Chapter Text
Every time Ratio attended an IPC meeting, this one included, he was reminded that he was not exactly the the biggest fan of the Stonehearts of the Strategic Investment Department. Actually, that was an understatement. Ratio deeply disliked the Stonehearts. No, still an understatement. The most accurate way to phrase was this: as a personal rule, Ratio actively avoided interaction with the Stonehearts as best he could, and left each meeting infinitely grateful that he rarely had to interact with them.
Now, there are exceptions to every rule, and Ratio would be remiss to make such a generalization without admitting to there being an exception here. Sure, Ratio had an aversion to the Stonehearts’ politics, hated their elitism, and was annoyed by the dysfunctional manner in which the department worked, but he was also tragically biased towards Aventurine of Stratagems. They weren’t exactly friends, but they were certainly friendly, and Ratio had spent enough time with him to develop said bias. He was learning how to see just past the persona of arrogant but sycophantic flatterer Aventurine put on and piece together who he might be behind it. Unfortunately, though, this persona was Aventurine’s extremely efficient modus operandi, and Ratio did not like watching him use it. Aventurine played it up in situations that Ratio thought could easily be solved in much smoother ways. How they worked well together, he still wasn’t sure. But back to the Stonehearts, and the meeting he was currently waiting to end. Aventurine, Jade, Sugilite, Topaz, Sapphire, Opal, and Obsidian. Those were the Stonehearts in attendance at this staff assembly. These meetings were held once every two months, and Ratio, being connected to both Strategic Investment and Technology, was politely asked (read: required under contract) to go.
He, along with several representatives from each of the seven departments, sat around a long conference room table, listening as each department presented their most recent work and feats. Each person had a small booklet of paper in front of them outlining the meeting details, and there was a loud rustling every so often as they turned their pages in almost-unison. The shiftless slackers of the Talent Motivation Department had just finished their far-too-lengthy presentation, and the room buzzed with discussion as the next department prepared to begin. Ratio was about twenty seconds away from banging his head against the table when he felt something prod at his shin underneath it. He looked across from himself to see Aventurine staring at him from his spot between Sapphire and Topaz. Ratio raised an eyebrow, and Aventurine grinned like an idiot. Ratio tilted his head towards the front of the room, an attempt at prompting Aventurine to pay attention. Aventurine sent back a snide expression that said he couldn’t care less about this. Ratio subtly shook his head in disapproval. Aventurine’s shoulders trembled in silent mirth for a moment before he picked up a pen and tore a blank corner off of his paper.
As Ratio watched, Aventurine tapped the pen to his chin before scribbling something on the paper and folding it in half. He slid it across the table as if it was an important contract or a check. Ratio picked it up and opened it to read ‘hey, doc :P.’ He snorted out loud, and Aventurine visibly stifled his own laughter.
“That’s all?” Ratio mouthed as the Market Development crowd started standing up and heading towards the head of the table. As Aventurine opened his mouth to reply, Sapphire glanced across at Ratio, then turned and jabbed an elbow into Aventurine’s arm, hissing something at him through his teeth that Ratio couldn’t hear. Aventurine gave Sapphire a tiny smile and looked away from Ratio, who chose not to let it annoy him.
Aventurine didn’t so much as glance at Ratio for the rest of the meeting (and Ratio frankly wasn’t expecting any further exchange with him), so he practically skidded to a halt when he heard “Ratio, wait!” on his way towards the exit. Aventurine jogged over to him.
“Good, you haven’t left yet.”
“I have not. Although I’m glad to be out of that meeting.”
“I’m sure you are,” Aventurine said, smiling slightly. “I could see your eye twitching during the Logistics presentation.”
“Ugh,” Ratio groaned. “A less interesting group of people couldn’t possibly exist.”
“At least you don’t have to interact with them every other day in this building.”
“And I thank goodness for that. Did you need something?”
“Um, I,” Aventurine started. Ratio raised an eyebrow. “Sorry about earlier. I was being a bit annoying, and I’m sure you—”
“What?” Ratio interrupted. “Do you mean writing the note?”
“That, kicking you under the table, being a general distraction.”
“You weren’t annoying me,” Ratio said, bewildered. “…Did I give you that impression?”
“No!” Aventurine held his hands up and pasted that flat smile back onto his face. “I thought I should say something just in case.” Ratio squinted at him, his mind replaying their short interaction until it found something.
“Ah,” he said. “Is that what Sapphire said to you.” It wasn’t a question, because he was sure he knew the answer, and Aventurine’s expression tightening ever so slightly confirmed it. Ratio reached into his pocket and retrieved the scrap of paper, holding it between his first two fingers. Aventurine blinked.
“You didn’t throw that away?”
“If I found it annoying, I would have,” Ratio said bluntly.
“Right! Sorry, that was silly of me.”
“You don’t need to say—”
“Excuse me,” said another voice, and Sugilite walked up to them, clapping a hand on Aventurine’s shoulder and staring coolly at Ratio. “Evening, doc.” The familiar nickname coming from him struck a dissonant chord.
