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"I've never met Sapphire and Agate in person- didn't Lady Obsidian say Agate was dead?" Aventurine says, sounding baffled. Topaz waves a hand, although even her stolid countenance cracks a bit to show some much-validated discomfort, a shudder rolling down her spine visibly. "Okay. Not to be talked about, I guess. That's three of them who voted against them, and by all accounts, you've only met Obsidian once, and I've seen her a grand total of..." Aventurine holds up two fingers. "Twice."
That wasn't out of the ordinary. Stonehearts rarely collaborated- what Aventurine, Topaz and Jade had done had been unprecedented in the Strategic Investment Department's history, after all. Stonehearts certainly didn't collaborate, as they only ever united for their own goals. They weren't the Astral Express Crew or even the Stellaron Hunters, to display familial attachments for each other. If needed- a Stoneheart could even dispose of another, if it meant furthering their own goals, or if the other Stoneheart had been a liability, essentially. That's what the trial had been about, anyway. Of course, it was also, as Topaz explained, a smokescreen to avoid questioning from the other departments, particularly Marketing, which, ugh. Diamond had deemed Aventurine necessary for his...plans, and he was planned to be allowed back in, but not without a little show. The others had known, but had made their opinions about it known anyway. Diamond valued their independence in opinions- but ultimately, whatever decision they made, wouldn't ever happen without his knowing.
Even so...Aventurine couldn't shake the feeling of unease at the sight of the four who had voted against his reinstation. Particularly-
"So that leaves Sugilite." Aventurine says, and as he mentions the man's name- his visage pops up on a screened interface from Topaz's projector; Aventurine will be the first to admit the man's good looks have him a little taken aback, because that was simply far too stunning of a specimen.
However levity aside, there was one thing unnerving about Sugilite. Apart from the usual "He's an IPC elite at P45" thing. Of course.
There simply weren't enough details on him, despite him making regular appearances whenever necessary- even Sapphire, Amber and Agate had had more information on them than Sugilite had. Sapphire and Amber often communicated with Pearl behind the scenes whenever necessary, and Agate was always in lockstep with Obsidian after all; apparently, being snapped off the mortal coil couldn't prevent Agate from staying a Stoneheart or from communing with Obsidian for whatever reason. Fascinating, but extremely unnerving, if you asked Aventurine.
It wasn't as if Aventurine could make a ploy to escape the Stonehearts anyway- he did ask for a seat at the table of his own volition after all. But to know- that even death couldn't free you from turning your heart to stone, from the gaze of the Amber Lord...
While Aventurine was an older member of the Stonehearts than Topaz- he didn't take the risks to work together with the rest as Topaz had, and thus, unfortunately, and stupidly so if you asked him, was at a loss about the other members. Which led him back to Sugilite- for someone who made the necessary appearances, there simply wasn't enough information on the man at all. Unnerving. It even reminded him of Acheron- who, for someone claiming to be a mere Galaxy Ranger, had no information on her at all. Aventurine didn't think Sugilite was anything as incriminating as an Emanator of Nihility, but with the Stonehearts, you never knew who they used to be or what their pasts consisted of.
"Oh. Him." Topaz says, with a thoughtful frown, incrementing Aventurine's trepidation for a moment. She sighs. "His Cornerstone can read minds, first things first. I saw it once myself, but apart from that I know it's supposed to do something else, not that I know what it is. He does tend to keep to himself, even if he talks and acts like he knows us all firsthand. Strange if you ask me-"
Aventurine couldn't lie- the description had him feeling wary. Of course Topaz would be oblivious to the dangers of the statement she herself was saying, she wasn't very good at risk assessment after all, but...
Death...isn't something like that just a show for yourself? Sugilite's deceptively silken, amused voice spoke in his memories- and with that memory, Aventurine recalled the discomfort that had chilled his limbs. Why? Why had Sugilite spoken as if he knew Aventurine, body and soul, when they had only exchanged glances, not even words? There was truth in Topaz's words, a truth that she missed- Sugilite certainly spoke and acted like he knew everyone firsthand. Aventurine had the uneasy feeling it wasn't as simple as Sugilite simply taking a look through Aventurine's profile and files to come to that assessment, the way Opal and Pearl had. But then again, they at least had the sense to read through the lines, even if the files were clearly full of falsely placating statements, unlike other people Aventurine could name but wasn't very keen or willing to.
"-but even so, he's a little too assumptive for my taste. Competent coworker, sure, but he acts like he knows too much and he sure does, but it's annoying." Topaz says, frown deepening.
Aventurine weakly chuckles. "Even more than me? Come now, oh so kind-hearted and fair-minded Director Topaz. I thought I was the only one who stoked your ire. I'm fascinated at this character who's supposedly too assumptive."
