the shape of your name

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

Remi awakens not in bed, but half upon a couch that he promptly falls off of. With a thud and then a groan, the alchemist hisses in a breath, having used his blistered and burned hands to brace himself, thus removing even more layers of skin from his palms. Blinking hard, he turns with an expression that's dazed and slow. For a man who, in battle, can roll quite easily with whatever comes at him, Remi is shockingly undone by the fact that Ronin has fallen asleep on the couch.

"Hey." He mumbles softly, as if this is what will wake Ronin up and not his sudden appearance and fall. "What are you doing out here?" Still smelling of the sea and the storm he'd just come from, the alchemist tilts his cheek toward his shoulder, having to constantly remind himself not to reach out for Ronin, injured as he is.

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

I'll wait up for you is not a rule that they follow in the Taliesin household. Indeed, much of the time in order for Ronin to be up for his husband coming home, he first has to put himself to sleep. And so, after establishing with Remi what time he expects to be back, the Star has meandered about their apartment and has subsequently passed out on the couch. The rest, as they say, is history.

Grunting his surprise at Remi appearing and instantly flopping to the floor, Ronin misses the blisters on his hands at first, only noticing them when he reaches out to brush affectionate fingers across his counterpart's cheek. Taking him in properly, his brows furrow at the burns and skin stripped pink. "I didn't mean to," he says through a yawn. "I was just resting my eyes. What happened?"

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

'Better here than at the kitchen table, I suppose.' Remi hums affectionately, his cheek growing plump beneath Ronin's fingers. Yawning too as he shifts into a seated position next to the couch, Remi leans his head against one of the cushions before holding up one of his hands.

"Turns out helping Isla with her quest meant flying into a lightning storm and holding a stone made red-hot by the metal wrapped around it." He says by way of explanation, yawning into his shoulder. "I was hoping if it was not too much of an inconvenience, that you might be able to kiss it better?" Remi was hoping for more than that of course. The pain wasn't too bad, but given how often he used his hands, he would be quite inconvenienced to let the wounds heal on their own.

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

"That doesn't sound particularly smart. But it also sounds exactly like the sort of thing that you would do." Ronin smiles sweetly to his husband, his fingers slipping up and into wind-tossed curls now. His focus turns to the scorches on Remi's palms at the suggestion that he kiss it better, and the Star relaxes back into the couch again. "It would be my pleasure - though I will give you real kisses after I've healed you," he murmurs.

His hand drifts absently to his forearm, stroking across the Virgo constellation there to engage it. The tattoo manifests into golden light that circles Ronin's wrists, and the constellation blooms to life as a delicate celestial figure. She bends to see to Remi's hands, pressing kisses to his palms to heal away the burns, and fades just as soon as she appears with the work done. "Mm, there you go. Now come here and love me."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

"What? Be helpful?" Remi counters, though they both know that's just as absurd given all of the alchemist's hard edges. He's working on smoothing them down, but it takes time. Gasping at the notion of real kisses to come, Remi sits up straight and squares his shoulders, expecting a blast of light that is sure to wake up everyone in the surrounding buildings. Instead, an ethereal figure appears, stunning and softly outlined in cosmic periwinkle. Biting the inside of his cheek and inhaling deeply the smell of petrichor she exudes, Remi tries not to flinch as her lips kiss away his wounds.

She disappears and though Remi doesn't need to say it, his expression is one that very much says: I do not like that. Safrin's handiwork is always hard to bear, but no more so than when it's displayed in such a beautiful form.

"Can I tell you a secret? Something Isla said and it is unfair and stupid but I feel like if I do not say it out loud, I might burst." It's hard to tell if he's serious or not.

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

Remi's expression is louder than if he had screamed at Ronin, and the Star reaches down since his husband is being so stubborn so he can haul him up onto the sofa as well. Arms winding around Remi, he busies himself getting comfortable with the other man draped over him, guiding the alchemist's hands up so he might replace Virgo's kisses with his own. "Mm? A secret?" he repeats, glancing up to brush his lips across the other man's cheek instead.

"I would not want you to burst - that takes a lot more healing than what I just did," he remarks, before his expression grows warm and more appreciative of what his husband needs from him. "I'm all ears, Remi. Go ahead," he murmurs.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

Remi is as willing and able in Ronin's grip as he ever has been, and soon the Star will find his husband sitting astride him with his back hunched and his fingers smoothing out Ronin's nap-crumpled shirt.

"Well," The slightly mischievous glint in his eyes suggests that this might not be as serious of a secret as he'd initially made it out to be, and yet Remi's body is still taut and tense as he sits in his husband's lap. "She mentioned the war. How she does not want it. And.." Shaking his head as he draws in a breath that leaves his lips parted for a moment, Remi exhales as his eyes roam toward the ceiling. "..Ronin, if I hear one more person say that.." His eyes drop, and it's with an expression that's a mixture of imploring and frustrated that he continues. "..I just can't anymore. This is coming and everyone is acting like...like if they ignore it long enough it will go away. That being upset about it is enough."

