Chapter Text
If Stelle were to be completely honest, she’d admit that sharing March and Topaz’s enthusiasm over Aventurine and Ratio’s relationship status was merely a smokescreen for how physically attracted she was to both men pleasuring her at the same time on Aventurine’s king-sized bed, which had no doubt already seen a lot of action.
Like Aventurine, for instance. He first came off as insufferably obnoxious when the Astral Express first encountered him in The Reverie Hotel’s lobby; that same glib tongue that had been so quick to cast judgment on her and her chosen family was now lapping eagerly at her folds, teasing with his skilled tongue until her flesh swelled with absolute bliss.
With his head pinned between her thighs, Aventurine looked as if he belonged there, his wheat-blonde hair spilling all over her pelvis and framing the debauched sight of his pretty face going down her—his eyes partly closed, cheeks flushed, lips and chin slathered with her juices.
And even in this state Aventurine still found it in himself to preen at her every so often: coquettishly tucking a stray lock behind his ear, sneaking up coy glances at her as his lips performed incredible work on her until she bloomed in pure, unadulterated pleasure.
Each and every swipe of his tongue and graze of his teeth sent her closer and closer to that edge of bliss. Her fingers clawed and dug into the sheets, feeling her body tighten in response to the slow, teasing swirls of his tongue around her bud.
This was the first time someone had gone down on her—as far as she could remember, but it was very suspicious the way her body moved and responded by instinct—and Stelle didn’t believe that anything else could be any more pleasurable until two of Aventurine’s talented fingers slowly slipped inside, filling and stretching her in ways that she couldn’t do for herself when she had the urge to, in lonely, neglected nights.
She gasped out loud. “Oh Aeons —”
“Hm?” Aventurine looked up at her from between her legs, a sh*t-eating grin on his lips thoroughly wet with her slick. “I thought you wanted to leave?” The sight was truly one for the books, and she had no doubt it would fuel her horny fantasies from now on. “You sure don’t look like it.” He dipped down once again to spoil her cl*t even more, his soft lips sucking on it, sending her entire body thrumming with bliss that threatened to spill over very soon…
“You talk too much,” said Ratio from behind her. His words of admonishment were stiffly spoken as usual, even as his strong, yet gentle hands cupped her breasts, thumbs lightly teasing her hardened nipples until her chest heaved in fast, shallow, aroused breathing.
The sheer pleasure, resulting from the maddening friction of the pads of his thumbs against her sensitive peaks, reminded her of where she had been sitting all this time: on Ratio’s lap, her legs splayed apart as his partner diligently worked between her legs with his mouth and fingers.
It was getting hard to decide which source of pleasure to focus on.
“Is this to your liking?” Ratio’s voice turned surprisingly soft as he checked on her, and all she could manage was a faint nod and a moan as he lightly toyed with her breasts. “Good,” he said, almost purring in that exquisite, elegantvoice of his, breathing hot and heavy against her ear, giving both her breasts a full-handed squeeze. “You only need to ask if you want more.”
One of the important things Stelle learned tonight was how incredibly gentle Ratio was in bed despite his standoffishness earlier; not only did he let her sit on his lap, his touches were done with her pleasure in mind instead of his. It was a stark contrast to how she generally knew him: blunt with his words, often abrasive in his interactions, and unapologetically self-centered.
What she had witnessed from him today was no exception: incredibly prickly and sarcastic outside of the bedroom, while inside…
Well .
The way he spoke in bed—softly, but with that underlying hint of dominance—hinted that he might know exactly how attractive his teaching voice was and the effect it had on… certain individuals. Like her, for instance. Hearing his authoritative tone drop to a darker baritone, whispering his guidance in a way that was sure to bring a blush to anyone’s cheeks, sent unfamiliar shivers down her spine. “Lean back further against me. Don’t be shy now.” She obeyed without question, sidling even closer against him and feeling his rigid muscles press against her back. “That’s a good girl.”
His elegant, almost erotic whisperings could persuade her to give up the Lance of Preservation and lay it at his feet, and she wouldn’t even question him.
Ratio’s heavy breathing against her ear betrayed how aroused he was; and yet nothing tended to the bulge that poked against her behind. Already too horny to care about pesky things such as propriety , she reached around and felt his co*ck through his pants, kneading his erection and quite enjoying the quiet, restrained groans that vibrated quietly in his throat. She kept at it, her palm stroking him through the taut fabric, relishing the little tells of how much he liked her touch.
