Neither Spencer nor Mattie spoke of their conversation that morning. Whatever had been said between them was kept private. As was their conversation that happened later that day. For a few hours after she left the first time, Spencer stayed in his bed, curled up with Remy. It took him those few hours to piece himself back together again from all the things that he'd seen. By the time he woke up again, with Remy still curled around him, his mind had sorted what little remained of those visions, leaving him feeling a little more like normal. There was just one thing that was different for him. When he woke, there was no more wavering inside of him. He'd committed himself to Remy and to whatever cause this was the minute that he'd asked Mattie what he'd have to do. When his mind cleared from the visions, his resolve settled in firmly, something that he would come to hold on to over the years tighter than he'd ever hold anything else. He didn't know it at the time, but protecting Remy, caring for him, keeping him from the things that Spencer had seen, it would become one of the single most important things in his life.
The two got up for lunch, Remy coaxing Spencer out and downstairs. After the meal, Mattie stole Spencer away and he spent the afternoon sequestered with her in the backyard, having the first of many long conversations about his powers. For the first time Spencer was free to ask someone all the questions that he'd always held inside. Mattie didn't know everything, and she put a lot of stock into 'spirits' that Spencer didn't believe in, but he could sift through it enough to draw his own answers and conclusions.
There was one very high point in his day for him, however. It was after dinner that night that Spencer worked up the courage to ask Jean-Luc if he could call home and speak with his mother. Shyly and very hesitantly, the opposite of the little spitfire that Remy had seen so far, the young genius had bit his bottom lip and snuck a look up at Jean-Luc before asking him, "Is there any chance I can make a few calls back home? I know it's long distance and I promise you, I'll find a way to reimburse you for the cost…"
"Spencer, I'm not going to charge y' fo' making phone calls." Jean-Luc cut in, reassuring him. He looked uncomfortable, though, stirring at his food in a way that suggested he didn't want to have to look up at him, and Spencer quickly found out why. "However, y'r Papa, he asked dat y' wait a week b'fore calling home so he has time to get y'r Mama settled. I understand she's…not well."
To his surprise, Spencer didn't look the least bit upset by that announcement. In fact, he waved a hand almost dismissively. "No, no, I don't want to call her. Father's right with that. She needs time to settle in to the idea of me not being there. If I call now, it'll only make it more difficult for her to make the adjustment. No, I need to call Mrs. Maxine and see if she can stop by for a little while longer."
"Who is Mrs. Maxine?"
Shrugging under the gazes all around the table that had fallen on him, everyone watching him now, Spencer pushed at his own food, tipping his head a little to screen his face with his hair. He focused on Jean-Luc, hoping it would make it easier to answer, trying to pretend that the others weren't watching and listening. "She lives three houses down, on the left. If I'm not going to be around, she comes by to make sure that Mom takes her meds and to make sure that she eats right and gets a shower at least every other day. I told her I'd be out of town for a few days, but now that things have…changed, I need to see if she can continue to stop by for a little while longer until I can figure out something more long-term." His focus turned inward and his voice got a little distant. He barely realized that he was still speaking, most of his focus on his thoughts and not on his words. "The clinic down the road offers help to those that qualify. They'd send someone to the house twice a week to make sure that things are clean and to help her in the shower. I might be able to get Mrs. Maxine to just pop in in the morning and at night to make sure Mom takes her meds. That shouldn't be too much of a strain on her time, and Dad's not all that fond of strangers in the house anyways."
Focused inwards, Spencer missed the amazed looks on those around him, as well as the slightly saddened ones. Mattie and Jean-Luc exchanged a speaking look with one another. To listen to a fourteen year old plot out his mother's care like it was nothing, like this was something he always did, was enough to make the heart clench. Children shouldn't be caring for their parents like that. Especially when the other parent was still in the picture.
Jean-Luc had to clear his throat so that his voice wouldn't show any of his emotion when he spoke again. "Of course y' can make y'r calls, Spencer. Is dere anyt'ing I can do to help? I've connections in Vegas dat might be able to provide us with some assistance."
