--Galatea--

[takesitall]

[Aventurine watches as the movers bring his new statue into his garden. He recently bought a new house with a garden and it seemed a shame to keep it empty like it was. He'll figure out if he wants a statue or not later, but this one was decently priced for the quality and he is never going to say no to art of a pretty man where he can see it.

As the statue is placed down, Aventurine notices an odd device stuck on the back.]

Take that off, what the hell.

Comments

[takesitall]

I think so, too. Here, let's set this up.

[He sets the bottle down and takes the telescope from Veritas to start setting it up.]

It's been ages since I last did something like this.

[ignoranceisblight]

[Veritas helps where he can with setting the telescope up, but mostly leaves that to Aventurine.]

Has it?

[takesitall]

Yeah. After my family died, there wasn't much of a reason for me to spend time doing this.

[He's never mentioned this before.]

[ignoranceisblight]

... Oh. I see... my apologies, I... didn't realize...

[He pauses, before putting a hand on Aventurine's back.]

[takesitall]

It's fine. I never talk about it, after all, so how could you know? It was years ago now, anyway.

[ignoranceisblight]

[It doesn't really feel fine, but Veritas doesn't want to bring the mood down any further, so he lets it go.]

... Obviously, I've never done anything like this before, so... I'm glad I get to share this experience with you.

[takesitall]

[A smile.]

Yeah? Me, too. I even found a star map on my phone so we can try to identify things, if you want.

[ignoranceisblight]

[He perks up a bit at that.]

I'd like that a lot.

[takesitall]

[They pull up the map and figure out their location so they can start trying to figure out what they're looking at. At some point:]

Oh, I recognize that constellation.

[ignoranceisblight]

Oh? What is it?

[takesitall]

[He gestures.]

The Immortals. When one was going to die, the other offered half of his immortality so he didn't have to live without the man he loved.

[ignoranceisblight]

Ah, now I remember coming across that story once. It was my favorite in that collection...

[takesitall]

Same. To love someone that much? To change yourself like that? Goddess.

[ignoranceisblight]

... A love like that... If I could dream, I'm sure I'd dream of something like that.

[Perhaps it sounds strange coming from him, but...]

[takesitall]

Sis was a romantic. She loved that story.

[And so did he.]

It's just...yeah. You know?

[ignoranceisblight]

[He nods. Idly, he starts unthinkingly reaching for Aventurine's hand.]

[takesitall]

[And Aventurine takes it without thinking.]

It'd be something else.

[ignoranceisblight]

It would.

[... He can't feel very much, but what he can feel of Aventurine's hand in his... he likes it.

They have fun spending that night stargazing.

A couple months pass, seeing Veritas open up more and start taking interest and enjoying more things. They start going stargazing regularly. Veritas loves it.

It takes a while to start figuring out what to do with the sculptor's assets, but the first thing Veritas decides on is something he thinks up on a whim and decides to go through with. Today, he tracks down Aventurine, a couple of bags in hand.]

Aventurine? There's something I'd appreciate your help with.

[takesitall]

[Aventurine looks up from his computer, pulling his blue-light blocking glasses down.]

What is it?

[ignoranceisblight]

[Hm, how long has Aventurine been at that? Perhaps he picked a good time...]

It's... I decided I wanted to paint myself, but I can't do a complete job on my own.

[takesitall]

Oh! So you're not marble anymore?

[ignoranceisblight]

[He nods and chuckles.]

I'd like to look a bit more interesting. I don't dislike the white stone look, but...

[takesitall]

You want something more you, yeah?

[ignoranceisblight]

Yes, exactly. I went ahead and picked out some colors I liked already...

[takesitall]

Let's do this outside, then. Less mess to clean up.

[Up he stands with a crack of his back.]