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Ratio has been playing on his mind ever since that jaunt in Penacony. Naturally, Aventurine would hate to admit it, but despite the years that have passed, he still finds himself thinking back on that time, with a certain intangible fondness. Every time he thinks back on it, he still finds himself wondering if it was only him that felt a strange sort of electrifying attraction, and wonders every damn time if that note that Ratio left had no other undertones.
After everything that had happened, and their return to their own sense of normality, they’d drifted away, into what they were before. Near strangers, work colleagues at best and acquaintances at a push. They exchange rare text messages and maybe walk past one another, by pure chance, once every quarter or so. But, fortunately or unfortunately, the more Aventurine thinks back on their time together, and the more he ruminates on it, the less he wants that distance between them.
So, when he finds himself at a breaking point of sorts, he gets a tad bold, or desperate. It hadn’t ever been that difficult for him to get under Ratio’s skin, after all.
“Hey, Doctor, I miss that handsome bust of yours,” he texts him one night when feeling particularly lonely, or bored, it didn’t matter which. Aventurine couldn’t quite tell, in any case.
Ratio’s response is as blunt as he is in person. “Intriguing. It doesn’t miss you.”
Aventurine laughs.
Then, of course, he responds, trying to get the response he wants. “Well, how about a little wager?”
Those three bubbles dance across his screen, before Ratio’s reply pops up. “Explain.”
“Haven’t you ever wondered if you were better at cards than me?”
And maybe it is just an excuse for Aventurine to see him, but he’d never admit that.
Thanks to some goading, light teasing and annoyance from Aventurine, he finds himself here, a few days later, standing in Veritas Ratio’s living room, watching as that very man adjusted his blinds. He takes in the room; more modest than he’d initially imagined. There are a number of bookshelves, of course, crammed with texts with titles that Aventurine doubts he’d understand, even if he could make them out, a plush sofa and glass coffee table. He spots a few potted cacti on a distant windowsill, and it makes him smile.
He’s akin to a cactus, isn’t he? Flourishes with little interference from others, prickly at first glance, tough…Aventurine breaks his own train of thought, looking back to Ratio, who appears satisfied with the blinds now.
“Would you like any refreshments?” Ratio asks, turning to face him.
“No, thank you.”
Ratio seems to huff, before leaving the room in any case and returning with a few glasses and a pitcher of water, placing them on the coffee table.
“So, Doctor, what game were you thinking?”
“Gambler’s choice,” Ratio says, walking to a bookshelf and retrieving a deck of cards.
“Poker,” Aventurine smiles.
“I don’t have any chips,” Ratio shakes his head. “That’d be inconvenient.”
“Well, Doctor, aren’t you lucky that poker is a game that doesn’t need to be played with just chips,” Aventurine crosses his arms triumphantly.
“What do you suggest as a replacement then, seeing as you’re the resident expert?”
“We could play a drinking variation-”
“Absolutely not,” Ratio cuts him off quickly. “I’d rather not have you intoxicated in my home, or, worse, myself intoxicated with you in my home, sober.”
“Alright, alright,” Aventurine taps a finger to his chin, then it hits him. Another way to fluster Ratio, to tease him. “How about strip poker?”
Aventurine expects an outright refusal, for Ratio to scoff at him, call him a complete and utter fool and demand that he leaves his home.
“Ok,” Ratio says.
Aventurine pauses. It appears, unfortunately, unexpectedly and unintentionally, that Ratio had got the better of him.
“I hope you’re familiar, Doctor. I’m not the best at explanations.”
“I’m acquainted with the rules, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Ratio says carefully, before gesturing to the sofa. “Sit down.”
Ratio sits cross-legged on the ground, on the opposing side, and Aventurine obliges, reaching for the deck of cards.
“I’ll deal the first round then.”
As, perhaps both, expected, Aventurine wins the first round.
“Full house,” Aventurine beams.
“Hm,” is all Ratio replies with, reaching to unclasp the hair pin fastened at the side of his head, placing it by his side on the table. Aventurine slides the deck of cards over.
The second round is the same: Aventurine wins. Ratio’s left arm brace comes off.
The third round Aventurine folds, shrugging his jacket off.
The fourth round Aventurine loses, taking his blazer off.
The fifth round Ratio loses. His right arm brace comes off, and after the next round as does his cape.
The sixth round Aventurine loses, delicately taking his gloves off.
The seventh round Ratio loses again.
“One pair,” Ratio says, placing his cards down.
“Two pair,” Aventurine smiles. “You lose, Ratio.”
Then Ratio pauses, as if something hit him.
"You damned gambler," he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. "You let me win those few rounds, didn't you?"
The faux innocence that promptly washes over Aventurine's face does little to hide the sly glint in his eyes.
“Of course not, Doctor~,” he almost sings in response.
“Why?” Ratio cocks his head to the side. “Why let me win?”
“I thought I’d even it out a bit more. I can’t have you be the only one stripping, can I? That’d get boring, and who knows, you might find it unfair.”
Ratio let out a brief chuckle of amusement. “I think we both know damn well I don’t consider cheating fair.” His hands rose to the buttons on his shirt, undoing them. “Give it your all, gambler.”
Ratio shrugs his shirt off, folding it loosely in half and placing it on top of his other clothes.
