Chapter Text
xx
If anyone had dared to declare to Dr. Veritas Ratio that his third evening aboard the renowned Xianzhou Luofu flagship would find him in such a debauched position, he would have thrown his chalk stylus at them hard enough to bruise their misbegotten ancestors.
But they would have been right.
The lodgings afforded to Ratio and Aventurine by the Cloud Knight General had turned out to be a generously sized and exceedingly well-appointed suite with two bedrooms separated by a sliding decorative wall that retreated at the flip of a gilded switch.
Clever, he’d thought at the time, upon the discovery of said switch. Also, we won’t be needing that, and additionally, I’d better avoid pointing it out to Aventurine lest he get any funny ideas.
But in the end, it hadn’t mattered in the slightest, because Ratio still found himself kneeling atop a cushion on a high-pile rug in front of the sofa— altogether flushed and uncomfortably, painfully aroused— as he watched Aventurine being pleasured by another man.
It had started the moment they arrived. Aventurine had taken one look at the handsome Divine Foresight of the Xianzhou and evidently set his sights on not only extending the IPC’s goodwill but a generous helping of his own.
And to Ratio’s immense displeasure, the General— who insisted they call him Jing Yuan— seemed to be entirely receptive, if not a bit amused, by Aventurine’s entirely unsubtle flirtations.
Ratio observed the man doing the mental math over the first couple days of their stay, clearly trying to ascertain if Aventurine and Ratio were together— as so many people seemed to do, for reasons unknown. And in the end, he surprised Ratio by asking outright as soon as Aventurine had flitted off to collect them another round of drinks from the proprietor of the small, intimate establishment Jing Yuan had brought them to.
“He’s quite the shrewd one,” Jing Yuan had commented lightly as soon as they were left alone. Ratio followed the other man’s golden gaze as it tracked Aventurine’s movements. He had hung up his flamboyant peacoat next to their booth, leaving him in only his vest and rolled up sleeves. It was rare to see him without the extra layer, and Ratio knew that if his own eyes were clinging to the curve of Aventurine’s lower back and the swell of his buttocks, certainly Jing Yuan’s were doing much the same.
“Shrewd is certainly a generous way of putting it,” he sighed, somewhat exasperated. “An existential threat to polite society would be the less tactful but significantly more accurate descriptor.”
It was one thing leaving Aventurine to his own devices; another thing entirely watching Aventurine flirt the proverbial pants off one of the most powerful men amongst the Alliance and having it amusedly returned, all right under Ratio’s nose. It was growing exceedingly difficult to maintain his composure.
“Forgive me for asking,” Jing Yuan continued. “But I was initially under the impression that the two of you were together. Was I mistaken?”
Ratio drummed his fingers on the gold-inlaid table top irritably.
“If by ‘together’ you mean romantically entangled, then you are indeed quite mistaken.” It came out a little more peevishly than he’d intended, but he was tired of fending off the question from everyone they encountered in the course of their work— moreover when it came from someone who had clear designs on Aventurine.
Jing Yuan hummed, idly performing a complicated series of folds with a paper napkin— embossed in gold leaf to match everything else in the vicinity, naturally.
“But you’d like to be,” he said, eyes on his delicate work.
Ratio glowered at the presumption, considerably more annoyed now that the inevitable follow-up question hadn’t been a question at all. What was the General even making, anyway? It certainly didn’t look like any of the usual animal motifs one would expect.
“You don’t need my permission to pursue him, if that’s what you’re ever so unsubtly angling after.” Ratio folded his arms in front of his chest, foot tapping against the carved wooden base of the booth. He pointedly did not look in the direction of the bar. “While I am indeed here as his business partner, I have no intention of trying to stop Aventurine from doing as he pleases— I don’t enjoy wasting my time on fruitless tasks inevitably doomed to failure. I simply request that you exercise judgment as to your timing and location. I require adequate sleep like any other man and I know he cares very little about such necessities.”
Jing Yuan hummed again, the corners of his mouth curling in an unreadable smile as his gaze lingered on Ratio’s face for a long moment before returning to his little napkin puzzle.
“You think I aim to drive a wedge between the two of you?”
