Chapter Text
“You want to… quit ?” Topaz asked.
Aventurine sighed and smirked, crossing his legs where he sat on the top of her desk. Numby had decided to make their spot be right next to the gambler, on top of the papers that littered the desk, cuddled up to his side. Aventurine scratched their head idly while Topaz stared at him dumbfounded, and Numby stared at him like a warp trotter does ( if it even does? it doesn’t look like it has eyes…) .
“Something wrong with that?” He snarked, sending a cocky smile towards Topaz.
Topaz’s mouth gaped open. “Y-you… What? What do you mean, quit? Where are you going? How—”
“Does it matter?” Aventurine toyed with a dice in his hands. “Anywhere else. The Herta Space Station has some cute jelly cats, maybe I’ll pester that genius there. Or I was thinking about a nice long stay at the Luofu, I hear their culture and food are excellent.”
“After all that in Penacony, you just want to… quit.” Topaz ran her hand down her face in exasperation. “I lent you my cornerstone for that. Jade, too. You shattered yours. Diamond isn’t just gonna let you quit. And-” she exhaled sharply, “you risked your life for this project. You would normally, I don't know, at least stick around to reap the rewards, whatever they are!”
“I already cleared it with Jade, don’t worry. I’m promoted to P46, technically. But I’m also quitting.” Aventurine absent-mindedly toyed with a coin in his hand, amused at his coworkers reaction—not that it wasn't a reasonable one to have.
Topaz raised an eyebrow in annoyance and crossed her arms. “...I’m sorry, run that by me again. You’re both promoted, and quitting?”
“You could say I… renegotiated the terms of my employment.” Aventurine rolled the dice in his hands on Topaz’s desk and Numby watched them clack across the table with fascination. Double sixes. How uninteresting , Aventurine thought with annoyance. “I’m going part-time .”
Topaz looked only momentarily shocked before suddenly unamused. “If you’re done pulling pranks, you’re sitting on the contracts I have to review. Move–”
“Haha, I’m serious! Made a deal, I’m no longer indebted to the IPC because,” Aventurine chuckled darkly, “believe it or not, my service to the IPC so far has been worth far more than my life , so I get to keep the latter. Now, I get to just work for the money.”
Haha. As if.
“...Like there was ever anything else. C’mon, Aventurine, there are no part-timers in the IPC. Not above P40. Or even P30. What are you talking about?”
Ignoring her, Aventurine elected to move on. “So this is a goodbye to the beautiful partnership we had together as Senior Strategic Investment Department heads. Now I’m just some contractor who does whatever whenever he’s needed.” He plucked the dice from the table back into his pocket and lazily scratched Numby’s head with his other hand, grinning widely the whole time. A fool would believe his smile was genuine, anyone with a brain would know it’s fake, but only someone with multiple doctorates (eight, maybe) would see that underneath both of those layers, something in him was genuinely satisfied and free.
“Aventurine, I have a meeting in thirty minutes–” Topaz moved to push on Aventurine’s shoulder and he relented, sliding off of the desk to lean on it instead. As she sorted through the now messy pile of papers, she continued. “Unless you’re really trying to tell me that you just negotiated your way into… I don’t even know what you’re trying to tell me, that you’re working less hours?” She scoffed. “There’s no ‘hours’ as a stoneheart, just work.”
“It’s true!” he exclaimed, laughing. “I’m not even technically under Jade now, you could check with her if you wanted.”
After deliberating for a moment, Topaz sighed and just leaned forward on her hands where they rested on the desk. “You’re really not joking, are you.”
“Indeed I am not, friend,” Aventurine said, still smiling, this time less gleefully, instead with arrogance. Topaz leaned up to look him in the eyes, and suddenly Aventurine felt more vulnerable somehow, despite the thin veil of his tinted glasses.
“So why’d you tell… me?”
…That stung a little. Barely wincing, Aventurine laughed. “Oh come on, aren’t we close coworkers? I just wanted to bid farewell to our wonderful collaboration one final time. For all the good times?”
Topaz didn’t look impressed. Aventurine knew that they were just coworkers more than anything else, but still, after all the projects together, he felt they understood each other better than any of the other dimwits of the corporation. Or at least, they understood each other’s work approach… and, really, what else did one have other than that, being owned by the IPC?
Topaz must’ve realized something to that effect when her gaze softened. It struck annoyingly gently at Aventurine’s stone-heart, her piercing eyes, just looking at Aventurine wordlessly. Whatever she was seeing, he felt the instinctual desire to hide it . Fighting to ignore that urge, he instead chose to reveal his gift.
