Been here the whole time

With Deimos and Isla's help, Remi's shop had come together remarkably well. There had been that incident with the echo-turned-lobster that had taken a bit of time to fix up (repairing the counter had been remarkably easy given his new abilities), and while Remi had never had a shop before and had no real goal at which to aim, he was quite pleased with the progress he'd made. The atmosphere was cozily cluttered, and though Remi knew where and what everything was, to anyone else the shelves and racks probably looked cluttered with all sorts of miscellaneous and ramshackle inventions and half-finished projects. Behind the counter, Remi had an array of different coloured blue berries. They possessed various shades and hues and came in a number of different sizes, hailing from a plethora of different plants. Crushing them and adding various additives, it was clear by the numerous smears of colour on the parchment before the alchemist that he was trying to create one shade in particular. One shade that he couldn't seem to get right. Hearing the bell tinkle gently as the door was opened, Remi sighed inwardly as he bit the inside of his lip. There was probably a psychological reason that Remi was finding that he continued to fail in his efforts to recreate the particular blue of Loren's eyes, but of course such theorizing was far from the alchemist's wheelhouse. "I will be with you in just a moment." Remi called over his shoulder, frowning as he looked down at the different samples and deciding that once again, he'd missed the mark. Turning his head towards the door, now it was Remi's turn to freeze just as the Launceleyn had during their last proper meeting. A shiver tore through Remi's body despite the relative warmth of the room in which they stood, just as heat flooded his face. He'd been longing and looking for Loren since they'd all arrived, and though Ronin's report of the librarian indicated that Loren was indeed out and about, the decided lack of his presence had weighed on the alchemist's mind every day. All the insecurities and worries and wonderings were erased by the mere presence of the Launceleyn. "Loren." The alchemist said with confident adoration even as the magician fumbled for words. As Loren approached, for a moment the alchemist hesitated, but only because his hands were covered in paint. Sliding around from behind the counter, Remi faltered for just a second before wiping a brilliant streak of blue on his white shirt (why the alchemist continued to wear light colours despite how often he got them dirty was still a mystery). The distance between them wouldn't have to just be broached by Loren alone, as Remi immediately moved to help force away all that stood between them. As the magician's hand reached for Remi so too did the alchemist reach for Loren. He wanted to ask the man a thousand questions—where had he been? was he alright? had it been alright that Remi had said he loved him?—but the feeling of Loren's lips against his forced those thoughts fully and completely to the back of his mind. He loved Loren and he had missed Loren, but now with the magician so close and all that Remi had been repressing for long within reach once again, he just wanted Loren. With knees which were beginning to feel weak Remi's hands dropped to Loren's waist to pull him closer as his moans against the Launceleyn's lips belayed his sense of need. remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence