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Second Chances	By : SisterWine Category: X-men Comics > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 2272 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The X-Men are the sole property of Marvel Comics, Disney Corp., and 20th Century Fox. I do not own them at all. I make no money off of them, nor do I claim them as my own. Matthew and Stephanie are mine. Strictly entertainment only.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
2 days later-

Remy had taken to painting to work off his frustration of being put off from Logan and then attacked via brainwaves by Stephanie. So, he started with a wide brush and a pale of paint. Classic blue. He started on the aluminum siding over the garage. The trim he'd leave to paint white but since he was doing this at night, the siding with a dark colour was first. He had started at 10, after a late dinner, using slow even strokes. It took him two hours to small space, to the left and overtop of the garage and he still was not tired. He found himself humming a classic rock tune and enjoying the bright moonlight that slowly made its way across the sky. His small metal step ladder shook with almost every movement but he managed not to fall.

By the time he made it to the paneling between the garage and the front door, it was already 10 minutes shy of 1A.M. and Remy had no intention of stopping. At 1:15, he was nearing the mid-way mark down when he felt the eyes of someone watching him from his plush green lawn. In turning around, Remy cocked his head and sighed, unsurprised that it was Stephanie- not Logan- who watched him.

"You really are strange, you know? Do you do anything normal?" Stephanie stood there plainly, in short-sleeved, pastel green pajamas and white bunny slippers. Her hair was down, caping her slendre back in dark, rich red. She eyed him like he was mad, or not completely balanced.

Remy didn't respond and only turned back to his work.

Stephanie stepped closer. "Dad says I have to apologise to you."

Remy stopped. "Well--?" He didn't move, only stared at the painted panels and waited. His voice was devoid of emotion but he felt he owed her the knowledge of how upset he was.

Folding her arms as if feeling his discomfort, Stephanie shook her head slightly. "I don't think I will." She stared at his back, the was his long auburn ponytail slithered down it, stretching itself to his beltloops. Her eyes met the firm mounds behind his tight backpockets and stared long and hard, wondering about Remy's sexual wantings of her straight father. She had no problem with Remy being gay but she couldn't accept the way it had been handled.

Remy scoffed and went back to his work. As he bent down to refresh the paint on his bristles, he paused to reach for a cigarrette from his T-shirt pocket and place one between his lips. He looked back Stephanie, who was still standing on the lawn, watching him. He pulled out his Zippo and lit it as she stepped onto the front walk.

Unfolding her arms, Stephanie looked down at the extra brush that lay next to the paint. "Can I help?"

"Non."

"Why?"

Remy placed his lighter back into the front jeans pocket he had gotten it from and reached for his brush. "Because I don't want help."

"It goes faster with two people."

Growling his annoyance under his breath, Remy started his slow, even strokes back and forth on the panel that had only been half finished. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Nope. Monday."

Sighing, Remy continued to paint even after feeling her presence close in and seeing her paint beside him. She was only a teenager and couldn't possibly understand what he might have felt for anyone in his life. So, he breathed in and breathed out and continued painting along side her, in silence. There must have been a good hour of silence before he actually said something in terms of offering her a drink of fresh iced tea. He forced a smile as she accepted and quickly set down his brush to go inside and retrieve it. As he returned with a the green plastic tumbler of iced tea, he found her sitting on the front step, examining the small spot of blue paint on the side of her right hand.

Stephanie paused from her rubbing at the dried paint and accepted the glass of tea as Remy sat down beside her. He smelled so good with his faint scent of sweet cologne and sweat. She took a sip and was amazed at how good it tasted and how refreshing it was. She sighed and set the glass down beside her. She stared across the street at her own front porch and wondered what Remy thought about whenever he stared across the street. She was enjoying the silent, peaceful moment when Remy finally spoke up, as if knowing what was on her mind.

"Do you have a problem wit' me bein' gay, petite?"

Biting her tongue against her top lip, Stephanie sighed, long and deep, thinking about how to phrase her answer and not offend him. "Yes." Taking another sip of her tea, her mouth suddenly went dry. "Then again, it really isn't my business what kind of person you date."

"Non, it's not."

