This oneshot is for IntoTheWilds, who needed fluff and happiness after she broke her own heart, and everyone else's with her story yesterday. Enjoy, cher!
"W'at d' y' mean married? Remy's only eighteen. Can't get married, me."
"Y'r an adult now, Remy LeBeau, y' don't need me makin' all the decisions for y'. Y' can sign a marriage certificate. Y' know I wouldn't ask y' to do t'is if it wasn't important to the whole family." Jean-Luc sighed and pushed his chair away from his desk, standing and grabbing Remy's shoulder to pull his son into a hug. "I need y' to do this fo' me, Rem. The Vegas Guild wants to make a treaty an' y'r the only one I trust to do this right."
Looking up to meet his father's eyes, Remy leaned his head against the man's neck. He knew he would agree to do what Jean-Luc asked, even if it did mean marrying a complete stranger. He owed it to the man for taking him in all those years ago, plus he would do anything for the Guild, and Jean-Luc knew it. Sighing, Remy nodded. "'o am I marryin', den. Is d' petit comin' 'ere?"
"Oui, M. Reid sent him already. Y'r due to pick him up in an hour."
"Him?" Remy blinked and a slow smile spread across his face. "Y' di'n't say dat de petit was a homme."
"Would y'r papa make y' marry someone y' couldn't love? Non. Now go an' put on a clean shirt. Y' don't want to scare the boy away."
Remy nodded and took off, ignoring Jean-Luc's warm chuckle behind him.
Spencer Reid was not a happy sixteen year old. His father had pulled him out of the first year of his doctoral program and put him on a plane to New Orleans with orders to marry the son of the leader of the Thieves Guild. William hadn't even asked him if he would be willing to be married to a complete stranger, once again taking control of Spencer's life. At least the arranged marriage allowed Spencer to leave Las Vegas, leave his father. After his mother's death when he was ten, William had become a far stricter father, not accepting anything but perfection and obedience from his son.
As the plane descended, Spencer closed his eyes, willing himself to control his temper. This arranged marriage was an opportunity disguised in a challenge, as his mother would say. He could survive this. He could make this work for him. There were worse situations to be in, after all. Somehow, Spencer would make this arrangement his opportunity to better his life, to achieve his dreams. He would use it to gain his freedom.
Remy watched the people disembark the plane, keeping an eye out for anyone who might possibly be his fiancé. Jean-Luc hadn't given him a description of the boy he was supposed to be picking up, just smiled and told him that he'd know when he saw him. Remy had wanted to curse his father for such a vague statement, but he knew that his papa wouldn't send him somewhere without information if there wasn't a good reason for it.
A lull in the crowd of people drew Remy's eye to a lone figure sneaking off the plane, hood drawn up to hide his face. Smirking, Remy headed towards the figure, cards snapping into his hand just in case he needed them. As soon as the boy- for he could tell that the stranger was a boy now- noticed that Remy was walking towards him, his head snapped up and Remy stopped in surprise.
The boy in front of him stared at Remy with the most beautiful orange-red eyes, eyes that reminded Remy of a coyote's fur, blinking owlishly as the taller boy stopped moving. Remy ripped his glasses off, revealing his own black and red eyes and smirking as the boy gasped. Closing the short distance between them, Remy grabbed one of the boy's hands, lifting it to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of his knuckles.
"Bonjour, petit. Y' must be Spencer. Je suis Remy LeBeau." Remy released the boy's hand and swept into a deep bow, sweeping his trench coat behind his back as he did so. "M' papa sent me t' get y'. Will y' come wit' me?"
Spencer looked like he wanted to say no for a moment before he nodded and clutched the strap of his backpack tight, hitching it up on his shoulder. "S-sure. I don't have any other bags. W-we can go now, if you want to."
Remy pocketed the cards again and wrapped his arm around Spencer, ignoring the boy's flinch as he placed his hand on the small of his back. Even through the sweatshirt, Remy could feel heat radiating off the skinny body beside him, reminding him of a warm oven. He filed that away in the back of his mind for further review and led Spencer out of the airport, keeping himself between the boy and the crowds when he noticed that the proximity of other people made Spencer flinch back. Keeping Spencer close against his side, Remy ushered them to his car, opening the passenger door for Spencer to slide in. Once he was sure the boy was settled, Remy slipped around the car and into his seat, hands resting on the wheel for a moment as he attempted to gather his thoughts.
"We should talk about this marriage."
Spencer had known that his father had chosen him, of all the younger members of their Guild, to fulfill the marriage contract because of his mutation. William had always been uncomfortable with the fact that his heir was a mutant. The treaty with the New Orleans Guild was exactly the excuse William needed to get Spencer out of his hair and out of the picture. He hadn't expected the man he was betrothed to to be a mutant as well. The surprise was… unsettling, to say the least.
Sitting in the car with Remy, Spencer squirmed uncomfortably in the silence, fingers flexing with the urge to call up a small flame to comfort him. Fire had been his only companion since his mutation had revealed itself; his only friend in the days after his mother had died. He pushed his fingers below his thighs, refusing to give in to the temptation. Even if Remy were a mutant as well, he probably wouldn't react well to an open flame in the seat next to him.
"We should talk about this marriage." Spencer looked up and met Remy's eyes, momentarily lost in that beautiful devil's gaze. Swallowing nervously, he continued. "I don't know why you agreed to this, but my father gave me no other choice. It's for the good of the Guild, and he knew that I would agree to anything for the good of the Guild. The way I see it, we can go into this as complete strangers and remain that way, or we can get to know each other, be friends of sorts. I don't want to make you miserable because you're married to me and I don't want a complete sham of a marriage. I watched my mother die because of a sham marriage. I would like, if possible, for us to develop closeness at some point, so that our marriage can be more than just a marriage in name. What would you like?"
At Remy's silence, Spencer looked down at his lap, pulling his hands out from under his thighs and twisting them together. He'd surprised himself by saying that much, originally he'd planned on saying that he wanted to be friends but nothing else. After seeing Remy though, he thought that feelings could possibly develop, given time. Remy certainly wasn't hard to look at. More than that, though, Remy had stepped in and protected him from the crowds without asking why he was so uncomfortable around so many people. The other man's protective stance had been obvious, and the cool hand in the small of his back had sent shivers up Spencer's spine. He'd never thought about relationships before, but if he had to marry someone, he was sure he would have chosen someone like Remy. Spencer squirmed when Remy remained silent, glancing up through his bangs.
Remy was staring at him with eyes that dazzled, captivating Spencer. There was a small smile on his face as he reached over and brushed the bangs out of Spencer's face, stroking his cheek with those long fingers. Spencer leaned into the touch and his eyes slipped closed. A throaty chuckle from Remy had his eyes opening again, and a blush growing on his cheeks.
"Petit, Remy'd be de happiest man in N'awlins if y' wanted mo' from dis arrangement o' our papas'. Remy never wanted a sham o' a marriage an' he's mo' dan willin' t' get t' know y'." Remy's smile grew and Spencer couldn't help but smile with him. "How 'bout y' an' me go an' get t' know each other wit'out de pressure o' m' papa bein' dere? I knows a good café we can go t'. Dey got de bes' coffee in town."
Spencer grinned and nodded eagerly. "That sounds fantastic. I haven't had any coffee since I woke up this morning."
Starting the car, Remy placed one hand on Spencer's thigh and squeezed lightly. "It's a date, den."
