Ennui de Famille - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Paws
Last updated: 01/26/2007 02:19:59 AM

Chapter 4

Then it had all slammed into him. What the fuck was he thinking? He’d never fit in with this family. They’d never be able to accept him when they knew what he’d done – how he’d lived, the person he was. These guys had spent their entire lives in luxury. He doubted they even had imagined stuff that he found ‘normal’.

He felt panicked and did the only thing he could think of. Leave.

Jean-Luc put his arm across the door way though, preventing his escape unless he wanted to confront him physically, which he didn’t.

“What are y’ talkin’ about? If y’ don’t like d’ room, I can get y’ another easy enough…”

His uncle seemed to be at a loss for words. Not that Remy could blame him. But he couldn’t understand. How could he?

“Remy’s just got t’ go.” He knew he was repeating himself. His heart was hammering in his throat and he considered just turning and going out the window behind him…he knew that there was an easy way down the wall after all.

He was stalled though when Jean-Luc moved his hand from the door frame to his shoulder. “Remy, what’s d’ matter? Y’ were fine up until a minute ago. Is it somethin’ dat I did?”

The warm hand clasping his shoulder he knew was meant as a kind gesture, but it made him wanted to shove him away all the harder. He couldn’t bear to have that kindness turn to rejection. Dieu – why had he agreed to come here?

“Remy’s not your kind of person. All dis – it’s just crazy.” He waved one arm around the room. “Remy’s no Cinderella.”

Jean-Luc actually laughed at that, though he hadn’t meant it to be funny. He sobered quickly though, squeezing him tighter on the shoulder.

“Y’re family Remy. Nothin’ else matters.”

Remy turned his face away, focusing for a moment on a painting as he struggled for control over his face.

“Non, its you dat doesn’t understand. Y’ have no idea who Remy is, what he’s like.” Remy gestured out the door with one hand. “It’s y’all dat are family. Remy’s got no part in bein’ here. Dis was a mistake. Merci for bein’ so nice an’ all, but dis isn’t where Remy belongs.”

The pain on Jean-Luc’s face stopped him when he would have slipped by. He didn’t want to hurt the man. But it was better to get this over with, rather than have it all teased out only to come out in the open later to hit him upside the head. The words that his uncle spoke weren’t at all what he expected though.

“Je suis desole, Remy. Dis was all my fault.” His uncle looked pleadingly at him. “I know dat we may not seem like we are worth a second chance Remy, turnin’ our backs on y’ like dat, but I swear t’ God I didn’t know.”

He felt his usual poker face slip at bit at that. Wait…his uncle thought he was mad at him? That didn’t make any sense. But it was apparent that he did – his uncle’s gaze on him tight with guilt and sorrow.

“Non, dat’s not it.” He pulled away from his uncle, crossing to sit on the mattress, letting his bag slip off to rest beside him, sighing in defeat. “Look. Remy’s done things. Lotsa things. Stuff y’ don’t want t’ know about, neh?”

“Try me.” His uncle watched him, relaxing a bit now that he wasn’t trying to bolt out the door. “I want to know, Remy.”

Running a hand through his hair, Remy ground his teeth in frustration. May as well get this out and over with, and then he could be on his way unhindered.

“Well for starters, Remy stole from y’.”

His uncle blinked, obviously not expecting that. Remy sucked in a big breath. Here it came.

“Didn’t know it was y’, or who you were obviously. Was a few years back. Came up the wall, an’ snuck in here.” He motioned at the French doors that lead out to the small stone balcony behind him. “Took some jewelry dat was on the dresser dere. An’ sold it.”

Jean-Luc just nodded, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“An’ Remy’s gone an’ stole from a lot of other places. Probabally all y’re friends an’ shit. Also been mixed up with some people dat weren’t d’ best people t’ be associated with. So see – not exactly d’ kind of guy dat y’ want t’ be introducin’ around.”

***********

Jean-Luc was floored. He couldn’t help the surge of relief he felt when he realized that Remy wasn’t blaming him. A faint memory tugged at him.

“The jewelry - what was it? Do y’ remember?”

After a long look Remy bobbed his head. “Oui, some cufflinks. Took a bit of cash dat was left out too.” The boy looked abashed, and like he was wishing the bed would swallow him.

Jean-Luc remembered that. Or rather he remembered chewing Henri out for losing them. Neither of them had realized that they had been stolen – he just thought that Henri had been careless and misplaced them. It had been right after he had graduated from business school. That made him frown in thought. Henri was 32 now…and had been 24 when he graduated.

“How old are y’ now? Twenty one?”

