[SE] if you can

you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones

Remi and Ronin Taliesin are two grown ass men, both demigods, and have seen more war and death than most might dread hope for in their lifetimes.

And they are currently embroiled in a very heated game of hide-and-seek.

What had started out as curiosity - Ronin has never seen the Levinsward and its strange, electricity-charged air or its constant purr of thunder - has turned into a childish game, and the Nova is convinced he'll be able to find his husband in the long, dry grass just by catching his curls standing on end from the static.

"Ready or not, here I come!" he announces, as is the agreed rule, before he prowls away through the lightning fields. Ronin has never heard of Stephen King, but the yellow grasses and brooding, dark clouds overhead would remind him of one of the author's novels, if he had.

RONIN

Though the pair have played kiss-chase and have hidden from one another when the coffee has been left to burn or the last of the toilet paper has been used without replacing it, it had been a long time indeed since both elements had been combined in this way.

With the rumbling of the clouds overhead interrupting his thoughts, Remi had been given to the count of 100 to hide. Either Ronin had rushed the countdown (he'd have to ask his husband later if he even knew how to count that high), or time was strange here, but either way, the Bastion really hadn't found a good place to hide himself away, or even a good shift to do it in.  When he heard Ronin getting to 15, Remi had panicked and done something quite stupid: he'd shifted, and taken to the air.

In his mind, Ronin would be looking for him on the ground, amidst the tall grasses and lightning-blackened earth, not in the sky. He'd all but forgotten how lightning tended to work, though.

the bastion

you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones

Granted, it might have been a stupid idea, but Ronin is apparently in a stupid sort of season mood, and he's absolutely assuming his husband will be hunkered down behind a shrub, or hiding in the grasses ready to burst out at any moment. And thus his eyes are not even close to being on the sky as he prowls forward, parting the grasses and narrowing his eyes as he peeps through, trying to find a hint of green eyes or angel curls.

Finding nothing, it's with a soft huff that he straightens up to regroup - only to have to leap out of the way of a bolt of lightning that cracks at the ground not ten feet away. "Fuck," he blurts, barking out a laugh that's entirely due to adrenaline and nerves. Then, of course, he's sharply looking around again - because if he'd jumped out of his skin, maybe Remi had done as well.

RONIN

If Remi still had the ability to duplicate himself, he might really have been able to win the game, but alas, he'd gone with quick but not terribly clever thinking. A smear of flaming red against the angry clouds, the Bastion found himself needing to flap his wings far more often than he was used to in order to keep his little body aloft. Indeed, it was pure luck that had the lightning missing him, though in typical this sign can't hurt me because I can't read immortal fashion, Remi merely gaped for a moment at the brief column of white before letting his eyes readjust.

What's that? Giving up already? Remi laughs into his husband's mind as he continues to flit against the clouds.

the bastion

you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones

That's very rude. I was almost barbecued, Ronin informs his husband, hoping that Remi had been close enough to be aware of that much, if for no other reason than it will make hide-and-seek that much easier on him. Alas, he still doesn't look up, assuming that the Bastion is hiding away in the undergrowth somewhere; indeed, it's only as he searches the area further that it occurs to him that the other man might not actually be man-shaped.

Did you fucking shift? He laughs, finally straightening up to look around properly. With a hand shading his eyes from the (hopefully not) storm raging overhead, he finally looks both at the grasses and up to the dark clouds, furrowing his brow. I don'tt even know what shifts you have now! I'd say this was cheating.

RONIN

Sorry, I must have misheard you. It almost sounded as if you were asking for a hint just then. Remi thinks back, and though he has a beak just now, his thoughts have been shaped around a smile.

Maybe I can become mist. Or maybe I have become a small flower. You know, like the sort you always see tossed near graves. He suggests (un)helpfully, flitting here and there through the heavily-charged air.

Had Remi been in a body he was more familiar with, perhaps he might have been more aware of how the pressure was changing around him. Alas, with thin bones and a body that could be held in someone's palm, the firebird was far too small to but more than distantly aware of the tension building around him.

At least until a bolt of lightning snarled through the air, moving through his tiny body with ease on its way to the ground. Pain and heat filled the Bastion's mind such that it blotted everything else out: the game, staying airborne, breathing.

Like a tiny meteor, Remi fell toward the ground as his body and mind were caught in a hard-restart. Though he was distantly aware of hitting the ground, because of how little he weighed he struck the earth without much more than a muffled whooomph which was likely covered up by the purr of thunder which followed the lightning strike.

the bastion

you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones

If you had become a flower I would have found you by now, Ronin protests. You wouldn't be able to resist sneaking out a root or a vine to trip me up. Oho, or maybe you can become lightning? That certainly would be a surprise, but at the same time it does seem very typical of his husband to wait until they are in the fucking Levinsward before letting that little secret surface.

