no bullies or bums, the chums are tens here

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

"What I do with my hands is none of your business, Kaisel," Mateo trills, beaming at him. "Especially not now that you are dating my sister." His eyebrows raise theatrically at that little addition, as if he's giving the other man a Very Serious Warning not to swoon all over him now that he and Flora are an official item. Speaking of his sister, though, he reaches out to snag as many gummies as he can (the ones that Spice doesn't snatch out of the air), immediately lobbing one towards the Doubletake right after the barrage from Kai.

"Well we did spend a lot of time playing in the Greatwood. And that is quite a magical place, so there is always a chance that some of them were gummy." He grins. "...But no. Most were not. I was trying to educate her about the soil, is all."

It's at that point that he catches the shadow of Remi suddenly leaning against the doorway, looking like the epitome of a dad watching his kids up to some tomfoolery. And so naturally, and entirely before he can properly think about it, Mateo throws a gummy worm at his father.

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

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

A real laugh rumbles out of Ronin at the reminder of his newly established bedtime ritual with Kaisel, and the last of the tension melts out of his shoulders. "Joke's on him, because I'll keep up the bit for as long as he does. So if I disappear at suspiciously regular intervals for the foreseeable future, it's so I can tuck him in at bedtime."

As Remi finally peels himself back, Ronin helps himself to one last taste of his lips, before he lets him go to investigate what he's almost certain is something chaotic and potentially violent. And once he's gone, the Knight pulls his attention back towards dinner and, more importantly, giving himself the space and time to shake away the shadow of his bad mood.

(Though it could be argued that nothing is more important than dinner in the Taliesin household).

When he appears in the doorway at last with the pot of jambalaya, it's with truly comical timing. Because Mateo's gummy worm - aimed for Remi, he thinks - goes completely wide, landing with a plop right into dinner, leaving Ronin blinking down at it dumbly.

"...Er, whoever gets that in their bowl is lucky?" he suggests.

RONIN

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

More than happy to never think about what Mateo is doing with his hands again, he just gives the man a knowing look before getting swept into the distraction of all the gummy worm chaos. "Oh, my fault. Help is usually obvious, but now I see, you were just being so considerate." The fake apology barely makes it out around the laugh she conjures as she skillfully grabs the first worm in a flash of teeth and golden curls. It's the scramble for the second one that really threatens to undo him though, except he sobers when he sees the third shot going for her.

As if he hadn't supplied the enemy himself, he rockets out of his chair with all the energy of get down Mr. President! His open mouth dives to intercept the strike, entirely valiant now that her attack had been explained away as training. He's forced to squint as it pings off his nose and goes wobbling to the floor, him along with it like a fallen soldier.

Wrinkling his nose around the offending hit, he bleeds out on the rug while Mateo offers up more worms. "Of course you were. Glad to know you were dirty even as a kid." He laughs, glancing up from the ground towards the two dads entering the room just in time to witness the plop of the stray candy into the dinner. "I hope that wasn't one of the cherry flavored ones." Lime or strawberry could maybe work ok with the meal.

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 rolls her eyes so hard it’s a miracle they don’t get stuck, her scoff exaggerated for full dramatic effect as she turns toward Mateo with a hand tossed skyward like she can’t believe she’s still related to him. "All I ever learned about soil was that Mateo is a great big liar," she declares with theatrical flair, her hand flopping down against her hip as she flashes Kai an incredulous look.

"He gave me these stupid seeds one year," she explains, her voice lifting with the same breathless, mock-offended tone she’d used when they were kids and she’d first discovered the trick. "Told me they were magic. So I planted some and so did he. Only he swapped out MY seeds for a pot with nothing in it and then kept changing out HIS pot to make it look like he'd gone from a little sprout to a full bloom overnight." Her tone softens on that last bit, the memory too silly now to hold a real grudge, though she still narrows her eyes toward her brother with a pointed you’re the worst sort of grin.

Heading over toward where Kai had valiantly given his life to try and save her, she’s laughing and in the process of pretending to bring him back from the dead— gummy worm still in hand and Spice circling above like a tiny snack-obsessed gremlin—that she sees movement in the doorway. Her smile falters the moment her gaze lands on the arrival of the dads.

