Top of the World

Remi was too drunk to be cross with Ronin (and the former captain was far too charming to be cross at anyways), but the alchemist was a bit sick of everyone just being so cavalier about the law and treating him as if he was some sort of moral-loser simply because he had done his best to uphold it while everything else had gone to hell. Maybe he was. Maybe everyone was right. Rubbing at his eyes, Remi sighed. "So firs' loves just get taken then?" Remi said, suddenly sounding far more angry than he felt. "It's not." Grinding his teeth Remi searched for the words and found nothing. "They can't.." This was all bullshit. Wait. Wait "d'you think your Safrin could do anything?" Remi asked, suddenly looking painfully naive and hopeful. Chuckling, he nodded and followed Remi inside. Floors were about as comfortable as anything else. And it would be nice not to sleep alone for once even if that meant being in the same ''house' as Ronin and Van. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

"I... I dunno." Ronin shook his head helplessly. He had been throwing out suggestions, was all, each one getting further and further from coherent the longer their discussion continued. All he knew was that Remi was hurting and there was little the hunter could do about it. So he ushered Remi forward and led them inside to the guildhall proper. The hall took up all of the ground floor, empty but for haphazard tables and chairs with only the low embers of a fire burning in a hearth against one of the far walls. He and Van lived above it, and so Ronin led them to the set of stairs which wound up onto a mezzanine level that overlooked the hall. Beyond that, his lady love would be asleep in one of the rooms. "My Safrin?" Ronin whispered, arching an eyebrow and sounding unfathomably happy about having himself associated with the goddess. Such was his distraction that he missed the first step of the stairs and toppled, arms pinwheeling to grab onto the nearest... Remi. Unless the other man stopped them somehow, Ronin would drag them noisily to the ground. He, of course, started to giggle instantly. "Shhhh!" RONIN JUST WATCH ME

"Yeah I mean, you said she was going to help with the spire? Maybe she couldn't help with-" But of course before the words could leave his lips, Remi was pulled towards the ground. His normal dexterity and grace was no match for drunken Ronin nor indeed his own inebriated state of mind and body, and so his own collapse would be just as noisy and clunky. As Ronin began to giggle and then tried to scold Remi, the alchemist reached out to place his hand over the hunter's mouth giving him a stern look. "You are going to get us kicked out of your own guildhall. The alchemist warned meancingly, but quickly the former-captain's giggles infected his system and Remi found himself giddily chuckling as he rolled onto his back feeling quite comfortable all of a sudden. "Could use some stars up there." He noted, glaring at the ceiling as if trying to force it into focus. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

"Iwiffnfff," Ronin said indignantly around Remi's hand, though what that was quite meant to mean was likely beyond either of them. He gasped for breath - from both laughing and trying to inhale the other man's fingers - and tried to roll over as Remi flopped onto his back. "Stars? Luck'ly I know a nalchemist what makes stars." He nodded, and the world spun around him as he did so. Unbalanced, he still (obviously) tried to get to his feet. And failed spectacularly. The result would have the former-captain pretty much headbutting Remi's chest, Ronin left on his knees laughing helplessly again, his face smushed into the other man's shirt. "Remi," he hissed. "Help, I'm stuck!" RONIN JUST WATCH ME

Remi raised a brow as he could feel Ronin's lips squirming beneath his hand. It was a strange sensation really and not one he though he'd felt before. "You do?" Remi gasped - quite sincerely - his mouth dropping open. "oh." He said stupidly after a moment. "me." As Ronin tried to stand, Remi just watched through half-lidded eyes. Something about opening his eyes all the way seemed to make the room spin more, so he was going to try and avoid that. Watching in slow motion as the hunter came crashing down, Remi tensed and comically did nothing more than smash his eyes shut and wait for the inevitable collapse. As Ronin's head knocked the wind out of his stomach, the alchemist groaned lazily and patted the former-captain drunkenly on the back. "Not stuck." Remi corrected quite authoritatively. "Drunk." R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets ”Ye,” Ronin said sunnily, though it was thoroughly muffled against the alchenist’s shirt, ”you.” His friend was absolutely right, though - he was drunk, and Remi was drunk, and despite the heavy nature of their conversation it had been an altogether pleasant evening, he thought. There was absolutely zero chance of him getting off the floor now, though, and he got the feeling that they were one misstep away from feeling the wrath of his lady if they didn’t get themselves together soon. With that in mind, Ronin decided that the floor was quite good enough for the both of them and, as Remi patted his back, he flopped to lie down beside the other man, tucking his head comfortably under his chin. ”S’okay, Remi. We sleep here. Shhh...” He sling an arm around the hawk’s waist, hazy blue eyes slipping shut. And with that, Ronin was out for the count.

