Chapter Text
Title: Let’s Go to School!
“Is everything ready? Your wallet? Handkerchief? What about your ID? Did you remember to bring your food pack?”
Aventurine laughed as he buttoned up his shirt.
“Ratio, calm down. It’s just school.”
Ratio’s brow remained furrowed.
“It’s your first day. How can I not worry?”
The blond chuckled again when Ratio combed his hair for the third time like a fussy mom.
This all started last week, when Jade summoned him to her office…
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A Week Earlier
“A master’s degree certificate?”
Aventurine blinked like an owl.
Jade nodded.
“Yes. Diamond has reviewed your KPIs and found you eligible for a promotion. However, we still require complete documentation of your educational background to formalize the process.”
They both remembered how they met. Aventurine was still Kakavasha then—bloodied and defiant, a man who had murdered his slave master just to get a seat at the IPC table.
After his clan was wiped out, and he was taken as a slave, there was never a real chance at a proper education.
He wasn’t sure how to feel. So, he laughed it off—too loud to be real—because if he didn’t, he might think too hard about what it all meant.
“Seriously, ma’am. Me? Going back to school? I’ll be a laughing stock.”
“You’re going to Penacony Paperfold University College, not secondary school,” Jade corrected. “You’ve been placed in Fortune Academy, which specializes in financial studies and economics.”
Aventurine gave a low whistle to hide his nerves.
“So… I get to skip work?”
Jade’s smile widened.
“Diamond is not that generous. You’ll do a sandwich course—still working and studying part time.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” She chuckled. “If it helps, Professor Ratio teaches there. He can… accompany you. Perhaps offer private tutoring, if you kindly request it.” She winked, as if their not-so-secret relationship was a running joke.
Aventurine blushed and tilted his hat to hide his face.
“Uh… yeah. Noted.”
He was nearly out the door when she called him back.
“And one more thing. Remember to keep your identity as a Stoneheart confidential. Unless, of course, you want past enemies or clients getting… ideas about your classmates.”
Aventurine paused, then nodded.
“Got it. I’ll play double agent and earn that certificate, Jade.” He winked before stepping out of her office.
But even outside, the nervous flutter still lingered.
“Going back to school, huh? Who would’ve thought.”
Truthfully, he’d never had the chance. Now that he did… he was genuinely excited.
“Let’s bet—do I flunk my first test or ace it?”
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That Night
The familiar scent of ink and citrus clung to the air when Aventurine stepped into their apartment. He lingered in the doorway, fingers brushing the rim of his hat, heart still racing from the meeting with Jade.
In the living room, Ratio sat at his usual desk, annotating financial reports with crisp red ink. His glasses had slipped slightly down his nose. His pen moved with surgical precision.
Aventurine swallowed. Time to drop the bomb.
“Hey, babe.” He leaned against the doorframe with a casual air he didn’t quite feel. “Guess what Jade just told me?”
Ratio didn’t look up.
“You’re being sent back to school.”
Aventurine blinked.
“Wait—huh?”
Now Ratio looked up. Calm, composed—but there was a quiet tension in the line of his shoulders.
“She consulted me earlier in the week,” Ratio said, setting down his pen. “Diamond wants to promote you, but your credentials were flagged. They weren’t… IPC standard.”
Aventurine snorted, trying to laugh off the flicker of hurt.
“You already knew and didn’t say anything?”
“I didn’t want to influence your decision.” Ratio stood and crossed the space between them with steady, precise steps. “This needed to be yours.”
“But you let me walk into that meeting blind?” Aventurine teased, though the edge was real now. “Let me play the fool for Jade?”
Ratio’s eyes softened, just slightly. “Would it have changed anything?”
“…Maybe not.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Ratio exhaled and gently cupped Aventurine’s face—affectionate, but not quite enough to erase the sting.
“I’ve already contacted the registrar. You’ve been accepted into the part-time finance track. Your materials will arrive tomorrow.” His voice was instructional. Detached.
Aventurine frowned.
“Wow. You really planned this out.”
“It’s what you need, isn’t it?”
A pause.
Aventurine stepped back with a lopsided smile and a hollow laugh.
“You’re already slipping into professor mode, huh?”
Ratio didn’t smile.
“If you’re going to do this, you’ll do it properly.”
That stung more than he expected.
“Right. Better bring my A-game… or I’ll get detention.”
Ratio’s lips twitched. Almost a smile.
“I’m serious, Aventurine.”
So was he.
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Later That Evening
Dinner was unusually quiet.
Aventurine poked at his food with the tip of his fork, appetite dulled by exhaustion and something heavier.
Ratio sat across from him, sipping tea. Calm. Unreadable.
No argument. Just silence.
The meal ended with the soft clink of cutlery. Aventurine stood to clear the plates—but Ratio was already up, moving swiftly.
“I’ll do it,” he said, gathering them before Aventurine could.
Aventurine let him. He wandered to the couch, slumped back, and stared up at the ceiling.
What am I doing? Back to school. IPC work. And Ratio acting like he’s not my lover anymore.
He closed his eyes.
A minute passed. Then footsteps. Then the weight of someone sitting beside him.
Ratio didn’t speak at first. Just sat. Close enough that their shoulders touched—barely.
“You’re not a student to me, Aventurine.”
The words were quiet. Careful. As if they’d been rehearsed but never said aloud.
Aventurine cracked one eye open.
“You don’t say?”
“I know,” Ratio murmured, fingers folding in his lap. “I sound harsh. I’m… being harsh. But only because I know what you’re capable of.”
Aventurine studied him in the dim light.
Ratio met his gaze—firm, steady.
“You’re brilliant. But you’ve never had the framework to prove it. This is your chance. And I don’t want you to half-ass it because you’re scared—or because I went easy on you.”
“…But I’m not some investment portfolio,” Aventurine muttered.
Ratio flinched, then—gently, unexpectedly—reached for his hand.
“You’re not,” he said softly. “You’re the man I love. And I’m scared too.”
Aventurine’s breath hitched. “You are?”
Ratio gave his hand a small squeeze.
“I’m scared I’ll mess this up. That I’ll blur the lines. I want to push you to succeed—but not if it means losing us along the way.”
For a moment, Aventurine said nothing.
Then he tugged Ratio closer by the wrist, leaning his forehead against Ratio’s shoulder.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Let’s figure it out together.”
Ratio didn’t reply. He just wrapped an arm around his waist and held him there.
Firm. Steady. Like a man who knew he couldn’t be soft tomorrow…
…but needed to be gentle tonight.
“…Ratio?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
Ratio chuckled and brushed their lips together.
“Of course.”
………
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To be continued.