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It was a common occurrence for Veritas Ratio to be tasked with research projects from the IPC. It was also a common occurrence for Veritas Ratio to be difficult to track down when his fellow researchers on the project needed him most. (“I am not going to slow down for them,” Veritas told Screwllum once. “If they cannot keep up with me, and they make no attempt to try and change that, I have no qualms with leaving them behind.”) However, as troublesome as the doctor’s disappearances were to his research partners, it became common knowledge that one simply had to ask Aventurine to learn of the doctor’s location. Screwllum was certain that Veritas never told Aventurine where he was going, yet the gambler always seemed to know where Veritas was.
So, when Screwllum was unable to locate his fiancée at the business gala the IPC was holding, the next person he went to find was Aventurine. And with a bright teal suit and boisterous laughter alerting all to his presence, Aventurine was hardly difficult to track down. Even when competing against the glittering, diamond chandeliers illuminating the room and the shining marble floors reflecting the guests like a mirror, Aventurine still ended up being the center of attention.
Screwllum waited until Aventurine had finished talking with another guest before approaching him. “Aventurine, good evening. Question-”
“Your boyfriend is hiding behind a pillar on the second floor.” With one hand, Aventurine gestured up towards one of the large marble pillars on the second floor. It was dark up there, with not one beam of light from the chandeliers illuminating the hall. It was a perfect place to hide.
Aventurine downed the drink he was holding, swallowing the alcohol in a single gulp. He didn’t look at Screwllum once.
Screwllum nodded. “Thank you for your assistance. Clarification: he is my fiancée, not my boyfriend.”
That got Aventurine’s attention, and wide eyes were instantly searching Screwllum’s face. “He’s your what? Since when?”
“We have been engaged for one month-”
“A month?” Aventurine sent a glare towards the pillar. “Why didn’t he tell me? Veritas, when I get my hands on you-”
“-Three days, twenty-one hours, nineteen minutes, and forty-six seconds. My apologies, I thought you knew. Request: may I ask you not to strangle Veritas? I would rather he remained unharmed.”
“But I have never been betrayed like this before, Mr. Screwllum!” Aventurine’s words took on a dramatic flair. “Do you know what it’s like to be betrayed by your best friend? I bet he was going to leave me in the dark about this for the rest of my life!”
“To answer your question, no, I do not know what it is like to be betrayed by my best friend. However, you are also incorrect. Veritas would have told you eventually. He is planning to ask you to be his best man.”
Aventurine paused in his theatrics, and a genuine look of surprise crossed over his features. Then, he grinned. “Really? He actually said he was going to make me his best man? Forget everything I said earlier. Veritas is entirely forgiven. This is the best day of my life!”
Screwllum tilted his head as he watched Aventurine vibrate with excitement. “Hm. I believe I ruined the surprise. Veritas was looking forward to seeing your reaction when he told you.”
“He decided to wait over a month to tell me, and now he is suffering the consequences. It’s the player’s fault if they wait too long to play a good hand, Mr. Screwllum.”
Screwllum made his eyes glow slightly brighter. “Acquiesce: I suppose you are right. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go find my fiancée.”
“Congratulations!” Aventurine shouted after him as Screwllum made his way back through the crowd. “Tell Veritas that he owes me a game for not telling me sooner!”
“I will let him know,” Screwllum called back. And then Aventurine’s grin disappeared behind a swarm of people.
Screwllum was stopped by a few guests on his way to the second floor, but after some polite excuses, he eventually made his way to where Veritas was hiding.
It was not a new thing for Veritas to hide somewhere. There were times when he didn’t want to be disturbed, so he’d find a corner behind a large bookcase to squander himself in or he would lock himself in his office until he was ready to deal with people again. However, Screwllum also knew that Veritas would never deny himself the chance to try and educate stuck-up elites, so he was surprised that his fiancée was choosing now of all times to hide away from the world.