Topaz rolls her eyes, before looking contemplative. "Sugilite doesn't have your poor work habits, so he gets a pass there- in fact, for someone as...hedonistic as him, he has some of the most excellent work habits in the department. Little too harsh, in my opinion, but always fair. Very focused on good work habits because he thinks they'll lead to optimum results. Trust me, this is the most anyone gets to know of him- I'm not surprised you haven't even heard of him before this."
Aventurine wasn't going to lie- that wasn't the impression he had of the sardonic, amused Sugilite who had appeared to be having too much fun at his trial, pointing out things the other Stonehearts seemed to want to leave well alone, such as how the decision to reinstate Aventurine was inevitably Diamond's anyway, whatever way they voted. Then again, Aventurine had been mistaken about people many a time so who was he to say.
All that to say- Sugilite sounded like the kind of man Aventurine could both detest and admire at the same time.
"When you say hedonistic- what's that mean? We're all rich, anyway, and that kind of descriptor seems to clash with him having a good work ethic." Aventurine inquires, curious.
Topaz makes a face. "He always has to have too much of something at any given moment- especially food. But it isn't just food. Funding. Backup. Violence, even. Kind of a show of power, you could say. I did say he was assumptive. He has a good work ethic, and a really good instinct for what needs to be done, but the annoying thing about him is he assumes too much without proof. Kind of cocky that way. If he says something is a loss, it's a loss. He won't work further on it. If he says something is a win, he gets it all for himself. Does it work out? Yes. Is it annoying? Also, yes."
Ah. Sugilite was one of those, then, wasn't he?
A man with enough power that he couldn't decide what he wanted.
Then again. Aventurine had always been cautioned never to judge at the first impression, and so. He'd reserve judgement-
-by trying not to meet Sugilite's curious eyes all the while as Aventurine himself scribbled on a sleeping and drooling Topaz's face using a whiteboard marker.
Does this fellow have to stare like that without doing or saying anything? Aventurine wondered in exasperation, before scowling and deciding to add an extra twirl to the makeshift moustache on Topaz's face out of sheer spite. If Sugilite wanted to watch that intently, he was welcome to. Aventurine wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of-
"You just possibly drew an indicator of the stock recession instead of a moustache, if that horribly rendered line was what you were going for." Sugilite says, clearly amused and Aventurine looks at Topaz's face- indeed, instead of a twirl to the moustache, there was now a line that one could very easily mistake for a line indicating stock recession on a graph.
Topaz continued drooling, mercifully enough, blissfully unaware of the sacrilege being committed onto her face at the moment.
"Could you stop that, friend?" Aventurine asks, turning to smile at the very obviously entertained Sugilite.
"Since when were we friends?" Sugilite asks, smiling. Now while that wasn't an uncommon response, it certainly was one of the more, in Aventurine's opinion, personally annoying ones. It indicated that the person wasn't shy about not wanting to play along with the cards dealt at the table. But sue Aventurine if he wasn't one to play with risks. That was literally his modus operandi. Sugilite wasn't going to creep him out today.
"Aw, don't be like that!" Aventurine chirps easily, even as one of Oswaldo's lackeys droned something about expediting resources and manpower from the Intelligentsia Guild to learn of Amphoreus's academic achievements and then easily provide them funding whenever necessary. Nice in theory. Exploitative in nature. As always with Marketing. Aventurine didn't give a shit- Diamond would be sure to employ a million objections anyway, and then it'd be Strategic's problem. Typical. "We're here as coworkers exchanging opinions on art, I'm pretty sure that entitles us to some form of amicability!"
Sugilite, in reply, snorts in derision even as Topaz's jaw involuntarily unhinges itself a smidgen wider. Numby, meanwhile mercifully continues sleeping away.
Damn it. He really is too good-looking to the point I can't even laugh at Topaz in peace. Aventurine thinks, involuntarily helplessly.
"I can't disagree with that. And you're sure you bear no grudge against my vote during your trial, to the point you can afford to extend a hand of friendship over something so childish?" Sugilite asks with a laugh rumbling under his words, eyes dancing with a curiosity that appeared malicious.
Aventurine was really starting to appreciate and detest this guy in equal measure. Perhaps not so equal then, considering the detestation was significantly winning, but Aventurine isn't willing to admit it so easily even to himself. Even so- Sugilite is someone he hasn't fully figured out. And he intends to try doing so, even if what he has figured out has failed to endear Sugilite to him.
"Well. I'm sure it was nothing personal." Aventurine says pleasantly enough, shrugging a shoulder, before deciding that the twirl-turned-line on the drooling face next to him could easily be haha, artfully transformed into a beard. So Aventurine sets out to scribble just that on Topaz's face. Sugilite leans over slightly, and Aventurine squints back at him.
