looks like morning in your eyes

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

A flash of light, followed by another. From the grove of trees in which he'd situated himself, it was with a keen stare but no visible movement that the Lullaby listened and watched.

Either Sunjata would start breathing again, or he wouldn't. Despite appearances, Remi wasn't hoping for the Flood's death. Letting Sunjata die would likely weigh as heavily on Ronin's mind as outright killing him would; probably more so, truth be told. So when he heard Sunjata's gasp of air and saw Ronin stalk off into the darkness, it was with a lighter heart if not a darker mind that the Lullaby slipped from the shadows to follow.

"You did the right thing." With his words proceeding him by just a second or so, Ronin will feel the tug of his husband's hand against his shoulder to stop and turn him, and then feel Remi's lips against his as the Lullaby draws him close into a sudden and fervent kiss.

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run away and take me with you

Ronin gives not a single, solitary fuck about whether he has done the right thing. As bright as his supernova had been, darkness still cloys at his mind, and it's the voice rather than the words that get his attention. Both Huntsman and Lullaby are of a mind, it seems, because as Remi turns him around, he's already trying to kiss him.

With fingers coiling tightly through his curls and a grip that's almost bruising in its need, Ronin doesn't need to say anything. Anywhere he touches, Remi will feel it - the still-raw anger, the way he's unsure that he made the right choice, the need to wrap himself in something familiar. And if that doesn't tell him all of it, the Attuned bond picks up where it leaves off.

The world is on fire, he says, the words all but vibrating in his tone. And all I want is to go home with you.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

With one hand clasped possessively against Ronin's lower back and the other twined tightly into the Huntsman's dark hair, Remi is able to simultaneously soften in the places his husband claws at, and yet brace against the underlying darkness. This flavour of Ronin is rare; one that the Lullaby would quickly drown himself in if given the chance. Fire can't kill either of us, he thinks of the world burning, as his tongue writes slanderous comments about the state of things against Ronin's.

Feeling a quickening blackness beginning to branch out inside of his mind, coating his better judgement that tells him not to fan this particular flame, Remi is vaguely aware of the feathers that trickle down his spine and into his curls. Ronin will feel them too beneath his fingers which will lose their grip on Remi's hair as the feathers are inadvertently plucked.

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Mm, it can't even come close, Ronin remarks, and even through the inky blackness of his thoughts, it takes little for them to turn fiery as well. Hitching Remi closer and growling out a feverish version of I love you into the other man's mouth, he's got one handful of feathers and the other sneaking up into the back of Remi's shirt before he knows it. "Mm... sorry," he manages as he realises what he's done, the apology written against the Lullaby's lips just before his kisses continue to drop down the side of his neck.

Once there, Ronin buries his face into the crook of the other man's shoulder, as if he might be able to press him into his skin completely. "Thank you for staying, even if it was from a distance," he whispers, still unsure whether he wants to fuck, fight, or fly home. Or maybe all three, in sort of that order.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

Remi's eyes roll up and then back as Ronin's kisses begin to migrate lower, causing dark flares of arousal to heat his belly and between his thighs. Grumbling some incoherent rejection of his husband's apology, Remi presses claw-tipped fingers against the back of his husband's skull, before taking a breath of crisp air that does absolutely nothing to dampen the combination of blood lust and lust-lust building in his bones.

"Of course I stayed." The Lullaby replies with a grim smile. "The only difficult part was not interfering." Gods had he wanted to though, especially when Ronin called himself Safrin's dog. He knew what the words were meant to inspire in Sunjata, but he hadn't expected the violet hate and fury that had arisen in the back of his throat, slicing away at his rationality like razor blades. "There's still time.." Remi whispers as his hand slides around Ronin's waist to press against the front of his pants. "It isn't like Sunjata could have gotten far..." Still time to undo having done the right thing. He adds, his palm pressed suggestively as his fingers grow tight in Ronin's hair.

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run away and take me with you

The prick of claws against his scalp have a shiver running up the base of his spine, Ronin happy to drown in his husband for as long as he's willing to hold him here. As it happens, though, Remi might have more in mind than just here, and with an almost silent gasp, the Huntsman rocks his hips into the hand suddenly pressed against them. "Mm, and what would I do?" he wonders, the darkness lacing his words hailing from the monstrous parts that now root in his soul.

"Chase him down with you? Toy with him a bit?" He whispers the words against Remi's jawline, all the while working his way back towards the other man's lips. "As fun as it would be, I'd much rather have you." Sunjata was then, but Remi is always, and Ronin lets the handful of feathers he's plucked flutter to the ground, all so he can tilt his husband's face up towards his own for another kiss.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

Tensing his bicep that his hand might remain a formidable adversary for the thrust of Ronin's hips, Remi grins darkly into his husband's hair. "We would make him run first, until he's panting." The Lullaby suggests. "Then when he's flat on his back, perhaps you might cut off his cock. Maybe he'll be able to think with the right head if he only has one." Speaking as a predator now, with little thought or concern for Sunjata, Remi feels his muscles begin to tremble at the mere prospect of such a chase.

