I'm with you even if it makes me blue

LOREN

As Remi began shifting uncontrollably, Loren gritted his teeth against the sudden weight and the uncomfortable sensation of the alchemist’s seemingly random transformations. Still, even if the other man drew the summoner’s blood, he would continue to heal, to draw out all the poisonous magic they now both struggled against. The Launceleyn was heedless of any danger to himself, even as an uncomfortable pressure built up in his mind and magic spilled out of him at a dangerous rate.

But he wouldn’t give up. Couldn’t give up. Because he could feel the opposing force wavering, the dark magic throwing up increasingly desperate barriers against the wave, the tsunami of Loren’s magic. Even as pain lanced into him—from his own efforts, from the curse, from something the other man did, the Launceleyn couldn’t say—the summoner dug deeper, found another unplumbed depth of his magic, his soul, his will.

Then Remi turned his gaze to Loren and he saw the alchemist’s eyes were pitch black.

No

The thought shot through his mind, his body, his hands, his spell, directed straight towards those dark orbs. Fuck that. He hadn’t come this far just to fail. And he would banish dark magic wherever it did not belong. It definitely didn’t belong in Remi.

So just as the other man had rejected the reality that Loren had tried to create, to build, so too did Loren reject this reality with every single fiber of his being. This was wrong, and he would make it right. Let there be fucking light for once.

His hands rose from the alchemist’s shoulders, the sky-colored glow of the summoner’s magic having darkened to a royal blue. Placing his hands on the other’s man’s cheeks, regardless of what form they currently took, whether it be bird or beast or man or some nightmarish combination of all three, Loren laid his thumbs under Remi’s dark eyes as the summoner’s blue ones bored into the other man’s gaze. The Launceleyn’s magic exploded out of him along with his voice. ”Remi. Look at me. You can do it. Look. At. Me.” Loren pleaded. He commanded. He ordered. He begged.

He would not give up. Not now, not ever. This promise he would keep. This relationship he would foster. This love he would cherish.

His eyes and heart had been opened today. And these eyes he would make see again.

Enough.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

Remi's lips peeled apart in a silent scream, his teeth sharpening and lengthening as Loren reached for his face. Flinching and spasming against the unseen hands the strange hybrid-man had to flex his wings upwards to try and stay balanced as his face was lifted. "I.." The alchemist mumbled, lashes opening and closing on unseeing black eyes. "...I cannot.." His words were whispers wrapped up in a whimper. "..see" The alchemist choked out at last, his breath hitching in his chest.

And then the darkness went away, and indeed there was light.

Far, far, too much of it.

With a sharp gasp, the alchemist instinctively went to cover his eyes; wings and hands used for balance were suddenly pulled towards his face, pitching him unsteadily forward. His wings curled and seemed to interlock to block out all light, as his fingers splayed before his eyes. He couldn't say what position they ended up in, not with the disorientation from the pain and the sudden blinding flash of light. It would depend entirely on Loren's strength, probably.

Shivering as the hurricane of agony was swept back, so too were most of the alchemist's animalistic features. All save for his wings which were still creating a golden-feathered cavern to block out a world suddenly screaming with light. Remi's chest shuddered shallowly with each breath he tried to draw, his muscles quaking with the aftershock and exhaustion of what had just happened.

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!

LOREN

Remi arched upwards and gasped out a totally unacceptable answer. After all, Loren was the one fighting, pouring everything he was into this single wild crazy spell. The least the alchemist could do was put a little effort into it. ”Yes. You. Fucking. Can.” The words were almost snarled out and the summoner pressed his hands tighter against the other man’s cheeks.

Then, all of a sudden, the resistance vanished, and the Launceleyn’s magic had nothing left to do but snap back into him in a dizzy and bewildering and potent and overwhelming rush.

The sudden change and release was too much for the summoner who was somehow now supporting the other man’s weight. Unfortunately for them both, he was very weak, both from the effort of healing and in general. So as Remi fell forwards, Loren collapsed bonelessly backward, sprawling on the ground of the back room, which was covered in a chaotic array of items from the alchemist’s spasms. He was momentarily totally spent from the healing magic that had used him as an entirely imperfect conduit.

Everything hurt. Loren’s head, his hands, his right leg where pinpricks indicated that the other man had lost control of his claws. But surprisingly, even though the Launceleyn was panting and sweaty, he wasn’t as drained as he’d expected after casting the most powerful spell he’d even attempted. Indeed, there was still a few dregs of power and strength in him.