"I thought you said it was childish?" Aventurine asks in question, and Sugilite chuckles yet again.
It's a testament to how bored Strategic is and how utterly droll the presentation is that no one's been keeping an eye on what Aventurine and Sugilite were up to with Topaz the entire time- Aventurine isn't sure if he wants to laugh, or sit in silence, but as with anything, why sit still when you could have fun?
"Doesn't mean I can't be interested, however slightly. That beard is delightfully unflattering on her. Color wise and shape wise. I'd be almost impressed if I wasn't so put off by how easily one could get into trouble for this." Sugilite muses, and Aventurine hates it, hates that despite Sugilite's clear scrutinizing of him, he can still make Aventurine feel at ease as if they were old friends and not coworkers on an uncertain playing field. Affable conversation clearly comes naturally to Sugilite, despite being blunter than a tree branch and certainly more dangerous than a spark poised to set everything ablaze, and Aventurine can't help but envy him.
Aventurine hates it- that Sugilite seems to know everything about him quite successfully even if the possibility of knowing everything is slim, while to Aventurine, he's nothing more than a mystery wrapped up in a showy suit. It's nothing short of irritating.
"Fair enough, but what can I say, I like a risky problem better than idle boredom." Aventurine says instead. "You got any suggestions for the beard?"
"Not really. I don't consider myself an artist, first thing. But I am curious to see what else you could do to improve on its comedic quality." Sugilite says, and while some part of that sentence is meant to be condescending for sure, it still comes off as genuinely friendly in a way Aventurine can't manage. Aventurine squints, and Sugilite just smiles wider.
Why was this guy so hard to get a read on? By all accounts, he had a track record on par of that with Topaz's, with fewer projects under his belt than Aventurine, and yet he'd been in the department for much longer. What was his deal? What if he knew what Aventurine was thinking right now, somehow-
"I don't. You're just easy to read." Sugilite says, and Aventurine stiffens, marker uncapped and frozen a few inches before Topaz's nose.
That statement more than presses on a few of Aventurine's buttons, to say the least. Sugilite clearly understands this, and he grins a little, the expression disarmingly and deceptively boyish as he then neatly takes the marker from Aventurine's hand and caps it, before elbowing him- Aventurine straight up glares, only to see what Sugilite's glancing at, and it's at the sight of Opal squinting at them suspiciously opposite them, causing Aventurine to then reluctantly smooth over his own expression, smiling with all the authenticity of plastic and causing Opal to snort and go back to staring at Oswaldo as if he's made of mud, before meeting Sugilite's amused grin yet again.
"That was a fluke." Aventurine says, just to be irritating. It unfortunately doesn't work.
"No, it wasn't." Sugilite replies, before handing the marker back to the distrustful Aventurine with a casual toss. "And don't take it personally. I don't know everything about you."
Aventurine makes a face, and he knows he's baiting himself into this when he could just go back to at least scribbling on Numby this time around, but he needs to set the score straight with this guy first things first- loose ends are detestable. "Yeah? Your vote back then seemed to make it personal. Can you really blame me for having made that judgement about you?"
"I don't, really. That's why I nudged you into this conversation in the first place, what, you think I couldn't have just saved ourselves the headache and let you emulate the artists of old?" Sugilite says, shaking with laughter much to Aventurine's mortification. "It wasn't a vendetta of any sort, heavens no, that's infantile. What, you think me telling that your selfishness costing us resources is personal? Did you think I was stirring the pot like some comically villainous witch, setting out to somehow oust you from the Stonehearts for my own personal gain? Do I look like Obsidian to you? They just asked me for my opinion and I mentioned it. Did you really think me pointing out my opinion, or my vote was somehow enough to oust you from the Stonehearts? What place do you have to be calling dear Jelena fanciful when your notions could put the History Fictionologists to shame?"
Aventurine has the decency to blush especially because none of what Sugilite has said is incorrect, however embarrassing it is for Aventurine himself to be chastised so thoroughly with no room left to save face. He resists from scowling, even as the other man continues snickering at him. "Well, it wouldn't be farfetched for sure." He mumbles, thoroughly chastised.
"It wouldn't be farfetched, no, especially as you have more projects and successes under your belt than me." Sugilite says, a humorless little twist to his grin- he's clearly displeased at that. At some newbie showing him up. (Aventurine feels a little twist of pleasure at that- that Sugilite isn't as cool-headed as he makes himself out to be.) "But I have my reasons for my plaints with your endeavors. I, want everything, every spoil that can be seized. I want absolute success. No losses whatsoever. If a project has even the slightest chance of failure, I overturn it. If it's wasteful, I discard it."
