[se] blue moons

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

"Mm, I hear it now," Ronin confirms with a smile, his voice only quiet as if he's worried that if they speak too loudly they will disturb the music and cause it to disappear entirely. He raises his eyebrows to hear the other man's confession, his laughter echoing softly around the snowy clearing. "Is that so? Gods, me too. What a happy coincidence," he murmurs.

If only he hadn't ruined everything with the flavour of the ice cream he'd chosen to surprise his husband with, out on a floating cloud with will-o-wisps bribed into jars. Understandably, Ronin thinks, his smile falters a bit, as if he's not sure whether Remi is serious. "I can try and get you a different flavour on the way home?" he tries.

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Gasp "What a happy coincidence indeed. Or perhaps a disadvantage when you think about it...it did take us a few years to figure things out." Said with as much melancholy as love, Remi gives his head a small shake as memories made into stormclouds threaten to darken his thoughts. Sighing them forcefully away, Remi pulls Ronin closer as tears pass by the backs of his eyes like lazy rivers. "I love you."

Laughing, the alchemist shakes his head, completely at odds with his husband's disappointment. "I meant for you to be the flavouring. I am sure butterscotch will taste far better if it has been on your lips first."

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

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

"The best things are worth waiting for," Ronin says easily, willing and able to be the light to keep Remi's thoughts from sinking too far into the darkness. "You were worth waiting for." Tugged closer, he shifts away from their imaginary dance pose to wrap his arms around the Lullaby properly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "I love you too," he whispers, kissing him again and drawing back only reluctantly.

The laughter does everything and more to lift his mood back from potential disappointment (as always, they pull each other up), and Ronin's shoulders relax. "Well, there's only one way to find out," he says, grinning and starting to lead them over to the nimbus at last. It drifts lower for them to hop aboard, Ronin holding out an arm for his partner expectantly.

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Gods but the Lullaby could be a melancholy stick in the mud, now couldn't he? Laughing to himself, Remi sighs into the space between them. "You always go and say things like that and I feel so incredibly undeserving of you." He mumbles, vaguely gesturing at one of the jars of will o' wisps with a hand. "You did all this, and here I am bringing up bad memories and complaining about the ice cream."

Sliding onto the nimbus next to Ronin, the alchemist sighs against the Huntsman. "You know, I--" As the nimbus rises, Remi falls silent as the abstract pattern of footprints suddenly begins to look very suggestive in the moonlight. "....Ronin." He scolds playfully, turning and, quite without realizing he was doing it until one of his hands was reaching for Ronin's cheek, Remi draws them together as if to acquaint himself with the virgin palette of Ronin's lips before it was sullied by the icecream.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

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

"Well I certainly don't mean to make you feel undeserving of me," Ronin says, playfully furrowing his brow. "What if I insult your dress sense or tell you that your last gin experiment was a disaster?" It wasn't, and he loves the Lullaby's eclectic fashion, but if it will help Remi feel like the playing field is more even, so be it. Sinking against him in turn, Ronin nuzzles against Remi's curls and grabs up the ice cream to offer him a spoon.

Which is right when the nimbus rises and his artwork comes to life, naturally. "Remi," Ronin hisses back with a cheeky smile, looking at the alchemist rather than the snow, which of course means he doesn't entirely know why he's being kissed, but he doesn't care either. "Mm...oh," he mumbles as they drift properly over his snowscape. "Well what did you expect me to do?"

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Remi's jaw instantly drops; not because he cares at all about the critique of his fashion sense (of which he has none), but to comment on his gin? To call it a disaster? "Chi crede di essere quest'uomo? Insultare il mio gin in quel modo. Solo perché ha una nuvola e un bel sorriso, pensa di poterla fare franca dicendo tutto ciò che vuole." Remi fingers seem to move as much as his lips do, gesturing his meaning like some companion-guide for the travelling tongue. Clucking under his tongue at the conclusion of his tirade, he says: "My gin is very good."

Ronin tastes like mischief and home in a way Remi doesn't think any ice cream flavour could top (especially not butterscotch), but gods if he isn't craving more. "Well, if anything I am impressed you were able to dance and not have me notice what you were doing with your feet. Perhaps I am not the only one with illusion magic anymore." Remi suggests with a raise of his eyebrows.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

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

Music spills from Remi's tongue and beneath his scarf Ronin manages to look boyishly thrilled by it, his cheeks round and his blue eyes bright as he listens to the beautiful tirade. Tugging the scarf down properly and leaning in to press a cold nose against Remi's cheek when he's done, he nods his wholehearted agreement. "Your gin is very good," he agrees through a kiss to the very same place.

Abandoning the ice cream - they're in the snow and it's not like it will melt - in lieu of his husband, Ronin is busy trying to wrangle Remi half into his lap already, seeming smug and happy at his frosty footwork. "No illusions," he assures Remi. "Just a man commanding a storm." Get it? Do you get it, Remi? It's a snowstorm, Remi.

And if that doesn't win his husband over, Ronin leans in for another kiss just in case.

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Pressing his tongue against his teeth and looking bothered and befuddled, colour has risen again to Remi's cheeks as he falls silent and allows him to be kissed uttering a low hrrrmmph. Tucking one leg around Ronin's waist but still seated on the cloud, the alchemist raises his chin like some disgruntled lion who requires more fuss in order to remain docile.

