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It had begun to pour with harsh thunderstorms earlier that night. News reports announced various warnings of potential flash flooding, saying it was best to not travel under any circumstances and barricade indoors to remain safe inside. Which was why Kakavasha had settled on his couch with a cup of warm ginger tea - a suggestion of Veritas’ - along with one of his catcakes - Suit being their name - snuggling close into his lap.
So when he heard a knock at his door, Kakavasha was immediately taken aback as he stared at the front door. Confused as to why anyone would brave this weather so late in the night, let alone visit him.
Kakavasha decided that if it was an IPC lackey, it must’ve been important enough to not bother with any emails or a simple phone call. Though he was upset that he had to leave his Suit’s side just for a moment, it couldn’t be helped as he opened the door.
And a sudden intake of air entered his lungs upon seeing Veritas Ratio at Kakavasha’s doorstep. He knew something wasn’t quite right .
Kakavasha knows how much Veritas values structure and organization. So this unannounced appearance from Veritas was a massive surprise to him that he didn’t even have the mental capacity to don his “Aventurine of the Ten Stonehearts” persona. Just his boring self instead.
After taking a quick moment to take in Veritas’ appearance Kakavasha noted that his dual coloured eyes appeared dimmer in colour. Softer and more akin to a dark sunset compared to the bright amber that normally appears in his eyes when he was teaching his students. Veritas’ posture was slumped forward, no longer straight forward towards the sky like he was just a puppet with his strings cut off.
This wasn't his Veritas and Kakavasha didn’t like it.
It seemed like an eternity had passed before positioning himself against the doorframe, just barely opening the door just wide enough so Veritas could see inside. Kakavasha plastered on a grin as he announced very loudly, "... My, my Doctor~ What brought you here this dreadful night? I am pretty sure you didn't leave anything here last time you checked on the cat cakes."
Aventurine spotted a single twitch of Ratio's corner of the mouth.
‘Good. He's alive at least.’
However Ratio didn't say anything aloud, rather letting out a weak hum causing Aventurine's winning smile to wane. The Ratio he knew was always straight forward and never let his answers be vague. It was one of Veritas’ best qualities in Kakavasha’s humble opinion.
‘Something is clearly wrong…’
Aventurine outstretched an arm towards the inside of his house. "Come inside Doctor. Place yourself on the couch next to Suit, while Pair and Royal are most likely playing with the plush poker chip I got for them."
Ratio immediately walked inside, beelining straight towards the couch without saying a word. On a normal day, Aventurine would complain and bemoan about how Ratio was ignoring him, that he should be paying more attention to the poor gambler in front of him. But jabs like that wouldn’t sit right with Aventurine when clearly Ratio wasn’t in his right mind.
Wanting to make sure he was a little informed about what Aventurine was about what Ratio might be dealing with. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through various school forums and posts.
Various students under Dr Ratio mentioned that he was seemingly all over the place today. Going from one meeting just to immediately hosting a seminar the next. Some posters even talked about how they got their hands on a photo of Ratio sleeping on top of his podium before class started.
Aventurine had his suspicions about what most likely happened. With Ratio being overwhelmed and stressed out from back to back social gatherings and events. But the question dying on Aventurine’s lips is: Why did Veritas come to him of all people?
“... Gambler” Hearing the worn out voice of Ratio was one thing, but hearing him call out to him like this tugged at his heart strings.
Putting his phone away, Aventurine quickly walked to the couch and softly asked. “Yes? What does the darling Doctor want from me?”
“I… I apologize for my abrupt appearance at this time. However, I had just… desired to see that the cat cakes are well maintained.” Ratio said as he reached out a hand towards Suit.
“It’s been three years Doctor, surely you would’ve taken them away by now if you didn’t deem that my care was up to your standards. Try again with a better lie than that Ratio.”
“... Five points.”