Remy regarded him suspiciously, one eyebrow lifting, evidently surprised at the turn of conversation. “Turned twenty last October.”

He did some quick math. “Mon Dieu…you were twelve? When y’ came here I mean.”

The coat clad shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Round dere.”

“What were y’ doin’ stealin’ at twelve years of age?”

Remy glowered at him a little. “Told y’. Remy’s not d’ kind of person dat y’ are. Dat’s what been tellin’ you all dis time.”

“Non, non…dat’s not what I meant.” He held up his hands in protest. “It just seems awful young. Didn’t y’re parents take y’ t’ task over it? Why did y’ want d’ money for?”

The blood brightened his nephew’s cheeks a bit, as he subtly scuffed on of his feet along the carpet. Jean-Luc let him take the time to think about how he wanted to answer this. Damnit, if he’d only known. It wasn’t surprising that his brother had let Remy run a bit wild, and Remy would have probably wanted all the other cool things that the kids his age had, that he probably didn’t.

“Remy wasn’t with his parents when he was twelve.”

Jean-Luc winced. Well that shouldn’t have surprised him either. Bastien and Rose had never been responsible enough for a child.

“Well how about y’re foster parents den? Or whoever y’ were with? Didn’t dey wonder where d’ money was coming from?”

Remy’s hand fisted in the bedcover under him. “Wasn’t with anyone. Was on my own.”

He felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Looking at the obviously embarrassed young man sitting on the bed, Jean-Luc felt his heart break for him. Grabbing the chair that sat beside the dresser, he pulled it closer to the bed, sitting in it to face Remy at eye level, cursing the glasses that still kept his nephew’s gaze hidden.

“Y’ were on your own? On d’ streets y’ mean?”

Remy nodded mutely, refusing to turn his face to him. Jean-Luc sat in a daze. He knew, given how Remy’s parents were that he wouldn’t have the most secure childhood, but he would have never guessed that his nephew would be on his own at that age.

“How come y’ were on y’re own at twelve?”

That finally got Remy to look at him. “Remy was ten when he left. An’ did it cause it was the right thing t’ do. Could look after myself better den dey could. It was fine.” There was a weird sense of pride in his words as he said that.

“Ten?” Jean-Luc rested his head in his hands. What a day…such a rollercoaster ride. To bury his brother and find out he had a nephew was enough. He had been left thinking as the afternoon and evening had drug on that the moment in the cemetery was the only time he’d get to see him. But then Remy had called – and agreed to come here. However - now to find out all this? Jean-Luc felt so horrifically guilty. He’d failed his brother, certainly. But he’d failed the boy in front of him so profoundly more.

************

Remy watched Jean-Luc cradle his head for a moment. While this wasn’t quite how he’d pictured this conversation going, there was no doubt that his uncle was shocked. He supposed that was natural – he was perfectly aware that he hadn’t lived a typical life, even though it had suited him just fine. It wasn’t like he was really ashamed of how he’d lived, it just wasn’t something that he thought that these people were prepared to deal with. They had an image to maintain.

He wasn’t prepared for how haunted the look was that his gave him when he finally looked back up. “I am so sorry Remy, I really am. I can’t go back and fix any of it though.”

His uncle’s hand came tentatively up, hovering for a minute over his knee, before it settled on it. “I failed y’ Remy.”

Looking at the hand on his knee Remy felt liked he’d lost track of the conversation again. “What are y’ talkin’ about?” His mind flitted back to the conversation that his Mere and his uncle had at the cemetery. “Y’ said dat my parents lied t’ y’, oui?”

“Oui. Dey told me y’ died when y’ were born. But I didn’t check into it. If I had…” Jean-Luc shook his head sadly. “I should have done somethin’.”

“My parents told y’ I died?” This was a weird conversation.

His uncle seemed to think of something. “Oui. An’ dey didn’t tell y’ about me either did dey?” Jean-Luc asked with a half smile.

“Non.”

“Dieu…why? I always said I’d help dem…I did everythin’ dat I could when I found out dat Rose was pregnant.”

Remy looked at him, snorting. “Y’re forgettin’ d’ eyes, homme.”

Jean-Luc tipped his head and nodded. “Suppose maybe dat was it. Dey were a odd couple.” He squeezed Remy’s knee. “Would y’ mind taking y’re glasses off again? Only got t’ see dem for but a moment earlier.”

With a small grimace, he drug his glasses off. What was so hard about that anyway? He wasn’t supposed to be caring what others thought about them anymore right? That was part of the good that he’d seen in the commune. That sense of pride in who they were – and others be damned. Yet – this was different somehow. He realized that a part of him wanted desperately to fit in with this family…now where did that come from? Why should it matter? He’d been fine on his own all these years.

