only everything you do

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

"I knew I shouldn't have told you." Remi hisses in response to his husband's glow, shooting him a scolding look as it might ever have been the case he'd tell anyone else.

'Well...' Remi replies, utterly undone by the spines pressing outward against his own, pinning him against the Star. "..libraries and such were usually off-limits to people like me." It's perhaps a tired cliche, but the alchemist isn't here to prove anything to anyone, which also means not necessarily needing the location to be quite right. He also hasn't been in the archives, so perhaps once he realizes his error, he'll have to drag Ronin back to right things. Having never been to school either though, Remi will probably be fine with it just the same.

'Why? Are you planning on saying something to make me laugh?' Remi counters, subtly standing taller and both loving and hating his husband for daring to stretch the moment out. His gaze dips from Ronin's eyes to his lips and back again, and it feels as though there's enough time for Remi to have thumbed through at least a few pages of the book at his feet before Ronin is finally kissing him.

Sometimes when we get the things we think we've always wanted, it turns out not to satisfy whatever we thought it would. Not so, for the alchemist. Ronin does and is everything he could ever have asked or wanted; from the hand next to his ear, the slow softness of it all, to the rhythmic beat of the Star's finger on Remi's hand that gives away whatever roguish ease he might have been playing at. Rather than arching off of the shelving to meet the press of his husband's body, Remi slides an arm around Ronin's waist to draw him closer still, relishing the slow heat that touches and fills every part of him.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

If it weren't for the simple and sweet pleasure in the moment, Ronin might have felt a pang of guilt that Remi wasn't usually able to go to places like this when they'd been in Northwind. For the Star nothing was off limits, and yet he never bothered to visit libraries unless he had to. Bars and gambling parlours were more his deal. So it is that they both relish this for different reasons, and Ronin leans in closer with the encouragement of the arm around his waist. Making Remi laugh definitely isn't his plan, but he's not ruling it out (things just happen to and around Ronin, and he's learned to live with it).

For now, though, it's just the taste of the man in his arms and the way the Collegium around them continues its quiet, serene research, oblivious to the shenanigans going on somewhere above. His hands want to roam, but he restrains himself lest they end up toppling a bookshelf or getting too carried away. It feels as though it's an eternity before Ronin has to come up for air, and even when he does he doesn't go far, his lips lingering against Remi's. "I want you," he whispers, and he's not even sorry about it.

RONIN

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

Having done his best to sip in air where he could, it's with relief and annoyance both that Ronin forces them to part and Remi can take a full breath. Exhaling an unsteady sigh against Ronin's lips, Remi almost feels slightly dizzy, so lightheaded has he become with the slow tide of colours that flow from the Star against him.

'What?' Breathless, Remi's cheeks flush anew. "Here?" He's incredulous, but not unwilling, and indeed no sooner has his mind considered this to be what Ronin's is suggesting than it's off already constructing and imagining what it might entail. Though it's true the pair have found themselves tucking into spare rooms in the Tower when Remi visits Ronin at lunch, or indeed making the most of his office at the Dragon's Nest, those were at least places where they had some amount of jurisdiction.

But here?

Unbidden, Remi's hips slip slightly forward against the Star, very much suggesting that Ronin will only have the luxury of saying no, for another few moments.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

"Here," Ronin whispers, a fae glint in his blue eyes and a smile that wants to be wicked curling at his lips, cut off by the way he kisses Remi again. The other man's hips tilt against him, his knuckles growing white against the shelf he's braced against; it wouldn't be wise to sound out his enthusiasm here, so the moan that wants to slip between his lips comes out as a breathless, shuddering sigh instead. No one will see as long as they're quick about it, and honestly, the way this unexpected and clandestine little meeting has gone? Ronin is already riled up enough to make it quick.

His hips rock forward again, Ronin painting pictures of their bodies entwined against the bookshelves behind his eyes, of his projection trying to corral people away with some modicum of normality (and failing, probably). The more he lets himself think about it, the more here sounds perfect. "Can you blame me? Look at you," he mutters, smiling against the alchemist's cheeks and jawline as his kisses move towards Remi's neck.

RONIN

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

For all Remi is and has become, there are moments that seem to brush away the man most know him as to reveal the naive and quiet alchemist known only to a few, from an entire world away. The breath that he's trying to tug in through his nose is stifled by the lips suddenly against his once more, increasingly the weightlessness that already has him feeling unsteady.

Not unlike his husband, Remi is aware that the moan that builds behind his teeth is one he can't release. So as the Star's hips press against his, the alchemist hastily channels the sound into his lips and tongue as he seeks Ronin's out.

