sore heads

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"That sounds..." Remi imagines the heat and pain it would take to burn someone's fingerprints into wood and winces. "...very Safrin." He says quickly, not wanting to dwell on the subject. "I doubt Maeve needs any warnings about the repercussions of even an accidental discharge." Remi adds. Would that stop him from saying as much the next time he saw her? Unlikely.

Considering this question rather thoughtfully, Remi runs his tongue over his teeth again and again as he thinks. "Well..what if it was someone like Frey who had it built." He suggests. Sunjata had just been in Torchline, after all. "If you knock it down, perhaps the Eirachi will punish you for it by making Stormbreak eternally cold. Or worse, eternally hot." Built for neither climate, Remi thought the cold might be more bearable than sweltering heat with no water nearby to cool things off.

"Why does Maeve need your help anyway? She has her bow now and a dozen other things besides."

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the things we hold are always the first to go

"It does, doesn't it," he murmurs, and his smile almost seems fond, because they all have their vices in the face of the deities they serve. "And no - I have no doubt that she knows very well what will happen if she decides to use one of her arrows on me." Leaning up to nibble at Remi's earlobe, Ronin turns to finish the rest of his coffee, setting his mug down.

As for whether it was Frey who had built it, he wrinkles his nose. "Mm, well... Maeve only knows about it because of Safrin. And I assume she would know if it was Frey who was responsible?" He hopes, anyway. "And on that note, I figure she'd stop any consequences falling on Stormbreak."

But there isn't really a reason why Maeve can't deal with it, he supposes. She's certainly strong enough these days. Only... "I'm not sure I'm really the kind of person to say no when someone asks for help," he says hesitantly. They both know that, though.

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"Death." Remi whispers unironically with a nod. The context and colour of his emotions doesn't change, which is perhaps the most concerning part if only because it speaks to just how quickly he would turn on someone in favour of his husband.

"Oh yes, because it would not be like Safrin at all to try and ruin the plans of a god like Frey." Remi counters with a slight tilt of his head. 'If she could stop the consequences, why does she not do that for Torchline then? Maeve is just—" as under her thumb as you, Remi considers saying, but instead opts for: "—as loyal to Safrin as you."

Swallowing back some snarky retort, Remi pulls in a deep breath and turns his gaze towards the ceiling. "Gods, that is true, isn't it." He murmurs on the exhale, remembering (distantly) a time when the same could be said about him. 'I do have a bad feeling about this though. A shrine that no one knows where it came from? One of the deities expanding their reach?'

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the things we hold are always the first to go

"Death," Ronin agrees sweetly, because as different as they are in many respects, there's no part of him that loves his husband any less or wants to change him. And so, kissing the corner of Remi's mouth and slouching out from under his arm so he can lean against the counter and they can talk properly, he hides a wide yawn behind his hand.

"Mm, even if that were the case, it's not really my place to tell Safrin what she can and can't do. And I think you'll find that Ludo is more likely to go fucking with other gods than anyone else." Reaching out to snag Remi's good hand, the Huntsman affectionately lets his fingertips trace the lines on the other man's palm, like he could read them. (He can't).

Nodding cheerfully and drawing Remi's fingers up to his lips, Ronin leaves a few kisses there as if in apology. "Well, destroying the shrine would be a good way to stop the deity expanding their reach," he points out, shooting him a warm smile. "Regardless of anything else, if you don't want me to do it, then I won't. You know that, right?"

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Had Ronin's fingers not been so strangely hypnotic against his palm, Remi might have had any number of objections to offer. Instead, he was rendered silent, blinking against the almost too-gently touches and biting at the inside of his lip. Moaning out a soft sound of need as his fingers meet Ronin's lips, Remi swallows hard and debates remaining silent forever if only to coerce his husband into touching him more.

"I just...why not let them expand. We do it all the time." He murmurs in a far-away voice, still vaguely hypnotized by the lingering ghostly sensations.

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the things we hold are always the first to go

"That wasn't really an answer," Ronin points out, a smile curling across his lips as he takes Remi's hand properly and kisses his knuckles. "I'll go," he decides. "And if you really want to make sure that there is nothing nefarious going on, you are welcome to come with me. You have more experience with it, after all." Destroying shrines, that is.

Unable not to capitalise on the other man's apparently muddled thoughts, Ronin steps away from the counter now to slip his arms around his husband, holding him close. "You're adorable when you're twitterpated," he tells him, leaning in for a kiss that's as sweet and gentle as the touches delivered to his palm.

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Utterly transfixed the way maidens allegedly could restrain unicorns, Remi merely watches the slow motions of Ronin's hands against his own. "Mmm..no...I have angered enough gods already." Safrin, Frey, Ludo, Vi...he didn't need to invite a permanent frost into the Greatwood on the basis of a hunch.

Blinking as if having come out of a dark room into the sunlight, Remi slides his arms over Ronin's shoulders as the Huntsman nears. For all their talk of the ridiculousness of vanilla sex, the utter sweetness of this morning kiss might well suggest that they could make it work. "You are adorable when you are twitterpated." He whispers back, before helping himself to another of those long and slow kisses that feel more like a hug than like a mad thumb wrestle.

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the things we hold are always the first to go

"That is a very good point," Ronin admits. Remi doesn't need to add any more black marks to his name when it comes to gods. He's more than content to let the subject drop, sinking into gentle, loving touches and kisses warmed by the morning sunlight. "How lucky for us both, to be so cute," he says, his fingertips gliding the length of Remi's spine as his lips are stolen once more.

Humming out an indulgent sigh, even as Ronin draws back he's still not done, scattering a few more chaste kisses against Remi's lips and cheek before nestling into the side of the Lullaby's neck. "I love you," he mumbles. "A lot."

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

"If you come home with frostbite, Sugar will kill you." Remi warns softly, distracted by the contrast of stubble and soft lips. There are pins and needles in his fingertips and toes thanks to the sudden surge of blood from his extremities (I wonder where it could be going?), and the bite he feels as he wraps his arms around Ronin has him smiling crookedly into his husband's hair.

"And I love you." Splaying out his fingers in starburst patterns against Ronin's shoulders, it's only after the remaining dregs of their coffee have long gone cold that Remi suggests a shower to rinse off the residual alochol-sweat from the night before.

And for those wondering: no. Their shower sex is far from vanilla, but just as sweet.

~FIN

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