Aventurine gulps, trying not to stare. He already knew Ratio had muscles, had even felt them press against his back in the few accidental times he’d bumped (or fallen) into Ratio, but hadn’t expected them to be so, well, distracting. Aventurine nearly groans. He has unfairly large pecs, and biceps, and abs and, well, everything, really. He hopes Ratio didn’t notice his staring (his salivating, nearly), and opts to do what he does best: get under Ratio’s skin, some way or other.
“My,” Aventurine dons a smile, looking up at Ratio’s face. “What a fine set of cum gutters you’ve got there.”
He watches Ratio’s eyebrows furrow before he lets out a perplexed laugh.
“‘Cum gutters’? What a unique compliment, dear gambler,” Ratio slides the deck of cards over. “I can’t say they’ve ever lived up to their name, as gutters for ‘cum’.”
“That could be easily remedied,” Aventurine finds himself instinctively saying. He savours the way Ratio freezes slightly, a light blush blossoming across his cheeks.
“Your deal,” Ratio eventually says.
Aventurine picks up the deck, shuffling the cards in an elaborate way that has Ratio muttering ‘show off’.
The next round has Aventurine peeling his socks off.
“You’re a distraction, Doctor, you’ve thrown me off my game.” Aventurine huffs, rolling his eyes with little annoyance as he chucks the socks on top of his pile.
“And who got me to take my clothes off? You brought this upon yourself.” Ratio barely smirks.
“Just hurry up and deal the next round already.”
“Alright, gambler.”
It’s around half an hour later they find themselves playing the last round, both clad in nothing but briefs.
Aventurine glances over at Ratio, eyes trained intensely on the two cards in his hand, flicking briefly to the three in the centre of the table every so often.
“Come, Ratio, your move,” Aventurine goads. “What’ll it be? Fold and admit I’m the victor, the easier way?”
“I was merely trying to calculate the probability of success,” Ratio nods subtly.
“How is it looking for you then, Doctor?”
“Not good, I admit.”
Aventurine smiles, eyes unconsciously raking over Ratio’s body yet again. He forces a fake cough, eyes darting away. “Come on, Doctor, next card then.”
Ratio sighs, flipping over the next card. His expression further darkens, and Aventurine smirks.
“Not looking much better, Doc?”
“Slightly unexpected, but alas,” Ratio mutters. “Last card then?”
Aventurine nods, and waits in anticipation as Ratio flips it over.
“Wonderful,” he hears Ratio utter.
“Why? Got a flush, Doctor?” Aventurine raises an eyebrow. His curiosity is piqued, really.
“If anything, you appear to be the flushed one right now, gambler,” Ratio replies coolly. “But no.”
Ratio chucks his hand down, revealing it. “Ace high. I had nothing.”
Aventurine’s grin grows ever wider as he places his own hand down. “Straight flush.”
“Perhaps the only straight thing about you,” Ratio quirks a smile. “I admit then, gambler, you win. Well done.”
“Why, thank you, doctor,” Aventurine busies himself with gathering the cards, avoiding Ratio’s eyes.
“I suppose I would have lost, in any case. What chance would I stand against one blessed by Gaiathra Triclops?”
Aventurine stills slightly, smile dropping for the briefest of moments before he wills himself back into conversation. “Aw, but it was worth it, to see what the illustrious Dr. Ratio looks like beneath those scholarly robes.”
“There are easier, less time-consuming ways,” Ratio replies evasively, arms flexing as he crosses them over his bare chest.
Aventurine’s eyes widen. “Other ways? Pray tell, Doctor.”
“What I mean to say is,” Ratio leans forward, face inching closer to Aventurine’s own. “If you wanted to see so badly, you could have just asked, dear gambler.”
Aventurine gulps. He’s certain he can feel a crimson blush spreading across his face. The room is so intensely quiet he can hear the way his heart thrums in his chest.
“And if I asked now?” He barely whispers.
“Asked for what?”
“If I asked you to take that off?” Aventurine nods slightly towards Ratio’s crotch.
He watches Ratio’s breath catch a few moments later when it dawns on him.
“That depends,” Ratio says slowly.
“On what?” Aventurine finds himself asking, far too quickly.
Ratio’s eyes find his own and stare deeply into them. “Whether you’re merely joking still…or serious.”
Aventurine feels slightly dizzy under the weight of that gaze. He can barely tell if time is passing while their eyes are locked.
It’s when Ratio begins to draw away that Aventurine realises he must say something.
“My apologies, I must have misunderstood-”
“Yes,” Aventurine interrupts. Ratio stills.
“To what?” He asks, voice cautiously even.
“Being serious. I was- am serious.”
"I'm going to move," Ratio murmurs as he stands, walking around the table and sinking to his knees next to Aventurine.
It's gentle, the way Ratio's fingers barely skim the palm of his hand, the touch lingering like a warm ghost. Then Ratio slowly picks his hand up and lifts it to his mouth, pressing a light kiss to his knuckles. It makes Aventurine shiver.
“You’re not cold, are you?” Ratio asks quietly, hot breath brushing against Aventurine’s flushed hands.
