cruel summer

yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

He adored Ianto's theatrics, having so nearly fallen in love with them before a different love intervened and swiftly knocked everything out of place. Laughing too readily, too warmly for his heart to abide it much longer, Remi's smile fell away almost painfully as he watched his friend recede into the wagon. The momentary respite was needed, was good, but it was cold too. Dance around it as they might, the chasm was there. That neither had fallen in was only evidence of how aware of it they both were.

"Enough to light up an entire sky. True love deserves little else." Remi replied. "It is for Bastien and Rexanna. Do you remember them?" They'd both purchased things from the wagon when last Ianto had opened up shop, though whether either were memorable enough to have found a place in the fox's memory, the alchemist didn't know.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

Ianto

"Oh I see. A sky full of dicks, is it? You are going to buy me out of all my crude fireworks, Remi, and for a single scarf? Lovely as it is, I'm afraid I must barter - what else you got?" Ianto tipped the alchemist a wink, before stepping into the wagon briefly to go and fetch them. "Nope!" he called distantly (too distantly, it would seem, for the size of the wagon) in response to whether he remembered Bastien and Rexanna. "But I wish them every happiness anyway. True love and sky dicks, oh my."

Returning with three boxes stacked in his arm, Ianto would fashion Remi with enough fireworks to create a sky orgy, if that was what he so chose. "That should do it," he said, plonking them down at the alchemist's feet. "Though I wonder that you couldn't make them yourself."

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yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

Something fluttered inappropriately in Remi's gut as the merchant asked what else he had. Days gone by the response to that would have been immediate and utterly filthy. Now though the alchemist was left ruffling feathers from his hair and turning to regard the dappled sunlight with his nose crinkled, as if trying to make himself sneeze.

Turning around as Ianto returned, Remi grinned at the bounty before him. "Oh no. I saw your last batch in action. I could not possibly compete." He quipped with a bright laugh.

As for payment?

"Alright then merchant, name your price. I fear I have few stories that you have not heard at this point." Bittersweet, that.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

Ianto

"Well, I didn't make them myself, so you can thank the Lady Arduinna for her apparently filthy sense of humour." In fact he had no idea why she had made dick fireworks, unless she had also gotten them from elsewhere. Either way, they belonged to Remi now, and Ianto stepped back so he could take his pipe from between his lips and move to pick up his mug of tea once more.

Payment, at least, was easy for the merchant where it might seem difficult for the alchemist. "How about another item to stock in the Wishing Wagon? Doesn't matter what it is, as long as it will sell," he suggested, grinning.

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yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"Well if I do go and meet with her and need an impromptu compliment, I will be sure to keep that in mind." The alchemist quipped back dryly.

Raising a brow at Ianto's suggestion the alchemist folded his arms across his chest and gestured softly with his mug of tea. " And just what sorts of items are your customers usually looking for? I take it that many do not seek you out simply for the mundane." Not mundane didn't just mean magical though, and already an array of items sparkled behind Remi's eyes. Wind chimes of a certain variety, candle-designs that could be turned upside down when they were finished burning, to burn anew. Scarves not unlike the one he'd just given the fox, with custom embroidery.

Were the timing different, Remi might have even suggested his brand of lubricant. But...perhaps another time.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

Ianto

"Indeed," Ianto agreed regarding Arduinna's compliment, though he didn't carry the thread of conversation any further. The more they spoke about his godmother, the more he worried that he would end up caving and going to see her with Remi. And that simply could not happen. His wagon and his stock, though - that he could discuss.

"Well, apparently fireworks that look like dicks are all the rage lately," he drawled, smirking and gesturing to the boxes of fireworks he'd just given out. "They don't come looking for much, generally speaking. I stock a variety of oddities and useful items, both. Whatever you'd like to make would surely take pride of place in my wagon," he said, putting his hand on his heart as if to assure Remi he would make sure that his creation went to a fine bidder.

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yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"I think they are about to become a staple of weddings everywhere." He chuckled, thinking that might actually be quite true. And it had all started seasons and seasons ago, with the now-ascended haphazardly making a trade for fireworks she had no idea about.

A treacherous blush stole across Remi's face as he tried to stop the smile tugging at his lips. "Could I have...say a week or so to come up with something? As I am taking something clearly in high demand, I would not want to leave your supply wanting." That, and in the presence of those mischievous blue eyes, Remi always found it hard to think.

Remi

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Ianto

"Oho? I'll keep that in mind. Wouldn't want another tricksy merchant getting the monopoly on dick-fireworks now, would we?" Ianto grinned, finishing his tea and setting the cup down beside him on the wagon step. Straightening up once more, he narrowed his eyes and gave the other man a look of thorough consideration, as if he was trying to decide whether or not Remi was a trustworthy source to give an IOU.

"Go on then," he said at last, breaking into a crooked smile and nodding to the other man. "I know you're good for it at least. And if not, it's a rare time when someone is in my debt, so I'll enjoy it nonetheless. You got yourself a deal. I look forward to seeing the sky light up with them - it'll likely be visible even from here."

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yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"Certainly not." Remi agreed with an amused snort. However as the fox's too-blue stare appraised him silently, the alchemist found it unbearably hard to stand still. He focused far too diligently on his cup of tea, drinking it faster than he would have otherwise have liked, but at least it kept his eyes and lips and thoughts occupied.

"You would have to wait in line. If there is anything of me left after Ludo takes what it wants, it's yours." Tilting his head slightly, nose scrunching, the hawk gave the fox a quizzical look. "You will not go? Not even if there is chicken to be had?"

Remi

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Ianto

"Oh, is that so. Then from one owned soul to another, I hope that Ludo is kind with yours when the time comes." Ianto offered a roguish half bow, puffing on his pipe and leaning casually against the back of the wagon as Remi brought up weddings... and chicken.

"Why, I wasn't aware that I was invited," he said. "But if there are such delicious morsels to be found, I suppose it would only be polite to show my face." He flashed a golden grin to Remi. "Perhaps, then, you'll see me there. And I can look at the dick fireworks in person."

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yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"Given how many times it has tried to kill me now—" What were they at, 2? 3? "—I am not holding my breath." The alchemist replied with far too easy of a chuckle given just how real the stakes were.

"Well you are now." The alchemist chuckled. "And if you do come, you can make sure I am setting off the fireworks properly and take credit for having sold them to me. You might find yourself with some more customers."

Remi

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Ianto

Ianto could only shrug his shoulders as Remi spoke about Ludo - because however many times it had tried to kill him, it hadn't actually succeeded. Arduinna, on the other hand, had actually managed to blind the alchemist. It still stung now to think about, and so Ianto took a deep breath in and let the thread of conversation go.

"New customers are always a pleasure," he said with a mischievous grin. "Though I have no doubt that you know how to set off fireworks with the best of them, Remi." Moving to collect his teacup, he nodded to the other man. "I suppose I'll see you there, then?"

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yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"You say that, and yet I have never set off anything but the ones I created for training exercises back in Northaven." The alchemist said with a shrug, holding out his empty cup for the fox to take.

"I suppose you will." Remi replied with a flustered grin, his eyes lowering bashfully. Of course the alchemist didn't know that when the wedding did roll around his husband would be no where to be found, off blighting around the woods somewhere leaving the alchemist to attend alone.

Oh well.

"I will think on your payment." The alchemist vowed with a grin, before turning to leave on the path he'd followed in (not that it mattered much, the woods never seemed to let him leave the same way twice).

~FIN

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!