Stephanie held her glass tightly in her hands. She was feeling the weight of what she needed to say to the man who came to be not only her family's friend but her father's happiness. Glancing over at Remy, she admired his profile as his soft, fluid movements said nothing of the hurt and shame he now felt. "Since you've moved in, you haven't been the average neighbour. Perhaps, that's a good thing but my dad doesn't need to be toyed with like that."

Remy took another sip of his own glass of tea and nodded. He didn't want to say anything as he knew she needed to get her feelings off her chest. They sat in the dark as he didn't want the yard light on to attract unwanted attention, although being in the dark had already attracted the attention of someone he wished it hadn't. He waited for her to finish her thoughts or beat him up, either physically or with her new, acknowledged powers. Instead, he listened to the sound of his own soft breathing and her swallowing the regret of disliking the proverbial wall society had enforced about certain topics. As if needing the ice broken so he could breathe, Remy cleared his throat and said calmly under his breath, "I'm not trying to hurt him, or you, petite. He's your poppa an' you have every right ta be protective. But, your poppa is a grown man. He needs ta make up his own mind for what's best for him."

Quietly sipping her tea, Stephanie knew he was right.

"Your poppa gonna be mad you're out here in de middle of de night?"

Stephanie shrugged but didn't look at him. She instead looked up at her father's office window and saw that it wa on, meaning Logan also couldn't sleep and was finding his own odd way of entertaining his restless mind. Her mouth twitched and she bit her bottom lip in hesitation. "Did I hurt you?"

"Non."

She knew he was lying but didn't correct him.