An immediate denial sprang to Spencer's lips. He fought it back down before it could slip out. Pride had no place when it came to his mother's care. Spencer wasn't stupid; he knew that Jean-Luc could help provide her with far better care than he could arrange. The only question was—at what cost?
Something of that must've shown on his face. Jean-Luc's expression lightened and he gave Spencer a small, sad smile. "Don't worry about de cost, Spencer. I told y' before, y'r one of us, now. De paperwork's all been filed. Y'r a LeBeau now, an we take care of our own. It'd be m' honor to take care of y'r Mama fo' y'."
"Wait a second…" Spencer sat up a little straighter in his seat and his food was forgotten. "I'm a LeBeau now? Do you mean that you've adopted me?"
Jean-Luc nodded. "Oui. Y'r a part of dis family now, Spencer. I meant it when I said dat."
"Can I…can I see all of this paperwork?"
The question seemed to surprise the senior LeBeau. Then, making Spencer the surprised one now, it looked like a hint of something that might be pride flashed there. "Mais oui. It's always good to see de paperwork y'r involved in. As soon as dinner's finished, we'll go to m' office and take a look at t'ings."
That was exactly what they did. When their meal was finished, Jean-Luc took Spencer down to his office and the young teen sat down and was given every bit of paperwork that had been filed for this. Not all of it was understood easily. Some things he had to file away in his mind to look up later so he'd better understand them. But he understood the gist of it all very well. William and Diana Reid had signed away all parental rights to one Spencer Reid. The fact that Diana's signature was on there didn't bother Spencer at all. He knew how easy it would've been for William to get her to sign something. The two had signed away their rights and signed the adoption paperwork as well. Spencer stared at that bit of paperwork with a stunned feeling in him. Jean-Luc hadn't just taken him in, or assumed guardianship of him like he'd thought, which would've been a simple thing to do. No, he'd adopted Spencer. Not just adopted him—he'd given Spencer his name. In the eyes of the law, Spencer Reid was now Spencer LeBeau, youngest son to Jean-Luc LeBeau.
Why that made such a difference to him, he didn't know. Yet it put everything in a slightly different light. Jean-Luc hadn't done things the quick and easy way. He hadn't just taken Spencer on with the minimum of fuss. He'd taken him on, taken him in, and given him the family name. It made his words that spencer was a part of their family seem that much more real.
The loss of his last name should've put some kind of feeling in Spencer. He knew he should've been upset by it. At the least, a little bothered. Yet he looked down at the paper in his hands and he felt a small ghost of a smile grace his lips. Why should he want to be a Reid? It didn't change his connection to his mother at all and it helped to sever his connection to his father. Why should he want anything that tied him to William Reid? The man had sold him. The hurt and anger that Spencer felt at that still burned brightly in him. He wanted nothing to do with the man. It seemed fitting that he severed even that small connection.
Spencer carefully placed the papers back together and in their respective folders. When he rose from his chair, he was calm, his thoughts locked inside. "Thank you, sir." He held the folders out to Jean-Luc, who took them and smiled at him. "No sir, Spencer. Jean-Luc works just fine fo' me, remember?"
This time, Spencer didn't brush that off. He flushed a little. "Thank you, Jean-Luc."
The smile he got in return for that was big and bright. "Y'r ever so welcome, Spencer."
The next day started Spencer's new routine. It started with breakfast with the family, something that Jean-Luc said they always tried to do no matter their schedules. Evening dinners weren't as easy because many of his meetings ran at night, so the family made a point to gather for breakfast. They talked there, exchanging plans for the day, discussing what was done the day before, cheerful in a way that left Spencer slightly stunned. Breakfast back at home had been very different. Usually, Spencer made breakfast for his mother and then spent the next half hour trying to get her to eat it and take the medication that he brought in with it. Once that was done, he'd tend to his own meal. His father was always gone already. Usually Spencer just ate a quick bowl of cereal or some toast while he cleaned up his mother's breakfast dishes. He certainly never spent it chattering away the way that these people did. It was…odd. For his part Spencer just kept quiet and ate his food. Once in a while a question might be thrown his way but they didn't press.
