Chapter Text
‘If there’s a project that you’re currently working on, the Company would be happy to support you in completing it.'
Veritas frowned at that line in Lady Jade’s email. One line out of many, but to him, it was the most concerning. Frankly, it was awful enough to ruin dinner at his favorite restaurant. The matter of the fact was simple: she was cornering him, and he was running out of stalling tactics.
But Veritas didn’t want to give Jade his current project.
He only needed to hold out a little longer, until the end of the conference this weekend. Once he released his new schematics to the universal open source, the IPC could do whatever they wish with them—just like everyone else. Then, he wouldn’t mind focusing on an invention specifically for the Company. Something that it couldn’t use to cause harm…
“Why don’t you invent a new bottle cap or something?” Aventurine asked, completely blasé about the whole affair. He’d been CC’d on the offending email.
And it bothered Veritas, this.
Sometimes, it felt as if Aventurine had been unofficially designated as Veritas’ IPC liaison. Jade was surely observant enough to have some suspicions regarding Veritas’ relationship with Aventurine. That, or there was no one else capable of handling Dr. Ratio as well as Aventurine of Stratagems, apparently.
The Intelligentsia Guild seemed to have the same opinion of them, but in the reverse. More than once, Veritas had been sent to IPC HQ for matters that had nothing to do with his research and everything to do with 'getting a good word in’ to the Strategic Investment Department.
Now, that bothered Veritas, who never knew what ‘a good word’ entailed without proper context. It was really very frustrating.
“Y’know, Ratio… A bottle cap design requiring even eight percent less material, for example, would be of interest to the Company.”
And how it bothered Veritas when Aventurine smiled at him from across the table—when he raised a glass of red wine like he did his suggestions: sweet and demure. Blond, pretty, well-dressed, and scheming.
It certainly bothered Veritas that Aventurine wasn’t already in his lap.
He crossed his legs under the table and scoffed in reply. “Inconsequential. A waste of my time and abilities.” He glanced at Aventurine, whose face remained pleasantly neutral, and sighed. “I suppose you have something to say about that.”
“Well.” Aventurine traced the rim of his glass, his expression now beautifully morose. “I just hate to see you stressed out, Doc. You know I’d help you in any way I can, right?”
Veritas had to admit that he could use the diversion of Aventurine’s mind games that night. Sometimes, they could be quite clarifying, if each man played the right roles. He took on the mantle of the serious, long-suffering doctor: “And what, dear Gambler, are you trying to say?”
“Doctor!” Aventurine’s exasperation was theatrical. “I don’t have ulterior motives all the time. I was just hoping we could spend this weekend relaxing together.”
“That’s very interesting, considering I already told you that I am attending a conference in the resort region.”
“I guess I can appreciate you giving me more notice this time around, but I don’t have to like it when you leave,” Aventurine said, and it was a perfect answer. A wistful little guilt trip. He really had Veritas against the wall there. “Don’t you ever miss me, too?”
“Did you get that line from a space opera?” Veritas folded his napkin and dropped it on the table with an amused scoff. He would miss Aventurine for the weekend. “Fine. I don’t mind you tagging along, but I thought you didn’t have any more vacation days left this year.”
Aventurine looked at him with his pleading puppy pout. “I don’t, but if you let me chaperone you, I could attend the conference on official business. Maybe I could even help you decide on your next project. The Company is so looking forward to it, after all, and the two of us could enjoy the facilities together when you’re not working. What do you think?”
“That would be reminiscent of our time at Harvale, wouldn’t it?” Veritas said wryly as the waiter brought their desserts and coffee.
Aventurine’s smile was genuinely happy. Almost giddy. He’d led Veritas to the point he wanted. “Happy six-month anniversary, Doctor. I can’t think of a better way to spend it than in the luxury of a convention center.”
“Hmm,” Veritas said, charmed.
He’d kept his project well-hidden enough that even Aventurine didn’t have a clue what he was up to, much less the IPC. This was going to be Aventurine’s last chance to intercept it for the Company. Poor, dear man didn’t know what he’d signed up for.
Of course, Veritas wouldn’t let him have it. He’d have fun watching Aventurine try, though, as the odds were stacked fairly high against him.
