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It’s supposed to be a light-hearted question. On their date a few days ago, Aventurine saw Veritas eyeing a renowned jewelry shop. At that time, Aventurine didn’t pay attention to it, but today he catches him glancing at another jewelry shop, so he asks jokingly if Veritas wants to have some. He expects to be called ridiculous, perhaps even given a playful pinch to his waist for saying such nonsense. But he doesn’t expect Veritas to take his question seriously.
“So… You like jewelry? And dresses too?” Aventurine asks, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
Veritas gulps nervously, then nods, “I do. I’ve always wanted to wear them for so long, but people around me will definitely disapprove of my decision. And as much as I’d like to think that their opinion doesn't matter, I must admit that the thought of being constantly judged and having myself reduced to mere outlier of the society isn’t exactly pleasant.”
Aventurine only blinks at the confession, “Oh… I suppose it all makes sense now.”
Confusion is visible in Veritas’ face. He was expecting Aventurine to ask questions like why does he like to wear feminine things, or how does he feel after all these years hiding his true preference. He doesn’t expect such a casual response, though. “Pardon? What was that supposed to mean?”
Aventurine seems to notice the slight defensive tone on Veritas’ voice, so he quickly corrects himself. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way! It’s just… I’ve bought you lots of things, right? Cufflinks, suits, you name it. Whenever I buy them, I choose them with your preference in mind. Your wardrobe is full of them, and you wear them daily, so I thought they’re your favourite.”
True, Veritas thinks. Since people perceived me in their mind as the epitome of masculine, I catered my style to be exactly like that. Because it’s much easier to spread knowledge when you fit what people expect from you. “But?” Veritas inquiries, wondering what’s been on his partner’s mind about his true preference.
“Well… I noticed after a few times that you’re not very happy with my gifts. At first I simply thought that maybe you feel burdened by me giving you lots of gifts multiple times, but now I understand why you’re not very excited with my gift.” Aventurine lets out a light giggle as realization hits him. “They’re not your favourite. Of course you’re not happy receiving them.”
“You don’t think it’s weird?” Veritas asks, feeling surprised yet also relieved that Aventurine didn’t ask anything that he had thought before he’d ask.
Aventurine only shrugs nonchalantly, “Not really. Dresses, jewelry… they’re pretty, who doesn’t like pretty things?”
Veritas blinks, his eyes looking at Aventurine as if he just said the strangest thing he ever heard. “Most people would raise their fingers at people like me for not conforming to society’s idea of ideal men.”
Aventurine’s eyes widen as he finally understands what Veritas means. Treading this carefully, he doesn’t immediately respond. Instead, he looks at his partner properly, his gaze softens as he slowly raises both ends of his lips, forming the smile Veritas really hopes to see now. To other people, it might look like any ordinary smile, but Veritas knows what that smile means. It’s a sign of trust, understanding, adoration, and support.
The blonde doesn’t say anything when he reaches out for Veritas’ hands, but the way he holds them tenderly in his hands is enough for Veritas to realize what Aventurine wants to convey. Aventurine brings their joined hands to his lips, caressing each fingers, each knuckles, as his eyes flutter shut. “I’ve said this before, and I’m willing to say it whenever you want; I want to be your safe space, your home, your anchor.”
Veritas can feel his breath on his skin. The ticklish sensation warms both his hands and face, while his lover’s words warm his heart. “It must’ve taken a lot of courage to answer my question and tell me all of this, right? Thank you for trusting me, Veri.”
Aventurine’s kiss is short and fleeting, like a feather brushing his hands softly. It’s not a kiss to the lips, but Veritas swears he can feel the sweet taste of honey lingering on his lips.
Aventurine has offered that he can wear dresses in their home if he wants to, and Veritas has been considering it. The problem is, he hasn’t found any dress that’s to his liking in online shops. That, and he’s also worried that the courier would know those dresses are his. The last thing he needs is people doubting his credibility because of his different-than-common preference, which isn’t even relevant in the first place. But it seems to make Aventurine worry, because he keeps bringing up the topic of ordering dresses whenever possible.
“Just my curiosity, Veri… Why haven’t you bought anything?” Aventurine asks on their dinner. He gives Veritas his usual puppy face as he continues, “Am I not doing a good job in reassuring you?”
Veritas can only shake his head at Aventurine’s exaggerated concern. To ease his husband’s fear, he presses a soft kiss to his left cheek. “It wasn’t because of you, Aven. I simply haven’t found the ones that match my preference, that’s all.”