His voice was casual but measured, as if he were simply gathering intelligence before laying out his tactical response. The Cloud Knight General truly was shrewd himself, laying out his observations in such a blunt manner. A less prepared individual than Ratio might have fallen into the trap of displaying some sort of emotional tell at this point, or else overly explaining themselves.
In a sense, Ratio could respect Jing Yuan’s approach— find commonality with it, even— but he didn’t want to discuss this matter with a man who’d known him for all of seventy two system hours. A man who, by Ratio’s estimations, was well on track to accomplish within three days what Ratio had failed to achieve over the course of several years.
Ratio gave him an unfriendly smile.
“There’s nothing whatsoever to divide. He would tell you much the same, were you to ask.”
Jing Yuan returned his smile, a soft and genial look upon his face. Ratio had the distinct feeling he was being silently laughed at.
“Interesting that you would jump to the conclusion that I wished to bed your companion. Would you believe my original question was merely intended to learn more about the two of you? You make a fascinating pair.”
“Do not make the mistake of insulting my intelligence, General.” Ratio was having a difficult time holding himself back from saying anything that might endanger the goodwill of the Luofu. Aventurine would never let him live it down if he were the one to send things careening sideways for once. “Your interest in him is plain. I see no reason to skirt around the evidence of my own eyes and ears.”
Jing Yuan seemed to regard Ratio then with a mixture of mutual respect and faint amusement— no longer laughing at him, per se, but still inexplicably entertained for some undisclosed reason.
“No,” he admitted, a wry, catlike smile creeping across his face. “You’re not wrong, Doctor. You’re just not entirely right, either.”
Ratio was about to demand further explanation but Aventurine’s unmistakable presence tickled at the periphery of his senses and he fell into a prickly silence instead.
“Well now, don’t you two look like you’re getting along famously.” Aventurine’s voice was all tease as he reclaimed his seat in the booth next to Ratio, depositing three drinks in front of them with nimble fingers. “Drink up, gentlemen. Especially you, Ratio, you look like you just swallowed a lemon. Would it kill you to unwind a little?”
“I’m perfectly fine as I am, thank you,” Ratio replied, accepting the drink Aventurine pushed his way. All three different cocktails. He didn’t bother asking what was in his— the gambler knew his preferences by now.
He studiously ignored the shared glance between the other two at his comment.
“Don’t tease him too much, it was my fault for prying,” Jing Yuan said amiably, and Ratio wanted to throttle him, because a hint like that was all it would take for Aventurine’s sharp mind to start spinning. Nous have mercy, he was surrounded.
“Ah, I’m sure you were fine. The good doctor just gets a little flustered now and again,” Aventurine grinned, rubbing his ankle against Ratio’s under the table and bumping their knees together. “He’s not used to being around more than one devastatingly handsome man at a time.”
Ratio felt his blood pressure rise in real time as Jing Yuan laughed— a real laugh, like it had been surprised out of him. In any other context, it might have been a pleasing sound.
“Shall I leave you two to your inane flirtations?” he spat, jerking his leg away from Aventurine’s, shifting to put some distance between them. “Let me remind you, I have actual work I could be doing even at this hour.”
“Ahh, Ratio, c’mon. You just make it too easy,” Aventurine waved a lazy hand at him, rings glinting in the sultry light. He did at least look a little apologetic around the eyes. “I really shouldn’t be so mean to you after I dragged you along. Try your drink, I think you’ll like it.”
Feeling like a sulky infant being placated with a bottle, Ratio took a grudging sip of his drink. Damn. It really was good. Aventurine had outdone himself yet again.
“This truly is my favorite little hidden gem on the Luofu when it comes to well-crafted cocktails.” Jing Yuan was sipping something with a lurid, shimmering turquoise hue from a lowball glass topped with a garnish that clearly evoked a peacock feather in both color and flamboyance.
Ratio felt a strange, nauseating spike pierce his stomach.
Was he…? No. Surely not. Jealousy was an absurd and illogical emotion which only served to point to a deeper issue wherein one’s needs were failing to be met. And he had no such needs of Aventurine. That wasn’t the nature of their partnership, no matter how the gambler loved to flirt. If he had designs on Jing Yuan, it was none of Ratio’s business.
