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Aventurine was, in the simplest of words, unpredictable.
Reckless, greedy and cunning. According to Veritas Ratio, these were the three traits of the young man's personality, the only ones that his neurons revolved around.
The experience of working with Aventurine could be described, in short, as exhausting. If it weren't for his luck — whose punctuality was absolutely frightening —, Veritas doubt that the young man would have managed to keep his position at the IPC for more than three days.
Hypothetically, based on what he knew of his colleague's rude and thoughtless behavior, he would have been excommunicated in two hours at the most. Ratio was firm in his guess.
That young man managed to be a perfect mix of everything that was most dangerous: a handsome face, a sharp tongue and a lot, a lot of courage. An atomic bomb, basically.
And it was under the charm of those soft words and magnetic gaze that Ratio ended up giving in before he realized it.
Now seated in front of a round table with a velvety surface—a pigsty for gamblers, as Ratio used to say—cards were spread out on the table, Aventurine's hands organizing them with the practicality of someone who had done this a thousand times; it was very likely that he had actually done it even more than that.
"Do you need me to explain the rules to you one more time, Doctor?" Aventurine purred in a questioning tone, a sideways smile curving his lips.
Ratio rolled his eyes, not answering directly. Once was enough for him to memorize the rules of the game.
Aventurine had proposed a game of Poker, the first one to run out of chips would be the loser. Nothing out of the ordinary.
At first glance, this would be yet another of the many invitations that Veritas would refuse without even hesitating. However, the next part was what caught him off guard: "It will be a friendly game, with no material bets involved."
His ears did not deceive him; these were the exact words that came out of Aventurine's mouth.
Veritas immediately thought that he might be in some kind of fever dream, but apparently that was not the case. This only made him more confused. Whatever the blond's intentions were, Ratio accepted, very reluctantly. His curiosity really got the better of him this time. This was new to the scholar; he wanted to see where this would lead.
With the cards already dealt, Aventurine's eyes lit up with a peculiar glow. Convincing Ratio to play with him was, without a doubt, one of the greatest feats of his life, and he would definitely not waste such an opportunity. An obvious expression of disgust contorted Ratio's face. Not even in his worst nightmares could he imagine himself doing something like this: betting.
Every time his fingers touched the chips, he felt as if he were handling dung, his hands dirty and his honor wounded. His wrinkled nose made a funny face at Aventurine, who made no effort to hide his amusement. He had rarely seen the man display any expression other than indifference, so seeing him like this was like a show for the gambler.
The blond glanced at the pair of cards in his hand, the vibrant orbs remaining there before returning to the mathematician. A few more chips were pushed forward by the nimble hands.
"You know, I think I'm feeling lucky today..." Aventurine declared, leaning forward as he arranged the small pile of chips next to the others. "How about taking a little more risk, Doctor?"
Ratio narrowed his eyes, increasingly unhappy with the situation.
"My psychological well-being is the only risk I'm going to take right now, gambler," he pointed out, spitting the nickname with some disgust, lowering his own pair of cards on the table. A disgruntled grunt sounded in response.
Aventurine grumbled in a whisper, turning over three cards in the center of the table, revealing their respective values. Ace, two and three, all with the same symbol of the suit of hearts.
The blond chuckled softly at the coincidence, a shadow of challenge hovering over his eyes as he looked at Veritas, who seemed to be carefully analyzing the table at hand.
"So, how are we doing so far?" he teased.
Ratio didn't answer him immediately, still focused on the cards in front of him. Obviously he wouldn't tell Aventurine, but the game wasn't in his favor at the moment. The ten and the queen of hearts were still hidden in his hand, with no promising combinations.
"I think it would be foolish to tell you, don't you think?" He looked up at the other, who in turn shook his head.
"You really don't know how to have fun..." He sighed, but never took the smile off his face. He pushed another pile of chips to the betting corner, the sound muffled by the velvet surface of the table. “Your turn.”
Ratio kept his eyes on Aventurine, watching his gestures, his expressions. His thin face never lost its air of carefreeness, his mischievous spirit exposed through his colored orbs. The gambler's expression was unreadable. And Veritas wasn't just talking about the game.
Aventurine, despite being relaxed, yet a mysterious man. He said many things, had an exaggeratedly loose tongue, but nothing could be seen behind the words, his intentions always masked by his sharp and intense gaze.
Thinking about this, Ratio couldn't stop thinking about the blond's proposal: “A friendly match, without any material stakes involved.” The phrase still floated through his thoughts, as clear as if he could see it around Aventurine. Normally, his invitations always came with a proposal, or rather, a bet, for example: “Whoever loses will pay for dinner tonight”, “If I win, I'll borrow one of your books”, and so on. Even if it was futile, there was always something at stake.