“No, Doctor,” he says, voice equally hushed. Rather on the contrary, everywhere Ratio touches warms him. This moment, this secret, this…whatever it is, Aventurine is scared of breaking it by even speaking too loudly. But Ratio’s lips brush his knuckles again, and the sight melts Aventurine enough for him to sink into the moment more.
“Ratio,” he murmurs, eyes fixated on him still, because how could he look away?
“Mm?” Ratio’s eyes flick upward, finding his gaze instantly, and Aventurine’s mind damn near blanks. It’s utterly obscene how Ratio can look like that, so pure and innocent, such a contrast to his normal composed, serious demeanour.
“Can I…” Aventurine trails off. What if Ratio found it stupid? What if it broke the moment, jolted them both back into reality enough for Ratio to realise this was absurd, that his lips belonged nowhere near Aventurine, that Ratio ought not to dirty his mouth more by pressing it again to Aventurine’s skin? No, he, Aventurine, couldn't do that, because it would be stupid, wouldn’t it? Why ruin such a moment with a stupid whimsy?
Aventurine felt a frown forming on his face, accompanied with a crease in his brow, before he could stop either. It was a naive wish, wasn’t it?
“What is it?” Ratio presses another kiss to his knuckles, gentle yet somehow more insistent. Tell me, it seemed to say. A kiss so subtle and raw that Aventurine somehow knew Ratio would not mind, that this moment would, in fact, not be ruined. Nonetheless, his stomach churned with a familiar anxiety.
“Can I touch your hair?” Aventurine barely manages to say. He already feels a brush of embarrassment creeping up his face and he starts to look away, but Ratio’s lips crack in a soft smile.
“Of course,” he says, his cheek resting on Aventurine’s thigh. Ratio’s other hand snakes around Aventurine’s body, resting at the small of his back.
Aventurine realises he finds it a little strange, this touch; he’s no stranger to being touched, of course, but he’d always found himself considering his body a commodity to be traded, a chip to be bargained to tip the scales for a job. This body remembers that touch, the sort of touch that hungers and thirsts for ownership of him, the touch that scalds and brands his skin, the very touch that sends him reeling back into the depths of his own mind, to relive all of their touches.
Aventurine realises he finds it strange because that touch isn’t here. There is no dominion, no objectification, no greed in the way Ratio touches him. There is only awed reverence, a quiet curiosity and wordless admiration. Ratio touches him as if he is the most precious thing in the world, as if with every slow, gentle, light touch, Ratio is slowly rewriting the memory of this body, as if Ratio is giving Aventurine his body back. Ratio savours Aventurine, every part of him, committing him to memory.
So Aventurine carefully rests his other hand on Ratio’s head. Ratio subtly nestles his head further into Aventurine, and he wonders if this sort of touch is familiar to him, before tentatively brushing his fingers through Ratio’s hair. It’s soft, like he expected, and thick.
“Your hair, it’s very nice. I like it,” Aventurine says absentmindedly, brushing a long strand behind Ratio’s ear. “You’ll have to tell me what kind of shampoo you use someday.”
“Yours,” Ratio reaches up, brushing a few fingers against Aventurine’s hair. “I like yours more.”
“Mine’s brittle at the ends, because I don’t care for it very well,” Aventurine sighs slightly, the hand in Ratio’s hair dropping off.
“It glitters like sand on the beach in summertime,” Ratio says softly, tucking stray strands behind Aventurine’s ear. “Like sunshine, stars, the warm glow of a candle in the evening,“ Ratio raises his head, sitting up a little more on his knees. “Or, maybe I like yours more simply because it is yours.”
“I’ve never been to a beach before,” Aventurine smiles forlornly.
“Then I shall have to take you someday,” Ratio utters, nearly breathless, as his hand drops to cup Aventurine’s jaw.
“Kiss me,” Aventurine murmurs, melting into Ratio’s hand. “Please.”
And Ratio obliges. The kiss is slow and gentle, so gentle it nearly sends Aventurine reeling. Is this what all kisses were supposed to be like? Is this what the fabled first kiss was supposed to be like?
Aventurine relaxes into it, and finds himself forgetting about all the others who’d dirtied his lips with their own.
After an indeterminate period of time they break apart, lingering close together still. Aventurine can’t help but smile and rest a hand on the nape of Ratio’s neck.
“I never thought kisses could be so gentle,” Aventurine mumbles, fingers twitching against Ratio’s skin.
“Not just kisses, dear gambler,” Ratio presses a soft kiss to his temple. “Did you like it?”
“Yes, of course,” he finds himself chuckling. “It was…lovely.”
“Good.”
When Ratio leans in closer again, Aventurine expects their lips to brush again, but Ratio kisses his cheek, then his jaw, then his neck. It’s such a featherlight touch, it makes Aventurine shiver, and when Ratio’s lips find a particularly sensitive spot of skin behind his ear, it makes Aventurine moan, quietly, almost shamefully.
“Hm?” Ratio murmurs, head turning towards Aventurine while he looks away, red with shame.
“Sorry, ignore me,” he fumbles for the words.
“Did you like it, dear?” Ratio asks, voice even as ever.
“Yes,” Aventurine breathes, and then he feels Ratio’s hot breath against that same spot again.
“It’s just us here,” Ratio says, pressing another kiss to that spot. “You can be as loud or as quiet as you want.”