“Here, consider it something to remember me by,” he said, handing her a small box about the size of two hands. It was ridiculously ordained with gold, something Aventurine had tried to stop himself from ordering, but couldn’t resist when he saw the option to customize the patterns around it. He elected to make them elegantly running Warp trotters, having spent far too much time and money on requesting design changes from the artist.
She took the box wearily, beginning to ask “What is this–” before she took the lid off and saw a delightful little golden statue of herself and Numby playing together. He smiled at the result, having extensively reviewed the product prior. Something began to shine in Topaz’s eyes. Aventurine thought he was just being sentimentally delusional—no one actually got sparkles in their eyes from glee—before he saw the water welling up in her eyes drop down into tears.
“It’s me and Numby,” she sniffed, prompting Numby to perk up and shuffle closer to rub against her arm. “Did you… get this custom made? How… long did it take for it to finish? Aeons, how many credits did you spend on this?” Topaz took a second to wipe away a tear before resuming holding the sculpture with both hands, almost in reverence.
Aventurine attempted to look unaffected, but knew that it wasn’t really working. Topaz was right, this was a strange thing to do. They’re coworkers. Not friends. Not that any of his other friends were really “friends,” either. He’d never seen her like this.
“It was a cute idea, right?” He managed to say, albeit with a slight squeak in his voice.
Topaz laughed and gently placed the statue on her desk. “I love it.”
“Haha, I’m glad–”
Then Topaz rested a hand over his shoulder, not quite touching, just hovering. Somehow, she must’ve known… how sick it made him feel when he was touched without warning. When water began to pool in his own eyes, he willed it away with determination. It wouldn’t hurt for one hug, he thought, and pulled Topaz into one.
“Thanks for making work slightly bearable on occasion,” he said. If she’d ever mention it, he’d deny the quiver in his voice, but he could only cringe and bear the embarrassment in the moment.
Numby grunted and begged from where they were stationed on the table. Aventurine chuckled, broke the hug, and picked them up.
“Do you need attention now? The statue’s of you too, you know,” he smiled.
Topaz sighed. “I really do have to get to my meeting soon, but I’ll send you my personal number.” She pulled out her phone and began typing on it. In no time at all, he felt his phone buzz with a notification, and sure enough, it was Topaz’s work number with her personal contact. “We can be friends outside of work too, idiot; real friends, so don’t say stuff like ‘something to remember me by.’ It makes it sound like you’re dying.”
Aventurine scratched Numby’s ears, smiling but not trying to face her with his embarrassingly puffy eyes. “Please, I’ve only dreamed of that,” he joked, setting Numby back down onto the desk.
She exhaled harshly through her nose. “Very funny, just text me, okay? And you better not find a way to die in a dream or reality during your part time– why are you even– look, I’ll ask you about it later, I’ve gotta go.” Topaz swiped a folder from the desk and brought Numby up onto her shoulder, whining at being taken away from the attention they were getting from Aventurine.
“Alright! Farewell, business partner,” he said.
“Lock my office!” She called, already halfway out the door.
Aventurine sighed and let a little bit of the mask slip in the absence of onlookers, gazing fondly at the golden statue of his friend and her dear companion.
In the following days, they texted as promised. He’d never explain to her why he sought less work, needed more time. If Topaz were to question Aventurine’s motives or plans, she was only answered with skillful dodging and redirection, despite her numerous attempts. She didn’t need to know, after all. Friends were weapons to the Avgins, and Aventurine wasn’t a fool enough to arm them with secrets of his own.
It’s never shown in movies just how long a person waited for their mysterious entrance. People didn’t just appear dramatically, they planned, snuck, and lied their way into that sudden shock you’d get when you spotted someone in a place they weren’t supposed to be. Like a debt collector lounging casually on your back porch. Or a gambler in a professor’s office, say, in the University of Veritas Prime. And how long he’d been waiting there.
Precisely, around forty-five system minutes. And more to come. Aventurine had no idea what classes that professor was teaching or even a vague idea of when they would end. He was aware that the doctor would be teaching sometime today at least, and would have office hours directly after (as he always did), but that was the extent of Aventurine’s knowledge. He’d only barely snooped around their website and records for a bit before deciding that it bored him, and there was no real stakes for showing up while the doctor was still teaching a class, just some waiting time. Precisely, around forty-five system minutes of it.