Veritas was indeed where Aventurine said he was. The man was leaning back against a marble pillar and languidly swiping through his codex. Screwllum took a moment to appreciate the sight of Veritas in a sharp, dark blue suit. He had come straight from his lab and had arrived after Veritas, so Screwllum hadn’t seen what his fiancée looked like until now.
“You know,” Veritas drawled without looking up, “if you think that you would enjoy this suit off me just as much as you enjoy it on me, I wouldn’t say no to leaving this place and going back to our hotel room.”
Screwllum desperately wanted to say yes. “I don’t think you leaving early would reflect well on the Intelligentsia Guild. Aren’t you supposed to be promoting yourself?”
Vertias huffed. “Please. The people down there don’t care about what we learn from our research. They only care about how our research will earn them a profit.”
“True, but you usually try to knock some sense into them before walking away. Hypothesis: something happened, and you are now hiding yourself away up here. May I ask what happened?”
“You can never let a man just keep his secrets, can you?”
“Knowledge is a love both you and I share. Why wouldn’t I want to learn more about one of the people I love more than it?”
Veritas’s skin flushed red from the top of his head to under his suit’s collar, and Screwllum was undeniably pleased with himself. Veritas snapped his codex closed and whirled around to properly face him. “Screwllum! I don’t understand how you can say such things. I-” His fiancée froze, his gaze roving appreciatively over Screwllum’s own outfit (a dark brown suit with a golden laurel pin clipped to his overcoat. Screwllum was proud of Veritas, and he was not afraid to show it). At the obvious look of want in Veritas’s eyes, the code for preening repeated over and over again in Screwllum’s processors.
“I have never found it difficult to say the truth,” Screwllum responded, his voice causing Veritas’s attention to snap back to his face. “It is a truth that I love you, so why should I have a problem saying so?”
“You just like to embarrass me, don’t you?”
“That is occasionally a factor in my decision making. This is one of those times.”
“If your model ever gets updated to blush, know that I will return the favor ten-fold.”
“I look forward to it. But you are changing the subject. Why are you hiding yourself away up here?”
With an averted gaze and a cross of his arms, Veritas lapsed into silence. Screwllum stayed silent as well, willing to give the man as much time as he needed to think.
Veritas sighed and moved towards the railing, looking down on the gala below. Screwllum followed suit. The party was in full swing. There were people chatting around the edges of the room, couples in the center waltzing to the music of the orchestra, and Screwllum spied what looked like a large group of people in the back corner playing poker. Screwllum had no doubt this was started by Aventurine.
“Looks like Aventurine is having fun,” Veritas commented.
“My thoughts exactly. Oh, by the way, Aventurine says that you owe him a game for not telling him about our engagement sooner.”
“I assume that you told him the news then?” Veritas groaned. “I was so looking forward to his reaction.”
“My sincerest apologies. I wouldn’t have done so if I was aware you hadn’t told him yet. Consolation: he seemed very excited to be your best man.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Screwllum caught a smile gracing Veritas’s face. It disappeared a moment later, though. “Promise to let me finish talking before coming to any conclusions yourself.”
Screwllum put a hand over his chest. “I promise.”
Veritas nodded. “I was avoiding you. You mentioned a couple months ago that you were looking forward to an opportunity to dance with me, and, well.” Veritas must have realized that he was stumbling over his words because he briefly seemed disgusted by himself. He continued speaking after clearing his throat. “The fact of the matter is that while I do know the very basics of dancing, I have nowhere close to the full picture. And I’m not even very good at those basic steps. Dancing was not exactly a subject I focused on in my studies. I was planning on learning how to dance properly before this conversation ever occurred, but I thought I had more time. I didn’t think we’d be dancing until our wedding.”
When Screwllum was sure that Veritas was done talking, the aristocrat collected his own thoughts and spoke. “Conclusion: you do not want to dance with me if you do not know how to dance.” The code for disappointment briefly flashed across his processors. Screwllum did want to dance with Veritas tonight, but if his fiancée was uncomfortable with doing so at the moment, he would certainly wait until Veritas was ready.
