Work Text:
Aventurine pushed his chair away from his desk and stood.
I’ve been staring at these documents too long, I need a break.
He exited his office, making sure to lock the door behind him, and began to make his way towards the end of the building where Topaz’s office is.
Maybe I can talk her into lunch. It's been a while since I ate.
He rounded a corner and was immediately grabbed and pulled into a janitorial closet.
Before he could respond, a hand holding a cloth covered his nose and mouth.
Aventurine held his breath and struggled, fighting to break free.
“Oh come on, that’s taking too long!” An unfamiliar voice complained.
Something hit his head hard, and the world turned black.
~~
He awoke lying on his side.
Everything hurt, and his mind was clouded with fog and pain.
Aventurine tried to move his arms, only to painfully discover that they had been bound behind his back with rope, rather tightly. He did his best to remain silent and fought his eyes open.
The floor he was laying on was dirt, which would explain the musty smell. It was dark, too dark to see much beyond the rusty iron bars in front of him. He could hear faint voices, but couldn't tell what they were saying or even what direction they came from.
Panic fought to overtake his already limited mind, and he struggled to fight against it.
I’m trapped. I can’t get free. Even if I could, those bars look strong. Everything hurts. What had I been doing? Where am I? I can move my feet. What good will that do? They’ve probably confiscated all my things. I can’t even call for help. I don't know if I’m even strong enough right now. I'm trapped. It’s so dark—
His eyes threatened to close, and the room kept spinning. His wrists burned, the pain overpowering even the rest of the pain and making thoughts difficult. Painful memories threatened to surface, and he forced himself to focus on the pain instead.
Aventurine’s whole body trembled, heart beating fast and loud. His neck burned, a phantom pain from memories long past resurfaced.
Pistols fired somewhere in the distance, and the nearby voices turned to far away shouts.
He was shaking, and not just from the cold.
A familiar voice said something nearby. Or maybe far away? He wasn't sure.
Panic swirled in his mind, drowning out all other thoughts besides the pain.
He heard metal clangs, and the creaking of rusty hinges. That familiar yet unplaceable voice said something else he did not register, more insistent this time.
Aventurine shut his eyes and struggled to try and get his breathing even. If they think he's asleep, they’ll leave him alone. Right?
The voice spoke again, definitely closer this time, and still not understandable.
The pain in his wrists flared and he heard someone whimper pathetically.
On second thought, that may have been him.
The voice kept speaking to him, and he barely registered that a tension around his wrists had been broken. The searing pain lessened slightly.
More speaking. He thinks.
Icy cold water splashed Aventurine in the face, and he shot his eyes wide open with a gasp.
“Geez, it’s ‘bout time!” A familiar metal hand waved in his face. “Are ya with me now, Fancy Pants?”
Aventurine moved to sit up, but the pain in his wrists inhibited that. Someone lifted him into an upright position.
Finally, he looked up. “… Boothill?”
The space cowboy flashed a toothy grin. “Oh good, that little brain of yours is working again. C’mon kid, let's get you out of here.”
Boothill lifted Aventurine with ease, one metal arm beneath his legs and the other supporting his back. Aventurine vaguely heard the space ranger mumble something about ‘muddle fudging son of nice ladies shirt bags ash voles’.
Aventurine found himself relaxing somewhat, fighting to keep his eyes open as he bounced slightly with each step Boothill took.
Boothill sighed. “Relax, kid, just get some sleep. You’re safe now. I’ll hold you for ransom when you wake up.”
Aventurine relaxed fully, drifting off to sleep before the words had even fully registered.
~~~
Aventurine awoke in a room he shouldn’t even recognize, much less be all too familiar with.
“Ugh, so much for getting some work done today.” He groaned and stood, clutching his head with one hand as he waited for the room to stop spinning. He walked to the door and hesitated as he grabbed the handle, cherishing his last moments of peace before his headache inevitably gets much worse.
~
“Well hello there, sleepyhead,” Boothill greeted.
