this is me trying

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

Remi's gasp is short, his teeth trying to cut it off as Ronin's hips rock forward. Tensing his fingers against Ronin's side, the alchemist exhales a shuddery breath as if he'd just been sucker-punched and is trying not to fall over. "Mmmm." Remi hums unsteadily. "Is that why you were going to start this morning with whiskey?" He wonders with a crooked smile.

"Don't...give me more things to think about." Remi groans, his mind already turning Ronin cooling himself off into a slow montage of water droplets falling down his husband's chiselled stomach and then lower still. It all but makes his mouth water and it's a good thing that Ronin is able to pull away because Remi is all but rooted in place.

Ronin is apparently the better man, because the alchemist makes a pitstop in the bathroom on his way to the bed. He might not have, but even in the friction of his sweatpants is enough to make walking feel like torture. Luckily it takes mere seconds, which is both embarrassing as much as it is a testament to how fully enamoured Remi is by his husband.

Sliding into bed just before Ronin arrives, it's with a guilty smile that Remi shrugs his shoulders. "It'd be warmer still once you join me." He says mischievously, pulling back one of the furs and patting the bed.

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Then I'd better not waste any time," Ronin mumbles, sidling into the room properly and moving to set down their coffee on the floor next to the fur and blanket swamped mattress that counts as their bed. His erection is still wilting and the sight of Remi in bed is doing little to help matters, and yet there's no hesitation in the Star as he draws back the blankets to slip beneath them with Remi. Immediately he wraps himself around the alchemist, drawing Remi flush with him and leaning in for another kiss before logic has a chance to get a word in. He's still not after more than this - being tangled with his husband in bed and making out are absolutely stellar, thank you - but gods if he's not a lovestruck mess. His fingers slide into Remi's curls, a moan rising up in his throat as he fumbles to drag more blankets around them He just can't get enough of the taste of Remi, heat rolling off the two of them in heady waves, and its with a grumble of protest that he parts from his husband at last, keeping Remi tucked close. "You're everything," he mutters. "I'm so glad I've got you."

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

Remi expected some tentative cuddles given how riled up the pair were. So to find Ronin suddenly pressed against him again has Remi's body both screaming with rage and relief that his own erection was already dealt with. But now, free of his arousal, Remi is able to wrap his arms around Ronin, shifting and nudging legs and hips so that the Star would find himself perched on top of Remi.

Don't you dare, Remi growls playfully as Ronin pulls back to speak. His large hands press against Ronin's back to bring his husband closer again, feeling a flash of heat that originates not from the base of his spine, but somewhere behind his lungs this time around. "I don't know where we've been...but I'm never letting you go again." Never again would he let them drift apart. Never again would he tug his husband into bed without asking how his day was. How he was.

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving It's with a gasp of delight mingled with restraint that Ronin finds himself drawn atop his husband, and the pulse of heat that thrums deep within him is almost impossible to ignore. Immediately he regrets keeping his hands to himself in the kitchen, but fuck if an inconvenient erection is going to stop him from having some quality time with his husband. Quality time that's been severely lacking as of late. So, blanketing Remi with his body, Ronin lavishes kisses that press against the bruises at the alchemist's throat and the marks on his cheek. That goes for the two of us, He assures the other man, drawing back enough to gaze into green eyes that seem to glow in the dim light. "So," he says softly, keen not to let the joy of their proximity get too much in the way of the good habits they're founding. "I'll be honest - I'm torn between a strongly worded letter to Nate, or showing up at the Aumakua and putting him through the wall. But it isn't entirely about me, so what are your thoughts?"

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

The pain is something Remi hardly cares about, not only because it's such an easy thing to trade to keep Ronin close. But, he's come to realize that he shouldn't be as alright with its presence as he is, so despite his body's cries to the contrary, Remi breathily chuckles, "-careful," against the side of Ronin's cheek as the Star kisses bruised and torn skin.

Feeling slightly guilty for having taken care of himself given that Ronin has very clearly not, Remi runs his fingertips down his husband's shoulders to his lower back, easing away tension as much as he's softly trying to tease. "A strongly worded letter?" He wonders, pressing a kiss to the hollow of Ronin's neck. "I don't know why, but I'm picturing a bit of parchment than screams when opened."

Thoughts of Nate and his threat feel wildly distant just now, but that makes Remi all the more aware of precisely how bandaidy the situation might become if he tells Ronin he doesn't care about it right now. Not letting Ronin go, Remi lets his head rest back against the pillows, more than content to keep the Star atop him as a blanket.

"Someone hurt me and you're angry about it. That's precisely how Nate felt." Remi says, feather-fingers scattering from Ronin's tailbone to the middle of his back as the alchemist speaks. "He said he wanted me to know how serious he was, hence the hitting and the threatening and whatnot. I think...that I'd rather hear from him in no uncertain terms just what sort of line he wants to draw."

