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+---- Thread: [SE] i'll make you wanna think twice (/showthread.php?tid=10168)
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i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
Remi might be intimidating, but that didn't necessarily mean he knew how to be intimidating the way he once did. Even with his demigod strength and countless scars on display given the warm weather necessitating shirts without sleeves and shorts, he'd forgotten the ways he used to posture and position himself to appear more hostile, more threatening. The subtle partial shifting, the talons that replaced his fingernails, the wings that itched from his back in order to take up more space. Those muscles he'd learned to let atrophy over the years, and though he was undeniably a better man for it, as he pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead and mumbled an apology under his breath, Remi silently wondered if Ronin hadn't made the wrong choice in sending the Bastion to speak with Jack.
No doubt Jack would sense the oncoming storm that was Remi Taliesin before the Bastion reached for the handle to the supply room, not that Remi was looking for the element of surprise. His choice to enter the room without knocking had less to do with getting the jump on the captain and more to do with having watched the door since he'd seen the pair come out of it earlier and the captain slip back inside some time later. Since he hadn't seen Jack leave—unless there was some secret exit (and honestly, that was a real possibility)—Remi assumed he'd find the captain inside.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
On the contrary - Jack has sensed the oncoming storm that is Remi Taliesin - and the thorny discomfort of his husband - from well across the room, such that he's had ample opportunity to make his escape but has opted not to do so. For what reason likely only makes sense to the captain, but when the Bastion does open the door to the supply room, he'll find Jack doing exactly what he'd been doing all along (before Flora had conveniently dropped by, that is).
Near the back of the room, on one knee before a few boxes of supplies, he's filling an empty crate with a selection of liquor and a few other bits and pieces, hair swept back out of his face and his shirt still fully unbuttoned. [say]"I assume you ain't here for a wine to pair with your food,"[/say] he drawls as the door clicks open and he feels Remi's shadow drop over him, Jack setting another bottle into the crate.
Then, rising to his feet and gesturing to the shelves - it suits the captain just fine to play dumb right now - Jack gives Remi room to get whatever he must have come to the room to grab. [say]"Have at 'er."[/say]
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
It had been years since Remi had been properly face to face with Jack Barclay; back when he'd been Governor, back when Ronin still belonged to Safrin, back when the thought of his twin's conception would have had him snorting laughter. Only he wasn't laughing now, not with the captain on one knee and his daughter's lipgloss shimmering in various patches across Jack's chest.
Folding his arms across his chest in an effort to keep his hands to himself, Remi presses the door closed with one foot, giving his head a little shake to indicate that what he'd come in for wouldn't be found on any of the shelves. [say]"What is it you think you're doing with my daughter?"[/say] Keeping his voice as even as he could, though his words were phrased as a question it wasn't one he was interested in knowing the answer to. What he wanted to hear was that Flora and Jack had just been horsing around, and that there was nothing between them never mind how it had looked. The captain would undoubtedly feel that Remi's mind was a vastly different place to be in than when he'd last visited, but it was no less dangerous now that Alchemist had become Bastion.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
Oh, so they're going right into it.
It suits Jack just fine either way, though the door closing has some trepidation rightly locking itself in the captain's shoulders; a sensation he tries to roll out, as if he's gotten a kink in his neck from kneeling down for so long. (He'd been kneeling even when Flora had been in the room, Remi, not that you probably want to think about it).
[say]"Whatever she wants me to do, as a general rule,"[/say] he says in response, resisting the urge to grab his cigarettes from his pockets to give his hands something to do. [say]"Though I've got a feelin' that wasn't really the point of your question."[/say] Tilting his head as if trying to parse whether or not the Bastion is here for a fight (and already knowing that he's dead in moments, should the other man truly wish for it), Jack lets out a long sigh.
[say]"She know you're out here?"[/say] he asks, despite being able to sense the mirror conversation happening not too far away. [say]"Or are you just here to make choices for her?"[/say]
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
No, Jack, Remi hadn't been thinking of that and it's probably best for everyone if he remains ignorant of the specifics. It's bad enough for him to have to contemplate Hadama saying that she had lots of admirerers, much less letting himself think of her as a woman rather than just his little girl.
Saying nothing as the captain skirted around his question, it was far easier for Remi to resist the urge to fidget if only because he knew should his hands get anywhere near the wirey man before him, he was as likely to bend him into a pretzel as hold his tongue. It didn't help that on the beach with the void creature that two of Jack's 'attacks' had ended up sending flares of pain through the Bastion, nor that Remi had done his own fair share of shady business dealings with the captain during his tenure as governor. What really had the Bastion in knots was that for all the years he'd known Jack, never once had he seen him content to do anything other than fuck his way through the Halenani, or fuck Raza from time to time.
