"Why you do dat?"
*Cause I'm a worthless piece of shit.* LeBeau laughed at that.
"Non, cher, you can't be dat worthless. Kurt saw somet'in in ya. He's a good judge o'character, he is. So, tell me de real reason."
*Damn, you sure do pry, LeBeau.* He spread his hands in his version of a sitting-down bow. I couldn't help but smile.
"Some call me de King o'Intrusion." I laughed. I had ter admit ter meself that Remy LeBeau was a good listener, not ter mention pushy, which I needed sometimes.
*I ran because I'm scared of hurting him. Scared he'd get tired of me. I mean, look at me!* LeBeau sat back and studied me through narrowed red and black eyes.
"'M lookin'. But what'm lookin' fo'?"
*Don't be a smart arse, Remy! I'm a monster! I have no mouth! No heart! I was declared dead after me powers manifested!*
"Non, cher, dead is a state o'mind, and you definitely ain't dead!"
*That's not the bleedin' point, LeBeau!*
"Look, Jonothon--"
*Jono.*
"--dere's more to you dan you see. Dere's more to life dan regret. Take my word on dat. You asked me t'look at you an' I did. I don' see a monster, a dead man, or a piece o'shit. An' I don' t'ink Kurt sees it, either."
"Nein, I don't." We both jumped and turned ter the sound of the voice. Wagner was sitting up in a tree a little off ter the side of us. He was hard ter make out in the shadows. In fact, if it hadn't been fer his softly glowing eyes, I wouldn't have seen him at all.
"Kurt, ya sneaky devil! How long you been spyin' on us?" LeBeau asked. Kurt dropped down from the tree, landing gracefully. He was dressed in his beloved sweats, but they were a darker shade of gray today.
"Vell, unlike you, Remy, I could not home in on Jono by his emotions. I had to actually search. But I came in on ze 'death as a state of mind' part." LeBeau chuckled and stood. He looked down at an imaginary watch on his wrist.
"Mon Dieu! Look at de time! Remy gotta go!" He turned ter leave.
*Remy wait,* I said, standing. He stopped and looked at me. *Thanks.* He waved a hand dismissively.
"Eh, jus' helpin' a friend, free o'charge." He looked at Kurt and gave him a wink. Kurt smiled kindly, and fer a fleeting second jealousy ran it's ugly fingers through me, but it passed quickly as LeBeau walked away.
Kurt and I watched as the darkness swallowed him. The atmosphere was awkward. I shoved my hands in my pockets and finally looked at him. He was staring at me intently, but his face was gentle. *Er, I...erm...* I ran my hands through my hair and looked away. He was patient, letting me get me thoughts together. *Kurt, I'm sorry.*
"Ja, me too," he said softly.
*I sometimes jump the gun. I'd rather call it quits than get hurt in the end. If I say the terrible things myself then I won't have ter hear them from someone else.* He took a step towards me.