The conference was going to be a massive event, hosting one of the largest energy-related forums on the planet. It would be across three buildings and some satellite sites around the area. It also had the single most ambitious and confusingly dense programming Veritas had ever seen.
And the convention center was right next to a casino. Hilarious. Aventurine didn’t stand a chance.
The thing about cohabitating with Aventurine for half a year was that Veritas had learned his tricks and weaknesses. That meant Aventurine could not be deployed against him the way he was sicced on other targets in the corporate world. Any attempted honeytrap would be mutually assured destruction, in which neither of them would escape the master bedroom for the foreseeable future.
Veritas wouldn’t mind that outcome, actually. They’d spent quite a few enjoyable weekends that way.
In any case, it was also worth noting that the convention center was part of a resort, one famous for its spa and relaxation therapies. Veritas believed that Aventurine, crushed in his high-pressure work environment, could use them. To put it lightly.
Work at the conference and on Aventurine’s health. Now, that was two birds with one stone. Veritas had always been rather good at multitasking. Perhaps, with everything Veritas had learned from Aventurine in their time together, Veritas could be in control of the game for once.
The thought of outwitting Aventurine made Veritas smile. Idle daydreams, really, but he wondered what kind of expression would grace Aventurine’s face at the end of it.
Veritas took a sip of his espresso—not bad, five points—and said, “Then, by all means join me. I’ve yet to book my flight, but between the two of us, I’m sure we can find two business-class seats—”
“Absolutely not, Ratio,” Aventurine said as he helped himself to a taste of Veritas’ dessert. He winked. Very pretty. “We’ll be taking the private jet.”
-
The IPC had allotted two luxury jets for the Strategic Investment Department to use between Diamond and all ten of his Stonehearts. Jade and Topaz had already booked the ‘fancy’ one for their trip, according to a disappointed Aventurine, but Veritas was quite pleased with the quality of the jet they’d been granted that Friday morning.
“Unnecessary extravagance can feel cheap to a discerning eye,” Veritas reassured Aventurine as they took off, “but never fear. I have excellent taste, and I’m satisfied with the flight arrangements.”
Aventurine cheered up immediately at Veritas’ side. He rested his chin on Veritas’ shoulder. “Would you say your excellent taste extends to the men in your life?”
“No, that’s the vexing exception,” Veritas sighed as he gazed out at the cloud formations. He only realized what he’d said aloud when Aventurine pulled back to muffle his laughter. Veritas cleared his throat sheepishly. He’d really grown far too comfortable with this man. “I… meant no offense.”
“Oh, none taken. I’m a romantic, Ratio,” Aventurine said. He rested a hand on Veritas’ knee, enticing. “The fact that you know I’m trouble, yet you stay with me, means that you also find me irresistible.” Aventurine’s palm was hot, its grip now electrifying. “What do you say I introduce you to the mile-high club?”
Veritas rolled his eyes. Aventurine continuously misjudged him, erring on what felt like a conservative view of his personality. Veritas might not lead the wild life that Aventurine lived, but he did still have ample life experiences.
“My dearest Gambler, I exclusively date psychopathic executives. Of course, I’m already a member of the mile-high club,” he said, and Aventurine blinked a few times at that, suddenly frozen in place. Good. Let him be the recipient of a shocking reply for once. Hmph.
Veritas redirected his attention back out the window, but the unique altocumulus formation he’d been eyeing was gone. And Aventurine’s hand was still on his leg.
With another sigh, Veritas stood up, took Aventurine by the wrist, and dragged him to the lavatory.
Two hours later, the plane landed at their destination, and they checked into Aventurine’s hotel suite to pick up where they left off.
-
“There’s a presentation this afternoon that I simply cannot miss,” Veritas told Aventurine as he clipped on his laurel hairpin in front of the bedroom mirror. “Think on what you’d like to do this weekend—aside from me—though I’ve already booked you a massage for today at the spa. Check your calendar.”
“Oh…? That’s sweet of you, Doc,” Aventurine yawned on the bed, where he was swaddled in the cushy duvet. What a cozy sight. “Hey, hold on. Wait for me. I’ll go with you.”
