and Opal probably enjoys saying such unnerving things, too. "Keep your toy if you want. It makes no difference to Yabuli or Diamond. In fact, it may yet be to our benefit to have a good doctor on our department's side. At least Oswaldo will think twice before requesting his services for his upcoming projects."
How utterly frightening, at the same time a great relief. Ratio has placed himself in the eye of the storm, but he remains nothing more than a lonely island for some disaster shipwreck like Aventurine to land on.
A novelty and an asset, but more of a diamond in the rough. There's time yet—though Ratio definitely can't know about this conversation, or that might change.
"He wouldn't have, anyway, after Penacony."
"Oswaldo is no longer interested in Penacony nor any other non-performing asset projects that may interfere with his business ventures," Opal informs him, in the tone of an arrogant god giving a mere mortal a sacred boon. "With the return of the Astral Express to the skies and the Nameless' reintroduction to the wider cosmos, we feel confident that his agenda has changed."
The actual piece de resistance of this whole charade, and Aventurine can guess: "He wants the train."
Opal chuckles, "You'd bet on that?"
"With my life," Aventurine responds easily, assured by Opal's affirmative hum. "Some say he still clings to his trailblazing roots. Combining the will of the Trailblaze with his strong expansionist ideals in the name of Preservation is certainly going to be… explosive." Having the train will allow him to get what he wants, whenever he wants, all the way to the ends of the universe. With Akivili's secrets in his hands, no one can guess where he'll take the Trailblaze next.
In the end, no one wants that to happen—not Yabuli, not Opal, not Diamond… and certainly not Aventurine.
"When you return from the Luofu, come to my office," Opal says. "You will get your next assignment—another one of Diamond's personal picks, just for you. For now, simply enjoy yourself, Aventurine, and keep your friends as close as you can until the show begins."
The phone call ends just in time for someone to approach Aventurine from behind and bring him a second Immortal's Delight to replace the one he'd been drinking furiously during his call with Opal.
He manages to form a smile when Jing Yuan takes the chair in front of him and sits down. The sound of the crowded Xianzhou market is further drowned out by the presence of someone who deserves his full attention.
"That was well-timed," Aventurine says, impressed. "Luck must be on my side."
"All those who have conducted business with the IPC know the importance of time," Jing Yuan says with a rather cheeky smile. He waves off the Cloud Knights that likely have been following him during his stroll in the streets, and they stand far enough to give the two of them a sense of privacy in an open space. Aventurine shook off his IPC guards long ago and dumped them on Topaz' lap. "I would not have parted you from what appeared to be, from a distance, a scintillating conversation."
"I could hardly believe that you weren't even a little bit curious to eavesdrop."
"Had I any need, perhaps I would have taken a moment to try."
Aventurine takes a slow slip of his drink. "Thank you for allowing Boothill to meet with me." He eyes Jing Yuan, who takes a sip of his own drink in silence, unbothered. "He would have been so busy with the tournament; otherwise, he wouldn't have had time to speak with an old friend."
"He would've had some downtime, I'm sure," Jing Yuan all but confirms his involvement, and that allows Aventurine to relax and push through. He doesn't need to know how Jing Yuan has come across his information—he has more than enough time in the world to think about that later, but if it starts with 'D' and ends with 'iamond', Aventurine won't be surprised—for other things are weighing on his mind that has needed confirmation for some time.
"But you needed my attention, didn't you?" Aventurine guesses warmly. "Just as the first time you asked your Cloud Knights to pick up Ratio, knowing I would be around to witness your neglect to address my arrival on your ship. Tell me, how badly did he yell at you?"
"The doctor? He was reasonable, if a little sharp. Members of the commission were thoroughly scandalized, but I'm not a stranger to constructive criticism."
"Did it answer your questions?"
"For him, yes." Jing Yuan rests his elbow on the table and his head on his knuckles, looking all the more carefree as he observes Aventurine. "For you… that remains to be seen. You come with exemplary recommendations and accolades one can see even from distant stars, thus I have no objection as to your involvement. I merely wish to know what you seek to gain from it."