That caused Aventurine to chuckle softly, before sitting down on the coffee table in front of Ratio. Leaning forward to if he could gain anymore knowledge from his demeanor, Aventurine didn’t gain anything apart from his previous observations.
But then Aventurine noticed that he wasn’t wearing his marble bust.
Ratio mentioned in passing that the bust dulls his senses, mostly so he can focus on his studies and research without anything else interfering. It was something that Aventurine wanted to have for himself for when he needed a moment to himself.
Maybe Ratio just needed silence, but Aventurine could never provide that. His MO was grand bets and over the top gestures. So if Ratio needed a change of pace.
Slowly placing a hand onto Ratio’s upper thigh, Aventurine gently spread his fingers out as he moved his hand up to his hips. Pressing down just hard enough that it would hit a pressure point that would feel divine if done correctly.
But the harsh slap of his hand being pushed away, was the most energy Aventurine had seen Ratio produce so far. “Keep your hands to yourself, Gambler!”
“Sorry, I had thought that you would’ve wanted something like this, most people would only come to people’s houses unannounced if they had… certain motives in mind.”
“Incomprehensible… I had only just-”
“Just what Doctor?”
“... I just needed to see that you were real.”
Kakavasha almost choked from the sharp breath he took as he leant fully back and away from Veritas. Staring him down with a cold stare. It was only a month since the events on Penacony had settled and deals were completed. Where Aventurine was seen to commit the unthinkable and perished in the dreamscape.
Though it was just Dormancy. Being lost in the blissful dream was the true impossible, not death.
Kakavasha reached out for his now cold cup of ginger tea and stood up, “I am going into the kitchen to make some more tea. Come with me.”
Veritas looked up at him confused as to why Kakavasha had wanted him to follow. But in reality, Kakavasha knew that if it was a matter of making sure that he was ‘ Alive ’ over being lost to nihility’s cold embrace. It would be best to make sure that he never left the Doctor’s sight.
He only moved once Veritas stood up and followed him into the kitchen, it was a simple and plain kitchen barely containing any cutlery. But it had the necessities he needed to get on with life, along with silly items that he kept in the cupboard for his cat cakes to eat out of.
Reaching up high towards the where he stored his cups, he pulled out a singular blue ceramic mug that was decorated with rubber ducks adorn with various items. Kakavasha couldn’t help but buy it solely for when Veritas visited.
As he clicked on the electric kettle to start the boil process, Kakavasha poured out his remaining tea to softly mumble into the air. “Sorry.”
Kakavasha almost chuckled at how quickly Veritas’ head snapped to look at him, but wilted when he saw that he was caught in staring.
“... What do you mean you’re sorry?”
“I, Aventurine- wait no… I, as myself, am sorry for thinking you wanted something out of me.”
Veritas scoffed and opened his mouth to add something but Kakavasha beat him to it, “And I am sorry if I scared you. In terms of falling into the Nihility and everything that happened in Penacony. I didn’t mean for you to get overwhelmed by the aftermath of it all…”
The only sound that could be heard now was the sound of rain, the electric kettle turning itself off because it had finished boiling. And the deep breaths that they both took proving their existence in the world.
“... Chamomile or ginger tea?”
Kakavasha didn’t expect a response, afterall he had dropped a landmine on Veritas not even a millisecond ago. But reaching out to the rubber duck mug and pushing it closer to Kakavasha’s hand, a quiet voice could be heard. “... Chamomile… with lots of sugar.”
“Of course.”
“We will talk about this in the morning, yes?”
Kakavasha turned to Veritas with the two cups of tea in hand and offered a small smile. “Once again, we’ll talk about this properly in the morning. But first, drink this. Then we rest for the night.”
With a nod of Veritas’ head, Kakavasha grinned as he took a quick sip from his own tea. He had come to the conclusion that come the dawn of tomorrow and when Veritas’ eyes shone once more. Veritas deserved to learn of his true name, the name of the person that he saved as Doctor Veritas Ratio.
It was the least he could do.