icarian carrion

but that was then, and this is now

Not quite able to look directly at Finn or even properly face him for fear of looking too relieved or somehow satisfied, instead Remi let his eyes trace Ronin's silhouette as he listened to his counterpart rummage for paper.

"Did Sohalia distribute the face of the woman I met?" Aka Ever's leading lady, aka Stormbreak's new queen. "Sunjata was meant to try and have her come to the Refuge to see if her abilities would work within. But that is the last I have heard. When I met her on the island she said something about how they had not told her—" Clearing his throat, Remi shook his head. That Dahlia had called him handsome seemed suddenly a wildly inappropriate thing to mention, for reasons he couldn't properly let himself think about in Finn's presence or Ronin's vicinity just now.

"—which makes me think she is not alone here." He concludes, now rubbing at his palm with the fingers of the other hand and wondering why he hadn't just sent the Spyglass a letter.

the lullaby

Table by the wonderful SKY

i felt powerful i felt powerful ifeltpowerfulifelt—

"She did, yes," Finn murmurs, already writing in quick, even strokes on his paper the pertinent parts of Remi's explanation. Whether his sudden calm and focus are a blessing or a curse to the Lullaby isn't something the ex-Spyglass can properly articulate, either. Humming under his breath and jotting the last of Remi's information down, Finn sits back to let the ink dry.

"I will go to King's End first, then, and speak with Sunjata," he decides. "If I sight anything unusual in the meantime, I will send you the details. Otherwise I will update you once I have completed my visit. Does that work for you?" Remi had been the one to bring this to him, and thus Finn (intentionally or otherwise) hands him the role of Cian when it comes to reporting back.

FINN

but that was then, and this is now

Finding the words that bubbled instantly onto his tongue as unpalatable as they were impossible not to say, Remi pinched at the webbing between his fingers with force enough to have otherwise broken a bone. "Do you want me to come with you? I can fly you there faster and—" Gods, why was it so hard to say? Why did it feel so wrong? "—keep you safe?"

Instead of looking at Finn, Remi stared only at the skin of his hand made white by the pressure of his fingers. "I do not want to put you in danger, Finn." The words spill out like water, sounding pitifully genuine. Looking over his shoulder somewhat remorsefully at the Spyglass, Remi lifted his shoulder in a well-meaning shrug. "Truly, Finn. If I could think of any other way.."

the lullaby

Table by the wonderful SKY

i felt powerful i felt powerful ifeltpowerfulifelt—

Finn's lips part to say something - and truthfully even he doesn't know what, leaving him breathless in the silence that stretches its fingers after Remi's words. "That will not be necessary," he assures him eventually, as warmly as he can. "It is what we have skyports for, after all. And you must be busy anyway." And if you couldn't keep yourself safe against this Dahlia person, how do you plan to do the same for me?

Folding his paper to mark it as The Note rather than his sheet music, Finn is already reaching for his folio to carefully put everything away. "Danger is coming whether we like it or not. You said as much." He smiles. "Besides, if I did not help when I knew that I could, I would never forgive myself." And here, gods, perhaps it's the most telling evidence of Finn's health - the health he's soon to sacrifice for all of this.

"If you do think of another way before I have to do this, though, please do tell me."

FINN

but that was then, and this is now

Remi doesn't argue, despite the feathering of his jaw which suggests he might like to. Where Finn was concerned, there was a spider-silk thin line between what was appropriate and what would send the two careening off a cliff into a wine dark sea of their own making.

Wanting to wipe Finn's smile away—with his hands or his mouth, he didn't know—the Lullaby exhaled and nodded. Though he'd felt quite capable earlier of having this conversation with Finn, already he could sense it slipping through his fingers. It of course being whatever mirror-shard of insanity that seemed to exist between the two.

"I will." Remi agreed, standing up abruptly and flexing his fingers slightly at his sides. "If you change your mind, let me know." About going. About going alone. About anything.

the lullaby

Table by the wonderful SKY

RONIN

the supernova

light is easy to love.

And so that's that.

Ronin has been staring at something vastly unimportant out of the window (he's been imagining what it would be like if the Spyglass was to direct its potent magnification down at the people of Stormbreak, and if it would fry them like ants) when he senses, as much as he's able to sense anything at all, that the conversation between Finn and Remi is winding down.

And it's selfishness as much as it's a quiet knowledge that things will become unhealthy if the two are left to converse any longer that he sidles up beside his husband, fingers twining through his own. Murmuring a goodbye to Finn with as much politeness as he can muster, Ronin swiftly ushers them back down the steps to the main doors of the observatory.

"I believe that was probably the most boring conversation you have ever had with Finn," he remarks softly.

show me your darkness.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

but that was then, and this is now

Knowing better than trying to hide his feelings from Ronin, not with the Nova's hand in his, it's with a tight smile that tightens his fingers around his husband's. "Sorry." He murmurs as they move toward the stairs, and though Remi is somewhat inclined to look back at Finn, instead he drops his eyes to the stairs. Sorry you had to step in. Sorry that took so long. Sorry we ever got out of bed this morning.

"Mmm." Remi agrees tonelessly, only really taking a full breath once they're properly out of the observatory. Spreading his wings once again to force anyone around them to give them a wide berth, Remi places one hand on Ronin's cheek to draw the Nova's lips against his. It's a kiss that's as chaste as it is sweet, one that seeks to erase thoughts of sheets of music and leather cases.

I love you so much. Remi thinks, pulling back only enough that when he inhales, there's nothing but Ronin in it.

the lullaby

Table by the wonderful SKY

RONIN

the supernova

light is easy to love.

"Me too." Sorry, Ronin means. Not necessarily for his actions in the Spyglass, but for the way he's been since they arrived at Stormbreak in general. As they step back out into the Leafchange chill, Ronin is left blinking at the sudden light, which makes Remi's kiss all the sweeter for the surprise of it. Melting instantly into the press of the Lullaby's lips, his arms slip reverently around the other man, pulling him close.

"Take me to the White Hart," he murmurs. "I want some bottles of wine and a room, and you." Which is better than take me home I hate it here, which is where Ronin had been only a few moments before Remi's kiss breathed some life back into him.

show me your darkness.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

but that was then, and this is now

Grinning, Remi tries to conceal his excitement by raising his eyebrows curiously. "Some bottles, is it?" Knowing that now was not the time for boyish feelings of twitterpated romance, still, Remi couldn't quite help the butterflies that lifted off inside his belly. He would adore the Nova in times of trauma as much as times of joy, and if a bed, bottle service, and his body were what Ronin wanted, who was he to deny him?

"I can do that." Extending his wings a touch further, Remi pulled the Nova toward the Hart using his own body to breach the traffic flowing against him. If shadows swept up from the street corners to cover them both in darkness, all the better for the disparaging looks it caused from those around them.

~FIN

the lullaby

Table by the wonderful SKY