Eventually he removed his hands from her breasts, forcing a needy whimper out of her. “Let me make it easier for you,” he whispered with a throaty chuckle—and oh, was it a delicious -sounding chuckle—as he undid the fly of his pants. Stelle didn’t understand exactly what he meant at first, until he pulled out his rigid co*ck and pressed it against her kneading palm. “Please, continue with your…demonstration,” he said, voice almost a purr; the way he said it almost convinced Stelle that he definitely knew about how much she liked the way he talked.
Deep moans poured down her ear as she grasped and stroked him from behind. Stelle could feel Ratio’s body shiver in response; she must be doing something right, with the way his hips started to slowly rock against her stroking hand.
“sh*t, that’s hot.” Aventurine surfaced briefly from between her thighs, his vivid-colored eyes greedily watching them have a little fun with each other. His lips remained pressed against her slit, now absolutely drenched with a mixture of her juices and his own saliva. “But you’re too quiet , friend. I want to know…whose name would you cry out when you come?” He dipped back down, tongue resuming its teasing swirls as his fingers continued to slide in and out of her hole, putting enough strength behind every plunge that her thighs shook at every plunge.
“ Ahh —so hard,” Stelle mewled, then keened as her legs tightened around Aventurine’s shoulders, pulling him even closer. “Wait—!”
“You’re being too rough!” Ratio snapped at Aventurine and was about to reach down to still his hand, but Stelle stopped him with a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss.
“You don’t have to be so careful with me,” she whispered against his mouth, almost breathless with the relentless finger-f*cking that kept on going even as she spoke. “I won’t break…I can…take it…”
“I am sure you can , but it doesn’t mean that you have to,” Ratio murmured in between kisses. “I cannot help but think that you falling victim to his indiscretions is my fault. The least I could do is to make the experience a bit more pleasant for you.” His thumbs now circled her nipples with a featherlight touch, sending jolts of electricity straight to her core, making her gasp and grind her hips against Aventurine's mouth in search of release.
Ratio's touch was so exquisite that she could almost org*sm just from the sensation of his thumbs teasing her nipples. Was this his way of apologizing, then, if he was right? It would mean that he was an accomplice to Aventurine’s ploy to…how did he refer to it earlier? To get into her pants. Yeah.
But…
Stelle didn’t care.
She couldn’t care, now that her body was glowing with heat and pleasure and—
A particularly long suck on her sensitive bud finally pushed her to the brink with a loud cry. She threw her head back, letting it rest on Ratio’s shoulder as her entire body succumbed, dissolving into pure bliss.
Unfortunately for Aventurine, Stelle’s mind was so numbed with pleasure that she couldn’t think, much less vocalize, any name in this state: Everything was bliss. Every inch of her was saturated in bliss, as was the air she breathed and the sounds she heard. Her eyes fluttered shut, savoring the creamy sensation of sinking into nothing but pure bliss .
She could feel Ratio shifting underneath her; yet she didn’t pay any attention—her mind hadn’t recovered from her org*sm, and her pulse had yet to slow down—until she felt the digging of his fingers at both sides of her hips and noticed that she was already straddling his lap.
“My apologies.” He urgently guided her down, until she felt his fleshy tip slowly part her folds, still swollen and aching with need. “As you can feel , I couldn’t endure playing the part of a mere bystander any longer. May I ?”
He did not wait for her answer; slowly he pushed her hips further downwards until he sank into her, her still-slick folds readily taking him in, with a little help from gravity.
Stars. Thousands of them. All Stelle could see were stars. Maybe even planets, if she wasn’t so overwhelmed with how good he felt inside her. She had read about how terrible first times usually went, yet with the way her every nerve ending sang with fiery delight, the way she readily responded to Ratio’s touches, his slow, deliberate thrusts further igniting the flames…it was as if her body told a very different story from her own memories—this may not be her first time, after all.
“Ratio. This is not what we agreed on~” Aventurine spoke in a sing-song tone, but it sounded more like a warning. Stelle frowned. Was this really the time for arguing? She was about to say something, but yelped instead when Ratio’s teeth grazed and softly bit at her nape.