He’d spent some of it looking through the office, but it was hardly as entertaining as one would think. Ratio’s office was immaculately clean, devoid of any interestingly scattered personal items, journals, or, really any insight into his life. There was an excess of personal achievements and honors mounted on the wall, but everyone already knew about that particular side of him. The lesser known bath-loving side, however, had no current memorabilia in the office… hm, a thought for later , Aventurine mentally noted. But there was nothing blackmailable, obviously, for his students would regularly visit for supplementary resources. Aventurine himself had been there countless times before, pulling the same stunt as he was now, or just waltzing in even if Ratio was speaking with a student. The office never had anything new or interesting about it after the first time, to the Avgin’s great displeasure.
Aventurine let out a small chuckle as he found himself looking at the numerous marble busts on top of the bookshelf. That unchanging, egotistical vanity, he’d never stop finding amusing.
Finally, he heard the door handle begin to turn. He thought of striking an interesting pose, but decided that being in Ratio’s chair with his feet kicked up on the desk should be good enough to provoke the doctor.
Ratio walked in, mid sentence to a student that was diligently following behind him and jotting down notes. Aventurine grinned, eager for the adorable lecture the doctor would undoubtedly give him next, but when Ratio’s eyes locked with his own, the doctor just fell silent. The student did as well, looking between Ratio and Aventurine, down to their notes, then back at Ratio for guidance.
Oh , okay. We’re playing this game instead. Aventurine’s face remained in what he knew was a frustratingly smug grin, and kept silent. A stare down , he thought. How original of you, doctor.
Ratio narrowed his eyes at Aventurine, who only smiled wider.
Apparently, they’d been silent long enough for the student to clear their throat. It garnered neither of their attentions.
“Um, Doctor Ratio…?”
“Send your remaining questions and concerns to me by email,” Ratio commanded his student, not breaking eye contact. “This is an inconvenient time. You may leave now.”
“Right, uh, thank you,” they mumbled and politely excused themself from the room, the door shutting with a satisfying click as it closed behind them.
It left an awkward silence—it was a game, of course, of who would bite first. Speak first. Make first contact after everything that happened in Penacony, make the opening marks before they’d get down to business. But, unlike (almost) every meeting before, Aventurine came with no instructions from the IPC and no official reason to actually be there. He didn’t even really have anything snarky to say (yet).
“Did you barge into my office for no other reason than to sit and stare at me, gambler?” Ratio remarked, crossing his arms and huffing.
Aventurine laughed. “‘Course not, doctor. I just wanted to see who’d break that awkwardly tense silence first. You lost.”
“You make even the most mundane of interactions into some ridiculous game.”
“True,” he admitted, “and yet, you always seem eager to play.”
Ratio exhaled harshly but did not respond, so Aventurine marked one point in his favor mentally. Ratio’s intimidating expression might leave his students shuddering in fear, but it didn’t do much against Aventurine. Speaking of students, he thought.
“Ratio, you’re practically naked today. Teaching without that gorgeous bust of yous? Very bold. Your students must have found it hard to focus.” Doctor Ratio never blushed or turned red, at least, not that Aventurine had seen, but the slight furrow in his brow was unmistakable. Aventurine could recognize what it meant immediately. Flustered .
“I don’t wear it while I work. The student I was speaking to happened to be one of my few bearable pupils, so I removed it for more effective personal communication.”
“Picking favorites, are you? Can’t say I’m surprised. While you walked in, I didn’t hear you call them an idiot even once.”
“Quit your blabbering. What are you really here for?”
Aventurine feigned hurt and put his hand to his heart. “Ouch, doctor. Can’t a man see his friends without any ulterior motive?”
“You—” Ratio started, seemingly ready to continue through onto an angry lecture, to berate Aventurine for always using pretenses of familiarity before finally getting down to business. But he stopped suddenly, to Aventurine’s surprise, some kind of mental double take evident in the doctor’s eyes. His tone adjusted from frustration to calculated neutrality.
“...Do you consider us friends?”
Aventurine flinched. He recalled what Ratio said in the interview “Keeping up with Star Rail,” I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but he is… not awful to work with. So it could be assumed that Ratio didn’t consider Aventurine a friend, but Aventurine’s own feelings…
He could be candid with Ratio, say that he was the closest Aventurine had to a friend. Well, a ‘friend,’ not a friend . Whichever was real, whichever was one you weren’t supposed to use like tools. But Aventurine wasn’t ready to gamble with their fragile dynamic yet , so the best move was to play it jokingly and leave Ratio to calculate whether it was a slip of the tongue or another game Aventurine played. It was more fun that way, anyway.
