my soul to keep

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Yeah, I know," Ronin mutters, slumping back against the wall and looking suddenly just as weary as he undoubtedly is laying in his bunk in Stormbreak. It isn't that Ronin is complacent - it's more that he's playing the hand he's been dealt, rather than flipping the table. But it's difficult to enjoy spending this comparatively precious time with his husband, when Remi's vitriol and anger cloud it all.

"Okay," he mumbles, reaching up to carefully run his fingers through the alchemist's curls, gentle fingers teasing out tangles and smoothing it into some semblance of order. "I love you," he says softly, because there's nothing much else to say when they've reached this point in their conversation.

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Remi can feel the soft frustration as it bubbles from Ronin, the Star's desire to make the most and best of the time that they have together. It makes the alchemist feel guilty for the strength of his emotions, and though he can't dampen his fires completely, he tries to turn away from their intensity. "I'm sorry. I ... sometimes I feel like I've been given all this strength, all these abilities, just to be shown how weak I actually am." He couldn't save Aoife. He couldn't stop Ronin from being taken away.

"You take care of yourself too." Remi offers after a moment. Having just gone through all of this only weeks before with the alchemist's sickness, they both knew what it might entail for the Star. "And...not that it's my call one way or the other, but perhaps finding comfort in Amalia might not be the best." He adds a touch crookedly, finding some amusement at least in the awkwardness between Shield and Star, especially now that they were thrown together in a strange world.

THE ALCHEMIST

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"I don't think you're weak," Ronin mumbles, hands slipping down so he can capture Remi's fingers, lifting them up and kissing the inside of his wrist. "You just wear your heart on your sleeve a little bit, these days. Would that I could be there to keep it safe for you." With a smile, he lets his hand drop and winds his arms around the other man, gathering him close and smooshing his cheek against Remi's.

He can't help but snort at the Lullaby's remarks, giving him a nudge for good measure. "I will keep that in mind, certainly," he assures him, nuzzling his face closer. "For now all I'm interested in is this. Maybe when it's a bit less raw, I'll see if I can imagine StormBreak for you. You did say you wanted to travel, after all."

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"And yet there's nothing I can do about this." Remi protests, though his venom is made sweeter by the kisses against his wrists. "My heart is always with you. No matter where I am. No matter where you are." He adds much more softly. The grumble he offers as his face is pressed against Ronin's is entirely for show, and despite the scritchiness of their unshaven cheeks, the Lullaby wouldn't change a thing about the moment.

Grinning as he's nudged, the Lullaby shrugs innocently. "Far be it for me to comment on your taste. You did pick me, after all." Playfully Remi snaps his teeth at the Star, his lips chasing the sound to press a kiss to Ronin's nose. "I'd like that. I'm sure Mateo would as well."

THE ALCHEMIST

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Mm, it is. It keeps me warm at night - and I gave you mine in return, so you won't get lonely either." Ronin smiles, rubbing his scratchy cheek against his husband's for good measure. He gasps in faux outrage at the snap of Remi's teeth, leaning in to plonk an obnoxious kiss to the other man's chin as one is delivered to his nose. "I did pick you. I'd do it again, too. Over and over again, until everyone got the message." His voice is a low rumble that's practically a purr, and even these few moments with Remi in less of a heavy state of mind... it's enough to have him melting.

Smiling softly, he pulls back to clasp the alchemist's cheeks, squishing them to pucker his lips and leaning in for another sloppy kiss. He'd learned it from Tobi earlier, sans kissing. "I know you will," he murmurs. "Both of you. Gives me an excuse to actually explore too, so I can make sure there's lots to show you."

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"I won't. And, at least I have Mateo." Their boy would keep him grounded, if only because Remi's dedication to their son was far stronger than any self-destructive tendencies he might feel. 'Over and over....' The words are sing-song as they leave his lips, Remi very much liking the sound of that. So much so that he lets himself tumble to the side, dragging Ronin down into the bed with him.

Remi's lips fish-picker as his cheeks are pressed together, sticking his tongue out through them to try and utterly ruin what was already an incredibly sloppy kiss. It lightens his heart significantly, and his sigh of gratitude as his head nestles against a pillow says everything of his love and appreciation of the lengths the Star will go to to cheer him up. "Alright. Well, I expect you to find some really horrible new cuisine to tell me about. Or some...weird animals, or customs or something."

THE ALCHEMIST

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Mm, and I expect a full itinerary of all the things Mateo's done throughout the day that are interesting," Ronin says with a grin, flopping dutifully into bed with the Lullaby and shifting to drag the blankets over them, swamping them in the smell of home - at least to the Star. He can't help but chuckle at the ridiculous kiss that passes between them, thoroughly warmed and lightened as well by their antics.

Snagging a pillow to nuzzle at, Ronin reaches out a leg to try and tangle it in Remi's as if he needs to be touching him (even in a dream) just a small amount. "I will absolutely collect as many weird and wonderful bits of info, just for you. I heard there's a place called the Celestine. It's like this huge garden where Frey brings all sorts of creatures who are hurt."