“The presentation will run long, I’m afraid. You’ll miss your massage.” Veritas picked up his tome and stylus and added, “And did you see the casino downstairs, Gambler? It looks—” Veritas tried to remember what was appealing about casinos— “shiny.”
Aventurine blinked at the suggestion and then sat up, tilting his head. Veritas recognized the vaguely suspicious look on his face and left without another word. Perhaps mentioning the casino was overkill. He made a mental note to be more cryptic the next time.
He was late for his presentation.
-
Like so many projects Veritas was involved with this year, it began without a hitch.
Riding high on the post-coital chemicals from his afternoon with Aventurine, Veritas spoke with the easy confidence of, well, someone who had sex all afternoon with Aventurine of Stratagems.
The audience was packed into the auditorium. Seats had sold out as soon as they went online three months ago, and scalpers were still hocking fake tickets in front of the convention center, even as Veritas rushed past.
Professor Xia at the Intelligentsia Guild had workshopped a great deal of the presentation with Veritas, helping him craft the narrative of an engaging two-hour lecture for his new energy-saving universal transistor. It went accordingly. The audience scribbled and murmured in interest as Veritas spoke.
It was… perhaps around the seventy-minute mark when the mood shifted. Veritas had finally revealed the estimated savings slide.
While he’d fully anticipated gasps and perhaps a rise in the murmurings, he hadn’t expected people to start running out the doors while shouting into their phones. The remaining audience took photos, though they weren’t supposed to, and a few more attendees left by the end of the talk.
Rude.
Although Veritas wasn’t particularly unnerved by the sudden departures, he wished they’d stayed for the end. He concluded his presentation with his final slide announcing his intent to put the schematics on the universal open source.
A silence fell across the crowd.
Someone shouted in the back: “For free?!”
Murmurs arose again, now frantic. More phone calls were being made. If there was one thing Veritas knew from his experience with previous inventions, it was that everyone would get everything wrong, and Veritas would have to do damage control afterward. Fortunately, he’d already made a press packet—
Clap, clap, clap.
Veritas looked up into the audience.
For the first time in two hours, he was no longer the center of attention, ceding it to… who else could it be? A one-person applause: loud enough to silence the crowd. Loud enough to draw all eyes to him as the auditorium lights went up.
Aventurine.
Veritas had quadruple-checked the full attendees list, and Aventurine wasn’t supposed to be there. Yet there he was: wearing his absurd casino outfit, parting the crowd, still applauding as he made his way to the stage where Veritas stood.
Until they were standing before each other.
Aventurine removed his hat and pressed it to his chest in a show of esteem. And it was a marvelous show, all slender wrist and graceful fingers. Veritas could not help but admire the sight even as he glowered at Aventurine, who had put on his Company face once more.
“Dr. Ratio, I believe I speak for all of us present when I commend you on your newest accomplishment,” said the infamous Aventurine of Stratagems, “but I speak purely for the IPC when I say the Strategic Investment Department would like to acquire it.”
“It’s not for sale,” Veritas said stiffly, gesturing to the last slide of his presentation, annoyed that he’d been outplayed so soon. How foolish of him.
“Name your price,” Aventurine replied, and there was a familiar edge in his voice that belied danger.
Intimidation.
Veritas felt the sting of it, cold and impersonal, and the line from Jade’s email flashed across his mind. He remembered Aventurine questioning him over dinner earlier in the week. And then, he thought of Aventurine, unconscious in the hospital, and Jade’s voice, elegant and ominous: “Why, Doctor, I think that depends entirely on what you bring to the Company.”
Veritas shouldn’t have treated this like a game.
Of course, Aventurine needed to protect himself. It’d been half a year since Veritas signed the contract with the IPC, and he still didn’t have anything to show for it. Now, revealing a secret project he’d been working on all along—that was bad optics. Bad for the Strategic Investment Department, who’d signed him. Bad for Topaz, for Jade, and for Aventurine.
But Veritas still didn’t want to give this to the IPC.
At a loss for what to do, he put on his headpiece and left the stage with Aventurine hot on his heels.
-
“Doctor, please, listen to me,” Aventurine said with that familiar high drama in his voice. “Listen, you must sell me this invention right now—”
“It’s not for sale,” Veritas repeated angrily, though he was angrier with himself than with Aventurine. Aventurine was a Company man, through and through, and Veritas had fallen for it. For all of it. “I will bring the IPC a suitable invention or patent after this weekend.”
