[CLOSED] The Golden Ratio

[curingidiocy]

WHO: Dr. Ratio + Aventurine
WHAT: Permanent catch all for Ratio and Aventurine's shenanigans
WHERE: Anywhere and everywhere
WHEN: Various
WARNINGS: Patch 2.2 spoilers abound. Suicidal ideation. Now with NSFW. Other content warnings will be listed in starters

Comments

[curingidiocy]

[ This, too, is something Ratio is aware of. That is why he waits. It is not his decision to make, how their relationship should proceed. Not that is hoping for any more—not that he wants any more. No, he is quite satisfied with what they have already. That Aventurine chooses him, of all people, to be with on his birthdays is already indicative of the faith he has in the scholar.

He will not be the one to break the fragile trust the man has extended to him. ]

And where do you propose I sleep tonight, gambler? Do tell. Am I to walk to your quarters and take up residence there?

[ He takes another sip of the umeshu. Mm, it isn't bad at all. He doesn't dislike it. ]

[stonehearts]

Not in the mood to share your comfortable bed, doctor? ( It's a hollow tease, said out of habit rather than meaning, and he tries not sigh, tries not to run a hand through his hair and let the other man know how much he hates this day. Seeing Ratio really is the best part of it, and knowing that once he does it's a quick trip to feeling numb. ) I've slept on worse than this floor. It'll do fine.

( His next sip is longer, more, and he pours himself a refill without waiting for Ratio to finish his. )

[curingidiocy]

[ There are a number of ways he could respond to that, and he even considers retorting with something equally suggestive, if only to see how Aventurine would react. But it's only a thought he entertains, because he isn't nearly as inebriated to go through with that idea (but the fact that he even entertained it means something, doesn't it?)

In the end, he decides not to respond to that, and takes another sip of his drink. ]

So you intend to make a poor host out of me. Do you really think I would let you sleep on the floor?

[ And while Aventurine is busy pouring himself another cup, Ratio stares down at his unoccupied hand, focusing for a moment and willing an Imaginary chip into existence. It is not exactly the same as Aventurine's, bearing his personal owl motif on each side instead, but that was intentional.

Nonchalantly, he plays with it, flipping the chip between his fingers the same way the gambler has shown him many times before. He doesn't draw attention to the action, waiting to see how long it will take before the other man notices. ]

[stonehearts]

I would never dream of doing such a thing, doc. I'd insist upon the floor.

( He could get his beauty sleep the next night. Which is probably more indicative of how much he dreads the concept of not being drunk on this day, this night. Taking another drink, he-- smiles, because that is something new, isn't it? Every time Ratio offers something about himself, something new -- but this is something he's learned specifically to show off to Aventurine.

Raising a brow, he looks up to the other man, away from his talented fingers. )

Have I rubbed off on you?

[curingidiocy]

[ The look Ratio gives him in response is quite clear—that Ratio will not be letting him sleep on the floor, no matter how much the gambler insists. This is a fight they both know Aventurine will lose, because by the end of the night he will be far too gone to resist when Ratio picks him up off the floor and deposits him in the bed.

But that is a matter for the future as Aventurine's eyes are finally drawn to the chip moving in Ratio's hand, and the scholar's lips curl up, slight, but just enough to make it clear he's smiling. ]

Hardly. It is not difficult to learn a simple parlor trick like this.

[ Both of them know it takes quite a bit of experience to move the chip with the ease Ratio does it though—this isn't something he's learned recently.

With a sharp movement, he flicks the coin into the air, arcing towards Aventurine, perfectly calculated to land in the gambler's hand should he open it palm up to receive it. ]

[stonehearts]

Heads.

( Aventurine calls, the moment the coin sails into the air out of reflex. His palm is, in fact, and the coin lands heads up -- he twists his hand with ease to show off his own talented fingers and, of course, to show that Ratio his luck holds. )

We could be a great team out on the casino floors, doctor. Your stoic face, my luck -- they wouldn't stand a chance.

( They're a good team regardless. Sure their partnership had been... rocky to start, but it had faded into one where Aventurine could trust Ratio to an extent he couldn't he coworkers. Which isn't any fault of theirs, of course, but they didn't become Stonehearts because they were trusting. It's a fault of Topaz's, and one she knows too. )

[curingidiocy]

I have no desire to indulge you in your vices.

[ Even though, for Aventurine, it's less of a vice and more of a way to collect intel and secure deals. The casino is host to loose wallets, looser lips, and loosest judgement, he has learned over his time partnering with the gambler. So he amends his statement. ]

But I am willing to assist on missions.

[ Because they are partners, and they have built a bond of trust that neither share with anyone else. ]

[stonehearts]

Oh? I remember our first meeting being one where you did, to great success.

( It's a good memory, in Aventurine's mind. And he takes another sip, pouring himself another glass as soon as he finishes it. He's certainly going overboard, but he's tired and stressed and it's... his birthday. So he'll do what he always does: do his best to pretend that it doesn't matter, that he's simply drinking just because. )

And you always do such a good job of doing so. Really, you might be the most uptight member of the IPC -- but I wouldn't trade you in for any other.

[curingidiocy]

Only in an effort to understand what runs through that illogical mind of yours.

[ Ratio does not comment on Aventurine's excessive drinking today. Were it any other day, he would have said something, maybe even plucked that bottle straight out of the gambler's hands if he determined the man was being particularly self-destructive that day. But not today. Today was the one day Ratio gave him leeway.

He sighs. ]

You are not nearly inebriated enough to be making that mistake.

[ Calling him part of the IPC, that is. Even if the line between him and the IPC is paper thin, he still isn't part of it. Ratio allows it sometimes, but, again, not today. Not because he wishes to remind Aventurine that he is alone in that company, but— ]

—but I will always endeavor to assist you, regardless of my affiliations.

[ Because he cares. ]