Honkai Star: Rail x Reader Oneshots

"Let me make you an offer, Friend" | Aventurine x Teen!Reader

Tags: Aventurine x Teen!Reader, Platonic, Mentor-Apprentice Relationship, Found Family, Protective Aventurine, Gambling Metaphors, Debt Repayment, Strategic Mind Games, Subtle Bonding, Hidden Emotions, Survival Tactics.

• Aventurine met you in a rather
unconventional way—caught in a game of your own, albeit one where the stakes were dangerously high. You were attempting to negotiate your debt with some questionable IPC associates when he happened to stroll by. He watched the interaction with mild curiosity, and when you caught his eye, he gave a knowing smirk and intervened with his characteristic smoothness.

• He’s intrigued by your situation, partly amused by the audacity of someone so young to get mixed up with IPC debts. He decides to help you—not out of pure kindness, but because he sees a bit of himself in your resilience and audacity. He “pays” off your debt as an investment, but he makes it clear this is not charity. His favor comes with strings, and he subtly suggests that you “owe him” now. But there’s something protective in the way he delivers this message, almost as if he's warding off others who might take advantage.

• Despite his initial aloofness, Aventurine takes a strange liking to you and becomes a bit of a mentor, though he would never call himself that. Instead of lecturing, he offers advice in cryptic phrases, urging you to think five steps ahead in every decision. He teaches you the art of reading people, gauging their motives, and knowing when to bluff and when to hold back. There’s a thrill in the way he demonstrates this, turning ordinary interactions into high-stakes “games.”
Aventurine provides you with occasional tasks, small errands that allow him to gauge your talents. He lets you accompany him to upscale IPC events, knowing that exposure to this world of high-stakes deals and strategy is the best teacher. He’s a sharp observer, quickly noting your strengths and weaknesses, and he offers blunt advice when needed. While he maintains his enigmatic aura, he never allows you to get too close, reminding you in his own way that trust is earned—and rarely granted freely.

• With time, Aventurine drops subtle hints about his own life philosophies. He talks about taking risks but always with a hidden safety net, teaching you how to survive in a world that might otherwise devour you. He tells you, with a shadow of seriousness, to never let anyone see how deeply they’ve cut you, reminding you that even vulnerability is a weapon when wielded correctly.

• Aventurine’s protective side reveals itself whenever he suspects someone might try to exploit you. Though he doesn’t make a show of it, he’ll quietly “rearrange” circumstances to keep certain people away or to ensure you’re not drawn into IPC’s darker undercurrents. He’ll offer a calm warning with a smile, his eyes glinting, as he reminds you of the “price of trust.” You know that, while he claims your debt as his own, he’d sooner see you free from it than bound tighter.

• Over time, your bond with Aventurine becomes something close to friendship, even if he’d never label it that way. While he maintains his air of mystery, there’s a camaraderie in the way he smirks when you catch onto his tricks or in the rare instances when he actually praises your progress. You share jokes—most at others' expense—and a silent understanding grows. Though his motives may remain unclear, you realize Aventurine has become an unexpected ally, guiding you with a peculiar mix of mentorship and care that only he could offer.

• Aventurine is careful not to coddle or shelter you. Instead, he pushes you to stand on your own two feet, even as he watches over you. “No one else will hand you a chance,” he reminds you, “so make your own and gamble on it.” Eventually, he hints that he sees potential in you to one day challenge him in the art of strategy. And though he says it with his usual enigmatic tone, you sense a rare glimpse of pride behind his guarded gaze.