“I am in no mood for negotiations right now.” And he truly wasn’t, not with his hips bucking upwards, in slow, measured cadence, driving deep inside her over and over, so much that her thoughts all melted together into one incoherent soup. “You want ‘first dibs’ with her, you said? Heh . Watch me take her on your behalf.”
Something in what Ratio just said should have set off alarm bells in Stelle’s head. Actually, there were already hints all over the place that there’s something going on between them that she absolutely must know—but f*ck it , she was in too deep now, or rather Ratio is, with each and every stroke of his co*ck inside drawing out a song of utter delight out of her lips.
“Fine, have it your way.” Aventurine, the utter gremlin , pressed his body against hers, his hand sliding down between her legs, feeling with his fingers exactly where her body joined with his lover’s as they rutted rough and hard in front of him. “But Miss Stellaron knows who made her come first, yes?” He leaned in for a long, tongue-filled kiss, flicking her bud with the pad of his finger in time with Ratio’s thrusts. “Make sure to call out my name when you come, yeah?”
“Nah, your name is a mouthful.” She flashed Aventurine a hazy smile. “N-no way.”
“Oh, boo . You’re no fun.” Aventurine pouted, before leaning down low enough to capture one of her stiff nipples between his lips. There was something magical about the way his tongue swirled around her areola, something so good that it set her off into another org*sm, her head falling back against Ratio's shoulder as her body fell apart once more..
“Haha, I won again.” He planted a soft kiss on her heavily flushed cheek. “I guess she's very receptive to my touch, eh, Doc?”
“...” Surprisingly, Ratio kept his silence, letting go of this chance to dish out a retort, to defend his rhetorical higher ground. Instead, his arms tightened around her waist; Stelle finally understood what was happening when she noticed the movement of his hips become erratic, picking up speed and putting more strength behind his thrusts.
“Don't pull out,” Stelle panted, reaching down to grab his ass and pulled him even closer. “Inside me. Please. ” It would remain a mystery why she even said such a thing, only that in here especially lust-addled state it felt only right .
“What?” Even as he protested, Ratio still slammed his hips against hers, burying his co*ck as deep as he could go. “This is not wise—” Yet the way his breaths came out in urgent huffs against her neck, how he clutched at her body possessively instead of pushing her away told of something entirely different. He was still a man like any other, after all.
“ f*ck wise.” At this point Stelle wasn’t sure anymore if she was still the one talking, or if it was the little horny monkey brain inside her head taking over. “Just…ah, yes, that’s it —” Her words faded into incoherence, until only loud moans and pants could be heard from her.
With a low growl Ratio succumbed to his own org*sm in one final thrust, pumping her full of his seed. She felt him tremble against her back, his groans barely restrained with his mouth pressed against her nape. He then tumbled back onto the bed sheets, pulling her down with him, and they laid there, her on top of him, his arms still coiled almost protectively around her waist.
Nothing else could be heard for the next few minutes but their gradually slowing breaths, and the slightest sound coming from sheets shifting underneath their bodies as Aventurine languidly stretched out over his king-sized bed.
What’s…what just happened, Stelle wondered, and found out too late that she actually voiced the question out loud when Ratio answered bluntly, “Sex. Sex happened. Not for procreation, but primarily for this gambler’s pleasure.”
“Eh?” Stelle rolled off him and sat up on the bed, looking at him quizzically. “Aventurine’s…? But what about yours?”
Aventurine’s slender arms reached out for her across the bed, forcing her to focus all her attention on him. “It’s…a complicated story, friend , which I don’t mind telling you, but…” Before she could say anything, he pulled her closer by her thighs, parting her legs so he could settle himself between them once again. "First, let me enjoy this very rare treat before it goes to waste, if that's alright?" He gazed up at her with those mesmerizing eyes, and there was no option to say no to that smiling face—prettier than a fallen angel’s, whose only sin was being born too pretty for his own good.
“Wait…” Stelle wanted to ask what exactly he was asking for, when the answer came succinctly with a demonstration: he dived between her thighs, his tongue lapping up the traces of fresh cum seeping out of her folds. “Oh, Aeons , what the hell Aventurine…” She gritted her teeth, having barely recovered from her last org*sm. The swirling of his tongue felt so good , yet also edging towards the unbearable pain of overstimulation. Stelle tried to wrest him away, but his grip on her thighs was almost iron-clad, pinning her down in place, forcing her to feel the undulation of his hot, wet tongue against her still over-sensitive flesh. “Wait…it hurts…”
“Just a little more.” He continued to feed on her, wet lapping sounds filling the profane silence of his room as his tongue delved even further into her hole, intent on licking off every last drop of another man’s cum.
