here we go again

even my darkness shines for you

Ronin has done the preparatory work; he's written his letters to Sunjata and Cian and work for the coming days is ready to go; he's rocked up to the address regarding the rustic shop and the apartment above it... and he's got the keys, to boot. It's a pleasant, quiet morning when the two men approach the place that has become theirs overnight, Ronin looking up at it as if he can't really believe it, still.

"I imagine you already have several people with boxes and other things ready to be delivered?" He casts a sidelong glance at Remi, before jerking his chin at a basket he can see lurking just within the doorway of the (currently locked) shop. "Got a feeling that's for us. Want to get in there and enjoy breakfast before the chaos really starts?" He holds out the keys.

The Star is still standing a companionable distance from his husband, politeness and butterflies rolled into one to make his palms sweat in Remi's presence. Still, they're at least able to keep themselves busy today - he hopes - and avoid any awkward run-ins.

As if.

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

"Ronin, your baron is showing again." The alchemist playfully reprimands. Yes there are loads of boxes expected, but no they aren't scheduled to be delivered; the alchemist will go and get them himself. He can likely even shift and pull the wagon, if that's what it takes.

Raising a brow at the basket and assuming it was from Amalia, as he picks it up, he frowns to see the Order's emblem branded onto the ribbon that keeps the cellophane-like material together. "I can only imagine what this is." He all but grumbles, before nodding toward the door in a gesture that both says, no you open it, as well as yes to breakfast.

"Just so long as there aren't any sausage jokes." He adds, voice flat and stomach in fluttery knots.

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky

even my darkness shines for you

As Remi might very well have expected, Ronin looks quite obviously down at his crotch as he's told his baron is showing, though he settles on a sheepish grin in the end. "Sorry, I'll do my best to keep it all buckled up whilst we get settled." Winking at the alchemist, he steps forward as well to examine the basket, tilting his head to peer through the material. "Looks like food. And a robe," he says, raising his eyebrows at the other man as if to ask if he has any idea why that would be.

Ah, but first there is the matter of opening the door, and Ronin can't stop the shiver of nerves that runs through him as he steps up and slips the key into the lock. The click as it opens is more satisfying than he thought it would be, and when he steps into the shop, even though they were only here a short while ago... it still feels different. More like it's theirs, already.

"Not even a tiny, cocktail sausage joke?" he asks, flashing a smile over his shoulder at Remi. "Come on, we'll break open this basket on the counter." Then, in a softer voice as he closes the door to the shop, "Welcome home, Remi."

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

Not unlike when he was younger, Remi takes the opportunity while Ronin's eyes are averted to soak in all the details of his husband that he's been trying not to linger on. The Star's hair is shorter for being an active soldier now, and Remi can't quite decide if he likes it more this way or not. It's certainly more serious and suave, but there doesn't seem to be as much to tousle. Not that Remi's fingers are planning on being anywhere near it, for the time being.

"A robe?" Remi repeats, assuming the basket is for Ronin giving the wrapping, and wondering why a robe was part of it. Quickly his senses are filled with the moment though, as they step inside. It's as dusty and pleasantly warm within as it had been before, but Remi too can feel that something is different too, even if he can't quite name it.

"Well, you're more familiar with tiny cocktail-sized things than I am." The alchemist chuckles under his breath; it's a good thing he hadn't said anything more, because the look Ronin gives him, casual as it might be, is enough to utterly weaken his knees.

"Home?" Remi whispers, trying it out. This would be the second place they've picked out together, their home during his stint as Governor being the first, but this...gods but it felt so different. Setting the basket down on the counter and biting the inside of his cheek, Remi turns toward the stare with flushed cheeks and eyes that can't stare into Ronin's for long. To hug, or not to hug? To kiss? It all felt hopelessly complicated and stupid in all the right ways that for a long moment the alchemist couldn't say much of anything at all, for how tongue-tied he'd made himself. Eventually, his fingers stretch out that they might softly take Ronin's. "Home." He agrees finally.

Then, "We've been here all of thirty seconds and it's already filthy."

