maybe this is us for now

RONIN

With a huff of breath the huntman is redirected, bloody fingers buried in the moss and dirt, a fever hot body pressing against him. His head lolls back, words half forming only to be stolen by the sudden vice of an arm across his chest, by a grip adjusting his hips, and his shuddering intake of breath cuts off entirely as the alchemist enters him. Ronin groans a note of raw need, arced against Remi like a bowstring, and the Lullaby's thrusts overwhelm senses already so finely tuned to all that's happening around them.

Whether Ronin is pliant in his husband's grip on purpose or not is best left to the imagination, but in the twilight of the morning the Star is completely and utterly taken in any way Remi wants him. Even without further stimulation he can already feel the itch in the soles of his feet that tightens up the backs of his legs and in the base of his spine. Pressing back into Remi, another moan grates from his throat that warns about how close he is to the edge of all this.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

None of this is meant to last. Not the need to kill. Not the demand for satisfaction. So it is that rather than keeping his movements slow and controlled, the alchemist's hips rock back and forth without so much as a thought about stamina; neither his or Ronin's.

This was not careful and controlled. This was the blissful pain that comes from scratching a mosquito bite until it bleeds, and the satisfaction that comes with blood-covered fingers having annihilated the itch. The dirt beneath his claws, the cold smear of soil against his side, and the heat of Ronin's body—still covered in a sheen of sweat and adrenaline and fear—is the perfect precipice off of which the Lullaby lets himself fall entirely. He doesn't warn Ronin as he usually does, instead letting the tension in his hands and the feral moans that leave his throat be the gauge by which Ronin might attune himself to.

As the alchemist cums, his fingers and limbs twisting possessively around the Star, curling his body to completely fit against Ronin's, it is entirely without the sweetness and love that normally accompanies his climax. This was sex for the sake of sex, his orgasm achieved via a sprint, and thus was appropriately short-lived.

Though Remi's grip doesn't loosen around his husband, it does significantly change. The teeth and rough tongue against Ronin's neck become a flutter of soft kisses, the hand around the huntsman's chest relaxes, and Remi's lower half untangles around Ronin's legs that the Lullaby might stay the big spoon. "I suppose I can see why you like to run on your own." Remi chuckles after a moment, sounding bashfully apologetic.

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

Attune himself Ronin does; neither Star nor Lullaby is destined for stamina in this particular endeavour, and the former absolutely doesn't care. His mind swims with Remi, and as fingers seize around him and the other man moans into the side of his neck, Ronin isn't far behind in his orgasm. It takes him completely, hard and fast and overwhelming, and leaves him panting in the dirt and utterly malleable in the alchemist's grip. Only the soft brush of kisses against his neck brings him around, Ronin humming out something like a response.

Only it isn't, really, and the huntsman relaxes back into Remi's arms, sweaty and exhausted, muscles screaming and heart galloping still. He lets out a rough, breathless sort of laugh, leaning his head against his husband's curls, eyes fluttering shut again. "I mean," he says slowly, "you can join me every now and then, maybe." There's no need for the apology in Remi's voice, the Star's fingertips brushing across the other man's forearms in a gentle caress. "Just not too often. I don't need to run that fast everyday..."

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

"Gods I love you." Remi murmurs without thinking. He'd been listening to what Ronin had to say, and was about to offer something like a critique when it came to his husband's efforts of evasion, but the affirmation of love came tumbling out instead.

Tugging the Star closer, wanting just a few more moments of closeness, Remi's eyes slip shut as he breathes in the scent of the woods. "I suppose you'll want to clean up before we head back." This is said with an audible frown, knowing very well that Ronin was not as keen to spend his life covered in a layer of nature, with grime under his fingernails and dirt covering the soles of his feet, quite like Remi was.

"I never thought our life would come to this, Ianto watching over our son while we race through the woods, but...honestly, I can't imagine anything better right now."

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

"I love you too," Ronin offers easily, nestling closer to his husband and seeming happy to drown in the soft cradle of the ground and the warm body draped around him. He grumbles a sad affirmation about wanting to clean up, because yes, he is much more proper than his feral husband, but that doesn't mean he's keen to leave Remi right now. His heartbeat slows by degrees, though his breath hitches as the alchemist pulls him closer still, a grin creeping across his face.

"Mm... there isn't anything better right now," he says slowly, sounding like he might happily drift off to sleep for a little longer if it weren't for the reminder of their son. Slowly, Ronin peels himself away from Remi, sitting up and stretching, his back clicking and muscles tightening as he fumbles to grab his pants. "I don't know about you, but I feel fantastic after that."

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

Remi watches as Ronin sits up, his pale stare washing over the ripple of muscles beneath still-golden skin, as the Star stretches and reaches for his clothing. Not quite ready to be anything more than weary muscles and content smiles, the alchemist rolls onto his back and laces his fingers behind his head.

"Mmmmm." Comes a hum of agreement, Remi pulling in a breath deep enough that his ribcage expands. Gazing up through the canopy of leaves and rolling one foot to shake the remaining stress from his calf muscle, Remi rolls onto his side, watching his husband dress with unfettered appreciation. "It's definitely the perfect way to begin a day that might end with our death." It wouldn't, in all likelihood, but the possibility was always there. Still, after having traipsed intro the jungle twice and returned with hardly more than a few scratches, Remi was fairly certain the pair of them could withstand a desert storm.

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

Ronin wishes he could be the paradigm of grace and charm to give his husband a show worth watching. What Remi gets, of course, is the Star hopping around on bare and dirty feet, streaked with soil as he tries to hike up his pants. He does succeed, at least, with an audible aha!, turning to preen at Remi and swaggering over to sit astride the other man, since he's not getting up just yet. "Mm, nah. I think we'll just fine. And I've died - I know about these things," he mumbles, leaning in for a kiss.