He picks up his spoon as he takes another bite of their salmon gratin, “And I much prefer to go to offline stores, actually. You want to know how it looks on you and make sure what you’ll buy fits, not too small and not too big.”
Aventurine nods, his mouth busy munching his food. He reaches for his water to help him gulp his food down, then replies after his mouth is empty. “Then why don’t we go to one tomorrow? I know a good store with beautiful designs, and the owner happens to be an acquaintance of mine, so it’s easy to arrange a visit.”
Veritas gives him an unamused look, “The word acquaintance in your dictionary means either someone you could blackmail or exploit.”
Seeing his lover’s furrowed brows and slight pout, Aventurine lets out a chuckle. “I suppose so. But hey, we’re still paying his goods fair and square. Why, I even intend to make the booking through ordinary means. I don’t think there would be any issue.”
Veritas still doesn’t look convinced, though he yields anyway, part of it because he’s excited to finally go to a dress store, another part is to make Aventurine stop worrying about him. “I suppose I can make do with that arrangement.”
Aventurine grins at Veritas’ agreement. “Wonderful! I’ll contact him after dinner, then.”
The next day comes, and now the pair are on their way to the store Aventurine mentioned last night. That acquaintance had sent a catalog for them to read, so right now they do exactly that to pass the time in the car.
“Oh, this purple dress looks pretty… What do you think, Aven—why are you looking at me like that?” Veritas glances at his husband, who’s been staring at him intently instead of looking at the tablet on Veritas’ hand.
Aventurine only shakes his head, “Nothing important… I just realized that you wear cosmetics too.”
It’s true. Ever since he acknowledged that he can’t be very truthful about his preference, he went for more subtle ways, like using eyeliner and eyeshadow. Eye cosmetics are generally less obvious to people, so he’s been using them for quite a long time. “Yes. I’ve been using red eyeliner and light brown eyeshadow. Since their colours are similar to my pupils and skin, people often didn’t notice and just thought this is what I actually look like.”
“Ha… I feel like I failed as your partner… To think I didn’t notice until now…” A tinge of guilt can be heard in Aventurine’s voice.
“Well I don’t think you failed, Aven.” Veritas says adamantly. He’s not having his beloved partner feeling down when he always gives him the best. “You’re supportive, very understanding, and even if you think you realized way too late, you still realized it on your own instead of knowing it from me. That means you’re attentive too.”
Aventurine’s eyes widen in shock, not expecting his lover to take his self-loathing seriously. He chuckles at Veritas’ affirmation. “Thank you, Veri. I’m glad you think I’m enough.”
Aventurine’s words successfully turn Veritas’ face to a bright shade of red. Taking advantage of his lover’s shyness, Aventurine scoots closer. Their distance is so close that they can feel each other’s breath on their skin. Aventurine’s fingers now are on his lover’s chin, making Veritas part his lips as he feels the blonde’s tender grip on his chin. Just the last few inches before their lips crash, and…
“Sirs, we’ve arrived.” Their taxi driver announces their arrival to the store.
“O-Oh, yes, sir, thank you–!” Aventurine replies hurriedly, while Veritas goes out of the car silently, his face goes redder after the driver interrupts them.
After being interrupted awkwardly, they finally enter the store. No other customer is seen thanks to Aventurine booking the whole store today, so Veritas can relax knowing no one would see him except the store employees and his husband.
The store manager greets them upon their arrival. “Greetings, Mr. Aventurine and Mr. Veritas. I have been informed by the owner of your arrival today.”
Aventurine nods at her, “Yeah, so… Just bring your best collection, I guess. I’m not the one making the final call anyway, or maybe you already have something in mind, Veri?” He turns his face to his lover, turning the conversation to the purple-head.
Veritas shakes his head, “I haven’t finished reading the catalog, so I’ll just follow your recommendation, manager.”
The manager then brings out their physical catalog, flipping the pages slowly. “Considering your build, sir, I would recommend this series from our catalog,” she turns the pages to her intended page.
That recommended series turn out to be the same series Veritas just looked in the car before, and that same series happen to match Veritas’ preference. With Veritas’ single nod of approval, the manager along with the employees begin to move the dresses to the fitting room for Veritas to try.
The first dress of choice is a floor-length dress in the color of garnet. Held only by a pair of thin straps on the shoulder, the dress has a matching necklace to help perfecting the upper look. The necklace, made by embroidered fabric of the same color of the dress, covers the lower half of the neck. Two strands of pearls dangle below the embroidered part, further enhancing the elegance of the dress. The sleeves are separated from the dress and almost of the same length as the dress. It has two slightly ruffled layers and is shaped like a bell—wide at the lower part and narrow at the higher part—to give a luxurious impression. On the left side, a huge brooch is attached to the sleeve, covering the shoulder while also giving an asymmetrical look.