He clenched his glass, only to look down and realize belatedly that his own cocktail was garnished exactly the same as the General’s. The sole difference was that his drink was a brilliant, bright magenta from what he quickly deduced was a base of schisandra berry and hibiscus tea, given the taste.
Ratio looked back to Aventurine and stared into those same brilliant shades surrounding his striking pupils. What was the meaning of this…?
He studied once more the glimmering little enameled peacock feather perched atop the rim of his glass. Ignored the light banter exchanged between the other two in favor of analyzing the evidence in front of him.
Was Aventurine flirting, in some abstract manner? Or subtly broadcasting his dominance over the social engagement by assigning such a specific garnish to both Ratio and Jing Yuan’s drinks? Aventurine’s own cocktail was markedly different — a tall glass filled with shimmering molten gold, garnished with an oblong bronze leaf and crimson red knotwork in the Xianzhou style…
Ratio narrowed his eyes in scrutiny, glancing at the ribbon tying back the General’s ample mane of hair. The color was a near-perfect match. Meanwhile, the laurel leaf was no motif of the Luofu, but of another planetary system altogether.
Ratio’s throat went dry.
Well. No wonder Aventurine had taken so long to get their drinks, if he’d been coordinating all of this. It suddenly seemed that leaving Ratio alone with the General might have served another purpose, as well.
He didn’t know whether to be flattered or frustrated. Because it still left him with too many questions. If Aventurine was so keen on pursuing Jing Yuan, why drag Ratio along? Likewise, why go out of his way to place his own possessive touch on Ratio’s drink as well as Jing Yuan’s? Why the laurel leaf?
Ratio had been certain that Aventurine was not interested in him — he had surmised by now that the cocky little sprite enjoyed teasing him, but had no designs beyond that. He’d grown plenty accustomed to the role, even if it chafed. So why was Jing Yuan’s presence prompting such sly, coded behavior?
Did Aventurine want him involved as some sort of witness? Was this part of some plot he’d cooked up without divulging any details because he knew Ratio was not entirely comfortable playacting? If so, Ratio failed to see the purpose. Leverage over Jing Yuan, perhaps, but to what end? Aventurine didn’t like playing rigged games, preferring to win based on his own luck and merits— so he must be aiming to use Jing Yuan in some way that wouldn’t compromise his intended fair win.
Ratio couldn’t make sense of it. All his hypotheticals petered out into baseless speculations, all of them too wildly out of character for Aventurine to pass muster. He needed more information. If Aventurine was flirting with both of them, or otherwise trying to flex his social dominance, there had to be good reason behind it. He wouldn’t go to such lengths for a trivial matter.
Ratio got his chance when Jing Yuan excused himself for the washroom. He waited until the other man was out of earshot, then looked to Aventurine with a raised brow.
“Care to let me in on your little plan, gambler?”
Aventurine turned toward him, having shamelessly been staring after Jing Yuan’s shoulders— or perhaps his ass, visible in his evening clothes without the armor.
“Mm? My little plan? What about it?”
“I think you’ll find me to be rather more cooperative once I’m enlightened as to your objectives,” Ratio pointed out, leaning in slightly. “What is your aim?”
Aventurine took a long sip of his drink through his straw, pinky extended as he balanced the glass between his other fingers. He held Ratio’s gaze for longer than was comfortable, then smiled to himself as he set the drink down.
“So eager to be of use, are we?” His eyes glimmered with something Ratio didn’t entirely know how to interpret.
“Will you kindly cease speaking in riddles,” Ratio demanded, attempting to remain quiet enough to avoid drawing attention. “The drinks. The garnishes. You’re up to something.”
“I am indeed,” Aventurine confirmed with an infuriatingly coy smile. “And you haven’t even finished yours. You should drink up, Doctor. I had that made especially for you, after all.”
Ratio regarded him through narrowed eyes, trying to discern his intent. He glanced back down to his own drink, then to Aventurine’s. Then to Jing Yuan’s.