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky

even my darkness shines for you

Oblivious to the way his husband is scrutinising him, but feeling warm and fuzzy nonetheless, Ronin follows Remi to the counter so he can tug at the ribbon and unwrap the basket to reveal what's inside. Taking out the wine, cold cuts and cheeses, he makes a dramatic gesture as if to suggest that he's just conjured up breakfast for them by magic. "Just a robe, yes." He draws the thing out, sweeping it dramatically and shrugging into it, draconic embroidery and all.

"How do I look? Like I belong in a cult?" He scoffs, only to raise an eyebrow at Remi in his best o rly expression. "I think that is more of an accidental insult to you than it is to me," he says of the reference to 'cocktail sausages', before the rest of his quips are stolen merely by the look on Remi's face. He clears his throat and tries to look away but at the same time not, imagining how it would feel to brush his lips across the Lullaby's flushed cheeks, whether his curls feel warm from the morning sun.

"Home," he echoes back, wrapping his fingers around the other man's to give them a gentle squeeze. "And of course it's filthy if it's hours. Luckily, between us I think we can clean this place up ready to decorate." Still holding Remi's hand - because why on earth would he ever want to let it go - Ronin uncorks a wine bottle with his teeth and offers it out to his husband.

"Oh - I received a response from Sunjata this morning, about the skyboat travel route. I should be headed to Torchline in a day or so. Did you want to come with me, or stay here? I didn't know when you'd be paying a trip to the Greatwood."

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

Folding his arms across his chest and puckering out his lower lip, Remi regards his husband's robe through heavily furrowed brows. The alchemist hates the pretentiousness of it of course, but gods if there is anything Ronin can't make look charming and desirable, he hasn't found it yet. 'You do, yeah. But also that you're sufficiently high up enough in it that you don't have to worry.' He adds, nosing toward the embroidered dragon.

"Wha-mmm.." Remi grumbles under his breath, knowing that Ronin was completely correct, and he'd inadvertently made the quip about himself.

His fingers slip between Ronin's, and though it's the barest of touches—and comparatively a laughable amount of physical contact given their history—Remi still hisses in a faint breath at the sensation of it. The tips of his fingers fade into feathers as he revels in the simple sensation of standing in this strange sunlit room that they now hold the keys for, together. Together.

"Now that's the man I married." Remi says, thoroughly twitterpated (and jealous of the cork), as he accepts the bottle from Ronin. He sniffs it first, appearing judgemental and then impressed, before raising it to his lips. Pausing with the bottle half-raised for a moment as his eyes dart to Ronin's, listening, Remi swallows before offering the wine back to the Star. "I'd like to come, I think. I'll head up to the Greatwood while you work though." He'd end up taking a detour into the Grounds, but that was yet to be decided.

"Can we fly, or will we be taking one of the boats?"

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky

even my darkness shines for you

Bouncing his eyebrows at his husband for good measure, if Ronin's hands weren't happily occupied with wine and with holding onto Remi, he'd have popped the collar on the robe for good measure. (Impossible, of course, because the robe does not have a collar, but Ronin doesn't know that). "Well," he croons, "they do call me the Dragon, you know."

He can't really do many more acrobatics with his eyebrows without them jumping off his face, so he settles for watching Remi's appraisal of the wine. The Lullaby is the only opinion Ronin needs as to whether it will be any good, and as his expression settles into something satisfied, he's just as accepting of the decision.

Unable to respond with the cork between his teeth, Ronin merely offers a charming wink in response to the other man's quip, though he does sigh out a quietly contented breath to feel feathers glide over his skin. Setting the cork down, he smiles at the counter, where it's safest. "That feels far too good," he murmurs. "If you are going to do that while we drink wine, we might be heading into dangerous territory."

It's probably the first time he has properly given voice to the delicious tension between them, but the Star can't help himself as he accepts the bottle and takes a slow and careful sip. "I would like that. We can spend a couple of days on this place, and then head off. By skyboat, of course. I'd like my first time flying with you to be... just us, you know?"

