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Candy Quackenbush can walk on water. (toitshour) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2008-08-06 03:51:00

Entry tags:

candy quackenbush, remy lebeau

Who: Candy Quackenbush and Remy LeBeau
What: Remy comes home from playing martyr a little worse for the wear.
When: After he gets patched up in the epic Joker vs. Remy thread.
Where: Here there and everywhere?
warnings: Candy's a mother hen. And they might swear. PG-13.

Candy knnew logically that Remy would want to move once he got back, but she was firm on her idea of him resting. Jack - or The Joker, as everyone insisted on calling him - wouldn't dare strike someplace quite as large and filled with foes as the guild hall, and she was stubbornly convinced that he wouldn't hurt her.

At least not before he'd met her and scared her in person.

She set about putting pillows on a couch and a bed, getting blankets as best she could. If worst came to worst, she could weave one out of light for him. Instead, she set about making him a sandwich. She really hoped he liked egg salad.

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 04:06 am UTC (link)

Guildhall, as oddly as it was named, was little more than a fortified Victorian home that happened to have a lot of good, strong people to look after it. When Remy wasn't there, the boss in residence was Petit. And when Petit wasn't there, which was often, Artan was the one in charge. Artan had been taking care of Candy, and made sure she knew the layout of the house, and knew where the panic room was. Blankets and pillows were easy to find, and the kitchen was well stocked. With snack foods. Most of the time, the three permanent residents of Guildhall were on the go, and all they had time for was grab bags and handy snacks.

It wasn't long before Remy returned, jacket over one arm, wearing a new set of clothes that seemed borrowed. They were. He stepped in through the door and set the alarm once more. He listened into the sounds of the old house, and finally walked towards the kitchen.

"Dat egg salad? Love dat stuff." He said, pouring himself gingerly into a seat at the table. Remy really didn't have a preference one way or another, but he hadn't eaten in two days, and just about anything would have seemed like manna from God's lips.

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toitshour
2008-08-06 04:11 am UTC (link)

Candy took one look at how Remy was sitting and shook her head. She stopped from where she was chopping hardboiled egs and moved to wrap her arm around him. "No, you get into bed, Remy." She smoothed out his hair which seemed to be in more disarray than usual and sighed.

"Please? I'll bring you your food and we can talk. You do need your rest - especially if you can't heal yourself anymore. The sandwiches are almost done, promise."

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 04:15 am UTC (link)

"Kinda comfy here." Remy retorted. "Gimme a few minutes in m'own damn home 'fore you boss me 'round like you been out dere doin' what I did, chere."

He seemed much more tense than he should have, given the fact that he was home, and he was safe, and frankly, so was she.

They all were. For now.

Well, not all of them. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "M'gunna be fine. You jus' keep on keepin' on, an' dun push my buttons 'til I got somet'in' to eat."

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toitshour
2008-08-06 04:20 am UTC (link)

Candy sighed and continued chopping the eggs, her sharp movements betraying her irritation. She could've gone. Maybe he wouldn't have hurt her as badly. She doubted it, but if there was a chance, she should've taken it. But he did have a point.

"I'm sorry. I just - I worried about you. A lot." She put the chopped up egg into a bowl and went to get Remy a bottle of water and some chips, handing them to him before starting in on the onion.

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 04:25 am UTC (link)

He smiled as warmly as he could and put his hand on top of hers before she left to work on the egg salad some more. "You should worry 'bout you more often. Dun worry 'bout ol' Remy, been doin' dis f'a long, long time."

Acts of heroism, only to fall into deals with the enemy. Standard practice for him. He sighed and opened the bag of chips, eating them one by one, savoring them.

He was quiet, otherwise. A lot had gone on back there. A lot more than he had a chance to figure out while it was happening. The Joker had played quite a number on him, whether he had let the clown know or not. And Sinister.
Fuck. He was in some deep, deep shit.

He looked up at her, "You ain't a mutant, are you. Jus' a girl." God, he hoped so.

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toitshour
2008-08-06 04:31 am UTC (link)

"I haven't worried about myself in a long time." She wondered if she wanted to tell him about how she was supposed to be leading a war, how she was supposed to be saving her world. King Claus, Boa's father, was technically dead. She was an absurd sort of queen, and she was supposed to be saving her people, not watching her friends get hurt.

His words caught her off-guard and she blinked. "I'm just a girl, to my knowledge." She bit her lip before letting Boa speak. "Having magical talent and sharing a body with another soul makes Candy different, but not in the way I suspect you're referring to. There is no concept of 'mutant' in the Abarat. Things simply are."

When Candy took control again, she chopped the onions, hoping Remy wouldn't look at her too strangely.

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 04:39 am UTC (link)

In fact, he was looking rather relieved. Good. Sinister wouldn't want anything to do with Candy. She was safe from that trouble. However, he wondered, as he took a drink of water, whether or not anyone normal showed up in this place.

