The World is Passing By

Since he had seen Remi in his shop, Sam had found it hard to think of much else. The way the other man had been, blind and sad, clinging to the idea of Ianto's worth despite the way he had been left...it gave Sam a bad taste in his mouth. But he couldn't do anything about the situation itself, not really.

So he packed up a little lunch of bread, meats, cheese. Some fresh juice, all from the market. With nimble hands he tied them all into a packet with a patterned cloth bearing flowers, trying to make it look nice even though Remi wouldn't know. It was still good to put in effort, wasn't it?

His first thought was to go find Remi at the Monster Hunter's guild, but then he thought back to the day with the golem, the guild Remi had been trying to build. Had he ever succeeded at it before everything happened? Sam headed towards it more of curiousity then any actual intention to see Remi there. The little lunch clasped to his chest, he opened the door and peeked in.

"Hello..?"

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

Remi was indeed inside. It was cool within the guild, but even so Remi was working shirtless. It probably wasn't the safest choice of clothing, but then again concern for his own well-being had never been particularly high on Remi's list. Besides, he already had scars that silvered his ribs, and after walking home blind from Ianto's wagon just a few days before, not to mention all that transpired at the drop, the alchemist was so bruised and scratched that worrying about a few more hardly seemed worth his effort.

Currently, he was putting the finishing touches on the crystal-geode-lights for the Loreseeker's guild that Jigano had almost-sort-of commissioned him for. It was slow going even with bits of Remi's vision slowly returning.

Hearing a sound ahead, the clatter of the door echoing across the empty workbenches and whatnot, Remi raised his head. Blinking across the room, which to him looked as though it might as well be night for how dark everything appeared, the alchemist squinted slightly, head cocked at an angle as he listened.

"Sam?" He called out, thinking he recognized the voice.

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!

Sam was surprised to hear a voice respond to his own, and even more surprised when he recognised it as Remi's. As his eyes adjusted to the room, which looked rather put together compared to how he last saw it, the faintest smile spread across his face. Maybe it would all be okay -- especially as Remi seemed to be working on something already. By the looks of it, something wonderful.

"Yes, it's me." He confirmed, letting the door shut behind him as he walked over. "I brought some lunch. I thought we could eat together and you could tell me how you're doing? I have been rather worried." He placed his hand on Remi's shoulder as he came to sit down next to him, not wanting to surprise him with the sudden presence beside him.

He placed his bundle on the table and looked over at the geode lights. "Those are very beautiful. But...how are you...without sight, how do you do it?"

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

Head still tilted as he listened, Remi was surprised to find that there was a faint outline of colour around the bookmaker. Blinking in humbled interest as Sam neared, the copper of his hair and the green blue sheen of his gaze was remarkably easy to make out.

Not surprised at all given what little he could see, the alchemist smiled up at Sam and nodded. "That is very thoughtful of you Sam, thank you. Would you like to—" Hearing him sit, the alchemist halted his sentence, before answering his friend's question.

"Ahh, carefully." He said with a crooked smile. "I will tell you all about it, but perhaps we can go outside? After the cave-in I prefer open spaces all of a sudden." He added with a cheerful laugh.

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!

Sam had no idea Remi could see at all, took the way he was stared at as Remi's desperate attempts to look towards the sound. He smiled, the edges of it tinged with pity.

"That's alright, you're always on my mind." He said. It was true; he often thought of all of his friends, but with Remi, given their history...his early morning thoughts were usually full of what ifs and replays of their conversations. Since he'd been blinded, Sam had been overcome with an odd guilt he couldn't quite place that played on his mind as well.

He stood up again and turned when Remi asked if they could go outside, but then stopped and looked back. "Cave-in?! What...what cave in? Are you alright?"

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

For a moment Remi paused, a sweet sort of smile pulling at his lips. Sam had once thought of Remi as an obligation that he no longer wanted to have to keep, and that his presence in the alchemist's life was a burden. It was nice to know that, although it had come too late to keep the two men together, that Sam had finally understand that the latter at least, couldn't have been more true.

"Mmm." The alchemist agreed, standing unsteadily and using the table as a brace, before nimbly sliding out from behind his chair and following the ascended out. "Oh..the sun. Sam, I was not even thinking. Here, we can stay inside, at one of the clear tables."

As for the cave-in? "I would have thought you'd heard. Gossip apparently travels faster than news around here." Remi noted with a wry chuckle. "But yes. There were quite a few trapped—Amalia and Jigano to name a few. Are, who you met during the set up of this place, and some of the fae as well. We managed to get them out, but it was not easy and many were quite injured."

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!

"Oh, don't let that stop you. I walked here, after all..." He'd been Ascended for quite a long time now and Sam had a keen ability to find shade when he was walking somewhere, knew how to angle a hat and just how long he could let a tiny bit of skin touch the sun. But he wouldn't turn down a chance to sit down inside, since it could be quite a lot of work watching for the sun, and he didn't want to make Remi get up again. "Maybe if the sun goes away in a bit we could go for a walk." He promised as he sat down too.

Sam set his little bundle down on the new table and began to unpack it, making little meals on two napkins (he didn't need to eat, but found it a much nicer social experience if he did) from the bread and meat. His hands faltered though as Remi told him the story.

"Oh, dear. Where was this? Why were so many of you in a cave..?" He wondered if he was missing out on some well known cave meeting everyone else attended. "I'm glad you're alright, but...Remi...with your eyes still like this...you struggled to get up there. Are you sure you're well enough to be sorting out cave-ins? It would be alright to take a break, you know."

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

"Sure." Remi agreed with a gentle smile. "Though you will have to be my eyes. It is not so easy for me to tell, anymore." He added with a grin.