“Hello,” Ratio replied, equally cool. It didn’t escape him how much Aventurine’s face said he wanted to shrug the hand away.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Sugilite said, sounding not even a little sorry. “But we need you for something in our department right now.” He glanced at Ratio with an expression that clearly said he believed the Technology department to be below him.
“Have a good night, Aventurine,” Ratio said, ignoring the haughty look.
“You as well,” Aventurine muttered. “I’ll see you around, doctor.” He and Sugilite turned around and started back upstairs.
“Why are you being such an idiot?” Ratio heard Sugilite say. “You know we need you upstairs after meetings, and you’re down here kicking rocks with Dr. Ratio.”
“It was three minutes,” Aventurine hissed back. “I wanted to speak to him.”
“Just— quit it with the—” Ratio blocked out the rest of Sugilite’s retort, pushing through the front door of the building a little too hard. He didn’t care what Sugilite had to say, but he couldn’t get Aventurine’s uncomfortable face out of his mind. As usual, he had a lot of strong opinions on the way Aventurine worked, but it wasn’t his place to verbalize them.
The sound of Aventurine’s old-fashioned phone ringtone interrupted the quiet of the room, making them both jump. He reached across the table to grab it, and Ratio turned down the volume of his screen as Aventurine picked up the call.
“Aventurine of Stratagems. Hi, Lady Jade.” At the mention of the name, Ratio gestured for him to put the phone on speaker, which Aventurine did with a roll of his eyes.
“How are things? Has Dr. Ratio finished downloading the data yet?” Aventurine shot him an evil grin, and Ratio shook his head emphatically.
“He’s right here, he can tell you himself.” Ratio opened his mouth to whisper a protest, but Aventurine tossed him the phone with a soft snicker.
“Hello, Lady Jade,” he said, trying to sound polite. She was one of the few Stonehearts he couldn’t just ignore.
“Dr. Ratio,” she said cordially, as if they were old friends. “How is the project? A brief assignment, but I trust your timeliness still applies?”
“Yes. I will have the full download in two system hours, and will be working for as long as necessary to decrypt it.”
“Very well. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Hey, don’t I get a thanks?” Aventurine jumped in. Jade sighed.
“Don’t be stupid, Aventurine. We do not need that from you right now.”
“Sorry, I was just…”
“Find something to do with your time, dear. Just, please don’t hinder the doctor’s progress. You’ve been strategic partners nine months, and Qlipoth knows he’s probably sick and tired of your antics.” Aventurine’s face reddened, and Ratio felt a surge of defensiveness.
“I don’t think that’s—”
“I appreciate the status report,” Jade said curtly. “Let me know when you’re coming home.” She ended the call abruptly. Aventurine avoided Ratio’s pointed gaze, rummaging roughly through his bag and taking out a device Ratio didn’t think made sense to use in this context. But he decided to take the hint. They worked across from each other, in a silence punctuated only by soft typing and occasional electronic beeps, until Ratio just couldn’t keep his mouth shut any longer.
“Aventurine.”
“What.”
“Why do you let her speak to you like that?”
“That’s a silly question. She’s so far above me. If I argue with her, it just makes everyone’s life harder. I don’t have room to dwell on it if she’s a little…”
“Uncivil?”
“She’s my boss, doctor. I get away with a lot as it is, I don’t need to push the small things. This is my system, and it works.”
“Sure it does,” Ratio muttered, aware he was being juvenile.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” Aventurine scoffed.
“Way to be forthcoming, Ratio. I thought I was the cryptic one, but I’ve never seen you hold back this much. You usually have criticism aplenty for me.”
“Do I.”
“Yeah,” Aventurine laughed. “But it’s pretty useful— I use it to teach my ears how to tune things out.” That was one of those Aventurine-jokes that Ratio struggled to find humor in. He knew of his sometimes unwanted honesty, but to hear Aventurine mention it back to him wasn’t pleasant.
“I’m sorry,” he replied. Aventurine practically recoiled two feet back at this, blinking incredulously as if Ratio had made a horribly crude remark.
“Why are you saying that?” Ratio shook his head.
“I think I owe it to you. I don’t want to be—” he stopped. The next words out of his mouth would have been, “I don’t want to be another person who treats you the way the Stonehearts do,” and those words wouldn’t be the least bit helpful. He rerouted the sentence and tried again. “It’s not productive to give constant criticism, and I regret that I’ve done it to you.”
“Really, doctor, you… you don’t need to apologize. It’s probably warranted, and I’m used to it, anyway.”
“Which is exactly what I’m—!” Ratio stood from his chair, sending its legs screeching over the floor. Aventurine looked utterly mystified as he stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, pushing insistently until Ratio sat back down.
“I have no idea what’s going on with you, Ratio, but apology accepted.”
“I’m going to get this done so we can get home,” Ratio said, turning back to his screen, but the code on the documents now seemed the least of his worries.
“She’s wrong, by the way,” he spoke up after a few minutes. “I’m not.”
“Not what?” Aventurine asked softly.
“Tired of your antics.”
“Oh. Good to know.”
