only everything you do

we are like birds of a feather, we are two hearts thrown together

Remi doesn't wonder at the heat beneath his fingertips, nor the way his moan breaks the near-enough silence in the rest of the not-library; he doesn't wonder about anything at all. His muscles sigh with relief as he uncoils a leg from around the Star, his toes reaching experimentally toward the ground. Were it not for Ronin, Remi would have just let himself melt there a while longer, enjoying the tandem thunder of their hearts before laughing at the absurdity of what they'd done. Alas, Ronin has his wits about him (for once).

Snickering into his husband's lips, Remi doesn't bother at all to pull his pants up, but instead just shuffles toward the book. With a smile that suggests he's about to do something Ronin will disapprove of, Remi shifts. Grabbing the book in his talons, the hawk lifts off of the ground. Will it make it better or worse, for Ronin to appear from the bookshelves alone?

THE ALCHEMIST

we will be forever as one, my brother under the sun

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

"Oh, you son of a bitch," Ronin hisses at Remi as he shifts and takes off, the Star busy hiking up his pants and buckling his belt. He gropes around for the books they've knocked about, flushed and flustered and quite obviously in the afterglow of some very good sex, but there's thankfully not a soul around as he stuffs the books back where they belong. Or rather where he thinks they belong - Ronin isn't looking.

And then? Then the Star makes a point of getting thoroughly lost in a completely different part of the Collegium, sneaking about and avoiding anyone who looks like they might not be completely engrossed in their studies. This, of course, means that Ronin gets lost for real a bunch of times as well. Honestly, by the time he does emerge from the stacks to hop back down the stairs to the Collegium's exit, even he has forgotten why he should be sneaking.

Still, as he heads back out into the Flowerbirth sunshine, he's spying around for a pale hawk and a book about skyboats.

RONIN

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

Not a pale hawk no, but a man with the same coloured curls as the hawk's feathers would be, sitting on a bench in the sunlight and looking thoroughly pleased with himself. 'Ah—' Holding up a finger to ward off the scolding he's probably about to receive, Remi picks up something warm and smelling of potato and cheese and wrapped in foil from the bench next to him. '—I got you lunch.' He hums, rising and pretty the food into Ronin's hands as if that might solve everything. (It usually does).

"Find something in there that caught your eye?" Remi asks, sounding genuine but looking mischievous. He won't be surprised at all if his husband tells him the truth about getting lost. He also wouldn't be surprised if half a dozen people recognized the Star, wanted his autograph, demanding a sparring session, or just wanted to gaze into his blue eyes, either.

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's jaw snaps shut around the scolding he absolutely was about to give his husband, and instead he moves to accept the foil wrapped peace offering. Leaning in to press a very soft and very sweet kiss against Remi's lips, he hums a note of gentle reprimand nonetheless. "Mm, a lot of things," he informs the other man, drawing back and slouching down to sit on the bench where he proceeds to devour the potatoey, cheesy goodness inside the foil. (Really, they're lucky he stops at the foil).

"I got to sneak around bookshelves, get lost a bunch of times, found my way back to where we started, and played at being a spy. Then I finally found the way out." He winks, the gesture painfully obvious; one would never believe that Ronin was once an expert at reconnaissance.

"Mainly I was looking for what originally caught my eye, though. I finally found him, though." He smiles up at Remi.

RONIN

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

Sinking down at Ronin's side, Remi watches adoringly as his husband devours the peace offering, and only thinks about stealing a bite once or twice. 'That does sound like fun. And to think, all I did was sun myself and eat.' The alchemist raises a brow with a triumphant grin. Then again, pretending at being a spy did sound like fun. "Next time we should bring Mateo." Blanking suddenly, Remi hastily adds: "To play spy, with."

Though the alchemist frowns toward the man at his side, the corners of his lips curve upward and finally part to release a shaky and entirely cheesy sigh that is nonetheless entirely genuine. "You," Remi grumbles, leaning over to sweetly kiss Ronin's cheek, "—are perhaps the most charming man I've ever met." Blushing, Remi clears his throat slightly, shooting the Star a sly glance over his shoulder. "Do....do you think anyone..." Raising his brows, Remi smiles crookedly rather than completing his sentence.

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 loves his husband very dearly, so he doesn't have to steal a bite or two - they are freely given. Even the last bite, which the Star genuinely looks heartbroken about until he reminds himself that it's going to the love of his life. Once he's finished and the foil is scrunched up and tossed in a nearby waste bin (yes, Ronin cheers that he makes the shot) and he stretches an arm across the back of the bench that he might sneakily slip it around Remi. Two can play at cheesy.

"What? Oh - oh - to play spy with. Yes." He chuckles, leaning into the kiss pressed against his cheek and closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy the warmth of the sun on the back of his neck. "Mm? Saw us? No, I think we made a clean get away there," he says, though one eye opens so he can shoot a very crooked smile in Remi's direction. "Did anyone hear us, though? I don't think I can say that for certain. Those old books make a lot of noise when they fall."

RONIN

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

Sighing with a relief that was going to be short-lived, Remi stiffens slightly as his eyes widen. Turning slowly toward Ronin with his lashes fluttering, having the nerve to look stupidly oblivious, Remi replays what transpired between the shelves with dawning horror.

"......" But no words come out despite the way Remi's lips have parted. After a moment though, Remi just laughs, letting his forehead fall against his husband's shoulder. 'I can't believe we did that.' He mumbles, trying to work out just how much he cared if the pair were found out. That it was Finn's workplace was really the only thing that stuck out in his mind, but given how much respect Remi had for such places, he did feel a little bad.

Glancing up, Remi's eyes made even lighter by the sunlight, he beams at the Star. "I will have to be more careful where I ask you to kiss me in the future."

