no bullies or bums, the chums are tens here

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

Ronin's bewilderment richochets right back into Remi like an electric shock between them, and though he's still warm and steady against his husband, he doesn't relax against him at all. So what? he repeats. You were ready to rip heads off at the idea of a wedding, but this is fine? His jaw feathers a little before he clenches it hard enough to steady himself, taking a slow and steady inhale before releasing it again.

Aware only of the hardness of Flora's gaze and her obvious upset, there's alas no Attuned bond or magic parchment or telepathy for him to understand the toxic flower starting to unfurl its petals in her mind, and given that talking has thus far has gotten him here, he decides against making it any worse.

"Yeah, maybe best not to tell that story right now," he murmurs to Remi as he turns back to face the counter. There's been enough suggestion of nudity in the room already for one evening.

RONIN

// Got something inside, don't hide it, like dynamite ignitin' //

He doesn't quite grasp the entirety of everything she's feeling in the moment until her gaze finds his, glassy and threatening to drown in something too dark when there'd just been so much sunshine. Even then, he doesn't know the depths of all that gathers, only that the drop-off is there.

Every attempt to play nice is for her sake, certain that all things considered, she does not want this night dashed upon rocks which already claim far too much wreckage. The lighthouse of conversation beams out, the unsteady flickering of a breeze teasing the wick done for now. His thumb rolls over her hand, a pulse of comfort, keeping her with him instead of to that roar of seafoam and salt that'll ruin her hairdo. "It absolutely does," he agrees, voice softened with the fondness that takes up all the space in his breath.

To hear the sentiment echoed in return from Remi drags Kaisel's eye briefly from her, shooting the tried and true couple a broad grin. "Oh?" He leans in a touch even, more than happy to hear how they met, to focus on the love that runs like a current between them as if it could sweep them all of them up in the promise of something lasting. Instead, the lighthouse gutters again, and he doesn't think the winds will disperse without a change of landscape.

A small, audible noise of thought parts from his lips as he leans back. "Well, I won't stick myself in your dinner any longer, it's in very capable hands." He nods towards the pot that's called Ronin back like purpose. "C'mon gorgeous," he says instead to Flora, starting to walk backwards from her and out the kitchen, fingers tugging her along like something that refuses to let go. He even lifts his hold up to spin her about in the process, as if this is nothing more than a dance to music maybe only they hear. "We need to challenge Mateo and see if he can break my record for number of gummy worms caught without hands." That is to say, he wants to throw candy at everyone's faces, appetizer and entertainment in one.

Kaisel

// Take the music, learn to use it, turn it up 'til your speakers blow fuses //

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

She doesn’t need to be asked twice. The moment Kaisel’s fingers tug at hers, Flora lets herself be pulled, the tightness still knotted beneath her ribs loosening as she spins at his cue. Her laugh spills free like a gust of wind tearing through the tension, bright and breathless as she slides against him, curls bouncing loose from her pinned-up hair. She tucks herself beneath his arm with practiced ease, the movement instinctive now, as though her body recognises that wherever he is, she's already halfway home.

Her palm taps gently against his side, the touch affectionate and threaded with gratitude that she doesn’t voice—not yet—but holds in the curve of her smile instead. Whatever had been burning in the kitchen stays there, the heat of it left behind as they cross the threshold into the dining room, where lantern light dances against the glass and the air carries the scent of salt and citrus and something sweeter still.

"Mateeeoooo!" she calls out brightly, letting her voice stretch into the space like a ribbon unrolling through the air. Her grin sharpens as she glances up at Kaisel, mischief already gathering in her eyes. "Kaisel has a challenge for you," she adds, sing-song and dangerous, every syllable promising chaos, sugar, and maybe a gummy worm or two launched with enough force to qualify as a party trick.

the bastion

Remi’s eyebrows lift, a soft shake of his head trying to brush away the lingering edge in Ronin’s voice. He tries on a smile, light and coaxing, before sending a low chuckle through the Attuned bond. The way I act is rarely a good template to follow, he teases gently, amusement threading through the thought as steady as a hand smoothing rumpled fabric. He adds, a warm shrug through the bond, And an innuendo between those two is about as surprising as Flora and Mateo bickering. If that's what it had been, even. Maybe Flora really had gotten a few good deals at the market.

