Disclaimer: Let me check . . . Nope, I don't own X-men or Candyland. (Candyland Rocks! But the newer version changed everybody, like Queen Frostine is Princess Frostine! sigh. Why can't they just leave well enough alone?)
-Chapter Three-
-Bonding-
Remy stared after his mother. She did not look back once as she hurried over to Mike's waiting car.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you're parents will be back soon." Comforted Raven.
Remy fought back the urge to correct her, to say, no, that was just his daddy's friend. He didn't want to get into trouble for telling the neighbors about 'family business' as his father liked to call it.
"Did you eat dinner, Remy?" Asked Raven kindly.
The small boy shook his head. The trio made their way back to table where he was given a plate which he quickly devoured.
Marie watched in amazement as the skinny boy seemed to inhale his food. "Where d'ya put it all?"
"Marie!" Scolded Raven. "That's not polite!"
"But-" She stopped at her mother's stern glare and mumbled, "Sorry."
Remy stared at his plate, his cheeks burning. He readied himself for yelling but it didn't come. Instead, the older woman placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Don't be embarrassed; I'm glad someone likes my cooking!"
Relief flooded through him and he continued to eat, slowing his pace. The table was quiet for sometime after that. Finally, Raven decided to take a stab at a conversation. "So Remy, how old are you?"
He held up one hand and a thumb.
"Six! Well, that's how old Marie is! Are you in the same class?"
A nod.
"What do you like about school?"
A shrug.
Raven smiled. "What are you, the strong silent type?"
Marie shook her head in pity. Didn't her mother know anything? "Ya're not s'pposed ta try ta make him talk, Mama. He doesn' know how."
"Marie!" There was a warning tone in her voice this time.
The little girl pressed her luck. "It's true! Th' teacher said so!"
"If I hear one more word-"
"I can too talk!" Remy glared across the table at Marie. She gave him a Cheshire cat grin in return.
"I knew I could make ya talk!"
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"Ya nevea, evea played Candyland?" Marie stared at the boy in front of her. He shook his head, staring sheepishly at the rug. "Ya don' know what ya missin'!"
Quick as a flash, she was at the table setting up the rainbow-colored board game. She had finished shuffling the cards and looked behind her to find Remy standing in his same spot. "Well, c'mon!" She prodded in an exasperated voice.
Smiling broadly, he hurried over to play the sugar-promoting game. By their second game, Remy had mastered the rules. By the fourth game, their competitive sides were showing.
"Ya cheated! Ya always git Queen Frostine and Princess Lolly!"
"I didn'! Ya got Queen Frostine de last game! Y'just a sour loser!" (A/N It's sour on purpose. Ya know how kids mix up words and stuff? Yeah, anyway . . .)
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Fine, but I'm takin' her outta th' deck so neither o' us can git her!"
"Fine!"
Irene listened to the argument with a bemused smile on her face. Raven sat beside her and handed the blind woman a cup of tea. "Looks like Marie found that friend she wanted," Irene commented lightly.
Raven glanced over where the fighting had abandoned in favor of coloring. "Yes, it has." She took a sip of tea before continuing. "You know something, don't you?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Raven sighed. "You're a horrible liar, Irene. You saw something when that little boy got here." She leaned forward. "Tell me, is it about Marie? Is something going to happen to here?" Panic began to rise in her voice as the worst case scenarios began to flash through her mind.
A comforting hand was placed on hers. "Don't worry, dear. Marie is perfectly safe."
"Then what's wrong?"
Irene heaved I sigh. "I'm not entirely sure. That little boy . . . I didn't get a vision, really, more of a . . . feeling."
"And?"
"Remy DeClour has darkness looming in his near future."
The tea cup shattered as it hit the floor.
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"So, ya live with ya mama an' daddy?" Questioned Marie as she drew a picture of her family.
"Yeah. Don' ya?" Asked Remy.
"Nope. Just me, Mama, an' Auntie Irene." She peeked at the boy's picture. "Why are ya drawin' yaself all alone?"
He shrugged.
"That's not a very good answer." She thought a bit. "Why don' ya draw ya friends?"
"I don' have any friends." He stared at his picture forlornly.
"Me neither." Both of them looked at the paper some more. Suddenly, Marie grinned her Cheshire cat smile again. "I know!" She pulled the paper from Remy and began to draw another person. Peach for the skin, red for the lips, brown for the hair, and green for the eyes.
"There!" She handed it back. "Now I'm your friend an' you're mine!"
She watched as his eyes light up with happiness. "T'anks!"
