stories on the tips of our tongues

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

LongNight rarely sat well with anyone, but Ronin had more reasons than most to feel particularly cagey this time of year. So it was that Remi found himself alone in their houseboat as his husband did the things he felt he needed to in order to chase away the ghosts of LongNight's past. Having spoken about whether or not the Knight wanted to be present when the Bastion used the last of his magical keys for the year—next time, he'd said—it seemed the perfect opportunity to pluck at that particular string of magic and yet it left Remi feeling woefully unprepared.

There was no reason to tidy up the houseboat any more than it already was—he'd rather spent time with the witch rather than cleaning for her arrival—but still he felt as though there was more he should be doing. More he should have done.

With Oria on his shoulder tittering softly into his ear, Remi set about boiling a kettle. He'd let Vai actually make the tea, but at least he could have things ready for her. Turning to survey the room, the Bastion inhaled a touch shakily before closing his eyes and reaching into himself for the last remaining strand of gold.

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"Ciao, Remi." Vai's musical voice trills from somewhere distant at first, it seems, before the veil parts and the witch steps through into the houseboat, wrapped in the smell of juniper and rosemary and petrichor. With her dark hair as wild as it ever was and her eyes bright and clear, she brings the Greatwood out with her as if the ghost of it, too, resides in Mort's realm. With arms outstretched, whatever greeting the Bastion wants to give her may well end up muffled by her embrace, Vai clutching her son close and holding him tightly.

"I have missed you so much," she whispers, peppering his curls with kisses and squeezing him as if he's nothing more, still, than the boy she'd met in Northaven, rather than a carved statue of a man blessed by death himself. "Sit down, let me look at you properly-- oh, I do apologise. Who is this?" Beaming and drawing back just enough to peep at Oria, Vai holds out her pinky finger for the spriggan to shake.

and the sun
will rise

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Turning expectantly towards the sound of Vai's voice, there is already a sheen of tears that glisten across the Bastion's sea-glass stare as he sips in a shaky breath. Not wanting to interrupt however it was that this magic worked, Remi forced himself to wait until the witch had come all the way through before encircling her tightly in his arms and burying his nose into her curls. All but trembling with joy, Vai would hear several boyish grunts of disagreement when she tried to part from him, before finally releasing her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—" He mumbled, worried perhaps that he'd hurt her. "I've missed you more." Remi countered, laughing. Tumbling down from his shoulder the little spriggan reached out with root-thin fingers to shake Vai's hand pinky before crooning delightedly. "This is Oria. She was a gift from Mort, actually."

Glancing over his shoulder as the kettle began to whistle, Remi returned his stare toward the witch with an entirely lopsided smile on his lips. "Not to put you to work when you've just come back from the dead, but..." Sweeping his hands forward, he grinned. "I've wanted a cup of tea made by you for so long."

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"If you say so," Vai concedes, smiling to Oria as they are formally introduced, her free arm still clasping Remi against her like he's no larger than a child. "A pleasure to meet you," she trills to the spriggan, only to be interrupted by the whistle of the kettle. Raising her eyebrows at Remi in mock disapproval, Vai's laughter betrays her, and she nods and ushers him to sit down. "It would be an honour to make you tea," she assures him, stepping away to cease the kettle's screaming.

Despite never having actually been in the houseboat, Vai rattles around as if she's known the place all her life, and even sets up a tiny thimbleful of tea for Oria and a few crumbs of cake found in one of the cupboards. "I like this new set up of yours," she remarks to the Bastion over her shoulder, bringing cups and teapot and honey over to the table when it's ready, before plopping down to sit beside him.

"And you are looking very well, if I do say so." The shadows of murder have reduced from around his eyes, and he seems softer around the edges somehow - more like the alchemist of old. Pouring them both a cup of tea, Vai reaches out to squeeze his hand knowingly. "I'm happy for you."

and the sun
will rise

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Delighted by their newest arrival, Oria abandons her place on Remi's shoulder in favour of twining herself amidst the witch's curls. As a creature of death herself the tiny spriggan was not unfamiliar with returned spirits, but then, Vai always had a way with animals regardless.

