not if I get you first

is there a price to burn this paradise?

So... Ronin had been conveniently absent for much of Flowerbirth and its antics (and that is the last we will fucking say on the subject okay?) but, now that he was out and about, he was learning something about it.

It was muddy as all fuck.

Initially he'd been to see whether or not the excitement of Fiat Lux was anything to get out of bed for (having been conveniently dead for the last festival), but en route he'd become distracted by the curious gloops of memory mud that seemed to spring out of nowhere.

Now he found himself up to his knees in the stuff, half laughing and half swearing in frustration as he tried to battle his way through this particularly boggy patch of the Fields. Arms pinwheeling, clothes ruined, his smile was bright as he gazed over his shoulder.

"Little help, Remi?" he called.

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Mmmm?" The alchemist hummed, arms folded across his chest offering his husband a mere bob of his brows in response to his pleas. "I think you've nearly got it." He commented taking a few steps closer. What Ronin had nearly gotten was impossibly stuck, and there was something immensely satisfying about seeing his husband waist-deep in a sea of brown he was helpless to shake.

Kneeling down, Remi feigned concern, reaching out to brush his cheek across Ronin's cheek to rid the hunter's skin of an errant bit of mud (as if that was the biggest of his worries at the moment). "There. Much better."

is there a price to burn this paradise?

What Remi considered 'better' clearly differed to Ronin, and an expression of indignant (but loving) outrage crossed the hunter's face as his husband's cheek pressed against his own; above them, Sugar screeched and circled, clearly finding the whole situation hilarious. "You know, you're right," Ronin said, doing his best to sound as smug as possible, "I do nearly got this. Watch - I'll show you a new trick I just learned."

Rubbing his hands together - and trying and failing to look mystical while standing knee deep in much - Ronin's brows creased in concentration. Between his fingertips something began to spark and jump; celestial light not unlike that which beamed out of him when he got excited or otherwise emotional. But this was much more... directed, apparently, and as Ronin raised his hand the ball of starlight hovered and crackled... until he threw it at the mud.

Brown mixed with heavenly light just as well as one might imagine, and the wet mud around Ronin's feet seemed to detonate... promptly caking them both in mud instead. "Ta daaa!" Ronin yelled.

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Thinking that Ronin was simply about to strip himself naked in fewer movements than normal (not that the alchemist would have minded one bit), Remi's mouth dropped open as sparks began to fizzle from his husband's fingertips.

"Ronin..." Remi murmured, his tone half-worried and half amused by what he was seeing. Until of course he wasn't seeing anything at all, because he was covered in mud.

With comedic slowness, Remi raised his fingertips to his eyes wiping away the mud heavily splattered there. "Ta da indeed." Using his own earth magic to schluff the mud off of his face, the alchemist raised a brow. "Mud splattering is easily the most impressive demi-god ability you've acquired thus far." He joked with a shit-eating grin.

is there a price to burn this paradise?

It was all rather comedic, indeed. The only thing bright about Ronin currently was the white shine of his grin, and he turned to look over his shoulder at his husband as Remi slowly wiped the mud out of his eyes. Still, the filthy word (demi-god, pbbbbtht) caused the Fallen Star to wrinkle his nose, and he shrugged his shoulders innocently. "It isn't every day you find out you can throw shooting stars around," he admitted, wobbling suddenly as the mud around him seemed to quiver and shift.

"Ah, this must be that 'memory mud' stuff everyone has been going on about," he remarked, doing his best to scramble out of the pit he'd created before the muck moved back in to trap him once more. "Maybe it'll clean us off a little, huh?" Ronin nudged Remi, acting as though the two of them weren't absolutely filthy.

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"How sure are you about that? You seem to be finding abilities just as quickly as I these days." Remi said with an unhappy huff, clearly not a fan of the strange magical strength that kept cropping up between them.

"Ahh yes, I am sure the longer we stay here the cleaner we will be." The alchemist agreed with a sarcastic laugh, that faded away into an amused look of consideration. "Do you think if we died in here, that we would be preserved? Because of the mud? Just think, in decades to come they could wonder what a ravishingly handsome man—and you— were doing here." With a boyish grin, the mud hiding much of Remi's joyful blush, he 'splashed' his hands into the mud to see if it might roll like a wave or otherwise fling itself at Ronin.

is there a price to burn this paradise?

"I mean, I suppose that is true. But maybe it's just like... a growth spurt? Except instead of growing taller you just... turn into a manticore. And I learn to summon clouds to fly on." Ronin couldn't in good faith keep the smile from his face, but he could at least pretend at a serious tone. Not that it would matter much given the laugh that threatened at any moment. Said laugh bubbled out of him at the 'wave' of mud suddenly cast in his direction, Ronin letting out an outraged oi! as it did, indeed, roll upon him, the hunter trying to scramble out of the muck and to his feet.

His jaw dropped in outrage - and you indeed! - and he nonetheless held out a hand to pull Remi out of the mud. "Perhaps. Personally I am keen to keep my ravishingly handsome man beside me, instead of perfectly preserved in the dirt. Come on, we aren't making it to the festival today, I don't think."

