the victims of ourselves

you look like my next mistake

There was something to be said for revenge best being served cold, for allowing yourself time and space to get some perspective after something emotionally explosive; there was also something to be said about striking while the iron was hot. The iron in this case being Flora’s temper.

Slamming open the door of the houseboat, Flora was so used to being around someone who could literally read her mind that she was taken aback that there was no one standing wide-eyed to meet her as the door nearly banged off its hinges. Blinking at an interior that was far too cozy (and empty) for her liking, the Doubletake straightened, the heat in her cheeks pulsing along with the runaway beat of her heart as she looked around. The sliding doors near the couch were open, leading out onto the deck where presumably she’d find one or both of her dads. While she was still angry at Ronin for his hypocrisy and condescension, the majority of her fury was directed solely toward Remi, and it was his name she yelled as she stormed toward the outside door.

"REMI—"

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

Not long after returning home from the tavern, Ronin had been called away for Hero Duty. What the Knight was needed for Remi didn’t know, only nodding and waving with a slightly disappointed frown as his husband left, having very much wanted to collapse into bed after what had been a disastrous evening. The sudden slamming open of their front door didn’t immediately concern the Bastion as it wasn’t followed by any sort of attuned-emotions that would have suggested the Knight needed help (Remi assumed Ronin simply had his hands full and had nudged the door open too hard), but when the sound wasn’t accompanied by any emotions that he could sense, the Bastion sat up in his deck chair, head cocked.

REMI—

It took a good deal to cause the Bastion to flinch, and though he’d waved his arms to try and draw the attention of a void-dragon earlier that morning, hearing his name said with such revulsion now caused him to do just that. Biting back a wince as he rose from his chair, he hardly made it more than a few steps before coming face to face with his daughter. Holding up his hands as if to placate her, a gesture he was sure would have little effect, Remi softly sighed, shaking his head. "Flora…"

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you look like my next mistake

The combination of teenage fury and righteous anger has Flora practically incandescent as her eyes lift to lock on her father’s. A snarl tugs at her upper lip, curling it in a way that Remi should find familiar even if this sort of violence was rarely seen on the queen’s face.

"What is wrong with you?!" The Doubletake interrupts, her pace not slowing as if she might bully her father back outside by her mere presence alone; the inside of the houseboat was far too stuffy for her liking and nor did she think her dad deserved to have this conversation in the privacy of his home. Balling her hands into fists as if she might throw a punch, she raised her eyebrows, offering Remi exactly one opportunity to explain himself.

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

Retreating back into the sunlight, hands still raised, Remi reached inside of himself for that ever-present strand of gold which could teleport his husband to his side regardless of where he was or what he was doing. Wanting desperately to pull against it—he might be one of the strongest demigods in Caido but that didn’t mean he wanted to face his daughter alone—Remi reluctantly loosened his grip over his magic, his shoulders slumping.

"I’ll be the first to say that things did not go the way I wanted." Hastily said, judging correctly that he wasn’t going to be given much of an opportunity to explain, Remi nevertheless took a moment to sip in a breath, ruffling his fingers through his curls where uneasy feathers had sprouted near the base of his neck. "And it wasn’t planned. We’d just come for dinner and just happened to see the two of you coming out of that room, and…" Looking back wincing was probably not the right reaction to have at that moment, but Remi couldn’t help it as his mind replayed the moment, highlighting the sound of Jack’s hand slapping his daughter’s ass and the self-satisfied smirk on his lips.

"I really did just want to talk to him. To know…what was going on between you two. I’m your Dad, Flora, and Jack is older than I am." It physically hurts to say it, and Remi can hardly help the way he flinches. "He’s famous in Torchline precisely because he isn’t a good man. Surely you can understand why I would want to protect you from that?"

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you look like my next mistake

"How you wanted." Flora repeats, folding her arms over her chest, before immediately throwing them theatrically up into the air. "And what?! I’m not a child, and it isn’t like that’s the first time I’ve had sex in the tavern." It’s true enough, though really the queen is only making the point to try and increase the discomfort she can see needling at Remi.

"Uh huh, when you aren’t too busy." She interrupts. It was a cheap shot to be sure, but based on the things Jack had told her Remi said during their little discussion, the Bastion had taken plenty of his own. Getting very tired of the he’s too old for you, you’re too young for him argument, Flora just haughtily rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest once more.

"And how many years were you thought of as being a bad man?" Lifting her eyebrows, Flora juts her chin forward. "Hmm? Or have you forgotten your own shitty reputation and all the things you did to earn it?"

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

Her barb is received precisely as she hoped, with Remi closing his eyes and swallowing thickly. " Fine, it was just surprising. The last Ronin and I heard you and Koa were trying to make things work between you two." Her second attack is far harder to shake off. Sighing, Remi looks down at the ground between them, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck and nodding. "I know. I am sorry for that." He admits softly, and while he isn’t entirely sure that being more present in Flora’s life would have changed things at all, she’s not wrong for pointing it out his failures.