After breakfast, while Remy had lessons with his tutor, Spencer went with Henri to start his 'physical training'. "We aint gonna start on any real training yet." Henri informed him the minute they reached the gym—and was it any real surprise that this massive house had a training gym down in the basement? "Y'r young an y' aint a fighter. De first t'ing we need to do is get y'r body into shape. Once I know what y' can handle, we'll start with de basics."
"I'm not really…I don't really fight." Spencer admitted, beyond uncomfortable with this. He'd always been a talker, not a fighter. This was the one part of his agreement that he found himself the most uneasy with. Logically, he knew the reasons why. Emotionally, it wasn't so easy to reconcile to.
Henri smiled kindly at hm. "Dat's fine. I aint teaching y' so dat y'll go out and start kicking ass, Spencer. I'm teaching y' so dat, when de situation comes up, y'll know what to do. Words are all well and good and dere are times dat y' can use em to keep out of trouble. Papa's good at dat. If dere's a way to talk y'r way out of somet'ing, dat's perfect. But dere's gonna be times dat y'r words aint gonna do y' any good. Times dat dey aint gonna listen to y', no matter what y' say. I'm gonna train y' so dat y'll know what to do if y' ever get in a situation like dat."
It was practical and logical. Still, that logic didn't help him when he was doing yet another set of pushups, or running more laps, or lifting the weights that he was assigned. Henri wasn't a harsh taskmaster, but he was a firm one, and he was a dedicated one. He took his job of training Spencer very seriously. Not even Spencer's young teenage awkwardness set him off. He didn't seem the least bit bothered by Spencer's lack of skill, ability, agility, hell, even a lack of balance. When Spencer grumbled about it, Henri just grinned at him. "I was y'r age once, too, y' know. I remember what it's like to be in a body dat feels like it's all long limbs. T'ough, not as long as y'rs. Y'r gonna be a tall, lanky one, y' wait and see."
The first few days were the hardest. Spencer felt like he had to drag himself up to his room afterwards. Every inch of his body was protesting what he was putting it through. Physical training like this hadn't been a part of his life before. While he was quick on his feet, fast if he needed to be, he wasn't the physical type. Not anything like this. It was kind of embarrassing, actually, to find just how hard his body was taking this. He was a little grateful those first few days that Remy wasn't anywhere near their room when he dragged himself in there—usually after a nice, hot shower to relax his aching muscles.
He and Remy…Spencer wasn't quite sure what they were. Spencer hadn't been lying when he'd told Mattie that he was committing himself to this. But so far the two teens had managed to avoid one another pretty well. By the time that Spencer had been at the house for a month, he'd really only seen Remy at meal times and for a few minutes of private conversation here or there in their room at night or in the morning. Not much of a chance to build up a friendship there. How were they supposed to become friendly at all if they never really saw one another? Not that it was his fault, really. Spencer's days were busy! From breakfast straight through till bedtime, his day was full of all the things he needed to learn, all the things that were important. Yet a voice in the back of his mind reminded him that building a friendship of some sort with Remy was important, too. What good was all of his learning and training going to end up being if he and Remy weren't even friends?
Making friends wasn't something that Spencer was good at, though. He didn't really know how to talk to people. He especially didn't know how to talk to his unique roommate. Remy was open, energetic, full of quick humor and ready smiles, always talking or laughing about something. At meal times he was always full of stories that had those around him laughing or smiling. He was just the sociable type. Kind, too. Despite their initial bickering, Spencer had to admit that what he saw of Remy showed that he was a kind person, even if his tongue could get razor sharp at times. He'd turned that sharpness on Spencer a time or two. Not that Spencer had responded any better. What few times they did talk in those random moments when they were alone in their room, the two of them had a tendency to bicker and snap as much as talk, and strangely enough it seemed to Spencer that Remy liked it that way.