“What do you mean by this?” Ratio asked, adjusting his position in his chair. “A friendly match? We both know that's not your style…”
Aventurine blinked a few times, his smile fading for a millisecond before returning. He raised both hands to head height in surrender, his head tilted to the side.
“Well, what’s the problem? I know you’d refuse if I invited you to a regular game, so I had to change strategy. It worked, didn’t it?” The blond defended himself with a wink. “Just relax, there’s no bad intentions here. No cheating and no material bets.”
And that word again. Material.
Oh, but of course…
Now it was Ratio’s turn to offer his chips, adding to the amount of the game.
“What’s the real meaning of this bet, Aventurine?” he asked.
The silence lingered for a few seconds, until a laugh rang out through the game room.
“I knew you’d get suspicious eventually,” he admitted, his hands returning to the velvet-surfaced table. “I was thinking, how about we bet… something immaterial. Secrets this time.”
Veritas frowned. That had been the height of irrationality, the most idiotic thing he had heard that day.
Now would be a good time to get up and leave.
"Go on…"
Aventurine's smile widened as his eyes lit up. He must have been waiting for this moment from the beginning.
"It's quite simple, actually. Here at the table, we will be betting on something confidential, a secret," he explained.
The mathematician narrowed his eyes, allowing his brain to process the new information. Right, a secret. It wasn't really difficult, but the concept still intrigued him.
Why would Aventurine take the initiative to plan such a game? What information did he hope to gain from it? What was really at stake here? There were still many gaps in this story, loose ends that he intended to join and tie up.
He found himself thirsty for an answer. As the good scholar that he was, he wanted to observe, to understand the motivations behind such a decision. Even though the sight of that table made his stomach behave in a way it shouldn't, the search for understanding was greater than his discomfort.
Aventurine, realizing that he had captured the physicist's interest, smiled victoriously.
Ratio, still somewhat wary, handed over his share of the bets, quickly withdrawing his hand, as if the chips would burn him with prolonged contact.
Another card from the set was turned over, the image of the king stamped on the material. Ratio was lucky this time, being able to pair the queen in his hand, completing a trio with the ace on the table.
"About the value of the game..." Veritas began, her eyes turning back to Aventurine. "I ask you to clarify. What could be the nature of this so-called 'secret'?"
The smile that opened on the young man's face didn't fool him. There was something there.
"Anything. It could be about your work, your family... Even about you," he replied, the melodious tone only contributing to Ratio's theory. “Let me rephrase that: if you lose, you will give me the most intimate information you have, whatever the nature. And if I lose… well, the same goes for me.”
“And is there any guarantee?” Ratio asked, his eyebrow arched in skepticism. “How would I know the information is true?”
It was a sincere question. Not that he was planning on fooling him, definitely not. However, if he had to waste his precious time with such nonsense, the game would have to be worth at least something significant.
“You have my word, Doctor, it is my best guarantee.” Aventurine winked, pushing another handful of chips onto the table.
“That just makes me more uncertain, thank you,” he replied, earning an eye roll in response.
“You could trust me more, you know?” he said, with a slight tone of disappointment.
“Trust and partnership have their distinctions, don’t get them confused.” With that, he made his move, also depositing his chips.
Aventurine looked offended, considering the frown, which inevitably brought a smile to Ratio's face. A childish attitude, indeed, but he still felt victorious every time he broke that calm and carefree expression. It was a personal game between him and the gambler.
With a slight snort, the blond passed more chips to the table.
"I'll double," he declared, in the same tone as always, soft and slow, almost as if he were singing.
Ratio raised his eyebrow, watching the piles of chips decrease on Aventurine's side. He must have a good hand, it wouldn't be a surprise, after all.
Keeping this in mind, Veritas began to review his strategy. He had a promising hand, but he couldn't afford to trust his luck, after all, it was Aventurine he was talking about. The blond wasn't afraid to take risks, that was something he knew from the beginning, so trying to scare him with high numbers was out of the question.
There was still one more card to be turned over and, given the situation, he could afford to try. He deposited some more chips, also doubling his bet.
"Let's do it, I don't have all day," complained Veritas.
Aventurine narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to the side.
“In a hurry, Doctor?” He chuckled softly, leaning back comfortably in his chair. The peacock was in his element, after all. “Have you thought about what you’re going to tell me if you lose?”
Ratio then paused for a moment. He hadn’t thought about that yet.
The definition of “intimate information” was quite ambiguous. Maybe he should tell about one of his ongoing research projects, even though he doubted that a single word would be understood by the bettor’s mind. A waste of oratory, he deduced.
Maybe he could talk about his favorite food? His greatest fear? How about…
Oh, no, not that.