Full of venom apparently, Remi can only frown as he raises his eyes, regarding Flora with a look of hurt and surprise. "Well…" Fingering the golden thread that could bring Ronin to his side if only so that the Bastion could hold his husband’s hand, once again Remi releases it, sighing. "..had it been someone like me instead of Jack that you were with, I would have had the same things to say, I suppose." He admits.

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you look like my next mistake

Mention of Koa has Flora flushing and straightening, guilt and regret replacing the heat in her cheeks with a frosty sting. "We were." She admits, rubbing at her upper arm as if to soothe her growing anxiety, not wanting to think about the pain she’d caused the dragoon. "..but I fell in love with Jack, and…" A furrow appears in her brow, her lips threatening to tremble before the cinders of her anger are reignited and her eyes suddenly harden. "Weren’t you dating someone else before you decided to be with Ronin?" Had cheated, in fact, if the details she’d managed to glean over the years were to be believed.

Though Remi seemed to have missed her point, fueled once again by anger, Flora is quite happy to reiterate it for him. "Uh huh, but Ronin still loved you, right? Didn’t just leave you? Saw that there was more to you than just the things that you did that other people called bad?" Lifting her eyebrows argumentatively, the Doubletake scoffs. "The worst part is, neither you or Ronin asked either of us if we were actually happy together. You say that we’re being childish, but it’s the two of you acting like two people dating and having sex is the end of the world."

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

It had been one thing to hear Ronin recount his conversation with Flora, but it was another thing entirely to hear his daughter use the l-word himself. "Flora…" Surprised to hear how much his daughter knew about the early stages of his relationship with Ronin—thanks Vai—the Bastion sips in a hasty breath and shakes his head a touch defensively. "That’s…that’s not the same." He mutters, uncertain if he was right or not.

Feathering his jaw—was Flora right?—Remi shakes his head, his fingers itching above his eyebrow before restlessly curling into his hair. Hearing her talk about having sex with Jack still hit just as hard the second time, though it was easier to hide now that he’d already had to hear it once. "We just don’t want you to get hurt, Flora, and…Jack absolutely seems like the sort of man to do just that." Forcing his voice to soften, Remi stretches out a hand toward his daughter, wanting to tug her in close where he could wrap her up with his arms and wings, protecting her from everything in the world that might ever hurt her. "He didn’t once tell me that he loved you or even that he cared about you. Just that it was new and that you both were just going to do whatever you wanted."

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you look like my next mistake

"oh my GODS." Throwing her hands up into the air once more, Flora swats at her dad’s outstretched hand and petulantly turns partially away from him. "You’re acting like we’re getting married tomorrow, which—" Turning, she points an accusatory finger in his direction. "Still wouldn’t be an excuse." Huffing out a hasty breath, her anger having temporarily stolen her ability to breathe properly, Flora looks out at the sparkling ocean and the horizon beyond.

"So what if I get hurt? So what if he doesn’t love me back?" Though Flora’s voice has also softened her gaze remains just as hard as she levels a stare at Remi over her shoulder. Trying to suppress the cool draft that trickled up her spine before clasping clammy hands around her neck, the one that whispered that Jack wouldn’t ever love her and that he had been moved by her dad’s argument—or possibly had been thinking it already—the queen steels her resolve. "That’s life. You’ve hurt people you love and people you love have hurt you, and I doubt if there was a single time that you wish you had someone step in to save you from it."

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

"Flora." Raising his eyebrows, Remi's fingers pinch together as he gesticulates wildly in the space between them. "Listen to what you're saying. You really would expect that if you showed up saying you were going to marry Jack right out of the blue, your parents would have nothing to say about it?" Whatever the Doubletake thought she was owed, surely she couldn't believe that they'd all just shrug and nod? Even had it been Koa there would have been questions.

Her point about getting hurt is a good one, though Remi is still inclined to think that Flora's views on the way she'd proceeding with her new relationship were a bit too black and white. "You aren't wrong in that. Love can be messy and painful and sometimes even when it ends, it's still worth the hurt, but...Jack?" Sighing, Remi itches at his forehead as if he might smooth away the furrows of his frustration, still not entirely sure how it was they were having this particular argument about a man like Jack Barclay.

"All I mean to say is that..I understand taking risks especially where love is concerned, but Flora...even if you do love him, is this the sort of life you want? With a man like him? A man who'd rather be feared than respected? A man who hasn't just done a few bad things, but has made a living of it?" Exasperated, the Bastion shakes his head. "I know the dealings that I've had with him as Governor of Torchline, and I can't image Sunjata's were much better." Little does Remi know, of course, that they were both better and worse in some respects, but never mind. "And I know your mother and Ronin can probably be civil, but is that what you see for yourself? Think about what Sunjata is doing for your mother right now." Remi, who'd only been told about the Flood's proposal plans insofar as he was a conduit to inviting Enzo, merely shook his head sadly.

