long shadows

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "You think so? I was going to say it's the shirt. It's a very good choice of shirt," Ronin muses, giving his wine a gentle swirl in his hand; not that he knows shit about it, but he's seen Remi do it when they're taste-testing and it looks fancy and it won't matter if he splashes himself because he's wearing leather and no you shut up. "Listen, it's nice that I can have something to show off about. You with all your talons and all." Ronin grins, rubbing his fingers together to let the down fade away. Taking a sip of wine and reaching out to gently open one of the windows and let the sounds of the night drift in, Ronin does start to glow when he thinks of their son and all of the memories they can build with him. "Mm - it's why I think he stayed at school, to be honest. It's a routine for him. Maybe we should work on building one for him here - might do us all some good. And hey, he's having friends around for dinner now at least." That's normal, right? Right? "I do say." Ronin chuckles, one of his fingers singing around the rim of his glass now. "I must have missed the manticore thing though. I hope you taught this young hunter the error of his ways." The youth might even still be alive, with any luck. With a suddenly pensive gaze into his drink, Ronin chews over his next words before saying them. "Would you help me?" he asks. "To get to grips properly with this dragon inside me? I've been keeping a handle on it as best I can, but I know I'm at risk of losing control. And I can't have that."

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

Snorting under his breath, Remi levels his husband with a stare that's utterly unmoved. "You have talons now too." He points out with a tilt of his head. "Next you will be finding ways to leave your body and make things out of thin air." Very nearly Remi suggests that Ronin will have a tentacle shift, but in all the ways in which Ronin and Safrin are not alike, the alchemist thinks an aversion to tentacles is something they likely have in common.

"And the lack of children here. Fiadh hardly counts, wild as she is. That said, I think she has taken over Ianto's business already." Remi adds with a laugh, before blinking stupidly across at Ronin, only to understand. "For a moment I thought you meant we ought to build him a school here." The alchemist explains, rolling his eyes at himself. "That is true. Though..am I the only one who finds it...strange? that it is Finn's son he has made such fast friends with..?"

Raising his eyebrows in an expression of what can you do, Remi nods. "I told him that anyone who put out a hit on me likely was hoping that he would get himself killed in the process. Strange that someone from Halo would be concerned about monsters roaming around here, though." He adds a touch warily.

Watching the way Ronin's eyes suddenly became veiled behind thick lashes and now the Huntsman's crooked smile disappeared entirely, Remi glances at his ring finger as the pulse there starts to quicken. "Of course I will." He answers smoothly when the question has finally been asked. "Instead of fighting back though, I may just put you to sleep if there is a next time for such things." Remi adds with a small shrug. "If that is alright with you. You are...magnificently strong, as a dragon, and as I said before, as nice as death now seems, I am not so keen to run out the clock just yet"

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "I absolutely will not," Ronin objects, plucking up his wine glass again and grinning at Remi. "You have always been the mad scientist out of the two of us. We ought to get you a little laboratory set up on the houseboat, or somewhere close by. You can make your ingredients out of thin air," he suggests with a chuckle, falling silent so he can take a sip of his drink. "Mm, I'm worried Fiadh would eat Mateo alive, if I'm honest," he says, smirking. "You know I caught her along the Whispershore where the water is calm, trying to make a raft? You think she's going to open her own Wishing Wagon, bobbing up and down the river?" Ronin would laugh but it's entirely possible for the young Attuned. Another reason why a school would be a terrible addition for the Greatwood, and Ronin scoffs and shakes his head. "This should be a place he can blow off steam," he says. "And no, I'm not so surprised. Our son could make friends with anyone, if you've noticed. Makes sense that he'd notice the quieter kids, and want them to join in. Is it too weird for you, though?" Blue eyes flash back up to hear he's got his husband's help in the matter, Ronin reaching across with his free hand to gently grasp hold of Remi's. "I never want to hurt you like that ever again," he mumbles. "And no amount of apologies will ever make up for it. So please just put me to sleep, if it looks like I'm about to lose myself. I don't feel strong - I feel unstable."

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

Imagining instantly a liferaft attached to their boat with a bit of glassware in it bubbling away with various colours, Remi smirks and grins. "I can only create things, not ingredients." He points out. "And even then they do not last long." Though with Amalia's abilities now he could make things out of light which was...novel, he supposed.

"I think she absolutely would. Mateo would come back married, enslaved, or worse." Remi's fingers, previously tapping out a rhythm on the table suddenly stop, as his mouth drops open. Torn between impressed and horrified, but for his silence, all he can do is shake his head. "Gods help Ianto." He murmurs, raising a glass to the fox before downing the contents of his drink.

Grimacing slightly at their son's accomplishments if only because Ronin wasn't wrong about them, Remi nods. "Absolutely it is weird for me. Finn-things will always be weird for me, though I am glad that Mateo is happy."

Letting his hand be taken, Remi offers his husband a calm and earnest sea-glass stare in response. "I know." He agrees easily. "You will learn to control it. It will just take some time. Until then, I promise to always be around to make sure you find yourself napping rather than doing anything you would regret in the morning."