“You’re trying to bed him, are you not?” He drummed his fingers on the table in annoyance. “Well, I can assure you, there’s no need to beat around the bush. He spoke of little else while you were occupied with obtaining these trifles.”
“Ah… did he now?” Aventurine didn’t sound at all surprised, which was something of a surprise to Ratio. Was he the only one missing something, here?
“Spit it out, already,” Ratio insisted, his patience running short as it so often did with the aggravating, petite blond man before him. “Why the secrecy if you were already aware of his intentions? Why even invite me along? As a chaperone, to keep you from making a political faux pas? Or am I meant to bear witness to some sort of illicit dealings no doubt hidden up your sleeve.”
“Such a brilliant mind,” Aventurine said, eyes trailing over him. “And yet you’re so far off the mark. Those garnishes really got you in a twist, didn’t they?”
“Tell me what you’re up to, damned gambler, or I will take my leave.” Ratio leveled a stare at him. He was serious. It would do him absolutely no good to remain here and watch the two of them make eyes at each other for the next few hours. Better he turn in early and get some rest, assuming he could get the image of their entwined bodies out of his mind.
“You really know how to crush a man’s spirits, don’t you?” Aventurine shook his head, sighing as he leaned in closer, scooting along the booth cushions. “Don’t leave just yet, alright? Please?” His eyes fixed intently upon Ratio from beneath half-lowered lids as his voice dropped into a sultry murmur. “Look, I’m even asking nicely.”
Ratio looked down at his wrist. Aventurine’s hand had loosely wrapped around it. He could feel the heat of his touch even through both of their gloves.
“Fine,” he acquiesced. “I will stay, for now, but I do expect an eventual explanation.”
“Of course. Have a little faith in me.” Aventurine’s touch withdrew on the very next breath, and Ratio found himself wondering if he hadn’t imagined it entirely. His companion hummed as he polished off his cocktail. There was distance between them once more. Ratio could breathe again. When had that become a problem?
“Ahh, General,” Aventurine called brightly, interrupting his musing. “I was just thinking how nice it would be to see some more of the Luofu’s enchanting nightlife. Any suggestions? I wouldn’t mind something a little on the wilder side.”
“The wilder side, hm?” Jing Yuan looked amused by the request, his handsome mouth curling into a wry grin. “I suppose I could indulge such a request from the IPC’s esteemed representative.”
Ratio suddenly regretted promising to stay. He was already picturing Jing Yuan’s broad hands sliding around Aventurine’s slim waist in the dark corner of another far seedier establishment than this. He didn’t need to see it happen in real time.
But, because the cosmos was clearly laughing at him, in very short order Ratio was treated to precisely that. Complete with Aventurine muffling a laugh with his hand as he allowed Jing Yuan to lean in and whisper something in his ear.
Ratio’s grip on his latest Aventurine-selected cocktail (thankfully with no absurd garnishes) was dangerously close to shattering glass. He felt hot all over. Ill with some unseen malady. He watched, stricken, as Jing Yuan’s hand gave a possessive squeeze to that soft divot above Aventurine’s hip, rumpling the turquoise silk. As Aventurine nodded at whatever the man was saying to him, a private little smile edging out past his cupped palm.
And then he looked right at Ratio, hand falling away to reveal the full curve of his mouth as it curled into a far more wicked grin. He seemed entirely too pleased at finding himself the subject of Ratio’s observation.
Ratio’s stomach flipped with spectacular aplomb. He thinned his lips, displeased that he’d so amateurishly allowed himself to be caught staring, and refocused his attention elsewhere. It was far too dark to make out many details of the other denizens moving about within this perfumed den of iniquity, but anything was better than—
“No, no,” Aventurine scolded, and then snapped his fingers. “Look here.”
Confused, Ratio turned back to him, then realized in another stomach-dropping moment that he’d just responded like a trained animal. Aventurine’s multichrome eyes positively glittered in the low light.
“Watch,” he instructed, and Ratio’s throat tightened, his whole body bursting into strange writhing tingles as he watched Aventurine tilt his head up and seek Jing Yuan’s mouth, the other man’s lips parting eagerly to accept him.