"You think Jack would go through all that effort, all the care and attention, to do that for you? Could he fill a room of people who would be happy for the two of you?"

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you look like my next mistake

Flora's emotional shields are able to easily deflect the majority of what Remi has to say, especially as it's the same bullshit she'd defended herself against with Ronin earlier that afternoon. It's only as he starts to suggest what it would look like to weave Jack into their family dynamic that she feels herself falter, the criticisms hitting a little too close to concerns that she'd been harbouring all along. It was why on the beach it had been so much easier to tell Jack that she'd fallen in love with him than to say she wanted a life with him. Why it was easier to live in the moment rather than thinking about the future. Maybe it could work, between them, and in truth it was only because for all of Flora's teasing the captain about his hair and his clothes, she didn't want him to have to change for her, knew that wasn't how love was supposed to work. That's what made it difficult to imagine a life for the two of them, and...

"Shut UP." It comes out all at once, her anxiety a bright flood that had her fingers trembling and her toes curling. "We're just dating, and you don't know a damn thing about me or him if you think he couldn't plan a stupid surprise engagement." Not least of all because he was a telepath, and if that was the sort of thing Flora wanted, it'd be the sort of thing she got. "You don't get to call me childish and then in the next breath act like I should hold out for some fairytale romance." She adds, jabbing an accusatory finger up at him.

"And!!" Taking a step forward, Flora reached out to punch Remi as hard as she possibly could in the throat. "You don't get to go around hitting people for calling you dad." If anything her knuckles would hurt far worse than her dad's throat would, but the gesture had been symbolic if anything. "You lay another hand on him and so help me the next thing you know you'll be watching Safrin officiate our wedding so he can really can call you dad. Older than you or not!" Cheeks red and eyes burning, Flora glares daggers up at the Bastion, her mind racing to try and decide which had been more over the line: hitting her dad, or threatening to marry someone out of spite. Either way she didn't regret it, not with the soft sound of Jack's sighs ringing in her ears after he'd told her how much it sucked to hear the things Remi had to say (and think) about him.

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

Holding up his hands once more, Remi bows his head and nods. "You're right. I'm sorry, I only—" Before he can continue her fist is connecting against his throat, and while it isn't even hard enough to tighten his throat, the shock of it has him staggering back a step and covering the area with a hand as if he really had been wounded. Spots of colour appear high on the Bastion's cheeks, his sea-glass stare wide for a moment before guilt drags his gaze down to the deck boards between them.

"I shouldn't have hit him, you're right." He admits in a low voice, his hand dropping away from his throat. "I'm sorry Flora. I really do just want the best for you, and...I mean, I've never done any of this before..' Hoping for her to understand that this was all unchartered waters for him as well, he hazards a glance up at her and extends his hand out to her again.

"Can you forgive me?"

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you look like my next mistake

Where some tend to deflate once their points have been properly made and apologies offered, Flora continued to burn brightly in her rage, not willing to let it go yet. Apology or not, she was still furious that her Dads had taken it upon themselves to lecture her the way they did, to be so hypocritical and rude. Maybe it applied a bit more to Remi than to Ronin, but the Knight nearly had choked on his water when she'd told him that she was in love with the captain, so. Fuck you too, Ronin.

"No." Swatting his hand away for the second time, Flora furrows her brow hard enough to have her eyebrows inching inward and threatening to touch. "You don't get off that easy just because it's new for you. Not when you're the one calling me childish. You're the one who decided to have a kid, so
figure it out." Pausing, Flora smirks cruly. "Oh wait. No, you didn't, did you?" Not one to normally use the fact that she was an accident in an argument, it seemed appropriate enough here and now.

"You don't get to judge my decisions and you don't get to harass my boyfriend. Got it?"

the bastion

Heavy like a landslide
That's the way my heart beats now

Not expecting his apology to be rejected—more fool on you, Remi, welcome to having a daughter—the Bastion straightens, looking dumbly down at his hand for a moment before sliding it into his pocket. "Okay." Sweeping his fingers across his eyes and then back into his curls, Remi was fairly certain that the sweat along his hairline was entirely caused by the heat of his daughter's words rather than the setting sun.

"I am sorry Flora, and I love you very much." It seemed to be the only thing left to say and even though he was sure his daughter would find a way to twist his words against him, they still felt like they needed saying. Yes he had perhaps gone a little strong with Jack (though really, had he? come on, it was Jack), and perhaps he and Ronin could have waited and discussed things altogether over dinner, they both really did have their daughter's best interests at heart.

Up until the last sunrise
I'll be reaching for you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!