With his free hand, Remy rubbed her back and whispered for her to go home and get some sleep. He was relieved when she agreed with a yawn and let him help her stand up. He didn't expect for them to be best friends again, or even felt he deserved a hug but she smiled sweetly and gave a wave as he returned the gesture and watched her walk home and inside her door.

~~~~~~~~

As the clock winded down to the end of his shift, Logan stared intently on the light left on in Remy's office. It was almost 10 o'clock and Remy was still at work. That didn't sound like him. Then again, Logan had lost count on the changes in Remy since he and Stephanie painted his house, after dark. The clock ticked closer to 10 and forced Logan to snap back to finishing his paperwork for the day before switching the watch over to the new and younger shift guard. Somehow, he couldn't write fast enough to get back to watching the monitor to see if Remy's light had gone off, or if he had simply forgotten to turn it off.

Geoff Gage, the week-new security guard, walked in promptly at 9:58 and placed his black lunch pail down on the metal chair, beside the door. "Good evening," he smiled.

Logan looked up from his monitor and nodded in acknowledgement. "Looks like you'll have a quiet night, tonight. Only a few people are still here." Signing his name, on his report, Logan placed the papers in the OUT basket and turned around to look at his replacement.

"That's cool. I need to catch up on my reading." Geoff held up a Sports Illustrated and smiled at the cover model.

Logan smiled back and stood up to stretch and gather his things before signing out and leaving. "It's all yours, kiddo. Have a good night!" He patted Geoff on the back and opened the door to leave. "Gonna check on the light in 212. I haven't seen his car all day but I'm sure he's still here."

"Alright." Signing and sitting down in the same chair Logan had gotten up from, Geoff started his beginning shift paperwork and quickly eyed the monitors in front of him.

Closing the door behind him and heading to the lifts to go up a floor, Logan wondered if Remy was all right or had simply fallen asleep at his desk from endless nights of working too hard. The ride up in the small car was no help in clearing his mind of the worst. Shrugging himself of the bad thoughts and forcing his mind to consider that possibly Remy had a deadline and was still hard at work to finish his own paperwork before leaving to go home to an empty house.

The doors opened and Logan stepped out and eagerly walked to Remy's closed office door and knocked twice. "Remy-?" He whispered it into the crack where the door met the frame and waited for an answer. After a moment, he knocked again and raised his voice to gain acknowledgement of the man inside. He waited half a minute more and then quietly opened the door to peer inside. The light was on and Remy was still there but not where Logan expected to find him. Opening the door wider and stepping in, he closed the door behind him and looked around the room for the young Cajun. Smiling, he found Remy laying on his side, facing the back of the black leather sofa he lay on, and breathing evenly.

Remy had fallen asleep, in his office, after days and nights of running on nothing but fumes and small cartons of Thai takeaway. His suit jacket hung on the hook by the door and his shined maroon loafers sat neatly under it. Thought his black silk shirt made him shiver when the air conditioner kicked on, his skin underneath was warm to the touch. His black suitpants added little warmth to him but couldn't keep him from shivering uncontrollably. Remy slept with his right arm as a pillow and his left huddled closely to his chest. His legs curled so that his feet didn't hang off the end of the sofa but rather confined him from stretching out, over the plush arms.

Logan knelt down beside the sofa and looked closer at the boss' son. He noticed that, eventhough Remy was already pale, the young man had paled even more to the point of sickness. Raising a hand to place it on Remy's still left arm, Logan shook him gently and whispered the Cajun's name, "Rem-?"

Waking at the touch and the sound of someone's voice, Remy turned and opened his eyes to see a familiar blur staring back at him. "Hn? What time is it?"

"Little past 10. You alright?"

Remy turned more and sat up as Logan stood up and stepped back. "Fine. Just tired."

Logan nodded. "You look like Matt's turtle after baking under the sun lamps too long. C'mon, I'll take ya to get somethin' to eat." He watched as Remy rubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath as he stretched before he pushed himself to stand up. "Bring yer car, today?"

"Non, poppa brought me." In standing up, Remy lost his balance and promptly sat back down on the sofa, hands cupping his head. "What's de idea of pushin me?"

Raising an eyebrow at Remy's falter, Logan voiced his concern, "take your meds today?"

"Non."

"Why not?"

"Didn't feel like it. And, dey're at home."

"Good place for 'em." Logan helped Remy up and guided him, by the arm, to the office door and opened it, leading the younger boss out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Logan sat across from Remy in a bright, somewhat vacant dining area of a fast food place and watched him devour a double decker hamburger with a few strands of shoestring fries in between. "Been that busy that you had to cut out sleep AND eating, have ya?" Sipping on a root beer, he watched Remy thin finger pick up a few more strings of fries and bring them to his soft, pink lips.

Remy shrugged and chewed the bite of burger in his mouth before shoving in the fries and chewing. He swallowed and covered a yawn as he reached for his own soda to wash down the meal with. "Been too busy for anyt'ing, mainly."

"I see that." Logan raised an eyebrow and watched as Remy finished off his hamburger by shoving the good-sized but not too big bite into his mouth. "Steph says you two have most of the house painted, already."

A nod.

"And then what?"

Shrugging again, Remy really had no plans of doing much else to the house or the car that he washed twice this week. "I'll think of something, eh." A nonchalant wink and another hidden yawn.

Logan chuckled quietly. "I think you'd better work on catchin up on your sleep, first." Logan grabbed his drink in one hand and the tray in another and started to stand up. "Done?"

Another yawn as Remy nodded and stood up, placing his mostly empty soda cup on the tray. He thanked Logan for the food and followed the security guard to the rubbish bin, that sat next to the door.

"Don't mention it, Gumbo." During the drive home, Logan couldn't help but glance over at Remy dozing in the passenger seat next to him. His mind wondered why Remy was spending so much time staying awake than getting sleep. Remy had mentioned that he didn't feel safe when he was alone but as Logan clearly saw, sleep was winning when Remy was at least with someone or safe in his office. He thought about a solution as they turned the corner onto their street.

Logan pulled into the driveway and parked the car, shut off the engine and looked over at Remy, who was sound asleep. He waited a moment and took in the young man's profile and structure as the moonlight poured through the tinted window. Remy's head was turned towards the window and his hands rested in his lap. Soft, even breaths punched at Logan to make him feel bad for having to wake Remy. Raising a gentle hand to reach over and shake a thin shoulder, Logan spoke softly, "hey, Remy--? We're home."

Inhale and a breath out, Remy opened his eyes and turned to see Logan smiling at him. It took him a solid two minutes before realising where he was and opening the door. "Merci, Logan." A big yawn and a stretched once he stood in the driveway. "See you tomorrow, non?" He shut the car door and started walking to the end of the driveway when Logan got out of his side and shut the door.

"Hey, you wanna-- stay here, tonight?" Logan's expression was that of concern for his friend.

Remy paused and hid a smile before turning back to face Logan. "Non. Got some things ta do, 'fore I turn in."

"You sure?"

"Oui. Night." With a small wave, Remy continued across the street and tried not to stumble as he collected his mail from the postbox, unlocked his door and went inside.

Continued.
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Second Chances