“You don’t understand. It has to be this one—and stay away from the windows!”
Aventurine shoved Veritas into the corner of the hall, trapping him between his arms. Veritas stared down at him in disbelief—at the audacity of this tiny man attempting to pin him against the wall. With a snort, Veritas picked Aventurine up, set him aside, and then resumed his journey to his own hotel room. He needed some time away from Aventurine.
Aventurine called after him, “I could understand ten percent in energy savings, maybe, because I know you’re brilliant—but twenty percent? How is that even possible? You can’t do this.”
Veritas stopped to look back.
“According to our contract, I can. And it’s actually twenty to thirty percent, depending on the variables,” Veritas corrected him because he couldn’t help himself. Annoyed at his own tendencies, and at Aventurine, he scoffed again. “You don’t even understand what it is you are trying to acquire.”
“Twenty to thirty percent—oh Aeons, Ratio,” Aventurine groaned and ran after Veritas. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
As Veritas exited the convention center, he found he could not shake off Aventurine, who clung to his arm while dialing frantically on his company phone. It was actually somewhat disconcerting, how nervous Aventurine was acting. It wasn’t a persona Aventurine used often.
Or at all.
They were at a crosswalk when it became clear that Aventurine wasn’t getting through to whoever he was trying to reach. He called Jade instead: “Ma’am, I need your contact in R&D.” A pause. “How does the subdepartment head outrank me, a Stoneheart? I keep getting directed to the call menu—” Another pause. Then, a resentful, “Yes, I see how they might have taken offense to what I did. Uh huh. Yes, I will apologize as soon as I can, but for now, if—”
There was a horribly loud sound that Veritas couldn’t quite identify, right above his head. Aventurine tried to yank him down to the sidewalk, but Veritas looked up instead.
A bit of crushed metal had embedded itself in some sort of honey-gold forcefield around him.
Wordlessly, Veritas reached up to pluck the metal from Aventurine’s Imaginary shield. He examined it and identified it for the bullet it was.
Suddenly, everything in the past five minutes made sense. He looked at Aventurine. It seemed positively ludicrous to say it aloud, but Veritas felt he must: “Did the Research & Development department of the IPC just order a hit on me for my new transistor?”
“You’re too smart for your own good, Doc.” Aventurine looked miserable. “They’ve been pouring resources into a similar product for the past three years, and you beat them to the punch with better results in just six months…”
“Eight; I conceived of it before I met you, but well, this is an outrage,” Veritas said. “Surely, there’s some sort of misunderstanding. Let me speak to them.”
“You want to…” Aventurine blinked and said, “I… Uh, Jade? Can we get in contact with them?”
“Put her on speaker,” Veritas instructed, and Aventurine looked at him in bewilderment before complying with great exasperation. “Madame Jade?”
Jade’s voice was entirely too amused. “My, my, Doctor. What a predicament you’ve put us all in.”
Another bullet lodged itself into Aventurine’s shield. People were beginning to avoid them on the street. Veritas sighed. “Why should I have to die because of the R&D department’s incompetence? Is this not the reason the Company acquired my talents in the first place?”
“If your talents aren’t being utilized by the Company, then the Company doesn’t want your talents to be used at all,” Jade explained as if Veritas was a small child, and he resented that. “It’s a similar logic employed by the bakery that destroys all the unsold bread at the end of the day, so that dumpster-divers can’t have it.”
Veritas took issue with that analogy, but he would have to let it go in favor of addressing the current attempts on his life.
“I developed that transistor to break the monopoly the IPC has over the interplanetary energy industry,” Veritas said firmly, and Aventurine facepalmed at that, “so surely you understand why it’s not for sale—”
“And I will acquire it, Ma’am,” Aventurine interjected in spite of Veritas. “I’ll even deliver it to those bastards in R&D, giftwrapped. End of the day. Now, please. Your contact. Please, set it up for me.”
“Mm-hmm,” Jade hummed her assent. “Get it done, Aventurine, or come home without your professor.”
Veritas folded his arms with a huff. “What shortsightedness—trying to assassinate me over this.”