He definitely wouldn’t know how to deal with the truth once it left his mouth. There had to be something he could replace it with, a fact that would be less compromising for his image.
“As I said, it’s confidential. Win first and we’ll deal with this matter later,” he replied, not at all happy with the situation.
Aventurine nodded, obviously not taking his words seriously.
“In that case, since you’re so confident…” He reached for the remaining chips he had left, unceremoniously pushing them along with the rest to the side of the table. All in. “How about we take this a little more seriously, huh?”
Veritas stared at him, impassively. He couldn’t help but feel challenged. However, an inner voice urged him to deposit more chips. Aventurine was, indeed, a bad influence.
He resisted the urge, crossing his arms firmly in front of his chest.
“Let’s go to the last card, I’ll pass this time.”
The blond snickered with a slight tone of mockery. His hands reached the last card, turning it over in a clean and agile movement. A jack of hearts.
Ratio inevitably looked at the pair in his hand again.
This was certainly an interesting situation.
Aventurine leaned over the table, just waiting for the mathematician's verdict. The scholar, in turn, did not make any subsequent bets, choosing to ask for the table and end that futility.
The players finally showed their cards, a long laugh came from Aventurine, who seemed genuinely captivated by the result.
The gambler had lost.
Ratio had miraculously made an entire sequence, all with the same suit of hearts. As for Aventurine, he had barely made a pair of aces.
"A Royal Flush? Not bad, Doctor, not bad..." he praised, his tone playful, but with a hint of seriousness.
The scholar remained skeptical, not completely believing in his victory. Aventurine used to be lucky, didn't he? So how could he lose this time? Maybe this was some kind of joke, or...
"You really wanted to lose, didn't you?" Ratio asked, leaning back in his chair, now keeping as far away from the table as possible. The smirk on Aventurine's face was the answer he needed.
"Do I really have to answer?" he replied. No, he doesn't. The blond laughed again, throwing himself dramatically into his seat. "A shame, really. I was hoping I could keep my secret a bit longer..."
Veritas rolled his eyes at the overacting.
"If it gives you any relief, I have no real interest in your personal affairs," Ratio declared, standing up. He was, indeed, somewhat curious, but it wasn't like he was going to admit it out loud; he would rather solve an equation by carving it in stone, which, in his opinion, would be infinitely more pleasurable.
Aventurine straightened up when he saw the man stand up, his smile quickly disappearing.
"Wait... are you really not going to listen?" he asked, receiving a tired sigh in response.
"I'll give you fifteen seconds," he said. The scholar was mentally exhausted; all he wanted to do was wash his hands and get back to his studies.
Aventurine pressed his lips together for a second, drawing a questioning look from Ratio. And before the latter could open his mouth and express his displeasure, the gambler declared, firmness and sincerity evident in his voice.
"I like you, Doctor. I really do..." Ratio frowned instantly, his ears growing hot. The blond stood up, a small, somewhat shy smile appearing on his face. “A terrible way to tell it, I know. But I’m serious!” Aventurine leaned in, the gaming table was the only thing separating them now.
Ratio, as reluctant as he was to believe it, saw sincerity, a sparkle of honesty sparkling in those colorful eyes, so vibrant and intense. “Would that be your secret, Aventurine?” Ratio asked, searching for verbal confirmation.
“Yes. That’s my secret, my most intimate piece of information,” he declared, his gloved hands resting on the surface as he leaned in a little closer. “I’m afraid I’m in love with you, Veritas Ratio…” The mathematician found himself mesmerized for a second.
For the first time, he was speechless. If his heartbeat had been visible to the naked eye, it would have given him away long ago. After all, his own secret, the most intimate piece of information he possessed, was his attraction to the gambler. Aventurine was still unbearable, don't get him wrong, but above all, it was undeniable that the peacock with a gambling mania caught his attention. He was a mystery that he couldn't decipher, an unanswered equation that he longed to answer. This interested him at the same time as it tormented him.
"What do you expect me to do with this information, gambler?" Veritas tried to keep his tone indifferent, only to realize that he sounded more intense than he would have liked. "Who's to say you won't be bluffing again?"
"I guarantee it," Aventurine said, his face dangerously close to the scholar's. "Do you want proof?" Before Ratio could retort, Aventurine grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into a kiss. The contact was intense, resolute, bold, just like Aventurine himself. Veritas didn't even have a chance to reject him. When he realized it, he was also leaning over the table, his hands spread out to give him some support.
And it was in the midst of the chaos of cards and chips that he left all his rationality outside the room, his brain working only with his instincts and emotions. No matter how logical the man was, he still had a heart, which, at this moment, was beating strongly alongside Aventurine's.