Veritas’s nose scrunched up. Screwllum found this action adorable. “Not exactly. I’m not scared of doing something I’m uncertain of with you. I just don’t want to do it in front of all these people.” Veritas gestured towards the lower floor and Screwllum took that moment to really understand how large the crowd was at the gala.
“I see. Allow me to alter my conclusion then. You do not want to dance with me because doing so may mean messing up in front of a large crowd of people. You do not want to face embarrassment.”
“That’s not exactly right either. I…” Veritas sighed. “I’m more worried about embarrassing you than embarrassing myself. Those fools can say whatever they want about me, but I don’t want to bring your reputation down along with my own. You know how these people get with all their high society details. They could care less about enlightening their own minds and would rather focus on ruining the name of whatever poor soul accidentally wore the wrong cologne. Idiots, all of them.”
Screwllum allowed his eyes to dim in his version of a blink. “Veritas, I care as much about my reputation with these people as you do your reputation with these people. You know this.”
“I was already well aware of what your thoughts on this matter would be, Screwllum. But that doesn’t change my want to not make your life any harder than it has to be. They already think you’re below them for not being an organic life form, and I am not going to give them any reason to think any less of you. My knowledge may not help me with my dancing, but it does help me figure out what battles to fight and what battles are better off not engaging in at all.”
It was true what Veritas said about the people here looking down on him. Although there were a couple dozen mingling about who saw him as an equal, he knew that there were about five times that amount who saw him as something lesser than them. He was used to people being this way and had never let it bother him before, but it clearly bothered his fiancée, and Veritas’s feelings were something that Screwllum deeply cared about.
Screwllum lifted a hand to Veritas’s cheek and gently turned Veritas’s head to face his own. “Veritas. The way strangers view me does not concern me, and I would very much like to dance with you. However, I also value your own feelings on the matter and want to respect your wishes. Therefore, I will not dance with you in front of these people.”
Veritas’s shoulders sagged forward slightly. “Thank you, Screwllum.”
“Instead, we shall dance someplace else.” Screwllum grabbed his fiancée’s wrist and began dragging him towards the double glass doors he spotted while walking up the stairs. Unless he saw wrong, and he was 98.7% sure that he didn’t, then…
“Screwllum? What are you doing? Stop dragging me! I am able to walk perfectly fine on my own! You could have just asked me to follow you!”
Screwllum hummed and shifted his grasp so that he and Veritas were now properly holding hands. “You are correct. However, I would like to hold your hand.”
Veritas didn’t say anything else, and Screwllum was sure that if he looked back, the doctor would once again be blushing.
Unsurprisingly, Screwllum’s sight was spot on, and as he opened one of the two glass doors, a blast of cool night air hit him, and he set his eyes on a large balcony. It was set above a garden and was clearly meant to be some sort of viewing deck for when someone held tea. The area was spacious, soft light from nearby lanterns lit up the marble floor, the music could still be heard from the open windows downstairs, and, most importantly, the garden and balcony were both empty.
Nodding in satisfaction, Screwllum stepped to the side and held the door open for Veritas. “After you.”
Veritas stepped outside. “Ever the gentleman, aren’t you?”
“Quite a different assessment of my character than you had the other night.”
Veritas choked. “I am not going to give you the satisfaction of responding to that.”
“Very well.” A chuckle.
“Don’t laugh at me!”
Screwllum stepped fully out the door and quietly shut it behind him, doing his best to quiet his laughter.
After taking a moment to admire the view, Veritas turned to face Screwllum. “So. You want to dance out here instead?”