The sight of Ronin standing beside Remi, holding the pot like some ridiculous exclamation mark to a sentence no one wanted finished, wipes the amusement clean from her features. She doesn’t flinch when the gummy worm plops into the jambalaya, doesn’t laugh or recoil or make some quip about cursed dinner. She simply straightens where she stands, the curve of her body uncoiling, her fingers tightening slightly at her sides as the light in her eyes dims. The muscles in her jaw shift as she swallows her reaction, the joy that had filled her moments ago now tucked away behind the quiet, unreadable frown that settles onto her face.

the bastion

The gummy worm sails toward him and for half a heartbeat, Remi genuinely considers shifting into a raccoon and snatching it out of the air with tiny, thieving paws. He’s halfway into the thought— when the worm veers tragically wide and lands with a wet plop right into Ronin’s jambalaya.

Remi lets out a soft, helpless chuckle, dimples flickering deep as he grins crookedly at his husband. "Well," he murmurs, eyes bright with amused sympathy, "even if it’s cherry, I bet it will taste alright." He glances toward Kaisel with a shrug that suggests, quite confidently, that a little candy probably won’t kill anyone.

But the lightness falters the moment he catches Flora’s expression. His smile gentles, softening at the edges, and without calling attention to it he clears his throat, stepping subtly into that empty space between tension and comfort. "Ronin practiced making this for me a few nights ago to make sure he got it exactly right for tonight," he says warmly. "It was incredible, so I hope everyone is hungry," Remi adds, straightening with a small, inviting smile as he gestures toward the table. "Come—sit."

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

"Guilty as charged," Mateo says about being dirty in general, a hand fluttering to his chest as he gives a roguish little bow from his seat. At the reminder about his little soil experiment, too, he can't help but bark out a laugh, relaxing back and plucking up his drink to plop a gummy worm into it as a garnish. "Gods, you were so angry. I could not resist keeping it up to see how long it took you to realise." Beaming across at his sister, he offers her an apologetic raise of his glass. "I like to think it helped to build you into the formidable woman you are today," he says.

Speaking of which - Kai takes a dive for Flora's honour, he manages to land a gummy worm in the dinner pot, and his sister seems to withdraw into herself entirely. Which, fix it, parents, and the look he levels towards Remi and Ronin says exactly as much, Mateo straightening expectantly in his seat.

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

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

"...I didn't get a good look at it before it, uh..." Sank, seems to be the suggestion by the look on Ronin's face, the Knight tilting his head at the pot of jambalaya before deciding, apparently, to let fate decide the results of that unexpected addition. It's as he glances up that he spots Flora stiffen as if he's bruised her with his mere presence, his brow furrowing softly. And bless Remi for trying to smooth it out, the Knight pulsing something grateful and affectionate through the Attuned bond, but it's not something he thinks anyone will feel comfortable ignoring all night.

"I'll only sit if it's what Flora wants," he says gently, stepping forward to set dinner down on the table (and his duplicate scooches past Remi with the coconut shrimp and a few extra seasonings and garnishes) before straightening to face the Doubletake. "What I said before was incredibly rude, and I didn't mean it. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings," he says, his eyes only for his daughter despite the audience.

"You've grown up to be an amazing woman, Flora, and Kai is lucky to be within five feet of you - something I'm sure he absolutely knows already. But I can also see how happy you make each other, and that's really the only thing that matters." Take it from Mr Married-For-Ten-Years. "You two are great together. And if you need time and want me to leave, say the word and I'll head out. Just let me know who ended up with the gummy worm, yeah?"

RONIN

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

His shoulders shake with the attempt to restrain the laughter, which fails rather spectacularly as Flora's tale and indignation only continue. He's very much team Mateo about that particular trick. If he never grew up to be a botanist, sounds like he could have been a very promising magician. Or perhaps Flora's eyes became keen over time, precisely as Mateo mentioned, from the need to scout out such pranks.

He can hardly say much about it through the mirth and the action sequence of his gummy worm heroics. With Flora lingering around him in mid-revival, and what a shame he doesn't require mouth to mouth in order for her to resuscitate him, he rises to his feet, the hope of a cherry gummy worm remaining unknown for the time being.