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Sorry," Ronin whispers in return - and it's the first time he thinks he's ever heard something like that from his husband. The Star gives it all the reverence it deserves, pressing a final, feather light kiss to Remi's bruised cheek before letting out a soft sigh and settling atop the other man. He's content to be Remi's blanket, though a quiet and muffled groan of appreciation makes its way out where his head rests against Remi's shoulder. The fingers that stretch and trace along the length of his back do very little to get rid of the problem now sandwiched between them, nnot that Ronin would change it for the world. Even so, the groan becomes something of a dark little chuckle - clearly he would have the letter do more than scream at the recipient. If it were up to Ronin, it would likely punch Nate in the face on his behalf. He peeks up at Remi to see what he makes of the situation, his expression softening to hear it laid out in such logical terms. Ronin nods his understanding, relishing the heat rolling off the other man and the way they warm the bed together. "Do you want to be the one to contact him, then?" he wonders. "Honestly, I'm not all that sure I trust myself to be diplomatic. But I'll try, for you."

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

Remi smiles with a youthfulness that seems illfitting on him these days, especially with his face painting in purples. Even so, Ronin's gentle kiss has him blushing and shifting beneath the blankets (of which the Star is one), as if having been tickled bone-deep.

'I don't think I even know what diplomacy means.' Remi says, exhaling evenly despite Ronin's body weight atop him. Peering through Ronin's dark hair, his green eyes softly scan the ceiling as he tries and fails to think of a way in which all of this might end peacefully. "It will have ramifications for you and Sunjata too." The alchemist says softly. "And I...' He sighs again. "I thought after speaking with Jata that...even if things weren't okay between him and I, that at least what happened had been dealt with. I assumed you and he could go on as you were, and I would just..." Remi shrugs, his fingers coming together and then apart, like waves drawn again and again toward Ronin's spine. "..stay away, I suppose. Now though?"

It was a dangerous game for anyone to try and go up against Star and Lullaby. Deadly though, where their son was concerned.

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Humming a note of reluctant agreement - because gods if Remi isn't right with all that he says - Ronin sighs a hot breath against his husband's neck and shivers at his touch. While some might hold themselves over their partners at a time like this, both men have surpassed the point where being dead weight is a problem. It's a release, in fact, to just melt so heavily into Remi, to enjoy the thrum of his heartbeat against his chest as well as his finger. "Mm, it will," he agrees quietly, peeking up at the Lullaby. "But," he continues, "Nate hurt you, after everything was done, as far as we were concerned. He hurt you, and he threatened our son, however overtly." Leaving a gentle kiss against the side of Remi's neck, he closes his eyes. "I choose you," he mumbles. He doesn't make it sound easy or without conflict, because Sunjata is his friend, and to discard that so easily would just be another bandaid. "I care more about whether you're alright than whether Nate and Sunjata are," he admits. "And I didn't tell you or show you that enough before. But it's true. I don't want it to come to that, but if it does?" He blinks his eyes open and smiles. "I'm on your side."

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

It's true, Ronin could plank over Remi just as long as Remi could breathe easily with the Star on his ribcage. Such was one of the luxuries that came with the ridiculous amount of strength they both now possess.

'I could have stopped him," Remi points out, unsure if it matters. "I just...I thought he needed to get it out of his system. Jata certainly seemed happier for having hit me." Of all the things the alchemist's face had been described as over the years, punchable hadn't been one up until lately. 'I hope it doesn't come to that.' Remi murmurs softly, and for all his jealousy and need for reassurance, he did mean it. That's why what Ronin says next has the alchemist all but melting beneath him. "I really needed to hear that." He whispers softly, his breathing hitching as his fingers become flesh again for a moment as he wraps his husband in a hug.

"Do you think it would help at all for the four of us to talk? Or would it go the way it did last time?" Not with the miscommunication and issues between Star and Lullaby, but with there being too many attempts to speak on the behalf of others.

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Sunjata hit you?" Ronin raises an eyebrow in surprise at that, and though his husband will feel the flash of outrage and anger that pulses through the Star like a hot poker, he is pliant enough in Remi's arms to try not to jump to conclusions. "When? He mentioned that he spoke to you, that everything was alright between you. Didn't know he did that though." Huffing into the side of Remi's neck, Ronin lets his fingers stroke through the curls nestled against the pillow. "You did what you thought was best at the time," he murmurs. "I'm a little proud of you for not retaliating, to be honest. Not least because you'd have probably punched him into next week." Is there the smallest rumble of pride in Ronin's voice? Maybe. But then Remi is hugging him and the Star can only smile against the warmth of the Lullaby's skin. "I'll make sure to say it again, then, when you least suspect it," he whispers. Sighing out the last of this dopey, affectionate little moment, Ronin turns his attention to the reality of their situation. "Honestly, I think it would be a powder keg right now. I invited Sunjata to visit Stormbreak, to look at the Skyport before we start building in Torchline. And I don't want to jeopardise making that, either. I think perhaps a letter - not so strongly worded - from both of us would be better."