Aventurine hung up and then jabbed a finger into Veritas’ chest as a third bullet hit his shield. “Yes. They are, my dearest Doctor, so I’m going to need to you hop out of that ivory tower of yours right this moment.”
Veritas took that personally. “When have I ever hoarded knowledge in what you might call an ivory tower? In fact, the transistor that the IPC is trying kill me over exemplifies practical application for the greater good—”
Aventurine punched Veritas in the arm, which didn’t hurt whatsoever but surprised Veritas all the same. “Listen to me, Veritas Ratio, and listen well. Whatever privileges you’ve had your entire life will not protect you from the IPC and the consequences of your actions.”
Oh, Veritas took that personally. “How dare you, of all people, lecture me on the consequences of actions when you gamble your life away like it’s nothing?”
“I know the consequences when I bet my life.” Aventurine’s eyes were cold with fury. “That’s the difference between us, Professor. This isn’t theory. This is your life. You have no idea the mess you’ve brought onto yourself.”
“There you go again. I am not so naïve and innocent as you may think—”
“Yes, you are,” Aventurine hissed, “because you wouldn’t do half the humanitarian things you do, if you saw people the way I see them.”
“I…” Veritas paused.
He didn’t know what to say to that. He couldn’t fathom how to begin unpacking such a sad and upsetting statement.
A fourth bullet hit the Imaginary shield. The pedestrian crossing signal lit up.
Aventurine snarled in the sniper’s direction and dragged Veritas across the sidewalk, underneath the cover of the hotel facade. He handed the valet his parking stub and sent her off with an Imaginary shield of her own. Then, he rubbed the bridge of his nose restlessly as they waited.
Two more bullets embedded themselves into his shield.
This was getting ridiculous. Was no one going to apprehend the shooter? Was the R&D department that well-connected to law enforcement? Also, Aventurine was an insanely talented Imaginary user, but that was neither here nor there because how, indeed, did a subdepartment head outrank a Stoneheart?
Lost in his thoughts, Veritas still didn’t know what to say when Aventurine’s cherry red rental pulled up. He remained silent as they sped down the highway, though he wanted to know if they were going back to the airport. He also wanted to know exactly how the hierarchy within the IPC worked, but again: neither here nor there.
He was getting a headache from the mental clutter.
Fortunately, the gentle hum of the engine and the soft roar of the road beneath them provided a soothing monotony in the background. Not exactly a bath, but it would do. Veritas eased back into the passenger seat.
They were going wherever Aventurine was taking them, and in the last rays of the setting sun, Aventurine finally spoke.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, switching on the headlights. His voice was calm again. Driving seemed to help him focus. It was as if being behind the wheel, literally, steadied him. “I’ll protect you.”
Something about the way he said that shifted the gravity of the situation for Veritas.
Veritas took off his headpiece, not because he needed to, but because he felt he owed it to Aventurine to show his face. “This is ridiculous,” he said at last. He didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry.”
Aventurine read him in a glance. He exhaled a laugh, “I’m not mad at you, Doc.” The endearment was encouraging. Veritas looked at him, uncertainly.
“Aventurine, I have been… rather unreasonable,” Veritas muttered, embarrassed. He was very embarrassed. He rubbed his eyes. “My delay in producing something for the IPC has put you in danger, not to mention I’ve jeopardized your position, as well as Topaz and Jade…”
“Just another day in the life of a Stoneheart. Don’t worry about it.” Aventurine’s shoulders relaxed. “But I really meant it, you know.”
“Please clarify.”
Aventurine shook his head, staring ahead. “I… wanted for you to take your time. I want you to have the freedom to invent whatever you want, for whoever you want.”
Veritas didn’t know what to say to that either.
“For all the good you do in the universe,” Aventurine said, “I’ll make sure that you, of all people, will stay free.”
Veritas scoffed and looked out the window. At the road flying by. His heart fluttered, and he wondered if he’d been outplayed again.
This didn’t feel like one of their usual games, but Aventurine’s games could be cruel at times. Veritas had seen how things had played out for the late Mr. Boberich, after all, and he knew that he’d been checkmated in this exchange.
But Aventurine wasn’t being cruel.