The next time Ratio saw Aventurine was accidental and awkward. He walked into an elevator that happened to contain Aventurine and Topaz, in the midst of a hushed argument. Neither acknowledged Ratio entering the space, and neither noticed as he tried and failed to do a 180 and exit again. The doors closed mockingly in his face, so he pressed his floor button and crossed his arms, listening to the two bicker.
“Why would Diamond even request you for that?!” Topaz was saying. “It’s literally right up my alley. It’s clearly planet that needs a loan, I can give them a loan. They don’t need you.”
“Diamond seems to think they do. Do you want me to question him?”
“I’d at least want you to try to talk to Jade.”
“It’s not like I’m jumping for joy about it, Topaz. What do you expect me to do?”
“You’re such an idiot, Aventurine, I really can’t stand you sometimes.” Ratio squinted up at the reflective ceiling of the elevator, considering sending up a prayer to whatever Aeon might be listening.
“You won’t believe that I’m sorry?” Aventurine asked. Topaz huffed, rolling her eyes and looking to the left, which happened to be where Ratio was standing.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her skin and falling against Aventurine’s shoulder. “Dr. Ratio!” Aventurine’s head snapped up to meet Ratio’s eyes, a small smile forming on his face.
“Didn’t see you there, doc,” he said.
“Clearly not. I hope you weren’t discussing anything sensitive.” Topaz blushed.
“Sorry, that was unprofessional.”
“That’s alright, Miss Topaz” Ratio replied, honestly wishing he hadn’t heard a word of it. The elevator door opened, saving his patience in a blessing from the gods, and he took the opportunity given him. “But I do need a word with Aventurine, if you two are done speaking.”
“Yes— sure. We’ll talk later, Aventurine.” She exited the small space, and Ratio waited for the doors to slide closed to speak again.
“Where are you headed?”
“My office,” Aventurine answered hesitantly.
“Wonderful. I will accompany you.”
“What? You weren’t looking for me when you got on, were you?”
“No. But this is more important.”
“I hope I'm not in trouble, doctor,” Aventurine joked, stepping out of the elevator and starting confidently down the hall. As they neared his office door, Sapphire turned a corner heading towards them. Ratio barely held back a groan.
“Hey,” Aventurine greeted. Sapphire frowned.
“Aventurine. You need to—”
“My apologies,” Ratio interrupted. “But if you don’t mind, I’m borrowing him for a moment.” Sapphire clearly minded, but did not protest further. Ratio continued briskly past him, giving Aventurine little choice but to follow. Only when the office door was shut and Aventurine was reclining in his chair with his shoes on the desk did Ratio speak.
“Aventurine.”
“Can you make this quick?” Aventurine grinned. “I’m on the clock.”
“Oh, please. The way this place treats you, you should be wasting far more of their time than you already do.”
“Wait. What did you need to talk to me about?”
“The Stonehearts.” Aventurine’s eyes narrowed.
“Is this because you heard me and Topaz talking? Because that really wasn’t—”
“It’s about Topaz, and Jade, and Sugilite, and all the others… and you. You let them treat you terribly, walk over you, insult you— and don’t even think about denying it, because I have seen it firsthand. I've stood by while they call you useless and annoying and a waste of time. Jade I understand, to an extent. Diamond as well. But Sugilite and Sapphire? Hardly anything close to your bosses. And Topaz seems to dislike you quite a bit at times, and I at one point thought you two were friends. None of them see you positively, and I've not been able to figure out why.”
“You’ve not worked with me for that long, Ratio, but you’re smart. I think you know why.”
“Humor me.”
“I’m not really meant to be fawned over. I don’t need to be liked and adored by everyone. If some people see me as a tool to be used, that’s fine with me. It’s how I get work done.” Ratio’s blood ran hot.
“Take work out of the equation, then.” Aventurine frowned.
“Then… what else is there?”
“Gambler,” Ratio whispered.
“I’m not really anybody outside of work as a Stoneheart.” Ratio buried his face in his hands and sighs loudly. He rubbed his eyes and let the exasperation in his body fizzle out before resurfacing,
“Gambler, would you want to go…somewhere… with me? This weekend?” It sounded like an awkward non-sequitur, and Aventurine laughed a little.
“Are you asking me out or something? I’m flattered, although I—”
“Not necessarily what I meant.”
“So you want to… hang out.”
“That is the most accurate way to phrase it, yes.” Aventurine swung his feet off of the desk and swiveled his chair around to face Ratio.
“What is this?” he asked with awful sincerity. “Are you messing with me?” Ratio crossed his arms.
“You’re such an id—” Ratio stopped. “No. Of course not.”
“I’m glad to hang out with you, doc. What’s the catch?” Ratio had half a mind to point out Aventurine’s deep distrust, but…
“I do have a request.”
“Ah, let’s hear it.”
“While we’re out, you can’t talk about work.” He saw the faintest hint of hesitance in Aventurine’s eyes before it vanished.
“A challenge? What am I, your student?”
“You’re under no obligation to agree.”
“Sure I am— when someone wants something from me, I do my best to make it happen.”
He’s utterly hopeless, Ratio thought.
“Great. I will call you with the details the day after tomorrow.” Aventurine smiled, and for once, it almost seemed real.