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

"Well, I offered." Remi says, a touch confused. Was solving things with violence not as alright as he thought? Maybe letting others blow off stem via trying to break his bones was not the panacea he thought it was. "It was when I went to speak to him. But it was in a dream, so it didn't leave a mark." Not a physical one, anyways. Sighing before tugging in a breath, Remi presses his lips and nose against the curve of Ronin's shoulder. I don't know how to make things better anymore. I offered that he could kill me in a dream, partially so he could see how... how not real it was. But he opted just to hit me instead. Remi adds, silently, given how he isn't able to move his lips at the moment.

Snorting against his husband's skin, Remi pulls back to give Ronin a wry smile. "I think that's almost my problem now. I don't know how strong I am. I don't know what it's like not to be this." It's why he has such a hard time understanding why what he did to Sunjata wasn't okay. Or at least, why it wasn't as excusable as he thought.

"He's coming here? Is that.." smart? Well, no, but it was strategic by the sounds of it. Releasing Ronin with one hand to rub at his eyes, Remi frowns as he presses his fingertips to his eyelids. "I have this image of Cian just...capturing him and keeping him here." He mumbles, moving his fingers a fraction to peek out at Ronin through them.

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin winces at the thought of Remi letting anyone lay their hands on him on purpose, and he shifts a little so he can lay on his side instead, drawing the alchemist against him to keep him close. "Maybe not on the outside," he mutters of it not leaving a mark, and he lets his cheek rest against the nest of the Lullaby's curls, his fingers strumming gentle patterns across his lower back. The silent and beautifully accented voice in his head is almost enough to start lulling him to sleep, and it's only the words that Remi says that keeps Ronin focused. "Given that I'm guilty of a saviour complex, I think I'm learning that there's a difference between trying to do your best, and trying to make things better..." He buries his nose in Remi's hair, as if to hide from his own admission. "We can't always make things better. Sometimes things just have to be what they are." As for Sunjata coming here? Ronin shrugs his shoulders - it might not be smart on a personal level, but smart for their strategy? Absolutely. "On the contrary," Ronin murmurs, glancing down at his husband as he peeps out from between his fingers. "I think Cian would be keen to get rid of him as soon as possible. All those Ascended scars, Sunjata is practically tainted."

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

Remi's jaw clenches instinctively against the sudden shift. He knows that Ronin isn't going anywhere, and yet some part of him is furious to let him slip away if only for a moment. They settle, as does the alchemist's more primal side, though not before he curls his leg over the Star that they might be anchored in one more place. "I wish I knew how to know." Remi says against his husband's jaw, trying (and failing) to hide the way Roni's words into his hair caused a shiver to race down his spine. "Nate said..that just because I could do what I can, it didn't make me judge, jury, and executioner." The Lullaby swallows, fingertips tightening around the Star. "He..isn't wrong. But he isn't exactly right either."

Perhaps it was egotistical, but...he and Ronin, they were elevated, whether the world liked it or not.

Looking at Ronin through the dark bars of his fingers, Remi lets his hand fall away that his fingers might comb through the Star's hair. "Or, he might flay away those scars and start fresh. I'm no strategist, and even I can see that he's one of the remaining pieces on the board still more or less neutral."

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Mm. I wish I did too," Ronin admits, though his breath hitches in his throat a bit as the other man tangles himself closer, unintentionally causing the most delicious friction against parts of Ronin that really need no encouragement. Still, his fingers never stray from their gentle ministrations, stroking along Remi's lower back and onto his hip beneath the blankets that cocoon them. What the Lullaby says next is a difficult thing to swallow for Ronin, if only because he knows that the other man has the right of it. They might not be the only judges, jurors and executioners out there, but they're certainly one of a privileged few. "I suppose it's just figuring out when," he says slowly, tracing soft kisses along Remi's temple and down onto his cheeks, only ceasing at the feel of strong fingers that move through his hair. "Mm, he might be neutral," Ronin agrees, because haha, little do they know, "but I doubt that flaying away his scars will nudge Sunjata in the direction that Cian would like him to go in." Still, the Star realises that he has no idea what the Eye is really capable of, still. "Besides, I don't think Sunjata would just sit there and take it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see." The mere tone of his voice suggests exactly what he thinks of that approach.