undue (pt. v) Aventurine x reader
Explanations really do us no justice.
pt.iv recap: It's the familiarity that creates distance, especially in the dark, especially beside him. Series synopsis Series masterlist
notes: modern!au, uni student!aventurine & corporate!reader, f!reader (she/her pronouns), found family trope, guardian-like reader, age gap (19aventurine-24reader, flashback no romance: 11aventurine-16reader), set in imagined london.
It was another morning, with yet another reason affirming your choice for a walk-in wardrobe. The frosted glass wardrobe door set the perfect amount of distance between yourself and Aventurine.
It’s 7:20 now, and your coffee was already ordered and ready for pick-up downstairs.
“When do you have to get to school by?” You asked as you carefully pulled out your watch drawer. Today, you need a low-key watch, you can’t outshine your client, and all your bracelets don’t seem as formal. You look through all your watches, and you pick one with a white-gold case and a shiny mint green dial.
It was almost as if even your watches welcomed Aventurine's presence.
“You sound like a parent.” He mumbles in response.
He groans and you hear him flip around in the bed.
“Is it Friday yet?” He whines into the pillow.
You look down at the “10” on the dial of your watch, and smile as you say back, “Yeah, it is.”
“Want me to drop you off at your dorm? You can grab your things and move in for the weekend.” You knew that he had his reasons for not wanting to stay in the residence. Like always, you don’t need an explanation from him to comply.
His voice brightens up, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll Uber, you get to work first.”
“Plus… can’t get up.” He leans back into the bed.
You laugh, “Okay, I got you a breakfast sandwich and breakfast tea,” you pull open the sliding door.
“Should be ready in 15 minutes at the café on ground level.” You make your way over and pinch his face—the baby fat completely gone from the face in your memory—sweeping his messy, long hair to the side. You withdraw your hand.
As you step into a pair of less-steep heels compared to the ones from yesterday at the entryway, you say, “Bye!” the sound echoing through the space.
You turn to see him leaning on the kitchen counter, with a glass of water, the throw blanket wrapped around his upper body, and a pair of pyjama trousers extending to his mid-shin. He waves at you, smiling sheepishly, while he sets the mug down to the counter to use his free hand to rub his eyes.
“Hey! That’s my mug.” Eyes fixed on the bear mug in his hands, he was casually sipping from it.
It’s impossible to not smile at this sight.
The Sun wasn’t up yet, but the dim kitchen got a bit brighter.
Meeting. De-briefing. Plan devising. Coffee-chatting. Client meeting. Risk managing. Tracking. Documenting. Your morning was packed with events back-to-back, and that’s part of what you enjoyed about this job, that you got to challenge and push yourself. You were back at your desk after a short remote meeting, now on to managing the schedule for next week.
‘Ding!’ It was a notification from your messenger, you open it on your phone. There’s a big cartoon emoticon with a wink, and it reads:
K.K.: Are you hungry? Seen 11:37
Hungry. Break at 12:50. Seen 11:37
You send back another sticker with a character busily writing, named “busy at work”. In an hour’s time, you’re done reviewing the presentation one co-worker sent you, and it’s about time to take a break. There were only a couple of people in your team that haven’t gone for lunch.
K.K.: I’m here. Seen 12:38
You walk to the lift, going down to Ground. Walking out to the entrance, you see a familiar silhouette. At the corner of your vision is his car, which you assume to be his from its flamboyant style, parked outside the bollards. By the time you’re in front of him, he’s panting a bit, and he holds a paper bag up.
“Lunch.” He says between pants, “I made it for you, but it was also a goodbye gift to my roommates.”
You laugh. “Thank you for your honesty. I guess there are benefits to welcoming you to my home.”
Something unreadable flashes across his features; his pupils contract at the statement, and you feel as though your words were foul.
Aventurine is, was, and always will be welcome to your home—the last thing you want is him, as the receptive person he is, so believe that his presence near you demands an exchange of sorts... or as you had clearly annunciated, "benefits".
Guilt wallows in your chest; you're pressured to change the topic, which comes out through a light choke.
“Don’t you have class?” Your eyes narrow at him, then dart to the left.
“No, I don’t.” He raises his hands in surrender, a smile on his face.
“Got class from two to five-thirty.”
You think of the recent corporate Valentine's Day discount your boss mentioned for a dinner at The Peninsula. “As a thank you for the lunch," you comically jostle the paper bag with a small dance, "how about we go enjoy dinner together tonight?"
“Oh, so generous?” He chaffs, moving in and leaning close—so close you can feel the chilled mint from his gum that he'd pushed to one side of his mouth on your nose bridge.
“Family Day deal.” You push on his shoulder for some distance.
"Bring your things back home, and we'll leave together around six."
His gaze flickers to something behind you.
The motion of your two friends pauses and they move to the side. You definitely had tea to spill to them on the way back.
Jade: Boyfriend? Delivered 12:50