Of course that was before the alchemist fell directly on top of the summoner’s prone body and knocked the air from his lungs.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

Remi felt like he was adrift. He felt boneless, disunited from his body. The pain had faded away leaving only a fog around him, settling against joints and limbs that were already numb from use. Though the alchemist hadn't moved, his body felt as if he'd run a marathon. His breath still came in disoriented pants , quick and shallow, while his wings continued to block out the light. Within everything was dark and warm, but not still because....with dawning comprehension, the alchemist's breath hitched slowly as he realized it wasn't the ground beneath him, but Loren. Loren whose chest was rising and falling nearly as unsteadily as his own, Loren from whom the alchemist could detect the distinctive smell of blood, Loren who had made him see.

Opening his mouth, the light golden as it bled through his feathers illuminating Loren in a way Remi had never seen before, the alchemist tried to find the words he ought to be saying. Though his mind, addled and exhausted, couldn't decide between thank you, I can see, and I am sorry. So instead he merely looked down at the summoner like a fish gasping for air.

"Ah.." He mumbled eventually, the muscles of his stomach tightening against Loren as he raised himself up on one arm so that he wasn't continuing to collapse the summoner's lungs. Still though he stared down at Loren, his eyes flitting back and forth. Though the light was dim within Remi's feather-y cave, the shattered spiderwebs of white that had degraded his vision were indeed gone, leaving only familiar and vibrant sea-glass green.

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!

LOREN

It worked. If they hadn’t been in such an awkward position, Loren would have whooped for joy. As it was, he was just struggling to get air into his lungs. Even though Remi lifted himself off the summoner, least in part, his breath still came out in a wheeze. ”Remi. Crushing me.” Some part or the other of the alchemist had landed on the Launceleyn’s injured leg, and that was where some of the discomfort came from. However, mostly it stemmed from the fact that the other man was significantly more muscular and heavier than the incredibly frail Launceleyn. His bones felt like they were straining under the pressure.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

For a moment the alchemist merely stared, his mind not quite processing the words. There was a reason why of course, but it seemed far away and too confusing to reach for, however obvious it was. His lips formed words that he hadn't the breath to say, merely staring down at the summoner as his body pressed against the other man's in all sorts of inappropriate ways. "Oh..oh!" The alchemist moved of course, rolling to the side, muttering hasty apologies.

His muscles shook with the meager effort of moving himself so that he was no longer astride the Launceleyn, though as soon as he did and light peaked through, the alchemist hissed in a strained sound, his wings immediately encircling his head to block out the light.

"Sorry." The alchemist mumbled, blinking hard beneath his feathers as his eyes strained and burned against the light.

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!

LOREN

As soon as the weight of the other man's body was removed, Loren breathed a sigh of relief. ”Thanks. And not your fault.” His breath was still too short for more than that. From the way Remi was acting—and the flash of green eyes the summoner had seen far too briefly—it seemed that the healing might just have worked. But he needed to know. Needed confirmation that his efforts hadn’t once again been for naught. ”Did it...did it work?” He was barely able to breath, except this time for an entirely different reason.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

Every time he tried to open his eyes all he seemed to see was a wall of white light. His pupils hadn't had to properly dilate or contract in months now, and now they were hardly responding. They would of course with time, but like any atrophied muscle, they were sluggish and lax. "I...I don't.."

Forcing himself to close his eyes if only to still his mind and take a breath, given both his heart and thoughts were racing, the alchemist placed his palms on the cool floor to try and ground himself. Slowly parting his wingtips so that small slices of light scattered across has face, the alchemist squinted into the room that was not at all brightly lit. "...I.." Blinking and having to resist the urge to rub at his eyes, the alchemist let his lashes flutter as he peered out.

He saw blue eyes, but he saw more than that as well. The world bathed in blacks and greys in boring low-contrasted smears was now suddenly sharp again, startling in its clarity. For a moment Remi's eyes merely widened and narrowed over and over, his mouth making similar motions. "Loren..did you..?" Slowly Remi turned towards the summoner, his wings falling only slightly more so that he could peer through, and for the first time in over a year Remi would look upon Loren with crisp green eyes.

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!

LOREN

The whole time Remi struggled, both with what Loren had done and maybe, just maybe, with the light, Loren continued to hold his breath. Then, however, the flash of pure and bright green irises, without a hint of white or film, met the summoner’s eager gaze and he finally let out the air he’d been holding. ”It worked.” And with that, relief coursed through him and he laughed, a bright and delighted sound, one he’d been holding in along with his air even as happy tears sprang to his own blue eyes.

Something had finally gone right with them. Something Loren had done, even. And while it couldn't begin to make up for all his mistakes, well, it was a start.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

Remi continued to squint and blink, as if seeing through a fog or trying to focus in a dream. Dazed almost, he reached a hand towards Loren's cheek, leaning forward and seeming to marvel at the hair coating the man's jaw in a fine light-blonde shadow. "But..." His voice sounded far away, eyes focused on the way the light reflected in a singular pinpoint of white on the Launceleyn's cheek, as if seeing such a thing for the first time. But his fingers stopped just before actually touching the other man, frozen, the air all but leaving his lungs as he let his gaze swim up to the summoner's eyes.