On the verge of panting, if only for the breaths he continues to hold in an effort to keep quiet, Remi searches his husband's gaze as if confused. Look at him? At Remi? Why would he, least of all anyone else, when there was Ronin here to behold. Close enough that had he the mental fortitude for it he could count the man's long and dark eyelashes, Remi is swept away by the blue of his husband's eyes and each flare of heat he kisses inspire.

'Gods I want you too." Remi whispers in a voice how hushed by haste. His hands drop to Ronin's belt, easily sliding away the leather from the buckle so that they might begin to unfasten his pants as well.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

Ronin lives for these moments, in truth, and since coming to Stormbreak it feels as though he's been spoiled by them. For all of the war, violence and grief that seems to dog their heels, it's no surprise that a stolen kiss in a school library is enough to kindle heat in their bellies. This isn't sex to drag a veil over their problems, no - this is sex for the sake of having fun, and gods if Ronin isn't here for it and then some. Remi's words vibrate somewhere near his ear, drawing a hum of hasty need from the Star's throat.

And he'd help to unfasten buckles and buttons, honestly, if he wasn't so busy with everything his husband is or has to offer. Alas, Remi will find it an uphill battle to take off Ronin's belt, because the Star is already trying to fondle the alchemist's backside through his pants, and his free hand seeks out soft curls and a strong jawline. "Mm, sorry," he whispers eventually through a laugh he tries to keep caged at the back of his throat; because it can't be anything other than blissfully funny, to find it so difficult to be apart from Remi even for long enough to make things much more enjoyable.

His body objects to him creating distance between them, but Ronin (reluctantly) moves back enough that he might stop being an obstacle. Only when he's managed to help free them from the confines of their clothes does he move in again, panting a breath of anticipation against Remi's neck and grinding up against him as if to test whether the shelving will hold whatever acrobatics he has in mind.

RONIN

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

Well, it's still true that the leather slides easily. What is no longer the case is that there's room for Remi's fingers to work in. Laughing unsteadily into Ronin's shoulder as his balance is further tested by the Star's fondling fingers, Remi gazes into his husband's eyes as his jaw is raised. "No you aren't."

And it is funny, but not in a way that makes Remi want to stop and laugh about it. No, instead it inspires a sensation of pale colours that sparkle and shine in the back of his throat, making him want to gasp at the brightness of it as if he'd just clamped down on a piece of peppermint bark. The heat, then, is made all the more consuming in how it doesn't quite compliment the lightness that the moment inspires, but instead rallies against it in a way that weakens Remi's knees and makes him cling to his husband's body.

They do manage to strip enough, and though they've years of sexcapades between them now, it's with a questioning gaze that Remi looks to the Star.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

"You're right. I'm not," Ronin admits, his voice barely more than a purr as he's caught in the green of Remi's gaze. Both flushed and flustered, Ronin keeps expecting to hear Cian's curt voice cut through the shelves, or some stuffy librarian clearing their throat. But of course there's none of that (and even if there was, he's not sure it would stop them), and so as they're finally free to pursue their antics, Ronin responds to Remi's silent questioning with a wicked grin.

"Might make a mess if we aren't careful," he says, which sounds a lot better than we might make a mess if I fuck you from behind against these bookshelves. So Ronin leans in and kisses the alchemist again, his hands sliding to his hips. His fingers slip beneath one of Remi's thighs, as if to encourage him to wrap his legs around his waist; there's nothing urgent or frantic in his movements, but there's no doubt that what's about to occur is only going to be possible because of the physical impossibilities of the two men.

RONIN

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

'And even if we are—' But the quip is lost against Ronin's lips, as Remi's mind suddenly finds it impossible to care at all about the impropriety of what they're doing. It was only a kiss, how did it end up like this?

Expecting to be pivoted around, it's with a smile that's slow to understand that Remi sluggishly follows Ronin's directions. Sliding his arms over the Star's shoulders, their combined strength makes it all too easy for Remi to rise into Ronin's arms. Wings unfurl from the alchemist's back, stretching out and down to offer some visual respite for anyone (un)fortunate enough to walk by. Already Remi's hips are adjusting themselves as the alchemist reaches up and behind his head, holding on to one of the bookshelves. It's for the angle than anything else that he does this; they both have strength enough in one finger to send the shelves and all the books on them flying.

With his legs wound around Ronin's hips and his surprise replaced by heated cheeks and eager green eyes, Remi reaches between them with the hand not gripping the bookshelf, to slowly take his cock in his own hand. Leaning too far away from Ronin to kiss him, Remi instead draws the corner of his lip between his teeth, fixing his husband with a needy stare. Make me cum.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

With breath kept hushed and stifled to prevent anyone nearby from hearing them and a flutter of wings to shield them from view, Ronin can already feel a smile tugging at his lips. He's just about able to kiss Remi one more time before the alchemist is leaning away, his legs wrapped about Ronin's hips, positioned just so in a way that steals the Star's breath. The pound of his heart is a drumbeat that he's sure everyone else in the Collegium can hear, and as his husband's voice echoes a command that's reflected by the look in his eyes, Ronin is already lost tot he moment.