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Remi has all but nuzzled his way ontop of Ronin, his nose firmly under the Star's chin and his arms wound tightly around him. If the Star thought that just a leg around Remi was going to do the trick, especially on this first night away from each other, he was sorely mistaken.

"That sounds...really nice, actually." Remi murmurs, of the Celestine, having no idea that he'd actually already been there already. "Just so long as you don't grow attached to any other manticores." He adds crookedly, wings sprouting from his back to drape over himself and the Star.

THE ALCHEMIST

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

As Remi wrangles his way atop the Star, Ronin is far from upset about it. His arms loosely wind around the alchemist - a smart move given the wings that spread from his shoulders a few moments later - and he lets his fingers play gentle music over the small of the other man's back. "It does, right? I'll have to go there so I can imagine it for us. We'll go on another date." he suggests. Just because their interactions have to be purely mental, it doesn't mean Ronin plans on lavishing his husband with any less attention.

Then the wings are draping over them, the Stars hands finding their way into warm feathers to thoroughly indulge in their softness. "Never," he promises Remi, the vow murmured into his curls. "There is only one manticore for me, and he's right here. You're all mine, whether it's in the Greatwood or Stormbreak or wherever the fuck else we end up. Don't forget it."

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

'I definitely like the sound of that." Remi replies, all but purring as Ronin's fingers work their way against the sensitive base of his feathers. "Greatwood dates, dates in this Celestine...maybe even back on the beaches of Torchline."

Lowering his chin that he might stretch his back beneath the Star's fingers, the alchemist lets out a contented near-purr (more of a growl, really), before flashing the huntsman a skeptical smile. "We both know my memory isn't what it used to be." Remi says gravely. "I think you'll probably have to remind me. Often." He leans forward to press a lingering kiss against Ronin's lips. "Daily, even." He adds, his lips whispering over his husband's.

THE ALCHEMIST

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"I thought you would," Ronin says with a grin, the wagon around them bleeding, for a moment, into varying scenes of huge, arching trees and warm stretches of beach. "Dates wherever you like. It could be a picnic in a jail cell and I'd be happy." A quiet laugh rumbles up in his chest, his fingers following the arch of Remi's back so they can press gently into the base of each wing, and his eyes slip close against the kiss that comes to sweetly silence him.

Daily he thinks he might just be able to manage, and his smile says as much. "You and that memory of yours," he chastises, the words gently murmured against Remi's lips. "I wouldn't be surprised if you've forgotten already, so I'll remind you now." Ronin's eyes flick open. "You are mine, and I love you. It's you, for me."

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"Oh a jail. I see you've used up all your romanticism for this year." The Lullaby replies against the warmth of Ronin's skin, his smirk likely felt as much as heard. "Do you think we can...learn things here?" Remi waggles his fingers experimentally as if Ronin's skin has become a piano. Not that he's looking for ways to fill his nights with the Star, but if they had to be apart, perhaps there was something they could do with that time.

Remi groans as if his poor memory is something over which he has any control. "It's you for me." The alchemist agrees, feeling the familiar rush of boyish breathlessness for having peered into Ronin's eyes.

"This...might be a strange question, but...how far away are you? Do you know? Are you so far that the sun set might be a different time for you?" Because that was the last thing they'd need: being in two different time zones.

THE ALCHEMIST

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Just watch me. If anyone can make a jail cell romantic, it's me," Ronin mumbles, grinning back against Remi's lips and leaning in for another, proper kiss, before drawing back enough to kiss his forehead as well. "Mm... I wouldn't see why not. We managed to make a son here. I'd say we could definitely learn things," he says, nuzzling his cheek into the other man's curls and closing his eyes so he can savour just... having the Lullaby here. Pretending he's real.

Does he know how far away he is, though? His brow furrows, and Ronin sighs gently. "Not yet, no. I'll see if I can find a map tomorrow, or ask someone to give me a better idea," he mumbles. "I... well. Even if we are, it's not terrible at least. We managed to get here at the same time tonight, didn't we?" Blinking his eyes open, he peers down at his husband. "Unless... gods, have I been keeping you waiting?"

The huntsman

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"I don't plan on taking my eyes off of you." Remi agrees. While there are certainly times the alchemist wants romance, just now his mind has spirited away to dark places, imagining all sorts of jail-based scenarios in which Ronin and he might find themselves.

Remi does his best to shrug off Ronin's concern, leaning down to press a kiss beneath one of the Star's eyes. "I was here a little bit before you." He replies vaguely. "But I'm used to it." With the sickness Remi endured what felt like multiple eternities waiting in the darkness. But as soon as Ronin appeared, the time became irrelevant and all was made right again. So it was now.

'I know it's strange but...can we sleep?' Fitting himself around the Star, now more on the bed than on his husband, the alchemist exhales a contented sigh as he tilts his head on Ronin's shoulder to gaze up at his husband. "I'd really like to fall asleep with you."

THE ALCHEMIST