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"A growth spurt." The alchemist rejoined smugly. "Where has my humble husband gone, and who is this man casting stars into the mud and calling it puberty?" Remi demanded, though his smile was positively shit-eating. Given that Ronin was rarely humble, and if this was indeed a second puberty for the new of them, he was more than willing to explore it all anew, the alchemist couldn't help but wallow happily in the mud.

"Mmmm better not." Remi agreed, letting himself be tugged out of the mud. It sloorped back at him, seemingly unwilling to let him go. "I hear there is meant to be all sorts of Frey-themed games." He added with a mischevious raised of his brow. "Spin the bottle and such. All terrifically boring for an old, married, and very dirty couple like us." So saying Remi would interlace his slippery and cold fingers between Ronin's with a grin. "Besides, no telling how long it will take to get you clean again." A roguish and crooked smile pulled at the alchemist's lips as he gave his husband a heat-filled grin.

is there a price to burn this paradise?

"Very dirty-- oi! Let him go!" Ronin demanded of the mud, narrowing his eyes at the mud as it tried to cling onto his husband so dearly. He thought he managed to fight it off (mostly by pulling Remi closer and keeping his arms locked around him), though the look he threw it was positively withering. Luckily, there was a devastatingly handsome man present to distract him. "Well, if I have to go through the awkwardness of puberty again, I would like nothing more than to go through it with you."

Especially given how long it would take to get him clean again. And especially now that they had decided not to go and play along with the Fiat Lux games. Leaning in, Ronin stole a sudden kiss - thankfully not smeared with mud - from Remi's lips, his eyes slipping shut. "Tell me," he murmured, "how is that wagon of ours coming along? What do you need help with?"

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Well now that might be the sweetest thing you have ever said to me." Remi chimed back, not caring at all to wonder about the truth of his statement. It was hard to tell on any given day what counted as banter and what somehow struck a deeper chord, and honestly? It never mattered. It was the language of love they spoke to each other; rarely overt, but always present.

Hissing in a surprised breath as his lips were suddenly pressed against Ronin's, the alchemist's body yielded against his husband's, unmindful of the mud. "Well it does not have a bed yet, if that is what you are asking." Remi said, his lips pulling tight into a grin. "Very nearly done...the last bit of magic might need to come from Safrin though...to make the wagon larger or smaller depending." Brushing the tip of his nose against Ronin's, Remi's sea-glass eyes narrowed mischievously as he kissed at the hunter's lower lip. "Do you think that is something you might speak to her about?"

is there a price to burn this paradise?

The feel of Remi yielding against him sent a spark of heat straight south, but Ronin wasn't keen to add "mudslide" to their list of lovemaking escapades, so he gave a rare show of restraint and stood back from his husband with a boyish grin. "The sweetest thing? I'd better up my game if that's the thing that turned your knees weak." He chuckled, tutting Remi at hearing that their wagon didn't yet have a bed.

"Very nearly done, and yet no bed," he remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Your priorities are completely wrong, sir." But still, hearing that there was something he could help with was nice, and Ronin nodded gently - he could certainly ask if nothing more. "I'll go to her the next chance I have," he said. "Would you like to come?"

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"You know nearly anything you do or say has that effect." The alchemist replied almost sheepishly, punctuated with an all-too genuine smile of affection. It was the disgusting stuff of love songs and yet as it had ever been where Ronin was concerned, Remi simply couldn't help it.

Tutting back Remi pulled away and crossed his arms, raising a brow full of mock challenge. "Ah and here I thought having walls and a ceiling to protect us and our child from the elements was the priority. I really should have consulted with you sooner." Smile souring slightly, Remi ran a hand through his curls—a mistake no doubt given all the mud tangling his hair together—and shrugged. "If you think my presence would not hinder the request." They both knew his track record with the gods, and though Safrin seemed a safe enough bet, when it came to the security of his family (and their ability to escape the drama of the Hollowed Grounds), the alchemist would do nothing to jeopardize whatever divine assistance Ronin might negotiate for them.

is there a price to burn this paradise?

"Be that as it may, I still like to hear you say it." Ronin smiled cheekily back at his husband, reaching out to slip his hand into Remi's, giving it a muddy squeeze. Then of course he pulled away, all crossed arms and pouts, and Ronin could only laugh and nudge a shoulder against the alchemist. "Aoife will be fine, she's almost feral as it is." He winked. "On the other hand, I require luxuries. I was a baron, you know." A bloody terrible one, but still.

His humour faded somewhat at the mention of Safrin, and he nodded gently to his husband. "I don't think you'll be a hindrance at all, but if it would make you feel better, I can have the conversation by myself. Aoife would love to crawl all over you exclusively for an evening, I'm sure."

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Uh huh, and whose fault is that?" Remi countered, though it was a poor defense given that he was quite literally an animal most of the time. "And a king, don't forget." Low hanging fruit perhaps, but that had never stopped the alchemist before and it wouldn't now.

Pondering this while chewing the inside of his lower lip, eventually, the alchemist released a held breath and shook his head. "Just you, I think." De-facto patron saint of their family though Safrin might be, Remi was still respectfully wary. "We can make an evening of it though. Aoife and I can stargaze awhile while you speak to Safrin."

With that, Remi extended his hand to drag his husband home and into a shower. Adoring as Safrin was, even Remi knew better than to let Ronin go to her filthy as he was.