I'm Just The Paper Boy

DISCLAIMER: THE X-MEN DO NOT BELONG TO ME. THEY ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL COMICS AND 20th CENTURY FOX. THE ONLY CHARACTERS THAT ARE MINE, ARE THE TOWN'S PEOPLE IN THE STORY. NO MONEY EXCHANGED, JUST
FOR FUN.


A cloudy Saturday morning, and Westchester was in the middle of another chilly autumn day. A street filled with expensive houses and even more expensive cars and SUVs. The leaves had begun to turn brown and fall, cluttering up driveways and green grassed yards. One house in particular, that sat in the middle of a very posh neighborhood, had been littered with leaves and the owner had just sat down on the front steps to drink his coffee and watch the last few leaves fall.

The shiny white Expedition in the driveway, to his left, blocked the view of the approaching blue, low to the ground Toyota pick-up that was making it's way down the street. Logan watched the tiny pick-up stop in front of the yard as a folded newspaper was tossed out of the passenger window, to land at his feet. He hadn't recognised the kid driving, or the truck. Taking a last sip of coffee and grabbing the paper from the walk, Logan stood up and went back inside to set the items down and change clothes from his gray sweatpants and white t-shirt, to faded jeans and favourite flannel shirt.

When he came back outside, through the garage, he opened the white garage door and reached for a rake that had been hanging on a wall beside the door to the house. His hearing picked up the little blue truck that had made its way around to the other side of the street, and stopped at the house across from Logan's.

Another paper had landed on a doorstep, but this time, the owner of the house stormed outside and up to the truck. He reached in through the window and yanked the driver out of the truck. The man then began screaming at the driver about how the last few papers that were delivered had been scattered all over his yard or whole sections missing.

The young driver just stood there, his shirt securely held in the furious man's hands. His passive gaze drifted from the screaming man to Logan, as he crossed the street. Still, his expression remained blank. A long auburn ponytail swayed in the light breeze, down a slender back. A long, and well-toned body with a handsome faced owner merely waited to be released. No harsh or sudden movements from the young man, only casual restraint that let Logan know the boy hadn't known anything about what the man was talking about. White running shoes stood planted on the pavement as long tight denimed blue jeans allowed the boy's leg muscles to flex as the owner was shaken at every few words. A near tattered blue t-shirt had been hanging loosely over the firm backside, but tight around the young man's toned chest.

"Leave the kid alone, Sanders. You do this everytime there's a new kid deliverin the paper." Logan barked as he reached the two men.

Jeremy Sanders, a man who was supposedly in his 30s, but more or less resembled a snot-nosed teenager, stopped in the middle of his sentence to look at Logan. "Stay out of this, Logan. This kid's been here for weeks, and I've counted 3 papers that aren't even fully together. I pay 20$ for a fucked up paper-? Hell no! That paper had better be all there!" The short brown hair and mustache had begun to grey, and had been poorly dyed. A maroon bathrobe over navy blue pajamas hid Sanders' small form. He clearly wasn't any taller than Logan, but he thought of himself as borderline 10 feet tall.

The kid sighed deeply, annoyed, and pushed the man away from him. "I don' put de damn t'ings toget'er. I jus' deliver dem. Dey're sold at gas stations, too. I aint gonna care if y' go buy one, yaself. Ya more dan welcome t' cancel. But, quit hollerin f'r no reason!" The sun had begun to shine into the kid's eyes, and he squinted as he glanced from the man to Logan, and back again.

Sanders huffed and stormed back into his house, leaving Logan and the kid to stand on the pavement and watch in mute enjoyment. The front door slammed shut and the two men smirked at each other.

"T'anks." The kid held out his hand for a handshake, and then looked back at Sanders' door. "He's yelled at me almos' everyday. Anyway... need t' get back t' deliverin dese." He waved a hand to his truck and sighed. "Ah, de name's Remy." He smiled and said hello as the man introduced himself.

Logan walked back across the street and started on his chores as Remy got back into his truck, and continued on his route. "The kid just might last." Logan said to himself, and started raking the leaves in his front yard.

******************

A few cold weeks had passed and the rain had poured for nearly 3 days straight. On the fourth morning, as everyone had begun to leave for work, Logan stood in the doorway and waited for the little blue truck to deliver the paper. He had only been standing there for a few minutes when a soaked Remy wandered up the drive, with a brown canvas bag thrown over his shoulder, and handed a plastic covered paper to Logan.

"Where's the truck?" Logan asked, eyeing the part of the block that Remy had come from.

Remy shrugged and brushed a few strands of his soaked hair out of his face. "Eh, it broke down las' night." He stood there, with his hands stuffed into his pockets of his soaked jeans and shrugged his shoulders underneath a drenched trenchcoat.

Thunder interrupted them and let Remy know he was to get back to work.

"If the rain don't stop before you're done, come on back, call a cab or somethin. No sense on gettin sick." Logan offered and smiled as Remy nodded and accepted the invitation. He watched Remy walk from house to house, and listened to the boy cough and clear his throat every few houses.

A while later, he had been inside fixing a pot of coffee, when he heard footsteps and then a knock at the door. He glanced at the blue digital clock on the microwave before going to answer the door. The rain was pouring even harder than before, and Remy had been standing in the middle of it. "Come on in. Just makin some coffee, want some?" Logan took the soaked trenchcoat and hung it up to the left of the door and then showed Remy in. He disappeared to pour them each a cup of coffee that had finished brewing, and came back to find Remy still standing in the small entranceway.