Or long story short, it looks very good on Veritas.
Veritas looks at his reflection on the mirror in the fitting room. He turns left and right, letting the hem drag on the floor as it follows his movement. “Oh, it comes out great. Here I thought red won’t suit me. What do you think, Aven?”
His lover’s calling snaps Aventurine back to reality. “Oh! You look very beautiful, Veri!” Aventurine says with a slightly reddened face. “The dress fits your build really well, I like the way the waistline highlights your body’s shape… Though I think that’s just the dress type? Oh, and I like the flowy part on the skirt too—.”
“A drapery,” Veritas interrupts. “Yeah, yeah, drapery. I like the choice of making it diagonal instead of styling the folds on one side. Looks more balanced. And it makes the slit below look better.” Aventurine comments, nodding his head with such a serious look in his face.
Veritas flicks the frown formed in Aventurine’s forehead. “No need to be that serious, you fool.” Aventurine only grins as he rubs his forehead, “Oh, but this is about what you’re going to wear! Of course we have to choose only the best of the best.”
Veritas rolls his eyes playfully, “Suit yourself then, Gambler.”
The second dress looks more extravagant compared to the previous dress. The dress itself isn’t that much different than the first one; a floor-length dress in the color of the sea with a pair of separated sleeves. What makes this dress stand out, however, is the fur shawl accompanying the set. The neckline style covers the collarbone while still retaining the universal heart-shaped neckline design, or as the manager says, the queen ann style. The dress’ slit starts way higher than the garnet dress, it starts from a few inches below the waistline on the right side of the dress and spans to the end of the dress.
Aventurine likes this dress more (because he can see Veritas’ thigh clearly).
Veritas hums upon seeing how he looks in the mirror. “Oh, I like the sea theme, the dress has lots of sea-related embroidery, while the sleeves look like a fin, but the shawl becomes kind of useless since I don’t go out with this…”
“We have to buy this.” Aventurine’s voice becomes even more serious than when he sees the first dress. His eyes never leave the dress’ slit—and Veritas’ thigh.
Veritas hits his husband’s head with the shawl. “You just like seeing my thigh exposed, aren’t you.”
“Very much.” Aventurine answers with his two thumbs raised.
The next dress comes in the color of the night sky; pitch black with a tinge of purple from semi-transparent fabrics. The front look is completely covered, but this dress has a huge back-window and is adorned by gold chains on many parts of the dress. The chains help build the majestic look, while the back-window and the semi-transparent fabrics give out the celestial vibe. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Veritas the goddess of the night sky when he wears it.
Veritas moves his arms left and right, making the chain on both arms dangle prettily. “Hmm.. this one’s quite unique, I’d say. The chains on the back helps to make the back-window looks less empty, and I really like the many chains adorning this dress. What do you think, Aven—Oh. You really like this one, I suppose.”
Aventurine, sitting on the couch, is now staring at Veritas with mouth agape. Veritas swears he can see his lover drooling over the sight of him in this dress. He walks toward the blonde, before flicking his forehead with greater force to wake him up. “Oh, yes, yes! You look magnificent on it!”
Veritas can only let out a sigh as he shakes his head, “My husband is just hopeless…”
After a very productive day of dressing Veritas up with whatever the store could offer, Aventurine has them arrange a mail order for a total of five dresses along with their matching bracelets and earrings to their home. He was about to buy another five sets, but was stopped by Veritas frantically. We can always buy more later, no need to go overboard today, is what his gorgeous husband said. He pays them extra to make sure they won’t gossip about a certain reputable professor’s real preference generously—earning them endless gratitude from the store manager, then with their hand entwined, they exit the store.
“So… Did you have fun today, Veri?” Aventurine turns to look up to his lover.
Veritas is smiling when he turns his face to look at Aventurine, “I did. Thank you, Aven. It means a lot to me.”
“Whatever makes you happy, Veri. Besides, I also have my ulterior motive for bringing you here today.” Aventurine grins, his eyes glint in a mischievous way.
Veritas rolls his eyes at Aventurine’s obvious tone, “I don’t think I’d like whatever you’re going to say.”
Aventurine laughs at his husband’s remark. “Now that I know you love dresses, surely you’re not opposed on wearing lingeries—” Veritas rewards him with a light smack to his back before he can finish his words. “I’m not entertaining that question in public.”