And this time, Aventurine’s moan is louder, more articulated and profound, and Ratio’s smile into his neck is more pronounced.
Ratio’s hands splay across Aventurine’s hips while his lips trail lower. Aventurine’s breath catches at how Ratio’s hands so nearly encompass his entire body. He feels delicate in Ratio’s hands, like Ratio could shatter him, yet he somehow trusts that he won’t.
“I hope I’m not doing anything wrong,” Ratio says softly, lips brushing against Aventurine’s chest as he speaks. “I’m rather new to this.”
“To what?” Aventurine asks, a hand leafing through Ratio’s hair.
“This. You,” Ratio answers, as if the answer was so obvious it didn’t need articulating.
“And here I was, thinking you were a blushing virgin,” Aventurine’s ensuing laugh is cut short by a kiss to his nipple.
“Not quite,” Ratio smiles, tongue darting out to lick a strip up Aventurine’s chest. “While I have laid with people, none of them were you.”
Aventurine shudders; he’s unsure if it’s due to Ratio’s words, or his actions. His body feels foreign, unfamiliar; it feels loved.
And so Ratio continues to press tender kisses to his skin, mapping Aventurine’s torso with his lips, languidly trailing ever lower. Aventurine’s breath catches when Ratio’s chin knocks against his straining cock, biting back the nascent moan already in his throat at the little friction. He feels Ratio’s fingertips slide under the waistband teasingly, before he looks back up, as if asking for purchase. Aventurine nods wordlessly, too enraptured by the moment to even process the action, and finds himself breathless again when Ratio takes the waistband of his boxers in his teeth and starts leisurely dragging them down his thighs. His hands shift at some point, running from Aventurine’s hips down to his thighs too, guiding Aventurine’s underwear until he remains entirely unclothed. He finds himself wincing slightly as the cooler air meets his burning skin.
“You are easily the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld,” Ratio’s lips find purchase along Aventurine’s inner thighs and he busies himself with pressing kisses up their length.
“That sounds pretty,” Aventurine says, between hazy breaths. He feels himself beginning to tremble at Ratio’s every touch and caress. It’s all so careful, so mild and tender. He feels his heart fit to explode. “Is that from a book or something?”
“Jane Austen,” Ratio smiles softly. “Pride and Prejudice.”
“I haven’t read it,” Aventurine laughs airily.
“Then I shall have to read it to you someday,” Ratio replies, with such an indescribable softness in his eyes it nearly makes Aventurine look away. That gaze, so loving, it nearly burns him.
“I never had you pegged as the sort to enjoy romance novels, Doctor,” Aventurine teases. “I thought you’d consider fiction a waste of time.”
“Fiction has its own merits too,” Ratio’s lips trail ever closer to Aventurine’s cock. “Balance is ideal, and one must therefore be allowed to indulge in the less factual. While less educational, fiction books may still be didactic and are important in learning about and understanding humanity.”
“How am I attracted to you?” Aventurine murmurs.
“My apologies if I bored you, gambler,” Ratio pauses, looking up at Aventurine. “I tend to get passionate about that which I like.”
“Don’t worry,” Aventurine brushes his fingers along Ratio’s cheek. “I like hearing you talk.”
“Would you mind if I shut up for a bit instead?” Ratio nods to his crotch. Aventurine groans in response, rubbing a hand across his reddening face. He nods slightly, hand tentatively slipping away from his face just in time to catch the sight of Ratio’s lips slipping over his tip.
He suppresses a moan as Ratio’s mouth sinks lower, head eventually fully down, swallowing his entire cock in his mouth. Aventurine’s mind blanks, too overcome with the sensations; the warmth, the wetness, Ratio’s tongue swirling around the shaft. His hands sink into the sofa cushions, grasping for something to ground him as Ratio starts bobbing his head. He’s damn near writhing in ecstasy at that point, mind foggy with pleasure as he bites back the most lurid of moans. In perhaps an embarrassingly short length of time he already feels an orgasm rapidly approaching.
“Ratio-” he starts, interrupted by another moan. “I’m-”
Ratio nods, pulling off in time for Aventurine to come all over himself.
He feels breathless and slightly delirious, and barely registers Ratio kissing his forehead.
“Let me wipe that off of you, gambler,” Ratio says, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at Aventurine’s torso.
“Thank you, Doctor, but there’s really no need. I’m no stranger to getting dirty.”
“I was simply cleaning up the mess I made,” Ratio lets out a brief smirk before discarding the tissue on the table. “Are you too tired? Would you like to rest?”
“Relax, Doctor, I’m perfectly fine,” Aventurine smiles. “Besides, I find it hard to believe you agreed to hours of strip poker and you’d be satisfied with just sucking me off.”
“It’s not about what I want,” Ratio says, hands resting atop Aventurine’s thighs again. “It’s about what you want too.”
“That’s easy,” Aventurine slides a finger under Ratio’s chin, tipping his head up towards him before continuing in a hushed whisper. “I want you.”
“Oh,” Ratio says, slightly dumbfounded as a rosy blush forms on his cheeks.
Aventurine chuckles lightly, pressing a chaste kiss to Ratio’s lips. He parts, but Ratio chases him, lips pressing with more passion and heat behind them. He feels Ratio’s tongue tease against his lips and he opens them, letting Ratio’s tongue hungrily explore the insides of his mouth.