"We flew it all the way down from the Cordillera." Remi replies conversationally as he leans against the back of the couch, watching Vai potter around his kitchen. "We lived there after the war while I was..." Had it been anyone else, he'd have said healing. But that this was Vai and that likely she could still spot a lie even from beyond the grave, he reconsidered. "..getting over myself."

Shifting to make room for Vai to sit, before immediately stretching an arm around her shoulders to tug her close, the Bastion nods. "I feel much better. The time away helped, but nothing quite like being taken under Mort's wing."

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"I knew you would eventually." Vai grins to Remi - get over himself, she means. Content with the spriggan in her hair and stirring a generous amount of honey into both of their cups, she slides the Bastion's across to him before relaxing into the arm around her shoulders. 

"I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than you," she says truthfully, leaning in to kiss his cheek. After all Remi has been through - killing her included - to see him no longer have to walk such a dark path is all she needs to feel at peace.

"How is everyone else?" she wants to know; Ronin, Flora, Mateo, not to mention the rest of their considerable extended family. The witch, of course, keeps her own vigils in Mort's halls - for Enzo and Aoife most notably - but of course Remi will already know all that.

and the sun
will rise

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Inhaling deeply, the Bastion casts his gaze thoughtfully up toward the ceiling. "LongNight is always hard on Ronin, but that aside, it has been a long while since I have seen him so happy." All Vi's doing, surely. "Although he is nearly always late for everything now." He adds with an affectionate roll of his eyes. "Flora seems to be doing well with being a queen, though I think her personal life is suffering for it. I brought Enzo back to see her, which...I am not sure how long that will be a good idea." Lifting his eyebrows in an expression of help, mom, Remi sighed.

"Mateo is doing well, though with everything happening in Stormbreak I think he feels a bit unmoored." As for their extended family? "Sunjata and Hotaru are back together and seem quite happy. He's taken over King's End."

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"Late? How unlike him." Vai chuckles. "Or rather, how very like he used to be." The Storm Guard of old was never exactly punctual until the weight of responsibility and new titles had been bestowed upon him, after all. (Granted, she has a feeling that the newly minted Knight is likely late for much better reasons these days).

Pleased, as well, to hear that Flora is flourishing, even if it comes with its own set of problems, the witch sighs and gazes thoughtfully down at her cup of tea as she considers it. "Perhaps it would be good to let her see others, not just Enzo," she says gently. "Remind her that it's a visit, not a permanent state. Otherwise..." And it's probably hard for Remi to hear too, and she gives his hand a warm squeeze. 

"Well, she'll realise it eventually. She'll be getting older, but Enzo will be staying the same age. I imagine that will hit hard."

As for Mateo, she can only nod to that, though she's understandably removed from the Plot world at large these days and its ongoing problems. "Oh, he has?" She says of Sunjata. "That's really good to hear. If you see him, tell him I said hello, okay?" Knowing very little of how things are between Bastion and Flood these days, whilst Vai would quite like to see Jata in person, she knows better than to push.

and the sun
will rise

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

"Always someone who needs help hanging a sign, or some kitten to save from a tree." Even though he's rolling his eyes, Remi can't help the affectionate smile that his cheeks dimpling.

"I'm not sure there's anyone she'd ever want to see other than him." Remi replies, perhaps not knowing his daughter well enough to know that might not be true. Perhaps a visit from a certain blue-eyed blonde would be just the thing to cure her troubled heart. Oh well.

"Then again, I can hardly say anything. There won't be a year that I'd miss bringing back Aoife." Glancing at one of the windows, the Bastion nodded vaguely outside. "Watching her see the ocean for the first time...gods, and there's still so many firsts we never got to experience with her." Could Remi really criticize Flora's want to see her twin again, no matter the age disparity and the way it would continue to break her heart, when he was guilty of exactly the same thing?