As Ronin steers them away from the story of how they first met, Remi offers Kaisel an apologetic sort of smile and a small shrug. "Another time," he promises, before watching as Kai spins Flora out of the kitchen, their laughter softening the last of the chill that had settled across the room. Once they’ve slipped into the dining room, Remi exhales, the quiet sigh releasing tension like a knot finally loosening.

Turning fully back to Ronin, he reaches up to rest a broad hand on the Knight’s shoulder, squeezing affectionately. His smile deepens—warm, familiar, just shy of exasperated—but full of love. "What happened," he asks with a soft chuckle, leaning in enough for their temples to brush, "to making a good impression?"

I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate
It doesn't wanna live in a cage,
A feeling that I can't housebreak

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

The distance is like the first breath of air after being held underwater for too long, Ronin nodding over his shoulder as Flora and Kai depart for greener pastures, leaving him with the coaxing warmth of his husband. Still, he’s not sure whether it’s because he’s usually the one doing the soothing and persuading, but something about it feels vaguely performative from Remi, jarring and unfamiliar.

”I’m not the one who was meant to make a good impression,” he points out, turning the heat down on a meal that’s two steps away from being ruined by over stirring and forcing himself to leave it be to wind an arm around Remi’s waist. ”Sorry. I think part of me was waiting for it to turn out like the last dinner we hosted with one of Flora’s boyfriends.” So basically a powder keg where they’re all holding matches and daring each other to toss them.

RONIN

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

Having been thoroughly enjoying himself eavesdropping and drinking, as Kai and Flora enter the dining room - and no one is even covered in blood - Mateo greets them with a broad and dimpled grin. He’s set the table (you’re welcome, Remi) and lit an over-abundance of candles, but if anyone asks about it he’ll blame it entirely on the spirits of the house.

”If the challenge is what I think I just heard, I am already convinced I win,” he boasts. ”I am practiced at catching things a lot larger than gummy worms in my mouth.” Bouncing his eyebrows and offering Flora the her mai tai he’s half finished, he relaxes back in his seat and grins broadly at Kai. ”Do your worst.”

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

// Got something inside, don't hide it, like dynamite ignitin' //

There's no audible sound, but it's a sigh of relief just the same when her laughter hits him like a chord that'd been hanging, waiting to pick up the remainder of the song after a an out of tune strum. Where she folds into his side, snug and warm, he tilts down to whisper sweet nothings into the coils of her hair. Each stride they take appears more like they've left the town drunk tank rather than her house's kitchen, a shuffling sway of affection that he prefers to stay just as is.

The trail of her words pours a scheme of a smile on him, which only spreads, then breaks into a robust laugh at Mateo's assertion. "We all know you have a big mouth Mateo, this is about skill." Departing Flora's side with her (?) drink as company to keep her now, he busies himself pulling a pack of gummy worms into hand. They're away on a shelf, no different from covert buckets of fish placed along the railings at sealion shows. Could be that this isn't the first time, or only room, where they've devised some game around the coveted treat.

"Alright Flo-ro, do your worst." He passes the bag to her like a knighting ceremony, after dumping some into his own hand of course, then flops into a nearby chair, head tilting back as he dangles a worm into his open mouth. "No cheating with your hands," he throws out, absolutely expecting Mateo to cheat otherwise (and still, probably). Then, with a gummy worm cocked and loaded in his fingers, he squints and lobs it towards the botanist.

Kaisel

// Take the music, learn to use it, turn it up 'til your speakers blow fuses //

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

Flora snickers at the back-and-forth as she glances between the two men currently vying for the coveted title of Most Ridiculous Show-Off in the Room.

She snatches her drink from Mateo’s offering hand with the precision of a woman who knows exactly when to seize an opening and drains the rest of the mai tai in one long swallow, the citrus burn a perfect match for the chaos already fizzing in her chest. As Kaisel ceremoniously hands her the bag of gummy worms, she accepts it with exaggerated reverence, holding it like it’s a divine relic. Then, with all the elegance of a goblin princess, she plucks one of the worms from the packet, places the very tip between her lips, and flicks it forward like a snake’s tongue, eyebrows bouncing in challenge as it swings between her teeth before she slurps it back with a grin that’s far too pleased with itself.

