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[stonehearts]

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[stonehearts]

You do, don't you.

( couldn't be aventurine. )

How much time do I have left, Doc?

[percipi]

Evidently. You have four minutes and twenty-two seconds.

Twenty-one.

[stonehearts]

( it is with fifty-two seconds remaining that aventurine slides onto the stool next to ratio, giving him a flirtatious wave of his fingers before waving over the bartender for a drink. )

Just in time. And look, I didn't come empty handed.

( aventurine places a thin book on the bar between them -- a rare manuscript about something that he doesn't understand but figures is probably up ratio's alley. he'd won it during his last gamble, and had thought of the other man immediately. after all, he has no reason to keep something like that around. )

[percipi]

[ The book is, unfortunately, appealing, and Ratio looks it over, front and back, before he... Carefully places it aside for proper perusal later. When he's not... Distracted. ]

I have yet to hear an apology.

[stonehearts]

( gotcha. aventurine smiles, slow and practiced. )

I'm here, aren't I? But if you're going to insist--

[percipi]

[ He scowls, shoving his drink towards him gently. ]

Stop being so irritating.

[stonehearts]

( it's easy to hide a real smile against the rim of his drink as he takes a sip, bright eyes flashing. )

Better than the crime of being boring.

[percipi]

[ Ugh, disgusting. But there's a bubble of fondness all the same. ]

A crime too many are guilty of.

[stonehearts]

Would you say it's worse than being an idiot, Doc?

( considering how often ratio lambasts everyone from not being able to match his intelligence. which isn't really fair -- not everyone can earn eight doctorates. )

[percipi]

In some situations.

[ Not everyone can be this much of a fucking bitch, either. ]

Are you going to explain yourself?

[stonehearts]

( yeah, that's a ratio specialty. )

Would you believe me if I said work ran long?

[percipi]

No.

[ Fruitless, to lie, but. ]

[stonehearts]

Maybe I just wanted to see how long you'd wait.

( that's as much of the truth as aventurine wants to give. )

Anyway. I'm guessing this isn't just a casual chat. You don't seem the type.

[percipi]

Another gamble that has paid off.

[ Ratio reaches down, grabbing the drink and. Drinking it. Fuck. ]

No. I am going to be absent from this weekend onwards, and I thought it best to inform you.

[stonehearts]

Oh? ( that gets a raised eyebrow. ) How... unusual. Don't tell me you're finally taking a vacation.

( not if he's drinking like that he's not. )

[percipi]

No. I am having a medical procedure performed.

[ So he will be indisposed, obviously. ]

[stonehearts]

( well.

that's unexpected. aventurine blinks away his surprise, propping himself up on his elbow as he leans into the other man's personal space for a brief second. )

You don't look ill. Unless you've decided to use one of those doctorates of yours to self-diagnose, in which case-- ( he shrugs. ) The doctor knows best.

[percipi]

No, I sought a second opinion and found a professional to carry out the procedure.

[ Another drink. Phew. ]

It will be some months until I am fully recovered.

[stonehearts]

Months?

( he should probably leave it alone. he does, in fact, leave it alone.

for about five seconds -- the time it takes to school his face better so the concern that's crawling up his gut doesn't show. )

There's very little these days that require that long of a recovery period.

( and he is currently attempting to go through all of them, one after another, and match up any symptoms to the man sitting in front of him. ugh, this would be easier if he could put in a request for ratio's medical records with jade and actually get them. )

[percipi]

I'm quite aware. It is, unfortunately, an unavoidable complication.

[ It isn't, of course. He could tell the man beside him how he feels, but he chooses not to. He's weighed his options, put the thought in, and now... He knows what the only good outcome is.

Liberation from doubt. ]

If there is anything you need me to do, now is the time to say it.

[stonehearts]

( he's rapidly going through possible diseases, though there's one his mind keeps tripping over. but that's--

aventurine can't even begin to unpack the knot starting to form in his stomach. )

Stay for another drink? Unless you can't possibly keep yourself away from my gift any longer.

( he needs to buy himself more time. )

[percipi]

I can permit you one more. You would’ve had more than that, had you been on time.

[ The reality being, of course, he wants to have a little more time with this warm, content feeling inside of him. A little more time pretending.

A pathetic display of emotion. ]

[stonehearts]

( yeah, yeah. aventurine waves the chastising away as if he's hardly bothered by the idea of wasting ratio's time. that he waited three hours is probably more than anyone else he knows would.

that's the last truth he's going to allow hanging around tonight, however, and he slides into something easier for what he's going to ask next. because he's exhausted the list, and is willing to hedge his bets.

luck is always on his side. )

So. ( he says, taking a larger sip from his drink than usual before allowing nonchalance to color his voice. ) Who is it?

( aventurine does not look at ratio. he can't. his own feelings aren't the issue here, when it's ratio who's going to be undergoing surgery to remove the flowers from his lungs. which is so very like him, aventurine concludes, avoiding the obvious answer in favor of one that can have a assured outcome.

he just hopes the other poor sod never finds out. )

[percipi]

[ Ah.

He should have counted on this. For all that Aventurine might play the fool, the idle gambler with no wisdom to support his clever little insights, there’s no denying that he has the intelligence to back it up. To be a few steps ahead of everyone around him, to know what bet to make to get the outcome he most wants. It seems only natural that he would deduce the condition with scarce information.

Very little these days require such a long period of recovery. He has no outward symptoms. Therefore, a conclusion can be drawn - a gamble can be risked. Ratio sighs. ]

Irrelevant.

[ He wishes he had started drinking three hours ago.

He wishes he had left.

He wishes a lot of things that betray his confident mind. ]

Telling you would serve no purpose.

[stonehearts]

( he's not sure if the unspoken conformation is better or worse. aventurine is well aquatinted with the side effects of his luck by now, of losing everything but what keeps him alive, and knowing the way the chips fall there's no point in guessing, is there? ratio won't tell him. that wouldn't mean a damn thing normally.

except aventurine wants to know how long he'll wait for him. if there is something he'll do for him that he won't do for anyone else. if the other man thinks about what aventurine might like the way he does about ratio. if he could spin the time spent with veritas ratio into longer chunks, hour by hour, until one day one of them stays the night.

aventurine is very aware that he loves doctor veritas ratio. he knows his luck. and he knows that the only way for ratio to love him back is if he'd rather cut the damn emotion out instead. )

I mean, I get it. ( the mask cracks with a hard laugh, a twist of aventurine's lips as he finally looks at ratio. ) I wouldn't want to be in love with me, either.