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Well if only we lived in a large and magical forest absolutely teeming with ingredients," Ronin gushes, shaking his head and grinning at his husband. "They'd last longer if you remembered them better," he points out. "We'll have to make everything you get from now on super interesting, so it sticks in your memory. And Oria can probably help you gather your ingredients." He winks, clearly pleased for Remi that he has a companion to nest in his hair. Nodding earnestly, Ronin also toasts to the poor fox and his very cunning new business rival/daughter, draining the rest of his wine and setting the glass down. "Gods help Ianto," he agrees. "And I get it. I'll do all the drop-offs at Stormbreak if it makes it easier for you? Though Mateo will probably complain - you know he'll want to show you the shop and his garden." Giving Remi's hand a squeeze, Ronin nods his head, more than content to put his trust in the other man when it comes to things like this. "You are my hero," he says softly. "Now, do you want another drink? Or did you want to skip to the part where you shove me against the wall somewhere?"

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

'If only.' Remi laments, having already started a garden full of gin-specific botanicals already with Mateo's help. "I have a lot of things going on in my mind, thank you very much." The alchemist huffs. He does in fact have lots of things to keep in mind, though right now he's specifically just thinking only of Ronin. "That is true. She is very sweet, isn't she? It was a bit...I do not even know the word for it." Remi's boyish smile falls away to something more serious as he recalls seeing her small lifeless body in the Wood. "Dead once already, just like Isla. Her mind does not feel the same of course, but still." There was a certain sort of resonance in it, that the alchemist still wasn't so sure about.

Glancing toward the bar and unable to meet anyone's eye (who would look at him, with Ronin softly glowing and wrapped up so neatly in leather?), Remi frowns and gives it another few seconds before he'll go and get them another round. "No, no. I will go. It is not as if I can avoid Finn forever, especially if the two are friends."

Before Remi can either say something obnoxiously in favour of being Ronin's hero, the Huntsman's question steals the words from his lips and burns colour onto his cheeks. "I suppose that is what normally follows a date isn't it? If we are trying to be regular?" He asks with slow-growing smile. Beneath the table Ronin will feel one of Remi's hands on his knee, even as the other remains clasped in the Huntsman's grasp. Spreading out his fingers like a starburst, he tilts his head innocently to the side. "My drink was very good, I will say." He says almost threateningly, as if staying for another would be so bad.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "If I hadn't known you with Isla, I'd go as far to say that I couldn't imagine you with another companion," Ronin says of Oria with an honest shrug. "Maybe you are just made for those sorts of lost souls, mm? But she is very sweet. She'll be perfect to keep you on your toes." Just as Sugar showed the rather more haughty and possessive side of Ronin, perhaps Oria was there to showcase Remi's innocence. With a gentle nod, Ronin still can't help but smirk. "Unless Finn works especially hard to avoid you," he says. "He's just as good at it as you are, I should think." He chuckles, his thumb playing gently over the back of Remi's palm when the warmth of the alchemist's other hand is suddenly very present on his knee. "Mm, I should say so," he agrees, glancing between their two empty glasses and how good Remi's gin supposedly was. "And yet you finished so quickly," he murmurs (about the drink obviously). "We could always stay for another. The night is young. Though I think I'll probably have a whiskey this time, since I didn't have to choose just one drink for the rest of my life."

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

The alchemist nods in agreement, the slight storm clouds that darken his gaze another acknowledgement. "Mort made it sound as though she was more to manage me than I was to her. Maybe I am her companion." He suggests with a single exhale of amusement.

Not wanting to talk about or think of Finn with his hands on Ronin, the alchemist lets the subject drop with a non-committal shrug of his shoulders. "Ahh well, I shall be sure to savour this next one then." He replies menacingly, before offering his husband a wink as he departs to the bar. Remi isn't met with the same warm smiles and conversation that Ronin was, but as he's able to return to their table with two drinks without spilling any blood, he considers it a success.

Ronin's whiskey has a garnish of white sage, and instead of ice uses stones made cold in the Stonesong. Remi's gin appears to have been frozen inside of an ice bubble and as he carefully sets it down, he eyes it wondering if he's meant to break it apart or...wait for it to melt. 'Did you end up sending that jar of dirt back to Maeve?' Remi wonders conversationally as his hand once again slinks back onto Ronin's knee, before sliding up higher even as Remi's gaze remains entirely innocent.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "I think you make a fine companion to her," Ronin says with a smug smile, leaning across to kiss Remi's cheek as if he can banish the storminess from his gaze. "If she was here right now, she'd be pulling your hair for overthinking it," he points out, though whether it's a thread that Ronin might do the same is something that they will never get to discover, because Remi is getting up to head back to the bar. It's with a huff of exaggerated sorrow that Ronin turns to watch him go, though he's not ashamed to admit he definitely enjoys the view. Wondering if Remi will eventually master the art of small-talk with the barman if they return often enough, he's nonetheless grinning when the other man returns with their drinks. "Am I meant to eat these?" he wonders of the stones, more than happy with the drink, though he does eye Remi's with suspicion. Before he can offer any advice on how to tackle the ice bubble, though, the Lullaby is asking about a certain jar of dirt, and Ronin's fuuuuuuuuck is enough of an answer, he thinks. "I will send it first thing in the morning," he vows, only to jump a little to feel a hand made cool by ice slip further up his leg. "I think you can do better than that," he murmurs with dark amusement, taking a sip of whiskey and slipping an arm around Remi's waist.