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

"Well then, the Dragon, best be sure not to spill anything on that robe of yours or they'll be calling you the flaggon instead." Not his best wordplay, but with his tongue remembering in vivid detail just how every part of Ronin tasted and felt, being even remotely clever was near impossible.

It makes Remi's teeth clench to hear Ronin say it so plainly, and the breath the alchemist releases is shivery at best. "You know, there was a time I could name every single moment you inadvertently touched me." The alchemist admits as the edges of his blush disappear into his curls. "From when you wrapped my hand around you to help stop the bleeding from your stab wound, to every unintentional kick of your foot beneath the table or touch of your fingers handing me a chunk of bread."

Glancing up just to see Ronin's lips around the bottle, the alchemist immediately (and obviously) diverts his attention first to the ceiling, then the floor, then the countertop. All the while though the feather-light embrace would continue.

'I'd like that as well.' Remi agrees, the words tumbling out across dry lips that has the alchemist holding out his hand for the bottle as if wine was in at all the solution to any of his problems.

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky

even my darkness shines for you

Ronin gives Remi's hand a gentle and loving squeeze, shooting him a smile that's almost sickly sweet. "It's okay," he says, "you can try another pun when you've had more to drink."

Taking another sip of wine and not at all trying to hide his smirk, he offers the bottle back out to the Lullaby. It's a good thing he does, too, because it threatens to slip out of his fingers as he hears Remi speak, the Star feeling his cheeks heat up as well as he turns his attention to the meat and cheeses they're apparently having for breakfast.

He can think of something much better he might have for breakfast, those large glass windows be damned.

"Gods, I love you so much." It's almost a whispered thing, murmured around a smile and sighed out on a breath he can never seem to catch in Remi's presence. "But unfortunately, I don't think we can stand around holding hands all day. We ought to at least clean this place up, right?" He glances around.

"Do you have any idea how you'd like to decorate, oh wise alchemist?"

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

Remi feels constantly on the verge of having both taken in too much air such that he's holding it, and yet being breathless just the same. It's why he all but chokes on the wine he's using to try and loosen his tongue, his mind going in the opposite direction of what Ronin intends (or not, perhaps), as the Star mentions they can't just stand around holding hands. Remi too has been thinking of things they might do regardless of the curtain-less windows, and cleaning is not what he thought his husband was going to suggest.

Setting the wine down, it obviously helping nothing at all, Remi presses a finger over one of his eyes for a moment (it isn't helping rid his mind of thoughts of the shadows their bodies might cast, pressed up against those windows), only to ruffle his curls and sigh out an exhale. "I have a lot of ideas about a lot of things right now, but none of them have to do with decorating." Remi admits with a boyish and entirely helpless sort of smile.

Somehow Remi is able to extract his gaze and his fingers from Ronin's, not finding that it's any easier to breathe a few steps away. With fingers covered in feathers, Remi swipes a hand across the windowsill, sending dust raining onto the floor. "Do not set anything on fire." The alchemist warns over his shoulder.

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky

even my darkness shines for you

When, Ronin wonders, will it get to the point where they're convinced that they just want each other because they want each other, and not to patch over some hidden wound? If you asked the Star (and more specifically, if you asked his dick) he'd say they were well past that point already. And yet, as Remi's fingers slip out of his, feathered and silky, Ronin does his best not to seek them out again.

He also tries not to follow the alchemist across the room, to grasp the hand sweeping dust from the sill to press it against the window that he might ghost kisses along Remi's shoulder and neck without interruption. Instead, swallowing hard around much more than wine, Ronin straightens up, shrugs out of the dragon robe, and gets to work.

"I would never," he hisses to his husband, pretending to sound offended as he moves to prop open the front door. It helps, marginally, to hear the bustle of the Plaza outside, the tinkle of wind chimes and the bubbling rise and fall of voices. Ronin finds a broom at the back of the shop, and works to sweep away all of the dust that's accumulated on the floor.

In the meantime, a second Ronin is sorting out the counter, dusting and polishing it off so he can set the basket down again and prepare breakfast for when they want to take a break. "Can you see yourself doing this on sunny mornings, waving me off to work?" He grins.