It was a filthy kiss right out the gate. Aventurine outright moaned when their tongues met and Jing Yuan tugged him closer, loud enough to be heard over the ambient music.
Ratio felt himself flash hot and then cold in rapid succession as he sat there in mounting discomfort— because as much as he desperately wanted to rip Jing Yuan away, there was a very specific part of him that was bizarrely enthralled by the show he was being given.
He should get up right now and leave. The absolute presumption of Aventurine telling him to stand by and watch as he let another man shamelessly pull him close and plunder his mouth— as he even more shamelessly let the hand that wasn’t holding his drink wander below Jing Yuan’s belt and cup the bulge in his trousers.
Ratio thought he might be sick with envy. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, not even to himself, but he could no longer deny that witnessing Aventurine in another man’s arms was exceptionally upsetting to him.
No, envy wasn’t quite it… not entirely. Because he couldn’t begrudge Jing Yuan for his desires, not when they were a mirror of his own. And the other man’s presence was not the true crux of the issue— for he was, admittedly, exceptionally attractive in his own right, and the two of them made for a disgustingly beautiful tableau.
The true source of all these ugly feelings tossing their heads and churning within his gut was that he, Ratio, had been so easily passed over. Had never even been considered. He would never expect someone like Aventurine to promise fidelity— he had only hoped, vainly, to remotely be included in the running.
To be made to watch the evidence of his own inadequacy playing out before him… to have it so gleefully rubbed in his face… this was intolerable.
Just as Ratio was about to force himself to leave before the situation grew even more untenable, Aventurine broke the kiss and turned to him. The eye contact crackling between them had Ratio’s guts in a sudden twist— a miserable pang of desire sparking to life low in the very pit of his stomach, pulling his pants taut as he swelled.
“You stayed put,” Aventurine said, sounding inordinately pleased. “Good.”
A very strange heat bloomed within him at the mark of approval. Ratio found himself, for once in his life, utterly lost for words. He’d started clenching his fist against his thigh at some point. It was a miracle he hadn’t shattered his drink by now. He was angry. He was aroused. He loathed himself at this moment for not knowing what to do.
“I think,” Aventurine said, clearly not expecting a response, “that I’d like to retire, gentlemen. Perhaps the two of you would be so kind as to escort me back to my rooms?”
Ratio was getting whiplash from this. Our rooms, he wanted to say, but couldn’t. He swallowed down the remainder of his drink to wet his dry throat, to try to respond, but Jing Yuan beat him to the punch.
“Of course, Director.” His voice was a low, smooth purr, just audible over the background noise of the bar and the strangely sultry soundtrack they’d been playing. “I’m sure the esteemed doctor and I can see you there safely.”
The General’s thumb was still stroking over the side of Aventurine’s stomach through the silk. Ratio felt a pang of hopeless desire swim through him, blurring his vision.
“Wonderful,” said Aventurine, smiling coy at him before stepping out of his embrace and towards Ratio, who immediately stiffened as he drew near. His lips shone with saliva. Ratio wanted to lick the taste of Jing Yuan right off of him, which was just one more startling realization to add to the pile.
“Come along, Doctor.” Aventurine lifted his drink to Ratio’s lips, voice soft and pointed all at once. “Here, before we go. Help me finish this, won’t you?”
It was a wide, low coupe glass— which Aventurine had miraculously managed to avoid spilling during his little dalliance with the Cloud General’s mouth, perhaps owing to that unerring luck of his— so Ratio was left to look him dead in his arrestingly beautiful eyes as he deigned to take a sip from the glass, his heart pounding. Floral and light with something darker, almost honeyed beneath.
He was letting himself be fed like a dog and yet all he could feel was the prickling, electric warmth humming just beneath his skin as Aventurine regarded him with something between satisfaction and surprise. It took effort to swallow. He felt his mouth flood with saliva as he allowed Aventurine to tip the glass a little more, making him polish it off.
“Perfect,” came the next round of praise, and Ratio just stared at him wordlessly, blankly. Uncertain of the very ground beneath his feet.
Was this… consideration?
Aventurine turned to leave, and all he could do was follow.
xx