"If I tell you that it's rather simple? I am an Avgin of Sigonia, perhaps the last of my kind."
"Vengeance is a frightful mistress," Jing Yuan replies after a moment because Aeon forbid that Aventurine leaves the Luofu without the infamous Xianzhou wisdom nipping at his heels. "She is not kind or generous. You earn her, yet you will also end up paying for her."
"Then how about justice, General?" Aventurine says, his tone as sickly sweet as he can make it, but his eyes emit the fires of his grief. "Is that something I need to earn as well?"
"Justice has no bearing on people's desires or choices," Jing Yuan says. "It must be given, straight and true."
"By who?" Aventurine asks, calm and curious against the ongoing storm that rages. "And what's the point of bestowing justice when there's no one left to hear it?" Jing Yuan doesn't answer him quickly, and Aventurine waves him off flippantly. "But of course, we are talking about the IPC. My kind were so despicable as to be relegated as relics of past mistakes—to learn history from, but not draw pity, or kindness, or charity. So what about mercy, General? Or perhaps I shall forget the past, simply because their future is no longer in our hands because they have no future?"
It is a cautionary tale full of biting words, punctuated with a smile—Aventurine's finest yet. The threads of controlled anger lingers just under the veneer of a serene, pretty face, but against the general's calm facade, Aventurine is a brick wall. Untouchable. A house of cards stacked to perfection.
The way Jing Yuan stares at him is inscrutable, but Aventurine has had many inscrutable looks thrown his way for years, and he cares so little for the thoughts of others. He yearns for Ratio's honest gaze, the scorn he once felt as it fades into the depths of admiration, the love that pours from his soul even when all he does is stand stiff as stone next to him.
Once he's had a taste, there is nothing else that he craves more.
But he is not just any stone, Aventurine thinks. I'm the stoneheart, and he is my pillar. We were made to withstand the injustice of predetermined destinies. Aventurine knows now what others have seen: he would give anything to have it, even at the expense of his own luck. Perhaps even his own life.
But Ratio is not here right now; thus, Aventurine simply pulls out a twelve-sided dice made from aventurine and lined with gold. "I have all the luck in the world to use, and not even death can hold me back from obtaining what I want, even when the odds are stacked against me." He throws the dice on the table, and it lands right next to Jing Yuan's elbow, Aventurine's signature spade symbol face up. "I have already won, just as I've lost so thoroughly—what more can I use it for, other than to fight an inherently unjust destiny?"
Aventurine could almost feel the earth shake as Jing Yuan moved. His trembling might be hindered and controlled by a smiling face that only sought to grab his half-empty drink from the table. The silence of his thoughts was as loud as the world currently revolving around them.
"Power and helplessness have always coincided in my mind." Jing Yuan looks at his free hand, turning it over to make a fist. "Strength and wisdom mean nothing when fate has determined the outcome of my grievances. But to eschew my power is to suffer for it just as gravely."
"It isn't wrong," Aventurine says, "to try for change, to move heaven and earth so the world doesn't collapse from under your feet—however that may look to you, which will inevitably look different to me. If it's unfeasible, perhaps a little nudge can shake the world off its axis, tilt the odds in your favor…"
"Is that what you learned in all your time in the land of dreams?"
"It's impossible to die in dreams," Aventurine says distantly. "But it is just as unthinkable to live in them, either. Dreams cannot change the truth, even if all your wishes come true." He shares with Jing Yuan something he wishes he's able to keep for himself a little longer, "I wished to die, once, but that wouldn't have saved anyone—not the dead, not the living, certainly not myself. When it comes to lessons, General, that is likely the hardest one to learn."
"You are as the Nameless say you are." Jing Yuan doesn't expand on that and changes course before Aventurine can ask what in the world he means. He finally stands up after a final sip of his drink. "The Xianzhou Alliance and I have no interest in the IPC's internal struggles, but exceptions can be made for exceptional people. Diamond's case will go to the Marshal's desk, with my recommendation."