They part eventually, red-faced and gasping for air, faces split in grins from ear to ear.
Aventurine hooks a hand around Ratio’s bicep, pulling him up to sit next to him on the sofa.
“Do you have-” He starts, before Ratio cuts him off with a kiss.
“Yes,” Ratio’s cheeks have a light flush to them, and he reaches for a box under the coffee table. He pulls out a fresh pack of condoms and a full bottle of lube.
“Wow, someone sure was looking forward to me being here,” Aventurine teases.
“It pays to be prepared, does it not?” Ratio answers carefully.
“Were you thinking of me, then?” Aventurine asks, voice light and joking.
Ratio looks over at him, blazing amber eyes softening. “More than you could possibly imagine, and more than I’d like to admit.”
Aventurine tries to pretend his breath didn’t catch there. “So, Doctor, we should probably move to a different room. I wouldn’t want to dirty your lovely sofa.”
Aventurine stands, only for Ratio’s hand to lightly circle his wrist.
“Then let it get dirty. It can always be cleaned,” Ratio tugs Aventurine down, down until he’s sat on his lap. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not move.”
“Oh? Alright then, Doctor,” Aventurine shuffles, hands against Ratio’s chest. He presses down experimentally; he’s met with the resistance of firm muscle beneath soft, warm skin.
“Enjoying yourself, dear gambler?” Ratio asks, amused.
“Yes,” Aventurine laughs. “Remarkably firm.”
“Exercise tends to do that to one’s physique,” Ratio replies dryly. He picks up Aventurine’s leg and moves it slightly, adjusting their positioning so Aventurine now straddles him. “Is this alright?”
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Aventurine wiggles his hips a bit. Ratio rolls his eyes in response.
“Don’t get too comfortable, I need to take these off,” Ratio nods to his underwear. It’s then that Aventurine realises he can make out the outline of Ratio’s straining cock, and he gulps.
“Need any help?”
“Some assistance would be appreciated,” Ratio nods. “Sit up on your knees a bit.”
Aventurine obliges and Ratio swiftly slips his last article of clothing off, discarding it somewhere on the floor.
Aventurine settles back down and takes a first glance at Ratio’s bare cock, hard and pressing insistently against his stomach.
“Doctor, you’re huge,” he murmurs in disbelief. “Wait, you’re huge, Doc, how is that going to fit?”
“Relax,” Ratio reaches for the bottle of lube, rubbing Aventurine’s back without thinking. “That’s what proper preparation is for.”
Ratio squeezes a generous amount of lube onto his index, and Aventurine instinctively arches into him after he presses the tip against Aventurine’s hole.
Aventurine shudders hard as Ratio works his finger inside, the cold sensation violently contrasting with his burning insides.
“How far in are you?” Aventurine asks, voice breathy and face flushed.
“Nearly the entire finger,” Ratio murmurs, making soothing motions on Aventurine’s back. “You’re doing so well, dear.”
“Comes across as a bit condescending when there’s only one finger in there, Veritas,” Aventurine bites back, rolling his eyes.
Ratio raises an eyebrow, before jerking the finger up slightly, brushing exactly against his prostate. Aventurine curses under his breath when he involuntarily moans.
“How did you- You did that on purpose, you asshole!” Aventurine swats at Ratio’s bicep.
“An educated guess,” Ratio chuckles. “It isn’t my fault you sound so lovely when you moan.”
“Pervert,” Aventurine scoffs, slipping a hand around Ratio’s neck. “What would your dear students say if they heard you speak like that?”
An amused glint passes through Ratio’s eyes, and he leans closer to Aventurine’s ear, kissing the lobe.
“I’d advise against mentioning my students while I’m fingering your asshole, gambler,” Ratio murmurs, pressing against Aventurine’s prostate again to emphasise the point; much to Ratio’s pleasure, Aventurine doesn’t stifle the moan in time again before it leaves his mouth.
“What if I want to bang my hot professor?” Aventurine smirks, running a hand teasingly across Ratio’s chest.
“How crude,” Ratio mutters, smiling as he kisses Aventurine’s forehead. “Perhaps another time I can be your professor. But, today I’m just Veritas Ratio, I’m afraid. Sorry to disappoint.”
A warm blush spreads across Aventurine’s face. “And how could that ever disappoint me?”
Ratio smiles, catching Aventurine’s lips in another soft, mind-blowingly tender kiss. “Another finger?” He hums into Aventurine’s lips.
Aventurine nods, and feels a second finger work past the loosening ring of muscle.
After a moment’s silence, filled only with the dampened sounds of Ratio’s fingers gradually scissoring Aventurine wider open, Ratio speaks again.
“You called me by my name earlier,” he says softly, amber eyes looking intently at Aventurine.
“Oh, did I? I didn’t notice,” Aventurine half laughs, a feeble attempt to dissipate whatever awkwardness he feels, but it dies as soon as he catches Ratio’s gaze. He gulps, throat suddenly drier than before. “Did you mind?”
“Not at all. Call me whatever you’d like,” Ratio smiles. “Within reason, of course.”
“No preference?”
“Not particularly,” Ratio hums in thought. “Actually, I suppose I might have one.”
“Tell me then,” Aventurine prods his chest.