Remy stepped into the well-lit livingroom and wasn't sure if he was allowed to sit, or stand due to the immaculately clean shape of the furniture and cream carpeting. "Merci, homme." Without being asked, he removed his white running shoes and placed them in the corner of the tiled entranceway.

Handing Remy the cup and briefly showing the boy around the livingroom and kitchen areas, he motioned for the young man to sit down. Logan had draped a white bathtowel over the plush leather sofa and then sat down in an easy chair across from the boy. To his left was the entranceway, and to his right was the spacious kitchen and diningroom. Across, on the sofa, sat Remy. Thinking of something, he set his cup on the floor, beside the chair, and crossed the room to disappear down a dark hallway to Remy's left. When he came back, he handed a brown hair towel to the young man and told him it was to dry his wet hair with.

Following what Logan had done, Remy set the cup down on the floor beside him and dried his hair. He stopped to cover his mouth and cough, and then resumed drying his hair. He thanked Logan for his hospitality and smiled at the man who had sat back down in the easy chair.

"No problem. The rain aint somethin a kid your size needs to be walkin around in. You done for the day?" Logan nodded to the bag that hung over the drying trenchcoat.

"Oui. Dis is de las' of my route. De second job got rained out, so I can go home after dis." Remy took a sip and said in a low, husky voice.

Logan nodded. He cringed as the kid coughed from deep in his chest. "You uh- want somethin dry to wear? I can dry your clothes and coat for ya. Might be a bad thing if you get sick. C'mon, I got some sweats you can wear."

Remy followed the older man down the dark hallway, into a spare bedroom across from Logan's. A cozy full sized bed dressed in a thin peach blanket and fluffy pillows, sat to the left while a small brown dresser sat to the right. He was handed a gray sweatsuit, from the dresser, and left to change. Letting the clothes fall into a pile on the floor, Remy quickly slipped on the dry sweats and opened the door to return to Logan in the livingroom.

Gathering the jacket from the hook, beside the door, Logan showed Remy into the garage, where the washer and dryer sat. He tossed the clothes into the dryer and turned it on before leading the young man back into the house. "Takes about thirty minutes." Walking into the kitchen, and stopping at the counter. "Ya hungry?"

"Non, t'anks. Merci for de clothes. No keepin y' from anyt'in, am I?"

"No. In fact, I haven't had much company for awhile." Logan smiled. He loved to hear the kid talk. He could listen all night to the smooth yet rich accent of the kid's subtle voice. "Where ya from?"

Remy looked from the deck window to his right, to Logan. "N'awlins. Moved here, bout 6 months ago. Here f'r college, while workin two jobs."

"College too, huh? When's class?"

"No till tomorrow. Have Wednesdays off. Dis your house?"

Logan nodded. "Hope ya don't have anywhere else to run to. Looks like it aint gonna let up for awhile."

Remy glanced out the window and watched the rain come down in sheets, flooding the quaint backyard. "Ya married, Logan? Or, d' ya live here alone?" His eyes opened wide as he realised what he had said. Looking from the window to the floor, he apologised.

"S'ok." Logan paused. "I actually, just broke up with someone. They moved out about 4 months ago. You?"

Shaking his head, Remy answered slowly. "No married. Live in a small house wit' a-- friend." He jumped as the thunder rolled in.

**************************

As the half hour was ending, Logan was finishing a tour of the house, with Remy. They stood in Logan's bedroom, and talked about changes to the house that Logan had done and had yet to do. Logan leaned against the wall, facing Remy, who stood in the doorway.

Remy sensed electricity vibrating off of Logan. Moving closer to the older man, the sensations and need were becoming more and more obvious. "What ya like in dis room, Logan?" Remy asked coyly.

Logan inhaled and thought of what to say. For the first time, someone had known what he wanted before even he knew.

"Ya wan' someone, no?" Remy tilted his head, slightly, and smiled. "Mebbe, someone to love you back?"

Staring at Remy in casual amazement, Logan nodded. "Got anyone in mind?"

Remy smiled and came closer. "Oui. Remy." A smirk and then a light kiss on the lips.

"Is that so?"

A nod.

"And, what makes you think this?" He was answered with another kiss, a deeper kiss. Brushing his hands up and down the Cajun's thin arms, Logan moaned. He watched Remy as they kissed, and even afterwards. He had been hurt before by someone he had given his love to, and wasn't sure if Remy was sincere or not. It seemed he had been wrong. Remy was extremely sincere, and wanted more.

Neither one of them moved. Remy stared at Logan, while the other man lowered his gaze to the floor before getting up the courage to look back to the boy. "Um,... mebbe, I should go...? Merci, Logan, f'r letting me dry off. I see dis was a mistake." Remy averted his eyes from the older man and backed out of the room. He had obviously hurt by Logan's disregard for his attempts, and decided to excuse himself.

Quickly, Logan stepped forward and pulled the boy back into the room, from the doorway, and kissed him as deeply as possible. When the kiss ended, Logan smiled. "Can I show you why I saved this room for last?"

Remy raised an eyebrow in curiosity but nodded and answered. "Oui....?" He was still unsure at the next events, but soon smiled as he was led over to the full-sized bed and guided to sit down on the end.