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i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-20-2025
Flying home is about all Ronin is capable of, in truth, and though the journey is short, each beat of his wings threatens to wrench further at the deep gouges against his shoulder and collarbone. He hasn't considered going to the healing fountain, which probably would have been a good idea. Hasn't considered going anywhere except right to his husband, because whilst violet light still flows electric in his veins and he can feel the press of Dahlia's lips like a whisper of silk on the breeze, not even an infection from the Family can keep the Knight from doing what instinct demands.
Landing clumsily to say the least, he almost topples into the dark, cold waters. Luckily - and unaware of Isla's coming and going even by scent, given the iron that hangs in the air from his own blood - Ronin manages to right himself enough to fumble for their front door with a red-slick hand, the other arm clamped around his middle to hopefully keep his inside on the inside for a little longer. [say]"Remi?"[/say] he croaks. [say]"Trouble."[/say]
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-20-2025
Having returned to their shower once Isla left, Remi had lingered beneath the warm water, and then lingered some more, hoping (in vain, as it turned out), that Ronin would come home in time to join him. However as the minutes ticked on and the water threatened to run cold, the Bastion had moodily exited, putting on the same clothes he'd worn earlier with Isla before collapsing down onto the bed to wait for Ronin to come home.
The sound of a clumsy landing on the porch had Remi immediately stiffening, his eyes lifting from the book he'd been vaguely attempting to read. Already on his feet by the time Ronin pushed the door open, the Bastion hardly needed to hear the word trouble drop from his husband's lips. While it didn't make him move any faster, it certainly had his blood running cold as he immediately reached out to place his hand over top of Ronin's. [say]"Please tell me this isn't some romantic attempt to reenact that day you were stabbed back by my apartment..?"[/say] Shakily said, his attempt at humour falling far short of its intended mark, Remi tried to swallow around the lump in his throat; it wasn't unusual for one of them to stumble home covered in blood, and while grievous injuries were a bit more uncommon, it was rarer still for their presence to denote actual trouble.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-20-2025
[say]"Is it... working...?"[/say] Ronin's smile is weak at best, and he lets out a shivery breath to feel his husband's hand cover his own, needing the extra pressure against the wound. He'd sling his free arm around Remi if moving that didn't make his shoulder feel like it's on fire, the Knight dismissing his wings and lingering just inside the doorway. [say]"Could go for... a nice glass of... water...?"[/say] he ventures; his clumsy way of asking if they have any to rake him back from death's doorstep before they go, presumably, to give him a nice wash in the fountain.
[say]"Dahlia,"[/say] he mutters darkly. I won't be offended if you have to keep slandering our Family's good name to make yourself convincing, Ronin. [say]"Caught me on the dock. Threatened... Mateo and Flora. He's here, Remi."[/say] There, at least, the flood of his emotion is as pure as the peal of a bell; the fear he'd had for their children, the knowledge of what turning his back even for a moment and risking losing her interest would mean.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-20-2025
[say]"Yes and no; I remember it, but touching you isn't really making me feel like I'm going to pass out the way it did back then."[/say] Weak in the knees, sure, but that had more to do with the overwhelming tang of copper and the way his fingers were growing far too warm from the blood coating them. [say]"Gods, babe, what did you even—"[/say] But any further questions tangle in his throat as Ronin’s explanation begins, each word robbing him of breath.
Remi had guarded himself carefully with Isla—making sure too much of his own emotion didn’t spill onto her—but with Ronin, there is no such restraint. Worry flares hot and bright, forcing him to pry his teeth apart from where they’ve ground into jagged points. [say]"He who?"[/say] he hisses, voice trembling with an undercurrent of both fear and fury.