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

Blushing as well but feeling far too good about everything that just happened to apologise for it, Ronin can only draw Remi closer, kissing the crown of his head as he tries to bury his face in his shoulder. "I made sure to put all of the books back, and there was no mess," he promises, though he has no idea if any of those books ended up where they had started out that day. At least none of them looked as though they had been damaged.

"I can't either. But I love that we did," he admits through a whisper, kissing Remi again and stroking an idle hand across his husband's knee. For anyone watching it might just look as though they are their usual loved-up selves, taking an afternoon to enjoy the sunshine and each other's company. Which is exactly what they are doing, except with extras.

Huffing out a laugh, Ronin can only nod his agreement as he draws back to grin at the Lullaby. "Honestly, by now you'd think you'd realise the effect you have on me. Making out in a library - as if it would stop there."

RONIN

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

Had this been a dream, the only thing Remi might have changed was the number of cheese-wraps he'd bothered to order for them. Everything else was as good as his mind could have made it; better, for the imperfections. Twisting toward the Star and raising a leg to rest it across Ronin's knees instead of folding it over his own, Remi can only nod in stunned agreement.

"What? Me?" Genuinely incredulous, Remi shakes his head. "I only asked for a kiss. One." He points out, as if the pair have ever managed to stop at one of anything. 'Well. I suppose out of respect for everyone else, either we're going to have to stop kissing in public—" Leaning forward to do precisely that, Remi lets his lips linger, kissing Ronin indulgently for a moment. "—or having sex often enough that we aren't so tempted while we're out and about."

I wonder which they'll choose?

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 lets his husband put his legs wherever he damned well pleases, stroking a thumb across his knee and settling in on the bench so they can sit all cosy like for as long as they feel like it. "What can I say? I'm a very generous man," he points out, the words almost murmured into Remi's ear with how close they are.

"And I didn't hear you saying no, either." He shrugs his shoulders; Ronin glances up only briefly to watch a couple of people emerge from the Tower. It doesn't look as though they've come to the Collegium, but they can't be sure. And maybe they only look over at Remi and Ronin because they're two demigods. Maybe.

"We'll have to wha--" Ronin's outrage melts into a hum of approval as he's cut off by the kiss, the Star smiling against Remi's lips and letting his hand slide a little further up his thigh. "It seems such a shame to stop kissing in public," he mumbles.

RONIN

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

'Or a very greedy one." Remi counters slyly, and as Ronin people-watches, the alchemist Ronin-watches. Though Remi has gradually come back to himself, becoming more tolerant and less furious at the world, still the only man capable of holding his attention for long stretches of time is the Star. It isn't even that he needs to peer deeply into his husband's soul to be transfixed by him—the curve of his jawline, where the stubble on his cheeks melts into his hair, the black of his lashes against the bright blue of his eyes—it's all more than enough to keep Remi's eyes roving and hungry for him.

Ronin's hand doesn't kindle the heat it had done inside the not-library, but it does make Remi's stomach flutter and flop as if the pair are suddenly weightless. 'Wouldn't it?' He agrees, sliding his cheek along Ronin's that he might nibble annoyingly against the Star's ear. "So...I was wondering if you would help me with something?" And, knowing that once Ronin heard what it was, was likely to argue, Remi adds: "Abbastanza carino per favore?"

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

"Either works for me," Ronin says with a smile that's as filthy as it is sweet. "I got more kisses, whatever you want to call it." And he'd do it again, too. He's fully aware of the Lullaby's eyes on him; more than used to it by now, and by more than just Remi, Ronin tilts his head and chuckles into the scrape of Remi's cheek against his own. He tries and fails to cringe away from the nibble to his ear, his free hand slipping up and into soft curls.

Of course the Star is willing to help his husband with whatever he needs, but there's something suspicious about just how keen Remi is, and as the travelling tongue rolls from his lips and sends all the blood straight south again, Ronin can only squirm and laugh. His hand risks sneaking further up Remi's leg, and finally he glances up at his face. "Go on then," he murmurs. "What is it?"

RONIN

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

Grinning, his words having had precisely the intended reaction, Remi tries to nudge himself all the closer to the Star. There's almost no room between them, what with the alchemist draped across the bench and now Ronin's hand in his curls, but the Star isn't the only one who might be accused of being greedy.

"Well...I was speaking with Ludo the other day, about what you and I had discussed while we were tRaiNinG." It was hardly right to call it training, given how it ended with both men staring down at their soulless bodies, and y e t ... "And it gave me a way of getting more offensive abilities."

Nibbling at Ronin's ear, before gathering some of the Star's dark hair between his lips and tugging, Remi shrugs with a casual air. "I just...need you to attack me. Several times. As hard as you possibly can." He murmurs as if it's nothing at all. As if Ronin isn't one of the few people who could actually kill him. Reaching for the Star's hand, he dares to slide it further up his thigh with a roguish grin.

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

"Oh, is that so...?" Ronin almost purrs into Remi's ear, absolutely giving not one single fuck about whatever Ludo has said and why. The Lullaby has stoked the fires in his belly again, and he can't be blamed for whatever might happen (or at least start to happen) on this bench in public.

Except that isn't what happens at all.

Like ice water thrown directly onto his crotch, Ronin's arousal entirely disappears, as does most of the colour from his face. He freezes, even as Remi nuzzles himself closer, until he's suddenly and actively winding his arms around the alchemist. The kisses he scatters across Remi's cheeks are almost desperately gentle, and he shudders out an unhappy sigh.

"I don't want to," he mutters. "Do I have to?" Because he will - of course he will. He can't say no to Remi. But he doesn't have to be pleased about it.

RONIN