again and again and again

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

Though Remi had been given permission to fade away as a wallflower while the Knight went to socialize, there was at least one attendee for whom the Bastion had all the time in the world. (So he'd like to think, anyway).

Making his way toward Isla and doing everything short of waving his hands at her to try and get her attention that it might not be stolen by someone else before he could reach her, it would be with a slightly exasperated laugh that Remi will reach out his arms to try and draw her into a hug. "Gods, do you know how long I have been waiting for you to be free?" He wonders adoringly, understanding completely why it was that Isla was so popular, but of course hating it just the same.

Every time he sees her it has always been too long, and despite living in the same region for the first time since the barrier, it still feels like they're worlds away.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

"Remi!" Isla trills to the Bastion as he comes into view, her arms thrown around him to hug him close. "Every time I looked for you, your husband appeared to be asking for another dance," she informs him, despite knowing that her own social life has been surprisingly busy on this occasion. Regardless, now that he's found her unoccupied she has no intention of being distracted elsewhere, giving him a squeeze before stepping back enough to admire his suit.

"Ronin dressed you, didn't he?" she says through a slight whisper, her smile mischievous and conspiratory. Taking a second to smooth out his lapels and adjust the luxere fluff over his heart, she resists the urge to pinch his cheeks in delight (alright, she's had a few to drink by now) and gestures instead for the dancefloor as if to ask if he'd like to go for a spin, as it were.

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

"Alright, I suppose that is true." Remi agrees, pulling Isla against him and burying his nose against the crook of her neck where the familiar scent of her was strong enough to transport his mind far away from crowded ballrooms.

"We both know that he did." The Bastion confirms with a boyish smile, before straightening. Tilting his chin upward slightly to allow Isla her fussing, Remi smiles adoringly at her before glancing toward the dancefloor with instant agreement. "You know, once upon a time I rather did like these things." He murmurs, extending a hand to her before moving out onto the floor. Unlike with Everest, Remi's aura was such that most did their best to avoid bumping into him, such that as he placed his hand on his stomach and bowed before the former duchess, a good-sized circle of space had appeared around the pair.

"Clearly you needed no help." He says as he rises, his sea glass stare appreciably taking in the wine-dark contours of Isla's gown. The failed date the pair went on years prior was probably the last time the Bastion had seen the Remedy in anything more than casual clothing, and where once the slit up her thigh would have driven him slightly mad with desire, but now with only the memory of his memories of those times, his feelings on the matter are much more above board. "You look absolutely stunning."

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

"Well, he did a very fine job, if I do say so myself," Isla smiles, giving Remi's lapel a gentle pat once she's content with her fussing, before taking his hand and moving out onto the dancefloor. "I did too," she confesses, lowering her voice as if someone might overhear them enjoying themselves too much. "It's a shame we only really got close after Northaven. I'd have quite liked to dance with you back there."

Not that they'd likely have had an opportunity given her blueblood status, but it's fun to imagine.

Curtseying elegantly in response to his bow - and pretending not to notice the invisible space that seems to have opened up around them - Isla steps closer so she might loop her arm around the Bastion's shoulders and let him lead. "You flatter me, sir," she says with a girlish grin. "But thank you all the same. You cut a very handsome figure yourself, you know."

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

"You never know, perhaps at one of the masquerades we did." Remi says, raising an eyebrow and grinning at the former duchess. Having very few memories of Isla from that time, the Bastion couldn't be entirely sure.

"Well, that just so happened to be my intention." Remi says with a laugh as he easily slides his arm around Isla's lower back and proceeds to fit them into the not-unfamiliar steps of Caido's version of a tango. "I will be sure to tell Ronin that you think so." The Bastion chuckles. Though the room had only grown more crowded as the evening went on, to Remi at least, it felt as though he and Isla were the only ones for whom the small orchestra was playing.

"How have you been lately?"

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

"Oh - that's true! Then again, I feel like I'd have remembered you." Whether or not it's true, with the sheen of nostalgia cast over them now, of course Isla is able to say such things. Regardless of prior dances or misremembered balls, though, they can at least make some new memories here and now, and it's with easy delight that she takes Remi's lead and falls into the dance.