The panic that sweeps through their bond nearly staggers him. He clasps the Knight closer, glancing away only long enough to grab a canteen of fountain water. [say]"Oria! Sugar! Grab bandages, more water—"[/say] he shouts over his shoulder, the urgency in his tone enough to send the companions scampering to attention. Then his attention is back on Ronin as a tentacle slithers across the floor to pull a chair within arm’s reach. [say]"Sit,"[/say]” he instructs softly, though his voice trembles with the wild edge of someone desperate to hold his world together in the face of the horrors Ronin has just revealed.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-20-2025
[say]"Maybe we're... reversing roles?"[/say] Ronin says, pallid and sweaty despite the roguish smile he gives his husband. [say]"'Cause I think I might."[/say] Pass out, he means, the Knight ferried forward under Remi's guidance and straight into the chair he hooks out for him. Grimacing and clamping his hand more tightly over his middle, at least one good thing comes of the panic and rage that roar from his husband; it wakes Ronin the fuck up.
[say]"Mateo,"[/say] he clarifies of the he in question. [say]"In Torchline, with Flora. Dahlia knew. She said if... if we didn't back off from interfering, then... she'll kill them, Remi. Over... and over. Until we can't bring them back to us."[/say] Tears sting the corners of his eyes, Ronin tipping his head back as if to try and persuade them not to fall, even as Sugar trills her worry and drops a few rolls of bandages onto the table.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-20-2025
[say]"Wouldn't be the first time, I suppose."[/say] Remi mutters, voice low as he forces a wan smile before sinking down onto his knees, his fingers pressing gently along the edges of Ronin's wound to expose it to the healing water as he tipped the canteen upside down. Though the Bastion’s hand is steady, the anger beneath that surface glitters in his eyes like sharpened sea glass. Every muscle along his jaw flexes and relaxes in turn, as if he’s trying to bite back both curses and promises of violence. He can do little to stop the feathers that appear in his curls nor the way his body threatens to twist and shift into an entirely more bestial shape.
[say]"She threatened our children,"[/say] Remi murmurs in a tone too level, too calm, to be anything but deadly. The water cascading over Ronin’s wound holds the faint shimmer of magic and Remi forces himself to focus on that more than the hammering of his pulse or the way the copper tang of blood in the air has his stomach rolling. His gaze flickers to Sugar’s offerings on the table and back to Ronin’s face, hands still resting lightly on the Knight’s legs. [say]"Let me bandage you, then we can figure out—"[/say] Everything. Their next steps, both in terms of the Family and getting to the fountain. Whether it was safer for Mateo in Torchline, or back in Stormbreak. What the fuck they were going to do next.
[say]"Ronin, why..."[/say] Remi's breath hitches, teeth pressing against his lower lip. [say]"..why didn't you call me?"[/say] It wasn't an accusation, and gods knew that the Knight likely had a reason, but for the life of him the Bastion couldn't imagine what it might be.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-20-2025
[say]"That isn't new,"[/say] Ronin reminds his husband even as he feels his temper flare and balloon within him. He'll apologise later, given that Remi has just showered, for the bloody hand he smooths through his curls as if to try and tease away the feathers that ruffle through them. [say]"She's already killed Flora once."[/say]
That goes well beyond threatening - it's a promise that she means business and that she'll do it again. Wincing as the other man directs his efforts to the wound striking across his torso, Ronin lets his hand fall from Remi's hair, his breathing shallow and his gaze on his husband rather than his injuries. At least he's able to hold a real sentence now, which is good considering what he says next. [say]"I won't put them in any more danger, Remi,"[/say] he whispers, sounding heartbreakingly sorry for it. [say]"And you shouldn't either. We'll lose them both if we keep this up."[/say]
As for why he hadn't called the Bastion, he smiles a soft apology to him. [say]"She would have battered us both or just you had you stepped in to protect me. Or maybe she'd have called some reinforcements of her own. And then she might have gone to find them. What if they tried to call us to help, and we were both dead?"[/say]
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-20-2025
Remi’s initial instinct to act flares within him, a tempest of predatory fury that he struggles to contain. The memory of Dahlia’s cruelty and the ease with which she'd attacked him, the fear of losing Flora again, the threat against Mateo, all gnaw at his resolve. Yet Ronin’s words anchor him as much as the feeling of fingers threading through his curls, and while it might be impossibly selfish, the Bastion revels in the reassurance he feels that he doesn't have to go through this alone.