In another place and time—another life really—Remi would have been stiff as a board and mortified for the entire night. Now though, if anything Remi was comforted by the hunter's cuddles even if they were a bit drunken and a bit uncomfortable on his stomach. Placing one hand behind his head and wrapping the other loosely around Ronin's shoulder's, Remi stared up at the raftered-ceiling. He'd spent the night with Ianto twice and now Ronin once (assuming they got through the night and the house didn't rudely attack them), but never Loren. Closing his eyes but not for sleep, the alchemist sighed wearily. Never in his life had he needed to know what was going on or what it was he was meant to do. Normally quite alright to simply go with the ebb and flow of what fate and the hierarchy might bring and dictate, in a world where perhaps not all the rules had been made, Remi found himself absolutely floundering. Loren, Loren, Loren... He thought with empty sadness, his heart feeling absolutely nothing. It was a long while before Remi did fall asleep, but when he finally did, it was with a small smile on his lips, his last thought of what Vanya's face might look like to come downstairs in the morning to see the two men passed out as they were. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets They were lucky in that, for whatever reason, Ronin awoke absurdly early the following morning. Much earlier than he would expect his lady to rise from sleep to give them a right royal bollocking, anyway. He had slept like the dead, nestled against Remi and the warmth he provided and shuffling about enough to get his head tucked in the crook of the alchemist's neck. It was where he was as he returned to consciousness, and where his hangover dropped a pile of bricks onto his head. He groaned, a muffled and hoarse sound, and turned to roll onto his side and draw the warmth he had seized closer. What Remi might think about being snuggled was utterly not Ronin's concern. And just in case the other man thought he might have been mistaken, Ronin laughed softly and wrinkled his nose. "You are definitely not Vanya," he mumbled, afraid to move or speak too much in case he died of consequences.

Waking up with a man he hadn't expected to find curled around him was quickly becoming a habit. In the night to stave away the cold he'd wound himself around Ronin as well, and as the hunter stirred against him, Remi just yawned lazily thankful for the warmth. "No I am not." He mumbled agreeably through a mouth that felt full of cotton it was so dry. "Though you are lucky I've woken up like this and not as a lion." He chuckled, lifting a hand and letting claws extended dangerously outwards from his fingers as proof. Dropping the act, he let his hand flop against his eyes and moaned. "That bottle had enough in it to knock out an elephant I think. So between the two of us, I am surprised we are alive." R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets "Would that you were... she doesn't have a prickly chin," Ronin muttered grumpily, though there was no small hint of amusement in his voice as well. Everything tasted like berries and alcohol, and he could feel his stomach churn uncomfortably. Still, wound around Remi and warm and inside? This was practically luxurious. Sighing, the hunter peeped out from his safe place against Remi's neck and moaned his own objection as the light hit his eyes. Arching an eyebrow blearily at the claws that flexed dangerously in the air, Ronin smirked and shrugged. "Lion would be warmer. Probably more cuddly too," he pointed out, though he didn't push the issue. The lion was still largely an unknown, at least to Ronin. "Well, between the two of us I am very glad to be alive," he said, yawning widely and shifting as gingerly as possible to sit up. The floor was very uncomfortable.

Running a hand over his stubble, Remi could only shrug. "Well had I known your preferences and where I was going to spend the night, I might have cleaned myself up a bit more. Some gentleman I turned out to be, hmm?" With a laugh, Remi shook his head slightly. "Then again, you'd be waking up to morning breath either way." Raising a brow, Remi considered this. "Potentially more bitey as well. Though if you'd like to find out..?" Watching as Ronin sat up, and recoiling slightly against the sudden lack of warmth, Remi sighed and leaned back more heavily against the floor if that was even possible. "Did I really tell you all the things I think I remember telling you last night?" He asked sheepishly with a sly smile on his lips. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets "Hey, you said you'd walk me home and here I am. I think your gentlemanly status still counts, stubble or no subble." Ronin grinned, having to put one hand to his pounding head for fear that it might actually roll off his shoulders and go bouncing away across the floor. Wrinkling his nose at the idea of morning breath and bitey lions (or possible some sort of horrid combination of the two), Ronin carefully shook his head. "I'm good, thanks," he mumbled, rolling his stiff shoulders and shivering a little as if just realising how cold it was without Remi close by. Then the alchemist asked if he remembered about last night and, while getting to the guildhall and getting on the floor was a bit of a jumble, he remembered their conversations with startling clarity. "You promised you'd not turn my baby into a lobster," he said, snorting softly. "And that you were in love with a certain librarian but your feelings got thieved by a god. Reckon that means yes, you probably did tell me. Sorry."

"Ahh well that's a relief. I managed to keep my status and the contents of my stomach intact." Remi said with a woozy grin. Not tempting fate this early in the morning (and with hangovers galore) was probably one of the smarter ideas that the former-captain had ever had. The last thing Remi needed was to battle a predator while drums banged in his head. The mention of the lobster made Remi laugh at loud, which in turn made him wince as the sound reverberated in his skull. "And I stand by that, I'll have you know." He chuckled despite the pain bleeding out from behind his eyes. What came next caused his face to fall entirely and with a sigh Remi pushed himself to a seating position, leaning against the bannister wall. Waving a hand, Remi closed his eyes for a moment as he took a breath. "Right. Well. Ehm.." Remi fumbled. He normally wasn't that good with words anyways, but this morning they seemed to be particularly elusive. "And your recommended is still just ... find him and try to re-feel what I did? Just ignore the deity-solution all together?" R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets Remi's laughter hurt them both and was unfortunately contagious, meaning that they were both left with even sorer heads than when they had started the conversation. Rubbing at his eyes, Ronin slouched beside Remi against the banister wall and smiled across at him sympathetically. "My recommendation is only that. I can't tell you what's right and what's wrong, but... him not knowing, that seems like a rather big snag, don't you agree?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said... I can and will help as much as I can, so long as you don't think it's too risky. I'm just... I'm sorry, that you can't feel what you did. That it was taken from you." Ronin touched a hand to the other man's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.