"Good to know." He murmured, not sharing the fact of why it was good to know. Sinister would want to lay as low as possible, for as long as possible. Essex was also a man of his word, and Remy refused to put anyone he knew in any more danger than they were in. Though it might come in handy to have Sinister and Joker play off each other and leave his family and friends alone. The more obvious trouble with that would be them teaming up and systematically destroying everything he knew and loved.

Yeah. No. Fuck that.
He looked up at Candy and tilted his head slightly, "But damn, s'good t'know you made it t'rough dis alright. Hope t'others are doin' jus' as good. You hear anythin' from Zatanna an' Solvei, chere? Dey okay?"

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toitshour
2008-08-06 04:45 am UTC (link)

Candy blinked at his reaction, then chuckled. "Nobody's ever been so calm when Boa spoke to them. Guess it goes to show you how weird this place is." She stirred the egg salad and took a bite before deciding it was done, moving to get bread enough to make them each a sandwich.

She cut the sandwich into horizontal halves for him, handing it over on a plate. "I don't know about Zatanna, but I think Solvei's all right. Haven't heard about anything bad happening to either of them."

Egg and onion and celery spread over her own bread, she cut her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. "He's going to try to kill me, you know. It's how Boa died. Jack says he... wants me. And I don't think he's going to stop that." And you can't go off being a hero every time. She wouldn't let him.

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 04:54 am UTC (link)

He thanked her for the sandwich and spun the bag of chips around to face her, before taking a bite. He considered that thoroughly. No, he couldn't play hero again. He had more on his plate than he could deal with, and as kind as Candy was, she was only an acquaintance. "You better not serve y'self up to him." He muttered. "Be your death. You got y'man to think 'bout, 'fore you get any crazy ideas. Not only dat, chere..." He took another bite of the sandwich and chewed it thoroughly before he finished his sentence, "but you know I ain't de only one gunna stop you. I ain't doin' no more wit' him if I can help it, but he gunna come after my ex next, I t'ink. He gunna start small. He gunna start wit' her kids. Maybe her husband. If he don't start wit' her, he gunna start wit' my pirate friends, or Artan." He shook his head.

"Or de poet." He huffed a sigh and shook his head. "Dun matter who he goin' after, petit, but he gunna go after someone. An' he don't even got to do it hisself."

He smirked. "But you can use y'ladylike charm t'help though. Got under his skin, an' he might go f'dat. Wonder if he'll wash his hair f'you."

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toitshour
2008-08-06 05:02 am UTC (link)

"It's how Boa died before. Don't worry, I'm not going to martyr myself for him." It was oddly quiet in the room while they were both chewing, and she sucked some errant egg off of her thumb. "And... I know what would happen to Onyxx if I died." She thought about what he'd told her and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. She still wore the ring he'd given her on a necklace, figuring she'd wear it on her hand when they got married legally. "Half the world wants him in jail. I'm sure he'll get there one way or another."

But when Remy talked about kids being targeted, her eyes darkened. "He's not going to get kids. Or Artan, or anyone else." She lifted her chin defiantly, a hint of Boa's stature and mannerisms mimicked in her own. "Even if I have to drown him too." Of all the things in her life she'd done, killing was what she was least proud of, but if it came to that, she wouldn't hesitate.

Remy's smirk made her laugh, covering her mouth carefully. "I'd be doing the world a favor, huh. I ... half the danger of him is that he's actually sort of charming in his own crazy way. I can see why people would follow him, and that's not good. We talked about our fathers, about why he does what he does. And for maybe half a second, I thought maybe he'd be nice to me, because of how he feels about me." She knew that half-second was dangerous. "Don't worry. It won't happen again. But you're right. Maybe we can use it."

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 05:11 am UTC (link)

Talking about charm to him was amusing. His smirk grew into a full out grin. "Now see, his charm's an act. Can't control it, neither. On an' off, like a lamp wit' a short circuit in its wire. Guy's got brains, though, prolly too much of 'em, prolly why he's as nutty as he is, on top of whatever else happened to him." He polished off the sandwich then, and took a long drink of water.

As much as he wished he could enjoy it, he knew that food would sit like a brick in his stomach.

He drummed his fingers on the tabletop as he thought about what she could do. "You got plenty charm y'self, though. Comes natural to you. You got dat... girlish, sweet an' naive t'ing goin' for you. An' y'pretty, an' you got nice eyes. You could use all dat to y'advantage, chere. But Remy ain't gun' sit 'round an' let you get near him. On de board's fine. Talk to him 'til he can't take no more talk. But be close guarded. I can send a few 'dese guys out to look after you 'til... Jack's off in some loony house somewhere."

He smiled to her and shook his head, "You too good. Somehow you don't strike me as de killin' type."

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toitshour
2008-08-06 05:21 am UTC (link)

Remy critiquing Jack's charm made Candy out-and-out laugh. "Your charm's just... you are charm, and you know it. His is in these weird moments of clarity. Most of the time when he talks, it's just nonsensical babble, but every now and then he'll say something that makes sense. That's when it's easy to slip into his craziness." She'd been talking to the Joker enough where she had managed to catch herself a few times, but was getting better at it.