Burgeoning embers of org*sm threatened to ignite despite the haze of pain radiating from her core. “S’too much,” Stelle rasped, once more clawing at the sheets. She cried out as Aventurine managed to wring yet another org*sm out of her, sending her writhing over the bed.
Yet rest would not come for her, not just yet—she found herself about to be taken once more, by Aventurine this time, as he urgently climbed on top of her.
“Well, you see,” he began, licking his lips clean of cum and juices as he parted her thighs, “I used to be a sex slave. Like the ones you'd see in the…spicy memory bubbles Dr. Edward hides away in his secret catalog. Oh, you didn't know there's such a thing?”
Stelle shook her head, her breath hitching as she watched Aventurine guide the tip of his stiff co*ck to her entrance.
He easily sank deep into her with a long sigh of pleasure, his hands propping up her thighs high enough for her to rest her calves upon his shoulders. “Tell Dr. Edwards that Aventurine of the IPC clued you in on his little dirty secret. Watch him shake in his little booties—oh who am I kidding, he's just a huge, disembodied eye thing.”
He started to move, slowly rocking his hips as he drove deep inside her in long, lazy strokes.
“Anyway. Collars, chains, being fed only after I service my masters...the works.” He spoke as if he were merely talking about the new cushion covers used in the IPC’s waiting lobby, and not f*cking his dear friend . After a few seconds his movements picked up speed, churning her insides until her juices dripped onto his expensive bed sheets. “I got so good with my mouth—I have to, or else they won’t feed me—that they passed me around like a blunt, then my masters and mistresses would swap stories about what wonderful technique I used on them.” He smiled down at her. “You liked how I went down on you, yeah? Please tell me you did.”
Stelle could only nod, her mind reeling from the combination of pleasure and shock at his words.
What the hell am I supposed to say to that?
His unprompted confession—if that really was a confession—fully knocked her out of the once heady, lusty mood.
Pleasure still flowed from her core as he kept on moving inside her, but it was quickly fizzling out.
She merely stared at him, speechless.
Aventurine didn’t seem to notice her change in mood, and he kept on thrusting inside while casually dumping trauma on her. “In any case, living like that would mess up any teenager...but me? I got through with it—though it made me crave sex all the time as a result. Mostly giving oral, man, woman, whoever wants to get it from me. Sex grounds me, you know? Keeps me from blowing my brains out. Funny that. Ratio here has been...helping me, so to speak, but I’m too much of a handful for one man to deal with.”
By now even the most obtuse could finally understand what has been happening.
No way. He has got to be joking. She threw Ratio a pleading glance, but he merely crossed his arms and turned away, choosing to sit out of the disconcerting talk.
“Aventurine...tell me you're kidding. Because…” Because it's too cruel. “It's not really funny.”
Aventurine leaned down and captured her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. His hips began to move faster, his co*ck hitting that sweet spot inside over and over, stoking the embers of yet another org*sm. "You like that, don't you?" he murmured, his breath hot against her ear. "You like being f*cked by a former sex slave. Does it turn you on, knowing that I've been trained to give pleasure in every way imaginable ?"
Stelle squeezed her eyes shut, and gritted her teeth. Despite her misgivings—his skill was undeniable. He stretched and filled her and hit all the right places, and…
This is too much…
“No…!”
She struggled to push him away, but he firmly pinned her wrists down the mattress with an unyielding grip. Yet the voice that spoke was incredibly gentle…and apologetic. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I was kidding—got carried away with the mood… I didn’t think it’d upset you so much.”
Aventurine pulled out, gathering her into his embrace, letting her limp, tired body drape against him. Careful fingers threaded through her sweat-dampened hair. A gentle kiss landed on her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he whispered once more. “Forgive me, friend ?”
As she looked up at him, all she saw was a tender smile, and not the unnerving grin of a stranger who had been toying with her emotions just moments ago. It was if every word that passed between them for the last couple of minutes were merely a fever dream caused by being f*cked so deeply and thoroughly.
