Chapter Text
[1 new message from: Topaz (IPC)]
Topaz 17:03
The Aventurine Stone has stopped responding.
His body had felt ice-cold, adrenaline the only thing keeping his legs from folding and tumbling to the ground of the hotel.
The message repeated inside his mind, an endless loop, ever since waking. It's not death, it's not death, just dormancy— he's alive.
He should believe his own judgment — but that giant gash in the fabric of the dreamscape made him doubt himself. Pure human terror had entered his heart in sight of total annihilation.
He had resurfaced in reality, and was met by the message that left his hands shaking; but no. Aventurine was alive.
His luck would simply not allow anything else.
…Right?
Disregarding the two IPC employees guarding the entrance of Aventurine's room, he shoved his certification seal into their scanners, being let in seconds after. He was long past acknowledging his own irrationality, mind pursuing one singular objective, thrown in chaos until it observed him with his own eyes.
He had stumbled, all fight leaving him as soon as he saw Aventurine, laying in the tub, frowning, but—
His chest rose and sank.
Alive.
He was alive.
Of course he was.
(Why was he ever so afraid? Terrified in spite of his own knowledge? Acting so irrationally?)
Ratio managed to drag his feet toward a couch, dropping down as if his strings had been cut. Pounding heart, lungs aching. His eyes felt heavy, both wanting to pass out and run through the room until the panic receded.
Alive. Alive.
Aventurine was alive.
His elbows rested on his knees, head leaning down into palms. The intense stress put on his mind transferred to his body, and he was left to exhale raggedly. But the plan had worked, their mission complete — the Trailblazers would do the rest.
Ratio was to report back to the Guild. He couldn’t care to spare them even a moment of attention.
It was over, finally, the act could drop.
Torturous minutes passed. He ignored further messages, eyes never leaving the sleeping body of Aventurine.
His fingers curled around the necklace, thumb caressing the grooves, over the engraved letters, shining in gold.
A deep rumble shook the earth.
The hotel creaked, shaking as if it had been hit. Lights shut off. Ratio stared in silence, holding his breath.
They flickered back on— and—
Water rippled as Aventurine sat up, gasping for air.
Ratio sat there, heartbeat stuttering to a halt, then thumping against his chest, loud, louder.
Aventurine coughed, disoriented, grabbing the side of the tub. Empty, dual-colored eyes snapped open, taking in their surroundings.
Ratio willed his stiff body to move, getting up from the couch, watching Aventurine press his shoes onto the purple carpet and stand up.
He stepped forward on unsteady legs.
Ratio met him half-way, pulling him into an aching hug. His arms wrapped around the shivering man, head buried in the left crook of his neck.
Don't ever scare me like that again.
Instead of those words, all that left his mouth was a pathetic sob, muffled by Aventurine’s coat. A hand ran up his back, then down, then up. It stayed there, holding his shoulder blade, gloved fingers warm.
Ratio attempted to collect himself and failed; lungs aching as they shook from his unsteady breathing. He shut his eyes, mumbling a barely coherent apology.
Aventurine huffed, leaning closer, not fully back yet, but doing his best to get the other to calm down.
His other hand raised itself, cupping Ratio’s face. Even though Aventurine had stiffened slightly at the other leaning further into his neck, he let it be, much too numb to care.
They stood there for a while.
Ratio calmed enough to lean away, eyes of dawn bloodshot and worn.
Aventurine looked similarly miserable, pale-faced and shivering.
“I—”
His voice broke, words dying on his tongue.
The hand on Aventurine’s shoulder left, fingers carding into blond hair, pulling his head back gently. Their lips met despite Aventurine's eyes widening, falling shut a second later, pressing up into the warmth. Ratio tasted like tears.
His own thumb continued swiping soothingly across Ratio's cheek. The desperate, impulsive nature of the kiss, so unlike the other's calculated and meticulous modus operandi, expressed what couldn't be said with words. Sorrowful, bold; like he'd been waiting a long time for this moment.
Ratio kissed him as if he’d come back from the dead. Which he did, sort of.
Aventurine sighed into the other's mouth, utterly exhausted, swaying.
[Boots walked through corridor after corridor, silver spurs clinking quietly.]
They parted for air, Ratio still holding him, molten orange more akin to an open wound. Their emotion displayed so clearly it halted Aventurine’s breath, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relieved love.
Love. Because that's what it was.