Once his plate was empty, she took it from him and went to wash it. She almost dropped it from laughing when he told her she was sweet and naive, and she actually blushed when he called her pretty. She had always liked her odd eyes, one brown and the other blue. She was rinsing the plate when she heard him say that he didn't strike him as the "killing type". "Be glad you didn't put money on that, then. Maybe the first time was an accident. The second was less of an accident. But I knew Carrion would drown, and I left him there. I blew up that house and I left him to drown. ... we were already underwater, you see. In an air pocket. The flood was partly my fault too, and... I did just that. I blew up the windows and the walls and watched him drown before I swam off." She shrugged and put the plate away.

If anything, maybe it would get people to stop treating her like she was a little kid. "Houlihan, I didn't intend to, but I guess that's what happens when you deflect a morningstar into someone's head."

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 05:31 am UTC (link)

He nearly snorfled his water at the last one. The others were less surprising, but that one made him nearly laugh. "Dat's what I call a whoops." He mentioned casually. Too casually. "Lemme tell you 'bout somet'in' I did 'fore I became a part of de X-Men, petit. Learn you some history." He finished his water and set down the bottle before leaning back into the chair, lacing his fingers together to watch her.

"Was just about done wit' my exile when I went t'go see a play at a nice theatre in Paris. Nice view of de stage, an' frankly, I hadn't gone an' seen Phantom of the Opera 'fore, mostly 'cause I got qualms when it comes t'opera. But I hadn't heard nothin' 'bout it, neither. Y'know de part of de play where de chandelier come crashin' down? Well, dat happen righ' in front of me, an' by accident, I charged de lamp, my seat, a good portion of de floor, an' several peoples' clothes around me. I had to run like hell to get out de way from de 'splosion. Killed nearly de entire buildin' full of people. S'when I knew I had t'go get my powers dulled 'fore I did somet'in' like dat again. An'... I trusted de wrong person t'do it."

He lit a cigarette and looked too haunted for this to be a very happy story. "Point I tryin' to make here chere, is dat even when you innocent, you can still be a killer. An' you pretty innocent still."

Remy shook his head as he took a drag of it. "Can't help what you do when you need to keep you safe. Gotta make split-second decisions which might seal ot'er people's fate."

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toitshour
2008-08-06 05:36 am UTC (link)

Candy didn't say anything to his story, but she did turn around when she smelled smoke. "Should you really be smoking while you're still not a hundred percent?" She closed her eyes and reached out, grabbing onto what looked like nothing at first, but soon took more substance. Boa murmured a few words in old Abaratian, and Candy tugged down sharply. She let the threads of light coalesce into something more solid before opening her eyes. When she was done, she had a blanket that looked like it was made out of dull gold, but was actually made of light and soft to the touch.

She moved to put it around his shoulders, letting her arms rest there. Candy planted an impulsive kiss on his cheek and squeezed gently. "I trust you. And you're still a good guy. Promise." She didn't move from her impromptu hug, though she did glare at the cigarette for a second.

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 05:43 am UTC (link)

He wished he could tell her he wasn't and why. He simply smiled and shook his head, "You g'on an' believe dat. An' f'de record, smokin' hasn't killed me yet." He looked over at her and shook his head, "F'a girl, you got quite a motherin' attitude 'bout you." He slowly stood, and put his arm around her shoulders. "You gunna nag me 'til I'm layin' down, jus' know it. So Remy better get layin' down 'fore you have to." He ran his hand over her shoulders and started towards the living room. He sprawled languidly on the couch, favoring the least wounded side, and sighed, holding the blanket of light over him. "You gunna be okay to go home soon. Thanks f'your help, petit, wouldn't ask f'it."

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toitshour
2008-08-06 05:49 am UTC (link)

"I do believe that, so there. Kinda wish you would too." It was obvious from his story that he still felt sort of guilty. She probably would too, but that wasn't the point. She really adored Remy, and she owed him.

When he stood up, she helped him toward the living room, watching him sprawl out on the bed. She rearranged his blanket before going back into the kitchen to get him more water, so he wouldn't have to get back up if he wanted more. She sat by the bed, her head resting near his chest but not on it. "You're okay. That's what matters. ... do you remember Onyxx? From the school? He won't ever talk about it and I worry." She had her eyes closed tightly, trying not to think about what would happen to him if anything happened to her. "And shush, you ask me for whatever you need. I'm taking care of you now."

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gambitlebeau
2008-08-06 05:56 am UTC (link)

He put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Sorry, dun remember him none. Lot of people at t'school, chere. Kids goin' in an' out, members goin' in an' out. Had a lot to deal wit', myself. Dere was a girl, you see... She kinda took up a lotta my time." He didn't go into why Rogue died, or how it happened. "T'ink Remy's gunna sleep for a while, actually. Been a long two days, all de rest I got was when I passed out." He touched her hair and smiled, "You gunna be a good mama one day, Candy. You jus' wait an' see, neh?" And with that, he slipped his hand away.

And promptly dropped off into the soundest sleep he'd had since coming here. It might have been one of nightmares, but it was deep.

He was home.

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