Straightening his clothing, he extends a hand towards the small of Flora's back just as he's turning to look at her properly, expecting to guide her towards a seat. The look of her though, keeps him firmly rooted in place. His hand still finds its position on her back, something warm and steadying, but he doesn't push her in any direction. His thumb brushes back and forth against her, head tilting in towards her to murmur something, but it never makes it out as Ronin's apology begins in full force.

He's surprised, to say the least, having expected this to be an ongoing dance of close brushes with discomfort. He's also a bit shocked to see two Ronins, which admittedly is more distracting than it should be given the heartfelt display that occurs, but no one else seems to notice and he's very much gawking. His name tugs his focus back to the first Ronin though, and he blinks rapidly a few times before nodding. For once though, his mouth stays blessedly shut, because this is between them and he only intends to be her support in whatever decision she makes right now.

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

"Ughhh!!" Flora groans, dragging the sound out with the full weight of a long-suffering sister dealing with childhood betrayal, rolling her eyes so hard it’s a wonder they don’t spin right out of her head. But the smile that follows—soft and bright and undeniably fond—betrays her entirely, flashing toward Mateo like an echo of the grins they used to trade in the Greatwood, all bark-stained knees and conspiracies shared between sunbeams.

The warmth lingers for a breath longer until she looks back to where Ronin stands beside Remi with the pot cradled in his arms and apology blooming on his face. Had he left it at that first line, that too-careful iF FloRa WanTs, she might have met it with ice, might have let the earlier hurt flare bright enough to send him packing. But Kai’s hand is a quiet anchor against her back, his thumb tracing back and forth in a steady rhythm that grounds her in the space they share, and when Ronin speaks again—earnest and direct—something within her begins to yield.

"Well," she sighs, lifting one hand in something that looks suspiciously like royal pardon before she exhales, dramatic but not cruel, the sound more a performance of surrender than true indignation. "If you ever say anything about Kai sticking it in ime again, I will channel you and make you sit and listen while I describe—in detail—exactly how he does it." Her tone is deceptively sweet, her eyes glinting with something dangerously playful as she levels the full weight of her threat upon him. "With anatomical accuracy and metaphors."

Turning her gaze toward Kaisel now, her smile blooms in earnest—softer, more intimate—and her expression glows with the warmth that only ever shows up when she looks at him like this. "We are great together," she agrees, her voice dipping just enough for it to feel private despite the audience, and after a breath, she adds softly, "and I'm lucky to be around him, too."

Flora lets her fingers drift from his arm as she slides gracefully into a chair, her lashes fluttering as she inhales deeply and finally looks toward Ronin again. "It does smell really good," she concedes with a sniff, as if surprised the food managed to survive their family drama, her grin sharp now but no longer cold.

the bastion

Remi listens to Ronin’s apology with something like awe threaded beneath the fondness; not because he doubts his husband’s ability to apologise (Ronin has always had a gift for sincerity), but because of how effortless he makes it sound. It’s a skill Remi has never quite managed to master, his heart too blunt and his pride too tangled, and he feels a brief flicker of gratitude that tonight, it wasn’t him who put his foot in anything.

His gaze shifts to Flora, worry pricking as Kaisel’s stance behind her takes on the shape of a shield. For a moment Remi tenses, bracing for a clean division—parents on one side, children on the other—the kind of quiet fracture that can turn the softest moments razor-sharp. But then Flora exhales, the drama returning to her posture, the frost melting into something familiar and theatrical, and Remi feels the knot in his chest unclench. Relief warms him from the inside out...until she opens her mouth again.

Her threat—detailed, anatomical, metaphor-laden—hits him square in the lungs. Remi inhales sharply, then almost chokes on air, hand lifting instinctively as if to ward off the mental images trying to claw their way into existence. "Oh—no, no," he blurts, shaking his head rapidly, curls bouncing like stunned punctuation. "I’m sure that will never be necessary."

He clears his throat, folding himself promptly into a chair as though the motion alone might save him from the horror of ever having to hear more. A crooked smile tugs at his lips despite himself—sheepish, rattled, and fond all at once—as he shoots Ronin a look that is equal parts please forget those words and you're incredible.

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

The storm rolls in between his father and sister, Mateo ready to watch some very unfortunate dinner theatre that might also feature an innocent bystander (Kaisel). But rather than crashing into the evening and taking every bit of good feeling with it, the tempest blows over them entirely, coaxed to nothing by Ronin's silver tongue and clear remorse for his earlier behaviour. And Mateo would be sad about the lack of drama were it not involving family; instead, he merely raises his glass to them in a toast and drains it entirely.