Spencer wasn't the only one noticing how little time they spent together. Mattie and Jean-Luc noticed it too and Mattie was the one to propose a small solution that she hoped would push the stubborn boys in the right direction. At the start of Spencer's third week there, she suggested that morning at breakfast that the two teens go out into town. "Y've been here fo' a couple weeks now, Spencer. I'm sure y' wanna take a look around town. Dere's no better tour guide dan Remy."
The idea of getting out of the house and getting a look around had Spencer perking up a little bit. It warred with the part of him that didn't really like being out around people. Biting the inside of his lip, Spencer tried to mentally debate if it would be worth going out. Today was already looking to be a warm day. Sunglasses wouldn't look out of place, hiding his one silver eye, but his hat would seem strange and would probably make him a little too warm. Yet…he could get out of the house. See the town. New Orleans had always fascinated him with all of its history and culture. There was so much he wanted to see. So much to learn!
When he looked up, he found Remy watching him with a hint of amusement tugging at his lips. "Sounds like fun to me. We been cooped up here since y' got here. Whatcha say about getting out fo' a bit, eh, cher? Might be fun."
How on earth was he supposed to say no to that? Spencer pushed down his own insecurities and tried to summon up a smile. "Okay." Hopefully he wouldn't come to regret it.
Spencer dressed carefully to leave the house. His sneakers for comfortable walking, a pair of jeans, a long sleeved button up shirt, his sunglasses and, of course, his beanie. Silver hair was quickly and expertly twisted up and tucked underneath until none of it showed out of the hat. The only part that Spencer couldn't hide was his silver eyebrows, but he knew from experience that he could adjust his sunglasses just right to keep people from really noticing too much.
His outfit earned him a strange look from Remy once they got downstairs. Thankfully, the teen didn't actually comment on it. Just arched an eyebrow over his own sunglasses. Not that he really had a chance. Before either of them could say anything, the sound of footsteps had them turning just as Henri made his way into the room. The man was pulling on his coat as he came towards them, making it very clear that he was leaving the house too. "We ready, den?" he asked.
Remy gave him a look that wasn't entirely pleased. "Y'r coming, too?"
In contrast, Henri looked positively smug as he stopped at Remy's side. "Oui, mon frère. Papa aint gonna send de two of y' out without a bodyguard, y' know dat. Not till Spencer gets some real training under his belt."
"So why aint he sending a bodyguard, den?"
"Cause I'm y'r big brother and it's a hell of a lot more fun fo' me to come and ruin y'r day." Henri shot back with a grin. He looked over at Spencer and gave him a quick wink before walking between them and towards the door. "C'mon den, boys. Let's go show Spencer a bit of our town, yeah?"
For a second Remy just glared at his brother. Then, with a low snarl of annoyance, he stalked forward, deliberately bumping shoulders with Henri as he passed him. Henri didn't seem to mind in the least. He was chuckling when Spencer caught up to him and fell in step beside him. Sneaking a glance over at Spencer, the older LeBeau saw the look on his face and his smile gentled into something warmer. He reached out and patted Spencer's shoulder, startling him. "Don't mind him, Spencer. He don't really mind. Rem's just got a flare fo' de dramatic. Plus, he was probably hopin' to slip away fo' a bit an see his girl, mais he aint gonna be able to do dat with me here."
"Yeah, cause y'r a damn connard." Remy said, slowing enough that he fell in at Spencer's other side.
Henri laughed again. "Mais y' love me anyways."
The two continued their bickering for a little bit as they all walked down the road. Spencer had no idea where they were going, or how far away, or any of that. Where they were was a residential area at the moment. But the boys both moved with the ease of people who knew exactly where they were going and so he just trusted himself over to following them. Oddly enough, though he wasn't fond of being close to people he found that he didn't really mind being set between them, even with them bickering across him. Spencer had yet to really hit his growth spurts and so he was still rather short for his age—he'd been told he looked more ten or eleven sometimes than fourteen—so their bickering literally went right over his head. Instead of being uncomfortable, it left him feeling kind of, safe.