[say]"What,"[/say] Remi repeats in a low voice, taking a step forward, [say]"—is it you think you're doing with my daughter?"[/say]
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
It's funny, because in all the time Remi has known Jack, Remi has never known Jack - his daughter now carries that privilege above all others in Torchline, perhaps in all of Caido. And he's not about to have his neck snapped now that he's worked so hard to find it. He steels himself not to take a step back as Remi steps forward, but he's far too clever not to realise that he's phenomenally outgunned.
[say]"What I'm doin' with your daughter - and I don't think I am, I can assure you that I am,"[/say] he says softly, [say]"has been goin' on for years. Why do you only care about it right now?"[/say] He raises his eyebrows; if the Bastion had been concerned enough to box him into a supply closet within minutes of seeing it, has he been blind and deaf especially over the past few seasons?
[say]"She look unhappy to you out there? Hurt? Angry?"[/say]
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
Where Jack's words would have had little Cupid's arrows and cartoon hearts glistening across Flora's eyes, Remi received them with a slow curl of his upper lip, his fingers tightening around his biceps. Rolling one of his shoulders in an effort to stay the itch of his wings, he let out an intentionally slow breath as he looked the captain up and down. [say]"So it's just..."[/say] Unable to bring himself to say just sex, the Bastion swallows, jaw feathering. [say]"..a fling."[/say]
While no, Flora didn't look hurt or angry or upset and yes Remi had seen some amount of fuckery between his daughter and the captain, he'd also heard through the parental grapevine about trysts between Flora and Asta and about she and the dragoon. That had at least been serious enough to warrant conversations about him with her dead brother, her mother, Sunjata, and for Ronin to step in to keep Koa in line.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
Watching for both physical and mental signs that talons or feathers or worse are about to erupt from the Bastion's tight posture, Jack forces his hands into his pockets and for his shoulders to relax, enough that he only has to glance up at Remi the necessary one-inch of difference between them. From looking him up and down, naturally the other man will see the very star-themed tattoos, the marks left upon him by his daughter's hands and lips, the lack of obvious power where an Attuned or an Accepted might have sheer brawn to show for it.
[say]"If you'd asked me even a week ago I'd have said that, yes,"[/say] he says with a gentle nod. [say]"As it happens, though, now we find ourselves in a more formal relationship. And I promise it was as much a surprise to me as it is for you."[/say] Jack sincerely doubts that will stop Remi from murdering him, but perhaps considering Flora's feelings instead will.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
Remi has had the luxury for some time now of not needing to size up his opponents. Whatever vows Jack had made to Safrin were the least of his worries as much as whatever powers had come with them. His fingers could have been lined with mageglass and the Bastion still wouldn't have blinked.
As it happens Jack's promise makes things feel suddenly much worse, as if the captain had just tripped and fallen into a situation he couldn't possibly have seen coming. While there was perhaps a bit of truth in that, to Remi's ears it sounded far too careless for his liking. Running his tongue along his teeth and forcing himself to take another breath, Remi glances up at the ceiling for a moment before his gaze swiftly lowers. [say]"And just what the fuck is a man like you doing in a formal relationship with someone her?"[/say] Someone as weaselly and bad as Jack was, someone as old as Jack was, someone as cut from the wrong fucking cloth as Jack was.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
[say]"Figurin' it out a day at a time, much the same as a lot of people in formal relationships do,"[/say] Jack says, and for the first time perhaps there's a little bit of steel in his voice, his chin lifting a fraction as if to ask whether that is going to be A Problem ™ for Remi or not.
[say]"Sorry, I just wanna be clear here so I know if I ought to get on my knees to beg for my life or just wait for you to end it - you caught me in a supply closet to... what, exactly? Warn me off your daughter? The Queen of Torchline? The woman who has done - and will keep doin' - whatever she feels like for years now?"[/say]
Raising his eyebrows to ask if that's about right, Jack slips one hand out of his pocket to gesture around them. [say]"We're standin' in her bar, Remi. If she didn't want me here she'd kick me out herself. Hells, if she didn't want me at all, you'd have been comin' after me long before now."[/say] But that hasn't happened, has it Remi?
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
[say]"Yeah, because she's a fucking child."[/say] Remi snaps back, the snarl in his voice actually releasing a bit of the tension he'd been carrying in his shoulders and upper arms. [say]"She's, what? At least ten years younger than you and you're going to try and say that her doing whatever she pleases is somehow a point in your favour?"[/say] Flora did whatever she pleased partially due to his and Hotaru's failings as parents, but also because she was in her twenties.
As for warning him off, Remi can only huff out a shaky laugh. [say]"That is about what it comes down to. A man like you doesn't get the if you hurt her you'll be dealing with me speech because a man like you doesn't get someone like her."[/say] Straightening again, as with Ronin sometimes that one inch really came in handy, Remi gives his head a shake.