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

Remi raises a brow, offering his husband a skeptical look as he swans by. Turning as the door is opened, the music of the plaza in its various forms ringing through, the alchemist pauses with his head cocked to the side. What he's doing, aside from just listening, is anyone's guess. But after a moment, he smiles softly to himself, before turning back to his task.

Resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at the second Ronin, failing, and so doing it anyway, Remi tilts his chin to catch Ronin1's words. Putting his hands on his hips and looking for all the world like a feather duster come to life, the alchemist snorts and shakes his head. "What, cleaning you mean? No, absolutely not." It isn't what Ronin meant and they both know it, which is what makes Remi's grin all the broader.

Walking the line between boyish banter and genuine insight into their thoughts and feelings is not one that the pair have ever successfully navigated before. And yet here they are, striding down it easily enough, as if their years of marriage hadn't simply been spent running from one disaster to another.

"I think I can though. Provided someone doesn't keep me up all night with his snoring. And—" Remi holds up a finger to stall Ronin's protests. "—I shouldn't have to put myself into a magical sleep just because you won't blow your nose before bed."

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky

even my darkness shines for you

Occupied as he is by sweeping, at first Ronin doesn't notice the way Remi listens so hard to the melody of the world outside - and when he does take note of it, he pauses to smile gently at the sight. "Anything worth hearing?" he asks, not that he wants to make too big a deal of it - it might persuade Remi from continuing to be so adorable. And so they work, one half of the partnership acting as feather duster, the other a mix of sweeping brush and chef.

"Oh, I don't know," Ronin says as he clears the floor of any dirt, dust and debris, raising his eyebrows at his husband. "You're in Stormbreak now - people are going to notice if you've got a dirty shop." Is he making an innuendo? Even the Star doesn't know, and he's charmingly confused by himself as he moves to sweep everything out of the door.

Opening his mouth to indeed object - only to be silenced by Remi's waggling finger, Ronin huffs his outrage and turns to his projection; each version of the Star gives the other a look that roughly translates to can you believe this guy? before he returns to his sweeping. "Anyway, my snoring aside. What are you going to collect for this place?" Whether Remi fetches the boxes or whether they're delivered, they are still on the way.

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

i've hidden all my fears in a book for only my eyes to see

"There's no .... " Remi pauses, head still cocked to the side. "..no one shouting. No calls for help." It's a sad thing to notice, but having lived the life he had before Caido—but also the general state of Torchline—it's rather strange just to hear life carrying on without protest or violence.

Snorting, the alchemist raises a brow toward his husband, though it's lost beneath his curls. (Remi desperately needs a haircut). "I think they're going to notice that the demigod of death has set up a shop anyway." Remi grins. "Besides, maybe it's good marketing." (It wasn't).

One Ronin is hard enough to abide, and though the alchemist will always think there is something SUS strange about his husband's literal duplicity, the look the Stars' share with one another is enough to have Remi's stomach suddenly feeling weightless. "Well.." Scratching at his temple (and depositing a good amount of dust there, that soft falls onto his shoulder), Remi looks around with a contemplative and rather dreamy expression.

"I thought...in addition to working with my hands again, I thought since Stormbreak is so isolated, I could...bring parts of the world here. Snow moss and peppermint bark, water from a wonderpuddle, maybe a dream fish if we could ever figure out how to transport one." Looking around, the alchemist pulls in a breath, and the space is suddenly transformed. A large tree grows from the center, its boughs supporting the ceiling, with various branches acting as shelves. Will o' wisps flit around to provide light, as do glow stones (not that this is possible, of course). Skulls from various animals line the walls, their bones filled with plants that they would have commonly eaten (in the case of herbivores).

There is also a fox hidden away beneath a bench with a sign that says a satchel of tea = one secret.

Letting the illusion fade, Remi shrugs a touch bashfully. "Maybe something like that." He mumbles, cheeks pink and eyes nervously uncertain.

THE

ALCHEMIST

Table coding by Sky