They took him on quite a different tour than what Spencer had expected. He didn't know that Jean-Luc had asked Henri to keep it easy on Spencer, show him standard things that tourists wanted to see. He was hoping to get Spencer comfortable with the town as a whole before he got introduced to the things that locals knew, places where they would risk running into other Thieves or even Assassins. He wanted Spencer's day out to be laid back, without tension or trouble, and he'd known that Remy really wouldn't think that much about it.
So Henri took them down to the French Quarter and gave him a basic, tourist friendly walking tour. It bored the hell out of Remy, who rolled his eyes a bit as they passed by building after building. But even he had to smile a little at the way that Spencer lit up when they stopped at the St. Louis Cathedral. And when they moved to the Cabildo, the two brothers shared looks of amusement at how Spencer was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Remy sure hadn't intended on bringing him here, nor going inside, he couldn't quite resist. Not when this was the most animated that he'd seen Spencer since his arrival. "Y' wanna go in an take a look around, cher?" He asked innocently. Any idiot could see the answer without having to ask the question. Still, it was worth the wide grin that he got in return.
Henri paid their entrance and let Spencer lead the way inside. For his part, Spencer could barely contain himself. He loved history. Loved learning. And there was so much in here that he knew, things that he could learn, and he was biting his tongue to keep it all from spilling past his lips. Most people didn't want to listen to him prattle on and on about things. If he'd been here with his mother—no, no, he wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't going to ruin his day. Instead, he pushed that back and let himself enjoy his tour.
A few hours later the trio was sitting together inside of some small café. Spencer was tucked up in a booth with a burger in front of him, Remy beside him and Henri right across from him. Despite the people that filled the restaurant around him, the young teen didn't feel his usual nerves that came from being out in public. He was too caught up in the rush of what had been a surprisingly good morning and the warmth and happiness in the auras of the two with him. It was strange, just how much he felt around them. Spencer was used to seeing and sensing auras of the people around him. He was used to the little flashes that he got when he looked at people or when he touched certain things. Those were just facts of life since his mutation had kicked in. But never before had he been around anyone except his mother who he could almost constantly sense the way he could Remy. And, in a lesser sense, his brother as well.
Caught up in those sensations, riding the high so to speak, and his attention held by the story that Henri was laughingly telling them, Spencer forgot himself for a bit. For just a short bit, he was just a regular teenager hanging out and enjoying lunch. Of course, it couldn't last. He should've known something would happen to mess it all up.
It didn't happen until they were done with their lunch and making their way outside once more. Remy and Spencer went outside to wait while Henri went up to the counter to pay for their meal. The two teens found a spot against the wall nearby and leaned back against it, watching the crowd pass by in front of them. Spencer unconsciously leaned in just the slightest bit towards Remy, the teen's presence making the crowd a little easier to bear. If Remy noticed, he didn't say anything. But Spencer had a feeling he knew. He leaned in towards Spencer as well until they were bumping one another slightly and there was no doubt that Remy hadn't done it for himself. Still, Spencer didn't comment on it, just accepting the comfort that was offered.
"Well, well, if it isn't Remy LeBeau." A smooth voice suddenly cut in. Spencer looked up in just enough time to see an older teen step out from the crowd, two others flanking him. The teen looked like he'd be close to seventeen or eighteen. His black hair was cut short in a military buzz cut and though he looked to be the same height as Remy, who definitely stood taller than Spencer, this man gave the impression of towering over them as cool blue eyes stared down at them.
Remy straightened up a little and Spencer could feel the tension in the arm that was against his, though none of that showed on the outside. "Joshua." Remy's lip curled up and his tone made the simple name sound like something foul he found on the bottom of his shoe. "What do y' want?"
Those blue eyes flashed briefly and the teen shifted just enough that Spencer saw a hint of his aura, felt as it came close. He couldn't help how he tried to draw back from it. Whoever this Joshua was, he had a presence to him that felt like bugs skittering over Spencer's skin. That minor movement drew Joshua's attention to him and Spencer quickly found himself wishing that he'd stayed still so he wouldn't have to be subjected to the sneering look that was now turned his way. With one sweep of his eyes he looked Spencer over from head to toe and the expression on his face showed just what he thought of what he saw; it definitely wasn't complimentary. "So, de rumors are true." The teen said, his voice dark and amused. "Y'r precious Papa actually went an got himself a pet fo' his boy. Aint dat just sweet."