The smells of what Sam had brought reached Remi's nose and he could feel his mouth begin to water. As usual, the alchemist had forgotten to eat. He'd likely waste away entirely if he didn't have friends who remembered to feed him. His stomach rumbled, and Remi placed a hand over the bare-skin with a lopsided grin. "Apparently I am starving." He said, ruffling a hand through his hair and offering the ascended and appreciative smile.

Tilting his head thoughtfully, Remi chewed his lip for a moment. "Near the drop, I believe. Isla did most of the navigating, but I think that is where it was." Shaking his head to clarify, Remi reached out for a piece of the bread. "I was not in the cave. Only Jigano, Rory, Amalia, and the fae were. I am not sure how they found themselves in. But the rest of us merely heard the collapse." With a boyish rogue smile, Remi let his head totter to the side slightly as he nodded. "Well...probably not, no. But I suppose you might say it is not in my nature to take breaks, for better or worse." He added, shrugging his bare shoulders as he popped another piece of bread into his mouth.

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!

"Of course." Sam nodded. "Though I have sometimes thought I may need glasses. When I am reading...sometimes the words get all blurry..." He wrinkled his nose up in frustration. Sam was already aware of his reputation as a bookish, quiet man; the last thing he needed to top the whole look off was glasses (which he would inevitably break and need to tape up).

He smiled to see Remi eat his food so eagerly. While it made for a slightly concerning image that Remi was not feeding himself, Sam was glad to be useful. He took himself a piece of bread and nibbled at it, enjoying the taste without any actual need to eat.

"Hmm...no, you're right. Breaks don't sound like you. But, you know..." Sam frowned, thinking on his own recent musings. "You can't just...live to help other people, Remi. Or like I was ...wanting to just...impress everyone. I'm still like that, honestly. But at least I know now. If you need a recovery period, which...I mean, you probably do..." Sam looked up and smiled, as if Remi could see. "You should take that time."

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

Tilting his head, Remi frowned. "Would the Voice not help you with that? She has always seemed...keen on making you all feel...ahh...whole, I suppose you might say." Remi didn't think of Sam as overly bookish, at least, not in any negative way. Glasses or no, the alchemist wouldn't have thought that one accessory would change anyone's opinion of the bookmaker much. There was a certain Samness that he'd always carry with him.

That Remi would always carry, too.

With a small smile that caused the corners of his eyes to crease, Remi raised a brow. "Can't I?" He asked, his smile flickering slightly as it widened. The alchemist didn't think his want to help others was entirely the same as Sam's want to impress them, but he could be wrong. He often was.

Smile fading somewhat, the alchemist pulled in a breath as the light in his eyes darkened somewhat. "I...do not do particularly well when just left to my own devices." He admitted slowly.

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!

"...You know, yes, she probably would." Sam nodded, but then tilted his head to the side and sighed. "But...I am a little wary of going to her with all my problems. It has not always gone well, as I am sure you know."

Remi's initial small, joking answer then dip into a more serious tone left Sam quiet for a while, eating and looking out of the window. It seemed he always spoke at a different level to Remi; they never properly understood each other. Yet, he enjoyed speaking to Remi more than anyone else, and that was why he had to try and make himself understood.

"Taking a break from jumping into dangerous rescues doesn't mean you just have to sit and do nothing." Sam pointed to the lights behind him. "You make the most beautiful projects. You have friends to talk to, a boyfriend to be with, right?" There was a smile here that was a touch forced. "If you really want, I'm sure I could put you to work in my shop."

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

Remi's expression softened slightly as he regarded the ascended through the haze of dark. He actually didn't remember...or at least, given all the memory loss that had occurred between the two, the alchemist wasn't sure what he had experienced himself, and what had been merely told to him thus far. "Well...if you do need glasses, I would be happy to help make them for you." He said with a sly smile.

Ruffling a hand through his hair, Remi considered his friend's words. "No, but then again, it is not as if things just remain quiet around here." He countered with a soft shrug. At the mention of having a boyfriend though, Remi straightened slightly, his expression growing tense for a moment before smoothing out again. "Ianto.." He breathed, sadness shadowing his face for a moment as he shook his head. "It..we..." Swallowing a lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat, the alchemist let his shoulders slump. "...It was not to be." He concluded, biting the inside of his lip.

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!

"Thank you. I don't think I could go to anyone else. Who else could I trust to make ones that were any good?" Sam said this lightly, almost as if it were a joke, but it wasn't; Remi's magic was not only amazing in the moment, the things he made seemed to be sturdy and longlasting too.

He wasn't sure what Remi's sudden pause was for at first, but as soon as he heard what Remi had to say his eyes widened and he looked down at the table. He felt a lot of things he probably wasn't allowed to about the news. Sadness for Remi, of course, but also a small happiness at being right about Ianto (because clearly, any break up was Ianto's fault).

"Oh, Remi...I'm sorry." Sam comforted, leaning forward and touching the back of Remi's hand. "Do you wish to speak about it? Was it recently?"

Samuel

I want you so badly

But you could be anyone

the higher i climb

Remi chuckled, running a hand through his curls with a bemused smile. "Even if they could, I am pretty sure I am the only one who could make them properly unbreakable."The alchemist replied with another grin, recalling his friend's penchant for clumsiness.

Sam was still one of the few men who could touch the alchemist without him tensing. Not only a day or so before Deimos had occupied nearly the same chair and had done the same thing, only to have the alchemist flinch and tighten his muscles instinctively. "Just a few days ago." Remi murmured, running his free-hand up one of his bare arms as he shivered slightly. "The conversation hardly lasted more than a few minutes. I ... I told him I had kissed someone else. He asked me to leave fairly soon after that."

the farther i fall when i do

Coding base by Sky!