The adrenaline of the moment had long dissipated, and Stelle finally felt the heavy fatigue of almost non-stop stimulation crash down on her, all in one fell swoop. She let out a deep, drawn-out sigh full of exhaustion, wrapping her arms around Aventurine’s shoulders to steady herself.
Ugh. I don’t know if I can keep this up.
“Well, f*ck me , I don’t think I can take this rollercoaster of whatever any longer,” she mumbled against his neck, feeling too weak to even move a finger. “I’m just here to catch up and play card games with both of you…I’ma tap out.”
“Aw, don’t be like that!” Aventurine looked almost vexed, panicking. “I still want to have a go with you!” He took hold of one of her hands, pressing it against his still-hard co*ck, slathered thickly with her juices and precum, in a desperate bid to show her his still-unfulfilled desire for her. “Feel that? I still want you…”
Ratio snorted from his seat by the head of the king-sized bed. “Next time, be more mindful of what you say, gambler.” He reached out to Stelle and lightly brushed her cheek. “Not everyone can keep up with your… foibles .”
“Ratio, help me out here, pretty please?” Aventurine was pretty much begging at this point.
His partner eyed him warily. “And what would you have me do?”
“Anything!” came Aventurine’s desperate reply. “Your magic hands? Legendary bedside manner?”
“The only ‘legend’ associated with my hands is how I manhandled that stupid , foolish student who thought he could buy from me a passing grade.” Ratio sniffed. “With my very own hands, I threw that little sh*t out of my classroom. Is that what you are asking for?”
“You know what I’m talking about!”
Ratio exhaled an exasperated sigh but beckoned to Stelle with outstretched arms. “Come here.”
Stelle hesitated for a moment, still feeling drained and overwhelmed.
She knew it wasn’t a wise decision to keep this up, but there was something innately compelling about Ratio himself calling out for her in such an intimate, open manner, that she soon found herself removing herself from Aventurine, clambering onto Ratio’s lap and into his tight embrace.
Soon she understood why Aventurine called out for his ‘legendary bedside manner’. No doubt it was based on his experience with the professor—Ratio simply knew how to kiss, or rather, he kissed as eloquently as he could speak; by the time their lips parted for air Stelle was in a trance-like state, pliant and receptive to whatever he would ask of her.
“On your knees now and lean towards me.” Ratio whispered the command almost lovingly directly into her ear, sounding like an entirely different man from the ornery scholar she was more familiar with. She obeyed without question, guided by the soft, careful nudging of his hands. This was a man who undoubtedly knew what he was doing. “Good,” he said approvingly as soon as he had her on all fours in front of him. “ Ten points .”
Even the soft way he doled out his praise sent a thrill down her spine.
Eager hands grasped her hips from behind. “Thanks, Ratio.” Aventurine wasted no time sinking back into her folds, making her sigh in utter relief . When he started to move inside her once more, grinding into her even harder, deeper… Stelle forgot why she even felt wary around him.
She even forgot that she had been tired .
The only thing that mattered was this very moment, the feeling of being pounded; when Aventurine reached around to rub her in time with his rhythm, she lost herself to utter pleasure, reeling forward only to be caught by Ratio’s strong arms.
Ratio let her rest on his lap, draping her arms around his waist. Aventurine’s enthusiastic f*cking bounced her body against the doctor’s, pushing her even closer towards him; her position—her head resting on one of his thighs—brought her lips dangerously close to Ratio’s co*ck, which was now slowly stirring back to life.
Precum dribbled at its tip, inviting her to maybe just have a little taste…
Stelle snuck a glance up at Ratio. The bright red flush coloring his face all the way down his collarbone gave his arousal away, no matter how hard he tried to give the impression of impassive neutrality. Of course, there was the very obvious hint of just how horny he actually was, which now twitched right in front of her face, begging from her all the things that she knew the doctor wouldn’t outright ask her to do.
“Do it,” said Aventurine breathlessly, sweat copiously flowing from the strands of hair down to the low of her back as he kept on plowing inside her. He had been watching and waiting for her and Ratio to put on a show for him. When she turned around to look at him over her shoulder she was met with a licking of lips and a smile that was just a touch unhinged . “He won’t say it, but he’d definitely love his dick sucked.”