It’s just that he couldn’t have given a better answer. It was truly the perfect answer because no one knew the price of freedom better than Aventurine.
“I’m tired,” Veritas said. “You win this round.”
Aventurine released a long breath. “I’ll make it worth your while, Doc,” he said, his voice thick with relief. “I told you, just name your price.”
“One credit.”
Aventurine laughed at that. “Doctor, be serious. Let me spoil you.”
“I’m still angry with you,” Veritas said, right before a huge vehicle blinded them with its headlights and rear-ended them.
Both airbags exploded against Aventurine’s shields with a disorienting pow. It was impressive that Aventurine hadn’t let the shields drop during all this time, but Veritas had no time to dwell on it. He squinted back at the offending truck.
“Unsightly,” he complained. “Those brights can’t possibly be within IPC regulations!”
“Damn, this is the last rental company that’ll still do business with me, too.” Aventurine put on his sunglasses and pulled out his gun from its holster. He unbuckled his seatbelt. “Doc, take the wheel.”
“No, put that away—put your seatbelt back on!” Veritas ordered as he adjusted the angle of the rearview mirror to blind the driver behind them with their own headlights. It must have worked because they swerved in the lane.
Aventurine hit the gas and put two cars between them.
“Aventurine! Do not text while you drive!”
“Fine, here,” Aventurine tossed his phone to Veritas. “Make the transfer to your IPCCreditApp.”
“I don’t have that,” Veritas said, clutching the phone anxiously, as Aventurine weaved around traffic at breakneck speed, “but I—ah! I do have the IPC Affiliates app.”
“Great, pull up the QR code—I’ll transfer payment to you for the transistor.”
“The program for the schematics of the transistor,” Veritas corrected him, even though it really wasn’t the time for it.
“Pull it up,” Aventurine demanded as he turned the wheel hard enough to drift a full circle across four lanes. They stopped to the sound of frenzied car horns and the smell of burned tires.
Then, Aventurine looked over his shoulder and put the car in reverse.
For his own sanity, Veritas focused on the task given him and ignored the pandemonium Aventurine created when he began driving backwards down the highway. He did notice Aventurine giving their pursuer the middle finger as they whizzed by, but otherwise, Veritas continued to focus on pulling up the IPC Affiliates app on his own phone.
And Veritas absolutely ignored the hailstorm of Imaginary casino chips that Aventurine left in his wake. He chalked it up to strange weather. Might as well be rain.
As he was making the transfer on Aventurine’s phone, Veritas ran into a major problem: “I need your six-digit pin code.”
“12-4-7-1-0,” Aventurine replied.
Veritas could feel the blood rushing to his face as the program unlocked. “I’m beginning to think you’re obsessed with me, Gambler.”
“Took you long enough to notice,” Aventurine quipped back cheerily as he hit brakes and then drove out the exit they’d passed five minutes ago.
-
“You really only took one credit,” Aventurine said incredulously as he looked at his transfer statement.
They’d stopped at a gas station just off the exit so that Aventurine could call Jade, who in turn set up the conference call with R&D, who finally called off the stupidest assassination attempt Veritas had ever been forced to participate in.
The idiocy of it all…
“I want to take a bath,” Veritas said, overwhelmed. Then, he thought about it and put his headpiece back on. “I need to use the restroom.”
He came back with a cherry slushie for Aventurine because he thought Aventurine would like it. Aventurine, who’d been staring morosely at the ruined trunk of his rental, brightened up at the present and promptly gave himself a brain freeze.
“I’ve never had one of these before,” he winced happily. “It’s like having ice cream for the first time again.”
Veritas tried not to think about what a sad childhood Aventurine must have endured, but he’d been put into that mindset after their heartfelt conversation during the car chase. And at the valet, actually.
In any case, he resolved to feed Aventurine more delicious foods and felt better with that plan of action.
“I suppose we might as well head back to the conference,” Veritas said. “Perhaps we could get the car fixed so that you won’t be penalized by the rental company…”
The license plate fell off at that.
As Aventurine slurped pensively at the state of what was likely the last vehicle he would ever rent, Veritas saw another cherry red sports car pull into the gas station. He pointed at it. “Aventurine, isn’t that the exact same make and model of this car?”