Jean-Luc just gazed back into them for minutes, without saying a word. “Y’ were born with dem den?”

“Oui.”

“Did y’ ever see anyone about dem? Was it d’ stuff y’re parents did y’ think?”

Remy snorted at that. “Well, Remy didn’t know what t’ really think for years. Thought dat was some product of d’ devil or somethin’. But turns out dat its just part of bein’ a mutant.”

“A mutant?” his uncle’s brow creased in question at the unusual use of the word.

“Oui…” Remy wondered how far he could trust this man. “It’s somethin’ t’ do with our DNA an’ all…we’re ‘more evolved’ or somethin’ like dat. Some of us have got just powers but others, like Remy, look different too.”

“Powers?”

Remy couldn’t help but snicker a bit at his uncles wide eyed expression. “Oui. It’s not just d’ eyes. Remy can blow shit up too.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a playing card, flipping it between long fingers. Powering it up till it glowed brightly, he held it in front of his uncle’s eyes before letting the charge trickle out again.

******************

He watched in amazement as the card flared a lurid pink, and then turned into just a normal card again. So that’s why he’d whipped one out when Theoren had come around the car. “Though y’ said dat it would blow up?”

He was rewarded with a rich chuckle from Remy. “Well, can blow it up, but didn’t think dat would be so good for us or dis room. Had t’ learn t’ take d’ charge out of stuff as well as put it in.”

Remy’s eyes sparkled with mischievousness as he looked at him, for once not trying to hide his unusual eyes from him. “Y’ wanna it t’ blow up?” The boy stood up and walked over to the doors, opening them to the sultry humid air and stepping out into the night. He looked over his shoulder at him, looking for the world like a small kid about to show off.

Jean-Luc found himself caught up in Remy’s mood. He joined his nephew, their shoulders companionably rubbing together as they stood out looking over the moonlight grounds.

“Good thing dat y’ don’t really have any close neighbors.” Remy chuckled and held up the card. “Ready?”

Jean-Luc nodded and watched as the pink glow took over the card again, but this time Remy flicked it out into the sky in a fluid movement. The card arched out for an amazingly long distance before exploding in a shockingly large boom. Jean-Luc found his eyebrows climbing to his hairline. When Remy had said ‘blow up’ he’d pictured a firecracker like explosion. That looked more like it could take out a wall.

Remy was laughing at his wide-eyed expression. “Well, have t’ say dat’s a bigger boom den I was expectin’.” He smiled back at his nephew. “Quite d’ talent y’ have dere.”

A knock sounded at the door and Henri’s concerned voice called through it. “Papa? Is everthin’ alright? Dere was some sort of explosion out in the back yard…d’ y’ think dat we should call d’ police or the utilities people or somethin’?”

Remy tuned a semi-guilty pleading look to him and Jean-Luc patted his shoulder in reassurance. “Non, its fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay….” The words trailed off in question, but Henri didn’t press and they could hear the footsteps retreating back down the hall.

“Merci.” Remy walked with him back into the room, as Jean-Luc carefully shut the doors behind him.

“Pas d’ problem. Y’ can tell dem when y’ are ready.” He eyed his nephew as he settled back down on the bed, glad that a lot of the tension had bled out of his form. “So den, all mutants can blow stuff up like dat?”

Remy shook his head and brushed his bangs back off his face again. “Non…we can all do different things.”

“Really?” Jean-Luc settled back into his chair again. “Well, dat’s interestin’.” He sat and thought about the conversation they’d shared over dinner. “Is dat what d’ school is about?”

Remy nodded, obviously wanting to be cautious of what he said about it. It all made sense really…how else was a street kid going to end up in a university somewhere like New York? He doubted that Remy would have sought it out unless there was a special reason for it. Jean-Luc had a million questions that he wanted to ask about it, but he didn’t want to push Remy either.

“Are y’ feelin’ any better?” Remy looked at him questioningly. Jean-Luc was glad that the boy wasn’t hiding behind the glasses anymore...once you got used to his eyes, they were amazingly compelling and expressive. “I would still be grateful if y’d agree t’ stay here for a bit. Dere is just so much I don’t know about y’.”

Remy gave him a small shy smile at that. “If y’ want me…suppose so. For a little bit.” He added.

“Certainment.” Jean-Luc stood. “Well, perhaps I should let y’ get some rest den. It’s pretty late.” Pausing at the door, he smiled. “Bon nuit, mon neveu.” That earned him another small smile and he shut the door behind him, happy that he would have a second chance at least. How he was supposed to make it up to the boy he didn’t know, but he was determined to.