“And since when did I need anyone speaking up for me, gam— hahh —” Ratio’s flustered retort was cut off as Stelle wrapped her lips around his fleshy tip; quiet groans replaced words—words he’d probably be loathe or too strait-laced to be heard saying.
But that was fine for her. The low, shuddering moan that slipped past his lips was pure music to her ears, better sounding than any spoken word, spurring her on to slide her tongue from the base of his co*ck to the tip, lapping up and savoring the heady taste of their combined fluids from their earlier coupling. The hand that found its way to the top of her head, guiding her rhythm, was all the encouragement she needed; Stelle believed she'd definitely score a perfect hundred points from the professor at this rate, as long as she kept at it.
It wasn’t easy sucking off someone while being pounded from behind. Still, she managed; the headiness of the moment encouraged her to push herself more. The mere idea of being spitroasted by two very attractive men—eccentric as they both were—made her power through the fatigue she now barely felt, drunk on pure adrenaline mixed with lustful desire.
The fingers holding onto Stelle’s hips tightened. “Not long now,” Aventurine purred, taking this opportunity to drive his co*ck as deep inside her as he could go.
Things were soon coming to an end, but she wasn’t allowed to feel the slightest tinge of regret; one of Aventurine’s hands slid down her waist and reached around to caress her yet again, stoking once more the burgeoning embers of another org*sm.
Her thighs trembled. All of her senses were now focused on the fingers that vigorously rubbed her until she could feel the imminent fall over the edge of bliss.
“ f*ck, ” Aventurine muttered, and he released inside her, his co*ck pulsing with each spurt of cum. The feeling of being filled, the twitching of his hardness inside had her unraveling once more, letting Ratio’s co*ck slip out of her mouth as she filled the bedroom with her cries.
Stelle could feel the slightest breeze touch her derriere. Aventurine had pulled out of her, cum dripping out of her hole and down her inner thigh.
A strong wave of fatigue swept over her and she reeled headlong onto the doctor’s lap. He’s not finished yet , she realized upon seeing his length—drenched in her spit, and still throbbing with need. She wanted to finish the job, to earn her perfect score, to win his approval and favor—but she was just too tired and spent.
Ah. I feel so used…
The siren call of sleep was too strong, too alluring to ignore. Stelle felt herself sinking deeper into the quagmire of exhaustion, despite her willingness to have Ratio finish in her mouth.
But his lap, still partly clothed with his pants only pulled down to the middle of his thighs, felt very warm and comfortable and he smelled of roses and soap and… and…
And…
Her thoughts slowed and ceased to make sense, as everything around her gradually melted into a welcoming state of nothingness.
It…doesn’t feel so bad, though?
Creamy, blissful nothingness.
…Strange…
“Hm. Did we overdo it?” Aventurine murmured breathlessly, still in the throes of his own afterglow as he drew in close to take a better look at her.
Ratio’s answer came strangely irate . “I’m genuinely astonished you can still pretend to care, especially since this entire scheme of yours was so meticulously crafted without her welfare in mind.”
“Ehh don’t talk like that, she’s my most precious friend, after all...I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, really. Maybe I'm just that good?”
How nice of them to check on me first , Stelle thought, squarely ignoring the part about ‘entire scheme’ that Ratio had so casually mentioned. That could be dealt with tomorrow.
For now…
Her eyes fluttered shut.
She could feel hands, hands that told of restrained strength and practiced gentleness sweeping her hair away from her sweat-drenched forehead. Another pair of hands stroked her back, trying to soothe her. She wasn’t sure which hands were whose but was very much content with knowing that they touched her with care and…maybe a bit of affection.
Or at least, it felt like it.
The pull of exhaustion tugged at her like a strong undertow; Stelle could feel herself starting to lose her grip on consciousness, which now started to slip away like sand through cracks between her fingers.
The next moments flew by in a blur. The same hands that caressed and calmed her took a warm, damp towel to her body, carefully cleaning away the fluids that spilled onto her skin—fluids that she secretly wished they left drying on her body to mark and stain her as proof that this night really did happen, and not a mere fever dream that would fade away like seafoam when she woke up the next morning.
And when she expected them to pull a blanket over her and leave her alone to rest, she felt firm, muscular arms lift her off the bed with such tenderness that belied physical strength, gently carrying her off to…somewhere that Stelle with her sleep-fogged eyes couldn’t perceive clearly.