"Make sure you do, I know he works hard to get you presentable," she says with a mischievous wink, and while this is far from her first time on the dancefloor tonight, the steps have never felt so easy as they do with the Bastion. As for how she has been, she resists the urge to give him a little nudge with his hip for fear that it will ruin the rhythm.

"Very well, actually," she tells him. "I helped Flora put The Hanged Man back together, and things have been quite quiet at the clinic, despite the drama that came from the tournament." Drama that he'd have been present and accounted for, so Isla hardly needs to elaborate.

"...And I think I'm seeing someone," she adds under her breath, almost having to bite her cheek to stop her smile running away with itself.

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

"Well if you did, it would have been because I'd likely have been one of your few dance partners not trying to undress you as we danced." Remi chuckles crookedly. "You cannot tell me that those things were not just an excuse for the bluebloods to get a bit messy." Even he remembered the pawing hands, the groping, the number of closets which would have benefited from an occupied sign.

"You should see the number of things he puts in my hair to make it look like this." Remi says with a roll of his eyes. Ronin had taken to twisting his curls around one finger to get them each just so; conveniently so long as Remi could sit with his knitting or fishing rod, he wasn't too terribly bothered by it.

"Oh?" Surprised but delighted to hear that Isla was well—you know, given the neverending doom and gloom around them—he beams at her just as his hand slides away from her lower back and he pushes her out into a spin. It's the perfect moment for it too, as Isla will likely be able to see Remi's expression go from friendly adoration to possessive and confused, and back again, all in one revolution.

'You...think?' He prompts as he pulls her back against him, and whether the way his hand is splayed across her body has grown more firm or if it's just happenstance, is anyone's guess.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

"That is probably the politest way I've ever heard anyone refer to what used to happen at those masquerades," Isla says though a chuckle, shaking her head in embarrassment at the memory. "Alas, I think all of my dance partners tried to undress me with their eyes at the very least, so I can't have run into you. Unless you were the man who once stepped on my foot three times during a waltz, but that doesn't seem like you either."

Having been about to take one of his curls to thread around her own finger, Isla decides against it if only not to ruin all of Ronin's hard work. Instead, stepping out into her spin, she does indeed have the privilege of watching the Bastion's expression magically shift and change, and it's with a warm peal of laughter that she twirls back against his chest. "Remi," she says slowly, as if to remind him once again, "you are married, and my best friend, and I love you, and nothing will ever change any of those three things."

Doubting it will make a difference and vowing, regardless, to bother the Bastion a lot more often at his houseboat and in general, Isla nods across the dancefloor where a certain aviator in a plum coloured suit is still in attendance. "It's very casual at the moment, but I think I'd like to see where it goes," she whispers.

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

"Well, I always left before things got too messy." Remi admits, though really, that had only been the case because of those certain attendees he would have liked to get messy with, they always found themselves in the arms of someone else. "Ahh, well. Likely not me then." The undressing her with his eyes bit would come several years after Northaven, as it turned out.

Unable to do much more than laugh at himself, Remi ruins a few steps of their dance in virtue of holding Isla against his chest for a moment and sighing a small hum of apology into her hair. "Of course you are right. Remembering our history the way I do...it...it's just strange." He admits with a bashful shrug; Remi had given up any claim to feelings of jealousy when he'd gone to Ludo and extracted all of his memories (and thus his feelings) for the Remedy. Having witnessed them anew left him only with an echo of yearning and passion that was only ever skin-deep, and yet still caused his heart to stumble and his stomach to clench at the strangest of times.

"I love you too, and I only ever want you to be hap—" Following Isla's nod, Remi half expected to see Astaroth at the end of her gaze. Seeing Everest had the Bastion blinking in surprise for a moment. "—py." That the aviator was the same age as his children wasn't even what he found the most difficult to accept. "Oh, well that's....unexpected." He admits with a chuckle, before returning his gaze to the Remedy. "Is it too early for me to tell him that I will break every bone in his body if he hurts you?"