Aventurine finished his drink, licked his red-stained lips, and said, “It is.”
Veritas watched him pick up the rental’s license plate, look at it, and then look at the new car again. “Don’t,” Veritas began, but Aventurine grinned his devious grin.
“Hey, isn’t that Dr. Ratio?!” Aventurine shouted as he dove behind Veritas and began pushing him toward the second red car.
“What are you doing—Aventurine!”
The driver of that car, poor idiot, barely managed to say, “Whoa, you are Dr. Ratio!” before Aventurine popped back into view with his gun pointed at the stranger’s head.
“Sell me your car.”
“Whoa, I’m being robbed by Dr. Ratio!”
“Sir, I am not robbing you,” Veritas objected indignantly because that was Aventurine.
“Correct, we’re buying your car,” Aventurine said. “Do you have IPCCreditApp?”
It was all Veritas could do to stand awkwardly to the side as Aventurine and the man he was holding at gunpoint made small talk over the slow speed of the transfer. Spotty signal, couldn’t be helped. When it was all said and done, though, Aventurine’s victim looked quite happy with his new credit balance.
“Whoa,” he said, “Dr. Ratio bought my car!”
“I was an unwilling participant,” Veritas continued to object indignantly as Aventurine shoved him into the passenger side and slammed the door shut. He scowled at Aventurine through the window. “If you were just going to buy the car, why bother with rentals?”
“It’s hardly cost-effective to buy a new car every single time I travel, Doc,” Aventurine said as-a-matter-of-factly as he got into the driver’s seat. He batted the fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror like a cat and then beamed. “Hmm. Still has that new car smell. No harm in returning the car in better shape than I got it in, right?"
Veritas sighed and thought about kissing him.
-
They ended up back in Aventurine’s suite. Veritas couldn’t resist trying out the big bathtub. He was happily settled in the water when Aventurine entered to shake his laptop at him.
“Ratio, you wretch! What’s the meaning of this?”
Ah, Veritas’ backup plan had bested Aventurine after all.
“One credit in payment for the program that unlocks the schematics of the transistor,” Veritas said from his unequivocally divine bath. He looked up from his book. “You must solve all fourteen levels of the program to unlock the schematics.”
“Why,” said Aventurine.
“I originally envisioned it to be a community-building activity bridging disciplines in STEM and the Humanities. Now, it's yours. I can’t imagine it’d be too hard for Aventurine of Stratagems to crack.”
“Why,” said Aventurine.
“What’s wrong, Gambler?” Veritas teased as he flipped to the next page in his book. “I thought you liked games.”
When Aventurine didn’t speak for some time, Veritas looked up again in concern. On top of the car chase and assassination attempt, perhaps he’d gone too far this time. Men have surprised Veritas with sudden breakups for being too difficult, too smart, and for being too difficult because he was too smart. Their words, not his.
Granted, it was unlikely this time, considering how much Aventurine liked Veritas, but perhaps…
No. No, it was fine. Aventurine was staring at him with such open lust that Veritas wondered if he would just toss the laptop aside to hop into the bathtub with him. Veritas wouldn’t mind that, actually. “Aventurine?”
Aventurine gathered his wits, sighed, and closed the laptop. He set it aside and took a seat on the rim of the tub.
“So, it’s a game,” he said, his pearly smile making Veritas feel even warmer in the hot water. “Well, then, what are your rules?”
Veritas thought about it. “You may ask me for help three times. Three times, within reason. Take as long as you wish.”
“So, be it,” Aventurine agreed, looming over Veritas in a way that could allow Veritas to grab him and pull him down into the water, if he wanted. A tantalizing thought. “Let’s see who wins: your brand of prodigy or mine.”
“It’s meant to be a community-building exercise,” Veritas began again, but Aventurine interrupted him with a kiss. Finally.
But just as Veritas leaned into it, Aventurine pulled away.
“Dear me, now I have all this work to do,” he sighed as he picked up his laptop. A flick of his wrist. He slinked to the door and winked at Veritas. “Don’t wait up now.”
“Hmm.”