The fingers in his hair tightened again, and Ratio broke off another sentence, diving down to meet his lips again.
Aventurine let him, disoriented body soaking up the warm pressure. He was returning to himself, kissing back with newfound eagerness, swiping a tongue over Ratio's lips. The other whined, relaxing and holding him closer.
In that singular moment, Aventurine felt safe. He wished for it to never pass; the prayer of a fool, knowing they were using borrowed time.
Tongues intertwined, and he found himself lost, mind plunged into soothing infinity. Ratio let go first, licking over his now swollen lower lip, a string of saliva connecting them.
“You scared me, gambler.”
At the sound of his wavering voice, he opened his eyes again, blinking. His mind supplied I know, or I'm sorry, or It will probably happen again, but he landed on: “Shut up and kiss me again.”
Ratio frowned but complied. It was almost adorable, this shaken up obedience, if it didn't have the sharp aftertaste of heartache.
“Aventurine, I see you've awoken.”
He froze at Jade's voice, taking his hand away where it held onto Ratio's side, lifting two fingers to his temple.
“I never lose my bets, after all,” he answered with trained ease, earning a concerned frown from Ratio.
“It's a pleasure to hear your voice again. Congratulations, you've become the… biggest winner of this festival.”
He mouthed ‘IPC’ to the other. The hand in his hair came to rest on his shoulder instead. Grounding, warm.
“Are you calling just to make fun of me?”
“No, I'm just impressed. Not only did you venture alone into Penacony and discover the truth of Dreamflux Reef, but you also managed to escape with the help of a Knight of Beauty…”
Aventurine stared at the floor, tiredness seeping back into his expression.
“Remember the recording you received from your Trailblaze friend? It's now the most valuable chip in this game.”
Ratio kept quiet, only watching, fingers drawing soothing circles into his coat.
“However, this came at a high cost… Losing a Cornerstone is a hefty price to pay. Diamond just called a meeting to discuss what to do with you.”
He narrowed his eyes, jaw tensing up. Ratio tilted his head, confused, though he ignored him, shutting them again.
A silent sigh left his mouth, blinking — looking back toward the tub. “Just as I expected. So, is Diamond planning to demote me, or kick me out of the Ten Stonehearts?”
The hand on his shoulder tensed momentarily.
“Why don't you take a wild guess?”
Aventurine inclined his head, a barely-there smirk pulling at his lips. “Well, alright. Then I'll guess… he's going to promote me to P46?”
“Alright, what will you wager?”
He held back a snort. “Are we talking about a real bet here? I don't wanna wager anything just to escape your clutches.”
Ratio seemed to grow more concerned, posture rigid, mouth half open as if to ask something.
A cruel, venomous coil traveled down his spine; words leaving his tongue smoothly despite their weight. “But if it's just a friendly bet, I'll put on the line what I did when we first met. I'll bet my life, ma’am.”
The grip turned bruising. A dull, icy claw sliced up his spine, alerting him. Though he didn't react, didn't look up to see his expression. Ratio's whispered hiss echoed through the room anyway. “What?”
“Interesting. But since it's Diamond's call, no one can predict the outcome. I’m on my way to Penacony. Once everyone is settled, we'll return to Pier Point for the final showdown.”
“Sounds like I'll be out of the action for a while. Finally, a chance to kick back and relax?”
“Yeah, leave everything to me and Topaz, child. Thanks to you, as soon as the Jade Stone was delivered to the Family's compound, we finished up our preparations.”
Aventurine's shoulders dropped.
[Two bodies fell to the floor. His metallic finger itched to pull the trigger.]
“The seeds we planted have taken root. Soon… it'll be time to ‘reap’ the rewards.”
A thud.
The two of them turned to look at the door, hearing further rustling and a click.
“Let's wrap it up for now. Looks like I've got a visitor here…”
Aventurine dropped his hand, stepping back, although Ratio still held onto his shoulder, arm crossing over his chest.
Boots tapped against carpet, spurs clicking, whirring. The door had opened, and a metallic thing walked in; Aventurine raised a brow.
Metal arm, metal chest; pale, human face.
“Oh? So many surprises today. Didn't expect a Galaxy Ranger and wanted criminal to show up here…” He rested a hand on his hip, a part of himself relishing in the way Ratio straightened up, stepping forward, like he intended to protect him. How cute.
The cyborg showed off razor-sharp teeth as he came to a stop, folding his arms, close to fletching like a wolf.
