Work Text:
Veritas is immersed in his latest study when soft blond locks brush against his bare shoulder, breaking his focus. Aventurine is still deep asleep, but even in slumber, he seeks affection from the doctor. With a fond smile, Veritas grants him his wish by wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. A pleased sigh rewards him as the gambler nuzzles his chest, content.
Endeared by his adorable behavior, Veritas slips a hand through his lover’s hair. Nothing warms his heart more than to see him like this, so peaceful, so happy. It wasn’t always like that, of course. During the first nights they spent resting side by side, Aventurine kept kicking and screaming in his sleep, plagued by nightmares of his past. He sometimes still has them, but Veritas has learned how to comfort him when such events occur.
Now, whenever Aventurine has a breakdown caused by everything he went through during his youth, he comes to him instead of dealing with it on his own. Veritas can spend hours murmuring soothing words in his ear or snuggling with him in complete silence, depending on what his partner needs the most. Anything to bring some light back to his gorgeous eyes, to see his frown give place to a blinding smile.
And to think that when they started dating, Aventurine was so unused to having someone care for him that he looked absolutely bewildered the first time the doctor dropped everything just to stay with him until he felt better… You don’t have to bother with me, he mumbled back then while hastily wiping his tears away, only to immediately melt when the genius pulled him into a gentle embrace and pressed their foreheads together, whatever project he was working on entirely forgotten.
Veritas’ gaze lingers on Aventurine as he reminisces about the memory. Everything about his partner screams pleased and relaxed, a constatation he delights in. They have come a long way, that is for sure. Gone is his reluctance to show vulnerability when it’s just the two of them. Instead, his sweet peacock now actively seeks refuge in the safe haven of his arms and comes up with the most ludicrous excuses to distract him from his research.
Not that Veritas minds. Somehow, the most brilliant discoveries he has come up with recently all share a common denominator: Aventurine. Whenever the gambler is around, the doctor finds himself solving problems with a disconcerting facility, perhaps because nothing quite clears his mind of all worries and frustrations like his lover’s presence.
Hence why he is working on his latest thesis while waiting for the stunning sleeping beauty in his arms to wake up. A perfect compromise, in his opinion, since Aventurine likes to laze around in bed while Ratio is more of a morning person. He is quite satisfied with everything he has written so far, and could easily jot another chapter down thanks to his current spur of inspiration, but he puts the document aside the second his partner stirs against him.
Aventurine releases a small yawn, then he looks up at Veritas with half-lidded eyes. No one but the doctor gets to see him like this, totally unguarded. His gestures aren’t perfectly calculated to please potential allies, nor meant to manipulate a hostile audience. They simply are, as Veritas never gave Aventurine any reason to be anyone but himself.
“Hmm. ’Morning,” The gambler sleepily mutters.
He absentmindedly massages his neck, which Veritas dutifully covered in hickeys the night prior, then props himself up on his elbows to greet his partner with a kiss.
It’s a quick, simple brush of their lips, but it’s enough to send the genius’ heart racing nonetheless. His reaction has Aventurine chuckling.
“Not so eloquent today, uh, doctor?” He teases playfully.
Veritas could easily come up with some sophisticated turn-of-phrase to prove him wrong, but he finds himself more inclined to give in to that charming audacity he has fallen so irremediably in love with. So, in lieu of a verbal response, and to Aventurine’s greatest delight, he leans in for another languid kiss. They make it last until they’re both in dire need of air, then, once they part, the gambler nestles himself against Veritas’ side, unhurried to get up. The doctor, observant as ever, notices that his movements remain quite sluggish.
“Still tired?”
Aventurine replies with a small nod. His eyes look about to flutter close, which only confirms his exhaustion.
“Then sleep some more. I’ll be right there when you wake up.”
Just like always, goes unsaid. Not that it matters, because Aventurine has already drowsed off, lulled by the gentle rhythm of Veritas’ heartbeat.
The doctor puts one last kiss on his forehead, hushedly wishes him a good rest, and then picks up his research files.
All signs indicate that he will have plenty of time to wrap up that chapter, after all.