Spice, still coiled around Kaisel’s shoulders like the most judgmental feather boa in Torchline, suddenly lifts off into the air with a chirrup of interest, wings snapping open as she begins to hover in the gummy-worm crossfire. Her little white body zips through the air like a tiny, sugar-hungry spectre, clearly attempting to intercept the next volley with all the poise and menace of a creature who believes firmly in snack tax.

"Now it’s really a challenge," Flora declares as she takes aim with the next worm, weighing it in her palm like it’s an arrow about to be loosed. "May the spirits be with you, boys. And may Spice show no mercy," she declares, before throwing one at Kai.

the bastion

Remi, who set the table in post 20 tyvm feels the tension still clinging to Ronin’s frame even as the Knight’s arm winds around his waist, so he leans in more fully—no distance, no hesitance—letting his weight settle comfortably along Ronin’s side.

Chuckling under his breath, Remi will raise a brow as his head tilts thoughtfully to the side. "Based on how Kai handled that," he says gently, "I can’t imagine him being any less like Jack." His curls brush Ronin’s cheek as he tilts his head, amusement tugging lightly at his lips. "He honestly seems quite a bit like you." Which, if Ronin couldn't tell by the adoring smile on Remi's lips, was a compliment. It took a very specific sort of man to charmingly brush off words meant to incite a reaction, of which Ronin was absolutely one (and Remi, famously, was not).

His thumb smooths a small, affectionate arc against Ronin’s hip before he exhales; a soft, knowing sound that speaks to years of parenting, worrying, and loving their children fiercely enough to bruise. "It's hard seeing them grow up and be their own people," he murmurs, tone threaded with empathy rather than instruction. "You want to protect them from every sharp edge in the world, even the ones they choose themselves."

He shakes his head with a self-deprecating little huff, dimples appearing faintly. "But take it from me," he adds dryly, "as the one they’re normally upset with...vinegar and honey, mm?" Remi’s hand finds Ronin’s jaw, thumb brushing lightly across the stubble there before he leans in to press a slow, lingering kiss to the corner of his husband’s mouth. "Because as much as I do hate to admit it, ten years ago I was Flora's age when I married you." Which wasn't to say he was in any way advocating for Flora to follow in his footsteps, only that she was more than past the age where either of them could parent her without being utter hypocrites.

I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate
It doesn't wanna live in a cage,
A feeling that I can't housebreak

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

"A lot of my skills are transferable," Mateo informs Kai with a shit-eating smile; especially the ones that have him sitting with his mouth open. "I would never dream of cheating with my hands," he adds, feigning being offended as the other man gets comfortable, Flora grabs a gummy worm, and Spice's acrobatics begin overhead. "Perhaps I will even sit on them to make sure." Raising his eyebrows at Kai and knowing he'll be able to parse some of the intended innuendo from that, Mateo watches for incoming gummies.

At the first one he's forced to crane to the side to catch it, though he does manage to snag it just before it bounces down his chin and into his shirt (where he'll likely never find it again). "Aha," he announces, casting a furtive glance towards Spice to check if he's about to be dive-bombed for sweets, before reaching out to be given ammo. "My turn," he says, "it has been an age since I have thrown worms at my sister."

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

Remi settles against him, as stubborn in his love as he is with most other aspects of his life, until Ronin finds himself relaxing by degrees without ever intending to. It happens slowly at first, until he's melting back against the counter and twisting enough to slip both arms around his husband, shoulders bunched with tension that finally seems to be easing.

"Like me?" Ronin raises his eyebrows, a smile trying to sneak across his face despite his resolution to stay prickly, and he finally releases a sigh that tries to be a soft laugh. "I don't think so," he says, lips twitching with a more familiar brand of self-deprecation, "or at least, he's not until he spectacularly puts his foot in his mouth. Still, the night is young, so we might see it yet."

Teasing his fingers through the back of Remi's curls, when the Bastion speaks this time, the words are able to find cracks to sink into for understanding to dawn. "You were not," he hisses disbelievingly, turning his head to catch the slow kiss intended for the corner of his mouth with his hips. "That can't be right."

Except it is, and Ronin tugs his husband closer for a moment, nosing into his curls and closing his eyes. "I love you," he mumbles. "You want to go ahead into the dining room? I can finish up here and bring everything in when it's ready. Besides, I can hear... fighting? I'm not sure, honestly."