If they aren't careful they'll be going for another tumble in the mud, so Ronin rises back to his feet and reaches out to offer a hand to the Lullaby; a wordless indication that it's time to go and take a dunk in the river. It'll wipe away the dirt and the sweat in time for them to go and fight landsharks, as far as he's concerned.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

Remi watches all of this with a lazy an adoring smile, particularly appreciating the moment where Ronin's pants jostled against the bottom of his ass, before snuggly rising up. Grinning stupidly up at the Star, and then playfully trying to pin Ronin against him by wrapping his wings around the huntsman's shoulders, Remi hums a mournful sigh as their lips part and his head plonks back into the moss below.

"You know, bathing so much can dry out your skin." Remi complains, reluctantly taking his husband's hand and standing. Still naked, and feeling all the more roguish and mischievous for it, he combs a hand through his curls loosening a few lingering pieces of moss. "Who're you trying to impress anyway? Being so clean and tidy all the time?"

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

"Mmhm, and not bathing at all makes you mouldy," Ronin counters, stepping back a bit and pulling Remi up with him, playfully tugging his naked body against his own. Curling an arm around his waist, he leans in for a purposefully slow and lingering kiss, humming a note of contentment against his lips. "You," he says sweetly. "I'm always trying to impress you. I'm surprised you haven't noticed it yet."

Appropriately doe-eyed (even more so, given the season and Ronin's shift), the Star leans in for yet another kiss, apparently not done with his husband yet. He does start to walk them backwards, however, and Remi will have to wave goodbye to his pants, because he's not giving the alchemist time to grab them if he can help it at all.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

"You don't seem to mind all that much." Remi counters, before sipping in a quick breath as he's tugged forward and his lips captured. Tangling his arms around Ronin, his grip suggesting that he might never let the Star go, the alchemist lets his tongue drag slowly across Ronin's lips, revelling in the moment. It's a far cry from the bestial sex just recently had, but it is every bit as satisfying.

"Oh I see." Remi chuckles, pressing his nose against his husband's. "It's a rather strange tactic, to try and impress me by doing things I dislike." He adds, as if hygiene was really such a put-off. That he's so easily led, his knees made instantly weak by the Star is all the evidence needed to very much suggest that whatever Ronin does, it absolutely has the desired effect on Remi.

More than happy to strut through the forest naked (Ronin is about to see a very different side of the alchemist, if he's left in these woods too long), Remi glances briefly over his husband's shoulder as the Stongsong roars into view. "Why Ronin, I suggest you watch your step, or you're going to find yourself with me on top of you again."

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

"Mm, but I don't really think you dislike them as much as you say. At least, I've never heard you complain about showering with me before," Ronin points out to his husband, the words mumbled against his lips, and he lets his hands stroke gentle patterns down the Lullaby's chest and across his ribs, his hips. "But if you really don't want to bathe, you can just watch me if you like." The offer is made with a shit-eating grin, the roar of the Stonesong all too obvious behind him.

Pausing as the bank starts to decline towards the water, he takes a moment to enjoy the simple and raw ferocity about the alchemist. With blood under his fingernails, a healing stripe of claw marks over one shoulder, and the softest and sweetest lips Ronin has ever known, his husband isn't the only one whose knees are week. It's more dangerous for the Star, though, because he might drag them both into the water.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

"True, but that was hardly about getting clean." Remi counters, shivering slightly beneath Ronin's wandering fingertips despite the warmth of the air and his husband's skin. 'Ah, that's a great idea. Perhaps I'll learn something from watching you." And gods if he doesn't want his husband all over again for the glint in his blue eyes and the crookedness of his smile.

"It would be such a shame if you were to trip and fall into the water. Especially since you put your pants back on, and everything." With his wings outspread and his hands firmly around Ronin's waist, the alchemist menacingly leans forward with a slanted grin to match Ronin's. Sliding his hips forward and against his husband, Remi raises a brow, one hand moving to support the Star's lower back as the alchemist presses his lips against Ronin's as he continues leaning forward.

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

"I think you could learn a lot from watching me," Ronin agrees with a smile that only grows more crooked as time passes. "Mm, such a shame," he echoes, and yet has no issue leaning into the alchemist's hold, leaning in to kiss him again. He'll never tire of the taste of him, he doesn't think, his arms looping gently around the other man's neck, playing through his curls, holding him close. He trusts that he won't end up in the Stonesong unless Remi wants him to, such is their combined strength these days.

And yet, it would be fun to take a tumble in there, and so Ronin leans back further, tugging the Lullaby along, as if to tease gravity into making the decision for them. "I don't really care if I ruin these pants," he informs Remi, clutching him closer still until the river is right at their back, likely freezing cold, but very refreshing.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

"Could I?" Remi wonders, looking intrigued. "And what would you have me learn first?" If it's anything to do with eyebrows, the alchemist already knows that he'll never match his husband's expressiveness.

Stretching his wings for balance and tightening the muscles of his legs and core that he might keep the pair of them out of the water for a moment or two longer, Remi revels in the feeling of Ronin's hot skin against his own amidst the frigid breath of the Stonesong so near.

"I suppose it isn't ruining them. It's washing them, and since I know how much you love to have things be clean..." He trails off, muscles loosening, and in they plunge.

The chill of the water is resplendent and sweet. Clutching Ronin all the more tightly against his body as they surface from their plunge, Remi is breathless with laughter for a moment as his lunge brace against the sudden chill.

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today