“Run a bath,” she heard Ratio quietly say to Aventurine, and within minutes the steady flow of water could be heard, swiftly followed by a rush of warmth and light that enveloped her as they crossed the threshold to Aventurine’s en suite.
A soft chuckle tickled her ear while they propped her up on a stool placed in the damp tiled floor of the bathroom, carefully rinsing her body with a shower wand and rubbing bath foam onto her skin. “Look at her. Such a helpless little kitten,” Aventurine murmured, massaging the shampoo applied on her damp scalp into a thick lather. “I almost want to keep her here in my room.”
“She is not a pet, and you have a lot to answer for tomorrow when she finally remembers how to think ,” Ratio grumbled, yet the way his hands touched her as he worked soap lather all over her body held nothing but all the consideration and gentleness in the world. Maybe this was also what Aventurine meant by his ‘legendary bedside manner’.
How nice.
“I’ll give her everything she needs, all the dresses she likes, and… hmm .” Aventurine adjusted the water pressure of his shower wand, ensuring that she remained comfortable as he rinsed her hair of shampoo. “Oh, what if I tell you I’d fund and pull on all your favorite games? I bet you’d quickly pack up and move in with me.”
Fat chance, Stelle still found it in herself to think despite fleeting in and out of consciousness.
The bathtub was soon filled halfway, and after Aventurine stirred fragrant bath salts into the warm water, they both carefully lowered her into the bath. Ratio propped her up with a soft towel folded behind her back to make sure she wouldn’t slip underwater.
The soothing water enveloped Stelle’s tired body, and the rose-scented steam stirred up enough strength for her to murmur a faint “Thank you.”
“Save your thanks for later, friend,” Aventurine whispered as he let his fingers linger on her cheek, taking a moment to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face. “You’d probably…decide tomorrow that you hate me.” With a sigh he stretched out his arms and cracked his neck. “Right. Time for a shower—”
A hand reached out and gripped his shoulder. “Now, gambler,” Ratio began, his demeanor shifting to one of cold detachment. The rare softness he had shown moments ago had vanished, now that Stelle was out of the picture, for now at least. He gazed at Aventurine with a steely glare, his voice clipped as he added, “I have some unfinished business with you.”
Yet Aventurine wasn’t threatened, far from it. “I know, Doc. But maybe we can ‘do’ business in the shower, perhaps? To… hmm .” He grinned as he reached out to trace Ratio’s lips with a light fingertip. “...Maximize operational efficiency?”
“Since when did you start incorporating such odious corporate jargon into your speech?” Ratio drew the other man close, hands pressing against the small of Aventurine’s back.
“When I decided I’d use it to annoy people.” Aventurine hummed as he pulled his lover down for a kiss.
Both of them would likely be amused if they ever found out that the last thing Stelle saw before finally drifting off to sleep was Ratio pushing Aventurine’s smaller frame against the shower wall, and vigorously taking him from behind.
The soft moans that echoed and ricocheted against the acoustic bathroom walls would linger long in her memory, coloring her dreams with such vivid erotic hues that Stelle would find herself blushing from time to time for no reason for the next few weeks that followed.
The scent of coffee tickled her nose. Soft sheets flowed against her skin as she turned in bed, slowly stirring into wakefulness. A stray shard of sunlight slipped through the gap between the drawn curtains, casting a slice of golden glow across her naked shoulders.
She was the only one still in bed, but she was far from alone in the bedroom. The two men were having a conversation somewhere near her, unaware that she was already awake.
“...Ohoh? And you’re jealous, admit it. See?”
A metal spoon clinked against porcelain. Someone was stirring their beverage. It was immediately followed by the sound of someone sipping.
“And, pray tell, is willingly playing your ‘wingman’ or however you call it for your advances towards Miss Stelle a show of jealousy?”
“Well…” Aventurine’s voice rose to a playful lilt. “You did f*ck her with such…vigor I sure got fooled into thinking you were.” His tone hardened for a moment as he followed up with, “Despite what we’ve discussed and agreed upon beforehand.”
“Oh, Nous .” Ratio’s exasperation was palpable.
“In any case, Miss Stellaron is a nice…hmm. Palate cleanser? I say we invite her from time to time to our bed…”
“Do not get ahead of yourself. I have not accepted you as my partner. As far as I am concerned we are not sharing a bed.”