Of course, then Remi goes and spoils it all by doing something stupid like being struck by lightning, ruining the Nova's theory completely.

It's a good thing that Ronin is looking up at this point, because he watches the telltale zap of something in the near distance and, coupled with the sudden pain that floods the Attuned bond, manages to put two and two together. "Oh, fuck--"

Breaking into a sprint and caging his panic behind his teeth, Ronin knows that something like this won't permanently kill his husband, but gods if he won't feel the pain of loss regardless. Skidding in the dirt and just about spotting the little red bird, he drops to his knees and hisses in a breath. "Hey, I'm here," he murmurs. "Don't move, okay?" Already light is beginning to ignite within his chest, the supernova roaring out of him only a second later. And while he can't attack the storms directly, he still considers them an enemy.

RONIN

REMI

the lullaby

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

Are you saying that I am not capable of restraint? He wasn't, in most instances, but that didn't mean Remi was just going to take the comment.

Pain flutters through his small body, the strength of which somehow befitting a much larger frame than the one he currently found himself in. Something about that was unfair, and while maybe he'd complain about it later, in the meantime the little bird could only chirp weakly. I think I have just been struck by lightning. Of course I am not going to move.

Healing falls upon him like rain, shifting the scales of pain from his eyes and lightening the weight in his bones. With a little effort, the Bastion allowed himself to shift, and in so doing the remaining pain was given space to spread out and finally dissipate. "Fuck,' Remi complained, wincing as he tried to move one of his shoulders off the ground. "Who knew flying during a storm could be such a bad idea?"

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones

"You say that as if you haven't tried to walk off a thousand worse injuries," Ronin snips, raising his eyebrows at his husband and reaching out to shield the small bird from the blinding light of his supernova.

Once the glare dies down and Remi manages to shift back, of course Ronin wastes no time in gently manoeuvring the other man into his lap, brushing a thumb affectionately across his cheek. "Gosh, I don't know," he drawls, allowing a smile now that he knows his husband is well enough to swear if nothing else.

"I hate to say this," he adds, leaning in to kiss Remi's forehead, "but this also means I found you. And I win." Listen, a little thing like being struck by lightning isn't enough to end their game of hide-and-seek.

RONIN

REMI

the lullaby

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

Listen, The Bastion implores, though offers no follow up argument. Ronin was right of course, hence the silence, but Remi didn't need to explicitly say so.

Happy to play the wounded victim if it entails cuddles and other affections, Remi adjusts slightly to better peer up at his husband. "MMmm, me neither, apparently." He mumbles with a small shrug. "Feels like I was hit by a few of your starbolts, so you know, not too bad." Chuckling to himself, he raises his chin to accept the smooch before bristling.

"you did not find me. You watched me fall out of the sky because you are not blind. That is not the same." Remi argues sulkily, before once again falling into the sort of silence that meant fine, you win.

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones

"Is that so? Maybe I should hit you with a few of them right now, since the memory will be fresh in your mind. You can compare," Ronin drawls, though the threat in his words is absolutely ruined by his continued affections. Combing a few errand curls out of Remi's eyes, he can only grin at the other man's sulkiness, cocking his head to one side. "If I hadn't seen you, you'd have been furious," he points out. "So it's a good thing that I did."

And given that there's no further argument, Ronin is inclined to say that it counts. So, like any good victor, he scoops the Bastion into his arms and clambers to his feet with an ease that would have a regular man scratching his head in confusion. "Well, since you're the injured party, it only seems right that I carry you back to civilisation and buy you dinner. What do you think?"

RONIN

REMI

the lullaby

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

"I would love to see you try." Eyes widening in encouragement, it's with a crooked smile that he sighs slowly. "Alright, I admit that was a bit foolish." It was difficult to remember to be cautious when you were 1. immortal and, 2. competitive.

Tilting his head into Ronin's ministrations, the Bastion adjusts his hips as an uncomfortable ache sets in before nodding. "Worse, imagine if you had stepped on me." Remi likely would have allowed it too, if only to hold it over Ronin's head.

Indeed, one might have thought Remi no more than an apparition bound by clothing given the ease Ronin was able to lift him, but of course there was no one around to see given just how dangerous the Levinsward presently was.

Except two idiots finishing up their game of tag.

"I would say, as a very gracious loser and injured party, that sounds entirely appropriate."

~FIN

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!