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

Ronin will never get tired of Remi's hands on him, the Star seeming to relax bonelessly into the cushions beneath him, letting his touch drift down the alchemist's torso to linger against his hips. "Mm? The war?" He tilts his head, wondering how his husband can be so serious and yet so playful about something as huge as tHe WaR. And as he explains, smelling of storms and the sea and burning fabric, he finds himself in utter chaotic agreement with him.

"Thank you," he mumbles, leaning up for a sudden kiss that's tinged with a hint of relief. "I feel the same way," he admits. "Maybe it's because we have seen and heard everything from the gods themselves, but... it feels obnoxious to just imagine this won't happen because we don't want it to."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

Ronin's words cause creases to line Remi's forehead, unsure as he is about what he's being thanked for. His curiosity dissolves in the wake of Ronin's lips though as the alchemist reaches his arms up and around the Star's neck to keep him close. "Right?" Relief shivers out from the base of his spine up his neck, and Remi finds himself utterly relaxed in the wake of it. "It just feels...naive to keep saying how much we all do not want it." He huffs, before focusing his gaze on his husband's impossibly blue eyes. 'I hate it too, because...it makes me think they do not stand a chance.' This admission is nearly silent, and though Remi wants to guiltily drop his eyes, they remain fixed on Ronin's. "And I hate thinking that way about people I care about."

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

Ronin shifts to sit them up a bit, his arms lacing around his husband that he might hold him close against him. Both of their hands are busy, so the Star plants kisses along Remi's neck and jawline, and he nods his sad agreement about it all. "It is naive," he mumbles. "Even if you don't plan to be on the fighting front, not being aware of it, refusing to engage with it..." He shivers a bit, not really wanting to think about it, because what Remi says is true.

His lips press against his husband's cheek and he holds the seaglass gaze steadily, his brow furrowing. The last thing he wants to do is to add more to the horror of what is to come, but really... it has to be said. "The worst part is that, against you, they really wouldn't." he whispers. "And that is what worries me most of all." Not because the people Remi cares about might die.

Because they might be the one to kill them.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

Having been holding his breath without realizing it, Remi exhales in shaky acknowledgement of the truth in his husband's words. They wouldn't. One on one, none of them stood a chance. Even grouped together...gods, what would it even take to bring him down?

"I think they all think we will be able to make exceptions." Remi mumbles sadly. "That we will be able to.." ..in grado di risparmiare le loro vite.. He thinks, unable to say the words. Ronin won't understand them of course, not even Mateo would, but there are enough contextual clues that the Star would likely not be left in the dark. 'Isla's quest is to give her a way of...diagnosing the ascended. My quest is to duplicate your abilities." He points out darkly, his point clear: one was decidedly more useful in the war to come.

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

What his husband says is upsetting mostly because it is true, and Ronin doesn't have to understand the travelling tongue to recognise that. He leans in for a kiss because what the fuck else can they do, the press of his lips soft and gentle and at odds with the way his hands try to clutch Remi close to him.

"Sometimes I hate that we are the way we are," he mutters, the words lingering against his husband's lips. "What I would give, some days, to be back behind that barrier." Horrible as it might have been.

Drawing back, he smooths Remi's curls back out of his face, his expression growing all the more grave as the alchemist continues. "When did you become a soldier?" he whispers, and there is something desperately sad in his tone. "I'm sorry, Remi."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

Remi's mouth is a complicated thing just now; his lips are soft against the Star's despite how his jaw is very much clenched. Behind Ronin's neck Remi's fingertips have turned to claws, and not unlike an annoyed cat, he very much wants to worry away at the seams that hold their cushions together. Even a little destruction would feel good. "I am tempted to say that it would be better if we were never made into what we are...but could you imagine anyone else in our place?" There's no hubris in his words at all, just honest recognition that, were there other HeRoEs instead of them, the pair would likely be a lot more uneasy about putting their lives in someone else's hands.

Suntanned and looking older than he should, Remi sighs beneath his husband's hands, shrugging just a fraction. "I do not know." He whispers, expecting to feel the prickle of tears against the back of his eyes, and instead feeling only a dull emptiness that yawns and promises to swallow him whole anytime he wants.

'Well. I think saying I want us to runaway on a Skyboat is just as naive as saying I do not want the war, so I won't. But, Mateo and I have been working hard, so...Perhaps we will take her on a maiden voyage when you come back?"

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the darkstar

"I would not want anyone else in our place," Ronin whispers, equally without hubris. It's a mix of reluctance to put his life in someone else's hands, and a knowledge that even for all they have been through, he would never wish it on anyone else. More than all of this, though, his world narrows down to two green eyes as Remi speaks, as if the Star might be able to light his way through the emptiness that threatens to swallow him whole.

Leaning in for another kiss, this one a little needier, Ronin draws away only to press his cheek against his husband's shoulder, glaring at the wall because there is nothing and no one else he can really blame. "I would really enjoy that," he mumbles into the fabric of Remi's shirt, though his smile is listless; not even the thought of sailing a skyboat can lift the mood. "Are you sure I ought to go?" he asks. "I can stay, if you like."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!