[say]"But just in case you want to argue, tell me how you think this goes. You two figure it out as you said, and then you start coming with her to family dinners? You go to Ronin and ask for her hand in marriage or maybe you decide to skip that step, give her a ring you stole from someone and build a white picket fence around the Ark?"[/say] Rolling his eyes, Remi can hardly keep the sneer from his lips.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
[say]"Say that to her and see how you fare,"[/say] Jack bites back - that's an easy enough one to counter, at least, with magic and the world being what it is. Not to mention his functional immortality, if they want to get into it. [say]"I don't see you questionin' the decisions she makes for an entire fuckin' region, and a lot of the people who live here are much older'n she is,"[/say] he says. [say]"Hadama included, and he seems to trust her judgement well enough."[/say]
No, it's not the same, and no, it won't make a difference to Remi, but it gives Jack enough time to say fuck it and take the cigarettes from his pocket after all. [say]"A man like me, mm?"[/say] he drawls, setting a smoke between his lips and striking a match. [say]"Same man whose pockets you wanted to line when you'd been in charge for five minutes?"[/say]
Taking a slow draw from the cigarette as Remi sneers and rants and acts the virtuous father, Jack is at least gracious enough to wait for him to finish. [say]"Didn't know you had family dinners,"[/say] he murmurs. [say]"Flora's never mentioned 'em. Did they stop when you were holed up in the Cordillera and left her to fend for herself, or are they a real recent thing?"[/say]
Exhaling a breath of smoke, he eventually raises his eyebrows at Remi, cocking his head at him. [say]"Honestly, Dad, if it comes to that I think I'd prefer to speak to Flora about it before I discuss it with you. Private business an' all, y'know?"[/say]
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Remi - 09-23-2024
Smirking, Remi raises his eyebrows, nodding sarcastically. [say]"You mean nearly ten years ago? When I was still older than she is now?"[/say] The math might have been off on that, but his point still stood. He'd gone into business with a man like Jack because he too had been young once upon a time, and now looking back he could see what a mistake it had been, just as Flora would.
Whether or not it's the mention of the time he'd selfishly hide away in the Cordillera, the mention of Flora having to fend for herself, or being called Dad that does it, but Remi finds his forearm suddenly pressed against Jack's throat, his body pinning him against the back wall, and were it not for the fact that unfurling his wings would have knocked some of the shelves aside, they'd have been flared out from his back. Instead, he settles for feathers snarling through his curls, and his teeth bared an inch or so from Jack's face.
[say]"Yeah, I've made mistakes and I've been a shit dad,"[/say] he growls. [say]"But you're still worse."[/say]
Giving the captain an unnecessary shrug as he straightened, Remi pressed his teeth together as he exhaled sharply through his nose. [say]"You're a businessman, Jack, so think it through."[/say] Trying to keep his voice as even as possible despite the way his pulse was thundering in his ears and the urge to simply break Jack's nose for the sheer fuck of it was so strong it almost made his mouth water, Remi attempted to reason with the pirate. [say]"A week ago you said there was nothing and now suddenly there's a relationship? You know this isn't going to go anywhere, and when it inevitably breaks down, not only will you have the Queen of Torchline coming for you, but almost every single demigod in Caido as well."[/say] There was no reason in hell for a man like Jack to bet on odds that bad, not when the penalty for losing was death.
RE: i'll make you wanna think twice - Jack - 09-23-2024
[say]"Point still stands,"[/say] Jack says with a shrug of his shoulders; whatever kind of man he was, or had been, Remi had still made a point of seeking him out when it was in Torchline's best interests. Wash the blood off his hands and one might also consider him an asset to the region, right?
Not something he can really discuss, alas, because quicker than Jack can take a breath - quicker than his magic can react, too - Remi has him pressed against the back wall. Honestly, if the captain thinks about it enough, he reasons that this is probably always where he'd have ended up, and his strangled laugh is a mix of smoke and blood from where he's bitten the inside of his cheek.
[say]"You know so much about me. I'm flattered."[/say] He chokes, tensing as he's shoved into the wall with enough force to make his bones creak. Taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he gently takes the cigarette from his mouth and drops it, crushing it underfoot.
[say]"How much would it fuck you off if I said I agreed, and that I did think it through, and I decided to do it anyway?"[/say] He asks. [say]"I don't doubt you love your kid, Remi, but at some point you gotta accept her business ain't any of yours. I don't owe you a justification. Besides, way I see it, right now, I ain't the one the Queen of Torchline's gonna be gunnin' for if this goes south between us."[/say] That honour is all yours, pops.