And then, with the utmost earnest and serious intensity in his eyes, Ratio proceeds to say, “I’d prefer it if you called me yours.”
Aventurine sharply exhales, finding himself nearly on the brink of laughter or tears.
“Wow, Doctor, who knew you were such a flirt,” he teases. “And with a sense of humour too.”
Aventurine is only met with a hushed reply. “I wasn’t joking, gambler.” It’s quiet enough that Aventurine can pretend he didn’t hear it, and Ratio seems to wordlessly agree to move on.
“You’re opening up well,” Ratio muses. “Third finger?”
Aventurine nods, feeling a swelling tightness when Ratio’s third finger works inside.
“Going to tell me about how well I’m doing now, Doctor?” Aventurine goads.
“Hm,” Ratio hums, patting Aventurine on the back a little. “Well done.”
Aventurine rolls his eyes.
“How passionate of you, Ratio, incredibly, shockingly emotive, I’m in tears at how encouraging that was,” he says, voice dripping sarcasm.
“Very funny,” Ratio says blankly. “You are forgetting whose fingers are next to whose prostate right now.”
“Is that a threat?” Aventurine’s eyes glitter.
“It’s not a threat if you follow up on it, is it?” Ratio’s eyebrow raises as he shifts his fingers, ghosting the tips of them against that bundle of nerves.
“Very funny,” Aventurine huffs. “Not very polite to tease someone like that.”
“My mistake,” Ratio bows his head in apology. “Let me.”
Ratio scissors his fingers, then works them deeper somehow, rubbing them right up against Aventurine’s prostate. His back arches suddenly as he cries out, head burying in the crook of Ratio’s neck.
“Cruel,” Aventurine mutters.
“What’s that saying? Ah, don’t dish it out if you can’t take it,” Ratio smiles teasingly.
“You’re incredibly- ugh,” Aventurine groans, rolling his eyes deeply.
“I know,” Ratio chuckles warmly, kissing Aventurine’s head. “Something in you must like it, though.”
Aventurine’s head shrinks back so he can give Ratio another quick kiss on the cheek. Ratio’s fingers continue to pump steadily into Aventurine, punctuated by a few soft kisses as he works Aventurine further open. After a few more ‘accidental’ brushes against Aventurine’s prostate, he feels the giddy beginnings of another orgasm surfacing, and a hunger for more than just Ratio’s fingers.
“Ratio,” Aventurine murmurs, lips pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I’m ready.”
“Ok,” Ratio slips his fingers out, reaching for a condom.
“Let me,” Aventurine takes it from him, tearing it open with his teeth. “Your hands are slippery.”
“Thank you,” Ratio kisses his temple, biting his lip in a groan as Aventurine rolls the condom down the length of his cock.
Ratio touches Aventurine’s back, motioning for him to move up slightly, and lines himself up.
He looks at Aventurine, as if waiting for final assent, before slowly pushing inside.
The stretch is excruciating; Aventurine fears he’s being torn in half. He shudders, leaning closer to Ratio while he continues to push in.
Ratio kisses his forehead. “You’re doing well, nearly there.”
Aventurine is breathless and panting by the time Ratio is fully inside.
“Well, Doctor, you never told me you were quite this huge,” Aventurine laughs, or tries to, but finds himself wincing instead.
“Sorry,” Ratio presses another kiss to his temple. “You should feel better soon, gambler.”
“‘Gambler’ is hardly fitting given the current circumstances, no?” Aventurine huffs.
“What would you prefer? Aventurine?”
“Not Aventurine, no,” Aventurine stifles a frown. “That’s…work. This isn’t work. This is personal.”
“What do your personal things call you then?” Ratio cradles his chin gently. “What do I call you? Mine?”
Aventurine’s face cracks in a smile.
“That’s so corny, Ratio,” he chuckles. “But-”
Ratio shifts slightly, and the small movement is enough to drag his shaft along Aventurine’s prostate. He cuts himself off with an unexpectedly loud moan, and promptly buries his reddening face in Ratio’s neck, embarrassment damn near eating him alive.
“Sorry,” Ratio rubs a soft circle in Aventurine’s back. “I didn’t mean to move. Are you alright, love?”
Love. It sends something warm pooling in his stomach.
Aventurine nods. “I’m ok, Ratio. I won’t break.”
Ratio kisses his forehead again. “I’ll let you settle for a bit.”
Aventurine closes his eyes, breathing steadily while he adjusts.
After a few moments, he prods Ratio’s chest.
“I think I’m ready for you to move.”
Ratio smiles, giving him another quick kiss.
The pace he sets is slow, almost teasingly so, but Aventurine finds himself liking it, that sharp, aching drag that melts into ecstasy. He sinks further into the moment, there, in Ratio’s arms, their bodies pressed impossibly close together, basking in that shared pleasure.
The air between them is cloyingly sweet and it dizzies Aventurine. He presses his eyes shut, finding himself getting drunk on the easy motion of their bodies together. He rests his head on Ratio’s shoulder, letting out soft whimpers at the dragging against his insides.
“Are you alright? In any pain?” Ratio asks gently.
“S’all ok,” Aventurine slurs, head lolling back. Curiosity getting the better of him, he glances down, looking to where their bodies connect. He trails one of his hands down his torso, running it over the bulge in his lower stomach. The muffled curse that leaves Ratio’s mouth is enough to confirm Aventurine’s suspicions.