"I appreciate that," Aventurine says, relief washing over him like a tidal wave, and he can only hope his easy smile doesn't reflect it too much. "Rest assured, we'll always keep the Xianzhou's welfare in mind. Should you require that in writing, feel free to call me." He shares his contact info with the general, who is gracious enough to reciprocate.
Before he leaves, he gives Aventurine one final word, "Oswaldo Schneider has long been deemed a threat to the Alliance. His ideals do not cater to ours, nor are we interested in deals inflating his sense of self-importance. The Astral Express is safe in the Nameless' care, but should they come calling, the Luofu is more than ready to face their foes. Rest assured, the Alliance knows well the meaning of that which you call justice—or at least, I do."
"Thank you," is all Aventurine can say to that.
As expected, the first thing Aventurine sees when he returns to Ratio is his lovely scowl, buried deep in one of his books again as he waits on the couch, lounging like a king. Aventurine can't help but laugh, leaning down for a kiss that Ratio meets halfway despite his obvious disgruntlement.
"That bad?"
"I will never understand people's obsession with geniuses." That answers that, then. Ratio had a fantastic time keeping Ruan Mei occupied, and considering the lack of expletives, it has turned out just fine. "Your friend, by the way, is a menacing fool through and through, with little sense in his mechanical body."
Ratio relays to him the details of Boothill's fight against a red-haired kid from Jarilo-VI, alongside all the opinions he could muster regarding that little show.
"I should've brought you with me," Aventurine says, halfway apologetic despite his amusement. Boothill will always be unapologetically himself, and Aventurine can only admire such resilience from afar; the fact that Ratio, an equally stubborn man, finds this vexing makes it all the more hilarious. "You could've yelled at the general some more."
"Did you think that would make me feel better?" Ratio raises an eyebrow. "You spoke with him, then?"
"In a manner of speaking." This time, Aventurine shares the bulk of his conversations with Opal and Jing Yuan, leaving behind some details that need not be said in the present company. Ratio is wound up as it is. "This has been a rather productive assignment, hasn't it? It's more work than I've done since I started planning for Penacony!"
"I grieve immensely over the fact that you'd call this harrowing experience of being put under glass 'productive'. Your self-preservation instincts are as unfortunate as ever and Nihility didn't do you any favors."
"Nihility did plenty! Like increasing my sense of paranoia, projecting a healthy amount of nightmares, and cultivating my self-deprecating humor," Aventurine replies cheekily. "Doctor, belay the unhealthy skepticism for perhaps a couple of hours. We've solved an intergalactic puzzle! Granted, it was more like someone went and bashed our heads together, but the thought counts."
"No, someone bashed your head against mine, and surprisingly, we've come out of the disaster intact."
"So—a success!" Aventurine calls out with a laugh. "Come now, it's especially evident, at least since you've yet to call me a peacock. An Attini last time, yes? Today, I mean business."
Ratio scoffs. "Gambler, I call you that when you deserve it. You simply have yet to give me any reason to do so."
Aventurine chuckles, gently pushing away Ratio's book. "And once I do?"
"Then the consequences are yours to bear, gambler." Ratio steadies him at the waist when Aventurine moves to sit on Ratio's lap, his furrowed brows twitching in a way that his eyes don't when gazing up at Aventurine. "Knowing you, you would take that chance."
"If you give me as many chances as I can take, then I'd only be spoiled enough to take you up on them," Aventurine laughs, though finally, he cups Ratio's face in his hands with a long sigh. "I once thought that I could leave things like this behind in death. Perhaps my penance for failing that is to see what role I'll be tasked to play at the end of the world. What luck gives, luck can surely take as much, if not more."
"Is that equal in value to you?" Ratio asks. "Giving just a little bit more time in this world to fulfill your mortal wants and desires? A grave many people would kill for that chance; others would reject it and give up their lives to leave this mortal plane behind."