“That is correct. You said that you didn’t want to dance in front of a crowd in fear of embarrassing me. Ergo: if I take away the crowd, your fear is no longer an issue.” When Veritas didn’t respond, Screwllum took a single step forward and tried his best to convey gentleness. “Is my assumption correct that you will allow me to dance with you now that we are alone? If not, I apologize for my miscomprehension. We can head back inside if you are uncomfortable-”
“No!” Screwllum’s eyes flickered, shocked at the outburst. Veritas looked just as shocked as he felt. Covering his mouth with a fist, the doctor cleared his throat. “No, that won’t be necessary. I would very much like to dance with you. I won’t be very good though.”
Screwllum knew that his eyes were glowing bright, and he felt his processors buzz in their haste to comprehend the hundreds of codes of joy streaming into them. “Your ability to dance is of no concern to me. I just want to dance with my fiancée.” Veritas shifted in place and tried his best to cover his face. Screwllum laughed again. “However, if you truly want to be a good dancer, you should know that I have 338 styles of dance programmed into me, and I would be more than happy to also use this time to teach you how to dance.”
At the mention of learning something new, Veritas’s entire body perked up and a smile broke out across his face. “Why, Mr. Screwllum, you should have started out with that. The chance to learn something is a gift that I will never let go to waste.”
“I expected nothing less from you, Mr. Ratio. Now,” Screwllum dipped into a proper bow and held out his hand, palm up, “may I have this dance?”
He heard footsteps approach, and then a warm hand gently laid atop his own. “I would love to.” Veritas’s voice was a whisper, and Screwllum was sure that his processors were about to short circuit.
As the music swelled, Screwllum straightened up and pulled his fiancée close to him, one hand around his waist, and the other held in his own gloved one. Veritas belatedly did the same. Screwllum would have delighted in Veritas’s red face, but he was busy being completely captivated by the look Veritas now held in his eyes. He only had that look when he was trying to understand something from the inside out, when he was determined to master whatever knowledge lay in front of him.
He looked absolutely gorgeous.
“The song playing right now works best with a waltz, so that is what we will focus on first. The proper footwork for any type of waltz begins with a basic box. If you would, please look down at my feet and try to follow my lead.” Veritas did as Screwllum instructed and, after making sure that he was in time with the music, began to move.
Veritas wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t good at dancing. He quickly picked up on the basic movements of the waltz, but he was stiff, and his feet would stumble over themselves or Screwllum’s own. His brow would furrow whenever he messed up, and Screwllum was always quick to reassure him that he was doing well.
When he finally made it through the basic box without a single mistake, Veritas’s grin outshone the full moon hanging high in the sky.
“Wonderful,” Screwllum praised. “Now let’s see if you can pick up the pace.” Screwllum began to move faster, and after stumbling around for a minute, Veritas was able to follow suit. “Observation: once you know the steps, you are a masterful dancer.”
Veritas snorted. “This is hardly impressive. I’m only mastering the basics. Praise me when I actually do something exceptional.”
“You are always exceptional.”
“I know, but how are you just finally noticing?” Despite his words, the doctor turned his head away from Screwllum, and Screwllum did not like that one bit.
“If you won’t allow me to see your lovely face-” Screwllum tugged his fiancée forward before he could respond to the compliment. He shifted himself just enough so that Veritas’s head now laid on his chest, right underneath his chin. “-Then at least allow me the pleasure of this.”
The change in position caused Veritas to misstep, but he quickly got back on tempo. “This is the real reason you wanted to dance with me, isn’t it? You just wanted my face on your chest.”
“Negative: I truly did just want to dance with you. This is simply a nice bonus.”
Veritas sighed, but otherwise didn’t say anything else. He moved closer, his warmth enveloping Screwllum, and Screwllum didn’t think he could possibly be happier.
Screwllum didn’t teach Veritas any other steps to the waltz that night. He didn’t teach him a different dance either. But neither he nor Veritas said a word of complaint. Screwllum was happy just to hold Veritas in his arms. And, from the soft kiss Veritas gave him on his cheek when the orchestra ended their final song, Screwllum concluded that Veritas was just as happy with this night as he was.