Veritas rested his arms on the edge of the tub and watched Aventurine go. There was a micro-office in the suite, but it had a door, so Veritas might not see Aventurine again before falling asleep. The thought of that created a gentle ripple of frustration in his chest. The consequences of his own actions...
“Hmm.” Such an interesting development.
Aventurine made his life so terribly interesting.
-
After the mayhem that was Friday, waking up to Aventurine’s arms snug around his waist left Veritas somewhat confused on Saturday morning.
Aventurine slept on peacefully against Veritas’ chest. When Veritas ruffled his hair, Aventurine woke up mid-snore. “Mm? What time is it? We have a couple’s massage today.”
“…Since when?” Veritas said, now completely confused.
Aventurine blinked a few times at that and then hummed in contentment. He kissed Veritas along the ribs. “I wanted to see that presentation you were going on about yesterday—ha, yours—so I paid the fee to reschedule the massage you booked me. Actually, I upgraded it to a couple’s package.”
“How thoughtful of you,” Veritas grumbled, stopping Aventurine from wandering further south down his body. He sat up and studied Aventurine, whose expression revealed only what Aventurine wanted him to see. “How far did you get in the puzzle?”
“Curious?” Aventurine took on the airs of the most spoiled cat in the world with his head cradled in Veritas’ lap. “Well, then, I’d like to ask my first question, Doctor. Was Level 5 based on any particular book or text? If allowed, I’d like to know if this text is referenced in later levels as well.”
“The Nature of Emotion — A Physiological Analysis, and yes,” Veritas said in surprise. “You’ve already completed Level 5?”
Aventurine stretched languidly with a smile. “Level 7, actually. I’m just settling a bet between two collaborators I brought onboard.”
-
Aventurine was a real master of talking in public spaces without breaking any NDAs.
He went through the motions of the various spa treatments, all in good humor and all the while taking calls and shooting work emails. Veritas didn’t know how Aventurine had managed to get his phone inside the sauna, but the blond chattered on until he was asked to leave.
Veritas was, to say the least, disgruntled. He watched Aventurine walk out, clutching his towel to his waist, on his way to working through his entire weekend. That was the opposite of how Veritas had wanted him to spend it.
Aventurine’s phone was busy all day.
After Veritas went straight to voicemail for the third time, he found Aventurine’s suite to be empty. He checked a few more times, after some conference programming here and there...
Veritas went to bed alone, too.
When he woke up by himself on Sunday morning, he felt his mood darken. It was entirely possible that he was being punished for being difficult. He’d dated enough covert narcissists, who’d resorted to passive aggression and avoidance in hopes of nudging Veritas into ‘proper behaviors,’ that an old ire rekindled in his gut.
He got ready for his day and then set off to find Aventurine in earnest.
-
Of course, Aventurine was at the casino.
How long he’d been at that craps table was anyone’s guess, but Aventurine was clearly in some sort of flow state. Veritas hadn’t seen this side of him before, at least not up close. He’d seen facets of it, but Aventurine always caught himself and resumed his best behavior.
Now, Aventurine’s two-toned eyes were a wired, electric neon. He hadn’t even changed out of yesterday’s clothes. And he didn’t notice when Veritas entered his line of sight.
Veritas didn’t like that.
There was a small crowd of spectators around Aventurine. Early birds—mainly retirees—were watching in awe as his nimble fingers flew across the table, picking up and depositing chips on numbers with all the insane confidence of a true-blue gambler.
Aventurine shot the dice, won everything, and then swept his winnings into the next round. Rinse and repeat. Veritas watched three rounds of it and realized the money meant nothing. Perhaps all the money in the world meant nothing to Aventurine but a means to an end—his next gamble. The next dopamine hit. His gaze could not leave the table.
Veritas’ anger died almost as quickly as it’d ignited that morning. He felt a sort of pity instead.
And so, Veritas stood there, wondering how long Aventurine would pursue these endless rounds, if no one nor defeat stopped him.
Evidently, someone did.
Aventurine blinked out of his trance and fished his phone from his pocket. He texted a bit and motioned for the casino staff to secure his mountain of chips. Then, he rubbed his eyes. He was done gambling.
For now.
Aventurine staggered away from the table, with his hat in hand and his coat hanging from an arm. Veritas followed him.
And still, Aventurine did not notice him.