My pleasure, he almost growls through their Attuned bond, and as he tilts his hips forward and enters the alchemist, he's already simultaneously pressing his lips against his throat. Never has he had to be so careful in keeping the groan of pleasure that wants to escape his lips held back, and so instead Remi will get every spark and warble of it through his emotions. Gods, you feel so good. Is Ronin aware that he's pushing a few books towards the very edges of the shelf with each thrust forward? Does he care?

That's a no on both counts.

RONIN

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

The alchemist's expression might read as being in pain to anyone seeing it out of context. His eyes are only mostly closed, fluttering helplessly with every one of Ronin's thrusts; his teeth are clenched tightly together despite how his lips have drawn up in what might be interpreted as a wince, and he sips at the air in strained and stunted gasps. It isn't pain of course, but even so, Remi will think later it would likely be easier to keep silent while being tortured than it is now in his husband's grip.

Growling through their bond with helpless need, Remi lets his hips roll with Ronin's thrusts. That one of his shoulders has pressed hard enough against a book to send its counterpart on the other side of the shelf tumbling to the floor, he has no idea. Gods, Ronin, the alchemist mentally pleads as his husband's cock brushes against the tangle of nerve endings that send a jolt through Remi's entire body. His hand hardly has to work between them as the muscles of his legs inadvertently flinch and tighten.

I just want to scream your name. Looking down at the Star with hooded green eyes that glint with desperation, Remi's lips part ever so slightly. Harder, he mouths. And then, "—harder—"

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

Another book falls - oops - and Ronin finds himself frustrated that he doesn't have enough hands to run over Remi's body. He wants to ruffle his fingers through the warm wings that stretch from his shoulders, to tangle them through his curls, to drag his nails across his flesh; alas, it's all the Star can do to hitch Remi a little higher, a little more tightly against him, the movement drawing a gasp from his throat that he can barely contain.

I want you to scream my name, he admits, even his mental voice nothing more than a gruff approximation of the real thing, and as he glances up to meet Remi's eyes, it's almost enough to make him lose it completely. Harder, the Lullaby pleads, both mentally and out loud, and the shelving behind him is losing books at an alarming place now. "Fuck," Ronin hisses under his breath; through his dark hair and down the back of his neck appear a flurry of crimson and gold feathers. They aren't at risk of burning anyone yet, but damn if it isn't a close thing.

RONIN

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

For a moment it looks as though the alchemist might well scream the Star's name; Remi's lips part, twisting around a word that builds and builds in the back of his throat in tandem with the orgasm building at the base of his spine. Everything feels as though it's on fire (shortly perhaps, it will be), and with the sound of skin against skin and their stifled pants of breath, Remi can't reliably gauge if the beating of his heart isn't echoing out through the Collegium the way it sounds like it is.

Remi feels weightless, the way Ronin hitches him higher, and it's only that the pair have been tangled this way so many times that his body is able to respond without oversight from his mind. Releasing the bookshelf behind him to rake his fingers across Ronin's shoulder and then between his shoulder blades, Remi's mind is mystified to find crimson and gold suddenly beneath his palm. Gods I love you, he thinks with a delirious and colourful lack of clarity as he finally reaches his tipping point.

It's one thrust more than the alchemist's willpower can endure, and as he cums with his heels dug into his husband's back and his fingers grasping at feathers, Remi moans loudly, if only briefly, against the top of Ronin's shoulder.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

Ronin doesn't know what he'd do if Remi really did call out his name in the near silent Collegium, but he'd probably enjoy the fuck out of it regardless. They aren't nearly as quiet as they think they're being, as evidenced by the growing pile of books along the row of shelves behind them, and he honestly doesn't give a damn.

It's Remi's undoing that pulls him over the edge as well, and he doesn't manage to playfully shh! the alchemist like he would if they were in a real library - no, Ronin is too busy submitting to the whims of his body, thrusting hard and deep one last time until his vison sparks white and there's nothing but wild curls and heat and ecstasy. He's panting hard, the feathers beneath Remi's fingers growing almost dangerously hot before they sink away into his skin once more, leaving the Star still breathless and still smiling like an idiot.

Much as he wants to relax into the afterglow like usual, this is absolutely not a like usual situation, and he draws back enough to steal a lusy kiss from Remi's lips, but nothing more. "Grab the skyboat book," he suggests, grinning, "and I'll clean up that shelf behind us. We should probably make a quick exit."

RONIN