"One would say that's impossible." Aventurine says, quietly, unnerved at the intensity in Sugilite's voice- so unnerved that he cannot even begin to dispute the ridiculousness of the supposed 100% success rate that Sugilite seems so fixed in believing in. Nothing ever was a 100%, and yet...here was a man who believed in absolutes, discarding possibilities altogether. Completely diametrically opposed to Aventurine.
In lieu of disguising his discomfort, he repeatedly caps and uncaps the marker- the sound of the action loud as a gunshot, despite the room's poor acoustics, but the movement soothes him.
"But the impossible is what we Stonehearts achieve. Your results may have granted us Penacony- but why was there such a grand investment required to cement it as a success? I dislike that." Sugilite says, shaking his head. "You extended an overture in some capacity. I have the right to refuse because I don't agree with your methods. But," Sugilite pauses, and this time Aventurine inquisitively squints at him yet again. "I'm interested- you're not quite what I expected, and I'll admit I let my disagreeable first impression take over. Even if you'll result in a few inevitable losses with your games of chance, I don't think your overture of friendship need fully be discarded."
"Why? I wasn't even serious that time." Aventurine retorts, suspicious.
"I know. And it's exactly what I dislike, that lack of care with your words. But tell me this, don't your own methods involve capitalizing on probabilities? I rather like the peacock that brandishes its plumage in the face of a threat, the one I met just now, than the frivolous peacock that seeks attention to ensnare. I find more value in the first than the latter. And I told you- I don't like losses. My motives are simple." Sugilite says, shrugging. Mystifyingly enough, Sugilite could make something so casual a gesture look graceful. "Now. There's no need to look like I've ruined your entire afternoon, I doubt there's any space left to scribble on Topaz's face. Look over there."
Aventurine squints at Sugilite, refusing to acquiesce on the statement about Topaz's face, before looking at Oswaldo glancing at Taravan for a moment too long- explaining the silence that had permeated the background the entire time. The sight was nothing short of pathetic, to say the least.
"Why is he so intent on sucking up to Taravan? He knows this project doesn't require just the head honcho's approval, right?" Aventurine asks in mystification, unable to help himself.
"He's always been reminiscent of a giant infant that way. I'm surprised he hasn't called Taravan his father yet." Sugilite says distastefully, and despite himself, Aventurine wheezes with the faintest thought that for a corporate cooperation ("A friendship, Aventurine." He can hear Ratio's dry voice elaborate, and Aventurine has to make a, as the Amphoreans say, Kephalean effort not to laugh at the sudden thought)- this wasn't so bad after all.
(Sugilite had later suggested that amusing as scribbling on Topaz's face had been- it would be better for the image of the Department if they cleared her face before anyone else could make a pointed remark. Aventurine had been far too disappointed at the sound logic of this before Sugilite snapped a few pictures of Topaz's artfully decorated face, showing them to Aventurine with a far too pleased smirk. Aventurine had then happily later acquiesced- comfortable in the revelation that Sugilite was not a complete bore.
Topaz remains unaware of it to this day.)
The next time Aventurine spends an extended period of time of Sugilite, it is at Penacony and how Aventurine loathes that place, but it's necessary for a cooperation with the Astral Express Crew- Sugilite himself for once is fast asleep against the couch in the time they're waiting for the rest of the Crew with only the awkward Sunday (who was now an official Trailblazer of all the things- fascinating, that) having appeared first, taking a rare reprieve. It couldn't be very comfortable for the extravagant Sugilite- but Aventurine had already made the mistake of judging Sugilite right away. The truth was Sugilite just did whatever he liked.
But the sight of the older man comfortably snoozing against the couch brings the memory of their last conversation and Aventurine grins, winking at a hoodwinked Sunday, simply out of the thrill of having an audience, and takes out a marker, uncapping it and bringing it close to Sugilite's face when-
"Don't you even dare." Sugilite says just as Aventurine brings the marker to his nose, opening an eye and seizing Aventurine's wrist quick as a flash. An aborted noise escapes Sunday, and Aventurine glares at a serenely smiling Sugilite. "Should have told me our guests were starting to approach. This is rather improper, don't you think?"
"It's of no issue- Director Sugilite was it?" Sunday hurries to say before Aventurine can even say anything, and Sugilite glances at Sunday in interest, while still grasping Aventurine's wrist far too lackadaisacally. Aventurine squirms, but Sugilite drops his wrist as if it were nothing more than a toy, leaving Aventurine to huff at nothing in particular.
Rude.
(And no, imaginary Doctor in his head. There was absolutely no fondness behind that thought whatsoever. Whatever.)