right inside my heart

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"Remi."

Vai has come to find the Bastion later in the evening, in one of those little interludes where the stars are in full sparkle overhead, where people have gone to sit and enjoy one another's company after the initial high of reuniting. It isn't her first visit back from Mort's halls to see her son, and odds are high that it won't be her last either, but she was never going to let this party go without bidding him congratulations.

"Come here, you." Reaching for him to wrap him in a close, tight hug, Vai's kisses to Remi's cheeks and forehead are shaped by her smile, and she's laughing quietly as she draws back enough to look up at him. "Ten years," she whispers, scrunching her nose affectionately. "And you and Ronin are still as sickeningly in love as ever. I hope that never, ever changes."

and the sun
will rise

i've got a river for a soul

The world narrows sweetly to Vai as she draws him in—Remi, swept in the arms of the only mother he's really known, breathing in the familiar wildness of pine and woodsmoke that's always clung to her, even here under Torchline’s lazy, honey-thick night. He laughs as she pulls him close, arms looping tightly around her, lifting the witch off her feet in a spin that turns the rest of the party to a blur of gold and laughter. For a moment, he’s not the Bastion or the demigod of Mort or any of the thousand things time’s made him—he’s just her boy again, cheek pressed into the warm crook of her neck, grinning against the living miracle of her presence.

When he finally sets her back down, Remi doesn’t let her go right away. His hands linger, rough and gentle both as he cups her shoulders, searching her face adoringly. "Gods it's good to see you," he murmurs, smile wide and helplessly fond, dimples deepening as the years roll off his shoulders.

At her teasing, he huffs out a laugh, green-gold eyes rolling skyward with an exaggerated innocence. "We've been very well behaved I think. Not a single complaint of public indecency all night." There’s a wicked glint in his eyes, all boyish charm and old mischief, but his thumb brushes gently along her cheek as if anchoring himself. "Ten years, and Ronin’s still not sick of me. Miracles do happen, hm?" He squeezes her shoulders, voice softening. "It’s better for having you here. Even if just for a little while."

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

Letting out a peal of laughter as the ground disappears beneath her feet, the rest of the party becomes an unimportant blur and stays that way, even after Remi sets her back down. "It's good to see you too," Vai tells him, reaching up to brush a wayward curl out of his face. "If you'd called me earlier on I'd have given you a haircut," she adds with a smirk, but of course the Bastion's current appearance, a little wild, a lot boyish, only adds to the charm of it all.

"Not one complaint yet," she agrees with a scoff, squeezing his shoulders affectionately. "The night is comparatively young when it comes to the sort of mischief you might get yourself into." Reaching up to cover his hand with her own where it cradles her cheek, she tuts under her breath. "That's not a miracle - that's just a good thing working exactly how it's meant to," she disagrees. "The miracle is that you've not already taken off part of your suit."

Reaching out with a grin to straighten his bowtie, Vai nods when she's satisfied. "Very sharp," she compliments. "And believe me - these little whiles will add up. I don't take a single one of them for granted," she promises him.

and the sun
will rise

i've got a river for a soul

Remi grins wide as Vai brushes a curl from his forehead, his shoulders hitching in a boyish shrug. "We’ve had a few weeks of real peace, can you believe it? Enough that things like haircuts—" He sweeps a hand through his tousled curls for emphasis, "—just slipped my mind."

At her tease about complaints and the threat of mischief, he only spreads his hands in an expression the picture of innocence. "Well, it is our anniversary," he points out with a crooked smile, "so if anyone’s got a problem with how we celebrate, I might just hand ‘em a drink and point them toward the exit." There’s an unspoken pride in the statement—a sense that, tonight of all nights, the world can afford them a little joy.

With a soft snicker, he nods over his shoulder, where the laughter of Ronin and Vanya carries from the water, the knight’s pants rolled up, both splashing like children and definitely not taking off all of his clothes. "I've left the getting undressed to Ronin. I think he needs it more than I do, tonight."

But then the humour softens, his hand still curled gently at her shoulder. Remi’s gaze flickers back, quieter. "Feels odd, not asking how you are," he admits, voice low. "I suppose things in Mort’s realm are just...as they are?" He tries for a wry smile, but there’s longing in it—a wish for the simplicity of the old days, when catching up meant more than just catching a ghost between worlds. "Oh, but I suppose you've met Theea?"

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"When you put it like that, you do make a very good point," Vai says with a laugh that seems to have come from across the years, back when she'd made her home in a little cottage in the Greatwood. "And in that case, I hope it's peaceful enough that you forget about haircuts for a long time." Mussing his curls to punctuate her point, she raises her eyebrows at his innocent expression (that she doesn't believe for even a moment) and crooked smile.

"Mmhm," she drawls, given away by her grin. "I suppose we should all be grateful that you'd even go as far as to point people to the exit instead of just getting on with it right in front of them," she agrees, glancing as well towards Ronin, her expression softening. "This - all of this - is the most precious gift you could have given him," she says, stepping in to lean gently against his side.

As for Mort's halls, Vai gives him a gentle elbow. "Oh it's packed with action," she tells him, trying to lighten the mood. "I can bring my fairytales to life with a thought, I never get tired when I go on a hunt, my food never burns and my tea is always hot. You'll love it when you get there one day." And she might not even be lying. "Not too soon though," she adds.

Oh, but Theea? Vai lets out a shivery breath, her smile helpless and her eyes pricking with tears. "I have," she whispers. "She's wonderful."

and the sun
will rise

i've got a river for a soul

Remi’s laughter bubbles out, boyish as ever, as Vai musses his hair. "Now you’ve said it, you know I’ll end up having Flora hack it off in the next few days," he teases, grinning. "Though I suppose that’s the price of peace—a little less wild, a little more presentable. Only for you," he adds with a wink.

At her softness for Ronin, Remi’s expression turns gentle, almost awestruck, the way it always does when he speaks of his husband. "He absolutely deserves it," Remi says, voice full of quiet conviction. "As easy as it is, being together...gods, there’ve been hard times too. I’m certainly no saint, and I know I’m not the easiest man to live with." His smile crooks, self-deprecating and deeply in love. "So if anyone’s earned this, it’s Ronin. I’d give him the world if I could."

He laughs, rolling his eyes fondly at Vai’s account of Mort’s halls. "You make it sound tempting, but I promise not to rush off just yet," he says, nudging her playfully, affection tangled in every word.

At the mention of Theea, Remi’s heart swells, and he tucks an arm warmly around Vai’s shoulders. "She is wonderful, isn’t she?" His gaze is soft, full of something too big for words, and then, grinning again, Remi noses toward the dance floor. "Can I tempt you? I promise I am at least slightly better than I was back in Northaven." And so, with the crowd folding around them, Remi leads the witch into the fray, his heart fit to burst and his smile at risk of running away with him.

~fin