“Doctor, you wound me. The fact that you even have to ask…” Aventurine sniffed and wiped his eyes dramatically, purposefully cracking his voice. “How tragic…”
“Enough, Aventurine. Why are you really here?”
He dropped the front of sadness immediately, smiling again. “I wanted to return a gift.” He kicked his foot out against the side of the desk to send the chair rolling back slightly, and stood up. Reaching a hand in his pocket, he produced Doctor Ratio’s vial containing the note, and held it in an outstretched palm.
The impossible in the Dreamscape is not "Death," but rather "Dormancy."
Do stay alive. I wish you the best of luck.
“Oh,” Ratio said, making no move to take it.
Oh? Aventurine thought. That’s all you have to say?
Aventurine scoffed. “Honestly, Ratio, you have to watch what you write. Stuff like ‘do stay alive,’ and ‘I wish you the best of luck’ strike the heart a little differently while engulfed in Nihility.”
“Tch. It was a foolish gamble.”
“You can say that, but you wished me luck with it, too, didn’t you?”
Ratio paused and said nothing. He spared only a glance at the vial in Aventurine’s hand before returning his gaze back to his eyes.
“Keep it.”
“Wha- really? Isn’t this vial like, custom made or something? It’s got the Intelligentsia Guild owl on it and everything. Honestly, I don’t even know why you had it in the first place.”
“I have countless others like it.”
“So, what’s one more?”
“ Keep it . I have no use for it,” Ratio insisted. Aventurine thought he might. He’d used the opportunity to try and draw a confession of some sort of affection out of it, but alas. I have no use for it was going to be the best he’d get. He sighed.
“Fine, well, at least allow me to return the gesture,” Aventurine said. Returning the vial to his pocket, he produced another item and held it out to a perplexed Ratio.
“What is…” Ratio squinted, trailing off and analyzing the item.
It was a stone statue of a rubber duck, the same size as a real one might be, with the laurel wreath decoration on the sides of its head, just as Ratio had.
“Not like you could put it in a bath, but I thought it might look at home in your office rather than mine.” Aventurine gestured to the stone busts and general grecian decor and chuckled to himself. As if he had just happened to have a stone rubber duck on hand.
Ratio was quick to respond, turning his head up as if he was better than this, though Aventurine knew he wasn’t. “I refuse. I’m not sure what kind of bribery you’re attempting, but I’m not so easily swayed to accept strange gifts. For all I know, there’s a hidden listening device within it.”
“Haha, always on your toes, doctor.” Aventurine set down the duck on the desk and shrugged. “You can inspect it thoroughly for cameras or bugs if you want, but you’re not going to find any.”
“You know I’m just going to get rid of it, right? What use would anyone have for such an item?”
“I don’t know, what use does anyone ever have for rubber ducks, doctor ?”
Ratio furrowed his brow again and looked away, and that was all the affirmation Aventurine needed. He likes it , Aventurine thought.
“Well, that’s all for me. Sorry to interrupt your office hours, Professor~”
Ratio glared out of the side of his eye, his head turned slightly away from the gambler. “Hmph. As you should be. I was working through some very productive material with my student.”
“I’m sure any favorite of yours is smart enough to figure it out on their own.”
Aventurine made for the doorway but was stopped by Ratio’s arm hovering in the air in front of him, blocking the way.
“Wait,” he’d said.
…Interesting.
He turned and smirked at Ratio. “Mhm?”
Ratio took a barely audible breath in his pause before proceeding to speak.“...Are you alright?”
A moment of tense silence passed. Aventurine had a few options. The truth was out of the question, and a lie might’ve been too obvious for Ratio. He could act like he didn’t know what he was talking about. The question was vague enough to dodge easily, and Aventurine didn’t know if Ratio would make his concerns about Penacony explicit or not. He could just not answer, but…
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Aventurine settled on saying.
Ratio sighed deeply. “You were first imprisoned by the Harmony, or should I say, the Order, in a painfully slow sentencing to death, killed and swallowed by the Nihility to resurface in another dream, then imprisoned in the same dream by that man . I was under that effect too, of course, but only briefly and largely painlessly thanks to the Astral Express’ efforts. On top of that, I don’t have the same relationship with my autonomy as say, one who was previously enslaved would.”