"Would you want to see him, if he wanted it...?" Even a few seasons ago the offer would have drawn a sneer of laughter from the Bastion's lips, but with time smoothing out the worst of his anger with the Flood—not to mention a broken nose to settle the score—it seemed absurdly selfish not to at least ask.

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"I know it doesn't change the sadness of what happened, but I hope it continues to be that way," Vai murmurs. If Enzo is the only one the Doubletake ever wants to see, it means she'll never have lost anyone else to miss them so badly in the first place. Sipping at her tea and squeezing his hand again as Aoife's name passes his lips, the witch sets her cup down and clasps Remi's fingers between both of hers. "She talks about both of you all the time," she whispers, as if unsure how much the Bastion would want to know about (arguably) his firstborn.

"And I tell her stories. About you and Ronin, and about everything else too." And when she says it like that, can she blame Flora either for wanting to maintain that connection, however difficult it might end up being? Sighing, Vai shakes her head. "Sometimes there's no right answer. As long as you're there to look after Flora when she needs it, though, I can't see the harm."

As for Sunjata, the witch smiles down at the table and nods gently, as if the admission is a secret one. "With the war ramping up I didn't see him very much at all before..." Well, before the unpleasantness that had led to her death, put it that way. "It would be good to see him, and make sure he's alright. We've all lost something to the past few years."

and the sun
will rise

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

"Yeah?" Setting down his tea as well, trading the warmth of the cup for the warmth of the witch's hands, for the first time in a good long while Remi is able to speak about his daughter without immediately being reduced to tears. Holding her in his arms again had been healing in a way he could have never imagined, and though she'd forever be too to understand the gift she'd given him, Remi would spend every moment he had with her making sure he knew just how fiercely she was loved. "I wish that things were different, but if things had to turn out the way they did, there's no one else I'd want to be with her."

Even Vanya, selfish as that was.

Nodding, gods how things changed, the Bastion sips in a deep breath wondering if he should write to the Flood or just go and see him. Maybe he'd even bring Ronin, and, if Hotaru was inclined to join, they could perhaps really try and put everything behind them.

"Is there anyone else you'd like me to pass a message along to?"

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"Yeah." Vai grins, before adding - because yes, Vanya is finally with them as well, "She's the happiest child in Mort's realm, I guarantee you that." With a plethora of friends and family to keep her smiling - and now the ability to come back and see her fathers on occasion - it's true that whilst Vai would never have wanted things to turn out this way... it's the best of a terrible situation, and they all know it.

As soon as the Bastion has set his tea down, of course Vai is reaching out to wrap her arms around him to hold him close, because there are at least a thousand hugs she owes him since she passed on. "Oh, tons," she says with a musical laugh. "But I can just write letters while I'm here, save you having to remember it all." For Flora and Mateo, for Sunjata and Ronin - and Remi, too, yes - and gods, so many others if she's given time to think about it.

But that can come later - for now she's here to visit her son, not to treat him as a messenger.

and the sun
will rise

REMI

the bastion

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Remi was content to let Vai treat him however she liked if it meant spending more time in her presence. Without the movement of the sun overhead to indicate just how much time had passed, the hours blended together in a wonderful golden blur that was only demarcated by the cooling of their tea, the burning down of the candles, or the rumbling of the Bastion's stomach as it neared dinner time.

When it finally came time for the witch to leave, Remi had to nearly pull Oria from her curls so attached was the little creature to her. With a lopsided smile, Remi buried his nose into the crook of Vai's neck, his arms twined lovingly around her. "Give Aoife a kiss for us, and Enzo." He whispered, And, because Ronin would never ask, Remi added: "And please make sure Vanya knows that Ronin had thought her put to rest long ago, and that when he found out Safrin had lied he very nearly flew himself to the stars to tear her down himself." Likely the seabird knew, but even so.

"I love you, and I'll see you again."

~FIN

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!