“One who managed to take out two IPC members under the noses of our fleet. Do you understand what that means?” Fortunately, his tone had returned to normal; cold, regarding the Ranger with narrow eyes.
“Screwubbaboo. I just put them to sleep! Don't try to intimidate me with that nonsense. Besides, I've taken down more IPC lackeys than the residual value you've squeezed, and I don't mind adding a few more zeroes to my wanted poster.”
The drawl was accompanied by his red pupil glowing brighter, spitting the word ‘IPC’ out as if it sickened him just having it on his tongue.
Boothill didn't even spare a single glance for the man next to Aventurine.
“I have a question for you. Be honest,” Boothill leaned back, and pulled his revolver out, aiming straight at him, "or I don't mind putting a bullet into your head.”
Aventurine didn't move, though he could feel Ratio tense up next to him. “What?—”
Cold, lifeless, inhuman gaze — the crosshair lit up, flicked to Ratio, gun unmoving.
Boothill scoffed, bared fangs surely sharp enough to cut through bone with ease, and snapped his stare back to Aventurine, deeming him unimportant.
“Where is Oswaldo Schneider?” Visceral hatred dripped off his words, metallic fingers tightening around the weapon.
Aventurine smirked. “Oh? You're after him?”
He raised an arm, grabbed Ratio's hand and moved it away, stepping forward. He felt no fear; he'd won again. “I'm sure we can come to a mutual understanding then.”
For a split second, Aventurine could spot Boothill's genuine surprise.
“I don't need no understandin’, I need coordinates.”
Aventurine nodded. “Right, right. I don't have them on hand, and he.. moves quite frequently. So—”
“I'm the one negotiating, don't get it twisted.”
He clicked his tongue. “You’re that confident in your ability to kill me, huh.”
Boothill's eyelid twitched. It was the only warming he got before the cyborg pulled the trigger. Ratio, who'd been more or less frozen in shock, flinched. The bullet flew through the air, halted by a golden, pulsing barrier.
Humming where it hovered inches away from Aventurine's forehead, the Stoneheart picked it like he was plucking fruit from a tree; clinking, it dropped to the floor.
“You can try again, and I'm sure one of us will eventually run out of ammo or power, though that'll get us both nowhere. I'm offering a good deal here, Ranger.” He lowered his voice, “You're not the only one who wants men like him dead.”
Boothill's snarl was still in place, revolver still pointing at Aventurine’s head. “Oh yeah? Not so sure about the ‘brings us nowhere’ thing. One less IPC exec will always be a positive in my book.”
Aventurine clicked his tongue, tilted his head. “So do you want the info or not?—”
PANG.
The second bullet shot through the air, shattering the shield with sudden ease, grazing Aventurine’s cheek. The stripe burned, and he felt something warm and wet trickle down, drip from his jaw to his fur coat.
Boothill hadn't aimed to kill — if he had, it would've been over. The shattered aventurine stone weakened his shield exponentially, and mixed with his current exhaustion it was bound to be more fragile — Aventurine stood there, frozen. Primal fear struck his heart, leaving him speechless.
Ratio had jumped back on instinct, eyes whipping back and forth from his wound to the smoking gun.
“Pipe down your confidence, boy.”
Aventurine felt imaginary power manifesting behind him, raising his hand and halting Ratio in his movement. Boothill's gun was now pointing at the mundanite, metal finger resting on the trigger.
“Don't be stupid,” he hissed to Ratio, gaze never wavering from the ranger.
“I've had enough of you tryin’a get in between this convo. Get the fudge out.”
Ratio's eyes widened, and Boothill motioned with the gun, whistling. “Or you'd rather bleed out while we talk? I don't care either way.”
With one last glance at the Stoneheart, who nodded, Ratio did as told, walking past Boothill and opening the door to the two passed out guards.
It fell shut, leaving them behind, and Aventurine wiped over the gash, tainting his gloves with his own blood.
“You a traitor, then?” The cyborg drawled, stepping closer. The spurs of his boots whirred quietly, scraping against the floor.
Aventurine spread out his hands. Another spin on the wheel of fate; the approaching bells of death familiar and haunting all the same. “Sure, you could call me that.”
Boothill spun the gun on his fingers, smoothly placing it back in its sheath. “Well fudge me then. Spill.”
Aventurine smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. That, they both had in common. Dead and dull, fitting for they were the graveyards of their kin.
“Of course.”