…
Well, how abundantly blunt of you, doctor.
“Didn’t know you thought so much about me~” He flirted.
Ratio was having none of it. “...I’ll ask again. Are you alright?”
Aventurine felt his smile wither and die on his face. “I’ve been through worse.”
That earned a quiet sigh from the doctor. He watched Aventurine with what must’ve been pity in his eyes, or some kind of… guilt. Aventurine couldn’t tell. He was always a little harder to read than other people. Ratio inhaled deeply, then averted his gaze to the window of his office. The natural light of the sun glowed slightly golden on his face, and Aventurine couldn’t help but admire it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have let himself get so preoccupied, should’ve prepared a defense instead of admiring the vain beauty of the man in front of him, for he neglected to consider that the doctor would continue speaking so candidly . So very him .
Each word came slowly and with obviously practiced neutrality. “I’m deeply sorry for… how the events unfolded. I… would have preferred-” Ratio sighed, looking disgruntled at himself for the way his words fell so slowly out of his mouth. “It was not ideal,” he finished.
…It would be pathetic for such a stilted statement to pull at the heart strings, but Aventurine was not above calling himself pathetic.
“Sorry about what, doctor?” Aventurine chuckled, not so sure he sounded as composed as he would’ve liked. “That carefully planned betrayal? Everything you did aligned perfectly for what I needed. The only thing that mucked things up a little was Sunday giving me that… religious conversion whatever. But it worked out, didn’t it?”
Ratio frowned and turned to face Aventurine. He looked concerned, but his expression was quickly schooled once again to neutrality. “Indeed.”
Aventurine scoffed playfully. “Don’t look so down in the dumps, doc. Didn’t you get an extra perk out of the whole deal? Sunday offered you information, right? Knowledge as currency. How very Intelligentsia Guild of him.” Through the pit in his stomach, the gambler also felt the mirth imbued with the whole ordeal. The head of the family emanating Ratio’s style to get one up on Aventurine? Clever, maybe, but almost pathetic.
“Tch. Don’t remind me,” Ratio said. “That man never got around to providing anything before he disappeared, presumably through the Dreamscape’s Death just as you and the others had. And then, of course, the Charmony festival disaster. Not that his information would’ve been of great help. If I wanted to study a Stellaron, there are numerous opportunities for me to do so elsewhere in the universe. I-”
Ratio paused to deliberate briefly, then made a point of staring Aventurine in the eyes for his next sentence. He felt uneasy under the concentrated gaze of the professor.
“ I would never take a bribe in exchange for a life, ” he stated resolutely, perhaps defensively. His eyes sparked with the fire of determination and justice, uncompromising morals on display through his stoic gaze. At least, that’s what his fan club would say. Aventurine wasn’t above being labeled a part of his fan club either, though.
He wanted to laugh. Of course the good doctor wouldn’t take such a bribe, not for anyone; rich or poor, intelligent or idiotic. Maybe he should, he thought. I wonder what sixty Tambas (red coins) would be worth to a scholar like him. He looked down and played with the edge of his gloves and smirked.
“I know.”
“...Hmph.” Ratio broke his intense stare to gaze solemnly out the window once again. It only took a moment before he turned back suddenly to glare at Aventurine. “Don’t distract me! You still haven’t properly responded to my question.”
“Huh? Didn’t I just respond?” Aventurine provoked, knowing what Ratio meant. The question Are you alright? rung out softly in his head. He wasn’t sure whether a faked I’m okay or a continuance of the playful dodging would get him in more trouble. Maybe he should’ve elected to not respond in the first place.
“Ugh. I should’ve known better than to attempt sincerity with a moronic gambler.” Ratio spoke with that annoyingly arrogant tone of his, turning his chin upward and scoffing. Aventurine felt the tension in his body ease slightly. Good, he thought. We’re back to normal. This feels normal.
“ So sorry to disappoint on the therapy session, doctor, but as I recall, out of your eight doctorates, I don’t think any of them are in psychology.”
“And does every idiot who asks how a friend is doing need a degree for it?” Ooh, doctor , Aventurine thought. Shouldn’t have said that.
“Are you calling yourself an idiot?” He teased.
“It was purely a hypothetical.”
Aventurine sighed. “Such a shame. And I thought you were calling me your friend , too.”
Ratio furrowed his brows at that. What a surprise… Doctor, are you shy about us being friends? How cute. Though, he could be peeved instead. Hard to tell with him. Aventurine smiled.
