Blind leading the...

"Well that is another reason to be cross with Arduinna then I suppose. She could have blinded me yesterday or tomorrow, but today? Truly, how unfair for you, Ronin. My humblest apology." Raising a brow, Remi's lips twitched as he pondered that. "Well, if I could do that sort of thing you would expect I could also likely make something so that I could see again. Although...I suppose it is worth a try. Just imagine what it would be like, to hear my voice inside your head, anytime I like." With a charming smile, Remi laughed for the first time, shaking his head. "No I agree, I do not always need to talk. You on the other hand turn broody or just start talking to yourself if you are left alone too long." remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

"You have no need to apologise, Remi. It isn't your fault that some wild Fae woman forgot my birthday," Ronin said, and for the first tim perhaps he was glad of his friend's injury. For despite his jovial comments, Ronin's expression was utterly deadpan as he helped to guide Remi up the stairs. He would extract a good deal more than an apology from Arduinna if he had his way. However long it might take. It didn't take them long to reach the first floor, and Ronin managed to let the ice around him thaw a bit, joining Remi in his laughter. "It would be better than having you hog the bed by rolling all over me until I scoot out of the way," he pointed out with a scoff. Something to think about, at least. And you are quite right - so it's a good thing that you are the one unable to communicate, and not I." Smirking, he walked them into the bedroom, guiding Remi to sit down on the bed. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

Despite the multitude of times Remi had walked (ran, slid, jumped, and drunkenly staggered) up these stairs, his muscle-memory was apparently not up for the task. Stumbling and having to grip tight to Ronin's arm to keep from falling, Remi sighed out his frustration, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to focus with an absurd amount of energy on making it up the rest of the stairs. "Hog the—" Remi began, sounding absolutely indignant. "Here I am, trying to cuddle you and what do I get for it? A limp body and an astral version of you sneaking away from me. Honestly Ronin, it is like the you version of faking an orgasm." Feeling for the bedding beneath him, Remi let himself sit, and then flopping back against the bed, running both hands up and down his face several times. "So what now? I just...do that thing where I count all my steps and map out the house?" He asked, sounding entirely as if even he didn't know whether or not he was kidding. remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

If Remi was indignant then Ronin was positively outraged, dramatically gasping and pulling off his wet shirt before moving to sink down on the bed next to the other man. "I never fake," he informed him - as Remi would well know. However, for all of their banter and lightheartedness, this wasn't something that would either fix itself or simply not exist come tomorrow. Ronin's expression softened, and he glanced across to Remi. "That sounds like a tomorrow problem," he murmured. We'll figure it out together. Even if we set you up a way to get around the house in shift, you can always turn back when you get where you need to be." Raccoons probably didn't get as hurt from bouncing down the stairs, right? "Now about those cuddles..." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

Remi could keenly feel the strange mixture of warm skin that was slightly wet as Ronin moved next to him. Instinctively the alchemist glanced to the side, but of course there was nothing there. Not in his visual field anyways. Snorting a nod of agreement, Remi took a slow breath and held onto it for a moment, nodding emphatically that yes, it was definitely a tomorrow problem. "Maybe I will den up with Sugar and then you can have the bed all to yourself." Remi teased. "About those cuddles indeed." Remi echoed, feeling his way across the bed with wandering fingers until he brushed up against Ronin's hip, and then up the flat staircase of his ribs. "I suppose since it is your birthday and all, you'd like to be the little spoon?" Remi said, leaning up on one side and gazing somewhere around Ronin's shoulder. remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

"Yeah, good luck with that. I think we both know what will happen if you try to do so much as knock politely at Sugar's den to ask for a cup of milk," Ronin remarked, sounding quite amused indeed at the idea of a poor raccoon being chased across the guildhall (again). He relaxed unconsciously at the touch of Remi's hand against him, turning as well and laughing quietly. "I think you've been through enough tonight to merit being little spoon, birthday or no birthday. Cuddles are cuddles, though. How about I meet you half way?" So saying, Ronin slid an arm around Remi to draw him closer, winding his arms gently about the other man and resting his cheek against a soft mop of damp curls. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

"That was ages ago. We have worked things out since then. It is an animal thing, really you would not understand." Remi replied, aiming for aloofness but his accent seemingly wouldn't allow it to be anything other than musical. Before Remi could formulate a reply, Ronin's arms were around him tugging him close in a gesture that was uncannily familiar, even in this strange dark new world. "I do not know about your definition of meeting half way, but this certainly feels like me getting my way." Remi hummed happily. Adjusting his hips to fit effortlessly against Ronin, Remi let his eyes fall closed in a way that for once today, actually felt natural. "Peek-a-boo with Aoife is going to take on a totally new feeling." The alchemist said distractedly, running his finger tips up and down Ronin's forearm, re-mapping it in his mind. remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