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

"Mm, I bet it is," Isla says, her tone one of understanding threaded through with unfettered joy, because strange is still better than not at all, and that's what she'd had for so long that she'll take this over it every time. Quite content to ruin a few steps of tango so she can lean against Remi's chest and clutch him close in a hug, it's only as the Bastion speaks again that she steps back enough to be able to recover the dance.

Only to laugh again to hear his stuttered surprise, and it's with pink cheeks that she lets her gaze linger on Everest for a few moments, before her attention returns to Remi. "It was unexpected for me as well," she agrees. Of course, having little concept of same age given the two deaths and a long period of time as both a horse and an ageless robot woman, happiness is just that for Isla.

"Oh, it is never too early for that, I don't think," she assures him with a wink. "Good for him to know what he might be getting into, right? If he can't handle you, I doubt he could take me." Haha jokes, see, because Remi is... and compared to... yeah, you get it.

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

Remi considers asking Isla what it's like for her, but decides against it. The last thing his (when it comes to Isla) strangely fragile ego can take is hearing that she's summarily over him, if only because of the place of longing she'll always occupy in his own heart. Best that he keeps quiet about it and just go home to his utterly perfect husband instead.

"Excellent." Jokingly, Remi lets go of Isla as if he means to storm across the dance floor right then and there and pin the aviator up against the wall, the Bastion snatches his hold back as the pair continue to glide along to the music. "Not saying that you cannot handle yourself, but..." Remi might have put his days of being a murderous bastard behind him, but that didn't mean he wasn't still capable of making things exceedingly difficult for anyone who hurt his best friend.

"All that to say, I of course support anything that makes you happy. You deserve it." Even if what made Isla happy at present was a man who'd once asked if he could watch Remi and Ronin have sex.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

"Remi," Isla scolds playfully as he parts from her, though her cheeks are starting to hurt from the force of her smile as they come together once more. "I'm grateful for it," she promises, giving his shoulders a squeeze where her arm comes to drape around them once more. "I might be a strong independent woman, but I've had to go it alone for long enough that I'll never not appreciate having you at my back."

Perhaps that's what it means to finally reach a happy middle ground - or maybe Isla is just kidding herself before the next drama. (Looking squarely at you, void-brainwashed Everest Hart).

"Thank you," she murmurs regardless, and means it, Isla leaning up to kiss Remi's cheek before twirling away in another spin. "But enough about me - how have you been, now that your life as Mort's shield has begun?"

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the bastion

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

"Gods, but I do love you." The Bastion groans as if he's helpless to do anything but heel to Isla's wishes, and, given all that he's put her through over the years, that's likely the very least he can do for her.

With his cheeks appropriately dimpled in response, Remi releases the Remedy with one hand as she twirls away from him. "Oh, wonderful. So far I have taken up knitting and fishing." He boasts, tugging her back against him with ease before leaning forward to press her back into a dip. "I am sure I do not need to tell you, but not receiving scraps of paper in my pocket with the names of those I have to send to Mort's halls has done wonders for my mood."

Of course it wasn't all Ludo's fault, but certainly without the constantly call of the herald Remi had both the time and energy to find his way back to the more important things in his life. "And Ronin and just had a playdate with Aoife." He all but gushes as he easily lifts the Remedy back onto her feet.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

one bright morning goes so easy

Tipping Remi a wink that says what she can't given that she's spinning away - As you should, Remi Taliesin - instead Isla's brows raise to hear of the Bastion's new hobbies. "My, you are busier than you ever were before," she trills. "I'll have to see if you can try your hand at knitting me some gauze for the clinic. We could always use some volunteers."

Granted, however cheerful Remi is these days, Isla isn't that convinced that her patients will feel at ease with death's chosen sitting in her waiting room. Still, if he wants to add clinic work to his repertoire, she won't turn him away.

"Oh I bet," she agrees wholeheartedly, leaning back into the dip with all the trust of someone who knows she's at no risk of being dropped. "I'll never stop being happy for you about this, you know."

Apparently it's nowhere near the best thing, though, and the Bastion drops that little bombshell as Isla straightens up. "You did? Remi," she whispers, eyes brimming with happy tears already, and she utterly ruins the last steps of their tango to throw her arms around him in a tight hug. "That's incredible. How was it? How are you both, after?"

darkness always finds you either way

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!