The magic that let him see before was still there—Loren's eyes still appeared painted with the most vibrant of stormy-sea blue—but the rest of him had come to life as well. Marveling at what he was seeing he leaned forward yet again, his wings shifting to allow for slightly more light to high lite the Launceleyn's face. Lips parted and framing silent O's of surprise, the alchemist continued to simply peer at the other man, quite literally seeing him for the first time with these eyes; the pale pink of his lips, the smear of coral across his cheeks, the multifaceted sheen of his hair. Eyebrows and eyelashes awash in colour, and even a few freckles he'd not noted before. But it was the eyes, as it ever were, that made him freeze. "...how?'

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!

LOREN

Remi’s words were spaced incredibly far apart, not that Loren blamed the other man. Truth be told, the summoner was just as surprised at this turn of events as the alchemist was. As the other man reached forward, the Launceleyn lifted his own languid hand in an attempt to lace their fingers together once more, hoping the contact might ground them both. ”Does it matter?” Turning his head, Loren looked intently into the other man’s once-more green eyes, the summoner’s face and blue eyes and mind filled with a heady and dizzying mixture of wonder and awe and relief and yes, joy. An almost overwhelming amount of joy. ”I don’t know. I guess I just refused to give up this time. Not again.” He was talking about more than healing Remi’s vision, not that the Launceleyn expected the alchemist to pick up on that.

For once, the summoner didn’t care about a magical puzzle; his own abilities were much less important than the way the other man continued to shy away from light that was too bright. ”Are you okay?” Loren was suddenly seized by the horrifying thought that somehow he’d just made Remi’s eyes worse. If their hands were linked at this point, the Launceleyn's fingers would tighten as a sudden tension coursed through him.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

As Loren's fingers met Remi's once more, it was as if the very sight of it amplified what he was feeling. He could distinctively feel the curves of Loren's knuckles, where his skin was smooth and where it wasn't, just as he could distinctively see some of the pale individual hairs and the creases on his skin. "It matters if.." ..it hurt you to do it, the alchemist was going to say, but couldn't. Blinking away from their hands, Remi tilted his head slightly as he turned his gaze back towards Loren, immediately drowned by the visual roar of that particular shade of Launceleyn-blue.

"Oh..ah.." As if just then remembering to take stock of where he was and what was happening, Remi glanced slightly to the side. His shoulder, arms, and sides were once again unmarked by wounds. It was then he noticed the disarray around them and frowned slightly.

"..sorry...yes." The alchemist managed after a moment, running his free hand through his curls to free them from where they'd started to mat together due to sweat—though feathers simply appeared in the wake of his fingers. "..it is just very bright. Everything was very dark before." Swallowing hard and pulling in a breath, Remi looked down at their interlaced fingers, pulling Loren's hand towards his chest and clasping it with his other hand as well. "Loren..." Remi whispered, his eyes suddenly shiny with tears.

"I can see." He whispered, blinking softly enough that it took a moment for the tears to spill down cheeks dimpled with joy and an opulent sort of awe.

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!

LOREN

”If what?” Loren frowned, trying to figure out what was bothering Remi. Besides the light, that is, although even when the alchemist complained about it the summoner couldn’t help but grin. After all, if that was the least of the other man’s complaints, the Launceleyn would be content. So at Remi’s breathless wonder and his awed statement—I can see, the words brought a buoyant and beautiful lightness to Loren’s soul, one he never thought he’d feel again—even as the tears spilled from those oh so green eyes, the Launceleyn didn’t worry.

He just rolled over onto his side, the arm the alchemist had captured now trapped against the ground; tears fell from the summoner’s blue eyes as well now as he reached out with his free hand to wipe them from the other man’s cheeks. Even the happy tears they were shedding seemed not to belong in a moment that should be unmarred by anything less than perfection. Not that there was anything Loren could do to stop his own.

But don’t be weary if it’s broken

Families are like that—

they’re split up and always torn.

REMI

all the things we said when we were younger

"I...do not know what to say.." Remi said, his words almost melodic with laughter. "I can't..thank you...enough for this." He added, the air shakily halting in his throat as the summoner reached out to wipe the tears from his cheeks. There was nothing he could do to thank Loren, nothing he could say, really. The man had brought the world back into view, had replaced the dreary swipes of nondescript grey with colour and clarity. Awkward as it was—though still too exhausted to move much more—the alchemist reached out with the wing and hand not pinned against the floor to draw the summoner to him. He'd take the discomfort to give Loren as proper a hug of appreciation as he could.

did it bend or did I break?

Coding base by Sky!