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Aventurine takes a long sip of the lemonade in his hand. It’s much too hot out for a man who typically wears as many layers as he does, and he curses himself for not choosing to dress down for the day. The sun shines down on his surroundings, hitting the pavement and reflecting into the eyes of the amusement park’s many visitors. Aventurine adjusts his shades and continues watching the crowds pass him by.
He sees nothing of interest, which doesn’t surprise him in the slightest. He knew from the moment he’d gotten the assignment that any potential illegal activities occurring in the park would be kept behind closed doors, something he’d need more time to prepare to handle. For now, his primary goal is simply to gain an understanding of the park’s layout.
“Anything interesting, doc?” Aventurine asks.
Veritas shakes his head, his plaster bust covering an expression most likely of annoyance. “Nothing. Remind me, gambler, why did you deem my presence necessary?”
Aventurine shrugs. “What, not a fan of roller coasters?” He asks instead of answering. If Aventurine were to be truthful, he’d say that he just wanted Veritas’s presence to make an otherwise boring day more interesting. But to admit that would be too close to admitting loneliness, so he chooses instead to tease his dearest doctor.
Veritas crosses his arms, tilting his head to make faux eye contact with Aventurine. He’s always been able to ignore Aventurine’s attempts to distract him. “Whether or not I care for roller coasters is irrelevant. Why am I here?”
“Because I wanted you here, dummy.” Aventurine leans toward the man and uses his hands to un-cross Veritas’s arms and lock an arm with him. Veritas makes no attempt to fight the movement. “Is it that hard to determine that I like to spend time with you?” He feigns a hurt expression, but the flirtatious lilt of his voice gives away his intentions.
As always, Aventurine is successful at flustering Veritas. The man sighs and tilts his head away like he does when attempting to hide a reaction. Of course, the action is counterproductive while he wears his bust, only cluing Aventurine to his feelings. Still, he keeps their arms interlocked.
Aventurine pulls the two of them in a random direction. “C’mon, let’s have some fun while we’re here!” Veritas is quick to match Aventurine’s pace. He uses his free hand to (finally) rid himself of his plaster bust. He shakes his head, allowing his hair to fall naturally. Aventurine can’t help but smile at the sight. “Ah, there’s my handsome man~” He drawls.
Veritas huffs. “It’s hot, and I’d rather my face not be sticky with sweat,” He explains.
Aventurine chuckles. “Fair enough,” He responds. “Sooo, where should we start? Biggest coaster in the park? Or maybe the kid rides are more your style,” He teases.
Veritas sighs and rolls his eyes. “I am not getting on any rides. If you want to subject yourself to nausea, you can do so alone.”
“Fineee,” Aventurine pouts, but doesn’t argue further. “How about the haunted maze? Or the aerial tram? An overpriced lunch? Ooh, I wonder if my luck transfers to carnival games, wanna bet on it?”
***
“Okay, we’re really doing this.” It’s been nearly half an hour since Aventurine was dragged into line. The sun is setting, just as Veritas predicted. Veritas is unfazed, however. From the moment they joined the line, he has worn a barely noticeable smile and a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. While he’s not a very expressive man, Aventurine knows Veritas’s expressions well enough to know he’s not getting out of this line until pictures are taken.
***
45 minutes. “You better still make dinner when we get home,” Aventurine says.
“Of course,” Veritas responds easily. " Anything to get his duck picture" , Aventurine thinks, amused.
***
An hour in and the sun has set completely, just like Veritas predicted. Aventurine is losing his patience, rocking back and forth on his feet. He’s watched multiple families leave the line, most likely after realizing they weren’t going to get their pictures before dark. Fortunately, their lack of patience has made the line shorter (though not by much). Aventurine suspects they’ll be there for at least another hour.
***
“So, why do you like ducks so much?” Aventurine asks.
Veritas tilts his head to look at Aventurine. “I don’t,” He answers.
Aventurine laughs. “Oh really? So we’re standing in line to get pictures with an animal you don’t like?”
“It’s not that I dislike ducks. I simply don’t have much of an opinion on them.” He thinks for a moment. “That mascot… It reminds me of Vergil.”
Vergil is Veritas’s favorite rubber duck. Of course, Aventurine had immediately noticed the resemblance. How could he not, when he sees the duck nearly every day? “So your love of rubber ducks is unrelated to your feelings towards normal ducks?”
Veritas nods. “Essentially, yes.”
After a moment of quiet, Aventurine chuckles. “You’re so cute.”
Veritas looks unimpressed. “I am not,” He responds almost defensively.
“Oh, would you rather I call you sexy?” Aventurine teases.
Veritas sighs and rubs his temples. “Not here,” He answers, shaking his head.
“So I should save it for when we’re home, then, huh?”
“If you insist on embarrassing me, I would indeed prefer it if you saved it for private.”
Aventurine laughs.
***
It’s been over two hours by the time they finally reach the front of the line. Upon being told they can take multiple photos for the same price as one, Veritas insists on taking one with and one without Aventurine. Aventurine isn’t sure why, knowing that these photos are incredibly unlikely to be used as some kind of decoration (though Aventurine can’t help but laugh as he imagines a photo of Veritas and a guy in a duck suit hanging up in his office).