“That’s you,” Aventurine says, slightly dumbfounded. “You’re all the way in there, hah.”
“The human body can be surprisingly accommodating,” Ratio muses, catching Aventurine’s lips in yet another kiss. It starts out like the others did, but slowly grows more fervent with every ensuing movement of Ratio’s hips, until it devolves into a frenzied clashing of teeth and tongue. Aventurine craves more, more of the contact, the kiss, the intensity, and pushes himself further into Ratio’s body.
He zones out slightly, blissfully unaware of the passage of time; everything about it is so intoxicatingly perfect that it overwhelms him. At some point, he feels the beginning of another orgasm creeping in, and with each steady, passioned motion he feels that familiar, coiling pressure inside.
Aventurine bites on his lip, a low moan coming out. “I’m close, Ratio.”
Ratio grunts in response and nods subtly, and with a few more well-angled thrusts from Ratio, Aventurine is unravelling on his cock, his own sending out an arc of cum. His mouth hangs open in pleasure as he feels his legs spasm, and not after long feels Ratio’s hands grip his body tighter as his hips stop. Ratio’s body shudders and his eyes close in bliss, and they both let out ragged breaths.
Ratio opens his eyes, the warm amber gazing right at Aventurine before kissing him unabashedly.
“Are you alright, love?” Ratio says, breaking away and brushing the sweat-plastered hair on Aventurine’s forehead away.
“Mhm,” Aventurine mumbles, barely coherent. He feels the sweet embrace of sleep nearly around him, but shakes it off, forcing himself awake. “I should…”
“I should go now, shouldn’t I?” He thinks.
“Wait a second,” Ratio kisses his temple, leaving and quickly returning with a washcloth. “You may need to properly clean later, but for now this will suffice.”
Like earlier, he gently dabs at the fluids slathered over Aventurine’s torso and legs, wiping him clean.
“Thank you,” Aventurine smiles gratefully, before trying to stand. “I should be off then.”
His legs give out though, and he stumbles and nearly falls, if not for Ratio’s fast reflexes, catching him in plenty of time.
“Do you have anywhere you must be?” Ratio asks, helping him stand properly.
“No, but-”
“Then stay,” Ratio says simply.
“Oh,” is all Aventurine can reply with. Ratio throws the soiled washcloth on the table and picks Aventurine up, carrying him over to a bedroom. A cursory glance around the room, with the large bed, bedside table piled with books and hardwood desk stacked with reams of paper, leaves Aventurine thinking this must be Ratio’s own room.
“If you think you’re an imposition, you’re not at all,” Ratio says, before placing Aventurine down carefully on the bed and tucking him in under the covers.
“But-” Aventurine tries to rebut, but a yawn catches him mid-sentence.
“Night has already fallen. Dear gambler, you must rest,” Ratio runs a thumb across Aventurine’s cheek gently. “Stay.”
And Aventurine, for all the fight he usually puts up, doesn’t resist. He settles back down, finds himself melting into the bed and edging closer to the warmth of Ratio’s body.
“Come here,” Ratio says, and Aventurine ends up resting his head on the doctor’s chest. He can hear the rhythm of Ratio’s steady heartbeat beneath him and he already feels soothed.
“I promised you,” Ratio murmurs, picking up a worn leather bound book with gilded letters on the front. “Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.”
The corner of Aventurine’s mouth twitches up and he snuggles further into Ratio.
“Are you going to read me to sleep then, Doctor?”
“If that’s what you’d like,” Ratio opens the book, leafing through the yellowed pages to find the start. Aventurine nods, letting out a yawn.
Ratio clears his throat slightly before starting.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of…”
It’s late morning when Aventurine drifts awake, yawning as he rolls over. The rest of the bed is empty, and he realises, by the drawn curtains and slightly ajar door, that Ratio must already be awake. He sits up, rolling his neck before remembering that he is, in fact, naked right now. Aventurine spies a dress shirt, folded up on top of a pile of clothes on Ratio’s desk chair, and stands up, making his way over to it. Admirably, he fights through the soreness in his legs to make the two metre trek over to Ratio’s desk to pick up the shirt and put it on. It is, of course, far too big for Aventurine, making more of a dress on him, but he cuffs the sleeves and buttons it down, running a hand through his hair to tease out any knots before making his way into the corridor.
He hears some clattering around the corner, in what he deduces is the kitchen, and walks over, standing in the threshold of the open door, watching Ratio. The kitchen itself is, like the rest of the apartment, rather modest; some simple cabinets, the standard amenities like an oven and a stovetop, somehow another pile of books and a few trinkets so odd Aventurine can’t help but think they were gifted to Ratio. The man in question is staring intently at a bubbling pot on the stove, stirring it every so often. Aventurine sniffs and quickly realises it’s porridge. Eventually, although entranced by the sight of Ratio, he feels he should probably announce his presence.
“Morning,” Aventurine says, smiling.
Ratio’s head snaps over with alarming speed, eyes landing on Aventurine with softness that hardens into something Aventurine thinks is lustful. Ratio quickly clears his throat, casting his eyes back on the pot.
“Good morning, gambler,” he says.