Meeting Ronin's mouth, Remi moans an inarticulate plea that begins as a growl in the back of his throat. Without thought at all the Lullaby tugs at his husband's belt, undoing it with a jerk before brutishly shoving his hand down the front of Ronin's pants with a possessive determination. "And if I'd rather have you?" He counters challengingly against the Huntsman's lips.

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run away and take me with you

Chasing down Sunjata and ripping off his cock (and what a visual that is) might be tempting, but honestly, it's the tone of Remi's voice and the feelings that ripple through the bond between them that do it. It turns out that they aren't going to be flying home any time soon - they're going to be christening yet another area with their bare asses and unfettered lust. And Ronin needs it as much as he wants it.

"If you'd rather have me then have me," he moans, a sound that tapers off into a shuddering gasp at the hand that goes plunging down the front of his pants. He's already hard, to the surprise of no one, Ronin growling and tearing at the other man's shirt, as if he can't think of anything better than having his hands pressed against his skin.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

"That didn't take much convincing." Remi chuckles, though his amusement is short-lived as Ronin's emotions are felt anew once the alchemist's fingers surround his husband's arousal. He feels like good wine, something that should be savoured but gods if it doesn't also demand to be gulped. So it is that Remi finds himself dropping down to his knees, where he can unbuckle Ronin's belt and buttons properly.

Dragging down the Huntsman's pants with clawed hands that leave jagged trails to follow should the Lullaby lose his way, Remi looks around his husband's freed erection with eyes that shine brightly in the moonlight. With his head tilted back that Ronin might watch rather than simply admire the top of Remi's head, the alchemist places the tip of Ronin's cock against his lower lip as he sighs in a teasing breath.

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"Does it ever?" Ronin mumbes, hiccuping in a breath as Remi's talons cut into his flesh. It's tantalising, the pain mingling with the pleasure, and the Huntsman lets his head loll back even as his fingers slip into Remi's hair a second time. Part of him wonders whether this is wise - this feels like the bad decisions of their previous selves, of covering things up with sex and pleasure and leaving things pathetically unspoken, but gods if Ronin doesn't have the willpower to resist right now.

"Not now," he almost begs, his jaw feathering as he gazes down at Remi with a wild sort of light in his blue eyes. "I don't think I can deal with being teased right now." It's as much of an apology as a warning, Ronin's thumb grazing across his husband's cheek.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

Feeling the mild pulse of hesitation, Remi smiles. "Tell me how you're feeling then. l"m listening." They could still talk, even if their mouths were otherwise occupied as Remi's was about to be. So saying he parts his lips, letting his tongue swirl around the head of Ronin's cock as his teeth graze the underside of his length. Pulling in a breath so deep his nostrils flare and his lungs expand, Remi drinks in the wild and fae expression on his husband's face, wishing he could tease a bit more recklessness into the lines that still darkened his eyes.

Pressing his fingertips into the muscles along Ronin's upper thighs to coax them to relax and also shift his hips forward, Remi hums around the Huntsman's cock as he takes him in, in his entirety. Ignoring the tension in his own pants, Remi tilts his eye line up towards Ronin's as he pulls back, only to surge forward once more.

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run away and take me with you

"Is this really the time--" Ronin manages, before his fingers melt more deeply into Remi's curls and his voice stutters off into a huff of pleasure that he doesn't have the words to really articulate. Wanting simultaneously to force his hips forward but also to draw away, to pull Remi back onto his feet and to cover him in soft kisses, he stands little chance of being able to tell the other man how he feels. But he can try.

So much has happened in the past few days. I thought I'd feel better, after this. After things with Sunjata had culminated. But he's still wound up, he's still tense and frustrated and angry and gods if none of it matters when Remi surges forward. His eyes roll back and he's not really able to speak from there, whether through their bond or otherwise.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN

that's the thing about pain // it demands to be felt

You can't keep trying to right other people's wrongs. Remi thinks, and being in a much better position to be (silently) articulate, his thoughts are less strained than his husband's. Even so, he can't help the crimson blush that accompanies his thoughts as he continues to bob his head forward and back.

This tension..it's the price of your goodness. Ronin, unlike his husband, thoughtlessly onboarded the pain and poor choices of those he cared for, carrying around the burdens of others as if it might help. Gripping the back of Ronin's thighs and pulling the Huntsman toward him, Remi doubles down on his efforts. You have to let go, Ronin. There is nothing else to do.

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run away and take me with you

Ronin snarls - he can't help it. Pent up as he's already feeling, the fresh cuts to his ego, however gently delivered, are not something he can let go in silence. But it's difficult to lean into the anger as well, not with the pressure against the back of his thighs welcoming him further into his husband's mouth, not with all the love in the world wrapped about him. "Fuck," he grates out, wanting simultaneously to shove Remi away and pull him closer.

In the end he settles on nothing at all, and it feels like a very good idea when he succumbs to it. Is this letting go, Remi? "Don't stop," he mumbles, his fingers tightening in the other man's hair, his pulse racing as he feels the rise of his climax like a wave about to crest.

don't let go, i need your rescue
 

RONIN