cinders and smoke

remi The higher I climb the farther I fall when I do It wouldn't look the same, but that didn't matter now. Remi's throat closed painfully as he squeezed his eyes closed. "I've never regretted much in my life Ronin. Or at least, not like this. But now?" Pain prickled the back of his eyes and if he could have, he'd have leaned into it. "I could have saved her tears, made them magical drops that would always last. I could have recorded her laugh. Her voice..." His teeth clicked together as his jaw tensed, looking down into the feather-lined hole. Surprised by the wetness against his cheek, Remi turned to Ronin with a look of distant awe. Reaching instinctively to wipe his husband's cheeks with fingers made rough by the sand, he tried to smile though it was weakly done. "You deserve so much more than that. More than just enough." He whispered apologetically. "More than just a hollow anchor if only I knew how."