“Hmm.” The faint rustling of fabric. “Maybe not yet, but we’re at least partners-in-crime, yeah?”
A hushed silence fell and prevailed for the next few moments, broken from time to time with the sound of cutlery against porcelain. Stelle could also pick out the sounds of sipping on hot beverages, and the soft crumbling of freshly baked pastry, or bread.
“You should at least get her permission before they record this memory into another one of those bubbles.”
Aventurine sighed. “Don’t make it sound like I even have a choice,” he muttered bitterly. “When they said they’d use me for all I’m worth, they sure weren’t kidding.”
“Stop fretting. I’m doing all I can to buy them all out of the catalog. You only need be patient.” Ratio murmured quietly. “For now, do give her a bit of notice that maybe, just maybe , Dr. Edwards would have in his possession a memory bubble that could let just anyone moneyed to experience her inside out .” An exhausted sigh. “It would, of course, help if you exercised a bit more…discretion in the meantime.”
“I’ll try my best.” The scraping of heavy wood dragged across flooring. A quiet smack of a soft kiss. “And I will tell her, don’t worry.”
Unable to restrain her curiosity any longer, Stelle chose this moment to ‘wake up’. She sat upright, letting the sheets fall off her still-naked body and swung her legs over the edge of the king-sized bed. “Yo. Top of the morning!”
She was greeted by the sight of Ratio sitting by the coffee table laden with various breakfast items, a teacup in one hand and a tablet in the other. Aventurine stood beside him, slightly leaning down as he kissed his lover on the top of his head. Both of them were still dressed for sleeping: Ratio in his royal blue sleeping robe, and Aventurine donning the same dark brown silken pajamas with gold accents he had gifted her once, shortly after their ‘little’ scuffle during the Penacony Dreamscape incident.
“Did I uh…interrupt something?”
Aventurine straightened up and beamed at her. “Good morning, my friend! Was wondering when you’d finally decide to wake up.” His smile darkened slightly. “Did anything you’ve just heard answer your questions?”
Stelle froze before she was able to put on the robe placed on the nearby nightstand, waiting for her use. “Um. You knew I was awake all along?”
“Silly you. Of course we both did.” Aventurine chuckled, taking a bite out of his croissant. “It’s quite easy to tell who’s pretending to be asleep simply by the change in their breathing.”
“Uhuh.” Stelle slipped herself into the emerald-green sleeping robe, taking her time with tying its silk belt into a ribbon—she needed time to think whether or not she should even bring up the questions that spun in her head…like the memory bubbles, for instance. And…
… He wasn’t kidding about the sex slave thing, looks like.
Thankfully Ratio spared her from having to deal with something so uncomfortable so early in the morning. “Take a seat and join us for breakfast,” he said, regaining his usual brusque tone. The tender lover from last night was nowhere to be found.
As soon as she settled into a chair, Ratio poured fresh coffee into a cup and handed it to her, along with a small pill placed discreetly on the edge of the saucer.
“Huh.” Stelle gingerly took the blue tablet and peered at it. There were no discernible markings that could tell what purpose it served. “What is this?”
“You’ll need it after what we engaged in last night,” he bluntly said. “Do tell me if you experience any discomfort during the day. I will make adjustments accordingly.”
Oh.
“Aww.” Aventurine made a moue . “I wanted to see if the baby gets the Avgin eyes, or your obnoxiousness, Ratio.”
The aghast look on Ratio’s face as soon as he heard it was priceless.
Stelle took a sip of coffee. It was absolutely nothing like Himeko’s brew: only slightly bitter and tinged with a touch of acidity yet tasting more pleasant than mud . It took only a few sips to kickstart her brain, and she replied almost without thinking, “Shame. I wanted to play gacha on ‘whose kid is it gonna be’.” She popped the pill anyway, washing it down with a few gulps from her glass of water.
Aventurine’s laughter sounded like the pleasant pealing of bells. “See? She gets it!”
“I will not hesitate to knock your heads together if you don’t cease this nonsense immediately,” Ratio grumbled, then furiously swiped at whatever he was reading on his tablet.
There were a lot of things Stelle wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time.
Maybe they’d have a proper round of poker before it was time to go home.