More fuss comes of course in the form of a pun that has Remi giving his husband a deadpan stare, unsure if the play on words was intentional or not. Given the glint in Ronin's eyes and the hasty kiss following his words Remi is forced to conclude that oh yes, it absolutely was intentional. Sounds like a man who is also a seasonal diety to me. The alchemist whispers wickedly into Ronin's mind as his hands grow needy and appreciative of his husband's efforts thus far on their date, but especially the pun.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

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

More than happy to do anything necessary to keep his disgruntled lion-husband docile, it's no surprise that as they continue to drift lazily over the improvised snow ballroom, Ronin is trying to draw Remi properly onto his lap. With his tongue writing lovesongs in generous arcs against Remi's, he does manage a gentle laugh through their bond. Guilty as charged, he says, as if this is some hard won admission.

I promise I'm not as chilly as the season, though he adds, already trying to guide Remi's hand inside his coat and beneath his shirt, where the alchemist will find that he's very toasty indeed.

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Finally persuaded, Remi shifts to be entirely in Ronin's lap. Wrapping his legs around the Huntsman (sipping in a quick shivery breath at the sudden friction between them as he settles down), Remi plunges one hand into Ronin's hair as the other is guided around the Huntsman's many layers until it finally reaches his skin. Flaying his fingers and moaning softly against the bright influx of emotions, Remi closes his eyes as the tactile sensations of his fingertips change the illusory music around them as if this was a dream rather than reality. Ocean waves and songbirds provide their own chorus, nearly drowning out their wedding music as Remi's mind is tugged relentlessly between the here and now and the prismatic spread of Ronin's emotions.

Tightening his fingers in Ronin's hair and with his forehead pressed against his husband's, one might think the alchemist was in some sort of pain for how tightly his eyes were squeezed shut and how tense his expression had become. Ronin would know the truth of it though, for the current of arousal that always came when the pair were like this was only challenged by the disorienting combination of warm skin and cool winds.

Sighing out a shivery breath, Remi smiles slightly. "I like this." He whispers softly, utterly lacking the words to describe just how complicated and perfect the moment suddenly seemed to him.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

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

The press of their bodies together always feels more than, somehow, like it's the first time they've managed to get this close to one another, like it's been years all over again to get to this point. And so of course Ronin welcomes it, his back arching beneath Remi's touch, his own busy fingers working beneath his husband's clothes. Able to hear the birdsong and the waves mingling with the chime and sway of music, Ronin's emotions soar and hiccup all over again, painting his thoughts golden.

"I'm glad," he whispers back to Remi, his eyes blinking open if for no other reason than so he can aim the kiss he carefully presses against his partner's lips. "I like this too. It would be better if we were naked, though, don't you think?" Grinning and brushing his nose against Remi's, Ronin draws back enough so that he can enjoy the exquisite frustration on the other man's face.

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Light spills from the Huntsman both literally and emotionally, and though Remi's eyes are closed, still his eyelashes flutter. "I wish I had—" Cut off by the press of Ronin's lips, the alchemist inhales a long breath through his nose, fighting against the urge to lean hastily and roughly into the kiss. Instead he forces himself to savour the lightness of it, the vastness that somehow lingered in the relative insignificance of the gesture. They had been together for years now, had done all sorts of cruel and wonderful things to one another, and had had each other in ways that most could only dream of (they'd had each other in dreams, too), and yet...

—filled with pins and needles, chilly and hot, Remi opens his eyes and smiles. "It really is only you." He whispers softly, the sexual tension that had previously warped his expression into something needy and desperate had now melted into something radiant and patient.

Even so, he absolutely agreed being naked was a good idea.

Reaching softly for the collar of Ronin's jacket, the alchemist will begin to slide it from his husband's shoulders with all the gentle intentionality of someone removing clothing from a badly wounded body. His fingers trickle down Ronin's biceps almost teasingly as he tugs the sleeves down to the Huntsman's wrists, leaving them bunched up there to keep Ronin temporarily bound with his arms at his sides. Smiling sweetly, Remi leans forward to place an obnoxiously chaste kiss against the Huntsman's jawline.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

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

Quietly proud that he's been able to cut off Remi's wistful could-have-beens with soft kisses, Ronin is already smiling as his counterpart draws back, his arms comfortably looped around his waist so his fingers can imitate warm starbursts against his lower back. "For as long as you'll have me," he agrees, riding the words out through a whisper. "It's always you, for me." Regardless of time and distance, trauma and challenge, it's always Remi.

Rolling his shoulders as if to assist Remi with the removal of his shirt (and the trapping of his hands and wrists, as it happens), a laugh rumbles through Ronin's chest and one eye closes to welcome the graze of stubble against his cheek as much as the kiss against his jawline. "You are lucky I am some weird seasonal deity," he teases, "because otherwise I might get pretty chilly like this. Though I'm sure I can count on you to warm me up?"

RONIN

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Remi's fingers continue to work their way across Ronin's body, peeling away layers to reveal what was beneath with all the stiff hesitation of someone doing it for the first time. He found himself holding his breath as his fingers trembled, fumbling over familiar buttons and clasps and tugging at his own clothes with a haste wildly at odds with the painstaking care he'd shown to his husband.

Tracing his fingertips down Ronin's various scars, the alchemist smiles boyishly and he gives his head a small shake. "We can both be made of fire when we are so inclined." He says in a low voice, leaning over the Huntsman to blanket him with his body. Leaning down to press his lips against Ronin's, Remi's body briefly becomes engulfed in flames as if to prove precisely this point.

Quite what sort of phenomenon one would call a cloud made of fire Remi doesn't know, nor is King's End likely to ever see again. For tonight though, one streaks across the sky revealing the occasional tangle of limbs.

All hail the glow cloud.

~FIN

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)