Suddenly, she felt the urge to blurt out a question she had been pondering for quite some time. "Why are ya eyes so different?"
Remy felt his joy begin to ebb away. "Don' know. Dey always looked like dis." He glanced at his picture self. "Ugly, aren' dey?"
"NO! Their beautiful."
Remy was saved an answer when they heard a cup shatter across the room. Both the small children whipped around in their chairs to see Raven kneeling by a dark stain of the rug and picking up the pieces of her tea cup.
"Ya okay, Mama?"
She glanced up, her face red and flustered. "I'm fine, Marie. You and Remy stay over there; I don't want you to get cut by the glass."
"What happened?"
"I dropped my cup. I was just an accident; don't worry about it." Not noticing the waver in her voice or the worried glances she sent in Remy's direction, the two children went back to their crayons.
Raven slowly stood up and took her broken cup to the kitchen. She grabbed a sponge and went back into the living room to attack the stain. Checking to see if the children were still occupied, Raven turned towards Irene. "What do you mean, 'darkness'? The last time you said that I . . . I lost my son." She fixed her eyes on the rug, memories of giving up her first child plagued her mind.
Irene placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Don't dwell on the past. We knew from my vision that he's living a better life with his adopted family than he would with us."
"I know."
"I doubt that feeling meant anything." Said Irene, though she didn't sound that sure.
Raven began to answer, but was cut off by the doorbell. She went to the door, sponge in hand. She found opened her door to find Annie and a tall, sandy-haired man bickering. They stopped almost immediately.
"Hi. 'M back. T'anks so much for watchin' him."
"It was no problem; he's a delight to have." The man gave a snort of disbelief and Annie gave him a deadly glare. "Uh, would you like to come in?" Offered Raven.
Annie opened her mouth to reply, but the man cut her off. "Sorry, miss, but we gotta git home. Can we jus' take our kid an' go?"
"Luke!" Hissed Annie. "Dis is our neighbor! Don' be rude!"
"It's alright." Said Raven quickly. "It's getting late, anyway. The kids should go to bed soon." She stepped a few feet into the house. "Remy! Your parents are here!"
"What's de sponge f'r?" Asked Luke, quirking his eyebrow at the odd accessory.
Raven blushed. "Oh, I was just cleaning up a spill in the living room."
"It was de kid, wasn' it?" Luke shook his head. "Sometimes dat kid's clumsy 'nough f'r two people."
"Actually-" Raven was ready to defend Remy, when said boy came into the entrance way. He was followed closely by Marie.
"T'ank ya f'r dinner an' dessert, Mrs. Darkholme."
"You're welcome here anytime." Said Raven with a warm smile.
He turned towards the little girl. "See ya in school t'morrow, Marie."
"Bye." She threw her arms around Remy, embracing him in a bone crushing hug.
"C'mon kid, we gotta git home!" Luke tapped his foot impatiently on the doorstep. With one last wave, the DeClour family headed across the lawn into their yard.
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Remy huddled under his blanket as he heard the resounding thump of his father's footsteps fade. A few tears trickled down his cheek as he gazed upon the remains of his teddy bear. It had been coming apart at the seams and had been an easy target for his father to release his frustrations.
Oddly, he didn't feel as sad as he thought he should. He reached under his pillow and pulled out a piece of paper. Gazing at it, he realized why: I don' need m' bear, I have a friend, now.
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I have a friend, now. Marie's heart leapt with joy each time she repeated that sentence in her mind. She didn't care if the other kids would make fun of her tomorrow, she would stick by him. Remy's alot funner than those girls an' their Barbies will evea be. She snuggled deeper beneath her blanket, dreaming of a green-eyed princess and her ruby-onyx-eyed knight.
How was it? I didn't really like the dinner scene, but I think the Candyland scene is ubercute!
Reviews for Chapter 1&2
Minnaloushe: Thank you! You're musings on Remy are correct! It'll happen pretty soon, too.
enchantedlight: Thanks!
Rogue14: Yeah, a little too young yet, but that doesn't mean it can't happen later!
heartsyhawk: Thank you!
ishandahalf: Glad your enjoying the story. I like a tomboy Rogue, too. I just can't see her wearing dresses and playing Barbies.
simba317: Wow. Thanks for the in-depth review. I'd answer some of your questions, but that would ruin all the surprises!
AnimationLasi: Thank you! I'm not a good speller, either.
Guarded Secrets: Thanks!
Rogue238: Glad you like it!
Lady Element: Thank you! I'll continue just because you asked ;)
Rogue gal: Glad you're liking it!
bored247: Thank you!