Presently, Veritas is posing with the duck - or at least attempting to. His posture is stiff and uncomfortable, and he’s refusing to get close enough to the mascot to touch. His expression is neutral, but Aventurine can see the corners of his lips barely curled up. “Don’t worry about getting a smile,” He comments to the photographer. “This is about as close as you’re gonna get.”
The photographer hums unenthusiastically as if to say “I don’t get paid enough to care whether or not the grown man I’m photographing smiles”. Instead, he remains quiet until a flash goes off. “Your turn,” He says and gestures for Aventurine to join.
Aventurine does so happily, sliding up to the mascot’s empty side. He spins to face the camera, throws up a peace sign, and flashes a charming smile. The camera flashes and the photographer gives them a thumbs up. The pair step away from the mascot and the photographer silently shows them the pictures. “They’re great,” Aventurine approves, chuckling at how miffed Veritas appears. Veritas nods in confirmation and enters his information to receive a copy of the photos. Aventurine yawns right on time. “Let’s go,” He says, dragging Veritas to the exit.
***
By the time the two reach their shared home, they are both exhausted from their day (and accidental night) out. Aventurine unceremoniously pulls off his coat the moment they’ve made it through the door. “Dibs on the shower~” He singsongs. He quickly makes his way to their shared bathroom after setting his cotton candy bags down on the table. Veritas continues past him to the bedroom, most likely to add their new stuffed animals to the collection. Aventurine shuts the bathroom door and quickly strips off the rest of his clothes, which have become uncomfortable due to the sweat (seriously, he should’ve dressed down).
A warm shower seems to be the perfect solution to the discomfort. He can practically feel his muscles relax as he winds down from the excitement of the day. He sighs and closes his eyes as he massages shampoo through his hair. His eyes peek open when he hears what sounds like the door opening, but they close again and he returns to his task when no one joins him.
When Aventurine exits the shower, he sees that his dirty clothes have been replaced with a fluffy towel and pajamas, confirming Veritas must have dropped in. He smiles and takes the towel to dry himself.
After a few minutes of getting dressed and applying some lotion and moisterizer, Aventurine exits the bathroom. He can smell spices and what he thinks is baked chicken coming from the kitchen. “Looks like Veritas did make dinner,” He thinks.
Sure enough, when he enters the kitchen he sees the oven is on. Veritas is sitting at the table, reading something or other in his codex. He looks up at Aventurine as he enters the kitchen. “There’s chicken in the oven,” He says simply.
Aventurine smiles at his typical matter-of-factness. “Thank you,” He responds, and sits on the other side of the table. “I’ll go ahead and watch the oven, you can take a bath if you want.”
Veritas smiles at him. “Thank you, Kakavasha.” Aventurine’s face warms up at the sound of his name. Veritas stands up, plants a kiss on Aventurine’s forehead, and heads to the bathroom. Aventurine smiles and rubs the spot that Veritas kissed. Veritas typically only uses Aventurine’s real name in private, and the novelty has yet to wear off.
The oven only has another 15 minutes on it, so Aventurine sits patiently. He passes the time by laying his head on the table and closing his eyes. He’s started to drift off when the timer dings. Aventurine has always been a light sleeper (a necessity for survival that’s never left him), so his eyes instantly open at the sound. He yawns but stands up despite his sleepiness, not willing to burn dinner (or the building, for that matter - Veritas would not be very happy with either option). He grabs oven mitts and carefully removes the food from the oven. Red potatoes, peppers, onions, and olives are in the pan with the chicken. Aventurine’s mouth waters at the sight (and smell). Since Veritas has yet to return, he decides to grab two plates and serve both of them. He covers the pan and both plates to keep the food warm (and keep any flies away) and sits back down, putting the plates in front of their seats.
Veritas returns only a few minutes later. He looks decidedly comfortable in his pajamas and Aventurine smiles at the little owl embroideries on his pants. “Nice bath?” He asks.
“Quite,” Veritas says. He sits across from Aventurine and removes the paper towel covering his food. After a moment, he speaks again: “...Did you grab us forks?”
“Oh!” Aventurine shoots up, laughing. “No, I didn’t!” He hurries to their utensil drawer and grabs them both forks and knives. When he returns, Veritas is smiling, amused. “Here,” he says, handing him the utensils.
Veritas thanks him, and they both begin to eat. Aventurine learned early in their relationship that Veritas was a great cook, always choosing to cook for himself despite his busy schedule. It contrasted with Aventurine’s tendency to get takeout (or not eat at all). Aventurine’s habits have improved slowly but surely since then, partially thanks to Veritas but also thanks to his own efforts to be kinder to himself.
***
After dinner, the two lay in bed together. Aventurine’s head rests on Veritas’s chest. “Thanks for indulging me today,” He says.
Aventurine feels the soft vibration of Veritas’s chest as he hums. “It was fun,” He says after a moment of contemplation.
Aventurine smiles and snuggles further into him. “Yeah? You enjoy your pictures?” He asks, his grin audible.
Veritas chuckles softly. “Thank you for your patience.”
“It was too cute not to go along with it,” Aventurine responds. The two lay in silence for some time before Aventurine speaks again. “I really appreciated your company.”
“Of course,” Veritas answers. Aventurine feels him place a kiss to the top of his head. “Goodnight, Kakavasha.”
“Goodnight, Veritas.”