"An animal thing, hm...? I guess I should just shut my silly, perma-human mouth." Ronin was grinning even as he relaxed into the pillows, fumbling for a moment to draw the blankets over them - they didn't need much with the heat, but it was a comfort thing for the hunter. Is that so?" he murmured into Remi's curls. "Because I have something to confess - that I actually prefer big spoon. Sorry, Remi... but I've been getting my way all along." Chuckling, Ronin snuggled closer and closed his eyes, somehow feeling more at home just from having Remi there, whatever state he'd been in. "Oh, I bet it will. Mainly because it's not peek-a-boo any more, it's hide-and-seek." Ronin snorted softly. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

"I would say yes, but we both know that is not even remotely possible." Remi chuckled. 'Nnn." The alchemist grumbled under his breath, kicking part of the blanket off so that his legs were exposed. Like most men, Ronin positively radiated heat. Remi did too presumably, but with LongHeat on top of them, the hunter was all the alchemist needed. "You. Are. Joking." The alchemist muttered, punctuating each word with a puff of air. Leaning back slightly as if to glance over his shoulder, slowly he shook his head. "Well if I ever need a passive-aggressive way to get back at you for something, now I know what to pick." He added with a grin. "You are the very worst." Remi murmured, but each word was sunny somehow. There had been moments in his life where others had swept in and said or done the right thing to make Remi feel at home. Ronin though? Ronin had always managed in. In death, in life, in sickness and in raising a baby. "I am so glad I had you to come home to, today." Remi said between yawns, arcing his back and then relaxing entirely. remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

Ironically Ronin really didn't have anything to say in response to that, so he merely grinned and laughed and tried to fight back with the blankets as Remi tried to kick them off. They'd end up in a nest of pillows and sheets regardless - he was just helping the process along, in his mind. Burying his nose in the alchemist's curls (he couldn't see Ronin's shit-eating grin but the hunter still thought he ought to try and hide it), he shook his head. "Would I joke at a serious time like this?" he said incredulously (the answer was obviously yes). "Granted, I try to never get to the point where you want to get back at me for something. For now though, just enjoy knowing we're both getting what we wanted." He smiled, his arm tightening around Remi ever so slightly. The other man's words had Ronin frowning sadly, though of course the expression was all too easily concealed. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured Remi. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be there while it was happening." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

Though Remi grumbled profusely in Ronin's arms about the allocation of blankets, he made absolutely no effort to try and stop the hunter. It was more or less a nightly ritual after all; fussing and flailing and then somehow finding themselves nested-up in the perfect arrangement of bedding. "It all happened so fast. Even if you were there I doubt you could have stopped it. Or me, for that matter. You know the worst part is, after it happened, all I could hear was Jigano's voice in my head telling me how reckless I am. I thought he was so wrong about me all those months ago. Now I think he was probably quite right." Letting his fingers wander down Ronin's arm to his own hand, the alchemist laced his through Ronin's and pulled it tight to his chest. "The worst part is, I think I would do it again. I would always do it again." remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

Ronin snorted softly, letting his hand be captured to rest against Remi's chest, against the beating heart beneath which, while bruised and battered, still opened itself to the world. Brave or foolish, it was anyone's guess. "Everyone has flaws, Remi. So you're a little reckless. At least you don't have a drinking problem, or get fighty or steal things." He sighed, unsure whether that would really make any difference to Remi. Sometimes personality flaws were the most difficult to deal with, after all. "I would fully expect you to do it again," he said, sounding sleepy but not wanting to leave Remi alone. "At least you know you're someone who sticks to your guns and keeps their word. That more than makes up for the recklessness, in my humble opinion." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

"Perhaps I should start." The alchemist grumbled, though he was smiling just the same. Feeling his eyelids growing heavy, Remi hummed a note of agreement, snuggling up deeply and taking a breath and holding it, before gently letting it out. "Well, I think your opinion is just about the only one I can count on these days." He replied, speech slightly mumbled by weariness and the sleepy-thickening of his accent. remi Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here

"I wouldn't. Or at least if you do, just start with the drinking thing. It's been too long since I stumbled up these stairs with you." Ronin chuckled, nuzzling further into the blankets and the warmth kindled by their bodies. Humming a note of content and sleepy disagreement, Ronin didn't have much by way of debate left in him. Even so, he pressed a gentle kiss to Remi's curls and sighed. "For now," he murmured. "It won't be this way forever. Any of this." It sounded more like a vow than an opinion, and Ronin meant it. He would fix this if it killed him. Hell, he'd died once anyway, so it should be a breeze. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.