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

Giving his husband a flat stare, Remi raises a brow and says nothing as to whether or not Ronin is meant to eat the rocks. He can absolutely give it a try if it's what he thinks he ought to do. 'I forget, did she even say what it was for?' Remi asks, closing one eye and looking up toward the ceiling with the other. Maeve's request had been met with more or less annoyance on their parts such that the alchemist hadn't bothered actually listening to the why that was attached to the please. "Because if it is another weapon using bits of you, I am going to have to draw the line." Ronin had sent back some of his hair, hadn't he? Or was that for something else again?

"You absolutely will not." Remi corrects. "Because first thing in the morning you will be having breakfast in bed with me, and so help me if that gets cut short so you can go mail some grave-dirt to Torchline, I will be very unhappy about it." The alchemist grumbles.

"It is called taking things slow Ronin. You know, to build up excitement, or..." Waiving his free hand to fill in the gaps, he shrugs. 'But I do not need to, of course.' He adds, sliding the flat of his hand all the way up the Huntsman's thighs to press between his legs with his palm.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin opens his mouth to respond, promptly forgets whether Maeve had actually mentioned that much, closes it again and gives his husband a helpless look. "I did send back some of my hair," he confirms. "To go with your feather. And the grave dirt. But I... will check on the letter tomorrow?" His laugh is the equivalent of a shrug at this point, the Huntsman far too focused on his drink and his date (his very handsome date with his hand on his thigh) to be thinking about dirt. And of course they were going to be having breakfast in bed - it was what Ronin had promised out in Hak Etme, and he has capitalised on it at every opportunity when his husband has been home. (His caveat being that he cannot provide breakfast in bed if Remi is not in bed). "I would never dream of making you unhappy," he vows. "I'll do it maybe fifth thing in the morning, then. It shouldn't take that long to get to Torchline--" The sudden emphasis coincides with the sudden press of a hand between his legs, and aside from that and the very, very thin hairline crack along Ronin's glass where he's suddenly gripping it more tightly, he does admirably well to keep his composure. "I can promise you that you are definitely building up plenty of excitement right now," he rumbles, resisting the urge to arch his hips into the touch. "And this is taking things slow for us."

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

"Fifth sounds good." Remi all but purrs despite the inability of his shifts to do so. It's a masterclass in control, watching Ronin try not to shatter the glass in his hand or flip over the table. Grinning as if completely ignorant of what might be causing Ronin to tense up so much, the alchemist lets his head fall slightly to the side as if happy just to gaze at Ronin all night long.

"Yes, but I thought we were trying to incorporate more normal things into our routine." He points out. Reaching for his drink with his freehand, Remi raises it to his lips before he pauses. "Like offering one another a taste of our drinks, for example." So saying Remi takes a sip of his drink, curling the gin into his tongue much the way big cats did when drinking from ponds. Leaning forward he presses his lips against his husband's, only to unfurl his tongue that his kiss might be sweetened by the botanical taste of gin and juniper as well as the bite of the alcohol.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Fifth in the morning it is, then; Ronin is smiling stupidly even with his cracked glass and his husband engaging in relentless teasing. The Huntsman is about to take another sip of his drink, in fact, when Remi suggests their next example of normal behaviour, and he turns his head just in time to be caught in the kiss. The sweet bite of the gin has him moaning softly against his husband's lips, and Remi will find that Ronin's pants have grown very tight beneath his hand. "You are being quite unfair," he mumbles when they part, not that he sounds at all like he wants it to stop. "And you are very good at it," he continues, leaning in for another kiss. He's not really able to offer Remi a taste of his drink given that he's forgotten that he's fucking holding it, and this time he does arch into the fingers against his crotch, as if to encourage the Lullaby further.

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

The vibrations of Ronin's moan are like music to Remi's skin the way the sound is to his ears, and he allows himself a moment to revel in the heat that plumes upward from low in his belly. It has him wanting to squirm in his seat, to reach for Ronin's hand and shove it between his own thighs, or to upend the table altogether and roughly press his husband against the wall. Doing none of these things, Remi instead grins wickedly against Ronin's lips, not needing to shrug his boyish satisfaction when pulsing it through the attuned bond is so much easier.

Feeling the shape of his husband's arousal beneath his fingers and the heat of him against his palm has Remi's lips stuttering into their kiss. Like a wildfire the alchemist's cheeks grow hot and his own pants start to feel quite uncomfortable, as he imagines the contrast of his husband's warm body naked against his own, pressed against the cool panes of the window on the other side of the table.  "Gods I want you." Remi's voice is nothing more than a ragged whisper, as his fingers curl around the bulge in his husband's pants and his hand begins to move up and down ever so slightly.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)