[say]"So we just...stand by? Watch it all happen to everyone else?"[/say] Anger blazes in his eyes momentarily, but the underlying pain dims its intensity, replaced by a haunted uncertainty as he remembers the cold shock of hearing Flora's voice in his mind, so casually mentioning that she was dead.
That she'd been murdered.
Remi swallows hard, the weight of his emotions pressing down on him causing additional feathers to appear beneath his husband's hand; his fists tighten, nails digging into his palms as his head shakes, though whether through defiance or ignorance is anyone's guess. Eventually, the wisdom in Ronin’s words begins to pierce through the fog of his outrage. The thought of losing more—of watching his family be torn from him again and again—shines a light he can't help but recognize.
A heavy silence envelops them, then; the only sounds the distant drip of healing water from Ronin's shirt onto the floor, and the sound of their breaths. Remi’s gaze falters, meeting Ronin’s with a mixture of horror and reluctant acceptance as he nods stiffly.[say]"We back down,"[/say] he whispers; the words feel foreign, yet necessary, as they escape his mouth. His hands, once tense and ready to strike, now gently rest on Ronin’s legs.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-20-2025
[say]"I can't lose any more children, Remi,"[/say] Ronin whispers, the admission as true as it is something ordinarily kept hidden behind thick chains of duty and promise and altruism. What his infection might mean against his status as one of Vi's chosen is anyone's guess, but if you asked Ronin, he'd insist he's still standing for life even through the purple haze that has descended over him. Having his family murdered over and over again, until the power granted to him fizzles out... that's a desecration of what Vi stands for if he's ever seen one.
It descends over him, that logic, simple and quiet and warm. It makes sense.
[say]"I'm sorry,"[/say] he whispers, his hand dropping from his wound at last now that his body is apparently able to contain itself again, resting, trembling, over the back of Remi's. [say]"I love you,"[/say] he adds, and somehow that sounds like an apology as well. [say]"I wish I could have done more."[/say]
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-20-2025
The words steal the breath from Remi's lungs as well as any lingering inclination he might have had to try and fight. [say]"No,"[/say] he agrees, voice suddenly quite tight. Aoife's screams ring out in his ears, the feel of her tiny fists pounding against his chest as her blood warmed him the same way Ronin's just had. Blinking away the memories only to be treated to the sight of Flora's cold body pitched over Jack's had him choking back what might have been a sob or a wretch.
[say]"No, gods, don't.[/say]” He whispers, pressing softly against Ronin's legs to lift himself slightly. The motion is clumsy, driven by an urgency he struggles to contain. Remi leans in, his lips finding the Knight's in a hesitant, shaky kiss before pulling back to steady himself.
Reaching out, Remi clutches for one of Ronin's hands, ignoring the blood that makes his skin sticky, and presses his lips against it. [say]"We'll keep them safe, whatever it takes."[/say] Even if it meant sitting out.
Even if it meant abandoning everyone else.
[say]"Are you alright? Other than this?"[/say] Remi's eyes sweep to where Ronin's skin had knit itself back together, despite the overwhelming presence of blood and the pain the Knight likely still felt.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-21-2025
Their movements are so in sync as to be practically orchestrated by now, Ronin leaning in even as Remi surges up, catching the kiss he aims against his lips. It might only be a brief and trembling thing between them, but it breathes just as much life into the Knight as every drop of healing water so far. [say]"Whatever it takes,"[/say] he agrees in a feverish whisper, letting the fingers of his free hand continue to gently work through the feathers ruffling up Remi's curls.