Ratio cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, I thank you for the gift.” He picked up the stone duck, examining it for a second. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to keep it.” He walked over and placed it on one of the shelves of his bookshelf, sat next to other Intelligentsia Guild decor, owls and statues, alongside some miscellaneous awards and plaques—and a good deal of books. Interesting, that they weren't sorted onto the other shelves of books.
“Hah. I thought you said it was useless?”
“In gift-giving, it’s the gesture that matters. Surely I needn’t lecture you on the principle given you just exemplified it.” Ratio straightened the items on the shelf carefully, aligning everything to be parallel to the edges.
“Aw, so he accepts the gesture. Thank the Aeons above.”
Turning from the bookshelf and crossing his arms, Ratio rolled his eyes at Aventurine. “Tch. If you’re done with your foolish facade, there is work for me to do.”
“If you say so, Doc. I’ll leave you be.” Aventurine chucked and began to swivel on his heel when the doctor interjected and squinted at him, furrowing his brow.
“Wait.”
Ooh, a second “wait.” He really wants me to stick around. Aventurine aborted his turn and held his hands out at Ratio questioningly. Well?
“Are you neglecting your duties as an employee of the IPC purposefully, or are you simply that forgetful?”
It was Aventurine’s turn, then, to furrow his brow. “Uhh, what am I supposed to be remembering?”
“...Don’t you have documents to deliver to me, a memo, a project that they want me to collaborate on… something… What are you here for?” Ratio looked genuinely confused. Aventurine loved when he got that look out of him.
“Now who’s being forgetful, or do you tune out what I say on purpose? I already told you, it was to return a gift. But if you don’t want it back, I’ll count myself lucky. A souvenir from the Doctor Ratio would sell for millions of credits to your fanclub.” Perhaps something should’ve stung in Aventurine’s chest, hearing that Ratio thought this was a purely business meeting, but instead it evoked glee. He can’t read me , he thought. That, or he’s insecure and really doesn’t think I’d want to be near him. Hah. Not with his ego.
Aventurine raised his eyebrows at Ratio, watching his facial expression. Shame. I can’t really read him that well either. Ratio’s face remained blank, contemplative, for seconds of silence while Aventurine scrutinized it. He opened his mouth once, closed it, then inhaled before speaking.
“...Thank you for the gift, Aventurine.” He was being careful and calculated about each word again. Aventurine grew internally frustrated, unable to decipher Ratio’s intent. “I am… surprised you are not here on business. But… I… appreciate it nonetheless.”
Aventurine scoffed. “You’re being unusually grateful. What’s got you so formal?”
“I am trying to be nice. It’s typically what people do in response to being given something, or am I mistaken?”
“The gift of my presence?”
“ The duck. ”
Aventurine cackled. As much as he wanted to just stare at Ratio’s adorably frustrated face, he couldn’t stay for that very reason. So he turned, still smiling and laughing, and waltzed out the door, hearing a huff coming from the office just before the door clicked into place.
I should send him more.
There were only so many credits you could spend on quality bath salts before the purpose stopped being quality and started becoming luxury . Doctor Ratio would protest against such an idea as name brand products being more expensive simply out of status instead of genuine substance. But Aventurine knew him better than that—Ratio liked luxury goods just as much as Aventurine. So he splurged on both high quality and high luxury bathing products, hair gels, bath bombs, soaps… and really, anything else he could think of.
A golden soap holder in the shape of a mini bathtub? Absolutely . Ridiculously ordained towels said to be the softest in the universe? Oh, perfect! Clinically proven moisturizer and included skincare set, ethically sourced materials and a company founder with a scientific background? Ratio would love this .
By the end of Aventurine’s shopping spree, he had quite the collection. Most of it was ordered online to arrive in a couple of days (of course he’d paid for express shipping, why wait?), which Aventurine routed to his own apartment so he could organize them together properly with his separately ordered golden rubber-duck themed containers. But it would take a few days until then, so Kakavasha had some spare time for his actual project. He couldn’t spend all day charming a coworker who could barely stand him, after all. There was work to do—work he could only do thanks to the time he’d been afforded in ‘quitting’ his job.
Guess I better get started , he thought, stretching his arms up and sighing as he relaxed, turning his tablet on and opening an application. He was especially at ease in the comfort of his own home, with a little kitty-cake warbling softly as they slept in his lap. He thought to himself,
I didn’t get time off for nothing .