RONIN

// Got something inside, don't hide it, like dynamite ignitin' //

Chewing the gummy candy around a smile that won't quit now, especially once Flora's wriggling tongue is put on display and promptly consumed, he settles into the chair like an emperor at the Colosseum. His 'brows bounce up in response to Mateo, a low chuckle threading out. "I hope you wash them thoroughly before you eat."

Demonstrating just how capable he still is without hands, Mateo catches the worm like a pro. "Aaaay!" Kaisel cheers in response. "One down, five more in a row to go." Which is surely not the first time Mateo's taken six things in his mouth back to back. With Spice joining the game, he pulls his apron off and tosses it aside. Just in time too, because he sees Flora's fling before he's sat back and has to scramble low to snag it. The chair leans with him in the hurry to capture it, back legs lifting off the ground. As he sinks back with triumph, the legs clap loudly back into place with miniature applause.

Laughing, his gaze turns with faux betrayal to her. "Hey! We're supposed to be waterboarding Mateo with candy right now." Quick to turn sides now if she's going to be putting him in the firing line too, he absently tosses half his handful towards Mateo and his request. Distraction enough he hopes for Spice, and Mateo should manage to nab a few too, it gives him a grand opening to rapid fire two worms at her head. "I'm guessing the ones you used to use weren't gummy?" he asks without moving his attention from her, needing to witness the result of his attack in its full glory.

Kaisel

// Take the music, learn to use it, turn it up 'til your speakers blow fuses //

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

The banter between Kaisel and Mateo is so sharp and stupidly perfect that Flora’s already giggling before either of them even throw anything, her laugh bubbling up as if the air itself’s been spiked with something fizzy. As Mateo announces it’s been an age since he’s last pelted her with worms, she lets out a delighted squeal and shakes her head, both hands flying up in mock surrender.

When Kai snags the worm midair with chair legs clapping back into place like some applause from the candy gods themselves, she’s already grinning, but the moment his gaze turns to her in playful betrayal, Flora’s brows shoot up with exaggerated innocence. She lifts her hands, palms open like a woman wrongly accused, and tilts her head just enough to sell the look. "I was helping you warm up!" she insists, all faux outrage and too much sparkle in her voice to be taken seriously.

The first of Kai's gummies hits her mouth just right, caught between her teeth with a triumphant little snap that she savours far too dramatically. The second, though, she misses entirely, her gasp of indignation muffled as she dives for it. It lands on the edge of a chair, wobbles once, and nearly falls. "Five second rule!" she yells, scooping it up like it’s a priceless gem and slurping it back into her mouth with the smugness of a victor reclaiming stolen treasure.r.

the bastion

Remi chuckles into Ronin’s shoulder, the sound soft and helpless as he shrugs. "Maybe it isn’t putting his foot in his mouth," he concedes, the smile in his voice unmistakable, "but daring you to tuck him into bed every night with a kiss? That sounds very much like something you would have said if your positions were reversed." His curls brush Ronin’s jaw as he tilts his head, the amusement warm enough to melt away the last sharp edges lingering between them.

When Ronin catches the kiss meant for his cheek and returns it with far more intention, Remi’s nose wrinkles in boyish disbelief before he nods, slow and resigned. "It does sound impossible, doesn’t it?" he murmurs against the Knight’s skin, before he sighs adoringly as Ronin tugs him closer, sinking into the embrace like it’s the only place gravity wants him to be. "I love you more," he answers without hesitation, the confession warm and immediate and entirely reflexive. When he finally straightens, he tips his head, listening to the rising screams and chaotic thuds from the dining room. It all sounds...exuberantly violent and full of laughter.

Remi snorts, rolling up his sleeves with theatrical seriousness. "I’ll see if I need to pull them apart," he says, though the wink he gives Ronin undercuts any real concern. Stepping into the dining room, Remi pauses in the doorway, leaning a shoulder against the frame and crossing his arms comfortably. What he finds is not a fistfight, nor a meltdown, nor flaming furniture; just Mateo, Kaisel, and Flora mid–gummy-worm warfare, the room bright with laughter and harmless shrieks as Spice adds aerial chaos overhead.

For a moment he only watches, quiet and still, something soft and unfamiliar blooming in his chest. It’s the most unexpected sight of all: everyone getting along.

I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate
It doesn't wanna live in a cage,
A feeling that I can't housebreak

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!