The word pet had Spencer jerking a little, almost like he'd been struck. Immediately Remy pushed off the wall, his shoulder slipping in front of Spencer in a move that was very clearly a protective one. He openly placed himself between the teens and Spencer. "Back off, Joshua."
Amusement danced over Joshua's face. "Protective of y'r little pet, huh? Might be a good idea, dat."
Remy growled and took a step towards the teen. "Is dat a threat?"
"Just a bit of friendly advice." Joshua looked around Remy's shoulder, eyes raking over Spencer once more, settling on the young teen's face with a look that sent chills down Spencer's spine. "Y' never know what people might try to do."
That brought another growl from Remy. The air around them was fair to crackling with temper and threat and Spencer knew this was about to get very ugly, very fast. Then a voice cut through the air, calling out "Is dere a problem here?" and the tension broke as everyone took a step back. Spencer's head shot up and he watched as Henri came walking over towards them with a casualness that Spencer could tell was forced. There was a hint of tightness around his eyes, a bit of fluidness to his moves, all things that Spencer had learned through his life to read to let him know when someone was hiding anger underneath a façade.
Henri walked right up to the group and put himself at Remy's side, one arm coming up to rest casually on Remy's shoulder like he was some prop. It also happened to put him in front of Spencer, as well, a move that he figured was probably deliberate. The older LeBeau looked at his younger brother and cocked an eyebrow. "I can't leave y' alone fo' five minutes, can I, mon frère?" Shaking his head, he clicked his tongue at him before turning back to the others. "Are y' still here?"
Whatever was going on here, it was easy to see that Joshua didn't like the idea of taking on Remy now that he had backup. Whether it was just the extra body, or something about Henri himself, Spencer wasn't sure. But the trio quickly faded off into the crowd and Spencer let out a soft sigh of relief as that crawling sensation faded off his skin. Unfortunately, that left room for everything else to sink in. Spencer didn't hear as Remy and Henri exchanged low words in front of him. He curled in on himself, trying to ignore the voice in him that repeated that one word, over and over, taunting him with it. Pet. Had he been stupid in thinking that there could be anything good about this situation? Had he been an idiot for forgetting, even for just a moment, that he was nothing more than a purchase to these people, a way to cancel a debt? Well, he'd just been forcibly reminded of it. Joshua had made sure of that. The way that he'd called Spencer a pet, the fact that he even knew about it at all, said a whole hell of a lot about what kind of reception Spencer could expect in this town. He'd thought that maybe he'd have just a few people to deal with, that some might know but that the knowledge would either be restricted, or explained. He hadn't expected to deal with that kind of hostile amusement. It put something cold inside of him.
"Spencer?"
Remy's low voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing his eyes up to the two brothers. The way they were looking at him suggested that this wasn't the first time they'd said his name. Spencer stared for a moment, not quite sure what he wanted to say, what to do, but when Henri opened his mouth to speak, Spencer found himself speaking first. "I think I'd like to go back to the house now, if that's all right with the two of you."
His voice was so cool, so formal, without a hint of emotion to it. Still, it had Remy flinching slightly. "Cher, don't listen to Joshua. He's just…"
"Please." Spencer interrupted. There was a small crack in that word and Spencer had to swallow to get his voice under control once more. Steady again, he repeated "Please."
Henri looked like he wanted to say something. He was stopped when Remy reached out, holding up a hand in a bid for quiet while his face stayed turned towards Spencer. With their sunglasses on, neither could meet the other's eyes nor read what the other was seeing, but Spencer swore he could feel Remy's stare on him. After a moment, Remy nodded. "Oui, cher. Let's get y' home."
The happiness from earlier was gone. When Spencer set off with the brothers again, there was no pleasant talk, no easy laughter. There was no feeling of safety or security between them. Arms wrapped around his waist, Spencer walked silently, locked deep in his thoughts, not even noticing the worried looks that were being exchanged over his head.