stained starlight

cut up our losses into doable doses

ration our tears and sighs

Like tepid water which feels blistering when applied to skin that is too cold, Remi all but winced beneath Ronin's gentleness. Such a stark contrast to the man who'd smiled in the lifeless non-face of Skyler, that it made Remi both want to recoil as well as delve deeper into his husband. As dark as Ronin was prone to being lately, he was still Remi's tether in this world. Utter blackness or no, the Fallen Star would always be his home.

Pulling Ronin to him, hands tangled against hair so fresh and clean compared to the alchemist's own sweaty and dusty curls, Remi stole a kiss that soon crumbled beneath newfound tears hearing Aoife's name spilled from his husband's lips. "And the two of you have not even burned the house down." The alchemist replied with a laugh that sounded more like a strangled croak as he sipped in a breath.

Pulling back, Remi held up trembling hands and gazed down at them. One had blood and bits of skin embedded beneath the nails, from where the lion had severed away the hand that had choked their daughter. Indeed his wings, hidden as they were now, were still mottled with blood, meaning strange as it was, the blood flecks from earlier now dotted his back. "Sit with me, while I clean off?" Remi asked in a low voice, tinged with a sly sort of madness.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!