"Would you?" Aventurine asks, curious. "Do either?"
Ratio falls silent for a moment, content with running his fingers up and down Aventurine's sides, the sensation as comforting as Ratio's low voice when he responds, "In its own way, death itself is another lesson to be learned. But no. Never death of my own. As for others—once, perhaps, in a distant past. But I'm no longer desperate enough to stake people's lives in my pursuit of knowledge, not unless I am also saving others in the process—a paradoxical dilemma I know I must ponder over the course of my life. And if the end finally comes for me, I would be content in knowing that I've given my all to helping cure the world of its ignorance."
"That sounds a little like fate," Aventurine muses.
"Don't misunderstand. Where others believe in predetermined fate, I subscribe to the idea that causality is one of the most fundamental scientific laws. We must use it to determine the next steps we, as a collection of intergalactic species, can take to move toward a favorable future. The past can determine the present, and what we do at present will inevitably pave for the future. Alive or dead, I will have done my part in it."
That is the crux of the matter, in the end. What Aventurine will do now will help determine a future the likes of which he will never see again, and the question is whether he can live with himself and his choices should the consequences be dire or lost. He has always worked towards a personal goal, and being released from the sweet embrace of death has made him conscientious of such selfishness.
He cannot be anything but himself… like a phoenix born from the ashes of his self-made fire, a bird with clipped wings running through the end of the world and into the light. He is remade and reborn, repurposed for a new task.
And perhaps, Ratio… despite their inherent differences, Ratio may yet understand most of all.
"What will you do," Aventurine says slowly, "if Nous never sets THEIR gaze on you?"
The question hurts, Aventurine can see with his sharp eyes, for he has craved that Aeon's gaze from the moment he had his first dreams—but Ratio still responds, clear as day, "I will live as I am, as I have been since the day I was born. Nothing in this world could have made me answer that differently."
Aventurine can't help but chuckle, bending his neck down to kiss Ratio full in the mouth.
"My name," he whispers to Ratio's lips, passing on a secret that has been weighing heavily on him for years, and now he has a chance to change his fate, "is Kakavasha."
Ratio's eyes flash, the the wild feral happiness of a thousand suns sinking into Aventurine's skin and blinding him with the touch of this man's love, the gaze that falls on him as though he is more precious than the tomes he collects so voraciously like a dragon's horde. Aventurine has beset his eyes on many treasures, but nothing as sweet and consuming as Ratio's next kiss, a forest fire threatening to burn him to his core.
They don't get to leave the couch in the end. Ratio devours him where he sits, in a place of luxury on Ratio's lap and over his body. Aventurine succumbs under his skilled hands in ways he never did before, for there's no going back when you've placed your body and soul in the care of all-consuming, devoted love.
When he takes Ratio's cock, going down inch by inch, he whispers his name, pleading, "Veritas, please."
Ratio answers with fervor, pulling him down and rocking their bodies together to the heights of pleasure until the feeling of lightning crackling under his veins and representing his fear has been replaced by the thunderous storm that threatens to undo him, every thrust a mark of passion stoking the fires of their want and need.
At the climax of their passionate union, Aventurine binds them together with a deep kiss, a promise made in the silence between them. Aventurine falls forward to bury himself into Ratio's embrace, and the world falls into a cocoon of hushed comfort.
Ratio brushes the ends of his hair, soft and reverent, and softly inquires, "I assume you've already decided on what to do."
"I've decided," Aventurine replies sweetly, humming a soft, comforting tone against Ratio's neck, "to go all in."
"As you would," Ratio replies quietly, but his answering kiss is just as much of an answer as the tight squeeze of his arms around Aventurine. "I'll be watching you, then."
Perhaps Aventurine really is the luckiest man in the cosmos.
Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?
Will you still love me when I have nothing but my aching soul?
I know you will, I know you will, I know you will.