As for whether he's alright, he glances at the mostly closed wound at his middle and the still bleeding lacerations carving the space between his neck and shoulder and, wouldn't you know it, he has the audacity to shrug. [say]"I've been worse,"[/say] he admits in a hoarse voice, his lopsided smile weak and still apologetic. [say]"Might need a trip out to the fountain if there isn't any more water. Just enough to keep these shut - I don't want to bleed all over our sheets."[/say] As if that's the height of their problems.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-21-2025
And so it's done. Ronin, who'd died and been re-born as a demigod, cleansed from Safrin's clutches and elevated by Vi to be a White Knight for the world had made his choice, and beside him, the man moulded from death and dreams into someone capable of resisting nearly any blow, had agreed. For the sake of their Family, Caido was on its own.
Scoffing under his breath, Remi rolls his eyes with thinly veiled affection as he reaches for the Knight in order to pull him up. [say]"Mmm, good thinking. I've already done laundry for the week so if you bleed on the sheets, I will absolutely not be the one cleaning it up,"[/say] he teases softly, wrapping his arms around Ronin's waist in an effort to leave his shoulder protected.
No doubt they probably should reach out to Flora and Mateo, and despite the way their son had already laid into him once for not keeping him appraised of things as they were happening, gods but Remi found it difficult to think past the man in his arms. [say]"I was expecting a letter from Deimos, about Halo."[/say] He murmurs, handing Ronin the last of the water to drink. [say]"Do you have any idea what we should tell him?"[/say]
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Ronin - 01-22-2025
Ronin shouldn't feel himself sighing in relief at leaving the rest of the world to burn for the sake of his family, but there's some thread of tension within him that finally relaxes at knowing their circle of responsibility has narrowed down to their nearest and dearest. His shoulders relax as best they're able given his injuries, and he carefully gets himself on his feet so Remi might slip his arms around him. [say]"Far be it for me to risk your wrath for the sake of a stroll out to the fountain,"[/say] he agrees with a tired smile, his fingers trickling down over the back of the Bastion's neck.
Accepting the rest of the water and drinking it in one smooth movement - the lacerations on his shoulder close enough to stop bleeding but they still seem pretty nasty - he sets the canteen back down and sighs to hear about Halo and Deimos. [say]"The truth,"[/say] he says with complete candidness. [say]"The Family threatened ours, and if we don't stay out of things, they're going to kill our children over and over again, until we have no means to bring them back."[/say]
It's hard to say it again, Ronin frowning down at the canteen. [say]"...We can still be here for Torchline. And for our friends in any other way they need,"[/say] he says, as if suddenly worried that they will lose their grip on the world and all the important things in it if they don't remind themselves of what they can still do.
RE: i hope you know we had everything - Remi - 01-22-2025
[say]"Wisely said."[/say] Remi agrees with a crooked smile, as if bloody sheets were really the only thing he was worried about. They could walk as slowly as needed toward the fountain, taking all the time in the world with each and every stride. Exhaling, the explanation sounding so much more reasonable coming from his husband's lips rather than how he'd tried to formulate it in his own mind, Remi nods appreciably. [say]"Once your shoulder is feeling better...could I ask you to send it? You have a better way with words than I ever will."[/say] And if there was ever a time for Ronin's silver tongue, it was telling Deimos that they'd be unavailable to aid Halo right after more than half of it had been taken over by the void.
Raising his eyebrows in a silent question, if Ronin was ready to head out or not, Remi ruffled a hand through his hair and made a mental note for Sugar to freeze them a block of healing water that they could store somewhere that they might not have to venture out in times like these when all Remi wanted to do was fall into bed with his husband. [say]"I wonder if there's some way of keeping The Family out of Torchline."[/say] He mumbles more to himself than to Ronin; undoubtedly such a quest would absolutely go against Dahlia's conditions, yet the Bastion was slow to internalize the new restrictions they were under.