Two metal hands clasped each shoulder and not-no-gently steered him into a chair at the table, the biggest plate Aventurine had ever seen situated in front of him. It was overfilled with his favorite foods.
He glanced back at Boothill, eyebrow raised skeptically. “There is absolutely no way I can eat all that. And I don't remember the IPC having any confidential files that list what my favorite foods are,” he added.
Boothill smirked and simply shrugged. “Wow, favorite foods huh? What a coincidence! Anyways, Fancy Pants, you’d best get to eating, won’t know how much you can eat til you try!”
Aventurine glared suspiciously at the food and drink in front of him. “Please tell me you didn’t drug it this time, i think I've had enough sleep for today.”
“Nah, you got plenty of sleep already, not necessary this time.” Boothill waved a hand dismissively, gaze never leaving Aventurine. “You should start eating though, I already sent the message to that Topaz lady and she’s usually pretty quick at sending the ransom money.”
Aventurine began to eat, doing his best to refrain from wolfing it all down immediately. “You do know she transfers that from her personal account so she doesn’t have to go through Jade every time, right?”
“It's okay, every time this happens that exact amount of money mysteriously disappears from the IPC’s bank account and appears in hers.”
Aventurine froze, then turned his head slowly to look at Boothill. “You can do that. This whole time. What’s even the point of ransom then???”
“More fun this way,” Boothill said with a toothy grin. “And it gives me the opportunity to make sure my Greatest Competition And Nemesis is Taking Care Of Himself well enough that we can be evenly matched still.”
Aventurine rolled his eyes and continued eating. “I thought you were done with that ridiculous title.”
Boothill chuckled. “Why would I be done with it, O Greatest Competition And Nemesis? It's the most fitting, after all.”
Aventurine groaned, and Boothill watched closely to make sure he actually ate everything.
~~
There was a knock at the ship’s door, and Boothill opened it to reveal a very exasperated Topaz.
“Alright, Boothill, you’ve got the money. Can we have our dumbass back now?”
“Hey!” Aventurine protested. Both ignored him.
“Yeah, yeah, sure thing little lady.” Boothill patted Aventurine on the back forcefully, sending the man tumbling forward.
Topaz calmly stepped aside and let him fall.
“Thanks. I assume he’s been fed again?”
“Obviously. Make sure the muddlefudger uses the healing ointment I gave him for his wrists, which were absolutely not my doing for the record.”
Aventurine stood and dusted himself off, grumbling about loser friends who clearly hate him and not being a child who needs supervision.
“Will do. See you next time, I unfortunately assume?” Topaz asked.
“Yep!” Boothill replied cheerfully. “Nice doin’ business with ya.”
Topaz nodded and turned, grabbing Aventurine’s arm. “Come on idiot, let's go.”
She turned back to Boothill one last time, expression much softer for a split second. “…thanks for taking care of him.”
She turned again, all but dragging Aventurine with her.
“Hey, this time really wasn’t my fault,” he insisted defensively.
Topaz glanced at him, a brief moment of concern on her face before she returned to that annoyed expression she always wore around him. “Yeah. I know.” She hesitated. “And… I’m glad you’re okay. I guess.”
“You know,” she added quickly, “because I don’t want to be doing my and your workload. That's all. Definitely.”
Aventurine smiled fondly. “Sure.”
They took a few more steps before he paused.
“Wait. What do you mean you know? How?”
Topaz groaned. “Mister Boothill demanded more credits than usual for, and I quote, ‘saving you shirtbags from having to rescue him from some forking muddlefudgers, and saving y’all the trouble of taking care of the ash voles.’”
Aventurine smacked his forehead with his palm and sighed. “Of course he did. Why am I not surprised.”
Topaz shrugged. “That Galaxy Ranger really confuses me sometimes, you know.”
“Only sometimes?”
She smacked his arm.
“Anyways, you owe me big time. Again.”
“Yeah, yeah. The usual Lunch for a week I assume?”
“Make it two this time.”
“… fine, two.”
~~~~~