“Do you always make porridge for breakfast, or did you just remember I like it?” Aventurine smirks, walking over and leaning on the worktop next to him.
Ratio shrugs. “Perhaps,” he replies evasively. “It’s nearly done, in any case.”
Aventurine hums and watches him pour the contents into two bowls after a few moments.
“There’s fruit and jam in the fridge if you’d like any with it,” Ratio says, carefully placing both bowls atop a tray and grabbing two spoons.
“No, thank you,” Aventurine shakes his head.
Ratio carries the tray off through a door, to where Aventurine presumes his dining table is, and returns. “There’s fresh coffee if you’d like some, and-”
Aventurine cuts him off with a chaste kiss.
“Thank you,” he says simply. It’s enough to shut Ratio up.
They sit down together, at Ratio’s small dining table, eating together in comfortable silence.
After they’ve both cleared their dishes, and a few moments have passed, Aventurine clears his throat.
“Maybe we should talk,” he says, biting his lip slightly.
“Alright,” Ratio nods. “What about?”
“You know…” Aventurine trails off, but Ratio gestures for him to continue. “This. Us. I- Last night, you asked me to stay. Why?”
“It was late, and you were tired. It seemed practical,” Ratio answers with suspicious ease.
“I…have questions,” Aventurine runs a hand through his hair.
“I’ll try my best to answer.”
“Do you want me to stay now?” Aventurine asks. Ratio seems to pause. “And would this happen again? Can this happen again, or was that just a one-time thing and we should just part ways from now on?
“I won’t ask you to stay if that’s not what you’d like. But as long as you’d like to be here, with me, in whichever capacity, my door is always open to you,” Ratio answers eventually, voice carefully even.
Aventurine gulps. He needs some kind of clarity, he decides. “What are we then? What are you to me?”
Ratio shrugs. “Whatever you want, or need, me to be.”
“Then what am I to you?” Aventurine’s voice is uneasy and Ratio reaches over, taking his hand.
Ratio chuckles warmly. “Do you want the long or short answer?”
“Both, maybe.”
“Short answer, you are someone I’d wish to be together with,” Ratio plays with Aventurine’s fingers, almost nervously. Aventurine runs a hand up his wrist, rubbing his arm reassuringly. “Long answer, you are the one person I deeply desire, in innumerable different ways, and deeply admire and respect. You have taught me a great deal, more than you could ever know, about both myself, and humanity, and you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen.”
“Quite the elaborate confession,” Aventurine smiles warmly.
“You did ask for it,” Ratio pokes his hand. “But one word from you shall silence me on this subject forever.”
Aventurine chuckles. “Is that another line from Pride and Prejudice?”
“Maybe,” Ratio smiles, leaning in to steal another kiss.
It’s then, sharing another kiss with Ratio, fingers tangled together in his dining room, that it hits Aventurine, actually hits him, that this isn’t a future he’d mind, not at all. It hits him that this is a future he’d like, and then it really hits him.
“I think I love you,” Aventurine blurts out after they separate.
Ratio blinks, a slow blush creeping up his face, before he speaks, voice slightly unsteady. “That’s, that’s nice. I…Wow.”
“Are you alright there, Doctor?” Aventurine teases.
“Yes,” Ratio murmurs softly. “Just a bit happy. I love you too, Aventurine. Does this make you mine now?”
“Maybe? But I’d only be able to offer you snippets of me. A stolen weekend every once in a while. How is that fair to you?” Aventurine’s expression is pained and he casts his gaze downward. He’s unable to meet Ratio’s eyes, for fear of seeing disappointment in them.
But Ratio’s voice is surprisingly even, and soft, in his response.
“Perhaps it makes me a fool, but even a fraction is better than nothing. Neither you nor I are typical individuals with a typical life, so it’d be foolish to assume everything would be as such. We both lead complex lives with complications. But such is life, and I wouldn’t mind that complexity if it meant I could spend a little longer with you. And, as any mathematician can tell you, fractions add up over time, and the limit of this infinite sum of fractions tends towards a whole.”
“We both know I’m no mathematician, Ratio.” Aventurine chuckles desperately, looking back up at him. “...I just don’t know if it’d be worth it for you.”
“A little is always better than nothing, and for you, it is always worth it,” Ratio says, as if it is that simple. Maybe it is, Aventurine realises. “And perhaps I shall have to be foolish enough to hope that in one future, we shall have enough time to spend more on each other.”
Aventurine stands, walking round the table to Ratio. He stands too, slight confusion in his eyes that dissipates as soon as Aventurine passes his arms around his body in an embrace. Ratio instantly places his arms around Aventurine’s back, pulling him closer.
“Then maybe I’ll be yours, for as long as you can have me, or want to have me,” Aventurine murmurs, nestling his head closer into Ratio’s chest. He hears the familiar rhythm of Ratio’s heartbeat, and the sonorous vibrations of his laugh.
“Foolish gambler. You’ll be with me forever then,” Ratio kisses the top of his head. “But I’m glad to hear it.”
After an eternity in Ratio’s warm embrace, Aventurine finally asks a question burning away at the back of his mind.
“What did you mean by ‘in one future’?”
“Perhaps I’ll explain the many worlds interpretation another time. For now, just relax and hug me.”