"I think you should tell him anyway," he quips to Flora with a shit-eating grin. "You know, as a warning not to be such an idiot again." Raising his eyebrows towards his parents as if daring them to disagree, he finally sits himself back up and wastes no further time in helping himself to a handful of coconut shrimp. "Or at the very least," he adds before biting into one, "they should tell the story about how they met now." He's heard it before, of course, but he's sure Kai hasn't.

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

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

His duplicate disappears as soon as it finishes setting the food down on the table, so with any luck Kai won't continue to be distracted by it; Ronin has already swung his focus around to Flora by that point anyway. He's willing to leave and give her space and they all know it, but as her hand raises in that oh-so-decorous Queen of Torchline way, he can't help the knot that loosens in the pit of his stomach or the relief that drags his shoulders down away from his ears.

"I will never give you a reason to do that--" he says at the same time as Remi starts to speak along the same vein, Ronin laughing softly and, presuming his place at dinner is no longer compromised, he backs up to seat himself beside his husband. "Hopefully it's just as good with gummy worm garnish. I say we ought to serve ourselves though, to avoid anyone thinking there's bias towards who gets it."

Smirking, his hand rests gently atop Remi's knee beneath the table, and he glances sidelong towards him with a glitter to his blue eyes that suggests he has no idea what words the other man might be referring to. "Mateo," he groans after the botanist puts his two cents in, reaching for some shrimp for both himself and Remi.

"Alright, fine. But I'd like it to be known now that I didn't know Remi was on the beach at the time. I thought I was alone."

RONIN

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

The feel of her softening against his hand, much of the tension released with the sigh that precedes a rather potent warning, is something that echoes into him. She'd not have been wrong to take a stand over this, but he knows in the end that doing so would have rippled some of the hurt back into her again and again, ice not unwilling to jut from any jagged end. Serious as it all is, he cannot keep the wildfire of a smirk from streaking across his features at her threats, much less the way both dads quickly try to thrust the potential of it away. It's all he can do to stop from laughing, honestly.

As her head turns, so does his, amusement sobering at the earnest words and the warm glint of affection that streaks like an afternoon sun over the seaglass of her gaze. It settles through him as real as any brush of her lips or curl of her hand, love. His mouth parts around a breath, one knocked away by the force of her assertion that she's also lucky. His smile goes crooked with it's wild response, voice resonating with awe. "The best," he agrees without hesitation.

He could have stood and looked at her the whole rest of the evening, caught up in the honey of her sentiments and the need to share his own with her, a veritable no you hang up moment. She's more sensible than he is though, and answers the beckon of the dinner, his steps shortly behind her as he settles into a chair at her side. He does lean back in towards her, voice dropping low. "I would like to hear one of those metaphors." His focus rises though with the flicker of a smile as he gets into preparing his plate, 'brows lifting expectantly to hear the tale at last.

"Well that sounds like quite the lead in for a good story," he laughs, biting at a coconut shrimp like it could be popcorn.

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 flashes her brother a grin, full of tooth and trouble before Kai’s voice—low and close and dipped in that gravelly warmth that never fails to undo her—sends a shiver cascading through her like someone just cracked sunlight over ice. She tilts her head toward him without hesitation, her aqua eyes gleaming as she leans in, lips barely parting as she whispers just for him, "One of the metaphors involves Apopo and the lava tunnels beneath Haulani."

The implication smoulders there between them as she lets it hang, her lashes fluttering once as she draws back with a perfectly timed eyebrow bounce that somehow manages to be both filthy and regal at once. With all the casual grace of a queen returning to the real work of ruling, she helps herself to a generous portion of jambalaya and a healthy stack of shrimp, clearly planning to take no prisoners; not with her plate, and not with the conversation.

Propping her elbow on the table, she rests her chin in her hand like she’s the very picture of idle curiosity, though the glint in her eye betrays her entirely. "Oh yeah," she says with mock-innocent interest, dragging the words just a little too slowly to be sincere as her gaze drifts toward Remi and Ronin. "And while you’re at it, remind me again how long you two had been dating before you got engaged?"